Dirt Sheets

[GeneJackson95]

News out of Memphis

 

Word is that the masked man that has been attacking Jerry Lawler at recent events is actually Ricky Vaughn (Lance Brisco) however when the reveal finally happens it will not actually be him, he's just a place holder for someone who is coming in....speculation is that it will in fact turn out to be Tommy Rich, however it's been said it may be someone else that will be debuting soon in the CWA.

 

Despite being involved in a hot feud with the Honky Tonk Man, rumor has it that "Superstar" Bill Dundee may be gone from the territory soon because he's there on loan and that loan my be ending sooner than expected.

 

A new tag team the Invaders will be debuting this week in the CWA, while promoters will be alluding that this is the well known tag team from Puerto Rico, it's actually going to be Brian Adias and Al Madril under the masks....it's unknown how long they will be doing this gimmick with the masks.

 

Leatherface (Rick Patterson) has not gotten the desired reaction from the live crowds and promoter Jerry Jarrett may be making a change with him pretty quickly.

 

Jerry Jarrett is said to be quite happy with the recent development with Vince McMahon starting the World Wrestling Federation, it's been said that Jarrett has reached a deal with McMahon to bring in talent that will be appearing on their nationwide television to appear on cards in Memphis and he also hopes to get Lawler, Idol, and others national exposure by getting them appearances on WWF TV once it's up and running.

[LowBlowPodcast]

WWF TAPINGS

After around 5 hours of television tapings, I can safely say that the WWF is back in order. There were a couple of matches that had to be re-taped, but the crowd was solid throughout the night in Hershey. They were treated to a special non-televised main event with Randy Savage and Ricky Steamboat taking on Roddy Piper and Ted Dibiase which sent everyone home happy.

 

In terms of the tapings, Challenge was first and saw Gorilla and Bobby come out and provide some commentary during the contests and work the crowd. Gino Hernandez, Krusher Kruschev, Bret Hart, Jim Neidhart, and the Barbarian were featured on Challenge. For Superstars, Vince and Jesse came out for the same shtick as Monsoon and Heenan. We saw Brian Blair, Jim Brunzell, Sgt. Slaughter, Bob Orton Jr, Dick Slater, and then a big main event with Hacksaw Duggan taking on Hercules.

 

Vince was pretty happy after the tapings and looks forward to the feedback when the shows air this week on Saturday and Sunday. The groups were all treated to a big dinner as everyone on the roster was present during the tapings as a formal kick off party. The WWF hits the road Wednesday with shows in Utica and Osweo, then Glen Falls and White Plains on Thursday, and then Long Island and Bighamton on Friday. They have a joint show set up for the Meadowlands on Saturday night and then Madison Square Garden on Sunday. It is going to be a huge first week for the WWF as they kick things off in grand fashion.

 

DEVELOPMENTAL SCHEME

Vince Jr is going to take a page from his father and open up the books to promotions throughout the country to showcase young talent on WWF programming. The developmental scheme was hashed by Vince Sr in the fall of 1983 and worked out well and Vince Jr is going to do the same type of deal. Individuals can come in for television tapings for 2 months on Tuesdays and be involved in a couple of lower profile wins before going up against heavier talent. If the individuals catch fire, they will be given more time and possibly bookings on the weekends for the super shows, if they aren't then they will just be used on television and finish up their 2 month runs. For any young wrestler, this would be a great opportunity for someone to get 8 WWF Nationally Syndicated contests under his belt. We will see if McMahon gets any takers.

 

WWF WORLD TITLE

No word on the title situation but some have said Vince has something BIG planned for the World Title. On some of the preliminary cards, I saw that IC title being held up with Ricky Steamboat (former champion) taking on Gino Hernandez. The tag titles are going to be decided this Sunday in Madison Square Garden. The World Title was last held by Nick Bockwinkel, so no word on if they will continue that or if they will go in another route.

 

WHO'S THE ACE?

In a very weird turn of events, Randy Savage was pushed as a major babyface during the television tapings. He was last seen in the WWF feuding with Ricky Steamboat over the IC title. Then in the NWA he was a heel and US Heavyweight Champion. This is an interesting TURN of events if you will. He was pushed HARD against Ted Dibiase for the house show tour. Ricky Steamboat (former/current IC Champion?) was also pushed HARD on the shows against Gino Hernandez. Who is the clear #1 for the WWF? Steamboat or Savage? Vince is rolling the dice with both of these guys to see just who will end up as number one. On the flip side, Ted Dibiase (who was just face in Mid South, successfully may I add), Roddy Piper, and Gino Hernandez were all pushed as the top heels. These guys along with Heenan managing Bundy and Rude... it could be interesting. The WWF is deep right now and the sharks are hungry. Who will come out on top?

[rainmakerrtv]

It's been been a roller coaster week in the AWA, but it looks like things have turned around for the mid-west promotion. After the news that they were not able to sign a new contract with former champion Hulk Hogan, word has trickled back that they were able to cut a deal with another promotion to pick up Hogan's option, in exchange for sending a major talent their way. This, along with the rumor of a major talent deal with the newly re-opened PNW territory, seems to have provided the AWA with the leverage they needed to finally close the long in the works deal with ESPN. That's right, they have finally closed the deal and from here on in, AWA All-Star Wrestling will be broadcast nation wide in the sports cable channel. This will definitely help expand the AWA and help re-establish them after all of the recent changes.

