In what might possibly be one of the biggest stories in the history of pro wrestling, several reports have risen that a WCW sale is imminent and that the official word may come within a matter of days. However, the extremely intriguing part of this story is that, according to a report by the Pro Wrestling Torch, Vince McMahon and the World Wrestling Federation may have the best chance of making the purchase. According to several reports, the WWF has apparently been in negotiations with Time Warner owned WCW over a potential purchase of the company. As of now, if the deal actually goes through, all signs point to WCW remaining a seperate organization, with possible and likely talent trades/raids every now and then. WCW programming may also in fact stay on TBS/TNT (or move completely to TBS), thus retaining the national television time slot. Also, we can only speculate that Nitro would be moved from Monday nights, to both increase Raw's rating and possibly increase Nitro's. As of now, not much info is available on this situation for the simple fact that for now, it's just a possibility. But of course, as aforementioned, if this deal does go down, it may be one of the biggest, if not the biggest story in the history of professional wrestling. The industry would be changed forever. With that, I'll leave this paragraph with an interesting note told to me by TPWW columnist Rob Harvey today: Just a few years ago, Vince McMahon had to let Bret Hart go to WCW because he couldn't afford to pay him. Today, Vince McMahon may completely buy out WCW. Makes you think.
In other news, the Monday night and weekend ratings were released today, and only one word can describe the ratings for both companies this week: disappointing. Raw only managed to pull in a relatively bad rating of 4.8, off hours of 4.5 and 5.1. The 4.8 rating is Raw's lowest rating since December 21, 1998 (not counting nights when it was pre-empted), where Raw pulled in a 4.7 rating. In fact, this is the first time that Raw has even dropped into the 4.0s on its regular time slot since December 28, 1998, where it pulled in a 4.9. Nitro, on the other hand, also drew a rather disappointing 2.3 rating, off hours oof 2.7 and 1.9. The ratings continue to drop in WCW and morale is obviously at a huge low right now with all the recent turmoil. In weekend ratings, Heat dropped from last week's 2.6 rating to a mediocre 2.2, while Livewire and Superstars both drew 1.1 ratings.
To put the ratings in perspective, one of wrestling's major Monday night competitors, Monday Night Football, drew a relatively low 11.4 overnight rating for Tennessee vs. Jacksonville. The New York Mets NLCS victory game (Two words: Subway Series :-)) drew a 7.9 rating, according to Dave Meltzer, while CBS's "Everybody Loves Raymond" and "Becker" drew a 15.2 and 12.7 respectively.
Eddy Guerrero's injury last night on Raw, although it may have looked worked, was legit. As Guerrero landed from a Jericho backdrop, his leg got caught on the ropes and he may have either hyperextended his knee or pulled a hamstring, according to Dave Scherer. Either way, he was not able to even walk backstage, but did say that he would be able to work the PPV this Sunday against Billy Gunn for the Intercontinental title, but would most likely need the week off to heal whatever injury he had suffered. More updates on the situation as we hear them. Always be sure to check out our newsboard for the latest information.
In an interesting tidbit that we all must be wondering, the Conquistadors who interfered in Edge and Christian's match this past Sunday night on Heat were Christopher Daniels and "The Hardcore Kid," according to Al Isaacs. So no, they were not the original Conquistadores. However, Edge & Christian have reportedly been playing the parts of "Uno" and "Dos" for the rest of the time, although the Hardy Boys may have played the role on at least one occasion recently.
WWF fans in Toronto were apparently once again "screwed out" of WWF programming last night on TSN. Frank sent along this tidbit: "Hey, my name is Frank, I'm from Toronto, and I just thought you should know that TSN screwed the WWF fans from watching Raw again last night. Raw started at its normal time of 9PM EST, but then at about 9:45, some sportscaster named Rod Smith did a quick sports update and said that they won't be going back to Raw is War, and instead they would air the Toronto Maple Leafs game, which started at 10PM. He then said that we could watch Raw following the Leafs game, which was around 1:30 AM."
