Ay yo. Welcome to today's news and rumors right here at TPWW.net. With a historic Raw is War in the works tonight, it's a pretty interesting news day today. With that said, let's get on to today's news and rumors, shall we?
It was reported yesterday that the WWF had come to an agreement with Jerry "The King" Lawler, for Lawler to make an appearance at tonight's Raw is War as a WCW announcer along with Scott Hudson. Lawler's return as a WCW announcer would have been perfect for the whole WCW Invasion angle. However, word is today that Jerry Lawler has backed out of the deal and in fact may NOT be at Raw tonight. Reports are that an agreement between two sides has been ongoing for at least the last two weeks, with the WWF also apparently agreeing to offer some sort of deal to Lawler's wife, The Kat Stacy Carter. However, this past weekend, Lawler received a new contract from the WWF, but his wife, The Kat, did not, although Lawler was told she would be appearing on Raw. Apparently, Lawler did not find this acceptable and backed out of the deal again, since his main reason for quitting in the first place was the firing of his wife. It is now rumored that Arn Anderson will take Lawler's place tonight as the WCW announcer along with Scott Hudson. Obviously, that doesn't have as large of an effect as Lawler's return would have had. Honestly, I'm not sure what to make of this situation. This could just be another swerve and Lawler may show up on Raw after all, but for now, all signs point to that being very unlikely at this time. It's definitely a shame, but Lawler seems to be a very, very stubborn man who apparently thinks he's bigger than Vince McMahon and the WWF. Lawler seems to be taking a "you need me, I don't need you" approach to the situation. And you know what? Maybe it's true.
Lawler and Hudson were apparently scheduled to announce a Booker T vs. Buff Bagwell WCW world title match tonight on Raw. I'm not sure if there are any other WCW matches planned, but if so, I'd expect maybe a tag team title match with O'Haire & Palumbo, or a cruiserweight match, with Shane Helms taking on Chavo Guerrero Jr.
Two of those matches actually took place at the WWF house show last night in Spokane, Washington. Shane Helms defeated Chavo Guerrero, but didn't use his devastating Vertebreaker finisher. Not surprised. Instead, Helms used the Nightmare on Helms Street, which the Big Show later "stole" and used as "The Final Cut" in the WWF. Reports are that the crowd was pretty dead during the Helms/Chavo match, which is definitely a shame, since they put on some great matches in WCW. Also, Booker T defeated Buff Bagwell to retain his World title. Reports are that Bagwell didn't look too impressive, but the crowd was into the match, mostly favoring Booker T.
You can expect the following matches for tonight's Raw is War from Tacoma, Washington:
- Albert vs. The Undertaker - Intercontinental Title
- Crash vs. Molly Holly
- Tajiri vs. Scotty Too Hotty
- X-Pac vs. Christian - LHW Title
- Rhyno vs. Test - Winner faces Mike Awesome at Invasion
- Booker T vs. Buff Bagwell - World Title
- Possibly more WCW matches
As reported yesterday, Stone Cold Steve Austin will not wrestle at tonight's Raw is War, but will still most likely have an on camera role. The same goes for Kurt Angle. Both men have been nursing injuries coming off of Sunday's King of the Ring PPV.
For those wondering, Tazz will not be at Raw tonight. Instead, he'll have WWF New York duty, meaning he'll most likely get some camera time and cut a promo on Austin or something.
The WWF has put up an article on wrestlers being injured from falling on their backs. The WWF gets specific commentary from Al Snow and Steve Blackman, who know the pain better than anyone else, according to the article. To check it out, click HERE.
In a correction from a news tidbit yesterday, Dawn Marie shot down rumors today that she would be posing for Missy Hyatt's WrestlingVixxxens web site. It was reported that she would do a photo shoot for the web site in 8-9 weeks, but those rumors are now apparently false.
As has been previously reported, Paul Heyman will have a role as an announcer in the upcoming movie, Rollerball. The movie was originally scheduled for an August 17th release, but it has been pushed back until the first quarter of 2002 to allow for more promotion of the movie.
Our latest poll asks "How do you feel about WCW matches on WWF TV?" As of now, the results are as follows:
- I love it. (559) 40%
- I hate it. (23) 2%
- I wish WCW had its own time slot. (605) 44%
- I wish the WWF never bought WCW. (194) 14%
My choice? Well, as I've said many times before, I really wish the WWF had never bought WCW. Oh well.
That just about wraps things up for today's report. Enjoy tonight's Raw is War. It should hopefully be a good one. Until next time, later.
Triple A
TripleA99@aol.com
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