The ratings were just too low and the costs were just. 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. Ocr. Topics. Well this was all well and good, but wrestling magazines found out about it and started publishing stories and photos, and the NWA had to go into coverup mode. – It’s sounding like Scott Steiner will work Halloween Havoc, but won’t be doing much. 21. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 08. 87. – Over to Japan, where Nobuhiko Takada had announced plans to retire, at which point UWFI whiplashed and put out their own press release, noting that what Takada had MEANT TO SAY was that he was THINKING of retiring at age 35, which was two years away. 88. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 08. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 04. 94. – 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. 17. Guys, it sounds like the Diamond Studd will soon be appearing in WCW again! We’ll see how that goes for them. 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. 5 to a 2. 96. 96. Wrestling Observer Flashback–08. 92 By Scott Keith on 20th March 2017 Hey, it’s another month with missing issues, as Dave has this one and the August 10 one on the site, and then it skips to September. 90. -. 22. 92. 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. By Scott Keith on 22nd September 2023 Wrestling Observer Flashback – 12. 95. He was the person credited with popularizing the superplex, although he didn’t invent it. But this week, we’ve got Summerslam to attend to. Wrestling Observer Flashback–04. 95. 30th August 2017 by Scott Keith. 06. 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. – Van Hammer won the arm wrestling tournament, beating Ron Simmons in the finals, which Dave interprets as continuing his newfound push. 16. 5. 90. The Twin Towers beat the Rockers at 8:02 when Akeem splashed and pinned Michaels. – In Japan, SWS continues to alienate Japanese wrestling fans by booking WARLORD v. – The really big news coming out of the first head-to-head meeting of RAW and Nitro is that WCW immediately took the lead in the ratings war, with a 2. This hold up comes on the heels of two other major stories: Hennig is supposed to be heading to WWF, meanwhile. He was at the other guys’ PPVs this year taking notes, as well as New Japan and All Japan’s major shows. Wrestling Observer Flashback–05. – In Mid-South, we get the first Observer mention of young rookie Sean Michaels in Mid-South, as he pins Jack Victory. Wrestling Observer / Figure Four. The show would air live every Saturday night, from New York, and would cater heavily to an. Mr. By Scott Keith on 24th July 2019. 94. 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. )3. It’s a patented Slow News Week as we head into Summerslam, but the issue is still 10 pages. Wrestling Observer Live: RAW report, War Games, Randy Orton, ratings and more By Bryan Alvarez Nov 21, 2023 DragonKingKarl Classic Wrestling Show: The history of. Sid actually drew pretty big on the East coast, doing 11,000 at the Nassau Coliseum and 8000 in Philly. Wrestling Observer Flashback –04. 3/4. Hosted by Sean Oliver, he welcomes guest the Honky Tonk Man as he talks about SummerSlam ’88. 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. 26. 05. 6. 8 this week. OK, let’s get back into these again. Dave thinks that the WWF is turning into more of a circus of litigation than a wrestling company. Lesson the Fourth: Antonio Pena is the new innovator in wrestling and everyone should listen to him. 96 Can I make it more than. While it seemingly wasn’t a major milestone in his life at that. By Scott Keith on 23rd November 2017. The taped episode of RAW wasn’t particularly different than any other one they’ve. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 10. The 2023 class of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame adds seven new members in a year where there were no blow away vote getters but a number. 27. 06. By Scott Keith on 20th September 2016. 95. – 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. And now, Dave would like to talk about PPV. 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. I know this year has been a slog, but we’re getting closer to September, when the magic happens! But first, WWF returns to your house! Whether you wanted them there or not. Warlord won a battle royale by tossing out Ricky Steamboat. Rants. 23. OK, after yesterday’s super-abbreviated edition (well the one I wrote at least, Dave was still 100,000 words into it) we’re back with a full double issue this time to recap all the stateside news! Continue reading Rants. 24. He was indicted on 11/12 on counts. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 08. Wrestling Observer Flashback–04. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 03. Wrestling Observer Flashback–11. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 06. – Interestingly, the WWF was shown to be popular with 18-25 year olds, with men twice as well represented as women. 