General round-up, 2nd July
The Big Story
Well, the major news coming out of WWE at the moment is the expected upcoming feud between Hulk Hogan and Randy Orton.
Tentative plans call for this to happen at the Summerslam PPV in August - a year since Hogan had his last match, with Shawn Michaels - which is more than seven months prior to the WrestleMania event Orton initially believed would feature the match. This is believed to be partly due to the fact that WWE still hope to have Austin v Hogan at WM.
Vince McMahon and Hogan met last weekend about the angle, and unless some unexpected problem arises, it is going to happen and will start to build on TV in the coming weeks.
The two ideas thrown around, both of which would give Brooke Hogan exposure as a musician and sex symbol, were that Orton would either pursue Brooke, leading to Hulk coming to her aid, or that Orton and Brooke would actually begin dating on television, infuriating Hulk and forcing a matchup.
It is believed that Hogan will have full creative control, so his vision of the outcome will not be contested. Therefore, I would say there is not much of a chance that Orton will 'kill the legend of Hulkamania'.
The fact that Brooke's video was recently shown on Raw is also an indication that the story has in fact already kicked off, albeit in the most minor of ways.
As for the people connected with her music career, they (her record label and publicists) feel that involvement in a WWE storyline would only paint a negative picture about her talent as a performer. As with her relationship to Hulk itself, although the WWE storyline would give her more publicity, the feeling is that it would come off as nothing more than a stunt to cover-up a lack of ability.
Essentially, these individuals believe Brooke would come off as a “joke” to non-wrestling fans.
ECW - The New Era
At the end of my last post, I said that I hoped ECW would not just become another WWE show, but I fear the worst at the moment.
While Paul Heyman is still at the forefront of the new ECW, his influence has reportedly been lessened in recent weeks. Much of the WWE creative team has gotten involved with planning the brand’s launch, which has resulted in a minor loss of power for Heyman and a major loss of power for Tommy Dreamer. There were also some disputes over how to book the ECW launch, specifically with regards to whether ECW should be allowed to dominate on the weekly RAW telecast.
Plus, as we all know, the first show was not great. Well, the people involved know this as well:
A furious Vince McMahon attributed part of the show’s failure to the crowd. McMahon concluded that ECW was a “tainted brand” and that the hot Hammerstein Ballroom audiences were not indicative of the brand’s national popularity. Thus, the WWE Chairman now believes ECW’s success depends on drawing fans from the RAW audience, which could influence how the show is booked down the road. It’s important to note that despite Vince’s reaction to the first show, he did give Heyman more control week two, so it’s possible that McMahon will still be looking to Heyman in his effort to appeal to the WWE audience.
As for Heyman, he was also said to be furious with how the show turned out. While he did script the show, there was a great deal of Vince McMahon and Kevin Dunn influence on the project; they argued with Heyman on a number of proposed segments for the show.
Recent reports suggest that Heyman and Stephanie McMahon have not yet had any blow-ups backstage, which can partially be attributed to Heyman’s desire to remain head of ECW. Apparently, Heyman has told friends he does not want to play into his enemies’ hands by causing problems; doing so would only support the negative images they have of Heyman and give WWE higher-ups a reason to push for his demotion.
The original script for the first show featured The Sandman squashing an alien, but Sci-Fi network argued that it did not want an alien squashed on its network. WWE instead used “The Zombie” in the segment.
Although Paul Heyman noted in an interview that the ECW team is very interested in pursuing the upcoming 'vampire' faction, there are reports that the idea did initiate in a meeting with the Sci-Fi network. Sci-Fi executives also reportedly pushed for alien characters and a storyline in which ECW wrestlers would be transformed into another dimension during a match. Those are not expected to be part of the new ECW. The original plan was to feature Sabu as the leader of the vampire group, but the concept was revised and David “Gangrel” Heath, Luna Vachon and Dennis “Mideon” Knight were contacted. Whether that is the final line-up remains to be seen.
Reports suggest that Kurt Angle is preparing to take a hiatus. Angle, who is experiencing pain from multiple injuries, will be out for a while to heal. Plans for Angle’s hiatus explain his two recent losses.
