The Wrestling Booking Sheet online newsletter

Issue # 343

Date: Friday October 8th, 1999 1:02 pm

The Wrestling Booking Sheet

THE MARKET VALUE OF WCW'S MID-CARDERS
Reported by Dave Meltzer of The Wrestling Observer Newsletter
Meltzer reports that both Scott Norton & Mike Enos have been released
from WCW; there is a possibility that both men will be used on $500 per
match deals as opposed to being on contract.

Norton had been given an $800,000 per year contract by Bischoff, a
figure that I first though was a misprint. Chris Benoit is signed to
deal worth $450,000 a year; Norton has never drawn a dime and is
difficult and hot tempered in the locker room. Bookers have been known
to be nervous about asking him to do a job, and he has never been
booked into a focused program that would even attempt to justify the
salary.

Norton's one asset to WCW was his worth to New Japan Pro Wrestling,
where Norton is a sometimes headliner. That still doesn't come close
to justifying $800,000, and it is a prime example of Bischoff's fiscal
mismanagement.

HEROES OF WRESTLING PPV LINEUP
Reported by Dave Meltzer of The Wrestling Observer Newsletter
The current lineup for the 10/10 PPV Lineup in St. Louis is Yokozuna
vs. King Kong Bundy, Jim Niedhart vs. Jake Roberts, Bob Orton vs. Jimmy
Snuka (w/Captain Lou Albano), Abdullha the Butcher vs. One Man Gang,
Tully Blanchard vs. Stan Lane, Greg Valentine vs. George Steele
(w/Sherri Martel), Luke & Butch vs. The Iron Sheik & Nikolai Volkoff,
Marty Jannetty & Tommy Rogers vs. The Samoan Swat Team and Julio
Sanchez vs. Too Cold Scorpio. Gordon Solie ("The Dean of Wrestling
Announcers") and Dirty Dutch Mantel will handle the commentary.

LAWLER FINISHES THIRD IN MAYORAL ELECTION
Reported at: http://www.wrestleline.com
MEMPHIS, Tenn. - Willie Herenton, the city's first elected black mayor,
has won a third term and defeated a member of Memphis' most politically
powerful black family in the process.

Herenton drew 74,896 votes, or 46 percent, Thursday while his chief
rival, City Council Chairman Joe Ford, gathered 41,161 votes, or 25
percent. Coming in third in the 15-candidate race was pro wrestler
Jerry "The King" Lawler, with 19,092 votes, or 12 percent.

While not mentioning any challenger by name, 59-year-old Herenton said
he hoped the race, which included verbal spats between himself and the
Ford family, would not cause lasting hard feelings among the
candidates.

"I know that during the campaign we probably took some jabs at each
other, but that's all over now ... and I offer this apology to the
Memphis public for the divisiveness in the campaign," Herenton said.

In conceding defeat, Ford said he looked forward to working with the
mayor for the rest of his time on the City Council. He did not seek
re-election to that post, and one of Ford's brothers, Edmund, was
elected to succeed him when the current council term expires Dec. 31.

"I want to congratulate Mayor Herenton on this win tonight. The voters
of this city have spoken and they want the same leadership, and I will
continue to work as the chairman of the Memphis City Council with the
mayor and his administration," Ford said.

Herenton charged that the family of former Rep. Harold Ford was
attempting a power grab by running Ford, a brother of the former
congressman and an uncle of current Rep. Harold Ford Jr., D-Tenn.

Fords serve on the City Council, County Commission and in the state
Senate. "Joe Ford's name is on the ballot, but Harold Ford Sr. is
running. That's no secret," Herenton said during the campaign.

Joe Ford accused Herenton of selling out to special interests by
spending money downtown while ignoring the city's poorest residents.
Herenton campaigned on the strong local economy, the revitalization of
downtown Memphis and a falling crime rate. The term lasts for four
years, and there is no chance for a runoff - whoever gets the most
votes wins. Memphis, with 650,000 residents, is 55 percent black.

Other candidates in the nonpartisan election included Lawler, who in
1983 slapped comedian Andy Kaufman on "Late Night With David
Letterman," and Pepper Rodgers, the former college football coach who
led Memphis' failed attempt to get an NFL team.

