May 05, 1997
- As Dave periodically does when it's a slow news week, he decides to look at the business numbers of the 4 major promotions (WWF, WCW, NJPW, and AJPW). We're looking at the first quarter of 1997 so far. As always, this is really detailed number crunching stuff and would probably bore most people so I'll just sum it up as quick as possible. Anyway, the biggest takeaway is that there seems to be no major correlation between house show numbers and TV ratings. For example, WCW is obviously kicking WWF's ass in TV ratings, but WWF is still leading in house show business. People might prefer to watch WCW on TV but when it comes to paying for the product they want to see live, people still choose WWF. As far as PPV business goes, WWF numbers are getting scary. PPV buyrates are down 34% from last year. But the same sorta applies to WCW as well. Their PPV numbers have slightly increased from last year, but they're still way below 1995 numbers, which would probably surprise most people who assume that WCW is doing their best business ever due to the NWO angle. But in reality, aside from TV ratings, the other numbers don't back it up. And even the TV ratings tell a bit of a lie. WCW's first quarter TV ratings are actually down 6% from the same period last year. But WWF's numbers are down 29% so it makes it look like WCW is doing way better than they were, when in reality, they're only winning because the ratings haven't dropped as much as WWF's did. To sum it up, PPV buyrates are still where the money is and WCW is still doing strong there and WWF is getting killed.
- As for NJPW and AJPW numbers: NJPW's TV ratings have increased a little but attendance has declined slightly. But they're still doing strong numbers in both departments, so nothing to fear. As for AJPW, attendance is up slightly and they're drawing great ratings despite a stale product and a horrible time slot. Their TV ratings are up 31% from last year and a whopping 70% from 1995. So TL;DR - business in Japan is booming.
- Vader returned to the United States last week after spending 10 days in Kuwait on house arrest while awaiting a court hearing. Vader faces charges of "public aggression and public humiliation" from the incident on the TV show. And he also faces charges of drunk and disorderly conduct from the incident at the hotel where cops were called and he had to be settled down. All told, Vader faces up to a year in prison, but WWF is confident that he will only get a fine. WWF attempted to turn it into a storyline, holding a press conference with Vader, in character, saying he wasn't going to apologize. They also filmed an angle on Raw with Jim Ross where he also posed the fake wrestling question and Vader roughed him up a bit.
- Bret Hart underwent arthroscopic knee surgery in Calgary last week but didn't get the planned wrist surgery. Hart suffered a broken wrist several years ago that never healed properly and has bone fragments that need to be cleaned up, but he was told he would be out for at least 3 months and that it would be more susceptible to a future break. Because of that, Hart decided against getting the surgery until after he retires (fun fact: Bret finally ended up getting that surgery....in 2016). With only the knee to worry about, Bret is expected to return in time for the King of the Ring PPV. The current plan for that event is for Hart to face Shawn Michaels in their long-awaited rematch. Hart appeared on Raw in a wheelchair and they also added Jim Neidhart to the Hart Foundation. In fact, the addition of Neidhart may have been a last-minute emergency idea because the Hart Foundation has been booked in several six-man tag matches that are supposed to main event house shows for the next several weeks. But with Hart injured, that only leaves Owen Hart, British Bulldog, and Brian Pillman. And there's questions about how ready Pillman will be since he's still dealing with a lot of pain in his ankle. So Neidhart was likely brought in and added to the group to fulfill all the 6-man tag bookings.
- Tommy Rich and Doug Gilbert spent a night in prison on 4/20 for possession of marijuana (how fitting) along with taking money under false pretenses. Basically, they were booked to headline an indie show for $250 each. When they arrived, they asked to be paid up front, took their money, and left. When they were eventually caught a few cities over, they were arrested and the cops found the weed. Unable to post bond, they spent the night in jail until they were released the next day.
- A caller on the Howard Stern show called in saying he was an indie wrestler from New Jersey and talked about how he fantasized about being a serial killer and bragged about beating up prostitutes. Stern apparently took the call seriously and kept him on the phone and began grilling him with questions so he could have info on the guy to give to the police. The guy gave enough accurate information about the indie wrestling scene that the average person wouldn't know, so it seems likely that he really is involved in the business. He also claimed at one point that he is friends with Mankind, who he referred to by his real name. The call ended with Stern asking him not to kill anyone, at least through the weekend. Overall, it was really creepy (we get closure on this on Monday).
