.heuer004@gold.tc.umn.edu (Otto "Hack-Man" Heuer) wrote:
|  = = = = = = = = = = [ WCW ] = = = = = = = = = =
| 
| Before the most recent tapings at Disney/MGM
| studios, the announcer said that in July and August *all* WCW TV will
| be done from the Disney. This includes Monday Nitro and WCWSN, two
| shows that have been really good over the last few months partially
| *because* they did not take place in a studio. It was announced that
| the shows would be live (which will make Nitro interesting, as the
| park closes at 7:00pm)

I'm going to guess that all Nitros will be pre-taped for this time
period.

| and held at various locations around the park.
| This will apparently only be for the duration of the Olympics, so they
| should be back to spontaneous audience reactions by mid-August.

I expect Nitro's ratings to plummet during this month-and-a-half.  A
big part of watching wrestling is having a crowd filled with wrestling
fans.  If they just want a bunch of sheep who will cheer and boo on
command, why not just build a bunch of robots like they have at other
attractions at Disneyland.

| DEAN MALENKO defeated SHINJIRO OHTANI for the
| WCW Cruiserweight Belt at the Disney tapings. 

And this is scheduled to air on 18 May 1996 (one day before the
Slamboree PPV).  BRAD ARMSTRONG will be fighting for the Cruiserweight
title against Malenko on the PPV.  Hopefully Malenko will be allowed
to hold the title for longer than one day (in the TV timeline).
Although I *do* want Armstrong to hold the gold in the future, I just
think a lot of title changes cheapens the belt.

| I guess this means they
| have probably cut out the middle-man in the original report of the
| title going from SHINJIRO OHTANI to BRAD ARMSTRONG to DEAN MALENKO (as
| reported last week).

Of course, they might have just re-arranged the order.  It may be
going from SHINJIRO OHTANI to DEAN MALENKO to BRAD ARMSTRONG.

| MEAN MIKE ENOS (formerly one half of the Destruction Crew) is now
| teaming with DIRTY DICK SLATER as DOWN AND DIRTY.

Enos is said to really be getting into the heal role and playing the
crowd really well (much like Diamond Dallas Page).

| FLYBOY ROCCO ROCK chanted "HOGAN HOGAN" along with the crowd. 

I hope it will be explained by the announcers as TPE mocking Hogan
rather than trying to be babyfaces.

| EDDY GUERRERO may have sustained an injury after a match with 
| CHRIS BENOIT.

Anyone heard anything more on this?  I hope he's all right, as he is
my favorite cruiserweight wrestler.

| To make up for all the top name WCW wrestlers being in
| Japan a couple weeks back, Japanese wrestlers were in Florida

Along with Sonny Onoo.  Since I only watch Nitro, I was spared his
last stint (and this one as well, it would seem).  The downside is
that I miss the great Japanese wrestlers. :-/

| for the
| WCW Worldwide tapings at Universal(?).

I assume that the hotline meant "Disney/MGM" (unless Universal is part
of the same company).

| Shark has been working house shows for
| WCW (but doesn't have a contract).

Doh!  And here I was hoping he would jump to the WWF and increase the
workrate in both federations!

| The reason THE BELFAST BRUISER won't be at the 19 May 1996 Slamboree
| PPV isn't due to injury (as the WCW storyline is playing).  He simply
| had accepted a match in OTTO WANZ' promotion in Austria before WCW had
| a chance to book him in the US.

Anyone remember when Otto Wanz wrestled in the AWA around the 1980
time frame?  Any truth to the rumor that I was named after him? :-)

| The rumors are back that JEFF JARRETT will be coming into WCW.  
[...]
| which time he would come in as a Captain Planet-like character.

Doh!

| From CNN: Not sure if this'll affect his WCW match(es) with STEVE
| "MONGO" MCMICHAEL, but KEVIN GREENE has signed a two year deal with
| the Carolina Panthers for $1,000,000/year.

The Torch pretty much said Greene would not be in WCW, but ESPN just
did a story on Greene, WCW, and the Panthers where it sounded like it
was still a "go" for Greene/Mongo vs Flair/whomever.

| Renegade is back and will have a new gimmick.

Hope he's polished off the rough edges.  He showed a lot of promise
when he first came in (some good moves off the ropes/turnbuckle) but
missed a lot of the basic moves (clotheslines, etc).

| SIR OLIVER HUMPERDINK may be back in WCW soon.

Doh!

| From RSPW: DIAMOND DALLAS PAGE should be back in time to replace
| ROBBIE "HARDWORK" WALKER at the 19 May 1996 Slamboree PPV.  

