Dirt Sheets

[LowBlowPodcast]

Wanted the throw something out for everyone. This would be a dirt sheets thread in which we could post possible rumors and stories for our promotions. This could be piggybacked on with Dex's PWI covers for those who want to add some more to the project. What would be posted on here can be true or false... simply going by the dirt sheets to get information about upcoming shows or previous results or someone arguing with someone else. Have some fun with it.

[LowBlowPodcast]

-Word from Mid South is that Boris Zhukov came in so overweight that Bill Watts read him the riot act in front of everyone at tonight's television tapings. Watts let him know that his time would be limited if he didn't get into shape and Boris wasn't too happy but understood.

 

-Hacksaw Duggan has some nagging injuries that he's working through to get back full time and when he does, he is expected to be in the North American title hunt.

 

-There is talk of bringing in a manager for Tully Blanchard who is said be go going into Mid South as a solo act, with Gino Hernandez be as far away from his as possible to lead to a possible feud which Watts thinks would draw big money in Texas.

 

-Speaking of Texas, Watts has got a full fledged brigade to invade Texas in the coming weeks. He will continue his bi-weekly shows in Houston but now he will be running in the HemisFair Arena every other week he isn't in Houston. To add to that, he is going to try and run television in the Sportatorium without a Von Erich on the card. This could be a huge flop for Mr. Watts who is said to be very confident about moving into Texas and expanding Mid South through the Lone Star State.

 

-There is talk of a big Battle For New Orleans match with the Junkyard Dog taking on Ted Dibiase. Watts said he would find the biggest cage he could to hold these two stars.

 

-As of this writing, Power Pro is going to be hosted by Vince McMahon of all people and air Sunday mornings at 8am. The matches will be from Mid South's Thursday house show loops in which they will bring one hard cam for the taping. One has to wonder if taping the matches before the regular television would be the safe and less costly solution.

[Boon]

(Really enjoyed Will doing his newsletter, so this will be good.)

 

- WTBS looking ahead to the Baseball season has cut television from 90 minutes to 1 hour to make sure no shows are cut short for Braves games. Ratings are doing well, and the move to 1 hour has nothing to do with poor ratings.

 

- Due to running a bigger area since GCW went under, Southeastern have released a couple of higher paid guys (Ricky Gibson, Charlie Cook and Dutch Mantell who officially cuts ties) and brought in a few rookies to keep cost low (Steve Armstrong, Tracey Smothers, Scott Hall and one for the future Sean Michaels) don't expect any to be pushed any time soon, although a working agreement with Southern States Wrestling will see these guys blossom.

 

- Southeastern has also brought back some old hands in striking deals with Ken Lucas and Roy Lee Welch. Lucas and Welch were working for Joe Blanchard in Southwest, Blanchard who was booking one of the top angles in wrestling 1983 in David Von Erich and Tully Blanchard, didn't agree with some of the politics and has gone underground for the time being.

 

- Due to the expansion in late 1983 into Georgia, Ron Fuller has decided to hang up the boots and focus on running the territory. Its believed Welch and Lucas were also brought back to give a hand. The fear is with Mid-South setting their sights on expanding into the empty Texas area it wont be too long before he turns east into Alabama, although its believed Georgia is his goal, as Alabama has and will always be Fuller and Armstrong territory.

 

- The tension between Fuller (AWA) and Crockett (NWA) seems to be getting better since the fall, several talent trades happened late into the year to enable Crockett to pick up a gem.

 

- It seems on early indications that Superclash put a real dent into the PPV buyrate for Starrcade but not the gate. The Omni drew a good house of 18,000 but it looks like with the NWA using a lot of different location to show the event the official gate was a lot higher with a lot of people deciding to pay at their local cinema's to watch the event.

 

- With Southeastern being a heel heavy territory, look for a few names to be going out on loan, especially with a top heel coming into the fold.

[JHawk]

WWA news:

 

-Word is the WWA has received offers from various promoters for Eddie Gilbert, Brickhouse Brown, and Dennis Condrey. While Gilbert is unlikely to go anywhere, Brickhouse and Condrey are likely to be available once current plans are complete.

 

-Dick the Bruiser is expected to have his in-ring appearances severely cut short, if not removed completely. I can see him possibly becoming the WWA commissioner in an on-screen role.

