______________________________________________________________________ __ __ __ __ _ ____ | | | | | \ | | | |/ _ \ | | | | | \ | | | / \ | | |/\| | | \| | | | | | | | | |\ | | | | | | /\ | | | \ | |__| |_| |__/ \__| |__| \__| [ n a i d O ' s - W r e s t l i n g - N e w s ] Edition 259 January 30, 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 **Latest news from the WWF, WCW & ECW **[Column] Rounding the Squared Circle **Parting chair shot ______________________________________________________________________ [Note from naidO] Hello to those just joining. Tell your friends about the BEST 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 - RAW was decent and I've heard that Nitro was a decent show as well. I feel, however, that Smackdown is and always has been teh #1 show from the WWF simply because it's on Broadcast TV and not cable TV. Hense, more viewers in more homes. This Thursday's Smackdown is so packed that the WWF wants to at least dent Survivor's first regular timeslot show. Judging by the 26.5 it got LATE Sunday night, they've got a run for thier money. **Until tomorrow, enjoy this latest edition of nWN! - naidO nWN Founder - http://www.geocities.com/naidosnews ______________________________________________________________________ [TOP NEWS STORY] "Smackdown Extreme", which will air this Thursday, has nothing to do with ECW. It was put together mostly as a way to build up the buzz for the show since it airs on the first day of the February sweeps month for TV ratings. I don't know this, but it would not shock me to see some kind of XFL tie-in, since they will open the season next weekend and will air on UPN. In addition to Friends, Smackdown now will go against ratings juggernaut Survivor, which scored a 26.7 overnight broadcast rating last night and did the best rating for the post Super Bowl show since 1985, so they have some stiff competition. (Dave Scherer) ______________________________________________________________________ [News from The WWF] **Despite reports to the contrary on the internet, the person who played Triple H's lawyer on Raw last night was NOT top WWF writer Brian Gewirtz. From what I have heard, it may have been that Triple H named the guy who played the role "Brian" as a rib to Gerwitz, but the guy on TV last night was not actually Gerwitz. **A couple things worth noting from RAW: - K Kwik has a new entrance song, he still raps but it's very slow and very gangsta style rap. He wrestles a jakked match and took a ton of heat from the crowd. - On the contrary, Albert looked like a complete face in his match. - After RAW went off the air, Rock called Kurt Angle back to the ring, Angle took off his medals, shirt, etc and hit the ring, Rock gave him the People's Elbow and everyone left. **To read a book review of Chyna's book from a wretling perspective, click http://www.canoe.ca/SlamWrestlingReviews/jan30_chyna-can.html (Cred: 1wrestling, SLAM!) _______________ [News from WCW] **There is serious interest by WCW in Brian James, aka The Road Dogg. Not only do several WCW employees believe that he is a great talent, but some in WCW believe that it would be a good way to 'play tit for tat with the WWF' and use someone who they just released. However, WCW officials have stated that they do not know the current condition of James and his rumored problems with drugs, and won't sign him until they are aware of the full situation. **Elix Skipper replaced Evan Karagias in the 4-corners Cruiserweight match last night on Nitro. The main reason is because WCW was very impressed with his involvement in the Cruiserweight Gauntlet match on Thunder, and he should be used more frequently from now on. **WCW SuperBrawl Revenge Card - February 18, 2001 Live from Nashville, Tennessee - WCW Heavyweight Title Match Scott Steiner (c) vs. Kevin Nash - Diamond Dallas Page vs. Jeff Jarrett - WCW United States Title Match The Franchise (c) vs. Rick Steiner - WCW Commissioner Match The Cat (c) vs. Lance Storm - WCW Cruiserweight Title Match Chavo Guerrero Jr (c) vs. Rey Mysterio Jr - Hugh Morrus vs. The Wall **Crowbar hurt his shoulder on Nitro while performing a hurricanrana on Lance Storm. However it isn't too serious and shouldn't miss much time, if any at all. **AJ Styles and Air Paris did wrestle a dark match on Nitro and the match was said to be very good and it did impress many WCW officials. **It looks like Dusty Rhodes' appearance will only be for a short time, as the main reason Dusty returned