From: hekunze@barrow.uwaterloo.ca (Herb Kunze) Subject: Wrestling TidBits - 02/27 Date: 1997/02/28 Message-ID: X-Deja-AN: 222004194 Sender: news@undergrad.math.uwaterloo.ca (news spool owner) Organization: University of Waterloo Newsgroups: rec.sport.pro-wrestling [Wrestling TidBits] --------------------------------------------------------------------------- I've updated the Monday Ratings, PPV Figures, and my tape list. As I've said before, I've got a lot (100+) tapes to watch after not paying tapes much attention for the past two months, so I'll likely be adding sporadic updates over the next few weeks. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Pictures of The Week [Image] [Image] The wonderful Manami Toyota is the focus of this week's pictures. Enjoy. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- [ - ] WCW had SuperBrawl this past Sunday. I gave the show a thumbs up, but not an overly strong one, because there were just too many screwy finishes. Results: * Dean Malenko vs. Syxx: a great opener. Syxx won the Cruiserweight title when Eddie Guerrero's attempt at stopping Syxx from using the title as a weapon backfired. The finish was a sad way to end the match. * Konnan & La Parka & Villano IV vs. Juventud Guerrera & Ciclope & Super Calo: an excellent lucha match. With entrances, they went 16 minutes, which is longer than I expected them to get. Another ten minutes could have turned this into a classic. They did a lot of the things that are often seen in lucha trios matches. My wife looked up from her reading during this match and, after watching for a few seconds, noted that they must have booked the match themselves, since the workrate was much higher than usual. The finish was a bit weak, with Juventud getting pinned, but seemingly lifting his shoulder before the third count. Mike Tenay's commentary was excellent. Outside of the AAA PPV, this is the best lucha style match we've seen from the "Big 2." Ciclope took a brutal bump on the concrete when he missed a tope. * Rey Misterio Jr. vs. Prince Iaukea: surprisingly, this was a good match. I really didn't expect much from Iaukea, but he worked a respectable match and, if anything, seemed better than his WWF counterpart, Rocky Maivia. The finish saw Steve Regal lay out Misterio, with an oblivious Iaukea pinning him thereafter. Misterio did that stupid spot where his opponent hangs over the top rope, head into the ring, holds the second rope to lift himself up, all while Misterio climbs the rope to deliver a leg drop; this unrealistic spot really annoys me because the cooperation is so transparent. * Buff Bagwell vs. Diamond Dallas Page: I like both of these guys well enough, but the match didn't do that much for me. At the finish, Page hit the Diamond Cutter, which they sold as ending the match, but the NWO goons charged the ring to stop the pin. * Eddy Guerrero vs. Chris Jericho: Eddy retained the US Title. With ring entrances, they were given 15 minutes. They could have used more time to build a great match. * Barbarian & Meng vs. Public Enemy vs. Harlem Heat: An okay match, with Public Enemy getting the surprise win. * Jeff Jarrett vs. Steve McMichael: a bad match, since McMichael can't really do anything. Debra threw in the briefcase, but Jarrett caught it and nailed McMichael. * Kevin Sullivan vs. Chris Benoit: definitely entertaining, but I wouldn't call it a great match. Jacquelyn and Woman went nuts on each other and Sullivan and Benoit did their usual bit, this time brawling to the back before coming back to the ring. The finish saw Benoit set up a table and go up for a splash on Sullivan, but Jacquelyn hurled herself on top of Sullivan. The bump on the table was something and Benoit got the pin before collapsing. Afterwards, all three of the table bumpers were taken out on stretchers and carted to the hospital. Jimmy Hart & Woman consoled each other and checked on all three "injured" people. For what it was, it was excellent. The only flaw was that the women were strapped together, but the strap was easily removable, with Jacquelyn being free mid-way through the match. She then held on to the strap, but still did a spot or two where she sold that Woman was holding her back; she could easily have let go to get where she wanted to be. There were plenty of groin shots. * Kevin Nash & Scott Hall vs. Giant: a nothing match really. Scott Hall was pretty funny imitating the Giant. Nash power bombed the Giant, which looked just tremendous. Luger came out, tossed Eric Bischoff aside, and hit the ring, leading to the win that would be overturned. * Hulk Hogan vs. Roddy Piper: nothing special again. Piper finally hit the sleeper and Hogan went out. The referee signalled for the bell, but Randy Savage, at