Flashback Friday: PWI September 1988

This week, we look back at an issue of PWI that covers the spring SuperCards and sold for $2.25 in the U.S, $2.95 in Canada, and £1.50 in the U.K. We’ve got a lot to cover today, including a tournament with brackets that were made up on the fly, leading to one team wrestling twice in the same round and a winning team failing to advance. (Even more interesting, the Wikipedia article covering the tournament has a false set of brackets because the real ones don’t make any sense!) So let’s get to it.

First off, WrestleMania IV was a thing, taking place on March 27. Savage won the World title, Demolition won the tag team championship. (Attendance: 19,199 at the Historic Atlantic City Convention Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey.)

In the NWA, Clash of the Champions, also held on March 27, saw Lex Luger & Barry Windham win the tag team title while Ric Flair held on to his in a 45 minute draw. However, just before the Crockett Cup, Windham turned on Luger, costing the team the tag team championship (with Tully & Arn winning it back) and taking the team out of the Crockett Cup. (Attendance: 5,988 at the Greensboro Coliseum in Greensboro, North Carolina)

Speaking of the Crockett Cup, which took place on April 22 and April 23, Lex Luger chose Sting as his new partner, and they went on to defeat Tully & Arn in the finals to claim the trophy. (Attendance: 4,440 at the Greenville Memorial Auditorium and 6,320 at the Greensboro Coliseum in Greensboro, North Carolina)

In the AWA, Rage in the Cage II happened on April 16, with the Rock ‘n’ Roll Express and the Nasty Boys wrestling to a draw and Paul Diamond defeating TV champion Greg Gagne while Wahoo McDaniel defeated heavyweight champ Curt Hennig. No titles changed hands however, with Diamond winning by DQ and the heavyweight match being nontitle. (Attendance: 2009 at the Showboat Pavilion in Las Vegas, Nevada)

In WCCW, The Fifth Annual Parade of Champions took place on May 8, and saw Terry Gordy defeat Michael Hayes in a Triple Dome of Terror steel cage match while John Tatum and Jack Victory defeated Terry Gordy and Steve Simpson by count-out for the vacant Wild West Tag Team Championship and Kerry Von Erich defeated Iceman Parsons for WCWA World Heavyweight Championship. (Attendance: 7,923 at Texas Stadium in Irving, Texas)

WrestleMania IV was co-hosted by Donald Trump and was shown in more than 165 closed-circuit locations as well as being available on pay per view. Ticket prices ranged from $25 to $150, and when all is said and done, it will probably gross about $20 million. (Or in today’s terms, nearly enough for hush money payments.) However, while the event had several memorable moments, such as when Bad News Brown turned on Bret Hart and when Hulk Hogan helped Randy Savage win the title, there were no “match of the year” candidates.

The Clash of the Champions aired on WTBS and a pleasant surprise for wrestling fans. The wrestling was superb, culminating with a 45-minute match shown in its entirety without a single commercial. Although it was not the financial success of WrestleMania, there is one incredible truth: more people saw Ric Flair on WTBS than saw Hulk Hogan on pay-per-view.

The Crockett Cup, taking place over the course of two days, featured solely NWA teams, with a Japanese team failing to appear due to transportation problems and no teams from World Class or Calgary. Unfortunately, the NWA officials seemed to have trouble deciding on the tournament format, confusing fans and forcing one team to wrestle twice in the second round. (More on this momentarily.) Also, the tournament, spread over two nights, took place in cities 150 miles apart, making it difficult for fans to see both rounds. (The event was not broadcast on cable or shown on pay-per-view.) Nonetheless, the event featured two thrilling evenings of wrestling.

Rage in the Cage II drew only 2,000 fans and featured matches taped for later showing on ESPN. This is a far cry from WrestleRock two years ago, which drew over 22,000 fans at the Metrodome, making it the largest single live event of any SuperCard in 1986, but the AWA proved the quality of talent is on the rise, particularly in tag team wrestling.

The Fifth Annual Parade of the Champions drew only 7,000 fans to 65,000-seat Texas Stadium, which can’t compare to 43,518 who attended the inaugural event in 1984 but is up from only 5,000 the year before. The fans who were in attendance did have a chance to win prizes. In a special “Texas Roundup” match, held in the Triple Dome of Terror (three cages stacked on top of each other with a fireman’s pole in the middle), each of the 17 wrestlers tried to win one of three prizes for selected fans in the crowd. Steve Casey, the first man to reach the top of the cage, won a trip to Las Vegas for one lucky fan. Jason Sterling, the second man to reach the top, won a motorcycle for another fan. John Tatum won jewelry for a third fan. The Texas Roundup is representative of the aggressive promotion that now marks World Class. Unlike last year, when PWI said the Fourth Parade of Champions might have been the last, the fifth Parade of Champions could be a sign of things to come. (Actually, the fifth was the last.)

