______________________________________________________________________ I do not offer subscriptions to a mailing list! I do not e-mail images! ______________________________________________________________________ - More bits of news related to Owen Hart: * Last week,I included the text of a letter to the Calgary Sun by Vince McMahon, in which he said that he was never told by Martha Hart that she didn't want footage of Owen Hart's funeral to air on RAW. He said that WWF Canada president Carl DeMarco spoke with Martha about it and that she acquiesced. See last week for details. Well, Martha answered him in the Sun shortly thereafter. "Vince McMahon can say whatever he likes but I know the truth," a livid Martha Hart said. "I said `I have no control over your matches but I don't want you to show Owen's funeral on your crappy show' -- that's exactly what I said to him." She continued, "Owen died in the ring and they were almost mad because they couldn't wait to scrape him off the mat and get on with the show." Although I didn't check the time, the Observer reported that when Owen fell to his death only seven minutes were lost before the next match went on. The Observer offered some additional details in regards to the funeral footage airing on RAW. After the funeral footage aired on RAW, Martha Hart called Carl DeMarco (one newspaper article has mentioned that DeMarco initially worked as Bret Hart's legitimate business manager before winning the position with the WWF) and asked him why it aired when she had explicitly asked Vince not to use it. DeMarco said he was as surprised as anybody and that the company had gone behind his back in airing the footage. Martha was quoted in the Calgary Sun, saying, "I talked to Carl DeMarco after the funeral and he said, `I can't believe Vince did this. I can't believe he put this on the show.'" Interestingly enough, after Vince's letter appeared in the Calgary Sun, Martha called DeMarco again to ask how Vince could claim that Martha gave DeMarco permission to air the footage when that conversation never happened. DeMarco "was less definitive" and claimed there had been a "misunderstanding or a miscommunication." Martha is also quoted as saying, "When the accident happened, I was very decent to Vince McMahon, and he said, `I can't believe you're talking to me.' Everything he did, he did for his own self-serving interests; having the wrestlers here so he could show them on his show; getting speakers so the wrestling fans could hear the service -- things like that." In regards to Vince's letter, the Observer wrote, "The tackiness of the letter to the point of bringing how much money the company spent on things related to the funeral (the vast majority of which was spent for transportation both to and in Calgary of WWF personnel and grooming of WWF personnel appearing there) underscored the belief by those who felt it from the beginning that much of this was done for public relations reasons with the company under siege." * The Hart family has complained about Sable's lawsuit against the WWF. "It doesn't surprise me she might have been asked (to strip)," said Ross Hart. "(The WWF's) portrayal of women has been very feminist." "If she (Sable) wants $110-million (US), Martha and her estate should sue for $110-billion," Smith Hart said. "All she has to say to stripping is `No thanks' -- this is opportunistic manipulation." The WWF's answer to Sable's lawsuit is denial. "It's the legal equivalent of a rabbit punch," said WWF lawyer Jerry McDevitt. Strangely, or perhaps not upon further thought, RAW this week seemed to hint at a lesbian relationship between Nicole Bass and Ivory. It's largely believed that Sable's real desire is to be released by the WWF maintaining the rights to the "Sable" name. The Observer mentioned that Sable was not contracted as a wrestler with the WWF. * A wrestling column in The Toronto Sun slammed the WWF, suggesting that the RAW on 05/24, the night after Owen's death, would have been a real tribute show if tapes of Owen's most memorable matches and moments had been shown. This would have given the WWF wrestlers some time off to come to grips with the tragedy away from TV cameras. The cynical point was that the WWF had sold out the 19000-seat Kiel Center and didn't want to lose the ticket or souvenir money the show would generate, just as they didn't shut down the PPV the night before. The slam got worse, with the suggestion that the WWF would release an Owen Hart highlight video instead of doing something for free on RAW. "Can you say cha-ching?" While the Canadian house shows in the week that followed the death were cancelled, the column also suggested that no shows would have been cancelled if they were all slated for US cities. Really harsh stuff. * The tabloid papers ran a story on the large number of deaths that occur in wrestling. The mentioned all of the guys that one would think. It actually seemed like somebody read the Observer that talked about this issue and pieced together an article from that info. These are facts that we all know, but it is interesting that the tabloids are running with them now. My memory is that the tabloid papers were the first to run stories on the steroid problems in the WWF and wrestling in general years back. You've got to wonder if this story will catch similar steam, or if the WWF's content will get a little too much attention as a side story. The tabloids have mentioned that the Hart family is planning a multi-million dollar lawsuit against the WWF. They are certainly planning a civil lawsuit, but the dollar figure is unknown. * The Kansas City Star ran the following story last week. KC police launch criminal investigation of wrestler's death By CHRISTINE VENDEL - The Kansas