Issue # 379
Date:
Tuesday November 2nd, 1999 10:55 am
The Wrestling Booking Sheet
"DR. DEATH" STEVE WILLIAMS
RELEASED BY THE WWF
Reported by Bob Ryder
at::
http://www.1wrestling.com
"Dr. Death" Steve
Williams has been released by the WWF, effective
November 1st. Williams
was under a three year contract to the WWF that
did not include a
review period for a release, so the legal
justification for
releasing Williams is unclear.
One possibility is the
WWF's insistence that Williams work an FMW tour,
which would have
possibly ended any future relationship with All
Japan
Pro Wrestling,
Williams' long time employer. A cynic would say that
the WWF booked
Williams with the intention of forcing him to breach his
contract; regardless
of the reasons, the WWF has found their
justification to get
out of the deal.
Ryder reports that
Williams is accepting independent bookings; his
future plans are
unclear. All Japan looks to be tepid about making him
a regular and I can't
imagine him fitting into the plans of the new
WCW creative team (who
had no intention of booking him when he was
already under WWF
contract).
I would guess that New
Japan/UFO would be an option, especially with
Inoki's fetish for
tough guys/shooters. Williams is something of a
legend in
Japan and his name value
there should land him a deal
somewhere.
===========================================
WWF MONDAY NIGHT RAW
LIVE FROM:
WASHINGTON, D.C.
The Rock took center
ring and told the fans (with his own rendition of
Heartbreak/Smackdown
Hotel) that he has taken them both before and will
do it again at the
Survivor Series. The Rock then said that the
RoadDogg has been a
bother and that he would lay the smack down on the
Dogg.
The Rock versus The
RoadDogg
The other members of
Degeneration X attacked, with HHH leading the way.
Vince McMahon then
jumped in the face of the "Game", and DX headed to
the back.
Winner: The Rock via
disqualification
--In the back, Vinny
Mac told B.A. that he could have
Austin tonight,
and that X-Pac could
have Kane one on one. HHH told the boss that it
would be a DX night.
--The Big Show told
Michael Cole that it did not even bother him
knowing that he could
have crushed the Bossman and
Prince Albert with
the dumpster on
Smackdown. He said that scared him and he did not know
what he was capable
of. The Bossman and
Prince Albert then threw tear
gas into the locker
room, and then attacked the Big Show who was almost
out from the noxious
fumes. Paramedics then attended to Show, giving
him oxygen.
Edge/Christian and The
Hardy Boyz versus Too Cool/The Holly's
This crazy match ended
when Edge speared Crash Holly for the win.
Winners:
Edge/Christian and The Hardy Boyz via pinfall
--Torrie berated X-Pac
for turning on Kane. X-Pac said that Torrie had
the hots for him and
that Kane's face was not the only thing that got
burned in the fire.
--Mankind was
autographing copies of his book for other WWF superstars
while Al Snow read
excerpts from the book.
Al Snow/Mankind versus
The Bossman/Prince Albert Bossman originally
challenged Snow to a
hardcore title match, but Snow said that since he
had "Fuzzy Wuzzy" with
him, he would rather have a tag match and then
introduced Mankind.
During the match, Val Venis was in the back
throwing copies of
Mankind's book in the trash, and then setting them
on fire. After putting
the mandible claw on Albert, Snow took over, hip
tossed the piercing
pagoda through a door that was in the ring, and
covered the man for
the win. An upset Mankind then extinguished the
flames. Winners: Al
Snow/Mankind via pinfall
Chyna w/Miss Kitty (c)
versus Stevie Richards (as Chris Jericho) Before
the bell, Chyna told
Y2J that he is upset because she is taller, more
muscular, and better
than him. The IC champ made short work of Richards
with the Pedigree.
Jericho then attacked and put
Chyna in the "Walls of
Jericho."
Winner: Chyna via
pinfall
Steve Austin versus
B.A. Billy Gunn
Stone Cold told the
Rock that he would not be sticking anything up his
a$$ and told HHH that
when he thinks of games, he thinks of
tiddlywinks. DX hit
the ring, forcing the bell. SCSA jumped back in and
swung a steel chair on
the heads of X-Pac and the RoadDogg.
