Issue # 023

Date:  Monday October 5th, 1998  11:33 pm 

Our next issue will have our report from Raw.

Nitro Report, October 5th, 1998
Show opened with highlights of the Bret Hart heel turn. At least its
spotlighted, so it will actually mean something. Hart comes across as
the most diabolical villain in the sport; a villain with brains. I'd
rather see Hart on his own, without Hogan. When linked with Hogan,
Hart comes across as Hollywood's lackey. The Hitman should be a force
who answers to no one; don't link him with the nWo, or Bulldog and
Anvil. A Bret Hart/Sting match was hyped throughout the show.

Perry Saturn pinned Lizmark Jr. with the Death Valley Driver
A Style clash, which kept Lizmark Jr. on the ground. Basically just a
squash, with Lizmark getting little offense in. While Saturn may the
imitator, I still feel he's more effective than Taz.

Ernest Miller pinned Kaz Hayashi (w/Sonny Onno)
Miller is awful. He may be the most overpushed wrestler in the
business. He called Hayashi "Jackie Chan" before the match. Why
waste the Jackie Chan celebrity rub on Miller. Hayashi is still
green but very talented. Don't waste him in a match with The Cat.
As many of you know, Miller is tentatively scheduled to face Jackie Chan at World War 3. Hopefully at that point the push will end. Mike Tenay lost credibility by claiming that Miller boasts (credentials) were true. After Hayashi was pinned Onno abandoned Kaz in the ring, and Sonny was attempting to sign Miller to his stable. Miller didn't look super interested.

Juventud Guerrera Jr. pinned Jerry Flynn
The Disco Inferno stole Mike Tenay's announcing chair from under him.
Disco was pissed that Juvi told on him for faking his weight. its
good the Cruiserweights are getting storylines instead of just
throwing them together. I thought Flynn and Juvi's styles would
clash but I was wrong. Juvi's one of the best and Flynn is one of
the most underated workers in the sport. Good match. Disco was funny
on commentary.

At this point in the show there hasn't been one mention of the
Warrior yet. DDP VRS. Goldberg is being positioned as the main event
for Halloween Havok. Still no angles between the two, though.

First mention of Warrior. Both Shiavonie and Heenan mentioned that
they were at the prior meeting of the two, and they acknowledged that
the wrestling scene is much different now. If they weren't both owned
by Time Warner would DC Comics sue WCW for blatantly stealing The Bat
Signal for the Warrior. The announcers are now calling this the
greatest rematch ever; not once the match actually starts. These two
will produce a disaster.

Wraith pinned Villano 5 with The Meltdown.
Wraith is still getting a push reminiscent of Goldberg's earlier this
year. He just poured through Villano; Villano looked like a midget
next to the massive Wraith. Wraith isn't the worst big man; then
again, I can think of a couple other wrestlers more deserving of such
a huge push.

The Wolfpac enters the arena and they stormed the nWo Black and
White's locker room. Neither Hart or Hogan was present. The cops got
in the middle, and the groups brawled into the hallways. Scott
Steiner pushed a female cop; funny. Sting finally found Hart in a
private locker room and he slammed Hart's head into a door.
Poor Doug Dillinger just stood there, looking pretty ineffectual. A cool looking brawl.

After the commercial break Sting jumped onto a forklift and
demolished nWo Hollywood's limo. Larry Zybyzco made the comment that
at least Sting didn't key the limo; funny. Poor Scott Hall! Kevin
Nash helped Sting further demolish the limo.  Good angle. It really came across exactly how much Sting wants to destroy Hogan and especially Hart; Sting has never shown this much anger.

Hector Garza fought Damian to a No-Contest
A minute in Eddie Guerrerointerrupted the match. He rallied the
luchadors against Eric Bischoff, bringing up how five of them share a
rent-a-car while they are given no room for advancement. Guerrero
introduced The LwO, "The Latino World Order". While I love seeing The
luchadors getting some attention, this angle will die a painful death.
Guerrero is coming across as a whiner. Damian and Garza are not
going to help elevate Eddie up a level.

