QuestionMan

I wish someone would figure out how to record the Jukebox matches.

UT vs. Randy & Bob Orton

While promoting the feature film Doom, The Rock told www.FreezeDriedMovies.com that he might make an appearance at Wrestlemania 22 in Chicago but would not be wrestling. Rock is currently filming the science fiction film Southland Tales alongside Kevin Smith and Sarah Michelle-Gellar. credit: Mike Johnson/PWInsider.com

Ross Report for Sept. 21, 2005 September 21, 2005 Greetings from under the black, 200X Resistol hat while anxiously awaiting to launch Monday Night RAW on the USA Network with a Texas-sized “WWE Homecoming” in Dallas on Monday October 3, at a special time of 8/7 central. Torrie Wilson, one of the “ladies in pink,” has been spotted traveling to WWE events with her rather small dog in tow. I have a hard time managing a roller bag much less a live animal while traveling. Torrie is doing a tremendous amount of running these days preparing, I am told, to run in a marathon coming up soon. Torrie looks hot in pink or in nothing as we have seen in Playboy. Matt Hardy had a real pain in the ass Monday when I saw him after executing that unbelievable leg drop off the top of the cage onto Edge at Unforgiven Sunday night. Matt was not complaining and is a gamer, but he was really sore. Obviously, Edge was not in great shape after the cage match either. Yours truly is taping a segment for the Oklahoma City UPN affiliate, UPN43, Thursday in my backyard for an upcoming special they are producing on the 100th college football game between the Oklahoma Sooners and the Texas Longhorns coming up on October 8. With OU rebuilding somewhat this season and after beating Texas five straight years in the big game, I am sure the Steers are licking their chops waiting this year’s Red River Shootout. Rivalries such as this one are one of the things that make college football so great. Our crack staff at WWE.com has pointed out to me that a pundit questioned why I would compare myself to John Daley when asked by the King during Unforgiven what golfer I would be like if I golfed. Not that it matters, but I don’t play golf anymore and, as a matter of fact, I threw my golf shoes in a lake and gave my clubs away to a total stranger after a miserable 18 hole round over 20 years ago. Not that my flippant remark impacted the broadcast, but to address my seemingly strange response, Daley is a country boy from neighboring Arkansas, reportedly likes a cold beverage (me, too), obviously enjoys fried food much like yours truly, and is not the TV’s idea of what a golfer should look or sound like, which I can relate to as well. Expect to see newly-signed Matt Striker, the school teacher turned wrestler, to be basing out of Atlanta soon to get him more opportunities to improve his game. Striker has potential but needs seasoning. John Cena and Rey Mysterio had a successful promotional tour of Italy recently. WWE will tour Italy in November. I love it when WWE.com polls our fans. On the favorite match poll at Unforgiven the Cena-Angle match and the Hardy-Edge match are almost in a dead heat the last I checked. Another sage-like pundit on the ‘net called me out this week about my “overselling” of the eight-man tag team main event Monday night on RAW, as I called it “one of the biggest main events ever on RAW.” We have not had too many eight-man tags on TV and with the star power involved and the raw numbers alone in the match, it felt that big to me. It was really wonderful to see two of the three members of the legendary rock band ZZ Top sitting at ringside Sunday for Unforgiven in Oklahoma City. I had dinner with lead singer and song writer Billy Gibbons and his crew Thursday night in OKC at Toby Keith’s I Love This Bar and Grill. Both Billy and Dusty Hill have been long-time wrestling fans with Billy growing up on Paul Boesch’s Houston Wrestling while Dusty watched wrestling as a youngster out of Dallas. The ZZ Top crew carries literally hundreds of wrestling DVDs that they watch on their buses while on tour. How great was it for long time fans to enjoy the moment with “Nature Boy” Ric Flair when he won the