Jump to content
Pro Wrestling Only

Dirt Sheets


LowBlowPodcast

Recommended Posts

WWF Notes

 

It looks like the final card for WrestleMania II has been released after this week's Prime Time and it goes as follows...

 

WrestleMania II

WWF CHAMPIONSHIP

Hulk Hogan © w/ William Perry vs Ted Dibiase w/ Big Bossman

INTERCONTINENTAL CHAMPIONSHIP

Randy Savage © w/ Elizabeth vs Barry Windham w/ Bobby Heenan

TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP

The Hart Foundation vs The Fabulous Ones © w/ Jimmy Hart

Andre the Giant vs Stan Hansen

Billy Jack Haynes vs King Kong Bundy w/ Bobby Heenan

Curt Hennig vs Rick Rude w/ Bobby Heenan

Dino Bravo vs Greg Valentine w/ Jimmy Hart

Tito Santana & The British Bulldogs vs Sika & Demolition w/ Mr. Fuji

$20,000 Battle Royal

Bull Ganter, One Man Gang, Nikolai Volkoff, Paul Roma, Hercules, Manny Fernandez, Jim Powers, Shawn Michaels, Marty Jannetty, Honkytonk Man, Sika, Sting, The Tonga Kid, Brutus Beefcake, Brian Blair, & Jim Brunzell, and others

Not too many surprises here in terms of extra matches. Each of the contests does have some backstory to it. One source inside of the WWF pointed out how the matches aren't all set to be feud enders but rather feud continuers... whatever that word means. Long story short, matches like Tito and the Dogs vs Muraco and Demo is going to be an ongoing feud over the next couple of months while many expect Andre and Hansen to be the one off. We did see a couple of tag team encounters with Hansen and Dibiase vs Hogan and Andre but in terms of one on one this will be it.

 

Lots of rumors surrounding King Kong Bundy who has been vocal that he wanted the Andre match and the payoff that went with it. He came back to the WWF to be a top guy and has been positioned in an upper card spot but not a main event which has upset the big guy. Rude and Fernandez have also had some issues as they wanted to be a full-time tag team but WWF officials have not wanted to go in that direction with the other members of the roster.

 

​Speaking of tag teams... the Killer Bees showed up this week on syndication and will be at WrestleMania but some have already heard they are upset about their positioning. The WWF is high on a new tandem of Sting and Tonga Kid while teams like the Harts, Rockers, and Bulldogs all get some great shine on television.

 

Perhaps one of the biggest stories out of this week is that Hulk Hogan has been a key point in doing some cross promotion with the JWA and WWF. Hogan and Andre are HUGE draws in Japan and have been signed up for some tours but how does this affect their WWF schedules? I know one of the dates is a SNME... will Hogan miss a big taping like that? Will he even be the champion? There are some rumors going around that the time is now for Ted Dibiase and while it may not be at WrestleMania... but Hogan could lose that title to him soon!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Replies 286
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

Mid Atlantic Championship Wrestling News



Sources say Ric Flair is extremely unhappy with NWA President Bob Geigel and has been very vocal about it. Flair is upset at the fact that he has yet to get a rematch for the NWA World title. He told the Crockett's he would accept the US title on the condition this would guarantee him a World Title match. The Crockett's insisted he would get a title shot. Geigel however told Flair he would have to wait in line as the champ is booked solid. Flair feels this is the ultimate act of disrespect. He also feels the Crockett's aren't supporting him the way they should. On top of this, Flair, Tully and Arn are still having money issues with the Crockett's. They're tired of outsiders coming in and making more money for the big cards. Tully is very unhappy with his position with the company. He feels that every since he lost the US title at Starrcade, he hasn't been used properly. It was reported that he told David Crockett that Lutte did more with him on one TV show than the Crockett's have done with him in 3 months. There is also friction within the 4 Horsemen as the NWA wants the Andersons to drop the tag titles soon. Ole feels the reason is because of the constant "whining" from Flair, Tully and Arn regarding the pay offs. He told Arn, word has gotten around to other promoters in the NWA and this worried them and they feel they should have a more emotionally stable team representing the NWA. Arn has said he's very happy and fortunate to be a champion but agrees with Flair and Tully about the pay offs. He feels the Mid Atlantic roster can pack the houses and take home more money rather than pay big money to the outsiders. Arn thinks this is solely between them and the Crockett's and not about the NWA. Ole disagrees as he says it all ties in.



Look for some roster changes as Ron Fuller, Bob Roop and Brett Sawyer are heading out and Tiger Jeet Singh, Blackjack Mulligan and Jimmy Valiant are coming in. The Crockett's brought Sawyer in strictly for a program with Johnny Rich. The Crockett's were very pleased and grateful to Sawyer as they feel he did a great job getting Johnny over. And of course the Crockett's are happy to have former Mid Atlantic favorites, Mulligan and Valiant back with them. They're also excited to have an international star like Singh arriving. Look for Singh to have a high profile match at the big Spring Spectacular show in April. Also abruptly leaving are the Nightmares. The Nightmares were unhappy with their positioning and wanted to turn heel but the Crockett's told them there was just no room on the heel side. To fill the Nightmares void, the Crockett's are bringing in the team of Polynesian Power, Tui Selinga and Super Samoan Sakalia. The plan is for Jimmy Snuka to give them a rub and announce their arrival on an upcoming TV show. Look for Mark Youngblood to get a singles push. The Crockett's want Chris Youngblood to gain some more experience by touring other territories. They feel this will benefit both Youngblood's.



