Newsgroups: rec.sport.pro-wrestling From: hekunze@jeeves.uwaterloo.ca (Herb Kunze) Subject: Wrestling TidBits - 12/08 Message-ID: Sender: news@watdragon.uwaterloo.ca (USENET News System) Nntp-Posting-Host: jeeves.uwaterloo.ca Organization: University of Waterloo Date: Fri, 9 Dec 1994 02:40:29 GMT Lines: 97 { Lectures are over. All that's left is to see what the kids learned by giving them a final exam. Teaching these last couple of weeks has been particularly grueling. I haven't even been reading the newsgroup all that much (25 out of 320 articles today). Herb... } - More details have filtered out regarding Bret Hart's involvement in the Western Hockey League. Along with Calgary Flame Theoren Fleury and Quebec Nordique Joe Sakic, Hart owns an expansion franchise names the Calgary Hitmen. The team's jersey will in fact be pink and black, Hart's trademark colours, and they'll play out of the Calgary Saddledome. - Are smart fans turned off with the "big two" or what? In the most recent Observer, the final poll results for the past WCW Clash of Champions saw it get an 83% thumbs down with only one good match (Vader vs. Rhodes). Still, they can claim a broader success of sorts with ratings that will be put to the test at Starrcade. The Survivor Series got a 48.5% thumbs down (39% up), interesting since while a lot of people were unhappy there were some happy folks. For what it's worth, Meltzer doled out a sad group of ratings: - Bret Hart vs. Bob Backlund: ** - Undertaker vs. Yokozuna: **1/2 - Bad Guys vs. Teamsters: *1/2 - Clowns vs. Royal Family: -**1/2 - Guts & Glory vs. Millions: **1/2 Meltzer also played it cautious about Diesel as champion, saying that the WWF had better dish him out in small doses to avoid showing his many weaknesses and that "a great deal of his charisma was the ability to stand there and do nothing and take the rub off Michaels." Ouch. And you thought I was critical of Diesel? - Ginsei Shinzaki debuts in the WWF this coming week as Hakushi with Akio Sato as his manager (Shinga?). Pig farmer Henry Godwinn seems to be a hillbilly with a heel twist and is played by Mark Canterbury (formerly Shanghai Pierce, one of the "Texicans" in WCW). Yokozuna and Bret Hart are supposedly only gone for a bit and will return in the new year, although talk persists that both may end up in WCW. Eric Bischoff went so far as to mention "pink & black" in his terrible commentary this past weekend. Brian Armstrong debuted as a bodyguard for TV that airs this week. There is also a lot of talk that Dan Kroffat & Doug Furnas will debut here in the near future; this would be tremendous while the Bodies are around or if the following rumour comes true: Chris Candido & Louie Spicoli may team in the promotion, managed by Tammy Fytch. Spicoli is certainly coming in, and Fytch seems ready to take on a TV role anyhow, but Candido would have to give up All Japan (if he was indeed accepted as a tour regular) for this. - Both Curt Hennig & Rick Rude appeared on camera at the WCW tapings that air in the next couple of weeks. Randy Savage appeared on camera this past weekend and gave a constipated interview hinting that he could be a face supporting Hogan or a heel attacking him and that we'd find out which at Starrcade. Rumour is that he'll be a face for a bit, turn heel in the new year with Elizabeth coming in to the promotion and story line, and even get the title from Hogan for a stint. Yeah, it might be old news and it likely will stink even if Savage returns to form, but with my luck it will draw well. - Bam Bam Bigelow & King Kong Bundy are favoured to win the WWF Titles, with Bigelow turning face down the road to set up a fewd between the two. - WCW has Starrcade '94 on 12/27/94. Tentative line-up has: - Hulk Hogan vs. Butcher for the WCW Title - Sting vs. Avalanche - Jim Duggan vs. Vader for the US Title - Kevin Sullivan vs. Mr. T - Nasty Boys vs. Harlem Heat - Johnny B. Badd vs. Honky Tonk Man for the TV Title - Alex Wright vs. Jean Paul Levesque - WCW has a Clash of Champions on 01/25/95. Randy Savage & Hulk Hogan will apparently work a tag match. - AAA is reportedly planning another PPV in 04/95. WCW will be involved again. - Awards: This is the final day of voting! VOTING ENDS AT MIDNIGHT ON THURSDAY, DECEMBER 8. I'll work hard to find the time to tally the votes by next week and have the results post put together. Thanks to eveybody that has voted already and to everybody that included kind words with their ballots. - Videos: I have posted something about the availability of videos. If you missed it, I'll send it to you in e-mail upon request. Basically, all of the tapes in my video collection are available. My tape list is on the r.s.p-w ftp site (128.227.59.59) in the file herbtape.zip. I have made a total of five compilation tapes for the net: R.s.p-w 1, Japan 1981-1983, Japan 1984-1987, VideoMarinepiad I, and VideoMarinepiad II. If you are interested in details on any of these, just send some e-mail or browse the ftp site. Herb...