Johnny Smith, who has reportedly been asked by ECW to come in, has been delayed until after the New Year because his wife is expecting. CREIDT: Dave Meltzer
Meanwhile, more rumblings that Sandman is getting increasingly unhappy with his situation regarding WCW. You've probably heard about company requests that he shave his head, and something about a possible gimmick as a bowler? Well, add to that the instant monster push that Bam Bam Bigelow has received from the get go, and you can understand why the man could be getting fidgety standing at the sidelines watching all of this happen. CREDIT: Scoops
Bret Hart's movie Wrestling With Shadows airs on A & E on Dec. 20th at 9 PM and replays at 1 AM the 21st. There will be another airing on Dec. 26th at 12 noon. CREDIT: George Makropoulos
No, Marc Mero is not "gone" from the WWF. Despite him promising last Monday that we would never see "Marvelous" Marc Mero in the WWF if he were to lose to Dwayne Gill(which he did) he isn't simply jumping ship, or retiring. Look for him to take some time off, and dump the "Marvelous" gimick...so I guess technically he was telling the truth. They may have Marc resolve his issues with Sable and have a reunion reminicent of the Miss Elizabeth and Randy Savage reunion years ago. It would be the ulimate push as a face.
For those of you fans who do not know the Indy stars very well, last Monday on Raw that was Donnie B (Super Nova's twin brother) who called Chyna a bitch, and wrestler Inferno Kid was right behind him along with Twiggy Ramirez. CREDIT: Georgiann Makropoulos
Columbia Pictures has finally made Bill Goldberg's involvement with UNIVERSAL SOLDIER 2 official. According to their press release he'll play "Romeo, a virtually indestructible Universal Soldier who proves a worthy adversary to Deveraux (Jean Claude Van Damme) as the hero attempts to thwart the team of deadly, near-perfect warriors." CREDIT: Scoops
Gene Okerland reported on the WCW Hotline that A & E will be doing a soon special biography on none other then recent Minnesota Governor elect Jesse "The Body" Ventura.
WCW Hotline reports that Hulk Hogan is representing WCW at a big cable convention in Los Angeles, California. Many are speculating that either Hogan has not necessarily retired, or this is how he will finish up his time with WCW, although there are rumors he will give a farewell speech at the 1/4 Georgia Dome Nitro.
Sources have reported to WWF.COM that World Wrestling Federation Women's Champion Sable has agreed to pose for pictures in a forth coming issue of Hugh Hefner's Playboy Magazine, the most widely read "gentleman's" publication in the world. Playboy has been negotiating to shoot Sable for some time, and apparently they have come to terms. The photo shoot should take place in Los Angeles sometime in 1999, possibly in January. It is expected the issue will hit newsstands some time in the spring. No other details have been provided other than the rumors that Sable may appear on the cover of the magazine when it is finally released. CREDIT: WWF.COM and IWZ
Rolling Stone Magazine, issue 802+803(double issue), now has a 6-page story on the life of Steve Austin. The article is reportedly intitled..."Steve Austin: With tough talk and an upturned middle finger, he's turned pro wrestling into a Monday night obsession. Say hello to the new American Hero" The article gives tons of unknown facts of Austin, such as, he won Mr. Cowboy 1983, worked 40 hour weeks loading and unloading freight trucks, the WWF went through 3 full pages of names that they faxed to Austin before settling on "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, and much more. They also talk about Austin wrestling in Tennessee. A promoter, after one of Austin's matches, said "What the hell was that?", implying that Austin still had a lot to learn. The article also mentions Austin in the USWA, WCW, ECW, independents, and of course, the WWF. The article is a very long, in-depth view of Steve Austin's entire life, from childhood to now. The magazine should be out on newsstands within 2 weeks. CREDIT: SJJ and IWZ
Masato Tanaka will be returning to Japan on 12/3. Meltzer reports that he is home sick and has talked of not returning full time, although the plan originally was for him to stay as a regular until June. If Tanaka leaves the states, ECW will be losing one of their best workers. CREDIT: Dave Meltzer
Bob Emanuel Jr. over at the MIAMI HERALD reported to Scoops that ECW star Blue Meanie will be rejoining Al Snow in the WWF as a member of the Job Squad.
On the "Bottom Line" of the screen, there was a little caption quoting something to the effect of this: Hollywood Hogan announces his retirement from professional wrestling so he can run for president of the United States in 2000. If you are unfamiliar with the format which ESPN takes for "Bottom Line," the basic process is they run down the scores of every game that day, including breaking news such as a trade or other transactions. I find it very odd that they would actually include Hogan's retirement on their show. Wrestling has often been the subject of mockery on ESPN. I guess that's one more, for the good guys. CREDIT: David Tyler and Wrestling Headlines
It looks like the Ultimate Warrior may have finally signed a contract extension and could be appearing at World War III. If he does show, he will be one of the favorites to win the event and fight Goldberg at Starcade.
