June 21, 1993
- King of the Ring is in the books. Yokozuna regained the title from Hogan, which Dave speculates sets up a rematch between the two at Summerslam. The reason for the finish is a little complicated. The referee for the match was supposed to be NJPW heel ref Tiger Hattori and the initial plan seems to have been the evil Japanese referee screwing Hogan out of the title. This was never mentioned in America, but Tiger Hattori refereeing the match was talked about in the media in Japan, when Hogan was there last month. Dave believes the idea was to help get Hogan more over in Japan for future NJPW matches. However, for unknown reasons, the finish was changed. Hattori was told they weren't bringing him in anymore and the finish was changed to the photographer (Dave says he thinks it was played by Orient Express wrestler Akio Sato, but I'm pretty sure it was Harvey Wippleman) blinding Hogan with an exploding camera flash so he would lose.
- Bret Hart put on a one-man show, delivering the 3 best matches of the night. Hart is being groomed to regain the title, either from Hogan or Yokozuna, but it's a long-term plan and his eventual big win may be put off until Wrestlemania.
- The show was a legit sellout, and the PPV buyrate is expected to be decent. However, the show ended up going head-to-head with Game 3 of the NBA finals, which didn't do them any favors, especially since some people are calling that game one of the greatest in basketball history (it went into triple overtime and yeah, it's a crazy game). Overall, fan response to the show has been pretty positive and Dave seems to have enjoyed it.
- Shawn Michaels' new bodyguard Kevin Nash was given the new name Diesel during the show as well.
- Pegasus Kid (Chris Benoit) won the NJPW Top of the Super Juniors tournament. The planned finish of the tournament was for Benoit to face Jushin Liger in the finals, which Dave says Benoit probably would have won anyway (though not for sure), but Liger broke his foot in a match 2 days before and was out of the tournament. With Liger out, this left a 4-way tie on points between Too Cold Scorpio, Dean Malenko, Eddie Guerrero, and El Samurai. Additional matches were added to break the tie, and El Samurai ended up going to the finals and ultimately lost to Benoit. (The last few minutes of this match are great, with a crazy finish. And then the celebration afterwards, Benoit is there with 2 Cold Scorpio, Dean Malenko, Eddie Guerrero, and Fit Finlay.)
- Dave got his hands on a complete copy of WCW's new Substance Abuse policy. It lists anabolic steroids, growth hormones, Clenbuterol, Diuretics (water weight loss pills), masking agents, food supplements containing banned substances, and illegal drugs as banned substances. It also lists misuse or abuse of prescription and over-the-counter medications, alcohol or any other drug. A first positive test will result in required rehab at his own expense. A second positive is rehab and suspension without pay until rehab is completed and he can't return until he tests negative. A third positive results in a termination. Dave says time will tell how serious they are by keeping an eye on how certain top stars look in a few weeks.
- At press time, Big Van Vader is hospitalized with a serious back injury. His back went out in a match with Davey Boy Smith and he suffered temporary loss of feeling, which had people freaked out about how serious it was, since he was temporarily paralyzed. It was diagnosed as a pinched nerve in the back. Vader was immobile for 2 days and had to be taken to the LSU trauma center but he's back home now and is still expected to work the Clash of the Champions in a few days.
- The usual May 92 vs. May 93 business comparisons. The WCW numbers are particularly noteworthy. The average attendance is down almost 73% from last year and live gate is down 71%, which....holy shit. As Dave says, "May was worse than an outright disaster. Worse than embarrassing. Worse than could have been comprehended in a worst-case scenario." WWF is down too, but nowhere near that level. Meanwhile, New Japan is up significantly and All Japan is stagnating a little due to the absence of Jumbo Tsuruta.
- Speaking of, Jumbo Tsuruta is finally getting out of the hospital this week and is planning to be back in the ring by October (he did indeed end up being part of a six-man match in October, but then didn't return to a regular schedule until 94. And even then, he only worked sporadically until he finally stopped in 1998 and then died in 2000).
- Undertaker worked a match with Brian Christopher in USWA and drew double their usual attendance, despite Jerry Lawler not even being on the show.
- GWF will be off ESPN at the end of this month ("as if anyone was watching it in the first place," Dave quips) and will start on ESPN2 in September. At this point, they just wanted to shuffle it off their daytime time slot on the main channel.
- A San Jose newspaper ran a story on a former college basketball star named Ron Reis who is legit 7'1 tall. He was too slow to make it in the NBA and is now training with Big John Studd to be a pro wrestler. That guy would later go on to become WCW's infamous Yeti!
- The rumor mill around gyms in Miami is that Norman Smiley died from steroids. In reality, he's alive and well and is a world champion in Mexico, under the name Black Magic. Okay then.
- This week's WCW Saturday Night was awful, with the first part of the Vader/Sid/Bulldog/Sting Beach Blash mini-movie and another segment in the missing amnesia Cactus Jack angle, where they interviewed Cactus' wife and son (actors, not the real ones). Dave just shits all over this. The full Lost in Cleveland segments are in yesterday's post if you missed it.
- Shane Douglas did an interview in another wrestling newsletter, saying that the business still has a steroid problem and that WCW hasn't really tried to fix it. He said he has no desire to get back into wrestling right now and plans to settle back into a normal life as a school teacher.
- A pilot script for a TV show called The Main Event is being floated around Hollywood. The idea is that it would star Johnny B. Badd and be based on wrestling. Dave says the odds of it actually getting picked up and made and put on TV are astronomically small.
- David Heath was offered a WCW developmental contract but instead went to WWF for a tryout match and did okay. If he gets hired, expect him to use a similar vampire gimmick (not for a few more years...)
- It looks likely that Hogan's new show Thunder In Paradise will indeed be picked up for the fall, but not for network TV. Probably a basic cable channel somewhere. Needless to say, this would severely limit Hogan's wrestling schedule.