Random Newsletter Stuff

[DeanColes1987]

"Dennis Coraluzzo told fans that Ahmed Johnson was in town and at the hotel and refused to ride to the show in a Nissan Altima, and then over the p.a., gave the phone number and room number he was staying and told fans to call the room and give him hell about no-showing the card. So Johnson received calls at his room from irate fans all night." - May 18, 98 Observer

"Hunter and X-Pac did color commentary. They mocked LOD 2000. Hunter said 2000 is the age they are approaching. He said their outfits look like plastic Depends. Hunter said, 'They're hoping their merchandise will carry them over the next few years because their in-ring abilities died in about '85, I think' " - Apr 18, 98 Torch

"The TV tapings for 4/9, 4/16 and 4/23 took place on 3/19 and 3/20. DiBiase wrestled two matches on TV without the belt. He is not winning the title. Savage didn't appear on either taping." - Mar 28, 88 Observer

"Bulldog and Mongo have become friends behind the scenes. Jim Neidhart is part of their 'cooking clique' " - Feb 14, 98 Torch

"Blackjack Mulligan won a legal case in which he was sued for punching a business partner during a 1986 argument. The jury believed Mulligan's story that he was acting in self defence. Mulligan's lawyer was so good in the case that his accuser, Alton McCullough was quoted as saying that he felt sorry for Mulligan as well. Evidence was introduced that Mulligan was driven from wrestling by a recent heart attack and bad business deals have put the real life Robert Windham in such a financial bind that he may lose his house." - Mar 28, 88 Observer

"Bossman suffered a concussion at the Dec. 20 Raw and was sent home early. He took a shot by Billy Gunn to the face. Management asked him to drive home, not fly, for fear that the pressure could affect his sinuses." - Dec 25, 99 Torch

"Douglas didn't have surgery this past week from the broken bone in the roof of his mouth, but was warned not to fly. He disregarded the advice, figuring that a Pittsburgh to Philadelphia flight was a short flight at a low altitude, and midway through the flight, his sinuses exploded and he was bleeding all over the place and rushed to the hospital." - May 4, 98 Observer

"There was consideration given to booking two singles title changes at the initial TNN tapings. Jerry Lynn to defeat Rob Van Dam in the first hour to capture the TV Title, then Van Dam beating Taz to capture the ECW Hvt. Title during the second hour. Taz signing a contract last week probably led to the change in plans. " - Aug 21, 99 Torch

"Speaking of Midnight Rider, for those of you interested in what was 'supposed' to be--originally the PPV show was going to have Blanchard as U.S. champion defending against the Midnight Rider with the mask at stake. Tully & Arn weren't originally supposed to be tag champs but when they turned Windham with no planning, they got the belts and it was decided that Windham, not Blanchard, would win the tournament in Houston." - July 25, 88 Observer

"Shortly after Austin told James that management was paying for Debra’s flight upgrades, James openly confronted Jim Ross. Ross apparently had indicated to James that Austin and Debra were paying for the upgrades themselves. James 'cut a promo' on Ross, insisting that from now on Ross is never to speak to him and that someone else in 'talent relations' is to call him instead— someone he could trust. There was already bad blood dating back years over things Ross had said about James’ father, Bob Armstrong, in the past." - Aug 21, 99 Torch

"Terri Runnels showed up dressed as Marlena, as you know the story, now that she's pregnant and was dumped by her lover, she wants to get back with the husband she humiliated in front of the world. Those women will screw you every time." - Nov 9, 98 Observer

"Sting has sold his interest in his gym partnerships with Lex Luger. While they still get along around each other, it’s clear from what they say behind each other’s backs that there is tension in the long–running friendship. Some of that tension stems from a phone call Sting’s wife made filling in Luger’s wife on some of the 'on the road' confessions Sting made to his wife as part of his becoming a Born Again Christian. There is heat on Sting among several of the wrestlers for selling them out to his wife." - Mar 13, 99 Torch

