Wrestling Observer Flashback–04.29.91

Previously on the Flashback… http://blogofdoom.com/index.php/2016/12/11/wrestling-observer-flashback-04-22-91/

This week, a special Tiger Mask retrospective issue! Must be a slow news week.

– Dave gives a brief history of the career of Satoru Sayama and his transformation into Tiger Mask 10 years ago, and from here we transition into WCW’s announcement that they’ll be launching a junior heavyweight division. This decision, probably not coincidentally, comes just after WCW officials were in Japan and watching Jushin Liger be awesome. The logical candidate to build the division around is Brian Pillman, but the feeling within the business is that putting a “junior heavyweight title” on him will pretty much be the death knell for his career.

– Dave brings up the example of New Japan’s light heavyweight division taking off and Stampede Wrestling’s mid-heavyweight division, although of course Stampede tended to produce talent that left for greener pastures instead of becoming a draw in itself. Can this sort of thing work in WCW? Probably not. “Bigger is better” has been the mantra for years now, and unless they have a full-time phenom like Jushin Liger to carry things long-term, odds are not there. So now, here are Dave’s rules for building a light heavyweight division:

1) Don’t mix the small guys with the big guys. Liger isn’t going to look like a killer standing next to Big Van Vader, for instance. If the division becomes a dumping ground for the guys who can’t beat Barry Windham or Lex Luger, then everyone is just wasting time and money.

2) The style has to be different. (Take note, 205 Live agents.)

3) Realize it’s not going to work right away because it take a long time to retrain fans.

4) You have to build around someone who is spectacular and has charisma. (Like TJ Perkins! No, wait…)

– To the WWF, where Hulk Hogan appeared on the cover of USA Today as the “King of PPV”, with Wrestlemania VII being listed as grossing 22 million, or roughly double the real number. In fact, with a hot angle, Summerslam might actually outdraw Wrestlemania.

– Dave finally saw the New Japan Supershow tape, and he couldn’t find much to fault given the time limitations. In fact, the time went by too quickly and left him wanting more, which is the sign of a good show. And it goes without saying that Jim Ross and Tony Schiavone were much better prepared than Vince McMahon. Dave did think that Flair v. Fujinami was more of a success on TV because he was sitting too far away in the Tokyo Dome to appreciate the chops and such.

– Sid Vicious has been pulled from all the house shows before the PPV on 5/19. He’s getting paid his full contract money while sitting at home, and there’s some bitterness about it, to say the least. Apparently they didn’t want to take the chance of Sid getting injured before he can go out on the stretcher at the Superbrawl show. A WWF official actually wanted to bet Dave that Sid didn’t go out on a stretcher at the show. Dave didn’t take the bet. (Wise move.)

– Back to Japan, where SWS has decided to launch a promotional war against New Japan, which seems suicidal on the surface. But while New Japan doesn’t have to worry about being outsold by SWS, the fear is that SWS is going to flood the market with free tickets and offer a super-cheap alternative to NJPW in all the cities where they’re running opposition.

– The downfall of Koji Kitao continues, as he’s been ousted from the wrestling business after the John Tenta incident. As an additional detail, Kitao is claiming that Great Kabuki told Tenta to “teach him a lesson”, and that Tenta is the one who made the first shoot move. And then after the shit went down, Kitao stormed into the dressing room and threatened Kabuki as well for not taking care of his own dirty work.

– At this point, Dave tells the story of Ernie Ladd, who was a huge guy just as big as Sid Vicious, but he learned to draw money by selling for smaller guys, because gobbling up all his opponents would just make them look like crap and leave no one to draw with him. And then Dave watches Sid “sell” for Brian Pillman by treating it like a gnat is bothering him, and he wonders if Sid will ever learn that particular lesson, especially when he gets to the WWF. (Eventually he kind of did, I guess, but he sure as hell learned not to mess with Pillman!)

– All Japan broke their all-time record for Budokan Hall on 4/18 with a $700,000 house for Jumbo Tsuruta retaining the Triple Crown over Mitsuhara Misawa with three backdrop suplexes. Said to be a super show, including an awesome match with Stan Hansen & Dan Spivey beating Williams & Gordy to win all the tag belts. Jumbo is now issuing an open challenge to Hulk Hogan. (Man, Misawa did a LOT of jobs in the main events before he finally won that damn thing.)

