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I will be the crown in Foley's Anna Lee Collection.

Chairshots
12/04/01

Raw Thoughts
Raw last night was a big comeback from Smackdown's poor effort. Austin and Jericho had an excellent match with a surprisingly clean finish. That does puzzle me since you never see one of the main event wrestlers lose a match cleanly just 6 days before a pay per view. The Rock and Trish not only swapped spit but they held their own in a tag match against Kurt Angle and Vince. Ric Flair was excellent as always and his presence had meaning this week, unlike previous weeks.

I'm really impressed with the Hardy Boys mic work and backstage segments. They have come a long way in just a few years. Both of them are ready to break out as singles stars.

The WWF writers have done a nice job of keeping Kane and Undertaker separate since 'Takers heel turn. God knows we don't want to see another Kane vs. Undertaker feud. All in all a good show with a nice build up to Smackdown and Vengeance on Sunday. My one complaint was the WWF didn't really help themselves in the positive role model department by having Booker T hotwire Stone Cold's truck. Then again, most car thieves don't steal cars in front of camera crews.

Eddie Guerrero Speaks!
Eddie Guerrero was a guest on Chairshots Radio (no relation) this past week. He discussed his recent problems, his release from the WWF and his plans for the future. Here are the highlights:

Eddie starts the show telling everyone that he's been in rehab for six months then got a DWI right after he was out. This led to him being released by the WWF on November 12th.

He doesn't blame the WWF for what they did. They were disappointed in him. He says he "blew it" and blames himself. He says that with some of the things going on in his life, he isn't sure he would want in the WWF at this moment.

The WWF released him over the phone but they said there might be a door open for him in the future if he can keep things straight.

Life on the road is real stressful, but Steven Regal has proven that you can stay on the road and keep clean.

He says it's hard to explain his problem because it's a disease and its hard to describe without the person you're talking to having gone through it. He says someone would have to at least read up on it to understand it.

He says ironically, this is the best he's felt physically since his car accident (12/31/1998) when he was in WCW. He was working matches without leg braces of any type and he's felt great. All he needs to do now is get the mental part of things straightened out.

He talks about the jump from WCW to the WWF. He wasn't happy in WCW for a while with how the political situation was going. He wanted out for a while and they (Guerrero, Benoit, Malenko & Saturn) ended up giving WCW an ultimatum. Management must have thought they were bluffing.

He talks about working in the WWF. They've given them a ton of opportunities. He points out Chris Benoit as an example. All Perry Saturn needs is something to breakout with and that Dean Malenko is the smartest of the four because he took a job with more longevity as a trainer.

He enjoyed working with Chyna. He learned a lot about mic work and vignettes from the program. He got to work on things that had been missing from his repertoire.

Eddie's first pro match came when he was 19 years old. He worked matches in between going to college at the time and he would do that for 3 more years before deciding he should get serious about it.

The hosts asked him if he prefers the days when there wasn't the internet and fans weren't smart and in on the work. He says shows like Tough Enough and the others let people see the toll the business takes on you and now they know the "real" part of it. Before, people thought it was all fake and no one actually got hurt. Now they see the damage you take.

He talked about Chavo for a while and him getting the spot on Tough Enough. He says Chavo works really hard and has a good head on his shoulders. He thinks it's a great opportunity for him.

He thought that Vince buying WCW was a good idea in the beginning but it obviously hasn't worked out the way they wanted it to. Vince has always had a history of turning things around and he knows he will with this. From a wrestler's standpoint it's good to have Vince wanting to run two promotions.

He's currently booked for some indy shows. He's also talking to Japan right now about going over there to work. It's only been a couple weeks since he was released, so he's expecting things to start picking up.

Scott Steiner Returns
Steiner made his return to wrestling on 12/1 for the WWA on their current UK tour, the day after his WCW contract with AOL-Time Warner expired. Judging by the picture from the show, Steiner looks like he hasn't lost any muscle mass or his ability to accessorize a chain mail cap.

Foley on Millionaire
Former WWF champion and Fanboy favorite Mick Foley played on the Celebrity edition of "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire" last night. Other celebs on the show were Shannon Elizabeth, Kevin "Golden Showers" Bacon, Paul Rodriguez, Eve, Martina McBride, Meredith Vieira and David Alan Grier.

After earning the right to play by being the quickest to answer a question about toys, Foley gave host Regis Philbin a WWF championship belt and a copy of his "Christmas Chaos" children's book. Mick discussed his writing career and mentioned that he is working on his first novel. During other chatting segments Mick talked about his new son, Mick Junior, who was born in January of 2001. Mick also has a Christmas themed room in his house all year round decorated with his collection of Anna Lee dolls (gay).

There was also a lengthy discussion about Mick being turned down to be a guest on The View years ago when his first book came out. Apparently the show didn't think Mick appealed to women. Host of The View Vieira said "He appeals to me. I had nothing to do with it. He's hot! He's hot!" Mick told Regis that they had The Rock on instead who is a bigger star but Mick had the better book. (absolutely true - Derek)

With all the talking, Mick ran out of time and will return next Monday night to continue playing. Here are the questions Mick has answered correctly so far, starting with the $1000 dollar question:

Linoleum is most often used to cover which of these rooms in a house? A. Bedroom B. Attic C. Kitchen D. Dining Room.

