Issue # 056

Date:  Thursday November 5th, 1998  11:27 pm

The Wrestling Booking Sheet

The Wrestling Booking Sheet Presents:
FANTASY WRESTLING TOURNAMENT OF CHAMPIONS......
By: Mark George.

Hello again fans,
We have turned the corner and have entered the final leg of the TOC.
The votes from the semifinals are in and we are closer to crowning our
first Fantasy Champion. But first, listed below are the results from
the semifinals along with a recap and the voting totals. Once again
you, the readers, voted for the winners. As in previous rounds, you
are to vote for the winner of the final match and send them to me at:
attkdonkey. Deadline will be November 8th. So, without
further delay, here are the results of the semifinals!!!!

#1 "Stone Cold" Steve Austin vs. #5 Kevin Nash............
With a spot in the finals at stake, these two wrestlers left
everything in the ring. Accompanied by nWo Wolfpack, Nash rolled to
the ring confident and ready. Nash grabbed the mic and went into his
normal spiel about "Wolfpack in the house"!!!! and then let little
K-Dog go off on the mic. Just as Konnan got started, the sound of
Breaking Glass sounds and Austin flies to the ring and quickly lays
K-Dog out with a STUNNER and dumps his sorry ass to the floor.

The bell sounds and Nash and Austin brawl. Surprisingly, the two engage in nonstop action. Nash begins to wear down Austin after a few blows to
the head and then delivers a belly to back SUPLEX. Nash then sets Austin up for the POWERBOMB when Scott Hall appears ringside with a beer in hand.

With everyone expecting Hall to assist Nash for the win, he instead throws his beer into Big Sexy's eyes, allowing Austin to break free. Sting and Luger jump into the ring but the Rattlesake sends them packing with a pair of STUNNERS. Meanwhile, Hall aids Austin further as he pays Nash back for the episode at Halloween Havoc by delivering a POWERBOMB and Austin follows it with a STUNNER and the 1,2,3. With the crowd screaming wildly, Austin extends his hand in friendship to Hall with a "Steveweiser".

WINNER: AUSTIN by pinfall......
VOTING: 431-221 (Austin)
Austin: 66%
Nash: 34%

#2 "The Rock" Rocky Maivia vs. #11 "Nature Boy" Ric Flair
The biggest surprise of the tournament has been the 11th seeded
Ric Flair making his way to the semifinals. A win away from the
finals, Flair faced the People's Champion in a match pitting OLD vs.
NEW.

With the The Four Horsemen escorting Flair to the ring, Rock felt
uneasy and almost overmatched. From the opening bell, Rock countered
everything Flair threw at him. As the match rolled into the 15th
minute, Rock came top rope with a KNEE DROP and knocked Flair to the
mat. As the Rock attempted the PEOPLE'S ELBOW, Chris Benoit
interfered and flipped Rock ringside where the Horsemen worked their
magic. With time to recover, Flair laid The Rock out with a DDT and
went for the win with the FIGURE FOUR LEGLOCK. In an act of allegiance, Triple H showed his WWF ties were too strong to be a Horsemen and delivered a chair over Flair's head and knocked him unconscious. Rock then delivered the ROCK BOTTOM and finished Flair for good with the three count and the win.
WINNER: THE ROCK by pinfall
VOTING: 491-169 (Rock)
Rock: 74%
Flair: 26%

Those are the results from the semifinal matches. It will be an all
WWF Final as The Rock meets Steve Austin for the Fantasy TOC title.
Just as you did in the 3 previous rounds you, the readers, will vote
for the winner of the title match below:

#1 "Stone Cold" Steve Austin vs. #2 "The Rock" Rocky Maivia
IMPORTMANT!!!!!!.................IMPORTANT!!!!!!!!!.......................
1. Send all votes to ATTKDONKEY.
2. DEADLINE: November 8th...............
===========================================
The following news is directly from Dave Meltzer of The Wrestling Observer Newsletter:

Rob Van Dam is slowly being groomed as the top babyface in ECW,
alongside Justin Credible as the future top heel

Taz, Shane Douglas, and Sabu were involved in a backstage argument after the main event at November To Remember; while it never got physical, apparently it was very heated.

Mitsuharu Misawa defeated Kenta Kobashi in 43:22 to capture his record
fourth Triple Crown; this sounds like it was an AWESOME match.

Vader is negotiating with ECW to become a part time competitor, maybe
making ten to fifteen appearances a year. Vader is better utilized on
a part time, monster basis anyway.

Former UFC fighters Igor Zinoviev, Mark Coleman, Kimo, and Mark Kerr
are all considering careers in professional wrestling. Frank Shamrock
has talked with Paul Heyman about a POSSIBLE involvement with ECW.

