Date: Sun, 19 Oct 1997 21:54:51 -0400 (EDT) Message-Id: <199710200154.VAA01451@freenet3.carleton.ca.carleton.ca> From: ag725@freenet.carleton.ca (Rick Scaia) To: nfd@majordomo.aimnet.com Subject: The News From Dayton -- 10/20/97 Reply-To: ag725@freenet.carleton.ca Sender: owner-nfd@majordomo.aimnet.com Precedence: list THE NEWS FROM DAYTON For the week of October 20, 1997 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------------------------------- ECW Title Changes / Jarrett Jumps 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 October 20, 1997 The News From Dayton remains a combination of the MOST RELIABLE wrestling news as reported elsewhere in the wrestling underground and the most interesting morsels of exclusive and unique news that I can dig up. The goal is the both inform and entertain you, the Home Viewer, without cluttering up your brain with total lies and fabrications that are common on other web pages. By the way, if you are reading the NFD on one of the RSPW newsgroups, or anywhere on the web other than the Official News From Dayton Web Site, or if you are linking directly here without checking out the main NFD 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 * Unfortunately for those of us in Dayton, Alex Marvez has moved on to bigger and better things. Instead of covering the Bengals and pro wrestling for the Dayton Daily News, he has moved to Denver to cover the Broncos for the Rocky Mountain News starting this season. We are all indebted to Alex for the reliable inside wrestling news he passed along to readers, both via the NFD and by his weekly wrestling column in the Dayton Daily News. Alex hopes to continue a weekly column in Denver, and also hopes that it will be available on the internet. I'll no longer be able to include information from Alex here in the NFD, but if/when his column is available elsewhere on the 'net, I'll be sure to include a hyperlink to it here. IN OTHER NEWS... [Note: While the Bagpipe Report is temporarily down, I'm pleased to have one of their top reporters, A.M. Swift, joining the NFD to provide his unique info and insights. In addition to being familiar to the thousands of regular Bagpipe Report readers, Swift is also heading up the newest snail mail wrestling newsletter on the market, Industry Insider. It will cover the entire world of professional wrestling, domestic and abroad, in 12 info-packed pages every week. To subscribe or get further info, e-mail Swift at WJEditor@aol.com.] * The weekend's biggest news is the shocking situation revolving around the ECW World Title. Shane Douglas, who headed up the formidable Triple Threat with Chris Candido and Bam Bam Bigelow, had his 2 month reign as ECW champ ended by one of his own mates. Rick Rude unveiled Bigelow as the latest "mystery" contender for Douglas' gold on Thursday night in Queens, NY. Despite protests from other Triple Threat members, Bigelow insisted on wrestling the match, and wound up pinning Douglas cleanly in the middle of the ring to win the title. The next night, successfully defended it against Al Snow. The title change led off a TV taping in Queens... other notable news from the taping: o Justin Credible, who broke into the sport about five years back as PJ Walker (scoring an upset win over Irwin R. Shyster at one point during his jobber tenure) and who became best known as Aldo Montoya, continues to get a monster push now that he's signed on with ECW. The talented youngster actually scored a pin over the Great Sasuke at the tapings, marking the first time Sasuke has jobbed in his limited appearance in the WWF and ECW. [Sasuke redeemed himself with a win over Lance Storm on Friday night.] o Paul Heymann announced that ECW would hold a PPV event in New York city sometime in 1998. o Sabu topped Mikey Whipwreck in a match set up on this week's TV show. o Rob Van Dam defeated Al Snow in what was described as a fantastic match. o Taz choked out Chris Candido to retain his ECW TV Title. o In a Three Way Dance for the ECW Tag Team Titles, the duo of Balls Mahoney and Axl Rotten eliminated the Dudley boys, before the championship team of New Jack and John Kronus eliminated Balls and Axl to win the match and retain their titles. Thanks to NFD Readers Chris and Marshall for filing the full report from Queens, NY. * ECW continued to make news last night at their home base, the ECW Arena in Philadelphia, PA. Bam Bam Bigelow opened the show by giving Mikey Whipwreck the Spike Dudley