WRESTLING GLOBE NEWSLETTER
EDITION NUMBER 14
21ST MAY 2001
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Welcome to the delayed Wrestling Globe Newsletter. The newsletter will not contain any spoilers from last night's Raw taping and will only comment on an injury suffered by Triple H at the show.
www.oocities.org/wrestlingglobe
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IN THE WRESTLING GLOBE NEWSLETTER THIS WEEK
LATEST NEWS - TRIPLE H SUFFERS MAJOR INJURY ON RAW
RUDO RAMBLINGS - AAA TRIPLEMANIA 2001 CARD ANNOUNCED
THE PURORESU RUNDOWN - MISAWA RETAINS GHC TITLE OVER TAUE
WWF JUDGMENT DAY 2001 PPV REVIEW
SPECIAL COLUMN ON THE UNDERTAKER
T & A (Trivia and Answers)!
ZERO TOLERANCE - THE TOP TEN REASONS YOU COULD BE A WORKRATE MARK
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LATEST NEWS - by Matt Singh and Andrew Evans
Hi Globe subscribers, here is this weeks news…
World Wrestling Federation
The main story is that Triple H suffered a major injury on last night's Raw show, and www.prowrestlingtorch.com reported yesterday that, "It's believed to be a severe tear of his quadricep muscle. He is getting tested at a hospital tonight. If it is a quadricep muscle tear, it could require surgery and he will likely be out of action for three months." This would be a huge blow for the WWF as The Rock is still away, and wasn't originally expected to return until July or August.
Jamie Morris, a creative writer for the company, has left his position within the promotion. He, like Vince Russo and Ed Ferrara, stated that long hours coupled with low pay was the reason he walked out, but other sources say that he was fired as he wasn't as productive as he should have been. Alex Abrahantes has been called in as an assistant to the booking/creative writing crew. Some of you may know Abrahantes as he worked the Pennsylvania area as Yutzak Arafat, also booking there, and was the president of Nittany Wrestling Federation as well as the Penn State Pro Wrestling Club.
Linda McMahon stated that the re-launch for the "new" WCW would take place in around 3-4 weeks time, however, take this information at face value.
Last weeks Smackdown drew a 4.0 rating, another week and another low rating.
There appears to be some friction between Vince McMahon and TNN. As the story goes, McMahon is not happy with the way ratings have fallen since the move to TNN.
The 29th April PPV entitled "Backlash" pulled a 0.9 buy rate, which means it's the lowest buy rate since 1999.
Reports state that the WWF is planning on creating their own film company/franchise.
World Championship Wrestling
The roster for the re-launch should be complete within the next 2-3 weeks.
TNN was said to be "reluctant" to sign any television deal to show WCW programming because no major names have been signed for the companies re-launch.Elsewhere
Kanyon and Disco Inferno are now taking Indy bookings.
Francine is "selling herself" on www.ebay.com in which the winning bidder will get to spend 2-3 hours with her, and Tammy is also offering something separately on the auction site too.
Lance Storm seems to have somewhat of a feud going with www.deathvalleydriver.com, due to them publishing a top 500 workers list, which angered him. To read the full story, go to either www.stormwrestling.com or www.1wrestling.com, depending on which side of the story you want to hear.
Jodie Fleisch suffered a dislocated elbow at an FWA show earlier this week in Porchester, and will be in a cast for around 3 weeks.
And lastly, WrestleXpress have sent out a Press Release detailing their plans to become a full time promotion in 2002, which could be big news for the UK wrestling scene if the shows are going to have talent like the big debut show on 20th October. Click here to read the whole release.
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STRONG STYLE TAPES
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RUDO RAMBLINGS - by Martin Walton
Plenty of news this week with tidbits on Hijo Del Pierroth, EMLL booking changes and TripleMania.
In EMLL news, Hijo Del Pierroth Jr.'s status is said to be shaky after he's failed to impress anyone during the last few weeks (word is that he's not even Pierroth's son!). Mid card wrestler Guerrero Del Futuro has been promoted to TV coordinator, which basically means that he decides who appears on TV. Longtime EMLL headliner Blue Panther was injured this past week when Gigante Silva (Giant Silva in the WWF) hit him with a plancha (!), Panther isn't expected to miss many dates.
In AAA news, Pirata Morgan's son debuted during last Thursday's TV taping in Toluca, suffice to say that he'll get a main event push whether he's talented or not.
