The Wrestling Booking Sheet online newsletter

Issue # 213

Date: Tuesday April 13th, 1999 2:05 pm

The Wrestling Booking Sheet

Ratings for April 12th, 1999
RAW Nitro
1st Hour n/a 4.4
2nd Hour 6.3 4.1
3rd Hour 6.2 4.6
Composite 6.3 4.4
It was another monster night for TV ratings on 4/12 as the combined head-to-head
number for Raw and Nitro did a monster 10.7 rating. Other weekend ratings saw
Heat do a 4.4, Live Wire do a 1.5, and Superstars do a 1.7.
Reported by Dave Scherer at: http://www.1wrestling.com/

HARLEY RACE INTERVIEW
Our friend Rodney Hart writes for the Quincy, Ill. paper, THE HERALD WHIG and
sat down for a talk with the one and only Harley Race in anticipation of his
appearnce this weekend with the WLW. Race, a 7 time NWA World Heavyweight
Champion, is one of the elite workers of his generation. You know how I love
word associations, so here we go:
- WWF owner Vince McMahon: "An arrogant man with a lot of foresight."
- WCW President Eric Bischoff: "A Vince McMahon wanabee."
- Hulk Hogan: "A man that has probably drawn more money into wrestling. On a
world-wide scale, I've probably drawn more, but in this country, its Hogan."
- WWF champion Stone Cold Steve Austin: "My son, only 70 pounds heavier."
- WWF's Monday Night Raw: "That's just what it is, its too damned raw."
- WCW Monday Nitro: "The best part of that show is the girls who walk out
first."
Reported by Rodney Hart & Al Isaacs at: http://www.scoopscentral.com

UNDERTAKER'S LEADERSHIP SKILLS
I also noticed that on Shotgun Jim Cornette compared the Undertaker's leadership
skills to those of Adolph Hitler, Charles Manson, and...JERRY FALWELL! Ol'
Jerry's been taking shots at wrestling lately.
Reported by Sister Midnight at The Big 3 Newsboard, found at:
http://www.wrestlingpages.com/big3
===========================================
WCW Nitro Report for April 12th, 1999
By Steve Appy
Live from the Sun Dome in Yakama, WA
Hosted by Tony Shiavonie & Bobby Heenan
DDP's Stampede celebration was broken up by Randy Savage & Gorgeous George, and
they were quick to remind DDP that he owes them. Scott Steiner had more than a
reminder on his mind, and busted DDP from behind with a steel chair. As a
"reward", Steiner was granted a title shot against DDP in the main event
tonight.

Sting, both more enthusiastic and with a tougher edge than ever, challenged DDP
to a match later tonight. Sting must have missed the opening segment, where it
was announced that DDP already has an opponent.

WCW Cruiserweight Champion Rey Mysterio Jr. fought Juventud Guerrera Jr. to a No
Contest in 5:39
As Rey was poised to defeat Juvi after a Top Rope Frankensteiner, Chris Benoit &
Dean Malenko stormed the ring and destroyed both men (especially Mysterio). As
the Horseman brutalized the Cruiserweights, Saturn & Raven made the save. The
burning question was "Where is Kidman?", since he didn't bother saving his tag
team partner.

Hardcore Hak (w/Chastity) interrupted Jimmy Hart & Hugh Morrus, and proceeded to
break a Singapore Cane over Morrus's head, all to illustrate how to defeat Bam
Bam Bigelow. Morrus found the attack hysterical, and beat an unfortuante crew
member with the remains of the Cane.

Highlights of Bret Hart on NBC's Later were shown; Tony Shiavonie, who is either
in the middle of a heel turn or is incredibly arrogant, patronized Hart's
complaints.

Bam Bam Bigelow pinned Hugh Morrus (w/Jimmy Hart) in 4:53
A Kendo Stick match; both men almost immediatly missed Moonsaults. Mirroring
Cane shots and table collisions, Morrus finally used the Cane to take the
advantage. An alert Bigelow sent Morrus crashing through the table, which set
up a Headbutt off the Top Rope for the victory. Apparently a Hardcore Belt may
be established, and Bigelow is the franchise player (a spot very well deserved).

Rey Mysterio Jr. confronted Billy Kidman; Kidman claimed to have been attending
an autograph session, and was ignorant of the Horseman's attack. Though Rey was
leery, he accepted Kidman's explanation.

Gene Okerlund interviewed WCW World Heavyweight Champion Diamond Dallas Page;
Page expressed regret for Hogan's "injury", and claimed that he wanted the
competition. DDP played mock sincere, and "regretfully" denied Sting's title
shot in favor of Scott Steiner. Although subtle, Page is laying the groundwork
to be hated (he's already halfway there).

