The Wrestling Booking Sheet online newsletter

Issue # 366

Date: Monday October 25th, 1999 1:02 pm

The Wrestling Booking Sheet

WCW WORLD TITLE HELD UP
Reported by Bob Ryder at: http://www.1wrestling.com
The WCW World Heavyweight Championship has been declared vacant, and
will be filled in a 32 Man Tournament (with actual brackets, a new one
for WCW). The finals of the championship will take place at the "WCW
Mayham" PPV in Toronto (its unknown how much of the tournament will be
completed before the PPV). One would expect Bret Hart to be the
favorite in the tournament, leading to a Hart/Goldberg match at
Starrcade.

GORDON SOLIE UPDATE
Reported by Bob Ryder at: http://www.1wrestling.com
Ryder reports that Gordon Solie, "The Dean of Wrestling Announcers",
will undergo surgery in the near future to remove his voice box, an
option his doctors have told him will give him the best chance at
beating his throat cancer. Solie, one of the more respected and
beloved wrestling figures of the last thirty years, will be in the
thoughts of longtime fans everywhere. Best known for his announcing
duties in Florida & Georgia, Solie was always a voice of credibility in
an often insane wrestling world.

HARRIS BROTHERS IN WCW
Reported by Bob Ryder at: http://www.1wrestling.com
Ron & Don Harris (formerly Skull & 8-Ball of DOA) have signed with WCW,
and may debut on Nitro tonight. With all of WCW's recent cutbacks of
mid-card talent, one is left to wonder why they would bother signing
this identical twin duo.

DAVE MELTZER ON EYADA.COM
Most of you have heard of Dave Meltzer & The Wrestling Observer, though
many of you have not been exposed to The Observer (you don't know what
your missing). Meltzer is also doing a free daily internet radio show,
which can be found at: http://www.eyada.com

The two hour show can be heard live from 6:00 PM-8:00 PM on the East
Coast, and 3:00 PM-5:00 PM on the West Coast. Meltzer & co-host Bryan
Alvarez discuss all of the breaking news stories of the day, and have
had quite a variety of featured guests (highlights include Chris
Benoit, Vince Russo, Terry Funk , & Jim Cornette).

The previous days show is available to listen to at any time; those of
you who really have a deep interest in the inner-workings of wrestling
really do need to check this out! Meltzer is generally considered the
top wrestling journalist in the history of the business (not an
exaggeration, and almost without argument), and you will benefit by
being exposed to his knowledge of the business.
===========================================
LIVE HALLOWEEN HAVOC NOTES
Written by reader: William (madspector)

Halloween Havoc was great, I was there live both at the show and after
at the Nitro Grill. Here are some notes
Biggest Pops 1. Goldberg (US title match) 2. Goldberg (world title
match and victory) 3.The Outsiders 4. Ric Flair

The cut on Sid's head was real and not a work, we saw him and Steiner
in the MGM Grand elevator after the show and he had a huge bandage over
his eye. If the Hogan deal is a work its a good one, I had a chance to
talk to someone who works for the company and he was under the
impression that Hogan was going to no show.

Eric Bischoff was there but not seen. I attained a VIP pass into the
post Havoc Nitro grill party and the place was packed. Alot of the
wrestlers were unaccessable because of the amount of people there. The
crowd, according to the lady at the MGM arena ticket booth was a near
capicty crowd with the exception of the seats that the Grand Arena
doesn't put on sale outside of the arena ticket office (the crappy
upper seats for the last minute folks) so there were roughly 13,000
there. That was the number at about 3:00pm when tickets were still
being sold; the MGM holds just under 14,000...so dont let anyone tell
you they had problems selling seats.
From Vegas,
William
===========================================
THE BIG SHOW & TOLERANCE
Written by reader: Discord999

There has been a lot of controversy surrounding the recent angle about
the Big Show's father having cancer, and the Big Bossman using that to
get himself over as a heartless, cowardly heel. I've heard both sides,
but I'm sorry, I just don't see what the big deal is. Pro wrestling has
turned into, more or less, a soap opera with fights thrown in. There
are storylines that stretch across the weeks, months, and sometimes
even years. And, like any soap opera, it features controversial
subjects, like sex, violence and yes, even death.

Some have said that the distastefulness lies not in the fact that
cancer is used as an angle, but that its being used in a disrespectful
way. When is wrestling ever respectful, other than the Owen Hart
tribute? Despite what some might like to believe, there are people who
would use the death or sickness of a rival's family member for their
own gain, and the Bossman is portraying that very kind of person.

