BY GREG PARKS, PWTORCH COLUMNIST

As a long-time Torch subscriber, I have access to hundreds of digital back issues of the Pro Wrestling Torch newsletter, available at pwtorch.com/members. Because you are reading this in a Torch Newsletter, you’re a subscriber too, and you have the same access to those back issues!

That, of course, is in case you did not know that fact. I knew, but only recently did I decide to reach into the archives to check out some of those past issues. I began subscribing to ths newsletter in late 1997, right after the Montreal Screwjob, when I saw an ad for the Torch in the back of a Sporting News magazine. I was 13 years old and hadn’t even really thought of the behind-the-scenes drama in wrestling before the Bret Hart/Vince McMahon stuff brought it to light for even the casual fan.

The ad promised that my first issue would be a special newsletter that chronicled the Screwjob from every angle, collecting articles and news from previous Torch’s and compiling it in one handy guide. I vividly remember receiving that first issue on a Friday. That night, I sat at our kitchen table and read the entire thing cover-to-cover without a break.

I remember running into words and terms the meanings of which I wasn’t clear on, such as “babyface,” “heel,” and “doing a job.” By using context clues and with each passing issue, the words and terms became clearer to me. And aside from a short stint or two when money was tight, I’ve been a subscriber ever since.

Doing a hard-sell is not my intent here, as I just wanted to give some background on my history with the Torch before delving into information I found in some of the back issues. In looking through past issues, I began in 1993, because that is the first year in which each article from the newsletters have been put into text format on the site. I stopped in December of 1997, when my subscription first kicked in.

This time period is really fascinating, with ups and downs for both major companies (both creatively and financially), plus the emergence of ECW as a viable third brand in the marketplace. It cuts through WWE’s era of occupational gimmicks and the New Generation, and you can track the company becoming more edgy as a response to losing the ratings war with WCW.

During this time period in WCW, you had struggles for power too numerous to count; the addition of big names such as Hulk Hogan and Randy Savage, with more to come later; the establishment of Monday Nitro and the Monday Night War; the rise of the company and the beginning of its downfall with the advent of WCW Thunder as another weekly TV series.

ECW underwent a facelift from “Eastern Championship Wrestling” to “Extreme Championship Wrestling,” with Shane Douglas controversially throwing down the NWA World Heavyweight Title after winning it. The company grew to the point that their ideas and talent were poached by WCW and WWE, while also establishing a tenuous working agreement with Vince McMahon.

They also rose to national prominence by securing PPV, despite bumps in the road such as the New Jack-Erich Kulas incident. Paul Heyman made sure to get his brand out there amongst hardcore fans by talking to the Torch and often supplying quotes for the newsletter.

While perusing these back issues, I’d come across parallels to today’s pro wrestling environment. For example, in 1994, fans and columnists alike complained in almost every issue about WCW and WWE both excessively pushing their 900 numbers. Sound familiar?

Today, WWE pushes Twitter in almost every segment. In some ways, the push of Twitter is almost more palatable, because if you have access to the Internet, it won’t cost you anything to go there, unlike the 900 numbers. WWE also hasn’t really done any false advertising in plugging Twitter, while the 900 numbers were often a haven for teasing juicy gossip, only for the tidbit to be not what the caller expected.

The 900 numbers are somewhat archaic to today’s fans, a product of a bygone era in pro wrestling. Imagine someone reading back issues of the Torch 7-10 years from now. What will they think about this Twitter nonsense that they keep reading about?

These back issues also chronicle Steve Austin’s rise to stardom after being let go from WCW. Torch #300, September 24, 1994, reported on the WCW Fall Brawl PPV in which Austin did a quickie job to “Hacksaw” Jim Duggan. Former columnist Chris Zavisa wrote that “we saw one of WCW’s most talented wrestlers do a multi-second job for one of the world’s worst wrestlers, Jim Duggan.”

Editor Wade Keller noted that Austin’s facials during the match were a “highlight of the event.” After his release from WCW in September of 1995 (newsletter #354), the Torch noted that “the WWF has expressed interest in Austin before and considers him a major potential star.” Somehow, WWE saw fit to stick Austin, someone they saw as a potential star, with the bland Ringmaster gimmick. But before long, both those at the Torch and WWE were proven correct.

As a humorous footnote to Austin, and an item that could lead to a lot of “what if…” scenarios, WCW appeared to make a late push to re-sign the future Rattlesnake. The Torch reported on April 22, 1995 (newsletter #331): “Steve Austin is apparently staying put in WCW. Not because WCW sees his value, but because they think the WWF will turn him into a superstar.”

In Torch #301, dated October 1, 1994, there was conversation about Ric Flair retiring after his Halloween Havoc match with Hulk Hogan. Here is a portion of a quote from the newsletter: “Flair has said repeatedly to anyone who would listen the last several months that.... [This concludes the FREE PREVIEW of this VIP-exclusive article. Go VIP to read the rest of this feature article from PWTorch Newsletter #1238 published this week!]

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