Cross Face Chicken Wing

Dave didn't think Tsurta was lazy, but didn't like the decision to give him the title. He felt that Tsurta just wasn't someone that American fans connected with at all, especially at a time when the WWF was making its national push around a larger-than-life figure like Hogan.

Just picked up Legends of Wrestlemania for PS3 and it's solid fun. If they come out w/ another one, assuming you can import the roster from the first version over the second version, here's who I would like to see included: 1. Savage 2. Steamboath 3. Dynamite 4. Blanchard 5. One Man Gang (Akeem unlockable) 6. Orndorff 7. Santana 8. Martel 9. Windham 10. Rotundo 11. Adonis 12. Reed 13. Muraco 14. Steele 15. Funk 16. Race 17. Orton 18. Haku 19. Hercules 20. Ax 21. Smash 22. Bad News Brown 23. Von Erich 24. Brian Knobbs 25. Jerry Saggs 26. Sid 27. Luke 28. Butch 29. Earthquake 30. Hall 31. Nash 32. Luger 33. Owen Hart 34. Backlund 35. Vader 36. Golddust Managers: 1. Slick 2. Lou Albano 3. Cornette 4. Miss. Elizabeth Unlockable (legends that never participated in Mania) 1. Bruno 2. Pat Patterson 3. Billy Graham Announcers: 1. Monsoon 2. Ventura (yeah right) Interviewer: 1. Mean Gene Authority figure: 1. Jack Tunney That's all I can think of for now.

Underrated is the proper term for Bock. I don't think there's many people that thought he was a bad worker, but I don't think he receives near the credit he deserves for being great. He was definitely past his prime in the mid-80s, but still was solid and was one of the few reasons to keep paying attention to the AWA during that time period. It would've been interesting to see what JCP could've gotten out of him in the mid-80s.

Damn, I don't remember Slick being there that early. Where did he come from? Central States I believe. Dave also made some comment about Slick being the guy that he used to watch wrestling with. Some sort of inside joke that flew over my head.

people still thought of Fujinami as a junior in 86? Dave's max weight for junior status was "210 or so." This was actual weight, not what promoters billed wrestlers as weighing.

*Last issue Dave said that Michaels/Janetty beat Rose/Summers for AWA title. Turns out the AWA reversed the decision because Somers was pinned and was not the legal man. Somers had walked out on the promotion, but with the title going back to Somers/Rose, that must've blown over. Dave expects the Rockers to be tag champs by September anyway. *Roddy Piper continues to tell people he's retiring, but will be returning to WWF shortly. Dave speculates that he will return as a babyface. Combined w/ Pipers' return and a Hogan/Orndorff feud, Dave thinks business will pick back up for Titan. *Dave is getting sketchy reports on the Crockett American Bash shows. He does know that Cincinatti on 7/9 drew below 5,000 headlined by Flair/Animal and 7/4 Memphis drew around 800 paid. The shows have been major disappointments because tix are way overpriced and Crockett's talent is getting a little stale. *Chris Adams was arrested after getting off a plane in Dallas on 6/30. Apparently, he was harrassing a co-pilot and faces up to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. *Dave goes over his subscription policy. He recently had a subscription drive and the Observer is becoming a weekly publication. *UWF/Crockett joint show for 7/27 in Dallas appears to be on track. Dave speculates this will be the last collaboration between Watts/Crockett. WORLD CLASS *World Class has a date 8/16 in Chicago. Dave thinks it'll bomb. *Ric Rood in process of turning babyface. *Dave got a chance to see Mike Von Erich wrestle on 7/7 and he can't believe how terrible he is. He says he sympathizes w/ him because of his injuries and problems, but he's never seen someone so bad being put over since Kendall Windham. *This area is in terrible shape. The top heels are Dingo Warrior, Buzz Sawyer and Matt Bourne. Brody is around, but he's in and out. CROCKETT COUNTRY *Flair/Dusty headline a 8/28 show in Los Angeles. Dave says Dusty is the wrong guy to put on on top anywhere outside of the Southeast. He especially won't work in California. It also wastes Flair because he won't be able to have a 5-star caliber match that would really differentiate Crockett from WWF. *Dick Murdoch expected in shortly. *Indications are that Dusty will win the title from Flair in an upcoming Atlanta cage match. *Dave says this circuit needs a shot in the arm. They great matches and angles, but overall the talent is stale and new ideas are needed. UWF *Shows have been a little weak since Dibiasse and Williams left for Japan and Duggan got hurt. *Buddy Roberts has impressed lately. WWF *Dick Slater and Slick are in. *Jesse Ventura will no longer wrestle and will focus on acting. Dave isn't sure if he will keep announcing or not. Jesse got his role in Predator w/out McMahon's help, which pissed McMahon off. *Souvenirs at all WWF shows are half off. Less people are attending live shows and merch is moving slower. They're also making room for a new line of merch in the fall, led by Roddy Piper stuff. *Shows in Calgary and Vancouver each drew 16,000. Dave figures 16,000 exceeds the top four attended shows combined of Calgary Stampede Wrestling. *Andre the Giant and Bill Eadie are wearing masks and teaming as the Strong Machines. *JYD is expected to feud w/ Butch Reed. Dave thinks this could work well if they use Reed right. *Hercules Hernandez is no-showing everywhere. *Dave thinks it's too bad that Koko Ware won't get more of a push in the WWF. He thinks w/ the bird gimmick and drop kicks, he could get over. MEMPHIS *8,000 turned out for the third Lawler/Dundee loser leaves town match. *Bam Bam Bigelow, who Dave thinks will be a star, hasn't been around lately. Dave isn't sure what's up w/ him. *Dundee, Mantell, Mod Squad, LeDuc, and Landell all left the promotion quickly. If Bigelow is also gone, this promotion is in big trouble. GROSS STORY OF THE WEEK *On a recent St. Joseph, MO show, Bob Owens entered the ring in yellow trunks. He left the ring with yellow trunks in the front, but the back of his trunks had a strong dark brown coloring. *After that happy note, Dave gives his mid-year ratings. Some highlights: --Top junior heavyweights: 1. Takada; 2. Tiger Mask; 3. Fujinami. --Top regular heavyweights: 1. Flair; 2. Yatsu; 3. Eaton. --Top super heavyweights: 1. Gordy; 2. Murdoch; 3. Hansen. --Worst (regardless of weight): 1. Yamamoto; 2. Kendall Windham; 3. Uncle Elmer. --Tag Teams: 1. Midnight Express; 2. Choshu-Yatsu; 3. Bulldogs. LETTERS FROM READERS *One guy doesn't think Dave should criticize wrestlers for not selling. The reader says he likes it when workers don't sell because it makes them seem tougher. *The strength coach for the Cincinatti Bengals writes in to commend Dave for giving accurate perceptions on the drug scene and its negative effects in pro wrestling. Dave follows up by explaining how people on steroids blow up faster because their bodies are unable to absorb and discard heat properly. CLOSING NOTES *Dave saw some Portland footage and can't believe how bad it is. He says's it's completely outdated. He also says that despite all the problems w/ wrestling today, it's much better than it was in the 70s. *7/18 Bash show in Richmond, VA drew 6,500 and $150,000 gate. That's a record gate for the area. *Main event on 8/8 Richmond show is Bobby Eaton/Warlord. Dave figures they know the gates will be down post-Bash so they're not going to bother booking big names or good cards. *Dave says McMahon has fresher angles than Crockett right now. *Hercules has been no-showing because of a legit knee injury.

