Big stuff in the news this week, and the start of the biggest shift in coverage in the history of the Observer. 86. (Perhaps it’s time to revamp the show a bit?) – Famous San Francisco promoter Roy Shire passed away this week, after suffering a heart attack on 9/16 and dying 10 days later in the hospital. Observer Flashbacks; Wrestling Observer Flashback–04. Public Enemy went to a double DQ with the Nasty Boys in 4:02. 86. – The WWF is on hiatus for a bit after WM, so Dave apologizes in advance for the light news week. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 12. 96 (Part Two) BUT WAIT THERE’S MORE! – ECW also held their biggest show ever, the 1996 November to Remember, which was an immediate sellout of 1500 people at the ECW Arena, and Dave even attended the show! – Steve Richards pinned David Morton Tyler Jericho in 9:25, as Stevie had his. 96. – And now, let’s talk about pay-per-view. Wrestling Observer Flashback–04. Wrestling Observer Rewind ★ Dec. 22. The one in 1995, although you might also assume I was talking about the NXT one recently because that one wasn’t great either. 4. Oh, Dave. 92. By Scott Keith on 27th October 2016. 22. 31. Manuel Cruz (Jose Gonzalez) b Beauregarde;. So don’t be disappointed at the lack of a review here. 95. – To Mexico, where it looks like EMLL is about to split. 94. 04. There are moments when you can pinpoint exactly when a major promotion started to go completely off the rails. By Scott Keith on 29th August 2016. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 08. 27. 11. 01. Kayfabe Commentaries Releases Newest Installment of Their “Supercard” Series. – Also, NBC is really sniffing around wrestling now like a dog in heat and they seem to desperately want to be in business with the WWF. 94. – Kevin Sullivan is a road agent now and appears done with wrestling. 07. Rude/Vader tag match, the highest rating for any wrestling match on TV in more than a year. 0 (Extended OCR) Ppi. Buyrate looks to be between 0. 86. – In Mid-South, we get the first Observer mention of young rookie Sean Michaels in Mid-South, as he pins Jack Victory. 14. The 85 issues are quite a trip, since it’s a very different writing style than even these ones. But I think it’s a pretty famous case of hotline sleaze related to Blackwell’s death. 96. The 1997 Observer Rewind shall resume this on Aug. 2. 1985 Wrestling Observer Yearbook. Wish me luck! – The top story is Dave being confused by a unique gimmick match in Memphis, with Austin Idol v. Spoiler: Dave gives WarGames 3/4. This week is one of them. 7th. 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. 94. – Inoki’s business-killing freakshow ended up drawing 11,000 people for somewhere between $800,000 – $1. 05. Couldn’t do this one last night, because Daredevil is a thing that exists. Wrestling Observer Flashback–10. – 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. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 02. 11th January 2017 by Scott Keith. 90. So with the year in PPV finally caught up, let us venture back to the world of 1994 again, with rumors of Hulk Hogan. 96. 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. Dave thinks that the WWF is turning into more of a circus of litigation than a wrestling company. Eaton did a scary kneedrop from the top rope to the ramp outside the ring for the highlight of the match. – In a story that seems small but kind of ended up heralding the end of an era in wrestling, the way. – 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. Just for fun, here’s Dave’s Summer 1984 Rankings. 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. 96. – 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. – Next up, Dave offers a preview of the next WCW PPV, Uncensored, which he sums up thusly: “On paper it looks like a weak show as none of the matches look to be sure bets to be good. Topics. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 05. For It’s Time. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 06. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 06. Lesson the Fourth: Antonio Pena is the new innovator in wrestling and everyone should listen to him. 28. 95. By Dave Meltzer Nov 21, 2023. 14. 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. By Scott Keith on 16th December 2017. as the big blue cage that quickly became synonymous with Titan was actually purchased and flown in from Stampede Wrestling, because the normal chain link cage was too hard for Hogan to climb. For It’s Time. 30th August 2017 by Scott Keith. It's great historical reading of the rise and fall of wrestling's biggest boom period. Wrestling Observer Flashback–08. 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. – Van Hammer won the arm wrestling tournament, beating Ron Simmons in the finals, which Dave interprets as continuing his newfound push. The New Foundation beat the Orient Express in 17:18. 