[SirEdger]

Lutte Internationale News

 

-Paul Christy suffered an injury in the first week of action for Lutte Internationale. The injury happened during his match with George "The Animal" Steele but it wasn't thought to be too serious so Christy decided to work through it. However, he reaggravated it in a dark match following the first taping (the 6-Men Tag in which David Schultz was introduced) and will not be able to work the upcoming shows. Christy is expected to be sidelined until mid-September.

 

-As noticed on this week's episode of Lutte Internationale, "Dr. D" David Schultz made his debut in the Montreal territory. Schultz is currently on loan from USWA and will work in Montreal until mid-September. Expect Schultz to be involved in a significant program during his stint with Lutte Internationale. As for Fidel Sierra, he has been loaned to the USWA in exchange for Schultz's loan but Sierra could be loaned to the USWA for a longer period.

 

-Finally, it was announced that Dino Bravo will be wrestling "Eddie Creatchman's surprise" on the July 5 supercard at the Montreal Forum. No name has leaked yet on the identity of this wrestler but it will be a very big name as Lutte Internationale wanted Dino Bravo to be involved in a top program for their first Forum supercard.

[JPrice]

PNW News and Rumors

 

The Hart Brothers are not very happy with their move to Portland. Everyone thought the move would be good for Wayne because of his altercation with his father. Time will tell but it seems that neither Bruce or Wayne is happy in the Pacific Northwest.

 

A future trade seems to be in the works with the AWA. We will keep an eye open for any details.

 

The Pretty Young Things seem ready to come in and take over the tag team division. Paul Ellering and his men along with the Hart Brothers might have something to say about this.

 

Starting Monday night, we will have our first show from the Portland Sports Arena.

 

PNW will be supporting the local armories around the turn.

 

The Hot Rod, Roddy Piper will be here on Monday.

 

Dr. Jerry Graham has been hanging around his friend from the Michigan area, Bulldog Don Kent.

[JHawk]

WWA News

 

Overall the feedback has been phenomenal for the 45-minute marathon match that saw Harley Race win the Missouri Heavyweight Title. I enjoyed the match myself as it was an interesting concept but felt it could have used a few more falls.

 

The plan for Nick Bockwinkel's new manager to be revealed has been pushed back at least two weeks.

 

Eddie Gilbert is not actually injured but will in fact be working for the USWA. Blackjack Mulligan coming in is part of the agreement to bring him in.

 

I'm hearing the Central States Tag Team Tournament will feature a total of 11 teams, covering several weeks of TV. There was talk of a USA Network special for the finals but that will depend on the availability of a building on fairly short notice.

[agentofenton]

Mid Atlantic Championship Wrestling News

 

Quite the roster shakeup weeks ago in MACW. Two of the top acts finished up at the TV Taping on May 31. Randy Savage and the Fabulous Freebirds left the promotion (As did Ricky Steamboat). New faces have arrived and some favorites in MACW has stepped up to take the top positions right now. Barry Windham and Sam Houston are on top of the cards being the single's champions right now.

 

A lot of speculation over this "Mr. Money" since he has arrived. Sources say he will be revealed at the end of the month. Most likely as a drawing point for the Mid Atlantic Mayhem event on June 30.

 

The Rock 'n Roll Express' time in MACW looks to be winding down. The agreement that had them here is ending at the end of the month.

 

Junkyard Dog is also finishing up commitments this month. He is only working TV tapings and the June 30th card.

 

Bruiser Brody will be at TVs leading into the June 30th show.

 

With the addition of the second TV show, the locker room is working hard to make these shows better. Most guys are on TV in some form each week, or at least their angle's are on TV, which helps everyone.

 

The June 30th show doesn't have a ton of press around it right now, as the big roster shake up earlier in the month made for some interesting story telling, and advancing of stories. However, the next couple of TV tapings should be a good push to generate more interest.

[LowBlowPodcast]

WWF NEWS

Reports are coming out of the WWF that Vince McMahon has been VERY positive of the return of the WWF. The market is strong right now and the company has been happy with attendance numbers on their first route through the territory. The WWF plans to visit these towns once every month and a half along with keeping up the weekend cycle to hit those towns almost monthly. With the two split shows, it has been good to see nice houses at each and the boys are getting a little break when it comes to Mondays and televisions.

 

Television ratings have been good thus far with Superstars being a hit. Wrestling Challenge is going against Saturday morning cartoons, but the WWF is looking to amp up the show and make it "must see" in the future. Gorilla Monsoon and Bobby Heenan are doing most of the post production work from Stamford during the week while Jesse Ventura and Vince McMahon do their post production during the television tapings. There is even talk of expanding the shows to 90-minutes after the summer run if the shows continue to show progress.

 

The two show loops have been successful and capitalized on some hot feuds in the WWF. One interesting thing is that Randy Savage vs Ted Dibiase was swapped to the A shows and Ricky Steamboat vs Killer Khan was dropped to the B show for next week's loop. No word on why, but with Dibiase vs Savage in a Cage and Steamboat vs Khan in a Texas Death, perhaps the houses will be popped due to the gimmick.