On the subject of Angle, a highly-ranked UFC official is believed to have said that the company no longer plans to ignore WWE’s public “challenges.” While UFC let Angle’s storyline “open challenge” to anyone from a 4-, 6- or 8-sided ring go unaddressed, it will not be doing that in the future. If WWE attempts to put one of its wrestlers over as superior to MMA fighters, it will respond to put public pressure on WWE to make the match happen. “Now that we have exposure, we’re not going to be ignoring stuff like this. We’ll go public and have Chuck Liddell accept any public challenges or claims they’ll make,” the source said.
During booking for their match at One Night Stand, things reportedly got very heated between Tazz and Jerry Lawler. Tazz apparently refused to wrestle and would not participate in an actual match. Lawler was said to be furious, not only due to Tazz’s refusal to wrestle, but also because he felt that if Tazz was never going to wrestle again, he should not get to win the match. Lawler wanted to win the match via screwjob. Since Tazz would not budge, Lawler decided that he would lose via choke (which he had been pushing as illegal in wrestling) and via referee stoppage (so that he would not have to tap).
Finally, ECW will start on a live format shortly, although whether or not the show goes live will likely depend on the venue (and fanbase). The ECW Arena show on the 4th July, for instance, will probably be taped due to the potential for vulgar fan chants!
Other News
Randy Orton’s permanent move to WWE RAW can be partly attributed to Triple H’s decision to pass on a proposed angle with Edge. The now-babyface Triple H obviously needs top heels with whom to feud when his current storyline ends, and Triple H opted to first feud with Randy Orton instead of the Rated R Superstar. Triple H’s stated rationale for rejecting the feud was that “the time is not right,” although no deeper motivation has been revealed. While many are criticizing HHH for his decision, he theoretically could argue that he needs to quickly defeat a heel in his first singles feud as a babyface, and Edge would lose too much face in that situation. Edge is reportedly not too upset, as he is expected to spend the summer working with John Cena in the main-event over the WWE Championship.
Saturday Night’s Main Event - to be held on the 15th July - will feature Edge vs. Rob Van Dam vs. Cena for the WWE Championship.
New Smackdown commentator JBL is said to be contemplating retirement from in-ring action. Layfield made a remark about retiring on his weekly radio show and also reportedly told wrestlers at the 5/23 SmackDown! taping that he was likely to wrestle his final match that night. The retirement consideration is due to his back and (to a lesser extent) knee injuries. Although the creative team has been told JBL will be back in the ring in three months, those close to JBL are of the impression that such a return is not a certainty. He will, however, make a decision by the end of the summer regarding whether he truly can step in the ring again. JBL is believed to be very happy with what he’s accomplished in the wrestling ring, so he would not at all be dissatisfied if he did have to retire.
Although Trish Stratus is hardly viewed as another Stacy Keibler in terms of inevitably leaving WWE, the company is unaware of her long-term plans—the lack of knowledge about where she stands resulted in her quick, clean job on RAW. Stratus’ contract expires in August and although she’s negotiating with Johnny Ace, a new deal has not yet been signed.Plus, regardless of her contractual status, she will be taking time off in September for her wedding and honeymoon. Again, while Stratus has shown interest in remaining with WWE, there’s enough question about her long-term future that the company feels it needs to elevate other Divas.
HBK is due to take a hiatus after Summerslam, so expect the DX reunion to continue until then.
On the subject of DX, I actually thought the angle on last weeks Raw was genuinely funny!
Thanks in large part to the terrible reaction from the crowd at Vengeance, the Imposter Kane character has been dropped from the plans. Last Monday’s angle turned out to be the blow-off for the Imposter Kane, who was initially scheduled to be involved in storylines for several more weeks. The critical and fan response to the storyline will assure it receives mention as one of WWE’s all-time worst gimmicks! However, the man behind the mask - Drew Hankinson - is not being blamed, and he is scheduled to start on the Smackdown brand shortly.
The Ric Flair and Mick Foley feud is believed to continue through Summerslam.
While there are no definite details on the return of Chris Masters, (who was taken off television to handle personal substance abuse issues) he is, however, getting treatment for his problem, so much like Randy Orton, he is committed to returning to television. However, there are also reports that WWE officials are also looking for Masters to mature socially before making his return. It is believed that WWE has no timetable set for his return, as he is not considered a Randy Orton-level priority.
