Date: Mon, 22 Dec 1997 03:57:08 -0500 (EST) Message-Id: <199712220857.DAA04670@freenet5.carleton.ca.carleton.ca> From: ag725@freenet.carleton.ca (Rick Scaia) To: nfd Subject: The News From Dayton -- 12/22/97 Reply-To: ag725@freenet.carleton.ca Sender: owner-nfd Precedence: list Content-Type: text X-UIDL: e7e13f28429468d7143465dbf96eeeb4 THE NEWS FROM DAYTON For the week of December 22, 1997 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------------------------------- StarrCade Countdown / Richards Out of Action 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 December 22, 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. THIS WEEK'S NEWS * It's the last full week of December... that means I'll take a moment here at the top of the NFD Weekly to wish everyone a happy holiday season. And it also means that next week's NFD Weekly will be replaced by 1997: the Year in Review. If you're interested in what you can look forward to, feel free to go back a year in time and examine the NFD's 1996 Year in Review. * As we all enjoy the holidays, wrestling fans across the nation are looking forward to WCW's StarrCade 1997. It's an event that once seemed like a faint light at the end of an impossibly long tunnel... remember about a year ago when we first started hearing rumors that Sting might not emerge from the new "Crow" gimmick to face Hogan until "sometime in 1997"? Remember when "sometime in 1997" became StarrCade '97 (which is the final week of 1997)? We all laughed and said there was no way WCW could hold Sting back that long and make it work... Well the joke is on us, apparently. It's been over 15 months since Sting's last wrestling appearance, but interest in his comeback match against Hulk Hogan is running rampant. If for no other reason than because a full year was used to build up to the contest, this is easily the biggest match in wrestling since the resurgence of wrestling in 1995. While it may not have the aura or specialness of any of the "classic" WrestleManias (WM 7 was the first to really lack that specialness, IMODO) and other early WWF PPVs (when it was easier to make a match seem special when there were only 3-4 PPVs per year), this is still a mammoth contest, with fans expecting something big. Some are calling for Sting to win the title and unite WCW against the NWO. Others want the "Wolfpack" to finally split from Hogan to become stars in the own right. Probably just about any finish that has a decisive winner would be satisfying, though. While Hogan/Sting is the focal point of the show, StarrCade is also blessed with an undercard that features the long-awaited Giant vs. Kevin Nash match. Also on the card will be a US Title cage match between Curt Hennig and Dallas Page (replacing Ric Flair). Other, less-anticipated matches include: o Eric Bischoff vs. Larry Zybszko -- Bret Hart as Special ref plus a boatload of other stipulations o Chris Benoit vs. A Member of Raven's Flock -- could be Raven, but Raven is not 100% healthy yet o Eddie Guerrero vs. Dean Malenko -- Cruiserweight Title Match o Lex Luger vs. Buff Bagwell o Mongo McMichael vs. Bill Goldberg o Ray Traylor and the Steiners vs. NWO B-Team (Konnan, Vincent, and Scott Norton) StarrCade happens Sunday night, December 28. Assuming I am back from my family vacation (and that's a pretty safe assumption), you'll be able to get full results here on Monday, 12/29. * ECW and 1Wrestling.com are reporting that Stevie Richards' wrestling career is over after he underwent surgery to remove and fuse vertebrae in his neck. Richards had a history of neck injuries, but was finally forced to consider a reduced in-ring role the past summer. Richards had just been pushed to main event status in ECW, but never got the chance to wrestle then-ECW Champ Terry Funk because of the exacerbated injury. At the time, Richards was (a) told to take it easy and (b) was being courted by Raven and WCW to join the Turner promotion. Richards put 2 and 2 together, and accepted a deal to work for WCW. It meant taking less punishment in the ring, and making more money in the process. However, Richards only significant WCW match came against Raven in a no-DQ match (in which Richards DID take significant punishment). His other WCW appearances were limited to being Raven's lackey, and doing an odd squash match here or there. Richards split, amicably, with WCW in early November, and shocked the wrestling world by showing up at ECW's November to Remember PPV, helping out the pro-WWF camp against Tommy Dreamer. Richards had agreed to a 6 month deal, though a long term plan to use Richards as a top heel was also in place. Stevie's ECW Arena return came in a match against Chris Chetti. Though Richards got the win, he was on the receiving end of a lot of punishment in the match. [There is some speculation in this week's Wrestling Lariat that Chetti was stretching Richards a bit in retaliation for something that happened the previous night.] Richards didn't look sharp, and was obviously at less than 100%. When he decided to consult a doctor later in the week, he found out that his neck condition was still quite serious, and that he shouldn't be wrestling at all. Richards no-showed ECW's weekend dates while he pondered his future. Stevie decided on the surgery this week, and by all reasonable prognoses, decided to effectively end his wrestling career in the process. While Paul Heymann has stated that the door is open for Richards to take on a non-wrestling role in ECW, Richards himself hasn't decided if he wants to continue to be part of the business. Best wishes to everybody's favorite clueless superstar putz for as speedy and full a recovery as possible! * In an interview with Bob Ryder, Eric Bischoff revealed that Scott Hall and Kevin Nash have recently agreed to four year extensions to their WCW contracts. There had been a lot of hopeful wishing for Nash to make his way back to the WWF, but that seems to be a moot point now, as an additional four years will likely take Nash to the end of his in-ring career. Coupled with the recent agreement to new terms with Ric Flair, this latest move seems to indicate that Bischoff has learned