Class Act Carl's Blast From The Past

[NeanderCarl]

In the thread, I will regularly be posting wrestling news from back in the day, reproduced from the pages of Superstars Of Wrestling magazine (the forerunner to Power Slam in the UK which was the first British magazine to dispell with kayfabe and deal in behind the scenes news).

I recently had a read through some of my old collection and thought maybe newer fans would enjoy reading the backstage goings on in the days before the internet.

If people are interested in this thread, I shall continue to update it as often as I can be bothered to (I have 16 years worth!!).

We start with news from the July 1992 issue (covering May and June 1992):

June/July 1992

The WWF have announced that this year’s SummerSlam will now take place on Saturday August 29th in Wembley Stadium, London. The WWF moved the event, which was originally set for the Capital Centre in Landover, Maryland due to the strong and rapid ticket sales at previous events in the United Kingdom….. The main event will consist of Randy Savage defending his World title against The Ultimate Warrior. Davey Boy Smith will get a shot at Bret Hart’s IC title, and The Legion of Doom will challenge Money Incorporated for their World tag team belts. At the moment, Ric Flair is completely off the card. Rumours insist that we may see Flair against the returning Hulk Hogan in London….. The Ultimate Warrior has been “cursed” by Papa Shango, leading to some of the most preposterous and critically savaged segments in WWF history….. The Convict (Kevin Wacholz), who has been stalking Big Bossman, has been renamed Nailz. He made his dramatic debut, running out of the crowd and attacking the Bossman with his own nightstick. Nailz has competed under the name Kevin Kelly for the last seven years, in the WWF in 1991 and previously in the AWA under the management of Sensational Sherri…. Demolition member and former PNW wrestler Crush (Brian Adams) is back as a fan favourite…. Following the photographs of Ric Flair and Elizabeth, Flair and company continue to incite Randy Savage, this time playing what they claimed to be an answering machine message from Liz to Flair… The Mountie recently debuted a new, super-charged shock stick… The Legion Of Doom seem re-energized with the arrival of Paul Ellering… Reports state that Jake The Snake Roberts is through with the WWF, and could well be on his way to WCW… Hulk Hogan is shooting a movie provisionally titled “Rough Stuff” in Miami, Florida…

Over in WCW, former UWF owner Bill Watts has replaced Kip Allen Frey as Executive Vice President. Watts’ first order of business was to ban all moves from the top rope!… Larry Zbyszko has parted ways with Paul E. Dangerously and the Dangerous Alliance. He may be feuding with Stunning Steve Austin… Speaking of Austin, he recaptured the TV title from Barry Windham on May 23rd in Chattanooga, Tennessee… Steve Williams and Terry Gordy have arrived… The Great Muta will be making his return in mid-June…. Rick Rude has been questioning Ricky Steamboat’s loyalty to his family, claiming he has been chasing Madusa. The two will meet in an Iron Man match at Beach Blast on June 20th… Flamboyant newcomer Scotty Flamingo is gunning for Brian Pillman and the lightweight belt… The Freebirds captured the US tag team belts from Terry Taylor and Greg Valentine at WrestleWar. Harley Race’s new charge, the masked Invader, who defeated Todd Champion at the show is former WWF star Hercules Hernandez…In the main event, Sting’s Squadron beat The Dangerous Alliance in the War Games match. Sting has a date with Cactus Jack at Beach Blast….

Elsewhere, the GWF is in big time trouble. Eddie Gilbert has departed and is back working with Jerry Lawler in the USWA. Coupled with The Patriot’s departure several months ago, this is a big blow. Global are now trying to forge ties with the USWA in order to stay afloat. GWF’s top contender, Marty Jannetty, will now do battle with Lawler over the USWA title, and Jeff Jarrett will battle whoever wins the GWF crown… Brian Lee defeated Paul Orndorff (by disqualification) to be crowned the first Smokey Mountain Wrestling champion… Bad News Brown is now competing as Buffalo Allen for the UWA in Mexico… Andre The Giant has left the UWA and is headed to All Japan in early June… Adbullah The Butcher and Carlos Colon have resumed their bloody feud in the WWC… Dan Spivey, Paul Orndorff, Bob Orton, Butch Reed, Ivan Koloff and Jimmy Valiant will work for Herb Abrams’ UWF in mid June.

[The Mackem]

The card changed a bit by the time Summerslam came around. Money Inc. had lost the belts to Natural Disasters, Savage defended against Flair.

[NeanderCarl]

Nah, Savage defended against Warrior. The Natural Disasters had won the World tag team titles, though, and defended them against The Beverly Brothers.

Flair was Dennis Stamped (ie. not booked) at SummerSlam, but he and Mr Perfect played a role in the main event anyway.

[The Mackem]

Did he? Memory must be going hazy...I honestly can't remember that Warrior/Savage match but watched Summerslam 92 a few times back in the day. i remember collecting them cards and then wondering why the f LOD weren't going for the titles. Sad times.

[NeanderCarl]

July/August 1992

Wembley Stadium, the site of this year’s SummerSlam, has sold out. According to reports, fans queued at the box office two days before tickets went on sale, and the eventual queue on the day tickets went on sale was two miles long! The card is coming together. In addition to matches noted last month, the former Demolition members Crush and The Repo Man (the former Smash) will battle, Kamala will face The Undertaker and Papa Shango meets Kerry Von Erich. The Natural Disasters will face The Beverly Brothers in a pointless dud of a match. Current plans have Ric Flair turning on Mr Perfect in an angle at the event, due to Perfect’s failure to secure Flair the World title shot at the show. The two will be involved in an interview segment at SummerSlam. Flair has been on a lengthy losing streak of late. It is widely believed that the 42 year old Flair is coming to the end of his career… No mention has been made of Hulk Hogan, leading one to believe that if Hogan does show up at SummerSlam, it will be kept as a last minute surprise… The new Wild Samoans (young veterans Samu and The Great Kokina, who previously wrestled as Kokina Maximus) have been wrestling on house shows but not yet on TV. Rumours abound of a programme against The Legion Of Doom when they eventually show up on screen… The Mountie and Sgt Slaughter are feuding, after Mountie zapped Slaughter with his “super” shock stick. Jack Tunney has threatened to expel The Mountie if he ever uses the stick again… The Big Bossman has not wrestled since being attacked by Nailz, but he has been interviewed by telephone, accompanied by pictures of the aftermath of the beating he received… Mr Perfect has amused many by claiming to have no idea who “Cuban” newcomer Razor Ramon is. Ramon, under his real name of Scott Hall, was once AWA World tag team champions with, guess who, Mr Perfect, Curt Hennig… Former WWWF and NWA World champion Nature Boy Buddy Rogers died at the age of 71 on June 26th after going into a coma following two strokes… Former WWF champion Bob Backlund recently made a dramatic move after years of infrequent activity by signing a new deal with the WWF… Lex Luger, who will not be allowed to wrestle for the WWF until March 1993 due to contract stipulations, barely avoided a career ending injury when he lost control of his motorcycle in Atlanta, Georgia. Luger suffered a crushed elbow, and various torn ligaments and muscles when he was hit by a car and thrown from the bike….

In WCW, Big Van Vader has defeated Sting for the WCW World title… Dick Slater and The Barbarian have returned as a tag team, immediately defeating the Freebirds for the US tag team titles… Brad Armstrong defeated Brian Pillman for the light heavyweight title on July 5th… Steve Williams and Terry Gordy beat The Steiners for the WCW tag team belts on July 5th, and won the NWA tag team titles on July 12th…. Bill Watts has taken a critical savaging for his decision to ban top rope moves, impeding the high flying likes of Jushin Liger, Brian Pillman and The Great Muta. Watts is vowing to return to a harder-edged style of wrestling (ie blood and guts) to combat the cartoon environment of the WWF…

Elsewhere, Eddie Gilbert won the USWA title from Jerry Lawler on June 15th after interference from Mike Samples. Gilbert is now calling himself “The New King”… The USWA tag champs The Moondogs (Spot and Cujo) have been suspended for defying Eddie Marlin’s edict banning them from using chairs as a weapon… SMW’s champion Brian Lee has his hands full with Paul Orndorff and Tony Anthony, and Jim Cornette’s tag team champions The Heavenly Bodies (Stan Lane and Tom Pritchard) and feuding with The Fantastics (Jackie Fulton and Bobby Fulton)… Global are now struggling to pull in more than 100 fans for live shows, and may soon be history.

[The Mackem]

LOL @ Flair comment

[Fabien Barthez]

Savage defended against Flair at WM8. Savage got an injured knee in the match, got out of a figure 4. The finish was Flair holding savages leg, Savage took some missing swings, then pulled it into a small package.

At SS, didn't Flair and Perfect come out, with that photograph of Flair with Elizabeth, then Savage chased him and got counted out?

Bulldog/Bret is one of the best matches of all time, IMO.





You got a lot of free time on your hands, Carl?

Not that I mind, I love this, and bourght that mag regulary. Keep them coming:y:

[NoRoolz]

I was 2 years old.

But still an interesting read, especially seeing as I have SummerSlam 92 on VHS :y:

[Fabien Barthez]

Then go and watch it and tell me if I was right about the Savage/Warrior finish.

I'll await your findings. :wave:

[NoRoolz]

brb.

[Rob]

I was 2 years old.

But still an interesting read, especially seeing as I have SummerSlam 92 on VHS :y:

I think I was 11 and in the second row.

