Wrestling Observer Newsletter Historicals

[Valheru]

I didn't really know where else to put this so decided to give it its own thread.

I know plenty of you are interested in the history of pro wrestling and I recently come across the below blog by Scott Keith who is reviewing/summarising historical editions of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter

http://blogofdoom.com/index.php/category/wrestling-observer-flashback/

He does this on a near daily basis and in the last 2 years has covered 1984 all the way through mid 1994. Personally I am up to mid 1986.

This provides a fascinating insight in to the history of professional wrestling from the mid 80s via a contemporary independent source without having to read and/or pay for the full versions yourself.

As you can imagine it is intriguing reading about stories (both in and outside the ring) as they broke at the time. The mid to late 80s in particular covers the downfall of the territory system with impressive detail.

 

[Hawkins]

You mean he does a summary of Dave's insight in to the history of professional wrestling.

My computer has a cut and paste feature as well.

 

[Valheru]

You mean he does a summary of Dave's insight in to the history of professional wrestling.

My computer has a cut and paste feature as well.

Not sure your snide remark is necessary.

He does more than summarise the editions, providing plenty of his own commentary. He also has access to editions that aren't available as back issues on the WON site.

Just thought people on here might be interested who don't have access to and/or enough time to read the full versions.

If you aren't interested feel free to not read them.

 

[Iafeta]

Good website. Wrestling history is super interesting. Looking forward to the Ric Flair 30 for 30 which airs here tomorrow night. Also heard a sad story the other day on Kerry Von Erich. Dude is wrestling Colonel De Beers from the AWA. De Beers goes outside and does the old heel shtick of dragging his opponents leg and twisting it ... blinking Kerrys leg came off. De Beers is standing there holding Kerrys leg. The crowd is completely in shock. Kerry goes under the ring for 3-4 minutes to put his leg back on. And then continues on the match to a stunned silent crowd.

Really getting into WCCW and Mid South on the Network. Some of the history as backed up on that site is insane.

 

[Life's Good]

Good website. Wrestling history is super interesting. Looking forward to the Ric Flair 30 for 30 which airs here tomorrow night. Also heard a sad story the other day on Kerry Von Erich. Dude is wrestling Colonel De Beers from the AWA. De Beers goes outside and does the old heel shtick of dragging his opponents leg and twisting it ... blinking Kerrys leg came off. De Beers is standing there holding Kerrys leg. The crowd is completely in shock. Kerry goes under the ring for 3-4 minutes to put his leg back on. And then continues on the match to a stunned silent crowd.

Really getting into WCCW and Mid South on the Network. Some of the history as backed up on that site is insane.

I’ve never posted in the wrestling thread(I have nowhere near the knowledge on show by the likes of some of you)but caught you’re point on Flair (30 for 30).
I found it to be very captivating where it took me into the whole pro wrestling scene which I stopped following closely in the late 90’s. Whilst Flair had all the trappings of success I was left with the impression he is quite lonely & wrestled into his later years because that’s all that gave him a sense of purpose.
Hopefully 30 for 30 can put together more on pro wrestlers from the 80’s.

 

[Iafeta]

I watched it with my wife. I'm a Ric Flair mark, I prefer NWA to WWF and Ric epitomises that. I'm a bigger Flair guy than a Hogan guy. I did know a lot of his story from reading his book and a lot of online reading and YouTube. My wife and I had been watching WCW on WWWF Network, and she didn't understand why I liked Flair. The guy was in his late 40s though, so I wanted her to see some of his prime and understand his impact.

The things I took out of it...heightened my knowledge of the Vern training camps... I thought they massively underplayed the crash, the impact on Ric being told he will never wrestle again, and how Tim Woods who was a babyface was also in the plane and broke his back too, how when word started getting out that a face was flying with heels, Woods checked himself out of hospital and turned up to a show a week or so afterwards because he was that desperate to protect kayfabe... the other thing he did which wasn't talked up as much as I thought it would was how his attire was truly customised and it was basically done out of his pocket.

The wife watched and thought he was an epic pig the way he womanised. I couldn't defend it. The only thing I can say to that is perhaps the fact he was basically a stolen baby (his real mum gave him up to an agency that had a scam going on where he was given up for a short period to protective care so the single mum could get back on her feet to raise the kid, but in actual fact the baby was sold under the illusion it was consented adoption), that he didn't really fit in with his parents, that he then went into wrestling where he's on the road 330 nights a year and where he has to protect kayfabe whereby his in ring persona has to match his out of ring persona to sell tickets, that I think it'd be easy to become what we would think is delusional. I think he tried the "married two kids" thing because it was the done thing, but by that point he had become the character so much that it was impossible.

I think the death of his son probably has opened his eyes a bit more to reality.

I doubt Ric from that era is the only one who was deluded. I think he's an extreme version of it, but I think tail chasing was very much a thing on the wrestling circuit.

 

[Manurewa_Marlins]

I'm a huge Ric Flair fan. Wasn't when I was a kid growing up on Attitude, but the more I've been able to go back and immerse myself if the matches and promos from yesteryear, the more I can see how he is the embodiment of the business - both the good and the bad.

Ric Flair is Pro Wrestling.

 

[Iafeta]

Warrior, Hogan, Flair, even Piper. They all had severe personality quirks. Warrior is insane, Hogan a perennial liar and paranoid politician, Flair the alcoholic womaniser, Piper... well listen to that dudes promos he says some awfully questionable stuff. You have Hart who took it way too seriously, the Von Erichs who were insanely led to the gallows by their dad, a lot of blokes from that era are massively irregular. I think with kayfabe protection, the massive travel regimes (sometimes you'd do two shows sometimes in different towns on a given day), the liberal access to drugs, there's not many who either literally survived it or came out as a normal functioning retiree. I agree with @Life's Good , more documentaries not tainted by WWE embargoes and protectionism would be awesome.

I'd love to see a 30 for 30 on Bruisr Brody (went on a no sell shoot in a cage with Luger, and was murdered in a change room), Stan Hansen (notorious stiff merchant who one day ran over the AWA title) or The Von Erichs. The latter is a truly sad tale from a pretty revolutionary territory in WCCW.

 

[thailand]

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