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VIP EXCLUSIVE COLUMN - Early-release from PWTorch Newsletter #995...

"McNeill Factor"
Newsletter Headline: "Fiasco at the Cow Palace"
Originally published: October 24, 2007
From Pro Wrestling Torch Newsletter #995

If something sounds too good to be true, it probably is. That's the lesson a number of wrestling fans in Northern California are taking with them after the highly anticipated WrestleFanFest convention wrapped up on Sunday night in San Francisco.

Back in August, when the promoters of WrestleFanFest started leaking the line-up information for last weekend's event, this looked like the biggest pro wrestling convention of the year. The 14,000 seat Cow Palace arena was booked for the entire three-day weekend. The convention was set to kick off on Friday with autograph sessions headlined by Lex Luger, Team 3D, and The Great Muta. Then there was going to be a major independent show on the first night featuring TNA talent and headlined by The Outsiders reuniting to fight Sid Vicious and a mystery partner.

The second day was scheduled to feature autograph sessions for Bill Goldberg, Christian Cage, and The Outsiders, plus Roddy Piper performing his one man show. Saturday night would headline with a mixed martial arts event to be taped for DVD release. The third day of the convention was scheduled around a pro wrestling doubleheader, with the AWA affiliate running a show in the morning and Ring of Honor making its West Coast debut in the afternoon. Also, "Stone Cold" Steve Austin and Road Warrior Animal would be signing autographs, along with Cryme Tyme, Vince Russo, and numerous others.

For many fans, one of the best things about the convention was the location. The Cow Palace had been the home base of Roy Shire's Big Time Wrestling promotion throughout the 1960s, selling out regularly with headliners like Ray Stevens, Cowboy Bob Ellis, and Pat Patterson. Shire eventually joined the NWA and continued running the Cow Palace through the 1970s, although attendance was down when the promotion had to switch to a UHF station in San Francisco. After Shire folded his tent, there weren't as many major shows at the Palace, but in 1987, Curt Hennig captured the AWA Title from Nick Bockwinkel at AWA SuperClash 2. WCW ran the Palace in the 1990s, as the venerable building hosted SuperBrawl VII in 1997, headlined by Hollywood Hogan defeating Roddy Piper. And in February 2004, the Cow Palace was the site of WWE's No Way Out pay-per-view, where Eddie Guerrero captured the WWE strap from Brock Lesnar. 

The first signs of trouble started in the weeks before the event. A number of the wrestlers advertised for the weekend did not receive the money and/or plane tickets they were promised, and had not heard from promoter Chris Salisbury or anyone from his company, Sports Promotions USA. Jim Neidhart cancelled after not receiving his advance. Dan Severn, who had been scheduled for an autograph signing, bailed out after not receiving a plane ticket and finding out he had been advertised for the pro wrestling show without his consent. The folks over at Big Vision Entertainment, who were hired to film the Friday and Saturday shows for weekend release, had the entire "Malice at the Palace" Friday wrestling card dumped in their laps when Salisbury admitted that he needed someone to book the show for him.

Lex Luger [artist Joseph Borzotta (c) PWTorch]

In the days before the convention, the prospects of a successful weekend fell apart as several headliners dropped off. Kevin Nash and Scott Hall refused to appear unless they received the advance money they had been promised. Salisbury reportedly promised to wire the money to the former Outsiders and never followed through. Kurt Angle, who had received his plane ticket and was being paid through TNA, cancelled due to a stomach virus. Marty Jannetty and Ken Shamrock also cancelled after not receiving advance money. Sid Vicious reportedly cancelled after a phone conversation with Salisbury. Test, Mil Miscaras, and Kevin Sullivan cancelled for unknown reasons. Wrestlers were being flown into the Sacramento and San Jose airports to save money, and Salisbury did not have ground transportation prepared for the wrestlers to get to San Francisco. On top of everything else, after arriving at the convention, Lex Luger was rushed to the hospital with what was feared to be a heart attack or stroke, with the latest indication being it was a spinal infection.   

When Friday morning rolled around, the doors opened at the Cow Palace and fewer than a hundred people poured into the cavernous arena. The convention organizers had promised that a shuttle bus would be running back and forth between the hotel and the Cow Palace every hour. However, that was not the case, and dozens of fans and wrestlers were upset at having to find alternate transportation to the convention. There were also a number of wrestlers looking to receive their money from the promoters, but nobody from Sports Promotions USA arrived at the convention until the afternoon. This included promoter Craig Salisbury, who didn't arrive at the Cow Palace until late afternoon on Friday. No one from the convention was there to tell the wrestlers where to go or what to do. According to one source, Team 3D sat for over an hour waiting for instructions on where to go for their autograph signing. Salisbury's wife, Jasmine, eventually showed up with cash and checks for some of the wrestlers.

The attendance jumped to almost 300 by evening time. That's when the convention card took place, with the crowd estimated in the 200-250 range, an embarrassing number for the massive arena. The only match that went off as originally advertised was The Steiners against Team 3D, and both teams asked to be on first so they could get back to the hotel. One former WWE wrestler apparently worked his undercard match while completely drunk. The best match on the show was Ultimo Dragon against Billy Kidman. By many accounts, the worst match was the Dream Team against Koko B. Ware & Steve "Dr. Death" Williams. The revised main event was Great Muta defeating Sandman and Steve Corino in a three-way dance, an unusual match by any standard. 

The next day, Saturday, did not get off to an auspicious start. A number of the wrestlers who hadn't been paid camped out in the hotel lobby, refusing to leave for their autograph signing. Meanwhile, the next set of autograph signings began. Bill Goldberg, the Steiner Brothers, Roddy Piper, and Rikishi were......

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