The Wolfpac left the arena to find Scott Hall. Nash claimed there
were one of five places (bars) Hall could be, and they would find him.
They claimed worst damage would befall Hall then just happened to the
limo. Cool. For once The Wolfpac don't look like wimps, and are
taking the initiative.

WCW Cruiserweight Champion Kidman pinned Psychosis to retain the title.
Two of the best wrestlers in WCW. I'd love to see Taka Michinoku get
the opportunity to fight workers as good as these two (and Juvi, Rey,
Kaz Hayashi). Kidman has become a real crowd favorite. These two
clicked well together. Psychosis is so awesome I'd love to see him
become a part of some storylines.  Incredible match, maybe as good as the Kidman/Juvi classics from earlier this year.  Some great near falls. Keep Kidman against guys like Psychosis; keep him away from heavyweights like Scott Hall. Kidman blocked a Frankensteiner and he then hit Psychosis with The Shooting Star Press.

David Flair was acknowledged in the front row by Tony Shiavonie.

The Warrior gave a taped interview which was slightly better than his
usual babble (but still awful). The Warrior called himself The
Supreme Being (now he has a God complex too?). Can't someone actually
script his interviews for him? Do the producers have that little
control over the talent? I couldn't understand half of his interview.
Didn't anyone tell The Warrior that when you use big words out of
context, you really don't come across as a genius? Basically: Warrior
good, Hogan bad.  A terrible interview.

Scott Steiner did an interview showing off his accomplishments and
running down Rick's. Probably the best interview Scott's ever given.
Good delivery. Probably a good idea to keep Steiner's and The
Warrior's interviews taped.

Rick Steiner pinned Brian Adams.
Buff Bagwell and Scott Steiner entered the ring. Buff really is
funny. Does WCW still test for steroids? A couple of these guys
don't look very "natural". Rick brought Mrs. Judy Bagwell to
ringside. Mrs.Bagwell chastised Buff for acting like a jackass did a great job of conveying anger. It really sounded genuine. Buff
made a crack that he supports the entire family and Mrs. Bagwell
slapped Buff for being such a fool. Scott made a threatening move
towards Mrs. Bagwell, and Rick knocked him down. She then marched
Buff to the back with one hand on his ear.

Mrs. Bagwell really was awesome in her role. MUCH better than most of
the wrestlers we see each week. Scott Steiner and Brian Adams then
kicked Rick's ass backstage. The match began and JJ Dillon escorted
Scott Steiner back stage. The Mrs. Bagwell skit was much better than
the match. Rick dropped Adams on his head; it looked dangerous.
Adams is another one of those overrated wrestlers who gets far too much
TV time. Rick won after a top rope Bulldog.

The Wolfpac walked through one restaurant, but there was no sign of
Scott Hall.

Hollywood Hulk Hogan and Eric Bischoff came out for an interview.
Bischoff mocked David Flair, wearing a Goldberg T-Shirt in the front
row. Hogan challenged Warrior to a match on the spot, since The
Warrior wasn't in the building. Usual Hogan interview
(he talked about his legacy, ran down The Warrior).

A really cool Horseman video aired. A mixture of both old and new
clips. They really are the best. Then again, Flair, Arn, Benoit, and
Malenko are four of my ten favorite wrestlers. Please dump Mongo!

Diamond Dallas Page defeated Kanyon (w/Raven) by disqualifiaction.
Two good workers. DDP has great timing and Kanyon knew how to make
him look good. Lodi came to ringside with a sign begging Raven to
take him back. DDP hit them both with a tope. Kanyon almost got a
great near fall. Given time Kanyon will be a mega star. Raven and
Lodi ran in to cause the DQ and Goldberg made the save. DDP and
Goldberg ended up nose to nose until JJ Dillon stepped between them.
Both men received a great reaction from the crowd.

The Wolfpac then entered The New Brooklyn Tavern in search of Scott
Hall. No sign of Hall. Konnan mentioned that they should look in a
strip joint and Nash remarked that Hall's been thrown out of every
strip joint in the country. This all leads to a Baroom Match, which
will take place in a real bar.

