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Post by Stephanie McMahon's sidekick! on Dec 29, 2002 13:36:28 GMT -5
Huge Update On Goldberg To WWE, Bob Sapp, & More
Some of the following news was derived and re-written from the Torch Newsletter.
As we have been reporting since the Rock stirred the pot on a local radio appearance, WWE is in negotiations with Bill Goldberg for a short-term run around WrestleMania. The discussions between Goldberg and WWE at this point are still in the early stages, but are said to be looking good with Vince McMahon lowering his demands in a sign of desperation. In prior negotiations, WWE wouldn't budge on wanting Goldberg to work a long-term schedule including house show and TV dates. Now, the negotiation is for a couple of TV appearances and one big match at WrestleMania in 2003. A lot of details still need to be worked out before this is considered likely, but the Goldberg/WWE deal is much closer now than ever before.
Bob Sapp recently taped an appearance on Christmas in Japan for Ken Shimura's variety television show. The taping is expected to air in Japan on Fuji TV on January 4th at 6:30PM. In a related Bob Sapp tidbit, a downloadable video clip of his much-talked about fight against Ernesto Hoost at this year's K-1 Grand Prix tournament is available for free by going to MMANews.com.
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Post by Stephanie McMahon's sidekick! on Dec 29, 2002 13:38:08 GMT -5
Steve Austin's Interview For Tonight Confirmed The Phantom from Get in the Ring radio, affiliate of AudioWrestling.com which also features my show, WrestleZone Radio, wrote the following: Got off the phone with Aaron Braunstein, who hosts the show "Wise Guys, Black Guys, and Rabbis" in New York City. It is true that he has the first exclusive with Steve Austin and it will air tonight, @ Midnight, 620 AM Sporting News Radio, and can be heard at www.thesportingnews.com. Aaron is a very interesting guy to say the least, who is a big name in the world of boxing and New York Radio. Austin was supposed to call up and do a quick radio station promo, and plug for his upcoming appearance at Hits and Hoops, on 12/29. Aaron, decided to ask some questions, and see what Steve would say. He claims that Austin answered questions about his experience with Mike Tyson, his feelings on Vince McMahon, among other things. Despite being threatened by WWE lawsuits, he will run the interview tonight, unedited. Then, on Sunday @ Noon Eastern Mr. Braunstein will join Get in the Ring Radio to talk about the aftermath of the interview. Check out GIR Radio's website @ www.getinthering.tv or listen live this Sunday @ Noon Eastern 1240 AM WGBB. |
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Post by Stephanie McMahon's sidekick! on Dec 29, 2002 13:42:28 GMT -5
WWE RAW Rating Holds Strong During Holiday Season
Many insiders are claiming that this week's RAW and SmackDown! rating aren't even being looked at too much by WWE management. Well, this past Monday's RAW, in my opinion, is something to be proud of.
The December 23rd edition of WWE RAW scored a 3.3 cable rating with a 5.3 share. According to Nielsen Media Research, the first hour scored a 3.0 and the second scored a 3.5.
A growth of .5 from hour one to hour two is good, and the number holding in at 3.3 overall only two days before Christmas is definitely good news.
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Post by Stephanie McMahon's sidekick! on Dec 29, 2002 13:44:37 GMT -5
Steiner/HHH Match, Jericho News, DDP/Savage
In Diamond Dallas Page's recent email to his fans, he discussed his move to Los Angeles, in pursuit of a career in acting. He mentioned that he provided the voice for the lead of an animated Disney pilot entitled "Extreme Fairy Tales" that could end up getting picked up. He also informed fans that it is down to either him or Randy Savage for the voice of Kago in the upcoming Disney animated feature "Tarzan 2". He has the full update up over at DDPBang.com.
Chris Jericho will be playing at the Superskate Celebrity Hockey Game on 1/12/03 at Madison Square Garden at 1 PM.
The first Scott Steiner/HHH match will be at WWE's house show next Friday in Honolulu, Hawaii. The booking of the PPV match at Royal Rumble will largely be based on how the two mesh in the ring at this house show.
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Post by Stephanie McMahon's sidekick! on Dec 29, 2002 13:45:04 GMT -5
Steiner/HHH Match, Jericho News, DDP/Savage
In Diamond Dallas Page's recent email to his fans, he discussed his move to Los Angeles, in pursuit of a career in acting. He mentioned that he provided the voice for the lead of an animated Disney pilot entitled "Extreme Fairy Tales" that could end up getting picked up. He also informed fans that it is down to either him or Randy Savage for the voice of Kago in the upcoming Disney animated feature "Tarzan 2". He has the full update up over at DDPBang.com.
