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MAILBAG
Sally from Florida isn’t happy with Dustin Rhodes disappearing from WCW after the UnCensored pay per view. She doesn’t think it’s fair that people compare him to his father Dusty and thinks the WWF should pick him up if WCW doesn’t want him. She thinks that Dustin would be a top contender for the WWF Intercontinental Championship and he’d be able to beat Jeff Jarrett. Mike from Pennsylvania doesn’t understand why a lot of people have been sharing some harsh remarks about Hulk Hogan. Perhaps, fans are jealous of Hogan’s success. No matter what the fans say, Hogan is still going to be successful. John from New York wants to give credit to the Moondogs for recently visiting sick children a hospital since it doesn’t take much to lift the spirit of a sick child. Gail from Utah thinks that Alundra Blayze can continue to lead a revolution in women’s wrestling now that she’s regained the WWF Women’s Championship. She doesn’t think that many guys could hang in the ring with Blayze or former champion Bull Nakano.
THE TATTLER
Atlanta, GA: The reinstatement of Ric Flair in WCW went over well with Flair’s fans and fan favorites in WCW. Marcus Alexander Bagwell would rather see Flair back in the ring making a fool out of himself. Col. Robert Parker is actually not so happy considering his man Meng has been going through competition and hasn’t gotten a title shot against Hogan. Parker will have to have Meng take out Flair and Hogan to get a title opportunity. Don’t be surprised if Parker brings more guys into the Stud Stable to accomplish his goals.
Hamburg, Germany: Yokozuna was ready to defend the WWF Tag Team Championships with Owen Hart during a tour in Germany, but Owen refused. Owen wanted to wrestle his brother Bret Hart every night. Owen ended up getting singles matches with Bret and lost each encounter. Jim Cornette commented that he’d wish that Owen would just forget about Bret.
Spencer, WV: The Gangstas hate everyone and they’re letting everyone in Smoky Mountain know about it. Tracy Smothers says once you get past their scare tactics, you can beat them. Robert Gibson also stated that the Gangstas can be defeated and that they are more talk than action. The Gangstas laughed at these comments and promised to be on top of SMW again.
WRESTLER OF THE MONTH: DIESEL
Diesel is not only a great wrestler but he’s a great person, too. Since winning the WWF World Championship in November 1994, Diesel has successfully defended against the likes of King Kong Bundy, Jeff Jarrett and Bam-Bam Bigelow. He’s also been teaming with Razor Ramon to combat Jarrett and Psycho Sid in tag team bouts. Diesel also won perhaps the best match in 1995 when he defeated Shawn Michaels at WrestleMania XI. Diesel showed how great of a person he is when he saved Michaels from an attack by Sid on RAW. He also offered a singles match to Michaels without Sid around ringside. When Sid heard about that, he attacked Michaels. Diesel also helped out Bam-Bam Bigelow when the Million Dollar Corporation turned on him when Bigelow failed to win the WWF World Championship. Diesel has been proving he deserves respect from everyone.
RUMOR VS. FACT
RUMOR #1: Ric Flair convinced Nick Bockwinkel to strip Vader of the WCW United States Championship so that he’d get more title shots against Hulk Hogan. Flair refused to meet in person with Bockwinkel and only spoke over the phone.
FACT #1: Flair actually had nothing to do with the decision and had actually lobbied for Vader. Bockwinkel had grown tired of Vader’s actions and nearly stripped him of the title shortly after winning it at Starrcade ’94. Flair has known that he’d have no problem getting a shot at Hogan since Hogan wants to get his hands on Flair just as badly as Flair wants another shot at the title.
RUMOR #2: Christine LeBlanc, the woman on the WCW board of directors who held the swing vote of the case, is the third cousin of Sherri Martel. She didn’t know that until she compared family trees with Sherri Martel.
FACT #2: After an investigation into the manner, it is safe to say that they are not related. They may both be French and wealthy, but it ends there. Sherri was quoted as being happy about Flair being back in WCW.
RUMOR #3: Bull Nakano and Alundra Blayze have developed so much respect for each other that they’ve actually became close friends.
FACT #3: While they have respect for each other they are by no means friends. They ignore each other on the road and stay in different rooms at the hotel on opposite sides of the building.
RUMOR #4: Ron Simmons will appear in a film version of the OJ Simpson trial
FACT #4: This is false. The rumor started when Bill Apter attended a WCW TV Taping and mentioned the magazine doing a spoof of the trail using wrestlers to fill the roles. Apparently, several wrestlers went with the idea of Simmons portraying Simpson.
