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For many years, Ted Turner's World
Championship Wrestling served as WWE's biggest competitor. In
1996, after signing major names such as Hulk Hogan, Kevin Nash,
Scott Hall, Randy Savage and other ex WWE Superstars, WCW went
on a roll and managed to defeat WWE in the ratings war, live
event attendances, pay-per-view buyrates etc. But in 2001, WCW
collapsed as AOL Time Warner rushed to sell the company that
went from doing millions of profit to millions of losses. After
Eric Bischoff's team failed to secure WCW, Vince McMahon and his
World Wrestling Entertainment bought the competition.
JUDGMENT DAY IS HERE
- It's finally official. After several years, WCW is no
longer part of the Turner empire. Eric Bischoff led the team
of Fusient Media Ventures, headed by Brian T. Bedol,
President and Chief Executive Officer and Stephen D.
Greenberg, Chairman of the company. The announcement was
made earlier today at a meeting between the parties. Brad
Siegel, former head honcho of WCW sent memos to every WCW
employee after the meeting explaining the sale.
(Story originally published on January 11th 2001)
WHO ARE FUSIENT MEDIA VENTURES?
- As said in the previous news bit, Fusient Media Ventures
acquired World Championship Wrestling from Time Warner. Who
are Fusient? The company is an integrated media company that
invests in high-potential, branded media properties. The
headquarters are in New York, with offices also in Los
Angeles. Brian T. Bedol serves as its President and Chief
Executive Officer. Before creating Fusient, Bedol was the
creator, co-founder and CEO of Classic Sports Network, now
known as ESPN Classic. CSN was then sold to ESPN Disney
company back in October of 1997. Stephen D. Greenberg is the
Chairman of Fusient, and just like his partner Bedol, he
co-founded the Classic Sports Network in 1995. The two have
been together ever since, and ultimately creating Fusient
Media Ventures. Tom Lassally is the President of Fusient
West Coast, as well as President of Fusient Studios, a
division of the company. Lassally's previous work was an
executive vice president at Warner Brothers Studios.
(Story originally published on January 11th 2001)
THE REST AT FUSIENT
- Apart from the three Fusient main executives, the company
employs other 12 important executives. Alan Gold is the
Senior Vice President, Business Development and Strategic
Investments; Marc Metis is Senior Vice President, Business
Development; Jeffrey Jonas, Senior Vice President, Sales and
Distribution; Richard Copeland, Senior Vice President, West
Coast Sales and Distribution; Abigail Klem, Vice President,
Business Affairs; Jonathan Barnes, Director, Business
Development; Debra Langer, Director, Business Development;
Gregory Little, Director, Content Development; Keven Duffy,
Director, Content Development; Norbert Gambuzza, Director of
Sales and Properties; Suzanne Feldman, Director, Technology
Strategy; Kamal Patel, Director of Finance.
(Story originally published on January 11th 2001)
BISCHOFF RETURNS AS PRESIDENT
- After leaving World Championship Wrestling again in mid
last year, Eric Bischoff is now once again President of
World Championship Wrestling. "Wrestling fans can rest
assured that we will give the WCW the adrenaline shot it
needs to once again become the most exciting brand of
wrestling in the world," said Bischoff in a press release
sent by Fusient a few hours ago. Bischoff returned to WCW as
an adviser last year, and teamed up with Vince Russo in a
tag team that most believed it wouldn't last long. Indeed,
it didn't last long. The new WCW era ended at the Bash when
Vince Russo did a shoot on Hulk Hogan calling him a "piece
of sh*t". Since that day, Bischoff disappeared from WCW
although he was still receiving money. Bischoff went from
just an announcer to a booker to vice president and now
president once again. He was the man behind the company
signing important wrestlers from the WWF, including Hulk
Hogan, Macho Man Randy Savage, Scott Hall, Kevin Nash and
others. The "nWo", which he created with Hall and Nash is
still considered one of the best - if not the best -
wrestling angle in the history of this business. Bischoff
will run the creative side of the new WCW.
