~~~~~THE TBL NEWSLETTER~~~~~
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Contents:
I. Note from the Editor
II. News & Rumors
III. Columns
IV. Reader Response
V. Advertisements
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The Balrog
balrog275@geocities.com
Note from the Editor:
Today I am posting the results of the interactive question that I posted the other day on The Balrog’s Lair. The responses can be found in the Reader’s Response area. Also, there is no news in the news and rumors sections, but there are some hard hitting opinions in the ever-popular Columns section. Enjoy! Bye!!!
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News & Rumors:
(From various sources, too numerous to name)
TBL Reporter’s Circle: burnonelng@aol.com / aaron@tstonramp.com
^^^Burnonelng’s Army…^^^
Hey, one of our reporter’s from the TBL Reporter’s Circle will be starting an anti-WCW. pro-Degeneration X army. E-mail burnonelng@aol.com for information.
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Columns:
Dave’s Rant
By: David Snipes
cyberdave@hotmail.com
Is it just me or does anyone else feel for the older wrestlers who used to hold to so-called “secondary” belts?
Look at the WCW for example: the US belt is held by Goldburg- he is a column by himself and I will not go into it at this time ( I don’t wanna get fired) but I think you all must agree he has fought only 4 quality opponents- Piper ( HE LOST !!!) Raven, Stevie Ray and Saturn 2x I’ll even go 5 for the Disco fever- I WILL NOT COUNT FINLEY but out of 83 wins only 4 good ones? look at the man he beat on nitro as soon as Tony said “veteran opponent” I knew it was gonna be a squash how did he get a title shot?
Raven- At least his only reign lasted for 23 hours- why not give Benoit the shot?
DDP-Other than the challenge to Chris Benoit, Page turned the US belt into a tool to get a flock member into the ring. Personal vendettas are good for the sport but Hammer a US Title shot? Not even VAN HAMMER should have gotten a title shot! Sick Boy/Kidman/Hammer-even LODI got a title shot think about it a quirk victory and LODI ( the white vincint ) is the #2 man in WCW!!! Page brought down the honor of the US belt- he won it from the last good one the was Henning.
Curt Henning: I Hate This Man I used to be a big fan but turn on the Horsemen and you are branded 4-Life but now he’s WolfPak so I’m beginning to come around- But I digress- Henning actually put some musle behind the belt not seen since well Flair had the belt! Henning put it up against Flair, Jerret, Mongo ( better than LODI ), DDP, Malenko, even the GIANT- I wanna see GOLDBURG do this…I wanna see anyone with GOLD do this.
Goldburg,DDP,Raven,Henning- Good ones all but remember the days of Tully Blanchard vs Magnum TA? Or Nakita Koloff, Dusty, AA, Ricky Steamboat? Sure you had Duggan win it but at least he had to beat Stunning Steve TWICE to get the Shot – Im waiting for GLACIER to get his shot he is in the Flock now- No wait he’s already fought GoldBurg- TWICE!!!!
All I have to say about the WCW TV belt is to go get a copy of the Magnum/Tully I quit cage match and imagine bookerT/Martel doing the Same can you imagine a TV belt contest HEADLING a card? I can I’ve been to some- Tully vs Dusty, Magnum vs Koloff in a cage somehow I don’t see any current champions doing this- Prince MAKIMAKI vs Disco inferno in a scaffold match for the TV belt yea!!! at lest BookerT tries- but Fit Finley?? Run Away Run Away!!!
There is no TV belt in WWF but the IC belt is held by Rocky Miavia- If he would ever get away from the TAG TEAMS he would be great- I’m sick of seeing him job to shamrock in a tag matchs I wanna see Ken go ROCKBOTTOM! At least the ROCK takes on quality opponents. Kinda like Savage used to….
Any questions for me send it to cyberdave@hotmail.com or visit http://www.angelfire.com/nc/FFWrestling – FFWrestling
Rounding the Squared Circle
By: Sam Jerry
SAMJERRY@aol.com
“THE MORE THINGS CHANGE, THE MORE THEY STAY THE SAME” OR “NOT TONIGHT NAPOLEON, I HAVE A HEADACHE”
This past Monday on “The Greatest Monday Night of Wrestling Ever on the Greatest NITRO Ever,” some startling events took place. If you missed any of these, you may never sleep again! What happened that made it so great you ask? Let’s take a look at some of these earth-shaking events:
.Super-Duperman Goldberg defeated another Jobber (Wowie!)
.The Main Event was interrupted by an NWO run-in (Fantastic!)
.The Crow was perched in the rafters of the arena (Unreal!)
