______________________________________________________________________ Finally the reason for my spotty updates in recent times will come to light: on Saturday, July 18, at 9:00am, my wife gave birth to our first child, a beautiful daughter. We were back at home that evening and everybody is doing well. It's been a few years since my University student days and I'd forgotten what it was like to miss large chunks of sleep; but now I get to relive that experience. Anyhow, we'll see how well I do this week. The school term is coming to an end. I give three more lectures in my course and my students write the final exam on August 4. While I'll be using August to finish off some research work and prepare for my new job, I'll also hopefully be able to do a few of the things I've wanted to do on my web pages. ______________________________________________________________________ I do not offer subscriptions to a mailing list! I do not e-mail images! ______________________________________________________________________ RAW RAW on 07/20/98 was a taped show with some strong points, continuing the recent trend of essentially focusing on story lines. In the wrestling matches, D-Lo Brown won the European Title from Hunter Hearst Helmsley when Rocky interfered. This would seem to lead to Rocky losing the IC Title to HHH at the PPV on Sunday; it also heats up the issue between the Nation of Domination and DX. I'm not sure that it helps give D-Lo any credibility. Steve Williams annihiliated Quebecer Pierre in a BrawlforAll match. Again, nobody seemed to be into it, but Williams did a good job, particularly for his age. The BrawlforAll tournament brackets apparently work out like this: First Round ______________________________________________________________________ Quarter Finals ______________________________________________________________________ Semi Finals ______________________________________________________________________ Finals ______________________________________________________________________ Steve Blackman Steve Blackman (06/29 TV) Marc Mero ______________________________________________________________________ Justin Bradshaw Justin Bradshaw (06/29 TV) Mark Cantebury ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ Savio Vega Savio Vega (07/09 TV) Brakus ______________________________________________________________________ Savio Vega (bye) Hawk draw (07/09 TV) Darren Drosdov ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ Bart Gunn Bart Gunn (07/16) Bob Holly ______________________________________________________________________ Dan Severn Dan Severn (07/16) Kama ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ Steve Williams Steve Williams (07/23 TV) Quebecer Pierre ______________________________________________________________________ Eight Ball 2 Cold Scorpio (07/23 TV) 2 Cold Scorpio ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ It will be interesting to see what happens when Steve Williams & Dan Severn meet. It's always possible that they'll shuffle the bracketing to get that match as the final. The Observer reports that Severn & Ken Shamrock were approached to be part of the tournament because the powers-that-be knew it wasn't getting over. Shamrock refused and Severn agreed, going out for his match against Kama with very little notice. That explains why Severn seemed to not know the rules of the event. Steve Blackman pinned Jeff Jarrett. Owen Hart laid out Ken Shamrock, who was at ringside. This seems to begin a build to the shooter group of Shamrock, Blackman, and Severn, as they try to give the last two guys the rub off of Shamrock. They only showed highlights of the second BrawlforAll match, which featured 2 Cold Scorpio beating Eight Ball. It didn't look good even when we only had to watch a few seconds; you've got to wonder how bad this one got for them to butcher it down to highlights. Rocky Maivia beat X-Pac to retain the IC Title, when HHH interfered. Really, everbody got involved. Steve Austin faced Kane & Mankind in a triangle match, with Austin taking Undertaker's spot. UT ran in and the match became a tag match, the same one that they are selling for the PPV this weekend. Austin ended up chairing everybody. Undertaker chaired Kane earlier, but they tried to push that he was going for Austin. No decision was announced. They learned a lesson from last week and only put Shawn Michaels out for the main event; his commentary was horrible last week. The Observer wrote, "As great a performer in the ring as he is, and he's probably the most