95. Wrestling Observer Flashback–05. 95. 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. “Which is great for wrestling, I guess. Warlord won a battle royale by tossing out Ricky Steamboat. The Twin Towers beat the Rockers at 8:02 when Akeem splashed and pinned Michaels. 96 IT’S TIME. 18. OK, 2005 posts are FINALLY complete, and I got to see Star Wars, so let’s get back to Observing. – Interestingly, the WWF was shown to be popular with 18-25 year olds, with men twice as well represented as women. 95. 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. It’s the year end awards issue! Lots to argue about here, I’m sure. 27th May 2016 by Scott Keith. By Scott Keith on 19th September 2016. – Over in Japan, the first ever 24 hour wrestling and martial arts network, called “Fighting TV Samurai”, launched. 96. Dave notes we. 95. He wears a buffalo head to the ring and everyone backstage was making fun of his gimmick. This was the one and only match in the whole tournament that actually showed why the division could. – 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. 19. – 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. *. 30. – The big story this week is Dave’s preview of the Ultimate Ultimate 96!. Baba apparently has plans to give Akiyama a major push down the line. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 02. Identifier-ark. 05. 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. Manuel Cruz (Jose Gonzalez) b Beauregarde;. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 07. 93. 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. Crockett! Dusty v. Chip screwed up early, but it was decent by the end. Newsletter, Magazine, Wrestling, WWF, WCW, All Japan, New Japan. 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. 23. 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. 17. ***1/4Wrestling Observer Flashback–03. It's great historical reading of the rise and fall of wrestling's biggest boom period. Wrestling Observer Flashback–08. ). Well, one week left until the WWF really goes off a cliff. 89. 09. 23. 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 – 07. – 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 – 10. So you picked a great time to start reading! – In the top story, Jerry Lawler was accused of being a very, very bad boy. Dave runs down the TV shows over the past month and it’s all classic stuff, like the Magnum TA-Mr. Although this one is dated after the Bash ‘90 PPV, the issue is written before. 5. 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 biggest story of the week is actually buried way down. 18. 6. Hogan! Starrcade ‘87 v. – So, Dave says goodbye and announces that this is the final issue of the Observer. 91. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 09. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 11. 26. 18. 25. Identifier-ark. There’s a big main event at the Tokyo Dome! And it sure didn’t go down how anyone expected. The Vancouver version of the NWA Pacific Coast Heavyweight Championship was the major singles title in two National Wrestling Alliance-affiliated Vancouver territories. 95. -. Dave has no idea how successful it’ll be. Mid Atlantic Gateway and Wrestling Observer historical files. 03. – Brad Armstrong will be coming back again, this time as the Candy Man, who throws candy to the kids as his gimmick. WWE Raw draws strong ratings despite historic NFL competition. 15. ark:/13960/t2z39wg7w. A wrestling fan creating original content for YouTube based on my love for pro-wrestling. 90. 11th January 2017 by Scott Keith. The 1997 Observer Rewind shall resume this on Aug. 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. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 11. – 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. 05. Wrestling Observer Flashback–08. Heyman is making. -Pro Wrestling 1983-1987. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 10. It’s a patented Slow News Week as we head into Summerslam, but the issue is still 10 pages. 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. Buyrate looks to be between 0. – The sudden fall of the company seems to stem from the ridiculous circus that was the Yoji Anjyo grandstand challenge to Rickson Gracie, with fans believing that Takada should have called out Gracie for the honor of the company. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 05. 10. The. Newsletter, Magazine, Wrestling, WWF, WCW, All Japan, New Japan. 11. He was the person credited with popularizing the superplex, although he didn’t invent it. 11. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 12. 1. – Kevin Sullivan is a road agent now and appears done with wrestling. 21. Obviously, doctors gave him some mumbo-jumbo diagnosis about “severe spinal disc and sciatic nerve damage”, and. 06. Oh, and WCW tried to make a mini-movie and it didn’t go very well. 27. Wrestling Observer Flashback–01. 04. And now, for the first time I can remember, the UFC gets the lead story. – The Sheik did an extremely rare job, submitting to Onita’s boston crab in just 3:18 at the latest FMW show. 95. The Road Warriors beat the Midnight Express in a scaffold match in 3:00, which kind of ruins their videotape business, Dave thinks. Jim Herd has already killed the wrestling business, and now he’s working on killing the magic business. 03. Perfect. 