JERICHO UPDATE
As far as the Jericho situation goes, he was in Buffalo but told he wouldn't be
used on Nitro. There are rumors that he's going to receive a $750,000 offer
from WCW, but to the best of my knowledge, he hasn't actually received the
offer. It doesn't appear likely that the WWF would match the offer or even come
close, but the WWF also has obvious advantages when it comes to someone in his
position.
(Reported by Dave Meltzer of The Wrestling Observer)

SUPERBRAWL FINISH
Ric Flair made a proposal to Bischoff & Hogan to get the title at Superbrawl,
and then drop it back to Hogan at the 3/1 Dean Dome Nitro from Chapel Hill, NC.
Flair figured that it would work politically since Hogan would get to regain the
title from Flair in Flair country. The plan was nixed by Bischoff, since he
didn't want the title change.
(Reported by Dave Meltzer of The Wrestling Observer)

THE FABULOUS ONES
As was announced several weeks ago, 'Sweet' Stan Lane is planning a comeback to
the ring. There's a new twist; Lane & Steve Kiern, The Fabulous Ones, will be
debuting for NWA World Wide Wrestling 3/13 in Nashville. The Fabulous Ones were
the hottest tag team ever in Nashville in the early 80's, and should receive a
strong response. Lane, 45, has been talking about getting back into wrestling
now that its hot again, while Kiern has done indie shows in Florida on
occasion. (Reported by Dave Meltzer of The Wrestling Observer)

WCW LATINO CANCELLED
The entire WCW Latino project and Telemundo deal is off. The belief is that
after the first taping in Waco on 1/27, which was disorganized because nobody
knew which wrestlers would make it across the border and almost nobody in WCW
was aware Paco Alonso had switched affiliations with the WWF and thus was not
going to send any wrestlers. Eric Bischoff had just a few weeks earlier told
everyone that getting the show off the ground was a major priority, and the
company spent probably $300,000 creating a hot looking set and a new open before
throwing in the towel after one taping. Because WCW pulled out, they aren't
even going to air the one hour pilot that Telemundo had scheduled for a 7-8 time
slot on 2/24.
(Reported by Dave Meltzer of The Wrestling Observer)

To subscribe to The Wrestling Observer, definitely the BEST source for wrestling
news anywhere, send $11 for 4 issues to:
The Wrestling Observer
P.O. Box 1228
Campbell CA 95009-1228

BUTTERBEAN TO FACE BART GUNN AFTER ALL?
After knocking out his competition on the undercard of Saturday night's De la
Hoya/Quartey boxing PPV, Eric "Butterbean" Esch told a broadcaster that he
intended to face Bart Gunn in the near future in a Brawl for All match. I was
surprised to see the boxing broadcaster respond by putting the BFA over as a
legit "toughman" style competition! Throughout his bout, announcers were also
making frequent reference to Butterbean's "big wrestling pay-days" without the
usual thinly veiled mocking. its fairly well known that Butterbean still has an
appearance left on the WWF contract he signed last year, but it was thought that
he was not interested in facing Gunn (last year's Brawl for All winner).
Apparently, that's changed.
(Reported by http://www.wrestlemaniacs.com/ )

TORRI WILSON
Torri Wilson, the mystery blonde from Nitro, has released a brief statement on
her website http://www.torriewilson.com/
"And of course...to those of you who saw my appearance on WCW Monday, February
8th...Yes, that was me! Many of you have written in to get insider info, but you
can't expect a girl to break a promise to keep a secret, can ya? You will just
have to wait and see what I have up my sleeves! What I can say is that alot of
you are completely off base with your guesses! Keep watching..."
(Reported by David Tyler of The Big 3 Newsboard:
http://www.wrestlingpages.com/big3 )
===========================================
Jackyl's Winnipeg Sun/Thunder Bay Chronicle Column
by Don Callis
February 13th, 1999
Be sure to check out the online home of The Jackyl at:
http://freeweb.digiweb.com/sports/thejackal
Today was a day like many others for me, returning home from a meeting, killing
time yapping on my cell phone with one of my buddies. So right about now you're
asking yourself, "Who cares, Jackal?? Its one thing to give us the blow by blow
of your misadventures overseas, but who cares about something as mundane as you
chatting on your phone? What relevance does that have to me, the every day nine
to five wrestling fan on the street?"