Intercontinental Championship at Unforgiven? Flair is obviously at the twilight of his long-and-amazing career but this title victory seems to have invigorated the “Naitch” who still firmly believes he could have one last run with the WWE Championship before he hangs it up. Time and Mother Nature may well answer that question but it will never be because of Ric’s lack of desire to perpetuate his well-earned legacy or his passion to perform on the main stage. I really enjoy seeing Bob Orton, Jr. on Friday Night SmackDown and would love to see other legends involved on either UPN’s Friday Night SmackDown or on Monday Night RAW. By the way, I think Michael Cole and Tazz, if that is his real name, do a helluva job broadcasting Friday Night SmackDown but I’m still jealous of them for being able to do their thing from ringside while we on RAW are broadcasting from right-center field REALLY close to the pyro. I have mentioned this before, but I suggest you keep your eye on Mr. Kennedy on Friday Night SmackDown. I feel he has a shot at becoming extremely good SOONER than later. Rene Dupree is out after having umbilical hernia surgery. I had that same surgery years ago and for a wrestler it is about a six-week recovery period. WWE officials tell me they are impressed with Ashley Massaro’s attitude and desire to learn to wrestle. Getting really good in this business starts with attitude and a strong work ethic and Ashley seems to have both. Not too sure if Cade and Murdoch are going to be fan favorites, but this young duo winning the World Tag Team Championship Sunday in OKC should certainly provide them some momentum. Murdoch has a unique look and, along with Cade, is providing a breath of fresh air to the RAW tag team scene. Whether the tag champs are booed or cheered doesn’t matter to me as long as there is a rear end every 18 inches in a sold seat to watch them wrestle. Would you please “pass the torch?” Or the jelly. Pass the torch. Please stop the insanity. No one is going to “pass the torch.” But the torch can be taken if a wrestler has the goods. Just ask Stone Cold. I expect several surprises for all of us when Monday Night RAW hits Dallas on October 3. Lots of legends and Hall of Famers to be on hand as many of you already know. Three hours might not be enough time to get all this show in which is a good problem to have. Let’s get to your emails… Name: John There are a lot of Internet reports circulating that HBK has been blowing up backstage about the direction of his career. Is this true? No, that is not true. Many Internet reports are often times based on second or third hand information from “sources.” HBK is VERY competitive and often times that is misunderstood as Shawn “blowing up backstage.” Shawn Michaels is arguably the very best in-ring performer in the business today. In the past, as HBK explains in his upcoming biography, Michaels did have attitude issues and had very little patience for others especially if they did not live up to Shawn’s expectations inside the ring. Shawn still makes his feelings known when necessary, but I see him in person on a weekly basis and I can tell you without any uncertainty that Shawn Michaels has been a changed man for the better since he has returned from his extended hiatus. I think more veterans need to adopt HBK’s mindset of demanding the best out of every opponent they face. This will make the younger wrestlers better or it will be discovered that some of the younger guys don’t have what it takes to hang with the top hands. Name: Frank D. I love the women of WWE. Gimme some dirt on the WWE Divas. There must be some catfights or backstabbing you could tell me about, I mean they are females after all. Wow, Frank do you think I am going to touch this one? Firstly, do you have issues with females? If so, let it go. I fully agree with the former Governor of the great state of Louisiana Edwin Edwards who once told me that “women were God’s greatest creation”. Amen, Governor. The Divas in general hang mostly in their own world backstage and in general are all pretty low key and low maintenance. It has not always been that way, however, as some stars handle