Today, Friday, March 23 2001 has gone down as one of the biggest, if not the biggest, days in professional wrestling history. Earlier today, World Wrestling Federation Entertainment finalized a deal to buy their rival of several years, World Championship Wrestling from Turner Broadcasting. A deal was finalized earlier today and a press release, which can be read in full HERE, was sent out at around 3-4 PM EST by the WWF letting the public know of the deal. No sale amount has been disclosed, but there are rumors that it was in the $20-$25 million range. The sale gives the WWF the rights to the WCW brand, its tape library, and other intellectual rights.
It has been confirmed that WCW will be run as a separate company and will almost definitely air on a Viacom owned network, most probably TNN. If you recall, the WWF was interested in purchasing WCW a few months ago when it was first announced that AOL/Time Warner was looking to sell th ecompany. However, the WWF was forced to back out of the deal due to exclusivity issues with Viacom, which makes it necessary for just about all WWF programming to air exclusively on Viacom networks. However, with WCW off of TNT and TBS, this left a door open for the WWF to go for the hunt once again. Eric Bischoff, backed by Fusient Media Ventures, was unable to close out a deal to purchase WCW due to lack of a television deal, and was forced to back out of purchasing the company. As mentioned, it is expected that WCW programming will air on TNN. However, the question on a lot of people's minds is whether or not Viacom will be willing to give up a couple of hours of a primetime timeslot on TNN. Honestly, I don't see why they wouldn't. WCW programming will almost definitely bring in higher numbers for TNN, so it would be a sacrafice I'd say they would be willing to make with a smile on their faces. Other rumors going around are that there may also be an hour of WCW programming a week on MTV, but that is just talk at this time.
As for which wrestlers will stay and which will go, it's not too hard to speculate. The WWF is expected to hold on to wrestlers with lower paying contracts and 90 day cycles in their deals, so that they would be able to renegotiate their contracts to better fit in with the WWF's payment scale, which appears to be lower than WCW's. As of now, according to the Pro Wrestling Torch, the WWF will most likely hold on to the following wrestlers: Lance Storm, Mike Awesome, Sean O'Haire, Chuck Palumbo, Shawn Stasiak, Mark Jindrak, Mike Sanders, Stacy "Miss Hancock" Keibler, Shane Helms, Shannon Moore, Kaz Hayashi, Yang, Billy Kidman, Elix Skipper, Chavo Guerrero Jr, and Hugh Morrus. However, that is not to say that they will not attempt to sign bigger names such as Goldberg, Booker T, Diamond Dallas Page, Ric Flair, and others. WCW's uppercard talent obviously have much higher paying contracts, and the WWF will attempt to work something out there to sign them at decreased amounts. Another name that has been cause of much speculation is WCW's current champion, Scott Steiner. I'm sure that the WWF would be interested in utilizing him, but Steiner has been known for backstage disruptions, and that is one thing that the WWF will surely attempt to stay away from. Also, it wouldn't be surprising to see Hulk Hogan make a return to WCW in some shape or form. It is obvious that Hogan still can draw, and I'm sure the thought of bringing him in has already crossed the WWF's minds at least once.
The talk right now is that Shane McMahon will most likely be put in charge of WCW and will also most likely get on-air time on the show(s). There has been speculation that Jim Ross would be put back in charge of WCW, but it appears that Ross is too valuable for the WWF at this time to tie him up with other endeavors. However, it is not confirmed that Shane McMahon will be put in charge of WCW just yet. There is also a good chance that many of WCW's current staff will continue to work for the company, although, of course, there are some that will not.
Both the WWF and WCW will almost surely make a mention of the WCW purchase on both Raw is War and Nitro this Monday. In fact, WCW has posted the WWF's press release regarding the WCW sale on their web site, WCW.com. It is printed in big, bold letters on the very top of the page, meaning that WCW will surely not keep this situation a "secret" from their viewers (as if something this big could be kept secret anyway), as they've done with other situations in the past. In fact, reports are that there will almost surely be a few WWF superstars on Monday Nitro this Monday on TNT to hint at the sale. Who those wrestlers are is unknown at this time, but with WrestleMania just around the corner, Raw being in Cleveland, and Nitro being in Florida, I doubt the WWF would take away any of their big name stars from Raw just to put them on Nitro.
