MikeCampbell Posted April 1, 2014 Report Share Posted April 1, 2014 WRESTLING OBSERVER NEWSLETTER June 2, 1990 Dave says that there’s good news and bad news. With Ole Anderson back as the booker, the NWA’s TV shows are a lot more focused. The bad news is what they’re focused on. Before elaborating, Dave reminds everyone that there won’t be an issue next week, because he’ll be on vacation, but that the week after that will be a double sized issue, it should be out on time, but, with twice as much work to do, it may be a few days late. Ole’s regime as booker started with the weekends TV shows, and they were lively and focused, which isn’t a surprise with the first shows of a new booker, and, a booker can’t be judged based off one TV taping alone. But, the most talked about aspect is the talent, specifically, that Ole is going back to his old favorites. And, the emphasis is on “old” rather than “favorites.” Dave says that when you look at everything collectively, it’s not a good sign. But, that with the job stability of a WCW booker, they have to do something major right away, because nobody has kept the pencil long enough to see the reward of a slow burning angle, and those are generally the most effective kinds. Ole has brought back some older names, which might spark some interest in those who’ve quit watching wrestling. But, Dave would rather look at them as individuals rather than just as a blanket statement of Ole bringing veterans. Paul Orndorff: He was actually a replacement for Kerry Von Erich (my note: interesting, I’d never heard that before). He was penciled in to start at the TV tapings this past Monday, and also to work Arn Anderson at the Clash. Kerry no showed, and went to Memphis to work a main event with Lawler instead. He was fired by Wednesday. During the first half of the 1980’s Orndorff was one of the top workers in the business, he was one of the best natural athletes, and his conditioning was top notch. His 1986 run with Hulk Hogan is still Hogan’s highest drawing program, and even Hogan was working every night because the money was so good. His chronic shoulder problems got a lot worse during that time frame, and the doctors told him he should retire, but the feud was drawing so well (he was making $20,000 on a good week). When the run was over, Orndorff took time off, but the damage was already done. He quietly retired and opened up a chain of bowling alleys, but the bowling business has gone sour, and Paul was back doing indy shots last year. He’s 40, which isn’t a problem, Flair and Tenryu are the same age and are two of the best workers in the business, but we don’t know how extensive a schedule he wants to take on, or how much pounding he can take. Dave thinks the gamble is worth the risk. Stan Hansen: Dave says this weekend is proof that Hansen still knows how to get over, and can still get over in the U.S. He’s 41, which Dave says isn’t a problem. He’s also not the worker he once was, but he can still hang with the best wrestlers in Japan, so his ability isn’t a question mark. He’s only going to work occasional shots between All Japan tours, because All Japan is his top priority, and he won’t work a full schedule, because he doesn’t have to. Dave thinks that this is a good thing, because there are rarely any “supercards” anymore, and that PPV lineups are all the same names you can see on TV. But, with Hansen and Big Van Vader, WCW has names that can only appear on PPVs, and make them feel special. Mr. Wrestling II: He’s only in for a guest referee spot. If they were going to try to push him, it’d be a big problem. But he’s doing the one shot and then retiring to Hawaii. Iron Sheik: This is the one Dave thinks is the worst. He was just in last year and did horrible. The guys he’ll be putting over won’t actually get over, because they’re working against someone who can’t bump. The scary thing is that it’s not like the people in charge don’t know him, he was just in a few months back. Remember the aborted angle where he was going to train Ron Simmons before Simmons became a member of Doom? Buddy Landel: The next superstar in the wrestling business, back in 1985. Buddy will be the first to admit that drugs destroyed his career. He claims to be clean now. He was a great worker in his early