April 20, 1992
- No clear answer on what the true paid attendence for Wrestlemania was yet. Dave has heard anywhere between 8,000 and 25,000 freebies were given out. The PPV buyrate appears to be a 2.1 which means about 360,000 buys. If those numbers end up being correct, it would represent a full 25% drop from last year's WM7, which was also considered a major disappointment at the time. Dave blames it on a few different things. 1) too many other PPVs, making Wrestlemania pretty much just another show for most casual fans; 2) the $29.95 cost is just too high (lol); 3) the card itself. The only match with any real hype behind it was Macho vs. Flair. The Hogan storyline going in just didn't seem to resonate with people; 4) the scandal, which probably wasn't a big factor, but on the same hand, it couldn't have helped either; 5) group parties. With almost monthly PPVs now, friends regularly gather at one person's house to watch, which drives down what might otherwise be multiple buys.
- Major shakeups in GWF. The financial situation is bleak and the financial backers of the company made significant cuts this week, which resulted in GWF founder Joe Pedicino leaving the company, along with his wife and ring announcer Boni Blackstone and GWF's booker Eddie Gilbert. The company is also cutting back on transportation costs and will no longer be paying for wrestlers to fly in or drive in from far away, meaning the show will now rely almost exclusively on wrestlers who live in the Dallas area where the show is taped. It was already seen as a time-filler on ESPN and obviously the ad revenue that brought in wasn't enough to keep them out of financial troubles and this surely won't help matters any. The future doesn't look great for GWF...
- At the steroid symposium thing a couple weeks ago, Vince shared a letter he claims he received from the independent doctor in charge of WWF's drug testing. Dave reprints the letter here and I swear to god, it basically amounts to "Dear Vince, in the last few months of testing, everyone's levels have gone down, no one in your company is using steroids anymore, and Hulk Hogan especially isn't using them. Your company is awesome and you should be proud. Sincerely, The Doctor You Paid For." Dave, naturally calls complete and utter bullshit on this and in fact speaks to another doctor who literally does say that it's "bullshit."
- The 20/20 piece on steroids is finally scheduled to air this week. A Current Affair is planning to run a story this week also. Meanwhile, former female referee Rita Marie and former WWF announcer Murray Hodgson appeared on another episode of Geraldo's show this week along with several other people who are involved in legal issues with celebrities (Dominiqe Wilkins' baby mama, a Penthouse Pet who claims Jose Conseco threw a fit when she wouldn't sleep with him, an NHL groupie who bragged about banging married players, etc.) The whole thing turned into a circus with other guests saying the women should keep their legs closed and if they go to an athlete's house, they're asking to be raped, and so on and so forth. It's not a recent development: Geraldo Rivera has been peddling garbage and bullshit for decades, folks.
- Rita Marie (real name Rita Chatterton) gave more details about the alleged encounter with Vince McMahon. The word "rape" was edited out several times for legal reasons. Her story is basically the same as what she said before: that she met with Vince in his limo to discuss her career and he made advances. When she refused, he allegedly raped her.
- More 1991 year end results! Fuck, Dave, just get them all done already!
- WORST MANAGER: Mr. Fuji (by a landslide)
- WORST MATCH OF THE YEAR: Bobby Eaton & PN News vs. Steve Austin & Terry Taylor - Scaffold Match at Great American Bash 91
- WORST FEUD: Hulk Hogan vs. Sgy. Slaughter
- WORST INTERVIEW: Ultimate Warrior
- WORST PROMOTION: Herb Abrams' UWF
- BEST BOOKER: Giant Baba
- WATCH: Highlights from Worst Match of the Year Winner: Great American Bash 1991 Scaffold Match
- Konnan is doing "farewell tour" shows in Mexico and is also appearing on a soap opera. He also has a new rap record that was just released. I looked all over the Googles and couldn't find Konnan on a soap opera or find his 1992 rap songs, but if anyone can find it, please do.
- Speaking of Mexico, a movie called La Revancha which stars Atlantis and Octagon is doing huge box office business there and as a result, those 2 guys have become the hottest babyface stars in EMLL.
- While giving the TV rundowns, Meltzer notes that an All Japan Women's match between Toshiyo Yamada & Manami Toyota vs. Yumiko Hotta & Suzuka Minami was the best match he's seen so far in 1992 and almost gives it the full monty at ****3/4.
- Koko B. Ware is gone from USWA now and is back full-time with WWF.
- On his Sunday morning TV talk show (I didn't even know he had one of those and I live here) Jerry Lawler showed the CBS Evening News piece about WWF and urged fans to boycott Wrestlemania in the name of family values.
- Portland Wrestling is still limping along, but without a TV deal, crowds have fallen to below 100 and most of the guys still working are local guys who have real jobs and are only wrestling as a side gig on weekends. This company's not long for the world.
- There's an upcoming indie show coming up in New Hampshire next month that will feature a guy named Perry Saturn, who is reportedly one of the best unknown independent guys in the country.
- Smokey Mountain Wrestling will be running it's first major show next month, featuring a tournament to crown their first champion.
- Dave says "Congrats to reader Michael Foley on his wedding in two weeks." Google tells me Mick Foley got married in 1992......
- At a house show, Roddy Piper did a Piper's Pit segment that will never air, where he ranted about Geraldo Rivera and talked about how Mike Tyson and Buster Douglas have been arrested and a bunch of other nonsense.
- On David Letterman's show, Howard Stern was a guest and joked about how his first real job was as a ring boy for WWF. Speaking of, Cactus Jack was a guest on the Stern show for over 30 minutes alongside Fred the Elephant Boy to promote the upcoming WCW show at the Meadowlands.
- A few weeks back, someone broke into The Warlord's hotel room and stole all his gear, which is why he hasn't been on TV recently. This leads Dave to wonder what the thief would have done if Warlord was actually in the room or what someone would do with his clothes. Who else would they possibly fit?
- Judging by the way they've been burying him on commentary lately, Jake Roberts probably isn't coming back to WWF. Jim Ross hinted on the 900-number hotline that Roberts would be coming to WCW soon.
- WCW Injury Report: Brian Pillman is expected to be back in about 3 weeks from his back injury. Meanwhile, Sting is out for the next 2-4 weeks with a cracked rib and bruised sternum. Dustin Rhodes suffered a concussion in a car accident but should be back soon. Terry Taylor had his knee scoped and will be out for a bit.
- From the letters section this week, Tammy Sytch of 170 Amboy Rd. in Matawan, NJ is looking for any tapes of Chris Candido from IWCCW and FMW and any American or Japanese magazines featuring him. So, if you have any of those, get a time machine and go to her house and say hi. She'll be a tight 19-year-old hottie. Maybe you can throw some suave pickup lines at her and save her and change history!