It’s a patented Slow News Week as we head into Summerslam, but the issue is still 10 pages. 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. – 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. 3-21-1988. – So, Dave says goodbye and announces that this is the final issue of the Observer. But if you’re reading it in the archives in December, then MERRY CHRISTMAS! – Continuing on with the saga of Dynamite Kid’s messed up back, he was flown into Calgary for surgery after being paralyzed from the waist down. Pillman was playing subtle heel to start and got less subtle as the match went on. 95. 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. – Jim Crockett’s promotion was down to 575 people on 12/3, with a main event of Kevin Von Erich & Chris Adams over Dick Murdoch & Black Bart. 3. – Andre’s beginnings in the sport are something of a mystery. 94 So it turns out that WCW’s record buyrate for Halloween Havoc wasn’t quite what they anticipated… – The buyrate for Havoc 94 currently sits at 0. 11th January 2017 by Scott Keith. Wrestling Observer Flashback–08. 5-4-1987. 96. So apparently the WrestleWar 92 issue (05/25/92) is missing from the F4WOnline. You can view a sneak preview below. 02. Baba apparently has plans to give Akiyama a major push down the line. Wrestling Observer Historical Pieces. 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. 2 million, making it the largest gate in pro wrestling history. It’s the year end awards issue! Lots to argue about here, I’m sure. They even flew in Steve DiSalvo as part of the ring crew to. Davey Boy Smith (“Athletically the best in the business. OK, 2005 posts are FINALLY complete, and I got to see Star Wars, so let’s get back to Observing. By Scott Keith on 1st June 2019. 5. 14. Big John Tenta pinned Koji Kitao with an elbowdrop in 6:10. Perfect won a battle royale in 12:55. 0 (Extended OCR) Ppi. Well, amazingly he no-showed and they had to quickly contact another local promoter for some jobbers (there were only four name guys even booked for the. 11. The biggest story of the week is actually buried way down. 22. The low buyrate is being. Main event is. Pillman was a little rusty but still got an excellent match out of Wright. Wolf, where. Newsletter, Magazine, Wrestling, WWF, WCW, All Japan, New Japan. 5-11-1987. Well it’s been two months. Identifier-ark. Jack Petrik would have to wage war against the WWF and spent lots of money to win, and it. – 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. Well, one week left until the WWF really goes off a cliff. 96 IT’S TIME. 06. 90 / 07. Public Enemy went to a double DQ with the Nasty Boys in 4:02. 27. – Another quiet week in the world of wrestling, as we’re waiting for Starrcade and Superdome results. The Road Warriors beat the Midnight Express in a scaffold match in 3:00, which kind of ruins their videotape business, Dave thinks. 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. Crockett! Dusty v. Owen won with a Rocket Launcher on Tanaka. It’s the Observer issue so huge that Dave has to post it to the archives TWICE to make sure! So yeah, Flair got fired, let’s get back into it! – The Flair firing actually made the national news, with papers throughout the country picking up the story, with all coverage being sympathetic to Flair. ”. 14. 28. Sacramento Memorial Auditorium. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 08. 4. – 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. Wrestling Observer Flashback – Bret v. Andre started in the sport at the age of 12, already 6’3”, and fell in with a. – In Japan, SWS continues to alienate Japanese wrestling fans by booking WARLORD v. 87. 19. – So things are getting mighty crowded on TBS, in what would turn out to be a giant turning point for the wrestling industry. Wish me luck! – The top story is Dave being confused by a unique gimmick match in Memphis, with Austin Idol v. – In the top story, Sports Illustrated had a story on the WWF in March, and no one in mainstream media really gave a shit. *3/4. 95. – Vince McMahon is apparently planning to sue Sgt. Kayfabe Commentaries Releases Newest Installment of Their “Supercard” Series. Oh, and WCW tried to make a mini-movie and it didn’t go very well. Wrestling Observer Flashback–01. 23. (This is why. By on 9th March 2017. – In the Deep South, the main guys are Wrestling II and Tommy Rich, and they run out of Georgia. 86. 88. – 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. The show would air live every Saturday night, from New York, and would cater heavily to an. 16. – 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. 90. – Dave watched the 12/19 All Japan show, and dished out another full monty, this one for Misawa & Kobashi winning the tag team tournament over Kawada & Taue in. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 10. Dave notes we. Baba had actually been. By Scott Keith on 24th February 2019. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 07. 22. Back in the saddle with these again. By Scott Keith on 10th July 2016. 01. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 12. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 09. 86. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 09. 87. 95. 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. 07. – 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. 90. 22. 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. 10. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 08. It’s just getting to be too much work to do the bookkeeping and maintenance for 800 people instead of 200, especially when he’s already got a full-time job now as editor for a soccer magazine. Wrestling Observer Flashback–04. 0 (Extended OCR) Ppi. I’m not. Wrestling Observer Flashback–10. 04. He apparently gave WAR $1. 94. – San Fran is the big head-to-head battle between the AWA and WWF, and Vince won that one handily thus far. 