Issue # 145

Date:  Sunday January 24th, 1999  8:02 pm

The Wrestling Booking Sheet

ROYAL RUMBLE REPORT FOR JANUARY 24TH, 1999
By Steve Appy, Mark George & Josh Kinney
Live from Anaheim CA
The broadcast began with clips of Vince McMahon training, Stone Cold squarely
on his mind. The obvious focus of the event is the Stone Cold/McMahon meeting.

The Big Boss Man pinned Hardcore Champion Road Dog
This was a non-title bout, billed as a "Special Challenge Match". As usual,
Road Dog received a super reaction when introduced; he's actually becoming an
effective singles star right before our eyes. When rebounding off the ropes, the
Boss Man caught him in a Side Slam for the pinfall. The fall came out of
nowhere, and surprised the audience. This seemingly set's up a Hardcore Title
bout in the future.

Intercontinental Champion Ken Shamrock defeated Billy Gunn via submission
Both men sold the fact that they hated each other very well, with Gunn's
flirtation with Shamrock's "sister" still fresh in his mind. Shamrock
inadvertently clotheslined referee Tim White, and Val Venis took advantage of
the opportunity and DDT'ed Shamrock. Shamrock recovered, and after Gunn landed
funny on his knee, Shamrock forced the submission with the Ankle Lock.

Shane McMahon, along with the Stooges, pumped Vince up about his battle royal
appearance later in the evening.

European Champion X-Pac pinned Gangrel
Gangrel reversed a Flying Bodypress that actually pinned X-Pac for a three
count; because it was a miscue, it become a close two count. X-Pac scored the
pinfall after applying The X-Factor.

Triple H, Chyna, Road Dog & X-Pac were interviewed; all four forecast both victory
and earning $100,000 for eliminating Stone Cold. Rivalry in the ranks?

WWF Women's Champion Sable defeated Luna Vachon (w/Shane McMahon) in a Strap
Match
Shane McMahon teased that Sable would have to forfeit the Women's Title, due to
a back injury inflicted by Luna earlier in the evening. Of course, Sable
insisted on performing; Luna dragged Sable to the four corners, and Sable
touched the corners as well. After Shane distracted the referee, Luna was
poised to claim victory. Sable's "stalker" (Terri Poch) charged the ring and
nailed Luna, enabling Sable to gain the victory. The stalker escaped through
the crowd before security could apprehend her.

The Big Boss Man, Ken Shamrock, & Test discussed collecting the $100,000 bounty
on Austin's head...

Dok Hendricks interviewed The Rock; he initially seemed nervous about the
Championship match, but then warmed up and let his charisma take control.

The Rock defeated Mankind via "submission" to win his second WWF World
Championship
It would be impossible to report all the brutality in this bout; it was as crazy
as you would expect. After they both climbed twelve feet onto a balcony, Foley
was knocked off onto an electrical box, which was rigged to make all kinds of
neat sparks. Maivia began devastating Foley, and he was destroyed from one end
of the arena to the next. Both of Foley's hands were handcuffed together behind
his back, although Mankind somehow still countered. With a chair covering
Foley's face, The Rock applied The Corporate Elbow onto Foley's head. Using the
chair, Maivia nailed Foley in the head multiple times with the chair. There
were so many chairshots connected that it is becoming legit scary; in fact, 11
chairshots by our count.

As Foley was on the ground, a taped message with Foley saying "I Quit" played
over the loudspeaker. Although the timing was perfect, it was still so
obviously a setup. It damaged Cole's & Lawler's credibility to not acknowledge
the recorded, fake nature of the submission. As the ringside officials attended
to Foley, The Rock continued beating on the helpless Mankind. After the attack
finally subsided, an attempt was made to take Foley away on a stretcher. He
refused, and courageously walked backstage on his own two feet. While this was
a courageous performance from Mankind, it was also sickening to see the
chairshots that Foley allowed to scramble his brains.

Vince McMahon eliminated Steve Austin to win the 1999 Royal Rumble
Austin spent the first two minutes destroying McMahon, and rather than throw
Vince out, he kept Vince in the contest and punished him instead. Golga
provided a brief distraction, but was quickly dispatched by Austin. The two men
brawled into the crowd, and Vince & Austin brawled to a women's bathroom.
Because they exited the ring under the rope, they are still officially in the
match. As they entered the rest room, the Corporation was waiting, and they
ambushed Austin. Austin was left face down on the bathroom floor, left for
dead.

Back in the ring, life went on. Mabel ambushed Headbanger Mosh, and took his
place in the ring. After Mabel dominated the action, The Undertaker, w/The
Acolytes came to ringside and kidnapped Mabel. This stable of The Undertaker's
seems to be little more than a demonic version of The J.O.B. Squad.

