===================================================================== ===================================================================== ____ ___ ____ ___ ____ / /\/ /\/ /\ / \ / /\ __ ___ / / / / / / / / \ / / / / \/ \ / / / / / / / / \/ / / / \ / \/ / / / / / / / / /\ /\ / / / / / / /\ / / / / / / / / /\ \/ / / / / /\ / / / / / / / / / /\ / / / / / \ / / /____/ /___/ / /___/ / \_____/ / /___/ / /__/ / \____\/\___\/ \___\/ \____\/ \___\/ \__\/ n a i d O ' s W r e s t l i n g N e w s Edition// 608 Date// February 1, 2002 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 The latest new from the WWF & the rest of pro-wrestling Article// XWF Press Release Comment// Linda's Thoughts Remember... Affiliates SPOILERS ===================================================================== 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 --And what would end off a great commentary week than Linda's Thoughts on a great SmackDown!? For those that might have missed Linda last week, she was in poor health and needed time off (flu). She's better now and ready to roll! Today is a MASSIVE newsletter so get right into it! LOVE THE NEWSLETTER? PLEASE TELL A FRIEND TO JOIN! Thanks for reading. naidO// ***All links in this newsletter can be viewed by being clicked (html capable email readers only) or cut and pasted into your browser. ===================================================================== TOP HEADLINE//======================================================= --It looks as though marketing and promotion may have done it again when it comes to ruining WrestleMania's main event and future WWF storylines. The WrestleMania X-8 promotional poster reveals Chris Jericho and Stephanie McMahon prominently. This would lead one to believe that the long anticipated pairing of the two will go down in the next month and that that would be a major storyline leading into Mania with Jericho taking on the jilted ex-husband Triple H for the Undisputed Title. Put two and two together and would mean that Jericho would go over Austin at No Way Out most likely with the nWo's help leaving Austin vs. the nWo as the semi-main event/angle leading into the PPV extravaganza. As we know, ads for PPV's rarely give us the true idea of future storylines, however, last years promotional poster for Mania in Houston had Austin & The Rock featured prominently on it. That promo poster was out a month and a half in advance and that match happened. Moreover, WrestleMania is THE pay-per-view and is more than likely have truthful advance promos than most PPV's due (case and point RVD being all over No Way Out's promo materials but being nowhere near the top of the storylines). WrestleManis has and always will be taken more seriously than other PPV's. Yes, card is subject to change, but the Federation could could have easily sent PPV companies a picture of the Skydome with a big WM18 graphic. They chose Jericho and SMH. Stay tuned. To view the poster that has already stirred the pot, click http://www.indemand.com/SWAP/picturepages/WWF0302.jpg Source// ===================================================================== News from the WWF -- WWF.com//======================================= --SmackDown!'s overnight rating according to Neilsen's Media Research came in as another strong 5.5 rating. it's overnight last week was 5.7 and the show ended up with a 4.2 broadcast rating. The final number should be in later tonight. --Raven and Justin Credible will be heading to HWA for about 10 days in February. They are scheduled to appear on the 2/13 and 2/16 shows on the promotion. They are being sent to the promotion to improve their skills, so that after the split they will receive major pushes. --The Torch reports that the WWF is planning to give a major push to the Cruiserweight Division once the split occurs after WrestleMania.There is a lot of talk that guys like Jamie Knoble, AJ Styles and Shannon Moore will be brought in. --According to RF Video, after the split if the Cruiserweight Division is elevated, they would be a part of the group that works on Smackdown. --Dennis Brent, Tom Prichard, Johnny Ace, and John Clark of the WWF are scheduled to evaluate prospective developmental talent from February 16 through February 23 in Cincinnati, Oh. --The wrestlers who were released