WRESTLING GLOBE NEWSLETTER
EDITION NUMBER 16
4TH JUNE 2001 (DELAYED - NO RAW SPOILERS)
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IN THE WRESTLING GLOBE NEWSLETTER THIS WEEK
LATEST NEWS - EDDIE GUERRERO IN DRUG REHAB
RUDO RAMBLINGS - JUVENTUD GUERRERA TO AAA?
THE PURORESU RUNDOWN
T & A (Trivia and Answers)! - HELL IN A CELL SPECIAL
THE DANGER ZONE - LOOKING AT THE JAPANESE PROMOTIONS TODAY
THE MIND'S OBITUARY
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LATEST NEWS - by Matt Singh and Andrew Evans
Hi Globe subscribers, here's this weeks news…
World Wrestling Federation
The company have rejected rumours that they are in negations with TBS to air the new WCW TV programme(s).
As you have probably heard by now, Brian Lawler (Grandmaster Sexay) has been given a contract release after he was arrested on Monday. Lawler was ceased at the American/Canadian border last Monday, and was found to have body enhancing drugs that while are legal in the US, are illegal in Canada. Lawler was also found with a number of "stronger drugs" and this is what led to him being released.
Management has indeed spoken with Scott Hall, although Hall is reluctant to return to wrestling full time at the moment. He believes that he will be able to get a better deal with the WWFE when Kevin Nash's contract runs out at the end of 2001, so they can sign as a team. I wonder who gave him that idea...
There have been reports that Triple H and Stephanie McMahon are an item off screen as well as on-screen, but the reports are currently unconfirmed.
The mystery voice of Sara's stalker, as featured on last weeks TV shows, was provided by Vince McMahon. This was revealed by Scott Keith's web site, www.thesmarks.com, after some clever playing about with the audio used in the segments. Rumours are that we will see Undertaker v The Stalker (no...not Barry Windham) at King of the Ring in just under 3 weeks. It is widely thought that Vince McMahon will not be revealed as the stalker, and names being given as possibilities for who it will actually be range from Paul Bearer to Shawn Stasiak. Take your pick.
Chris Benoit has a pinched nerve in his right shoulder, although it isn't considered serious and he shouldn't miss any television time. Rikishi will now be out for a further 4 months as he has had surgery on his shoulder, which he injured a few weeks back in a match with Kurt Angle. Scotty 2 Hotty should be back later this month after a spell in OVW.
Mick Foley is scheduled to return to TV in the near future, although its not likely that he will make an in-ring comeback.
There have been rumours that Triple H will turn face when he returns, but this may not actually be the case as Jim Ross has said that Triple H will be back on TV in a non-wrestling role "within a few weeks". Do not expect a babyface turn until he is at 100%, which should be around Survivor Series time in November.
Eddie Guerrero was sent home before the Raw taping on Monday and is now in drug rehab for a painkiller addiction.
World Championship Wrestling
Lance Storm's run-in on Raw seems to have kicked off the WWF vs. WCW war, and more WCW stars may also appear soon, depending on who the company can sign...
The chances of Bill Goldberg signing with WWFE are very slim, as he doesn't want to turn down any guaranteed money from AOL/Time Warner, and is not all that interested in returning to wrestling.
Sting is a definite to not sign with WWFE.
The only way Scott Steiner would appear in WCW is if the WWF buys out his old contract or for him to accept a buy out from Time Warner. It isn't known if the WWFE would want him anyway.
Booker T accepted a AOL/Time Warner contract buy-out this week, which means it is 99% certain he will show up in WCW.
In fact, it is now said that the WWF are fairly desperate to sign big stars for WCW, and the 4 main eventers that seem likely are Booker T, DDP, Rob Van Dam and...Buff Bagwell. Bagwell? Desperate is an understatement.
Rob Van Dam has not signed with the WWFE as of yet, despite reports to the contrary, but he has been sent a contract and he is expected to sign very soon. If he does sign, it is unknown if he will still appear at WrestleXpress on 20th October in Coventry, England for his match against Steve Corino.
