They even flew in Steve DiSalvo as part of the ring crew to. Pillman was playing subtle heel to start and got less subtle as the match went on. Dave runs down the TV shows over the past month and it’s all classic stuff, like the Magnum TA-Mr. The Best of the Wrestling Observer-Greatest matches of the Observer years-15 most influential wrestlers of the past five. 6. ) An industry shaking death in this issue, but. 0 (Extended OCR) Ppi. 2022-03-05 07:34:36. 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 26th May 2016. 87. 01. (Just wait until Slamboree. – The top story of the week, and for a long time in general, was Ron Garvin winning the NWA World title from Ric Flair on 9/25 in their debut in Joe Louis Arena. The Vancouver version of the NWA Pacific Coast Heavyweight Championship was the major singles title in two National Wrestling Alliance-affiliated Vancouver territories. I know, I know, I’ll give you a minute to let it sink in. Severn. Wrestling Observer Flashback–02. – 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 Twin Towers beat the Rockers at 8:02 when Akeem splashed and pinned Michaels. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 08. C. 94 (Part 2) – In the only non-tournament match on the show, Cactus Jack & Mikey Whipwreck won the tag titles from the Public Enemy after Terry Funk missed his flight and couldn’t make the show. 95. In fact, even today I’m not sure that those title switches are counted as part of the “real” count of Flair’s title reigns because the NWA did such a bang-up job of denial that. Wrestling Observer Flashback–12. 03. Just like in the old days, it’s a NEWSFLASH to start the issue! Well, a results flash, actually, as the Tokyo Dome show came in too late for a proper review. 96 (Part Two) – In the top story, “Sycle” Sid won the WWF title in the main event of the Survivor Series. 48 buyrate (120,000 buys) for the Great American Bash in June, with WWF doing 0. When it comes to catching and wrestling a giant. 09. This should be good. 06. Well it’s been two months. – Vince then called the show, FURIOUS about the misleading edit (POT, KETTLE, BLACK) and questioning the credibility of Bruno, who clearly had an axe to grind, and Alex Marvez, who dared to question the WWF’s commitment to testing after announcing it five times and not delivering. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 09. – Latest figures are in, and WCW is looking like a 0. 96. 01. -The Mondo 19 most intriguing personalities of ‘86-30 key pro wrestling personalities of ‘86 with quick bios-Observer Awards, leading news stories of. They’re owned by Jody Hamilton (Nick Patrick’s dad) and they do about 200 people per show. . Wrestling Observer Rewind ★ Dec. Pillman was a little rusty but still got an excellent match out of Wright. He apparently gave WAR $1. Also, ROYAL RUMBLE. Michaels worked his ass off, although it came out later that he was hungover and stoned at the time. Warlord won a battle royale by tossing out Ricky Steamboat. 95. – Whereas most people had to stand around on the beach and had a lousy view of the ring, rest easy knowing that there was a set of bleachers reserved for employees of Slim Jim. The ratings were just too low and the costs were just. Ocr. By Scott Keith on 22nd September 2023 Wrestling Observer Flashback – 12. Dodge Iowa. Mr. – To the WWF, where Wrestlemania III passed 70,000 tickets sold, officially making it the largest crowd ever to witness a wrestling show in North America. 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. 96 Stop me if you’ve heard this one before… – After 15 years of being the world’s biggest babyface, Hulk Hogan turned heel in the main event of WCW’s Bash at the Beach PPV in an angle that Dave thinks will be “remembered for years”. 96. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 03. on November 22, 1990 – “Survivor Series ’90. (This is why Dave needs an editor. Not by putting on a better product or drawing more money, but by signing one of their soon-to-be-ubiquitous exclusivity contracts with the Kiel Auditorium and thus preventing the NWA-affiliated St. I’m not. Wrestling Observer Flashback–10. 95. – Zulu was fired from World Class for refusing to do a job to Mike Von Erich. 06. – 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. The biggest story of the week is actually buried way down. – The big story this week is Dave’s preview of the Ultimate Ultimate 96!. 30th August 2017 by Scott Keith. Winner of the 2016 Doomie Award for Favorite Blog Post!. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 11. This hold up comes on the heels of two other major stories: Hennig is supposed to be heading to WWF, meanwhile. Jim Herd has already killed the wrestling business, and now he’s working on killing the magic business. Credit Dave Meltzer, Wrestling Observer Newsletter. – Moving on, Joe Pedicino has purchased Jerry Jarrett’s syndicated TV network with the millions of dollars he’s got coming from Nigeria. – 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. 10-21-1991. For It’s Time. (Clearly Wrestlemania had not become the thing it is today, because $429 barely gets you a nosebleed seat at this point. – Interestingly, the WWF was shown to be popular with 18-25 year olds, with men twice as well represented as women. – Eddie Gilbert was found dead in his apartment in Puerto Rico on 2/18, at age 33. Wrestling Observer Flashback–06. – 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. 