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Post by Stephanie McMahon's sidekick! on Dec 17, 2002 6:21:09 GMT -5
Backstage Armageddon News: Angle, Undertaker, Big Show
The following are re-written news highlights derived from an article on WWE.com:
The WWE website crew caught up with Kurt Angle to talk about his WWE Championship win at Armageddon last night.
Angle said it's not the feeling of winning the WWE Championship, it's the feeling of knowing your one of the best the company has. He elaborated by saying to be the WWE Champion, you have to be considered one of the best in the company or they wouldn't rely on you to carry that crown. In addition to Angle's third WWE title reign, his wife, Karen, gave birth to their first child two weeks ago. To say Angle is floating on cloud nine would be an understatement.
Kurt Angle was pleased with his match against Big Show last night. He feels Big Show is the kind of guy who has the talent in him to produce like they did last night, but often tends to rely on his size and get a bit lazy in the ring. Angle felt Show rose to the occassion at WWE Armageddon last night.
Kurt Angle, who claimed to have played it safe and was a bit hesitant during his match last night, goes for surgery in four days. Angle, who has been suffering from a knee injury for quite sometime now, debated back and forth on whether or not to schedule the surgery later into 2003. After speaking with Jim Ross, his family, and some doctors, he came to the conclusion to do it now so he could rest during the holiday's and be back at 100 percent come Royal Rumble.
Big Show told the WWE website crew he felt his match with Kurt Angle last night was one of the best in his entire career. He followed by saying he's not a Chris Benoit or Eddie Guerrero in terms of workrate, but felt along with Kurt Angle, he told a good story in the ring last night.
Show commented on his WWE Championship title run by saying it was one of the best time's in his life. Easily considered the best title run he's had as he felt he had a lot of good things happen and worked with a lot of good people. He said he looks forward to a possible triple-threat match with Brock Lesnar and Kurt Angle, or he knows Undertaker is on his way back and his "ass is grass then."
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Post by Stephanie McMahon's sidekick! on Dec 17, 2002 6:23:31 GMT -5
Recap Of Sean Waltman & Joanie Laurer On The Anna Nicole Smith Show
Thanks to Michael Cangiarella for the following:
E! Entertainment Television aired an episode of the Anna Nicole Smith Show highlighting a Christmas party held by the star. Many minor celebrity's attended, including comedienne Margaret Cho, Rip Taylor and "pro-wrestler Sean Waltman". Sean was accompanied by his date for the evening, a very strawberry-blonde Joanie Laurer.
The latest installment of the whacky and really pointless show featured Anna furiously yelling at her assistant for burning the evening's turkey. She really comes off like a lunatic. The footage of Waltman shows his entrance at the party with Laurer, and they are greeted at the door by Smith. 'Pac look's very less than thrilled to be on hand for the affair.
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Post by Stephanie McMahon's sidekick! on Dec 17, 2002 6:24:59 GMT -5
Booker T Injured At Armageddon, Chris Jericho, & More
Booker T was shouting "13 times" over and over again backstage last night after winning the World tag-team titles with Goldust. Combined with his 11 reigns as tag-champion in WCW, and one in WWE with Test, Booker T now finds himself as a 13 time tag-team champion of the world. Booker T himself said he feels he's got more surprises in his future.
Chris Jericho was said to be pleased after his match at Armageddon last night. He told the WWE website crew that the final two teams, Jericho/Christian and Booker T/Goldust produced a solid match that kept the crowd on the edge of their seats.
Booker T was said to be banged up after the match, with his right elbow bothering him backstage. Booker T told the WWE website that he would be ready to go on RAW. In addition to that, the only other injury coming out of the match was a cut on Chris Jericho's left cheek, something he didn't even know he had - so it isn't bothering him any.
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Post by Stephanie McMahon's sidekick! on Dec 17, 2002 6:26:19 GMT -5
Goldberg/WWE Update, Rock's Return, HHH/RVD Politics
In case you missed our report over the weekend, The Rock told a local radio station in Dallas, Texas that he plans on coming back to WWE in 2003 and wrestling Bill Goldberg. According to sources, WWE has gone after Goldberg now more than ever, and Goldberg is actually considering the offer. While it is unconfirmed at this point, WWE is apparently offering a short-term contract to Goldberg for a few dates before WrestleMania, with the big payoff of course being the PPV itself. That is right up Goldberg's ally, and it would seem that all that's left is to cross the T's and dot the I's, but Goldberg is pretty difficult to deal with.