As mentioned, MACW's next super card will be on April 19th at the Baltimore Civic Center. Stan Hansen, Mil Mascaras, and Antonio Inoki are coming in. Rick Martel will defend the NWA World Title. Also on the card will be Ric Flair, Tully Blanchard, The Andersons, Hacksaw Duggan, Harley Race, Paul Orndorff, Tom Prichard, Austin Idol, the Stud Stable and more. It should be a great night as MACW returns to Baltimore. It should be noted that this card was a major topic between the Crockett's and Horsemen as a lot of outside talent is being brought in. In the end the Horsemen accused the Crockett's of not having enough faith in their roster which the Crockett's vehemently denied.


Link to comment
Share on other sites

***World Class Championship Wrestling News***

 

Eddie Gilbert has been booking both Wild West Wrestling and World Class until Dusty Rhodes arrives later this month. His booking has received mixed reviews, while it has been exciting and drawing well, a lot of the dirt sheets and old timers criticize Gilbert for booking too many run ins and DQ finishes. However, Gilbert has called in some favors already that is helping out the promotion such as his friend Jerry Lawler coming in as well as some big names that will be debuting this month and after the first of April. However the promotion has suffered a couple of big losses with the announcement that Dusty is coming in to book the territory. The first two people to turn in their notice were Bad News Allen and David Shultz who were both being pushed and Fritz had high hopes for both of them in the long term. Ronnie Garvin has also given notice although nothing to do with Rhodes coming in, he just got a better offer from Verne Gagne to come to the AWA. The Steiners time in WCCW is coming to a close, however Ray Traylor is set to come in for a while splitting his time between Texas and Japan, it's unknown at this time what name he will be using during his time in Texas.

 

It's been said that Dusty has an idea for what he calls the most dangerous match in the history of wrestling, he says he pitched it to both Bill Watts and Verne Gagne but neither were interested in using it, he says since he will be booking in Texas he plans to bring it out this Summer and that it should prove to be a huge draw with the feuds he has in mind.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

***BREAKING NEWS from the WCCW tv tapings in Dallas***

 

Huge news coming out of Dallas tonight at the TV Tapings. Fritz Von Erich approached Eddie Gilbert when he arrived at the Sportatorium this afternoon and told him due to backlash over his booking, he is being replaced by Gary Hart as booker of Wild West Wrestling and Assistant Booker of World Class. Eddie was livid and responded with, "You mean to tell me because some smart mark asshole bitched in a dirt sheet about me climbing into a cage, you're firing me as booker!?!" Fritz replied there had been a lot negative feedback to his booking and it wasn't just the cage finish, but he still wanted him to wrestle for him. Eddie fired back, "Who gives a shit what smart marks think about the booking? Success is measured in ticket sales and the crowds have gotten bigger EVERY week at the bar, which by the way I set up to run!!" Fritz said, "you're still the champ, you're just not the booker anymore." Eddie said, "F*** you and f*** your the belt...If I'm not the booker then I'm not your champ and I'm out of here!" Eddie stormed out and moments later....Eddie, Missy Hyatt, Doug Gilbert, Tommy Gilbert, and the Steiner Brothers all left the arena and did not return. Eddie was supposed to wrestle Tim Horner in a rematch for the Television title but had to be replaced by Rod Price. The Steiners were supposed to be finishing up soon but it looks like they finished up a little sooner than expected. Doug and Tommy Gilbert were hired as a favor to Eddie so it's not likely they will return.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

All in fun my friend.....just seen the opportunity to pull a classic Eddie Gilbert hot headed stunt behind the scenes as he was known to do...frequently.....as I was telling someone else earlier, I like to throw myself these sort of curves every now and then just to give a dose of "reality" since in real life everything didn't go as planned and sometimes you had to shift plans and change on the fly due to unexpected departures and such....keeps me on my toes. I've been wanting to do something crazy with Eddie and saw this as a prime opportunity.....As an aside, the original plan was for this to come back in a Cage Match with Eddie and Doug vs. The Steiners in a cage with a roof on top (ala Last Battle in Atlanta) to play off Eddie climbing into the cage in this match and prevent interference with The Long Riders trying to help but unable to penetrate the cage...but now we'll see where things go.

 

some smart mark asshole ...

 

Hey, now... :lol:

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

WWF NEWS

 

No it is not an April Fools joke... I have had multiple reports that Ric Flair, Arn Anderson, and Tully Blanchard were at the WWF television tapings on April 1st in Richmond Virginia. More on that location to come... In what has been talked about... rumored... whispered...has come to fruition. I don't know all the details of their use but it is clear... they are in the WWF and Vince McMahon paid a HIGH PRICE for them. With their hirings... Barry Windham also got a nice bump. It is believed that Ric Flair signed a six-figure deal with seven figures on the table. Arn Anderson, Tully Blanchard, and Barry Windham are all said to have similar deals with less up front contract money... around 75% of what Flair's deal is for. There is no doubt that he is the crown jewel while the others are diamonds to make it even better. No word on if they will be a group but it is said that the deals were made jointly and after their run in MACW; it is a good assumption we'll see them on screen at the same time.

 

As noted earlier... Richmond, Virginia was home to the WWF tapings this last week as they are the new tv taping center for the WWF in the Mid Atlantic region. With the addition of Flair and company... there is no doubt that they will looking into the markets that Flair and company are known and could draw in. I have recently seen the booking sheet and the WWF will have 10 loops. A loop is a tv taping, 6 hours shows (A show and B show) and then two major market house shows on the weekend. Along with these 10 loops... they will hit Madison Square Garden once every 5 weeks for the MSG Network. Needless to say the WWF will be working this year and for just cause.