.Chris Benoit and Booker T met in a match (Can you believe it!)
.Mumbles “couldn’t believe he was hearing it” (ZZZZZ)
.Larry Loser fell over his own tongue (Whew!)
.The Ancient Piper amazed us with his motor mouth
Gee, maybe it wasn’t so wonderful and different after all now was it? Well there was one thing different that happened. Good King Eric let his Napoleon Complex get the better of him. Apparently upset at the antics of WWF’s bad boys, Degeneration-X, and their invasion of the arena where WCW was holding NITRO last week and perish the thought.. WCW Headquarters at CNN Center in Atlanta, GA this week, lashed back with a counter-assault. How did Lil Nappy respond? He dared WWF Owner Emperor Vince to meet him in a match this Sunday at WCW’s PPV, Slamboree, being held near the WWF’s Headquarters.
On the surface this may sound like a great idea..the men who run the two major wrestling Federations meeting in a Pissing Contest. However, when you look at it, his invitation is like McDonald hosting their Annual Meeting and serving Burger King Whoppers for lunch. It ain’t gonna happen. If Good King Eric really wants to meet Emperor Vince in The Squared Circle (smoothe how I sneaked that in), he could show up on RAW (and build up their ratings). Guess what folks, also ain’t gonna happen. To quote an old buddy of mine, “Handing out Woof Tickets is easy, if you don’t hafta back ’em up.”
Come on Eric, it looks like you are letting the ratings get to you a little. By acknowledging Degeneration-X’s stunt, you have given it credibility and invited further incursions. I have an idea, why not leave some of those unsold NITRO tickets for them and let’s see what would happen. Maybe Goldberg can beat them all in a handicap match or more likely some of your Geriatric Crew will invite them in for some warm milk.
Sam Jerry
SAMJERRY@aol.com
KMA Jackson’s Bottom Line
By: KMA Jackson
kmajackson@geocities.com
“Are The Titan-Suits FINALLY ‘Getting It’?!” Part 1 of a Mini Series
In the last two months I have sat and watched as the WWF has pulled out all the stops to defeat Nitro in the ratings war! I had to admit, the Austin vs McMahon match was upsetting but it was a great way to get the Ratings! And recently the WWF has done it again with their most recent edition of WWF Raw is War.
First McMahon playing the heel role lately has been great. Ever since the Survivor Series, McMahon has been perceived as the ‘bad guy’ … so this is the best way for him to turn that perception into a very good angle. Each week I sit and ask myself “What can they possibly do next?” And Mick Foley aka ManKind aka Dude Love aka Cactus Jack has been doing a very good job recently. I admit that I was very skeptical as to whether Dude would make a good challenger at Unforgiven. In my eyes, Mick wasn’t drawing enough heat as Dude Love! But the two most recent RIW’s have seen Mick take on Terry Funk and then come out as one of the few in McMahon’s Inner Circle. Good luck on this gimmick…
Secondly, D-Generation X! Two words to describe these guys…ABSOLUTELY AMAZING! Week after week they come out and ignite the crowd, whether the response is good or bad. These guys are the famed heels of the WWF! I haven’t seen a heel with as much fan base since the early days of the Austin-Hitman feud. Let’s face it, all these guys are talented, both behind the mic and in the ring! Let’s take Triple H. In my opinion he is the future World Wrestling Federation Champion! He is one of the few ‘wrestlers’ left and those damn catch phrases get me everytime. My personal favorite is “If any ladies need any tutoring, I’ve got the HEAD if you’ve got the CLASS!” followed closely by “Let’s Get Ready To SUCK IT!” And then the New Age Outlaws. These guys didn’t impress me at first, but they really got my attention when they shoved Cactus Jack and Terry Funk in that dumpster and shoved them off the ramp. Since then, their attitudes and their mic skills have increased, and when they wrestle, they aren’t that bad of a team. Chyna… NUFF SAID! And X-Pac … this guy is a tremendous wrestler and he adds that little edge that D X was lacking. Granted, his name isn’t the best, in my humble opinion, he should have just stuck with Sean Waltman! But this guy lends that extra bit of power D X needs. He is the one that has been to the other side and has returned.
This brings me to another topic that has sent the Wrestling World buzzing. D X’s attack on WCW. The P.O.W.C.W. bandanas are just hilarious. These guys are just sh*t disturbers and they have received a huge fan base for it. If anything the fans went D X after their first attack on WCW. As I have always been a fan of D X, others haven’t and now, without Shawn Michaels, this new Attack on WCW angle will help them separate from the days of Shawn, HHH and Chyna.
