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Issue # 274
Date:
Sunday August 8th, 1999 9:11 am
The Wrestling Booking Sheet
ROUNDING THE SQUARED CIRCLE
"YOUTH MUST BE SERVED"
OR
"HE WHO LIVES BY THE
NAMES, DIES BY THE NAMES"
BY
SAMJERRY
Visit my Home Page:
http://members.aol.com/SamJerry
With the WWF finally
coming out with their long anticipated Public
Offering in the next
few weeks, it makes sense to look at its
prospects. One of the
major differences between the WWF and WCW is
their use of up and
coming performers. Just about every one of the
young talent on the
WWF roster is brought in and quickly put into an
angle. Some angles
work better than others, but the fact that just
about every one of
them is a household name tells you that they are
being promoted.
Consider those that
can be considered young (most still in their
twenties and some in
their early thirties) and you can instantly
recognize each of them
and expect to see them on one or both of the
WWF's front line TV
programs, RAW and Heat. With the advent if
SmackDown in the near
future, they can be expected to be showcased
there:
Edge, Christian,
Gangrel, Val Venis, D-Lo Brown, Matt and Jeff Hardy,
Test, Mark Henry, Droz,
Prince Albert, and the just arriving Vic
Grimes, who has
already been seen on TV, make up the younger piece of
the puzzle. Add to
this Mr. @$$, Steve Blackman, Triple H, X-Pac, Road Dogg
and The Rock, and the
future looks bright. Plug in Chris (Irvine)
Jericho and the roster of
young talent is loaded. Some of the
established stars such
as Ken Shamrock, Steve Blackman, Jeff Jarrett,
Bradshaw and Stone
Cold Steve Austin, to name a few are still in their
low to mid thirties
and barring injury have their brightest years ahead
of them.
There are others who I
have not included who also help brighten the
WWF's future
prospects, including The Dudley Boyz, Bubba Ray and D-Von,
just coming into the
WWF from ECW, who have long careers ahead of them.
The point is that each
and every one of them is included in the
mainstream of the WWF.
Some have already held titles, and others are on
their way to one. This
tells you that the Federation is being well run
and is a sign that the
wrestlers are happy. Words from the locker room
are that for the most
part, they are a happy bunch.
While the WWF
Championship has rotated among some of the more
established star, it
has not been closed to the younger ones, with The
Rock already having
held the title on more than one occasion (and
future reigns
inevitable), others are being groomed for it, with Triple H
expected to be the
next one to hold it.
Contrast this with WCW
and it takes a bit of thinking to name those in
their twenties that
are on TV regularly, in an identifiable story line
or feud, and with
prospects of gaining a title in the foreseeable
future. Those that
come to mind that may still be in their twenties or
early thirties include
Goldberg, Kidman, Disco Inferno, Evan
Kourageous, Kanyon,
Lodi, and Lenny Lane. Some of
the Luchadores
qualify, however, with
the exception of Rey Mysterio, Jr., and Juventud
Guerrera, seem to be
used as "fillers." What's interesting is that most
of this group of
younger stars are Cruiserweights.
The Titles in WCW
appear to be reserved for a core group, with the WCW
Championship a long,
if not impossible stretch, for any of the younger
wrestlers (excepting
Goldberg). Some of them have held the lesser
titles (US and TV),
but even these seem reserved for the older group.
One of the problems
being that the WCW "guarantees" Title reigns in the
wrestlers contracts.
The WWF has said that they do not follow this
practice and no one is
guaranteed any title as part of their contracts.
If the old saying
"Youth must be served" is true, then the WWF is on
the road to success
and explains in part the disparity in the ratings
and other measurements
between the two over the past two years. Both
have active programs
to bring young talent in, with the WWF having a
"farm system" in place
in
Memphis, as well as a private
training
facility. Looking down
the road, an investment in the WWF looks like it
might make sense. Of
course, they must be able to sustain their
product, keep their
people happy, continue developing new young talent
and keep the fans and
viewers interested.