"In Johnson City, they did a gimmick where Bagwell brought out Tim Horner, calling him a local legend, and told Horner that if he could beat Rick Steiner, he'd be in the nWo. Horner actually got Steiner down and was parading around like he was a new member with a t-shirt, allowing Steiner to nail him with a bulldog off the top for the pin." - Mar 16, 98 Observer

"The Mero Family storyline is worthy of a psycho-sexual treatise, what with Sable's husband supposedly degrading and abusing her by not letting her take her clothes off in front of sex-starved loner-types" - Jan 10, 98 Torch, Bruce Mitchell

"Originally, the Steve McMichael vs. Brian Adams match was scheduled to go 17:00. Luckily it was cut to 7:00 so the two had only the worst match of the show instead of the worst match perhaps of a lifetime." - Aug 17, 98 Observer

"This little extravaganza was so hilariously bad, so goofily awful that, God help me, I loved it. This was the 'Plan 9 From Outer Space' of pay-per-views - complete with an Ed Wood style monster wrapped in what appeared to be used toilet paper....But then there was the rest of it - the Kamala fan who got so mad when the Ugandan no-showed that he decided to tell Randy Savage about it personally, the old man with the plastic sword who got knocked flat on his ass and then decided to throw fire - completely catching the cameraman by surprise, an 'under the weather' Arn Anderson so fat they ought to call him 'Triple A,' a four-times-stupid Sting, a Bobby Heenan-Gene Okerlund babbling contest so ridiculous even Tony Schiavone couldn't hide his disgust. And all of that pales in comparison to the Giant falling off the roof of Cobo Arena five stories down to the parking lot and then walking into the ring without a scratch. And then there was the sight of that same giant teaming with the 'Yeti' (and hey guys, a Yeti is another name for the Abominable Snowman. A guy wrapped in toilet paper is a Mummy - get it straight) to perform a maneuver on the Hulkster seldom seen out of Jeff Stryker videos. All WCW had to do was set a fifty year old man on fire and spray their fans with a fire extinguisher causing them to stampede for the exit and they could have had it all. Whadda weekend, huh?" - Nov 4, 95 Torch, Bruce Mitchell Column

[DeanColes1987]

"Hulk Hogan no-showed the 12/29 card in St. Louis when they wouldn't let his plane land in St. Louis and it was diverted to Memphis....Warlord was travelling with Hogan and didn't make the show either....Lots of heat over Hogan's no-show because his flight was diverted to Memphis and he had enough time to drive from Memphis to St. Louis and make the show, but instead waited for a flight to come in and no flights got any clearance for landing so he never made it and they were stringing the fans along and stalling the show and saying Hogan 'might' be coming" - Jan 8, 90 Observer

"Eddie Guerrero beat Chris Jericho. Before the match Jericho said negative things about Lincoln, Neb. and the Nebraska Huskers football team. All hell broke loose at that point with fans throwing debris, bottles, nachos and glasses of beer. The ring looked like a war zone. There wasn't enough security at Persing Auditorium. Doug Dillinger was clearly upset with the arena staff for not being agressive enough in stopping the activity and throwing fans out of the arena. There were 15 police officers working security and 15 more were called in for back-up. Fights broke out in the crowd. It was a near riot. Eddie Guerrero came out and told Jericho he was going to give him a 'Husker ass-whipping.' The crowd went wild over that. No surprise it was the best match of the night, although there were some fans at ringside who had to go to the first-aid station" - Mar 7, 98 Torch

"The Great Muta quit after the Clash as well and missed the rest of the week, however the NWA wants him back and he's agreed to meet them on Monday. If Muta returns, no doubt he will also be turned face and they'll be dangling the carrot of a Roos shoe deal for him should he agree to return. Several months back the NWA was talking about coming out with Muta comic books for kids when and if he was ever turned, so no doubt that will be discussed as well" - Feb 19, 90 Observer

