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Post by bookerman on Apr 7, 2023 15:32:19 GMT 1
Week 3 February 1985
Mr. T is available for production this week, so we get him on camera during a special Piper’s Pit, stepping in when the Hulkster needs a hand. Otherwise, I want to keep the Andre vs John Studd feud humming along, and I could really just use an easy win for Tito Santana.
Here’s this week’s card:
WWF Championship Wrestling
Mid-Hudson Civic Center, Poughkeepsie, NY
Dark: Bret Hart d. Tony Garea Dark: Don Muraco d. Chief Jay Strongbow Dark: Bob Orton Jr d. Jose Luis Rivera Dark: The U.S. Express d. Matt Borne, Swede Hanson
>>> Adrian Adonis with manager Bobby Heenan announces that he wants to challenge Jimmy Snuka at The War to Settle the Score. [3.75] Tito Santana d. Rene Goulet via pinfall (4:21) [3.75] >>> Hillbilly Jim tells Gene Okerlund that Don Muraco had better get ready, because Jim is ready to fight. [4.25] Wendi Richter [c] d. Peggy Lee Leather via pinfall (4:17) | WWF Women's Championship [2.5] >>> Piper’s Pit: Hulk Hogan is Piper’s guest on location. Piper takes shots at him, Hogan has some words in response, but Paul Orndorff comes to the ring and makes it 2-on-1 … until Mr. T shows up and backs the heels down! [4.25] Jimmy Snuka, Andre The Giant d. The Iron Sheik, Nikolai Volkoff via pinfall (8:02) [3.5] >>> Big John Studd gets into the ring and wants Andre, causing a standoff [4.25]
3.21 rating, 4.01M viewers, up 17,200 from expected
A nice rebound show. Lots of good segments here with only one mediocre match. My booking notes:
Adrian Adonis is a gem and will get a nice push. I see him winning the Intercontinental Championship down the road, maybe late in 1985. But we need fans to get truly acquainted with him first. Considering the average rating for Wendi Richter’s latest match, I’ll keep her feud with Leilani Kai primarily confined to segments. Piper’s Pit was hot and got that angle over even more. With Mr. T getting in there, we now have some serious star power in our main event feud. I’ll be going with Hogan and Mr. T against Piper and Orndorff at The War to Settle the Score, and I imagine it’ll devolve into chaos. Andre and Studd will go head-to-head at The War to Settle the Score, with a tag match on deck for WrestleMania. Then Studd can go win some matches. We’ll also have Muraco face Hillbilly Jim, but going over, to set up a longer play. Plus, I kind of want Muraco to get Hogan at our April house show, filling in space as a contender-of-the-month.
The War to Settle the Score Week 4 February 1985 Tentative Card
Hulk Hogan, Mr. T vs Roddy Piper, Paul Orndorff Greg Valentine [c] vs Tito Santana | WWF Intercontinental Championship The U.S. Express [c] vs The Iron Sheik, Nikolai Volkoff | WWF World Tag Team Championship Hillbilly Jim vs Don Muraco Andre The Giant vs Big John Studd Jimmy Snuka vs Adrian Adonis
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Post by bookerman on Apr 12, 2023 16:11:07 GMT 1
Week 4 February 1985
This week is our next MSG house show, also called The War to Settle the Score. We’ll headline with Hogan and Mr. T against Piper and Orndorff, we’ve got a good card outside of that, and I imagine the women’s title business will continue with a hot segment.