===========================================
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===========================================
Below we present Chris
Jericho's latest commentary to his fans, found
at:
http://www.chrisjericho.com/
08/06/99
NP:Michael
Sweet-Michael Sweet
Hello Jerichoholics!
Well I just returned
from my first visit of
Titan Towers in Stamford
CT,
aka headquarters of the WWF. After one day, I am very
excited
about my upcoming
tenure and I'll tell ya exactly why.
Organization.
That's it. That
simple, that easy.
From my photo shoot,
to my dealings with the production crew, wrestling
school staff, travel
department, merchandising, to my meeting with JR
and Mr. Mcmahon
himself, the organization was incredible. These
people were on the
ball, professional to the T and most importantly
knew what had to be
done, when and how to do it and how much time it
would take to get the
optimum results.
There was also a great
deal of time spent on detail, which is what
makes a company a
success. its the little things that count. I'm not
saying everything is
going to be perfect, but I'm already impressed
with the
professionalism of my new company.
As much as WCW wishes
(and even needs) it to be true, Sid Vicious is
most definitely NOT
the millennium man.
This Monday's Raw
should be a monumental show though. Be prepared for
a plethora 'o
surprises to be sure!
Well, last Friday was
the tribute show for my good friend and referee
extraordinare, Brian
Hildebrand. Such luminaries as Shane Douglas,
Chris Benoit, Eddie
Guerrero, Dean Malenko, Al Snow, D Lo Brown, Cactus
Jack, Kidman, Candido,
Sunny and so many others lent their time to make
the show a great
success!
It was a blast working
against Terry Taylor and suffice it to say, I
picked up my first win
in about four months. Hootie (and the Blowfish)
Hoooo!!!
Thanks to all of the
rockers who survived the infernal heat and
attended the matches.
The Blair Witch was
absolutely awesome! The beauty of it was, you were
scared of what you
didn't see rather than what you saw. its gonna
give the
Hollywood moguls a good kick
in the pants, to realize you
don't have to spend
100 million on a movie to get good results.
... Fleury is gonna
rock the Rangers!!! I'm pretty stoked about it.
Let me also say that
Jerry Lundergaard from the flick
Fargo is the most
spineless, pathetic
character in any movie ever!
Well God bless you
guys and be good to each other. Don't forget to say
your prayers!
-Chris Jericho
===========================================
RICKS REACTION
By: Rick Phelps
WrestleRic
Hello one and all!
Before I begin, I would just like to say thank you
to everyone who sent
mail to my good friend SamJerry during the time
that he took a break
from being the ICON of wrestling journalism. Prior
to letting you know my
feelings on what is going on in the world of
"sports
entertainment", I feel that I need to address a topic that I
have discussed before.
The term MARK is being overused and is really
getting on my nerves.
There are newsgroups,
wannabe journalists, and others who are on the
net overusing the term
and even being derogatory about the way that
they use it. Let me
explain something to those of you that this applies
to. First of all, when
you use foul language and swear at wrestling
fans, would it be too
much to ask to remember that some of the people
that you are dealing
with are
KIDS!?!? Freedom of speech is
a wonderful
thing that we were
blessed with by our forefathers, but discretion is
also a wonderful
thing....TRY
USING IT!
Secondly, many of you
know me and some of my colleagues. I write some
of my
material from a MARK
point of view and some that "exposes" what is
really going on. I
would just like to finish this point by saying that
I find it ironic that
a multitude of people on the internet who claim
to know so much about
wrestling and call others marks....are THE EXACT
SAME
ONES WHO PUT OUT NEWSLETTERS
WITH A SUBSCRIPTION LIST OF 20 AND
THAT NO
ONE RESPECTS.
Wrestling is something
in life that we can all enjoy and discuss
freely. Discussions
dont have to sound like an Eddie Murphy stand up
act. Everyone should
be allowed to voice their opinion without fear of
being ridiculed by
someone who more than likely knows less about
wrestling than you do.