from developmental deals in December were given 90-day severance packages that included a no compete clause. This is the reason why none of them have appeared for indy promotions. --WWF ARTICLE: Austin willing to accept acting roles When Stone Cold Steve Austin returned to the World Wrestling Federation after neck surgery, he declared that he would not do any acting because the Federation was his priority. Austin now says he's willing to take on other offers. http://www.wwf.com/news/headlines/1109800 --WWF ARTICLE: Interview with Kurt Angle By now, many of us have had the opportunity to read Kurt Angle's autobiography, "It's True! It's True!" Ever wanted to interview an author after reading his book? WWF.com had the opportunity, as we sat with Angle for this interview. http://www.wwf.com/news/headlines/1109872 --It was reported last night on The Score, Canada's official SmackDown! station, that Ric Flair will be in studio on February 7th after that days broadcast of the show. --RVD was in Toronto yesterday at a Wal-Mart making an appearence. TSN, Canada's official Raw station had an interview with him which can be viewed by clicking http://www.tsn.ca/av/wrestling/rvd_interview0130.asx. Theere's also a text write-up on his visit which can be read by clicking http://www.tsn.ca/wrestling --PWTorch.com reports that Mene Gene Okerlund is currently in talks with the WWF. They surmise that he'd be brought in once the split occurs. --Arn Anderson will be appearing on Byte This! today from 4 to 5:30 p.m. ET at WWF.com. To email questions, do so to bytethis@wwf.com or call at 1-888-LIVEWWF(548-3993)! --Stacy Keibler's appearance on "The Late Late Show with Craig Kilborn" has been postponed until later in February. No new date has been established by the Fed will keep us posted. --The Federation has sent out a press release to it's PPV distributors that PPV prices are to be changed from $29.95 to $34.95 as of Backlash in April. In the same release, they mentioned that WrestleMania X-8 will be a four-hour show liek the last two years and that the tab for the PPV will be $39.95. They also hyped the PPV return of Hulk Hogan and said that he'll be the centerpiece of the event. Here' a quote from their e-mail. "A reminder concerning WrestleMania X-8 on March 17th: The suggested retail price is $39.95, which is the same as last year. This live show will be four hours rather than the normal three hours for the other live monthly WWF events. WrestleMania X-8 is poised to be the biggest PPV wrestling event in history as Hulk Hogan will soon make his return to the WWF ring and will be the centerpiece of WrestleMania X-8." --Apparently, music group Sevendust is currently in the studio's making a new theme song for Chris Jericho. --The UPN affiliate in New York/New Jersey confirmed that Hogan, Hall and Nash have all signed on with the WWF and will be appearing on SmackDown! soon. Sources// -THE NEW!! UltimoWrestling @ http://www.ultimowrestling.com -Wrestling Observer/Dave Meltzer @ http://www.wrestlingobserver.com -Dave Scherer/Bob Ryder/1wrestling @ http://www.1wrestling.com ===================================================================== News from the rest of pro-wrestling//================================ --According to 1wrestling, Scott Steiner has confirmed that he will be a part of WWA's 2/24 PPV in Las Vegas. This comes only a day after Steiner shot down the rumors of him working for WWA on his official website. --Nielsen Ratings - Week of 1/21/02 - 1/27/02 1. Video Voyeur 4.1 2. WWF 3.8 3. WWF 3.6 4. SpongeBob 3.1 5. Blue Planet 2.9 6. SpongeBob 2.9 7. Real World XI 2.8 8. SpongeBob 2.8 9. Blue Planet 2.8 10. Ronin 2.7 --The St. Paul Pioneer Press has an article on Gov. Jesse Ventura and his popularity as a gov'na and the money he's making outside of the office, Pretty interesting read. Click to view it, http://www.pioneerplanet.com/yhoo/mtc_docs/235314.htm --Here's the following promo for the WWA 'Revolution' PPV on February 24th on InDemand: "Coming to America for the first time, LIVE from Las Vegas. "Big Poppa Pump" Scott Steiner, "The Chosen One" Jeff Jarrett, "Road Dog" Jesse James, Marcus 'Buff' Bagwell, Disco Inferno, Crowbar, Juvintud Guerrara, Psychosis battle it out, watched over by the Commissioner Bret "The Hitman" Hart. Many more