Sorry. Wrestling Observer Flashback–05. Topics. – 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. Owen won with a Rocket Launcher on Tanaka. 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. Wrestling Observer Flashback–09. 24. 19. 01. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 09. He says he was promised $2,500 and they only paid him $1,500. – Dave notes that speaking of network TV, ABC was filming an episode of 20/20 at the MSG show, and one of the reporters asked Dr. 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. 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. Hogan! Starrcade ‘87 v. Mr. Nasties sold well at least. -The Mondo 19 most intriguing personalities of ‘86-30 key pro wrestling personalities of ‘86 with quick bios-Observer Awards, leading news stories of. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 04. Specifically, advertisers look at stuff like this and use it to justify their already terrible ad rates for pro wrestling shows. 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. I know, I know, I’ll give you a minute to let it sink in. Internet Archive HTML5 Uploader 1. 23. – 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. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 04. 02. 90 / 07. 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–12. 95. 89. Jim Herd has already killed the wrestling business, and now he’s working on killing the magic business. 3-21-1988. Heyman is making. The low buyrate is being. 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. It drew a legit sellout of 5708 to West Palm Beach. – Moving on, Joe Pedicino has purchased Jerry Jarrett’s syndicated TV network with the millions of dollars he’s got coming from Nigeria. 24. 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. Also, Prime Time Wrestling is just getting destroyed on Monday nights and is down to a 1. ABBYY FineReader 11. -. Obviously, doctors gave him some mumbo-jumbo diagnosis about “severe spinal disc and sciatic nerve damage”, and. Smackdown Date: May 12, 2016 Location: Wells Fargo Arena, Des Moines, Iowa Commentators: Mauro Ranallo, Byron Saxton, Jerry Lawler. Terry Funk has retired. By Scott Keith on 19th March 2016. There are moments when you can pinpoint exactly when a major promotion started to go completely off the rails. Back on track after our detour back to March yesterday. The. – In the top story, the Justice Department dropped one of the charges against Titan Sports. I know, I know, what a bombshell. – As the date of his trail approached and the firestorm of publicity continued unabated, Barr managed to plea bargain down to first degree sexual abuse with 180 hours of community service and 2. as the big blue cage that quickly became synonymous with Titan was actually purchased and flown in from Stampede Wrestling, because the normal chain link cage was too hard for Hogan to climb. By Scott Keith on 27th October 2016. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 06. – Brad Armstrong will be coming back again, this time as the Candy Man, who throws candy to the kids as his gimmick. 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. 02. Wrestling Observer Flashback–10. By Scott Keith on 1st October 2017. 0. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 11. Tenta was pretty over during his one appearance, so EMLL is trying to get him back. Bryan Alvarez and Mike Sempervive talk about the biggest news in wrestling! Wrestling Observer Live podcast on demand - Wrestling Observer Live is among the most popular wrestling shows in the world. 10-21-1991. So with the year in PPV finally caught up, let us venture back to the world of 1994 again, with rumors of Hulk Hogan. Also, the fears about Sting winning the IWGP title from Muta proved unfounded, as Muta retained in a disappointing match where he was trying to be The Great Muta instead of Keiji Muto. 95. 23. 29. 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. 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”. 94. It's great historical reading of the rise and fall of wrestling's biggest boom period. Despite the strained relationship, Florida still bills itself as NWA wrestling. Welcome to 1996 WCW, notes our teaser for this week. 94. Max Moon was eliminated quickly because his spaceship was double-parked. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 12. – Next up TV ratings, which went from an average of 2. 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. 28. 2. 13. 08. 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. Perfect won a battle royale in 12:55. Rude/Vader tag match, the highest rating for any wrestling match on TV in more than a year. The match died once Flair went out. 88. 02. – 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. – The Wrestling Classic, scheduled to be the first ever nationally available PPV show, will feature a 16 man tournament, plus Hogan v. It's a recap of the old issues of Dave Meltzer's Wrestling Observer Newsletter. – 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. Instead, in the wake of a disappointing buyrate, the decision was made to concentrate on doing better tournaments. By Scott Keith on 4th June 2016. 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 realize it at the time. By Scott Keith on 22nd September 2023 Wrestling Observer Flashback – 12. “Which is great for wrestling, I guess. 05. 96. Well, one week left until the WWF really goes off a cliff. The taped episode of RAW wasn’t particularly different than any other one they’ve. By Scott Keith on 18th April 2022. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 08. ” (Now there’s an understatement!) – Based on current trends and advertising, SuperBrawl is looking to do. 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. And NOW the main event! Hog Wild 96 and the introduction of the Observer Hall. – In our top story, Curt Hennig has apparently reached an agreement to jump from the WWF to WCW, as an active wrestler. 96. 96. 11-4-1991. 25. 0 number predicted by. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 08. But goddamn is “Eyes of a Stranger. 