The TNT show is dropping rapidly, which shows that the new audience of freakshow fans is far less than the loyal wrestling fans who choose not to watch that one. Wrestling Observer Flashback–02. On with the week that was and one of the most famous stories in wrestling history!– Oh, also, the weekend shows set new lows for cable wrestling ratings, and that includes the WWF shows. 1. 21. 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. 21. 28. . *1/2. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 12. 95. 22. Collection. 0 (Extended OCR) Ppi. 29. Identifier-ark. Wrestling Observer Flashback–11. 5-4-1987. Also, be sure to check out the SquaredCircle subreddit, where some dude is RIPPING OFF MY. – Latest figures are in, and WCW is looking like a 0. Owen won with a Rocket Launcher on Tanaka. Internet Archive HTML5 Uploader 1. While it seemingly wasn’t a major milestone in his life at that. By Scott Keith on 15th March 2021. 23. 96. Wrestling Observer Flashback–08. 94. Um, never mind. 96. 87. At one point, UWFI was one of the biggest success stories in wrestling, and in 1993, they drew 46,000 fans to a. Rants. Everything is confusing and it’s all centering on the AWA. When it comes to catching and wrestling a giant. C. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 09. Wrestling Observer Flashback–01. And now it’s time for the MONDAY NIGHT WARS. By Scott Keith on 10th July 2016. By Scott Keith on 22nd September 2023 Wrestling Observer Flashback – 12. Anyway, back to 1985 again… – The big news is that the war in St. – Dave feels that the team of Sting & Rick Steiner are improving so rapidly that they’ll be one of the best in the world by the summer. Louis Wrestling Club from running. I feel like that can’t be a coincidence. Chelsea Anne Cardona (née: Green; born April 4, 1991) is a Canadian professional wrestler, stuntwoman, and model. The theory at the beginning was that the “universe” would increase exponentially as more homes got PPV, but now it’s apparent that there’s a set number of wrestling fans out there who will buy these things and adding more homes doesn’t mean automatically adding the same percentage of buys. I’m actually recovering from a shoulder injury at work today but I’ll power through an Observer Flashback for you. 09. By Scott Keith on 14th August 2016. com~!Wrestling Observer Rewind • Dec. Well this should do better than NWA Powerrr at least. Hogan! Starrcade ‘87 v. Dodge Iowa. Topics. 19. 28. And now, Dave would like to talk about PPV. 95. Couldn’t do this one last night, because Daredevil is a thing that exists. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 11. 48 buyrate (120,000 buys) for the Great American Bash in June, with WWF doing 0. 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. It’s a patented Slow News Week as we head into Summerslam, but the issue is still 10 pages. 96. ”. Dave is flabbergasted by how bad a show it was, wondering if this was a dream or a nightmare that he hasn’t woken up from. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 12. 15. 96. 11. The first wrestling move of the match came at 10:00, which was Hogan no-selling the powerbomb and making his comeback. Wrestling Observer / Figure Four. 10-21-1991. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 03. – 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. Join Dave Meltzer and Brian Alvarez for coverage of the latest in wrestling and mixed-martial arts. 96. 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. 18. Jim Herd has already killed the wrestling business, and now he’s working on killing the magic business. 90. 88. 95. Wrestling Observer Historical Pieces. 14. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 08. 95. Let’s take a break from being nostalgic for 1998 and be nostalgic for 1994 again for a bit! – It’s been quiet in the wrestling world leading up to Halloween Havoc, Dave notes. *. 0-1. 07. Dave thinks that the competition will be mostly for the better, with faster-moving storylines and better wrestling on TV. Observer Flashbacks; Wrestling Observer Flashback–04. 05. The previous record was 69,000 for the Big Event. Trying to power through this one before UFC 200. 3. Also, ROYAL RUMBLE. 2022-03-05 07:34:36. 18. Regardless of everything else, the #1 rule of wrestling in situations like this is that you ALWAYS have the babyface’s hand raised at the end of the show if you pull a major bait-and-switch like this. 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. 95. 96 (I’m putting this one in the can a few days earlier than publication so if there’s any pop culture references that age badly, blame me. 7th. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 10. 6. – Also on the show, Scott Norton & Tony Halme won the IWGP tag titles from the Steiner Brothers in kind of a stinker. Well it’s been two months. 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,. 94. Main event is. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 08. 90. Kayfabe Commentaries Releases Newest Installment of Their “Supercard” Series. 95. Smackdown Date: May 12, 2016 Location: Wells Fargo Arena, Des Moines, Iowa Commentators: Mauro Ranallo, Byron Saxton, Jerry Lawler. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 11. 22. A January 1966 issue of Vue magazine featuring Bill Hook and his octopus-wrestling adventures in Victoria, B. – In an understatement, Dave notes that the babyface side in the WWF is in a state of disarray, what with Scott Hall about to jump to WCW in late May once all his contractual stuff ends. Perfect won a battle royale in 12:55. 8 this week. It’s the year end awards issue! Lots to argue about here, I’m sure. 4. 96. 92. 14. 94 (Part 2) – In the only non-tournament match on the show, Cactus Jack & Mikey Whipwreck won the tag titles from the Public Enemy after Terry Funk missed his flight and couldn’t make the show. – In Japan, SWS continues to alienate Japanese wrestling fans by booking WARLORD v. By Scott Keith on 20th September 2016. 96. 23. By Scott Keith on 18th April 2022. Guys, it sounds like the Diamond Studd will soon be appearing in WCW again! We’ll see how that goes for them. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 07. 0 (Extended OCR) Ppi. “Hey look, it’s Joe Weider” – Not sure what that refers to, but I’m sure we’ll find out. 2. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 06. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 05. 21. – Dave’s opening salvo this week: “After its television show reached a new low in. By Scott Keith on 9th November 2017. 96 September 9, 2023; Morning Daily News Update September 9, 2023; Mike Reviews WWE Capitol Punishment 2011 September 9, 2023; Question September 9, 2023; Jey Uso trade to Raw September 9, 2023; Weekend Wrestling! September 9, 2023Wrestling Observer Flashback–12. 90. Dave is pretty sure Gonzalez will draw as long as he’s never allowed to touch anyone ever. NWA Canadian Heavyweight Championship. (This is why Dave needs an editor. -The Mondo 19 most intriguing personalities of ‘86-30 key pro wrestling personalities of ‘86 with quick bios-Observer Awards, leading news stories of. – To Mexico, where it looks like EMLL is about to split. – 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. – Michinoku Pro debuted on 3/16 to huge amounts of local publicity, since they’re the first attempt at a regional promotion in the country. – Speaking of New Japan, they sold out 5 consecutive nights at Sumo Hall for the G1 Climax, ending with IWGP champion Keiji Muto becoming the first reigning champion to win the tournament, taking out Shinya Hashimoto in the finals. (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. – Chris was of course around wrestling dressing rooms his whole life, and idolized Kerry in junior high to the point where he’d dress and act like him. – 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. ”) 3. Public Enemy went to a double DQ with the Nasty Boys in 4:02. 89. 3-21-1988. 567. – The WWF is on hiatus for a bit after WM, so Dave apologizes in advance for the light news week. Wrestling Observer Flashback–09. Louis is finally over, and the WWF has won. Wrestling Observer Live: RAW report, War Games, Randy Orton, ratings and more By Bryan Alvarez Nov 21, 2023 DragonKingKarl Classic Wrestling Show: The history of. Ric Flair (“He’s slowed down a bit”) 2. By Dave Meltzer Nov 21, 2023. By on 9th March 2017. This is the incredible story about the people who brought Lucha Libre into America in the 1990s and the many challenges they faced! Hijo del Santo and Blue. Wrestling Observer Flashback–03. 2. *. 91. 27. 95. By Scott Keith on 18th April 2022. 89. 95. I was actually going to redo the Halloween Havoc 90 rant based on the full PPV version that I’ve never seen…but the Network only has the Turner Home Video version. By Scott Keith on 19th September 2016. Winner of the 2016 Doomie Award for Favorite Blog Post!. – Reportedly, World champion Mike Tyson has signed with the WWF to referee a match. Heyman is making. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 08. 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. 25. Wrestling Observer Flashback–02. . So let’s take a look at what’s going on in the international scene!6. A total brawl with great heat, although the DQ was called for no apparent reason. 5 million as a startup amount and NOW got $480,000, and once they’ve blown through that, he’s done. – Fall Brawl was great undercard wrestling, bad main event, and booking filled with more holes than Swiss Cheese. Back in the saddle with these again. “Which is great for wrestling, I guess. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 07. – We’ll skip past the Mr. The main event. – Actually, first it’s a bit of political talk, as Hiroshi Hase won election to the senate in Japan. The WWF drew 16000 and Crockett drew 3000, so point to Vince on that one. By Scott Keith on 29th August 2016. – The first Saturday Night show is going to be taped on 10/3, and Dave expects to heavily feature the freakshow wedding of Uncle Elmer, which will likely be even worse than the Paul Vachon wedding. 1984 Dave would chime in with “but luckily WWF isn’t wrestling” or something equally snarky, but mellower 1986. By Scott Keith on 24th July 2019. 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. 18. 