EdwardKnoxII 0 Report post Posted November 11, 2003 Well here's this week Torch. Enjoy. TOP STORY: It's a Wade editorial about WWE hurting their own buyrates. It hasn't been lost on people in WWE that last week's Smackdown, with less in-ring content than any show in quite a while, did the best rating since the much-hyped Billy & Chuck wedding. The show with the most amount of wrestling in recent memory, featuring the Brock/Angle ironman, did a disappointing number. WWE TV in the late 90's was very light on wrestling with the Crash (RIP) TV format, but the PPV's would have a lot of action. The same thing is kinda true now, but today they're putting more focus on the angles than the actual matches. Buyrate numbers for No Mercy are coming in around 200,000, which is low. Vince vs. Stephanie had as much heat as any match on the show, but the hype wasn't to see what actually happened when they wrestled. The hype was on what would happen after the match, whether Stephanie would quit as GM or if Vince would step down as the boss. You don't need to buy the PPV to find that out, you can just watch the next TV show. Survivor Series has a big match shaping up the same way, with the Bischoff/Austin elimination tag. The hype isn't on the 10 guys who are wrestling, it's on Austin and how he'll be effected by the outcome of the match. The focus is on the fallout that will happen the next night, and the wrestling itself is secondary. So why buy PPVs or house show tickets to watch the wrestling? If WWE keeps pushing that the most important thing is what people can see for free on TV, they'll keep having trouble getting people to pay for the wrestling. TOP 5 STORIES OF THE WEEK: #1 - A steroid bust in Florida may have ties to wrestling. Reports covering the incident cited "very recognizable" wrestlers as customers of the guy accused of dispensing the drugs. Nobody seems terribly worried over this yet, perhaps because with the way most reporters cover wrestling, "very recognizable" wrestlers could refer to guys who haven't been in the national spotlight for 5 years. Plus, the guy was pretending to be a doctor, so any one of his customers could have been under the impression that he was a legal physician. Or they could lie and say they were. #2 - Last week's Smackdown featured just 12 minutes of wrestling and did a 3.7 rating. The other networks had first-run shows, so it wasn't because of repeats. The main ratings spike was in males 18-24, and the Torrie/Dawn Halloween segment drew the peak rating. #3 - No Mercy, or "Backlash" if you're Wade, did an estimated 200,000 buys so far. #4 - Austin was all over the place to promote his book. #5 - Jeff Jarrett beat Jim Duggan, was scheduled to wrestle Sting at TNA. WWE NEWS: - Crash died . His rep for partying was fairly well known, to the point that JR once even made an on-air comment during a sketch Crash was in. He was at WWF New York and wasn't being served because the bartender thought he was too young, and JR made the offhand remark that "he shouldn't be drinking anyway". His reputation got him ostracized by a lot of the WWE locker room. - Talk backstage is that John Cena's first feud as a babyface will be with Brock, which some people question since it'll leave Cena with nowhere to go but down once it's over. Other people say they think Cena may start off "smaller" with Big Show, then move to Brock while Brock feuds with Benoit in the meantime. Brock/Benoit was the plan going out of Survivor Series, but the people talking about Brock/Cena say it's been changed to that. - The Eddie/Chavo vs. Bashams tag title match was originally planned for Survivor Series, but at last week's Smackdown they decided to put it on TV before the PPV and add Noble/Tajiri to the PPV in it's place. People were speculating that they might have done this in order to add Eddie to the Team Angle match, but that doesn't seem to be the case. It may be that they wanted it to have more time than would be possible at the PPV, where the elimination matches are expected to get plenty of time. - Kevin Nash's surgery went well and he'll need about 6-8 weeks to recover. Friends say he'd like to do a final match at Mania if he's able to. Bill DeMott is gonna get the Dr. Jho surgery sometime soon. - The only reason being talked about for Matt Hardy's apparent jump to Raw is that he and Lita wanted to be together. No word on when he'll actually pop up. It may not be for a while. He would fit right in with the angle they're doing with Lita and Christian, but people are saying Raw would rather use him as a heel and that he won't be part of that storyline. - Nikita was at Smackdown