BLAH

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PPV:

• This show was jam-packed with good stuff, but also it had some bad stuff. This is the kind of biting analysis you can only get here, gang.
  
  Eddie vs. RVD was tremendous. I would have liked to see the finish come a little later after their missed Frog Splashes and "both guys slowly get up and RAAAAH here they go at it again" sequence, but what can you do. Trish vs. Stacy was very short but still better than I thought it'd be, with Stacy actually trying to wrestle and stuff. The Hardys tag match was acceptable viewing, and I thought Heyman tripping into the ring and shouting about being undefeated was funny. WHO'S NEXT?
  
  Austin vs. Flair/Show was far far better than I was anticipating. Probably because Big Show didn't do much, but even the stuff he did do didn't drag things down. Angle/Edge was awesome and a half and what a contest it was. I would have maybe preferred a decisive win for Edge with whatever finisher he's using this week, but it was good stuff. The Cell was just as awesome and was brutal and bloody. I liked that they did it without trying to work a crazy bump in, although the barbed wire was kinda crazy. I figured it was fake what with HHH taking shots across his back, but then it caught in Jericho's hair and yikes.
  
  The tag team title match... happened. Boy, they really need to let the tag champs appear on both shows. It makes total sense. The best of the men's division, best of the women, and best of the tag teams. What's the problem? And the main event was not a horrible embarrassment to the sport of professional wrestling, so I guess it succeeded in that regard. The crowd heat sure helped. What is up with Taker's music?
  
  If only there had been a strong main event, this would have been a big thumbs up show. As it is I'd give it just a mild thumbs up. I also saw the final X-Files some of the Cosby reunion on Sunday, it was quite a night for TV viewing.
  
  

• I hadn't been on the net in several days, so the first I heard of the British Bulldog dying was when Raw started. From what I've seen a heart attack is the reason being given, but the family says that's not official yet. Regardless, it's quite unfortunate.
  
  
• Also going on to the big ring in the sky is Erich "Mass Transit" Kulas, who's one match in ECW caused a pretty big stink after he was carved up by New Jack. No word on what he died from.
  
  

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• There was more talk about the infamous plane ride. Curt Hennig was fired partly due to his conduct on the flight, but also due to an overall pattern of behavior that nobody liked. On the plane he was teasing Brock Lesnar and, as usual, Hennig's razzing got overbearing and eventually rubbed Brock the wrong way. But it wasn't until one member of management, who had been drinking himself, encouraged Brock to "show the boys he's not a pushover" that the situation escalated.
  
  There was lots of heat on Michael Hayes after the flight. He didn't get his hair fixed after his ponytail was cut, but otherwise he went on like it was business as usual backstage at Raw.
  
  Vince chewed everyone out for their conduct, but some feel Vince set the tone himself with last year's mid-flight scuffle with Kurt Angle. Obviously that was strictly a friendly exchange that didn't get serious when drunken tempers flared, but Vince set the tone himself that rowdiness was okay on the charter flights.
  
  Several wrestlers have downplayed the flight, saying it wasn't any different than most overseas trips. ‘The only difference now is that with the internet being as big as it is, these things get reported," said one guy. Another wrestler said that ribbing and pranks occur even on regular commercial flights, but they never turn into physical altercations for obvious reasons.
  
  
• Kurt Angle told a station in Jacksonville that in December he'll begin training for the 2004 Olympics.
  
  
• Other sources (Dave Meltzer) are reporting early estimates of WrestleMania's buyrate that are adjusted down to around 800,000 buys. Early independent estimates were/are around 1.3 million. Either way, the reliability of early PPV numbers is never exact, and the final numbers won't be determined for several weeks. Some think the lower buyrate story is being pushed by WWE officials to prevent guys from building up giant expectations about their payoffs for the show.
  
  
• Speaking of payoffs, there was a story last week about Kevin Nash complaining to JR about payoffs. The wrestlers weren't impressed with Nash, though, and one remarked "Does he think he's some sort of locker room leader? He's been injured most of the time he's been here, so who is he to start questioning payoffs? He's just trying to get himself over with the boys."
  