– Unlike All Japan, which has clean finishes up and down but predictable results, New Japan is opting for wacky upsets up and down the cards to shake things up. Both approaches appear to be working in their own way.

– Demolition is basically working full-time for SWS now, although with Tito Santana and rookie Rochester Roadblock. (Roadblock would gain later “fame” as a cult favorite on WCW Saturday Night.)

– Despite telling everyone over and over that he’s retired for good and won’t ever wrestle again, Randy Savage is also working the SWS tour through May. So it’s a slow-burn retirement that he’s easing into, I guess.

– Jerry Lawler actually did take time off in Memphis, leaving the main event without him “for the first time in about 100 years”, as Eric Embry beat Eddie Gilbert by DQ to a mediocre house. Fear not, however, as Lawler still main evented in Dallas against Embry, and had a hell of a match, to boot.

– Mark Madden is apparently putting together a book on Ric Flair and wants to talk to anyone who was there for Flair winning or losing the World title live.

– Barry Windham ruptured an eardrum a few weeks back, so he’s been missing shows selectively based on where he can drive to, since he’s unable to fly at the moment.

– Great American Bash tour update: No country music acts, no outdoor shows.

– Dave is still losing sleep over this third Freebird, but he does know 100% for sure that it won’t be Angel of Death. (I think he was probably the only person in America who gave a shit, and was probably the most disappointed when it turned out to be Brad Armstrong in yet another mask.) Speaking of Angel, he nearly lived up to one part of his name when he gave Tim Horner a tombstone piledriver and failed to protect him (ala Owen Hart on Steve Austin), resulting in Horner going out on a stretcher and right to the hospital.

– Apparently in addition to Oz having a cast of thousands in his corner for his debut, Big Josh’s PPV debut will feature an actual bear in his corner. Dave is hopeful that the bear doesn’t go off-script and eat the munchkins. (You know it’s 1991 WCW because I’m having to type this stuff and I don’t have to check to see if Dave is being serious or not.)

– Barry Windham’s contract is up at the end of the month, and Dave thinks that if ever there was a time to put the screws to management and get a better deal, this is it. (And yet he didn’t really cash in on their desperation for main eventers, while being bestest buddies with the booker no less.)

– WCW’s latest strategy at house shows: Book Flair-Sting matches for the World title with El Gigante as ref in cage matches. Gigante gets kidnapped while Flair cheats and pins Sting with a second ref making the count. Gigante returns and restarts the match, Sting pins Flair, leaves with the belt, no decision is announced. Everyone is happy, WCW makes millions of dollars and is still alive today. (OK, I made up that last part.)

– Dusty’s booking is doing nothing for ratings, as they’re actually well below where they were at the same time last year with Ole in charge and house shows aren’t much to write home about, either.

– To the WWF, where they taped what turned out to be the series finale for Saturday Night’s Main Event, with a terrible Warrior-Slaughter match and Curt Hennig winning a battle royale. Also on the show, The Dragon made his debut and immediately screwed up the fire-breathing gimmick, which had fans turning on the gimmick already. Apparently the show lasted 4 hours and 45 minutes. (Or about half the length of Wrestlemania this year.)

– Wayne Bloom & Mike Enos got a tryout at the Wrestling Challenge tapings, losing to the well-regarded young tag team of Buck Zumhofe & Koko B. Ware. Dave thinks they should call WCW instead given how desperate they are right now.

– Despite the contract ending in September, Sid Vicious will debut well before then at TV tapings. Because Vince, I guess.

– Brutus Beefcake dropped the masked man gimmick because he suffered an injury doing the run-ins, which is why he’s doing the interviewer gig instead now.

– And finally, Konnan starts in six weeks and he’ll have a suit that shoots lasers, streamers and flares. (Maybe Vince saw a Triumph concert from 1984 and got inspired?)

As noted, not much going on this week. But then we all know what we’re just waiting patiently to happen at this point, anyway.