WRESTLING GLOBE NEWSLETTER
EDITION NUMBER 13
14TH MAY 2001
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IN THE WRESTLING GLOBE NEWSLETTER THIS WEEK
LATEST NEWS - WWF FULLY LOADED NOW WWF INVASION
RUDO RAMBLINGS
THE PURORESU RUNDOWN
SPECIAL COLUMN - WAS THE GREAT TURN THE GREAT MISTAKE?
T & A (Trivia and Answers)!
THE DANGER ZONE - A LOOK AT LESSER KNOWN BACKSTAGE CONFRONTATIONS
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LATEST NEWS - by Matt Singh and Andrew Evans
Hi Globe subscribers, here's this weeks news…
World Wrestling Federation
WCW v WWF may finally be on! Apparently, the WWF have renamed the PPV set for 22nd July 2001 from Fully Loaded to Invasion, sparking rumours of the start of the inter-promotional angle.
As predicted, the XFL professional football league has been discontinued by the WWF and NBC. The expected loss for the league is said to be around $40 million.
Smackdown continues to draw low ratings, last weeks episode pulled 3.7 million viewers. Speaking of Smackdown, the rumours that the program will be cut to 90 minutes after the summer is now dead due to the finish of the XFL.
Jim Ross met with several talents to discuss their future in the WWF or WCW, including Mike Awesome, Shawn Stasiak, Billy Kidman and Torrie Wilson. All of the above should be heading to Memphis Championship Wrestling before the end of the month, although neither of said talent is actually contracted to the WWF.
Management is said to be very happy with the way Matt 'Spike Dudley' Hyson has performed thus far. Also, this weeks "Ross Report" was leaked several hours early by an unnamed source.
It was thought that Perry Saturn was sent home last week after a Jakked/Metal match in which he brutalised Mike Bell (a jobber) after Bell blew a spot, but in actual fact he has sent home due to an injury. Saturn was said to have nailed Bell with stiff right hands to the face and was pretty blatant about it.
Elsewhere
Frontier Wrestling Alliance (FWA) is having a television taping on the 19
th of May at the Porchester Community Centre.Tickets are still available for WrestleXpress 2001, but all ringside seats have now been sold out. Eric Bischoff is confirmed for the event on 20th October in Coventry, England and the names Scott Hall and Kevin Nash have also been rumoured, started by FWA wrestler, Alex Shane. For more details, head over to www.wrestlexpress.com.
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RUDO RAMBLINGS - by Martin Walton
It’s been a pretty quiet week in Mexico with only a few newsworthy tidbits to report:
In EMLL news, Tarzan Boy had a meeting with a doctor on Wednesday and was told that he can return to the ring in two months. Tarzan who is one of the top young stars in Lucha broke his neck around 2 months ago after performing a ropewalk where the ring rope actually snapped. There’s been some rumours floating around that Vampiro has failed to agree a deal with EMLL, however Vamp has been on vacation for the last couple of weeks so the rumours don’t have much strength. Results from the EMLL TV taping on May 11 were:
MAIN EVENT: Satanico fought Ultimo Guerrero to a double count-out.
SEMI-MAIN EVENT: Rayo De Jalisco/Rayo De Jalisco Jr./Atlantis defeated Cien Caras/Mascara Ano 2000/Universo 2000 by DQ
TERCERA: La Fiera/Negro Casas/Mr. Niebla beat Zumbido/Emilio Charles Jr./Bestia Salvaje
In AAA news, matches were announced this weekend for the upcoming TripleMania 4 (AAA’s equivalent of WrestleMania) event in Acapulco on May 24, the lineup looks like this:
Pirata Morgan vs. El Cobarde vs. Sangre Chicana - Hair vs. Hair vs. Hair
Los Vipers (Psicosis, Histeria, Maniaco, Mosco) vs. Los Vatos Locos (Picudo, Nygma, Silver Cat, Espiritu) - Extreme Match
El Zorro/Blue Demon Jr./El Hijo Del Solitario vs. Pimpinela Escarlata/May Flowers/Polvo De Estrellas
Elsewhere, Japanese promotion Toryumon is promoting a show at the Arena Coliseo in Mexico City on May 19. The main event looks like a scorch with Vampiro teaming up with Atlantis and Villano III to face Blue Panther, CIMA and Fuerza Guerrera. Results from last Friday’s show independent show in Tijuana were:
MAIN EVENT: Mil Mascaras and Gigante Silva defeated Chuck Palumbo/Dr. Wagner Jr./Apolo Dantes in a Handicap Match
SEMI-MAIN EVENT: El Hijo Del Santo/La Parka/Nicho El Millonario beat Scorpio Jr./Fuerza Guerrera/Juventud Guerrera
QUINTA: Halloween beat Rey Misterio and Damian 666 in a Triangle Ladder Match to win the WWEA Title
TERCERA: El Hijo Del Diablo defeated Kato Kung Lee by DQ in a Mask vs. Worlds Martial Arts Title match
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THE PURORESU RUNDOWN - by Andrew Evans
Here is this weeks news from the world of Puroresu...
