Believe it or not, today marks an important date in TPWW history, as today, Tuesday, September 26, 2000 marks the two year anniversary of TPWW. Two years ago on this date, myself and Triple A collaborated and brought to the world, TPWW as a small site on Angelfire.com. TPWW has changed a lot since that day, whether it be the design of the site, the staff, or even the style of the site, but one thing has remained the same, we here at TPWW, whether it's myself, Triple A, Tim Brechlin, Corey Silvia, Mike Christopher, Adam Kirk, Rob Harvey, The Ref, Derek Sabato or any other TPWW staff member who we had the pleasure of working with in the past from Downtown Dave to The Nick, we've had a lot of great people contribute to the site, and I'd like to personally thank each and every former columnist, newsboard reporter, or whom ever else has contributed to TPWW in the past. But most importantly, I'd like to thank you, the readers. Without all of you clicking that link day in/day out, we would never be what we are today, and as we head into year three, I hope all of you continue to support TPWW as you have in the past.
Well, enough with my little acceptance speech of sorts... This is TPWW, The People's Wrestling Website, and these are The People's News and Rumors, and there's a hell of a lot of ground to cover, so let's do it like we do it every other day, it's time for the N&R...;
What a night it was for wrestling last night, as Raw made a dynamic debut on TNN with the Raw return of Stone Cold Steve Austin, a terrific ladder match between the Hardys and Edge & Christian, and yet another amazing match by Chris Benoit as he challenged the Rock for the WWF title. Nitro, on the other hand, was also an interesting show, which saw Jindrak and O'Haire capture the tag titles, Pam Paulshock winning the WCW Miss Monday Nitro 2000 Bikini Contest, and Vince Russo possibly winning the WCW world title in a strange finish that saw Vince being speared out of the cage by Goldberg, thus exiting the cage around the same time as Booker T, possibly winning the match and the title. But like many WCW finishes, Russo left the fans to guess who actually is the WCW World Champion, and it may not be decided to Thunder or even next Monday's Nitro.
I guess I'll start off with some ECW news for today, as ECWWrestling.com has announced that the "King of Old School" Steve Corino will be taking on the "Enforcer" CW Anderson at ECW's Anarchy Rulz (this Sunday!) in a match to determine the number one contender for the ECW World Heavyweight title. I don't know about you, but I have a feeling that Corino's going over on Sunday. Also announced for this Sunday's Anarchy Rulz, the ECW World Tag Team Champions, the FBI, Little Guido and Tony Mamaluke take on the very team who they defeated for those titles, the winners of the ECW World title tourney, Mikey Whipwreck and the returning Yoshihiro Tajiri. Tajiri makes his return to ECW after some VISA problems that occurred after ECW's big weekend at the Hammerstein Ballroom at the end of August, and it should be great. With the other three announced matches, which are at the paragraph below, there are five matches announced for ECW Anarchy Rulz, but like every other ECW PPV, expect to see matches added at any time during the card, since it's ECW, and in ECW, almost anything can and will happen.
As mentioned above, already on the Anarchy Rulz card are the following matches:
- Justin Credible v. Jerry Lynn for the ECW World Title
- Rhino v. Rob Van Dam for the ECW TV title
- Cyrus v. Joel Gertner
The follow up to the ECW CD, "ECW: Extreme Music" will hit stores in January 2001 and will be entitled "ECW: Anarchy Rulz." Here are a few of the themes that you'll be hearing on the CD:
- Jerry Lynn's theme song "El Cu Cuy" by Coal Chamber.
- Sinister Minister's theme song "Holy Man" by One Minute Silence.
- Mikey Whipwreck's theme song "Head" by Static-X.
- Spike Dudley's theme song "Highway to Hell" by Jesse James Dupree.
- New Jack's theme song "Natural Born Killaz" by F.M. Racket.
- Steve Corino's theme song "Welcome Burden" by Disturbed (Same band that sings Austin's new theme).
For all you perverts out there, ECWWrestling.com has added another update of their ever popular, Pervert Pics. This time, it's a new set of pictures, with the Blue Boy's valet, Jasmin St. Clair. To check out the pics, click HERE.
Moving on, the moment that all of you have been waiting for, here are the Monday night ratings, courtesy of Dave Scherer. Let's see how Raw did on its first night on TNN, and if Nitro capitalized on the situation...
- WWF RAW: 5.4 (Hours of 5.1 and 5.7)
- WCW Nitro: 2.9 (Hours of 3.2 and 2.6)
- USA's Breaking the Magician's Code: Magic's Secrets Revealed: 1.9
Raw was slightly below their recent average of 5.8, but of course, that's what is expected as no one really expected Raw to continue its high ratings with the lack of advertising for the move to TNN. Interestingly enough, Raw's lead in, "Martial Law" did a 1.1, which is a lot lower than what Walker: Texas Ranger and Nash Bridges did for Raw in the past on USA. And as I expected, Nitro didn't really make up for the ground it had lost during the previous years. I guess for some wrestling fans, if they couldn't find Raw on TV last night, they just didn't watch wrestling at all. Well, at least Nitro defeated Raw's USA replacement, "Magic's Secrets Revealed," but then again, what kind of achievement is that?
