Issue # 073

Date:  Friday November 20th, 1998  2:59 pm

The Wrestling Booking Sheet

I finally saw the Bret Hart documentary "Hitman Hart: Wrestling With
Shadows".  While far too much happened in this 94 minute feature to go over in any detail, I do recommend ordering it.

This film gives a unique perspective into the backstage world of wrestling, and is worth checking out. To order this film either call 1-800-900-6952, or visit http://www.brethartvideo.com
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ROUNDING THE SQUARED CIRCLE
ECW - NOVEMBER 20, 1998 - QUEENS, NY
BY SAMJERRY
VISIT my Home Page: http://members.aol.com/~samjerry or
http//rtsc.cjb.net

The program began with a series of clips from November To Remember
(N2R) and recent ECW TV shows. Included were:

. Sabu interrupting Taz when he had Shane "The Franchise" Douglas
locked in The Tazmission at N2R during Battle of The Triple Threats.

 

. Douglas' offer to Taz last week of Francine, if he takes Sabu out
prior to their match at next ECW PPV, Guilty As Charged.

 

. Taz attacking Sabu last week.

 

. Terry Funk attacking Tommy Dreamer for not picking him as his Partner at N2R.

 

. Dreamer v. Rob "Mr. Monday Night" Van Dam for ECW TV Title last week.

 

. Justin Credible attacking Dreamer with his Singapore Cane during the
match v. Van Dam.

 

. Dudley Boyz winning the ECW Tag Team Title for the 4th time a few
weeks ago by defeating Van Dam and Sabu.

 

. Balls Mahoney and Masato Tanaka winning the Tag Team Title from The
Dudley Boyz at N2R.

 

. Dudley Boyz recapturing the Tag Team Title at week, and becoming the
first five time Tag Team Champions in ECW, in a rematch v. Balls and Tanaka.

 

. Bubba Ray Dudley insulting Axl Rotten's sick grandmother prior to
the match above, after Joel "I'll finish that Pumpkin Pie, the Turkey, Mashed Potatoes and everything else".  Gertner, showed a very rare sense of compassion about her illness.

Details of all the matches above (except N2R) can be found on my Web
Page in prior ECW TV Reports.

The regular ECW opening was shown.

Joey Styles was at the announcers position and gave the line up for
the show.

The first match was a rematch from N2R between Lance Storm and Jerry
Lynn. Storm was accompanied to the ring by Tammy Lynn Bytch. The fans
picked up a chant of "Show Your T*ts" as she came to the ring. She
asked Storm if she should and he told her no. She seemed a bit
disappointed that he wouldn't let her show her "talents." Mikey
Whipwreck came to the ring and apologized to Lynn for nailing him at
N2R, calling it a mistake. He turned to Storm and said when Storm hit
him in his "privates" last week, he really hurt him and he wants to
get even tonight. He asked Lynn if he could take the match v. Storm.
Lynn agreed and as he left, Storm jumped Mikey from behind to start
the match.

Mikey fought back and immediately hit The Whippersnapper.  Tammy pulled Storm out of the ring to prevent a pin. Mikey went out after Storm and they fought on the floor. Mikey threw Storm into the guard rail and then over it into the crowd. He dove over the rail onto Storm. This got our first "Oh, my G-d" from Joey baby. After fighting in the crowd for a while, they eventually got back into the ring. I wonder if ECW has a Count Out Rule? They spend as much time out of the ring as they do in it. Storm hit a Low Blow, went for a pin, but Mikey kicked out. He followed with a Kick to Mikey's head, then bounced it on the top turn buckle. Mikey returned the favor, and followed with two Elbows and a Super Kick. He went for a pin, but it wasn't there.

 

Storm hit a Side Russian Leg Sweep. Tammy played to the fans and they
again chanted, "Show Your T*ts." Tammy gave them a little T&A show.
Meanwhile, Storm had Mikey in a Reverse Chin Lock. Mikey escaped with
an Elbow, followed by a Cross-Body Block. Storm retaliated with a Jaw
Breaker, went for a pin, but no luck. Storm pounded Mikey's face into
the top turnbuckle. At home, Mrs. Mikey hoped her boy wouldn't be too
badly messed up. They traded punches. Mikey hit a kick as Storm was
against the corner. Storm came back with a Leg Trip and a Single Leg
Boston Crab. Mikey hit another Kick to the head that knocked Storm
over the ropes and out to the floor. Mikey followed with a Baseball
Slide and tried to Suflex Storm back in from the apron. Tammy held
Storm’s leg and prevented the Suflex. He got back in and took a Back Body Drop and an Elbow to the chest. Again Mikey tried for a pin, and still was unable to get it.

