Issue # 122

Date:  Thursday Jan 7th, 1999  12:32 am

The Wrestling Booking Sheet

RATINGS FOR MONDAY, JANUARY 4TH, 1999
RAW Nitro
1st Hour N/A 5.5
2nd Hour 5.7 4.6
3rd Hour 5.8 4.8
Composite 5.8 5.0
(Reported by Dave Scherer of http://www.1wrestling.com)

FLAIR'S DAUGHTER
That was Ric Flair's daughter Ashley who joined him in the ring Monday night. She looks very much like her mother Beth; the women in the Flehr family are very attractive! My thanks to Andy Laudano for passing that info on.

HBK ATTACK
Many of you noticed something on RAW that I overlooked; right before the HBK attack, Triple H & X-Pac made some comments when Michaels closed the door, and during the attack, the sweatpants of X-Pac was visible.  I received this report from so many of you that I'm almost embarrassed that I missed it. Apparently DX were the attackers that put Michaels out of action.
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ROUNDING THE SQUARED CIRCLE
"IS IT LIVE OR IS IT MEMOREX?"
OR
"WHAT IF THEY GAVE A PARTY AND NO ONE WATCHED?"
BY SAMJERRY
VISIT my Home Page: http://members.aol.com/~samjerry

Last night we had our choice of watching "The Biggest NITRO Ever,"
which included "The Biggest Rematch In History," which never took
place, or a taped RAW. Tony The Shill made a point of telling the
viewers that NITRO was live and that RAW was taped, even going so far
as telling them that Mankind won the WWF World Championship. All in an
attempt to prevent what has become commonplace, the erosion of viewers
from NITRO to RAW.

Let's examine what happened. On "The Biggest NITRO Ever," The "Biggest
Rematch" in history between Kevin "Wolfpac's Alpha Male" Nash (C) and
the now "admittedly" defeated SuperDuperMan (SDMan), never took place.
During the program SDMan was arrested and taken away for "stalking"
Miss Elizabeth. In its place, we were graced with a Title match with
Old Baldy as the challenger. And an exciting match it was. Old Baldy
delivered a "crushing" (he touched him with a finger and The Alppha
Male laid down) blow to the chest of the Champion, knocking him to the
floor and regaining the Title, and thus apparently reuniting the
original NWO. SDMan charged in, after the Title change of course, and
dispatched the dastardly forces of the NWO one-by-one. Flexy Lexy
rushed to SDMan's side to help him. Wait, Flexy turned in him. Can you
imagine? Who could possibly have seen this coming? Then for a change,
the forces of evil pummeled SDMan. Exciting! And all we had to do is
heed good old Tony. Look what we got for our time. A non-Main Event
and basically another NWO run in.

Now what did we get on that taped RAW show? We got to see one heck of
a battle for the WWF Title between The Rock (C) and Mankind, arguably
the hardest worker in the sport and the most deserving of a Title.
Tony was right, Mankind won the match and the Title, but it was damn
well worth watching. There was some outside interference involved, but
the crowd seemed to love it. The announcers, Michael "I Am Not A Todd
Pettengill Clone" Cole and Jerry "The King" Lawler made mention of
"that other league," during the show, stating when they say there is
going a Title Match, there is, and the viewers get to see it in its
entirety. None of that "We are desperately running out of time" crap,
leaving us high and dry.

Anyone that watched RAW last night was rewarded with an action packed
two hours plus, including a Hardcore Championship Match between The
Road Dogg (C) and Al Snow. That alone was worth the price of
admission, as it easily was one of the hardest fought matches you will
ever see. A definite keeper if you have it on tape.
What sticks in your mind about the rest of NITRO?

I want our hero Tony to know that he was 100% correct about RAW being
taped, and after watching both, I would say it was also 100% better.
This edition of NITRO was the one to set the tenor for 1999, with all
stops pulled out. It was from WCW's home in Atlanta, in front of the
home crowd at the Georgia Dome, whereas RAW was from that thriving
metropolis, Worchester, MS. If last night is an example of what we can
expect in 1999, I strongly suspect that NITRO will be looking up at
RAW from a deep hole. Maybe Tony should direct his efforts towards
giving the fans what they want, instead of trying to keep their hands
off the remote.
===========================================
RAW PRE-EMPTION
By SamJerry
Your readers may be interested in this bit of information.

The February 8, 1999, Edition of RAW from the Toronto Skydome will be
pre-empted by The Westminster Kennel Club's Annual Dog Show, (and no
Road Dogg is not eligible, as his Breed hasn't been determined).
Instead it will air the following Saturday, February 13, 1999.

