– The WWF continues to insist that Summerslam sold 80,000 tickets in the first day, and also announced several new matches for the show: Tatanka v. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 09. 22. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 10. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 12. )3. I like how even the editors of the Observer site are scoring off Dave with the headline on this one. 08. By Scott Keith on 24th July 2019. 15. Collection. – In a story that seems small but kind of ended up heralding the end of an era in wrestling, the way. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 11. 07. The main event. Oh, and WCW tried to make a mini-movie and it didn’t go very well. I was actually going to redo the Halloween Havoc 90 rant based on the full PPV version that I’ve never seen…but the Network only has the Turner Home Video version. Couldn’t do this one last night, because Daredevil is a thing that exists. 95. 96. Rants. 95. 23. 93. as they did a matinee taping of the new Sunday edition of World Championship Wrestling in Atlanta, then did a show in Columbus GA, then finally. By Scott Keith on 27th October 2016. Earthquake John Tenta was scheduled to work a tour for EMLL in Mexico, but left after one show, claiming he was stiffed on his payoff. He wears a buffalo head to the ring and everyone backstage was making fun of his gimmick. Topics. “Hey look, it’s Joe Weider” – Not sure what that refers to, but I’m sure we’ll find out. 95 I love that the teaser for this one on the site is “Hotline sleaze award winner” because really it could be ANYTHING coming out of Mean Gene’s mouth. 7th. 16. – Dave reviews the 1/21 MSG show (which did NOT sell out, he notes, although he assumes that the War to Settle the Score sold out both the arena and the Felt Forum):Wrestling Observer Flashback – 07. Main event is. I just don’t think things are gonna work out for that promotion. By Scott Keith on 14th March 2019. 0 (Extended OCR) Ppi. Max Moon was eliminated quickly because his spaceship was double-parked. Owen won with a Rocket Launcher on Tanaka. com archives, and any other sources I’ve checked, so we’re skipping ahead a week. Steve Jennum was put into the finals as a last-minute. Welcome to 1996 WCW, notes our teaser for this week. This issue only has the first 4 pages, so it’ll be a truncated recap, but all the good stuff is in those pages anyway. 95. So I guess it’s a Wrestling Observer Flashback Flashback. 96. Ocr. I know, I know, I’ll give you a minute to let it sink in. 96. They’re exclusively running small towns on the far Northern island of Japan, and mostly using lucha libre guys, which the mainstream papers didn’t really get. Thankfully, the Observer archives are fixed, so let’s get back into the swing of things again. 09. – In the top story, the WWF held a press conference, which got more attention in Mexico, to announce that Royal Rumble 97 would be held in the Alamo Dome in San. – While the World title may not change hands, the US title certainly will, since post-Clash TV direction has Steamboat winning the title and suffering a shoulder injury in the process. C. Inoki pinned Leon Spinks in the eighth round of whatever their match was supposed to be, cradling him after a double-leg and getting a five count. 29. I’m not. By Scott Keith on 9th September 2016. “Which is great for wrestling, I guess. Publication date. By Scott Keith on 18th April 2022. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 10. I believe that’s known as the Kerry Von Erich Special in wrestling. Production quality was high, the wrestling quality not so much. Continue reading. ) An industry shaking death in this issue, but. Did you think that Best of ECW Volumes 1 and 2 was as EXTREME as the blog was getting this week? Then prepare yourself, because it’s time for WCW UNCENSORED!– The weirdest story of the week comes from Japan (shocking, I know) where Lou Thesz is making waves in the business again. – Also on the show, Scott Norton & Tony Halme won the IWGP tag titles from the Steiner Brothers in kind of a stinker. He was at the other guys’ PPVs this year taking notes, as well as New Japan and All Japan’s major shows. 94. 90. 2 million, making it the largest gate in pro wrestling history. 23, because for every viewer gained on Nitro, there was a viewer lost on Saturdays and it kind of averaged out. 15. Pillman was a little rusty but still got an excellent match out of Wright. By Scott Keith on 16th December 2017. Identifier-ark. The feeling is that running a show in the traditional Sunday timeslot where live shows draw will kill off the house shows. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 02. 95. 86. Dave thinks that the WWF is turning into more of a circus of litigation than a wrestling company. – Chris was of course around wrestling dressing rooms his whole life, and idolized Kerry in junior high to the point where he’d dress and act like him. 4. – The Rougeaus are telling Montreal newspapers that they’re taking a one year sabbatical from wrestling before returning late in 1990. 96. – In the top story of the week, and in fact one of the top stories in wrestling history, Ric Flair was fired from WCW effective immediately when negotiations fell through. 19. 26. – In our top story, Curt Hennig has apparently reached an agreement to jump from the WWF to WCW, as an active wrestler. On May 2 they did an angle where the AWA World title was held up following a Bockwinkel/Hennig match where Hennig used a foreign object. 96 (Part Two) BUT WAIT THERE’S MORE! – ECW also held their biggest show ever, the 1996 November to Remember, which was an immediate sellout of 1500 people at the ECW Arena, and Dave even attended the show! – Steve Richards pinned David Morton Tyler Jericho in 9:25, as Stevie had his. Just for fun, here’s Dave’s Summer 1984 Rankings. – Lead story is the WWF planning a giant stadium show in Milwaukee, which ended up being called WrestleFest 88, to basically screw with Crockett’s plans to run a Bash show the night after. com~!Wrestling Observer Rewind • Dec. WWE News. Also, Prime Time Wrestling is just getting destroyed on Monday nights and is down to a 1. By Scott Keith on 24th February 2019. 4. 22. – All Japan on 9/17 saw the debut of former Olympic wrestler Jun Akiyama, who was pinned by Kenta Kobashi in the semi-main of the show. 96 IT’S TIME. – Interestingly, the WWF was shown to be popular with 18-25 year olds, with men twice as well represented as women. Jack Petrik would have to wage war against the WWF and spent lots of money to win, and it. – But first, the lead story is the rapid descent of UWFI, as they have reached out in desperation to New Japan for a combined show at the Tokyo Dome on 10/9 and maybe more after that. By on 9th March 2017. Topics. 2. Wrestling Observer Flashback–02. Daprice did every issue for the 90's through 2001. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 07. 95. THE WAR IS ON. 02. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 11. – Dave calls it a very good show overall, and somehow by adding up all the people in Greensboro (16K give or take) plus all the closed circuit locations, comes up with a figure of 42,000 and thus declares it the #2 crowd in North American wrestling history. – Two major World title changes since the last issue as well, with Vader winning the WCW World title back from Ron Simmons on 12/30 in Baltimore, and Great Muta beating Masa Chono to win the. – The Sheik did an extremely rare job, submitting to Onita’s boston crab in just 3:18 at the latest FMW show. Ah, wrestling, where one guy can beat up another guy for real and flush his head in the toilet for riding with his ex-girlfriend and people are just like “Eh,. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 10. By Scott Keith on 19th September 2016. 2 victory. Jerry Lawler in a cage match where the loser gets his head shaved. 87. Owen Hart was the second-best star of the show after Flair. Dave thinks that the competition will be mostly for the better, with faster-moving storylines and better wrestling on TV. Raw drew its best 18-49 number since the start of football season. 95, which is good but well below the 2. He does 100 but we’ll just do the top 10 because otherwise I’d have to break this up into 5 parts instead of 2. Dave runs down the TV shows over the past month and it’s all classic stuff, like the Magnum TA-Mr. I must now face the eternal dilemma of sports fan who has lost their team in the playoffs: Do you cheer for the bastards that eliminated them because they earned it. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 10. – Dave gets a funny bit when he notes that ever since taking over as booker, Dundee has suddenly gained amazing recuperative powers in his matches. 