Prowrestling news/ spoilers 2nd- 9th December

[Stephanie McMahon's sidekick!]

Edge In Elimination Chamber, Heyman News, SmackDown Rating

For the past month or so, there has been some talk backstage regarding bringing Edge to RAW to feud with Triple H. In fact, there was actually a plan to have Edge win the title in the Elimination Chamber at Survivor Series. As you obviously know, WWE s Rubbishped such plans and went with the idea to have HBK win at Survivor Series, setting up another HBK/HHH match for Armageddon.

TSN will be interviewing Paul Heyman tomorrow for an upcoming episode of "Off The Record". The tentative date for the show is December 17th at 6 PM EST.

Last night's edition of WWE SmackDown! scored a 4.2 overnight rating with a six share. This put UPN in third place for the overnight ratings. Check back later, however, for the final broadcast rating.

[Stephanie McMahon's sidekick!]

Goldberg Update, Farrooq's Retirement, RAW Preview, & More

The following is from the calendar section of Goldberg's website, BillGoldberg.com:

Goldberg To Play in
99X Celebrity Softball Slam

Who: Goldberg, Tom Glavine, Javy Lopez, Mark Lemke, Mark DeRosa, Gary Sheffield, Luke Jensen, Dominique Wilkins, Evander Holyfield, Ralph Sampson & more
What: 99X Celebrity Softball Slam

When: Sunday, December 8th at 3 p.m.

Where: Georgia Dome (Atlanta, GA)

For more information go to www.99x.com. Tickets are on sale now at all Ticketmaster outlets or at the Georgia Dome Box Office. (There is no service charge if you purchase them at the Dome Box Office.)

Benefiting the Muscular Dystrophy Foundation.


The following is the unofficial RAW preview from Zap2It.com:

SHOW TITLE: WWE RAW
CATEGORY: Sports
SYNOPSIS: Six days until Armageddon for Triple H and Shawn Michaels.
CHANNEL: 34 [TNN]
DATE / TIME: December 9: 9:00PM


Random Newsbits


WWE will be holding another invitational tryout for independant wrestlers stars prior to next week's SmackDown! tapings on Tuesday, in Atlanta, GA. Some of the names invited to work the tryout include Kid Kash, Johnny Slaughter, Shawn Evans, Stone Mountain, and Onyx.


Here is a passage from Bradshaw's latest online commentary at WWE.com further proving the claim that Ron "Faarrooq" Simmons is retiring: "With Ron retiring, I need a drinking partner. Only alcoholics drink alone, and I am tired of Brisco wrestling me every time we drink. He knows how to wrestle." Simmons is expected to take on the role of road agent shortly after officially retiring from the ring.

[Stephanie McMahon's sidekick!]

Stephanie/HHH In Playboy, WWE Errors, & More

Matt Hardy now has a new commentary online in which he speaks on working with Rey Misterio and how he likes working with Edge. You can read it by clicking here.

WWE continue their mistakes by saying that Tommy Dreamer (RAW talent) will be hosting SmackDown! at the world on December 19.

Thanks to Jimmy D for the following piece of news:

I was just perusing the latest Playboy with Tia Carrere on the cover, and Chyna, HHH, and Stephanie have made "The Year In Sex" review. They got about a quarter of a page spread. In the background is a tabloid headline: "Grappler Joanie Laurer, Who Shot To Fame As Chyna, Tells All: 'Cheating Boyfriend Cost Me My Wrestling Career'". In front of the headline is a naked picture of Chyna, under one of her arms is Triple H, under the other arm is Stephanie. The caption reads: "Joanie Laurer blames her WWF ejection on an affair between her live-in lover, Paul "Triple H" Levesque, and Stephanie McMahon, daughter of WWF honcho Vince."

[Stephanie McMahon's sidekick!]

Steve Austin In New York, Steiner's Match, Rico News

Today, as I reported earlier, will mark the first WWE match back for Scott Steiner, as well as the debut of Gail Kim. The Smackdown house show is taking place in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, and reports from the region say there has been very little promotion despite the long-awaited Steiner return to the ring. Many often question why house shows do so poorly, and lack of promotion for a major event is one of the answers.