City Star Date: 06/09/99 22:15 Police now are conducting a criminal investigation into the death of professional wrestler Owen Hart because they wonder if the equipment he was using was appropriate for the stunt. Hart, 34, died at a World Wrestling Federation show May 23 at Kemper Arena. He was preparing to descend into the ring when a quick release mechanism on the back of a harness he was wearing opened prematurely. Hart dropped 78 feet to the ring below. Police initially said the drop was about 90 feet but have since revised their estimate. "In looking at the rigging, I have a concern whether this was the safest way to do this stunt," Police Maj. Gregory Mills said of the equipment. Mills said detectives will try to answer several questions in the criminal investigation, including: * Was the equipment right for the stunt? * If so, was it being used in the right way? * And was Owen Hart properly trained to use the equipment? "We will be seeking expert advice to help us draw some conclusions," Mills said. "We can't say if it was right or wrong or if due caution was taken. What we do know is that in attempting to do that stunt, Owen Hart died." Mills said the investigation is not focused on a particular suspect. "The investigation at this point is focused on a particular set of circumstances and we have to figure out who was involved in those circumstances," Mills said. If someone is charged in the case, the charge likely would be involuntary manslaughter, which involves reckless conduct that causes a person's death, police said. Prosecutors would have to prove the defendant disregarded a substantial risk and deviated The charge carries a maximum prison sentence of seven years, said Jackson County Assistant Prosecutor Michael Hunt. Hart's family did not want to be contacted, said family attorney Gary C. Robb. "The Hart family is following with interest this ongoing criminal investigation," he said. "We are proceeding with our own investigation into a civil wrongful death lawsuit." No civil lawsuit has been filed. The stunt that led to Hart's death was intended to slowly lower Hart by rope into the wrestling ring from a catwalk just below the ceiling at Kemper Arena. Once in the ring, Hart was supposed to trigger a quick release mechanism that would detach him f Three workers were on the catwalk with Hart before the stunt: two stagehands from the Kansas City area and a rigger from Florida, all hired by the wrestling federation. The rigger told police he connected a ring on Hart's vest to a snap hook, and connected the snap hook to a ring on the end of the rope. Then Hart stepped off the catwalk, putting his full weight onto the rope. The rigger lowered Hart until Hart's head The rigger told police he saw Hart adjusting his vest and "Blue Blazer" costume as he dangled in midair, waiting for music to cue his descent. Then, the rigger said, he heard the distinctive "snap" that the quick release mechanism makes when it opens. Experts at the Kansas City Crime Lab told Mills that Hart plunged into the wrestling ring at a speed of 50 mph. The impact ruptured Hart's aorta, causing him to bleed to death internally. "He was not pushed and the equipment that was to lower him to the floor does not appear to have been tampered with," Mills said. "We know someone else did not pull the ring to trigger the quick release. "It happened while Owen Hart was hanging there. He was the only one there when it happened. His fall had nothing to do with an overt act by someone else." Officials from the wrestling federation did not return telephone calls Wednesday. The rigger who oversaw Hart's stunt could not be reached for comment. Keith Woulard, a professional stunt man who lives in the Los Angeles area, said the stunt Hart was attempting was not unusual. He said, however, that when he performs similar stunts, he uses a secondary rope as a precaution. "You release the secondary rope just before they say, `Action,' " said Woulard, who is a member of the International Stunt Association. "Then you release the primary line when you're ready to detach from the rope." Woulard said being suspended by a vest and rope is cramped, which is another reason to have a secondary rope. "People get restless," he said. "Why take chances?" Another stunt man, Henry Kingi Jr., who lives in the Los Angeles area, said when he has performed similar stunts, he waited until the last minute to put his full weight on the rope. "A few minutes in the harness is uncomfortable," he said. "It can cut the blood supply off to your legs if you're there too long." Woulard and Kingi said the performer's weight is a factor in what kind of equipment to use. Heavier performers need stronger quick release mechanisms. Hart weighed about 230 pounds. Both men said it was not unusual to have the quick release triggered by a single motion. Kingi, however, said there are different kinds of release mechanisms available. Hart was using a tear-dropped shape mechanism that opened like handcuffs. Kingi said he prefers a three-ring mechanism. "With the 3-ring, if you pulled the trigger out an inch, you wouldn't go anywhere," Kingi said. "You'd have to completely pull it out for the rope to detach." As a follow-up, local reports on the criminal investigation quote the police as saying that they want to gather enough incriminating evidence to point blame at one individual, because that would increase the chance of a conviction. * Finally, as everybody would have expected, the Hart family has launched a huge wrongful death lawsuit against numerous defendents. The CP/AP news article on this issue appeared in every newspaper I looked in, with minor modifications from paper to paper. The article tapped into the emotions of the Harts: "Weeping and pounding