twenties, and by his mid-twenties, was one of the best in the business. Dave remembers a great spot in a tag match pitting Lawler and Mantel against Landel and Dundee, where Lawler threw about 100 punches in thirty seconds, and Buddy sold each one. It doesn’t sound impressive, but has to be seen to be believed. He’s only 28, and while his work isn’t as impressive as it was a few years back, he’s got the charisma to job every night and still keep his heat. He’d have to pass a drug test, which won’t be a problem if he’s clean. If he’s not, then he won’t last long anyway, and, at his worst, he’s still better than a lot of what passes for wrestlers today. Bob Orton: This isn’t a sure thing yet, but Ole wants him. He did a shot in his hometown of Kansas City. He was another of the best workers of the 80’s, and also worked a few shots for WCW last year (remember the feud with Dick Murdoch?) before he was let go for balking at doing a job for the Midnight Express. Dave doesn’t think he can get over today, and remembers when George Scott brought a lot of these same names in last year, and they failed to get over. Junkyard Dog: Dave doesn’t think that this is mind-boggling, just mind-numbing. As if the idea of building a feud based around Black vs. White in 1990 wasn’t silly enough, look at the babyface they’re trying to use. He’s the worst wrestler in the business today, and even if Andre was still around full time, he’d push Andre into 2nd place. As one wrestler told Dave, JYD is as worse than Dusty as Dusty is worse than Owen Hart. Dave says that a lot of things annoy him, and that a lot of things make him mad, but things like this make him ashamed to be a fan. The Rocky King angle did just that. Flair and Ole were great on the microphone, but this whole thing makes him ashamed. It doesn’t have to do anything with JYD, who Dave doesn’t want to watch because he can’t work. But the idea of pushing Black vs. White in 1990 is terrible. Dave says WCW is national, and trying to play (and not succeed) on regional angles from the 1960’s. It’s silly to think that racism isn’t around today, but for WCW to try to play off that just makes them look low class. Dave breaks down why he thinks this is so terrible. JYD has a huge draw from 1979 through 1983. His goal was to draw black fans from Mississippi. He had a physique to rival Tony Atlas, and cut a great promo. He couldn’t work then either, but that wasn’t a problem ten years ago. It’s not a huge problem today, but he’d let his body go, and he went from barely passable to god awful. He was still a draw when he left for the WWF in 1984, but Mid South did their best business after he left, with the Rock ‘n’ Roll Express, Terry Taylor, and Jim Duggan. JYD was a big star for Vince, but he drew white faces to the arena, not black ones, and the WWF has never been able to draw black fans to arena in the proportion that they watch WWF TV. JYD had a top program with Terry Funk, and Dave saw them nearly sell out the Coliseum in Oakland a couple of times. Dave was surprised that the majority of the fans were white, since Oakland is mostly populated with blacks, and that the fans were mostly cheering for Terry. Soon after, he was just another opening act at the circus. The NWA picked him up in 1988, and his work was terrible, and he wasn’t any sort of draw. He had a brief run with Flair before the Steamboat series that the fans largely slept through. The Steamboat series wasn’t a huge draw either, but it still drew from two to four times as much as Flair/Dog. Dave doesn’t even want to go into the quality of those matches, since that shouldn’t matter, and it does, because the NWA wants to separate themselves from the WWF having better wrestlers. With all the new names coming or coming back, why wasn’t Steamboat called? The answer is the lawsuit, but who’s fault is that? Who advertised him, three months after he’d left? Instead, the big angle is Rocky King’s man, and a case of reverse discrimination, because they think they need a black babyface to draw, even though the half-American and half-Japanese face draw 2-4 times better. Michael Jordan isn’t the hottest athlete in basketball because he’s black and draws black fans to games. He’s the hottest athlete because he’s an amazing basketball