From: hekunze@watmsg.waterloo.edu (Herb Kunze) Newsgroups: rec.sport.misc Subject: Wrestling TidBits - 01/04 Keywords: NWA,WWF,AWA,Wrestling Message-ID: <19544@watdragon.waterloo.edu> Date: 5 Jan 90 01:21:31 GMT Sender: daemon@watdragon.waterloo.edu Distribution: rec Lines: 155 Posted: Fri Jan 5 02:21:31 1990 { Well, here we go with another series of Wrestling TidBits. Forgive me if anything herein has been mentioned already; but, I've been stock-piling information since I last posting in mid-December.} - It looks like the AWA is just going to shelve the AWA TV Championship, which has been left vacant due to Greg Gagne's retirement. - William 'Haystack' Calhoun passed away in mid-December. He was 56. In is heyday, he weighed a whopping 650 pounds. But in his later years, he became afflicted with diabetes, lost one leg, and was placed on dialysis. He was always incredibly popular. - After suffering his second pinfall loss to Hogan in the No Holds Barred cage match, word is that Zeus has been put away for good. We can hope. - WWF-Bound: Word is that both Billy Jack Haynes and Cowboy Bob Orton have signed on again with the WWF. Look for Orton to figure into Roddy Piper's life (again). - NWA-Bound: It looks like the Rock'N'Roll Express is returning to the NWA shortly. Also, it seems that the giant Kokina Maximus has jumped ship from the AWA to the NWA. - Stampede-Bound: Latest to sign with Stampede in Calgary are Ken Patera and Baron von Raschke. They might be pairing up as a tag team. - Lex Luger has signed a 3 year contract with the NWA, reportedly worth $1.5 million. There is some pressure for Flair to hang up the boots and for Luger to step in as champion. - In an incredibly brilliant move, Vince McMahon has come up with a way for Hulk Hogan to beat Curt 'Mr. Perfect' Hennig, but still have Curt retain his perfect record. Hogan has signed for a series of handicap title matches against Hennig and Lanny Poffo. This way, Curt can dominate Hogan, who can rally and defeat Poffo to keep his title. - Caught the WWF tag title match between Demolition and Andre & Haku, where Andre and Haku won the belts. Gosh, I've never seen so many quick tags in my life! That's rasslin' ;-) - Wrestlemania VI will be at the SkyDome in Toronto, Ontario, on April 1. Toronto beat out the Coliseum in Los Angeles to host the spectacle. Holding the event in the world's best domed stadium was just to attractive a prospect for Vince and WWF President Jack Tunney (the regular WWF Toronto promoter) to pass up. Just for the record, tickets will range from $35, for the bleacher seats, to $150 for ringside seats. The Big Question: What will be the main event at Wrestlemania VI? Speculation two months ago had the following four possibilities: 1. Hulk Hogan vs. Brutus Beefcake, after a Beefcake heel turn. 2. Hulk Hogan vs. Ultimate Warrior, after a Warrior heel turn. 3. Hulk Hogan & Elizabeth vs. Randy Savage & Sherri Martel. 4. Hulk Hogan vs. Zeus. Now, it would seem that numbers 1 and 4 are no longer possible. Zeus just isn't capable of doing a competent job in a singles match and the Barber heel turn against Hogan did not occur at the No Holds Barred cage match. Number 3 is just a little too exotic to believe. This leaves Hogan vs. Warrior for the main event. But, a new possibility has entered the list. Word has leaked that Curt Hennig will face Hulk Hogan in a singles match at the annual live-on-NBC Main Event on February 23. Common rumour has Mr. Perfect dethroning Hogan, with Hogan having a return match at WM VI and recapturing the strap. I can see another possibility: two referees, Hennig with a PerfectPlex on Hogan, each referee counts one man down, the title is declared vacant until WM VI. Another strong rumour has the Colossal Connection of Andre and Haku defending their belts against the Rockers at WM VI. - It looks like Paul Diamond and The Trooper have formed a tag team in the AWA. They defeated Akio Sato and Pat Tanaka on the last ESPN show and will have a title shot against the Destruction Crew on January 13th at the Mayo Civic Arena in Rochester. The Destruction Crew have shown signs of trouble for quite some time now, with Wayne Bloom always silencing Mike Enos. With their firing of manager Johnny Valiant, I don't look for them to stay a team much longer. Also on this card, the new AWA women's champion Candy Divine defends against Magnificent Mimi. - The March 1990 issue of Pro Wrestling Illustrated contains their reader selected 1989 achievement awards. And the winners are: ROOKIE OF THE YEAR: The Destruction Crew - 12819 votes Dustin Rhodes - 12145 votes Scotty the Body - 11396 votes Johnathan Holliday - 10842 votes INSPIRATIONAL WRESTLER OF THE YEAR: Eric Embry - 14586 votes Nikita Koloff - 14135 votes Billy Jack Haynes - 11296 votes Ric Flair - 10395 votes MOST IMPROVED WRESTLER OF THE YEAR: Scott Steiner - 13917 votes Brutus Beefcake - 12546 votes Jeff Jarrett - 11374 votes P.Y. Chu-Yi - 10882 votes MANAGER OF THE YEAR: Bobby Heenan - 16824 votes Gary Hart - 13185 votes Teddy Long - 12586 votes Gen. Skandor Akbar - 9827 votes FEUD OF THE YEAR: Ric Flair vs. Terry Funk - 19186 votes Hulk Hogan vs. Randy Savage - 18286 votes Akbar's Army vs. Eric Embry - 13862 votes Roddy Piper vs. Rick Rude - 10285 votes MOST POPULAR WRESTLER OF THE YEAR: Hulk Hogan - 19956 votes Ric Flair - 15322 votes Sting - 12619 votes Ultimate Warrior - 10472 votes MOST HATED WRESTLER OF THE YEAR: Randy Savage - 17917 votes Terry Funk - 16816 votes Rick Rude - 11385 votes Lex Luger - 10153 votes MATCH OF THE YEAR: Ric Flair vs. Rick Steamboat, May 7 - 13572 votes Hulk Hogan vs. Randy Savage, Apr 2 - 12715 votes Ric Flair vs. Rick Steamboat, Apr 2 - 11375 votes Eric Embry vs. P.Y. Chu-Yi, Aug 4 - 7149 votes TAG TEAM OF THE YEAR: Arn Anderson & Tully Blanchard - 14828 votes Ax & Smash - 12482 votes Hawk & Animal - 11288 votes Jimmy Garvin & Michael Hayes - 9258 votes WRESTLER OF THE YEAR: Ric Flair - 18471 votes Hulk Hogan - 15287 votes Lex Luger - 10393 votes Rick Steamboat - 8710 votes - In this same of issue of PWI, the result of the final round of their Dream Tournament was given. For those of you unfamiliar with this, PWI chose 16 of the highest rated wrestlers and set up a pyramid style tournament in which the readers would decide the winners at every step. Not too surprisingly, the final match came down to Hulk Hogan va. Ric Flair. The fans voted 57% to 43% in favour of Flair beating Hogan in the final match. Herb... *-------------------------------*---------------------------------------------* * Herb Kunze * "Whether you like it or not, * * Applied Math Department * learn to live with it, * * University of Waterloo * 'cause I'm the best thing going today!" * * hekunze@trillium.waterloo.edu * - Ric 'Nature Boy' Flair * *-------------------------------*---------------------------------------------*