a table at a press conference yesterday, Martha Hart blasted the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) for continuing the event after her husband plunged to his death while attempting a dramatic, sky-borne entrance into the ring in Kansas City. `When I found out the WWF continued the wrestling show after my husband's dead body was removed from the ring in front of 17000 people, and, of course, a major pay-per-view event as well, I was simply outraged and repulsed,' Ms. Hart said." The Observer reports that the official story is that Owen was pronounced dead six minutes after his fall, bleeding to death from a ruptured aorta. Hopefully, the WWF won't cling to the story that nobody knew he was dead until one hour later. The lawsuit names Vince McMahon, Linda McMahon, the WWF, and various companies and people involved with the events of that night. In total, there are 13 defendents and 46 separate charges. As we might expect, the charges are the WWF, Vince, and Linda are a batch of negligence claims. The WWF declined comment until after the see the lawsuit. Martha said, "First, I believe that those responsible for Owen's death should be held accountable under the law. Second, and equally as important, it is me heartfelt desire that no other wrestler for the WWF or any other sports show be subject to the same unsafe, dangerous demands, which are increasingly becoming a part of wrestling entertainment. Professional wrestling has become a showy display of graphic violence, sexual themes and ever more dangerous stunts. In their ever-increasing effort to increase ticket sales and TV market share, the WWF has deliberately chosen to promote profit at the expense of the most basic safety of its performers. Make no mistake, wrestling is a show, and it's fake. It is entertainment. Owen has died, and there is nothing I can do to bring him back. But my one hope above all is that his death will not be in vain." The Harts have a legal team consisting of Ed Pipella from Calgary and a Kansas City firm called Robb & Robb. Gary Robb spoke at the press conference as well, saying "The contraption was totally inadequate for this intended purpose." Gary Robb has won a $350-million (US) helicopter crash lawsuit. Robb said that Owen was placed in a "makeshift contraption" high above the ring and the wrestler unintentionally set off the release cord while adjusting his cape, worn as part of his costume. He said a movement of Owen's shoulder caused a slight six pounds of "pull tension" that triggered the release cord. The lawsuit cannot request a particular amount in damages, and instead asks for a "fair and reasonable" finding. The Toronto Sun reported that "several informed sources" figured that "fair and reasonable could hit $500-million" (US). - WCW had the Great American Bash on 06/13/99. Overall, the show was an easy thumbs down. When it was over, I could think of only four occurrences that were either great or promised a lot for the future: Rey Misterio's performance, the tag title match, the continued suggestion that they are going to elevate some of the younger guys (most notably Buff Bagwell on this show), and the fact that "no animals were harmed during the broadcast of this event." All in all, a disappointing example of the WCW product. The show opened with ten minutes of talking and recapping of recent events. They aired the PPV promo package in full. I'm just guessing, but I'd think that if people see the first ten minutes, they've spent their money on the show and want to actually see something new happen. This was a frustrating opening. Quick run-down: * Hardcore Hak beat Brian Knobs in a hardcore match: Knobs is now part of the Jimmy Hart's First Family. Knobs acted like he didn't want to work a hardcore match and then smashed Hak with a garbage can. Garbage wrestling stinks 99% of the time. Somehow, Mick Foley makes it seem realistic more often than not. In a miraculous feat, Bam Bam Bigelow & Hak did a good job in the style earlier in the year on PPV. But Knobs doesn't work (take that as you will). Hak tossed a ladder into the ring, with the ladder landing on Knobs. I should mention that Chastity was chewing on the requisite lollipop, just for us smart fans. Match was very short, which was a plus in this case, running just 5:41. Finish saw Hart miscue with a chair on Knobs. Hak got the pin after a cane shot. Hugh Morrus came in, with the heels destroying Hak. * Van Hammer beat Mikey Whippreck: Tony Schiavone: "I think this could be a very good match." On what planet does Tony live? Adding this match to the show instead of plopping a cruiserweight bout or a lucha libre bout in as filler almost merits a thumbs down in and of itself. Did anybody actually think "alll right, I'm glad they added Hammer to the show!" Terrible match, as Hammer still just sucks. Some might argue that it is a good thing that they are building up Hammer, but I can't agree. Hammer won with a cobra clutch slam at 8:35. This match didn't deserve PPV time. * Buff Bagwell beat Disco Inferno: The commentators pushed Buff as a major star for the new millennium. Disco worked on Buff's neck. Somehow I think we'll be seeing that tactic in every Buff match for the next long while. Buff beat Disco on TV last week, so they at least had the sense to have Disco "learn" from the experience. He avoided the Buff Blockbuster a few times, but Buff managed to hit it at 10:33. The finishing moved was sloppy, but they actually replayed it from a different angle, where it looked fine. It was intresting to see that sort of prowess on a WCW show, when we are really only used to it on WWF shows. Match was actually good. Maybe it didn't merit PPV status, but it wasn't bad as an undercard match that helped play out the