Last night's Nitro was a near sell-out with a reported attendance of 7,018 filling the Stuart C. Siegel Center in Richmond, Virginia. That is nearly double the attendance of previous weeks and a massive testament to WCW's southern roots.

Early ratings reports have the show in the range of 579,000 viewers on FX, while total worldwide viewership totaled around 1,124,000 people. Both numbers are down a little bit from the debut of Nitro on FX, but they are still considered strong.

TotalExtremeWrestlingNews reader Stephen Woltz was in attendance at last night's Nitro and passed along the results from a series of dark matches held before WCW Nitro went live on the air:

Jung Dragons defeated Christian York and Joey Matthews
3 Count defeated Reno and Little Guido
Jason Jett, La Parka, and Shark Boy defeated Kwee Wee, Kid Romeo, and Elix Skipper
Kanyon defeated Willy Frazier

There is tons of news coming from sources backstage following Nitro.

Paul London, who appeared in a quick loss to Chuck Palumbo and later in a backstage segment with WCW Cruiserweight Champion Shane Helms, has officially signed with the company. London spent time training with Shawn Michaels in Texas and has gained high praise for his ability to sell and elicit sympathy from the crowd. London's signing seems to be a direct response to Jamie Knoble's injury and the feeling that the Cruiserweight division needs more bodies.

Little Guido is also seemingly coming in, having been at every WCW show since its return, but no official word has come from Guido or WCW on the stars status.

Christian York & Joey Matthews who were released by WWF in the last few days showed up in a dark match before Nitro. The pair live relatively near by and this is being considered a tryout. No word on whether WCW officials were impressed or not.

Sources indicate that Scott Hall and Steve Corino could sign or debut with WCW at any minute. Rumors are swirling that they might come in alongside Diamond Dallas Page as an nWo-style group, possibly even using the nWo name.

WCW is optimistic that Mike Sanders should be healthy enough by the Great American Bash to defend the tag team titles. Meanwhile, Jason Jett keeps getting banged up after matches, and Johnny Stamboli has been day-to-day since The Big Bang. Jamie Knoble is still a few weeks away from starting rehab on his torn quad.

There is a lot of talk backstage about which stars might be coming into WCW in the near future. The general feeling is that the company needs to add more bodies and bigger names, but there is not a lot out there right now since most former WCW stars are choosing to sit out their Time Warner contracts. Talks with Scott Steiner had apparently progressed well, but a medical issue stopped them in their tracks. Goldberg's asking price remains far too high, and Hulk Hogan has been rumored to be looking at getting back into the WWF.

The WWF had a series of releases in the last week or so, with the most notable names being Gangrel, Chaz, Tiger Ali Singh, and the Mean Street Posse. While these aren't exactly "A-list" names, many are stating it is only a matter of time until a few of them show up on WCW TV.

The team of La Parka & Shark Boy are getting some rave reviews backstage, with their antics and over-the-top gimmicks becoming popular with the wrestlers and staff in the back. There is a decent chance the two end up in a tag team full time going forward with some also pitching getting Kwee Wee invovled.

Speaking of Kwee Wee, he looks to have dropped his "Angry Alan" Jeckyl/Hyde style character he was using near the end of WCW before its hiatus. He's reverted back to his Ultra Camp character.

The National Wrestling Alliance today announced that as of June 6, 2001, Steve Corino has vacated the NWA World Heavyweight title due to his inability to properly represent the values of the NWA. At this point everyone is under the impression Corino has signed a WCW contract and should debut with them as soon as the next Nitro. There is said to be heat between Corino and the NWA Board of Directors due to him not dropping the title on the way out, but rumors circling the NWA is that Corino was more then willing to drop the title at anytime, but the NWA organization and affiliated companies didn't make it happen.

In addition to Corino, Scott Hall has finished up with New Japan Pro Wrestling, losing a match to Shiro Koshinaka at the June 6 Super-Force Declaration event. Hall is expected to join Corino in WCW, likely as part of a reborn nWo alongside Diamond Dallas Page.

WCW Nitro out of San Angelo, Texas drew a reported 4,316 through the door. A solid number as WCW's strategy at stuffing mid-sized venues instead of having half empty arenas seems to be paying off in creating very great atmospheres at their events.

Ratings wise, it looks like Nitro was up across the board. 601,720 reported viewers on FX with a total of 1,197,674 once you include international broadcasts is a promising sign that interest in Shane McMahon's WCW is staying strong.

Total Extreme Wrestling News reader Chance Barrow was in attendance at the June 13th Nitro and passed along that three dark matches happened before the show went live on FX:

Jung Dragons defeated Paul London & Willy Fraizer
La Parka & Shark Boy defeated Primetime Players
Tommy Dreamer, Jason Jett & CW Anderson defeated Crowbar, Reno & Little Guido

It looks like WCW is going to continue to have a gap at the top of the card as it seems pretty much every major name they had been persueing in recent weeks have decided to continue to sit out their TimeWarner contracts. Goldberg, Sting, Kevin Nash, Scott Steiner are all seemingly happy to sit at home for the time being. It looks like the batch of talent that could be signed today are otherwise unwilling to agree to terms with WCW on any sort of deal. Hulk Hogan is technically available since his contract with TimeWarner has actually expired, but his demands are too rich. Same goes for Randy Savage.

