Issue # 055

Date:  Wednesday November 4th, 1998  10:13 am

The Wrestling Booking Sheet

Jesse Ventura Wins Minnesota Governorship
By ROCHELLE OLSON
ST. PAUL, Minn. (Nov. 4) - The Body is now The Governor.

In one of the most stunning upsets in U.S. political history, former
professional wrestler Jesse ''The Body'' Ventura was elected governor
Tuesday over Minnesota's most famous political name and a rising
Republican star.

''its truly mind-boggling,'' Ventura told cheering supporters. The
Reform Party candidate said his victory ''stunned the world'' and
proved that the American dream still exists.

With 92 percent of precincts reporting today, Ventura had 714,327
votes, or 37 percent of the total. Republican Norm Coleman had 661,761
votes, 34 percent, and Democrat Hubert Humphrey III had 541,609 votes,
or 28 percent.

The bald, mustachioed 47-year-old Ventura proved an irresistible
alternative to pinstriped politicians who wound up playing his
straight men. When asked how he would deal with stubborn legislators,
the wrestler-turned-actor-turned-mayor flexed his substantial biceps.

Voters ate it up.

''I like the fact that he says things plainly,'' said Travis Bunson, a
28-year-old lawyer who voted for Ventura. ''A lot of times people that
make things complex, they have a reason for doing so.''

Added Michael Jorgensen, 49, another supporter: ''He'll put us on the
map, if nothing else.''

Ventura became the first Reform Party candidate in the nation to win a
statewide race, but ties with Texas billionaire and party founder Ross
Perot are strained. Perot was no help, especially when the campaign
was strapped for cash and seeking help in obtaining a loan.

Ventura was the candidate of choice for voters 44 and younger and
among those who identified themselves as moderates, according to an
exit poll of voters conducted by Voter News Service for The Associated
Press and five national television networks. Among liberals, Ventura
was just as popular as Humphrey, son of the state's most revered
politician, former Vice President Hubert Humphrey.

The Body's competitors, more polished and better funded, were shocked.

''There was a spark out there that he ignited and you have to give him
credit for that,'' said Coleman, the St. Paul mayor. He said he had no
idea what that spark was.

Humphrey called the victory a ''wake-up call of the first order.''

Ventura, a 6-foot-4, 250-pound former Navy SEAL whose wrestling
trademark was a feather boa, drew spontaneous crowds everywhere he
went. He often was seen campaigning in jeans and a Minnesota
Timberwolves jacket.

He showed up at one buttoned-down business luncheon in camouflage. He
appeared at a televised debate in a golf shirt, jacket and running
shoes, saying he had to dash off to a football game involving the
suburban high school team he helped coach.

His campaign relied on getting turned-off voters to tune in. He did it
in part with a catchy, unconventional ad campaign.

Ventura's campaign song used in radio ads was a remake of the ''Theme
From 'Shaft.''' Some of the lyrics: ''When the other guys were cashing
government checks, he was in the Navy getting dirty and wet.''

His final ad featured him wearing only gym shorts posed as Auguste
Rodin's ''The Thinker.'' Another showed a Ventura action figure
fighting off Evil Special Interest Man.

He was an experienced entertainer who acted in the movie ''Predator''
with Arnold Schwarzenegger. Ventura had to give up his day job as a
radio talk show host to run for office.

His previous political experience was as mayor of the Minneapolis
suburb of Brooklyn Park, a community of about 60,000, from 1991 to
1994. The city was run by a city manager, but Ventura consistently
opposed tax increases and took credit for a drop in crime.

Ventura - formerly James George Janos - completed high school and a
year of community college. He's fond of telling how he left home with
$200 in his pocket to seek his future. He took the stage name in
California.

His self-made career is key to some of his beliefs. He doesn't think
government should help students through college or subsidize day care
for poorer families.

He campaigned as a tax opponent, saying he would veto increases and
wanted to return all future surpluses to Minnesotans. He also supports
legal recognition of gay relationships, looser gun laws and state
spending on family planning. He has been married for 22 years and is a
father of two.

