====================================================================== ====================================================================== ____ ___ ____ ___ ____ / /\/ /\/ /\ / \ / /\ __ ___ / / / / / / / / \ / / / / \/ \ / / / / / / / / \/ / / / \ / \/ / / / / / / / / /\ /\ / / / / / / /\ / / / / / / / / /\ \/ / / / / /\ / / / / / / / / / /\ / / / / / \ / / /____/ /___/ / /___/ / \_____/ / /___/ / /__/ / \____\/\___\/ \___\/ \____\/ \___\/ \__\/ n a i d O ' s W r e s t l i n g N e w s Edition// 393 Date// June 16, 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// JR on Byte This! 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 SMACKDOWN results: http://www.naidosworld.com/tvsmackdown.html -I'm having that JR kinda feeling today folks. Today's edition is dedicated to the one and only Jim Ross with a reca of his Ross Report and his apearence on Byte This! I'm in your mailbox early today because well, we'll see because I ain't gonna say shit and jinx myself. Stay tuned! LOVE THE NEWSLETTER? PLEASE TELL A FRIEND TO JOIN! Thanks for reading. naidO// ====================================================================== TOP HEADLINE//======================================================== -Jason Powell reports that "a strong source" says that the WWF has chosen the person who will eventually be revealed as the stalker (of Undertaker's wife Sara). "It will not be a letdown," the source insisted. The source would not say when the WWF plans to unveil the stalker, but last night's Smackdown footage seemed to indicate that it will be soon. Since Undertaker does not have a match scheduled for King of the Ring, it seems likely that the stalker will be revealed either before or at the pay-per-view. Source// PWTorch.com ====================================================================== News from the WWF//=================================================== -Smackdown's final rating came in as the lowest ever. The show had a 3.2 composite and a 6 share. Smackdown had no major competition from other networks. Traditionally, summer television viewership falls considerably. -News and notes from good ole JR! *Triple H continues to rehab like a crazy man in Birmingham, Ala., as his torn quadriceps is healing very well. This is a painfully slow process, but I assure you no one will work any harder to successfully return to action than The Game. When he returns in October or November, Triple H most probably will be a huge fan favorite. *Rikishi's surgically repaired shoulder is also healing well, but this, too, is a slow process. Rikishi has been in the Memphis area this week making appearances at Memphis Championship Wrestling (MCW) events. *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. *Tickets for Monday's RAW IS WAR in Tampa and Tuesday's SmackDown! in Orlando are still available, although both events will be close to capacity by show time. Baltimore's SmackDown! was not sold out this week, even though the building marquis indicated as such and we aired it! Not good. *Our condolences to Billy Gunn for the loss of his father this week. That's why Billy was not at TV. *Stacey Keibler's debut in her hometown of Baltimore was outstanding. Our fans seemed to certainly know who she was. Her recent photo shoot was reported to be excellent, as well. *The King of the Ring Tournament elite eight will be narrowed down to the final four for the June 24 Pay-Per-View. Two semifinal bouts and the finals will take place in the Continental Airlines Arena. The four quarterfinal bouts will be held on RAW and SmackDown! this week. *The Hardy Boyz and Lita are working overtime with the Federation publications department on a special-edition magazine due out later this year. Should have some great stories and photos, including some of Jeff's volcano, nestled in his front yard. *Albert seems to be showing definite improvement and his SmackDown! bout with Kane was another positive step. The University of Pittsburgh graduate has a great attitude. He could stand to drop a few more pounds to get to the next level. *Raven will throw out the first pitch at a Seattle Mariners game Friday, June 22. Kurt Angle will do the same before a Pittsburgh Pirates game this Thursday. On Wednesday, Kurt will be a guest on NBC's "Late Night with Conan O'Brien." *The Haas Brothers had three solid days with the Federation last week. We have high hopes for this duo. *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. *I'm happy to hear Dusty Rhodes' promotion is doing well down south. *Hope Val Venis gets the opportunity to be repackaged when he returns from surgery that removed some calcium deposits on his hip. At 235 to 240 pounds, this guy can be special. *We seem to be seeing a trend where wrestlers are slamming one another on the Internet. The only thing new about this is the advent of the 'net itself. Every other aspect of this is old news. *Paul Heyman's broadcast work on RAW just keeps getting better. Paul's skills are unique and more often than not very entertaining. This is all intended to be positive, so no negative e-mails, please. -Ratings analysis by SLAM! Wrestling: After a week of improvement, the Raw Is War ratings slump begins anew. In