Jim Neidhart was definitely fired by WCW. There is no official word
yet on The British Bulldog, although it appears unlikely he'll be with
WCW much longer, if at all.

The betting line is still strong that The Giant will be heading to WWF.

Eric Bischoff is strongly considering starting his own Horseman to
feud with the current group. Names being mentioned include Barry
Windham, Ole Anderson, and Tully Blanchard. Regarding Ole & Tully,
this is not confirmed, this is still just a rumor.

Everyone seems to expect Kevin Nash to win World War 3, leading to a
victory over Goldberg at Starrcade. Possible, but don't count on it.
WCW's plans change so often, either Hogan or Hart could take it as well.

Steve McMichael is balking about signing a new contract until he's
given a guarantee that he will remain with The Horseman.

 

To truly be informed about the wrestling business, I suggest you
subscribe directly to Dave Meltzer's Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
There are so many great On-Line Newsletters and web sites; none of
them can compare to The Wrestler Observer. Many of the news boards
you find on the internet get their information directly from Meltzer.
To subscribe, send $10 for 4 issues to the following address:
The Wrestling Observer
P.O. Box 1228
Campbell CA 95009-1228
===========================================
WCW Thunder Report for November 5th, 1998
By Steve Appy

 

The broadcast opened with Tony Shiavonie congratulating Jesse Ventura.
In an odd twist, Hulk Hogan will announce on Monday his candidacy
for President of the United States.  This could be funny; it'll be interesting to see how it plays out.

Kanyon (w/Raven) pinned Barry Horowitz in 4:00
WCW is teasing dissention between Kanyon and Raven. Although Horowitz
hit a nice Powerbomb on Kanyon, it wasn't enough to avoid The Flatliner.

Scott Steiner and Buff Bagwell were interviewed live. While Buff has
been great for a while, its still surprising to see how good Steiner is becoming on the mic. The main thrust of Scott's attack was JJ Dillon, which led to a challenge to Lex Luger. At this point, I imagine this match will be awful.

Alex Wright defeated Raven via countout in 3:20
Wright insulted Raven, which barely made an impact on the depressed
Scott Levy. Lodi, Kanyon, and The Disco Inferno joined the crowd at
ringside until eventually Raven just walked away from the ring. I'm
getting bored with Raven's current act.

TV Champion Chris Jericho was interviewed. As always, funny. Jericho
expressed his mock respect of Goldberg and once again challenged him.

Booker T pinned David "Fit" Finlay in 4:09
Battle of former Television Champions. Booker debuted a new finisher,
with a flip into a sunset flip that looked very impressive. its great to see Booker T back.

Ernest Miller did his usual routine, challenging the locker room. Kaz
Hayashi stormed the ring but was quickly laid out by The Cat.
Glacier returned after a several month absence and offered his
assistance to Miller. Miller didn't seem interested, which probably
means Glacier will accompany Miller to the ring Monday night, with no
explanation offered (this is WCW).

Horace pinned Norman Smiley in 1:37
Horace was accompanied by Scott Hall, Vincent, and Scott Norton.
Horace won after a Brainbuster.

Rey Mysterio Jr. fought Eddie Guerreroto a time limit draw in 9:02
Weird stipulation for this match: If Eddie defeats Rey, Mysterio must
join the LwO.

 

From a logic standpoint, why would Mysterio ever agree to this match?
Either way, two of the best in the world and they work together very
well. Eddie spent most of the match working over Rey's injured knee.
Rey hit an amazing Thesz Press from the top rope to the floor on Eddie .
Eddie locked Rey into a submission maneuver, similar to a Boston
Crab. The time limit expired with Rey locked in the move.  The good
news is that Rey doesn't have to join the Jobber Corp.

WCW Television Champion Chris Jericho defeated Prince Iaukai via
submission in 5:24
If Jericho really is going to challenge Goldberg he needs some clean
victories over some heavyweights. Iaukai isn't going to do it, although Iaukai is a former TV Champ himself.  Jericho scored the victory after The Liontamer.

Scott Hall pinned The Disco Inferno in 2:26
Hall was accompanied by Stevie Ray, Scott Norton, Vincent & Horace.
Disco tried to flee, which was stopped by The Giant. The announcers
are selling that Hall seems to be over his alcohol problem; I hope
this angle has met its death. Hall controlled all the offense and
scored the easy victory.

Tony Shiavonie interviewed The Four Horseman (the legit highlight of
every Thunder!).
Mongo was absent once again; I wonder if this is the beginning of an
angle or simply a no-show? Arn Anderson is currently the best talker
in the business, proving it by making fun of the entire nWo Hollywood.

 

Benoit and Malenko are both underated on interviews. Flair, having something to say, was great. He restated his desire for Bischoff's job, loving the idea of telling Hogan what to do. Interestingly enough, Mongo was never even mentioned. A great interview, the highlight of the show.