Anyone play the Legends of Wrestlemania game for the PS3 or 360? I downloaded the PS3 demo and wasn't very impressed so I never bothered checking out the actual game. I've heard mostly negative things......

With the exception of stopping at Raw (sometimes) when flipping channels on a Monday night or browsing (occassionally) the current gossip on message boards, I haven't paid attention to modern pro wrestling in 10 years. I still love watching old footage of the territorial days and analyzing the business side of the wrestling industry. That said, I like the celebrity guest host schtick for two reasons: 1. It's something unique. 2. As an old fan, it's caught my attention at least a little bit. I haven't watched Raw because of the guest hosts yet, but I may if they find someone I'm interested in. Who knows, maybe I'll like the show overall and go back to watching on a regular basis. Perhaps the WWE is thinking there are many others like me: Former fans who tired of the product, but may be lured back in if given some reason to watch a show here and there.

Just watched where the Horseman run in after the Dusty/Tully title switch and try to break Baby Doll's leg. When Flair climbs the top rope you can tell everyone in the building wants to kill him. And Flair does such a great job of milking it by undoing his tie and sort of hanging there for a few seconds before the faces run in. Classic!

They were going to have Race pin Flair clean in a non-title bout or two and set up a loser leaves town match. Flair would get a cheap win in the loser leaves match and Race would return under a mask as the Midnight Rider. Crockett bought the promotion before the angle was carried out and scrapped it.

Who is everyone's favorite "Slob" worker, past or present? I'm not exactly sure how to define slob, so I'll leave it open to your own interpretation. In my view, a slob is a fat, out of shape, jiggly, wobbly goof who blows up after two minutes and generally has no business in the ring. However, I've heard some folks refer to workers like Vader or Jerry Blackwell as slobs simply because they're fat. I happen to disagree with that view, but that's why I want to leave the definition open. My all-time favorite slob has to be Kamala (or Kimala if you prefer). His schtick as an African headhunter always cracked me up and his facial expressions seemed to suck me into his matches (or maybe just distract me from his complete lack of ability). Whenever he would start patting his tummy like he's ready for his next meal, I'd roll on the floor laughing. I recently listened to one of his shoot interviews and the old stories he told were entertaining, especially the bit about how Mid-South fans would surround his van when he pulled into the arena. In order to get the crowd to disperse, Kamala once killed a live chicken and started throwing feathers and chicken parts at the mob. If true, that's hillarious. I can't pinpoint a favorite match or moment involving Kamala, but I think the same can be said about a lot of slobs. Nothing truly stands out, but over time you develop a fondness for their work for some unknown reason.