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. – 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. 08. 92. Spoiler: Dave gives WarGames 3/4. The match died once Flair went out. This isn’t unique in itself, but if Idol. – The big story this week is Dave’s preview of the Ultimate Ultimate 96!. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 01. 95. For. 22. 27th May 2016 by Scott Keith. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 10. Wrestling Observer Flashback–03. 88. Thankfully, the Observer archives are fixed, so let’s get back into the swing of things again. Wrestling Observer Flashback–11. 95. 21. 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. *. – 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. 96. The Vancouver version of the NWA Pacific Coast Heavyweight Championship was the major singles title in two National Wrestling Alliance-affiliated Vancouver territories. It's great historical reading of the rise and fall of wrestling's biggest boom period. ark:/13960/t2z39wg7w. Continue reading. Wrestling Observer Flashback–02. – Interestingly, the WWF was shown to be popular with 18-25 year olds, with men twice as well represented as women. 567. 96. 28. 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. Wrestling Observer Flashback: 07. The suit alleges unfair competition, trademark. Wrestling Observer Flashback–11. Trying to power through this one before UFC 200. – Zulu was fired from World Class for refusing to do a job to Mike Von Erich. – 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. 31. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 08. Bruiser Brody (“Nobody gives an aura of violent realism. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 03. Wrestling Observer Flashback–05. 96. 96 (I’m putting this one in the can a few days earlier than publication so if there’s any pop culture references that age badly, blame me. 96. Observer Flashbacks; Wrestling Observer Flashback–04. 07. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 08. – The WWF continues to insist that Summerslam sold 80,000 tickets in the first day, and also announced several new matches for the show: Tatanka v. 5 to 2. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 04. – Bam Bam Bigelow is trying to get into the WWF, but word from on high is that he’s “too inexperienced”. The WWF drew 16000 and Crockett drew 3000, so point to Vince on that one. 20 to an average of 2. Let’s take a break from being nostalgic for 1998 and be nostalgic for 1994 again for a bit! – It’s been quiet in the wrestling world leading up to Halloween Havoc, Dave notes. 2022-03-05 07:34:36. 94. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 02. The 85 issues are quite a trip, since it’s a very different writing style than even these ones. Flair’s contract was scheduled to be terminated as of 08/01, and Flair was scheduled to drop the WCW World title to Barry Windham on 7/1 in Macon, GA. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 07. By Scott Keith on 27th October 2016. 94. 95. Chelsea Anne Cardona (née: Green; born April 4, 1991) is a Canadian professional wrestler, stuntwoman, and model. 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. – Anyway, moving on. The idea is to combine a bunch of small promotions into the Global Wrestling Federation, with offices in five different regions, including Jarrett now officially going back into Dallas to run the USWA there again. Maybe if I skim over the Eddie Gilbert stuff it’ll get done easier. 3. And here we had gone for almost two months without a death. – Actually, first it’s a bit of political talk, as Hiroshi Hase won election to the senate in Japan. Dave is pretty sure Gonzalez will draw as long as he’s never allowed to touch anyone ever. – 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. – Also on the show, Scott Norton & Tony Halme won the IWGP tag titles from the Steiner Brothers in kind of a stinker. By Scott Keith on 4th June 2016. 96. Shinjiro Otani retained the UWA junior heavyweight title pinning El Samurai. 14. Gene Anderson, founding member of the Minnesota Wrecking Crew tag team died. – 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. D if wrestling was fake and got slapped around pretty good as a result. It’s like Wrestlemania, but for NEWS. wrestling business himself, negotiating with Buster Douglas for a Tokyo Dome show in March. Winner of the 2016 Doomie Award for Favorite Blog Post!. – To Mexico, where it looks like EMLL is about to split. 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. Apparently Bret Hart’s negotiations with WCW were so potentially fruitful that someone else is wanting to give it a try. – 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. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 08. Well, that probably won’t happen again for a while. 87. Steve Jennum was put into the finals as a last-minute. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 12. I know, I know, what a bombshell. Newsletter, Magazine, Wrestling, WWF, WCW, All Japan, New Japan. – Dave reviews the 1/21 MSG show (which did NOT sell out, he notes, although he assumes that the War to Settle the Score sold out both the arena and the Felt Forum):Wrestling Observer Flashback – 07. Wrestling Observer Flashback–02. Louis is finally over, and the WWF has won. Tenta was pretty over during his one appearance, so EMLL is trying to get him back. . 95 (Part 1) So after Dave takes a week off, it’s a DOUBLE ISSUE featuring Wrestlemania XI, the show that drew so much money that Dave needed a second issue to contain it all!Wrestling Observer Flashback – 11. 05. Wrestling Observer Flashback–06. *1/4. Dodge Iowa. – Latest word on Maeda is that he’s got a new promotion in March, but Takada won’t come with. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 10. – 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. 