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Thanks to
Jim Ross
for the following:
Greetings from under the black Resistol hat and Happy Holidays to all.
Lets take a look at the latest World Wrestling Federation injury report.
William Regal had surgery Thursday to repair the damage to his nose. Regal will
be off of television next week to heal. As a matter of fact, he plans to make a
trip to the United Kingdom for the holidays, so we'll probably see Regal on
television again after the first of the year. Surgery was successful --
everything went very well -- and he is right where we predicted he would be with
his medical situation.
Triple H is spending his last day in Birmingham, Ala., today -- Friday -- as I
write this. The Game has had extensive follow-ups with Kevin Wilke, the physical
therapist, and Dr. James Andrews, his orthopedic surgeon. Triple H will ease
back into things in early January and will take a "booking at a time," so to
speak, as his quadriceps muscle will be tested. We look for great things from
Triple H upon his return. Right now, Triple H is scheduled to return to house
shows (non-televised events) on Jan. 4.
Shawn Stasiak does not need the surgery to remove the bursa sac in his knee.
Shawn is able to return to work at any time.
Bob "Hardcore" Holly's arm is healing very well. He did a little light duty
Monday night in a match for Jakked. He didn't have any significant problems. We
think Bob will get clearance to return full time in about three months. Bob is a
vital part of WWF Tough Enough 2, currently being taped in the Los Angeles area.
Taka Michinoku has returned from visiting family in Japan. He saw Dr. Andrews on
Wednesday, and everything is on track with Taka's recovery from shoulder
surgery. It will be up to Taka to continue his rehabilitation in Puerto Rico so
that he can return hopefully around the beginning of March.
Test chipped a tooth at this week's television events. Nothing major; he'll be
getting that taken care of. The biggest issue seems to be his lower back. The
doctor said he has two old stress fractures in his back. He may get a cortisone
shot to help that issue. In any event, he will be at television and is going to
continue to work around any discomfort that he may be having.
Edge has a slight hip-pointer that he sustained at Vengeance. Again, he's
working around any discomfort that he may have.
Mike Awesome will have surgery on his anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) on
Saturday. We'll have more updates on Mike's condition after his surgery. We wish
him the very best of luck on that.
Randy Orton had some problems with his shoulder, which is getting better. Randy
has relocated to St. Louis and will be seeing the St. Louis Rams' orthopedic
surgeon next week for a precautionary follow-up.
X-Pac continues to work on strengthening his neck. He could be back in the ring
if needed, but he's not quite at 100 percent yet. He'll be given the opportunity
to continue to rehab thoroughly and extensively so when he does come back, he'll
be as close to 100 percent as possible.
A month and a half after major knee surgery, Chris Kanyon is going to physical
therapy every day in Atlanta. Recovery time could be as little as four months
total, or it could be as much as six months. We'll know more in a couple of
weeks.
Perry Saturn banged his head at television on Tuesday and may have a slight
concussion. It had a stinger-like effect, but the symptoms were gone on
Wednesday and he seemed to be doing just fine. He'll be at work on Monday and
Tuesday.
Crash Holly has a slight hand bruise after his hand swelled up on Tuesday at
television. Nothing major. He's also had some problems with his elbow. Nothing
major. He won't miss any time.
Rhyno is doing very well after his neck surgery. He's going to be visiting Dr.
Lloyd Youngblood in San Antonio in a few weeks for another evaluation. But Rhyno
is doing great and was in excellent spirits when we last saw him a few weeks
ago. Same for Chris Benoit, who is doing extremely well and is right on track
with his recovery. We hope to get Chris back around WrestleMania time.
Tiger Ali Singh has a concussion and is having some problems with that
situation. Right now, he's inactive until the symptoms clear up.
Jerry Lynn's doctor is happy with his progress. Jerry will be seeing the doctor
again about a month from now, and should be released from doctor's care at that
time.
Russ Haas is going to be seeing a cardiologist in Cincinnati next Tuesday for
another evaluation on his heart situation, which seems to have cleared up. We
just want to make doubly and triply sure.
Dave Bautista -- who competes as Leviathan in Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW) in
Louisville, Ky. -- strained a pectoral muscle about a week ago. He's doing some
physical therapy on it and is working through the injury. BJ Payne, also of OVW,
has a bad back. He's also doing therapy, and will not miss any significant ring
time because of his injury.
Eric Angle, who has had surgery on a torn biceps, saw Dr. Andrews on Wednesday.
