– Buzz Sawyer agreed to work an indy date for Rob Russan in San Jose, and was supposed to provide the ring and some students from his wrestling school as underneath jobbers. Wrestling Observer Flashback: 07. – The really big news coming out of the first head-to-head meeting of RAW and Nitro is that WCW immediately took the lead in the ratings war, with a 2. You can view a sneak preview below. 6. But I think it’s a pretty famous case of hotline sleaze related to Blackwell’s death. The low buyrate is being. 92 By Scott Keith on 20th March 2017 Hey, it’s another month with missing issues, as Dave has this one and the August 10 one on the site, and then it skips to September. 18. – Flair defended the World title on a pair of Mid-South shows in Oklahoma, but there’s no plans or indications of Watts joining the NWA. -The Mondo 19 most intriguing personalities of ‘86-30 key pro wrestling personalities of ‘86 with quick bios-Observer Awards, leading news stories of. The feeling is that running a show in the traditional Sunday timeslot where live shows draw will kill off the house shows. Warrior pinned Haku with the shoulderblock and splash in 4:48. And now, for the first time I can remember, the UFC gets the lead story. Credit Dave Meltzer, Wrestling Observer Newsletter. (This is why. – And now, let’s talk about pay-per-view. Wrestling Observer Flashback – Bret v. 96 Stop me if you’ve heard this one before… – After 15 years of being the world’s biggest babyface, Hulk Hogan turned heel in the main event of WCW’s Bash at the Beach PPV in an angle that Dave thinks will be “remembered for years”. 86. 95. 27. – We’ll skip past the Mr. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 07. – Dave relates a brief history of World Championship Wrestling, and how TBS purchased the company in 1988 despite their crippling debt. – Dave’s opening salvo this week: “After its television show reached a new low in. Ah, wrestling, where one guy can beat up another guy for real and flush his head in the toilet for riding with his ex-girlfriend and people are just like “Eh,. Wrestling Observer Flashback–02. 94. The NWA Canadian Heavyweight Championship was the top singles title in Maple Leaf Wrestling from 1978 until 1984,. 12. The. 11. 96. 95. By Scott Keith on 4th June 2016. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 11. 14. – The WWF is on hiatus for a bit after WM, so Dave apologizes in advance for the light news week. 95. 01. 88. By Scott Keith on 27th October 2016. Marc Mero pinned Hunter Hearst Helmsley in 16:23. It’s time for SUMMERSLAM! But first, the WWF is messing with their PPV schedule again. 22. There’s a big main event at the Tokyo Dome! And it sure didn’t go down how anyone expected. – Interestingly, the WWF was shown to be popular with 18-25 year olds, with men twice as well represented as women. 92 By Scott Keith on 16th February 2017 Hey, I picked up a Nintendo DSi XL for $60 (Canadian) from EBGames and it’s pretty rad. – The WWF is reportedly considering adding a weekly Saturday PPV show, according to trade journal reports. The Vancouver version of the NWA Pacific Coast Heavyweight Championship was the major singles title in two National Wrestling Alliance-affiliated Vancouver territories. Wrestling Observer Flashback–05. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 12. It's a recap of the old issues of Dave Meltzer's Wrestling Observer Newsletter. – Vince McMahon is apparently planning to sue Sgt. 20. 15. By on 9th March 2017. NWA Canadian Heavyweight Championship. – Antonio Inoki is trying to get into the boxer v. Wrestling Observer Rewind ★ Dec. 95. They even flew in Steve DiSalvo as part of the ring crew to. So after Masa Chono won the NWA title tournament, Thesz did a press conference for UWFI where he agreed to award his old NWA World title belt to the winner of the UWFI World title match between Takada and Gary. 1986 Wrestling Observer Yearbook. Lex Luger jumped out of the final mystery box to attack Sting, injuring the wrong leg (Instinct on Luger’s part due to all his lucha libre experience, Dave notes) but it was a pretty great angle. The Best of the Wrestling Observer-Greatest matches of the Observer years-15 most influential wrestlers of the past five. – Also on the show, Scott Norton & Tony Halme won the IWGP tag titles from the Steiner Brothers in kind of a stinker. Smackdown Date: May 12, 2016 Location: Wells Fargo Arena, Des Moines, Iowa Commentators: Mauro Ranallo, Byron Saxton, Jerry Lawler. – Dave also got to see some tapes from Puerto Rico, which gives us the Observer debut of Invader #1, aka Stabby McMurderer. Also, ROYAL RUMBLE. 11. 27. 6. 