It should come to no surprise to anyone that the reason Rob Van Dam was stuck shaking hands at The World for Armageddon last night after coming off a main-event match at Survivor Series was due to Triple H. As with anyone else who gets on a roll and poses a threat to Triple H's long-term future as champion, "The Game" played RVD into quite the role last night. Many in the WWE offices were said to be shocked that RVD was kept off the pay-per view.
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Post by Stephanie McMahon's sidekick! on Dec 20, 2002 14:58:29 GMT -5
RAW News & Notes: Special Show Tonight, HHH, Dudleys
Tonight marks the 500th episode in WWE RAW history. WWE originally planned to book this as their major show of the year, but with both NFL Monday Night Football and HBO having their 500th game and boxing fight, they decided to market the January 14th edition of RAW as the 10th Anniversary special.
Chris Kanyon will be hosting tonight's RAW party at The World in Times Square, New York. An injured guy shaking hands in New York instead of a pay-per view main-eventer? Get out of here.
Expect something between the Dudley Boys and William Regal & Lance Storm leading into Royal Rumble. Whether or not that feud will start on tonight's RAW is a different story.
Despite the hamstring injury, the new World champion, Triple H, will be at tonight's RAW. As we've covered since Armageddon last night, the injury isn't anything too serious and won't be keeping "The Game" away from ring action.
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Post by Stephanie McMahon's sidekick! on Dec 20, 2002 15:02:53 GMT -5
Details On Goldust's Upcoming Wedding & Honeymoon
The following comes from WWE.com:
Dustin “Goldust” Runnels is taking full advantage of the time off the Superstars are receiving to celebrate the holidays.
Runnels will marry his girlfriend of a year and a half, Milena, on Wednesday at a small ceremony on the beach in Destin, Fla. He’ll wrestle at the RAW taping Saturday in Oklahoma City, Okla., and then honeymoon with his new bride in Honolulu.
The RAW Superstars will be performing back-to-back shows in Honolulu in Jan. 2 and 3, but Runnels, like a handful of other Superstars, will leave early (Dec. 26 in his case) and hang out in the city.
It’s the second marriage for Runnels and the first for his bride-to-be. Like many grooms, Runnels said he was much more excited about the marriage than about the ceremony itself.
“I know this is a big deal for her,” Runnels said of the wedding. “And it is for me too, but I’m just ready for it to be over.”
Runnels said his 8-year-old daughter, Dakota, will be the ring bearer. Only about a dozen people will attend the wedding. They include Runnels’ father, the legendary “American Dream” Dusty Rhodes, as well as his mother and two of his sisters.
Runnels met Milena, with whom he’s been engaged for six months, in Florida. She’s a native of Pittsburgh and a full-blooded Italian. She’s works out of her home for the company she owns, Elite Graphic Design.
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Post by Stephanie McMahon's sidekick! on Dec 20, 2002 15:04:48 GMT -5
The Rock's Father Signs Long Term WWE Contract
Source: WWE.com
"Although he won’t officially start until mid-January, the newest addition to World Wrestling Entertainment’s talent development staff, Rocky Johnson, attended Armageddon on Sunday night.
Johnson, who said he recently signed a "lengthy contract" with WWE, lives in nearby Davie, and stopped by to visit old friends and watch the show.
Johnson will be spending two weeks a month at Ohio Valley Wrestling, WWE’s training center in Louisville, Ky. The other two weeks, he will travel to WWE events and work with the younger Superstars before the show. Johnson said his first day at OVW will be Jan. 14.
"There’s a lot of good young talent down there that just needs to be seasoned," Johnson said. "They’ve just got to learn the dos and don’ts - why they’re doing this and why they’re doing that. To make it short, they all know wrestling, but they need psychology. This business is like reading a book."
"I’m just happy to be working with WWE. I’ve been in this business all my life. I never left it. I’m really looking forward to starting the next year off with it."
