Hogan Knows WCW Best

Hulk Hogan takes over WCW. Hulk Hogan became the new head of WCW last night, somehow managing to grab the reigns of power in one lightning-fast move. Insiders and investors alike are said to be bewildered, with one leading analyst being heard to remark “what the f**k just happened?”

WWF reign supreme. Reports indicate that World Wrestling Federation officials are looking at ways to consolidate their position as the undisputed top wrestling promotion in the world. Recocnising that their position gives them an enviable amount of leverage, they are said to be keen to act forcefully and quickly to make sure that their rivals have little chance of tripping them up.

The Warrior in Magazine. American wrestler The Warrior is on the cover of a major international fitness magazine this month. The muscular powerhouse is interviewed inside, talking about his fitness regime and some of his feats of strenght.

Inside sources claim that WWF has parted ways with veteran wrestler Randy Savage. Although Savage’s inexplicable banishment from the company is not explained, Vince McMahon has said, “I do not wish to do business with that man.”

WWF are looking to bolster their roster with Sherri Martel. She returns to WWF after a short stint in WCW.

Former WCW workers Mark Canterbury and Dennis Knight have signed contracts with the WWF. Shanghai Pierce and Tex Slazenger debuted on WWF Monday Night Raw as The Godwinns; two cousins who are hog farmers from Arkansas.

WWF spent the entire King of the Ring show pushing the “New Generation” catchphrase to counter WCW’s signing of Hogan. Of course, it’s ludicrous since the show was main evented by 2 guys older than Hogan and the company has already brought back or is planning to bring back such “new generation” stars as King Kong Bundy, Jim Neidhart, Sgt. Slaughter, Greg Valentine, Koko Ware, Lanny Poffo and Nikolai Volkoff. They then interviewed Maryland’s governor William Schaffer who was at the show. Schaffer mentioned that his favorite wrestler is Hulk Hogan, and Todd Pettingill nearly wet his pants and set a new record in mic-pulling-away-speed.

The upcoming house show tours feature “such New Generation performers” as Virgil, Sgt. Slaughter, Greg Valentine, Koko B. Ware, Lanny Poffi, King Kong Bundy, and more.

WCW desperately needs Bash at the Beach to be the biggest show in years and they’re pulling out all the stops. They filmed interviews with George Foreman and Shaquille O’Neal and both are scheduled to appear at the show. Mr. T and Wesley Snipes are also rumored to be coming in for the show. They’re also negotiating with Mike Tyson to appear via phone call during the broadcast, but that
might backfire and cause bad publicity since, well, he’s in prison. Antonio Inoki is also expected to appear on the show. If WCW can pull all this off, it will be a list of celebrities bigger than any that have ever appeared at Wrestlemania.

Gossip around the WWF locker room is that the promotion has lost faith with Bret Hart and no longer consider him to be their figurehead. The change comes with business struggling, the blame for that apparently pinned firmly on Bret Hart.

Inside sources claim that Dusty Rhodes is causing rifts by manipulating the WCW locker room against Ric Flair.

The vacant USWA Heavyweight Championship was claimed last night, as Doug Gilbert became the new champion after defeating Steve Doll. This victory marks his fourth reign with the belt.

If rumours are to be believed, the next big WWF storylines will center around Typhoon vs. Rick Martel; Shawn Michaels vs. Lex Luger; Bret Hart vs. Yokozuna; Tatanka vs. Jerry Lawler; and Diesel & The Underfaker vs. Razor Ramon & The Undertaker.

A lot of fans are critical of WCW for bringing in Hogan and building the whole company around him and sacrificing the future of the company for him. In our opinion there was no future for WCW and it
was necessary because WCW was on life-support. The only reason they hadn’t already folded was 100% because Ted Turner chose to let it live. But WCW had been losing money for years and the Hogan gamble was necessary if they ever want to be profitable or successful. It might not work in the long-term, but it’s a chance they have to take. Thunder In Paradise was also renewed this week, which means Hogan won’t be around full-time. WCW is pretty much entirely dependent on having Hulk Hogan right now are expected to continue build the promotion around him for the next several years.

Paul Levesque did a radio interview where he buried WCW and said he was disgusted with all the money they spent signing Hulk Hogan. He also buried Eric Bischoff and said that he will prove him wrong and become one of the greatest superstars of all time.

Is WCW looking for a new giant? According to a inside source, Hulk Hogan has let Eric Bischoff know that he would very much like to work with a “giant” after his current storyline with Ric Flair ends. Is Hogan trying to avoid facing off with Vader? Who is this “giant”? El Gigante? Giant Haystacks?

WCW has decided to remove Jesse Ventura from TV with 5 months remaining on his contract. Ventura has had a tumultuous tenure in WCW. He was demoted to commentate on the B-level shows when
Bobby Heenan was brought in and made no secret about being unhappy about it. Ever since, he’s been openly half-assing his commentary duties and sometimes no-showed appointments to go to Atlanta and record voice-overs, which upset many in the company because Ventura is one of the highest paid employees in WCW. Ventura will sit out the remainder of his contract and will be paid for it, but WCW is no longer going to use him. There are rumors that this could lead to Ventura returning to WWF to do commentary on Monday Night Raw, but he can’t even legally talk to them until March 1st when his contract expires. If Ventura did return to WWF, it would be interesting given all the recent legal issues between Ventura and McMahon, but people in this business often find ways to bury the bad blood if they can make money together.

Chris Jericho’s broken arm has apparently spelled the end of he and Lance Storm’s tag team in SMW. Cornette was paying them each a $900 a week guarantee, which is more than anyone else in the company is making, because he expected the team to turn the promotion around. But the Thrillseekers didn’t get over as well as Cornette hoped and with the promotion struggling, they can’t justify the price tag, especially with Jericho on the shelf, so they’re gone.

The latest issue of WWF magazine did an article that was a major burial of Hulk Hogan, talking about him being old and noted that he jumped ship to another promotion where most of the talent is past their prime.

Bret Hart was back on the same radio show in Toronto where he made waves with his comments about Ric Flair last year and decided to do it again. When one of the hosts asked Hart’s opinion about Hogan signing with WCW, Hart said it was sad and said Hogan built his legacy with the WWF but couldn’t bring himself to put over younger stars so now he’s moved down to the minor leagues. He also called Hogan’s movie career “a dud, a disaster.” When talking about the current Hogan/Flair feud, Hart said, “There’s a lot of talk of Hulk Hogan and Ric Flair, this great match. The greatest match-up of all-time kind of stuff. It might have been the greatest match-up in some people’s minds 15 years ago, but it’s a little bit like that old Sheik wrestling in Detroit. It’s like Bobo Brazil wrestling The Sheik. That doesn’t do anything. I think you’re really going to see that Ric Flair is very limited in the ring. In my opinion, his best days were over long before he ever lost to me. And Hulk Hogan, I don’t know if anyone’s seen him now. I’m embarrassed for him. The guy used to be a hero to me. I’m embarrassed to see what’s he’s become. It’s like flogging a dead horse. The WCW thing, there will be some interest initially but it’ll wane fast.”

Rumours indicate that the friendship between Diamond Dallas Page and Van Hammer is over. While it is said they are still civil to each other, and are definetely not feuding, there is a definite lack of warmth between the two.