After the ring was cleared, Vince McMahon finally returned to the ring. He
boasted that Austin would not be returning to the event, and claimed that his
mission was accomplished. A siren was heard, and Austin returned to the arena
in a stolen ambulence. Vince McMahon turned pale at the idea of Austin's
return.

After Austin chased McMahon through the ring, Vince hid at the announcer's
table, still technically in the match. Austin was everyone's target, as
babyface and heel alike tried to collect the bounty. Austin eventually threw a
pitcher of water in McMahon's face, as he looked on in silent fury.

Eventually it came down to six men (Austin, D-Lo Brown, The Big Boss Man, Owen
Hart, Triple H, & Vince McMahon). The Boss Man eliminated D-Lo, and Austin
eliminated Triple H, Owen, & The Boss Man to leave just him & Vince McMahon as the
two active participants.

As Stone Cold kicked Vince's ass, The Rock walked to ringside and distracted
Austin. As Austin argued with Maivia at ringside, McMahon snuck up behind
Austin and dumped him over the top rope for the victory. As it stands right
now, Vince McMahon is scheduled to face The Rock at Wrestlemania 15.

Participant # of athlete's eliminated
1) Steve Austin 8
2) Vince McMahon 1
3) Golga 0
4) Droz 0
5) Edge 1
6) Duane Gill 1
7) Steve Blackman 0
8) Dan Severn 0
9) Tiger Ali Singh 0
10) The Blue Meanie 0
11) Mabel 5
12) Road Dogg 4
13) Gangrel 0
14) Kurrgan 0
15) Al Snow 0
16) Goldust 0
17) The Godfather 0
18) Kane 5
19) Ken Shamrock 0
20) Billy Gunn 0
21) Test 0
22) The Big Boss Man 2
23) Triple H 2
24) Val Venis 0
25) X-Pac 0
26) Mark Henry 0
27) Jeff Jarrett 0
28) D-Lo Brown 0
29) Owen Hart 0
30) Chyna 1

Logic would dictate that Austin will face McMahon 2/14 at St. Valentine's Day
Massacre, winning the right to face The Rock at Wrestlemania. Vince proceeded
to mock Austin, drinking a Coors Light as the audience expressed their
disapproval.

A good show, far better than last week's WCW Souled Out; even the undercard had
good heat with the audience. While the idea of McMahon winning is arguably
silly, I'm sure Austin will get a chance to regain his throne.
===========================================
"Welcome to the Jungle"
An Editorial written by: Ryan Oaks (JO13squad)
One thing I want to get off my chest, is about Hogan. This guy pretends he is
gonna retire, then "comes out of retirement" and is right back where he left
off, but now it is in a different color. This is probably the lamest thing I
have seen come out of WCW and its bookers in a while. I would think that the
best thing to do with this old bastard is to bring him back as The Hulkster of
old and have him stand for all that is good and all that bull. But NOOOOOO,
they bring him back and have him leading the Wolfpac now. Gimme a break, he is
old, he needs to go back to being the hero he used to be, and then have his
wrinkled @$$ retire!! That's all I want to say
about that issue.

I would also like to talk about The Road Dogg being the Hardcore Champion. Now,
no disrespect to Road Dogg, but he is far from Hardcore, and shouldn't be
anywhere near that title. Well... at least that's what I thought before I saw
his match with Al Snow... That match was probably one of the best matches the
WWF has produced in a long time. Of course, the other Hardcore Title Matches
were good, but this one probably ranks up there with the best of them. I think
that if the Road Dogg can continue to put on a show like that, then he more than
deserves that title. Although I think that Al Snow would make a pretty good
Hardcore Champ, it just doesn't go along with his angles.

I would next like to say that I think the WWF needs to get the Hardy Boys into
more matches on RAW, and get them a good gimmick, and let us see how they are on
the mic. Because these guys have the talent to make it big in the tag team
division, and I just wish the WWF would let these young superstars shine to
their capability. These guys are undoubtedly the WWF's future in the tag team
division, and I just wish that The WWF would sit down and take a look at these
two boys and realize what kind of talent they have somewhat overlooked.

A little of my opinions on Debra now. All I am going to say about her is that I
think she would be a great valet for someone other than Jeff "Don't P*** me off"
Jarrett, and the Nugget himself Owen Hart. It would probably be better to see
her managing someone like Val Venis or The Godfather. Maybe even someone like
DX.

