Post by MARK-ISM on Mar 6, 2013 16:54:27 GMT -5
Found a site with a ton of old news & rumors from 1990-early 1992. It is a bit long, but it's an interesting look at history. Here are some of the more interesting things to note:
1/18/1990:
- As reported last week, Florida investigators confiscated close to $500000 in counterfeit money from Black Jack Mulligan and Kendall Windham. Barry Windham posted bail for his father and brother. The NWA promptly fired Kendall, who will be replaced by Cactus Jack Manson.
2/1/1990:
- Word is strong that Iron Mike Tyson will be a part of WrestleMania VI on April 1 in Toronto. The question is: will Mike repeat his role as referee or actually don the tights? For those unaware, Mike Tyson will be the special guest referee for a Hulk Hogan vs. Randy Savage title match on February 23rd at the Joe Louis Arena in Detroit. The show will be aired live on NBC in prime time. Early rumours had Hogan dropping the title to Curt Hennig at the live Main Event, then rumours switched to the Ultimate Warrior making a heel turn and taking the title. Once again Vince has surprised everyone by throwing a wrench into the works. But WrestleMania VI has been dubbed 'the Ultimate Challenge,' which still seems to indicate that the Main Event will feature Hulk Hogan vs. Ultimate Warrior. Then again, Vince may just have released the subtitle to confuse everybody. Certainly, a Hogan/Tyson match would be the ultimate challenge in many people's books.
2/8/1990:
- Feb 23rd Main Event: Rumours are real strong that this Main Event will see the vilifying of the Ultimate Warrior. Word has him joining forces with Randy Savage, interfering in the match on Randy's behalf and helping Savage defeat Hogan. Perhaps Mean Gene's comment from the press conference hints at this potential title change prior to WrestleMania. The question is: What face contender would Savage face in a WM VI title defense? The scary answer: Savage is now feuding with Dusty Rhodes.
3/8/1990:
- Word is out that the Hart Foundation, Bret Hart & Jim Neidhart, will change its name to "The Pink and Black Attack." Ugh. Sadly, these guys will be opposing the awesome ;-) Bolsheviks at WrestleMania.
3/15/1990:
- Rumours are strong that the SheepWhackers are out of the WWF. This seems to be supported by their absence at WrestleMania VI.
- Rumours have the Rockers staying in the WWF, but not as team. Marty Janetty is supposed to be turning heel.
- Rumours persist that Ric Flair will be retiring from the NWA shortly. He's already given up his job as booker for the organization and word is strong that he'll drop the NWA strap to Lex Luger in April. Hand in hand with retirement rumours come "I'll bet he'll join the WWF" rumours.
- Also, we can pretty much expect Hulk Hogan to drop his WWF strap to the Ultimate Warrior at WM VI. Hogan is expected to bow out of the mat wars quite graciously. He's already signed to start filming a movie shortly after WM, so we can expect him to be gone for at least 6 months. Ditto for Roddy Piper.
- Paul E. Dangerously is rumoured to be heading to the WWF shortly after WM.
5/10/1990:
- Owen Hart is due in the NWA in August or September.
5/24/1990:
The Road Warriors seem
to be WWF bound in the very near future. There is talk that Capital Combat was their last PPV appearance in the NWA and that they probably won't last through the summer. It's kind of funny since with Ole in as the booker, they may have received a massive push - Ole was booking during the period when the Legion of Doom was a really feared quantity.
5/31//1990:
- We'll probably also have the much-anticipated ;-( six-person tag match between Dusty & Sapphire & Liz vs. Randy & Sherri & Brother Love at Summer Slam too. Expect Warrior vs. Rude to be on top. You know, if Warrior makes it through to SS in August, there'll only be 6 more months to WM VII...
6/21/1009:
- Brian Adams (?) is Demolition's new partner. He will fight has B.A., which stands for Bad Attitude. He has apparently already made appearances at house shows featuring Demolition vs. Hart Foundation, interfering on behalf of Demolition who win with a screw job or get disqualified. Perhaps Vince is going to make the Warriors faces after all. ..
6/28/1990:
- In an Ole Anderson type move, Vince seems ready to bring in Sgt. Slaughter. The strange part is that I'm hearing he'll be a heel, perhaps feuding with a reformed Nikolai Volkoff.
6/28/1990:
- Latest rumour has Vince making an offer to buy the NWA. I doubt Ted Turner would sell to Vince, 'cause these boys just don't like each other, but if the offer is really high.....
7/19/1990:
- This same Toronto paper has Ric Flair leaving the NWA after Halloween Havoc to join the WWF and already have him lined up to feud with Ted DiBiase at that time! But, a quick reality check shows that Jim Herd will not release Ric Flair from his contract, so it looks like Flair will be in the NWA until 1992.
8/16/1990:
- The hottest news I've Herd in the past couple of weeks is that
Ole Anderson has very recently been fired as booker in the NWA.
- Rumours have the Hart Foundation ready to fight Demolition with the same fire - adding a third member. It's been reported that Owen Hart has been approached about joining the Hart Foundation.
9/7/1990:
- Hogan will be taking a break for a few months to begin filming on "Urban Commando," the first of three flicks in his movie deal. He plays an intergalactic superhero space mercenary who winds up on Earth.
