The Wrestling Booking Sheet online newsletter

Issue # 392

Date: Tuesday November 9th, 1999 5:22 pm

The Wrestling Booking Sheet

RATINGS FOR NOVEMBER 8TH, 1999
Reported by Dave Scherer at:: http://www.1wrestling.com
RAW NITRO
1st Hour n/a 4.0
2nd Hour 5.1 3.1
3rd Hour 5.6 2.8
Composite 5.4 3.3

The Minnesota/Dallas MNF drew a tremendous 16.2 rating, which is
probably the main reason for the decreased wrestling ratings.

WEEKEND RATINGS
Reported by Dave Scherer at:: http://www.1wrestling.com
WWF Live Wire (11/6) 1.5
WCW Saturday Night (11/6) 1.7
WWF Superstars (11/7) 1.6
WWF Heat (11/7) 3.2
===========================================
AL SNOW/WALMART
Written by reader: Eric (HOGEFAN)

This is a completely inappropriate toy for children. It's also a prime
example of wrestling catering to children, yet putting things on
television that children should not be watching.

Walmart should not have this children's toy on the shelves for what it
really stands for: "WHAT DOES EVERYBODY WANT? HEAD! WHAT DOES
EVERYBODY NEED? HEAD!"

Do you really want your child screaming this rated R catch phrase?
What the hell else are you gonna do with HEAD? It's a tongue in cheek
reference to getting oral sex. Tell me one good reason why a kid would
be deprived without this mannequin head.

Maybe instead of bitching about what inappropriate toys Walmart should
carry, that energy should be focused to teaching children some VALUES.
The diminishing of society continues as everything lewd, crude, and
vulgar becomes acceptable, and this is just another example.

Let's fight for a better cause. Children don't need HEAD. They need
values. And they definitely don't need WWF.
-Eric
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Steve Appy responds:
Eric,
You touched on a very worthy subject that has been ignored in the
debate of the Al Snow action figure. This character/figure shouldn't
be marketed to children for all of the reasons you mentioned, but the
actual reasons for the ban are silly & misguided.

The Al Snow character is not about violence towards women, the actual
motivation for the movement. The not very subtle reference to oral sex
that you mentioned is a very good reason for the ban, and it's too bad
that the focus of the controversy is on something so silly (as opposed
to some very real arguments that would actually make sense).
===========================================
HOGAN/WARRIOR
Written by reader: ChanFan304

Actually, to comment on SamJerry's remark regarding two top performers
with about the same amount of face pops, I bring up the classic
Ultimate Warrior/Hulk Hogan feud. If you remember correctly, the sides
were pretty much even in the pop department and both sides received
"huge" pops.

Just thought I'd throw my two cents in, because I remember it well, the
sides were pretty much evenly distributed, and they were both large in
number.
===========================================
ORIGINALITY (OR LACK OF)
Written by reader: NYPaisan57

On the Subject of Dustin Runnels: Does anybody see anything similar
here?.. An angry Texan who has been heralded for extremely good
technique in ring wrestling drops an ever so strange gimmick and begins
a profanity laced tirade against his employers...

Hey, I love Russo and Ferrara too, but guys, come on... GET ORIGINAL...
===========================================
MORE ON THE WWF/NWA CONNECTION
Written by reader: Chris Migliaccio (Sting833)

The WWWF was indeed a part of the NWA in the 70s. Yes, they broke off
initially, but they ended up going back for a period of time. Also, it
wasn't Vince Jr. who renamed it the WWF. That came in the late
70s/early 80s. I believe it was around the time they created the
Intercontinental Title, which was around '79.
-Chris Migliaccio
===========================================
A PERSPECTIVE ON THE WWF
Written by reader: Kevin Bryce (KevinBryce)

Vince McMahon is a man who doesn't care about wrestlers, he just cares
about his bank balance.

Some of the best talent around has signed for the WWF, and realized how
bad you get treated there. Taka Michinoku was one of the hottest
talents around when he signed with the WWF, and when he signed he had a
great run as Light Heavyweight Champion. However, as the months went
on things started to get worse, Taka had no opposition, and he was
hardly ever seen on TV. When the WWF got Togo, Teoh, and Funaki in,
they didn't put them in the ring with Taka for some strange reason,
meaning we were starved of seeing these great wrestlers in action.

Why they didn't they put Taka in the ring with Owen Hart?
Now Taka Michinoku's career is rotting away, and he desperately needs
to get out of the WWF. I think he has a year left on his contract
(Thank God), so soon this great talent will be out of the circus and
hopefully back in his home in MPW, or NJPW.

