The Wrestling Booking Sheet online newsletter

Issue # 222

Date: Wednesday April 21,st 1999 9:46 am

The Wrestling Booking Sheet

RICK RUDE PASSES AWAY
Former WWF Intercontinental Champion “Ravishing” Rick Rude, died Tuesday. The
cause of death is not immediately available, but early word is that it may have
been related to a heart stoppage or heart attack.

Rude broke into the national spotlight in the WWF and held the Intercontinental
Title after a victory over the Ultimate Warrior.

Rude’s wrestling career was ended by a serious neck injury, and he had recently
returned to WCW as an announcer for Backstage Blast programs on DirecTV.

When contacted, WCW officials said they wanted to respect the privacy of the
family at this time and that they send their condolences and deepest sympathy at
the loss of Rick Rude.

BLUE MEANIE STAYS WITH THE WWF
The WWF has reconsidered their earlier decision and will be keeping The Blue
Meanie under contract; I don't know any details yet, but its good news for all
of you Meanie fans out there (of which there is many).
Reported by Dave Scherer at: http://www.1wrestling.com/

BULLDOG UPDATE
Good news for Davey Boy Smith, who looks like he'll now be able to avoid the
career ending back surgery that had been discussed about a week ago...
Bulldog's fighting the spinal infection with anti-biotics right now, and if all
goes well, will not have to replace vertabrae with metal. That leaves the door
open for a possible return to the ring....

And Eric Bischoff has contacted Bulldog's representatives and let them know that
if Bulldog does recover, the door is open for his return to WCW, despite the
dismissal. Some critics are saying Bischoff only made the gesture because of
the intense bad press the firing of Smith has generated, but hey, its still the
decent thing to do.
Reported by http://www.wrestlemaniacs.com/

POSSIBLE FUTURE WWFMAIN EVENTS
The main event for the May 16 WWF No Mercy UK-only PPV will be Steve Austin vs.
Ken Shamrock vs. Undertaker for the WWF Title... this is the show where either
Sable or Tori will be stripped down to nothing but panties in an evening gown
match (since those enlightened Brits don't have the same hang-up about nipples
that us Yanks do). There is also some talk, probably unfounded, that the Euro
Title might be brought back for a Shane McMahon vs. X-Pac match.

In other PPV main event rumors: Wight/Austin vs. Rock/Triple H is still the odds on
favorite to headline May's WWF PPV; Austin vs. Undertaker is looking like the
King of the Ring headliner in June.... and Triple H's heel push might land him the
challenger spot by this summer (possibly August's SummerSlam).
Reported by http://www.wrestlemaniacs.com/

SECRETS OF PRO WRESTLING
Tonight, Wednesday, April 21, 1999, at 9 PM Eastern Time, and repeated at 12
Mdnt, The Learning Channel (TLC) is showing The Secrets Of Professional
Wrestling. I am not sure if this is a rerun of a program previously shown on
another Network, since the title seems to be the same. However, even if it,
there are some who may not have seen it and may be interested.
Reported by SamJerry
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===========================================
By Rishi Jain (AxCiD)
"It is totally unsuitable for teenagers," a voice shouts out. That voice comes
from a mouth mixed with jealousy and ignorance.

"It contains graphic material our children should by no means be watching!" Yet
another foolish comment from the voice. Foolish because it goes on almost every
television station in theU.S. after 9:00 p.m. Foolish because from behind the
mouth from whom the voice originates is the person who can control what their
children watch. Foolish because the ratings before each show indicate content
and suggested age for viewers, warning parents of the type of show their
children may be about to watch. The most recent victim of these wild remarks is
a family-run sports entertainment business that started from nothing and grew to
become one of the most watched shows broadcast on Monday nights. This same show
has outrageously been accused of using "sex, exploitation of women,
sadomasochism and domination" to attract viewers. The victim of these false
allegations is Vince McMahon's World Wrestling Federation (WWF).