Winner: Steve Austin
via disqualification
Test versus Val Venis
Stephanie McMahon did
commentary as Mankind attacked Venis. Stephanie
then entered the ring
and told Test that she had her memory back and
proposed to him. He
accepted and the two kissed and embraced in
mid-ring. Winner: Val
Venis via disqualification
--HHH told Vince
McMahon that DX would not be responsible for what was
going to happen to
Kane in his match against X-Pac.
Kane versus X-Pac
X-Pac told Kane that
Torrie was a slut and that he told her about
everything that got
burned in the fire. Once in the ring, X-Pac was
chokeslammed, which
brought out DX, who beat Kane down to the ground,
with X-Pac delivering
the Bronco Buster to add insult to injury.
Winner: Kane via
disqualification
--A promo was cut on
Kurt Angle as the most "real" athlete that has
ever been in the WWF.
--Kane stormed the
locker room of DX and began attacking them until he
was restrained by
security. Vinny Mac then told HHH that he would have
to defend the WWF
title tonight. HHH got in the face of McMahon, which
infuriated Shane, who
speared HHH to the ground and began hitting him.
HHH then agreed to
face Shane in the main event.
The Dudley Boyz versus
The Headbangers
The Dudley's could not
speak at the beginning of the match, because the
'Bangers had their
microphones cut and began mocking the
Dudleys.
Thrasher hit a DDT on
Bubba Ray for the win. The Mean Street Posse hit
the ring and attacked
the Headbangers.
Winner: The
Headbangers via pinfall
HHH (c) versus Shane
McMahon *World Championship* Vince McMahon did the
introductions for this
match. McMahon said since HHH brought DX out, he
would like to intro
the guest commentator, SCSA, the second referee,
Kane, and the special
timekeeper, the Rock. At one point, Shane hit the
pedigree on HHH and
was one second away from becoming the new champ.
All the men on the
outside ended up fighting. SCSA even made his way
back to the ring to
give HHH a stunner. Vince tried to take HHH's head
off with the WWF
title, but mistakenly hit Shane allowing HHH to pin
Shane.
Winner: HHH via
pinfall (Retained WWF Title)
===========================================
TOO MUCH WCW FOCUS ON THE
INTERNET FANS
Written by reader:
IOwnTNM7CAVE
First off I admit that
I am a big WWF mark, and have
been loyal to the WWF
for more than 18 years, so I am a bit biased in
my opinions of WCW.
For the past three
weeks I have been staying up late to watch the Nitro
replay at 1 am Eastern
Time, mainly out of the curiosity factor (the
last time I was doing
this was around the time the Outsiders started
making appearances
leading into the nWo story). As I watch tonight's
broadcast I am
wondering, are the fans of WCW who do not have access to
the Internet following
any of this? I mean the only reason most of us
know that WCW got new
story writers is because of the Internet. Yes,
WWF has made
references to
behind the scenes
happenings before but never as blatant as the 'new
look' Nitro is doing
now.
All I have seen for
the last three weeks is everybody on the WCW roster
making references to
the "powers that be," ratings, or taking blatant
cheap shots at the
WWF. The whole Hogan laying down for a PPV "main
event" was a blatant
stunt to feed the minds of the Internet rumor
population. If Vince
Russo's creative technique is to sit in chat rooms
and write storylines
aimed at the so-called "smart marks", he should
re-think because in
the process WCW fans without the Internet may
switch to a wrestling
show where they can still follow the storyline.
------Brett Silvia
===========================================
AN UNDERTAKER BACKER
Written by reader:
MsPhenom1
Oct. 30, 1999 I was at a
signing at Nyack NY and Exton, PA. Both times
Sir Mark Callaway
showed up. He was professional and a gentleman at
both signings. He was
looking good although with a little weight loss,
but all in all
he seemed to be in
good condition. Though I did not see any signs of
surgery as rumored
around the net (Editor: Callaway did not undergo
surgery, he has been
rehabbing his injuries in the hope of avoiding
surgery).