Goldust has been released.
Disney recently issued a press release announcing that production on upcoming film “Game Plan” was put on hiatus following an injury to star The Rock. The Rock ruptured his achilles tendon during football practice for his role as an all-pro quarterback in the film.
As for his WWE status, although WWE maintains contact with The Rock, there are no plans for the wrestler-turned-actor to do anything major with the company in the short-term.
Vengeance
Randy Orton beat Kurt Angle in a decent match, to gain revenge for his defeat to Angle at One Night Stand.
Umaga squashed Eugene in a nothing bout, then destroyed Hacksaw Jim Duggan and Doink The Clown, before walking away from Kamala (to set up a match on the following nights Raw).
Ric Flair beat Mick Foley by two straight falls in a thankfully short match, the first via pinfall and the second via disqualification, after Mick decided to 'get hardcore' and attacked Flair with weapons, which continued after the bout.
Johnny Nitro defeated Carlito and defending champion Shelton Benjamin in a good triple threat to win the Intercontinental Championship. One particular spot worth mentioning was when Nitro hit some right hands and then perched Carlito on the top rope. Benjamin shook the ropes crotching Nitro and then Carlito nailed him with right hands. Benjamin leapt up to the top and we saw an insane triple suplex type move with Nitro upside down in the corner!
RVD beat Edge to keep the WWE title in a fairly enjoyable match, after Lita interefered but it all went wrong for Edge.
Kane lost to his imposter in an awful match.
John Cena made Sabu tap out in a passable 'Extreme Lumberjack' bout.
DX returned with a victory over the Spirit Squad thanks to a double pin, as HHH pinned Kenny and HBK pinned Johnny at the same time! Afterwards, Michaels forced Mitch's face into HHH's backside, to mimic the 'Vince McMahon's Kiss My Ass' club.
Afterwards, off-air, DX continued its celebration and even got women to flash them. Triple H failed, however, to convince Lilian Garcia to remove her top. The wrestler replied to Garcia’s rejection with a mooning!
Well, the major news coming out of WWE at the moment is the expected upcoming feud between Hulk Hogan and Randy Orton.
Tentative plans call for this to happen at the Summerslam PPV in August - a year since Hogan had his last match, with Shawn Michaels - which is more than seven months prior to the WrestleMania event Orton initially believed would feature the match. This is believed to be partly due to the fact that WWE still hope to have Austin v Hogan at WM.
Vince McMahon and Hogan met last weekend about the angle, and unless some unexpected problem arises, it is going to happen and will start to build on TV in the coming weeks.
The two ideas thrown around, both of which would give Brooke Hogan exposure as a musician and sex symbol, were that Orton would either pursue Brooke, leading to Hulk coming to her aid, or that Orton and Brooke would actually begin dating on television, infuriating Hulk and forcing a matchup.
It is believed that Hogan will have full creative control, so his vision of the outcome will not be contested. Therefore, I would say there is not much of a chance that Orton will 'kill the legend of Hulkamania'.
The fact that Brooke's video was recently shown on Raw is also an indication that the story has in fact already kicked off, albeit in the most minor of ways.
As for the people connected with her music career, they (her record label and publicists) feel that involvement in a WWE storyline would only paint a negative picture about her talent as a performer. As with her relationship to Hulk itself, although the WWE storyline would give her more publicity, the feeling is that it would come off as nothing more than a stunt to cover-up a lack of ability.
Essentially, these individuals believe Brooke would come off as a “joke” to non-wrestling fans.
ECW - The New Era
At the end of my last post, I said that I hoped ECW would not just become another WWE show, but I fear the worst at the moment.
While Paul Heyman is still at the forefront of the new ECW, his influence has reportedly been lessened in recent weeks. Much of the WWE creative team has gotten involved with planning the brand’s launch, which has resulted in a minor loss of power for Heyman and a major loss of power for Tommy Dreamer. There were also some disputes over how to book the ECW launch, specifically with regards to whether ECW should be allowed to dominate on the weekly RAW telecast.
