The Wrestling Booking Sheet online newsletter

Issue # 238

Date: Thursday May 6th, 1999 10:15 am

The Wrestling Booking Sheet

THE NEXT HORSEMAN?
Rumors abound regarding the Horseman; with Steve McMichael gone from the WCW
scene, a change is in order. Despite Dean Malenko's claim that Arn Anderson is
the fourth Horseman, another active member is needed to compete.

Here's where the fun begins: my guess is that it comes down to Scott Hall, Buff
Bagwell, or Scott Steiner. Buff would make sense on several levels; he's a
rising star who could use the rub. Scott Steiner would make an over Enforcer
(not my own preference, though.). I believe it was Jason Powell or Wade Keller
of The Torch who thought of that one...

The betting money centers on Scott Hall, Flair's companion in the mental
institution.
Tradition demands that a big man fill the role, and his link to the storyline
seems to make it a given. The idea has appeal, though I see one huge flaw. The
audience doesn't want to see Hall & Kevin Nash feud, as we learned last year.
The tag team chemistry evaporates when matched against each other...

My pick would be Bam Bam Bigelow, though its a longshot. Don't be surprised if
Scott Hall joins the Four Hourseman this Sunday at Slamboree...

BRET HART'S RETURN
Expect Bret Hart to reappear in WCW sometime in June, probably to further his
"feud" with Goldberg.
Reported by Al Isaacs at: http://www.scoopscentral.com

TERRY FUNK UPDATE
Terry Funk has told the press down south that he expects to make a return to
both ECW and the WWF in the next few months. Although the word retirement has
been mentioned by Funk, I still have trouble picturing this legend gone forever,
as his numerous previous "retirements" have suggested.
Reported by Al Isaacs at: http://www.scoopscentral.com
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===========================================
NO SUCH THING AS BAD PUBLICITY
Written by reader: Dabigmoo
Im replying to a letter written by Dogg16 about his views on the WWF and all the
bad publicity the WWF has garnered over the last 2 years. Remember this: There
is no such thing as bad publicity. The ratings for the Monday Night shows are
great. The merchandise sales are great. Wrestling is booming and behind all that
posturing and holier than thou attitudes by the media, all they're doing is
jumping on the bandwagon. When Hard Copy or ESPN do an expose on wrestling
they're doing it not because of morality issues but because of ratings. If
wrestling was just as it is now but didn't bring in high numbers, then you can
bet that nobody would care.

One more thing. I'm a fan of the kayfabe magazines PWI, the Wrestler, Inside
Wrestling and Wrestling Superstars and I was wondering if anybody else out there
was. If you are and you have a collection could you do me a favor? I'm looking
for the Top Ten rankings(15 in IW) The overall, not just WWFor WCW. if any of
you can spare the time could you e-mail me (Dabigmoo) 1) The title of
the magazine 2) The cover date and 3) The top 10 list. I.E. PWI June 88 1)
Hogan,
2) Savage etc etc. Thanks for any help on this.
Dabigmoo
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GIVE UT SOME CREDIT
Written by reader: AOBecky
I just want to say the I don't think Mark Calloway gets enought credit for the
work he is doing as the Undertaker. In the ring, he is a great worker, and
shows more skills and athletic ability than ever before. As an actor, I think
he has done a great job of molding the Undertaker character from a huge face
into a major heel. He's done this in alot of subtle ways apart from the story
line, projecting a sense of evil in his facial expressions, attitude and
comments. Admittedly, I've been a mark for Mark for a long time, and I see no
reason to change now....
Rebecca Aaobeck
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LIVE WCW NOT ALL THAT IT COULD BE
Written by reader: JayBD71295
In response to the comments by Rhino8888 entitled THE LIVE EXPERIENCE in
#237, I would just like to offer my dissenting opinion. Last fall, I
attended my first live wrestling event, when WCW put on a house show in
Knoxville, Tennessee. Then my friends and I went to Monday Nitro in Knoxville on
January 12, and to a WWF house show several weeks later. Out of the three, the
best show by far was the WWF's. Between the house shows, held at the same venue,
the Civic Coliseum, the WWF had better lighting, somewhat better sound, and all
the pyrotechnic effects (DX, Kane's, etc.) Also, all of their advertised
big-name stars ACTUALLY wrestled at the show, even if it wasn't on TV. This
couldn't be said for WCW, as Bret Hart and Rick Steiner no-showed.

