Wrestling Observer Flashbacks 1987 — page 2

It’s a pretty rare occurrence in our top story this week, so you might want to buy your lotto tickets now.

Well, it’s my last day of vacation and no one has died this week that I know of.  So let’s head back to 87 and hopefully no one died that week, either.

The talk of the wrestling world continues to be the Great American Bash!  I bet if Donald Trump was running for President in 1987, he would have picked Dusty Rhodes as his running mate. That’s how American and successful the tour has been so far. 

Oh hey, remember a couple of weeks ago when Vince sprung a drug test on the locker room during a TV taping…

It’s time for the Great American Bash!  Hopefully all the talk about freedom and MURICA will give me more opportunity to bait Libertarians with my “logic” and “reason”.  Warning:  There’s a bit near the end about government regulation of wrestling, in case anyone needs to get their tinfoil hats ready.

It’s a “slow news week” at the beginning of the issue, so you know what that means:  Dave will probably be franticly scrawling news flashes in the margins by page 4.

It’s car accident update issue!  Fun times ahead, to be sure.

I feel like Jim Crockett should have held a draft to mix up the UWF and Florida talent instead of just putting all of Dusty’s crew over as champions.  Might have made things a bit more interesting.

To the news!

The era of the new typewriter continues, with easy to read typeface!

Also, a pair of title changes this week, one real and one very fake.

In today’s news:  A top WWF star gets busted for drugs and the company is embarrassed.  Holy cow, how’s THAT for timing these things?

Also, DAVE FINALLY GETS A NEW TYPEWRITER! 

We’ve got some big stuff to get to, so let’s jump in!

Can those crazy kids in Japan just work out a deal for custody of Riki Choshu once and for all?  Let’s find out.

You know how you go to send someone a quote on a turntable but because you type the e-mail posting address to your blog 8 million times a day, that’s what comes out instead and you end up looking like an idiot on your own website?

Hypothetically speaking, of course.

Um, anyway, let’s get back to Curt Hennig and hopefully I can post this without screwing it up…

So what the heck is going on with the AWA World title this week?  Let’s find out!

After teasing us with a handwritten update at the end of the last issue, Dave finally gets a chance to see the Lawler-Idol cage match to lead off the news this week…

Trying to power through this one before UFC 200.  Wish me luck!

Thankfully this issue didn’t come up in the rotation yesterday, because I was just at a funeral and in no mood for what was about to happen.  It’s really kind of strange and creepy how we’ve been watching someone self-destruct for months now, helpless to do anything but see it unfold far in the past.

But first, a mailbag question relating to the last issue.

Scott,
First, love the Observer recaps and there is a hole in my life on days they aren’t posted. Anyway I’ve been following along and it sounds like the UWF is doing great, the BOOM! Watts sells? So what’s the deal there? Was is kind of like ECW where they were running successful shows and making money, but not enough money? Or was Watts simply sick of the grind?
What gives man?

Well, you have to understand, the UWF was an EXPENSIVE proposition because they were trying to go national, and their home territory (and much of Watts’ own personal investments) were losing money into the tens of thousands by the week.  It’s documented that Watts was personally half a million dollars in debt at the point when he sold to Crockett out of necessity.  The shows on tour were doing fine, but Oklahoma’s oil market completely collapsed and he could no longer draw enough money in his dwindling home base to cover the costs of travelling and renting arenas.  Much like ECW, at that point he was too big to be small and too small to be big.  To his credit, it took a fairly long while for the truth about his situation to come out because he was never screwing guys over even when drowning in red ink.

Anyways, more on this situation this week, I’m guessing.

Coming July 27:  The Podcast of Doom!  Brian and I are going to pick an old rant of a terrible show and do an audio Scott Sez, plus draft fallout news and discussion, plus mailbag, hookers and blackjack!  I shall no longer leave this money on the table.  Assuming there IS money in these things.  Well, there’s certainly money in hookers and blackjack, at least.  Bender was a smart guy.

Sooo….last week Jim Ross took over day-to-day operations of the UWF because Bill Watts was busy doing something else, and someone in the comments asked what that something else was.  Um…yeah.  So…how should I put this…?

Since Dave was moving to his new address last time (the same one he would stay at for the next 20 years or so), there was no 3/30 issue and instead we jump ahead to a special double issue covering….what was that show again…?

Happy MURICA Day!  Have you called out a godless commie today? 

This week, it’s a celebration of tag team tournaments, because TOURNAMENTS ARE http://blogofdoom.com/index.php/2016/07/03/wrestling-observer-flashback-03-16-87/