his lesson from the case of Jeff Jarrett: negociate now, not later. Next on Bischoff's agenda is probably finalizing a new contract with Hulk Hogan, and signing the Giant to a new deal. * Good news for Bret Hart's Canadian fans: starting sometime in early 1998, you'll be able to watch Nitro live every Monday. The accompanying bad news is that Canadian WWF fans will have to wait until late Tuesday night to see RAW/WarZone. TSN will carry both shows: Nitro on Mondays from 8-10pm, and RAW/WarZone Tuesdays starting at 11:30pm. If you've like to compliment them or complain to them about the decision, I'm sure you know where to go to do so. * By the way, the media coverage of Bret Hart's jump has not abated. This past week, MacLeans' (the Canadian equivilent of Time or Newsweek, I am told) had an article about Hart's departure from the WWF. It includes several interesting quotes from Bret. You can check out a copy of the article. * Promos for the WCW/NWO Souled Out 2 PPV are to be nothing more than Eric Bischoff spouting off about the dominance of the NWO for full 30- and 60-second spots. He hypes the current NWO roster, and promises new members (the Giant and Sting are hinted at). As effective as the StarrCade spots are, these are said to be a major step backwards. By the way, as I reported on Monday, Souled Out is Sold Out. Tee hee. Dayton's Hara Arena will host the show on Saturday, January 24, and seats only a bit over 5000 for wrestling. With a large number of seats set aside for media give-aways and what-not, it's easy to understand how WCW could sell out the building so quickly. Hell, ECW sold 4200 seats for N2R... I'm not saying WCW shouldn't come to Dayton with PPVs and Nitro. I'm just saying they should book a better building. In addition to being small, Hara Arena is also a shitty venue (old, run down, and dirty). The Nutter Center (site of the 1993 King of the Ring PPV) seats about 9000 and is really nice. And the University of Dayton Arena is a quality venue that would seat over 13,000, and has the added benefit of being home to the greatest mens' basketball program in the nation. * The Insane Clown Posse -- best know to wrestling fans for either (a) getting their asses kicked by Sabu and Rob Van Dam at Hardcore Heaven '97 or (b) their piss-your-pants-funny "StrangleMania" videotape, and best known to music fans for being too hardcore for Disney -- made their official pro wrestling debut over the weekend. In front of about 1,000 fans at St. Andrew Hall in Detroit, MI, ICP defeated the Chicken Boys inside of a 15 foot high steel cage. Also on the show, which was promoted by the Northern States Wrestling Alliance (NSWA): Ian Rotten won a 3-way death match over Mad Man Pondo and Ox Harley, Pondo defeated Angel in an inter-gender Thumbtacks Death Match (damn!), Billy Bill beat Cousin Cletus, Tommy Starr topped Bill Skullion (oriental death match), and Skull Ganz defeated Don Montoya (double tables match). * ECW's Westward Expansion Tour has added another stop: on January 2, 1998, ECW will do a show in Detroit, MI. I don't have ticket price or venue info handy, but all of it is available at TicketMaster (just search for Extreme Championship Wrestling under "Sports"). The card in Detroit will be largely the same one that is scheduled for Indianapolis, IN, on January 4. The main event will be a three way dance for the ECW Title, with Shane Douglas defending against Sabu and Bam Bam Bigelow. The semi-main will be a falls count anywhere match between Tommy Dreamer and Rob Van Dam. Tickets for Indy are also available through TicketBastard. Still no solid word on where the January 3 show will be. * There's a lot of interest from WWF in regards to getting more involved in Japan. Japan is really the only international market where WCW easily outstrips Titan, and it's because of effective co-promotion with New Japan. Titan's sparse efforts at co-promotion have always been with lesser companies, and have never really worked out. Lines of communication have been opened with All Japan and Giant Baba (AJ's head). The WWF sent the Blackjacks over to work an AJ tag team tourney, and now the WWF is showing interest in using Johnny Ace, and maybe a few other AJ talents. Ace, Steve Williams, Stan Hansen, and Bobby Duncam Jr. are among the top Americans working for Baba. Rob Van Dam and Sabu toured with AJ; and All Japan was the Patriot's home for several years before he came to the WWF. Perhaps my favorite AJ wrestler is Kenta Kobashi. All Japan is Japan's second largest promotion, and has a lot of incredible talent that could be used to flesh out Titan's talent roster on ocassion. Also, there are rumblings that Titan is considering helping Michinoku Pro out of their current financial difficulties. In terms of consistant, top-notch light heavyweight action, Mich Pro might have the best in-ring product of any Japanese promotion. However, recent difficulties related to a slumping interest in wrestling in Japan and economic troubles have left Mich Pro in bad shape. The Great Sasuke, who heads up the group, had announced that he'd be suspending operations at years' end. He planned on having some much needed surgery and touring the US with other Mich Pro stars as part of ECW. However, recent quotes in the Japanese media indicate that the WWF has made overtures to Sasuke to purchase interest in the company and keep it going. Sasuke hasn't committed one way or the other. In terms of talent that US wrestling fans would recognize, Mich Pro's biggest name is Jinsei Shinzaki, who wrestled for the WWF as Hakushi. It is also the promotion that gave us TAKA Michinoku. * Finally, while the NFD is on holiday hiatus (since I have to travel to Connecticut to do Christmas with the extended family), I encourage you to check the website daily and discover all the little things you may not have known about and enjoyed over the past year. There's new Fantasy Booking, updated Readers' Forums, and lots more. Plus, you have to enjoy the NFD while you can... it won't be around much longer! BWHAHAHA! --------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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