He was at the other guys’ PPVs this year taking notes, as well as New Japan and All Japan’s major shows. 19. Tenryu as the main event of a show on 2/7. 24. Jerry Lawler in a cage match where the loser gets his head shaved. 01. Sorry. Identifier-ark. 0-1. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 08. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 10. 22. Continue reading. Dusty is certainly the top candidate, and that theory is bolstered by the house show results from the past week, which saw Dusty doing 90 second jobs to VIRGIL at every show. – But first, speculation is still running rampant in the wake of Ole Anderson getting fired as booker. By Scott Keith on 18th April 2022. Internet Archive HTML5 Uploader 1. Wrestling Observer Flashback–09. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 03. Wrestling Observer Flashback–10. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 07. 95. (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. 19 as I try to get as much done as possible in advance. This got the most heat of the night from all the sumo fans, because they’re not hardcore wrestling fans and just knew Kitao as the “bad boy”, and thus booed the shit out of him and cheered everything Earthquake did. 96. Was shit real before? Well, it’s about to become real. 96. Here’s a shocking story to start this week’s issue: Dave is a really big fan of New Japan Pro Wrestling. 95. WWE News. Wrestling Observer Flashback–03. 21,499 likes · 18,642 talking about this. Hosted by Sean Oliver, he welcomes guest the Honky Tonk Man as he talks about SummerSlam ’88. 3-21-1988. The taped episode of RAW wasn’t particularly different than any other one they’ve. By Scott Keith on 9th November 2017. 94. Wrestling Observer Rewind ★ Dec. Rude/Vader tag match, the highest rating for any wrestling match on TV in more than a year. It’s a patented Slow News Week as we head into Summerslam, but the issue is still 10 pages. ) An industry shaking death in this issue, but. 02. Bobby Eaton pinned Chip the Firebreaker in 4:52 with a back suplex. Wish me luck! – The top story is Dave being confused by a unique gimmick match in Memphis, with Austin Idol v. By Scott Keith on 26th May 2016. 8 this week. They even flew in Steve DiSalvo as part of the ring crew to. So don’t be disappointed at the lack of a review here. Perfect won a battle royale in 12:55. The. Max Moon was eliminated quickly because his spaceship was double-parked. Jack Petrik would have to wage war against the WWF and spent lots of money to win, and it. By Scott Keith on 19th September 2016. 15th September 2023 by Scott Keith Rants Wrestling Observer Flashback – 12. Wrestling Observer Flashback–05. – 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. 22. 05. Severn. Wrestling breakup and Cornette getting his face shoved in a birthday cake. – Lead story is the WWF planning a giant stadium show in Milwaukee, which ended up being called WrestleFest 88, to basically screw with Crockett’s plans to run a Bash show the night after. – So things are getting mighty crowded on TBS, in what would turn out to be a giant turning point for the wrestling industry. – Dave sums up the last PPV of 1996 as “solid but unspectacular”. – It’s sounding like Scott Steiner will work Halloween Havoc, but won’t be doing much. No one tell Donald Trump. THE WAR IS ON. – Dave relates a brief history of World Championship Wrestling, and how TBS purchased the company in 1988 despite their crippling debt. 96. (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. – So, Dave says goodbye and announces that this is the final issue of the Observer. 88. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 04. 96. 96 September 9, 2023; Morning Daily News Update September 9, 2023; Mike Reviews WWE Capitol Punishment 2011 September 9, 2023; Question September 9, 2023; Jey Uso trade to Raw September 9, 2023; Weekend Wrestling! September 9, 2023Wrestling Observer Flashback–12. – In the top story, Sports Illustrated had a story on the WWF in March, and no one in mainstream media really gave a shit. 96. 26. Also, ROYAL RUMBLE. 6. ”This is horrible, Gorilla. But if you’re reading it in the archives in December, then MERRY CHRISTMAS! – Continuing on with the saga of Dynamite Kid’s messed up back, he was flown into Calgary for surgery after being paralyzed from the waist down. “Which is great for wrestling, I guess. 96. 96. It was basically just a backdrop for the Virgil babyface turn. 02. – In a story that seems small but kind of ended up heralding the end of an era in wrestling, the way. By Scott Keith on 29th August 2016. 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”. 16. Wrestling Observer Flashback–02. 11. 22. – Another quiet week in the world of wrestling, as we’re waiting for Starrcade and Superdome results. 