Hmmm... It'll be nice to have DDP back (since I only watch Nitro&Raw I
haven't seen any of the "homeless" spots that have shown up on other
WCW programs) but from what I've heard (he hasn't been on Nitro yet so
I haven't seen him) I'm sorry Walker won't be getting a PPV
appearance.

| JUSHIN THUNDER LIGER is expected to take the US title from KONNAN at
| the 19 May 1996 Slamboree PPV.

I expect the match quality to go up (I had heard good things about
Konnan only to see a guy with as much talent as "Oz") but how often
will Liger be in the US to defend the belt?  Or will he drop it on
Nitro the next night?

|  = = = = = = = = = = [ WWF ] = = = = = = = = = =
| 
| Mr Perfect CURT HENNIG will not
| be getting into the ring in the near future, but will be getting more
| involved in the SHAWN MICHAELS angle nevertheless (which probably
| means managing Michaels' opponents).

So will Perfect be involved in the whole "Shawn stealing wives" angle
(possibly the mastermind behind the whole angle) or will he just be
managing Vader after Shawn destroys the British Bullfrog?

| Expect to see SID VICIOUS back in the WWF before the
| summer is over.

Someone guessed he might be coming in as a ref, but if they do the
Downtown Bruno as a heel ref angle it would seem overkill to have two
high-profile refs (unless Sid Justice is there to rid the federation
of the evil Wippleman).

| The WWF is planning to get more of what they see as
| "hardcore" in the next two IYH PPVs. 

This apparently refers to the Shawn wife-stealing angle, the Wildman's
valet-stealing angle, the whole deal with Sunny, etc.

| This must be why the only team they are apparently interested
| in of ECW's is The Dudley Clan.  Well, it *is* the most cartoonish, so
| it would probably fit best in the WWF.

Ooops.  I meant for that last comment to be part of this followup, as
it is more opinion than info.

| From ESPN:  Olympic weightlifter MARC HENRY (the guy that pressed
| JERRY THE KING LAWLER over his head at the episode of Monday Night Raw
| a month or two back) will be coming into the WWF as a wrestler later
| this year.  The WWF is sponsoring him for the olympics.

Does this mean we'll see the WWF logo on TBS next month?

| From the Torch: HARVEY WIPPLEMAN will be back in the WWF as a heel
| referee as the WWF tries to take another page out of ECW's playbook.

Although I haven't watched my tape of Monday's Raw yet, I assume from
what I read in the Torch that what I posted last week was true (about
DiBiase adding the Chauffeur stipulation to the Vega match).

|  = = = = = = = = = = [ ECW ] = = = = = = = = = =
| 
| Jeff Amdur reports that Steve Richards is back in the ring wrestling.

This is a Good Thing.  But isn't it kinda soon to be coming back
(protective headgear or not)?  He's reportedly been taking some decent
bumps since coming back as well.  Hope his insurance covered most of
the costs.  Does he have Lloyd's of London like most of the big names
do?

|  = = = = = = = = = = [ MISC ] = = = = = = = = = =
| 
| REY MISTERIO JR plans to get married this Saturday. PSICOSIS is slated
| to be his best man. JUVENTUD GUERRERA will also be in attendance.

Anyone expect a run-in from Loose Cannon Brian Pillman? :-)

Oh, it seems that Judge Cohn discovered some time in the last week
that pro-wrestling is fixed

| The Minnesota RSPW Mutants will make their next appearance:
|   PROMOTION:  Northern Premier Wrestling
|   DAY:        Thursday 9 May 1996
|   TIME:       7:30PM, which means 8:00 (I'll be there around 6:45)
|   WHERE:      Lakeside Ballroom in Waconia, MN
|   DIRECTIONS: west of 494 on Hwy 5; the ballroom is right on the hwy
|   WHO:        Nightstalker vs Scotty Z
|               The Hater vs Billy Blaze
|               Lenny Lane vs Dan Jesser (title match)
|               JB Trask vs Horace the Psychopath (this one will 
|                 be all over the building, and according to Horace
|                 "blood will be spilled")
|               plus a six-man tag match main event
|               Kenny Jay and Kamikaze Kid will also be there
|               according to Mick Karch.
| Send me email if you plan to attend and we'll watch for you (and try
| to save you a seat if you can't get there early).  Last time we had
| about 15 in the Minnesota RSPW Mutants group.

This is tomorrow (as I write this).  Sorry about the short notice.
I'll try to have a write-up from any notes I take, but may give up on
note-taking if the action is more fun to watch. :-)