treatment, while the biggest shock of the night was the FBI (previously relegated to providing comic relief) winning the ECW Tag Team Titles. Here's how the night shaped up: o Bam Bam Bigelow pinned Mikey Whipwreck to defend his ECW Title. At one point, he tossed Mikey into the crowd, and some jack-ass fan took a shot a Mikey. The locker-room cleared to come protect Mikey, and the fan was immediately ejected by security. o Paul Diamond pinned Spike Dudley o The FBI beat the "Ganstinators" (New Jack and Kronus) to win the ECW Tag Team Titles. Chaos broke loose, as two ref bumps and interference from the Dudleys resulted in heel ref Jeff Jones being in the ring and making the count in the FBI's favor. o Axl Rotten and Balls Mahoney defeated the Dudleys. o The Great Sasuke defeated Al Snow. During the match, Justin Credible (who got a win over Sasuke on Thursday) came out and taunted Sasuke. o Taz and Rob Van Dam went to a no-decision, when outside interference occurred. Sabu tried to run-in, but Dreamer ran him off; the Pitbulls and Lance Wright came in and laid Taz out, and were about to bury him under the WWF banner when Bam Bam came out to make the save. Taz and Bam Bam have words before they leave the ring. o Chris Candido and Lance Storm defeated Phil LaFon and Doug Furnas. Candido said that since Bigelow turned his back on the Triple Threat, he was scouting Lance as possible Triple Threat material. o A Three Way Dance between Sabu, Shane Douglas, and Tommy Dreamer saw Dreamer and Sabu pile on Douglas to score the first elimination. Then Sabu pinned Tommy to win the match. * A.M. Swift reports that the truth behind WCW pulling their offer to Jeff Jarrett is that the WWF simply made Jarrett a better offer, and WCW wanted to appear as though they were dictating negociations. The WWF's offer is apparently for more money, and give Jarrett more creative control over his character. WCW made no real effort to keep Jarrett, as though only began negociating with him in the final days before his contract with them was set to expire. Swift reports that his role and start date with Titan remain unknown, and that despite meetings between Jarrett and Vince McMahon during the week, a RAW debut for Jarrett can NOT be confirmed. * Other sources, notably MiCasa, are reporting that after a Thursday meeting between Jarrett and McMahon a deal was agreed upon. These rumors proceed to place Jarrett on RAW tomorrow night in an important position. Also rumored for RAW: a title-for-title match between Shawn Michaels and Owen Hart (I'm already salivating), Bret Hart vs. Faarooq, and TAKA Michinoku in action (he signed a long term WWF contract on Thursday, and the WWF wants to kick off their light-heavyweight tourney on the November 3 edition of RAW). * In a somewhat expected move, WCW has announced that the referee's initial decision in the Nitro main event match last week will stand. This means that Ric Flair caused a disqualification, and that Dallas Page's pinfall over Curt Hennig will not stand. Hennig remains the WCW US Champion. This was telegraphed a bit, as Hennig appeared at WCW tapings earlier in the week with the US belt still in hand. Other notable WCW TV taping info: o Lanny Poffo debuted at WCW Saturday Night tapings, winning a squash match. o Worldwide tapings on 10/18 were headlined by the Faces of Fear defeating Glacier/Ernest Miller. Also at those tapings, Louie Spicolli debuted as a heel, but NOT as a member of Raven's nest; and La Parka was running around swinging a plastic steel chair, ostensibly as part of his on-going "chairman of the board" gimmick. Thanks to NFD Reader Dale Jackson for passing along 10/18 taping results * In Canada, TSN will be airing a Survivor Series special on November 3, from 8pm till 9pm. After that, the live RAW is WAR will air from 9pm till 11pm. TSN will also broadcast the live RAW is WAR on November 10 (from Kanata, Ontario, Canada) in its entirety. The TSN Survivor Series special may be the same flashback special rumored elsewhere to be airing on the USA Network on October 28. ( Swift) * Friday night's UFC pay-per-view event was headlined by Maurice Smith making Tank Abbott tap out in under 10 minutes. You will recall that Abbott was a last second sub for planned main eventer Dan Severn. Severn -- who is rumored to be headed to join fellow UFC'er Ken Shamrock in the WWF -- injured himself in a shootfight the previous weekend in Japan, against Kimo. Also on the show, Vitor