Dave started doing bi-weekly editions right around this time and I just don't have the time to do a write-up of each and every issue. I'm only doing them when I can find a free minute and feel like it. It'll be sporadic random issues as long as people are still into the write-ups. But since you made a special request, I'll see if I can find a free minute this weekend and write up the issue around 9/8/85:)

*Biggest news is the death of Gino Hernandez. Gino was 29 and is the ninth active wrestler to die in the last two years, an astonishing number given there are only about 300 active wrestlers in the business. *Dave corrects himself from last issue where he claimed that the AWA tag titles changed hands in a non-match that was said on TV as taking place in Albuquerque. The match actually did take place and Hall/Henning beat Garvin/Regal in a good 58 minute match. The change took place because Regal decided to walk out. Rumors also flying that Garvin is leaving for Crockett to give Baby Doll another valet to feud with. *Wrestlemania II will take place 4/7 instead of 3/31 as originally planned. WWF had booked too many buildings around the country for 3/31 and didn't want to have to eat the deposits. Plus they didn't want to compete w/ the NCAA B-ball championship game. Dave speculates the main event could be Hogan/Savage lumberjack match. *MTV will air the Slammys near the end of April. *A second woman's promotion will start in Japan. The current women's group discourages the women from continuing with wrestling past the age of 25. Dave says the Japanese women put on the best matches of any promotion in the world. *Dave gets letters wondering why ESPN renewed its contract w/ the AWA instead of picking up Mid-South. Dave says to not be surprised because station managers looking at wrestling already assume it's phony and stupid. Vince's material fits the mold of real-life cartoon characters and a circus atmosphere. The AWA is almost cartoon-like in an unintentional way and station managers think that's what people want. Mid-South draws huge ratings, but those are dismissed because it's in deep south markets like Oklahoma and New Orleans. Also, Mid-South caters to actual wrestling fans and is a fairly serious wrestling show. ESPN Sports Center commentators wouldn't be able to make fun of it like they do w/ the AWA. AWA *Brody will be coming back. Blackwell convinced Verne to bring him back. Greg Gagne wanted Brody to post a 25,000 appearance bond, but that's not happening. Blackwell realizes that age and weight have caught up w/ him and that Brody is one of the few guys that can work around that. *Blackjack Lanza left for a WWF road agent position. Lanza was a great organizer so now the AWA is in organizational disarray. Wally Karbo rumored to be leaving for WWF too. *Hansen is already a disappointment as a champion that can draw. Dave says it will stay that way as long as his only opponent is Slaughter. Problem is the AWA has no faces that are over. David Sammartino is scheduled for several matches w/ Hansen which will bomb. *Sean Michaels is on his way in, but won't get pushed. Dave says he has great potential but is too green. World Class *Dave doesn't want to speculate on the effects Gino's death will have on the promotion. *Crowds are up a bit because the Freebirds are back in. The Freebirds/Von Erich feud is good, but nowhere near '83/84 good. Lance Von Erich tries but is still horrible. Texas All-Star *Kimala refuses to work more than one or two minute matches (I love Kimala!) Crockett Country *Roadies/Russians feud is beginning to fizzle, but a couple of TV appearances by the Roadies could help it out. Dave thinks the Roadies are an attraction that people want to see a few times every now and then instead of on a regular basis. He thinks Crockett should book them like WWF books Hogan, sporadically so as to make their appearance seem like a really huge deal. *Dave says someone needs to tell Flair that the Space Mountain schtick is getting old. (I disagree. Last issue Dave was complaining that Flair shouldn't talk about Space Mountain and use innuendos because kids watch the show.) *Dave gives some results, all of which have Flair losing or getting some cheap win. Dave cracks wise about how he loves the way they "continually put Flair over." Update on Gino Hernandez *It was reported that Gino's death was due to a liver ailment and that a gun was found near his body. The gun hadn't been fired. Police in Dallas received "tons" of calls saying that Chirs Adams killed him. Apparently, Adams mentioned that he'd kill Gino in a promo. *Dave says there's more to the Gino story, which he won't report anything until next issue when more details come in. WWF *Dave wouldn't be surprised if the Bulldogs win the tag titles at Wrestlemania II. *The WWF album reached a disappointing No. 84 on the Billboard charts and is on its way down. *Hogan was on the Love Boat last week. *WWF returns to Richomnd on 2/9. Their first show in Crockett Country sold out and this one should too. *Rumors that Dino Bravo will be returning to Canada to run the Montreal office. Mid-South *Mid-South TV is now on satellite. *Dave isn't used to Dibiase/Williams as faces because they were such great heels. *Chavo Guerrero is on thin-ice w/ the Houston office. It all stems from a "painted yellow" match where he threw paint in the audience and refused his post-match painted interview. Other stuff *Dave says that because he's always writing negative things, he should commend Rob Richsteiner and Steve Williams for rescuing two men from a burning vehicle about a month back. Dave also says he regrets not putting Williams in the top three of his most improved list for 1985. Superstars on the Superstation *Dave gives the show a B. He says their attempt to have celebrities flopped because Willie Nelson was the only real celebrity. At least Vince has real celebrities. The pacing and production was also far below what Vince does. Much like Vince's early shows were, this show dragged in places. *Dave hated the Dusty/Tully match but liked the Flair/Garvin match. He says Garvin is just good enough to not ruin Flair's matches. Either that or Flair is just that good. He says they made a mistake by not having a Flair interview after the match. Back to the News *A passage in Howard Cossell's book highlights how Vince wanted Cossell to call WWF shows. Cossell refused and Vince cussed him out and acted like an asshole. *Dave watched a Hogan/Savage match from MSG and says it's no wonder Hogan is so much more over than Flair. All Flair does is take bumps while Hogan at least gets to look strong. Dave also is amazed that Flair was able to have such a great match w/ Nikita at the Bash in '85. *Barry Windham looks great on his current Japan tour. It's hard to believe he's the same guy that was in the WWF. *WWF will do a Slammy's special on 3/1. This will be the night the big angles for Wrestlemania are shot. Not sure if it will air on NBC or MTV. William Perry rumored to be wrestling. *Dave summarizes a proposed Flair-Race angle in KC that he hopes they will change becaue he gave it away. *Jake Roberts on his way to WWF. *Wally Karbo agreed to go to WWF, but changed his mind last minute. *At a recent AWA St. Paul show, Hennig/Hall beat the Irwins. Hall went into his trunks for a foreign object and his blade fell out. Bill Irwin walloped him w/ his boot and Hall picked up the blade and cut himself. Dave says Hall is improving, but he's never seen anyone screw up so many finishes. *Rumors of 4/20 show at the 60,000 seat Metrodome w/ Crockett. *Verne lost his TV time in Winnipeg to WWF.

