===================================================================== ===================================================================== ____ ___ ____ ___ ____ / /\/ /\/ /\ / \ / /\ __ ___ / / / / / / / / \ / / / / \/ \ / / / / / / / / \/ / / / \ / \/ / / / / / / / / /\ /\ / / / / / / /\ / / / / / / / / /\ \/ / / / / /\ / / / / / / / / / /\ / / / / / \ / / /____/ /___/ / /___/ / \_____/ / /___/ / /__/ / \____\/\___\/ \___\/ \____\/ \___\/ \__\/ n a i d O ' s W r e s t l i n g N e w s Edition// 535 Date// November 12, 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// Mick Foley speaks out Article// Hollywood Reporter evaluates WWFE's slump 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! -Well, Raw is upon us. One thing I can guarantee for the show tonight is that the WWF will be hot shotting angles to fill out the PPV and hype the main event to he point that we're sick of hearing it. I'm a WWF fan. And I an telling you right now that I am not interested in seeign the PPV next Sunday and am content to watch the Simpsons and X-Files instead. The WWF will have to do one HELL of a job to convince me. Otherwise, they aren't getting my money. Peace and I hope we enjoy the show! 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//======================================================= -The WWF made a strong bid to sign both Eric Bischoff and Bill Goldberg in the days leading up to the July 9 RAW that broadcast from Atlanta. The plan was to have both men appear on the Atlanta RAW to try to jumpstart the struggling WCW vs WWF storyline. Efforts to work out a deal with Goldberg were unsuccessful because of the lucrative contract he has with Time Warner. Discussions with Bischoff began only a few days before the July 9 show, and Bischoff was traveling with his family on a July 4th vacation which made it difficult to come to any kind of agreement in time for the show. Vince McMahon recently acknowledged in an interview that the WWF had talked to Bischoff about coming to the WWF as part of the WCW storyline. After failing to get either Bischoff or Goldberg for the Atlanta show, the WWF went with "Plan B"...the ECW Invasion that quickly evolved into the "Alliance" storyline. Source// Bob Ryder ===================================================================== News from the WWF//================================================== -Official Raw preview: Just six days remain until the 2001 Survivor Series, which means one of two things: Either six days remain in the history of the World Wrestling Federation, or six days remain in the history of the Alliance! With the stakes so high, both sides are being extra careful about showing their hands just yet. Because of that, we don't have much we can tell you yet in the way of a RAW preview. But with just hours remaining until Survivor Series, you can be sure that tonight's live broadcast from the FleetCenter in Boston will be explosive! You never know if more matches will be announced for the Pay-Per-View, and what will happen surrounding the "Winner Take All" match this Sunday! One thing we do know is that Rob Zombie will be appearing on tonight's broadcast! So don't miss RAW, tonight at 9/8 CT, live from the FleetCenter in Boston! -Raw's cable preview: HOUR 1: Kane returns. HOUR 2: Survivor Series in six days. -THe Torch reports that Rob Zombie will not be appearing live in Boston on Raw, but will be featured on the show with footage from Edge's visit where he was hanging out at a recent concert in New Mexico. -Who is the "Weakest Link"? Sports-entertainment fans are in for a special treat tonight, when seven of your favorite Federation and Alliance Superstars -- including Triple H! -- appear on "The Weakest Link!" Don't miss this special broadcast tonight at 8/7 CT on NBC -- right before RAW! -The poll is still up, check out hte results. Looks as though the fans want a new direction! "Who will be victorious at Survivor Series?" WWF 72.98 % Alliance 27.01 % Total Votes: 99310 -Since his DUI charge, an Eddy Guerrero story that has been up at the WWF website for a week now about his return has been removed. Source// WWF.com, Dave Meltzer, The Torch ===================================================================== News from WCW-ECW//================================================== -WCW.com's Raw preview: The fate of the Alliance is decided in just six days at Survivor Series' "Winner Take All" match. Tonight's episode of RAW on TNN provides an opportunity to gain momentum heading toward the historical Pay-Per-View. But that won't be an easy thing to do. Vince McMahon has promised that Stone Cold Steve Austin will jump to the Federation during Survivor Series, but the Texas Rattlesnake has sworn his allegiance to the Alliance. Whatever the case, it appears certain that a Federation mole is operating within the WCW/ECW Alliance. Will the traitor be revealed tonight? No matches have been announced for this evening, however, Rob Zombie is scheduled to appear tonight on RAW! Check back here throughout the day for a more complete RAW preview, and watch the action tonight beginning at 9/8 CT on TNN! Source// WCW.com ===================================================================== News