Elsewhere
Steve Corino and Mike Rapada were pulled from the Zero One card on 14th June, due to some passport problems. Although the problems were later sorted out, the pair had already accepted bookings in the States.
UK group WrestleXpress' second card is booked for 2nd March 2002, and the show will be named "WrestleXpress Revenge", taking place at the London Arena. The group is also in talks with U>Direct, a Digital PPV provider, about the possibility of showing pay-per-views. More news on this is expected soon.
Shinjiro Ohtani will face Steve Corino for the NWA World Heavyweight Title at this years Brian Pillman Memorial Show, which will take place on 9th August in Pillman's hometown of Cincinnati, Ohio. Other matches on the card are…
Chris Benoit vs. William Regal (with special guest referee Ricky Steamboat)
X-Pac & Justin Credible vs. Hardy Boyz with Lita
Missy Hyatt vs. Electra
Beautiful Bobby Eaton (with Jim Cornette) vs. Terry Taylor.
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RUDO RAMBLINGS - by Martin Walton
Not that much going down in Mexico this week, but the big news is the possibility of Juvi joining AAA and the fact that the awesome Ricky Marvin is finally being shown some respect by EMLL.
In EMLL news, Ricky Marvin worked his first ever EMLL main event last week; Marvin defeated long time rival Americo Rocco in a hair vs. hair match.
The second Luchas 2000 Cup will be held on Sunday night in Puebla (results next week). The match which will start as a battle royal, then when teams are formed it will turn into a Torneo Cibernetico (this is like a Survivor Series tag match), followed by a singles match with the last two left, who will battle for the cup. El Hijo Del Santo, La Parka, Villano IV, Solar I, Salsero, Kung Fu Jr., Fuerza Guerrera, Satanico, Ultimo Guerrero, Maniac Cop and El Hijo Del Diablo are all involved.
In AAA news, Blue Demon Jr. has left AAA. He joins guys like La Parka, Mascara Sagrada, Pentagon, etc. who are working as independent wrestlers in Mexico and California. As a result of this, AAA boss Antonio Pena is hoping to meet up with Juventud Guerrera in the next couple of weeks to try and get him to rejoin AAA.
Elsewhere, results from last Friday's Tijuana show were as follows:
Satanico and Ultimo Guerrero went to a double DQ (said to be excellent)
La Familia de Tijuana (Rey Sr., Damien 666, Halloween) beat Los Nueavos Guapos (Scorpio Jr, Emilio Charles Jr, Zumbido) (decent match)
Negro Casas and Kid Kaos (from XPW) beat Hijo del Santo and Nicho El Millionario (Psicosis) by DQ. (good match).
The ever reliable Juventud Guerrera no-showed the main event so Kid Kaos, who was there was a guest, was thrown into the match. Kaos was said to be totally lost during the match. Rey Misterio Jr. made an appearance after the match, but he couldn't wrestle as he's legally unable to wrestle for any other promotion due to his Time Warner contract.
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THE PURORESU RUNDOWN - by Andrew Evans
Here are this weeks main notes from the world of puroresu:
Kenta Kobashi had his fifth surgery at a Yokohama hospital on May 31st and was released on June 1st. It was another surgery that had been preplanned, and Kobashi will continue intense rehabilitation on his arms and his knees for four months. In a couple of months, Kobashi will be able to do some light weight-training involving his legs, but right now he will be doing upper-body weight-training only. He has lost a significant amount of weight and doctors say he is in great shape in terms of body weight. When you have as serious of knee surgeries as Kobashi did, losing weight to alleviate pressure on the knees is crucial. Kobashi is determined to make a comeback in 2000 if doctors give him the "GO" sign to do it. Interestingly enough, Hiroyoshi Tenzan (New Japan) announced that if he got a future war/match with Manabu Nakanishi that he would go on and feud with Kobashi when Kobashi returned.
