Issue # 101

Date:  Thursday December 17th, 1998  11:00 pm

The Wrestling Booking Sheet

MUTA AT NITRO
Katuyuki sent along word that New Japan is sending Keiji Muto (The Great Muta)
to Nitro next week so that he can shoot an angle with Scott Norton to set up
their 1/4/99 IWGP title match at the Tokyo Dome.
(Reported by Dave Scherer at: http://www.1wrestling.com)

ECW RESTRUCTURED
In other ECW news, a lot of people have complained recently about the current
booking in ECW. They say, correctly in my opinion, that is has been tired and
boring of late. The main reason for that is that Paul Heyman has been doing all
of the work. Ever since Tod Gordon left, Heyman has been doing all of the
business end of the company as well as the creative end, and he has suffered on
both sides because of it. This past Monday, he restructured the company so that
he is not longer handling the day to day business aspects of the company. That
will now be handled by business people, with backgrounds in marketing,
promotion, accounting, and legal issues. This freeing up of his time should
allow Heyman the time he needs to be the creative force he was up until this
year.

BRADY BOONE PASSES ON
We send our regrets to the family of current WCW referee and former WWF wrestler
Brady Boone. We have received word that he was killed in a car accident in
Florida after the Nitro tapings. Condolences to the family from all of us....
(Reported by Georgiann Makropoulos of http://www.1wrestling.com)

AUSTIN INJURED AT ROCK BOTTOM
The following was reported at http://www.wwf.com
By Chris Rizzo
WWF.com has just received an exclusive report regarding an injury to Stone Cold
Steve Austin. This past Sunday at Rock Bottom: In Your House, the Rattlesnake
suffered a torn muscle in his back during the Buried Alive match against the
Undertaker.

At this point, the extent and severity of Stone Cold’s injury is unknown. He has
flown home to Texas to rehabilitate the muscle tear, which explains his absence
on RAW. We here at WWF.com wish Steve well and hope for a quick recovery. We
will have more information for you as it becomes available to us.

BEST NEWSLETTER AWARD
NEWSLETTER AWARD
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best wrestling newsletter on the internet. The Wrestling Booking Sheet is
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would vote for us. To vote, go to: http://tnm7.com/awards.mv?39
===========================================
ROUNDING THE SQUARED CIRCLE
"THE SKY IS FALLING, THE SKY IS FALLING"

OR
"OPEN MOUTH, INSERT BOTH LEFT FEET"
BY SAMJERRY
Visit SamJerry's Home Page
On this past Monday Night's NITRO, wrestling legend Ric Flair suffered what was
described by Good King Eric (GKE) as a "mild heart attack," after collapsing
while going thru his standard "rant" routine. He was running back and forth
across the ring, bouncing off the ropes, doing his standard flip over the ropes
in the corner and demonstrating elbow drops he plans to use on GKE at their
scheduled match, set for the next WCW PPV, Starrcade. Or did he?

When it happened, Mumbles, who was in the ring conducting the interview, called
for medical attention. After some delay, with Flair possibly having a heart
attack, medical help arrived. Since he was holding his left arm and shoulder,
the possibility was raised that he may have injured a previously surgically
repaired shoulder (occurring while he was doing the elbow drops). He was
subsequently placed on a back board, put on a gurney, taken to an ambulance and
rushed to a local hospital. The cameras followed the action in its entirety from
the ring to the ambulance, and then immediately switched to an altercation in
the backstage area between Scott "I Never Met A Man I Wouldn't Job To" Hall and
"Outsider" Bam Bam Bigelow.

Later in the program, GKE came to the ring and apologized to Flair and his
family for anything that he may have done to bring on this "mild heart attack."
He sounded as sincere as he could, and heaped a heap of praise on Flair for past
accomplishments. He wished him a speedy recovery, saying that was of paramount
importance, that their match was secondary.

At this point, I would like to tell you that I was a paramedic for many years
and when I saw the incident, I was very skeptical. When a heart attack is even
suspected, timing is of the essence, so the delay in medical attention seemed
very strange. It is also standard procedure to administer oxygen to the patient,
make him comfortable and keep the crowd around him at a distance. If he had
injured his shoulder, it should have been immobilized prior to moving him. Since
none of these things were done, I felt sure we were watching an angle in
progress. The cameras following all the way and the immediate switch to the Hall
/ Bigelow thing added to my suspicions. When GKE came out and "apologized," I
had mixed emotions. I wished it was an angle for Flair's sake, but at the same
time hoped that WCW and GKE had better judgment and not staged the incident.

