The Wrestling Booking Sheet online newsletter

Issue # 326

Date: Sunday September 26th, 1999 7:02 pm

The Wrestling Booking Sheet

Flair deserves WCW reins
Sunday, September 26, 1999
By Mike Mooneyham

Last week in this space I offered a suggestion as to how WCW might
begin its rebuilding process in the post-Eric Bischoff era. Turner
Sports president Harvey Schiller could make no better move than to name
Ric Flair as company president. New executive vice president Bill Busch
already has implemented a number of measures to trim the company fat,
but WCW also needs a leader to point the company in a new creative
direction.

No one is more deserving of the position than Flair. He always has been
WCW's "go to" guy, the one individual who cares enough about the
company to carry it on his back and stick with it through thick or
thin, often to the detriment of his own reputation. It now seems only
fair that he officially be asked to take the reins of WCW - not as a
president whose hands are tied and who allows his top stars to dictate
the direction of the company, but as a president who has complete
control over the creative aspects of the organization and can provide
strong leadership.

The chore will be far from easy. Pay-per-view buyrates, television
ratings, merchandising and house show attendance have steadily
declined. Morale has been at an all-time low. The company has been in a
state of chaos for far too long.
Long-term planning has been almost nonexistent, with the company
looking for hotshot angles and quick fixes, most recently evidenced by
the turns of Hulk Hogan, Lex Luger and Sting, none of which should have
any long-term impact on the ratings.

Unlike Bischoff, Flair realizes that a new leader cannot be influenced
by the personal agendas of other wrestlers, nor can the wrestling
product be camouflaged by bringing in celebrity athletes, television
personalities or rock acts.

Shawn Michaels may have put it best when he recently said on a WWF Web
site audio interview:
"Kevin (Nash) went (to WCW) for the money and he makes no bones about
that. He doesn't have it in his heart when he's there. He had it in his
heart here, and that is something the WWF brings out of you because
only in the WWF is it anybody's ball game. Down there, its decided
when you come in the door where you're going to be at. That's one
reason I never wanted to go."

Michaels added that Nash joked about becoming WCW booker and giving
himself the title because, as Nash explained, "Hey, when its your
movie, you get to write the ending." Michaels said "you've got too many
guys sown there, going into their contracts, who are saying 'I want
creative control.' Creative control is just a fancy word for saying, 'I
want to be able to do this when I want to do it.' You can't have that
in this business. If you're not willing to listen to somebody else and
take suggestions, you give your boss limitations on what he can do for
you."

My second suggestion would be for the company to appoint someone to an
expanded human resources position. This would not be a mere title, but
a hands-on job that would address the growing needs and concerns of
those in the business, including health, morale and family issues.
Never before in the wrestling profession has there been such an urgent
need for that type of role.

My recommendation is an individual who has worked for WCW for the past
three years but has been greatly underutilized. Ted DiBiase, long one
of the most respected workers in the business, would be an ideal choice
for the job. DiBiase's abilities as a communicator and motivator have
been lauded nationally, but more importantly, though not as publicized,
has been his willingness to work with wrestlers on a personal level.

Mike Mooneyham can be reached by phone at (843) 937-5517 or by e-mail
at mooneyham. More wrestling news with Mike
Mooneyham is available every Monday on The Wrestling Observer Hotline.
The number is
1-900-903-9030. Calls are 99 cents per minute, and children under 18
must get parental permission before dialing.
===========================================
BACKYARD WRESTLING
Written by reader: Kathy (KatViolet9)

The Wrestling Booking Sheet
WBS Issue # 326

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NWA 51st ANNIVERSARY RESULTS
Reported by Jon Massey (Massey316)

The NWA presented its 51st Anniversary Show live on Saturday night,
September 25th at theGrady Cole Center in Charlotte, North Carolina.
The show was held in front of a few hundred fans and began at 8 pm
Eastern time, and concluded at about 11:30. The show results:

Triple X defeated The Sex Pistols
-This was the first match in the Tag Team Invitational Tournament and
Triple X moved on with the victory.

Team Extreme defeated Hard Times (Gene Austin & "Death Dealer" Tommy
Starr)
-This was the second match of the tournament and Team Extreme moves on
in the
tournament.The Rage versus "Gorgeous" Michelle Starr & Crusher Carlsen
- No
Contest-Both teams were disqualified in this matchup and it was then
announced that Team Extreme and Triple X would meet in the finals of
the tournament for a
World Tag Team Title shot later in the evening.

