Issue # 084

Date:  Wednesday December 2nd, 1998  10:16 am

The Wrestling Booking Sheet

SPOILER ALERT!
At the end of the newsletter are the results of next week's RAW, taped yesterday. The report will be marked SPOILER ALERT! Skip that section if you want to be surprised Monday night.
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Bret Hart's movie Wrestling With Shadows airs on A & E on Dec. 20th @ 9 PM and replays @ 1 AM. There will be another airing on Dec. 26th @ 12 Noon.
(Reported by Georgiann Makropoulos of http://www.1wrestling.com )

ULTIMATUM
Konnan over Chris Jericho? Well, the story is that Dean Malenko, Chris Benoit, Chris Jericho, The Giant, Rey Mysterio Jr. and Eddie Guerrero still have not re-signed with WCW, and all their current contracts are set to expire shortly (some much sooner than others). Bischoff has laid down the law that if they don't re-sign with the company, they will be jobbed on TV effective immediately.

So that's why Jericho didn't get any mike time on Monday, and is no longer the TV Champion. Guerrero also did the job to Kidman last Nitro. Giant's WCW offer is said to be in the neighborhood of $3 million for 3 years, and Malenko, Guerrero, and Benoit were offered deals ranging from $450,000 to $500,000 (for Benoit) per year for three years. Mysterio's offer is approximately $300,000 per year.
(Reported by Micasa at: http://www.wrestlemaniacs.com/ )

To quickly answer a oft asked question from yesterday, no...Marc Mero isn't "gone" from the WWF. Despite his promise that you'd never see "Marvelous" Marc Mero in the WWF is he were to lose to Dwayne Gill on Monday (which he did) he isn't jumping ship, or retiring. Look for him to take some time off, and dump the "Marvelous" aspect...so I guess technically he was telling the truth?
(Reported by Scoops at: http://www.scoopscentral.com )

Terry Funk has resurfaced in ECW. He attacked Tommy Dreamer over the weekend.  Dreamer will be taking on Justin Credible in a ladder match at January's GUILTY AS CHARGED, but you've got every reason to believe that Funk will be in attendance as well in some capacity. (Reported by Scoops)
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By Marq Piocos (flair_dog)

If Stone Cold Were President:

10) Instead of vetoing a bill, it would just be stamped with "Austin 3:16"

9) New national anthem: "Back in Black" by AC/DC

8) Two words: Stun Saddam

7) The new national symbol: The Rattlesnake

6) Your driver's license would entitle you to drive any vehicle available, and the legal alcohol limit--.316

5) If he wanted to know support for a bill, all he would do is ask the nation, "If you want this billed passed, give me a hell yeah"

4) In his state of the union address, he would climb a desk to each side of the room, lifting his hands in the air.

3) You would always know that the speech was over when he said "'Cause The President Said So!"

2) He would require Budweiser to officially change its name to Steveweiser

1) Fed-Ex Bishoff, letting him know that he's about to face federal charges.
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ROUNDING THE SQUARED CIRCLE
"READ MY LIPS - its SPORTS ENTERTAINMENT"
OR
"THERE'S ALWAYS GRECO-ROMAN WRESTLING"
BY SAMJERRY
VISIT my Home Page: http://members.aol.com/~samjerry

I have received a couple of E-mails over the past several weeks complaining about some of the story lines currently running in the WWF. The gist of them is usually that they are "not realistic" and that the writer prefers a more "pure" wrestling match. The names most often mentioned for this type match are Deano Macheno and Chris Benoit.

I too like to watch a good "scientific" match once in a while, but would I come back every Monday and Thursday Night and purchase PPV's, if they were top heavy with that type of match? About as fast as I would to have bamboo slivers shoved under my fingernails. I suspect if wrestling reverted to that, we wouldn't be reading on-line Newsletters or wondering who won this weeks Monday Ratings War.  In fact, we wouldn't be watching much wrestling on TV at all.

Wrestling’s resurgence is due to it keeping pace with what the fans want to see today. In the 40's and 50's, fans wore suits and long dresses to the matches.  Wrestling at that time suited that environment. Today fans wear T-shirts, jeans and other comfortable clothing to the matches. They expect what they see to keep up to today's lifestyle. Does anyone (other than a complete fool) really believe that Val Venis is a porn star? That The Godfather is a Pimp, especially one with Ho's in every city?  That The Undertaker and Paul Bearer were going to bury Stone Cold Steve Austin alive or embalm him alive? They are angles and story lines, nothing more. They are designed to get and keep the fans interested and to have them purchase PPV's. It seems to be working, and working well.

