Date: Mon, 19 May 1997 17:13:03 -0400 (EDT) Message-Id: <199705192113.RAA01889@freenet5.carleton.ca> From: ag725@freenet.carleton.ca (Rick Scaia) To: nfd@aimnet.com Subject: The News From Dayton -- 05/19/97 Reply-To: ag725@freenet.carleton.ca Sender: owner-nfd@majordomo.aimnet.com Precedence: list THE NEWS FROM DAYTON For the week of May 19, 1997 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------------------------------- NFL'ers to be WCW Losers / Damn that Van Dam! Read on for more on today's Headline Stories! --------------------------------------------------------------------------- The News From Dayton is compiled weekly by: Rick Scaia (ag725@freenet.carleton.ca) --------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------------------------------- The News -- For the Week of May 19, 1997 The News From Dayton, as always, remains a combination of the weekly Dayton Daily News pro wrestling column, penned by Alex Marvez, and other pieces of information I feel are unique and worth passing on to you, the Home Viewer. If you are reading the NFD on one of the RSPW newsgroups, or anywhere on the web other than the News From Dayton Web Site, or if you are linking directly here without checking out the main News From Dayton Headlines Page, I strongly encourage you to make the jump to the NFD on the web at http://homepages.udayton.edu/~scaiarij/wrestling/nfd.htm I think you'll find the trip worthwhile, as there are many exclusive features to the NFD Web Site, along with updates on breaking news, so that you don't have to wait a full week for the NFD's take on the latest rumors. THE ALEX MARVEZ COLUMN * Thoughts on tonight's WCW Slamboree PPV are the top story in this week's DDN pro wrestling column; Alex Marvez focusses on the two match(es) getting the most mainstream media attention, and notes that NFL stand-outs Kevin Greene and Reggie White will likely be getting pinned in those two matches. The Slamboree main event teams Greene with the returning Ric Flair (inactive for over 6 months with a shoulder injury) and Roddy Piper against the NWO trio of Scott Hall, Kevin Nash, and Syxx. On the undercard, White will face ex-Chicago Bear Steve "Mongo" McMichael. Greene will probably take the dive for his team in the main event, to protect the reputations of the legends he's teamed with, while outside interference will likely mar the White/McMichael match leading to White's defeat. However, Alex tells us to shed not a tear for the two footballers, as they are both being paid $500,000 for their involvement in the PPV event. These plans are not, however, set in stone, as a recent shake-up in the power structure at WCW has resulted in primary WCW booker Kevin Sullivan being asked to take a two month vacation. Alex reports that JJ Dillon will be assuming Sullivan's duties, thoug hit has been reported elsewhere that Dillon will remain only an advisor to the booking committee that will now be headed by Eric Bischoff. Either way, Sullivan is out of the loop now, so all of WCW plans may change radically. * While on the subject of Sullivan, Marvez reports that it was tension between Sullivan and the NWO duo of Hall and Nash that hastened his being asked to take a leave of absence. Also, Sullivan was under fire from others in the WCW heirarchy to remove himself from in-ring activities. Both those issues came to a head, and now Sullivan is on a paid vacation. * The WWF's primary weekly broadcast, RAW is WAR, may be facing a rocky future. USA Network recently purchased the rights to air old episodes of the Chuck Norris action series "Walker, Texas Ranger," and plans on broadcasting them weeknights at 8 p.m. starting on August 4. As RAW currently runs from 8-10 p.m. on Mondays, they stand to lose an hour of head-to-head airtime against WCW Monday Nitro. [It is also worth noting that the two year agreement between the WWF and USA that was signed in autumn, 1995, is up this fall. When negociating in 1995, the WWF had some leverage, as RAW was -- at the time -- unopposed by Nitro and was a big ratings winner for the network. The WWF also considered moving their programs over to the E! Entertainment Network, if I remember an old report from the Wrestling Torch correctly. So in addition to the issue of when RAW will air, it might also be worth considering the possibility of whether it will air on USA Network at all, though all indications are that USA would prefer to keep its relationship with the WWF.] Alex states that a USA Network spokesperson said that the network was as yet undecided on the future of RAW; the program could be cut back to one hour (as it was for all of its first four years on the air) beginning at 9 p.m., or could be expanded to include the 10-11 p.m. hour. Other possibilities (according to sources other than Marvez) include moving the show to another night or outright cancellation. * Dayton area fans, take note: commercials running hyping thisS aturday night's WWF show at the Nutter Center are still promising an Undertaker/Steve Austin/Sid vs. Bret Hart/Owen Hart/British Bulldog main event. This is incorrect, as both Bret and Sid are injured. However, print ads for the event are now hyping the six man match, with Ken Shamrock replacing Sid and Brian Pillman replacing Bret Hart. Alex says that even these ads are wrong, and that the WWF intends to