The Wrestling Booking Sheet online newsletter

Issue # 385

Date: Friday November 5th, 1999 11:20 pm

The Wrestling Booking Sheet

RATINGS FOR THURSDAY, 11/4/1999
Reported by Dave Scherer at: http://www.1wrestling.com
WWF Smackdown: 4.8
WCW Thunder: 2.4

SONNY ONOO LEAVES WCW
Reported by Mike Samuda at: http://www.wrestleline.com
Sonny Onoo, a close friend of Eric Bischoff's, has been released by
WCW. A Japanese American who played a stereotypical evil Japanese
businessman (complete with a bad accent) Onoo found his influence on
the wane following Bischoff's departure.

Onoo was the WCW contact to New Japan Pro Wrestling, and at this point its
unknown who will assume this unfortunately low priority position.
===========================================
THE DEFINITION OF A MARK
Written by reader: Kevin Cooper (BOOTSY5)

I am writing this letter in a kind of bad mood. I was recently in a
chat room and had gotten in an argument with a guy about a certain
wrestler. Now once I shut him down, he called me a mark. He appeared
to be trying to degrade me by this comment. However, it just really
got me thinking.

I read all the time about marks and 'marking out' in newsletters all
over the Internet. The word has become a weapon that people use to try
and elevate themselves above others, who they consider marks.

Let me say once and for all, I am a mark. I am a complete mark for the
entire sport of wrestling. Then again, so are we all. Why? Because
the life doesn't end for us at 11 on Monday or at 10 on Thursday. The
second the cameras go off, we're online checking out all the newest
news. Do we
think we are beating the wrestling system by doing this, and therefore
we are no longer 'marks' but we are 'smarts'? No, no, no, we are doing
just what Vince McMahon and Ted Turner want us to do, we are spending
more time then
they have devoted on television or live events on professional
wrestling.

We are becoming wrestling fanatics by our own will. We are as some say
'marking out' to the Internet. We work harder so that we can think we
know more and are therefore better than the non-Internet user fan.
Just as some buy into the storylines on TV, which I love to do, these
so-called 'smarts' buy into the Internet rumors.

By devoting much of our time to surfing the Internet looking for the
newest wrestling news we are in fact proving that we are complete and
total marks for the sport. The word has more-or-less lost its meaning
due to Internet fans butchering it, however, it is still clear enough
to see that we
are all marks...all of us. So, where have all the marks gone?
Nowhere, they've just tried to disguise themselves.
Sincerely,
Kevin Cooper (Bootsy5)
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Steve Appy responds:
I'm in full agreement with Kevin on this one. Anybody who devotes a
substantial amount of time to wrestling is a mark; I'm definitely one
myself. Smart, mark, smark, it's all the same, we all spend way to
much time on this little hobby of ours.
===========================================
THE OVERUSE OF WRESTLING TERMINOLOGY
Written by reader: Ken Kobiernicki (Chicago306)

I would like to complement Paul Stefanowicz on his article, "An Overuse
of Wrestling Terminology." He is right in stating that terms such as
"jobber, blading, and workers" are being constantly shoved down our
throats.

One of my best friends will be a jerk to others one day, and friendly
the next, claiming that he is the "ultimate face/heel." Another friend
of mine uses the terms "jobbers" or "J.O.B. Squad" for any team that
loses or any person who rides the bench. I am also sick of hearing
people claim to be "marks"
for retarded things such as sports teams. I don't know what is worse:

1) People who overuse these terms or

2) People who use them out of context.

Thanks,
Ken Kobiernicki (Chicago306)
===========================================
THE DECLINE OF STEVE AUSTIN
Written by reader: PlentyKewl

Austin was shaping up to be one of the greatest of all time. It seemed
that no matter how bad things got he would always rebound to rise above
all obstacles, both in reality and in the ring. However, in recent
memory he is slowly losing his appeal and fading fast. It is such a
disappointment to see the man who is the highest grossing WWF champ of
all time go so downhill.

In a time when everyone assumed that Hulk Hogan's legendary popularity
would never be duplicated, Austin managed to rival the greatest in the
business virtually
overnight.