(Story originally published on January 11th 2001)
TNT, TBS TO REMAIN THE HOME OF WCW
- Although WCW won't be owned by Time Warner anymore, the
company will still keep a minority interest in World
Championship Wrestling in order to broadcast the WCW shows,
Nitro on TNT, Thunder and Worldwide on TBS. Nitro could
however switch channels in the future depending on the
direction that Time Warner goes with their cable channel
TNT. It's been rumored for quite a while that TNT will have
all its programming changed and the shows would be
transferred on another Time Warner owned channel.
(Story originally published on January 11th 2001)
TALENT CONTRACTS
- During a conference call between Bischoff, Bedol, Siegel
and media reporters, Bedol said that Fusient has purchased
the contracts of everyone involved in World Championship
Wrestling. As of right now, Bedol couldn't comment if there
would be any talent or front office workers releases. Around
50 to 60 people work in the WCW Headquarters plus more than
that number when it comes to talent. Eric Bischoff said that
he called some of the WCW wrestlers this morning and all
were happy that the sale has ended.
(Story originally published on January 11th 2001)
WITH BISCHOFF AS PRES, WILL HOGAN RETURN?
- The big question now is what will happen to Hulk Hogan?
The complete sale of WCW to Fusient Media Ventures will be
finalized within the next month, however Eric Bischoff takes
control of the company effective immediately. Hulk Hogan has
been rumored to be one of the main bookers of the new WCW,
with special on-camera appearances. Hogan is one of
Bischoff's closest friends, along with Kevin Nash and
Diamond Dallas Page. It's impossible not to think that those
three individuals won't have a say in the running of the
shows. A Hogan return would certainly upset most of the
younger stars and those who are enjoying the spotlight after
years and years in the company. It's no secret that Eric
Bischoff likes to use older stars on his shows and his
return, as well as Hogan's, will no doubtly spark some
electricity in the locker room.
(Story originally published on January 11th 2001)
MEETING AT SIN
- Several industry sources are reporting that yesterday Eric
Bischoff held a meeting with every WCW superstar at the Sin
pay-per-view. Both Bischoff and new CEO Brian Bedol were in
Indianapolis yesterday attending the event. The meeting was
basically to cover some issues regarding the recent sale of
WCW.
(Story originally published on January 15th 2001)
MORE PROBLEMS IN THE WCW BUYOUT
- Problems between Time Warner and Fusient Media Ventures
over the sale of WCW almost led to the deal completely
falling apart according to Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling
Observer. Although it wasn't revealed why the deal was in
trouble, everything seems back to normal now with the sale
supposedly being finalized in the beginning of March. Time
Warner officials were ready to shut down the company if the
sale fell through and if no other interested buyers
approached them.
(Story originally published on February 26th 2001)
WCW SALE - WILL THE REAL BUYER PLEASE STAND UP?
- Online sources are reporting that this week there should
be an answer from WCW head honcho Brad Siegel regarding the
future of WCW. Siegel is currently on holiday as is Eric
Bischoff. Talks between WCW and Fusient Media Ventures broke
down late last month and no announcement was done. With
Siegel out of office for the past week, negotiations were
halted and everyone is being left in the dark. Monday 26th
March is the final date WCW has on its calendar in regards
to shows. No arenas have been booked and no tickets went on
sale. The are no dates in April and the only date booked
after that is May 6th - the 'Big Bang' PPV from Las Vegas,
NV.
(Story originally published on March 12th 2001)
SIEGEL MEET FUSIENT OFFICIALS
- Wade Keller of the Torch reported today that WCW head Brad
Siegel met with Fusient Media Ventures executives in
Atlanta. Keller adds that sources close to the situation
said that the meeting was held to try to 'save the deal' and
not to finalize it. There's still no word on what actually
went down at the meeting.
(Story originally published on March 13th 2001)
IT'S OFFICIAL!
- Today World Wrestling Federation Entertainment, Inc.,
announced the acquisition of World Championship Wrestling
from AOL Time Warner. WWFE Inc., now has the rights for the
name 'WCW', it's extensive video library and other property
rights. "This acquisition is the perfect creative and
business catalyst for our company," said Linda McMahon in
the press release. WWF President and Chief Operating Officer
Stuart Snyder also adds, "The acquisition of the WCW brand
is a strategic move for us.....it is a perfect fit." In the
press release it was stated that the new WCW TV shows will
air on TNN in the near future and while there's a
possibility of inter-promotion feuds, fireworks might start
this Monday on RAW and on Nitro at the same time!
