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Post by Stephanie McMahon's sidekick! on Jan 21, 2003 13:20:33 GMT -5
Brock's Royal Rumble Win, Angle Comments On Wrestling Lesnar
The following is a summary of a Brock Lesnar article on WWE.com:
At this point last year, Brock Lesnar was simply wrestling dark matches at WWE events. Now, he has won the King Of The Ring, the WWE title and the Royal Rumble all within ten months of his official WWE TV debut. Brock was originally dubbed "The Next Big Thing", but that no longer suits him as he is now "The Big Thing".
Brock did have to compete twice on Sunday night to win the Royal Rumble, just as he had to do in June when he won the King Of The Ring. Brock could not accept praise for accomplishing that, however, because he said he's used to it from all his amateur wrestling tournaments.
Brock has had quite the rookie year, beating huge stars like Undertaker, Hogan, and The Rock, in addition to the aforementioned accolades. Even Kurt Angle, who always let the crowd hear how great his rookie campaign was with WWE, told WWE.com that Brock's rookie year was probably the best anyone's ever had. Lesnar stated that he's not in the business to be the most popular, just to "beat ass in the ring".
The article closed with the following regarding the likely Angle/Lesnar match at WrestleMania:
"What am I expecting at WrestleMania?" Angle asked rhetorically. "I'm expecting the toughest match of my lifetime, including my (amateur) wrestling career."
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Post by Stephanie McMahon's sidekick! on Jan 21, 2003 13:23:35 GMT -5
Bischoff's Future In Doubt, Rock/Heel, Horseman Return News
Source: 1Wrestling
-- Even if he is demoted from his position as RAW General Manager, it is expected that he will occupy a new role on RAW, possibly as a pain in the backside to Shane McMahon, or in another capacity. Should he not get demoted, it would be business as usual.
-- Last night we saw Orton, Batista, Flair and HHH get together in the group which had been rumored for many months now. If you figured that it would be the beginning of the Horseman reunion, you figured correct, but it is not known exactly how they will be related to each other.
The current writers’ plan is to turn the 4-some into a group, but it hasn’t been confirmed either way whether to refer to them as the Horsemen, due to the humungous failure of the return of the nWo this time last year.
-- And finally, backstage talk still revolves around the Rock being at No Way Out, as a heel. As I mentioned in my earlier post, it would come as no surprise to see some sort of double twist, where Rock is scheduled to be Stephanie’s ‘surprise’, Austin is scheduled to be Bischoff’s ‘surprise’ and then they do a double switch, with Rock on RAW and Austin (as a face) on Smackdown!.
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Post by Stephanie McMahon's sidekick! on Jan 22, 2003 13:12:03 GMT -5
New 4-Horsemen Update, Rock Return Details, McMahon/Bischoff
For those wondering, the current plan is to have Ric Flair, Triple H, Batista, and Randy Orton as a 4-Horsemen like stable on RAW. The idea came about almost a year ago and was finally put together last night on RAW as anyone can plainly see. At this point, there's no guarantee that they'll be referred to as the new 4-Horsemen, but that is the stable-gimmick they will be portraying.
SmackDown! will be taped tonight in Albany, New York. If you are attending the event, please send a report to Matt709@attbi.com. A note on tonight's show, it is being said that Stephanie McMahon's counter "atomic-bombshell" announcement will be that The Rock is coming back to SmackDown! at No Way Out. At this point, the plan is to bring Rock back as a heel. There is a possibility of a babyface return and then gradually turn him heel depending on how he is received upon return. He could have up to six months to work a WWE schedule this run, which many think he won't be doing.
Whether Shane McMahon "takes over RAW" as the new General Manager playing off the current storyline, there are no plans to remove Eric Bischoff from television. Bischoff will remain an on-air talent for RAW despite the current plan to replace him with Shane as GM.
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Post by Stephanie McMahon's sidekick! on Jan 22, 2003 13:17:24 GMT -5
Hulk Hogan's WWE Return, Vince McMahon, RAW Writing Team
Vince McMahon, Pat Patterson, Shane McMahon, Michael Hayes, and Bruce Prichard wrote the script for Sunday night's Royal Rumble pay-per view. Vince, Shane, and Prichard focused more on the storyline aspect, while Patterson and Hayes did the majority of putting together the match sequences.
Head writer for RAW, Brian Gewirtz, took a vacation this past week. Due to the vacation, Gewirtz did not attend Royal Rumble or RAW the last few days, but did submit content for both shows and was in constant contact with his supporting creative team during the trip.
WWE continues to negotiate off and on with Hulk Hogan. There is said to be a lot of interest in bringing him back for WrestleMania in March, and WWE seems persistant in reaching that goal. With that being said, there is still a lot of give-and-take left to go between McMahon and Hogan.