the other week and was going to debut in a diva's contest type thing that ended up not being part of the show, thus marking the 300th time her debut has been pushed back. - Rikishi put on about 60 pounds during his time off and management is not terribly pleased. - The rumor going around is that WWE wants to debut some new faces, hence guys like Matt Morgan and Nathan Jones popping up. Or back up in Nathan's case. OVW's Disciples of Sin tag team worked Raw house shows over the weekend. People who know say Morgan is probably a year or so shy of being ready, although similar things have been said about guys like Charlie Haas who've done well. The Smackdown writers pushed hard to get Morgan because there were apparently plans to bring him to Raw sometime later, and they wanted him. People don't expect for them to bring up Matt's participation in Tough Enough, since he dropped out halfway through. He fit in well in the locker room. Nathan Jones was better in the locker room, but the early word was that he'd gotten even worse in the ring. Although after this past week's Smackdown, he was getting some good words on how he handled himself against Angle and Benoit. - LeBron hung out backstage before Raw and took pictures with everybody. - Michael Hayes seemed quiet and humble at Raw, kinda like he was after the drunken Europe flight. - Austin is still a loner backstage, unless Nash is around. Then they hang out. Bischoff keeps to himself, too. A wrestler was asked if Bischoff still has heat with the wrestlers, or if he's still embarrassed about once being so powerful and now just a TV performer, or if he just wants his paycheck, and the wrestler said it's probably a little of everything. - JR's been making comments lately about Steven Richards during Raw, like subtle suggestions that he thinks Steven is acting kinda fruity or something. Apparently there is or was gonna be an angle with Stevie and Victoria against Rico and Jackie that JR was planting the seeds for. - Mark Henry is fitting in well backstage. He's acting more serious about things, so he hasn't been ribbed like he was back in the day. Like when he ate a poop sandwich. The story about Mark getting off the plane cause Flair was worried about weight was not a rib, despite reports elsewhere. When contacted for his thoughts on this story, Mark said some ribs would be delicious. - The final word on the Rundown was that it was disappointing, but not quite a bomb. - Regarding Zach Gowen's rep in locker rooms, someone from the Michigan indy scene who didn't want to be named (it's CM Punk) told the Torch that Zach was widely known as the "Little Prince" because his rich mommy spoils him. He's also heard stories that Zach is telling friends at indy shows that he'll file a discrimination lawsuit if WWE fires him before his contract runs out. Good luck with that. - People, important people like Vince, are high on Batista now after he's been holding his own in segments with Austin and whatnot. Some people are speculating that the big push Randy Orton was in line for is no longer a guarantee, although nobody has soured on him or anything like that. Orton's only concern right now is said to be chasing skirts while he's on the road, so he doesn't care. - There's been talk lately about Kurt Angle and WrestleMania. It's been noticed by some people that in all the talk of Mania matches on the drawing board, potential matches for Kurt have not been as big a priority as matches for Brock and other guys. This may be because the office isn't looking at Angle as a long-term player at this point, since in interviews back around the time of his surgery he pegged WM20 as a retirement point if his neck didn't hold up. Kurt even did a recent interview where he said that he'd like to keep wrestling for the rest of his contract (3-4 years), but didn't know if he could last that long, going as far as saying that he thinks of himself as "week to week". But now Kurt is telling the office that he'll definitely be around after Mania, he's not retiring, and he's feeling good enough to keep going as long as he can. This may be the truth, but some people question whether he's saying this just to make sure he keeps getting pushed as a long-term main event guy, rather than being pushed as a guy on the way out who puts people over before he goes. TNA NEWZ: - Russo hasn't been backstage for the last two weeks. Rumors spread at this past week's show that Dutch Mantell has officially taken over writing duties for the shows. - Backstage rumors also said that this coming week Hogan would be telling TNA what his timetable for recovery is, and when the big PPV can