News/spoilers for week begining 15th July

[Stephanie McMahon's sidekick!]

Vince McMahon Biased, Jeff Hardy Recording A CD, more
Story By: Matthew Boone
July 18, 2002

The following news is derived from the Pro Wrestling Torch Newsletter:

Writers in producting meetings are telling wrestlers that Vince McMahon is uninterested in storyline proposals for mid-card talents. They claim McMahon is very one-sided and only wants to hear their ideas for the current main-event level performers. Writers claim McMahon pays little attention to creative directions of mid-card talents, especially those some of the writers feel should be elevated to main-event level.

There is some talk of having Jeff Hardy record an album for WWE's "SmackDown! Records." Many aren't aware, but Jeff Hardy is a singer, song-writer, and guitarist. He plays mainly a mix between alternative to hard rock and roll music and spends a lot of time writing songs and practicing with his guitar.

[Stephanie McMahon's sidekick!]

Kurt Angle Interview, Roster Split News, Debra/Kim Nielsen Leaving WWE, more
Story By: Amish Patel
July 18, 2002

Credit to Pro Wrestling Torch for segments from this news report:

Kurt Angle made an appearance on today’s Manow Morning Madhouse and gave away some big happenings that will go down on tonight’s SmackDown!. Angle spoke on many subjects including winning the gold medal/WWE Title along with placing a lot of emphasis on angina heart disease. Many listeners called in saying Angle looked bawled; there was no comment on how long the look will actually stay on Kurt. Finally, Angle also stated that Tough Enough gave away the business too much but that people like to see how wrestling really works.

WWE is going to be taping SmackDown! on Sunday night, Aug. 4, in Richmond, Va. for a Thursday, Aug. 8 airdate. Then RAW will air live the next night, so it will be a rare case of SmackDown! being taped before RAW. The roster split should make that less of an issue than it otherwise would have been.

With the upcoming WWE Roster Cuts it is highly likely that Debra and Kim Nielsen could face the axe.

[Stephanie McMahon's sidekick!]

Trish Stratus Interview - Being A Supermodel, Her Debut, more
Story By: Amish Patel
July 18, 2002

Thanks to reader Damian Gonzalez for the following:

My name is Damian Gonzalez and I'm the owner of a website named TheSmartMarks.com. One of my writers was able to land an exclusive interview with Trish Stratus.

Here is an excerpt:

Two years ago Trish Stratus came into the WWF as the manager of Test and Albert. She had no wrestling experience and was there just for eye candy. Since then she has been a two time WWE Women's champion, had an affair with Mr. McMahon and even kissed the Rock- In this exclusive interview Trish reflects on her WWE career.

Retro Rob: Let's start with were it all began. How did a Canadian supermodel end up in the WWF?

Trish Stratus: The directors cut - I was working for LAW in Toronto and got backstage at a WWF event up here. After speaking with JR he suggested that If I went to a school the WWF would take a look at me. I trained at Sullys in TO, the same place as Edge & Christian though they were obviously long gone. After training for over a year I had talks with ECW and WCW but settled on the WWF.

Retro Rob: You debuted in March of 2000 on HeAt at the Nassau Coliseum. I was actually there live that night when you scouted Test and Albert to form T & A. How was your first televised WWF appearance?

Trish Stratus: Very nerve racking - I just kept thinking that I better not screw up. It was also a dream come true to be out there.

[Stephanie McMahon's sidekick!]

Release Date Confirmed for Smackdown: Shut Your Mouth
Story By: Will Hengelbrok
July 18, 2002

The following comes directly from THQ:

"The next installment in the top-selling PlayStation 2 franchise is back later this year with an enhanced career mode featuring an all new draft feature, an updated roster, better than ever graphics, revamped control system, in-depth Create-A-Wrestler, and an expanded season mode. Exclusive to the PlayStation 2, WWE SmackDown! Shut Your Mouth will be available November 2002."

[Stephanie McMahon's sidekick!]

McMahon-Hogan At Summerslam, News on Lita
Story By: Will Hengelbrok
July 19, 2002

As an update, the Ozzfest will be in New Jersey tomorrow and Saturday at the PNC Bank Arts Center. Jericho, Bubba Ray and Tommy Dreamer are confirmed for the show tomorrow. Saturday's show will feature Lita, as part of WWE's promotional deal with Ozzfest.