The entire line up for AAA's TripleMania (AAA's biggest show of the year) show on May 24 has been announced, and it currently looks like this:
MAIN EVENT: Sangre Chicana vs. Pirata Morgan vs. El Cobarde - Hair vs. Hair vs. Hair - Triple Dog Collar Match (likely to be ugly).
SEMI-MAIN EVENT: Octagon/Mascara Sagrada/La Parka Jr./El Alebrije vs. Mascara Maligna/Electro Shock/Abismo Negro/Cibernetico - AAA vs. LLL.
CUARTA: Latin Lover vs. Heavy Metal vs. Hector Garza vs. Perro Aguayo Jr. - TripleMania Cup Elimination Match (should be very good).
TERCERA: Los Vipers (Maniaco, Mosco, Histeria, Psicosis) vs. Los Vatos Locos (Espiritu, Silver Cat, Picudo, Nygma) - Mexican National Atomicos Titles Bout.
SEGUNDA: Blue Demon Jr./El Zorro/El Hijo Del Solitario vs. Pimpinela Escarlata/May Flowers/Polvo De Estrellas.
INICIAL: La Parkita/Mascarita Sagrada 2000/Octagoncito vs. Mini Abismo Negro/Rocky Marvin/Mini Psicosis (the mini's normally steal the show).
Elsewhere, IWRG's top star Dr. Cerebro turned rudo (heel) in Mexico City at a house show this past Monday. Dr Cerebro who is considered the future of Lucha wrestling, was only a technico (face) for 2 months. Famous Luchador great Fantomas passed away last Saturday due to natural causes. Fantomas teamed with the legendary El Santo throughout his career. And lastly, a reminder for fans in California that there's a relatively big card in El Mone on May 26. The main event is Mil Mascaras, Tinieblas Jr. and Lizmark vs. Blue Panther, Rey Misterio Sr. and Poison. Tickets are $20 for adults and only $5 for kids.
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THE PURORESU RUNDOWN - by Andrew Evans
Fairly slow news week in Japan, but here are the main notes:
The first defence of NOAH's GHC Title occurred on Friday in Sapporo when Mitsuharu Misawa defeated Akira Taue via pinfall in just over 14 minutes with two consecutive Emerald Flowsion's, to retain the title.
It looks like Shin'ya Hashimoto will end up recruiting Bam Bam Bigelow, Rob Van Dam, and perhaps Steve Corino (the NWA Champion, which is the only connection he has because New Japan still has goofy loyalty to Howard Brody) for Hashimoto's 14th June Osaka Castle Hall (16,000 seats) show. However, having Corino and Bigelow is a stretch on the card because the card is being promotion as an "all-shoot" card.
Yoshihiro Takayama was taken to the hospital on May 14th due to a slight fever he had, and recurring injuries (specifically pus-filled infection areas in his body) from an undisclosed surgery he had 18 years ago. Takayama will be out of the hospital in a day or so, and he is booked still to face Kazuyuki Fujita at PRIDE 14 on 27th May at Yokohama Arena.
Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima ran an angle today challenging Shin'ya Hashimoto & Naoya Ogawa to a match for the IWGP World Tag Titles at New Japan's 20th July Sapporo Dome show.
The big angle with the Jr. Heavyweights in New Japan right now is that Jushin Liger claims that he will use the Best of the Super Jr. Tournament VIII as a stepping-stone to win and move on for an IWGP Jr. Title match against Minoru Tanaka at New Japan's 20th July Sapporo Dome show.
The Osaka Pro show on May 19th saw the "debuting" Tiger Mask wrestle, which indicates that there is a new wrestler under the mask, which would make him Tiger Mask #5.
Lastly, the New Japan Nippon Budokan card on 6th June currently looks like this:
- IWGP Heavyweight Title - Yuji Nagata vs. Kazuyuki Fujita
- Toshiaki Kawada vs. Satoshi Kojima
- Manabu Nakanishi vs. Mike Barton
- Takashi Iizuka vs. Mitsuya Nagai
- Minoru Tanaka vs. Masahito Kakihara
- El Samurai vs. Masa Fuchi.
(Credit all information: www.puroresupower.com)
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WWF JUDGMENT DAY 2001 PPV REVIEW - by Martin Walton
Match 1: William Regal beat Rikishi (**)
With the total clashes in style this was never going to be particularly good but it was fairly decent with an amusing stink face spot. Regal got the win out of nowhere with his modified sleeper slam. The crowd was very hot for this one.
