mookeighana

JCP @ Greensboro, NC - Coliseum - February 20, 1983 NWA Tag Team Champions Sgt. Slaughter & Don Kernodle defeated Terry & Dory Funk Jr. (Both also came out to check on Foley after he fell off the cage...)

Vader/Waltman WWF @ Dallas, TX - Reunion Arena - June 14, 1998 (9,899): WWF European Champion Triple H, X-Pac, WWF Tag Team Champions the Road Dogg & Billy Gunn defeated Vader, the Legion of Doom, & Droz when Triple H pinned Vader with the Pedigree after Chyna interfered and hit a low blow Vader/Nash Weren't Diesel & Vader both in the 1996 Royal Rumble? I don't recall if they interacted at all. Nash & Vader actually teamed up once in WCW -- WCW @ Melbourne, FL - Auditorium - December 5, 1991 (430): Big Van Vader & Oz fought Todd Champion & Firebreaker Chip to a double count-out

Champion Carnival 1998 First Round: Steve Williams [14] defeats Gary Albright [8] (10:04) 4/11/98 AJPW Champion Carnival 1998 - Tag 14 @ Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan Champion Carnival 1997 First Round: Gary Albright [6] defeats Steve Williams [9] (11:21) 4/5/97 AJPW Champion Carnival 1997 - Tag 12 @ Okayama Budokan in Okayama, Japan Champion Carnival 1996 First Round: Gary Albright [12] vs. Steve Williams [10] - Time Limit Draw (30:00) 4/1/96 AJPW Champion Carnival 1996 - Tag 9 @ Osaka Prefectural Gymnasium in Osaka, Japan Steve Williams defeats Gary Albright 5/23/96 AJPW Super Power Series 1996 - Tag 5 @ Nakajima Sports Center in Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan They also faced each other in a ton of Tag matches.

The only WWF interaction I found was a mystery Italy card that claimed that Rick Rude pinned Bret Hart in April 1989, but supplies no other details. There was three Italy shows around that time: Sassari, Cagliari, Palermo (April 11 - April 13 1989) and another unnamed Italy card suggests that these matches happened: Lanny Poffo pinned Barry Horowitz with a moonsault Andre the Giant pinned Tito Santana with a sit-down splash WWF Women's Champion Rockin Robin pinned Sensational Sherri Mr. Perfect pinned the Blue Blazer with the Perfect Plex WWF Tag Team Champions Demolition defeated the Powers of Pain via disqualification It's possible Rude/Bret was also on that card but that's all I know.

Here's a bunch of Andre/SBG matches: WWWF @ Coney Island, NY - April 17, 1978: Andre the Giant & Peter Maivia defeated Luke & Superstar Billy Graham via disqualification WWWF @ White Plains, NY - Westchester County Civic Center - April 19, 1978: Andre the Giant, Peter Maivia, & Mil Mascaras defeated Superstar Billy Graham, Luke Graham, & Stan Stasiak WWWF @ Worcester, MA - Memorial Auditorium - April 20, 1978: Andre the Giant, Peter Maivia, & Mil Mascaras vs. Superstar Billy Graham, Luke Graham, & Stan WWWF @ Harrisburg, PA - Zembo Mosque - April 21, 1978 (1,900): Andre the Giant & Peter Maivia defeated Superstar Billy Graham & Luke Graham in a Best 2 out of 3 falls match, 2-1; fall #1 - Superstar pinned Miavia at 10:39; fall #2 - Andre & Miavia won via disqualification at 6:32; fall #3 - Andre pinned Luke at 2:42 WWWF @ New York City, NY - Madison Square Garden - June 26, 1978: Andre the Giant & Ivan Putski (& Dusty Rhodes) defeated Luke & Superstar Billy Graham in a Best 2 out of 3 falls match at 16:15, 2-1; fall #1: the Graham's were disqualified at 9:40 for double-teaming Putski; fall# 2: the Grahams were awarded the fall at 5:11 after Putski was deemed unable to continue after ramming his head in the ring post; fall #3: Andre was given permission to find a replacement partner for the final fall and brought out Dusty Rhodes which led to Andre pinning Luke at 1:24; after the bout, Rhodes challenged Superstar Billy Graham to a match which was confirmed for next month later in the card WWWF @ Long Island, NY - Nassau Coliseum - November 17, 1978: Andre the Giant defeated Superstar Billy Graham via count-out WWWF @ Nashua, NH - Coliseum - November 23, 1978: Andre the Giant defeated Superstar Billy Graham via count-out WWF @ Philadelphia, PA - Spectrum - February 19, 1983 (18,246): Andre the Giant, Rocky Johnson, Salvatore Bellomo, Jimmy Snuka, & Pedro Morales defeated Mr. Fuji, Ray Stevens, Don Muraco, Buddy Rose, & Superstar Billy Graham in a Best 3 out of 5 falls match at 17:05, 3-1; fall #1: Fuji pinned Bellomo with a belly to belly suplex at 11:35; fall #2: Bellomo pinned Fuji at 2:18 after a dropkick from Snuka; fall #3: Snuka pinned Rose at the 43-second mark with a sunset flip; fall #4: Andre pinned Rose at 2:29 with a boot to the chest and sit-down splash (the Spectrum's first 10-man tag team match) (The WWF's Most Unusual Matches) WWF @ Hartford, CT - Civic Center - February 20, 1983: Andre the Giant, Pedro Morales, Rocky Johnson, & SD Jones vs. WWF IC Champion Don Muraco, Superstar Billy Graham, & the Wild Samoans (Best 2 out of 3 falls) WWF @ York, PA - Hannah Penn Middle School - March 10, 1983: Andre the Giant & Pedro Morales defeated WWF IC Champion Don Muraco & Superstar Billy Graham WWF @ Weston, MA - March 15, 1983: Andre the Giant defeated Superstar Billy Graham

