Hello, everyone, and welcome to TPWW.net, The People's Wrestling Website. First off, some of you may have noticed a pretty bad lack of updates in the news and rumors part of the site as of late. The reason, of course, is partly due to the Holiday season, but as of late, moreso due to an unfortunate site related matter that has taken up a bulk of my time this past week. Nonetheless, everything should hopefully be taken care of in the coming weeks and things should return to normal very soon. With that out of the way, here are today's news and rumors.
In a potentially huge story, Shawn Michaels has been training rigorously as of late, giving several people the impression that he will be back for at least one more "send off" match sometime down the road, according to the Pro Wrestling Torch. Shawn Michaels has been sidelined with a "career ending" back injury over the past couple of years, but the injury apparently would allow him to work at least one last match if needed. If Shawn Michaels was to make a return, rumors are that he would face off against his former DX teammate, Triple H, at WrestleMania 17 in April. If that's done right, we can only imagine the buyrate for that PPV. To even add more feul to the fire, Jim Ross said the following in his latest Ross Report: "I expect to speak with Shawn Michaels soon about his future in the World Wrestling Federation, and the possibility of performing in another match, or perhaps more in 2001." Of course, we'll have more on this story as it develops.
The WWF's ratings have continued to dip as of late, putting a little fear in the eyes of WWF fans and probably the WWF itself. This past Monday's WWF Raw is War scored a 3.8 rating, which is somewhat understandable considering it aired on Christmas night. However, Thursday's WWF Smackdown also did the same 3.8 rating, well below its average of around 4.5-5.0. The holiday probably did have something to do with Smackdown's rating, but again, this has to open some eyes in the WWF. It seems that they're no longer on cruise control, much like they have been for the past couple of years.
Due to Monday being New Year's Day, the WWF held another Friday Raw is War taping last night in Austin, Texas. From what I heard, it was a rather solid show and should come off well on TV. For those interested, you can check out complete results of the show HERE. Results of the dark matches and Jakked/Metal tapings are also available HERE, courtesy of Mike E.
Tomorrow night's edition of WWF Heat will be a "best of" special, showcasing the greatest WWF moments of the year 2000. The show will be subtitled "WWF 2000 Exposed," and will also feature music from Eminem, Limp Bizkit, Destiny's Child, DMX, Kid Rock, and U2 cut to video highlights of The Rock, Stone Cold, Triple H, Kurt Angle, Chyna, Lita, Trish Stratus, and more, according to the WWF web site.
There was a rumor going around this past week that The Rock would play the role of "Beast" in an upcoming sequal to the X-Men movie. However, that rumor is false and was recently shot down by the Dark Horizons movie website, darkhorizons.com.
The Boston Globe recently nominated none other than Vince McMahon as a "Man of the Year" candidate. To check out the article, click HERE.
A couple of WWF injury updates to report... According to Jim Ross, Lita's back injury will not require surgery, and is improving greatly. As for X-Pac, JR stated that he should be back sometime before the Royal Rumble from his neck injury.
On the subject of the Royal Rumble, Jim Ross recently stated that the WWF has no current plans to use either Mark Henry or the Big Show in this year's 30 man Royal Rumble. Both superstars are currently wrestling in Ohio Valley Wrestling, due to the WWF wanting them to work on their physical condition. Mark Henry is said to be closer to returning than the Big Show at this time.
Remaining on the subject of the Royal Rumble, this year's PPV will apparently feature five matches in addition to the 30 man over the top rope Royal Rumble, according to Jim Ross. Those five matches have obviously not been announced yet, but should develop soon. The Royal Rumble will also stick with its "new competitor every two minutes" rule, and the winner will receive a WWF title shot at WrestleMania.
WWF.com recently posted a very interesting article about Molly Holly. The article details her career and how she got into the wrestling business, as well as wrestling in WCW before she came to the WWF. To check out the article, click HERE.
Wednesday's edition of WCW Thunder scored only a 1.7 rating. But that is somewhat expected due to the holiday and the fact that it was a "best of" show.
In case you haven't heard yet, WCW announcer Mark Madden was fired this past week by WCW because of on-air remarks about Scott Hall and the sale of WCW. Of course, I feel that I have to comment on this idiotic move by WCW. If Madden was fired because of comments about Scott Hall, why hasn't anything been done to Diamond Dallas Page and Kevin Nash, who come out week in and week out giving unprofessional and unauthorized comments on Hall? Madden stopped talking about Hall weeks before the "Insiders" did. Like I said, this is without a doubt a horrible move by WCW. Madden definitely brought some life to the WCW announce team. Who will be his replacement now? Stevie Ray? Jeez. I cringe just thinking about it. Unfortunately, Madden apparently was not on such good grounds with a few powerful people in WCW, and since backstage politics continue to run the company, Madden was fired.
Finally, congratulations to ECW's "Swinger" on getting married this past weekend.
That just about wraps it up. Corey Silvia should be back tomorrow with another great edition of the N&R.; Until then, check out Corey's column, Jerichoholics Anonymous, where he gives part three of his three part series, naming the top ten WCW superstars of 2000. And speaking of columns, fans of Ry's "People's Column" be sure to stop by tomorrow, as Ry will write the final edition of the column that's been with TPWW from the very start. It's bound to be a good read and I hope you'll stop by to check it out. On a weather related note, snow continues to come down here in New York. So far, we've gotten over a foot, but I guess it's pretty cool. Either way, this isn't The People's Weather Website, so until next time... later.
Triple A
TripleA99@aol.com