The post-Fall Brawl edition of Nitro from Augusta, Maine was attended by 5,099 which is considered a sellout for the Augusta Civic Center. Viewership on FX is reported at 751,738 across the USA, with worldwide numbers added it, the total viewership for Nitro was 1,572,238. More good news for WCW, as the slow growth since its rebirth in May seems to finally be paying dividends with sold out arenas and great TV ratings!

Before Nitro on Wednesday, WCW taped the October 6th edition of Velocity and held several dark matches. Check out the dark match results and Velocity spoilers below.

A slow week for news from WCW, though there were some notes coming out of Nitro last night. Before Nitro, WCW tried out some local talents. Johnny Heartbreaker, who received a tryout a few months ago was back alongside Antonio Thomas in a tag team match. Both men were said to be well received, but very green. Thomas particularly only got into the business in the last few months with only a handful of matches under his belt. Johnny Curtis had a match with Shawn Stasiak, and Curtis, who is under 20-years-old also seemed to catch positive reviews backstage. It seems unlikely he'll be offered any sort of deal due to his young age, but already being on a top companies radar has to show some real promise. Hector Garza wrestled on the Velocity taping and won a match. AAA in Mexico has entered into a loose alliance with WCW with the two groups reportedly set to exchange some talent, with Garza being one of the first examples of this. There are rumors Shannon Moore and Yun Yang may be headed to AAA in the coming weeks for some more ring time. After WWF's Tough Enough has finished, many fans have been wondering what may happen to some of the contestants who didn't win contracts. Rumors out of the Power Plant have Josh and Chris both being seen training at the facility in the last week, with some predicting they may be offered developmental deals and put into the ring sooner-rather-than-later to try and capitalize on their national exposure from Tough Enough. The biggest knock against Josh is his small size, even compared to many of WCW's cruiserweights, with many thinking Chris, who was notably the "heel" of Tough Enough, is possibly the best possible talent to come out of the show and many thinking he will end up with WWF, though his rumored presence at the Power Plant in Charlotte is now making him look WCW bound. WCW is looking at running some new markets in the future. This far WCW has been running many of the same venues around the country for Nitro, but with increased ticket demand, WCW is looking at running larger venues across more cities. Jazz debut on Nitro after being signed several months ago. Her debut was reportedly somewhat rushed, as WCW had initially planned to slowly introduce women and build challengers to Joanie Laurer. But with so little female talent being capable in the ring, they moved Jazz's debut up to give Joanie an actual wrestler to wrestle with. Jazz's pairing with Steve Corino is said to be a direct result of this rush job, as Corino has been receiving high praise backstage for his performances in the ring and on the microphone in recent months, and many belive he can salvage the Women's division's lack of depth with his presence alone.

World Wrestling All-Stars out of Australia continues to make headlines ahead of its debut later this month as they reportedly signed former WCW World Heavyweight Champion, Jeff Jarrett, to appear at the opening batch of shows. Word is Jarrett's TimeWarner deal expired sometime in the last few weeks and he put out feelers to WWF and WCW, but neither company were interested in his services. Jeremy Borash, who is the head of talent and creative for WWA, was eager to sign the star as Hulk Hogan reportedly won't be physically able to compete this month and WWA felt the need to get another star. This does however mean WWA has three top stars in Hulk Hogan, Jeff Jarret and Ken Shamrock when all are healthy with many speculating the name value may see them leapfrog WCW as the #2 company in the world. WWA has also added Frankie Kazarian to their website's roster page. Kazarian is a talent out of Southern California that most in the SoCal scene have predicted to be one of the the most likely SoCal talents to succeed on a bigger stage. Speaking of contracts, WWF has reportedly been busy re-signing talent in the last several days. Most notable among them is Stone Cold Steve Austin who signed a contract for several years. Outside of Austin, WWF re-signed: William Regal, Test, Christian, Ivory, Molly Holly, Val Venis, The Godfather, Steven Richards, Bull Buchanan and Tom Prichard. Rumors are WCW had approached several of the WWF talents who had contracts expiring, but could not match WWF's financial offers.

WCW has signed several new talents to contracts and sent them to Atomic Championship Wrestling in Charlotte. Most notable among the signings is Redd Dogg, real name Rodney Begnaud. Begnaud had a stint in ECW as a member of Da Baldies and had wrestled a few tryouts with WCW recently. Begnaud is notably in a relationship with Jazz. Begnaud joins Roadkill in ACW as two former ECW talents that are likely already ready for WCW television, but waiting for the right storyline to debut. WCW also signed Chris Cage. Not much is known about Cage, he's a cruiserweight who spent some time in OVW but had been injured and not wrestling in recent months. Its unsure what brought WCW to the decision to sign him, though he was possibly suggested by some of the other former-OVW talent signed to ACW. Lastly, WCW signed another female wrestler in La Felina. Felina is Canadian and came up through Ron Hutchinson's school in Ontario, the same school that produced talents like Edge & Christian among others. Felina wrestles under a mask and is said to have a very high flying style. She joins Aleixs Laree & Kyra as female talents in ACW under WCW developmental deals. Giant Singh made his debut on October 4 at a ACW House Show in Charlotte. Singh is over 7 foot and a proper giant. Reviews of his work were overwhelmingly negative. While many think his look is impressive enough, many think he has years of training ahead of him before he can be seen as even borderline useful. Other talents are getting positive reviews in ACW however. Roadkill is specifically noted as being main roster ready and many don't expect him to be in ACW after New Year's. Doug Basham, Damaja, Rob Conway, Ken Anderson, Sonny Siaki, James Wolfe and Chris Harris are the talents receiving praise, though most won't likely be near roster ready for a year or more. Shannon Moore and Yun Yang are also in ACW at the moment, but more as a place to keep roster ready and they are not taking part in the normal training drills other talent are required to do. Jamie Knoble was spotted watching the show on Wednesday night, though he is still sidelined rehabbing a torn quad.

