The Wrestling Booking Sheet online newsletter

Issue # 284

Date: Tuesday August 24th, 1999 3:12 pm

The Wrestling Booking Sheet

Ratings for Monday, August 23rd, 1999
Reported by Dave Scherer at: http://www.1Wrestling.Com
Raw did a 5.7 rating with an 8.9 share (4,283,500 households) off of
hours of 5.6 and 5.7.

Nitro did a 2.9 rating with a 4.7 share (2,218,333 households) off of
hours 3.3, 2.7 and 2.8.

The 8/19 Thunder did a 2.5 rating with a 4.6 share (1,957,500
households). The 8/21 Livewire did a 1.7 rating with a 5.5 share
(1,263,000 households). The 8/22 Superstars did a 2.0 rating with a
6.3 share (1,549,000 households). The 8/22 Heat did a 4.2 rating with
a 7.9 (3,185,000 households).

KIDMAN LEAVING WCW?
Reported by Bob Ryder at: http://www.1Wrestling.Com
Immediately after Raven's decision to walk out on WCW (we will see if
an unconditional release is actually granted), Bob Ryder reports that
there may be more possible defections.

Following Nitro, Billy Kidman (Pete Gunner) approached Eric Bischoff at
the MGM Grand and asked to be released from his contract as well.
Ryder reports that Bischoff was reluctant to grant Kidman's request,
but ended up promising that Kidman will have his release by the time he
gets home.

Kidman is widely regarded as one of WCW brightest young stars, with an
appeal that lifted him above his Cruiserweight stature. Although
pushed into a feud with DDP that actually saw him go over on the 8/16
Nitro, Kidman apparently doesn't have confidence in WCW's long term
commitment to his character.

It is believed that WCW owns the trademark to the name "Billy Kidman";
prior to entering WCW, Gunner wrestled as "Kid Flash" on the
independent circuit. Then again, Pete Gunner has a good ring to it.

Kidman would make a valuable addition to either the ECW or WWF roster;
time will tell where this high flying superstar will land. Who's next?
Benoit? Guerrero? Konnan? Bagwell? Would Bischoff give Ric Flair a
full release? Bischoff may have opened a bag of worms that leads to a
mass exodus out of WCW…

FLAIR FOR PRESIDENT?
Reported by Max B. Baker of The Fort Worth Star-Telegram
An article spotlighting fringe Presidential candidates brought up an
odd tidbit for wrestling fans.

Baker reports "A superstar on the professional wrestling circuit,
Richard Morgan Fliehr, also known as Ric Flair, a.k.a. "The Nature
Boy," The Man," and "Slick Ric." The 48-year-old Minnesotan (Flair is
actually 50) sports long blond hair and a flashy feathered robe.

A "Ric Flair for President" Web site (no URL is listed) made by fans
includes a petition and says: "Together we need to convince Ric Flair
to run for our highest office. Then, America can be great once again"

Flair couldn't be reached for comment."

Although little is known about Flair's political views, he did campaign
for Ultra-Conservative Senator Jesse Helms (R-NC) in the late eighties.
Flair's lack of comment on the issue seems to indicate his lack of
interest in the idea. Strangely enough, Baker's article failed to
mention Hulk Hogan or Randy Savage, two wrestlers who have declared
their candidacy on highly rated cable outlets.

DAVE MELTZER INTERVIEW ONLINE
Although a week old, this interview is worth checking out. Mike Samuda
(Micasa) of Wrestleline.Com conducted an insightful interview with Dave
Meltzer (of Wrestling Observer fame) that all of you should check out.
Find it at:
http://www.wrestleline.com/wrestlemaniacs/news/meltzer81699.htm (Just
copy and paste the URL)
===========================================
ROUNDING THE SQUARED CIRCLE
RAW - AUGUST 23, 1999 -AMES, IOWA

BY SAMJERRY
Visit My Home Page At: http://members.aol.com/samjerry

The program began with stills from the WWF Title Match at SummerSlam,
followed by the RAW opening.