Conflicting reports
are still coming over the net as to his return. He
was reported to tell
one fan that he was coming back in Survivor Series
and another report
that he was coming back after December. I myself did
not ask him when he
would be back. So everyone's guess is as good as
mine to when he will
return.
I did read in
Appy's "Ut's Future" and must say it was carefully
written. But who is
anyone to condemn a man who as given his all for
over a decade. In this
profession it seems no one leaves in good
condition. For we know
way to well that in this line of entertainment
there are accidents,
broken bones and so forth. No one really knows
how much Sir Callaway
can take in the ring except the man himself.
As far as his gimmick
goes: well, look at Hulk Hogan, it seems his
gimmick has gone for
him for over a decade and hey, why not say that
Hulkimania is lost and
gone forever? It seems Hulk has used his
gimmick well, although
I myself am guilty of being a Hulkimania fan at
one time. So, we must
give credit where credit is due.
I have been watching
Sir Callaway's career since he first appeared in
USWA and watched him
grow in the world of wrestling. I have seen his
clumsy days and
terrible gimmicks and gimmicks that were just not him
but as he portrayed
the Undertaker there seemed to be an air of
difference about him.
He was more in tune with his abilities in the
ring then he ever was
before. In all my time watching wrestling I have
seen the men wrestle
while they were hurt
but never have I seen
a man like Sir Callaway give his all in the ring
with as much pain as
that man was in.
It is not secret that
the ankle should have had surgery a long time ago
but the man went on.
His knees should be looked at way back when but
the man went on. And
oh yes, let us not forget the hips. Whether or not
surgery is needed only
he and the Doctor knows but the man still went
on.
It is not whether the
gimmick will be the same during his return for
you missed an
important point to all this. It is that the Creatures
will accept his
gimmick and honor the man for his return and give him
credit where it is
due.
Whether he be in the
ring or commentating, for the fans of Sir Mark
Callaway really do not
care. First and for most his fans have cared
about his health, they
cared first for the man behind the Undertaker,
which I find is not
shared by other fans of their favorite wrestler.
Yet when Stone Cold
leaves for a problem with his knee, the WWF seems
to make a big deal out
of that. Go figure on that one since it is
painfully obvious that
since Sir Callaway's absence the ratings have
gone down a bit and
the gimmicks are really going to the dogs. You
think by now that WWF
would realize that Sir Callaway is a valuable
member and plays a
significant part in the ratings and would want to
keep his Creatures
updated to tune in to wrestling.
So the point of this
is it doesn't matter to his fans if he comes back
and his gimmick is
changed or it is not as dark as it once was. It is
the mere fact that he
will be there whether it is in or out of the
ring. I myself have
never seen such loyal and devoted fans as the
Creatures are and
frankly I myself am proud to be called a Creature.
For I am truly one of
the first Creatures ever.
-MsPhenom1
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Steve Appy
responds:
While I'm sure that
The Undertaker's longtime fans are as hardcore as
any other, I think
that it would be a mistake to label them as more
devoted than other
fans.
Certain wrestlers do
build strong cult followings, and while my
experiences show that
The Undertaker is one of them, he's hardly
unique. Ric Flair,
Shawn Michaels, Mick Foley & Bret Hart provoke
similar feelings from
their fans, and their allegiances have shown to
stand the test of
time.
Will current intense
favorites Steve Austin, The Rock & Bill Goldberg
join this club? The
test will be when they are marketed so badly that
only their true fans
stand behind them, and at that point we'll count
how many of them still
exist. My guess is that all three will end up
earning the title of
legend (and more importantly earn millions of
dollars in the
process).
===========================================
AN OVERUSE OF
WRESTLING TERMINOLOGY
Written by reader:
Paul Stefanowicz (pnjstef)
Am I the only
wrestling fan that is tired of having to use all of the
insider lingo and
catch phrases of today?
Let me backtrack a
moment, and say that I enjoy the up-to-date
wrestling point of
view that the internet provides, as well as the
inside information
that may give me the take on who's coming or going,
happy or unhappy. It's
probably not truly "insider" information anymore
if everyone has access
to it, but that's a different point.
