Well, look who's back for your News and Rumors, The People's News and Rumors. It is I, Big Ry. With less than a week left until WCW's Great American Bash, and only hours until the Monday Night Wrestling shows, I'm guessing you're here to find out all the news, rumors, and gossip that has been spreading though out the weekend concerning Pro Wrestling. To be perfectly honest, I'm suffering from a case of writer's block here, thus don't expect today's report to be Pulitzer prize winning or the length of a small novel, so let's get on with it.
Both Raw and Nitro hit the airwaves tonight, and it should be interesting to see what both promotions put on the air...
Nitro on one hand will take place in WCW's Back Yard, the Phillips Arena in Atlanta, GA. One of the two main events announced will be Goldberg taking on Tank Abbot. Everyone thinks that this match will be short and sweet with Goldberg squashing Tankberg, ending the feud that really had a chance to get off the ground. The other main event match up set to air on 'Tro will be the Nature Boy, Ric Flair taking on the one, the only, Vinnie Ru, Vince Russo in a steel cage match up. Don't expect it to be the caliber of a match between Chris Benoit and Chris Jericho, but it sure will be interesting to watch. Add Scott Steiner v. Vampiro and Kronic taking on "PerfectShawn" Stasiak and "The Event" Chuck Palumbo for the tag titles for tonight's 'Tro. Also Expect a lot of hype towards Sunday's PPV, The Great American Bash, with all of WCW's big stars wrestling on tonight's show, from Sting to GI Bro, Hogan to Kidman, DDP to Jarrett, and Awesome to Nash, everyone should be there.
While watching TV last night, I caught a promo from WCW hyping up all the matches, and at the end of the promo, they stated something along the lines of "a big announcement in store for Kevin Nash that will change WCW forever". Interesting stuff there.
On the topic of the Bash, what in the hell is the Big Announcement that Eric Bischoff and the whole entire Internet have been buzzing about? Could it be the debut of the Fight club? The return of an Old SuperStar from the past? What about a present WWF Star jumping ship? Well, there is only one way to find out, either order the PPV, go to a friend's house, or join us at 8 PM eastern on Sunday for live coverage of the PPV.
Expect a protest of some sorts from former WCW employees, "Hard Work" Bobby Walker, "Hardbody" Harrison Norris, and Sonny Ono among others at tonight's Nitro. This, according to Dave Meltzer, would help continue the racial discrimination protest led by the aforementioned former WCW employees.
Couple of things to expect for Raw tonight... First off, the continuing Saga between the McMahon-Helmsley Faction and the trio of the Rock, The Undertaker, and Kane will continue. I have no clue what exactly will happen, but expect some light to be shed on the King of the Ring and the whole "3 Number One Contenders" situation.
Here's the rundown of the Raw card for tonight from Code Red...
- Rikishi & Too Cool vs. Val Venis & T&A;
- The Godfather & Dean Malenko vs. Eddie Guerrero & Chyna
- Chris Jericho & The Dudleys vs. Kurt Angle, Edge & Christian
- The Hardy Boyz vs. The Boss Mann & Bull Buchanan
- KOTR Qualifying match: Chris Benoit vs. Road Dogg
- KOTR Qualifying match: Hardcore Holly vs. Faarooq
WWF.com is reporting that Shawn Michaels will be throwing out the first pitch in the Interleague MLB game between the Anaheim Angels vs. Arizona Diamondbacks on June 10, coinciding with the live WWF event in Phoenix on Sunday, June 10. Tickets for the Phoenix event will be going on sale earlier that day.
The WWF Website is also reporting that Chyna, Trish Stratus, and The Kat will be filming the commercial for this year's WWF Summerslam sometime this week.
Thanks to Michael Butler for the following tidbit about WWF.com... BBC teletext has reported today that AC Nielsen (who track Internet traffic in the UK) have announced that the most popular site for people under 20 in the UK is none other than WWF.Com.
Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer is reporting that 20 year old Mark Mendian, a Michigan Indy wrestler, unfortunately passed away after a match on Wednesday night when he landed wrong on his neck while getting press-slamed. He died the next morning. TPWW.net offers our heart felt condolences to Mendian's family and friends during this tragic time.
That's about it for today. We have some great updates on the main page from Adam Kirk's "Nevermore" to Derek Sabato's Q&A;. So until next time, Ciao...
Big Ry
BIGRY214@aol.com