story line that will try to elevate Buff. * Rey Misterio Jr. & Konnan beat Bobby Duncum Jr. & Curt Hennig: Before this match, DJ Ran was all up in my area for a few minutes. I really didn't want him there. Master P and his posse came out to take their ringside seats, pretty much guaranteeing that they'd somehow interfere in the match. Thinking about the hype for this match, I wondered why Hennig was pulling for Texas. His theme music was hilarious, a country twang with simple lyrics: "I hate rap!" Konnan & Rey came out wearing gas masks. After Konnan's routine mic work, Rey did a bit. The size difference when Rey was in there was just ridiculous. Hennig did a lazy man's stump puller. I won't describe why that move elicits submissions. Rey made the tag but the referee missed it. Barry Windham came out to attack Konnan outside the ring. Master P's bodyguard shouldered Duncum, and Rey hit a leg drop for the pin at 10:46. Security took P and his goons away. I guess they didn't want to spend any more time than necessary in front of the cameras. The early minutes of this match were hot, and Rey's work was great throughout. Afterwards, the three heels attacked the faces and hogtied them. * Ernest Miller beat Horace Hogan: The match was slated to be Miller vs. Scott Norton. They never explained why Norton wasn't there. Horace came out in answer to Miller's mic work. My guess is that Norton didn't want to do a job for Miller on a PPV. He's known for being stubborn about losing. Nobody cared about this match; don't act surprised. Both of these guys suck, and the match was terribly boring as a result. When Horace had the upper hand, Miller hit a low blow. Schiavone: "This match has been very brutal." Heenan: "All of Cat's matches are brutal." Preach on, brother weasel. Cat kicked Horace with a dress shoe on for the pin at 5:12. Miller's post-match dancing was the best part of the show. * Ric Flair DQ Roddy Piper to retain the presidency of WCW: Bad match. Flair hit low blows throughout the match. Asya intefered freely. Nobody cared. This match was supposed to determine who would run the company, yet the fans didn't give a crap. That's a great sign. Fans were silent until Piper pulled down Flair's tight, with the crowd finally popping for Mr. Ass. You know, I saw these guys fight other numerous times in Maple Leaf Gardens 16 or more years ago. I just don't want to see them fight each other any more. In many ways, despite the damage done in recent times, Flair is still the best performer with the company. In isolation, he knows how to draw a crowd in and make them care a bit. But when you wrap in all of the story line crap surrounding him recently, even Flair was having trouble. Arn interfered freely. Flair pulled out an object and decked Piper. He put on the figure four. Buff Bagwell ran in for the save, giving Flair the DQ win. Flair bumped for Bagwell and begged like mad. Piper decked Bagwell, who then demolished Piper. Arn snuck in a spinebuster. All three old guys beat up Bagwell for a few minutes. Mike Tenay: "I think it means the establishment sticks together." The point was good, but it shouldn't have been made on a PPV. Match ran 8:14. * Rick Steiner beat Sting in a no DQ, anything goes, falls count anywhere match: It seemed to me that some of those stipulations were redundant. After the first two minutes, they were in the ring until they went to the finish. If they wanted that stipulation for the finish, they should have worked a match that played to it a bit more. Sting hit a splash and the death lock, but Steiner made it to the rope. Nine minutes in, they had to get to the back for the finish. How do two wrestlers get down the aisle? Easy. One grabs the other by the hair and they walk. They walk. Okay, they bump into the guard rail. But, really, they just walk. Argh. Sting & Steiner walked to the back. They did a suplex on the ramp. They wandered past the WCW.COM set, where Chris Jericho stood, just to underline the misuse of talent on this show. Finally, they passed through a curtain into the backstage area. Tank Abbott attacked Sting. Scott sent his dogs after Sting. We cut to a show of the security guys running towards the scene. We then went back to a shot of the ring. The commentators stammered. The idea was that the attack was too vicious to show on PPV. The Steiners came out to the ring with the referee. The referee sid that Rick beat Sting backstage "1,2,3." Scott: "Who's the best tag team that ever lived?" Ummm, Manami Toyota & Toshiyo Yamada? Rick: "What's the shittiest town in America? Baltimore!" Match ran 11:46. * Diamond Dallas Page & Kanyon beat Chris Benoit & Perry Saturn to win the tag titles: When the champions came out, the onscreen graphic said "Brian Knobs." Bam Bam Bigelow was at ringside. Benoit was awesome early on, when he was given the chance to shine. Really, he was amazing throughout the match. Even DDP couldn't bring this match down. It was clear that he'd planned out some careful spots. The commentators seemed to ignore that Benoit & Malenko were tag champs: "It took leaving the Horsemen for him to win a belt." They did a heat segment on Benoit. He made the hot tag. Saturn also got knocked down, and they did a heat segment on him too. There was an unseen tag. Finally, both sides tagged out. Benoit came in and cleaned up. DDP headbutted Kanyon's crotch accidentally. Kanyon collided with Bigelow. Benoit did three German suplexes in succession, but DDP saved. Saturn & DDP went outside. Benoit hit a dragon suplex for another two count. Saturn just stopped the save. DDP hit the diamond cutter on Saturn as Benoit did a top rope headbutt on Kanyon. All four guys were laid out. Dean came down to ringside. He tried to revive Saturn, who had rolled out of