Johnson is no stranger to the ring, or to training. He wrestled all around the world, in virtually every territory that was active in the 1970s. He also spent considerable time in WWE into the 1980s, winning the WWE Tag Team Championship with Tony Atlas. They were the first African-American duo to win those titles.
More recently, Johnson has been running the WWE SmackDown! Wrestling Academy in Davie.
Johnson’s star pupil, of course, is his own son, Dwayne, better known as The Rock."
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Post by Stephanie McMahon's sidekick! on Dec 20, 2002 15:08:47 GMT -5
Goldberg Update, Trish Stratus Injured, & More
According to WWE.com, Trish Stratus broke her nose during her house show match last Saturday night before Armageddon. Apparently, it was a non-displaced fracture, so it didn't move any, and she was able to compete at Armageddon in the triple-threat Women's championship match without any problems.
Here's a message on the official website of Goldberg, BillGoldberg.com: TONIGHT: Live Moderated Chat With GOLDBERG: Goldberg will participate in a live moderated chat right here at BillGoldberg.com on Tuesday, December 17th beginning at 10:15 p.m. CT (11:15 p.m. ET). The chat room will open at 10 p.m. CT. Spots are limited and the chat room is expected to fill up within minutes. This is your opportunity to ask questions and receive answers directly from Goldberg himself!
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Post by Stephanie McMahon's sidekick! on Dec 20, 2002 15:10:23 GMT -5
Bob Sapp Possibly Going To WWE
The following news is derived from MMANews.com:
After we reported the story yesterday about Bob Sapp having a rematch against Ernesto Hoost for the third time, in a worked wrestling match at the W-1 show at the Tokyo Dome on 1/19, MMAWeekly.com followed it up with some new details.
Apparently, WWE has a lot of interest in signing the Japanese phenomenon. Bob Sapp, who used to play football in the NFL and has a popular brother in the NFL, Warren Sapp, impressed WWE officials with his athletic ability and obviously his massive size.
If WWE wants Sapp bad enough, they have deep enough pockets to get him. Bob Sapp would definitely be picking up his worked wrestling schedule if he arrives in McMahon-land, as McMahon very rarely offers short-term non-exclusive deals to anyone, including Ken Shamrock who didn't sign with WWE earlier this year due to their demand of him working a 150+ date schedule.
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Post by Stephanie McMahon's sidekick! on Dec 20, 2002 15:14:34 GMT -5
WWE Royal Rumble Battle Royal Plans
With the current brand extension, that leaves the traditional Royal Rumble causing a lot of confusion. In the past, the winner of the 30 Man Battle Royal always faced the WWE Heavyweight Champion at WWE Wrestlemania, but with two champions heavyweight champions there must be changes made.
Currently WWE plans to have 2 Royal Rumble matches, one featuring 15 men from the "RAW Brand", the other featuring 15 men from the "Smackdown! Brand". With the winner of each fighting their brand's champion.
As a reminder, OVW superstars will have the opportunity to work WWE Royal Rumble for a chance to win a shot at the WWE world title at WrestleMania.
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Post by Stephanie McMahon's sidekick! on Dec 20, 2002 15:16:03 GMT -5
Kurt Angle Injury Angle Tonight, WWE; more
Kurt Angle is scheduled to have knee surgery this Thursday. With that, they will likely shoot an angle tonight at the tapings which will keep him off this Sunday's SmackDown! taping in Tulsa. They are taping RAW Saturday night and SmackDown! Sunday night because of the Christmas holiday.
WWE has cancelled their 1/13 Smackdown brand house show in Utica. The 1/18 house show scheduled for Louisville has also been moved to 3/17. The Louisville move is likely due to the fact that Royal Rumble is all the way up in Boston the next day. Ultica's cancellation is simply due to poor ticket sales.
MTV has been airing various segments over the weekend comparing wrestling to rap. Jay-Z was quoted in one of the segments saying how much they are alike in some ways.
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Post by Stephanie McMahon's sidekick! on Dec 20, 2002 15:18:22 GMT -5
A-Train Upset With Armageddon Match; more
The following are highlights from an interview with A-Train conducted by WWE.com:
“I wasn’t very happy with it at all,” A-Train said of his match with Edge at Armageddon.
