Hello, everyone, and welcome to The People's Wrestling Website here on this dreary Monday, July 10. We've got a lot to cover, so I'm not going to waste my time with an introduction. Let's get right to it.
I'm going to flip-flop things around today and cover WCW news first, and the news from the WWF front second, mostly because we're in the aftermath of a WCW Pay-Per-View. Last night, WCW pulled a swerve that has left the majority of the wrestling world debating whether or not it's real. If you don't know what I'm talking about, check out the Bash At The Beach results right HERE, and then continue reading. One of the biggest questions is, of course, was Vince Russo's interview a shoot, that is, unplanned/real? There are a number of things that would indicate otherwise, and I'll point them out. First and foremost, the announcers completely oversold it, especially Scott Hudson and his incessant "this wasn't in the production meeting" cries. They seemed to know exactly what was going on. The fact that Russo ran completely over Hogan in his interview, as well. I'd think that WCW would have a slander/libel lawsuit on its hands by now if this wasn't worked. My two cents? If you remember last month, around Great American Bash time, there was the talk of the "big surprise". Dave Meltzer confirmed that a deal between WCW and FOX had been made, with a second "rival" promotion forming that would air on FOX station, and there'd be inter-promotional matches and the like. Also recall that there had been rumors for a LONG time of Hulk Hogan heading up that promotion. That's what I think this is. I also think it's pretty dumb, considering how thin WCW's roster is, talent-wise, at this time. Anyway...the rest of the PPV was substandard. There wasn't really a stand-out match among them, and some of them were really clunkers (the Vampiro/Demon one, for example).
There's a rumor that Eric Bischoff left the arena last night after the Russo interview, to play the "realism" factor up a little bit more.
Not too much has been announced tonight for Nitro, match-wise. Booker T will have a "victory" speech, Shane Douglas and Torrie Wilson will take on Crowbar and Daffney in a mixed-tag match, and Lance Storm squares up against The Artist. I think I may actually tune into Nitro tonight, just to see what happens.
The Great Muta may be returning to WCW television tonight.
Not much else flowing from the WCW camp, as news seems to have just shut down in the aftermath of the Pay-Per-View. We'll have more WCW news for you tomorrow.
Hitting the WWF, a little news has been released about tonight's RAW is WAR, which comes to you tonight at 9/8 central from San Jose, California. WWF.com has announced that Mick Foley, the Commissioner, will not be on hand tonight due to a promotional tour in Southeast Asia. Code Red has also announced the following matches: Val Venis(c) v. Rikishi Phatu v. Kane, for the IC Title, Lita v. Trish Stratus in an Evening Gown Match, Chyna w/Eddie Guerrero v. Christian w/Edge, and Chris Jericho v. Road Dogg w/Stephanie and X-Pac. Chris Benoit, HHH, and many others are also expected to be on hand
100hot.com recently released a list of the top one hundred sports websites on the Internet. Where did the WWF and WCW end up? WWF.com was Number 3 on the list, while WCW.com ranked in at 18th.
Ugh, dry news day...WWF.com is stating that another XFL team will announced today, this time in San Jose. No other information about that is known at this time. Of course, I can still brag that my home of Chi-town had the first XFL team... :-)
On Tuesday night, the Discovery Channel's series "On The Inside" will cover pro wrestling. I'm not sure when the show airs. Sounds interesting, as Discovery Channel isn't prone to schlock like E! or the NBC/ABC/FOX news programs...
The WWF ShopZone has begun selling "Too Cool" sunglasses. O-kay...
Viscera or the Big Show, or both, may appear on RAW is WAR tonight. Both have been medically cleared to wrestle for a few days now. Viscera is rumored to be receiving a new gimmick when he returns.
According to WWF News, a commercial for the XFL will be airing during Major League Baseball's All-Star Game, which I believe is tomorrow evening. Of course, with all the injuries, not many people are gonna be watching this year...
THQ officially announced recently, at the Global Video Games Conference being held in Paris, France, that it is developing WWF games for the PlayStation 2 game console. Brian Farrell, president and chief executive officer of THQ, stated that the developer would be Yuke's Co., Ltd., the house responsible for WWF SmackDown!, and the upcoming WWF Royal Rumble for Dreamcast and WWF SmackDown! 2: Know Your Role for the PlayStation.
The recent ECW Arena show was, in a word, huge. Raven announced it was his last ECW appearance and would be joining the WWF. The Blue Meanie, looking trimmer than ever (REALLY), returned as a heel with Lou E. Dangerously. "Beautiful" Bobby Eaton also made his ECW debut. Carl Oulette, formerly of the Quebecers in the WWF, and also formerly of WCW, made his ECW debut, taking on Justin Credible in a World Title match.
Well, time to cut this report to an end. Enjoy RAW is WAR and Monday Nitro and I'll see you all soon. Have a great day, everybody.
Tim Brechlin
Tim@tpww.net