______________________________________________________________________ I do not offer subscriptions to a mailing list! I do not e-mail images! ______________________________________________________________________ I had more in mind for today's update, but I somehow managed to pop a rib out of place, so unlike those weeks when I watch several matches with Big Slow, Sid, Undertaker, Kevin Nash, Kane, Randy Savage, and Hulk Hogan, I was in a lot of pain this week. Hold on, it seems like I should have been able to get more done... ______________________________________________________________________ RAW RAW on 08/09/99 was a live show that aired overnight on Monday on TSN. I screwed up taping of the show, but was able to catch the rebroadcast on TSN on Tuesday. As a result, any contentious content was likely edited away. That's not good news, since contentious content is pretty much the reason to watch the WWF these days. That's a bit unfair, since I was actually looking forward to Chris Jericho's debut to see how they position him. I figure him as a good foil for the Rock, and he'll surely get the best matches yet out of the Rock. Speaking of the Rock, I was a bit facetious last week when listing the top stars of the 1990s. Obviously, we can't expect too much from the Rock given that he's only been around since 1996. (Nonetheless, there are other guys who have been around only that long as well, who did much better in that tally than Rock did, but those guys are surrounded by great wrestlers in an environment where great wrestling is the norm, as opposed to the WWF.) In response to e-mail flames, I've been summing up my opinion of Rock by saying that he is the 1990s version of a 1980s Lex Luger. In fact, Luger was in numerous great matches in the 1980s, a lot of them against Ric Flair, some of them against other guys, and some of them of a distinctly garbagy nature (cage, barbed wire). Luger had the look and charisma that made him distinctly marketable at the time. But nobody would suggest he was a great wrestler; I think "mediocre" is a fair and perhaps even generous description of his ability in the 1980s. Rock is quite similar. His best matches have been garbagy. He's had eleven *** or better matches, with the majority of them against Mick Foley and Steve Austin, the top scorers in the WWF by this measure. Rock's real strengths are his charisma and his sense for catchphrases. He's definitely an asset to the WWF. When it comes to match records, Rock is also similar to Diamond Dallas Page. Page has had a great knack of pairing himself against guys that can make him look like a superstar, even though he's far from it. It isn't a coincidence that as DDP's singles main event status faltered, we found him teaming with Kanyon & Bigelow against Chris Benoit & Dean Malenko & Perry Saturn. Enough of that. RAW opened with the Rock coming out for an interview. He was upset that Paul Wight had attacked him the night before on Heat. Rock immediately increased his out-of-the-ring stock with me by calling Wight "Big Slow," parodying his entrance music, and saying that he sucks so bad everybody goes to "take a leak" while Slow does his stuff. I love shoot interviews that aren't supposed to be shoot interviews. I love the Rock. Of course, Big Slow & Undertaker came out to pummel the Rock, and pummel him they did. X-Pac & Road Dogg tried to make saves separately. If those guys are buds, wouldn't they come out together? One at time meant they got pasted. Then the big save by Kane, which sent the heels running, okay, walking. Hey, several people have e-mailed me to let me know that Kane is the most improved wrestler of the year. Seriously. There's at least the observation that he has dropped some weight and gotten into great condition, which means that he does actually run in these days. But -- cue images of Lex Luger in the 1980s again -- great condition has little to do with great wrestling ability. And if you needed any evidence of that, check out Kane's clotheslines on the heels in this segment. WWF production is awesome, switching camera shots on impact of those clotheslines. Jim Ross & Jerry Lawler ran down the matches for the night; well, they told us what the matches would be...they left it to me and others to criticize or run down the matches. Shawn Michaels arrived in a stretch limo almost big enough to hold his ego. After a break, X-Pac delivered a colourful interview that TSN or USA blipped a couple of times. Good thing no kids watch the first hour of RAW. But, hey, they'd hear the same thing