player. If he was any other color, he’d be the same draw. The Cosby show isn’t the top rated show for years because Bill Cosby is black, but because it’s a great show and has a great timeslot. If Michael Jordan played as well as JYD works and was in as good shape, they wouldn’t be advertising his videos on TV. The issue isn’t race, it’s building a promotion around someone who is out of shape, not a huge name anymore, can’t work a lick, and, when given the chance last year, flopped as a draw. Steamboat had contract issues and worked every shot. JYD had no issues, but didn’t want to put Muta over. Simply put, this is an insult to fans who think, to the wrestlers who work hard to make the company successful, and the wrestlers who stay in shape and try to get better. CBS People Magazine did a piece on Jerry Lawler, and Lawler came off very well. Most wrestlers when out of their element come across as crazy or stupid, Lawler did neither. The best thing for wrestling would be a spokesperson with Lawler’s ability to talk and be a normal human, Hogan’s physique, and Flair’s dedication. Lawler came off as 100% babyface, even though he was working as a heel. The story about Plowboy Frazier leg dropping his wife was nice, even if nobody can actually remember that happening. It’s unfair to compare this to the Connie Chung piece from a few days before, because they’re so different, but the producers did a much better job on this one. Lawler came across much better than Jim Herd, or any other wrestler who’s been on network TV. Dave is skeptical about Lawler’s claim of making $300,00 last year, but they were truthful about the USWA being a place where young wrestlers go to learn, and were honest about Lawler’s age (40). Dave saw the big WWF angle of the summer over the weekend, and it’s like other similar angles he’s seen before. Hogan didn’t miss a trick, Dave saw him kissing the cross between splashes, a very subtle sympathy move, and the spliced in crowd shots of concern. Dave thinks this leads to Hogan retiring, and then Tugboat coming out each week to talk him out of it. Dave thinks he changes his mind by the 7/28 TV shows, but might be off by a week. As the week went on, the reaction to Capitol Combat was more and more negative. Dave will have a similar poll for the 6/13 Clash in the next issue, which won’t be out until after the show. Speaking of the 6/13 Clash, the full lineup has been announced. Flair/JYD for the NWA Title, Doom vs. Steiners for the NWA Tag Titles, Midnight Express vs. Rock ‘n’ Roll Express for the NWA U.S. Tag Titles, Arn Anderson vs. Paul Orndorff, Barry Windham vs. Doug Furnas, Tommy Rich vs. Bam Bam Bigelow, Southern Boys vs. Freebirds, Rotundo and Zenk vs. Samoan Swat Team. Plus, the Danger Zone with Sting, and Sting and Sid will be in each corner for the main event. The buyrate for the PPV look like 1.3, which about 165,000 homes, and $2.5 Million in gross. It’s slighty below the average for the NWA, with WrestleWar ’89 bringing up the rear. Starrcade also did a 1.3, but the price was $5 higher, so that should have grossed considerably more. Even with the non-finish, the inevitable Flair vs. Sting match should bring a jump in buys. If not, they then did real damage to themselves with the finish to the cage match. ABC didn’t pick up “Tag Team” the sitcom starring Piper and Ventura. It has a good shot of being a mid season replacement, but this might mean another WWF return for Piper. All Japan: The current series started on 5/14, with 8,000 fans in the Tokyo Gym. It’s a good sign because this is their first big show without Tenryu, but also was the first big arena in Tokyo that they couldn’t pack, or nearly pack. Results saw Doc and Gordy keep the tag titles over Baba and Jumbo when Gordy pinned Baba. Tiger Mask and Kawada beat Yatsu and Fuyuki, when TM threw his mask in the crowd. Davey Boy Smith beat Dustin Rhodes, Tiger Jeet Singh and Goro Tsurami beat Mark Scarpa and Abdullah, Kabuki, Kimura, and Inoue beat the Wild Bunch (Okuma and Eigen) and Fuchi, Johnny Smith pinned Teranishi, and Nakano, Takano, and Taue beat Kobashi, Kikuchi, and Kitahara. 