WRESTLING GLOBE NEWSLETTER

EDITION NUMBER 23

23RD JULY 2001

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www.oocities.org/wrestlingglobe / www.evanswrestling.com

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IN THE WRESTLING GLOBE NEWSLETTER THIS WEEK

LATEST NEWS - ECW NAME STATUS + MORE WRESTLEXPRESS NEWS

WWF INVASION 2001 PPV REVIEW AND ANALYSIS

RUDO RAMBLINGS - INJURY REPORT + AAA DEPARTURES

THE PURORESU RUNDOWN - NEW JAPAN TITLE CHANGES

WRESTLING TRIVIA - NWA SPECIAL

PEARLS OF WISDOM

THE DANGER ZONE - TERRY GORDY BIOGRAPHY - PART ONE

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LATEST NEWS - by Andrew Evans

The first news this week is of course the passing of Terry Gordy. An international wrestling superstar, also  considered one of the best big men ever in wrestling, Gordy died at his home in Chattanooga, Tennessee on Monday, from a blood clot in his heart. He was 40 years old. To remember his career, we will be including a two-part biography on Gordy in the newsletter. Part one can be found further on in this edition.

Taken from www.wrestlingobserver.com, here is the latest update on the WWFE's rights to using the ECW name: "WWFE has reached an agreement with HHG bankruptcy trustee Barbara Balaber-Strauss to have the right to use the ECW name for promotional purposes through the end of the month, pending finalization of an agreement where it would buy the rights to do so and videotape library of the company for $250,000. Other parties can make counter offers on the assets, and in doing so if they were to secure the name, WWF would be given notice it could no longer use the ECW name and trademarks."

Last weeks Raw scored an overall rating of 5.0, a climb of 0.3 from the week before. This indicates that the ECW angle has worked well. The next few weeks of WWF TV could climb even further due to the turn against the WWF of Steve Austin, and the comeback of The Rock.

In this weeks Ross Report, Jim Ross stated that Triple H is looking to return to wrestling in November. He also confirmed that the WWFE are "very interested" in signing Scott Steiner once he is healthy. The last I heard on Steiner, which was a couple of weeks ago, was that he had no feeling below his left ankle. In a conference call on Thursday that Ross held, he confirmed he hadn't held any talks of bringing in the Sandman to be part of ECW. He said there is no interest at this time, "but that could be evaluated down the road".

Christian York and Joey Matthews have been added to the WrestleXpress card on 20th October. They will be participating in a "Triple Threat International Incident" TLC Match. Their opponents are unknown at this time. A TV commercial for the event will be filmed in August, and will feature Jimmy Hart, Sonny Onoo, Ryan Aaron Hewson and WrestleXpress own contracted wrestler, Mr. William.

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WWF INVASION 2001 PPV REVIEW AND ANALYSIS - by Andrew Evans

Going into the event, I was hoping for a good overall quality event, with certain matches turning out better than what was widely expected of them (notably Jeff Hardy vs. RVD and X-Pac vs. Kidman). My only other thought was that I wish Sky Sports (in the UK) still had the rights to all 12 PPV's per year, as UK viewers can only watch InVasion with a 55 minute delay, on Channel 4.

As the PPV opens, Lance Storm and Mike Awesome are already in the ring (has that EVER happened before?). The set, as usual for all WWF PPV events, looks excellent. There are two separate entrance ways (one for each team) which lead down to a main one.

Storm attempts to cut a promo, but Edge and Christian's music suddenly hits, cutting him off...

Solid opener, with some good action at times. Early in the match, Christian horribly botched a plancha attempt onto both Storm and Awesome, but it didn't slow the match down. There were two near pinfalls, and the crowd were really into them. The end came when Christian speared Mike Awesome who was about to deliver the Awesome-Bomb to Edge. Edge landed on Awesome, and picked up the pinfall victory.

(ANALYSIS: Even though this was a good match, you can't help but feel that these 4 could do better given another chance. This match could have been so much bigger if there were tag team titles on the line.)

After a Hebner v Patrick match build-up, Mick Foley's music hits and he is announced as the special referee for the match. I guess they had to add something to try and make it decent.