on 90210. Oh, did you like that commercial for Smackdown on Heat? They called the WWF a soap opera. That's sly. Christian faced Gangrel. I like Christian well enough, although he's never been given the time needed to show us if he can work a strong match of a reasonable length. The WWF being what it is these days, he probably never will be given that time. Still, something about him seems promising. Anyhow, he missed a dropkick on Gangrel early on, with Jim Ross doing the "he caught a piece of it" bit to cover up. Match had action for the 2:19 that it ran, even if the work wasn't that crisp. Match ended when the Hardy Boyz came out, with Christian getting distracted like every non-D'Lo Brown wrestler does for Debra. Christian was pinned off a DDT. Edge came in. Edge & Christian vs. Hardy Boyz has potential to be a sleeper great match. Boyz demolished them. Michael Hayes ran in, with the Boyz finally dumping that tub of lard. Jesse Ventura appeared. Jesse reminded everybody that he was a Navy SEAL, the only pro-wrestler who can make that claim. What, Cobra was a lie? He called Vince a scumbag and tried to claim credit for Vince not being around. Huh? Hunter Hearst Hemlsley & Chyna came out. He said that the best wrestler would win the title match SummerSlam, that he would enforce the rules, and that both guys better work on their wrestling. Like the fans of the WWF want to see a wrestling match between these guys. HHH actually continued his good recent track record on the microphone, and this was a great segment. After some verbal sparring between Jesse & HHH, Shawn Michaels came out. Michaels & HHH almost got it on, but Jesse stood between them. Michaels announced that HHH & Steve Austin & Undertaker would have a triangle match tonight. Really good segment; it almost made me forget that we'd had 2:19 of match time in the first 37 minutes of the show. They aired another Mark Henry & D'Lo Brown video. This time, they were jogging in the park with a camera man nearby. Luckily, the camera man managed to catch Jeff Jarrett pulling up in a car, hopping out, and beating up D'Lo Brawm while Mark Henry was busy doing "number 1" in the trees. Jeff Jarrett faced Val Venis. JJ stopped Debra from taking off her blouse. JJ attacked Venis before he could do his intro shtick. Six moves in, and with a lot of rope running, no exagerration, Debra climbed up on the apron to distract Venis, Jarrett ended up getting confused by that, and Venis got the pin at 1:24. Wow, what a match. Venis saved Debra from JJ's verbal abuse, just like Brandon once saved Kelly from Dylan's abusive behaviour. Venis & Debra walked off together. Backstage, Steve Austin, apparently equally amazed at the lack of wrestling on this wrestling soap opera, collapsed in protest of the situation. They said he tripped over a cinder block, but that seemed like a convenient cover story. Back from a commercial, Austin was carted off to an ambulance. This was a very serious situation, a heinous, vicious attack by someone in the building, Michael Cole told us. Shawn Michaels came to the ring to declare that HHH must have been the villainous attacker. Why was that camera man in the park with Mark Henry & D'Lo, then backstage to catch Austin walking around earlier, but he somehow missed the attack. Good help is so hard to find. Michaels announced that the match tonight will be falls count anywhere, with HHH & Undertaker & Chyna. Well. that seemed stupid, 'cause it's two on one on Undertaker. Ah, but HHH promptly went into a "Chyna is just a woman" routine, drawing some heat from Chyna. Kane & X-Pac faced the Acolytes for the tag team titles. Kane & X-Pac came out together for their entrance. Oh no, that meant that they lost three or four minutes that they'd usually spend on the separate entrances. Jeez, how could they possibly fill that time? Kane & Bradshaw brawled in the ring, with Kane selling like Big Slow. Kane moved more quickly than usual, but he still can't do anything. Heat segment on Kane until he reversed a whip to the ropes and hit a big foot. The only worker in the match came in to get punked by the Acolytes. Sigh. Heat segment on X-Pac, ending with X-Pac finally hitting the hot tag after an enzuigiri. Okay, the most improved wrestler in the WWF in 1999 was about to show me why he has people sending me e-mails with that claim. Clothesline off the top that looked cool, kicks and punches, immediate choke slam attempt, blocked, double whip, ooops, double clothesline by Kane. Other than the clothesline off the top, he did his usual