The Wrestling Booking Sheet online newsletter

Issue # 276

Date: Saturday August 14th, 1999 8:00 pm

The Wrestling Booking Sheet

Your Ten Top Franchise Picks
By Steve Appy

You have just been placed in charge of a soon to debut wrestling
promotion. Every wrestler in the world is at your disposal, and you
have the absolute freedom to raid the talent of your competitors. Who
do you choose?

Let's narrow it down a bit; you can choose any ten wrestling
personalities alive, regardless of current promotional affiliation.
After deciding the style and market you are targeting, the world is at
your disposal.

The money men behind the promotion have given you a large enough budget
to be instantly competitive, so money is not an issue (after all, this
is a hypothetical exercise).

What criteria should be used in your choices? its all up to you.
Past drawing power, charisma, interviews, age, potential, workrate,
attitude, experience. There are no boundaries, you decide the criteria.

Managers, valets and commentators are included as well, since they are
an such an important part of the finished product. Tag teams are
welcome as well, though the members must be chosen separately. If you
feel that Harlem Heat would be the keystone of your promotion, Booker T
and Stevie Ray must be chosen as different picks. An outright vote for
a tag team will be disqualified; no tie picks, you must choose one
personality over another.

Picks must be in order; a #1 pick is worth 10 points, a #2 pick is
worth 9 points, and a #10 pick is worth 1 point (you get the picture).
Obviously, only one vote per person/reader (duplicate votes will be
thrown out).

All votes must be sent directly to Appy@xxxxs...
Votes are due at 5:00 PM, EST, on Saturday, August 21st.
===========================================
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**********GET ECW IN THE UK**********
Calling all UK wrestling fans are you getting fed up of seeing WCW +
WWF copying things from ECW even the ROYAL RUMBLE match where MANKIND
was handcuffed by theROCK and beaten that has already happened in ECW
but how were we too know because fans in the UK don't get ECW except on
BRAVO where it is 3 years old footage. I say lets get ECW on channel 4
we all know channel 4 is the most cool terrestrial channel and if WCW
can get on CHANNEL 5 with their lame product ECW can get on CHANNEL 4
and show everyone in the UK it is supreme to WCW and even WWF so I say
lets all phone, e-mail, write to channel 4 and get the most hardcore
fed on TV and let it become the biggest wrestling fed in the UK
***********************************************
===========================================
Straight Shooting
By : Fritz Capp
PWBTS 2000
http://pwbts.com
(One of the more interesting wrestling sites on the web)!

Before we get into the meat of the column I want to take a moment to
personally thank Steve Appy for running my column here in the
Booking Sheet. I must say that out of all the wrestling newsletters I
have read over the past couple years this is by far the most
informative and professional that I have seen. Although my topics
sometime cut to the quick, I will endeavor to keep the journalistic
integrity of the newsletter to the best of my ability. And now on with
the show!---

Been a long time eh? Well to be honest not much has really changed in
wrestling since the last time I wrote this column. Oh, I'm not saying
that there hasn't been 2 ½ tons of wrestling news but the reality is
that nothing is new as far as wrestling itself is concerned. It is
still the same over glamorized, over produced, backstabbing, over
glorified, do what you can to rip out the heart of your competitor
business that we all love to watch and talk about.

Now I know I've missed a lot of things and usually I just take one
topic and go to town but look at everything that's been going on: Paul
Heyman once again shows Philadelphia, the town that put ECW on the map,
the way he truly appreciates them by having the very first TNN taping
done right from the ECW Arena. Huh? Oh that's right, Heyman is having
ECW's first taping inOhio. Sorry, I forgot. But anyway, ECW's second
taping for TNN comes to you from beautiful South Philadelphia, the
birthplace of Hardcore. Oh sorry, my mistake...the second taping is in
New York, isn't it? I don't know what I was thinking. I mean why would
Paul show any loyalty to the fans from Philadelphia? He doesn't show it
to anyone else.

Who the hell chose Ivory as the women's champ in the WWF? This chick has
about as much business as the WWF woman's champ as Eric Bischoff has
being
head of WCW. Both really suck. I mean c'mon, she really can't work, her
mic skills are horrible and she looks to be 50 years old half the time.
In fact, unless Vince wants to get serious about a women's division,
scrap the whole damn thing. I would sooner see the valets getting in
pseudo fights and that would be it. If Vince really wants to have a
woman's division he should study the tapes of All Japan's women and
others from the land of the Rising Sun, because the bottom line is no
one here in the States knows what they are doing when it comes to women
wrestling.

