The Wrestling Booking Sheet online newsletter

Issue # 373

Date: Friday October 29th, 1999 9:52 pm

The Wrestling Booking Sheet

MICK FOLEY AUDIO INTERNET INTERVIEW
Mick Foley appeared on Dave Meltzer’s internet radio show today, and it
was well worth checking out. Besides commenting on his bestselling
book, Foley fielded questions from both Meltzer and the listening
audience. The show will be available for listening until early Monday
afternoon, so please check it out at:
http://www.eyada.com

A&E WRESTLING BIOGRAPHY SCHEDULE
Reported by brutal
A&E produces a great show, called Biography. The week of November
15-19, Biography will showcase a feature called "Biography Bodyslam".
The shows air at 8pm eastern time. A&E has a website:
http://www.AandE.com

Schedule is as follows:
Monday (11/15) Steve Austin
Tuesday (11/16) Owen Hart
Wednesday (11/17) Mick Foley
Thursday (11/18) Jesse Ventura
Friday (11/19) Andre the Giant
To subscribe to a newsletter, e-mail brutal
http://www.erols.com/brutal/

LIGER CORRECTION
Reported by HPitt50509, Chris Migliaccio,
mhelblin, & Beantrade1
Jushin “Thunder” Liger’s last match in the United States was actually
against Ultimo Dragon in early 1997, with the J Crown on the line. The
super talented Junior Heavyweights traded the
J-Crown at the January 1997 Tokyo Dome Show, and did have a match on
Nitro in either December 1996 or January 1997 (not to mention a Rey
Mysterio Jr./Jushin Liger match at Starrcade 1996).

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.
===========================================
THE BOTTOM LINE
Written by reader: WB6019

In response to all the people writing in these days, if you want to
bash this federation or that federation, hey go right ahead. Maybe it
will keep all of you off the streets for a while and traffic will
lighten up or something. But the important thing is your all still
watching or you wouldn’t know what to complain about, and isn’t that
all that’s really important to all of the wrestling organizations? That
you do watch?
===========================================
A MALENKO DEFENDER
Written by reader: RanmaSolo

No, you are definitely not wrong... As a fellow Dean Malenko fan I must
correct you. He does have a solid following, I believe it's just that
the only people speaking up are detractors of Dean Malenko. The same
fans who have had their attention spans shot repeatedly in the head by
the crappy matches WWF puts on so often.

Thankfully the WWF has the occasional match like the Hardy Boys vs.
Edge and Christian ladder match. Reader AirVans000 had the right idea
when he suggested a 45 minute Dean Malenko vs. Juventud Guerrera match.
That to me sounds great. It's one of the reasons why I like the ECW
style. You get great matches like Lynn and Van Dam plus you also get
some really good storylines which don't replace good wrestling. Just
add to it.
===========================================
ANOTHER MALENKO BACKER
Written by reader: twithin

Even Chris Benoit admitted that Malenko is the greatest technical
Wrestler, which means that he knows what he is doing on the mat and how
he is doing it. Dean Malenko may be small but he can deliver moves, do
you remember his matches with Rey Rey three years ago, especially when
they collided on Havoc `96, which is considered as one of the best
matches ever in North America.

The bottom line is that Dean Malenko may not have charisma, size or mic
skills but he is damn good at wrestling. He is, as The Crippler said,
the best technical wrestler, the man of thousand holds. Just look at
him do a dropkick, its so smooth that its sick.

Compare it to Stevie Ray`s pedigree and you will know what the talent
that Malenko posseses is all about. Best regards…
===========================================
A EUROPEAN PERSPECTIVE ON MALENKO
Written by reader: jens.bergerhoff

I must say that very few letters get under my skin, but the mail by
MrsLiz made my skin crawl.GET RID OF DEAN MALENKO?!? Now I have to get
arrogant and very European.

Why is it that the average American has an attention span of five
minutes? And why is it that that in American wrestling fan cares more
about some adolescent sexual innuendo than actual drama and timing in
the ring. Was I the only person that thought that the Dean Malenko vs
Rey Mysterio Jr. match at Bash at the Beach 97 was one of the best
matches of all time?

I have watched that match five times now and it is still one hell of a
ride. Comments like those of MrsLiz show what is for people like me
wrong with the Americanized wrestling product. Just because somebody
hasn't got a gimmick that is about sex, cursing or comedy doesn't mean
that he is boring. Why do people watch wrestling? Is it about comedy à
la MAD TV, finger pointing and sex or is it because of a great
wrestling matches which are incorporated into intelligent feuds with
surprising booking (and by that I don't mean screwjobs)?