 

-Expect Don Muraco (on loan from Mid-South) to meet Jimmy Snuka on the January 21 USA special, possibly in a strap match after their angle on TV this weekend.

 

-Expect Bockwinkel vs. Flair and Race vs. Funk on the February USA special provided Flair retains against Race on 1/21 (which is not a guarantee).

[kevinmcfl]

MEMPHIS GOSSIP:

 

Lord Humongous favored to be first CWA Champion

 

Most people believe that The Dream Machine is not Troy Graham despite what Ernie Ladd says.

 

Are Ernie Ladd and Hacksaw Reed having trouble staying on the same page?

 

The Nightmares are quickly moving up the tag team ratings but can they make it to the top?

[LowBlowPodcast]

-Bill Watts held court at his Monday morning production meeting yesterday. People within his inner circle said that Watts blew a gasket over the production of the first Power Pro show. He was upset with the up front costs of taping the show on Thursday night. Jim Ross is said to be the lead producer on the show with Joel Watts and Vince McMahon serving as backup for him. Ross was in very hot water over the ordeal. It was McMahon who was the voice of reason who approached Watts about taping Power Pro before Mid South wrestling to cut costs and a way to hype the crowd or he could choose to tape after the show complete. Regardless, Watts is going to be making some changes to the format quickly.

 

- Bill Watts was also very vocal about the February schedule and is looking to bring in some extra talent for the house show circuit since he has cut back his overall workload to 4 travel days with the two tv shows. There is talks of Watts picking back up on Sundays to help boost business in March.

 

- One of the possible up and coming feuds in Mid South revolves around the tag team titles and possible Dick Murdoch & Adrian Adonis or the Fantastics taking on the Guerreros in a series of title vs title matches.

 

-Hacksaw Duggan is back to %100 and is going to be on schedule for the foreseeable future in Mid South. He is expected to be in the North American title hunt soon.

 

-Negotiations have begun with Gino Hernandez. He worked some spot shows on the recent tour, but nothing definite has been inked.

 

-Watts has been pretty high on Rick Rude and he's looking for ways to get him on television... his feud with El Bracero didn't go as good as planned but look for Rude to be a big part of 1984 if he continues to get better. Superstar Graham has been given a lot of credit for his immediate success.

 

-There is talk of Ernie Ladd coming in as the Color Commentator to join Jim Ross who is already in hot water... this would move Watts to a different television role.

[Boon]

Southeastern

 

~ The Turner news keeps coming, WTBS and Turner are happy with the ratings, but are concerned Fuller won't commit to running his A crew in Georgia, for fear of killing off his bread and butter (Alabama). This weeks Georgia loop was headlined by Johnny Rich & Larry Hamilton vs Tommy Lane & Mike Davis, where a few months back it would of had Orndorff, Roberts, Sawyer and Tommy Rich.

 

~ And to add to the underlying tension, Turner has pushed to Fuller booking Freelancers such as Andre, Brody and Hansen to help come across more national and he feels Watts is doing a good job using outside talent to supplement his roster to run two solid crews. Fuller has said to be against booking in outside talent, even after the success of Superclash.

 

~ Something that won't help Fuller and Turners relationship, we have heard word Ron Fuller has been having talks with Jerry Jarrett about returning to East Tennessee, Knoxville, Kingsport and Chattanooga being the towns being looked at. East Tennessee was part of Southeastern before the Gulas and Welch split in 1980.

 

~ Fuller seems to be high on Eric Embry but not so much Ken Timbs, their could be a split on the cards.

 

~ Phil Hickerson (who is believed to be the driving force behind the East Tennessee move), who has been working behind the scenes with Lucas, Welch and Fuller has reached out to WWA around one roster member to return to the area.

 

~ The working arrangement between Southeastern and the AWA looks stronger than ever, yet another young team are making their way to Alabama, much like the Latin Lovers last year, for an extended period with an experienced team going the other way.

 

~ Robert Fuller and Tommy Rich matches are drawing well, which has delayed another top heel coming in. Look for the blonde who has been appearing at house shows to play a big part in 1984.

 

~ Is there a better tag team division in North America than the one in Alabama at the moment, Nightmares, Bodies, Fabs, Blondes, Studd, Riches, Lightning Express and The Assassins. The Nightmares-Express feud is probably one of the best technical wrestling feud your see outside of Japan.