the ring. As the referee chastised Dean for getting involved, Bammer & DDP did a diamond cutter double team on Benoit and pulled Kanyon on him for the pin at 19:12. The finish was flat for me because I wanted to see Benoit go over strong on a PPV, even though I knew that it wasn't going to happen. This was a great match. Earlier bouts, like Miller vs. Norton, seemed to last forever even though they only ran a few minutes; this match seemed to pass in the blink of an eye. * Kevin Nash DQ Randy Savage to retain the WCW title: The commentators kept pushing the idea that a mystery man was driving the hummer that smacked Nash in the limo. They said that Nash had fractured ribs and a bad knee, but that he had also demanded that Savage's top rope elbow be reinstated, even though it had been deemed illegal a short while back. That Savage has had a tough time: wrestling while not reinstated and using an illegal finisher. Not wanting to make himself seem too much like superman, Nash also decided to put himself in a straightjacket, blindfold his eyes, and put his legs in casts. Okay, it wasn't quite that ridiculous. Savage is so sad these days. I guess like every wrestler he wants to have one last run (of course, the last run is always the next run, not the current one). Physically, despite being juiced up more than ever before, he's such a mess that he can barely do anything any more. This guy's a shadow of the wrestler that had the WWF's best match of the 1980s against Ricky Steamboat. That's why he has three women at ringside, all of interfered freely in this match. Savage worked over Nash's ribs. Nash hit low blow #32 of the night to rally (it felt like that many low blows had taken place). Miss Madness hit a missile dropkick, and Savage hit the elbow for a two count. "What a remarkable show of courage and determination." Nash hit snake eyes in the corner, hit the boot to the face, and the lowered his straps, in the universal wrestling signal of superhuman power. Jackknife powerbomb. Madusa came in and kicked his ribs. George jump on his back. George bumped. Madusa bumped. Miss Madness was caught attempting a splash and ended up meeting snake eyes in the corner. Sid Vicious walked in the ring and laid out Nash. Why, why, why? He powerbombed Nash and talked to him. The DQ wasn't called until Sid came in at 7:27. This company always thinks that the cure to current woes is bringing in another old name. It never works. They never learn. They should use their money to make guys like Jericho, Guerrero, Benoit happy, to motivate them. They need to push guys that can work, bring in a few fresh names (like Lance Storm or Don Frye, etc.), and build the company around a younger cadre of mostly stellar performers. Instead they bring in a retread like Sid, a failure every time he's been built up for something important. RAW RAW on 06/14/99 would perhaps best be entitled "RAW is gimmicks," as the point of the whole show was to determine under what gimmick the Steve Austin vs. Shane McMahon & Vince McMahon King of the Ring match would take place. I found that pretense weird in and of itself. If Austin is the CEO, who determined all of the matches on last week's RAW using his trusty clipboard and who announced that he would face the McMahons at the PPV, why do the McMahon's have any say in the match stipulations? It made no sense. They should have no power now, right? I think the idea was that between the two of them they have 50% ownership of the company, so they have equal strength when it comes to calling the shots. That seemed to be the idea when Vince and Shane were each interchangeably setting up matches. But if Austin is CEO doesn't he in effect have veto power when it comes to the actual product? Oh well. Show opened with a recap of the Greater Power story line arc, which almost made sense when they aired highlight clips selected because they helped to make sense of it. Of course, even the strongest WWF supporters don't defend the story line as sensible, speaking volumes. This was Steve Austin's first day as CEO. Apparently, when he made matches last week, he wasn't really working as CEO yet. And the WWF ran on autopilot through the week. Throughout the show, they aired videos of Austin converting the Titan offices into a profanity- and beer-filled empire. Some of the segments were funny and some were stupid. I found them more funny than stupid, not surprisingly better than what WCW did with Ric Flair in a similar situation. To the ring came the Corporate Ministry for a lengthy interview segment. As mentioned above, the idea was that Vince and Shane were searching for a good match stipulation for King of the Ring. So they announced a slew of gimmick matches for the evening. Vince made a rare slip of the tongue on "Macchiavellian." As the segment seemed to be over, Pat Patterson and Jerry Brisco came out to berate Vince. Pat said he was Stephanie McMahon's godfather and that he was disgusted with what Vince had done to her. They were dumped into a match against Viscera & Midian. Segment ran 11 minutes. Road Dogg faced Billy Gunn in a "dog pound" match, which is a 90s label for a dog collar match. Well, that was slated. Gunn came out with a neck brace on, selling a phantom injury. He was "unbraced" and then attacked Dogg. No opening bell rang, and it wasn't even clear that this was a match. Gunn never put the collar around his neck. Halfway through the match, Gunn went for a cover and the referee counted, so I guessed we had a match after all. Chyna came out and pulled the free end of the chain to crotch Road Dogg, who bent over and met with a famouser at 2:00. A closing bell rang. Chyna beat up Road Dogg since she faces him in the King of the Ring. It seems like they will air all of the