Mitsuharu Misawa is trying to book Shinjiro Ohtani and Tatsuhito Takaiwa to work for the NOAH tours in June and July, as the tour will include the tournament to crown the first GHC Jr. Champion. Before leaving for America this week, Misawa announced that he is hoping that he can find the next "Dynamite Kid" in the American independent scene.
The GAEA Japan booker, Chigusa Nagayo, is expected to be out for up to six months after having surgery in a Kanagawa hospital on her left shoulder.
It apparently seems that the main event of the New Japan 20th July Sapporo Dome show will be Manabu Nakanishi vs. Naoya Ogawa in some sort of gimmick match. All the heat-up and build-up since May 5th has been for Nakanishi vs. Ogawa, which could potentially be the worst match ever done for a Dome show main event. The heat originally started when Nakanishi challenged Ogawa to a no-rope death match, so that Ogawa wouldn't be able to do any rope-breaks or anything. At the same time of Nakanishi trying to set up some heat for a potential Dome match, Nobuhiko Takada basically called Naoya Ogawa out for a shoot-fight match in PRIDE in November. Ogawa then said that he and the mysterious white masked man (Shin'ya Hashimoto) of UFO would demand a match in NOAH against Jun Akiyama and Vader (an interesting move because Vader has heat with the New Japan office). Ogawa said that Takada's challenge to a shoot-fight in PRIDE was nothing more than a desperate mood, and that he couldn't care less what Takada says. Ogawa said that if the match ever happened, it would definitely not happen in PRIDE. In response to Ogawa, Takada said that he wanted back in pro-wrestling and that he wanted to do "one-decision wars" (one single match) with several big names, including Shin'ya Hashimoto, Naoya Ogawa, Mitsuharu Misawa, Toshiaki Kawada, & Keiji Mutoh. Takada said that he wants to work Shin'ya Hashimoto's "all-shoot" show on June 14th at Osaka Castle Hall.
Keiji Mutoh is doing some angle work for his BATT (Bad Ass Translate Trading) stable. He's basically grooming Yuji Nagata's younger 26-year-old brother, Katsuhiko Nagata (around 158 pounds, super amateur wrestler), to join the group. Mutoh also announced that he wants to get Yuji into the fold so that when Yuji wins the IWGP Title on 6th June and Mutoh wins the Triple Crown on 8th June, he'll be able to form a four-crown championship situation.
New Japan President Tatsumi Fujinami announced that because of Kensuke Sasaki & Riki Choshu not working full tours for New Japan Pro Wrestling, he would have to withdraw his "retirement road" tour and that he would come back full-time to wrestling as soon as possible to fill up any gaps in the current roster slots on the house show circuit.
The WEW Singles Title match between Tetsuhiro Kuroda and Hayabusa on May 22nd at the 6,500-seat Tsukisame Green Dome will have Arena Hell Death Match rules with 176-bombed exploding barbed wire barricade double hell.
Big Japan Pro Wrestling announced the line-up for their 3rd June Tokyo, Akihabara rally. The main event of the show will be Men's Teioh and Abdullah Kobayashi taking on Shadow WX and The Winger in a fire death match. The rules are simple - if the show doesn't draw more than 2,700 paid, there will never be another fire death match in Big Japan according to the fire director/city manager in Tokyo, and Ryuji Yamakawa will permanently retire from pro-wrestling (this is a cheap trick to try to draw more fans).
