Daily Tidbits

[Tim Cooke]

Going to try to do this five days a week for the next couple of months.

 

Today's tidbit:

 

Here is a little known tidbit from the fall of 1998. Beginning with Nitro on September 7, Arn Anderson was in the highest rated segment six consecutive shows in a row covering:

 

Nitro 9/7

Thunder 9/10

Nitro 9/14

Thunder 9/17

Nitro 9/21

Thunder 9/24

 

The 9/10 Thunder rating was particularly interesting since it was for a segment that replayed the Nitro reformation and an arm wrestling angle between Anderson and Eric Bischoff with the stipulation being if Anderson won, Flair would be reinstated and if Bischoff won, he wouldn’t be back with WCW. Bischoff “won” the arm wrestling match, playing off the storyline of Arn’s left hand still being messed up from his spinal issues, which lead to him retiring as a wrestler in August 1997.

 

As WCW continued to book Flair and the Horsemen so poorly, especially after failing to follow up on the dynamic return on Nitro, the ratings streak was over fairly quickly. Flair would give WCW another quarter hour win on the December 21 Nitro from St. Louis but he was already damaged goods by that point, almost entirely from the terrible booking that occurred throughout the ranks in WCW in 1998 and into 1999.

 

WCW drew its three biggest gates ever on December 7 at the Astrodome (31,460 paid; $755,995 with $257,339 on merchandise alone), which set the state of Texas pro wrestling record at the time; December 21 at the TWA Dome in St. Louis (28,959 paid; $914,385) and at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta on January 4, 1999 (34,788 paid; $930,735). These big gates were signs that WCW still had life. But with so many people attending and watching these shows, the atrocious booking would wreck any positive impressions and kill subsequent returns to these cities and many others throughout 1999 into late 2000.

Edited November 3, 2015 by Tim Cooke

[Troy]

July 98 GA Dome show wasn't the biggest gate? Good read BTW

[Tim Cooke]

Georgia Dome July 1998 was 36,506 paid for $906,330. Meltzer says with the configuration they had set up, there were actually 41,412 and about a 100 people were turned away.

[Loss]

The interesting thing about Arn to me in this time period is that the late 90s were in some ways really suited for him more than his actual era was. Talking may have been more important than it ever had been at that point, and there was a heavy focus on promos in both companies. Arn did more of the traditional great promo than the catchphrase-filled ones that dominated the WWF at the time, but that was another way I wish WCW had distinguished itself more -- an equally big focus on talking as was happening in the WWF, but fueled by a different set of values over what made someone an interesting person to hear speak.

 

I hated Rock promos at the time because of the overabundance of catchphrases, but that's what they had to be, and I don't fault him for that one bit. Still, WCW's best bet was to deliver the more heartfelt and off-the-cuff Real People Talking interview segments, and I wish they had done more of that. They even had Bret, for whom that speaking style was a huge strength, and now I have to check out before I get depressed.

[El-P]

The interesting thing about Arn to me in this time period is that the late 90s were in some ways really suited for him more than his actual era was. Talking may have been more important than it ever had been at that point, and there was a heavy focus on promos in both companies. Arn did more of the traditional great promo than the catchphrase-filled ones that dominated the WWF at the time, but that was another way I wish WCW had distinguished itself more -- an equally big focus on talking as was happening in the WWF, but fueled by a different set of values over what made someone an interesting person to hear speak.

 

I hated Rock promos at the time because of the overabundance of catchphrases, but that's what they had to be, and I don't fault him for that one bit. Still, WCW's best bet was to deliver the more heartfelt and off-the-cuff Real People Talking interview segments, and I wish they had done more of that. They even had Bret, for whom that speaking style was a huge strength,

 

Totally agree. It's a shame Arn got badly injured when he did, because he was still so good in the ring, and with more emphasis put on promo and competitive TV matches, he was picture perfect for the Nitro era. The promos he did in 98 building up to the return of Flair and the Horsemen comebacks are some of the best ever.

 

And yeah, I hated the Rock's promo too back in the days. I got to enjoy them much later (as I did the whole character and worker BTW).

[Tim Cooke]

1999 was a pretty good year for quality fights. With MMA still in its infancy, 1999 had a lot of high quality fights between big name fighters at the time. The emergence of Frank Shamrock as a top lightweight at the time, along with Kazushi Sakuraba, set the stage for an interesting LHW division worldwide. Shooto continued to produce excellent fights from the smaller weight classes and RINGS went from a mix of works and shoots to all shoots by the end of the year.

 

Rumina Sato vs. Charles Taylor (1/15/99 – Shooto)

- For my money, the best finish in MMA history.

 

Tsuyoshi Kohsaka vs. Gilbert Yvel (4/23/99 – RINGS)

- Classic Striker versus Wrestler that is lost in today’s cross trained sport. Yvel was at one time thought to be at the level of Vanderlei Silva.

 

Kiyoshi Tamura vs. Frank Shamrock (4/23/99 – RINGS)

- A dream match that delivers on being a really good fight within the rules of RINGS.

 

Kazushi Sakuraba vs. Vitor Belfort (4/29/99 – PRIDE)

- Sakuraba destroys Belfort and begins creating his MMA move set with a double stomp and a cartwheel to pass the guard.

 

Caol Uno vs. Rumina Sato (5/29/99 – Shooto)

- The best fight of 1999 and one of my top 5 fights of all time. Almost 15 minutes of non-stop, state of the art MMA from two of the pioneers.

 

Carlos Newton vs. Daijiro Matsui (7/4/99 – PRIDE)

- If a good fight is determined by effort, these two win the prize for 1999. Newton is always good on the ground and Matsui, while a journeyman, is always up for a challenge.

 

Kazushi Sakuraba vs. Ebenezer Fontes Braga (7/4/99 – PRIDE)

- Sakuraba continues his ascent to the top of the LHW with a win over a quality fighter who had several wins under his belt, including Masakatsu Funaki in 1998. BJJ vs. Japanese Pro Wrestling storyline continues to evolve.

 

Frank Shamrock vs. Tito Ortiz (9/24/99 – UFC)

- The best UFC fight of 1999 with the added value of having a storied history of issues between the two fighters and their respective camps.

 

Kazushi Sakuraba vs. Royler Gracie (11/21/99 – PRIDE)

- The Gracies vs. Sakuraba feud begins. If you like Sakuraba, you will like this fight.

 

Rumina Sato vs. Phil Johns (10/29/99 – Shooto)

Rumina Sato vs. Rafael Cordero (12/11/99 – Japan Vale Tudo Open)

- Two more fights with two big time finishes from Sato who closes out what is arguably his best year of top level fighting.

[El-P]

Tsuyoshi Kohsaka vs. Gilbert Yvel (4/23/99 – RINGS)

- Classic Striker versus Wrestler that is lost in today’s cross trained sport. Yvel was at one time thought to be at the level of Vanderlei Silva.

 

Kiyoshi Tamura vs. Frank Shamrock (4/23/99 – RINGS)

- A dream match that delivers on being a really good fight within the rules of RINGS.

 

I never got into MMA, like ever, but that particular RING show I bought the tape of just to see those two fights, and I wasn't disapointed in the end. Great stuff.