9/20/1990:
- Rumours have it that the Legion of Doom are already gettng upset because
they thought they'd be in a title match program against the WWF tag champs. They likely won't get the shot until the new year, with a build-up to WrestleMania. In the latest issues of the NWA Wrap-Up, the NWA said that "Hawk and Animal have left the NWA. They have decided to pursue their career where the focue is on entertainment rather than wrestling."
10/18/1990:
- Vince has decided to trim the fat. As a result, the Survivor Series will be the last date for several WWF wrestlers, including Jim Neidhart, Nikolai Volkoff, Greg Valentine and the Honky Tonk Man. (The good news here is that Vince may actually push Brett Hart as a singles wrestler).
- , Vince lost a couple of big names this week. The first
and less "big" is Akeem, who has quit to spend more time with his
family. The second is Rick Rude. Rumor here is that Rude wasn't happy with his share of the Summer Slam pie and quit. Akeem wasn't really involved in any program, so his loss will be no big deal, but Rude was just set to feud with the Big Boss Man. Word
has it that either Haku or Bobby Heenan will replace Rude at the arena shows this and next month.
1/31/1991:
- Lots of talk that Kerry von Erich will be out of the WWF very shortly. He hasn't been involved in a program for a bit, and there no program being set up that uses him, so this seems likely.
2/21/1991:
- Rumors have begun that the Ultimate Warrior wants to retire, since he is tired of the hectic WWF schedule. This just may be a ruse to counteract the "Savage wants to retire" rumors. I expect that neither wrestler will really retire, though. Either we'll have a time limit draw (but with Warrior that might be tough), or an instant replay job that causes some controversy in the finish, or a legit win by one guy followed by the arrival of a masked unknown somehow familiar even to Vince.
- Interesting rumour: WCW's Alexandra York, Terry Taylor's new manager and head of the York foundation, is actually Alexandra Ross, Jim Ross' daughter.
2/28/1991:
- Brother Love will be gone form the WWF in a week. Bruce Pritchard takes on a front office job with Titan. The Brother Love segment will be replaced by a segment hosted by Paul Bearer.
- Rumours also have Tony Atlas hanging up his tribal garb and leaving the WWF. Ditto for Shane Douglas, who fortuantely didn't have any tribal garb to hang up, although that was surely just a matter of time.
- Mike Rotunda, err... Michael Wall Street, left WCW a short while ago because of contractual problems. He's signed a short-term deal in Japan and is then WWF bound.
3/7/1991:
- Rumors persist that Randy Savage wants some time off from the WWF to spend with his wife, Elizabeth. Rumors are also in the air that the Ultimate Warrior wants to take some time off. I guess we can take this to mean that whoever loses the "retirement" match at WM VII will actually just take a summer vacation, and be back. Popular word has it that Warrior is scheduled to feud with the Undertaker after WM, if UW indeed stays on.
3/14/1991:
- There is talk that the WWF is courting both Mike Tyson and Donovan Ruddock to act as a special referee at WM. Iron Mike and Razor Ruddock will meet on Monday, and the WWF wants the winner as a ref.
- We can expect an appearance by Ricky Steamboat at WM, possibly an angle.
- Rumours that Randy Savage plans to take a leave of absence from the WWF are fueling rumours that Elizabeth is going to deliver a child in the near future.
- The WWF is already soliciting for video purchases of WM VII. The cover of the video promo has Hogan wrapped in the US flag, holding the WWF title. Gee, nothing like keeping your bookings a secret.
- Tugboat and Rick Martel are already getting buried at the house shows, adding fuel to the rumours that they will be among those cut after WM.
3/21/1991:
- Biggest rumour of the week as far as impact goes is that Shawn Michaels of the Rockers is leaving the WWF. No word on Marty Janetty's plans or Shawn's destination.
4/4/1991:
- Dino Bravo and Demolition appear to be the first cuts in the post-WrestleMania fat-trimming in the WWF
4/18/1991:
- The latest rumours in the Sid Vicious situation in WCW is that Sid has in fact turned down the $7000 a week offer from the promotion (which would have increased his salary by $2000 per week and made him the third highest paid performer in the organization). Sid wants one more thousand a week (or a $400000+ contract). Rumours have Sid leaving after the May 19th WCW PPV and surfacing in the WWF in September.
- Early word is that WrestleMania VIII will take place in the Hoosier Dome in Indianapolis.
- In WCW, Owen Hart is already gone (but the door is open for him to return), Ron Simmons renewed his contract, Billy Jack Haynes isn't coming in after all, and Tom Zenk will be out briefly with an injury.
- Paul Orndorff has been re-hired by WCW, which apparently means that the UWF has lost him. WCW is also courting both Big John Studd and King Kong Bundy.
4/26/1991:
- After a little discussion with Ted Turner, who owns the rights to the Wizard of Oz, WCW has been allowed to introduce characters based on the film. Kevin Nash, the larger Master Blaster, will be cast as Oz, and Kevin Sullivan will be cast as his manager, Merlin the Magician. The debut of the characters has been added to the May 19th PPV. Could this be anyone but Jim Herd's idea?
5/9/1991:
- Scott Hall worked at a recent WCW taping as a heel managed by Diamond Dallas Page. Maybe Scott will be the third Freebird?
- Dino Bravo is gone from the WWF.
- As I mentioned last week, Steve Austin has signed with WCW. He'll be coming with (Rockin') Robin Smith as his manager/valet.