96 IT’S TIME. Lesson the Fourth: Antonio Pena is the new innovator in wrestling and everyone should listen to him. Wrestling Observer Flashback–11. (1) Ultimate Warrior & Legion of Doom & Texas Tornado (Kerry Von Erich) beat Team Demolition & Mr. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 07. WWE Raw draws strong ratings despite historic NFL competition. I just don’t think things are gonna work out for that promotion. on November 22, 1990 – “Survivor Series ’90. 04. 26. 96. 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. OK, let’s get back into these again. He was the person credited with popularizing the superplex, although he didn’t invent it. 96. Davey Boy Smith (“Athletically the best in the business. Wrestling Observer Flashback–03. I like how even the editors of the Observer site are scoring off Dave with the headline on this one. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 02. By Scott Keith on 4th June 2016. 07. In fact, even today I’m not sure that those title switches are counted as part of the “real” count of Flair’s title reigns because the NWA did such a bang-up job of denial that. 88. Wrestling Observer Flashback–04. So you picked a great time to start reading! – In the top story, Jerry Lawler was accused of being a very, very bad boy. Wolf, where. 25. 19. 96 (Part Two) – In the top story, “Sycle” Sid won the WWF title in the main event of the Survivor Series. Wrestling Observer Flashback–08. – 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 /. Gene Anderson, founding member of the Minnesota Wrecking Crew tag team died. Wrestling Observer Flashback–02. Sid actually drew pretty big on the East coast, doing 11,000 at the Nassau Coliseum and 8000 in Philly. 20. It’s the Observer issue so huge that Dave has to post it to the archives TWICE to make sure! So yeah, Flair got fired, let’s get back into it! – The Flair firing actually made the national news, with papers throughout the country picking up the story, with all coverage being sympathetic to Flair. At 4:00, Warrior splashed Demolition Axe. 11-4-1991. They’re exclusively running small towns on the far Northern island of Japan, and mostly using lucha libre guys, which the mainstream papers didn’t really get. 5-11-1987. I’m not. Slaughter for “stealing the character”. But I think it’s a pretty famous case of hotline sleaze related to Blackwell’s death. – The WWF announced that the Wrestling Classic did about 60,000 buys on PPV, which was 200,000 less than their announced projections. Here’s a shocking story to start this week’s issue: Dave is a really big fan of New Japan Pro Wrestling. 02. 03. Maybe if I skim over the Eddie Gilbert stuff it’ll get done easier. 96. Get all the news from F4WOnline. GROUP #2: Nobuhiko Takada is forming the UWFi (Union of Pro Wrestling Force International) and they’ll also be running Korakuen Hall, in May, and. Pillman was playing subtle heel to start and got less subtle as the match went on. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 12. 23. 86. He wears a buffalo head to the ring and everyone backstage was making fun of his gimmick. It's a recap of the old issues of Dave Meltzer's Wrestling Observer Newsletter. I’m giddy. Ken Wayne found the body after. This hold up comes on the heels of two other major stories: Hennig is supposed to be heading to WWF, meanwhile. By Scott Keith on 27th October 2016. Most of the match was Hunter working the arm and going for a cross-armbreaker, which neither Vince nor Jerry had any idea how to call. 2 million, making it the largest gate in pro wrestling history. Day off from work today, so I’ve got some time to craft another Flashback! Your Spotify soundtrack for this one is Queensryche’s “Operation Mindcrime”, an album that it took me many years to get into, which is weird because I was a big fan of “Empire”. 94. Well, sort of. – But first, the lead story is the rapid descent of UWFI, as they have reached out in desperation to New Japan for a combined show at the Tokyo Dome on 10/9 and maybe more after that. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 10. On May 2 they did an angle where the AWA World title was held up following a Bockwinkel/Hennig match where Hennig used a foreign object. Survivor Series!World Wrestling Federation presented a live pay-per-view event special live from Hartford, Conn. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 04. Addeddate. 7. Oh, Dave. By Scott Keith on 1st June 2019. Wish me luck! – The top story is Dave being confused by a unique gimmick match in Memphis, with Austin Idol v. 13. 07. Wrestling Observer Flashback–05. – 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. Obviously, doctors gave him some mumbo-jumbo diagnosis about “severe spinal disc and sciatic nerve damage”, and. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 12. 3/4. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 05. 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. ***1/4Wrestling Observer Flashback–03. 23, because for every viewer gained on Nitro, there was a viewer lost on Saturdays and it kind of averaged out. 26. 05. 