Eric, as we found out, was trying to rehab a little too quickly. So we're
slowing him down, and he'll see Dr. Andrews in another six weeks for an
evaluation.
Steve Bradley, who is in Cincinnati with Heartland Wrestling Association (HWA),
is experiencing some back pain. He has already seen a doctor, who administered
some tests. We're still not exactly sure what is wrong, but the doctor mentioned
about a month of rehab. It doesn't look like it's extremely serious -- after the
holidays, Steve should be able to get back at 100 percent. But we need more
information, and we'll keep you appraised.
Our superstars are enjoying a weekend off, as we are in the midst of our holiday
period, for lack of a better term. Four days of television next week is a major
undertaking. Live RAW from the Cajundome in Lafayette, La. on Monday. Then we
move to New Orleans on Tuesday for SmackDown! On Friday, Dec. 21, we move to
Miami for another RAW, which will air on Christmas Eve. On Saturday, Dec. 22,
we'll be in Orlando for the SmackDown! that will air on Dec 27. That will allow
the superstars to be off beginning Dec. 23. They will return to work for a live
SmackDown! on Thursday, Jan. 3 at the MCI Center in Washington, D.C. So the
talent gets several consecutive days off, which they are certainly looking
forward to. As a matter of fact, I'm taking my first weeklong vacation since I
started with the company in 1993. I've been off for more than week with a couple
of bouts of Bell's Palsy, but this'll be my first actual vacation for that
length of time.
The taping of "Fear Factor" -- which NBC really wants to make a big deal out of
- has gone well from what we understand. Test, Jeff Hardy, Matt Hardy, Molly,
Lita and Jacqueline have all been in Los Angeles this week taping the show. They
should conclude it today.
I'm looking forward to seeing Excess on Saturday night with Shawn Michaels as
the special guest. I'll be talking to Shawn a little bit later today to see how
the shoot went. The Heartbreak Kid still has a lot of gas left in his tank from
where I sit.
Television this week certainly has focused on some of the more prominent
antagonists in the World Wrestling Federation. It look likes the non-fan
favorites are starting to build some momentum. At the top of the list is our new
Undisputed Champion, Y2J, Chris Jericho. He has certainly paid his dues in more
ways than one and is an outstanding member of our team. I'm really happy that
Chris has been given the opportunity to run with the ball, and I think he's
going to do very well for the Federation and our fans.
I thought it was a good week for Booker T -- whose resurgence is a good thing. I
think Booker is going to do very well as time goes on. Also I thought it was a
good week of television for Kurt Angle. And even though some Lance Storm
devotees may not agree, Lance Storm getting back on television in itself is a
good thing. Lance has a tremendous amount of potential and is going to be able
to help our roster immensely once he's back in the creative mix full time.
It's good to see Rikishi back. He still has a great deal of work to do on his
conditioning, but that is going to come. And this is not a cryptic message that
can be interpreted a variety of ways. It's just a simple fact that the guy had a
serious injury. You can't really replicate the cardiovascular conditioning that
you do in the ring with a Stair Master, an exercise bike or a treadmill. Anybody
who has followed this business knows that. The wrestlers will tell you the exact
same thing. What Rikishi needs is plenty of ring time. He knows that, and we're
working on that.
We utilized Diamond Dallas Page against Lance Storm in some of the house shows,
and DDP got a very favorable reaction, which may be a sign of things to come.
DDP may be more effective for the Federation in a fan-favorite role as opposed
to the antagonist role. Time will tell.
I like where the Undertaker is going these days -- the haircut, the persona with
more of an edge, the bitter 11-year veteran who is clamoring for respect. It's a
great place for the Undertaker to be. I think he's going to really have a superb
year for the company in that new position.
Big Show has had some significant outings in recent weeks. There have been some
very positive signs of motivation and renewed aggression. The Big Show needs to
pick up the pace a half a step or so, to say the least. But he is showing the
attitude and the desire to do that. He would be more effective, in my view,
carrying less weight, and that is a situation we talk to him about on a regular
basis.
We've been very happy with Edge continuing to step up. We need Edge to assume a
bigger role and to carry the ball more often. It looks like he's getting there.