Tonight's WWE Confidential, according to the WWE website, will be a repeat of the episode featuring the Rico interview where he talks about being a police officer.

Stone Cold Steve Austin, fresh off his recent and huge appearance at the Virginia Circuit City, will be signing autographs at "Hits and Hoops" in Brooklyn, New York. However, one will have to pay $40 for entrance, an 8x10 Austin photo, and an autograph from Steve.

[Stephanie McMahon's sidekick!]

Roddy Piper's Shoot Interview Extended; Live Webchat

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

"RODDY PIPER SHOOT INTERVIEW AVAILABLILITY EXTENDED; LIVE WEBCHAT WITH PIPER TO BE HELD; CLASSIC FOOTAGE ON PIPERVISION"

December 7, 2002 Due to the overwhelming response of the first PiperView, "The Ultimate Shoot Interview-Piper gets Pissed", rowdyroddypiper.com has extended the availability to view this uncensored event. Fans can access the interview at their convenience, throughout the weekend by going to www.rowdyroddypiper.com.

Roddy, in recent months, has been offered large sums of money to sit down for a "shoot interview" with several major wrestling video distributors. These distributors, in return will charge upwards of $20-$25 for the tape. Piper has decided to film this interview himself and through www.rowdyroddypiper.com, give the fans that want to watch this no-holds-barred event a chance to view it for $4.95. In addition, a portion of the proceeds from this event will go directly to the Day Springs Healing Center on 44 acres in Vermont where Roddy with the support of Father Jason Sanderson and several other organizations, hopes to build a hospital for any wrestler or boxer that is in need of help.

After a very controversial week, Roddy sat down and answered questions he did not know in advance and gave his uncensored answers in this 80-minute shoot interview. This interview is for Mature Audiences Only as there was language and subject matter used that is not suitable for children. It is a "from-the-heart" interview where there was no question too strong and no punches pulled. Many of the questions surprised Piper and the gamut of emotions was like a roller coaster: laughter, anger, frustration, and even tears.

Some of the topics that were covered are: the validity of his book, his childhood, his car accident in January, the fact that many who have heard him in the media say he rambles, comments on PiperVision from his 13-year old son about growing up with Roddy Piper as a dad, the wrestling media including Dave Meltzer and Wade Keller, the State of the Wrestling Business including his feelings on the current WWE product, and his comments on such personalities as Vince McMahon Jr., Hulk Hogan, Vince Russo, The Hart Family, Eric Bischoff and many more. In addition, Roddy gives his individual take on "Rowdy" Roddy Piper and Roderick George Toombs and the differences between the two.

To view "The Ultimate Shoot Interview-Piper gets Pissed" in the comfort of your home throughout the weekend, go to www.rowdyroddypiper.com and order this incredible event-Mature Audiences Only! Also on PiperVision, watch for classic wrestling footage of Roddy Piper before his WWF days. COMING SOON!!!!

[Stephanie McMahon's sidekick!]

Trish Stratus Reputation, Nathan Jones/WWE, Road Agents, more

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

The recently re-hired agent in WWE, Terry Taylor, has been leading some of the in-ring workouts before WWE live events lately. This is part of his duties as a road agent, which many of the wrestlers like because other older agents like Jack Lanza and Tony Garea have the old-school mentality of in-ring performing, and can't really relate to the modern style of working.

Jim Ross was the primary reason WWE went after, and finally signed "The Front Row" Nathan Jones. Jones, a former bodybuilder, made a name for himself during the original run of World Wrestling All-Stars pay-per views as he won their World title towards the end of their run on the PPV market. Many of the power players within WWE are under the impression that everyone is merely in awe of his size, and are oblivious to the fact that he's not a good worker.

Trish Stratus is gaining a reputation for working with a very stiff style in the ring, with her kicks in particular. Some are annoyed by it, but most aren't bothered by it as Trish also has a reputation for not complaining when someone is stiff with her in the ring, or complaining when taking any severe bumps.

[Stephanie McMahon's sidekick!]

