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Vandy! (September 1996)

 

Beer!  (February 2006)

Issue # 413

Date:  Sunday November 28th, 1999  10:10 am

The Wrestling Booking Sheet

TWO TRAGIC DEATHS
Jerry Savage, an aspiring (and high quality) ECW television reporter
passed away this past week due to complications from pneumonia. I
didn't get a chance to know Jerry as well as I would have liked, and
I'm saddened that I never will. Jerry's mother contacted SamJerry
today to inform him, and her letter is repeated below:

"Dear Mr. Jerry,
I hate to inform you of this because it just tears me apart inside to
say this but Jerry died earlier this week. He had pneumonia and the
virus shut down his vital organs and he passed away on Wednesday night.
He always wanted to be a writer and he even had his own backyard
wrestling federation with some friends because he loved wrestling so
much. He wanted to be a wrestler or a writer and that's all he wanted
from life. The loss of my first born son just destroys me and right
near a holiday makes it hurt even worse.
-Mrs. Savage, Jerry's Mother"
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
HIRO MATSUDA PASSES AWAY
Reported by Bob Ryder at: http://www.1Wrestling.com
Two-time NWA World Junior Heavyweight Champion Hiro Matsuda passed away
Saturday due to Colon Cancer.

My own memories of Matsuda are limited to 1987/1988, when Matsuda
"advised" Lex Luger in the both Florida & the JCP NWA. The
practitioner of a dreaded Sleeper hold, Matsuda choked out poor Johnny
Weaver several weeks before the Dusty Rhodes/Lex Luger Steel Cage match
at Starrcade 1988.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
JUSHIN LIGER ON NITRO
Reported by Bill Banks on WCW Live
IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion Jushin "Thunder" Liger will be
wrestling on Monday's Nitro (opponent unknown). Liger's last WCW
appearances were in December 1996 against Rey Mysterio Jr. & The Ultimo
Dragon, and it will be a personal treat for me to see Liger back in the
States.

Although not the high-flyer he once was, Liger has adapted his style to
become one of the top mat wrestlers in the world. His list of
potential opponents is long, as he has history with Eddie Guerrero, Dean
Malenko and especially Chris Benoit. A 15 minute match against Kidman
wouldn't be the worst thing either.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
ECW ARENA RESULTS FOR 11/27/1999
Reported by Dave Scherer at: http://www.1wrestling.com
Nova & Kid Cash defeated Bo & Jack Dupps
Jerry Lynn pinned Little Guido
Super Crazy pinned the debuting Ikuto Hidaka
Chris Candido & Rhino defeated Danny Doring & Roadkill
Spike Dudley pinned Mikey Whipwreck
Balls Mahoney & Axl Rotten beat Bill Wiles & CW Anderson
Rob Van Dam pinned Uganda (after tension between Sabu & RVD)
Sandman pinned Raven
Mike Awesome pinned Justin Credible
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
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+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Straight Shooting
By : Fritz Capp (wfacpwbts)
November 27, 1999
PWBTS 2000 - http://pwbts.com
Wrestling Fans Against Censorship -

I have to admit I am totally amazed right now. As I sit here at my
computer thinking about everything that I want to say this week
thoughts keep coming back as to what is actually going on in wrestling
and I am absolutely dumbfounded that more people are not offended by
it.

I guess complacency is even true in wrestling. But this past week the
top dog in wrestling the World Wrestling Federation, after weeks of
being slammed by a group who calls themselves the Parent Television
Council, made an albeit subtle but impassioned plea to it's wrestling
fans to contact their sponsors and to let those sponsors know how much
that they appreciate them adverting on the WWF's programming, in this
instance the WWF's Smackdown broadcast which runs every Thursday night
at 8 PM on UPN.

I guess some people think this is nothing to be concerned about. But
let's look at the sponsorship that the WWF has lost because of the
campaign that the Parent Television Council has been waging against
them for the past 3 months.

Coca-Cola and Diet Coke
International Home Foods Inc (Chef-Boy-Ardee)
The United States Army
The United States Air Force
General Motors Cars/Trucks/ Financial Services

Those are not sponsors that you want to lose, is it? Is this the kind
of thing that wrestling fans do not need to worry about? If you do not
feel you do then you are living in a self induced fantasy world.

But to understand exactly what is happening and how to combat it you
must first understand the person causing the fuss. That man is one
L.Brent Bozell III. Haven't heard of him? Well if you are a Howard
Stern fan you have. This is the same person and group who attacked
Stern's Saturday night show.