What about Steve Williams? Dr. Death had a huge reputation in Japan
and is a past Triple Crown Champion, but the WWF did not care about
this. They decided to put him in that stupid Brawl for All
Championship, which injured him, and when he got back they refused to
put him on TV.

Why did this happen? The man has had some great matches with Misawa,
Kawada, and Kobashi, but the WWF did not put him in the ring with the
Rock, Austin, Undertaker, etc. I think the main reason is, Williams
has one of the best suplexes in the business, and his back-drop suplex
is very dangerous. Knowing how pathetic The Rock and Austin are, those
two would of defiantly told Vince they are not getting dropped on there
heads, meaning Willams has no matches.

He did give Bob Holly and Al Snow some mean suplexes on Raw once, and
Bob Holly (Pathetic) complained to WWF officials that it was too stiff.
I suspect no-one else wanted to take there bump as they don't have
to, (A problem with American wrestling is it is not stiff enough).
Hopefully Williams will get a spot in AJPW, although I think ECW should
get him. He would be a great signing!!!

2 Cold Scorpio is another one ruined by the WWF. 2 Cold had some great
matches in ECW prior to signing for Titan, and he was a man that had
everything. He had great technical ability, and his high spots were
amazing, but the WWF wrecked him. They changed his name to Flash Funk
(A big mistake), and he was put in the ring with Bryan Adams, Bradshaw,
Farooq, and worse.

In ECW he was put in the ring with Malenko, Guererro, Douglas, Taz,
Benoit, RVD, Sabu, and Jericho. This meant he had some fantastic
matches!!! I know the WWF didn't have this kind of talent on the
roster, but a feud with the brilliant Owen Hart would of been great.

Kevin Bryce, London
P.S. This is why I worry when a top class performer is rumored to be
signing for the WWF, as I know it isn't that brilliant working for a
circus. Just ask the 3 wrestlers I have mentioned.
++++++++++++++++++++++++
Steve Appy responds:
Kevin,
It's not fair to judge anyone harshly for not wanting to take Williams'
Backdrop Driver; that move is legitimately scary, and though it looks
very impressive, it shouldn't be used. Stiffness is one thing, but I
would say that the Backdrop Driver is downright dangerous.

The WWF really did have good intentions when they signed Williams; the
idea was to build him into a contender for Austin, and `The Brawl For
All' was formulated with the idea that either Dr. Death or Dan Severn
would breeze through the competition (Bart Gunn was not considered a
major threat going in). The loss killed any momentum Williams had
going, and the WWF certainly isn't patient enough to bother building
him up again (which while not a good thing, is certainly a fact).
===========================================
KEVIN NASH AS THE GRAND WIZARD
Written by reader: Scott Levison (z800525a)

As a long-time (near 30 years) follower of wrestling, I was angered by
this latest WCW storyline which had Kevin Nash impersonating the late
Grand Wizard (Ernie Roth). Nash's impression was poorly done and since
most off Nitro's audience is of a younger demographic, I would bet that
most of the audience had no idea who the *real* Grand Wizard was.

They probably think that Nash was creating some bizarre character. This
had to be a slap in the face to long-time followers off the sport. It
certainly was to me. What will Nash do next? Wear a fez and be Abdullah
F Farouk (another Ernie Roth alter-ego)? Wear a fake goatee with a
rubber band in it and tape rubber bands to his cheeks? Wear a white wig
with a purple sequin jacket and a cane and call people "pencil-neck
geeks"? Whether this was a Russo/Ferrara gimmick or another Nash
brainstorm, I wasn't amused. Mr. Nash...we knew Ernie Roth and you
sir...are no Ernie Roth.
-Scott Levison (z800525a)
++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Scott,
While I agree that the imitation was poorly done, I don't believe that
there was any malice involved this time. It can almost be seen as a
homage to a legendary figure from the mostly forgotten past of this
business.
===========================================
DUSTIN RUNNELS
Written by reader: Wcmadness

How could anybody say that the Dustin Runnels gimmick shown on Nitro
last night, was a disgrace to Owen Hart? Dustin was most likely hooked
up to a zip cord hooked up across the entire arena, whereas Owen was
literally flying from the ceiling. This was in no way a disgrace, but
just a new kind of entrance. How is a "supernatural" gimmick going to
get over by just the usual entrance? It was something new, and me and
my buddies actually enjoyed the entrance.
===========================================
RIC FLAIR
Written by reader: DClineco

What I saw was at Halloween Havoc was a disgrace to my wrestling
viewing intelligence. Flair is simply along with Hogan (I hate to admit
it) the greatest performers of all time, hands down, no argument,
period. If this is true that Flair has wrestled his last match
wrestling should be ashamed of themselves even more so for this in-ring
end to a career then the sexually explicit trash that they have thrust
onto the young persuasive viewer.