The King of the Ring tournament was just the beginning for the Texas
Rattlesnake. He displayed the birth of what would now be known as the
WWF Attitude. He spawned the
T-Shirt industry with one phrase, "Austin 3:16 says I just whooped your
ass." He gave new definition to mike skills with his violent persona
and abusive language. He also proved to be a great wrestler by ripping
Marc Mero and Jake the Snake apart.

I saw him pull off an aggressive style of wrestling that has never been
seen before or since. He had reversals, power and speed. He lifted Mero
straight over his head and let him drop to the floor. He reversed a
sleeper into the Stunner and watched him compete harder than anyone.

Then his unfortunate neck injury occurred. A man who could have died
now faced the threat that his career was over. But he came back to
become more invincible than ever. For the first time ever, a Bad Guy
became so damn bad and evil we had to love him. From there he became
another member of
WWF's famous Triple Crown Club.

Now to make a long story short, Austin needs help or may fall out of
the limelight as quickly as he fell into it. So I send this memo out to
Vince McMahon in hopes that he realizes how to get the Toughest SOB
back to the top where he belongs.

First things first, get rid of JR, Austin should not have any friends
at all. I say Austin should screw over the Rock for the Title and then
open up a can of whoop ass on DX, JR and McMahon on the same night.
Austin should not do commentary, but if he does, he should not
compliment anyone and just state that everyone sucks but him. He needs
to curse a lot more as well. I'm tired of him sayin "Stomp a Mudhole in
Ya." What the hell does that mean? Plus he needs to quit quoting
Forrest Gump with "That's all I got to say about that."

Most of all Austin has to stop jobbing. Everyone loves a winner, the
fact that there is this unwritten rule that Good Guys need to get
screwed is retarded. I also want to see Austin pulling off more of his
psychotic stunts again. I.E. hosing McMahon down with beer or filling
up his car with cement or burying UT with a dump truck.

Stone Cold can also use some help on his moves. I understand that he is
more of a brawler, but punching and clotheslining gets kind of boring.
He needs to be quicker and add more moves to his arsenal. A Texas
cloverleaf, powerbomb, perfectplex, DDT, Atomic Drop, Torture Rack,
Samoan Drop, Top rope moves, anything, just add anything!!!

Austin is one of our great champs. I'm sick of people bitching about
him. I do agree he needs more moves, but he does managed to sell moves
a lot better than most wrestlers, which counts for a lot to me. He
represents the
working stiffs and is a man of the people. He was creative and a real
phenomenon. He made wrestling more popular than it ever was and we owe
him. So Vince, take heed to my words and let's give the Rattlesnake
another "Hell Yeah!"
===========================================
JUVI'S EMPLOYMENT
Written by reader: JBanks1372

Concerning Juvi's employment jeopardy...

This would indeed be a colossal blunder on WCW's part to release him
simply because his English talents aren't that good, and Russo and
Ferrera's dislike for non-American talent is one of the reasons why I'd
rather see somebody else in charge there.

To my thinking, the name of this game is professional WRESTLING,
emphasis on the Wrestling. Interviews and
the ability to give them are okay, but the primary emphasis should
always be on their abilities in the ring. And that's where Juventud
Guerrera rules.

Concerning something I've talked about before....

A couple of years ago, when I first got into the internet thing,
I used to hang around the WWFsAOL site a lot, and frequently
contributed to their message boards. It's not a practice I do anymore,
too many dweebs there giving me a headache.

There was one particularly outrageous fool who, shortly after Brian
Pillman's death, posted a message stating that Pillman was not dead.
That his real name was Brian Adias and that his death was just an angle
to cover the fact that he was serving time in the Texas penal system.

I was reminded of this jerk just the other day during some of my mental
wanderings. I posted a response to the fools letter, stating that
first off, Brian Adias was a long-time wrestler in Texas and anybody
who could mistake the two wrestlers knew nothing whatsoever of
wrestling. At least nothing of Texas Wrestling.

Secondly, that the WWF doesn't play games with
death. Some things they just don't do, and angles concerning death are
one of them.