mediocre-at-best routine faster than usual. I guess that's an improvement. Oh, X-Factor. New champions at 4:36. Remember when tag titles changed hands in long matches? Road Dogg came in to celebrate. Kane had two words for us, without the voicebox machine. I never did understand that: was his voicebox damaged in the fire that killed his parents? Wait, Undertaker is just an actor named Mark Calaway playing a role, so were Kane's parents really killed? I'm so confused. Luckily, Big Slow & Undertaker walked in to kick ass on the three DXers. Wait, does Kane get any of the DX gimmick money? Hey, has the PPV tag title match changed? Joey Abs & Steve Blackman faced Test & Ken Shamrock. I wish Ken would just leave the WWF and return to the UFC already. Shane McMahon joined the commentators. Match was a throwaway, with a little action, but only Shamrock has intensity in this group. Shamrock waffled Shane McMahon. Blackman & Shamrock left together. Test hit his finisher, which looks suspiciously like the finisher of a WCW wrestler who has not appeared on their TV for a long time despite being on their "new stars" WCW Magazine cover, for the pin on Abs at 2:30. He then used the chair on Abs' leg to injure him. You know, Test had the same thing done to him, and he never even sold it afterwards, yet Abs is now removed from protecting Shane. And poor Pete Gas was eliminated after Test whacked the floor beside him with a metal rod a bunch of times -- I know this is true 'cause they keep showing that really bad angle over and over again. Maybe the main event would break the 5:00 mark. After Test attacked and purposely injured the Posse, Jim Ross asked us to "imagine the feelings" he must have for Stephanie to go through all of this. Test is such a man. Steve Blackman, who was punked out by Ken Shamrock at the last PPV, had the nerve to challenge Terry Taylor to a weapons match. Well, he actually challenged Shamrock to the match, but he looked at Taylor to deliver the stilted interview because he apparently doesn't know how to look into the camera. Rock called out Big Slow to challenge him to a match, but the millennium countdown just happened to end at that time. Bingo, lights dropped, pyro kicked in, music pounded, and "JERICHO" appeared on the Titantron, with Chris Jericho appearing on the ramp to welcome us to "RAW is Jericho." Maybe I was marking out, but I was happy for the first time in a long while while watching RAW. He called himself the most charismatic person we've ever seen, which seemed to set up something with the Rock, if interrupting him wasn't enough. Chris delivered a great line directed at Rock, in my mind: "You people have been led to believe that mediocrity is excellence." Bingo. I love shoot interviews that aren't meant to be shoot interviews. Rock chastised Jericho. Jericho looked miffed. It was great. And, hell, for the first time in a long while in the WWF, a great non-wrestling segment may actually lead to some great wrestling (with Jericho, of course, challenging the Rock to finally raise his game). It is a bit premature to say this, but it seemed like Jericho's jump may well turn out to be the story of 1999. Big Boss Man faced Road Dogg in a Hardcore nontitle match. Please let me never hear the word "hardcore" -- at least in pro-wrestling -- ever again. Al Snow interfered, and Dogg got the pin at 1:14. That really made me want to see rematch for the title. The Rock faced the Big Slow. Slow was just horrible. Rock actually looked better than usual, perhaps because I couldn't help comparing the two. Bob Holly wandered out; he'd been looking for the Big Slow all night. This distracted Slow, with Rock sneaking in a low Slow blow. The following DDT bump was actually the only good thing that Slow did. As Rock set up for the elbow, Chris Jericho (can you believe he came in with his previous name? How long before they start calling him Millennium or something like that to protect their interests if he leaves?) came in. Well, before Jericho could do anything, Billy Gunn snuck in and whacked Rock. Match ran 3:34. Chyna & HHH & Undertaker had a triple threat match for the title shot at SummerSlam. Jesse Ventura was guest commentator. Match was mostly brawling, but it had some good action. Chyna took her bump off the top turnbuckle to the floor, selling her elbow, which she banged on the apron on the way down. Shawn Michaels was the guest referee. After a few minutes of low blows, shots into the ring steps, and choke slams, we saw Steve Austin backstage. Every wrestler that takes a ride in an