talented guy overall of our generation, he's suffered a lot of concussions and while he can get away with being flighty on interviews because it's in his character, it becomes too freqeunt and scary a reminder of reality to see him for two hours talking because he's too far out there. Ric Flair would suck as a colour commentator also, bus as great as Ross has been this year, this was the first week where WWF announcing was way below the standard of WCW and the reason was Michaels." In a weird angle, Jacqueline challenged Sable to come out and ended up ripping her summer dress off, so Sable was in the ring in her underwear. They seemed to push the idea that Sable & Jacqueline would have a cat fight in their underwear on Sunday. Everything has to be one-upped these days. Nitro Nitro on 07/20/98 aired in full in Canada. Once again, the show seemed to built around crap that nobody cares about. Worse yet, the crap makes no sense as the focus. If they wanted to make Bill Goldberg the star of the show when they passed the title to him, they needed to put him front and center on TV in the focal issues. Instead it's about Hogan and it's about Jay Leno. Argh. First hour had two matches: Stevie Ray beat Johnny Bullet; Sick Boy lost to Steve McMichael. The WWF can get away with delivering little wrestling and having lots of talking and story line developments because they actually give the time by-and-large to things that involve wrestlers that fans want to see (read: Austin). WCW doesn't do that. WCW wastes so much time on Hogan & Bischoff and then delivers angles that the fans don't want, like Nash feuding with Hall. Yuji Nagata beat Perry Saturn when Raven DDTed Saturn. The Flock came in and attacked Saturn, but Kanyon rescued him. After the save, Saturn laid out Kanyon. Sting & Kevin Nash lost the Tag Titles to Giant & Hall when Bret Hart interfered. This was the beginning of making the show about NWO Hollywood. At least, Bret Hart had a lot of the focus. They seemed to indicate that Hart vs. Sting isn't far off. Masa Chono & Great Muta beat Disco Inferno & Alex Wright, who make a great team. Scott Norton ran in afterwards to lay out the losers and get the rub off the Japanese team. El Ultimo Dragon beat Tokyo Magnum in a good short match. Norton beat Jim Powers. Eddie Guerrero faced Konnan. Chavo came in to end what had been an okay match. Curt Hennig beat Lex Luger as NWO Hollywood continued to get the focus and Hennig's image continued to be repaired after the losses to Goldberg. Finally, Bret Hart beat Diamond Dallas Page to win the US Title. Earlier on, Page had been laid out backstage, but he came to the ring injured and never got any offence. In the stupidest segment on the show, Eric Bischoff returned to his late night talk show set and re-did Jay Leno's monologue from the previous Friday. He also took a bunch of jabs at Leno. In some ways, it was a good move. They spent a bundle on that set. Fans are going to boo it, but now booing is the desired reaction. This will lead to Jay Leno playing a major part in a WCW PPV, which will help get the name out there even more. Of course, the problem is that none of this has anything to do with good wrestling. - The WWF has In Your House: Fully Loaded on 07/26/98. Tentative line-up: * Steve Austin & Undertaker vs. Kane & Mankind * Rocky Maivia vs. Hunter Hearst Helmsley in a 2-out-of-3 falls match * Sable vs. Jacqueline in a bikini constest * D-Lo Brown vs. X-Pac for the European Title * Owen Hart vs. Ken Shamrock in a "Dungeon Match" that will apparently take place in Stu Hart's dungeon, with Dan Severn as referee If the dungeon match is in fact slated to take place at Stu Hart's home, you've got to wonder if the segment will be taped in advance. I also guess that Helmsley wanted to pass the European Title to X-Pac and D-Lo was picked as the conduit. - All Japan has a Budokan Hall show on 07/24. Main event features Kenta Kobashi defending the Triple Crown against Jun Akiyama in what should be a match of the year. - The Observer really laid into the main event of WCW's Bash at the Beach, but still ended up giving the show a thumbs up, writing, "The work rate underneath blew away a WWF show and the quality of the wrestling underneath blew away an ECW show." - The following article ran in the Toronto Sun last week: An interesting event happened not long ago in, of all places, the square circle of professional wrestling. On July 6, Bill Goldberg won the WCW world heavyweight title from Hulk Hogan on the Monday Nitro program on WTBS in