Hello, everyone, and as usual, you're here for the daily news and rumors at TPWW.net. And as usual, I cannot come up with any workable introduction, so let's drop the fluff and get straight to the news.
Well, this Thursday, WWF SmackDown! aired on UPN, and it was a very smooth-flowing show. There were some more KOTR qualification matches, a very nicely executed Intercontinental Title match, and many other entertaining sequences. On the whole, another excellent effort put forth by the WWF.
According to Dave Scherer, SmackDown! scored a 6.0 rating for UPN in the overnight meters. I believe that will hit in the neighborhood of a 4.5-4.7 later when the final tallies come in.
On a note of correction, I stated that the upcoming Mick Foley video would be his second. That, of course, was erroneous, as he has had two other videos already released: "The Three Faces of Foley", and "Masked Madman". Thanks to all who pointed that out to me.
DailyRadar.com has begun a thirteen-week-long feature preview of the upcoming WWF Royal Rumble videogame, for the Sega Dreamcast. You can go to the first wrestler featured, Rikishi Phatu, right HERE. Royal Rumble looks to be a disappointing game, as it is simply a port of an arcade game, but we'll see.
According to this month's "Wizard Guide To Comics" magazine, Chyna will have her own upcoming comic book. Not sure who the publisher is. It is reportedly a one-shot deal, and will come out at the end of the year. Thanks to Luis Colon for alerting us to that one.
Here are some notes from the Ross Report, and taking my cue from Triple A, they'll have my own opinions.
Ross states that Bull Buchanan is expected to sign a new multi-year contract within a week. Am I the only one who thinks Buchanan looks like Goldberg? Hopefully he can break out, now that he's split from the Bossman.
Ross now says that the earliest Billy Gunn will return from rotator cuff surgery is September. I still don't like Gunn, but maybe with a good angle he can be really entertaining.
In the big news for today from the WWF, Brock Lesnar, the NCAA national wrestling champion, has signed a multi-year contract with the WWF, and will begin with Ohio Valley Wrestling within a few weeks. Lesnar has been compared to Kurt Angle in terms of marketability and talent, so hopefully he'll work out.
Hitting WCW...Wade Keller is reporting that his trusted sources are telling him that the big surprise at the PPV this Sunday will be the breakup of the New Blood and possibly a new alliance in the form of a revised nWo with Goldberg, Nash, and Hogan. Ugh...
WCW Thunder pulled in a 2.5 rating which is fine going against the NBA Finals, especially with the large Los Angeles television market. The high point was Nash vs. Abbott at 2.8. The Sting-Vampiro angle and Hogan interview were down to a 2.3 and the main event with Steiner running the guantlet did a 2.1.
According to WCW Live!, there has been some talk of turning Goldberg heel. Ordinarily, I wouldn't bet on it, but considering Vince Russo's proclivity towards random heel/face turns, I would not be surprised to see this go down within the next six months.
Lance Storm is still not a lock to be on Monday's Nitro. According to Dave Meltzer, he had a working visa with ECW that could have been transferred, but since it expires in July, WCW decided to take out its own visa. That's the holdup.
Vampiro will be at the LA comic book show (which is a big one) the same day as the ECW PPV (July 16) from 11 am. to 2 p.m.
Hitting some sparse ECW news...the ECW Heatwave PPV will take place at the Grand Olympic Auditorium in Los Angeles on July 16.
Well, I'll close this out. I'm really sorry for the belated report, but a doctor holdup really screwed my day over. Enjoy GAB, the rest of the television, and have a great day.
Tim Brechlin
Tim@tpww.net