Plus, as we all know, the first show was not great. Well, the people involved know this as well:
A furious Vince McMahon attributed part of the show’s failure to the crowd. McMahon concluded that ECW was a “tainted brand” and that the hot Hammerstein Ballroom audiences were not indicative of the brand’s national popularity. Thus, the WWE Chairman now believes ECW’s success depends on drawing fans from the RAW audience, which could influence how the show is booked down the road. It’s important to note that despite Vince’s reaction to the first show, he did give Heyman more control week two, so it’s possible that McMahon will still be looking to Heyman in his effort to appeal to the WWE audience.
As for Heyman, he was also said to be furious with how the show turned out. While he did script the show, there was a great deal of Vince McMahon and Kevin Dunn influence on the project; they argued with Heyman on a number of proposed segments for the show.
Recent reports suggest that Heyman and Stephanie McMahon have not yet had any blow-ups backstage, which can partially be attributed to Heyman’s desire to remain head of ECW. Apparently, Heyman has told friends he does not want to play into his enemies’ hands by causing problems; doing so would only support the negative images they have of Heyman and give WWE higher-ups a reason to push for his demotion.
The original script for the first show featured The Sandman squashing an alien, but Sci-Fi network argued that it did not want an alien squashed on its network. WWE instead used “The Zombie” in the segment.
Although Paul Heyman noted in an interview that the ECW team is very interested in pursuing the upcoming 'vampire' faction, there are reports that the idea did initiate in a meeting with the Sci-Fi network. Sci-Fi executives also reportedly pushed for alien characters and a storyline in which ECW wrestlers would be transformed into another dimension during a match. Those are not expected to be part of the new ECW. The original plan was to feature Sabu as the leader of the vampire group, but the concept was revised and David “Gangrel” Heath, Luna Vachon and Dennis “Mideon” Knight were contacted. Whether that is the final line-up remains to be seen.
Reports suggest that Kurt Angle is preparing to take a hiatus. Angle, who is experiencing pain from multiple injuries, will be out for a while to heal. Plans for Angle’s hiatus explain his two recent losses.
On the subject of Angle, a highly-ranked UFC official is believed to have said that the company no longer plans to ignore WWE’s public “challenges.” While UFC let Angle’s storyline “open challenge” to anyone from a 4-, 6- or 8-sided ring go unaddressed, it will not be doing that in the future. If WWE attempts to put one of its wrestlers over as superior to MMA fighters, it will respond to put public pressure on WWE to make the match happen. “Now that we have exposure, we’re not going to be ignoring stuff like this. We’ll go public and have Chuck Liddell accept any public challenges or claims they’ll make,” the source said.
During booking for their match at One Night Stand, things reportedly got very heated between Tazz and Jerry Lawler. Tazz apparently refused to wrestle and would not participate in an actual match. Lawler was said to be furious, not only due to Tazz’s refusal to wrestle, but also because he felt that if Tazz was never going to wrestle again, he should not get to win the match. Lawler wanted to win the match via screwjob. Since Tazz would not budge, Lawler decided that he would lose via choke (which he had been pushing as illegal in wrestling) and via referee stoppage (so that he would not have to tap).
Finally, ECW will start on a live format shortly, although whether or not the show goes live will likely depend on the venue (and fanbase). The ECW Arena show on the 4th July, for instance, will probably be taped due to the potential for vulgar fan chants!
Other News
Randy Orton’s permanent move to WWE RAW can be partly attributed to Triple H’s decision to pass on a proposed angle with Edge. The now-babyface Triple H obviously needs top heels with whom to feud when his current storyline ends, and Triple H opted to first feud with Randy Orton instead of the Rated R Superstar. Triple H’s stated rationale for rejecting the feud was that “the time is not right,” although no deeper motivation has been revealed. While many are criticizing HHH for his decision, he theoretically could argue that he needs to quickly defeat a heel in his first singles feud as a babyface, and Edge would lose too much face in that situation. Edge is reportedly not too upset, as he is expected to spend the summer working with John Cena in the main-event over the WWE Championship.
Saturday Night’s Main Event - to be held on the 15th July - will feature Edge vs. Rob Van Dam vs. Cena for the WWE Championship.
