WRESTLING GLOBE NEWSLETTER

EDITION NUMBER 19

25TH JUNE 2001

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www.oocities.org/wrestlingglobe

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IN THE WRESTLING GLOBE NEWSLETTER THIS WEEK

LATEST NEWS - WWF INJURIES, CHYNA TO LEAVE, WCW RAW?

RUDO RAMBLINGS - VAMPIRO TO RETIRE?

THE PURORESU RUNDOWN - NEW GHC JUNIOR HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPION

T & A (Trivia and Answers)! - HISTORY OF THE WWF

WWF KING OF THE RING 2001 PPV REVIEW

PEARLS OF WISDOM - KING OF THE RING ANALYSIS

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LATEST NEWS - by Matt Singh and Andrew Evans

Hi Globe subscribers, here's this weeks news…

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STRONG STYLE TAPES

Strong Style Tapes is the leading source of wrestling action from around the World in the UK. Official tape distributor to the UK's leading wrestling promotion, the FWA, SST imports the best from America, Japan and Mexico; all in the best quality available and ready to send to anywhere in the world. Join the loyalty card scheme for further savings off already low prices and enter competitions to win free videos. For more information on tapes and ordering, visit http://www.strongstyletapes.com or email SST on strongstyletapes@hotmail.com. Or, for an off-line catalogue, either email SST with your address or fax / voice mail it on 0870 127 7895.

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RUDO RAMBLINGS - by Martin Walton

Absolutely no news this week. The only major news is that Konnan is working this Friday’s show in Tijuana for the first time in a couple of years.

In EMLL news, Arkangel and Bestia Salvaje were both injured this week. Both guys are expected to be out for a couple of weeks. There is no word yet on the extend of Vampiro’s knee injury, however, I do hear that both his agent and wife want him to retire after this latest serious injury.

Line-up for the EMLL Spot Show at Arena Puebla on June 25/2001:

MAIN EVENT: Gigante Silva and Brazo De Plata vs. Mascara Ano 2000/Universo 2000/Dr. Wagner Jr. - Handicap Match.

SEMI-MAIN EVENT: Satanico/El Averno/Apolo Dantes vs. Mascara Magica/Rey Bucanero/Ultimo Guerrero.

TERCERA: Solar I/Tigre Rojo/Mistico vs. Crazy 33/Kraken/El Egipcio II

Elsewhere, Konnan is set to make an appearance on Fri. Night at the Promociones de BC show in Tijuana. They advertised his return as well as the main event, which is a triangle hair match with Damian, Halloween & Rey Misterio Sr.

The first ever meeting between two legends will take place on a Indy show at the Plaza De Toros Expo Guadalupe on Jun 28 - El Hijo Del Santo will meet Blue Demon Jr.!

Results from the Promociones Mora Show at the Auditorio De Tijuana on June 22/2001:

MAIN EVENT: Cien Caras/Mascara Ano 2000/Universo 2000 beat El Hijo De Rayo De Jalisco Jr/ Atlantis/Lizmark by DQ.

SEMI-MAIN EVENT: Kato Kung Lee Jr. defeated El Conquistador in a Mask/Hair vs. Mask/Hair match.

TERCERA: Brazo De Plata and Brazo De Oro defeated Villano IV and Tornado Negro.

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THE PURORESU RUNDOWN - by Andrew Evans

(Credit all information: www.puroresupower.com)

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DYNAMITE KID TAPES

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Dynamite Kid tapes specialize in ECW and All Japan tapes. Prices are £5 and £6 respectively, while comps are £8. Also buy 5 tapes and get one completely free tape!

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T & A (Trivia and Answers!) - by Andrew Evans

HISTORY OF THE WWF

1. Who was the first WWWF World Heavyweight Champion, and in which year was he crowned?

2. Name the first Canadian to win the title now known as the WWF World Heavyweight Title.

3. Pat Patterson held which two WWF titles in 1979?

4. What year did co-WWWF founder, Vincent James McMahon die from cancer?

5. True or False? The WWWF/WWF withdrew from the NWA to go national in March 1979.

6. Which WWF TV show debuted in January 1993 on the USA Network?

7. Who has had the longest single reign of the WWF World Light Heavyweight Title?

8. Name the only two WWF PPV events of the year 2000 where The Rock did not wrestle in the final match of the night.

ANSWERS ARE GIVEN AT THE END OF THE NEWSLETTER!

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WWF KING OF THE RING 2001 PPV REVIEW - by Martin Walton

1) Kurt Angle beat Christian (***)

Early exchanges were pretty sloppy but the two came back strong in the last few minutes and the crowd was into the finish big time, Shane interfered to allow Angle to get the win.