(Credit all information: www.puroresupower.com)
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SPECIAL COLUMN - by Drowned
Wrestlemania X-Seven at the Houston Astrodome before 68,000 rabid fans was the scene of a historic moment, perhaps the most historic moment of the modern WWF era. When perennial fan favourite Stone Cold Steve Austin aligned himself with hated foe Vince McMahon in the closing moments of the most anticipated Main Event of the past five years, things would never again be the same. Austin was a 'bad guy' now. The initial reaction from online fans was one of eager anticipation. It seemed to open up so many tantalising possibilities. Talk of feuds with Chris Jericho, Chris Benoit or perhaps a newly turned Kurt Angle had fans salivating at the thought. Not only that, the deranged assault on The Rock looked like it would signify a return of the old Austin... the genuine badass redneck who ran rampant before slowly evolving into a generic babyface in recent years.
Fast forward to six weeks later and the optimism has turned to disappointment. It's apparent that the heel turn has failed. The question we're left asking ourselves is why such an important occasion has resulted in such limited success. There are a number of factors involved which have led to Austin becoming the most under whelming champion since Paul Wight, but I think the most glaring problem is the radical character change which happened seemingly overnight. Now, we all know wrestling is fake, but even the most passionate of believers must be left shaking their heads over the sudden transformation in Austin from a badass, beer-swilling Texan who has dominated the entire industry for three years into a cowardly heel. Even worse, he's still displaying signs of the intensity which catapulted him to the pinnacle of the sport... it feels like the WWF doesn't really know how to portray Austin. One minute he's like classic Stone Cold, the next he's hiding in Vince's dressing room, terrified to leave for fear of The Undertaker attacking him. It reeks of poor preparation and I still find it hard to believe that the WWF would turn their most popular wrestler to the dark side without having some well-planned storylines to cement his heel status.
Ratings have plummeted in the weeks since Austin turned heel and there is an obvious reason for this pattern: WWF television has been incredibly boring in recent times. Obviously Austin can't be solely blamed for this, but the combination of no Rock, Austin as a weak champion and increasingly stale under-card feuds have culminated in unexciting viewing. Something has to change. The WWF has put themselves in this predicament and they seem unable to do much about it. They're really crying out for a major angle, and with a WCW invasion just asking to happen, surely it's time Vince played his trump card. Austin could be a major star if that angle took place, helping guys like Booker T and maybe Scott Steiner to get over as monster faces. I know I'd pay for an Austin-Steiner feud, and judging by the pop Steiner's name got when Vince mentioned it on Raw after purchasing WCW, I think the fans are in agreement.
Going back to this heel turn... the fact that Austin and HHH are now allies is perhaps the most ridiculous storyline I've ever witnessed. Both of these guys have attempted to 'murder' each other within the past two years. Barely three months ago they competed in a bloody and barbaric 2/3 falls Match of the Year contender. They despised each other so intently that they weren't allowed physical contact leading up to No Way Out... now they are friends? To make matters worse, Triple H has been made to look like the dominant partner. There are times when Austin, who is the WWF Champion lest we forget, has been made to resemble nothing more than a lackey for Vince and HHH. Does the WWF genuinely expect the fans to jeer Austin in his new role? If this current Austin character continues in the same vein as in recent weeks the only response he will receive from fans is one of apathy. A heel is supposed to fill us with resentment, but what has Stone Cold done to make us hate him? If anything, he's acting like a sympathetic babyface at times; it looks like he's being totally controlled by Vince and Triple H. It's almost as if Austin is a modern day Virgil while McMahon is The Million Dollar Man! It seems like the heel turn has died on its feet. Maybe it's not too late too salvage something from this situation, but maybe the Great Turn was a Great Mistake.
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T & A (Trivia and Answers!) by Andrew Evans
1. True or False? The WWF World Heavyweight Title changed hands at every Survivor Series event between 1994 and 1999.
2. Oscar Gutierrez is better known as which famous WCW superstar?
3. Who was the other participant in the 3-way dance when Taz was beaten by Sabu for the FTW World Title?
4. Which team won the 1993 AJPW Real World Tag League Tournament?
5. Frank Gotch suffered the last defeat of his pro career to whom?
6. What was the opening match of the 1994 WWF Royal Rumble?
7. Starrcade 1989 and 1992 were both held in which arena?
8. In their early days, ECW ran a TV show every 6 weeks on which TV channel?
9. What year did Riki Choshu sign with New Japan to start his wrestling career?
10. Who was James Harris better known as during his WWF run?
ANSWERS ARE GIVEN AT THE END OF THE NEWSLETTER!