The Disciple (oWn) pinned Lenny Lane
Lane imitated The Warrior before the match. Funny stuff. The crowd
died for this match, NOBODY cares about Ed Leslie. The Disciple
really, really is awful. He tried to do an interview after the match but he was so out of breath following his two minute match he barely
go the words out. Hogan and Bischoff followed The Disciple into a
dressing room and The Warrior was behind a mirror. Hogan got
hysterical and Bischoff acted like he couldn't see The Warrior. The
problem was, everybody else could. The storyline is that Hogan is
breaking up and going crazy. Wow.

Mike Tenay drove up to the next bar and two big farts were heard.
Weird. Nash and Hall began beating the hell out of each other. They
ended up in the bathroom and Nash stuck Hall's head in the toilet.
Hall looked knocked out. I hope someone took his head out or else he
might drown. This leaves Sting as the only member of the Wolfpac in
the arena.

Bischoff began his Anti-Flair speech. Arn Anderson interrupted
Bischoff, and declared Columbia to be Horseman country. Arn declared
himself to be in charge of mind games. Flair's ten-year-old son Reid
Flair then walked to the ring wearing an amateur wrestling medal and
a wrestling siglet. David Flair looked on at ringside.

 

Reid then did a great Ric Flair imitation. Reid tripped Bischoff with
a take down. Reid then flashed Bischoff the four fingered salute.
Bischoff played out his tantrum real well. Reid obviously enjoyed
being in front of the crowd and wasn't nervous at all. Arn stopped
Bischoff from attacking Reid.

After the break, Bischoff was still throwing a tantrum mid-ring,
demanding Elizabeth get Flair on the phone. He got Beth Flair, Ric's
wife, on the phone. She promptly chewed him out. The 2001 theme then
blares and Ric Flair walks to ringside. Bischoff sent Brian Adams in
to injure Flair but The Horseman were ready to make the save. David
and Reid Flair then joined The Horseman in mid ring. A very emotional
moment that I can't do justice.

Sting fought US Champion Bret Hart to a No Contest
The match never began. Sting and Hart brawled to the back of the
arena and Hart suplexed Sting through a table. Hart then attacked
Sting leg with a chair (to soften him up for the Sharpshooter?).
Hart and Sting brawled real well together. Sting locked Hart into the
Scorpion and eventually let him out to end the show.

Notes: Terrific show, one of the best Nitro's in a while. The
Sting/Hart & Nash/Hall stories were really strongly defined. The Kidman/Psychosis match was awesome.  The DDP/Kanyon match was good. The Flair angle was nice.
===========================================
The following letter is in response to Mark George's "Joe Wrestling
Fan" column form Issue # 22. In Mark's column, he praised Hogan and
The Warrior.
Submitted by reader: HitmanDX2
Sorry, I love your newsletter, but Mark George (aka the Joe Wrestling
Fan) must have been dropped on his head when he was young. Terry
Bolea (Hulk Hogan) and Jim Hellwig (Warrior) have absolutely no talent
whatsoever, maybe you didn't see the Unreal story of Professional
Wrestling on A&E but all the best wrestlers of ALL time say Hogan is
very terrible.

I Quote Lou Thesz: " Hogan in my book gets a 9 or a 10 for marketing
the sport of wrestling, but as talent goes I give him a 1 or a 0" I also quote Gorilla Monsoon "Hogan as a wrestler is terrible, when it came to talent, I don't think he knows the difference between a wrist watch and a wrist lock!"  Obviously, you know nothing because Warrior and Hogan are just steroid abusing no talent reject from Hollywood. Hogan has nowhere hear the talent of Bret Hart (the Champion Wrestler from the province of Alberta in 1979) or Shawn Michaels.

So what I am trying to say is that Hogan and Warrior have no talent
they just are good at marketing, don’t believe me? Check out Halloween
Havoc when it comes on, you'll see how terrible Hogan is when it comes
to talent. Next time get the fact straight!!!!!!!!!!!!!
=========================
Steve Appy responds: Mark George's column is satire. He
dislikes Hogan and Warrior as much as you do. He thought contrasting
Warrior & Hogan with great wrestlers like Michaels, Hart, and Benoit
would make it obvious he was kidding.