from the rest of pro-wrestling//================================ -Christopher Daniels will be working the next tour for Michinoku Pro as Curry Man, so he'll be gone for a few weeks from the indie scene. Source// Dave Meltzer ===================================================================== Article//============================================================ Mick Foley speaks out Mick Foley recently appeared on the "Total Chaos" show with Jim Valley which broadcasts on KGUY 1010am Portland, OR. Here's what he had to say: *Mick makes a point that the sagging ratings and buyrates coinside with the lack of character development with the Alliance members. He said "We've been losing viewers because they don't have faith in us to tell a good story any more." *Foley said that Tommy Dreamer, Justin Credible, Jerry Lynn and Raven were proven main-event talent before coming over and have been wasted. He said they deserve programs of their own and PPV matches. (Note: The four have been on a total of 2 PPV matches and one program since the Alliance was formed. The one program was over a mop being destroyed.) *Foley says he's enjoying DDP's new persona but says that Page hasn't been given the "fair shake" since coming in. Says Foley, "For some reason guys who can wrestle, who I know can wrestle, are being told that they can't...one or two bad matches doesn't mean somebody no longer has it." *Mick believes that the XWF has a shot to be successful and hopes that it does in order to spur the competitive nature in the WWF again. He also said that long run, he doesnt' know about the company but is happy that some guys can find work. *Foley says that Hulk Hogan would be an asset to the WWF if he were to return, but only short term. Foley joked be saying that Hogan coming in as Linda's new boyfriend during the divorce angle would've been perfect. *Foley said that Hall and Nash would "add something" short term but the long term efffects of them being in the locker room would be detrimental. He said that incentive-laden contracts would be teh only thing to keep the two hungrey and in line. That's the jist of what the always quotable Mick Foley had to say on Jim Valley's Total Chaos ===================================================================== Article//============================================================ Hollywood Reporter evaluates WWFE's slump WWF takes operations to mat -- By Georg Szalai NEW YORK (The Hollywood Reporter) --- Friday's news that the World Wrestling Federation has cut its work force by 9%, restructured its merchandising and marketing operations and that its president has resigned seemed to contradict recent conventional wisdom. Isn't wrestling the hottest thing in entertainment? Not anymore, according to observers. While the WWF has been affected by a weak economy like everyone else, more fundamental problems have put its business in a chokehold. The WWF has lost its focus, allowed its product to grow stale and turned off fans just when it reached the pinnacle of success, observers said. "The problem started in March, when the WWF became a monopoly," said Dave Scherer, wrestling columnist for the Daily News in New York. "Wrestling was historically fueled by competitors borrowing from one another and innovating." But in March, the WWF, run by the McMahon family out of Stamford, Conn., acquired its only true competitor, the money-losing World Championship Wrestling, from AOL Time Warner Inc. The WWF originally planned to operate the WWF and WCW (news - web sites) as separate brands to retain the identities of the leagues and their fans; the WWF was the home of edgier content, while WCW offered more family-friendly fare. But when the WWF dropped that plan, in part because of its inability to arrange for a time slot on a TV network, the new entity became a potpourri of performers that resembled neither the old WWF nor WCW, observers said. "Their content moved away from the edgy, borderline stuff that Generation X likes," driving away former WWF fans, Scherer said. The WWF's edginess had drawn media criticism, but it also gave the company buzz that attracted new viewer segments, he said. The WWF also turned off former WCW fans by not buying out the biggest WCW stars still paid through lucrative AOL TW contracts, observers said. The WCW stars who have appeared on WWF shows are often underutilized or treated as second-class performers, they added. The fact that WWF chairman Vince McMahon was distracted with running the now-defunct XFL (news - web sites), a failed spring professional football league, also did not help the WWF's on-air product. Suddenly the "good old days" of a year ago -- when buy rates for the WWF's monthly pay-per-view events reached new heights and live events were sold out in minutes -- seem gone. Nowadays, many live events feature empty seats, and ticket prices have dropped for the first time in years, Legg Mason analyst Breck Wheeler said. "Fans are not as compelled to buy tickets, merchandise and pay-per-view events, or watch WWF programming, as they have been in recent years," she said. Wheeler's research shows that buy counts for the WWF's $29.95 pay- per-view events are still higher than