success better than others. I do think that we have and are assembling an impressive roster of Divas and if they can all learn to get it done in the ring, this old schooler will be very pleased. I expect that a handful of new female talents will be signed and trained imminently. Name: Bobby I saw Mick Foley will be at RAW Oct. 3. How do you expect Foley and Flair to co-exist backstage? I’ve read on numerous occasions that they can’t stand each other. Neither may have the other on their respective holiday card list, but I expect both to be just fine regarding how they conduct themselves with each other. Ric and Mick have both contributed greatly to this business but sometimes personal feathers get ruffled and issues have to be addressed to bring closure to them. I think the issues you have referred to have been addressed long ago and everyone has moved on. Who knows, stranger things have happened and we might one day see Foley and Flair as tag team partners. Never say never in this unique business. Name:Jeff I, for one, am extremely excited for the "Raw" Homecoming on October 3 (and, no, I wasn't paid to say that). However, I haven't heard anyone address the state of "HEAT" and "Velocity" after the move to USA. What can you tell us, J.R.? The only thing I can tell you at this time, Jeff, is to stay tuned to WWE.com. I’ve been told that there will be a major announcement concerning the future of both HEAT and Velocity this week on WWE.com Name: Dustin Wallace I have a question regarding the move to USA. There is no mention on RAW’s broadcast of WWE moving to USA. Is this because of people at Spike TV or by choice? Second, why has Kurt suddenly been wearing a mouth guard when he wrestles? I don’t think Spike would have been thrilled if we mentioned one of their competitors on air Monday night. Kurt had a tooth knocked out by John Cena and is wearing the mouth guard while his dental procedure is being addressed. Who knows, he might keep wearing the mouth guard. It seems to work for him. Name: David P. Redmond My wish has come true, RAW is finally coming back to the USA Network. We don't get Spike TV on my campus. Monday nights my freshman year of college just weren't the same without RAW. Which special guest are you most looking forward to seeing appear on RAW Oct. 3rd? Tough call. I am close to Stone Cold, by the way he just sent me one of his Austin 3:16 black, ring worn vests for my “trophy room,” and he is pumped up about returning to RAW and it will be a miracle if he doesn’t open a can of whip ass on someone. Triple H has been away a long time and he will be anxious to get back into the ring, which I am especially looking forward to seeing. Love him or hate him, “The Cerebral Assassin” is a vital part of the fabric of Monday Night RAW and will no doubt make an impact upon his return. Name: Michael I wanted to tell you I am glad to see the Ross Report is back, it has been missed greatly! I remember when you were announcing for WCW. What is the biggest difference between that and announcing for WWE? There were lots of differences Michael. The money is better in WWE and the company takes care of its people better. There was less travel for me in my days with WCW than I do 51 weeks a year here in WWE. The revolving door of head honchos in WCW was unsettling while there is one man, Vincent K. McMahon, who runs WWE and he’s not going anywhere, so there is more stability in that regard in WWE. I did personally enjoy living in Atlanta, broadcasting for the NFL’s Atlanta Falcons, doing a talk show on radio station WSB, and hosting the Saturday night wrestling show on TBS. My departure from WCW was my decision contrary to what has been reported over the years as I had over two years left on my contract even though Eric Bischoff took me off the air, which legally violated TBS’ own agreement. I was never fired from WCW even though my services have been terminated twice in WWE. I was angry with the hierarchy in Atlanta at the time but looking back on it, coming to WWE from WCW at the time I did was the best thing for my career. Things have a way of working out if we just hang in and don’t give up.