Gene Okerlund interviewed WCW President Ric Flair (w/Arn Anderson & referee
Charles Robinson). An angry Flair tried to hold up the World Championship,
which brought out Randy Savage (w/Gorgeous George). Holding a contract and
spouting gibberish, Savage reminded Flair that his decision last night was
final. Turning the tables, Flair fired Savage, and insisted that he would not
be wrestling in WCW again.

After Robinson mouthed off to G. George, she nailed him with a hard slap,
setting up a Gorgeous George vs. Charles Robinson match for Slamboree. At
stake: if Gorgeous George defeats Robinson, Macho Man is reinstated. Perfect
timing, since it gives Savage time to fully recover from last years torn ACL.
Sting interrupted the exchange, and challenged Flair to a match later tonight.
Vowing to be by Flair's side, Arn Anderson accepted the challenge on behalf of
The Nature Boy.

The Master Blasters (w/Jimmy Hart) fought La Parka & El Dandy to a No Contest in
1:52 when Kevin Nash stormed the ring.
Wearing panty hose over their heads, the identity of the Master Blasters was not
revealed. Of course, the original Master Blasters was Kevin Nash & Al Greene;
Kevin Nash interrupted the match, and politely asked all four men to "hit the
bricks".
When they refused, Nash devastated all four men, and made his own proclamation
to the world.

Declaring that a deal with Ric Flair last week made him the # 1 contender, Nash
was given the title shot at Slamboree against presumably DDP. Vowing revenge
for Hogan's injury, Nash promised his own form of vengeance against the new
World Champion.

Billy Kidman pinned Psychosis in 7:34
Psychosis, one of the more talented non-utilized workers in WCW, propelled
himself all over the ringside area, including hitting a Suicide Dive on the
outside. After an impressive exchange of aerial maneuvers, Kidman put Psychosis
away with the Shooting Star Press.

Gene Okerlund interviewed Bill Goldberg. Vowing that he would hunt down Bret
Hart, he called Hart "out of his mind" for tricking him the way he did in
Toronto. Throwing in a challenge to Lex Luger, Goldberg let the audience know
that the WCW World Championship is his ultimate goal.

WCW Television Champion Booker T pinned Rick Steiner in 5:18
Renewing their old rivalry, Steiner was poised to hit the Top Rope Bulldog on
Booker.
With his brother unaware, Stevie Ray hit Steiner with the Slap Jack, setting him
up for the Harlem Sidekick. While Booker owes his championship to his brother,
odds are Booker T will take exception to his brother's methods.

United States Champion Scott Steiner did his usual crude routine, marking
himself as perhaps the most disgusting on-air persona in the business. Steiner
called DDP "white trash", and openly coveted his rival's wife (then again, it is
Kimberly).

Bill Goldberg pinned Kenny Kaos in 4:21
Adding several new suplex's to his arsenal, Goldberg put Kaos away with the
Spear & The Jackhammer.

Sting pinned Ric Flair (w/ArnAnderson) in 14:21
Flair ally Charles Robinson was the referee, and he clearly favored The Nature
Boy. Being that these two have wrestled literally hundreds of times, neither
seemed inclined to modify their standard bout. As Sting went for the Stinger
Splash, Arn pulled Flair out of the way, sending Sting crashing over the top
rope. As Anderson helped Flair maintain the advantage, Randy Savage rushed to
the ring and knocked Arn out of action. After a Scorpion Death Drop, a
reluctant Charles Robinson counted Flair's shoulders to the mat. A triumphant
Sting cleaned house on both Horseman, and celebrated with DDP on his mind.

WCW World Heavyweight Champion Diamond Dallas Page (w/Kimberly) pinned United
States Champion Scott Steiner in 13:37
Steiner's US Championship was not on the line; WCW Commisioner Roddy Piper
assisted on color commentary. Did there seem to be tension between DDP &
Kimberly? Page seemed to be treating her more as an ornament once again. A
Frankensteiner off the Top Rope almost secured Steiner the victory, and several
more power moves almost sealed the deal. With referee Randy Anderson
unconscious, Steiner used wire cutters to expose the turnbuckle, a surface DDP's
head & back quickly met. After numerous low blows delivered by both men,
Kimberly put Steiner away with a vicious chairshot to the head. A Diamond
Cutter finished off Steiner, poetic justice served.
===========================================
GOOD, BAD & the UGLY..........
By: Mark George (attkdonkey)
THE GOOD.................
1) ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY ARTICLE.
EW's article on wrestling was a good piece. Short and to the point. It
included some interesting bios about Austin, Goldberg, Flair, and Mankind among
others. There was even mention of both WCW and WWF discussing major motion
picture deals with Warner Bros. and Columbia Pictures, respectively. Did anyone
notice the articles title?? " 35 Million Fans Can't be Wrong" or "How We
Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Pile Driver". Looks like the work of the
Wrestling Booking Sheets famed Sam Jerry.