This may also help: https://sites.google.com/site/chrisharrington/wwftv History of WWF Television

I've got a piece in the new issue - a statistical examination of rookies and main eventing success.

I made a bunch of assumptions and then ran all the numbers here: http://indeedwrestling.blogspot.com/2014/04/estimating-2014-profitability-for-wwe.html That'd be up 24% for Q1, 29% for Q2, 110% for Q3 and 123% for Q4. However, the added costs actually resulted in a lower OBIDA percentage ($37M on $130.7M revenue) than normal PPPV year (between $34.1M and $44.9M OBIDA on $78.3M to $83.6M revenue). Basically, you'd get about the same profit $ but you have to generate a lot more revenue. My calculations assumed that domestic B-PPVs would remain at 60% of baseline which I think is generous. I believe that the WM number suggests that Royal Rumble, Wrestlemania, SummerSlam have potentially large traditional PPV audiences, but with DirecTV taking a bite of the pie and the strongest hardcores (who normally buy the B-PPVs) more likely to migrate to the Network, I think we'll see a much larger cannibalization. The Needham Research buy recommendation from yesterday only pegged PPV for 2014 at $40M, but I wrote my peace about how I think that paper grossly inflates some revenue streams.

I did a 15 minute episode yesterday with Bix talking about Wrestlemania buys, WWE Free Trials and DirecTV dropping PPVs: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/indeedwrestling/2014/04/15/wrestlenomics-radio--wrestlemania-buys-directv-conflicts

That was his second violation. He was also suspended back on 8/27/09 for 30 days. And he was tied to Dr. Astin (Benoit's doc) back in 2007 (an unusual patient for someone who lived in CA but visited a doctor in GA). Also, Rey was tied to Dr. David Wilbirt of Arizona from whom, according to SI, Mysterio was getting perscriptions for Nandrolone and Stanozolol (steroids). I was surprised Rey only tested positive for amphetamines on 4/26/12.

I just put up a new piece on WhatCulture about Ultimate Warrior: http://whatculture.com/wwe/ultimate-warrior-4-incredible-secrets-facts-career.php/ I included some original documents such as Vince's 1997 offer letter. Thanks to Bix for sharing the PACER documents from the lawsuit with me.

I'll be back on Saturday to talk to former WWE competitor Colin Delaney! http://www.blogtalkradio.com/indeedwrestling/2014/04/19/wrestlenomics-radio-w-colin-delaney I've known Colin for 15 years so hopefully this will be a delightful conversation.

Cheap plug -- Wrestlenomics Radio: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/indeedwrestling/ (weekly)

For years, this has been one of those "secret matches I loved that everyone else missed". Then I got the network and rematched it. I was disappointed. This would have been the match I'd list for "matches you thought were good but rediscovery disappointed you." I don't think we have that thread yet.

Had a great two plus hours with Matt Farmer this morning: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/indeedwrestling/2014/04/12/wrestlenomics-radio-w-matt-farmer We talked about northwest history, buddy rose, Puerto Rico attendance records, WWF draws and so much more. I hope you enjoy!

WWF @ Regina, Saskatchewan - Agridome - October 13, 1992 WWF World Champion Bret Hart & the Ultimate Warrior (sub. for the Undertaker) defeated Papa Shango & Kamala Also: WWF @ Manchester, NH - JFK Coliseum - March 14, 1988 The Ultimate Warrior & Don Muraco defeated Bret Hart & Jim Neidhart WCW @ Chicago, IL - United Center - October 12, 1998 Sting & the Warrior defeated Hulk Hogan & WCW US Champion Bret Hart via disqualification Fall Brawl 98 - Winston-Salem, NC - Lawrence Joel Coliseum - September 13, 1998 (11,528) Diamond Dallas Page, Warrior, & Roddy Piper defeated Kevin Nash, Sting, and Lex Luger and Hulk Hogan, WCW US Champion Bret Hart, and Stevie Ray in Wargames at 20:04 when DDP pinned Stevie Ray with the Diamond Cutter

