Wrestling

[The Unknown Poster]

Jeff Jarrett sues Anthem (the parent company of TNA/Impact, owned by our very own Leonard Asper).

Basically its for trademark infringement.  The story goes that when Anthem bought TNA, they hired Jeff Jarrett as Chief Creative Officer (they had a formal agreement in principal for that role but JJ was essentially acting in that role right away).  They agreed to buy JJ's Global Wrestling promotion and "merge" them with the idea of having GFW replace TNA branding.  Plus, TNA had several international commitments where they had to provide PPV's so they'd usually do a "One Night Only" taping but with JJ, they took his original master tapes of the GFW TV show that he taped in Vegas as a proposal to submit to networks, and re-purposed them as One Night Only PPV's (so they didnt actually have to take anything new and didnt lost their international deals).

Jarrett had his public issues, got fired, went to WWE-sponsored rehab but Anthem kept airing the GFW TV show and using the Global belts til their new ones were ready.  They never did officially consummate the merger.  I remember they were roundly criticized for announcing a merger before it actually happened and then had to back track, including dropping the GFW branding.  

The only real issue besides monetary damages Anthem might incur is they kept the name Global Wrestling Network for their streaming service and JJ wants that too.  They also sell DVD's of the GFW shows, I have no idea how they think they can do that.

But Id have expected them to have worked this out without a lawsuit.  

[The Unknown Poster]

A few Jim Neidhart stories for those that dont mind reading my longass posts (and maybe a fun non-related tidbit at the end):

Its gonna be a long one.  Read at your own risk! 😉

- We first booked Jim Neidhart in summer 2002.  We had debuted in March 2002 at the UofM with a show that still holds the Manitoba indy wrestling attendance record (1750+ fans), featuring Eddie Guerrero, Honkytonk Man & Brutus Beefcake, and subsequently ran shows weekly at our "home" venue The Stratosphere (Palladium) and other places.  By Summer we were gearing up for our next big show.

Ill try to give some background without taking too long.  We wanted to go back to UofM (IGAC) but our office manager claimed to be close friends with Sam Katz and through a series of meetings, he offered us the Ball Park for "free".  That turned into "a small sum".  Which turned into "no more than IGAC costs" and then when we had no time to seek other arrangements, turned into more than twice what IGAC costs (Im not a Sammy fan).

So a bunch of other crazy crap happened that made that show a cursed one.  Ballpark held over 7500 people so we needed something big to at least try and fill a third of it.  We booked Roddy Piper and Bret Hart with Piper getting the Key to the City.  My concern was neither guy wrestled so I suggested booking Jim because it was a cheap flight from Calgary and he was relatively inexpensive.  And then in essence, we're doing the Hart Foundation reunion and gives more booking logic for Bret to interject himself in the action (and he'd likely be willing to do more in the ring).

Piper ended up backing out due to a schedule conflict and was replaced by the Road Warriors (in a funny twist, I think we had booked them first, then when we could get Piper, we cancelled the Warriors and when my partner called Animal back to re-book him, Animal gave him an earful lol).  

Then Bret had his stroke, about three weeks before the show.  We had tickets on sale, we had tons of print and radio advertising out.  And worse yet, Bret's condition was being kept secretive.  His agent told us he was not that bad and intended to make all bookings.  We had a contract and could not cancel.  Meanwhile, the local wrestling radio show (Joe Aiello & Don Callis) reported Bret was in dire condition.  

Callis hated my partner (and generally didnt support local wrestling) so when we'd buy advertising on the radio show, he'd not-so-subtly make heavy sighs and other noises to indicate he did not endorse or condone or otherwise think very highly of our events (he more or less did that for any local that bought advertising).  He made a point every week of saying "If anyone thinks Bret Hart is making his advertised appearances, they are crazy.  Do not buy a ticket expecting to see Bret Hart."  (We eventually had a blow up with the station sales person over it).

To his credit, Joe had me on the show and I truthfully said Don could be absolutely correct but I can only tell people what the agent tells us.  We even had a deal with the Blue Bombers to provide shows at the tail gate parties and then could distribute advertising and I remember people taking our very expensive flyers and saying "come on, Bret is dead" or "Bret's not coming, what are you trying to pull" etc.  Of course, Don WAS correct. 

So we start getting a bad feeling and our ticket sales have stalled completely.  I decide to push Jim to our regular weekly show and use the big show to promote it because the weekly show was, in a way, more important to our survival than what was shaping up to be a disaster of a big show.  About ten days or so before the big show, we get word Bret is out.  