In his most controversial statement of the campaign, Ventura said the
state should consider legalizing prostitution, possibly with a red
light district similar to Amsterdam's.
===========================================
I thought it appropriate to let you all know the status of the reader
mailbag, my personal favorite part of the newsletter. I get MANY
terrific submissions, and I thought I'd share some info with you.

Although this newsletter does tend to be fairly long anyways, there
are space limitations. If the newsletter is above 22 K, it
automatically becomes a download. At that point, to read the
newsletter, you would have to download it on to your hard drive. Not
a good option.

I get around 140 reader mailbag submissions a day. Of those, there
are probably around 20 to 25 that are good enough to print. Of
course, I can only print several.

The downside is that many intelligent, insightful comments never see
the light of day.  If your submission doesn't get printed, please don't feel slighted.  Some GREAT letters never get printed.

If you are interested in getting your letter printed, here's a couple
suggestions:

1) Don't make it long. If one long letter is published, several
shorter ones don't. For a really long article to be published it has to be REALLY good.

2) Proofread your article; use proper spelling and grammar. While I
try to clean up most of the letters, a letter that requires too much
work on my part will be discarded in favor of someone who does take
the time to proofread their work. An occasional spelling error or
typo isn't the end of the world (look at my own work).  Every fifth word misspelled is pretty bad, though.

3) Use proper capitalization. If you write the name Hulk Hogan, don't
write: hulk hogan. That's just sloppy.

Either way, I love reading the letters, and keep them coming.
===========================================
The following information is courtesy of the Big 3 Newsboard, which
can be found @
http://www.pinned.com/big3/index.html

Insane Clown Posse have quit the WWF after a row regarding their
contract. In return for producing the theme music for The Oddities,
ICP were promised commercials during Monday Night Raw, promoting their
new album. This did not happen, which has led to ICP quitting the WWF.
-Sister Midnight, The above information appears courtesy of The
Bagpipe Report

RATINGS FOR SUNDAY & MONDAY
A live episode of Sunday Night Heat from the Frank Erwin Center in
Austin, TX on 11/1 got a 3.3 Composite Rating!

The Live episode of WWF RAW from Houston, TX drew huge ratings against
the also Live WCW Nitro from Ft. Lauderdale, FL. RAW won with a score
of 4.8 to 4.1. Nitro started out great with the unopposed first hour
scoring a 4.8. But as RAWisWar came on, it all went downhill from
there. Going head-to-head at the 9:00 to 11:00 PM EST time slot, RAW
dominated by a score of 4.8 to 3.8. Here are the full hourly ratings
courtesy of Dave Scherer and Uncle Rupert

- WWF RAW is WAR/Warzone(Live) - 11/2
- Hour 1(9:00 PM - 10:00 PM EST): 4.7 (Vince McMahon Interview, Brood
vs. DX - Kane out, Droz beats up Hawk, Oddities def. A. Snow/Mankind,
McMahon/Shaq segment, S. Regal vs. Goldust - Kane out)

- Hour 2(10:01 PM - 11:00 PM EST): 4.9 (ROCK def. K. Shamrock via DQ,
V. Venis vs. J. Jarrett, Headbangers vs. D-Lo Brown/M. Henry - Kane out, ROCK arrested, O. Hart/D. Severn confrontation, Big Bossman beats up McMahon stooges in steel cage)
- Composite: 4.8

- WCW Monday Nitro(Live) - 11/2
- Hour 1(8:00 PM - 9:00 PM EST): 4.8 (A. Wright pinned N. Smiley,
Disco pinned K. Hayashi, Booker T Interview, F. Finlay pinned S.
Putski, E. Miller pinned Armstrongs, Wrath pinned K. Windham, B.
Hart/Luger segment)

- Hour 2(9:01 PM - 10:00 PM EST): 3.7 (Flair vs. Hogan PPV footage,
Horsemen Interview, S. Norton pinned Hammer, Saturn vs. Eddie Guerrero,
Konnan confronts lWo, S. Steiner/Buff out, Psychosis pinned R.
Mysterio Jr, Chris Jericho Interview)