Queen's Cup Match: E.Z. Ryder defeated Sebastian P. Sterling
-This was a UK versus Canada match and billed as the first ever
"Queen's Cup"
matchup. EZ got the pin and the victory.

Team Extreme defeated Triple X
-Team Extreme faced Triple X in the finals of the tournament and
defeated them to gain a World Tag Team Title shot later in the evening.

NWA World Heavyweight Title Match
Gary Steele defeated Brian Anthony & Naoya Ogawa
-This was the three way dance for the NWA World Title. A few minutes
in, Brian Anthony was eliminated by Ogawa. A few short moments later,
Steele pulled off the suprising upset to win the title. There was some
controversy after this one amongst those involved as well as some of
the Tokyo contigency that was there in the crowd. It looked to me as
if Ogawa may have possibly been screwed. This was the first NWA World
Title change since March of the this year.

Abdullah The Butcher versus A Local Worker - No Contest
-Abdullah then battled a local worker and bloodied him up very badly
with a fork. The match was thrown out and other NWA talent came down
to stop Abdullah but Abdullah attacked them all with his fork. He
busted up everyone and the blood flowed until Ronnie Garvin ran out and
made the save and began brawling with Abdullah. The two bloody men
brawled to the back, as the show went to intermission.

Junior Heavyweight "Free For All" (Royal Rumble style battle royal)
-The winner here was scheduled to get a Junior Heavyweight Title shot
following the Battle Royal. The order of entrance was: Air Paris,
Buck Quartermaine, Chris Michaels, Tony Kazina, Gary Royal, Mercury,
Chris Hero, Twiggey Ramirez, Vince Kaplake, Johnny Moss & Danny
Dominion. The order of elimination was: Chris Michaels, Buck
Quartermaine, Air Paris, Mercury, Gary Royal, Johnny Moss, Chris Hero,
Vince Kaplake and Danny Dominion. Twiggey Ramirez was the victor and he
gets the title shot.

Junior Heavyweight Title Match
Logan Caine over Twiggey Ramirez
-The two men battled for the Junior Heavyweight Title and Logan got the
victory. After the match, the two men shook in a show of respect, but
Twiggey turned on Caine and laid him out cold, before walking out with
the Title belt.

Legends Match: Ronnie Garvin defeated Stan Lane
-The two legends battled with Tommy Young as the referee. During the
match,
Garvin (who played the face to Lane playing the heel) nailed Lane with
a "hands of stone" right hand shot to get the pin and the win.

NWA World Tag Team Title Match: Team Extreme defeated The Brotherhood
-The Brotherhood came in as the champs and defended against Team
Extreme, but
lost the match and the titles in doing so, when Team Extreme was
victorious after a wild brawl between both teams.

The NWA World Title and World Tag Team Titles changed hands. There was
a
ceremony for legends such as Tommy Young, Ronnie Garvin, Nelson Royal,
Don
Kernodle, Penny Banner and others. Wahoo McDaniel, Ricky Steamboat,
Lou
Thesz and Mr. Wrestling I were all recognized as well. The only
advertised match that did not occur was the NWA National Title match
featuring Doug Gilbert vs. Big Don Brody. Also, The Misfits did not
appear on the show.
===========================================
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The Empire Wrestling Federation is a fast growing Independent
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On October 9th look for the E.W.F. at San Bernardino High School in San
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On October 30th The E. W. F. will be at Centennial High School in
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-Jesse Hernandez http://www.ewf-wrestling.com/
===========================================
The miser does no one any good, but he treats himself worst of all.
-Publius Syrus

"I looked into your eyes and my world came tumbling down"-GH
===========================================
The staff of The Wrestling Booking Sheet
Editor: Steve Appy
Columnist:Mark George
Columnist: SamJerry
Columnist: Fritz Capp
Columnist: Rick Phelps
Columnist: Cindy Barnes
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Columnist: Tom Misnik
Columnist: Nate Pelley Columnist: Robert Troy (Osiris) Columnist: Tom Kirkbride Columnist: Ryan S. Oaks Columnist: Darren Kramer

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