Wrestling Observer Flashback – 01.20.97

Wrestling Observer Flashback – 01.20.97

What better way to kick off 2024 on the blog than a new Flashback?

– After a roll call of champions to kick off the issue, Dave talks about the impending Royal Rumble in San Antonio. WWF is expecting 50,000 people, although as of 1/14 they had only sold 28,000 tickets. With comps out, that brings the total to 35,000. So now they’re basically crossing their fingers and hoping for a 15,000 person walk-up on the day of the show. The strategy, and I’m not making this up, is to send out literally millions of discount coupons to Taco Bell restaurants in the area, as well as attaching them to cans of Dr. Pepper. (And you thought Vince wasn’t a business genius!). Also the PPV is blacked out in Southeast Texas. Plus, and this was an important point to WWF officials, the AlamoDome once had a truck and tractor pull event that sold 30,000 tickets to a walk-up audience. Also, and this is another important point to WWF officials who are desperate to justify this whole thing, they’re heavily involved in AAA, which has a tradition of not selling many tickets in advance and then making all their money on the walkup.

(Let’s see…subtract 45…carry the 1…THE NUMBERS ADD UP!)

– Dave concedes that the number will probably end up being something of a disappointment, especially since the WWF themselves has been somewhat obsessed with promoting the idea of Shawn Michaels winning the WWF title in front of 71,000 fans. Dave figures that they’ll just lie and say it was that many regardless of how many people actually show up.

– One thing that IS a sure bet is that Wrestlemania 13 will be headlined by Shawn Michaels defending the WWF title against Bret Hart, and Dave can’t really see a way that it doesn’t happen. Although he thinks that maybe they’ll do a swerve finish and end the Rumble with a disputed winner rather than just putting Bret over like everyone expects. (Sounds like crazy talk to me.).

– Oh also RAW is pre-empted on the week of 2/10, so they’re gonna be doing a special of some kind in Lowell, MA on 2/13, like the USA pre-PPV specials they used to do. (I’m sure nothing earth-shattering or business-changing will happen on that one). The next PPV is supposed to be called “The Final Four” and will feature a four-corners match with Shawn Michaels, Steve Austin, Bret Hart and Sid.

– To ECW, where Rick Rude made a shocking appearance as a masked man at the Arena show on 1/11, although everyone backstage and all the fans immediately figured out his identity once he started talking. Rude came out before a Shane Douglas match and promised to “fuck up Shane’s life” and then told Shane that he wouldn’t unmask yet because “Shane would shit his pants in fear and then he’d have to deal with the smell”. (OK that’s a pretty badass line.). This led to the return of Pitbull #1, who challenged Douglas for the TV as Rude’s guy. Rude is unable to wrestle thanks to his ongoing insurance settlement, with his last match being in 1994. Heyman swears he won’t be working any matches or getting physical. (And indeed, Rude never did wrestle another match, unlike his best friend who was also collecting insurance.).

– Vampiro recently turned down a big soap opera role because it called for him to play a border patrol officer and he was worried about getting heat from it.

– The reports from last week about Onita trying to set up a meeting with Giant Baba about getting Hayabusa a Triple Crown title match appear to be some kind of bizarre interpromotional angle between All Japan and FMW. Although, at the moment, it’s all on FMW’s side as Baba is denying wanting to meet with Onita and said he didn’t want him at his show.

– The idea of Chris Jericho as Super Liger was such a flop that it’s being dropped after one match and he’ll just be Chris Jericho again on the next tour. (I hear he’s gonna make everyone involved signed an NDA about it, too.).

– Big Japan had another notable first, with a “circus death match”, which featured a scaffold match but with a barbed wire net underneath it to catch the guys when they fell. And yes, someone actually did take that bump.

– To Memphis, where Jerry Lawler is once again looking to turn the company around now that’s got 100% controlling interest.

– The idea of Tracy Smothers being called Shaquille Ali has been dropped after only one week, by the way. (What? I’m shocked that they wouldn’t let that one play out to its full potential.).

– To ECW again, where Heyman is feverishly trying to get all the paperwork and insurance done in time for the 4/13 PPV debut in order to satisfy Request TV. Technically they were supposed to have everything done by 1/14 as a drop-dead date of no return, but Request decided to give them some leeway.

– Multi Channel News ran a story on the ECW PPV issues, with the headline being “This Show Rated A for APPALLING”. (Real people paid real money to come up with that one, folks.)