"Bischoff, the man who orchestrated WCW’s rise from a distant no. 2 to the WWF to a thriving, mainstream no. 1, had also overseen the fall of the empire. WCW, in the last two months alone, had lost over $8 million....Schiller didn’t keep as close of an eye on WCW the last two years; after all, Bischoff had earned his trust by leading WCW to its first profitable years in its existence. But in recent months, Schiller began to seek an answer for why WCW began losing money. He sent accountants to investigate the finances and interviewed top wrestlers and executives for explanations." - Sept. 18, 99 Torch

"While the NWA made a last-ditch effort to get Muta back last week, Muta didn't even consider the offer. Those in the NWA are claiming that Muta was too greatly influenced by Gary Hart (who the NWA fired in late December). Hart had continually told Muta and others close to Muta that the american public would never cheer a Japanese babyface, so whenever the booking committee came up with ideas to turn Muta, they were nixed (and the ideas were there from day one, when he was initially cheered instead of booed from his early NWA appearances). After Starrcade, Muta's attitude grew worse, especially when Hart was let go" - Feb 26, 90 Observer

"Because WWF executives formulated phony conversations in hotel lobbies and in the locker room meant to be 'overheard' during which, they proclaimed their ignorance of the double-cross, Bulldog felt he couldn't trust anyone in the WWF anymore. What's funny about that is that he is headed to WCW to work for Eric Bischoff and Kevin Sullivan" - Jan 10, 98 Torch

"Apparently Mortis wanted to join the flock but since he doesn't speak, it was that Raven telepathy that figured it out. Actually Mortis with that mask making those faces reminded me of my dog at about the same point wanting me to switch stations after watching 400 hours of wrestling every week." - Feb 23, 98 Observer

"Bill Dundee is no longer being booked by the USWA after a locker room incident with Wolfie D stemming from an argument over picture revenue. Apparently Dundee was selling pictures of himself with PG13 and not giving a portion of the profits from the pictures to PG13, which would be standard practice in the USWA. Dundee was offended when Wolfie D stood up to him and blew his top causing a major confrontation in the locker room area." - Sept. 16, 95 Torch

"Lots of people say bad things about the USFL but I will never do such a thing. The reason is that any organization that can keep Steve Williams out of pro wrestling is fine with me." - March 84 Observer

"Men on a Mission won a squash. After the match, Mabel claimed they were the toughest team in the WWF. He said they had heard of a new team coming to the WWF and they knew who they were. He then asked if 'Techno 2000' had the guts to come out and face them. Erik Watts & Chad Fortune then came out and cleared the ring and were almost cheered. The cameras were not rolling during the post-squash angle, so the angle was simply meant to establish 2000 as babyfaces for later in the card." - May 27, 95 Torch

"Hugh Morrus pinned La Parka with a moonsault in 2:46. After the match Parka clocked him with a chair. To answer the most obvious question, Morrus wasn't really thrilled about putting Konnan over the previous Monday in his first match back after being off TV for a while, so in the interest of diplomacy they gave him a win over Parka, once again stalling the planned 'major push' for Parka." - Feb 16, 98 Observer

"Fans chanted, 'you suck.' Bearer said, 'if I do, I must be good' " - Jan 24, 98 Torch

"While still thriving off the momentum created as interest in WCW was on the ascension until two months ago, it is clear again that the future demands some major changes. The answer is relatively easy and initially will be painful. The old guard needs to pass the torch to the new guard. Business will go down initially, but as with the WWF, in the long run the face of the product will be fresh." - June 22, 98 Observer

"Hogan is a slimy heel everyone wants to see get beat. Doesn't matter that Piper, Luger and Sting have all beaten him in the past year. People still want to see the God of Wrestling get beat right there in the middle of the ring. People want to see Bret slip on the Sharpshooter and see him tap out. People want to see Hall and Nash Powerbomb him. And people still want to see the inevitable dream finish--Flair slipping the Figure-Four on him, and Hogan begging for mercy until he gives up. Why ruin all that fun for the fans and potential money for the company just to put the belt around Sting's waist at this time? Send him back up into the rafters where he can do his best work and sell more merchandise. Sting doesn't need a belt to do that. I never thought I'd say it, but put the belt back on Hogan, and keep it there." - Jan 3, 98 Torch, John Williams

"Bossman was scheduled to return full-time to WWF early in 1994, and as recently as the past week had worked on WWF shows in California, so his appearance was a big surprise on the WCW taping. WWF officials who apparently have Bossman under a contract reportedly are going to attempt to take legal action preventing his jumping." - Dec 20, 93 Observer

[paul sosnowski]

Omg...  Dean Coles, where are you???