Belfort was upset by Randy Couture in a match to determine Smith's opponent in the next UFC PPV's superfight. And Mark Kerr won the heavyweight tournament on the show. While I didn't get to see the event because of my Amish cable system, it was fairly well reviewed, and sounded a lot more exciting than the God-awful "Contenders" PPV we were allowed to see last weekend. * MiCasa reports that according to a recent tidbit in Newsweek, the WWF's Bret Hart costume is the #3 Halloween mask among boys. Batman was #4. * Nashville's Music City Wrestling is preparing to step into the void left by USWA's recent inactivity. Tennessee should once again be home to a major regional promotion in coming weeks, as MCW will be holding its first TV taping next week (10/23) at the Nashville Fairgrounds. The fairgrounds will also be home to all future MCW events in Nashville. MCW weekly TV should start airing in markets such as Chattanooga, Cookeville, and Murray, KY, next weekend (10/25-6), with national distribution expected to follow on the America One network. The first TV taping will be headlined by a Billy Joe Travis vs. Doug Gilbert match. Both have spent time in recent years as USWA mainstays. There is also interest from ECW, the NWA, and other indie talent to work with MCW. MCW's rise comes as USWA's future continues to be cloudy. Reports that Randy Hales might come on board to produce a television show independent of the two warring factions (the Selkar group and the Lawler/Burton group) may have been pre-mature, as WMC-5 in Memphis has once again said that USWA's slot on the channel is history and the promotion's last show on the station was on 10/11. USWA has also just lost their TV outlet in Nashville (WUXP). It probably won't be long before USWA's national distribution via America One comes to an end. (Swift) * America One's wrestling block (which currently consists of ECW and USWA, and will soon include MCW) is also broadcast via the World Wide Web. If you've got the NetShow software, you can view the wrestling block at http://www.audionet.com/video/netshow/america_one/ starting at 4pm on Saturdays. If you don't have the software, you can still visit the site, and they'll tell you how to get it. Also, ECW's weekly TV show will soon be made available on Bob Ryder's 1Wrestling.com website. It will be a free feature, and you'll be able to watch and listen to the show ANYTIME, at your convenience, via Real Player 4.0. * Jackyl, who debuted as a member of the Truth Commission in the WWF last week, formerly wrestled as "The Natural" in WFWA and IWA Hardcore Wrestling in Canada. He had a notable feud with Rick Martel in recent months. He is said to be a very solid worker, and is great on the mic. His real name is Don Perlin, and he has strong associations with the Progressive Conservative party at both the provincial and federal levels. Thanks to NFD Reader Iain McNair for passing along this info. * NFD Reader Mike Barmore reports that he saw a brief item in a local newspaper about WCW wrestler Craig Pittman. In it, Pittman said he's basically on hiatus from WCW through the end of the year, but after that, he's interested in negociating with the WWF and Japan for an eventual return to the ring. * The Brian Pillman fall-out continues. The WWF has announced plans to produce a Brian Pillman t-shirt and Pillman magazine, and will send all proceeds to Pillman's wife and kids. WCW will also be helping out, as plans are in the works for them to put together a videotape of Pillman's most memorable moments in the promotion (where he worked for seven years, from 1989 through 1996), with proceeds again going to Brian's family. Also, there are some rumblings about special memorial cards being held, with performers working for free and the gate going to the Pillman family. * A lot is being made, especially by MiCasa, about a lockerroom speech made by Eric Bischoff at last Monday's Nitro. Topics reportedly discussed by Eric in this speech: o He said that wrestling can't have another Brian Pillman tragedy. He won't tolerate any further drug abuse within his organization, and encouraged anyone who thought they had a problem to step forward voluntarily. He said that anyone who came to him with a problem could count on confidentiality, and would be paid during any hiatus taken to deal with the problem. o The WWF, by adopting a new "hardcore" edge, will fold within six months by Eric's estimation. He also said that with there being only