Date: Mon, 17 Nov 1997 17:21:45 -0500 (EST) Message-Id: <199711172221.RAA01336@freenet3.carleton.ca.carleton.ca> From: ag725@freenet.carleton.ca (Rick Scaia) To: nfd@majordomo.aimnet.com Subject: News From Dayton -- 11/17/97 Reply-To: ag725@freenet.carleton.ca Sender: owner-nfd@majordomo.aimnet.com Precedence: list X-UIDL: ac136bc2987d250db4f4d9f1d0e9ccb0 THE NEWS FROM DAYTON For the week of November 17, 1997 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------------------------------- More Hart News / Taped RAW Preview 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 November 17, 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... * Again, apologies for the delay in updating these pages. Life's been busy, and at the same time, the Bret Hart story continues to be the most interesting thing going on in the rasslin' underground. What's it all mean? That I've got some catching up to do, and most of it revolves around "the Hitman." If you don't like Bret Hart, you better try a different website... * I guess the big news is that the WWF will try to continue to capitalize on fan interest in Bret Hart's future. Last week, in no small part because of confusion regarding Hart's true status, RAW banged out its highest rating ever for a head-to-head battle with Nitro. The theme of the show will be "Why Bret Why?" and will be headlined by a taped piece with Vince McMahon talking about what happened last Sunday. If the WWF really intends to bury Bret Hart, I'd imagine that this is where it will be done. At the same time, Nitro will no doubt continue to hype the impending arrival of the Hitman. The result will be another confusing Monday night during which both feds feature the same performer as the focus of their program. * If people are really interested in "why" Bret did what he did, then they need wait no longer than this Wednesday, when Hart will again be a guest on TSN's "Off the Record." When Hart was on two weeks ago, just prior to Survivor Series, he spent almost the whole show addressing his imminent departure from the WWF, but avoided specifics. Now, I'm sure there will be nothing stopping him from cutting loose. * In the meantime, Hart's online fan club is trying to circulate Hart's version of the story, which appeared in the most recent edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter. WON editor Dave Meltzer appears to have conducted an interview with Hart, and constructed a timeline of events dating back to November, 1996 (when Hart returned to the WWF) in an effort to paint the full picture of what led up to one of the most incredible finishes to a PPV that we will ever see. The highlights of the story are Hart's contention that he was being asked to accept a restructured pay system, and the basic idea that even though Hart conveyed a genuine desire to stay with the WWF, the WWF and Vince McMahon didn't seem to want him around. There are tons of other details regarding the actual plot to do the unplanned finish and who exactly knew about it included, as well. It's so well mapped out that it makes the conspiracy to kill JFK look like child's play. Rather than include it all here, I encourage you to check out the full transcript courtesy of MiCasa's Wrestling News. * Bret Hart was the subject of the latest NFD Weekly Poll. Readers were asked whether the departure of Hart to WCW would be enough to make them a more regular viewer of WCW and less of a WWF fan. By a slim margin, NFD Readers said that their viewing habits would not change based on the defection of one man. A 55% majority said they'd continue to watch both feds the same as they always have, with the remaining 45% admitting to becoming more WCW-friendly. Hart is also tangentially part of the NEW poll question just added today. * And now, a chance to editorialize some more.... I actually had kind of thought I'd said my last word on Bret Hart (from an opinion point of view) last week. But folks continue to weigh in the subject with their thoughts, and I continue to absorb those new ideas and slightly adjust what I think about the whole deal. The latest editorial that got me thinking was Bob Ryder's. If I may be so bold as to summarize, Bob seems to be siding with those who are painting Vince McMahon and the WWF as the villians. That's cool with me... even though I'm not on that side, I knew right off the bat that my opinions would be in the minority. But he did suggest a course of action that could help "put things right." He plead with the WWF to use tonight's "Why Bret Why" theme not to bury Hart, but