Match 2: Kurt Angle beat Chris Benoit in a three falls match (****)
The two constructed their best match yet with superb exchanges particularly in the third fall. Angle got the win in the deciding ladder match fall due to interference by Edge/Christian, normally I would bitch about a finish like that but it served a purpose for later in the show and Angle definitely needed the win.
Match 3: Rhyno beat The Big Show and Test to retain the Hardcore title (**1/2)
The match plodded early on with some lame brawling around ringside and out to the backstage area but the finish was red hot with some nice innovative spots. Rhyno pinned The Big Show following a trash can assisted Gore.
Match 4: Chyna beat Lita to retain Women's title (*1/2)
Going into the match I wasn't expecting much at all but it was actually better than I thought, even if a few spots were very sloppy. The Chyna heel turn was teased but it look's like it's been put off till next month.
Match 5: Kane beat Triple H to win the Intercontinental title (***1/2)
This was a rock solid brawl, Triple H worked over Kane's arm at first but he soon juiced a gusher, which cranked up the fans interest immediately. Finish saw Austin's interference backfire as he accidentally hit Triple H with a chair. Say what you want about Triple H but the guy always delivers on PPV.
Match 6: Chris Benoit and Chris Jericho won a tag team turmoil match (***1/2)
This sort of gauntlet match makes for great non stop action, order of elimination was Malenko/Saturn, Dudley Boyz, Acolytes, Hardy Boyz, X-Factor and finally Edge and Christian. Chris Benoit must be credited for working a 25-minute match against Angle and coming back out to work for a further 10 minutes, the guy is an absolute wrestling machine.
Match 7: Steve Austin beat The Undertaker to retain the World Title (***)
Another rock solid brawl, the two brawled around ringside and up and down the aisle with Taker bleeding heavily. Finish saw both Triple H and Vince McMahon interfere with Triple H hitting Taker with a sledgehammer shot (The hard camera actually missed the finish as it concentrated on Kane coming out to make the save).
General comments: Finally the WWF has shook things up, heat developed between Triple H and Austin and Benoit/Jericho bagged the No.1 contenders spot, which secures them a main event match against Austin/Triple H. The under-card was fairly good with Rhyno and William Regal making further progress.
Grade: B+
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SPECIAL COLUMN ON THE UNDERTAKER - by James McGill
He is arguably the most successful character in WWF history, he has outlasted virtually all his peers, he is everlasting (or at least he used to be) and he has just completed a Decade of Destruction.
He is The Undertaker.
When the proprietor of Deadman Incorporated debuted as Ted DiBiase's mystery partner at the 1990 Survivor Series, little did we realize the impact he would have in the WWF. His entrance signified the beginning of a legend; an enduring character that has evolved greatly over the years and now, a decade later, still basks in the rabid cheers of the fans. Speaking from a personal perspective, the first time I ever saw Taker in action, crushing a jobber on a 1991 edition of Superstars, marked the beginning of a lifelong love for the sport. The eerie organ music... the pale-faced dead guy dressed entirely in black, gliding to the ring in slow motion while the equally strange Paul Bearer held the sacred urn... the children in the crowd with looks of genuine terror on their face. It certainly put the likes of Tito Santana in the shade! The fans had never seen anything remotely like this guy. Most of his early matches were conducted in awe-struck silence. The character had so much potential, but the fact that Mark Calloway was so intensely into the character is certainly the reason for its current status as the most successful gimmick of all time. In lesser hands, The Undertaker gimmick could have been remembered in a similar manner to all the failed gimmicks of the past. We might even have seen him competing in the gimmick Battle Royal at this year's Wrestlemania!
