Welcome to today's news and rumors right here... at TPWW.net. As you may have noticed, TPWW hasn't been as "active" as it usually is over the past few days. I can only come up with one excuse for that - there has really been nothing going on in the world of wrestling these past few days. I guess that's what lack of competition does to wrestling and to be honest, no sir, I don't like it. This past week has been maybe the slowest wrestling day in recent memory and that doesn't mean good things for us here at TPWW. But hey, whaddya gonna do? Also, I haven't been feeling exactly 100% over the last couple of days, but I have managed to come up with a few things to talk about in today's report, so without further delay, here are today's news and rumors.
Straight out, I thought last night's Raw was very lackluster and was yet another disappointment. A lot of people have argued that the WWF's shows have too much "McMahon" in them and up until last night, I agreed, but it wasn't such a big bother to me. However, last night's show definitely did have a little too much soap opera and not enough wrestling. I really don't understand what the point was of showing the entire Jim Ross/Steve Austin segment from Smackdown. Couldn't they have shown just parts of it instead of the entire 15-20 minute segment? But again, I guess the WWF can do that now without any competition. If Nitro was still on, I'm sure more than a few people would have used those 15 minutes to catch up on WCW. At least I would.
As I mentioned, Raw really came off as lackluster and really had no real blockbuster happenings, besides Linda McMahon announcing that she now wanted a "divorce" from Vince (just an angle, if anyone was wondering). I'm not sure where the WWF plans to go with that, but hopefully it'll be interesting. We also saw Steve Austin continue his big heel push by laying out Lita and the Hardys with a steel chair. I still noticed a few pops for Austin, but the heel heat is definitely there as well.
Chris Benoit, on the other hand, continued his face push, forming an alliance with long time rival Chris Jericho. It looks like the WWF is playing up a Benoit/Jericho vs. Angle/Regal feud, which I wouldn't be surprised to see at Backlash. However, the WWF usually isn't high on having tag matches at PPVs, so I also wouldn't be surprised to see the match split into two singles re-matches from WrestleMania.
Jerry Lynn made an appearance off camera last night on Raw, taking on and defeating a wrestler called American Dragon. Lynn took the win with a Tornado DDT, a move he has used at WWF house shows as well. It looks like that'll be his new finishing move in the WWF, replacing the Cradle Piledriver, since it's too "dangerous" for the WWF. Thanks to TPWW's own Mike E for the Jerry Lynn news.
Billy Vaux sent along some very interesting off camera notes from WWF Raw last night at the Fleet Center on Boston, including what happened after Raw went off the air. To check out the report, click HERE.
Did anyone else catch Paul Heyman's comments towards JR, when he said, "You know, if you would have quit, I would have left with you. That's what broadcast partners do for one another. If your broadcast partner quit... (Rhyno gores Crash) GORE!!!" I was cracking up. Heyman is the MAN.
The end of WWF Raw is War was reportedly edited out on TSN in Canada due to the Stone Cold Steve Austin attacks on Lita. Also, Spike Dudley's match against Lita on Heat was edited out in various international markets. Ugh, what was the WWF trying to do making Spike Dudley job to Lita anyway? I really, really don't understand their booking sometimes. It's like an un-written rule. New guys in the WWF must be put through months of burying. How does the WWF expect them to get over then? Aren't fans supposed to get a good first impression of new guys? Jeez. That's WWF politics for you.
There is reportedly a new tentative start date for the new WCW. According to Georgiann Makropoulos, WCW's first show will be taped on Wednesday, June 13 at the Patriot Center in Fairfax, VA, rather than the June 9th date that was previously announced. The show will then air the following Saturday, June 16 on TNN from 11PM-1AM. After that, a show may be taped on June 20 at the Coliseum in Jacksonville, FL, and then in Bethlehem, PA at the Stabler Arena on June 27. Again, these are just tentative dates and may once again change at any time.
Michael Moody and Mike Franey sent along the following: "Most wrestling fans are outraged by the decision to air WCW wrestling at 11 - 1 a.m. on Saturday nights. If you want the new WCW to be shown during a respected time slot and on a weekday, get on the phone and voice your concern to TNN's decision makers by calling 1-888-POP-1090. I strongly urge all readers to call." You know, that's really not a bad idea at all. Hmmm...
Vince Russo has written his second column on his web site, VinceRusso.org. Russo states that he may have some sort of deal with WOW - Women of Wrestling sometime soon. Russo spoke highly of WOW and said that he feels it could be a big hit if given the right direction and booking. Just imagine Russo in WOW. Good stuff. To check out the column, click HERE.
WWF The Music Volume 5 has dropped to #52 on the Billboard charts this week, down from last week's #40 spot. The CD debuted at #2, which has been its peak position.
The Parents Television Council has struck once again, this time getting Pep Boys to bow down and pull their advertising from WWF Smackdown. If you'd like to voice your opinion on Pep Boys' decision, you can contect them by clicking HERE.
The XFL playoffs start this Saturday on NBC, with the Los Angeles Xtreme taking on the Chicago Enforcers, and then on Sunday, the Orlando Rage taking on the San Francisco Demons on UPN. If anyone is hoping for the XFL to survive on NBC until next season, the ratings that the playoff games will bring in had better be huge. For those wondering, last Saturday's NBC game drew only a 1.6 overnight rating, which should be a 1.4 final rating. That's the lowest rating any prime time show has had on any of the major networks, by far.
Finally, ECW has reportedly filed for bankruptcy, according to Dave Meltzer, citing approximately $6 million in debts owed mostly to wrestlers, from what I have gathered. The filing of bankruptcy will alleviate Paul Heyman, ECW, and its parent company, HHG Corp. from the debts. It finally appears that the slow death of ECW has finally come to an end. Coming from myself, a fan who was in attendance at their final two Pay Per Views in New York City, it is very saddening. Nothing could compare to being at an ECW show live with the best wrestling fans in any of the big 3. This really does suck when you think about it. :-(
On that note, it's time to wrap this one up. Thanks for checking out today's report, although I admit it wasn't much. Nonetheless, again, thanks for reading and until next time, later.
Triple A
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