I was truly disappointed with Nitro for several reasons. First, we camped out
for tickets for all three shows, but for Nitro, we couldn't get on the floor due
to the HUGE number of premium tickets allotted to radio stations, etc., for
promotion. We ended up on the lower balcony level, despite being about 20th in
line AND spending 15 hours out in the cold! Second, although Nitro at
Thompson-Boling Arena was equipped with a closed-circuit "jumbo-tron" type of
screen to watch the action, I was
disappointed to find out that WCW didn't even turn it on for most of the show.
Instead, they just projected a big Nitro logo, except for a few choice
"backstage" segments, such as the horrendous "Eric Bischoff works for the ring
crew" skit. As a result, we had no clue what the heck was going on half the
time. We missed out on Hogan with the Hell's Angels (although we could hear the
bikes in the back, and obviously see them when they finally came out) and
several other segments I got to see only because I taped the show at home.

Now, I haven't been to a RAW taping, but I bet they at least run EVERYTHING that
goes on backstage on the Titantron. So if you want bang for your buck, head out
to a WWF show.
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WHEN IS WRESTLING NO LONGER WRESTLING?
Written by reader: Kevin Caccavo (AshGodd)
Y'know, I've been reading the "Booking Sheet" for a while now, and it seems like
every time I come by to check things out, there are people all over the country
writing in discussing how much better the World Wrestling Federation is compared
to World Championship Wrestling. Is it really? I beg to differ.

Both organizations have the words "World" and "Wrestling" in the company names,
but the only one company that truly delivers on the "Wrestling" part of that
title is WCW. Sure, I WAS a WWF fan; I think that everyone has been for at
least one point in their lives, but after a certain period of time you tend to
realize that the WWF is no longer that regal federation it once was.

For example, this past Monday evening, RAW defeated Nitro in the ratings by a
HUGE margin. So what? Both comapnies are offering a distinctly different
product. The WWF offers little wrestling, and focuses more on the storylines
that surround their Pay-Per-View matches, while WCW steers towards the wrestling
part of the industry (which last time I checked, is what made this "sport"
popular in the first place).

After looking at both programs, and reading the reactions that numerous
wrestling reporters and journalists posted online, I realized that some people
watch the WWF for the wrong reasons. What did every single person online say
was the defining moment of this Monday's RAW? The moment where Vince McMahon
gave a "Stone Cold Stunner" to his son Shane and pinned him in the middle of the
ring. Now is it just me, or is that extremely pathetic? When wrestling fans
tell me that they thought watching the OWNER of the World Wrestling Federation
blatantly promote himself by pinning his son in the middle of the ring was
better than watching a wrestling match on Nitro, I want to blow up Titan Sports
and all their affiliates.

Remember the days where the defining moments consisted of The Ultimate Warrior
and Hulk Hogan embracing in the ring after a long, difficult performance, or
Shawn Michaels being hugged by tons of WWF fans in the audience after just
defeating Bret
Hart in an HOUR LONG match-up? THOSE are real defining moments in wrestling.
Not because they were a part of some ridiculous story line, but because both men
put on a wrestling show that the fans would never forget. That's what
professional wrestling is all about.

WCW continues that tradition. They don't resort to using blatant sexual
references or foul language to attain ratings, they've kept that "traditional"
image that made me and millions of other people into wrestling fans. While the
WWF spends less than thirty minutes of a two hour program devoted to wrestling
rather than a large portion of the show, then you know that WWF fans don't give
a damn about professional wrestling. WCW spends an average of over two hours of
their program dedicated to wrestling only, which is what the REAL wrestling fan
came to view in the first place.

In all honesty, how many of you actually turn on RAW to see the WRESTLING and
not the T&A, foul language, and B.S. story lines? I'd venture to guess that
there aren't that many.

Now I know you're thinking "Well if Nitro is so much better, than why is RAW
domintating them in the ratings war?" Simple, about fifty percent of the
audience that watch that program watch it for the sex and cursing, not for the
wrestling. If I went out there and produced a television show that focused more
on those topics rather than wrestling, well I'd be number one in the ratings
too. I know people that actually tape RAW, only to fast foward through all of
the segments that contain wrestling. That's just sad.

So in the end, how did this WWF monster come to exist and successfully topple
Nitro in the ratings since the summer? Simply put, Vince became desperate and
ignored what made his program popular in the first place (the wrestling), in
favor of something that would get more attention and fan support (the crude
story lines). In reality, there will always be a WCW and a WWF. Both companies
will continue to compete with one another, and they will continue to hold
opposing view points when it comes down to what makes this "sports
entertainment" medium so enticing. I'm just glad that there's still a promotion
out there that remembers the real fan: the wresting fan.
===========================================
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.

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