Meanwhile, it’s Championship Wrestling time. Here’s this week’s card:
WWF Championship Wrestling
Mid-Hudson Civic Center, Poughkeepsie, NY
Dark: Chief Jay Strongbow, Jules Strongbow d. Bulldog Brower, Dennis Stamp Dark: Matt Borne d. Charlie Fulton Dark: Adrian Adonis d. Steve Lombardi Dark: Rocky Johnson d. Paul Roma
Don Muraco d. Junkyard Dog via pinfall (4:17) [2.75] >>> Hillbilly Jim saves Junkyard Dog from a Muraco beatdown! [4.25] Big John Studd d. Blackjack Mulligan via pinfall (4:06) [2.75] >>> David Sammartino is ready to step out from the shadows and dominate in the WWF! [1.25] >>> Leilani Kai jumps Wendi Richter, who fights back and chases off the challenger! [4.25]
The Iron Sheik, Nikoali Volkoff, Greg Valentine d. The U.S. Express, Tito Santana (10:09) [3.75]
>>> Hulk Hogan, Roddy Piper and Paul Orndorff sign the contract for next week, but the sides begin to brawl! [4.75]
3.27 rating, 4.09M viewers, down 14,100 from expected
After a hotter show last week, we expected better. Obviously, giving Sammartino the microphone was a mistake. My booking notes:
We’ll send Sammartino to training to work on his charisma. I mean, he can only go up from here. Love what I’m getting from the Women’s Title feud. This Rock ‘n’ Wrestling story is super over, and both competitors are benefitting big time from it. We can let this bleed for a while. Great main event segment with Hogan engaging Piper and Orndorff, which of course ends in a pushing match. The idea is to set up a mystery partner for Hogan at The War to Settle the Score, who will be Mr. T. Things are shaping up well for WrestleMania. Maybe it wasn’t a good idea having JYD job out that cleanly. He should be protected. But I also need him as a gatekeeper to Hogan; as in, if a guy beats him, he should be able to get Hogan. Good main event six-man match, trying to get more heat on the IC feud by aligning it with a somewhat hotter feud. The Briscos are now available to return, and I’m thinking they can win a return match at The War to Settle the Score. Then I can set them up to face my newly created tag team of Luke Graham and Kim Duk. Not sure what they’re called just yet … but I’m thinking it will be a little weird. Cause why not?
The War to Settle the Score Week 4 February 1985 Tentative Card
Hulk Hogan, Mr. T vs Roddy Piper, Paul Orndorff Greg Valentine [c] vs Tito Santana | WWF Intercontinental Championship The U.S. Express [c] vs The Iron Sheik, Nikolai Volkoff | WWF World Tag Team Championship Hillbilly Jim vs Don Muraco Andre The Giant vs Big John Studd Jimmy Snuka vs Adrian Adonis >>> The Women’s Title feud continues! |
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Post by bookerman on Apr 16, 2023 6:31:52 GMT 1
Now we head to Madison Square Garden for The War to Settle the Score. I fill out the card with an easy win for Junkyard Dog, and I want the Briscos to go over a lower-card team, so that we can build them up a little.
Meanwhile, I’m told that David Sammartino’s morale has improved. Oh goodie.
Here we go …
 
The War to Settle the Score Madison Square Garden, New York, NY
Adrian Adonis d. Jimmy Snuka via pinfall (cheating, 9:01) [3.75] Junkyard Dog d. Ivan Putski via pinfall (4:44) [3.75] The Briscos d. Rene Goulet, Terry Gibbs via submission (6:10) [3.75]
>>> The U.S. Express get into a skirmish with The Iron Sheik and Nikolai Volkoff! [4.25]
Greg Valentine [c] d. Tito Santana via submission (cheating, 14:11) [WWF Intercontinental Championship] [3.25] Don Muraco d. Hillbilly Jim via pinfall (7:32) [3.25]
>>> Leilani Kai steals Wendi Richter’s Women’s Title and tosses it into the garbage! [5]
Andre The Giant d. Big John Studd via countout (10:33) [4]
>>> Hulk Hogan introduces his mystery partner: Mr. T! [4.25]
Hulk Hogan, Mr. T d. Roddy Piper, Paul Orndorff via pinfall (12:23) [3.5]
406K buys, up 8,100 from expected
Good stuff! A few blemishes that I would’ve done differently, but all in all, we’re happy. My notes:
What we didn’t get on the live show: Hogan and Mr. T - with Lou Albano and Cyndi Lauper by their side - got in a brawl with Piper and Orndorff, plus Bob Orton Jr., for the heels. Backup came from all over the place. It was a wild scene that got the crowd super hot. After the show, a number of celebrities spoke about what they had just witnessed. Apparently Mr. T brought down the workrate of our main event, though that should be expected. I won’t be throwing Mr. T in a bunch of matches down the line … maybe one more. Richter and Kai continue to knock it out of the park. Incredible work from these two during this suddenly white-hot feud. I booked one too many cheating finishes, which cost us in the Intercontinental Title feud. Boy, that feud is winning no favors. Wanted to keep the tag feud going without an actual match, as we’ll have the U.S. Express and their foreign enemies duke it out at WrestleMania. We need those belts to get more over, so I think we’ll give Sheik and Volkoff the win there. Good work down card from the Briscos, Junkyard Dog, and both Adonis and Snuka. I may draw out Adonis vs Snuka for a long time. This feud may have some legs. For WrestleMania, outside of Hogan vs Piper and the Express vs Sheik and Volkoff, we’ll have Valentine vs Santana once and for all, Richter vs Kai, and … not sure what else. My first job will be to figure out what to do between Andre and Studd. Maybe a fun tag match.