 

Speaking of the WWF loops... the success of WrestleMania II has already being celebrated. The preliminary numbers from closed circuit are very positive while the house gate is one of the highest in the history of the sport. With that success and the city loops... the WWF has already begun to plan for the location of WrestleMania III. Five cities have already reached out... Detroit w/ the Silverdome, Toronto w/ The Skydome, Miami w/ the Orange Bowl, New Orleans w/ The Superdome, and Houston w/ The Astrodome. The idea of running a dome show has got the WWF on point to run the biggest show in the history of North America next March/April.

 

With the domes on the hunt... what will be the big game? If everything is going to go as planned... it will be Hulk Hogan vs Ric Flair. It is no doubt the biggest match in the history of modern pro wrestling... but really how in the world can they hold off on the contest for the next 11 months? If the Flair deal is true and he is in the WWF... how long will they wait to put he and Hogan together? Then... how long can they keep any sort of momentum to headline one of these major arenas? Given Flair's career... I don't know if he would have the drawing power to help fill up Detroit or Toronto. Miami would be a good spot but a tough draw. Houston and New Orleans would be prime spots for that card. If the WWF went another direction, depending on who Hogan faces... Detroit and Toronto could be back on the market. Could the WWF actually push Flair enough to be a main draw in those towns over the next 11 months? It will be interesting to watch unfold.

 

With all this talk of Flair... what about Dibiase? A source close to Dibiase says he was very upset about his positioning in the WWF. He was put in the Main Event with Hulk Hogan at WrestleMania... but the problem is that he had no chance to win the WWF championship this last weekend. This same source said that Dibiase was almost guaranteed the title back in October when he resigned... he was supposed to win the title in December leading to a Hogan chase but it was Hogan who pulled the power play. He wanted the longer title run and Vince went with it. That was the proverbial straw to break the camel's back.

 

In that issue comes the side effect with King Kong Bundy who was supposed to get a main event match with Andre the Giant... but Dibiase pulled for Stan Hansen to come in and Bundy went down the card. Bundy turned in his notice after Mania.

 

Rick Rude and Manny Fernandez also heard rumblings up the Flair, Blanchard, and Anderson signings... they also wanted to be a team but the powers to be in the WWF didn't see it that way and they also turned in their notice. They made heavy push at the tag ranks when their close friends the Fabulous Ones decided to move on to less weekly work. They have one more match on their contract in Madison Square Garden against the Harts. The loss of Rude and Fernandez makes absolutely no sense... they have the ability to be a top team and the WWF are losing their former champs. This gains more merit to the idea of Anderson and Blanchard coming in and being pushed as a team to go along with Demolition.

 

Bad News Brown has accepted a deal to come in again with the WWF. He is coming off a great run in Texas and could fill a big void in the undercard for the WWF.

 

The Killer Bees came and went as fast... they are expecting to move to an NWA affiliate.

 

​The WWF's acquisition of Rick and Scott Steiner has said to be going as planned. They see a lot of potential in the young tag team as they have already booked them out again for the next couple of months.

 

Speaking of independent bookings... Andre the Giant, the One Man Gang, Big Bossman, and Hulk Hogan will all be making appearances in Japan over the next couple of months. Andre is said to be ready to take a break from the WWF's schedule even though he is part time at best. He is said to be in some pain and looking to lighten the load on his body.

 

Lastly, the WWF has been looking into adding a new championship to their promotion. The United States or Television championship have both been talked about. Both are complimentary to the Intercontinental Championship and lower tiered than the WWF Heavyweight Championship. The United States concept could be fun to have against an IC champion. The television championship would also have some merit as a title that could be defended on television without losing any prestige. The WWF wants to know what the fans think... US or TV title in the future? Perhaps the people will speak!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Mid Atlantic Championship Wrestling News

Without a doubt, the biggest and most shocking news in MACW, was the departure of United States Champion, Ric Flair, Tully Blanchard and Arn Anderson!!!! Yes, 3 of the 4 Horsemen have left MACW and the NWA all together. As reported, for the last few months, the 3 men had money issues with the Crockett's. On top of that Flair had a major problem with President Bob Geigel in regards to his rematch for the NWA World Title. While, Tully had problems with the Crockett's on how he was being used, even resulting in a no show in Wheeling. While Arn was upset over the fact that him and Ole had to drop the NWA tag titles. He felt it was a punishment by Bob Geigel. It was reported that the Crockett's had a big meeting with the 3 men a couple days before the big Greensboro show. They offered the 3 men a new deal and basically the result was, it was to late. The key factor was Vince McMahon himself as he opened up his pocket book and his arms in welcoming Flair, Tully and Arn to the WWF. The deal was said to be monumental. After all this was spilled out in that meeting, believe it or not the Crockett's ended the meeting with handshakes and told Flair, Arn and Tully, they would always be welcomed back. They fulfilled their obligations in Greensboro and headed North.

 

The Crockett's know this will be a tremendous loss to the territory and will be hard for the fans. They also know this will affect attendance in the arenas. However, they know this is a business and the show must go on. Sources say they were scrambling to bring in some top talent. One huge name they want is King Kong Bundy. The Crockett's have made a generous offer to Bundy both financially and positioning. Bundy was very keen on the deal and could be arriving very soon. The Crockett's also made calls to Rick Rude and Manny Fernandez and want to bring them in as a team, which is exactly what Rude and Fernandez wanted. Sources say preliminary conversations have gone well.