 

WWF will be going into Houston next week and there are some serious mixed feelings. The local line up shows a Texas Death Match with Killer Khan vs Ricky Steamboat, Roddy Piper vs Andre the Giant, Tag Titles 2/3 Falls Williams and Rotundo challenging The Russians, and a big six-man with Dibiase, Studd, & Bundy vs Savage, Hillbilly Jim, & Uncle Elmer. We will see how the crew stacks up with the USWA likely to run something in the area the night before or going head to head in San Antonio.

 

Expansion is the word and Vince McMahon already has his eyes set on moving in to Ohio. McMahon currently has a loop through the Northeast with Connecticut, New Hampshire, Vermont, Maine, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Maryland, New York, and Pennsylvania in the loop and McMahon is looking to move father into Ohio and possibly into West Virginia. Word has it that McMahon has already sought out some "Southeastern Regional Talent" if you will who could come in and help the WWF draw in those areas.

 

Expect the World Title Tournament to be the focus of the WWF throughout the month of July as it stats on the 21st in Toronto. It will last 4 weeks, culminating in Madison Square Garden (of course). I am told that McMahon will announce four more names this week on Superstars and then eight more over the next two weeks to finalize. No word on the bracket yet either as they are keeping this VERY close to the chest.

[SirEdger]

Lutte Internationale News

 

-The atmosphere backstage is said to be very positive, following the WWF and Lutte Internationale joint show at the Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto on Saturday night. Promoter Frank Valois was especially grateful to Vince McMahon for giving Rick Martel an Intercontinental Championship run and he believes this will tremendously boost the prestige of the Montreal territory. Valois is also very happy with the exposure that his top stars like Greg Valentine, the Rougeau Brothers & Dino Bravo have gotten on the show. The feedback was also positive about the tag team match featuring the Caribbean Connection and Frenchy's Legion and Valois is open to further this working relationship with WWF in the future.

 

-Lutte Internationale is looking to bring in women's wrestling as special attractions for 2 TV dates in the month of July. The main objective for this decision was to bring out Vivian Vachon out of retirement to work those 2 dates. Vachon was contacted but declined Lutte Internationale's offer, stating that she's in a good place right now. Some people backstage close to Vivian believe that she would've only come back if her brothers Maurice & Paul would work the shows but given their contractual status with Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling, it is currently impossible. Lutte Internationale will proceed anyway, feeling there are enough good drawing women names to generate a buzz for these 2 TV dates. Women are expected to appear on the July 14 and July 28 episodes of Lutte Internationale TV.

 

-Finally, Lutte Internationale will test run some gimmick matches in their house show loops to see what would and would not work with the fans in the territory. Some plans have already been made for specific dates to use those special stipulations and depending on the crowd's response, Lutte Internationale will use those gimmick matches on more important dates like the Montreal Forum supercards or the Quebec City shows at the Colisée.

[LowBlowPodcast]

WWF ON MSG NETWORK

-The WWF will be taping a special MSG event on Sunday around 2pm and it will air at 8pm Eastern time. There is said to be a huge card lined up including Killer Khan's Open Challenge, Randy Savage vs Roddy Piper, Andre the Giant, Tony Atlas, & Hacksaw Duggan vs Ted Dibiase, Big John Studd, & King Kong Bundy, Rick Martel defending the IC title against Rick Rude, and The Russians defending the Tag Titles against the Brisco Brothers (Jack and Jerry). Gorilla Monsoon and Jesse Ventura will be there broadcast the show and there is a lot of excitement regarding the show.

 

RICKY STEAMBOAT

-Steamboat is said to be out of the WWF over contract negotiations or rights to use his character. Some wondered if Vince and company were as on board with him or Randy Savage being the figurehead of the WWF while some don't think either man is fit to the task at this point. No word on where Steamboat will end up but the WWF has heard offers for his contract.

 

BRISCO BROTHERS

-A lot of surprised faces to see Jack and Jerry Brisco pop up in the WWF this weekend. Word has it that the Briscos were brought in to help the WWF expansion southward into the Carolinas and Virginias. Word has it they were promised a big opportunity for money but we'll see if they remain a team or if they will be split up and the WWF will capitalize on Jack's NWA past.

[kevinmcfl]

USWA NEWS:

 

-There are rumors that Ted Turner is hoping to expand more into the gulf states than just Florida and Louisiana. He is also having research done into the New Mexico and Arizona area. It is unsure is the eastern expansion would center around Eddie Graham. It is no secret that Turner would love to rejoin with Robert Fuller and feels that Southeastern Championship Wrestling did not give TBS a fair shot. There are also rumors that if there was a western expansion that Fritz would be the man there and it might include a brand name change to USWA: Southwest.

 

-Behind the scenes it is rumored that Mr. Wrestling II is not happy playing the heel manager role that he has fufilled as of late. He knows that he is at the end of his career and would like to leave hearing the cheers of the crowd.

 

- Ernie Ladd is also at the end of his career and the company is ubsure what direction to go with him. They may use him as a manger, bodyguard type or a TV commentator. There is also talk of one last run in the ring and they are unsure if that would be as a heel or a babyface.

 

-The company is unsure what direction to take Curt Hennig in. Since losing Baby Doll back to her old promotion, Hennig has just been kind of hanging in the wind. There has been talk that he may even be put on the trading block which would mean the Texas portion of the USWA would need a new champion.