I have got to address
some going ons in the WWF. The Rock....like him
or not..... anywhere
and everywhere he goes....he seems to have the
fans (most of them
anyhow) in the palm of his hand. The Rock is someone
who happens to possess
wrestling ability and
charisma. The same can be said for Triple H. This guy
has become more
intense since leaving DX and has focused his entire
being on the WWF
strap...However, is the Rattlesnake ready to give it
up? And, how long is
Chyna going to want to be in the shadow of her man?
Shane McMahon. I like
this guy. He has brains, class, and a sister that
I would not mind
taking out for a night on the town. Like him or not,
you have to admit that
his recent comments on RAW were right on the
nose. A big majority
of WCW's roster were made superstars by Vince
McMahon. Vince has
done more for this sport than anyone else in the
last 30 years. Before
you say it, Hulk Hogan has not done more than
Vince...due to the
fact that if it had not been for McMahon, there
would be no Hulk
Hogan, no Hulkamania, and definitely no "Say your
prayers and take your
vitamins". There would just be some jacked up,
half-balding guy who
knows six wrestling moves and can play the guitar.
Do not misunderstand
me, Hulk Hogan has done alot for the sport since
the inception of his
popularity, but if it had not been for Vince, he
would more than likely
be nothing.
Is it just me or is it
that two of the supposed toughest guys from the
UFC, Dan Severn and Ken
Shamrock have the puniest voices that you have
ever heard? Severn is
great and so is Shamrock, but their mic skills
could use some work.
Finally, I have to say
this again. A large percentage of wrestling fans
(that I speak with)
say that they prefer the WWF over WCW because Uncle
Ted's company pushes
their geriatric wrestlers and because they see the
same matches and
angles over and over and over. I will say that the WWF
uses young guys to
promote their product, but just an observation, how
many more weeks in a
row will we see Steve Austin face the Undertaker
or Triple H face the
Rock? Just curious. See ya next time.
===========================================
An nWo analysis
Written by reader:
SAMPRESTO1
While reading "WCW Did
Sink, etc" as part of the Wrestling Booking
Sheet I came across a
line I've heard and read often. I've always
disagreed with it but
usually I don't say anything. After all,
everyone is entitled
to their opinions and I'm no different. In this
case, as I believe you
are virtually an icon in the wrestling writing
game (referring to
SamJerry), I have decided to put forth my "two cents
worth" for what it may
mean.
The line that I'm
referring to is..."one of the best angles ever, the
nWo." I'm aware that
you do use the word "arguably" but I believe that
the nWo was one of the
poorest angles ever and it was only through
curiosity at what
would happen next that I continued to watch WCW at
all, and then only
sporadically. I definitely did not order the nWo
Souled Out PPV the
following January after its' formation.
I LOVE WRESTLING and I
marvel at the Hurricanrana's, the Frog Splashes
and
all the other
high-flying and gut-twisting moves that the little guys
put on. I enjoy
watching the ease with which Steven Regal takes a man
to the mat by merely
twisting his arm while at the same time his foot
pushes behind the knee
and presses on the calf, thus making him go down
slowly and precisely,
not able to help himself because of the sheer
smoothness of this
tiny move.
I am constantly amazed
that larger wrestlers aren't put out of action
for months at a time
when they receive some of the elbow drops and
legdrops that are par
the course during a heavyweight match. I wait
for someone to badly
twist a shoulder while going over the ropes or for
someone to miss
putting his hand in the way and actually knock himself
out on the ringpost
one night. I even enjoyed watching Marty Jennetty
duck down out of the
way (so the crowd could see) and with head at mat
level, analyze Shawn
Michael's rights and wrongs during their tag team
career together.
(Whether he was any help or not, or even did nothing
at all to further
their time together....and we feel now that he
probably wasn't....and
it turned out to be a work.....still, I loved
it.)
So many, many things
embody the spirit of competition, athleticism and
yes!..even right
triumphing over evil and I reveled in it all, but the
nWo? No way.
People who decided
they didn't like the way things were done and
therefore took over
everything for themselves. People who damaged TV
equipment, trailers,
cars, desks and the like? People who spray
painted others
possessions? Why, what a wonderful example to set for
our young people and
future stars in this sport.