Report Of Scott Steiner's First Match Back With WWE
Story By: Ben Johnson
December 08, 2002

Thanks To PW.com Reader Ian Cameron for the following:

1. Funaki & ? def. Doug Basham & Red Dog- decent opener. All guys worked
hard. Funaki got the biggest pop in this one. Went about 7 minutes with
Funaki getting the pin with a roll-up.

2. Crash & Nunzio (Little Guido) def. Shannon Moore & Spanky. Lots of good
cruiserweight action in this match. ECW chants for Nunzio. Crash got the pin
on Shannon Moore with a roll-up and his hand on the ropes in a match that
went about 8:30

3. Matt Hardy def. Chuck Palumbo. Matt cut a heel promo before the match
saying that Hamilton is bad cause they cheer for Mattitude in French (funny
since Canada is a bilingual country). Good match with both guys working
hard. Matt got the win with a roll-up and feet on the ropes in about 8:00

4. Billy Kidman def. Jamie Noble to retain Cruiserweight Title. One of the
best matches of the night. Nidia got involved at times. A few false finishes
and lots of strong work from these two. Very similar to previous matches
between the two. Kidman finishes off Noble with the Shooting Star Press to
get the win in 7:30

5. Before the next match, Paul Heyman comes out and rips on Hamilton. Lots
of ECW chants but Paul says he's glad ECW went down since morons in Hamilton
are the ones cheering for it. He does the "mother" jokes to some obnoxious
fans at ringside. He disses the Hamilton Tiger-cats (the city's Canadian
Football League team) by saying it makes sense Hamilton would name their
city's major sports team after "girl thingys". LOL. The hardcore fans like me
were loving Heyman's promo but it was of course getting major heat. He rips
on Brock for losing to Show and he then introduces his client the Big Show
as the next match begins...

Brock Lesnar def. Big Show by DQ (Big Show retains) when Matt Hardy
interferes. Double-team on Lesnar when Kurt Angle runs out and he and Brock
clear house. Kurt and Brock have a stare-down. Angle goes to the back.
Lesnar calls Angle back out. Angle comes out. Lesnar yells at Angle for
getting involved in his business. Angle tells Lesnar he is chellenging Show
for the title at Armageddon and suggets to Brock if he wants his title back,
that Brock should get ready to face him! Brock says well maybe I'll do that
and tells Kurt to get his gold medals all nice and shined up cause he'll be
ready for Kurt when the time comes. Kurt leaves the ring as he and Brock
have eyes locked on one another. Very interesting. Could this be our WM main
event preview? Oh yeah match went about 4:00. No F-5 or suplexes at all in
this match. Just one bodyslam by Brock on Show.

Intermission

6. Albert & Bill DeMott def. Shelton Benjamin & Charlie Haas. "Shave your
back" chants for Albert. Decent tag bout. Albert got the pin with the Baldo
Bomb on Benjamin. Match went about 8:00

[Stephanie McMahon's sidekick!]

7. Scott Steiner def. B-Squared. Steiner looked OK in his debut and far got
one of the biggest pops of the night. Tons of "Steiner" chants in this one.
Originally, Cena was slated to face Steiner but Buchanan did instead. Decent
match. Steiner went suplex happy in the match and after some inteference
from Cena eventually got B-Squared to tap to the Steiner Recliner in a match
that clocked in at 9:00. Steiner was alright but he wasn't spectacular
either. His career is not what it once was and I personally hope WWE doesn't
have the future of their company riding on him cause I don't honestly think
he can come through 100% all the time. He was alright tonight, not horrible,
but not great either.

8. Gail Kim def. Dawn Marie in a Bra & Panties Match. Dawn ragged on
Hamilton a bit especially Toronto girl Gail Kim before the match. Gail was
very impressive in her debut. She even did a monkey flip on Dawn during the
match. Gail got the win by stripping Dawn in 4:30. Total T&A in this one and
the male fans loved it.

