Issue # 421
Date:
Friday December 3rd, 1999 11:21 am
The Wrestling Booking Sheet
DUSTY RHODES DEBUTS IN ECW
Reported by Dave Meltzer at:
http://www.WrestlingObserver.com
Dusty Rhodes returned to the
wrestling
business when he debuted at
the 12/2 ECW
on TNN taping in Atlanta.
Early reports
are that he was involved in
an angle with
Steve Corino which will
eventually build
to a feud with longtime
nemesis Terry Funk.
While Rhodes' in-ring time
will likely be
limited, I would guess that a
clever booker
(Paul Heyman) could build to
something
productive with the very
charismatic
"American Dream". Having
Terry Funk
(even at this point) involved
will give
Rhodes a chance to go out in
style.
Meltzer revealed that Too
Cold Scorpico
returned at the tapings as
well,
alongside his new valet Jazz.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
THE FATE OF THE IWGP JUNIOR
HEAVYWEIGHT BELT
Reported by Dave Meltzer at:
http://www.WrestlingObserver.com
As of the moment New Japan is
still
recognizing Jushin "Thunder"
Liger as
the IWGP Junior Heavyweight
Champion.
The original plan was for
Juvi to drop
the title to Liger at
Thunder, a scenario
squashed when Guerrera
injured his elbow
in Monday's match.
Since the belt was never
shown on Nitro
(and there was no
announcement made to
the crowd) it is believed
that New Japan
will claim that the match was
a non-title
affair; the only inference
that this was
a title match was inferences
made by the
WCW announcers.
Since Guerrera is slated to
be out of
action for six weeks this may
be the
only way to save the IWGP
Junior
Heavyweight title match at
the 1/4/2000
Tokyo Egg Dome show.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
STEREOTYPES IN WRESTLING
Written by reader: James
Dougal (bookerfan)
This is in response to
Egg1poppa's post
about minorities. I highly
agree with him,
wrestling has been filled
with stereotypical
gimmicks for years. You can
go back and
find them throughout the
history of wrestling.
Even now in the WWF we have
the pimp
gimmick and the sexual beast
gimmick.
But, I don't necessarily say
that this is
out of racism. The bookers
are playing to
the potential crowd response.
If you look
back, whatever perceived
crisis the United
States faces, whether foreign
or internal,
wrestling has found a way to
market it.
If the United States is at
war or in conflict
with a nation, a heel
supposedly from that
nation will magically appear
to gain instant
heat from the crowd.
The booker's often use the
common Americans
nationalist feelings or
dislikes in order
to come up with these plots
and gimmicks.
So in conclusion, the bookers
will try to
get a response from the crowd
by either
appealing to it or pissing it
off.
++++++++++++++++++++
Steve Appy responds:
James,
Whenever a promoter uses the
excuse that
they are "just giving the
fans what they
want" it always seems like
they are
trying to appeal to the
lowest common
denominator.
I can't think of a promotion
that hasn't
used either race-baiting or
stereotypical
characters at one point or
another and
it's one of the more shameful
aspects of
the business.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
NEW JAPAN
Written by reader: Todd
O'Shea (poreresu@xxxxs...)
Let me first start off by
saying that I
am a fan of WCW and have been
even before
the two masters of script
writing ever set
foot there. Benoit has always
been one of
my favorite wrestlers and I
watched the
horrible WCW programming that
has gone on
TV in the past.
With the being said, I think
I can start
the part where I bitch. I do
like some
of the stuff that the two
moneymakers have
written angle-wise so far. It
has been
interesting. But, I am a long
time fan
of Jushin Liger. I must say
something
here. I can see (maybe) why
an unclean
win for Juvi might be good. I
know
certainly that on Japanese
soil that
Juvi would have stood no
chance at even
a title shot against Liger so
damn quick.
This, like many others have
said was an
immediate SHOT at the
Japanese based New
Japan Pro Wrestling
promotion, and if not
one at Liger himself.
In Japan, screwjobs are rare,
and they
are certainly re-matched as
quick as can
be booked, but they are never
for a belt.
They let the talent speak
when belts are
concerned, not the soap
opera. That is
why I think that if the two
in charge
have problems with one of the
most
money-making promotions in
the world
they are playing with
something they
don't need to. I like Juvi,
don't get
me wrong. Hell, I know that
the bookers
don't like the Luchadors as
well as the
Japanese people. They think
that
American wrestling is the end
to all.