ambulance always manages to return before the end of the show or PPV. That doesn't happen on any other soap opera. Well, Austin ran out with a chair, whacked HHH across the face, draped a dazed Chyna across him, and Shawn Michaels, who was arguing with Undertaker in the ring, popped to the floor to count the fall at 6:50. Like anybody believes that Chyna will face Austin at the PPV. Will she just make up with HHH and give him back the title shot, having proved her point? Tune in next week, as the soap opera continues. Tally time: 22:17 of bell-to-bell wrestling. Next week, Chyna refuses to give up her title shot. Chyna & HHH have a match. Mankind interferes, so Chyna wins. Mankind then faces Chyna to decide the winner. Mankind wins. It continues. Who makes the matches in the WWF? It doesn't matter. The soap opera ends with a triangle main event at SummerSlam. Nitro Nitro on 08/09/99 was the usual live show, this time airing in full on Wednesday afternoon on TSN. After a recap of last week (and don't those recaps make make it seem like something happened), Tony Schiavone told us that Sting has returned ownership of the company to WCW. Huh? I thought he was president. He wanted control, as you'll recall, and then he just handed it back "to WCW," whoever "WCW" is. Great way to make another babyface look like an idiot. I mean, he didn't even bother to give himself a title shot, or screw with the heel he's currently programmed with. He comes off like an idiot. Oh well, if they don't care about the details, why should we? JJ Dillon has named Dusty Rhodes as the head of the championship committee, which we just needed to know. Meanwhile, Tony said, "WCW" will name a new president in the weeks to come. That presidency is so important that it doesn't deserve quick attention. Sheesh, what an open. Norman Smiley & Prince Iaukea & Lash Laroux faced El Vampiro & Insane Clown Posse. The arena crowd was either well-microphoned or just wanted to have fun, as the noise level was high during this match. I wondered how long it would take for the booking decisions of the night to kill the crowd. It's a new game you too can play when you watch Nitro. Vampiro & Raven & ICP are called the Dead Pool. Somehow -- and I know I'll get incredulous e-mail from some people -- I just think that Norman Smiley could mean so much more than being on the losing side of an opening pseudo-squash. Indeed, when he hit the hot tag, the crowd was rabid for him and his dancing, which they still can't show on camera. One of the ICP manahed a moonsault on Iaukea after he'd been suplexed off the top by Vampiro, getting the pin at 7:22. Well, it wasn't a good match because ICP just stink as wrestlers, but it was really hot. Of course, nobody will notice Norman's appeal and try to make something out of him. That would require the kind of care that WCW just doesn't put into things. Backstage, the Revolution tried to get something out of Dusty Rhodes, stupidly not offering him a coupon for White Castle or something; Dusty rambled on forever about the youth of this industry. David Flair strolled by, with Benoit deciding to put the crossface on him on the floor. Dusty broke it up and immediately put together a title defense for the show. Well, it has been reported that Benoit would get the title from Flair, but it has also been reported that Shane Douglas would turn on the other Revolution guys. Hmmm, which way will they go? Oh yes, on to great wrestling, as Public Enemy faced Curt Hennig & Barry Windham. There are people who still think that Public Enemy could fit in in one of the big two, but that just ignores how much they suck. Rocco was good in another lifetime, the team reinvented garbage tag team wrestling in ECW, but they were very carefully put against much better workers time and time again so Paul Heyman could create his illusion. In the light of day (or WCW or the WWF), that illusion can't exist. The Rednecks came out to new intro music. The commentators talked about Chad Brock, who trained in the Power Plant, and would sing later on the show. Barry went through the table. Hennig got the pin with some assistance at 3:59. Oh lord, if I never see Public Enemy again that would be one step towards happiness. The crowd was still rabidly noisy, trying to get on the heels' cases. Miss Madness faced Little Jeanie, who the commentators bill as a suplex machine. Mona has the potential to be the centrepiece of their women's division, which of course means they'll continue to do everything they can to kill her babyface appeal. Compared to 