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THE DANGER ZONE - by Martin Walton
We all know about some of the more famous backstage fights in recent times like:
Bret Hart vs. Shawn Michaels, DDP vs. Scott Steiner, ECW vs. XPW, Buff Bagwell vs. Ernest Miller, Sid Vicious vs. Arn Anderson and Bret Hart vs. Vince McMahon.
However this week in the Danger Zone, I thought that I might talk about some of the lesser-known backstage scuffles that have occurred over the years.
1) Shawn Michaels and Marty Jannetty.
This fight occurred in Denver, Colorado around 1990/91. The story goes that the two got into a fight following an argument over a woman, indeed the two beat each other up so much that they forced to miss the following day's TV taping. No word on whom came out top in the fight.
2) Andre The Giant and Bad News Brown/Allen.
Not so much of an actual fight but instead a confrontation. This all started in a Japanese dressing room with Andre telling a racist joke which angered Bad news who challenged Andre to step outside, surprisingly Andre backed down and declined the offer. In hindsight it was probably a wise decision considering Bad News was a former Bronze medal winner in Judo at the 1978 Olympics and former hand to hand combat trainer for the NYPD. The two would actually go on to be good friends.
3) Rick Steiner and Norman Smiley.
This may surprise everyone but the story goes that Smiley and Steiner were hanging out in a Florida bar during Jan 2000, for some reason Rick Steiner pissed off Smiley which led to Smiley knocking Steiner on his ass with a single right hand. Although he may not look it, Smiley is not someone you should mess around with.
4) Lou Albano and Shane McMahon.
This was more like Albano teaching Shane a lesson opposed to an actual fight. The story goes that a teenage Shane used to steal whiskey from Albano's bag and taunt Albano about it afterwards, eventually Albano snapped and slapped Shane around in the locker room. Apparently Vince became really pissed at Albano and was close to firing him.
5) P.N. News and Rick Rude.
This got started over a friendly arm wrestling contest sometime in the early 90's while on tour in Europe. P.N. got it into his head that he could beat Rude in an arm wrestling match (Rude was a world class arm wrestler before his wrestling days), Rude repeatedly beat him which angered P.N. who eventually took a swing at Rude who retaliated with a series of punches and kicks which left P.N. in a bloody mess, P.N. was in such bad shape that he missed several shows.
6) Von Erich brothers and a Japanese Cat.
This occurred during the mid 80's in an All Japan locker room. Kevin and Kerry were getting changed in the locker room when they started to play around with a cat, the story goes that the two clamped the Von Erich claw on the cat and squeezed it's brains out!
7) Jesse Barr and Haku.
This one took place in the mid 80's in a bar. Not much background on the story other than Barr was being rude to a woman in the bar which upset Meng which led to him partially ripping one of Barr's eyes with his bare hands (I wouldn't suggest pissing Meng off!)
8) Ken Shamrock and Mark Hall.
These two had heat with each other for a quite a long time before it boiled over (one incident was Hall making an obscene phone call to Shamrock's wife). Shamrock and Hall (a renowned no holds barred fighter) met backstage at a Southern Californian No Holds Barred event and the two quickly got into it with Shamrock pinning Hall up against a wall and pounded him with punches and knees shots, leaving Hall in a bloody mess.
9) Sensational Sherri and Abdullah the Butcher.
Not sure of the time frame but this incident occurred when Sherri complained that Abdullah was working a bit stiff with her (Sherri was managing Abdullah's opponent). One thing led to another and Sherri jumped on Abby's back and peppered him forearms, the fight was soon broke up by other wrestlers.
10) Vince McMahon and Nailz.
And finally the granddaddy of them all, the story behind this one is that Nailz and Vince were having a contracting meeting and Nailz asked for more money which angered Vince; this led to a heated argument. One thing led to another and Nailz thumped Vince with a right hand, which led to several wrestlers barging in to try and stop the fight. Nailz almost immediately declared that he punched Vince because he had made sexual advances to him.
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TRIVIA ANSWERS by Andrew Evans
1. True. 2. Rey Misterio Jr. 3. Justin Credible. 4. Mitsuharu Misawa and Kenta Kobashi. 5. Fred Beel - 1st December 1906. 6. Tatanka v Bam Bam Bigelow. 7. The Omni in Atlanta, Georgia. 8. SportsChannel Philadelphia. 9. 1973. 10. Kamala.
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WRESTLING GLOBE NEWSLETTER CONTACTS
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