December 01, 2003
- Dave does a quick breakdown of the 3 major MMA shows (featuring pro wrestlers so bear with me!) that will be taking place in Japan on New Year's Eve. Antonio Inoki's Bom Ba Ye show will be headlined Mirko Cro Cop vs. Yoshihiro Takayama, in a fight everyone expects to be "an entertaining homicide" of Takayama (this fight doesn't end up happening, which is the only reason I wrote about this in the first place. Dave never really gets into the details, but I went down the rabbit hole and there's a super interesting story here. Apparently there's a lot of dispute over whether Cro Cop can contractually work Inoki's show, since he has a deal with PRIDE. Years later, Cro Cop's manager revealed a bunch of PRIDE/Yakuza ties and specifically noted that Cro Cop was paid a lot of money to fake a back injury and pull out of this Takayama fight, in the wake of threats by Yakuza members. I really wanna dig into this story in depth some day). Meanwhile, NJPW's Josh Barnett and Yuji Nagata are also working the Inoki show. No details on the PRIDE's main event yet. And of course, the K-1 show will be the biggest of them all, headlined by Bob Sapp and Akebono. All 3 shows will be running head-to-head-to-head with each other in prime time on different major networks (TBS, NTV, and Fuji Network). We're going to see more NJPW wrestlers added to these cards in the coming weeks, even on competing shows.
- Another week, another obituary. This time it's for Dick Hutton, the former NWA star, who died at age 80. Well at least it's not another drug tragedy. Hutton is best known for being Lou Thesz's handpicked replacement as NWA world champion and Thesz considered him one of the best wrestlers of all time. Despite all that though, Hutton's reign as champion wasn't very successful and Thesz was soon back on top. It's a good obit, but ya know...
- And now we got a review of UFC's 10th anniversary show. Dammit with the MMA Dave! The UFC Hall of Fame was started, with Ken Shamrock and Royce Gracie as the first inductees. Dan Severn didn't attend because he was apparently upset about being passed over as an original inductee. Tank Abbott lost by ref stoppage and a big brawl broke out afterwards between the two camps. That's about it for this.
- More details on the death of Crash Holly from the police report. Deputies in Florida received a call from Connecticut that Stevie Richards was worried about Holly after talking with him the previous night but not being able to reach him the next day. The police in Florida went to the house and got no response when they knocked. Richards reached out to a local realtor who sold him the house and still had a key to go there and unlock the door for the police. They went in and found Holly lying face down in the kitchen in a pool of his own vomit. On the counter next to him were an open bottle of Southern Comfort and an empty bottle of Somas that he had just gotten filled 2 days earlier. He had apparently taken all 90 capsules. After checking his cell phone, they saw that the last phone call was the night before to Richards and from the state of his body, they believe he died shortly after. No suicide note was found, but police did note that they found the divorce papers that his wife had served him. A month before his death, Holly had also been arrested for DUI and drug possession and was said to be severely depressed.
- IWA star Apolo recently quit the promotion and planned to move from Puerto Rico to Florida. He wanted to get a normal 9-5 job in the U.S. because his daughter has diabetes and needs real medical benefits. He also was apparently holding out hope of getting a job wrestling here, but IWA wasn't having that shit. They sent letters to both WWE and TNA informing them that Apolo is under contract to IWA for 3 more years and he's not allowed to wrestle elsewhere, so don't get any ideas. That apparently led to Apolo returning to IWA this past week.
- Riki Choshu's WJ promotion continues its slow march towards death. This week, all 21 remaining wrestlers had their contracts terminated and any wrestlers working their shows are doing so on a paid-by-date basis. The company still has 4 shows on the books and has said they plan to still run those shows. Kensuke Sasaki and Genichiro Tenryu both quit after they stopped getting paid. It's expected Sasaki will return to NJPW.
- There's a lot of pressure on both sides for NJPW and AJPW to broker a peace deal and start working together. NJPW, which is struggling for all the usual Inoki reasons, is open to the idea. AJPW head Keiji Muto is said to be reluctant still, but with the lowest drawing Budokan Hall show in history coming up soon, they need a boost. Things between the 2 promotions haven't been all that great since Muto up and left NJPW to take over AJPW.
- NJPW's Jan 4th Tokyo Dome show is looking to be in rough shape. The advance is terrible because nothing has announced, because plans keep changing. They announced Hulk Hogan last week, which is a dumb idea because Hogan has not yet committed to it due to his recent knee surgery (indeed, he does not work this show). Takayama is expected to drop the NWF title soon, at which point it will likely be retired and leave Hiroyoshi Tenzan, who holds the IWGP title, as the company's only world champion (don't worry, Tenzan will be losing that title before we even get to the Dome, because as always, Tenzan must suffer). As previously mentioned, they'd like to have AJPW's Keiji Muto on the show, as well as NOAH's Mitsuharu Misawa, and they're trying to do a NJPW vs. outsiders theme. Antonio Inoki is pushing Tatsumi Fujinami to retire, so they can build the show around his retirement, but Fujinami has refused, saying he doesn't want to retire yet. And that's where the show stands currently.
- A Jerry Lawler birthday bash show is being held at the Mid-South Coliseum in Memphis this week, and on the morning TV show the day of, they're planning to do a big Lawler vs. Brian Christopher hair vs. hair match. Dave is under the impression no one is getting their head shaved and that this match will lead to some sort of an angle to try and boost walk-up ticket sales for the Coliseum show that night (I was at this show and it turned tragic. I'll tell the story in the next issue).