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Post by Stephanie McMahon's sidekick! on Jan 22, 2003 13:19:43 GMT -5
More On WWE Firing Raven, Interesting RAW News, & More
Apparently, Raven met with the WWE creative team last week before RAW and proposed a storyline for himself. The storyline was written into the show and started that night and involved his new haircut and new look in general. Despite giving it the green light initially, Raven was informed two days later (Wednesday) that he was going to be released from his contract.
For anyone wondering, William Regal and Lance Storm didn't hide under the ring when they attacked the Dudley Boys during last night's RAW. They were in a locker room tunnel about ten rows back on the opposite side of the camera before hitting the ring for the attack.
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Post by Stephanie McMahon's sidekick! on Jan 22, 2003 13:22:22 GMT -5
Randy Orton's In-Ring Return, Four Horsemen, more
The following are highlights from a Randy Orton interview on WWE.com:
Orton is only twenty-two years old, yet already is one of RAW's biggest stars and recently aligned himself with Ric Flair, Triple H, and Batista in a new faction. The only problem is that Randy still cannot wrestle in the ring, due to his shoulder injury.
Randy informed WWE.com that he has five weeks before official clearance to return to the ring. That means that he should be active to wrestle at WMx9 this year, assuming all goes as planned.
The injury does have other effects, besides limiting Randy's in-ring capabilities. Orton was hoping to go on the Asia trip with the RAW roster, but was unable to since he's injured.
The one positive is that Randy Orton has gotten plenty of TV time, something rare for an injured wrestler. This allowed him to start getting over with the fans, and get the chance to work a promo with HBK and Chris Jericho, two people he looks up to.
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Post by Stephanie McMahon's sidekick! on Jan 23, 2003 13:35:22 GMT -5
Details On Plans For Hulk Hogan & Steve Austin's Return
The current working plan in WWE is to have Hulk Hogan vs. Vince McMahon at WrestleMania. It will be one of many featured matches on the show, and the angle already started at the SmackDown! tapings between Hogan and McMahon. There is some concern that Hogan's return to the SmackDown! roster over-shadows the young main-eventers the show has been pushing lately.
There has been no confirmation that Steve Austin is back in WWE at this point. The company is moving forward as if the deal is finalized, but no word has come out as to whether it is or not. Obviously WWE is sure enough that Austin is coming back, or they wouldn't have started the angle that they did. At this point, it doesn't look like Austin will be working many house shows as part of his next run in WWE. He had a great reputation of being one of few main-event players in WWE who never shook the house show responsibility in the past, but it's looking like his schedule will be less crucial during his next run.
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Post by Stephanie McMahon's sidekick! on Jan 23, 2003 13:48:45 GMT -5
Steve Austin's Comeback, Nathan Jones/Benoit, & More
Tough Enough 3 finals air tonight live on MTV at 10:00PM Eastern Time. The show will be held at The World in Times Square as it has the last two years. Don't forget that you can vote off one final cut by going to ToughEnough.com.
Nathan Jones will be making his WWE in-ring debut on February 3rd in White Plains, New York. Jones will be taking on Chris Benoit on a SmackDown! brand show. That doesn't confirm that Jones will be a SmackDown! talent, but it's likely that he will.
It's pretty much a guarantee now that Steve Austin will be working a very light schedule compared to his last run with the company. As we mentioned yesterday, he won't be working too many of the house shows, but will work some of the bigger venues much like Shawn Michaels has done with his return.
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Post by Stephanie McMahon's sidekick! on Jan 24, 2003 14:41:35 GMT -5
Torrie Wilson In Playboy, Austin Update, Nathan Jones
The rumors are true, Torrie Wilson will be doing a photo shoot for Playboy magazine. WWE ran into problems with the last two divas they sent to the Playboy Mansion, Rena Mero and Joanie Laurer, but shouldn't encounter the same problem with Torrie Wilson as she's considered one of the nicest people in the company.
As I mentioned before, Nathan Jones will be a SmackDown! talent upon his debut with the company. He will be built up with video promos for a few more weeks before arriving on WWE television as part of the SmackDown! brand.
The latest word making the rounds is that Steve Austin's piece in the upcoming edition of RAW magazine is a "must read". Austin held nothing back to no one's surprise, and the article is expected to raise an eyebrow or two.
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Post by Stephanie McMahon's sidekick! on Jan 24, 2003 14:44:03 GMT -5
Foley's Book, more
The WrestleMania website has been relaunched and is now designed specifically for the upcoming event this March (as opposed to the generic site that went up a few weeks ago). The only match listed is, of course, Brock Lesnar and Kurt Angle, which WWE has been planning on since Brock Lesnar won the title from The Rock in August; a match that was tentatively sealed when Lesnar won the Rumble. One note is that the Mania history section of the site still has not been brought back.
Mick Foley's upcoming hardcover book "Tietam Brown" is now listed on Amazon.com with a release date of July 2003. A recent issue of Entertainment Weekly also plugged the new book.
