The Wrestling Booking Sheet online newsletter

Issue # 345

Date: Sunday October 10th, 1999 11:28 am

The Wrestling Booking Sheet

THURSDAY RATINGS
Reported by Dave Meltzer of The Wrestling Observer Newsletter &
http://www.eyada.com
Wrestling ratings for Thursday, October 7th, 1999
WWF Smackdown- 4.4
WCW Thunder- 1.9

WARRIOR RAMBLINGS
Reported by Derek Santana at: http://www.cataclysmal.com/big3/index.ht
ml
& http://www.ultimatewarrior.com/menu.html
In his 10/6 commentary on his website (http://www.ultimatewarrior.com/m
enu.html) The Warrior commented on a variety of topics, including
Hogan, Bischoff, Russo & Jesse Ventura. its worth a look, if for
nothing else entertainment value. His comments run the gamut from
bitter, insightful, paranoid, bizarre, and even sometimes intelligent.
While his past records requires that you take his remarks with a grain
of salt, they are interesting. His most direct target is ECW Owner
Paul Heyman, and his comments get fairly twisted. If you have to read
it twice to understand what;s he's referring to, your not alone. I had
alot of trouble translating his psycho babble myself; judge for
yourself:

"A few weeks ago, after posting an introduction, of sorts, it was
relayed to me, from an acquaintance of yours, (who will remain
anonymous), Mr. Heyman, that in response to the possible appearance of
Warrior at ECW, you stated -- excuse me if I don’t quote this verbatim
-- “...it’s a possibility, but it’s a better possibility if he
[Warrior] considers jobbing to Taz...” Well, yes, I see, we all have
our moments where we fade in and out of lucidity while soliloquizing
during a reverie we have while walking about the dandy-lions, now don’t
we? Or maybe it was that your insulin levels were out of whack from
eating, what is it, Whitecastle or Krystal Kreme? To quote another
arteriosclerosis candidate, Louie the fat comedian, more bluntly says
“Excuse me for sweating, if I don’t, I’ll explode.”

Seems, I seriously misunderstood your desire to do the right things to
succeed, Ultimately. Then again only the rare ever really understand
the meaning of true success. You see, it’s not the “job” thing that
bothers me as much as the quandary I have about why anyone, with
reasonable intelligence, would want to devalue -- immediately, as if
test driving -- an already established, marketably appealing persona in
this business. Besides, is a job really a job when the world knows it’s
a job? You see, I used that position to my advantage already.

Anyway, the whole suggestion of it, as a first response in a discussion
discussing possibilities, seems, from a larger business perspective,
oddly rash and imprudent. I did, however, hear that you had no qualms
and, even, found it quite fitting to exploit the very thing, you felt
fit to belittle, in a spot for a 1-900# line. You know, if I had a
nickel for every 1-900# call that lured callers with “something
warrior”, “something ultimate” or “former, long-seen WWF champion or
superstar” (the thing worthless to everyone of you experts) I’d have
more nickels than all the other dollars I made! It vexes me that
people, “for whatever reasons”, justify doing so. Keep the money,
obviously, you need it worse than I do -- or is that better than I do?
Guess that depends on how you define success and wealth. Probably like
most others. Wrongly. There are many more empowering things than money
with which to negotiate deals with. You showed you don’t have that kind
of vision.

I’ll give you a pass on the comments you made in a local New York
newspaper. Something to the effect, “I’ll give him (me) 30 seconds with
one of my guys and see if he (Warrior) last.” Really? 30 seconds? Wow,
I’ve never felt like such an opening match type of guy.

Of course, if you want to stick your foot in your mouth again, I
accept.