6/6/1991:
- Bruce Pritchard, whom we know and *love* as the red-faced Brother Love, has been canned from his office job with the WWF. Apparently he had some disagreements with John Fillipelli (who produced NBC Sports World) and got fired. Fillipelli has taken over Pritchard's job as the head of WWF production. The rumour mill is swirling that Pritchard will be called on by his good buddy Dusty Rhodes to work in WCW, as either an announcer or a manager.
- Saturday Night's Main Event on NBC is no more. Brandon Tartikoff has left NBC and Dick Ebersol has lost some stature, so the two main backers of the show are gone. This means that, at least for the moment, WCW is at a promotional advantage since the SNMEs were the one of the main tools for getting new angles over with casual WWF fans. The ratings for the SNMEs were usually twice or more times the ratings for the WWF syndies, which really don't get the casual fans watching regularly.
6/20/1991:
- Interesting rumour has Brian Pillman jumping to the WWF. He has missed some WCW dates recently.
- Also, rumours continue that Brother Love will join WCW as a manager.
6/27/1991:
- After SummerSlam, Steve Williams will join forces with the Undertaker and be managed by Paul Bearer.
- Probably at SummerSlam, and certainly after the event, Virgil will start wearing a dress and make-up and calling himself Virgilina.
- As reported earlier this week, the RCMP is upset at the characterization of the Mountie in the WWF. They are fighting quite hard to get the gimmick killed. I'd expect that the Mountie will meet a quick demise at the hand of the Big Boss Man and Jacques Rougeau will get recycled.
7/4/1991:
- Ric Flair has been fired by WCW after refusing to take a substantial cut in his salary. Flair was the highest paid wrestler in the group, earning $780000 a year, and was asked to accept a new contract with a salary of $350000 a year. Flair quite understandably balked at this offer, which would remove him from the top salary spot in the organization. "I don't know how they could possibly have expected me to accept this offer," Flair told Alez Marvez of Knight-Ridder Newspapers yesterday from his home in Charlotte, NC. "Imagine a baseball manager walking up to Jose Canseco and saying, 'Jose, tomorrow we're going to cut your cheque in half.' Would they expect him to say 'Oh fine?'" Flair's attorney, Dennis Guthrie, was notified Monday that WCW would terminate Flair's contract August 1st. All WCW contracts have a clause that allows WCW to end contracts early, with 30 days notice. WCW has already stopped booking Flair. He is essentially shelved for 30 days and is no longer recognized as the WCW World Heavyweight Champion. A statement out of WCW's headquarters in Atlanta said, "WCW was unable to reach a mutually satisfactory contractual agreement with Flair and a new champion will be crowned July 14th at the Great American Bash PPV show from Baltimore." "I'm stunned," Flair said. "They had always called me their flagship wrestler." There is some speculation that Flair may move from being WCW's flagship to being the WWF's
7/18/1991:
- Oz (Kevin Nash) is gone from WCW. Apparently, they had some contractual problems with Nash and fired him because he was unwilling to bend.
9/5/1991:
- The Ultimate Warrior has been suspended by Vince McMahon for 90 days for unprofessional conduct. The rumours are already flying that he was suspended for steroid usage, which could be the beginning of the end of the UW with the WWF. Sid Justice will jump in and begin working against the Undertaker, with their first meeting taking place in Hamilton, Ontario, this Sunday. The match is a coffin match, where the loser will be carted away in a coffin. Interestingly enough, at the WWF's WrestleFest show they ran what appeared to be the final match in the UW vs. Undertaker feud, with UW locking Undertaker in the coffin and a bunch of wrestlers carrying the coffin to the back room. I guess this will never make a Coliseum home video. With UW gone, Jake Roberts is left without a foe, so Vince concocted the reception skit. It looks like Randy Savage will be feuding with Jake Roberts. But, Randy is not particularly keen on even returning to the ring according to some rumours and vetoed an earlier suggestion that he return and feud with Ted DiBiase some more. I doubt that Randy will look at a feud with Jake in any better light than a feud with Ted. There may be a bit of a power play over Vince's rushed actions post-SummerSlam.
9/12/1991:
- The Ultimate Warrior saga continues. UW's contract with the WWF runs for several months yet, so the 90 day suspension doesn't go to the end of his contract. This means that Vince has the choice of bringing the UW back in 90 days, releasing him from his contract, or suspending him some more. Those rumours of the UW coming to blows with Vince at Vince's birthday party in New York have reached here now. While the public and the media have been told that UW was suspended, the guys in the locker room were told he was fired. Talk now is that Vince will release the Warrior at the end of the suspension and he'll be able to negotiate with any organization.
- Randy Savage has given Vince McMahon his notice. He's retiring as a wrestler, but wants to stay on as a commentator. Of course, Vince wants Randy back in the ring against Jake Roberts, especially after filming that skit at the reception. Lanny Poffo, Randy's brother, was brought in to replace John "The Coach" Tolos as manager of the Beverly Brothers, in an attempt to sway Randy. Tolos, by the way, was let go for health reasons according to the WWF.
9/26/1991:
- Big rumour that the Nasty Boys are on their way out of the WWF. They've demanded $600000 from Vince, who isn't particularly eager to comply. Their contracts are up in November and if negotiations fall through, there is talk that they will return to WCW.
- Jim Herd has been named the president of the National Wrestling Alliance. All the promoters who own a piece of this name had a vote in deciding whether Herd would be appointed. In the past, this group caused enough trouble that the NWA of old was renamed WCW. Then, when Ric Flair left WCW, the NWA board decided that he would still be recognized as NWA champion. Now, the WCW shows will once again start using the NWA name. This also gives WCW a chance to appeal Flair's claim to the NWA belt.