5/20 draw 1,650 with Doc and Gordy over Fuchi and Tsuruta. Nakano, Fuchi, and Kabuki over Misawa, Kobashi, and Taue. Abdullah and Ranger Ross over Baba and Kobashi, when Abby pinned Kobashi. The TV taping on 6/1 has Doc and Gordy defending against Smith and Bigelow, Misawa/Kobashi vs. Tsuruta/Kabuki, Hansen vs. Kawada, and Abby/Ross vs. Singh/Tsurami. Other Japan notes: Pioneer (Ryuma Go’s new group) has a show at Korakuen Hall on 6/16. The annual Martial Arts fest is on 7/6 at the new Tokyo Gym. There will be kickboxing, karate, several other martial arts, and both men’s and women’s wrestling. Baba would normally send wrestlers to the show, but Inoki is working with them, sending Shinya Hashimoto, Tatsutoshi Goto, and Lyger defending the junior title against Pegasus Kid (Dave actually calls him “Riger” throughout the issue). AJW drew 1,465 on 5/20 with Bull Nakano, Grizzly Iwamoto, and Aja Kong winning 2/3 falls over Yumiko Hotta, Mika Takahahsi, and Mitsuo Nishiwaki. Tenryu held a press conference to announce his new company, Super World Sports. Megume Super (the eyeglass group backing the promotion) says he’s earmarked between six and seven billion yen for the group, which will make them the most well funded group in Japan. They expect to lose money at first, but the idea is to set up Tenryu with the ideal company. They’ll have huge guarantees for the wrestlers and will set up Tenryu with a new gym to train wrestlers in. They may have problems with two of the wrestlers they want to bring in to headline, Naoki Sano and George Takano, who NJPW is suing for breach of contract, and will not be allowed to wrestle until April 1991. Tenryu is headed to the U.S. to meet with Vince McMahon about them working together. Dave thinks Vince will go for this, because it gives him an opening in Japan, without dealing with Baba, and they need him more than he needs them. There is a lot of money behind this group, so they can make it worth McMahon’ while. They hope to start up in October, with Hogan vs. Tenryu or Tenryu vs. Warrior. The Road Warriors will be in the WWF by then, which is another good move for SWS, because the Warriors are over huge in Japan. UWF drew 5,500 (Dave isn’t sure if it’s a sellout) on 5/28 with Yamazaki over Miyato, Fujiwara over Jumbo Barretta, Takada over Nakano, Funaki over Anjo, and Maeda over Suzuki. Their next card is 6/21 with the Takada/Maeda rematch and Funaki vs. Yamazaki. New Japan’s tour started on 5/21 with Chosyu over Mutoh, Vader/Doc/Bigelow over Saito/Hashimoto/Kitao (my note, weird, Doc and Bam Bam were apparently working for both NJ and AJ around this time), and Chono over Sasaki. 5/26 had Chosyu over Chono, Kitao/Saito over Vader/Bigelow, Vader over Doc, and Hashitmoto/Lyger over Sasaki/Koshinaka. 5/28 saw Hashimoto over Chosyu, Mutoh and Chono retain the IWGP Tag Titles over Hase and Koshinaka, Vader over Kitao for the IWGP Title, Bigelow over Doc, and Lyger over Hiro Saito. All Japan on 5/28 saw Misawa, Kawada, and Taue upset Tsuruta, Kabuki, and Fuyuki. Davey Boy and Johnny Smith over Scarpa and Gordy, Singh over Kobashi, and Baba and Fuchi over Abby and Ross. The TV taping schedule has Tsuruta vs. Gordy on 6/5 for the Triple Crown and Hansen vs. Doc has a co main event. The vacant All Asia tag titles will be decided with Davey Boy and Johnny vs. Taue and Nakano. Plus, Bigelow vs. Kobashi, and Misawa/Kawada vs. Kabuki/Fuyuki. 6/8 at Budokan has Tsuruta vs. Misawa, Gordy vs. Hansen, Bigelow vs. Kawada, Doc vs. Kobashi, and Abby vs. Singh. Dave expects Gordy to win. USWA: The angle the week before with Snowman was a work, but they had nearly everyone fooled. 5/21 in Memphis saw Inhuman over King Cobra, Johnnie Stewart over Ben Jordan, Chris Champion over Mike Awesome in a loser leaves town match by forfeit when Awesome no showed. John Tatum over Bill Dundee to retain the Southern Title that Dundee already beat Tatum for in Texas. Jeff Jarrett and Billy Travis beat the Dirty White Boys, the Southern Rockers regained the tag titles from the Uptown Possee, and the main event was Lawler vs. Kerry, with Snowman in the front row as a fan. Snowman was dragged out by security even before the match started, and Lawler and Kerry went to a DCOR, but the new rules stated that the match be restarted, and the first takedown will win. Ronnie Gossett tripped Kerry, who got up and took down Lawler and the ref called for the bell, but a second