  
• Benoit is slowly working his way into taking bigger bumps during his HWA workouts, but he's not overdoing it. He's being advertised for a May 20th house show, but his return may not be for at least another month after that.
  
  
• Tommy Dreamer's gimmick is a take-off of sorts on "Jackass". Dreamer had a rep in ECW for being the guy who eats food from the trash and whatnot to get a laugh. The gimmick has been planned for weeks now.
  
  
• The decision to fire Scott Hall wasn't made until after Raw ended that night.
  
  
• Paulina from Tough Enough One has been hanging out backstage at HWA and OVW shows lately. There's talk that she may be part of the rumored Tough Enough Faction that might be on Smackdown. She lived in Colorado until recently, but reports say she has moved to Louisville.
  
  
• Chris Harvard is fitting in well with the other HWA folk. People say his ring work is green, but he shows promise.
  
  
• JR said in the Ross Report that there would be talks with Goldberg.
  
  
• Most wrestlers still consider Shawn Stasiak "quirky" and there are a number of guys who go out of their way to avoid him. But due to the vegetation on Planet Stasiak, RVD likes him and they travel together.
  
  
• Observers say that Brock Lensar is starting to show signs that his push is giving him an ego. One guy commented that the "next big thing" nickname could end up as a shoot about Brock's head and how big it's getting. He also said that if the push continues he believes they will have created a monster. Another guy said Brock seems too comfortable in the locker room and does things that a guy at his stage in the business doesn't do.
  
  
• Wrestlers were laughing at Hogan while he was dragged behind the motorcycle.
  
  
• The NWA-TNA group put out press releases announcing their arrival.
  
  
• It looks likely that Jerry Lynn will be involved with the NWA group, but there's no word on whether he's been offered a contract.
  
  
• NWA discussions with Warrior broke off quickly after he demanded far too much, but talks did resume and so there's a chance he could be one of the surprise "major names from the past" that show up.
  
  
• XWF wrestlers believe the company will be announcing their TV deal shortly. The most popular theory is that they've reached some deal with AOL/TW, possibly with TBS. But there's stickiness about a "no wrestling on Turner for 5 years" no-compete clause the WWF got when they bought WCW, which nobody can seem to confirm and Jimmy Hart was told wouldn't be a problem if AOL/TW wanted to air their shows.
  
  Wrestlers think the story about the XWF moving to Dallas was a red herring, and in fact the company is moving to Atlanta. It's also not a coincidence to the XWF Detectives that Goldberg's buyout came around the same time as the XWF deal, which maybe means AOL wanted one wrestling thing totally off their books before starting with another.
  
  An XWF source tells the Torch that a deal is not done as of May 13th, but they're hoping to make an announcement shortly. They're hoping to get a deal that will allow them to start airing TV while the networks are in reruns. Multiple sources say the XWF has negotiated with FOX about airing on one of their cable stations, but that deal wouldn't get the XWF on TV until September.
  
  The wrestlers are really confident that something will get done.
  
  
• If the XWF office does move to Atlanta, sources believe the company will continue taping from Universal Studios.
  
  
• The latest WWA tour of the UK has been postponed until November. A WWA release claimed a number of circumstances were responsible, but ticket sales were slow since the WWF had just come through.
  
  
• Several wrestlers who were going to be on the UK tour are irate at it being postponed. Not only did they pass on other bookings to take this tour, but they were excited about the extra number of days. Wrestlers say WWA suits sold them on working fewer days on the last tour with the promise of more days on this one.
  
  
• Goldberg has talked with a bunch of promotions, including Pride, New Japan, WWE. It doesn't seem likely that he'd end up with the XWF or Jarrett-NWA, since Goldberg has no passion for pro-wrestling and those groups lack the ability to give him any one-shot big payoff. But you never know. Goldberg's interest is in making a lot of money in a short time period, so occasional big matches in Japan or a part-time WWE schedule ending in a big Mania match seem the most likely scenarios.
  
  

BLAH