Here's the latest of what's going down in the grappling game -

Maybe the biggest story of the past week has been the confirmation that ECW's Peter Polaco (Justin Credible) has officially signed with the WWF, with the contract signed said to be of 3 to 4 years length. His salary per annum is not confirmed, and Polaco may be given a new name on his WWF return, which is expected shortly. It is highly likely that Polaco will be programmed in a tag team with Sean "X-Pac" Waltman. Also on the new signings front, Jerry Lynn and Terry "Rhino" Gerin have verbally committed themselves to the WWF, which will probably lead to contracts being offered and signed within the next few weeks. Yoshihiro Tajiri is more reluctant however, and he has not agreed verbally or otherwise to any promotion outside of ECW.

Dennis "Mideon" Knight has officially been released from his WWF contract, and despite what Jim Ross might say in his laughable Ross Report, Ray "Big Boss Man" Traylor may be released as well. Shawn Michaels will probably make an appearance at Wrestlemania X-Seven on 1st April, possibly in a wrestling role, as it is now confirmed that he is gearing up for an in-ring return.

WCW, and more accurately, Eric Bischoff, have released most of its female talent from their contracts. Paisley, Leia Meow, Major Gunns, Tygress and Daffney have all been given their marching orders by Bischoff. Dusty Rhodes is likely to make a few more appearances for WCW, but probably isn't someone who will stick around for long. If or when ECW does fold, owner Paul Heyman could possibly have a job waiting for him in the WWF as the assistant booker. Francine, Elektra, Jazz and other females in ECW may be contacted by WOW (Women of Wrestling) if ECW does go under, and most of the ECW mid-card wrestlers should be contacted and sign for XPW.

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Real Name = Lance Evers.

Legitimate Height = 6'0".

Legitimate Weight = 225lbs.

Born = April 3 1969.

Current Hometown = Calgary, Alberta, Canada.

http://members.tripod.com/iftakharsdomain/

1. Who was the last WCW Television Champion?

2. What is the real name of ex-WWF wrestler, Nailz?

3. What type of match did Jake Roberts and Sting fight in at WCW Halloween Havoc 1992?

4. What was the finisher of Flash Funk?

5. Which Japanese wrestler is nicknamed, "Mr. Danger"?

6. Which manager was known as the Doctor of Style?

7. Which two wrestlers made up the tag team, the Eliminators?

8. What was the main event at the first ever WWF PPV?

9. Who did Scott Taylor beat in the WWF Light Heavyweight Title Tournament, during the winter of 1997?

10. What was Kevin Nash's excuse for not being at WCW Starrcade 1997…and what was the real reason for him not attending?

http://www.angelfire.com/wrestling2/wrestlelines/highway.htm

Yesterday, at 3:16 in the afternoon, "former" WCW writer and booker Vince Russo was found dead in his apartment. Upon inspecting the crime scene, many peculiar things were noticed. It looked as though Russo was beaten over the head with some kind of metal object over and over. It also looked as if though someone had dropped his or her leg on top of his neck. Russo was found shirt-less and lying on his stomach with this spray-painted in yellow on him: "I won't sell for you, or anybody."

It is currently a mystery as to who killed Mr. Russo but one old lady says to have eye-witnessed it. The old lady reported that, "Yesterday morning, I was going outside on my porch when I saw an orange skinned man wearing a red and yellow trench-coat, sporting blonde hair and carrying a can of Rogaine in his coat pocket. He walked into Mr. Russo's home carrying a steel chair in hand, whistling the "Rocky" theme tune. Then I looked into the window and only saw the shadows of Mr. Russo and the orange man. At one point I could hear the orange man screaming, "No-one embarrasses me on one of my million-dollar PPV's!" I saw Russo try to fight back but the orange one started shaking uncontrollably, like he had too much coffee. The attacker bashed Russo with one fist and Russo was knocked out instantly. The orange man then jumped on top of Russo's neck with his leg causing extreme pain, and snapping his neck. It was the single most powerful move I have ever seen. The orange man got up and cupped his hand to his ear, then shouted, "That's for my millions and millions of loser fans, brother!"

When we have new news to report on this situation, we will be sure to send it along.

www.highspots.com

ECW, have the innovators of Extreme finally waved the white flag?

Yes it seems strange, how the most "extreme" promotion on US soil could finally succumb to a product which they in many ways could voucher as theirs. For best part of a decade, Paul Heyman invented ways to take wrestling to a new dimension with new depths and new heights. Would D-Generation X ever have seen the light of day if the likes of The Gangstas had made their mark on pro wrestling? Would the likes of Raven, Shane Douglas and Perry Saturn be where they are today?

If you watch your average Monday night show then you would be bound to see at least one wrestler who bent bones down in Philly. These guys on Raw and Nitro made ECW a thrilling alternative to your WWF's and WCW's. Many people thought that ECW would be too extreme for prime time but following numerous PPV successes and thrilling matches they made everyone know whom ECW were.