[NeanderCarl]

August/September 1992

In the WWF, former World champion Bob Backlund, 42, made his first appearance in eight years on July 1st, defeating Skinner. Thus far, Backlund remains gimmick free… On July 20th, The Natural Disasters (Earthquake and Typhoon) defeated Money Incorporated (Ted DiBiase and Irwin R. Schyster) to finally capture the World tag team titles. This means the match between Money Inc. and the Legion Of Doom at SummerSlam is now a non-title match and the LOD are reportedly not at all happy about it. Many fans believe the LOD have completely sold out their entire careers with the new Rocco gimmick. R.I.P. Road Warriors… Bad news, fans: El Gigante has signed a contract to begin in January. Happy new year!… Kerry Von Erich has been fired, and has joined Genichiro Tenryu’s WAR promotion in Japan. Von Erich was scheduled to face Papa Shango at SummerSlam…. Hulk Hogan, who just turned 39, has been heavily negotiating with New Japan for appearances in early 1993… Speaking of Hogan, he recently appeared on Entertainment Tonight to promote his new movie, and it is shocking how much weight he has lost (at least 50lbs). He looks a shadow of his former self. In SummerSlam predictions, Ultimate Warrior will likely regain the WWF World title from Randy Savage, Davey Boy Smith will win the Intercontinental belt from Bret Hart, and The Natural Disasters will retain their belts over The Beverly Brothers in what should be a hideous match… Ric Flair has challenged the winner of Savage-Warrior to a match after SummerSlam, yet the rumour mill has Ric Flair returning to WCW very soon, where his skills would be more appreciated. In the WWF, the ability to sell T-shirts far outweighs the ability to put on a great wrestling match… Davey Boy Smith blew his knee out in a recent match and will not wrestle again until SummerSlam… The Samoans are now a three piece: Samu, Fatu and Kokina. They are managed by Big Daddy, who was a member of the original Wild Samoans under the name Afa. They should have debuted on TV by the time you read this…

In WCW, Big Van Vader’s World title reign last only three weeks. When Sting was unable to challenge Vader due to injury on August 2nd, Bill Watts made a random drawing to determine who should replace him. Ron Simmons was chosen at random, and went on to defeat Vader for the belt… It should be noted that the reason for Sting’s injury was due to an attack by Cactus Jack and the debuting Jake The Snake Roberts. The Steiners and Barry Windham made the save just as Jake was about to unleash the contents of his snake bag…. Bill Watts terminated the US tag team championship on July 31st due to an abundance of titles in WCW (there were three sets of tag team titles), thus ending the short reign of Dick Slater and The Barbarian. Watts has also been name dropping Ric Flair and Sid Vicious on TV, leading to speculation that they may be headed back… Brad Armstrong has been battling Jushin Liger to time limit draws over the Light heavyweight title… Dan Spivey has returned to WCW and has been laying waste to jobbers. There is talk of a reformation of The Skyscrapers, should Vicious also return…. Bill Watts has been met with mixed reviews in his attempt to return WCW to hardcore action. The WCW style is now more harder-edged, but many of the company’s best talents (Terry Taylor, Brian Pillman, Scotty Flamingo) have been sacrificed to make way for the over-the-hill gang (The Barbarian, The Junkyard Dog, Greg Valentine etc)… Participants in the forthcoming NWA World title tournament include Masa Chono, Tony Halme, Scott Norton, Bam Bam Bigelow, Arn Anderson, Steve Austin, Jim Neidhart, Rick Rude and Shinya Hashimoto.

Elsewhere, Jerry Lawler’s son Brian Christopher has been feuding with Tom Pritchard in Memphis. They have traded the Southern belt and have been putting their cars on the line in the matches too… Jerry Lawler and Jeff Jarrett toppled The Moondogs for the USWA tag team titles in a cage match, with Jackie Fargo as the referee on June 29th. The Moondogs regained the belts a week later, and on July 20th, lost them back to Jarrett and Lawler… Ricky Morton arrived in the USWA and on July 13th defeated Eddie Gilbert for the USWA strap. However, Gilbert regained the title with help from his brother Doug Gilbert on July 20th… Former NWA champion Ron Garvin has arrived in Smokey Mountain Wrestling… The 65 year old nutter The Sheik defeated Atsushi Onita for the WWA World Martial Arts title in Sapporo, Japan on June 25th in a no-rope barbed wire match… GWF, who are still struggling, have made an important signing by bringing in Manny Fernandez. Maybe Global still has a future… Superfly Jimmy Snuka regained the ECW title from Johnny Hot Body in Philadelphia. Speaking of Snuka, he has independent dates lined up against Demolition Ax… The Powers of Pain, The Warlord and Barbarian, have reunited on the independent scene… Jim Neidhart will battle Marty Jannetty in an upcoming NAWA show in Palmetto, Florida.

[Rob]

How do I do a screen print from YouTube?

[NeanderCarl]

I think I was 11 and in the second row.

^ Jealous.

[NeanderCarl]

For those who don't know, Kokina never made his debut as a Samoan on TV after all. Fatu and Samu made one appearance as The Samoans with the commentators raving about how another Samoan member was on his way, well in excess of 400lbs... they then disappeared, and came back as The Headshrinkers... Kokina, meanwhile, was repackaged as Japanese heel Yokozuna and had a massive push.

[NoRoolz]

Right, in the Savage/Warrior match at SummerSlam 92, towards the end of the match Flair and Perfect come out and stand at ring-side. They hit Savage whilst he's against the ropes so the commentators start saying that 'Warrior has sold out and joined Mr.Perfect' etc, then the referee gets knocked out and Mr.Perfect holds Warrior and Flair hits him with the brass knuckles. So then they're saying that it was a trick and Savage has sold out. Then Savage goes to the top rope and is going to elbow drop Warrior, but he then jumps to the outside at Ric Flair but Flair swings a chair and hits Savage in the knee.

Savage gets counted out, then Flair and Perfect attack him, putting him in a figure four and repeatedly punching him. Then Warrior comes around and runs to help Savage and Flair and Perfect run off, Warrior chases them for a bit with the chair, throws it at them, then walks back, gets the WWF title, and helps Savage up, putting the belt over his shoulder.

In the promo after Flair is going on about how it should have been his title match, and they're just bigging themselves up basically.

Also, I thought at the end of this match would be the end of the tape, but after the MAIN EVENT was Berzerker V Tatanka - wtf?

[NoRoolz]

I think I was 11 and in the second row.

Amazing.

Whereabouts are you? Like, so I can see you on T.V.

Also, can you not just print screen (for YouTube)?

[Rob]

This wasn't the main event. Bret vs. Davey was.

[Rob]

Amazing.

Whereabouts are you? Like, so I can see you on T.V.

Also, can you not just print screen (for YouTube)?

I don't know how to do a screen print.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AbP7yCx4FAY

1:44 in. Grey top.

[NoRoolz]

http://img178.imageshack.us/img178/3859/tpwwrobqy6.th.jpg (http://img178.imageshack.us/my.php?image=tpwwrobqy6.jpg)

[NeanderCarl]

We skip a few months now (as I'm missing those issues) and jump to December 1992 (covering news from October and November)....

October/November 1992

WWF, The Ultimate Warrior, Davey Boy Smith and Earthquake are all history. Rumour has it that Warrior and Davey Boy had begun to make outlandish demands to which Vince McMahon wasn't willing to comply… Bret Hart defeated Ric Flair for the WWF World title on October 12th in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. Both men were laid up with injuries following the match; Bret with a broken finger and sprained ankle, Flair with an ear problem… Incidentally, this was only the second time in his career that Flair has ever submitted (the first being against Rick Steamboat in 1989) and also makes Bret only the second person, following Pedro Morales, to complete the World, IC and tag team title triple crown… Speaking of Flair, he was recruited by George Bush in his unsuccessful quest to be re-elected as President of the USA… Money Inc. recaptured the World tag team titles from The Natural Disasters following intereference from The Headshrinkers on October 13th…. On October 27th, Shawn Michaels defeated Davey Boy Smith for the Intercontinental title. On the subject of Michaels, he is at last set to feud with his former Rockers tag team partner Marty Jannetty, who made his return in an angle recently… The Survivor Series pay-per-view has changed format; there will only be one elimination style match this year. The current main event features World champion Bret Hart defending his title against Shawn Michaels (only the World title is up for grabs). The Undertaker was scheduled to battle Kamala in a “Coffin Match”, however this is currently in question as the Undertaker is suffering from a broken collar bone. He has been advised not to wrestle until at least December; you will know by the time you read this whether this match took place or not… Hulk Hogan has entered contract negotiations with the WWF. Reportedly, Vince McMahon has offered Hogan a $3million, one year deal, based on him wrestling 3-day weeks. That’s $19,000 per night! However, New Japan still has an offer on the table for Hogan worth $100,000 per night. Hogan is known for actually wrestling scientifically in Japan. If he returns to the WWF, it is believed he will continue to wrestle this style, as WWF is placing more emphasis on wrestling and less on entertainment value at the moment… Just to contradict myself right away, Doink The Clown is now competing in the ring and is one of the most ridiculous images in recent history. There is, in actual fact, a pretty damn good wrestler hiding behind the costume: 14 year veteran, Matt Borne, who last competed for WCW as Big Josh…. Animal has quit the WWF. He had been working in a tag team with Crush since Hawk’s departure in September… Massive heel Bam Bam Bigelow has returned to the WWF… Former Fabulous Freebird, Jimmy Garvin is coming in… Former IWF champion Mondo Kleen is also coming in, under the name Damien Demento…

WCW will return to the UK from March 11th until March 17th, 1993. All the top names are expected to show up, and tickets are on sale now…. Sting defeated Jake Roberts at Halloween Havoc. Roberts has now been banned from bringing snakes to the ring… Terry Gordy has been indefinitely suspended. Steve Williams has instead been teaming up with Steve Austin (whose real name is also Steve Williams) in battles against Dustin Rhodes and Barry Windham… Bill Watts remains in negotiations to bring back The Steiners… Sid Vicious still has yet to come to terms with Watts over a new deal... Scotty Flamingo is back in the spotlight, feuding with Johnny B. Badd over which of the two is “prettier”… Madusa has been fired from the Dangerous Alliance, and will face Paul E. Dangerously at Clash of the Champions XXI… Greg Valentine and Dick Slater have quit WCW…

Elsewhere, Butch Reed has arrived in the USWA. He defeated The Junkyard Dog for the USWA title, but lost the title to Todd Champion, who then lost the strap to Jerry Lawler. Phew… Eddie Gilbert quit the USWA in October but at press time has returned… Top USWA star Jeff Jarrett has been appearing at WWF house shows, facing job boys like Iron Mike Sharpe and Barry Horowitz… The Bushwhackers have arrived in Memphis… Paul Orndorff and Ron Garvin are feuding in SMW… Also, The Rock n’ Roll Express have been defeating tag team champions The Heavenly Bodies in non-title matches consistently… Kevin Sullivan will soon debut in SMW under the name The Master… Hawk will wrestle his first match since SummerSlam on November 9th, teaming with Kensuke Sasaki on a PWA card in Minnesota… The Warlord recently defeated Kerry Von Erich for the WWWA title on a card which also featured Paul Roma defeating Marty Jannetty by disqualification…. Steve Williams and Terry Gordy continue to challenge Jumbo Tsuruta and Akira Taue for the PWF and International tag team belts in All-Japan.

