Greetings, and welcome to my first N+R Report of the New Year. There's a lot to talk about on the Internet today, a lot of which focuses on ECW's pay per view offering Guilty as Charged, that emanates from NYC tonight. TPWW's own Triple A will be in attendance, and it should be an awesome show to say the least. Without any further discussion, let's head in to the News and Rumors for January 7, 2001.
As of right now, ECW is preparing to use Rob Van Dam as the Holy Sh*t surprise this evening. There were said to be several other plans being discussed, but Van Dam's is the only one that would work out. There is a chance that Steven Richards could appear, but that is said to be minimal at best. All in all, it looks like we'll be seeing RVD back in ECW for at least one more appearance.
According to ECW's website, this evening will be an "impactful" night for Rhino. Not too sure what that means exactly, but I would guess that it might tie in with the tidbit on Rob Van Dam.
According to a lot of inside guys at ECW, the Tables, Ladders, Chairs, and Canes match is going to be totally insane. This match will definitely not be for the squeamish, as it is also said to contain some of the bloodiest/goriest spots in quite some time. As of now, there is some speculation that Corino will survive and hang on to his World Title, but no one is certain.
One of my personal favorites, Nova, is expected to have some impact on the pay per view tonight. Though he is working with an ear injury, look for him to do a run in, or perhaps even wrestle a full out match up.
As we already know, Edge and Christian are signed to meet the Dudleys at the Royal Rumble. It has been announced that there will be a total of five matches on the card (not including the Rumble itself, of course). Look for a few more matches to take shape over the next few days, with several signed and confirmed by Smackdown.
In a related bit, there is some thought being given to having Chris Jericho challenge Kurt Angle for the WWF title at the RR. It is pretty much a sure thing that Angle will drop the World Title to Steve Austin or the Rock at No Way Out, so it is expected that he'll get in one more world title defense. Jericho could be a very good opponent for the Olympic Champ, as the two have had very sound matches in the past. It would also serve to elevate Jericho into main eventing pay per views, a step that must be taken sooner or later.
The timetable is just about up for the Jerry Lynn/WWF discussions. If you remember, we reported that the WWF was planning on getting in touch with Lynn in approximately 10-12 days after receiving his tape. Well it's been twelve days, so I'd expect to hear something very shortly…perhaps after the pay per view this evening. As always, we here at TPWW will keep you posted.
In an interesting note, WWF.Auction.com is currently auctioning off the shirt that Stone Cold ripped off of Stephanie on Raw. Seems like a good item to pick up…Also, Chyna has autographed a hundred copies of her record-breaking issue of Playboy, which is also available on the WWF Auction website.
There is a very good chance we'll see X-Pac active by the Royal Rumble. There are discussions going on about bringing him in at around number thirty or so in the Rumble. The office apparently feels that his surprise return would jump-start the most exciting part of the Rumble, the final four.
As we all know Steve Austin is currently slated to take on Kurt Angle for the WWF title tomorrow evening on Raw. Despite the fact that the World Title hasn't changed hands on Raw since Triple H defeated the Big Show, don't count Austin out. There is already some discussion that perhaps Austin should get the surprise win tomorrow evening, just to shake things up a little.
Two online commentaries have been updated recently. Perry Saturn spouts off about being nominated for several WWF awards over at perrysaturn.com, while Lou E. Dangerously also gives us his thoughts at ECWDangerously.com. Both are good reads, and I'd encourage you to check out one/both of them.
Disqo Inferno is expected to replace Mark Madden on the WCW Monday Nitro announcing team, at least in the interim. That means that Disqo is currently on the booking team, the announcing team, and the wrestling roster. Does anyone else see a little conflict of interest for Disqo?
Don't expect Mike Awesome's membership in Team Canada to last long. Many of the higher ups in WCW feel that Awesome could be a potential big draw in the near future, and this angle is just being done to get him involved with Storm. Sooner rather than later, Awesome is expected to break away from the stable and feud with Storm. That should produce some very good matches, but I still don't understand why the jump to Team Canada was necessary. It doesn't make him any more of a "tough heel" (which was WCW's intention) and he was already in line to feud with Storm.
From the "where are they now file", Jeremy Borash reports that Fit Finlay is apparently working on the WCW booking staff, as well as working as a road agent for the company. I was never a big fan of Finlay in the ring, but it's good to see that he's still involved in the company currently.
WCW will apparently rename their pay per view Uncensored to "WCW Greed." Out of all the new names, I have to say that is by far the lamest of the bunch.
Sting and Booker T are both discussing possible returns at WCW Superbrawl Revenge (yet another lame title change). Both are expected to be seriously involved in the WCW title hunt upon their return, mixing it up with the current champ (expected to still be Steiner). That should be a decent sized shot in the arm for WCW.
That's just about it for today's report, readers. I'd encourage you all to swing by tonight and read the live, real time play by play of ECW's Guilty as Charged here at TPWW.net. Our play by play man here at TPWW never fails to disappoint, and it truly is the next best thing to actually seeing it happen. If you're in the mood to read a little about the card, the most recent edition of my column, Jerichoholics Anonymous was posted yesterday, and it is dedicated to an analysis ECW's GaC pay per view. That's all folks, and I'll see you back here next week.
Corey Silvia
Corey@tpww.net