The following is a reprint of the Torch Newsletter WWF Newswire from five years ago this week.

-Jason Powell, Torch assistant editor

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Torch Newsletter Archive
By Wade Keller, Torch editor
WWF Newswire
Originally published: Pro Wrestling Torch Weekly newsletter #481
Cover dated: February 28, 1998

AHMED ON SHAKY GROUND
Ahmed Johnson (Tony Norris) refused, when asked, to do a clean job to Kurrgan's claw at the Feb. 16 Raw tapings. He left the arena and didn't show up for work the next night at the Feb. 17 Raw tapings. As of deadline Ahmed had not yet been officially fired, but he may soon be dismissed and is at the very least in the doghouse.

From very early on in his stint in the WWF, Ahmed developed an attitude. A few months into his WWF run, Ahmed showed some fellow wrestlers his ranking in Pro Wrestling Illustrated's rankings as evidence that he should be getting a bigger push and a run with a title. He said from an early point that he didn't like doing jobs. WWF wrestlers laughed at him for being a "mark" for himself and not understanding "the business" aspect of wrestling. In the last two years, he has been out with injuries more than he has wrestled, and he has injured others. He was in the WWF's dog house until showing up at the recent training session in good shape. However, his wrestling and interview skills still weren't developing at a satisfactory pace. The WWF's enthusiasm for him had tempered to the point that he was asked to do a squash job to Kurrgan, which he balked at doing.

Because of his reputation, a WCW source says they have no plans to pursue Ahmed should he become free from his WWF contract.

ON THE ROAD
Feb. 18 in Waco, Tex. drew 6,944 paid (sellout) $85,607 (merchandising $58,720, $8 per head) for the Raw is War tapings.

Feb. 21 in Toronto, Ont. at SkyDome drew 13,227 for $279,332 (merch. $136,479, $10 per head): Head Bangers beat Quebecers, Ken Shamrock beat Kama (w/Faarooq, D-Lo Brown, Mark Henry), 8-Ball (w/Skull)‚ beat Marc Mero (w/Sable) when 8-Ball switched places with Skull after which Luna brawled with Sable, The Godwinns beat The Legion of Doom in a "Country Whipping Match," Owen Hart beat Goldust (w/Luna) via sharpshooter (Owen said he'd "kick Goldust's faggot ass"), Taka Michinoku beat Brian Christopher (w/Jerry Lawler), New Age Outlaws beat Cactus Jack & Chainsaw Charlie, Kane (w/Paul Bearer) beat Chainz, Hunter (w/Chyna) talked about how DX ran the Hart Foundation out of the WWF, Steve Austin beat Rocky Maivia (w/NOD) via Stone Cold Stunner.

Feb. 22 in East Rutherford, N.J. at Continental Airlines arena drew 12,483 for $296,354 (merch. $146,287, $11 per head). They announced a change in the main event for the fourth time on TV the day of the event with Rocky Maivia replacing Hunter, thus shifting D-Lo Brown into Rocky's spot teaming with Faarooq. Overall, said to be a very good show at two-and-a-half hours, not rushed like the previous MSG show. All matches were tag bouts. Skull & 8-Ball beat Mark Henry & Kama via DQ in the opener. Kama used a chair as Henry was being pinned. The ref saw him and called for the DQ. Not as bad as it sounds on paper.

Jerry Lawler & Brian Christopher beat Tom Brandi & Taka Michinoku when Christopher pinned Brandi after Lawler hit her with a foreign object. The ref wasn't looking since he was pushing Taka back to his corner. Excellent action mixed with good comedy by Lawler. Lawler called Taka a "tempura shrimp" before the match who was about to get "battered" by Christopher. Some terrific Christopher-Taka spots. The Head Bangers beat The Quebecers when Mosh pinned Pierre. When Jacques bragged about Team Canada beating Team USA in men's hockey, Thrasher responded by saying Team USA "kicked Canada's ass" in women's hockey. Really poor bout. The Quebecers killed any momentum during the match with restholds.

Jim Cornette came out and did an NWA routine which few people cared about. He challenged Stuttering John (from the Howard Stern Show) to meet him at Madison Square Garden on Mar. 22 because of his questions during the Mike Tyson press conference. Cornette was over with the crowd as a heel. Ken Shamrock & Owen Hart beat D-Lo Brown & Faarooq when D-Lo tapped out to Shamrock's anklelock. Faarooq looked good, Owen looked sharp.