0 (Extended OCR) Ppi. Wolf, where. Join Dave Meltzer and Brian Alvarez for coverage of the latest in wrestling and mixed-martial arts. They of course had an immediate roster of excuses, mainly that it was scheduled on a night with really tough competition on TV. Baba had actually been. Wrestling Observer Flashback–09. Scanner. 95. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 01. Identifier. 29. – Dave relates a brief history of World Championship Wrestling, and how TBS purchased the company in 1988 despite their crippling debt. Ware on 12/14, as expected. 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. Piper on top. 19 as I try to get as much done as possible in advance. (Just wait until Slamboree. For It’s Time. ”) 3. It’s week 3 of the WWF title being held hostage by Diesel! But don’t worry, this can’t possibly last very long. – Vince McMahon is apparently planning to sue Sgt. By Scott Keith on 24th February 2019. Collection. – So UFC III was supposed to be another easy ride for Royce Gracie, but in fact the KING IS DEAD. 16. Despite the strained relationship, Florida still bills itself as NWA wrestling. 29. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 08. Wrestling Observer Flashback–03. 90. 12. – We’ll skip past the Mr. 2. 02. Mike stuff and get into the main event: STARRCADE ‘84. 94. 88. 04. )3. Wrestling Observer Flashback–07. – In our top story, Roddy Piper made a surprise debut at the end of the Halloween Havoc show, doing what Dave describes as an “undisciplined dialogue” with Hollywood Hogan that actually ran past the expiration of their PPV time. 06. window replacement in Elkhart, IN. Wrestling Observer Flashback–02. By Scott Keith on 15th March 2021. Wrestling Observer Flashback–02. According to Dave’s minions, there was confusion about. I’m giddy. – In the top story, the Justice Department dropped one of the charges against Titan Sports. By Scott Keith on 29th August 2016. By Scott Keith on 27th October 2016. Terry Funk has retired. (This is why Dave needs an editor. – Dave sums up the last PPV of 1996 as “solid but. Wrestling Observer Rewind ★ Dec. 7th. – 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. Wrestling Observer Flashback–12. While it seemingly wasn’t a major milestone in his life at that. – Latest word on Maeda is that he’s got a new promotion in March, but Takada won’t come with. 23. – 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 /. 22. 24. Wrestling Observer Flashback–09. And now, Dave would like to talk about PPV. 28. Addeddate. Curiosity over Kevin’s return is. ”. The match died once Flair went out. In fact, Dave thinks that people’s hatred of the dancing gimmick is overshadowing how much he’s improved as a worker. 27. Thankfully, the Observer archives are fixed, so let’s get back into the swing of things again. 96. 26, 1994 (Final Post for 1994) Going through old issues of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter and posting highlights in my own words. – 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 – 05. 5-4-1987. Well, sort of. 90. 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. Here’s a shocking story to start this week’s issue: Dave is a really big fan of New Japan Pro Wrestling. 94. 88. By Scott Keith on 27th October 2016. – 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. 01. He was at the other guys’ PPVs this year taking notes, as well as New Japan and All Japan’s major shows. ) An industry shaking death in this issue, but. Publication date. 87. 20 to an average of 2. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 01. 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”. 86. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 10. 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. 0 (Extended OCR) Ppi. – Eddie Gilbert was found dead in his apartment in Puerto Rico on 2/18, at age 33. *1/4. 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. – Antonio Inoki is trying to get into the boxer v. At one point, UWFI was one of the biggest success stories in wrestling, and in 1993, they drew 46,000 fans to a. – 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. 88. 2 million, making it the largest gate in pro wrestling history. – Dave sums up the last PPV of 1996 as “solid but unspectacular”. 96. – On the bright side, Warrior v. 94. 96. 23. 96. – 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. By Scott Keith on 12th June 2016. Man, so people REALLY did not like that In Your House show. It was basically just a backdrop for the Virgil babyface turn. By Scott Keith on 1st October 2017. – 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. Kayfabe Commentaries Releases Newest Installment of Their “Supercard” Series. Tenryu as the main event of a show on 2/7. 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. 06. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 08. Dave also lists the match with the Rock N Roll Express v. The main event saw Tito Santana beating Bob Orton for the newly created AWF title in a *3/4 match. – 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. 96. – 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. Wrestling Observer Flashback–12. Chelsea Anne Cardona (née: Green; born April 4, 1991) is a Canadian professional wrestler, stuntwoman, and model. This hold up comes on the heels of two other major stories: Hennig is supposed to be heading to WWF, meanwhile. And since “long term thinking” these days is “three. 