- TNA is now looking at hosting their big February PPV with Hogan vs. Jarrett in Fort Campbell, KY. The reason being there is a military base there and they want to get a big crowd and figure free tickets for the soldiers is a good move from a PR standpoint and also, makes it more likely that Hogan won't back out again. It's also close to Nashville and still in their home region. Jimmy Hart has been spearheading this idea because his son is currently serving in Iraq and he wants to do something for the military. Country singer Toby Keith has also agreed to do something at the show and they're hoping to get Willie Nelson as well.
- The latest TNA PPV saw Chris Sabin vs. David Young in what might be the fastest match ever. Sabin won in 2 seconds because of a fast count from the heel referee.
- Konnan got into some trouble because he used the Spanish equivalent of "motherfucker" in a recent TNA promo. He evidently tried to sneak it in figuring no one in management would pick up on it but he forgot Dutch Mantell has spent the last several years booking in Puerto Rico and is totally fluent in Spanish. Whoops!
- Lex Luger impressed exactly zero people with his appearance in TNA last week. They aired clips of him this week as if he might be coming back, but according to sources in the locker room, nobody expects him back.
- WWE's portrayal of women (which Dave complained about literally last week) has gotten them into some hot water at Boise State University, which hosted Smackdown last week. When they found out the show was going to be there, the Boise State Women's Center advisory board protested. The head of the group put out a statement saying they were embarrassed that WWE would be allowed there and stated, "I would challenge people to examine why they find it entertaining to see women disrobed, attacked and figuratively raped in the middle of a cheering crowd." The show went on as normal.
- Goldust is expected to be released from his WWE contract when it expires in January. He's been out of action with a back injury for months and WWE made the weird decision to publicly announce on their website that they won't be renewing his deal in 2 months. WWE's blatant and open "Yeah we're getting rid of this guy" attitude towards it has apparently struck fear in a lot of wrestlers who are having second thoughts about how hard they should fight for more money when they're up for renewal. If you recall, WWE started cutting everyone's downside guarantees and paydays went way down and now, because of this, people are even more afraid to speak up about it. Anyway, Goldust is expected to end up in TNA or maybe Japan (apparently Zero-One has interest and Dave thinks he'd get over big there) but no matter where he ends up, he won't be able to use the Goldust name or gimmick.
- Kurt Angle's neck surgery to remove bone fragments went well last week but the damage to his neck was more severe than thought. Angle has been telling people he wants to be back in the ring by early December, but that's not likely. The new goal is to have him back by Rumble. It's believed the injury came from Angle taking a chairshot from Lesnar right on top of the head, which basically exploded his disc and caused fragments to go everywhere. The doctor has instructed Angle: no more chairshots on top of the head. Seems reasonable.
- Speaking of neck surgery, Kevin Nash's recent operation (same doctor as Kurt Angle) didn't go as well and he's still in a lot of pain. Nash's contract expires in February and there's no chance in hell that it will get renewed at the same $700k-per-year rate. Dave says he wouldn't be surprised if Nash is done wrestling for WWE for good, but wouldn't be shocked if he ended up in a backstage role.
- Notes from 11/24 Raw: it was a Spin The Wheel Make The Deal night of gimmick matches. There was a show-long skit with Hurricane and Rosey chasing a little person around the arena all night in an attempt to win a "midget tossing contest." The main event was a disaster because the pyro filled the arena with smoke. And that's about the only things of note.
- Austin will be off TV for the foreseeable future after the Survivor Series stipulation. It was mostly done to give him time off to go promote the book but he'll be back sooner than later. He has not been approached about doing anything at Wrestlemania 20 yet. Austin has made it clear that if he's going to do another match, he wants it to be something good. There's been talk of having Austin face Vince, since that would be a pretty fitting blow-off to their history (Austin vs. Vince in Austin's final match at the 20th Wrestlemania writes itself) but nobody has talked to Austin about that yet.
- Lots of movie news. WWE's first movie which is expected to star Triple H, is scheduled to start filming early next year and he continues to get praise from Hollywood people for his role in Blade: Trinity. New Line Studios is also looking at Eddie Guerrero and Chris Jericho for small roles in possible movies next year, with Guerrero in particular being considered for a possible new Cheech and Chong movie (lol wtf). New Line execs also see John Cena as "a potential breakout star" but that's super preliminary talk and he hasn't even been considered officially for any movie roles yet (holy shit, people already seeing Cena as a potential movie star in 2003 is wild. The Marine hasn't even happened yet).
- WWE's upcoming first issue of Smackdown Magazine apparently has an interview with Randy Savage, in which he discusses the death of Elizabeth (bwah? I never heard about WWE and Macho being in communication during this time, but I guess he was. I found a small sample, but can't seem to find the full interview. Anyone?)
- Zach Gowan is still out with a concussion but there's a lot of doubt. Gowan apparently quickly earned a reputation as a bullshitter in the locker room and now nobody believes he's really hurt. He wasn't being used much anyway since, once you've told the story of the 1-legged guy achieving his dream to be a wrestler, there's not really anywhere left to go.
- Jim Cornette was on Observer Radio this week and pretty much confirmed what Dave wrote last week. The reason WWE didn't acknowledge Crash Holly's death is likely because they're trying to run from the situation and don't want fans to start asking why so many wrestlers are dying so young, as it continues to be a worsening problem.
- WWE sold out a big house show for the first time in months. The reason? It was held in Hidalgo, TX, a border town right on the border with Mexico. As a result, they had a super hot, packed crowd of Mexican fans that all came to see Eddie Guerrero and Rey Mysterio. It led to some in WWE joking that they should only book Smackdown in border towns with Eddie on top because that's the only way they can draw anymore. Dave says WWE is well aware of what they have with Eddie right now.
- A Detroit house show featured the debut of the Goldbergaroonie! Big post main event shenanigans where Booker T had everyone doing spinaroonies and they got Goldberg to do one. And apparently, it was pretty good (I can't find video of this because life isn't fair).