Good point. Rest assured I haven't completely marked out for myself. While there
may be a few stalkers out there who would be fascinated by the minutiae of my
life, this story does have relevance, because you see, my buddy just happens to
be the hottest "free agent" in the wrestling business.

Chris Jericho is under what to many would be tremendous pressure, sign a
contract or be banned from television, sign a contract or be jobbed off Nitro.
Every threat that can be used by a wrestling company has been thrown at him. But
sitting in the driver's seat is a happy go lucky, highly intelligent individual
who laughs off the pressure and goes about his business, the business of being
the hottest property in wrestling.

Chris Jericho and I have been close friends since about 1991, when I first met
him here in Winnipeg on an independent show. We wrestled each other in a ten by
ten ring on the dance floor of a cheesy night club. During the ensuing seven
years or so, Chris and I always kept in touch, and always had fun when we'd hook
up in some city for a night on the town which would invariably last well into
the next morning.

Fast forward to 1999, and after stellar runs in Mexico, Japan, and ECW, Jericho
finds himself at a crossroads in his amazing career, as he (and several others)
ponder his future with World Championship Wrestling.

Chris has been (as he has everywhere else) a standout performer for WCW during
his stay there. He is one of a very few performers in the business who has the
complete package of looks, wrestling acumen, charisma and interview ability.
During the past year Jericho has really evolved himself into one of the only
legitiment heels in a company where most of the "heels" are cool guys and as a
result do not get true heel reactions. Despite having the look and wrestling
talent of a traditional babyface, Chris presents himself however he has to, to
get "heat" with the crowd, from his goofy top ponytail to his cheesy Van Halen
forearm fashions.

Seems like a no-brainer to just put him with the Harts, Hogans, Nashs, Savages,
or Flairs and let him do his thing, right? Wrong. Political situations being
what they are, Jericho's future is unlikely to hold any title matches against
Hogan or programs with Flair. For someone who loves the business like Chris,
being held back from reaching his potential is unacceptable.

Reports circulating say that Chris and Eric Bischoff agreed verbally to a new
three year deal several months ago, and the paperwork was supposed to be sent to
Chris within a few days. Apparently Jericho waited a few months for the legal
documents to arrive, during which time his future in the company as he saw it
began to bother him more and more. A lot of things can change over the course of
a few months, and Jericho decided that he wanted a different deal, one with some
assurances about his ability to fulfill his potential.

Apparently Bischoff, a very proud man, is furious, feeling that he and Chris had
agreed to a deal verbally, end of story. You can definitely see Bischoff's side
of it, but he's not the one in the driver's seat.

So as Chris's contracted time with WCW ticks away, ultimatums from the office
have come and gone. Threats of sudden losing streaks on Nitro are laughed off
because Chris could lose every match on TV and still be the star of the show.
The WWF, where Vince McMahon would in all likelihood, promote Chris to the top,
is no doubt licking its corporate chops at the thought of having Jericho on RAW
every week, were he to decide not to resign with WCW.

WCW has made some mistakes during the last year, but to mortgage your future
over pride is inexcusable. While the brains at the head office fret, the hottest
property in wrestling bides his time.