Are they any more unrealistic than two doctors on ER recently spending an entire day and night, on their own time, tracking down a father whose blood was needed in order to save his daughter's life? I'm not too sure that Albert Schwitzer would have searched some of the worst neighborhoods of Chicago to do it, let alone a couple of emergency room doctors. However, it was a great story line and good entertainment.

That's the point. The WWF makes no bones about what they provide. They call it Sports Entertainment. WCW may not come out directly and say so, but its what they sell also. Ditto ECW and all the Independent Promotions. It is nothing more, nothing less. If you are really interested in "pure" wrestling matches, you can watch ESPN and see the purest Greco-Roman, Freestyle, etc., matches you could ask for. I'll bet while you may watch them, you'll come back and watch pro wresting just as before. Don't over analyze it, take it for what it is.  Lighten up and enjoy it, like the majority of us.
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Swami's weekly poll for 11-25-98
Last weeks poll:
Who is your favorite jobber?
Norman Smiley 13 9.9%
Barry Horowitz 11 8.3%
Brooklyn Brawler 10 7.6%
Lenny Lane 9 6.8%
Dwayne Gill 5 3.8%
Lodi 5 3.8%
Marc Mero 5 3.8%
Goldberg 4 3.0%
Barry Darsow 4 3.0%
Johnny Swinger 3 2.3%
Iron Mike Sharp 3
Scott Taylor and Brian Christopher 3
Too Cold Scorpio 3
Raven 3
Barry O 2 1.5%
Jim Powers 2
Al Snow 2
G. I. Bro 2
Savio Vega 2
Chavo Guerrero Jr. 2
Vincent 2
Chris Benoit 2
The Armstrongs 2
La Parka 2
Mankind 2
29 tied at 1

"My favorite jobber has to be The Brooklyn Brawler, I mean look at the guy, he's been jobbing forever. its like he's turned it into an art form or something!"
Slush8

"Marvelous Marc Mero! Red & Black, MEROPAC! WHOOO!!!"Blofish782

"I think its very obvious that the best jobber in the universe is Barry Darsow.  I mean, come on: along with being a jobber, the man is a golf superhero! He's right up there with the likes of Fuzzy Zoeller and Tiger Woods in the annals of golf history. So, basically, put my vote for Best Jobber down for the one, the only: Barry Darsow! nWo Fairway 4 Ever!!!" ThuggBill

Total number of votes: 132

 

Swami Speaks
Jobbers are what make wrestling go around. If there were no Norman Smileys and Barry Horowitzs' in the world, Goldberg wouldn't be 2000-0. My personal favorite jobber is Mike Enos. He has a cool finishing move although he is a jobber, the top rope fallaway slam. If you remember, Scott Hall said "Its all part of the biz" after he jobbed to Goldberg.

This weeks poll:
Will Kevin Nash beat Goldberg at Starrcade?
A. Yes, Kevin Nash will lay Goldberg out with a powerbomb.
B. No, Goldberg will Jackhammer Nash and become 3 million and 0.
C. El Dandy will make a surprise appearance and beat both of them to become new WCW World champion.
Send all poll responses to <nwo4life4ever>
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Reader Mailbag
Submitted by reader: Dymchurch
Just wondering if anyone out there is interested in pro lady wrestling (not cat fights) during the 1960s-70s. Whatever happened to Ann Casey, Vickie Williams, Sandy Parker, Toni Rose????
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FANTASY BOOKING- THIS WON'T HAPPEN
Reader Mailbag
Submitted by reader: Alberto Rizzi (yalbster@xxxxc...)
NWO HORSEMEN VS. 4 HORSEMEN
NITRO-Decemeber 14
Barry Windham and Eric Bischoff come out and promise to unveil two N.W.O. Horsemen later in the show: if the 4 Horsemen have enough guts the revelation will happen during a match between Benoit and Windham. During the third hour, as Benoit and Windham are fighting, the lights starts to go back and forth and STEVIE RAY hits the ring to attack Benoit, claiming to be the "Real Enforcer" of the "Real Horsemen". Mongo and Malenko make the save but from the crowd CURT HENNIG enters the ring with a chair and hits both guys. As they are celebrating, Scott Hall comes out to go for Bischoff and ruins the party.

