Collection. Most of the match was Hunter working the arm and going for a cross-armbreaker, which neither Vince nor Jerry had any idea how to call. And since “long term thinking” these days is “three. – And now, a turning point for the Observer, although we didn’t know it at the time, as Dave announces that he’s taken a job with the National, writing a wrestling column for the paper. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 10. 94. 91. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 03. By Scott Keith on 19th April 2016. There are moments when you can pinpoint exactly when a major promotion started to go completely off the rails. as the big blue cage that quickly became synonymous with Titan was actually purchased and flown in from Stampede Wrestling, because the normal chain link cage was too hard for Hogan to climb. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 05. – Jim Cornette Update: He turned down the WCW managing job because he’s opening up a new promotion with Sandy Scott and Tim Horner called “Smokey Mountain Wrestling”, starting on 10/30 in Greenville. He was at the other guys’ PPVs this year taking notes, as well as New Japan and All Japan’s major shows. This is ridiculous on a lot of levels, most of which is actually against Zulu because he’s even worse than Mike Von Erich and in. I just don’t think things are gonna work out for that promotion. By Scott Keith on 9th November 2017. Pillman was playing subtle heel to start and got less subtle as the match went on. 90. Instead, in the wake of a disappointing buyrate, the decision was made to concentrate on doing better tournaments. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 08. 0 number predicted by. Um, never mind. Indie wrestler Rockin' Rebel got a tryout at the tapings, and apparently upset Razor Ramon backstage because he was using some of Razor's mannerisms in the ring. DUD – Ric Flair still hasn’t officially signed with the WWF, but it’s a formality at this point. – The WWF announced that the Wrestling Classic did about 60,000 buys on PPV, which was 200,000 less than their announced projections. By Scott Keith on 15th March 2021. By Scott Keith on 19th September 2016. Dave has no idea how successful it’ll be. – In an understatement, Dave notes that the babyface side in the WWF is in a state of disarray, what with Scott Hall about to jump to WCW in late May once all his contractual stuff ends. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 06. 89. Current talk is a rematch with Shawn Michaels at Summerslam in a ladder. It's a recap of the old issues of Dave Meltzer's Wrestling Observer Newsletter. 26. – Dave feels that the team of Sting & Rick Steiner are improving so rapidly that they’ll be one of the best in the world by the summer. It drew a legit sellout of 5708 to West Palm Beach. 30th August 2017 by Scott Keith. Dave sarcastically notes that “it sure turned Brett Sawyer. It’s kind of hard to say what to expect around here as the show has been bouncing back and forth between focusing on the Intercontinental Title feud and then the World Title situation. 18. Welcome to 1996 WCW, notes our teaser for this week. 95. WWE News. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 01. – On the bright side, Warrior v. 90. 6. – In the Deep South, the main guys are Wrestling II and Tommy Rich, and they run out of Georgia. Ah, wrestling, where one guy can beat up another guy for real and flush his head in the toilet for riding with his ex-girlfriend and people are just like “Eh,. 04. Sid actually drew pretty big on the East coast, doing 11,000 at the Nassau Coliseum and 8000 in Philly. These words open the issue this week, because Wrestlemania IV is in the books and, well, it was not pretty. Nasties sold well at least. Rants. (This is why Dave needs an editor. Dave is pretty sure Gonzalez will draw as long as he’s never allowed to touch anyone ever. The team (Gene and Ole Anderson) dominated tag team. Chip screwed up early, but it was decent by the end. He was indicted on 11/12 on counts. She is currently signed to WWE, where she performs on the. ark:/13960/t2z39wg7w. Mike stuff and get into the main event: STARRCADE ‘84. Basically Vince sent his PR people to the magazine to produce what Phil Mushnick of the New York Post (no relation to Sam or Irv, Dave notes, although we’ll get to know Phil very well in later years) called a “six page. – Dave sums up the last PPV of 1996 as “solid but unspectacular”. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 02. He’ll return for real on 11/20, but will be false advertised as appearing in tag team matches on the road against the Enforcers and subbed out when the show starts. *1/4. – Reportedly, World champion Mike Tyson has signed with the WWF to referee a match. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 02. Wrestling Observer Flashback–05. 19. Identifier. 30. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 12. 