 

-There also seems to be a problem with the violence of Kevin Sullivan and his Army of Darkness. Turner is concerned that his character may not fit a national promotion. He s also listening to offers on Sullivan.

[agentofenton]

Mid Atlantic Championship Wrestling

 

Mayhem got a pretty good review from around the territory. Some were disappointed in the time limit draw for the main event, but with a talent like Bruiser Brody, its hard to get a real finish that everyone can agree on.

 

Junkyard Dog is officially gone from MACW, as he finished up his last date on June 30th. Speaking of, The Rock 'n Roll Express are also gone from MACW as they finished up their 90-day run at Mayhem as well. Sources close to the office are saying that some roster shakeups are coming. We recently saw that Mr. Money unveiled himself to be Tully Blanchard when he became the NWA Television Champion. More guys will be leaving the territory and a few rather big names are on their way in soon. A real surprising name will be coming in around August, and this has the office excited and nervous on how to use him correctly with the time they have.

 

Recently a conversation was had between the Crockett's and officials with the USWA, and it was agreed to let MACW start running shows in the Georgia area, specifically Atlanta and using The Omni. Crockett's are already promoting a big debut there on Monday, July 30th. The few days before that will be the debut in other areas of Georgia, starting with a TV taping on July 26th in Augusta. This is a huge gain for Mid Atlantic. This has had the office re-work the weekly touring schedule now. Each week the company will tour a state. With 4 states, and plenty of good towns to work, they have a 5-day touring schedule for each state. North Carolina has such a hot schedule, they may use 6 towns in the rotation. But the office is really happy with this development. The Omni goes perfectly with the Charlotte Coliseum, the Greensboro Coliseum, and the Scope as major venues.

 

Word has it that MACW officials have signed a deal with a local video distributor to release limited edition VHS video cassettes for purchase through PWI Magazine of the Closed Circuit events. This is based on a lot of requests at local events to relive the experience live. MACW wasn't sold on the idea at first, but they are willing to spend a little money to see what comes of it.

 

Speaking of Closed Circuit events, heels off the latest one presented by MACW, the announcement that the next one will be September 29th at the Richmond Coliseum. The company was excited to make this announcement as it means the closed circuit events are doing well. One each quarter is the goal going forward, which has worked well thus far. MACW is already looking ahead to Starrcade on Christmas Day from the Greensboro Coliseum. That will also be shown on Closed Circuit television, but as it is an NWA presentation, this will be shown all across the country. NWA officials have already sent out feelers and booking venues all over to show the huge Christmas day event.

 

Magnum TA is set to be pushed heavily into the main event picture, as seen recently with his main event tag team matches last weekend. Tully and Barry aren't finished yet, as they will at least be programmed until the debut Atlanta show. Tully's push has been well received by the office. The fans hate him, which means they will pay money at the house shows to see him get his ass kicked. Barry Windham has been the rock of the MACW, wrestling every weekend, main event matches and having the fans behind him. They want to push him as a single's star, which had lead to questions of what will happen with Kendall going forward? Thus far, on TV he's disappeared, but on the house shows they have been teaming. The office likes the multiman main events, as it keeps angles going forward, but keeps everyone going in the right direction as well.

 

That's all for this time, folks.

[LowBlowPodcast]

WWF NEWS

 

World Title Tournament

-There is said to be a lot of excitement about the tournament over the next couple of weeks. Opening round matches will take place on 7/21 in Toronto and 7/22 in Philadelphia. The second round will be on 7/28 in Houston and 7/29 in Los Angeles. The Semi Finals will be on 8/4 in East Rutherford and then the finals the next day, 8/5 in New York at Madison Square Garden. Some don't see the value in marketing a world title match with no participants but the WWF solidly believes that the show will draw and will start to build the undercard up as soon as wrestlers are dropped from the tournament.

 

New Faces

-There are a lot of new faces coming around in the WWF. Masked Superstar is back with the company following a lengthy run in Japan. Superstar still has Japanese dates but will continue to have a home in the WWF when he comes back. The Dynamite Kid also returned to the company and is expected to join up with Davey Boy Smith as the British Bulldogs. Superfly Jimmy Snuka also returned to the promotion and signed a contract. He was already on the road this week in Six-Man Tags and looks to be a prominent part of the future. Jimmy Hart was signed as the 4th manager on the roster. Some feel as though that is too much but many agree with the old school concept of every heel has a manager. No word on who Hart will manage but Bob Orton Jr is expected to be a big name on the block. Dory Funk Jr and Nick Bockwinkel were also around WWF offices but neither has yet to signed a contract. Some has said that Bockwinkel refuses to sign due to him being the former WWF Champion and Vince Jr not recognizing it. Dory may not sign due to some complications with his independent Amarillo promotion. The WWF also signed two young enhancement talents, Marty Jannetty and Shawn Michaels. They are said to be good looking young kids who will make heels look like monsters and have some work to do before they can go on their own.

 

WWF & Lutte

-The WWF is said to be very happy with their Lutte International agreement. The Maple Leaf Garden show this weekend is already sold out. Word has it that Vince McMahon is looking to put together a closed circuit joint show or something to be able to put on tape. McMahon is said to be high on putting together a special gimmick show... but nothing has come from that yet.