Mikey went for The Whippersnapper, but somehow the ref got in the way and he took it instead of Storm. It was very strange. Storm hit a Side Kick. Tammy got into the ring and Bitch Slapped Mikey several times as he was being held by Storm. Lynn stormed back in with a chair and nailed Storm with it, sending him to La La Land. He then hit Mikey with The Whippersnapper, sending him to join Storm. Lynn then rolled Storm onto Mikey. The referee awoke, returned to duty and counted the pin on Mikey. Tammy came in to raise Storm's hand, but he was still out of it. its nice to have a good woman behind you. Do you smell a Triple Threat Match a brewing?

Winner - Lance Storm - Losers - The fans, they didn't get their wish.

Styles introduced an interview that was coming up next with New Jack.
He warned people of the crude language.

We saw New Jack "in the hood," on the streets of Harlem. He went into
why he is The Original Gangsta, why he doesn't need anyone, doesn't
care about Titles or Belts and just wants to "Whoop @$$." He said he
wasn't interested in money, so wasn't going to WCW or the WWF. He is
in ECW to stay and to "Whoop @$$." He said he "puts @$$es in seats"
and wants to "Whoop @$$." You get the idea that he may be one
dimensional? He said he is "not a sellout" and "can't be bought,"
taking obvious potshots at those who have left ECW for Uncle Ted's
Bucks.

The next thing shown was a clip from an ECW World Championship Match
held a while back in Pittsburgh, PA, pitting Douglas (C) v. Sabu. It
was taken by a "Fan Cam." We picked it up pretty deep into the match.
Both men were quite exhausted and on the mat. There was a lot of
confusion as a second referee came into the ring and was in the middle
of naming the winner. The original referee stopped him and they got
into an argument. Bam Bam Bigelow and Chris Candido stormed in to
protect Douglas' interests. Bigelow went insane and nailed Candido and
Francine, "The Head Cheerleader," who was at ringside. He then jumped
Sabu. Van Dam stormed in and jumped Bigelow. This started their
scheduled match for Van Dam's ECW TV Title. The match was shown in
highlight form. It was Van Dam's skill and daring aerial moves against
Bigelow's power.

At one point Van Dam put Bigelow on what Styles called "an unbreakable table" (they must have gone to someone other then The Acme Table and Chair Co...). It wasn't. Van Dam came off another table and put Bigelow thru it. The got an expected "Oh, my G-d" from Little Joey. In other highlights, Van Dam hit a Leaping Side Kick from the top turn buckle and a Frog Splash. He was unable to get a pin at that point as it appeared he hurt himself as well as Bigelow.

 

Later, Bigelow made a fatal error as he picked up a chair and raised
it to hit Van Dam. It hit him in the face instead as Van Dam nailed
him with The VanDaminator coming off the top turn buckle. End of the
road for Bigelow. Guess he'll have to wait for a singles Title in WCW.

Winner - Double DQ or Count Out in Douglas/Sabu Match - Douglas
Retained the Title.

Winner - Van Dam - Retained ECW TV Title

Styles talked about Bigelow going to WCW. He said that Bigelow can
beat anyone there or anywhere for that matter, including Goldberg. His
only problem is he can't beat Van Dam. He said that wasn't a knock on
Goldberg, but a tribute to Van Dam, and how good he is.

The next match was for the ECW Championship, pitting Shane Douglas (C)
v. Spike Dudley, 5'5," 150 pound, Runt Of The Litter, outcast half-brother of The Dudley Boyz.  Douglas was accompanied to the ring by Francine, CO-winner of the RTSC Pageant.