You made the offer, these are the basic, not to be changed, terms. I
enter the ring, one of your guys enters the ring; we both get in the
ring. The bell rings -- struck by an impartial bell ringer. The clock
begins -- time kept by an impartial timekeeper. 30 seconds later if I’m
still standing, in the ring, I own your company and get the proceeds
from the gate, minus $26.89 for your cab fare, a jelly-filled and a cup
of Joe, black without cream. If I lose, I become, immediately, the
biggest fool in this industry and you keep the proceeds from the gate.
We communicate through representation to set a mutually agreed upon
date. All other details of prearrangements and legal matters for
assuredness are handled by attorneys. You made this statement and these
are my terms. I’m done with it.

Point to be taken, you disrespected me as a person, a decent person,
not just as a valuable talent in this business. I never do that. Never.
Yet, what else but disrespect could it be? We don’t know one another
well enough -- personally or professionally -- to be doing an impromptu
“worked” tete-a-tete. I’ve always made a point of respecting the guys
who work in this business -- no matter their position or pay. Yet, when
a man -- any man -- acts disrespectfully, he deserves to have it handed
back to him.

Under a microscope, everyone has, at one time or another been
misunderstood for being an a’hole. And sure, you can find someone who
may have not gotten the autograph they were seeking or didn’t get out
of me, conversationally, what they would have liked. But there’s a huge
difference between Disrespect and Determination to Succeed or being
Rude and being Ready to Get the Job Done or being Petulant and being
Prepared to Perform or being Brash and being Boldly Set On Your Sights
or being Smart Ass and being Serious About What You Do, and on and on.
My absences and sporadic appearances in this business have,
unfortunately, mischaracterized me, both, professionally and personally.

I’ve always recognized that there are better workers -- as in technical
wrestling skills -- in this business than I, Hulk Hogan, Randy Savage,
Sting, Lex Luger, Nash, Sid, and on and on and on and on. I’ve always
been self-effacing about this, while others, envious and insecure, get
offended by its truth. Some have the charismatic quiddity that it takes
to succeed and some don’t. I didn’t make the rules, that’s just the way
the rules are. What? am I supposed to apologize for succeeding and
recognizing that I did? Does Michael Jordan refuse to be paid just
because he has more money than all the other talent on the court? If
others don’t like the rules and want change, the buzzword, so I hear,
is “union.” Form one. Although, Self-Respect will get one further than
any damn group or organization will if you’ll give your-Self some
Respect. Be courageous enough to stand up and say something. Or make
yourself different, like I did. There are dozens of guys who can do
twisted and corkscrewed double and triple hanger launches or whatever
they may be called, but, there are also dozens of guys who didn’t make
an extreme habit out of dietary disciplines and training sessions --
without abatement -- to maintain a physical presence and package of
energy par excellence -- made the Warrior persona the ne plus ultra of
the Industry at the time -- that separated me from the rest of the pack
and, as a consequence, created a niche in the business for myself. It’s
obvious from the size of your and most people’s ever-swelling cheeks --
both sets -- that you and they wouldn’t understand this kind of
discipline at all. Nor did dozens of guys make the effort to don more
than the same pair of smelly trunks they started the business with or
try to evolve their characters over time, stylistically, creatively or
otherwise. I’m fed-up with the line that Warrior can’t be understood.
Someone obviously understood, I got over, others didn’t. I always have,
every single time. It’s easy to substantiate, go look at the facts. If
you don’t understand, you don’t want to understand."
===========================================
GORILLA MONSOON
Written by reader: SpacemanEd

I'm sorry to hear about Gorilla Monsoon.

His best days were as a 400-lb. "heel" hailing from Manchuria (I guess
the name Gorilla Monsoon sounded real Manchurian). His finishing move
was the Big Splash. Gorilla did not speak in those days...except
through his manager/mouthpiece, the inimitable "Wild Red" Berry.

If memory serves me correctly...he got a school teaching job outside of
Philadelphia ...became a "face", and then was introduced as "originally
from Manchuria, but now living in Willingboro, NJ." For an immigrant
from Manchuria, his English language skills were astounding.

