The Wrestling Booking Sheet online newsletter

Issue # 415

Date: Monday November 29th, 1999 9:11 am

The Wrestling Booking Sheet

PWBTS.com
For all of you fascinated with the PTC/WWF/content debate (and I realize it's all we've been covering of late), be sure to check out
http://www.PWBTS.com

Former WCW commentator Chris Cruise shared his thoughts on the subject with Fritz Capp. Both men delivered impassioned arguments regarding the subject and it's well worth your time to read.

The PTC's crusade is shaping up to being one of the biggest stories of the year. You may find the current wrestling product fascinating while some of you find it troubling; regardless, this movement may change the wrestling business as we know it.

http://www.PWBTS.com
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
ADVERTISEMENT
The American E-Wrestling Alliance http://www.angelfire.com/wrestling/ae
wa/
Peace, Love, Empathy, http://members.aol.com/ECWOhMyGod/index.html
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
A UK PERSPECTIVE ON THE WWF
Written by reader: Lee Relph (LEEINBLACK)
" A VERY LOGICAL SOLUTION Written by reader: CoachBoze " In
response to the above named article in WBS #413, I would like to say
that I am in total agreement with everything that Richard said in his
article. The WWF should remove all emphasis of their junior following
in their programming and merchandising but they obviously won't due to
the huge revenue they will lose out in.

This is definitely a problem here in the UK, especially on SKY TV and
their treatment of WWF programming. Here in the UK, you can get away
with pretty much anything on TV, especially late night television which
starts after the 9.00 pm watershed. A lot of the words that cause
offense in the US, such as "b**ch", "balls", "a**hole", "p**sy",
"whore", "slut" and "Goddamn" (which has never been considered a rude
word over here) can be used on pre-watershed TV and some of those words
can even be heard on some daytime and children's shows.

UK TV has never shied away from showing full frontal nudity and
explicit sex scenes after the watershed and even mild violence can be
seen before the watershed. Yet WWF RAW, which is screened at 10.00pm on
Friday nights on SKY SPORTS 3, pales in comparison to other shows on TV
here in the UK as far as "controversial content" goes, is heavily
censored. All of the above mentioned "rude" words bleeped out. Any
scenes of extreme violence (the hammer scene with Chyna and Jericho,
the Undertaker hitting the Big Show with a baseball bat, the Rock
hitting the Bossman in the nuts with a stick etc.) or close up shots of
wrestlers bleeding are edited out or shown from a wide shot.

Any nudity is replaced by distorted graphics (like when Chyna did the
DX Split) or cut altogether (HHH mooning on RAW the other week). Entire
segments have, in the past, been cut from the show before leaving it
running some 20 minutes short - a case in point was the Undertaker's
Satanic ritual scene with Mideon back in January. And why does SKY make
these cuts? Well, the official public explanation given was that they
had been pressured by the Independent Television Council (ITC) who is
the governing body here in the UK as to what is and isn't suitable for
TV screening.

SKY claim that they haven't censored any scenes from the show (which
they have) but they had asked the WWF to make the cuts due to the ITC
ruling that a lot of what is seen on RAW is unsuitable for British
viewing and I quote "especially that of a Satanic nature." Well, that
is complete crap. The ITC have never made any rulings against any
wrestling shows. The real reason is the fact that children are watching
WWF wrestling. On one of the many occasions I phoned up SKY to
complain, I was told that they do have to "be careful" and "make it
suitable for the kiddies". This made my blood boil and when I
challenged them by saying that kids shouldn't be up this late watching
wrestling, they just backed off with the old "your comments will be
passed on" response. Even NITRO is shown totally uncut over here and
that is just as "bad" as RAW at the moment - and that gets more viewers
than RAW!!

Now, as an adult, I refuse to have my television viewing habits
undermined and dictated to by an arbitrary judge with no understanding
of the product they are showing. This is why I also am against the PTC
in the US. The juxtaposition here between SKY and the WWF is the same:
both parties won't relinquish their junior audience due to the ultimate
rewards it will bring them - for the WWF it's money and for SKY it's
viewership and ratings. I have a feeling this is a problem that just
isn't going to go away nor is it likely to reach a satisfactory
conclusion for all parties involved. Thanks for your time.
-LEE RELPH
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
TAKING RESPONSIBILITY
Written by reader: William (madspector)
Placing the responsibility were it belongs.

I'm looking at all of the news boards and newsletters and seeing what
is going on as far as the PTC goes, and I have waited until I could
view and read as much info about before I said my piece. I've seen
enough and I'm not talking about the PTC (Parents Television Council),
instead I mean men like Vince McMahon, Vince Russo his dog ED and
anyone who supports the circus those three have turned the sport into;
they have brought this madness and embarrassment of the craft upon
themselves.

First, before any of the WWF-sports entertainment fraud followers email
me with the usual "You cant say that...that's censorship!!!!!"
whining, be advised ahead of time that not only will you be ignored,
but that you would be wrong in the first place. I don't support
censorship, I don't want any outside entities controlling what goes on
in the wrestling world, what I do support is responsibility and the
wrestling promotions having at least enough dignity to police
themselves instead of pointing the blame at the rest of the world.