Joel Gertner is getting tremendous heat because of comments he made
right after the JFK Jr. accident. What... is everyone on the Internet
just stupid? Nothing goes down in ECW without Heyman's approval. I
cannot believe that all of you so called smarts actually bitched and
whined about Gertner without saying one thing about the guy who
scripted it and allowed it to air. And yes people, Heyman has admitted
that he scripted it and used it to get people to talk about his
promotion. I guess that says a lot about the current booking and
product of ECW. If you have to go after cheap heat to get people
talking about your promotion instead of allowing your product to
speak for itself then you have a problem, plain and simple.

Speaking of product in ECW, I had the best laugh I had in a long time
the other day. I was browsing around and I was treated when I found a
column that actually stated that the ECW of today is every bit the ECW
of old. Now I'm not going to embarrass the writer of this mish mosh of
bull by naming him, and thankfully the webmaster of the site that this
crap was sitting on updated it so they do not have to be embarrassed by
this guys writing anymore. (Although they probably believe that just as
well.)

In his column he stated that the locker room in ECW today was every bit
as strong as the old days. Now let me see if I got this correct,
today's ECW locker room is
just as talented as when ECW had Chris Benoit, Dean Malenko, Eddie Guerrero,
Mick Foley, Rey Mysterio Jr., Raven, Stevie Richards, Sandman, Chris
Jericho
etc. Who's butt is this guy sniffing? (<---dog reference) Sure you
have some good guys in ECW today but there is no way in hell they can
compare to the old stable of wrestlers that ECW had. What is becoming
apparent to me is that this guy may be being weaned to become the heir
apparent to a certain person who is becoming more focused with a
certain wrestling promotion down south because the writer of this
dribble can't actually believe that crap that he wrote. This was
nothing more then a resume showing the ECW higher ups that he can kiss
ass just as well as the current incumbent.

Have we seen enough of Al Snow's mental problems? I said when he first
returned to the WWF that he didn't need the "Head" gimmick but he got
it over and it was amusing for awhile but damn man, its time to move
on. Al Snow is a talented worker and knows the business inside and out.
The latest angle has had Snow fighting midgets, talking to stuffed deer
heads and he now has a dog? C'mon Vince, let's get back to the program.

Has anyone else seen Hogan re-inventing himself again? Sure you have,
how can you miss it? He's now clean shaven and he comes back to WCW TV
and gets the belt right away. Vintage Hogan, vintage bullsh*t. All we
need is the yellow and red to make the change complete but Hogan has
said he would never do that. Of course he said he was running for
president too and you all see where that went.

I lashed out about Bischoff when he forced himself on Flair's wife. I
said that there wasn't any place for that in wrestling today. Now we
have the WWF doing the same angle with Prince Albert. It still sucks, I
don't care what federation its in. If you need to do something like
that to get a person some heat then get rid of the person because they
can't draw. its not like anyone would miss the hairball anyway.

Poor old Kevin Nash is probably being forced out of his booking job.
Why do I say that? Because Bischoff is changing what Nash has planned
"on the fly". Now if I was Nash I'd tell him to get screwed. Why put
all the time into booking a show just to have some ex-meat salesman
change it at the last minute?

Droz is becoming one of the biggest turn offs in the WWF. When they
brought him in you could see that he had potential and he still does
but these stupid gimmicks the WWF is giving him makes me want to change
the channel when I hear his name, let alone want to watch one of his
matches.

Randy Savage in a stupid angle beats on Gorgeous George and everyone is
offended. So what does the WWF do? The next week on RAW they have Shane
elbow Stephanie in the mouth. Was this the WWF's way of saying to WCW
that
if your gonna use male/woman violence all you have to do is make it
look like an accident and it is ok?

What is the deal with all the wrestlers on television shows anymore?
On any
given day you can almost guarantee that your gonna see one of the WWFor
WCW's workers on some talk show, movie show, game show etc. I love
wrestling as much as the next person but I thought the glut of
wrestling shows was overkill but now we have to see them everywhere
else also? There's nothing wrong with a little promotion but this is
outta hand.

Speaking of outta hand Rena Mero is starting to make me sick. I
wouldn't care if this bitch was sent off into space and lost forever,
in fact I think I would enjoy that pretty much. (At least I would get a
good laugh at trying to figure out how she would try to blame the WWF
for it) This chick was nothing before Vince and after her little fling
at trying to make it on TV she'll go back to that, being absolutely
nothing. Her timing of her trumped up lawsuit against the WWF shows
what kind of shrew this woman really is. I guess she forgets that it
was Vince McMahon who bought her that body she so proudly displays.
Breast augmentation, liposuction and other enhancements
sure make a difference don't they Rena? A little airbrushing doesn't
hurt either. Just remember, it is ok to come out on national TV for a
year and a half wearing basically nothing in front of little kids,
except when you want out of your contract. One thing I am glad about, I
don't have to watch her do that damned "grind" anymore. It would have
been cool if she knew how to do it.

