______________________________________________________________________ __ __ __ __ _ ____ | | | | | \ | | | |/ _ \ | | | | | \ | | | / \ | | |/\| | | \| | | | | | | | | |\ | | | | | | /\ | | | \ | |__| |_| |__/ \__| |__| \__| [ n a i d O ' s - W r e s t l i n g - N e w s ] Edition 240 January 11, 2001 "I get the news, so you don't have to." ______________________________________________________________________ [Official newsletter & complement to:] http://www.naidOsWorld.com To subscribe: naidoswrestlingnews-subscribe@egroups.com To unsubscribe: naidoswrestlingnews-unsubscribe@egroups.com ______________________________________________________________________ [Table of contents] **Note from naidO **TOP NEWS STORY **Monday night and weekend ratings **Latest news from the WWF, WCW & ECW **[Article] WCW purchase conference call **[Column] Rounding the Squared Circle **Parting chair shot ______________________________________________________________________ [Note from naidO] Hello to those just joining. Tell your friends about the BEST up and coming newsletter around to subscribe today! **Click for the RAW results: http://www.naidosworld.com/tvraw.html **Click for the NITRO results: http://www.naidosworld.com/tvnitro.html **Click for the THUNDER results: http://www.naidosworld.com/tvthunder.html - *in song* "I once, was lost...but now I'm found. Was blind, but nowwww I seeee" I know I should have sent out a PSA about my being offline for the past little while but I didn't think a simple PC upgrade would take so damn long. Yes, that's the reason why you haven't had the nWN in your mailbox all week long. But, I'm back and have shoved what I can into today's edition. As luck would have it, I've come back on a VERY BIG news day (for WCW at least) so enjoy the read! **Until tomorrow, enjoy this latest edition of nWN! - naidO nWN Founder - http://www.geocities.com/naidosnews ______________________________________________________________________ [TOP NEWS STORY] **Fusient Media Ventures To Acquire World Championship Wrestling Classic Sports Network Founders Re-Enter Cable Ring Eric Bischoff Named President, WCW Entertainment NEW YORK - January 11, 2001 - Fusient Media Ventures, an integrated media company that invests in high-potential, branded media properties, has entered into an agreement with Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. (TBS, Inc) to acquire the business of World Championship Wrestling (WCW), an industry leader in live action-based entertainment. Following the acquisition, TBS, Inc. will retain a minority interest in the WCW business and long-term programming rights. The proposed acquisition marks the return of Classic Sports Network founders Brian Bedol and Stephen Greenberg to the cable arena and the return of former WCW president Eric Bischoff to the world of professional wrestling. Celebrated for successfully building an entrepreneurial-based cable network, which they later sold to ESPN, Bedol and Greenberg went on to found Fusient Media Ventures. Fusient will take over all day-to-day operations of WCW, with Bedol as the new CEO. Bischoff, who helped build the WCW franchise into a ratings powerhouse during the mid-90s, will assume the role of president. The partnership of Bedol, Greenberg and Bischoff brings together more than 50 years of combined experience in the entertainment, television and sports industries. "We're going to reestablish the WCW as the champion of professional wrestling entertainment," said Brian Bedol, chief executive officer of WCW Incorporated. "There is huge untapped potential for the franchise and with Eric Bischoff on board we will crank everything up to make the WCW franchise even bigger, better, stronger and more entertaining than anything wrestling fans have ever experienced before." "We are pleased to have reached an agreement with Fusient Media Ventures that truly represents a win for all parties," said Bradley J. Siegel, president of general entertainment networks, TBS, Inc. "The Fusient management team's experience in programming, production and marketing at Classic Sports Network lends itself perfectly to the WCW business. Their entrepreneurial business- building expertise, combined with the powerhouse brands and distribution that TBS Superstation and TNT provide, will be a winning combination." The broad-based WCW franchise includes WCW Monday Nitro Live (TNT), one of the most popular programs on cable television; WCW Thunder (TBS Superstation), one of the network's most watched programs; WCW Worldwide, seen in