 

There are major rumors that the Crockett's have their eye on another huge super star and they plan on presenting him with the biggest deal in MACW history. This is all the information on this, as the Crockett's are keeping this deal pretty air tight.

 

In regards to Ole Anderson, he said he would never work for Vince McMahon and will stay in the NWA until his career is over.

 

Flair, Arn and Tully leaving is a huge void but the Crockett's are confident that they can fill the void and get MACW back on track with the new talent coming in.

 

It appears Norvell Austin has left MACW. Norvell had been upset that the Soul Patrol were being pushed down the card and then the Crockett's wanted to split them up and have Sweet Brown Sugar go over in the feud. Norvell saw the writing on the wall and decided to leave. As for Sweet Brown Sugar Skip Young, he will be getting a singles push.

 

Look for a bit of revamping in the Paul Jones Army in the coming weeks.

 

Once again, back to Ric Flair. Since Flair was US champion at the time of his departure, the title is now vacant. An announcement will be made on TV that there will be 2 battle royals held, with the winners of each battle royal facing off on April 20th at the Philadelphia Civic Center. The winner will be declared the new United States Champion.

 

Speaking of that, The Clash of Champions: Spring Spectacular will take place in two different venues on two different nights. Part 1 will be in the Baltimore Civic Center on April 19th, where Rick Martel will defend the NWA World Title in the main event. Part 2 will take place on April 20th at the Philadelphia Civic Center. With Flair, Arn and Tully departing, the Crockett's hope that bringing in Stan Hansen, Mil Mascaras and Antonio Inoki along with the NWA World Champ will help ease things over with the fans and make this card a big success. Word is the cameras will be rolling as some big things are in the works.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

WWF NEWS

-Last night many consider the biggest match in the history of professional wrestling occurred at the Boston Garden. It was Ric Flair challenging Hulk Hogan for the WWF Championship. The match was quite entertaining for what it was worth with these two bringing out the best in one another but showing that there were some odd moments to get the chemistry. For 28-minutes, the WWF fans of Boston got to see a different side of Hulk Hogan… one that many hope will stay. He worked a great match using his Japanese repertoire while Flair played the chicken and did a lot of cat and mouse. When it came time for Flair to work the knee he did… he did it in such a manner that Hogan looked as though he would never be able to walk again. This match really gave us a taste of what these two could, should, and hopefully will be able to do in the future… then the ending came.


Just as Hulk Hogan was making the comeback of a lifetime, seemingly impervious to pain, the Horsemen struck. It was Anderson, Blanchard, and Windham all coming down and each of them getting their comeuppance by Hogan but it was the attack outside of view by Heenan that made the difference. Heenan seemingly handed something to Flair who got up and clocked Hogan right between the eyes… bloodying up the champion before Flair could make the cover and chance the scope of professional wrestling. Now the question is how in the hell did this happen and why did it happen so quickly?


Early in February negotiations began with Ric Flair to come in… while on the other side of the coin Hulk Hogan heard about this and then began his own negotiations with Japan. Hogan got the okay from Vince to go over but the deal ended up being more lucrative than he could imagine with two dates a month on top of merchandising in Japan that differs from the WWF deal. Hogan’s major money comes from what people buy of his and his attraction in Japan is growing and growing the more he is there. When the Flair deal went through, Hogan went ahead and signed his Japan deal but it wasn’t the same as what Vince had though and it was Hogan who signed on for 3-dates a month with some heavy kickbacks. Vince decided he wanted to bring in Flair and have he and Hogan tease their confrontation only to build to a bigger event… then that changed. When Hogan signed the Japan deal, Vince knew that three Japan dates ended up meaning losing his prize champion for 9 days a month with travel to, the day of, and travel back. With the WWF running roughly 6 days a week, 5 weeks a month, that is a total of 30 days… and then losing their champion for 9 of those could hurt gates. Vince decided to pull the trigger and let it happen which has then shocked many of those involved in the WWF and the wrestling world.


One change has also happened outside of the spectrum… television tapings. If you noticed, today’s television tapings started on Monday with Prime Time being the first show taped rather than the last as it was before. Prime Time opened with Gorilla and Jesse talking about Flair winning the title unbeknown to some fans in attendance. The WWF’s handling of this situation is paramount over the next couple of weeks, especially with Hogan being gone as much as he will be. With the title out of his hands is this a chance for Hogan to test the market and book himself however he wants outside his Japanese dates? Will he get back in the good graces with McMahon and the WWF? Will he hold the title again? With Flair as champion and new ACE of the company, these are some serious questions that will need to be answered and time will be the only thing that can tell us if and when they are.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Rising out of the ashes is the return of Bog Time Wrestling out of San Francisco. They will be running the Cow Palace for a bi-monthly show and will be using such cities such as Oakland , Santa Rosa, Concord, Fresno, San Jose, Stockton. T.V. will be done at Sacramento station KTXL studios. In the beginning, the promotion will be looking to use veterans and younger and "up and coming" talent to start off with. Names from the past will also be featured, such as "Diamond" Timothy Flowers, Ray Stevens , "Maniac" Mark Lewin and Baron Von Raschke. Also from what we have heard, young lions Masahiro Chono & Shinya Hashimoto will be coming over starting in July and will be paired with veteran Tiger Chung Lee (Kim Duk) and will be pushed hard. Also coming in will be Lucha stars Atlantis and Villiano III, IV & V. Tag teams will also be a main part of the promotion and will be pushed even more-so then the single title at the beginning. We are still getting rumors of names that could be coming in and will update hopefully during the next issue.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling News



