News for 26th- 2nd September

[Stephanie McMahon's sidekick!]

HBK To Have More Matches, Kevin Nash/HHH, & More
Story By: Matt Boone
August 26, 2002

The following are news highlights from an article on WWE.com:

HBK, Kevin Nash, and Triple H all commented on the Shawn Michaels vs. Triple H exstravaganza backstage after SummerSlam last night.

HBK felt it was a decent match, he hasn't seen it yet, but feels it was good based on crowd reaction and the boys in the locker room. Nash said he wasn't surprised at all because he knew HBK and HHH would put on a show, and still considers them to be the best two workers in the industry. HHH thought the match was great, and really brought him up to par after a few average matches since his return from major knee surgery several months ago.

HBK said he hasn't decided if this will be his last trip to the ring in wrestling gear. He said it basically depends on how he feels tomorrow. If he can barely walk, he pretty guarantees it will be his last match. If he feels fine tomorrow, he may have more, but most likely tag matches, not singles competition.

HBK's mother and wife were in attendance during the show last night and "ooh'd" and "ahh'd" with the rest of the crowd when he would get the upper-hand. They cringed with the rest of the crowd when HBK took what most felt to be unnecessary risks. However, Nash, HHH, and HBK all agree that it is just what HBK does. Michaels added that he thinks he gets injured worse when he is too catious about what he is going to do in the ring, and says it's best to just go with the flow.

Michaels is scheduled to be taken off of television, according to the article on WWE.com, but should be back in the near future. Whether it be in the ring or not, HBK has not yet decided. However, we should know soon whether or not HBK will be back in the ring or not.

[Stephanie McMahon's sidekick!]

Update On Shawn Michaels: His Match w/HHH, Injury, & More
Story By: Amish Patel
August 26, 2002

The general consensus about Shawn Michaels' first return to the ring in over four years last night was said to be amazing.

Many backstage were impressed the display both Shawn Michaels and Triple H put on. It was said that many though Michaels looked as good as he did fifteen years ago.

Going into the match, many expected Michaels to be understandably cautious and careful on the bigger spots that could of culminated in injury. That was obviously not the case.

Michaels at around midnights yesterday was said to be feeling fine after his match with Triple H, which is very good news for HBK and his many fans.

[Stephanie McMahon's sidekick!]

Jesse Ventura Returning, WWE Hires New Talent, Injury Update
Story By: Matt Postoian
August 26, 2002

- WWE.com is reporting that Josh Matthews has been hired as a commentator trainee. Hiring Josh has been talked about for months now. About his new job Matthews said, “I’ve been practicing calling HEAT matches with Coach and calling Velocity matches with Michael Cole.” He also said that he would like to wrestle again in the future if possible.

- The Big Valbowski is healing at home near Toronto from the unfortunate and unnecessary gym accident that occurred recently. His neck is still bothering him and is preventing him from getting back in the ring at this time. He should be at 100% in the next month or so.

- Larry King will have Jesse Ventura on as his guest tomorrow night on CNN at 9PM. Eastern. The subject of the interview is set to be about Jesse opting to pass for re-election.

[Stephanie McMahon's sidekick!]

WWE Superstars Pledge to Participate, News on Raw Tonight
Story By: Matt Postoian
August 26, 2002

- NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Aug. 26, 2002-- New York State Governor George Pataki today teamed with WWE Superstars The Rock, Kurt Angle, Edge, Bradshaw, Mark Henry and Stacy Keibler; WWE CEO Linda McMahon; and Participate America Foundation President Bob Hansan to kick-off the national "Smackdown Your Vote! Pledge to Participate Tour" at Federal Hall on Wall Street in New York City.

The six-city tour - sponsored by WWE, Participate America Foundation and Weekly Reader -- encourages Americans to become more active citizens. It also signals the start of National Civic Participation Week, from September 11 to 17, when citizens from all walks of life will come together to celebrate democracy and civic participation in events across the United States.

During today's event, citizens renewed their shared commitment to their country and Constitution by signing a replica Constitutional scroll, and made a commitment to "Pledge To Participate" by volunteering, communicating with elected officials, and contributing to worthy causes. They also registered to vote in the 2002 elections.

- All these superstars will be at Raw tonight regardless of the Pledge to Participate events.

[Stephanie McMahon's sidekick!]

Backstage News: Heyman/MSG, Lesnar's WWE Title, ECW
Story By: Ben Johnson
August 26, 2002

The following are highlights from an interview with Paul Heyman on WWE.com:

Paul Heyman was very excited when he arrived at Madison Square Garden tonight in that he knew he'd be speaking in the ring standing next to the new Undisputed Champion, Brock Lesnar. Paul Heyman, at the age of fourteen, used to go to Madison Square Garden and finagle his way backstage at wrestling events.