[Beast]

Been 10 days, wow didn't realize.

Hope all is good with Dean. Appreciate the work you did in maintaining this thread. Easily the best thing to happen on this forum and quite a while.

Thanks

[C.S.]

I also miss you, Dean.

[...TG]

As much as I miss Dean's careful curation of this thread, we can build on his work. I don't have access to a bunch of old Observers - I'm a print edition guy, which I share with a friend after I'm finished reading - or else I would start. (Unless someone wants to hip me to some semi-public Observer archive I don't know about.)

[SteveMPunk]

This was my favourite thread in recent times here, so I wanted to share a few things I've been reading. Apologies if any of these have been posted in the thread previously. Might post something lengthier soon!

 

“They said on Maple Leaf Wres. (which is shown throughout Canada) that Hogan beat Flair in Africa for the undisputed championship. They then go on saying that Flair has no right to his claims of being NWA champ. At the 9-23 Toronto show 50 fans passed out flyers saying the fans should boycott wrestling until Flair returns (Mat World, issue 15)

 

“Upcoming WWF shows you’ll want to miss”… (Mat World, issue 15)

 

“ Marcial Bovee was critically hurt in a battle on the arena floor in Pheonix Arizona, when a sharp piece of splintered wood from a press table was broken in a slug out brawl, was accidentally spiked completely through his right hand. The accident, although serious, has not hindered the controversial manager at all”. (National Wrestling News 82 01)

“The sumo group is not too happy with Baba signing Tenta and have threatened not to let Baba use the Sumo Hall in Tokyo if Tenta wrestles there” (Mat Results vol.5 no.1)

“ Scott Rexsteiner defeated the Great Wojo for the WWA world title in his first match in the WWA. Scott is a young good-looking wrestler with a good body but still green in some spots but could have a good future” (Mat Results, vol 5.no.1)

 

“Tony Atlas and Ted Arcidi are having matches all over the country billed as “Battle of the Strongmen” with both wearing weightlifting belts. You have no idea boring this is” (Mat Results vol.5no.1)

“Dr Jerry Graham left Rochester for Toldeo on Nov. 8. Quite a few friends have suggested to me that I should bow out of refereeing his match with Killer Kowalski that night and let someone else officiate. At this time I am leaning towards following this advice. Last year I refereed a tag team match in Missouri and was injured – nothing serious, but it was very painful at the time.” (TNT Times, issue 194)

 

“I have to quit now to go out and buy my copy of Vince McMahon Jr’s album: The best of Adolph Hitler Volume 1” (Mat World, issue 19)

 

 

[Beast]

5 hours ago, SteveMPunk said:

“They said on Maple Leaf Wres. (which is shown throughout Canada) that Hogan beat Flair in Africa for the undisputed championship. They then go on saying that Flair has no right to his claims of being NWA champ. At the 9-23 Toronto show 50 fans passed out flyers saying the fans should boycott wrestling until Flair returns (Mat World, issue 15)

Wow, that's something else...

 

5 hours ago, SteveMPunk said:

“I have to quit now to go out and buy my copy of Vince McMahon Jr’s album: The best of Adolph Hitler Volume 1” (Mat World, issue 19)

 

Huh...

 

These tidbits from forgotten sheets are interesting, thanks Steve!

