9-5-99
Welcome to News and Rumors! Mattman is here bringing you a new ediotion of News and Rumors! Let's get the show on the road, while the News and Rumors unfold!
I would like to start off this week's edition of News and Rumors with 2 reminders.
Stone Cold Steve Austin's rehab for his injured knee is progressing very well and it is estimated that Stone Cold will be able to return to the ring in mid-October according to Health South medical personnel in San Antonio. Stone Cold is also expected to be in Albany, New York Tuesday for the taping of the September 9 SmackDown!.
Austin will be a guest on The Martin Short Show to be taped in L.A. on Wednesday, September 15. Air date has yet to be determined
Along with Austin the Undertaker and The Big Show have also been invited to be guests at the annual mega-event on Thursday, September 9 in NYC.
The Road Dogg is set to return to action in early October as a result of his altercation with Chris (Y2J) Jericho. The Road Dogg and Mankind recently shot new commercials for Jakks toys. Road Dogg merchandise is really doing great, also.
Test is really in demand for commercial work in Toronto. Don't be surprised if this young man becomes Canada's favorite wrestling in the next few years.
The Rock will face Triple H in a Steel Cage Match in the UK on October 2. This is a non-title contest that will be seen on Sky Box Office from the sold-out National Indoor Arena. Expect the British Bulldog to be a part of this event also.
The WWF will do a date at the Oklahoma State Fair on Thursday, Sept. 23. The Oklahoma City event will be headlined by Kane, among others.
Expect a huge announcement regarding the WWF Title match for Sept. 26's Unforgiven either Monday night on RAW 11E/10C/9P or Thursday on SmackDown!.
No return date has been set for Thrasher's (Glenn Ruth) full-time return to the ring. It all depends on how quickly Glenn can get himself physically ready to go after getting out of shape during his knee surgery and rehab.
JR will be writing the foreword for Mick Foley's book entitled 'Have a Nice Day' this weekend.
Sign Guy Dudley was never offered a contract in the WWF, for the record.
The UFC XXII is looking to be a pretty sweet card as of now. The headliner involves a Middle-Heavyweight match between Tito Ortiz, and Frank Shamrock. Ken Shamrock will be on hand for commentary.
WCW has recently been extremely impressed with Kid Romeo and Mike Sanders, both of whom currently attend the WCW Power Plant in Atlanta. The two should be offered WCW contracts in the very near future.
Several San Diego Padres players will be in attendance and backstage at the October 24 Halloween Havoc PPV. The PPV takes place from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
The Rock, HHH, Chyna, The Big Show, Kane, and Chris Jericho were recently on hand to film promotional material for upcoming WWF pay-per-views. The filming, featuring explosions and violent scenes with the superstars, was shot in an abandoned sugar factory in Brooklyn.
Rena Mero will be in Las Vegas next week for the 9/8 midnight launch of Sega Dreamcast.
As you might know, former Co-Editor of the WCW/nWo Magazine, Patty Therre, did not totally leave the wrestling business. Now, she continues to write columns at WCW.com, she's the executive editor for RollerJam Magazine, and runs her Wrestling for Women site, at WrestlingontheFringe.com. The last issue of WCW/nWo Magazine did a special 4 page article saying goodbye to the editors, Patty, and Senior Editor Colin Bowman.
When WCW: Live! was talking about some new wrestlers debuting soon, I'm confirmed that it's 3. 1, Devon Storm, is set to be debuting very soon, and possibly get involved in the Vampiro/Demon whole deal going on. The other two however are most likely Shark Boy, & Christian York.
WCW Live! reports Vampiro has been taking care of a family emergency, which is why he wasn't on Nitro or Thunder this week. Vampiro's wife is seriously ill, and the young star is spending most of his time by her hospital bed. He'll resume doing Nitro soon but he's off all house shows for the next three weeks.
