*1/4. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 09. 03. – 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. By Scott Keith on 1st June 2019. 24. Survivor Series!World Wrestling Federation presented a live pay-per-view event special live from Hartford, Conn. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 11. The grand plan for five days a week has been dropped and ESPN will air reruns of Pro Wrestling This Week instead. – 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. Production quality was high, the wrestling quality not so much. – The really big news coming out of the first head-to-head meeting of RAW and Nitro is that WCW immediately took the lead in the ratings war, with a 2. 1. – Dave sums up the last PPV of 1996 as “solid but. Piper on top. This group will likely merge in and out with SWS and make appearances on their shows, and will have the pro wrestling ga-ga that Fujiwara wanted to work into the UWF promotion originally. – Dave sums up the last PPV of 1996 as “solid but unspectacular”. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 08. – In a story that seems small but kind of ended up heralding the end of an era in wrestling, the way. 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. – 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. I just don’t think things are gonna work out for that promotion. Wrestling Flashback publishes wrestling list videos, top 10’s, the history of classic. Terry Funk has retired. 90. 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. 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. Well, one week left until the WWF really goes off a cliff. -The Mondo 19 most intriguing personalities of ‘86-30 key pro wrestling personalities of ‘86 with quick bios-Observer Awards, leading news stories of. – 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. 96. 95. 94. 86. 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 – 02. ” (Now there’s an understatement!) – Based on current trends and advertising, SuperBrawl is looking to do. – 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. – In the Deep South, the main guys are Wrestling II and Tommy Rich, and they run out of Georgia. Well, sort of. 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 – 04. 94. Ted Dibiase & Virgil beat Dusty & Dustin Rhodes at 9:57. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 10. And now it’s time for the MONDAY NIGHT WARS. 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. 94. – 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. – 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. Continue reading. 2. 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. He was at the other guys’ PPVs this year taking notes, as well as New Japan and All Japan’s major shows. By Scott Keith on 19th March 2016. He apparently gave WAR $1. 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. 20. Thankfully, the Observer archives are fixed, so let’s get back into the swing of things again. *1/4. – And now, let’s talk about pay-per-view. 86. Wrestling Observer Flashback–06. For It’s Time. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 10. By Scott Keith on 10th July 2016. 30, 1996 (Final Post for 1996) Going through old issues of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter and posting highlights in my own words. The main event saw Tito Santana beating Bob Orton for the newly created AWF title in a *3/4 match. No one tell Donald Trump. – 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. 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. – 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. At the latest WWF tapings, a guy named Mantaur debuted. 10. – Jim Cornette continues bringing the funny. – All Japan on 9/17 saw the debut of former Olympic wrestler Jun Akiyama, who was pinned by Kenta Kobashi in the semi-main of the show. 48 buyrate (120,000 buys) for the Great American Bash in June, with WWF doing 0. 96. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 11. 08. 10-21-1991. – Andre’s beginnings in the sport are something of a mystery. 95, which is good but well below the 2. “Hey look, it’s Joe Weider” – Not sure what that refers to, but I’m sure we’ll find out. By Scott Keith on 14th March 2019. 25. 5. Obviously, doctors gave him some mumbo-jumbo diagnosis about “severe spinal disc and sciatic nerve damage”, and. 05. By on 9th March 2017. – 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–08. Sorry. By Scott Keith on 22nd September 2023 Wrestling Observer Flashback – 12. 5 to 2. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 01. 95. The 1997 Observer Rewind shall resume this on Aug. Smackdown Date: May 12, 2016 Location: Wells Fargo Arena, Des Moines, Iowa Commentators: Mauro Ranallo, Byron Saxton, Jerry Lawler. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 03. 96. Wrestling Observer Flashback–12. 94. 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. ***1/4Wrestling Observer Flashback–03. 06. 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. ABBYY FineReader 11. The first wrestling move of the match came at 10:00, which was Hogan no-selling the powerbomb and making his comeback. 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. – Zulu was fired from World Class for refusing to do a job to Mike Von Erich. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 12. Wrestling Observer Flashback–09. – 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. 13. 94. . Well this should do better than NWA Powerrr at least. 22. And now, for the first time I can remember, the UFC gets the lead story. Wrestling Observer Flashback–02. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 01. 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. The previous record was 69,000 for the Big Event. 