The arrival of Ted Dibiase has sent shockwaves throughout the NWA, as he won the United States championship in his MACW debut. The Crockett's had been in serious negotiations with Dibiase for weeks. Dealing with the huge loss of Flair, Tully and Arn, the Crockett's felt they had to bring in a top tier talent to help fill that void. They were more than willing to open up their pocket books in order to sign Dibiase. Dibiase is using this for his 'Million Dollar Man' character. Dibiase and Hacksaw Duggan will be the headlining feud as the Crockett's think this will keep the crowds coming in. After what went down at the Spring Spectacular, Stan Hansen will be incorporated in the feud, along with some special appearances as partners for Duggan.



Ole Anderson has been released and this was a mutual agreement. Ole felt he needed a change of scenery and the Crockett's want JJ Dillon to go in a different direction as quick as possible. They feel getting away from Horsemen ties and starting up new and fresh angles is the best way to go. The Crockett's are high on the JJ Dillon, King Kong Bundy pairing and think these two can make quite an impact in Mid Atlantic.



The Crockett's have also been very pleased with the Harley Race/Paul Orndorff feud. They feel these two in ring vets will get the job done on TV and bring in the crowds for their house show matches.



To spruce up the mid card, Paul Jones Army has been revamped. Rip Oliver will be his singles guy, as the feud with Jimmy Valiant will continue. The fans seem to like this feud so the Crockett's are going to keep it going. Also, Johnny Rich and Randy Rose will team up as the Southern Ramblers. They will feud with Jones's former team of the Devil's Duo. Look for a new name for the Duo.



Another angle that seems to have gotten over is Rock Riddle and his agency. Tom Prichard has received high marks during his current run as TV champ. Mid Atlantic favorite Mark Youngblood will be next in line for a program with Prichard. Other feuds like Snuka/Mulligan and St. Clair/Robinson have been drawing well. Tiger Jeet Singh is getting more buzz portraying the madman. Look for Abdullah the Butcher to come in and team with Singh to take on NWA World Tag Champs, the Road Warriors at the Memorial Day Event.



The Crockett's are also very high on Terry Taylor and feel he has risen to the occasion as a top star. Speaking of rising to the occasion, the trigger was pulled and Rocky Johnson and Wendell Cooley are the new US Tag Team Champs. The Crockett's love this pairing and are excited about the many contenders waiting to match up with them, such as The Stud Stable, The Fabulous Blondes, Caspian Empire and Assassins. Another team rising with popularity is Hot Property. They will be rewarded a match with NWA National Champs, The Midnight Express. Add in new arrivals like Polynesian Power and the Steiner Brothers, MACW has tag team depth right now.



An angle involving Austin Idol and Rob Fuller will start soon. The fans have taken a liking to the charismatic Idol and the Crockett's think him and Fuller could have some good chemistry. On that note, a program with Bob Backlund and Brad Rheingans has started. This is somewhat of an experiment as the goal is for this to be a unique heated scientific feud. We'll see how long that lasts. Another fun program that has started is between Sweet Brown Sugar and The Cobra. The Crockett's feel these two will put on some solid high flying and exciting matches.



Tension has been rising between Corporal Kirchner and Don Kernodle. The Crockett's think American Made are great working hands to have and big plans are on the horizon for these two.



Yes, the Crockett's suffered a huge loss by losing the Horsemen but feel they are rebounding well with the roster they have put together. Should be an exciting year as they head into the Great American Bash season.


Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

LUTTE INTERNATIONALE NEWS

 

-A grueling schedule has come to an end to start the month of May as the Johnny Rougeau Memorial Cup is now in the books and Giant Baba defeated Antonio Inoki, in the finals. Behind the scenes, it is said that Frank Valois & Gino Brito wanted to thank Baba for their great working relationship and how Lutte has always been well represented in Japan. It was also a way to thank Baba to have the Rick Martel vs Jumbo Tsuruta title match in Japan on May 24th on their tour-ender.

 

-As for Rick Martel and Nikita Koloff's impending showdown, many expected them to face off somewhere in the tournament but Lutte management went elsewhere. Dave Meltzer shed a light on this in his latest Wrestling Observer Newsletter:

 

 

From the beginning, Lutte management had no intention on having Rick Martel facing Nikita Koloff in the tournament because of how big the NWA is making their showdown in a couple of weeks. They also wanted the focus for Martel to be on his rubber match with Terry Gordy to close Day 3 and they felt like Nikita wrestling Martel would've taken that spotlight away from them. And they wanted Nikita to preserve his monster standing in the NWA and UWF particularly, so they went with the angle they did on Night 1.

 

-To continue with Rick Martel, Martel hasn't hidden the fact in recent media interviews that the NWA World Champion schedule has taken a bit of a toll on his body recently but he's ready to go forward as champion as long as the NWA wants him to be. However, when Martel will drop the title, it's not expected to be a demotion whatsoever for him as he'll just have a "more regular" schedule.