The main event of Pro Wrestling NOAH's first anniversary show on July 27th at Nippon Budokan (16,000 seats) in Tokyo looks to be Jun Akiyama vs. Mitsuharu Misawa for the GHC Heavyweight Title. The plan is to have Misawa put Akiyama over and have Akiyama get some momentum going into his New Japan venture against Yuji Nagata. Akiyama announced that he will show up at New Japan's 6th June, Nippon Budokan show, and bring along Yoshinobu Kanemaru along with him. Akiyama said that he will do color commentary on the SkyPerfecTV PPV telecast of the Yuji Nagata/Kazuyuki Fujita IWGP Title match.
Kiyoshi Tamura announced that he has left RINGS for good and will strictly be an independent contractor only. Tamura will start to work with the DEEP promotion (Pancrase-supported group) to help supply talent for their upcoming shows, and that he wouldn't be closed to the idea of working with PRIDE or other groups. Tamura apparently didn't get any sort of deal from any of the major wrestling companies in Japan that were enticing enough.
Super Delfin & Takehiro Murahama defeated Jushin Liger & El Samurai at Osaka Pro's 5/29 Tokyo, Korakuen Hall show in the main event, and Delfin & Murahama then issued a challenge to face Liger & Samurai at New Japan's 20th July, Sapporo Dome show for the IWGP Jr. Tag Titles. However, it appears that the match won't happen at the Dome because the promotion is building up a Liger vs. Tanaka IWGP Jr. Title match at that show, as Liger went over Tanaka in Osaka on 4th June to win the BOSJ tournament. From there, Tanaka would beat Kakihara on the NJ under-card, and that's how Minoru would regain some steam.
It appears that Kazuyuki Fujita's first potential opponent if he went the K-1 route would be Musashi, who's not that great of a fighter these days. Musashi will face Ebenezer Fontes Braga in the main event of K-1's 6/24 Sendai, Miyagi rally.
In a disappointing, but logical step in matchmaking, Kazushi Sakuraba announced that he would not fight Vanderlei Silva at PRIDE 15 on 7/29 in Saitama at Chiinama Super Arena, but rather he would fight either Carlos Newton or Allan Goes. Sakuraba said that Daijiro Matsui would probably get the nod to face Silva.
Mitsuharu Misawa has been at Harley Race's wrestling school in Elden, Missouri. Misawa watched a 2-hour audition at Race's school of several Jr. heavyweight workers, and two of them caught his eye. He will probably import three of Race's guys for the upcoming Jr. Heavyweight tournament for NOAH in the Summer.
New Japan did an injury angle at their 2nd June, Hirata City rally where Yuji Nagata suffered pain in his right leg, but did not go to the hospital. In other words, they're trying to "heat-up" his match with Fujita on 6th June at Nippon Budokan.
Kenzo Suzuki suffered a fluke injury in a match with Satoshi Kojima and came off very funny, but weird. The word is that Suzuki was in the middle of a stomping attack on Kojima in the corner and all of a sudden, he suffered a right leg injury while he was stomping away on Kojima.
Kazunari Murakami announced that he wanted a no-rule fight with Shinjiro Ohtani to settle their war once and for all. Meanwhile, NWA Japan representative Max Seki is getting the word out that NWA President Howard Brody is going to run a Shinjiro Ohtani vs. Steve Corino match for the NWA Title Belt on 9th August at the Brian Pillman Memorial Show in Cincinnati, Ohio.
(Credit all information: www.puroresupower.com)
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T & A (Trivia and Answers!) by Andrew Evans
Hell In A Cell Special
1. The first HIAC match took place in which city?
2. The only scheduled tag team match for a HIAC match was supposed to be on Raw in June 1998, but the match never officially started. Which tag teams were set to be involved?
3. Who is widely credited for the idea of the HIAC match?
4. What was the WCW version of the HIAC match named?
5. Who interfered in the HIAC match on Raw Is War between Kane and Mankind in August 1998 after appearing from under the ring?
6. How many HIAC matches have had WWF World Heavyweight Title changes?
7. Name the only person to win 2 HIAC matches, and who he defeated in them.
8. Which of the following have NOT competed in a HIAC match: Triple H, The Rock, Chris Jericho, Kurt Angle, Rikishi, Big Boss Man.