 

~ Talking of Japan, it's believe in tape trading circles the big January 4th Supershow from the Tokyo Dome is slowly doing the rounds, we will be review the show next week.

[dexstar]

- Despite the massive blizzard, power outages, and resulting chaos in the Metro Detroit area, we've gotten calls from sources in the area who have assured us the New Year's Eve show did take place and that tapes should be making their way into trader hands as we speak.

[kevinmcfl]

MEMPHIS GOSSIP:

 

Jerry Jarrett and the CWA Board of Directors is having a time balancing the idea of promoting their own organization and staying loyal to both the AWA and the NWA. They are very interested in seeing the reaction by the fans and the other organizations to them having their own CWA heavyweight champion. If it is well received, there could be a CWA Tag Team Title on the horizon.

 

There have been rumors that Jarrett is trying to bring in another major baby face to deal with all the heels currently in the CWA.

 

In there early training sessions, Bam Bam Bigelow and Shane Douglas have received rave reviews.

 

A recent promotional map of what area each region controls has been making its way around the wrestling world and it was overheard that Jarrett is looking to expand. To where, nobody knows.

[dexstar]

DETROIT

 

- The New Year's Eve show was a live success but closed circuit didn't do well. The thought is that the crowds are not thinking about circuit showings because the company doesn't tour outside the State Fair building and Cobo but owner Matty Mouran is interested in maximizing profit so there might be expanded touring of the Michigan area soon depending on his feelings, but plans change.

 

- Iron Mike Sharpe and Bad News Allen took direct cabs to the airport to fly over to Japan for the tour starting on the 1st which is amazing, they must not have slept at all. They were not happy being booked on the show but worked anyway. Sharpe was especially upset at the lack of shower time and is said to be cranky in Japan stil

 

- The territory doesn't have many traditional faces but it looks like Rocky Johnson and Bob Backlund will be getting New York style face pushes in the future. They need to do something because crowds are behind some of the crew who are technically faces by the booking like Orton and Slater but the heels are much stronger overall

 

- I've heard TV might be expanding to 90 minutes but it's a balancing act because the office wants big names and matches on the shows to make up for the lack of house business but with the win-loss record booking it is difficult to have too many matches and keep talent strong.

 

- Gorilla Monsoon is allegedly still drawing a check from the office despite not being on TV or involved in any way. The joke is that owner Mouran doesn't pay much attention to payroll (BTW is a small sliver of his holdings which include insurance companies and the Ambassador Bridge, a major border crossing, which reminds me of a Roller Derby story about a 6'8 skater named Border Crossing who was a big star in San Jose in the 1950s before he got involved in a prescription drug ring that operated out of Tijuana) and gets Gorilla confused with George Steele who goes by "Animal" on TV but not on the official documents

[LowBlowPodcast]

BREAKING NEWS OUT OF MID SOUTH

 

-It seems as though Cowboy Bill Watts is back to his old ways. Following the explosion over Power Pro, Bill Watts is shipping Jim Ross and Joel Watts to Western Texas now to put them on the road 7 days a week. Watts told Ross he needs some extra work and has sent him and a skeleton crew out to El Paso, Odessa, and Amarillo to run on Sunday, Monday, and Tuesdays and then be back for television on Wednesdays. The days in which television is in Louisiana, Ross and company may have a hard time making it back for the shows, but there is word that Watts is going to send this crew to other areas for small spot shows in the coming weeks. Watts says he has another loop for these guys which he didn't reveal but expect to see some more Mid South Wrestling pop up. Some rumored names are Don Muraco, Masked Superstar, and the Moondogs highlighting the shows. Some have even wondered if Gino Hernandez may be getting involved to get rid of some ring rust. Don't be surprised to see other names come through to get an extra days pay. This will be the tell tale sign on if Watts fires Ross or keeps him for the long haul.

[Boon]

Southeastern

 

~ The biggest feud in currently in Southeastern seems to be behind the scenes with Ron Fuller and Ted Turner. After Saturday's TV taping, Fuller was called for a meeting with Ted Turner at CNN towers, Ted who doesn't normally work Saturdays, made an exception. As reported previously Turner has been upset with Fuller not going all out with the expanded Southeastern, especially when it comes to the Georgia side of the territory. The meeting was around the following...

 

- Southeastern taking the name World Championship Wrestling for their television program, which Fuller is opposed too, Fuller saying it's not the name people watch for its the action.