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. 96 (Part Two) – In the top story, “Sycle” Sid won the WWF title in the main event of the Survivor Series. She is currently signed to WWE, where she performs on the. – 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. 88. 95. Regardless of everything else, the #1 rule of wrestling in situations like this is that you ALWAYS have the babyface’s hand raised at the end of the show if you pull a major bait-and-switch like this. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 10. – There’s very little going on due to Christmas, but Jerry Lawler did regain the USWA title from Koko B. I like how even the editors of the Observer site are scoring off Dave with the headline on this one. So apparently the WrestleWar 92 issue (05/25/92) is missing from the F4WOnline. Mid Atlantic Gateway and Wrestling Observer historical files. – Dave also got to see some tapes from Puerto Rico, which gives us the Observer debut of Invader #1, aka Stabby McMurderer. 96 Can I make it more than two weeks in a row? TUNE INTO NITRO TO FIND OUT! – In our top story this week, UFC presented the Ultimate Ultimate 2! Dave is really into this shit all of a sudden. 07. Wrestling Observer Flashback–11. Slaughter for “stealing the character”. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 11. – Buzz Sawyer agreed to work an indy date for Rob Russan in San Jose, and was supposed to provide the ring and some students from his wrestling school as underneath jobbers. Also, Prime Time Wrestling is just getting destroyed on Monday nights and is down to a 1. *1/4. 86. It's great historical reading of the rise and fall of wrestling's biggest boom period. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 03. The grand plan for five days a week has been dropped and ESPN will air reruns of Pro Wrestling This Week instead. Buyrate looks to be between 0. 2 victory. 15. Hosted by Sean Oliver, he welcomes guest the Honky Tonk Man as he talks about SummerSlam ’88. 96. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 10. 94. 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. The feeling is that running a show in the traditional Sunday timeslot where live shows draw will kill off the house shows. – Flair defended the World title on a pair of Mid-South shows in Oklahoma, but there’s no plans or indications of Watts joining the NWA. Ah, wrestling, where one guy can beat up another guy for real and flush his head. Understated Wrestling Observer Debuts! So new to the Memphis area is a prelim guy named Scotty the Body, who is getting booked like a total nothing and apparently his. – Anyway, moving on. – The Sheik did an extremely rare job, submitting to Onita’s boston crab in just 3:18 at the latest FMW show. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 04. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 07. Just for fun, here’s Dave’s Summer 1984 Rankings. Addeddate. 96. Wrestling Observer Flashback–05. 03. By Scott Keith on 18th April 2022. Collection. 96. I’m actually recovering from a shoulder injury at work today but I’ll power through an Observer Flashback for you. The NWA Canadian Heavyweight Championship was the top singles title in Maple Leaf Wrestling from 1978 until 1984,. It’s time for SUMMERSLAM! But first, the WWF is messing with their PPV schedule again. 95 (Part 1) So after Dave takes a week off, it’s a DOUBLE ISSUE featuring Wrestlemania XI, the show that drew so much money that Dave needed a second issue to contain it all!Wrestling Observer Flashback – 11. Wrestling Observer Flashback–05. 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. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 01. 03. 95. Topics. 96. – It’s COLD WAR in Toronto. Wrestling Observer Flashback–08. Wrestling Observer Flashback–04. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 08. 18. And here we had gone for almost two months without a death. 96. According to Dave’s minions, there was confusion about. 95. – And now, let’s talk about pay-per-view. 567. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 04. Curiosity over Kevin’s return is. 16. Tenryu as the main event of a show on 2/7. 96. 27. 89. 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. Gene Anderson, founding member of the Minnesota Wrecking Crew tag team died. 94. Wrestling Observer Flashback–08. 95. Well, sort of. 18. Topics. 19. By Scott Keith on 1st January 2021. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 07. Dusty is certainly the top candidate, and that theory is bolstered by the house show results from the past week, which saw Dusty doing 90 second jobs to VIRGIL at every show. 95 (Carrying on! Another one written on or about 09. 14. Wrestling Observer Flashback–03. Bruiser Brody (“Nobody gives an aura of violent realism. The first wrestling move of the match came at 10:00, which was Hogan no-selling the powerbomb and making his comeback. – Also on the show, Scott Norton & Tony Halme won the IWGP tag titles from the Steiner Brothers in kind of a stinker. The suit alleges unfair competition, trademark. – 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. 26. 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. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 04. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 12. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 11. 19. window replacement in Elkhart, IN. 92 By Scott Keith on 16th February 2017 Hey, I picked up a Nintendo DSi XL for $60 (Canadian) from EBGames and it’s pretty rad. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 11. You can view a sneak preview below. Um, never mind. 0 number predicted by. 96. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 07. 22. In fact, Dave thinks that people’s hatred of the dancing gimmick is overshadowing how much he’s improved as a worker. Wrestling breakup and Cornette getting his face shoved in a birthday cake. 27. 20 to an average of 2. Wrestling Observer Flashback–11. It drew a legit sellout of 5708 to West Palm Beach. 5. 5 to 2. 95 Guys, I don’t think this UFC thing is gonna be around much longer if lawmakers have their way! – The debate over whether UFC and the other events like it should be banned has been raging in the press and the city of Denver has become a hotspot for the controversy. 27th May 2016 by Scott Keith. Wrestling Observer Flashback – Bret v. 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. The debut of Giant Gonzalez (who was “wearing Ultimate Warrior’s old underwear”) perked things up again. D if wrestling was fake and got slapped around pretty good as a result. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 12. 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. 96. 23. 22. 02. Apparently Bret Hart’s negotiations with WCW were so potentially fruitful that someone else is wanting to give it a try. By Scott Keith on 27th October 2016. – Also, NBC is really sniffing around wrestling now like a dog in heat and they seem to desperately want to be in business with the WWF. Dave also lists the match with the Rock N Roll Express v. 01. – Antonio Inoki is trying to get into the boxer v. – Andre’s beginnings in the sport are something of a mystery. OK, 2005 posts are FINALLY complete, and I got to see Star Wars, so let’s get back to Observing. By Scott Keith on 3rd October 2019. Although this one is dated after the Bash ‘90 PPV, the issue is written before. The taped episode of RAW wasn’t particularly different than any other one they’ve. WWE Raw draws strong ratings despite historic NFL competition. 96. Back on track after our detour back to March yesterday. Day off from work today, so I’ve got some time to craft another Flashback! Your Spotify soundtrack for this one is Queensryche’s “Operation Mindcrime”, an album that it took me many years to get into, which is weird because I was a big fan of “Empire”. Wrestling Observer Flashback–02. 94. 96. But this week, we’ve got Summerslam to attend to. Which is still 10 pages long. 92. 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. Man, so people REALLY did not like that In Your House show. 94. 96. 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. Back in the saddle with these again. Dave, however, cites the court case of Boy v. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 06. 15. The PPV showdown of 1987 is upon us! It’s Vince v. Crockett! Dusty v. 5 million as a startup amount and NOW got $480,000, and once they’ve blown through that, he’s done. – Jim Crockett’s promotion was down to 575 people on 12/3, with a main event of Kevin Von Erich & Chris Adams over Dick Murdoch & Black Bart. Wrestling Observer Flashback–05. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 10. ” (Now there’s an understatement!) – Based on current trends and advertising, SuperBrawl is looking to do. These words open the issue this week, because Wrestlemania IV is in the books and, well, it was not pretty. 4. 3. ark:/13960/s2tmw3h1hz8. 15. 95. Nasty Boys retained the tag titles over the Bushwackers in 6:46. 26. Collection. Sacramento Memorial Auditorium. ***1/4Wrestling Observer Flashback–03. 28. He was indicted on 11/12 on counts. Back to the trenches after taking Friday off! And the big story this week is an abject lesson in John Lennon’s famous saying, “Life is what happens to you when you’re busy making other plans”. – 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. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 09. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 01. ark:/13960/t2z39wg7w. 7. Survivor Series!World Wrestling Federation presented a live pay-per-view event special live from Hartford, Conn. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 03. 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. Unfortunately, he was the furthest thing from an. It’s a patented Slow News Week as we head into Summerslam, but the issue is still 10 pages. – Speaking of New Japan, they sold out 5 consecutive nights at Sumo Hall for the G1 Climax, ending with IWGP champion Keiji Muto becoming the first reigning champion to win the tournament, taking out Shinya Hashimoto in the finals. – 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. 17. ABBYY FineReader 11. I feel like that can’t be a coincidence. 23. Dave sarcastically notes that “it sure turned Brett Sawyer. Kayfabe Commentaries Releases Newest Installment of Their “Supercard” Series. Wrestling Observer Flashback–08. – 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. – Van Hammer won the arm wrestling tournament, beating Ron Simmons in the finals, which Dave interprets as continuing his newfound push. Ric Flair (“He’s slowed down a bit”) 2. – Vince McMahon is apparently planning to sue Sgt. 27. Trying these in the afternoon again because the blog is always SUPER dead after lunchtime. This was the one and only match in the whole tournament that actually showed why the division could. 