When I went over the card for this year's January 4th show, I was a bit hesitant. There were matches I was looking forward to, yes, but overall it felt like a fairly standard card without any of.
At the beginning of each year, on January 4th, Japanese wrestling promotion New Japan Pro Wrestling puts on their Wrestle Kingdom show, which serves as their own Wrestlemania. NJPW is the most.
A look at the WWE s last PPV of the Thunderdome era and what did and didn t work on the Hell in a Cell show is the lead story in the new issue of the Wrestling Observer. We ve got the booking, future direction for Money in the Bank, update on MITB tickets, star ratings, poll results and match and performer of the week.
Also in this issue:
A new lawsuit against UFC and why it is a potential game changer along with what would be almost a sure thing if it s successful regarding WWE, what the claims are, and if it s successful what it says about payment of money to athletes.
The story of Jim Crockett Jr., and the rise and fall of Jim Crockett Promotions is the lead story in the current double-sized issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
We look at the death of Crockett, the Crockett s family original involvement in wrestling, how Jim took over the moves he made in building a small market territory into one of the big three companies in the U.S., original plans and why they changed, the rise of Ric Flair, where Jm was a Hall of Fame promoter, the fight with Vince McMahon from 1984-88, getting the TBS deal, what led to JCP selling to Turner, the framework of the NWA in the 70s and 80s, the rise of the super show concept, mistakes made at the end, what happened when TBS took over, attempts to get back in wrestling and life after wrestling.
The death of Tom Cole this week takes us back to one of the most sordid pro wrestling stories of the last 50 years, which involved media heavyweights at the time like Phil Donahue, Larry King, Geraldo Rivera and Phil Mushnick. It s the lead story of a new double issue of the Observer.
We look at the story and its tragic end this past week and all the key characters involved. We look at Cole s death, what exactly happened to him, different media appearances at the time, the WWF first settling his case, the unique plans for the Phil Donahue show, at the time the leading daytime talk show in the U.S. with a gigantic audience and how Vince McMahon planned the show and why it never transpired the way it was planned. Cole s memories of what happened, and things that triggered his past including a first suicide attempt that few knew about. This is a major piece of wrestling history that has been largely hidden except from those who were around at the time.