(Story originally published on March 23rd 2001)
MEDIA OUTLETS PICK UP WWF/WCW STORY
- CNN FN, Broadcasting & Cable, Multichannel News, Wall
Street Journal, Reuters and others picked up the story of
the WCW acquisition right after the announcement was done.
The deal is expected to make headlines in major newspapers
and online magazines tomorrow. None of the stories had any
financial information on the deal, but since the WWF is a
public company, they have to list how much they paid for the
company sooner or later.
(Story originally published on March 23rd 2001)
CANCELLATION OF WCW SHOWS FROM TNT & TBS BECOMES CLEAR
- During a conference call earlier today with Linda McMahon
and Stuart Snyder, Snyder said that when the WWF re entered
discussions three weeks ago, one major obstacle had to be
shot down - WCW programming had to be dropped from TNT & TBS
due to the exclusive agreement with Viacom. With that said,
the cancellation of WCW shows from Time Warner-owned
stations is more clear. Fusient probably were left in the
dark over the past three weeks while the WWF were doing
their own arrangements with AOL Time Warner officials.
Fusient were desperately searching for a new network for WCW
but all plans failed. WWF had the golden opportunity to take
over and they did. AOL TW did what WWF requested to clear
the hurdle with Viacom, and the rest...is history.
(Story originally published on March 23rd 2001)
MEMO TO WCW STAFF
- WCW head honcho Brad Siegel sent a memo to everyone in WCW
announcing the new deal with the World Wrestling Federation.
Siegel said that the agreement with the WWF "holds
tremendous potential for the WCW brand and assets". Siegel
also reminded everyone to show up at the meeting at the WCW
Power Plant on March 28th at 10AM. During this meeting
Siegel will share more information about the immediate plans
the WWF hold for WCW.
(Story originally published on March 23rd 2001)
WCW.COM ALSO POSTS PRESS RELEASE
- The official WCW website WCW.COM posted the press release
with the announcement of the World Wrestling Federation
buying out WCW today. Other then that nothing else was
mentioned throughout the site. It was rather funny seeing
both WWF.COM and WCW.COM posting the same item plugging each
other! Who would've thought we'd come to this?
(Story originally published on March 23rd 2001)
WRESTLERS' CONTRACTS STILL IN QUESTION
- There are conflicting reports regarding the story over
which WCW wrestlers will the WWF keep. Some sources say that
the WWF are only interested in a handful of wrestlers, while
others are saying that many of the young stars will be
signed along with a few top name stars. The only thing
reported the same is that the WWF aren't interested in the
top guys who have a guaranteed contract of more then $1
million. That could cause trouble with the current top WWF
stars if they got signed because no matter what they do, the
WCW stars would receive that amount where as WWF stars have
to work their butts off to get paid more during the year.
(Story originally published on March 23rd 2001)
WHO WILL BE LEFT OUT?
- With this WCW purchase, many current WCW superstars will
be left out due to their high cost guaranteed contracts. AOL
Time Warner will be responsible for paying the left-out
wrestlers for the whole duration of the contract and
obviously blocking them from going anywhere. The other
option is for AOL Time Warner to offer the contracted
wrestlers a complete buyout, paying them less then the full
amount but they will be free to negotiate with any other
federation. This is the best option for the WWF since they
can work out a deal with the released wrestlers offering
them a downside contract instead of their current guaranteed
agreement.
(Story originally published on March 23rd 2001)
DEAL TO BE FINALIZED NEXT WEEK
- The paper work to finalize the purchase of WCW from AOL
Time Warner will be signed next week and from there on, WWFE,
Inc., will have total control of WCW. Right now the WWF are
signed with a binding letter to secure the deal. Previous
lawsuits and other type advertising will not be transferred
to the WWF and AOL TW will have to deal with any pending
issues as well as high salary contracts. The WWF will take
over some of the licensing agreements that were previously
done with WCW and a couple of wrestler contracts.
(Story originally published on March 24th 2001)
WWF STARS ON NITRO
- Some WWF superstars will be on Nitro this coming Monday
along with WWF officials for the last Nitro ever on TNT.