As for our competition, Jim Crockett’s WrestleWar only drew 229,000 buys. Big win for us. They headlined with Michael Hayes over Ron Garvin for the NWA National Heavyweight belt. Down card, Ric Flair and Dusty Rhodes took the NWA National Tag Team Championship from The Minnesota Wrecking Crew and The Fullers in a scramble.
WrestleMania Week 4 March 1985 Tentative Card
Hulk Hogan [c] vs Roddy Piper | WWF World Heavyweight Championship Wendi Richter [c] vs Leilani Kai | WWF Women’s Championship Greg Valentine [c] vs Tito Santana | WWF Intercontinental Championship The U.S. Express [c] vs The Iron Sheik, Nikolai Volkoff | WWF World Tag Team Championship
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Post by sonny912 on Apr 17, 2023 21:02:17 GMT 1
Hey bookerman, it's me again. Great stuff so far, can't wait to read your first wrestlemania. I've got a few more idea I'd like to share.
On October 28 1985, Vince is gonna sell back stampede wrestling to the Hart Family and with Bruce Hart in charge of it, produce new talent like Owen Hart, Brian Pillman, Chris Benoit, Biff Wellington, Johnny Smith, Gary Albright, Mike Shaw and the Monster Ripper. Maybe you can set it up so stampede could be like the wwf's Canadian developmental territory so you can get all these people and whoever else graduates from the Hart dungeon.
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Post by bookerman on Apr 18, 2023 16:41:42 GMT 1
Hey bookerman, it's me again. Great stuff so far, can't wait to read your first wrestlemania. I've got a few more idea I'd like to share. On October 28 1985, Vince is gonna sell back stampede wrestling to the Hart Family and with Bruce Hart in charge of it, produce new talent like Owen Hart, Brian Pillman, Chris Benoit, Biff Wellington, Johnny Smith, Gary Albright, Mike Shaw and the Monster Ripper. Maybe you can set it up so stampede could be like the wwf's Canadian developmental territory so you can get all these people and whoever else graduates from the Hart dungeon. Thanks! I definitely want to bring the 80s wave of Stampede guys into the company, as by 86/87 there's room for (and a place for) good workers on the roster. There's no Stampede in this JoW scenario, but I could simply head-canon that group of guys as "developmental," if I can sign them. Maybe there's an invasion angle in there that I can run later in 86. |
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Post by bookerman on Apr 20, 2023 15:49:37 GMT 1
Week 1 March 1985
After a successful War to Settle the Score, we’re now on the road to WrestleMania. Vince wants it to be a star-studded event, and he has already secured the great Muhammad Ali and Liberace to have a roles. I don’t have to worry about that, apparently, which I’m grateful for.
I do have to worry about the card. My title matches are set. I do want a title changing hands, and at this point it’s either going to be the IC or tag straps. Most likely the tag belts, as Valentine is far more of a draw at this point than Santana, and he will now start working with a new manager, Jimmy Hart, an old Memphis Wrestling guy.
But Hogan and Richter are locked in, considering that they’re top draws among their divisions and, even more, super over at the moment. The rest of the card needs to take shape.