Looking at things now I see I was mistaken. Death and dying and
terminal illness ARE things that the WWF will use for gimmicks, and
there appears to be very little that the WWF won't do in the name of
"Sports Entertainment". Silly me.
===========================================
JERICHO COMMENTARY
Below we present Chris Jericho's latest commentary, courtesy of his
official website: http://www.chrisjericho.com

11/5/99
NP:Rage Against The Machine-Battle Of Los Angeles

I just returned from Times Square in NYC, where I did an autograph
signing for the new WWF Volume 4 CD. It was great seeing all of you
guys there and it's even better that my song is the opening track on
the album. Combine that with my in ring debut in MSG last week and my
Big Apple experience was a good one!

This is the month of Jericho as far as the magazines are concerned. WWF
Raw, Wrestling Superstars, Wrestling World and the first issue of the
the new millennium of Pro Wrestling Illustrated, all feature yours
truly on the cover. The Wrestling World even has a six page color
spread on Fozzy Ozbourne. Make sure to check them out!

Speaking of Fozzy, stay tuned for some huge news involving the band. I
mean HUGE!!!!

I'm getting more and more comfortable with the WWF and I'm really
looking forward to the Survivor Series. My goal is and always was, to
be the WWF World champion and I feel it's well within my realm to do
so!

The Y2J shirts are the hottest selling shirt in the WWF right now, so
if you have one thanks, if not...well get with it jerky!!!!

The movie of the week is Fight Club. It was really creepy with a crazy
plot twist that blew me away!!

The new Dream Theater album, Scenes From A Memory is definitely my
choice for the album of the year!!

Well onward with our continuing series of my favorite matches out of my
first 1000.

1. March 31,1996 -w/ Dr Luther vs. Arashi, Tachihikari -Tokyo, Japan -
Dr Luther is one of my best friends not only in the business, but in
life as well. When we were training in Calgary we discovered that we
both had a love for the movie Spinal Tap. We always wanted to have a
tag team called the Lovely Lads, taken from the flick. Well we worked
each other many times as opponents, but never as partners. That changed
this night in Korakuen Hall in Tokyo. We had a great match and an even
greater time teaming up as the Lovely Lads! Nobody else was told of the
name, but we had quite a laugh over it!

2. Sept 14, 1997-Eddie Guerrero- Winston Salem, NC- Eddie 's one of the
best I've ever worked and this was an excellent match for the 97 Fall
Brawl PPV. I was especially happy with it, as Benoit told me it was one
of the best matches he'd seen in a while. Quite a compliment!

3. Sept 22, 1997- w/ Takaiwa, Otani, Kanemoto vs. Liger, Samarai, Wild
Pegasas, Kendo Kashin- Niigata, Japan- Once again, only about 3000
people in the arena, no TV, but a great match. The crowd was so loud
for this match, everything that was done got a huge reaction. It was
such an honor to work for New Japan Pro Wrestling, I really miss it. I
even made the usually mean faced Pegasas laugh during it, with some
stupid remark!

4. Feb 22, 1998- Juventud Guerrera- San Francisco, CA- This match was
for Juvy's mask and I wanted it to be a memorable one for him. I feel
that it was. We pulled out all of the stops for this one and
incidentally, we stole the show! I was disappointed that the match
happened so quickly, with minimal build-up, but that's the style of
WCW.

Well, I'll finish this up next week.
Until then be good to each other and God bless you guys!!
–Chris Jericho
===========================================
ADVERTISEMENT
The Pro Wrestling Informer; world renowned wrestling magazine, was
spotted at the WXW Arena. They were there to check out the company, as
they have heard raves reviews about the Xtreme promotion. Afa, the
owner and CEO, said that they were there doing a story on the Samoan
Storm, and one of the newest talents, Zero Gravity. Everything ran
smooth, and we hope they will come back at one of our upcoming shows.

WXW will be hosting a Awards Banquet tomorrow night (Saturday) at the
Mountainville Memorial Association Hall, on South Fourth Street, in
Allentown, PA. We encourage all to come, as seats are still available.
They will be available up until the start time, which will be at 6:00
PM. The awards will be handed out at around 7:00 PM. All of your
favorite WXW stars will be on hand.

This is an Xtreme event that you DO NOT want to miss. Bring your
camera, and autograph booklet, as wrestlers will be signing and talking
with everyone. The cost is $35 per ticket, but this gala will be a
priceless one that will be unforgettable.
-Josh Pontrelli, News Reporter, The Bagpipe Report &
http://www.wildsamoan.com/wxw/
===========================================
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