David Crockett should've studied some tapes of Vince announcing from MSG shows pre expansion. He's a guy that didn't know when to shut up and never realized that yelling "Watch him now!!!!" or "Ohhhhh! Ohhhhhh! What's this?!?!?!" for no apparent reason dtracted from the product.

I think Verne was putting off the LOD/Freebirds feud until the fall because AWA attendence was traditionally down during the summer. He didn't want to run a potentially hot feud when he couldn't get the absolute most he could out of it. You could debate the merits of that decision, of course. He did run the feud a bit in the Northeast, but it never really got hot. I think the thought was that Slaughter didn't need the belt to get over, which I never understood. The WWF built Hogan as this unstopable force of a champion and rode him to the top. I'm not saying the AWA could've done the same w/ Slaughter, but they needed a champ who intrigued non-wrestling fans and came across like an unbeatable super hero. Slaughter could've fit the bill. Then again, Verne was probably scared to put it on Slaughter in case he'd jump back to Vince.

I no longer have time to do write-ups for every issue I read in chronological order, but I'll try and post summaries of certain issues when I have the chance. Since my last summary, Dave has ended the Observer.....sort of. Due to time constraints and waning interest in wrestling, the April issue was going to be the last. He said that since many people were only two issues into a four-issue subscription, he would do two more smaller issues to close things out. After that, he might continue doing some sort of small newsletter, but only for correspondants. I believe Dave stated he had about 900 subscribers and a 97 percent renewal rate. The legal print size with pictures and a cover ceased to exist after the April issue. In its place is an 8x11 format, totaling about six to eight pages w/ no pictures, newspaper reprints, or letters from readers. I'm about six issues into the new format and, obviously, Dave hasn't quit. What's the line from The Godfather? "Just when you think you're out, they pull you back in." The same must apply to wrestling journalists. I actually like the new format better. It's leaner and Dave is sharper in his writing. Actually, the writing itself isn't much better -- still lots of sentence run-ons and typos -- but Dave is focusing a bit more on analysis over results, which makes for a better read. Anyway, some of the new issues he labels or gives a number, some he doesn't. I think the below summary is from Wrestling Observer Newsletter #6, although it isn't labeled. Enjoy. *Last issue, Dave asked readers to send in their nominations and opinions for various all-time great categories in wrestling. Dave is using the material for a book he is writing on wrestling. He was especially looking for people who have watched wrestling since the 50s and 60s. 80s wrestlers dominated most of the polls, but Dave said even those that have watched since the 50s and 60s ended up voting mainly for 80s-era workers. *Thez ended up ranked as greatest ever, Flair second and Race third. Sheik was best heel, Kowalski second and Piper third. Bruno top face, Hogan second and Kerry third. Funks/Briscoes greatest feud, Freebirds/Von Erichs second and Blassie/Tolos third. *Dave doesn't feel its fair to compare 50s and 60s era wrestlers to 80s wrestlers. The modern product makes for much better TV. *Fritz and Inoki have agreed on a deal. Fritz will be Inoki's main supplier of foreign talent, although Inoki may try and retain some relations w/ the WWF for Hogan, Andre and Adonis. The Fritz/Inoki deal was brokered by Brody, which explains why Brody will be on several upcoming Dallas cards. *There is also talk that Inoki may approach Watts about a deal. Meantime, Baba will be in the states to meet w/ Crockett. Dave speculates Baba might try and work a deal with McMahon as well. *Apparently, Fritz also has secured an ESPN slot for the fall, but Dave has no details. World Class also has shows plance for Massechusetts and Vegas. Dave says World Class will need to recruit more wrestlers in order for the expansion to work. There's no way they have the talent to both expand and send 3-6 workers to Japan each month. *The Crocketts 7/6 show in Charlotte drew 25,700 fans paying $15 and $25 a seat. Even though they Crocketts had to pay skydivers, fireworks crew and David Allan Coe, they still should've made a good profit. There's an absurd number of titles in Crockett's territory. *WWF ran an outdoor show 7/8 at Sullivan Stadium in Mass. that drew 20,000. *AWA in the Northeast drew their smallest crowds to date, however Dave was told both shows were excellent. Flair/Slaughter was announced as the next main event at one of the shows and nobody really cared. Flair isn't over at all in northeast because they don't portray him as a dominant champion. *Dave was surprised the AWA Meadowlands show didn't draw better. He says the promotion was very creative, which makes him think someone besides Verne was behind it. Dave also says the AWA has a lot of guys that are good on interviews and that he's actually enjoying the TV show for the first time in a long time. He also says the Crockett's TV show is improving, but not quite