It was amazing to see DX go to the arena where Nitro was held and bang on the gate to be let in… And then when they went to WCW headquarters and then to the CNN Centre, I was rolling with laughter. This is how the WWF should be handling the promotional wars, by facing them head on… And Bischoff,.. that challenge was PATHETIC! D-Generation X has got a lot of my respect and they are KMA Jackson’s Wrestler(s) of the Week!
In my next column, I will talk about Dustin Runnels, Vader, Al Snow, The Rock, Faarooq and a host of other WWF Superstars affected by the Titan Suits FINALLY ‘getting it’!
To Be Continued…
Bottom Line!
kmajackson@geocities.com
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Reader’s Response:
The interactive question for this issue was a simple, yet mind bending one. Which event would have the greater impact? Ric Flair going to the WWF or the Warrior heading over to the WCW? Below are some of the responses that I got about this question. Personally, being the Flair mark that I am, I think that Flair would have the greater impact. Although Warrior would BLEND well with the WCW stars, but he would not stand out. Here are the responses!
jlewis@nlis.net – “I think that Flair going to the WWF would have a bigger impact than Warrior going to WCW. A lot of people are watching RAW instead of Nitro now and if Flair went to the WWF, RAW would rule Monday nights without a doubt. When I first started watching wrestling back in the summer of 1989, the Ultimate Warrior quickly became my favorite wrestler. However, I have gotten sick of his short returns over the years and I wouldn’t care if he never returns to the ring again. I am a huge WWF fan and I don’t really care for WCW very much. I never want to see the Warrior in the WWF again. I’m willing to bet that WCW fans would much rather see Flair return to WCW than to see the Warrior wrestle for WCW. I love your site. Keep up the great work! – Jon Lewis”
Alberts@centuryinter.net – “In my personal opinion I believe that Flair would have a much bigger impact for the WWF than the Warrior would ever have in WCW. The reason for this is simple. The WCW is already overloaded with talent. The best example is Bret Hart. Everybody thought Bret would make a huge impact in WCW. But when Bret appeared on Nitro, Raw’s ratings increased and Nitro’s decreased. he fact is, is that WCW does not know how to use big name stars. The Warrior would just become another Bret Hart. However with Flair coming to the small pond of the WWF. Combined with Steve Austin, I think the ratings streak could completely shift to Raw giving them an 80 week run as Monday Night Champs. Not to mention Flair is just more of a legend than the Warrior. At least thats the way I see it.”
loose@megsinet.net – “Hey Balrog, In my most humble opinion, I say that Flair jumping over to the WWF would be much bigger than the Warrior to WCW. This is why…The last time we saw the Warrior was in the WWF. And from what I remember he was stuck teaming with Ahmed Johnson and Shawn Michaels, and wasn’t receiving that good of a push or that good of a crowd reaction. But as proven by the overwhelming response on the Internet (proven by people magazine’s most beautiful people poll and the man of the universe poll) Flair seems to have more of a fan base right now than the Warrior. That’s just my opinion. – Andy”
bholmes@terraworld.net – “Flair would without question! Could you imagine a better fued than Flair and Austin. It would be a classic. Whats going to happen when Hogan demands to pin Warrior? Or the Warrior decides not to show anymore! Keep the great work BALROG! Your page kicks ass!”
Nash316714@aol.com – “Balrog, Undeniable both are major players, but Flair beind WWF wins, They need a Huge draw name, as a mouthpiece and showpiece. Even old, he has a solid name. The Warrior is an egotistical fruitcake ( ever read his comic, Jonestown in a wrestling ring for this guy.) I think he could make a big impact with little ring talent, then say, ” oh, screwit, I’ll make a cartoon next!” , and quit again for three years. He is not as loyal to wretsling as wrestling seems to be to him. thats why I go with Mr. Flair. – Nash316″
bward@hanover.k12.va.us – “Without question, Rick Flair is one of the greatest wrestlers to ever lace ’em up. However, the return of The Utimate Warrior would be far more anticipated and celebrated if it occured. I am a faithful RAW viewer, but even I would tune in to watch TUW in WCW action. Could you imagine how much a pay pre view between Warrior and Goldberg would rake in? The Warrior was by far the most athletic and dominant in the sport for the time he reigned. (Pretty similar to Goldberg now, huh?) This would be a gigantic matchup. I love Rick Flair, but so many of his antics have been adopted by others(JJ and DX), it just is not as interesting anymore. Flair would best serve as a manager or publicity man. Sad to say it, but Flair’s day in the sun could be over. The return of the Ultimate Warrior would be the most catastrophic thing to happen to the sport since the NWO (what a joke).”
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