Ratings for March 1st, 1999
RAW Nitro
1st Hour n/a 5.1
2nd Hour 6.4 3.7
3rd Hour 6.3 4.0
Composite 6.4 4.3
(Reported by Dave Scherer of http://www.1wrestling.com )

SEVERN/NWA DETAILS
UFO (Universal Fighting-arts Organization)'s Antonio Inoki and Naoya Ogawa had a
press conference at the UFO's new office in Shirokane-dai, Minato-ku, Tokyo on
Thursday, March 4th. Inoki said that they were still talking about the rule with
the NWA and the NWA would send former NWA World Heavyweight champion Dory Funk,
Jr. as a " referee" or an " observer " or a " declarater "for the NWA World
Heavyweight title match between Dan Severn vs. Naoya Ogawa at Yokohama Arena in
Shin-yokohama, Kanagawa on Sunday, March 14. The common thought is that Ogawa
will get the first victory, and that Severn will regain the championship in the
United States. I fear that the NWA Championship already means more in Japan
than in the United States...
(Reported by Masanori Horie http://welcome.to/robswrestlingworld )
===========================================
Report: 'WWF Raw' has strong impact on behavior of children
By Mike Mooneyham
Sunday, February 28, 1999
Vince McMahon labels it entertainment.

Others see it as a disturbing trend that has manifested itself on one of cable
television's most popular shows, calling into question the social conscience of
the owner of the World Wrestling Federation.

A report circulated last week revealed that a detailed Indiana University
investigation of 50 "WWF Raw" episodes from the past year on the USA network
turned up a staggering amount of profane or risque incidents and an average of
less than 36 minutes of wrestling in a two-hour program.

The syndicated news show "Inside Edition" commissioned the Indiana University
study for a two-part series that aired last week. Reporter Matt Meagher said he
became interested in looking at wrestling when his wife, a middle school
teacher, told him about her students imitating the behavior seen on the shows.

Researchers counted 1,658 instances of a character grabbing or pointing to their
own crotch - or roughly eight every 30 minutes, not counting the slow-motion
instant replays. They also tallied 157 instances of wrestlers or audience
members making an obscene gesture and 434 times when people either said a
sexually charged slogan or displayed one on a sign. There were 128 episodes of
simulated sexual activity and 47 references to Satanic activity.

Dr. Howard Spivak, a pediatrician at the New England Medical Center, believes
"this has horrendous implications and reflects a serious level of
irresponsibility on the part of programmers who have enormous impact on the
attitudes, values and behaviors of people ... particularly younger children."

In Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, eight students at an elementary school recently
were suspended for pointing to their crotches and screaming what has become the
WWF anthem - "S--K It!" Said school principal Bob Davies: "They've done this to
other students, they've done this to staff ... I've had it done to me on one
occasion."

"We are responsible broadcasters," said McMahon, adding his program is given a
rating to guide parents. "From a parent's standpoint, whether you choose to
watch us or whether you allow your children to watch us, that's your decision."
Jim Byrne, senior vice president of marketing for the WWF, said the company
places a parental warning on "WWF Raw" and provides calmer programs during hours
when children are more likely to watch, he said. "WWF Raw" has plots like those
in "NYPD Blue" and "Beverly Hills 90210," he said. "The fans are tuning in for
the story lines and the fact that we are somewhat edgy makes it more
attractive."

USA Today also ran a front-page feature in its Friday editions on pro wrestling
and its effect on children.

WCW boss Eric Bischoff, on a radio show in Cincinnati last week, called the WWF
raunchy, claiming his company would never use sex to sell its product, and said
that the WWF corrupts children.

Bischoff responded to callers who questioned the Scott Steiner-Kimberly angle
and Steiner's sexual innuendos, Kevin Nash's crotch-chopping and Norman Smiley's
lewd dance, saying that he has told them all to refrain from such actions. He
added that Steiner has been banned from live interviews until he cleans up his
act.

• Nitro showed a slight rebound from an embarrassing two-point defeat (5.9-3.9)
in the ratings on Feb. 15. Raw won again last week, but the margin was much
closer, with Nitro posting a 4.73 (5.06, 4.42, 4.71) against Raw's 5.55 (5.6,
5.5). Raw scored a decisive 6.5-3.8 victory for the overrun. Last weekend's
Sunday Night Heat recorded a record 4.9.