5. Terry Funk has retired. 03. 15. Wrestling Observer Flashback–02. Dave, however, cites the court case of Boy v. Raw drew its best 18-49 number since the start of football season. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 02. We’re almost there! One week left! – It’s almost time for the new fall season of wrestling, and it’s a big one. – It’s COLD WAR in Toronto. 96. 08. Well, one week left until the WWF really goes off a cliff. – 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. Day off from work today, so I’ve got some time to craft another Flashback! Your Spotify soundtrack for this one is Queensryche’s “Operation Mindcrime”, an album that it took me many years to get into, which is weird because I was a big fan of “Empire”. Ocr. – Andre’s beginnings in the sport are something of a mystery. 18. -Pro Wrestling 1983-1987. 3. Heyman is making. *3/4. 29. On May 2 they did an angle where the AWA World title was held up following a Bockwinkel/Hennig match where Hennig used a foreign object. The one in 1995, although you might also assume I was talking about the NXT one recently because that one wasn’t great either. Wrestling Observer Flashback–07. – 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. But goddamn is “Eyes of a Stranger. 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. 95. Trying these in the afternoon again because the blog is always SUPER dead after lunchtime. 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. ”) 3. Winner of the 2016 Doomie Award for Favorite Blog Post!. Wrestling Observer Flashback–06. By Scott Keith on 14th March 2019. The first wrestling move of the match came at 10:00, which was Hogan no-selling the powerbomb and making his comeback. Guys, it sounds like the Diamond Studd will soon be appearing in WCW again! We’ll see how that goes for them. Survivor Series!World Wrestling Federation presented a live pay-per-view event special live from Hartford, Conn. Newsletter, Magazine, Wrestling, WWF, WCW, All Japan, New Japan. By Scott Keith on 24th July 2019. It’s like Wrestlemania, but for NEWS. – In our top story, Curt Hennig has apparently reached an agreement to jump from the WWF to WCW, as an active wrestler. – Latest figures are in, and WCW is looking like a 0. 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 – 03. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 09. 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. – Jim Cornette continues bringing the funny. 28. (Clearly Wrestlemania had not become the thing it is today, because $429 barely gets you a nosebleed seat at this point. There’s a big main event at the Tokyo Dome! And it sure didn’t go down how anyone expected. By Scott Keith on 18th April 2022. 30th August 2017 by Scott Keith. By Scott Keith on 19th March 2016. 94. 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. Sacramento Memorial Auditorium. 96. 25. 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. 11. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 02. Trying to power through this one before UFC 200. 95. 21. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 08. Mid Atlantic Gateway and Wrestling Observer historical files. 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. Papa Shango ran in for the DQ, and Ultimate Warrior made the save, complete with entrance music. 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. 11th January 2017 by Scott Keith. 10-28-1991. By Scott Keith on 22nd September 2023 Wrestling Observer Flashback – 12. 5-11-1987. 22. (Just wait until Slamboree. It’s the year end awards issue! Lots to argue about here, I’m sure. – There’s very little going on due to Christmas, but Jerry Lawler did regain the USWA title from Koko B. – 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. They of course had an immediate roster of excuses, mainly that it was scheduled on a night with really tough competition on TV. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 09. 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. – 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. Dave thinks it was counterproductive to kill off the Rockers like that. 10-21-1991. – 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. 28. 95. 96 IT’S TIME. ABBYY FineReader 11. Wrestling Observer Flashback–10. 09. 25. – 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. The biggest story of the week is actually buried way down. By Scott Keith on 1st October 2017. Ric Flair (“He’s slowed down a bit”) 2. Rants. 16. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 04. 87. *1/4. 23. 95. So let’s take a look at what’s going on in the international scene!6. Owen Hart was the second-best star of the show after Flair. Earthquake John Tenta was scheduled to work a tour for EMLL in Mexico, but left after one show, claiming he was stiffed on his payoff. FLASH REPORT FROM THE TOKYO DOME SHOW ON 1/4! 