05. And now it’s time for the issue that kicks off one of the biggest stories in the history of wrestling, although we didn’t. OK, after yesterday’s super-abbreviated edition (well the one I wrote at least, Dave was still 100,000 words into it) we’re back with a full double issue this time to recap all the stateside news! Continue reading Rants. ”) 3. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 04. – Fall Brawl was great undercard wrestling, bad main event, and booking filled with more holes than Swiss Cheese. Wrestling Observer Flashback–04. 30th August 2017 by Scott Keith. 03. But first! An update on the Shawn Michaels incident in Syracuse. 08. By Scott Keith on 23rd November 2017. 96. – Lead story is the WWF planning a giant stadium show in Milwaukee, which ended up being called WrestleFest 88, to basically screw with Crockett’s plans to run a Bash show the night after. I’m giddy. com & WrestlingObserver. 19. – Latest word on Maeda is that he’s got a new promotion in March, but Takada won’t come with. – Over in Japan, the first ever 24 hour wrestling and martial arts network, called “Fighting TV Samurai”, launched. The government side says it’s for “tactical reasons”, while the WWF. Instead, in the wake of a disappointing buyrate, the decision was made to concentrate on doing better tournaments. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 08. Mid Atlantic Gateway and Wrestling Observer historical files. 03. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 09. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 07. 5 to a 2. By Scott Keith on 24th February 2019. 95 I love that the teaser for this one on the site is “Hotline sleaze award winner” because really it could be ANYTHING coming out of Mean Gene’s mouth. 13. Nasty Boys retained the tag titles over the Bushwackers in 6:46. Although this one is dated after the Bash ‘90 PPV, the issue is written before. -. 09. 96 By Scott Keith on 15th September 2023 Wrestling Observer Flashback – 12. At the latest WWF tapings, a guy named Mantaur debuted. 16. By Scott Keith on 22nd September 2023 Wrestling Observer Flashback – 12. – There’s very little going on due to Christmas, but Jerry Lawler did regain the USWA title from Koko B. 86. – Dave calls it a very good show overall, and somehow by adding up all the people in Greensboro (16K give or take) plus all the closed circuit locations, comes up with a figure of 42,000 and thus declares it the #2 crowd in North American wrestling history. Identifier-ark. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 04. – In the top story, the Justice Department dropped one of the charges against Titan Sports. By Scott Keith on 26th May 2016. *1/2. – The Sheik did an extremely rare job, submitting to Onita’s boston crab in just 3:18 at the latest FMW show. 95. Dave sarcastically notes that “it sure turned Brett Sawyer. Wrestling Observer Flashback–02. Rants. wrestling business himself, negotiating with Buster Douglas for a Tokyo Dome show in March. Well, 1988, as much as I love and care about you, it’s time our relationship came to an end again, just like James and Natalie on Big Brother last night. Get all the news from F4WOnline. – Dave gets a funny bit when he notes that ever since taking over as booker, Dundee has suddenly gained amazing recuperative powers in his matches. 06. 95. It's great historical reading of the rise and fall of wrestling's biggest boom period. – In our top story, Curt Hennig has apparently reached an agreement to jump from the WWF to WCW, as an active wrestler. By Scott Keith on 22nd September 2023 Wrestling Observer Flashback – 12. Lesson the Fourth: Antonio Pena is the new innovator in wrestling and everyone should listen to him. – But first, speculation is still running rampant in the wake of Ole Anderson getting fired as booker. – Bam Bam Bigelow is trying to get into the WWF, but word from on high is that he’s “too inexperienced”. Understated Wrestling Observer Debuts! So new to the Memphis area is a prelim guy named Scotty the Body, who is getting booked like a total nothing and apparently his. 95. Here’s a shocking story to start this week’s issue: Dave is a really big fan of New Japan Pro Wrestling. Oh, Dave. Tenryu as the main event of a show on 2/7. 0 (Extended OCR) Ppi. Perfect won a battle royale in 12:55. Louis Wrestling Club from running. The WWF drew 16000 and Crockett drew 3000, so point to Vince on that one. – Latest figures are in, and WCW is looking like a 0. “Which is great for wrestling, I guess. – Dave proclaims that no promotion is any hotter here in 1996, with more mainstream popularity, than NJPW is. 7th. But it probably bombed because it was clearly a throwaway show. Did you think that Best of ECW Volumes 1 and 2 was as EXTREME as the blog was getting this week? Then prepare yourself, because it’s time for WCW UNCENSORED!