#Wrestling observer torrent professional#

Meltzer published data-based evidence suggesting inflated record attendance figures for WrestleManias III and 23. The WWE’s 1997 “Montreal Screwjob” was exhaustively covered by the WON, including backstage events, including from Bret Hart himself.

#Wrestling observer torrent professional#

Meltzer’s approach benefitted from professional contacts, a historic perspective, and his own analysis of trends, data, and events. The WON’s earlier years were also marked by revealing insider news and various behind-the-scenes happenings in the industry, a groundbreaking approach in a kayfabe-heavy era. He was seen as a spectator in the front row at Chi-Town Rumble in 1989, seated next to Brad Muster, at the time a fullback with the Chicago Bears. By this point, Meltzer began making appearances at major wrestling events, at first mostly in Japan.

He started writing the WON full-time in 1987, retaining the smaller 8-page format. Reader response convinced him to pursue the WON as his career instead. At that point, he continued offering the WON on a “temporary” basis as an 8-page weekly on 8½-by-11-inch paper only to fill out the remainder of his subscriptions. In 1985, he announced that he would be ceasing publication, citing disinterest in the wrestling landscape of the time and too much time having to be spent on bookkeeping and mailing lists. He was to be hired to cover soccer instead and just contribute to other wrestling newsletters. Meltzer contemplated a career change during the mid-1980s. The publication was originally a 16- to 24-page publication on 8½-by-14-inch paper, and published roughly every two or three weeks. For most of its existence, it has been published from Campbell, California, a suburb of San Jose. The WON has been published from the start from various communities in Northern California, except for a six-month period in late 1983 and early 1984 when Meltzer resided in Wichita Falls, Texas. This led directly to the formation of the WON, which Meltzer first began publishing in 1982 as a way to keep fans informed of various wrestling regions that readers may not have been aware of or had no access to. Meltzer stated that he wanted to keep his friends in college “in the loop” for his tape trading as well as the happenings in the business, as the mainstream wrestling magazines catered to a somewhat younger demographic. A short time later, he began maintaining a tape-trading list, and would occasionally send match results and news updates along with tape updates. According to Meltzer, he was just a fan at first. The beginnings of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter date back to 1980, when Meltzer began an annual poll amongst those with whom he corresponded regarding professional wrestling.