Although his efforts to purchase WCW have hit a "brick wall," Eric Bischoff is still expected to appear on Nitro this Monday. Now that should be interesting.
There are rumors that in the past couple of days (before the announcement that the WWF purchased WCW), WCW has contacted wrestlers such as Hulk Hogan, Kevin Nash, and Sting to appear on this Monday's Nitro. However, according to various reports, all four wrestlers turned down the offer, either saying that they were not ready to return or that they were flat out not interested (Hogan, Nash). However, I would not be surprised to see Goldberg make an appearance on Nitro. Also, now that the WWF has officially purchased WCW, I wonder if any of the aforementioned wrestlers have changed their minds about wanting to be on Nitro.
In a recent media conference, Linda McMahon answered questions about the WWF-WCW deal. She was asked whether or not there was a chance that this deal could fall apart, similar to the WCW-Fusient deal. However, Linda re-assured everyone, saying that this deal will not fall apart and will be finalized in the next 10 days or so. To read the rest of the media conference, in which Linda answered several questions about the deal, click HERE.
This deal gives me mixed feelings, but for the most part, I am very excited about it. When I heard the news that there was a chance WCW would go out of business, I felt horrible, like the wrestling business was falling apart; especially since ECW had closed its doors just recently. The news of the WWF making the purchase of WCW, for the sake of keeping WCW alive, is great for that reason. Also, wrestling fans once again have something fresh and new to look forward to when WCW is re-launched (how many times has it been "re-launched" already?). However, one main concern right now with many people is that without any competition, the WWF really has nothing much to worry about in terms of pressure from another company. It's often said that competition brings out the best in everyone, and that is definitely true for the wrestling business. However, in all honesty, the WWF has not had much great competition from WCW in a few years now, and I'm sure everyone agrees that they have been fine for the most part, although they have been somewhat on cruise control. However, the WWF has another motive to make their product as best as possible. Of course, that is money. The better your product, the higher your ratings, and the higher your ratings, the more money you will make. So, in my opinion, lack of competition will not be such a huge problem for the WWF. But... there is one issue that may end up being a problem... and that is simply overexposure of the product. The theory of diminishing personal value - the more you get of something, the less important it becomes. There will no longer be a head to head battle between Raw and Nitro. Instead, Nitro (if that's what it'll be called) will air on another night. Also, there's a chance that the WWF will add Thunder to WCW's shows as well. So, with that, we'll have Raw, Smackdown, Heat, Nitro, and maybe even Thunder, all on different days. And, if the WWF promotes WCW on WWF programming, as they do with their own shows, it'll give everyone the sense that they are basically the same company (well, they are, but you know...) and WCW will be just another weekly wrestling show.
As I stated, this day may go down as the biggest day in the history of professional wrestling. There is so much to talk about that I could sit here typing about it all day. But hey, there are a few other very interesting things going around in the wrestling world... so, although the WWF-WCW deal has hogged up all of today's news, here are the rest of today's N&R;:
Last Night's WWF Smackdown drew a 4.2 rating, down from last week's 4.3. The WWF was competiting with the NCAA tournament's sweet 16 bracket games on CBS, so that may be a reason for the low number.
Oh man... Those Stacker 2 Kane commercials had to be two of the funniest commercials I have ever seen in my entire life. I was cracking up each time I saw them.
It was announced today in Jim Ross's weekly Ross Report that Shawn Michaels may be on WWF television as soon as next week. In JR's exact words, "Shawn Michaels was in Houston Friday doing media for WrestleMania. The Heartbreak Kid could appear back on Federation television as early as next week." That is very interesting news and I'm sure many fans of HBK will be pleased to hear about it. We have been promised new storylines after WrestleMania for a while now, and it appears that the WWF will live up to its promises.