Shawn Daivari was supposed to report to Deep South Wrestling, WWE's new developmental territory in McDonough, GA, but decided to go home to Minnesota instead.

Velocity: Paul London vs. ??? Scotty 2 Hotty & Funaki vs. William Regal & Paul Burchill Brian Kendrick vs. ??? FBI vs. Mexicools Smackdown: Christian vs. Booker T. Road Warrior Animal & Heidenreich vs. Jared Steel & Anthony Coletti Rey Mysterio vs. Ken Kennedy Simon Dean vs. Bobby Lashley Chris Benoit vs. Orlando Jordan Batista & Eddie Guerrero vs. MNM

EDIT: Heh, the WWE.Com had it listed as September 17th when I first posted and didn't think about today actually being the 15th. They changed it by the time I was done. Mods, feel free to change the topic for me. Ross Report for Sept. 15, 2005 September 15, 2005 Greetings from under the 200X black, Resistol hat from an Oklahoma Sooner who is counting the minutes until this Sunday’s Unforgiven pay per view event, the first, from my home state of Oklahoma! Let’s get this Sooner Schooner rolling… I have been busier than ever this week doing RAW of course on Monday and spending a tremendous amount of time helping promote Sunday’s Unforgiven from the Ford Center in Oklahoma City. Between radio and TV appearances along with newspaper interviews, I have had just about more than I can say grace over the past few weeks. Needless to say, no one ever said this business was going to be easy or without challenges but the results of Sunday’s Unforgiven event is the true payoff of all these extra efforts. I really believe that the OKC crowd will be hot and man does that help make any broadcast better. Kurt Angle is the only man in NCAA history to win the NCAA heavyweight title at under 200 pounds when he beat N.C. State’s 275 pound Sylvester Terkey a few years back. Angle is a wrestling machine and has honestly never looked more effective than he has recently. With John Cena traveling to Italy over the next couple of days for promotional work for WWE, how much will jet lag affect Cena, who is obviously not 100 percent healthy as I write this, Sunday versus Angle for the WWE Championship? For Cena to win, he must make this match a fight or an all-out brawl because if Cena doesn’t, Angle’s deadly focus may be too much for “The Champ” to overcome. Angle may simply be untouchable right now. I liked the strong messages sent this past Monday on RAW especially from HBK, Flair, and Edge/Lita. There is a difference in hearing and listening and I personally listened intently to the aforementioned talents’ remarks more closely because of what was said. I like it when other fat guys do well. You see we “husky” guys have to stick together so I am smiling about the job Charlie Weis is doing at Notre Dame for the Fighting Irish football squad. Weis is a motivator who has his players believing in themselves again and in the hallowed legacy of the Irish program. I am a firm believer that in any business negative motivation usually fails and quite often ends up biting a suit in the ass. OU football Sooners head man and my friend Bob Stoops may be on hand Sunday night in OKC’s Ford Center to see his old pal the Nature Boy attempt to win the Intercontinental Championship for the first time when he challenges Carlito. Flair is a marvel and he truly believes he has “one more run” left in him. To me, that means not only winning the Intercontinental Championship but going after the WWE Championship as well. How fortunate are Cade and Murdoch to get a Tag Team Championship match so quickly in their WWE tenure? I hope these two pups realize what an opportunity that awaits them this Sunday and they take full advantage of the moment. Did this opportunity come too soon for this young duo? Are they ready for the pressure of wrestling for a championship on a live, worldwide broadcast? We’ll find out Sunday, but the landscape seems ready for some new teams on both RAW and SmackDown to step up and contribute in a major way. I know I have said this before, and recently, but damn I would like to see some red-hot tag teams start tearing up RAW and SmackDown. “Kerwin White” attempting to be someone he is not is ridiculous. Trish Stratus told me Monday night after RAW that her back started improving at a much more rapid rate when she took up yoga. I know some NFL guys who utilize yoga to help with lower back issues, too. Needless to say, it was great to see Trish back on RAW, or any where else for that matter. With Trish coming off an extended injury, this one is really hard to predict. But as a red-blooded male, I sure am anxious to see what the ladies wear to the ring and how this live presentation will climax…. so to speak. I think I can adequately predict that Coach and King will enthusiastically fawn over these lovely ladies as if either one actually had a chance with any of the participants. I have a gut feeling that Matt Hardy