[SteveMPunk]

“Stan Hansen has been suspended from wrestling in Winnipeg. This all came about when he hit a fan after his match there on Sep. 12. The Manitoba Athletic Commission has levelled this suspension so there is little hope that it will ever be lifted.” (Grapevine vol1.no.9)

 

“What rights do the fans have? Last week in Chicago a fan did not like the referee’s decision of a match and jumped into the ring with a 38 or 45 and started shooting. He wounded 5 fans luckily none of them injured seriously. This is not the first time a thing like this has happened. A couple of years ago at the Olympic (…after Shiek vs Tolos) the wrestlers were bloody, two referees unconscious and one officer of the LAPD had been stabbed” (Eyewitness, 01-1975)

 

“The AWA wrestling show originated in Atlantic City. The announcers were Larry Nelson and Vern Gagne, a former wrestler who knew everything there was to know about figure four leglocks and the infamous drop toe hold. Said Gagne of the drop toe hold: ‘You can try that at home if you like’” (Combat Sports 94)

 

“Look for some fireworks down in the West Virginia area where the Three Rivers Wrestling Association has just merged with Knoxville’s All Star Wrestling. These two groups will be exchanging talent and will combine to form direct competition to the WWF in West Virginia. As far as talent goes the WWF will have to take a backseat here” (Empire State Wrestling #46 1979)

 

“Paul Dangerously”: A couple years ago, Sports Illustrated did a cover story on professional wrestling with Hulk Hogan on the cover. Inside towards the end of the article was a quote from Dave Meltzer. The quote was basically what McMahon was trying to accomplish was to burn this great society of wrestling down to the ground and rebuild the new society. I think 1993 saw the burning to the ground of the wrestling society, and the future will hold either that wrestling will go the way of roller derby in which it will pretty much be a travelling carnival type atmosphere in which a few guys are going to make a decent living or it’s going to be built up from the ground again into a whole new era of wrestling. 1993 was the burning to the ground of the industry as we knew it’” (Wrestling Flyer Yearbook ’93)

 

“My impressions of the first Shotgun show. It looked like a public access wrestling TV show, which I don't think is the intention. Bob Backlund was a riot but he wasn't enough to carry an entire show. Most of the skits didn't work. The deal where Todd Pettingill changed the words to Macarena to do the Mascarita wasn't the slightest bit racist as I'd been led to believe, but it also didn't work. Mascarita did debut the corkscrew plancha on American TV but it was in a setting and done at a time (just back from a commercial break) where it meant nothing.” (WON 1/20/97)

 

“And now a bit of news that really hurts. It has finally happened. On the 15^th, I went to the Garden to see the matches and became so bored with it all that I got up and left early. The matches had become so repetitious that I could not be bothered with it all. Not only could I predict the winners, I could also predict the time of the match, it had gotten to be so bad. The match in question, a rematch betwixt Sammartino and Monsoon was one of the worst drawing in the history of the Garden as less than 13,000 people flooded the historic old dump. The promoters expected a sell-out no matter what and presented the worst card I have ever seen or read about. It was five dollars down the drain and will probably be the last five they ever get out of me. I am disgusted with it all.” (Matmania 05. 1967)

 

“On September 20^th, there was a formation of a fan club for Giant Baba. Called the ‘Giant Baba Supporting Society” it is headed by several big shots in various fields including the former Minister of Transportation, Wataru Narahashi, and Shojiro Kawashima, the former vice Premier of Japan. The first named is the president of the group. Many of the men involved are not wrestling fans in the strictest sense of the word, but are attaching themselves to the group as a means of securing publicity for themselves. This is approximately the same as Richard Nixon running a fan club for Verne Gagne, if the comparison is correct. In short, it means that wrestling is so big over there that it is politically helpful to be involved with it. Can you see a man running for president on the basis of being a wrestling fan?” (Matmania 10. 1967)

 

“Way back when in Phoenix, in the late 60’s early 70s was a big juice territory. Always upon returning to the dressing room the wrestler would drop the blade in the sink. One day the sink plugs up and a plumber is called. The plumber evidently disconnects a pipe and reaches in to clear the obstruction and of house has just gashed his hand to pieces on the numerous blades” (Ring Around the Northwest 08.1994)

