goc Posted January 8, 2011 Report Share Posted January 8, 2011 Someone just posted a ton of old Observer scans and I decided to make a thread for cool things found, instead of doing full write-ups on each issue. I haven't looked at much yet, but it's scans of some of 84 and what looks like all of 85-91. One of the interesting things I've read so far: - "The new bookers I'm told will be Vince himself, and even worse, Hulk Hogan and Tito Santana." July, 7th 1986. I'm not sure what was going on here, but I don't think Tito ever booked, and doubt Hogan booked a lot outside of maybe his own stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMFabianoRPL Posted January 9, 2011 Report Share Posted January 9, 2011 Someone just posted a ton of old Observer scans and I decided to make a thread for cool things found, instead of doing full write-ups on each issue. I haven't looked at much yet, but it's scans of some of 84 and what looks like all of 85-91. One of the interesting things I've read so far: - "The new bookers I'm told will be Vince himself, and even worse, Hulk Hogan and Tito Santana." July, 7th 1986. I'm not sure what was going on here, but I don't think Tito ever booked, and doubt Hogan booked a lot outside of maybe his own stuff. Where are said scans located? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil Austin Posted January 9, 2011 Report Share Posted January 9, 2011 I was intrigued by the talk of Vince starting a joint promotion to rival New Japan, then his name disappearing once it started (appears to have become UWF?) . Also fascinating to see how terrible the Observer guys thought Gordon Solie was as an announcer back then Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bix Posted January 9, 2011 Report Share Posted January 9, 2011 There was definitely going to be WWF involvement in the UWF. The belt Maeda won at MSG said "UWF" on it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Victator Posted January 9, 2011 Report Share Posted January 9, 2011 Maeda won a title in MSG? I thought he hated the WWF for the time he worked as a job guy there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ditch Posted January 11, 2011 Report Share Posted January 11, 2011 Where are said scans located?Torrent sites. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt D Posted January 12, 2011 Report Share Posted January 12, 2011 So I actually got my hands on these through other means months ago, which means that now that everyone has these my relative usefulness around here drops considerably. It takes forever to get through one of these. I'm still on the Jan. 85 one. But I found this on a WWF show: "They held a 23 match card in Hartford, CT on 11/23 not even for tapings. They had promised one of those brilliant idea cage Battle Royals, but when fans got there they found out the state athletic commission wouldn't allow the idea so instead they had 19 (you got it right) cage matches, all of which were very short and ended with either walks out the door or in two cases over-the-tops." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loss Posted January 12, 2011 Report Share Posted January 12, 2011 At least part of that show exists as a handheld. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cross Face Chicken Wing Posted January 12, 2011 Report Share Posted January 12, 2011 It takes forever to get through one of these. I'm still on the Jan. 85 one. But I found this on a WWF show: Ditto. I got my hands on some original copies from '84-86. They're fun reads, but take forever to get through. Part of the reason is the lack of spacing between lines on Dave's old typewriter. Other reasons include Dave's "unique" writing style that features run-on sentences, confussing grammar and the ocassional use of white-out and scribbling. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bix Posted January 12, 2011 Report Share Posted January 12, 2011 With the money Dave was making (and spending on trips and phone bills easily) and how broken his typewriter was for the last year or two he was using it, it's amazing that he didn't get a computer (or at least a standalone word processor) until 1991. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al Posted January 12, 2011 Report Share Posted January 12, 2011 And here I thought Matt Brock was made up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdw Posted January 12, 2011 Report Share Posted January 12, 2011 I'm not sure how much big money he was making in the 80s. Certainly enough to do the WON as a fulltime gig, but I don't think a ton. My recollection is that the big breakthrough was getting The National Sports Daily column. Dave also has never been a tech, so if using a typewriter worked for him, he'd stick with it. The WON looks like it's done in Word / Word Perfect... it's worked for him for close to 20 years... no point in moving to something else. I think if you weren't using computers and word processing software in the late 80s, it just wouldn't pop into your head to use them. I didn't use them at all through college (1984-88). Papers were done on a typewriter. Started using a PC on the job in 1988, and kind of had to force myself to learn them. But even then they were a bit cutting edge. The younger attorneys used them, the older attorneys dictated. It was similar in my fathers office: older attorneys dictated and it went to the "typing pool", while the younger ones and the paralegals were trying to learn the PC. Actually, I suspect my first year that I did more dictating and writing out for someone to type