I am not a "WWF Mark", who thinks Vince can do no wrong. I've disagreed
with some angles, and agreed wholeheartedly with others. But the fact
is, the WWF continues to entertain me, and so I watch it. If, at some
point in time, the WWF programming ceases to entertain me, I will watch
WCW or simply not turn on the television at all on Monday Nights. If
the WWF ceases to entertain you, don't watch it.

As a famous comic book writer is fond of saying, "Only you can make you
stop buying my books." And on a personal note ... simply because
someone else doesn't agree with my opinion, it doesn't mean they need
to "smarten up" and join my side on this issue. I won't name any names,
but the idea that I am somehow less intelligent for liking the WWF is
rather offensive to me, much more so than anything I see on Monday
nights, and I don't appreciate it. I respect others' opinions as just
that, opinions, no more or less intelligent than my own.
---The Anarkist
===========================================
A POOR SENDOFF FOR THE NATUREBOY
Written by reader: JBanks1372

So Halloween Havoc was a rather tepid show this year, eh? Sorry
to hear that. WCW has a whole lot of problems going on right now, and
its going to take a whole lot of very hard work to fix them. For any
of you who thought that the hiring of Russo and Ferrara would just make
everything magically all better, sorry to burst your illusions.

Perhaps the most disappointing part of this was the retiring of
Ric Flair. Now, my feelings of Ric Flairs retirement are well known,
as are my feelings for Hogan's retirement. As great as these two are,
as much as they've accomplished over the years, as much as they can
still pull in a crowd, they're both getting way too far past their
primes to be effective.

When Bruno Sammartino retired he told the fans that yes, he could still
continue wrestling for another 10 years, but he didn't want to be
around at ringside hearing the fans going "Look at that bum. He used
to be someone". its a terrible thing to have to hear, especially for
people who've done as much as Bruno, Flair, and Hogan have done, and he
didn't want to hear it.

Even so, Flair has done too much for professional wrestling and
WCW in particular to go out like that. Ric Flair has spent a lifetime
styling and profiling and he should have gone out the way he's always
come in, with style and class. WCW should have let him "retire on his
own". They should have let Flair strut to the ring and say to the fans
"its been a helluva ride onSpace Mountain. I've done everything a
man can possibly do in my
time, and I've loved every minute of it. But now its time to put up
the trunks and call it a career."

Of course Flair would've said it with alot more eloquence, probably
running off a list of some of the men who helped make it
great, Steamboat, The Horsemen, etc... That's the way he should of
gone, on his feet and in style. Not by being beaten by DDP and mugged
by the Filthy Animals. That is no way to say goodbye to a legend.
===========================================
MORE THAN MEETS THEEYE
Written by reader: Dabigmoo

I don't work for the WWF nor do I know Paul Wright so I don't know what
either side is thinking when it comes to the Big Shows father w/ cancer
angle. My opinion, and I stress, my opinion is this- maybe this is what
propels Paul Wright to the top of the WWF. Maybe in some way, he wants
to dedicate these next few months to his deceased father. Maybe now he
'finishes' what he
'starts' . He re-dedicates himself to the sport, goes on a tear, wins
the Hardcore title and eventually winds up at WrestleMania fighting for
the World title. All in his fathers memory. I don't condone it, but why
else would Wright do this if not to honor his father?
===========================================
WCW PAY-PER-VIEWS
Written by reader: hopkotel

From Maddog...
The thing that worked most for the WWF and that still does is that
Their storylines climax on their Pay-Per-Views, as last years
SummerSlam is a witness to. Their PPV's are also good b/c much of the
Television soap opera hootinanny is dropped for top notch wrestling.
I'm not saying it is a pattern that WCW should follow, but it seemed to
me that Halloween Havoc wasn't a top notch Pay-Per-View, it was a Top
Notch Nitro.

Don't take that as a compliment, though a good story for a Nitro, a pay
per view is supposed to answer questions, not start them. If I'm not
mistaken, Russo andFerrara had little control over the Pay Per View
outcomes back in the WWF, and if WCW is looking for the WWF effect,
this is something they can try to emulate.

There is something very wrong when the Championship title match is
smack dab in the middle of Halloween Havoc! While Ferrara and Russo
are making a better more faster paced product
that I do enjoy (I've been a WCW mark for a long time), leave the
Nitro's for the stories, leave the PPVs for the wrestling. PPVs are
like westerns, the good guy and the bad guy duel it out in the end.

Sure, Hogan falling down made for an interesting Havoc, but there is no
reason why Buff and Jarrett should be in a pay-per-view they have
nothing to do with. Deal with their interesting angle on Monday, not
Sunday.
===========================================
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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

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