Coming off of WWF Backlash, welcome to TPWW.net. First off, before I start anything, I want to give a huge apology to everyone who joined us for last night's WWF Backlash pay per view coverage. Unfortunately, due to the extreme amount of visitors wanting to get coverage, the servers overloaded, which caused the site to go down from about 9:00 PM to 1:00 AM. I'm going to do everything in my power to make sure something like that DOES NOT happen again. I actually spent a good part of the final hour of the pay per view on the phone trying to get the problem resolved. However, despite the downtime, we still managed to get a great amount of hits for last night's coverage, meaning that several people were luckily able to get through. I want to thank everyone who joined us last night and again, I'm going to try everything I can to make sure next time's coverage runs smoothly.
With that out of the way, onto today's news and thoughts. First off, I thought Backlash was great, and was definitely far better than WrestleMania in my opinion. I'm sure that several fans went home happy after this one, due to the Rock finally picking up the gold. The WWF just keeps getting hotter and you can expect tonight's RAW to pull in some huge ratings, as the WWF has been doing this past week. As I stated, I really enjoyed Backlash and if I were to give it a grade, I think I'd throw in a B+. I probably would have enjoyed it even more if I wasn't on the phone completely stressed out trying to get the site back up. Anyway, I thought the main event was great, and the main event definitely had me pumped, as well as the entire crowd in attendance by the sounds of it. I thought the Intercontinental title match was also a great one. The Dean Malenko vs. Scotty Too Hotty match was something that is a rarity in today's wrestling world - That is, a good, long, technical match up. Despite the match coming off very slowly, it was put together GREAT and still had everyone's attendance. I wish we could have a few more matches like that every once in a while. And ah, yes, how can I NOT talk about the "Showster?" The Hogan impersonation was PERFECT, from the voice, to the mannerisms, to even the Leg Drop. I can't get that "Well, you know something Kurt Angle dude" line out of my head. Now, I also have to talk about the downpoints. Like I've said a million times in the past, the Bossman and Bull Buchanan just don't catch my interest. I thought that match was by far the worst of the night, and it definitely had the crowd lose interest as well. Oh yeah, and for those who are wondering, I scored only 4 out of 9 this time around, predicting The Rock, Dean Malenko, Eddy Guerrero, and Edge and Christian winners correctly. My "colleague" Big Ry beat me this time, going 6 for 9. D'oh. Oh well.
X-Pac really was busted open last night at Backlash, and did not purposely blade, after being nailed in the head with the ring bell by Christian in the Tag Title match. X-Pac received three stitches due to the injury, but won't miss any action and is in fact scheduled for tonight's RAW in a match against Chris Jericho.
Speaking of RAW, here's what you can expect for tonight's show:
- The McMahon-Helmsley regime will confront the Rock tonight
- Chris Benoit vs. Tazz - Intercontinental Title
- T&A; vs. The Dudleys
- Essa Rios & Lita vs. Eddie Guerrero & Chyna
- The Hardys vs. Too Cool
- The Kat & Jacky vs. Ivory & Terri
- The Godfather & Kaientai vs. Al Snow, Steve Blackman, & D'Lo Brown
- Chris Jericho vs. X-Pac
Overall, the card looks good. Of course, we can expect to hear a lot from the Rock and the McMahon-Helmsley era tonight. Once again, Tazz gets an Intercontinental Title shot. Is it me, or is Tazz being used to simply put over other champions? Hopefully Tazz is elevated tonight by defeating Benoit, although I'm not expecting it. If given the chance, Tazz vs. Benoit could be a spectacular match. We'll also see a rematch between the Dudleys and T&A.; Hopefully Trish isn't out for a long time! T&A; is nothing without... the T&A.; T&A; minus T&A; = ZERO. Anyway, you get what I'm trying to say. Essa & Lita are definitely two of my favorites in the WWF, and that should be another great match against Eddie and Chyna. Grandmaster Sexay returns tonight to take on the Hardys alongside his partner, Scotty. And of course, we have the infamous women's matches. I don't know why everyone bashes these matches. Do you think their purpose is to put forth a great technical wrestling match? No, of course not, although the Kat and Terri are two of the most technically sound female wrestlers I've ever seen. (SARCASM, incase there's something wrong with you and you can't figure it out for yourself. Ohhhh, using heel tactics.) Then we have a match which includes Taka Michinoku, one of my personal favorite wrestlers. I know, most of you are saying "uhhh..." Well, that's exactly my point. Taka is one of the most misused wrestlers I've seen. So what if he can't speak good English - even any English. When was the last time the Hardys cut a promo? I guess I've revealed that I'm a Taka mark. And finally, we have Chris Jericho vs. X-Pac. Should be a great match. What else can I say?
Just something interesting I noticed last night. While reviewing all the women Buh Buh Ray put through tables, the following were mentioned: Terri, Mae Young, and Lita. Interestingly enough, B.B. wasn't mentioned. It looks like she may be officially gone. She has also been removed from the WWF Divas site.