Next, No Holds Barred with David Rosenbaum. Dave says, “When it is possible for a team to win in the first and second rounds of a tournament and not advance to the third round? When it’s at the Jim Crockett Sr. Memorial Cup tag team tournament.” Dave then explains what happened, which, by the way, could only ever happen in wrestling. Strap yourself in because this one is going to be a wild ride. The Crockett Cup was to feature 16 teams in the first round and eight other teams with byes waiting in the second round. Ten of the teams were seeded, with the top 8 getting byes. That part is fairly straightforward.

But the suspension of Dusty Rhodes forced his team, seeded #2, to pull out. (Unrelated: the Midnight Rider wrestled J.J. Dillon in a Texas bullrope match at the event.) Then Lex Luger and Barry Windham, seeded #6, split up days before the tournament. At the event itself, Ronnie Garvin, who was to team up with Sting in the ninth seed, was injured trying to help out Jimmy Garvin in a blindfold match, and a Japanese team scheduled to wrestle in the first round didn’t show. At that point, some things were reshuffled. Luger & Sting, both without partners, decided to team up together and were given a first round bye for reasons unknown. As for the first round itself, there were seven winners. Five of them went on to wrestle five of the top seeds. The other two—the Sheepherders and Tim Horner & Brad Armstrong—wrestled each other, with the Sheepherders coming out victorious and theoretically moving on to the third round. However, somebody finally noticed the Midnight Express, lost in the shuffle, didn’t have a second round opponent, so the Sheepherders were sent out to wrestle again and lost, eliminating them from the tournament in the second round. (I suspect Scott Steiner was secretly in charge, using a chalkboard in the back to design the brackets.) Craig says none of this makes any sense. Sidenote: Even the Wikipedia article for this tournament can’t make sense of it. The page simultaneously claims the Midnight Express had a first round bye (which they did) while also claiming the Midnights wrestled in the first round against Johnny Ace & John Savage (which they didn’t).

In fact, Horner/Armstrong, not the Midnights, wrestled and defeated Ace/Savage in the first round before Horner & Armstrong, as mentioned, lost to the Sheepherders in the second round. But if the brackets were to show that, it would look like the Sheepherders went on to the third round, which they didn’t, and it would also look odd having the Sheepherders wrestle the Midnights in the second round despite their first round bracket not leading to it. So the person or persons who made this Wikipedia page intentionally changed the brackets to avoid these issues, creating a fictitious set of brackets to make sense out of something that originally made no sense! Anyway, that was the Crockett Cup brought to you by WCW before the organization shed its NWA heritage and officially embraced its identity.

Let’s move on to Between Falls, the mailbag section. Greg from Los Angeles points out that Hulk Hogan recently talked about how a little Hulkamaniac in a wheelchair claimed Hogan was “the only role model left” in America. “Then Hulk goes and clobbers Andre and Ted DiBiase with a chair at WrestleMania! Does that little Hulkamaniac still look up to Hulk Hogan? I hope not.” Danny from South Lebec, Maine, however, says Hogan continues to be genteel and forgiving and is encouraging people to strive for what’s right without anger but with sincerity. Heidi from Jacksonville, Florida says she’s not surprised that Barry Windham turned on Lex Luger, and both will probably be better without each other. Windham has the Horseman and Luger has Sting. Meanwhile, David from Easton, Connecticut says the NWA has a double standard when it comes to suspensions. Tully Blanchard attacks a helpless Magnum T.A. and he gets off scot free. Dusty tries to help out his friend, and he gets suspended. Then there’s Rachel from Tampa, Florida who says the Midnight Rockers are just a cheap imitation of the Rock ‘n’ Roll Express, and when the dust clears, the real rockers, Ricky and Robert, will be left standing. And finally, Greg from Novato, California writes in to say Vince McMahon either lied or has a poor memory when it comes to Andre the Giant. After Hacksaw Jim Duggan knocked out Andre with a 2×4, Vince said it was the first time he’d ever seen Andre unconscious. But Vince was actually on hand when Andre was knocked unconscious in 1984 in a tag team match where he teamed up with S.D. Jones to take on Big John Studd and Ken Patera before Bobby Heenan cut Andre’s hair. “McMahon must have a very short memory because he’s also deleted the Andre-Hogan feud in 1980. What’s next? Randy Savage was never a rulebreaker? Bruno Sammartino was never WWF champion?” (Wendi Richter never existed? No paralegals ever received hush money payments?)