96. wrestlingmagazinesmisc;. This got the most heat of the night from all the sumo fans, because they’re not hardcore wrestling fans and just knew Kitao as the “bad boy”, and thus booed the shit out of him and cheered everything Earthquake did. Chelsea Anne Cardona (née: Green; born April 4, 1991) is a Canadian professional wrestler, stuntwoman, and model. ”. . I know this year has been a slog, but we’re getting closer to September, when the magic happens! But first, WWF returns to your house! Whether you wanted them there or not. It's great historical reading of the rise and fall of wrestling's biggest boom period. And NOW the main event! Hog Wild 96 and the introduction of the Observer Hall of Fame awaits! This one took me a little bit longer to write than last night’s quickie, obviously. )This argument includes Wrestlemania V, which is widely believed to be the highest grossing wrestling show in HISTORY. – Andre’s beginnings in the sport are something of a mystery. He does 100 but we’ll just do the top 10 because otherwise I’d have to break this up into 5 parts instead of 2. Perfect won a battle royale in 12:55. – Moving on, Joe Pedicino has purchased Jerry Jarrett’s syndicated TV network with the millions of dollars he’s got coming from Nigeria. At 4:00, Warrior splashed Demolition Axe. OK, let’s get back into these again. The previous record was 69,000 for the Big Event. 19. 5 to a 2. 5 million as a startup amount and NOW got $480,000, and once they’ve blown through that, he’s done. 96 (Part Two) BUT WAIT THERE’S MORE! – ECW also held their biggest show ever, the 1996 November to Remember, which was an immediate sellout of 1500 people at the ECW Arena, and Dave even attended the show! – Steve Richards pinned David Morton Tyler Jericho in 9:25, as Stevie had his. 3-28-1988. 27th May 2016 by Scott Keith. And now it’s time for the issue that kicks off one of the biggest stories in the history of wrestling, although we didn’t realize it at the time. And now, for the first time I can remember, the UFC gets the lead story. 2. Well, sort of. It's great historical reading of the rise and fall of wrestling's biggest boom period. And NOW the main event! Hog Wild 96 and the introduction of the Observer Hall. By Scott Keith on 7th March 2017. It’s the year end awards issue! Lots to argue about here, I’m sure. Wrestling Observer Flashback–03. 16. 96. tesseract 5. Wish me luck! – The top story is Dave being confused by a unique gimmick match in Memphis, with Austin Idol v. 96. 22. And now, Dave would like to talk about PPV. – The first Saturday Night show is going to be taped on 10/3, and Dave expects to heavily feature the freakshow wedding of Uncle Elmer, which will likely be even worse than the Paul Vachon wedding. 0-1. 87. Despite the strained relationship, Florida still bills itself as NWA wrestling. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 02. So with the year in PPV finally caught up, let us venture back to the world of 1994 again, with rumors of Hulk Hogan. A total brawl with great heat, although the DQ was called for no apparent reason. Dave also lists the match with the Rock N Roll Express v. 96. 25. 2. Manuel Cruz (Jose Gonzalez) b Beauregarde;. Gene Anderson, founding member of the Minnesota Wrecking Crew tag team died. 23. Sacramento Memorial Auditorium. 96. Well, one week left until the WWF really goes off a cliff. Badd quit WCW on 3/11 after a discussion with Eric Bischoff in the airport, and will be signing with the WWF for three years. By Scott Keith on 22nd August 2022. This group will likely merge in and out with SWS and make appearances on their shows, and will have the pro wrestling ga-ga that Fujiwara wanted to work into the UWF promotion originally. – Fall Brawl was great undercard wrestling, bad main event, and booking filled with more holes than Swiss Cheese. 15. 04. Dave, however, cites the court case of Boy v. 22. Internet Archive HTML5 Uploader 1. Nasty Boys retained the tag titles over the Bushwackers in 6:46. 0. Just for fun, here’s Dave’s Summer 1984 Rankings. 15. By Scott Keith on 14th January 2019. 96. By Scott Keith on 1st January 2021. And now it’s time for the issue that kicks off one of the biggest stories in the history of wrestling, although we didn’t. Jack Petrik would have to wage war against the WWF and spent lots of money to win, and it. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 11. 95. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 06. 1. – Dave’s opening salvo this week: “After its television show reached a new low in. 10. as they did a matinee taping of the new Sunday edition of World Championship Wrestling in Atlanta, then did a show in Columbus GA, then finally. The 2023 class of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame adds seven new members in a year where there were no blow away vote getters but a number. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 10. The Best of the Wrestling Observer-Greatest matches of the Observer years-15 most influential wrestlers of the past five. 95 Guys, I don’t think this UFC thing is gonna be around much longer if lawmakers have their way! – The debate over whether UFC and the other events like it should be banned has been raging in the press and the city of Denver has become a hotspot for the controversy. – Michinoku Pro debuted on 3/16 to huge amounts of local publicity, since they’re the first attempt at a regional promotion in the country. history-of-wcw. Wrestling Observer Flashback–11. I’ve noticed a sudden uptick in 1985-related questions on the Wrestling Observer radio show lately. Also, ROYAL RUMBLE. – Also on the show, Scott Norton & Tony Halme won the IWGP tag titles from the Steiner Brothers in kind of a stinker. 18. Inoki pinned Leon Spinks in the eighth round of whatever their match was supposed to be, cradling him after a double-leg and getting a five count. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 08. 19. ***1/4Wrestling Observer Flashback–03. And here we had gone for almost two months without a death. The one in 1995, although you might also assume I was talking about the NXT one recently because that one wasn’t great either. It’s time for SUMMERSLAM! But first, the WWF is messing with their PPV schedule again. – In a story that seems small but kind of ended up heralding the end of an era in wrestling, the way. They’re exclusively running small towns on the far Northern island of Japan, and mostly using lucha libre guys, which the mainstream papers didn’t really get. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 08. 96. The grand plan for five days a week has been dropped and ESPN will air reruns of Pro Wrestling This Week instead. Regardless of everything else, the #1 rule of wrestling in situations like this is that you ALWAYS have the babyface’s hand raised at the end of the show if you pull a major bait-and-switch like this. ) – The rumor mill continues to churn around the idea that Dusty Rhodes and his $300,000 / year salary will be cut at the end of the year. 15th September 2023 by Scott Keith Rants Wrestling Observer Flashback – 12. Day off from work today, so I’ve got some time to craft another Flashback! Your Spotify soundtrack for this one is Queensryche’s “Operation Mindcrime”, an album that it took me many years to get into, which is weird because I was a big fan of “Empire”. Wrestling Observer Flashback – Bret v. 95. Wrestling Observer Flashback: 07. – Dave notes that speaking of network TV, ABC was filming an episode of 20/20 at the MSG show, and one of the reporters asked Dr. Daprice did every issue for the 90's through 2001. But don’t be fooled by the Slow News, as two major promotions actually reach their finales this week, although we didn’t realize it at the time. 95. 11. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 09. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 08. 3. . By Scott Keith on 18th April 2022. By Scott Keith on 19th March 2016. By Scott Keith on 27th October 2016. – And now, let’s talk about pay-per-view. NEXT WEEK: The Monday Night War begins. 05. Warrior pinned Haku with the shoulderblock and splash in 4:48. Rants. 22. According to Dave’s minions, there was confusion about. I’m still not 100% clear on how we got from “Jim Crockett attempts to run Florida into the ground” to “Jim Crockett buys Florida and uses it as a feeder system for his own promotion”, but I’m sure we’ll get there. By Scott Keith on 14th August 2016. Sorry. Obviously, doctors gave him some mumbo-jumbo diagnosis about “severe spinal disc and sciatic nerve damage”, and. This week is one of them. 90. 3. 12. This week, a big name goes to the rival promotion in the thick of the Monday Night Wars! Call my hotline now to find out the answer! – Hiroshi Hase made a surprising jump from New Japan to All Japan this week, announcing on 9/29 that he’s starting with AJPW in January. Maybe if I skim over the Eddie Gilbert stuff it’ll get done easier. (Clearly Wrestlemania had not become the thing it is today, because $429 barely gets you a nosebleed seat at this point. 92 By Scott Keith on 16th February 2017 Hey, I picked up a Nintendo DSi XL for $60 (Canadian) from EBGames and it’s pretty rad. Main event is. 19. 28. Pillman was a little rusty but still got an excellent match out of Wright. 25. *. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 05. Dave is flabbergasted by how bad a show it was, wondering if this was a dream or a nightmare that he hasn’t woken up from. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 03. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 01. 11. – Paul Heyman was indefinitely suspended on 10/7 for reasons that are still unknown at press time (still unknown to this day, in fact!) and this is gonna mess up their plans big because the (don’t call it a ) booking committee wanted to switch him back from announcer to manager if they could strike a deal with Rick Rude. 06. Pillman tried a crucifix and Wright reversed it for the pin. Back to the trenches after taking Friday off! And the big story this week is an abject lesson in John Lennon’s famous saying, “Life is what happens to you when you’re busy making other plans”. 