From: hekunze@watmsg.waterloo.edu (Herb Kunze) Newsgroups: rec.sport.pro-wrestling Subject: Wrestling TidBits - 01/18 Keywords: WWF,NWA,AWA,Wrestling Message-ID: <33356@watmath.waterloo.edu> Date: 18 Jan 90 16:13:58 GMT Sender: daemon@watmath.waterloo.edu Distribution: rec Lines: 273 Posted: Thu Jan 18 17:13:58 1990 { Well, boys and girls, this week's installment is rather long. Hope you enjoy it. Send comments as you desire. Herb...} - Well, the seeds for the ultimate feud will be planted next weekend (assuming that the scheduled Saturday Night's Main Event will be aired.) Next weekend's Saturday Night's Main Event will feature Hulk Hogan & The Ultimate Warrior vs. Curt Hennig & Lanny Poffo and we'll get the chance to see Hogan involved in yet another tag-team meltdown. In the match, Hogan pins Poffo after a legdrop. The heels toss Hogan aside and go to work on the Warrior. When Hogan returns to the ring for the rescue, the Ultimate Warrior accidentally hits Hulk Hogan. Hogan, at a loss for words over this mistake, ends up making amends with the Warrior; but, this is the first stage of the Hogan/Warrior feud set-up, which appears to be the chosen match-up for WrestleMania VI. In the Royal Rumble, which takes place on next Sunday, with the memory of Warrior's mistake still fresh in the minds of all those little hulkamorons, we'll no doubt see the Warrior eliminate Hogan in some questionable manner. Perhaps they'll be the last two in the battle royale and the Warrior will sneak attack Hogan for the win. (I doubt this, since chances are strong that Curt Hennig will take the Rumble.) I suspect, however, that Vince is simply getting prepared much in advance. I kinda expect/predict that Hogan will lose the title to Hennig on the February 23 live main event, and the Ultimate Warrior will get the title from Hennig at WrestleMania. Then when Hogan returns after filming 'No Holds Barred - Can You Stand Any More?' we can have another friendship breakdown a la oneof(Macho Man, Paul Orndorff, Andre) and Hogan. This would take place at the end of this year, when Vince can look at the footage from this Main Event and the Royal Rumble and wonder about the Warrior's intentions all along, thus painting him as the heel. Smooth, Vince, smooth. Then again maybe not. Other prognosticators are predicting a Warrior heel turn on February 23rd. In other Main Event action, Jim Duggan faces Randy Savage, while Ronnie Garvin faces Greg Valentine. - Stampede Survivors: With Calgary Stampede Wrestling closed up, rumours are strong that both Owen Hart and Larry Cameron are WWF-bound. Owen, currently on tour in Japan, hopefully won't resume his identity as the Blue Blazer. But Jack Tunney maintains that the WWF has not spoken to any Stampede stars. NWA spokesman Ron Aimes also said that the NWA has not spoken to any Stampede stars. - As reported last week, Florida investigators confiscated close to $500000 in counterfeit money from Black Jack Mulligan and Kendall Windham. Barry Windham posted bail for his father and brother. The NWA promptly fired Kendall, who will be replaced by Cactus Jack Manson. - Questions of Big John Studd's whereabouts will soon be answered. The big man has signed on with the NWA. - NWA giant: El Gigante, the 480 pound, 7-foot-10 giant being prepared for the wrestling world by the NWA will debut on Febraury 25 (presumably at the PPV card). No word on his heel/face status. - The AWA has signed a six-month TV contract with ESPN. Once the contract expires, the AWA will be off the air, and, rumours say, will cease to exist. - Look for push of either the Rockers or the SheepWhackers in the WWF. One of these two teams will be chosen to take the belts from Haku & Andre at WrestleMania VI. It's expected that Andre will retire after a face turn shortly after WM VI. And Heenan will sign the Hart Foundation and bring the title belts back to 'the family.' - NWA Title Picture: Along with most others that have commented, I too expect to see Sting somehow crowned NWA World Champion (perhaps via a Luger title reign), only to be ousted from the four horsemen. It seems that Woman may be set up to manage the heel four horsemen - which would of course mean that she would ditch Doom. Perhaps the fourth heel horseman will Tully Blanchard, if he finally returns to the NWA? - Since I always enjoy flashbacks to the past, I picked up the March 1990 issue of 'Inside Wrestling,' which features a review of the 80s. Seeing as we've been reminiscing a bit on the net lately, I thought I'd waste some of my time entering their summary (blatantly without permission) for the benefit of the rest of you. I've added my own comments in {} brackets wherever I felt like it. Away we go....the early 80s in review: * 1980 * - Hulk Hogan, managed by Freddie Blassie, came to the WWF and demanded a shot at World Champion Bob Backlund. Hogan steamrolled over his WWF competition, and wrestlers petitioned to do something about Hogan's loaded elbowpad. {Now fans 'drink the sweat of Hulkamania out of Dixie cups,' according to Hogan.