Nitro-December 21
Bischoff announces that at Starrcade he will face Ric Flair in a "Loser will grant 3 wishes of the winner". And also Benoit/Mongo and Malenko will team up to face Henning/Ray and Windham. Then, since Bischoff is sick of having Scott Hall in WCW, Henning will face the former Outsider in a "Retirement Match" tonight.

[...] The match is on and Windham helps Curt to take a win grabbing Hall's feet after the Hennig Plex.

WCW/NWO Starrcade 1998
During the six men tag, a huge brawl forces the referee to call for the double DQ. It is time for Flair and Bischoff: as Bischoff has the match won thanks to Curt Hennig's interference, Scott Hall comes out, hits Eric with a chair and Flair pins him. In the main event, Nash beats Goldberg for the title.

Nitro-Decemeber 28
Bischoff comes out promising to put Hall in jail since he forgot that he was no longer a WCW employer: but Nash informs Eric that, since he is the main booker of the federation, he has the power to take back Hall. And not only that: Hall has the right to face DDP for the United States Title. Then, he orders Bischoff to fulfill his obligations from last night (the 3 wishes): Bischoff says it is all right with him, but only if Hall/Nash/Flair/Malenko and Benoit can beat him/Henning/Ray/Windham and the 4th Heel Horsemen in tonight main event. The match is on, and we have a 5 against 4 since the mystery man is not at ringside: but when Hall has Bischoff pinned, we see a huge hand coming out from under the ring (as Undertaker did at I.Y.H. 6 during the match between Bret Hart and Diesel). When the hole is finally big enough GIANT GONZALEZ comes out and destroys all members of team Nash.

Nitro- January 4
Hall beats DDP for the title with the help of Nash and despite Gonzalez.

WCW/NWO Souled Out 99
After the events described, this is the the card for the P.P.V.:
* WCW World Heavyweight Title: Kevin Nash vs. Giant Gonzalez
* Final Curtain (this time the : Eric Bischoff vs. Ric Flair
winner will be undisputed)
* WCW United States Title: Scott Hall vs. Curt Henning
* Falls Count anywhere: Windham/Ray vs. Benoit/Mongo
* Cruiserweight Title: Kidman vs. Malenko
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SPOILER ALERT
This report is courtsey of Chris Burke and Dave Scherer of
http://1wrestling.com.
The WWF may edit these matches, or insert videos, before the show hits the air.

RAW Taping (Air Date 12/7) By Chris Burke
Triple H and X-Pac come out, WITH Chyna! Crowd was into it. Triple H gets on the mic and says he and X-Pac have to know what side the NAO was on. Were they with DX, or
had they gone corporate. Shawn Michaels comes out and introduces the "Corporate"
tag teams champs of the world, the NAO. RD and BG came out dressed in jackets
and ties, and did their little entrance thing, but in a nice, discreet way, and
said that "Vincent K. McMahon presents" the Tag team Champs. They joined HBK for
a little discussion with Triple H. The two founding members of DX jawed at each other
for a while, each telling the other that he didn't have any balls, and each
claiming that he carried the other. Michaels said he "made Triple H, and he could
break him." Triple H said he carried Michaels' ass when it was clear the latter had
no business being the champ. Good stuff. Michaels then ordered Triple H and X-Pac to
face Shamrock and the Boss Man in "anything goes" tag match later that night.
And should the NAO feel compelled to interfere, so be it. He then said, "Hit MY
music," and left with the NAO to the DX theme. The corporation was there to meet
their newest members at the top of the ramp.

Jarrett v. D-Lo. Debra tries to interfere, but Goldust comes down the ramp
wearing only a long trench coat. He taps Debra on the leg, and then "flashes"
her, causing her, and consequently Jarrett to get distracted. D-Lo wins with a
roll up amidst all the confusion.

On the Titan Tron, Triple H tells Chyna she will have to watch his and X-Pac's back
in case the Outlaws interfere.

Headbangers v. The Brood (Gangrel and Edge). Luna came out and attacked Mosh.
Tiger Ali Singh and Babu came to attack Luna. The Oddities then came out as
well. DQ city.

Owen Hart v. Goldust. Deja vu, only this time, its Jarrett and Debra, who's wearing only a coat, with only a bra and panties on underneath, coming down the ramp. Debra "flashes" Goldust, but he sees Owen sneaking up behind him and gets
the pin, foiling Jarrett and Debra's plans. After the match, JJ helps Owen to
the back.
The Godfather and Val come out for a little bit. They were WAY over with the
crowd. Godfather gets on the mic and says, since Christmas is coming up, and
he's in a giving spirit, he's going to do something he's never done before. He's
going to give one of his hos to a fan, for free, for the whole night. Some fat
guy in the front row (who has worked as a cameraman for the WWF) gets called
into the ring, and the Godfather, feeling especially generous, gives the guy
BOTH his hos, for free, for
the whole night. No wrestling--but if the goal is to get these two guys over,
its working. Crowd loved every minute of it.