tournament matches at the PPV instead of doing the quarters on TV. The Rock came out for an interview segment. It looks like they are building to Rock vs. Undertaker at King of the Ring. He hit his catchphrases. Rock vs. Undertaker was added to RAW, with a stipulation yet to be announced. Ivory challenged Debra for the women's title, giving me a chance to remember why I love women's wrestling so much. Yeah, right. Nicole Bass came out to help Ivory win the title in 1:24. It was all T&A. You know, Lady Gong magazine, the Japanese magazine that covers women's wrestling, released a special edition focusing on the different softcore video tapes that Japanese women wrestlers have put out. Somehow, the Japanese promotion of these women manages to market them as attractive/sexy athletes. In the ring, they wrestle. But they also look good in lingerie. Is that still exploitative? I guess so, but it somehow seems morally better. Test faced Big Boss Man in a blindfold match. On Heat the night before, Test beat Jeff Jarrett for the IC Title, but Debra "used her womanly ways" to convince the referee to reverse his decision. Only Test was blindfolded. My wife thought this was one of the silliest things she's ever seen. The Boss Man is such a skilled wrestler that he had to use his nightstick at 1:15, giving up a DQ to a blindfolded man. Ridiculous. Stephanie McMahon came out to beg Boss Man not to hit Test again. X-Pac faced Big Slow in a "David vs. Goliath" match. Six seconds in, Kane came out to take X-Pac's place. X-Pac protested, so Kane swatted him aside. No bell rang for the DQ. X-Pac hit a spin kick on Kane and Big Slow, who did a flip bump out of the ring. I guess the DQ should have sounded when Kane entered the ring at 0:43. Ken Shamrock faced Jeff Jarrett in a straightjacket match. Shamrock had to wrestle in a straightjacket. He actually did some neat leg take downs in the first minute. Jarrett started pounding Shamrock. But Shamrock rallied, hitting a spin kick and then putting a leg scissors around Jarrett's neck for the win at 2:28. So Shamrock beat the IC champion in 2:28 in a match where he had to wear a straightjacket. Vince McMahon ran in to attack Shamrock. Jerry Brisco & Pat Patterson faced Viscera & Midian. The Mean Street Posse ran in to attack Pat & Jerry. Wasn't the Posse sacrificed as part of the Greater Power's master plan? No bell ever rang. With Patterson and Brisco laid out, Viscera splashed them. JR: "That's the largest man that's ever been on Patterson." Kane faced both Acolytes in a tag title match. Kane pretty much had his way with the champions, until the double teamed him a few times. He still managed to rally. Finish saw Bradshaw use a chair on Kane, leading to a double team by the Acolytes and the pin at 5:34. At least these champions were able to beat a handicapped opponent. X-Pac ran in to help afterwards. Vince & Shane McMahon came to the ring to announce that they would face Steve Austin in three-man a ladder match at King of the Ring, with all of the WWF stock suspended in a sack over the ring. So, not only could they pick the gimmick, but they could make Austin risk Linda's & Stephanie's share? The only other possibility is that Vince & Shane were only risking their 50%, which would mean they get nothing out of a win and basically picked the worst gimmick they could for themselves. Rock faced Undertaker & Hunter Hearst Helmsley in a triangle match. Rock had to win the match to get a title shot at King of the Ring, which pretty much guaranteed that Rock would win the match. The only question was whether he'd win by DQ or by beating HHH. This was a good match with good work. Finish had a few good two counts. Chyna got involved here and there. Finish saw Chyna trip Undertaker, UT go after her, HHH and UT get into it for a second, and Rock sneak out the win over HHH. The commentators pushed it as the beginning of the end of the Corporate Ministry. Match ran 11:13. Tally time: 24:37 of bell-to-bell wrestling. Nitro Nitro on 06/14/99 aired in full Wednesday afternoon on TSN. The show opened with still shots from the PPV main event and Master P's involvement in a midcard match. Opening match had Brian Adams & Vincent vs. Curt Hennig & Barry Windham. Bobby Duncum Jr. stood on the floor, thus improving the match four-fold, even though Barry Windham was plopped into the ring in his absence. Match was horrible. I guess the want to promote Hennig, Windham, and Duncum as a trio of second generation wrestlers, but two of the three have nothing to offer and the other's best days are behind him. Match took forever. The only thing I remember is that Tony Schiavone noted that we didn't really know who drove the hummer last week. When it arrived this week, we didn't see who drove it, and you just know that the same person is going to drive it all the time! Match went 10:05 before Windham got the pin. It seemed to take forever. I used to be into the dance music/house/hip hop scene through high school and University, but that interest has fallen by the wayside for the more gentle stylings of soft R&B, so I really have little clue what Master P's place is in the universe. WCW sure is hyping it, though. Randy Savage came to ring for another incomprehensible interview. Man, I hope he jobs for the young guys in the next two months or gets fired for refusing. The interview served no purpose. Hugh Morrus faced Billy Kidman. I was dreading this match. It seemed like it would be a hardcore tour-de-force, cough cough, that sucked Kidman into the world of garbage wrestling only to get a loss out of him. Sigh. But, lo and behold, at 4:01 of not-too-garbagy match Kidman got the pin with the shooting star. I almost had hope. Just around the one hour mark, Gene Okerlund