====================================================================== ====================================================================== ____ ___ ____ ___ ____ / /\/ /\/ /\ / \ / /\ __ ___ / / / / / / / / \ / / / / \/ \ / / / / / / / / \/ / / / \ / \/ / / / / / / / / /\ /\ / / / / / / /\ / / / / / / / / /\ \/ / / / / /\ / / / / / / / / / /\ / / / / / \ / / /____/ /___/ / /___/ / \_____/ / /___/ / /__/ / \____\/\___\/ \___\/ \____\/ \___\/ \__\/ n a i d O ' s W r e s t l i n g N e w s Edition// 354 Date// May 8, 2001 Motto// "Continuing to get the news so you don't have to." Website// http://www.geocities.com/naidosnews Subscribe// naidoswrestlingnews-subscribe@yahoogroups.com Unsubscribe// naidoswrestlingnews-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com ====================================================================== Table of Contents//=================================================== naidO's daily note TOP HEADLINE Latest news & notes from the WWF, WCW & the rest of pro-wrestling Article// Big Show humbled but still nasty Comment// Rounding The Squared Circle Remember... Affiliates ====================================================================== naidO's daily note//================================================== Hello to you and to those just joining. Tell your friends about the BEST newsletter around to subscribe today. Enjoy this latest edition of nWN! -Click for the RAW IS WAR results: http://www.naidosworld.com/tvraw.html -Not much to say today people, enjoy this latest edition. Thanks for reading. naidO// ====================================================================== TOP HEADLINE//======================================================== Hogan and new promotion looking to get on USA Network Terry Gene Bollea (HULK HOGAN) has not been able to finalize the deal yet with USA Network and their programming. Everyone connected with the deal feel confident that it should be finalized within the next month or two. It also looks like Kevin Sullivan and Mike Graham will be part of the booking committee. I have known for a while that Jimmy Hart will be a major part of this team, as he is Hulk's right hand man. And I know he has spoken to a few ex-WCW workers, he would like to bring aboard. I also believe that they will be hiring some of the guys that won't be welcomed by the WWF in the new WCW. Source// Georgiann Makropoulos ====================================================================== News from the WWF//=================================================== -Weekend ratings for the WWF: *WWF Livewire did a 1.1 cable rating with a 3.7 share. *WWF Superstars did a 1.0 cable rating with a 3.0 share. *WWF Sunday Night Heat scored a 1.7 cable rating with a 3.1 share, with the replay doing a 0.8 cable rating with a 1.7 share. -'Foley Is Good' hits bookstores today! Three-time Federation Champion Mick Foley's newest book -- "Foley Is Good: And The Real World Is Faker Than Wrestling" -- hits bookstores today! Be one of the first to get the book autographed when the Hardcore Legend takes part in a book signing Thursday night at WWF New York! To purchase the book, go to http://www.wwfshopzone.com/product.asp? from=F&pf_id=12004&dept_id=11 -Exclusive videos of Insurrextion available now Undertaker put on an unforgettable performance at Insurrextion -- a Pay-Per-View seen live across the United Kingdom and Australia, as well as at WWF New York -- defeating Triple H and Stone Cold Steve Austin in a Handicap Match. However, since Taker pinned Triple H, Austin retains the Federation Championship. Check out exclusive videos of the event! http://www.wwf.com/news/headlines/1046039 -Off camera Raw happenings: *Dark matches from Nassau last night: Haas Brothers b Steve Bradley & Devon Storm, David Taylor b Scott Vick and Funaki b Yoshihiro Tajiri. *Jakked matches: Billy Gunn b Inferno Kid, Steve Blackman b Prince Nana, Essa Rios b Lo Ki, Perry Saturn b Mike Bell *When RAW went off the air and Rikishi did the Stinkface on Stephanie (which she sold very well), Vince tried to get revenge but Rikishi kicked him in the face and then Foley gave him the Mandible Claw with Mr. Socko. After that he plugged that he will be at Boarders Books at Stonybrook on Friday from 7 to 9 p.m. He said this about 100 times and I'm not joking. *All in all the show really sucked. There was no Taker or Kane or HHH and all the matches looked really bad. The cage match was bad until the end when Jericho hit Regal with the door but the rest of the match sucked. The only good thing that happened was probably the fact that Rikishi turned back to a face. -If you didn't notice, Yoshihiro Tajiri worked a dark match before RAW against Funaki of Kaientai. Tajiri went down in defeat after a DDT by Funaki. According to the Torch, backstage observers were "unimpressed" with the match. -Despite the announcers claiming otherwise last night, Triple H was at RAW, but just did not appear on camera. No reason why he wasn't used on the show has been given. -Former ECW wrestler, Tony DeVito, was backstage at RAW hanging out with former ECW wrestler, Justin Credible. Source// WWF.com, UltimoWrestling & Dracula513 ====================================================================== News from WCW//======================================================= -Kronik (Bryan Clark and Brian Adams) are the latest former WCW