} - Bruno Sammartino was disqualified for choking former protege Larry Zbyszko before a record crowd of 26102 at Madison Square Garden. Later, Bruno admitted, "I snapped." In August, Sammartino beat Zbyszko before 40671 fans at Shea Stadium. On the same card Andre the Giant defeated Hulk Hogan. {Around this time, I saw a Toronto NWA card with a special WWF match in which Hogan lost to Andre when his back gave out during a slam attempt.} - Verne Gagne won his ninth AWA World title from Nick Bockwinkel. - David Von Erich became a rulebreaker and was managed by J.J.Dillon. - Giant Baba and Jumbo Tsuruta contended for Harley Race's NWA World title; Baba became a three-time (for a total of three weeks) NWA champ, then lost the title back to Race. {I always liked Baba and Tsuruta in singles and as a team.} - For the first time since the formation of the WWF, the NWA World title was on the line in Madison Square Garden as champ Harley Race defeated Dusty Rhodes. - Mr. Wrestling II met with President Jimmy Carter. - Harley Race retained his NWA belt against Dusty Rhodes on the August 3rd "Last Tangle in Tampa" card; Fritz Von Erich was a special referee for the best-of-three-falls bout. - WWF champ Bob Backlund wrestled Japanese legend Antonio Inoki to a draw in a rare U.S. battle. - A feud erupted between AWA managers Bobby Heenan and Lord Al Hayes when Hayes turned good and actively prevented Heenan from interfering on behalf of his wrestlers. * 1981 * - Verne Gagne, a nine time AWA World champion, announced his retirement 10 months after beating Nick Bockwinkel for the title. Following Gagne's retirement, Bockwinkel was awarded the belt as number-one contender. {Bockwinkel may have had four title reigns, but he was awarded the title twice. This time and the time when Stan Hansen lost the title by forfeit.} - Hulk Hogan's rise to superstardom began in earnest when he took time off from wrestling for the filming of Rocky III. {And it should continue to rise with such cinematic tour de forces as 'No Holds Barred' and 'No Holds Barred 2 - Can you stand any more?'} - Bruno Sammartino announced his retirement from wrestling; the 'Living Legend' would later return to the sport. - Gary Hart went bald! Hart had his head shaved after protege Gino Hernandez lost a match to Kevin Von Erich. {I'm amazed at how long Gary Hart has been around. I've seen clips of him from the 60s.} - The Ric Flair - Roddy Piper feud reached a bloody climax as Piper became one of the most hated men in wrestling. {This feud prompted me to buy my first wrestling magazine...I saw every match these guys had against each other in Toronto} - The NWA World title changed hands three times over a period of two months: First Tommy Rich became one of the youngest champs ever when he beat Harley Race on April 27. On May 1, Race regained the title from Rich. On June 21, Dusty Rhodes won his second World title from Race. - Ric Flair later beat Rhodes to begin his first NWA title reign. {And the legend begins...} - Barry Windham began wrestling as Blackjack Mulligan, Jr. - Michael Hayes and former NFL star Otis Sistrunk won the Georgia National tag belts from Terry Gordy and Jimmy Snuka. - Ten wrestlers had to keep Andre the Giant from destroying archrival Killer Khan during a match in Toronto. {I was there...things seemed so realistic then. Remember when Andre waylayed Khan, and knocked him off the stretcher they were taking him out on. This was a great feud. Whatever happened to Khan after his brief WWF stint?} - Masked Superstar was banned from the U.S. arenas for attacking an official. - Adrian Adonis and Jesse Ventura came to the WWF. * 1982 * - WWF World champion Bob Backlund wrestled NWA World champion Ric Flair in a title vs. title match at the Omni in Atlanta. After 20 minutes of memorable action, both men were counted out. A rematch was never signed, and this was the last NWA vs. WWF title match ever held. {I'm sure Backlund wrestle Flair in Toronto in this time frame...} - European champion Otto Wanz shocked North American fans by winning the AWA World title from Nick Bockwinkel. Wanz later lost the title to Bockwinkel and returned to his native Austria. - Andre the Giant was featured in the longest article ever on an individual sports star in 'Sports Illustrated' and later starred in the hit TV series 'The Fall Guy.' - 'Rocky III' was a box-office smash and Hulk Hogan became an international superstar for his portrayal of 'Thunderlips.' Hogan also appeared on 'The Tonight Show' with Johnny Carson. - Jerry Lawler and wrestler Andy Kaufman started their famous feud. Lawler later injured Kaufman's neck, and the men had another shouting match on 'Late Night with David Letterman.' The feud started when Kaufman was making fun of wrestling. {Andy Kaufman a wrestler? I like the thought of getting into a jello pit with a woman as much as the next guy, but it ain't wrestling. Then again, who cares? ;-} - A contractual loophole, discovered by Buddy Rogers, allowed Jimmy Snuka to split with manager Capt. Lou Albano. {and have one of the great bloody feuds of all time.