The truth of the matter is,
just like
real life guys, you must deal
with
people of all races and types
of
lifestyles different from
your own.
This is where things like the
public
degrading of Italians and
many other
types of people like last
night on
Thunder is just crap
programming.
Paul Heyman didn't get where
he is
calling people names,
(Pillman did
that for him) and look at his
promotion.
They don't need the dastardly
duo
to make it. That's why I
think that
all the Luchadors and NJPW
needs to
sign with ECW like FMW did,
and let
the United States be shown
the same
great matches we miss that
only happen
in Japan. In closing, all I
hope
is that Liger gets his title
back
and says the two most famous
words
in the wrestling world, no,
not SUCK
IT!!! STICK IT!!!
HAHAHAHAHAHA
-Todd "Thunder" O'Shea
poreresu@xxxxs...
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
A CRITIC OF THE PURORESU
STYLE
Written by reader:
hill4455
I'm starting to get tired of
everyone
complaining about what
happened to Jushin
Liger and acting like the
IWGP belt is
so prestigious and Japanese
wrestling is
so great. Jushin Liger is not
even that
good anymore. He is not
better than Billy
Kidman or X-Pac. Also, he
needs to take
off that clown outfit like
Psychosis did.
Was he born in a circus?
I am a casual fan of Japanese
wrestling
and I like some things about
it.
However, it's not as great as
some people
make it out to be. Japanese
feds don't
compare to the feds we have
over here.
All of their best wrestlers
are wimpy
Cruiserweights. They wouldn't
stand a
chance against a similarly
sized
grappler like Rob Van Dam or
someone
like Chris Jericho.
The only problem with WCW,
WWF and
even ECW is the idiot
bookers.
++++++++++++++++++++
Steve Appy responds:
I would agree that at this
point in
their careers that X-Pac is
better than Liger (give Kidman some time). With the
destroyed
ankle Liger is not the worker
he once
was (a high impact style will
do that
to you).
At the same time there are
still very
few performers in the world
that
consistently pull out ****
matches on
a semi-regular basis. While
Liger's
matches are enhanced by his
opponents
(Kanemoto & Ohtani are two of
the best)
he is still consistently
involved in
classics.
Dave Meltzer remarked that
X-Pac is the
best wrestler around that
never seems to
have good PPV matches; while
I realize
that working with Kane
doesn't make for
a classic, the fact remains
that X-Pac
is not yet in Liger's league.
He's good
enough to be and in the ring
he often
looks better, but he's still
the classic
underachiever.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
THE PTC & "CENSORSHIP"
Written by reader: Kelly
Monro (KellyMonro)
Censor-An examiner of printed
or other
materials, who may prohibit
what is
considered objectionable.
Prohibit-To forbid by
authority.
Most pro wrestling
newsletters you may
read concerning the WWF
losing major
sponsors related to their
offensive
content want you to believe
that some
"right-wing" group is
censoring the
WWF. That just is not the
case.
All of us are censors to some
extent.
However, from Webster's
Dictionary,
not all of us fit that mold,
nor do
"right-wing" groups. We all
examine
things in our lives on a
daily basis,
from newspapers, to music,
movies,
television and other
media/cultural
/religious perspectives. What
most
of us do not have, however,
is the
authority to do much about it
when
it comes to censoring.
Sure, we can choose not to
read the
paper, listen to particular
music,
not buy tickets to a theater,
etc,
but overall what have we
changed by
our own censoring? Newspapers
nowadays purchase other
newspapers
from the same town, city and
suburb.
If you choose not to read a
particular
slanted media outlet, most
times you
are out in the cold because
there are
no other voices that speak to
you from
like-minded individuals in
your city.
That is from a simple way of
looking at
things. Then when lines are
crossed that
you know are wrong, what
recourse do you
really have? Changing the
channel can
only do so much and that in
itself
doesn't change a single thing
content-wise on some program
you may
find objectionable.
When "NYPD Blue" first aired
there
were major protests and many
TV
stations around the nation
refused
to show it. Even today in
some
markets "NYPD Blue" cannot be
seen.
The objectionable material
people
protested against was the use
of
crass language and naked
butt-shots
from male and female cast
members.
