Issue # 155
Date:
Thursday February 4th, 1999
8:39 pm
The Wrestling
Booking Sheet
FROM CHRIS CANDIDO &
TAMMY SYTCH
Chris Candido &
Tammy Sytch have
several statements
that they wanted to
post:
"There is not anyone
I dislike in the
business more then
Shawn (Michaels).
But
nobody deserves to
have that happen to
them. Please forward
my best.
-Chris Candido"
"Steve, please
report this---
There is not one
human on the face of
the earth who knows
shit about wrestling
unless they have
taken one bump--so
for all you assholes
who think they
know--b/c they
watch, give it up,
buy a PPV and learn
something---Don't
ever
criticize someone's
work because you
don't know what
these men go
through---and
if you experienced
it, you would
probably be
paralyzed for the
rest of your
life--think about
it."
RATINGS FOR FEBRUARY
1ST, 1999
RAW NITRO
1st Hour n/a 5.5
2nd Hour 5.6 4.3
3rd Hour 5.9 4.2
Composite 5.8 4.7
That was not the end
of the good ratings
news for the WWF
either, as they did
a
monster number for
Half Time Heat as
well, doing a huge
6.6 rating for the
World
Title change match
between Mankind and
the Rock (from 7:54
to 8:14 p.m.). The
rest of the Heat
show did strongly as
well, scoring a 3.4
for the first 54
minutes against the
Super Bowl. … The
1/28 Thunder did a
strong 4.2, off of
hours of 4.0 and
4.4. The replay did
a 1.1 (off of hours
of 1.0 and 1.2).
Thanks
to the Unk for his
help.(Reported by
Dave Scherer of
http://www.1wrestling.com)
STEINER INCIDENT AT
NITRO
One thing of
interest that
occurred off-camera
was an incident
concerning Scott
Steiner. After he
rambled on for five
minutes, the show
went to commercial.
As
one of the ring
girls rubbed his
chest, someone hit
him in the side with
a beer.
Steiner jumped the
guard rail and had
to be restrained,
but obviously didn't
know who did it. The
guy was pointed out,
and as he was being
escorted out of
the arena Steiner
again attempted to
jump the guard rail.
Three security
guards
held him, but he was
getting away, and
three more had to
come over in order
to
hold him back. Buff
jumped on the mic
during this
incident, and some
of the
crowd was distracted
by his insults, but
the people in my
area seemed
convinced
that Steiner would
have killed the guy
if not for security.
I thought it was all
Steiner just trying
to get over, but
Buff definitely was
trying to take
attention away from
Steiner, so who
knows, it may have
been legit.
(Reported by Craig
Bauman & Dave
Scherer of
http://www.1wrestling.com
)
GOLDBERG/ER DEAL
NIXED
Bill Goldberg was
offered a spot on
ER. Of course he
took the job, right?
Wrong. Apparently ER
tapes on Monday, and
WCW with their
talent roster
couldn't
let Goldberg go for
one Monday to play a
role on the highest
rated drama on
network TV.
(Reported by Micasa
at:
http://www.wrestlemaniacs.com/
)
BABA SERVICES
As mentioned on the
1wrestling site,
Baba's funeral
services took place
on 2/2.
Some odds and ends
from that service...
Seiji Sakaguchi told
All
Japan
representatives
(Misawa, et. al)
that if they ever
wanted to work
together that
he would allow
talent loans to
occur. Fujinami
seconded Sakaguchi's
idea of a
co-promotional deal.
Misawa and Taue were
crying at the
funeral service as
Kobashi held hands
in prayer. There was
a minor problem with
getting Baba's body
in the hearse as it
was incredibly big
and awkward to
place. Baba was not
in a
coffin but instead
covered by a white
towel. Motoko Baba,
Baba's (now) widow,
held a couple of
photos of Baba when
he was in
Hawaii (he was
smiling) and
looked at them.
There was a part of
the service where
Motoko Baba and
others
burned incense and
she broke down
crying. It seemed as
if Taue and Motoko
took
the death the
hardest as they were
seen consoling each
other on a few
occasions.