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. 88. Well, that probably won’t happen again for a while. 10-28-1991. 95. 23, because for every viewer gained on Nitro, there was a viewer lost on Saturdays and it kind of averaged out. Wrestling Observer Flashback–04. 5-11-1987. 16. 96. 5 million as a startup amount and NOW got $480,000, and once they’ve blown through that, he’s done. 19. 20. 11. – The big story this week is Dave’s preview of the Ultimate Ultimate 96!. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 10. See if you can guess when we get to it. Wrestling Observer Flashback–08. And now, for the first time I can remember, the UFC gets the lead story. ” notes Dave. (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. – 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. 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. 16. 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”. – In Japan, SWS continues to alienate Japanese wrestling fans by booking WARLORD v. 30. Was shit real before? Well, it’s about to become real. – The WWF announced that the Wrestling Classic did about 60,000 buys on PPV, which was 200,000 less than their announced projections. ” (Now there’s an understatement!) – Based on current trends and advertising, SuperBrawl is looking to do. 01. Until then, there’s the Clash! – Dave was in Japan for DreamSlam (very short version: It was an amazing show) and missed the Clash of Champions from Jacksonville, but to say it wasn’t well received would be an. – The sudden fall of the company seems to stem from the ridiculous circus that was the Yoji Anjyo grandstand challenge to Rickson Gracie, with fans believing that Takada should have called out Gracie for the honor of the company. – Vince McMahon is apparently planning to sue Sgt. Papa Shango ran in for the DQ, and Ultimate Warrior made the save, complete with entrance music. 1. Warrior pinned Haku with the shoulderblock and splash in 4:48. Bobby Eaton pinned Terrence Taylor in 15:41 with the Alabama Jam. 89. Despite the strained relationship, Florida still bills itself as NWA wrestling. 94 So it turns out that WCW’s record buyrate for Halloween Havoc wasn’t quite what they anticipated… – The buyrate for Havoc 94 currently sits at 0. 90 / 07. By Scott Keith on 19th April 2016. The suit alleges unfair competition, trademark. Badd quit WCW on 3/11 after a discussion with Eric Bischoff in the airport, and will be signing with the WWF for three years. – Another quiet week in the world of wrestling, as we’re waiting for Starrcade and Superdome results. – Anyway, moving on…. 12. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 12. Winner of the 2016 Doomie Award for Favorite Blog Post!. They of course had an immediate roster of excuses, mainly that it was scheduled on a night with really tough competition on TV. It’s a patented Slow News Week as we head into Summerslam, but the issue is still 10 pages. Credit Dave Meltzer, Wrestling Observer Newsletter. By Scott Keith on 4th June 2016. 87. 95. This isn’t unique in itself, but if Idol. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 09. Wrestling Observer Flashback–02. I know, I know, I’ll give you a minute to let it sink in. George Scott has been fired as booker and replaced by the duo of Gary Hart and David Manning, so things are at least booked better now. 2 million, making it the largest gate in pro wrestling history. – San Fran is the big head-to-head battle between the AWA and WWF, and Vince won that one handily thus far. ”This is horrible, Gorilla. DUD – Ric Flair still hasn’t officially signed with the WWF, but it’s a formality at this point. By Scott Keith on 26th May 2016. – 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. 19 as I try to get as much done as possible in advance. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 10. 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. 93. 27th May 2016 by Scott Keith. 15th September 2023 by Scott Keith Rants Wrestling Observer Flashback – 12. – 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. Identifier. Continue reading. By Scott Keith on 14th March 2019. – Over in Japan, the first ever 24 hour wrestling and martial arts network, called “Fighting TV Samurai”, launched. By Scott Keith on 7th March 2017. Marc Mero pinned Hunter Hearst Helmsley in 16:23. 09. – Latest figures are in, and WCW is looking like a 0. Ric Flair pinned Butch Reed in 14:13 to earn a tag title shot at Starrcade. You can view a sneak preview below. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 10. Newsletter, Magazine, Wrestling, WWF, WCW, All Japan, New Japan. 96. Wrestling Observer Flashback: 07. Topics. 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. 94. 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. – 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. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 07. Michaels worked his ass off, although it came out later that he was hungover and stoned at the time. *3/4. Publication date. – Actually, first it’s a bit of political talk, as Hiroshi Hase won election to the senate in Japan. By on 9th March 2017. – 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. 567. 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. (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. A total brawl with great heat, although the DQ was called for no apparent reason. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 02. OK, after yesterday’s super-abbreviated edition (well the one I wrote at least, Dave was still 100,000 words into it) we’re back with a full double issue this time to recap all the stateside news! Continue reading Rants. 3. 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”. Wrestling Observer Flashback–07. According to Dave’s minions, there was confusion about. It's a recap of the old issues of Dave Meltzer's Wrestling Observer Newsletter. 20. 96. ”) 3. At one point, UWFI was one of the biggest success stories in wrestling, and in 1993, they drew 46,000 fans to a. 05. 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. ***1/4Wrestling Observer Flashback–03. Well this should do better than NWA Powerrr at least. The WWF drew 16000 and Crockett drew 3000, so point to Vince on that one. By Scott Keith on 14th January 2019. Wrestling Observer Flashback–03. 48 buyrate (120,000 buys) for the Great American Bash in June, with WWF doing 0. 96. 25. Specifically, advertisers look at stuff like this and use it to justify their already terrible ad rates for pro wrestling shows. The NWA Canadian Heavyweight Championship was the top singles title in Maple Leaf Wrestling from 1978 until 1984,. Ocr. ”. 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. – Dave sums up the last PPV of 1996 as “solid but. The low buyrate is being. 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,. Warlord won a battle royale by tossing out Ricky Steamboat. 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. 19. 13. 90. Perfect. 2. It’s like Wrestlemania, but for NEWS. The previous record was 69,000 for the Big Event. 18. He says he was promised $2,500 and they only paid him $1,500. (Just wait until Slamboree. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 08. 19. 22. 88. Tickets are 45,000 yen, which translates to $429, aka the most expensive wrestling tickets in history. Internet Archive HTML5 Uploader 1. C. Welcome to 1996 WCW, notes our teaser for this week. Thankfully, the Observer archives are fixed, so let’s get back into the swing of things again. – Although the WWF had “by far” the superior show, WCW won the ratings battle with a 2. It’s a patented Slow News Week as we head into Summerslam, but the issue is still 10 pages. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 08. Identifier-ark. Wrestling Observer Flashback–12. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 12. I guess I’ll just be typing one-handed. -. 96. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 10. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 08. 95. wrestling business himself, negotiating with Buster Douglas for a Tokyo Dome show in March. 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. – 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. 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. 24. By Scott Keith on 18th April 2022. 300. 19. 60 and 0. 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. Also, the fears about Sting winning the IWGP title from Muta proved unfounded, as Muta retained in a disappointing match where he was trying to be The Great Muta instead of Keiji Muto. 94. (Clearly Wrestlemania had not become the thing it is today, because $429 barely gets you a nosebleed seat at this point. 29. 0. 21. Join Dave Meltzer and Brian Alvarez for coverage of the latest in wrestling and mixed-martial arts. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 04. So let’s take a look at what’s going on in the international scene!6. – Also on the show, Scott Norton & Tony Halme won the IWGP tag titles from the Steiner Brothers in kind of a stinker. – The show drew 7000 with 4700 paid and a $94,000 house. And here we had gone for almost two months without a death. 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. (This is why Dave needs an editor. 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. – Next up TV ratings, which went from an average of 2. – So, Dave says goodbye and announces that this is the final issue of the Observer. I know, I know, what a bombshell. – Dave proclaims that no promotion is any hotter here in 1996, with more mainstream popularity, than NJPW is. Internet Archive HTML5 Uploader 1. Wrestlemania III was the best wrestling. 