Well, that's all of my opinions for now, but I would like to talk a little bit
about some other things now. As I stated earlier in the article, I have
expanded my Wrestling
Video Tape collection. I would like for all of you to get the chance to do the
same. I
want to give everyone here a chance to make their video collection better than
ever. I have collected a lot of tapes as of late, and I want all of you to get
the chance to have them. I do sell them, but I don't want to sell them to you.
I want to make the readers of my article to have a special deal. So here it is:
If you send me two Blank Video tapes, which must be one of three brands, then I
will send you any video, or any videos you want. If you send me two Blank tapes
of the three brands that I choose, then you can have a six hour tape, or any of
my videos that you want. I will copy them onto one of the tapes that you send
me and you will get six hours of wrestling for only TWO blank tapes. OR... If
you send me Two 8 hour tapes, then you can have 8 hours of wrestling for only
two 8 hour blanks: All blank tapes must be 1 of the following brands: Maxell
Silver or Gold, Sony, or TDK (High Quality).
Thank you,
Ryan Oaks. Contact me at: JO13squad
===========================================
AUTOGRAPH SIGNINGS
BACKYARD SPORTS " The Pro Wrestling Superstore" is pleased to anounce
upcoming personal apperances at our Eden,NC location.
February 5th, WWF STAR --KANE (3:30-5:30)
February 6th, Ricky Steamboat (12:00-3:00)
February 20th, PUBLIC ENEMY ( 1:00-3:00)
March 6th, Missy Hyatt ( 2:00 - 4:00)
March 25th, ARN ANDERSON ( 6:00-8:00)
March 27th , TBA
Please make plans to attend and check out the #1 Pro wrestling store on the
Planet. For Directions or further info please call..............
(336) 627-9192 or (336) 627-0729
DONT BE LEFT OUT if you can't make it by you can still get an autograph picture
or other autographed merchandise through the mail.Call or email me at
nWo2sweet@xxxxc... Thanks and hope to see you soon,
Chris Nelson
===========================================
CLEAN VICTORIES
Submitted by reader: VBbys8
The wrestling business has changed so much in the way of wrestlers jobbing. Back
in the day, if a wrestler lost then he lost and it was no big deal. Now, in WCW
especially, if a wrestler such as Chris Jericho jobs it is taken as an immediate
sign that the wrestler is falling out of favor with the company. Like last night
I was shocked to see Jericho job to Booker T and not just because of his
contract situation but because I have become so accustomed to witnessing
run-ins,dq's, and screwjobs over and over. Also I was surprised to see Perry
Saturn job again. The point I am trying to make is that I shouldn't be shocked
when I see someone lose a match cleanly. Except for a little Buff interference,
Saturn pretty much jobbed clean. In order to win some of the fans back, WCW has
to replace screw jobs and dq's with good matches and actual clean pinfalls. They
don't have to be clean wins, because I still think interference has its place.
But its the meaningless, senseless ruining of good matches for the ludicrous
reason that the ego of many midcarders is too big to take a loss. I can
understand guys like Hogan, Nash, Hart, and Flair not wanting to
job because they have reputations to uphold. But guys like Scott Steiner, Curt
Hennig, Ernest Miller, and others not jobbing is ridiculous. You watch a match
for 15 minutes and then just as you think you're going to see a
conclusion.....here
comes Vincent and Adams for no apparent reason except that WCW couldn't fathom
having the immortal Hennig or Steiner or others do a job.

Another point is that a wrestler like Chris Benoit who jobbed countless times in
'98
(Finley,DDP, Booker T off the top of my head) doesn't get rewarded with a push
or a belt. Conversely, in WWF, Mankind was getting pinned by everyone in sight
in late '98 and he's been justly rewarded with a title reign that he's earned.
And even superstars like Stone Cold have to job and it all evens out so no one
in WWF is immune to doing a job and a match ending is always in doubt. If WCW
starts soon with more clean endings, then fans will have less to complain about,
better matches will be seen, maybe even Nitro ratings could see an increase
(whoa!!! lets not get crazy). But don't get me wrong I don't want to eliminate
run-ins or dq's completely because they do have a place and do fuel angles but I
just want the meaningless screwjobs to stop. As clean endings become more
commonplace in WCW, we will be less and less surprised when we see a big name do
a job and thats the way it has to be.
===========================================
ADVERTISEMENTS
Lawson's Tape List
I have several tapes that I will sell or trade. If you are looking for hard to
get stuff of Cactus Jack, Sabu, Rob Van Dam, then I am your man. I have some WWF
and WCW tapes as well but my main focus is ECW and independents.To find out
more, email me @ JohnPrine

The Professional Wrestling Federation's OFFICIAL website is now open.
http://members.aol.com/ThePWF/main.html
The PWF is an indy based promotion out of the Carolinas. We have such stars as,
The Bodyguard, Itallion Stallion, "Georgous" George South, Wild Child, American
G.I., Ted Dibiase, Jimmy Snuka, and many many more!
===========================================
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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