• Richard Wilson, who wrestled in WCW under the name Renegade, died Monday
night in his suburban Atlanta home of a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Wilson,
reportedly despondent over being released by WCW the previous week, had argued
with his girlfriend earlier that evening. Wilson, 33, who was brought into WCW
in 1995 by Hulk Hogan as an Ultimate Warrior clone, enjoyed initial success in
the company with a WCW TV title reign and victories over the likes of Arn
Anderson and Steve Austin, but eventually was relegated to preliminary status.

Wilson, who broke into the business with help from hometown friend Marty
Jannetty and later trained at Killer Kowalski's wrestling school, was buried
Friday in Columbus, Ga.

• The stresses and strains of the wrestling business have taken its toll on yet
another couple. "Stone Cold" Steve Austin announced during an appearance on the
Howard Stern show last week that his wife of eight years, Jeannie, has filed for
divorce.

The former Jeannie Clark previously was married to wrestler Chris Adams, who
trained Austin, and once served as Austin's valet under the name Lady Blossom.
It also was Austin's second marriage. Austin told Stern that being married was
harder than wrestling and that he didn't know why the marriage was ending. He
also said that there was no pre-nuptial agreement, but that there would be if
there was a next time.

Austin also responded to Bill Goldberg's challenge issued Feb. 19 on the Jay
Leno show, saying that he had better things to do, but that if Goldberg wanted a
shot he could come to the WWF. Austin added that he will probably retire within
two years.

Mike Mooneyham can be reached by phone at (803) 937-5517 or by e-mail at
mooneyham@xxxxc.... More wrestling news with Mike Mooneyham is
available every Monday on The Wrestling Observer Hotline. The number is
1-900-903-9030. Calls are 99 cents per minute, and children under 18 must get
parental permission before dialing.
===========================================
ROUNDING THE SQUARED CIRCLE
"WHILE WE HATE TO LOSE 'WALKER, TEXAS RANGER'..."
OR
"IF TWO HEADS ARE BETTER THAN ONE, THEN THREE HOURS... "
BY SAMJERRY
VISIT my Home Page: http://members.aol.com/~samjerry
The latest hot rumor (Wrestling on the net's favorite word) is that the USA
Network is in negotiations with the WWF and Owner Vince "Mr." McMahon about
expanding RAW to three hours. One story I hear is that they are making the offer
contingent upon RAW delivering a Rating of 5.0 or better over the next month.
What's going on here? Is this a good thing or not?

You may recall that NITRO expanded to three hours not long after RAW changed it
start time to 8:57 PM EST/EDST. RAW had started early hoping to get a jump on
NITRO and "hook" viewers. WCW/NITRO was winning the Monday Night Ratings war
every week and figured three hours was better than two. Since TNT did little
original programing and is owned by the same company as WCW (translation:
Multi-Quad-Trillionaire Uncle Ted), they decided to go with a winner. As it
turned out the extra hour of NITRO was (and still is) top heavy with clips of
prior matches and happenings, and most matches during it are straight from
Jobber Central. Then a funny thing happened during the past six months, RAW
began winning the Ratings on a regular basis, and viewers began switching from
NITRO to RAW at 9PM.

Like all TV Networks, USA lives and dies by ratings. Advertising rates are set
by them and that means bucks, big bucks. Sustaining a rating of 5.0 is one heck
of an accomplishment by a cable network. Heat is coming close to that, and has
been getting higher ratings then NITRO of late. The brass at USA being slightly
smarter than the average bear (and about three IQ points above dirt) have
figured out that a third hour of RAW might achieve higher ratings then reruns of
Walker, Texas Ranger. This is what has led to these negotiations.

Can the WWF and RAW put out a three hour quality product? On the surface it
wouldn't seem all that hard to expand RAW. It would risk over exposure. The old
saying, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it" comes immediately to mind. Can the WWF
bookers come up with interesting angles, material and matches to fill the extra
hour? When Heat was created, those same basic questions came up. Heat has turned
out to be basically a one hour Sunday Night RAW. Fans are tuning in and watching
in record numbers.