- Bringing in outside talent, Fullers refusal to use touring talent such as Brody, Butcher and Andre is baffling to Ted.

- How Fuller is benefitting from Southeastern working under the AWA banner, it's believed Turner heavily pushing for Fuller to rejoin the NWA, even more so with Ric Flair as their champion. Turner trusted Fuller when he joined the AWA and was very happy with Superclash, but looking at the AWA champions schedule none are booked for any TV dates. It's believed with the two world title changes that happened in the past few weeks, Ted is more for Flair as world champion than Stan Hansen. That being said, Fuller and Verne are very happy with their relationship, especially with Southeastern supplementing Verne with talent over the next 6 weeks.

- And as reported last week, Fuller is really hanging Georgia out to dry with talent running its towns, this weeks loop is headlined by Ken Lucas & Roy Lee Welch against The Assassins, who look to be departing in the coming weeks. Other than those 4 you have an undercard full of rookie talent. It's said Georgia business is down and Alabama business is up on 2 months ago.

- Finally Turner isn't happy with the office staff of Lucas, Welch and Hickerson and wants to put in some of his own men, one believed to be a gentleman by the name of Jim Herd, don't worry we haven't heard of him either, excuse the pun.

 

~ What does this all mean for Fuller, Southeastern and WTBS? Well the 6 month rolling contract is coming up for renewal and as we speak I can't see Turner renewing. If he doesn't I fully expect Fuller to reopen the East Tennessee side of the territory and running Kingsport, Chattanooga and Knoxville which he has had discussions with Jarrett about running. If that's the case, I fully expect Turner to turn to Jim Crockett or Jerry Jarrett.

[LowBlowPodcast]

- As fans in Amarillo and Lubbock Texas saw this weekend, Mid South Wrestling took its show on the road Sunday and Monday. The wrestlers have Tuesdays off to get back to television on Wednesday. Bill Watts sent Jim Ross and Joel Watts to oversee the production due to the recent issues that Watts had with Ross and his production of Power Pro. Speaking on Power Pro, Vince McMahon is said to have the full lead on the show at this point with Bill Watts underneath him, but having the final say. Bill Watts then runs MSW weekly with Vince, Jim Ross, and Joe Watts all serving as minor producers for the program.

 

- Speaking of Power Pro, Watts was very happy with the second incarnation of the program. He is excited to see what Vince can do and the money that will be saved by having some matches before MSW weekly and then after as dark matches for the fans and taping them for Power Pro.

 

-Bill Watts held meetings with television companies out of New York, Los Angeles, Boston, and Phoenix this past week. Vince McMahon was said to be instrumental in these meetings to try and get Mid South seen throughout the country. Watts isn't afraid to try anything once, but he could be grasping at straws to try and push this group of talent on that stage.

 

- Gino Hernandez is said to be in the final stages of signing with Mid South Wrestling at this point. He is asking for a lighter schedule and more pay... some say he's worth it while others are wondering if his contract could be picked up by someone else in the coming weeks. Bill Watts is said to be taking calls on Hernandez as of this writing.

 

- As seen this past week, Bill Watts has booked Ric Flair to defend the NWA World Championship in the Superdome on February 4th. There is going to be a big battle royal this week on MSW to see who will face Flair. Bruiser Brody is said to be the favorite.

[kevinmcfl]

It seems that over a dozen people were arrested at the Mid-South Coliseum this past Monday after they began to riot after Austin Idol apparently turned on Jerry Lawler and took the aid of NWA Champion Ric Flair in order to capture the first ever Continental Wrestling Association Championship. The fans could not believe their eyes as Flair hit Lawler over the head with a champagne bottle that Idol had been carrying around for weeks. Memphis fans have seen these two feud with each other in the past at it is not pretty. When asked, Jerry Jarrett, President of the CWA, didn't seem to care much. Most likely because it is good for business.

 

It also seems that Jarrett is after two old timers in Baron Von Raschke and The Spoiler. What will this company do with 2 more heels?

 

Many are questioning Jarrett's recent expansion into Arkansas and Mississippi. They believe he is getting away from his roots in places like Memphis, Nashville, Louisville and Evansville. He might be even more money hungry then we even thought and sees the recent expansion of Bill Watts into Texas and the wonderful television show on Christmas Night on WTBS called Superclash as a sign of the times and is looking not be left behind by the new breed of promoting gurus that seem to be emerging right before our eyes.