the Nielsen Media Research rankings for the week of June 4th to 10th, War Zone (the second hour of Raw Is War) scored a 3.6 while the first hour brought in an atrocious 3.1 rating. The WWF's first hour woes clearly remain with a portion of their viewership shunning Raw until the second hour rolls around at 10:00 p.m. Another point of interest is that Raw Is War as a whole was beaten by the MTV Movie Awards on the chart. The awards show took the Number One slot while War Zone and Raw took the second and third positions. Of course the owner of MTV is Viacom, the same company which owns TNN. MTV airs the WWF's Sunday Night Heat show while TNN is the home of Raw Is War. If the first hour of Raw slides below a 3.0 rating you can expect serious pressure to be applied to the WWF by concerned advertisers and the TNN network to reverse the cycle. -Mick Foley taped an episode of TSN's "Off the Record" today which was said to be one of the best episodes of the show ever done with a pro wrestler. The air date at this point is scheduled for 7/5. -The Torch reports that in most circles of the WWF locker room, Kurt Angle will be "heavily featured" in the new WCW after its relaunch. they also report that Triple H was considering the jump but that all changes when he got injured. Also, the Torch says the latest plan has Austin and Triple H headlining Mania 18 with Triple H the babyface. Anything can happen between then and now of course. Source// WWF.com, SLAM!, PWTorch.com ====================================================================== News from WCW//======================================================= -Booker T v. Chris Kanyon has been added to eht Brian Pillman memorial show. Here's the current card: *MAIN EVENT - Chris Benoit vs. William Regal -Special Guest Referee: Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat *LADIES MATCH - Missy Hyatt vs. Elektra *LEGENDS MATCH - Terry Taylor vs. Bobby Eaton w/ Jim Cornette *Booker T vs. Chris Kanyon *Justin Credible & X-Pac vs. The Hardy Boyz w/ Lita Also scheduled to appear are the World Wrestling Federation's Raven and Jerry Lynn, National Wrestling Alliance Heavyweight Champion Steve Corino and many more. Good seats are still available for the 2001 Brian Pillman Memorial Show, which is being held August 9 at Oak Hills High School in Cincinnati, Ohio. Ticket prices are $30 for reserved, $20 for general admission and can be purchased at all Ticketmaster locations and on the web at www.ticketmaster.com. Source// 1wrestling ====================================================================== News from the rest of pro-wrestling//================================= -More on Jake Roberts Arrest. Jake Roberts, who was arrested yesterday in Niles, OH on three charges including a DUI and leaving the scene of the accident, pled not guilty today. Roberts is scheduled to appear in trial, however, no date has been announced as of yet. -Reuters had a report Thursday that the Peninsular Malay Students Federation was trying to have pro wrestling banned from the airwaves in Malaysia. A spokesman for the group was quoted as saying, "Like Hindi films, wrestling with its accompanying violence can influence our people's culture." Source// The Law, 1Wrestling, AP ====================================================================== Article//============================================================= JR on Byte This! Question: Stacy Kiebler The girls back in Oklahoma don't have legs that long. Question: Steve Austin Steve had a challenging situation after WrestleMania. He had to align himself with Vince McMahon in Texas. JR feels that Steve has done a hell of a job. It has not been easy at all. He feels that this new persona is starting to catch on and Steve seems to be happy with it. Steve has been on top of his game over the last few weeks. Question: Triple H The injury to Triple H hurt the WWF. In a 24 hour period, the WWF lost the 2 biggest fan favorites in the history of the business. At that time, Triple H was poised to take one of those spots. Then, the injury occurred. It has been an amazing effort by everyone involved to elevate guys like Benoit and Jericho. Undertaker is involved with an intense storyline. Kane is stepping up every week. JR predicts that Triple H will be a huge fan favorite upon his return. This summer will be an opportunity for the younger guys to shine before the "field gets crowded." Question: Jericho and Benoit They are both guys that JR tried to recruit diligently. He tried to get Benoit a few years ago but he had commitments to New Japan and WCW was willing to let him work there. No one can ever knock Benoit's in ring ability. Jericho is probably blessed with a bit more natural charisma. It is all a work in progress. The WWF can rely and depend on them. However, they will improve at their craft. Other guys will be given the same opportunities and JR hopes that they can rise to the occasion like both Benoit & Jericho have done. Question: How much higher can the bar be raised in the WWF? Raising the bar does not correlate to how many tables someone can go through each week. It refers to being able to tell a tremendous story in the ring. It has to do with ring