 

Prior to the match, we saw a series of clips of Spike winning matches
against all the big men in ECW with The Acid Drop. He better have a
strong solution tonight. Spike came to the ring carrying his trademark
15 foot steel ladder. He leaned it against one of the corners. Douglas
went right after Spike with a Face Buster and then stomped on Spike's
face. Maybe if he does a good job rearranging Spike's face, Spike can
sneak into Dudleyville for Thanksgiving Dinner and not be recognized,
or eaten. Douglas mauled poor little Spikey. Spike went for The Acid
Drop, but Douglas was ready for it and countered with a Suplex. He
followed with a High Vertical Suplex, holding Spike up for some period
of time, ala Chris Candido.

Spike hit a Low Blow, his set up for The Acid Drop, and went for it. Again Douglas blocked it. This was not to be Spikey's night methinks. He threw Spike over the top rope to the floor. Francine just happened to stroll by and decided her spiked heels were in need of a test to be sure the points were sharp. She did so in Spike's ribs. Spike got back in (another mistake) the ring.  Douglas picked him up as used him as an (almost) human javelin (remember, he is a Dudley) as he launched him into the ladder.

The ladder bent under the impact as Spike mused about how smart it was to bring the ladder. This got another, "Oh, my G-d" from Joey baby. Douglas went for a pin, but Spike got a leg on the ropes (another
mistake)! To prove that it wasn't a smart thing, Douglas hit Spike
with a .. are you ready .. Spike Pile Driver. Douglas picked up the
ladder and tried to feed it to Spike directly thru his stomach. This
time Douglas decided not to go for a pin, but to punish Spike for
being plain dumb.

Spike eventually regained his senses (there's an oxymoron if I ever heard one) and hit Douglas with a Low Blow. Yup, Acid Drop time. Candido raced in to save Douglas' Title. Spike wasn't real happy so he hit Candido with an Acid Drop. Francine came into the ring and Spike was set to nail her with one also, but Douglas recovered and put an end that dream of Spike's. He applied his Reverse Full Nelson on Spike. This is the move than injured Sabu's neck. Sabu stormed in and pulled Douglas off what was left of Spike and applied The Camel Clutch. Taz joined the fun and applied his finisher, The TazMission on Sabu. The program ended with Sabu still in the hold.

An enjoyable hour, although not quite as good as the past few.
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Welcome To The Jungle
An Editorial By: Ryan Oaks A.K.A. The Ticking Time-Bomb, The Loose
Cannon, High Flyin Ryan Pillman.
Any questions or comments are to be sent to me at Warriorism@xxxxpuno.com

Hi again everyone, that’s right, I am writing another article just for
you, the wrestling fans. I just want everyone to know that I love
wrestling. As if you didn't know.

First, I just want to let everyone know that if you didn't notice, The
Name of my article has changed from Lethal Injection to Welcome To The
Jungle. I got really tired of Lethal Injection. So I would like to
Welcome Everyone To The Jungle. It is named after a great Guns 'n'
Roses song which is also Bam Bam Biggelo's ECW theme.

Now, onto my wrestler of the week. This article's wrestler of the
week is The Rock. I know, I know, everyone is yelling into the
computer screen that Rocky sucks. I think that the move the WWF made
in turning him into a heel was probably the best thing they have done
all year, and this year has not been boring for the WWF. So that is
saying a lot. Just to see someone become a major face after fighting
one match in a team with Stone Cold and Mankind, and then, when
everyone is in love with the guy, he just does a 180º turn around and goes the exact opposite way.

This was a genius move by the WWF and I hope these kind of things
continue to happen. Nobody predicted it or had any knowledge of it
and that is the best part.

For any of you that don’t know about what is going to happen on Raw
with the new commissioner, well, I don’t want to spoil it for anyone
that doesn't want to know. Let's just say that, even though I hate
the guy personally, I think the angle works pretty well. If you want
to know personally, e-mail me and I will tell you.

Also, I just want everyone to know that this article was written on
Friday night, November 20th and tomorrow, the 21'st, I am going to
get The Rock's autograph right down the street (a five minute walk).
Also, Sunday, I am probably going to buy tickets for the Royal Rumble,
which is being held right down the street from my house also. The end
of 1998 and beginning of 1999 are definitely going to be times that I’ll remember. I start my new job on Monday so that means that I will
possibly be traveling to events in other states soon. I sure hope so. I really need to go to an ECW show.

Please be sure to tune in to The ShadoweMan on Squared Circle Talk on C.R.N. The Cable Radio Network, from 10:00 PM to Midnight Pacific Time.