10/3/1991:
- The rumours are very strong and come from different people - perhaps with the same source; who knows? - but the agreement in stories is astounding enough to guarantee that something major will happen at the Survivor Series. What? Well, the rumours have it that Hulk Hogan will drop the WWF Title to The Undertaker at the show, with the main reason for his loss being Ric Flair. It may be a pre-match attack by Flair, or mid-match interference, or something else, but the signs are strong that this will happen. What happens next? One line of rumours has the Undertaker losing the title to Sid Justice not too long after winning it. Then Ric Flair will cheat the title away from Justice and set up a match at WrestleMania: Hulk Hogan (challenger) vs. Ric Flair (WWF & NWA - and therefore, undisputed (tm) - World Heavyweight Champion). This would give Ric the chance to achieve the superstardom he must have been promised by Vince just to sign with the WWF - Ric would in effect unify the WWF & NWA Titles, okay, okay...the WWF & "Real World" Titles. But, at WrestleMania, Hulk Hogan - the challenger! - would pin Ric Flair clean in their first (and last?) PPV encounter. So Vince would never have to give Ric a title win over Hogan on any major show, thus solidifying Hulk's superiority for the mark audience.
- The Rockers have given Vince their notice. They won't be negotiating a new contract when the current one expires (end of November, I believe). I guess this means that the Rockers will do quick and decisive jobs at Survivor Series. No word on where they are going, but could you imagine a Rockers vs. Steiners match!
- Cactus Jack has signed a contract with WCW.
10/17/1991:
- Sting renewed his contract with WCW.
- Big Van Vader starts with WCW again in November. There's talk that he'll work Halloween Havoc if Scott Steiner can't work the show.
- Lots of talk that Rick Rude will be coming into WCW finally. He's expected to be the mystery Phantom at Halloween Havoc.
10/24/1991:
- Steve Austin's contract with WCW ends in November and apparently he hasn't signed a deal with the company yet. So, if negotiations fall through he may end up dropping the title to Dustin Rhodes at Halloween Havoc. There are already rumours that Austin will be jumping to the WWF.
- As I reported before, the Rockers gave their notice to the WWF a little while ago. Vince has taken a new angle with negotiations with the team. There is talk that Vince wants Shawn Michaels to work as a singles wrestler in the IC Title challengers pool.
- Along this same line, Vince is also talking to Owen Hart about either coming in to work singles or, form a tag team with existing talent, possibly Jim Neidhart.
10/31/1991:
- As has been mentioned on the net already, Rick Steamboat, unhappy with his non-existent push in the WWF although he had been promised one, gave notice that he would be leaving the company on December 16th. Vince promptly asked Rick to job for the Undertaker and IRS at the next batch of tapings. Rick refused and was fired, or you can take his refusal as meaning he quit. There's already talk of Rick coming back to WCW
- Sting's new contract with WCW is for three years and will net him close to $2-million over that period.
11/7/1991:
- Some talk of Rick Martel showing up in WCW as a heel, working with Paul E. Dangerously, Madusa, and Rick Rude. So while WCW, lost one Ric, they may have gained three others, since rumours still persist that Rick Steamboat will be brought in as well.
1/2/1991:
- Jimmy Snuka has apparently been let go by the WWF, with his final appearance being the Royal Rumble.
1/9/1992:
- Jesse Ventura is suing Vince McMahon for using old footage with Jesse's commentary on those special PPVs and on video releases without The Body's permission.
- Rumours have Lady Blossom appearing in the WWF to work as Ric Flair's valet.
- Apparently, Magic Johnson has approached both the WWF and WCW about doing wrestling shows as part of an AIDS benefit. The rumours have him proposing some inter-federational matches as the draw.
1/16/1992:
- I guess the rumours can stop. Lex Luger has officially given notice to WCW that he will be leaving after SuperBrawl, which basically tells us what will happen in the main event. His contract runs one more year, so, while WCW is letting him go, he cannot *wrestle* in that year. Luger has also made comments about the travelling and the bumps making it difficult for him to build his body. I guess the last two sentences combine to give credence to the rumour that Vince will sign Luger to the WBF and then cross him over when he is allowed to wrestle. Stranger things have happened.
1/23/1992:
- Chris Chavis should debut this week on the WWF syndies. Soultaker's new WWF gimmick seems to have gotten the green light, so Papa Shango will debut in a few weeks. Art Barr (aka The Juicer) had a WWF try-out.
- There's talk that Ted DiBiase has been talked to by WCW. Ted's booking for the Royal Rumble showed the signs of someone who was leaving the company. In addition, Sherri Martel has expressed an interest in Shawn Michaels at a recent TV taping. Something is definitely up with Ted.
1/30/1992:
- As everybody has reported, WCW apparently reached a deal with Bret Hart for Bret to appear on the Clash of Champions live broadcast on January 21st with his WWF Intercontinental belt. This was of course meant to be a retaliatory blow against the WWF for using the NWA belt when Flair jumped. Bret thought that his contract was up, but, in fact, he can't give notice for another few months and had to back out of the deal when he realized this. Bret knew that he would be dropping the belt to the Mountie in Springfield so that the title could be passed to Roddy Piper. Bret has been promised the IC Title back at WrestleMania, but that seems kind of unlikely, unless he turns heel. In the mean time, WCW insists that Bret is going to come in later this year, and if he does in fact give notice to the WWF, I'm sure we'll know since his push will match that of the Berzerker.