 

WWF & Memphis

-Vince McMahon also met with Jerry Jarrett this week and talked about some possibilities to sharing talent. Word has it that even Jimmy Hart may go right to Memphis instead of coming up the WWF. Some believe that Jerry Jarrett is high on getting Jerry Lawler on WWF television to give CWA a rub, but word on the other side is that McMahon won't do it as long as they are associated with the USWA with whom McMahon views as competition.

[SirEdger]

Lutte Internationale News

 

-Obviously, the biggest news coming out of Lutte Internationale lately is the arrival of numerous big names in the territory, including "Hotstuff" Eddie Gilbert, the Midnight Express of Dennis Condrey & Randy Rose, Sherri Martel, Alexis Smirnoff and the returning Fidel Sierra, who had been loaned to the USWA. It is expected that Sherri Martel will join Eddie Gilbert once again as Gilbert is slated to be one of the top heels in the territory and should slowly be written in TV programs very soon. Sherri will make her official debut on July 28 as she was already scheduled to compete as part of the special Women's tag team attraction scheduled that week.

 

-The Midnight Express should also have a prominent role on TV upon their arrival as the office is really confident that Jim Cornette's mic ability will put them over huge. It's not far-fetched to expect them to eventually feud with the Rougeau Brothers after their current program. However, the arrival of the Midnight Express also means a certain imbalance in teams' alignment so a face turn should be expected and people might be surprised to see who will become good guys.

 

-As for Alexis Smirnoff, word going around is that he'll be probably paired with Frenchy Martin as part of Frenchy's Legion and reprise his Michel "Justice" Dubois character that he used in the territory before working in the United States. As for Fidel Sierra, it looks like he'll be involved with Carlos Colon & Chicky Starr in some capacity.

 

-Expect an outside name to make his debut in Lutte Internationale in the month of August and will stick around for a couple of months afterwards. This outside name could very well be feuding over the International TV Championship with Gino Brito during his stint in Montreal.

 

-The Masked Cowboys angle is generating a lot of buzz in the Montreal territory and lots of fans have been writing in to the Lutte Internationale offices, demanding for promoter Frank Valois to book the Rougeaus vs the Cowboys, in the hopes to finally unmask them. The identities of the Masked Cowboys will be revealed shortly and it is expected to generate a lot of talk once it happens.

 

-Finally, the feedback have been very good for the joint WWF house shows in Toronto as well as the house show events in Joliette & Matagami over the last weekend. While Lutte Internationale is mostly focusing on Montreal, Quebec City & Toronto for their weekly shows, more dates should be added for the fall in Quebec, Ontario and probably a few dates in the Maritimes as well.

[GeneJackson95]

CWA News

 

Jerry Jarrett is working alongside Ron Fuller and has worked out a deal for 'Jarrett Promotions' to run 'Southeastern Wrestling' shows in Birmingham and some of the other old Southeastern towns. There will be a TV show that airs in the market hosted by Charlie Platt and Joe Pedicino. To avoid bringing in a bunch of extra talent to fill out tournaments...Buddy Landel has been brought in as the 'Southeastern Champion', The Rock & Roll Express will debut in Memphis as the "Southeastern Tag Team Champions' and "Exotic" Adrian Street will come in as the U.S. Jr. Heavyweight Champion. The show will use guys from the CWA roster as well as some talent on loan from the USWA as well.

 

Jarrett has been in talks with Vince McMahon Jr. about working together and allowing WWF talent to come down and work the CWA territory to get "tuned up" for the WWF. Some big things have been discussed down the line however, Jarrett is still very happy with his working agreement with the USWA and isn't ready to cut ties with them so it remains to be seen how this will all play out since Jerry Lawler is the currently the USWA World Champion. Jarrett says he has something huge in store this week which will really shake things up with the NWA and the USWA. He's currently being tight lipped about it but says all will be revealed this Saturday morning on CWA television.

[LowBlowPodcast]

WWF News

 

-A very interesting weekend for the WWF as the World Heavyweight Title tournament started along with another joint promotion with Lutte International. Vince McMahon is very excited about these joint shows and the WWF sees this as a smart business move for the foreseeable future.

 

INs & OUTs

 

-Gene Okerlund made his debut in the WWF over the week as he was in the event center. It looks like the WWF made some sort of a deal for him out of the AWA.

 

-The Masked Superstar has returned to the WWF and looks to be receiving a major push. He is primed to be a number one contender for the World Championship.

 

-Dynamite Kid is back in the WWF and has immediately been rejoined with Davey Boy Smith. The Bulldogs except to be a major team in the future.

 

-Jimmy Hart has signed a deal with the company.... no word on who he will be managing as of yet.

 

-Jimmy Snuka also returned to the WWF. He was already on tour teaming with Hogan and Atlas against the Heenan Family.

 

-Hector and Mando Guerrero are going to be coming into the WWF as a team in the future. No word on if Chavo will join them down the line.

 

-Rick Rude has been released from his contract. Management felt wanted to see if he could get some more seasoning before coming back in.

 

-Even though they will be on television tomorrow, William Regal & The Missing Link will be off television. They shot a double angle in the main event for Superstars to take both men off television.

