= = = = = = = = = = [ WCW ] = = = = = = = = = = Still no word on Badd's contract negotiations with WCW. Terry Taylor is no longer part of the booking committee. He is working at the WCW Power Plant training center. Not sure what happened to the "gag rule" about Bischoff not being able to mention the WWF, since (I'm going by reports here as I haven't had time to watch my tape of Nitro) Eric gave full results of the "World Whining Federation's" Monday Night Raw. With the good turnout for the recent house shows WCW put on (as a test) the plan is to go back to having house shows on Saturdays and Sundays near where the weekend's Nitro will be from. This means more money for WCW and more work for the wrestlers (whose pay will not increase). Upcoming house shows: March: Columbus, OH & Dayton, OH April: Chicago, IL (Rosemount Horizon, where Hulk was booed) May: Springfield, IL & Hammond, IN WCW took out an advertisement in USA Today with Sting, Lex Luger, and driver Steve Grissom with the headline "World Championship Wrestling kicks butt" after the WCW race car won the Goody's 300 on 17 February 1996 in Daytona Beach, FL. The car will be in 18 races, with Sting, Dusty, etc making appearances. This Monday (4 March 1996) will be the first test for WWF to score big in the ratings, as there will be no Nitro. In the Torch, WCW responds to Vince's accusation that Turner is trying to put McMahon out of business by running Nitro opposite Raw. They say it is no different than Burger King opening a restaurant across the street from McDonalds. = = = = = = = = = = [ WWF ] = = = = = = = = = = === ULTIMATE WARRIOR === On the 19 February 1996 Raw, they aired an Ultimate Warrior promo. Everyone on RSPW said "UW signed!" A WwF spokesman on AOL said "it isn't official yet; he hasn't signed a contract as of yet". But now it is official, Jim Hellwig has signed a contract with Titan to come in FULL TIME starting with WrestleMania where he will win a squash match against Hunter Hearst Helmsley. The WwF will officially announce the Ultimate Warrior's return at the next live Raw (which is 11 March 1996). They may try to get Hellwig to show up for an interview to increase buyrates for Wrestlemania. Hellwig was concerned about spending too much time on the road and not having enough time to spend in the gym or with family, so there is a provision in his contract if he works more than 15 days in any month. === RAZOR RAMON === I miss most of the articles in RSPW (gee... it would be nice to have RSPW.info) but I think I read that Razor was suspended for six weeks in response to him giving his 90-day notice to leave the WwF. Most sources put his 1994 earnings at around $500,000 and his 1995 earnings around $300,000 (the drop was mainly due to decreased buyrates and drops in house show attendance). If he had stayed with Titan, he probably would have made $500,000 or more in 1996 (but he wouldn't be *guaranteed* any more than the base per-match salary that all WWFers get, so if interest in the WWF dropped off suddenly or if he ticked off McMahon he could be making next to nothing). Sources put WCW's offer between $475,000 and $650,000. The key factors for Razor jumping are said to be: 1: the money is guaranteed, instead of tied to how well he draws 2: less travel, as WCW rarely leaves Georgia/Florida 3: less matches (100 to 125 instead of 250 to 300) Since Razor is only about 5 years younger than Hulk Hogan, he sees this as a good way to be able to spend more time with his family instead of touring. Most sources say that Razor had been testing positive for various drugs in just about every random test that had been administered by the independent testing agency the WWF employs (as do most of the other wrestlers) but that Titan doesn't do anything with the results of the tests unless a wrestler is planning on leaving (or otherwise ticks off the suits). Reference Tully Blanchard's departure form the WWF. That's what people in the business assume. Draw your own conclusions. A nice quote I'd like to take out of context: "I encourage these guys to work without pay" --Vince McMahon (to Wade Keller) Roddy Piper will replace Razor in the IC title match against