The King was at the announcers desk and JR was in the ring, JR
introduced Mankind, the new WWF Champion, however, Triple H and Chyna came
out instead. Triple H said there wasn't going to be any celebration and went
into a harangue about how he has been continually screwed, and last
night was no exception. He blamed poor refereeing (not Jesse) and said
he had the match won after he nailed SCSA with The Pedigree, only to
have it stolen from him by Mankind. He said he put SCSA in the hospital
and he will never be the same. He thought JR was laughing at him and
called Mick Foley and SCSA "his boys." He went onto to say he broke
both Foley's and SCSA's legs. He put an Armbar on JR and called Mankind
out. Mankind came out and said it wasn't necessary to hurt JR to get a
Title Match, that all he had to do was ask, but had to let JR go. After
confirming he had a Title Match tonight, Triple H snapped JR's arm, leaving
him in agony. Triple H and Chyna left the ring as Mankind went to check on
JR. Mankind said since Triple H had gone on his word and hurt JR, he was
reneging on his promise of a Title Match. Shane came out to a chant of
"Asshole" and said that as Owner of the WWF, he was ordering Mankind to
face Triple H in a Title Match tonight.

We saw JR being put into an ambulance as Mankind looked on.

Michael Cole took JR's spot alongside The King and said we would get an
update on SCSA's condition during the program.

The first match was for the WWF Hardcore Championship, pitting Al Snow
(C) accompanied by his mentor Pepper, v. Road Dogg. Doggie came out
first and did his usual bit to a big pop. As he was finishing, Snow
came in from behind and jumped him to start the match. Snow used all
kind of goodies he found under the ring including a metal tray, wooden
pole, a ladder and a table, on Doggie. When Snow tried to drop onto
Doggie with the ladder, Doggie move and Snow hit the table. Chris
Jericho came out and jumped Doggie. They fought their way backstage.
The Big Bossman came down and blasted Snow with his night stick and
made off with Pepper in his carry case. I thought Prison Guards were
supposed to uphold the law, not break it. The Bossman ran past Jericho
and Doggie who were trying to decide where to go after the matches and
into a car. He sped off, successfully completing his dognapping with
Snow running after him. First Snow loses Head and now Pepper. At this
rate he'll be getting guidance from a lamp post next.

Winner - None
Loser - Snow - Pepper has left the building, and maybe the country

We saw Snow talking to some backstage people asking if they knew where
Pepper was.

Cole said JR suffered a broken arm.

Kane and X-Pac joined the announcers for the next match, which was for
the WWF Tag Team Championship. Ever notice when someone joins the
announcers, that they always seem to get involved in the match? It
pitted The Taker and The Big Show (C), with The Fat Guy v. The
Acolytes, Bradshaw and Farooq, who won the rights to the match by
winning the Tag Team Turmoil Match last night. Prior to the match we
saw stills from last night of The Big Show Chokeslamming X-Pac and then
not covering him real well. This pissed The Taker who then came in and
finished X-Pac with aTombstone to win the Tag Team Championship. When
The Taker threw Farooq onto the announcers table, X-Pac and Kane
greeted him. This led to X-Pac getting into the ring and Chokeslammed
again by The Show. Meanwhile Taker wiped his little brother out with a
vicious chair shot.

Winners - None
Loser - X-Pac - If he gets Chokeslammed one more time, he gets to
keep the ring mat, since he will be a permanent part of it

We saw Test and Stephanie whispering sweet nothings into each others
ears. Test left, much to Sweet Steph's chagrin.

We then saw a little ditty introducing The Blond Bytch Project. Strange
things are happening inAmes, and that doesn't include this. We then
switched to The Blue Meanie, who was watching a show about
photographers who disappeared in the woods. An unseen man (Stevie
Richards) spoke with The Meanie. The Meanie told him about the legend
of people disappearing in the woods around Ames and invited the man to
go investigate. More likely they decided to go to Cedar Rapids and find
out about life in the big city.

Test came to the ring as we saw stills from the Greenwich Street Fight,
Love Her or Leave Her Match at SummerSlam. Shane was in his locker room
watching on a monitor. Test said it was a rough road but it was worth
it. He called Sweet Steph out as the entire building basked in the
moment. Either that or the barbecue sauce was spiked. Sweet Steph was
all smiles as she came to join her true love. Big brother Shane sped in
as it was apparent that the moment had come. Test got down on one knee
and proposed to Sweet Steph. Violins played. Shane said she couldn't
do it. She told Shane where to go. Sweet Steph said she needed more
time. They embraced. Test understood. Sweet Steph left, still all
smiles. Shane left, he looked back at Test with an "It ain't going to
happen."

Jericho was backstage with Howard "The Fink" Finkel. He asked The Fink
how he could stand by earlier while the Road Dogg was pooping on him.
He said he needed a "Warrior" who will fight for Y2J. The last thing
The Fink fought was a cheap steak, and he lost. The Fink said he
understood.

