Welcome to the Thursday edition of the News and Rumors here at TPWW.net. I'm back after missing the Tuesday news due to another (four hour) Internet connection failure. (ALKDLKJDSLKJSFD) Anyway, here are today's news and rumors.
The WWF has signed national heavyweight amateur wrestling champion, Brock Lesnar out of the University of Minnesota to a multiyear developmental contract. Thus far, I have heard nothing but praise for Lesnar and the WWF seems high on making him a big star in the future. He will begin training and wrestling in the Ohio Valley Wrestling Alliance in a few weeks and may eventually start wrestling dark matches at WWF TV Tapings, as Kurt Angle and several other developmental WWF superstars have done before their debuts.
Mick Foley celebrated his 35th birthday yesterday, on Wednesday, June 7. Happy Birthday wishes go out to Mick.
On the subject of Mick Foley, he will go on a tour of Indonesia, Malasia, and Singapore next month from July 12-16.
Lita will be a guest on WWF.com's Byte This audio/video show tonight, June 8 live from 6-7PM. You can send in any questions or comments to bytethis@wwf.com.
WWFE, World Wrestling Federation Entertainment, has announced the appointment of Stuart Snyder as president and COO (Cheif Operating Officer.) Snyder's role in the WWF will be to help the development of the WWF's stock and put forth strategic plans to help the WWF grow, business wise. Although president of WWFE, Snyder is still obviously below Vince McMahon, Chairman of the WWF, and Linda McMahon, CEO of the WWF on the power scale.
Here are the matches you will see on tonight's WWF Smackdown:
- Chris Jericho vs. Test
- Too Cool vs. The Godfather & Dean Malenko
- Chris Benoit vs. Jeff Hardy
- Edge & Christian vs. The Dudleys
- Women's Battle Royal
- Matt Hardy vs. Eddie Guerrero
- Rikishi vs. Val Venis
- The Rock, Kane, & The Undertaker vs. Triple H, X-Pac, & Road Dogg
Goldberg made a few very interesting comments recently in the Knoxville News-Sentinel concerning the possibility of jumping to the World Wrestling Federation when his WCW contract expires. Goldberg stated that since WCW has gone the same path as the WWF content wise, it would not be too big of a move for him to make, and it will be the first thing he considers when his WCW contract runs out in three years. Here are his exact comments: "I've considered it before. ... It's the first thing I'll consider when my contract ends in three years. First and foremost, this is a business, and you have to put personal feelings aside in business. Since WCW is moving toward what the WWF does programming wise, then, hey, I don't have too much of a problem going over there. ... We used to be considered the family show. ... Now, we are no different than the other guys."
Goldberg also made a few negative comments about WCW in a recent AP article, stating that he is not pleased with the direction WCW is going, calling it "pornography." Here are his comments, once again: "We are farther away from the kids and closer to pornography. It bothers me. Absolutely. We have a show that has a girl in a bikini in every single segment. I'm not in favor of that. ... I voice my opinion on everything I have a problem with. We can't shut our eyes on the kids who watch. There is a time and a place for segments where kids can watch with their parents, and we don't have it."
WCW reportedly wants to debut Lance Storm this Monday on Nitro. However, they are still attempting to work out his visa so he will be able to work in the United States rightfully. If you recall, this is a similar situation to what happened with the WWF and Trish Stratus.
WCW has been rumored to be showing some interest in signing 2 Cold Scorpio. Scorpio was in fact backstage at Monday's Nitro looking to speak with WCW management. However, he unfortunately did not get a chance to, according to Dave Scherer, but again, there seems to be interest rising from WCW. I personally love seeing Scorpio in the ring. He's definitely one of the most athletic and acrobatic wrestlers in the business, and reports are that he's in the best shape of his life.
WCW's Captain Rection had a humorous (yes, pun intended) situation occur during his flight to Nitro this past Monday. According to Dave Scherer, Captain Rection was travelling with his MIA gear and fake hand grenades and was searched after the props were spotted on the metal detector. Security apparently thought that he was attempting to smuggle actual weapons onto the plane and asked him how to open his bag, thinking it was rigged. In the end, another security guard on hand, who was a wrestling fan, and explained the situation, that Hugh was a wrestler and had an army gimmick. That's classic.
Eric Bischoff received a busted nose during his Hardcore match with Terry Funk on Nitro. According to Dave Scherer, his nose was swollen and bleeding after the show.
WCW's Great American Bash comes to us live this Sunday, June 11 on pay per view. Has there been any decent hype at all for the matches on the card for the last few weeks in WCW? On the subject of the card, it is as follows:
- Jeff Jarrett vs. Kevin Nash - WCW World Title
- Ric Flair vs. David Flair - (Ric's career on the line)
- Hogan vs. Kidman - (Hogan wins = Title Shot, Hogan loses = end of his career, Horace as ref.)
- Sting vs. Vampiro - Human Torch Match
- Mike Awesome vs. Diamond Dallas Page - Ambulance Match
- Shane Douglas vs. The Wall - Tables Match
- Scott Steiner vs. Tank Abbott - US Title, Asylum Match
- GI Bro vs. PerfecShawn
- The Mamalukes vs. Kronic
- Disco Inferno vs. Lt. Loco - Cruiserweight Title
Here is what you can expect this Friday on ECW on TNN, courtesy of ECWwrestling.com.
- Raven vs. Scotty Anton
- Justin Credible & Mystery Partner vs. Tommy Dreamer & Mystery Partner
- Appearances by Rob Van Dam, Sandman, Rhino, Cyrus, Tajiri, Steve Corino, and Jazz
An official website has been opened for the man with some really f'n innovative moves, Mikey Whipwreck. You can check it out at MikeyWhipwreck.com.
With that, I'm going to wrap this one up. There really hasn't been much developing as far as wrestling news for the last couple of days, but let's all hope things pick up by tomorrow. Until next time, enjoy WWF Smackdown.
Triple A
TripleA99@aol.com