was to elevate Dustin as a major wrestler. **During his match on the Thunder taping, Bryan Adams took a chairshot to the head and suffered a nasty cut on the back of his head. It took six stitches to close the cut. WCW officials were also concerned that he suffered a concussion as well. **Shane Douglas landed badly on his wrist taking a suplex by Rick Steiner last night. His wrist was swollen as was one of his fingers. It was feared it might be broken, but Douglas simply intends to work through the injury. (Cred: LWN, The Law, UltimoWrestling, 1wrestling) _______________ [News from ECW] **While there has been something of a verbal commitment and certainly there is a leaning for Yoshihiro Tajiri toward WWF, he has not, as of this morning, made a 100% commitment. **Former ECW World Heavyweight Champion Steve Corino was backstage at Nitro last night in Baltimore, MA. It is not known if he was just visiting friends or if he was there on business. (Cred: The LAW, 1Wrestling) __________________ [In other news...] **CBS executives are reportedly disappointed at ratings for last night's Survivor 2 premiere. The show started off with a 28.1 rating and ended with a 25.3. Overall the show got 26.5. Of course, Survivor will air on Thursday, opposite Smackdown. Smackdown is not expected to lose ratings since the WWF has a core audience that always tunes into it's programming. However, they realize the extreme popularity of reality shows and stepped up by marketing this week's Smackdown as "Xtreme Smackdown." **According to a press release from the World Wrestling Alliance in New England, Ken Shamrock will be returning to wrestling here in North America at an upcoming WWA show. The WWA's "Winter Warfare Tour" will feature Shamrock along with his storyline sister Ryan Shamrock. Who Shamrock will be facing at these shows is unknown. Former Boston Bruin and current radio host on WAAF, Lyndon Byers will be on the tour as well along with former ECW wrestler Big Dick Dudley (who is the WWA Heavyweight Champion), ECW manager of champions Bill Alfonso and one half of ECW tag team Da Baldies, Tony Devito The shows will take place in Leominster, MA, on 2/24, Malden on 2/24, Quincy on 3/2 and Rockland on 3/3. (Cred: Lwn, Ultimo) ______________________________________________________________________ [Column] Rounding the Squared Circle "THE MORE THINGS CHANGE, THE MORE THINGS REMAIN ERIC" OR "SAY IT AIN'T SO, PAUL" Lots of things have been going on the past few days. Some of them will have a major impact on the wrestling landscape. Taking a look at the biggies: Item - ECW in deep do-do financially: What else is new? ECW has been struggling for quite some time. Owner Paul Heyman is several weeks behind on the payroll; There doesn't appear to be a TV deal on the horizon to get ECW back on; They have canceled House Shows; They are not taping any new shows for their syndicated program 'ECW Hardcore TV'; Rumors are rampant that ECW is about to fold. Several of their biggest names are looking for a soft spot to land; There is even a rumor that Heyman may end up in The WWF as a Booker. Like I said above, "What else is new?" There are campaigns going on asking fans to E-mail various TV Networks asking them to pick ECW up. Heyman still plans on holding the March PPV. If you really want to help ECW, order that PPV. ECW needs money. This will get some into their hands. The E-mail campaigns are fine and I fully support them, but ECW needs money, and needs it fast. I have seen many ECW PPV. I can't recall any being a "bad" one. No matter who they have on their shows, they always put out 100%. I don't think you will be disappointed and it will go a long way towards helping ECW survive. Item - Good Old Eric (GOE) pisses off another wrestler: What's new? With ECW up against it, Heyman has given his people permission to review all their options. WCW is interested in Tajiri, as is the WWF. Tajiri has been held Titles in ECW and is well respected in Japan. He has wrestled the top men in ECW, including some who have moved on to EWCW (Eric WCW). What does GOE do? He tells Tajiri he is interested, but wants to see him in a try out match. What does Tajiri do? Bows respectfully and then tells GOE to take The Rising Sun, shine it up real good, turn it sideways and shove it up his Candy A*s. Tajiri will not be going to EWCW. Item - Tajiri close to signing with The WWF: As I mentioned above, The WWF is also interested in Tajiri. He has bowed respectfully