You can visit the USA Network Site at http://www.usanetwork.com. While
I doubt they will change things, one never knows what might happen if
enough wrestling fans vent their opinion. If you do visit, be sure to
be courteous and explain why you think they should air RAW instead of
giving us all rabies.
Jerry
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SHAWN MICHAELS HANGING IT UP?
(Reported by http://www.1wrestling.com)
Shawn Michaels has told the San Antonio Express-News that he plans to
retire from wrestling after he has back surgery next Tuesday.
Michaels was quoted as saying, "its time to say 'That's a wrap.'"

According to the News-Express article, Michaels' doctors have told him
that the pounding he has taken in his wrestling career virtually
destroyed two disks in his lower back.

Michaels, at only 33 years old, is one of the most charismatic
performers in WWF history, and has not competed since losing to Steve
Austin at Wrestlemania last year. Michaels worked that match with a
badly damaged back after suffering a serious injury when he landed on
the corner of a casket during a match with the Undertaker.

According to the Express-News story, Michaels plans to continue
working with the WWF as commissioner and will serve as a spokesman for
the WWF as the company continues expanding globally.
(Reported by http://www.1wrestling.com)

My view: Michaels will one day be back in the ring. We'll all find
out at the same time.......
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SWAMI'S WEEKLY POLL
Hey, last weeks poll had the largest response. Lets try to make this
one
the best. So, please vote.

Last weeks poll:
What do you think of Goldberg?

A. I have always hated him 102 votes
B. He is still "Da Man" 37 votes
C. Now he is just your average wrestler 16 votes
D. He has always been average 5 votes

This weeks poll:
What should the name of the new stable in the WCW be called?
(Hogan, Nash, Hall, Steiner, Luger...)
A. Wolfpack
B. New World Order
C. nWo Wolfpack
D. Other (specify)
All polls should be sent to <nwo4life4ever>. The answer should
NOT be in COLOR and if you send it anywhere else, it will be DELETED.
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THE WRESTLING GOD by OSIRIS (burkeandhare@xxxxc...)
The other night on Raw , it did my heart good to see a great victory
by a star of the classic mold of brawling, lay-it-on-the-line,
do-everything-to-win grappler----Mic Foley: no florescent, sequined
tights, no fancy characteristics. He simply did the job, as he has
been doing it tirelessly for years , and he finally earned the
recognition he has deserved for so long. All of which brings me to my
main point for today: storylines.
WCW and WWF------which is better? You could argue this from a
thousand points and still not arrive at agreement; me? I`m a WCW fan,
always have been and will be.

But lately, I`ve been getting bored and confused with what is
happening currently; the storylines seem blurry to nonexistent and I
think the problem lies with the fact that
WCW has such a deep roster of talent and no idea of how to use it
properly. For instance, when a famous name comes in, why not continue
to use his old familiar gimmick, rather than build a new one. Too
often a new performer is wiped out before he gets started. To tell
you the truth, they need someone who knows how to be an imaginative
booker, not a dull storyteller. Maybe Flair can help add some old-time
excitement back. I`ll tell you this, it was imaginative, but
disappointing as hell what they did with Luger. Now as far as WWF
goes, oddly enough, I`ve found their characters more vivid and
outstanding. There are not as many as WCW but they stand out better
and the storylines are more plainly realized. Well, there you are:
choose the side you want, agree with me or not, but still keep
supporting wrestling, or we might lose it.
------see ya------ osiris ``don`t look behind, something may
be gaining``
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MISCARRIAGE OF JUSTICE
Submitted by reader: BSmoley
Ok, its been a couple of days and no one has said a word about the
tasteless Terri Runnels "miscarriage" angle so what the hell, I guess
its up to me. Now I know the WWF never said it was a miscarriage, but
when a pregnant woman takes a spill and clutches at her belly,
screaming "MY BABY, MY BABY!!!" one tends to jump to logical
conclusions. Now before you start to condemn me as a moron of the Nth
degree, justl et my explain that I KNOW IT"S AN ANGLE, but that's not
my point. My point is that no one is complaining about the angle! As
soon as Ric Flair had his "heart attack" (which at first was not
confirmed to be a heart attack) literally hours later people were
complaining about its tasteless and inconsiderate content. People were
upset because they themselves or someone they knew had had a heart
attack (I know a couple of people who have myself) and that it had no
place in a wrestling angle.