1980s North American women's stuff, the work wasn't that bad, but it was hardly great. Compared to what the women in the WWF call wrestling, it was at least competent. Compared to pretty much anything that happens in the Japanese women's groups, it was pretty bad, although Madness showed good fire. Madness did a handspring elbow, but Tony Schiavone has long forgotten the name of that move. Madness won with an Indian deathlock rolled over into a pin. Brandi Alexander ran in to attack Madness. After all of that early hype, Jeanie never hit a single suplex. Match ran 4:35. Hogan's son asked him to wear the red & yellow outfit to the ring, but Hogan had to dash for his interview. They had a comera in the passageway to follow him to the ring, and, as Hogan did a squat or two to prepare for his interview (well, he does deliver loads of crap during his interviews, so the squats might be good preparation), Kevin Nash & Sid & Rick Steiner attacked him. Where's Tank Abbott? Anyhow, they dragged Hogan to the ring, with Hogan doing his usual crawl-while-getting-beat-up shtick. Goldberg & Sting ran out to save Hogan, which makes them look like putzes. An interview tour-de-force followed, with the fallout being that Hogan & Nash each put their careers on the line in their PPV match. Word is that Nash wants to get away from being in front of the camera and concentrate on the high quality booking that only he can deliver. He has relocated his home so he can be an office guy. That's that. They agreed to a six-man tag for this night, with Nash agreeing that his career would be on the line at the PPV if the babyfaces won the tag match. Goldberg said that Rick Steiner could put his bleep on the line since he has nothing else to put on the line. And here I thought Steiner was the TV champion. If they don't pay attention, why should we? Chris Benoit faced David Flair for the US Title. They replayed Dusty's entire sermon before the match. I had my Dusty quota for 1999 filled, but I'm sure we'll be hearing more from him. It's sort of ironic to cast Dusty Rhodes in the role of the guy who is going to give the young workers a shot. Torrie Wilson looked incredible. Bobby Heenan talked about her hat, while not really talking about her hat. Nick Patrick came ouut to kick Charles Robinson out of the ring. David Flair looked scared. Perry Saturn & Dean Malekno & Shane Douglas ran out to stop David from running away. For the first time ever, the Revolution was booked as a competent self-supporting unit. My goodness. Benoit beat the stuffing out of Flair. As Benoit went for the headbutt off the top, Bam Bam Bigelow & Kanyon ran out to interfere, but the Revolution members held them off. Wow. Benoit got the pin at 4:01. Diamond Dallas Page somehow did manage to make it in the ring, whacked Benoit, and ran off. The DDP vs. Benoit PPV match on Saturday now becomes a US Title match, and please at least for the moment don't suggest that they will switch the belt. Benoit did announce that he'd give DDP a no DQ title shot, which doesn't bode well for interference. Have you noticed yet how Shane Douglas is always the last guy to get to the ring when the Revolution tries to protect its own? Every single time. Either his knees are so bad that it is just a coincidence, or they want to leave that opening for Douglas to turn. Confusion reigned as Randy Savage came out for an interview. He was supposed to tell us who drove the humvee. He was supposed to have other big news and surprises for us. He had none of that. He promised the death of Rodman. Wow. Thanks for coming out. Chris Adams & David Taylor faced Rey Misterio Jr. & Eddie Guerrero. It looks like they've plugged Adams into Finlay's spot on the anti-American team with Taylor & Steve Regal. Since this is WCW, they don't really need to explain any of that. Considering how they are using Rey, don't you think they could pass the cruiserweight title to somebody who is wrestling singles matches, like, oh, say, Kidman, who was actually way over at one time but now seems forgotten. Eddie & Rey were amazing. Adams hit the superkick but didn't get the pin because of a save. The crowd was still darn loud. The crowd chanted "USA" which apparently meant that they supported the Mexican wrestlers. I guess the noisier the crowd is the more idiotic it is. Taylor wasn't bad either. After Rey made the hot tag, Eddie went to town. Shouldn't we be seeing Eddie vs. Benoit for the WCW Title? Sigh. Anyhow, Eddie hit a tope on Taylor, Rey hit the top rope Frankensteiner, and Eddie hit the frog splash