is going to Slobberknock Edge inside the cage Sunday, which means in layman’s terms I feel Matt will win this much-anticipated match at Unforgiven. Go ahead and make your appropriate wise-ass remarks about my prediction history, but even a blind squirrel finds an acorn occasionally. And just think, IF Matt wins, perhaps some pundits will cease using the term “poor Matt” when referring to the talented Hardy. The ranks of the college football world are dotted with wrestling heritage. Vader’s son Jesse White (#66) is a center for Oklahoma and may be redshirted, James Laurinaitis, the son of Road Warrior Animal, is playing some linebacker (#33) for Ohio State, Wild Samoan Afa’s son Afa, Jr. is playing defensive tackle for UConn, while Wild Samoan Sika’s son Joe Anoai is the starting defensive tackle for Georgia Tech. Do you know of others? I really enjoyed being on ESPN Radio’s “All Night with Todd Wright” Wednesday night. Todd knows his stuff prepares like a true pro and follows WWE on a regular basis. He kept me company on my five-hour return trip from Little Rock late Monday night with his radio program. According to published reports, former wrestler Sam Houston, who was once married to one of the businesses first valets, Baby Doll, has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for repeated DUI arrests. When I interviewed Jake Roberts for his shocking and revealing DVD recently, Jake mentioned that little brother Sam was not doing well and was having drinking problems. This is such a sad commentary for this family for many reasons, including the fact that Sam has two young daughters that he has been apparently estranged from for years that he will now probably not see until they are young women. I’ve known this young man since he was in elementary school and I am truly sorry for this development. Perhaps Sam can get the help he needs while he is away and can start his life anew in a few years. Whether he realizes it or not, he is being given a second chance at life. Let’s hope he makes the most of it. I would personally like to see more “Legends” utilized from time to time on both RAW and SmackDown. For instance, I would be curious to hear what Arn Anderson would have to say about his friend Ric Flair’s chances of winning the Intercontinental Championship for the first time. Can you image the verbiage that would be flying if Double A were ever a guest in Carlito’s Cabana? JBL just got named to the All-100-Year football team at Abilene Christian University as an offensive tackle. Former Philadelphia Eagle running back Wilbert Montgomery who also made the all-time squad. Congratulations to JBL who may live the life of luxury in New York City, but he will always be a Texan to me. “Heartbreak and Triumph - The Shawn Michaels Story” will be on sale at book stores around November 15. I liked this book a lot because I lived a good portion of it and could readily relate to it. Bret Hart fans may not be overwhelmed with Shawn’s side of the story about the 1997 Montreal Survivor Series, but I found it to be a compelling, albeit small, portion of HBK’s life story. Shawn is another blessed individual, as he flirted with death on more than one occasion and he talks about it. Speaking of books, I have really enjoyed reading Larry Matysik’s book “Wrestling at the Chase” the story of St. Louis wrestling featuring legendary promoter Sam Muchnick. St. Louis was as well promoted as any city in the world for many, many years. Nice job, Larry! Heidenreich told me Monday night that his family literally lost everything they had as a result of Hurricane Katrina when it hit his New Orleans home. Heidenreich thinks he may move to Atlanta or elsewhere to get away from the potential damage of another natural disaster of Katrina’s magnitude. Unless plans change, yours truly gets the honor of introducing the legendary rock band ZZ Top this Friday night at Oklahoma City’s Zoo Amphitheatre. I feel badly about the comment I made a few weeks ago about how annoying I felt ESPN’s Trev Alberts was. Now the former Cornhusker is gone from the all-sports cable network. Geez, I feel badly for the guy. Really. I know the feeling of getting the ax. Twice. By the way, is there a “Hip School” for ESPN anchors. That seems like the call to order these days for most of the younger talking heads. Maybe I’ll check into their correspondence course but then again it just may be too damned late for old J.R. (Does that count for talking in the third person?) Should wrestlers be mandated to have to make a donation to the Red Cross for Hurricane Katrina’s relief effort every time they use a clothesline more than, oh say, three times in one match? If I were to start wearing sunglasses on Monday Night RAW would it make me look more hip or just more stupid? Just wondering. If you are in the OKC area this weekend for Unforgiven, drop