96. At 4:00, Warrior splashed Demolition Axe. – The Rougeaus are telling Montreal newspapers that they’re taking a one year sabbatical from wrestling before returning late in 1990. Bobby Eaton pinned Terrence Taylor in 15:41 with the Alabama Jam. Wolf, where. – So UFC III was supposed to be another easy ride for Royce Gracie, but in fact the KING IS DEAD. ark:/13960/s2tmw3h1hz8. – Latest word on Maeda is that he’s got a new promotion in March, but Takada won’t come with. Wrestling Observer Flashback–09. 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,. 16. 01. – Anyway, moving on…. wrestlingmagazinesmisc;. 1. – In Japan, SWS continues to alienate Japanese wrestling fans by booking WARLORD v. 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. The team (Gene and Ole Anderson) dominated tag team. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 07. By Scott Keith on 27th October 2016. (1) Ultimate Warrior & Legion of Doom & Texas Tornado (Kerry Von Erich) beat Team Demolition & Mr. 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. Newsletter, Magazine, Wrestling, WWF, WCW, All Japan, New Japan. The feeling is that running a show in the traditional Sunday timeslot where live shows draw will kill off the house shows. 96. 25. Wrestling Observer Flashback–11. 03. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 04. They of course had an immediate roster of excuses, mainly that it was scheduled on a night with really tough competition on TV. 05. Instead, in the wake of a disappointing buyrate, the decision was made to concentrate on doing better tournaments. ) An industry shaking death in this issue, but. Pillman was a little rusty but still got an excellent match out of Wright. By Scott Keith on 19th September 2016. Nasties sold well at least. 27. 60 and 0. 11. 12. Wrestling Observer Flashback–04. Dave sarcastically notes that “it sure turned Brett Sawyer. – Fall Brawl was great undercard wrestling, bad main event, and booking filled with more holes than Swiss Cheese. By Scott Keith on 7th March 2017. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 10. 22. By Scott Keith on 18th April 2022. – Eddie Gilbert was found dead in his apartment in Puerto Rico on 2/18, at age 33. – Another quiet week in the world of wrestling, as we’re waiting for Starrcade and Superdome results. 3. 7th. 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. Trying to power through this one before UFC 200. Identifier-ark. Brian Pillman pinned Badstreet with a flying bodypress in the light heavyweight tournament semi-final at 6:52. – Speaking of New Japan, they sold out 5 consecutive nights at Sumo Hall for the G1 Climax, ending with IWGP champion Keiji Muto becoming the first reigning champion to win the tournament, taking out Shinya Hashimoto in the finals. – Dave 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. It’s week 3 of the WWF title being held hostage by Diesel! But don’t worry, this can’t possibly last very long. Get all the news from F4WOnline. Also, ROYAL RUMBLE. 96. – 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. Newsletter, Magazine, Wrestling, WWF, WCW, All Japan, New Japan. Nasty Boys retained the tag titles over the Bushwackers in 6:46. Crockett! Dusty 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. – 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. Pillman was playing subtle heel to start and got less subtle as the match went on. )This argument includes Wrestlemania V, which is widely believed to be the highest grossing wrestling show in HISTORY. on November 22, 1990 – “Survivor Series ’90. 96. 90. Everything is confusing and it’s all centering on the AWA. 29. – 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. See if you can guess when we get to it. – But first, speculation is still running rampant in the wake of Ole Anderson getting fired as booker. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 05. com & WrestlingObserver. Dave, however, cites the court case of Boy v. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 07. 07. By Scott Keith on 29th August 2016. 77, or about the same as Starrcade. – Art Barr’s petition for a wrestling license was denied by the commission once again. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 01. 10. Manuel Cruz (Jose Gonzalez) b Beauregarde;. Hogan! Starrcade ‘87 v. 96. Sid actually drew pretty big on the East coast, doing 11,000 at the Nassau Coliseum and 8000 in Philly. *. – 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. 96. 96. Owen Hart was the second-best star of the show after Flair. By Scott Keith on 4th June 2016. ) – 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. 11-4-1991. Although this one is dated after the Bash ‘90 PPV, the issue is written before. wrestling business himself, negotiating with Buster Douglas for a Tokyo Dome show in March. 07. Dave also lists the match with the Rock N Roll Express v. 86. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 11. – 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 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. It’s like Wrestlemania, but for NEWS. (Clearly Wrestlemania had not become the thing it is today, because $429 barely gets you a nosebleed seat at this point. 10-28-1991. Owen won with a Rocket Launcher on Tanaka. Ocr. 19. – 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. – The WWF is on hiatus for a bit after WM, so Dave apologizes in advance for the light news week. – 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. Continue reading Rants. Mike stuff and get into the main event: STARRCADE ‘84. 96. (This is why Dave needs an editor. – 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. Well, that probably won’t happen again for a while. 22. 01. – 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. Rude/Vader tag match, the highest rating for any wrestling match on TV in more than a year. 90. – The WWF is reportedly considering adding a weekly Saturday PPV show, according to trade journal reports. Buyrate looks to be between 0. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 12. – The Wrestling Classic, scheduled to be the first ever nationally available PPV show, will feature a 16 man tournament, plus Hogan v. NEXT WEEK: The Monday Night War begins. 06. By Scott Keith on 16th December 2017. The. The match died once Flair went out. Unfortunately, he was the furthest thing from an. *1/2. Man, so people REALLY did not like that In Your House show. Observer Flashbacks; Wrestling Observer Flashback–04. Lex Luger jumped out of the final mystery box to attack Sting, injuring the wrong leg (Instinct on Luger’s part due to all his lucha libre experience, Dave notes) but it was a pretty great angle. – Van Hammer won the arm wrestling tournament, beating Ron Simmons in the finals, which Dave interprets as continuing his newfound push. So with the year in PPV finally caught up, let us venture back to the world of 1994 again, with rumors of Hulk Hogan. 86. 11th January 2017 by Scott Keith. A total brawl with great heat, although the DQ was called for no apparent reason. Topics. GROUP #2: Nobuhiko Takada is forming the UWFi (Union of Pro Wrestling Force International) and they’ll also be running Korakuen Hall, in May, and. 94. com~!Wrestling Observer Rewind • Dec. – Buzz Sawyer agreed to work an indy date for Rob Russan in San Jose, and was supposed to provide the ring and some students from his wrestling school as underneath jobbers. By Scott Keith on 23rd November 2017. 20. 14. 90. Hosted by Sean Oliver, he welcomes guest the Honky Tonk Man as he talks about SummerSlam ’88. 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. 5 to a 2. 09. Wrestling Observer Flashback–02. 04. The debut of Giant Gonzalez (who was “wearing Ultimate Warrior’s old underwear”) perked things up again. Heyman is making. *. Despite running in the red for the past three years, both WCW and the WWF are confident that they’re going to be profitable in 1995 thanks to this new-fangled PPV market. 5. 04. Join Dave Meltzer and Brian Alvarez for coverage of the latest in wrestling and mixed-martial arts. Ric Flair (“He’s slowed down a bit”) 2. 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 Twin Towers beat the Rockers at 8:02 when Akeem splashed and pinned Michaels. Curiosity over Kevin’s return is. Gene Anderson, founding member of the Minnesota Wrecking Crew tag team died. Scanner. 05. But I think it’s a pretty famous case of hotline sleaze related to Blackwell’s death. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 10. com archives, and any other sources I’ve checked, so we’re skipping ahead a week. Not by putting on a better product or drawing more money, but by signing one of their soon-to-be-ubiquitous exclusivity contracts with the Kiel Auditorium and thus preventing the NWA-affiliated St. Welcome to 1996 WCW, notes our teaser for this week. Guys, it sounds like the Diamond Studd will soon be appearing in WCW again! We’ll see how that goes for them. THANKSGIVING FLASHBACK - November 23, 1972. (My joke, not Dave’s) In freezing temperatures, Crockett had his showdown with Vince, featuring the debut of the NWA in Hamilton taking on Roddy Piper’s Canadian farewell in Toronto. A wrestling fan creating original content for YouTube based on my love for pro-wrestling. By Scott Keith on 9th September 2016. They even flew in Steve DiSalvo as part of the ring crew to. It drew a legit sellout of 5708 to West Palm Beach. 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. 22. The 85 issues are quite a trip, since it’s a very different writing style than even these ones. Kayfabe Commentaries Releases Newest Installment of Their “Supercard” Series. – Interestingly, the WWF was shown to be popular with 18-25 year olds, with men twice as well represented as women. 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. Davey Boy Smith (“Athletically the best in the business. 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. Topics. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 02. Jack Petrik would have to wage war against the WWF and spent lots of money to win, and it. Dave has no idea how successful it’ll be. C. D if wrestling was fake and got slapped around pretty good as a result. Eaton did a scary kneedrop from the top rope to the ramp outside the ring for the highlight of the match. Guess it’s time for another one of these. 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. Jerry Lawler in a cage match where the loser gets his head shaved. – 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 – 07. I’m actually recovering from a shoulder injury at work today but I’ll power through an Observer Flashback for you. 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. For. 3-21-1988. 14. 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. 4. 04. These words open the issue this week, because Wrestlemania IV is in the books and, well, it was not pretty. 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. 23, because for every viewer gained on Nitro, there was a viewer lost on Saturdays and it kind of averaged out. But goddamn is “Eyes of a Stranger. Mid Atlantic Gateway and Wrestling Observer historical files. 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. 28. 96. -. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 08. 28. And since “long term thinking” these days is “three. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 09. 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. 96. Ah, wrestling, where one guy can beat up another guy for real and flush his head. 31. 4. – 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. Louis Wrestling Club from running. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 11. 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. – 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. 3. 27. 567. Wrestling Observer Flashback –04. – 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. 29. – It’s COLD WAR in Toronto.