for most other events -- with the possible exception of a Mike Tyson boxing fight -- but have slipped. During the WWF's fiscal first quarter, which ended in July, buys hit 1.6 million, compared with 1.8 million last year. Wheeler's estimate for the second quarter ending in October is 1.5 million buys, down from 2.1 million. For the full fiscal year, she expects buys to drop 21% to 6.5 million. The situation could get worse because a dispute over revenue splits between the WWF and satellite television provider DirecTV has left the latest WWF pay program unavailable to DirecTV customers, who usually make 10%-15% of all buys, Wheeler said. Negotiations are unlikely to succeed anytime soon now that DirecTV is focused on its planned merger with EchoStar, WWF CEO Linda McMahon said. Ratings for the WWF's flagship Monday cable show on the National Network also have fallen. Viewership remains strong compared with other cable franchises, leaving the WWF in the top slots of the weekly ratings. But ratings reach only about a 4.0 average, compared with 5.5 a year ago and the above-6.0 level seen during the heyday of the late 1990s. On Oct. 22, the show hit a new ratings low of 3.9. The falloff is even worse when considering that the former WCW shows usually brought in a 3.0. "The audience watching on Oct. 22 was nearly half of the cumulative WWF/WCW audience" a year earlier, Wheeler said. In what Wheeler called "a double whammy," the WWF's ratings problem has been compounded by weaker advertising revenue because of the sluggish U.S. economy. In that context, Wheeler said the WWF's decision to reduce its staff and realign operations is "prudent cost-cutting." Linda McMahon specified that the WWF cut 39 of its about 450 employees, with the marketing and merchandising units most affected. "We had seen phenomenal growth in the past few years, and there were duplications," she said. "With this move, we feel positioned to take advantage of growth opportunities." While observers said the WWF could cut its talent roster, which nearly doubled with the WCW purchase, McMahon said she is focusing on international expansion and new products. The company will open an office in London next year and expand its tours into Japan and Australia, she said. "We are a great American export seen in 130 countries, and we want to be more visible abroad," McMahon said. The WWF also will continue to create film and TV projects, as it has done with its MTV reality series "Tough Enough" and Universal Pictures' upcoming boxoffice feature "The Scorpion King" starring wrestler the Rock. "We will also more than likely hire an executive for our movie and TV series development," McMahon said. The restructuring will centralize marketing functions under chief marketing officer Julie Hoffman, allowing for more focused brand strategies, McMahon said. A reorganized consumer products unit will be led by Donna Goldsmith and include the WWF's online merchandising store. With Stuart Snyder resigning as president and chief operating officer 18 months after joining the WWF from USA Home Entertainment, Pete DiNicola will serve as chief operating officer, with McMahon taking over Snyder's other duties, McMahon said. But will a leaner corporate structure end the WWF's slide in popularity? "Our creative team is always looking for ways to make our product more compelling," McMahon said. "We think our ratings are starting to steady, and pay-per-view will come back as well." Observers also are reluctant to count the WWF out. The wrestling business is cyclical, with growth driven by new stars or exciting story lines, they said. And the McMahons have reinvented themselves more than once in the past. ===================================================================== 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://thegame.rawfeedonline.com -http://omantortuga.cjb.net -http://www.geocities.com/pwpwrestle -http://www.manbeasttemple.com -http://www.nwouk.com -http://wrestlingradio.tripod.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 @ http://www.ultimowrestling.com -SLAM! Wrestling @ http://www.canoe.ca/SlamWrestling ===================================================================== Ads//================================================================ -Looking to trade or by Wrestling Tapes?? Check out BBBoris' Tape Trading Inc. at http://www.geocities.com/pwpwrestle for all your wrestling tape needs! There's tons tapes from all over the world including old ECW, WCW and of course WWF tapes available for sale or trade. With reasonable rates, you can't go wrong. Check us out today! -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 -For the best in wrestling audio news, trivia, opinions and commentary check out the soon to be daily coverage at http://wrestlingradio.tripod.com In addition, we have a public PPV round table to get your predictions and thoughts to the wrestling public. Please check us out at Wrestling Radio. ===================================================================== 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 ===================================================================== =====================================================================