Thanks for visiting TPWW today and welcome to the Tuesday edition of the news and rumors. Coming off last night's Raw and Nitro, as well as an ECW PPV this past Sunday, there's a lot to talk about in the world of wrestling. So without further ado, here are today's news and rumors.
On the Monday night shows front, I actually enjoyed both shows last night. Both did great jobs in hyping up their respective PPVs, with the WWF obviously focusing on the Hell in a Cell main event at next Sunday's Armageddon PPV, and WCW focusing on a showdown between Scott Steiner and Sid for the WCW title at Starrcade on December 17. I'm really liking the "Scott Steiner era" in WCW, and this is definitely a good start for a ratings rebound for WCW.
And while we're on that subject, Nitro actually scored a slightly above average rating last night with a 2.5, off hours of 2.6 and 2.3. Thunder also scored a relatively high 2.4 this past Wednesday. On the other hand, for the fourth week in a row, Raw scored a 5.0 rating, off hours of 4.7 and 5.3, according to Dave Scherer. Definitely a pretty awkward situation there.
In the weekend ratings, WWF Heat continued to struggle on MTV, scoring only a 2.2 rating, which is disappointing considering that the show was hosted by The Rock. The weekend morning shows, Livewire and Superstars, both scored a 1.0.
Chris Chetti made his WWF debut last night, wrestling a dark match against Shao Funaki. Reports state that Chetti got a decent pop from the New Jersey crowd and looked pretty impressive, despite taking the loss to Funaki after a Chetti cross body was reversed into a rollup.
Taka Michinoku made his return last night, after an injured shoulder kept him out for a few weeks. Taka took the loss to Raven in a match that will air on the WWF's syndicated Jakked/Metal program this week. Definitely good to see Taka - yet another wasted WWF talent - back in action.
JR's Barbeque Sauce is FINALLY here. Yes, that's right, after months and months... and months of hype, Jim Ross's "Slobber-Knocker BBQ Sauce" is now available for order on the WWF Shopzone along with a "JR's Slobber-Knocker BBQ Sauce" T-shirt for $29.95. It's the perfect holiday gift. A Jim Ross t-shirt and a bottle of BBQ sauce. Only 250 introductory packages will be available for the items, which will be released on December 7th. To get your order in, click HERE.
For our readers in the United Kingdom, TPWW reporter Mike Franey sent word that Channel 4 in the UK will air Armageddon on Sunday night/Monday morning at 1:50 AM UK time, a 50 minute delay. This, of course, is to edit out any parts of the PPV that may be deemed "inappropriate." Also, it's expected that channel 4 will run commercials through the PPV showing.
Shawn Michaels will host the showing of Armageddon this Sunday at WWF New York, according to the WWF website. Not sure if that could mean anything, but if he'll be at WWF New York during the PPV, that obviously means he won't be at the PPV in person... unless the WWF clones him... or something. Anyway...
It appears that the WWF actually didn't sell out the Birmingham-Jefferson Civic Center for Sunday's Armageddon PPV in Birmingham, Alabama. In fact, they will be giving away free tickets to the PPV for any fan that holds season tickets for the Birmingham Thunderbolts XFL team. For more info, visit XFL.com.
Mike Franey sent along a link to the logo for the WWF Royal Rumble PPV in January. To check it out, click HERE.
As some of you may know, since I mentioned it about 50 times, I was in attendance at this past Sunday's ECW Massacre on 34th Street PPV in New York, and of course, I had a great time. There's really nothing like being at an ECW show live and if you get the chance to attend one, don't miss out. Of course, in order for anyone to get a chance to attend, I guess they'd have to live in North East US with the way things are going. Anyway, the ECW crowd is the best (in terms of appreciating the action) and I'm sure anyone who attended would agree.
Paul Heyman met with the ECW roster after the PPV, according to Dave Scherer, and discussed the state of the company. Heyman reportedly told anyone that if they wanted to leave for the WWF or WCW, they would be allowed to and there would be no hard feelings. Heyman reportedly even offered to put in a "good word" for them to the WWF and WCW by himself. The wrestlers were also paid two weeks worth of pay. If only Paul Heyman was running WCW instead of Brad Siegel.
Scott Hall obviously was not at Sunday's PPV due to another run in with the law. Hall was reportedly arrested once again this past weekend after an incident with a taxi cab driver. He reportedly tried to use a credit card to pay the fare, but when it was refused, Hall began to kick the door of the cab, prompting police to enter the scene and make the arrest. Definitely an unfortunate and sad situation.
Mikey Whipwreck took a huge bump in the match featuring himself and Tajiri taking on Super Crazy and Kid Kash at the PPV. For those who missed it, Whipwreck was hit with a Hurricanrana off the top turnbuckle to the outside of the ring through a table. Whipwreck was reportedly suffering back pains due to the injury and has seen a doctor for it, according to Dave Scherer.
In other injury news from the PPV, Nova suffered a busted ear drum during his match and could not hear backstage after the show. However, he should hopefully be fine.
At the end of the PPV, it was announced that ECW would be returning to the Hammerstein Ballroom in Manhattan, NY for ECW's next PPV, Guilty As Charged on Sunday, January 7. Tickets go on sale this Thursday through MetroTickets and Ticketmaster at the numbers below and at all TicketMaster outlets. Ticketmaster - (212) 307-7171, Metro Tickets - (212) 564-4882
For those who have been wondering, Scotty Anton is no longer with ECW, according to Dave Scherer. Both Anton and ECW apparently decided that things would not work out, and parted ways.
Both Adam Kirk and Corey Silvia wrote great columns this week discussing how the WWF badly the has misused Tazz. They're both excellent reads and if you haven't checked them out yet, I strongly suggest doing so. Click HERE for Adam's column and HERE for Corey's. And of course, be sure to check out Rob Harvey and The Ref's columns right here at TPWW, also always great reads. And with that, it's just about time to wrap this one up. As always, thanks for reading and we hope you'll stop by again tomorrow for another edition of the news and rumors. Until next time...
Triple A
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