My partner and I then get into a fierce battle over who should replace him.  He wanted King Kong Bundy (He might have suggested Bam Bam Bigelow too).  And I wanted Jeff Jarrett.  I remember being in our board room arguing and we decided to let one of our top guys be the tie breaker.  He said absolutely Jeff Jarrett.  I left the boardroom and we ended up booking Buff Bagwell (go figure lol).

So now we're really facing a disaster, so we decide we have to cancel Jim (no Bret, whats the point).  I call him and give him the bad news and he reads me the riot act and then calmly says to keep in touch and he'd love to come in lol

Long story short, we did draw well (over 1200) but it was a disaster.  And almost ended up in litigation with the Goldeyes (and had one tense meeting with Sammy).

And by the way, our financial investor who had stopped investing for anything non-office related, wanted to pull the plug before the big show and when we protested, he pulled out two dice and said "over or under", rolled them, my partner said "over", the roll was a seven and thats how we stayed in business.

We limped along for awhile and a year later (Aug 2003), my partner quit (a power play which I wont detail here).  I spent the next year solidifying things and fighting off competitors etc and decided I wanted to begin bringing "names" (import talent) back.  And I targeted Jim Neidhart.

It was low risk.  He was a short flight from Calgary, no hassles with Customs, paid in Canadian and since it was a Thursday, I assumed he'd actually show up.  The deal was simple.  He asked for, I believe $600.  I countered with $400.  We agreed on $500 (he later asked for an extra $50).  He'd work the main event against our Champion and put him over (lose via pinfall/submission).

In the weeks leading up to the show, he'd call my apartment from time to time to just chat.  If I was out, he'd chat with my gf.  Nice guy, but seemed lonely.

I had arranged for him to fly in the night before (a Wednesday) because I was slightly nervous about him showing.  He blew off the Wednesday flight saying he'd just come in on the Thursday.  I was nervous.  I go to the airport and wait...and wait...and wait.  A fact of life is, any wrestler travelling via plane will always be the last one through the door (especially true when clearing customs, especially in Winnipeg where they enjoy hassling wrestlers).  So, everyone enters...but no Jim.  I go to the Payphone and call my gf and ask if Jim called...she says no.  And I begin loudly cursing his name....only to see the guy on the phone beside me look over.  It's Jim!!

Crises averted.  We went to the hotel and had dinner and he was very jittery, like ADD sort of but very cool.  When he asked about his opponent, I said he had a WWE try out a few months earlier but they hadnt signed him and he got all nervous saying "there's something wrong with him, there's something wrong with him."  I put him at ease and he goes to his room to relax.

He declined to come down to the locker room so I sent his opponent up to his room to go over the match.  At Intermission, I go up to check on them and as soon as I walk in, our champion gives me a sort of "ugh" expression.  I say "How are things going Jim?"  He looks a bit confused and asks "what did you want for a finish?"  I say "our guy over via pinfall."

Jim strokes his beard for a moment "How about I go over?"

"Well, Jim, that doesnt really work because he's our champion so we need him to go over."

He continues stroking.  "What if we do a DQ?"

"Well, Jim, we really wanted you here because you're a huge star and its helping our guy get over and helping us look like a big time promotion to have you.  So you putting him over would really help us out." (laying it on thick).

He continues stroking.  "Can it be a ****** finish?" 

"Absolutely Jim, he's a heel, he can screw you."

Our guy interjects "Ill hit you in the head with the belt", to which Jim snaps "you wont hit me in the head with anything!"

Jim agrees to the finished (belt shot to the back).  Another crises averted.

Match happens (it was basic but fine, crowd enjoyed it).  I was ring announcing and the pop for Jim when I intro'd him was awesome.

After the match, Jim gears down and bee-lines to me, "where's my money?" he demands.

I say "Jim, no problem, I was waiting for you to get dressed."  I pull out the cash and he strokes his beard while leaning over me as if he needs to intimidate me into paying him. Hilarious.  He then politely thanks me and we go back to enjoying some cold ones at the bar.

Jim would order a beer, drink half of it (which is about two gulps) and order a fresh one.  He kept doing this (his tab was comped) until the bartender, getting annoyed finally says "what about the one in front of you, arent you going to finish it?"

Jim looks at the half full bottle of beer and says "nah, its old.  Give me a new one."

