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 – 11. – Reportedly, World champion Mike Tyson has signed with the WWF to referee a match. He wears a buffalo head to the ring and everyone backstage was making fun of his gimmick. 96. 21. 88. 87. 94. Winner of the 2016 Doomie Award for Favorite Blog Post!. 86. 11. 95 Guys, I don’t think this UFC thing is gonna be around much longer if lawmakers have their way! – The debate over whether UFC and the other events like it should be banned has been raging in the press and the city of Denver has become a hotspot for the controversy. 3. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 10. 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. Identifier-ark. Scanner. Wrestling Observer Flashback–01. 05. Join Dave Meltzer and Brian Alvarez for coverage of the latest in wrestling and mixed-martial arts. – 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. Wrestling Observer Flashback–10. – 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. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 08. 16. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 02. Although this one is dated after the Bash ‘90 PPV, the issue is written before. 26, 1994 (Final Post for 1994) Going through old issues of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter and posting highlights in my own words. *. 1. 94. By Scott Keith on 7th March 2017. – All Japan on 9/17 saw the debut of former Olympic wrestler Jun Akiyama, who was pinned by Kenta Kobashi in the semi-main of the show. Dusty missed a blind charge and got pinned by Ted for the finish, ending his WWF career. -. 19. 03. 11. 48 buyrate (120,000 buys) for the Great American Bash in June, with WWF doing 0. 95. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 12. By Dave Meltzer Nov 21, 2023. 30, 1996 (Final Post for 1996) Going through old issues of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter and posting highlights in my own words. – 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. 07. Warrior pinned Haku with the shoulderblock and splash in 4:48. Big John Tenta pinned Koji Kitao with an elbowdrop in 6:10. – The WWF announced that the Wrestling Classic did about 60,000 buys on PPV, which was 200,000 less than their announced projections. Flair’s contract was scheduled to be terminated as of 08/01, and Flair was scheduled to drop the WCW World title to Barry Windham on 7/1 in Macon, GA. Also, the Rock & Wrestling Connection was all his idea and he had to convince Vince to play “Eye of the Tiger” as his entrance theme in 1984. 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. 22. 95. Couldn’t do this one last night, because Daredevil is a thing that exists. But I think it’s a pretty famous case of hotline sleaze related to Blackwell’s death. Louis is finally over, and the WWF has won. Ted Dibiase & Virgil beat Dusty & Dustin Rhodes at 9:57. Wrestling Observer Flashback–02. By Scott Keith on 26th May 2016. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 10. 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. He apparently gave WAR $1. Well, sort of. 96 (Part Two) – In the top story, “Sycle” Sid won the WWF title in the main event of the Survivor Series. By Scott Keith on 1st October 2017. I think once I wrap up 88 I’ll continue into 1989, and then when we reach the end of THAT year, we’ll go back to 1985 again. This is ridiculous on a lot of levels, most of which is actually against Zulu because he’s even worse than Mike Von Erich and in. (Clearly Wrestlemania had not become the thing it is today, because $429 barely gets you a nosebleed seat at this point. Bryan Alvarez and Mike Sempervive talk about the biggest news in wrestling! Wrestling Observer Live podcast on demand - Wrestling Observer Live is among the most popular wrestling shows in the world. 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. Michaels worked his ass off, although it came out later that he was hungover and stoned at the time. – 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. 25. – 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. – Antonio Inoki is trying to get into the boxer v. 10. The debut of Giant Gonzalez (who was “wearing Ultimate Warrior’s old underwear”) perked things up again. 1984 Dave would chime in with “but luckily WWF isn’t wrestling” or something equally snarky, but mellower 1986. . He literally stole Verne’s TV slot out from under him (the AWA wasn’t even told by the station until the day the show was supposed to air!) and Verne’s big show at the Cow Palace in March as a complete debacle due to scheduling. 95. Basically Vince sent his PR people to the magazine to produce what Phil Mushnick of the New York Post (no relation to Sam or Irv, Dave notes, although we’ll get to know Phil very well in later years) called a “six page. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 12. Identifier. 567. “Which is great for wrestling, I guess. 19. 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”. It’s like Wrestlemania, but for NEWS. – 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. 