syndication in 94% of the country; and 12 monthly pay-per-view specials that consistently are among the industry's top sellers. "Wrestling fans can rest assured that we will give the WCW the adrenaline shot it needs to once again become the most exciting brand of wrestling in the world," said Eric Bischoff. Bischoff began his career with the WCW in the early 1990s as an on- air announcer and rose through the ranks to become president of the company. Under his leadership, WCW became the top-rated wrestling franchise on television, an accomplishment that lasted for 96 weeks. The complete ownership group will be announced at closing. About WCW World Championship Wrestling (WCW), a division of Turner Broadcasting System, Inc., is an industry leader in creating live action-based entertainment for millions of enthusiastic fans each week. About Fusient Media Ventures Fusient Media Ventures is focused on identifying, funding, developing and distributing next generation content and converged media brands. The company is headquartered in New York, with offices in Los Angeles ______________________________________________________________________ [Monday night and weekend ratings] For Monday 1/8 TIME NITRO RAW -------------------------- 8:00-9:00 2.5 --- 9:00-10:00 1.7 4.3 10:00-11:00 --- 5.3 -------------------------- Head to Head 1.7 4.3 -------------------------- Composite 2.1 4.8 Change --- --- QUARTERS: 800 815 830 845 900 915 930 945 1000 1015 1030 1045 1100 RAW --- --- --- --- 4.2 4.3 4.3 4.5 5.3 5.2 5.1 5.2 5.7 NITRO 2.4 2.4 2.5 2.6 1.8 1.8 1.5 1.5 --- --- --- --- --- **Livewire did a 1.2 rating with a 3.2 share **Superstars also did a 0.9 rating, with a 2.4 share **Heat was up this week, doing a 2.1 rating with a 3.1 share **Smackdown on 1/4 scored a broadcast rating of 4.4 with a 6.7 share **Thunder on 1/3 did a 1.8 rating with a 2.6 share (1wrestling.com) ______________________________________________________________________ [News from The WWF] **WWF wrestler Tazz will be on the Craig Kilborn show on 1/11, which airs at 12:35 am EST on CBS. **Here are some details on matches that we will see at the WWF Royal Rumble on 1/21. - Kurt Angle, who will have Trish Stratus in his corner, will defend the WWF Title against Triple H, who will have Stephanie in his corner. - Chris Benoit will battle Chris Jericho in a ladder match for the Intercontinental title. - Edge & Christian will defend the WWF Tag Titles against the Dudley Boyz. - Ivory will defend the WWF Women's Title against Chyna. - There is also talk of William Regal defending the WWF European Title against Test, but that has not been confirmed. **The Detroit Free Press' David Lyman has written an article on the WWF's popularity, concentrating primarily on a look at wrestling fans. To read the article, http://www.freep.com/cgi- bin/entertaintease.pl?/entertainment/tvandradio/wwf11_20010111.htm (Cred: 1wrestling) _______________ [News from WCW] **Some more notes on the sale of World Championship Wrestling to Fusient Media Ventures: - The sale was confirmed this morning in a meeting of the department heads of both WCW and Fusient Media Ventures. - The sale will be completed in the next 30-45 days. - Eric Bischoff will assume the role of President effective immediately. - Turner will retain a minority stake in WCW and their shows will continue to air on TNT and TBS. This however may change as TNT will undergo a makeover in the next year and Nitro may or may not compliment TNT's new look. - No sale price will be announced since the actual price tag is significantly lower than expected since the AOL merger pretty much forced the sale. **Here's a copy of a memo that was sent by Brad Siegal to the WCW staff. He started the memo off by announcing that WCW had signed an agreement with Fusient Media Ventures, saying that they will buy WCW and its assets. The memo stated that Turner Broadcasting would retain a "minority interest" in the business and rights to WCW programming. According to the memo, WCW will continue to air on TBS and TNT. He talked about Brian Bedol and Steve Greenberg, saying that WCW was in good hands because of the their "enthusiastic commitment" and "their entrepreneurial spirit and impressive track record in launching and building successful entertainment businesses." The memo stated that "Fusient personnel will take the next few weeks to conduct a detailed assessment of the structure of the WCW organization, which we will help facilitate." Siegal stated that Fusient will be making changes in the way the company