1. Addeddate. 94. – On the bright side, Warrior v. He says he was promised $2,500 and they only paid him $1,500. 0 (Extended OCR) Ppi. 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. Brian Pillman pinned Badstreet with a flying bodypress in the light heavyweight tournament semi-final at 6:52. – So UFC III was supposed to be another easy ride for Royce Gracie, but in fact the KING IS DEAD. 09. 19. wrestling business himself, negotiating with Buster Douglas for a Tokyo Dome show in March. Shinjiro Otani retained the UWA junior heavyweight title pinning El Samurai. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 10. 95. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 09. 95. 90. 29. 96. The Best of the Wrestling Observer-Greatest matches of the Observer years-15 most influential wrestlers of the past five. )3. According to Dave’s minions, there was confusion about. ” notes Dave. After Stan Lane lost to the Patriot on the Global show, Cornette launched into a tirade about how it was a conspiracy against Stan, just like the cops conspired against his good friend. ”. A January 1966 issue of Vue magazine featuring Bill Hook and his octopus-wrestling adventures in Victoria, B. 96. Whoa oh, whoa oh, it’s Wrestlemania. 96 IT’S TIME. 92. Well this was all well and good, but wrestling magazines found out about it and started publishing stories and photos, and the NWA had to go into coverup mode. 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. It’s time for SUMMERSLAM! But first, the WWF is messing with their PPV schedule again. Collection. Wrestling Observer Flashback–06. 88. Kayfabe Commentaries Releases Newest Installment of Their “Supercard” Series. Couldn’t do this one last night, because Daredevil is a thing that exists. By Scott Keith on 27th October 2016. DUD – Ric Flair still hasn’t officially signed with the WWF, but it’s a formality at this point. The main event saw Tito Santana beating Bob Orton for the newly created AWF title in a *3/4 match. 1. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 12. Lesson the Fourth: Antonio Pena is the new innovator in wrestling and everyone should listen to him. Wrestling Observer Flashback–11. – 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. – Next up TV ratings, which went from an average of 2. 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. 7th. Baba had actually been. Dave sarcastically notes that “it sure turned Brett Sawyer. Unfortunately, he was the furthest thing from an. – The WWF announced that the Wrestling Classic did about 60,000 buys on PPV, which was 200,000 less than their announced projections. Ken Wayne found the body after. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 05. Wrestling Observer Flashback–02. – San Fran is the big head-to-head battle between the AWA and WWF, and Vince won that one handily thus far. 22. By Scott Keith on 5th February 2016. 96. – The show drew 7000 with 4700 paid and a $94,000 house. ”. 11. I’ve noticed a sudden uptick in 1985-related questions on the Wrestling Observer radio show lately. Oh, Dave. 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. 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. Topics. At one point, UWFI was one of the biggest success stories in wrestling, and in 1993, they drew 46,000 fans to a. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 12. – Vince McMahon is apparently planning to sue Sgt. 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. 21. It's a recap of the old issues of Dave Meltzer's Wrestling Observer Newsletter. 87. Pillman was playing subtle heel to start and got less subtle as the match went on. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 03. Dave thinks that the competition will be mostly for the better, with faster-moving storylines and better wrestling on TV. 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. By Scott Keith on 22nd August 2022. 20 to an average of 2. The Twin Towers beat the Rockers at 8:02 when Akeem splashed and pinned Michaels. Nasty Boys retained the tag titles over the Bushwackers in 6:46. Despite running in the red for the past three years, both WCW and the WWF are confident that they’re going to be profitable in 1995 thanks to this new-fangled PPV market. Wrestling Flashback publishes wrestling list videos, top 10’s, the history of classic. 20. 23. THANKSGIVING FLASHBACK - November 23, 1972. I’m actually recovering from a shoulder injury at work today but I’ll power through an Observer Flashback for you. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 08. Welcome to 1996 WCW, notes our teaser for this week. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 11. Nasties sold well at least. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 10. Join Dave Meltzer and Brian Alvarez for coverage of the latest in wrestling and mixed-martial arts. com & WrestlingObserver. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 08. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 08. 88. 95. Public Enemy went to a double DQ with the Nasty Boys in 4:02. – Interestingly, the WWF was shown to be popular with 18-25 year olds, with men twice as well represented as women. 0 (Extended OCR) Ppi. 11. The previous record was 69,000 for the Big Event. 23. 92. Dave runs down the TV shows over the past month and it’s all classic stuff, like the Magnum TA-Mr. tesseract 5. Wrestling Observer Flashback–12. Wrestling Observer Flashback–09. 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. 27. – The Ole Anderson & Gordon Solie version of World Championship Wrestling returned to TBS on 8/13, so in fact we missed the entire Black Saturday era! – The Road Warriors won the AWA tag team titles from the Crusher & the Baron as Dave breathes a sigh of relief, and apparently this was booked very last minute because Vince. Man, so people REALLY did not like that In Your House show. By Scott Keith on 15th March 2021. Dave is flabbergasted by how bad a show it was, wondering if this was a dream or a nightmare that he hasn’t woken up from. By Dave Meltzer Nov 21, 2023. ). By Scott Keith on 18th October 2016. 03. 86. It's a recap of the old issues of Dave Meltzer's Wrestling Observer Newsletter. 96. But this week, we’ve got Summerslam to attend to. (This is why Dave needs an editor. 04. 17. Wrestling Observer Flashback–12. 05. 16. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 07. 10. 28. ark:/13960/s2tmw3h1hz8. 13. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 07. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 01. 24. – Also on the show, Scott Norton & Tony Halme won the IWGP tag titles from the Steiner Brothers in kind of a stinker. 14. The show would air live every Saturday night, from New York, and would cater heavily to an. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 12. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 10. – In the top story, the UFC has decided to drop the superfight concept after the debacle that was Shamrock v. 96. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 02. – 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. – The Rougeaus are telling Montreal newspapers that they’re taking a one year sabbatical from wrestling before returning late in 1990. At the latest WWF tapings, a guy named Mantaur debuted. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 05. The suit alleges unfair competition, trademark. – Moving on, Joe Pedicino has purchased Jerry Jarrett’s syndicated TV network with the millions of dollars he’s got coming from Nigeria. Chip screwed up early, but it was decent by the end. It drew a legit sellout of 5708 to West Palm Beach. Manuel Cruz (Jose Gonzalez) b Beauregarde;. Publication date. – Actually, first it’s a bit of political talk, as Hiroshi Hase won election to the senate in Japan. 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. By Scott Keith on 14th August 2016. Apparently Bret Hart’s negotiations with WCW were so potentially fruitful that someone else is wanting to give it a try. 95. And NOW the main event! Hog Wild 96 and the introduction of the Observer Hall. Ware on 12/14, as expected. – Dave gets a funny bit when he notes that ever since taking over as booker, Dundee has suddenly gained amazing recuperative powers in his matches. 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. 06. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 11. 95. Wrestling Observer Flashback–08. 03. 18. 96. 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. Perfect. Wrestling Observer Flashback–04. At 4:00, Warrior splashed Demolition Axe. – Art Barr’s petition for a wrestling license was denied by the commission once again. Well, that probably won’t happen again for a while. Continue reading Rants. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 12. He was the person credited with popularizing the superplex, although he didn’t invent it. 27. – 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. When it comes to catching and wrestling a giant. ark:/13960/t2z39wg7w. Bobby Eaton pinned Terrence Taylor in 15:41 with the Alabama Jam. – The WWF is on hiatus for a bit after WM, so Dave apologizes in advance for the light news week. Dodge Iowa. Ted Dibiase & Virgil beat Dusty & Dustin Rhodes at 9:57. The 85 issues are quite a trip, since it’s a very different writing style than even these ones. – 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.