Then things get really interesting.  A young woman, early 20's, is there.  I know her from the bar and the fact she dated a couple of local wrestlers.  And, in fact, was then dating a local wrestler (but not one that worked for me and he was not there this night).  She's hanging out with Jim, flirting, drinking etc.  She comes to me and says her bf is getting mad she's out so late and wants her to come home.  But she wants to hang out with Jim.

"Im a huge Hart Foundation fan and this is awesome," she says.  I tell her she should do what she wants and if she enjoys hanging out with Jim, stay and enjoy."

Awhile later, she comes back to me and says "my bf wants me to come home but Jim wants me go to his room and keep drinking with him.  I dont know what I should do."

So I say "well, you can go home with your bf any night.  How many nights can you go home with Jim "The Anvil" Neidhart?"

She smiles "thats a good point.  Thank you."

So Jim grabs two beers in one hand and this girl in the other and goes off to his room for a nightcap.  Now, I dont want to disparage the memory of the recently departed, but the young lady was happy to report that she was "Anvil Approved" (she even had a shirt made).

The next day, we get a minor snow storm.  I have to pick Jim up at the hotel and take him to the Airport.  Im running late and he's getting anxious and calls my gf to express his anxiety.  She talks him down, tells him he has plenty of time etc.

I arrive and he's pretty nervous about missing his flight.  I assume Calgary airport is farther out then Winnipeg's and he was just not familiar.  He even saw a building in the distance and thought it was the control tower and got excited.

So we arrive at the airport and I get out of the car and go around to his side to grab his bag and thank him etc.  He suddenly leans on me like he's been shot in the leg.  I ask him what happened and he whispers, play along.  

I practically carry him into the airport where he is grimacing and moaning.  A WestJet employee runs over, "Oh my, sir, are you okay??"

"Im a professional wrestler," Jim replies through his gritted teeth.  "I blew out my knew.  I cant walk."

She tells him not to worry as she grabs a wheel chair.

Jim says "This knee made us late, Im afraid Ill miss my plane."

"No, sir," she replies.  "Ill take care of everything and hold the plane if we have to."

Jim winks at me and as the woman is getting the ticket info, he whispers that it "never fails" and its an old trick to avoid walking through large airports.  yeesh

I thank him for the match and the fun stories and off I go as he is wheeled towards his gate.

You could definitely tell he was of the old school WWE variety but he really enjoyed doing shows and being around the boys and the fans and was really funny.  Loved telling stories.  He was a good guy.

 

Bonus tidbit: Ill be sitting down in front of cameras this weekend as will several others including Don Callis, for a project.  What could it be?  Stay tuned!

[Brandon]

Great story....  I assume the female you are talking about may kind of look like Mary Katherine Gallagher / Superstar from SNL skits...   I heard the exact same story and when I was told this I thought that I wouldn't brag about going down on Anvil...  at least with the other "ring rat" who stalked Billy Gunn... at least Billy Gunn was still in good shape and looked decent....

 

[The Unknown Poster]

5 minutes ago, Brandon said:

Great story....  I assume the female you are talking about may kind of look like Mary Katherine Gallagher / Superstar from SNL skits...   I heard the exact same story and when I was told this I thought that I wouldn't brag about going down on Anvil...  at least with the other "ring rat" who stalked Billy Gunn... at least Billy Gunn was still in good shape and looked decent....

 

You are correct, sir, thats her.    The other girl didnt really stalk Gunn though.  She was his local gf.  They were together awhile.  The break up was a set up.  The promotion didnt like her, feeling like she acted self-important because of her relationship with Gunn so the promoter told her Gunn didnt want her around anymore.  So she told his wife.  And recorded his calls.  She ended up going on to date Ricardo (Del Rio's ring announcer).

[ediger]

Them prairie rats are a tenacious breed

[The Unknown Poster]

Meltzer news:

 

Some numbers to indicate how big this ROH/New Japan MSG show is:

- Sold Out in less than 19 minutes of Public On-Sale

- Largest Non-WWE Gate (over $1million) anywhere in the world other than Japan)

- Second fastest MSG wrestling event sell out of all time and fastest since WM 20

- Accomplished with only Tanahashi, Okada & Naito advertised

- First non-McMahon wrestling event at MSG since 1960

 

Some Jim Neidhart tidbits:

- One of the strongest men in the US when he was a shot putter and ranked #1 in that sport while in College

- Was once ranked 3rd in a World Shot Putt meet and narrowly missed out n the 76 Olympics