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Post by Stephanie McMahon's sidekick! on Jan 25, 2003 15:19:10 GMT -5
Return, Al Wilson, & More
According to those close to him, Steve Austin is said to be in the best physical condition in his life. Austin has stated several times in random interviews that he has done nothing but work out and stay in top shape since walking out on WWE several months ago. It looks as if he is ready to go, and will be doing so come No Way Out in February.
Chris Kanyon's official website claims he will be returning to WWE action at a SmackDown! brand house show in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada on January 25th. His opponent will be Tough Enough 3 trainer and former WCW running buddy Bill DeMott. The WWE's newest monster Nathan Jones will also be working that card.
As everyone should know by now, Al Wilson's character was killed off at SmackDown! recently. Apparently the only reason WWE kept the storyline going so long was because his segments are typically the highest rated on the broadcast each week.
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Post by Stephanie McMahon's sidekick! on Jan 25, 2003 15:22:03 GMT -5
Booker T Injured, Stone Cold Update, Stephanie/Nidia Problems & More
Booker T suffered an injury at the WWE show in Korea and arrived back home yesterday. Unfortunately, Booker always seems to take bad luck with im when he leaves North America to work for the company. In the last international tour, Booker was so sick that he missed the next RAW show, which subsequently screwed up an angle that was going to lead to a tag-team title switch at a house show in Laredo.
Below is this Monday's "cable" RAW preview:
SHOW TITLE: WWE RAW
CATEGORY: Sports
SYNOPSIS: "The Bischoff countdown continues; Stone Cold update."
CHANNEL: TNN
DATE / TIME: January 27: 9:00PM
Many feel that Nidia has not been pushed on SmackDown! because of one, Stephanie McMahon. This arises from an incident that occured a few months back when Nidia took part in a bikini contest. Stephanie apparently took Nidia aside backstage and asked her to lose some weight, which provoked a response from Nidia that Stephanie did not like to say the least.
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Post by Stephanie McMahon's sidekick! on Jan 26, 2003 13:07:04 GMT -5
WWE Writing Team News, Vince Russo/TNA Locker Room, More
The following news is derived and re-written from the Torch Newsletter.
The majority of the writing for SmackDown! continues to be Paul Heyman's work, while the same goes for RAW with Brian Gewirtz handling most of the writing. Both have a support staff that contributes ideas, and both ultimately answer to Vince McMahon when all is said and done. Michael Hates has become somewhat of a primary assistant to Brian Gewirtz lately, giving Gewirtz a wrestling perspective since Gewirtz has never taken a single bump.
Prior to his debut, Dusty Rhodes was backstage hanging out with the wrestlers at a recent NWA-TNA pay-per view. Normally, when a wrestler is going to do a surprise appearance on the show, they are kept out in the parking lot or somewhere that not only the live audience wouldn't be aware of, but the wrestlers in the locker room itself. In addition to that, Vince Russo was in the locker room for a while as well, marking only the second time he has spent time in the TNA locker room since becomming an on-air character.
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Post by Stephanie McMahon's sidekick! on Jan 27, 2003 13:37:52 GMT -5
Hulk Hogan Comments On His Return, Trouble With WWE, more
The following are highlights from a WWE.com interview with Hulk Hogan:
Hulk Hogan was extremely excited to make his WWE return on SmackDown! One of the main things that he enjoyed was the fact that it'd be done in complete surprise fashion, with none of the fans in the crowd knowing, and very few backstage knowing until just a few hours before the show. Hogan himself didn't even known he'd be appearing on SmackDown until very recently, as he was meeting with Japanese promotions only a week ago.
Hogan still proved he could draw with the tremendous pop he received. He was still very nervous to walk down the ramp, though, fearing the possibility of being booed, despite playing a face character.
Hogan admits (you already knew this frequent this website) that his leave in August was for far more than a simple back injury, and did not want to return at that point. He did decide, however, that now was the time for a return.
The article closes with Hogan making a remark about how he is really shocked that the Hulkamania gimmick still works and wants to know why.
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Post by Stephanie McMahon's sidekick! on Jan 27, 2003 13:47:01 GMT -5
HBK/Jericho At Mania, Austin's Return, Hogan/McMahon
The following unconfirmed rumors come from BlackJack Brown of The Chicago Sun-Times. Take these for what they're worth.
With WrestleMania just two months away, the card already appears to be taking shape. Hulk Hogan versus Vince McMahon looks all but confirmed after Thursday's SmackDown!, and Angle/Lesnar has been virtually set for nearly six months. It also looks as if HBK will be taking on Chris Jericho at Mania in some shape or form, as HBK made a point of telling WWE.com in a post-Rumble interview that his feud with Jericho would extend just past Mania. Neither of these three matches have been technically confirmed, however.
Right now, it looks like WWE will work a suspenseful angle around Steve Austin's return. One possible scenario could be Shane McMahon "signing" Austin to take away the RAW General Manager position, by totally ruining Bischoff's plan.
As a reminder, Torrie Wilson is expected to do a Playboy photo shoot for an issue of the popular adult magazine.
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