1/18/1990:
- As reported last week, Florida investigators confiscated close to $500000 in counterfeit money from Black Jack Mulligan and Kendall Windham. Barry Windham posted bail for his father and brother. The NWA promptly fired Kendall, who will be replaced by Cactus Jack Manson.
2/1/1990:
- Word is strong that Iron Mike Tyson will be a part of WrestleMania VI on April 1 in Toronto. The question is: will Mike repeat his role as referee or actually don the tights? For those unaware, Mike Tyson will be the special guest referee for a Hulk Hogan vs. Randy Savage title match on February 23rd at the Joe Louis Arena in Detroit. The show will be aired live on NBC in prime time. Early rumours had Hogan dropping the title to Curt Hennig at the live Main Event, then rumours switched to the Ultimate Warrior making a heel turn and taking the title. Once again Vince has surprised everyone by throwing a wrench into the works. But WrestleMania VI has been dubbed 'the Ultimate Challenge,' which still seems to indicate that the Main Event will feature Hulk Hogan vs. Ultimate Warrior. Then again, Vince may just have released the subtitle to confuse everybody. Certainly, a Hogan/Tyson match would be the ultimate challenge in many people's books.
2/8/1990:
- Feb 23rd Main Event: Rumours are real strong that this Main Event will see the vilifying of the Ultimate Warrior. Word has him joining forces with Randy Savage, interfering in the match on Randy's behalf and helping Savage defeat Hogan. Perhaps Mean Gene's comment from the press conference hints at this potential title change prior to WrestleMania. The question is: What face contender would Savage face in a WM VI title defense? The scary answer: Savage is now feuding with Dusty Rhodes.
3/8/1990:
- Word is out that the Hart Foundation, Bret Hart & Jim Neidhart, will change its name to "The Pink and Black Attack." Ugh. Sadly, these guys will be opposing the awesome ;-) Bolsheviks at WrestleMania.
3/15/1990:
- Rumours are strong that the SheepWhackers are out of the WWF. This seems to be supported by their absence at WrestleMania VI.
- Rumours have the Rockers staying in the WWF, but not as team. Marty Janetty is supposed to be turning heel.
- Rumours persist that Ric Flair will be retiring from the NWA shortly. He's already given up his job as booker for the organization and word is strong that he'll drop the NWA strap to Lex Luger in April. Hand in hand with retirement rumours come "I'll bet he'll join the WWF" rumours.
- Also, we can pretty much expect Hulk Hogan to drop his WWF strap to the Ultimate Warrior at WM VI. Hogan is expected to bow out of the mat wars quite graciously. He's already signed to start filming a movie shortly after WM, so we can expect him to be gone for at least 6 months. Ditto for Roddy Piper.
- Paul E. Dangerously is rumoured to be heading to the WWF shortly after WM.
5/10/1990:
- Owen Hart is due in the NWA in August or September.
5/24/1990:
The Road Warriors seem
to be WWF bound in the very near future. There is talk that Capital Combat was their last PPV appearance in the NWA and that they probably won't last through the summer. It's kind of funny since with Ole in as the booker, they may have received a massive push - Ole was booking during the period when the Legion of Doom was a really feared quantity.
5/31//1990:
- We'll probably also have the much-anticipated ;-( six-person tag match between Dusty & Sapphire & Liz vs. Randy & Sherri & Brother Love at Summer Slam too. Expect Warrior vs. Rude to be on top. You know, if Warrior makes it through to SS in August, there'll only be 6 more months to WM VII...
6/21/1009:
- Brian Adams (?) is Demolition's new partner. He will fight has B.A., which stands for Bad Attitude. He has apparently already made appearances at house shows featuring Demolition vs. Hart Foundation, interfering on behalf of Demolition who win with a screw job or get disqualified. Perhaps Vince is going to make the Warriors faces after all. ..
6/28/1990:
- In an Ole Anderson type move, Vince seems ready to bring in Sgt. Slaughter. The strange part is that I'm hearing he'll be a heel, perhaps feuding with a reformed Nikolai Volkoff.
6/28/1990:
- Latest rumour has Vince making an offer to buy the NWA. I doubt Ted Turner would sell to Vince, 'cause these boys just don't like each other, but if the offer is really high.....
7/19/1990:
- This same Toronto paper has Ric Flair leaving the NWA after Halloween Havoc to join the WWF and already have him lined up to feud with Ted DiBiase at that time! But, a quick reality check shows that Jim Herd will not release Ric Flair from his contract, so it looks like Flair will be in the NWA until 1992.
8/16/1990:
- The hottest news I've Herd in the past couple of weeks is that
Ole Anderson has very recently been fired as booker in the NWA.
- Rumours have the Hart Foundation ready to fight Demolition with the same fire - adding a third member. It's been reported that Owen Hart has been approached about joining the Hart Foundation.
9/7/1990:
- Hogan will be taking a break for a few months to begin filming on "Urban Commando," the first of three flicks in his movie deal. He plays an intergalactic superhero space mercenary who winds up on Earth.
9/20/1990:
- Rumours have it that the Legion of Doom are already gettng upset because
they thought they'd be in a title match program against the WWF tag champs. They likely won't get the shot until the new year, with a build-up to WrestleMania. In the latest issues of the NWA Wrap-Up, the NWA said that "Hawk and Animal have left the NWA. They have decided to pursue their career where the focue is on entertainment rather than wrestling."