Now you can call me a purist all you want. What killed WCW was the
combination of terrible booking which made no sense (even from a purist
standpoint) and about the worst wrestling that can be found on the
planet (believe me that even German amateur wrestlers can put on better
performances in the ring than people like Hogan or Luger). WCW has
great talent with the mid carders. And I even like Goldbergs in ring
performance. But please, do not give me evening gown matches. Now I
fully understand that Dean Malenko will never be a main eventer. But he
is a great in ring veteran. Now if only some of those people could
widen their attention span....
===========================================
A FAN OF (WHO ELSE?)
Written by reader: BretHartHA

I don't know anyone who CAN'T like Dean Malenko. Granted, his
appearance and lack of MIC skills in the past couple of years may not
be on the positive side of the equation, but his wrestling ability
alone is enough for me to have a tremendous amount of respect for him,
especially considering that there aren't many people who can perform
like only he can.

His matches against Rey Mysterio, Jr. and Chris Benoit will go down, in
my opinion, as some of the best matches in the history of this sport.
Heel or face, Dean Malenko is an entertainer. If you think the guy is
boring, then most likely you're watching the wrong sport every Monday
night, because he's one of the very few wrestlers who can actually
wrestle worth a nickel. And if you saw Nitro this past Monday, you
probably saw a new side of him.

He's always been known as "The Ice Man," maybe because he didn't have
the charisma to act like a Shawn Michaels, a Ric Flair, or Kevin Nash.
But with the new "attitude" that WCW has gained in the past week, I
only see better things to come for Malenko. Maybe then the people who
don't appreciate his ability will
watch him for what he says and his actions "backstage," and in due
time, will eventually have to watch him perform in the ring.

If you watch him perform with his technical ability, I'm sure just
about everyone will be singing a different tune.
===========================================
THE ANSWER TO THE DOOMSAYERS
Written by reader: Paul Andersen (TetraShiva)

Now, I have noticed every year for the past ten years the trash
newspapers have claimed the end of the world is near. However,
Internet reporting is newer and we have yet to notice that trend, but
we will.

Everyone on the 'net is usually a smart and usually agree that all
wrestling shows suck except [insert show here] and then claim that they
are not marks in any way. They also claim whoever has the belt doesn't
deserve it, but [insert undercard wrestler of the year here] does,
until he gets a belt, then he doesn't deserve it. Finally, they claim
the current trend will end and everything will be bankrupt, sort of
like an apocalypse (see above).

Well, wrestling is a business and just like Coke, comic books, and IBM
it has it's ups and downs. Some people call it a fad like Beanie
Babies or Pogs. Well, any product that has been around for more than
20 years on national TV cannot be a fad. You can rest now, wrestling
is here to stay. The marks will always be there even if one "smart"
decides to never watch again because he saw cancer on TV, a very rare
thing to see on any TV show (sarcasm).

And one final question, if there was nothing to complain about in
wrestling, what would columnists write about? Think about that as you
watch [insert fed here].
-Paul Andersen (TetraShiva)
===========================================
GTV TRANSPLANTED TO THE WWF
Written by reader: ECWOhMyGod

Is it just me or is Kidman's videotapes an angle similar to that
of GTV? It seems Vince Russo and Ed Ferrera don't know how to use WCW
talent; i.e. bringing in Jeff Jarrett and the DOA, along with WWF
angles such as the camcorder and the Bret Hart/Luger finish.
===========================================
LIGER IN WCW
Written by reader: Kevin Bryce (KevinBryce)

If WCW does get Liger, that better book him in a match with Benoit,
Malenko, or Guererro, and they better make sure it's clean. Seeing
Liger, is a screw-job finish, or seeing him involved in a Soap Opera
angle, would make me cringe!!!
+++++++++++++++++++
Steve Appy responds:
I’d love to see a Kidman/Liger match as well, though it wouldn’t do any
good if it was only given a 5:00 time block.
===========================================
ADVERTISEMENT
Want to see Sting, Ivory and Rob Van Dam?? Well, get on down to the
Galaxy Theatre, Santa Ana on November 5th. All three will be present
at that UPW show, signing autographs. That's right, UPW invades the
Galaxy one more time!! The show, sponsored by Motley Crue's Bad Bones
Clothing, kicks off at 8pm, but the autograph signings start at
5:30pm!!

This promises to be another high flying, hard hitting, breath
taking event from the UPW and this time we are pulling out all the
stops like never before!!

Also you will see Sylvester The Escapee and Caryn 'Carnage' Mower in
their last UPW match as they have been signed to a big deal with our
new partners, the WWF!!! That's 5 UPW stars this year and we're still
only in OCTOBER!

So folks. for all this action plus up and coming rock band MULCH, get
over to the GALAXY theatre on November 5th and prepare for an
ENTERTAINMENT OVERLOAD! GALAXY BOX OFFICE: (714) 957-0600 Tickets:
$12.50
The Galaxy is located at 3503 S. Harbor Blvd, Santa Ana
===========================================
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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