additions over the coming weeks along with a few major surprises!". --The following was posted on BodybyJoanie.com earlier this week: The CEO of the WWA has been quoted in at least one recent interview as saying that I am signing with the WWA for a return to professional wrestling. This is completely false. I have no plans or interest in joining the WWA. I have not had any discussions with that organization at all. While I wish that organization the best of luck in its endeavors, I will not be a part of them. I thought it best to put this issue to rest immediately. I am very excited about where my career is headed right now. Thanks! Love, Joanie --Micheal Tearson has updated his wrestling commentary in the Philly Daily News by talking about the nWo and the WWF's situation with DirecTV. To read it, click http://dailynews.philly.com/content/daily_news/2002/01/31/features/MA DD31F.htm Sources// -Wrestling Observer/Dave Meltzer @ http://www.wrestlingobserver.com -THE NEW!! UltimoWrestling @ http://www.ultimowrestling.com -SLAM! Wrestling @ http://www.canoe.ca/SlamWrestling -Dave Scherer/Bob Ryder/1wrestling @ http://www.1wrestling.com ===================================================================== Article//============================================================ XWF Press Release --The following is a press release issued by the XWF regarding its upcoming shows: Tickets for the following shows go on sale February 2 SEE THE RETURN OF THE FILTHY ANIMALS™ Konnan and Rey Mysterio, Jr. re-unite in the XWF *** FEBRUARY 22, 2002 Amarillo National Center-Amarillo, Tex. Tickets on Sale-Saturday, February 2, 2002 at Panhandle Ticket Centers or Charge By Phone (806) 378-3096 Talent Scheduled to Appear, subject to change: Konnan, Rey Mysterio, Jr., Nasty Boys, Vampiro, Hail w/Jimmy Hart. Special Legends Match: Terry Funk vs. Greg "The Hammer" Valentine. MORE NAMES TO BE ADDED *** FEBRUARY 23, 2002 Fair Park Coliseum-Lubbock, Tex. Tickets on Sale-Saturday, February 2nd, 2002 at all Select A Seat locations or Charge By Phone (806) 770-2000 or (800) 735-1288 Talent Scheduled to Appear, subject to change: Konnan, Rey Mysterio, Jr., Nasty Boys, Vampiro, Hail w/Jimmy Hart. Special Legends Match: Terry Funk vs. Greg "The Hammer" Valentine. MORE NAMES TO BE ADDED *** FEBRUARY 24, 2002 Lea County Event Center-Hobbs, N.M. Tickets on Sale- Saturday, February 2nd, 2002 at the Box Office or Charge by Phone (800) 952-2210 or (505) 392-6830 Talent Scheduled to Appear, subject to change: Konnan, Rey Mysterio, Jr., Nasty Boys, Vampiro, Hail w/Jimmy Hart. Special Legends Match: Terry Funk vs. Greg "The Hammer" Valentine. MORE NAMES TO BE ADDED ===================================================================== Comment//============================================================ Linda's Thoughts Again Smackdown pleased me very much. Ric Flair came off super great again. Vince wasn't so totally obnoxious, close but not as bad. There were some good matches, and I like the way the angle is going with the nWo. I have to admit I'm not to happy about this nWo stuff, but they are really making it interesting enough where I want to see just how these guys act once they get to WWF. The show opened with Y2J vs. Tazz. Not a bad match and one where Jericho just made himself look even more cockier, which I liked. Of course Jericho beat Tazz, but I was a little surprised Steve Austin didn't come out and do a little interfering during the match. You know to build up their rivalry for No Way Out. But no Austin, and nothing really big with this one, but a nice way to start the show. Also Jacqueline was the ref and didn't take any crap from the Living Legend, unfortunately for her she was put into the Walls of Jericho. Maybe she should have taken the crap instead. Bradshaw and Faarooq were playing poker and who should join them but LL Cool J, Chris Klein and Rebecca Romijn-Stamos. Yes it's plug a movie time, and the movie is Rollerball. So the casts join their biggest fans APA for a nice poker game. Of course Rebecca is the one Faarooq and Bradshaw are really thrilled about. Anyway more to come but first, Ric Flair comes out gives a very emotional good bye to all the fans saying that it's better for him to give up his share of the WWF then to have that horrible no good nWo