The final huge blow seems to be Scott Hall, who had at times been heavily rumored to be coming into WCW, has signed a contract with the World Wrestling Federation and is looking at joining the WWF within the next couple days or weeks.

To go further, several of the midcard WCW talent of old also are still sitting on their old TimeWarner contracts like Rey Mysterio Jr. & Shane Douglas among others, but hope is a lot of those deals are shorter term so some re-enforcements should be coming soon.

All of that aside, sources out of Charlotte, North Carolina have reported seeing several talents in-and-around the new WCW offices in the city, with pictures of Steve Corino at the Charlotte Douglas International Airport, and several fans reported seeing Pete Gas alongside Shane McMahon at a restaurant near the WCW offices. In addition to Dawn Marie & Little Guido who many suspect have been signed to contracts, there are a few more semi-recognizable faces seemingly in the WCW orbit.

CW Anderson is local to the Charlotte area and had a tryout before Nitro in a 6-Man Tag Team match on a team alongside Tommy Dreamer & Jason Jett against the trio of Crowbar, Reno & Little Guido. Anderson played a face, which is not normal for him, as the team of former ECW stars actually picked up the win.

WCW has been booking some very small arenas around the USA in the last weeks, with House Shows expected to start up soon. A lot of the venues being booked are glorified bingo halls and venues ECW and larger indies tend to run, so it looks like WCW is only expecting crowds of 1,000 or less at most of the shows.

With only one Nitro left until WCW's return to pay-per-view with The Great American Bash, the card is starting to take shape.

Confirmed Matches:
WCW World Heavyweight Championship: Booker T (c) vs. Lance Storm
WCW World Cruiserweight Championship vs. Chavo's Hair: Shane Helms (c) vs. Chavo Guerrero Jr.
WCW Patriot Cup Finals / WCW United States Championship: [Winner of RVD vs. Stasiak] vs. [Winner of Hennig vs. Awesome]

Unconfirmed Matches:
Shane McMahon vs. Diamond Dallas Page
WCW World Tag Team Titles: Misfits In Action vs. Disqo & Mike Sanders (c)
Sean O'Haire vs. Chuck Palumbo
BG James vs. Buff Bagwell

Scott Hall is back with the WWF, and he didn't come alone. On last night’s June 18th edition of RAW is WAR, the former Razor Ramon and founding nWo member shocked the wrestling world by appearing unannounced.

Hall immediately aligned with real-life friend Triple H to deliver a brutal beating to WWF World Heavyweight Champion Stone Cold Steve Austin. This massive angle effectively turns the Texas Rattlesnake back into a babyface, as his recent heel run at the top of the card hasn't exactly been a hit with the fans. Hall and Triple H officially revealed they are taking over the company under the "Kliq" banner, joined by Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley and the entire X-Factor stable (X-Pac, Justin Credible, and Albert). Notably, Hall & HHH declared themsleves WWF World Tag Team Champions with Hall seemingly taking 1/2 of the titles from Austin who was currently reigning alongside HHH.

It is pretty obvious that the WWF is feeling the heat and shaking things up in response to WCW’s recent momentum. This is a huge blow to the new WCW, as most insiders had Hall pegged as a near lock to return to Atlanta. While WCW is definitely on the rise, they are still lacking that level of mainstream star power that a guy like Hall brings to the table.

WCW Nitro from Poplar Bluff, Missouri was attended by 3,400 fans. This was a notably smaller crowd after a couple of weeks of larger turnouts for the company.

Ratings ticked down a small bit as well, with early reports showing around 546,000 viewers tuned into Nitro on FX, while the total worldwide viewership hovered around 1,080,000 people. While the numbers are down slightly, week-to-week variation is always to be expected in this business.

There is rumor that WCW's Mexican TV carrier Televisa was upset with the quality of the show.

Avid TotalExtremeWrestlingNews reader Emily Sharp sent along a report from the building last night. WCW held several dark matches before the cameras rolled, and thanks to Emily, we have the results:

Primetime Players defeated Johnny B. Badd & Willy Frazier
Crowbar & Kwee Wee defeated La Parka & Shark Boy
Billy Kidman & Paul London defeated 3 Count
Tommy Dreamer & CW Anderson defeated Mark Jindrak & Reno

WCW.com posted an article last week officially announcing the signing of Steve Corino. Though Corino didn't appear on Nitro this week, word is his on-screen debut is set to happen sooner rather than later. Inside sources indicate that WCW originally intended to keep the signing a surprise and that Corino has been under contract for over a month, but after Scott Hall signed with the WWF and other major talents have seemingly decided against joining WCW, the office felt announcing a notable signing was important for PR and locker room morale. Corino is less known to mainstream audiences, so WCW seems to be highlighting him as a former World Heavyweight champion due to his ECW & NWA title runs.