Chris Jericho will be playing at the Superskate Celebrity Hockey Game on 1/12/03 at Madison Square Garden at 1 PM.
The first Scott Steiner/HHH match will be at WWE's house show next Friday in Honolulu, Hawaii. The booking of the PPV match at Royal Rumble will largely be based on how the two mesh in the ring at this house show.
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Post by Stephanie McMahon's sidekick! on Dec 29, 2002 13:49:59 GMT -5
Steve Austin Speaks On His Current Status, Mike Tyson, & More Thanks to The Phantom from GetInTheRing.tv for sending along the following: Steve Austin sounded to be in great spirits during this interview and came off like a pro. The host, Aaron Braunstein, www.nyshockjock.com is a boxing enthusiast, so he was getting a brief overview of wrestling from Austin. All in all a great plug for Austin's Brooklyn, NY appearance, with nothing major covered (return date, etc). -Looking forward to getting out of Texas and going to Brooklyn -Austin says he's in the best shape of his life, because of his hiatus. -Talks about his workout routine, one body part per day. Cutting out the beer high in carbs -He is a big fight fan, and has tons of respect for boxers. He hits the speed bag and heavy bag. He gets his cardio from being in the ring, nothing like being in ring shape. -Talk turns to Mike Tyson, and Austin gives Tyson credit for helping out his career. He said Mike was a pleasure to do business with. -Austin believes that age plays a part in feeling the effects of the wrestling business, Austin says that he is 38 years old, and it was allot easier to go up and down the road when he was in his late 20's -Austin is trying to live allot better. He hasn't been doing allot in the last few months and is looking forward to doing the autograph signing at hits and hoops in Brooklyn, Sunday December 29th from 11am-1pm www.hitsandhoops.com-Austin played football in High School, and College running back, and defensive end. |
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Post by Stephanie McMahon's sidekick! on Dec 29, 2002 13:50:48 GMT -5
Steve Austin Speaks On His Current Status, Mike Tyson, & More Thanks to The Phantom from GetInTheRing.tv for sending along the following: Steve Austin sounded to be in great spirits during this interview and came off like a pro. The host, Aaron Braunstein, www.nyshockjock.com is a boxing enthusiast, so he was getting a brief overview of wrestling from Austin. All in all a great plug for Austin's Brooklyn, NY appearance, with nothing major covered (return date, etc). -Looking forward to getting out of Texas and going to Brooklyn -Austin says he's in the best shape of his life, because of his hiatus. -Talks about his workout routine, one body part per day. Cutting out the beer high in carbs -He is a big fight fan, and has tons of respect for boxers. He hits the speed bag and heavy bag. He gets his cardio from being in the ring, nothing like being in ring shape. -Talk turns to Mike Tyson, and Austin gives Tyson credit for helping out his career. He said Mike was a pleasure to do business with. -Austin believes that age plays a part in feeling the effects of the wrestling business, Austin says that he is 38 years old, and it was allot easier to go up and down the road when he was in his late 20's -Austin is trying to live allot better. He hasn't been doing allot in the last few months and is looking forward to doing the autograph signing at hits and hoops in Brooklyn, Sunday December 29th from 11am-1pm www.hitsandhoops.com-Austin played football in High School, and College running back, and defensive end. |
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Post by Stephanie McMahon's sidekick! on Dec 29, 2002 13:53:18 GMT -5
Hulk Hogan Update: WWE Return, Book Sales, & More
The following news is derived and re-written from the Torch Newsletter.
Despite what Jim Ross claimed in a recent Ross Report column on the WWE website, Hulk Hogan did meet with WWE officials backstage at the SmackDown! tapings a few weeks ago. While it is true that Hogan was only there for about 20 minutes, and nothing of any importance came from the meeting, Vince McMahon dodged a production meeting to have a one-on-one meeting with Hogan. Hulk Hogan's tour manager, Jimmy Hart, was also with him backstage at the show and the two spoke with Vince McMahon, Stephanie McMahon, Paul Heyman, Johnny Ace, Gerald Brisco, Pat Patterson, Dave Hebner, and Jim Barnett. Jimmy Hart hadn't seen Vince McMahon in person since he worked with the company almost 10 years ago as a manager.