94. By Scott Keith on 18th April 2022. 95. 96 (Part Two) – In the top story, “Sycle” Sid won the WWF title in the main event of the Survivor Series. NWA Canadian Heavyweight Championship. The Road Warriors beat the Midnight Express in a scaffold match in 3:00, which kind of ruins their videotape business, Dave thinks. Anyway, back to 1985 again… – The big news is that the war in St. By on 9th March 2017. Back in the saddle with these again. 7th. Wrestling Observer Flashback–04. For It’s Time. (Just wait until Slamboree. The feeling is that running a show in the traditional Sunday timeslot where live shows draw will kill off the house shows. The idea is to combine a bunch of small promotions into the Global Wrestling Federation, with offices in five different regions, including Jarrett now officially going back into Dallas to run the USWA there again. 16. 02. ”. 91. 06. Oh, Dave. 23, because for every viewer gained on Nitro, there was a viewer lost on Saturdays and it kind of averaged out. But goddamn is “Eyes of a Stranger. Gene Anderson, founding member of the Minnesota Wrecking Crew tag team died. – Another quiet week in the world of wrestling, as we’re waiting for Starrcade and Superdome results. – Vince McMahon is apparently planning to sue Sgt. ABBYY FineReader 11. Louis Wrestling Club from running. But don’t be fooled by the Slow News, as two major promotions actually reach their finales this week, although we didn’t realize it at the time. Wrestling Observer Flashback: 07. 96. By Scott Keith on 12th June 2016. 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. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 04. 13. Specifically, advertisers look at stuff like this and use it to justify their already terrible ad rates for pro wrestling shows. Just for fun, here’s Dave’s Summer 1984 Rankings. Oh, and WCW tried to make a mini-movie and it didn’t go very well. 95. Jerry Lawler in a cage match where the loser gets his head shaved. 96. 96. Daprice did every issue for the 90's through 2001. The main event. 95. 15. 04. Owen won with a Rocket Launcher on Tanaka. Wrestling Observer Flashback–02. It's a recap of the old issues of Dave Meltzer's Wrestling Observer Newsletter. 94. ) – The rumor mill continues to churn around the idea that Dusty Rhodes and his $300,000 / year salary will be cut at the end of the year. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 08. 96. By Scott Keith on 3rd October 2019. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 03. 26. Lesson the Fourth: Antonio Pena is the new innovator in wrestling and everyone should listen to him. Dave runs down the TV shows over the past month and it’s all classic stuff, like the Magnum TA-Mr. 90. 09. (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. 96. Wolf, where. -The Mondo 19 most intriguing personalities of ‘86-30 key pro wrestling personalities of ‘86 with quick bios-Observer Awards, leading news stories of. Papa Shango ran in for the DQ, and Ultimate Warrior made the save, complete with entrance music. 95. Back to the trenches after taking Friday off! And the big story this week is an abject lesson in John Lennon’s famous saying, “Life is what happens to you when you’re busy making other plans”. – So, Dave says goodbye and announces that this is the final issue of the Observer. By Scott Keith on 22nd September 2023 Wrestling Observer Flashback – 12. – The Wrestling Classic, scheduled to be the first ever nationally available PPV show, will feature a 16 man tournament, plus Hogan v. – 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 /. Max Moon was eliminated quickly because his spaceship was double-parked. – Dave sums up the last PPV of 1996 as “solid but. -Pro Wrestling 1983-1987. . By Scott Keith on 14th March 2019. 05. – Fall Brawl was great undercard wrestling, bad main event, and booking filled with more holes than Swiss Cheese. com archives, and any other sources I’ve checked, so we’re skipping ahead a week. Guess it’s time for another one of these. Addeddate. According to Dave’s minions, there was confusion about. 96. Sacramento Memorial Auditorium. Eaton did a scary kneedrop from the top rope to the ramp outside the ring for the highlight of the match. Newsletter, Magazine, Wrestling, WWF, WCW, All Japan, New Japan. 3-28-1988. – The WWF is reportedly considering adding a weekly Saturday PPV show, according to trade journal reports. 3. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 12. 16. By Scott Keith on 1st June 2019. *1/4. Warlord won a battle royale by tossing out Ricky Steamboat. Continue reading Rants. – It’s sounding like Scott Steiner will work Halloween Havoc, but won’t be doing much. WWE Raw draws strong ratings despite historic NFL competition. Dave, however, cites the court case of Boy v. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 12. – In the top story, the UFC has decided to drop the superfight concept after the debacle that was Shamrock v. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 08. – 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. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 11. 18. – Dave notes that speaking of network TV, ABC was filming an episode of 20/20 at the MSG show, and one of the reporters asked Dr. wrestling business himself, negotiating with Buster Douglas for a Tokyo Dome show in March. 21. – 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. OK, let’s try this one more time. By Scott Keith on 22nd August 2022. The PPV showdown of 1987 is upon us! It’s Vince 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. Bruiser Brody (“Nobody gives an aura of violent realism. The first wrestling move of the match came at 10:00, which was Hogan no-selling the powerbomb and making his comeback. 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. 87. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 09. 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–09. By Scott Keith on 16th December 2017. Credit Dave Meltzer, Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 10. – On the bright side, Warrior v. Not by putting on a better product or drawing more money, but by signing one of their soon-to-be-ubiquitous exclusivity contracts with the Kiel Auditorium and thus preventing the NWA-affiliated St. 06. Sorry. We’re almost there! One week left! – It’s almost time for the new fall season of wrestling, and it’s a big one. 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. 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. He was indicted on 11/12 on counts. 96 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. 96. Mid Atlantic Gateway and Wrestling Observer historical files. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 10. Back on track after our detour back to March yesterday. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 01. I’m actually recovering from a shoulder injury at work today but I’ll power through an Observer Flashback for you. 95. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 03. Inoki pinned Leon Spinks in the eighth round of whatever their match was supposed to be, cradling him after a double-leg and getting a five count. 86. 11-4-1991. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 03. 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. The government side says it’s for “tactical reasons”, while the WWF. 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. 04. 15. 2022-03-05 07:34:36. 90. 29. Crockett! Dusty v. Baba apparently has plans to give Akiyama a major push down the line. 95. 01. 28. 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. Current talk is a rematch with Shawn Michaels at Summerslam in a ladder. 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. – In the top story, Sports Illustrated had a story on the WWF in March, and no one in mainstream media really gave a shit. Scanner. So apparently the WrestleWar 92 issue (05/25/92) is missing from the F4WOnline. 01. WWE News. 88. Rants. Trying to power through this one before UFC 200. Sid actually drew pretty big on the East coast, doing 11,000 at the Nassau Coliseum and 8000 in Philly. “Hey look, it’s Joe Weider” – Not sure what that refers to, but I’m sure we’ll find out. 96. 03. 27. 28. 5 to a 2. 95. Perfect. – 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. 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. 11. Wrestling Observer Flashback–06. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 01. Dave notes we. I’m not. And here we had gone for almost two months without a death. Bobby Eaton pinned Chip the Firebreaker in 4:52 with a back suplex. 26. – The big story this week is Dave’s preview of the Ultimate Ultimate 96!. Newsletter, Magazine, Wrestling, WWF, WCW, All Japan, New Japan. 03. Brian Pillman pinned Badstreet with a flying bodypress in the light heavyweight tournament semi-final at 6:52. – In Mid-South, we get the first Observer mention of young rookie Sean Michaels in Mid-South, as he pins Jack Victory. By Scott Keith on 10th July 2016. – So UFC III was supposed to be another easy ride for Royce Gracie, but in fact the KING IS DEAD. 6. 16. Thankfully, the Observer archives are fixed, so let’s get back into the swing of things again. 02. ***1/4Wrestling Observer Flashback–03. 92. But don’t be fooled by the Slow News, as two major promotions actually reach their finales this week, although we didn’t realize it at the time. – Jim Cornette Update: He turned down the WCW managing job because he’s opening up a new promotion with Sandy Scott and Tim Horner called “Smokey Mountain Wrestling”, starting on 10/30 in Greenville. It's great historical reading of the rise and fall of wrestling's biggest boom period. ”. You can view a sneak preview below. Dave thinks that the WWF is turning into more of a circus of litigation than a wrestling company. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 10. They’re owned by Jody Hamilton (Nick Patrick’s dad) and they do about 200 people per show. – In Japan, SWS continues to alienate Japanese wrestling fans by booking WARLORD v. I believe that’s known as the Kerry Von Erich Special in wrestling. Just like in the old days, it’s a NEWSFLASH to start the issue! Well, a results flash, actually, as the Tokyo Dome show came in too late for a proper review. 2. – 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. OK, let’s get back into these again. 09. – Also on the show, Scott Norton & Tony Halme won the IWGP tag titles from the Steiner Brothers in kind of a stinker. 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. 16. Jim Herd has already killed the wrestling business, and now he’s working on killing the magic business. Wrestling Observer Flashback–02. -. – Mexico’s wrestling companies are gearing up for a full-scale strike of wrestlers and referees, with syndicate head Manny Guzman calling for job action over EMLL’s network TV deal. 19. 19 as I try to get as much done as possible in advance. 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. By Scott Keith on 22nd September 2023 Wrestling Observer Flashback – 12. At one point, UWFI was one of the biggest success stories in wrestling, and in 1993, they drew 46,000 fans to a. They even flew in Steve DiSalvo as part of the ring crew to. – While the World title may not change hands, the US title certainly will, since post-Clash TV direction has Steamboat winning the title and suffering a shoulder injury in the process. This should be good. The 1997 Observer Rewind shall resume this on Aug. – Inoki’s business-killing freakshow ended up drawing 11,000 people for somewhere between $800,000 – $1. Wrestling Observer Flashback–05. 19. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 04. Wrestling Observer Flashback–06. In fact, Dave thinks that people’s hatred of the dancing gimmick is overshadowing how much he’s improved as a worker. This hold up comes on the heels of two other major stories: Hennig is supposed to be heading to WWF, meanwhile. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 06. The NWA Canadian Heavyweight Championship was the top singles title in Maple Leaf Wrestling from 1978 until 1984,. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 06. ” (Now there’s an understatement!) – Based on current trends and advertising, SuperBrawl is looking to do. – 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. 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. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 02. 94. – 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. 24. By Scott Keith on 18th April 2022. Ric Flair pinned Butch Reed in 14:13 to earn a tag title shot at Starrcade. Also, Prime Time Wrestling is just getting destroyed on Monday nights and is down to a 1. Wrestling Observer Historical Pieces. 96. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 07. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 12. 95 (Part 1) So after Dave takes a week off, it’s a DOUBLE ISSUE featuring Wrestlemania XI, the show that drew so much money that Dave needed a second issue to contain it all!Wrestling Observer Flashback – 11. 95. 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. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 05. 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,. 04. – Both the WWF and Crockett are running Philly on 10/18, but there’s a law on the books that says no two wrestling promotions can run shows within 25 miles of each other, and the respective arenas are less than 25 miles away. The match died once Flair went out. 27. Welcome to 1996 WCW, notes our teaser for this week. – And now, let’s talk about pay-per-view. C. There are moments when you can pinpoint exactly when a major promotion started to go completely off the rails. 18. Just like the Untouchables, if you sign two of ours to a guaranteed contract, we sign one of yours to a guaranteed contract! And his hot wife! – Johnny B. – The new Stampede Wrestling has already taken all but one of the WWF’s TV clearances in Western Canada, so this doesn’t seem to be a winning venture for Vince. 95. 96. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 06. 5-11-1987. 15. 2. Terry Funk has retired. 12. – Art Barr’s petition for a wrestling license was denied by the commission once again. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 09. 96. 89. So with the year in PPV finally caught up, let us venture back to the world of 1994 again, with rumors of Hulk Hogan. 2 million, making it the largest gate in pro wrestling history. She is currently signed to WWE, where she performs on the. – 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. Dave thinks that the competition will be mostly for the better, with faster-moving storylines and better wrestling on TV. -. com~!Wrestling Observer Rewind • Dec. 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. The main event saw Tito Santana beating Bob Orton for the newly created AWF title in a *3/4 match. 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. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 03.