Andre needs a showcase, and it has to be with Big John Studd. I might have them go one-on-one on Championship Wrestling and run a tag match at Mania. Why? A singles match on TV would give us a cheap, quick rating, and the feud has been centered on Heenan and his crew against Andre, with the previous high point being the heels cutting the Giant’s hair (to a slightly less crazy bush). Also, it would be nice having another tag match to break up a whole bunch of singles bouts. So, currently, I’m thinking Andre and a mystery partner against Studd and The Missing Link, since they’re both part of the Heenan crew. Link likes gimmick matches, so I’m thinking of bringing in someone who also likes gimmick matches, then doing a hair vs hair match. As in losers go bald. That’s the obvious conclusion to this.
Otherwise, I may run another Snuka vs Adonis match with the face getting revenge, and I may have the Briscos job to the new tag team I have to create of Luke Graham and Kim Duk. Maybe that’s where I start this week.
- I sit down with Graham and Duk, big and nasty dudes as they are, and run some ideas by them. They’re both older (Graham is in his 50s and Duk is in his upper 30s) and wouldn’t mind something weird and fun to work with, so I run by them a Norse-inspired duo of strongmen. They like it. Graham will be Thrak, Duk will be Iceberg, and the team will be … Godstorm. Just ridiculous, but we want to run with it.
OK, onto Championship …
WWF Championship Wrestling
Mid-Hudson Civic Center, Poughkeepsie, NY
Dark: Ricky Steamboat d. Pete Dougherty Dark: Dynamite Kid d. Bulldog Brower Dark: Rene Goulet, Terry Gibbs d. Tony Garea, Jose Luis Rivera Dark: Jim Neidhart d. Rick McGraw
>>> Leilani Kai won’t give back the Women’s Title until she gets a title shot [4.75] Hillbilly Jim d. Paul Roma via pinfall (5:00) [3] >>> Piper’s Pit: Adrian Adonis laughs at Jimmy Snuka’s inability to beat him. [4.25] The Iron Sheik d. Barry Windham via pinfall (4:39) [2.75] >>> Andre The Giant tells Mean Gene that all of Heenan’s men will pay big time. [4.25] Tito Santana d. Bret Hart via submission (7:14) [3.5] >>> Roddy Piper has some words for Hulk Hogan following The War to Settle the Score, says Hogan is too scared to face him. [4.25]
3.44 rating, 4.3M viewers, up 2,900 from expected
Great work this week, with everyone pulling their weight and both the men’s and women’s title feuds remaining white-hot. My booking notes:
We’ll book Snuka vs Adonis II at WrestleMania, with Snuka going over. But that won’t be the end. I wanted to give Tito a clean win out of The War, and Bret Hart is a good young wrestler who can take the fall. Not sure if we’ll have another true match between Hillbilly Jim and Don Muraco at WrestleMania. Muraco got a win already, and I don’t want to give Jim a win in return. He’s so over that he can simply do segments that keep him over. Next week we’ll introduce Godstorm and hope they get over. We might also get Mr. T back on the program. Maybe. We brought some new workers onto television this week: Ricky Steamboat, Jim Neidhart, and back from injury, The Dynamite Kid. All three won’t see regular TV action until after WrestleMania, when we cycle out some names. About the three: Steamboat has won a slew of NWA titles and can easily slot into our Intercontinental division. We’ll have to build him up as a fan favorite first, but I envision a small run against Valentine sooner rather than later. Neidhart came to us in the Stampede deal, along with Bret Hart. Already Hart is requesting he tag with Jim as a heel, which we like. At this point we can use some fresh tag teams. Speaking of which, The Dynamite Kid is a talented worker and outstanding tag wrestler, usually with the British powerhouse Davey Boy Smith. Vince said he’s working to finalize an exclusive deal to bring Davey in, which means we can have the fan-friendly British Bulldogs and slot them into the tag division.
Ultimately, the tag ranks can look like this: The U.S. Express (face), British Bulldogs (face), The Strongbows (face), Sheik and Volkoff (heel), Hart and Neidhart (heel), Godstorm (heel). That’s a nice start. For now we could use two more teams, one on each side (the Briscos are part-timers).