New Smackdown commentator JBL is said to be contemplating retirement from in-ring action. Layfield made a remark about retiring on his weekly radio show and also reportedly told wrestlers at the 5/23 SmackDown! taping that he was likely to wrestle his final match that night. The retirement consideration is due to his back and (to a lesser extent) knee injuries. Although the creative team has been told JBL will be back in the ring in three months, those close to JBL are of the impression that such a return is not a certainty. He will, however, make a decision by the end of the summer regarding whether he truly can step in the ring again. JBL is believed to be very happy with what he’s accomplished in the wrestling ring, so he would not at all be dissatisfied if he did have to retire.
Although Trish Stratus is hardly viewed as another Stacy Keibler in terms of inevitably leaving WWE, the company is unaware of her long-term plans—the lack of knowledge about where she stands resulted in her quick, clean job on RAW. Stratus’ contract expires in August and although she’s negotiating with Johnny Ace, a new deal has not yet been signed.Plus, regardless of her contractual status, she will be taking time off in September for her wedding and honeymoon. Again, while Stratus has shown interest in remaining with WWE, there’s enough question about her long-term future that the company feels it needs to elevate other Divas.
HBK is due to take a hiatus after Summerslam, so expect the DX reunion to continue until then.
On the subject of DX, I actually thought the angle on last weeks Raw was genuinely funny!
Thanks in large part to the terrible reaction from the crowd at Vengeance, the Imposter Kane character has been dropped from the plans. Last Monday’s angle turned out to be the blow-off for the Imposter Kane, who was initially scheduled to be involved in storylines for several more weeks. The critical and fan response to the storyline will assure it receives mention as one of WWE’s all-time worst gimmicks! However, the man behind the mask - Drew Hankinson - is not being blamed, and he is scheduled to start on the Smackdown brand shortly.
The Ric Flair and Mick Foley feud is believed to continue through Summerslam.
While there are no definite details on the return of Chris Masters, (who was taken off television to handle personal substance abuse issues) he is, however, getting treatment for his problem, so much like Randy Orton, he is committed to returning to television. However, there are also reports that WWE officials are also looking for Masters to mature socially before making his return. It is believed that WWE has no timetable set for his return, as he is not considered a Randy Orton-level priority.
Goldust has been released.
Disney recently issued a press release announcing that production on upcoming film “Game Plan” was put on hiatus following an injury to star The Rock. The Rock ruptured his achilles tendon during football practice for his role as an all-pro quarterback in the film.
As for his WWE status, although WWE maintains contact with The Rock, there are no plans for the wrestler-turned-actor to do anything major with the company in the short-term.
Vengeance
Randy Orton beat Kurt Angle in a decent match, to gain revenge for his defeat to Angle at One Night Stand.
Umaga squashed Eugene in a nothing bout, then destroyed Hacksaw Jim Duggan and Doink The Clown, before walking away from Kamala (to set up a match on the following nights Raw).
Ric Flair beat Mick Foley by two straight falls in a thankfully short match, the first via pinfall and the second via disqualification, after Mick decided to 'get hardcore' and attacked Flair with weapons, which continued after the bout.
Johnny Nitro defeated Carlito and defending champion Shelton Benjamin in a good triple threat to win the Intercontinental Championship. One particular spot worth mentioning was when Nitro hit some right hands and then perched Carlito on the top rope. Benjamin shook the ropes crotching Nitro and then Carlito nailed him with right hands. Benjamin leapt up to the top and we saw an insane triple suplex type move with Nitro upside down in the corner!
RVD beat Edge to keep the WWE title in a fairly enjoyable match, after Lita interefered but it all went wrong for Edge.
Kane lost to his imposter in an awful match.
John Cena made Sabu tap out in a passable 'Extreme Lumberjack' bout.
DX returned with a victory over the Spirit Squad thanks to a double pin, as HHH pinned Kenny and HBK pinned Johnny at the same time! Afterwards, Michaels forced Mitch's face into HHH's backside, to mimic the 'Vince McMahon's Kiss My Ass' club.
Afterwards, off-air, DX continued its celebration and even got women to flash them. Triple H failed, however, to convince Lilian Garcia to remove her top. The wrestler replied to Garcia’s rejection with a mooning!
Labels: ECW, General News, Hulk Hogan, Randy Orton
posted by Sheriff Kimbo at
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