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Post by Stephanie McMahon's sidekick! on Jan 11, 2003 13:49:54 GMT -5
Hulk Hogan Returns, Goldberg's Next Match, & More
The following news is derived from MMANews.com:
Earlier today, Hulk Hogan made his arrival in Japan. Hogan will officially be working the WRESTLE-1 show on 1/19 and it will be his first match in Japan since facing Tatsumi Fujinami back on 1/4/94 at the Tokyo Dome. Nobody knew that Hogan would be arriving in Japan, but what is known is that he will be wrestling in a huge match on the show.
Bill Goldberg will also be working the show, and will be forming a tag team with AJPW’s Keiji Muto. Their opponents are yet to be named, but current rumors are going around that it may be Hogan and Naoya Ogawa, which would be interesting.
Mark Coleman and Kevin Randleman, both former UFC champions, will also be working the show, just as they did the first one back on 11/17/02. It is said that they will face two large giants, which are presumably Giant Singh and Giant Silva.
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Post by Stephanie McMahon's sidekick! on Jan 11, 2003 13:54:06 GMT -5
Mysterio's Return Update, A-Train's Injury, Ruthless Aggression
Rey Mysterio Jr. has already begun to start work without the use of his crutches, which is a very encouraging sign. Mysterio is expected back in mid-January time, at least by the time Royal Rumble rolls about. There isn't much known about the role Mysterio will play upon his return, but it is expected that he will still be allied with Edge in some form and try to extract some revenge on the A-Train.
As some of you may or may not know, Brock Lesnar at the SmackDown! Tapings inadvertently injured the A-Train with a dangerous F-5. The A-Train was said to be ok in the back several minutes after enduring the bump. Those who saw it in person said it looked like a very nasty fall and that the damage could of been a lot worse.
Subscribers to Madison Square Garden/Radio City Entertainment's ticket alert have said that the following was sent in:
"It's the first Madison Square Garden World Wrestling Entertainment show of the year on Saturday, February 1, 2003 @ 7:30pm: Ruthless Aggression featuring the Superstars of RAW - Big Poppa Pump Scott Steiner, HBK-Shawn Michaels, HHH, Booker T, RVD, Chris Jericho and special guest Brock Lesnar!"
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Post by Stephanie McMahon's sidekick! on Jan 11, 2003 13:55:22 GMT -5
Mysterio's Return Update, A-Train's Injury, Ruthless Aggression
Rey Mysterio Jr. has already begun to start work without the use of his crutches, which is a very encouraging sign. Mysterio is expected back in mid-January time, at least by the time Royal Rumble rolls about. There isn't much known about the role Mysterio will play upon his return, but it is expected that he will still be allied with Edge in some form and try to extract some revenge on the A-Train.
As some of you may or may not know, Brock Lesnar at the SmackDown! Tapings inadvertently injured the A-Train with a dangerous F-5. The A-Train was said to be ok in the back several minutes after enduring the bump. Those who saw it in person said it looked like a very nasty fall and that the damage could of been a lot worse.
Subscribers to Madison Square Garden/Radio City Entertainment's ticket alert have said that the following was sent in:
"It's the first Madison Square Garden World Wrestling Entertainment show of the year on Saturday, February 1, 2003 @ 7:30pm: Ruthless Aggression featuring the Superstars of RAW - Big Poppa Pump Scott Steiner, HBK-Shawn Michaels, HHH, Booker T, RVD, Chris Jericho and special guest Brock Lesnar!"
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Post by Stephanie McMahon's sidekick! on Jan 11, 2003 13:57:40 GMT -5
Hulk Hogan Update, Positive News For NWA:TNA, More
Expect tonight's WWE SmackDown! to be a wrestling loaded show, with very few promos.
It has already been reported that Hulk Hogan was present in Japan today with his son Nasty Nick. To add more to it, it is presumed that Hogan is mainly there to promote the 1/19 W-1 show at the Tokyo Dome. Those in the business are saying it wouldn't be the best career move for Hogan to take part in the show. Hogan gave a simple "maybe" answer today when asked if he would be doing the show, it remains to be seen if Hogan will indeed compete, more on the matter should be released later today.
Last night saw NWA:TNA's largest crowd since their move to the Nashville Fairgrounds, to the point that several hundred fans were turned away at the door. Also, the upper section of the building opened up around 45 minutes prior to the event and filled to capacity quickly.
On Saturday night, Rock's second appearance as host of Saturday Night Live will air at 10 p.m. Eastern on E!, followed by a tape of his interview on "Revealed with Jules Asner" at 11 p.m.
