Issue # 194
Date:
Monday March 29th, 1999 11:16 pm
The Wrestling Booking Sheet
ESPN REMINDER
On Tuesday, 3/30,
ESPN's Outside the Lines will have a feature about
wrestling.
While details are
still scarce, Dave Meltzer thinks that we will see a pretty
informative feature.
Scheduled for Tuesday @
7:30-8:30 PM EST on ESPN, be
sure
to check your local
listings for time and channel number. My thanks to
GBWrestle for the reminder.
HALL'S RECONCILE
On Saturday 3/27,
Scott Hall remarried Dana Hall. After speculation pointing
towards Hall retiring,
he has nixed these rumors, and does plan on returning to
the ring. He will be
taking more time off, and is still recovering from his
ankle injury, but he
will return (I don't when yet, but I'll publish a date when
its revealed).
Reported by Bob Ryder
on WCW Live
TAMMY SYTCH BOOKING
Tammy Sytch is
scheduled to appear at The JAPW Night Of The Cage, live
Friday
April 9th, at The
Shuetzen Park Ballroom in
North Bergen NJ. For more
information (plus a
terrific photo), check out:
http://www.angelfire.com/yt/japw/
My thanks to Fat Frank
for passing on the info...
===========================================
WCW Nitro Report for
March 29th, 1999
By Steve Appy
Live from the Toronto
Air Canada Center
In front of a romantic
fire, David Flair & Samantha discussed Ric Flair's
dodging of Hogan.
David claimed that
Hollywood is the father he
never had...
Konnan's music video
played for the umpteenth time; where's Disco Inferno when
you need him? Actually
a great video, but overplayed. Konnan had good
instincts when he
realized that the overexposure of the video would backfire.
Konnan defeated Vince
via submission in
5:33
Konnan's (wearing a
K-Dogg 187 shirt) live interview was interrupted by Vince,
who claimed that
Hollywood sent him out to
eliminate Konnan. Someone decided to
put the sold out crowd
to sleep, and Vince was the man to do it. Stevie Ray
distracted Vince from
ringside, giving Konnan the opportunity to apply the
Tequila Sunrise.
Samantha & Hollywood
Hogan mocked poor David Flair;
Hollywood's attitude
patronized David. They
teased a possible Hogan/Nash split, with Samantha
wondering who would
win a rematch.
Gene Okerlund
interviewed Hollywood Hulk Hogan. Throwing in a "brother and
the
largest arms in the
world", Hogan played total babyface to the Canadian crowd.
Hogan challenged Ric
Flair to a World Title match later tonight, though Flair
was nowhere to be
seen.
Tony Shiavonie
announced that Sting was sighted in
Toronto; will he appear
tonight?
I guess Tony forgot to
watch QVC last week...
Mike Tenay interviewed
Diamond Dallas Page; he stated that he was partially
paralyzed by the
Steiner Recliner, but is 100% recovered. DDP dismissed the
30
day stipulation, and
vowed revenge on Steiner. I would say his promo was
designed to turn him
heel, but these days having an attitude is a prerequisite
for a babyface.
Wrath pinned Kenny
Kaos in
8:44
Although a lumbering
musclehead himself, Kaos was dwarfed by the gigantic Wrath.
A Meltdown put Kaos
away after eight minutes, though most of us nodded off
after three minutes.
Samantha stirred Kevin
Nash up against Hogan; she seemed to have motives of her
own.
Gene Okerlund
interviewed WCW World Heavyweight Champion Ric Flair. He
immediatly baited the
Canadian crowd, and followed up by introducing Diamond
Dallas Page. Flair
acted reluctant to give DDP his due, playing off tension
from Flair's 1995
booking reign. Page wanted to be granted a shot at Steiner,
and Flair responded by
ordering DDP to face Hogan tonight. Hogan accepted the
challenge; Flair
decided to be DDP's manager tonight. As Page & Flair
bickered,
Sting looked down from
the rafters, in full Crow uniform. Flair demanded that
he enter the ring,
only to be greeted by Sting's indifferent gaze.
Rick Steiner pinned
Scott Norton in 7:07
Steiner pinned Norton
after a Bulldog off the Top Rope; Norton decided to kick
out right before the
three count, a miscue that the referee wisely ignored. Not
only is Norton awful,
but he refuses to sell.
Rey Mysterio Jr.
persuaded Kidman to team with him against Benoit & Malenko
tonight; although
reluctant, Kidman eventually agreed to compete for the World
Tag Team Championship.
WCW Television
Champion Booker T pinned Chris Adams in 7:22
Booker pinned
Adams with a Missile
Dropkick; the crowd was dead for everything
but the finish.