We move on to Ringside with Bill Apter, where Bill announces that Dusty Rhodes has won his appeal and has been reinstated. In an unrelated note, the Midnight Rider has left the NWA, returning to his ranch in Colorado. Paul Boesch, speaking for the NWA board, says “Dusty Rhodes has always been one of the most respected wrestlers in the NWA. His long years of service speak for themselves, and it’s unfair that Dusty should be punished so severely for one mistake, especially when he was trying to help a friend in need. We must understand that wrestling is very emotional and these things can happen.” In other news, CWA manager Ernest Angel has been hospitalized with an undiagnosed ailment. (Brother Ernest was a televangelist preacher who managed a team called The Choir Boys and used “the good book” to interfere in matches. People in the South took great offense to the character, but it would be funny if someone working in the North were to copy it.) Ivan Koloff, The Barbarian & The Warlord are slated to defend their six-man tag belts against The Road Warriors & Sting on May 29th in Greensboro. Al Costello and Don Kent, the legendary Fabulous Kangaroos, will reunite at a benefit card for underprivileged children on May 21 in Dearborn, Michigan. Baby Doll, former manager of Larry Zbyszko, was recently seen at a WWF card in Lowell, Massachusetts. (Well, she was married to Sam Houston.) Ric Flair is scheduled to put his title on the line against Lex Luger on the July 10 Great American Bash card at the Baltimore Arena. The card will be available live nationwide on pay-per-view. Flair is also scheduled for a series of title defenses against former UWF heavyweight champ Steve Williams. General Skandor Akbar has returned to the World Class area as manager of Black Bart. Victor Rivera is coming out of retirement to wrestle for All-California Championship Wrestling. Alexis Smirnoff is also in ACCW. Chris and Mark Youngblood won the WWC Caribbean tag team belts from Bobby Jaggers and Dan Kroffat. The Invader won the WWC junior heavyweight title from Tony Falk. Andre the Giant, who recently scored an impressive victory over Jake Roberts, has made it known he wants a series of shots at new champion Randy Savage. Hulk Hogan, meanwhile, has wrestled infrequently since WrestleMania IV. Rumors continue to circulate that the former champ plans to star in a movie. Michael Hayes & Kerry Von Erich recently teamed to defeat Terry Gordy & Iceman Parsons by DQ when Buddy Roberts ran into the ring to help Gordy and Parsons. And finally, Paul Jones, a wrestler and promoter for 55 years (not to be confused with the manager of the Warlord and the Barbarian), died on April 17. He was 86. That’s all for now, see you at the matches!

From the Desk of Stu Saks… Dick Murdoch got a hold of Stu and says the magazines are too obsessed with wrestling stars who have muscular bodies and no longer focus on what wresting’s really about: winning. There’s even a “Wrestling’s Sexiest Superstar” contest going on. Stu says he tried to explain that the sexiest superstar poll appeals to female readers, as well as male readers who are into bodybuilding, but it was pointless. (Stu left out that there’s always been a subset of gay wrestling fans, with wrestling promotions and magazines perfectly happy to cater to them without explicitly saying so.) “You don’t win a match with bulging muscles,” Murdoch snapped back. “You win by pinning your opponent’s shoulders to the mat. You don’t have to look good to be good.” Stu then says Murdoch is right and that it might explain why older athletes, using the know-how they’ve accumulated through their careers, can out-perform younger athletes who are stronger and faster. “Tommy John of the Yankees. Don Sutton of the Dodgers. Both are in their 40s, but both are able to muster up the stuff that can turn youthful sluggers on their ears. Their fastballs may not register more than 80 miles per hour on the speed gun, but it doesn’t matter. They know how to play the game. They use their 20 years of experience to their advantage each time out.” Stu adds that on a single day in April, Tommy John, Don Sutton, and Nolan Ryan, combined age 128, worked a total of 22 innings, allowing only eight hits and no earned runs. In wrestling, sometimes men continue to thrive even into their 50s. “Hey, if you want to sell posters and T-shirts, go with the young muscle boys,” Murdoch says. “But when the money’s on the line, who are you gonna want out there?”