If you were wondering why Patrick didn't look completely awful in the ring, it's because he used to wrestle (about 15 years ago), but had to retire due to injury. There was good heat for this match, but only due to the referee, Mick Foley (the obvious "Foley" chants). After a couple of "fun" spots, Hebner won the match via pinfall, taking Patrick down with a very bad looking spear. Patrick got in Foley's face afterwards, so Foley knocked him down with a right hand, and then gave him the Mandible Claw (with help from Mr. Socko).

(ANALYSIS: Exactly what you'd expect from this sort of match, and nothing more.)

Michael Cole announced a sold-out crowd of 17,964 for the event, and we then see Debra backstage, who apparently was let go by DDP after her kidnapping on Smackdown. Debra tells Sara that Page drove her around, and then "left her on the corner". *cough*

Only pride on the line in this one. That draws. Not everyone is an APA fan, but they have a style that they're good at, and they stick to it. Some solid action here. Chuck Palumbo has come a long way since his early days in WCW. The finish comes when Bradshaw wipes out Palumbo with a seriously nasty looking Clothesline From Hell. For those keeping score, the WWF won the first three matches.

X-Pac receives less of a babyface pop than Kidman on his entrance. That's not good at all. Kidman has new ring attire, and he looks much improved. At the end of a decent match, WCW/ECW finally get on the board after Kidman blocked a Bronco Buster attempt, and followed up with a Shooting Star Press to win the match via pinfall.

(ANALYSIS: The fans seriously hate X-Pac, and he's supposed to be a babyface now. He used a couple of heel style antics during the match which didn't help him either. The boos for him were the clearest of the whole night. On the plus side though, Kidman actually looks like a real wrestler now. Losing the denim shorts makes him look a ton more professional.)

Torrie Wilson and Stacey Kiebler do some weird things backstage together.

This match was announced earlier in the night. Overall, it was nothing special, but was still decent, and made for interesting viewing due to Regal's unique style. During the match, Tazz ran in and hit Regal with a T-Bone Tazzplex while the referee's attention was drawn to Raven outside the ring. Raven then quickly re-entered the ring, scoring with the Raven Effect, and picking up the pinfall victory.

Big Show's music hits, and there is apparently a 6-man tag team match added to the card...

Why is it that Albert has the IC Title? Aren't all 6 guys in this match actually heels? Stasiak receives "Meat" chants on tagging into the match. That's just brilliant. The finish saw Stasiak nail Gunn with an Inverted DDT, and Morrus then covered him for the win (even though at first Stasiak went for the cover as well, which looked totally out of place).

(ANALYSIS: This match was kept short, and even while it was going it wasn't great. The only glimmer of hope was a triple Gorilla Press Slam from the WWF team. I wish I could say something good about this match, but it's not possible.)

I was hoping that because ECW "is back", they let these two wrestle a more ECW style, allowing more Tazzplexes, like their great match at Heatwave 1999. There were quite a few of the ECW style holds/moves in this one, including the High Cradle Tazzplex spot that they originally pulled out at the Heatwave match. Tajiri scored the pinfall win after suddenly spraying green mist in somewhat of a defensive action, and then nailing Tazz with a stiff kick to the head.

(ANALYSIS: It was nice to see bits of the old ECW style, and I personally enjoyed the match, but I'm sure many others would disagree with me.)

Matt Hardy is attacked backstage by Rob Van Dam with a steel chair.

At WWF New York, Hardcore Holly rips a WCW shirt off a fan.

This was one of those matches that you just know could go really well, or horribly wrong. It was also the first, and only title match of the night. Memories of ECW were brought back in the early going with RVD using some of his signature spots (e.g. the corkscrew guillotine leg-drop from the apron, the skateboarding chair shot and the Tumbling Somersault Senton), which got the crowd behind him with some "RVD" chants. Van Dam controlled more or less the whole match, which turned out to be a very good decision from the WWF. Hardy took a bump off the top of a 15-20ft ladder to the entrance aisle, and also a Van Daminator down "the pit" between the two entrance aisles. Van Dam won the match via pinfall after hitting a Five Star Frog Splash with the Hardcore Title belt laying on Hardy.

(ANALYSIS: It was just as well that RVD, as a supposed heel, was working against an over babyface in Jeff Hardy. Van Dam's heat was big enough as it was. Imagine if he was wrestling X-Pac! Although this match was for the Hardcore Title, it wasn't the normal WWF-style hardcore match, including just minimal use of weapons, and that paid off. Van Dam looks like a superstar in just his second full WWF match. Apart from a strong challenge from the main event, this was the match of the night by a mile. Because this match was very good, smarks are angry all over the world, or least saying these two don't have a REAL wrestling style.)

