Going through old issues of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter and posting highlights in my own words. For anyone interested, I highly recommend signing up for the actual site at f4wonline and checking out the full archives.

★ Complete Wrestling Observer Rewind 1991-2002 - Reddit archive

★ www.rewinder.pro - Mobile-friendly archive

★ Rewind Highlights - YouTube playlist

NOTE: I was reminded the other day of something that has been around for awhile but some of you might not be aware of. I always try to post relevant video links in these Rewinds, primarily using YouTube if I can. Awhile back, /u/JamesCDiamond put together a YouTube playlist compiling every video posted in these Rewinds dating back to the 1990 issues. As of this writing, the playlist contains over 800 wrestling videos. Obscure and weird stuff, great matches, commercials, promos, old news clips, famous moments; all of it is in the Rewind Highlights playlist on YouTube. I've also added the link permanently to the header above for easy access in the future. Massive thanks to Mr. Diamond for putting that together!

• Wrestlemania 19 is in the books! And while Kurt Angle's future is still in question, Steve Austin looks to have wrestled his last match. Austin had been told by doctors in no uncertain terms that if he continues wrestling, he's flirting with disaster due to his ongoing neck problems. Internally, it was known by a handful of people that this was going to be Austin's unannounced retirement match. Nothing is forever in wrestling, but for now, the belief among everyone in the company is that Austin really is done, which is why they wrote him off TV on Raw the next night. But he's expected to return in a non-wrestling capacity to keep him on Raw in the near future. He was hospitalized the night before the show, said to be due to anxiety and stress, but that's all Dave knows currently. By all rights, neither Austin or Angle should have wrestled that night and yet they both did.

• In Angle's case, he had decided months ago that he was going to try to have the match of his life and put Lesnar over like a million bucks or die trying. Turns out Lesnar almost died trying. Angle went into the match with limited strength on the left side of his body and his neck in agony but came out of it none the worse for wear other than pulling his hamstring. It was match-of-the-year level stuff until the finish, which saw Lesnar attempt the shooting star press that he had done several times in OVW but had since retired the move. But he decided to break it out here and it was terrifying. Fortunately, what could have ended in paralysis or death ended up leaving Lesnar with "only" a concussion and sore neck. So about Kurt Angle's neck instead....after reading a story about his issues, a neurosurgeon contacted Angle and recommended against spinal fusion surgery and telling him about a surgery his institute had pioneered that is much less invasive and could have him back in as little as 4-6 weeks. Scott Hall actually has had this same surgery from this doctor with great results, but Hall's neck was nowhere near as wrecked as Angle's. As of press time, Angle is still scheduled for the original fusion surgery this week, but word is he's leaning towards the new procedure instead.

WATCH: Brock Lesnar botches shooting star press at Wrestlemania 19

• Overall, Dave thinks Wrestlemania was a great show, probably the second best ever, behind WM17. He runs through all the records. Legit 54,097 attendance, an all-time record for Safeco Field. 10th biggest WWE crowd ever. 4th largest gate. They played a video hyping Backlash which revealed the signing of Goldberg for the first time publicly and got a huge pop in the stadium. It was also confirmed Wrestlemania 20 will take place at MSG. Dave says that Rock vs. Goldberg in a rematch from their upcoming Backlash match is already penciled in for WM20, but a lot can change in a year (indeed).

WATCH: Backlash 2003 promo revealing Goldberg

• Roddy Piper was the big surprise of the show, appearing during the Hogan/Vince match. It was initially a one-shot deal but now he'll be appearing regularly on Smackdown. The idea is to start a program with Hogan over who created the boom era and blah blah. Does anyone else remember this being done already and being awful 5 years ago in WCW, Dave wonders?

WATCH: Roddy Piper returns at Wrestlemania 19

• Hey, let's talk about that Booker T/Triple H finish, huh? The original plan apparently was for Booker to win, but it changed. No word why. But some people defended the racism in the angle leading up to the match, arguing that it would all be okay in the end when Booker won. Whoops. Dave first heard about 2 weeks ago that Triple H was fighting it, arguing that it would devalue the titles if both world titles changed hands on the same show. Around this same time, they also dropped the racial angle completely on TV. Ready for the surprise? Dave agrees with the decision and thinks Triple H should have won also. With Goldberg coming in, that's the obvious program to carry them through the summer and Triple H needs to be champion for it. That being said, they shouldn't have done the racism angle with Booker in that case, even if he was winning, but especially if he was losing. But the whole thing, from the racist storyline to the slow cover, was a mess and Dave feels Booker was utterly buried by all of this. Also, this only works if Triple H is willing to go out there and eat a spear and jackhammer in a short match for the good of the business. Dave's not holding his breath on that.

