There are reports that atleast three members of DX who left the Smackdown tapings very upset Tuesday night. They did not change clothes out of their wrestling gear and were not in the mood to talk to anybody. There is some problems over the finish of Survivor Series or other elements of the current story lines. We will try to get more details on this situation but people who were around after the Smackdown tapings say that there was clearly visible that there was some behind the scenes problems going on.
British Bulldog has not performed well in the WWF. They brought him in to be a top heel and there has been some talk that he might have a run with the WWF title as a reward for returning to the WWF but he has not done well. Everyone in the WWF says it's not that Bulldog isn't trying, he just can't do it anymore after so many years in the ring.
WWF after the first 4-6 weeks has averaged a 4.1 rating with Smackdown for UPN. That exact time slot one year ago during the same time period averaged a 1.7 rating.
The WWF is dominating the video sales on the Rec./Sports listing and billboard. The WWF has 15 of the top 20 videos right now. Bret Hart's Wrestling With Shadows is the only other wrestling video rated at #17. No WCW videos on the list after weeks of Ric Flair and Hulk Hogan being on the charts.
There is major heat on Chris Jericho right now because he is being blamed for causing the broken foot to Stevie Richards because of the way he threw him into the ropes. You can go back and look at the tape and see what you think. Jericho in general has tremendous heat on him. He is upset at a number of things, mostly about how his matches with Shamrock and X-Pac were disappointing. Overall, Jericho has just not impressed people with his wrestling skills or his attitude lately. He injured Chyna last week giving her a black eye and didn't go out of his way to apologize for it from what we've heard. There could be two sides to this but there is just major heat on Jericho right now as most of the wrestlers and management don't like him. There is some people right now who think that if the WWF could cut him away from his current deal they would. That's not to say they are not going to try to make it work but if they had that option there are people who think management would make that decision. I'm sure management, because of this report, will come out and say in various circles that they are behind Jericho 100% and they think he is great. But the fact is there are people behind the scenes who are not impressed with him.
RoadDogg is the major ribber when it comes to Jericho although Jericho is getting ribbed by a number of people. The ribbing is pretty hardcore. Jericho is handling it pretty well for the most part but it's somewhat relentless in sone ways. There are some reports that Jericho has a reputation for complaining about certain things that have been done or that he has been asked to do. He has devoloped a reputation for running to see Vince McMahon anytime he is told to do something that he doesn't like to do.
WWF front office morale took a little beating with the IPO offering. There are some hard feeling in the WWF regarding distribution of the stock options. Some employees received more stock options than other employees with more tenor. Some thought that they would quickly earn enough to pay off mortgages but it turned out to be much less lucrative than they expected.
Matt Miller, who left the WWF as a job assistant to Jim Ross, he apparently expressed to Jim Ross before leaving, that despite reports to the contrary, he enjoyed working for him. One WWF employee though says that Ross positioned Miller at times to be his whipping boy, the guy who took the heat.
No announcement or decision has been made, despite reports contrary to this, regarding Nitro being reduced to 2 hours. However, Thunder does officially change nights next month. Thunder beginning December 7 will be taped every Tuesday and air on Wednesdays. It will remain a 2 hour show despite Russo's hope that WCW would have agreed to cut back to one hour. Because the show will be taped every Tuesday instead of every other Thursday, the storylines will be more current and more top stars will be scheduled. The bigger name wrestlers didn't like working Nitro, going home for a day or two, and returning to the road for the live Thursday Thunder. As a result they had it put into their contracts or just basically refused to go to Thunder. The new schedule will lead them to working two straight tv days, Monday and Tuesday, but them getting off days later in the week. Russo wants the first hour of Nitro eliminated. Right now WCW is not sold on cutting the show back to 2 hours and if they do agree to do so they might cut out the third hour instead of the first, but that all remains to be seen.
Sid was supposed to be on the TSN Canada talk show "Off The Record" but he did not appear. He did call Monday to cancel the appearance though.
ABC's 20/20 has a story on pro wrestling training schools which does include footage of WCW's PowerPlant. That has been rescheduled for November 18.
Justin Credible suffered a head injury at November To Remember on the backdrop that he took from Raven. Both Raven and Justin are blaming each other. Like Justin is blaming himself and Raven is blaming himself. Raven says he lost his footing and over compensated by launching Justin higher into the air than he normally would have. Justin is telling people that he may have run at Raven too fast and messed up the timing of the move. There was talk during the week that Justin was upset at Raven for not apologizing for the accident. However, backstage sources dispute the claims and say that Raven sought out Justin immediately and apologized to him. The same sources say that Justin wouldn't accept the apology because he blamed himself. Sources say that Justin was visibly upset after the match because immediately after walking through the curtain he was hounded by roughly 50 fans who didn't belong backstage. Justin is known for somewhat being a hothead about his own matches in a good way but when things don't go well he is his own worst critic. Reports on Justin's condition since the injury vary. Paul Heyman said that Justin was shaken up after the show but stayed to do promos and didn't complain of any discomfort from the injury. Friends of Justin say although he volunteered to stay for the promos, he was naseous, dizzy, and suffering from a headache, all of which are symtoms of a concussion. Justin is known for being immune to concussions because he has had several of them in his career. Heyman says Justin will be evaluated by a doctor before his next show in Staten Island, NY, but he expects for him to be cleared to wrestle.
Paul Hemyman gave November To Remember mixed reviews. He told the Torch that he considers the show just another night. He said he viewed it as a transition show but said he feels the fans still got their money worth because the wrestlers worked hard and the matches had clean finishes with established stars doing jobs. He boasted about the Mike Awesome/Masato Tanaka match calling it the best ECW title match in history. Pretty strong phrase from the promoter of the company. Heyman added that if he could go back and change a few things he would but said he doesn't regret anything. Heyman says that the next ECW PPV is called Guilty As Charged 2000 but the site has yet to be determined.
The entrance music in ECW will be changing. It will probably change when the company's second CD is released.
ECW is talking to TNN about cross-promotion from the program on other cable networks and that could really be the next stage to higher ECW ratings.
There was a flu virus going around in the ECW locker room. Justin Credible was out with the flu a couple of weeks ago. Raven was the latest victim. He looked to be suffering from it at the PPV. Raven's shoulder is still giving him problems and he is complaining about pain when he throws punches.
Lance Storm is still suffering lingering effects from his ear and throat infection.
Tracy Smothers worked out in the ring with several wrestlers before recent shows in Ohio. ECW is looking to find more veterans to work with the younger wrestlers because there is a lack of leadership in the young dressing room.