 

Many believe that Ernie Ladd has lost his focus. In his own warped way, people could understand his racist rhetoric and his goal. Now he seems completely obsessed with taking the mask off The Dream Machine. This lead to him attacking The Dream Machine before their match ever got under way and also may have contributed to him hitting Butch Reed instead of Jerry Lawler the other night. His actions caused Reed a chance to win the CWA Title Tournament.

[NWATerritorySuperfan]

The Grapevine (Florida's latest news & rumors)

 

Promoter Eddie Graham is already hard at work at putting together another supercard. This one will take place near the end of January '84.

 

Speculated matches so far are The Von Erichs vs Eddie Creatchman's Devastation Inc. (The Great Kabuki, Kendo Nagasaki, The Magic Dragon & The Ninja). Also we can probably expect to see Dusty Rhodes return to action against Kevin Sullivan. Dusty is furious at being hospitalized after The Destroyer slammed the cage door on his head.

 

The Von Erichs are in talks to bring their cousin Lance into Florida in the very near future. Also this publication has heard that Kerry's good friend Brian Adias is rumored to be on his way to Florida soon as well.

 

Lord Alfred Hayes is threatening lawsuits to anyone who plays the footage of him being stripped down and put in his mother's dress. He claims the stockings by the way were because of a bad case of Phlebitis.

 

Gypsy Joe is rumored to be the newest member of Freddie Blassie's terrifying stable known as The Family.

 

Brian Blair may soon be on his way out of Florida. We're told he wants to get out as soon as possible. He's hurt that his mentor Destroyer would do such a thing to Dusty Rhodes.

 

The Botswana Beast is certainly a deadly force to be reckoned with. Look for him to use his size to put a hurting on any opponent who dares face him.

 

 

[rainmakerrtv]

AWA Dirt

 

- rumor has it that Col. Buck Robley is none too pleased to be working with the Wild Samoans. The current scuttlebutt is that there is bad blood between them ever since both sides took some liberties with each other in a match several years ago in Mid-South , and the passage of time has done little to calm the waters between the two faction. As Robley is in deep with the AWA management, the current talk is that the higher ups are working on bringing in another team for Robley to send against the Road Warriors once the Samoans' short stay in the AWA is done and while the Wild Bills are currently working a tour of Europe

[Boon]

Southeastern

 

Non Fuller- Turner news....

 

- Former Southeastern Tag Team Champions The Assassins finishes up their dates with Southeastern and head North for the next few months. They are expected back in the spring/summer time.

 

- Jody Hamilton (The Flame) is expected back in action in the coming weeks, he took a few weeks off to heal some nagging injuries, its believed The Flame is looking to slow down and maybe work in a smaller territory with some younger talent while he heels up, expect him to be doing dates with Southeastern's sister company Southern States.

 

- Another wrestler looking to return full time is Phil Hickerson, Hickerson who was big heel in the 1970's in the Southeastern area, has been working behind the scenes with Ron Fuller, helping run the company. He made his return on the B crew shows this week up against Mike Jackson who has also returned to the area. With Hickerson age expect him to mostly be used as a tag wrestlers.

 

- It's believed a shake up is in the pipe line at the top of the card, which will really set the place on fire, something very unexpected.

 

- Its believed the Heavenly Bodies dropped the tag straps to Ken Lucas and Roy Lee Welch this past weekend mainly due to the impending feud with the Fabulous Ones, which Fuller and his office staff believe doesn't need the title to draw. The Fabs will be finishing up with the Hollywood Blondes before too long, then its believed the button will be pushed on the money feud of the Bodies and Fabs. I have to commend Ron Fuller for holding off on going with the feud straight away, rather using the Fabs to help get the Blondes over before switching to the Bodies.

 

- Nickla Roberts will be pushed as a major player, getting involved with all the top talent in the area, its believed she will head up a stable of wrestlers.

 

- Big Bubba Lynch isnt progressing as much as Southeastern have hoped for, Lynch was planned to be on the A crew by this point, but his development isn't moving as fast as Fuller and crew were expecting. Look for Lynch to be given his marching order's if he doesnt improve in the ring, he has a perfect mouth piece in Jim Cornette, has the size and look to be a monster, but just needs to improve.