ref saw Kerry go down (but missed Gossett). Lawler and Snowman had an altercation on TV, with Snowman getting over as a babyface. He came out with Norvell Austin’s brother and said that Eddie Marlin won’t give blacks a chance, and when Marlin brought in King Cobra and Snowman said he was a company man who would only hold the title for a week. Lawler and Snowman had a brawl and made everything look like a shoot. The 5/28 card will have a special appearance by the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle, and also by DJ Wolfman Jack. The main event is a sixteen man battle royal, with each wrestler picking a girl from ringside, and the winner gets an all expense paid date. Lawler defends vs. Jeff Gaylord, DWBs and Gossett vs. Kerry/Jarrett/Travis, Dundee vs. Tatum in a title vs. hair match, Southern Rockers vs. Masked Invaders for the tag titles, and Stewart vs. Champion. 5/25 in Dallas drew 400, the main event of Kevin Von Erich vs. Gary Young never took place. Young came out in street clothes and said they had no reason to wrestle because Young didn’t ruin the birthday party, it was Terrence Garvin. Kevin turned his back and Young attacked him and gave him a pile driver on the floor. Chris Adams beat Steve Austin in a barbed wire match, but Jeannie gave Austin an object and he beat Adams and injured him so badly that he did an interview on TV in a neck brace saying that he didn’t know when he might be able to wrestle again. Scott Braddock beat Chico Torres, Dundee over Tatum to retain the Southern title, and also his hair vs. Tessa. Tatum had the match won, but climbed the ropes and Tessa shook them so that Tatum crotched himself and Dundee won Tessa. Jarrett beat Gossett in no time, but then was left laying by the DWBs. Matt Borne won the Texas Title from Kerry Von Erich, Kerry and Percy had an argument, and Borne rolled him up for the pin. Pringle is slowly turning heel. He’s a babyface on TV, but keeps cutting down the Von Erichs. He comments how he likes the fans, and has worked for everything, instead of having it spoon fed to them like the Von Erichs. 6/1 in Dallas has Kevin vs. Young, Brian Adias vs. Jimmy Jack Funk, Tatum vs. Torres, Gaylord vs. Eric Embry, Kerry vs. Borne in a cage, Austin vs. Travis, Jarrett vs. Braddock, and Lawler vs. Dundee. Killer Brooks’ new group starts on TV right after USWA on KTV, they drew 300 on 5/22 in Dallas with NAWA Champion Kenny the Stinger beating Brooks by DQ. Brooks won the title, but the replay showed that Brooks cheated, so the decision was reversed. Brooks has Johnny Mantell, Steve Cox, Dragon Master, Bill Irwin, Steve Dane, and Iceman Parsons all working for him. Oregon: The “Match of the Century” Bill Jack Haynes vs. Rip Oliver ended with Oliver winning. There were two refs, Sandy Barr and Scott Norton. Al Madril tried to interfere, but Norton took him out. Jonathan Holiday then ran in, but Norton and he got into it. Haynes had Oliver pinned, but Barr couldn’t make the count. When Haynes jumped up to yell at Barr, Norton elbowed Haynes, put Oliver on top, and counted the pinfall. Brian Adams ran in and he and Haynes whipped Norton with a belt to set up a tag match. The rest of the 5/19 show saw the U.S. Males (Curtis Thompson and Ricky Santana) retain the Northwest Tag Titles over Billy Francis and Larry Oliver, Scotty the Body and Grappler had no decision, Norton over Al Madril, and Bettlejuicers over Grappler and Equalizer. 5/26 saw Haynes and Adams over Oliver and Norton by DQ when Norton attacked everyone with a kendo stick. Norton was suspended and the Northwest Title he holds has been held up. Grappler drew Larry Oliver, Scotty over Madril, Santana over Big Juicer (my note: insert joke here!), and Beetlejuice over Thompson. Here and There: 5/19 in Livingston, NJ drew 400 with Orndorff, Sheik, and Mike Kirchner. 5/19 in Colquitt, GA saw the debut of Brian Armstrong (Bob’s youngest) teaming with his father against Jason and Randy Barber. Rumor has it that Inoki wants to put together a mixed match with Vader and boxer Michael Dokes. 6/3 in Pico Rivera, CA has Arias Romero/Huichol/Rey Misterio vs. Konnan/Mando Guerrero/Eddie Guerrero. Expect a major show on 7/21 with babyface and heel dream teams as headliners. 