Sales for Hulk Hogan's autobiography have not been what many had hoped it would be. For the week ending December 8th, Hulk Hogan's book had only sold 7,158 copies. While that is enough to make it the best selling wrestling book in a while, it wasn't enough for it to land on any of the top 10 book-sales lists as Mick Foley and Rock's did in their debut week. WWE was banking on a big name like Hogan doing a book to gain interest back in wrestling biographies, but it doesn't seem like it's going to work at this time. Hogan wasn't even interested in doing the book at this point in his life, but was encouraged to by Vince McMahon.
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Post by Stephanie McMahon's sidekick! on Dec 29, 2002 14:08:36 GMT -5
HHH Injury Update, Scott Steiner, Austin Update, & More
As of right now, Triple H is scheduled to return to in-ring action for WWE at their January 2nd house show in Honolulu. From there, he is expected to go back on his house show schedule, working matches with Scott Steiner. WWE is hoping that "The Game" will be at about 75 percent by next week, and there's no doubt that he'll be ready to go come Royal Rumble on January 19th.
Steve Austin is scheduled to do an autograph session on January 25th from 1-3PM. "The Rattlesnake" will be appearing at the Westfield Shoppington in Meriden, CT. All autographs from Steve Austin are priced at $25.00.
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Post by Stephanie McMahon's sidekick! on Dec 29, 2002 14:09:17 GMT -5
HHH Injury Update, Scott Steiner, Austin Update, & More
As of right now, Triple H is scheduled to return to in-ring action for WWE at their January 2nd house show in Honolulu. From there, he is expected to go back on his house show schedule, working matches with Scott Steiner. WWE is hoping that "The Game" will be at about 75 percent by next week, and there's no doubt that he'll be ready to go come Royal Rumble on January 19th.
Steve Austin is scheduled to do an autograph session on January 25th from 1-3PM. "The Rattlesnake" will be appearing at the Westfield Shoppington in Meriden, CT. All autographs from Steve Austin are priced at $25.00.
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Post by Stephanie McMahon's sidekick! on Dec 29, 2002 14:10:37 GMT -5
Sorry for posting stuff twice- but that's what you get for trying to text and post at the same time ;D
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Post by Stephanie McMahon's sidekick! on Dec 29, 2002 14:13:36 GMT -5
HHH Injury Update, Scott Steiner, Austin Update, & More
As of right now, Triple H is scheduled to return to in-ring action for WWE at their January 2nd house show in Honolulu. From there, he is expected to go back on his house show schedule, working matches with Scott Steiner. WWE is hoping that "The Game" will be at about 75 percent by next week, and there's no doubt that he'll be ready to go come Royal Rumble on January 19th.
Steve Austin is scheduled to do an autograph session on January 25th from 1-3PM. "The Rattlesnake" will be appearing at the Westfield Shoppington in Meriden, CT. All autographs from Steve Austin are priced at $25.00.
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Post by Stephanie McMahon's sidekick! on Dec 29, 2002 14:16:29 GMT -5
Vince McMahon Frustrated, Interesting RAW/PPV News
The following news is derived and re-written from the Torch Newsletter.
Approximately nine percent of viewers who watch RAW every Monday night are ordering the monthly pay-per views broadcasted by WWE. During the boom period, seven percent of viewers who watch RAW every Monday were ordering the WWE pay-per views. Despite the higher number now, it is a lower amount of buys due to the fact that fewer people are watching RAW now than during the boom period, so the higher percentage now translates into a smaller buyrate.
Vince McMahon is growing frustrated with his inability to find out what the viewers want from his product lately. McMahon, who prided himself on knowing what the people want for so many years, has said to admit that he is running out of ideas lately. During a recent production meeting, Vince declared shock television was dead, and no longer will shocking hotshot angles spark a number anymore.
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Post by Stephanie McMahon's sidekick! on Dec 29, 2002 14:19:10 GMT -5
Inside Details On The Rock vs. Goldberg At WrestleMania 19
The following news and rumors are derived from BlackJack Brown at SunTimes.com
It is being said that negotiations between Goldberg and WWE are going fairly well, and that a short-term deal between the two parties is being drawn up. If the deal were to go ahead, it could possibly bring to life the biggest main-event in wrestling history. If everything does indeed go well, it is expected that Goldberg will make appearances on WWE TV just enough to promote a match between himself and the Rock at WrestleMania 19.
The WWE were not initially interested in a short-term deal involving Goldberg, as they wanted his signature for the long-term. It now seems that the WWE have seen sense and are willing to change their ways to put on a possible show for the ages.
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