} - Dusty Rhodes hired Kevin Sullivan as his nutritionist; the project was a dismal failure. {Now, both of these guys look in need of a nutritionist.} - Bill Dundee wrestled Koko Ware in the first-ever scaffold match; Dundee won. - Hulk Hogan began wrestling rulebreakers for the first time. {Hulk Hogan wrestling?!? There's little evidence these days} * 1983 * - It was a year of story feuds: Dusty Rhodes warred with Kevin Sullivan in Florida {probably upset about that nutritionist fiasco ;-}, Jimmy Snuka and Magnificent Muraco battled throughout the WWF, Greg Valentine and Roddy Piper battled ferociously in the NWA (Piper lost hearing in his left ear as a result of a vicious Valentine attack) {this was probably the bloodiest feud I've ever seen, if you don't count...}, the Tommy Rich - Buzz Sawyer vendetta reached a bloody apex. - Buzz Sawyer and Brett Sawyer scored the upset of the year, beating the Road Warriors for the National tag team title. - Jim Garvin and Sunshine served as David Von Erich's ranch hands for a day. - The Iron Sheik ended an almost six-year WWF title reign by Bob Backlund {Is that uncle Vince I hear shaking up the WWF?} - 'Teaneck Tanzi: The Venus Flytrap' was a wrestling-oriented show on Broadway starring Deborah Harry and Andy Kaufman; it closed after two performances. {As I recall, the Venus Flytrap was a fictional finishing manouever. It went on to become something a little different thanks to 'L.A. Law'} - Hulk Hogan left the AWA for a self-imposed exile in Japan. {More noise? Oh that's uncle Vince again...} - Jim Cornette became a full-time manager in the Memphis area. - Harley Race downed Ric Flair on June 10 to capture an unprecedented seventh NWA World title. {Go, Ric, go} - Larry Zbyszko paid Killer Brooks $25000 for the National heavyweight title. {Good thing Jack Tunney wasn't around} - The Road Warriors attacked their manager, Paul Ellering, on national television; they reconciled shortly thereafter. - Our sister publication, 'The Wrestler,' offered fans free membership cards to Roddy Piper's "Piper's Palace" or Sir Oliver Humperdink's "House of Humperdink"; the fans overwhelmingly chose "Piper's Palace." - 'Inside Wrestling' and its sister magazines withdrew recognition of the WWF championship as a world title. - Wrestling mourned the loss of the legendary manager The Grand Wizard, who died October 12 at age 54. * 1984 * - "Hulkamania" was officially born as Hulk Hogan thrashed The Iron Sheik in 5:40 at Madison Square Garden. {I kinda wish they'd picked up a different baby in the wrestling hospital.} - Sgt. Slaughter attained unforseen popularity in his feud with The Iron Sheik. {But then decided to handle his own endorsements; whoops, sorry Vince.} - Dusty Rhodes embarked on his "TCB Tour '84" - TCB standing for "Takin' Care of Business." - Two-time former NWA champion and pro football Hall of Famer Bronko Nagurski tossed the coin at the start of Super Bowl XVIII - Hulk Hogan appeared as guest VJ on MTV on September 25. - Capt. Lou Albano was assaulted by Roddy Piper during a ceremony honoring Cyndi Lauper at Madison Square Garden; the attack changed Albano's wrestling philosophy. {This was in the midst of the silly rock-and-wrestling connection, that would birth the concept of the Wrestling Album.} - Wrestling USA tried to bring together top stars of the AWA, NWA, Japan, and independent federations. - The WWF took over the NWA's time on SuperStation WTBS; an outpouring of fan complaints helped bring the NWA back to the station. {They know crap and they know what they like.} - Ric Flair battled Rick Steamboat in the main event of "A Night of Champions" in New Jersey's Meadowlands; it was the first NWA card in the New York area in 20 years. - Wrestling mourned the deaths of David Von Erich, Vince McMahon Sr., and Frank Tunney. {Which led to the ascendancy of Vince Jr. and Jack Tunney to the throne.} - 43518 fans attended the David Von Erich Memorial Parade of Champions in Irving, Texas; Kerry Von Erich downed Ric Flair for the NWA World title in the main event. {David had apparently been booked to win the title from Flair. But his surprise death caused a change, and Kerry took the strap for a short stint, with Flair regaining it in Japan.} - Starrcade '84 boasted the largest cash purse in wrestling history: $1 million to the winner of the Ric Flair - Dusty Rhodes main event. Ric Flair won the bout. - Ivan and Nikita Koloff were an awesome Russian presence in the NWA; they were joined by American Don Kernodle. - Kevin Sullivan dominated the Florida scene. - Lanny Poffo began wearing a full suit of armor into the ring. Well, that's all for the first five years of the 80s. If I get some positive feedback I could be convinced to enter in the second have of highlights. But for now, I'm bushed. Herb... *********************************************************************** * Herb Kunze * "Whether you like it or not, * * Applied Math Department * learn to live with it, 'cause * * University of Waterloo * I'm the best thing going today!" * * hekunze@watmsg.waterloo.edu * - Ric 'Nature Boy' Flair * ***********************************************************************