and shook hands on a deal. Everything is in place and all that is left is the formal signing of a contract. We can expect to see Tajiri very shortly, possibly even by the time you read this. He may align himself with Taka Michinoku and Mr. Indeed. With Tajiri and others joining The WWF (there are also reports that Super Crazy would like to go the The WWF), the time is ripe for a Light Heavyweight Division. With people like Tajiri, Taka, Mr. Indeed, Essa Rios, The Hardy Boyz, Deeno Macheeno, etc., we could expect some great action. Note to Emperor McMahon: How about it. Item - Justin Credible signs with The WWF: Another top name from ECW is now part of The WWF. Proving that the right gimmick and the right environment makes all the difference in the world, Aldo Montoya morphs into Justin Credible, going from a "Who gives a rats a*s" jobber to a World Champion. He is expected to retain the Justin Credible gimmick, and possibly align himself with old friend X-Pac. He is also close to HHH. You could very well see him before your read this Article. Item - Good bye Meng, Hello Haku: Even though he was reining WCW Hardcore Champion, Meng was reported to be working on a "Per Appearance" basis, not exactly the thing that would make Mrs. Meng happy. He shined up the Hardcore Belt real nice, .... At this rate, GOE is going to have little room left in his nether region. Haku made his debut at The Royal Rumble and immediately aligned himself with The Ass With Legs. This put him into a high profile angle feuding with The Dead Man and Kane. Not hard to take. Item - The WWF may be starting a zoo: ECW's nastiest individual, Rhino, may be close to signing with The WWF. He is understandingly reluctant to leave ECW, having gotten his big break there. Heyman has given his blessing, so The WWF may soon have one nasty SOB, if they don't screw things up. Rhino is young, big, nasty and looks like he would just as soon kick your teeth in as say hello. If only Emperor McMahon signs him and leaves him as he is, and turns The Dudley Boyz and Tazz loose. One can but dream. Something worth noting: The WWF has allowed the ECW talent they signed to return and work ECW matches to help out Heyman. Item: EWCW is interested in several people from ECW: Along with Tajiri and Rhino, GOE is interested in Announcer Joey Styles and a few others. I wonder if he will have Joey Baby audition and the wrestlers he wants tryout? Note to Fat Tony: You can pack your bags if Joey Baby signs with EWCW. Note to Emperor McMahon: Joey is the heir apparent to Good Old JR as wrestling's top announcer. Do you really want to lose him to GOE? Item: Women Of Wrestling (WOW) to hold its first PPV: Years ago there was a promotion known as Gorgeous Ladies Of Wrestling (GLOW). The WWF's Ivory performed in GLOW, as Tia Ferrari. The promoter who owned GLOW, owns WOW. They have a weekly syndicated TV program, with Useless-Lee Marshall, formerly of WCW, calling the action. They have hired Bobby The Brain for the PPV, which includes a Swimsuit Competition in addition to the matches. You can see wrestlers like Sunny and Sandy, a tag team known as The Beach Patrol (does Baywatch ring a bell?), Terri Gold, former Champion trying to regain the Title, Becky, The Farmer's Daughter, Jane Blonde, Poison, Thug, Leader of Harley's Angels, (I guarantee you that she wont win the Swimsuit Competition), Lana Star (she might win), Jungle Grrrl, etc. I think you get the picture. None of them would beat Chyna or Lita, but they are decent athletes. One last thing: Hugh Heffner get it together! There are a lot of men looking forward to seeing Trish in Playboy, with the operative word being "seeing." 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 **http://www.geocities.com/dsherelo/ - BECOME AN AFFILIATE OF nWN and make it your official newsletter!! Email naido@hotmail.com with your website's address for consideration. ______________________________________________________________________ [News gathering links] **Dave Scherer, Buck Woodward, Bob Ryder @ http://www.1wrestling.com **Dave Meltzer, Zach Arnold @ http://www.wrestlingobserver.com **Chris Clarke, Jeff Pollock @ http://www.liveaudiowrestling.com **Blake Wolfson @ http://www.ultimowrestling.com ______________________________________________________________________ [Ads] ESW - The number one E-Fed on the face of the Earth! 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, 2001 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 =(