Nitro is being re-written by both WWF and WCW creative team
and it should kick off some of the cross-branding between
the two federations. It's not known who will appear, but
sources say that they will appear on camera. Dave Scherer
also reports that Bischoff could possibly be on Nitro as
well. Now that's interesting to see.
(Story originally published on March 24th 2001)
LIST OF NAMES WWF PICKED UP
- The Pro Wrestling Torch released the names whose contracts
were bought by the WWF along with the name 'WCW', the tape
library and almost all the trademark names including the
popular 'nWo'. These superstars are: Lance Storm, Sean
O'Haire, Mike Awesome, Chuck Palumbo, Miss Hancock, Shane
Helms, Shannon Moore, Mike Sanders, Hugh Morrus, Billy
Kidman, Elix Skipper, Chavo Guerrero Jr., Shawn Stasiak, Kaz
Hayashi, Yang, and Mark Jindrak. I guess Stasiak is the
first to be released by the WWF and picked up again with the
purchase of WCW.
(Story originally published on March 24th 2001)
TNN AGREES TO CARRY WCW TV
- Dave Meltzer of the Observer reported earlier today that
TNN agreed to carry a WCW show on Saturday nights between
11PM and 1AM EST. Obviously there could be changes in the
time slot preferably moving it down to a prime time slot on
another day. Although nothing has been confirmed, Linda
McMahon said during the conference call that there will be
hints when Nitro will go back on air this Monday.
(Story originally published on March 24th 2001)
NASH, FLAIR TALK ABOUT THE SALE
- Former WCW champion Kevin Nash said during an interview
that he will sit at home and collect his $1.6 million from
AOL Time Warner instead of accepting a buyout and
negotiating a new deal with the WWF. Can you say he just
secured a permanent spot out of the business until a new
promotion get started? On the other hand, Flair said that he
won't mind working for McMahon again during an interview
with the Charlotte Observer newspaper. "Somehow we always
thought it would work out, it's unbelievable. I always
thought it would be part of TBS," said Flair. When
commenting on Vince McMahon, he said, "I think he could make
it fly again. He has been great to me personally. He has
done miraculous things with wrestling."
(Story originally published on March 24th 2001)
EDGE, CHRISTIAN & HARDYZ RUMORED FOR NITRO
- Edge, Christian, Test & K-Kwik were at Panama Beach, FL.,
the site of tomorrow's Nitro. They were all on a WWF
promotional appearance however the rumor is that Edge &
Christian will be two of the wrestlers who will show up on
Nitro tomorrow. The other two rumored are the Hardy Boyz.
Bob Ryder of WCW Live! and 1wrestling.com said that E&C met
with WCW wrestlers at the Boardwalk Beach Resort where
everyone is staying. One of the WCW wrestlers said that the
former WWF tag team champs were 'really cool' and introduced
themselves to everyone.
(Story originally published on March 25th 2001)
TV SLOT CHANGED FOR NEW WCW SHOW
- Jeff Marek of the LAW & the Observer reported earlier
today that the new WCW show has been changed from a Saturday
airing to a Friday one on TNN. According to the story, the
tapings would be done on Wednesdays so a few WWF officials
including Vince McMahon can attend. So far talks are only
for one show, so Thunder will probably be scrapped. There's
no news if they will keep WorldWide either.
(Story originally published on March 25th 2001)
VINCE ADDRESSES THE TROOPS TONIGHT
- WWF Chairman Vince McMahon will be on RAW Is WAR tonight
addressing the WCW purchase from AOL Time Warner. This will
no doubt be an explosive Monday night with WWF stars on
Nitro and WCW stars rumored on RAW. The possible plan for
this is to link up Nitro and RAW at the same time for the
announcement where both shows will show the same segment.
(Story originally published on March 26th 2001)
STEINER SCHEDULED TO DROP BELT
- Several sources are reporting that Scott Steiner is booked
to drop the WCW Heavyweight title tonight to Booker T on the
'season finale' Nitro on TNT. Dave Meltzer of the Observer
says that Steiner is not in the WWF plans at the moment so
having him ending the show with a title belt would be
meaningless. The new owners are very interested in Booker T
and giving him the title to end the Nitro era on TNT is
definitely a good sign for the former Harlem Heat member.