Let’s get to some Scouting Reports!

Next, Off the Top Rope with Eddie Ellner, where Eddie says he’s not sure about Barry Windham and fears he might not have the heart of a Horseman. “A pair of sunglasses do not a rulebreaker make.” Onto questions from fans. Mr. and Mrs. Earle Brown from Middleton, New York ask, “How would you compare Bruno Sammartino and Ric Flair? We feel Bruno was the ultimate champion with great all-around skill and power. We think Flair is classless, insecure and a low-life champion who can no longer win matches cleanly. If they wrestled in their prime, who do you feel would win? Also, if Hulk Hogan went to the NWA, do you think Flair could handle him? And will Randy Savage be a better champion than Hulk Hogan? How would Savage fare against Flair?” Eddie says for two people who hate Flair, they seem to have some strange infatuation with him. He agrees, however, that Flair’s skills are on the decline. As for Sammartino, he’s overrated but probably would have beaten Flair. Ditto for Hogan. Flair is a better wrestler, but Hogan could best him. As for Savage being a better champion than Hogan, PWI assistant editor Gersh Kuntzman would probably be a better champion. Flair vs. Savage? Eddie says, “If the home fires are burning between Savage and Elizabeth, there is no one in the world who can defeat the Macho Man. But because he’s emotionally constipated, I wouldn’t bet a nickel he’s champion by 1989.” Lastly, Jamie from Westwood, California asks, “Who has the greatest future in pro wrestling? Ultimate Warrior, Bam Bam Bigelow, Sting, or Jim Duggan?” Eddie says there’s more timber between Jim Duggan’s ears than in the 2×4 he swings. “His foot-stomping whine is almost enough to make a man cheer for The Giant Idiot. Almost. Ultimate Warrior has the look of a star, which will do wonders for his bank account, but very little for his ring skills. Bigelow’s knees are suspect, which could undermine his spectacular potential. If I could negotiate one man’s contract, let it be Sting’s. It will be hard for Sting to avoid winning a major singles championship in the near future. Agile versatility in the ring, along with a matinee-idol mug, will catapult Sting to stardom, like it or not.”

Gorilla Monsoon probably saw this and wrote in to complain about the abdominal stretch.

Matt Brock writes about the irony of the Queen of Wrestling, Missy Hyatt, being forced to serve the King of Wrestling, Jerry Lawler. By the provisions of a contract for a recent Memphis match between Lawler and Robert Fuller (the latter being Eddie Gilbert’s latest bounty hunter in Gilbert’s war against Lawler), the maid services of Missy Hyatt were up for grabs. Matt says he subscribes to the traditional view that a woman’s place is in the home. “But even if you don’t believe that a woman’s place is wearing a kitchen apron, you must agree her place is nowhere near a ring apron working as a useless valet to some pretty-boy in sequins. I have no patience for the likes of Sunshine, Precious, Baby Doll, or even Elizabeth, who’s main contribution to wrestling seems to be flashing a little leg. But the Queen of valets is Missy Hyatt, and there is no other valet I despise more.” So when Brock was invited down to Memphis to report on Hyatt’s day as Lawler’s maid, he found it satisfying. “Hyatt is part of a disease that infects wrestling, and she could use a good dose of humility to learn her proper place in the mat world.”

Next, a Press Conference with Barry Windham where he explains why he turned on Luger and joined the Horsemen. “I had to do what’s best for me. Ric Flair was openly campaigning for me to join the Horsemen, and I realized that being associated with Luger wasn’t good enough. Luger was using me, and it got to the point I couldn’t even get a word in edgewise during the TV segments. The Horsemen offered me all the money and prestige and glamour I could want. It was an easy decision.” PWI’s Bob Smith points out that this takes the World title off the table, since the Horsemen don’t fight each other, but Barry says that’s fine. “There’s always the U.S. title, and this time I’ll have people who will look out for me.” Eddie Ellner says, “I like what you have to say, Barry, but I don’t think you’ll be able to get by without the cheers of the fans.” Barry says, “Eddie, I respect you, and I understand why you’re cautious right now, but this is the biggest break in my career, and I’m absolutely committed to showing Arn, Tully, and Ric that I will be the best new member of the team since Arn himself.”

