Issue # 071

Date:  Thursday, November 19th, 1998  10:52 pm

The Wrestling Booking Sheet

WCW Thunder Report for November 19th, 1998
By Steve Appy
Live from Fort Wayne, Indiana

Booker T pinned Norman Smiley in 3:26
Former WWF jobber Brady Boone was the referee (Wasn't he billed as
Billy Jack Haynes cousin?  This was back in 1987.) Booker T won the
contest after delivering a Sidewalk Slam.

Scott Hall (w/Stevie Ray, Horace, Vincent, & Scott Norton) pinned The
Disco Inferno in 2:34
Hall appeared to be getting along with his nWo entourage; there was no
development of the angle from Monday night. Hall scored the victory
after The Outsiders Edge.

Television Champion Chris Jericho was interviewed.  In an interesting
piece of useless trivia, Jericho claimed that he hated cowboys because
Stu Hart labeled him "Cowboy Chris Jericho" for his first match. Bobby
Duncam Jr., Jericho's opponent at World War 3, nailed Jericho and hog
tied him with his bullrope. Funny stuff. Beating someone like Duncam
won't continue his elevation, though.

Kaz Hayashi was backstage looking for a tag team partner. He came
upon Scott Hall and Kaz asked Hall to be his "bud". Hall was polite,
and told Hayashi that beer is for after the match, not before.  While a part of me hates any mention of alcohol and Scott Hall in the same breath, this was funny. They do seem to have dropped the alcoholism angle, and that's all we can ask for. Keep this out of public view and let Hall deal with these issues behind closed doors.

Kidman was scheduled to face Rey Mysterio Jr. for the # 1
contender for Juvi's title. Rey Mysterio Jr. walked to the ring
to Eddie Guerrero's music. Kidman called the LwO "The Lazy Wrestling
Organization" and announced that he wanted to wrestle the real Rey
Mysterio Jr., the one that revolutionized the sport. Eddie demanded
that the newest member of the LwO show sacrifice and let Eddie take
his spot. Rey didn't look thrilled.

Eddie Guerreropinned Kidman in 5:35
As great as Guerrero is, I would have rather watched Kidman face
Mysterio. Kidman hit a Suicide Dive on Mysterio and Art Flores.
Using the ropes for leverage Eddie pinned Kidman. Not bad, but not
nearly as great as a Kidman/Rey showdown.

IWGP World Heavyweight Champion Scott Norton (w/Scott Hall, Stevie
Ray, Horace, & Vincent) pinned Scott Putski in 1:47
Vincent brawled with Putski before the match and for some reason, Norton wasn't disqualified. Norton was the victor after a Powerbomb.

Kaz Hayashi asked The Disco Inferno to be his tag team partner and Disco  misunderstood and thought he meant a dancing partner. Saturn
interrupted, and hinted that he would team with Kaz.

 
Ernest Miller was supposed to face The Super Sensai, who was billed
from Japan (of course, he wasn't actually Japanese). This brought out Kaz Hayashi, who was quickly destroyed by Miller. Saturn made the save to set up a tag match at World War 3. Wonderful.

Alex Wright pinned Chavo Guerrero Jr. in 7:32
Wright won after a Bridge Roll Up.  Wright then once again destroyed
poor Pepe.

Kanyon pinned Prince Iaukea
Kanyon scored the victory after The Flatliner.

Wrath pinned Saturn in 6:01
This is the highest ranked opponent Wrath has faced since his return.
When both the referee and Wrath were distracted, Ernest Miller kicked
Saturn square in the head. At this point a dazed Saturn was easy
pickings for a Meltdown. Kaz Hayashi consoled his fallen partner.

Bret Hart defeated Konnan via submission in 3:16
Stevie Ray hit Konnan with a tire iron, which knocked K-Dawg out.
Hart used the Sharpshooter on an unconscious Konnan to gain the
victory. Hart worked on Konnan's knee and planned to put him out of
action. Right before leaping onto a chair attached to Konnan's ankle,
DDP made the save.
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Reader Mailbag
Submitted by reader: RealLoDown
I feel compelled to comment on, among other things, the Post-Survivor
Series putdowns of Bret Hart, who has been punked as a crybaby for
complaining about Vince's screwjob of him at SS '97.

One reader blurted that the wild mass-screw machinations at this year's SS showed that Mr. McMahan was "clearly over the incident," and that Bret should follow suit and move on, beginning with climbing above his current mid-card status at WCW. The columnist who summarized the 11/16 RAW likewise stated, "(Note to The Canadian Crybaby. Do you see what you started at last years Survivor Series? Now everyone says they are being screwed)."

I beg to differ. Bret did not "start" the problem, and someone who
gets run over by a truck does not "move on," simply because the
unrepentant, reckless driver has "gotten over it." The wrestlers on
RAW were going through the motions of a work in *claiming* to be
screwed, whereas Hart's issue concerns the fact that he was *actually*
screwed (you know, real life, remember)? He's not upset over the
script the WWF went with, but with the fact that the script wasn't
followed, that a small clique of colluders did a shoot-end-around a
performer of his standing in the industry, especially after a
different booking outcome had been prior agreed to. This was a
flat-out top-brass back- stabbing of a loyal employee, a betrayal of
personal trust between Hart and McMahon & Co., and even a exercise in
unprofessional on the part of the WWF (a pro wrestling organization
should not shoot at a PPV).