be scheduled. - Another reason America's Most Wanted has a lot of locker room heat is because they're tight with certain members of the TNA office, and these office members apparently push AMW to indy promoters who call about booking TNA talent. Even if the promoter doesn't mention AMW, the office guys bring them up and try to get them booked. That doesn't happen for everyone, obviously. - The masked wrestler "X" was Quebeccer Pierre. Wade really hated that angle. He says that TNA could have let Vince McMahon book the X Division for a night, and with Vince purposely booking to kill the division as a money draw for TNA, he couldn't have done much worse than bringing out a big masked lug and having him destroy the X wrestlers. Pierre has lost some weight though, with one wrestler saying it looks like he finally got rid of the cannonball he's been carrying all these years. - The backstage reaction to Lex Luger coming in was actually favorable. One wrestler said the announcement got a pop from the wrestlers watching the monitor backstage. - Terry Funk and the Honky Tonk Man were contacted about coming in the other week, instead of Duggan and Rick Steiner, but they both passed. - Jim Mitchell will probably be gone for a while to sell the end of his feud with Raven. He's one of the few people with guaranteed dates in his contract, so he'll have to be brought back sometime. MLW NEWS: - They're fucked. They canceled their last remaining TV taping, which the Torch said would happen weeks ago and the owner denied. CLASSIC TORCH: - Madden wrote about how wrestlers should form a union. Jerry Jarrett did a Torch Talk. Sabu wrestled Terry Funk for the first time in an ACW indy show. ON TOPIC WITH JASON POWELL: It's the October hitlist! Hits: Heyman's back, TNA PPV delayed, OVW: Misses: Vince pushing himself, drunken asshole Michael Hayes, TNA creative slump. THIS WEEK WITH WADE KELLER: In the old newsletters that he posts on the VIP site, he used to break down the TV shows by 8 different categories: match quality, achieved purpose, quality of angles, interviews, announcing, production values, pacing, and the incentive to tune in next week. Just for fun he rates Raw and Smackdown using the old format. Raw got a 64 out of 100, and Smackdown got a 56. THE MCNEILL FACTOR: He goes on and on about the steroid story. TORCH TALK WITH RAVEN: More about Goldberg! Wade Keller: Do you have a problem with anyone's background in another sport being brought up if they weren't a superstar in that sport? Raven: To me, if he was a guy who played one year of pro football and we talk about him being a football player, and now he's portrayed as the best wrestler we got like they did with Goldberg, that to me is a slap in the face to wrestling. Then the fact that he would always bad-mouth wrestling, "F--- you." The fact that this paying you all this money, giving you a life of luxury and prestige, and all you do is sh-- on it. Even if you think that, don't f--in' say it because it makes us look like a bunch of idiots. You're the top guy in the sport, you're bad-mouthing the sport, and we're bleeding our hearts out for it and all you do is think it's the f---in' sh-ts." That infuriated me. I always liked Bill before he got in the business. I don't see him anymore. I'm sure I'd say hi to him or whatever, but I resent the hell out of him. If you don't love what I do, that's great. But it rewarded you so hugely, don't sh-- on it. Keller: Why do you think he bad-mouthed wrestling? Raven: Because he really didn't give a sh-- about it. He was a gym rat. I know in Atlanta, we've had mutual friends. We all knew each other from the scene. Everybody thinks every big guy can do it, but they can't. Bill happened to have a phenomenal charisma and presence at it because Bill's smart, he's a very smart guy. But I think he would have respected it and never bad-mouthed it if he'd have gone to New York (WWE) because they would have made him earn it like they're doing now. Like Jericho did when he front-facelocked him and choked him out. Keller: So you think Bill Goldberg is a smart guy? Raven: He didn't strike me as stupid. He's smart enough to know... Just because someone is not wrestling-smart doesn't mean they're stupid. Some people just can never grasp wrestling. To me, I don't know how they can't, but they can't grasp the ABCs of it, the Wrestling 101. I've had conversations with Bill. He seems like an intelligent guy. He's not going to win any Pulitzers. I think his mom was a teacher or a violinist. I think he had well-to-do parents. He couldn't have fallen too far from the tree. Keller: When you worked with Bill