WrestleMania Week 4 March 1985 Tentative Card
Hulk Hogan [c] vs Roddy Piper | WWF World Heavyweight Championship
Wendi Richter [c] vs Leilani Kai | WWF Women’s Championship Greg Valentine [c] vs Tito Santana | WWF Intercontinental Championship The U.S. Express [c] vs The Iron Sheik, Nikolai Volkoff | WWF World Tag Team Championship Jimmy Snuka vs Adrian Adonis |
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Post by Moore on Apr 21, 2023 11:45:39 GMT 1
I acually like the presentation to this diary, as the font is not really a very modern one, so it fits perfectly within the time frame. The booker's POV is actually refreshing, giving us an insight of what's going to happen prior to the happenings.
I'm starting to follow it from now on. The Wrestlemania card is shaping up!
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Post by bookerman on Apr 26, 2023 2:36:34 GMT 1
Week 2 March 1985
George Steele tells us that a brother duo of high-level amateur wrestlers, Rick and Scott Rechsteiner, are looking to get into the professional ranks. The oldest is going by Rick Steiner and has worked a couple shows with AWA as a per-appearance enhancement talent. His brother Scott is still wrestling collegiately and will need some work still. But these guys have raw talent and are BIG. We’ll put in an offer.
A few others now available: Barry Horowitz, Jimmy del Ray, Mick Foley. We’ll pass on those guys for now, and if still out there, we might take a look in the summer.
Finally, we thought long and hard this week about Andre’s WrestleMania match and decided to go through with a hair vs hair tag bout against Studd and The Missing Link. Then we started searching for someone who wanted to work a gimmick match, was a known face to our audience, and could realistically team with Andre. We talked up some of our fellow companies and found the right guy … Sgt. Slaughter.
Slaughter was last with us in December 1984 as a face. In fact, he earned Andre’s endorsement after turning face in early ‘84. He is currently in AWA, and we were able to broker a deal with Verne Gagne to bring him in for Mania; in return, AWA will use currently shelved Pedro Morales for the night. Slaughter loves gimmick matches and has some hair, so he can work the gimmick we’re planning.
Time for Championship Wrestling:
WWF Championship Wrestling
Mid-Hudson Civic Center, Poughkeepsie, NY
Dark: Ricky Steamboat d. Charlie Fulton Dark: Jim Neidhart d. Jose Luis Rivera Dark: The Iron Sheik, Nikolai Volkoff d. Salvatore Bellomo, Steve Lombardi Dark: Jimmy Snuka d. Dennis Stamp
Godstorm d. The Strongbows via pinfall (5:12) [3.25] >>> Godstorm wants to take down every tag team in the WWF and fire a shot at the Briscos. [2.25] >>> Greg Valentine interrupts a Tito Santana interview and a fight breaks out! [1] Andre The Giant d. Big John Studd (7:33) [Street Fight] [3.75] >>> Wendi Richter tells Gene Okerlund she accepts Leiliani Kai’s challenge, when Judy Martin, Kai and The Fabulous Moolah ambush her and Cyndi Lauper! [3.5] Roddy Piper, Paul Orndorff, Bob Orton Jr, Don Muraco d. Hulk Hogan, Mr. T, Rocky Johnson, Hillbilly Jim via countout (10:04) [2.75] >>> Post-match, the ring clears and Hogan and Piper have a staredown. [4.25]
3.4 rating, 4.25M viewers, up 6,800 from expected
Not the best show, but all of our competitors handed in middling performances, so we won the week. The IC title feud is getting cold quickly; at the very least, now I know we can’t do anything backstage with these guys (or we should just let managers do the talking).
My booking notes:
I’m entertaining having Valentine give up the belt before WrestleMania … to Jimmy Snuka. That way the slightly hotter Adonis vs Snuka feud has a belt. At the moment it’s just a passing thought. We went with an Andre vs Studd singles match, opting to go gimmick just to give the fans something interesting. It didn’t work as well as we wanted, but it was still our hottest match of the evening. Richter, Kai and Co. continue to work hard for heat. Great to see. We opted for the big four-on-four in our main event to play off of The War to Settle the Score, but once again, some weak links brought us down (probably Mr. T). Again, I don’t think we’ll use T in matches going forward, aside from maybe one special attraction bout. Godstorm did well in their debut bout, but their gimmick was ice cold to the fans. We’ll have to work hard to get them over.