REPORT CARD: HACKSAW DUGGAN
SPEED: C
STRENGTH : C+
TECHNICAL KNOWLEDGE: D
PHYSICAL CONDITION: C
RING INTELLIGENCE: B
OVERALL GRADE: C+
SPORTS REVIEW HOROSCOPE
Birthday: November 2nd
Sign: Scorpio
Shares sign with” Hillary Rodham Clinton, Winona Ryder and Boutrous Boutrous Ghali
Butcher may find himself a spokesman for a unique group. Butcher should probably avoid sleazy bars and poorly lit pool halls as there is likely poor consequences attached to them. Butcher could find a new romantic interest, too. The person will only be a quick romance but luckily Butcher will find someone else to handle his schedule and personal life. By the end of the month, Butcher will have several adventures and any loose ends he has in his life will be tied together.
SPORTS REVIEW SUPERSTATS
WRESTLING’S GREATEST MATCHES
The match that’s focused on this month is from September 25th, 1987 when Ron Garvin won the NWA World Championship from Ric Flair inside a steel cage. Garvin won the title after a top rope sunset flip was enough to pin Flair. The reign was short-lived as Flair regained the title two months later.
YOUR MAMA! written by: Andy Rodriguez
Tommy Rich has a copy of a book named “Snaps” which has insults. PG-13 just so happens to have both “Snaps” and “Snaps II” so that they have double the insults for their opponent. Tommy Rich and Wolfie D have both had their mothers get involved in their feud recently in the USWA. Peggy Rich said she was called in by her son and would be there for her son despite her lack of wrestling skill or knowledge. Jerry Lawler would welcome the mothers into his corner since they would probably scare off half his opponents. The involvement of the mothers has led the tag teams to push harder since they can’t seemingly do enough to impress them at ringside. It’s likely that the mothers won’t last at ringside for long, but the feud between Tommy Rich and PG-13 will continue on for awhile, along with the insults.
IT’S GETTING UGLY! WHAT THEY’RE SAYING ABOUT BAM-BAM BIGELOW: written by: Liz Hunter
Bigelow was embarrassed by Lawrence Taylor when he lost to the football player at WrestleMania XI. The embarrassment continued when Ted DiBiase hurled insults at Bigelow for losing to the football player and embarrassing the Corporation. One WWF rule breaker claimed that Bigelow had been blackballed from the locker room after the loss and nobody wanted to talk to him. One fan favorite was glad that Bigelow got embarrassed and beat up by Ted DiBiase because he’s been a bully and deserved it. DiBiase tried to sell Bigelow’s contract but didn’t find a good offer. Instead, Bigelow got beaten up. Jim Cornette suggests that the attack was something that Bigelow may have needed for a wakeup call. If Bigelow wants to regroup from the loss he’s going to have to do it by the book and without shortcuts.
NICK BOCKWINKEL WARNS THE WORLD: “I’M IN CHARGE OF WCW, NOT HULK HOGAN”: written by: Dave Lenker
April 17th saw Nick Bockwinkel take four hours worth of calls from angry wrestlers, fans, and reporters. He was left exhausted with all the backlash for reinstating Ric Flair. Bockwinkel wanted to go home but was stopped by a reporter. Bockwinkel informed the reporter that Col. Robert Parker had talked his ear off for twenty minutes ranting about Hogan getting Flair back into WCW. Bockwinkel is getting annoyed with the claim that Hogan is controlling his own destiny in WCW. Bockwinkel reminds the reporter that Flair was reinstated by the board of directors and not himself. Bockwinkel has spent a lot of hours and traveled around the world trying to make WCW the best federation. As he attempted to leave, his secretary told him that Hulk Hogan was on line three. Bockwinkel said to tell Hogan he would call him back, but after being told it was important, Bockwinkel darted for the door after looking at the reporter.
WHY THE KING OF THE RING IS THE REAL WWF CHAMP!: written by: Brandi Mankiewicz
The man who wins the King of the Ring tournament is treated like a king for only a day after winning a grueling two hour tournament and months of qualifying matches. The winner doesn’t get the proper respect they deserve. The way that Bob Backlund and Diesel won the WWF World Championship in November are not nearly as impressive as someone who wins the King of the Ring tournament. Mr. Perfect commented that someone doesn’t get lucky three or four times in a night and you have to be at your best for the tournament. Some people believe that the King of the Ring winner should be the master of the WWF kingdom.