Chastity has been given word that her contract will not be renewed after it expires in December. This is apparently the reason why Hak was ready to leave for ECW. However, Paul Heyman has said that the former 'Sandman' is not welcome back as after leaving ECW he [Hak] threatened legal action over money Heyman claimed he wasn't owed. This would be a huge loss for WCW, seeing as how she is one of the most popular women in WCW among fans at this point in time.
Lastly, Teri Byrne's, [Nitro Girl "Fyre"] official website, WrestlingNation.com/byrne, is undergoing a MAJOR re-vamping. She's going to be having a design similar to Torrie Wilson's website, with a Diary, and Message Board, etc.
I hope you all enjoyed today's edition, and please come back tomorrow, when Viper will be here doing his thing.
Mattman-Mattmallon@aol.com
9-3-99
Hello and welcome to this Saturday edition of The Viper's Den News & Rumors!! This is the Viper giving you the low down on the wrestling world!! Lets get started!!
Lets start off with some Dudley news. As you know both Buh Buh Ray and Devon Dudley have signed with WWF, but Sign Guy Dudley has not yet. Sign Guy Dudley has decided to stay with ECW after an offer was made from Titan. He feels his future can be better fulfilled in Philadelphia. He'll be coming back in to the company with a new gimmick in the near future.
Fans at this weekend's WCW houseshows will be seeing some unscheduled appearances from Hulk Hogan and Goldberg. Hogan will appear at the Pensacola show on Friday and the Tallahassee show on Saturday, and Goldberg will appear at the Albany show on Sunday. That is a pleasent suprise for WCW house show attendants.
This past week on RAW, while Al Snow was pleading to The Big Bossman to spare pepper, he showed some flyers that he had made. On them was a picture of Pepper, and a number where people could call should they find Pepper. Well, Lucas from WWF.COM has confirmed today that as a practical joke, the number that Al Snow gave out was actually Val Venis' cell phone number. Pretty funny stuff. As a result, Val did change his cell phone number.
ECW has announced that they will hold a Fan Fest in conjunction with the Anarchy Rulz PPV in Chicago. The Fan Fest event will take place on Saturday, September 18, and will be held at the Odeum Theater from 11am to 3pm. The event will include photo and autograph opportunities and a chance to meet the top names from ECW. Admission will be $10, payable at the door.
WWF Lucas has now confirmed that the new WWF album will be out by November 2nd. Also he states not only will superstar's themes be one the cd, also original music you have never heard before. Some of the themes that should be on the cd are: Chris Jericho, Triple H, Corporation, The Rock, D Generation-X, Big Bossman, Mankind, and many more. It should break the previous record.
WCW will be changing a name to one of their most famous PPV's. I have heard that WCW will be changing the name of World War Three To WCW Mayhem. This Mayhem thing is getting out of hand. First there is Mayhem the video game then Mayhem the CD now there is Mayhem the PPV. World War Three was actually a good name too.
Mr. Hughes has been working out his last few indie dates, and has agreed to terms to return to the WWF. At a recent small show at the Illinois State Fair, Hughes told fans that he'd be brought in during the month of September as Shane McMahon's bodyguard.
Two WCW contracts expire soon. Gene Okerlund is one of them, and there isn't any effort as of yet to resign him. The other person is Buff Bagwell, whose contract ends in four months. Buff probably won't resign with WCW unless they offer more money. Bagwell will more than likely end up in the WWF.
The Wrestling Tribune Hotline, hosted by Wesley Knight says that X-Pac complained to the WWF booking team after Smackdown about how much he's being jobbed lately. I have to agree with X-Pac, because when was the last time Kane got pinned instead of him? Well, he is now expected to turn on Kane and go heel. Personally I think it would do a lot for him and his career, as most wrestlers are able to truly showcase their talent when they're heels (The Rock, Triple H, Billy Gunn, etc.). He should begin to fued with a face Billy Gunn over the IC Title after Unforgiven.