The following excerpt is courtesy of Alex Marvez, Wrestling Observer, and sportsbusiness.com: XFL Update: [Michael] Keller [vice president of XFL] made it clear that the league will be real football, with real football rules. Nonetheless, the league by its nature will be different. The league will pay each of its players $50,000, and offer a $3,000 bonus to the members of a winning team. Coaches will be paid $150,000 with winning coaches also receiving bonuses. The winners of the XFL championship will each receive between $25,000 and $30,000. ... Whereas the National Football League not only discourages but penalizes teams for celebrating after touchdowns and major plays, the XFL will hire dance coaches for teams and each team will have their own unique dance. There will be subtle rule changes made to the game. The fair catch will not be part of the XFL, while kickoffs are from the 25-yard line and teams must run the ball out of the endzone. The league is also looking at four points for a field goal beyond the 50-yard line. ... Expect the XFL to be made-for-television football. The league will mic huddles and cameras will be in the dressing rooms before, at halftime and after games. As for player interviews, given the nature of the WWF, interviews will be colorful and different. ... "We'll have a territorial draft so the players will be known in those parts of the country where the team plays," said Keller, "but we certainly can't say that a big-name NFL player would choose to play in our league. That's not going to happen. But with salary cap issues in the NFL, there are a lot of players who people recognize who find themselves out of the game. They would certainly want to resume their careers someplace."
The Big Show recently shot an appearance in a music video for "Mr. Thong Song," Sisqo. The video should be airing on MTV soon.
Kurt Angle will be making a bunch of appearances in the United Kingdom this week to promote the WWF's upcoming UK-only PPV, WWF Insurrextion. For more info, as well as the complete scheduled card for the PPV, click HERE.
Despite rumors that he will not be at Nitro tonight, WCW World Champion David Arquette (You don't know how weird that was to type) WILL be at tonight's Nitro. I mean, it would be just plain stupid not to have him on with all the talk surrounding the issue. Unless WCW is out to purposely piss off Internet "smarks," I'd expect Dewey (Thanks, Downtown) to drop the title tonight.
The following is courtesy of Buck Woodward, 1wrestling, and Capital City Kyle. An interview was recently conducted with Bret Hart, in which is discussed his feelings towards David Arquette winning the WCW World Title. Here is an excerpt: "I think it's a joke. I think that anyone who really had a passion for this business or the profession, that's a joke. It's an insult to everybody who ever really busted their ass. I didn't even know about it, I just heard about it maybe three days ago. And I guess you know, that's the way wrestling is. You know, Vince McMahon was world champion too, at least for a couple of minutes, or his kid was. I think that if people find that entertaining, that's fine, but I wish they would quit calling it professional wrestling. Vince McMahon never wrestled, and that David Arquette, I would like to wrestle David Arquette, in a real match. Cause I don't think he has any business in the wrestling ring and I don't think he has any regard for what wrestlers do. And I saw him in an interview on TV talking about how he had taken all these falls in a one day movie shoot and talked about how wrestlers don't take anywhere near that kind of punishment in real life. And I thought, I'd like to spike piledrive him one time. I don't have any liking for him, I don't have any liking for the concept. It just makes me shake my head at the whole industry in general."
Norman Smiley will unveil is mystery partner this Monday on Nitro against Crowbar in a Hardcore Match, according to WCW.com.
Evan Karagias is only being offered an $85,000 a year contract, according to Alex Marvez, to stay in WCW, which is ludicrous, considering what wrestlers are making these days. Evan has been missing in action as of late, not even appearing with his 3 Count partners.
Hacksaw Jim Duggan and Asya are expected to return to WCW at this week's Thunder, according to Al Isaacs.
If WCW is lacking one thing right now, it's character development. I mean, the WWF's roster is so deep, and each wrestler is developed, given some mic time to show their personality and what they can do (Well, maybe not Malenko, Saturn, and Benoit). Right now, WCW's roster just seems so disorganized. They have no clear cut team to work with, and that could hurt them in the long run, or already may be hurting them right now. Many of their wrestlers really have no solid character development, which basically leads to the crowd simply "not caring" about most of the WCW roster. When Horace Hogan appeared on Thunder, how many people do you think recognized him in the crowd from his old WCW days? Anyway, I guess this paragraph was just a spurt of a moment things that has been on my mind.
The Maestro has been released by WCW. He had this to say on his website recently: "Fans, I have given my release with WCW today. My contract will expire May 31. I will miss all of my WCW fans and friends that I have made in WCW. I have tried for almost 3 years to bust my butt to make my stay in WCW the very best for them as well as you, the deserving wrestling fan. But after re-evaluating my current status with the company, I came to the realization that there was no future in store for The Maestro with WCW. I want to thank all you wrestling fans for being there for me and I hope you all continue to be there for me where ever I may go. GOD bless you all!"
As you may have read yesterday, Judge Jeff Jones has been fired by Paul Heyman and ECW. He appeared at an XPW show this Friday, shooting on Paul Heyman, calling him a "spineless c***s**ker" and stating that he was fired over fax. I can only imagine Paul Heyman shooting on Jeff Jones. Whoa, imagine the bleeps.
ECW holds its final ECW TV Taping before the May 14th Hardcore Heaven pay per view, this Saturday, May 6. The main event for the card will be Justin Credible defending his ECW World Heavyweight Title against Raven, in what should be a great match. Man, I wish that Hardcore Heaven was still scheduled for the Westchester County Center here in New York. I would have had my tickets a long while ago.
ECW's Hardcore Icon, The Sandman, has opened an official website. You can check it out at HardcoreIcon.com.
Adam Kirk is back today with his column, Nevermore. It includes a hilarious parody between the Rock and Shakespeare, thoughts on the ECW Tag Titles, David Arquette's WCW Title victory, the difference between Taz and Tazz, and more. >>>
That's all for today's report. Stop by tomorrow for more news and rumors, thoughts on the Monday night shows, and more. Also, I know I've been saying this for a while, but expect a few new columns here at TPWW in the very near future. Myself and a few others feel that they should be great additions to the TPWW family. With that said, I'm going to wrap this one up. Until we meet agaiiin, enjoy RAW and/or NITRO.
Triple A
TripleA99@aol.com