The Godfather and Venis went to a no contest with Faarooq and Bradshaw.

While setting up for the next angle, Duane Gill beat Steve Bradley.

Austin comes out for an interview segment. Talks about how he's going to kick
the UT's ass, etc. Talks about how the deck is stacked against him like never
before. After he gives the "and that's the bottom line...", though, the lights
go out, and you hear the UT's voice over the loudspeaker. Tells Austin that his
ministry will take care of Stone Cold at Rock Bottom, and a cross with the UT's
logo is set on fire above the
ramp, near the Titantron. Austin is in the ring looking perplexed. You could
almost hear JR screaming "Oh God!" as the thing is set on fire, and "How will
Austin be able to fight the ministry? Can he do it again?" as he stood in the
ring.

Blackman v. Singh. Blackman gets the clean win after the boot to the chest.
After the match, the Blue Blazer does a run-in and gets assaulted by Blackman.
But then Owen appears and gets the best of Blackman, putting him in that chin
lock/choke hold thing.

Mark Henry v. Droz. Droz has control of most of the match, when Chyna appears
and walks down to the ring. She climbs on the apron, and Droz holds Henry so
Chyna can pop him one in the mouth. But Henry breaks free while Chyna just
stands there. Droz then approaches Chyna to ask why she didn't nail him, and
gets nailed himself. Henry hits a powerslam and splash for the victory as Chyna
walks away. Henry is ecstatic after the match.

Triple H and X-Pac v. Shamrock and Boss Man. Good, brawling match, and Triple H
looked really good since he only came back a few days ago. He and Shamrock
exchanged slams on the ramp and Boss Man and X-Pac battled outside the ring
also. Match went on for a while, with the crowd really into it, when Michaels
and the Corporate NAO come down to ringside. Michaels grabs the rope when X-Pac
is whipped into it, causing him to spill to the outside. On the inside, Boss Man
holds Triple H and is waiting for Shamrock to paste him with a chair. Gunn goes in
the ring and begs Shamrock to let HIM nail Triple H. Gunn gets the chair, and then
drills
Shamrock with it, as the crowd goes nuts. The Outlaws lose the corporate
monkey suits and crotch chop like crazy. Michaels is livid on the outside. DX is
going nuts in the ring. They all moon the crowd. Great spot, crowd was pumped
for the return of the Outlaws. Gunn gets the mic and says, "And, Vince, if
you're not down with that, we got two words for you..."

Main event: Austin and Mankind v. Rock and UT. Mankind comes down third, after
the heels, and gets double-teamed. Austin comes down and assaults the charging
Rock and UT on the ramp. Action is all over the outside as Austin and Rock
battle on the ramp and Foley and UT wage war with chairs and steps near the
announcers. Eventually, things settle down and a match happens. Foley gets his
ass kicked for most of the match--chokeslam by the UT, Corporate elbow by the
Rock, Rock Bottom from the Rock. Austin makes a save here and there. Towards the
end of the match, Boss Man and Shamrock run in and handcuff Foley to the ropes
as the Rock works him over with a nightstick. Meanwhile, UT nails Austin with a
chair and carries his limp body over the the top of the ramp, where some druids
have assembled. They all tie Austin to the cross that had been set ablaze
earlier as Austin is then hoisted up on the cross, and is hanging Christ-style
as the UT and Paul Bearer mock him. In the ring, Mankind can't do anything to
help, since he is still handcuffed. Show fades out with Austin hanging there and
the UT raising his arms in front of the cross. Again, you can hear JR next week:
"We're only six days away! Will Austin be buried alive? Can he stop the Ministry
of Darkness at Rock Bottom? Can the evil be stopped?"

When the cameras went off, he was taken off the cross. Rock was in the ring beating on Mankind when Austin when in and hit the Stunner on the champ.  Shamrock and Bossman came down and he got them too.

Overall, a really good show. NAO turn and re-turn was great. Austin thing should come off well on TV.
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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: Robert Troy (Osiris)
Columnist: Tom Kirkbride
Columnist: Ryan S. Oaks
Columnist: Darren Kramer

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