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. 96. 60 (150,000 buys) for King of the Ring. – 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. 96. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 02. 23. – Jim Cornette continues bringing the funny. Anyway, back to 1985 again… – The big news is that the war in St. Couldn’t do this one last night, because Daredevil is a thing that exists. I’m actually recovering from a shoulder injury at work today but I’ll power through an Observer Flashback for you. 26. 02. – Reportedly, World champion Mike Tyson has signed with the WWF to referee a match. – 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. So with the year in PPV finally caught up, let us venture back to the world of 1994 again, with rumors of Hulk Hogan. 90. Unfortunately, he was the furthest thing from an. Dave sarcastically notes that “it sure turned Brett Sawyer. Wish me luck! – The top story is Dave being confused by a unique gimmick match in Memphis, with Austin Idol v. Day off from work today, so I’ve got some time to craft another Flashback! Your Spotify soundtrack for this one is Queensryche’s “Operation Mindcrime”, an album that it took me many years to get into, which is weird because I was a big fan of “Empire”. 0 number predicted by. 95. 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. Was shit real before? Well, it’s about to become real. To the news!This is up for them, and Dave notes what a great night for wrestling that Thanksgiving really is, because even Central States almost drew money! Later, he corrects a previous title change, noting that Art Crews actually won the TV title from Gary Royal on 11/27 in Ft. He wears a buffalo head to the ring and everyone backstage was making fun of his gimmick. – 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. Maybe if I skim over the Eddie Gilbert stuff it’ll get done easier. tesseract 5. 19. But it probably bombed because it was clearly a throwaway show. Everything is confusing and it’s all centering on the AWA. 86. Um, never mind. 02. 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. 15. This week is one of them. They’re owned by Jody Hamilton (Nick Patrick’s dad) and they do about 200 people per show. Max Moon was eliminated quickly because his spaceship was double-parked. 95. 5. 29. 01. Wrestling Observer Flashback–09. 16. 95. 14. This isn’t unique in itself, but if Idol. Perfect won a battle royale in 12:55. Nasties sold well at least. 07. – 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. 5-4-1987. I’m not. 96 And now it’s time for the issue that kicks off one of the biggest stories in the history of wrestling, although we didn’t. Back on track after our detour back to March yesterday. 3. Wrestling Observer Flashback–02. Pillman was playing subtle heel to start and got less subtle as the match went on. – 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. 94. This week, a big name goes to the rival promotion in the thick of the Monday Night Wars! Call my hotline now to find out the answer! – Hiroshi Hase made a surprising jump from New Japan to All Japan this week, announcing on 9/29 that he’s starting with AJPW in January. – 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. 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. 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. 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. – In the top story, Sports Illustrated had a story on the WWF in March, and no one in mainstream media really gave a shit. Big stuff in the news this week, and the start of the biggest shift in coverage in the history of the Observer. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 11. Ric Flair pinned Butch Reed in 14:13 to earn a tag title shot at Starrcade. 22. And now, for the first time I can remember, the UFC gets the lead story. 95. Wrestling Observer Flashback–06. At 4:00, Warrior splashed Demolition Axe. And here we had gone for almost two months without a death. – The WWF announced that the Wrestling Classic did about 60,000 buys on PPV, which was 200,000 less than their announced projections. 6. 30, 1996 (Final Post for 1996) Going through old issues of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter and posting highlights in my own words. 20. According to Dave’s minions, there was confusion about. 92 By Scott Keith on 16th February 2017 Hey, I picked up a Nintendo DSi XL for $60 (Canadian) from EBGames and it’s pretty rad. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 07. – Both the WWF and Crockett are running Philly on 10/18, but there’s a law on the books that says no two wrestling promotions can run shows within 25 miles of each other, and the respective arenas are less than 25 miles away. 01. By Dave Meltzer Nov 21, 2023. Steve Jennum was put into the finals as a last-minute. 11. It’s the year end awards issue! Lots to argue about here, I’m sure. D if wrestling was fake and got slapped around pretty good as a result. 