[NeanderCarl]

That's me done for now, maybe more later...

[Rob]

http://img178.imageshack.us/img178/3859/tpwwrobqy6.th.jpg (http://img178.imageshack.us/my.php?image=tpwwrobqy6.jpg)

Aye that would be me popping for the Ultimate Warrior. :(

[Fabien Barthez]

Dude, they give you the tag code to the right of the vid on YT.

What was on the sign? I sat pretty far back, not far from the royal box.

I was a long way off with the finish then! The promos leading up were all about photographs, so theres my confussion.

Nice one NR.

[NoRoolz]

:y:

[NeanderCarl]

You got a lot of free time on your hands, Carl?


I have today; I got to work only to find out that their dialling systems had all crashed and they were sending everyone home for the day. Funny the things you're willing to do when you have unexpected free time on your hands... I could have got so many productive things done, but nope, instead I'm typing out 16 year old magazines by hand for the benefit of people I wouldn't even know if I passed them in the street :lol: I got "The Sickness".

[Fabien Barthez]

Oh, wasn't your sign.

[Fabien Barthez]

Funny you should say that, Carl. I had a million and one things to do today, but after reading this thread, I've pretty much squandered the day watching WWF circa 92/93 matches on youtube.

I blame you for this. Why did I get NR to watch SS92 you may ask? Purely to see if he would. :)

[Fabien Barthez]

That rep was meant to actually say something, NR... But i pressed enter by mistake :(

[NoRoolz]

Funny you should say that, Carl. I had a million and one things to do today, but after reading this thread, I've pretty much squandered the day watching WWF circa 92/93 matches on youtube.

I blame you for this. Why did I get NR to watch SS92 you may ask? Purely to see if he would. :)

I'm a good guy.

Plus I wanted to see Bret/Bulldog for the 450th time :D

[NoRoolz]

Also I want to know what my rep was meant to say.

[Fabien Barthez]

probably just 'nice one, mate' or ':y:' or a pleasantary to that effect. Either way, One of the best wrestling threads for a long ass time is being spammed the fuck out of, mostly by me.

Cease-fire.

[Rob]

Oh, wasn't your sign.

It was my pal's sign. Can't remember what it said though. Something about Warrior though.

[Fabien Barthez]

Gotta love Vince in that clip..

Look at these 80,000 people welcome THE UUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUULTIMATE WOOOOORIOR!!!

He says it in the same way, like 8 times just in that clip.





Cease-fire didn't last :(

[NeanderCarl]

Incomiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiing....

[NeanderCarl]

We're skipping another month here and going forward to February 1993's issue, covering December 1992 and January 1993.

December 1992/January 1993

Ric Flair has been released from his WWF contract. He will continue working for the WWF, probably until WrestleMania IX, before returning to WCW… The Steiner Brothers, Rick and Scott, have signed with the WWF. Their first big match will be on January 24th at the Royal Rumble, facing The Beverly Brothers. Let’s face facts here: Beau and Blake are going to be annihilated, just as they were back in WCW in 1990 when wrestling as the masked Minnesota Wrecking Crew II. The Steiners have already wrestled several cards in December and seem to have been kept intact by the WWF. Their style, and clothing, doesn’t appear to have changed… Incredibly, Jerry ‘The King’ Lawler has joined the WWF and will compete in the Royal Rumble. A switch to Titan seems bizarre; after all, Lawler has verbally berated them for years, claiming that the WWF is destroying wrestling with its cartoon show. Now, he is the co-host of Prime Time and Superstars, plus won’t it be interesting to see just how he fares in the annual over-the-tope-rop battle royal?… The current WWC Universal champion Carlos Colon will be in the Royal Rumble, as will Genichiro Tenryu from WAR… The fact that Vince McMahon is now using wrestlers from other promotions (USWA, WWC and WAR) certainly hints towards amicable relations with other federations. Who knows, maybe this could see the start of a regular influx of talent from across the globe… There’s potentially an upset on the cards at the Royal Rumble; Razor Ramon has pinned Bret Hart several times on the road, prior to ‘The Hitman’ winning the World title. Conversely, Shawn Michaels has been pinning Marty Jannetty every night at house shows, and this is likely to continue at the Rumble… Max Moon (Paul Diamond) left the WWF in December but is back already. However, his match with Terrific Terry Taylor at the Royal Rumble was cancelled upon his departure and will no longer be taking place. Shame… Believe it or not, should Bret Hart retain the World title over Ramon at the Rumble, his next challenger is slated to be Doink The Clown… The Rumble will be Earthquake’s final appearance with the WWF. Hacksaw Jim Duggan is also set for his final date at the show. No word on Hacksaw’s plans, but Quake (John Tenta) will be headed to All-Japan… Nailz is finished. Following a heated argument with McMahon over pay, Nailz is said to have belted him. Nailz has also made some allegations about Vince which I cannot realistically confirm or deny. Hopefully I’ll be in a position, both editorially and legally, to explain the real story next month… Bobby The Brain Heenan is expected to come out of retirement and manage a new wrestler named Narcissus at the Royal Rumble. It is unknown who Narcissus is, but El Gigante is due to make his debut around this time. Heenan did refer to Narcissus having “the body of a Greek God” however, which points towards Lex Luger (who may have been released from his ‘no wrestling’ contract five weeks early, if he is indeed Narcissus). Why would Luger, one of the most instantly recognisable wrestlers in the business change his name?... Rumour has it that former Stampede regular John Smith will be brought is as Johnny Boy Smith to fill the gap left by Davey Boy Smith’s departure…

Over in WCW, Big Van Vader regained the WCW World title from Ron Simmons two days after Starrcade… The Great Muta won the Battle Bowl, and Sting won the ‘King of Cable’ finals… Rick Rude is laid up with an injury until February and has been stripped of the US title. Dustin Rhodes dropped Rick Steamboat to capture the vacant strap on January 11th… Nikita Koloff did not return as expected at Starrcade… At press time, there were rumblings that Davey Boy Smith had come to a deal with WCW… Negotiations are going well with Sid Vicious… Arn Anderson left WCW in mid-December, but promptly returned, only to leave again. Arn has had several disagreements with Bill Watts, but is expected back in April… Bobby Eaton has also disappeared. Word is he is headed to SMW for a run, before returning, alongside Arn, in April… The Light heavyweight belt and TV title are both currently vacant, and have been since September… New Japan sensation Chris Benoit is due to make a one-time appearance at Clash of the Champions XXII. Shame his visit won’t be more permanent…

Elsewhere, Hawk and Kensuke Sasaki, now known as The Hellraisers, defeated Scott Norton and Tony Halme for the IWGP tag team belts on December 14th… Five days later, Hawk pinned Rambo for the CWA championship too… In the main event of the combined WCW/New Japan Supercard on January 4th, IWGP champion The Great Muta pinned Masa Chono to capture Chono’s NWA World title… Jim Hellwig is wrestling on the independent circuit for $4,000 a show, under the ring name The Man Who Used To Be Known As The Ultimate Warrior. He has defeated Hercules Hernandez on various shows… Davey Boy Smith has worked several independent dates, and is currently holder of the worthless WWWA Intercontinental title… Ron and Don Harris are the new USWA tag team champions… Kevin Sullivan is back in SWM (having previously been ‘banned for life’)… Dino Bravo was set to wrestle his retirement match in early December. Unfortunately, this didn’t happen… Finally, The Dynamite Kid is out of retirement and working independent shows in the UK.

[Londoner]

Great thread carl. Not much else to add atm just thought i would say that. How long does that take for you to type out?

[NeanderCarl]

Not that long really. 15/20 mins, and about 5 minutes formatting it.

[XL]

WOW!

I've been watching some tapes from around this time (Survivor Series 92, RR 93, WM9, etc) and this thread comes along to fill in the gaps between the vids.

I've also been watching a few from a few years later (IYH 6, IYH 16, Survivor Series 96) so if CArl could stop messing about and skip to these times it'd be much appreciated! (joke)

[NeanderCarl]

I'm afraid we've got a big jump now, to the July 1993 issue.

May/June 1993

Vince McMahon has stepped down as President of the WWF (If you are confused, Jack Tunney is only the figurehead on-screen President). He has been replaced by his wife Linda McMahon due to mounting pressure as the FBI investigates the WWF for tax evasion, drugs and sexual abuse. Vince will still have control of the decision making process, as he remains in the CEO position. Several sources state something is going to break in the upper echelon of the WWF –and it could be something pretty big… Marty Jannetty returned to the WWF on May 15th in Texas, losing to Shawn Michaels. It was a different story two nights later on Monday Night Raw, however; Jannetty defeated Michaels to become the Intercontinental champion following a distraction by Mr Perfect. Since the win, Jannetty has held off the challenges of Bam Bam Bigelow and Razor Ramon. On the other hand, Michaels has been on a losing streak, dropping by pinfall to the likes of Crush… The Lightning Kid scored the upset win over Razor Ramon on May 17th. He has since been renamed various times as The Kamikaze Kid, The Cannonball Kid and most recently simply The Kid. He will return from Japan to work a full time schedule in mid June… Speaking of name changes, Friar Ferguson- who had already previously worked under the name The Mad Monk- is now working as Sebastian Booger, a character who has apparently been possessed by the Devil! On top of that, he is also working house shows under his real name as Mike Shaw. Try to keep up… The seeds were sown for a Razor Ramon face turn in May when he fell out with Lex Luger at a house show. Ramon will battle Luger and Shawn Michaels on the road throughout June… Yokozuna will be the first challenger to Hulk Hogan’s WWF World title at King Of The Ring in a match officiated by long-time New Japan referee Tiger Hatori. How can anyone have confidence in Yokozuna… not only is he a lousy crowd draw and a grossly limited performer, he has been cleanly pinned by Hacksaw Jim Duggan in recent months… Hulk Hogan’s new TV show has been picked up and he’s also currently filming a movie. It appears his days in the WWF may be numbered… The predicted outcome of the King of the Ring tournament is for Bret Hart to win, defeating Lex Luger in the finals and getting a World title match at SummerSlam… The Headshrinkers have been pinning The Steiners on a nightly basis… Luna Vachon has also been defeating Sensational Sherri on the road… Atom Bomb has also received a name change: Bryan Clarke will now be known as Adam Bomb. On a related note, the name Adam Bomb was actually created by WCW for a young man named Adam Cunningham, who won a joint WCW/BBC Radio One competition to attend Halloween Havoc last year… A wrestler named Del Rios recently received a tryout, performing some kind of mime gimmick… The Nasty Boys have been suspended, and will be replaced at King Of The Ring by the thus far impressive Smokin’ Gunns…