95. “Hey look, it’s Joe Weider” – Not sure what that refers to, but I’m sure we’ll find out. 27. Ware on 12/14, as expected. – 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. Spoiler: Dave gives WarGames 3/4. 88. 95. FLASH REPORT FROM THE TOKYO DOME SHOW ON 1/4! 1. – 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. 5 to 2. *. I feel like that can’t be a coincidence. . Anyway, back to 1985 again… – The big news is that the war in St. For. At one point, UWFI was one of the biggest success stories in wrestling, and in 1993, they drew 46,000 fans to a. The main event. – It’s COLD WAR in Toronto. 96. 11. 29. Ah, wrestling, where one guy can beat up another guy for real and flush his head. Big stuff in the news this week, and the start of the biggest shift in coverage in the history of the Observer. 11. 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. 29. 95. 22. 96. NWA Canadian Heavyweight Championship. 17. – Kevin Sullivan is a road agent now and appears done with wrestling. 3. 90. – There’s very little going on due to Christmas, but Jerry Lawler did regain the USWA title from Koko B. 96. 14. The main event saw Tito Santana beating Bob Orton for the newly created AWF title in a *3/4 match. Davey Boy Smith (“Athletically the best in the business. 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. – Zulu was fired from World Class for refusing to do a job to Mike Von Erich. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 08. A total brawl with great heat, although the DQ was called for no apparent reason. -Pro Wrestling 1983-1987. 13. 04. By Scott Keith on 1st June 2019. 11. 95. It was basically just a backdrop for the Virgil babyface turn. The New Foundation beat the Orient Express in 17:18. Kayfabe Commentaries Releases Newest Installment of Their “Supercard” Series. Publication date. But first! An update on the Shawn Michaels incident in Syracuse. 06. Wrestling Observer Flashback–03. Continue reading. 87. 16. 25. 1985 Wrestling Observer Yearbook. By Scott Keith on 12th June 2016. 05. The Twin Towers beat the Rockers at 8:02 when Akeem splashed and pinned Michaels. Wrestling Flashback publishes wrestling list videos, top 10’s, the history of classic. 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”. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 10. It’s a patented Slow News Week as we head into Summerslam, but the issue is still 10 pages. Continue reading Rants. And now, Dave would like to talk about PPV. 4. tesseract 5. 15. While it seemingly wasn’t a major milestone in his life at that. Ric Flair (“He’s slowed down a bit”) 2. 31. 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. Wrestling Observer Flashback–11. The suit alleges unfair competition, trademark. Trying to power through this one before UFC 200. Oh, Dave. He was the person credited with popularizing the superplex, although he didn’t invent it. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 07. )3. Just for fun, here’s Dave’s Summer 1984 Rankings. – The WWF announced that the Wrestling Classic did about 60,000 buys on PPV, which was 200,000 less than their announced projections. Wrestling Observer Flashback–09. 86. 96 Can I make it more than. Lots of people have claimed to have discovered him, for example. 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. 28. A January 1966 issue of Vue magazine featuring Bill Hook and his octopus-wrestling adventures in Victoria, B. 30, 1996 (Final Post for 1996) Going through old issues of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter and posting highlights in my own words. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 03. 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. The WWF drew 16000 and Crockett drew 3000, so point to Vince on that one. 04. Dave notes we. Wrestling Observer Flashback –04. 23. 88. Mid Atlantic Gateway and Wrestling Observer historical files. wrestling business himself, negotiating with Buster Douglas for a Tokyo Dome show in March. – In a story that seems small but kind of ended up heralding the end of an era in wrestling, the way. 04. 96. – 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. Dave thinks that the WWF is turning into more of a circus of litigation than a wrestling company. 95. 30th August 2017 by Scott Keith. They’re owned by Jody Hamilton (Nick Patrick’s dad) and they do about 200 people per show. 94. Wrestling Observer Historical Pieces. 18. And since “long term thinking” these days is “three. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 05. Here’s a shocking story to start this week’s issue: Dave is a really big fan of New Japan Pro Wrestling. 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. Well, 1988, as much as I love and care about you, it’s time our relationship came to an end again, just like James and Natalie on Big Brother last night. 29. Ric Flair pinned Butch Reed in 14:13 to earn a tag title shot at Starrcade. These words open the issue this week, because Wrestlemania IV is in the books and, well, it was not pretty. Wolf, where. Perfect. 96. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 01. – Latest word on Maeda is that he’s got a new promotion in March, but Takada won’t come with. So don’t be disappointed at the lack of a review here. 90. 09. THE WAR IS ON. 27th May 2016 by Scott Keith. The ratings were just too low and the costs were just. 16. – Paul Heyman was indefinitely suspended on 10/7 for reasons that are still unknown at press time (still unknown to this day, in fact!) and this is gonna mess up their plans big because the (don’t call it a ) booking committee wanted to switch him back from announcer to manager if they could strike a deal with Rick Rude. 28. 11th January 2017 by Scott Keith. Rants. He was at the other guys’ PPVs this year taking notes, as well as New Japan and All Japan’s major shows. 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. – The Sheik did an extremely rare job, submitting to Onita’s boston crab in just 3:18 at the latest FMW show. 3-28-1988. Ocr. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 08. 95. By Scott Keith on 14th January 2019. 21. 15th September 2023 by Scott Keith Rants Wrestling Observer Flashback – 12. com archives, and any other sources I’ve checked, so we’re skipping ahead a week. 96 By Scott Keith on 15th September 2023 Wrestling Observer Flashback – 12. Dodge Iowa. 