Scott & Buff beat the hell out of Nick Patrick, focusing on his knee.
Luger made the save which started a brawl. After some double-teaming Scott took the advantage.  The match never really officially started. As the brawl went on, another referee made his way in, as Luger had Scott in the Torture Rack. Steiner began to attack the other referee. Rick Steiner made the save, and Scott Steiner and Buff left the ring in panic.
===========================================
FANTASY BOOKING- THIS WILL NOT HAPPEN
Reader Mailbag
Submitted by reader: Beesly01
Here's my idea for a "Blue Blazer" Booking Plan....
Heat 11/08/98 – Jim Cornette and the guy who has taken over for Shane
(cannot remember his name) comment throughout the night about the Blue
Blazer and Owen Hart attacking Steve Blackman... Jim says, since Owen was right there, who can the Blazer be?

Raw 11/09 - Steve Blackman challenges Owen Hart to a match, Owen comes
out, says he has retired, and walks back to the backstage area, Blackman follows him, and is jumped by the Blue Blazer.

Heat 11/15 - Jeff Jarrett is fighting Droz when the Blue Blazer
appears from nowhere and starts wailing on Droz...Blackman attempts a
save, but Blazer runs out in time.

Nothing dealing with the Blue Blazer happens during the Survivor Series.

Raw 11/16 - Steve Blackman comes to the ring to start the WarZone, he
grabs a mic, and says he's not leaving until he gets his hands on both Owen and the Blazer. Owen comes to the ramp again, starts his "retired" speech again, until the Blazer jumps Blackman from behind, then Owen runs to the ring and puts Steve in the sharpshooter. Dan Severn appears, with a neckbrace (and a chair) and makes the save.

Heat 11/22 - Steve Blackman and Dan Severn are interviewed by Michael
Cole, as Blackman challenges Owen and the Blazer to a tag match. Michael mentions something about Dan's neck, to which he shrugs off as saying, "Now its personal"

Raw 11/23 - The tag match is slated for the main event (I'll just dub
it, "Battle of the Injuries") During the match, Steve does most the
offense for his team (selling the injured neck of Severn) and Owen and
Jarrett spend a lot of the match double-teaming Blackman. Blackman is
eventually pinned after Owen nails Dan Severn with a chair, causing
the paramedics to take him out of the arena.

Raw 11/30 - Blackman comes out, challenges the Blue Blazer to a match
at the next PPV, with this stipulation, Career vs. Mask. If Steve wins, the mask comes off, if Steve loses, he leaves the WWF. Blazer appears at the top of the ramp, and nods his approval.

PPV - Match goes back and forth for about 10-15 minutes. Blazer does
a missile dropkick and gets a count of 2 3/4. Owen Hart comes out,
with a steel chair in hand after the ref has been knocked out, Blazer
holds Blackman, Owen gets ready to nail him, when Steve dodges, and
the chair nails the Blazer, Dan Severn comes out and puts Owen in his
submission move while Blackman gets the three count. Severn holds the
Blazer (Owen is unconscious on the floor) while Blackman removes the
mask, and its JEFF JARRETT!!!
===========================================
Reader Mailbag
Submitted by reader: Rajun Cajun (LSU101@xxxxcebtv.net)
Okay people, Bam Bam Bigelow signs with WCW and you all quickly assume
he's a replacement for Mongo? Wrong!!!!! Mongo is not going to be
replaced, you have to get this through your head!!!

Here is the role that Bam Bam will play and it is a very simple one
that everyone overlooked!!!!!! One word for his role- "Sandman". He is
either going to tag with him or feud with him!!! This is going to be
their new "extreme" edge that will win them the ratings!!! I can’t
believe all of you missed that connection!!! WCW acquires two ECW
wrestlers within a month of each other and you don't make the
connection, and I thought you people were good at predicting
angles!!!!!!
The Rajun Cajun™
===========================================
Reader Mailbag
Submitted by reader: WaReZeRRoR
The impact of wrestling on Kids, written by a 14 year old child

 

First of I would just like to state that I am a LIFETIME fan of
wrestling. My entire family is. I grew up hearing about the Junkyard
Dog, Hulkamania, and the Megapowers. But lately I have been just
disgusted by the number of people that say wrestling is a bad
influence on children. Well, these people in my opinion have never
asked a child what THEY think. These people just take it that it is
their place to decide what we can "handle" and a bunch of guys saying
"SUCK IT" and maybe the biggest role model/ superstar of all time
saying "asshole" (DX and Stone Cold)

I think if you are going to try to regulate what we kids can
see.  Ask a child if they would regulate what movies their kids will
see, that's basically what it is, an ongoing movie. I mean, I watch
ANYTHING I want. I guess I'm lucky, but for a parent to not let their
children and even OTHER children enjoy QUALITY entertainment, it’s beyond my belief.

