Issue # 411
Date:
Friday November 26th, 1999 8:44 am
The Wrestling Booking Sheet
WWF.COM UPDATES AUSTIN'S
CONDITION
WWF.Com posted an update
regarding Steve Austin's condition that is
repeated below. Take it for
what's it worth; the WWF is very capable
of misleading consumers (and
stockholders) about the physical condition
of their biggest draw.
"Update on Austin
By Phil Speer
Nov. 24, 1999
While its way too early to
say anything definite, there is good news on
the Stone Cold Steve Austin
front.
The Texas Rattlesnake saw
noted sports medicine physician Dr. Joe Torg
in Philadelphia today. Dr.
Torg diagnosed that Austin has a bone spur
touching his spinal cord. As
a result, Austin has been experiencing
pain and numbness in his
hands, legs and arms.
"He felt very relieved today
to finally get this diagnosis and finally
pinpoint what was wrong with
him," said World Wrestling Federation
announcer Jim Ross, who
accompanied Austin today and phoned in from the
bustling Philadelphia
airport.
Because Dr. Torg also worked
with Austin when he suffered a neck injury
in the summer of 1997, Torg
was able to refer to medical records and
conduct a thorough
examination, Ross said.
On a seemingly positive note,
Dr. Torg encouraged Austin to stay active
and continue training.
Dr. Torg referred Austin to a
physician in Cleveland, Dr. Henry Bahman,
for further testing.
According to Torg, Dr. Bahman is the "best doctor
in the galaxy for this kind
of injury."
Bahman will determine whether
the Rattlesnake will require surgery. If
so, he will require 4-6 weeks
for rehabilitation, and then he'll be
re-evaluated, Ross said.
"(At that point) we may find
out that there are very limited
limitations, and we may find
out there are severe limitations," Ross
said.
Ross emphasized that it's
entirely too early to make a prognosis for
Austin -- or even to
speculate as to whether or not he can resume his
in-ring career. But either
way, J.R. says that Austin will be a major
part of Federation
television.
Austin was in high spirits
today although "he's in a lot of pain, but
he's got a very high
threshold of pain."
If surgery is necessary, Dr.
Bahman in Cleveland will conduct it.
Bahman has performed these
types of surgery often and successfully,
most recently on Baltimore
Orioles legend Cal Ripken Jr.
Because of the Thanksgiving
weekend, no appointment has been set for
Austin with Dr. Bahman.
WWF.com will pass on any
information as it becomes available."
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
ADVERTISEMENT
Visit Uncensored Wrestling
Federation.Com!
Http://UncensoredWrestlingFed.8m.Com
For The Most Extreme E-Fed
Action Today!
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
STRAIGHT SHOOTING
By Fritz Capp (pwbts)
All the info and e-mail
addresses to combat Brent Bozell and the PTC:
Just click on the "Just Say
No" banner on the PWBTS 2000 site
(http://pwbts.com)and
follow the link to Major Media Outlets.....if you
want more than just newspaper
information click on the "Contact The
Media Research Center"
clickable link.....
Media Research's chairman is
none other than Brent Bozell, the person
who is directly responsible
for all of the attacks on the WWF. While it
is true that some of the
PTC's e-mail boxes have been closed the list
that I have now is a plethora
of e-mails and if they do not want to be
heard through the normal
channels then we will go through the backdoor.
Please pass this info along
to everyone.....it is time the wrestling
fans stand up and be heard. I
am sure beyond a shadow of a doubt that
"Wrestling Fans Against
Censorship" can attain a victory here against
the Stalinistic tactics that
these people are trying to use against our
programming.
Join this grassroots campaign
against the very people who are trying to
see to it that you cannot
view your favorite programming. If they get
away with this now, there is
no telling what they will try to censor
next.
Please join the PWBTS 2000
site by putting this graphic on your site as
a sign of support for this
cause. I will be compiling a list of ALL
websites that carry this
banner and will forward that information to
the appropriate people in the
wrestling organizations as I have done
with everything so far.
