[WWW] Dave Meltzer 11.13.03 column

http://www.wrestlingobserver.com

11/13/2003 3:00:00 PM

Thursday news update: Smackdown preview and possible change in show,
future WWE turns and programs, best selling books, controversial
Ventura book, WWE DVD releases, ratings and more
 
by Dave Meltzer

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We're looking for your thoughts on last night's TNA PPV, so you can
leave a thumbs up, thumbs down or thumbs in the middle along with a
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Tonight's Smackdown line-up:

*Kurt Angle vs. Nathan Jones
*Rey Mysterio & Jamie Noble vs. Sakoda & Akio (Jimmy Yang)
*Bashams vs. Chavo Guerrero handicap match
*Chris Benoit & John Cena vs. Brock Lesnar & Big Show

Yes, a lot of Vince McMahon on this show. Sometimes that can be good,
but based on almost every report we got, it wasn't this time. Live,
this was almost universally described as a bad show. The Bashams vs.
Guerreros tag title match is instead ending up on the PPV Sunday. The
Mysterio match was said to be good. We'll have a spoiler on the show
at the end of the report because there is something of newsworthiness
regarding the show.

--TOP 15 BEST SELLING PRO WRESTLING BOOKS (based on amazon.com
rankings this morning)
1. The Stone Cold Truth by Steve Austin (93)
2. Lita by Amy Dumas (752)
3. Wrestlecrap: The Very Worst of Pro Wrestling by R.D. Reynolds
(3,597)
4. Chokehold by Jim Wilson (5,624)
5. The Hardy Boyz by Matt & Jeff hardy (13,242)
6. Classy Freddie Blassie by Fred Blassie (13,834)
7. Have More Money Now by John "Bradshaw" Layfield (21,649)
8. Sex, Lies and Headlocks by Shaun Assael (28,529)
9. Bobby the Brain by Bobby Heenan (31,552)
10. Foley is Good by Mick Foley (34,312)
11. In the Pit with Piper by Roddy Piper (34,428)
12. I'm Next by Bill Goldberg (36,096)
13. WWE Yearbook by Michael McAvennie (36,823)
14. Have a Nice Day by Mick Foley (43,715)
15. Positively Page by Diamond Dallas Page (46,864)

--Some notes on future house shows. They are going to have a Bashams
vs. Charlie Haas & Shelton Benjamin house show program, so Haas &
Benjamin should be turning. Chris Benoit will be Brock Lesnar's
opponent in all his singles matches as things stand for the rest of
the year. Test is back starting 11/21. Steven Richards & Victoria will
work as faces in a feud with Rico & Jackie Gayda, but he also has
matches booked later as a heel. Nick Dinsmore starts on the road with
Raw on 11/28. The 11/29 Raw show in San Francisco is now headlined by
Goldberg & Booker T vs. Kane & Batista and there are Goldberg vs. Kane
Raw title matches scheduled for 12/7 in Fresno and 12/12 in Madison
Square Garden. Don't read that as a lock that Goldberg retains on
Sunday, as they release title line-ups that can change, as title
change decisions are often made day of the show. Kane and Booker T are
scheduled for a feud at this point. (thanks to Devin Cutting)

--Super Astro & the original Ultraman & Solar & Piloto Suicida vs.
Misterioso & Shamu Jr. & Acero Dorado headlines a show at Frank & Sons
Collectibles at the City of Industry, CA on Saturday at 2 p.m.

--The New VR in Southern Ontario will air the episode of Pacific Blue
with Joanie Laurer tonight at 1:35 a.m.

--There is a brief article in yesterday's New York Post on the Lucha
Xtreme Wrestling show that takes place Saturday night in Jamaica,
Queens which included a photo of Shocker

--3PW comes to Viking Hall in Philadelphia on 11/22 with Justin
Credible vs. Sabu for the 3PW title in a TLC match, Ian Rotten vs.
Rude Boy of Backyard wrestling video games fame, Homicide vs. Xavier
and more

--Here is a listing of WWE DVD's release dates. Survivor Series on
12/16, Armageddon on 1/20, Mick Foley on 2/10, Best of Confidential II
on 2/10, History of the Monday Night Wars (won't this be something) on
2/10, Royal Rumble on 2/24, Kurt Angle on 3/2, No Way Out on 3/16,
Wrestlemania 20 on 4/27, Divas in Mexico on 4/29, Backlash on 5/4. UFC
43 is being released on 12/30 (thanks to Casey Trowbridge)

--There has been a lot of pub in Minnesota on the release of a book
called "Governor Ventura: The Body Exposed. The Man. The Mansion. The
Meltdown" by Dan Creed, who was the manager at the governor's
residence. The book paints Ventura as a recluse who is often rude an
spent much of his time watching television and talked about Tyrell
(his son) having parties while he was away with young girls staying
the night. The book also says that Ventura is a great storyteller (who
would have thought), has a lot of charisma (another new one) adores
his wife and rarely drinks. There is a more detailed story at
www.startribune.com/stories/1384/4207197.html. (thanks to Kyle Wolf)

--Mick Foley will be speaking at Vincennes University on 12/3 in
Vincennes, IN. Foley spoke last night, although I'm not sure of the
college. He said he's working on another novel and children's book. He
said he is negotiating to appear on Wrestlemania XX and is willing to
do a match every six months or so, but has too much wear and tear on
his body to wrestle more than that. He teased he'd be wrestling HHH.

--For the week of 11/3 to 11/10, the second hour of Raw was No. 9 in
the cable ratings and not sure where the first hour ranked. The top
five shows were the ESPN football game, NASCAR race from Rockingham,
two episodes of SpongeBob and the ESPN football pre-game show. (thanks
to Wes Jones)

--The movie "Rollerball," where Paul Heyman has a significant role, is
playing all month on Showtime. The movie was kind of a bomb, though.

--There is an article on former WWWF and WWA world champion Pedro
Morales and what he's been up to at
www.thnt.com./thnt/story/0,21282,854390,00.html

--Tom Prichard will referee a Kevin Knight vs. Fred Sampson main event
on 11/22 in West Paterson, NJ at the IWF Centre show

--We've heard reports that the FU that John Cena did to Chris Benoit
after the tag match, which was generally believed to have been a big
mistake to have happen, will be edited off tonight's show. This isn't
confirmed.