– The weirdest story of the week comes from Japan (shocking, I know) where Lou Thesz is making waves in the business again. Well, amazingly he no-showed and they had to quickly contact another local promoter for some jobbers (there were only four name guys even booked for the. 2. By Scott Keith on 27th October 2016. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 04. 5 to 2. – To the WWF, where Wrestlemania III passed 70,000 tickets sold, officially making it the largest crowd ever to witness a wrestling show in North America. – Jim Cornette continues bringing the funny. – So things are getting mighty crowded on TBS, in what would turn out to be a giant turning point for the wrestling industry. 23. – Also, NBC is really sniffing around wrestling now like a dog in heat and they seem to desperately want to be in business with the WWF. 03. The taped episode of RAW wasn’t particularly different than any other one they’ve. – In our top story, Roddy Piper made a surprise debut at the end of the Halloween Havoc show, doing what Dave describes as an “undisciplined dialogue” with Hollywood Hogan that actually ran past the expiration of their PPV time. 23. The match died once Flair went out. Trying to power through this one before UFC 200. Badd quit WCW on 3/11 after a discussion with Eric Bischoff in the airport, and will be signing with the WWF for three years. 18. as they did a matinee taping of the new Sunday edition of World Championship Wrestling in Atlanta, then did a show in Columbus GA, then finally. By Scott Keith on 14th January 2019. – Dan Severn won the Ultimate Ultimate on 12/16 in Denver after all the controversy over the show, beating Oleg Taktarov in the finals via unanimous decision. 22. 88. Ted Dibiase & Virgil beat Dusty & Dustin Rhodes at 9:57. 96. *. – Andre’s beginnings in the sport are something of a mystery. 96. Wrestling Observer Flashback–08. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 02. 0 number predicted by. – Dave reviews the 1/21 MSG show (which did NOT sell out, he notes, although he assumes that the War to Settle the Score sold out both the arena and the Felt Forum):Wrestling Observer Flashback – 07. Pillman tried a crucifix and Wright reversed it for the pin. A January 1966 issue of Vue magazine featuring Bill Hook and his octopus-wrestling adventures in Victoria, B. 25. 96. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 10. – In the top story, the UFC has decided to drop the superfight concept after the debacle that was Shamrock v. 16. ” notes Dave. Wrestling Observer Flashback–08. Back in the saddle with these again. 10-28-1991. Dave notes we. Just for fun, here’s Dave’s Summer 1984 Rankings. Internet Archive HTML5 Uploader 1. 05. 94. Wrestling Observer Historical Pieces. 11. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 12. 26. 90. 94. 07. “Hey look, it’s Joe Weider” – Not sure what that refers to, but I’m sure we’ll find out. – In a story that seems small but kind of ended up heralding the end of an era in wrestling, the way. 87. 96. Curiosity over Kevin’s return is. 23, because for every viewer gained on Nitro, there was a viewer lost on Saturdays and it kind of averaged out. 11. He’ll return for real on 11/20, but will be false advertised as appearing in tag team matches on the road against the Enforcers and subbed out when the show starts. (My joke, not Dave’s) In freezing temperatures, Crockett had his showdown with Vince, featuring the debut of the NWA in Hamilton taking on Roddy Piper’s Canadian farewell in Toronto. Wrestling Observer Flashback–11. 26. 05. Daprice did every issue for the 90's through 2001. Public Enemy went to a double DQ with the Nasty Boys in 4:02. Owen Hart was the second-best star of the show after Flair. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 06. 10. The biggest story of the week is actually buried way down. Bruiser Brody (“Nobody gives an aura of violent realism. – The WWF announced that the Wrestling Classic did about 60,000 buys on PPV, which was 200,000 less than their announced projections. At one point, UWFI was one of the biggest success stories in wrestling, and in 1993, they drew 46,000 fans to a. Terry Funk has retired. Unfortunately, he was the furthest thing from an. For. 96 Can I make it more than. Well it’s been two months. 96 IT’S TIME. By Scott Keith on 9th September 2016. Also, the fears about Sting winning the IWGP title from Muta proved unfounded, as Muta retained in a disappointing match where he was trying to be The Great Muta instead of Keiji Muto. He does 100 but we’ll just do the top 10 because otherwise I’d have to break this up into 5 parts instead of 2. – Kevin Sullivan is a road agent now and appears done with wrestling. 