• FINALLY, let's wrap this up with a few more scattered Wrestlemania notes. The John Cena rap battle was moved to the pre-show when they couldn't get a famous rapper. It was going to be Fabolous but he pulled out 2 days beforehand. He'd just gotten arrested on gun charges, so that may be the reason. Nobody in WWE knew who Fabolous was or really was that concerned. Cena also dissed Jay-Z during his rap, because he turned WWE down at the last minute as well. Nathan Jones was written out of the tag match with Undertaker, because Vince loves his look but they're terrified to put him in the ring because, well, he's awful. Trish Stratus won the women's title and Dave says she deserves a ton of credit. In this company, Trish could have easily coasted on her looks and been a star, but she's busted her ass and become a damn good wrestler after a rough start. Jericho/Shawn was fantastic although Dave (and a lot of others) question the idea of part-time Shawn Michaels winning when Jericho desperately needs a big marquee win these days. Hogan/Vince was a bloodbath that the crowd loved but ya know, not a technical masterpiece. Lots of bells and whistles. And of course, the dramatic ending of the show, with Angle calling an improvised finish after the botched shooting star. It was scary, with Lesnar barely able to stand and totally glassy eyed as they went off the air. And that's finally it for Wrestlemania 19 for this week.

• The Bob Sapp train came to a devastating stop this week at the end of Mirko Cro Cop's left fist. In one of the most hyped matches in K-1 history, Sapp got dropped by a straight left from Cro Cop that turned his orbital bone to powder. Sapp hadn't really been able to train much because he's constantly got media obligations in Japan, while Cro Cop trained like a madman. It's bad news for K-1 because they have been negotiating with ESPN to co-promote events in the United States and Sapp was the obvious star attraction. Sapp was scheduled to fight at K-1's U.S. debut show in May but he's been pulled from that due to injuries suffered from the Cro Cop fight.

WATCH: Bob Sapp vs. Mirko Cro Cop - K-1 (2003)

• Back to Wrestlemania, with an MMA twist! Tito Ortiz made a brief on-screen appearance at Wrestlemania and it leads Dave on a bit of a rant comparing UFC to the old ECW. Both were underground successes that were unable to break into the mainstream, both have created new stars only to see them leave and try to go to bigger, greener pastures. Talks about former UFC champion Josh Barnett who is now in NJPW, a couple other people who left UFC for bigger money in Japan's MMA promotions, and now Tito Ortiz who is in a contract dispute over money for a planned Chuck Liddell fight. So to have him showing up in WWE, at a time when they might be looking for guys like him, is potentially another example, since Ortiz has expressed interest in WWE before, and they'd love to have him. But it's kind of a stalemate right now because Ortiz is locked into a UFC deal and can't do WWE until it's done. But if he loses his future fights in UFC (a very good possibility if/when he fights Liddell), it could hurt his value to WWE. Anyway, Ortiz has no background in pro wrestling and just because he's the UFC's current poster boy doesn't guarantee that would translate to wrestling at all.

• The Los Angeles Times published a piece on deaths in professional wrestling. The story has been in the works for months and included quotes from Curt Hennig's father and Brian Pillman's widow Melanie among others. The article listed 24 deaths of wrestlers in the past 5 years to die under the age of 45. Dave has actually come up a list of almost 70 different names from that same time period. Of course, lots of indie and Japanese stars on his list, which the Times didn't include, but the point remains. The article noted that Vince McMahon turned down months of interview requests before finally agreeing to talk just before the article went to press. He blamed the issue on wrestlers who can't let go of the sex, drugs, and rock & roll party days of the past, which he says are no longer part of the business. "I'm a human being and a businessman," he said. "If people die, they can’t perform for you. From the human being's perspective, how do you think I feel? Do you think I'm the fucking devil?" Dave doesn't dispute that the wild coke and hooker party days of the past aren't as common anymore, but the painkillers and other drugs they take to deal with the grind is a much bigger issue that remains unaddressed. Bret Hart was quoted and argued for wrestlers to unionize, but acknowledged that it's hard to get everyone on the same page when everyone is afraid for their spot. Melanie Pillman said that near the end of his life, Brian was taking pain pills and spending $1,600 per month on HGH. Dave talks about all the money Vince gave to Melanie after Brian's death (remaining money on his contract, merch cuts, etc. even though he wasn't obligated to do so) and a year later, when she was broke again, Vince gave her another $12,000. But she's broke yet again and says now that she regrets not filing a wrongful death suit against WWE at the time Pillman died. Anyway, here's the article if anyone wants to read it:

WATCH: L.A. Times - "Ultimate Takedown"

• So it looks like there was supposed to be a section here discussing Goldberg's remaining Japan commitments, but the headline is there and nothing else. So no idea on this one. I imagine if anyone has the physical copy of this Observer somewhere, there's probably a story here but it's cut off on the site.

• And now the full obituary for Kudo Fuyuki but honestly, Dave covered most of this last week. This is mostly just a more fleshed out version of the same thing. As always, the obituary sections of the Observer are an unfortunate, but tremendous resource of information that's worth reading in full.