Lets take a look at the blame that's has been tossed around and you be
the judge of who is responsible for this sad state of things:

Coca Cola. You can lash out at them, but why? Coke is a corporation, a
customer of the WWF that is not satisfied for whatever reason; as a
customer, it's their right to deal with who ever they want to deal
with. Its not Coke who writes and books the angles for pro wrestling,
its wasn't the Coke CEO who thought it was a great Idea to have the
deceased father of man dragged in a casket during his funeral, it was
the creative teams that did that....but lord forbid we blame them for
anything.

The US Army and Air Force also pulled their ads, and also had every
right to. Remember, just as you have the right to turn the channel
when something offends you, they as paying clients have the right to
pull their revenue, regardless to whether or not WWF zombies agree with
the reason.

The PTC? No, as much as I could care less for their motives or their
methods, the PTC did not drag in the era of sports (a fraudulent term
for a lame idea for an adult oriented soap opera) entertainment. They
might be lame (the PTC), but they are not the same ones who write the
content for the WWF and WCW.

Do wrestling fans have a right to be angry? Yes, but not at any of the
aforementioned targets, The responsibility of the this latest
embarrassment should rest squarely shoulders of the major wrestling
promotions, and the fans themselves.

Why the promoters? For not having enough pride and discipline in their
own organizations to police their own content and actions. If the
outrageous and oftentimes stupid content of the Monday night shows were
a natural progression of the sport, no one would notice and no one
would care, it would be seen as a normal adjustment to the times; but
it isn't natural at all.

The whole reason the sports entertainment circus became so prevalent is
because in 1996-97 Vince McMahon, who found a way to turn a once
successful wrestling organization into a near bankrupt failure, was
desperate for ratings and money the rest is history. Since then the
rival WCW shed any originality it had by hiring current President Bill
Busch, who in turn hired two of the three stooges responsible for the
circus up north, and now the circle of bad taste is complete. The
promoters, especially McMahon, do the things they do because they are
controversial and will grab attention; this kind of negative feedback
was bound to happen.

The other people who should be held responsible for the current
situation are the fans themselves. Why the fans? They support it. They
cheer it on. Without them following blindly like sheep lock step over a
cliff. Hell, why should they change course? You seem to be happy with
it, right? The only problem is that those same fans and promoters seem
to crumble like poorly built sand castles when the propaganda and
controversy doesn't go their way. Then its everyone else's
fault...again.

Why the fans? For constantly coming to rescue of the Vince and the
rest when they pull one of their stupid stunts, it's almost gotten to
the point were the WWF fanatics would take a bullet for good ol' Vince
if that's what he wanted to them to do.

You can blame the PTC or any organization you want to, it really
doesn't matter. If it isn't the PTC it will be some other group and
then who will you blame? At what point does the blame finally find
it's way to the feet were it should lay: with the Vinces (Russo and
McMahon), after all, they the ones who write this crap, they are the
ones with the "creative control". If they are regal enough to take the
accolades of their cult followers than they need to be man enough to
take the heat when it comes around.

Whatever stand you take on this issue I implore you to think first and
not take the cowardly "LETS BOYCOTT THE ENTIRE WORLD!!!!!!!" or
e-mailing the PTC, who probably couldn't give a rats ass about what you
think. Be brave, stop letting the promoters think for you, confront
them about the direction of the sport, they claim that they do this for
you, so it would stand to reason that they would listen if anyone ever
decided to have some class again.

If you don't, than you and the promoters deserve all and any
Criticism that you have coming to you, the media will continue to paint
wrestling as a joke and you will be the butt end of it.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
UNDERSTIMATING THE TEEN AUDIENCE
Written by reader: Flyers10JL
I'm writing this letter in response the PTC's campaign for censorship.
These people have no right to decide what I can and can't watch. I'm a
15-year-old high school student, who's been watching the WWF since I
was 11.

These people seem to think that people my age and younger have virgin
ears, no brains and cant think for ourselves. Every Tuesday and Friday
after watching WWF's RAW and Smackdown, my friends and I usually talk
about it, and laugh our asses off. Why? Because we know it isn't
real!!!!! That wasn't really the Rock's girlfriend who cut him off at
second base. Jeff Jarrett doesn't really hate women. Debra isn't
really a slut who will flash anything that moves.

Most children now-a-days know and understand a lot more
than they let on. These censorship groups don't seem to understand
that times change, and something that would've been taboo for children
to watch 20-30 years ago is perfectly acceptable now. My 11-year-old
sister watches WWF programming all the time. She understands that it
isn't real. She understands that when DX says "Suck-It" that they're
showing that they can defy authority, she knows what they're implying.
Does she care? No. It's all just a show.

Rather than getting all anal about these things, parent groups like
this should talk to children to get their opinion. Yeah, there are a
few morons who will still think its real and try to power-bomb their
little brother, but the majority of children who watch understand that
it isn't real and that you shouldn't tell your teacher to suck it, nor
should you flip them off.