If you do listen to Howard with some regularity then you will remember
a while back when Howard was asking his listeners to contact his
sponsors to let them know that they are well supported. But that isn't
always enough is it? Howard lost a lot of television stations due to
the PTC intervention. In fact, there for awhile Howard was losing
stations every week. This can also happen to the WWF if they are not
careful. Another fact is that this could happen to each and every
wrestling broadcast out there today.

You see, L.Brent Bozell III founded the Media Research Center in April
1987 and serves as its chairman of the board. Bozell is the publisher
of the center's monthly media newsletter MediaWatch, its bi-weekly
Notable Quotables and TV, Etc., the bimonthly review of the
entertainment industry.

In August 1990, the Media Research Center published And That's the Way
It Is(n't): A Reference Guide to Media Bias, which provides the most
thorough media analysis ever compiled and establishes the liberal
political slant of the national press. The center has also issued The
Revolving Door: The Connections between the Media and Politics, an
in-depth scrutiny of the political backgrounds of today's journalists.

In addition, Bozell is the executive director of the Conservative
Victory Committee, an independent multi-candidate political action
committee dedicated to electing conservative candidates to every level
of public office. In its first year, 1988, the Conservative Victory
Committee raised over $1 million in support of candidates and causes.
In 1990, it was the second largest conservative PAC in America.

Bozell also founded and serves as the chairman of the board of the
World Freedom Foundation, dedicated to promoting the cause of freedom
worldwide. In 1989, he organized its Bipartisan Commission of Free and
Fair Elections in Nicaragua.

Before founding these organizations, Bozell was the chairman of the
board and president of the National Conservative Political Action
Committee. Concurrently, he acted as executive director of the National
Conservative Foundation, which under his direction grew into a
multimillion dollar enterprise devoted to the promotion of the
conservative philosophy nationwide.

Bozell has extensive print and electronic media experience. A
nationally syndicated columnist, he has been published in a number of
newspapers and magazines throughout the country, including: The Wall
Street Journal, The Detroit News, Chicago Tribune, The Washington
Times, The Manchester Union-Leader (N.H.), The Orange County Register
(Calif.) and The National Review. He has appeared on numerous talk
shows, including CNN's "Crossfire," "Entertainment Tonight" and C-Span.

Born in Washington, D.C., in 1955, Bozell is a graduate of the
University of Dallas at Irving, where he received his bachelor of arts
degree in history. He resides with his wife, Norma, and their four
children in Alexandria, Va.

Quite an impressive portfolio wouldn't you say? In fact I would say it
safe to venture a guess that this man, along with his companies and
contacts, could just about take on anyone with a relative amount of
certainty that he would have some form of victory.

This is happening right now with the WWF. The WWF has already rated
itself, and if you noticed on this past Smackdown even censored itself
a bit. This shows one thing, Vince McMahon takes this as a serious
attack and threat, one that may even cost him a time slot or two.
Now I am not inside the WWF's legal department but I am sure that the
WWF and UPN have a contract which binds the two together for a specific
period of time. But what happens after that contract is up? At that
time UPN would have the option not to renew with the WWF.

While it is true that the WWF has put UPN on the perverbial map that
does not mean that UPN will carry the show. That will all depend on
whether or not they succumb to the pressure of the PTC and Media
Research. Believe me, they can extoll a lot of pressure on someone to
see things their way. This is done through letter writing and phone
call campaigns that are sponsored by Media Research and the PTC. They
like most corporations have a devout following who believe they it is
up to them to help out in whatever these people want them to help out
in.

Now I personally have no problem what-so-ever with people voicing their
opinion. That is guaranteed under our Constitution. I believe you would
find it under the heading of Freedom Of Speech. For that I support even
Media Research and the Parent Television Council. Everyone has the
right to voice their own opinion. But no one and I mean no one has the
right to try to force their own personal views onto the general public
which is exactly what the PTC and Media Research is trying to do.

Their game plan is simple, attack the sponsors and the carriers of the
World Wrestling Federation in the hopes that if they whine cry bitch
and squeal loud and long enough they will relent and drop their
sponsorship of the WWF, thus leaving them high and dry and basically
forced off of the air. Now while this may be a great thing to do, as
they view themselves the saviors of the world, where would that leave
the millions of wrestling fans? Without their shows and also without a
choice. This is not the way it was meant to be is it?