16. So let’s take a look at what’s going on in the international scene!6. – So UFC III was supposed to be another easy ride for Royce Gracie, but in fact the KING IS DEAD. Perfect won a battle royale in 12:55. So with the year in PPV finally caught up, let us venture back to the world of 1994 again, with rumors of Hulk Hogan. The. 96. Let’s take a break from being nostalgic for 1998 and be nostalgic for 1994 again for a bit! – It’s been quiet in the wrestling world leading up to Halloween Havoc, Dave notes. The TNT show is dropping rapidly, which shows that the new audience of freakshow fans is far less than the loyal wrestling fans who choose not to watch that one. By Scott Keith on 4th June 2016. 03. 3-21-1988. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 04. 88. 28. 19. ***1/4Wrestling Observer Flashback–03. 15. By Scott Keith on 1st January 2021. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 03. Whoa oh, whoa oh, it’s Wrestlemania. 94 So it turns out that WCW’s record buyrate for Halloween Havoc wasn’t quite what they anticipated… – The buyrate for Havoc 94 currently sits at 0. 93. Baba had actually been. 29. Big stuff in the news this week, and the start of the biggest shift in coverage in the history of the Observer. By Scott Keith on 23rd November 2017. ) – The rumor mill continues to churn around the idea that Dusty Rhodes and his $300,000 / year salary will be cut at the end of the year. The WWF drew 16000 and Crockett drew 3000, so point to Vince on that one. Also, be sure to check out the SquaredCircle subreddit, where some dude is RIPPING OFF MY. But it probably bombed because it was clearly a throwaway show. 18. on November 22, 1990 – “Survivor Series ’90. Wrestling Observer Flashback – Bret v. Basically Vince sent his PR people to the magazine to produce what Phil Mushnick of the New York Post (no relation to Sam or Irv, Dave notes, although we’ll get to know Phil very well in later years) called a “six page. 91. 95. 96. Pillman was playing subtle heel to start and got less subtle as the match went on. 88. The taped episode of RAW wasn’t particularly different than any other one they’ve. They’re owned by Jody Hamilton (Nick Patrick’s dad) and they do about 200 people per show. Wrestling Observer Flashback–05. . 25. Wrestling Flashback publishes wrestling list videos, top 10’s, the history of classic. 5-4-1987. . 95. 92. Observer Flashbacks; Wrestling Observer Flashback–04. We’ve gotta skip all of November due to more gaps, but at least I can now promise that everything from now on is 100% complete! And we didn’t miss Starrcade. By Scott Keith on 29th August 2016. – Dave proclaims that no promotion is any hotter here in 1996, with more mainstream popularity, than NJPW is. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 01. He literally stole Verne’s TV slot out from under him (the AWA wasn’t even told by the station until the day the show was supposed to air!) and Verne’s big show at the Cow Palace in March as a complete debacle due to scheduling. He apparently gave WAR $1. Trying to power through this one before UFC 200. By Scott Keith on 27th October 2016. GROUP #2: Nobuhiko Takada is forming the UWFi (Union of Pro Wrestling Force International) and they’ll also be running Korakuen Hall, in May, and. To the news!This is up for them, and Dave notes what a great night for wrestling that Thanksgiving really is, because even Central States almost drew money! Later, he corrects a previous title change, noting that Art Crews actually won the TV title from Gary Royal on 11/27 in Ft. Ware on 12/14, as expected. Wrestling Observer Flashback–06. – Reportedly, World champion Mike Tyson has signed with the WWF to referee a match. 19 as I try to get as much done as possible in advance. The first wrestling move of the match came at 10:00, which was Hogan no-selling the powerbomb and making his comeback. 87. – Kevin Sullivan is a road agent now and appears done with wrestling. 23. This got the most heat of the night from all the sumo fans, because they’re not hardcore wrestling fans and just knew Kitao as the “bad boy”, and thus booed the shit out of him and cheered everything Earthquake did. 27. 6. 09. – Dave watched the 12/19 All Japan show, and dished out another full monty, this one for Misawa & Kobashi winning the tag team tournament over Kawada & Taue in. It’s a patented Slow News Week as we head into Summerslam, but the issue is still 10 pages. – The WWF is reportedly considering adding a weekly Saturday PPV show, according to trade journal reports. 95 (Carrying on! Another one written on or about 09. 20. Ted Dibiase & Virgil beat Dusty & Dustin Rhodes at 9:57. I feel like that can’t be a coincidence. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 11. The theory at the beginning was that the “universe” would increase exponentially as more homes got PPV, but now it’s apparent that there’s a set number of wrestling fans out there who will buy these things and adding more homes doesn’t mean automatically adding the same percentage of buys. – Inoki’s business-killing freakshow ended up drawing 11,000 people for somewhere between $800,000 – $1. 96 (I’m putting this one in the can a few days earlier than publication so if there’s any pop culture references that age badly, blame me. It’s the Observer issue so huge that Dave has to post it to the archives TWICE to make sure! So yeah, Flair got fired, let’s get back into it! – The Flair firing actually made the national news, with papers throughout the country picking up the story, with all coverage being sympathetic to Flair. Slaughter for “stealing the character”. 94. Manuel Cruz (Jose Gonzalez) b Beauregarde;. By Scott Keith on 22nd August 2022. It’s the year end awards issue! Lots to argue about here, I’m sure. ”. 30. For. – Mexico’s wrestling companies are gearing up for a full-scale strike of wrestlers and referees, with syndicate head Manny Guzman calling for job action over EMLL’s network TV deal. Wrestling Observer Flashback –04. Papa Shango ran in for the DQ, and Ultimate Warrior made the save, complete with entrance music. Just like the Untouchables, if you sign two of ours to a guaranteed contract, we sign one of yours to a guaranteed contract! And his hot wife! – Johnny B. Buyrate looks to be between 0. Winner of the 2016 Doomie Award for Favorite Blog Post!. But first! An update on the Shawn Michaels incident in Syracuse. 8 this week. 95. 16. – On the bright side, Warrior v. Oh, Dave. – Dave sums up the last PPV of 1996 as “solid but. 24. 90 / 07. 20. – And now, a turning point for the Observer, although we didn’t know it at the time, as Dave announces that he’s taken a job with the National, writing a wrestling column for the paper. Wrestling Observer Flashback–09. But don’t be fooled by the Slow News, as two major promotions actually reach their finales this week, although we didn’t realize it at the time. 94. Curiosity over Kevin’s return is. – Another quiet week in the world of wrestling, as we’re waiting for Starrcade and Superdome results. Wrestling Observer Flashback–03. Tenryu as the main event of a show on 2/7. – Unfortunately, we start with the inevitable death of Scott “Hog” Irwin, who succumbed to cancer after a year long battle at the age of 37. By Scott Keith on 14th January 2019. It’s just getting to be too much work to do the bookkeeping and maintenance for 800 people instead of 200, especially when he’s already got a full-time job now as editor for a soccer magazine. But I think it’s a pretty famous case of hotline sleaze related to Blackwell’s death. 0. 1986 Wrestling Observer Yearbook. 86. Heyman is making. Apparently Bret Hart’s negotiations with WCW were so potentially fruitful that someone else is wanting to give it a try. – In Mid-South, we get the first Observer mention of young rookie Sean Michaels in Mid-South, as he pins Jack Victory. Wrestling Observer Flashback–08. By Scott Keith on 7th March 2017. Rants. 14. By Scott Keith on 9th November 2017. Hogan! Starrcade ‘87 v. 95. Survivor Series!World Wrestling Federation presented a live pay-per-view event special live from Hartford, Conn. Warlord won a battle royale by tossing out Ricky Steamboat. Man, so people REALLY did not like that In Your House show. Until then, there’s the Clash! – Dave was in Japan for DreamSlam (very short version: It was an amazing show) and missed the Clash of Champions from Jacksonville, but to say it wasn’t well received would be an. (Just wait until Slamboree. I’m actually recovering from a shoulder injury at work today but I’ll power through an Observer Flashback for you. Wrestling Observer Flashback–05. 22. 48 buyrate (120,000 buys) for the Great American Bash in June, with WWF doing 0. 95. – In Japan, SWS continues to alienate Japanese wrestling fans by booking WARLORD v. George Scott has been fired as booker and replaced by the duo of Gary Hart and David Manning, so things are at least booked better now. 95. 15th September 2023 by Scott Keith Rants Wrestling Observer Flashback – 12. – Over to Japan, where Nobuhiko Takada had announced plans to retire, at which point UWFI whiplashed and put out their own press release, noting that what Takada had MEANT TO SAY was that he was THINKING of retiring at age 35, which was two years away. But goddamn is “Eyes of a Stranger. Well, sort of. 95. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 08. Identifier-ark. 95. I know this year has been a slog, but we’re getting closer to September, when the magic happens! But first, WWF returns to your house! Whether you wanted them there or not. 86. – Next up TV ratings, which went from an average of 2. 95. 03. It’s like Wrestlemania, but for NEWS. Also, the Rock & Wrestling Connection was all his idea and he had to convince Vince to play “Eye of the Tiger” as his entrance theme in 1984. 02. For It’s Time. Gene Anderson, founding member of the Minnesota Wrecking Crew tag team died. *. – Dave brings up the example of New Japan’s light heavyweight division taking off and Stampede Wrestling’s mid-heavyweight division, although of course Stampede tended to produce talent that left for greener pastures instead of. 94. Unfortunately, he was the furthest thing from an. 87. THANKSGIVING FLASHBACK - November 23, 1972. 11. 01. And since “long term thinking” these days is “three. 30, 1996 (Final Post for 1996) Going through old issues of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter and posting highlights in my own words. (This is why. 96. Oh, Dave. 96. 96 Can I make it more than. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 06. Wrestling Observer / Figure Four. window replacement in Elkhart, IN. Obviously, doctors gave him some mumbo-jumbo diagnosis about “severe spinal disc and sciatic nerve damage”, and. Wrestling Observer Flashback–08. He was the person credited with popularizing the superplex, although he didn’t invent it. By Scott Keith on 18th October 2016. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 09. So don’t be disappointed at the lack of a review here. 27. 96. I’m still not 100% clear on how we got from “Jim Crockett attempts to run Florida into the ground” to “Jim Crockett buys Florida and uses it as a feeder system for his own promotion”, but I’m sure we’ll get there. 09. It’s time for SUMMERSLAM! But first, the WWF is messing with their PPV schedule again. – Bam Bam Bigelow is trying to get into the WWF, but word from on high is that he’s “too inexperienced”. 5 million as a startup amount and NOW got $480,000, and once they’ve blown through that, he’s done. On with the week that was and one of the most famous stories in wrestling history!– Oh, also, the weekend shows set new lows for cable wrestling ratings, and that includes the WWF shows. 05. – Latest word on Maeda is that he’s got a new promotion in March, but Takada won’t come with. Wrestling Observer Flashback–02. *1/2. A wrestling fan creating original content for YouTube based on my love for pro-wrestling. Shawn Special Edition! Okey doke, so in the 1997 RAW rants thus far, we’ve alluded to the all the crazy stuff happening behind the scenes with Bret and Shawn, but what EXACTLY was that? Well, Dave was covering it extensively in the Observer at the time, so here’s a mini-Flashback covering the top. 06. 06. – In our top story, Roddy Piper made a surprise debut at the end of the Halloween Havoc show, doing what Dave describes as an “undisciplined dialogue” with Hollywood Hogan that actually ran past the expiration of their PPV time. – Speaking of wanting to be in business with them, Jimmy Hart debuts in March as Greg Valentine’s manager, and King Kong Bundy debuts to have terrible matches with Hogan. The ratings were just too low and the costs were just. – So things are getting mighty crowded on TBS, in what would turn out to be a giant turning point for the wrestling industry. Back in the saddle with these again. – The new Stampede Wrestling has already taken all but one of the WWF’s TV clearances in Western Canada, so this doesn’t seem to be a winning venture for Vince. Thanks for reading! UWFI president and top star Nobuhiko Takada announced that the company is officially going out of business and that the final show will be held this week. By Scott Keith on 1st October 2017. The main event saw Tito Santana beating Bob Orton for the newly created AWF title in a *3/4 match. 16. The match died once Flair went out. 30th August 2017 by Scott Keith. – Both the WWF and Crockett are running Philly on 10/18, but there’s a law on the books that says no two wrestling promotions can run shows within 25 miles of each other, and the respective arenas are less than 25 miles away. – And now, let’s talk about pay-per-view. 96. By Dave Meltzer Nov 21, 2023. 06. 96. 16. 2. 90. 19. Scanner. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 11. Dave is pretty sure Gonzalez will draw as long as he’s never allowed to touch anyone ever. 95. 14. Bruiser Brody (“Nobody gives an aura of violent realism.