We'll start off with a little ECW news for all of you out there. The biggest piece of news circling the Philadelphia based organization is the location of their biggest pay per view, November to Remember. N2R is considered the Wrestlemania of ECW. Countless titles have been won and lost, pints of blood have been spilled, and some of the year's all around greatest matches have taken place at this historic PPV. Good news for all of you fans in Chicago, because Paul Heyman recently announced that November to Remember will take place at the Odeum Theatre in Villa Park, Illinois. The signature event will take place on November 5 (which just happens to be my birth day, by the way). For those of you who remember, last year's Anarchy Rulz took place at the very same venue, and the crowd was nothing less than rabid for the show. Hopefully, the same will take place with November to Remember this year.

Another big ECW pay per view was announced recently by Heyman as well, this one emanating from the Hammerstein Ballroom, the same place that the huge tag tournament took place. The ppv will be entitled "Massacre on 34th street". In case you're wondering, yes, the building is indeed located on 34th street. It will take place on December 3rd, and with any luck, Ry and Triple will both be in attendance once again.

The following is actually a small XPW tidbit that has me totally salivating. Apparently at the XPW show "November to Dismember" (an obvious take on ECW) Sabu will be taking on Chris Candido. These two guys have had some legendary matches both on pay per view and ECW television, and I for one can't wait for this match to take place. I honestly don't know where the hell I'm going to come across an XPW tape, but if anyone has any info, I'd appreciate it.

Some big news out of the WWF is that Reckless Youth, one of the greatest Indy wrestlers on the circuit today, will NOT be resigning his contract with the WWF. The young athlete has been working under a developmental deal for the past year or so, and from what I heard, things were going great. Regardless, Youth has decided not to resign the contract and instead continue to work the Northeastern Indy circuit. I think it's a complete waste, since Youth is undoubtedly one of the best talents out there today. His finisher, entitled "Reckless Abandon" is a maneuver where Youth stands back to back with his opponent, does a full back flip over his opponents head, and makes the smooth transition into a DDT. Needless to say, he is incredible. Unfortunately, the only place you can witness his matches now is on the Independent scene.

According to various internet reports, the man who hit Steve Austin with a car is going to be a face looking to turn heel. A lot of people have already chimed in with the Rock, which may be the most obvious response. Personally I think the odds on bet is Chris Jericho. I mean, doesn't it just seem like something that his cowardly heel character would have done a couple of years ago in WCW, or at the beginning of his stint in the WWF? If he's over enough as a face when Austin returns, it might very well happen. Again, I'm just putting this out there, so don't call me a total dumbass if I'm wrong on this one.

According to Shawn Michaels latest online commentary, he feels he may very well have one match left in him. He's participated in one match since his "retirement" match against Steve Austin at Wrestlemania 14, and that was against Venom in his federation, the TWA. I personally think it would be amazing to see Shawn in the ring one last time, and you can bet that no matter where it is, I'm going to do my damndest to get on a plane and be as close to the action as possible. I know for a fact he won't return unless he's capable of A)being a headlining attraction and B)putting on a match that people will talk about for years to come. If he feels he can do both of these things, then I gotta say, I can't wait to see it! To read the whole online commentary, check out Shawn's official site www.hbk-twa.com.

Apparently, the Acolytes and the Dudleys are going to form some sort of an alliance over the next few weeks, and take on a few various teams in eight man tag action. It wouldn't surprise me much if they were to take on Edge and Christian/T & A, or even the Hardys and Too Cool, or something like that. I personally would love to see an Acolytes/Dudleys vs. Edge and Christian/T and A match, but maybe that's just me. Particularly if it was done under Survivor Series rules...

Tazz has been rumored to crush Lawler at Unforgiven, and move on into something with Rikishi or Saturn. I think a program with Rikishi might be solid to get Tazz over, but Saturn wouldn't be too swift a move. While a Saturn/Tazz feud would generate some AWESOME matches it would still move Tazz into the Euro bracket of challengers, a place he doesn't want to be (although, Saturn is also rumored to receive an IC Title push). He would be wiser to wage war on Rikishi, because that would insert him directly into the Intercontinental Title scene. It's my belief that Tazz should be put over Rikishi and advance onto the upper card, but maybe that's just me (ya, right).

