November 28, 1994
- All Japan Women held their huge Tokyo Dome event this past week (called Big Egg Wrestling Universe) and it resembled the Olympics or the SuperBowl more than it did Wrestlemania. Dave says the figures weren't just record-breaking, they were astounding. Attendance: 42,500 which is more than double the all-time attendance record for a women's wrestling show that was set way back in 1941. Between ticket sales, merch sales, and expected videotape sales, the company will likely gross in excess of $8 million, which is more than some Wrestlemanias have grossed. And that is without PPV, which is where WM makes most of its money. The ring entrances were the most elaborate in wrestling history. As for the in-ring product, Dave calls it easily the best wrestling show ever held at the Tokyo Dome and if it had been shorter (it was 23 matches over 10 hours), he thinks it might have ended up being the best wrestling show of all time. The show was capped off by Akira Hokuto, who Dave calls "the greatest woman wrestler to ever live" winning the V-TOP Five Star Tournament.
- Dave reviews the whole show. Several matches were 4 stars or higher and he gives the coveted 5-stars to Kong vs. Manami Toyota. Also of note, Bull Nakano defeated Alundra Blayze (wrestling as Madusa) to win the WWF Women's championship, which was acknowledged on the following Monday Night Raw. (Here's a couple of videos. You can basically find most of the individual matches on YouTube and there's a video somewhere that is 5+ hours long that has the entire first half of the show but I can't find the second half. Just do some YouTube searching if you're interested.)
- Dave didn't see Clash of the Champions because he was in Japan, but it doesn't sound like he missed much. It did a decent TV rating and wasn't hurt by the loss of Ric Flair, as many expected, but Hogan wrestling (in a 6-man match) wasn't a ratings smash hit either. Of note: Sherri Martel was supposed to be revealed as Harlem Heat's new manager at the end of their match, but in typical WCW fashion, the on-screen graphics before the match said "Harlem Heat with Sensuous Sherri," thus giving away the surprise 10 minutes before it happened. Steve Austin's match with Jim Duggan only lasted a minute before the DQ finish because Austin came into the show injured and was limping badly.
- Tod Gordon's ECW and Dennis Coraluzzo's NWA ran competing shows this week, with ECW in Philly and the NWA show across the river in Cherry Hill, NJ. Coraluzzo's show was announced as an NWA title tournament, after ECW double-crossed him a couple of months ago. It drew 625 people and mostly featured SMW talent and ended with Chris Candido winning the NWA title, which Dave thinks is a mistake. He likes Candido, but he's still relatively unknown on a national level (as opposed to someone like, say, Terry Funk). And SMW isn't part of the NWA so Candido won't even be recognized as the NWA champion in the main promotion he works for. It hurts the credibility of the NWA championship that has such a legendary history, to put it on someone still relatively unknown and who can't be a traveling champion (because SMW is mostly a full-time gig). The security guards were wearing "ECW Sux" t-shirts. WWF allowed Jerry Lawler to work the show. Lawler wanted to do it because Dennis Coraluzzo was the only promoter who continued to book Jerry Lawler while he was facing the rape indictment last year and Lawler wanted to return the favor.
- ECW's show drew its biggest crowd ever, packing 1,100 into the 850-seat ECW Arena. Because of Steve Austin's injury, he had to pull out of the show after WCW had agreed to send him as part of the out-of-court settlement over the When Worlds Collide name. ECW was skeptical of the legitimacy of Austin's injury. WCW tried to send Meng as a replacement instead but ECW didn't want him. They ended up getting Brian Pillman, Kevin Sullivan, and Sherri Martel to work the show. The show ended with Sherri revealed to be working for Ric Flair, which led to Shane Douglas giving her a piledriver and calling her a slut and cutting another anti-Flair promo. Funny note: there was a match between Stevie Richards & JT Smith vs. Chad Austin & Hack Myers. Before the match, Chad Austin grabbed the mic and said after the match, he was going to go across the river to see some real wrestling (at the NWA show) which led to all 3 men (including his partner Hack Myers) ganging up on him and beating him up.
- AAA ran a tour of Japan this week, only the 2nd foreign promotion to ever do so (behind WWF). The shows were reportedly pretty good but didn't get over that well. The cultural barrier is just too much for foreign promotions to do well in Japan it seems.
- Negotiations are under way for a potential George Foreman vs. Mike Tyson boxing match to take place next year. It affects wrestling because the promoters aren't going to offer the match on PPV, but instead are going back to the old closed-circuit TV way. Right now, the money from events on PPV is split 50/50, with the promoters getting half and the PPV companies getting the other half. The promoters are trying to leverage the PPV companies into changing it to a 70/30 split by withholding the Foreman/Tyson fight from them. If it works, then this would likely lead to a change for wrestling promoters also and would result in enormous financial gains for companies like WWF and WCW.
- North Korean radio picked up the story of the Antonio Inoki/George Foreman negotiations and reported that it was a done deal and the match would happen in April. News outlets in both America and Japan picked up on it and reported it also, but it's not happening.
- Correction from last week: NJPW signed the sponsorship deal with the BVD underwear company, not AJW.
- Cactus Jack debuts for IWA in Japan in January and will face Terry Funk. This isn't the famous deathmatch between them yet, that happens later in 1995. But it's the beginning of that story.
- WCW has cancelled their traditional yearly Thanksgiving show at the Omni in Atlanta due to low advance ticket sales.
- Ricky Steamboat has been fired by WCW. His contract would have expired at the end of the year anyway but since his potentially career-threatening back injury means he won't be back before then, WCW decided to just get rid of him. "What a wonderful company, huh?" Dave muses.
- Michinoku Pro wrestler Kensuke Shinzaki is expected to debut for WWF soon, possibly at Survivor Series, though Dave doesn't know what his name or gimmick will be (Hakushi).
- Rumors are running wild that Ultimate Warrior is returning to WWF soon. WWF magazine even teased an "Ultimate surprise." But Dave doesn't know anything about it and doesn't think it's happening any time soon (he was right. Still well over a year away from that happening).
- Several WWF stars like Lex Luger and Undertaker have to take an all-night flight out of San Antonio immediately after Survivor Series to be in New York City early the next morning for the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.