August 14, 1996
- So this Aug. 14th issue a weird one. And as you can already tell at a glance, this is a short recap. The entire issue is dedicated to telling the history of New Japan Pro Wrestling. It's an absolutely incredible read, arguably the best piece of writing I've seen Dave do since I started reading these Observer issues. If you were ever considering subscribing to Dave's site, this issue alone is worth the price of admission if you're interested in the in-depth history of NJPW (at least up through 1996). In between each "chapter" of the story, Dave reviews all the matches of the recent G-1 Climax tournament and the first ever J Crown tournament, which took place during that week.
- And...that's basically it. That's literally the entire issue, aside from a brief 1 page of news at the very end. But I can't stress enough how interesting this story is, dating back to the days of Rikidozan, who pretty much discovered both Antonio Inoki and Giant Baba and mentored them. Baba would, of course, go on to be the founder of AJPW and Inoki would later create NJPW. The story tells all the details of Inoki founding the promotion, all the controversies and major incidents throughout the years, and more. The formation of the IWGP title, the Inoki/Ali match, their real-life feuds with other promotions, etc. etc. Is there a good book out there about the history of NJPW? If not, there really should be. Hell, maybe Dave should write it.
- Like I said, in between "chapters" of the NJPW story, Dave reviews the 2 tournaments that took place. The J Crown tournament was to unify 8 different junior heavyweight titles from around the world into one championship. The tournament was eventually won by Great Sasuke. As for the G-1 Climax, that was won by Riki Choshu. Afterward, Choshu announced that he would be retiring in 1997.
- Finally, the only other news in this issue, which is pretty much all relegated to 1 page, but there's plenty of it:
- After his final match in the G-1 tournament, Jushin Liger got on the mic and told the crowd that doctors had discovered a tumor on his brain. Liger will be undergoing a biopsy this week to see if it's malignant and will have surgery on the 23rd to get it removed. If it's benign, he's expected to return to the ring. If it's malignant, his career may very well be over. The crowd gave him a thunderous ovation afterwards, realizing that they possibly had just seen Jushin Liger in the ring for the final time. In a later press conference, Liger elaborated and said he had been suffering major headaches for a couple of months which led to the discovery of the tumor, which is 2 centimeters in diameter on his brain.
- Ahmed Johnson is scheduled to undergo kidney surgery this week and his planned match with Faarooq at Summerslam has been scrapped. No word on when he'll be back.
- Jeff Jarrett has quit USWA and will sit out of wrestling for a few months until he can start with WCW in October.
- WWF's lawsuit against WCW, TBS, and Eric Bischoff is scheduled to go to trial this week, but rumors are that they may settle before then.
- ECW has lost their TV deal in New York City. They had purchased the time slot as an infomercial rather than regular TV programming. When the channel looked at the show, they decided against airing it. Dave says TV is the lifeblood of the wrestling business in America and if ECW continues to have so much blood, graphic violence, swearing, etc., they're going to have a lot of trouble growing beyond where they are because TV stations will continue to shy away from it.
- WWF is going to have a bikini contest with Sunny, Sable, and Marlena on the Summerslam pre-show.
- Pit Bull #1 suffered a broken neck and will be out of action for awhile. ECW is playing it up as a skull fracture but it's a neck injury. It's not expected to be a career-ender, but it is very serious.
- Sean Waltman (1-2-3 Kid) is expected to debut in WCW this week.
- Jacques Rougeau and Pierre Oulette have signed with WCW. Hulk Hogan's nephew Horace Boulder also signed a deal. No word on when any of them will be starting.
- WCW beat WWF in the Monday night ratings again this week, but the real story is the hourly numbers. WWF ratings skyrocketed throughout the show while WCW ratings plummeted, showing that fans were switching over from Nitro to Raw in droves.