Next, an article about Bam Bam Bigelow. Has Oliver Humperdink failed him? We’re told about a conversation as fans were attempting to file out of Madison Square Garden following a WWF event. “Pretty good card, huh?” said one fan to his girlfriend. “Every match was exciting. Everybody wrestled pretty good too.” His girlfriend disagreed. “Almost. I’m disappointed in Bam Bam Bigelow. What’s a guy with all that talent doing losing to the One Man Gang? What’s wrong with Humperdink anyway? Bigelow should be champion by now.” A grey-haired man behind them joined in the conversation. “Yeah, Gang is big, but he’s not the wrestler Bigelow is. I don’t know what’s wrong with Bam Bam. He’s got the talent, but all that fat Humperdink does is yell to the fans. What purpose does he serve, anyway?” (Am I the only one who never had conversations like these when exiting an arena? “What a great sports entertainment event tonight!” “Yeah, but why isn’t Iyo Sky world champion yet? She needs to work on her clothesline.” “I’ve been saying that for weeks, fellow wrestling fans.”) The magazine then talks about how just some months before, Bigelow was pegged as the next can’t-miss star in the WWF. At the Survivor Series he nearly defeated King Kong Bundy, the One Man Gang, and Andre the Giant in succession. He went on to win a pair of high profile battle royals. Now he’s sinking in a quagmire of middle-of-the-card matches. And what has Humperdink done about it? Nothing. He’s content to see Bigelow wrestle the Gang over and over. “Humperdink is mad at Slick and OMG for beating Bigelow at WrestleMania IV,” said one WWF source. “Oliver won’t rest until Bam Bam gains a clean victory over the Gang.” Vengeance is a common motive in professional wrestling. But defeating the lumbering Gang won’t get Bigelow a title shot. Humperdink should be trying to secure a match against the Honky Tonk Man, the current Intercontinental champion who has been teetering on the edge of losing his title throughout his reign. What better man to push him over the cliff than Bigelow? Humperdink seems to be ignoring a title that Bigelow could easily win. Another possible target is the WWF tag team title. Ax and Smash are both big, fearsome studs, but they resemble a pair of second-graders in a school play when compared to Bigelow. There are a host of wrestlers who would team up with Bam Bam to take on Demolition including Hacksaw Jim Duggan, Don Muraco, and Jake Roberts. And how about WWF World champion Randy Savage vs. Bigelow? Bigelow might have to throw out the rulebook and get mean to make such a match happen, but it’s a career move Humperdink should consider. Sadly, Humperdink seems content to let Bigelow become just another wrestler. If Humperdink can’t assist Bigelow in reaching the potential that Bam Bam’s inherent talent suggests, perhaps it’s time for Bigelow to find a new manager. The fans at Madison Square Garden seem to believe that Humperdink has added little to Bigelow’s career. One must wonder if Bigelow is beginning to agree with them.

Arena Reports! PWI puts in a note saying that while they like the WWF and NWA too, they need more reports from the other wrestling companies’ shows.

Next, an article about Kevin Von Erich: he says “Iceman Parsons is using Kerry to avoid me!” Von Erich spoke with PWI while he was toweling off following a tag team match in which he and Michael Hayes defeated The Hood and Killer Brooks in Dallas. “Teaming with Hayes has been great,” Kevin said, showing little emotion other than a slight smile. Kevin glanced out the dressing room door and waved to Hayes, who was leaving the arena with a pair of young blondes. “Take care, P.S.,” said Kevin, reaching out and touching knuckles with Hayes in the familiar Freebird “handshake.” (So a fist bump?) “But I’m getting a little restless. It’s been too long since I’ve had a championship match. I’m more than a match for Iceman Parsons, but it seems Parsons only wants to wrestle Kerry.” Kevin looked around the room like he didn’t want anyone to hear his next comments. “Look, please don’t take this the wrong way,” he said softly, “but Parsons is using Kerry to avoid me.” Kevin paused for a moment. “You see, he’s trying to cut down his options for losing the title. Kerry’s had trouble with Parsons because he keeps trying to pay Parsons back for that lights-out fiasco here a couple months ago. That’s why I’m the man to take the title from Parsons. But he won’t face me because he knows I’ll be able to keep a clear head and beat him in no time flat.” Kevin, however, doesn’t know how to convince Kerry to let him have a shot at Parsons. But unbeknownst to Kevin, Kerry was just around the corner and ducked in the dressing room casually dressed. “I think Kevin is absolutely correct. Why hasn’t he got a shot at Parsons? I think Parsons is ducking him too. Who would want to face one of the best wrestlers in the world?” Kevin Von Erich had made his point, both to the press and to his brother. One hopes World Class officials can be as mature about the situation as Kevin and Kerry. One match between Kevin and the Iceman may be the solution to everybody’s problems. (Unfortunately for PWI, Kerry defeated Parsons for the title just as this issue went to press, rendering this article moot.)

