Jim Ross
Media Man Australia welcomes the WWE to Australia for the 2003 tours.
Greg Tingle interviews the who's who of the wrestling and media business.
What the media has said about wrestling over the years
WWE Wrestling returns to Australia, by Greg Tingle
Media Man Australia and the Australian Sports and Entertainment Portal delivers honest and balanced, reporting.
JR's report pertaining to Australia's upcoming WWE Melbourne Tour on 10th August 2002
The WWE Superstars and staff made it to Melbourne, Australia safely, and the Fan Frenzy activities are heavily attended and running smoothly. This is a very good group of travelers who, I am sure, will represent WWE very well during their stay in the Land Down Under. Many Superstars will be involved in numerous TV, radio and personal appearances during the four-day stay.
Hollywood Hulk Hogan was originally advertised to make this trip, but a lower back injury would not allow him to make the extremely long flight to Australia. Hogan, who turns 49 this weekend, has been working through a painful back condition the past several weeks and it appears the wear and tear over many years in the ring is starting to catch up to The Hulkster. He will be examined soon to determine the extent of his injury. Hogan has had difficulty the past several weeks simply bending over to lace his boots.
Brock Lesnar and Paul Heyman have been added to this event to replace Hogan as best they can, and the live event lineup that has been finalized looks very strong on paper. With the inclusion of Raw talents Triple H, Chris Jericho, Lance Storm, Christian and Test to this SmackDown! event, the night should be most interesting. Our track record over the past several years at live events for the advertised talent to appear as scheduled is very good and it is certainly unfortunate that Hollywood Hulk Hogan will be unable to travel and perform in Melbourne. However, our fans attending will still see an awesome live event despite Hogan’s absence. I know Hulk was looking forward to this event.
Valbowski and Maven are both on this trip but will not see any significant in-ring duty due to injuries. Val was hurt over the weekend in a weightlifting accident where a piece of equipment fell on his head, which required approximately 20 stitches, and hurt his neck. Maven’s broken leg is not healing as well as expected, and his ankle is still significantly swollen, which is problematic. Some talents would have opted to not make this long plane trip with similar aches and pains, and Val and Maven are to be commended for their professionalism and willingness to fulfill their commitments.
The main event for Melbourne will be a Triple Threat match for the WWE Undisputed Championship pitting The Rock vs. Triple H vs. Brock Lesnar. Another outstanding contest will feature Edge vs. Jericho. The Un-Americans will defend the tag titles, and Hurricane Helms challenges Jamie Noble for the Cruiserweight Championship. Nine matches total make up this SmackDown!/Raw live event.
Saturday’s main event will be the first for Triple H since undergoing elbow surgery several weeks ago.