There have been many changes in the Undertaker character over the years. We've had the grey and purple gloved era's; the human Taker; the satanic period and now the Badass Biker. Each person has a different favourite, although the satanic, blood drinking leader of the Ministry is widely considered to be his worst creation. Unfortunately for everyone, this came when Russo seemed to be falling apart completely. It's the only time when Taker wasn't incredibly over with the fans, and the fact that it coincided with a rapid deterioration in his wrestling skills due to years of abuse on the road means this phase of his career is better left forgotten. So, looking back over his entire career, there have been many memorable moments. Some of these were great - the Foley Wars, the first two Hell in a Cell's, the unbelievable entrance against Kane at Wrestlemania 14 (the most dramatic entrance ever) and beating Hogan at Survivor Series '91(Yes!) However, I'm sure we all agree that there are many moments etched on our memory that we would rather forget - the fake Undertaker, the Giant Gonzales debacle and the
seemingly never-ending feud with Ted DiBiase's faction to name a few.In my opinion, the one asset which set Taker apart from everyone else was his incredible ring entrances. Today he enters the arena on a motorcycle to the strains of Limp Bizkit, and although this would be cool for anyone else, are these entrances as good as his previous ones? No. There was an aura about the Taker when he walked down the aisle in darkness, the fans holding up lighters in appreciation... there was an atmosphere which he created that nobody else could, and I can't help but feel that he's lost this now. I just hope that sometime before he retires, the lights will go out and the Lord of Darkness will appear
one last time. The crowd pop would be extraordinary. Several long-time fans are disillusioned with the Biker gimmick and I suppose this is understandable. It's clearly the most radical departure from the original dead-man gimmick yet. When he returned at Judgment Day last year (achieving one of the loudest, most sustained face pops I've ever heard), he was clearly a different character, but he still retained certain characteristics. He seems to have lost these now. Hell, he doesn't even roll his eyes back in his head anymore. I still fail to understand why they didn't use a Badass Biker from Hell gimmick which would have been more interesting than his current image as a rather generic badass.Nevertheless, although he's not the Taker of old, the abuse he's received from online fans has been disgraceful. Claims that he's fat, old and should retire seem slightly ridiculous at this juncture. Other than the Rock, Taker has been the most over face in the last year. Why retire one of your prize assets just because his in-ring work has slipped a little? It's not as if he was producing 5 star classics at the beginning of his career; his matches in those days consisted of chokes, throat jobs, more chokes, rope walks, even more chokes, a flying clothesline and a tombstone. Nowadays he obviously wrestles at a much faster pace. His treatment at the hands of over-enthusiastic fanboys who probably had Undertaker posters on their wall five years ago has been reaching ridiculous levels in recent months. Mark Calloway has given his life and soul to entertain wrestling fans for ten years,
and he won't be around forever. But before he rides off into Death Valley for the final time, I will continue to cheer him on. Not because he's a wonderful wrestler, but because he's been an incredible entertainer.--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
T & A (Trivia and Answers!) by Andrew Evans
1. True or False? Bill Eadie will celebrate his 48th birthday this year.
2. Name the only two teams to have won both the ECW and WCW World Tag Team Titles.
3. Which two tag teams came to ringside and brawled during the Taipei Death Match?
4. Which Japanese wrestling legend made his debut on 28th May 1976 in Tokyo?
5. Sam Muchnick most famously promoted in which city?
6. Who was the last man to lose the ECW Television Title?
7. Atsushi Onita originally retired from wrestling in what year?
8. Which nickname links the following wrestlers? Steve Austin, Billy Graham and Bill Dundee.
ANSWERS ARE GIVEN AT THE END OF THE NEWSLETTER!
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GUEST COLUMN - ZERO TOLERANCE - by Scott Seaks
Most people that know me, know two things about me. I'm a liar and a thief. But tonight, your humble narrator is merely a thief and will uttering nothing but the truth. Tonight, dear reader, I will unveil a double theft. I will steal from both David Letterman and Jeff Foxworthy and produce...The Top Ten Reason's You Could Be A Workrate Mark.
10. You always want to know how many minutes a match went.
9. You are always looking for a tape of Steamboat vs. Flair
8. You talk about how the Burning Hammer is a better finisher than the
People's Elbow.7. You argue about the origin of the Sharpshooter.
6. You complain about the lack of wrestling on Raw.
5. You think everyone, except Hulk Hogan, was a better wrestler in Japan.
4. You complain that Chris Benoit jobs too much.
3. Your favorite wrestler has a Japanese name.
2. You hate Vincent Kennedy McMahon.
And the number one reason you could be a workrate mark...........All your
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TRIVIA ANSWERS by Andrew Evans
1. False - he will celebrate his 58th birthday this year, on 27th December. 2. Public Enemy and Chris Benoit + Dean Malenko. 3. Public Enemy and the Gangstas. 4. Satoru Sayama. 5. St. Louis, Missouri, USA. 6. Kid Kash - to Rhino. 7. 1985. 8. Superstar.
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