5/24 in Tampa saw Steve Keirn over Robert Fuller when Kendall Windham interfered. Ron Slinker beat Windham when Fuller held down his legs during the pin. Mike Graham and Joe Gomez beat Sgt Rock and the Bounty Hunter. Lou Perez beat Jimmy Backlund, and the Terminator beat Dennis Knight. 5/24 in Denver was headlined with Randy Rhodes beating Barry O in a bloody bullrope match. Rhodes cut an artery while he bladed and had to go to the hospital. Steve Regal interfered to give Rhodes the win by DQ, the show drew 500. Expect a lineup of ICW, AWA, USWA, IWA, and Stampede talent on the new sports channel in Boston, and rest, except Stampede, on the sports channel in New York. WWA ran in Houston on 5/25 with Dan Spivey, Ivan and Scott Putski, the Royal Family, Eddie and Hector Guerrero, and others. Doc and Gordy are scheduled for the 6/22 TV taping. Joe Pedicino’s Beach Brawl show was marred by bad weather and drew 160 for a card with a ring on the beach. John Michaels beat Billy Black with falls counting anywhere, and Michaels pinned him in the lake. Joel Deaton and Randy Rose wrestled in an Escape from Alcatraz match, on a small piece of land in the lake, called an island. They started throwing rocks and brawling, and then Tony Zane jumped off a houseboat and swam to the island where they double teamed Rose and pinned him, but pins don’t count. The match ends when someone swims to shore. They both tried to swim to shore and each climbed a lifeguard chair and brawled, until Rose clotheslined Deaton into the lake. The Dixie Mafia beat the Hillbillies to win the Georgia Tag Titles. Mr. Wrestling II beat the Invader in a mask vs. mask match. Nick Busic beat Ken Timbs, and Rose won a battle royal. Bob Raskin’s USWA drew a little under 200 in Sussex, NJ with Kamala over Mike Sharpe, Larry Winters over DC Drake, Misty Blue over Linda Dallas, and a preliminary match with Cheetah Kid teaming with someone calling himself Tiger Mask. Neither CNWA nor Stampede are drawing well in Western Canada, Bulldog Bob Brown is leaving to work in the Maritimes for Emile Dupree. WWF: A pretty quiet week for this group, the Road Warriors are scheduled to start 7/16 in Omaha. They’ll keep the paint, and have full heads of hair. They’ll be called the Legion of Doom and will not have Paul Ellering. They’ll be heels and have a program with Demolition. You’d think it would draw better with LOD as babyfaces, but Vince isn’t about have his first imitation creation turn heel to feud with the guys he wanted in the first place. Prime time on 5/21 drew a 3.0 rating and All American on 5/20 drew a 2.8. 5/24 in Portland drew 2,900 with Tugboat over Brawler, Martel over Garvin, Sheri over Sapphire, Roberts over Bad News, Herc over Haku, Smash DDQ Bret Hart, and Dusty over Savage. Axe is out of action due to injury, but they’re not saying what it is. 5/26 in Auburn Hills, MI drew 3,000 with Tugboat over Brawler, Haku over Shane Douglas, Hart DDQ Smash, Roberts over Bad News, Mr. Perfect over Herc, Martel over Garvin, Sheri over Sapphire, and Rhodes over Savage. 5/19 in Winnipeg drew 1,500 with Jim Powers over Pez Whatley, Hillbilly Jim over Brawler, Barbarian over Snuka, Roberts over Bad News, Bushwackers over Rhythm and Blues by DQ, Sherri over Sapphire, and Rhodes over Savage. Hasbro Toys and Coliseum Video teamed up to market a new line of WWF dolls, 12 in total, one of which is Andre, so he might have a comeback after all. Gates have been weak since ‘Mania, but Anaheim, CA drew a legit sellout of 9,000 and $111,000 house for Warrior vs. Perfect, Dave thinks this is the third six figure gate since ‘Mania. The other two were in NY, at MSG and Nassau Coliseum. NWA: El Gigante is scheduled to appear on upcoming shows, Dave doesn’t know if it’s to work or just to walk out, but he is definitely going to work the Omni on 6/16 against his trainer, Cuban Assassin. Dave saw him in DC, and while he has potential as an attraction, he looked worst than lost. Dave thinks the NWA should take their time with him until he’s ready, because if they rush him, he’s going to flop. Dave thinks they should send him to Portland or Japan for more seasoning. Andre had seven years experience in Europe, Japan, and even Australia before he came to the U.S. and that’s why he was able to make it so big, so quickly. Andre