The big news in the wrestling industry over the last few days has obviously been all the talk of a potential sale of WCW to the WWF. Several wrestlers and certain people close to the wrestling business have stated that the buyout is already a done deal, and should be announced any day now, although that is far from confirmed. As of now, both sides involved in the sale - WWF and WCW - have reportedly declined to speak about the situation, but serious talks are/have been definitely taking place.
A big cause of speculation on the WWF-WCW sale is the question of whether or not a WWF purchase of WCW would constitute a monopoly and violate certain US anti-trust laws. If the sale does in fact go through, I somewhat doubt that the WWF will have too much difficulty with anti-trust laws, although it is definitely a possibility. The main question that would arise is whether or not a WWF-WCW "merger" would wipe out all competition. Of course, the answer would most likely be no, considering ECW and the good working relationship they have had with the WWF over recent years. But of course, all of this is just speculation for now.
If the sale does actually go through, we may (hopefully) see a change in the WCW announce team (finally). Rumors are that WCW announcer Tony Schiavone, who definitely isn't the most popular person in the world with the WWF, may lose his main commentating spot. There are also rumors that Mark Madden may be in a bit of "trouble," although that rumor is somewhat minor and I wouldn't be surprised to see Madden stay. Also, Bobby "The Brain" Heenan may make his return to the commentating table if the sale does in fact occur. The WWF is reportedly still on good terms with Heenan since his days with them a few years back, according to Al Isaacs. Personally, I'm definitely rooting for Heenan to make his return. I always thought he was great and I really don't understand why he was removed in the first place. In all honesty, I cannot stand Stevie Ray at the commentating table. Not only does it make little sense that he's there, but the team as a whole just isn't working for me, in terms of flowing well together. But of course, that's just my opinion.
Bret Hart received his full release from World Championship Wrestling today, just a few days after he signed a new two year contract with WCW. WCW will most likely state that the reason for his termination was that he has been unable to wrestle for the last 90+ days, thus allowing WCW to officially grant him his release. Hart made a few appearances in WCW recently, seemingly to feud with Goldberg, but was then put in the "dog house" after making disparaging comments towards WCW in his column in the Calgary Sun. WCW is obviously looking to "clean up" as far as saving money is concerned, as they have released Juventud Guerrera, Scott Hall, and Bret Hart all in just a matter of days.
Vince Russo will no longer be booking WCW... until at least November 16th. Russo is reportedly taking a "leave of absence" from World Championship Wrestling, claiming that he is suffering from Post Concussion Syndrome and has been ordered by doctors to stay at home until he can be reevaluated on November 16. In case there are some doubters of Russo's timing on this "absence," the injury is in fact legit. Ed Ferrara, Terry Taylor, Bill Banks, and Jeremy Borash will book Nitro and Thunder while Russo is out.
In WWF news, the final card for the WWF No Mercy PPV this Sunday has been announced:
- The Rock vs. Kurt Angle - WWF Title
- Stone Cold vs. Rikishi - No Holds Barred
- Triple H vs. Chris Benoit
- Chris Jericho vs. X-Pac - Cage Match
- The Hardy Boyz vs. Los Conquistadores - Tag Titles
- William Regal vs. Naked Mideon - European Title
- Billy Gunn & Chyna vs. Steven Richards & Bull Buchanan
- Lita & Acolytes vs. Trish & T&A;
- The Dudleys vs. Edge & Christian vs. Goodfather/Bull vs. Tazz/Raven vs. Too Cool vs. Low Down - Table match
And of course, if you won't be able to watch the PPV this Sunday, stop by right here at TPWW.net for the next best thing - live, detailed match by match coverage. Just seconds after each match, interview, or segment goes off the air, I will post the detailed results and sometimes may even post more than one update per match to keep everyone updated. The coverage starts this Sunday night at 8:00 PM EST. To check it out, either click the appropriate link on our main page or check out or WWF PPV AREA.
Kurt Angle will be the guest host this Sunday night on Heat. And according to WWF.com, Angle promises to conduct a one on one interview with his opponent for the WWF title this Sunday at No Mercy, The Rock. It should definitely be fun to check out what goes down this Sunday night. The show has been very enjoyable on MTV, in my opinion.