0. But first! An update on the Shawn Michaels incident in Syracuse. Rants. It’s a patented Slow News Week as we head into Summerslam, but the issue is still 10 pages. – Two major World title changes since the last issue as well, with Vader winning the WCW World title back from Ron Simmons on 12/30 in Baltimore, and Great Muta beating Masa Chono to win the. Wrestling Observer Flashback–06. Shinjiro Otani retained the UWA junior heavyweight title pinning El Samurai. – Van Hammer won the arm wrestling tournament, beating Ron Simmons in the finals, which Dave interprets as continuing his newfound push. Bobby Eaton pinned Chip the Firebreaker in 4:52 with a back suplex. Crockett! Dusty v. 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 realize it at the time. 87. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 09. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 12. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 04. 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. Dave has no idea how successful it’ll be. – Dave brings up the example of New Japan’s light heavyweight division taking off and Stampede Wrestling’s mid-heavyweight division, although of course Stampede tended to produce talent that left for greener pastures instead of. There’s a big main event at the Tokyo Dome! And it sure didn’t go down how anyone expected. These words open the issue this week, because Wrestlemania IV is in the books and, well, it was not pretty. 22. Nasties sold well at least. 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. Max Moon was eliminated quickly because his spaceship was double-parked. 09. 11. The match died once Flair went out. ” notes Dave. 96 IT’S TIME. So I guess it’s a Wrestling Observer Flashback Flashback. It’s kind of hard to say what to expect around here as the show has been bouncing back and forth between focusing on the Intercontinental Title feud and then the World Title situation. (Clearly Wrestlemania had not become the thing it is today, because $429 barely gets you a nosebleed seat at this point. – 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. – In our top story, Curt Hennig has apparently reached an agreement to jump from the WWF to WCW, as an active wrestler. ABBYY FineReader 11. Ah, wrestling, where one guy can beat up another guy for real and flush his head. (Just wait until Slamboree. 20. Dave also lists the match with the Rock N Roll Express v. – Latest word on Maeda is that he’s got a new promotion in March, but Takada won’t come with. And since “long term thinking” these days is “three. 04. I’m still not 100% clear on how we got from “Jim Crockett attempts to run Florida into the ground” to “Jim Crockett buys Florida and uses it as a feeder system for his own promotion”, but I’m sure we’ll get there. The grand plan for five days a week has been dropped and ESPN will air reruns of Pro Wrestling This Week instead. – Andre’s beginnings in the sport are something of a mystery. 96 Can I make it more than two weeks in a row? TUNE INTO NITRO TO FIND OUT! – In our top story this week, UFC presented the Ultimate Ultimate 2! Dave is really into this shit all of a sudden. 87. This issue only has the first 4 pages, so it’ll be a truncated recap, but all the good stuff is in those pages anyway. 01. – San Fran is the big head-to-head battle between the AWA and WWF, and Vince won that one handily thus far. 5. Wrestling Observer Flashback–06. 95, which is good but well below the 2. Shawn Special Edition! Okey doke, so in the 1997 RAW rants thus far, we’ve alluded to the all the crazy stuff happening behind the scenes with Bret and Shawn, but what EXACTLY was that? Well, Dave was covering it extensively in the Observer at the time, so here’s a mini-Flashback covering the top. 96 (Part Two) – In the top story, “Sycle” Sid won the WWF title in the main event of the Survivor Series. 06. – Moving on, Joe Pedicino has purchased Jerry Jarrett’s syndicated TV network with the millions of dollars he’s got coming from Nigeria. – And now, a turning point for the Observer, although we didn’t know it at the time, as Dave announces that he’s taken a job with the National, writing a wrestling column for the paper. But this week, we’ve got Summerslam to attend to. Production quality was high, the wrestling quality not so much. 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. For It’s Time. Andre started in the sport at the age of 12, already 6’3”, and fell in with a. 86. – And now, let’s talk about pay-per-view. 96. ). 16. Wrestling Observer Flashback–03. – The Wrestling Classic, scheduled to be the first ever nationally available PPV show, will feature a 16 man tournament, plus Hogan v. She is currently signed to WWE, where she performs on the. 22. 22. The debut of Giant Gonzalez (who was “wearing Ultimate Warrior’s old underwear”) perked things up again. – In the top story, the Justice Department dropped one of the charges against Titan Sports. 95. Nasty Boys retained the tag titles over the Bushwackers in 6:46. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 07. 96. 2 victory. 28. 96. – Art Barr’s petition for a wrestling license was denied by the commission once again. But goddamn is “Eyes of a Stranger.