10/18/1990:
- Vince has decided to trim the fat. As a result, the Survivor Series will be the last date for several WWF wrestlers, including Jim Neidhart, Nikolai Volkoff, Greg Valentine and the Honky Tonk Man. (The good news here is that Vince may actually push Brett Hart as a singles wrestler).
- , Vince lost a couple of big names this week. The first
and less "big" is Akeem, who has quit to spend more time with his
family. The second is Rick Rude. Rumor here is that Rude wasn't happy with his share of the Summer Slam pie and quit. Akeem wasn't really involved in any program, so his loss will be no big deal, but Rude was just set to feud with the Big Boss Man. Word
has it that either Haku or Bobby Heenan will replace Rude at the arena shows this and next month.
1/31/1991:
- Lots of talk that Kerry von Erich will be out of the WWF very shortly. He hasn't been involved in a program for a bit, and there no program being set up that uses him, so this seems likely.
2/21/1991:
- Rumors have begun that the Ultimate Warrior wants to retire, since he is tired of the hectic WWF schedule. This just may be a ruse to counteract the "Savage wants to retire" rumors. I expect that neither wrestler will really retire, though. Either we'll have a time limit draw (but with Warrior that might be tough), or an instant replay job that causes some controversy in the finish, or a legit win by one guy followed by the arrival of a masked unknown somehow familiar even to Vince.
- Interesting rumour: WCW's Alexandra York, Terry Taylor's new manager and head of the York foundation, is actually Alexandra Ross, Jim Ross' daughter.
2/28/1991:
- Brother Love will be gone form the WWF in a week. Bruce Pritchard takes on a front office job with Titan. The Brother Love segment will be replaced by a segment hosted by Paul Bearer.
- Rumours also have Tony Atlas hanging up his tribal garb and leaving the WWF. Ditto for Shane Douglas, who fortuantely didn't have any tribal garb to hang up, although that was surely just a matter of time.
- Mike Rotunda, err... Michael Wall Street, left WCW a short while ago because of contractual problems. He's signed a short-term deal in Japan and is then WWF bound.
3/7/1991:
- Rumors persist that Randy Savage wants some time off from the WWF to spend with his wife, Elizabeth. Rumors are also in the air that the Ultimate Warrior wants to take some time off. I guess we can take this to mean that whoever loses the "retirement" match at WM VII will actually just take a summer vacation, and be back. Popular word has it that Warrior is scheduled to feud with the Undertaker after WM, if UW indeed stays on.
3/14/1991:
- There is talk that the WWF is courting both Mike Tyson and Donovan Ruddock to act as a special referee at WM. Iron Mike and Razor Ruddock will meet on Monday, and the WWF wants the winner as a ref.
- We can expect an appearance by Ricky Steamboat at WM, possibly an angle.
- Rumours that Randy Savage plans to take a leave of absence from the WWF are fueling rumours that Elizabeth is going to deliver a child in the near future.
- The WWF is already soliciting for video purchases of WM VII. The cover of the video promo has Hogan wrapped in the US flag, holding the WWF title. Gee, nothing like keeping your bookings a secret.
- Tugboat and Rick Martel are already getting buried at the house shows, adding fuel to the rumours that they will be among those cut after WM.
3/21/1991:
- Biggest rumour of the week as far as impact goes is that Shawn Michaels of the Rockers is leaving the WWF. No word on Marty Janetty's plans or Shawn's destination.
4/4/1991:
- Dino Bravo and Demolition appear to be the first cuts in the post-WrestleMania fat-trimming in the WWF
4/18/1991:
- The latest rumours in the Sid Vicious situation in WCW is that Sid has in fact turned down the $7000 a week offer from the promotion (which would have increased his salary by $2000 per week and made him the third highest paid performer in the organization). Sid wants one more thousand a week (or a $400000+ contract). Rumours have Sid leaving after the May 19th WCW PPV and surfacing in the WWF in September.
- Early word is that WrestleMania VIII will take place in the Hoosier Dome in Indianapolis.
- In WCW, Owen Hart is already gone (but the door is open for him to return), Ron Simmons renewed his contract, Billy Jack Haynes isn't coming in after all, and Tom Zenk will be out briefly with an injury.
- Paul Orndorff has been re-hired by WCW, which apparently means that the UWF has lost him. WCW is also courting both Big John Studd and King Kong Bundy.
4/26/1991:
- After a little discussion with Ted Turner, who owns the rights to the Wizard of Oz, WCW has been allowed to introduce characters based on the film. Kevin Nash, the larger Master Blaster, will be cast as Oz, and Kevin Sullivan will be cast as his manager, Merlin the Magician. The debut of the characters has been added to the May 19th PPV. Could this be anyone but Jim Herd's idea?
5/9/1991:
- Scott Hall worked at a recent WCW taping as a heel managed by Diamond Dallas Page. Maybe Scott will be the third Freebird?
- Dino Bravo is gone from the WWF.
- As I mentioned last week, Steve Austin has signed with WCW. He'll be coming with (Rockin') Robin Smith as his manager/valet.
6/6/1991:
- Bruce Pritchard, whom we know and *love* as the red-faced Brother Love, has been canned from his office job with the WWF. Apparently he had some disagreements with John Fillipelli (who produced NBC Sports World) and got fired. Fillipelli has taken over Pritchard's job as the head of WWF production. The rumour mill is swirling that Pritchard will be called on by his good buddy Dusty Rhodes to work in WCW, as either an announcer or a manager.
