====================================================================== ====================================================================== ____ ___ ____ ___ ____ / /\/ /\/ /\ / \ / /\ __ ___ / / / / / / / / \ / / / / \/ \ / / / / / / / / \/ / / / \ / \/ / / / / / / / / /\ /\ / / / / / / /\ / / / / / / / / /\ \/ / / / / /\ / / / / / / / / / /\ / / / / / \ / / /____/ /___/ / /___/ / \_____/ / /___/ / /__/ / \____\/\___\/ \___\/ \____\/ \___\/ \__\/ n a i d O ' s W r e s t l i n g N e w s Edition// 493 Date// September 27, 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// NYTIMES article: RAW and Armageddon renamed 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! -For the Unforgiven PPV results, click http://www.naidosworld.com/results_unf01.html -For the Raw is War results, click http://www.naidosworld.com/tvraw.html -So, who will it be? Maven, Josh or Chris for the men? Nidia or Taylor for the women? You heard it here first, It'll be Maven and Nidia. Watch... Also, don't spoil it for me as I can't watch the show. LOL...I'm sure it'll be spoiled for me anyway but at least I can't blame y'all if I was. LOVE THE NEWSLETTER? PLEASE TELL A FRIEND TO JOIN! Thanks for reading. naidO// ====================================================================== -American Red Cross relief Information To make a blood donation, call (800) GIVE-LIFE or contact your local blood service organization. To help the victims of this and other disasters with a financial contribution, call (800) HELP-NOW. You can also mail donations -- designating "Disaster Relief Fund" on the memo line of the check -- to the American Red Cross, PO Box 37243, Washington DC 20013. ====================================================================== TOP HEADLINE//======================================================== -Official SmackDown! Preview Only a few matches have been announced so far for this Thursday's episode of SmackDown! on UPN -- including a tag match of epic proportions, and a battle of two of the best young stars in the game today! In a battle of the World Wrestling Federation and the Alliance, the Undertaker and Kane will meet Booker T and Test -- with the WCW Tag Team Championship on the line! It will be a huge battle this Thursday with gold up for grabs! In another supercharged bout this Thursday, Rob Van Dam defends his Hardcore Championship against Chris Jericho in a rematch from Unforgiven! It will be a high-flying, hard-hitting, high-impact war when these two go at it! Also this Thursday, Ivory takes on Molly Holly, and the Hardy Boyz tangle with Kanyon and Rhyno. And, will Stone Cold Steve Austin be in the house? Only one way to find out -- tune in! The Rock, Kurt Angle and Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley will also be in the house this Thursday on UPN -- it's SmackDown! Check your local listings for time and channel! ====================================================================== News from the WWF//=================================================== -The final episode of WWF Tough Enough is live tonight from WWF New York! Come for SmackDown!, and stay for Tough Enough! Tazz, Trish Stratus, Al Snow, Jacqueline, Hardcore Holly, Jim Ross and Jonathan Coachman will all be on hand for the event! -The WWF has announced that next year's Backlash PPV will take place on April 21, 2002 & Judgment Day PPV will take place on May 19, 2002. No venues have been set. -There's currently a review of The Undertakers video "This Is My Yard" up at SLAM! Wrestling, to read the revew (which is favorable), click http://www.canoe.ca/SlamWrestlingReviews/undertakervideo- can.html -On Monday, September 24, approximately 300 people attended the Smackdown Your Vote! rally held at The Ohio State University. WWF Superstars Kurt Angle, Bradshaw and Ivory attended the event. -Essa Rios from the WWF will be working the big Battlarts show on 10/14 at Tokyo Bay NK Hall. -In the current issue of the Globe tabloid, there is a story about WWF wrestlers in it visiting a strip club. It names them by name in it as well... the wrestlers there were Edge, X-Pac, The Goodfather, Val Venis, and Jericho. The article also had a few pics of the wrestlers with strippers on there laps. Pick it up at your local supermarket if you have the time. Source// SLAM!, wwf.com ====================================================================== News