ON THE ROAD, AND AWAY FROM THE ROADIE: RAZOR RAMON BEATS THE GOLDEN OLDIE: written by: Andy Rodriguez
Razor Ramon made a trip down to the USWA the night after WrestleMania XI to challenge Jamie Dundee for the USWA Heavyweight Championship. Ramon won the title, but he couldn’t stop thinking about his feud with Jeff Jarrett and the Roadie in the WWF over the WWF Intercontinental Championship. Curt Hennig commented that Ramon is clearly frustrated with only managing to get count-out or disqualification wins. Everyone knows that Ramon is better wrestler than Jarrett. Ramon had the Kid in his corner for the WrestleMania match with Jeff Jarrett. Ramon isn’t going to stoop to Jarrett’s level by having Kid interfere in his matches. Ramon won the USWA Heavyweight Championship with help from Tommy Rich, but Ramon insists that it has nothing to do with him and that Rich had his own reasons for helping him. Jim Cornette thinks that Ramon should try and use Rich in his battles against Jarrett and Roadie in the WWF instead of not associating himself with him. It’s going to be harder for Ramon to win back the WWF Intercontinental Championship as Roadie is being trained by Jarrett. Thus, who could blame Ramon for taking a spring break to the USWA.
SPORTS REVIEW WRESTLING PRESENTS: O.J. ON TRIAL: THE MOVIE VERSION!: written by: Dave Rosenbaum
THIS MAN WILL DESTROY DIESEL!: written by: Dave Rosenbaum
Dr. Death Steve Williams and Terry Gory came to WCW in 1992 and dethroned the Steiner Brothers to win the WCW Tag Team Championship defeating a team that was thought to be unbeatable. WWF World Champion Diesel looks unbeatable, but he hasn’t met Steve Williams. Williams doesn’t care about Diesel and isn’t afraid of the Jackknife power bomb. He doesn’t care about the championships that Diesel has won in his career. Williams says that Diesel hasn’t wrestled him and that means he hasn’t been challenged. Apparently, it’s being reported that Williams has been in talks with the WWF about joining the company. Williams says he’d let Diesel jackknife him just so he could get up and kick his ass. Dr. Death is someone not to be taken lightly and Diesel’s reign as WWF World Champion could be facing a slow, painful death.
…AND THIS MAN WILL DESTROY THE MAN WHO’LL DESTROY DIESEL!: written by: Dave Rosenbaum
Lawrence Taylor would be the guy to dethrone Dr. Death Steve Williams since he is a far more agile and athletic competitor compared to Diesel. Taylor doesn’t have much experience but he handled Bam-Bam Bigelow rather easily and has been taught some powerful moves by Diesel. Jerry Lawler commented saying that Taylor should be seen as an elite wrestler. It’s been documented that Taylor didn’t like Williams when they both played football. Taylor could be the next WWF World Champion if and when Dr. Death wins the gold.
ARN ANDERSON: HORSEMAN OR HORSE’S ASS?: written by: Ed Emelett
Anderson has a lot of pictures on his wall at home and only one of them involves wrestling. The one picture is of the Four Horsemen in spring of 1986. Anderson fondly remembers his time in the group and considers it to be the best time to be involved in wrestling. There are rumors that Ric Flair and Arn Anderson are looking to reform the Horsemen. Anderson has had success in several groups including the Horsemen, Dangerous Alliance and Stud Stable. Arn likes the idea of having one more glorious run as the Horsemen. Anderson says he’ll always be a Horsemen even if they don’t get together again. Ed suggests it may be time to put the picture away if Anderson isn’t going to be a World Champion.
THE AWF ROUND SYSTEM: IS THIS THE FUTURE OF WRESTLING?: written by: Bill Apter
The American Wrestling Federation has introduced time limit rounds to professional wrestling. Regular matches have three four minute rounds while championship matches have twelve four minute rounds. After each round there is a one minute break. AWF President Paul Alperstein thinks the idea of rounds works well as it guarantees more non-stop action and prevents lull in the action that usually occurs. Wrestlers can’t possibly keep a high level of action for ten minutes. Purists may dislike it, but fans of the AWF like it because it’s the best wrestling they’ve seen. Four minutes on non-stop action, followed by a minute break, and then right back to non-stop action. Chris Adams says that the rounds are great and he never feels tired. He hopes that other companies follow suit. Koko B. Ware, who works for the AWF, doesn’t like the idea of getting saved by the bell if you’re being pinned. The AWF has gotten a lot of former WWF wrestlers to compete for them and this experiment may be worth keeping an eye on.