- Was nicknamed Rhino by Stu Hart

- Tried out for the Dallas Cowboys

- Signed with the Oakland Raiders despite not playing College Football, suffered a broken arm in training camp and was released

- In WWE, was a singles wrestler managed by Mr Fuji before Bret Hart (who disliked his own "Cowboy" gimmick) suggested they be put together with Jimmy Hart as the Hart Foundation

- Dropped the WWE World Tag Team Championship to the Fabulous Rougeaus in Montreal to make the locals happy and then had the titles returned to them due to Rougeaus using the Megaphone during the match

- In 1990, during their second stint as WWE World Tag Team Champions, lost to the Rockers as Neidhart was being cut.  Bret went to bat for Neidhart and they changed their minds and decided to keep Neidhart and, again, returned the titles to the Hart Foundation (using the fact the top rope broke during the match as the excuse to disallow the decision)

- He and Owen later formed The New Foundation bit Jim was fired in 92 for refusing a drug test

- Returned in 94 and he and Owen were going to win the Tag Titles but Jim was fired for missing dates

- During the 97 Hart Foundation, Jim was working without a contract and when Bret and Davey left for WCW, Jim was cut (and embarrassed on his way out by DX)

- He had legal issues: Extortion, Drug Possession with intent to distribute, trafficking illegal drugs, burglary & contempt of court

 

Random:

- Matt Hardy might be done as he has several lingering injuries and is taking time away from the ring to heal up and see how he feels.  In the interim he will be shadowing agents to get a feel for that job and see if its a fit as a future gig.

- Jason Jordan has also been shadowing agents as his neck surgery did not go well and he might be done

- Chris Jericho declared himself a free agent for 2019 and said it would be a "very interesting year"

- Batista might do a farewell tour

- Rey Misterio is all but signed and WWE wants to make a big deal out of his return

- 1000th episode of SD is October 16th in Washington DC (which makes me wonder about a Batista appearance there as he's from Washington I believe) and you have to think they desperately want The Rock for the show since it was basically named by him

 

[blueandgoldguy]

I watched a bit of RIng of Honor on TV a few months back.  I was impressed by the stage set up and the crowd - big screen where the wrestlers come out, good lighting and the crowd appeared to be a sellout.  Several thousand by the looks of it. I'm not sure as to the location of the show though.  I guess it's the number 2 wrestling promotion in North America now surpassing TNA?

 

Anyone know how long Kenny Omega is signed to New japan?  Earlier this year I seem to recall rumors of him fulfilling his contract and then either making the move to WWE or remaining in Japan.

[The Unknown Poster]

14 minutes ago, blueandgoldguy said:

I watched a bit of RIng of Honor on TV a few months back.  I was impressed by the stage set up and the crowd - big screen where the wrestlers come out, good lighting and the crowd appeared to be a sellout.  Several thousand by the looks of it. I'm not sure as to the location of the show though.  I guess it's the number 2 wrestling promotion in North America now surpassing TNA?

 

Anyone know how long Kenny Omega is signed to New japan?  Earlier this year I seem to recall rumors of him fulfilling his contract and then either making the move to WWE or remaining in Japan.

ROH is number 2 for sure yes.  they are actually owned by a company (Sinclair) that is larger than WWE but they consider ROH a touring brand and content for their syndication network and dont invest a ton of money.  Hopefully that changes.

Kenny's contract with New Japan expires in late January.  The 30th I believe (or around there).

[blueandgoldguy]

1 hour ago, The Unknown Poster said:

ROH is number 2 for sure yes.  they are actually owned by a company (Sinclair) that is larger than WWE but they consider ROH a touring brand and content for their syndication network and dont invest a ton of money.  Hopefully that changes.

Kenny's contract with New Japan expires in late January.  The 30th I believe (or around there).

Thanks for that.  I wonder what the likes of Jake Roberts and Ron Simmons were paid for the series of shows they did for CWE last year and this year?  Is it a per-show basis?  Or are they paid a flat fee for the 20-30 shows they appeared in?  Any ideas?

[bigg jay]

4 hours ago, The Unknown Poster said:

Kenny's contract with New Japan expires in late January.  The 30th I believe (or around there).

The Bucks are free agents towards the end of this year (November I believe) too so it'll be an interesting couple months to see if anybody moves over to the WWE. 