Speaking of women in the business, who gives a rats ass about Madusa?
This
woman should go back to doing soft core promotional videos in Japan
because no one cared about her before and no one cares now.

The WCW chat rooms have become a sort of dictatorship instead of a chat
room
as of late. Bob Ryder has seen to it that while it is ok for him to
insult and chastise people no one is allowed to do or say anything back
to him. His little guard at the door is some West Virginia inbred who
actually leaves his computer on 24/7 so that his autokick remains on at
all times. I mean this guy will drive hundreds of miles just to go to a
Nitro. This guy is pathetic. In fact, it appears that there is now a
list of names that is automatically kicked whether you have ever been
in the room before or not.

There was a bit of a chat on the 1wrestling.com message boards between
someone and Ryder. The writer explained that he had never been in the
room before but was banned from entering for no reason at all. All
Ryder said was that he had to talk to the new gestapo agent in charge.
Now here's the thing about WCW's chat rooms. If your going there from
AOL you cannot be banned. They can and will kick you but you can log
back on. The funny thing is that while you cannot say anything about
myself, PWBTS or disagree with Ryder you can go in and attack and
threaten the other people in the room without being kicked by Ryder's
lackey otherwise known as Fanatics. That just happened last week. Also
if you see Fanatics be careful what you say to him because it could
actually be his wife. They play a game that no one knows which one it
actually is. I am sure that makes for some very interesting chats in
the sex rooms, huh?

Everyone is up in arms about Jesse Ventura being a ref at SummerSlam.
Well not everyone, just his political opponents and WCW employees
because Jesse didn't sign with WCW. I personally think its great. Why?
Because I do, do I really need to explain everything to you? Would
anyone have a problem if Jesse was an ex basketball player and wanted
to ref a game and donate his money to charity? No one would question
Bill Bradley, what is the beef with Jesse?

Jeremy Borash of WCW Live!, at the Jesse Ventura press conference
announcing
he was going to be at SummerSlam, asked Jesse what he thought about the
WWF
not being able to wrestle in Oregon because of the states strict drug
testing policy. Hey Jeremy, how come WCW doesn't wrestle in Oregon? It
couldn't be because a lot of the workers in WCW are so pumped up they
wouldn't be able to pass the drug test for 5 years if they stopped
using right now, could it? The truth of the matter is that both
federations have a major problem that they still refuse to address
because looking the other way is easier than helping those who make
them money. Sad but true. Why is it every time WCW holds a surprise
drug test at a house show none of the big names are ever there?

It has been revealed that Mr. Ass's mother on the TitanTron on RAW was
actually played by WCW's own Mark Madden. Madden was shown as he
vacationed at the Live Oak Nudist Resort in Washington, Texas. He
donned the wig so no one would recognize him.

Chris Jericho is finally out of the concentration camp known as World
Championship Wrestling and is now headed to the WWF. I call WCW a
concentration camp because unless your name is Hogan or the president
can look over his backyard fence and see your wife sunbathing you are
held down to a midcard status even though you could out wrestle most of
the people in the locker room. Good luck Chris, you deserve it.

Another pair of faces entering the WWF is none other than The Dudley's
from ECW. I find it very interesting that they are leaving ECW just
before the company goes national. What do they know that we don't?

And with that I'm outta here until next time. Remember, wrestling is
nothing more than what it appears to be.
===========================================
In Memory Of Owen Hart (1965 -- 1999)
Written by reader: MIISSTRESS

If you can only see what you had done to me
Will I ever see your warm kindness.
You alway's seemed to be here for me, when no one has ever gave
anything for me
When you left my heart broke in two, but I know to move on to find
something new

You will always be in my thoughts and my prayer's
Thinking back for all the good times that we shared,
You may be far away right now but that is something that I wonder how
Why you left I do not know, when so much love is here to show.