WCW is bringing in some former talent as sources in the industry are reporting Rey Mysterio Jr. and Daffney both signed deals in the last couple weeks. Mysterio Jr's recent appearances in AAA were apparentely part of his comeback and way to work of ring rust with WCW having reportedly sent him to AAA to get back in-ring shape. Daffney meanwhile has been working out at the Power Plant and looking at getting back in-ring shape herself. Both talents worked dark matches before WCW Nitro in Boise.

WCW Nitro in Boise was attended by a reported 5,923 fans. Live on FX, Nitro pulled in 722,019 viewers across the USA with a total worldwide viewership of 1,527,533 when consolidating all international partners.

The WCW Velocity taping before Nitro and dark match results were passed along to TEWNews and we have them below!

The recent signings of Rey Mysterio Jr. & Daffney are seen as slam dunks backstage in WCW. Neither is being treated with any large amount of secrecy and many expect both to be on TV shortly after Halloween Havoc. Daffney's signing was seen as a desperation move to help sure up the the very weak women's division, while Mysterio's signing has long been rumors. Mysterio almost joined the Shane-Era WCW from the get go but decided to take time off and rehab some lingering injuries while collecting a TimeWarner paycheck. Mysterio and Daffeny were both in action before Nitro. Mysterio looked good in a match against Reno, while WCW flew La Felina out from Charlotte to wrestle Daffney and both women impressed compared to some of the women's matches WCW has had in recent months. Two local talents, Buddy Wayne and Bryan Alvarez received tryouts and word is neither really lit the world on fire. The Misfits in Action were conspicuously absent from Nitro in Boise. Word is they were given the week off as Corporal Cajun has been dealing with some nagging injuries. WCW returned to house show touring a few months ago, and reports are the shows are very small and drawing less then 1,000 fans. However, signs show the house shows are turning a small profit and giving WCW a platform to give younger talents experience and help test out matchups for TV. Total Extreme Wrestling News is currently working on a larger article with show-by-show breakdowns of recent WCW house shows attendance and financial outlooks! The National Wrestling Alliance has announced a joint show with Atomic Championship Wrestling for October 13th called Critical Mass. The show will feature a main event of NWA World Heavyweight Champion David Flair defending the title against Masato Tanaka. Its unsure if this is going to be a long term partnership or lead to NWA being featured on WCW programming, but its notable that the NWA & WCW appear to be working together on any level in the year 2001. Joanie Laurer is continuing to be a bit of an issue backstage. While she has not been and outright disaster, she is apparently on a similar level of Buff Bagwell, the other notable troublemaker backstage, often complaining about match outcomes and politicking much more then other talents. News backstage from WCW has been slow in recent weeks, with many commenting how the new regime has created a positive atmosphere backstage and with the on-going success and growth of WCW, the backstage drama that once plagued WCW has seemingly almost completely turned around with only a few smaller issues popping up from time to time. Word is this positive atmosphere and ongoing success has led many to hope WCW does not bring back talents like Hulk Hogan & Goldberg and to keep most of the previous politicians and egos out of WCW.

WCW’s return to house show touring has been a major point of discussion for those tracking the company’s bottom line in 2001. While the company is back on the road, don't expect to see any massive arena gates just yet. The reports are officially in, and they confirm what many suspected: the shows are small, intimate, and drawing less than 1,000 fans per stop. Despite the modest numbers, word backstage is that management is viewing the tour as a success. By scaling down to convention centers, armories, and small-town civic centers, the company is reportedly turning a slim profit while giving the undercard a much-needed platform to work off some of the rust. The Mid-Atlantic remains the company's strongest territory, with Roanoke and Raleigh pulling in the best numbers of the fall. Meanwhile, the "Island" loop of Puerto Rico and Hawaii has been a bit of a struggle, drawing the lowest crowds of the tour so far. Beyond the current US tour, rumors are swirling that WCW is already looking to cross the border. Word is that management has begun early talks about re-expanding into Canada, with hopes to begin touring there as early as 2002. While Canada is the immediate priority, internal documents also suggest that the United Kingdom and Mexico are on the radar for future expansion, though likely much further down the line as the company focuses on stabilizing its domestic growth first. Below is the full show-by-show breakdown of the attendance and gates for the first two months of the relaunch:

The October 17 Nitro is being called a big success with a reported 7,186 paid through the gates. That makes it the highest attended Nitro in the Shane McMahon-era. Ratings remain promising with 624,411 people tuning in on FX across America, with a total worldwide viewership of 1,328,885 as the slow and steady climb continues.