If people did nothing, if
there
was no outcry, then those in
authority, those who know it
is
a business and try to operate
their stations with positive
cash-flow, will air stuff
that
they themselves may not
watch,
nor even know what kind of
content
appears in the show.
The protesters themselves had
the
freedom to assemble and have
their
views aired, BUT they did not
have
the freedom nor the ability
to change
the content, they had no
authority.
So, in Webster's description
of what
a "censor" is, they do not
meet that
criteria. Only those in
authority
can censor. The people can
complain,
protest or support something,
but
the people cannot themselves
censor.
PTC, the "right-wing"
activist group,
has no ability whatsoever to
censor,
for they are not in authority
of the
UPN network, nor sponsor the
programming. PTC is doing
what we as
Americans have done, and will
continue
to do until that freedom is
taken away,
and that is to speak out. I
applaud
them for doing so.
For the longest time it must
be rightly
admitted that Mr. Vince
McMahon, the
head honcho of the World
Wrestling
Federation, has looked down
in contempt
at those who dare to speak
ill against
him or his business. He has
been very
argumentative in the past and
has done
nothing less than ridicule
his detractors.
Why such a position from a
powerful man?
Well, that speaks for itself,
because he
is all-powerful, and can
dictate to people
and arenas around the country
how things
will be if you want to have a
WWF show.
He has no one to answer to,
except to
those that fill his wallet
with millions
of dollars annually-no, not
the fans that
purchase the posters and WWF
merchandise,
but the sponsors themselves.
The WWF is a business. They
now readily
call it "sports
entertainment", and as
every business created, the
only way for
it to remain is to make
money. That means
making deals, contracts, and
even allowing
others some access or
suggestions, in some
instances in lieu for their
continued support
of the business. Fans of the
WWF cannot
censor the WWF. Your only
role is to put
more money in McMahon's back
pocket by
buying lot's of WWF stuff
when you attend
a show, etc.
If you decide not to buy a
certain product,
does that worry Vince & Co?
Of course not,
he will order different
products that you
may want to buy and stop the
production of
items that for some reason
just haven't caught
on with the buying public.
That is some mild
form of censorship, however
it is the only
authority given to you, the
consumer. The
major sponsors have the
authority to change
things in storyline content,
but not you nor
I. All of the pay per views
have a primary
sponsor that spend millions
of bucks just for
the exposure, hoping you may
be swayed to
pick up some M&Ms, or a case
of pop on your
next visit to the concession
stand and
grocery store.
At a PPV in England this past
year it
was rumored that the WWF
wanted to have
some "accidental nudity" on
the program
by having a top ripped off a
chick in
view of those whom paid to
watch it live.
You did not see it, however,
because the
sponsor--M&Ms--nixed that
storyline. They
refused to pay their money
for such content.
Vince listened to them and
there was no
"accidental nudity".
The PTC, YMCA, Boy Scouts, or
the Royal
Family themselves could have
protested
against the created
storyline, however
they would not have been in
authority
to make sure such a thing
didn't occur.
Only M&Ms had that authority
to censor,
and censor they did.
Most if not all of the
sponsors of the
WWF have no idea whatsoever
what goes
on in the various shows it
produces. I
am sure the USA network and
UPN have a
better idea since for sure
they must
watch every show before they
air it, and
until individuals stand up
and complain
loudly about what they are
seeing, the
sponsors will believe that
everything
is A-ok.
In the past month during a
regular
afternoon soap opera, "Bold
and the
Beautiful", an actress said
the word
"goddamn" and it aired uncut
across
the nation. The networks own
censors
claimed they didn't hear the
word and
they watched the show THREE
times before
it aired but did not catch it
either time.
Well, the viewers did, and
the network was
flooded by thousands of
complaint calls,
and CBS made a vow that such
a "mistake"
would never happen again. The
callers did
not have the authority to
change content,
only CBS and their sponsors
do. I am sure
they acted quickly so they
would not lose
any of the valuable sponsors,
and
rightfully so.
Contrary to most diehard
wrestling fanatics
out there, the majority of
those whom watch
television do not watch
wrestling. They are
not fans of professional
wrestling. And if
you honestly believe that
most Americans
would stand beside you
against the alleged
"censorship" from the PTC,
you are quite
delusional. If Americans saw
a program which
aimed itself at their kids,
and heard Stone
Cold Steve Austin call
himself the "baddest
son of a bitch alive", or see
him flip the
bird at opponents and swig
beer like some
neighborhood drunk in the
middle of the ring
at the cheers of his "fans",
there would be
more of an outrage.