Well the same goes for possible miscarriages as far as I'm concerned.
Being male, as the majority of wrestling fans are, I had no direct
connection to the fear of a miscarriage, which is one reason I'm
afraid this angle has gone unnoticed by most as being offensive as it
is. However, my girlfriend (who does exist, I swear) has gone through
the physical and emotional pain of a miscarriage. Without going into
any of the details, this event changed her life in ways that I hope
none of you will ever have to experience. It is a TERRIBLE thing to
have to go through and is nothing to joke about. I would rather have a
heart attack and live than a miscarriage knowing what both can do to
people. Basically, I just want people to realize that the WWF can be
just as tasteless (if not more so) as the WCW when it comes to the
content of their angles. I'm very disappointed with wrestling fans for
being more than ready to blast WCW for something and then look the
other way when the WWF does something equally offensive. Personally
none of these angles bothered me. Whether its a heart
attack, a cross, a miscarriage or someone pooping in the center of the
ring (OK that may be too much), I know they are all angles, works, in
a word...fake. So, all I'm saying is if you are gonna complain about
one company, be prepared to complain about another even if you like it
more. Hypocrisy is a true sign of unintelligence, and the last thing
we need is people getting good reasons to believe that wrestling fans
are unintelligent.
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LUGER DEFENSE
Submitted by reader: SKYNYRD578
I just wanted to drop a line after reading this report on Luger's
supposed conduct after the last Philadelphia show. Now I wasn't at
that show but have met Luger, Sting and both Steiner Bros after a
nights events here in Phila. They happened to be dining quietly in a
local tavern/restaurant, off in a separate room. I had no idea they
were in the place at the time as I was enjoying a few cocktails with a
friend of mine (who is not a wrestling fan) and his wife. While
talking with my friends I excused myself to use the men's room and was
in there going about my business, when the door opened and in walked
Luger, taking the urinal 2 spots over. After finishing what I had to
do, I went to the sink and washed my hands, while doing that I said
Hello and told him that I was a big fan, he said thank you and I
returned to my friends. A few minutes later, my friends and I received
overturned shot glasses on the bar and were
told that they were compliments of the gentleman in the private dining
area and that once we freshened our drinks, would we care to step back
and sit with them for a few minutes. Well, I of course accepted and we
went back to join them, they welcomed us and asked if we would like to
sit with them for a few minutes before they returned to their hotel.
We enjoyed a pleasant conversation with all 4 of them and they were
very cordial. This was a great meeting for me as I have been watching
wrestling (both promotions) for almost 25 years and it was one of the
nicest gestures that could have been offered to a fan. I received all
4 of their autographs, and have them in a frame on my wall to this day.

Now concerning the mail that i read here today, perhaps the fan was
not as courteous as they should have been, or perhaps Luger was having
a bad day,
whichever is the case, his image in my opinion will not be tarnished.
Keith
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FOLEY'S POP
Submitted by reader: KFITZPATI
Most of us are used to the trash talk that is thrown out by the WWFand
WCW
against each other on the Monday night shows. WWF announcers have
ripped the
WCW "elders" and what they feel is lack of athleticism and creativity
in WCW
angles and matches. WCW announcers have for years pointed out to us
that many
RAW episodes are taped, even throwing in Rick Rude on a Nitro the same
night he was being shown on RAW. But something came across to me loud
and clear on
Nitro Monday night- Tony Schivonie several times letting us know that
"Cactus Jack -yes, Cactus Jack won their title last week, folks." The
man who inspired David Crockett's infamous 1980's saying "WATCH "UM IN
THE RING TONY! WATCH "UM!" seemed to be mocking Foley pretty hard.
Nothing wrong with promoting your product, of course, and King Tony
could be gleeful- WCW deserves credit for getting some 40,000 people
in the Georgia Dome for the show on Monday. However Tony and his
comrades need to remember a few things that were apparent to those who
watched all or part of this Monday'sshows:

1) Foley has become one of the best workers- if not the best worker-
in the business. If King Tony had heard the pop that he got when his
hand was raised after his WWF title victory, he may have wanted to
think a little before he said his two cents.

2) The home grown product of WCW, Goldberg...well no one is going to
deny his athleticism and his ability to appeal to the masses at the
WCW house shows. Unfortunately WCW showed off his biggest weakness
Monday night- his mic work. I know, I know...he's young, he's young,
his t-shirts are at K-Mart and JCPenney's, but it is something that
could hurt him down the road as WCW promotes him. Most importantly: 3)
Bottom line with King Tony and WCW- his boss laid out the cards for
1999 all in a bunch. What? Just what Steve's newsletter and the
internet sights of correctly promoted: the NWO reunion with Hogan
becoming champion again. Bischoff basically said to America this on
Monday: "In 1996 we made a lot of money for having the NWO wreck havoc
and Hogan be the champion heel. We got big ratings taking on Flair and
his WCW/Horsemen alliance. Guess what? We're doing it AGAIN in 1999."
It will be up for the fans to decide if this second Hogan-Nash-Hall
reunion with the spray paint and now Luger, Bagwell and Steiner in tow
is going to be worth watching.

My view? I'm glad I watched both shows because all the predictions on
this newsletter were accurate. But I also see a lot of fans making
decisions real soon in the ratings war- if you didn't like the
dependence of Hogan in WCW angles before (and most folks in the
newsletters and websites don't seem to) then it could be a critical
time for Bischoff and the boys in 1999......
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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. We have no problem if you want to use our stuff; just credit it properly.

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