On top of Corino, Pete Gas has signed with the company and made his debut on Nitro as Arn Anderson's new assistant and in-ring in a losing effort to Kanyon. Speaking of the Enforcer, CW Anderson, a member of the Anderson "family", wrestled yet another dark match before Nitro. It looks like he has signed a contract or will shortly.

The Wall, Jerry Tuite, has been under contract since WCW's return. WCW has pegged the big man as an important piece of their future plans, but after the contract was signed, Tuite, immediately checked himself into rehab. While people backstage in WCW are glad he is getting the help he needs, there is a feeling of the office feeling they were played somewhat by Tuite who know collects his guarantee while not wrestling.

WCW has released the full Great American Bash card on their website, and most fans seem excited for the show. However, the lack of top-tier stars is really evident. Interestingly, Diamond Dallas Page does not have a match listed for the show, but with his "suspension" officially lifted by Shane McMahon, DDP is likely to be in the building and will probably be involved in the Shane McMahon vs. Kanyon Street Fight.

The WCW Great American Bash had a reported 16,830 people in attendance at the FleetCenter in Boston. WCW is said to be ecstatic about those numbers.

Early reports indicate a total of 1,975,250 buys for the PPV worldwide. Its said the WCW Office was also pleased with those numbers and many are calling these results proof the "new" WCW can work.

Longtime reader of the site, Tommaso Whitney, was at The Great American Bash and passed on results for a series of matches that happened fore the cameras went live:

Steve Corino defeated Paul London
Pete Gas & CW Anderson defeated La Parka & Shark Boy, 3 Count & The Primetime Players
Shawn Stasiak & Mark Jindrak w/Stacy Keibler defeated Johnny B. Badd & Willy Fraizer
Curt Hennig, Billy Kidman & Tommy Dreamer defeated Crowbar, Kwee Wee & Reno

The Great American Bash is being considered a major success within World Championship Wrestling. Fans have also voiced their approval, with a lot of the online chatter still centering on the RVD vs. Mike Awesome Patriot Cup Final and the Kanyon vs. Shane McMahon Street Fight.

It currently looks like WCW has no major signings in the pipeline. Most established top-tier stars remain unwilling to sign with the rebuilding promotion, so the office is putting more stock into pushing the current roster and making depth signings to see who can break out. Inside sources say to expect a few more names to help fill out the ranks, but fans shouldn't hold their breath for any massive icons.

As far as available talent goes, a good deal of former WCW midcarders who were on Time Warner deals are seeing those contracts expire over the next month. Many expect at least a few of them to end up back in WCW to provide some much-needed name value to the weekly shows.

On the subject of new arrivals, several signings were confirmed by Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer. Former ECW mainstays Little Guido, CW Anderson, and Chris Chetti are all apparently set to debut in the coming weeks. Meltzer previously reported on the Dawn Marie and Steve Corino signings as well.

In other roster news, Juventud Guerrera appears to no longer be associated with WCW. While the luchador never had a formal deal, he was working on an open contract and was once considered part of the long-term plans. It is unknown why those plans fell through, especially since Juvi’s appearance at The Big Bang was considered a success and he was reportedly on his best behavior backstage.

The June 27 WCW Nitro in Portland, Oregon, was attended by 3,579 fans. Early ratings show 554,571 viewers on FX and 1,108,622 worldwide. These numbers seem positive as they suggest WCW is hitting its stride and drawing consistent figures.

TotalExtremeWrestlingNews fan Shayna Edwards was in attendance at WCW Nitro in Portland, Oregon, and passed along the results of the dark matches that took place before the show:

La Parka & Shark Boy defeated Reno & Adam Pearce
Mike Awesome defeated Willy Frazier
Shawn Stasiak (w/Stacy Keibler) defeated Johnny B. Badd
Billy Kidman & Curt Hennig defeated the Primetime Players

Steve Corino, Guido Maritato, CW Anderson, and Chris Chetti all debuted on the June 27th Nitro and had profiles quickly added to WCW.com. It looks like WCW is planning on signing at least one or two more talents. Several former WCW wrestlers have been rumored to have had long meetings with Terry Taylor over the last several weeks as their Time Warner contracts expire.

Jason Jett has been resting several nagging injuries, which is why he hasn't been featured lately. He joins Jamie Noble and The Wall on WCW's current inactive list. Former WCW talent David Flair won the NWA World Heavyweight Title back on June 15th at an NWA Wildside show. Some have predicted Flair will end up back with WCW, so his victory is a situation to watch.

Word is "The Foundation" stable established by Diamond Dallas Page & Kanyon may see several more talents added as the storyline progresses. Currently Lance Storm is being teased as a member, though it also looks like Buff Bagwell may be a choice to join the group. The main event of WCW Bash at the Beach was confirmed at the June 27 Nitro, as BG James vs. Lance Storm who will be defending the WCW World Heavyweight title.

WCW has filled for a slew of trademarks over last few weeks. Among them are "Whole Dam Show", "Psycho Killer", "Impact Player", "The Foundation", "Career Killer", "Simply Perfect" & notably "Full Blooded Italians" which seems to be the likely name of the new Guido, Palumbo & Stamboli group.