Hello, everybody, and welcome to the (sort of) new TPWW.net. As you can hopefully tell by the overall speediness of our site compared to the last few weeks, we are now officially on our new server and I can finally breathe easier. We've been working hard on switching everything over to the new server over the last couple of days, and there are a lot of great updates lined up for the next few days. Also, now that we're officially on the new server, you can expect a lot more efficient news and rumor report updates. With that said, you may notice a few small "glitches" while browsing around the site today. That, of course, is due to the server switch and everything should be at 100% by either sometime today or tomorrow. Well, it's been a while since I've done one of these, so without further delay, here are today's news and rumors.
The WWF hit us with their weekly edition of WWF Smackdown this past Thursday night and in my opinion, it was one of the most entertaining WWF shows in a while. It had tons of comedy relief, which always makes for some great TV. Stone Cold Steve Austin's heel character is really developing into a classic. At first, his heel turn didn't seem to be going over so well, but it really has developed well. The petition segments were great and the look on Austin's face when Spike Dudley tore up the petition was classic. Perry Saturn's new character also seems to be going over well with a lot of people. Saturn always has been good at the clown gimmicks, since he played it well as a member of the Revolution in WCW. Once again, overall, Smackdown was a pretty enjoyable show.
Unfortunately, although it was a solid show, its ratings dropped to an alarmingly low level, drawing only a 3.2 rating, the lowest rating for Smackdown ever. The previous low had been held by the Thanksgiving edition of Smackdown, which did a 3.26, but that show had an excuse, since it was on a holiday. This past Thursday's Smackdown is a big inexplicable to me. It really does appear that wrestling is on a down cycle right now and the shut down of WCW (and ECW) surely has a whole lot to do with it.
In his recent Ross Report, Jim Ross had the following to say about Tajiri's wrestling debut on Smackdown: "Tajiri's in-ring debut on SmackDown! was very positive. Lots of smiles by World Wrestling Federation officials after seeing the Commissioner's 'house boy' in person. Very unique look and skills. Could be a real sleeper." Judging by the crowd's reaction on Smackdown, Tajiri made an amazing first impression on WWF fans who had not seen him during his ECW days. Tajiri developed an almost cult following in ECW from his "impossible not to mark out" wrestling style and it looks like that's passing over into the WWF. How can you not love Tajiri's kicks? Although I had my doubts at first, I'm really liking the way the WWF is using Tajiri right now. If this continues, Tajiri could be one of the most over and entertaining wrestlers in the WWF. Let's just hope they don't blow it.
The WWF will take a different approach at the King of the Ring PPV this year and will air the tournament's first round matches at this week's Raw and Smackdown. It will narrow the tournament down to four wrestlers, who will then wrestle at the Pay Per View. This is good in one way, since it'll allow for longer matches at the PPV, but it's sort of bad, in that four of the eight wrestlers now won't be wrestling on the PPV.
Triple H's rehab in Birmingham, Alabama is going very well, according to Jim Ross, and "The Game" should be back in action around October or November. When he returns, all signs are currently pointing to him returning as a face, or fan favorite.
On the subject of injuries, Rikishi's shoulder is also healing very well, according ot Jim Ross. Rikishi should be back in action in 4-6 months.
In his recent Ross Report, Jim Ross made the following comment regarding the start of WCW: "I think we had our best week of WCW preparation to date. You are going to like what you see. Those that predict a September re-launch should think again." Obviously, that is going to lead up to a lot of speculation. According to Dave Scherer, it is becoming more and more likely that the WWF will not get another television slot from TNN to air WCW programming, and instead, will air WCW in one of their existing time slots. I'm guessing that includes either Livewire on Saturday morning, Superstars on Sunday morning, or WWF Heat on Sunday night. Whichever one it is, it means that WCW will only have a one hour show each week. This should hopefully unfold in the next couple of weeks, but there are strong rumors that WCW will start up sometime this month or next month. The WWF's July PPV is titled Invasion, meaning there will be a major WCW influence on it, without a doubt. In fact, according to Dave Scherer, there is a good chance that WCW will start in full force after King of the Ring.
Billy Kidman and Torrie Wilson are now all but officially signed to the new WCW roster. Add Diamond Dallas Page, Kanyon, and Buff Bagwell to the list of "pretty much signed" wrestlers, and WCW's roster seems to be coming together well.
WWF Tough Enough is set to debut on MTV Thursday night, June 21 at 10PM, right after WWF Smackdown. Judging by the promos and commercials I've seen for the show, it definitely looks like it's going to be great. Tazz has been quoted saying that he was extremely rough on all of the competitors and had a bit of bitterness towards them. Since it was very hard on him getting into the business, he wanted to make it as hard as possible on them to make it. Now that should make for some good TV and will finally display Tazz's ECW character to WWF fans.
I've received a few e-mails asking if Tough Enough will air in other countries, since they do not get MTV. As of now, nothing has been finalized, but according to various reports, the WWF is working hard on working out some sort of deal to get Tough Enough aired in international markets.
Chris Jericho recently stated in his commentary on his web site that he will be debuting new ring music and a new Titan Tron video this Monday night on Raw. Well, I'm not sure if that's such a great idea, but as long as he keeps the trademark "Y2J Countdown" so fans will still be able to recognize him right away, it's cool with me. To read the commentary in full, click HERE.
Speaking of Chris Jericho on the Internet, the WWF has opened up a web site for Jericho, which you can visit at WWFY2J.com.
Val Venis is expected to be repackaged with a new gimmick when he returns from surgery that removed calcium deposits in his hip, according to Jim Ross. Great to hear that.
Perry Saturn and Terri will be hosting WWF Heat this Sunday on MTV. Should be pretty interesting, considering Saturn's new gimmick.
In an unfortunate story, Mikey Whipwreck recently stated in an interview that he will be retiring from professional wrestling, due to various injuries he has suffered over the years. It's definitely a shame to see Mikey go, since he, along with Tajiri in ECW, was one of the most entertaining wrestlers to watch. You could always count on seeing a new, innovative spot during Whipwreck's matches and that's what made him so fun to watch. He'll definitely be missed from the sport.
With that, it's just about time to wrap this one up. As always, thanks for reading and we hope you'll continue to stop by here at TPWW in the days to come for more updates and features. Until next time...
Triple A
TripleA99@aol.com