Although it may have
been a work, Shiavonie, Tenay & Heenan sniped back & forth
most of the evening.
All three came off as petty, Shiavonie especially
unprofessional.
Chris Jericho pinned
Jerry Flynn in
4:31
Jericho turned the crowd
against him, denouncing Canada and embracing the United
States.
Jericho pinned Flynn after using the ropes for leverage.
Greeted by an
overwhelming ovation, Bret Hart was introduced to the
cheering
audience. Pulling of a
credible "shoot" interview, Hart complained about the
treatment he has
received from Bischoff, Hogan & Flair. Mentioning his
dominance of Steve
Austin, Hart challenged Goldberg to meet him in the ring.
Accepting the
challenge, Goldberg quickly speared an immobile Hart.
Surprising
the crowd, both men
fell unconscious to the mat. After several moments Hart
rose, and counted his
own pinfall on the fallen Goldberg. Removing his shirt
Hart revealed a steel
plate, a surface that left the phenom for dead. Grabbing
the mic, Hart
announced to Eric Bischoff and the world "I Quit". A
brilliant
angle, and step one in
reclaiming Hart's reputation. He went over Goldberg in a
way that did him no
damage, and he got people talking.
Just to make it clear,
this was a work, a part of the show. Hart needs to
undergo groin surgery,
and this will give a red hot angle upon his return.
Incredible, and a good
feeling to see Hart utilized so well. Bischoff
confronted Hart during
the commercial break, only to be rebuffed by The Hitman.
Buff Bagwell pinned
Norman Smiley in 7:27
Buff played a 100%
babyface; Buff scored the pin after The Buff Blockbuster.
Rey Mysterio Jr. &
Billy Kidman defeated Chris Benoit & Dean Malenko in 12:20
to
win the WCW World Tag
Team Championship when Mysterio pinned Malenko
Four of the best
wrestlers in the world; with so many hot tags and innovative
moves, an extended
feud between these four would revolutionize the tag team
scene in the United
States. As Malenko had Rey hooked in the Texas Cloverleaf,
Raven and Saturn made
their way to ringside. Raven hit the Evenflow on Malenko,
making him easy prey
for Mysterio. Raven & Saturn got their revenge on the
Horseman, and have
logical matches upcoming against both teams. This also
provides a transition
for Malenko to once again compete in the Cruiserweight
Division, with issues
against both Kidman & Mysterio.
Hollywood Hulk Hogan
pinned Diamond Dallas Page (w/Ric Flair) in 12:45
Hogan & DDP brawled
all over the arena, even tearing through the announcing set
(an excuse to debut a
new set next week). In an offhand dig, when Shiavonie
called Tenay "Mark
Tenay" and then corrected himself, Heenan claimed that he
was
right the first time.
As Flair choked Hogan, DDP attacked Flair, enraged at the
interference. Hogan
played the babyface monster, DDP a tweener, and Flair the
heel. Shiavonie is now
crediting Hogan with creating the babyface comeback, a
slap in the face to
many legends. After referee Mickey Jay was knocked out,
Charles Robinson took
his place. Flair attempted to hit Hogan with a chair,
only to miss and knock
DDP unconscious. Knocking out the biased Robinson,
Mickey Jay recovered
enough to make the three count.
===========================================
Triple H TURN
Submitted by reader:
KFITZPATI
Good job as usual for
pointing out something a couple of weeks ago that made me
handle th WMXV card
last night- when you pointed out that Triple H had re-signed
and
was expected to get a
major push for main event status, then I knew that I would
expect something going
strong with him at last night's card. I also had the
fortune of rolling by
a newstand and seeing him on the cover of WWF Magazine
with the saying to the
tune of "Can Triple H Tame the Rattlesnake?"
So as most people out
there fully expected Austin to beat Johnson (Duane, not
Ahmed) last night, it
did not come to any surprise to me that McMahon would give
TWO big angles to
Triple H last night. With shades of Bret Hart's evolution to
Mr.
Canada in WMX!!!,
McMahon:
1) reunited the
already dating Triple H and Chyna in WWF match mode at the
aftermath
of Triple H-Kane and
then
2) shocked most marks
out there by having Triple H give a nice DX supporting
interview before the
inevitable X-Pac thrashing of Shane Mac....and then
interfere and
"Pedigree" X-Pac and having Shane Mac win a match over one
of the
sport's best
workers in the WWF's
flagship event. In my opinion, nice going by McMahon.
Why, sons of WCW?