New
Japan held a
10-count ceremony at
their 2/2 Aomori
Hirosaki show. Also,
on a
few of the
electronic Japanese
news sites and in a
couple of the
papers, there
was some talk about
Baba's death being
recognized all over
the Internet and
recognized by WCW on
Monday Nitro.
(Reported by Zach
Arnold at:
http://www.1wrestling.com
)
===========================================
ROUNDING THE SQUARED
CIRCLE
"WHO WAS THAT
'EXTREMIST' I SAW
YOU WITH"
OR
"ENTER THE
SNOOZEMAN"
BY
SAMJERRY
VISIT my Home Page:
http://members.aol.com/~samjerry
Finally making his
NITRO debut, The
Sandman arrived in
big fashion, he
jobbed to
Bam Bam Bigelow. In
keeping with its
"wholesome family
oriented style," WCW
gave
us the "new and
improved" Sandman.
Not the beer
swilling, cigarette
smoking,
raunchy character we
all loved in ECW,
but a tamer,
Politically Correct
version.
He was allowed to
carry and use his
Cane, but in a
measured way. It
wasn't even
referred to as a
Singapore Cane,
which I guess would
have made it sound
too
"extreme" for the
conscience police at
Turner World.
After holding him
back several months
and apparently
discarding the first
gimmick the bookers
had for him, we got
just another jobber.
I hope they see the
error of their ways
and give up back The
Sandman we cheered
in his past life.
There may still be
hope for him yet
considering the
WCW's recent turn
toward a
more "adult"
product.
In calling the
match, Fat Tony
referred to both
combatants as
"extremists."
Could this be WCW's
buzzword for
Hardcore? They can
use the word all
they want,
talk is cheap. They
have to deliver.
Unless The Sandman
is unleashed, he
will
end up wallowing in
the same quagmire
that Bret Hart has
since his arrival.
WCW
has bottomless
pockets when it
comes to buying
talent, but an empty
wallet when
it comes to using
them. Look at what
they have done to
Raven, Chris Jericho
and
Chris Benoit. Each
one of them is
capable of winning
every Title there is
and
yet they languish as
mid-carders. Is this
the fate destined
for The Sandman?
Good King Eric may
be able to spend all
of Uncle Ted's money
he wants, but
sooner or later
TEddie is going to
start calling in his
markers. If this
past
Monday's NITRO is an
example of what we
can expect, that day
may be coming
sooner rather than
later.
===========================================
My thanks to Playboy
Bobby Starr &
JRamboNWL
for sending in the
following report:
FCC Asked To Examine
WWF Ad .c The
Associated Press
By SKIP WOLLENBERG
NEW YORK (AP) -- The
World Wrestling
Federation's raucous
Super Bowl
commercial is
drawing fire from
two TV watchdog
groups who say it
was indecent
and shouldn't have
been shown on a
program with broad
family appeal. But
WWF
officials said most
people who saw the
ad -- including
officials at Fox
Broadcasting Co.,
which carried the
telecast -- found
nothing offensive
about it
and said they intend
to run the
commercial
elsewhere.
Robert W. Peters,
president of the
group Morality in
Media, called the
WWF
commercial ``one of
the most vile
commercials ever
aired on network
TV'' even
though he conceded
he hadn't seen it.
The American Family
Association, another
group often critical
of sex and
violence on
television, told the
Federal
Communications
Commission that the
ad
fell within the
agency's definition
of indecency and
should not have run
in the
early evening as it
did on the Super
Bowl broadcast.
The American Family
Association, which
is based in
Tupelo, Miss., filed
a
complaint against
the local Fox
television
affiliate, WLOV in
West Point, Miss.,
and urged others to
file similar
complaints against
their local Fox
stations.
The ad in question
offered a typical
``day at the
office'' at WWF
headquarters
in
Stamford, Conn.
WWF wrestler ``Stone
Cold'' Steve Austin
says in the ad that
the WWFoffers ``a
nonviolent form of
entertainment'' just
before he slams a
folding chair
against
a passing executive.
Other executives
brawled in the lobby
and office suites,
and bodies crashed
through glass
partitions and a
window.