(Story originally published on March 26th 2001)
WWF OFFICIALS ON NITRO
- Apart from the rumored Edge & Christian and the Hardy Boyz
showing on Nitro, WWF agent Gerald Brisco and talent co-ordinator
Bruce Prichard are supposed to be attending the show. WWF
New Media president Shane McMahon is in Panama City, FL.,
and will be appearing on the show.
(Story originally published on March 26th 2001)
BISCHOFF OFF NITRO
- Former WCW president Eric Bischoff have pulled his
appearance from tonight's Nitro after last week he appeared
on the show via a telephone call and announced the show as a
'Night Of Champions'. Bischoff was scheduled to be part of
tonight's program before the news broke out that the WWF
purchased WCW on Friday afternoon. Sources are saying that
Bischoff is still trying to negotiate a deal to start a
national promotion.
(Story originally published on March 26th 2001)
TV DEAL STILL NOT FINALIZED
- The TV deal for the new WCW show is still not finalized
and WWF officials are hoping that it's sealed by tonight so
it can be announced on Nitro's final show on TNT. The latest
is that the show will air on Friday evenings, with a time
not set yet. Saturday late night is also being considered.
(Story originally published on March 26th 2001)
MEETING BEFORE NITRO
- Just like his dad, Shane held a meeting before Nitro that
lasted around 15 minutes reports Wade Keller of the Pro
Wrestling Torch. McMahon told everyone in attendance that
anyone has a shot staying with WCW - a comment which many
are finding hard to believe. Shane said that WCW will go
dark for the next six to eight weeks until a new relaunch on
TNN on a different time slot. There was no discussion
regarding the contracts the WWF bought with the sale or any
other type of contracts.
(Story originally published on March 27th 2001)
SHANE O'MAC ON WCW.COM
- The usual flash intro on the splash page of WCW.COM is now
nonexistent. What you will find is a picture of Shane
McMahon, with a message directed to WCW fans with the
headline 'This is only the beginning'. There are no major
changes to the WCW.COM website yet, as today's only new item
is the WCW Nitro report with pictures from the event. Shane
is the President of WWF New Media so you can expect a major
boost to the .COM properties of World Championship
Wrestling.
(Story originally published on March 27th 2001)
WCW UK TV
- Over the weekend we contacted BSkyB representatives to see
what the future holds for WCW broadcasts on their Digital
platform. BSkyB have a multi-year deal with the WWF to air
all WWF shows including eight of their PPVs live. We asked
BSkyB if they will acquire WCW programming as well since now
they are owned by the WWF. "Unfortunately, BSkyB has no
plans at present to broadcast WCW events. Rest assured,
however, that your interest has been noted and passed on to
the Head of Sports for his attention," said J. Forsyth from
the company. Bravo currently airs WCW Nitro and will also
air the final episode this Friday night.
(Story originally published on March 27th 2001)
ADMINISTRATION STAFF ALL FIRED
- Today at the WCW staff meeting in WCW offices, the
administration staff was fired all in one go. Buck Woodward
of 1wrestling.com reports that a WWF Human Resources
representative was present at the meeting and told everyone
that if they wanted to re-apply for a job under the WWFE
umbrella, they should fill out a form and they would be
considered. Staff members were ordered to return all mobile
phones, pagers and other equipment that are AOL Time Warner
property. Those fired will receive nine weeks of pay and
will also receive a four week pay for every year they have
been employed by WCW.
(Story originally published on March 28th 2001)
ONLY FOUR KEEP JOBS
- Only four people from the WCW offices managed to keep
their jobs automatically with the sale. These are according
to Dave Scherer, Diana Myers in legal department, Aaron
Blitzstein in marketing, Rob Garner in advertising and Steve
Barrett in production. Yours truly had a 'nice' telephone
conversation with Ms Myers back in 1998 over the WCW stuff
used on Wrestling-Online.com . She's a shark!
(Story originally published on March 28th 2001)
SIEGEL NO SHOWS AT MEETING
- WCW head honcho, or should we say ex, no showed at the
meeting today where all WCW employees were in attendance.
Many people are blaming Brad Siegel for the sale to the WWF
instead of working it out with Fusient officials. Siegel was
the person that sent the memo to everyone about the sale and
requested that everyone should attend the meeting today.