Don't just think this will
fade away. Even Howard Stern felt the
pressure of these people as
the WWF is right now. Take a moment to
support this by writing to
your favorite newspaper and to the
advertisers/ affiliates/
licensees/ sponsors of your favorite wrestling
promotion and tell them how
you feel.
If you do put this banner on
your site please e-mail me with this in
the subject box "I joined the
cause" and be sure to send your site URL
and site name so I can list
you and link to you as someone who is
against censorship in
wrestling.
Thank you for your time and
support on this.
http://pwbts.com/noptc1a.jpg
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Jerry's column below is 100%
pure satire, and obviously not a
reflection of his true
beliefs (unfortunately, this warning really is
necessary).
ROUNDING THE SQUARED CIRCLE
"DEAR PARENTS COUNCIL" OR
"JOIN US IN RIDDING TV OF
WRESTLING"
BY
SAMJERRY
Visit My Home Page At:
http://members.aol.com/samjerry
An open letter to the Parents
Television Council:
I agree wholeheartedly with
your campaign aimed at getting SmackDown's
sponsors to cancel their
commercials. I know from there you will take
dead aim at every other
wrestling program, then on to every other TV
program that uses or has ever
used an explicative.
I have personally done a
study of how women in wrestling are being
exploited and abused. In
fact, I am sending Jerry Springer a copy of
this letter. I am sure he
will find enough material for several shows.
I am especially appalled
because as caring, responsible adults, we know
that everything shown is
real, no matter what the promoters and
millions (.... and millions)
of fans say. Here are some of the things I
have noted over the past
year.
A pretty young girl named
Torrie is carrying on with a man aptly named
Kane, who dresses in red and
black, and wears a mask to cover his
horribly scarred face. His
face was burned in a fire started by his own
brother. Their parents were
killed in the fire. Would you want your
daughter marrying into a
family like that?
The brother goes by the name
of The Undertaker. As well as maiming his
brother and killing his
parents, he has become The Lord of Darkness,
the very incarnation of evil.
It would take volumes to list the evil he
has done. Can you just
imagine how he would treat his nieces and
nephews if Kane had children?
A woman named Debra comes to
the ring wearing low cut clothing and
inciting the crowd to chant
"We want Puppies." Gosh, I remember going
to the movies and cheering
when Popeye saved Olive Oyl from Bluto.
Debra used to be the valet
for a wrestler who took pride in smashing
guitars over people's heads
and abusing females. The sight of him
abusing Debra had the little
woman all upset. To my ever lasting shame,
I must admit in all honesty I
didn't close my eyes nor turn away when
the Puppies were out for a
stroll.
A pretty young thing named
Terri, who used to manage a wrestler who I
think may have been - how do
you say - gay, also smoked cigars. Now I
ask you, is that any way for
a lady to act in public. Now Terri manages
"tag teams" (I think that's
what they call them. It's two wrestlers
that are sometimes related
and sometimes not. When she comes out now,
she wears low cut tops and
high cut bottoms. I have to peel my youngest
boy's tongue off the TV when
he sees her. I'm afraid he getting some
wrong ideas.
There are two elderly ladies
who appear from time to time. Once I saw
one of them stripped down to
her unmentionables. Criminal, I say,
criminal. They almost always
get into fights with other women or each
other. I have seen them drink
right out in public. Can you imagine what
our mothers must think of
goings on like that?
Just so we are on the same
page, I always tracked some other wrestling
programs and found them no
better. In the first one, here's a sample of
what I saw:
Their women are always
fighting. The announcer calls them "cat fights"
and says they are part of
"Cat Wars '99." It's just shameful because
they almost always end up in
their undergarments.
There is one named Francine,
who wears the shortest dresses I have ever
seen. Now get this: She is
the girlfriend of the wrestler she manages.
Some time back, he made
another valet named Beulah pregnant. At that
time, Beulah was another
wrestlers girlfriend and the sworn enemy of
Francine. Can you believe
that?
