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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
7/27/01
I’ve missed a few updates since I was in San Diego at the Comic Con, but I’m back with a vengeance. Let’s quickly get updated…
Ratings News
Last Thursday’s Smackdown scored a 3.9 broadcast rating, with a 7.0 share. That is down from the previous week’s 4.0. The 7/19 episode of Tough Enough did 2.3 cable rating, with a 4.0 share. 2.3 is the highest rating yet for the show. Monday night, Raw scored an impressive 5.4 cable rating, up 0.4 from last week. The show peaked with a 6.1 rating during the overrun for the Kurt Angle & Edge & Christian vs. Booker T & The Dudleys main event. Last night Smackdown scored a strong 4.3 broadcast rating last night. That is up from last week's 4.0. I’ve enjoyed all the shows over the last few weeks and the German judge gave them a 5.5. I really wish that the WWF had gone with my idea of keeping Austin a face and turning Rock heel, but c’est la vie.
Eric Bischoff Not Only Sucks, He likes To Watch
Former WCW front man Eric Bischoff was among those fingered in alleged criminal activities that took place at The Gold Club (an Atlanta strip joint) a few months ago. The dancers there allegedly supplied celebrity customers with sexual favors as a way of maintaining the celebrity clientele, the most famous being Patrick Ewing. His defense is that he never paid any of the dancers, but was always said he was "being taken care of." The case has finally gone to trial and turned up some juicy news. First, former stripper Jana Pelnis testified that she performed sexual favors for Eric Bischoff's wife. Pelnis alleges that Bischoff and his wife came to the club and later took her to a nearby hotel where the sex acts took place. The Bischoffs gave her $200 for “tips and drinks consumed at the club.” The stripper was later given $800 from Gold Club owner Steve Kaplan for keeping the Bischoffs happy. Next, Eric Bischoff himself took the stand and testified that he and his wife left the club with Pelnis on Mar. 21, 1999. The threesome headed to a nearby hotel where Bischoff watched as his wife and Pelnis had sex with one another. During his testimony, Bischoff claimed to have consumed as many as 20 drinks at the Gold Club on the night in question. "I don't even remember driving to the hotel," Bischoff told the court. You can read more about the event in my new book Eric Bischoff: The Luckiest Man Alive, due out next year.
A Truck Load of News From Jim Ross
Jim Ross did a post-PPV version of the Ross Report Monday at WWF.com, a TNN conference call with the media last Thursday, a Ross Report today and another conference call mid-week. Here are the highlights from all events:· J.R. said that he thought that Invasion was a six or a seven on a scale of 1 to 10.
· He discussed that he knows that the ideal announcing team is not J.R. and Michael Cole. “During the slow bouts it really jumped out that there was no color man there to provide entertainment relief.” J.R. said that there are other issues in place that are keeping a more "classic" type of color man out of the booth (as in Jerry Lawler has problems with WWF management while Paul Heyman and Tazz are now part of the enemy faction.) Mike Sanders had a tryout as an announcer in Atlanta in the pre-tape room. Ross said the reports he got were that Sanders did very well. Ross said in today’s Ross Report that the "announcing positions on RAW and Smackdown have been addressed" and that we can expect to see changes soon. No details were given.
· Al Snow will continue as Heat's color commentator based on the great work he has done so far and his work on Tough Enough.
· Triple H and Chris Benoit are coming along well and are on schedule in their rehabs. Steve Blackman has fully recovered and can return at any time.
· About Tazz J.R. wrote, "I know he'd probably rather be announcing in the long run." You know the WWF didn’t need to take Tazz off Smackdown. The classic announce team is one play-by-play man and one heel color man. What better way to get WCW/ECW over than by having a heel commentator?
· J.R. said that Steve Austin came through the Invasion PPV in good shape considering how banged up he was. He reported that Steve Austin suffered three broken bones in his back and two broken bones in his hand after being slammed through the announcers' table by Booker T at King of the Ring. A recent CT-scan showed the L2, L3, and L4 bones broken. Ross noted that the bones are not "load-bearing bones." Austin will not miss any TV time and will, hopefully, resume his house show schedule Aug. 5 in San Diego.
· He also mentioned that Stone Cold may be a fan favorite some day down the road, but it won't happen any time soon. Austin enjoys being a heel right now.
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On pursuing talent like Goldberg, Flair and Sting, Ross said they have had serious talks with all of those talents but that it comes down to economics. Sting, at 42, has other career goals, is financially secure and does not want to go back on the road fulltime. Goldberg wants the money AOL owes him before he moves on, and has licensing issues with AOL. Ross also said Ric Flair is a legend and deserves to be treated well, but they won't be able to match the deal he has currently with Time Warner (the former WCW owner). J.R. said the WWF has an upside earnings, with a downside guarantee, as opposed to the set salary they are collecting now. Every wrestler has to decide on their own what makes the most sense financially to them. Flair will be welcomed with open arms if he decides to come in.