(Story originally published on March 28th 2001)
PACK YO BAGS, YOU'RE GOIN' TO HOUSTON!
- Dave Meltzer of the Observer reports that around ten of
the WCW wrestlers whose contracts were picked up by the WWF
were told to pack their bags, put their wrestling attire and
title belt if they have one and go to Houston for
WrestleMania. Meltzer says that all are supposed to have
meetings with Jim Ross prior to the event.
(Story originally published on March 31st 2001)
WCW STARS AT WM
- A few WCW stars appeared at WrestleMania yesterday during
the Shane/Vince confrontation. Ms Hancock, Hugh Morrus, Mike
Awesome, Lance Storm, Sean Stasiak, Chavo Jr and the
Thrillers were sitting in the Skybox cheering on Shane. When
Shane gave his new buds a 'shout out' before the match, the
Texas crowd welcomed the WCW stars with a chorus of boos.
Welcome to the WWF. I'm sure they were impressed on how to
actually put a PPV!
(Story originally published on April 2nd 2001)
EVERYONE SENT HOME
- No WCW stars are expected to be on RAW tonight as Dave
Meltzer reports that everyone who was in attendance for last
night's WrestleMania was flown back to home earlier today.
Besides Shane is hosting the RAW party from WWFNY so it
doesn't make much sense to have them when he's not around.
(Story originally published on April 2nd 2001)
CONTRACTS TO GET TERMINATED
- Dave Meltzer of the Observer reported today that many of
the WCW wrestlers who had a 90-day cycle option in their
contract were told that their contract will be terminated by
Time Warner. These do not include the contracts which were
picked by the WWF in the first place although many believe
that the WWF will do the same and negotiate a new contract
with the guys they picked. A list of the effected wrestlers
haven't been released.
(Story originally published on April 5th 2001)
MORE ON THE WCW TV SHOW
- Yesterday we reported that the tickets for the first
WCW TV taping in May will go on sale on the 14th of this
month. Today the official website of the Sovereign Bank
Arena at http://www.sovereignbankarena.com listed the new
WCW show in their events schedule. They still didn't
announce a name for the show and there's no confirmation if
it will be called 'Nitro'. Fans in Trenton, NJ., will be
lucky to see the 're-birth' of WCW under the ownership of
the McMahon family. Tapings will start at 7:30PM.
(Story originally published on April 5th 2001)
FIRST WCW SHOW CANCELED
- We got word from Sovereign Bank Arena officials today that
the WCW show scheduled for tapings on May 9th has been
canceled. No reason has been given as to why the show was
knocked off. Ticketmaster.com also removed the entry from
its database.
(Story originally published on April 6th 2001)
NEW DATE FOR TV SHOW
- In his latest Ross Report, JR said that as of today, 24
WCW wrestlers are contracted with the company. Apart from
the wrestlers, no one else was hired as far as referees,
ring crew, TV announcers etc. Ross said that the new
tentative TV taping is on Saturday June 9th, and the program
would air on TNN that same night from 11PM to 1AM. It's
funny how McMahon who basically lifted TNN with his WWF
can't get another primetime spot on the network for another
of his shows.
(Story originally published on April 6th 2001)
NO HOUSE SHOWS OR PPV'S UNTIL FALL
- Ross also said that house shows won't start until early
fall which means that during summer, all there would be is
one WCW TV show with no other events throughout the week. As
far as pay-per-views go, the tentative month is to start
them in September, although that's still in consideration.
(Story originally published on April 6th 2001)
MEETING TO DISCUSS WCW'S FUTURE
- A three hour meeting between WWF officials took place on
Thursday at the WWFE Headquarters in Stamford, CT., to
discuss the future of WCW reports Jim Ross. Ross said that
several of the WCW stars whose contract were not picked up
by the WWF will be given a chance to join the company after
they get out of the Time Warner contract. AOL TW are
offering much less money for the individuals who had a
high-salary guaranteed contract if they chose to accept a
buyout. But for those wrestlers, that's the only way to get
out and negotiate a new contract with the WWF to start in
WCW again.
(Story originally published on April 7th 2001)
JUDGE REJECTS MOTION
- Time Warner's motion to close the racial discrimination
lawsuits which former WCW employees filed last year was
rejected by an Atlanta judge, who ruled that they could also
sue Turner Sports if they chose to. Pending lawsuits against
WCW weren't transferred to the WWF when they bought the
company so AOL Time Warner is stuck with a dozen of lawsuits
against them.