Yet there was always one problem…

ECW may have had the talent, the brains and some of the most superb story lines and segments in history, but it never had the money. When competing with two billionaires, in Ted Turner and Vince McMahon, Heyman always knew that his shows could never be as dazzling and show stopping as the Nitro's and Raw's of this world. After securing a deal with TNN in August of 1999, it seemed like the miracle story of ECW had furthered to bigger heights. It didn't turn out they way they wanted. While matches, attendance and PPV's ranged from good to superb, TV ratings were mostly disappointing and little new fans had been gained. The introduction to the planning of having 12 PPV's from 2001, interested many Internet and news reporters across the globe. It caused many fans to think that ECW were now considering expansion. With the addition of Scott Hall to the roster, many believed that ECW's financial worries that had troubled them for months, was finally over. Within weeks of Hall's arrival, rumours had surfaced about wrestlers not receiving their pay and being legally able to file a lawsuit against ECW. More news continued across the 'net, with the main piece of information being that Paul Heyman had allowed the bulk of his roster to talk with the WWF and WCW. Many were shocked as Heyman was allowing top draws and wrestlers such as Rob Van Dam and Jerry Lynn to negotiate with the opposition who could boast higher pay cheques and exposure. With Lynn and Van Dam both receiving interest from "the big two", as well as Rhino, Justin Credible and many others, the future of ECW looks bleak.

After answering critic's questions of people leaving, financial troubles and backstage problems, maybe Justin Credible will have to change his catchphrase to "we weren't just the coolest, we weren't just the best, we were ECW."

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On the 9^th October 1999, the wrestling world was in shock at the news that Vince Russo and Ed Ferrara, the WWF's main story line creators and developers, would be leaving the company, to jump to WCW. Vince Russo was, and still is, the man who many people believe turned the WWF around, putting them back as the number one wrestling federation in North America, while simultaneously helping them move into the "Attitude" era. Russo's over-the-top story lines and angles made for entertaining television and was a breath of fresh air, especially after die-hard WWF fans were forced to watch the line of the "working gimmicks", with characters such as, the bin man, T.L. Hopper, and race car driver Thurman "Sparky" Plugg. Obviously, when Russo headed to WCW, it seemed that the WWF could take a full plunge downhill again, and that WCW would get that burst of energy that Russo first started to give to the WWF two years previous, back in 1997.

But as we know, nothing really went right at all for the team of Vince Russo and WCW. WCW made sure their TV audience knew all about their huge signings, or poaching, of Russo and Ferrara from their main rival, the WWF, who were slaughtering them in the Monday night ratings war at the time. The "powers that be" ruled WCW television for months, placing mid card and lower card wrestlers in stupid and useless gimmicks, which were strangely similar to the WWF's old working gimmicks. Remember Jim "The Janitor" Duggan or Chavo Guerrero Jr. as a TV salesman? Russo's writing just didn't blend in WCW the way it did in the WWF. Maybe it was because the WCW had a different type of wrestling talent to the WWF. But when it really comes down to it, the main reason is that the WWF had one element that WCW lacked which made Russo's WWF stay a successful one. His name is…Vince McMahon.

Simply enough, Russo's ideas in WCW were not controlled by anyone, and he was left to his own devices and write any angle that passed Turner's Standards and Practices. In the WWF, there is one boss, Vince McMahon, and any angle that is brainstormed has to be run past him before being allowed on television. When McMahon is labelled a genius, this is a very accurate description of him. A related example…The Rock turned heel at Survivor Series 1998 as he won the WWF World Heavyweight Title, and with Russo as the WWF's head writer at the time, he took most of the credit for the success of the angle. When Russo jumped to WCW and tried to do the same thing with Goldberg…it all went horribly wrong. Russo was a man with power, and by turning one of the biggest faces ever in WCW heel, he made a mistake that made WCW look weak, which ultimately had the opposite effect on his plans. In the WWF, a heel turn for the top star would be built upon solidly over time and done in such a way that it could not fail. Who put forward the final ideas to turn The Rock heel? On this evidence, it’s Vince McMahon; the real brains behind the whole operation that is the WWF.

These being said, remember that Vince Russo has a very creative mind, but his ideas just need to be controlled. WCW did not or could not control him after they gave him the top spot. In essence, for WCW TV, Russo was the WWF's Vince McMahon. One difference between them is that Russo doesn't understand wrestling anywhere near the level of McMahon, which from their histories, could be deduced without too much research. Hey, Vince Russo is the guy who placed the WCW World Title around the waist of David Arquette, a man who is NOT a wrestler, and then added him into the main event of a PPV, the Triple Threat, Triple Cage also including Diamond Dallas Page and Jeff Jarrett at WCW Slamboree 2000. What should wrestling fans think of the main stars of WCW when it seems that anyone can win their World Title? By using Arquette in this way, Russo seriously devalued his whole roster and also a title that can be traced back to the beginning of the 20th Century, without too much trouble.

After picking the WWF up from its worst position in years and then going on to severely damage WCW...what job is left in the wrestling business for Vince Russo? Everyone can see that WWF television isn't anything like what it used to be even a year ago, and a rumour that broke approximately a week ago is that the owner of ECW, Paul Heyman, could possibly be taking over as the assistant or maybe even head booker for the WWF.

With Eric Bischoff now at the helm at WCW and ECW about to collapse, Russo's only other option would be a WWF return. There is no doubt that Vince McMahon can see that his overall product is going downhill quickly, especially as of late. As a businessman, it wouldn't surprise me to see McMahon re-hiring Russo, even if it is thought of as highly unlikely by many and that it is also said that he "burnt a few bridges" on his original departure. But can Russo really make a change? Of course, but only if Russo is placed into the same position he was before and most importantly...he is controlled.

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1. "Hacksaw" Jim Duggan. 2. Kevin Walchoz. 3. Miner's Glove. 4. The Funky Flash Flash. 5. Mitsuhiro Matsunaga. 6. Slick. 7. Perry Saturn and John Kronus. 8. Hulk Hogan v Roddy Piper at "Wrestling Classic". 9. Eric Shelley. 10. He said he had suffered a heart attack, but actually just had indigestion!