by my fellow Sooner buddy and Norman resident Toby Keith’s “I Love this Bar and Grill” in Bricktown around 7 p.m. for a big kickoff celebration for Unforgiven, which will feature several RAW Superstars. The food there is awesome. Trust me on that one. I may even eat something “fried” Saturday night. O.K., so my Oklahoma Sooners are struggling at 1-1 but I refuse to waiver for my support of my team and, by the way, I don’t leave games early like some fair weather Sooner fans who seem to only be fans “when we win”. We are just getting WWE 24/7 here in the OKC area and man am I gonna be a regular viewer of this classic wrestling material. That aspect of WWE business is growing and in my opinion has a HUGE upside potential. Enjoy Unforgiven this Sunday on pay per view! I’m personally as pumped about this event as I was about broadcasting WrestleMania because of the old “home field advantage” and having the privilege of being part of something special for my state. Take care. Now on to your e-mails… Name: Devin S. Dusty Rhodes has mentioned on WWE.com that he would like to wrestle Ric Flair one more time at a WWE non-televised live event. What do you think about these two legends locking up one more time? Don’t you think people would pay to see it on TV? If provided the adequate time to re-establish the rivalry on TV, I absolutely believe this “last dance” would be attractive to many fans. I would pay to see it without a doubt. The promos between the two going into the match could be priceless. After decades in wrestling, these guys have not lost any passion for their life’s work. Devin, I have been fortunate enough to call many of the Flair-Rhodes matches over the years and would love to be around to do this one too, if it were to ever happen. Name: Steve Wheeler What happened to senior official Earl Hebner? I've noticed that he hasn't been officiating any matches? I remember many of the classic matches that he has officiated, and I was wondering if he decided to retire. Earl and his twin brother Dave are, unfortunately, neither still with the company. Someone told me recently that they heard Earl was doing some carpentry work in Virginia. I wish them both good health and success. Name: Jeffrey P. When will WWE bring back Mean Gene? Jeffery, I’m a big Mean Gene fan and hopefully we will see more of him in the future now that his health has bounced back and that he is feeling much better. I also expect Mean Gene to be an integral part of our WWE 24/7 presentation. Name: Chuck Minor Where is Sid Vicious and what is he doing? Will he ever come back and compete? Thank you. The last I heard, big Sid was still living in the West Memphis, Arkansas. After severely injuring his leg in the old WCW a few years back, Sid was unable to compete for quite some time and has only recently, from what I have heard, been able to get back in the ring to wrestle. It’s been years since I have seen him, and his name rarely comes up in conversations I partake in here in WWE. I would never say never, but my best guess is that he probably won’t be coming back our way, which could mean Sid might be back next week, but I wouldn’t bet my black hat on it. Chances are you will see him hitting balls over the fence on a softball field near you before he competes in a WWE ring again. Name: John M. I am 18 years old, and have been a wrestling fan since I was in diapers. First I want to thank you for giving wrestling a voice, second I would greatly appreciate your opinion on the following matter, who do you think was the better mat wrestler, Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat or Greg "The Hammer" Valentine, in my opinion, Valentine had a slight skill advantage but Steamboat had much more heart. Once again thanks. P.S. I would love to see you knock Jonathan Coachman out again! That’s a really tough call, John, because both men had different styles. Valentine was probably known for being more physical and depended more on his “ground game” than did Steamboat. Ricky’s strengths were his finesse, quickness, fundamental soundness and his desire to win no matter the cost. Steamboat could also fly which was not “The Hammer’s” specialty. So to answer your question based on what I have outlined here, I would probably go with Greg Valentine. If you want to talk about hard-nosed, mat wrestling take a long look at Greg’s dad Johnny Valentine who was as physical as anyone to ever step through the ropes. If you don’t believe me, just ask some of his opponents. “JV” was a real badass. Name: Alex I have always enjoyed watching WWE and my Dad’s favorite wrestler was Bruno Sammartino. Do you know what Bruno has been up to? And, do you think Bruno will ever be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame? Bruno, who recently shaved his head, is a physical freak of nature who still runs several miles a day most