WrestleMania Week 4 March 1985 Tentative Card
Hulk Hogan [c] vs Roddy Piper | WWF World Heavyweight Championship Wendi Richter [c] vs Leilani Kai | WWF Women’s Championship Greg Valentine [c] vs Tito Santana | WWF Intercontinental Championship The U.S. Express [c] vs The Iron Sheik, Nikolai Volkoff | WWF World Tag Team Championship Jimmy Snuka vs Adrian Adonis Andre The Giant, Sgt. Slaughter vs Big John Studd, The Missing Link | Hair vs Hair Match |
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Post by sonny912 on Apr 26, 2023 22:36:16 GMT 1
If your planning g on bringing in the steiners, you should probably sign up some other alumni from bill watts's uwf like Eddie gilbert, Dr. Death steve williams and of course Sting!
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Post by bookerman on May 1, 2023 6:19:26 GMT 1
Week 3 March 1985
Our scout tells us that they have recruited Elizabeth Ann Hulette. She was an announcer at ICW, and our training staff thinks she could work well as a manager. She also happens to be married to ICW star Randy “Macho Man” Savage.
Championship Wrestling time. Two more shows until the big WrestleMania event:
WWF Championship Wrestling
Mid-Hudson Civic Center, Poughkeepsie, NY
Dark: Bret Hart d. Salvatore Bellomo Dark: Chief Jay Strongbow d. The Executioner Dark: Bob Orton Jr. d. Tony Garea Dark: Junkyard Dog d. Terry Gibbs
The U.S. Express d. Bulldog Brower, Dennis Stamp via pinfall (4:40) [3.25] >>> The Iron Sheik and Nikolai Volkoff come to the ring to torment the Express, but they won’t back down! [4.25] >>> Video: Hillbilly Jim is shown training for a push-up contest against Don Muraco! [4.75] >>> Piper’s Pit: Andre The Giant shows, but Roddy Piper and Big John Studd mock him. [3.75] Tito Santana, Ricky Steamboat d. Greg Valentine, Brutus Beefcake via submission (6:33) [3.75] >>> Adrian Adonis brings out Jimmy Snuka … the midget version. [4.25] >>> Leilani Kai calls out Wendi Richter to sign a contract for WrestleMania, and Richter gets the last laugh … and her title belt back! [4.25] Hulk Hogan d. Paul Orndorff via disqualification (interference, 8:31) [1.75]
3.27 rating, 4.09M viewers, up 68,700 from expected
Once again, our competitors have poor nights. We did pretty well, sans the weird main event match. Maybe it was the interference finish? Maybe we should’ve had Orndorff win by DQ, since Hogan has gone over a lot in segments?
My booking notes:
WrestleMania is shaping up nicely. We’ll have the Briscos against Godstorm, just hoping it sets the floor for the latter team. We’ll also have a battle royal to fill out the card, with Junkyard Dog probably going over. And Hillbilly Jim and Don Muraco will break the matches a bit with a fun push-up contest. Richter vs Kai is our hottest feud. This will really help us push the women’s division; after WrestleMania, we plan to be aggressive in trading for legitimate female workers. Good to see the IC title feud rebound a little with that tag match. We had Steamboat’s TV debut here, and Beefcake hadn’t been seen for a while. He’ll be tagging with Valentine going forward. Also glad to see the tag title feud get some rub. Everything is getting in line just one show away from our first big supercard.
WrestleMania Week 4 March 1985 Tentative Card
Hulk Hogan [c] vs Roddy Piper | WWF World Heavyweight Championship Wendi Richter [c] vs Leilani Kai | WWF Women’s Championship Greg Valentine [c] vs Tito Santana | WWF Intercontinental Championship The U.S. Express [c] vs The Iron Sheik, Nikolai Volkoff | WWF World Tag Team Championship Jimmy Snuka vs Adrian Adonis Andre The Giant, Sgt. Slaughter vs Big John Studd, The Missing Link | Hair vs Hair Match The Briscos vs Godstorm 15-Man Battle Royal Push-Up Contest: Hillbilly Jim vs Don Muraco |
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