wrestlers to get notified of the window clause in their former contracts. Generally that means that the contract will expire in 30 days. Source// WrestlingObserver ====================================================================== News from the rest of pro-wrestling//================================= -Vampiro and the Insane Clown Posse will be appearing at the May 26th "XPW Redemption" show, which takes place from the Grand Olympic Auditorium in Los Angeles, CA. -Former ECW World Tag Team champions Little Guido and Tony Mamaluke reunited for the first time since Extreme Championship Wrestling ceased operations this past January on Sunday 5/6. The reunited Full Blooded Italians worked a street fair event in Brooklyn, New York, taking on Lord Zieg and an opponent who was not announced on Sunday 5/6, with the FBI going over. Guido and Mamaluke will be working a series of dates together in the upcoming weeks, including some possible International shows. -The Sandman has an auction online at Ebay. He is offering fans the opportunity to spend time with him at his bar and wrestling school. To get more information on the auction, click http://cgi.ebay.com/aw- cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=1141347686 -Syndicated wrestling columnist Ric Russo passed along word that the Armstrong family's inaugural show under the Southeastern Pro Wrestling banner at the Avalon Sports Center in Milton, FL, drew a sellout crowd of 250. There are hopes of running more shows in Alabama and Florida in the future. The promotion has a website at http://www.southeasternprowrestling.com Source// The law, 1Wrestling, SLAM! ====================================================================== Article//============================================================= Big Show humbled but still nasty Describing the last year for Paul Wight, it would be safe to say that there have been plenty of downs, but not many ups -- heck, you can't even say that it's been a roller coaster ride for him, because there's been no hill to climb for eventual descent. About a year ago, Wight, AKA the Big Show, was sent down to Louisville, Kentucky, to the World Wrestling Federation's feeder system to work some kinks out. To continue this great article on Paul Wight (The Big Show) click: http://www.canoe.ca/SlamWrestlingBiosW/wight_08may01-can.html ====================================================================== Comment//============================================================= ROUNDING THE SQUARED CIRCLE "THE SKY IS FALLING, THE SKY IS FALLING" OR "EVERYONE WANTS TO GET INTO THE ACT" BY SAMJERRY@AOL.COM Visit My Home Page At: http://members.aol.com/samjerry Have you noticed the number of columns recently dealing with the decline in The WWF's TV ratings? It seems that just about every other one I read points this out, knows the reason(s) and how to fix the problem. I just read one that discussed the reported time frame that The New WCW will air on TNN and how bad it is. It questioned airing WCW 11:30 PM on Saturday night, wondering who made the decision, how bad it was, and adding that PPV's are never aired on Saturday's. What the author did not say, and may not have known is that airing wrestling late on Saturday nights is nothing new. In fact, prior to going national on USA, The WWF aired its weekly syndicated show in the New York City (and I suspect in other locales as well) area at that time. Many long time ECW fans will recall that the ECW syndicated show aired late Saturday night in many venues. While certainly not the most desirable time, it is nothing new to wrestling programs. Another thing that the writer failed to consider is that TNN will be picking up the WCW program in midseason. TV lineups and program sponsors are set long in advance and clearing TV time is easier said than done. TNN may just be playing it safe; wanting to see if The Emperor and Prince can remake WCW into a successful enterprise. I suspect if WCW is successful, we will see it moved to a prime time spot next season. The drop in the ratings for the WWF's shows is being heavily discussed. While this is true, TV ratings in general have been down, not just wrestling. When considering SmackDown, one has to look at it's opposition on Thursday. Thursday used to be owned by NBC and its "Must See TV" lineup. Then Survivor came along and bit deeply into NBC's ratings; it has also bitten into SmackDown's Candy Ass. I regularly see articles and Editor pieces saying they watch Survivor and tape SmackDown. If die hard wrestling fans (those involved in the Internet scene) are watching Survivor and taping SmackDown, it is logical to deduce that others are too. If the "others" doing that are in the universe being measured to develop ratings, they are being counted as watching Survivor. Turning to Monday, RAW's ratings for Monday night are still being impacted by its switch from the USA Network to The Nashville (oops, I mean National) Network. The latest count of homes available to USA and TNN still shows TNN on the short end of Punji Stick. What is of concern is that RAW's ratings do not reflect an increase since the demise of NITRO. That would seem to indicate that WCW fans have not made the switch. I find that somewhat puzzling. One would think that a lot of them would have switched to RAW. Other writers point to a drop in the quality of WWF shows since