In WCW, a deathly air of hush descended over the Atlanta crowd at Slamboree when it transpired that Tully Blanchard would not be returning to reform The Four Horsemen, his place being taken instead by former WWF Power and Glory midcarder Paul Roma. Tully didn’t appear due to contractual breakdowns… Shane Douglas has left WCW… Sid Vicious returned to WCW at Slamboree, squashing Van Hammer in 35 seconds… Scott Norton quit WCW prior to the show, and is now rumoured to be heading to the WWF. He was replaced in his match against Sting by former WWF star Nailz, who worked under the name The Prisoner… Larry Zbyszko replaced Jesse Ventura at Slamboree when Ventura was hospitalised with a blood clot… Cactus Jack should be back for Beach Blast… Steve Regal has turned heel and been repackaged as the snooty Lord Steven Regal. He is being managed by Sir William (Bill Dundee). Yes, Blackpool is of course the upper class aristocratic capital of the UK. Ahem… Apparently Van Hammer and Ron Simmons are to form a tag team… WCW will take a one month hiatus from touring in order to redefine their product…

Elsewhere, the World’s top tag team Steve Williams and Terry Gordy dropped the PWF and All-Japan International tag team titles on May 20th to Akira Taue and Toshiaki Kawada… Big Van Vader debuted for the UWFI under the name Super Vader on May 6th, destroying Tatsuo Nakano in a little over 3 minutes. He is lined up to fight Nobuhiko Takada in what should be a brutal battle… The Head Hunters captured the vacant W*ING tag team belts on May 9th, defeating Yukihiro Kanemura and Miguelito Perez Jr. in a Barbed Wire match… Jake The Snake Roberts is scheduled to return to AAA in Mexico in mid June. To say that Roberts is regarded as a heel by AAA fans is vastly understating the fact. After his interference caused Konnan to lose by countout to Cien Caras in their Loser Must Retire match in front of a sold out 48,000 crowd on April 30th, over 4000 enraged fans waited outside Jake’s dressing room until 3am in an effort to get their hands on him… Road Warrior Animal will be on the shelf for up to another year after re-injuring his fragile back during a weightlifting session… Nikita Koloff is living happily with his new wife and running his Fortress of Fitness gym in North Carolina… The Big Bossman will be returning to All-Japan as Big Bubba Rogers in July. He is also slated for a tour of Austrailia also featuring Jushin Liger, The Fantastics, Hawk, Nailz, Max Moon and the former Repo Man, Barry Darsow, now working once again as Demolition Smash.

[addy2hotty]

Good stuff Carl, I used to get those mags but have all been thrown out sadly.

Keep them coming please :)

[NeanderCarl]

June/July 1993

WWF presented King Of The Ring on June 13th in Dayton, Ohio. Yokozuna defeated Hulk Hogan for the WWF World title when a photographer (Harvey Wippleman in disguise) nailed Hogan with a fireball… Bret Hart was crowned King, defeating Razor Ramon, Mr Perfect and, in the finals, Bam Bam Bigelow. ‘The Hitman’ will now feud with Jerry Lawler over the rights to be called ‘King’… Shawn Michaels has acquired a new bodyguard, Kevin Nash, formerly Vinnie Vegas of WCW. Nash will be known as Diesel. He played a role in Shawn defeating Crush at the King show, and helped Michaels regain the Intercontinental tile from Marty Jannetty on June 6th in Albany, New York… Lex Luger was the man to slam Yokozuna on board the USS Intrepid on July 4th, and will now challenge the sumo star for the WWF title at SummerSlam. Luger is already being built up as the archetypal ‘American Hero’…The Steiners captured the World tag team titles from Money Inc on June 14th, lost them back on June 16th, and regained them on June 19th… Shawn Michaels will defend the IC strap against Mr Perfect at SummerSlam… Paul Bearer is only out temporarily. He will probably return at SummerSlam when The Undertaker battles Mr Hughes. Speaking of the Taker, he put to rest the rumours that he was leaving the WWF by signing a new lucrative merchandise deal recently… Ted Dibiase and Sensational Sherri are leaving after SummerSlam. DiBiase will tour All-Japan in September…. Tito Santana has quit and is looking for independent work… Former USWA tag team champions Simply Divine are headed in… The Nasty Boys are history…

Over in WCW, Jim Neidhart is history already… Tom Zenk seems to be on his way out… Johnny B. Badd is feuding with Maxx Payne, after Payne shot Johnny’s glitter gun in his face… Barry Windham has just turned 33 and looks to be in the best shape of his career, and it showed in his battle with Too Cold Scorpio at Clash of the Champions XXIII. However, a few days later he suffered a devastating knee injury. He is expected to defend his NWA World title against Ric Flair at Beach Blast, but will then have to undergo surgery which will keep him out of action for at least six months… Flair also made his in-ring return in the main event of the Clash, teaming with Arn Anderson to beat The Hollywood Blonds by disqualification… Cactus Jack will return, against doctor’s orders, from major reconstructive knee surgery in September. The “Search For Cactus Jack” angle has been dropped… The Nasty Boys are expected to return, as heels, under the management of Missy Hyatt… It seems that the over-the-hill pairing of Dusty Rhodes and The Assassin will clash in a series of matches over the Summer… there are some rumblings of a major overhaul involving WCW management in the near future. Current boss Ole Anderson may be given his marching orders…

Elsewhere, Pegasus Kid (Chris Benoit) surprisingly won the ‘Top of the Super Junior’ tournament in New Japan, pinning El Samurai in the final of the tournament. Jushin Liger had to pull out of the tourney due to a broken foot… The final standings were as follows: 1st Benoit, 2nd Samurai, 3rd Dean Malenko, 4th Jushin Liger, 5th Scorpio and Eddy Guerrero (tie), 7th Norio Honaga and Dave Finlay (tie), 9th The Lightning Kid, 10th Shinjiro Ohtani, 10th Masa Orihara… Jumbo Tsuruta is expected to return to All-Japan before the end of the year. Jumbo has lost a lot of weight in his battle against Hepatitis… Big Bubba Rogers kicked off his All-Japan tour successfully with a win over Mighty Inoue. He will also work some dates, as The Big Bossman, with SMW in August… Tracy Smothers captured the vacant SMW title on June 11th, beating Tony Anthony… Brian Lee has turned heel in SMW… W*ING’s Yukihiro Kanemura, Crash The Terminator (Bill DeMott) and Terry Funk are expected to join SMW soon… Owen Hart defeated Papa Shango for the USWA title on June 21st, losing it to Jerry Lawler on July 5th… USWA Southern champion Brian Christopher defeated The Undertaker in June (by disqualification)… Roddy Piper set tongues wagging by appearing in the audience for a AAA card recently, although he was only there to watch his friend Art Barr… Finally, Rambo regained the CWA title from Hawk on July 3rd in Graz, Austria.

[NeanderCarl]

Out of interest, do you guys want me to keep doing these?

And if so, would you rather me do them all in chronological order, or would you rather do requests (ie. request a specific month and I'll just post that)...

[Fabien Barthez]

Yes, and Chronological.

When did they start writing ALL the house show results each month? That was crazy reading when you don't completely understand Kayfabe.

[NeanderCarl]

I'll do a couple more issues before bed then...

Not sure exactly when they started listing the house show results, but probably late '93, or early '94... I'd have to check.

[NeanderCarl]

We're missing another month and going straight to...

August/September 1993

World Wrestling Federation: The WWF World tag team titles changed hands on September 13th when recent arrivals The Quebecers (Jacques Rougeau and Pierre Oulette) defeated The Steiners by disqualification in a ‘Quebec Province Rules’ match. Scott Steiner notably muttered expletives, including calling the decision “bulls—t!”, during his post match interview. Scott will now battle Pierre in singles competition to determine whether The Steiners will receive a rematch. The Steiners are said to be genuinely deeply unhappy with the decision and rumour has it they are set to leave the WWF… Adam Bomb and Bam Bam Bigelow have formed a regular tag team… There was a behind-the-scenes altercation recently between The Headshrinkers (Fatu and Samu) and Oscar, the manager of Men On A Mission… Lex Luger has suffered a back injury which has ground his program with Finnish heel Ludvig Borga to a halt… The 123 Kid is likely to win the Intercontinental championship from Shawn Michaels, and feud with Mr Perfect who will be turning heel, in the very near future… Mr Hughes has been suspended and will not return until the beginning of October. Speaking of Hughes, he narrowly avoided serious injury recently when his sunglasses shattered during a match… Giant Gonzalez’ face turn has been an unmitigated disaster thus far. He continues to attempt to court favour with the fans by repeatedly attacking former manager Harvey Wippleman, to no avail… Wippleman is now managing former USWA tag champs Simply Devine, who are now being billed as Well Dunn… Doink The Clown is on the verge of turning babyface. During a TV taping, he attacked Luna Vachon, followed by Bam Bam Bigelow. At the same show, Jerry The King Lawler challenged Doink… Vince McMahon has turned heel in the USWA, via a series of pre-recorded videos and on August 23rd, he appeared in Memphis in person, accompanied by Pat Patterson, to cause trouble for Jerry Lawler in his feud with heel referee Paul Neighbors. It is now believed that a Vince McMahon vs Jerry Lawler match will take place under the USWA banner in the near future… Crush seems to be finished with the WWF… The Undertaker is on the road with WWF World champion Yokozuna for his first run of title shots since late 1991… Newcomer MVP is actually Steve Lombardi, better known as The Brooklyn Brawler… Superfly Jimmy Snuka is back on the scene… the FBI investigations may reveal an outcome as soon as October…

