Guest TSMAdmin Report post Posted October 3, 2002 THE MIDWEEK NEWS Yesterday was a somber day, full of memories for everyone. I seriously thought about not writing a news column at all this week out of respect for the anniversary of 9/11. After all, news about sweaty men in spandex and the games they play is pretty insignificant before the remembrance of the terrorist attacks that claimed so many lives. So I have reached a compromise (with myself, yet ... the negotiations were intense and heated, believe me). I’m going to dish out the news like I do every week, but in a more abbreviated format. I just don’t feel it’s appropriate to spend too much time on something like wrestling news when other things are so much more important and worthy of writing about. The fact that this is a day later than normal, however, is because I wrote the bulk of this at work yesterday (imagine that, government folks not being busy on 9/11 ...) and left it on that PC. So I’m posting it today on my lunch break (I’m working hard, boss, honest!) so my loyal readers are not denied this piece of literary magnificence any longer than necessary. So let’s get on with it. I covered Raw this week for JHawk because WE FIRED HIS ASS. It seems he doesn’t have a beak after all, despite claiming his reports come from there every week, so we canned him for being such a savage liar. No, seriously, he’ll be doing Smackdown tonight, and we’ll be back on the regular schedule again next week. No Raw Cliff Notes, then, for obvious reasons, but you can read my full Raw Report here. Other pimping: Josh Lowmon got back into the Brain Droppings swing of things. And I know you’re kidding, because I am That. Damn. Good-uh. Jay Spree covered the week in DVD News. Two SMW pieces are up for your perusal: A rundown of the Fan Week BBQ 1994 (with a Jim Cornette shoot interview) by Brandon Truitt, and Retro Rob’s take on the 1995 Fan Week and a subsequent wrestling show. Here are the weekend B-Show reports: Retro Rob’s report of Confidential, Edward Robins’ last Velocity report for a while, and Razor’s Heat recap. I also wrote an article about September 11th: the events that happened, what took place afterward, and what is still to be done. It’s the first political piece that’s been done here at TSM, I think. If you’re interested, you can find it here. The wrestling news: According to the Torch newsletter, WWE is interested in signing Malice from NWA: TNA. Back in WCW, he was called The Wall, and if he’s as useless now as he was then, this would be a wise one for WWE to avoid. Another bit from the Torch newsletter: Low Ki was anything but low-key at a recent indy show. He refused to give up his chair backstage to Tammy (Sunny) Sytch, then got into an altercation when Chris Candido came over. Low Ki also reportedly threw a chair at Sytch, though it struck someone else who was not injured. Low Ki is generally considered to have an arrogant attitude, and this is further proof of that. The Wrestling Observer newsletter reports that WWE is not actively pursuing Scott Steiner at this time. It is not due to his reputation, but rather to his recent history of injuries. According to 1Bob, TNN (and its parent company, CBS/Viacom) and Canadian broadcasting company TSN are very unhappy with the lesbian segment on Raw. TNN made it clear they don’t want to see that kind of content again, and released a statement to that effect. I think this is a smokescreen against any negative feedback from religious and gay/lesbian groups, but the ratings will probably give us an idea. WWE has release a new HHH DVD, exclusive to Best Buy stores. The disc is entitled Triple H: That Damn Good, and has several excellent matches on it. Also reported by 1Bob, Billy and Chuck will be promoting their wedding angle this Thursday on the Howard Stern radio show. The angle has been getting a good amount of coverage and publicity with the mainstream press. John Madden has killed WWE. The ratings for Raw reached a four-year low, clocking in at a truly dismal 3.4, off hours of 3.3 and 3.5. Even the so-called “Hot Lesbian Action” failed to provide much competition for the return of Monday Night Football. Dennis Miller must have driven a lot of people to watch wrestling; now that they’ve realized Jerry Lawler is actually worse, they’re turning back to the NFL. The weekend ratings, for the half-dozen of you who care: Velocity and Confidential both did 0.7 on the ratings meter, and Heat barely beat them out with a 0.8. All ratings figures are culled from 1wrestling.com and originate with Nielsen Media Research. In news that certainly made Jim Ross weep into his pillow, Bradshaw suffered a torn left biceps and has had surgery on it. This is just like the injury Kane had, and Bradshaw is expected to be out 4-6 months. He might make it back sooner, because he’s a HOSS, BAH GAWD, and he’s TEXAS TOUGH~! The injury occurred during his match with Kane Monday night, but to his credit, Bradshaw finished the match and the rest of his work on the show. The Observer reports that WWE is not expecting a blow-away Smackdown rating after Raw’s disappointing performance in the Nielsens Monday night. As I like to say, set your expectations low, and you’ll rarely be disappointed. That's a wrap for this week. JHawk will be here tonight with the Smackdown recap. Next week, I'll return to the regular news format, and bring SPOT THE CLASSIC~! back with it. Over and out, roger wilco, and all that. Dr. Tom Send feedback here. (Remove the two leading X's that I had to insert to cut down on all the goddamn spam I've been getting.) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