WCW had its regular taping of Velocity and series of dark matches before Nitro this week.

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.

More positives for WCW as it heads into Halloween Havoc. WCW Nitro in Tucson was attended by a massive 8,130 blowing the previous high attendance number out of the water of the Shane-Era. Viewership wise, trend upwards continued with 653,576 people tuning in in America on FX and worldwide total viewers coming in at 1,387,817 across Canada, Mexico and Puerto Rico in addition to the USA.

Before Nitro, WCW ran the normal gammet of dark matches and taped this Saturday’s edition of Velocity. We have the results below!

Leading into Halloween Havoc the atmosphere backstage at WCW appears to continue to be great. Word is the continued growing success of Nitro has really brought the roster together as a team. One source says the backstage atmosphere is the polar opposite of what it had been in WCW before the Shane-Era. Rey Mysterio Jr. worked a dark match against Yun Yang before Nitro. Yang was brought in from Charlotte, where he’s been part of Atomic Championship Wrestling’s launch, specifically to help Mysterio work off some ring rust. Outside of recent signings in Mysterio and Daffney, who are both still waiting for main roster debuts, there are rumors WCW is still strongly engaged in the hope of bringing in another marquee name to help the top of the card and bring in more fans. World Wrestling All-Stars first tour, The Inception, is coming to a close, and many are expecting WCW to be heavily engaged in talks with some of the WWA’s top stars as well as the names that are on TimeWarner contracts that are all coming up soon. Scott Steiner is perhaps the most heavily rumoured, though Ken Shamrock’s name has come up many times with TEW News sources. WCW did seemingly sign another wrestler as Chris from Tough Enough appears to have started full time in Atomic Championship Wrestling. Going by “Chris Harvard” he joins Josh, now Josh Mathews, from Tough Enough in WCW’s developmental system. WCW had reached out to both men after Tough Enough and invited them to start training at the Power Plant which both men did and were promptly signed. Taylor from Tough Enough has also reportedly been spotted training at the Power Plant over the last week. Adam Pearce appears to have been demoted from the main roster to ACW. Sources we reached out to claim the move was not so much of a demotion as it was WCW trying to give Pearce more of an opportunity to improve and work regularly as they view him as a very solid hand. Pearce is only 23 years old but began wrestling at only 17. He even appeared on some WWF programming as “Adam O’Brien” when he was only 18 in an enhancement role. Word is many expect him to still show up on the main roster for enhancement work as he is seen as a safe worker to work with WCW main roster talent. And on the ACW front, Roadkill is rumored to be moving to the main roster soon, with graphics and merchandise being worked on for him once he debuts on WCW television. No word on when he may be called up, but many expect before the end of the year. In edition to Roadkill, both Shannon Moore & Yun Yang are being told their stint in ACW may end sooner rather than later. Both cruiserweights were sent to ACW to help establish the company and to stay fresh while WCW found creative direction for both men.

WCW Halloween Havoc from the CoreStates Center in Philadelphia saw a sellout crowd of 20,276 fans in attendance. Demand was really high and the WCW official is said to be thrilled as the PPV’s continue to draw very well. Viewership was equally promising with a total worldwide viewership of 2,140,690 continuing WCW’s rebirth.

The big news from Halloween Havoc, outside of how well the show did, is a large production issue that started the show. The show opened with a surprise match between 3 Count and the Primetime Players while the production team worked out some kinks on their end as a large issue threatened the entire show. Rumor is some computer issues threatened to shut down the show, which is why the match began without commentary and with only a hard camera working. Production managed to fix the issue, and the show went off without a hitch, but it was almost a complete disaster. For their parts, Shane Helms, Evan Karagias, Elix Skipper & Kid Romeo are being praised for putting on a decent match with no notice after being told to fill time. Before the near disaster, WCW did hold several scheduled dark matches and we have those results below:

Corporal Cajun of the Misfits In Action was injured during the tag team title match at Halloween Havoc. Cajun reportedly broke his tail bone with the injury happening during the Awesome Bomb spot through the announcer's table at the end of the match. Cajun is said to be in good spirits and the injury is being seen as a freak accident. Cajun is expected to be sidelined from in-ring action for around a months time. WCW.com quietly updated its roster page in the last few days with Rodney Mack and Amos Hirsch appearing on the page. Mack is the former Redd Dogg and Amos Hirsch is a repackaged Roadkill of ECW fame. They are both now officially on the main roster and looking to start as soon as possible. Rey Mysterio Jr. and Daffney are still slated to debut any week now as the WCW roster is receiving a transfusion of fresh faces for fresh matches. This continues with rumors circling of WCW bringing in at least one if not more “names” to help give the company more national stars to draw attention to the shows.