<Click> Melrose Place <Click> Beverly Hills 90210 <Click> South Park. The list
goes on, but what do all these shows have in common? Supposed "content not
suitable for teenagers." But do letters of rage appear in newspapers concerning
their shows? Does talk of insult go on news companies such as CNN in reference
to their shows? No. Then why is it happening to the World Wrestling Federation,
whose shows are no higher than PG-14? Not that the content being shown is bad.
If teenagers are old enough to be able to watch shows such as Melrose Place and
South Park, why is WWF so objectionable? Who is it that says wrestling can only
stick to good guy vs. bad guy? The same boring storyline from the 1980's.

Complaints of "children being influenced by the barrage of television
programming, action-figure toys and video games that depict these performers"
have been sent to the office of Vince McMahon. However, are those same people
making the complaints forgetting all the movies their children are watching
which depict far more violence, sex and abusive language than the WWF. Yet the
ones complaining do not bother harassing the movie producers. What WWF contains
is pure entertainment, non-stop action and excitement and a little sex, which
practically every show has, intended to spice up the broadcasting a little, not
to gain fans and viewers.

Wrestling should stop being known as a pointless, useless and fake sport.
Wrestling depicts hard work and athleticism, which help in life and
entertainment. The wrestlers that enter the ring are out there to entertain
millions of people. Each superstar in the WWF works their hardest, yet receive
complaints about their being a bad influence. Take a look at one wrestler that
came out of the WWF: the new governor of Minnesota, Jesse "The Body" Ventura.
WWF has wrestlers who are heroes to generations of people. From watching the
WWF, children are motivated to try to succeed in life, and since the WWF
contains realistic dilemmas, children learn what life is about.

The "new look" of the WWF, which shows attitude, has revolutionized the world of
wrestling. It has attracted millions of people worldwide to tune in to its
shows. The reason it has so many viewers because of the fact that it is the
most exciting wrestling show on the air. The accusation of WWF having a
multitude of viewers due to its display of sexuality is completely ridiculous.

===========================================
THE UNDERTAKER
Submitted by reader: KFITZPATI
In the 1999 WWF, there have been two questions that have been persistent in this
newsletter and with a lot of websites that I've checked out:

1) Is McMahon going to put himself in EVERY angle? and

2) What's the pointof the Undertaker angle?

I've had feedback on what I've said on the Undertaker before, and with me its
pretty simple: I would much rather watch the Undertaker IN THE RING than doing
his sacrifices/chants/laundry with the likes of Knight and the former Mabel. I
also wondered if Vince would see that the possibility of too much Vince could
lead into too little ratings. its a thought process that Bischoff seems to be
using these days on the Nitros, as him fighting Flair or rolling out with Hogan
isn't happening anymore.

So, my point? As sure as WCW AGAIN carted out Flair-Savage main events for the
house shows in Hogan's absence (see: summer 1996, over the US title), McMahon
looked Monday to be lessening himself, setting up a good use of the Undertaker
AND doing what one year ago would have been impossible to me-
Vincent K. McMahon, Jr. FACE.

Now before I get ahead of myself- yes, I know, Corporation vs.Ministry seems to
be the likely theme of the summer. Yes, WWF haters can rightfully pertain that
SHANE McMahon is dominating the angles, as he wins European title matches and
becomes the dasterdly soul to nail the Son of Texas with a shovel from behind-
while the SOA is drinking, no less. But I was encouraged by Raw for two reasons:

1) Vince had ONE angle, not five or six in a row. No winning titles or Royal
Rumbles or wrestling in main events. Just a simple altercation -and a not so
simple attempt to run a man over with a car- with the mid-carder Knight. It is
young Shane who is now being the badboy young corporate badass-emphasis on
young- and it is no longer McMahon doing contract talks with Sable, doing
commentary or bitching out the now fired "stooges". To me, this shows that what
Vince says is true- he listens to the fanfare and has it dictate things.

And simply by looking at a former protege of Chris Adams now being the most
popular wrestler in the world-that of course being the Son of Texas-that shows
that McMahon can and will listen. Oh yeah, point 2?