95. (Just wait until Slamboree. Flair’s contract was scheduled to be terminated as of 08/01, and Flair was scheduled to drop the WCW World title to Barry Windham on 7/1 in Macon, GA. 96. ) An industry shaking death in this issue, but. 96. By Scott Keith on 20th September 2016. 02. ABBYY FineReader 11. Ocr. – In Japan, SWS continues to alienate Japanese wrestling fans by booking WARLORD v. 1. *1/4. 19. 96 (Part Two) – In the top story, “Sycle” Sid won the WWF title in the main event of the Survivor Series. Thanks for reading! UWFI president and top star Nobuhiko Takada announced that the company is officially going out of business and that the final show will be held this week. Back in the saddle with these again. It’s week 3 of the WWF title being held hostage by Diesel! But don’t worry, this can’t possibly last very long. They’re owned by Jody Hamilton (Nick Patrick’s dad) and they do about 200 people per show. 96 Apparently it’s time for WCW to get rowdy. – The Sheik did an extremely rare job, submitting to Onita’s boston crab in just 3:18 at the latest FMW show. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 11. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 12. – Van Hammer won the arm wrestling tournament, beating Ron Simmons in the finals, which Dave interprets as continuing his newfound push. 3-21-1988. – The Rougeaus are telling Montreal newspapers that they’re taking a one year sabbatical from wrestling before returning late in 1990. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 03. – It’s COLD WAR in Toronto. Identifier-ark. The match died once Flair went out. 90. 95. 10-28-1991. I’m giddy. 2 million, making it the largest gate in pro wrestling history. 22. – The big story this week is Dave’s preview of the Ultimate Ultimate 96!. By Dave Meltzer Nov 21, 2023. Brian Pillman pinned Badstreet with a flying bodypress in the light heavyweight tournament semi-final at 6:52. – Unfortunately, we start with the inevitable death of Scott “Hog” Irwin, who succumbed to cancer after a year long battle at the age of 37. Public Enemy went to a double DQ with the Nasty Boys in 4:02. 93. Severn. 96 And now it’s time for the issue that kicks off one of the biggest stories in the history of wrestling, although we didn’t. 95 (Part 1) So after Dave takes a week off, it’s a DOUBLE ISSUE featuring Wrestlemania XI, the show that drew so much money that Dave needed a second issue to contain it all!Wrestling Observer Flashback – 11. Papa Shango ran in for the DQ, and Ultimate Warrior made the save, complete with entrance music. 96. – The show drew 7000 with 4700 paid and a $94,000 house. But if you’re reading it in the archives in December, then MERRY CHRISTMAS! – Continuing on with the saga of Dynamite Kid’s messed up back, he was flown into Calgary for surgery after being paralyzed from the waist down. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 04. – The new Stampede Wrestling has already taken all but one of the WWF’s TV clearances in Western Canada, so this doesn’t seem to be a winning venture for Vince. 96 (Part Two) – In the top story, “Sycle” Sid won the WWF title in the main event of the Survivor Series. 5 to 2. 88. 16. Wrestling Observer Flashback –04. “Hey look, it’s Joe Weider” – Not sure what that refers to, but I’m sure we’ll find out. 01. – In the top story, Sports Illustrated had a story on the WWF in March, and no one in mainstream media really gave a shit. The TNT show is dropping rapidly, which shows that the new audience of freakshow fans is far less than the loyal wrestling fans who choose not to watch that one. 14. ”This is horrible, Gorilla. 90. Just like the Untouchables, if you sign two of ours to a guaranteed contract, we sign one of yours to a guaranteed contract! And his hot wife! – Johnny B. Wrestling Observer Flashback–10. 09. – Dave relates a brief history of World Championship Wrestling, and how TBS purchased the company in 1988 despite their crippling debt. – San Fran is the big head-to-head battle between the AWA and WWF, and Vince won that one handily thus far. 95. Wrestling Observer Flashback–10. Topics. Wrestling Observer Flashback–06. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 08. The biggest story of the week is actually buried way down. 18. – Dan Severn won the Ultimate Ultimate on 12/16 in Denver after all the controversy over the show, beating Oleg Taktarov in the finals via unanimous decision. 10. 20. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 09. – Dave gets a funny bit when he notes that ever since taking over as booker, Dundee has suddenly gained amazing recuperative powers in his matches. 23, because for every viewer gained on Nitro, there was a viewer lost on Saturdays and it kind of averaged out. -. Wrestling Observer Flashback–08. Jim Herd has already killed the wrestling business, and now he’s working on killing the magic business. 96 Stop me if you’ve heard this one before… – After 15 years of being the world’s biggest babyface, Hulk Hogan turned heel in the main event of WCW’s Bash at the Beach PPV in an angle that Dave thinks will be “remembered for years”. – The WWF is reportedly considering adding a weekly Saturday PPV show, according to trade journal reports. 