Welcome back to TPWW.net, on this "lovely" Thursday morning, afternoon, evening, whatever it is when you're reading this. After a short "vacation," I'm back in town for another edition of the news and rumors here at TPWW. All of this past weekend's problems have been pretty much cleared up, and things are back to normal here on TPWW.net. With that said, today's intro is now over (after the next few words, I guess), so let's get to today's news and rumors. (Now it's over.)
The Big Show, who was recently sent to Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW) , a "minor league" type affiliate of the World Wrestling Federation, for conditioning and injury issues, is expected to be back in action in the World Wrestling Federation within two to three months. He was recently sent to OVW after complaining of back spasms at a recent WWF show.
Here's what you can expect for tonight's edition of WWF Smackdown!:
- The Good Father vs. Rikishi Phatu
- T&A; and Val Venis vs. Steve Blackman, Eddie, & Chyna
- The Undertaker vs. X-Pac & Road Dogg
- Perry Saturn vs. Al Snow
- Chris Benoit, Edge & Christian vs. Jericho & The Hardys
- The Rock & Lita vs. Kurt Angle & Stephanie
In case you missed it, The Rock made an appearance on last night's episode of "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno." I caught last night's show, and as usual, The Rock conducted himself in a very professional manner and I feel gave the sport a good name. One instant was when The Rock spoke of when he was interviewed by reporter, Sam Donaldson. Donaldson told the Rock that some people felt that WWF programming was not suitable for children. The Rock replied by saying, "Sam, there's a thing that's this long and made of plastic..." Donaldson interrupted him, saying this was a family show. Rock continued by calling Donaldson a freak and said that he was talking about a remote control. "If you don't like it, change the channel." Of course, the crowd cheered him for that one. There wasn't really anything much of importance, as The Rock gave his thoughts on wrestling's popularity, politics, and plugged Summerslam.
The almighty Vince McMahon celebrates his 55th birthday today, Thursday, August 24. A huge birthday wish goes out to Vinnie-Mac. To celebrate, WWF.com has put together a special photo gallery of some of Vince's greatest moments in the WWF. And appropriately, there are 55 pics in the gallery, which you can visit HERE.
The WWF will hold an XFL press conference today at WWF New York, where all XFL team names and logos will be officially announced. The press conference will also be broadcasted on the huge NBC billboard in Times Square, according to WWF.com. ***UPDATE*** The teams have now been officially announced... They are as follows:
- New York/New Jersey Hitmen
- Chicago Enforcers
- Los Angeles Xtreme
- Las Vegas Outlaws
- San Jose Demons
- Orlando Rage
- Memphis Maniax
- Birmingham Thunderbolts
WWF.com is reporting that the "Smackdown your Vote!" campaign has registered an amazing 67,000 voters, along with help from MTV's own voting campaign, chooseorlose.com.
The Terri vs. Kat "stinkface match" at this Sunday's Summerslam PPV has now been changed to a "Thong Stinkface match." That should be fun to watch. :-)
Kurt Angle recently conducted an interview with FOX Sports. He discussed the olympics, how the US olympic wrestling team reacted to him leaving for the WWF, and more. You can check out the interview HERE. Thanks to Jeff Anderson for sending that info along.
Buff Bagwell and Chris Kanyon have not been released from WCW... at least not yet. Rumors have been floating for weeks now that Kanyon and Buff will be offered their releases from WCW soon, although for now, nothing is official. Bagwell and Kanyon have been off WCW television recently, which could be an indication of the upcoming releases. I've heard that the WWF is interested in picking up Kanyon if he were to be released. As for Bagwell, I guess we'll have to wait and see.
Here's an interesting tidbit... Cartoon Network was the number one rated cable network in prime time last week, drawing an average of 2.1, according to Dave Scherer. How 'bout that?
WCW has somewhat followed in the WWF's footsteps and has reportedly banned their wrestlers from doing any media appearances/interviews without approval from WCW first, according to a report by Dave Meltzer. I'm definitely not a fan of this decision, but whaddya gonna do?
Shawn Stasiak recently suffered a knee injury, according to Bob Ryder, which will keep him out of action for four to five weeks. However, as you may have seen on this past Monday's Nitro, Stasiak will continue to have an on-air role as a part of the "Natural Born Thrillers" stable. Stasiak joined as a guest color commentator this past Monday during his team's match.
Sometime in "Fall 2000," EA Sports is expected to release its second WCW title, "WCW Backstage Assault," on the Sony Playstation and Nintendo 64. One big thing to note in this game... It will NOT include a wrestling ring. Instead, you'll be able to choose from seven backstage areas to battle in, thus the title for the game, "Backstage Assault." If you ask me, this idea is idiotic, and it definitely doesn't capture my interest. Just look at THQ's upcoming WWF title, "Smackdown! 2." The game will not only feature backstage action, but ladder matches, HELL IN A CELL, breakable tables, you name it! To be blunt, THQ rules.
Juventud Guerrera, whose contract expires shortly in WCW, has been offered a new contract, according to Dave Meltzer. From what I've heard, the WWF has shown possible interest in Juvi if he were to be released from WCW.
On the subject of luchadore-type wrestlers possibly jumping ship, Dave Meltzer also reports that we may see ECW's Super Crazy in WCW soon. The "insane luchadore," Super Crazy, has reportedly expressed interest in working for World Championship Wrestling and if conditions allow it, we may see him there soon. Last I heard, Crazy had experienced problems with his work visa in the United States. I'm honestly not sure how that has worked out for now.
New Jack's injury is much more serious than originally thought, according to Dave Scherer. New Jack reportedly has four broken bones in his foot, torn cartilage in his ankle, and his heel was separated from his foot. Ahhhh, jeez. Ouch. New Jack has had surgery on the foot, but has been told by doctors that the earliest he could even consider making a return to wrestling would be in January, although it's likely it will be even longer than that. Definitely an unfortunate situation, but several extremely dangerous risks were taken with New Jack and when risks are taken, consequences are sometimes unfortunately suffered. Hopefully New Jack makes his return as soon as possible, as he is definitely one of my favorites in ECW.
If you have yet to check out Tim Brechlin's video game themed column, cleverly entitled "Press Start," I strongly suggest giving it a look. This week's debut column talks about Acclaim's ECW Anarchy Rulz and THQ's WWF Royal Rumble and why both games disappoint. Check out the column here: Press Start.
That's all for today's report. I'm finally caught up on things after being out of town for a few days, so things should be back to normal on TPWW as of now. Thanks for reading and make sure to stop by tomorrow for another edition of the N&R.; Later.
Triple A
TripleA99@aol.com