Wrestling - http://maxpages.com/wrestlingiswwf/Oct

The ratings came out again earlier today and just like I've been saying for the past several months, RAW won again, this time with a 5.9 composite to NITRO's 2.9. The hourly scores for RAW were 5.9 and 5.9, while NITRO put up 3.6, 2.4 and 2.6 hourly numbers, for a 2.5 head-to-head score. Other ratings saw Sunday Night Heat go up four tenths of a point to 3.6, Superstars do a 1.8, Livewire do a 1.5, WCW Saturday Night a 1.4 and ECW on TNN fall a couple of tenths to 0.7. For those interested, last night's Monday Night Football game produced a monster 14.0 rating, while the National League wild care play-off in baseball drew a respectable 5.3. It is safe to say that wrestling lost viewership to BOTH those sporting events. Thanks to Dave Scherer for all the ratings.
The next installment of WWF Smackdown! takes place tonight from New York, with the results playing out on TV on Thursday. With the WWF limiting several of their top stars' on-camera role as of late (Austin, Vince McMahon, the injured Undertaker, etc.), who knows how the show will shape up. I have already been confirmed to be getting a few reports of spoilers so check back either later tonight or tomorrow morning for everything that went down.
Ok, you all knew the Vince Russo opinion column by me is coming and I'll just get it over with by talking about it next. If you don't like to hear stuff like this or if you're tired of reading about the resignations, skip over all of this...
I've paid real close attention to this story the past few days and can safely say that what I about to type is fairly close to being totally accurate. Of course, things here and there may be different that what actually happened, but the general gist of it remains true. Basically, Vince Russo quit the WWF on reasons that he states are not money-related. With Smackdown being added to the WWF weekly programming schedule, Russo felt he could not keep up with the high demands placed on him, nor could he continue to churn out the continuous kick-ass programs that we've all grown oh so accustomed to watching. Furthermore, he felt that he had nothing else to prove in the WWF, as the company is enjoying its most successful period in history. Russo pretty much quit on the spot Sunday evening over a phone call with Vince McMahon, after earlier in the day agreeing to a two-year deal with rival WCW. According to Russo himself, HE called WCW on Friday and the two sides arranged for a meeting on Sunday afternoon, shortly after which a contract was nailed down. According to certain people, this deal is not too far off a $1 million annual salary, although by all standards, it is probably closer to $500 grand yearly. Contrary to popular reports, Ed Ferrera, the WWF's second lead writing man, was behing Russo all the way and actually inked his deal simultaneously. He did not "decide to quit" after learning of Russo's decision.
I'm sure many of you have unanswered questions about this whole ordeal, especially if you haven't been paying too much attention newsboard reports et al. If you haven't heard by now, let me be the first to say that this WILL affect the wrestling wars in the long run. However, unlike people who are already starting to write the WWF off, I feel these defections will be help WCW more than they will hurt the WWF. In other words, Russo and Ferrara will be welcome additions to the current WCW "passe" way of life, but the WWF still has one more Vince up their sleeves, and fortunately for us WWF marks, Vince McMahon is the leader in wrestling booking. I don't know about anyone else, but I don't care how much WCW improves by nor will I care if WCW surpasses the WWF in ratings (which they won't--I'll explain later). All I care about is that the WWF continue to put forth a watchable product and by all indications they surely will do just that. Vince Russo and Ed Ferrera to WCW is a huge story by every account, but it is by no means a nail in the coffin of the WWF. One or two men does not a company make.
Something that may confuse a lot of readers is how Vince Russo, the head creative writer in the WWF, can not only just decide to quit one day, but go ahead and sign on with the opposition. The truth of the matter is that neither Russo or Ferrera was under any sort of WWF contract, which is a real disturbing thought to many WWF fans, since it is them that basically create everything that we see on RAW and Smackdown. And despite chants of hypocrisy aimed at Russo (for the past two years he has been taking shots left and right at WCW), he did not seek to teach the WWF a lesson if you will, but actually wrote parts of last night's RAW program and parts of the upcoming Smackdown show, before leaving. Both Russo and Ferrara start with their new company this coming Monday, although it is rumored that they won't start implementing their ideas until after the WCW PPV: Halloween Havoc.
As of now, the WWF has promoted (or will promote) Terry Taylor to lead booker, with guys like Tom and Bruce Pritchard, Jim Ross and Shane McMahon help with input of their ideas. Vince McMahon as always will overlook everything that gets put on the table and ultimately will control the direction of TV's storylines. Dave Meltzer and Georgiann Makropoulos report that McMahon is already seeking out other talented individuals to help out with booking duties. Hey Vince, if you're reading this, I'm always ready and willing! Kidding, kidding.
Anyways, I'll end this rant by saying that ultimately, this move may not even affect the WWF and it definitely won't affect their immediate viewership. 80% of current WWF fans probably are not "internet smarts" and have no idea what the hell has gone down. They'll continue to watch with the same un-biased opinion as always. The only danger the WWF has is if they slope downwards in terms of what the fans actually want to see. If they stay on the same road, they'll be fine. As well, depending on how things go, I might be able to converse with an actual WWF wrestler on this matter and if I do, I'll let you all know how the WWF roster is reacting to this shuffle.
The impending Test and Stephanie McMahon wedding appears to be put on hold due to a rather weird event in which the Bulldog smashed Steph over the head with a garbage container, leaving her with a bout of amnesia to tend to. This "wedding" is/was scheduled to take place next week on RAW as the WWF invades Atlanta and The Georgia Dome, and although it may not go down just yet, this storyline will definitely play a large role next week on RAW. Vince McMahon, with his brief appearance last night, neglected to make any mention of how this wreaks havoc with his daughter's marriage plans, despite ordering the Bulldog to come down and apologize. His relative lack of indifference may be the WWF's way of hinting that he isn't especially fond of Stephanie and Test tying the knot. Who knows?