For those wondering about weekend ratings, here's the low down:
- WWF Livewire: 1.2
- WWF Superstars: 1.5
- WWF Sunday Night Heat (Last WWF show on USA): 2.6
- ECW on TNN: 0.8
It's great to have Austin back on the scene, nothing against characters like The Rock, Triple H, the Undertaker, etc, but there is no replacement (at least in my mind) for Stone Cold Steve Austin. Austin is one of a kind, and in this era of WWF Attitude, he represents the World Wrestling Federation like no other. Welcome back Stone Cold, and I'm sure that I can speak for most wrestling fans in saying that we've missed you.
How incredible was the Hardys/Edge and Christian tag match last night? Jeff Hardy continues to damn near kill himself night in and night out, and to be honest, I sometimes hope that he tones down his style, as it seems like he'll be in retirement before he turns 30 if he continues this way.
WWFShopzone.com has already put out the new Stone Cold Steve Austin "100% Hellraiser" T-shirt that he was wearing at Unforgiven and on Raw, and it's already the site's top selling item. It's definitely a popular item, and to check it out, click HERE.
It looks like Chris Benoit and Kurt Angle may be headed for new feuds in the very near future, as Benoit, after his actions towards Stephanie McMahon Helmsley last night on Raw (head butting her), may be headed for a feud with Triple H, which may definitely produce some great matches. I also wouldn't be shocked to see Kurt Angle start a little program with the People's Champion, The Rock as the WWF heads into No Mercy.
Speaking of Angle, the Olympian definitely has some great chemistry with Stone Cold Steve Austin as both meetings between the two have been some of the best stuff Austin has done in the last two nights. Definitely would love to see two of my personal favorites engage in a program, and the way that SCSA is headed, I wouldn't be surprised to see it.
It's definite, Tazz will be taking Kevin Kelly's spot on Heat as the color commentator, as Tazz will be reunited with Good Ol' MC, Michael Cole on Heat, and I have to say it's a great move. Since returning and starting a program with Jerry Lawler, Tazz has been amazing on the mic, and this pairing between Tazz and Raven, two former ECW champions, intrigues me. Can't wait to hear what Raven has to say. I'm definitely looking forward to the WWF giving Raven the mic.
Thanks to Jellybrick for the following report of what happened after Raw went off the air: "After Raw went off the air, Chris Benoit and Kurt Angle were on their way to the back. Triple H and the Rock were still in the ring and talking to each other. The Rock got the mic and said that he and Triple H had a little talk and they weren't ready to leave Penn St. just yet, and then told Benoit and Angle to "just bring it." Angle and Benoit came to the ring and beat on Triple H and the Rock for a while until the Rock Rock Bottomed Benoit and Triple H Pedigreed Angle. Triple H then positioned Angle for the Rock Bottom right beside Angle. The Rock gave Triple H one of his elbow pads, then at the same time The Rock and Triple H both took off their elbow pads, threw them and did the People's Elbow, Triple H on Angle and the Rock on Benoit. Then as the Rock was on his way back Triple H got on the mic and said he wasn't quite ready to leave Penn St. just yet and told the Rock to "just bring it." He then stuck out his hand for the Rock to shake and Rock said he'd shake his hand if he answered him a quesion, which of course was "What is your favorite kind of pie?" "Apple pie? No? It's too sweet you say..." "How about... lemon pie? ... A little too tart?" Triple H said he'd have to go with poontang pie, which the Rock replied with a handshake and said now let's go get some pie. Triple H's music hit and both posed for the crowd...great moment. Definite face pops for Triple H."
"Who is the WCW World Champion?" That has to be the question on more than a few minds right now, as the cliffhanger ending of Nitro saw Vince Russo and Booker T escape the cage around the same time, as Russo was speared through the cage by Goldberg and Booker walked out the door. Now, the only way to find out who the WCW World Champion is, is to tune in to WCW TV in the next week or so, as I have a feeling that it will be revealed either on Thunder or Nitro.
I loved the Lance Storm/Sting match on Nitro. Lance Storm looked great as usual and the Stinger looked the best he has in years. This is just another example of Lance Storm's great ring work, and yet another reason why he should be separated from the Team Canada stable, as Elix, Duggan, and Major Guns are definitely holding Storm down.
Speaking of Lance Storm, Lance Storm has updated his commentary at StormWrestling.com, and as usual, it's a great read. This time, Lance talks about his favorite match of all time, which happened this weekend in Amarillo, Texas as Lance Storm lost the WCW US/Canadian title to Terry Funk in front of the Funker's home town crowd. Definitely a great read, click HERE to check it out...
Both Ric Flair and Lex Luger made their WCW returns last night during the big Caged Heat matchup between Vince Russo and Booker T. The Total Package actually came to the aid of Vince Russo as he handed Mr. Russo a steel pipe, while the Nature Boy continued to be a thorn in Russo's side, as Flair, disguised as an EMT, put Russo in the figure four leg lock.
Quick thought on the WCW Miss Nitro Bikini Contest... I'm all for chicks in skimpy outfits, but that had to be one of the worst bikini contests I have ever seen. It could have been a lot better, but due to a lack of organization and Howard Stern's Whack Pack, it was a disappointment.
Well, that's it for the first N&R; report of year 3 of TPWW, and I truly believe it's gonna be a banner year for us. One last parting thought, what the hell does "TNN, We've Got pop" mean?