A student at the Julliard school is most likely to study which of the following? A. Engineering B. Political Science C. Journalism D. Music

What company advertises its truck with the slogan "like a rock"? A. Dodge B. Chevy C. Ford D. Jeep

"You complete me" is a famous line from what 1990's movie? A. Titanic B. Jerry Maguire C. English Patient D. Runaway Bride (Mick asks "did you guys make these questions easier because I'm a wrestler?"

Bruschetta is a type of what Italian food? A. Pasta B. Soup C. Salad D. Bread(Meredith cheated and helped Mick with that one. Guilt perhaps?)

In 2001, Elizabeth Dole announced she was running for Senator of which US State? A. Kansas B. North Carolina C. Virginia D. Iowa

In Frank McCourt's 1996 memoir "Angela's Ashes," what is Angela's relationship to Frank? A. Mother B. Sister C. Girlfriend D. Teacher

Issued in 1840, the world's first adhesive stamp bore the likeness of which world leader? A. George Washington B. Napoleon C. Queen Victoria D. Catherine the Great (Mick used a 50/50 and guessed Queen Victoria correctly.)

Mick returns to finish playing next week. He has already won $125,000.

Ed Whalen Dies
Former Calgary Stampede Wrestling announcer Ed Whalen died this morning in a Venice, Fla. hospital. Whalen, 74, was vacationing in Florida with his wife when he suffered a massive heart attack last weekend. He was placed on life support once he arrived at the hospital. The decision was eventually made to remove him from life support, and he died shortly thereafter. Canada's Slam Wrestling has featured several articles regarding Whalen in recent days. Click here to check them out.

XWF's First House Shows
The newest wrestling promotion, XWF, will be holding its first house shows later this month. The shows will be held in Hammond, IN (Dec. 28), Milwaukee (Dec. 29) and Green Bay (Dec. 30). Among the announced wrestlers are Roddy Piper, The Nasty Boys, Road Warriors, Buff Bagwell, Curt Hennig with Bobby "The Brain" Heenan, Hacksaw Jim Duggan, Big Vito, Vampiro, Norman Smiley, The Wall, and Greg Valentine. Rena (Sable) has been announced as making an appearance along with Johnny B. Badd (her husband Mark Mero) at the 12/29 show in Milwaukee. The XWF has also recently signed deals with "The British Storm" Ian Harrison, European Giant Drezden, Kid Kash, and Josh Mathews from MTV's Tough Enough, so they may be in attendance. Gosh, I can hardly contain my excitement.

Ross Report
Jim Ross posted his Ross Report on WWF.com this evening. Here are the highlights, which are mostly just injury updates:

Edge has been having problems with his left knee, possibly patella tendonitis and a mild sprain, and will be wearing a brace. No surgery, but he will undergo physical therapy.

The Randy Orton injury, which we've covered here, was mentioned. They hope to have him back in a few weeks.

Stacy Keibler has a bruise on her hip as a result of her fall at a Tulsa house show last weekend

Mike Awesome goes into surgery for his ACL on December 14th. He is using the same surgeon he used in 1999, which resulted in an incredible comeback. He is expected to be out four to six months.

Scotty 2 Hotty visited Dr. Lloyd Youngblood to see about his neck. He is doing therapy, but is not having surgery at this time, although he will need it eventually. He will work through the pain.

William Regal had a CAT scan to see about his nosebleeds, and the result is he will need surgery, which will keep him out three weeks.

Shawn Stasiak's MRI showed he needs surgery to have his bursa sac removed. He will have surgery on Tuesday, and be out two or three weeks.

Hugh Morrus is working through a rotator cuff problem.

Rikishi will be in HWA up through the holidays to work on his conditioning.

Booker T got a concussion working with Rob Van Dam last weekend

Test is working through some muscle spasms in his back.

X-Pac is rehabbing his neck and should be back full time around the start of the year.

TAKA Michinoku is in Japan, and will be going home to Puerto Rico soon. Four to six months is the recovery time for his shoulder.

Kanyon is in therapy, and is four to six months away from returning following his ACL tear.

Rhyno is in a neck brace, and will see Dr. Youngblood in a few months for an evaluation. His recovery time is at least six months.

Crash Holly is off the house shows this weekend with tendonitis in his elbow.

Triple H is expected back in January.

Bob Holly is taking care of his arm after having the plate removed while working on Tough Enough 2.

In developmental injury news, Eric Angle (Kurt's Brother) will be seeing Dr. James Andres for an evaluation on his arm. Russ Haas is doing well and is doing cardio three times a week. Johnny The Bull will have his broken thumb evaluated on December 14th, and for now is working with a cast on it.

Ross put over Tough Enough 2, and said the prospects are much better this time. Big Show, The Dudley Boyz, Chris Jericho and Edge will be visiting the contestants over the next few weeks.

He sent out his congrats to D-Von Dudley and his wife on the birth of their child.

Ross put over Randy Orton, Ron Waterman, Rico Constantino, and Brock Lesnar, who have been working WWF shows lately.

He praised Bull Buchanan, Val Venis, Steve Blackman, and Mark Henry for the jobs they are doing in the developmental territories. He noted D'Lo Brown is down to 240 pounds from 275, and that he was 400 when he first started in the business.

I've torn my ACL in a vicious satellite dish channel-changing incident, so that's it for today. See you Friday with a Vengeance preview and all the week's news.