There are other young ladies
named Tammy, whose name used to be Sunny,
and Dawn Marie. They also
wear very revealing clothing and are always
fighting with the other
women. They also get involved in the men's
matches and are hit by the
men quite often. Can you imagine what it's
teaching my son?
They had still another one by
the name of Angelica. She was the
girlfriend of one of the
wrestlers. She fought with the other women,
but has since left. I was
glad to see her leave because she had several
large tattoos and I was
afraid my daughter was going to ask for a
tattoo for her birthday.
The other group I monitored
was no better:
They have several women
running around in the skimpiest clothing, as
well as a group of dancers
who are dress and dance with the aim of
stirring up things in men.
There is one named Torrie,
who runs around with a group of Dirty
Animals. That's what they
call themselves and I think it quite
appropriate. She has been
seen kissing several men. She has also
seduced a young lad, who now
runs around with bats and tire iron
chasing women.
The former leader of the
dancers was being stalked by the youngster
with the tire iron. She tried
to put an end to it by running him down
with her car. Now I ask you,
should our children be taught they can
solve problems this way?
They have a female wrestler
named Madusa, who seems to wrestle men
only. After watching her, my
eldest son wanted me to teach him a few
holds he could try on his
girlfriend. Disgusting
I could go on and on. We must
do something to stop this before
civilization as we know it
begins to crumble. Don't let those millions
(.....and millions) of fans
who have written you deter you from you
goal. They may use words like
Freedom of Speech, the right to choose
for themselves, but rest
assured that you know better. Only low class
hicks watch wrestling. After
all, who else would interested in
something everyone knows is
fixed.
I also firmly support the
woman who complained to Walmart about the
wrestling figure with a
severed woman's head. That only indicates the
depths to with the promoters
and fans will stoop to.
I recommend we adopt as our
battle cry "We shall overcome." My wife
thinks she read some place
that it's been used before, but if it was, I
surely would have heard.
Sincerely,
M. Thorton Armpit
Lower Dudleyville, USA
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
WRESTLER OF THE YEAR
Written by reader: Kevin
Bryce (KevinBryce)
Who has been the wrestler of
the year in America? In my opinion that
honor can only go to one man
- Jerry Lynn.
Jerry Lynn has had a
fantastic year, he has been in so many ***3/4+
matches and really deserves
credit. I know he didn't get the TV title
when many people thought he
should of but in my opinion he doesn't need
that belt yet as another
match (and hopefully a victory) with RVD for
the title will be a great way
to start the year 2000. The matches v RVD
were amazing and the 2nd
match at Hardcore Heaven really was a classic.
Jerry took a really stiff
bump but still got up and continued, even
though he didn't have to.
However not only did he continue, he still
managed to carry RVD to a
****+ match.
The amazing thing about Lynn
is that the WWF and WCW had this man on
their rosters but misused
him. They did not know what an unbelievable
talent they had, I mean he is
alot better than the Rock, Austin, Nash,
Hall, Sid, Hogan, HHH, Paul
Wright, and Goldberg. However, once again
Paul Heyman saw genuine
talent which the "Big 2" always seem to miss!!!
-Kevin Bryce
P.S. I accept all people's
opinions so e-mail me if you wish
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
CHYNA AS THE IC CHAMPION
Written by reader: Beth
Bajema (Bajema)
In regards to the letter
condemning the WWF for having Chyna wrestle
men:
I find wrestling at best to
be a little more than entertainment, and
care little for the debates
or endless chatter over the fine details.
So there are few times that
I'm even moved to respond. I have to
respond to this though.
While I found most of this
commentary to be thoughtful enough, this
tidbit made me sigh wearily:
"but having anyone job to a woman wrestler
is downright degrading". I'm
not to go on a tirade about just how
degrading most angles
regarding women in wrestling are.
