Foley's departure, HHH frustrated, Storm repackage, Ross heat, and more
    Submitted by Calvin Martin on Monday, November 26, 2001 at 9:05 PM EST

    http://www.PPV.com has released the 2002 WWF Royal Rumble poster. Here it is:



    Credit: PPV.com



    The following news and rumors come from the Pro Wrestling Torch Newsletter. Subscription information available at http://www.prowrestlingtorch.com

  • A key WWF source says that Foley brought up the idea of returning to the ring three times this year. First, he brought up the idea of wrestling Vince McMahon at last year's WrestleMania. Second, Foley was responsible for suggesting an in-ring program with Regal. Third and most recent, Foley expressed interest in being part of Team WWF at Survivor Series as a way to promote his Halloween book. The source alleges that on each occasion, Foley backed out despite coming up with the ideas for his returns, which didn't sit well with McMahon. One WWF source alleges that Foley continuously backed out because he wanted more money than the WWF was willing to pay him. As he noted in the Raw interview, he was backstage at Raw on Nov. 5 in his home area of Long Island, N.Y., but was not used on the show. This was apparently McMahon's way of sending Foley a message. In the days that followed, Foley and McMahon agreed to end their business relationship. More than one WWF official attempted to convince McMahon not to allow Foley to appear on WWF television, but McMahon did just that on Nov. 12. McMahon gave Foley permission to say what was on his mind during the promo, but did have him talk it over with writer Brian Gewertz ahead of time. The intention of Gewertz's involvement was to help Foley tie his promo into current storylines. Since Raw, Foley and McMahon have talked out their differences and are back on good terms, in part because they no longer have to worry about tension in their professional relationship since that is coming to an end. Foley's contract with the WWF was due to expire early next year. He had said during radio interviews he couldn't wait to gain control of his professional schedule. He plans to explore more writing projects. An eventual return to the WWF is certainly possible, though.

  • No solid word on what Ric Flair signed for. He was earning just under $1 million on his WCW deal, and only had to give up a few months pay to break the contract early. Overall, he'll come out ahead of course, plus get to return to TV which he loves. Flair's agent, Barry Bloom, negotiated the contract; Bloom also is the agent for Scott Hall and Kevin Nash.

  • Jim Ross and Paul Heyman were not tight behind the scenes last week. Ross clearly preferred working with Lawler on commentary in the past and is considered to be among the happiest that Lawler is back.

  • Ross had never before been physically involved in a confrontation before, but as a favor to Ross, he was given the chance to beat up Heyman on the air.

  • Vince McMahon came up with the idea for the promo Paul Heyman cut on him on Smackdown. Observers say he told Heyman he wanted him to say things that no one ever has on WWF television. On the day of the show, the writers joked that what Heyman was preparing to say would be no different than what he would say during a typical booking session. Sources say McMahon gave Heyman permission to say anything he wanted and did not want to know what Heyman planned to say ahead of time. McMahon also decided against responding to Heyman's remarks. The idea of having Tazz choke out Heyman was created in part as an excuse to pull Tazz from commentary for the night since they wanted Ross on the air to help hard-sell the PPV storylines with Cole.

  • Vince McMahon also came up with the idea for Big Show's spoof of Dallas Page on Smackdown.

  • Some WWF officials blame WWF producer Kevin Dunn for the Invasion Angle's failure. The story goes that several people wanted the angle's theme to be sports entertainment vs. wrestling, but Dunn convinced McMahon that the WCW crew should also be presented as "sports entertainers".

  • Multipile sources report that Triple H is frustrated and no longer enjoys attending booking meetings. He has been frustrated with the direction of the WWF in recent months and doesn't believe McMahon is open to suggestions for change.

  • The writers are planning to repackage Lance Storm and give him a push at some point.

  • There is a lot of talk that Vince McMahon plans to overhaul the way Jim Ross books house shows.

  • Ross earned himself some heat with the writing staff by booking developmental worker, Rico Constantino for house shows. The writers are unhappy because they have told Ross repeatedly they feel Constantino is too old to invest in. Constantino, though, lost a "loser leaves town" match last week in the WWF's Ohio Valley developmental territory, so it appears a full-time WWF run is in his future.

  • Maven is scheduled to work December shows in Heartland Wrestling Association. He has missed some time lately due due to his aunt being ill. This is the same woman he visited in the hospital on Tough Enough. He refers to her as his mother because she raised him.

  • Paul Heyman is said to be high on developmental wrestler, Ron "H20" Waterman. Waterman is a former mixed-martial-artist who has competed in UFC.

  • Currently (and things seem to change weekly), the WWF is not planning to use separate writing crews once it splits the company.

  • Several top WWF officials have advised Vince McMahon against his idea of holding a draft to split the roster, but McMahon continues to lean in that direction.

  • A WWF official says he does not believe Dish Network's purchase of DirecTV will lead to a new pay-per-view contract any time soon. "These guys are tougher negotiators than DirecTV management was," says the source. Although McMahon is taking heat for losing a million dollars each month in the contract dispute, he is doing so because he believes eventually DirecTV will give in. If that happens, he will more than make up the recent revenue losses for years to come because of a more favorable split in PPV revenues, plus it would set the precedent for future contracts with other distributors. It's a risky move, but not without potential tremendous benefits.

    Nov. 12 in Boston, Mass. for Raw drew 12,151 paid for $395,735 ($106,020 merch., $8 per cap).

    Nov. 13 in Albany. N.Y for Smackdown drew 7,234 paid for $238,614 ($55,236 merch., $7 per cap).

    Nov. 17 in Bristol, Tenn. drew 3,197 paid for $82,645 ($22,613 merch., $7 per cap).

    Nov. 18 in Greensboro, N.C. for Survivor Series PPV drew 10,142 paid for $594,720 ($91,409 merch., $9) per cap).

    Credit: The Pro Wrestling Torch Newsletter. Subscription information available at http://www.prowrestlingtorch.com


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