Issue # 154

Date:  Tuesday February 2nd, 1999  1:13 am

The Wrestling Booking Sheet

DAN SEVERN LEAVING THE WWF?
There was a lot of talk at indy shows over the weekend that Dan Severn will be
done with the WWF. He has dates with the company booked through the end of this
month. He can either work those dates and be released from his contract, or he
can have them honor his contract and he can be a jobber for a year. Basically,
the booking team realized there is not much they can do with him. As the story
goes, the WWF's one idea for him was to do a Brawl For All match with Steve
Blackman. Severn vetoed that though because either he didn't want to do a shoot
match or he likes Blackman too much to beat him up in the shoot. So, it now
looks like there is nowhere in the company for The Beast, and he has a decision
to make towards his future. (Reported by Dave Scherer at:
http://www.1wrestling.com )

HOGAN REFUSES TO JOB
Bookers have approached Hogan about losing to Flair at the next WCW PPV, but so
far, Hogan has refused. Hogan has only jobbed to Flair once in all their match
ups, on a 2/96 Nitro. (Reported by Micasa at: http://www.wrestlemaniacs.com/ )
===========================================
WCW Nitro Report for February 1st, 1999
By Steve Appy
Taped earlier today, Curt Hennig & Barry Windham entered the arena, talking of
plans to win the WCW World Tag Team Championship. Their goal had more to do
with revenge against Hall & Nash than a quest for the gold...

In another pre-taped segment, Scott Steiner harassed Kimberly; he grabbed her
arm, and as she attempted to free herself, she tripped and was knocked
unconscious. Steiner's on-screen behavior is both tasteless and borderline
illegal.

Gene Okerlund interviewed Konnan & Rey Mysterio Jr. The Luchadors challenged
Nash & Luger to a match at Superbrawl, with either of the Wolfpac members hair
at stake, against his mask. I just can't see either man bald...

Vince was confronted by the nWo Black & White, and was eventually abandoned at
the airport by the nWo jobbers. He was picked up by the Wolfpac's limousine; I
imagine trouble will be in store for Vince at some point tonight.

Ric Flair forced Eric Bischoff to perch himself on a dunking booth; it appears
Bischoff will be dunked into freezing cold water at some point this evening.

Curt Hennig & Barry Windham defeated Chris Benoit & Dean Malenko in 12:47
This was another match in the ongoing WCW World Tag Team Tournament. Malenko
made his long awaited return to the ring, apparently at least somewhat recovered
from his sprained ankle. Since both Hennig & Windham were former Horseman
themselves, there was an added dimension to the match. Benoit once again sold
the majority of the match, allowing Malenko to make the hot comeback. After
Benoit missed a Flying Headbutt, Hennig took advantage of the situation and
pinned Benoit after a Fishermen's Suplex.

JJ Dillon threw a ball that dunked Eric Bischoff into the "freezing" water;
Stevie Ray confronted the Wolfpac about Vince, and an uneasy truce was forced.

As the nWo Black & White entered their dressing room, some of The Godfather's
Ho's were waiting for them. It has to be too good to be true...

Gene Okerlund interviewed WCW President Ric Flair. Flair challenged the absent
Hollywood Hulk Hogan, and once again recalled legends like Funk, Brisco, etc.
He threatened to tie Hogan "in a knot" at Superbrawl. Flair announced that
Chris Benoit would challenge Bret Hart for the US Title at Superbrawl, only to
be interrupted by Scott Hall & The Disco Inferno. Hall was angry that Benoit
was the top contender, which led to Flair & Benoit clearing the ring of both
men. Flair ordered that Hall would face Benoit tonight; am I the only would who
would love to see Benoit go over both Hall & Hart?

In a classy maneuver, Tenay, Shiavonie & Zbyszco acknowledged the death of Giant
Baba. They

Van Hammer pinned Kenny Kaos in 2:26
After Hammer scored the victory with the Flashback, we saw the return of the
Sandman! Wrapped in barb wire, he stormed the ring and caned both men.
Proclaiming his extreme, hardcore credentials, he challenged Bam Bam Bigelow to
a match. Maybe it was the absence of 'Enter the Sandman', but the energy just
wasn't there. Of course, the fact that the majority of the audience had no idea
who he is hurt the heat as well. His association with Raven was never
acknowledged, so I imagine that angle was dropped before it really started.