 

-Another shocker from this week of action: Don Kernodle becoming the new NWA Canadian International Heavyweight Champion at Prelude by defeating Jacques Rougeau after his brother Raymond threw in the towel to save Jacques. The reason for this title change is two-fold; number 1, it was to solidify Don Kernodle's heel turn in Mid-Atlantic and Valois - and even Jacques Rougeau - felt like having Kernodle cost the Rougeaus the NWA North American tag titles and winning the title at Prelude would've helped Kernodle's stature. Frank Valois is in regular contact with Jim Crockett - as he is with the other NWA promoters - and he knew that the Crocketts were having big hopes for Don Kernodle. No word yet on when Jacques will get his rematch or who would be Kernodle's first challenger but we should be fixed soon as the card for Heatstroke 86 should take form in the upcoming weeks.

 

-As the NWA continues its expansion and is more solid than ever despite the departure of the Four Horsemen to WWF, Frank Valois was asked about the reason why he has so many other NWA workers performing on his show and holding main titles in Lutte:

 

 

"Given all the talent we have in the National Wrestling Alliance, it would be dumb of me not to take the opportunity to book those talents and give them some exposure here in Canada. I also think that it's not only beneficial for them, but also for us as well. It started with Terry Funk beating Rick Martel for the Canadian International title; now it's Don Kernodle and fans are really intrigued with everything we're doing. If we can all mutually help each other to make our individual promotions stronger, in the end, we're all winners. My intention is to continue to feature more NWA talents in Lutte every week.

 

-Lutte Internationale is also looking to revamp its tag team division in the upcoming weeks as they feel some acts are getting stale, noticeably the Creatchman Family. While Floyd Creatchman is still in good standing with the company, Lutte feels like they've done all they could do with Botswana Beast & Lord Humongous so they might be on their way out of Lutte in a few weeks.

 

-Another collateral damage from that tag team revamping will be The Fantastics. Given that the Rougeaus will more than likely be returning actively in the tag team division, Lutte feels like it'd be better for The Fantastics to be a feature act elsewhere in the NWA. The door will however be always open for them to perform in Lutte Internationale at any time.

 

-Adrian Adonis is expected to turn babyface in the upcoming weeks as the rise of Kokina Maximus as Paul E's crown jewel of the Dangerous Alliance will be causing some rifts on TV. In the meantime, Adonis will take a short leave of absence in Lutte to further that angle but his destination is yet to be revealed.

 

-Another huge story: the surprise appearance of Andre the Giant in Selkirk, MB. Despite his contractual situation with the WWF, Andre has never hidden his loyalty to Frank Valois and Lutte Internationale and he still wanted to work for them in some capacity. Andre will work several dates with Lutte over the summer in addition to his currently committed dates in Japan.

 

-Something major is in plans for King Tonga that will certainly have people talking over the summer. The objective for this is to make King Tonga the main heel in Lutte Internationale by the end of 1986.

 

-Finally, MAJOR talents are headed the way of Lutte Internationale by the end of the month. You won't believe who it is!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

Mid Atlantic Championship Wrestling News

The NWA has announced that the Great American Bash Tour will be taking place in July. MACW has officially announced that their Great American Bash show will take place on July 2nd at the Memorial Stadium in Charlotte NC. The event will be followed by a fireworks show. MACW hopes to draw 30,000 fans for the event. The Crockett's think they could draw this by putting together an incredible show. Already booked for the event is Stan Hansen, The American Dream Dusty Rhodes, WWC Champion Abdullah the Butcher and Antonio Inoki. All Mid Atlantic titles will be defended as well as an NWA World Title defense by Rick Martel. Official matches will be announced during the month of June.

After the departure of the 4 Horsemen, Mid Atlantic's house show numbers dropped a bit. The Crockett's expected this and didn't panic. The turnaround came at the Spring Spectacular with the shocking debut of Ted Dibiase. House show attendance went up for Dibiase's first few title defenses. Last week, Orlando drew a huge number as the main event saw Ted Dibiase and Stan Hansen take on Hacksaw Duggan and Dusty Rhodes. The Crockett's have been more than pleased with the Dibiase/Duggan program and hope to sell out Richmond with that main event.

 

Another feud drawing well has been Harley Race and Paul Orndorff. In his short time with Mid Atlantic, Orndorff has really gotten over with the fans. Harley has done an amazing job with the Mid Atlantic title and the Crockett's rewarded him with a raise.

 

Another angle that appears to be getting over is JJ Dillon's 10, 000 dollar challenge to anyone who can defeat King Kong Bundy. The Crockett's have praised JJ because after he lost the 4 Horsemen, he took this new angle and ran with it.

 

In other big news, Don Kernodle returned from Canada with the Canadian International title. This is a tremendous career rejuvenation for Kernodle. MACW is very pleased to be working with Lutte and the Crockett's were thankful they gave Kernodle this opportunity. This opens up so many doors for Kernodle and Corporal Kirchner as well. The Crockett's have high hopes for this feud and they think it could turn into one of the summer's hottest programs.

 

MACW has also expressed gratitude to Wild West Wrestling. It gave wrestlers like Spike Huber, Bar Room Brawlers and Hot Property a place to showcase their talents. All of this talent has improved tremendously since appearing there.

 

The Crockett's have enjoyed working with the other territories in the NWA and have said having talent come in for spots has eased the departure of the 4 Horsemen. A perfect example is when Dick Slater came in for a match with Terry Taylor. When that was announced there was a big spike in ticket sales. Also, the Road Warriors and Midnight Express boosted attendance when they came to town. Look for more talent across the NWA to make appearances in MACW.

 

After a crazy spring, MACW is back on track and looking forward to an amazing summer.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Big Time Wrestling News & Notes.

 

First is that when the duo of "Bulldog" Bob Brown & Denny Brown were told that they were going to lose in the opening round of the tag team tournament. This didn't sit well with Bob Brown and he walked out. This move unfortunately cost Denny Brown his job also.

 

Fans are talking about the goings on during the Tag Team & Heavyweight tournaments. A lot of surprises happened with more to follow after the crowning of the Kansas Jayhawks & "Diamond" Timothy Flowers being declared the champions. The Jayhawks will be splitting time between here and the WWC territory. The decision to make the Jayhawks champions wasn't finalized until they brokered a deal on what kind of schedule the Jayhawks would be allowed to work in the Bay area.

 

As for "Diamond" Timothy Flowers, it was decided before the tournament that he was going to be coming out on top. However, the angle in the finals in where Fred Blassie came out of retirement to second Ray Stevens (only to turn on him) only came about when Blassie finally agreed to come in 2 days before the big card. Management sees Flowers as a diamond (pun intended) in the rough and feel that his "character" can get over "really big" in the Bay area. Except Blassie, Flowers and Gary Royal to add another wrestler to their stable.

 

The "Rooster" angle has gotten a lot of national attention in a short amount of time. Fans will be surprised to see on who the rooster is. Bob Roop has received a lot of praise on how he helped the angle along on TV.

 

Speaking of the heavyweight tournament, both Baron Von Raschke and Hacksaw Higgins both suffered injuries during their final matches. Both should be cleared to wrestle in time for the House show loop to begin.

 

The team of Mike Shaw and Phil Hickerson (known as Danger Zone) in the JWA will be coming in starting the last week of June. Word is that they will be here through the end of September. Also coming in will be "young lions" from the JWA Masahiro Chono and Shinya Hashimoto. The JWA wanted them to get some experience in the US and this is considered to be a big coup for Big Time Wrestling

 

The territory will begin running a regular house show schedule after the TV tapings Memorial Day weekend. There should be anywhere from 3 to 4 house shows starting then, as they have a lot of arenas calling them up after seeing the monster TV ratings that the 2 tournaments produced. One final note is that Pepper Martin will not be coming in to do Color commentary on Television, as management felt that Hank Renner did an excellent job describing the action himself.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

***World Class Championship Wrestling News***

 

Lots of changes have taken place since Dusty Rhodes has officially taken over booking WCCW. One of the first things is he has at least for now discontinued the Tuesday night Wild West Wrestling shows. These were set up by Eddie Gilbert and was his "baby", Gary Hart had taken over booking these shows since Gilbert got mad and walked out of the company going to the UWF but Dusty didn't like the way the money deal was set up with the bar, he tried to change it....the bar refused so Dusty pulled the show for the time being until another agreement can be reached.

 

Big John Studd has been sitting at home after nearly quitting the company over being told to drop the North American Championship to Jerry Lawler in a Cage Match a couple of weeks ago. Studd flat out refused to drop the title to Lawler thus the whole big schmoz ending with the Funks entering the cage and it becoming a tag match. Right now Fritz is trying to get Studd to agree to work the Texas Stadium show against Kerry on May 31st. It's been said he's agreed to work the match but rumor has it he's already made a deal to leave World Class and Dusty is worried he's not going to do business on his way out and wanted to do a "phantom switch" before the Parade of Champions "just to be sure he doesn't leave with our belt."

 

There's been much ado in the dirt sheets about some of the finishes that Dusty has booked in recent weeks. It's quite different than what fans in this area are used to and many feel he is "hot shotting" the territory and it may do long term damage. Many feel Dusty's booking is similar to Eddie Gilbert's which caused quite a stir in the dirt sheets and lead to him quitting in the midst of a big angle. Originally, the deal to bring Jerry Lawler to Texas was to work a feud with Gilbert but by the time Lawler arrived, Gilbert had walked out. There were several plans that had to be changed when Dusty was signed on to become booker with Bad News Brown, David Shultz, and Ronnie Garvin all abruptly leaving in the midst of big pushes to go to the WWF, UWF, and AWA respectively.

 

Roger Smith had taken on the role of Dirty Rhodes before Dusty was signed from the AWA, many thought this was done on purpose but it was purely coincidence it worked out that way and the very first thing Dusty said when he got to Dallas was "the Dusty wannabe has got to go!" They decided to make an angle of it but now that "Dirty Rhodes" has lost a 'Loser leaves Town' match, look for Roger Smith to resume a familiar role under a hood teaming with Don Bass as 'Fire and Flame' within the next few weeks.

 

Look for a big angle involving Dusty on this week's TV show that will carry on through the Summer and should be a big draw for the Great American Bash tour. Dusty is said to have an "Ace in the Hole" for the Bash, "the most dangerous and innovative match wrestling has ever seen" that he's going to debut at the Bash stop in Dallas on July 22nd. It remains to be seen how Fritz will deal with Dusty putting so much focus on himself and how much of the spotlight it will take off of his boys. Many predict this will be the downfall of the Dusty/Fritz relationship, much like the Fritz/Bill Watts relationship and the Fritz/Jerry Jarrett relationship.....when Watts and Jarrett wanted to push other stars over his sons, things went south pretty quickly....it will be interesting to see how this will play out with Dusty.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

WWF NEWS

-I think it is safe to say that the honeymoon for the Horsemen in the WWF is over and they have entrenched themselves into the fabric of the company in so many ways. From the shift of Bobby Heenan’s attitude to Ric Flair winning the title from Hulk Hogan… the Horsemen are alive in the WWF and there’s really nothing we can do to stop them. I will admit that I had apprehensions about how they would be used but if you look back at the WWF in 1986… they have been building to this. When the change was made for Prime Time to be the premiere show… they put it together so there could be interviews… which lends itself to the Horsemen. They put it so there would be marquee matches… which lends itself to the Horsemen. They have made television wrestling something special but it is also affecting the house show market. I got word that Tito Santana and Ric Flair went 55 minutes the other night… that is insane to think about if it were Hulk Hogan in the main event spot. This was also a card that had a 30-minute draw with Savage vs Windham! So for over 50% of the show… there were two matches… but the fans keep coming. It is a breath of fresh air with Ric Flair on top and Tito Santana has been a very formidable opponent for him to start out with. Word going around is that Wahoo McDaniel may be next but also that Randy Savage and Flair could headline down the road…. I’d pay to see that.