TAZ BACKSTAGE AT SMACKDOWN TAPINGS
Reported by Dave Scherer at: http://www.1wrestling.com
Taz was backstage at the WWF Smackdown tapings Tuesday night in Long
Island, NY. The fans who saw Taz enter the arena gave him a strong
positive reaction, which impressed WWF staffers who witnessed it.
Scherer reports that Taz's reaction to and from the wrestlers was both
respectful & positive.

OBSERVER SUBSCRIPTION INFORMATION
To subscribe to Dave Meltzer's Wrestling Observer Newsletter, send $11
for 4 issues to:
The Wrestllig Observer Newsletter
P.O. Box 1228
Campbell, CA 95009-1228
===========================================
IN DEFENSE OF THE UNDERTAKER
Written by reader: Marta Towne (marta)

Excuse me, in a recent article you wrote the following:
"The Undertaker can be carried by the right opponent (Austin, HBK,
Foley)."

I think you need to re-think your choice of words! Undertaker does
NOT need to be carried when wrestling such no-talents such as Austin,
Undertaker does the carrying! Undertaker is one of the greatest
wrestlers today, he can sell a move or a match and fix ANYONE's mess
ups! Austin has lost what little talent he used to have and even what
he had, was nothing to write home about!

Mick Foley and HBK are tremendous wrestlers, no question there, but in
NONE of their matches with the Undertaker have they had to carry him.
Those matches are wonderful, full of talent and charisma, and half of
the credit for that belongs to Undertaker!
-Marta Towne
++++++++++++++++++
Steve Appy responds:
Marta, while I do feel that The Undertaker is underrated as a worker, I
do think that you are overestimating his abilities. While he deserves
credit for holding up his end in his matches against Foley, Austin &
HBK, it was the spectacular efforts of those three men that made these
matches so notable.

I say this because outside of these three men, I have never witnessed
The Undertaker in a good match against ANYBODY. While you are quick to
dismiss Austin's abilities, what is undeniable is that he has been
involved in many high quality matches. Whether it was against Foley,
UT, HBK, Bret Hart, Ricky Steamboat, Dustin Rhodes, or Brian Pillman,
Austin has been involved in great matches against a wide variety of
different opponents. Austin even carried Kane to the best match of his
career, despite numerous showdowns with Calloway.

The Undertaker does deserve credit for maintaining a character that
many predicted would have a short shelf life. Time didn't pass him by,
and his character evolved to keep up with the business. That's very
impressive, as is his athleticism (when healthy). I still wouldn't
place him above Austin by any stretch of the imagination.
===========================================
RUSSO REACTION
Written by reader: Newton E Calkins (mr.gray)

It seems to me that people are already condemning WCW for hiring Vince
Russo. Look, folks, if you "core" fans are going to go ape-guano just
because the fed could POSSIBLY change its style, you shouldn't be
watching wrestling. Or any TV, for that matter. Nothing's been done
yet. Give the guy a chance, for cryin out loud!

I'm a WWF loyalist, so I'm going to watch Raw no matter how good Nitro
gets, but I might tape Nitro now, instead of just ignoring it. its a
shame, because I really do like a lot of the guys in WCW. I love the
Luchadores (who I think should remain masked, by the way). But no
matter how much "real" wrestling
there is in a night of Nitro, I find myself not caring. Either
because there's no story whatsoever, or because the match is
interrupted for a Sid squash.

Russo said that he left because he wanted a new challenge. Guys like
that don't just copy themselves. I'm sure he'll do a fine job. As was
exhibited by the talk outlined in the last issue or two of
WBS, he's loyal to the guys in back. So let's not get our knickers in
a twist.
===========================================
GORILLA MONSOON
Written by reader: Brian (Bjlny)

I was a fan of his, and as a matter of fact, he was one of the
reasons that I got more involved in being a wrestling fan. I watched
Wrestlemania 8 for his only WM argument with Bobby Heenan (at the 1993
Survivor Series he forced Bobby Heenan out
of the WWF) as well as his other WM's with Jesse Ventura up to 1991. I
loved him not only as a wrestling giant but also the person that he
was. He will be sorely missed and I still consider him as the best (
with JR being a close second) commentator in this business.
-Brian
===========================================
WCW THUNDER
By Rick Phelps (wrestleric)

Blitzkrieg versus Dean Malenko
The Iceman took the victory with the Texas Cloverleaf.
Winner: Dean Malenko via submission

--Throughout the evening, clips were shown of matches leading up to
Halloween Havoc.