interviewed Ric Flair, who was accompanied by Arn Anderson. The point of the segment was that Flair called out Piper and offered him a spot as Vice President of WCW. Piper accepted. Piper said, "I know you don't smoke, but if you were hit by a tobacco truck tomorrow, would that make me president?" In the best line of the night, Ric Flair said sure and added, "at my age, I could fall over at any time" or something to that effect. It was priceless. Dean Malenko came out and said that if somebody had gone into a coma fifteen years ago, had just awakened, and had turned on Nitro, he'd think nothing had changed. It was pretty good stuff. Dean asked Arn which side he was on, and Arn said he was always with Flair. Piper ended up punching Dean, with Buff Bagwell coming in for the save, only to be laid out as well. Backstage, Chris Benoit & Perry Saturn saw the attack on a monitor and tried to go to the ring, but were laid out by Bam Bam Bigelow & Diamond Dallas Page & Kanyon. I don't really get how Kanyon can figure into the old guy side, but the others work. I'm guessing that at some point Kanyon will feel like he's been used (justifiably) by his team mates. Ernest Miller faced Scott Norton. Now, maybe Scott just missed his flight for the PPV the night before, but I'm still betting that his well-known lack of interest in losing a match played a big role. So, here, I expected him to lose in a totally screwy way to placate him but put him in line all at the same time. Sure enough, the finish was atrociously screwy: Cat hit a low blow, he put on his red dancing shoe, he missed the kick, the referee bumped, Sonny Onno used the crow bar, Cat hit the kick with the shoe, the referee revived just at that moment, and Cat got the three. Ridiculously complicated for what it should have been. Match ran 3:42. Norton serves no purpose; if he's going to be such a prima donna, fire him. Disco Inferno faced Van Hammer. Why is Van Hammer getting pushed? Yeah, it is great to push the young skilled guys, but Van Hammer doesn't fit that label. Match went forever again. It was so bad. And, worse yet, Hammer got the pin at 7:51. Whatever good stuff I felt after the Ric Flair interview bit was fading fast. Fit Finlay faced Brian Knobs in a garbage wrestling match. Bischoff talked about Hulk Hogan returning. Hak came out and cracked Knobs, giving Finlay a pinfall victory at 4:47. At ringside, we suddenly found Rena Mero sitting in the middle of burly bodyguard sandwich. Bischoff said he recognized her from a magazine he bought for the articles. A sign in the crowd said, "Sable 1, Vince 0." At the same moment, the revived the idea that an unknown assailant drove the hummer that injured Kevin Nash last week. Bischoff said he heard it was a woman. And Rena Mero is sitting in the front row! I can put two and two together. Kevin Nash did an interview challenging Sid to a match this night. In the first match in a long time that actually gave me some hope for the future, Roddy Piper & Ric Flair & DDP & Kanyon faced Buff Bagwell & Chris Benoit & Dean Malenko & Perry Saturn in a match spurred on by the earlier attacks. This was a really good bout. The young guys were so on fire at the chance that you really feel it. Benoit looked absolutely awesome again. After giving up the pinfall last night, Benoit deserved to get the pin this night. But they seem intent on making Buff the centrepiece of the young revolution. I can live with it, 'cause the idea is right. Benoit an Flair traded chops and some nice spots, although they seemed hesitant on the backdrop-bridge-out-of-the-pin spot. It still worked alright. Crowd seemed into Benoit vs. Flair and Bagwell vs. Piper. The commentary really pushed the young side as the future of the company. During the next match, Eric Bischoff acted very contrite about the company losing its edge, said that we'd start to see what the future was about on this show, and said that we'd have to give them some time to see what their vision of the future is. Maybe I just want the company to finally use the young talent that has been buried in the past, 'cause I found myself feeling hopeful during this match. Of course they then trotted Nash & Savage for a main event, with Sid looming in the wings. Sigh. Anyhow, this eight-man was right on. The faces put figure fours on all the heels. Finish saw all eight men in the ring, with Bagwell eventually hitting the blockbuster on Flair for the pin at 15:28. It was darn good. Hardcore Hak faced Rick Steiner in a garbage wrestling match. They walked to the back and brawled in the parking garage. Steiner dumped Hak through the roof of the hummer which was parked back there. Sting popped up inside the hummer and came out to attack Steiner. Why was Sting in the lead heel's vehicle? Who knows? Add to the "huh?" list an RV parked near the hummer. Sting tossed Steiner through the RV's side. They then did my favourite spot in all of garbage wrestling. Sting put Steiner in a headlock and walked. Yes, they walked through the parking garage. They walked through the curtain into the arena. They walked over to the ramp. Thank your deity they didn't walk all the way to the ring. Apparently, that one-armed headlock of Sting's is like a vise, incapaciting even the strongest opponents. Sting whacked Steiner in the gut with his baseball bat, grabbed a microphone from a crew member, and then, inexplicably, walked into the ring to do a comedy routine before walking back to Steiner to carry him away. It was ridiculous. If we call it a DQ or no contest finish when Sting got involved, the match time was was only a few minutes. La Parka & Psicosis faced Konnan & Rey Misterio Jr. Master P and his posse surrounded the ring. Konnan & Rey went over with a double pin at 6:24. It was an