· J.R. and Buff Bagwell had a meeting on July 9th, and told Buff that the WWF had problems with the way things were developing with him. Buff had a “negative aura” around him. J.R. said it was Buff's fault and others as well. Not only was Buff’s attitude less than desirable but he also made social mistakes in the locker room. It was agreed that he should get away (fired), and at some point in the future, they will sit down and re-evaluate it (not!).
· "They need ring time," Ross said of the WCW wrestlers who have not appeared on camera. They will likely by sent to one of the developmental territories. Also, Dean Malenko, Jerry Lynn and Molly Holly spent the week at Ohio Valley Wrestling working with developmental wrestlers there. He said that we will see more WWF wrestlers doing that when they are not booked on shows. He added that The Big Boss Man may become a "coach" for one of the developmental areas as well.
· Ross talked about the death of Terry Gordy, calling him "a prodigy,” talented enough in the ring that he could have main-evented a WrestleMania-level event. Gordy and J.R. had spoken just weeks before his death. Gordy's son Ray is training to be a wrestler in Japan.
· J.R. said that internet reports that layoffs are imminent are "untrue." I’m currently patting myself on the back for not reporting it to you.
· The situation with the vacant WWF Women's Title has not been addressed yet. A tournament would be a viable solution, but they have not set a timeline. That’s funny because I happen to know for a fact that Chyna is the current WWF Women’s champ. WWF.com even reports her as so, but Jim Ross, the VP of Talent Relations says that the title is vacant. I guess those negotiation talks with Chyna really didn’t go well. She’s not even going to appear on TV to drop the belt to someone else.
· Ross said that the locker room atmosphere is "getting more comfortable as time goes on." With the exception of Buff Bagwell, the attitude of the WCW wrestlers "has been excellent."
· J.R. admitted that the idea of WCW taking over Raw was on the drawing board, but nothing is planned right now. The goal is to eventually have two shows, but with no timeline at this point.
· On the Jerry Lawler situation, Ross said he was disappointed that Jerry Lawler left the company because he feels he has a lot to add. "Quite frankly, Jerry Lawler right now has other issues that he needs to deal with," Ross said. The door is not shut on Lawler returning, but Ross does not expect it to happen until Lawler deals with his personal issues. Ross declined to expand on the nature of Lawler's personal issues. Very interesting…
· J.R. addressed Shawn Michaels's status by saying he is on the roster and under contract to WWFE: "The creative arm of our company, at this point in time, have not developed anything for Shawn. If and when that is going to happen is anybody's guess, but I would be hard pressed to say that we are never going to use Shawn Michaels again... I think he has a hell of a lot left to offer." My wife will be so disappointed.
· Ross said there have been no talks between the WWF and Sandman to be part of ECW. While there is no interest at this time, "that could be evaluated down the road."
· Ross said he has talked with Scott Steiner at least ten times and expects him to sign eventually.
· He is looking forward to the Rock's return in Philly on Monday.
· Ross wrote, "Sources say Ken Shamrock may be contemplating a return to the Federation." Yippie skippy
· Could I have possibly used more bullet points in this column? Shit.
WWF Rents ECW
The WWF reached a temporary settlement for the use of the ECW brand name. As you may recall, ECW went bankrupt and relinquished all of its assets, including the rights to use the ECW name. The WWF didn’t ask for permission to use ECW on its television shows, and there was talk of a lawsuit. Now the WWF has agreed to pay $250,000 for the rights. If in the future someone wants to buy the ECW name for their own use, they must give the WWF 30-day notice to discontinue its use of the ECW name. Per the agreement, the trustee, HHG, has waived the right to take legal action against WWFE for its past use of the ECW brand name. However, that agreement does not prevent other HHG creditors from taking legal action against WWFE.
Vote Yes on Prop 92: Mass Sterilization
The Associated Press reports that another mother is blaming pro wrestling for the death of her 9-year-old son. Derek Alexander Garland was dropped onto his head by an older boy and died Tuesday from head and neck injuries. He was a big wrestling fan. The older boy, who weighs 225 pounds, flipped Derek, who weighed about 65 pounds, onto his head. His mother said she discouraged his interest. The Parents Television Council responded to the death by saying "How many times must this happen before the entertainment community wakes up and realizes that they have responsibility for the products they produce and the messages they send to our nation's children? How many times will TV wrestling shows be 'excused' as 'just wrestling' though they have in recent years advanced a culture of violence - violence that when re-enacted by children lead to death?" Michael Goodson, Co-Editor of FanboyPlanet.com, responded to the PTC by saying, “when will these chuckleheads stop trying to censor wrestling and start blaming the parents of these dead children. The PTC refuses to go after NYPD Blue or Buffy The Vampire Slayer because they know that the media will ignore them, so they attack wrestling over and over again. As far as I’m concerned they can all go to hell.”
Chyna Speaks, Again
The artist soon to be formerly known as Chyna gave an interview to Stepping Out Magazine yesterday. In the interview she talks about her reasons for leaving the WWF, Sable syndrome and her break up with HHH because he fell in love with Stephanie McMahon. Juicy stuff. You can read the article here.
I’ll be back on Monday with news about Hulk Hogan’s new promotion and more. See you then.
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