Welcome (back) to TPWW.net for the Monday edition of the News and Rumors. With ECW Hardcore Heaven wrapped up and in the books, and the Monday night shows coming at us at full speed, there's a lot to talk about. So without further ado, here are today's news and rumors.
Last night, ECW put on its annual pay per view, Hardcore Heaven, and as always, it lived up to the ECW standard, wrestling wise. The pay per view was not nearly as eventful as past ECW PPVs, but it was eventful nonetheless. We saw Justin Credible retain his ECW Heavyweight Title, which was no surprise at all, by defeating Lance Storm in a one on one match, after Dreamer was pulled out of the Three Way when Credible threatened to trash the ECW title if he couldn't have Storm one on one. After his loss last night, it appears that Lance Storm is gone from ECW (more on that later). Rob Van Dam also picked up his first ever loss on PPV, and his first loss in over two years, as Jerry Lynn finally picked up a victory over Mr. PPV after RVD's former ally, Scotty "Riggs" Anton turned on him. We also witnessed Rhino retain his ECW TV Title against the Sandman in another match that was not surprising at all, considering Paul Heyman loves to job the Sandman to everyone, even though he's probably the most over wrestler in ECW besides Van Dam. Reminds me of a certain situation in the WWF with a former ECW World Champion. Other highlights saw New Jack take another one of his now infamous sick bumps and Kintaro Kanemura making his return to ECW as Cyrus's "stooge." The crowd was hot throughout the event, although they seemed to slightly tire out towards the last couple of matches. Overall, I liked the PPV and I think it deserves about a B in the grade book.
One thing you may have noticed at last night's PPV was the absence of Raven. Raven apparently actually was backstage at the PPV, but of course, did not appear on camera. He was scheduled to make an appearance on the show, according to Dave Meltzer, but the idea was scrapped. I've heard that Raven is suffering from back pains and was in no condition to get in the ring last night.
As stated above, it appears that Lance Storm is gone from ECW and is on his way to WCW. Right now, it's all but confirmed. Storm reportedly said his final goodbyes to everyone in the ECW locker room at last night's PPV, which is obviously a sign that he's off to Turnerland.
On the WWF side of things, Shawn Michaels is expected to make an appearance tonight on Raw, according to Dave Meltzer. One can only imagine what his role would be. Some speculation has arised that HBK may be put into the main event at the Judgment Day PPV this Sunday as possibly a special guest referee. Hopefully the WWF does something more original, unless they have some long term plans for the Heartbreak Kid.
Kane recently removed his cast from his broken hand, but it still may be a couple of weeks before he is ready to return, as his hand still needs a bit of time to recover. No word yet on whether or not Kane will be ready for Sunday's PPV, although it does seem rather doubtful.
WWF Smackdown drew a 5.0 rating on Thursday, down from last week's 5.3, but still relatively high.
Here is tonight's Code Red Raw is War preview:
- The Rock will make his return and answer Triple H's challenge
- There will be a "blockbuster announcement" concerning Judgment Day
- The Dudleys vs. Head Cheese
- Kurt Angle vs. Rikishi
- Val Venis vs. Jeff Hardy
- Eddie Guerrero & Chyna vs. Perry Saturn & Dean Malenko
- T&A; vs. The Big Show
And another reminder, tonight almost directly after Raw is War at 11:15 PM ET, MTV will be airing the new Degeneration X RUN-DMC video for DX's track off the WWF Aggression CD, "The Kings." Should be fun to watch.
As you may already be aware, Sid Vicious is expected to make a return at tonight's Nitro.
Dustin Rhodes is also expected to return tonight, according to Dave Meltzer. However, Rhodes is expected to be repackaged with a whole new gimmick. I honestly can't WAIT to see what goes down with that situation. If you remember, Vince Russo "fired" Dustin Rhodes at Spring Stampede over a month ago and in the process, said things like "You were only good as Goldust." Makes you think, doesn't it?
On the subject of returns, Vince Russo apparently wants Goldberg to make his return to WCW Nitro on June 5, according to Wade Keller and The Torch. No word yet on whether or not he actually will make his return that day.
Bret Hart is NOT expected at either tonight's Nitro or tomorrow's Thunder taping, according to Dave Meltzer. No word why, as he was originally slated to appear on Nitro tonight.
According to the Torch, two extra main events have been booked for tonight's Nitro, including Jeff Jarrett taking on Ric Flair and Hulk Hogan vs. Kidman vs. Horace in a Three Way Match. No word on the stipulations in those matches, if any.
Tonight's Nitro is expected to be huge. Vince Russo stated recently on WCW Live that this may be his best booked WCW show yet. And what's this huge story everyone's been talking about? Could it be revealed on tonight's Nitro? Well, I personally doubt it, but we'll have to see how things go down.
As I stated a couple of days ago, I'll be adding great versions of Jeff Jarrett's and Terry Funk's themes sometime within the next couple of days. As far as my Internet connection, everything actually seems to be back to normal, which is definitely good news for me. Hey, what did I tell you? The Knicks picked up the win last night. Of course, I had no doubt. :-) Thanks to everyone who sent in the New York hate mail (I guess I asked for it.) A little friendly competition and arguing never hurts. Well, that about wraps it up for today's report. I'll be back tomorrow for more news and rumors coming off the Monday night shows. Until next time, enjoy (hopefully) both Raw and Nitro.
Triple A
TripleA99@aol.com