have a main event tag match of the Undertaker and Steve Austin facing Owen Hart and the Bulldog. A WWF spokesperson is quoted by Marvez as saying the correct line-up will appear in a TV commercial to begin airing during tommorrow night's RAW. For ticket info on the May 24 event at the Nutter Center, call (937)775-4789. * Rob Van Dam's appearance on last Monday's RAW signaled a new beginning for the working relationship between the WWF and ECW. After being pinned by Chris Candido in a tag match (Sabu and Van Dam vs. Candido and Taz) at the ECW Arena on Saturday, May 10, Van Dam took the mic and ran down the ECW crowd in Philly, saying he deserved better than wrestling in front of 1200 drunken idiots. He promised thats ince he deserved to be wrestling on Monday nights for one of the major promotions, he would do just that in two days time. His departure from the building was welcomed by both the ECW crowd and ECW producer Paul Heymann (who invited Van Dam to "Get the fuck out"). Some of this incident appeared on ECW's weekly TV show yesterday. Most at the Arena probably assumed that the incident meant Van Dam would be debuting in WCW on Monday, as it was heavily rumored that Van Dam was all but under contract to the Turner subsidiary after he madea backstage visit to Nitro back in March. However, it appears that afterw ord got out that Van Dam was seen backstage at the WCW event, ECW decided to use it as a tool to swerve the "smart" fans who heard aboutthe visit. Van Dam was given a new image as "Mr. Monday Night," a free agent so hot that both major promotions were courting him, and everybody assumed it would end in Van Dam leaving ECW for WCW in June. Van Dam was so superb with his new gimmick that the swerve was nearly flawless, with very few questioning that the act could just be part of an elaborate ECW angle. However, after Van Dam's promise, it was quickly revealed that his Monday night appearance would be in the WWF, as part of "RAW is WAR". Van Dam's debut was accompanied by comments from both Van Dam and WWF announcer Jerry Lawler that clearly lit the fuse for the continuation of a WWF/ECW co-promotional angle involving Van Dam. It is expected that Van Dam's continued appearances on RAW will eventually be met by resistance from his old friends from ECW, and that things will grow from there. Rumored to have been backstage at RAW on Monday night were Paul Heymann and Tommy Dreamer. Many expect them (or some other ECW stars) to appear in front of the camera this week, if Van Dam (or Lawler) continues his anti-ECW commentary. * Some quick "Grappling Gems" from Alex: Expect Curt Hennig's WCW debut to be sometime in June, after his contract and no-compete clause with the WWF expires (many have Hennig pegged as debuting at the big Boston Nitro on June 9)...... WCW's next visit to Dayton comes on June 2, for an episode of Nitro; WCW's promoter is quoted as saying there are fewer than 1000 tickets left in the 5,000 seat Hara Arena; for ticket info, call (937)-278-4776......... Alex closes by remarking that former UFC star Ken Shamrock looked "outstanding" in his WWF debut last week on PPV against Vader, where he forced the big man to submit. * Alex Marvez's column appears every Sunday in the Dayton Daily News. In addition to sharing his wrestling thoughts there, Alex is also once again lurking about the America OnLine Grandstand Wrestling Area, and can via e-mail at "alex_marvez@coxohio.com". Also, Alex can also be heard on Mondays and Fridays on WING-FM (102.9) at 7:20 a.m. talking about wrestling and other sports. IN OTHER NEWS... * The WWF's return to New York City's Madision Square Garden last night was a largely uneventful affair. Traditionally, the WWF throws in a few surprises to appease the huge and rabid crowds that come to the MSG shows, but not this time. The show was pretty much a clone of other shows from the current WWF tour. In front of a big crowd estimated at 18,000, the two top matches saw the Undertaker defeat Mankind in a WWF Title match and the trio of the Road Warriors and Steve Austin score a win over Brian Pillman, Owen Hart, andthe British Bulldog. * The debut of the WWF on the WWW will soon include a weekly interactive "show." A few weeks back, some sources were reporting that a new WWF TV show called "Shock Wave" might be debuting soon, but it now seems as though this could be the WWW program that is going to be hosted by Kevin Kelly. It will include audio and video, and utilize tons of interaction with the online fans. On a related note, a similar effort may be underway sometime thissummer to do an online program using audio and video. It would be an unaffiliated program, and though it's only in the earliest of planning stages, I hope to be a part of the program when it comes to fruition. I will keep you up-to-date on this story as things progress. By the way, for those of you wanting to visit the WWF Web Site without going through the hassle of filling out their "Beta Tester"form (more likely, it's just a way for them to build their in-house mailing list), just connect to http://www.wwf.com/index2.htm. * It's looking more and more like the WWF is heading towards debuting a Light Heavyweight title in the near future... after talking about the light heavyweight style during Lief Cassidy's match on RAW, Jim Ross again broached