--Disco Inferno capturing the Cruiserweight title on Nitro was shown.

Disco Inferno (c) versus Evan Karagias *Cruiserweight Championship*
Disco retained his belt with the chartbuster.
Winner: Disco Inferno via pinfall

--Throughout the evening, clips were shown from Nitro.

Brad Armstrong versus Chris Adams
B.A. got his hand raised after the Russian Leg Sweep.
Winner: Brad Armstrong via pinfall

Chris Benoit (c) versus Brian Knobbs w/Jimmy Hart *TV Championship*
The Crippler held on to his strap after they flying headbutt from the
top.
Winner: Chris Benoit via pinfall

Lash Leroux versus Silver King
The Redhead won the match with the Ragin Cajun.
Winner: Lash Leroux via pinfall

Dale Torberg versus The Maestro
Torberg defeated the music man with ...none other than....the Rock
Bottom.
Winner: Dale Torberg via pinfall

Kidman/Rey Mysterio Jr. versus Disorderly Conduct
Kidman pinned Tough Tom after a top rope Frankensteiner by Rey Jr. for
the win.
Winners: The Filthy Animals via pinfall

--Bret Hart commented on the match he had with Benoit on Monday. The
Hitman said that he just wanted to make Owen proud by giving 100
percent, and he feels that he did. He said that he is trying to get
past this black hole in his life. He said that he picked Benoit to
wrestle because Owen loved him almost as much as he did Bret and they
were as close as brothers. Bret said that the next thing for him to do
was make a difference and that he was going to do it if it takes
everything he has.

Sid Vicious(c) versus Stevie Ray *U.S. Championship*
As usual, Charles Robinson turned his head so that Rick Steiner could
interfere in this match, which Sid won with a powerbomb.
Winner: Sid Vicious via pinfall
===========================================
ADVERTISEMENT
Courtesy of Fritz Capp at: http://www.pwbts.com
Ad-Cast's Official Press Release For October SlamFest
AdCast's October Slam Fest
Wrestling Contest Entry

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What: Enter to Win Fabulous Prizes by Creating Your Own
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Where: Visit http://octoberslamfest.dai.net within AdCast's Network of
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When: October 1 through October 31, 1999

How: Create the Greatest Tag Team Ever by Selecting Your
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AdCast reserves the right to substitute prizes of equal value..
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===========================================
ADVERTISEMENT
New Dimension Wrestling will be returning to Thomavsille, NC this Sat.
night Oct. 9th, at the National Guard Armory (off of National Highway),
7:30p.m. belltime.

In the main event, Jimmy "The Boogie Woogie Man" Valiant returns to
Thomasville against the The Masked Assassin. In other matches, "For
Total Control of New Dimension Wrestling", The Dirty White Boy with
managers Chris Cruise & John Hitchcock will lock up one on one with a
hardcore mystery wrestler to be determined by Executive Committee
Member Chris Plano.
The original scheduled opponent Beastmaster Rick Link was suspended
indefinitely from New Dimension Wrestling this past weekend and will be
replaced in Thomasville this Saturday night.

Plus you will see, Otto Schwanz, Cham Pain, King, Nite-Stic Eddie
Brown, Chilly Willy, Toad, Mike Gunner, Brute Shooter, Fuego Dimente,
Tim Sells, over 20 NDW Wrestling superstars to appear.

Jimmy Valiant will be holding autograph sessions this week throughout
Thomasville at the following locations; Thursday at Ingles Supermarket,
Friday at Winn-Dixie Supermarket, and Saturday at Westchester Flea
Market.

Advance tickets are available at Southwest Expressions (Archdale), Hix
Insurance Center (High Point), or at the armory the day of the show.
For information, call the New Dimension Wrestling hotline at
336-882-4921 or on the worldwide web at http://www.ndwwrestling.com Be
There!!!!
===========================================
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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