 

WWF on the Road

 

-The WWF has just signed a deal with the Kiel Auditorium to put out television tapings there once every five weeks. Word coming out of the WWF is that they would like to sign one more town for television tapings but it may not happen until 1985. They would like to have a 6 town loop to help with markets in the Mid-West. There is no talk of the WWF holding live shows in the area yet, but it could happen with the roster continuing to grow.

 

WWF on the Networks

 

-The WWF has signed a deal with the PRISM Network to show some of the Philadelphia house shows. This along with the Madison Square Garden shows on the MSG Network. Word coming through is that the shows from the Meadowlands may also be aired as specials. If the WWF is able to add in two more major towns, every show from MSG and Philly would be televised but the companies feel that once a month is a good start but they would like every 5 weeks to separate out due to other sports broadcasts.

[rainmakerrtv]

While the debut of Ricky Steamboat at the AWA's Independence Day show at the Metrodome has generated a lot of excitement, insiders have reported that the circumstances behind his winning the Southern title. Word has it that, in the days leading up to the show, there was some question as to whether then AWA Southern champion "Playboy" Buddy Rose (as well as Rip Oliver and Ed Wiskowski) would renew his contract with the AWA, With this in mind, arrangements were hastily made to move the belt from Rose to Steamboat, in case talks with Rose fell apart. In the end, Rose and his friends did reach an agreement with the AWA and the back office consider this a win-win situation, gaining a high profile debut for Steamboat while still keeping the always controversial "Playboy".

[I Broke Bruno's Neck]

Pacific Northwest News:

 

​Don Owen seems very pleased at the reaction they have received after running the first 2 weeks or so. They want to run 5/6 days a week within by the Holidays.

 

​The plan for the Spoiler is that he agreed to come in as long as he was paired with Lou Albano. Spoiler has had some issues with his throat and doesn't want to do any Promos until whatever wrong clears up.

 

​It's expected that Bobby Jaggers & Eric Embry will be a team for a long while. The promotion won't put them in a long term program with anyone, until they can bring in a more established Babyface team.

 

​There's talk of doing a brother vs. brother angle with either Steve & Scott Armstrong or Jay & Mark Youngblood. Everything will hinge on who they will be able to attract into the Promotion after a brief closedown.

 

​Don Owen would love to bring back some old faces ( Buddy Rose, Rip Oliver, Buzz Sawyer). Billy Jack might not be a name of that list, since He seems to have Heat with everyone he worked with.

 

​When it comes down to the veterans in the Promotion, it will be as we said earlier, who else comes on in. The big idea is that Jonathan Boyd will become the Babyface equal to Lou Albano. Boyd might take on a young team to give them credibility. Jack Lanza is only to be in for around 2 months or so don't expect a big push for him. He will be here to put other talent over.

 

There talk of Tonga Kid & Koko Ware being put together as a team after the Tag Team Tournament. They are the 2 high flyers of the group.

 

Until the "right mix" is found, expect a bunch of wrestlers to get pushes and whoever gets the crowd reaction will get the better gigs.

[I Broke Bruno's Neck]

Pacific Northwest News:

 

​The plan for the Spoiler is that he agreed to come in as long as he was paired with Lou Albano. Spoiler has had some issues with his throat and doesn't want to do any Promos until whatever wrong clears up.

 

​It's expected that Bobby Jaggers & Eric Embry will be a team for a long while. The promotion won't put them in a long term program with anyone, until they can bring in a more established Babyface team.

 

​There's talk of doing a brother vs. brother angle with either Steve & Scott Armstrong or Jay & Mark Youngblood. Everything will hinge on who they will be able to attract into the Promotion after a brief closedown.

 

​Don Owen would love to bring back some old faces ( Buddy Rose, Rip Oliver, Buzz Sawyer). Billy Jack might not be a name of that list, since He seems to have Heat with everyone he worked with.

 

​When it comes down to the veterans in the Promotion, it will be as we said earlier, who else comes on in. The big idea is that Jonathan Boyd will become the Babyface equal to Lou Albano. Boyd might take on a young team to give them credibility. Jack Lanza is only to be in for around 2 months or so don't expect a big push for him. He will be here to put other talent over.

 

There talk of Tonga Kid & Koko Ware being put together as a team after the Tag Team Tournament. They are the 2 high flyers of the group.

 

Until the "right mix" is found, expect a bunch of wrestlers to get pushes and whoever gets the crowd reaction will get the better gigs.

 

[Boon]

East Tennessee

 

- Looks like we will be having wrestling back in the Tri-City area, with Ron Wright reopening his All Star Wrestling based out of Knoxville Tennessee. The territory loop will consist of three main towns (Knoxville, Kingsport and Johnson City). All areas Ron Wright knows very well from his wrestling and promoting days.

 

- All Star Wrestling will return to TV in the Tri-City in a few weeks times, former Southeastern commentator Rick Stewart will be the host and he will be joined by Les Thatcher, who will also be used as an on air match maker for the territory. Television will be taped on Saturday mornings at the Knoxville Civic Colliseum.

 

- From what we can gather, shows will be held Friday night in Johnson City, TV tapings Saturday mornings in Knoxville, Kingsports Saturday night and the weekly big show back in Knoxville at the Civic Auditorium on Mondays, with a double header of smaller shows on Sunday in Hazard and Harlan Kentucky. The rest of the week will be filled out with spots shows.