2) We saw what could be a nice little attraction this summer. I may be alone,
but I think the preview and altercation shown between Undertaker and Wight this
Monday shows a lot of possibilities, both for the Undertaker (who has just been
wrestling Shamrock and Bossman) and Wight (who to me proved with the ratings of
the Austin-Wight RAW match before Wrestlemania that if booked right will get
ratings and be an impact). As we have seen countless Mankind-Undertaker and
Rock-Austin bouts over the last few years, perhaps a Wight-Undertaker series
could be very positive for the WWF down the road.......
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LIVE NITRO NOTES
Submitted by reader: ImInfamy
A few things one WCW, live. First off you forget to mention that Flair had his
Florida Gators boxers on in the home of the Gators! Gators rule!!!! Now I was
there live and yeah we were loud as H*ll! It isn't that big of a dome, either,
notice the walkway past the ramp was about 7 to 10 feet long.

Another thing, I started the ECW chant and it happened when Hak got the table,
not when Bam Bam came.

Now about the "steroid" chant; well, this is Gainesville and we may be a small
city but we're some rowdy fools! A rap concert awhile back was in town and
before it even started a riot broke out! We just had to let everyone know the
truth about how Big Papa got so pumped. Now the second "steroid" chant was
awesome because after Steiner's interview he gave us the left arm over the right
upper cut arm, we had to bug that man.

After Nitro went off the air Nash was holding Goldberg and helping him to the
back so we Gators couldn't resist and so we were yelling "Get a room".

Now the biggest thing you forgot to mention was before they went to Gorgeous
George slapping Charles Robinson Shiavone and Heenan were talking, and we got
bored and started showing some Gator pride with a "Lets Go gators ::clap, clap,
clap, clap, clap::"

Best part of the night: when the Prez of the USA, Ric Flair give the Gators back
the national title from Tennessee, and you got a problem with that, too bad!
Loudest good guy pop:
1. Gators (the football team)
2. Goldberg (why do they cheer that man?)
3. Flair (when he gave us the world title and when he had those gatorboxers one)
4. Nitro Girls (it was mostly collage kids there what you expect?)
5. Nash

Loudest heel pops:
1. FSU (happened at break)
2. David Penzer,said were inGainesville Georgia, it was Florida and we hate
Georgia 3. Steiner (got a "steroids" chant)
4. DDP (got a U suck chant)
5. Flair (don't ask me why, it was when he was facing Nash)
===========================================
RAW NOTES
Submitted by reader: ShowSt0pr
I think that on last night's Raw there were two really good rivalries set up.
The Undertaker would be a good opponent for Paul Wight. They are two big men
who could have a rivalry for a few months. It would also be benificial for the
Undertaker's apparent heal turn, and for The Big Show to get over as a face.

Also, Triple H and Mankind had a match that got me hoping for a return rivalry
between the two. Seeing Hunter do something other than the knee-to-face,
jumping knee and pedigree was great. Don't get me wrong, Triple H is my
favorite (ironically, Foley is my second), but his matches have been boring as
of late. But seeing him hang do a vertical suplex again, and do some more
technical maneuvers really pumped me up, and a rivalry between Helmsley and
Foley would be good, maybe setting up a match at the May IYH to see who would
get a title shot at Austin at KOTR, maybe resulting in Triple H's first
Heavyweight Champ reign. Just some thoughts on future rivalries.
-ShowSt0pr
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MCW Baltimore 5/2/99
This comes straight from the MCW hotline: The next card of Maryland
Championship Wrestling will be held on Sunday, May 2 at Teamsters Hall,
6000 Erdman Avenue in Baltimore, with the traditional Sunday 7 pm bell time.
Here are the tentatively scheduled matches:

MCW champion and WWF star HEADBANGER MOSH will defend the belt against
"SUPERSTAR" LANCE DIAMOND, who has held many belts up and down the
eastern seaboard.

2-DOPE & SYDESWYPE will put up their tag belts against BRUISER & "DOOMSDAY"
DANNY ROSE (with GINGER LYNN LUCAS).

CUEBALL CARMICHAEL is determined to prove that his recent losses have
been flukes as he gets a re-match against the popular rookie GREGORY MARTIN.

ROMEO VALENTINO will grapple with CORPORAL PUNISHMENT in an effort to
settle their score.

In a no-disqualification rematch, EARL THE PEARL will face STEVIE RICHARDS.

CHRISTIAN YORK will put up the cruiserweight belt against a yet-to-be-named
opponent.