Still, what does bother me is that many people do like Hogan & The
Warrior and they do have a right to their opinions. its not a moral
issue. I don't like Hogan or Warrior. I like Flair and Arn Anderson.
That doesn't mean that there is anything wrong with liking ANY
wrestler. Wrestling is art, and art is subjective. Let's all try to
respect the opinions of ALL wrestling fans, not just the ones who
share your personal philosophies.
===========================================
Reader Mailbag
Submitted by reader: Oz316
Good to see you guys back. I have a few things to get off my chest.
First off, what is going on w/ the NAO. They are the hottest tag team
in wrestling, there would be no point in breaking them up and I hope
this angle isn't going in that direction. The reason tag teams are
broken up is because they aren't getting heat, which is not the case
w/ the Outlaws. Second, everyone I talk to hates Regal's new gimmick.
I think those commercials are hilarious and I hope this gimmick takes
him places.

Last, here are my plans to make Triple H a main eventer. At Judgment Day
there is a battle royal for the vacant IC title (due to his knee
injury). It is won by Jeff Jarrett. There is an IC title match set
for the two at Survivor Series. At Survivor Series, Triple H is being triple teamed by JJ and Southern Justice, and Chyna can't fend them all off. So out comes Shawn Michaels, who hits JJ w/ a chair while the
ref is distracted, and Triple H wins the match. After the match, HBK raises Triple H's hand in victory, and when he turns around, gives him the Sweet Chin Music. On RAW the next night it is announced that Shawn Michaels will return to wrestling at the Royal Rumble against the WWF champion and an IC rematch is signed for the Dec. PPV between Triple H and JJ.
===========================================
Reader Mailbag
Submitted by reader: PHENOM917
Goldust, in the past, has really shown his perverted side. Remember
his "things" with the likes of Razor Ramon, Ahmed Johnson, Rowdy Roddy
Piper, and others? I think it would be hysterical if the same thing
happened with Val Venis.
===========================================
Reader Mailbag
Submitted by reader: Nvrmor4lif
UT has to have the belt...hands down. But will Austin put his hand on
the mat for a 3 count? Doubt it.

Raven (Scott Levy, Scott Anthony, Scotty Flamingo, Johnny Polo, whatever) is overdue for a big time push. I don't understand why he's a
mid-carder. He jobbed to Goldberg, there are rumors of him going nWo
Hollywood (and taking it over which would be fine with me), or is his
present role a payback of sorts for having a belt as Flamingo? I
really don't think he has too many years left to continue his present
shooter angle before he becomes another Hogan clone, and is Sandman
the only competition WCW could come up with to face him? Please, not
another Raven wins Sandman’s woman and child.
Thanks for reading.
Dennis C. (Nvrmor4lif)
===========================================
Reader Mailbag
Submitted by reader: Bruce Boyce (bboyce@xxxxclatec.net)
This isn't exactly booking, but here's what I think should happen with
the Nation. They are a mess right now with no unity. That can change.
The Rock, eventually says he doesn't need to the Nation anymore, and
fires them all, but they return the favor, and fire him. With the Rock
gone, D-Lo steps up to the plate and says he's the new leader. But
Owen disagrees with this, saying he used to be co-leader, and should be
leader now.  

This makes the Nation attack Owen the way they did to Faarooq. With two jumps like this, it establishes them as a definite heel group. But running down the entrance is the Bulldog making the save and reuniting with his brother in-law. That could turn the Bulldog back to an upper-midcarder from a jobber in WCW. Now, the Nation, with only three members, decides to do a little recruiting.
 

The next week on Raw, they face three of the Boricuas. Basically, Savio turns on his partners and rejoins the Nation. There you have it. It gets the Rock and Owen over as faces, and unifies the Nation with a new leader and a new attitude
===========================================
The staff of The Wrestling Booking Sheet
Editor: Steve Appy Columnist: Mark George
Columnist: SamJerry
Columnist: Fritz Capp
Columnist: Rick Phelps
Columnist: Cindy Barnes
Columnist: Josh Hewitt
Columnist: Swami
Columnist: Tom Misnik
Columnist: Nate Pelley
Columnist: Robert Troy (Osiris)
Columnist: Tom Kirkbride
Columnist: Ryan S. Oaks
Columnist: Darren Kramer

Copyright- Steve Appy of The Wrestling Booking Sheet ©1998, 1999, 2000