[JHawk]

WWA news

 

-With just a few days before WWA's first USA Network special, the fact it is airing on TV has caused some plans to change. Plans to have the Jimmy Snuka-Don Muraco match be a leather strap match were scratched by the Network as it was felt the match might be too violent. Rumor has it that USA may be banning the use of blood altogether, so WWA owner Dick the Bruiser has been doing a number of interviews where he refuses to break kayfabe and claims every cut he has ever had in the ring has been caused by his opponents. I have some tapes of some matches from this time last year where Bruiser exposes the business by how blatantly obvious his blade job is, so this makes me laugh.

 

-Rumors have Mark Youngblood coming in to team with his brother Jay.

 

-Mike Rotundo and Jimmy Snuka will no longer be a team. I expect Rotundo to get a tag team partner.

 

-Some backstage are pushing for a Ric Flair-Larry Zbyszko match at the February USA special. Since Flair rarely appears in the area, the idea is to make him a neutral champion where he isn't really a face and isn't really a heel, so they can book opponents based on who either isn't in a program or who they think matches up well with him. My guess is Zbyszko falls into that first category.

[LowBlowPodcast]

- Big signings out of Mid South this week. Jim Ross was said to be in charge of talent relations with Bill Watts. Watts is said to do the major signings but Ross was part of the negotiations. His role has diminished over the last couple of weeks stemming from the Power Pro incident and Vince McMahon is said to be part of negotiations. Over the past week, Matt Borne, Adrian Street, and Miss Linda were all signed with Mid South through negotiations with Vince McMahon and Watts overseeing the agreements. Gino Hernandez has agreed to do a couple of dates for Watts but no major deal has been signed yet.

 

- Mid South went on tour again this weekend, Jim Ross and Joel Watts were promoting both shows in Mississippi. They were blessed to get Matt Borne, Adrian Street, and Gino Hernandez (for one show) added to the bunch. They were said to have had good crowds and are "doing exactly what Bill Watts is looking for" when putting these shows together.

 

- Still no word on the outcome of the Dibiase vs JYD contest on February 4th. The stipulation says that the loser must leave and only the winner can bring that person back. Both men could fill either role.

 

- Watts is said to really be pulling out all the stops for the February 4th Superdome show. Bruiser Brody and Andre the Giant are said to be action. Ric Flair has been signed to defend the NWA World Title against Hacksaw Duggan. Expect more surprises as Watts is said be making a move towards closed circuit shows like Starrcade and he has been shopping some national television deals as his contract with Fox and MSW will be expiring in the next two months.

 

- Could Mid South be coming to MSG? Watts and McMahon took a meeting with the directors of Madison Square Garden. No word on if these were just meetings or if Mid South could try to run in a market that is dying for wrestling right now.

[dexstar]

DETROIT

 

- Rocky Johnson wasn't pleased with being referred to as "Mr USA" in the recent newspaper ad for the 1/28 live TV show. It's unclear if that was an administrative mistake or someone ribbing him regarding his known dislike for former partner Tony Atlas. Don't expect to see that nickname used again though or else Rocky might become a headache for the office.

 

- Hercules Ayala is coming into the territory. I'd expect to see him working with Chicky Starr and Fidel Sierra since this is wrestling after all and they are all "Caribbean".

 

- Despite being pushed as the big bad heels since the opening of the promotion it doesn't seem like the Jesse Ventura led "Union" is working out that well. Part of the problem has been trouble getting the mainplayers in the area at the same time with Adonis/Murdoch and Valentine all spending various times in Japan and the other problem is a general lack of direction for the group. They want Ventura to be a prominent part of the promotion, not just an announcer, but he may be over-exposed trying to be lead heel manager and the lead color man. There was talk of moving him into an active wrestling role but the feeling among many is that he wouldn't be able to work to the level of Valentine, Martel, Backlund and other main event level talent.

 

- There's talk of adding at least one house show per week to the schedule again. They have plans for a big Cobo show in late February to blow off some running storylines and if they do expand the schedule I'd expect it to happen after that.

 

- Petitpas and Burke are going to continue working as a tag team but both men had expressed a desire to do some singles wrestling as well so that's why they were working on their own the past weeks

 

- The Gorilla Monsoon situation continues on. He was recently spotted running up quite a tab at the iconic Detroit dive bar The Old Miami the other night and someone asked him if he was going to be on TV soon. He said he wasn't expecting it and was happy to just cash the checks for now. Some of the more straight laced members of the office have considered writing a memo to Matty Mouran at his corporate office about the situation but it's thought it'd just get lost in the shuffle, or if it was noticed, the corporate titan might take too much of an interest in the goings-on at the BTW office.