Bam Bam Bigelow pinned The Sandman in 6:09
Although both men used objects (Sandman the cane, Bigelow a chair), Bigelow
dominated most of the action. Sandman took a hard chairshot to the head, an
action that has begun to bother me ever since the Royal Rumble. Bigelow
splashed Sandman into the pile of barb wire, and scored the victory after
'Greetings From Asbury Park'. I have mixed feelings about this one. On one
hand, I was thrilled to see Bigleow go over, since he is far more talented than
the limited Sandman. At the same time, why even bother hiring Sandman if's
going to job his first night in?

A WCW camera man tried to dunk Bischoff into the tank, all to no avail. After
the commercial break, Bischoff was finally sent into the cold water.

An nWo video with Lex Luger & Elizabeth aired. A relationship was teased
between the two of them; Goldberg was the focus of their anger. While Goldberg
is improving,
I would hate to see him try to carry a stiff like Luger...

Diamond Dallas Page was informed by Kidman about what happened to Kimberly
earlier in the evening. DDP stromed the Wolfpac locker room, but the nWo
covered for Steiner and claimed he was nowhere to be found. After DDP left,
Steiner stepped out of a side door, hinting that he had just slept with
Kimberly. A female hand, body unseen, stroked Steiner's chest.

Nash ordered Vincent to tell DDP that the nWo would accept his challenge, and to
slap DDP; fearing Page's wrath, Vincent ordered Disco Inferno to deliver the
challenge. Under the impression that the nWo would have his back, he slapped
DDP square in the face. With no nWo reinforcements in sight, DDP delivered a
Diamond Cutter to the hapless flunky. At this point Page jumped into a rental
car and left the arena...

Kevin Nash & Lex Luger congratulated Vince for using his brain; hilarious
interaction between the Wolfpac. Vince is entertaining in his flunky, weasal
role.

WCW Cruiserweight Champion Kidman pinned Lash Leroux in 7:51
While Leroux is solid, this match would be have better suited for the first
hour. With his red hair and unique look, Leroux may have a future. Kidman
scored the pinfall after hitting The Shooting Star Press.

Bobby Heenan, telling Bischoff that he had no grudge against him, "tripped" and
sent Bischoff once again into the dunk tank.

Hollywood Hulk Hogan & a Hells Angel rode around in a limousine, hinting at
havok towards David Flair.

Gene Okerlund interviewed Booker T. Booker acknowledged his torn ACL, and had
severe words for his Superbrawl opponent, The Disco Inferno.

TV Champion Scott Steiner (w/Buff Bagwell) mocked both DDP & Kimberly; I hope
that once Buff is ready to return, he makes it a solo act.

TV Champion Scott Steiner (w/Buff Bagwell) defeated Chris Jericho (w/Ralphus) vi
submission in 8:53
Jericho, claiming that "these guys are no problem", ordered Ralphus to the back.
Is this Jericho's fate for the next five months, jobbing to stiffs like
Steiner? Saturn attacked Jericho on the outside of the ring, which enabled
Steiner to place Jericho in The Steiner Recliner for the submission victory.

Clips were shown of Bret Hart on Mad TV; he did a great job of acting truly
indignant.

Kevin Nash, Elizabeth, & Lex Luger were interviewed. Both men primped their
long hair, and ended up placing Elizabeth's hair on the line instead of their
own. As one would imagine, she looked less than thrilled...

Scott Norton pinned Ernest Miller (w/Sonny Onoo) in 6:09
Miller put out his typical open challenge, and Norton decided to keep The Cat
quiet (this may be the first time I've ver cheered for Norton). Of course, it
took the Wolfpac to bait Norton into the ring. Norton finally put Miller away
with The Powerbomb.

Gene Okerlund interviewed Bill Goldberg. While his interviews still aren't his
strong suit, they are improving. He gave respect to Bam Bam Bigelow, but also
warned him that "he is next".

Ric Flair dunked Bischoff for the umpteenth time tonight; Bischoff taunted
Flair, asking "Hey Flair, where's your Kid".

Scott Hall (w/Disco Inferno) pinned Chris Benoit in 11:03
The winner of the match will get the Superbrawl US Title shot at Bret Hart.
This would seem to be the perfect opportunity to give Benoit his first US high
profile victory; no such luck. Then again, it is nice to see Benoit in the main
event two weeks in a row. Bret Hart provided color commentary; Benoit had the
advantage, but was punched by Kevin Nash before he could put Hall away. Hall
took the initiative and hooked Benoit into an Outsider's Edge off the top rope.
Benoit did two jobs in one night...