Due to the tremendous sales of TOO COOL merchandise in the WWF Shopzone, the WWF has decided to release a new Jersey. Too Cool joins the elite ranks of superstars to have jerseys crafted after them that currently includes The Rock, Y2J, Steve Austin, and Triple H. You can order the shirt by clicking HERE. The shirt is pretty cool looking, but I don't have forty-five bucks to drop on Too Cool paraphernalia. The WWF is also releasing a new jersey for Stone Cold just in time for his return to WWF rings. This time it's a Motocross Jersey, and you can take a look at it by clicking HERE. Again, pretty cool looking, but again, too rich for my blood. Both shirts are going to be released on September 20 according to WWFSHOPZONE.com, but you can preorder them anytime you like.

Switching to a little WCW news, it is all but confirmed that Ric Flair will make his return on Nitro this Monday, getting involved in the angle with his son David and his girl Stacy. Ric has been making the rounds on a number of radio shows, and often tells the people to "check out this Monday. WCW is going to do some really surprising stuff with me and David". It could all be a ratings ploy by Russo, but I'd say there's a very good chance Ric will be on Nitro tomorrow.

According to Mark Madden, Scott Hall was close to being used last week on Nitro. A number of people (of course, led by Nash) are interceding on Hall's behalf in an attempt to get him back on television. Brad Siegel (who actually happens to be a good friend of my father's) is dead set against his return because he feels he is an embarrassment to the company. The bottom line is, Siegel has the last word on anything to be shown on TBS or TNT, because he is in charge of running the both of them. All in all, I'd say that no matter what Madden or the WCW Live crew says, Hall is still a long way off from returning.

Jeremy Borash (a member of the WCW Live crew) will once again reprise his role as a commentator tomorrow on Nitro. The main reason he's doing this is to give Scott Hudson to time with his newborn daughter, which is cool. I really wasn't a big fan of Borash's commentating skills, but it is good of him to fill in for Hudson so that he can be with his baby girl. Hudson will be back by Fall Brawl, and will be on Nitro the following night.

Supposedly, this Monday on Nitro we will see the return of one or two faces we haven't seen in a while. Your guess is as good as mine on this one, but I think it might just be a ratings ploy to get a few more people to tune in. Remember that opening segment we "had to see to believe" two weeks ago? Ya, I don't either.

Vince Russo has decided that he wants to get Sting out of the angle with the Dark Carnival. Apparently Russo just realized that Sting may very well be the most over (or perhaps second, next only to Goldberg) guy in the company. According to Russo, look for Sting to get involved in the title picture by December.

Kanyon has been cleared to return to WCW rings, and may be back as soon as Monday night. Word is still pretty bleak on Buff Bagwell and DDP (who is injured), but there is a good chance we'll see a return of "DDK" sooner rather than later.

WCW has apparently decided that in eight months, when Al Snow's contract is up, they are going to make a serious bid for him. They feel he has been underutilized in the WWF (true) and he would be better off in WCW (false). In addition to being high on recruiting Snow, WCW is also eager to start experimenting with Norman Smiley soon. The WCW brass feels that he's been used too much as a comedy figure, and that's overshadowing his wrestling ability. They want to distance Norman from his Screamin' Norman character and the Hardcore division, and try to elevate him to around the US Title belt scene.

Last (and probably least too) on the WCW front is that Vince Russo is feeling much better after the stickball shot/kick from Cat/chairshot from Goldberg, and is eager to return to WCW in a wrestling role once again. My, that should be entertaining.

Thanks a lot for checking out my inaugural edition of the News and Rumors. It's been a lot of fun, and if you have anything to say to me, be sure to drop me a line at Corey@tpww.net. In something of an in house plug, I strongly urge all you guys to look at Rob Harvey's latest column, which deals with all the unreliable internet "reporters" on the newsboards. Whenever Rob puts something together it is definitely worth a read, and this one is certainly no exception. With my Colts taking on the Raiders this afternoon, and my Patriots taking on the Jets tomorrow night, it should be a real happy week for me Football wise. The Colts and the Patriots are indeed the two best teams around this season, and I can all but guarantee that with a starting rotation like these two teams have, one of them WILL end up in the Superbowl. Both teams got cheated last year (LOL) but things are shaping up to look pretty good this season. Enough of my blabbering. Thanks a lot for reading, and I'll see you all later.

Corey Silvia
Corey@tpww.net