A slow week in WCW rumors again, with the calm waters being attributed to the company becoming more and more and well oiled machine and the main WCW roster being more finalized, however, the Power Plant & Atomic Championship Wrestling have become a larger source of news.
First, WWF Tough Enough finalists, Josh and Chris appear to have officially joined the company. WCW had reached out to both men and offered them a chance to come train at the WCW Power Plant for a few weeks and possibly earn a deal, and it appears both have done so. Josh, now as Josh Mathews, and Chris as Chris Harvard were added the the ACW roster in the last week. Josh's size remains his biggest negative, as he is small compared to pretty much anyone. However, Chris, who showed a natural charisma and is a natural heel, appears to be considered by many to be a bluechip prospect. Chris attended Harvard and has impressive size standing around 6'5" and over 250 pounds. There are rumors both could end up on the main roster quickly to capitalize on some of their name value coming out of Tough Enough.
The relationship between the NWA and WCW/ACW appears to be a one-night-deal. David Flair lost the NWA World Heavyweight title at an event held at the Annex Arena co-branded with the NWA that drew a reported 146 fans. About 50 fans more then attend the normal weekly shows. Masato Tanaka was brought in to take the title off Flair. The move was apparently done as a favor to the NWA by WCW. WCW had signed Steve Corino when he was NWA champion and he had not had the opportunity to drop the title before joining WCW full time. They then had David Flair win the title, only for WCW to sign him as well. Unable to find a suitable time to have Flair drop the belt, NWA asked WCW to facilitate the match, which they gladly did. The NWA and WCW now appear to not be working together any further, but the relationship is said to be in a positive place.
On a negative note, the Sinister Minister was sent home from ACW recently. Apparently he had become disgruntled, complaining he should be on the main roster and that negativity leading to clashes with other ACW talent. WCW has not released the Minister, but did send him home as they decide what to do with the situation or to give him time to cool off.
Before Nitro, Spanky worked another dark match teaming with Paul London. Spanky and London previously teamed back on August 30th in a tryout match for Spanky. Spanky was trained by Shawn Michaels and had done a stint in WWF developmental but was released earlier this year. Word is London and Spanky have a natural chemistry and there has been talk of utilizing them as a tag team should WCW sign Spanky in the future.
Speaking of signings, most rumors lately center on WCW wanting to fill out their minor league system in ACW with some younger talent and appear happy with the main roster. They are willing to sign people who make sense, and recently signed Rey Mysterio Jr. and Daffney and are waiting to debut them. There are rumors WCW has had conversations with some larger names who either could come in right away, or only have a short amount of time on their TimeWarner contracts remaining. Biggest among them being Ric Flair, but apparently Scott Steiner, Jeff Jarrett, Dustin Rhodes, Konnan and Kevin Nash have all had some conversations with the WCW office in recent weeks.
Lastly, news broke this week that both Christian and Test from the WWF had very deep conversations with the WCW office about possibly signing with the company. WCW had offered them large deals, but ultimately both decided to resign contracts with the WWF. Sources indicate WCW had offered a larger guarantee, but the size of WWF and loyalty led to both men ultimately deciding to stay in New York.