If American's viewed The
Rock, regardless
how charismatic he is, talk
about "puntang
pie" and his mantra about
"shining up the
sumbitch and shoving it
sideways" up some
person's ass, there would be
an outcry.
If America saw some dumbass
black guy walk
out calling himself a Pimp,
and following
behind him were a few "ho's",
and everyone
in the arena recited his
familiar lines
and cheered about joining
"the ho' train"
there would be major
complaints.
If America watched the WWF,
WCW and ECW
nowadays, they would see
grown adults acting
in the most immature of ways.
No, not the
wrestlers or the valets, I am
referring to
the fans, and all of this in
full view of
children in the arena, and of
course TV. When
guys scream out in a chant
that reverberates
off the walls, "Show your
tits!", and other
lewd obscenities that are not
acceptable
behavior in society, then
there should be
more of an upheaval of
disgust. The only
recourse that we as a people
have when crap
like the aforementioned is
displayed is to
write the sponsors. We have
no power to
censor. The sponsors do. And
for some
dimwits who will lie and tell
me that
the WWF is not aimed at
children, all
I have to do is point at the
advertising.
For Smackdown, the majority
of commercials
are from video game makers.
In one
commercial, The Rock even
tells Santa
(while both have their pants
around their
ankles, sitting in stalls on
a toilet),
that he was going to shove
something up
Santa's ass. And this is for
some WWF
video game.
Clearly some sponsors don't
give a damn
about what we call decency
anymore, and
even the children are exposed
to
objectionable material in
commercials! If
America viewed the bleeped
words, such as
"asshole" and worse, there
would be an
outcry for a change. If
American's saw
Sexual Chocolate Mark Henry's
"sex-addiction" skits, where
he claimed
he lost his virginity at the
age of 5
or so to his own sister, and
that he
is still screwing her today,
it would
infuriate the public.
There would be more protests
made
concerning a "porn star" as a
wrestler,
whom always makes ridiculous
sexual remarks,
even his finishing move is
called the
"money-shot", a term used to
describe
when a man pulls his penis
from a woman
in porno's and ejaculates
somewhere on
her body. Foam hands can be
bought for
the little kiddies too that
already have
the middle finger erected in
case they
don't know how to do that
yet! How
considerate.
Skits that involve oral sex,
rape, other
abuses of women by men,
cancer, some guy
whom is supposed to be dead,
and satanic
in nature, etc. would alarm
most people
if they saw it, and such
things are
commonplace in the WWF now.
But of
course the true wrestling fan
defends
that, however, I am sure they
would
scream loudly if the WWF
decided to
have a real casket match,
with fake
Owen Hart and Andre the Giant
caskets
put in the ring, and the
winner would
be whomever made noise first
or something,
or if a skit involved Big
Boss Man taking
a leak on Owen's headstone.
None of that
stuff comes close to the
offensiveness
which Vince has allowed over
the airwaves
in the name of
"entertainment".
Yes, the channel can be
turned. But if
stuff like the WWF produces
is not
protested against, then
another show on
another network will push the
envelope
even further, to where pretty
soon, there
would be nothing that is NOT
offensive
on TV to watch. Fox could
decide to air
porno movies, and I am sure
it would be
the biggest draw in the
history of American
TV, but to say to "just turn
the channel"
is not good enough. Some
things are just
plain wrong. Period.
It's time to clean up
wrestling to the point
where it is once again
something which can
be viewed by grandparents and
kids alike.
I have read many accounts
where wrestling
fans are now turning away
from the sport,
simply because of everything
I have brought
up. The WWF does not need to
be offensive to
be good. And I feel unless
Vince makes the
moral choice of toning some
things down that
we will begin to see the
decline of a sport
we all love. The NFL is not
offensive, and
they draw bigger numbers than
the WWF does.
Less offensive does not mean
boring
television, does it?
I support the PTC for
standing up and protesting.
Coke can stay and sponsor the
WWF if they like.
That is their right. But it
is our right also
to buy Pepsi if Coke supports
programming we
don't believe needs to be as
offensive. And that
babe is the bottom line.
Write me if you so wish.
KellyMonro
===========================================
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
|