every day. The Italian legend looks as if he could still step in the ring and handle himself quite well for someone who is north of 65 years of age. Bruno, who probably weighs around 225, still lives in his hometown of Pittsburgh and makes an occasional appearance at wrestle reunions and civic functions. Bruno did not leave WWE on the best of terms, however, I would love to see him get inducted in the near future. His acceptance speech would be a classic! Name: JoAnn Hello Mr. Ross! I recently saw on WWE.com that Tough Enough winner Daniel Puder was released. Why? Also, will we see another Tough Enough show? I am not 100 percent sure why Puder was released but one has to assume that those doing the scouting and talent evaluations probably felt that Puder was not going to become the WWE Superstar that he was projected to be after winning the Tough Enough Challenge. This certainly doesn’t mean Daniel’s dreams have ended and should serve as a motivational tool to help him get to where he wants to go. Perhaps a different training environment or different coaches will help him improve as it has other athletes who have become household names after changing their surroundings. It’s hard to say what the future of “Tough Enough” will be as a free standing reality show. I know of no plans to bring it back, but it certainly was a much better show than many of the hard to watch reality shows on TV these days. It also made John “Big” Gaburick a household name in the greater Baltimore area where he is considered one of the most-eligible bachelors in the land of crab cakes even if he does bare an uncanny resemblance to Philadelphia Eagles head honcho Andy Reid. Name: Dave Camratta I read online that RAW will be moving back to the USA Network Oct. 3 and the WWE will have WWE Superstars Hulk Hogan, Stone Cold, Mick Foley, Triple H and Mr. McMahon on the broadcast. What are your thoughts on moving to USA? And, what was your all-time favorite WWE USA moment? In my personal opinion, I think the move back to USA will be great for WWE for many reasons. USA is in more homes than Spike TV, to the best of my knowledge, and is much more established. Our long time, previous relationship with the USA Network, now a part of the NBC family, was largely positive for many years and the network has made a commitment to actively and aggressively promote Monday Night RAW, which can only help everyone involved. The first night back on October 3 from Dallas will be a three-hour broadcast that will be loaded with star power and unpredictable, LIVE action. Dave, I’m not sure I have one all-time favorite moment out of the thousands of things I have seen on RAW on the USA Network, but the evolution of the Austin-McMahon era has to rank right up there for a variety of reasons. That rivalry helped propel WWE to its greatest heights and nothing like it has been able to follow it since. Name: Steve Walsh After listening to Marty Jannetty on Byte This! a few weeks back, I was just wondering what are the chances of the company re-hiring Jannetty to a contract. I’m aware of his release. It just seems such a shame that a genuine guy like that has fallen on some difficult times. There is no doubt that Marty can still probably out wrestle a fair portion of our current competitors. However, it seems that Marty may have bigger issues to deal with at this point in time. Going back on the road, even with the reduced schedule the wrestlers now endure, might not be the best thing for Marty personally. Name: Ed Farmer What’s up? I was reading on the Internet the other day about Steve “Dr. Death” Williams making a surprise visit at one of the live events, Is this true? And, will we be seeing him on TV anytime soon? The good Doctor made a surprise visit recently to see the “boys” in both Texarkana and in Monroe which are both close to Doc’s Shreveport home. Dr. Death is a walking miracle who, even though he had his voice box removed, has been declared cancer free through the grace of the good Lord and the prayers of a bunch of folks. Doc is back up to 260 pounds or so and looks absolutely amazing for what he has gone through. I was told that Doc even wrestled recently, which no one thought would ever happen again... except Doc. I have met some tough guys in my 30 plus years in the business, but none of them were tougher than Steve Williams. We are great friends and he’s a part of my family. For those keeping score at home and perhaps still wondering about Doc’s involvement with Turner’s WCW and the “Oklahoma” character and how that affected our friendship, let me say this – the concept was ill conceived and weaker than cat urine, but I knew that Doc was simply earning his pay and doing as he was instructed to do. Business is business no matter how hard a pill it is to swallow sometimes. There are no plans at this time for Doc to appear on WWE TV.

