June 16, 2003 Observer Newsletter: Goldberg’s run in WWE examined, more on Freddie Blassie

We are less than three months into the Goldberg in WWE experiment and it’s doubtful many would argue that it’s been anything but a complete failure.

Even going in, I don’t know anyone who expected it to work in the long-run, even though fans were clamoring for a Goldberg vs. Brock Lesnar match, and there were potential big money dream matches with Rock and HHH that appeared to be easy money. I also didn’t know many people who thought, if done correctly, it wouldn’t work big. The scary part of this failure is that now, all excuses go out the window. The WWE creative side is worse than the WCW creative side. WCW never once had an opportunity even close to this since the first Hulk Hogan vs. Roddy Piper match, and even that in 1996, had no business being as big a deal as Goldberg’s first matches against several different opponents.

WCW, and some of this fell into their lap and wasn’t their own creation, made Goldberg into literally not just a wrestling star, but a household word.

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June 9, 2003 Observer Newsletter: Career and death of Freddie Blassie

Just weeks after the release of his autobiography and a live appearance on television to promote it, 85-year-old Fred Blassie, one of pro wrestling’s most hated and colorful characters, passed away.

Blassie passed way at 8:37 p.m. Eastern time, less than a half hour before the Raw where the announcement of his death went on the air when his internal organs finally shut down after being in a weakened condition for weeks.

He had been in the hospital in Westchester County, NY 5/19, which was a week after his Raw appearance in Philadelphia. His condition was not considered good, and wishes to pull through were mentioned on several WWE television shows last week. His kidney (his only one as he had to have the other one taken out in 1965 which at the time was thought to have ended his career) developed an infection which spread throughout his body, and caused problems with both his heart and his liver. His heart problems were the most serious.

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