The scene Roberts
and the American
Family Association
faulted showed a
couple in
an embrace with the
woman's legs wrapped
around the man's
waist as the woman
wrestler Sable walks
by saying ``We never
use sex to enhance
our image.'' ``The
spot was a
tongue-in-cheek
parody,'' said Jim
Byrne, a marketing
executive for
the WWF.
``Everything about
it was so
over-the-top that
for anyone to
interpret
it literally is
interesting.''
He said most people
got the joke.
``There will always
be people who take
themselves way too
seriously who are
extremely vocal,''
he said.
Calls to WLOV and to
Fox TV network
executives for
comment were not
immediately
returned.
The FCC has
authority to fine
broadcast license
holders like TV
stations. Norman
Goldstein, chief of
the FCC branch that
handles such
complaints, said the
agency
had received 45
complaints about the
ad via e-mail
through Wednesday
morning.
Peters said there
probably would have
been no complaints
about thead had it
run
in late-night TV
when children are
not watching. But he
said he was appalled
that it was shown
during the Super
Bowl, which
typically draws the
year's
biggest TV audience.
``The vast majority
of parents wouldn't
have any concern
about having their
2-year-olds watching
it,'' he said.
He said the National
Football League,
which decides its
champion in the
Super
Bowl game, should
also be concerned
about the ad.
``If they get away
with this, what will
the World Wrestling
Federation do next
year,'' he said.
Dave Miller,
national field
director for the
American Family
Association, said
he's not sure how
the FCC will act on
the complaint, but
noted the agency has
fined stations that
have carried Howard
Stern's
often-controversial
radio
programs after his
group filed
protests.
``Nothing will be
done if nothing is
said,'' Miller said.
AP-NY-02-03-99
18:22 EST Copyright
1999 The Associated
Press.
===========================================
HOGAN'S NITRO ALLY
Submitted by reader:
Shala Huff (shorehuf)
The Hell's Angel was
Chuck Zido(sp?). He
is an
actor/bodyguard and
has been
proclaimed by Howard
Stern as the
toughest guy in
Hollywood. He
actually was
the leader of the
Hell's Angels and he
has beaten up
Jean-Claude Van Dam
and
Micky Rourke, who
thinks he's a boxer.
He's on "Oz" and
lately has been
linked
professionally to
Pamela Anderson.
===========================================
THE TIMES CHANGE
Submitted by reader:
KFITZPATI
The feedback has
been very
interesting the last
couple of weeks with
opinions on
the WW, particularly
in light of the
Tammy Sytch post and
the Halftime Heat
title change. No
matter what side you
are on- whether you
think the WWF's
1999-style product
is best in the game
or if you want Vince
McMahon to take a
flying leap into an
18-wheeler head
first- two things
are clear-cut and
apparant. First, pro
wrestling is fully
back in the
mainstream and is as
popular as ever.
Think about it; in
1996 WCW could not
get half-capacity on
Nitros, continued a
Flair-Savage-Elizabeth
angle that had been
used before in
the WWF (only with
Flair having Liz for
keeps and being the
WCW king), Bret
Hart-Owen Hart was a
part of just about
every WWF card (or
so it seemed), the
WWF had major
traditional backlash
for having Michaels
win the title, Hogan
was
in and out of
retirement (and
getting booed
whenever Flair,
Anderson and the
Georgia boys
strutted out in
Charlotte) and Hall
and Nash were
pushing
themselves out of
the WWF with a trip
to mid-card matches
first. And Flex
Kavana was a USWA
tag team champion
while "Ringmaster"
Steve Austin fought,
and
lost regularly, to
Savio Vega in WWF
prelim bouts.
Before someone says
"Who the hell is
Flex Kavana?" we all
know that three
years
later things have
changed; and whether
you approve of the
WCW and/or WWF
product
or not, the bottom
line is wrestling is
in the public eye
and the public
mindset
like never before.