As many know by now, most sources seem to feel that one match at Summerslam will be Hogan against Vince McMahon. Where that is by no means confirmed, WWE seems to be showing some indication of interest in such a match. Vince McMahon has not been involved in a feuding angle with another talent in quite some time and has not had too much of a presence, other than as WWE's owner, on TV. This seems to be revolving around the fact that Hogan is in a tag-team angle right now, but when he gets out, there should be the ability to run a Hogan-McMahon program with no disturbance. With the new GM angle, one must wonder if this match will still happen, but even HHH, who recently nixed a John Cena/McMahon angle because of it, feels the match will occur. This site will keep you posted on this match and inform you on whether or not it will actually be taking place.

[Stephanie McMahon's sidekick!]

WWF/WWE Movie, WWE Hits New Low, Slammy Awards
Story By: Will Hengelbrok
July 19, 2002

The stock for WWE hit a 52-week-low today of $10 per share. That is down from the previous low of $10.31. This shows that the failing ratings is negatively affecting the outlook on the stock, even though the PTC settlement may be able to cover earnings for this quarter. WWE really needs to improve as they are now in trouble as a show and as a business.

Anyone who has viewed WWE in the past few weeks, realizes that Eight Legged Freaks has been advertised quite a bit of time during the shows and has even been featured as part of their "weekly clips". Well, there is also a reference to the company in the movie. During one point, someone yells "This is a town meeting, not the WWF!". Obviously, the movie, which strangely features former WCW champion David Arquette, was filmed before the name change.

A recent issue of Sports Fan Magazine listed the worst TV shows ever and "Learning The Ropes", a sitcom based on a pro wrestler, took number six. Additionally, the "Slammy Awards", a former WWF show, took number two.

[Stephanie McMahon's sidekick!]

Torrie/Dawn Marie, Vengeance, Booker T/Test Drive
Story By: Will Hengelbrok
July 19, 2002

As of now, Torrie and Dawn Marie are booked to make a live appearance at The World this Sunday for Vengeance. In an interesting note, the WWE website promises that there will be cut-backs to the complex during Vengeance, something that WWE has been reluctant to do these past few months.

Registration for the webcast of WWE Vengeance is underway on wwe.com. As always, they claim space is limited at the $24.95 price. Additionally, Vengeance will air on Sky Box Office in the UK this Sunday for a price of 21.99 Euro.

Booker T, known as the best videogame player in WWE, recently reviewed the game Test Drive from Infogrames. Booker T enjoyed the game, but claimed it was a little challenging at first. He also claims the game as incredible realism, giving it an 8.0 out of 10. As a special feature, Booker T claims that while the game is loading, a mini-game pops up for playing to keep one entertained.

[Stephanie McMahon's sidekick!]

Eric Bischoff Talks On Goldberg, Austin, Steiner/Sting, Vengeance, More
Story By: Amish Patel
July 19, 2002

Thanks to reader Marcos Cortest for the following report:

Eric Bischoff was on the radio today with the Rick and Brad Morning Show on 100.5 KATT in Oklahoma City. Here's a rundown of what was said:

They asked him how the audience responded to him being back:
He said a couple of people were happy to see him back on TV but most weren't.

They asked immediately about Bill Goldberg:
Said he's going to be at Sturgis with him and he wants to wrestle, "he will wrestle".

Asked about Steve Austin
Bischoff said they had an "acrimonious relationship" in WCW. It was interesting because he tried to act like Austin pulled the same thing in WCW saying "he got real pregnant dogy" when Hogan came in and that he "wasn't a man about it". Basically saying that for all the people that questioned his move of losing Austin he was finally justified by what Austin pulled in the WWE (totally ignoring the injury issue in WCW). His last words on Austin were that in both cases "He took his marbles and went home"

On whether he's got control of the book backstage, Eric made it sound like things were headed in that direction saying:
"I'm there to help, I'm competitive...I work hard for the people who pay me..I'll probably end up broadening my horizons.." The interviewers know little about wrestling so Eric never really answered their question, though it was clear that he didn't have much input at this point.