Well, let's face facts: as sure as most marks believe that
the
Undertaker can do no
wrong (except when he wrestles the son of Texas, and it
seems to be proven by
the cheers over jeers he gets in these matches and the
fact he wins at WM
every year), well, young Austin is going to need some
challengers in 1999.
HBK is out indefintiely, Kane and Foley were used
excessively last year,
and the look seems to be (at least this minute) for Big
Wight to be a face.
Plus I don't see too
many people lining up for Austin-Owen across the country,
either. So it makes
sense to give Triple H a nice "Corporate" push, for as
McMahon
knows, the Austin
phenomenon can only go so far as his opponents can work him
and take him. And as
he proved in 1998, well, I won't be surprised if I see an
Austin-Wight TITLE
match before its over, either.......
===========================================
Hindsight is 20/20:
The Crusade To Eliminate Prejudgment
By Jeff Westfall (Dogg16)
I'm sure you readers
have heard the phrase, "Hindsight is 20/20." While looking
back on your life, or
things you've seen and experienced throughout your days,
we as people always
look back to see the mistakes, or the positives of the past.
You can never go back
and change these things, so I give to you another line,
"Live and learn."
That's all we can do, right?
Well, take this look
into the professional wrestling forum. Where I'd like to
focus my sights on
today my little Drugee's is on the lead in hype to the
biggest wrestling
event in the wrestling world of the past, present and
definitely the
future... Wrestlemania. Since the addition to many home
computers of the
internet and worldwide web, kids and adults of all ages have
been able to be in
touch, or in this case stay in touch with the inner workings
of many aspects of
life. To steal a
line here, "We've
fiber optically connected the world to every mans want, wish
and desire." --
Devil's Advocate (1997).
Through this fiber
optic connection many of the wrestling fans have taken their
time to visit sites,
and talk about the WWF's annual March (sometimes early
April) pay-per-view,
Wrestlemania. And while I can't say that the WWF doesn't
encourage them to do
so, millions upon millions of wrestling fans turn off the
real world most days
in February and March to check in at www.wrestlemania.com
to find out the past
they didn't know about, or the future they look to out of
this event. Which, I
might add, is the WWF's top grossing event most years
since the conception
of the show.
What do these kids
talk about? Many a topic I've seen come up ranging from,
"What's the best
you've ever seen on a Wrestlemania card?" To,"Who's better,
"Stone Cold" Steve
Austin or Hulk Hogan?" This is great for the WWF and even a
getaway maybe from the
everyday life for the fans. What this does do, though,
is keeps the fans
looking to bigger, better and more exciting, sometimes more
extreme things from
the WWF on this show. All during the weeks leading up to
the event, many a fan
was asking the question of, "Will this Wrestlemania be the
worst Wrestlemania
ever?" Well, this is a major opinion question, and it can be
answered in many
different ways being that opinions are like as%!&@#$,
everyone's got one!
Many of the points
brought up by these, what I like to call, "Smartmarks" is
that for us fans, to
go back and look at the past Wrestlemania's and how many
great moments have
come out of them, and then compare them to a show that
hasn't
even happened yet. Is
this fair for the WWF or for the new fans who take this
site, and its comments
to heart as to decide if they want to order this
pay-per-view or not?
The answer is "no!" A resounding "no" at that! The WWF
hasn't always promised
the greatest out of Wrestlemania. Nor do they this year.
Everyone points back
to such cards as Wrestlemania X from Madison Square Garden
in 1994 as the main
example. Their point is that the Michaels v. Ramon WWF
Intercontinental Title
Ladder Match is the greatest match of all time. Throw
in Bret Hart v. Owen
Hart, and Bret v. Yokozuna, and there's a good PPV. Well, I
remember back to 1994,
and the hype for that PPV. What distinctfully sticks out
in my mind is the same
fans who praise the show now, didn't watch it back then
because they didn't
care about a midcard, ex-tag team wrestler in Shawn
Michaels, or his
overrated co-worker, who carried a little Miami Vice and
Scarface to his
character, Razor Ramon. Nor did they care about a style of
match that, until
after that match in 1994, was considered strictly a 80's
type
match involving fat,
non-talented, rednecks who had no ability to wrestle, but
instead had to be
placed in "gimmick" matches.
Sure, after the five
star performances, and may I add, showstealing, exciting,
and
breakthrough for both
Scott Hall (Ramon) and Michael Hickenbottom (Michaels),
fans came out and
marked their way into the lifes of these two for the next
four
years. But did they
buy the pay-per-view because of this match? Let me get a
"OHH HEELLLL
NOOOOO!!!!" Thanks Mr. Austin!