- AAA announced several WWF stars are scheduled to appear at one of the upcoming Triplemania shows. Mankind, Vader, Goldust, and Bret Hart were all announced to appear. Dave says it's unlikely though because Bret Hart will still be out injured by then. As for the other 3 guys, they're already booked on WWF house shows on the nights of the first 2 Triplemania shows. No word if there's a 3rd Triplemania show booked (there wasn't, and none of those guys appeared in AAA).
- In AAA, Blue Demon Jr. has changed his outfit from the traditional Blue Demon attire to something more futuristic looking. The reason is because, in comic books, Batman and Superman have changed to more futuristic costumes, so they figure it's time for Blue Demon Jr. to have a more modern look also.
- Tony Halme (formerly Ludvig Borga in WWF) will be fighting in the next UFC event.
- Larry Burton is still the general manager of USWA, despite reports last week that he may be stepping down.
- Raven has informed Paul Heyman that he is accepting a deal to sign with WCW. Raven agreed to a 3-year deal, worth $225,000 per year. Given that he was offered pretty big money and because DDP and Kevin Nash both pushed for him, he'll be protected politically and won't be turned into jobber fodder like a lot of other indie guys WCW signs. WCW wanted him to start at the next PPV, but his ECW contract doesn't let him do it yet. Paul Heyman is trying to work out a deal with Eric Bischoff where ECW will receive some compensation from WCW because WCW used a tag team called The Extreme Team and because they used Kimona's ECW name during her recent WCW appearance. In exchange, Heyman would let Raven out of his contract early (this gets messy soon).
- On the flip side, it seems like Rob Van Dam leaving may not be happening after all and has turned into an angle. At one point, it seemed like him going to WCW was a done-deal but not anymore. Van Dam is now doing a gimmick where he claims he wants to work Monday nights for one of the other promotions and it has turned him into one of the top heels in ECW, calling himself Mr. Monday Night. Dave thinks ECW and WWF should use their working agreement to let RVD appear on Raw at some point to help get his gimmick over.
- The Gangstas didn't work ECW's recent show in Revere, MA because it's the city where the Mass Transit incident happened and since the case hasn't been resolved, Heyman isn't booking them there. It's also a bit of a lingering punishment on New Jack for getting the company in so much trouble. There have been a lot of rumors of The Gangstas heading to WCW but Dave hasn't heard anything official from anyone.
- Bill Alfonso was not at the WCW Nitro taping in Philadelphia, but he did talk with several WCW wrestlers at the hotel after the show. That was misinterpreted as Alfonso being at the show, which would be a big deal since Heyman said he'd fire anyone who went.
- Sabu is getting married next month.
- WCW aired footage from 1993 of Ric Flair beating Vader. Part of the reason is to get Flair over for his upcoming match against Kevin Nash and show him beating big guys, but the main reason was they wanted to stick it to Vader because he's gotten so much publicity for WWF this week. Dave says there's a lot of deep animosity in WCW towards Vader, particularly from Eric Bischoff.
- The reason they're giving Meng a push against Chris Benoit is because Kevin Sullivan is finally pretty much being forced into retirement. He's still involved in the storyline but they're moving the in-ring portion of it to Benoit vs. Meng.
- Ric Flair got into some trouble for a line he said during a promo, where he said he's held more world titles than Syxx has had pieces of ass in his entire life. Dave thought it was hilarious, but WCW officials were very upset and considered suspending Flair. But since there wasn't really any negative reaction from viewers, the heat has pretty much died down. Dave doesn't think it was over the line and doesn't see what all the fuss is about.
- Rey Mysterio Jr. is reportedly considering going ahead and getting the knee surgery he needs, but he's trying to put it off as long as he can. As of now, he may be getting it near the end of June.
- Yuji Nagata finally debuted in WCW and everyone seemed impressed by him.
- The buildup for the upcoming Piper/Flair/Kevin Greene vs. Hall/Nash/Syxx match started out of control, with both sides cutting vague shoot promos at each other. But since then, the 2 sides have settled down and agreed to work together to make the match work. The promos still seem like shoots, but everything in them is approved by both sides ahead of time. The only restriction is that the NWO guys aren't allowed to call Flair and Piper "old."