Goldberg in WCW, did you think he had natural abilities that could blossom, or did you think he had some fatal flaws? Raven: He was never going to learn how to sell. I couldn't get the concept across. I would try to explain to him how to sell. I would say, "Bill, if you got hit in a fight in the stomach, you would double over like this, right? You would be breathing hard." He said, "No, I wouldn't sell it." So I went, "There's no sense having a conversation." If you don't believe you're going to sell in real life, you'll never get to sell in fantasy wrestling, fake life. Then he talks about wrestling indies and stuff. HOORAY A BRUCE COLUMN: He reviews"Chokehold". It's a gosspy book about the territories back in the day, and brings up urban legends like the (false) story about Tommy Rich having gay sex with the promoter to get the NWA title. Bruce points out hypocrisy by the author quite a bit, or at least I'm assuming he does. Maybe the author pointed it out himself, I dunno. END NOTES WITH WADE: Get your mom's credit card, kids! Now you can buy old Torch issues going all the way back to 1996!!! bye Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AndrewTS 0 Report post Posted November 11, 2003 Last week's Smackdown featured just 12 minutes of wrestling and did a 3.7 rating. The other networks had first-run shows, so it wasn't because of repeats. The main ratings spike was in males 18-24, and the Torrie/Dawn Halloween segment drew the peak rating. I am so ashamed of you, America. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
EdwardKnoxII 0 Report post Posted November 11, 2003 - Regarding Zach Gowen's rep in locker rooms, someone from the Michigan indy scene who didn't want to be named (it's CM Punk) told the Torch that Zach was widely known as the "Little Prince" because his rich mommy spoils him. He's also heard stories that Zach is telling friends at indy shows that he'll file a discrimination lawsuit if WWE fires him before his contract runs out. Good luck with that. More and more Gowen seems more like alittle bitch. And sad thing is if he did sue the WWE I think he would win. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Boo_Bradley Report post Posted November 11, 2003 Kevin Nash's surgery went well and he'll need about 6-8 weeks to recover. Friends say he'd like to do a final match at Mania if he's able to. *Awaits backlash* Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Lightning Flik 0 Report post Posted November 11, 2003 Ok... So Orton's WMXX isn't a safe bet? Batista might get it? I'd rather have Batista than Orton. So hopefully Orton screws up. And Nash back for WMXX? Good. Orton can face him instead of HHH. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
the pinjockey 0 Report post Posted November 11, 2003 So the road is clearing for Batista vs. HHH Kevin Nash vs. Orton ? BWAHAHAHAHA. I can't wait to see ebay in March, all the WM tickets trying to be unloaded. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest One Trick Pony Report post Posted November 11, 2003 There's been talk lately about Kurt Angle and WrestleMania. It's been noticed by some people that in all the talk of Mania matches on the drawing board, potential matches for Kurt have not been as big a priority as matches for Brock and other guys. It's a priority to get Brock a big match but not Angle? WHAT????!!! They're more insistent on getting the guy who dumped himself on his head a match. I personally wouldn't care about giving either a big match after their fruitless feud. RAW Brand PPV's headlined by HHH have beaten SD PPV's so I'd be more concerned with giving HHH a big match. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest StevieNightHeat Report post Posted November 11, 2003 JR's been making comments lately about Steven Richards during Raw, like subtle suggestions that he thinks Steven is acting kinda fruity or something. Apparently there is or was gonna be an angle with Stevie and Victoria against Rico and Jackie that JR was planting the seeds for. Interesting... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest ManKinnd Report post Posted November 11, 2003 Possible WM card ------- Batista vs. HHH Nash vs. Orton Taker vs. Kane Goldberg vs. Brock Oh, you've gotta be kidding me. Brock/Berg may have a bit of a dream match appeal, but workrate wise this card is already comically bad. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Megatron Report post Posted November 11, 2003 Possible WM card ------- Batista vs. HHH Nash vs. Orton Taker vs. Kane Goldberg vs. Brock Oh, you've gotta be kidding me. Brock/Berg may have a bit of a dream match appeal, but workrate wise this card is already comically bad. It's Hoss-O-Mania BABEEEEE! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Lil' Bitch 0 Report post Posted November 11, 2003 JR's been making comments lately about Steven Richards during Raw, like subtle suggestions that he thinks Steven is acting kinda fruity or something. Apparently there is or was gonna be an angle with Stevie and Victoria against Rico and Jackie that JR was planting the seeds for. I'm so scared right now... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