10-21-1991. He was indicted on 11/12 on counts. – Speaking of wanting to be in business with them, Jimmy Hart debuts in March as Greg Valentine’s manager, and King Kong Bundy debuts to have terrible matches with Hogan. – Whereas most people had to stand around on the beach and had a lousy view of the ring, rest easy knowing that there was a set of bleachers reserved for employees of Slim Jim. ABBYY FineReader 11. Back in the saddle with these again. Heyman is making. 27. And now it’s time for the MONDAY NIGHT WARS. Anyway, back to 1985 again… – The big news is that the war in St. 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. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 02. – The WWF continues to insist that Summerslam sold 80,000 tickets in the first day, and also announced several new matches for the show: Tatanka v. 23. 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. Sacramento Memorial Auditorium. 04. NEXT WEEK: The Monday Night War begins. Max Moon was eliminated quickly because his spaceship was double-parked. 3-28-1988. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 01. 95. Wrestling Observer Flashback–05. *1/2. 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. 2. 96. – Dave watched the 12/19 All Japan show, and dished out another full monty, this one for Misawa & Kobashi winning the tag team tournament over Kawada & Taue in. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 10. tesseract 5. 07. Dusty missed a blind charge and got pinned by Ted for the finish, ending his WWF career. Man, so people REALLY did not like that In Your House show. 23. Oh, and WCW tried to make a mini-movie and it didn’t go very well. While it seemingly wasn’t a major milestone in his life at that. 96. OK, let’s get back into these again. “Which is great for wrestling, I guess. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 07. Guess it’s time for another one of these. – 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. The ratings were just too low and the costs were just. – Jim Cornette continues bringing the funny. By Scott Keith on 9th November 2017. Piper on top. Lots of people have claimed to have discovered him, for example. 96. There’s a big main event at the Tokyo Dome! And it sure didn’t go down how anyone expected. 96. – In the top story, the UFC has decided to drop the superfight concept after the debacle that was Shamrock v. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 04. – Once again, it’s time for the most awesome feature in Observer Flashback history: – Our favorite whipping boy promotion, the UWF, debuted in New York with a TV taping, and surprisingly both Honky Tonk. WWE Raw draws strong ratings despite historic NFL competition. 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. 28. 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. By Scott Keith on 10th July 2016. 95. Wrestling Observer Flashback–02. 94. 14. Baba had actually been. The biggest story of the week is actually buried way down. 86. Terry Funk has retired. 88. Here’s a shocking story to start this week’s issue: Dave is a really big fan of New Japan Pro Wrestling. Chelsea Anne Cardona (née: Green; born April 4, 1991) is a Canadian professional wrestler, stuntwoman, and model. – 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. This was the one and only match in the whole tournament that actually showed why the division could. Louis is finally over, and the WWF has won. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 08. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 01. -The Mondo 19 most intriguing personalities of ‘86-30 key pro wrestling personalities of ‘86 with quick bios-Observer Awards, leading news stories of. Also, Prime Time Wrestling is just getting destroyed on Monday nights and is down to a 1. 95. Wolf, where. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 11. – Eddie Gilbert was found dead in his apartment in Puerto Rico on 2/18, at age 33. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 12. Dave notes we. 3/4. 95. 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. 95. – In the top story, Titan Sports filed a lawsuit against World Championship Wrestling on 6/20, stemming from the invasion angle with Hall and Nash. 03. – The biggest question coming out of Wrestlemania XII is the future of Bret Hart, as he’s expected to finish the tour of Germany and then go on a hiatus until the end of the summer. 11. Wrestling Observer Historical Pieces. – 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 /. Also, ROYAL RUMBLE. 91. Owen Hart was the second-best star of the show after Flair. Oh, Dave. – 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. Whoa oh, whoa oh, it’s Wrestlemania. By Scott Keith on 27th October 2016. – In our top story, Roddy Piper made a surprise debut at the end of the Halloween Havoc show, doing what Dave describes as an “undisciplined dialogue” with Hollywood Hogan that actually ran past the expiration of their PPV time. 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. 01.