operates, which he will detail to the current staff as he knows more. He said that in the mean time, the current staff "should all remain focused on running the business to the best of our abilities." (Cred: The Law, 1wrestling) _______________ [News from ECW] **Former ECW wrestler Rob Van Dam is expected to become a character in the "Circle of Darkness" comic book that is put out by wrestling fan James Boone's Shadow Promotions. RVD will be signing a contract with the company shortly. (Cred: The Law) __________________ [In other news...] **In what could be taken as a bad omen, a blimp advertising the XFL crashed into a lakeside resturant and some boats in Oakland, CA on 1/9. The two pilots had to abandon the ship before it crashed and one of them was sent to hospital where he is in stable condition. The other pilot was released at the scene. **1wrestling.com is reporting that Lenny Lane, Ken Patera and Jerry Lynn were all backstage at Nitro on Monday night. (Cred: The Law, 1wrestling) ______________________________________________________________________ [Article] WCW purchase conference call There was a conference call at 12 noon ET today where Brian Bedol and Eric Bischoff took questions from reporters about the sale of WCW to Fusient Media Ventures. Bedol opened the conference by saying that he was excited to be in business with Eric Bischoff and to acquire WCW. He said that he believed that in many ways it represents the perfect media business. He thinks it will be an integral part of future programming, and broadband programming. Bedol said that wrestling has grown from a niche product to a major factor in pop culture and he feels that WCW is position to regain its spot as the greatest program in wrestling. He said that two years ago, when Bischoff was running it, WCW was the top promotion. He acknowledged that the ratings have gone down recently, but he felt it would go back to its position at the top. Bischoff came on and agreed with everything that Redol had said. He said that Fusient was a great company and that they will help make WCW special again. About TV, for now it appears that Nitro and Thunder will stay on the air. That could change though. When asked about the purchase price, Bedol said he has no comment on it. The deal won't close for about 30 to 60 days. There will then be a transition during that time. We will hear about the changes when they happen through their promotion. About TV, their view is that it's a company with lots of TV and other programming that "speaks to the audience". He said that right now it's a franchise that is down, but it will be back. They are thrilled to have a long term distribution deal with Turner. Bedol said that down the road he plans to do other kinds of programming and it could end up on other stations. But Turner, through broadcasting, is an important partner in their company. I asked about Hulk Hogan's position with the company. Bischoff said that his role is not known at the moment. He said that Hogan is optimistic about the sale, but until now the deal has been very hush hush and those things are not worked out yet. Bischoff did say that internet reports of Hogan being the booker, which have run rampant on the internet, are not true. About business strategies, Bischoff said that no plans have been made for the creative staff yet. He said he would sit down with the current booking staff after the call was over and see what their ideas and vision for WCW are. He said that he will see where they are headed, and go from there. About "repeating his mistakes", Bischoff said that he had learned from everything he has done. He said that he feels it's important to make the WCW wrestlers feel like stars again, and be presented as such. He said that his focus is on creating new talent. He said that he may do so through a feeder system, and probably other ways. The days of relying on the Power Plant for their new guys are over. Bischoff said that finding new talent, from areas that haven't been done in the past as well as traditional outlets, is important for the company. When asked about whether he had time to recharge his battery while he was away, Bischoff said he had done that when he was let go the first time. He is ready to go now. When asked whether there would be one guy in charge, Bischoff said that the buck would stop with the entity. He said everyone involved will have a lot of say in the matter. He said that he and Bedol will be point men in the company. ______________________________________________________________________ [Column] Rounding The Squared Circle "RAW - IT DOESN'T GET ANY BETTER THEN THIS" OR "NITRO? WASN'T THAT A WRESTLING PROGRAM A FEW YEARS AGO?" Last night was the first live RAW of 2001. If you missed it, you missed what could well be the standard for the year. The Main Event for the WWF Championship pitting Our American Olympic Zero (C) v. Stone Cold Steve Austin (SCSA) was to put it simply, one hell of a match. SCSA showed not only is he back 100%, but he is better than ever. Between the two of them, they must have thrown 25 Suplexes of one kind or another. They fought in the ring, at ringside and in the crowd. They did a great job selling each others moves throughout the match. To say the crowd was into it is a major understatement. Our Goodwill Ambassador came down carrying the lead pipe SCSA used on his face last week (kudos to the makeup people for making his face look like it had been hit by a bulldozer) and tried to join the festivities. SCSA made him eat the pipe again. I imagine he will say he was besmirched; SCSA will say he got his a$$ whipped (face or ass; in Squire Regal's case it makes little difference). We also saw the return of the 2000 WWF Wrestler of the Year HHH. He prevented SCSA from winning the match and Title by pulling him out of the ring as he had Our Zero covered following a Stunner. Our Zero melted into the woodwork as SCSA and HHH got it one. SCSA got to taste the lead pipe several times as HHH force fed it to him, leaving him a bloody mess. If this match had happened on the street, SCSA and HHH would both have been arrested for Battery and Assault with a Deadly Weapon. HHH walked away the winner. Our Zero once again escaped with his life and Belt. There was one other thing worth noting about the match. In their zeal, our fearless announcers said SCSA and Our Zero delivered the largest variety of Suplexes this side of Beautiful Downtown Lower Dudleyville. Wrong! If only Emperor Vince would turn Tazz loose, we would get to see why he was known as The Human Suplex Machine. The show began with one of the talk-a-thons that many people on the Net b*tch and complain about. While there are some (many?) who don't like them, the crowd sure seemed to. This one featured Emperor Vince, Princess Stephanie (who I must say looked better than I can ever remember her looking), SCSA and Our Zero. It was just long enough and set the tone for the show (and that's what it should do). Love him or hate him (love him?), there is no one better than Emperor Vince at getting the fans into things. SCSA and Our Zero did their part to set their Title Match up, with Our Zero throwing raw meat to the hungry lion, by nailing SCSA with the Belt. What else of note happened? The Deano / Lita was advanced to the point that Deano dumped a ton of mustard on her after she nailed him at ringside. Oh yeah, did I forget to mention that we got a very good look at Lita showering afterwards. Deano was playing Dirty Old Man and spying on her. When she realized what was happening, she screamed and he handed her a towel, but either the timing was off, or Lita was auditioning for Playboy. I suspect that those who taped RAW will keep it. She has come a long way from her ECW days as Miss Congeniality, although she was quite congenial last night. Our neighborhood awesomeness guys, Christian and Edge, spared no expense as they visited Beautiful Downtown Lower Dudleyville and brought Bubba Ray and DeVon's parents back with them. What a wonderful gesture. We met Mother Fay and Father LeVon. Bubba Ray and DeVon were so excited to see mommy and daddy, that they 3-D'd LeVon and after beating up Fay, put her thru a table. It was fantastimatic. Too bad Bubba Ray and DeVon didn't appreciate the visit, after all, mommy and daddy don't get to travel very often. After delivering one of his standard promos (another thing some people seem to be tired of, but the fans loved), The Rock got to face Kane and Rikishi in a Handicap Match, only this time it was 3- On-2 in his favor. There was one problem though; Daddy's Little Girl rewarded The Rock for beating up two referees last week on SmackDown with a pair of referees as his partners. To the surprise of no one (except maybe Kevin Kelley), The Rock's team won. Speaking of poor Kevin, how does The Rock knows he's a hermaphrodite? For those who don't know what a hermaphrodite is, don't bother going to your Funk and Wagnall; a hermaphrodite is someone who has both male and female reproductive organs. In a rare production screw up, during The Rock's promo a man