-Speaking of titles… the television title tournament has been a success thus far with some great first round matches. The Final first round contest takes place this weekend on Superstars with Haynes vs Muraco… that match was taped but I won’t spoil the winner. Plus we will see two more this Monday for Prime Time... Speaking of that… the WWF changed up its taping schedule and moved it to Mondays… so Prime Time isn’t live… but it is the first taping which is post produced that quickly to be sent out to the USA Network for release. Often times there are tv tapings going on still while the WWF is airing Prime Time. Could they move it to a live show? What happens with the other taped events then? This could be problematic in the long run for the WWF.


- There are many who are waiting to see the eventual Hart Foundation vs Anderson/Blanchard match. It is said to be on the books but later than one would hope. Does that mean that we’ll see Blanchard or Anderson on top with the tv title? Would they purposely put titles on 3 of the 4? I guess we will see what comes of the tournament but a lot of people are talking about Greg Valentine being the front runner for the title to give it a real shine.


-Word out of the WWF scouting department is that they have been very high on the development of Rick and Scott Steiner! They are looking for placement for the Steiners come January 1st… if you’re interested in booking Rick and Scott… contact the WWF offices. They are also looking to book out the Nasty Boys… Brian Knobbs and Jerry Saggs. These are two rough and tough individuals who really know how to brawl but not much else. Again… contact the WWF offices if interested.


-The WWF has also been looking at bringing in two younger talents. One of the individuals is from Japan and is supposed to have a mysterious gimmick. Expect him and Fuji to be paired up. The other is Owen Hart… the younger brother of Bret Hart. Don’t expect him to come in with that kind of fanfare though… with the current path of Bret… a younger brother may be the last thing he needs.


-Negotiations with Hulk Hogan and Japan continue to halt his progress back here in the US and in the WWF. With Andre the Giant becoming a champion in Japan… could we see Hogan become the next champion? He could surely make enough money with merchandising and his 3 shows a month in Japan to be a household name but would that name fade in the US? He could easily come back for any promotion and be the top star in a moment… but does he pine away for a chance to face Ric Flair? We’ll see how those negotiations go and just where he decides to end up.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Reports out of Japan indicate the the JWA has been drawing big houses three times a month with Andre the Giant and Hulk Hogan on top. Word is that even though Hogan and Andre are being paid top dollar (top yen?) JWA is still making a lot of money off of their star power. Also, rumour has it that Hogan and Andre are quite happy working limited dates and giving their bodies a break from the wear and tear of busier schedule.

 

The big question is: How long can the Hogan/Andre attendance boost last? Is it sustainable, or is it a temporary boost that would work better if Hogan and Andre were treated more as a limited-time special attraction?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 weeks later...

WCCW News

 

Word coming from our sources within the World Class office is there was a HUGE blowout yesterday between WCCW Owner Fritz Von Erich and Booker Dusty Rhodes. Fritz got wind that there was a couple of fanzine writers making a stink about the Revolution storyline and told Dusty he had to nix the angle immediately. Dusty got irate and asked why they would change their booking plans because a couple of smart marks got upset and sent it out to the "20 people who read that crap". Fritz is afraid now that it's been said it could be taken the wrong way, Dusty fired back, "This is the type of stupid shit that caused us to lose Eddie Gilbert and scrap six months worth of plans for him as well as the bar shows." Fritz insisted that the Revolution be dropped immediately and no longer mentioned on television. Dusty nearly quit the promotion over the whole ordeal but in the end decided to stay and told Fritz, "Oh, we'll drop it alright!" Upon hearing the news that their big angle was being taken away, Ernie Ladd, Ray Candy, and Leroy Brown were livid to which Ladd replied, "We've been doing this shit in the UWF for months, with WAY more racial overtones than we've had here, why is it suddenly a problem??" Dusty told Ladd to talk to Fritz, Ladd and company stormed out and it would seem they will likely not return. In the midst of the argument, Dusty told Fritz the only way to make all this right was to have JYD win the strap off of his son Kerry Von Erich....to which Fritz didn't agree. Dog said he didn't appreciate having his name thrown in this mess and said he's "headed back to Watts" and he left as well. At press time it's unclear what this will mean for the title reigns of Iceman Parsons as television champion and Brown/Ware as tag champions but it was said their angle with Garvin/Embry will be scrapped in the process.....which begs the question what do you do with the freshly turned Garvin/Embry with no feud to play off of. It will be interesting to see how Dusty can clean up this mess heading into Great American Bash season when The Revolution angle was set to play out through Starrcade but this will be chance to show how truly creative he can be, although if he does quit as booker as many feel he might, Gary Hart is set to take over the book.....which would seemingly make the Funks happy so we shall see.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.


×
×
  • Create New...