1234-5678 0 Report post Posted November 11, 2003 - Mark Henry is fitting in well backstage. He's acting more serious about things, so he hasn't been ribbed like he was back in the day. Like when he ate a poop sandwich. The story about Mark getting off the plane cause Flair was worried about weight was not a rib, despite reports elsewhere. When contacted for his thoughts on this story, Mark said some ribs would be delicious. Zuh? Poop sandwich? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
LucharesuFan619 0 Report post Posted November 11, 2003 - Mark Henry is fitting in well backstage. He's acting more serious about things, so he hasn't been ribbed like he was back in the day. Like when he ate a poop sandwich. The story about Mark getting off the plane cause Flair was worried about weight was not a rib, despite reports elsewhere. When contacted for his thoughts on this story, Mark said some ribs would be delicious. "Zuh? Poop sandwich?" Thjat's what I was gonna say. The first part was kinda funny, but the last sentence wasn't... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Spaceman Spiff 0 Report post Posted November 11, 2003 TOP STORY: It's a Wade editorial about WWE hurting their own buyrates. It hasn't been lost on people in WWE that last week's Smackdown, with less in-ring content than any show in quite a while, did the best rating since the much-hyped Billy & Chuck wedding. The show with the most amount of wrestling in recent memory, featuring the Brock/Angle ironman, did a disappointing number Y'know what else did well, ratings-wise? SD back during the SD6 period, when wrestling was all over the show. - Kevin Nash's surgery went well and he'll need about 6-8 weeks to recover. Friends say he'd like to do a final match at Mania if he's able to. Bill DeMott is gonna get the Dr. Jho surgery sometime soon. Man, Dr. Jho just made himself a *TON* of money once Angle came back so well from his neck surgery. - Rikishi put on about 60 pounds during his time off and management is not terribly pleased. Management sure has a funny way of showing their displeasure - Rikishi still picks up wins. - The rumor going around is that WWE wants to debut some new faces, hence guys like Matt Morgan and Nathan Jones popping up. Or back up in Nathan's case. OVW's Disciples of Sin tag team worked Raw house shows over the weekend. Because Jones worked out so well the 1st time. How about Kanyon? He can wrestle and is comfortable on the mic, but since he's a WCW guy, he gets buried in dark matches while green guys get put in big PPV matches. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dubq 0 Report post Posted November 11, 2003 A wrestler was asked if Bischoff still has heat with the wrestlers, or if he's still embarrassed about once being so powerful and now just a TV performer, or if he just wants his paycheck, and the wrestler said it's probably a little of everything. Oh, gotta love the Torch. "Some guy asked this guy if this or that was true about that other guy, and this guy said it was. So it must be." Keller actually makes a living off of this shit? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Anakin Flair 0 Report post Posted November 11, 2003 - Regarding Zach Gowen's rep in locker rooms, someone from the Michigan indy scene who didn't want to be named (it's CM Punk) told the Torch that Zach was widely known as the "Little Prince" because his rich mommy spoils him. He's also heard stories that Zach is telling friends at indy shows that he'll file a discrimination lawsuit if WWE fires him before his contract runs out. Good luck with that. More and more Gowen seems more like alittle bitch. And sad thing is if he did sue the WWE I think he would win. I like the reporting style. Damn the sources! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Slayer 0 Report post Posted November 11, 2003 - Rikishi put on about 60 pounds during his time off and management is not terribly pleased And they will show their displeasure in the form of a push, no doubt Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Spaceman Spiff 0 Report post Posted November 11, 2003 2 weeks, 2 wins (1 of them over TWGTT). Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Mulatto Heat Report post Posted November 11, 2003 A wrestler was asked if Bischoff still has heat with the wrestlers, or if he's still embarrassed about once being so powerful and now just a TV performer, or if he just wants his paycheck, and the wrestler said it's probably a little of everything. Oh, gotta love the Torch. "Some guy asked this guy if this or that was true about that other guy, and this guy said it was. So it must be." Keller actually makes a living off of this shit? Hey, if people actually pay for Torch subscriptions, while I don't agree with that, more power to him. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
EdwardKnoxII 0 Report post Posted November 11, 2003 QUOTE - Rikishi put on about 60 pounds during his time off and management is not terribly pleased. Management sure has a funny way of showing their displeasure - Rikishi still picks up wins. Well that's WWE logic for you. But, what they should do is ship him down to OVW and make him lose the weight and don't bring him back up untill it's done. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
razazteca 0 Report post Posted November 11, 2003 QUOTE - Rikishi put on about 60 pounds during his time off and management is not terribly pleased. Management sure has a funny way of showing their displeasure - Rikishi still picks up wins. Well that's WWE logic for you. But, what they should do is ship him down to OVW and make him lose the weight and don't bring him back up untill it's done. Send him to Tough Enough with MTV's Camp Jim as the lead trainer. "Now you're going to do the moonsault before you leave camp" Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
haVoc 0 Report post Posted November 11, 2003 Wrestlers are the lowest form of human race. A poop sandmich? C'mon! That's sick. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Vern Gagne 0 Report post Posted November 11, 2003 I'm guessing Jerry Lawler was involved in the Poop Sandwhich. After all he was the one who took a crap in Sable's gym bag. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
haVoc 0 Report post Posted November 11, 2003 I remember hearing someone once did the same in Lawler's crown and he went and cried to Vince about it. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
The Czech Republic 0 Report post Posted November 11, 2003 Wrestlers are the lowest form of human race. A poop sandmich? C'mon! That's sick. hahahahahaha. poop. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Dids Report post Posted November 11, 2003 How long was Rikishi out? Was it even 4 months- 60 pounds in 4 months is fucking crazy. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DCMaximo 0 Report post Posted November 12, 2003 I feel embarrassed to know so much about wrestlers bodily functions, but it was apparently the Undertaker who shat in the King's crown, bitter about how little he got paid in Memphis. I like the idea about sending Rikishi to OVW to lose weight, cos that sure worked out well for the Big Show... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
EdwardKnoxII 0 Report post Posted November 12, 2003 I feel embarrassed to know so much about wrestlers bodily functions, but it was apparently the Undertaker who shat in the King's crown, bitter about how little he got paid in Memphis. So I'm guessing he was a DEADMAN SHITTING huh? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Golgo 13 0 Report post Posted November 12, 2003 Ok... So Orton's WMXX isn't a safe bet? Batista might get it? I'd rather have Batista than Orton. So hopefully Orton screws up. And Nash back for WMXX? Good. Orton can face him instead of HHH. I beg to differ. Batista is monumentally worse than Orton, at least in the ring. Watching Batista over these past few weeks, he seems as sluggish as Triple H ever was, if not moreso. Not to mention that his flexibility, when doing something as simple as lifting an arm or leg, is looking very Scott Steiner-esque. I mean, at the very least, Orton has flashes of athleticism here and there. Assuming they go with this, Nash v. either Orton or Batista is guaranteed to be bad. But replace Orton with Batista in the Triple H match, and it goes from having the potential to be painfully average to being just painful to watch. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Lil' Bitch 0 Report post Posted November 12, 2003 After all he was the one who took a crap in Sable's gym bag. I thought it was Kane? *haven't read Chyna's book in awhile Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