was never a good worker, but he didn’t look like he was lost, and he was working with his trainer every night, so he was comfortable. Gigante working with Assassin is fine, but let them do it in Portland for awhile, before exposing him to so much scrutiny. Lex Luger will be back on 6/6, most of the cards are Flair vs. Luger, JYD vs. Arn, or the four of them in a tag match. Barry Windham will be in certain cities with them as well. Kevin Sullivan is out of action with broken fingers, and the injury was made much worse at the PPV. 5/22 in Ozark, AL drew 350 with Zenk over Cactus Jack, Fatu over a jobber, Mean Mark over Johnny Ace, Furnas over Samoan Savage, Road Warriors over Midnights, and Doom over the Steiners by DQ. The Road Warriors' last night was the 5/29 TV taping, it airs this week with Road Warriors over Arn and Windham by DQ when Ole and Sid interfere and Sting, JYD, and Orndorff making the save. The match was great and the heat was deafening for the babyface save. The WGN deal looks like it’s dead, station officials are denying that NWA is coming on the station, even though the start date was supposed to be in June. 5/18 Power Hour did a 1.7, 5/19 World Championship Wrestling did a 1.9 (lowest in a long time), and Main Event on 5/20 did a 2.9. 5/25 in Kansas City did 2,324 and $26,000 as Bob Orton beat Dutch Mantel, Ace beat Fatu, Norman beat Cactus, Road Warriors over Midnights, Steiners over Doom by DQ, and JYD over Flair in a non-title cage match. The plan to run back to back shows in Baltimore and Philadelphia on 7/7 and 7/8 has changed to Roanoke on 7/6, Baltimore for the PPV on 7/7, and Asbury Park, NJ on 7/8. Sting isn’t expected back before 7/7. Ole took himself off of Worldwide and Dutch Mantel is replacing him for now, but that may be temporary. Dave says to expect more changes in the announcing. 5/26 in Philly drew 1,500 and $19,000 with Furnas over Cactus **, Norman over Mike Allen DUD, Mark over Zenk ¾ *, Doom over Southern Boys **, Rich over Dutch *1/2, Road Warriors and JYD over Flair/Anderson/Windham ***. 5/23 in Memphis drew 2,000 for a card in which neither of the Flair/Luger main event showed up. Instead the fans got JYD over Samoan Savage as a replacement, and JYD beat him in about a minute, Dave believes that Flair missed his flight. Also, Steiners and Doom had a great match that went for nearly thirty minutes, and the Road Warriors beat the Midnight Express. Samoan Savage broke his hand and is out of action for a while. Doctors are advising Eddie Gilbert to have major shoulder surgery, which would put him out for several months. 5/26 in Monroe, LA drew 1,300 with Scott Armstrong over Rick Fargo, Brian Pillman over the Galaxian (Danny Davis), Manny Villalobos over Pat Rose, Steiners over Fatu and Cuban Assassin, Rock ‘n’ Roll Express over Freebirds, and Scott Steiner won a battle royal. Ole has been talking to Tully Blanchard and Rip Rogers about coming in. Dave expects Tully to be a babyface and feud with Arn. Brad Armstrong isn’t coming in after all. According a source, Ole’s finish to the PPV was closer to what Dave had reported before, but that this time Luger refused to job, so they had to do the screw job. Dave says that this wasn’t the time or the case, but that someone will have to be fired for doing this sometime. Luger isn’t the one to discipline though, since he’s been promised the strap somewhere between four and four-hundred times in the last three years, and between bad luck, booker changes, and other things, he never gets it. And, the other stars have gotten away with it too. Dave’s only heard it from one source, so take it with a grain of salt. Expect Tommy Ric to get a renewed push, while Norman, Zenk, and Cactus won’t see much of anything. Norman will be kept off TV, and given a new gimmick, Norman the truck driver, with a road map. Dave isn’t sure about Pillman, he’s booked mainly with Mark and Sheik, which could mean lost in the shuffle, or shuffled to the bottom of the deck. It doesn’t look he’s keeping his spot as a top babyface. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