World Championship Wrestling: WCW have resigned from the National Wrestling Alliance. NJPW have also pulled out. At the annual NWA convention on September 3rd, Todd Gordon’s ECW (represented by Paul E. Dangerously) was accepted into the Alliance. Jim Cornette’s Smoky Mountain Wrestling is also likely to receive membership… As a result, the scheduled NWA title match between Ric Flair and Rick Rude at Fall Brawl is now being referred to as simply a ‘World heavyweight title match’. The NWA still recognise Ric Flair as their champion, however it is highly unlikely you will now see Flair defend that title in any NWA affiliated promotions, such as ECW or the WWA. The only way to solve this utter mess now is to promote a ‘title unification’ match between the winner of Flair-Rude and the WCW World title. Hopefully this will be resolved in the very near future. Meanwhile, the NWA will eventually have to pick up the pieces and perhaps hold a tournament to declare their own new champion… Dustin Rhodes pinned Rick Rude in the final of their Best Of Three series to win the vacant US championship on August 10th… Arn Anderson and Paul Roma won the World tag team titles and Rick Steamboat became TV champion at the Clash of the Champions XXIV event… Also at the Clash, Sting and Davey Boy Smith unveiled their replacement for Hawk in the War Games match at Fall Brawl, and it was none other than Typhoon (Fred Ottman) who crashed through the stage wall, tripping over in the process. As Ottman fell flat on his face, you could audibly hear laughter and cries of ‘Oh my God’ in the background. Subsequently, a voice (similar to that of The Black Scorpion circa 1990) played over the PA system, making reference to Sid Vicious and his Fall Brawl cohorts. The scene was designed to be deadly serious; it turned out absolutely hilarious. Realising this, WCW regrouped by swiftly repackaging Ottman as a bungling idiot character called Uncle Fred. This should make a great replacement for Hawk, huh?... Anderson and Roma will defend their World tag team titles against The Nasty Boys at Fall Brawl, and Steamboat defends the TV title aginst Lord Steven Regal… Terry Taylor has returned to WCW. He is expected to join the commentary team; it is unknown at present if he will return to the ring… Gene Okerlund has signed a one year deal to join WCW for a reported $250,000. ‘Mean’ Gene will also take a 35% cut of WCW’s 1-900 number which he will be fronting… There are legal problems between Big Van Vader (Leon White) and NJPW stemming from Vader’s use of the ring name they gave him in 1987. It has thus far been ruled that White may use the ‘Vader’ part of the ring name (he is going as Super Vader in the UWFI) but Big Van Vader is out of bounds… Sabu has been rejected by WCW after receiving a tryout recently… Hawk should be returning full-time by the end of the year, and some are even predicting a Road Warriors reunion…

In ratings news, there has been an encouraging rise of late. WWF Monday Night Raw is regularly drawing figures in the 3.2-3.4 region. WCW Saturday Night is scoring between 2.8 and 3.4, with Clash XXIV gaining a 3.8 rating. On the live card front, WWF drew 13,000 and 15,000 fans for live cards in New York, NY and Anaheim, CA respectively. The USWA has also been doing well live with assistance from WWF star appearances, SMW has been smashing attendance records and AAA drew a sellout crowd of 16,750 – with a reported 7000 turned away at the door - to the Los Angeles Sports Arena for a Jake The Snake Roberts vs Konnan vs Cien Caras 'Triangular match' on August 28th. These figures prove that wrestling is far from finished in the US, as many people predicted last year. The signs of a turnaround are evident.

Eastern Championship Wrestling: ECW staged two shows on August 7th and 8th. Tito Santana became the new ECW champion, defeating Don Muraco… The Head Hunters wrestled three times on the first show, each match ending in a wild double disqualification. The twins from the Dominican republic stunned the ECW crowd by performing moves such as moonsaults and by bleeding everywhere… Stan Hansen defeated TV champion Superfly Jimmy Snuka by disqualification… former WCW mainstay Shane Douglas appeared at both shows… Sensational Sherri Martel made a special appearance… ECW will present UltraClash ’93 on September 18th in Philadelphia. Talent from AJPW and W*ING will be featured. Stan Hansen and Terry Funk will battle Eddie Gilbert and Abdullah The Butcher in a no-DQ Tornado match, and The Head Hunters will battle Miguelito Perez Jr. and a mysery partner in a Baseball Bat Barbed Wire match.

USWA: Jerry Lawler pinned Mr Perfect in an upset on August 9th. At the same show, The 123 Kid defeated Wolfie D… Dastardly heels Bret and Owen Hart, managed by Bert Prentice, defeated Jerry Lawler and Jeff Jarrett on August 16th… A week before SummerSlam, Lex Luger cleanly pinned WWF World champion and SummerSlam opponent Yokozuna in their first ever match, which was obviously a non-title affair. This match created the largest Memphis gate since 1988 when Lawler beat Curt Hennig for the AWA World title… Giant Gonzalez accidentally helped Jerry Lawler defeat Bret Hart by pinfall in a Steel Cage match on August 29th…

Smoky Mountain Wrestling: Jimmy Del Ray became TV champion, winning the vacant strap having beaten Ricky Morton (The TV title as a rule must be vacated after 5 successful TV defences)… Bullet Bob Armstrong defeated Jim Cornette at ‘K-Town Showdown’ on August 20th… On Sept 12th Terry Funk, representing Jim Cornette, defeated Armstrong for the title of SMW Commissioner.

WWC: Carlos Colon, 47, wrestled his retirement match on August 8th in Bayamon, Puerto Rico. On the same show, Greg Valentine captured the vacant Universal title, defeating Invader I in a tournament finals… Mr Hughes, The Warlord, Dan Kroffat, Luna Vachon and Madusa Miceli have all made appearances lately at the ‘Last Resort’…

NJPW: At New Japan’s major Tokyo Egg Dome show on Sept 23rd, IWGP champion Keiji Muto will team with Hulk Hogan to battle The Hell Raisers. Three days later in Osaka, Muto will battle Hogan one-on-one… Brutus Beefcake and Jake Roberts will be venturing to the Orient for that same tour. They will team up on September 26th to battle IWGP tag champions Hercules and Scott Norton…

All-Japan: On August 18th, Terry Gordy collapsed in a Japanese airport just two days before he was scheduled to undertake a lengthy series of AJPW dates. Gordy missed the entire tour. He is expected back for the November tag team tournament which is traditionally All-Japan’s hottest time of the year… Ted DiBiase made his return on September 3rd, joining forces with Steve Williams. His first match proved quite successful: he and Williams defeated Toshiaki Kawada and Akira Taue for the PWF and All-Japan International tag team belts.

FMW: On August 22nd, Atsushi Onita pinned Mr Pogo in a no-rope Exploding Barbed Wire match, where the ring was primed to erupt at the 15-minute mark. Onita pinned Pogo at 12:45 with a heavy-duty powerbomb. He returned to the ring, shielding Pogo, as the ring went up some 2 minutes later… Mitsuhiro Matsunaga has signed with FMW. ‘Mr. Danger’ will now feud with Onita.

[NeanderCarl]

That took me nearly an hour and a half! That's me done for the night.

[The Mackem]

Interest Carl, cheers

Steiner Brothers thought they had exclusive rights to the tag team belts? Funny seeing the MVP name being used.

Was USWA, WWF's development terrirtory of the day? What happened to it?

LOL @ Shockmaster

[NeanderCarl]

USWA could well be described as their developmental territory, although it wasn't officially classed as such, and WWF owned no stake in it.

In those days, it was owned by Lawler and Jerry Jarrett (and some other investors) and basically WWF would send their (mostly midcard) guys down there to help out the USWA, and allow the workers to try new things. WWF guys would invariably be heel no matter what their status on official WWF television- a testing ground for guys WWF were considering turning, like Bret Hart and Tatanka- and feud with the beloved Lawler.

I think it's fair to say that the USWA benefitted more from the working relationship than the WWF ever really did, short of just giving their lower card guys a chance to work in front of a different audience and experiment with different styles and characters.

WWF would even send their main eventers down there, and Vince himself played the heel pompous boss character on Memphis TV five years before he ever did on WWF programming. As you saw above, he was even to face Lawler in the ring (but neck surgery and legal distractions put the kibosh on that idea).

Occasionally the talent exchange paid dividends to the WWF, however... after all, the relationship with Memphis led to the development The Rock and Kurt Angle.

[Rob]

Carl you are insane for all this work bruv.

[NeanderCarl]

:lol: I know, it wasn't so bad at first, but as I get later into the mags, there's a lot more space dedicated to news. Therefore, it's taking at least an hour to do these damn things. Regretting starting it now... but nah, it's cool to have this stuff documented anyway. Doing my bit to educate the noobs.

[parkmania]

I grew up watching CWA (later changing names to USWA) in the late 80's, and very clearly remember a lot of the stuff that's been documented in this thread. But the one thing I couldn't remember was who gifted the "strut" to Jeff Jarrett until the first post of the thread. Thanks for bringing the name Jackie Fargo back to my memory, Carl!

By the time these particular issues were out, I had moved out of the area for college. I still miss Bill Dundee as Sir William, and Dutch Mantell in any roll - even as Uncle to the Bly Brothers.

[NeanderCarl]

I think we'd ALL miss him in his current role as TNA booker... but then, if we get target lessons, we should be okay.

[NeanderCarl]

I forgot all about this!

[Fabien Barthez]

Get back on it then. It's pretty much summer. You have no excuse!

[Theo Dious]

The 123 Kid is likely to win the Intercontinental championship from Shawn Michaels

Why was this scrapped? Or did this not happen because of one of Waltman's injuries, or was it just bullshit?

[thedamndest]

lol at the botched Giant Gonzalez face turn.

[Fabien Barthez]

His attire used to remind me of those cooking aprons with caracature sexy bodies printed on them.

He was totally responsible for Taker's worst ever WM match, also.

[NeanderCarl]

Why was this scrapped? Or did this not happen because of one of Waltman's injuries, or was it just bullshit?

Without looking back at the actual post to remind myself of the time frame, I believe Michaels was suspended and stripped of the IC title (legit) before this could transpire, and Razor Ramon was given the nod to win the vacant strap.

[NeanderCarl]

Get back on it then. It's pretty much summer. You have no excuse!