Though there's been a lot of talk on the 'net how Steve Austin and the WWF are currently butting heads, its come to my attention that the worst is over and that things will be back to normal within a few days. "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, while under rehab, has been keeping very busy. He will be at the 9.9.99 Smackdown tapings [Why would people be going to SD? You should be at home glued to your DreamCasts!!], and will be back in the ring in October. His fued with Triple H will continue until the Royal Rumble. Hopefully Austin will stay out of the title scene until January, that will give more wrestlers a chance at the title.
Viper - Viper00290@aol.com
9-2-99
Welcome to News and Rumors here on Thursday! Mattman is here giving you this report.
Scott Steiner has been granted a medical release to return to wrestling. Steiner has been working out very strenuously to make sure his comeback is a successful one. His official website even states an appearance will be made at the September 6th Nitro from Miami, Florida. Even though I didn't like his last gimick, he is a fantastic wrestler!
West Texas Redneck members Bobby Duncum Jr. and Curt Hennig are slated to get knee surgery very soon or at least some much needed rehab. Both have been in limited action the past few weeks trying to work through their respective injuries. But it seems inevitable that both will need some time off soon. I hope that both members of the WTR have a quick recovery.
Lex Luger will very likely turn out to be the infamous hummer driver. The Total Package was promised a major heel role by the federation earlier this year and is being considered to start a program with Hogan if he is indeed announced as the driver.
The rumors started a few months ago, and now they're resurfacing. Reports this morning that the WWF has announced that RAW will have a new look for the fall season. In a few weeks we'll definitely be seeing a new opening and graphics, and perhaps new music. Anything beyond that? We'll have to wait and see. Don't look for it to be anything drastic, but the changes will definately be noticable. Another change (that we already know is for the better) is that RAW will be going live every week starting soon. Definately something to look forward to.
ECW has announced that they will hold a Fan Fest in conjunction with the Anarchy Rulz PPV in Chicago. The Fan Fest event will take place on Saturday, September 18, and will be held at the Odeum Theater from 11am to 3pm. The event will include photo and autograph opportunities and a chance to meet the top names from ECW. Admission will be $10, payable at the door.
Most of the management in World Championship Wrestling are reported to be happy with how the premiere of Berlyn went. The wrestler formerly known as Alex Wright was the first major buildup wrestler from scratch for the company in quite some time. Even with the mistake by the female interpreter at the end of the segment, the introduction went smoothly.
Doug Dillinger and WCW security took away Kidman signs from WCW Nitro on Monday. This is a punishment from WCW officials for asking for a release last week. WCW will be burying Kidman and his gimmick for the next few months. Ironically, however, security did not confiscate Konnan signs. Konnan has been upset about his and the Luchadores' misuse in WCW, and has also been vocal about his disagreement with WCW policies.
Next Monday will be the 4th anniversary of WCW: Nitro. The show debuted on Labor Day in 1995, and made an immediate major impact on wrestling.
It was announced yesterday, that later this month Luna will get a chance at her dream - to be WWF Women's Champion - at Unforgiven. She will take on Ivory in a match that could be very beneficial for the WWF Women's division. Should Luna be crowned champion, that leaves women like Jackie, Ivory, Mariana (Chaz' girlfriend), and Tori who will all be after the title. We'll find out at Unforgiven. This is also the only official match announced for Unforgiven too. I'll keep everyone posted as new matches are announced.
Thanks for coming everyone, and please come back tomorrow, when Viper will be here.
9-1-99
Hello and welcome to this Wednesday edition of The Viper's Den News & Rumors!! This is the Viper giving you the low down on the wrestling world!! Lets get started!!
Lets start off with some WCW news. Alot of WCW athletes are unhappy as of late. The reason is that Dustin Rhodes is injured and is still receiving pay from WCW. Rhodes would probally not be getting pay if his father, Dusty Rhodes, was not a WCW official. Dustin has been out with a back injury for quite awhile. There is still no word on when he will return.