from WCW-ECW//=================================================== -RVD's brand new "T" is available for purchase at the WWF Shopzone. Pick yourself up one by clicking http://www.wwfshopzone.com/product.asp?pf%5Fid=97001&dept%5Fid=16 Source// wcw.com ====================================================================== News from the rest of pro-wrestling//================================= -There's a feature article on Canadian wrestling 'legend' "Iron" Mike Sharpe up at SLAM! Wreslting. It's a great piece on notorious WWF 'jobber' Mike Sharpe. To read it, click http://www.canoe.ca/SlamWrestlingBiosS/sharpe_ironmike-can.html -http://www.MarksShowPlace.com has posted that former WCW valet and girlfriend of Randy Savage, Gorgeous George will be at the club starting September 26 for four days in Bedford, New Hampshire. They have her billed as Stephanie Sands who "who formerly wrestled as Gorgeous George of the WCW" Source// Torch, SLAM! ====================================================================== Article//============================================================= Between Body Slams, W.W.F. Softens Tone By RICHARD SANDOMIR Ten years ago, with the Persian Gulf war just ended, the main event of the World Wrestling Federation's Wrestlemania show in Los Angeles featured Hulk Hogan, the blond and bronzed hero of kiddies, against Sgt. Slaughter, a turncoat Iraqi sympathizer. In Slaughter's corner stood his muse, General Adnon, a Baghdad-born Saddam Hussein stand- in. Hogan beat Slaughter and exultantly draped himself in the American flag. But the W.W.F. - that bastion of sweaty, scripted entertainment - insists it will not capitalize on the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11 by creating a terrorist character as a surrogate for fan anger. Not known for Iron John sensitivity, the W.W.F. wants to be seen as patriotic without being politically bellicose, as it was in the early 1980's when it featured the malevolent Iron Sheik to capitalize on the Iranian hostage crisis. "After the war, we pared that back, because it wasn't where we wanted to be," Linda McMahon, the chief executive officer of W.W.F. Entertainment, said Monday. "We're not going to do anything to connect to the attacks. We want to be perceived as conscientious programmers." An immediate manifestation of the approach was the emergence of Kurt Angle as the new W.W.F. champion. He defeated Stone Cold Steve Austin - who presents no discernible political ideologies other than "Do Unto Others" and "Give Me A Hell Yeah" - at Sunday night's "Unforgiven" pay-per-view extravaganza. Angle won the freestyle wrestling gold medal in the 220- pound class at the 1996 Summer Olympics. "I think the attacks played a factor," said Dave Meltzer, editor and publisher of the Wrestling Observer, a newsletter. Although Angle was being developed as a character deserving of a championship shot, Meltzer said, "A month ago, it didn't seem giving him the title was the right thing to do." McMahon would not specifically say that the W.W.F.'s response to the terrorism of Sept. 11 was to install an Olympic champion as the champion. But she said: "There was some discussion, that continued through yesterday, about whether he or Stone Cold Steve Austin would win. It was determined that winning was a good move for Kurt. It was thought-provoking to be a good hero for the time, and he was in line." The W.W.F. has made additional moves since the attacks: *Renaming its longtime Monday night TNN program "Raw is War." Now the first hour is called "Raw I," the second "Raw II." *Scratching "Armageddon" as the name one of its pay-per-view programs, replacing it with "Payback." *Ending the playing of the song "Let the Bodies Hit the Fabric" at live events. "We are part of the American fabric," McMahon said, "and we want to be sensitive." The W.W.F. remains outrageous and outlandish, in its costumes, story lines, humor and sexual innuendoes. Feuds, jealousies and pectorals predominate. But it seems to be smart business to refrain from playing off the horror of the attacks, which were far worse in every measure than the hostage crisis or the gulf war. "There's no reason to step things up and bring criticism on themselves," said Breck Wheeler, an analyst for Legg Mason Wood Walker. "They're based in Stamford, so they're