06. We’ve gotta skip all of November due to more gaps, but at least I can now promise that everything from now on is 100% complete! And we didn’t miss Starrcade. – Jim Crockett’s promotion was down to 575 people on 12/3, with a main event of Kevin Von Erich & Chris Adams over Dick Murdoch & Black Bart. 27th May 2016 by Scott Keith. 96. 06. Mike stuff and get into the main event: STARRCADE ‘84. Indie wrestler Rockin' Rebel got a tryout at the tapings, and apparently upset Razor Ramon backstage because he was using some of Razor's mannerisms in the ring. 19. The 85 issues are quite a trip, since it’s a very different writing style than even these ones. Wrestling Observer Flashback–06. Bobby Eaton pinned Terrence Taylor in 15:41 with the Alabama Jam. 95. 21. 30, 1996 (Final Post for 1996) Going through old issues of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter and posting highlights in my own words. – Next up, Dave offers a preview of the next WCW PPV, Uncensored, which he sums up thusly: “On paper it looks like a weak show as none of the matches look to be sure bets to be good. 88. Topics. – Dave is kind of shocked at the response to Wrestlemania, in that it was not only one of the biggest responses to a show that he’s ever had, but also there was pretty much no consensus on the quality of the show, with a fairly even split between thumbs up /. 13. Addeddate. I believe that’s known as the Kerry Von Erich Special in wrestling. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 10. By Scott Keith on 3rd October 2019. 20. (This is why Dave needs an editor. Big John Tenta pinned Koji Kitao with an elbowdrop in 6:10. I know, I know, what a bombshell. Topics. Hosted by Sean Oliver, he welcomes guest the Honky Tonk Man as he talks about SummerSlam ’88. 19. 96. He was at the other guys’ PPVs this year taking notes, as well as New Japan and All Japan’s major shows. – In the top story, Titan Sports filed a lawsuit against World Championship Wrestling on 6/20, stemming from the invasion angle with Hall and Nash. 05. And NOW the main event! Hog Wild 96 and the introduction of the Observer Hall of Fame awaits! This one took me a little bit longer to write than last night’s quickie, obviously. (Hey, much like Bill Gates famously said…) – Back to Murray Hodgson and his case against Pat Patterson, with Vince and Pat’s depositions delayed so they could do some more legal wrangling. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 08. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 05. 26, 1994 (Final Post for 1994) Going through old issues of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter and posting highlights in my own words. According to Dave’s minions, there was confusion about. In fact, Dave thinks that people’s hatred of the dancing gimmick is overshadowing how much he’s improved as a worker. ABBYY FineReader 11. 96. Observer Flashbacks; Wrestling Observer Flashback–04. 28. Dave has no idea how successful it’ll be. This isn’t unique in itself, but if Idol. Well, one week left until the WWF really goes off a cliff. The New Foundation beat the Orient Express in 17:18. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 09. 18. I know this year has been a slog, but we’re getting closer to September, when the magic happens! But first, WWF returns to your house! Whether you wanted them there or not. – The WWF continues to insist that Summerslam sold 80,000 tickets in the first day, and also announced several new matches for the show: Tatanka v. – It’s sounding like Scott Steiner will work Halloween Havoc, but won’t be doing much. Chip screwed up early, but it was decent by the end. I’ve noticed a sudden uptick in 1985-related questions on the Wrestling Observer radio show lately. – In the top story of the week, and in fact one of the top stories in wrestling history, Ric Flair was fired from WCW effective immediately when negotiations fell through. Continue reading Rants. Time to welcome in 2021 with everyone’s favorite blog column! And to celebrate, I’m currently three drinks in with “Best Rock of 1988” on Spotify in the background, so hopefully I’ve got lots to snark on tonight. Raw drew its best 18-49 number since the start of football season. This group will likely merge in and out with SWS and make appearances on their shows, and will have the pro wrestling ga-ga that Fujiwara wanted to work into the UWF promotion originally. I just don’t think things are gonna work out for that promotion. Andre started in the sport at the age of 12, already 6’3”, and fell in with a. as the big blue cage that quickly became synonymous with Titan was actually purchased and flown in from Stampede Wrestling, because the normal chain link cage was too hard for Hogan to climb. Wrestling Observer Flashback–09. This week, a big name goes to the rival promotion in the thick of the Monday Night Wars! Call my hotline now to find out the answer! – Hiroshi Hase made a surprising jump from New Japan to All Japan this week, announcing on 9/29 that he’s starting with AJPW in January. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 10. This was the one and only match in the whole tournament that actually showed why the division could. Wolf, where. 19. 95. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 07. 26. – In Mid-South, we get the first Observer mention of young rookie Sean Michaels in Mid-South, as he pins Jack Victory. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 11. 24. 2 million, making it the largest gate in pro wrestling history. 96. So don’t be disappointed at the lack of a review here. By Dave Meltzer Nov 21, 2023. 95. 25. They’re owned by Jody Hamilton (Nick Patrick’s dad) and they do about 200 people per show. 06. – Hachiro Tanaka, the money guy behind SWS and WAR and a bunch of other groups, is reportedly tired of losing money in the wrestling business and wants out, according to the Takano brothers. ***1/4Wrestling Observer Flashback–03. This got the most heat of the night from all the sumo fans, because they’re not hardcore wrestling fans and just knew Kitao as the “bad boy”, and thus booed the shit out of him and cheered everything Earthquake did. 96 Remember how in last week’s issue, Kevin Nash had until the weekend to make up his mind about leaving…? – In the top story, Kevin Nash officially gave notice to the WWF that he’d be accepting an offer from WCW, via phone call to Vince McMahon on 3/5. Oh, Dave. 28. 96. 86. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 12. 96. Thankfully, the Observer archives are fixed, so let’s get back into the swing of things again. It's great historical reading of the rise and fall of wrestling's biggest boom period. 3. – Dave sums up the last PPV of 1996 as “solid but unspectacular”. By Scott Keith on 15th March 2021. Thanks for reading! UWFI president and top star Nobuhiko Takada announced that the company is officially going out of business and that the final show will be held this week. OK, let’s try this one more time. 21. It’s time for the CLASH OF CHAMPIONS, a flying elbow to the wrestling business that should have revived it! But first, a pretty major death to kick off the issue. But if you’re reading it in the archives in December, then MERRY CHRISTMAS! – Continuing on with the saga of Dynamite Kid’s messed up back, he was flown into Calgary for surgery after being paralyzed from the waist down. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 11. C. 11th January 2017 by Scott Keith. – Vince then called the show, FURIOUS about the misleading edit (POT, KETTLE, BLACK) and questioning the credibility of Bruno, who clearly had an axe to grind, and Alex Marvez, who dared to question the WWF’s commitment to testing after announcing it five times and not delivering. – San Fran is the big head-to-head battle between the AWA and WWF, and Vince won that one handily thus far. The 2023 class of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame adds seven new members in a year where there were no blow away vote getters but a number. 95. The suit alleges unfair competition, trademark. ” (Now there’s an understatement!) – Based on current trends and advertising, SuperBrawl is looking to do. 29. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 06. So in fact apparently there was a shitload of wrestling fans in Chicago that weekend ready to spend money, but advantage Verne on that night. ”. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 09. It's a recap of the old issues of Dave Meltzer's Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Wrestling Observer / Figure Four. – Inoki’s business-killing freakshow ended up drawing 11,000 people for somewhere between $800,000 – $1. – Paul Heyman was indefinitely suspended on 10/7 for reasons that are still unknown at press time (still unknown to this day, in fact!) and this is gonna mess up their plans big because the (don’t call it a ) booking committee wanted to switch him back from announcer to manager if they could strike a deal with Rick Rude. 94. (Clearly Wrestlemania had not become the thing it is today, because $429 barely gets you a nosebleed seat at this point. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 11. The PPV showdown of 1987 is upon us! It’s Vince v. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 10.