Atlanta, Ga. At first glance, I'm sure many of you are saying the same thing: "So? Your point?" Oh, I've got one. Here is a person who went to the University of Georgia, and played professional football for the Atlanta Falcons of the National Football League. He is a big man at six- foot-four and 285 pounds, and is quite athletic in the ring. He has been wrestling for less than 10 months, and has already made quite a name for himself with both the wrestling organization and the fans. In fact, the fans are always chanting "Goldberg, Goldberg" during his matches. It's quite a sight to see, actually. Very similar to the way people used to cheer Hogan in the World Wrestling Federation in the 1980s. But here's the kicker. All of these WCW fans - black and white, male and female, of different religions are chanting and cheering for a person with a distinctively Jewish-sounding name, although one wonders if the same reaction would have happened had his name been Rosenblum or Bronfman. But that's another story. Make no mistake about it: Goldberg, the son of a retired gynecologist and former violinist, is Jewish, and proud of it. As he told writer Blake Eskin of the U.S. publication The Jewish Weekly Forward, "I'm thinking of requesting the Star of David on my trunks, so I could be a more visible presence." Now, there has been a long and storied history of Jewish professional wrestlers over the years. Goldberg is not the only Jew in WCW. He mentions the names of Raven (Scott Levy), Dean Malenko (Dean Simon) and the more obvious Barry Horowitz. In his view, the Jewish wrestlers "have a little bond" that is often expressed through their knowledge of "dirty words. You know, Yiddish." And he relishes in playing his new-found role to the hilt. In fact, a recent issue of the WCW magazine mentions Goldberg's bar mitzvah and even quotes him as saying: "I'm not the `stereotypical Jewish person.' When you hear a guy named Goldberg, you think of someone working behind a desk investing your money or something." As for anti-Semitism, he has never heard a bad comment hurled his way. Then again, would you dare to make a racist comment to someone who could throw you halfway across a room with no effort? I think not. However, just in case anyone was thinking about it, Goldberg told Forward that he would go into the crowd after anyone like that, stating that the organization "pays us a lot to wrestle, but they don't pay us to listen to that." You have to give the new wrestling champion of the world a lot of credit. He has a good attitude about life, solid credentials about tackling stereotypes and an unusual amount of respect for the traditions of his religion. Goldberg wants the world to know how he was brought up, but to see him as a person rather than a novelty item. So far, people seem to be infatuated with the aura that he projects. One hopes this will continue for many years. Now, I guess there are still a few of you who are saying, "I still don't see the point you are making." Allow me to summarize. I find it pleasant that in a utopian setting such as professional wrestling, a fake sport produced solely for entertainment value, we can all get along and chant the name of a champion who is proud of his Jewish heritage. It makes me feel that society is becoming more tolerant as the years go along. We should all be pleased about that. - RAW beat Nitro on 07/20 with a 5.0 rating versus a 4.4 rating. The detailed ratings are a click away. I still haven't managed to update them; but, hey, I've updated the PPV figures. - PPV buy rates, revenue (in millions), and match statistics for the WWF, WCW, and ECW are presented in the following 1998 summary sheet (the PPV draw(s) are listed, as well as the quality matches): Show Data Match Rating Data Show Details Buy Rate Gross Mean Median Peak % >= * * * * WWF 98/06/28: King of the Ring Steve Austin vs. Kane Undertaker vs. Mankind 0.85 $3.86 1.72 * 1/2* * * * * 1/2 Undertaker vs. Mankind 11.1% (1 of 9) 98/05/31: IYH Over the Edge Steve Austin vs. Dude Love 0.65 $2.90 1.06 1/2* * * * * 1/2 Steve Austin vs. Dude Love 12.5% (1 of 8) 98/04/26: IYH Unforgiven Steve Austin vs. Dude Love Kane vs. Undertaker 0.85 $3.78 1.75 * * * * * Steve Austin vs. Dude Love 14.3% (1 of 7) 98/03/29: WrestleMania Shawn Michaels vs. Steve Austin Kane vs. Undertaker 2.20 $9.52 1.81 * * * * * * 1/4 Michaels vs. Austin Cactus & Funk vs. NAO 0.0% (0 of 8) 98/02/15: IYH No Way Out HHH & NAO & Vega vs. Austin & Owen & Funk & Cactus Kane vs. Vader 0.45 $1.67 1.43 * 1/2 * * * 1/2 HHH & NAO & Vega