Main event is. Which is still 10 pages long. – 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. 87. Lesson the Fourth: Antonio Pena is the new innovator in wrestling and everyone should listen to him. 15th September 2023 by Scott Keith Rants Wrestling Observer Flashback – 12. OK, 2005 posts are FINALLY complete, and I got to see Star Wars, so let’s get back to Observing. The team (Gene and Ole Anderson) dominated tag team. 4. Ocr. 29. 90. Piper on top. 96. The biggest story of the week is actually buried way down. 96. In fact, Dave thinks that people’s hatred of the dancing gimmick is overshadowing how much he’s improved as a worker. Nasty Boys retained the tag titles over the Bushwackers in 6:46. 96. Newsletter, Magazine, Wrestling, WWF, WCW, All Japan, New Japan. 16. 27th May 2016 by Scott Keith. Spoiler: Dave gives WarGames 3/4. – Dave sums up the last PPV of 1996 as “solid but. Wrestling Observer Flashback–06. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 10. Dave notes we. FLASH REPORT FROM THE TOKYO DOME SHOW ON 1/4! 1. – Anyway, moving on…. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 08. 96. 567. – Jim Cornette continues bringing the funny. – 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. At 4:00, Warrior splashed Demolition Axe. 96. 88. 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. 15. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 08. – Inoki’s business-killing freakshow ended up drawing 11,000 people for somewhere between $800,000 – $1. 96 (Part Two) – In the top story, “Sycle” Sid won the WWF title in the main event of the Survivor Series. 30, 1996 (Final Post for 1996) Going through old issues of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter and posting highlights in my own words. ”. Wrestlemania III was the best wrestling. 5-11-1987. 04. But this week, we’ve got Summerslam to attend to. Rude/Vader tag match, the highest rating for any wrestling match on TV in more than a year. *. It’s time for the CLASH OF CHAMPIONS, a flying elbow to the wrestling business that should have revived it! But first, a pretty major death to kick off the issue. 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. Chip screwed up early, but it was decent by the end. 94. 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. – Interestingly, the WWF was shown to be popular with 18-25 year olds, with men twice as well represented as women. Mike stuff and get into the main event: STARRCADE ‘84. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 08. 96. The match died once Flair went out. So I guess it’s a Wrestling Observer Flashback Flashback. 30th August 2017 by Scott Keith. Newsletter, Magazine, Wrestling, WWF, WCW, All Japan, New Japan. Wrestling Observer Flashback–02. Man, so people REALLY did not like that In Your House show. The Road Warriors beat the Midnight Express in a scaffold match in 3:00, which kind of ruins their videotape business, Dave thinks. 07. Addeddate. 21,499 likes · 18,642 talking about this. This isn’t unique in itself, but if Idol. Pillman was a little rusty but still got an excellent match out of Wright. Brian Pillman pinned Badstreet with a flying bodypress in the light heavyweight tournament semi-final at 6:52. -Pro Wrestling 1983-1987. Wrestling Observer Flashback–05. (This is why. Was shit real before? Well, it’s about to become real. Owen won with a Rocket Launcher on Tanaka. Kayfabe Commentaries Releases Newest Installment of Their “Supercard” Series. – The WWF is on hiatus for a bit after WM, so Dave apologizes in advance for the light news week. Marc Mero pinned Hunter Hearst Helmsley in 16:23. Tickets are 45,000 yen, which translates to $429, aka the most expensive wrestling tickets in history. 300. Wrestling Observer Flashback –04. 22. 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. – In the Deep South, the main guys are Wrestling II and Tommy Rich, and they run out of Georgia. 87. The PPV showdown of 1987 is upon us! It’s Vince v. Crockett! Dusty v. 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. Pillman tried a crucifix and Wright reversed it for the pin. 96. Survivor Series!World Wrestling Federation presented a live pay-per-view event special live from Hartford, Conn. Shinjiro Otani retained the UWA junior heavyweight title pinning El Samurai. Wrestling Observer Flashback–03. Well, one week left until the WWF really goes off a cliff. WWE Raw draws strong ratings despite historic NFL competition. Continue reading. 22. You can view a sneak preview below. – 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. 11. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 12. 01. 94. Dodge Iowa. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 01. – The big story this week is Dave’s preview of the Ultimate Ultimate 96!. – Dave’s opening salvo this week: “After its television show reached a new low in. It’s a patented Slow News Week as we head into Summerslam, but the issue is still 10 pages. We’re almost there! One week left! – It’s almost time for the new fall season of wrestling, and it’s a big one. Wrestling Observer Flashback–02. 96. 23. 01. 21. 19. By Scott Keith on 7th March 2017. Manuel Cruz (Jose Gonzalez) b Beauregarde;. 26. “Hey look, it’s Joe Weider” – Not sure what that refers to, but I’m sure we’ll find out. 94 (Part 2) – In the only non-tournament match on the show, Cactus Jack & Mikey Whipwreck won the tag titles from the Public Enemy after Terry Funk missed his flight and couldn’t make the show. 60 and 0. Although this one is dated after the Bash ‘90 PPV, the issue is written before. Did you think that Best of ECW Volumes 1 and 2 was as EXTREME as the blog was getting this week? Then prepare yourself, because it’s time for WCW UNCENSORED!– The weirdest story of the week comes from Japan (shocking, I know) where Lou Thesz is making waves in the business again. 88. 19. 95. 11. 96. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 02. There’s a big main event at the Tokyo Dome! And it sure didn’t go down how anyone expected. 