After a match build-up to the first ever Tag Team Bra and Panties match... Mick Foley's music hits once again. Yep, he's the special referee for the match.

This was the second "joke match" of the night, the first of course being the 6-man... I was hoping that both sides would lose here, but it was not to be. Trish and Lita actually tried to put a couple of moves into the match, but apart from that, there really wasn't a whole lot to report. Trish and Lita won the match when they finally ripped Stacey's "bottoms" off. Trish nearly fell into "the pit" celebrating her win at the end.

(ANALYSIS: Up until the end of this match, the PPV hadn't even been going 2 hours.)

The main event wasn't going to go 45 minutes, so sadly, they killed time on ring entrances for it. Shane, Steph/Paul and Vince all had separate entrances, which was a complete time waster. Ross made another Ric Flair reference (any reason for that, huh?) just before Kurt Angle came out to a major babyface pop. Pop of the night went to "the old Stone Cold", who made his entrance as the brawl broke out. Added up, just the main event ring entrances took up 10 minutes of the PPV.

After Austin's entrance, the match soon got on track. You know the saying, "Time flies when you're having fun"? Well, the first 20 minutes of the match flew by for me. That opening duration focused completely on in-ring action with some very smooth wrestling, complimented by great tag work by both teams. The brawl finally broke out, and Undertaker and DDP left the arena through the crowd. D-Von Dudley and Kane were put through announce tables and moments later, Chris Jericho speared Rhyno through a table. The match looked to be won by the WWF as Austin rolled the dazed referee (who had been knocked out a few minutes before) back into the ring as Angle had the Ankle-Lock applied on Booker T. Then, in the expected angle of the night, Austin turned on the WWF by nailing Angle with a Stunner, with Booker T covering him for the victory (the WWF referee made the count). After the match, Heyman, Steph and Shane all downed a beer to celebrate with Austin. The Rock should now make his return in the next couple of weeks to challenge Austin for the WWF Title at Summerslam.

Not that anyone seemed to care during the PPV - the official final score between the sides was 5-5.

(ANALYSIS: At the start of the match, Team WWF looked like a dream team, while Team WCW/ECW barely looked credible in comparison. But, due to the high caliber in-ring work, the sides seemed to even up. The longer the match went on, the more it felt like a true PPV main event, and lasted 30 minutes in the end. Kurt Angle was amazingly over as a babyface from the time he stepped into the arena. Also, the Austin turn was very good, and felt stronger than his Wrestlemania betrayal.)

(OVERALL ANALYSIS: Not a disappointing PPV, but certainly nothing to get excited about. Out of 10 matches, only two really created any real excitement. This is mostly due to the fact that 7 legitimate main eventers were all used in one match. The fact that the European Title is basically stagnant on Matt Hardy is a total waste. As I first thought about a month ago, the WWF should give the title to someone on a hot streak. I think you'll find that Rhyno is the right man. In fact, they might as well give him the IC Title. If the WWF had any big plans for Albert, then InVasion should have showcased them. Two stagnant singles titles like that is just heat killing, and the event could have been improved with a couple of title matches. The WWF also failed to put any focus on "the series", which ended up at 5 wins each. If they had talked about it more, and / or made it mean something by putting something on the line, then every match would have become a lot more important. Since The Rock's comeback wasn't teased at the PPV, the only reason for fans to remember to tune into Raw is because of the Austin turn and the fact that the WWF Title is now in the "enemy camp", as Jim Ross pointed out. But then again, that should be more than enough to keep people interested. I'm now looking forward to Raw, and hoping that the WWF strengthen one of their main weaknesses by having Austin give a valid explanation on why he turned on the WWF.)

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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

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THE PURORESU RUNDOWN - by Andrew Evans

(Credit all information: www.puroresupower.com)

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DYNAMITE KID TAPES

Check out Dynamite Kid tapes at http://www.dynamitekidtapes.homestead.com/

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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WRESTLING TRIVIA - by Andrew Evans

NWA SPECIAL

1. In the formation of the NWA in July 1948, where did promoter Harry Light "represent"? 

2. Who was stripped of the NWA World Heavyweight Title, making it vacant for the first time in its history?

3. Who was the NWA President between 1950 and 1960 and also between 1963 and 1975?

4. NWA Georgia (WCW) merged with which territory in March 1985 to move WCW into a national promotion?

5. Name the current promotion running the NWA Georgia area.

6. Which Japanese promotion joined the NWA in 1973?

7. Who is the only wrestler in the following list to not be recognised as a former NWA World Heavyweight Champion? Chris Candido, Tatsumi Fujinami, Sabu, Giant Baba, Gary Steele, Dick Hutton, Great Muta.