Except that I'm not 14, and I have a full time job.

Ya know... all year round kinda deal.

:p

[Fabien Barthez]

Way to ruin that bit of funsies, Carl. :y:

Also, wasn't a vote taken that Neandercarl needs to make a comeback?

CAC - Says it all!

[NeanderCarl]

:eek:

I've rebranded.

[Fabien Barthez]

It's a bit of a WWE to ECW rebrand though. :-\

[NeanderCarl]

It takes time to build a brand.

When I'm done, every fucker's gonna want a piece of the Class Act franchise.

You're gonna be begging to become Class Act Barthez.

[Fabien Barthez]

Id rather be NeanderFab.

[Hanso Amore]

Man, WCW has some tits roster in 92. You know they were booked bad if they couldnt draw.

[Hanso Amore]

Damn, this was amazing Carl, awesome.

[MUSE]

man good stuff, reminds me of the days when WWE didnt suck ass and there was no Cena or Triple H to bore my ass every monday night. :rolleyes:

[Loose Cannon]

do you not have a scanner or maybe even a camera to take a picture of the magazine so you don't have to type all this?

Great stuff though. when things were awesome in wreslting. I've been watching all WCW 1993 stuff lately. Just got through with Fall Brawl, Havoc and now on Starrcade

[NeanderCarl]

October/November 1993

World Wrestling Federation: Shawn Michaels, who was reported to have quit the WWF, will now most likely resurface at some point in November. The WWF held a “phone vote” for the fans to determine whether Michaels should be reinstated. It was, of course, inconsequential. Fans voted that Michaels NOT be reinstated, yet he has already been booked for the upcoming UK tour… The Steiners are back on the road, challenging The Quebecers to a series of DQ victories… The maniacal Sabu received several try-outs in late October, including what has been described as a superb match against Owen Hart, which he lost. WWF officials offered Sabu a contract, but he turned it down. He doesn’t want his relationship with FMW to become a thing of the past… Randy Savage represented the WWF at a press conference in Japan in early November. The WWF has plans to tour the Orient in April 1994. If this goes ahead, The Steiners and Bam Bam Bigelow will be given headline status due to their popularity in Japan, plus several Japanese wrestlers will be involved… Speaking of Savage, he was the victim of a Crush heel turn recently on Monday Night Raw. They will feud in the near future. Crush is now once again managed by Mr. Fuji, and sports a new bearded look, complete with face paint… Bret Hart has been verbally bashing Ric Flair via Jim Ross’ Radio WWF. Hart has regularly defeated Jerry Lawler in Cage matches on the road… Speculation is rife as to the identity of ‘Lawler’s Knights’ at The Survivor Series. No confirmation yet, but it seems they will be a masked trio. The muscular Glen Jacobs is rumoured to be The Black Knight. Terry Funk and Brian Christopher may also be involved… Another match with mysterious participants is set for the Survivor Series, as Bam Bam Bigelow, Bastion Booger and The Headshrinkers battle ‘The Four Doinks’. The real Doink The Clown, Matt Borne, will be one. Steve Lombardi, who has portrayed Doink on dozens of occasions, will probably be another. The other two identities remain a mystery at press time… The Undertaker replaced Tatanka in ‘The All-Americans’ team, after Tatanka was suashed at the hands of Ludvig Borga. As ridiculous as it sounds, the current plan is for Undertaker to don a red, white and blue costume at the show, and stroll to the ring wafting a huge American flag… The novelty has worn off Lex Luger already. His matches on the road with Borga have been met with indifference, and the quality has been abysmal. It seemed following ‘The Lex Express’ campaign that Luger had finally become a superstar. Obviously, this is not the case; Bret Hart, Randy Savage and The Undertaker remain the true stars of the WWF… It seems unlikely that Hulk Hogan will return for WrestleMania X. Relations between the two parties are at an all-time low… The Heavenly Bodies will battle The Rock ‘n’ Roll Express for the SMW tag team championship at Survivor Series… Mr Perfect has been fizzling out, losing to Yokozuna and battling the undercard likes of Diesel. Back problems have cramped his style, and he may turn heel or leave the WWF altogether in the near future… The 123 Kid has been on a major losing streak to the likes of Adam Bomb… The Big Bossman will return to the WWF in December as a special guest referee on the road, between commitments to All-Japan Pro Wrestling… Giant Gonzalez is history… Longtime ring announcer Mike McGuirk has been fired as a cost cutting measure… Jeff Jarrett has debuted in a questionable 'struggling country music star' gimmick… The Bushwhackers have been back on the road battling Well Dunn.

World Championship Wrestling: Sid Vicious and Arn Anderson have been suspended following an incident in Blackburn, England, in which both men suffered stab wounds. Details are currently unclear, but Sid underwent surgery and Anderson lost over a pint of blood. A source at the scene told us it looked like “a scene from a horror movie, with blood splattered all over the place”. At one point, it seemed that WCW’s UK tour would be cut short. However, it continued, with Sid and Arn both sent home following their release from hospital. At present time it seems that Anderson, who won’t be physically cleared to return until at least December, was acting in self defence and will therefore be retained by WCW. Sid, the apparent instigator and the man WCW was due to push as their biggest babyface star, will now most likely be shown the door, and it is highly unlikely that he will ever find employment in the wrestling business again… As a result of the stabbing incident, Ric Flair will now receive a big push heading into Starrcade as the leading contender to Vader’s WCW World title. Although Flair remains popular, it is thought that his days as a promotional figurehead are over. Many believe the increasingly popular Cactus Jack should be receiving the push in Flair’s place… WCW have plans to stage a ridiculous seven pay-per-views in 1994... Brian Pillman’s future is up in the air at the moment, as WCW have shown no further intentions to reinstate the Light Heavyweight championship… Too Cold Scorpio’s contract will expire in November. If WCW have any sense, they will retain his services… Bryan Rogowski, son of WCW Vice President Ole Anderson, made his professional debut on September 28th, losing to Buddy Lee Parker. Naturally adopting the name Bryan Anderson, he will begin working television tapings soon. I wonder if Ole has signed Bryan to a long term contract, much like his predecessor Bill Watts did with his son Erik Watts… Ron Simmons has turned heel and will feud with the talentless Ice Train… Jesse Ventura will hold the second annual ‘Strongest Arm’ competition soon. It will be interesting to see if Ravishing Rick Rude will be allowed to enter this year. It has been said that Rude can defeat every wrestler in the business with the exception of Scott Norton!... Terry Taylor, who worked as a referee at Halloween Havoc, should be back on screen as a wrestler very soon… Gene Okerlund has finally debuted on TV.

Eastern Championship Wrestling: Not much to report on the ECW front, but they will stage a big card with some very familiar names on November 13th. Terry Funk and a mystery partner will face Road Warrior Hawk and Sabu; Mr. Hughes will face Johnny Gunn; Tommy Cairo will battle Kevin Sullivan; former AWA tag team champions and Orient Express members Pat Tanaka and Paul Diamond will meet Public Enemy in an ‘Audience Chooses The Stipulation’ match; and for the first time ever, Madusa Miceli will face Sensational Sherri Martel.

USWA: The villainous duo of Randy Savage and his manager Vince McMahon toppled Jerry Lawler for the Unified title on October 11th… Brian Christopher has turned face… Koko B. Ware has returned as a top heel… The Moondogs have turned heel.

SMW: Sherri Martel has been managing Tracy Smothers in his battles with Brian Lee… The Steiners have appeared recently in main event battles against The Heavenly Bodies… Mike Furnas, brother of AJPW’s Doug Furnas, appeared on TV recently but won’t debut in the ring until December… Killer Kyle has thus far been unsuccessful in his attempts to unmask The Bullet (Bob Armstrong). The Bullet will battle Kevin Sullivan in late November…

RINGS: Akira Maeda made his big return to action on October 23rd, defeating Sotir Gotchev by submission. RINGS will now be built around Maeda and should gain some much needed momentum.

ALL-JAPAN: Mitsuharu Misawa held off the challenge of Stan Hansen to retain the ‘Triple Crown’ on October 23rd. However, Hansen left Misawa with something to think about, breaking his breastbone during the match… Jumbo Tsuruta returned to action at the same show, displaying considerable ring rust. Jumbo has not fully recovered from his bout with hepatitis… Also on the show, Fritz Von Erich made a special appearance; Ted DiBiase defeated Jun Akiyama; Steve Williams and Big Bubba Rogers (The Big Bossman) beat Dan Spivey and Johnny Ace; and Toshiaki Kawada downed Kenta Kobashi in a sensational match… As is traditional, DiBiase and Hansen have vacated their PWF and All-Japan International tag team belts in readiness for the 19th Annual tag team tournament. In a surprise, Steve Williams and Terry Gordy will not reunite for the festivities. Gordy is currently unable to compete due to an undisclosed ailment. Williams will instead team with Big Bubba Rogers. Other tandems include: DiBiase and Hansen; Misawa and Kobashi; Dan Kroffat and Doug Furnas; Tracey Smothers and Terry Gordy’s nephew Richard Slinger; and Dan Spivey and Johnny Ace.

[#BROKEN Hasney]

WCW have plans to stage a ridiculous seven pay-per-views in 1994.

lol

[NeanderCarl]

No more Hollywood? You rebranded too?

Yeah that bit gave me a chuckle.

[Fabien Barthez]

What actually happened with that stabbing shit?

And was Mike McGuirk The female announcer?

I remember that with the undertaker....they were pressuring him on Raw to show his allegance, and then he came out, and showed the US flag lining his jacket.

Probably wize they didn't dress him like Kurt Angle.

[Loose Cannon]

I think they'd both had a few and just started having words. Sid was boasting about his upcoming Title Main Event match and Title run. Arn got pissed and started saying shit and it all steam rolled from there

[Fabien Barthez]

You would think someone the size of Sid would just boot Arn in the face.

Stabbing? Thats rediculous.

[Loose Cannon]

what I didn't understand about the whole Sid thing was that he lost to Sting at Havoc and suddenly got the shot at the Title at Starrcade. Obviously the plan was for Sid to turn on Col Robert Parker and go against Vader, but still he never beat anybody.

Sting would go on to team with Hawk against the Nasty Boys at Starrcade

[NeanderCarl]

What actually happened with that stabbing shit?