NITRO went to the big ring in the sky, and Emperor McMahon not having any competition. I have looked and tried to see a difference and honestly can't see it. They still have the same wrestlers that were there before, plus some from ECW; they still have the McMahon-A- Thons (that some love and others revile); and they still sell out virtually every show. What has changed is Jerry "The King" Lawler is gone, and The Rock is off making new friends is LaLa Land, but I don't think they are the reason. Yet another thing I see mentioned is that the production quality of The WWF's shows has gone downhill, equating it to what we were getting from WCW. Even if this is true, I can't see it as a reason the for drop in ratings. I can't see many fans giving up on wrestling just because a cue was missed, a camera man blew a shot, or the sound quality was off. What I have noticed is many long time Web Sites and Newsletters have shut down, with their owners telling me they have lost interest in wrestling and are moving on to other things. While Sites and Newsletters coming and going is nothing new, the number shutting down for the reason I just cited is a cause for alarm. I have always said wrestling is like most things, that it is cylindrical. It has its ups and its downs. It was big in the late '80's and early 90's, then cooled down. It came roaring back with the introduction of the NWO and the WWF's "Attitude." It could be entering another down period. If this is the case, I think it will be short lived. There are more characters today (The Rock, Stone Cold Steve Austin, etc.) that people relate to. Wrestling is more main steam then it was ten years ago, with many wrestlers crossing over into TV, movies, writing books, centerfolds, etc. Ten years ago people mainly identified with one or two wrestlers. Finally there is the competition question. It is popular to say that without WCW to compete against, the WWF will not give us the type shows we are used to seeing. I disagree with that line of thinking. Emperor McMahon is a little too smart to fall into that trap. The WWF is now a public corporation and has shareholders to answer to. While he doesn't have WCW, he has many other forms of entertainment competing against him for our entertainment dollars. He has to give us what we want in order to get us into the arena, and to buy his PPV's and merchandise. If the product slips, so will the attendance, buy rates and product sales. He didn't become a billionaire by being stupid. Princess Stephanie is not about to let her inheritance go down the drain. If changes are needed, I have little doubt we will see them. One other word about competition: Not everyone is as aware of the goings on in wrestling as the Internet fans. I still get questions asking whether NWO still exists, even though WCW doesn't. There are many fans who still don't understand that the NWO was an angle in WCW, believing it really was "an invasion" by an outside group. This tells me that when The New WCW launches, many fans will think it is a separate organization. We can expect to see the old argument about which is better, WCW or The WWF. I'm not too worried about the quality falling off. I look forward to the launch of The New WCW and all the possibilities it will bring. Contrary to those who think wrestling is dying, I think the best is yet to come. ====================================================================== Remember...=========================================================== -Remember that if you've missed any TV Shows, PPV's or more? Go to the following links to read the results. 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Email naido@hotmail.com with your website's address for consideration ====================================================================== News gathering links//================================================ -1Wrestling/Dave Scherer @ http://www.1wrestling.com -Wrestling Observer/Dave Meltzer @ http://www.wrestlingobserver.com -The Law @ http://www.liveaudiowrestling.com -UltimoWrestling/Mr. Wolfson etc. @ http://www.ultimowrestling.com -SLAM! Wrestling @ http://www.canoe.ca/SlamWrestling ====================================================================== Ads//================================================================= -ESW * The number one E-Fed on the face of the Earth! The ESW: Extremely Suicidal Wrestling! http://www.geocities.com/the_esw -Call The KLiQ Hotline For Daily Pro Wrestling News & Rumors. This call give you the most updated Pro Wrestling News that matters. This call is FREE and allways will be you can call from the US and Canada the # 1-888-561-4391 ! Give it a call. REMEBER it's 100% FREE YOU WILL NEVER BE CHARGED ====================================================================== nWN Staff//=========================================================== Founder & Editor: naidO - naido@hotmail.com Columnist: Sam Jerry - SAMJERRY@aol.com Columnist: The Vile - vile316@yahoo.com Columnist: Ted Cabata - tcabata@roanoke.edu Columnist: ~*Laine*~ - LoveRock333@webtv.net ====================================================================== 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. Copyright © 2000, 2001 - naidO - All Rights Reserved ====================================================================== ======================================================================