However, how much of a good thing is too much? Already there is grumbling that
there are too many PPV's and that RAW and Heat are as good, and in many cases,
better than some PPV's. WCW subsequently added Thunder as a second program and
it has looked more like WCW Saturday Night than NITRO. The WWF risks the same
thing. If they decide to go to three hours, they are going to have to be real
careful to keep angles fresh and avoid the mistake WCW made with NITRO's third
hour. If anyone can do it, its Mr. McMahon.
===========================================
Ricks Reaction
By: Rick Phelps (WrestleRic)
Hello wrestling fans and welcome to this installment of Ricks Reaction. For
those of you that are not aware, this column is a chance for me to express MY
opinions on the current events in the wrestling world. I also admit that I use
the same format as Bobby Heenan in his "Brain Reaction" column which can be read
every month in WCW magazine. As always, my opinions are mine solely and are not
necessarily the views of the editor of this newsletter.

Kevin Nash, Scott Hall, Scott Steiner, Buff Bagwell, Lex Luger are just 5 prime
examples of men who seem to have no problem playing second fiddle to Hollywood
Hogan and his four hold repetoire. Why????!!!! It is obvious to me that any one
of these men could beat Hogan. But, no. They are more content carrying his belt
and defending "Old Baldy" than they are furthering their own careers. On the
subject of Scott Hall, it is about time that he won a singles title in WCW.
Everyone has known for a long time that Hall has all the ability in the world.
My only problem with his victory over Roddy Piper for the U.S. title is that he
allowed other members of the NWO help him win the match. Hall will have the
chance to prove himself a worthy champion when he must face Booker T at
Uncensored. Booker, who won a number one contenders match against the
technically sound Bret "The Hitman" Hart, has tasted singles gold before and
will be up for the challenge.

Sting......hello??.....Where are you????.....enough said about that. I speak to
hundreds of wrestling fans every week and one thing that we always discuss is
the way Tony Schiavone talks to Bobby Heenan on Nitro and Thunder telecasts. It
is getting kind of old. These little "tiffs" sound like two school kids arguing
over a piece of candy.............I definietly could have lived the rest of my
life without having to see Ralphus wearing a
dress.........ugggggggTriple HTriple Hh.............The Giant is gone from
WCW....nobody saw that one coming (That is sarcasm for you MARKS out there).
Barry Windham and Curt Hennig snagged the tag team belts in the tournament final
over Dean Malenko and Chris Benoit......They used a belt to win.......they makes
me
question if they have confidence in their own abilities......Mark my
words...before the summer arrives the Horseman will have the tag straps firmy
around their waists........David Flair with that girl???......Only in his
dreams.........On a serious note before I end my commentary on WCW.......Eddie
Guerrero, best of luck on your recovery.....and I want you to know that there
are many of us out here that feel that pound for pound you are the best wrestler
in WCW if not the world....so get better soon and grace us with your presence
once again.

In the next installment of Ricks Reaction, I will offer my thoughts on the
current situation in the World Wrestling Federation. In the immortal words of
Mick Foley....."HAVE A NICE DAY".
===========================================
ONECOUNT--a column by--OSIRIS (burkeandhare@xxxxc...)
A few years ago, I was teaching a summer school class in remedial history. One
of my students, a young lady working part-time as a waitress, told me about
three of her customers coming through the area one weekend; those three
customers were Ole Anderson, Lex Luger, and the late Big Jon Studd. She went on
to say that Ole was a bit standoffish, Luger tended to be rude and arrogant, and
that the nicest was the least expected (due to ring reputation)-----Big Jon
Studd. All this is by way of saying that you should be careful sometimes who
you pick as heroes; in wrestling, just like in life, you`re going to find rotten
apples in the barrel and some not-so-nice people in the locker room.

Often you find your nicest are the least expected. But remember this: these
men, and women, lay their bodies on the line to entertain us each and every
week, and a heavy toll (more than we can know) is exacted both physically and
mentally; so be respectful of what they do, if not of the person. Well, that`s
it for now
---------see ya--------ring the bell!
Osiris
===========================================
MACHO MAN UPDATE
Submitted by reader: vincematal
Wanted to give you a little heads up before Nitro tonight. Macho Man Randy
Savage did an appearance on The Bob and Madison Showgram, a local morning show
here in Raleigh, this morning prior to tonights Nitro at the Dean Dome in Chapel
Hill. Macho Man has bulked up tremendously and looked to be in great shape.
The stunning blonde that appeared with him at the Nitro where he turned on The
Giant was with him as well. The DJ that was with him asked a few questions:

Savage called the blonde that is with him Gorgeous George.