Why don't you go out
tomorrow and steal a TV set from someone's store
and tell them that you
don't like the way they do business? Make sure
you take your spray
can with you so the store will have to be totally
redone before they can
open for business again. I don't have to go
on....I think you can
see what I mean.
They weren't even
ethical to themselves. "...for life." What a
laugh!
As an angle, it would
have been good if the punishment had been meted
out at the appropriate
time. If the wrongdoers were punished. But the
color never came back.
When our hero Sting finally made his
appearance, he was as
bad as the others.
He (Sting) never got
anyplace. He was drab in his black and white.
Lastly, though
he threatened many
times, nothing was solved and it isn't solved to
this day. I guess
there's too much merchandise to sell still on the
shelves.
I watch as the noise
level goes down. I watch as the matches get
tired, I watch as the
crowds slowly fade away. I watch because I love
wrestling. its too bad
that it isn't returned. It all began with
three letters, nWo.
Thanks for listening.
SamPresto1
===========================================
"Darwinism And
Wrestling"-or-
"Change Is Good"
Written by reader:
ChazBsweet
Everyone and his
mother has a theory as to why the WWF leads the WCW in
pretty much every
possible area. WWF fans claim its because the WWF
puts on
a fantastic show worth
anywhere from $20 to however much front row
seats cost. WCW fans
claim that its because they cater to the lowest
common denominator by
putting out filth and sleaze. ECW fans claim "Who
cares, WE WANT TO
SEE SOMEONE GET POWERBOMBED
THROUGH A FLAMING
BARB-WIRE
TABLE!" And that wasn't a crack, I am one of those fans :-)
But would you like to
know the "real" reason that the WWF has the
commanding lead?
Evolution.
The WWF has always
been about change. They were the first nationwide
wrestling
organization. They made Pay Per View. They have adapted with
the changing times.
The crowd was getting sick of the pure "good
vs.evil" schtick, so
the lines were blurred; Steve Austin, a man who in
the early 80's would
have been the most hated man in the world, is the
most popular champion
ever. Attitudes towards language were slackened;
you hear more
references to the words "ass," "bastard" and "bitch" in
one episode of Raw
than Tony Schiavone has called moves "the best in
the business." Nudity
became less of a tabboo; Sable made 2 Playboy
appearences, and
Puppie-Mania has swept the country.
Now, we go to WCW. The
incalcuable depths of Ted Turner's pockets have
dredged up men that
the WWF have put out to pasture, and catapulted
them to the top spots,
while great athletes like Benoit, Jericho,
Saturn, Raven, Malenko
and others wallowed in mediocrity. David Flair
has had more people
jobbed to him as of late than Goldberg. Hulk
Hogan's "Presidential
run" got less heat than dry ice at the north
pole, yet now Randy
Savage is doing the same thing. And DJ Ran is still
under their employ.
The WCW booking staff is like the Nazi army
advancing towards
Russia: they know its a bad idea, but they're
blitzkreiging anyway.
WCW has two choices
right now. Choice one is to figure it out, dump the
geezers, and push the
young TALENT. Every now and then, WCW shows
promise. Goldberg wins
the title, the Wolfpac separated from the NWO
black and white,
Harlem Heat reunited. But, inevitably, they go on back
to choice two. They
continue to revolve around men whose bodies and/or
minds are failing
them, and they'll keep doing it until they self
destruct and are left
with nothing but main events of Barry Horrowitz
against El Dandy. And
when that day comes, I will be neither surprised,
nor mournful. Of
course, that's just my opinion, I could be wrong.
===========================================
ADVERTISEMENT
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Wrestling returns to Yorktown Middle School
Aug.14,1999 with a
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Cueball Carmicheal (Champion) vs. The Nature Boy Buddy
Landell
VCW Tag Title Match:
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#1 contenders
match:Simply Perfect Preston Quinn vs. German Beef Otto
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VCW Lightweight title:
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Lumberjack match:
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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.
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
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