96. Slaughter for “stealing the character”. Wrestlemania III was the best wrestling. Wrestling Observer Flashback –04. 2 victory. 95. . Back on track after our detour back to March yesterday. 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. (This is why Dave needs an editor. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 10. as the big blue cage that quickly became synonymous with Titan was actually purchased and flown in from Stampede Wrestling, because the normal chain link cage was too hard for Hogan to climb. -Pro Wrestling 1983-1987. Heyman is making. Dave thinks that the competition will be mostly for the better, with faster-moving storylines and better wrestling on TV. Oh, Dave. Papa Shango ran in for the DQ, and Ultimate Warrior made the save, complete with entrance music. 48 buyrate (120,000 buys) for the Great American Bash in June, with WWF doing 0. – 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. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 08. 95. He was at the other guys’ PPVs this year taking notes, as well as New Japan and All Japan’s major shows. 96. Survivor Series!World Wrestling Federation presented a live pay-per-view event special live from Hartford, Conn. 95. They’re owned by Jody Hamilton (Nick Patrick’s dad) and they do about 200 people per show. 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. The New Foundation beat the Orient Express in 17:18. Ted Dibiase & Virgil beat Dusty & Dustin Rhodes at 9:57. 1986 Wrestling Observer Yearbook. Well, sort of. By Scott Keith on 14th January 2019. Ware on 12/14, as expected. Marc Mero pinned Hunter Hearst Helmsley in 16:23. So you picked a great time to start reading! – In the top story, Jerry Lawler was accused of being a very, very bad boy. 96. Specifically, advertisers look at stuff like this and use it to justify their already terrible ad rates for pro wrestling shows. 8 this week. It drew a legit sellout of 5708 to West Palm Beach. 6. 01. 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. tesseract 5. Owen Hart was the second-best star of the show after Flair. By Scott Keith on 22nd August 2022. 06. 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. Welcome to 1996 WCW, notes our teaser for this week. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 11. This should be good. 96. history-of-wcw. – 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. 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. 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. At the latest WWF tapings, a guy named Mantaur debuted. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 08. 95. 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. – Whereas most people had to stand around on the beach and had a lousy view of the ring, rest easy knowing that there was a set of bleachers reserved for employees of Slim Jim. 23. Rants. By Scott Keith on 1st January 2021. 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 Best of the Wrestling Observer-Greatest matches of the Observer years-15 most influential wrestlers of the past five. 19 as I try to get as much done as possible in advance. Identifier. 95. 94. 6. 88. ”. Mr. I feel like that can’t be a coincidence. 16. Current talk is a rematch with Shawn Michaels at Summerslam in a ladder. Wrestling Observer Flashback–05. Well this should do better than NWA Powerrr at least. Um, never mind. ***1/4Wrestling Observer Flashback–03. – The WWF announced that the Wrestling Classic did about 60,000 buys on PPV, which was 200,000 less than their announced projections. 96. A total brawl with great heat, although the DQ was called for no apparent reason. 1. 26. 29. 96. 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. 19. 15. The debut of Giant Gonzalez (who was “wearing Ultimate Warrior’s old underwear”) perked things up again. Rants. 90. Unfortunately, he was the furthest thing from an. Anyway, back to 1985 again… – The big news is that the war in St. Sid actually drew pretty big on the East coast, doing 11,000 at the Nassau Coliseum and 8000 in Philly. It’s a patented Slow News Week as we head into Summerslam, but the issue is still 10 pages. 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. I guess I’ll just be typing one-handed. – 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. 04. Ah, wrestling, where one guy can beat up another guy for real and flush his head. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 07. 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. – We’ll skip past the Mr. – In a story that seems small but kind of ended up heralding the end of an era in wrestling, the way. Wrestling Observer Flashback–07. – 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. So let’s take a look at what’s going on in the international scene!6. Scanner. I’ve noticed a sudden uptick in 1985-related questions on the Wrestling Observer radio show lately. 26. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 12. – 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. 96. Hosted by Sean Oliver, he welcomes guest the Honky Tonk Man as he talks about SummerSlam ’88. 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. 2. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 10. By Scott Keith on 22nd September 2023 Wrestling Observer Flashback – 12. ” notes Dave. Understated Wrestling Observer Debuts! So new to the Memphis area is a prelim guy named Scotty the Body, who is getting booked like a total nothing and apparently his. Earthquake John Tenta was scheduled to work a tour for EMLL in Mexico, but left after one show, claiming he was stiffed on his payoff. – Jim Cornette continues bringing the funny. 19. – But first, speculation is still running rampant in the wake of Ole Anderson getting fired as booker. 87. The feeling is that running a show in the traditional Sunday timeslot where live shows draw will kill off the house shows. 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,.