there yet. *The last couple of issues Dave has mentioned that many people think the WWF workrate is improving. Dave says that talk should end becasue the 8/10 semi-main event for MSG is Uncle Elmer/Studd. *McMahon has added a third syndicated show, "WWF Superstars of Wrestling," which consists of McMahon in a studio showing highlights. WWF is attempting to get three localized hours in each market. Jesse Ventura has become a good commentator. *Getting back to the all-time greats poll, Dave defends himself for saying Bruno was a great attraction, but not that great of a worker. He says several other wrestlers and folks in wrestling agree with him. Memphis *Star Wars show on 7/15 drew 10,000. Taylor won the International title but is headed to Crockett. Central States *7/11 drew 2,000 headline by 2 out of 3 falls with Flair/Race. The pre-match hype said the 2 out of 3 falls provision would prevent Flair from getting DQ'd just to save the title. Naturally, Flair lost two straight falls, the second by DQ, to retain the title. Dave wonders if Flair will ever win another match outside of te Carolinas again. *7/12 St. Louis drew 1,800 headlined by Kerry/Hernandez. Dave says w/out Kerry on the show, they would've been lucky to draw 800. Japan *Things are quiet in Japan. Not much to report. World Class *Mike Von Erich has dissappeared. He even missed a Von Erich TV commercial taping. *Dave mentions that he's had a chance to watch some recent Dallas tapes and the wrestling has gotten bad with the exception of Chris Adams. Florida *Things are dead. Recent shows in Miami drew less than 200. *Hector Guerror left the territory to work as a stunt man in a movie called Bad Guys. *Barr and Hernandez were fired after a dispute w/ Wahoo. AWA *7/16 St. Paul drew 2,500. WWF drew about 4,000 in St. Paul a week later, headlined by Hogan/Piper. *Dave wants an explanation why Martell is still champ. He realizes they don't have an adequate replacement, but says and inadequate replacement would be better at this point. *Not much besides results for Mid-South, Oregon or Hawaii territories. Crockett Area *This group is loading up on wrestlers, including Taylor, Kevin Sullivan and Kendo Nagasaki. *TBS show will have a title match for the next two months or so. *Condrey/Eaton look great and should feud with R&R Express soon. Misc. *Mike Von Erich returned on 7/22. *Dave hears WWF will no longer promote in Western Canada. If that's the case, Stu Hart may start Stampede again, which means Hart, Dynamite and Smith may leave WWF. *Wrestlemania video cassette broke into the top 10 for nationwide sales at $40 a pop. It's at No. 3 behind a "We are the World" tape and Jane Fonda workout. *NWA convention will be Aug. 18-20 at the Dunes Hotel in Vegas. It may be the last one. *Nikita Koloff is set to become one of wresting's hottest commodities in Dave's opinion. *The Crockett's will help local promotions by sending in 3-5 top stars for "American Bash" goes on tour type of shows. Dave says there will be three to five big players left after a year or so led by McMahon and Crockett. Dave thinks Watts will still be there along with Fritz and Verne. Verne is hurting, however. *A lot of speculation that Championship Wrestling from Floriday is in critical condition. *Dave congraulates a reader for her upcoming marriage to Howard Finkel. Dave says Finkel is McMahon's right hand man so "nothing in here is safe from the eyes of Titan Sports any more." *Bobby Heenan now and assistant booker in WWF. McMahon is out trying to play Hollywood talent agent so George Scott is running most of the wrestling. That explains why the TV shows and angles have more continuity. *WWF drew first sellout in Toronto. *Hogan will be on Love Boat next season. *AWA drew 1,400 in Salt Lake on 7/11, by far their worst crowd there ever. *Latest ratings show the top five syndicated TV programs are wrestling. *JYD has dissappeared for two weeks. Despite rumors, he hasn't jumped. *Dave says that despite previous pessimism, he thinks wrestling is headed for a big fall season. He can't explain why, but he thinks promotions are getting their acts together.

Just when you think no more priceless lines could be uttered during promos, Ronnie Garvin informs Flair that "we're not going to be making love, we're going to be wrestling!" And they headlined Starrcade '87 with this guy. I didn't think there would be any way I could get through this by the end of the year, but the rate I'm going I might finish it by football season.

On the same note, Crockett flying talent around on a private jet for both business and pleasure. Another F-up, at least if you believe Flair and other old-schoolers from the Crockett era, was expanding beyond the NWA's core markets to rapidly.

The main thing that stands out for me is how believeable the 4HM and their opponents tried to make their fueds. Wrestling is at its best when the viewer forgets for a minute that it's all a work. The 4HM had that rare ability to entertain through over-the-top character development and suck you in even further through their believeable work rate and matches. I've always been a fan of the 4HM, but seeing them develop and finally having the chance to see their feuds evolve over time is making me even more of a fan.