to apologize to him. That's what got me thinking. Because part of me would really appreciate a show of class like that. But part of me knows that it'd be foolish, because it's (a) too little, too late and (b) Hart would never reciprocate it anyway. I eventually made peace with myself by deciding that the "right" thing for the WWF is to paint Hart as a victim. Not a victim of Vince McMahon, but a victim of circumstance. Sure, an apology might come out of that, but it wouldn't be the sole reason for doing it. Whatever happens tonight, it should be because the fans deserve to remember Bret Hart for the good things, not the bad (and because Bret ultimately deserves to be remembered that way). Don't do it to try to right a wrong that can never really be fixed. The past is done; we can't change it. What Titan can do is alter how we remember it. I'm sure to many, this sounds like I'm still coming down hard on Hart, or that I don't care about his side of things. To others, it may sound like I'm resigning my status as a Bret Hart fan just because he's leaving the promotion I've always liked best. There's nothing I can do about that. The facts are, I think the way I do because: o Bret Hart's never been my favorite wrestler in the world. Like Ric Flair, he's always been -- to me -- solid and reliable in terms of performance rather than spectacular and unique. o To me, what happened to Bret Hart last Sunday (i.e. the "ambush" ending to Survivor Series) was wrong. But what was even more wrong to me is that Hart refused to drop the strap to Michaels "legitimately." You can go back and say "Hart was being pushed out of the WWF, he didn't defect" or whatever. But the truth is that (a) Hart was leaving the company and (b) the logical thing to do is elevate the #2 guy into the #1 spot (meaning Michaels). I don't care if it's in Canada, I don't care if you don't like Michaels, I don't care if Hart agreed to do a job later in the month. If the boss decides that the best thing to do is switch the title onto your hated nemesis, you should do it. Maybe it's unreasonable to think this way... but I really think that when you're asked to do something by your boss, you either do it, or you quit right there. You don't hang around, use your leverage, and try to finagle another, more desirable, course of events. o So Hart was wrong first. Some might say that what Vince did was actually the more heinous transgression. I disagree. Wrong, yes. Once he realized Bret wouldn't go along with what was best for the company, Vince lied to him and set him up to be ambushed on live TV. But has anyone stopped to think yet that what we're all getting worked up about here is that somebody fixed the ending to a fixed fight? Wrestling is already a work; the ending to Survivor Series was just doubly so. The leather and metal that Hart brought to the ring doesn't really mean anything... it's just a marketing tool. It's pretty silly that we all get off on enjoying these fixed fights and worked "titles," but when you really think about it, we're the biggest marks of all if we're getting fired up about Vince "stealing" Bret's title and "ambushing" him with an unplanned finish. o Ultimately, I think there's got to be a real reason for Hart being shunted aside. "Dire financial straights" is the phrase so many are tossing around in regards to Titan's reasons for "ditching" Hart. I don't buy it. If you need to improve your finances, why not keep the guy who single-handedly makes you millions in Canada each year? My theory: if Hart really was pushed out, it had more to do with the 17 years in the front office he was promised AFTER he was done wrestling for Titan. Bret's gone on record saying he doesn't like the "direction" of the WWF. For better or worse, that's the direction the WWF wants to follow... imagine the troubles if Hart was a powerful member of the booking committee a few years from now, and took it upon himself to "clean up" the adult-oriented angles in the WWF. It wouldn't be pretty. If this is what happened, then I'll stand up an applaud, because I'll welcome the WWF's current direction of the WWF's "family-oriented" approach of the late 80s and early 90s (which just happens to be WCW's CURRENT direction). Time will tell if it's profitable, but I'll tell you right now that it's what I prefer. So what am I really getting at? I don't know... at this point, I'm sure I'll have to continue to issue alterations and additions to my "official" stance as more and more of you send in hate mail. So there's no real use to sum everything