We can always look
back at suprising performances from Wrestlemania's past
where
guys came with their
"A-games" and made sure to show the world they
deserved to be on the
card. Past Wrestlemania shows have launched careers of
many a wrestler: Steve
Austin, Bret Hart, Diesel, Razor Ramon, Shawn Michaels,
The New Age Outlaws,
Demolition, Honky Tonk Man, Randy Savage, British
Bulldogs and a wide
variety of others. The great thing about all of this is the
luxury of videotape to
go back and re-live the times of those classics. To
remember what you were
doing when this match was going on. I was 16 when I saw
Michaels v. Ramon, and
let me tell you that everytime I go back and watch that
match, I realize why
the WWF continues to succeed. They always seem to take the
nobody's and make them
somebody's by giving them oppurtunity. The Outlaws did
that, as did
Demoltion, as did Austin, Savage, and Honky Tonk Man.
The World Wrestling
Federation looks at Wrestlemania as a showcase to the world
of its great talent
pool seemingly missed, or untapped by other companies.
This is what makes it
great. The suprise of the midcarders in a five star
match. But all these
internet tapped geeks want the match of the century every
year, and five or six
great lead in matches to that! Let it go! The WWF will put
on a great show
regardless of what you may think of the lineup. So instead
of
ripping into the WWF
for its lack of a one through ten blockbuster card of
matches for
Wrestlemania XV, I watched the pay-per-view and did enjoy
the show.
Sure it wasn't the
best Wrestlemania in my mind, but that's my opinion.
I believe any
Wrestlemania could top Wrestlemania VIII. I'm sure many of
you
have other favorites,
and still will look down on this pay-per-view regardless
of what happened.
Which, I'm glad to see many people I've talked to did enjoy
it. The WWF will
continue to roll on with its classic Wrestlemania show.
Bringing you its best
in performances, laughs and entertainment even though the
"Smartmark" still
lurks out there like a bad a case of herpes. So quit being
so
quick to put something
down before you see it, and just watch it with a clear
mind, then make
judgments. In so many words, turn off the computer, go pick
up
that thing that rings,
order the show, and turn on the television and just
watch.
See what you like and
don't like, but leave the opinions at the keyboard. What
we don't need from
wrestling fans are over bearing judgment freaks who ruin the
fun and entertainment
of the show before it ever happens. That's what will kill
wrestling...just sit
back and enjoy the ride. Meanwhile, I'll be the guy on the
crusade to hunt and
kill off the rapidly growing species of the "Smartmark". I
don't know if I'll
make it with
ya' to that promise
land of Wrestlemania XVI after my one man crusade, but I
hope I've maybe opened
a different way of thought for many of the"Smartmark"
species to convert. I
think it was Hillel who said, "Follow the golden
ru...errr...I mean
Austin 3:16, everything else is commentary!" Take care.
===========================================
SABLE ENCOUNTER
Subnitted by reader:
ZzWiLLiEzZ
Im assuming that you
watched Wrestlemania on PPV? Well, if so, was the Philly
crowd loud at all? I
attended the show in person, and the crowd was weak! Maybe
they increased mic
level on the broadcast or something?
I was down at the
airport on Saturday meeting one of my friends who was coming
back from a trip, and
I "bumped" into Marc Mero and Sable! My friend and I
introduced ourselves,
and we talked mostly to Mero for about 10 minutes. Sable
was pretty shy during
the whole conversation. Mero talked about his injury, the
WWF, and Philadelphia.
He did introduce us to Sable at one point, and we said hi
and spoke for a couple
of minutes. To my surprise Sable has short hair (shoulder
lenth) and wears a wig
or an add-on during WWF shows.
===========================================
WCW CHUGS ALONG
Submitted by reader:
matt
At the conclusion of
this Nitro all the questions of Why? from last weeks Nitro
are answered. Why
would they have Rey Mysterio Jr. face Flair in a main event?
To create a new 4
Horsemen better and badder. How? Very easy, it all falls
into
place if WCW doesn't
drop the ball somewhere. With the interference by
Raven/Saturn in the
tag match, Rey and Kidman captured the tag team belts. This
could be the break up
of Malenko and Benoit from the Horsemen. Malenko could
return as a
Cruiserweight heel against Kidman and Rey, and Beniot could
have an
angle with
Raven/Saturn. Removing them and Mongo opens the door for 3
new
members. The reports
of Barry Windham, DDP, and Booker T being in the 4 Horsemen
with Flair have all
been put
into reality. But
again, WCW could majorly ruin this. I think it would be a
great angle and
another step towards recovery as the WCW Express chugs
along...
Matt
===========================================
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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
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Columnist: Tom
Kirkbride
Columnist:
Darren Kramer
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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