Certainly Rob Van Dam is continuing to rise. It's interesting what you read on
the Internet and other places. You can always tell it's an RVD fan or an ECW fan
- which I respect, and I admire their passion. But RVD's rise in our belief --
whether we're right or we're wrong, but we're calling the shots at this juncture
-- is right on the money. He's not being force-fed to the audience. He's being
allowed to grow. There are things that RVD knows that he needs to work on --
just as we all do. In his case, he needs to improve his interviewing for one
thing, and to lessen so many high-risk moves so that a fine, young talent who is
going to be a main-event level performer isn't injured unnecessarily. But he's a
tremendous asset to this company and we're very pleased with the progress that
Rob has made and the timetable he is on.
After the first of the year, we will continue looking at Ron Waterman, Brock
Lesnar, Rico Constantino and Randy Orton at our house shows, and at dark matches
at television. We're also soon going to be looking at two other OVW talents --
John Cena, aka Prototype, and Shelton Benjamin -- to give them the opportunity
to experience some house show and dark matches, and so we can evaluating them
more closely and intelligently. They can also be tutored and mentored by many of
the Federation Superstars and agents that are on site.
We have great expectations for all the aforementioned developmental talents.
They all bring something different to the table. There are others in Louisville
and Cincinnati who will have the privilege of being involved in this process as
well in the early part of 2002 -- and who have a very legitimate chance in
joining the Federation roster. It seems as if Prototype and Shelton Benjamin are
at the top of that list.
The Rock won't be appearing on many house shows in January due to the
re-shooting of certain scenes in "The Scorpion King" so they can meet their
release date of April 19. We're going to be seeing The Rock at our televisions,
but he won't be as prominent at the house shows as he and we would like.
A lot of speculation on the Internet going on about a lot of issues in the
Federation. I'm not writing this to be argumentative or to start an argument,
and no one should read anything more into this. I really believe that the
majority of the folks that work in the wrestling Internet world are decent, fair
human beings. However, I do believe that more often than not, they are easily
duped by the "unnamed sources" that discuss issues that allegedly go on behind
the scenes in the Federation. It is interesting that, out of all the reports
that I've read, no one has called my office to get an official statement. No one
has called where they should call -- our communications department, Gary Davis
and Jayson Bernstein. It's a shame that sometimes the "unnamed sources" are
given credit for being accurate. I have read some things that are true. Yes. But
I have read a great deal of things that are not true on many of the Internet
sites. I know that people are trying to report as best they can, but without
doing follow-ups and without getting another side to the story, it's really
reporting on hearsay, rumor and innuendo. On some of the issues that are
floating out there, the statements made by "unnamed sources" are borderline
ridiculous.
Among the rumors was one that there would be major layoffs this past Wednesday
in Louisville. No layoffs were ever planned. However, after being reported on
the Internet as fact by "unnamed sources," it caused a great deal of discomfort
and uneasiness - and rightfully so -- to the talent that is working there. It's
just sad that things that started out as rumors end up being reported as fact.
Again, I don't know where people get some of these stories, nor do I know why
people who like to be the "unnamed source" create controversy from issues
without merit. That's my soapbox of the day.
A lot of exciting things going on in the international world for the World
Wrestling Federation. We'll be getting into that in the next couple of weeks
when details are firmed up. But it should be a very exciting year for the
Federation as far as our international business is concerned.
The Federation is planning a three-hour New Year's Eve broadcast of RAW. It'll
be the top ten matches as voted by the fans, which is being conducted on WWF.com.
I've seen some of the voting. Close to 100,000 votes have been tabulated thus
far. It's tough picking 10 matches out of a 12 month period. Of course, the show
will take you right up until midnight and the new year.
Our BBQ Sauce project seems to be progressing well. In addition to BBQ Sauce, we
have some other sauces that we are developing, and we should be able to make
some significant announcements after the first of the year regarding their
availability in grocery stores and gift shops nationwide, in addition to our own
WWFShopZone.com and other outlets. I've really exciting about this project,
which we've been nurturing over the last couple of years or so. I hope that it
becomes a reality sooner rather than later.
And speaking of Sooners, my Oklahoma Sooners play the Arkansas Razorbacks in the
Cotton Bowl on New Year's Day at 10 a.m. local time in Dallas. It should be an
interesting ballgame. Oklahoma is favored by 13, and they should cover that. But
you never know. The last time OU played Arkansas in a bowl game it was the
Orange Bowl, and the Razorbacks kicked our backsides. And the Sooners that day
were favored by 18-19 points.
I hope you have a very wonderful, safe weekend and a very happy holiday season.
Enjoy this special time of year with your family. Count your blessings as usual.
And we'll talk to you again next week.
J.R.
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