ringside, pulled Hogan's feet under the ropes and passed him an object. The ref cancelled his earlier decision since he figured that Hogan was under the ropes and, after the cheap shot, Hogan got the pin. Savage & Hogan destroyed Piper afterwards. I think that this is another confusing WCW story line (Savage joining Hogan's side), but at least it locks another generally useless wrestler into the useless part of the WCW cards. I'd be more upset if somebody with ability was sucked into the story line (poor Sting). The first 1:20 of the show (up to the end of Guerrero vs. Jericho) featured very good wrestling, giving the show the thumbs up. But WCW has gone down the same road that the WWF has taken, offering screwy finishes in every match. This was the best PPV so far in 1997, but I am disappointed which both promotions at this stage. [ RAW ] on 02/24/97 was another live two-hour show. Since the majority of the WWF wrestlers were in Germany, Vince struck a deal with ECW to have them work a few matches to pad the show. The WWF matches on this show were nothing special, with screwy finishes all around yet again. The Legion of Doom, Hawk & Animal, returned to the promotion to make the tag scene in the WWF even worse. In their return match, they went to a double count out with the Headbangers, which really made the LOD seem weak, IMO. The first impression upon their return is that they can't beat a mid-card team. [Image] Speaking of first impressions, much has been made over the years, with reason, about Paul Heyman's penchant for showcasing new wrestlers in the ECW Arena against the best possible opponent for them. Remember how he handled Rey Misterio, Jr.? Much better than WCW's approach. You see, Paul seems to understand that you don't get a second chance to make a first impression. That's what made this night so strange. ECW was finally going to be viewed by more fans on this one night than ever before. There was talk of a Sabu vs. Rob van Dam match at one point, which surely would have made a great first impression. At first, Paul stormed the ring and the Eliminators hit the Total Elimination on a ring attendant, while the audience chanted. It looked like the promising Paul Heyman magic was at work. Then the first ECW wrestlers to work a match in front of this large TV audience (and potential PPV customer base) hit the ring: the Blue Meanie & Stevie Richards, complete with bWo shirts. When Meanie first appeared, Jerry Lawler commented on his physique, and the first impression was made: cheap imitation freakshow. It was a major disappointment and something I didn't expect from Paul. In the first ECW match, Little Guido faced Stevie Richards, who they annoyingly called "Big Stevie Cool" a hundred times. This match and gimmick is supposed to convince the large viewing audience of RAW to buy the ECW PPV? Paul seemed to be targetting his own audience more than the ones at home who had never seen his product. The remaining ECW matches were Taz vs. Mikey Whippreck and Tommy Dreamer vs. Devon Dudley. All three matches were lousy and none of the ECW wrestlers stood out as anything special, except maybe Sabu who jumped off of the RAW "R" onto Taz. Sandman hit the ring in the final match, puffed his cigarette, chugged a beer, smashed it against his head, juicing in the process, and looked like crap. Jerry Lawler's commentary was very anti-ECW and, if anything, hurt the chances of the wrestlers getting over to fans at home, IMO. I thought it was interesting that Paul Heyman would agree to (design?) this introduction of his product to a wider audience. Already, the newsgroup is filled with people saying "ECW sucked on RAW" and others saying that "that wasn't the real ECW" or "ECW doesn't want to give too much away for free." How does ECW hope to get people to order their PPV based on what they did give? Ultimate Fighting Championship legend, Ken Shamrock, was also in the crowd at RAW. He did a "let me tell you something" interview directed at Faarooq, who had done a horrible job of insulting Shamrock. There are rumours that Ahmed Johnson's problems may keep him out of the WrestleMania match with Faarooq and that Shamrock will take his place. Shamrock has signed a long-term, big money contract with the WWF, so his UFC career is now over; additionally, this will impact New Japan's Egg Dome show main event in April. [ - ] Davey Boy Smith defeated Owen Hart in the WWF European Title tournament final. The card will air on Monday Night RAW next week and this match will no doubt add more fuel to the eventual break-up of the tag champs. [ - ] It's expected that the WWF will do the old angle of Billy Gunn in a wheelchair after the injury in the match against Bart Gunn, only to eventually