Welcome to TPWW.net for the Saturday edition of the news and rumors. There is a lot to talk about today in the wrestling world from all three major federations, so without further delay, here are today's news and rumors.
Thursday night's WWF Smackdown drew only a 3.9 rating, down from last week's 4.5. That definitely isn't a good sign for the WWF, considering one of their main ratings competitors, Friends, drew only an 8.9 rating Thursday on NBC for a rerun episode. Friends normally draws around a 15-17 rating. Survivor, on the other hand, drew a strong 17.1 rating on CBS, and CSI drew a strong 14.4 for the 9-10 PM hour. In what may be good news for the WWF, Survivor moves to Wednesday night next week.
Jim Ross has been demoted to the XFL's "B" game tonight on NBC alongside Dick Butkus. Matt Vasgersian, who did week one of the league with Jesse Ventura, will be moved to the main NBC game along with Ventura and Mike Adamle, who I thought did a great job last week. Jim Ross may have been dumped from the A game due to the fact that the XFL will apparently attempt to remove as much of the wrestling influence on the league as possible. That may be noticeable with tonight's game.
Below is how the WrestleMania 17 card looks to be shaping up...
- The Rock vs. Steve Austin - World Title, Debra in Rock's corner
- Triple H vs. The Undertaker
- The Hardys vs. The Dudleys vs. E&C; - Tag Titles, TLC Match (possibly)
- Ivory vs. Chyna - Women's Title (Rumored)
- Chris Jericho vs. William Regal (Rumored)
- Chris Benoit vs. Eddie Guerrero (May take place on Raw instead)
There are rumors that WWF officials were not overly pleased with the jobs Michael Cole and Tazz did on commentary this past Thursday on Smackdown. Rumors are that they were given a talk backstage after the show by Jim Ross. Hmmm, could there be a reason Tazz isn't such a spectacular commentator? Maybe because he's a wrestler? In a recent interview on WWF.com, Tazz was quoted as saying that he wasn't too pleased with himself on the job he did on Smackdown, and there was a lot of room for improvement. That same article opens with this line: "Fans launched an Internet campaign a few months ago to get Tazz more exposure on World Wrestling Federation television. As of Thursday's episode of SmackDown!, they win." What the hell?
ECW champion Rhino has been wrestling several dark matches and house shows for the WWF over the past few weeks. However, there is still no set date for his debut on WWF television. According to Jim Ross, the WWF will apparently not call him Rhino, and they still have not come up with another name for him. He has already established himself as Rhino. Why make him start all over?
Stone Cold Steve Austin will be a guest on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno on Wednesday, March 14 on NBC. There have also been rumors that Stone Cold Steve Austin will host an episode of Saturday Night Live sometime in the near future, but talks of that seem to have died down as of late since the news of SNL's Lorne Michaels being less than pleased with the XFL.
Jim Ross recently commented on Jerry "The King" Lawler and Paul Heyman in his weekly Ross Report. There were a few interesting comments made, and since trying to explain it myself would not have the same effect, here are Ross's exact comments: "I'm often asked, 'Do you miss working with the King?' Of course I do! He's the best I've worked with over the longest period of time in my career. It was also reported on the Internet that he and I had not talked, which is totally wrong as we have spoken numerous times on the telephone, including three times the day after he left Tucson! We are friends and I wish this matter had never occurred. Period. I thought Paul Heyman did a solid job for a guy who has not been regularly on the air in about 10 years. Timing only comes with working together and I'm sure Paul and I will continue to work hard to improve over the next several months and will, hopefully, mesh as well as the King and I did over time. Heyman and Lawler are totally different types of people and, therefore, their broadcasting styles will be different as well. Both are true students of the business, although from different eras and backgrounds. Bottom line, from where I sit, is that both are very intelligent individuals and have the unique talent to be heard and to entertain our fans. Who's to say the King will never be back? Who's to say there is not room for both? I do not know what the final disposition of this matter will be, but I've got a feeling it's going to be an interesting ride. I learned long ago to never say never in this business." From that, it appears that the WWF is planning to have Paul Heyman remain at the announce position for a while to come.
A few WWF injury updates, courtesy of Jim Ross: Rikishi will be out of action until WrestleMania due to a busted eardrum that he suffered during his segment with Steve Austin on Smackdown. The injury will require surgery... Hardcore Holly will be out of action for at least two more weeks. He reportedly has swelling in his vertebrae, and rumors are that his broken arm has also been bothering him... "Scotty Too Hotty is expected to be inactive for four to six weeks." ... Edge has a sore back, but it is improving and he should be back on TV this Monday... K-Kwik is suffering from a broken rib, but should be back in action in 2-3 weeks.
As unlikely as this may sound, WCW's future may be in serious jeopardy. There have been rumors over the past few weeks that problems have risen between WCW and Fusient Media Ventures regarding the sale of WCW, and it appears that those rumors are true and are serious. As of now, it appears that talks have broken off at least temporarily, and Brad Siegel is on a planned vacation, meaning most people are in the dark about the situation. There had been talks that WCW would be relaunched in early April, once the new ownership took over, but that doesn't seem likely at all right now. There are apparently no shows officially scheduled after the March 26 Nitro/Thunder. If the WCW sale does not go through, Time Warner has apparently instructed Brad Siegel to shut down the company if another potential buyer is not found almost immediately. We'll hopefully have an update on this situation as soon as possible. How would the wrestling world be without WCW and ECW?
Crowbar has been released by WCW, according to Dave Meltzer, on a cost-cutting move. WCW's Hardcore division is basically dead, and there are currently no plans to re-launch it any time soon. There are rumors that a few more wrestlers will be released soon.
Kid Kash will reportedly receive a tryout dark match on Nitro this Monday, taking on All Japan's Jackie Fulton.
Below are a few matches you can expect for Nitro this Monday:
- Shane Helms vs. Evan Karagias
- Elix Skipper & Kid Romeo vs. The Jung Dragons
- Lance Storm & Mike Awesome vs. The Mamalukes
- Kanyon vs. Disqo
There are rumors that Midajah may make her return on Nitro this Monday, according to Dave Meltzer.
This past Wednesday's WCW Thunder drew a 1.9 rating.
Finally, it was officially announced yesterday that ECW's Living Dangerously PPV, scheduled for this Sunday, has been cancelled. The following message was posted on ECWwrestling.com: "Due to circumstances beyond our control, ECW must regrettably announce that we must cancel this weekend's LIVING DANGEROUSLY pay per view event." Us ECW fans can only hope for one last show. This is definitely no way for ECW to go out.
That's all for today's report. Thanks for reading, as always. Be sure to stop by tomorrow for another edition of the news and rumors with Corey Silvia. Until next time...
Triple A
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