up just now. But I'll do it anyway... What I'm getting at is that I wish Hart's departure from the WWF could have been handled differently. With both parties proud of their years of association with the other, and with fans proud to have witnessed those years. Instead, it looks like what we've got is a wrestling promotion that was deceptive, a wrestler who stubbornly refused to do a job, and fans who have been forced to take up sides in the ensuing debate with much less-than-perfect information. * Hey, Dayton area fans... the WCW pay-per-view that is coming to Dayton on Saturday night, January 24, is reportedly going to be the second attempt at an NWO-based show. Following up on last year's "NWO Souled Out," Turner's fed will be bringing Souled Out 2 to town after the new year. More on the big show as it becomes available. * Comedy Central's "Daily Show" recently featured a segment on Jesse "the Body" Ventura. Included were a lot of clips of Jesse's days in the WWF, and discussion of the Bod's post-wrestling career in politics. Jesse has been the mayor of Brooklyn Park, MN, and plans on running for govenor or Minnesota as the Reform Party candidate. For me personally, the funniest bit, however, was Jesse's commentary on Hulk Hogan's penis size. Or lack thereof. But maybe you had to see it for it to be funny... since Comedy Central regularly airs repeats of the "Daily Show," you may well be lucky enough to catch the episode yet. Keep your eyes peeled for the November 12, 1997, show. * Jesse the Body making fun of Hulk Hogan's penis size? I know it sounds too funny to be true... and usually, if you're reading something that's too funny to be true, it's because it was fabricated by ScoopTHIS!. That's right, ScoopTHIS is back, with tons of wrestling parody and general inanity. If you tried http://www.ScoopThis.com over the weekend and it didn't work, you should clean out your memory cache and try again. BTW, I was dead serious about the Hulk Hogan penis jokes... it really happened. Honest. * The future of the Hart Foundation remains cloudy... Jim Neidhart returned to action with the WWF over the weekend, although that probably doesn't really mean a whole lot. Of Neidhart, Owen Hart, and Davey Boy Smith, Neidhart is easily the least marketable, and most likely to really need the WWF gig. For his part, Bulldog is claiming a serious reaggrevation of his already-injured knee occured while trying to break up the Hart/McMahon brawl last Sunday. He will be getting surgery, apparently. Owen revealed to the Calgary Sun that he was going to be heading back out with the WWF, and wanted to work things out with Vince, but apparently, things didn't go so well when the parties met on Wednesday. Owen has another meeting scheduled with McMahon on Monday, according to reports. * Stevie Richards has left WCW. In a statement made on AOL, Richards comfirmed the news, and thanked WCW official Terry Taylor for dealing honestly with him, and thanked Raven for taking him under his wing. The good experience aside, Richards decided to leave the promotion, and is now traveling in Europe with his family. The majority of speculation has Richards wanted to start up a non-wrestling venture (a videogame store) when he gets back to the states. I would imagine that there would also be interest, however, from other promotions should Stevie decide to continue his wrestling career. * Finally, if you want a quick recap of the highlights of tonight's taped RAW, keep reading. If not, then I thank you for checking out this edition of the NFD Weekly, and encourage you to head back to the NFD Headlines page. The two main stories that will be advanced tonight on RAW are: o Degeneration X's continued disrespect for authority. DX will again verbally assault Bret Hart, Ken Shamrock, and Sgt. Slaughter. When the commish comes out in person, he is beaten by DX, setting up a match between HHH and Slaughter at the next PPV. o Rocky Maivia steals Steve Austin's IC title belt. Maivia continues to impress as a heel, as his mere presence seems to spark "Rocky Sucks" chants these days. This also leads up to a match at the next PPV. Other stuff on RAW tonight: the afforemention "Why Bret Why?" theme will be played out.... Jeff Jarrett will have another interview segment with Jim Ross.... Mick Foley returns to action (after "boycotting" last week's live RAW).... Scott Taylor advances in the LHW tourney... and more that I'm forgetting right now. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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