27. Mid Atlantic Gateway and Wrestling Observer historical files. Collection. Observer Flashbacks; Wrestling Observer Flashback–04. And now, Dave would like to talk about PPV. 96. 28. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 10. – In the top story of the week, and in fact one of the top stories in wrestling history, Ric Flair was fired from WCW effective immediately when negotiations fell through. He was at the other guys’ PPVs this year taking notes, as well as New Japan and All Japan’s major shows. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 03. – Also on the show, Scott Norton & Tony Halme won the IWGP tag titles from the Steiner Brothers in kind of a stinker. 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. Understated Wrestling Observer Debuts! So new to the Memphis area is a prelim guy named Scotty the Body, who is getting booked like a total nothing and apparently his. By Scott Keith on 23rd November 2017. OK, let’s get back into these again. 18. 96. Andre started in the sport at the age of 12, already 6’3”, and fell in with a. 96. While it seemingly wasn’t a major milestone in his life at that. But first! An update on the Shawn Michaels incident in Syracuse. 01. Anyway, back to 1985 again… – The big news is that the war in St. 20. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 11. And since “long term thinking” these days is “three. 10. 96. Wrestling Observer Flashback–03. Baba apparently has plans to give Akiyama a major push down the line. By Scott Keith on 19th September 2016. Get all the news from F4WOnline. Bobby Eaton pinned Terrence Taylor in 15:41 with the Alabama Jam. 27. 95, which is good but well below the 2. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 08. By Scott Keith on 22nd September 2023 Wrestling Observer Flashback – 12. NEXT WEEK: The Monday Night War begins. wrestlingmagazinesmisc;. Wrestling Observer Flashback–09. Jack Petrik would have to wage war against the WWF and spent lots of money to win, and it. 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. This group will likely merge in and out with SWS and make appearances on their shows, and will have the pro wrestling ga-ga that Fujiwara wanted to work into the UWF promotion originally. But don’t be fooled by the Slow News, as two major promotions actually reach their finales this week, although we didn’t realize it at the time. This week is one of them. – So, Dave says goodbye and announces that this is the final issue of the Observer. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 04. I’m not. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 08. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 09. 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. Davey Boy Smith (“Athletically the best in the business. A total brawl with great heat, although the DQ was called for no apparent reason. 96. 26. By Scott Keith on 14th January 2019. 7. 95. – Anyway, moving on. 1. – 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”. The government side says it’s for “tactical reasons”, while the WWF. – San Fran is the big head-to-head battle between the AWA and WWF, and Vince won that one handily thus far. Ah, wrestling, where one guy can beat up another guy for real and flush his head. By Scott Keith on 19th March 2016. – Andre’s beginnings in the sport are something of a mystery. So after Masa Chono won the NWA title tournament, Thesz did a press conference for UWFI where he agreed to award his old NWA World title belt to the winner of the UWFI World title match between Takada and Gary. – Over in Japan, the first ever 24 hour wrestling and martial arts network, called “Fighting TV Samurai”, launched. – The top story of the week, and for a long time in general, was Ron Garvin winning the NWA World title from Ric Flair on 9/25 in their debut in Joe Louis Arena. The 1997 Observer Rewind shall resume this on Aug. 04. – 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. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 08. It's a recap of the old issues of Dave Meltzer's Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Papa Shango ran in for the DQ, and Ultimate Warrior made the save, complete with entrance music. – But first, the lead story is the rapid descent of UWFI, as they have reached out in desperation to New Japan for a combined show at the Tokyo Dome on 10/9 and maybe more after that. Ric Flair pinned Butch Reed in 14:13 to earn a tag title shot at Starrcade. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 03. Wrestling breakup and Cornette getting his face shoved in a birthday cake. 25. OK, let’s try this one more time. 95. Dave thinks that the WWF is turning into more of a circus of litigation than a wrestling company. – 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. 13. 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. 96. Scanner. 94. Wish me luck! – The top story is Dave being confused by a unique gimmick match in Memphis, with Austin Idol v. She is currently signed to WWE, where she performs on the. Thankfully, the Observer archives are fixed, so let’s get back into the swing of things again. 04. 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. 96. By Scott Keith on 24th July 2019. 6. 09. They’re owned by Jody Hamilton (Nick Patrick’s dad) and they do about 200 people per show. 96. -. By Scott Keith on 10th July 2016. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 05. Warlord won a battle royale by tossing out Ricky Steamboat. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 07. – Latest word on Maeda is that he’s got a new promotion in March, but Takada won’t come with. (Just wait until Slamboree. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 12. Raw drew its best 18-49 number since the start of football season. (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. And NOW the main event! Hog Wild 96 and the introduction of the Observer Hall of Fame awaits! This one took me a little bit longer to write than last night’s quickie, obviously. Daprice did every issue for the 90's through 2001. 