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. By Scott Keith on 3rd October 2019. By Scott Keith on 27th October 2016. Guys, it sounds like the Diamond Studd will soon be appearing in WCW again! We’ll see how that goes for them. Publication date. 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,. 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. 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. – The Wrestling Classic, scheduled to be the first ever nationally available PPV show, will feature a 16 man tournament, plus Hogan v. 05. 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. Which is still 10 pages long. Dave sarcastically notes that “it sure turned Brett Sawyer. Thankfully, the Observer archives are fixed, so let’s get back into the swing of things again. 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. Wrestling Observer Flashback–08. – The Ole Anderson & Gordon Solie version of World Championship Wrestling returned to TBS on 8/13, so in fact we missed the entire Black Saturday era! – The Road Warriors won the AWA tag team titles from the Crusher & the Baron as Dave breathes a sigh of relief, and apparently this was booked very last minute because Vince. 30th August 2017 by Scott Keith. Wrestling Observer Flashback–09. 96. 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. 09. 86. 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”. Wrestling Observer Flashback–11. 88. A January 1966 issue of Vue magazine featuring Bill Hook and his octopus-wrestling adventures in Victoria, B. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 04. Get all the news from F4WOnline. The WWF drew 16000 and Crockett drew 3000, so point to Vince on that one. Dave runs down the TV shows over the past month and it’s all classic stuff, like the Magnum TA-Mr. Perfect won a battle royale in 12:55. Dave is pretty sure Gonzalez will draw as long as he’s never allowed to touch anyone ever. -. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 12. 1. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 09. 3/4. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 11. Dodge Iowa. We’re almost there! One week left! – It’s almost time for the new fall season of wrestling, and it’s a big one. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 06. 87. 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. Jim Herd has already killed the wrestling business, and now he’s working on killing the magic business. – 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. – Antonio Inoki is trying to get into the boxer v. 16. Pillman was a little rusty but still got an excellent match out of Wright. The one in 1995, although you might also assume I was talking about the NXT one recently because that one wasn’t great either. 88. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 12. 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–05. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 03. – 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 /. 96. He was at the other guys’ PPVs this year taking notes, as well as New Japan and All Japan’s major shows. 15. 94. 89. 21. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 11. Kayfabe Commentaries Releases Newest Installment of Their “Supercard” Series. It’s a patented Slow News Week as we head into Summerslam, but the issue is still 10 pages. I believe that’s known as the Kerry Von Erich Special in wrestling. – Bam Bam Bigelow is trying to get into the WWF, but word from on high is that he’s “too inexperienced”. 94. 15. 93. 28. – Dave’s opening salvo this week: “After its television show reached a new low in. He wears a buffalo head to the ring and everyone backstage was making fun of his gimmick. Wrestling Observer Flashback–06. By Scott Keith on 18th October 2016. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 12. 95. 16. Oh, Dave. – Another quiet week in the world of wrestling, as we’re waiting for Starrcade and Superdome results. 4. 94. 3-21-1988. Here’s a shocking story to start this week’s issue: Dave is a really big fan of New Japan Pro Wrestling. 95. Sorry. 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. I just don’t think things are gonna work out for that promotion. 95. 05. By Scott Keith on 19th September 2016. – On the bright side, Warrior v. 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. Main event is. – 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. I feel like that can’t be a coincidence. Michaels worked his ass off, although it came out later that he was hungover and stoned at the time. 96. 5-4-1987. Tickets are 45,000 yen, which translates to $429, aka the most expensive wrestling tickets in history. She is currently signed to WWE, where she performs on the. Internet Archive HTML5 Uploader 1. Couldn’t do this one last night, because Daredevil is a thing that exists. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 05. 22. 09. 11. – 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. (This is why. By Scott Keith on 14th August 2016. 02. 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. 96. 18. Wrestling Observer Flashback–02. Wrestling Observer Flashback–09. 11. The. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 07. ” (Now there’s an understatement!) – Based on current trends and advertising, SuperBrawl is looking to do. *. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 01. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 10. 87. I’m actually recovering from a shoulder injury at work today but I’ll power through an Observer Flashback for you. 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. 25. By Scott Keith on 18th April 2022. Hogan! Starrcade ‘87 v. – So, Dave says goodbye and announces that this is the final issue of the Observer. – It’s sounding like Scott Steiner will work Halloween Havoc, but won’t be doing much. – Actually, first it’s a bit of political talk, as Hiroshi Hase won election to the senate in Japan. – Michinoku Pro debuted on 3/16 to huge amounts of local publicity, since they’re the first attempt at a regional promotion in the country. Terry Funk has retired. This was the one and only match in the whole tournament that actually showed why the division could. 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. Owen won with a Rocket Launcher on Tanaka. OK, 2005 posts are FINALLY complete, and I got to see Star Wars, so let’s get back to Observing. Sacramento Memorial Auditorium. 6. – In the top story, Sports Illustrated had a story on the WWF in March, and no one in mainstream media really gave a shit. Bobby Eaton pinned Chip the Firebreaker in 4:52 with a back suplex. 20. 96. 90 / 07. While it seemingly wasn’t a major milestone in his life at that. Shinjiro Otani retained the UWA junior heavyweight title pinning El Samurai. Wolf, where. Papa Shango ran in for the DQ, and Ultimate Warrior made the save, complete with entrance music. 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. 25. – 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. 16. Owen Hart was the second-best star of the show after Flair. Wrestling Observer Flashback–08. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 02. Andre started in the sport at the age of 12, already 6’3”, and fell in with a. The match died once Flair went out. Winner of the 2016 Doomie Award for Favorite Blog Post!. – In a story that seems small but kind of ended up heralding the end of an era in wrestling, the way. The show would air live every Saturday night, from New York, and would cater heavily to an. – It’s COLD WAR in Toronto. 5 to a 2. 96 Remember how in last week’s issue, Kevin Nash had until the weekend to make up his mind about leaving…? – In the top story, Kevin Nash officially gave notice to the WWF that he’d be accepting an offer from WCW, via phone call to Vince McMahon on 3/5. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 08. ”. Well this should do better than NWA Powerrr at least. ark:/13960/s2tmw3h1hz8. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 05. 07. 2. Scanner. Topics. It's great historical reading of the rise and fall of wrestling's biggest boom period. 05. Well, that probably won’t happen again for a while. 5. 95. Pillman was playing subtle heel to start and got less subtle as the match went on. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 11. 11. 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. 04. – Latest figures are in, and WCW is looking like a 0. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 08. 19. Nasty Boys retained the tag titles over the Bushwackers in 6:46. No one tell Donald Trump. 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. ***1/4Wrestling Observer Flashback–03. Wrestling Observer Flashback: 07. 26. – The Rougeaus are telling Montreal newspapers that they’re taking a one year sabbatical from wrestling before returning late in 1990. 92. By Scott Keith on 22nd September 2023 Wrestling Observer Flashback – 12. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 11. Dave thinks that the competition will be mostly for the better, with faster-moving storylines and better wrestling on TV. 16. 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. 27. – The WWF announced that the Wrestling Classic did about 60,000 buys on PPV, which was 200,000 less than their announced projections. 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. -The Mondo 19 most intriguing personalities of ‘86-30 key pro wrestling personalities of ‘86 with quick bios-Observer Awards, leading news stories of. 16. Manuel Cruz (Jose Gonzalez) b Beauregarde;. – Reportedly, World champion Mike Tyson has signed with the WWF to referee a match. – In the Deep South, the main guys are Wrestling II and Tommy Rich, and they run out of Georgia. By Dave Meltzer Nov 21, 2023. NWA Canadian Heavyweight Championship. Rants. Lesson the Fourth: Antonio Pena is the new innovator in wrestling and everyone should listen to him. Smackdown Date: May 12, 2016 Location: Wells Fargo Arena, Des Moines, Iowa Commentators: Mauro Ranallo, Byron Saxton, Jerry Lawler. – We’ll skip past the Mr. – 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. Credit Dave Meltzer, Wrestling Observer Newsletter. By Scott Keith on 1st January 2021. 26. 25. Buyrate looks to be between 0. For It’s Time. 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. Bruiser Brody (“Nobody gives an aura of violent realism. The government side says it’s for “tactical reasons”, while the WWF. Wrestling breakup and Cornette getting his face shoved in a birthday cake. 23. By Scott Keith on 4th June 2016. Welcome to 1996 WCW, notes our teaser for this week. Max Moon was eliminated quickly because his spaceship was double-parked. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 01. 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. 0 (Extended OCR) Ppi. 88. 86. These words open the issue this week, because Wrestlemania IV is in the books and, well, it was not pretty. wrestling business himself, negotiating with Buster Douglas for a Tokyo Dome show in March. – 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. They even flew in Steve DiSalvo as part of the ring crew to. Rude/Vader tag match, the highest rating for any wrestling match on TV in more than a year. 20. 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. The biggest story of the week is actually buried way down. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 08. 77, or about the same as Starrcade. By Scott Keith on 27th October 2016. ark:/13960/t2z39wg7w. 60 (150,000 buys) for King of the Ring. 90. Big stuff in the news this week, and the start of the biggest shift in coverage in the history of the Observer. It's great historical reading of the rise and fall of wrestling's biggest boom period. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 10. I’m not. Ted Dibiase & Virgil beat Dusty & Dustin Rhodes at 9:57. By Scott Keith on 5th February 2016. – Van Hammer won the arm wrestling tournament, beating Ron Simmons in the finals, which Dave interprets as continuing his newfound push. 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. 26. – 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. 95. 96 (Part Two) – In the top story, “Sycle” Sid won the WWF title in the main event of the Survivor Series. 96. 19. 95. – Although the WWF had “by far” the superior show, WCW won the ratings battle with a 2. Ken Wayne found the body after. The New Foundation beat the Orient Express in 17:18. They’re owned by Jody Hamilton (Nick Patrick’s dad) and they do about 200 people per show. 29. The ratings were just too low and the costs were just. – 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. 06. Wrestling Observer Flashback–11. 16. 14. 94. By Scott Keith on 24th February 2019. ”. 27. By Scott Keith on 29th August 2016. 08. 1985. 5-11-1987. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 07. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 06. 01. 95. 10-21-1991. 01. – The Sheik did an extremely rare job, submitting to Onita’s boston crab in just 3:18 at the latest FMW show. 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. Maybe if I skim over the Eddie Gilbert stuff it’ll get done easier. Big John Tenta pinned Koji Kitao with an elbowdrop in 6:10. Wrestling Observer Rewind ★ Dec. 19. – 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. By Scott Keith on 1st June 2019. 96. 94. Observer Flashbacks; Wrestling Observer Flashback–04. This hold up comes on the heels of two other major stories: Hennig is supposed to be heading to WWF, meanwhile. 25. 10-28-1991. At one point, UWFI was one of the biggest success stories in wrestling, and in 1993, they drew 46,000 fans to a. Wrestling Observer Flashback–02. – Anyway, moving on. For. – 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. 05. – 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. 95. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 08. 95. I guess I’ll just be typing one-handed. By Scott Keith on 7th March 2017. Oh, Dave. 27. ”) 3. 95. Wrestling Observer Flashback–12. 87. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 09. The Road Warriors beat the Midnight Express in a scaffold match in 3:00, which kind of ruins their videotape business, Dave thinks. Pillman tried a crucifix and Wright reversed it for the pin. But if you’re reading it in the archives in December, then MERRY CHRISTMAS! – Continuing on with the saga of Dynamite Kid’s messed up back, he was flown into Calgary for surgery after being paralyzed from the waist down. 90. Guess it’s time for another one of these. 96. 5 million as a startup amount and NOW got $480,000, and once they’ve blown through that, he’s done. 1. 28. Dave, however, cites the court case of Boy v. At 4:00, Warrior splashed Demolition Axe. So after Masa Chono won the NWA title tournament, Thesz did a press conference for UWFI where he agreed to award his old NWA World title belt to the winner of the UWFI World title match between Takada and Gary. Ric Flair pinned Butch Reed in 14:13 to earn a tag title shot at Starrcade. 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. 04. Instead, in the wake of a disappointing buyrate, the decision was made to concentrate on doing better tournaments. 29. – 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. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 02. 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. 96. – 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. Wrestling Observer Flashback–07. Join Dave Meltzer and Brian Alvarez for coverage of the latest in wrestling and mixed-martial arts. By Scott Keith on 18th April 2022. 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. – 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. – Dave relates a brief history of World Championship Wrestling, and how TBS purchased the company in 1988 despite their crippling debt. 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 – 10. Just for fun, here’s Dave’s Summer 1984 Rankings. 09. 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. )This argument includes Wrestlemania V, which is widely believed to be the highest grossing wrestling show in HISTORY. 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. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 09. When it comes to catching and wrestling a giant. Wrestling Observer Flashback–03. 90. WWE News. 96. 95 (Carrying on! Another one written on or about 09. 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. – To Mexico, where it looks like EMLL is about to split. Scanner. And now, Dave would like to talk about PPV. 26. 21. 95. Was shit real before? Well, it’s about to become real. Identifier-ark. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 11. It’s like Wrestlemania, but for NEWS. The grand plan for five days a week has been dropped and ESPN will air reruns of Pro Wrestling This Week instead. Back in the saddle with these again. 96 (Part Two) – In the top story, “Sycle” Sid won the WWF title in the main event of the Survivor Series. So you picked a great time to start reading! – In the top story, Jerry Lawler was accused of being a very, very bad boy. The NWA Canadian Heavyweight Championship was the top singles title in Maple Leaf Wrestling from 1978 until 1984,. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 10. Well, sort of. – 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. The main event. The PPV showdown of 1987 is upon us! It’s Vince v. They of course had an immediate roster of excuses, mainly that it was scheduled on a night with really tough competition on TV. But it probably bombed because it was clearly a throwaway show. Daprice did every issue for the 90's through 2001. 01. Warlord won a battle royale by tossing out Ricky Steamboat. – Dave sums up the last PPV of 1996 as “solid but. ABBYY FineReader 11. 06.