Khawk probably knows a little more than I about it, but it sounded like the AWA trying to do their own Rock 'N Wrestling thing like the WWF was into at the time. I think Sarge had an album out, but I could be mistaken.

A couple of observations: 1. I've never paid too much attention to Ole Anderson for various reasons, but man he cuts some great promos. He makes me feel like an 8-year-old kid who just did something wrong in front of his father. Instead of the father yelling and screaming to punish the kid, he just gives "the stare" and talks in a stern, yet calm, tone. Classic. 2. David Crockett is more annoying than I previously thought. I never liked his commentary at PPVs, but having to listen to him on TV is worse. 3. Why is Sam Houston always the first "wrestler from the locker room" to run in during out of control brawls or when a wrester is injured? 4. I'm going to invent a drinking game involving Dusty Rhodes. Any time a wrestler or announcer mentions Dusty during a promo, I take a shot. I should be drunk after about three promos. 5. I know times were different in 1985, but did the NWA ever get any heat for Dusty using the term "wetback" or pushing around Baby Doll (and dragging her around by her hair for that matter)?

I can't remember the exact quote, but this is pretty close. Magnum TA: "It's just going to be two men in the ring, eye-to-eye, getting it on like two men should."

Cover *Fujinami w/ Hogan in a chin lock. Pulling No Punches *Mid-South debuted on WTBS on 3/10 during the 7:05 p.m. Eastern time slot on Sundays. It looks like Crockett will soon take over Ole’s early Saturday morning time slot. WWF has increased its Saturday 6:05 p.m. show from one hour to two hours. The WWF show now originates from the WTBS studio. Mid-South and Crockett covet that Saturday time slot, so McMahon probably agreed to tape his show from the WTBS studio to hold the spot. *The show will be taped at 10 a.m. on Saturdays, which will put even more stress on the WWF roster since they rarely run shows near Georgia on Friday nights. *Dave has received positive feedback on the Mid-South show so far. Mid-South emphasizes the difference between its product and the WWF. They have a fast-paced style and advertise main event caliber TV matches in advance. *Dave thinks the AWA Pro Wrestling USA show has turned into a third-rate WWF imitation with announces lying about various things and treating the fans like idiots. The shows Dave enjoys the most – Mid-South and Memphis – have announcers that talk to their audience instead of at their audience. *Dave says he will make it a point to regularly keep up on TV ratings. With so much wrestling on TV now and the WWF always inflating their number to reporters, he feels it needs to be done. *Dave gives credit to McMahon for his media savvy. McMahon has presented himself as the only big time promotion in the country by overexposing his product on TV and lying to reporters. It’s working. *Dave can’t predict what will happen next, though he does say he thinks the WWF’s first closed-circuit show will do well and the second will bomb. *Dave gives props to Terry Funk for securing a role on a TV show called “Wildside,” which debuts opposite the Cosby Show on NBC. Newspaper Clippings *Lots of clips this issue analyzing the 20/20 piece and the treatment of wrestlers. Letters *More WWF bashing. Criticism of the AWA show in the Meadowlands. Criticism of John Stossel’s investigation techniques. WWF *Wrestlemania on 3/31 from MSG will be the first wrestling show to be close-circuited on a nationwide basis. Dave says it will be the biggest money wrestling event of all time. Dave says the card is horrible, but the WWF deserves credit for taking this risk. He thinks the show will draw a lot of money but the second time they try something similar it will flop “no matter who Mr. T wrestles.” *WWF has announced the closed-circuit broadcast as live in some areas when it will actually be on tape-delay. *Dave doesn’t know how much Mr. T is being paid for wrestling, but he gets $48,000 per A-Team episode. *Hillbilly Jim out for at least three months w/ a leg injury. “Naturally, Jim is being advertised throughout the country for future shows.” *Bruno was on a Pittsburgh radio show recently and was very candid when talking about Hogan, McMahon and the WWF. It was obvious there is still friction between McMahon and Bruno. *Somehow Dave transitions from Bruno into mentioning how several WWF staffers are scared to death of the closed-circuit venture. Dave says he hates Mr. T being involved from a wrestling standpoint, but will respect the decision from a business standpoint if it makes money. *Dave attended a WWF San Fran card. He thinks the WWF must send a pharmacist on the road with the wrestlers. He said Hogan was crazy over w/ the fans. Crowd was 15,000, the largest wrestling crowd in about eight years. *Mr. T also appearing on some select house shows. *Bruno drew another sellout teaming w/ his son on 2/23 in Pittsburgh. Northeastern Opposition *2/24 Meadowlands show drew an announced 18,600, which was announced as a 20,000+ sellout on TV. Advance sales were 17,000 which meant the walkup crowd was much less than WWF draws. *Roadies got the best response of the night, except maybe for Slaughter despite the fact that all he did was sing a rock song. Flair pinned Race in the best match of the night but it got little crowd reaction because neither wrestler was advertised on TV. *Jerry Blackwell was supposed to be Slaughter’s partner in a tag team battle royal, but the New Jersey athletic commission stopped him from wrestling due to “high blood pressure.” It was