for the pin on Adams at 6:36. El Vampiro & ICP ran in to attack the faces, with Kidman making the save. Hmmm, a six-man? Billy Kidman faced Disco Inferno. Tony Schiavone finally recalls that he was replaced by Scott Hudson the past many weeks. They reminded us that Hogan would have to retire if he loses on Saturday. Bobby Heenan said that Hogan has never put his career on the line before. Boy, what a short memory. We all should have known the finish. Any sure enough, after a good match, Kidman was ready to end things with the shooting star, when Vampiro & ICP can out to attack Kidman. Of course, Eddie Guerrero & Rey Misterio Jr. made the save. Match ran 8:56; they should have a delivered a finish before the run-in occurred. Sigh. You know, the crowd is still so hot that the show actually seemed better than it was; call it the RAW phenomenon. Buff Bagwell faced Scott Norton. Hmmm, Bagwell can't lose because he's being pushed, well, sort of, anyhow. And Norton can't lose because he's Norton and he bitches and moans if he has to lose. That leaves an Ernest Miller run-in finish. And, bingo, after a match that was bad but better than I expected, Ernest Miller did come out to interfere. Bagwell met the briefcase, but kicked out anyhow because he's being pushed, sort of, don't ya know. DQ at 5:03. So, Miller tried to help Norton win even though Norton & Miller had a feud not that long ago. Sigh. Chad Brock sang a song. Curt Hennig came out. There was a brawl. The Rednecks & the Revolution came out. Oh, who cares? Kanyon faced Booker T. They had a good match the last time around. This time, the singles match was pretty much meant to fuel interest in the tag match at the PPV. Sure enough, the match was short, with DDP & Bam Bam Bigelow taking out Stevie Ray on the floor using the title belt, while Kanyon did the same to Booker T in the ring. Flatliner for the pin at 4:34. Booking convention would then dictate that Harlem Heat will win the titles at the PPV. That would mean that DDP loses his tag title claim. Would he also lose in his quest to win the US Title? Oh boy. Dennis Rodman did an interview. Randy Savage came out. Did you know they have a PPV match on Saturday? Did you know it will suck to high heaven? Did you know that if it is a DUD match, it will still be better than both Kane vs. Big Slow matches? Kevin Nash & Sid & Rick Steiner faced Sting & Goldberg & Hulk Hogan in the main event. The heels came out as a unit; the faces came out separately. Hulk Hogan came out in red and yellow. He's a superman hero again. Tony Schiavone had talked about how this would be a super athletic main event. Yeah, that seemed like a possibility. Tony said that Hulkamania had walked back into our living rooms. It's like a cockroach, that Hulkamania is. The crowd seemed less into Hogan than it was into Goldberg. The heat seemed stronger for the opener of Nitro, in fact. But I'm sure the ratings will reflect the true world order. Still, you'd think that the promotion would hear what the fans are into and book things accordingly. Match pretty much stunk, but it did a good job of building to the PPV on Saturday, and I'm sure there are people actually looking forward to the three matches that will take place involving these guys. Finish saw Sid use a chair on Goldberg, but Hogan seized the chair, used it on Sid and then on Nash. Sting put the scorpion on Nash, with Hogan holding everybody off. The ref kept asking Nash if he gave up. In a Dusty finish, since Nash didn't answer the question and seemed to have blacked out from the pain after about, oh, 10 seconds, the ref decided he did give up which means that one career will end on Saturday, well at least for a few months anyhow. Match ran 8:09. Tally time: 53:15 of bell-to-bell wrestling. - WCW has Road Wild on 08/14/99. Tentative line-up has * Hulk Hogan vs. Kevin Nash for the WCW Title, with the loser "ending his career" (for now) * Sting vs. Sid Vicious * Dennis Rodman vs. Randy Savage * Bill Goldberg vs. Rick Steiner for the TV Title * Harlem Heat vs. Bam Bam Bigelow & Kanyon for the Tag Titles * Chris Benoit vs. Diamond Dallas Page for the US Title * Buff Bagwell vs. Ernest Miller * El Vampiro & Insane Clown Posse vs. Rey Misterio Jr. & Eddie Guerrero & Billy Kidman * Curt Hennig & Barry Windham & Kendall Windham vs. Perry Saturn & Dean Malenko & Shane Douglas Maybe it's just me, or maybe it's the recent track record from WCW, but this seems to be a better line-up than we've been given at recent PPVs. Still, the same stupidity as always headlines the