My kid brother...now an ace pharmaceutical rep...got his interest in
human anatomy as a direct result of hearing Gorilla's TV commentary.
Gorilla's calls were spiced with anatomy lessons ("Oh! Right in the
sternum!" "That'll cut off the blood flow through the pulmonary
artery!").

His work with Bobby Heenan was memorable...but his work with Jesse "The
Body" Ventura was phenomenal.

We'll miss you, Big Guy!
===========================================
MORE ON MONSOON
Written by reader: KGill87358

When I think of Gorilla Monsoon, I think of "The voice of the WWF". At
the time that I started watching wrestling, Gordon Solie was the "Dean"
of the NWA and then Jim Ross took over whereas, Gorilla was in the WWF.
Now, there is a big difference between Gordon and Gorilla as far as
announcing, but they both came out clear and wholesome and they really
loved the sport they were announcing and you could tell by the way they
carry a show.

Gorilla made every single match very interesting and entertaining. He
never talked or even hyped up the main event match until the main event
happened. Sure, he might
mention it in a breath or two, but he did not overdo it and that was
not only important to the fans that were watching the event but it was
important to the wrestlers as well.

They knew that in each and every match Gorilla would treat it with the
same kind of respect he would treat a main event. He worked with Jessy
"The Body" Ventura and the two of them were very good, but they still
can't compare to Bobby "The Brain " Heenan and Gorilla together. They
were best friends and you could tell just by listening to one
broadcast.

I will always remember "Prime Time Wrestling" and the two of them would
always "Bicker" with one another, it was very entertaining to say the
least.

What saddened me was seeing Gorilla at Wrestlemania 15 this past year.
I always remember him of being a very blury man and big at size, but he
looked weak and fatigued. I didn't even recognize him and I had a bad
feeling it was only a matter of time, but I still didn't expect to hear
the horrible news that I had heard one Wednesday morning. I will
always love and admire the man and he will always have a place in my
heart because he was one of the reasons that got me hooked into
wrestling for life.
===========================================
THE UNDERTAKER
Written by reader: Jan Grigereit (JGrigereit)

I don't think Marta was far off at all. I also don't believe she
overestimated Undertaker's abilities. I believe the only reason Austin
and others are receiving such dubious accolades these days is because
they are the 'hot thing'. What does Austin do that is so great? He
repeats the same lines over and over like a record with a skip in it,
guzzles beer, brawls a little...so what? He whips all the drunks in the
crowd into a frenzy, big deal. He doesn't do anything different from
any rude jerk I've seen in a traffic jam.

The only reason he is in such 'quality' matches is because he sells so
many T-Shirts and other such stuff. That doesn't place him above ANY of
his contemporaries, it just makes him a little, loud dollar sign.

Sure is funny that as soon as Mark Callaway leaves because of injuries,
all the so-called journalists have nothing but criticism for him.
Austin hasn't exactly been wrestling all the time, HBK isn't wrestling
AT ALL and Foley is doing silly skits with Rocky. Sorry, but that is
not very impressive. I don't buy all this kick-Undertaker-when-he's-dow
n crap. He's been a large part of the WWF and has outlasted all the
other so-called sensations like Hogan, Warrior and Bret Hart. He's
always given his best, and worked hard. He deserves better than the
lousy comments he gets these days. Period.
Sincerely,
Jan Grigereit
++++++++++++++++
Steve Appy responds:
Jan, I think taking time off was a very intelligent thing for UT to do;
a groin pull can only be healed with rest, and he needs to get off it
to fully recover (as Bret Hart learned last year). I don't think
anybody is criticizing him for that, at least nobody I've read.
===========================================
A LOVE LETTER TO TAMMY SYTCH
In a change of pace we are presenting a love letter that a reader wrote
for Tammy Sytch. its very sweet to see that such innocent sincerity
is still alive...

Written by reader: Ty Keefer (SUPEROSFAN)

Hello Tammy Lynn Sytch. How are you today? I saw your interview on
TNN Friday. It was touching, and may I say you are more beautiful now
then when you were in the WWF.

