Hey there TPWW readers, and welcome to today's News and Rumors Report. You may have noticed a slowdown in the N+R updates recently at TPWW.net. That's pretty much been attributed to the fact that there's barely anything to report recently. I can't remember the last time there's been this much of a shortage in news updates, but oh well. There are still some interesting tidbits stockpiled today, so let's get into them right now…
The XFL Championship game drew a 2.4 rating last night, which is a decent increase. It's not all good news though, as the ratings plummeted throughout the night. The game started out at a 3.9, but ended at a 1.7. This means that people checked it out because of the hype, but were dissatisfied with the game itself. There were 24,000 fans on hand at the game, though that number is reportedly highly complimentary (papered) seats. Apparently LA player Josh Wilcox (can you tell I don't watch the league?) executed the People's Elbow during the game, and praised ECW in a post-game interview…interesting.
Vince McMahon confirmed in the Los Angeles Times that the XFL would not be on NBC in prime time next season, stating, "the XFL will be back next season, only its games will not be televised by NBC. ... There's nothing official, but as for NBC showing games on Saturday nights, that's not going to happen." Also, McMahon mentioned that the XFL would almost definitely be on UPN next season, but the games would be on Sunday afternoons between 1-4 PM, which is a normal NFL timeslot.
Despite his persistent bashing of Jesse Ventura, it seems as though Vince McMahon wants him to return as color commentator for the XFL next season…whatever.
WCW's June 9th debut looks to be postponed yet again. There is now no scheduled date, but as of now, it is expected to go down sometime in mid-late June. Tapings have been moved to Wednesdays instead of Saturdays, to give the production team a little breathing room. Also, the Saturday night 11-1 TNN timeslot looks like it's still being worked out between the WWF and TNN, since the WWF would definitely like to have a better timeslot. If not, it's definitely doubtful that WCW will get anywhere near the WWF in the ratings.
There have been meetings all this week in Atlanta with production people, as well as the wrestlers themselves, to prepare for the relaunch of WCW. While the WWF would like to acquire some of the big name wrestlers (DDP, Goldberg and Flair) it doesn't look like that's an immediate possibility. Expect to see some former ECW talent signed before the company redebuts.
It's expected that there will be some major stipulations applied to the main event (Austin & HHH vs. Undertaker & Kane) at WWF Backlash. I'm thinking that all the belts involved in the match will be up for grabs (IC, World and Tag Team) but that's just an idea.
Other matches on the card are expected to be Chris Benoit taking on Kurt Angle in a 30 minute time limit submission match, Chris Jericho taking on William Regal with some sort of stipulation added, and The Big Show taking on Shane McMahon in a Last Man Standing match. Of course, more matches will be announced soon, possibly on Raw is War this Monday.
Spike Dudley will be entering into the Light Heavyweight division soon, and matching up against Dean Malenko and Crash Holly. I think Spike is better suited for the Hardcore division (given his incredible bump-taking ability) but I'm sure he'll be successful no matter what category he wrestles in.
When Scotty "Too Hotty" Taylor returns to the WWF in a few weeks to months, look for him to be reunited with Brian Christopher. While some thought was given to splitting the two up, most in the WWF are still happy with the pops that Too Cool gets as a tag team. They will apparently be factored right back into the tag team title hunt, which I guess is a good thing. Whether Steve Blackman will be in on the group is unknown, but I think it's doubtful.
Stu Hart, the legendary father of Bret Hart and the late Owen Hart has been hospitalized once again. Apparently he has some level of fluid build-up around his lungs, which results in breathing difficulties. Hopefully it's nothing major, and Hart can return to his home in Calgary sometime soon.
The PTC on its web site had a statement by Dr. C DeLores Tucker decrying Nickelodeon for inviting Chyna to present an award at the Kids Choice Awards. Their argument is that by Chyna appearing on Nickelodeon, WWF is marketing to children, noting Linda McMahon's claim on a Court TV special they don't market to children.
The WWF held a house show last night in Tyler, Texas. To check out the complete results, click HERE.
Thursday's WWF Smackdown drew a decent 4.2 rating, up from last week's 3.7.
Current WWF Hardcore Champion Rhyno and former ECW champion Tommy Dreamer wrestled last night for Border City Wrestling in Ontario, Canada. Dreamer won the match when the special referee (wrestler Scott D'Amore) attacked Rhyno. For those interested, the Bushwhackers appeared on the card, as well as former ECW/WCW talent Johnny Swinger.
In a related bit, the British Bulldog Davey Boy Smith will apparently be making a return to the wrestling ring at BCW's next big show, which is on June 6, 2001. Tommy Dreamer and Mikey Whipwreck will also be putting in appearances.
In a little foreign wrestling news, it seems as though Japanese superstar Atsushi Onita will be opening his own wrestling federation, with former ECW Champion (and one of my all-around favorite wrestlers) Masato Tanaka as the top star. The federation will be very ECWish, featuring the same hardcore matches and wrestlers that made ECW so famous both here and overseas. Hopefully that will turn out well, and I can't wait to get my hands on some tapes.
Things are looking pretty good for both my teams this season. Both the Philadelphia Philles and the Boston Red Sox are doing really well so far. The Red Sox are beating the hell out of the Yankees, and the Phillies are beating the hell out of the Braves, so things look to be going pretty well this season. Thanks for checking out the N+R today, and I'll see you next weekend.
Corey Silvia
Corey@tpww.net