[ I apologize for the lateness. I just realized this has been sitting in the queue to be posted for two days. --HM ] = = = = = = = = = = [ WCW ] = = = = = = = = = = A tournament to crown the World Cruiserweight champion will be held in April 1996 in Japan with wrestlers from WCW, New Japan, and AAA. Really this time. :-) Scott Norton and Ice Train ("woo-woo") will form a tag team known as "Fire & Ice". Eric Bischoff is looking into getting group medical insurance for the WCW wrestlers. Didn't some wrestlers get fired from the WWF for trying to organize a union/get insurance in the 1980s? On 17 February, Lex Luger beat Johnny B Badd for the TV title; Badd won it back the next night. Benoit has signed on for another two years, so even though they aren't getting the best of pushes, all of the "New Japan Three" will have food on the table for the next couple years. Most reports put Benoit's salary around $125,000 per year. Nitro snagged the second "3.0+" rating of either Monday Night show since its debut when it got a 3.7 on 12 February 1996. The only other 3+ rating was Nitro on 15 January 1996. Most of the WCW wrestlers underwent drug testing on 7 February 1996. Brian Pillman hasn't responded to my email yet. :-) Eric Bischoff is considering moving the WCWSN tapings from Center Stage in Atlanta to Disney/MGM or Universal Studios in Florida. If WCW moves its headquarters to Orlando this would probably be a result of it. This would cut down on travel time for Hulk Hogan, Randy Savage, Paul Orndorff, and other WCW names, but could hurt many who live in Atlanta (Badd, Luger, Sting, etc). Sting and Lex Luger have taken out some interesting ads for their gyms. In one, Sting looks like Beavis and Lex is Butt-Head. In another, both are wearing diapers (Sting with baby bottle and teddy bear; Luger with pacifier). A "bill collector" will be harassing Diamond Dallas Page since he now has no money. The first installment took place at the 14 February 1996 Center Stage tapings. Also at the 14 February 1996 Center Stage tapings, The Public Enemy and Konnan had poor matches. The Public Enemy had a slightly better match against Sting and Luger later in tapings, as did Konnan against Brad Armstrong. Diamond Doll Kimberly accidentally crotched herself when she fell off the top rope before a Badd match. The 16 June 1996 Great American Bash will be held in Baltimore. WCW employees are no longer allowed to talk about the WWF on the air or in the press. The WWF may only be mentioned on the WCW 900 line, and then only when the content is objective and no jokes are made. This directive is coming from "high up in TBS" in case they need to look good in any lawsuits they file against the WWF. = = = = = = = = = = [ WWF ] = = = = = = = = = = Even though the Westminster Dog Show snagged a higher rating than *any* edition of Raw, USA has no plans to replace Raw. Nothing has been signed with the Ultimate Warrior. WWf will scrape together enough tag teams to hold a tournament for the titles due to Billy Gunn's injury. Keller reports that the first round will feature: HOG/PIG -vs- Marty Janetty/Rocker#2 Owen Hart/BBD -vs- Barry Horowitz/Hakushi Razor/Savio Vega -vs- 1-2-3 Kid/Tatanka Steve Austin is growing a goatee and will stay bald. Jeff Jarrett is out with a back injury incurred on 17 February 1996. Diesel plans on re-signing with the WWF. Razor Ramon must give his notice by next week if he plans to jump ship, since he signed a contract that rolls over automatically unless he gives a 90-day notice. = = = = = = = = = = [ ECW ] = = = = = = = = = = Paul E has banned the blade, so ECW is going to have to survive on the brawling, interviews, and workrate alone. Ugh... if this is what it takes to go national, I think I'd rather the federation stay regional and settle for watching it on tape. As everyone should have heard by now, "Brian Fucking Pillman" (as he called himself) showed up at ECW last weekend, calling Bischoff "a piece of fucking shit", as part of the WCW angle that ECW has agreed to go along with (since they get Pillman to draw for them for free while WCW pays his salary). To play up that he was more psycho than ECW and the angle itself (a meta-angle, if you will) Pillman threatened to pull out his johnson and take a wizz in the ring, with the ECW suits coming out to protest. ECW is still planning to book a multi-thousand seat arena in Manhattan. ECW got permission to use their current music for PPVs, which they plan to get rolling by the end of the year. = = = = = = = = = = [ MISC ] = = = = = = = = = = Inoki's World Wrestling Festival has been renamed the World Peace Wrestling Festival. It will be held June 1 in Los Angeles at either the Sports Arena or the Memorial Coliseum. Confirmed participating federations are WCW, AAA, EMLL, New Japan, All Japan, UFCI, Pancrase, and Rings. The WWF is still expected, but has not given official word as of yet. Inoki plans to make this an annual event. The 20 January 1996 UWF/UWA card in St Paul, Minnesota saw Kamikaze Kid do his first (to my knowledge) blade job as he lost to Lenny Lane. This was a pretty good match. Not sure if this is the same Kamikaze Kid who wrestled for Hammerlock Wrestling in England on 13 January 1996. Dean? For Torch 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.