 

- Talent signed on already are Phil Hickerson, The Flame, Ken Lucas, Matt Borne, The Rock N Roll RPMs team of Tommy Lane and Mike Davis, Roy Lee Welch and Larry Hamilton. Expect more names to filter through by the end of the week.

 

- Next Monday night will see the group crown a new Heavyweight champion in an 8 man tournament. Wrestlers announced for the tournament so far are Matt Borne, The Flame, Phil Hickerson, Ken Lucas and Roy Lee Welch. The following Friday in Johnson City we will see Tag Team champions crowned with The Rock N Roll RPMs already known to be in poll position for the titles. All champions will be in place before the first TV taping.

 

- We will have more updates as the week progress's towards the big return in Knoxville a week Monday.

[kevinmcfl]

USWA NEWS

 

-The biggest news out USWA was the loss of Championship Wrestling from Florida. The USWA organization had accumulated World Class Championship Wrestling, Mid- South Wrestling and Florida as Ted Turner had put a stranglehold on the competition across much of the Southern United States but now they are scrambling to maintain what the USWA has built over the past 6 months. It is been rumored that the USWA is trying really hard to add new territories to its organization to combat the strength of the other major players in the game including the NWA, AWA and the newly rising WWF.

 

-After its major show in the Cotton Bowl, their has been major upheaval to the USWA roster. In a attempt to get younger, the board has decided not to renew such stars as Ernie Ladd, Mr. Wrestling II and the Purple Haze while bringing in Tim Horner, Chris Adams and Jake the Snake Roberts. The board of directors also loved the attention that was given to the idea of the Red Assassins as they believe Anti-Patriotic wrestlers bring in the crowds but they wanted a fresh face to run that angle. So Alexis Smirnoff and Fidel Sierra as the Red Assassins are out while the Iron Sheik is in. USWA also felt that the masked team of Super Strong Machine and the Super GIant Machine was a little too gimmicky even for wrestling so they have been released along with their manager Armand Hussein. "Playboy" Gary Hart has been brought back to World Class and will lead a stable of heels in the very near future.

 

-The Board of Directors has also seen the ratings spike since adding some beautiful women to the show. They have brought back Baby Doll and now she is heading one of the most exciting new teams in all of wrestling as USWA also signed Arn Anderson and "Beautiful" Bobby Eaton. Together they have formed the Perfect Alliance and the only discussion left in when to give them the belts. It is rumored that Baby Doll might do more then just manage. She might take her almost 6'0, 190 pound frame into the ring against MEN! USWA has also been hyping up Madusa Miceli and she might prove enough competition for Baby Doll. We will just have to wait and see.

 

-Other new stars like Robert Fuller, Rocky Johnson and Norvell Austin have been signed but their roles have yet to be determined.

 

-USWA believes Curt Hennig is a star but they have struggled to figure out his identity. For that reason he has been put out their to other organizations as trade bait.

 

-There has been some behind the scenes arguing going on between Ted Turner and both Cowboy Bill Watts and Fritz Von Erich. Turner wants the TV shows to take place in larger venues while Watts and Von Erich believe the Sportatorium and the Irish McNeils Boys Club are the perfect settings and come across perfect on television. All three agree that their needs to be better use of the World Champions and for that reason they will work together to revamp the house show schedule.

 

-There has been debates inside of USWA that it is the perfect time to expand into new areas. World Class is in discussions with places like Albuquerque, New Mexico and Kansas City, Missouri. They feel that with Wahoo MCDaniel on the roster, it would be the perfect time to head to New Mexico which has a large Native American population and with the Central States promotion, WWA, recently going under, the people of Kansas City are starved for wrestling. Also many of the WCCW stars spent a lot of time in the WWA and are family to its fan base.

 

[Boon]

East Tennessee

 

- More news coming out of Ron Wrights new promotion, although it was thought the territory would follow its former name "All Star Wrestling", that will be the television programs name. The territory will go under the name "Smoky Mountain Wrestling".

 

- Ron Wright is believed to want Smoky Mountain to be used a territory for younger stars to get over and and is looking for an affiliate territory to loan wrestlers in for 3 months at a time to help them with their development.

 

- Ron Wright has also opened up a wrestling school based in Kingsport, he's hoping to use some of the new talent on his shows. Ken Lucas is currently the head trainer with Ron Starr as his assistant.

 

- Matt Borne has signed a short term contract and is using Smoky Mountian as a stepping stone to a bigger territory. Borne morale seems to be at an all time low after not being able to get a job in a bigger territory especially considering some of the larger expanding companies have up to 45 wrestlers.

[GeneJackson95]

CWA NEWS

 

Big news ouf of the CWA this week as there has been a HUGE falling out between the NWA and Jarrett Promotions. Jerry Jarrett revealed to one of our sources that the NWA was highly upset with the signing of the TITLE VS. TITLE match with Lawler's USWA World Title against Ric Fiair's NWA World Title, so upset to the point that they almost called the match off the day of the show, Jarrett was on the phone right up until bell time getting it worked out for the match to happen and at one point Flair left the Mid South Coliseum and was said to be headed to the airport to leave town. Lawler personally went and sat down with Flair and assured him everything was on the level and they didn't intend to pull anything underhanded. Eventually the match went off without a hitch as agreed but in Jarrett's mind the damage had been done. It's expected on this week's live television Jarrett will announce the CWA and Jarrett Promotions have parted ways with the NWA and will now be part of the USWA and will only recognize the USWA World Championships. Jarrett will remain the owner of the territory and the USWA will pretty function in the same manner as the NWA did for the the CWA.