– Ricky Morton was in the ECW Arena for a one-shot team with Tommy Rich, and it ended with them turning on each other and brawling all over the building to zero reaction from the fans. (Joke’s on them, your precious ECW is dead and buried and Morton is still making money on the indies!).

– Terry Funk is building up his “last chance” to be World champion, leading to up to the PPV.

– Blue World Order is dominating ECW merchandise, with 40% of total sales accounted for by the brand. (Maybe Tony Khan should hire Blue Meanie as his merch guy?).

– Dave has another update on the Bruiser Bedlam arrest, as he has been charged with trafficking in drugs and steroids and possession of stolen property. Sources with the police in Ontario think that he’s facing less than a year in prison.

– In a shocking turn of events (sarcasm alert), Billy Jack Haynes went completely nutty on a radio interview yet again. This time, through a complicated series of Portland wrestling beefs, he ended up throwing out a challenge to Matt Borne for a shoot fight, winner takes all with $10,000 on the line. It would be under boxing rules. Haynes also tried to turn himself babyface with the audience by saying he was lying all the other times he buried the local legends like Moondog Moretti and Sandy Barr. Sadly, Matt Borne did an interview in response and blew off the whole thing, saying that Haynes was a liar and that he didn’t have $10,000 to put up for the fight anyway.

– The Sportatorium continues to shamble on like a zombie, despite the Continental Wrestling Alliance going out of business with their 12/27 show after their money mark walked out on the show. So now Gary Hart is running World Class – The Next Generation at the building, with no more free tickets, and his son Chad Hart as the big star.

– WCW set another attendance record, doing 10,000 people at the Superdome in New Orleans for Nitro, which is the biggest number since the glory days of Bill Watts. They’ve already broken that record with next week’s show in Chicago, which has an advance of 11,000.

– Oh also this was the ROBIN HOOD episode of the show but we’ll get into that when we redo that episode in a bit.

– There was no disciplinary action taken because of the Sags-Hall incident in Shreveport. Hall was back on Nitro and seemed to be healing pretty well all things considered. Dave’s theory is that Bischoff is either going to turn it into an angle, or else planned it as an angle from the start. (Sounds like an outlaw mudshow move to me) The whole thing is a bit of a political minefield for Hall and Nash, because Nash wanted to get Sags fired over the attack but feared that Hulk would retaliate against them because the Nasties were his boys.

– Rey Mysterio blew out his knee, ironically on a simple somersault spot, and when he went in for an MRI it turned out that he had already destroyed his knees to a significant degree this early in his career.

– WCW taped an interview with Kimberly Page confirming that she was the mysterious benefactor for DDP all along, although Dave isn’t sure if it’s going to air.

– Public Enemy and Harlem Heat are currently working without contracts, which is where all the rumors of Heat going to the WWF are coming from. Dave does think that they might be a bit gun-shy about offering long-term contracts with Mark Henry being such a bust so far. (What’s the worst that could happen from giving someone a long-term big money contract?).

– Chris Kanyon is being groomed to come in and feud with Glacier as a martial arts guy. He’s been working as “Mortis” on the German tour.

– To the WWF, where Dave finally saw the debut of Shotgun Saturday Night and thought that it looked like a public access wrestling TV show. He’s pretty sure that wasn’t the intention.

– Tiger Jeet Singh has made some kind of a deal with the WWF and will be bringing his son Tiger Jeet Singh Jr. in with him. (Can’t see how that would go wrong.). The WWF has big plans to make him a big star in India and Pakistan, as well as Western Canada. (Sounds like a plan!). Dave has seen him wrestle and doesn’t see it.

– The second episode of Shotgun was said to be slightly better thanks to the lighting. They’ve already dropped the Sisters of Love gimmick for the Head Bangers. Also Nikolai Volkoff showed up, apparently homeless and still wearing the same suit he’s been wearing since the 70s. Oh also Goldust was announced as being pregnant, with the tease being that he’d give birth next week. (WHY ISN’T THIS SHOW ON THE NETWORK?!?).

– And finally, Barry Buchanan was brought in to train with Tom Prichard, with interest from the WWF in bringing him in. They also want Mike Awesome but feel like he needs more experience working outside of FMW.

AND THAT’S THE NEWS AND I’M OUTTA HERE!