Goldust at WrestleMania. === DIESEL === Diesel has been missing house shows due to neck and shoulder injuries and is scheduled to be out another one to three weeks. He has until 7 March 1996 to give his 90-day notice, but most sources say he will stay with Titan. McMahon has given his permission for Diesel and his attorneys to talk with WCW, which would normally not be allowed while a wrestler is still under contract. === JEFF JARRETT === Jeff Jarrett has been missing house shows due to back injuries/nerve damage to his spinal cord. No word on when he'll be back in the ring. === PSYCHO SID === Sid is still out with a torn left bicep. More info should be known about the seriousness of the injury in the next week. === VADER === Vader ripped some stitches and aggravated his shoulder at In Your House. He has signed a two-year contract with the WwF which will allow him to work in Japan on days when he isn't scheduled to wrestle for Vince. === WRESTLEMANIA === As was stated at last week's Raw, the Main Event at WrestleMania will be a 60-minute ironman match between Michaels and Hart. As I said in a post yesterday, I'd be really surprised if it didn't end with: 1. Shawn gets exactly one more pinfall than Bret. 2. Shawn gets the final pinfall of the hour. 3. He gets it with less than three minutes before the hour is up. The BodyDonnas will pin HOG/PIG for the tag titles (final match of tournament) in the free-for-all. Huckster vs Nacho with Billionaire Ted has been moved to the free-for-all. RingMaster Steve Austin may have a squash match (against either Vega or Holly) if they think they can fit another match onto the card. === NEW ROCKERS === The "New Rockers" (Marty and Leaf "Al Snow" Cassidy) is a gimmick ECW was going to do with Marty and Morton: two old rockers who are too out of touch to know they are un-hip. === HOUSE SHOWS === The WWF drew $430,000 in the three house shows last weekend (which was plagued by wrestlers no-showing left and right). = = = = = = = = = = [ ECW ] = = = = = = = = = = Sabu got a call last week from New Japan saying they wouldn't let him wrestle anymore because he wasn't working for WCW (WCW fired him last year when he voided his contract by working for non-WCW promotions). Scorpio pulled a shoot on Mr Hughes on 24 February 1996 when he thought Hughes was being "uncooperative". Scorpio landed two hard forearm blows, after which Hughes left the match. The two exchanged words off-camera in the locker room afterwards. Columbus OH has started showing ECW at (what I feel are) inappropriate times on WLWG-62: Thursdays at 9:00 pm and Saturdays at 9:00 am. Too many kids are watching TV during prime time and on Saturday mornings. Things like this will be the downfall of ECW. During Pillman's 17 February 1996 "interview" (see last week's Hack Notes) a fan had a sign that said "Pillman, Don't Work Me" and a "read the sign" chant started. = = = = = = = = = = [ MISC ] = = = = = = = = = = Not sure if the increase in PPV buyrates this year is just a trend, a better economy, or the fact that Michaels and Hogan are back participating in them. Shawn and Hulk will gladly take the credit. 17-19 February 1996 ratings: Raw = 2.9 Action Zone = 1.8 WWF Mania = 1.5 Nitro = 2.9 Nitro Repeat = 1.0 WCWSN = 2.7 WCW pro = 1.8 WCWME = 1.8 With the success WCW is having (intrest-wise) with the "fake shoot" angle with Pillman, Lawler has decided to try something similar in the USWA. He is bringing back Bill Dundee who was fired (legit) in September for pulling a knife on Wolfie D in the locker room (not as part of an angle). Lawler is taking what really happened and using it as part of an angle, bringing back Bill Dundee in the process. Dundee even called JC Ice by his name (Jamie Dundee) as part of the "fake shoot" interview. For Torch subscription info, write to Wade Keller This week has another nice installment of Wade's interview with Konnan and a good article on the 4th quarter TBS financial report. Well worth the read. As always, the info in this post comes from various sources, hotlines, and newsletters. All names are trademarks of someone else. :-) This article is copyright 1996 Otto E Heuer. All rights reserved.