JJ, Debra, The Puppies and Mark "Sexual Chocolate" came to the ring. JJ
was in a giving mood as a result of his win last night. He thanked
Henry and gave him the European Championship, which was the equivalent
of giving him a dose of the clap. He thanked Debra as a chant of
"Puppies" rang out. They did not mean Pepper and his friends. He called
her The Director of JJ Entertainment, and as a reward was giving her an
Executive Assistant. He introduced Miss Kitty, who was more of a fox
then a kitten. The crowd loved it. Henry checked her out. Debra didn't
seem real pleased with her present. He then said he was issuing an open
challenge to anyone who wanted a shot at the Intercontinental
Championship. He said there was a sign-up sheet on his locker room
door.

JJ then called Meat out to face Henry. We waited for Meat but he didn't
show, We switched backstage where D-Lo Brown was kicking Meat's ass.
D-Lo then headed to the ring and a match v. Henry got underway. D-Lo
dominated a short match and hit a Frog Splash, but Henry's new buddy
prevented a pin.

Winner - Mark Henry - New European Champion - Value 2 Rubles

Winners - The fans - We now have a Kitty to go along with The Puppies

Winner - The King - Now he can whip Kitten and Puppy Jokes at us

Mr. Ass was first to JJ's door to sign up for a shot at the
Intercontinental Championship but didn't have a pen. Chyna came by and
he asked her to be sure no one else signed ahead of him. She was only
too happy to help a buddy out. Not! As soon as Mr. Ass left to find a
pen, Chyna signed up. Mr. Ass will not be pleased. If you can't trust
Chyna, who can you trust?

We saw The Rock on his way to the ring. He didn't look happy. I wonder
if its the water in Ames that is making so many people unhappy? More
likely its being in Ames.

Mr. Ass was seen looking for Chyna. He must have found out how good a
friend she is.

The Rock came to the ring to his usual major pop and played the crowd.
He said he was facing Gangrel and was going to "shove his Goblet up his
candy ass." Gangrel came out thru the fire with The New Brood, The
Hardy Boyz. The Rock met them on the ramp and decked them all. The
crowd chanted "Rocky" throughout the match. The Hardy Boyz got in cheap
shots every chance they could. Jeff Hardy leaped off the barricade onto
The Rock. Christian and Edge came down and ran The Hardy Boyz off. From
there it was The Rock Bottom, The People's Elbow and case closed on the
fanged one. After the match The Rock took the mic and blasted Triple H for
coming out and crying that he should be the WWF Champion. He laid the
smack down on Mankind also. He said "everyone is chanting The Rock's
name," and they were. He said he had beaten everyone, wanted "his" WWF
Title back and was taking matters into his own hands.

Winner - The Rock - Laid the smack down on Gangrel's blood engorged ass

Loser - Gangrel - He will be seeing a Proctologist to retrieve his
Goblet

We saw The Fink trying to convince himself he's a Warrior. Maybe if he
visits another guy who calls himself The Warrior and reads his
Manifesto; Nah, that won't work. The Fink will ruin his perfect
attendance record.

Kevin Kelly talked with Tori backstage. He asked her what was up with
Ivory trying to strip her last night. She challenged Ivory to an
Evening Gown Match Thursday on the debut of SmackDown.

The Fink came to the ring. He got directions from his mother. He said
Jericho came to the WWF to save it and he applauded him for doing so.
He then said there were a few "simpletons" who didn't get it, naming
The Road Dogg as one of them. The Fink has been drinking lions milk. He
called Doggie to the ring to tell him what Y2J is all about. Careful
Fink, Doggie may tell you what pain is all about. He called Doggie a
few choice things and shoved him. At first Doggie was amused, but when
The Fink shove him again, fun time was over. He grabbed The Fink, who
looked more like Barbie than G.I. Joe at this point. Just then the
lights went down and The Millennium Countdown came up on the TitanTron.
As Doggie watched the TitanTron, Jericho came up from behind and nailed
him a Power Bomb. The Fink was so happy, his mustache quivered. Jericho
and his flunky left Doggie out cold in the ring.

We saw Snow wandering around backstage looking like he lost his best
friend. Oops, he did.

We saw Mr. Ass still looking for Chyna. He went into Triple H's locker room
and asked him if he saw her. He said not to look too hard, you might
just find her.

Kelly spoke with Hardhead Holly backstage. He asked about the problems
he had with his cousin Crash, as a clip of their bickering last night
ran. Hardnose said Crash didn't get the message who was the top Super
Heavyweight. He challenged Crash to an Invitation Only Match to
determine the top Super Heavyweight.