My problem is that the
terminology we use as internet fans has for me
taken some of the fun
out of watching wrestling. I don't need to call
the losing victim in a
match a "jobber." Benoit jobs to the torture
rack, Juventud jobs to
the DDP, and so forth. And jobbers don't
"submit" or "give up"
these days, they "tap out." Can't we say "lose a
match?" People who
bleed during matched "blade." And jeez, do we have
to call the wrestlers
"workers?"
To me all these terms
make the stuff sound so scripted. We all know
wrestling is what it
is, but that doesn't mean we can't have some more
fun with it. There are
real people involved in these storylines, it's
not just on paper. I
guess, if you just want to look at the wrestling
scenario as a bunch of
"workers" being moved around a chess board by
scripters, then maybe
that is they derive their enjoyment.
But doesn't the actual
competition mean anything these days? Why do
they still bother to
set up a ring for a taping of RAW? We fans are
viewers, we don't work
for these federations!
I'm not saying that
wrestling needs to go backwards to the world of
keeping everyone in
the dark, and wanting everybody to "mark out" (it's
not called cheering
here, folks, sorry). But there used to be something
called "suspension of
disbelief", and this is what the "smarts" (aha!
There's one!)
practiced at the arenas. Is this done anymore? I enjoyed
watching wrestling
largely to see where guys would turn up, who got
pushes, and so forth.
No big deal. But do we need Buff Bagwell coming
into the ring telling
everybody that he's through "jobbing" for the
"people in the back?"
Now we have the wrestlers talking this way while
in the ring??
Wrestling has changed
the past few years, and a lot of this change is
for the better. But
don't forget that "entertainment" means different
things to different
people!
===========================================
A LOYAL NASH FAN
Written by reader:
Jelloboy10
In Nash's behalf I
think the man is funny (mostly when Hall is with
him). Charging money
for an autograph isn't so bad. What's wrong with a
little side money? I
mean, he just got divorced recently and probably
lost half of
everything. I'm sure I'd want some "on the road" money.
-A loyal Outsiders fan
===========================================
ANOTHER TAKE ON NASH'S
CONDUCT
Written by reader:
Billy Clark (CharterSF)
I don't normally
write, but your comments to the young kid regarding
Kevin Nash's attitude,
re signing autographs, are totally off the mark.
First off, Kevin did
not "give up his weekend for free"... he was paid
a fee by the
convention organizers to appear, as well as having all
transportation/
accommodations covered. The convention charged an
admission, thus making
their money from the attendees.
Charging a fee to sign
autographs is just a way for the organizers and
the athlete to make
some extra money. Normally dealing in cash, the
athlete pockets a few
extra thousand which he may, or may not, remember
to declare on his
taxes.
Finally, try to
remember that Nash is, after all, just an actor. His
on-screen persona does
not give him any special license to be a jerk to
people then Mel Gibson
or Bruce Willis have to beat up someone who
accidentally bumped
them on the street... I know that the line between
reality and fantasy
can get confusing for people in the wrestling
business, but Kevin
Nash's attitude and actions towards fans --
especially kids
--proves only that he can be just as big a jerk in real
life as he is on the
screen.
Why defend him? In
another year or so he'll be replaced by another
actor whom we'll all
love or hate, depending on the
script, and Nash will
still be a jerk going around saying "Hey,
remember me? I used to
be..."
-Billy Clark
===========================================
A
RAVE REVIEW FOR NITRO
Written by reader:
DKlozik
I can honestly say for
the first time in a long time I actually
enjoyed WCW tonight.
They started an angle that every man in America
wants to see and I'll
sum it up in 4 words....NITRO GIRL
CAT FIGHT.....
I bet everyone was
laughing as hard as I was when Kevin Nash was doing
his Vince impression.
How about Norman
Smiley?? I never thought I would say this but I kind
of look forward to a
match involving Smiley now. Even though everyone
has said that "The
Powers That Be" are going to take away wrestling in
WCW now, needs to take
a look at the Malenko and Benoit match, got to
love the top of the
cage swan dive. Without rambling, my point is WCW
is more enjoyable to
watch for the first time in a long time. I think
they are actually
getting a good mix of the drama-storylines, and still
having some good
wrestling. Just my opinion.
