Every Tuesday and Friday we give you the scoop on what's happening in and out of the wrestling ring. Every Monday a brand new Book It.

It's all about baby steps.

Chairshots
5-7-02

Raw Thoughts
Did anyone else think that Hogan's not being able to get the motorcycle started drew an excellent parallel to Hulk-a-Mania? It's out of gas, you old bag.

I loved the RVD & Jeff Hardy vs. Eddie Guerrero and Booker T match. All of those guys should be considered the future of the WWE and given the right push.

Lesnar vs. Stasiak 2 was just as dull and Lesnar vs. Stasiak 1. Why have the same match again and add nothing new to it? Lesnar is ready for bigger and badder foes. He doesn't need to beat the crap out of Stasiak and the Hardys anymore.

D-Lo Brown made his WWE debut and looks much slimmer than he did back in the WWF. I'm not crazy about a feud with Regal over who the greatest Euro champ is, but if it gets old bobble head back on TV then I'm all for it.

Goldust is growing on me. I can't explain why, but despite the hit and miss nature of his segments with Booker T, I'm starting to not hate Goldust. Watching him wrestle is still a long way from being enjoyable, but it's all about baby steps.

Flair finally turned on Austin. The buildup has been good so far, but a match between Flair & Big Show vs. Austin wasn't really the payoff I was looking for. We'll see what happens in the next few weeks, especially now that the NWO is short another member. Oh, you haven't read that yet. Never mind.

Say Goodbye to the Bad Guy
Due to reported bad behavior on the WWE's recent trip to England, Scott Hall has been released from the company. Jim Ross released a press statement saying that WWE and Scott Hall have mutually agreed to end their contractual relationship. Once again Scott Hall was not able to control his partying and it cost him his job. Adios, Chico.

You Too, Perfect
The trip to the UK wasn't good for a lot of people as a fight broke out on the plane coming back. Curt Hennig and Brock Lesnar apparently got in to a fight over who was the better amateur wrestler. Perfect started the fight; Paul Heyman and Triple H got involved to settle things down. Hennig was released from his WWE contract. Can't really say I'll miss Hennig either.

Was This on United?
But wait, there's more. Former wrestler and part-time WWE announcer Michael Hayes fell asleep during the flight back from the UK. While he was snoozing someone cut off the back of his hair. The hair was then hung up in the locker room at RAW this past Monday. Hayes was very pissed off and no one admitted to doing it.

Ratings
The Raw rating was up this week, to a 4.6 cable rating. Last week was 4.4. Last Thursday's Smackdown scored a rating of only 2.9, the lowest in its history by a wide margin. There is no explanation for the severe drop as there were no major competing television events and the Hulk Hogan vs. Chris Jericho match was given considerable hype.

Kurt Angle Joins Me In Hell
Transcript from Kurt Angle's Promo on last Thursday's Smackdown: "Without me, Pittsburgh would be...the pits. Get it? Well the point is - these people worship me. It's not like they have anyone else to cheer for." "Well, there is Mario Lemieux," says Lance Storm. "Mario Lemieux? Puh-lease. You know rumor is that he faked that whole Hodgkin's Disease just to get sympathy. 'Lookit me, I'm Mario Lemieux! I bravely fought adversity! Love me, love me! Nyah!' Well that's what I heard." That made me laugh so hard I cried. Hell is going to be so much fun.

Television Shuffle
WWE (God, I hate that) announced today that Excess is finally going away. It will be replaced by two new shows, WWE Velocity and WWE Confidential. Velocity will feature the Smackdown crew, while Confidential will be a live show highlighting both rosters. The syndicated shows Jakked and Metal are also being replaced. The Raw crew syndicated show will be called WWE Bottom Line. The Smackdown crew syndicated show will be called WWE After Burn. Raw, Smackdown, and Heat remain unchanged.

Bottom Line will be a magazine format show analyzing happenings from Raw and Heat; Velocity will feature original arena matches featuring the Smackdown crew. After Burn will be a magazine show looking at the happenings on Smackdown that week. Confidential, which follows Velocity, will be a magazine style program with features on today's WWE action and features on the past, such as matches from past years. There will also be "day in the life of" features on various talents. Rejected names for new WWE television shows included:
"WWE SmackUp!"
"WWE Uncooked"
"WWE Top Gun"
"WWE This One Has Stone Cold"
"WWE Hogan's Not On This One"
"WWE River Raid"
"WWE Blue Harvest"
"WWE Screw the Wildlife"
"WWE XFL Highlights"
"WWE McMahonapalooza"
"WWE Boobs Boobs Boobs"
"WWE Bone Saw"
"WWE The Michael Goodson Show!"

Quickies

WWF and MTV have renewed Tough Enough for a third season. Tryouts will take place in mid-June. Filming will start in July and the show will air sometime in September. Al Snow is the only trainer confirmed so far. Go to WWE.com to sign up.

Lita did undergo neck surgery last week as planned. She came out of the surgery well and the operation went smoothly. She is expected to be out of the ring for at least 6 months.

Chris Benoit's doctor is now telling him that he is still 5-7 weeks away from returning to the ring full-time. He will probably spend that time continuing to train in the HWA.

Larry Zbyszko has filed 3 lawsuits against the WWF and Chris Jericho over the use of the "Living Legend" name which he owns.

Hulk Hogan's biography is due in stores Oct. 22. Jerry Lawler's autobiography, tentatively titled "Hail to the King," is due out in late December. Some book called "Smackdown Trivia" will be available November 1st. I think it's a murder mystery.

Former WCW cruiserweights Jamie Knoble and Shannon Moore are scheduled to start working WWF house shows and dark matches on May 18th.

Would it kill them to just call it the World Wrestling Federation without using an acronym?

Until Friday, which at this rate will be Saturday, goodbye.

Michael Goodson