When asked about his relationship with Hulk Hogan, Macho Man said that he
doesn't hang with him and the he (Savage) thinks that Hogan is jealous of
Savage.

When asked about the nWo, Savage said "The Macho Man is on his own, without
nWo. He is going solo".

Asked if he was wrestling tonight, Savage said that he was going to hang out in
the back, like the last time, and just watch what was going on. He slipped up
and and said that he probably would wrestle tonight, though. Should be
interesting
===========================================
KONNAN VIDEO
Submitted by reader: SuperD112
I am on a mission to get Konnan's new video on MTV via Total Request Live. This
has happend various times before. A poll is online and the wrestling community
takes it over inorder to bring wrestling into the public spotlight. Well I
couldn't think of a better, or more successful, way. But I NEED your help.
Haven't heard of it? Its a show where viewers vote on what video they want to
see by Phone, Live, and the INTERNET. If we get this started, they can not turn
and look the other way at something getting nearly 30% of the online vote, if
not more. So please stop by
http://www.mtv.com/mtv/tubescan/totalrequest2/pickaday.tin
fill in the information about yourself, then scroll down to the bottom of the
page and
click on the bullet next to Other. The Artist is: Konnan, The Video Name is:
Bow Wow Wow. Now this is case sensitive, so get it right.
Thank you for your time,
David (SuperD112)
===========================================
nWo RIPOFFS
Submitted by reader: Marq Piocos (flair_dog)
Okay reality check time...
If you didn't know better, the nWo is a rip-off of the Horsemen. Here's the 7
reasons why I think so:(This set is from Arn's book--highly recommend it!)

1) Gang warfare was the Horsemen's original style that changed the face of
wrestling forever.

2) Group attacks on the parking lot and lockerroom. Horsemen have done it way
before the nWo has--the most famous being the attack on Magnum T.A.

3) Both led by a world champion.

4) Following people to attack them--Horsemen did it to Dusty Rhodes.

5) the cage door incident--Horsemen did the same thing to Dusty Rhodes' leg.
Some of my own...

6) The lady valets. Two of them (Liz and Wilson) seem to be bringing brought
into the forefront.

7) Security guard attack--Tully did that 10 years before.
There are more, but I can't think of them off hand. Get original nWo.
-Flair_Dog
===========================================
SECURITY PROBLEMS
Submitted by reader: bhearlihy
I was fortunate enough to be able to attend the Sunday Feb. 28 Heat, live and in
person at the Ervin J. Nutter Center in Fairborn (Dayton) Ohio, while most of
you were at home listening to it. However, after the way I was treated by the
Nutter Center staff I wish I would've been at home. 9 of my friends and I
arrived to the Nutter Center at 6:00pm with our 21 dollar row CC tickets, that
we waited in line for over 4 hours to get. As we enter the building we're having
a good time waving our signs around and things of that nature. That's the most
fun we had all night. As we walked down to our seats we find out that our seats
were physically not there, so we asked an usher what was up. "We took up to much
room for the staging area. Let me
see what I can do," he said. So he went to get his supervisor. They came back
and gave us other tickets for row C a 26 row and combined at least $60
downgrade. As if that wasn't bad enough they told us that the seats we were
sitting in now were in the "dead zone" and if we held up our signs we would be
ejected from the event for blocking the television cameras. Naturally we went to
complain but the only thing the staff could offer us was to fill out a complaint
form. When we got back we were continually harassed by security guard #94. We
weren't even allowed to stand or we would be thrown out of the building. If this
isn't already bad enough my friend Chris was then thrown out of the building
about half way through the event for shining his
own laser pointer on his own knee. He had to wait outside in almost freezing
weather for at least an hour and a half. They wouldn't even let him in to go to
the bathroom so he had to pee on the side of the wall. At the end of the event
we went to fill out another complaint form about the security and it is then
when we were told about the faulty uplink and no on air reception. We are
currently considering legal action against the Nutter Center. Don't get me
wrong, I'm not writing this to fault the WWF in any way. I'd just like to let
people know that they don't need to stand for treatment like this. Thank you for
your time and for listening to me.
-D. Casey Hearlihy-
bhearlihy
===========================================
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===========================================
The staff of The Wrestling Booking Sheet
Editor: Steve Appy
Columnist: Mark George
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Columnist: Robert Troy (Osiris)
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