[The Unknown Poster]

5 hours ago, blueandgoldguy said:

Thanks for that.  I wonder what the likes of Jake Roberts and Ron Simmons were paid for the series of shows they did for CWE last year and this year?  Is it a per-show basis?  Or are they paid a flat fee for the 20-30 shows they appeared in?  Any ideas?

For multiple shows you would get a discount.  So if a guy was $500 US per shot but you had 20 shows? It’s a lot less. 

Even if you book someone for 2 or 3 shows you can usually get a deal.  Especially for talent that isn’t working a lot.   And I’d tou can give them Monday-wednesday shows that’s great cause those are generally not big days or bookings. 

We used to book big names on Thursday’s a lot and they loved it because they always had froday and Saturday so if they could get in and out of Winnipeg for a quick Thursday booking it was a bonus. 

[blueandgoldguy]

4 minutes ago, The Unknown Poster said:

For multiple shows you would get a discount.  So if a guy was $500 US per shot but you had 20 shows? It’s a lot less. 

Even if you book someone for 2 or 3 shows you can usually get a deal.  Especially for talent that isn’t working a lot.   And I’d tou can give them Monday-wednesday shows that’s great cause those are generally not big days or bookings. 

We used to book big names on Thursday’s a lot and they loved it because they always had froday and Saturday so if they could get in and out of Winnipeg for a quick Thursday booking it was a bonus. 

Yes, that is what I was thinking.  I guess Roberts and Simmons would also get free hotel and per diems with that as well staying in all these little, big towns of Western Canada.

[The Unknown Poster]

2 hours ago, blueandgoldguy said:

Yes, that is what I was thinking.  I guess Roberts and Simmons would also get free hotel and per diems with that as well staying in all these little, big towns of Western Canada.

Always hotel.  Indies pay the airfare, hotel and trans to and from.  It’s not the norm to pay per diems but usually the promoter would pick up a meal or drinks (or you arrange sponsorship to do so).  But the import generally buys his own food. 

For example I usually buy dinner. But I’m not with them 24 hours so their breakfast, lunch etc is on them. 

[The Unknown Poster]

 

[SpeedFlex27]

2 hours ago, The Unknown Poster said:

 

The Shockmaster. "Oh God", said Sid Vicious.  LOL. That was WCW bad...

 

Edited August 18, 2018 by SpeedFlex27

[SpeedFlex27]

I saw the documentary about Samoa Joe last night. He was out of character the entire time except for a so called skirmish after this past Smackdown in the back after he read a letter in the ring on the show saying AJ Style's wife questioned his commitment to his family. Styles went after him & had to be restrained while Joe shouts insults & threats at him. it was pretty obvious it was a work.  Why would the WWE show him with his mother, his family, his co workers, other wrestlers joking around having fun to then suddenly put him in character at the end? To me, makes no sense. Don't show the other side of the wrestlers as human beings only to do that. Just my thoughts. 

[Goalie]

Feel like a broken record but Takeover was fire. 

ERA MM Ricochet Cole Dream Thomasso could all be big stars in the near future. 

[The Unknown Poster]

12 hours ago, Goalie said:

Feel like a broken record but Takeover was fire. 

ERA MM Ricochet Cole Dream Thomasso could all be big stars in the near future. 

Working my way through it now. Amazing show.  

Its interesting that everything seems better in NXT even their entrances.  Weird. Hunter has a vision. One day we’ll see it on the main roster.  

Talk of EC3 moving up.  I sort of thought Adam Cole might go too but with the Era retaining tag titles it would seem not.  They’re a great act. 

[The Unknown Poster]

Looks like horse women vs horse women at survivor series. 

A source told me there is a belief Jericho shows up as a surprise at all in.  

[The Unknown Poster]

 

[The Unknown Poster]

Quote

The first NXT United Kingdom Women's Champion was crowned at today's television tapings in Birmingham, England.

Rhea Ripley defeated Toni Storm in the finals of an eight-woman tournament to become the first champion. Triple H and NXT UK general manager Johnny Saint came to the ring and presented the title to Ripley after the match.

[The Unknown Poster]

 

[Brandon]

What's the deal with that guy. I saw some interviews of him a few years ago and he seemed like a total nut job.

I think he made claims of many active wrestlers sexual assaulting him and looked completely fried and messed up. 

[bigg jay]

Apparently this was his idea of a joke? 🙄

[The Unknown Poster]

11 hours ago, bigg jay said:

Apparently this was his idea of a joke? 🙄

Yup.  Needs some serious help.