These groups need to give children and teens more credit and stop
underestimating what we understand.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
WRESTLING PROSPECTS
Written by reader: James Dougal (bookerfan)
WCW has proven that the Power Plant can produce fine athletes. WWF may
take another year before we get to see more of their prospects from OVW
and PPW on TV. ECW House of Hardcore is up here in New York and has
some produced some good talents. Here are my picks that I am watching,
in no particular order:

Kid Romeo-He was the 1st of the Power Plant 99' class that I saw and
took a real liking to. He has good moves, a look that can be sold and
loads of agility.

Elix Skipper-He puts me in the mind of Booker T (who happens to be my
favorite wrestler). Elix, from his 1st TV match (which was a loss)
impressed me. This guy can flat out move and has the skills.

Chuck Palumbo- I really like him too. He is large but can move well.
That Jumbo Kick Finisher looks good. I will expect a lot of him in the
future.

Sonny Siaki- He is a Pacific Islander but he has The Rock written all
over him. He has the kind of swagger and look. Great moves as well.

Alan Funk-I like him skills wise. He is kind of like an old style heel
in the way he carries himself. He will be a good wrestler to push if
WCW does it right.

Rick Cornell-This guy looks like a High Voltage Kaos type of guy. He
has the size. He can throw some pretty good suplexes. If I were in
charge, I would think of bringing him in as Kaos's new partner. They
have the look.

There are a few others that I only had the chance to see once.

Rhino from ECW-From his 1st match I knew that this guy could do it.
This is a man ECW must keep away from Vince McMahon and WCW. Rhino has
size, loads of power, high impact moves that make you cringe for his
opponents. This is a man who has already gotten a title shot at Mike
Awesome and showed well.

Shawn Stasiak (formerly Meat)- I really like him. That Meat thing with
PMS was okay. Now he has to shine without T&A to get him TV time. He
has some good ability. He can be a future contender for the IC belt
maybe even more.

Prince Albert (known as Baldo in PPW)- I really like Prince Albert. He
is a big man with moves. He is a walking power house. The human
sweater with the Boss Man should be a force until I think they will
eventually split. Remember Albert's debut, when he powerslammed Boss
Man with little effort.

Kurt Angle-On the net chats everyone says he sux (sucks). I love this
guy. He is a Gold medal winning Olympic wrestler. That speaks volumes.
His matches are somewhat boring to even the wrestling purists, but give
him time and he will be a better showman. Hey if you agree or disagree
you can always email me at Bookerfan
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
COUNTER PRESSURE
Written by Ed Pyle (epyle)
I saw your bit about that lobby group trying to get WWF's sponsorship
pulled. I think the whole issue hides a more important one. For about
the same effort it takes to write a letter, there is a simpler way for
parents to prevent their kids from seeing WWF programming. The first
is its shown on cable in Canada and the US (as far as I know), so
anyone who doesn't want to see it, shouldn't pay for it.

Second, most cable companies offer converters to block out certain
channels for a small fee or even free. This probably is a freedom of
expression issue, although it doesn't need to be. I personally don't
like XXX porn, so I don't watch it. If parents don't want their
children seeing the WWF product, maybe they shouldn't bring it into
their homes. I don't think the WWF controls their viewership, parents
can.

Second, I think that every person who watches RAW is a de facto
positive voter in favor of it. Perhaps if Coke wants to pull its
sponsorship of RAW, maybe RAW viewers should stop drinking Coke. That
would be serious pressure. If every wrestling fan who went into
McDonalds told them to keep the Coke from their extra value meal it
wouldn't take long for relations to sour between the two companies. I
dare say that many of McDonald's Billions and Billions are also among
the Rock's Millions and Millions, and the PTC would find out that
corporate pressure works two ways.

I don't know much about this group. But I guarantee, there are more of
US than there are of THEM. They seem well organized and that's their
advantage. But if any group is well represented, especially on the
Internet, it is wrestling fans. So ultimately, I feel that this too
shall come to pass. But we must all remember that the price of
democracy is eternal vigilance, and keep the awareness and the debate
alive.
Just some thoughts,
Ed
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
THE MISFITS
Written by reader: Michael Lombard (Michael_Lombard)
I just have a couple of comments. First, I have seen the ECW figures at
Toys-R-Us (this in regards to the Straight Shooting commentary in WBS
#413). Second, what has WWF done to Y2J, was Jeff Jarrett so idolized
as a character that they had to make Y2J the same exact character? So
Jarrett leaves for WCW to pursue a career with the over 40 crowd, so
lets decide to make Y2J just like Double J. Sheesh, very creative.

Speaking of creative, I know that I am one of many to say this, but
ASYA, a muscular woman in leather, running around with a
"Revolution"ary group. Named after a land
Mass (except changing the I to a Y). Creative!!!

Last complaint for now, "The Misfits". I used to listen to this band,
way back when, when they were a really good punk band. I think this new
incarnation of the "Misfits" is a disgrace. And worse off, they decided
to pawn themselves off to the Dubba-C-Dubba. Not that any Fed would
have been any better (well maybe ECW). Glenn Danzig (the Original
Misfit) is probably rolling over in his casket, and
yes, he isn't even dead yet.
Thanks for listening,
Mike
===========================================
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