- In WCW merchandise numbers, the Sting shirt is currently the top seller, followed by the NWO shirt and new DDP shirt. 69% of the merch sold is WCW while the other 31% is NWO.
- WWF injury update: Sid is still out with a back injury. He had an MRI done this week but no word on what the results are. Henry Godwinn suffered a neck injury in a match with Legion of Doom as he ended up landing on his head after taking the Doomsday Device bump. He has a fractured seventh cervical vertebrae and is expected to be out awhile.
- WWF was interested in bringing back Yokozuna but he's on a blood thinning medication and if he suffers a cut, it wouldn't clot and that could obviously be bad, so for now he's not cleared to be in the ring.
- Mankind's contract is due to expire soon and he hasn't signed a new deal yet.
- Someone writes in with a bunch of ridiculous questions and Dave gives a bunch of hilarious answers:
- Is it true that if you hit a Samoan in the head it doesn't hurt and only makes them mad? 2) Why are wrestlers from parts unknown often also announced as having weight unknown? Are there no scales there? 3) Do masked wrestlers have their masks on in their drivers license photos? They wear them in the shower you now, according to Gorilla Monsoon. 4) If a wrestler holds onto a submission hold after the end of the match, why does the referee try to break it by counting? 5) After all the good work he's done for so many years, why hasn't Sgt. Slaughter been promoted? 6) Do you have to pay an import tax on a foreign object? 7) Why do they call it a turnbuckle when it doesn't turn? 8) Why can you have a Texas death match outside of Texas? What if nobody dies? 9) Why is Steve Austin a babyface? 10) Is an Indian strap match now called a Native American strap match? 11) Let's see if I get this straight. Hanging a photo of someone with their breast accidentally exposed is sexual harassment, but letting Howard Stern finger paint your tits isn't. 12) Is there anyone in wrestling, besides Pat Patterson, who Missy Hyatt hasn't been linked to? 13) The South African Truth Commission in wrestling. Isn't that an oxymoron? 14) What do they do with the metal pieces that are missing from Public Enemy's tables? Do they recycle? 15) Who is chunkier, Nancy, Sherri or Dusty?
- Russ Cress
- Union, New Jersey
- DM: 1) From years of growing up watching Samoans wrestle that somehow has always seemed to be the case. I'm still trying to figure out why it doesn't work that way in boxing; 2) I'm not sure if they have any scales there. The few times I've been to parts unknown, the last thing I was concerned with was how much I weighed; 3) No. When I was a kid, that was actually how we'd find out the identity of the masked guys when this was really a kayfabe business. You become friends with the groupies (aka rats, but I like using the politically correct term since it's the 90s) and they get the identities for you. In those days, when the masked guys slept with the groupies, they'd never remove their masks because it was a kayfabe business, really, this is all true even though a lot of you are going to be skeptical and think I'm joking. But what they didn't know, is that after showering together, the groupies would get out first, open up their wallet, take a quick look at their license, and call me up the next morning to find out if the real name rang a bell and I'd let them know what other wrestling names the guy had used. Oh, and the guys in those days really did wear their masks in the shower, at least when they were with women, so those drivers licenses were the best way to get their identities. 4) Because that's what they teach you in referee school; 5) They've actually watched tapes of his matches; 6) Usually no, but if you try and carry them on your person and go through the metal detectors on the airplane, you're going to be asked a lot of questions; 7) Actually the connective part does turn; 8) It supposedly originated in Texas. Besides, how can you have a suicide squeeze in baseball if you blow it and the guy doesn't kill himself. Or how come you can have a sudden death period in football and everyone lives through it. Isn't that false advertising? Boy I wish every sport had a Mexican wrestling commission; 9) Because people cheer him; 10) I don't know, but midgets are now called minis. I wonder if Russian chain matches have been broken up into several different republics; 11) There's a huge difference. Whatever someone does by their own decision as long as it's legal is not sexual harassment. But if someone hangs up a photo that you didn't want taken of your exposed breast in the office that you work in, it is wrong no matter if you'd consent at another time under different circumstances to have such a photo taken; 12) Me, and also Mark Madden. There may be one or two others but that's just a rumor; 13) No more than the AWA brain trust; 14) They save them for future artificial limbs; 15) Dusty. But if I had to find out by having them all sit on me, I'd probably die three very different kinds of deaths.