It's a simple fact that most
fans want to see some of that stuff, male
and female. Men for obvious
reasons, women --though some won't admit
it-- enjoy the sexual
overtones of these men over the women. It's
something me and my
girlfriends get a giggle out of when we watch. We
don't take it very seriously
or believe the world as a whole grades the
female of the species by an
evening gown match set up, or that we
should start referring to our
chests as "puppies".
I think most of the women's
matches in the WWF are downright pathetic.
I'm getting a wee bit
irritated with having to watch the Fabulous
Moolah and her crony come
down and start beating on Ivory every chance
they get. Give the fellas a
little T&A if they want, that's fine by me.
And that's all I see most
women in wrestling meant for, T&A. Chyna is
the exception.
While I somewhat agree that I
don't find this angle with Jericho and
Chyna very good, I can still
think of worse people for him to job to.
Some of these wrestlers
aren't even near the physique this woman has.
The first time I saw her
participate in a regular match, I believe it
was with the "Stooges" and
thought it was funny, but horrid. Not to
mention they made sure to
expose her breasts. For some reason women in
the WWF can't keep their
breasts in their tops, but you don't see many
men pulling down the backs or
fronts of those speedos to give the women
an ooh and an aww. She has
gotten better however.
I didn't see the match
(Survivor Series 1999) to give an opinion on her
performance in it, but I've
enjoyed the weekly shows. I think turning
Jericho into a mad, thumb
mashing, male egotist is ridiculous. He's
much better running his mouth
off in jester fashion. But I'd be more
outraged to see him jobbed to
a lightweight like X-Pac. He's a little
guy with "a lotta heart" I
know, but he has absolutely no body to speak
of.
Chyna is the size and shape
of half the mid-weight wrestlers. Maybe I
just take exception to the
fact that it's such a crime to have a woman
in there. It's not a feminist
thing (I'm sure you've guessed I'm a
woman by now) it just seems
extreme to call it degrading. It would be
more of a crime to have a
woman in there who was just a normal sized
woman, like having Sable beat
up her hubby in the ring. That's somewhat
absurd to watch. Not a woman
who obviously is in top form and only
falls into the female
category by one breast job and the missing
plumbing.
I'd like to see Chyna
continue on. I could care less if Terri Runnels
wasn't around to flash that
upscale chest of hers. I could honestly
care less if the women's
division went away altogether. I've watched
wrestling since I was a kid
for one reason, and that is to be
entertained. And most of
those women just aren't entertaining. But if a
woman wants to go that extra
mile and look like a realistic contender,
I say more power to her, and
Chyna has most certainly done that. And
even if you do find it a tad
degrading, boo hoo. I've sat through much
more degrading scenes
regarding my own gender and didn't get my hackles
up over it too badly. That's
my piece.
-Beth Bajema
http://www.bajema.com
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
BOYCOTTING THE WWF
Written by reader: Tina J
Jones (edgeluvr)
I must admit I'm sick and
tired of everyone saying they're not willing
to watch wrestling anymore.
Come on people, why stop watching just
because something offends
you. I seem to remember an angle where Rick
Martel sprayed Jake Roberts
with Arrogance and blinded him. From that
point until the blindfold
match Jake was made fun of. Being visually
impaired myself I found that
offensive but that didn't keep me from
watching the WWF.
You want to know why? I'm not
going to let some angle that some goof
decided to carry out keep me
from watching talent I tune in to watch in
to watch in the first place.
I have one question for those who have
decided not to watch
wrestling: Aren't we giving the people who want to
ban the WWF exactly what they
want?
++++++++++++++++++
Steve Appy responds:
Tina,
If someone makes the personal
decision that they really can't stand to
support the WWF, I don't
think that there is anything wrong with it.
The fact that
ultra-conservatives are trying to convince UPN to drop
Smackdown doesn't disguise
the fact that there is material on WWF
programming that is arguably
very objectionable. While we can all slam
the messengers (aspiring
censors are instantly hard to like), that
doesn't justify the
questionable content of WWF programming.