show. The plans are to get the belt on Hogan, to have Nash focus on his booking chores, and to start pushing Hogan vs. Bret Hart for the Halloween Havoc show, although Bret, himself, is apparently still on the fence about even returning to wrestling. I guess the lure of a title run in WCW, hopefully (here I daydream again) ending his career by making a few more wrestlers into main eventers before it is over (I'm think that Benoit, in particular, could follow in the footsteps of Kevin Nash, and Steve Austin before him), will be enough to bring Bret back. Hart is scheduled to appear on Nitro this coming Monday. For the record, Eric Bischoff & Hulk Hogan are controlling the booking on top, with Nash & Dusty Rhodes handling most of the lower-level stuff. - The WWF has SummerSlam on 08/22/99. Tentative line-up has * Steve Austin vs. Hunter Hearst Helmsley vs. Mankind for the WWF Title with Jesse Ventura as referee * Big Slow & Undertaker vs. Kane & X-Pac for the Tag Titles * Rocky Maivia vs. Billy Gunn * Shane McMahon vs. Test * Steve Blackman vs. Ken Shamrock in a weapons match * D'Lo Brown vs. Jeff Jarrett for the IC Title Chris Jericho is also expected to make his WWF PPV debut on this show. Perhaps just in a run-in role. I guess they changed the main event so that HHH can go over for the title without Austin doing the job. - The following column ran in the Globe and Mail: "So the World Wrestling Federation is going public. The announcement came jsut a few days after another media heavyweight, Martha Stewart, proclaimed her own initial public offering. "All of which raises a fascinating prospect: What if Ms. Stewart uses her new found financial heft to launch a takeover big for now-public WWF? [note: the WWF is only offering up 20% of its stock. HK] The synergy potential is delicious.: Ms. Stewart designing tasteful masks to be worn by the wrestling heels; Ms. Stewart correcting the diction of those thick-lipped ring announcers; the Queen of Better Living on the same bill as Stone Cold Steve Austin; and those wrestlers would surely eat better (no more raw meat). "Buzz [the column name] wouldn't rule out the type-A Ms. Stewart in any nasty takeover battle. We can just see the television hostess flipping those flabby fighters onto the mat -- although it would have to be a calico mat with some nice braiding on the borders. Her first act, of course, would be changing the name of the WWF's Monday night cable-TV show. Raw is War is just not Martha Stewart." - Sable also had several other interview pieces appear in various local newspapers. Since she is forbidden to talk about the lawsuit settlement, other than to say she is very happy with the outcome, and she doesn't really have an interest in wrestling, there's little in these pieces of interest to us. One interview did report that Sable earned $1-million for her second Playboy appearance, but I wouldn't believe that figure. - With Nash's WCW career supposedly over once he loses to Hulk Hogan, where does that leave Scott Hall? Hall was supposed to return in the next week to reunite with Nash. Maybe the plan will change to have Hall be the first challenger for Hogan, going after Hogan on behalf of Nash. That would give a September PPV main event, leaving Hart vs. Hogan for October. I've got this sinking feeling that Hall & Nash will return as Outsiders, with the idea being that Nash's WCW career is over, but that doesn't mean he can't be an Outsider. Sigh. - It's still a bit unclear what the exact status of the WCW & New Japan relationship is. When I mused about putting the workers front and center in WCW, I received a few e-mails that argued that the New Japan deal was dead, so using that deal in any way (to cycle talent, in my dream) wouldn't fly, or so the argument dead. Indeed, publicly, for a period, New Japan & the Japanese press did play it like the deal was dead, presumably because New Japan wanted to triumphantly announce that Bill Goldberg was going to appear in the New Japan ring. The announcement would seem even more dramatic if it was cast as the outcome of demands by the Japanese side. Fiction often becomes truth (witness Hulkamania) in this business, and, sure enough, New Japan wanted Goldberg for 08/28, WCW said he couldn't go, WCW offered Hulk Hogan, WCW cancelled Hulk Hogan, New Japan was left hanging, New Japan made a deal with Nobuhiko Takada, and New Japan now demands Goldberg for the annual January Dome Show, with WCW hedging. What a bloody mess. - The plan in WCW still appears to be to turn Eddie Guerrero on Rey Misterio Jr. to