You've got sold-out
arena shows and
national TV
audiences,
you've got TV Guide
covers with Goldberg
and Austin, you've
got people going on
newsletters and
websites saying TV
shows are
unsuccessful IF
THERE IS NOT A 5
SHARE!!!!!!! And the
sport is the
healthiest I have
seen in my lifetime,
with a
nice mix of young
talent (Kavana-now
better known as the
Rock Goldberg,
Degeneration X, all
WCW cruiserweights),
brawlers (Austin,
Foley, etc.), and
real daredevils (Van
Dam, Sabu, the ECW
regulars) and old
standbys (Flair,
Hogan, the returning
Savage, the
Outsiders and Sting
to name a few).
The public has made
wrestling as much a
part of Monday night
TV as Fox has
made Ally McBeal a
part of their prime
time sports
telecasts, simple as
that.
Oh, the second
clear-cut thing?
Also pretty simple
and pretty relevant
to those
following the
WWF-WCW war. Sytch
has a lot of good
reasons to be proud
of her
and Candido's
relations with
"hardcore" style
wrestling and ECW,
for the bottom
line is that Heyman
and the Viking Hall
boys have had as big
an influence on
today's wrestling
product as any one
group or promotion
today. The reason
people are upset
with the use of
Raven, Sandman and
Benoit with Good
King Eric?
The reason some
people consider the
Rock a "jabroni"
because he didn't
jump out
of the stands onto
Foley at the Royal
Rumble? Simple-
Heyman put out a
product
that made
no-holds-barred
brawls and
goody-two-shoes-gimmicks
a thing of the
past. Foley,
Austin, Funk,
Benoit,Jericho, and
several others have
done the
hardcore thing in
Viking Hall, and the
result has
influenced both
McMahon and
Good King Eric.
Bischoff's yellow
and red Hogan era
became the era of
the NWO, with a
harder
style that showcased
ECW imports Public
Enemy breaking
tables on every
Nitro,
Raven doing the
no-DQ thing and now
Bam Bam Bigelow and
Sandman wrestling
with
barbed wire. By
coincidence, all
honed their skills
with Heyman's
booking.
IAnd the WWF (which
even hyped the ECW
in their 1997
battles with WCW
with Van
Dam, Sandman,
Dreamer , Taz and
others appearing
with Heyman on RAW)
can only
look at
Foley/Cactus/Mankind
for ECW influence.
Combine the
"Hardcore" title
matches, the
hardcore tag team
matches that have
showcased Road Dogg,
Al Snow,
the Brood and others
and you certainly
are a few light
years away from the
days
of bulldogs, birds
and Red Rooster
gimmicks that made
WWF haters call it a
carnival.
In short we are no
longer in classic
face-heel bouts 100
% of the time, and
the
Ultimate Warrior is
not going to save
the world for
thousands of little
kids on
Nitro. Led by a
style pioneered in a
small arena in
Philly, we have a
pretty
healthy sport in
1999. And its a
sport that can
rightfully use
Sytch's views
as a forum for
debate because its
not going to be
squeezed between an
Ultimate
Warrior interview
and Bret Hart verses
Jim Niedhart- and to
me that's a damn
good thing. And
again the
ratings war between
the WWF and WCW
prove that most fans
seem to think so
too...
===========================================
WWF ON HARD COPY
Submitted by reader:
Sable16911
I wanted to tell you
that there was a
segment done on the
women of the WWF on
Hard Copy on
Tuesday. It mainly
featured Sable
showing clips of
Sablebomb after
Sablebomb and
mentioning her
Playboy appearence.
They showed a clip
of Terri
Runnels giving a low
blow to Val Venis
and then running
away w/Jackie. They
had
a little interview
w/ The Rock who said
that most of the
time if women have
attitude they can
make it in the WWF.
They interviewed
Chyna and she said
she
was a one of a kind
in this business and
that she was a
bodyguard. They also
interveiwed Luna who
said that she was
the first WWF freak
and that is what she
is paid for. Also
shown was Debra's
antics in the ring
and a clip of Sable,
when
she started off as
Triple H's valet.
===========================================
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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
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Copyright- Steve Appy of The
Wrestling Booking
Sheet ©1998, 1999, 2000
"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 |