On what happened to WCW, the interviewer that is a big wrestling fan mentioned that Vince Russo came in and ruined things. Eric responded:
"As much as I despise the guy I can't blame him" He also said to make it absolutely clear that he had "absolutely nothing to do with the demise of WCW". He said WCW was the first victim of the mergers that are occurring in big business.

They asked how frustrating it was behind the scenes to see it happen, Bischoff talked about how WCW had never turned a profit until after he took control and then it started making money in "14 months". Interestingly, the interviewers pointed out how foolish Time Warner was for wanting to do away with WCW when "all you had to do was look at the numbers to see how successful the promotion was" Eric never bothered to clarify to them that WCW lost 80 million in 2000.

They asked about Sting and "Poppa Pump" (never calling him Scott Steiner):
Bischoff talked about Sting's religious beliefs and made it sound like he was done, regarding Steiner's chance of signing with WWE he said "I talked to him, he's wrestling, I think there's a chance"

They asked about the worst injury he'd ever seen and he said it was a toss up between Sid Vicious and Marcus Bagwell with Sid's being the worst visually. They then asked when Sid would come back and he seemed to have his doubts.

On Brock Lesnar:
"He's the most intimidating person I've ever been near" "I don't know who will beat him...he's pretty intense most of the time" The interviewers also asked about the Goldberg chants and Bischoff stated that Brock was more intense than Goldberg, even when the cameras were off.

Finally he plugged the Vengeance PPV and went into character about how he was going to try and steal the top talent from Smackdown and Sunday was the beginning of wrestling being bigger than it's ever been.

[Stephanie McMahon's sidekick!]

WWE Editing, SummerSlam Poster, Unforgiven In LA, more
Story By: Amish Patel
July 19, 2002

Thanks to reader Kevin Currah for the following:

I am watching Smackdown on The Score up here in Toronto, and the WWE edited in Billy & Chuck vs. Val Venis & Hardcore Holly from the Velocity tapings. You can clearly see the Velocity graphic, lighting and ring apron they use. In terms of match ordering, it takes place after the Chavo vs Hurricane bout, and after a one on one interview between Undertaker & Michael Cole.

The SummerSlam poster has apparently been released. www.mainevent.com.au/events/wwe/summerslam.htm is the link to it.

It has been announced that tickets for WWE Unforgiven are been given away by Rock radio station 97.5 in Hawaii. Tickets are been given away as part of their "97 Days of Summer" promotion. No date for the event has been given and it is the first that has been heard of the event taking place in LA.

[Stephanie McMahon's sidekick!]

WWE Fires 3 Wrestlers; Drops HWA As Training Camp
Story By: Matthew Boone
July 19, 2002

The following news is derived from 1wrestling.com:

WWE has apparently dropped Les Thatcher's Heartland Wrestling Association as one of their developmental territories.

In addition, E.Z. Money, Mike Sanders, and Race Steele have all been released from the WWE developmental system as well. This comes off the heels of Ron "H20" Waterman and Chad Collyer being released last week.

WWE is going to focus on Ohio Valley Wrestling as their exclusive training facility for the time being, and as of now there are no other territories being talked about as a possible replacement for HWA.

[Stephanie McMahon's sidekick!]

More WWE Wrestlers Fired, Vengeance Match Changed, more
Story By: Matthew Boone
July 19, 2002

The following news is derived from Dave Meltzer and WrestlingObserver.com:

The originally planned Chris Jericho vs. John Cena match for Sunday's Vengeance pay-per view has been removed from the card. It had never been officially announced to my knowledge, but it was definitely the plan when Jericho gave up his match with Edge on SmackDown! a few weeks ago. For whatever reason, they have changed their minds and decided not to have that match be part of the pay-per view.

As an update on my earlier report of HWA being dropped as WWE developmental territory, more wrestlers from that camp have been released. So far, E.Z. Money, Race Steele, Mike Sanders, Kim Nielsen, Steve Bradley, and Jason Sugarman have been released. Charlie Haas and Lance Cade survived the axe, as well as Johnny The Bull, Shannon Moore, and The Island Boyz, all of whom are expected to be brought to the main roster of WWE shortly. Johnny The Bull has already, but technically they haven't started putting any time or effort into his push yet.