- Hour 3(10:01 PM - 11:00 PM EST): 3.8 (D. Malenko def. Raven via DQ,
C. Benoit/ Hart/L. Luger/Giant segment, C. Jericho vs Kidman, Buff/S.
Steiner out - JoJo Dillan fines them - Kenny Kaos beat up, Booker T
def. S. Hall via DQ, Luger def. Giant via DQ)
- Composite: 4.1
-David Tyler

Shawn Michaels was in attendance backstage at Sunday Night Heat in
Austin, TX. As the show began its new live/tape format. Shawn
Michaels was rumored to be making his tv return that night in his home
state.
-Michael Patrick, Credit to Scoops
===========================================
Reader Mailbag
Submitted by reader: Marq Piocos (flair_dog@xxx.com)
Since Mr. Kevin Sullivan is no longer a booker, WCW has no excuse. The
greatest pound-for-pound wrestler in the business deserves recognition
and the status deserving of his tenure in wrestling. Chris Benoit
deserves a major league Push and a major title.

Chris Benoit has worked all over the world and has been in WCW for
several years now. Yes, he was TV champion twice, but does the WCW
recognize the reigns? No! Not to degrade the talents of Booker T,
Benoit is definitely the better of the two--more talented and
experienced. And not to mention the pop he gets from us fans!

Don't argue that size matters. Benoit has held his own when he faced
Booker T, Kevin Nash, DDP, and Scott Hall. He is the most intense,
destructive, talented force in WCW and he's not being used to his full
potential.

Hence the current campaign to Push Benoit. I'm helping to organize
this campaign and have a strong grassroots following. If you agree
with me, go to my Push Benoit page, located at:
http://www.geocities.com/Colosseum/Field/4495/protest.html.
Let's give what Benoit and us fans deserve; a deserving champion.
Thanks for your time.
Flair_Dog@xxx.com
Push Benoit Campaign coordinator
===========================================
Reader Mailbag
Submitted by reader: AIE316
Who ever referred to Jake as "some mystery partner" got on my nerves.
I know it was sarcastic. Being that I don't get ECW anymore and didn't see the event, I'm kind of behind and am dependant on other fans to fill me in.

I have preached for the last year about how Jake is my favorite of all
time. I never really realized it until recently for some reason. I
would cheer him against any competitor today or ever, just like I did
at the 1996 King of the Ring against Steve Austin. I have missed him
so much since he disappeared in early 1997.

Then in a recent PWI, I saw his name in the top 500. When I read the results on this newsletter, for the first time in a long time, a chill went down my spine with great excitement for the return of my hero. The big speculation was that it would be Terry Funk. I figured not since they actually said so on ECW. Then to hear Jake downed like that really got me angry.  Respect the Snake-man. That's all I got to say.
http://www.jakethesnakeroberts.com
Also check out my page-- http://members.aol.com/AIE316/wden

(I actually wrote an article a while back about Jake which is still there.)
===========================================
FANTASY BOOKING- THIS WILL NOT HAPPEN
Reader Mailbag
Submitted by reader: Hammerly99
Here's a booking idea:
At the next PPV (World War 3) One of the main events is Diamond Dallas
Page versus Bret "the Hitman" Hart.

They both come out, but instead of fighting, Hart grabs a mic and says for everyone to shut up, that he has an important announcement. He says that he and Page are forming their own stable because their sick of all the egotistical people in other stables. They both put on blue and black t-shirts that say PWO, the people's world order. Next Nitro they both come out again, and call out Jericho. They tell Jericho that he's in, no questions asked. They challenge the NWO Black and White to a 4 vs. 4 steel cage match at the next PPV.

For Hollywood, its Hogan, the Giant, Stevie Ray, and Scott Norton. THe PWO says they won't announce their mystery member, everyone's gonna have to wait and see. At the next PPV the three PWO's come out and their new mystery member is: Bam Bam Bigelow!!!!
===========================================
Reader Mailbag
Submitted by reader: Rjmaisfine
I know everybody hates reading long letters just like many fans hate
long matches so here is a short brief summary of the two big promoters
head to head.