Let’s get to Ratings, where Flair, Savage, and Hennig reign supreme.

Breaking news! Jerry Lawler has defeated Curt Hennig for the AWA Championship. (This made me livid back in the day.) On May 9, dubbed “Jerry Lawler Night” at the Mid-South Coliseum, “the King” defeated Hennig after catapulting him into a post. (Funny sidenote: the referee, Jackie Fargo, accidentally counted to four on the pinfall.) Elsewhere, World Class Texas champion Terry Taylor has been contacted by the WWF and is very close to signing a contract with the company. Apparently, Taylor’s recent turn to rulebreaker has impressed the WWF, which sees it as similar to what Ted DiBiase, another scientific wrestler did in 1987. “The days of the scientific fan favorite and rough housing brawling are over,” says an insider. Manager Paul E. Dangerously announced that he has bought Eddie Gilbert’s contract and is also close to signing other major stars. Meanwhile, Lex Luger has revealed to PWI that he has developed a special new move that will help him beat Ric Flair for the NWA title. “You’ll all see it when Flair sees it,” he says. And Canadian International Wrestling Association heavyweight champion Timothy Flowers has issued an open challenge to all other champions.

And now, bonus coverage from Wrestling Observer from around this same time…

– Dave attended an AWA TV taping in Las Vegas. There were tons of no-shows including the Rockers, Nasties, Wahoo and Raging Bull. The Rockers had quit and were bound for Titan at this point, and the Nasties had been fired. Instead, Dave saw what he considers the worst collection of wrestlers he’s ever seen for a taping. The night started out with a Baron Von Raschke squash where “at least he only collapsed once doing a move so it only gets one-half negative stars.” Rocky Mountain Thunder made another appearance and at least he didn’t nearly kill the jobber, so that was an improvement. Then the show hit rock bottom with a match between jobber Handsome Harry and Iron Mike Miller, who was apparently part of Powerteam USA with Sting and Warrior. However, Dave notes that Miller has not gotten any better since then, and is now as far behind Warrior as Warrior is behind Sting. The “highlight” of the match was the guys somehow managing to blow a bearhug spot. Then jobber Biff Anderson got roughed up in an apparent shoot by Soldat Ustinov before getting smacked silly going back to the dressing room by Ustinov and Teijho Khan, resulting in a bloody nose. After that, Dave had to sit through two matches with GLOW workers before the main event of Curt Hennig vs. the Baron. This gave a fan the line of the night as Hennig yelled “Give me some competition!” and the fan yelled back “Then go to the NWA!”

– World Class, featuring teams like “The Simpson sisters,” is in even more dire straits than previously indicated by their business.

– The WWF took out an ad in entertainment papers bitching about Nielsen changing the ratings system, basically preventing them from combining all the syndicated shows into one big rating. Shockingly, it now turns out that WWF Superstars is NOT the #3 rated show for the week and is more like #15 if you actually compare it fairly to other competition.

– Barry Windham wins the US title tournament to the surprise of no one. The finals were supposed to be Windham vs. Larry Zbyszko, but with Windham’s heel turn they suddenly rejiggered everything and just took Zbyszko out to avoid any heel-heel combinations.

– Bret Hart did his official babyface turn at the Superstars tapings.

– Linda Hogan gave birth to a daughter named “Brooke.”

– Ricky Steamboat is definitely retired for good. He’s got a gym now and everything.

– Owen Hart is likely coming into the WWF as “The Cheetah Kid.”

– The Original Sheik’s young nephew Terry Essar is working matches as “Terry Snuka” on indy shows.

– Reader Bruce Mitchell of North Carolina writes in to complain about smart fans heckling wrestlers and trying to make the show too much about themselves.

– There are rumors Ted Turner might be thinking of buying out Jim Crockett. If Dave had to guess, he says that probably wouldn’t end well for Dusty Rhodes.

– And finally, Jerry Lawler won the AWA World title.

That’s all for this week! Join me next week for WWF Magazine where we catch up with Outback Jack. And if you’re new here, be sure to leave a comment and check out the archive. Also, check out my website to see what books I’ve written!