WCW '88: Through a Different Lens

imnotbooked · May 26, 2011

I have been on hand for some of the biggest moments in the history of professional wrestling.

Yet you probably do not even know my name.

I have the honor of calling some of the biggest draws that this profession has ever seen my close, personal friends.

And this is why I am here.

The date is December 1st, 1988.

I am sitting in the office of media mogul Ted Turner, being offered my dream job.

My name is Bill Apter.

I am the new head booker of World Championship Wrestling.

http://www.freewebs.com/starchild78/225px-NWA_WCW_logo.png

Nathers7 · May 26, 2011

Looking forward to this. Great to see another diary from the Golden Age Mod.

HugeRockStar760 · May 26, 2011

I guess you simmed until December '88. Is there a roster to see what you ended up with?

imnotbooked · May 26, 2011

<div style="text-align:center;">Wrestling Observer 1987 Yearbook's Top Five News Stories of the Year

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The 1980's so far have been a decade of constant change, and this year did not disappoint at all in that department. Here are the top five stories of the year in no particular order.

1. Biggest crowd of the modern era to see Wrestlemania III headlined by Hogan/Andre. The biggest crowd of the modern era was drawn at the Pontiac Silverdome for WWF's Wrestlemania III. A legit 93,000 saw the show headlined by possibly the biggest money match that that promotion has when Hulk Hogan took on Andre The Giant. We all know Hogan and Andre's limitations, and with that in mind, they pulled off a miracle (with the help of Pat Patterson). Even the biggest WWF naysayers would agree that this was a match that will go down in the record books as a turning point in the history of the business. This solidified WWF's place as the first truly Global force in the history of Professional Wrestling.

2. Curt Henning and Barry Horowitz, dead at 29 and 27. In the saddest news of the year, two workers with bright futures in this business both succumbed to the temptations that are present on the road.

Henning, who's father is AWA mainstay Larry "The Ax" Henning, was tapped by many insiders to breakout as a major star within the next 12 months was instead found dead of an apparent drug overdose in October of this year. He put up a solid showing against AWA Champ Nick Bockwinkle and formed a great team with Shawn Michaels that had to be cut short due to his constant touring of Japan with NJPW. Many feel that this touring of NJPW stunted his growth in drawing power within the AWA, but there is no question that his in ring work improved leaps and bounds by being in the ring sometimes 3 times per week with some of the greatest hands in the business.

Horowitz drug related death in June was even more a shock then Henning. Horowitz was a very private guy on the road, and this lead to no one really knowing how bad Horowitz got in his final days. He will definately go down in the record books as a talent that at the very least could take a believable beating, and eek out a win every now and then to keep himself relevant. Many said that he was one of the greatest sellers in wrestling, and that trait could of gotten him a place for years to come in the WWF who are on the constant search for new underneath guys for their top draws to burn through.

3. Japanese Talent dominates End of Year Awards. For the first time ever, Japanese talent has almost made a clean sweep of all of our End of Year Awards. Here they are in their entirety:

Promotion of the Year: WWF

Most Improved Promotion: Atlantic Grand Prix Wrestling of the Maritimes

Wrestler Of The Year: Tatsumi Fujinami

Veteran Of The Year: Antonio Inoki

Woman's Wrestler of the Year: Lioness Asuka

Young Wrestler of the Year: Chigusa Nagayo

Match of the Year: Bret Hart vs. Riki Chosu, ***** (NJPW Genesis Tour Finale, August)

Show of the Year: NJPW Genesis Tour Finale, August

The only non-Japanese related names and promotions that show up in the awards are Bret Hart and the global powerhouse WWF. Many powerbrokers within the wrestling community feel that the WWF is more of a "circus" or "dog and pony show" that is en vogue for the moment, but has no real legs. They feel that the product that is being promoted in Japan, and to a smaller extent in Jim Crockett Promotions will be what the fans will flock towards in the next year.

4. Hulk Hogan becomes the most well know wrestler ever. Naysayers will not like this, but it is evident that Hulk Hogan has attained a popularity never before seen for a professional wrestler. Thought of as a joke workrate wise by many in wrestling, there is no doubt that he is the biggest drawing card in the history of modern professional wrestling. Those that never watched a moment of wrestling know the name and even trademark catchphrases of this crossover star. WWF have been very protective of him this past year, letting him work very sporadically on TV and PPV (having only 16 matches in the entire year televised in some form) which in turn makes those select matches he works seem all the more important.

5. Dusty Rhodes regains the NWA World Heavyweight Title from Ric Flair at Starcade '87. In the highest rated match (**** 1/2) of the year for Jim Crockett Promotions, Dusty Rhodes became a four time NWA World Heavyweight Champion when he defeated Ric Flair in the main event of their biggest card of the year, Starcade '87. The entire year of booking lead to that moment, with a lot of TV time being spent on Dusty and Friends trying to topple the Four Horsemen. Although not as financially as successful as the record breaking gates of 1986, JCP looks to be in solid financial shape as evident from their recent expansion to the Texas area, as well as their use of a private jet to almost every town they run for the top names. It will be interesting to see just how far they can chip away at the WWF's stranglehold of the pro wrestling market in America in the next 12 months.

imnotbooked · May 26, 2011

<div style="text-align:center;">Wrestling Observer 1988 Yearbook's Top Five News Stories of the Year

------------------------------------</div>

Well the trend continues to hold true, the 1980's have turned out to be possibly the most news worthy decade in the 100 + year history of what we have come to know as Pro Wrestling. As has become tradition, here are the top 5 news topics in no particular order.