EDITORS’ ROUNDTABLE
Topics: Ric Flair’s reinstatement in WCW & Bam-Bam Bigelow’s recent problems in the WWF
Brandi thinks that the fans who attended or bought the Halloween Havoc 1994 pay per view should get a refund following Flair’s reinstatement. Dave Rosenbaum doesn’t see the big deal since numerous athletes have retired and then returned. WCW is just following the money trail. Dave isn’t defending them but rather just explaining what they did. Eddie Ellner says that WCW made a mistake in doing the retirement match only three months into the feud. The feud had just started to get good and they went with that stipulation. Craig Peters actually agrees with Ellner, but hasn’t heard anyone complain about getting more Hogan/Flair matches. Nobody would prefer to see Beefcake as a challenger. They all agree that Vader will step in when he wants to.
Ellner is disappointed with Bigelow losing to Taylor and considers him to be the biggest waste of talent in wrestling history. Rosenbaum believes that Bigelow’s career should be over. Rosenbaum dismisses the wakeup call argument noting that Bigelow hasn’t ever beaten anyone of merit and had failed numerous times before WrestleMania XI. Ellner wasn’t surprised that Bigelow lost to Diesel on RAW nor was he surprised that Bigelow got kicked out of the Corporation afterward.
SPORTS REVIEW SUPERSTATS
REPORT CARD: HAKUSHI
SPEED: B+
STRENGTH: C+
TECHNICAL KNOWLEDGE: A-
PHYSICAL CONDITION: B
RING INTELLIGENCE: B
OVERALL GRAD: B+
ASK THE STARS
Bruce from Orlando, FL asked wrestlers if they feel that referees do a good job.
Ricky Morton: Morton feels that referees don’t get the respect they deserve. He remembers his father as a referee in Tennessee and all the injuries he suffered. Ricky believes they try their best.
Brian Knobs: Knobs thinks that most of the referees in WCW are blind since they never see Sherri Martel getting involved in their matches against Harlem Heat.
Buddy Landell: Buddy thinks that all the referees in SMW are too full of themselves to do a good job. Mark Curtis actually fired him from being a timekeeper for a match over the winter.
Bob Backlund: Mr. Backlund thinks the referees are negligent with their jobs and doesn’t feel like Roddy Piper or other wrestlers should be in that role. He also feels that he should be respected by all referees.
Marcus Alexander Bagwell: Bagwell thinks the referees do the best they can and everyone jumps on a referee when they make a bad call. He also thinks there should be two referees for bigger matches.
Tommy Rich: Rich thinks there are good and bad referees and thinks they should get suspended if they make a bad call. He can’t remember how many titles he’s been screwed over from winning. So, sometimes he has to knock some sense into them with a piledriver and doesn’t care if he gets suspended for doing that.
FLASHBACK
Back in 1987 there was a piece on Bam-Bam Bigelow who had recently made his debut. It was suggested that Bigelow had made a challenge against the world and it would be a mismatch at that point. However, it’s noted that a man with the number 56 would beg to differ now. They’ve really ragged on Bigelow for his loss to LT in this issue.
THEN & NOW
The focus this month is on Jimmy Snuka who had worked early in his career as Leo Kealoha. Back then, he used a full nelson as his finishing hold and not his trademark big splash. He was successful in the NWA before jumping ship to the WWF. Snuka was first seen as a savage, but turned good after ditching Capt. Lou Albano. He wrestled the likes of Don Muraco and Ray Stevens, which he did very well in. His career has come full circle nearly thirty years in as he no longer wrestles at Madison Square Garden and works in small arenas all over the US. Snuka thinks he is a smarter wrestler as he scouts his opponents now instead of just trying to savagely tear them apart. Snuka noted that he would have to retire if he couldn’t come off the top rope anymore. That’s when he’ll know how to hang it up.
INFOCENTER
Don from Pennsylvania wants to know why the WWF would allow Earl Hebner to referee the WrestleMania XI WWF World Championship match considering what he did in 1988. Back then, Earl was involved in the controversy involving Hogan/Andre/DiBiase which saw Earl be revealed as Dave’s twin brother. Apparently, Earl was allowed to be a referee because he promised to do the job to the best of his ability and was given the title match at Mania because he’s the best man for the job.
Gary from Nebraska wants to know if Miss Elizabeth is coming to WCW. It has been reported that WCW has had talks with Elizabeth but they haven’t been serious discussions. Apparently, Elizabeth is happy with her life outside of wrestling and has done broadcasting for ESPN’s coverage of a powerboat tournament
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