Ep. #540: January 16-22, 1997 with Dominic Garrini

Kris and David are joined by Dominic Garrini (@dgarrinibc) to discuss the week that was January 16-22, 1997. Topics of discussion include:

• Royal Rumble ’97 at the Alamo Dome in San Antonio, featuring a flu-ridden Shawn Michaels winning the WWF Title from Sycho Sid, a weirdly booked Royal Rumble won by "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, lots of AAA wrestlers on the show despite the fans having no idea who they were, and lots more.
• Raw the next night featuring a very angry Bret Hart as he "quits" before coming back later to attack Austin, as the tone of the company is starting to change more and more.
• A wild and wooly episode of Shotgun Saturday Night as Terry Funk gets unhinged in a bar in San Antonio, which also features the very first televised match between Hunter Hearst Helmsley and Rocky Maivia.
• The Triple Crown and AJPW World Tag Team Titles both change hands in a matter of a few days in All Japan.
• Giant Baba meeting with Atsushi Onita about possibly working together.
• Mark Kerr making his MMA debut in Brazil.
• The famous John Lober vs. Frank Shamrock fight in Hawaii.
• ECW running a TV taping in Scranton that was very newsworthy, plus an update on their upcoming PPV.
• The Nation of Domination in full effect on Memphis TV, featuring Tracy Smothers as Shaquille Ali and much more, including Jeff Conaway from “Taxi” and “Grease” as Mike Samples’ new buddy.
• Chris Benoit and Kevin Sullivan just beat the hell out of each other on consecutive nights at a record breaking Nitro in Chicago and then the Clash of the Champions special in Milwaukee.
• "Macho Man" Randy Savage makes his return to WCW on Nitro and aligns himself with Sting in a definite "What could've been?” storyline.

It's always great having Dom join us, and he was great as usual, as this ended up being a helluva show!!

Timestamps:

0:00:00 WWF

2:19:37 Japan: AJPW, NJPW, BattlARTS, IWA Kakuto-Shijuku, WAR, Wrestle Yume Factory, Pancrase, RINGS, AJPW, GAEA, & Jd’

2:54:22 Classic Commercial Break

2:58:22 Halftime

4:05:05 Latin America: AAA, CMLL, Promo Azteca, & WWC

4:24:34 Western MMA & Indie Wrestling: WVT/IVC, Superbrawl, Eastern Shores, New Jack City, ECW, USWA, & World Class II

6:00:02 WCW

To support the show and get access to exclusive rewards like special members-only monthly themed shows, go to our Patreon page at Patreon.com/BetweenTheSheets and become an ongoing Patron. Becoming a Between the Sheets Patron will also get you exclusive access to not only the monthly themed episode of Between the Sheets, but also access to our new mailbag segment, a Patron-only chat room on Slack, and anything else we do outside of the main shows!

If you’re looking for the best deal on a VPN service—short for Virtual Private Network, it helps you get around regional restrictions as well as browse the internet more securely—then Private Internet Access is what you’ve been looking for. Not only will using our link help support Between The Sheets, but you’ll get a special discount, with prices as low as $1.98/month if you go with a 40 month subscription. With numerous great features and even a TV-specific Android app to make streaming easier, there is no better choice if you’re looking to subscribe to WWE Network, AEW Plus, and other region-locked services.

For the best in both current and classic indie wrestling streaming, make sure to check out IndependentWrestling.tv and use coupon code BTSPOD for a free 5 day trial! (You can also go directly to TinyURL.com/IWTVsheets to sign up that way.) If you convert to a paid subscriber, we get a kickback for referring you, allowing you to support both the show and the indie scene.

To subscribe, you can find us on iTunes, Google Play, and just about every other podcast app's directory, or you can also paste Feeds.FeedBurner.com/BTSheets into your favorite podcast app using whatever “add feed manually” option it has.

Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/between-the-sheets/donations

Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands