Welcome back to TPWW.net's Saturday edition of the News and Rumors. To say that these past few days have been rough is an understatement, but I won't get into that in great detail. Let's just say that if a few friends tell you that they have a "better way" of getting somewhere, be careful not to end up driving in a completely unknown part of New York City. (Thank you, Ry). Anyway, the N&R; are finally back here at TPWW and I definitely have a lot of news to catch up on and hopefully update you on. So without further delay, here are today's news and rumors...
One of the biggest stories of the week was the announcement that's ECW's partnership with The National Network, TNN, has been terminated, and ECW has been left without a national television timeslot. ECW's removal from TNN came after TNN added a clause in their deal with ECW, which would have allowed them to remain on TNN for the remainder of the year. TNN reportedly wanted ECW to drop any possible lawsuit they had against TNN from the seemingly disastrous year or so ECW has aired its programming on TNN. Paul Heyman reportedly took this as an insult, and the agreement with ECW and TNN has collapsed. From what I have heard, ECW still plans litigation against TNN, claiming that they have "ruined" ECW's name. I have to somewhat agree.
ECW owner Paul Heyman reportedly "addressed his troops" at an ECW house show last night in Richmond, Virginia. Heyman told the locker room that despite losing their national television slot, they would not give up, and are trying hard to get another TV slot as soon as possible. ECW will also continue to air PPVs monthly, and of course, will still air Hardcore TV. There are rumors that certain ECW wrestlers have already put in calls to WCW looking to jump ship, according to Dave Meltzer, now that ECW has lost their slot on TNN. Unless ECW gets another national television deal soon, I would not be surprised to see more defections, although I'm hoping against it.
As aforementioned, for now, you can still catch ECW Hardcore TV in certain areas of the United States. Those in the New York City area can catch ECW on the MSG Network. To view where you can watch ECW in your area, click HERE.
Below are the matches you can expect for this week's edition of ECW Hardcore TV:
- Justin Credible vs. New Jack
- The FBI vs. Doring & Roadkill - ECW Tag Titles
- Simon Diamond & Chris Chetti vs. York & Matthews
However, the bad news doesn't stop for ECW, as former ECW champion Justin Credible reportedly recently suffered a concussion at an ECW show this past Thursday in Roanoke, VA. Thanks to Aubrey for sending this report on Credible's injury: "I attended the ECW show last night at the Salem Civic Center. What happened that may have caused the head injury to Credible was this: The main event was a 6 man tag match featuring Credible & The Baldies vs. Sandman, New Jack, and Chilly Willy. Most of the action was pretty normal ECW action, until the end of the match, when Credible was going for 'That's Incredible' on Chilly Willy. Francine accidentally nailed Justin Credible with a wicked cane shot when she went after Chilly Willy. This was followed by a Sandman Frankensteiner from the top rope, and to top it off, Credible received New Jack's 187 chairshot from the top rope. But in my opinion, the cane shot from Francine was pretty stiff and is probably what caused Credible's concussion. But I'm not a doctor, so take it for what you will."
ECW has also lost arguably their top star in Rob Van Dam for a month... Van Dam has been flown to Thailand to film a role in the upcoming movie, "The Black Mask 2." As stated, he will be out for a month, meaning he will not be at ECW's next PPV, November to Remember.
Switching gears to WWF news, the WWF has reportedly offered Olympic Gold Medalist Rulon Gardner a one year, 1 million dollar contract, or a one time $250,000 PPV appearance. However... Gardner has reportedly turned down the offer, for now, claiming that he would rather stick to his roots in amateur wrestling. For those who are clueless about Gardner, he defeated legendary Russian wrestler Aleksandr Karelin, who had been undefeated for his entire career, and had not given up a single point in over ten years. To read an article on the WWF's offer to Gardner, click HERE.
Vince McMahon recently crushed all rumors that he was interested in purchasing Major League Baseball's Boston Red Sox. Rumors arose recently that McMahon was interested in purchasing part of the franchise, but of course, those were untrue.
Stone Cold Steve Austin vs. Rikishi Phatu has been officially added to the card for the upcoming WWF No Mercy PPV, which comes to us Sunday, October 22. Billy Gunn vs. Eddie Guerrero for the Intercontinental title is also expected to be added to the card soon, which already features The Rock vs. Kurt Angle for the WWF Title, and Triple H vs. Chris Benoit.
The Undertaker will be out for another three weeks due to undergoing gallbladder surgery this past Thursday, according to Jim Ross. The Undertaker has been riddled with injuries over the past year, including various groin injuries and a pectoral injury.
On the subject of injuries, Bob "Hardcore" Holly will be cleared to wrestle on Monday, November 13, after suffering a broken arm as a result of a Kurt Angle moonsault. Tori should also be back in action in about five weeks, according to Jim Ross.
In ratings news, this past Thursday's WWF Smackdown! did a great 4.9 rating.
Chyna will appear in an episode of FOX's sketch comedy show, "MAD TV" on Saturday, November 4th. The episode will be taped this upcoming Friday, October 20.
For all you theme music fans, it has been announced that WWF The Music Volume 5 is expected to be released in the spring of 2001. That's definitely a lot later than most fans have anticipated. And for those who ask, there is no official track listing set for the album yet. Anything you have seen in the past is false information and the themes you may see on Napster are fake.
Mick Foley will guest host this Sunday's edition of WWF Heat on MTV. Cypress Hill will also be the musical guests on tomorrow night's show. So far, I've personally really enjoyed the new Sunday Night Heat.
On the subject of musical guests on Sunday Night Heat, Chris Jericho's band "Fozzy" will be performing two songs live on Heat on Sunday, October 29. That should definitely be fun to watch.
And staying on the subject of Chris Jericho's band, Trauma sent along this tidbit: "In a recent printing of METAL EDGE magazine, I came across an article about Chris Jericho's band, FOZZY. After the article, there was an advertisement for Jericho's band and their debut album from Megaforce Records. Fozzy's debut CD will be released October 24th, and for those that are wondering, Chris is the vocalist alongside a couple members of the band Stuck Mojo."
Tomorrow morning's edition of "WWF Superstars" on TNN will include a special feature on "Fozzy." You can check out their website at FozzyRock.com.
In WCW news, the big story over the past couple of days is the release of Juventud Guerrera. Juvi was recently released from World Championship Wrestling after being arrested during an incident at a Marriott Hotel in Australia. Guerrera was reportedly under the influence of the drug ecstacy and stripped naked in the hotel, then began to attack police officers who attempted to restrain him. As mentioned, Guerrera was arrested, and has now been released by WCW. No word on whether or not WWF or ECW are interested in picking him up. Guerrera had just recently signed a new contract extension with WCW.
Johnny the Bull suffered a broken ankle during a match with Kwee Wee at Friday's WCW Nitro taping in Melbourne, Australia. After about two minutes into the match, Johnny the Bull landed awkwardly on his ankle after a monkey flip, causing the unfortunate injury. Kwee Wee immediately ended the match with a pin on Johnny the Bull, as EMTs ran down to tend to him.
You can check out complete results of the WCW Nitro tapings by clicking HERE.
That just about wraps it up for today's report. Corey Silvia will be back tomorrow with another great report. But before I go, being from New York, I must boast about the MLB playoffs, since it appears that we'll be seeing a Subway World Series between the Yankees and Mets. Although the Mets lost today against St. Louis, they still have a 2-1 lead in the series with two games to go in New York, and I'm confident they'll pick up the win. Same goes for the Yanks. Well, I bet I'll be receiving a little hate mail today.
Triple A
TripleA99@aol.com