December 11, 1995
- Obligatory reminder: there are only 2 issues left for 1995 after today. Then I will take a week or so off and we'll start with 1996 on Monday, May, 8th.
- The top story this week is about various states trying to ban UFC and other MMA companies and it's all really interesting, but not really wrestling-related until the end, when Dave talks about how this has actually affected ECW. A Connecticut legislator involved in trying to get UFC banned in the state also says that due to existing laws, he doesn't believe ECW's style of wrestling is permitted in the state, citing its violent reputation. Obviously this is ridiculous, but Paul Heyman has been forced to respond, clarifying that ECW is pro wrestling and not UFC and that more people get hurt in boxing matches than in ECW. The whole thing came about because there was some confusion about a new UFC-copycat promotion starting up that ran their first show in the northeast called Extreme Fighting Championships, with some lawmakers confusing it with ECW.
- Vince McMahon responded to the Phil Mushnick NY Post story of potential witness tampering in his steroid case last year with a 4-minute rant that aired on the WWF Superstars show in the New York market. Vince, in a disdainful tone, talked about the prosecution in his trial, calling them dishonest and said they destroyed evidence. He also defended the husband of his attorney, who is accused of trying to pay off witnesses. He also blamed his troubles on "yellow journalists conspiring with vengeful public officials" and said the charges of witness tampering "are as far fetched as the charges brought against me." Vince said his acquittal proved that all of the negative stories over the last few years were false. Dave disagrees and says the testimony actually corroborated most of the media stories when it comes to steroid use in wrestling. In the end, Vince basically accuses Mushnick and the government investigators of working together to destroy him. It's....interesting.
- Here are Dave's thoughts on the whole issue: for starters, he refuses to speculate on the witness tampering/bribery accusations. But Vince's accusations of the media of "stalking" him is ignoring that he got himself into this situation by himself, his biggest star (Hogan) and the company spokesman all repeatedly lying to the media and getting caught in those lies. Vince's accusations that the media and the investigators are out to get him borders on paranoia. And this response is the same thing that got him in trouble to begin with: instead of dealing with the facts, he diverts attention from them and tries to paint it as if everyone has a vendetta against him (as he did when steroid stories first began popping up in the early 90s). It's the reason why the WWF has no credibility in the eyes of the public. As for the trial itself, Dave probably knows more about it than anyone other than the lawyers and participants involved, and he says the trial was eye-opening and that there was definitely deception and lies told by both sides. Overall, Dave says the whole process left him scared of how messy and broken our justice system is.
- WCW has added a Sting vs. Luger vs. Flair triangle match to Starrcade, with the winner facing Randy Savage for the title. Sting and Luger are already scheduled for other matches and, due to the WCW vs. NJPW World Cup of Wrestling tournament also happening that night, if either Sting or Luger wins the triangle match, they would end up working 4 matches on one show (also, I may be mistaken but I think this is the first triangle/three-way/triple threat match ever in either WCW or WWF. I know it had happened a few times in ECW before this but I can't recall it happening in either of the major companies before).
- Ric Flair had an MRI and it was confirmed that he has a torn rotator cuff. He doesn't plan to take any time off and will work through it. In retrospect, it makes the Flair/Sting match at World War III even more incredible since a 46-year-old Flair pretty much carried a near-4-star match while being unable to lift one of his arms. "If f there was ever a question of him being able to have a good match with one arm tied behind his back, it was answered."
- Final buyrates from both WWF and WCW's most recent PPVs are in and it's bad news for both. WWF's numbers are abysmal, as they're down to what WCW's numbers used to be. As for WCW, they're also down to about the same pre-Hogan levels and, when you factor in the huge cut Hogan is taking from each PPV, it's just bad news all around.
- AAA is advertising a Star of Death cage match for an upcoming show, with the cage shaped like the Jewish Star of David (this match happened and gets mentioned several times in future issues as reportedly being an all-time classic spotfest, but video of it doesn't seem to exist anywhere and it seems like they never used the gimmick again).