Again, this is my opinion. From the eyes of an adolescent,
Goodnight-¶hí§h¥
Please e-mail me with your opinions at WaReZeRRoR
===========================================
Reader Mailbag
Submitted by reader: PsychoGaBe
I'd like to know where I can meet those nose-picking local jobronies
on that dumb NBC special. Brash Knuckles? Skullduggery? What trash.
Booker: I'm a booker. I decide what goes on in my crappy little
fed. Jobber: I'm a jobber. My job is to job.

WOW! They teach us the fine arts of blading! Or that a piledriver is
the most devastating move (finisher) in wrestling. Maybe if Owen Hart
tries to pull it off... although it was fairly comedic.
===========================================
Reader Mailbag
Submitted by reader: Anfony20
The main reason that ECW got all the negativity regarding Jake "The
Snake" Roberts as the mystery partner wasn't because he's old or has
been in the Indy circuits for a while. its because the last time
Roberts was in ECW, he was against Tommy Dreamer. It just didn't make
sense for him to team with Dreamer. As for N2R as a whole, I'm really
surprised at the way ECW fans are seemingly turning on ECW. So N2R
wasn't as good as it should have been. But for the past few weeks, ECW
has promised us one thing and one thing only for N2R: In Joey Styles'
words, "Our wrestlers will work harder to give you more bang for your
buck." And ECW delivered what they promised. Every single person
involved in N2R worked hard. And we should appreciate that.
===========================================
Reader Mailbag
Submitted by reader: Relyt316
Its very disturbing to me that the best commentator in the wrestling
business has to deal with complete morons. Bobby "The Brain" Heenen
always makes good points because he understands all of the story lines
and understands where they need to go. Another big time plus for "The
Brain" is he's a great commentator heel. He makes boring matches funny
and entertaining. its truly sad that he has to work with Tony
Shiavonie. This guy is pathetic. On a scale from 1 to 10 about
wrestling knowledge, he gets a 2 (i.e. this past Nitro he called a
spinning heel kick, a spinning wheel kick). Larry Zybyszco. He has a
lot of ring experience, but he doesn't apply his knowledge has well as
he can. With a little tuning, I do believe there's hope for The Living
Legend.

Mike Tenay, he's good at what he does, but I don't think that naming
all the wrestling moves should be his only job. He also could be saved
with a little tuning up. Point is, I have to endure listening to the
greatest announcer of all time try to deal with a bunch of wrestling
morons. The man deserves better then the second class WCW crew.
===========================================
Reader Mailbag
Submitted by reader: SkipKEE
I read this sheet all the time, and one glairing statement seems to be
obvious. Far more wrestling fans with access to the internet are WWF
fans. While I do like the WWF, I also flip to WCW. There are good and
bad in both organizations.  The good in the WCW is the big names and the stars they have created too.

Take a look at some names in WCW that were not made in the WWF. Guys like Chris Jericho, Bill Goldberg (while most internet fans don't like him, myself included, this guy is over), Sting, The Nature Boy (still the best worker I've ever watched to this day. Maybe not anymore, but for those who don't get it, truly are blind to what wrestling is all about), Booker T, Chris Benoit (maybe an international star before, but WCW has given him the big stage), Cruiserwieghts like Kidman, Juvi, La Parka, etc.

No longer can you tell me this is the dinosaur league. Talent grows younger yet, they give fans what they want (not always done correctly, but they try.) What I don't get is the willingness to blast a product that has given people what they want. If it wasn't for WCW you wouldn't see Stone Cold on cable wrestling Kane or the Undertaker. You wouldn’t see the Rock laying the smack down on Ken Shamrock.

You would be watching Iron Mike Sharpe Jr. getting the Mandable Claw Monday night at 10:59. Now if the WCW would only blade I'd be in heaven. None the less, thank God there's WCW, quality matches at the click of the remote, wrestling aimed to defeat a another organization instead of wallowing in mediocrity until the next PPV where Hulk Hogan get an adrenaline rush to pin an evil foe.

I think the people complaining are newer fans that didn't grow up watching Barry Horowitz lose to George Steele, Greg Valentine, and Billy Jack Haynes on successive Saturdays. So don't complain, it could be worse, and it has been.
===========================================
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: Osiris
Columnist: Tom Kirkbride
Columnist: Darren Kramer

Any submissions sent in by readers or columnists become the property
of The Wrestling Booking Sheet, and are subject to editing due to
grammar, spelling, or content. Any information taken from The
Wrestling Booking Sheet must be credited properly, with our E-Mail
address listed.