(Story originally published on April 7th 2001)
LOCATION FOR FIRST WCW SHOW
- The first WCW show under the WWFE umbrella will now be
taking place at the Patriot Center in Fairfax, VA., on June
9th. Jim Ross last week announced that the show will be
taped and aired on Saturday night via a tape delay between
11PM and 1AM EST on TNN.
(Story originally published on April 11th 2001)
THE NAME GAME
- WWF.COM has a poll featuring a couple of names for the
new WCW Saturday night show. Among the names featured, there
are 'WCW Saturday Night Nitro', 'WCW Hot Box', 'WCW
Uprising', 'WCW Late Night Appetite', 'WCW Hard-On Saturday
Night' and 'WCW Primal Urge'.
(Story originally published on April 11th 2001)
SAVAGE MADE LAST MINUTE BID
- Bob Ryder of 1wrestling.com reported today that Macho Man
Randy Savage made a bid to buy WCW from AOL Time Warner when
Fusient Media Ventures backed out of the deal. Ryder says
that Savage was mostly interested in the video library which
is one of the company's biggest assets. Since the WWF were
already in deep negotiations with AOL TW officials, Savage's
bid came in a little bit late.
(Story originally published on April 12th 2001)
MEETINGS NEXT WEEK TO DISCUSS WCW
- There are ongoing meetings between high WWF officials
regarding the new WCW. At the moment, the choosing of
agents, writers and TV broadcasters seem to be the highest
priority. On Wednesday, Thursday and Friday there will be
meetings in Atlanta with the already signed wrestlers and
potential production crew, writers etc reports Jim Ross.
Meetings will then be held at the WWF Headquarters in
Stamford, CT., after the return from Atlanta. The tentative
date to start is early June with a timeslot on TNN between
11PM and 1AM every Saturday night.
(Story originally published on April 14th 2001)
ADDITIONAL STARS ON THE WAY
- Some WWF mid-card wrestlers and developmental talent from
Memphis may soon find a new home in WCW. With only two dozen
superstars signed for the company and no major talent under
contract yet, the additional 'back up' will be coming from
both the WWF and Memphis. Although the option is not for WCW
to be a 'B-type' federation to the WWF, giving younger - and
un-used in the WWF - stars the experience to wrestle more in
front of TV cameras in front of people may be a good start.
(Story originally published on April 14th 2001)
AOL TW RAISES THE BUYOUT OFFER
- Dave Scherer reported today that AOL Time Warner are
offering more money for some of the current wrestlers who
are still under their multi-million dollar contract.
Originally it was 30 cents for every dollar if they wanted
out, however now according to sources the deal is 50 cents
on the dollar. This will give the wrestlers more money if
they opted to get out of the contract and the WWF a good
chance to get their hands on some big name superstars.
(Story originally published on April 18th 2001)
MEETINGS START TODAY
- Today the meetings with potential WCW employees started in
Atlanta, headed by WWF's Jim Ross. Meetings will continue
throughout the week in Atlanta and then move to the WWFE
headquarters in Stamford, CT. We still have no word on what
went down, but we know that Johnny Ace is almost a certain
lock backstage for WCW. Ace was at WrestleMania and then
invited for RAW and Smackdown after the event to see how
things run backstage. The purpose of these meetings is to
get the new writers, agents, production people and maybe new
talent.
(Story originally published on April 18th 2001)
RELAUNCH DELAYED, NO NEW DATE
- For the second time in a month, the WWF pushed back the
relaunch date of the new WCW, however this time, no date has
been announced. WCW was supposed to start on June 9th, a
Saturday taping to be aired later that night on TNN. So far,
no TV deal has been signed with TNN although industry
insiders feel that the proposed 11PM-1AM timeslot on
Saturdays will be allocated to the new yet to be named WCW
show.
(Story originally published on April 19th 2001)
BISCHOFF RELEASED
- Dave Scherer of 1wrestling.com reported that Eric Bischoff
got his release from his WCW/AOL Time Warner contract today.
