Trying to power through this one before UFC 200. These words open the issue this week, because Wrestlemania IV is in the books and, well, it was not pretty. I feel like that can’t be a coincidence. 19. 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. Wrestlemania III was the best wrestling. The previous record was 69,000 for the Big Event. 90. – It’s sounding like Scott Steiner will work Halloween Havoc, but won’t be doing much. He was at the other guys’ PPVs this year taking notes, as well as New Japan and All Japan’s major shows. Oh, and WCW tried to make a mini-movie and it didn’t go very well. Whoa oh, whoa oh, it’s Wrestlemania. 09. 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. 21. Dave has no idea how successful it’ll be. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 10. – 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. Wrestling Observer Flashback–09. Big stuff in the news this week, and the start of the biggest shift in coverage in the history of the Observer. 3-28-1988. By Scott Keith on 1st January 2021. 4. THE WAR IS ON. 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. 96. 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. Trying these in the afternoon again because the blog is always SUPER dead after lunchtime. – And now, let’s talk about pay-per-view. 30. 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. – 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. 93. Baba apparently has plans to give Akiyama a major push down the line. 04. 96. – So UFC III was supposed to be another easy ride for Royce Gracie, but in fact the KING IS DEAD. (Hey, much like Bill Gates famously said…) – Back to Murray Hodgson and his case against Pat Patterson, with Vince and Pat’s depositions delayed so they could do some more legal wrangling. 08. 27. 29. Piper on top. Baba had actually been. 24. We’re almost there! One week left! – It’s almost time for the new fall season of wrestling, and it’s a big one. 3. Man, so people REALLY did not like that In Your House show. NWA Canadian Heavyweight Championship. 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. 10. – Interestingly, the WWF was shown to be popular with 18-25 year olds, with men twice as well represented as women. Observer Flashbacks; Wrestling Observer Flashback–04. 94. 11th January 2017 by Scott Keith. 05. 16. . 04. ABBYY FineReader 11. 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. By Scott Keith on 18th October 2016. By Scott Keith on 23rd November 2017. The show would air live every Saturday night, from New York, and would cater heavily to an. 95. 18. Spoiler: Dave gives WarGames 3/4. ) An industry shaking death in this issue, but. Dave thinks it was counterproductive to kill off the Rockers like that. 2 victory. And now, for the first time I can remember, the UFC gets the lead story. Rants. Wrestling Observer Flashback–10. – The show drew 7000 with 4700 paid and a $94,000 house. 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. 22. Warrior pinned Haku with the shoulderblock and splash in 4:48. 14. 01. Everything is confusing and it’s all centering on the AWA. The Twin Towers beat the Rockers at 8:02 when Akeem splashed and pinned Michaels. Eaton did a scary kneedrop from the top rope to the ramp outside the ring for the highlight of the match. – In Japan, SWS continues to alienate Japanese wrestling fans by booking WARLORD v. Wrestling Observer Flashback: 07. It’s kind of hard to say what to expect around here as the show has been bouncing back and forth between focusing on the Intercontinental Title feud and then the World Title situation. By Scott Keith on 22nd August 2022. 3-21-1988. – 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. Winner of the 2016 Doomie Award for Favorite Blog Post!. 95. 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. 30th August 2017 by Scott Keith. 86. 22. com & WrestlingObserver. 96 By Scott Keith on 15th September 2023 Wrestling Observer Flashback – 12. By Scott Keith on 18th April 2022. – 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. The low buyrate is being. – Dave proclaims that no promotion is any hotter here in 1996, with more mainstream popularity, than NJPW is. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 10. No one tell Donald Trump. Wrestling Observer Flashback–08. Kayfabe Commentaries Releases Newest Installment of Their “Supercard” Series. 96 Apparently it’s time for WCW to get rowdy. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 10. “Which is great for wrestling, I guess. Publication date. 02. – 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. Louis Wrestling Club from running. *1/2. Dave sarcastically notes that “it sure turned Brett Sawyer. It’s like Wrestlemania, but for NEWS. – 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. Steve Jennum was put into the finals as a last-minute. – In our top story, Curt Hennig has apparently reached an agreement to jump from the WWF to WCW, as an active wrestler. – 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. – Jim Cornette Update: He turned down the WCW managing job because he’s opening up a new promotion with Sandy Scott and Tim Horner called “Smokey Mountain Wrestling”, starting on 10/30 in Greenville. 03. – Eddie Gilbert was found dead in his apartment in Puerto Rico on 2/18, at age 33. – 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. 26. 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. The PPV showdown of 1987 is upon us! It’s Vince v. 95. 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. ) – 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. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 11. Raw drew its best 18-49 number since the start of football season. This isn’t unique in itself, but if Idol. Um, never mind. Wrestling Observer Flashback–06. 2022-03-05 07:34:36. 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. 4. FLASH REPORT FROM THE TOKYO DOME SHOW ON 1/4! 1. Instead, in the wake of a disappointing buyrate, the decision was made to concentrate on doing better tournaments. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 02. I’m not. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 02. *. – Dave is kind of shocked at the response to Wrestlemania, in that it was not only one of the biggest responses to a show that he’s ever had, but also there was pretty much no consensus on the quality of the show, with a fairly even split between thumbs up /. Wrestling Observer Flashback–03. Wrestling Observer Flashback–02. Big John Tenta pinned Koji Kitao with an elbowdrop in 6:10. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 03. 96. 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. – 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. For. Dave is pretty sure Gonzalez will draw as long as he’s never allowed to touch anyone ever. – 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. 95. So apparently the WrestleWar 92 issue (05/25/92) is missing from the F4WOnline. 13. – 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. – The top story is the apparent end of Pacific Northwest Wrestling, as the TV show was abruptly cancelled by the TV station after 38 years on the air. – San Fran is the big head-to-head battle between the AWA and WWF, and Vince won that one handily thus far. – In the top story, Titan Sports filed a lawsuit against World Championship Wrestling on 6/20, stemming from the invasion angle with Hall and Nash. – So things are getting mighty crowded on TBS, in what would turn out to be a giant turning point for the wrestling industry. Mr. – Kevin Sullivan is a road agent now and appears done with wrestling. Ocr. 90. The grand plan for five days a week has been dropped and ESPN will air reruns of Pro Wrestling This Week instead. – In the top story, the Justice Department dropped one of the charges against Titan Sports. 27. Wrestling Observer Flashback–12. You can view a sneak preview below. 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. – Dave relates a brief history of World Championship Wrestling, and how TBS purchased the company in 1988 despite their crippling debt. 95. Pillman was playing subtle heel to start and got less subtle as the match went on. The idea is to combine a bunch of small promotions into the Global Wrestling Federation, with offices in five different regions, including Jarrett now officially going back into Dallas to run the USWA there again. Just for fun, here’s Dave’s Summer 1984 Rankings. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 01. THANKSGIVING FLASHBACK - November 23, 1972. 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 9th November 2017. – We’ll skip past the Mr. 21,499 likes · 18,642 talking about this. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 09. Wrestling Observer Live: RAW report, War Games, Randy Orton, ratings and more By Bryan Alvarez Nov 21, 2023 DragonKingKarl Classic Wrestling Show: The history of. The taped episode of RAW wasn’t particularly different than any other one they’ve. By Scott Keith on 1st October 2017. 15. Daprice did every issue for the 90's through 2001. Smackdown Date: May 12, 2016 Location: Wells Fargo Arena, Des Moines, Iowa Commentators: Mauro Ranallo, Byron Saxton, Jerry Lawler. Specifically, advertisers look at stuff like this and use it to justify their already terrible ad rates for pro wrestling shows. 22. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 11. Wrestling Observer Flashback–09. 95. *3/4. 01. 15th September 2023 by Scott Keith Rants Wrestling Observer Flashback – 12. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 09. 95. Collection. 95, which is good but well below the 2. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 11. 94. 16. Wrestling Observer Flashback–12. Marc Mero pinned Hunter Hearst Helmsley in 16:23. 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. Despite the strained relationship, Florida still bills itself as NWA wrestling. The ratings were just too low and the costs were just. It's great historical reading of the rise and fall of wrestling's biggest boom period. – In the top story, Sports Illustrated had a story on the WWF in March, and no one in mainstream media really gave a shit. 23. wrestling business himself, negotiating with Buster Douglas for a Tokyo Dome show in March. 5. And now it’s time for the MONDAY NIGHT WARS. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 09. 96. Jack Petrik would have to wage war against the WWF and spent lots of money to win, and it. 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. Internet Archive HTML5 Uploader 1. 07. 11. Current talk is a rematch with Shawn Michaels at Summerslam in a ladder. I just don’t think things are gonna work out for that promotion. So let’s take a look at what’s going on in the international scene!6. See if you can guess when we get to it. 06. By Scott Keith on 10th July 2016. Davey Boy Smith (“Athletically the best in the business. 96. Flair’s contract was scheduled to be terminated as of 08/01, and Flair was scheduled to drop the WCW World title to Barry Windham on 7/1 in Macon, GA. -The Mondo 19 most intriguing personalities of ‘86-30 key pro wrestling personalities of ‘86 with quick bios-Observer Awards, leading news stories of. Michaels worked his ass off, although it came out later that he was hungover and stoned at the time. For It’s Time. The 1997 Observer Rewind shall resume this on Aug. 01. – 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. 05. Guess it’s time for another one of these. 96. Wrestling breakup and Cornette getting his face shoved in a birthday cake. 26. -Pro Wrestling 1983-1987. – 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. – Anyway, moving on. 06. 3. 1985. – 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. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 03. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 02. 03. Dave runs down the TV shows over the past month and it’s all classic stuff, like the Magnum TA-Mr. Topics. Pillman tried a crucifix and Wright reversed it for the pin. – 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. – Also on the show, Scott Norton & Tony Halme won the IWGP tag titles from the Steiner Brothers in kind of a stinker. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 04. 