And was Mike McGuirk The female announcer?

Sid and Arn got into words in a bar over Sid's arrogant attitude. Sid wouldn't let it go, and burst into Arn's hotel room in the middle of the night when he was sleeping to attack him. Inebbriated and disorientated, Arn defended himself with a pair of scissors and both men ended up with multiple, serious stab wounds.

Incredibly, Vince Russo tried to make an angle of it in WCW circa 2000, despite the fact that this was a real life incident which could have cost both men their lives, plus the fact that it was so long ago that 90% of the audience had no clue of the backstory whatsoever.

And, yes, McGuirk was the female announcer.

[NeanderCarl]

Next one coming up later. This time we miss a month to go into news from January/February 1994.

Thankfully, this is the last hole in my collection. I have every issue from then through to present day. I'll be about 40yrs old by the time I've caught up to June 2008... if I'm still alive or haven't completely given up (more likely) by then.

[NeanderCarl]

January/February 1994

World Wrestling Federation: Lex Luger and Bret Hart were declared joint winners of the Royal Rumble on January 22nd in Providence, Rhode Island and, as such, will both receive World title matches at WrestleMania X on March 20th. A coin toss was held on January 31st during Monday Night Raw to determine who would have first crack at champion Yokozuna. If Lex won the toss, he would face Zuna and Hart would be forced to face brother Owen Hart, and later face the winner of the Lex vs Zuna match. If Hart won the toss, the same would apply and Lex would be made to battle Crush earlier in the show. Lex won the toss. WrestleMania X will be held at Madison Square Garden in New York City and has already sold out. Ringside seats were priced at $300. Already confirmed for the show: the two World title matches. Yokozuna will defend against Luger, and the winner will later face Bret Hart. In the interests of fairness, Bret will also have wrestled his match earlier on the card against Owen; Razor Ramon will defend the Intercontinental championship against Shawn Michaels in a Ladder match; and Crush will battle Randy Savage in a Falls Count Anywhere match. Inside speculation also sees The Headshrinkers turning face and challenging The Quebecers for the World tag team titles at the show... The Undertaker made his final appearance, for the time being at least, at The Royal Rumble show in a losing effort against Zuna. Two different stories are doing the rounds regarding the ‘Taker’s disappearing act: one suggests he is merely taking a hiatus from the ring and will return to the WWF at a time yet to be specified; the other suggests that Mark Callaway is finished, tired of the gimmick and the business in general, and wishes never to return. In addition, the Undertaker gimmick will continue, but with somebody new portraying the character! The latter is unlikely, however, as lines of communication are open at present between Callaway and New Japan Pro Wrestling, where he once competed as Punisher Dice Morgan. No firm evidence currently exists as to the future of Callaway, or the Undertaker character, but it would be rather surprising to see the tattooed one walk away from the financial fountain his gimmick spouts… The WWF have confirmed the dates for their tour of Japan: it runs from May 7th to May 11th. In addition to the usual faces, Genichiro Tenryu, The Great Kabuki and Atsushi Onita will be on hand… Earthquake (John Tenta) returned on January 31st as a babyface… The Steiners are still unhappy, as anyone with a pair of eyes may have noticed by their half-hearted showings at the Royal Rumble. Scott Steiner seemed totally disinterested, and Rick Steiner couldn’t have made it any more obvious: as Scott was in trouble at the hands of Samu during the battle royal, Rick casually strolled to the ring with all the enthusiasm of a convicted murderer approaching execution… The Quebecers regained the World Tag Team titles from The 123 Kid and Marty Jannetty on January 17th at Madison Square Garden. Incidentally this match was broadcast live (Monday Night Raw is usually taped) and drew a 3.6 rating – it’s highest ever!... At the same show, the Kid blew out his knee and won’t be back until February, and Ludvig Borga suffered a broken ankle, keeping him away until the end of March (and putting an end to his planned match against Earthquake at WrestleMania)… Alundra Blayze quit the WWF at the end of January, citing verbal harassment from certain on-screen employees and what could be described as dressing room horseplay (somebody apparently paid a ‘sit down visit’ in her locker). She returned to her Madusa persona on January 28th, squashing Candi Devine on an independent card, before cooler heads prevailed and she returned to the WWF in early February. Several Japanese names have been thrown around as possible future opponents for Blayze, including Bull Nakano, Akira Hokuto and Devil Masami… Vince McMahon and Titan Sports are launching a mixed martial arts organization in conjunction with a company named Summit Media Group. The World Martial Arts Federation (WMAF) will launch in September with a weekly television show… Alarming house show news, as Doink The Clown has been gaining clean pinfall victories over Bam Bam Bigelow. Mixed tags pitting Doink and Dink against Bigelow and Luna Vachon have been leaving a rancid stench at shows around the country. Even more concerning, WWF World champion Yokozuna will be teaming with Bastion Booger for a series against Men On A Mission. Yokozuna, and the World title, don’t deserve that kind of degrading treatment… Rumours abound that if Shawn Michaels does not win the Intercontinental title at WrestleMania, he will leave the WWF. He is said to not be a happy camper at the moment… Following his dominant performance at the Rumble, many are pushing for Diesel to turn face at Mania.

World Championship Wrestling: Dusty Rhodes has resigned as Senior Producer (Head Booker) of WCW. He will remain with the company under the title ‘Senior Consultant’ but no longer wields any booking power whatsoever. Former Vice President Ole Anderson seems to be through too… No new Head Booker has been named at press time; the duties are being handled by a committee including Bill Shaw, Greg Gagne, Mike Graham, Robert Welch (Col. Robert Parker) and Ric Flair. Rumours indicate Flair or Kevin Sullivan will take the head booker role…The WCW/NJPW talent trade deal has been resurrected. This has already led to The Great Muta being named as Ric Flair’s challenger at new pay-per-view Spring Stampede in April.… Bobby Heenan made his debut at Clash of the Champions XXVI… WCW International champion Ravishing Rick Rude and The Nasty Boys will appear on several NJPW shows in March… Former All-Japan regular Del ‘The Patriot’ Wilkes has signed a two year deal and will likely feud with Lord Steven Regal… The Can-Am Express, Doug Furnas and Dan Kroffat (Phil LaFond), have been in contact with regards to a position… Kevin Sullivan returned on January 31st, aligning himself with The Equaliser who he now claims is his brother. They will feud with both The Nasty Boys (who may turn face) and Cactus Jack and Maxx Payne… Michael Hayes has left the company, insulted by his new on-screen contract – just $75,000 pa... Former four-time AWA champion Nick Bockwinkel is now WCW Commissioner… The Boss (Ray Traylor) looks set to feud with Stunning Steve Austin… The former Repo Man, Barry Darsow, returned to WCW (having worked as Krusher Kruschev for the NWA in the mid 80s) on January 18th. Early plans have him working under his real name in a regular tag team with Arn Anderson… Speaking of Anderson (Martin Lunde), he has filed a civil lawsuit against Sidney ‘Sid Vicious’ Eudy regarding the stabbing incident at the Moat House Hotel in Blackburn, Lancashire last October. The suit calls for $10,000 in damages and paints an extremely negative picture of Eudy… Hulk Hogan, who is expected to be called as a witness in the upcoming trial of Titan Sports and Vince McMahon, is rumoured to be considering a one-off pay-per-view confrontation with Ric Flair over the Summer. If it happens, it should prove a massive boost for WCW. Hogan is currently filming Thunder In Paradise in Orlando, Florida. Also appearing in the series will be Curt Hennig, Jimmy Hart, Jim Neidhart, Terry Funk, Brutus Beefcake and Giant Gonzalez… the former Mr Perfect, Curt Hennig, has been offered a WCW contract to work only Clash TV specials and PPV events. Hennig, who is suffering with chronic back issues, is taking a sabbatical from the ring of his own accord, but the WWF door is also wide open for his return if he chooses. Some rumours suggest if he does return to the WWF, he could be back as soon as WrestleMania X.

USWA: Jerry Lawler’s legal woes continue. Lawler and his lawyer William Massey claim to be in possession of a signed affidavit from the girl, stating that the alleged counts of rape and sodomy are entirely fictitious. The prosecuting attorney Mickey James has also publicly acknowledged that his client is vehemently opposed to continuing the prosecution. On February 23rd, Massey will file a notion for dismissal of all charges, citing ‘outrageous governmental conduct’, understandably: there isn’t a shred of evidence to charge, let alone convict, Lawler of any of the charges… Matt Borne, the original Doink The Clown, is back in Memphis, this time under a magician gimmick as The Great Mustafa.

SMW: Everything is building towards the next big card, Sunday Bloody Sunday, on February 13th. In the main event The Bullet (Bob Armstrong under a mask) will battle Terry Funk (to be accompanied by brother Dory Funk Jr.) If Funk wins, Bullet must remove the mask, kiss Jim Cornette’s feet and leave SMW forever. However, if The Bullet wins, Bob Armstrong will be reinstated as SMW Commissioner immediately… Chris Candido is onvolved in a storyline whereby he has WWA promoter Dennis Coraluzzo tracing the family tree of Tracy Smothers to prove he genuinely is from Pennsylvania. This one is being played for laughs… Rocky Mountain Pro Wrestling tag team Sudden Impact are expected in shortly. Both members of the team, Chris Jericho and Lance Storm, are well traveled high fliers who have competed in Mexico and Germany respectively… The Heavenly Bodies will return to WWF cards throughout the Spring and Summer, whilst WWF will send Jeff Jarrett, 123 Kid, Irwin R Schyster and Lex Luger to SMW’s Marietta, Georgia show on March 10th.

Also: Davey Boy Smith, who is now earning more money on the UK independent circuit than he was in WCW, has been charged with aggravated assault in Calgary after a fight with native Kody Light. During an alleged altercation outside the Black Alley nightclub on July 25th 1993, Light suffered a fractured skull and loss of hearing, and now suffers with chronic amnesia. Smith will stand trial in May, and enter a not guilty plea. Speaking of Smith, he is being considered for the UWFI’s sudden death tournament between April and August.

[NeanderCarl]

Hmm... wonder what ever became of the World Martial Arts Federation. Think Vince could be in the position that the UFC now finds itself in today, or would he have taken it down the entertainment/wacky gimmicks/over-the-top spectacle route and killed it dead in the water?