The WWF has two books set for release in the coming month or so. The first if a Children's Christmas book written by none other than Mick Foley, which includes illustrations by Jerry "The King" Lawler. The book is scheduled for an October 23rd release date, but you can pre-order it at the WWF ShopZone by clicking HERE. You can also check out an image of the book's cover HERE. The other book is the WWF's own superstar cookbook, featuring recipes from several WWF stars. It is scheduled for a November 1st release, but again, you can pre-order it HERE and you can check out an image of the book's cover HERE.
Caryn Mawr, better known to WWF fans as "Muffy" was recently officialy released from the WWF, according to Dave Meltzer. Mawr, I believe, only made one actual WWF television appearance on a WWF Smackdown! as Stephanie McMahon's "personal trainer." That idea was quickly scrapped, and Mawr has since been released.
Stone Cold Steve Austin will be the guest this Thursday night on WWF.com's "Byte This!" Internet show. You can check it out this Thursday night at 6PM EST. Click HERE for Byte This.
Today's other top story is the reported release of Scott Hall from WCW. WCW reportedly contacted Hall's agent yesterday, stating that Hall's contract had been terminated due to a breach by Hall, that being "unprofessional conduct" at a WCW tour of Germany last February. Hall was reportedly not allowed to board an airplane at a German airport because he was in "no condition to fly." Whatever the case, Scott Hall's contract with WCW has officially been terminated. One possible reason for Hall's termination at this time may be the similar situation with Juventud Guerrera at a recent Australian hotel, which of course, earned him his release from WCW. We can only imagine how Kevin Nash and other close friends of Scott Hall are reacting to this situation.
Johnny the Bull actually broke a bone in his foot at a recent WCW Nitro TV taping, which you saw air last night. Johnny landed awkwardly on his feet after receiving a monkey flip from Kwee Wee. The injury may have been caused due to a Mike Awesome frogsplash in the previous match, where Awesome actually broke one of the boards in the ring canvas, according to WCW Live. You can't help but feel sorry for Johnny the Bull. It's a definite unfortunate situation for a great up and coming wrestler. He is expected to miss six weeks due to the injury.
Vampiro is expected back at this Monday's WCW Nitro, according to WCW Live. He has taken time off recently to spend time with his wife, who recently gave birth to their first child.
WCW is rumored to start some sort of angle with "BattleDome" in the coming weeks. According to Dave Meltzer, WCW wrestlers Diamond Dallas Page and Ernest "The Cat" Miller will appear at the BattleDome tapings tomorrow to start the angle, reportedly "jobbing" to the BattleDome "gladiators," as I like to call them (Whatever happened to "American Gladiators?"). The BattleDome "gladiators" would then make some future appearances on WCW television, possibly jobbing to WCW wrestlers. I guess we'll just have to wait and see how this one develops.
In what should be good news for ECW fans across the world, ECW superstar Rob Van Dam will be flown back to the US this weekend to wrestle at this weekend's ECW shows in Battle Creek, Michigan and Ypsilanti. As many of you may know, RVD hails from Michigan, meaning he'll get a chance to wrestle in front of his hometown fans. Van Dam will then be flown to Thailand to film a role in the upcoming movie, "The Black Mask 2." He is expected to be out for about a month, meaning he may miss the ECW November to Remember PPV, unless he makes another flight down to the States for that one.
And on the subject of returns to ECW television, ECW's "Insane Luchadore," Super Crazy is expected back in ECW very soon. His passport situation has been resolved, and a return to ECW is imminent. In fact, ECW promises an announcement on the future of Super Crazy this week on ECW Hardcore TV.
And with that, that just about wraps up this report... Hey, you didn't think I'd just close this one out without bragging about the Mets, did you? ... I know I already did, but I have to do it again for no apparent reason... Well, uh, how about those Mets?
Triple A
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