Hello and welcome everyone to my first weekly edition of the News and Rumors! I'm actually writing this from the comfort of my sister's dorm room in Boston, where the temperature feels like the inside of a giant humidifier. Regardless, it's my job to get the news and rumors to all of you loyal readers out there, so being the trooper that I am, let's start on the report...
In some WWF news, the rumors of Mona appearing in the WWF as a member of the RTC are just that - rumors. Although Vince McMahon is currently paying her, he has yet discover a role he wants her in right now. Contrary to popular opinion, she currently has no idea when she is supposed to debut, and it could be as long as a whole month away.
According to some very close family sources, the British Bulldog got in a motorcycle accident recently. Although the injury wasn't too bad, and probably won't require surgery, he still had to be checked in to a hospital for it. Get well soon, Davey!
According to the New York Daily News, Vince McMahon recently used his stroke with Viacom to try and get the WCW episode off VH1 (Viacom owning the station and all). The show originally aired on August 15th I believe, but according to some, it won't air again. Vince McMahon has denied these rumors, and I am inclined to agree with him. The New York Daily News is the same publication that recently ran an article on Sabu in ECW...this was the day after the Hammerstein Ballroom show.
Playboy recently signed a deal with the WWF that states if they want to have anyone from the wrestling world in their magazine, that person must be signed under contract by the WWF. Definitely bad news for a lot of guys out there, including me...
On the ECW hotline, which my friend called recently, there is apparently a news story revealing how the Rock will indeed be Austin's assailant when he's ready to return. The hotline report went on to say that a heel Rock will feud with the face Triple H and Undertaker. I don't see how Heyman would be privy to that information, but once again, take it with a grain of salt, since bookings can change on a day to day basis.
Due to Olympic coverage, Raw will be preempted in Canada this Monday. The show will air from 12-2 in the morning.
A lot of people in the Creative Department for the WWF are eager to get the Crash Holly/Dean Malenko tag team in the mix. I've seen these two compete with and against each other several times on Heat, and from the looks of things, they will make an outstanding pair. By the way, it appears as though in addition to stealing Nova's Kryptonite Krunch (dubbed the "Crash Course" by Holly) Crash has now added Spike Dudley's Acid Drop to his arsenal. He's been picking up wins with the move right and left on Jakked/Metal, so I'll be interested to see if the WWF decides to "borrow" the Giant Killer gimmick from ECW, and apply it to Lil' Crash Holly (snicker).
Speaking of Crash Holly, he has apparently opened his own official website, which can be located at CrashHolly.net. He recently posted an audio commentary, so I'd advise taking a look at that. Also on the Website topic, both Nova (NovaECW.com) and Cyrus (DonCallis.com) have updated their online commentaries...take a look.
The Rock vs. The Undertaker has been booked to headline WWF No Mercy in October. The WWF wants to stretch this feud out as long as possible, however, and may incorporate Steve Austin into it when he returns and is healthy.
Road Dogg, in addition to missing several cards both in house shows and on television, will not be added to the Unforgiven line up. The Dogg has been spending time with his wife, who was stricken ill with Pneumonia after undergoing surgery for a collapsed lung. As always, a tremendous "get well soon" goes out to Mrs. Dogg from all the staff here at TPWW.net.
Tazz was VERY upset at Smackdown last week, when during the bit where he taunted Lawler and "Good Ol' MC" from the crowd, a fan started yelling obscenities at him, and even threw a few small objects at him. Tazz played the professional though, and didn't react violently towards the fan at all.
The team of Test and Albert is rumored to be on thin ice right now. Test is apparently being primed for a return to singles competition, since Vince feels he'd make an excellent addition to the upper mid card. While it is unknown what will happen to Albert, the team will most likely be broken up before December of this year.
Now on a little WCW news, there is reportedly some legit heat between a lot of the other wrestlers in the back, and Disqo (aka Disco Inferno). It seems they feel old Disqo has been focusing too much attention on the Filthy Animals in the recent booking meetings, lining them up to beat teams like Kronic and the Harrises, while most boys in the back regard them as a mid card team at best. Obviously this benefits Disqo, since he's currently a member of the Filthy Animals. For the uninitiated, Diqso has been a member of the WCW booking team under Russo for some time now, and works alongside Terry Taylor.