WWF vs. WCW: I do not know if anybody else has ever noticed this but
when I watch Raw vs. Nitro I see something very different: COLOR.  To me it seems like WWF is always colorful for TV but Nitro looks dark and
almost black and white. If you do not believe me, pay attention next
time and you will see what I mean. Another thing I notice is that
Nitro is always, and I mean always saying this will be the greatest
match of al time, the greatest show of all time, the biggest match we
will ever have, the most shocking event of all time,,,,,,, I
understand they are trying to promote matches but they OVERDUE IT.

Experience: WCW gets the edge I need not to explain why.

 

Talent: It is even. The WWF has young talented wrestlers, while WCW
has old talented wrestlers with some young talent.

Entertainment: WWF has color.  All WWF commentators are better than WCW
except for the Brain.

OVERALL: The WWF.  This is short, but I can go into detail from everything like personalities of McMahon vs. Bischoff or Hogan vs. Steve Austin but I do not because of what I stated above.
===========================================
Reader Mailbag
Submitted by reader: Sting833
I wasn't looking forward to N2R big time, even though I live in New
York and haven't seen ECW in two months. I really wanted to see
Douglas-Taz. Paul Heyman usually does a great job booking, but
tonight it overall just missing something.

One problem was too many tag matches, which forced them to open the show with two throwaway matches. Also, it just didn't have a blow the roof off the place match, while at Heatwave, every match was like that. It was a good card, but nothing more. Lynn-Storm was really good, but the finish was absolutely terrible. The tag title match was good, too, but to me it lacked a little.

The mystery partner tag match was okay. Jake Roberts was good for shock value, but he is way over the hill, and Dreamer and Justin, in the matches I've seen, have never put together anything really spectacular, just good.

The Terry Funk thing was good, and Funk-Dreamer should be a real good match. The main event, well, I hated the idea to begin with, as it put the two singles champs in one match, meaning no defenses. As the match was about to start, I was thinking about possible endings. Shane taps to Taz...as much as I would hate to see that happen (Douglas is the man), it made sense. But it was also the way they set up Douglas-Snow, so I didn't think it was likely.

Taz makes Bigelow tap... works, jobs Bigelow on the way out and ends their feud (interestingly, on 1wrestling.com, Dave Scherer said that Heyman was talking like Bigelow might not leave after all. Then again, the Sandman was supposed to be all but signed with ECW, so...).

Taz turns and leaves his partners for a beating, made sense, too. But the ending we got didn't fit too well with the context of the angle. Yes, Taz doesn't get Shane to tap, and he gets pissed, but what does this lead to? Early word is Douglas-Sabu in January, but that to me would be a waste with the way they have been building to Douglas-Taz. I guess we'll have to wait and see.

As far as the newest member of the Triple Threat, it could be almost anyone. Someone said on your thing Lance Storm, but that's really ridiculous. My guess is Rob Van Dam, with him turning on Sabu after Sabu gets a World Title match and he doesn't. Who knows? Let's just hope ECW can put on a better show in January than they did Sunday night.
===========================================
Reader Mailbag
Submitted by reader: Ben Martin (stone_cold_48@xxx.com)
I have this to say about WCW, THEY SUCK, everyone in WCW but Ric
Flair and the 4 Horsemen are pansies, that’s why everybody is watching
WWF and ECW these days.

What makes me mad is that Eric Jerkofff, I mean Bischoff, is taking the top talent from ECW and the old washed up guys from the WWF and turning them and their careers into nothing but a joke.

When Sandman debuts in WCW in December, Bischoff, because of Ted Turner's "family oriented programming" wont let him use the gimmick that made him a star. THE beer swilling, cane swinging and cigarette smoking star, and there is no doubt in my mind that they will reduce Bam Bam Bigelow to nothing but a sniveling coward who will either join one of the factions of the nWo or be yet another jobber for GOLDBERG.

If you ask me, any established star or legend in the sport that goes to WCW is committing career suicide. AND THATS THE BOTTOM LINE CAUSE’ STONE COLD SAID SO!!!!!
===========================================
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

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