Hello, everyone, and welcome (back) to The People's Wrestling Website. This intro may sound a little generic, but there is a lot to discuss from the world of wrestling in today's report, including various WWF injury updates, the return of major WWF superstars, and more. With that said, here are today's news and rumors.
There have been several rumors as of late regarding a possible return to the ring for Shawn Michaels. Rumors started when Jim Ross himself stated that he had been in talks with Shawn Michaels about a possible return. Shawn Michaels also commented on his possible return, basically saying that it was a possibility. In his latest edition of the Ross Report, Jim Ross had this to say: "My meeting recently with Shawn Michaels has been widely discussed on the Internet. The Heartbreak Kid will definitely have an expanded role on future Federation television broadcasts but when, if, or how many actual matches he has hasn't and cannot be determined until he gets the first one under his belt. No date has been set for this first match but it is probably 3-4 months away." Judging from those comments, it appears that a return to the ring for Shawn Michaels is imminent. 3-4 months away is around the same time as WrestleMania, where the return has been rumored to take place. As of now, speculation points to Shawn Michaels possibly facing off against his former DX partner, Triple H, but of course, that is purely speculation at this time. Whatever the case, if Shawn Michaels is to return to the ring around WrestleMania, you can bet your money that he'll be on WWF television well before that.
On the subject of WWF returns, the return of the WWF's 7 foot monster, The Big Show has also been widely discussed lately. According to Dave Scherer, the Big Show's last scheduled event in Ohio Valley Wrestling - where the Big Show has been sent to work on his physical condition - is January 31. This, of course, means that we may see a return for the Big Show very soon. There have even been rumors that the Big Show will be back at the Royal Rumble this Sunday. But of course, those are just rumors as well. Whatever the case, the Big Show is signed with the WWF until February 2009, so you can bet that his future in the WWF will be bright.
There are several WWF injuries to report, according to Jim Ross's Ross Report: Stone Cold Steve Austin suffered a mild knee sprain on Smackdown, which caused him a great deal of pain towards the end of his match. However, an MRI showed that there was no significant damage, so Austin will be ready to go this Sunday at the Royal Rumble. ... Triple H's back injury is said to be doing very well, and The Game should be near 100% for his match against Kurt Angle this Sunday. ... William Regal is also suffering from a back injury, but he should also be good to go this Sunday. ... Eddie Guerrero should be ready to return to WWF television very soon from his hamstring injury. Jim Ross speculates that Latino Heat will be back in action around January 29 for Raw. ... Faarooq has been suffering from a knee injury as of late, but has been feeling better recently. ... Rikishi is suffering from a thigh muscle strain, but he should be ready to go for the Royal Rumble. As with other heavy wrestlers, the WWF is encouraging Rikishi to drop a few pounds. ... As previously reported, Dean Malenko had his knee scoped this past week and should be back in action in about 3-4 weeks. ... Also as previously reported, Al Snow recently was involved in a minor accident, where another car skidded on ice and hit him head on. Al suffered a broken knuckle as his hand went through the windshield of his truck. However, despite the injury, Al will be involved in the Royal Rumble this Sunday. ... X-Pac's neck injury is healing well and he should be back in action sometime shortly after the Royal Rumble.
I caught part of Tazz's appearance on MTV's "VJ for a Day" yesterday. From what I saw, Tazz was his usual self and came off very well. One interesting note from the show... Tazz mentioned that he would be the trainer for the contestants on the upcoming WWF/MTV show, "Tough Enough." That's definitely great to hear, as Tazz will not only provide some comedy for the show, he is also a familiar face on TV and evidence has shown that he is a great trainer.
On the subject of Tazz, at the WWF Heat tapings this past Tuesday in Chicago, Tazz took on K-Kwik in a match that will probably only air on the international version of Heat, since Sunday's Heat will probably be live from the site of the Royal Rumble. Anyway, reports from the show are that Tazz entered to a huge pop, but of course, ended up taking the loss to K-Kwik. This was met with a huge round of boos from the Chicago crowd, who showed their disgust in the result of the match. When will the WWF realize what they're doing wrong?
This past Thursday's edition of WWF Smackdown drew an overnight rating of 6.1, which should translate to around 4.5-4.9 or so when the final rating is released.
The WWF stock has been on the rise lately, reaching a high today of 20 11/16. Definitely good news for the WWF there. Getting close to the start of the XFL season may have something to do with it.
On the subject of the XFL, the season kicks off on Saturday, February 3, 8:00PM EST on NBC. UPN will air their first game on Sunday, February 4 at 4:00 PM, which will feature the LA Xtreme taking on the San Francisco Demons. TNN's XFL coverage will begin on Sunday, February 11 with the Birmingham Bolts taking on the NY/NJ Hitmen.
According to Jim Ross, the WWF will announce the signings of a few new talents sometime in the next week or so. Whether or not they are ECW talents is unknown. Interesting situation.
The WWF is apparently discussing having Stone Cold Steve Austin host NBC's sketch comedy show, Saturday Night Live sometime in the near future. There have been rumors that Austin is scheduled to host the February 3rd edition of the show, but those rumors have been shot down.
WWF The Music Volume 5's release date has apparently been pushed back by the WWF. CoolRock sent along word that the WWF ShopZone lists the CD for a February 20th release date instead of the original February 6 date. The cover has also apparently been changed from its original. To view the possible new cover, which features The Rock, click HERE. Of course, you can always pre-order the CD at the TPWW Online Store.
The WWF recently held their own "Year End Awards" at their year in review website, WWFYearinReview.com. Results of three categories have been announced, as Lita took home "Diva of the Year" honors, "Who hit Stone Cold?" won "Story Line of the Year," and WrestleMania somehow took home Pay-Per-View of the Year.
Moving on to WCW news, this past Wednesday's edition of WCW Thunder scored a 2.2 rating, exactly the same as they scored for last week's show.
Sid Vicious was released from an Indianapolis hospital on Tuesday night. He is now going home to Marion, Arkansas to heal his injury, which will take anywhere from six to eight months. You can and are encouraged to send get well wishes to the big man at getwellsid@turner.com.
Hulk Hogan once again recently appeared on Bubba the Love Sponge's radio show in Florida. This time, he had yet another crazy story/lie to tell everyone. According to Hogan, he will be touring with Metallica soon as their bass player, replacing Metallica's previous bass player, Jason Newsted, who announced that he would be leaving the band this past week. Hogan has had previous experience playing bass guitar, so I guess that adds a little backing to an unbelievable claim.
Andrew Yang of Stargiving.com sent the following along: "Diamond Dallas Page is giving away the chance to hang out with him, on Stargiving.com. It's free to enter. Every time a fan clicks, money goes to DDP's literacy program/charity, 'Bang it Out for Books.'"
Ken Tuccio sent word that he recently conducted an interesting interview with WCW's General Rection. Tuccio sent along the following: "Recently I had an opportunity to conduct an interview with WCW's General Rection for my website TheFirmHand.com. In the interview he talked about many things including the heat in the WCW locker room, the internet's effect on wrestling, and the popularity of backyard wrestling. I think the interview is extremely interesting and believe that you may feel the same. The interview is available at TheFirmHand.com/wwf.htm.
That just about wraps things up for today's report. There isn't much else to say, so until next time... later.
Triple A
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