Some of you may think that I am just over-reacting to this. Oh do I
wish I was. Let's look at a few excerpts from some of the PTC's "Press
Releases" that they have made over the past few months:

On October 6, 1999 - "The programs the Army is currently sponsoring,
which glorify wanton and cruel violence, obscenity, and the mockery of
America's great presidents and military heroes, undermine the Army's
own core values. Millions of Americans, including our hundreds of
thousands of members, will be outraged to find that their tax dollars
are being used to support this vulgar, violent trash. On behalf of the
300,000 members of the PTC, we demand that the Army stop sponsoring
televised trash," wrote L. Brent Bozell, III, PTC Chairman"

On November 23, 1999 - "The U.S. Army had ads this week on Smackdown!,
but has assured us it will no longer place ads on the program.
Unfortunately, the U.S. Coast Guard, which also appeared again, has not
given any indication they will discontinue their funding of this vile
trash. Burger King also reappeared after an absence of several weeks.
Please let these two sponsors know that you care about the children of
this country and that you hold them to a much higher standard than the
programming in Smackdown!"

On October 29, 1999 - "Dare we say WWF Smackdown! was less offensive
this week than in the past? When previous episodes have included
nudity, incest, ramming a semi into an ambulance carrying a wrestler,
bestiality, and extremely vulgar language the other networks have not
dared to use, "slightly toned down" loses some of its meaning. Perhaps
more disturbing than the content this week, was the fact that the U.S.
Navy and the U.S. Coast Guard were sponsors, despite Army and Air Force
assurances that they are finished placing ads on Smackdown!"

"Congratulations to all the sponsors of WWF Smackdown! for giving
parents across the country a chance to explain to their children what
is "poontang pie" and for the opportunity to hear it enter their
children's lexicon. Here are some of the sponsors you may wish to
thank:" (They then proceeded to give their weekly list of sponsors to
write to)

On October 4, 1999 - "Sexual content skyrocketed this week with several
extremely disturbing "firsts" for this prime time wrestling soap opera.
Last week a wrestler named Sexual Chocolate admitted to having a sexual
addiction. This week he offered up that he was having incestuous
relations with his sister as recent as "the day before yesterday."
Also, wrestler Jeff Jarrett continued his sexist and degrading assault
on women by arranging a mud wrestling match where the winner would have
to pull the top off her opponent. Exactly that happened, and viewers,
including the many children in the audience, were treated to frontal
nudity, unconcealed except for watery mud. In our video clip, which is
graphic and disturbing, wrestler Val Venis pulls a sock out of his
pants and strokes it in a sexual manner."

I could go on and on but I do have to give them this, if I was someone
who didn't watch wrestling and read this I would be appalled.

That is their best weapon. They pitch their viewpoints to people who
really do not know, get them fired up and then they are behind them
writing letters to get the so-called filth off of the airwaves.

But we, as wrestling fans and also as people can combat this sort of
"Enemy Of Our State". Myself and others just like you have banded
together and formed the "Wrestling Fans Against Censorship" coalition.
This can be found by clicking on one of the two links sitting atop the
PWBTS 2000 website. (http://pwbts.com) It is here that you can gather
the necessary information needed to contact the WWF's sponsors and also
to learn for yourself what we have already found out about Media
Research and the Parent Television Council. You can also view all the
press releases so far that the PTC have put out against the WWF and
also view (and hopefully support by going to) the "Friends of WFAC"
page.

Here we have listed all the websites who have signed on as "partners to
the cause". This site is updated daily as more and more sites sign on.
In 48 hours over 60 sites have joined but we have a long way to go
considering there are a couple of thousand wrestling websites out
there. (Remember what L.Brent Bozell wrote, they have over 300,000
supporters. That is what we are up against)

How do you join? It's simple. Just grab the "Just Say No" graphic off
of the PWBTS 2000 website, put it on your site making it a clickable
link back to PWBTS and then send us your sites url and page name. (In
the subject box please write, "I have joined the cause" so we know
exactly what the e-mail is about) The e-mail address for "Wrestling
Fans Against Censorship" is wfacpwbts. This way it does not
get lost in the multitude of mail that I receive at the pwbts mailbox.
In return your site will be added to the ever growing list of
supporters complete with a link back to your site so everyone can visit
your site. I will also be creating a mailing list of supporters so that
I can keep you informed on the latest happenings.