Steve Blackman & Chainz beat Marc Mero (w/Sable) & Goldust (w/Luna). Mero dismissed Sable before the match, sending her to the back. After ten minutes of action, she returned, Mero was distracted, and Blackman caught him from behind for the pin. Sable and Luna fought afterward. Luna ran, then Sable pushed down Mero.

The Godwinns beat The Legion of Doom in a pretty bad whipping match. Phineaus pinned Hawk after Henry used a chair unseen by the ref. A seven minute dud. After the match Animal left the ring even though Hawk was lying on his back. Kane's music came on and he and Paul Bearer came out. Kane chokeslammed and tombstoned a helpless Hawk. Three refs and Tony Garea came out to help. Kane chokeslammed a ref. Hawk was stretchered.

Steve Austin & Cactus Jack & Chainsaw Charlie beat Road Dog & Billy Gunn & Rocky Maivia in a no DQ "unsanctioned" match when Austin pinned Road Dog after a Stunner. Hunter and Chyna came out first. Hunter said he couldn't face Austin in the tag match due to a potential lawsuit for what Austin did to Chyna. He said a jury wouldn't look kindly at his case if he "crippled Austin's ass." He added, "One more thing. Suck it!" The first half of the match was a strong six-man match with wrestling, and Austin was involved early. The second half broke down to a brawl with tables, chairs, a shovel, a trash can, and the like brought in by Cactus and Chainsaw. After the match, Austin stunned Rocky and everyone left except Hunter and Chyna. Hunter attacked Austin, but was ultimately given the Stunner. Return date: Monday, July 13 at 7:45 p.m. with a live Raw is War. Tickets went on sale during intermission. [Mike Omansky, Alfonso Castillo]

SHOTGUN SATURDAY NIGHT
The Feb. 21 edition of Shotgun Saturday Night (taped Feb. 16 in Dallas, Tex.) opened with Barry Windham (w/The Rock & Roll Express, Jeff Jarrett, Jim Cornette) beating Tom Brandi with the lariat. The NWA interfered throughout the match. After the match Bradshaw came out and charged the ring with a bullrope like Stan Hansen does and cleared the ring. He and Windham challenged one another over the house mic. They aired the Steve Austin interview from Raw where he addressed giving Chyna the Stunner at the PPV.

Mark Henry & D-Lo Brown beat Bill Irwin & Kit Carson when D-Lo pinned Carson with a splash off the top rope. Prior to the match they aired highlights of the angle from Raw where Rocky gave the Rolex watches to three NOD members, but stuck Faarooq with a poster of himself. Kurrgan beat Cedman with a claw. Afterward, Jackal usually slaps Kurrgan in the face to get him to break the hold. In this case he didn't. He simply walked back to the dressing room, so Kurrgan followed him back to the dressing room while still holding Cedman in the claw and dragging him behind him.

They showed Kane destroying Dok Hendrix. Brian Christopher beat Tony Williams with the Tennessee Jam. DOA beat Jesus & Jose & Savio via DQ when Miguel interfered. [Tim Whitehead]

WWF NOTEBOOK
At the Raw tapings last week, Luna and Sunny got into a scuffle that wasn't part of a storyline. Luna, normally surprisingly mild-mannered, threw Sunny's gear out of her locker room in her rage and then got in four or five shots at Sunny before several people intervened and broke up the fight. Sunny isn't the most popular person in the locker room, especially among other women, and had apparently been throwing verbal jabs Luna's way for several weeks. Luna finally blew her top...

The LOD have already begun to grow out their hair for their image make-over scheduled to be unveiled at Wrestlemania. There was some talk of Paul Ellering being brought back to be instrumental in the LOD's make-over, but no word on if that actually will take place. Latest word is that Sunny will end up managing the LOD...

The WWF plans on being low-key about the tension with Iraq. Don't look for Sgt. Slaughter to acknowledge it or any storyline to be built around it...

On the special Saturday edition of Raw is War, before the Dok Hendrix-Kane angle aired, they showed an extended segment on Dok's history as wrestler "Freebird" Michael Hayes including clips from his days in World Class Championship Wrestling and his short stay in the WWF...