[agentofenton]

Mid Atlantic News

 

Randy Savage debuts on this week's TV, a week earlier than planned. However, since he was in the area and they wanted to get something hot going for this weeks TV, they debuted him to set up his TV wrestling debut next week.

 

The Mid Atlantic Heavyweight Title was quietly retired after Adrian Street left the company. It is rumored that that title was retired to make room for a new championship.

 

A roster shakeup this past week has made for some interesting matchups on the house show loops. The current booker is trying to get a majority of his roster in use for the house show loops. A lot of tag team matches are the booking sheets in the coming weeks.

 

A rumored big time TV special is in the works. It may end up being a closed circuit event instead, but top executives are working on a major show for the end of March.

 

Mr Fuji is currently working some of the house shows, but he's also working as a manager on a few of the shows. He maybe getting ready for a retirement, or a semi-retirement thing. Time will tell on this one.

[Boon]

Southeastern

 

- We haven't had results filter through from this weeks big Birmingham show, but we have heard a major angle happened at the end of the show.

 

- As seen on this weeks TV, Jody Hamilton The Flame will be back within a few weeks, Hamilton who is in his mid 40s is likely to play a reduced role, but still very much involved.

 

- Norvelle Austim has signed a deal and will be on TV in a couple of weeks. Mr Wrestling who debuted this week is Ron Starr under a mask, Starr who was trained by Tim Woods, returned this week. Expect him to fill the void in the mid card between the youngsters and main eventers.

 

- You may of noticed Gordon Solie was pulled from TV this weekend and Les Thatcher took his place. From what we've heard, Fuller was unaware Solie wouldn't be able to make the taping, and ask Thatcher if he would help out as he was visiting friends at the taping, he even had to borrow a suit from Tony Falk.

 

- This is the biggest indication that Southeastern won't be renewed in March, we believe Solie finished up his Florida gig in the morning and then was either in with Jim Crockett at a show in North Carolina or at the WMC-5 studio with Jerry Jarrett, looking at their operation. This will only add fuel to the Fuller-Turner fire.

 

- If Turner is to pull Southeastern, Fuller has a back up plan to cover his extra over heads he pick up when expanding. He's been in contact with Ron Wright and his old East Tennessee territory All Star Wrestling, it's believe Fuller will be moving into East Tennessee with Wright and Phil Hickerson heading up that side of the territory. Ron Wright who was a massive star in the 50, 60s and 70s knows the East Tennessee area inside out. We are unaware of the territory will be split like pre 1980.

[kevinmcfl]

Memphis News

 

-It seems the Continental Wrestling Association is trying its best to keep up with the times and get a national TV contract. Jerry Jarrett has been in meetings with many major players in the cable industry including WTBS and Ted Turner. Ted Turner is believed to love the current roster but wants the CWA to move its headquarters to Atlanta.

 

-If Turner and Jarrett reach an agreement, what will become of the CWA/AWA Alliance. Everyone knows that Georgia is an NWA town but the CWA and especially Lawler have been unhappy with the actions and lack of respect of both the NWA and its champion Ric Flair. If CWA goes fully NWA, it is rumored Lawler wants out!

 

Lawler is actually in negotiations with Jarrett himself to buy part of the company. If this happens, it would be hard pressed seeing it move away from the King's hometown. Lawler says he wants in now because of the bright future of the CWA. He says he has never seen 4 rookie wrestlers like Bam Bam Bigelow, Shane Douglas, Steve Simpson and Wendell Cooley in one place at one time.

 

-Many of the wrestlers have also heard this rumor and are upset about possible travel issues. TBS is centered in Atlanta but the major show for CWA is a weekly program in the Mid-South Coliseum in Memphis.

 

Tony Atlas was overheard complaining about recent remarks by Rocky Johnson up in the Detroit area. These two former partners seem lucky that they are separated by some 500 miles. Let's see if they can stay away from each other or will this feud turn hot.

 

-Ernie Ladd seems to be up to his old tricks again. He has angered everyone from Troy Graham to Butch Reed of late. Will his size and athleticism allow him to keep running his mouth or is his age keeping up with him.