2) Edge beat Rhyno (**)

Solid match, Rhyno worked over Edge's ribs for the most part. Highlight of the match was a cool double gore/spear spot. Finish saw Edge hit the Impaler DDT for the win.

3) Dudley Boyz beat Spike/Kane (**)

Kane received a monster pop as Spike's mystery partner. Once again solid if not spectacular action, highlight of the match was Kane press slamming Spike over the top rope onto The Dudleys. In the end, The Dudleys combined to level Spike with 3-D for the win; afterwards Kane choke slammed Bubba through a table.

4) Edge beat Kurt Angle (**1/4)

The early going was pretty dull with Angle working over Edge's injured ribs. Things spiced up in the home straight as Shane interfered with a spear, which allowed Edge to hit the Impaler DDT to get the win and become the 2001 KOTR.

5) Jeff Hardy beat X-Pac (**1/2)

Pretty much a throwaway match, early going was good fast paced stuff action until they completely messed up a leap frog spot. Finish saw Jeff Hardy get the clean win with a Swanton Bomb.

6) Kurt Angle beat Shane McMahon (***3/4)

Early going contained some rock solid mat work and amateur style exchanges. The two brawled up the aisle into the entrance area, Angle tried to overhead belly to belly suplex through the glass entrance stage but Shane bounced off the glass in brutal fashion. Shane was eventually suplexed through the glass and back out (both guys were cut to shreds at this point). Angle eventually dragged Shane to the ring where he finished him off with an incredible top rope Angle slam for the win to end a compelling blood bath.

7) Steve Austin beat Chris Benoit and Chris Jericho (***1/4)

The match started out in predictable fashion with Jericho and Benoit double teaming Austin. The match then turned into almost three single matches until Booker T interfered and sidewalk slammed Austin through the Spanish announcer's table. However Austin soon recovered and got the pin on Benoit following a top rope back suplex by Benoit on Jericho. The match itself was above average but the almost Zombie like crowd affected the match, probably due to the fact that the previous match was almost impossible to top and Jericho and Benoit were promoted as mid carders during the last couple of weeks.

Comments: Another decent but uninspiring PPV from the WWF. The KOTR tournament itself was solid but Edge's victory was barely mentioned throughout the night. The Taker and DDP brawl in the middle of the show was lame, Taker sleep walked through the motions. Angle and Shane tore the house down in a brutal match and raised Angle's stock in the process. The main event was as good as possible considering Benoit worked the match injured although the Booker T appearance seemed a bit rushed and pointless.

Grade: B

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PEARLS OF WISDOM - by Andrew Evans

First out at King of the Ring was DDP. Page's segments during KOTR were fairly effective, and were going along nicely until the big confrontation with Undertaker. Why did the WWF have Taker make Page look so weak in their brawl? That will now most likely kill a lot of heat from the angle, and surely it would have been far better to have Page leaving Taker lying at the end, to set up a reason to make people look forward to Raw the next night - i.e. revenge. Putting over the Diamonnd Cutter at the same time wouldn't have hurt either. The WWF need to show that Page is a force, to the fans who are unfamiliar with him, and last night the opposite was played out. Hopefully, after pulling out one of the best mystery wrestlers in quite some time, they don't spoil a worthwhile and potentially great angle with a lack of planning. Something to regain interest is essential in the upcoming week, most preferably on Raw. There should be enough TV time available, given the absences of Chris Benoit, The Rock, Rikishi and Triple H, and maybe Kurt Angle and Steve Austin, as detailed in our news section above.

The King of the Ring tournament. Every match was good, but there was nothing spectacular. Both Edge and Christian reminded us that they can hold their own very well in singles matches. Two out of the three KOTR matches involved Kurt Angle, who notably wrestled for a total of over 18 minutes in his semi-final and final matches, before his show-stealing street-fight match with Shane McMahon. On that basis, it was a good idea to save Angle as much as possible for his main match of the night, while at the same time showcasing some solid action, and putting over Edge (to an extent) in the KOTR final. Where Edge goes from here now looks to be a feud with his tag team partner, Christian. I'm hoping the WWF didn't only book the final in the way they did to have Shane screw over Kurt Angle to produce added heat for their street-fight. Edge's tournament victory was cast off as small, and it came off that way due to little focus on the fact that he'd actually won. Most KOTR winners get good pushes, but this year may, just may, be a exception. Still, a positive is that the WWF actually have options on where they want to take Edge, Christian, Rhyno and Kurt Angle from here, and these four will make for great TV in the months ahead.