8. And finally... which two Starrcade's featured Dusty Rhodes vs. Ric Flair as the main event?

ANSWERS ARE GIVEN AT THE END OF THE NEWSLETTER!

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PEARLS OF WISDOM - by Andrew Evans

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THE DANGER ZONE - by Martin Walton

TERRY GORDY BIOGRAPHY

Due to computer troubles this week, I was unable to get online this week until Friday. Unfortunately, the first thing I read was the sad passing of one of the greatest big men in the history of wrestling in Terry Gordy. Due to this, I thought it was only fitting if we take a look at the career of the legendary Terry Gordy.

Real Name: Terry Ray Gordy (Sr.)

Legitimate Height: 6'4".

Legitimate Weight: 270lbs.

Birth Date: April 23, 1961.

Terry "Bam Bam" Gordy grew up in the Chattanooga region in south-east Tennessee. Gordy was a standout American football player in his younger days but pro wrestling was his true passion. Gordy was fascinated with the sport from a very young age, so much so that he actually made his pro debut at the incredibly young age of 13 in 1974. Gordy at 13, teamed up with local wrestler Eddie Griffin to form the masked Scavengers team that worked local outlaw groups in the Chattanooga area. Gordy soon dropped out of school after his freshman year to concentrate fully on his promising wrestling career. His first full-time job in wrestling was for a small promotion in Mississippi, which was run by local promoters, the Culkin Brothers. It was here where Gordy first tagged with a blond haired charismatic fellow by the name of Michael Hayes. The two instantly clicked and set the small promotion on fire, and it was obvious that the two teenagers were cut out for bigger things.

Gordy's career hit the big time in 1978 when he bagged a job with the Nick Gulas promotion alongside Michael Hayes; Gulas at this point was running a weekly schedule that included towns such as Nashville, Birmingham and Chattanooga. Resuming their partnership, Gordy and Hayes quickly became the top heels in the promotion despite their young age. The two often clashed with likes of Andre the Giant, Bobby Eaton and Tojo Yamamoto. Although they were doing superbly well in the promotion, they uprooted once again and left for Jerry Jarrett's Memphis promotion in the summer of 1979 for a better weekly wage. It was at this point that the pair were renamed "The Freebirds". However, their spell was far from spectacular, and the pair immediately fell out with top stars Jerry Lawler and Bill Dundee, and were buried for much of their stay in the area. As a result of this, the pair left before the end of the year and accepted a job with Bill Watts in the Mid-South promotion in Louisiana.

If the Freebirds were born in Memphis, then it was their spell in Louisiana that refined the Freebirds gimmick. Bill Watts immediately saw big money in the southern rock star gimmick and placed Buddy Roberts into the group as a third wheel when Michael Hayes was out injured for a spell. Hayes then became a manager of sorts as Gordy and Roberts tagged together on a regular basis. The threesome immediately tore up the promotion in a feud with the JunkYard Dog, the highlight being Michael Hayes "blinding" JYD with hair remover. Gordy and the rest of the Freebirds were on an incredible run at this point and very much in demand; they eventually left Watts in the fall of 1980 to work for the powerful Georgia promotion. After settling in, they took the area by storm in a feud with Ted DiBiase (including a memorable angle where Gordy piledrove DiBiase on the concrete floor numerous times). However, Gordy and Hayes split up for a short amount of time and eventually feuded, with Gordy recruiting Jimmy Snuka while Hayes brought in Kevin Von Erich. The two even stretched out their feud to the Alabama territory, yet they reunited soon after Gordy saved Hayes from an attack from the Sheepherders (Bushwhackers) and went about business as usual. The trio by now had developed a set formula. Hayes was loudmouth tough guy, Roberts was the mat wrestler, while Gordy was the big tough scary wild-man of the group.