So many thing's you left behind makes me want you to find love in mind
its hard to see that you are not here but things are always not very
clear
To my heart, to my prayer's, to my thoughts and to my tear's
You may be the clown in town, but you never ever wore a frown

You make people feel as though they can live
But they always seem to love to give, we know you left us so suddenly
But in our heart's you'll stay with me, to all the fan's that you had
touched
Will alway's love you so big and so much

We shall never forget you no matter what
Owen, you will be missed, god bless and god speed
You shall always be in our heart's, our mind's, and our memories
Rest in peace Owen
===========================================
A Passing…
Written by reader: DynDen

In some very shocking news out of Lima Peru, Florida wrestler Yuel
Lovett has passed away. It was reported that during a tour of Peru with
a group led by his teacher and confidant Steve Keirn that Yuel
succumbed to cardiac arrest. The event occurred at an Outback
Steakhouse were the group was catching a
late dinner, and as he was returning to the table he had what appeared
to be a heart attack. Several people tried to administer CPR until he
was rushed to a local hospital, where was pronounced dead. He was
accompanied on this trip by his girlfriend Shanye Roberts. Hopefully
more news will be available in
the coming days.

The following is a brief bio and a statement from Jake Kennedy,
CO-webmaster of StrictlyWrestling.com.

10.) Yuel Lovett
-Height:6'1"-Weight :252
-Year Turned Pro : April 1998
>-Promotions :CCW,IPW,SPWF,FWA
-Type of wrestler: CAN WRESTLE ANY STYLE
-Finishing move or move: "THE LUV'EM & LEAVE'EM" -a fisherman style
swinging neckbreaker

Alex was a great entertainer and friend; his passing has come as a
complete shock to the staff of SW. Myself, Jeremy, and Darlene were
friends of Alex and we'd like to pass our deepest sympathy to his
family in South Florida and to Shanye. Alex's career was cut too short,
and his full potential never reached, but his memory will remain for
years to come. His star shined the brightest in Coast Championship
Wrestling and Independent Pro Wrestling Hard-core, were he worked as
one of the top heels. Whether it was leader of the West Coast Invasion
in CCW or the main heavyweight of 911 Inc. in IPW, Alex came out every
night to give 110%, and not a fan walked away without saying how
impressive that Yuel Lovett guy was. His career almost ended sooner
when he suffered a several broken leg at the hands of "Navy Seal"
Terrance Black, but Alex was determined to return to normal or even
better.

Only a few months ago did he and Shanye travel to Peru on the first
tour. It was what he would say was one of his most memorial moments in
his career. Alex always had time for the fans, and he always had time
for his two brothers from Jersey who wanted to make an impact on
Florida wrestling. Well, Alex, you made an impact on us, and we won't
forget you. He'll live on in our hearts and mind forever. God Bless
you, my friend.
===========================================
MID-AMERICAN WRESTLING
If you are in the Milwaukee area, be sure to check out the 7th Annual
Summer Sizzler Spectacular at Wilson Park Stadium (20th & Howard),
Milwaukee. It takes place on Saturday, August 21st, at 7:00 PM (Rain
or shine).
****MAIN EVENT****"NO ROPE BARBED WIRE MATCH****"BROTHER VS. BROTHER
IAN ROTTEN (CHAMP) w/SENSATIONAL SHERRI VS AXL ROTTEN
"BED OF THORNED ROSES MATCH!" (YOU MUST PUT YOUR OPPONENT INTO A BED OF
THORNED ROSES!) ARC ANGEL VINCENT REVEREND AXL FUTURE
VS. THE MAULER & MAD MAN PONDO
HARDCORE CRAIG VS. BILLYJOE EATON
THE SKULLCRUSHER & 2 TUFF TONY VS.C.C. LOVE & MEAN MITCH PAGE
PLUS A NEW CRUISERWEIGHT CHAMP WILL BE CROWNED!
THE 1ST ROUND WILL HAVE THREE MATCHES. THE WINNERS OF THOSE THREE
MATCHES WILL COMPETE IN A TRIANGLE MATCH TO CROWN THE NEW CHAMPION!

GRANDSTAND GENERAL ADMISSION, $12 ADVANCE, $15 AT THE DOOR
AVAILABLE IN ADVANCE AT - ICE BURG DRIVE IN (60TH & BURNHAM) , WILSON
PARK ICE PAVILION (20TH & HOWARD), FIRST ROW GOLDEN RINGSIDE $25

AVAILABLE IN ADVANCE AT- KNIGHTS OF COLUMBUS (1800 S. 92 ST, WEST
ALLIS) MAIL ORDER IS ALSO AVAILABLE FOR ADVANCE TICKETS.PLEASE SPECIFY
THE NUMBER OF TICKETS & EITHER GENERAL ADMISSION OR RINGSIDE. SEND A
CHECK OR MONEY ORDER WITH YOUR NAME, ADDRESS AND TELEPHONE NUMBER TO:
MID AMERICAN WRESTLING
P.O. BOX 44301
MILWAUKEE, WI 53214
FOR FURTHER INFO CALL 414-777-3941
===========================================
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