It's even possible that this
strange collection of misfits can
positively influence the WWF
product; this could be the warning that
will spur the WWF to change
their own product before a truly
influential group forces them
to do it. The WWF should heed the
lessons learned by UFC, which
offended some very influential (and
misinformed) public figures.
It was political pressure that forced UFC
off most PPV systems; the WWF
may wish to scale back their product
BEFORE it's too late.
It's easy to laugh off
"zealots" like The Parent Television Council; it
might be harder to shrug off
an inspired Sen. John McCain.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
FREE EXPRESSION
Written by reader:
TWOD
IN DEFENSE OF THE WWF, a
commentary written by reader Chris Davis
(cd7890)
states "Isn't it funny that people aren't willing
to take responsibility for
themselves and just throw it on some other
person or group?" I could not
agree more. We all have our opinions on
the current WWF storylines,
but the issue here is not the WWF or WCW.
The problem is that the
spotlight has turned to professional wrestling
and illuminated it as the
current scapegoat.
If you are an adult, and you
find any programming objectionable, it is
your right and within your
ability to switch the channel. Is that not
sensible and responsible?
There are many shows out there, bound to
offend someone in some way.
If the censors and standards and practices
"suits" bowed to the demands
of every incensed viewer, there would be
very few programs left on TV.
As a child, I was forced to
ingest newsreels of the Vietnam War with my
dinner on the news.
Offensive? Yes. Did people have a right to see it?
Yes. Were my parents watching
with me? Yes. Parents should utilize the
services of a nanny or
babysitter if they choose to not monitor a
child's viewing. They are
missing out on important quality time and
opportunities for education.
When I was of that allegedly
impressionable age, the "in" show was Dark
Shadows. My parents were
aware of my interest and would come in and see
what was on the screen and
ask me about it. I was never banned from
watching, but my viewing was
monitored. Other parents ranted and raved,
but never understood the
appeal of the program. Recently, the story had
a short-lived return as a
series during primetime hours. Hmmm, no
parents complained. In fact,
I personally believe it was too milktoast
for the taste of today's TV
consumers. Tastes change. Barbara Eden's
belly button was once taboo,
and now we do not even flinch at several
more inches of flesh exposed
in either direction.
Whether is be an allegedly
"satanic" ministry, prostitution, sexual
problems, or alcoholic
behavior, these plots are also seen on Saturday
afternoon in movies, and
throughout the week in the soaps and sitcoms.
Do we care? Sure we do, any
fan or intelligent human being cares about
what children are watching. I
was a little taken aback while floating
through my favorite toy store
and seeing action figures from the latest
Mummy movie marketed to kids.
I did not think that was the most
appropriate storyline for
children, but I am not about to jump up and
make noise. That is up to
each individual parent - and they make their
vote known by choosing to
have the child view the movie/video and
buying the toys.
I would urge everyone to take
action on this matter and address the
PTC. Tell your friends and
colleagues who are not wrestling fans. The
bottom line is that this is
not a defense for wrestling per se, but a
defense of one's right to
choose their particular entertainment. If
wrestling can not help these
groups prove their personal agendas, the
soap operas, cartoons or
situational comedies will become the groups'
next great cause for alarm.
We live in a time, unfortunately, that
overlooks personal
responsibility, in order to discover legal
liability. Very sad, if you
think about it.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
ADVERTISEMENT
Saturday, November 27, 7:30
At the Wrestleplex, North
Versailles,Pa
412-678-4290
PWX Turkeys Roast
NWA World Jr Heavy Weight
Champ Vince Big Time Kaplak vs Paul Atlas
PWX Heavyweight Title Match,
Bad Boy Brian Anthony Vs Crusher Hansen
Guido Corleone vs Lou Marconi
Cory K Vs The Millinium Kid
w/Superstar 2000
Plus much more excitement,
Bubba the Bulldog will be in the House. For
Tickets call 412-678-4290 and
check out our web site at:
http:nwa-east.2webspiners.com
===========================================
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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