1. JCP gets absorbed into Ted Turner's WCW. What many consider to be the top story of the year is the absorbtion of Jim Crockett Promotions into the Ted Turner owned World Championship Wrestling. By the summer the first cracks started to show. Gates were down. Fans were sick of the Dusty Finish. They were unhappy about the huge push and heel turn of Ronnie Garvin. They were livid about Ric Flair's decreased role in the promotion, as well as infrequent appearences on TV and at house shows. This perfect storm of problems made it evident that by the time that JCP were running there yearly supercard, Starcade, that that would be there last major show.

This paved the way for the absorption of JCP into Ted Turner's new brain child, World Championship Wrestling. They kick started their promotion that got the south talking about wrestling again, with their own version of Starcade which saw Ric Flair cheated his way to the NWA World Heavyweight Title for the seventh time. The future looks bright, for this Turner owned, Bill Apter (of Pro Wrestling Illustrated fame) booked national sized promotion.

2. Sting and Atlantis dead, at 29 and 26. In a shocking repeat of last year, two bright stars on their way to the top of wrestling cards the world over passed away under mysterious circumstances.

Steve "Sting" Borden was seen as a possible future breakout star in this business. Much like Henning's untimely demise last year, Sting was honing his craft for most of the 12 months preceding his drug related death. He went on two extended tours of Otto Wanz's CWA, and was really coming in to his own as a worker. There is no doubt that he had the superstar look. Ric Flair was said to have thought highly of him after seeing him curtain jerk at WCCW shows where Flair would be headlining.

Atlanits' was further along the carreer path then Sting. He was a solid upper-mid carder with CMLL and regular tag partner of Rayo De Jalisco Jr., coming close to winning the Mexican National Campeones De Parejas with him on many occasions. A touching tribute show was held for him in wake of his sudden death that touched all Lucha Libre fans country-wide.

3. Japanese Talent dominates End of Year Awards, again. In a growing trend, the Japanese pro wrestling scene has dominated the End of Year Awards, voted on by you.

Promotion of the Year: WWF

Most Improved Promotion: Atlantic Grand Prix Wrestling of the Maritimes

Wrestler Of The Year: Tatsumi Fujinami

Veteran Of The Year: Antonio Inoki

Woman's Wrestler of the Year: Lioness Asuka

Young Wrestler of the Year: Chigusa Nagayo

Match of the Year: Randy Savage vs. Roddy Piper, **** (Superstars of Wrestling, April )

Show of the Year: AJPW Payback Tour Finale, December '88.

The WWF has put a better showing on this year, taking both the prestigious Promotion of the Year, as well as Match of the year with the Savage/Piper classic that everyone was talking about hot off the heels of Wrestlemania. They seem to be more comfortable giving away money matches on TV to help boost ratings and increase profit. Only time will tell if this tactic works, and if they have any big money matches left when Wrestlemania V rolls around next year.

4. UWF go bankrupt in May. The once powerful Bill Watts' run UWF closed it's doors in May of this year due to vast financial problems. By the beginning of this year, they were left with a skeleton crew of workers that really showed just how much they were depleted over the previous year. They had no Hayes to help Gordy and Roberts connect with the crowd. They had no DiBiase, just the vastly underrated, but still charisma-lacking Terry Taylor as the centerpiece of the promotion, which didn't sit well with fans either.

But, The trouble started for them when they lost many of the syndication deals they had in place in the spring of last year due to the success of McMahon's Wrestlemania III. He played hardball with many of their media outlets, threatening to pull WWF programing if any other wrestling was being shown. Needless to say, Watts is livid by what some call underhanded business tactics of McMahon, and some even say that Watts will return to wrestling one day to try to take down the McMahon family.

5. Hardcore Wrestling invasion of W*ING in Japan. Everyone reading this newsletter knows that pro wrestling is red hot in America, but in all actuality Japan is even hotter at the moment. AJPW and NJPW are putting on some of the best wrestling shows top to bottom, sometimes even in the same week.

Someone was bound to capitalize on this momentum. And that man turned out to be Atsushi Onita. The incredibly charismatic, but injury prone light heavyweight originally trained in the AJPW dojo struck recently struck out on his own with his promotion he labeled W*ING. The company uses incredibly barbaric gimmick and hardcore matches, due to the lack of really quality talent that has been soaked up by NJPW and AJPW.

OOC: Well this should get everyone caught up to how this world shaped up. I will be writing most of the diary using Wrestling Observer-style recaps of my shows and other events that take place in game world, while sometimes ping-ponging to backstage stories of WCW using my character, Bill Apter. Hope you enjoy and stick around.

BloodyKnuckles · May 26, 2011

This is looking pretty good, but future stars are dropping left and right it seems lol!

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