described to Dave as selective enforcement of the rules. The commission is run on taxes from live wrestling and boxing cards. In other words, McMahon and the WWF basically support the commission on their own. Dave thinks some pressure was used to keep some workers off the card that night. *2/16 in Baltimore run by Crockett drew 6,100. Slaughter beat up Flair for 20 minutes before the ref was KO’d. Slaughter put on the cobra clutch and Flair went out and Slaughter was given the belt. The first ref came too and reversed the decision. Dave says this is a horrible way to compete w/ McMahon. The NWA champion is made to look weak and the title meaningless. How are fans supposed to take the NWA title and champ seriously when compared to Hogan, who destroys his opponents in minutes? Even having Flair escape w/ a cheap pinfall would’ve been better. Besides, Slaughter is already over in the East. Flair isn’t. “What might be great for business in the Carolinas is a dumb business move in the Northeast.” All Japan *Show on 2/21 with no foreign talent drew 12,000, the highest of the year so far, but did not sell out as expected. *Baba is worried about all they hype surrounding the Road Warriors appearing. He thinks expectations may be too high. *Dynamite Kid has begun using a new maneuver, a superplex off the top rope. *Jerry Lawler and Jimmy Valiant didn’t go over well. The Japanese wrestlers sold very little for them. Dave says Valliant is horrible, but Lawler is a good performer who just can’t wrestle the Japanese style. Lawler enjoyed being in Japan immensely, however. UWF *This group found a new sponsor which should keep them alive through the summer, even w/out TV exposure. New Japan *David Schults is in and did an angle where he slapped both ears of a TV announcer. Schults will be given a big buildup and Dave can’t figure out why. He flopped last time he was in. *Elijah Akeen of Zambuie Express is out of wrestling. *Last series had nine sellouts in 31 dates, eight of which had Hogan on the card. Hawaii *2/13 show promoted by Lia Maivia sold out to the tune of 8,500, the first sellout on the Islands since Verne used to supply talent in the early 70s. Southwest *Crowds still way down. World Class *There should be a lot of Mid-South talent coming through in the near future. *Big show planned for 5/5 at Texas Stadium. There are rumors of having two rings and two main events going on at the same time. Dave thinks this would be dumb. *Upcoming shows scheduled for Worcester, Mass. And Anaheim, Calif. Crockett also has a date at the Olympic Auditorium and has promised to run Flair/Kerry. *Dave is starting to enjoy World Class again and crowds have picked up. Mid-South *Big news is the new TV outlet as outlined in Pulling No Punches. *3/31 in Oklahoma City will be a major show w/ Mid-South and World Class wrestlers. It will clobber the WWF closed-circuit broadcast. *John Nord is in as the Barbarian, which leads to Dave breaking down the various workers named The Barbarian in all the promotions. AWA *Things are fairly quiet. Verne is lining up dates for the next Northeast tour with the big show being at the Veterans Memorial Coliseum in New Haven, Ct., the same building McMahon books. *Mark and Jay Youngblood set to face the Samoans for all Northeast dates. St. Louis *3/8 drew only 2,610, the second lowest figure since WWII. *Next show is 3/29 w/ Flair/Kerry. Dave thinks the show will draw but they’ve run that match far too often. However, it’s the only match they have that can draw. Memphis *3/4 had Bockwinkel defending “AWA title” against Lawler. It was announced on 3/2 TV that Bockwinkel beat Martel on 2/28 in a controversial match in Vancouver. The result was being reviewed but Bockwinkel was champ for the time being. Dave figures it was done because they thought Martel couldn’t have a good match w/ Lawler. Lawler likes to get beat up by a brawler and then make a comeback. Martel isn’t a good brawler. *Match ended in a double count out in 41 minutes. Bockwinkel didn’t have the belt and the excuse was that it was “lost in transportation.” Dave thought it was shady to misrepresent Bockwinkel as AWA champ. *New manager in is called Tommy Hart. He looks like Jimmy Hart but talks differently. *Look for the Road Warriors to be in for a few matches soon. Florida *First reports were that Mike Graham fired Michael Hayes when Graham took over the territory. Hayes was gone for a few weeks, but Gordy and Roberts stayed on. Hayes is back, however, and the Freebirds all jumped Graham at 3/6 TV taping. *If rumors of Mulligan and Windam returning are true, this area will heat up over the summer. *A member of Twisted Sister attended a recent card, but not Dee Snider. Dave is told many rock fans are attending shows in Miami. He’s also told Hayes can’t draw in Florida and encourages people to draw their own conclusions. *Rumors that Wahoo may soon come in as the booker. Georgia *The elimination of this group is almost finished. Most of the wrestlers will disappear and some will wind up w/ Crockett. Mid-Atlantic *Buddy Landell is in calling himself the “Nature Boy.” Dave thinks Landell/Flair would be a good feud if done right. *Arn Anderson, whom Dave calls a tremendous wrestler, is in, but he’s being told to wrestle like Ole and Gene Anderson; meaning grab an arm, kick it and hold an arm bar the whole match. Dave says this is boring by today’s standards, but it’s building toward an Ole/Arn feud which might draw a little bit, but sounds hideous. *The annual big show in March will be billed as Silver Star ’85. Dave expects Blanchard/Flair for the main event. Northwest *This area is struggling