close to New York and they know how sensitive things are." Meltzer recalled how the W.W.F. was criticized for the story lines played out by Iron Sheik, General Adnon and Sgt. Slaughter. "They exploited the gulf war; I don't see them doing that again," he said. "It shows how the W.W.F. has grown up." But the wrestling company's business is not as robust as it was a year ago, when anticipation was high for the XFL, the football league it created with NBC. The XFL expired earlier this year, leading to a $46.9 million loss for the W.W.F. For the three months ended July 27, advertising and sponsorship revenues were down $4 million; revenues from live events fell $3.7 million. Pay-per-view revenues slipped by $3.6 million. And sales of merchandise tumbled by $8.4 million. The company also canceled or moved seven arena shows, largely because of slow ticket sales. Since then, an Oct. 7 show in Fairfax, Va., was moved to Valparaiso, Ind. The ratings for "Raw is War" have gyrated through the year, but it is still the strongest regularly scheduled basic cable program. The Sept. 17 edition produced a 4.8 cable rating. (Each cable rating for TNN equals 810,000 television households.) The W.W.F.'s net income for the quarter fell 21 percent to $11.9 million. Its stock, as high as 15.28 in July, closed at $11.70 yesterday, up 25 cents. Like many other entertainment companies, the W.W.F. is suffering from a broad-based slump in advertising and the fears of consumers about spending money in a backpedaling economy. "The W.W.F. is not as expensive as pro sports like the N.F.L. or Nascar, but if times get tough, people cut back," Wheeler said. McMahon said the company was hurt by the absence of its eye-brow- wiggling superstar, The Rock, who was off making a movie, and injuries to Triple H and Chris Benoit. "When you have three or four stars out, you have to adjust story lines," McMahon said. "And arena and merchandise sales went down." The Rock has since returned. She added that shows this month, including one in Houston two days after the terrorist attacks, sold out. "We've been in a cycle," she said. "We've had our highs and lows." One low the W.W.F. will not plumb is an Osama bin Laden character. ====================================================================== 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/ppv.html Ratings// http://www.naidosworld.com/tvratings.html ByteThis// http://www.naidosworld.com/bytethis.html ====================================================================== Affiliates//========================================================== -http://www.green-mist.com -http://www.geocities.com/dsherelo -http://www.TommyDreamer.net -http://www.StephanieBellars.com -http://www.PaulHeyman.Net -http://Wrestling-Freak.8k.com -http://www.JeffTheRef.com -http://www.ecwanderson.com -http://www.ecwdangerously.com -http://www.eswfed.com -http://welcome.to/wfwa -http://www.mrwicked.com -http://www.foreverfrancine.com -http://members.aol.com/hhh316sonny -http://omantortuga.cjb.net/ 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 @ http://www.ultimowrestling.com -SLAM! Wrestling @ http://www.canoe.ca/SlamWrestling ====================================================================== Ads//================================================================= -Come join the ESW today. Its the best Fed on the net today! With 8 belts, 3 weekly shows, and a monthly PPV, what more could you ask for? JOIN NOW! http://www.eswfed.com -Join the EHW. It's a Brand new RP E-Mail. We have a site and allow real or fake wrestlers. visit the site @ http://www.angelfire.com/apes/ehw/index.html or e-mail me @ TheRock420RVD@cs.com. YOU WON'T REGRET JOINING ====================================================================== nWN Staff//=========================================================== Founder & Editor: naidO - naido@hotmail.com Columnist: Sam Jerry - SAMJERRY@aol.com Columnist: The Vile - vile316@yahoo.com Columnist: Leno - jm51509@AOL.com Columnist: Tomac - tomac67@yahoo.com Columnist: The Sad Rebel - sadrebel@hotmail.com Columnist: Linda - lvaccarp@hotmail.com Columnist: Rishi - above__average@hotmail.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 ====================================================================== ======================================================================