The Rock was apparently upset with being pushed down to a feud with Billy Gunn and was dissapointed with Gunn's performance during the Summerslam match. He wasn't steaming, but took an approach where he made it clear the next night on Raw about where he thinks Billy Gunn should be, by comparing him to The Brooklyn Brawler.
The Shane Douglas heel turn was supposed to come at Road Wild on 08/14, but most fans saw it coming and it is on hold indefinitely. Shane Douglas vs. Dean Malenko was even scheduled for September house shows.
There has been some news on Konnan. It seems that his career will be decided in the next 24 hours. If Konnan gets a full release from WCW he will be on his way to the WWF to sign a big contract. If he doesn't get a full release he will return to Mexico to wrestle. He will not return to ECW, Paul Heyman said he had no interest in signing him. Hopefully he gets his full release.
The reason Vampiro came out, and told Evan Kouregous and Scotty Riggs "they owed him", only to have Demon [Brian Adams] come out and say "not yet" will turn into a huge feud. From what I understand, look for Riggs and Kouregous to side with Demon, and feud with Vampiro and the ICP.
If you saw Raw Is War Monday you saw The Rock and Mankind team up and become the new WWF Tag Team Champions. A couple other things went down after the show went toff the air. The Rock and left and then came back to sing Smackdown Hotel. After that he does his "if ya smell what the rock..." but out from the back comes out Foley without his mask on or anything and yells "is cookin". It was easy to tell that the Rock didn't know this was gonna happen becase he broke character and started laughing hysterically. Eventually both The Rock and Foley are singing Smackdown Hotel. Then they both start to leave again, but on the top of the ramp Foley says "I'd just like to thank my dozens" (crowd "and dozens") "of my fans" Then the Rock gets on the mic and says if Foley is gonna steal his lines he might as well do it right and it goes like this "I'd just like to thank the millions (crowd "and millions") "of the rocks fans". After that they both walked off.
Eddie Guerrero was upset with his match with Vampiro last Monday on Nitro. So much so that Guerrero challenged Vamp to a fight backstage. Apparently Guerrero didn't appreciate the stiffness of the match, and he thought Vampiro didn't sell enough for him.
WWF officials aren't happy with Vic Grimes. He told friends he couldn't punch good in the suit the company had him wearing and he slipped off the ropes at one point, wearing street shoes instead of wrestling boots. He wasn't at the Raw is War or Smackdown events last week. His character may have been scrapped for now. There are rumors ECW may pick him up for a while.
According to Dave Meltzer, Kevin Nash was backstage at Monday's Nitro and was doing a lot of the booking for the show. Nash had conversations with Billy Kidman and Konnan who were both backstage at the show, regarding their futures within the company and what went down the previous week at Eric Bischoff's meeting.
There has been some news on the former WWF Tag Team Champ The Road Dogg Jesse James. As you know Road Dogg will be out of wrestling for a couple months. Smackdown Jericho "injured" Road Dogg so he could get the couple months off. The reason he is getting time off is he failed a drug test. The Road Dogg has had drug problems before, he had to take some time off the go into rehab the beginning of this year. The former New Age Outlaw will be in rehab for awhile. Hopefully he will be able to overcome his drug problem.
Insane Clown Posse wants more from WCW. Reportedly ICP wants more money and less jobs. I don't see why WCW is giving them alot of money anyway, they haven't been making a big difference in ratings.
The Dudleys are now officially in the WWF. They wrestled a dark match on Raw last Monday which will probally air this Saturday on Jakked. Apparently they defeated a pair of jobbers. The Dudleys have also been rumored to be appear on Smackdown this Thursday. Look for them to rise in the tag team ranks quickly.
Here is the rumored card for the upcoming WCW PPV Fall Brawl:
That is all for today!! I will see ya later!!
Viper - Viper00290@aol.com