up, while learning the PC by editing what had been typed up. Dave would have gotten through college 5-6 years ahead of me. No computers at the time... his newspaper jobs may have been typewriter driven as well. PC's also weren't cheap in the 80s. So I could see given his personality (what works for him tends to keep working for him) and the times that he went PC at the time that he did. Wade was always more cutting edge, which I think Dave would even admit. I don't think Wade went to PC/Mac much before Dave. Different era... early days of computers making their way home, and the concept of PC's in the "home office". Suspect that we'd find a lot of the other non-wrestling Home Published Newsletters of the era done on typewriters or old school wordprocessors rather than computers. John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cross Face Chicken Wing Posted January 12, 2011 Report Share Posted January 12, 2011 So how many subscribers do you think Dave had in, say, 1986? And has he ever gone into detail about how he was able to build so many sources throughout the world that would feed him results and information? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ditch Posted January 12, 2011 Report Share Posted January 12, 2011 So how many subscribers do you think Dave had in, say, 1986? And has he ever gone into detail about how he was able to build so many sources throughout the world that would feed him results and information?The Meltzer bio that would be most interesting at this point would be Meltzer himself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rovert Posted January 12, 2011 Report Share Posted January 12, 2011 There is a short bio in Drawing Heat the Hard Way that is worth a read in the bookshop for. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bix Posted January 13, 2011 Report Share Posted January 13, 2011 He had 900 subscribers already in early '85. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Victator Posted January 13, 2011 Report Share Posted January 13, 2011 How much did he charge in 85? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cross Face Chicken Wing Posted January 14, 2011 Report Share Posted January 14, 2011 How much did he charge in 85? $5 for a set of four issues. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt D Posted January 21, 2011 Report Share Posted January 21, 2011 In Feb 85, Mr. Pogo was Central States champ, Jannetty had two belts, and Kimala was booked. Did KC have TV during this period? Does any of this stuff survive? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kjh Posted January 24, 2011 Report Share Posted January 24, 2011 Dave in the March 30 1992 Observer: Titan hasn't been involved with boxing since then, because compared with wrestling, boxing is a really sleazy business. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt D Posted January 25, 2011 Report Share Posted January 25, 2011 What a difference two months make. After all the doomsaying and really LAUGHING at WWF in the January 85 issue, the early March 85 one starts off the WWF section with: "The WWF is riding the crest of about the biggest wrestling wave in more than a decade and for the most part drawing exceptionally well." He then calls the 3/31 MSG show (Wrestlemania) a "farce," says the MTV thing went off AMAZINGLY, and then, finally finally makes the statement that Hogan is an awful wrestler. It gets better. In talking about WWF's new videos (and the Best of series), he wonders how they can do it without Slaughter or Backlund matches. "In retrospect, Bob really wasn't a disgrace to the title, at least compared to the current champ." Ouch all around. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ditch Posted February 10, 2011 Report Share Posted February 10, 2011 Inoki vs Hogan in the '83 IWGP title has to be Hogan's most-watched match. The Jan '84 issue says the TV audience for it was 36 million. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ditch Posted March 10, 2011 Report Share Posted March 10, 2011 Mindboggling details about the NJ/Sayama split on page 22 of the March '84 issue. Shinma was the power broker behind UWF, yet he's the reason why Sayama got pissed off and left. Stuff like Shinma refusing to let Sayama marry, then scheduling the wedding without discussing it with Sayama. I'd love to know the details on that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdw Posted March 10, 2011 Report Share Posted March 10, 2011 My recollection is that Sayama being brought in led to Shinma heading out the door of UWF. The Sayama leaving New Japan has been convoluted over time, but there's always been a theme of "revolt" over the company finances, with those stories of Inoki blowing through money on bad investments while the workers aren't raking in money in record breaking years. Of course that leads back to Shinma since Inoki can't take the blame for anything, so Shinma did... often. I'd love to see Shinma's book translated. John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ditch Posted March 10, 2011 Report Share Posted March 10, 2011 Inoki's investments made WWE Films look like a conservative bond fund. Wish I could ask Simon Inoki if his father-in-law is crazy or just eccentric, but I'm pretty sure I wouldn't get a response. edit: Someone named Jack Thompson in the April '84 letters section touts Hoshino as underrated and Tiger Mask as overrated. Guess we didn't need the NJ Set after all Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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