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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
7/16/01
WWF Legal Trouble
Remember that kick ass ECW angle that the WWF did last Monday on Raw that saved the company from several weeks of tedious television? The WWF is in trouble for doing it. Seems that when ECW filled bankruptcy, among the assets they listed were the ECW name brand. The WWF never purchased the right to use the ECW brand and this has pissed off all of ECW’s debtors. "Those trademarks are assets and should be treated as such," said a bankruptcy attorney who asked not to be named. "If the WWF is profiting off of the use of those trademarks, it stands to reason that they could have exposure to some of the liabilities involved," one attorney said. So far, the WWF has ignored the wishes of the bankruptcy court and continued the ECW storyline on Heat. Vince McMahon has already been downgraded from billionaire to multi-millionaire this year. Must his woes continue?
Bye Bye King
Jerry the King Lawler posted an update to his website that basically says that he and the WWF are on friendly terms, but that he will not be returning to the announcer position any time soon. You can read the entire update here. I’m sure it’s true, but I can’t help feeling that this may be a cover up for a big surprise. In the mean time, Al Snow will be taking over for Tazz on Sunday night Heat.
Bye Bye Scott Hudson
If you thought that Scott Hudson was going to be the full time announcer for WCW, then you thought wrong, skippy. Scott has held down a full time job for the government since his days in WCW, but WCW didn’t mind. The WWF does not allow people to work part time for them, so they have mutually agreed to part company. They did ask Hudson if he would work with the WWF over four weeks to help get the WCW invasion angle started. He agreed and cleared time from his job to do so. I’m sure the WWF would hire Hudson in the future if Scott would be willing to give up his day job. Personally, I would rather watch a bra and panties match between Torrie Wilson and Stacy Keibler than work a government job.
Ratings Update
Smackdown scored a 4.0 broadcast rating, up from last week's 3.8. Tough Enough did a 2.1 cable rating, up from last week's 2.0 and right on the series' four week average.
Hogan Update
Last week I reported that Hulk Hogan would be filming a pilot for his new wrestling promotion in August. He retracted that statement over the weekend and said that it would be more like September. I bet that Bret Hart is holding out for more money…
The Ross Report
Jim Ross posted his weekly column on WWF.com Friday. Among the more interesting things were…
-Chris Benoit was backstage at Raw in Atlanta. Ross noted that Benoit was "totally pain free for the first time in months."
-Dallas Page is working through a minor knee injury.
-"Stacy Keibler did not work last weekend because she was not booked. It was erroneously reported she took off to go to the beach." (we didn’t report that)
-Ross said he believes ECW fans are "more vocal and passionate than WCW fans." (Duh.)
-Ross hyped Tazz vs. Tajiri and Earl Hebner vs. Nick Patrick for "Invasion."
-"I have no idea who will be sitting next to me at Raw," Ross wrote.
-Steve Blackman returns from a hip injury in a week or two. (Just in time too, thank God!)
-Rikishi will be rehabbing in Sacramento, Calif. for the next month.
-The Right to Censor members will be repackaged. (Duh.)
Parenting: A Full Time Job
Another child has died after being beaten with “wrestling moves.” A 3 year old boy, Dylan McGaughy from Fort Worth, Texas, was listed in critical condition at Cook Children's Hospital late last week from internal injuries suffered when the 17 year old boyfriend of the mother threw the child to the ground and then landed on the child's midsection “as in professional wrestling.” The boyfriend, John Gonzalez, was arrested Friday afternoon. Dylan died Saturday morning. According to investigators, Gonzales confessed that he put the child in a bear hug when he would not sit down to watch a video. He released the child from this hold and Dylan responded by hitting Gonzales in the head. Gonzales slammed the child to the floor on his back, hitting the child's head hard. Furthermore, Gonzales then elbowed the child's midsection, causing lacerations to the liver. Gonzales has now been charged with murder with his bond increased to $100,000. The child's 23 year old mother, Gonzalez' girlfriend, was at work at the time of the incident. So, a white trash piece of s*** 17 year old beats up on a 3 year old for not behaving while the 23 year old mother is at work and professional wrestling gets blamed.
What has happened to the world?
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