Dudley Boyz v Kane and Spike Dudley. Having Kane as Spike's mystery partner wasn't a bad thing at all. Some people will moan and complain about the decision, just because "it's Kane". But, the match was decent, and made for good viewing. To the "smarter" fans, including Kane in the match was probably given an overall thumbs down, at the hope of someone like Tommy Dreamer appearing, but most WWF-only fans wouldn't know of Dreamer, hence there would be little crowd heat for him on his debut, even though Paul Heyman would have put him over HUGE on commentary. The Dudley Boyz heel turn is very interesting. Cutting out their babyface pop spots and feuding against the very sympathetic character of Spike Dudley is just the start of it, and I'm wondering what else is in mind to solidify the heel turn. At their peak, D-Von and Bubba were extremely over as heels in ECW, but the toning down of their characters may effect that kind of effectiveness in the WWF. At the moment, all is going well, but only time will change the way the fans see the Dudleys.

Jeff Hardy v X-Pac. Nice to see a Light-Heavyweight match on PPV, but this would have been far better with Tajiri and Jerry Lynn filling in the respective roles. At least the Light-Heavyweight title is being elevated, hopefully to the point where Jeff Hardy can drop it to someone, elevating them in the process... Tajiri would be a nice choice.

Miscellaneous notes along the way include Billy Gunn at WWF NY, and Tazz as an interviewer. My first reaction to seeing Gunn at WWF NY was of complete joy, as that meant he'd be nowhere near the arena that night... but, seriously, Gunn's heel turn is a positive, singly for the fact that it will be far better than seeing him as a really cheesy babyface. Marks and smarts could really unite on this one if the WWF put him over as a heel... as long as it is on Heat. And to Tazz... like many, I hate to see Tazz out of the ring especially for those trademark suplexes. But, Tazz is still on TV and getting good pops when he makes a rare ring entrance. He's also collecting his money just the same as he would as an active wrestler, and there is far less chance of injury in a commentator role than being active in the ring. I don't suppose he's feeling too bad about that.

Shane McMahon v Kurt Angle. What to say about this one? Well, it was amazing, but very dangerous at times. Got to give Al Snow a ton of credit for preparing Shane for the match. Snow is so under-rated in every capacity. Both men raised their game greatly for this one, and pulled of the match of the night, but everyone should be concerned for the head-first bumps Shane McMahon took, even if they were not intended. Overall, the match was somewhere between a spot-fest and a classic main-event style brawl, and it worked very well. Kurt Angle showed even more diversity, and Shane McMahon proved once and for all that there was more to him than just someone who likes to dive from really high places. The match was similar to Mankind v Undertaker in the Hell In A Cell in that the match was very memorable, while not one capable of receiving a extremely high rating. There is a gap left open in the feud, and this is one that is far from over if the WWF decide to use that option. The fact that the fans applauded Shane on his way out of the ring and arena really said something about this match. I haven't heard something like that in the WWF for quite some time - actual respect for the wrestlers efforts.

And lastly, the triple threat match for the WWF World Heavyweight Title. The action was great, as was Jericho's sell early in the match. Booker T's interference caused a stir while he was out there, but as a result from his participation, Steve Austin suffered an injury that effected the rest of the match, which may have lead to the poorly executed finish. There isn't all that much to say about the match, but a Jericho v Austin PPV main event is still to be filled at some time in the future. With Invasion coming up in 4 weeks, and the plans for that PPV unknown at the current time, who knows when a Jericho v Austin main will go ahead? The long list of injuries the WWF currently carries could really hurt them, especially as the whole WCW angle is about to be played out.

All in all, King of the Ring didn't disappoint. The actual wrestling action was all solid, much of it very good, but a lot of the booking was simply confusing. Invasion is coming up in 4 weeks, and I just hope the WWF do a better job of promoting the WCW stars than they did of Jericho and Benoit for King of the Ring. The following weeks of WWF TV are crucial, and a number of faults could spell disaster.

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TRIVIA ANSWERS - by Andrew Evans

1. Buddy Rogers - 1963.

2. Stan Stasiak - 1st December 1973 - the title was known as the "WWWFF Heavyweight Title" at the time of his reign.

3. WWF Intercontinental Title and the WWF North American Title.

4. 1984 - 27th May.

5. False - in March 1979, the federation's name was changed from WWWF to WWF. The NWA withdrawal did not come until 1983.

6. Monday Night Raw.

7. Villano III - 20th May 1984 to 24th August 1986.

8. No Way Out (main event was Cactus Jack v HHH) and Survivor Series (main event was HHH v Steve Austin).

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