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Post by Stephanie McMahon's sidekick! on Jan 11, 2003 14:02:15 GMT -5
RAW Awards Released, Buff Bagwell, WWE/UPW, More
--According to WWE.com, the following awards are those that will make up next Tuesday's RAW 10th Anniversary special at The World in Times Square, New York:
-RAW Superstar Of The Decade
-RAW Diva Of The Decade
-Shut Up And Kiss Me - On-Screen Romances
-RAW's Greatest Matches
-Don't Do This At Home - Crazy Moves
-Give Me The Mic - Funny Promos, Lines, Reactions
-Tell Me I Did Not Just See That - Shocking RAW Moments
-Network Difficulties - Edgy Moments You Never Thought You'd See On TV
-Fans Decide RAW's Greatest Moment
--John Cena, Dr. Tom Prichard, and Victoria all took part of UPW's 4th year anniversary show, "Seasons Beatings 2." Cena lost his match to UPW wrestler Frankie Kazarian, and Erika Porter won the UPW Women's Battle Royal involving Victoria from WWE, Looney Lane who was one of the original "HLA" girls on RAW, and several other UPW female talent.
--Babyface Bookings sent word that anyone interested in booking Brian Lawler, Buff Bagwell, Gangrel, or Luna Vachon can send an email to BabyFaceBookings@aol.com. The aforementioned talent is available for both independant wrestling shows and personal appearances.
--New York Daily News has an article today about the possibility of UPN folding next year if it cannot reach a new deal with FOX. FOX owns 20 percent of the UPN affiliates, including those in the top three markets. This would of course effect the future of SmackDown! Go to NYDailyNews.com for more details.
--WGAL 8, a local television news station in Pennsylvania, is reporting another wrestling related assault. Basically, a 14 year old kid did a wrestling move on a 9 year old kid that caused some back and arm injuries. The station is reporting that the older child gave the younger child a "professional wrestling move called the Rock Down", obviously meaning Rock's "Rock Bottom". Scary how any physical assault can be related to pro wrestling these days.
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Post by Stephanie McMahon's sidekick! on Jan 11, 2003 14:06:00 GMT -5
TNN/RAW To Be Geared Exclusively To Men
In a very interesting story, Albie Hecht replaced Diana Robina as president of TNN. This came along with a memo from Herb Scannel, president of Viacom's Nickelodeon, TV Land, and TNN Networks that greatly affects WWE.
Apparently, Viacom wants to turn TNN into a channel totally dedicated to men. Scannel stated that no other network is exclusively for males, so feels this is a huge opportunity for TNN and Viacom.
Albie Hecht largely was chosen as new TNN president due to his proven track record of developing original series for Viacom's Nickelodeon brand, including Spongebob Square Pants, and Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius. It is hoped that he will create some hit "male-oriented" shows for TNN.
The movement to the new format will largely be based upon RAW, its number one show. This is expected to give RAW more opportunities to attract new visitors, while the new format utilizes RAW to develop.
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Post by Stephanie McMahon's sidekick! on Jan 12, 2003 13:19:22 GMT -5
RAW Changes, Hogan Return Update, Dusty Rhodes, & More
Due to some changes in TNN management, WWE may be able to get away with some of the stuff they couldn't earlier in the year. TNN is repackaging their network to focus on the male demographic, becomming the first major television network to dedicate itself to male viewership. This could be good news for RAW, as some of their risque segments caused an uproar within TNN in 2002, but would only help reach the male audience they are looking to obtain in 2003.
NWA-TNA drew their largest audience to date since moving to the smaller "TNA Asylum" arena as part of financial cutbacks. This past Wednesday night, the company had a full house, having to turn away several fans at the door due to reaching full capacity.
The main event for the WRESTLE-1 show on January 19th will feature Bill Goldberg and Keji Mutoh taking on the combination of Hulk Hogan and an unnamed partner who many expect to be Yoshirio Takayama or Shin'ya Hashimoto. Takayama is the more likely of the two, as rumors indicate Hashimoto will be working Abdullah the Butcher in a singles match on the same card.
NWA-TNA ring announcer Goldylocks suffering a concussion according to Jeremy Borash last Wednesday night.
Dusty Rhodes will be returning to NWA-TNA next Wednesday night on pay-per view. What many thought was just another one-shot deal for a big named star to speak out against Vince Russo on PPV, has seemingly turned into another maquee player for the company at least for a couple shows.