14. The 2023 class of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame adds seven new members in a year where there were no blow away vote getters but a number. 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. 96 September 9, 2023; Morning Daily News Update September 9, 2023; Mike Reviews WWE Capitol Punishment 2011 September 9, 2023; Question September 9, 2023; Jey Uso trade to Raw September 9, 2023; Weekend Wrestling! September 9, 2023Wrestling Observer Flashback–12. – The really big news coming out of the first head-to-head meeting of RAW and Nitro is that WCW immediately took the lead in the ratings war, with a 2. *1/4. – Next up TV ratings, which went from an average of 2. “Hey look, it’s Joe Weider” – Not sure what that refers to, but I’m sure we’ll find out. 94. Production quality was high, the wrestling quality not so much. – The first Saturday Night show is going to be taped on 10/3, and Dave expects to heavily feature the freakshow wedding of Uncle Elmer, which will likely be even worse than the Paul Vachon wedding. (My joke, not Dave’s) In freezing temperatures, Crockett had his showdown with Vince, featuring the debut of the NWA in Hamilton taking on Roddy Piper’s Canadian farewell in Toronto. – Kevin Sullivan is a road agent now and appears done with wrestling. Owen Hart was the second-best star of the show after Flair. – 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. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 12. 95. 3-28-1988. 05. NWA Canadian Heavyweight Championship. 04. 95. Wrestling Observer Flashback–02. 15th September 2023 by Scott Keith Rants Wrestling Observer Flashback – 12. 29. I just don’t think things are gonna work out for that promotion. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 09. 04. Baba apparently has plans to give Akiyama a major push down the line. 24. The 85 issues are quite a trip, since it’s a very different writing style than even these ones. 13. Wrestling Observer Historical Pieces. 22. 89. 95. Dave is pretty sure Gonzalez will draw as long as he’s never allowed to touch anyone ever. By Scott Keith on 22nd September 2023 Wrestling Observer Flashback – 12. This is ridiculous on a lot of levels, most of which is actually against Zulu because he’s even worse than Mike Von Erich and in. Ric Flair pinned Butch Reed in 14:13 to earn a tag title shot at Starrcade. 20. Eaton did a scary kneedrop from the top rope to the ramp outside the ring for the highlight of the match. Specifically, advertisers look at stuff like this and use it to justify their already terrible ad rates for pro wrestling shows. – In an understatement, Dave notes that the babyface side in the WWF is in a state of disarray, what with Scott Hall about to jump to WCW in late May once all his contractual stuff ends. (Perhaps it’s time to revamp the show a bit?) – Famous San Francisco promoter Roy Shire passed away this week, after suffering a heart attack on 9/16 and dying 10 days later in the hospital. 14. 96. 22. Wrestling Observer Flashback–08. By Scott Keith on 5th February 2016. 95. 05. Join Dave Meltzer and Brian Alvarez for coverage of the latest in wrestling and mixed-martial arts. – 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. – Dave’s opening salvo this week: “After its television show reached a new low in. 96 And now it’s time for the issue that kicks off one of the biggest stories in the history of wrestling, although we didn’t. 28. 96 You know, for someone so washed up and done as a top guy, Ric Flair sure keeps winning World titles, doesn’t he? – Let us take you back to 1989, as Ric Flair came off a big year with memorable matches against Rick Steamboat and Terry Funk, but the year was a failure for Turner. Maybe if I skim over the Eddie Gilbert stuff it’ll get done easier. Get all the news from F4WOnline. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 01. Also, be sure to check out the SquaredCircle subreddit, where some dude is RIPPING OFF MY. – 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. 19. 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. 25. – San Fran is the big head-to-head battle between the AWA and WWF, and Vince won that one handily thus far. 1985. Davey Boy Smith (“Athletically the best in the business. So don’t be disappointed at the lack of a review here. Badd quit WCW on 3/11 after a discussion with Eric Bischoff in the airport, and will be signing with the WWF for three years. 96. 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. 2. 19. Dave is flabbergasted by how bad a show it was, wondering if this was a dream or a nightmare that he hasn’t woken up from. The New Foundation beat the Orient Express in 17:18. He was at the other guys’ PPVs this year taking notes, as well as New Japan and All Japan’s major shows. The match died once Flair went out. The main event saw Tito Santana beating Bob Orton for the newly created AWF title in a *3/4 match. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 12. 18. wrestling business himself, negotiating with Buster Douglas for a Tokyo Dome show in March. Terry Funk has retired. A total brawl with great heat, although the DQ was called for no apparent reason. 21. 02.