Edge said time restraints played a factor in the match itself. “I’ve gotten so used to doing 20-25 minute matches,” he said. “I think maybe I tried to cram too much into too short of a time period.”
“Physically I’m not great, and mentally (I’m) just a little disappointed,” he said. “And I’m not throwing the blame at A-Train at all. My own personal performance was off. I’m trying to run full speed out there, but my knees just not going to do it yet. So I’m moving a lot slower than I normally would. The old cliché is you never stop learning. Even Kurt Angle has a bad match here and there. I’m sure Ric Flair did too in his day. I’m disappointed, but the way I look at it, you can’t beat yourself up over it and dwell on it. You just have to move on and tear it up the next time.”
Of the chair shots to A-Train's back after the match, he jokinglysaid “Oh yea, He’s a p****. He didn’t hit me hard at all.”
“I was really sick of Albert,” he said. “It didn’t really represent me. I like A-Train because I look at myself as someone who, when I get going, you can’t stop me, like a train. I’ll run your ass over if I have to.”
Like A-Train, Edge said he planned to watch a tape of the match soon.
“I’m hoping when I watch it back that maybe I won’t beat myself up quite as much about it,” he said. “But right now I’m just disappointed; I’m a perfectionist.”
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Post by Stephanie McMahon's sidekick! on Dec 20, 2002 15:20:17 GMT -5
Goldberg Comments On Wrestling The Rock, Austin, & More
The following are highlights from the recent Bill Goldberg webchat on BillGoldberg.com:
- Goldberg does not see himself wrestling at Ric Flair and Hogan's age.
- He greatly enjoys acting, but did not offer a comment on whether he prefers to act or wrestle.
- He said that he'd rather wrestle The Rock than Austin because Rock has "gotten too pretty".
- Bill is indeed considering doing a WWE program with The Rock, but he feels "the ball is in WWE's court" on this one, as there are obstacles that need to be overcome before we see Goldberg in WWE. He first evaded this question by saying "Ask Vince", but then gave the more legitimate answer later. (Note: He made various hints at a WrestleMania appearance, although they could be nothing more than personal hype to generate a buzz amongst fans.)
- Bill Goldberg claimed he has no concrete plans to start a wrestling promotion (or do a PPV) with Steve Austin or Hogan, although he stated that it would be an interesting idea.
- Bill would have improved WCW by turning it into an old-school style promotion.
- He did not approve of the necrophilia angle at all.
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Post by Stephanie McMahon's sidekick! on Dec 20, 2002 15:26:32 GMT -5
WWE Overseas Expansion, Anthology Sales & NWA-TNA
The WWE has planed to expand by opening up offices in Australia, South America and Asia with the goal being to run more live events in those locations in the future. Although no events or anything else at this point is for sure.
WWE's Anthology CD is not doing very well in the long run according to music sources. Its debut was said to be strong but slipped to number 51 in its second week and #87 in its third week. The continuing down slide is not what the WWE had hoped for.
Recently after NWA:TNA has publicly buried Sean Waltman. It's being rumored the TNA personnel backstage is worried about not attending future events even if it's for a legitimate reason. Because of the latest actions taken by the TAN officials.
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Post by Stephanie McMahon's sidekick! on Dec 20, 2002 15:28:28 GMT -5
HHH Tears Quad Again? Royal Rumble Stipulations
As we reported since the night of Armageddon, Triple H had an injured leg during the pay-per view last Sunday. There was some fear backstage at RAW this past Monday that he may have torn a quadriceps muscle again, which is obviously a bad thing (be nice, the man is hurt). He apparently went to see Dr. Jim Andrews yesterday and reports from the visit say the muscle isn't torn. He will not be active in in-ring competition for a couple of weeks, as he will be getting further evaulation soon to determine the extent of the injury.
Many are wondering how the Royal Rumble will play out this year as the winner of the match generally gets a shot at the WWE title at WrestleMania. With the addition of the World title, this is somewhat the deciding factor as to which title (or person holding the title) means more as that would be your WrestleMania main-event. At this point it seems likely that the winner of the Royal Rumble will be fighting for a shot at the WWE title, and the plan now is to have Brock Lesnar win the event and challenge Kurt Angle at WrestleMania. However, those plans will change about a thousand times from now until the Royal Rumble.
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