come in and destroy everything. Flair even looked as if he was crying he did a great job selling his last appearance with WWF. I think this would have been so much cooler had they waited for Monday's Raw to do this. No spoilers, and maybe for a short time the fans would have really believed this. But Flair did a great job, and he had the fans right in his pocket. DDP became the European Champion over Christian. I'm not saying that's a great honor, but Christian hasn't done very much with that belt in a very long time. Maybe Page will defend it and put a little meaning into having it. This was a good match, these two seem to have good matches, and that's a good thing, because I have a feeling they might be having a rematch at No Way Out. We saw smirky Vinny arrive with his team of lawyers, and Coach interviewing him. Vince was very smugged and ready to get back total ownership. But before Flair could sign the contract we see another promo by Goldust, this time he promises on Raw he will reveal who is talking about. Tell you I can't wait to find out who the lucky guy is, I hope it's somebody really good. I thought Goldust's promo wasn't as STRONG as his last two, but the guys got me in the mood to see who is victim is, so he's doing a good job as far as I'm concerned. Ok, now we have a 10-15 minute interview with JR and Stephanie. This interview covered Steph's interferance in Hunter's matches, it covered her being a smart business woman, at least she thinks so, but then out of the blue it covers her faithfulness in her marriage. That didn't make much sense to me, and I think it would have been so much smarter to interview Hunter not Steph. It's pretty obvious how Steph fits in, but with Hunter we really have no idea what's going on in his mind about his wife taking all the credit for his recovery, and his Royal Rumble win. I would have liked to hear his thoughts on his marriage, not hers. But it was Steph who claims she's always been faithful, and they have a wonderful marriage. She plans to prove to all just how much Hunter loves her. Well you know that's going to backfire, and it will probably be done on Raw. Now its back to the APA poker game and The Book wants LL Cool J to explain why Booker wasn't invited to the Rollerball premier and why he wasn't in the movie. After all he's the five-time champion and he kicked Triple H's ass. LL Cool J's reply was great; he told them there wasn't a scene in a grocery store where a guy gets beaten up. Very funny, but not to Booker he then challenges the APA to a match. The next match is RVD and Edge vs. The Dudley's. William Regal the IC champion comes to the announce table. Yeah like he's not going to do a run in. Anyway instead of Edge and RVD getting in the ring, they immediately run to Regal and get a few punches in. Then the match starts. I liked this one, all four did a very good job, the fans seemed to enjoy it, and I have to say I found it rather funny when Stacey Keibler sat on Regal's lap during the match. I see him kind of reaching down the back of her shorts, and I'm thinking wow that's pretty weird, well he did that because darling Stacey was hiding his brass knucks in her shorts. Regal isn't as dumb as I thought. Seriously, he tried to use them on Edge, but it failed. Which is nice to see once in awhile. Kurt Angle was interviewed by Lillian and he's still pissed that he lost to Hunter at the Royal Rumble. He's so angry that he promises Lillian that he will go Olympic on Triple H's ass, I can't wait to see that. But first it's time for the APA vs. Booker and Test. Test volunteered so he could impress Rebecca Stamos. The match was good, I thought the pace was fine, no stopping and going, it had a good flow, again the fans seemed to enjoy it. I don't think Rebecca was too impressed with Test since he was the one that was pinned by Bradshaw for the win. I have to say Monday night it's Booker vs. Triple H. Last week it's Booker vs. Austin for the number 1 contendership and tonight it's Booker back with Test. Nothing against Test, but it certainly doesn't give Booker that push he should have. Truthfully I'm surprised HHH didn't have a rematch with him after his loss on Raw. Well I guess nothing should surprise me. Kurt Angle/Undertaker vs. Rock/HHH. Boy Rock and HHH are certainly