Strummer

Going by Nash's theory,from the female fans I've talked to, Chris Jericho should be Hulk Hogan and Austin combined as a top guy. I don't think I've come across a female fan that didn't want to fuck Jericho and think he was super hot. Recently, Christian could fall into that category, but that's from only a select few girls, but he could be on his way up. Orton is not loved by all girls, some really think he's hot and some find him weird looking. RVD is another one on top of the list

PWI: The initial buyrate for the Backlash PPV has come in at between 250,000 to 275,000 buys. That is down from the about 295,000 that the show did last year. I guess Hogan's return didn't make that much of a difference.

Just saw this at PWI, in an ad for their "elite" service - How two WWE wrestlers did the same exact thing as Edge and Lita, and instead got reprimanded for it instead of pushed as a top angle. Rumors have it that a SD diva had an affair with a married wrestler Does anyone know the deal? Furthermore, and I don't know if this is related or not, but I read at another forum that in the this week's Observer, Meltzer says that Dawn Marie is pregnant. I don't know if it is legitimate or not, but I think something big is going on backstage, so I'm inclined to believe it's true. Sorry for bringing this up if it turns out to be a BS rumor started on the net. Anyone who subscribes?

PWI Clearly trying to bury the show, they will be lucky to reach a 3.0 (if that) on Friday Nights

MNW most likely, but I honestly didn't get that vibe from the ECW DVD. Vince never saw ECW as a threat, so he allowed a more accurate portrayal

if you've seen the ECW DVD, you know that Lawler really does dislike ECW, it's not a work. From watching the DVD, one of the big reasons was that he thought the wrestlers were too small to be believable. In fact he made reference to this on commentary at the ECW Raw in the Manhattan Center in 97

Edge, in the backstage vignette with Lita last night, said the winner of the tournament faces Batista next week. I really don't know how they are going to work this.

PWI:

wwe.com

The guys at the oratory rate matches based on reputation. Any Shawn Michaels or Benoit match is **** automatically. They don't give matches with guys they don't like any chances. If JBL or Undertaker is in a match, it automatically sucks. Plus, I'm a big Shawn fan, but they severely overrate him over there, to the point of nausia.

Oh God Loss the Oratory. I've been dealing with them since 1999. Don' t ever try to use logic with them, they don't understand. This should be fun, I think I'm going to join simply for their reactions

Keller:

PWI: According to one source, Jim Cornette has been suspended by WWE for six weeks due to several recent outbursts at Ohio Valley Wrestling, including most recently one at last week's TV taping where he cut a huge promo backstage on Kevin Fertig for wearing a baseball cap while working in the ring for a dark match. The word going around at the Raw taping last night was that Cornette was being disciplined by the company. Edit: Apparently Tommy Dreamer will be taking over OVW booking

Bret did job to HHH in the build to SS 97, I think it was by DQ but he still lost. It would make zero sense for the world chamo to job cleanly to his PPV opponent's lackey prior to the PPV. Bret was originally going to be pinned in that match and vetoed it for the reasons you stated

Thanks for posting this HTQ. A few questions: 1. I thought Candido got "Cloudy" his job in the WWF? Weren't him and Candido friends on the NJ Indy scene. I believe his name was Jimmy Shoulders or something like that. I always thought "Cloudy" was Candido's idea as a way of getting his old friend a job (as I think Shoulders had been doing the drag queen gimmick in the indies)? 2. Weren't Spicoli and Shawn tight? I thought Spiccoli was a Clique lackey? On an old ECW show from 97, during the Pulp Fiction Promos he gave the clique sign and said hello to Shawn and Hunter. So he really didn't like Shawn in the end? 3. Was the real reason people didn't beat up Shawn because of Nash? The workers actually sweated him? He was a legit bad ass?

I know Bret refused to job to HHH in the build to Survivor Series 97. It wasn't going to lead to a rematch with Bret going over and it basically was done to screw around with Bret, and he vetoed it

didn't she want to be paid like a top guy and Jim Ross quickly (and publicly) ceased negotations. I always saw it as a mainly money deal. As far as the love triangle, Stephanie claimed on the Stern show that when she found out HHH was still living in Chyna's house, that she ended their relationship. Then when H and Chyna finally broke up, they got together again for good. Basically, Hunter claims that he and Chyna were done when he started seeing Steph, and Chyna claims they were engaged (which H has denied) and Hunter cheated on her.

I don't think it's a coincidence that the first show after Gewirtz leaves features almost entirely in-ring wrestling. Wonder if it will continue

PWI:

When I mentioned Meltzer, I was specifically talking about wrestlers thinking they deserve a push. Dave was talking about Batista posing in a group pic with HHH, Shawn, and Hunter. Dave "complimented" Batista for acknowledging that he "didn't belong" among that group. He took a shot at Sid and Warrior saying they wouldn't have been as humble as Batista. What I took from that was that bad wrestlers should know their bad and be humble about being pushed. I don't understand why it's wrong of Sid and Warrior to think they deserved to be pushed. It was their livelihood, it was how they made a living. Ditto for Luger. I know he did dumb things, but i won't get on him because he thought he deserved a push. I guess I just see a double standard. Wrestling is worked, talent doesn't always enter into the equation. And good wrestlers do get insults hurled at them, but they often get the benefit of the doubt. Like Flair on the plane ride from hell. Flair embarrassed the company, but wasn't criticized that much. It was just "Flair being Flair" LOL LOL (and this is coming from a big Flair fan) And there were fans who made fun of Duggan. I remember some laughing at Sid for breaking his leg in 2001. Ditto for Nash in 2002 with the quad tear. I just don't find people getting hurt funny, no matter if they are a bad worker or a lockeroom cancer. I just don't get insulting wrestlers, I never have. I can say Hunter has hurt the product for me and made the product worse, but I won't call him names and make jokes about his wife. i don't know him personally, so I don't know if he is a "prick" or any other negative term. This has always been a pet peeve of mine ever since I got on the net. It's just the way I feel.

OK, then what about Sid. Meltzer in his update the other day said that he "didn't have a brain" I guarentee he wouldn't have said that about a wrestler he thought was good. I don't understand why Sid is an idiot because he was a bad wrestler that felt he deserved a push. Same thing on Luger. Very rarely do good wrestlers get personal insults thrown at them. I remember back when Duggan got cancer, people were making fun of him on the net (not everyone, but some) If that was Tom Billington or someone like that, I don't think the reaction would have been the same. Bad wrestlers get personal insults thrown at them way too much on the net. Just my opinion

Agreed. But I am not going to hate a wrestler personally because I do not like his work as a wrestler. I agree 100% Al, somehow on the net bad worker often equates to bad person and I just don't understand that. I'm not saying that everyone does it, but it is common. I mean John Tenta was a bad wrestler, but seems to be one hell of a human being.

Ah. I haven't seen that dvd yet. What else is on it? Bruno Sammartino v Superstar Graham world Title change Andre v Studd (from their first program in 83) Santana v Valentine Cage Match for IC Title JYD v Harley Race from WM 3 Bob Backlund v Jesse Ventura Title Match Muraco v Pedro Morales IC title from 83 These are from off the top of my head, hopefully I didn't miss anything

I wouldn't necessarily say the ending was overbooked, it was just non-sensical. Shawn was a heel and that was a spot (ala Rick Steamboat) designed to get a face reaction. It also made Davey Boy, a face, look like a complete moron for celebrating too early (something a heel would normally do) It didn't make sense given the heel/face roles in the match.