khawk20 Posted April 1, 2014 Report Share Posted April 1, 2014 He (JYD) had a physique to rival Tony Atlas. LOL I know JYD was decently built at one time, but come on. (PS--trying to use the quote function doesn't work. Not sure if that's just me) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bix Posted April 2, 2014 Report Share Posted April 2, 2014 Awesome stuff, thanks Mike. I knew Kerry no-showed his debut and decided to go to the WWF, but I had no idea Orndorff was his replacement. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KrisZ Posted April 2, 2014 Report Share Posted April 2, 2014 Oh my god I remember that NGWA Beach Brawl show.......I was supposed to go but didn't for whatever reason but watched it on TV later. The Tony Zane stuff off the houseboat was as crazy as written. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Farmer Posted April 2, 2014 Report Share Posted April 2, 2014 I remember hearing on NWA Power Hour that Kerry was coming in. Was glad to see Orndorff back, he was having good matches on independents before he came in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnny Guitar Posted May 12, 2014 Report Share Posted May 12, 2014 WRESTLING OBSERVER NEWSLETTER June 2, 1990 theJoe Pedicino’s Beach Brawl show was marred by bad weather and drew 160 for a card with a ring on the beach. John Michaels beat Billy Black with falls counting anywhere, and Michaels pinned him in the lake. Joel Deaton and Randy Rose wrestled in an Escape from Alcatraz match, on a small piece of land in the lake, called an island. They started throwing rocks and brawling, and then Tony Zane jumped off a houseboat and swam to the island where they double teamed Rose and pinned him, but pins don’t count. The match ends when someone swims to shore. They both tried to swim to shore and each climbed a lifeguard chair and brawled, until Rose clotheslined Deaton into the lake. The Dixie Mafia beat the Hillbillies to win the Georgia Tag Titles. Mr. Wrestling II beat the Invader in a mask vs. mask match. Nick Busic beat Ken Timbs, and Rose won a battle royal. Thank you so much for posting this. I've been asking about this match ever since I first got on the net. 18 years. Multiple forums and not a single reply. I 've always wondered wether it actually happened or it was just something that the Apter mags had made up in the results section of PWI. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajtroma Posted May 16, 2014 Report Share Posted May 16, 2014 I want more of these recaps. Please!!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thebrainfollower Posted June 8, 2014 Report Share Posted June 8, 2014 Dave's smarky reaction to the Demos not turning face amuses me. Wonder how he backtracks in a month or so. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cheapshot Posted June 16, 2014 Report Share Posted June 16, 2014 I never knew that it was reported that The Road Warriors would debut in WWF as heels. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timbo Slice Posted June 17, 2014 Report Share Posted June 17, 2014 He sure picked a good week to go on vacation. Hansen hadn't even had his best match yet, which is saying something at that point. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sek69 Posted July 6, 2014 Report Share Posted July 6, 2014 The best thing for wrestling would be a spokesperson with Lawler’s ability to talk and be a normal human, Hogan’s physique, and Flair’s dedication. This is pretty much what we'd get years later with The Rock I'd say. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Eduardo James Posted July 7, 2014 Report Share Posted July 7, 2014 The best thing for wrestling would be a spokesperson with Lawler’s ability to talk and be a normal human, Hogan’s physique, and Flair’s dedication. This is pretty much what we'd get years later with The Rock I'd say. The Rock was a giant cartoon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goc Posted August 2, 2014 Report Share Posted August 2, 2014 Really wish I could watch that ridiculous sounding Joel Deaton/Randy Rose Escape from Alcatraz match. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeCampbell Posted August 3, 2014 Author Report Share Posted August 3, 2014 It aired on TV, according to Kris. I'd imagine that, if nobody else, that Steve Friedlander would have it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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