2) STING & SAVAGE RETURN to WCW.
The return of these two has pumped some new life into WCW. Sting, a personal
favorite, looks like he's shed some LB's and seems to be rejuvinated by his time
away. Macho Man is in typical form and Gorgeous Goerge brings some definite sex
appeal.

THE BAD........................
1) NEW NITRO SETTING.
Nitro has been a lot better of late and the new digs are not the reason. I am
not opposed to the new logo, the set, and ring entrance. What I do dislike is
WCW's concept of reaching to the MTV Generation. What's with DJ Ran??? Is this
wrestling or MTV Jams. Lose the DJ and stick to wrestling.

2) SCOTT STEINER.
Steiner is a funny bitch. In his little bio in Entertainment Weekly he refers
to his dislikes as: "Rednecks and white trash". Correct me if I am wrong Big
Poppa Poop, but aren't you both of those? Yeah, that's what I thought Scotty.
Looks like those "Vitamins" you take are shrinking your brain as well as your
sack.

THE UGLY...............
1) MONICA LEWINSKY.
Rumor has it that WWF asked Monica to appear at Westlemania XV. The offer was
in the 7 figure range, yet she declined. Thank god!!! Maybe if Vince offered
Lewinsky a chance to bl...... errrr......meet Steve Austin she might have
accepted. Instead of Pete Rose whoring himself out we could have seen Kane
"choke slam" Monica in more ways than one.

2) NICOLE BASS.
What the hell is that!!??!! Someone better check because she might have a
package. Bass makes Chyna look like a Supermodel. Speaking of which, this
might draw a Chyna vs. Nicloe Bass for a future PPV or RAW, with Triple H as special
referee. Loser is castrated.
===========================================
ROUNDING THE SQUARED CIRCLE
"ONCE AN @$$HOLE, ALWAYS AN @$$HOLE"
OR
"HAIL THE CHAMPION, DOUCHEBAG DOOPHUS PAGE"
BY SAMJERRY
Visit my Home Page: http://members.aol.com/samjerry
Several people have E-mailed me and asked why I dislike Douchebag Doophus Page
as much as I do. It starts with a no talent slimeball whose only claim to fame
is how tight he is with the boss (Good King Eric). While its not unusual for
someone to use this type relationship to their advantage, Douchebag has taken
nepotism to new heights. After promoting himself to main event status, he had
himself made a "Booker." He used (or should I say abused) this power to promote
his own private agenda, rather than do what was good for WCW. Included in this
was winning the US Title. Reports from the locker room have it that many
wrestlers are upset at how he is booking matches, putting himself first.
Contrast this to Big Soxy, also a booker, who used his booking power to put
others over (Rey Mysterio, Jr., SuperDuperMan, etc.).

Although never truly a "baby face" or fan favorite in the traditional sense,
Douchebag gave himself the title of People's Champion. Those that remember him a
couple of years ago will recall him as being a nasty SOB. All that has changed
is now he gets more mic time and a push anytime he needs one.

I recently wrote about his doing a number on Canada and the people there, when
he was booed by the fans. This was not well received by GKE, who instructed
Douchebag to apologize. He issued what he called an apology, however, it was
nothing but an excuse blaming a "misunderstanding" for his remarks. This past
Sunday he won the WCW World Championship at Spring Stampede. In doing so, he
"injured" Old Baldy when he applied a Figure Four around a ring post. Last night
on NITRO The Ancient Piper expressed his disgust at this. Whether a work or not,
as Piper said, it was no way to have Old Baldy leave the arena.

Yesterday Douchebag wrote one of his State Of The Union Articles and Posted it
on his Home Page. Following are a few paragraphs from it, with an assurance that
I have not taken anything out of context. It illustrates the type individual he
is:

"STATE OF THE UNION ADDRESS
By Diamond Dallas Page
The reaction in Tacoma, Washington when I went out was about 60-40 boos to
cheers, but all the forty percent of the people who were down with DDP had the
Diamond Cutter sign held high. My reactions to the controversy of how I am
received here in Washington will be shown in the weeks to come.

So, pretty much took out two legends tonight. No love lost. When I put Hogan
in Bret Hart's Sharpshooter over the ringpost, I could tell he was hurt by the
way he was moving. You never want to permanently hurt an opponent and I didn't
know if he was working me or not, so I put the Figure Four on him on the pole.
Sting pulled me off him saying he had heard something pop. Hogan was in serious
pain. It slowed us all down for a moment. For Hogan to leave in the middle of
a match for the Heavyweight Title, as far as I'm concerned, it was real. Oh
yeah, and I did it. Ooopss.