Despite growing up in New York and promoting his ECW right near MSG at Hammerstein Ballroom, he didn't get to perform there until 2001 when he served as a RAW commentator at the beginning of the WCW Invasion.

Although this was his fourth appearance as WWE talent at MSG, Heyman feels tonight was his biggest in that he had the honor of accompanying Lesnar to the ring. Heyman feels that WWE better prepare for Lesnar because he is a genetic freak and there is no stopping him.

[Stephanie McMahon's sidekick!]

HBK Pulled off Raw at the Last Minute, Unforgiven Main Event, More
Story By: Matt Postoian
August 27, 2002

- The reason Shawn Michaels was kept off last night's Raw telecast was due to the lineup of the show before hand. WWE felt the show was so strong that a HBK appearance could have built up more in the right manner. Before the show started management made the decision to start the "HHH Crippled Shawn" direction to give more time for an HBK appearance to possibly burst up rating for next weeks show. In any event, it will be interesting to see how they portray this role.

- Look for the HHH/Brock Lesnar feud to really heat up in the next few weeks leading into Unforgiven. Although both are on different shows HHH is now set to take on Brock at Unforgiven in any place.

- WWE will release a new kind of DVD on October 1st, 2002: "WWE: Entrance Themes" is the title, published by Sony. Which will be available on DVD and VHS.

[Stephanie McMahon's sidekick!]

Royal Rumble Location Announced - Not UK
Story By: Will Hengelbrok
August 27, 2002

After some speculation a few months back, many people (including myself) believed that WWE were planning to hold a major PPV in the United Kingdom next year. This PPV was apparently going to be held at the Millenium Stadium in Cardiff, Wales.

Many of us believed that it would be the Royal Rumble. However, the location for that event has been announced as Boston.

No Way Out will be held in Montreal.

[Stephanie McMahon's sidekick!]

Live Notes from Summerslam, PPV Buy Rate
Story By: Will Hengelbrok
August 27, 2002

-- World Wrestling Entertainment are reporting that Summerslam had an attendance of 14,797 at the Nassau Coliseum last night. It was a record gross at that arena for WWE with $863,625 gained.

-- The crowd were excited towards the start of the PPV going into the Kurt Angle vs. Rey Mysterio match. However, this dropeed off in the Edge vs. Eddie Guerrero and Ric Flair vs. Chris Jericho matches.

-- Booker T receieved a good face pop.

-- The crowd were really into the Shawn Michaels vs. Triple H match.

-- Around 2 thirds of the arena were cheering for Brock Lesnar, although Rock got a good pop when Paul Heyman went through the table. After the match, the crowd still booed Rock in the ring as he did the usual "Finally, The Rock has come back..." which he tried three times and stopped. The crowd booed him to the back.

[Stephanie McMahon's sidekick!]

Backstage Praise For Jim Ross, Brock Lesnar/Sid Vicious, more
Story By: Ben Johnson
August 27, 2002

The following news comes from Live Audio Wrestling:

Jim Ross is being praised by those in the business for his commentary during the HHH vs. HBK match at Summerslam. Although some feel that JR's commentary is not what it used to be, the feeling is he came through perfectly adding to the drama of the HHH vs. HBK match, which is being referred to by almost everyone as the match of the night, with some of the credit going to JR for his commentary.

In an interesting note on Brock Lesnar receiving face pops in his Summerslam match, Sid Vicious, who Brock Lesnar is compared to in terms of physique, also was known to receive cheers in New York despite officially being recognized as a heel. Sid even received pops during a match against Shawn Michaels, which is similar to Brock receiving cheers during a match against The Rock.

[Stephanie McMahon's sidekick!]

Brock Lesnar's Pay, WWE Cookbook/Divas, Mark Henry Notes
Story By: Amish Patel
August 27, 2002

Parts of the following news are derived from Pro Wrestling Torch:

Sports columnist Patrick Reusse ahs wrote about Brock Lesnar and former roommate and wrestling teammate at the University of Minnesota, Tim Hartung in today's Minneapolis Star Tribune. The columnist contrasts their lives today, talking about Hartung worrying about his safety on a wrestling tournament overseas while Lesnar has just won the WWE Undisputed Title, which he has told friend means he will earn about $1.2 million per year as the champion.

Saturday's issue of The La Crosse Tribune in Wiscons in carried a column about Mark Henry, who was in town to promote a WWE SmackDown! house show next month. The column dwelled on Henry's eating habits. The column went on to say Vince McMahon spotted Henry after the powerlifter appeared on an Oprah program. The column said Henry, 30, was a born entertainer and enjoys meeting people. It said Henry would like someday to have a serious relationship.

Lita, Terri, Stacy Keibler and Trish Stratus will participate in the cover shoot for the next WWE Cookbook next week.