the subject during a Cassidy win on Shotgun Saturday Night last night. While I'd welcome the chance to showcase some of the WWF's more talented small guys (ESPECIALLY the criminally mis-used Cassidy), I'm not sure if adding more titles is the right way to go. For a long time, I've thought WCW has had too many titles (upwards of 6 titles that can be defended on any given show),which rendered them less special. However, a light heavyweight division might work if the WWF can find enough workers to fill out the division. Obviously, this would be one area where the working arrangement withMexico's AAA could be useful. * The future of the Memphis-based USWA is in some question... over the past year, their attendence has dwindled greatly, especially as rival promotions (most notably Ian Rotten's IWA) have become more prominent in the region. Then in the past few months, behind the scenes turmoil reached an all-time high, as bookers have been rotating on an almost weekly basis (only a mild exagerration). And now, after a series of no-shows this past week, it looks as though Brian Christopher (Jerry Lawler's real life son) may be done with the promotion. Christopher has been the USWA's biggest star other than Lawler for a long time, and if frustration with the behind the scenes trouble in the USWA really has driven him out, it would be a big loss for the already reeling promotion. Christopher (whose nickname in USWA is "Too Sexy") has had a long standing arrangement to compete in the WWF at some point, and that move may now take place sooner rather than later. For those unfamiliar with Christopher, he reminds me a bit of a combination of Lawler and Chris Candido; he has the ability to draw heat and interview like his dad, and the smallish frame, but good physique of Candido. He's also got some decent in-ring skills, though from what I've seen, he tends more towards his dad than the outstanding Candido in that respect. * Some quick little newsbites: Tito Santana is back with the WWF. Thankfully, he's a Spanish-language announcer, NOT a wrestler. Whew! ---------- Papa Shango and Yokozuna are both being tossed around asthe person from the "Vault of Souls" the Undertaker spoke of on the last RAW. ---------- If you missed ECW TV this week (or if you aren'table to see it in your area), you missed some classic comments from Rick Rude. The motif was "Francine's Restaurant," and the phrase "red snapper" was used at one point. That's all I'm gonna say. It was hilarious. ---------- ECW had a huge house show Friday night in Buffalo, in front of a crowd of about 3000 (which might be the company's biggest show yet); in the main event, Stevie Richards continued his emergence into a superstar, as he eliminated both Raven and the Sandmanfrom a Four-Way Dance for the ECW Title before finally being defeated by the champ, Terry Funk. Richards was taken from the building via ambulance for unknown reasons. ---------- Finally, if you missed the series of updates last week, it now looks like WCW is going to ignore ECW's legal threat and debut Scott "Raven" Levy on their June 9 edition of Nitro; if you want the details, you know where the updates section is! This is only the NFD Weekly Edition. Check here every Monday for the in-depth looks at all the news, as well as for the exclusive Web Home of the Alex Marvez Column. At other times during the week, be sure to check out The NFD Updates for quick recaps of breaking stories! --------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------------------------------- The News From Dayton is Copyright 1995, 1997 by Rick Scaia. This page, as well as all other contents of the pages in the NFD hierarchy, are the intellectual property of Rick Scaia. Please refer to the "Thanks and Acknowledgements" page for full copyright information. In short: You are not to reproduce the content or style of these pages for financial gain. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------------------------------- SPECIAL SUPPLEMENT TO NFD WEEKLY E-MAIL AND USENET VERSIONS!! I must have screwed something up, because my attempts to forward this version of the NFD Weekly to both the mailing list subscribers and to RSPW failed yesterday. Since you're getting this a day late, I've added this special section with Slamboree results from last night as a way of saying "Sorry." These are only the quick and dirty results; I have more details and analysis of the show on my web page in the daily updates section. Slamboree '97 ------------- * Steven Regal defeats Ultimo Dragon to win the WCW TV Title * Madusa defeats Luna Vachon (Madusa was NOT wearing WCW Women's Title) * Rey Misterio Jr. defeats Yuji Yasuraoka * Glacier defeats Mortis by DQ (Wrath interfered) * Dean Malenko defeats Jeff Jarrett in a US Title match * Meng defeats Chris Benoit with a nerve hold in a "Death Match" * The Steiner Brothers defeat Konnan and Hugh Morris * Steve McMichael defeats Reggie White * Ric Flair, Roddy Piper, and Kevin Greene defeat Kevin Nash, Scott Hall, and Syxx when Flair pins Hall -- Rick Scaia | VISIT ME ON THE WEB A Loathesome, Offensive Brute | http://www.ncf.carleton.ca/~ag725/ ag725@freenet.carleton.ca | http://homepages.udayton.edu/~scaiarij/ ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- - List: nfd - Majordomo v1.94.1 - Aimnet, Santa Clara, California, USA