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. Identifier. 0-1. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 07. 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. Anyway, back to 1985 again… – The big news is that the war in St. 25. – 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. wrestlingmagazinesmisc;. 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. By Scott Keith on 26th May 2016. 95. 1. By Scott Keith on 29th August 2016. 96. – The WWF is on hiatus for a bit after WM, so Dave apologizes in advance for the light news week. It drew a legit sellout of 5708 to West Palm Beach. 27. 96. Well this was all well and good, but wrestling magazines found out about it and started publishing stories and photos, and the NWA had to go into coverup mode. – To Mexico, where it looks like EMLL is about to split. By Scott Keith on 12th June 2016. 26, 1994 (Final Post for 1994) Going through old issues of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter and posting highlights in my own words. – Anyway, moving on…. 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. 23. – 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. 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. By Scott Keith on 22nd September 2023 Wrestling Observer Flashback – 12. -. 87. 96 IT’S TIME. 90. Tickets are 45,000 yen, which translates to $429, aka the most expensive wrestling tickets in history. 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. Hosted by Sean Oliver, he welcomes guest the Honky Tonk Man as he talks about SummerSlam ’88. 96. Ware on 12/14, as expected. 96 IT’S TIME. – Once again, it’s time for the most awesome feature in Observer Flashback history: – Our favorite whipping boy promotion, the UWF, debuted in New York with a TV taping, and surprisingly both Honky Tonk. 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. Owen won with a Rocket Launcher on Tanaka. Dave also lists the match with the Rock N Roll Express v. D if wrestling was fake and got slapped around pretty good as a result. Terry Funk has retired. Rants. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 05. Nasty Boys retained the tag titles over the Bushwackers in 6:46. – Jim Cornette continues bringing the funny. By Scott Keith on 18th April 2022. 31. 94. 96. – Moving on, Joe Pedicino has purchased Jerry Jarrett’s syndicated TV network with the millions of dollars he’s got coming from Nigeria. 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. 2 million, making it the largest gate in pro wrestling history. 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. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 05. (Clearly Wrestlemania had not become the thing it is today, because $429 barely gets you a nosebleed seat at this point. Severn. Continue reading Rants. Get all the news from F4WOnline. But I think it’s a pretty famous case of hotline sleaze related to Blackwell’s death. 11. Maybe if I skim over the Eddie Gilbert stuff it’ll get done easier. Sacramento Memorial Auditorium. 06. Rants. But goddamn is “Eyes of a Stranger. 05. – Reportedly, World champion Mike Tyson has signed with the WWF to referee a match. . He was indicted on 11/12 on counts. – On the bright side, Warrior v. 95. Dave notes we. ark:/13960/t2z39wg7w. By Scott Keith on 14th January 2019. ABBYY FineReader 11. 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. 3/4. 02. 7. – The Wrestling Classic, scheduled to be the first ever nationally available PPV show, will feature a 16 man tournament, plus Hogan v. 23. Time to welcome in 2021 with everyone’s favorite blog column! And to celebrate, I’m currently three drinks in with “Best Rock of 1988” on Spotify in the background, so hopefully I’ve got lots to snark on tonight. Perfect. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 07. 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. . Also, Prime Time Wrestling is just getting destroyed on Monday nights and is down to a 1. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 03. – 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 – 08. 92. He’ll return for real on 11/20, but will be false advertised as appearing in tag team matches on the road against the Enforcers and subbed out when the show starts. 19 as I try to get as much done as possible in advance. – The big story this week is Dave’s preview of the Ultimate Ultimate 96!. – Dan Severn won the Ultimate Ultimate on 12/16 in Denver after all the controversy over the show, beating Oleg Taktarov in the finals via unanimous decision. – 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. Internet Archive HTML5 Uploader 1. (Just wait until Slamboree. Here’s a shocking story to start this week’s issue: Dave is a really big fan of New Japan Pro Wrestling. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 08. 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. Obviously, doctors gave him some mumbo-jumbo diagnosis about “severe spinal disc and sciatic nerve damage”, and. 19. 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. 22. 2. Louis is finally over, and the WWF has won. Collection. ). 13. So with the year in PPV finally caught up, let us venture back to the world of 1994 again, with rumors of Hulk Hogan. Well this should do better than NWA Powerrr at least. I’ve noticed a sudden uptick in 1985-related questions on the Wrestling Observer radio show lately. 567. – In a story that seems small but kind of ended up heralding the end of an era in wrestling, the way. 03. By Scott Keith on 19th March 2016. And since “long term thinking” these days is “three. 22. 93. 6. – 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. 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. – Hachiro Tanaka, the money guy behind SWS and WAR and a bunch of other groups, is reportedly tired of losing money in the wrestling business and wants out, according to the Takano brothers. 08. 19. ”) 3. – Dave sums up the last PPV of 1996 as “solid but. 20 to an average of 2. Most of the match was Hunter working the arm and going for a cross-armbreaker, which neither Vince nor Jerry had any idea how to call. 23.