- Saturday Night's Main Event on NBC is no more. Brandon Tartikoff has left NBC and Dick Ebersol has lost some stature, so the two main backers of the show are gone. This means that, at least for the moment, WCW is at a promotional advantage since the SNMEs were the one of the main tools for getting new angles over with casual WWF fans. The ratings for the SNMEs were usually twice or more times the ratings for the WWF syndies, which really don't get the casual fans watching regularly.
6/20/1991:
- Interesting rumour has Brian Pillman jumping to the WWF. He has missed some WCW dates recently.
- Also, rumours continue that Brother Love will join WCW as a manager.
6/27/1991:
- After SummerSlam, Steve Williams will join forces with the Undertaker and be managed by Paul Bearer.
- Probably at SummerSlam, and certainly after the event, Virgil will start wearing a dress and make-up and calling himself Virgilina.
- As reported earlier this week, the RCMP is upset at the characterization of the Mountie in the WWF. They are fighting quite hard to get the gimmick killed. I'd expect that the Mountie will meet a quick demise at the hand of the Big Boss Man and Jacques Rougeau will get recycled.
7/4/1991:
- Ric Flair has been fired by WCW after refusing to take a substantial cut in his salary. Flair was the highest paid wrestler in the group, earning $780000 a year, and was asked to accept a new contract with a salary of $350000 a year. Flair quite understandably balked at this offer, which would remove him from the top salary spot in the organization. "I don't know how they could possibly have expected me to accept this offer," Flair told Alez Marvez of Knight-Ridder Newspapers yesterday from his home in Charlotte, NC. "Imagine a baseball manager walking up to Jose Canseco and saying, 'Jose, tomorrow we're going to cut your cheque in half.' Would they expect him to say 'Oh fine?'" Flair's attorney, Dennis Guthrie, was notified Monday that WCW would terminate Flair's contract August 1st. All WCW contracts have a clause that allows WCW to end contracts early, with 30 days notice. WCW has already stopped booking Flair. He is essentially shelved for 30 days and is no longer recognized as the WCW World Heavyweight Champion. A statement out of WCW's headquarters in Atlanta said, "WCW was unable to reach a mutually satisfactory contractual agreement with Flair and a new champion will be crowned July 14th at the Great American Bash PPV show from Baltimore." "I'm stunned," Flair said. "They had always called me their flagship wrestler." There is some speculation that Flair may move from being WCW's flagship to being the WWF's
7/18/1991:
- Oz (Kevin Nash) is gone from WCW. Apparently, they had some contractual problems with Nash and fired him because he was unwilling to bend.
9/5/1991:
- The Ultimate Warrior has been suspended by Vince McMahon for 90 days for unprofessional conduct. The rumours are already flying that he was suspended for steroid usage, which could be the beginning of the end of the UW with the WWF. Sid Justice will jump in and begin working against the Undertaker, with their first meeting taking place in Hamilton, Ontario, this Sunday. The match is a coffin match, where the loser will be carted away in a coffin. Interestingly enough, at the WWF's WrestleFest show they ran what appeared to be the final match in the UW vs. Undertaker feud, with UW locking Undertaker in the coffin and a bunch of wrestlers carrying the coffin to the back room. I guess this will never make a Coliseum home video. With UW gone, Jake Roberts is left without a foe, so Vince concocted the reception skit. It looks like Randy Savage will be feuding with Jake Roberts. But, Randy is not particularly keen on even returning to the ring according to some rumours and vetoed an earlier suggestion that he return and feud with Ted DiBiase some more. I doubt that Randy will look at a feud with Jake in any better light than a feud with Ted. There may be a bit of a power play over Vince's rushed actions post-SummerSlam.
9/12/1991:
- The Ultimate Warrior saga continues. UW's contract with the WWF runs for several months yet, so the 90 day suspension doesn't go to the end of his contract. This means that Vince has the choice of bringing the UW back in 90 days, releasing him from his contract, or suspending him some more. Those rumours of the UW coming to blows with Vince at Vince's birthday party in New York have reached here now. While the public and the media have been told that UW was suspended, the guys in the locker room were told he was fired. Talk now is that Vince will release the Warrior at the end of the suspension and he'll be able to negotiate with any organization.
- Randy Savage has given Vince McMahon his notice. He's retiring as a wrestler, but wants to stay on as a commentator. Of course, Vince wants Randy back in the ring against Jake Roberts, especially after filming that skit at the reception. Lanny Poffo, Randy's brother, was brought in to replace John "The Coach" Tolos as manager of the Beverly Brothers, in an attempt to sway Randy. Tolos, by the way, was let go for health reasons according to the WWF.
9/26/1991:
- Big rumour that the Nasty Boys are on their way out of the WWF. They've demanded $600000 from Vince, who isn't particularly eager to comply. Their contracts are up in November and if negotiations fall through, there is talk that they will return to WCW.
- Jim Herd has been named the president of the National Wrestling Alliance. All the promoters who own a piece of this name had a vote in deciding whether Herd would be appointed. In the past, this group caused enough trouble that the NWA of old was renamed WCW. Then, when Ric Flair left WCW, the NWA board decided that he would still be recognized as NWA champion. Now, the WCW shows will once again start using the NWA name. This also gives WCW a chance to appeal Flair's claim to the NWA belt.