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Post by Stephanie McMahon's sidekick! on Jan 13, 2003 13:26:40 GMT -5
Dawn Marie/Hospital, Nidia, Scott Steiner/Team Angle News
Thanks to reader Arthur G for the following:
The episode of ER that ran on NBC right after Smackdown! went off the air had one of their storylines revolving around a 93 year old man that came into the ER after having a heart attack. After reviving the old man they found that the cause of the heart attack came from having sex with his girlfriend/wife, the same story Smackdown! aired with Dawn Marie and Al Wilson. Additionally, the woman was young and did slightly resemble Dawn.
Dawn Marie worked a short program with Nidia at last night's SmackDown! house show in Trenton, New Jersey. Reader reports indicate that it ended in Dawn removing Nidia's shorts, revealing her thong.
Reports of Team Angle's performance at house shows is coming in good. This is the opposite of Scott Steiner, whose performance as an update, is still not impressing WWE management.
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Post by Stephanie McMahon's sidekick! on Jan 13, 2003 13:29:43 GMT -5
Latest On Negotiations Between Goldberg & WWE
The following news is derived and re-written from the Torch Newsletter.
Negotiations between Bill Goldberg and WWE eased up quite a bit over the past few weeks, leading many to believe the proposed Goldberg vs. Rock match at WrestleMania isn't as much of an inevitability as it was just a few weeks ago. Goldberg is well aware of the fact that he is in the driver's seat as he feels WWE needs him right now a lot more than he needs them.
The stand-off at this point is said to be the amount of money per dates, as Goldberg wants an extremely large figure now that he can make lucrative money in Japan for very little work. There is going to have to be a lot of compromising on WWE's part if they want Goldberg at WrestleMania
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Post by Stephanie McMahon's sidekick! on Jan 13, 2003 13:31:58 GMT -5
Kurt Angle's WrestleMania Opponent, Shoot Fight, UPN News
Kurt Angle made a recent appearance on Bubba The Love Sponge. Reports say it was a very interesting interview. One of the key topics was his WrestleMania opponent. The crew questioned him, asking if it was HHH or Scott Steiner. Kurt Angle said it would not be either of them, but refused to say who it actually was. He did, however, hint that it's someone every WWE fan wants to see him have a shoot fight with. I think it's blatantly obvious who he's referring to.
An article in Reuters today is reporting that UPN cut its losses in half from last year, but still aren't profitable. The UPN president, however, did say Thursday night's Smackdown is by far the most profitable show for UPN.
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Post by Stephanie McMahon's sidekick! on Jan 13, 2003 13:37:03 GMT -5
RAW Anniversary, SmackDown!, Angle Injury Update; More
Just a reminder that WWE will tape SmackDown! tonight in East Rutherford, NJ. If you are attending the show and would be willing to send in a report, please do so by clicking here.
The RAW Tenth Anniversary special will air in the U.K next Friday night on Sky Sports 3 at midnight. That's immediately following RAW.
Kurt Angle was not wearing crutches at last nights house show in Trenton, NJ. Angle actually took several bumps during the Edge & Benoit vs. Team Angle match.
Spanky is apparently taking on a similar gimmick to that of The Grappler. He worked as The Titan (for Trenton Titans) last night and seeing as they will be in New Jersey tonight, he can work as "The Giant". The storyline they are trying to push is that he will take the names of local sports teams in the cities that they are in.
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Post by Stephanie McMahon's sidekick! on Jan 13, 2003 13:39:19 GMT -5
Added Rumble Match, Angle Updates, Raw & More
-UK News: WWE Raw will be on from 10pm-midnight, and then the Anniversary Special will be on from Midnight until 1:30am.
-WWE's Royal Rumble website has been updated. They have added a new match, between the Stepmother and Stepdaughter. Also, included on the sites update was an Undertaker picture, and below the picture it had a caption that said "The Undertaker returns."
-Angle will not be competing in the olympics this year, due to injuries. His knee surgery is going great and will be 100% by the Royal.
-Kurt Angle was on the Bubba the Love Sponge show this morning. Bubba begged Angle to tell him what his match was for Wrestlemania, but Kurt refused to say any names. Although, when Bubba said some names, Angle replied no. Names, such as; HHH, Big Poppa Pump, and Hogan. When asked if Hogan will be returning, Angle's responce was "he better come back!" At the end, Angle said he would leave Bubba with a hint, and that is that it would be someone that every fan wants to see him have a shoot match with.
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