- Jerry Lawler suffered a broken fibula in a match with Brad Armstrong but isn't expected to be out long.
- They're still doing a USWA vs. SMW angle on USWA TV, even though SMW is now defunct. Pretty much everyone in SMW has contacted USWA looking for full-time work, though right now, the only one USWA is taking is Tracy Smothers. Buddy Landel may end up in WWF and will be working the Royal Rumble PPV, but it's not guaranteed. The Heavenly Bodies debuted in ECW this week. The WWF wasn't an option for them because Jimmy Del Ray of the Bodies was involved in that mysterious legal case that currently has Tatanka suspended so until that case is cleared up, WWF isn't interested. The Headbangers have a WWF tryout scheduled but for now, they're working indies. Everyone else is also working indies and is basically shit out of luck. SMW is still selling videotapes and merchandise in order to pay off their debts.
- Bruce Prichard was backstage at the recent ECW show. Bubba Ray Dudley got the best crowd reactions of anyone on the show. And Cactus Jack did another incredible promo, this time in a suit and tie, with his hair slicked back and doing a puppet ventriloquist bit.
- It's considered pretty much a guarantee that Public Enemy is going to WCW and their final ECW match will take place next month.
- Dynamite Kid is expected to wrestle on the upcoming Stu Hart 50th Anniversary show in Calgary as well as be honored at the show. They're hopeful that Kid and Davey Boy Smith can put their bad blood behind them for a night for the show (spoiler: nope).
- Little Beaver, a legendary midget wrestler from the 60s and 70s, died this week. He's most well-known for getting splashed by King Kong Bundy at Wrestlemania 3 (according to Wikipedia, the WM3 match was his last match and he was injured during it because Bundy started stiffing him because he was annoying him. Beaver retired afterwards and blamed that match for forcing him to).
- Ricky Steamboat is apparently involved in a lawsuit against WWF (Dave doesn't know all the details but best I can tell, it seems to be over video royalties, ala Jesse Ventura). Apparently in the lawsuit, WWF is claiming they are the ones who took Steamboat from being just another no-name wrestler and made him a star. Dave says WWF needs a history lesson so they learn that the world didn't start in 1984 and New York isn't the center of the universe.
- WWF has been sending guys to work for Carlos Colon's WWC in Puerto Rico. Recently, Hakushi and Mabel have both worked shows for them. This is only interesting because it's one of the rare times Dave covers Puerto Rico. I think after Brody was murdered there, Dave seems to have gone out of his way to pretty much ignore them unless necessary. I've read every word of 6 years worth of these old Observer issues and I can probably count on 1 hand how many times Dave has mentioned WWC.
- The Jenny Jones Show is possibly working on a show about wrestling, focusing on Eddie Gilbert and the Von Erich deaths.
- Nitro beat Raw in the ratings this week because the show ran 10 minutes past the hour, which added an extra .2 ratings point. Thus, the first ever over-run on Monday night, a tradition which carries on to Raw to this day.
- The first 50 eliminations of the World War III battle royal were planned. The final 10 were called on the spot by Hogan in the ring because they wanted to keep the finish a secret, even from the rest of the booking committee. Man, Hogan was doing anything to keep those "rag sheets" from finding out stuff.
- The Diamond Doll (Kimberly Page) was in a bikini in the latest issue of Muscle Mag International magazine. There was no mention of her being involved in pro wrestling.
- The short-lived Thursday night replays of Raw have been cancelled. WWF never promoted it anyway because they were afraid people would wait until Thursdays to watch and it would hurt the Monday ratings against WCW.
- Pat Patterson has finally, officially retired. He cleaned out his desk last week and is moving to Florida.
- Dean Douglas has 2 fractured vertebrae in his back and he's telling people he's thinking of quitting wrestling next year since he's already been accepted to medical school.
- WWF received some complaints about the finish to the Bret Hart/Diesel Survivor Series match, which saw Nash sit up and shout "Motherfucker!" right after he was pinned. They're trying to walk a fine line by making it a more adult-oriented product without alienating fans or sponsors. It won't be easy.