95. The Road Warriors beat the Midnight Express in a scaffold match in 3:00, which kind of ruins their videotape business, Dave thinks. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 10. 7th. 20. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 04. 95. OK, after yesterday’s super-abbreviated edition (well the one I wrote at least, Dave was still 100,000 words into it) we’re back with a full double issue this time to recap all the stateside news! Continue reading Rants. So don’t be disappointed at the lack of a review here. Wrestling Observer Flashback–08. 05. – Mexico’s wrestling companies are gearing up for a full-scale strike of wrestlers and referees, with syndicate head Manny Guzman calling for job action over EMLL’s network TV deal. 96 IT’S TIME. – But first, speculation is still running rampant in the wake of Ole Anderson getting fired as booker. 90. Warlord won a battle royale by tossing out Ricky Steamboat. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 04. 16. Guys, it sounds like the Diamond Studd will soon be appearing in WCW again! We’ll see how that goes for them. Kayfabe Commentaries Releases Newest Installment of Their “Supercard” Series. 05. 2. – Dave brings up the example of New Japan’s light heavyweight division taking off and Stampede Wrestling’s mid-heavyweight division, although of course Stampede tended to produce talent that left for greener pastures instead of. 5-11-1987. The suit alleges unfair competition, trademark. Which is still 10 pages long. 4. Rude/Vader tag match, the highest rating for any wrestling match on TV in more than a year. Max Moon was eliminated quickly because his spaceship was double-parked. To the news!This is up for them, and Dave notes what a great night for wrestling that Thanksgiving really is, because even Central States almost drew money! Later, he corrects a previous title change, noting that Art Crews actually won the TV title from Gary Royal on 11/27 in Ft. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 11. Until then, there’s the Clash! – Dave was in Japan for DreamSlam (very short version: It was an amazing show) and missed the Clash of Champions from Jacksonville, but to say it wasn’t well received would be an. – Dave is kind of shocked at the response to Wrestlemania, in that it was not only one of the biggest responses to a show that he’s ever had, but also there was pretty much no consensus on the quality of the show, with a fairly even split between thumbs up /. Shawn Special Edition! Okey doke, so in the 1997 RAW rants thus far, we’ve alluded to the all the crazy stuff happening behind the scenes with Bret and Shawn, but what EXACTLY was that? Well, Dave was covering it extensively in the Observer at the time, so here’s a mini-Flashback covering the top. He literally stole Verne’s TV slot out from under him (the AWA wasn’t even told by the station until the day the show was supposed to air!) and Verne’s big show at the Cow Palace in March as a complete debacle due to scheduling. The taped episode of RAW wasn’t particularly different than any other one they’ve. At the latest WWF tapings, a guy named Mantaur debuted. 77, or about the same as Starrcade. 11. By Scott Keith on 18th October 2016. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 05. 96. – Inoki’s business-killing freakshow ended up drawing 11,000 people for somewhere between $800,000 – $1. 07. By Scott Keith on 1st June 2019. 92 By Scott Keith on 20th March 2017 Hey, it’s another month with missing issues, as Dave has this one and the August 10 one on the site, and then it skips to September. By Scott Keith on 9th September 2016. – In the top story of the week, and in fact one of the top stories in wrestling history, Ric Flair was fired from WCW effective immediately when negotiations fell through. Well, 1988, as much as I love and care about you, it’s time our relationship came to an end again, just like James and Natalie on Big Brother last night. Ted Dibiase & Virgil beat Dusty & Dustin Rhodes at 9:57. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 08. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 03. – Once again, it’s time for the most awesome feature in Observer Flashback history: – Our favorite whipping boy promotion, the UWF, debuted in New York with a TV taping, and surprisingly both Honky Tonk. The main event. Identifier-ark. Wrestling Observer Flashback–03. 95. 23. 11th January 2017 by Scott Keith. On May 2 they did an angle where the AWA World title was held up following a Bockwinkel/Hennig match where Hennig used a foreign object. Michaels worked his ass off, although it came out later that he was hungover and stoned at the time. 95, which is good but well below the 2. Steve Jennum was put into the finals as a last-minute. 18. Baba had actually been. – The WWF is on hiatus for a bit after WM, so Dave apologizes in advance for the light news week. Scanner. Oh, Dave. 1986 Wrestling Observer Yearbook. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 07. ”.