As I watched in horror I kept thinking if your looking for good
television where is Flair's best friend Arn Anderson coming down to
save the day? If Russo and company really wants to do this Flair should
be the one to beat Golberg once and for all, which should have happened
in their only match (downstairs 3 times), enough said.

This could happen at Starcade. Flair is Starcade, then lose to Golberg
the next night on Nitro and then announce on his terms his retirement
gracefully with complete fanfare and tributes from al the great
wrestlers of today and yesteryear.

If you even quickly review wrestling history, especially the last
couple of years, it is evident that there is more great performances
from the Nature Boy. Like he said on a recent WCW, who is better with
Flair?
===========================================
ARE WE BEING WORKED BY WCW?
Written by reader: Slakir

It is my humble opinion that everyone is being worked by WCW. When it
was first announced that Ed and Vince were jumping ship to WCW,
everyone automatically assumed the worst. They figured that WCW's
"pro-wrestling" aspect would be dropped in favor of the
"sports-entertainment" direction the WWF uses. And since Vince and Ed
admittingly read the opinions of the Internet fans, they knew what the
fans expected.

On their first night of booking, we got a "New York Evening Gown
Match", which many people figured was WCW stepping into the T&A
department. While Nitro was not in New York it was obviously a rip on
both the WWF and giving the fans what they expected; although I'm they
didn't think that most of them would take it seriously.

Another piece of evidence are the little skits involving Russo firing
and demoting Hacksaw Jim Duggan and Chavo Guerrero jr., two
"traditionalists," which is leading me to believe that instead of
firing Juvi, their going to give him a push. Among the plethora of
Mexican and Japanese wrestlers who do not speak English, Juvi was the
most over with the crowd with both a good look and great skills.

Psychosis is injured and speaks even less English yet he is not going
to be "released," and what about El Dandy and Silver King? I think that
in the end, WCW will resemble ECW instead of the WWF, with great
matches at the forefront with the storylines surrounding it.

Everything that we expected and thought was going to be typical, such
as the Seven fiasco, turned out to be something completely different.
All I know for sure is that I've stopped watching the WWF, not out of
disgust but out of boredom, and went back the fed that started it all
for me; WCW. Of course, once ECW gains a live-type format for TNN all
that will change.....
===========================================
THREE WAYS TO IMPROVE NITRO
Written by reader: Muttley97

I have watched the last couple of Nitro's with interest and I think
that there is an improvement. However, I think that 3 things could be
done, either cosmetically or otherwise, to get it back to where it was.
Here they are in order of importance:

1- Move the video screens where they can be more easily seen. If
they're going to show the backstage goings on, then they should be
somewhere that the fans in the arena can see them and react to them. I
noticed that they showed Sting and Goldberg warming up for their match
and there was no crowd reaction at all. Do something to get the crowd
and the fans at home psyched.

2- Tony. o.k., I admit it, the new look sucks. But one major flaw I
think must be exposed. He is probably the most clueless man announcing
when it comes to how "smart" the fans are. Just about all of the other
play-by-play guys (WWF, ECW, even Tenay) acknowledge the 'net goings on
and sometimes work them into their commentaries, but not Tony.

3- "The Powers That Be". Now everyone accepts that this is a complete
riff on the Vince/SCSA angle. But the problem is, who cares? The reason
that angle was done and done well was that it was, for the most part, a
2 man showdown.
Sure, others were involved, but when it was all said and done it was 2
men. Who is WCW trying to push into that role? Buff? Chavo? Madusa?
None of the people who have been crying over the changes have the
attitude to make the people care. The Outsiders? Too busy being a
pretty funny comedy act. Hogan? Please.

There are only 3 men who the fans would even begin to accept in role of
lone rebel: Sting, Goldberg and maybe Bret Hart. Hart would be a master
stroke because he while he could be striking a blow for "old-school"
wrestling, he would be playing the role of someone that drove him out
of the WWF. That would be slap in Vince's face.
===========================================
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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