These are not small things. Breach of contract (which gave Hart some
control over his match outcomes, especially in Montreal) is not a
small thing either. And what about giving consideration to the
unprecedented nature of the screw-job, one reason why it was talked
about for months? What jaded hindsight has made people forget the
incredible shock value of this incident, to the point of blowing off
the complaints of its central figure, who was equally shocked by it?

 

Finally, as to Hart's current struggling in WCW, one can simply
respond that *all* WWF superstars other than Hogan have suffered this
mid-card fate since jumping ship to Bischoff-land, so Hart's case should not be singled out. Vince McMahan can still put out more interesting angles in his sleep than WCW does in a year (most recently, notice the instant heat he generated for the Boss Man, after his no-heat-to-freezing-cold stint in WCW).

its just the nature of the difference between the companies. Bret
Hart does not persist in "obsessing" over the screw-job due to resentment over his current standing, as his complaints *preceded* his
arrival and initial angles at WCW, and persists *after* his recent
pick-up in heat in that organization.

its funny that the Hitman's "crybaby" syndrome has been cited, considering that routine *was* a work, which preceded the real-life screw-job that justified it. It may just turn out his more traditional approach to the profession will return to rule in the long run, long after the adult-angle, omni-heel trend in the WWF runs out of gas. After all, how much heel can a heel Owner heel, if the heel fans would chuck heel?  And that's the RealLoDown.
===========================================
Reader Mailbag
Submitted by reader: Dodge37092
As the everyday average fan of pro wrestling, I get sick and tired of
watching pointless jobbers with no purpose in life get their asses
kicked all over the ring. My mind has helplessly wandered, and I've
figured that a few characters need remodeling. Here are just a few.

Bob Holly: This guy has exciting ring skills, but his complete lack of
personality and his stupid looking appearance ruin his chances of
becoming a star. Here's my plan for using Bob Holly to his potential
in the WWF. Get him practicing to stutter until he perfects the
imitation of somebody with a stuttering problem. Shave off that stupid
afro and give him a Forrest Gump style haircut. Get rid of the stupid
little outfit he wears and give him some schoolboy clothes that are
too small. "Stuttering" Bobby Holly would then become a popular
Mankind type character who would have grown men laughing at his stupid
stuttering and young women going "Oooh, how cute, poor guy". He could have angles with snobbish heels like Jeff Jarrett and Tiger Ali Singh and become a crowd favorite.

Steven Regal: Forget this stupid real man's man crap. Regal has a
British accent and that gives you the ultimate realm of possible
British characters to work with. Here's my plan for making Regal a
more noticeable, better suited wrestler in the WWF. Lately, people
from England are known for their insane soccer fans. Make Regal an
absolute maniac who comes to the ring with a cup of foamy beer and
a Manchester United (British soccer team) jersey. Make him an
uncontrollable Englishman who attacks wrestlers day in and day out and puzzles the fans to whether he is a heel or face. He can have angles with just about anybody and it'll always be interesting to see whom he attacks next.

Mark Henry: This guy hasn't had one ounce of impact on pro wrestling
since his fat carcass hit the squared circle. You have a big, fat guy.
They are suitable for many colorful character situations. Here's my
plan for making Mark Henry more noticeable in the WWF. Drop the
world's strongest man crap, because he actually isn't. Throw
away those stupid Nation of Domination outfits. Keep D-Lo Brown at his
side.

Mark Henry and D-Lo can be like Fat Albert and the gang. They can recruit other goofy wrestlers and form a popular little gang that children will like and adults will laugh at while saying "Look at those fat asses". Hey, it’s a hell of a lot better than the Oddities, don't you think?

If you have any changes that you feel need to be discussed, then send
them to me at dodge37092.
===========================================
Reader Mailbag
Submitted by reader: N8playslax
Ok, let me get this straight. Kanyon used to be Mortis. Kanyon
wrestles Wrath for Raven. Wrath and Mortis used to be Tag Team
Partners. Why doesn't Wrath even acknowledge Kanyon's existance? I
thought they parted on good terms. Oh well.

I also think that WCW needs to drop the whole powerhouse thing. Goldberg is getting boring at 300-0, and now Wrath is undefeated since returning to WCW. This just seems to get a little boring after a while. One good thing about WWF is that anybody can beat anybody. Kane may be a monster, but he can be beaten.
Nate Hewitt
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Reader Mailbag
Submitted by reader: KFITZPATI
While I expected Shane McMahon to turn on Stone Cold, never would I have thought that the Rock would get the complete push from Titan Towers to win the WWF World title last night. The interviews, the finishing moves, the stamina, the ability to sell himself as a face or heel- like you all said, the Rock has now arrived into full-fledged
superstardom. Which brings up another good point from you folks in
other letters- the key to the WWF's future success will be the
direction they take HBK. We won't know for sure if he'll ever be back
to his 1996 form- only time and some ring appearances will tell. But
the WWF has again brought some new plot twists to keep things interesting for the upcoming months. Kudos to McMahon and company.....
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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
 
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