Now, the reaction I have been getting everywhere I go lately, its a reaction
where people start to get in my face. Of course, they're protected by railings,
security guards, and six - twelve - twenty - fifty rows of people. But like I
said, these pockets of people have let me know in such a way that they think I
suck, stink, or don't
belong here. Well, I got two words for them - World Champion! And if you are
having trouble saying it...wait five minutes and try it again. But I notice
that very few of the people who know Page Falkinburg, people who really know me
and know what I do for my friends, strangers, children...and you know
what...they get it.
As usual, it’s been your pleasure…
Diamond Dallas Page"

As you can see, he really isn't too concerned that he may have hurt Old Baldy,
as his reaction "Oh yeah, and I did it. Ooopss" makes abundantly clear. It is
obvious that he doesn't really care what the fans think, as his closing remark
"As usual, its been you pleasure" plainly indicates. He is totally self serving
as his words about what he does for friends, strangers and children state, as is
this justifies his being a total @$$hole. From what I heard it sounded like a
lot more than 60% of the fans were booing him. I can see him blaming it all on
the change of his "character" from face to heel. Baloney. He was never a face.
He just tried to stuff that image down the throats of the fans. People are
coming to realize you for what you are, a useless slimeball.
===========================================
DDP NEWS
Submitted by reader: Jeff Westfall (Dogg16)
This is no Joke. As of 5:30 on Sunday afternoon I was informed of DDP's winning
of the WCW World Title. And even though this was shocking enough, it was
learned that he would not be a transition WCW World Champion. Now bear with me
here, I didn't see Nitro for Monday because I was at RAW in Detroit. BUT from
what I've been told by an employee at WCW, Page's run of WCW World Champion will
last until after an upcoming appearance on The Jay Leno Tonight Show. She (the
WCW employee) did not know when that was booked and then ripped WCW for their
obvious blindsiding of the whole DDP/Steiner feud. Basically done by Page to
put himself over because he felt Steiner was not at the level of the character
of DDP.
Jeff Westfall
===========================================
STING'S GIMMICK
Submitted by reader: STING11003
Okay, now what is it with WCW? I mean, can anyone truly say they like Sting in
his Crow-like gimmik because it (in the words of Jeff Jarrett) pisses me off. If
they want him to be black and white I have the perfect idea, take his old
tights, instead of pink and blue, or one of his many other colors, and make the
tights black with a white scorpion on it. Then for his face paint have the old
Sting face paint but black and white... now for his hair you can either keep it
the way it is now, or keep it the color it is and spike it up like his old hair
without being black. Now with this being done I see him getting pushed
immediatley.
===========================================
A LITTLE QUIP
Submitted by reader: Sienna6830
"Wrestling is just like breast implants, you know its fake but you still like
to watch em!"
===========================================
WCW HARDCORE DIVISION
Submitted by reader: RobGoodDam
Today's statement is on the Kendo Stick match on Nitro between Bam Bam and
Hugh Morrus. All I have to say is, helluva job. This soon-to-be Hardcore
division is a great idea. It, along with the WWF division, are great. They give
lower wrestlers a chance to step up. Let's face it, if it weren't for the
Hardcore division, what would the bookers do with Snow, Holly, Dr. Death, Bam
Bam, Hak, etc. By the way, speaking of Bam Bam, how about that match with Hugh
Morrus. That was Hugh Morrus's best match ever. Despite losing, Hugh did
awesome. I was awestruck by the way he, if challenged, can wrestle. I am very
glad he or Bam Bam weren't forced to job to El Goldo Bergo. Let's face it, maybe
the Hardcore divisions can make better wrestler out of the over-talented,
under-pushed WCW wrestlers. Maybe we'll see Kanyon, Benoit, Malenko, Eddie Guerreroor other great, unused talent make big names for themselves in this
obviously cruel WCW wrestling world.

And about WCW, I have a few complaints. One, the whole Bulldog thing. You hire
this GREAT talent, destroy him, then fire him after you're at fault for a career
threatening injury. That's just plain wrong. Also, start using new
Cruiserweights. La Parka, Psychosis, Chavo. All Great, never used. What are the
odds of us seeing a cruiserweight camp in the next few years other than Juvi,
Kidman, Rey, and, if he/us are lucky, Blitzkreig.

Finally, I wish the best of luck to the following three wrestlers.
1, Savio Vega- I know he broke his neck, but who forget his great Carribean
strap
match with Austin???.

2. Bulldog-My Grandfather has the same problem, and is now paralyzed from the
waist down, I pray it doesn't happen to him, and he will go back to WWF.

3. Finally, Eddie Guerrero. Eddie , the Cruiserweight division misses the
grappler you are. I hope you get better, just to do more great matches. Come
back and beat Rey, PLEASE!!!
===========================================
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 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