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. – 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. By Scott Keith on 12th June 2016. 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. 23. 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. 12. The main event. 93. 95. – It’s sounding like Scott Steiner will work Halloween Havoc, but won’t be doing much. 94. wrestling business himself, negotiating with Buster Douglas for a Tokyo Dome show in March. -. By Scott Keith on 1st June 2019. 3. Wolf, where. 96. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 11. 23, because for every viewer gained on Nitro, there was a viewer lost on Saturdays and it kind of averaged out. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 12. 94. 05. The Vancouver version of the NWA Pacific Coast Heavyweight Championship was the major singles title in two National Wrestling Alliance-affiliated Vancouver territories. 26. For. Dave also lists the match with the Rock N Roll Express v. 94. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 04. on November 22, 1990 – “Survivor Series ’90. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 06. 19. The NWA Canadian Heavyweight Championship was the top singles title in Maple Leaf Wrestling from 1978 until 1984,. Wrestling Observer Flashback – Bret v. The grand plan for five days a week has been dropped and ESPN will air reruns of Pro Wrestling This Week instead. Internet Archive HTML5 Uploader 1. Here’s a shocking story to start this week’s issue: Dave is a really big fan of New Japan Pro Wrestling. By Scott Keith on 16th December 2017. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 11. 2 victory. 16. Guess it’s time for another one of these. 29. 3-28-1988. – 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. Tenta was pretty over during his one appearance, so EMLL is trying to get him back. – And now, let’s talk about pay-per-view. 4. 95. – To the WWF, where Wrestlemania III passed 70,000 tickets sold, officially making it the largest crowd ever to witness a wrestling show in North America. To the news!This is up for them, and Dave notes what a great night for wrestling that Thanksgiving really is, because even Central States almost drew money! Later, he corrects a previous title change, noting that Art Crews actually won the TV title from Gary Royal on 11/27 in Ft. 10. 06. 92. 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. – Zulu was fired from World Class for refusing to do a job to Mike Von Erich. Rants. But I think it’s a pretty famous case of hotline sleaze related to Blackwell’s death. I’m actually recovering from a shoulder injury at work today but I’ll power through an Observer Flashback for you. 05. 5-4-1987. 90. The low buyrate is being. It's great historical reading of the rise and fall of wrestling's biggest boom period. – In Mid-South, we get the first Observer mention of young rookie Sean Michaels in Mid-South, as he pins Jack Victory. 95. 86. 21. 2. By Scott Keith on 27th October 2016. 92 By Scott Keith on 16th February 2017 Hey, I picked up a Nintendo DSi XL for $60 (Canadian) from EBGames and it’s pretty rad. Oh, Dave. Sid actually drew pretty big on the East coast, doing 11,000 at the Nassau Coliseum and 8000 in Philly. 95. By Scott Keith on 14th March 2019. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 11. Dave, however, cites the court case of Boy v. Wrestling Observer Flashback–06. I just don’t think things are gonna work out for that promotion. 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. Curiosity over Kevin’s return is. Identifier-ark. By Scott Keith on 29th August 2016. (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. . By Scott Keith on 24th February 2019. – The show drew 7000 with 4700 paid and a $94,000 house. Jerry Lawler in a cage match where the loser gets his head shaved. Wrestling Observer Flashback–02. Most of the match was Hunter working the arm and going for a cross-armbreaker, which neither Vince nor Jerry had any idea how to call. – 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. 90. 19. By Scott Keith on 20th September 2016. 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”. Wrestling Observer Flashback–05. So you picked a great time to start reading! – In the top story, Jerry Lawler was accused of being a very, very bad boy. – There’s very little going on due to Christmas, but Jerry Lawler did regain the USWA title from Koko B. . So let’s take a look at what’s going on in the international scene!6. 13. The taped episode of RAW wasn’t particularly different than any other one they’ve. -The Mondo 19 most intriguing personalities of ‘86-30 key pro wrestling personalities of ‘86 with quick bios-Observer Awards, leading news stories of. – Buzz Sawyer agreed to work an indy date for Rob Russan in San Jose, and was supposed to provide the ring and some students from his wrestling school as underneath jobbers. Well this should do better than NWA Powerrr at least. 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. 11. *. 89. 03. – In a story that seems small but kind of ended up heralding the end of an era in wrestling, the way. The suit alleges unfair competition, trademark. The previous record was 69,000 for the Big Event. – Brad Armstrong will be coming back again, this time as the Candy Man, who throws candy to the kids as his gimmick. 02. 92. Identifier. 23. Wrestling Observer Flashback – 02. 31. – 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. Wrestling Observer Flashback–11. 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. 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. 22. It’s time for SUMMERSLAM! But first, the WWF is messing with their PPV schedule again. The show would air live every Saturday night, from New York, and would cater heavily to an. 95. tesseract 5. 03. The WWF drew 16000 and Crockett drew 3000, so point to Vince on that one. – 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. 03. ” (Now there’s an understatement!) – Based on current trends and advertising, SuperBrawl is looking to do. Rants.