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. This week, a big name goes to the rival promotion in the thick of the Monday Night Wars! Call my hotline now to find out the answer! – Hiroshi Hase made a surprising jump from New Japan to All Japan this week, announcing on 9/29 that he’s starting with AJPW in January. 14. – Dave feels that the team of Sting & Rick Steiner are improving so rapidly that they’ll be one of the best in the world by the summer. And NOW the main event! Hog Wild 96 and the introduction of the Observer Hall of Fame awaits! This one took me a little bit longer to write than last night’s quickie, obviously. Dave runs down the TV shows over the past month and it’s all classic stuff, like the Magnum TA-Mr. 27. Michaels worked his ass off, although it came out later that he was hungover and stoned at the time. Observer Flashbacks; Wrestling Observer Flashback–04. By Scott Keith on 24th July 2019. Shinjiro Otani retained the UWA junior heavyweight title pinning El Samurai. 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. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 05. history-of-wcw. 22. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 02. 15. The team (Gene and Ole Anderson) dominated tag team. 09. Severn. The grand plan for five days a week has been dropped and ESPN will air reruns of Pro Wrestling This Week instead. So I guess it’s a Wrestling Observer Flashback Flashback. After Stan Lane lost to the Patriot on the Global show, Cornette launched into a tirade about how it was a conspiracy against Stan, just like the cops conspired against his good friend. Current talk is a rematch with Shawn Michaels at Summerslam in a ladder. – Dave also got to see some tapes from Puerto Rico, which gives us the Observer debut of Invader #1, aka Stabby McMurderer. 01. 05. She is currently signed to WWE, where she performs on the. – Inoki’s business-killing freakshow ended up drawing 11,000 people for somewhere between $800,000 – $1. 07. 1984 Dave would chime in with “but luckily WWF isn’t wrestling” or something equally snarky, but mellower 1986. Topics. – 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. 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. This was the one and only match in the whole tournament that actually showed why the division could. 20. By Scott Keith on 26th May 2016. 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. – The biggest question coming out of Wrestlemania XII is the future of Bret Hart, as he’s expected to finish the tour of Germany and then go on a hiatus until the end of the summer. 6. 8 this week. This is the incredible story about the people who brought Lucha Libre into America in the 1990s and the many challenges they faced! Hijo del Santo and Blue. (This is why. 22. Newsletter, Magazine, Wrestling, WWF, WCW, All Japan, New Japan. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 04. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 10. 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. 7. 0-1. WWE Raw draws strong ratings despite historic NFL competition. This isn’t unique in itself, but if Idol. Louis Wrestling Club from running. WWE News. Addeddate. By Scott Keith on 24th February 2019. 96. 5 million as a startup amount and NOW got $480,000, and once they’ve blown through that, he’s done. Wrestling Observer Flashback–06. 95. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 07. Lesson the Fourth: Antonio Pena is the new innovator in wrestling and everyone should listen to him. Rants. – Next up, Dave offers a preview of the next WCW PPV, Uncensored, which he sums up thusly: “On paper it looks like a weak show as none of the matches look to be sure bets to be good. D if wrestling was fake and got slapped around pretty good as a result. 09. The feeling is that running a show in the traditional Sunday timeslot where live shows draw will kill off the house shows. They of course had an immediate roster of excuses, mainly that it was scheduled on a night with really tough competition on TV. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 12. – Eddie Gilbert was found dead in his apartment in Puerto Rico on 2/18, at age 33. The Best of the Wrestling Observer-Greatest matches of the Observer years-15 most influential wrestlers of the past five. 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. Indie wrestler Rockin' Rebel got a tryout at the tapings, and apparently upset Razor Ramon backstage because he was using some of Razor's mannerisms in the ring. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 07. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 01. 5-4-1987. 96. )This argument includes Wrestlemania V, which is widely believed to be the highest grossing wrestling show in HISTORY. – Dave proclaims that no promotion is any hotter here in 1996, with more mainstream popularity, than NJPW is. 1. 95. 05. By Scott Keith on 7th March 2017. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 09. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 10. 96. 96 IT’S TIME. 30. Big John Tenta pinned Koji Kitao with an elbowdrop in 6:10. Wrestling Observer Flashback–02. For It’s Time. 95. 95. – 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. 10. It’s week 3 of the WWF title being held hostage by Diesel! But don’t worry, this can’t possibly last very long. 01. By on 9th March 2017. Oh, and WCW tried to make a mini-movie and it didn’t go very well. 95. – 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. 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. Wrestling Observer Flashback–01. Andre started in the sport at the age of 12, already 6’3”, and fell in with a. – And now, let’s talk about pay-per-view. – 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. -. – Also on the show, Scott Norton & Tony Halme won the IWGP tag titles from the Steiner Brothers in kind of a stinker. – But first, speculation is still running rampant in the wake of Ole Anderson getting fired as booker. – Actually, first it’s a bit of political talk, as Hiroshi Hase won election to the senate in Japan.