Hogan and his Hells Angel friend found David Flair entering a Charlotte gym;
with Ric Flair watching on the monitor, Hogan hinted that destruction would
befall young Flair.
As Nitro ended, Ric Flair watched in horror...
===========================================
ROUNDING THE SQUARED CIRCLE
"SUPER BRAWL DURING SUPER BOWL"
OR
"BRONCOS BASH BIRDS, MIC MASHES MOTOR MOUTH"
OR
"FOLEY ROCKED THE ROCK"
BY SAMJERRY
VISIT my Home Page: http://members.aol.com/~samjerry

I read several things the past few days wondering why the WWF posted the results
last Wednesday of last nights taped WWF Title Match between Mic Foley and The
Rock (C), shown on Half-time Heat, during half-time at the Super Bowl. The match
was held earlier in the week in an empty arena in Phoenix. It was well known on
the Internet that Mankind (Foley) won the match. I think its obvious they did
it to preclude WCW from announcing it during Thunder last Thursday, as they had
done a few weeks ago on NITRO.

I also think WWF Owner Mr. McMahon knew that even though the results were known,
the match would be a big draw. After all, when WCW announced that Foley had won
his first WWF Championship, the ratings for RAW went way up for the match. He
had to believe lightning would strike twice if Foley were to regain the Title.

The match was one of the best I can remember seeing. It began in the ring and
quickly went to the floor. The guard rail was broken during the action at
ringside. The Rock buried Mankind under a hail of chairs, something that could
not easily be done in a crowded arena. They fought up the steps of the
grandstand, where Mankind was crowned with a metal trash can and thrown down the
steps.

They fought in the arena's kitchen, where The Rock threw Mr. Socko into an oven
and tried to stuff Mankind in after it. The Rock opened a bottle of Jack Daniels
and took a swig, however, Mankind hit him and he never got to swallow it. They
tore the kitchen up and then fought into an area where employees were eating and
destroyed the banquet table. I can just see Paul Bearer and Joel Gertner crying
over the food they wasted. The Rock had someone hand him a can of soda, take a
drink and dump the rest on Mankind.

Their tour of the arena next took them into an office. The telephone rang and
The Rock answered it "Smack Down Hotel," told the caller that Foley couldn't
talk on the phone because he had The Rock's foot down his throat, as he
proceeded to kick him in the face. It rang again and this time The Rock told the
caller Foley couldn't come to the phone because he was all tied up, as he
proceeded to strangle Foley with the phone cord. This was a classic. Think what
you want of The Rock, if nothing else, he is entertaining. He kept up a dialogue
throughout the match. He even took time to insult a girl working in the office.

They next went out to the loading dock. The match ended here as Foley applied
his Mandible Claw using Mr. Socko to disable The Rock under a loaded forklift.
He then lowered the forklift onto The Rock literally pinning him. This was one
pin that was not going to be kicked out of. It was a fitting end to a great
match, that is an early contender for match of the year in this writers eyes.

The problem with delivering this big is that it becomes a hard act to follow.
There have been words that last weeks RAW was better than The Royal Rumble PPV,
and now we may hear that Heat was even better. I am looking forward to seeing
what the WWF has planned next.

They also ran the much hyped Super Bowl WWF commercial, before and after,
Half-time Heat. It had speaking parts by Stone Cold Steve Austin, The Rock,
Sable, The Undertaker, and Mankind, with a closing by Mr. McMahon. After seeing
it, If there is anyone that still doesn't get the concept of "Sports
Entertainment," it is beyond me. It was a humorous piece that should serve to
silence many critics of the WWF's content.

One last item. We got to hear from Chyna why she double-crossed Degeneration-X
(DX) and joined The Corporation. In a word, Money. Chyna felt she wasn't
appreciated by the "four degenerates" as she called them in DX, and decided to
take Mr. McMahon's monetary offer and join his dastardly minions. Is this the
beginning of the long rumored demise of DX, or is it another DX ploy to stick it
to McMahon? You may remember that a short time ago McMahon courted the New Age
Outlaws and was shafted by Mr. @$$. Time will tell.
===========================================
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.

"When you're young and you pick up a guitar, it feels so powerful. It feels like you pulled the sword from the stone. I used to believe that it could save the world. But I don't really believe that anymore." - Bruce Springsteen

"The greatest challenge of adulthood is holding on to your idealism
after you lose your innocence and believing in the power of the human
spirit after you come crashing into the limits of the real adult
world." - Bruce Springsteen