Personally I never cared about the other women in wrestling but you.
Even when you were a heel (AKA bad girl) you were my fav. The thing
that I like about you the most was your eyes. You had a great body and
you still do. But your eyes are so sexy. Chris might get mad because I
said that but I don't care.

The women in the WWF now look too old. Some to name are Ivory looks
about 33,
Debra look 35, Miss Kitty looks 35, when Sable was in she looked 35.
Terri
looks young about only 31 years young. Tori look looks about 27. The
only two
that look young are Stephanie and Ryan. But I can't compare those two
to you.

I know I left some out but I don't care. In WCW you got the
WOTNG (=Waste Of Time Nitro Girls). They are good but not that good.
You got Torri Wilson, WCW's answer for Sable but it did not work, and
you have Gorgeous George, what a stupid name of her. The gorgeous part
is right but I still think you
are more beautiful.

You have the ECW traitor Chastity. She is nice but not beautiful.
There is more but I don't care. When I watch WCW I fall asleep. Now
ECW where we see Dawn Marie. She is good looking but I can't stand
her. Francine is to skinny there is more but I do not give a
DOUBLEHOCKEY STICKS. The only MGR. VALET I will ever care is about
yuu, Tammy.

You are beautiful, smart and lots of other things put in to one. I
just know that you will make the best comeback and take down all the
women in wrestling. Well, Tammy I don't think you want to here anymore
from me. I will leave now.
A loving fan,
@--}-----------Ty Keefer
Ps: If you do read this please respond. I don't care if its one word.
Please tell me what you think. THANKS =) You still look young, about 24
===========================================
IN RESPONSE TO STRAIGHT SHOOTING
Written by reader: Chris Fitzpatrick (JlBt911)

This reply goes to Fritz Capp:

I want to tell you what a great column you did on this one. You've had
some good stuff, some things I've disagreed with, but all well-written.
This was EASILY your best one ever though, because you hit not only
the truth, but the very heart of what I believe to be right.

1) Monsoon/Heenan WAS the best team ever. I loved them especially at
WrestleMania 8 when Ric Flair lost the WWF title to Randy Savage.
Monsoon told Bobby not to "jump," (off the rafters in defeat) and Bobby
responded with a desperate "put'm up!" It was great...and I'm sorry to
see him go.

2) No, people cannot let the Owen Hart thing go. As long as wrestling
goes on, every pissed off mother with latchkey child will be bitching
about the business. Why won't people let him rest in peace?
Simple...they aren't respectful enough. These are the same people who
cried for 5 days over Princess Diana and then wondered just what Mother
Theresa had done to deserve their attention. These people are known as
"assholes."

3) As long as a Pro-Wrestler has power in America, ever uptight jerk
who loses to one will complain, as is the case with Leslie and Ventura.
Ventura is a GOOD MAN...and Davis can't accept that. Let him wallow in
his own self-pity.

4) The Mark Henry angle made me sick. As we may remember, Ken Shamrock
was asked to do an incest angle with his sister Ryan some time ago and
refused. He wanted to keep his pride intact and not be known as "the
guy who slept with his sister" for all eternity. Mark Henry, all 400+
pounds and Olympic Silver medal of him, now has that distinction. And
you know as well as I do that a Mark Henry gay angle, rape angle, and
even necrophelia angle has every good chance of happening. its
pathetic that the WWF is that stuck on deviant sexual activities.

5) Let Hogan leave. It'll help. its high time the torch was passed
to Bret Hart again, as it was in the WWF. The WWF won't pick him back
up...he's too old and they're doing fine. He'll leave, the WWF won't
take him, and he won't be able to handle the physicality of ECW, so
he'll crawl back to WCW a broken man OR pull a Rena Mero and try to sue
them. Bye Hogan...nice job ruining your own career!