 

Rick Patterson (Leatherface) apparently walked out of the company after having to put over Jerry Lawler on a house show, Patterson left the arena after the show and did not show up for TV on Saturday morning nor did he show up for the Coliseum show on Monday night so a last minute decision was made to move the titles to the Hillbillies, it's not likely they will be long term champions. It's unsure what the plan for Lord Humongous is, it's likely he will end up on the Southeastern cards.

 

A lot of new talent has been brought in to take part in the new Southeastern end of the territory in Alabama and Mississippi. Some CWA talent will work both the "Memphis" end of the territory and the "Birmingham" end of the territory but most of the talent will be kept seperate. Ole Anderson has been hired both to wrestle and book the Southeastern shows as well while Ron Fuller will manage the day to day operations of the promotion under the direction of Jerry Jarrett. It's been said they will be filming a Southeastern Television show at the WTVY Studio in Dothan, Alabama on Wednesday mornings and doing a house show in Birmingham on Wednesday nights and various arenas on Friday nights.

[kevinmcfl]

USWA NEWS

 

-The biggest news out of the USWA is that they are in contact with both Ron Fuller and Jeff Jarrett as they are trying to bring CWA and Southeastern Championship Wrestling into the USWA organization. If all goes well, the sting of losing Florida will be much less and all believe that along with World Class and Mid-South, the USWA will have the best roster in all of professional wrestling.

 

-There has been a lot of back room talks about what to do with the USWA World Championship. It appeared that the next title run would come from a baby face like Kerry Von Erich, Dusty Rhodes or maybe even Tommy Rich again but with the apparent turn of Lawler to fan favorite, the next champion has become a huge debate among the board.

 

- With all the great tag teams in the USWA like the Sheepherders, The Fabulous Ones, Arn and Eaton etc..., the USWA board has decided that it would like to change the USWA National Tag Team Championship, the second belt in the organization, to the USWA WORLD SIX MAN CHAMPIONSHIP. This will only less clutter in the division as groups like the Von Erichs and The Freebirds, the House of Humperdink or any other faction to compete in their own division.

 

-Speaking of The Sheepherders and The Perfect Alliance (Arn and Bobby), the USWA is interested to see how much heat this heel on heel war can get. They may look to loan one away for a short period of time or move one to one of the other USWA territories. We will just have to see what the fans think as they will make the final decision here.

 

-The USWA will start to promote its next super card this week which would be on Labor Day. It would be perfect if the CWA does in fact join the USWA as it would be wonderful to hold this event in the Mid-South Coliseum in Memphis.

 

- The USWA has given up all ties to Georgia and Atlanta. With that being the case, it will be very interesting to see what happens with WTBS. The Ted Turner owned station is based out of Atlanta and it is unsure if he wants to continue the relationship with the USWA if Atlanta is not one of their tour stops. Along those lines, USWA has the rights to Gordon Solie but with Jim Ross and Bill Mercer currently announcing the two USWA promotions, Solie, the announcing king of wrestling, is currently without work since Championship Wrestling from Florida closed. Could their be a deal in the works to send Solie to MACW which just acquired Atlanta? or could Solie end up in the Southeast under either Ron Fuller or Ron Wright? We will just have to wait and see.

[I Broke Bruno's Neck]

​Pacific Northwest News:

 

​TV ratings were through the roof, according to those in the Portland office & at the TV Studio that they use. The 2 Hour show was a HUGE success and reports are that as many as 15 different business have inquired about purchasing commercial time during Wrestling. Right now the program is a Hour long, but the TV might push to make it 90 minutes.

 

So far, so good in terms of the attendance at house shows. The commercials throughout the States of Washington & Oregon have peaked the interest of not only Wrestling Fans, but people who are curious. Don Owen & Sandy Barr plan on having the following schedule as soon as they can bring more talent in:

 

​Friday Night TV

​Saturday

Sunday

​Monday

 

​Things could change a bit and Monday could be a "Special" night of wrestling and Wednesday could be a spot show. Owen & Barr want to have 4 shows a week (including TV) as soon as Mid-August.

 

​September 21-24 has Andre The Giant, Bruiser Brody, Stan Hansen coming in. Early talk is that Hansen & Brody could face Jaggers & Embry for the Tag belts on 2 of the nights & having a 6 man tag involving Andre and a partner for Albano's crew on TV. They plan on promoting very heavy starting on Labor day for the 4 day extravaganza.

 

There has been rumors that Matt Borne could return to the area. There have been talks of a talent exchange with Johnny Rich heading the other way. Rich hasn't been happy during his stay in Portland and wants to look for other work.

 

Bobby Jaggers & Eric Embry have gotten over in a big way as the lead tag team and lead Heels in the area. The beat down of Brett Sawyer was an incredible performance by Sawyer & Jaggers as the main players. Sawyer lost so much blood that he actually had to stay in the hospital overnight.

 

​Tom Pritchard & Koko Ware are going to have a program and plans are still there to have Jonathan Boyd as a manager to counteract Lou Albano on the Heel side.