Also, in another potentially huge story, in Jim Ross's exact words, "Mick Foley will be a part of WrestleMania and could be making an appearance on Federation television next week. Mick is still a very vital part of the Federation and WrestleMania will be better with Mick on it." It's very surprising that Jim Ross would flat out say that Foley will be at WrestleMania. I'm guessing he'll play somewhat of a minor role in a segment, or else his appearance would not have been mentioned. But of course, I could be wrong.
Also on tap for WrestleMania, as we saw with the angles on Smackdown last night, it appears that the Acolytes, along with Tazz, have started a feud with Right to Censor and it's expected that there will be a six man tag match between them at WrestleMania. WWF: "Hmmm, we have four hours to fill this year. Should we give Tazz a match? Hmmm, nah... actually, fine, maybe it'll shut up his fans." Hopefully the WWF doesn't flat out embarrass Tazz again, as they seem to do every single time he steps into a WWF ring.
Also, it was officially announced last night that there will be another Tables, Ladders, and Chairs match at WrestleMania between the Dudleys, Edge & Christian, and the Hardy Boyz for the WWF tag team titles. It is being dubbed as "TLC 2." That should be a great one and I'm sure many people are looking forward to it. Hopefully we'll see a little sneak preview on Raw and Smackdown this week.
The WWF has added several more names to the list of wrestlers in the WWF's gimmick battle royal at WrestleMania. It has been announced that the Repo Man, Hillbilly Jim, Kim Chee, The Goon, Typhoon, and Earthquake will enter the match, along with the following previously announced superstars: The Gobbeldy Gooker (my personal pick to win it all), the Bushwhackers, Doink the Clown, Brother Love, Sgt. Slaughter, Michael Hayes, Nikolai Vokoff, the Iron Sheik, and Kamala. Honestly, I think this is one of the main matches I'm looking forward to seeing.
It was announced today by the WWF that WrestleMania is just about sold out. The WWF has been promoting a number of 65,000 fans for the Houston Astrodome, but the actual number is around 64,000 or so. However, the WWF is expected to put out a thousand or so tickets on the day of the event to reach the 65,000 point, according to Dave Scherer.
Former ECW champion Jerry Lynn will make his WWF debut this Sunday at the WWF's afternoon house show in Baltimore, Maryland. For those wondering, Lynn will take on Essa Rios in what should be a treat for the WWF fans in Baltimore.
Also, as for the WWF's other ECW signee, according to Jim Ross, everyone's (my) favorite (ECW) wrestler, Yoshihiro Tajiri has signed his WWF contract and is getting paid, but the WWF does not have an official start date for him yet. *sigh*, it's becoming more and more likely that the WWF will end up sticking him with Kaientai. Yes, although their gimmick is funny now, it's only a matter of time before fans grow tired of it (see Too Cool). But hey, as long as Tajiri is given an opportunity to show all his skills and is not embarrassed repeatedly (see Tazz), everything should be fine.
I caught Triple H's appearance on Conan "The King of Late Night" O'Brien last night and as usual when a WWF star makes a media appearance (except Chyna), Triple H came off very well. He cracked a few jokes on Conan's massive head, and had a few funny stories to tell. To read a report of the appearance, click HERE.
Just a quick site related note... with WrestleMania coming up next Sunday, starting this Monday, the entire week leading up to WrestleMania on April 1 will be "WrestleMania Week" here at TPWW. We will be adding many WrestleMania related features, such as staff predictions, favorite memories, and more. Also, we will be adding an interactive feature with our readers' favorite WrestleMania moments. With that said, if you'd like to participate, please send along your favorite WrestleMania moment in as many sentences as you feel necessary to wrestlemania@tpww.net. Everyone is encouraged to participate and the best letters will be published on the site sometime next week. WrestleMania week at TPWW will culminate on Sunday night, where we will feature free, extremely detailed, live match by match, segment by segment coverage of WrestleMania X-Seven, one of the most anticipated WWF pay per views of all time.
With that said, it's just about time to wrap this one up. As always, thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed today's report. We at TPWW are always interested in hearing your feedback, so if you'd like to send along any thoughts or comments, my e-mail address is below. Again, thanks for reading, and until next time, later.
Triple A
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