reestablish their cruiserweight feud. That's why the cruiserweight title is being left in limbo on a tag-teaming Rey, must to our dismay. The team is so awesome that WCW has to split them, just like Rey & Juvi and so many others before them. It also remains the plan to turn Shane Douglas on the other Revolution members, casting all of them as midcarders in a stupid feud that doesn't fit any of their goals, just to make sure we don't care about any of them. For the record, Shane sure looks like a moron after his Nitro debut. On that Nitro, he said that things would change "tonight." Then, they didn't do one single thing to make a change take place. Show after show, until this week's title win for Benoit over David Flair, these guys have been totally impotent. - Just to rile me up, I guess, the Observer reported that "The reason that Kane looks so much lighter is that he's dropped about 40 pounds, from 320 to 280 legit. His work has improved a lot with the loss of the weight." I still think he just does the same lame routine faster. Surely, the upcoming PPV match should give him the chance to be the second best worker in the ring. Let's wait and see. - PPV buy rates, revenue (in millions), and match statistics for the WWF, WCW, and ECW are presented in the following 1998 summary sheet (the PPV draw(s) are listed, as well as the quality matches): Show Data Match Rating Data Show Details Buy Rate Gross Mean Median Peak % >= * * * * WWF 99/07/25: Fully Loaded Steve Austin vs. Undertaker 1.4 $6.7 1.75 * * * * * 3/4 Steve Austin vs. Undertaker 0% (0 of 9) 99/06/27: King of the Ring Steve Austin vs. Vince McMahon vs. Shane McMahon 1.13 $5.41 1 3/4 * * 1/2 Steve Austin vs. Vince McMahon vs. Shane McMahon 0% (0 of 10) 99/05/23: Over The Edge Steve Austin vs. Undertaker 1.1 $5.28 Owen Hart dies 99/04/25: Backlash Steve Austin vs. Rocky Maivia 1.06 $5.09 2.28 * * 1/4 * * * * 1/4 Steve Austin vs. Rocky Maivia 12.5% (1 of 8) 99/03/28: WrestleMania Steve Austin vs. Rocky Maivia 2.3 $12.04 1.13 * 1/4 * * * 1/2 Steve Austin vs. Rocky Maivia 0.0% (0 of 9, no shoot) 99/02/14: St. Valentine's Day Massacre Steve Austin vs. Vince McMahon Mankind vs. Rocky Maivia 1.2 $5.33 1.28 * 1/4 * * * 3/4 Mankind vs. Rocky Maivia 0.0% (0 of 8) 99/01/24: Royal Rumble Mankind vs. Rocky Maivia Royal Rumble 1.57 $6.97 1.83 * 1/2 * * * 3/4 Mankind vs. Rocky Maivia 0.0% (0 of 6) Last 6 1.37 $6.64 1.47 1.5 3.55 2.3% (1 of 44) 1999 1.39 $6.69 1.51 1.5 3.58 2% (1 of 50) 1998 1.02 $4.42 1.60 1.63 3.65 4.0% (4 of 101) Show Data Match Rating Data Show Details Buy Rate Gross Mean Median Peak % >= * * * * WCW 99/06/13: Great American Bash Kevin Nash vs. Randy Savage 0.43 2.05 0.75 3/4* * * * 1/4 Chris Benoit & Saturn vs. Diamond Dallas Page & Kanyon 0% (0 of 9) 99/05/09: Slamboree Kevin Nash vs. Diamond Dallas Page 0.45 2.15 1.75 * * * * * 1/4 Raven & Saturn vs. Rey Misterio Jr. & Konnan vs. Chris Benoit & Dean Malenko 0% (0 of 9) 99/04/11: Spring Stampede Ric Flair vs. Hulk Hogan vs. Diamond Dallas Page vs. Sting 0.6 2.86 2.31 * * 1/2 * * * * 1/4 Juventud Guerrera vs. Blitzkrieg 11.1% (1 of 9) 99/03/14: Uncensored Ric Flair vs. Hulk Hogan 0.73 $3.48 1.83 * * * * * 1/2 Billy Kidman vs. Mikey Whippreck 0% (0 of 9) 99/02/21: SuperBrawl Ric Flair vs. Hulk Hogan 1.1 $5.27 1.89 * * 1/2 * * * 1/4 Rey Misterio Jr. vs. Kevin Nash Scott Steiner vs. Diamond Dallas Page 0% (0 of 9) 99/01/17: Souled Out Bill Goldberg vs. Scott Hall Ric Flair & David Flair vs. Curt Hennig & Barry Windham 0.78 $3.64 1.83 * 1/2 * * * * Billy Kidman vs. Rey Misterio Jr. vs. Juventud Guerrera vs. Psicosis 11.1% (1 of 9) Last 6 0.75 $3.51 1.73 1.89 3.71 4.8% (3 of 63) 1999 0.68 $3.24 1.73 1.88 3.58 3.7% (2 of 54) 1998 0.93 $3.96 1.54 1.73 3.73 4.5% (5 of 111) Show Data Match Rating Data Show Details Buy Rate Gross Mean Median Peak % >= * * * * ECW 99/01/10: Guilty As Charged Shane Douglas vs. Taz 0.2 $0.42 1.68 * * 1/2 * * * 1/2 Yoshihiro Tajiri vs. Super Crazy 0.0% (0 of 7) Last 6 0.22 $0.42 1.93 2 3.42 5.3% (1 of 19) 1999 0.2 $0.42 1.68 2.5 3.5 0.0% (0 of 7) 1998 0.23 $0.43 1.56 1.5 3.00 3.7% (1 of 27) Longer-term data is available. The data now runs back to 1991. ______________________________________________________________________ Thanks to: Masaki Aso. ______________________________________________________________________ If you have any feedback regarding my web pages, please send me e-mail. Don't forget to delete the leading "x" from my e-mail address; that "x" is my web spider spam guard. ______________________________________________________________________