95. 27th May 2016 by Scott Keith. – 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. Internet Archive HTML5 Uploader 1. 94. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 11. 10-28-1991. They even flew in Steve DiSalvo as part of the ring crew to. 95. Rude/Vader tag match, the highest rating for any wrestling match on TV in more than a year. 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. 16. 19. ” (Now there’s an understatement!) – Based on current trends and advertising, SuperBrawl is looking to do. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 03. We’re almost there! One week left! – It’s almost time for the new fall season of wrestling, and it’s a big one. ABBYY FineReader 11. Wrestling Observer Flashback – Bret v. 88. Public Enemy went to a double DQ with the Nasty Boys in 4:02. 27. The suit alleges unfair competition, trademark. Chip screwed up early, but it was decent by the end. Guess it’s time for another one of these. Piper on top. 5 to 2. Wrestlemania III was the best wrestling. C. . By Scott Keith on 10th July 2016. Production quality was high, the wrestling quality not so much. 95. ” notes Dave. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 07. 96. And now it’s time for the issue that kicks off one of the biggest stories in the history of wrestling, although we didn’t realize it at the time. 01. 01. 90 / 07. 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. Dave, however, cites the court case of Boy v. – Lead story is the WWF planning a giant stadium show in Milwaukee, which ended up being called WrestleFest 88, to basically screw with Crockett’s plans to run a Bash show the night after. 95 Guys, I don’t think this UFC thing is gonna be around much longer if lawmakers have their way! – The debate over whether UFC and the other events like it should be banned has been raging in the press and the city of Denver has become a hotspot for the controversy. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 08. It's a recap of the old issues of Dave Meltzer's Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Back in the saddle with these again. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 02. The PPV showdown of 1987 is upon us! It’s Vince v. Wrestling Flashback publishes wrestling list videos, top 10’s, the history of classic. Rants. By Scott Keith on 19th September 2016. So apparently the WrestleWar 92 issue (05/25/92) is missing from the F4WOnline. Wrestling Observer Flashback–10. Credit Dave Meltzer, Wrestling Observer Newsletter. – Also on the show, Scott Norton & Tony Halme won the IWGP tag titles from the Steiner Brothers in kind of a stinker. Collection. 05. 86. See if you can guess when we get to it. 96 IT’S TIME. Chelsea Anne Cardona (née: Green; born April 4, 1991) is a Canadian professional wrestler, stuntwoman, and model. – Although the WWF had “by far” the superior show, WCW won the ratings battle with a 2. 18. Oh, Dave. *3/4. Nasty Boys retained the tag titles over the Bushwackers in 6:46. Manuel Cruz (Jose Gonzalez) b Beauregarde;. Shinjiro Otani retained the UWA junior heavyweight title pinning El Samurai. – Antonio Inoki is trying to get into the boxer v. Bryan Alvarez and Mike Sempervive talk about the biggest news in wrestling! Wrestling Observer Live podcast on demand - Wrestling Observer Live is among the most popular wrestling shows in the world. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 10. THE WAR IS ON. I like how even the editors of the Observer site are scoring off Dave with the headline on this one. Well, sort of. By Scott Keith on 18th October 2016. “Which is great for wrestling, I guess. 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. By Scott Keith on 16th December 2017. – 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. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 12. This is the incredible story about the people who brought Lucha Libre into America in the 1990s and the many challenges they faced! Hijo del Santo and Blue. 0-1. 96. He literally stole Verne’s TV slot out from under him (the AWA wasn’t even told by the station until the day the show was supposed to air!) and Verne’s big show at the Cow Palace in March as a complete debacle due to scheduling. – Fall Brawl was great undercard wrestling, bad main event, and booking filled with more holes than Swiss Cheese. 95. 31. I know, I know, what a bombshell. – 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. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 12. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 01. – Flair defended the World title on a pair of Mid-South shows in Oklahoma, but there’s no plans or indications of Watts joining the NWA. Tenryu as the main event of a show on 2/7. 1. . 94. 96. There’s a big main event at the Tokyo Dome! And it sure didn’t go down how anyone expected. 96. Welcome to 1996 WCW, notes our teaser for this week. It drew a legit sellout of 5708 to West Palm Beach. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 01. – Dave proclaims that no promotion is any hotter here in 1996, with more mainstream popularity, than NJPW is. – Dave relates a brief history of World Championship Wrestling, and how TBS purchased the company in 1988 despite their crippling debt. – The top story is the apparent end of Pacific Northwest Wrestling, as the TV show was abruptly cancelled by the TV station after 38 years on the air. Tenta was pretty over during his one appearance, so EMLL is trying to get him back. The main event. on November 22, 1990 – “Survivor Series ’90. Wrestling Observer Flashback–08. Well this should do better than NWA Powerrr at least. 1985 Wrestling Observer Yearbook. Pillman tried a crucifix and Wright reversed it for the pin. Collection. 05. Dave is pretty sure Gonzalez will draw as long as he’s never allowed to touch anyone ever. And now it’s time for the MONDAY NIGHT WARS. But goddamn is “Eyes of a Stranger. ”) 3. By Scott Keith on 24th February 2019. Spoiler: Dave gives WarGames 3/4. *1/2. He apparently gave WAR $1. 18. – 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. – The show drew 7000 with 4700 paid and a $94,000 house. – Vince then called the show, FURIOUS about the misleading edit (POT, KETTLE, BLACK) and questioning the credibility of Bruno, who clearly had an axe to grind, and Alex Marvez, who dared to question the WWF’s commitment to testing after announcing it five times and not delivering. He says he was promised $2,500 and they only paid him $1,500. ABBYY FineReader 11. By Scott Keith on 29th August 2016. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 03. 27. 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. These words open the issue this week, because Wrestlemania IV is in the books and, well, it was not pretty. 3. Wrestling Observer Flashback–01. Which is still 10 pages long. Wrestling Observer Flashback–02. 15. Davey Boy Smith (“Athletically the best in the business. 96. – While the World title may not change hands, the US title certainly will, since post-Clash TV direction has Steamboat winning the title and suffering a shoulder injury in the process. Publication date. 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. And NOW the main event! Hog Wild 96 and the introduction of the Observer Hall. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 01. 09. By Scott Keith on 1st January 2021. Owen Hart was the second-best star of the show after Flair. Buyrate looks to be between 0. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 03. And since “long term thinking” these days is “three. 90. 04. 10. 06. 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. – To Mexico, where it looks like EMLL is about to split. The WWF drew 16000 and Crockett drew 3000, so point to Vince on that one. 06. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 01. 09. 96. 28. Apparently Bret Hart’s negotiations with WCW were so potentially fruitful that someone else is wanting to give it a try. – But first, speculation is still running rampant in the wake of Ole Anderson getting fired as booker. So after Masa Chono won the NWA title tournament, Thesz did a press conference for UWFI where he agreed to award his old NWA World title belt to the winner of the UWFI World title match between Takada and Gary. 93. Man, so people REALLY did not like that In Your House show. 95. 1984 Dave would chime in with “but luckily WWF isn’t wrestling” or something equally snarky, but mellower 1986. WWE News. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 11. 96. By Scott Keith on 15th March 2021. 95. 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. Newsletter, Magazine, Wrestling, WWF, WCW, All Japan, New Japan. 29. Marc Mero pinned Hunter Hearst Helmsley in 16:23. 22. NEXT WEEK: The Monday Night War begins. 08. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 02. – In the top story, Titan Sports filed a lawsuit against World Championship Wrestling on 6/20, stemming from the invasion angle with Hall and Nash. Also, ROYAL RUMBLE. 95. 10. 7. Just for fun, here’s Dave’s Summer 1984 Rankings. 2. I was actually going to redo the Halloween Havoc 90 rant based on the full PPV version that I’ve never seen…but the Network only has the Turner Home Video version. Wrestling Observer Flashback–03. Hogan! Starrcade ‘87 v. Just like the Untouchables, if you sign two of ours to a guaranteed contract, we sign one of yours to a guaranteed contract! And his hot wife! – Johnny B. 22. 05. Oh, and WCW tried to make a mini-movie and it didn’t go very well. On with the week that was and one of the most famous stories in wrestling history!– Oh, also, the weekend shows set new lows for cable wrestling ratings, and that includes the WWF shows. Gene Anderson, founding member of the Minnesota Wrecking Crew tag team died. – Another quiet week in the world of wrestling, as we’re waiting for Starrcade and Superdome results.