I know, I know... it's been a while. First, my standard disclaimer that I'm at least four weeks behind in reading RSPW, so much of this may be old news, blah blah blah. In addition, I haven't watched the 29 Raw or Nitro yet and haven't picked up my tape of the most recent Clash. = = = = = = = = = = [ WWF ] = = = = = = = = = = Eric Bischoff phoned the WWF to tell them how much he liked the "Billionaire Ted" skits (probably because he wasn't in them). Eric later sent a "threatening letter" to the WWF. Even with Raw losing to Nitro on 15 Jan 1996 3.5 to 2.4 (the largest margin to date) the WWF is happy with their house show crowds (which have risen since dropping their "B" tour). The made over $280000 at MSG on 26 Jan 1996. Michaels has been adding to his post-match celebration by inviting fans into the ring and going out into the crowd to high-five fans. Expect to see this at the next PPV. Vince finally (one week before the Rumble) sent out paychecks for the September IYH. Most midcarders were VERY unhappy with their cut. Some only made a few hundred bucks. Injuries: Sid and Kid are both still out on short-term injuries. Kid had a tantrum in the lockerroom on 24 Jan 1996 about the Baby Bottle match. Neither he nor Razor is happy with it. Kid skipped the two shows prior to MSG and is out with a back injury he got at MSG. WrestleMania will likely see Vader vs Yokozuna. Vader/Monsoon is Vince & Leon's stab at the Paul Orndorff incident that led to Vader's dismissal. Jim Cornette is moving to Connecticut and has accepted Vince's offer as full-time assistant booker. Razor is having family troubles and is still unhappy with Vince for not getting him out of the inane Goldust feud. The best guess for Cactus Jack's gimmick is "The Mutilator". This explains the ear and the threatening letter sent to Monsoon. I guess I can see why Jack liked the gimmick Vince came up with. = = = = = = = = = = [ WCW ] = = = = = = = = = = The Clash of Champions got an amazing 4.5 buyrate, which makes it the most-watched cable wrestling event of all time. It was seen by 3,020,000 homes by over five million people. Wow. Not bad, considering there were a lot of people watching Bill Clinton that evening... The main event was seen in 3,550,000 homes was the fourth most-watched wrestling match in the history of the sport, behind Hogan/Flair 11/94, Sting/Black Scorpion 9/90, and Flair/Luger 9/90. WCW made a profit for the first time in seven years. They fudge the numbers with Turner-owned businesses being involved in production and not including Hogan's salary, but they still had a party because in the past they've lost tens of millions of dollars. They took a hit by having the live Nitros for the last 16 weeks of the year (reportedly costing around $150,000 an episode) but made TONS of revenue from advertisers with their consistently high ratings and favorable demographics (anyone catch that the snagged a major sponsor in McDonalds a few weeks back?). Because of this "success", Eric Bischoff has been given a three year extension to his WCW contract. Sources place it between $250,000 and $500,000 per year. The following WCW wrestlers were seen visiting the WWF's booth at the NATPE convention: - The Giant (Wight) - Brian Pillman (thus the rumors of him jumping ship) - The Nasty Boys (with the LOD and TPE in WCW they see themselves jobbing a lot more than just to Harlem Heat) - Ric Flair (cough) Flair was rewarded with the pin over Hogan on last week's Nitro for all the shit he's been put through lately. He may have to get more respect if WCW thinks he might jump ship again. He'll be fighting Badd on the 12 Feb 1996 Nitro. = = = = = = = = = = [ ECW ] = = = = = = = = = = 911 was given his notice by Dangerously after the 27 January 1996 ECW Arena show. He had become more annoying behind the scenes than Paul could stand and didn't want to job to Taz in their feud. He will job to his handler Sabu in his last match on 17 Feb 1996. Since Shane Douglas can't wrestle until his WWF contract expires, he has only been doing interviews thus far. Feeling left out, he has taken to running around with a clipboard scheduling the locker room interviews as well. The post-card interviews lasted until 6:00 in the morning instead of 7:00 or 8:00AM thanks to his organization. It sounds like he wants to work as more than a wrestler if Paul ever takes ECW more national than it is. Cactus Jack will have his send-off on March 9th, though sources say he will be back after a relatively short stint in the WWF. Somehow Keller is doing ECW TV recaps even though Prime is no longer in Minnesota. Don't tell me you bought a dish.... = = = = = = = = = = [ MISC ] = = = = = = = = = = I guess Antonio Inoki really *is* a great politician. Besides getting the largest crowd ever to a live event (that Korean gig last year) he is now organizing the World Wrestling Festival ("WWF"?) at the LA Sports Arena on 18 May 1996. He managed to get both AAA and EMLL there for it. WCW has formally agreed. The WWF has given tentative word as well. This is where you say "holy shit" and make sure the calendar doesn't say "April 1". Inoki wanted to get Bischoff and McMahon together (like he did with Pena and Alonzo) when the Clash was in Las Vegas. Eric was there and agreed to it. McMahon (not surprisingly) would rather not be around Bischoff but had WWF representatives meet with Inoki last week and reached a tentative agreement. It will also have representative matches form Japanese promotions, but will probably not have any inter-promotional matches. The main Event will be Vader (not representing the WWF) vs Inoki (representing himself). This is expected to sell out within hours. Chances for a live PPV of it are slim, and the WWF and WCW each have a PPV the same week as this event. The 20/20 piece on Dan Sevren will be on the 29 Feb 1996 edition of the show. Keller reports that the David Shultz that was shot recently IS the same as "Dr D" David Shults. I thought Dr D was now Isaac Yankem. Did I miss something? Pancrase will have a $9.95 PPV in April. It was taped on 28 Jan 1996. Frank Shamrock wins the title in the Main Event. There is an *excellent* multi-part interview with Konnan in the next few issues of The Torch. The 3 Feb 1996 issue also has the text of the great interview with Cactus Jack at the 27 Jan ECW show. For subscription info, write to Wade Keller As always, the info in this post comes from various sources, hotlines, and newsletters. All names are trademarks of someone else. :-) This article is copyright 1996 Otto E Heuer. All rights reserved.