psychology. Being able to do less and have it mean more. Question: Would JR rather have not seen Kurt Angle do the moonsault from the cage? Looking back, he is happy that Kurt did it since he got out OK. However, if he was asked before the match, he would have said that he wouldn't want Kurt to do that sort of move. Question: Paul Heyman JR wanted to set the record straight on this matter. He talked about how he helped Paul break into an announcing gig. He told the guys in charge that Paul had a gift to make people hate his character. When he talked about hating Paul's character in the Ross Report, it refers to his character. When JR is not on the air, he rarely wears the black cowboy hat. He has a day job. JR has lots of fun working with Paul. He has gotten emails from some of Paul's followers who say that JR should thank Paul for resurrecting his career. Question: An announcing review on JR He feels that JR shows a lot of emotion when doing his job. However, he has a lot of room to improve. JR loves what he does. He always says that Gordon Solie was the best ever at this job and everyone else is trying to compete for number 2. It was refreshing to work with Paul after working with the King for many years. It was the same for the King when he worked with Michael Cole after working with JR for many years. Question: Does he see Jerry Lawler returning to the WWF? In a perfect world, he would say it would be possible. However, in the current mindset that everyone is in, he doesn't see it likely that Lawler will be back. He still considers the King a friend. Question: WCW They will try to make WCW a different product from the WWF. They hope to be able to create a whole new identity for the company. The talent roster will be very new and fresh when all is said and done. He is sure that there will be some new broadcasters, to some degree, on WCW's show. He also predicts that the storytelling will be done well. He is hesitant to talk anymore about it since they want some of it to be a surprise. Question: Who impresses him on the WCW roster? JR feels that a majority of the WCW guys that they signed have a great attitude and want to make the company succeed. There is a lot of misinformation about who has signed with the new WCW. He put over Lance Storm's ability and preparation. He loves the attitude of Hugh Morrus but feels that he needs to drop to about 275 pounds. He also likes that fact that Mike Awesome has become leaner and will be quicker. Chuck Palumbo, Mark Jindrak and Sean O'Haire have a lot of potential but need to learn to tell stories in the ring, instead of relying on high spots. Chavo Guerrero, Jr. is a real good hand and can really help the Cruiserweight division. There is nothing new to report on Goldberg except that he and JR are trading phone calls. However, Time Warner seems content to pay him a large amount of money to do nothing. The same goes for DDP. They are waiting for Time Warner to possibly work out his contract situation. There will probably be some guys jumping between WCW and the WWF over time. He feels that it will make some great TV and will start sooner than later. JR does not see many of the guys working developmental territories working in either company real soon. However, D-Lo Brown (who is in Puerto Rico) is the closest one to coming in and working in either WCW or the WWF. He talked about how bringing guys in too early can be negative to their career. He brought up Erik Watts and David Flair as examples. Question: King of the Ring This PPV has a lot of heritage and history. JR worked his second WWF PPV at King of the Ring, where Bret Hart won the tournament. He feels that this show could really be strong. The picture will be made clearer at TV this week. The card is far from complete. JR feels that the main event match will be excellent. It is up to the WWF to provide a product that entertains the fans. Source// Manny A. & 1Wrestling ====================================================================== Remember...=========================================================== -Remember that if you've missed any TV Shows, PPV's or more? Go to the following links to read the results. Raw// http://www.naidosworld.com/tvraw.html Smackdown// http://www.naidosworld.com/tvsmackdown.html PPV's// http://www.naidosworld.com/currentppv.html Ratings// http://www.naidosworld.com/tvratings.html ByteThis// http://www.naidosworld.com/bytethis.html ====================================================================== Affiliates//========================================================== -http://paywindah.hypermart.net -http://green_mist.homestead.com -http://www.geocities.com/dsherelo -http://www.TommyDreamer.net -http://www.StephanieBellars.com -http://www.PaulHeyman.Net -HTTP://Wrestling-Freak.8k.com BECOME AN AFFILIATE// Make nWN your official newsletter!! 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 Columnist: Leno - jm51509@AOL.com ====================================================================== 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 ====================================================================== ======================================================================