The biggest ratings grabber last night was to no suprise the T & A showcase put on by Miss Kitty and Ivory. The two lost out to the old duo of Moolah and Mae Young, but the big winners were the entire male population who got to witness some really nice shots of Miss Kitty. What's also intriguing is that not only has Jeff Jarrett parted ways with Debra, but Kitty too now appears to be on her own. There have been some weak rumors that she will manage Brian Christopher upon his return, but for that to happen, the WWF would have to do some bigtime explaining.
Chyna's push continues as part of the men's division, this time with her dominating The British Bulldog until Jeff Jarrett came in for the screwjob. I'm pretty sure we can all see where this is headed, Jarrett getting the upperhand during the RAWs and Smackdowns and Chyna coming out on top when it all counts later this month at No Mercy. It is also interesting to note that Triple H and Chyna are rarely seen together nowadays, with HHH assuming the top heel role and Chyna nestling into that of a face role. It wouldn't surprise me to see these two actually part ways for a while. I've said it before numerous times, but the WWF loves playing the break-up-the-real-life-couples game, so history would seem to dictate Hunter and Chyna going their own separate ways.
The WWF's train of thought is to stick with anything works. Last week, the Rock and Mankind skits dominated the ratings charts, scoring a record 8.4 quarter hour and this week, they came right back out with another mini-segment, with arguably the third best mic worker behind them also drawing into the fun games. Some pretty funny stuff went back and forth, with Jericho raising questions about The Rock's sexual preferences, and with The Rock poking fun at Juventud Guerrera, a guy who many think is unsuccessfully trying to make fun of The People's Champ. If you don't know the story about this one, Guerrera (from WCW) has executed a miserable looking People's Elbow on more than one occasion, including last night, just minutes before The Rock took the mic and has also used some of Maivia's catch-phrases in a not-so-humble context. The whole Jericho-Rock incidents ended with the newcomer Jericho doing the job. And as you probably assumed, this is defintely not the last we've seen of these two in the same ring.
Triple H's segment on RAW wasn't all that important. He beating on fan favorite Jim Ross, just gives him more heat with the fans. I think he misses Austin...
Speaking of Jericho, the tail end of his match against The Rock saw some distress and a minor scuffle with bodyguard Curtis Hughes break out. With Ken Shamrock out of WWF storylines for the time being, and Road Dogg and X-Pac both intermingled in the tag team picture, we may see uncontrollable tension between Jericho and Hughes escalate into an actual feud. The WWF hasn't done much with Jericho since he came in and a successful angle with Hughes may be the first step in him climbing up the charts as the "time honored tradition" would suggest.
Lost in the shuffle of last night's action is WWF "No Mercy", which takes place later this month. Here is the tentative card for the PPV. Droz vs. D'Lo Brown might be a part of this card, but I received word that this match could take place sooner, possibly on RAW next week or tonight's tapings.
-Triple H vs. Steve Austin
-The Rock vs. British Bulldog
-Jeff Jarrett vs. Chyna
-Mankind vs. Val Venis
-The New Age Outlaws vs. The Hollys
-Ivory vs. Fabulous Moolah
-Kane vs. X-Pac vs. Bradshaw vs. Faarooq
-The New Brood vs. Edge & Christian
By the looks of it, the WWF has finally decided to use Val Venis effectively and have him turning heel once again. Venis started out with a bang when he first entered the WWF, and after a slow period got himself involved with the now departed Goldust. However, since then, he has been floating around aimlessly with unsuccessful angles with Ken Shamrock and Steve Blackman and a tag team with The Godfather being dropped. Now with this recent heel turn, it adds new life into Val and puts himself with arguably his biggest opponent yet in Mankind. I think it's gonna work for Val, because he definitely is one of the WWF's most recognizable stars. However, I don't know if coming out with a sock hanging out of his fly is the answer though. That wasn't really needed.
The vignettes on NITRO showing an unknown and mysterious man as triggered false talk that the Undertaker is jumping ship to WCW. It also makes matters worse when the WCW hotline I think is saying that a former WWF champion is either behind it or is set to appear. This man is NOT The Undertaker, but rather Dustin Runnels, who was WWF I-C champ as Goldust. Runnels has signed with WCW and should be appearing on TV very soon, while the Undertaker is recovering from a variety of nagging injuries, the worst of which is a groin/hip problem. He is expected back in the thick of things by the end of 1999, and could be a part of the December PPV: Armageddon.
Lucas of the WWF reports that Tori will be taking part in a photo shoot in the New York Subway station before the WWF heads out of the New York area, and last night's star, Miss Kitty will also be pictured today or tomorrow on the Long Island beaches as part of an upcoming feature in the RAW Magazine.
More from the ladies of wrestling, it appears that Kimona has indeed signed with the WWF, despite Jim Ross' notes on the Ross Report that suggested otherwise. When I read JR's statements, it sounded a bit fishy since he said that Kimona has had no talks with the WWF yet, although the Byte This! crew clearly stated that she was spotted at Titan Towers in September.
This is for whoever asked on the Mailbag about the identity of former Body Donna "Cloudy", who replaced Sunny after she left to go with the Godwinns, I asked Tammy about it and she said his name (yes, it's a he) is James Heaney, who has been Chris Candido's best friend since he was 14. Her tone seemed to indicate that she isn't exactly Heaney's biggest fan...
The buyrate for WCW Fall Brawl looks to be below 0.35. Man, that is awful. If the exact number becomes available or if the buyrate for WWF Unforgiven comes in, I'll let you all know.

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Page Updated Wed Oct 6, 1999 7:59pm EDT