From: hekunze@barrow.uwaterloo.ca (Herb Kunze) Subject: Wrestling TidBits - 04/09 Date: 1997/04/11 Message-ID: X-Deja-AN: 232218823 Sender: news@undergrad.math.uwaterloo.ca (news spool owner) Organization: University of Waterloo Newsgroups: rec.sport.pro-wrestling [Wrestling TidBits] --------------------------------------------------------------------------- My PhD thesis defence was this past Monday. Very quickly, a PhD student spends several years researching (applied mathematics, in my case) before writing up his/her new contributions to the field in a thesis. In my department, the defence amounts to a half-hour talk given by the student, followed by questions from five examiners, three from the department and two external. The examiners have had six weeks to go through the thesis and prepare their questions. Questions should obviously be answered promptly and correctly, often at the blackboard; they usually involve offering greater insight into the proofs of new results, etc. Anybody who wishes to attend the defence is welcome. My defence went well. I had a reasonably large audience (~20; some came and went). I stayed relaxed and enjoyed myself. The questions ran for two hours. Thanks to all well-wishers. Obviously, I've had very little time to catch up on news or e-mail. I will be very busy over the next few weeks (editing thesis into final form, finishing a reading course, preparing for the two courses I am teaching in the summer). --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Pictures of The Week [Manami Toyota] The sixth picture in a series on Manami Toyota. Enjoy. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- [ - ]WCW had Spring Stampede this past Sunday. I was pre-occupied with my thesis defence the next morning, but I did order the show and tape it for watching over subsequent days. On Sunday night, I did watch the opener (Rey Misterio Jr. vs. El Ultimo Dragon) and thought it was a great match. I also thought the main event (Diamond Dallas Page vs. Randy Savage) and Dean Malenko vs. Chris Benoit were quite good matches. I remain disappointed with Akira Hokuto's matches in WCW and didn't really get into anything else on the show. I watched the matches over the past few days so I'd be able to say something here, but I don't know that that leaves a fair impression for rating the show. My feeling is that it was a mild thumbs up. I'm disappointed that screwy story lines have to take such a prominent role (in both promotions). WCW seems to think that all story lines can be ignored without confusing their fans. Maybe they are right, since they seem to score an every increasing buy rate. I was annoyed that the commentators kept making mention of Eric Bischoff's suspension (remember Harvey Schiller saying that he didn't even want Bischoff using the washroom at a WCW event) when Bischoff was slated to appear at the end of the show. I haven't read the Nitro reviews (and we don't see the show here until Sunday), but surely Bischoff broke the rules of his suspension and should be further penalized. Fat chance. The rules in the tag match involving Giant & Lex Luger vs. Harlem Heat were even dumber than the elimination tag rules: given that Giant passed up the opportunity for the title shot against Hogan by giving Luger the win in this match, why didn't he just lie down for Luger when they were in together? [ RAW ] this week was taped one day earlier and had an energy level somewhere between the live broadcasts and the much-edited shows. In a very stupid angle, the LOD was slopped by the Godwinns. It was made more stupid to me because the Toronto news station decided to air that in its weekly highlight reel; yet another reason to be proud to be a wrestling fan. The talent depth, or, more precisely, lack thereof, in the WWF is telling on the two hour RAWs. Long interview segments are becoming routine, with Shawn Michaels ranting for 20 minutes this week. His rant was not as good as Bret Hart's turn and didn't score as well in the ratings either. The weird thing in the building story line between Michaels & Hart is that Hart is doing the Hulk Hogan turn of last year, but Michaels seems more like Hogan: Hart tells the truth and Michaels lies. Last time around, Michaels said that the fans can cheer or boo whomever they wish and the wrestlers shouldn't get uptight about it and this week he tried to claim that his run as champion was more successful than Bret Hart's. As long as it makes a compelling story line, I guess it doesn't matter what the truth is. [Nobuhiko Takada] In excellent news, Steve Austin will take Sid's place against Bret Hart at the upcoming In Your House. Sid is sidelined with an injury that suspiciously requires the time off just as Sid is required to lose to various people. He was slated to put Mankind over on RAW, but that match was replaced by Austin vs. Mankind with a weak finish, theoretically hurting the drawing power of the main event on the next PPV. [ - ]Talk persists that Rob van Dam will start with WCW by June at the latest. [ - ] WCW comes to Montreal, Quebec, making a rare visit to Canada, on 04/11/97. Planned matches include: o Hulk Hogan vs. Jacques Rougeau o Giant vs. French Canadian Pierre in a "patch match," where each wrestler wears an eye patch o Harlem Heat vs. Faces of Fear o Lex Luger vs. Steve McMichael o Eddie Guerrero vs. Dean Malenko Several matches with local wrestlers will also be added. [ - ] New Japan has a Tokyo Dome show on 04/12/97. Featured line-up includes: o Shinya Hashimoto vs. Naoyi Ogawa for the IWGP Title o Tatsumi Fujinami & Kengo Kimura vs. Riki Choshu & Kensuke Sasaki for the IWGP Tag Titles o Antonio Inoki vs. Satoru Sayama (Sayama will not wrestle in the Tiger Mask gimmick) o Jushin Liger vs. Great Sasuke for the J Crown o Great Muta vs. Masa Chono (match is billed as "The World of Darkmen") o Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Manabu Nakanishi (Kurosawa in WCW before returning to New Japan) o Satoshi Kojima & Junji Hirata vs. Kazuo Yamazaki & Osamu Nishimura o Shiro Koshinaka vs. Ishikawa o Chris Benoit vs. Kevin Sullivan (match to be taped for WCW TV) o El Samurai vs. Shinjiro Otani [ - ] ECW has their first PPV on 04/13/97, airing from the ECW Arena from 9pm to 11:55pm. Tentative line-up includes: o Sabu vs. Taz o Terry Funk vs. Sandman vs. Stevie Richards in a triangle match for a title shot against Raven later in the show o Shane Douglas vs. Pit Bull #2 for the TV Title o Dudleys vs. Eliminators o Tommy Dreamer vs. Brian Lee o Rob van Dam vs. Lance Storm o Great Sasuke & Gran Naniwa & Gran Hamada vs. Dick Togo & Taka Michinoku & Terry Boy The affiliated (?) ECV is also rumoured to be trying to get on PPV. [ - ]There is a lot of talk that Brian Pillman will be the fourth member of Bret Hart's team, along with Davey Boy Smith and Owen Hart. [ - ]Speaking of the Four Horsemen, speculation [Horace nails Tanaka] has the group splitting up, with Chris Benoit leaving the fold (after it is revealed that he beat up Arn Anderson) and forming a new team with Dean Malenko, Chris Jericho, and possibly Steve Regal. Benoit is slated to feud with Ric Flair at some point. Jeff Jarrett will also be out of the Horsemen, leaving a returning Ric Flair with Steve Michael, while Arn Anderson recovers from surgery. [ - ]There's speculation in the Observer and elsewhere that Jim Cornette will return to manage Phil LaFon & Doug Furnas as rule breakers. [ - ]There is talk that the WWF WrestleMania tag match was supposed to be a title change, with Vader & Mankind getting the titles and Smith & Owen Hart splitting up as many people predicted. Rumours say that Bret Hart, knowing he would have to turn heel, pitched the idea (read: demanded) of a heel group with him at the helm, and plans had to be scrapped at the eleventh hour. At least that would explain that god-awful finish at WresteMania. This leads to further speculation that Vader is unhappy with the promotion. [ - ]Sanjay passed me a bunch of tapes today, adding my large stack of unwatched tapes; he really wanted me to watch one particular show before posting this and I did manage to squeeze it in. The show featured some of the most inane spots I've ever seen in a wrestling match. Going by the on-screen graphic, the show took place on 08/21/96, featuring wrestlers from both IWA Japan and FMW. There