Nitro Girl Spice (aka Melissa Bellin) has recently announced her release from WCW. She was supposed to host WCW Blast Off! The Saturday morning show in the works for WCW, but since it was axed, she has been let go by the company. While it is unknown where she will go now, there is a good chance it will be out of Pro Wrestling.
The 700 Club recently began billing Sting (a highly religious man) to be a special guest on September 20th. Can't say I've ever been a fan of the show (or even seen more than two seconds of it), but it's cool for those of you out there who are.
According to a few reliable sources I'm in contact with, there's a good chance Vito will not partake in his 10 Man Tag Match tonight against the NBT. Apparently he's still suffering from a pinched nerve, and may not be 100%. WCW's Creative Team has backed Paul Orndorf in as a replacement, just in case Vito can't work the match. While the aging Orndorf wouldn't be as exciting as Vito, it would be storyline compatible since he's currently opposed to the Natural Born Thrillers - the opposition for the Animals tonight.
According to Mrs. Kimberly Page, Dallas Page is ready to return to action, and could do so as soon as a week from tomorrow. At this time, the rumor is far from confirmed, so take this for what it's worth. Dallas is rumored to align himself against Russo, should he return anytime soon.
WCW has been in talks with the show "BattleDome" and its producers, and may have some sort of angle somewhere down the line. If you've ever seen the show you know how utterly absurd and stupid it is, so for WCW's sake I hope this deal never comes to pass.
Apparently, the WCW higher ups aren't happy with how Torrie Wilson is faring alongside the Franchise, and think she got more solid pops as a face. Thus, she is rumored to turn on Shane any night now, and either align herself alongside Kidman once again, or seek out some other face to accompany. With tonight's match being a Pittsburgh Plunge Scaffold Match, one has to assume this is the optimum time, but tomorrow night on Nitro is a possibility as well. In my mind, Torrie should take the spill tonight, and then turn on Franchise tomorrow on Nitro because he "didn't protect her" costing him a match against Kidman. She could then rejoin her real life boyfriend, and the WCW higher ups would be more content with her pops.
In some big news, Brad Siegel recently caved in on the Scott Hall issue. After repeated pleas from both Russo and Nash, he has finally decided Hall can return - provided he signs papers that will enforce a "strict, zero tolerance rule against all disorder and misconduct". Russo and Nash are both certain that Hall can make a difference in the ratings, and are also telling everyone that will listen that Hall is sober and prepared for a return. Good to hear, but this is Scott Hall we're talking about, and I still have my doubts.
According to some sources, Hogan may add some sort of "age discrimination" to his lawsuit, since he's heard reports that WCW wants to push "younger athletes". I think he's out of his mind. As a man with a serious future in Law, I can tell you that he's got about a 0.0001% chance of getting anything out of that argument. First off, Ric Flair and Jim Duggan are both rumored to be involved in major angles sooner rather than later (Flair is older than Hogan, Duggan is just a few years younger). Also, it can easily be argued that professional wrestling is a young man's game, and they have decided to remove him from the spotlight partly due to health concerns and risks as well as the fact that they want to appeal more towards the younger demographic. After all, that's where wrestling has had the most success in the past few years, correct?
I have some BIG news of my own, as a matter of a fact. I have decided to step down from the Q+A post here at TPWW, in order to pursue my column and the N+R, and do the best job possible for both of them. Therefore, that position is now vacant. See where I'm going with this? I have decided to lead the search in locating a new Question and Answerman, and I am currently looking over ALL applications. Send an e-mail to Corey@tpww.net, marked Q+A POSITION. You must be a good writer, and have a detailed knowledge of the business, because take it from me, the questions are damn hard.
I really apologize for the fact that there is seriously NO ECW news out there. I mean, I've scoured the net, and I can't find a single bit of info about the Philly based organization. Regardless, I hope you enjoyed the WWF and WCW N+R. My Patriots are currently being decimated by the damn Minnesota Vikings, who as I mentioned in my column, are a phenomenal team. Looks like my prediction on the Patriots was way off, although Drew Bledsoe/Kevin Faulk played a tremendous game. Who knew a team could do so well in the preseason, and then lose three straight in the official season? Oh well, my Colts have the week off, but they will take apart the Jags next week, in a contest I'll be sure to check out. Thanks a lot for taking in this week's N+R, and I'll see you back here next week.
Corey Silvia
Corey@tpww.net