who knows a lot about the reproductive organs of both men and women, Stooge Pat Patterson (at least it looked like him), opened the door behind The Rock. Realizing his booboo, he quickly closed it. If he's lucky, The Rock wont shine him up real good, turn him sideways and shove him up fellow Stooge Gerry Brisco's candy a$$. The Emperor Vince / Trish angle is moving along, with Daddy's Little Girl getting more and more pissed at the thought of Daddy and Trish getting up close and personal with each other. Hell, he's doing what just about every male alive wishes they were. Speaking of Sweet Stephanie, did I happen to mention that she was looking awful good last night? When she keeps her tummy covered, she looks just fine. No Trish, but certainly beats Ivory. One thing the WWF needs to stop real soon are the Chyna injury update promos. She is selling them about as good as an Eskimo selling ice during a blizzard. Meanwhile, over at WCW ... word is that the mega-suits at Time Warner have ordered that WCW be sold, and sold fast. If a buyer isn't found, they want the asking price lowered. It is also rumored that Good Old Eric (GOE) is having a problem lining up financing to buy WCW. If he holds out, he may be able to get it in exchange for his autographed copy of Dirtbag's book. Anyone out there who ever wanted to own their own wrestling Federation (OK, so it's WCW, not a real one), may be able to if they have enough nickels and dimes in their piggy bank. Buying it is one thing, running it and making a profit is quite another. Last night NITRO was once again held in front of a standing room only crowd. Problem is it was held in a darkened telephone booth. Consider the Main Event on NITRO: The man who made anabolic a household word, Poppa Pump, faced the man who made paper mache guitars famous, Jeff Jarrett, with outside interference by the best softball player in wrestling today. If only Lisa Fernandez wrestled. JJ is a good wrestler, but will never be more than a mid-carder. Poppa has the potential to be a star, however, it's not happening in the current environment. The only noise in the arena was the noise that carried from RAW. Alas poor WCW, I knew it well. Visit My Home Page At: http://members.aol.com/samjerry ______________________________________________________________________ [Parting Chair Shot] Remember, tell your friends about nWN - naidO's Wrestling News today! **Missed any TV Shows? Go to the following link to read the results: http://www.naidosworld.com/tvshows.html Also, be sure to check out the NEW internet home of nWN, http://www.geocities.com/naidosnews for all your archived stats, tv shows, wrestling links, terms and PPV's, and most of all PICTURES! - naidO nWN Founder ______________________________________________________________________ [Affiliates] **http://www.paywindah.com **http://green_mist.homestead.com **BECOME AN AFFILIATE OF nWN and make it your official newsletter!! 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The ESW: Extremely Suicidal Wrestling! http://www.geeksoft.net/gin/gfed2/gfed.cgi?lid=1204 ______________________________________________________________________ [nWN Staff] Founder & Editor: naidO - naido@hotmail.com Columnist: Sam Jerry - SAMJERRY@aol.com Columnist: The Vile - stoncold@bignet.net Columnist: Ted Cabata - tcabata@roanoke.edu ______________________________________________________________________ [Disclaimer] naidO's Wrestling News was founded on April 30, 2000 and is owned and operated by naidO. He, nor this newsletter is in no way, shape, or form affiliated with World Wrestling Federation Entertainment, Turner Broadcasting's World Championship Wrestling, Extreme Championship Wrestling, or any other wrestling organization. Nor the people (staff members), wrestlers, or any other talent in the wrestling. News is gathered from various sources around the net, including newsgroups and are believed to be of public domain and truthful (uh huh). As long as proper credit is given it exempts nWN and it's staff. I (naidO) am just promoting their organization/website. nWN is not responsible for content on affiliate websites or where they may link to including mp3's, warez, kiddie porn and/or other unlawful content. This exempts myself & this newsletter (nWN) from all legal disputes. Anything taken from this newsletter requires written consent from naidO Copyright © 2000 naidO. All Rights Reserved To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: naidoswrestlingnews-unsubscribe@egroups.com Sorry to see you go if you do =(