Ok, now it's obvious that there has been more than 1 Blue Blazer, even more than 2 Blue Blazers. When the Blue Blazer originally "reappeared" in the WWF on RAW and attacked both Shamrock and Blackman, that was Owen Hart. Now the Blue Blazer that was there with Owen Hart in the back when he was attacked by Blackman, was Jeff Jarrett; and the Blue Blazer that ran in to help Jeff Jarrett during a match was Owen Hart. Now last night on RAW, you saw both Owen Hart and Jeff Jarrett together, and the "Blue Blazer" with them. This Blue Blazer was definatly different from any of the other Blue Blazers. You could tell by his face shape and the way he "played" the Blue Blazer. Rumor has it that the third Blue Blazer last night on RAW was Owen's nephew Teddy Hart and that the WWF is gonna try to form some alliance between Owen, Jarrett and Teddy. When the Blue Blazer unmasks is a mystery, but I hope the WWF does it soon or else people will start losing interest in the "Blue Blazer" angle all together. CREDIT: HWO Glacier
It looks like luchadores Tarzan Boy and Mr. Aguila have recently signed contracts with the WWF. The WWF is hoping to bring some popularity back into the lightweight division and luchadores seem to be the only way to do it.
Bam Bam Bigelow may debut as early as World War 3 this Sunday. Some management want him to win it all on his debut and go up against Goldberg right off the bat at Starrcade. Currently Kevin Nash is scheduled to win WW3. Other plans are that they want Goldberg to remain undefeated for a while, and Big Daddy Cool may not be so cool when it comes to doing the J-O-B at the P-P-V. Bam Bam is not only a great threat to the champion, but also a great worker who can make him look good.
If you haven't figured it out yet, it looks as if there will be some sort of replacement for Judy Bagwell in the tag match. Thank god, because I for one didn't look forward to seeing her put on wrestling tights.
The cards came out through Monday, November 23, 1998, and there are no bookings for any of the WCW guys for CMLL in Mexico listed. Apolo Dantes is listed on several shows, including Tijuana Friday night. CREDIT: David Romero
SAVIO VEGA appeared recently on a Spanish show called “El Gordo y La Flaca” which is produced by Univision. He showed up with a few luchadores to plug the wrestling show “Los Super Astros”. Savio told the hosts that he had a neck injury and that will be returning to the ring in 2 months or so. By the way, Savio referred to himself as “El Hombre Dinamita”(Dynamite Man) and the luchadores demonstrated some basic wrestling moves to the host. CREDIT: Brian H.
Shawn Michaels was one of the main stories on the CBS news affiliate in San Antonio, Texas (KENS 5). He did a one-on-one interview with Brandy Ralston. The interview took place at a local wrestling gym in San Antonio, where Michaels was checking out some of the matches. Jose Lothario was interviewed, and said he trained Michaels when he was 17-years-old. Michaels noted a couple of injuries he had/has: torn ACL, torn meniscus, separated shoulder, and three herniated discs in his back. He stated that he is "ready to settle down." He is engaged, after recently asking his girlfriend to marry him. He will be starting a wrestling school in San Antonio that is set to open in a couple of months. He said he plans to return to the WWF ring sometime next year.
The angle the WWF is currently running is that Val Venis impregnated Terry Runnels. But Val claims he has had a bisectomy, so it is impossible for him to be the father. But regardless of the fact, Mrs. Runnels is really pregnant...really. Mr. Meltzer has reported that Dustin and Terry Runnels are legitimately expecting their second child.
Bob Ryder reports that Ted Dibiase was the guest on the "Wrestling Rap" radio show on Saturday and said he was "disappointed in Vince McMahon" for the direction he has taken the WWF. Dibiase credited McMahon for expanding the popularity of wrestling in the 80's by presenting a family oriented product. Like many of his peers, Dibiase says he no longer allows his children to watch RAW because of the adult content the show features on a weekly basis. "They say they are appealing to a more mature audience, but they continue to promote tshirts, dolls, and video games...things directed at children," said Dibiase. Dibiase says he has a year left on his WCW contract, and respects the integrity of WCW in not resorting to the "adult" content to combat the WWF's rise in ratings. Dibiase says he does not foresee a return to managing, but says he may do color commentary at some point. In recent months he has represented WCW at WCW Motor Sports events, and recently consulted on a new video game being developed.
