The 411 News Report 12.1.00
Posted by Ashish on 12.01.2000
In the midst of a somewhat low point for pro-wrestling, a new promotion by the name of iGeneration Wrestling will attempt to make a big splash right away by debuting on PPV tonight with "Rodman Down Under."
In the midst of a somewhat low point for pro-wrestling, a new promotion by the name of iGeneration Wrestling will attempt to make a big splash right away by debuting on PPV tonight with "Rodman Down Under." The new guys landed Dennis Rodman for the main event, as he will take on Curt Hennig. The show was taped awhile ago from Sydney and it should be interesting to see how the production quality and show do in the end. These guys have recently announced the signings of figure skater Tonya Harding and female boxer Mia St.John to long term deals, so obviously they will be putting a lot of weight on the entertainment aspect of sports entertainment. At a time when both ECW and WCW are having major financial problems and the WWF is starting to see their business decline, it is a brave move to say the least for these guys to go straight to PPV without any sort of build or experience. It is obvious that they will try to compete for a place in the U.S. wrestling market which is a very tough thing to do since the market has not added anyone new in years.
The Dudley Boyz will officially be returning to ECW on December 15th at the Elks Lodge show in Queens. This is shaping up to be a MAJOR show for ECW as they are also teasing the returns of other ECW alumni. The Dudleyz come as a one night loan from the WWF and ECW will surely make the most of it. The Dudleyz are former 8 time ECW Tag Team Champions and helped build ECW to a viable 3rd competitor and not just another indy promotion. This show is already more anticipated than their PPV this Sunday which has little to no hype or interest going for it right now. I remember a few years ago when ECW shows like this would be the talk of the 'net. The majority of fans could not watch ECW on TV and when the results broke out, it usually caused a buzz. ECW was THE promotion back a few years ago, before they were on PPV and TV. Since then, things have only gone downhill as they have fallen to become just another promotion rather than something very unique. Paul Heyman needs to somehow return ECW to that revolutionary status they previously had. Not having TV is not the end of the world. ECW can place a lot of blame on things such as talent raids and financial problems, but the promotion also deserves some of the blame as ECW booking is no where close to as good as it once was.
Goldberg looks to be a strong candidate for a major role in the upcoming "Incredible Hulk" movie. He is being considered for the role of "Crusher Creel" and Hulk himself. Goldberg has done a good job crossing over to the mainstream despite WCW's problems. He has been making the rounds on national TV very well lately and it goes to show that if you are a wrestler, you do not have to have Vince McMahon backing you up to be a mainstream star.
WCW Thunder improved a half a point in the ratings this week, up to a 2.4. This is a very good sign for WCW as it shows some sort of interest with Steiner as champion. Of course, it is worth noting that the Thunder rating has fluctuated a lot over the past few months, and this could just be another temporary fluctuation. Of course, if you are WCW, you have to grab on to what little good news you can get.
Stevie Ray should be back on WCW TV soon as he will apparently be continuing his program with Scott Steiner. Ray's "retirement" will apparently not include announcing, which should upset Steiner and continue the conflict. Stevie Ray recently signed a new deal which cut his pay by a large amount and WCW is trying to give him a nice spot/push to show other guys that being a "team player" will be a good thing. Of course, that is if you consider sitting next to Fat Tony and Hudson at the announce table a good thing.
In a desperate attempt to boost Sunday Night Heat ratings, The Rock will be hosting the show this Sunday. He will have to fly from the UK on Saturday (where he will be working the Rebellion show) to Heat on Sunday. Heat ratings have done horribly on MTV and if the Rock can't boost ratings this Sunday, the WWF probably does not have anyone who will be able to. This will be a very telling Heat broadcast.
Brad Siegel is being credited for cutting some $20 million off of WCW's projected losses, from $80 million to $60 million. WCW has made a few major moves to cut costs such as move the Thunder taping to Mondays, rid themselves of a few big names, and reduce a lot of salaries. A $60 million loss for WCW this year would round out to about a $500,000 loss PER SHOW which is just amazing to think about.
411wrestling.com will have LIVE, FREE coverage of ECW Massacre on 34th Street THIS SUNDAY starting at 7CT/8ET on the Newsboard. Coverage will feature detailed match-by-match updates of the entire show as it happens. Be sure to join us!
The LAST question in the contest to win a free PLAYSTATION with game has been posted HERE. This is your FINAL chance to win a 100% FREE Playstation system courtesy of 411wrestling.com! Don't miss your chance to win, exclusively from 411wrestling.com and 411gamesworld.com. Remember that we will start our contest to GIVE AWAY A SEGA DREAMCAST this SUNDAY! Be sure to participate, you could win! Full contest details are available HERE.
Site news: McCluskey's WWF SMACKDOWN REPORT is up right HERE. Widro also has a new VOICE OF REASON up right HERE talking about how Goldberg's good days are long gone. Finally, Joe Rivett's WWF BYTE THIS REPORT is up HERE (the show featured Rikishi and Droz).