okay match. Konnan seemed to try harder, perhaps motivated because he thinks he getting a shot. Curt Hennig & Barry Windham & Bobby Duncum Jr. started playing their "I Hate Rap" song at DJ Ran's station. They were chased off. Master P did some mic work that the live crowd and me pretty unexcited. At least WCW also spent a chunk of money on getting Dennis Rodman back in the ring. Heaven forbid they find a way to make things work with Chris Jericho. Kevin Nash faced Sid Vicious. Well, that was supposed to happen, but you just know that they've got to save that abortion for a PPV. As a result, Randy Savage came out. He & Sid are just about equal right about now when it comes to in-ring ability (both at zero), but Savage's women don't might doing Randy's work for him. Nash beat up the women. Sid Vicious came in to make the save, laying out Nash. Match ran a whopping 1:12. Sting ran in for the save, apparently thinking that he was Goldberg, 'cause that was who the crowd wanted to see. Sad, sad, sad. On the bright side, although I won't read it in newsgroups or on the web, Sid's return to WCW means that many people will spell his WCW surname "viscous" again, which I've always found funny 'cause he is such a stiff. - The WWF had a show scheduled for Hamilton's Copps Coliseum. Due to slow ticket sales, they've cancelled the show. The WWF Slam Jam segments on Canadian TV broadcasts tell fans that they can still go see the WWF at Toronto's Skydome. - The WWF has King of the Ring on 06/27/99. The show features the remaining tournament matches in the annual King of the Ring tournament, the bracketing for which follows. Qualifier ______________________________________________________________________ Quarters ______________________________________________________________________ Semis ______________________________________________________________________ Final ______________________________________________________________________ Semis ______________________________________________________________________ Quarters ______________________________________________________________________ Qualifier ______________________________________________________________________ Billy Gunn Road Dogg Billy Gunn (05/30 Heat, 2:04 pin) Road Dogg (06/06 Heat, 0:54 pin) Viscera ______________________________________________________________________ Godfather ______________________________________________________________________ Jeff Jarrett Chyna Ken Shamrock (05/30 Heat, 2:54 SB) Chyna (06/06 Heat, 2:17 pin) Ken Shamrock ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ Val Venis ______________________________________________________________________ Big Slow Al Snow Big Slow (06/06 Heat, 0:59 pin) Bob Holly (05/30 Heat, 1:22 pin) Droz ______________________________________________________________________ Bob Holly ______________________________________________________________________ Test Big Boss Man Kane (06/06 Heat, 3:03 pin) X-Pac (05/30 Heat, 2:37 pin) Kane ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ X-Pac ______________________________________________________________________ The remaining line-up has * Undertaker vs. Rocky Maivia for the WWF Title * Steve Austin vs. Shane McMahon & Vince McMahon in a ladder match for full ownership of the company - 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 99/04/25: Backlash Steve Austin vs. Rocky Maivia 1.06 $5.09 2.28 * * 1/4 * * * * 1/4 Steve Austin vs. Rocky Maivia 12.5% (1 of 8) 99/03/28: WrestleMania Steve Austin vs. Rocky Maivia 2.3 $12.04 1.13 * 1/4 * * * 1/2 Steve Austin vs. Rocky Maivia 0.0% (0 of 9, no shoot) 99/02/14: St. Valentine's Day Massacre Steve Austin vs. Vince McMahon Mankind vs. Rocky Maivia 1.2 $5.33 1.28 * 1/4 * * * 3/4 Mankind vs. Rocky Maivia 0.0% (0 of 8) 99/01/24: Royal Rumble Mankind vs. Rocky Maivia Royal Rumble 1.57 $6.97 1.83 * 1/2 * * * 3/4 Mankind vs. Rocky Maivia 0.0% (0 of 6) Last 6 1.39 $6.56 1.43 1.38 3.58 1.9% (1 of 53) 1999 1.53 $7.36 1.61 1.56 3.81 3.2% (1 of 31) 1998 1.02 $4.42 1.60 1.63 3.65 4.0% (4 of 101) Show Data Match Rating Data Show Details Buy Rate Gross Mean Median Peak % >= * * * * WCW 99/05/09: Slamboree Kevin Nash vs. Diamond Dallas Page 0.45 2.15 1.75 * * * * * 1/4 Raven & Saturn vs. Rey Misterio Jr. & Konnan vs. Chris Benoit & Dean Malenko 0% (0 of 9) 99/04/11: Spring Stampede Ric Flair vs. Hulk Hogan vs. Diamond Dallas Page vs. Sting 0.6 2.86 2.31 * * 1/2 * * * * 1/4 Juventud Guerrera vs. Blitzkrieg 11.1% (1 of 9) 99/03/14: Uncensored Ric Flair vs. Hulk Hogan 0.73 $3.48 1.83 * * * * * 1/2 Billy Kidman vs. Mikey Whippreck 0% (0 of 9) 99/02/21: SuperBrawl Ric Flair vs. Hulk Hogan 1.1 $5.27 1.89 * * 1/2 * * * 1/4 Rey Misterio Jr. vs. Kevin Nash Scott Steiner vs. Diamond Dallas Page 0% (0 of 9) 99/01/17: Souled Out Bill Goldberg vs. Scott Hall Ric Flair & David Flair vs. Curt Hennig & Barry Windham 0.78 $3.64 1.83 * 1/2 * * * * Billy Kidman vs. Rey Misterio Jr. vs. Juventud Guerrera vs. Psicosis 11.1% (1 of 9) Last 6 0.77 $3.57 1.86 2 3.79 4.9% (3 of 61) 1999 0.73 $3.48 1.92 2.1 3.65 4.4% (2 of 45) 1998 0.93 $3.96 1.54 1.73 3.73 4.5% (5 of 111) Show Data Match Rating Data Show Details Buy Rate Gross Mean Median Peak % >= * * * * ECW 99/01/10: Guilty As Charged Shane Douglas vs. Taz 0.2 $0.42 1.68 * * 1/2 * * * 1/2 Yoshihiro Tajiri vs. Super Crazy 0.0% (0 of 7) Last 6 0.22 $0.42 1.93 2 3.42 5.3% (1 of 19) 1999 0.2 $0.42 1.68 2.5 3.5 0.0% (0 of 7) 1998 0.23 $0.43 1.56 1.5 3.00 3.7% (1 of 27) Longer-term data is available. The data now runs back to 1991. A table of wrestlers who have delivered quality matches is also online. - The WWF has In Your House on 07/25/99. - 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. ______________________________________________________________________