===========================================
JEFF JARRETT
Written by reader:
Bane Harlock (chaosbringer)
I for one would like
to say that Jeff Jarrett, arguably one of the best
workers in the
business, and highly underpushed, does have his
drawbacks. Now,
personally I like Jarrett's skills and definitely think
he is underrated. But
the first step to showcasing his talent is not,
as most people would
think, his mike work. We all know that Jarrett has
solid mike skills. But
before the fans will take him seriously, the
bookers have to first
get rid of all the 1980's, Honky-Tonk-Man,
guitar-over-the-head
gimmick.
The second thing is to
book him against solid opponents, someone who
can maintain the
intensity that Jarrett exudes. Let's face it people,
Marcus "Buff" Bagwell,
while he may have been talented and have
potential 3 years ago,
after the neck injury he became too much of a
liability to book him
in a match with someone like Jarrett. Jarrett
needs another solid
worker as a feud so that the two stars can put the
wrestling back into
World Championship Wrestling.
Over the last few
years, since the introduction of the gang tactics and
constant run ins of
groups like the NWO and the cheesy "Sex Sells"
approach of "Sports
entertainment", good solid wrestling has fallen by
the wayside. The
potential of wrestlers like Jeff Jarrett, Adam "Edge"
Copeland, Billy
Kidman, Dean Malenko, Chris Benoit and Chris Jericho,
has been eclipsed by
the likes of either so-called "phenoms" like Bill
Goldberg and Steve
Austin. Or "Wrestling greats" like Hulk Hogan, Ric
Flair and Randy
Savage, who are so busy concentrating on not soiling
their Depends that
they forget how to sell a match, so they need gangs
comprised of
underpushed wrestlers portrayed as thugs and hooligans.
If Ferrara and Russo
want to make Nitro number one in the ratings and
really give "Emperor
Vince" (Thank you SAMJERRY!) a run for his
potatoes, they'll put
the focus back on wrestling by using Jarrett with
some of the other
actual wrestlers like the Dean Malenkos, the Chris
Benoits or the Billy
Kidmans.
While smashing a
guitar over someone's head may get you over in a
shoot. It's not going
to get you over in a world title match. Let's
bring back
professional wrestling and bid farewell to "Sports
Entertainment".
===========================================
RAW AFTER THE CAMERAS
STOPPED ROLLING
Written by reader:
MillenniumMN23
I was at the MCI
Center tonight and did I have a good time. But for all
of you who didn't see
what happened after Raw went off the air, here's
what happened:
Triple H was
celebrating in the ring and Austin music hit and
he came back. Triple H
pummeled him until he threw Austin to the ropes
and hit the Stunner.
After that, Austin drinks a couple o f beers and
Triple H gets back up
and Austin offers him a beer. Triple H said no
because he knew he was
going to stun him. Austin said that Hunter might
pedigree him.
So Triple H calls for
a beer and they threw one at him. Triple H didn't
catch it. They do it 2
more times and he still didn't catch it and the
crowd started
laughing. Triple H then picks up a beer and him and
Austin shakes on it.
Triple H turns around and starts drinking and
turns back around for
another Stunner.
A couple of beers
later, Austin goes up the ramp and Triple H gave him
the finger. Triple H
turns around and Austin runs down and Triple H
gets yet another
Stunner but he doesn't go down. He starts crawling
around the ring and
gets one more. I guess Triple H guesses that he's
not going to go down a
loser in this one and gets the lady to announce,
"And still World
Wrestling Federation Champion, Triple H"!!!! It was
great.
Before it began,
Gillberg was there and beat somebody, he actually hit
the Jackhammer for the
win. I wonder what Vince is going to do with
the Lightweight Title?
Gillberg is still the champ.
I read what happened
on Nitro. Sounds like it sucked. Kevin Nash
looking for a gimmick
for the night? Stevie Richards rip-off. I bet you
that the WWF will
always make a comeback.
===========================================
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.
Copyright- Steve
Appy of The Wrestling Booking Sheet ©1998, 1999, 2000
"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
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