big time. They’re supposed to get back on TV in Seattle by May. *This group will present a big show at the 13,000-seat Coliseum in Portland celebrating 60 years the Owens family has been promoting wrestling. Shows are usually at the 2,000-seat Sports Arena. Update *More celebs confirmed for Wrestlemania: Ali as ref, not OJ Simpson as most newspapers are reporting. Billy Martin emcee and Dan Akroyd timekeeper. *New Calgary circuit started 2/15 w/ solid crowds. It’s called Stampede, but the Harts aren’t involved and neither are Dynamite or Davey Boy. The latter two plan to train until returning to Japan in May. *Frank Deford of Sports Illustrated will be doing a wrestling piece after Wrestlemania. Dave says Deford doesn’t like wrestling and has access to damaging information other journalists don’t have. *Thez, Wilson and Mansfield were on a cable TV show and Thez was blunt about why Mansfield and Wilson couldn’t get work. Wilson closed the show by hawking “Freedom for Wrestlers” T-Shirts for $10 w/ photos of himself, Mansfield and the American flag. *Dave makes a correction from last issue: Eric Embry did not buy the Southwest promotion from Joe Blanchard. That sale fell through. *Entertainment Tonight reported that NBC will replace Saturday Night Live re-runs w/ WWF Wrestling. Dave isn’t sure if it will be weekly or every now and then. *Reports from several locations are that Wrestlemania closed circuit sales are below expectations. *More information on the Saturday night show: Apparently, the show will be once per month. SNL runs three live shows and one repeat during Fall/Winter. WWF will replace the repeat. SNL is all repeats during the summer and the number of WWF shows will depend on the ratings. *Dave isn’t sure how the Saturday night show will fare. He also says wrestling clobbers SNL ratings in some local markets so it will be interesting. He concludes the ratings will be adequate and the impact enormous. *Speculation that Bockwinkel may turn babyface. *Wahoo replacing Mantell as booker in Florida. Mantell back to Memphis. *Mr. Olympia out of action in Alabama w/ blood clots. *WWF deal w/ CBS for a Saturday morning cartoon show is just about finalized. Dave makes the point that even if WWF live show attendance goes in the toilet, the residual money they get from the networks will more than make up for it. He says it’s inevitable that the networks will one day dump them, but the WWF will be all-powerful for at least one more year. *Stossel will be filing suit against Schults, McMahon and Titan sports soon. Stossel is claiming that the WWF didn’t have proper security in the dressing room area. *Roadies over big in Japan. *The first home video out on the market is the NWA-produced Lords of the Ring. Three WWF tapes should be out by the end of April. *Lioberace’s name has started popping up as a possible time keeper for Wrestlemania’s main event. Dave is happy because he thinks it will hurt attendance. *Crockett show in Altoona, PA drew 300. The Crockett’s have decided if they can’t turn a profit on the East Coast in six months, they’ll be gone. Dave says that means they’ll be gone in six months. *Crockett’s Silver Star ’85 card is weak, headlined by Flair/Wahoo strap match and Tully/Rhodes in a cage for the TV title. *At a recent WWF Omni show, Snuka sloppily bladed himself and fans began chanting “20/20.” At the last WWF Oakland show, during a boring Muraco/SD Jones match, fans chanted “fake.” *An upcoming episode of the TV show “Webster” will focus on wrestling. Webster will be worried about one of his friends in an upcoming wrestling match, but will be told that wrestling is “fake” and not to worry. Dave is impressed by Vince’s friends in high places. He thinks it’s being done to show the public that it’s acceptable that wrestling is “fake.” *WWF has lost all but one of its western Canada TV outlets to the new Stampede promotion. *Moondog Rex heading to Mid-South. *Latest AWA San Fran show was good, but fans still left upset. High Flyers were really over. Martel/Bockwinkel had too much mat work and Bockwinkel himself led fans in “Boring” chants. Blackwell/Tonga strap match was supposed to be no DQ, but ended in a DQ. *Crockett moving into the Chicago market. *Bret Hart now a heel in WWF. *An NBC-TV report says that McMahon will sue Slaughter for taking the concept of his character to another promotion. *Georgia bill to establish a state wrestling commission passed in the House but failed in the Senate. Dave thinks Turner must have more friends in the senate. Dave also says he likes the idea of a commission to benefit wrestlers, but not on a state by state basis. *Dave thinks one of the reasons McMahon may sue Slaughter is to make other wrestlers thinking about leaving to reconsider. *Dave gives out the company name for anyone hoping to pirate the Wrestlemania show. He doesn’t really care to watch the show himself. *Expect several books on wrestling in the coming months. *Hillbilly Jim injured his leg running outside of the ring. He slipped on a wet area of the floor. *Rumors that Dynamite and Davey Boy will be back in the WWF as the British Bulldogs. *3/17 WWF in Bloomington, Minn. drew 5,500 headlined by Hogan/Ventura. Dave got a report that said the match was fun, even though the closest they came to wrestling was spitting at each other. *Butch Reed headed to AWA in surprise move. Dave feels sorry for the guy because he never really got over as a face in Mid-South. *Dave concludes by saying that Mr. T approached Verne w/ a similar idea as to what will take place at Wrestlemania. Verne turned him down and said wrestling doesn’t operate that way.

Huh?