So far, Gordy and co were a red-hot commodity and had enjoyed successful runs in Tennessee, Georgia and Louisiana. Yet they were about to enter their most successful run yet… namely the legendary feud between the Freebirds and the Von Erich boys and in particular Terry Gordy/Michael Hayes vs. Kerry Von Erich/Kevin Von Erich. It all started in the late summer of 1982 as Michael Hayes entered the World-Class promotion (based in Dallas) and aligned himself with the Von Erich brothers. A couple of months later, Gordy and Roberts entered the promotion as faces and combined with Hayes once again. The feud broke out on Christmas night in 1982 as Kerry Von Erich clashed with NWA World Heavyweight Champion Ric Flair in a cage with Michael Hayes as the special referee. The heel turn came about when Hayes laid out Flair and demanded that Kerry pin him. Kerry refused, and this led to Hayes and Gordy turning on Kerry with Gordy eventually slamming the cage door against Kerry's head. This in turn cemented The Freebirds legacy as the biggest ever heels in the World-Class promotion.

The Freebirds clashed non-stop with the Von Erich boys from late-1982 right to the summer of 1984. The two groups collided in scores of 6-man and 8-man tags with Jimmy Garvin often tagging up as the unofficial fourth Freebird. Due to the fantastic syndicate system that World Class had, the red-hot feud between the Freebirds and the Von Erich's was seen throughout the country, and in the process the Freebirds quickly became the top heels in the entire country. As World Class had a partnership with All Japan, Gordy would make select appearances in All Japan throughout his spell in World Class. He was such a big hit that he actually continued to make occasional appearances in All Japan for the next few years. Unfortunately, it wasn't all a bed of roses for Gordy and his associates. World Class at the time was riddled with drugs and Gordy in particular capitalised on this with cocaine being the fashionable substance at that time. Even though they were despicable heels, the Freebirds were often cheered wherever they went, so they gradually turned babyface and battled the Devastation Inc. stable for a short amount of time. The Freebirds soon decided to leave the area onto pastures new.

Next up for the Freebirds was a job in the WWF in September 1984, but they only lasted around 2 weeks with the promotion as they stormed out after only one TV taping as backstage leader Michael Hayes clashed with WWF management. The 'Birds then ended up in Florida and were quickly pushed as the top heels in the promotion. However, much like their WWF tenure, they fell out with booker Wahoo McDaniel and once again walked out. The trio of Gordy, Hayes and Roberts ended up in the AWA and battled the monstrous duo of The Road Warriors in a series of brutal battles. By the end of 1985, the Freebirds started to split their time between the AWA and World Class (where they teamed up with the Von Erich's as faces and in the process back into their old lifestyle). Things picked up once again for Gordy and co in early 1986 when they signed lucrative deals (around 350k each) with Bill Watts, once again, to work for the expanding Mid-South promotion. They feuded with Ted DiBiase again, yet this is when Terry Gordy really broke out of the pack, establishing himself as a true singles main eventer. Gordy won the UWF Title in a tournament final by downing Jim Duggan in May 1986 and went on to defend the it in a series of superb matches against the likes of Steve Williams and Ted DiBiase. Unfortunately, Gordy was involved in a serious car accident in November 1986 and was forced to vacate the title.

By the time Gordy returned to action, the UWF had been bought out by Jim Crockett Promotions (later WCW) and the 'Birds were now working for JCP. The Freebirds wrestled for the promotion for a few months but decided to move on back to their old stomping ground, World Class. It was during this stay in Dallas that the 'Birds had their first fully fledged breaking up, with Hayes siding with the Von Erich boys against Gordy and Roberts (who brought in Iceman Parsons as a third partner). The two stables battled throughout early-1988 before World Class slipped into financial straits in the summer of 1988 and The 'Birds flew the nest once again. Hayes went back to Jim Crockett Promotions, while Gordy ventured off to All Japan to start a new phase in his career.

Next week I'll look at Gordy's incredibly successful tenure in Japan and his subsequent fall from grace.

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TRIVIA ANSWERS - by Andrew Evans

1. Detroit.

2. Ric Flair - on 8th September 1991 after signing with the WWF.

3. Sam Muchnick.

4. Mid-Atlantic / Jim Crockett Promotions.

5. NWA Wildside.

6. All Japan Pro Wrestling.

7. Trick question! All the wrestlers listed are former NWA World Heavyweight Champions.

8. 1984 and 1985.

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