a limited number of pro wrestling advertisers, the WWF's new edge could also drag the whole industry down. He is also said to have asked his own wrestlers to go the opposite direction, and soften their edges (eliminating the groin chopping and what-not). o A final notable statement by Bischoff was something in regard to how there are only three guys in the company who ever put asses in seats (Hogan, Savage, and Piper). Again, a lot of this info comes from MiCasa. Credit to him. There's suppossedly been a lot of fall-out from this little speech. Now, this is one of those things where even the best case scenario has this being third or fourth-hand info, so it comes with the proverbial grain of salt. First, if Bischoff is serious about his appeal to any drug abusers in his company, I'll be the first to swallow my pride and past comments about the man and tip my hat to him. I'm not a guy who thinks an employer should be held responsible for their employees actions outside of the workplace, but I'm more than willing to admit that when they do take a pro-active stance, that's a positive thing. As far as cutting down the WWF's hardcore edge, Bischoff's just flat out off base. Eighteen months ago, it was Bischoff's company that had the "edge" and he defended that position. Now the tables are turned and he's tearing it down. The simple fact is that there probably isn't room for two wrestling companies to be putting on the exact same product; in the cyclical nature of wrestling, we're now in a phase where Titan is hardcore. It won't be the end of the industry, or even of the WWF. And as far as advertisers go, sure, some of the kiddie advertisers may be turned off; but as long as wrestling is getting ratings, what's stopping EITHER company from going out there and securing some ad dollars from more adult-oriented companies, like Miller or Anheuser-Busch? Finally, the deification of Hogan, Savage, and Piper seems unnecessary. Some are saying it was a shot at Ric Flair (who more and more people are saying is contemplating a WWF return in early 1998), or at other talent who may be becoming difficult to deal with behind the scenes. It's rumored that the Giant may be upset with his role (which seems to be headed toward a semi-comical tag team with Rey Misterio Jr.), while Rey himself is not anxious to lose his mask (as WCW wants him to). Also in the WCW dog house is the Public Enemy, who haven't been appearing on TV outside of their plugs for merchandise in a while, and who also aren't even booked on WCW's Philly show next month. * SwiftBites: Paul Orndorff is featured in the new WCW merchandise catalog......... Dok Hendrix announced on the "Slam Jam" segment of Canadian Superstars that CFL star Glen Kulka may be a part of Team Canada at the Survivor Series.......... in an on-going effort to play to the "smart mark" crowd, the WWF has apparently given more creative control to Vince "Vic Venom" Russo and plans on continuing Jim Cornette's weekly rants........... Tom Brandi -- better known as Salvatore Sincere -- recently met with Vince McMahon in regards to changing his gimmick; Brandi's a talented worker, but the Sincere gimmick just hasn't proven itself marketable.......... Dutch Mantell is spearheading a US "invasion" of the Puerto Rico-based WWC; Justin Hawk Bradshaw is already down there, and will be joined by Steve Corino, Rick Titan, and Flash Flanagan in the near future....... Marc Mero's new finishing move (the fireman's carry into a one-armed Diamond Cutter) will be called the TKO (TOTAL Knock Out). (Swift) * Finally, results from last week's NFD Weekly Poll are in... in recent weeks, you folks have said that WCW should try to acquire Steve Austin, while the WWF should get their hands on Sting. Last week, you were asked if -- given the chance -- you'd like to see a straight-up Sting for Austin trade made between the big two. The results were whoppingly one-sided: 93% of you voted "NAY" on the trade. Full results, along with a new poll question, are available in the NFD Readers' Forum. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------------------------------- The News From Dayton is Copyright 1995, 1997 by Rick Scaia. -- Rick Scaia | VISIT ME ON THE WEB A True Yankee Bastard | http://www.ncf.carleton.ca/~ag725/ ag725@freenet.carleton.ca | http://homepages.udayton.edu/~scaiarij/ ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- - List: nfd - Majordomo v1.94.4 - Aimnet, Santa Clara, California, USA