 

“The wrestling show scheduled for May 18^th for the debuting People’s Wrestling Federation was postponed due to bomb threats at Prairie High School. Booker Buddy Rose and Promoter Mike Baca also received threats at their homes. The caller identified himself as someone working for Billy Jack which immediately removed him from suspicion. Someone who is somewhat on the inside spoke on Billy Jack’s radio show and speculated that Bart Sawyer was one of the people behind it, citing jealousy as well as heat with some who are scheduled on the card. “ (Ring Around the Northwest 05.1996)

[sek69]

3 hours ago, SteveMPunk said:

And now a bit of news that really hurts. It has finally happened. On the 15^th, I went to the Garden to see the matches and became so bored with it all that I got up and left early. The matches had become so repetitious that I could not be bothered with it all. Not only could I predict the winners, I could also predict the time of the match, it had gotten to be so bad. The match in question, a rematch betwixt Sammartino and Monsoon was one of the worst drawing in the history of the Garden as less than 13,000 people flooded the historic old dump. The promoters expected a sell-out no matter what and presented the worst card I have ever seen or read about. It was five dollars down the drain and will probably be the last five they ever get out of me. I am disgusted with it all.” (Matmania 05. 1967)

 

It's kind of reassuring to see that wrestling fans have always been proudly telling people they are going to quit watching something.

[Captain Redneck]

On ‎9‎/‎17‎/‎2018 at 6:00 PM, El Boricua said:

I don't recall hearing this either. but you can tell by the way the tidbits are reported and presented who the source of them was. Another example of how the narrative gets shaped about certain wrestlers due to the wrestlers themselves being sources. It gets skewed to their viewpoint or perception of events which makes them the hero of their own tale. And my money would have been on Race if he had shown up for the battle royale.

I've heard a few times when asked about the Brody murder, Race basically said that he got what he deserved and him being a bully and such to promotors. 

[paul sosnowski]

A 6-5 newcomer named Terra Rizing (Paul Laveque), who I believe is a Killer Kowalski student from New England, debuted in a dark match and looked good enough that he was given a debut match on television for the 2/26 show.   ---- Wrestling Observer 2/14/94

[paul sosnowski]

Weekly Gong had a story about the amateur career of Dos Caras Jr. (Jose Rodriguez Jr.). He said that his father supported him and his competing internationally for three years in 20 countries. He won the Pan American championships in the under-21 age group in 1995, placed second in the U.S. in under 21s in 1996, Mexican and American under-21st and placed third in the world in 1997, won the Pan Ams and took sixth in the World Cup in 1998 and placed second in the Pan Ams and took fourth in the World Cup in 1999.------  Wrestling Observer, January 7, 2002. (Dos Caras Jr is later known as Alberto Del Rio)

[paul sosnowski]

June 11, 2001 issue

Minoru Tanaka beat Katsuyori Shibata. Shibata is an opening match guy. His father was a wrestler in the 70s and later a referee. He's 21 years old and has been wrestling about 18 months, and this was his highest profile singles match of his career. It was really good.   Unless Tanaka is a miracle worker, and he may be, and barring a serious injury, Shibata has one hell of a future.

[BruiserBrody]

Quote

On May 17, 1975, there was a "canoe-athon" to raise money for the Minneapolis Association for Retarded Citizens.  But first at 8 a.m. there was a challenge race between 3 AWA wrestlers and 3 Minnesota Vikings.  The winners were to donate $500, the losers $750.  The teams were Verne Gagne, Billy Robinson and Superstar Billy Graham vs. Willie Hilgenberg, Ed White and Oscar Reed.  This wasn't long after the Vikings dismal play in the Super Bowl and Gagne said, "Oscar will probably fumble the paddle."  When told this, Reed responded, "Without a script the wrestlers won't know how to act.  They'll probably paddle the wrong way."

From Minneapolis papers from the time.