10/3/1991:
- The rumours are very strong and come from different people - perhaps with the same source; who knows? - but the agreement in stories is astounding enough to guarantee that something major will happen at the Survivor Series. What? Well, the rumours have it that Hulk Hogan will drop the WWF Title to The Undertaker at the show, with the main reason for his loss being Ric Flair. It may be a pre-match attack by Flair, or mid-match interference, or something else, but the signs are strong that this will happen. What happens next? One line of rumours has the Undertaker losing the title to Sid Justice not too long after winning it. Then Ric Flair will cheat the title away from Justice and set up a match at WrestleMania: Hulk Hogan (challenger) vs. Ric Flair (WWF & NWA - and therefore, undisputed (tm) - World Heavyweight Champion). This would give Ric the chance to achieve the superstardom he must have been promised by Vince just to sign with the WWF - Ric would in effect unify the WWF & NWA Titles, okay, okay...the WWF & "Real World" Titles. But, at WrestleMania, Hulk Hogan - the challenger! - would pin Ric Flair clean in their first (and last?) PPV encounter. So Vince would never have to give Ric a title win over Hogan on any major show, thus solidifying Hulk's superiority for the mark audience.
- The Rockers have given Vince their notice. They won't be negotiating a new contract when the current one expires (end of November, I believe). I guess this means that the Rockers will do quick and decisive jobs at Survivor Series. No word on where they are going, but could you imagine a Rockers vs. Steiners match!
- Cactus Jack has signed a contract with WCW.
10/17/1991:
- Sting renewed his contract with WCW.
- Big Van Vader starts with WCW again in November. There's talk that he'll work Halloween Havoc if Scott Steiner can't work the show.
- Lots of talk that Rick Rude will be coming into WCW finally. He's expected to be the mystery Phantom at Halloween Havoc.
10/24/1991:
- Steve Austin's contract with WCW ends in November and apparently he hasn't signed a deal with the company yet. So, if negotiations fall through he may end up dropping the title to Dustin Rhodes at Halloween Havoc. There are already rumours that Austin will be jumping to the WWF.
- As I reported before, the Rockers gave their notice to the WWF a little while ago. Vince has taken a new angle with negotiations with the team. There is talk that Vince wants Shawn Michaels to work as a singles wrestler in the IC Title challengers pool.
- Along this same line, Vince is also talking to Owen Hart about either coming in to work singles or, form a tag team with existing talent, possibly Jim Neidhart.
10/31/1991:
- As has been mentioned on the net already, Rick Steamboat, unhappy with his non-existent push in the WWF although he had been promised one, gave notice that he would be leaving the company on December 16th. Vince promptly asked Rick to job for the Undertaker and IRS at the next batch of tapings. Rick refused and was fired, or you can take his refusal as meaning he quit. There's already talk of Rick coming back to WCW
- Sting's new contract with WCW is for three years and will net him close to $2-million over that period.
11/7/1991:
- Some talk of Rick Martel showing up in WCW as a heel, working with Paul E. Dangerously, Madusa, and Rick Rude. So while WCW, lost one Ric, they may have gained three others, since rumours still persist that Rick Steamboat will be brought in as well.
1/2/1991:
- Jimmy Snuka has apparently been let go by the WWF, with his final appearance being the Royal Rumble.
1/9/1992:
- Jesse Ventura is suing Vince McMahon for using old footage with Jesse's commentary on those special PPVs and on video releases without The Body's permission.
- Rumours have Lady Blossom appearing in the WWF to work as Ric Flair's valet.
- Apparently, Magic Johnson has approached both the WWF and WCW about doing wrestling shows as part of an AIDS benefit. The rumours have him proposing some inter-federational matches as the draw.
1/16/1992:
- I guess the rumours can stop. Lex Luger has officially given notice to WCW that he will be leaving after SuperBrawl, which basically tells us what will happen in the main event. His contract runs one more year, so, while WCW is letting him go, he cannot *wrestle* in that year. Luger has also made comments about the travelling and the bumps making it difficult for him to build his body. I guess the last two sentences combine to give credence to the rumour that Vince will sign Luger to the WBF and then cross him over when he is allowed to wrestle. Stranger things have happened.
1/23/1992:
- Chris Chavis should debut this week on the WWF syndies. Soultaker's new WWF gimmick seems to have gotten the green light, so Papa Shango will debut in a few weeks. Art Barr (aka The Juicer) had a WWF try-out.
- There's talk that Ted DiBiase has been talked to by WCW. Ted's booking for the Royal Rumble showed the signs of someone who was leaving the company. In addition, Sherri Martel has expressed an interest in Shawn Michaels at a recent TV taping. Something is definitely up with Ted.
1/30/1992:
- As everybody has reported, WCW apparently reached a deal with Bret Hart for Bret to appear on the Clash of Champions live broadcast on January 21st with his WWF Intercontinental belt. This was of course meant to be a retaliatory blow against the WWF for using the NWA belt when Flair jumped. Bret thought that his contract was up, but, in fact, he can't give notice for another few months and had to back out of the deal when he realized this. Bret knew that he would be dropping the belt to the Mountie in Springfield so that the title could be passed to Roddy Piper. Bret has been promised the IC Title back at WrestleMania, but that seems kind of unlikely, unless he turns heel. In the mean time, WCW insists that Bret is going to come in later this year, and if he does in fact give notice to the WWF, I'm sure we'll know since his push will match that of the Berzerker.