ANSWERS ARE GIVEN AT THE END OF THE NEWSLETTER!
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THE DANGER ZONE by Martin Walton
Some 5 years ago, the Japanese wrestling scene was on fire with just about every promotion doing great business and producing some superb matches. These days, Japanese wrestling is currently in a very mixed state. Some of the larger promotions are still doing good business, while some are really struggling and many of the smaller Indy promotions are on the verge of bankruptcy. So, I thought I'd take a look at the current top 6 promotions in Japan and assess their current status and future prospects. (PART 2)
ALL JAPAN PRO WRESTLING
Formed: 1972
Belts and Current Champions:
Triple Crown: Gen'ichiro Tenryu.
Double Tag Team Title: Taiyo Kea and Johnny Smith.
Top 5 stars: Toshiaki Kawada, Gen'ichiro Tenryu, Taiyo Kea, Johnny Smith and Steve Williams.
Current status: All Japan is still trying to recover from the mass exodus by Misawa and 75% of the roster last summer. To their credit, All Japan made the best of a bad situation by bringing in freelance veteran Gen'ichiro Tenryu and opening up links with New Japan, which led to their monumental, inter-promotional series. Current Triple Crown champion Gen'ichiro Tenryu has been promoted to head booker this year, which has led to some perplexing booking decisions (Tenryu winning the Champ Carnival for one) but attendances have been surprisingly decent as of late and match quality is also fairly decent.
Future: Good. Many of the top stars such as Gen'ichiro Tenryu, Steve Williams and Masa Fuchi are the wrong side of 40 (50 in Tenryu's case) but younger stars such as Mike Barton, Masahito Kakihara and Mitsuya Nagai are slowly being groomed for top spots. This year's Champ Carnival runner up Taiyo Kea is ready to be pushed as a legitimate headliner.
FRONTIER MARTIAL ARTS WRESTLING
Formed: 1989
Belts and Current Champions:
W.E.W Singles Title: Hayabusa.
W.E.W Tag Team Titles: Goemon and Onryo.
W.E.W Six-Man Title: Hisakatsu Ohya, Kid Ichihara and Ricky Fuji.
Top 5 stars: Hayabusa, Tetsuhiro Kuroda, Kintaro Kanemura, Kodo Fuyuki and Mr. Gannosuke.
Current Status: FMW have been hit hard by the exodus of top stars Masato Tanaka, Gedoh and Jadoh in the last couple of months. Head booker Hiromichi Fuyuki has abandoned the promotion's hardcore roots and switched to a more sports entertainment style of wrestling with occasional forays back into it's hardcore past. This has resulted in many traditional FMW fans abandoning the promotion in droves. FMW recently ran a big show in the Kawasaki Baseball Stadium car park, which drew a disappointing crowd of 10,000. The card was headlined by a exploding barbed wire cage match pitting The Great Sasuke and Hayabusa against Tetsuhiro Kuroda and Mr. Gannosuke.
Future: Not Good. The promotion will struggle to replace former top star Masato Tanaka, while Hayabusa is becoming increasingly injury prone due to years of physical abuse. The most pressing concern however is Hiromichi Fuyuki's booking, and the promotion will continue to struggle as long as Fuyuki remains in charge.
TORYUMON
Formed: 1999
Belts and Current Champions: None.
Top 5 stars: CIMA, Magnum Tokyo, Judo Suwa, Vampiro and Sumo Fuji.
Current Status: Despite their status as a small independent promotion, Toryumon has the reputation for being the top promotion in Japan for out and out match quality. Unfortunately, Toryumon doesn't have a great deal of nationwide exposure, which usually means that fail to attract decent crowds when they venture out of Tokyo. Toryumon's owner Ultimo Dragon is arguable the world's best trainer, with 90% of current Toryumon's roster coming from Dragon's school.
Future: Good. Dragon will eventually lose the likes of CIMA and Magnum Tokyo to New Japan, but youngsters such as Masato Yoshino, Yashusi Tsujimoto and Milano are rising up the ranks at a rapid pace and are capable of following in the footsteps of CIMA and company. The group has plans to hold a PPV in the summer.
