August 21, 1995
- After weeks of on-again-off-again negotiations, WCW appears to have reached agreements with Chris Benoit, Eddie Guerrero, Dean Malenko, and Sabu. All are expected to debut sometime in September or October. All 4 men have primarily been working with NJPW and word is New Japan helped put the deal together. The deal apparently will see all 4 men primarily work for NJPW but they will work for WCW when they aren't being booked in Japan and can work indie shows when neither is using them (except for WWF, SMW, and ECW).
- WWF had offered Benoit a deal that would have still allowed him to work 18 weeks a year in Japan, which is an unprecedented offer from them. But NJPW didn't want one of their stars working for the competition (WWF) and since they have a working relationship with WCW, they were much more comfortable with that. WWF didn't seem to have any interest in Guerrero, Malenko, or Sabu. Dave says all 4 guys will probably be slotted into the mid-card because Hogan and his clique basically run WCW and the only other clique with power is Flair's camp and if you're not in those 2 cliques, you don't have a chance of being a top star in WCW.
- As for Sabu, there's questions over how WCW will use him. He's not the same talented-type of wrestler as the other 3 and is famous for crazy high spots, blood, tables, and chairs. WCW has a company policy against stuff like that, so it's questionable how well Sabu will fit in (answer: it didn't work at all).
- NJPW's Jushin Liger is scheduled to work WCW's first Monday Nitro show against Brian Pillman, which should be a great match but Liger is just coming off missing a year after breaking his ankle so who knows. The main event has been changed to Hogan vs. Big Bubba Rogers. They will also have a Sting vs. Flair match.
- Paul Heyman was said to be expecting Benoit to leave, but was surprised by Guerrero and Malenko also leaving. But he wished all 3 men well and is looking for workers to replace them. He's said to be interested in Rey Misterio Jr. and Steve Williams.
- WWF planned to headline the 9/11 episode of Raw with a Shawn Michaels vs. Bret Hart match, but that apparently isn't happening now. There were rumors that it was changed because of a "behind-the-scenes rift" between Hart and Michaels, but WWF sources have denied that.
- Keiji Muto became the first IWGP champion to win the G-1 Climax tournament in New Japan. The shows sold out 5 consecutive nights at the 11,500-seat Sumo Hall. Also on the shows, Jushin Liger made his return to the ring after missing 11 months. Hiroshi Hase made his first appearance since winning his political election and said he doesn't plan to retire and will still work big shows. He said his first match back will be against Inoki at the Tokyo Dome show in January.
- Antonio Inoki announced that New Japan would be promoting a major show in Russia in 1996.
- In SMW, Al Snow & Unabom faced Tracy Smothers & Dirty White Boy in a loser of the fall leaves town match. A lot of the fans knew ahead of time that Unabom was leaving and some even shouted "Isaac Yankem" at him. And as expected, Unabom ate the pin and is now gone from SMW to go be full-time with WWF.
- Because the Sunshine Network pulled ECW's TV show off the air in Florida, ECW has cancelled their upcoming tour of the area because that show was their only means of promotion. Paul Heyman and Tod Gordon are flying to Florida this week to meet with Sunshine Network execs to try to work out a deal with their contract, which has been cancelled.
- Paul Heyman is negotiating with PPV companies to attempt to get ECW on PPV. His initial selling point had been plans to do a Benoit/Guerrero/Malenko triangle match but with all 3 now heading to WCW, that's out the window.
- More on the Incredibly Strange Wrestling promotion that is holding matches at Lollapalooza events. The promotion features characters using names such as Harley Racist, Cletus the Fetus (who feuds with the Abortionist), El Irregulario (a wrestler with gastro-intestinal disorders), Jenny X (who revives wrestlers by waving her panties under their noses, and they are talking about introducing a trio called the Klu Klux Klowns (racist clowns).
- Lord Alfred Hayes was at the latest WCW tapings, looking to get a job.
- Hulk Hogan and Randy Savage were on a radio show in New York last week and made some jokes about Vince McMahon and a couple of subtle gay jokes about Pat Patterson.
- Terry Taylor has taken a lot of heat for his comments on the WCW Hotline last week and this week, he defended himself by saying he meant what he said about them never drawing or proving themselves but admitted that he should have said none of them have proven themselves in America and isn't counting what they've done in Mexico or Japan. Dave points out that Eddie Guerrero headlined or co-headlined several of AAA's record-setting shows in Los Angeles, San Jose, Chicago, and New York and that Eddie and Malenko have been having the best matches in America in ECW.
- Lex Luger reportedly gave notice to WWF at the latest tapings, as did Adam Bomb. Last week, Sting reportedly made a play to try and get WCW to hire Luger and word is they are considering it, under the condition that Luger comes in as a heel and immediately puts over Hogan clean (interesting. We're still a few weeks away from Nitro, but everyone involved has always claimed that Luger totally blindsided WWF by leaving. We'll get into that more very soon...).
- Dustin Rhodes debuted on WWF Raw this week, "doing a transvestite gimmick" and Dave says it could be a career-killer. Transvestite gimmicks aren't new in wrestling and are common in Mexico, but even the best Mexican transvestite gimmick wrestler (Pimpinela Escarlata) is stuck working opening matches and the gimmick bombs everywhere outside of Mexico. Dave thinks if Rhodes really works the gimmick, it might work because people will accept that he's playing the part so well, but he thinks there's a 90% chance that it will severely hamper his long-term career, which is a shame because Dustin is really talented. He says Dustin will probably generate plenty of heat with this gimmick but he may not ever be able to live it down later. And he says, if you don't believe the stigma of a bad gimmick can tank a career, check out how a great performer like Terry Taylor never recovered from the Red Rooster gimmick.
- Jeff Jarrett and WWF are still negotiating to bring him back, however, it's unlikely Roadie will be brought back if he does. Reportedly, Roadie failed a drug test at the PPV before he walked out, which may play a part in them not wanting him back. Since they don't want him back, WWF is allowing Roadie to work anywhere he wants, but WWF is enforcing Jarrett's contract and won't even let him work USWA shows. Jarrett and McMahon recently had a 2-hour phone conversation but haven't agreed on anything yet.