Also scheduled to appear: JOEY "THE FUTURE" MATTHEWS (with PLATINUM NAT), "WISE
GUY" JIMMY CICERO,TOM BRANDI, the self-proclaimed "King of Maryland
wrestling"MAX MUSCLE ADAM FLASH
The MCW hotline also congratulated AXL ROTTEN and his fiancee JULIE on
their engagement. :) Information on ticket outlets can be obtained by calling
the MCW hotline at 410-234-9769
From Jeff, the MCW timekeeper
===========================================
SSW NEWS
Big Stone Gap
Fans here are the complete results from this past Friday's big card in BSG.
Mike Cooper pinned The Super Masked Man
Tim Cooper beat Chuck Jones with a back slide
Appalachian Champion Iron Cross beat Rob Valor
Tracy Smothers won a three way dance over Danny Christian and Roger Anderson
G-Dog beat "Handsome" Beau James w/ P.J. Sharp by reverse decision

Upcoming Events All dates and lineups are subject to change.
Sun. Apr. 25th, Kingsport, TN National Guard Armory, 3:00 pm
• Ricky Morton vs. SSW Heavyweight champ Beau James
• Jimmy Valiant & mystery partner vs. SSW Tag Team champs Death & Destruction
• SSW International champion Chris Walker vs. Heinrich Franz Keller • and more
• Tickets go on sale April 12th at Cats in Kingsport

Sat. May 1st, TBA this week, 8:00 pm
• Tracy Smothers vs. K.C. Thunder
• SSW Champion "Handsome" Beau James (w/ P.J Sharp) vs. Ricky Harrison (If
Harrison wins Ken Bowles gets 5 minutes with Sharp) • plus 3 other matches

Fri. May 7th, Big Stone Gap, VA Carnes Gym, 8:00 pm
• Tracy Smothers vs. "Handsome" Beau James w/ P.J. Sharp
* Appalachia's G Dog vs. Roger Anderson
* "Conan" Chris Walker vs. Frank "The Tank" Parker • 6 matches in all

*******Sat. May 8th, Kingsport, TN Civic Auditorium********
• Fan Fest 99 • Trade Show: 11am - 4pm • Dinner with Fans/Legends: 4:30pm
• Wrestling Card: 8pm
• Kingsport Hall of Fame inductions: Sam Bass - Jim White (aka TinyYork) - Don
Wright - Tony Peters - Masked Superstar - Earl Walters
• The Original Masked Superstar vs. "Conan" Chris Walker
• Tracy Smothers vs. SSW Heavyweight champion Beau James
• Legends Match: Don Wright & Wayne Rogers (w/ Tony Peters) vs. Jimmy "Boogie
Woogie Man" Valiant & TBA
• Danny & Bam Bam Christian vs. The First Family (w/ P.J. Sharp)
• Iron Cross vs. a member of The First Family • plus 3 more matches

Sat. May 15th, Newport, TN Nat'l Guard Armory, 8:00 pm
• Ricky Harrison vs. "Handsome" Beau James w/P.J. Sharp
• Christian Brothers vs. Steve Flynn & K.C. Thunder • and more

Fri. May 21st, Oakwood, VA Garden High School, 8:00pm
• "Boogie Woogie Man" Jimmy Valiant plus all the top SSW stars inaction

Friday, June 4th, Big Stone Gap, VA Carnes Gym
Sat. June 5th, Kingsport, TN Civic Auditorium
Sat. June 12th, Blountville, TN Sullivan Central High SchoolRankings

SSW International Champion: Chris Walker
SSW Heavyweight Champion: Beau James
1. Iron Cross (Appalachian Champion)
2.Ricky Harrison
3.Jimmy Valiant
4.Heinrich Franz Keller
5.Tracy Smothers
6.K.C. Thunder
7.Roger Anderson
8.Ricky Morton
9.Danny Christian
10.Ashley Hudson

SSW Tag Team Champions:Death & Destruction
1.Danny & Bam Bam Christian
2.Jimmy Valiant & Ricky Harrison
3.The First Family
4.Iron Cross & Chris Walker
5.The Cooper Brothers
http://www.whoowrestling.com/ssw
http://www.whoowrestling.com/beaujames
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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: 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