"There was no text to explain what happened, so we can only offer up a description of the ink drawings within. Namely, that the Warrior KO'd Father Christmas, then depantsed him ,stripping him down to only his underwear. He followed this up by chaining him to the wall and looking at him in a manner we can only describe as... distributing. Presumably he came down St. Nick's chimney shortly thereafter. Or maybe he came up his chimney. Who knows. We'd rather not think about it." - R.D. Reynolds, The Wrestlecrap Book of Lists, pg 133. PIctures: http://officialfan.proboards.com/thread/487928/ultimate-warrior-christmas

Bix (BleacherReport), Loss (PWO), TonyLew09 (F4W), Dave Walsh (LiverKick/MiddleEasy), Thomas Green (JGFTA), Chris Harrington (WhatCulture) spend two hours discussing the life & times of the Ultimate Warrior. Includes trivia, facts, memories, reflections and more. Bix hosts. I lurk. Gong Magazines from 1992, Warrior's wrestling school, Amanda Ultimate Warrior, #wrestlenomics on opponents and more. Plus that time he teamed with Don Muraco against Ron Bass. http://www.blogtalkradio.com/indeedwrestling/2014/04/09/david-bixenspan-hosts-wrestlenomics-radio--ultimate-warrior

Bix is going to host a live show to talk about the Ultimate Warrior in about an hour: (4 PM EST / 9 PM GMT) http://www.blogtalkradio.com/indeedwrestling/2014/04/09/david-bixenspan-hosts-wrestlenomics-radio--ultimate-warrior Call # number will be (646) 478-3334. Indeed.

Bix & I did a special episode on Monday after the WWE Network Subscriber Numbers were announced: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/indeedwrestling/2014/04/07/wrestlenomics-radio--wwe-network-subscribers-announced ( 1 hour ) Rich (from Voices of Wrestling) along with Tom Green, Joe Lanza and Bix all appeared on last week's show: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/indeedwrestling/2014/04/05/wrestlenomics-radio--with-voices-of-wrestling-rich-kraetsch (2 hours) This week will be historian & pro-wrestler Matt Farmer! We'll obviously have a ton to discuss with Wrestlemania, an eventful Raw, the death of the Ultimate Warrior, WWE Network subscriber numbers and plenty of pro-wrestling history. Wrestlenomics Radio will be live on Saturday Afternoon: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/indeedwrestling/2014/04/12/wrestlenomics-radio-w-matt-farmer I also updated the archives with the lost Bix/UW lawsuit episode and episode 1 where I interviewed Matthew Timmons of Kayfabermetrics.

I wrote a second piece about the WWE Subscriber Numbers: http://whatculture.com/wwe/reaction-wwe-network-subscriber-number-misses-real-story.php I surveyed all of the media on the press release: Time, Variety, Hollywood Reporter, Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, Motley Fool, Business Insider, Barrons, LA Times and the NY Times.

Last night I told my wife that I expected to feel really, really stupid this morning when they announced the subscriber number. I was worried that I had been too pessimistic and that I was going to look foolish for ever suggesting they wouldn't be near a million by Dec 2014. After all, the Wrestling Observer Radio was practically promising that numbers looked great. So, I part of this is probably just my version of a huge sigh of relief that even if I don't really just the zany stock price assumptions, at least some of this still makes sense. As for the 300K first-day(s) estimate, I am hoping we'll learn more in the next financial filing or KPI release. I still think the cancel rate was only 10-15% for the free trials, but wrestling fans can be a bitchy & stingy bunch.

I think messaging is a huge piece. Part of this is that hardcore fans aren't going to skip Wrestlemania, even if it costs them more. If you have the right main event (something wacky, like Cena vs Austin), you could definitely justify it. I fear that putting WM on the Network every year basically commoditizes it so it's not a special event. That's what Dana complained about and I think he's right (in this instance). In lieu of a price increase, I'd rather WM was not on the Network and just took two weeks until it was up for replays. Especially if the Network focuses more on older content (Nitros, Raws) or even up-to-date replays (next day Raw, next day Smackdown) they can keep people hooked without leaving everything dependent on a single variable (i.e. Wrestlemania). The key is that you can't just bait & switch people. But you've a year now to figure this out. I would imagine with the int'l launch being late 2014, they won't endanger things by stripping WM off in 2015, but if they did, they'd have a powerful bargining chip to offer the MVPDs for the rest of the year about why they should keep carrying their b-PPVs.

Also, Bix's piece about the WWE Network subscriber numbers is up at Bleacherreport: http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2020295-biggest-takeaways-from-wwe-network-subscriber-numbers-announcement

If you're interested in BREAKING NEWS AUDIO, Bix & I (and Rich from Voicesofwrestling) just did a one-hour #wrestlenomics Radio show all about the WWE Network Subscription #s: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/indeedwrestling/2014/04/07/wrestlenomics-radio--wwe-network-subscribers-announced Direct MP3 link: http://blogtalk.vo.llnwd.net/o23/show/6/297/show_6297327.mp3