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Chairshots

8/24/01

Smackdown
I swear that the WWF is out to make me look like a broken record. How many times do I have to say "good show but nothing really big happened"? That describes last night's Smackdown to a tee. Nothing major happened. So, screw them. I'm moving on.

Tough Enough
Unlike Smackdown, Tough Enough was quite eventful. We learned that Maven's mother is not doing well and it's forcing him to choose between his family and the contest. Josh has a sever case of puppy love that's so bad he's thinking of quitting. Chris Ni's in ring work is so sloppy that Al Snow lost his temper and got physical with him. When all was said and done, Maven's Mother told him to go back and live out his dream, Maven convinced Josh to stick out the next 3 weeks and Chris Ni, quit the contest. The longer this goes on, the more and more I see that Nidia and Maven are the only possible winners. If they quit the show then whoever wins doesn't deserve it. Chris "Harvard" No is an ass. Apparently Josh's dream isn't to become a wrestler, but rather to nail some girl that he won't remember in 10 years as anything but "that girl I gave up a 1 in 4 chance of being in the WWF for." Taylor is cute, but that image will all change next week when she gets sloppy drunk and makes a fool of herself. Can't wait to see that! If you care, the Tough Enough finale will be pushed back to September 20th due to a little thing called the MTV Music Video Awards.

Page Gone
Diamond Dallas Page underwent surgery Thursday to repair a torn meniscus and other damage in his knee. An MRI conducted Wednesday revealed the tear. Dr. William Armstrong performed the procedure that expects to keep DDP out of the ring for approximately one month.

Linda McMahon Press Conference Linda McMahon held a press conference Thursday morning to discuss WWFE's first quarter financial report and general business matters. Here are the highlights:

• She said that the overall economy has affected many businesses, including WWFE.
• The company is happy with the performance of WCW and ECW this year, while again calling it "a work in progress." She noted that Raw ratings have increased 17 percent, and Smackdown ratings have increased 13 percent since WCW was purchased.
• WWFE is still planning to split the brands and run WCW as a separate entity with the latest timetable set for early next year.
• Linda said the company is going to open an office in London that will focus on international business. Plans are to run more overseas tours and pay-per-view events.
• "Tough Enough" is averaging a 2.0 rating and has exceeded the company's ratings expectations. "We are in the process of discussing a second season for Tough Enough."
• WWFE is planning an October appeal of the court ruling regarding the World Wildlife Fund's claims to the WWF trademark.
• Linda said the company could feel an impact of between $1 million to $1.5 million per month without DirecTV carrying WWF pay-per-views. She said the WWF is still hoping to come to an agreement with DirecTV.

Greg Whitmoyer Conference Call
Greg Whitmoyer of MTV's Tough Enough was the subject of another WWF conference with the media Thursday. He discussed the back injury that forced him to drop out of the contest and answered questions regarding his involvement in the show. For you skimming pleasure, here are the highlights:

• Tazz and Al snow had good cop, bad cop roles during the filming. "Tazz was rough on us, there is no doubt about that," Greg said. Al Snow warned him that Jackie is known for beating up men.
• Greg said he doesn't think the show's half-hour format allows viewers to comprehend how difficult the training was. (I agree.)
• Greg said his back is in the same condition that it was when he left the show. He said he has visited a neurosurgeon and an orthopedic surgeon since returning home. Some doctors believe he will be able to continue wrestling, but others say he won't.
• Greg said he didn't walk away thinking that he was winning the contest, but thought he was probably among the top contenders.
• No one from the WWF has approached him about working for the company. Greg said he would love to work there in any capacity.
• "It was awesome" to be in Triple H's presence. Greg felt he, Josh, and Mavin appreciated his appearance more than the rest of the cast. He put over Triple H's appearance as the highlight of his being on the show.
• Greg felt Tazz described Darryl perfectly when he called him "tired, bitchy, and lazy."
• Greg said the WWF was not aware of his previous back injuries at the time that the cut him from the original 13 cast members. He believed the producers wanted to use Tom (who dropped out of the contest cause his parents didn't sign the consent forms) because the trainers could exploit him (because he was so cocky during the tryouts).
• He met Shane McMahon while training at the WWF's workout facility. He was impressed by how polite Shane was. At one point, Shane even apologized to him because he thought that he might have interrupted his workout. "He could have punched me in the face and I wouldn't have cared." (I feel the same way)

Excess
Don't forget that tomorrow night is the debut of WWF Excess on TNN. Be sure and tune in if you are the kind of person that is home on a Saturday night with nothing to do other than watch sweaty men grab each other.

Yes, I'll be watching…*sob*

 

Michael Goodson

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