attack Bart. [ - ] On 03/01/97, Mitsuharu Misawa defends his All Japan Triple Crown against Steve Williams in Budokan Hall. [ - ] The NWO gimmick was used heavily on the past New Japan tour. Buff Bagwell, Scott Norton, and Masa Chono from WCW's NWO worked the tour as NWO wrestlers, along with Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Hiro Saito (Chono's regular cronies) as New Japan NWO members. The NWO tried to recruit Great Muta, offering him an NWO T-shirt, but he just wandered off, a la Sting in WCW. All five NWO wrestlers attacked Shinya Hashimoto. The NWO made the cover of Weekly Gong. [Image] [ - ] Nobuhiko Takada will start up a new promotion, with opening night in May at Budokan Hall. Ex-UWFi wrestlers will form the roster, but there is already talk that the opening night will feature matches against All Japan wrestlers. There are also rumours that the new promotion will have interpromotional matches with New Japan and K1. [ - ] WCW has Uncensored on 03/16/97. It's expected that Kevin Greene will work this show. The affiliated ECV is also rumoured to be trying to get on PPV. [ - ] The WWF has WrestleMania on 03/23/97. Tentative line-up features: * Sid vs. Undertaker for the WWF Title * Ahmed Johnson vs. Faarooq in a street fight Last year, the cost for WrestleMania in my area was $35 or so, but this year they are back down to $30. Last week, I commented about the crappy main event at this show. I received e-mail saying that Undertaker has improved (he has, but he is still hardly good, and Sid...) and that the match is fresh. Hey, just because something is fresh, does not mean it can't stink. I'm not dogging the potential business that the match can do, especially if we assume that the WWF will give it the usual super build-up. Andre vs. Hogan did incredible business, but I doubt that anybody would dare to suggest the match was good. [ - ] WCW has Spring Stampede on 04/06/97. The print ad shows face shots of the Four Horsemen (Flair, Arn, Benoit, McMichael) and says "These men do solemnly swear to kick, fight, punch, stomp, and flatten anybody that gets in their way!" [ - ] WCW comes to Montreal, Quebec, making a rare visit to Canada, on 04/11/97. Planned matches include: * Giant vs. French Canadian Pierre in a "patch match," where each wrestler wears an eye patch * Harlem Heat vs. Faces of Fear * Ric Flair vs. Lex Luger * Eddie Guerrero vs. Dean Malenko Several matches with local wrestlers will also be added. [Image] [ - ] New Japan has a Tokyo Dome show on 04/12/97. Featured line-up includes: * Shinya Hashimoto vs. Ken Shamrock * Jushin Liger vs. Great Sasuke * Great Muta vs. Masa Chono The main event has been scrapped since Shamrock took the WWF's big money offer. More matches will be announced in March. [ - ] ECW has their first PPV on 04/13/97, airing from the ECW Arena from 9pm to 11:55pm. Tentative line-up includes: * Sabu vs. Taz * Terry Funk vs. Sandman vs. Stevie Richards in a triangle match for a title shot against Raven later in the show * Shane Douglas vs. Pit Bull #2 for the TV Title * Great Sasuke & Gran Naniwa & Gran Hamada vs. Dick Togo & Taka Michinoku & Terry Boy [ - ] The WWF has [In Your House ] on 04/20/97. [ - ] [Nitro ] beat [RAW ] on 02/24 with a 2.95 rating against a 2.45 rating. The detailed ratings are a click away. [ - ] The PPV buy rates of the past six months (year or so) show that the WWF has an average buy rate of 0.49 (0.61) and average gross of $1.29-million ($1.58-million), while WCW has an average buy rate of 0.66 (0.63) and average gross of $1.92-million ($1.86-million). Yes, at some point in the recent past, WCW overtook the WWF. I've updated the PPV details to include all results back to the beginning of 1995. The details as they stand are available. [ - ] The WWF has [In Your House ] on 05/11/97. [ - ] The WWF has King of The Ring on 06/08/97. [ - ] The WWF has [In Your House ] on 07/06/97. [ - ] The WWF has SummerSlam on 08/03/97. [ - ] The WWF has [In Your House ] on 09/07/97. [ - ] The WWF has [In Your House ] on 10/05/97. [ - ] The WWF has Survivor Series on 11/09/97. [ - ] The WWF has [In Your House ] on 12/07/97. [ - ] Software: The current beta takes around 6 Mb of hard disk space. I've still got a few things to code, but I anticipate having something ready in the next couple of weeks. [ - ] WWW: My home page is at http://barrow.uwaterloo.ca/~hekunze. The wrestling portion includes this post, tape lists, awards history, Japanese wrestling stuff, and other things. [ - ] 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. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Thanks to: Masaki Aso. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Click here to return. E-mail: hekunze@jeeves.uwaterloo.ca