Any questions or comments are to be sent to me at Warriorism@xxxxpuno.com
and be sure to read my next edition of Welcome to the Jungle. And remember, I welcome all your comments.
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Reader Mailbag
Submitted by reader: Punjab28
In response to the article about PPV buyrates being up, with as many
people stealing PPV as paying for it, there is a very logical
explanation. That would be that WCW PPV’s are $30, WWF PPV’s are $30
(Wrestlemania is $35).

If one wanted to get every PPV of the year for a company, that equals $360 (365 w/ Wrestlemania for WWF). A true wrestling fan might get them all, for $725, plus the $120 for all of 1999's ECW PPV’s. $845! That is a lot of money. A downright dishonorable sum to pay for about 85 hours of entertainment, not to mention entertainment that is sometimes spotty and generally a bore once in a while. The only one that is justifiable would be ECW, but with the way that the PPV’s have been running so far, is it really just and fair? Make your own opinions.
Punjab
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FANTASY BOOKING- THIS WILL NOT HAPPEN
Reader Mailbag
Submitted by reader: slush8@xxxxpuno.com (Adam Schlosser)

 

Nitro after WW3: Benoit walks to the ring alone with a mic, back in
his usual red tights. He tells ths crowd he is finished with WCW,
they haven't been treating him right. Chris tells the crowd he is
quitting. While guys like Hollywood Hogan who are ass kissers are
getting pushed, guys like him with real talent aren't getting
anything. He apologizes to Flair, Malenko, and Arn for dropping the
Horsemen so sudden.

RAW the next week: X-Pac is scheduled to face a mystery opponent in a
non-title match up. X-Pac comes to the ring, not sure what to expect.
Some new, never heard before music plays, and Chris Benoit rushes the
ring. He batters X-Pac in minutes, and quickly gets the pin after the
flying headbutt.

Sunday Night Heat: Benoit is scheduled to take on Gangrel. Once
again, Benoit hammers a skilled opponent. Gangrel goes down to a
Crippler Crossface.

Next RAW: Benoit comes and out says he is in the WWF where he will
get a fair push, and better treatment. His talent will be put to use.
Shamrock comes out and tells Benoit he isn't that great. But if he
can beat an opponent of Shamrock's choosing on Heat, he will have a
shot at the I.C. Title on the next RAW. Benoit accepts without
question.

Heat: Benoit stands ready in the ring. Shamrock comes to the entry
way and tells Benoit he is facing a man out for revenge for what happened to his partner on the last HEAT. Edge's music plays and he storms out of the crowd to fight The Crippler.  After a hard fought bout where much power was displayed by Edge,
Benoit comes out on top.

RAW: The main event is Shamrock vs. Chris Benoit. Shamrock hits a
variety of moves, but each time Benoit returns with one that is more
powerful. After a flying crossbody Shamrock gets a two count. As Benoit gets up Shamrock moves in for the Belly-To-Belly Suplex, Benoit reverses it and nails the Rolling German Suplex, followed by a
flawless flying headbutt, and a Crippler Crossface that makes Shamrock submit in seconds. New intercontinental champion, Chris Benoit!

 

Benoit shoves his belt in front of the camera, and then yells into the
camera, "See this Bischoff! its what I would get if you would give me a chance! I am the best alive, but you don't realize that because I don't have any brown on my nose like your other pals!" Benoit then leaves the ring to a gigantic applause.
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Reader Mailbag
Submitted by reader: HixonCA
I must respectfully disagree with what I interpreted as a disparagement of WCW newcomer Bobby Duncom Jr. I was very impressed watching this guy in action and he appears to have a lot of ring ability. Now, I know many so-called wrestling "fans" believe having an exciting ring entrance and giving a good interview are the signs of greatness, but Duncom appears to have a lot of ring potential. You know, the ability to put on a great show DURING a match. Duncom's dad was a great brawler back in the 70's and early 80's and little Bobby can become the same.

I agree that Jericho seems to be creating a lot of heat and has improved greatly, but his current persona really doesn't put him in line to challenge the main eventers right now. A Jericho-Duncom feud may elevate both men. Duncom reminded me a bit of a young Barry Windham, who was one of the best workers in the business a while back. Just my two cents.
craig
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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

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.