Bischoff returned to the Federation last April as a
consultant after he was demoted from his creative duties at
the end of the previous year. Bischoff worked with Russo for
a few months until Russo shooted on Hogan at the PPV.
Bischoff was also one of the main men in the Fusient Media
Ventures deal to purchase WCW. Scherer says that an
announcement regarding Bischoff's future should be made this
week.
(Story originally published on April 19th 2001)
ROSS PUSHES FOR INDY APPEARANCES
- Jim Ross urged the 24 contracted WCW wrestlers to work
indy dates until the promotion launches again sometime in
the summer. Ross said in his weekly Ross Report that by
doing some indy work, it will help the wrestlers stay in
shape and avoid any ring rust. AOL Time Warner just recently
blocked two superstars who are under the old WCW contract
from appearing on independent wrestling shows due to breach
of contract.
(Story originally published on April 20th 2001)
NEW TAPING INFORMATION
- Still tentatively to air on Saturday nights between 11PM
and 1AM EST on TNN, the tapings of the show is now in
discussions to move from the proposed Saturday evening to a
Wednesday one as it was originally going to be. This was
revealed by Jim Ross today after the countless meetings in
Atlanta in the past few days with WCW wrestlers and other
potential officials. The show was going to be taped on
Saturdays, then aired on a tape delay however now the plan
is to go back to a Wednesday taping.
(Story originally published on April 20th 2001)
ROSS ADVISES TOP STARS
- The top stars who are interested in taking the buyout from
AOL Time Warner to join the new WCW will have to make some
sacrifices says Ross in his latest Ross Report. With the WWF
starting from scratch, the established names who currently
have high-salary contracts with AOL TW will have to take a
major pay cut to be part of the new team, be a team player
and commit to the new company. Ross said bringing such stars
will be difficult due to their current contract and what
would they get if they joined WCW now. AOL Time Warner
recently added the buyout from 30 cents to 50 cents on the
dollar in a move to push under contract stars to take the
buyout. Wrestlers such as Kevin Nash, Sting, Goldberg and
others are believed to sit and collect their money from AOL
TW for the remainder of their current contract.
(Story originally published on April 21st 2001)
DDP MEETS WITH ROSS
- In his latest message to the fans, Diamond Dallas Page
revealed that he met with WWF official Jim Ross earlier this
week and he said the meeting "went great". DDP is the second
top former WCW superstar who is not under contract to the
new WCW to admit publicly he met with Jim Ross. Steiner also
met with Ross last week. Page didn't elaborate on what was
said in the meeting, in fact he dedicated only one line to
announce it.
(Story originally published on April 26th 2001)
TENTATIVE DATE SET AGAIN
- Another tentative date has been set for the WCW relaunch.
According to JR, it's a taping on June 13th, with an air
date on June 16th on TNN. However it all goes down to the TV
deal. If no deal has been signed by then, the start up will
be pushed back again. TNN aren't giving the Federation
another prime time slot even though wrestling on their
channel is the highest rated show on cable. The proposed TV
slot is on Saturdays between 11PM and 1AM.
(Story originally published on April 30th 2001)
MCMAHON VS MCMAHON
- Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer reported today that
several WCW talent will be appearing on the July
pay-per-view 'Invasion', live from Cleveland, OH. Meltzer
added that a storyline involving Vince and Shane McMahon
will be built for the event. Nothing has been confirmed so
far as what the storyline will involve.
(Story originally published on May 19th 2001)
MCMAHON MEETS PAGE
- Bob Ryder of 1wrestling.com reported today that Vince
McMahon has met with former WCW champ Diamond Dallas Page to
talk about his presence in the new WCW. Ryder said that WWF
lawyers are looking at DDP's AOL Time Warner contract to see
how can he be released and made available for the WWF. Ryder
said that the meeting between McMahon and Page went well.
(Story originally published on May 28th 2001)
LET THE INVASION BEGIN!
- Lance Storm was first, now the question is, who's next? On
RAW yesterday, the WCW invasion started with Lance
Storm...and how appropriate that was since they were in his
home town! As far as we know, Jim Ross had to meet with the
former WCW champ in Calgary before RAW and the decision to
'throw' him on TV was taken that very same day. Now there's
some 'on the fly' booking for ya!
(Story originally published on May 29th 2001)
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