[Stephanie McMahon's sidekick!]

Details On Kane's Return On RAW; Possible Fake Kane
Story By: Matt Boone
August 27, 2002

The following news is derived from 1Wrestling.com:

There has been a lot of talk about the shocking difference in appearance Kane had last night as opposed to his previous stint in WWE. Many were under the impression that it wasn't the real Kane, Glenn Jacobs, but a fake Kane.

People tend to draw that conclusion from the difference in size. Many felt, and rightfully so, Kane looked smaller last night than he had in his previous WWE run. With an injury like a bicep tear, you can only hit the gym, especially when that's where the original bicep tear took place.

Kane also had a brand new look last night, which exposed more of his face than his old masks would, leading a lot to believe that it might not even be the real Kane. That was Glenn Jacobs, the legitimate Kane, despite the difference in appearance.

[Stephanie McMahon's sidekick!]

HBK's Wrestling Future, Brock Lesnar's Summer, WWE News
Story By: Ben Johnson
August 27, 2002

The following news comes from The LAW:

After Shawn Michaels' performance at Summerslam, many feel that he does not need to compete again. His match was a perfect final match, in the minds of those backstage, allowing him to get a win, but also help put over HHH as a fierce competitor by taking the sledgehammer shots. Chances are, however, WWE will be interested in Michaels wrestling in future matches, but if so he will likely only be used for special occasions.

The feeling is that WWE had a very successful summer in that by the time Summerslam rolled around, Brock Lesnar was over with the fans. The work they did with Brock Lesnar teaches something important about the business - focusing on the long-term. It was known for months that WWE was going to have Rock put over Lesnar at Summerslam, and in turn, allowed them to successfully build the match. If WWE does that for future major feuds, such as Brock versus Angle (if it is indeed set to happen), they can likely make a success out of them as well.

[Stephanie McMahon's sidekick!]

Breaking News: Steve Austin Files For Divorce From Debra
Story By: Matt Boone
August 27, 2002

Pro Wrestling Weekly represenative, Keith Young is claiming Steve Austin filed for divorce from his wife and former WWE superstar, Debra Williams.

The case is apparently listed as 2002CI10602 for the 288th District Court in Bexar County, Texas. The record mentioned Austin filed for divorce on July 22, 2002, and that the case is currently pending.

This is the latest chapter in a complex saga of Steve Austin in the past few months. It started with Austin walking out on WWE the second time, assaulting his wife Debra, and turning himself into authorites just a few weeks ago. Now all arrows are pointing at the two getting a divorce.

[Stephanie McMahon's sidekick!]

Backstage News On Undertaker/Lesnar Match, Kurt Angle Update
Story By: Ben Johnson
August 28, 2002

Note: The following news contains spoilers of Smackdown.

Last night at the Smackdown tapings, it was confirmed that Undertaker is the number one contender for Brock's Undisputed Title. The match is expected to take place at Unforgiven. This match was planned in advance, as WWE started building some heat a few weeks back on RAW when Lesnar and Undertaker had a confrontation. The latest word from backstage is that Undertaker would be willing to put Lesnar over, should WWE decide to have Lesnar win the match.

However, many feel that The Rock's job to Lesnar really was amazing for Brock. The Rock lost relatively cleanly, and allowed Lesnar to look really impressive. This type of job may or may not come from Undertaker, but he is apparently willing to put Lesnar over. As with the past few weeks, WWE once again avoided an Angle-Lesnar match, by having Undertaker defeat he and Benoit in a triple threat match to become the contender. Angle v. Lesnar is still planned for a future date.

[Stephanie McMahon's sidekick!]

RAW & SmackDown To Have Seperate World Titles
Story By: Matt Boone
August 31, 2002

At this point this is nothing more than a rumor, somewhat of a pretty strong rumor making the rounds lately. However, there is talk of WWE making two world titles, one for RAW and one for SmackDown!

Most draw this conclusion from the way RAW has unified the Intercontinental championship with both the European and Hardcore titles, getting rid of both former championships.

Further evidence, according to some, that RAW and SmackDown! will have seperate champions came when Brock Lesnar was announced being a SmackDown-exclusive superstar, despite the "rules" WWE laid out when they made the brand extension of the Undisputed champion being a superstar for both the RAW and SmackDown! brands.

Having two seperate champions for each brand would definitely give off the impression to the more casual, or uneducated fans of WWE that the RAW and SmackDown! brands are seperate, not just two shows with different rosters as it stands now.

While I personally would vote against such a move, it would make the brand extension more real than it comes off as being at the moment and would lead to a big payoff with both the RAW champion and SmackDown! champion unifying the titles to make one Undisputed champion further down the line. At this point, having a seperate World champion on RAW would only lessen the push given to Brock Lesnar.