A well known and respected but somewhat misguided Internet reporter had
this to say: "Maybe it's the cynic in me, or maybe I have just been
around this business too long, but suddenly, the thoughts are creeping
into my head that this could all be a well thought out publicity stunt
designed to generate attention for the WWF. The WWF gets that "Insane
Clown Posse" kind of publicity that sells product, and the PTC (which
hardly anyone had ever heard of before this) gets national attention.
Nah, that couldn't be. Could it?
No it couldn't and only someone with a personal agenda to either garner
some heat for himself or to act big in the eyes of his readers would
even make such a ludicrous statement. Just because you personally had
never heard of the PTC before doesn't mean that no one else hasn't.
Also to even suggest that this was a publicity stunt shows utter and
complete lack of understanding as to what is really going on here. What
is happening is a threat to everyone's personal "freedom of choice".
These people are out to take that away from us. These people are out to
dictate to us what we can and cannot view in the privacy of our own
homes. While you may view the world through self painted rose colored
glasses the people who understand the true reality of the situation
knows that these sort of groups have a way of forcing their opinions
until they get their way. They are backed by big money and ride on the
morality ticket, something that is feared in a lot of sections of
business today. No my friend, this is not a publicity stunt nor should
it be taken as a joke.

Some people though feel they are bigger then this. Here is one comment
that was made on a popular ECW message board in reference to the PTC:

"Another thing that they can't fight us. We care too much about ECW to
let a bunch of %$%es rain on us. They won't come after ECW anyway. Why
should they? What can they do about ECW sponsors? Castrol isn't high on
the wish list of kids in America, I haven't seen those ECW figures in
your finer stores yet, and I don't think that RollerJam has a big
following of any kind. There is no point for them to attack ECW, and if
they do it will be the last mistake they ever make...."

How people can fool themselves like this is beyond me. Extreme
Championship Wrestling was the first to deal with censorship on the
airwaves. In fact I believe it is safe to say that ECW holds the
unofficial record for being censored. I am sure that Tony from Strictly
ECW can affirm that statement as he has been "fighting the fight" for
three years for the "extreme" company that originated in Philadelphia.
World Championship Wrestling with it's new format is also on the list
to be sure. More scantily clad woman, crotch chops and lewd gestures in
the ring, men stalking women with tire irons, seduction, off color
angles and women in the ring fighting men are the things that the PTC
like to go after. They feed off of this kind of programming and it will
be sooner than later that they set their focus on both of these
promotions, especially if they feel the scored a victory against the
WWF.

People it is time to "gather the troops" so to speak and to make a
stand against this attack on our personal freedom of choice. It is time
that people like this realize that we can and do "police" ourselves and
our children and no one has the right to try to interject themselves
into our personal lives. Take a moment to visit the "Wrestling Fans
Against Censorship" site and join the cause. Because without your
support the "powers that be" will eventually have their way and all we
will have to watch is what they choose for us to watch. I hope you have
a lot of VCR tapes of wrestling....it could be all you have
left....well if the PTC has their way. Think about it!
Wrestling Fans Against Censorship
http://pwbts.com
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
A VERY LOGICAL SOLUTION
Written by reader: CoachBoze
OK.....I have heard these sides going back and forth for a long time.
Here's my solution (I am an elementary school teacher and I deal with
the "parents should be doing their job" thing every day all day long).
Let's just say we allow WWF (and WCW and ECW) to do whatever type of
programming they want that the law allows. They can show whatever they
want on TV because it's on when kids should be in bed, anyway.

With these stipulations:
1.Pull all wrestling apparel out of the CHILDREN'S CLOTHING SECTION.
Since the WWF is not aimed at children, then there should be no child
size clothing depicting their company, now should there?

2. Pull all wrestling toys from the toy department. If these toys are
not aimed at children, but at collectors, then they should be sold with
the other things that children aren't supposed to be buying, either.
(Playboy isn't for children, but I can't go to the Wal-Mart and buy one
next to Sports Illustrated, now, can I?)

3. Do not allow anyone under a certain age (the same age as the ratings
on TV allow) into their house shows and their TV tapings. If they
aren't aiming their show at kids, and have admitted it's not for kids,
then they should have no problem saying, "Hey, no kids allowed in"

4. No more toy commercials on during Raw, or Nitro, or ECW. If the
product isn't aimed towards kids, then how many adults want to see a
commercial for a Super Soaker? (that is an insult to us adult wrestling
fans' intelligence)

5. No more Saturday morning WWF shows, with the lame self-censorship
they are doing to try and make it clean enough. If they want a Saturday
morning show, it should be no sex, no profanity. If it's not aimed at
kids, then they should have no problem with this. Sounds pretty easy,
huh? Will it ever be done? NO.....why not?

$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ Money is more important
than decency. As long as these kids keep buying the things that AREN'T
aimed at them, (I don't see how you can aim children's clothing at
adults) then things will not change.
-Richard
===========================================
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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