The next match was the Invitation Only Match to determine the top Super
Heavyweight. It started in the ring and went quickly out into the
crowd, then to the equipment area, backstage and finally out into the
street. As they fought, they kept asking each other if they had enough
and if they were OK. After years of trying and several gimmicks, The
WWF Booking Committee may have finally done the impossible, put
Hardcore Holly over.

Winner - ? - They were last seen heading down Main St., all two blocks
of it

Kelly said SCSA has suffered tendon and ligament damage as a result of
Triple H's chair work after last nights Title Match. Mankind joined him and
said Triple H made a big mistake with his attacks on SCSA and JR. He will
see if Triple H can take it as well as he gives it tonight.

Another visit to Snow saw him sitting in a corner crying. Poor Al.

The Taker, The Show and The Fat Guy came to the announcers table for
the next match. The Taker "asked" Cole to get up and turn his headset
over to him. Cole was out of there so fast, he didn't even leave
fingerprints. The next match was a tag team event pitting X-Pac and
Kane v. Mideon and Visera. Not even an act of G-d could put Mideon
and/or Visera over. Note: Remember what I said earlier about guest
announcers. Right after the match began, The Acolytes came to ringside.
Throughout the match, The Taker bad mouthed everyone and everything. If
his mother were still alive, maybe she could speak to him about his
attitude, then again she died in a fire he started. We saw X-Pac do the
Bronco Buster on Visera; the Acolytes jump Kane; and X-Pac do the
Bronco Buster on Mideon. That was it for X-Pac as Visera pulled him off
Mideon and squished him.

Winners - Mideon and Visera - I had to run the tape three times before
I believed it

Loser - X-Pac - The Poster Boy for an Ass Kicking from Big Men

Mr. Ass was seen still searching for Chyna. He should have checked the
airport to see if she left Ames. Wait a second, Airport? Ames? Talk
about an oxymoron.

Another visit with Jericho and The Fink was next. The Fink wanted to
know how he did. Jericho seemed pleased as he told him it was Monday
Night Jericho and would be FinkDown Thursday.

Mr. Ass came to the ring and called Chyna out, telling her to bring her
sweet ass out. She came out and he wanted to know what kind of joke she
was playing. She told him it was no joke, and that he was thinking out
of his ass again. He told her to give him the Title Shot or he would
take it. She told him to bring it on. JJ raced in and destroyed Guitar
No. 3,878 (unofficial count) over Chyna's head, knocking her into the
next state ... which wasn't all that bad when you think about it. Miss
Kitty was holding Guitar No. 3,879 (unofficial count) and had it ripped
away by Mr. Ass. He planted it between JJ eyes. Debra was not happy
with her new assistant. Less then two hours on the job and already
allowing JJ to get crowned.

The Rock was seen heading to the ring.

The next match was the Main Event, for the WWF Championship, with Triple H
v. Mankind (C). Chyna wasn't with Triple H. She told him "not tonight, I've
got a headache." The Rock joined the announcers. Shane came out wearing
his referee attire and sent the scheduled referee out for coffee. The
match was very hard fought. Mankind brought Mr. Socko out and shoved
into Shane's big mouth and down his throat. He then gave Triple H a taste of
it. Having taken two Midol pills, Chyna felt better and raced in to
save Triple H. She saved him, but got a Mr. Socko sandwich for her efforts.
Mankind hit Triple H with his Double Underhook DDT, but alas, there wasn't a
referee in sight. The original referee returned, but was too late as
Triple H kicked out. Triple H grabbed Mr. Socko and threw it into the crowd.
Having been down three throats in the past couple of minutes, and not
having been washed since 1978, the entire section that it landed in
cleared out in record time. Chyna landed cheap shots on Mankind every
chance she got. If Mankind was smart, he would have come to the ring
wearing a titanium cup. The Rock had choice words for everyone
involved. The match turned brutal. When the action went to the floor,
Shane hit Mankind with a chair shot to the back. The main effect it had
was to PO Mankind. Triple H took advantage of the moment and clobbered
Mankind with a chair. He then hit The Rock in the head with it,
knocking him two states away. When he gets up, he'll probably thank
Triple H. Shane pulled the original referee out of the ring as Triple H rolled
Mankind back in. One Pedigree later and we had a new WWF Champion.

Winner - Triple H - New WWF Champion - Finally

Winner - The Rock - He got to leave Ames, albeit the hard way.

Loser - Mankind - He is now three chair shots to the head behind
Balls Mahoney for the 1999 Championship

An entertaining program closed with Triple H and Chyna leaving happy. It
wasn't known if they were happier about winning the title or that the
program was over and they could leave Ames for the bright lights of the
big city - Cedar Rapids.
===========================================
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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