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THE MIND'S OBITUARY - by James McGill
A quick note: I hereby retract all my statements about Austin being a poor heel. I've certainly been left with egg on my face after those comments. He's really elevated his game since Triple H's injury, but the question I want to know is why these really intense heel promos are only starting now; if he'd produced this kind of excellence straight after Wrestlemania, I find it doubtful that ratings would be as mediocre as they now are. Now that I've cleared my conscience somewhat, I will now take a look at 'us' - the online wrestling fan.
Now I realize this subject has been done to death, with all sorts of analysing taking place, but the eternal mark vs. smart issue has risen from the ashes once more and it's time to put my two cents worth into this debate. First off, the thing that's always puzzled me ever since I started surfing 'smart' sites and news-boards is the contempt smart marks have for their markish compatriots. Now, being a wrestling fan in this society is something of a guilty secret for many of us; I normally keep my wrestling fandom close to my chest. What puzzles me is that for such a small group, and lets face it, wrestling isn't a 'big' sport by any stretch of the imagination, why is their such conflict? We should be together in harmony! What smart marks also don't seem to realize is this: marks don't even know they exist! I've had conversations with several so-called marks, and when I tell them that Chris Benoit is considered to be the best wrestler in the world they think I'm kidding. When I tell them there's a whole movement who share this belief, they shake their heads and laugh.
I also find it rather embarrassing that certain columnists seem to have so much hatred not only for the marks, but for the wrestlers who they cheer for the most. The Rock, Taker and Austin all have their critics. Rock has developed into the complete package in the last year or so, but still he attracts criticism from elements of smart fan-base for his so-called 'lack of moveset'. Austin and Taker are also criticised for being nothing more than brawlers... but let me get this straight. In the last four months Austin has been involved in two of the greatest PPV Main Events in history (NWO and Wrestlemania) and still he gets labeled as a two move wonder. Another man who marks also love, despite his heelishness, is Triple H. Since the smart marks aren't pathetic enough to criticise his actual performances, they therefore look for other faults. That's why in the last few months we've been subjected to numerous rumours of his backstage antics causing disharmony in the locker-room. Now, before I go any further, I just want to say something which I find to be rather important.
This is WRESTLING. It's a FAKE sport. Stop taking everything so seriously.
I wonder if the wrestlers themselves look at internet sites and laugh at the sheer ridiculousness of the situation. Looking at some of the stories circulating around the web, you would think half the net's wrestling columnists were important members of the WWF locker-room. Now I know wrestling is important to us for a variety of reasons, but sometimes I think we should all just step back and think about things. In the grand scheme of things, whether or not Austin taps to the Crippler Cross-Face after the bell and therefore causes Benoit to allegedly lose his heat... well, it's not very important. None of it is. Without sounding like a nostalgic mark and leaving myself open to attack, I thought the entire point in watching wrestling was to be entertained. I think this is true for almost all fans of North-American wrestling. Now, I realize there are people out there who prefer to watch for the technical side of the sport, and that's cool, but I would ask these people to PLEASE stop watching the WWF and attempting to find every small fault. It just makes you look bitter and tiresome.
In recent months I've noticed something. There seems to be a collection of marks who turned 'smart' by reading these websites. Now they've realized that this jaded, negative approach to wrestling is simply idiotic, and are reverting back into fully fledged mark mode again. It's a reaction against smart marks ruining their fun. I suppose you could call them neo-marks; a group who see more good aspects in the mark approach to wrestling... an approach were you watch to see your favourite wrestler get revenge on their enemy, not to see if the current Main Eventers are deliberately holding back the mid-carders and then coming online screaming GLASS CEILING to anyone who cares.
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TRIVIA ANSWERS by Andrew Evans
1. St. Louis, MO, USA. 2. Steve Austin + Undertaker and Mankind + Kane. 3. Jim Cornette. 4. Caged Heat. 5. Steve Austin. 6. None. 7. Undertaker - Mankind and Big Boss Man. 8. Chris Jericho.
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WRESTLING GLOBE NEWSLETTER CONTACTS
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