 

-It is true, Jarrett has signed Baron Von Raschke and The Spoiler. This might have something to do with Ted Turner and Georgia as they were recently major players in Georgia Championship Wrestling. Jarrett might be trying to bring back some of the old talent to entice Turner and reignite the Georgia Wrastlin Scene as it has been quiet of late.

 

It seems that the CWA's next big event, St. Valentine's Eve Massacre on Feb 13th will bring back some Memphis favorites. Stay tuned for more details.

[kevinmcfl]

Memphis News

There are rumors that Jerry Jarrett was very upset at Ric Flair for his lack of respect that he showed Jerry Lawler and the CWA Championship Belt when he was here for Night of Dreams on Jan 16. Jarrett is trying to figure out a way to get revenge on the Champ in his next appearance in the CWA which is scheduled for Feb 13th at the Mid-South Coliseum.

 

It is also believed that the Kansas Jayhawks may have bitten off more then they can chew with their big mouths and attempts to injury wrestlers. As of now, they are scheduled to face Troy Graham and Sweet Brown Sugar on Feb 13th but their may be a Major fill in for their NWA Mid-American Tag Championship. We should find out on the TV show on Feb 11th.

 

Many find it interesting that Plowboy Frazier would choose Sir Oliver Humperdink as his opponent on Feb 13th, especially in a no DQ match. Doesn't he know this will give the entire House of Humperdink free rain to attack him.

 

It seems that Jarrett has Ernie Ladd involved in 2 huge angles. First is the mask bounty he has on The Dream Machine and second is his recent problems with Hacksaw Reed. Is Lad young enough to handle all of this or is Jarrett trying to force him out by overworking him.

 

Now you ask, why force Ladd out. Maybe Jarrett is still in contract talks with Ted Turner. Hacksaw Reed could be the lead figure in Georgia but it might not work if he is so closely linked to Ladd who seems to have no interest of moving to Atlanta.

[LowBlowPodcast]

-Bill Watts recently sat down and address Mid South Wrestling and it's future. He covered the following topics...

 

The Supdome Show on February 4th

-Without a doubt it will be the biggest show in the history of Mid South. The most people we've ever had in the Superdome is 28,000 when the Junkyard Dog defeated Michael Hayes in a Dog Collar Cage Match. He said that JYD and Dibiase are putting everything on the line for this show and only one man will be around the next day.

 

Mid South Wrestlers going to Japan

-I have working relationships with Inoki and Baba. I've got some real talented guys going over there and the exposure is great. It shows the true star power of Mid South Wrestling.

 

The recent talks of WTBS and it's wrestling programming

-I think it is absolutely absurd. You talk about a national television company, one of the biggest in the country just flip flopping every 3 months. Everyone who comes in drops out quicker than a hiccup. I dare say that Turner has absolutely no clue what the hell is going on with the programming. If he ever wakes up and wants something consistent with the top stars in the country, tell him to give me a call. It is too bad the good people of Georgia have to suffer through this kind of malarkey.

 

The recent talks of Mid South running in New York

-We simply went to New York to talk about programming. There is absolutely no talks of Mid South traveling East. With the states we have, and the big addition of Texas, we have got plenty on our plate and are more visible now than ever before.

 

Talks of running Texas Stadium

-Even with the weather and our current product, it would be difficult to run a stadium show like that after we invest so much into the Superdome. You are talking almost 50,000... that would be a goal of ours down the line and we are going to do our best on February 4th to pack the Superdome.

 

Vince McMahon's role in Mid South

-Vince McMahon is working with me as the head of talent relations. He and I work together with talent coming in and contracts. With our recent expansion, my role has been diversified elsewhere. He has done a great job picking up that role. He gets help from Jim Ross who also helps Joel with production on both Power Pro and our Sunday and Monday loop shows.

 

The signing of Gino Hernandez

-I think Gino Hernandez is one of the best wrestlers in the world today. He comes at a very high price and rightfully so. We don't have anything locked in full-time yet, but we're still negotiating those terms.

 

The future of Mid South

-I am very happy with what we've done moving out to Texas. Like I said with New York, we are looking to get programming throughout the country in some major markets. Vince McMahon has done a great job calling in and getting meetings in New York, Chicago, Philadelphia, Boston, Los Angeles. We just want to get programming and possible down the line look at some shows here and there.