were three tag matches in what appeared to be a mini round robin tournament. The gimmick (and you know with those promotions that there is going to be one) was that the matches took place in a bath house. Yup, they laid down a wrestling mat in the entrance hall to accomodate some bump taking, but there were no ropes. The room with the mat opened up to an adjoining bath room where men could bathe and shower. At the rear wall of the room, maybe ten steps from the closest edge of the mat, were three hot tubs. While a wrestler was wrestling, his partner had to sit in one of the hot tubs. Every three minutes, a guy in the back threw a few more logs on the fire that heated the water, so the guys in the tub started to cook. The matches featured the Headhunters vs. Tarzan Goto & Mr. Gannosuke, Goto & Gannosuke vs. Shoji Nakamaki & Yamada, and the Headhunters vs. Shoji & Yamada. Among the stupid spots: Yamada selling like there's no tomorrow when he's being hit with a bamboo clothes basket (the guy was flopping around like a fish out of water); various wrestlers being rammed into the butts of patrons of the bath house (oh, yes, and I forgot to mention that the patrons were present, including women in the neighbouring room, dutifully running around naked and screaming, while giggling, when the wrestlers burst in time after time); Shoji Nakamaki being dragged towards the hot tub in the women's room, while four women stand against the wall screaming and giggling, with Shoji's faced being rubbed into each of the women's breasts in turn; and, finally, a wrestler attacking his opponent by putting shampoo on his head and washing his hair. Sanjay would try to argue that this sort of crap is good for wrestling because it pushes it the boundaries and, ahem, moves it forward, but it's the choice of the word forward that I would argue. [ - ]The WWF has [In Your House ] on 04/20/97. Tentative line-up features: o Undertaker vs. Mankind for the WWF Title o Owen Hart & Davey Boy Smith vs. Legion of Doom for the WWF Tag Titles o Bret Hart vs. Steve Austin o Honky Tonk Man's new find vs. Jesse James [ - ]FMW announced the line-up for the 04/92/97 Yokohama Arena show. The show marks the eighth anniversary of the promotion and will feature the retirement of female wrestler Megumi Kudo. There was speculation at one point, unfortunately presented as fact, that FMW would have All Japan wrestlers work the show, but that was the stuff of fantasy. Line-up for the show as announced by FMW on 04/05/97: o Megumi Kudo vs. Shark Tsuchiya for Shark's WWA World women's & Independent women's Title in a no rope, barbed wire, electrified, bomb, barricade, double hell death match. o Atsushi Onita & Masato Tanaka & Wing Kanemura vs. Terry Funk & Gladiator & Cactus Jack in a Texas Tornado Street Fight o Hayabusa vs. Mr. Gannosuke in a mask vs. hair match o Jinsei Shinzaki vs. Super Leather [ -] [Nitro ]beat [RAW ] on 04/07 with a 3.69 rating against a 2.19 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 0.55 (0.54) and average gross of $1.42-million ($1.41-million), while WCW has an average buy rate of 0.70 (0.65) and average gross of $2.05-million ($1.92-million). The details as they stand are available. [ - ]WCW has Slamboree on 05/18/97. Tentative line-up has: o Ric Flair & Roddy Piper & Kevin Greene vs. Scott Hall & Kevin Nash & Hulk Hogan Since this show takes place in Charlotte, there is a lot of second-guessing about having Greene opposite Ric Flair, who will surely get a big babyface reaction, so it seems the original plan will be scrapped in favour of the above match. Hogan is looking to have the day off, so this match is not definite. [ - ]The WWF has [In Your House ] on 05/11/97. Tentative line-up has: o Undertaker vs. Vader for the WWF Title o Ahmed Johnson vs. Faarooq & Crush & Savio Vega [ - ] 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. [ - ]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. I will be adding a tape update some time this weekend. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Thanks to: Masaki Aso. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Click here to return. E-mail: hekunze@jeeves.uwaterloo.ca