news/ spoilers 16th-22nd

[Stephanie McMahon's sidekick!]

Austin & Rock Return in Feburary, Early RAW Preview, Ratings News

WWE superstars spent a week on the hit syndicated show 'Blind Date,' and male teens and young adults tuned in to catch a glimpse.

The most significant demographic increases were among M12-34, M18-34, M18-49."WWE Week" (Nov. 11-15) averaged a 1.5 rating among M18-34, +50-percent from the season-to-date (Sept. 23-Nov. 8) average of a 1.0 rating.

WWE Week averaged a 1.5 rating among M18-49, +36-percent from the season-to-date average of a 1.1 rating. WWE Week averaged a 1.2 rating among M12-34, +33-percent from the season-to-date average of a 0.9 rating.

WWE Week on Blind Date averaged a 1.9 household rating, +6-percent from the season-to-date average of a 1.8 household rating. The WWE superstars featured former WWE Tough Enough competitors including Maven, Nidia, Chris Nowinski, Jackie Gayda, and Linda Miles.

For those keeping track, the episode featuring Nidia delivered a 2.1 household rating, the highest of the five

Here is the early cable RAW Preview, courtesy of Yahoo TV:

What does Eric Bischoff want for Christmas?

Original Airdate: December 23, 2002.

In a radio interview over the weekend, Jim Ross stated that both the Rock and Steve Austin are expected to return to the WWE in Feburary of 2003. It is still speculated that both could be apart of the Raw 10th Anniv. Show, which would contradict that statement by Ross.

[Stephanie McMahon's sidekick!]

WWE Roster Cuts Update, Booker T's Illness, & More

The following news is derived and re-written from the Torch Newsletter.

The reason Booker T got so sick following the RAW tour of India was because he didn't take the malaria pills that all of the boys were informed to take. He was one of many who got ill from the food in India.

Many are claiming Ernest "The Cat" Miller has been rubbing people the wrong way backstage at WWE events lately. According to some, Miller somewhat lives his gimmick off-camera as well, bragging that if wrestling were a shoot he would kick everyone's butt.

The rumored roster cuts we reported about last week that Jim Ross didn't take well to in his latest Ross Report aren't expected to happen. Instead, many are in danger of being hit by the same axe that Saturn and Gofather did when their contracts came close to running up. Some of the lower card talent whose contract will be expiring in the near future will likely not be re-signed.

[Stephanie McMahon's sidekick!]

Mick Foley To NWA-TNA, Dawn Marie Injured, & More

The following news is derived and re-written from the Torch Newsletter.

Crash Holly went up to Nathan Jones backstage at a WWE event recently and proposed a match, which Jones responded with "Oh, let me guess, I'm going over," somewhat disrespecting Crash Holly and not taking his comment too seriously.

Dawn Marie apparently suffered a slight concussion during the Thanksgiving brawl with Torrie Wilson on SmackDown! several weeks ago. Obviously it wasn't nothing too serious as Dawn Marie is still healthy enough to perform lesbian angles in hotel rooms for the company.

With Mick Foley's WWE contract expiring very soon, NWA-TNA management are hoping to reach some sort of deal with him. Even if it were to be a one-shot deal, NWA-TNA feels Mick Foley's name could be a big boost and further the "anything can happen in TNA" slogan they've been using since the Roddy Piper incident. Jerry Jarrett originally tried getting Foley involved in the TNA project as an announcer, but to no avail.

[Stephanie McMahon's sidekick!]

What You Won't See On Monday's RAW Telecast

Thanks to Sydney Brown for the following live notes from the RAW taping (slight spoilers for Monday's show):

-The OU Band wasn’t amplified for some strange reason, so when JR came out, it was pretty much to nothing. I guarantee it gets fixed in post show editing.

-Lawler did not get that great of a reaction when he came out. Lita, on the other hand, got an Austin-like response for her HEAT commentary. It was INSANE.

-Shocked to hear an “ECW” chant during the Dreamer / Raven match, especially when you consider by the time cable in Oklahoma City picked up ECW, the Dreamer / Raven feud was LONG over.

-Actually, it was a smart crowd in general. Hebner got several “You Screwed Bret” chants throughout the night (with Hebner threatening to attack the fans), and everybody kept “Wooing” at and screaming for Charles Robinson to do the Flair strut. Lillian and Howard Finkel seemed like pretty nice people. Both of them chatted briefly with us during the breaks which they didn’t have to do (the production people in particular acted like they’d rather be somewhere else), though Finkel wouldn’t give up the Booker T teddy bear that my friend wanted. We got handshakes instead.

Biggest Pops:

1. JR (especially after pinning Regal)
2. Scott Steiner
3. Lita (I’m telling you, it was INSANE)
4. Booker T
5. RVD
6. Jeff Hardy (Though I think it was because he was the first “name.”)

Biggest Heat:

1. HHH (I couldn’t even hear the beginning of his promo, there was so much stuff being yelled at him.)
2. Eric Bischoff
3. D-Lo Brown (the first match, even the “D-Lo sucks” chant returned)
4. Chris Jericho
5. Regal/Storm
6. Christopher Nowinski (It’s becoming painfully obvious who the real Tough Enough winner should have been.)