• While reviewing the most recent NOAH shows, Dave talks about how good this KENTA kid is. In the past, Naomichi Marufuji was clearly being groomed as the future star of the company, but KENTA is already better than him (yeah, this is about the time KENTA's career starts to take off. Marufuji also, both guys are about to spend the next several years being increasingly awesome, but KENTA would go on to inspire a whole generation of Punks and Danielsons in the coming years).

• NJPW is indeed planning to have legit shoot vale tudo rules matches at their upcoming Tokyo Dome show. Most people within the company are against it ("as they should be" notes Dave) but we're at peak Inokism-era NJPW right now. Manabu Nakanishi, one of the company's biggest stars, is one of the men scheduled for a shoot fight and Dave thinks this is an awful idea. NJPW doesn't have the depth to risk having its top stars get washed in shoot fights (spoiler: that's exactly what happens). Anyway, Inoki seems to see this whole idea as a good way to launch the careers of Josh Barnett and Shinsuke Nakamura. Perhaps any of the millions of other tried and true methods of creating a pro wrestling star might be worth a shot? Anyway, Inoki has already publicly said that he doesn't think the lineup of the show is very good (what a way to sell it!) and claimed NJPW is coasting along on the momentum of its legacy (true, Dave agrees). Inoki said that if this Tokyo Dome show doesn't draw, he wants to rename the company and take it in a new direction. Oh lawd.

• Hayabusa was finally released to go home after more than 5 months in the hospital following the injury that left him partially paralyzed. He can walk somewhat with the assistance of a cane but his wrestling career is obviously over.

• Nevermind that story 2 weeks ago on TNA seeming to be on the rise. Last 2 weeks have been awful. Lower attendance, and worse, some pretty awful shows. Booking is all over the place. Ron Killings turned heel last week but was a babyface again this week with no explanation. Just crap all around. Only real notable thing from this week's show: the debut of Alexis Laree (the future Mickie James).

• Several wrestlers have been privately critical of the angle on TNA last week where Lollipop exposed her breasts, none more than AJ Styles who went public with his criticism. Styles is very religious and in the past has expressed discomfort with things going on in WWE, so having this happen in TNA didn't sit well with him. Dave points out that Mr. Morality here seemingly had no problem calling Glen Gilbertti a "f*ggot" on the show a couple of weeks ago but tits are where he draws the line.

• Here's what Dave knows on Goldberg's new WWE deal: it's a 1-year deal but it's not entirely exclusive. He still has existing commitments in Japan and is allowed to negotiate dates to work shows over there as well. He still has 3 matches over the next year plus a deal to do commentary for a forthcoming PRIDE show. Well I guess that's our Goldberg Japan section after all.

• Dave has been reporting for weeks that Nash will be returning soon as Diesel. Anyway, he's scheduled to return on next week's Raw. It was going to be this week, but he asked to push it back a week because he (wisely) didn't want to debut on the same show as Goldberg and be overshadowed (also, he does not come back as Diesel).

• Notes from Raw After Wrestlemania: oh so hey, Goldberg debuted! But first, Austin opened the show giving a very un-Austinlike promo about how Rock was the better man last night and all that. Then Eric Bischoff read his medical report and fired him to write him off TV for the time being. RVD & Kane won the vacant Raw tag titles. And then, yeah. Rock came out for his closing segment. HUGE chants for Goldberg, forcing Rock to make a joke about his accountant Ira Goldberg to try and play it off. And of course, Goldberg then came out to a huge pop and speared Rock to close the show and set up the next PPV main event.

WATCH: Goldberg debuts in WWE - 2003

• Notes from Smackdown after Wrestlemania: they announced Lesnar had a concussion but would be back wrestling next week (oh, well that's nice) and Angle will be out 2 months with neck and hamstring injuries. Guess that answers which neck surgery option he's choosing. And Sable returned! She interrupted Torrie Wilson's promo and kissed her. Dave says this is wild for a few reasons. For starters, most every woman in the company has been asked at one time or another to do a lesbian angle and has refused, including Sable multiple times. It's been done before now twice (HLA and Torrie/Dawn) and it was a flop both times. Sable also mentioned being pressured to do lesbian angles in her $100 MILLION DOLLAR LAWSUIT she filed against WWE a few years ago, vowing to never return to the company where she was almost universally hated in the locker room and by many in the office (especially after the lawsuit). And now she's back, and making out with Torrie. Nathan Jones wasn't mentioned once during the show and Dave suspects they may have given up on him already (yeah, pretty much).

WATCH: Sable returns to WWE - 2003

• While in Seattle for Wrestlemania, Triple H was at the Seahawks training facility doing a photoshoot for a bodybuilding book WWE is putting out next year. Oh yes indeed. It's the origin of THAT photo.

MONDAY: Kurt Angle undergoing neck surgery, more on Goldberg and Sable, Dave finally talks about the WWE Girls Gone Wild show, and more...