19. The feeling is that running a show in the traditional Sunday timeslot where live shows draw will kill off the house shows. Which is still 10 pages long. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 07. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 04. 96. – 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. 26. 20. 1985 Wrestling Observer Yearbook. Jack Petrik would have to wage war against the WWF and spent lots of money to win, and it. – There’s very little going on due to Christmas, but Jerry Lawler did regain the USWA title from Koko B. 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. Wrestling Observer Flashback–03. *1/4. 95. (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. 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”. But goddamn is “Eyes of a Stranger. 18. I just don’t think things are gonna work out for that promotion. – Latest figures are in, and WCW is looking like a 0. So I guess it’s a Wrestling Observer Flashback Flashback. 30th August 2017 by Scott Keith. 95. 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. 95. 22. 11-4-1991. 96. 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. – 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. *3/4. Wrestling Observer Flashback–08. – 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. 11. 4. Bobby Eaton pinned Terrence Taylor in 15:41 with the Alabama Jam. Oh, Dave. 19. 96 (Part Two) – In the top story, “Sycle” Sid won the WWF title in the main event of the Survivor Series. – Dave gets a funny bit when he notes that ever since taking over as booker, Dundee has suddenly gained amazing recuperative powers in his matches. Dusty missed a blind charge and got pinned by Ted for the finish, ending his WWF career. 94. 23. – 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. By Scott Keith on 26th May 2016. I guess I’ll just be typing one-handed. Bruiser Brody (“Nobody gives an aura of violent realism. 5 million as a startup amount and NOW got $480,000, and once they’ve blown through that, he’s done. 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. Slaughter for “stealing the character”. The PPV showdown of 1987 is upon us! It’s Vince v. ”This is horrible, Gorilla. – 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. Tenta was pretty over during his one appearance, so EMLL is trying to get him back. ABBYY FineReader 11. 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. Tickets are 45,000 yen, which translates to $429, aka the most expensive wrestling tickets in history. – The show drew 7000 with 4700 paid and a $94,000 house. 0. By Scott Keith on 22nd August 2022. -. 96. 96. 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. 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. 96 Can I make it more than. 8 this week. – In the Deep South, the main guys are Wrestling II and Tommy Rich, and they run out of Georgia. Ted Dibiase & Virgil beat Dusty & Dustin Rhodes at 9:57. By Scott Keith on 19th April 2016. Well this should do better than NWA Powerrr at least. 96. 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. 92. 05. 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. It’s the Observer issue so huge that Dave has to post it to the archives TWICE to make sure! So yeah, Flair got fired, let’s get back into it! – The Flair firing actually made the national news, with papers throughout the country picking up the story, with all coverage being sympathetic to Flair. 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. OK, let’s get back into these again. – San Fran is the big head-to-head battle between the AWA and WWF, and Vince won that one handily thus far. – In a story that seems small but kind of ended up heralding the end of an era in wrestling, the way. Wrestling Observer Flashback–10. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 04. – Moving on, Joe Pedicino has purchased Jerry Jarrett’s syndicated TV network with the millions of dollars he’s got coming from Nigeria. Oh, Dave. 86. – 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. By Scott Keith on 18th April 2022. Wrestling Observer Flashback–04. Internet Archive HTML5 Uploader 1. Wrestling Observer Historical Pieces. – It’s sounding like Scott Steiner will work Halloween Havoc, but won’t be doing much. NWA Canadian Heavyweight Championship. 96 IT’S TIME. Continue reading. Ocr. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 09. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 01. But first! An update on the Shawn Michaels incident in Syracuse. 95. 11. Back on track after our detour back to March yesterday. Topics. – 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. The one in 1995, although you might also assume I was talking about the NXT one recently because that one wasn’t great either. 96 (Part Two) – In the top story, “Sycle” Sid won the WWF title in the main event of the Survivor Series. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 08. 16. Current talk is a rematch with Shawn Michaels at Summerslam in a ladder. 3. 96. Wrestling Observer Flashback–02. By Scott Keith on 5th February 2016. By Scott Keith on 14th August 2016. – Another quiet week in the world of wrestling, as we’re waiting for Starrcade and Superdome results. And now it’s time for the MONDAY NIGHT WARS. 0 number predicted by. They even flew in Steve DiSalvo as part of the ring crew to. Was shit real before? Well, it’s about to become real.