becoming great teammates aren't they? I thought this was a very good main event. I thought Hunter looked a lot better in the ring than he did on Raw. For me this was really fun to watch. At the end Taker and Rock were out of the ring, Hunter was down from two chair shots by Taker, Angle also was down. Rock gave Taker the Rock Bottom on the announce table, then Angle did his ankle lock on Hunter. Angle finally let's go and Hunter rolls out of the ring. You see Angle get out and follow Hunter who is lying down on the ramp. So Kurt baby does the ankle lock again on him. It's all Angle and I guess it's now Angle vs. HHH for No Way Out. This might have been the main event but the show's not over yet. It's time for Ric to sign the contract. Vince and his lawyers enter the ring. Vince goes off on how he's not going to humiliate Flair, and Flair was a winner in the ring but not in life. You know Vince gloating and bragging. Ric comes out to his music, which Vince demands they stop playing. He says that's the last time Flair will ever come out to that again. Flair and Vince sit down, and Vince is pressuring Flair to sign, this goes on for a while and just as Ric finishes signing his first name, we hear shattered glass, and yes the WHAT man comes out. Austin comes out and Vince's lawyers immediately get the hell out of the ring. I found that part hysterical. They left in no time. Vince has panic written all over his face and Austin starts doing the What to Vince. Austin then asks the fans if you want Ric Flair to tear up this contract give me yep a hell yeah. Of course the fans scream that out, Flair smiles and rips the contract up, and Vince gets stunned, and Flair and Austin have a nice beer break. A really entertaining show, in fact both shows this week really got the point across about the nWo. I know I can't wait to see Raw on Monday night. I have no idea if the nWo will be there, but I'm sure the angle will just heat up even more. We find out who Goldust has his eyes on. I have a feeling that the Steph/HHH marriage will come to end even sooner after Mrs. Helmsley does what ever to prove how much Hunter loves her. I would imagine Austin and Jericho will get things going for No Way Out All in all there's a lot going on, and I for one can't wait to tune in. ===================================================================== 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.btscshow.com (nWN's Official Wrestling Show) -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://thegame420.rawfeedonline.com -http://omantortuga.cjb.net -http://www.geocities.com/pwpwrestle -http://www.manbeasttemple.com -http://www.nwouk.com -http://wrestlingradio.tripod.com -http://www.tointense.cjb.net BECOME AN AFFILIATE// Make nWN your official newsletter!! Email naido@hotmail.com with your website's address for consideration ===================================================================== SPOILERS//=========================================================== ***1wrestling reports that the 30 second video that was supposed to air last night which was a "paid advertisement" by the nWo was not part of that great Desire video and is infact a separate video. It was taped last Friday at WWF HQ while Hogan, Nash and Hall were meeting with officials, and it is expected to be shown after Ric Flair's announcement on Smackdown. ===================================================================== News gathering links//=============================================== -THE NEW!! UltimoWrestling @ http://www.ultimowrestling.com -The WWF @ http://www.wwf.com http://www.wwfcorpbiz.com -Dave Scherer/Bob Ryder/1wrestling @ http://www.1wrestling.com -The Pro Wrestling Torch @ http://www.pwtorch.com -Wrestling Observer/Dave Meltzer @ http://www.wrestlingobserver.com -The Law @ http://www.liveaudiowrestling.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: Ted Cabata - Tcabata@roanoke.edu 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. *"Behind The Squared Circle" is in no way affiliated with nWN writer Sam Jerry The above exempts Odain Nurse from any and all legal disputes. Copyright © 1999 - 2002 - naidO - All Rights Reserved ===================================================================== =====================================================================