The next day word spread that it indeed was an angle, although there were also
words reported to be from Flair, that he had injured his shoulder. The idea
behind it was to show that GKE did indeed stand a chance against Flair. When I
heard that it was an angle, I was a bit exercised. There are many ways to "put
over" an angle. This is not one of them. Anyone who has ever known a friend or
family member who suffered a heart attack has to annoyed at what happened. I
keep reading that the WWF has done some things that were in poor or questionable
taste, the most recent being the Stone Cold Steve Austin (SCSA) / Undertaker
"Cross" incident. Others things cited are hand gestures, language and women
showing too much.

I may be a little more concerned than most because of my medical training, but
have seen many comments from others expressing distaste at what was done. I
expressed the opinion that the SCSA / Undertaker angle was not offensive and
that everyone should decide for themselves. It is my (repeat "my") opinion that
in this case, it was offensive. It was viewed by many fans (including
impressionable children) who were (mis) lead into believing Flair had had a
heart attack and were left concerned for his health and welfare. The WWF makes
no bones about their new "Attitude" and call their product "Sports
Entertainment," whereas WCW tries to project a wholesome image and above some of
the things the WWF does. I question their image doing something like this just
to increase interest (and the buy rate) in a PPV. As before, I suggest each
person decide for themselves if this was right or wrong.

BTW, I am fully aware of the angle involving Shawn Michaels a while back that
some may consider similar to this. I do not view it in the same light. In that
case, there was no "dramatic" attempt to sell it the way GKE did, with the
outside possibility of it being a life threatening situation since a heart
attack was involved.
===========================================
WCW Thunder Report for December 17th, 1998, from Charlotte NC
By Steve Appy
In a classy move, WCW began Thunder by acknowledging the death of referee Brady
Boone, killed in a car accident earlier in the week.

A thundering "We want Flair" chant echoed through the arena. Tony Shiavonie
announced that Ric's wife, Beth Flehr, would join us at the arena tonight.

WCW Television Champion Konnan defeated Kenny Kaos via submission in 2:56
Kaos wore his World Tag Team Title belt to the ring; I thought Judy Bagwell was
the new champion. Scott Steiner & Buff Bagwell joined Shiavonie, and mentioned
that Scott Hall would face Lex Luger later in the evening. Steiner warned Lex
that Hall can't be trusted, and that they would have his back tonight. Konnan
put Kaos away with The Tequilla Sunrise, and Kaos was joined by his High Voltage
partner Rage.
Rage was angry that Kaos had moved on without him; a feud of The High Jobbers
looks to be next.

Beth, David, & Reid Flehr (Flehr is the correct spelling), arrived in their limo
and briskly walked to the arena.

David "Fit" Finlay pinned Mike Enos in 3:51
Two of the more solid, but uncharismatic wrestlers in WCW. Enos had the
advantage, but Finlay trapped Enos in a roll up for the victory.

Scott Hall was interviewed, and was accepting of his match with Luger later. He
had no personal grudge against Luger, but he announced that he wants the world,
and he'll go through Luger to get it.

Juventud Guerrera Jr. pinned Rey Mysterio Jr. in 9:32
Mysterio was scheduled to face Prince Iaukea, but the LwO bullied Iakeau and
Juvi took his place. With the referee distracted, Eddie Guerrerohit a Frog
Splash on Rey, enabling Juvi to score the pinfall. Prince Iaukea made the save
for Rey, and they cleared out before the LwO could destroy them.

Steiner & Bagwell barged into Luger's dressing room, and once again extended the
invitation to join the Wolfpac. Lex turned them down, but didn't get angry.
Konnan interrupted, and Steiner & Buff took off. Luger assured Konnan that he
was cool; as Konnan exited the dressing room, a disturbance was heard and Konnan
was shown laid out. Hall walked around the corner, and Luger got into a shoving
match with him. Steiner's plan is working......

DDP and Kimberly were shown attending a Toys For Tots charity event; to his
credit, Page does seem very involved in the community.