Hunter met with Dr. Jim Andrews on Feb. 18. He doesn't need surgery and will be back in action this weekend...

Hunter, Chyna, and Dok appeared on Canada's "Off the Record" show on TSN last week. Hunter and Chyna said they hate hockey. Hunter said he never had any heat with Bret behind the scenes, but compared his refusal to drop the belt when asked by McMahon to Hogan refusing to drop the belt to Bret before he left the WWF. They also sided with Luna in the backstage brawl between Luna and Sunny, saying they are tired of Sunny thinking the world revolves around her. Dok wore a neckbrace to sell the Kane chokeslam. Chyna didn't say much...

Vince McMahon was interviewed for "Off the Record" on Feb. 20 for airing on Feb. 24 and 25...

At the No Way Out PPV, the mini-blimp in the arena crashed (well, it kind of floated to the floor and remained there several minutes blocking the view of a few dozen fans)...

Undertaker was in the arena at the PPV but didn't appear publicly...

No chance of Bruno Sammartino being at Wrestlemania, despite some rumors of that. McMahon took some shots at him during his TSN interview...

The wrench angle with Kane hitting Vader set up Vader taking time off to get eye surgery, which he was scheduled to have...

The contracts of Sultan (a/k/a Fatu) and Scott Putski have expired and won't be renewed...

Two weeks before Wrestlemania, USA Network preempts Raw for part two of a "Moby Dick" mini-series. Expect Raw to be rescheduled the following Saturday. That definitely hurts the WWF's momentum as they approach Wrestlemania as they had a big angle regarding the Wrestlemania main event slated for that show...

Mike Tyson's new advisor, now that he has split up with Don King, is Evander Holyfield's former manager. Fox Sports reported Monday night that Pete Rose would be joining Tyson at Wrestlemania...

Sable fell out of her top at least twice last week (Dallas and Toronto), making some suspect it's being done on purpose for publicity. One eyewitness said it appeared Mero actually pulled down her top...

Former WWF manager Lou Albano is authoring "The Complete Idiot's Guide to Pro Wrestling" set to be published Aug. 1...

The Apr. 26 PPV in Greensboro, N.C. is titled "Unforgiven"...

Marc Mero & Sable vs. Goldust & Luna may be the one match added to the Wrestlemania line-up (instead of Bradshaw vs. Windham)...

On the WWF 900 line, Ross talked about Louie Spicolli in positive terms, saying Spicolli had one key intangible to being successful in wrestling - being a fan of the business...

In a MultiChannel News feature on cable network signature shows, it listed South Park with Comedy Central, Larry Sanders with HBO, Pop-Up Video with VH1, Rugrats with Nickelodeon, but not Raw with USA. Instead, Silk Stockings was listed as USA's signature show, which averaged a 1.6 rating in the fourth quarter of 1997. ESPN Sports Center averaged a 1.0 rating in Q4 last year, but charged $10,000-$12,000 per 30 second spot. During the week of Jan. 26-Feb. 1, the top five rated hours on all of cable TV were the five live WCW hours...

Said Owen Hart about Ric Flair in the Feb. 8 Charleston Post and Courier: "I think Ric Flair is still a good talent, and I've always respected him. Regardless of his age, you've got to give the guy credit for what he's accomplished. From what I've been told, he's still getting great responses. I'd like to see anyone else's workrate at his age"...

Gorilla Monsoon is doing commentary for the Canadian feed of Sunday Superstars...

The WWF was pleased with John Tenta's dark matches at last week's tapings...

The WWF is looking to hire a few more Japanese and Mexican light-heavyweights to give depth to the division...

Shawn Michaels is fully expecting to be able to wrestle at Wrestlemania. Although there is still fear internally in the WWF that he will end up somehow getting out of appearing at Wrestlemania or doing a clean job to Austin, expect Michaels to go through with it and put his fellow San Antonio resident over in the middle of the ring. His "guarantee" on Raw this week that he'd be at Wrestlemania was in reaction to all of the doubters. His schedule of dates working in the ring for the WWF, though, will probably diminish even more as the year goes on, especially with him not being champion...

Saturday Raw on Feb. 21 drew a strong 3.0 rating (2.7, 3.2). Feb. 22 Superstars drew a 1.9...

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