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Every Monday, Wednesday and Friday we give you the scoop on what's happening in and out of the wrestling ring. Somedays it's even funny!
Chairshots
7/11/01
Monday Thoughts
Well pinch my toes and color me surprised. The WWF made a fool out of me and the rest of the Internet writers Monday night when they resurrected ECW and injected them in to the WCW Invasion storyline. I love it when my predictions for what will happen on Monday night are totally wrong. It makes being a wrestling fan fun. It was pretty thrilling to watch ECW rise from the ashes Monday and know that wrestling history was being made. Sure, it has a ton of plot holes that need to be filled, but it's a sweet idea and everyone should just sit back and enjoy it. Ratings came in at 4.7, only 0.1 up from last week, but expect a big jump for Smackdown as word of mouth spreads about ECW. The only bad thing about Monday night was the backlash on the Internet from people that feel Stephanie McMahon's return was uncalled for. Look, the WCW Invasion plotline was failing due to a lack of big star. Like it or not, Stephanie McMahon is a big star. If the WCW/ECW faction is to exist it needs leaders and figureheads who are over with the fans in one way or another. Plus it creates interesting plot questions like where is HHH's alliance? What about Linda McMahon? Does this mean that Vince "caught with my pants down" McMahon is now a baby face? Where does that leave the heel team of Stone Cold and Kurt Angle? It's that kind of intrigue that sells tickets and raises the ratings.
Ramblin' Mean Gene
"Mean" Gene Okerlund did his weekly Wednesday wrestling report on the Lytle & Lamb show this morning. Among the interesting highlights were:
- Gene said it will be 5 years before Vince can use the WCW tape library, due to the current contract with Turner South and WCW Classics.
- Gene talked about the 6 million in debt from ECW, and whether Vince could get his hands on the ECW library or not. Vince was willing to pay 7 Million for WCW, why not 6 million for ECW?
- They talked about how now that Vince and the WWF is the only game in town, PPV companies are having some trouble with him and their negotiations over price. Gene mentioned that in 2000, 63% of sports PPV income was due to wrestling.
- Hulk Hogan is filming a wrestling special in August or September, to be aired in October. This special has the backing of Universal Studios. Gene said that if studios like the special, a promotion could be starting in about 3-5 months.
Royal Update
The latest word on Jerry The King Lawler is that he hasn't spoken to the WWF since the deal fell through for his appearance on Raw last week. However, reports say that Stacy Carter has been pushing The King to return to the WWF with or without her. She reportedly feels guilty about being the reason for his dismissal, and wants him to return to the WWF. Without Tazz or Paul Heyman, the WWF is left without a color commentator for Raw or Smackdown. Jim Ross & Michael Cole will do commentary on Thursday's Smackdown, but that is not a permanent solution.
Keibler is hot, literally.
Stacy Keibler was the topic today on Lycos's 50 Daily Report. It's a rather bland background on her and I only mention it so that I can include her picture in this column. You can read all about her here.Get Over It
If Vince McMahon turns baby face to fight WCW/ECW, isn't it the perfect excuse for him to reinstate the Rock as a WWF wrestler? What a coincidence that it's just in time for Summerslam.Discuss this and more in the Fanboy forums.