6) Moolah and Young are doing nothing more than embarrass themselves,
kill the mystique of Moolah's great career, and drag Jeff Jarrett
through the...well...mud. I can't wait for Chyna to kick his ass so
that he can drop this career-suicide
anti-woman angle for greener pastures.

7) Good call on the Scott Hall thing. I'm surprised he's willing to do
that. It shows a big lack of respect for Scott by WCW.

8) Lenny Lane is TALENTED. I see him as the next WCW Chris Jericho.
(A real Jericho he'll never be, though.) The gay angle was a chance
for every loser in America to have something to believe in so they
could boost their minuscule ego. The Phantom title change also showed
a major lack of initiative on WCW's part...they could have AT LEAST
treated the fans to a running single-elimination tournament for the
belt. Giving it to Psychosis of all people was probably just WCW
fulfilling a contract promise.
-Chris FitzpatrickJlBt911
===========================================
JERICHO COMMENTARY
Here's Chris Jericho's lastest commentary to his fans, courtesy of
http://www.chrisjericho.com

10/08/99
NP: Dream Theater-Scenes From A Memory
RIP-Gorilla Monsoon

Hello Jerichoholics!

First and foremost I'd want to give my most sincere and strongest
prayers of well wishes and recovery to Darren Drozdov. The thing that
hurts most about Droz's injury is that its something
that can happen to each and everyone of us who steps into the ring
nightly. It makes one realize that good matches and bad matches don't
matter as much as just coming out of the ring in one piece. God bless
you Droz!! I know you can fight back!

I had a great time in England for the Rebellion PPV. I was quite
pleased as for the first time since I started in the WWF, my match
(with the Road Dogg) was one that I can consider worthy of what
Chris Jericho can achieve. its amazing what almost five months of
sporadic wrestling can do to your confidence and thought process in the
ring. I'd say with another month of consistent work, I'll be back to
Jericho form!

Well it took nine years, but my goal of 1000 matches has come and gone.
I'd like to list what I would call my favorite matches of that time
period and give the reasons why.

These matches are in chronological order.

1. CJ vs Lance Storm-Oct 2, 1990- Ponoka, AB- This was my first match
so it holds a special place in my heart. The match was actually not
too bad, although devoid of story and psychology,but it really showed
that the kids in question had promise. I was 19 at the time. I
remember that maybe 3 or 4 fans were cheering for me and Lance was so
impressed that he said "Wow, it was like you were Hulk Hogan out
there!" To me on that night, I was!

2. CJ vs Black Magic-Dec 6, 1992- This match was in Monterey, Mexico
and it was my first world title match. Magic (Norman Smiley) was the
champ and he was to face Vampiro. Vamp was injured, so they put me in
his place. We had a great match and it was my first taste of main
event status.

3 CJ, Ultimo Dragon vs Negro Casas, El Dandy-July 16, 93-Mexico City,
Mexico- This was a tag match that went about 45 minutes, a contrast
from my two minute long 1000 match vs Big
Show! These three were tremendous performers and I learned alot from
them. The match was awarded match of the year by the Mexican magazine
Arena, and at the end of the match the crowd
threw pesos into the ring; the sign that they had seen a great match.

4. CJ vs Mad Mac-Oct 3,1993- Hamburg, Germany- People told me
afterward that this match was one of the best they'd seen in the entire
history of Hamburg wrestling...which went back 40 years! Mad Mac was a
very underrated talent who never got a break in the US. That doesn't
make him him any less fun to work with!

5. CJ vs Ultimo Dragon vs Negro Casas vs Felino vs El Dandy vs Bestia
Salvaje-March 3, 1995- Mexico City, Mexico- This was a six man
elimination tournament featuring some of the best in the world. I was
the winner that night and it was a great honor to pin the legendary
Casa on his home turf. Another awesome learning experience!!

Well I'll continue on with the list next week.

God bless you guys and be good to one another!

-Chris Jericho
===========================================
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