The Disco Inferno pinned Shiima Nagimaka
Disco wore his Wolfpac shirt, allegedly given to him by Kevin Nash. The
Chartbuster was all that was needed to put away Nagimaka.

Norman Smiley defeated Jerry Flynn via submission in 3:44
I can't believe Smiley is getting a push; if anything, give Flynn a push.
Smiley defeated Flynn with a Chicken Wing.

Chris Jericho (w/Ralphus) defeated Perry Saturn via submission in 5:01
When the referee was knocked out, Saturn had Jericho in the Rings of Saturn.
Ernest Miller knocked Saturn out, enabling Jericho to lock him in The Liontamer.
Saturn wouldn't submit, but the match was ended when he couldn't respond.

A series of interviews aired with Eric Bischoff, and he acted very sincere in
his appreciation for Ric Flair. We'll see where this is going.......

Tony Shiavonie introduced Beth, David, & Reid Flehr to a round of applause,
though no words.....

Scott Hall defeated Lex Luger via disqualification in 3:58
Bagwell & Steiner ran in and attacked Hall, and Luger just looked on, doing
nothing.
Konnan charged the ring, and told Lex that it was Buff & Bagwell that beat him
up earlier. Luger finally got involved, as he joined Konnan & Hall in clearing
the ring. This Luger/nWo Black & White angle is far from over.

Tony Shiavonie interviewed David & Reid Flehr, and briefly asked them how their
father was. Bischoff apologized to the whole family, and initially acted very
sincere. He mentioned David's aspirations to be a wrestler, and he promised
that he would help him out. His tone changed, though, and he attacked David,
laying him out. Several other nWo members joined them, and poor David was
destroyed. Bischoff ended up grabbing Beth Fleir, and he kissed her on the
lips, despite the fact that she was struggling out of his grasp.

I can't believe that Ric Flair would agree to this angle; I guess the resolution
will have David wrestle Bischoff, either at Starrcade or in the future. He has
a great opening program, though, to debut with.
===========================================
Reader Mailbag
Submitted by reader: Attackus
I just wanted to make a quick comment on the "Flair Heart Attack" angle. I
don't have the same objection you do. Actually, I don't really object to it at
all. I do, however, question the wisdom of it. The WWF has done an excellent
job of painting WCW as the organization where old wrestlers go to end their
careers. In contrast, the WWF has has become the federation of young
superstars. I, for one, barely even watch WCW anymore and didn't even see the
Flair incident. Why would WCW take one of their most popular wrestlers and draw
attention to the fact that he is an "old man"? Should we tune into their
programs to see which old goat is gonna keel over next! I assume this is being
done to make his Starcade match with Bischoff seem less one-sided. I also think
this may give them a short-term ratings push. I
don't think this angle will help their image in the long run.
===========================================
Reader Mailbag
Submitted by reader: RangersGo
If you turn on General Hospital (or any soap opera) and they show one of the
stars having a heart attack and being taken to the hospital, does the network
get angry phone calls from viewers? I doubt it. So why do wrestling fans, most
of which understand that wrestling is not real, get angry over storylines that
would be appropriate in other forms of entertainment?

I think fans need to step back and remember that wrestling is a show,and as such
we should not connect what happens in the show with "real life".If David
Letterman fakes a heart attack on his show it would not be appropriate, since
viewers think its real. But wrestling is not real. Its a soap opera with
athletes. Most people know its not real (I hope). I think when viewed in this
perspective, fake heart attacks are nothing to get worked up about.
F Levy
===========================================
Reader Mailbag
Submitted by reader: CACTUSMKC
I'm writing about the recent columns in your newsletter . I do not like the
constant WCW putdowns and I believe WCW will be ahead of it all again. I'd like
to say the segment in which they made Austin into Jesus ..well, it is against
God and I believe for that the WWF will pay. I think a lot of womens groups and
Christians will protest outside Titan Towers thar they are against God and women
and call them "hoes". Would you like your son or daughter to call you that, or
something like that. I've heard 8yrs old kids calling their mother to suck it
and I think that's a bad example for the kids. I guess if you are a guy you
don't care. Well I do, people do. That is why the next time the WWF goes down
like the Titanic it won't come back up
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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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