9. Los Guerreros def. Angle & Benoit to retain WWE Tag Titles. Best match of
the night. Lots of comedy with the Guerreros playing "chicken" throughout
the match. Guerreros cut an anti-Hamilton promo before the match saying the
mexican food in Hamilton sucks. LOL. Benoit counters them by saying on the
mic that Canada has the best beer and that he's gonna lay down an all
Canadian ass-kicking. Great matches. All the signature spots were done Angle
slam, frog splash, headbutt, Germans, ankle lock, crossface, etc. In the
end, Chavo hit Angle with the tag title belt and Eddie was able to pin him
in 12:30. Post match saw Angle & Benoit recover to do ankle lock and
crossface to both Eddie & Chavo.
Angle & Benoit left. Eddie & Chavo stayed to taunt the crowd for a few
minutes and then left and that was the end of the show.

A very good show from the SD brand even without Edge & Rey. I hope they come
back to Hamilton cause I think the city has some very passionate wrestling
fans and many people enjoyed tonight's show. Crowd was into it for most of
it and I really enjoyed Heyman's promo, the cruiserweight match, the tag
title match, and the Brock-Angle stuff from tonight's show. A very good show
tonight in Hamilton.

Biggest Pops:
1. Scott Steiner
2. Tie between Kurt Angle & Chris Benoit
3. Brock Lesnar
4. Billy Kidman

Biggest Heat:
1. Paul Heyman (and rightfully so but man he is the best!) & Big Show
2. Eddie & Chavo Guerrero
3. John Cena's run-in during Steiner match
4. Tie between Dawn Marie & Matt Hardy for their anti-Hamilton promos

[Stephanie McMahon's sidekick!]

Matt Hardy's Push Affected At The Expense Of Albert

Matt Hardy was originally in line to be the person to take out Rey Mysterio in the injury angle to explain his absence from wrestling for about a month due to getting knee surgery. However, when push came to shove, Vince McMahon decided to give that spot to Albert.

Here is an excert from Matt Hardy's recent online commentary detailing the situation from his perspective:

"I was hoping that I would get into an issue with Mysterio, as I think we could do some awesome stuff together. Edge is another competitor that I would like to have a singles run against. I think that both of these match-ups would be enjoyed by the WWE fans and could really help cement Matt Hardy as a singles wrestler. I figured Mattitude would be an ace in the hole to work a program against one of these two, but I guess for the time being it doesn't fit."

[Stephanie McMahon's sidekick!]

More Inside News On Albert/Matt Hardy Situation

Earlier today it was reported that Matt Hardy was scheduled to be the one to "injure" Rey Mysterio on TV, before starting a program with Edge. In the end, WWE decided to give that role to Albert. More details have now been made available.

Apparently, Matt Hardy got the call just a few hours before the SmackDown! taping on Tuesday that he would not be a part of the angle. This, as evident in his commentary, really upset him. And, I'm hearing that more than a few backstage were also disappointed with Matt Hardy losing the chance to do the program, as they feel Matt and Edge mesh much better in the ring than Albert and Edge do.

However, it is also known that WWE has a soft spot for "big men" and will give them extra chances to excel, as opposed to smaller talent, who really have to prove themselves on their first shot. Thus, when choosing between Albert and Matt Hardy, WWE went with the bigger talent, a move that many would call traditional.

Paul Heyman, however, is a big fan of Matt Hardy and will likely set him up in an angle on SmackDown! as soon as one is made available. Many do not expect Matt Hardy to become a standard Velocity talent, although that is possible as well.

[Stephanie McMahon's sidekick!]

RAW Locker Room Politics, Goldberg Update, & More

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

Word continues to circle around the locker room that Brock Lesnar is developing an ego and letting early signs of success go to his head already. Some claim while it was a very small role in the decision, one of many reasons WWE went with the decision to have Big Show defeat Lesnar at Survivor Series was to keep his ego in check.

Average house show payoffs for undercard wrestlers in WWE is in the neighborhood of $500 per night. Most undercard wrestlers have to pay for their own travel expenses such as rental cars and hotels. Some wrestlers have trouble breaking even on the house show payoffs, with the expenses sometimes surpassing the payoff for the event itself.

Bill Goldberg is currently working as a booking agent of American wrestlers for All Japan. Even though New Japan has been dealing with a load of problems lately, they have the advantage in the American market as several former WCW wrestlers, or anyone who has working experience with Goldberg, would much rather work for New Japan.