[mrslackalack]

I major in history and love any kind of it. It is interesting to see some backstage/real life things happen back then that I didnt know about. Props to ya Carl.

[NeanderCarl]

February/March 1994

World Wrestling Federation: The future of The Undertaker is considerably more focused than at this time last month. All indications are that Mark Callaway will be returning to the WWF. Callaway, who was considering exploring business avenues beyond the wrestling business, has undergone surgery to correct a nagging shoulder injury that has plagued him for over a year and may make a ‘ghostly’ appearance at WrestleMania X. As for in-ring ventures, he will be in action during the WWF’s tour of Japan in May… Mr Perfect is also on his way back to the WWF following a four month hiatus. In late January, it seemed that he would put pen to paper on a WCW contract. However, as Curt Hennig’s WWF contract doesn’t expire until the end of 1994, he elected to return to the company and should be back as you read this… Yet another person expected to return to the WWF, possibly at WrestleMania X, is Jerry Lawler. His legal troubles over, he is likely to resume his feud with Bret Hart… Jim Ross has been fired. In late February, Ross became inflicted with Bell’s Palsy, a disease which paralyzed one half of his face. At that point, commentary duties were clearly beyond his physical capabilities. He was expected to be off the airwaves for three months, but was dealt another blow – this time by the WWF – when he was asked to don a cowboy hat and portray a heel character named simply J.R. upon his return. Ross was not thrilled with the proposal and, as his contract expired on March 31st, the WWF sent him packing. This poses a problem for both Ross, and the WWF. WCW currently boasts an overload of big name, big money announcers and have no use for Ross at present. Ross, however, has been in contact with WCW, and the Atlanta Falcons football team, regarding possible positions. At press time, he had relocated to Atlanta, GA and is touting for work. The WWF, on the other hand, currently has the most transparent announce team in recent memory. Their situation is desperate… Ted DiBiase may never wrestle again. As you will be aware, he hasn’t wrestled since November when he suffered a serious neck injury during the annual All-Japan tag team tournament. X-rays have located a herniated disk in his neck. DiBiase can undergo surgery and possibly return to action in early 1995, but with risk of permanent paralysis should a move go awry and cause further injury to his neck. DiBiase, whose stepfather Iron Mike DiBiase died in the ring in 1969, will perform commentary and possibly managerial duties for the time being; we will know in early 1995 whether this spells the end for one of the most competent grapplers of the last decade… Owen Hart is now considered as the WWF’s top heel. Back in the late 80’s, many regarded Owen as the best wrestler in the business. After finally establishing himself with the WWF, he may be granted more leeway; in other words, we may finally get to see why he was such a critically acclaimed performer… Marty Jannetty is history once again. Some reports state he was fired following an alleged bar fight during the February tour of Germany. Others state he simply packed his bags and went home. Either way, this is the fourth time that Jannetty has parted company with the WWF. It is highly unlikely that they would ever hire him again. That has been said before, however… Managerial great Captain Lou Albano is returning to the WWF, possibly at WrestleMania X. He is likely to manage The Smoking Gunns… Rick Martel looks set to turn face, having battled Jeff Jarrett at house shows recently… Alundra Blayze will defend her Women’s title against Leilani Kai at WrestleMania. Kai lost the Women’s title to Wendy Richter at the first Mania. The WWF offered Bull Nakano a spot on the card against Blayze but she declined it. Nakano will, however, battle Blayze during the JapanMania tour… Crash The Terminator (Bill DeMott) had a try out in late February. No decision has been made yet as to whether the agile DeMott will be offered a position… The Heavenly Bodies will return full-time in June. Tragically, during several recent appearances, the Bodies continually lost to the washed up Bushwhackers on a nightly basis… The Steiners have signed for further dates with NJPW at $12,000 per week… Ludvig Borga is still on the sidelines. The 123 Kid, who was injured on the same night, has since returned… Post WrestleMania plans include what will surely be epic feuds between Irwin R. Schyster and Tatanka, and Earthquake and Bam Bam Bigelow… That big lummox Mabel of Men On A Mission has claimed another victim. During a bout against The Headshrinkers, Mabel literally crushed Fatu, who had to be carted out on a stretcher. Fatu (Solofa Fatu) has been replaced on the road by his brother Sam Fatu.

World Championship Wrestling: Contractual negotiations are underway between WCW and Hulk Hogan. No doubt encouraged by his long time buddies Gene Okerlund and Bobby Heenan, Hogan professed his interest in battling current WCW World champion and head booker Ric Flair, and WCW owner Ted Turner and executive Eric Bischoff, clearly aware of the potential goldmine under their noses, set the ball rolling. In reality, however, Hogan had no choice but to seek employment in WCW if he wished to continue wrestling in the USA. Set to be called as a witness in the trial against Vince McMahon and Titan Sports, a return to the WWF was legally not a wise option. Short of creating his own league, WCW was the only place Hogan could earn the kind of money he expects to complement the hefty fortune he earns from his TV series Thunder In Paradise and his lucrative appearances for NJPW. If all goes to plan, the first ever PPV singles match between Hulk Hogan and Ric Flair will take place at The Great American Bash in July. Nothing has been signed yet, although it seems a formality. The only problem may be the use of the name Hulk Hogan; Terry Bollea may be forced to pick a new name, as Marvel Comics Group owns the rights to the moniker. However, with Ted Turner’s considerable influence, use of the Hulk Hogan name may not prove problematic… In readiness for Hogan’s arrival, Flair has turned heel. Instead of battling The Great Muta at Spring Stampede, he will now defend his strap against old nemesis Rick Steamboat. Muta will instead wage war with Stunning Steve Austin… Speaking of Steve Austin, he has been working without a contract and was recently contacted by the WWF. Austin is holding out for more money on his WCW deal and, if granted, will remain with the company… Still no news on the status of Brian Pillman. The WWF are interested in his services, as are NJPW. It is unlikely that WCW will retain him at his current $230,000 pa considering his current promotional status… Awesome Kong and King Kong, the tag team of The Colossal Kongs, have been fired… The Shockmaster, Missy Hyatt and Charlie Norris have also been cut… Still no word on whether The Can Am Express will be offered a deal… The Equalizer has been renamed Evad Sullivan. Now billed as the brother of Kevin Sullivan, Evad (Dave backwards, see?) is performing a dyslexic gimmick. The Sullivans, meanwhile, are now working as babyfaces, under the management of new signing Sherri Martel… Elizabeth Huelette, former wife and manager of Randy Savage, approached WCW for a position, but a no-compete clause in her last WWF contract disallows this until 1995… Jimmy Golden has surfaced in WCW as Bunkhouse Buck, and will feud with Dustin Rhodes… Barry Darsow is now competing as a heel in the singles ranks… Paul Roma and Paul Orndorff are now a regular tag team, competing under the collective title Pretty Wonderful… A gruesome incident occurred on March 16th in Munich, Germany. During a battle against Vader, Cactus Jack became entangled by the head and neck in the ropes. Upon releasing himself, the tension of the ropes helped tear a large chunk of Jack’s right ear clean off his head, and left his other ear dangling lifelessly from the side of his head…

USWA: On February 23rd, during a pre-trial hearing in Jefferson County, Kentucky, Jerry Lawler was given a 12 month suspended prison sentence and two years of unsupervised probation on a count of harassing a witness. In return, two charges of rape and sodomy against him were dropped. Lawler has denied wrongdoing since the start, and it is believed he simply accepted the conditions of the deal simply to end the legal proceedings quickly. Had Lawler refused to plead guilty to the harassment charge, the entire case could have feasibly continued well into 1995… Lawler and Eddie Gilbert traded the Unified title three time between January 31st and February 14th

SMW: On February 13th, Smoky Mountain pulled in a record 3,950 fans for the Sunday Bloody Sunday show. Results as follows: Anthony Michaels defeated The Hornet; Chris Candido pinned Tracy Smothers; Doug Furnas and Mike Furnas defeated The Heavenly Bodies in a ‘Football Helmet on a Pole’ match; The Bullet beat Terry Funk in a five-fall Texas Death match to reinstate Bob Armstrong as SMW Commissioner; The Rock ‘n’ Roll Express defeated The Heavenly Bodies by disqualification; Tony Anthony defeated Prime Time Brian Lee for the SMW title following interference from managers Tammy Fytch and Ron Wright; in the main event, The Bruise Brothers, Ron and Don Harris, defeated The Moondogs in a Cage match… Chris Jericho and Lance Storm debuted as The Thrillseekers on March 7th… WWF flops Well Dunn are in as heels.

Also: Atsushi Onita has removed his name from the WWF’s JapanMania tour. ‘The Wild Thing’ has also been signed up by a Japanese AIDS awareness group, who feel that his fame as a pro wrestler will carry weight in the drive to educate youngsters about the potential dangers of irresponsible behaviour. Seriously… Also from the file marked 'Believe It Or Not', AJW have made an offer of $2m to fallen ice skater Tonya Harding… Jim Crockett’s new promotion World Wrestling Network, booked by Paul ‘E. Dangerously’ Heyman, staged its first TV taping on February 28th at the Manhattan Centre in New York City. Present at the tapings were Public Enemy, Road Warrior Hawk, The Convict (Nailz), Jake Roberts, Missy Hyatt, Shane Douglas, Sherri Martel, Terry Funk and Sabu… Satoru ‘Tiger Mask’ Sayama has announced his forthcoming emergence from retirement. Apparently, this will be a ‘shoot style’ match, against Masashi Aoyagi later in the year.

[Vastardikai]

Awesome Kong and King Kong, the tag team of The Colossal Kongs, have been fired…

I was telling someone that Awesome Kong was the name of a Generic Fat Guy Hoss in WCW before it became the name of a TNA "Knockout."

[JT]

I think I was 11 and in the second row.

I was 8 and starting to feel old there for a second till you posted. Thanks Rob. ^_^

[thedamndest]

Man, the Headshrinkers were awesome. They should have run with a Yoko/Crush/Headshrinkers/Bam Bam stable managed by Fuji and Cornette.

[NeanderCarl]

I forgot all about this!

Man, these took fucking ages. Maybe I'll resurrect this thread now that I'm a jobless bum...

[The Mackem]

The Jim Ross bit is interesting in the last one you posted.