vs. Austin & Owen & Funk & Cactus 0.0% (0 of 7) 98/01/18: Royal Rumble Shawn Michaels vs. Vader Royal Rumble 0.97 $3.62 2.38 * * 1/2 * * * 1/2 Royal Rumble Max Mini & Nova & Mosaic vs. Battalion & Torio & Tarantula 0.0% (0 of 6) Last 6 1.00 $4.23 1.67 1.67 3.88 6.7% (3 of 45) 1998 1.00 $4.23 1.67 1.67 3.88 6.7% (3 of 45) 1997 0.61 $1.84 2.18 1.81 3.792 27.9% (6 of 21) Show Data Match Rating Data Show Details Buy Rate Gross Mean Median Peak % >= * * * * WCW 98/07/06: Bash at the Beach Hulk Hogan & Dennis Rodman vs. Diamond Dallas Page & Karl Malone 1.6 $7.21 1.81 * * 1/4 * * * * Juventud Guerrera vs. Billy Kidman 11.1% (1 of 9) 98/06/14: Great American Bash Hulk Hogan & Bret Hart vs. Roddy Piper & Randy Savage Sting vs. Giant 0.8 $3.52 1.67 * * 1/4 * * * 1/2 Chris Benoit vs. Booker T 0.0% (0 of 9) 98/05/17: Slamboree Kevin Nash & Scott Hall vs. Sting & Giant 0.72 $3.20 1.92 * * 1/2 * * * 1/4 Chris Benoit vs. Dave Finley Chris Jericho vs. Dean Malenko Eddie Guerrero vs. Ultimo Dragon 0.0% (0 of 9) 98/04/19: Spring Stampede Sting vs. Randy Savage Hulk Hogan & Kevin Nash vs. Giant & Roddy Piper 0.72 $3.20 2.40 * * 1/2 * * * * Ultimo Dragon vs. Chavo Guerrero Jr. DDP vs. Raven 20.0% (2 of 10) 98/03/15: Uncensored Hulk Hogan vs. Randy Savage Sting vs. Scott Hall 1.10 $4.12 1.69 * * 1/2 * * * 3/4 Raven vs. DDP vs. Chris Benoit 0.0% (0 of 9) 98/02/22: SuperBrawl Hulk Hogan vs. Sting Outsiders vs. Steiners 1.10 $4.12 1.67 * 1/4 * * * 3/4 Juventud Guerrera vs. Chris Jericho 0.0% (0 of 10) 98/01/25: Souled Out Bret Hart vs. Ric Flair Giant vs. Kevin Nash Lex Luger vs. Randy Savage 1.02 $3.81 1.92 * * * * * Chavo Guerrero Jr. & Super Calo & Lizmark Jr. vs. Juventud Guerrera & La Parka & El Dandy 11.1% (1 of 9) Last 6 1.01 $4.23 1.87 2.21 3.71 5.4% (3 of 56) 1998 1.01 $4.17 1.87 2.04 3.75 6.2% (4 of 65) 1997 0.77 $2.45 1.96 1.98 3.813 5.9% (6 of 102) Show Data Match Rating Data Show Details Buy Rate Gross Mean Median Peak % >= * * * * ECW 98/05/03: WrestlePalooza Shane Douglas vs. Al Snow Sabu vs. Rob van Dam 0.24 $0.45 0.64 1/2* * * Mikey Whippreck vs. Justin Credible 0.0% (0 of 7) 98/03/01: Living Dangerously Shane Douglas & Chris Candido vs. Al Snow & Lance Storm 0.23 $0.42 1.56 * * * * * 1/4 Buh Buh Ray Dudley & D-Von Dudley vs. Spike Dudley & New Jack vs. Axl Rotten & Balls Mahoney 0.0% (0 of 8) Last 6 0.24 $0.44 1.13 1.25 2.625 0.0% (0 of 15) 1998 0.24 $0.44 1.13 1.25 2.625 0.0% (0 of 15) 1997 0.22 $0.38 2.10 2.50 3.583 10.0% (2 of 20) Looking at the 1998 data, doesn't that tell the whole story. Buy rates and revenues are even for the year. WCW has a higher average match rating and a substantially higher average median rating. But the WWF has a slightly higher peak match rating. It's what been said time and time again: WCW has the stronger undercards (accounting for that median result). Looking at draws vs. best matches, we see it is the main events that give the WWF shows their only real boost, again agreeing with common opinion. Longer-term data is available. The data now runs back to 1991. A table of wrestlers who have delivered quality matches is also online. A small correction to the list from last week; I owe Mick Foley one great tag match. Here's the revised list: This lists every wrestler that has had three or more * * * * or better matches on PPV since 1991. The stats are reported as (singles),(tag), where (tag) includes any match involving three or more wrestlers. All battle royals are excluded. 14,1 Shawn Michaels 13,2 Bret Hart 6,4 Steve Austin 7,1 Vader 6,2 Sting Mick Foley 6,0 Rey Misterio Jr. 5,1 Ric Flair 4,0 Eddie Guerrero Ultimo Dragon Dean Malenko Chris Benoit 3,1 Psicosis Randy Savage 2,2 Brian Pillman 3,0 Davey Boy Smith Kevin Nash Owen Hart 1,2 Dustin Rhodes Rick Steamboat - WCW has Road Wild on 08/08/98. - The WWF has SummerSlam on 08/30/98. Jerry Springer is expected to be involved in the show. - WCW has Fall Brawl on 09/13/98. - The WWF has In Your House on 09/27/98. - The WWF has In Your House on 10/18/98. - WCW has Halloween Havoc on 10/25/98. - The WWF has Survivor Series on 11/15/98. - WCW has World War III on 11/22/98. - The WWF has In Your House on 12/13/98. - WCW has Starrcade on 12/27/98. - 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. ______________________________________________________________________ If you have any feedback regarding my web pages, please send me e-mail. Don't forget to delete the leading "x" from my e-mail address; that "x" is my web spider spam guard. ______________________________________________________________________