Also on Heat this Sunday, MTV will air the world premiere of the new Marilyn Manson video, "Disposable Teens." Thanks to Domenic Betters for pointing out that info.
Staying on the subject of WWF musical appearances, none other than the Insane Clown Posse (who recently quit WCW for the 27th time) will perform live at WWF New York on Thursday, November 2.
Once again, it has been announced that tickets to WrestleMania 2001 go on sale Saturday, November 11. TPWW columnist "The Ref" will be flying down to Houston to attend the show at the Astrodome, and he'll also be giving out two free tickets to a lucky winner here at TPWW. For more info, click HERE.
Chris Jericho appeared recently on an episode of TSN's "Off the Record" in Canada. Thanks to Morv for sending the following report: "Chris Jericho was on TSN's Off the Record with Michael Landsberg today. Jericho sat next to Christa Sutton, who played in American Psycho, R&B; star Pink, and actor Landy Cannon who also had a part in American Psycho (Canadian viewers will recognize Landy as the "noo doot aboot it" Molson guy). What was interesting about Y2J was that he was not introduced or even called Chris Jericho once during the entire broadcast. Landsberg tried to call him by his real name (Chris Irvine) multiple times, but Chris repeatedly insisted on being referred to as Moongoose McQueen, his name as the vocalist for his band Fozzy. As was expected, Jericho stole the show, decked out in punk metal clothes and the most outrageous pair of purple vinyl pants, saying that such attire was the going thing in Japan. He also made a quick jab when Lansberg promoted Pink's album, and stated that her new single "Most Girls" was at number 2 in Amereica. At that time, Chris said, somewhat under his breath and off camera, "Yeah, I think Fozzy's at number 1"... funny stuff."
Last night's WWF Smackdown! did a relatively high 6.3 overnight rating, helping UPN to a third place tie with CBS in th eovernight metered broadcast ratings. NBC won the night with a 16.8 for "Must See Thursday" while ABC came in second with an 8.2.
The WWF's official women of wrestling page, WWFDivas.com has added photos from a recent New York City photo shoot with Tori. I have to say, Tori definitely looks better than ever. To check out the pics, of course, check out WWFDivas.com.
Yokozuna seems to be making the news headlines lately. Colin Mc Millan of Clarkston,Glasgow/Scotland sent along the following: "This Tuesday the 17th October, former WWF champion Yokuzuna appeared on the popular breakfast TV programme here in the United Kingdom, 'The Big Breakfast.' Wrestlers like Bret Hart, Big Show, and The Rock have all appeared on this show in the past. Yokozuna spoke of his weight and his wish to one day return to WWF. He also plugged his new tour of Britain around the independant circuits. They showed lots of WWF clips and Yokuzuna wrestled with the presenters and put them in various moves. He was a lot bigger than Rikishi. He looked about 100-200 pounds, if not more, heavier than Rikishi."
The ECW national TV situation is still up in the air. ECW owner Paul Heyman has been in negotiations with various networks over a TV deal, including USA, ESPN2, and FX. Reports are that the USA Network is split on whether or not to bring in ECW, some citing that they'd like to, but others showing worries of their "extreme" content. With some of the stuff they allowed the WWF to get away with over the last couple of years, I sort of doubt that statement. As for ESPN2, rumors are that Heyman was actually given a TV offer from them previously, but turned it down because he didn't like a few things about it. However, don't be surprised if Heyman takes any deal he can if he's unable to get what he really wants.
And finally, how 'bout them Yankees and Mets? Hey, I predicted it and all you doubters must print out the e-mails you sent to me and EAT THEM. I bet John Rocker is crying in his trailer right now. Now, being from New York, I definitely have a tough decision to make. Ry is on the side of the Yankees, judging from his "This is your brain (Yankees logo), This is your brain on drugs (Mets logo)" shirt. But me, I'm going with whichever team is down. For example, if the Mets take a 4-0 lead in one of the games, I'll root for the Yankees to catch up. But as soon as the Yankees take a 5-4 lead, I'm a Mets fan again... But I'm sure nobody cares about this, so it's time to wrap this baby up. Until next time... L-l-l-later.
Triple A
TripleA99@aol.com