= = = = = = = = = = [ WCW ] = = = = = = = = = = (from WCW wrestler who wishes to be uncredited): COL. PARKER will start wrestling full time for WCW. (from WWW): CHRIS CANYON will be getting a new gimmick. (from AOL): 27 May 1996 should be a great evening for wrestling fans. WCW will start its new two-hour Nitro at 8/7/6/5pm on TNT (one hour earlier than its old slot, but one hour later than its temporary slot for the last month). The WWF will try to keep viewers from switching by having the ULTIMATE WARRIOR wrestle on the Live Raw (the day after the 26 May 1996 In Your House PPV). WCW is apparently planning to have Some Big Event(tm) start at 8:55/7:55/6:55/5:55 (probably either SCOTT HALL or the BLOOD RUNS COLD three ninjas) to keep viewers from switching as Raw starts (for the Eastern two time zones) and big main event match starting around 9:30/8:30/7:30/6:30 to finish out the show (since the Warrior's match will apparently be from around 9:52-9:55 Eastern time) The WCW PPV from the South Dakota Harley Davidson Rally will be headlined by BIG BUBBA ROGERS with his new biker gimmick (which debuted at Slamboree). Look for LEX LUGER to feud with KONNAN. (from Georgiann Makropoulos): According to Bryan Clark himself, he will not participate in the BLOOD RUNS COLD/ninja deal. So either Bryan is trying to snow her, WCW was feeding false "ninja" info to cover Hall'd debut, or the ninja deal fell through and WCW must now do some damage control. (from AOL): CHRIS KANYON, MENG, HAKUSHI, and/or PAT TANAKA may be part of the BLOOD RUNS COLD/ninja team. Want to know whose clique DIAMOND DALLAS PAGE is in to get the push he's getting? Call my 900 number! ;-) (from AOL): RENEGADE has been let go (again). This time it may be for failing a drug test. (from Torch): ERIC BISCHOFF gave a pep talk to the wrestlers after the 13 May Nitro at which he told them about the new two-hour format and that they would be able to shine in interviews and longer matches. (from Torch): Wade Keller gave the Flair/Guerrero match on Monday's Nitro 4 stars out of 5. (from AOL): SGT BUDDY LEE PARKER of the STATE PATROL will be getting a new gimmick as "The Leprechaun". I know. It sounds like a bad joke. (from Alabaman RSPWers): Results for this weekend's WCWSN: - THE STEINER BROTHERS over AMERICAN MALES - THE BOOTY MAN over THE GAMBLER - HARLEM HEAT over MEN AT WORK - (THIS IS) STING over LORD STEVEN REGAL MACHO MAN RANDY SAVAGE was barred from all WCW TV indefinitely due to his actions "last week" at Slamboree, which prompted him to attack another WCW official. STILL IN NEGOTIATIONS: LANNY POFFO INJURIES: ROAD WARRIOR HAWK (ankle). = = = = = = = = = = [ WWF ] = = = = = = = = = = (from many RSPWers who were there): At the MSG card on 19 May 1996, THE GODWINS won the WWF tag titles and HHH, HBK, RAZOR, and DIESEL all celebrated (each at one corner of the cage) after the main event (as a farewell to Hall and Nash) and gave the new clique signal. 1-2-3 KID is still recovering from concussion #19, so he wasn't there. HHH and HBK hugged Razor and Diesel at the end of the night. Online newsletters are reporting that MR PERFECT CURT HENNIG will be back in the ring in time for the 17 November 1996 Survivor Series PPV and that BUDDY LANDELL will ba back around October 1996. There are other rumors that Hennig will be managing HUNTER HEARST HELMSLEY in his battle with THE HEARTBREAK KID SHAWN MICHAELS. Many more sources are reporting (again) that MILLION DOLLAR MAN TED DIBIASE will jump to WCW when his WWF contract expires, but no one knows when his contract expires. (from AOL): HEARTBREAK KID SHAWN MICHAELS will be in the October 1996 issue of Playgirl magazine, available the first part of September. He will not be nude. (from Torch): The WWF broke their record non-PPV gate at MSG on Sunday where they took in over $300,000. (from Torch): BRITISH BULLDOR DAVEYBOY SMITH and OWEN HART are slated to hold the tag titles this summer. Wrestlers who have apparently signed on with the WWF in the last three weeks: TONY "DIRTY WHITE BOY" ANTHONY, TRACY SMOTHERS, DUANE JOHNSON (son of ROCKY JOHNSON), THE PUNISHER, WILD BILL IRWIN, TOM "JOHNNY GUNN" BRANDI, ALEX PORTEAU, BRIAN CHRISTOPHER, DOINK THE CLOWN. INJURIES: GOLDUST, BRITISH BULLDOG DAVEY BOY SMITH, 1-2-3 KID (concussion), THE MAN THEY CALL VADER. = = = = = = = = = = [ ECW ] = = = = = = = = = = (from Hack-Man): ECW is still not being shown on Prime-owned Midwest Sports Channel. They have been given the option of airing it but feel it wouldn't pull in as many viewers as what they are airing instead (usually repeats of baseball). If anyone feels like letting them know that there are ECW fans going through withdrawal, they can be reached at (612) 330-2669. (from a friend in New York): ECW will air on MSG in New York at 1:00am Saturday morning until 29 June 1996. (from AOL): The rumors are back about ECW aligning themselves with Showtime to produce their first Pay Per View. The latest dirt is that it would run in conjunction with another PPV called "Topless Across America". The PPV will air late this summer at the earliest. (from RSPW): SABU is out for two weeks with a neck injury. = = = = = = = = = = [ MISC ] = = = = = = = = = = MONDO GUERRERO has been chosen to replace TERRY FUNK at the WWPF on 1 June 1996 (instead of CHRIS JERICHO). (from Alex Marvez): The National Enquirer is apparently working on a two page spread on BRIAN PILLMAN focusing on his accident and the speculation over where he will end up working in the next few months. (from various sources): Otto Wanz is getting some decent names for his Austrian promotion this summer. In addition to BELFAST BRUISER FIT FINLEY, he has also acquired MAN MOUNTAIN ROCK, ICE TRAIN, BRIAN ARMSTRONG, LUDVIG BORGA, and one other wrestler that was mentioned on RSPW which I can no longer find. :-) (from AOL): Don't be surprised to see LOOSE CANNON BRIAN PILLMAN show up on either Raw or Nitro on 27 May 1996. INJURIES: KOUJI KANEMOTO (broken leg, out 2+ months) = = = = = = = = = = [ RATINGS ] = = = = = = = = = = 11-13 May 1996 (from hotlines, RSPW, WWW, and Entertainment Weekly): Raw = 3.5 Action Zone = 1.6 WWF Mania = 1.8 IYH PPV = 0.7 Nitro = 2.3 Nitro Repeat = WCWSN = 2.5 WCW Pro = 1.3 WCWME = 1.5 I think this is the best Nitro has done in the horrid 7/6/5/4 timeslot. Next week's Hack Notes will have a report on how well the 20 May 1996 Nitro (with the excellent Flair/Guerrero match) did ratings-wise. For Torch subscription info, write to Wade Keller You may also send a question for Alex Marvez to answer As always, the info in this post comes from various sources, wrestlers, hotlines, online forums, newsletters, and web pages. All names are trademarks of someone else. :-) This article is copyright 1996 Otto E Heuer. All rights reserved.