Edge should have never been put on RAW in the first place.

I actually thought this last Armageddon wasn't that bad. Rey & RVD v Dupree & Sasaki was fun as was the ME. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> I was there. Trust me, it was bad.

He was confirming that he would not be wrestling.

I remember watching SummerSlam 2003 at Hooters. People were going so nuts for Goldberg to win, and when HHH won after having absolute zero involvement in the match, people were PISSED. People were throwing stools onto the ground and everything. I thought there was going to be a riot. But to answer your question, I felt like I wanted to shoot myself for wasting $35 on No Way Out 2005. That PPV was seriously horrible. I pretty much quit watching and moved on to something else midway through the show. It became nothing but $35 background noise during UT/Luther Reigns.

They need to be doing DQ finishes on TV to set up PPV matches, not DQ finishes on PPV matches to set up more PPV matches. That worked back when people only paid about $10 for a wrestling ticket in the territories, but it's not smart business asking the customer to pay $34.95 once or twice a month for the same thing.

Don't we already have one of these?

I wish they'd do a friggin' Mania in the Georgia Dome. That'll hold about 46,000 people.

Jarrett just HAD to get the belt back before they went on Spike TV, didn't he?

Despite the fact the book's listed author is Michael Chiapetta, the book was written by former creative team member Dan Madigan who also wrote the screenplay for Kane's movie "See No Evil". Madigan was released in late-2004 for not asking Stephanie McMahon permission for time off work to attend the funeral of his father-in-law. Madigan was also disliked for his lame ideas. Here are some of them. -- During his feud with The Undertaker, Booker T. was to become obsessed with voodoo and the payoff of the angle would be Booker undergoing a forced exorcism by Taker. -- Heidenreich was to be a Nazi that was cryogenically frozen in 1939 and had just been thawed out. That should give you some idea as to the quality of his book.

The secret Diva posing in Playboy for next year's Wrestlemania push is Candice Michelle, which explains her recent push. -- Dave Meltzer from the 9/19 Wrestling Observer Newsletter =============== Looks like this is what's being hyped by JR in the Ross Report. Personally, I view it as a major disappointment, considering Candice Michelle has tons of naked pictures from Playboy floating around the internet already.

I remember when Penthouse wanted Tori (the non-Wilson). That would have been something.

Ashley Massaro's been naked in Playboy before too, under a different name.

If you actually read what you posted, you'd see where the feature splits off onto the second disc (or TAPE 2). The main feature will be on Disc 1 and the matches and extras are on Disc 2.

I cannot believe people are even mentioning Kurt Angle vs. Ric Flair from June in this discussion. The match was nothing but Angle backdropping Flair and Flair grabbing Angle's nuts constantly. I do believe Angle and Flair messed up a spot on the top rope, and Flair messed up getting clotheslined over the top rope at first so Angle had to clothesline him again (which is really becoming commonplace for Flair lately; I can't wait to see Carlito's newbieness kick in and freak out if it happens at Unforgiven). Flair is such a shell of his former self and he's about to be 57. Please retire, Ric.

A Best-Of 1993-2000 show? I can dig it. 2001 is when it started getting awful. And I'd rather watch the mid-90s abomination than today's dreck. And how does TNA have to feel knowing WWE feels UFC is more of a threat to them than they are?

Orlando Jordan vs. Chris Benoit Road Warrior Animal & Heidenreich vs. MNM Ken Kennedy vs ?? JBL vs. Rey Mysterio Nunzio vs. Batista The Undertaker vs. Randy Orton

Remember when HBK jobbed to Daivari on RAW in like 3 minutes?

Credit: Dave Scherer/PWInsider.com Here's today's "WWE legal long arm of the law" story. They have sent a legal letter to the owner of www.BigVanVader.com, saying that Leon White (Vader) has given them the right to legal use the name (he recently signed a Legends contract with the company). They want the site owner to transfer the domain to them, despite the fact that he runs it as a fan site and has done so at a financial loss, because it's now their property. While it is in their legal right to do so, I would assume, it seems to me that they have much more important issues to deal with than keeping someone who is losing money on a fan site from paying tribute to his favorite wrestler.