Ringside Insider:
News of my current status is the topic of much debate. Lets just say, things are
about to get EXTREMEly interesting this weekend...Former WWF Champion Shawn
Michaels has opened up a wrestling school with his mentor, Jose Lothario in San
Antonio. Shawn is apparently recovering well from back surgery, and could be
back on WWF TV soon, although likely in a non-wrestling role...The Giant will
likely start on WWF Raw shortly before WrestleMania...Be sure to check out my
website at http://freeweb.digiweb.com/sports/thejackal...You can reach out and
touch me at jackal
Jackyl
===========================================
PPV'S SET UP TV'S
Submitted by reader: KFITZPATI
The Saturday edition of RAW again showed me that in the wrestling world of 1999
the TV shows set up the pay-per-views, while in turn the pay-per-views will then
set up the next evening's activities. Part one of that formula was executed in
the Skydome with the son of Texas, Steve Austin, running "the corporate
gauntlet" to end RAW- and thus being "pinned" by Vince McMahon, with some beer
poured on him as an added insult to injury. I can see WCW fans decrying
this-after all, you are having your stop superstar -Austin- getting humiliated
by the company owner on national TV both in the U.S. AND Canada, and in the
ensuing debate of "ego over talent" it will look to folks that it is McMahon
trying to hog some spotlight. But in effect, I have to agree on what was
discussed on this newsletter- by not having Austin wrestle Mankind, you save
some anticipation to see that bout at Wrestlemania- which most readers of this
newsletter will agree is always considered by the WWF as their most important
card of the year. By having Austin "wrestle the guantlet", you are continuing
the "underdog" image that has been sold pretty well by the WWF the past year-
ratings seem to show that people like to see a 1950's throwback brawler battling
a bunch of henchmen fired out by the corporate boss (McMahon), and McMahon has
set it up for some "screwjobs" in two major pay-per-views (Survivor Series and
Royal Rumble) to keep the son of Texas away from the WWF title. It also gave
43,000 people an actual match with an actual plotline-
though some of the"stunners" Austin threw weren't actually very good looking
(he hardly touched Chyna) he was able to set up a nice plotline for McMahon to
cuss him out...and in turn set up Austin's "victory" tonight in Memphis and (if
you remember right due to McMahon's asking for no interference in the cage bout)
the debut of the Giant in the WWF as McMahon's new henchman and one man
wrecking crew. Will that be the case? Only time will tell in a few hours, but I
must say this about the current state of wrestling world 1999 (and the WWF's
current state of affairs): if you had told me two years ago that the WWF would
get over 40,000 people in Toronto in a card WITHOUT Bret Hart and with Steve
Austin, Mankind and the Rock getting huge pops and standing ovations, I would
have been pretty doubtful. Just as I gave WCW and sons credit for getting
40,000 into the Georgia Dome to see a non-match and an embarrassing of their top
home-grown product (Goldberg and his spraypainting by the newly invented
Wolfpac) I have to give the WWF credit for turning things around and creating a
product that is getting people in the seats even without a star that they built
several years of marketing into like Bret Hart. As for McMahon- again, some
people would rather see him be thrown off of Titan Tower and see Norman Smiley
vs. Ernest Miller main events then to see him succeed. But as heard by the "YOU
SCREWED BRET" cheers at Toronto and the subsequent success he is having in the
post-Bret era....well, he has taken what could have been a disasterous negative
and turned it into the biggest postive his promotion has seen in years.
===========================================
SEX APPEAL
Submitted by reader: Jason Ford (inflight23)
The unseen person that the blonde on Nitro was seducing was supposed to be...
YOU!!! This is WCW's little retort of the Federation's sex appeal, and it is
designed to keep you from switching to Raw to watch Debra and Sable!
===========================================
ECW POETRY
By Gary Adams (dafranchise)
its St. Valentine's Day and ya got nothing to do?
Why not watch the WWF pay-per-view? Hell no! And I'll tell you why...
$30-40, don't ya got anything better to buy?
And why not? Because the WWF sucks....WCW? Who gives a f_ _ _ ?
Lance Storm and Justin are up to no good,
The Dudleys are feuding with New Jack from the hood
Dreamer and The Franchise, could it be a scheme?
Sabu and Rob Van Dam, what a dream team! WWF? WCW? No, Paul Heyman's fed!
its ECW, in black, white, and blood red!
$30-40? Don't let Eric and Vince snub you....
Looking for real action? Go for EC F'N W
===========================================
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: Robert Troy (Osiris)
Columnist: Tom Kirkbride
Columnist: Ryan S. Oaks
Columnist: Darren Kramer

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