The first Nitro of 2002 is in the books. The event drew a strong, near-capacity crowd of 9,736 fans to the Paul J. Meyer Arena in Waco, Texas.

Viewership figures for the FX broadcast reached 802,966 viewers in the United States, with the total worldwide audience reaching 1,739,525 when all international markets are tallied.

Ric Flair made his return to a WCW ring after the cameras stopped rolling for Nitro. After the Foundation of Kanyon, Awesome & Kidman came out and cut a brief promo on the crowd, Sean O'Haire & Shane McMahon came out and challenged them to a 6-man tag, then revealed Flair as their partner. Flair's team won with Billy Kidman tapping out to the Figure Four. Flair was not involved in most of the match as it seems he is still getting back into in-ring shape.

WCW has over a dozen contracts up for renewal in the next couple of months, with negotiations currently underway for several top stars. Most notably, Lance Storm and Sean O’Haire have contracts expiring soon, leading to speculation that the WWF may attempt to acquire them.

The company is reportedly in the midst of a roster overhaul to freshen up the product. Sources indicate that we may see news regarding signings and departures throughout this week, mirroring the post-WrestleMania cycle often seen in the WWF following Starrcade.

The first major move in the roster turnover is the signing of Japanese star Takao Omori. Omori, who is finishing out his obligations to the Pro-Wrestling NOAH company, has signed with WCW and is slated to move to America in February to begin full time with the company. Omori reportedly had had his sights set on leaving NOAH for a while after getting heat for with NOAH owner Mitsuhara Misawa over a botched match with Shinya Hashimoto all the way back in 2000.

Outside of Omori, Lenny Lane & Lodi returned to WCW under their former West Hollywood Blondes style personas allinging with Kwee Wee as the Rainbow Express. Though the group is not being seen as a game changer, WCW has seen the success of the Shark Squad and word is they are going to more heavily lean into more absurd and over-the-top gimmicks to help bring some life to the undercard, which the Rainbow Express fits into perfectly.

The Hardcore division and championship have returned. Tommy Dreamer appeared on Velocity with a new WCW Hardcore title, defending it in a fatal 4-way match. It remains unclear how Dreamer secured the championship, though that may be addressed on this Saturday's episode of Velocity. The title is reportedly being added as WCW management felt there needed to be a title for the undercard to compete for.

Also on Velocity, Simon Diamond made his debut, marking another new signing and addition to the roster, aligning with CW Anderson to attack Pete Gas. This angle effectively signals the end of the CW Anderson and Pete Gas tag team. Diamond reportedly signed with the company nearly a month ago, with WCW waiting until after Starrcade to debut the former ECW star.

Finally, "Shadow", real name Lance Hoyt, received another tryout before Nitro, losing a match to Evan Karagias. Hoyt, a 6’6”, 300-pound athlete known for his surprising agility (including the ability to perform moonsaults), continues to receive promising internal reviews after multiple WCW tryouts.

WCW announced the departures of several talents from the WCW roster wishing all the best in their future endeavors. This only a day after announcing a large amount of contract extensions to 19-other wrestlers.

Joanie Laurer, Kitti Carter, Kaz Hayashi, Akio, Reno, The Wall, referee Billy Silverman and ACW commentary team Jeff Gorman & Brian Black were all released from their contracts in the last several days.

Most notable was Joanie Laurer. Laurer was reportedly increasingly unhappy with her role in WCW. She was on a short term contract that was set to expire in the next few weeks, and WCW decided to end the relationship early. All releases were talent whose contracts were up shortly, but allowed to leave early.

Kitti Carter, the now ex-wife of Jerry Lawler was also given her walking papers as her relationship with Lawler had fallen apart due to her being caught in an affair with former ECW & WWF developmental wretler Mike Maverick aka, Mike Hard aka Jack Dupp.

The rest of the releases were for various reasons. Kaz Hayashi requested his release out of a desire to return to Japan. Akio aka Yun Yang was seen as a good prospect, but being very young, many think he was released to be given a chance to improve outside of WCW before being brought back. Reno & The Wall seem to purely be budgetary releases, The Wall had been under contract since Shane McMahon's takeover of WCW, but had checked himself into rehab. He had recently been appearing in ACW but is now a free agent. Gorman & Black who served as the commentary team in ACW were both let go, with Josh Mathews seemingly taking over commentary duties with a new announce partner that has yet to be named.

The numbers for last nights Nitro are in. The event was an official sell out, with a crowd of 5,000 fans to the Black River Coliseum in Poplar Bluff, Missouri.

Viewership figures for the FX broadcast reached 679,112 viewers in the United States, with the total worldwide audience reaching 1,501,834 when all international markets are tallied.

WCW.com announced the release of Kid Romeo earlier today. Romeo's contract was set to expire in the next several weeks and he joins a series of releases from earlier in the week.

Ric Flair worked another dark match after WCW Nitro went off the air, defeating Lance Storm. Storm reportedly came to the ring and cut a quick promo about being overlooked and forgotten by WCW and its fans, which led to Flair coming out and challening him to a match. Flair was said to be pretty rusty, but the match sent the homes happy and seems to be part of the long term plan to have Flair back as an in-ring talent.

Kid Romeo was let go after Nitro and was said to be leaving on good terms. Romeo's contract was set to expire soon, and WCW granted him his release early at his request. Romeo was made aware his contract was not going to be renewed, and requested the early release with hopes of getting on the next World Wrestling All-Stars Tour of Australia which begins soon. Reportedly several of the recent WCW departures are looking to join the tour, with The Wall and Reno also reportedly in discussions with the Hulk Hogan-affiliated company.

WWA is said to be somewhat in a scramble to rebolster its roster, after Scott Steiner left the company to wrestle in Puerto Rico, and WCW signed Jeff Jarrett, Nova, Lenny Lane, Lodi & referee Amdrew Thomas over the last month who were all key parts of the roster.

A vignette aired on Nitro to hype a new group being called The Lost Church. The group is led by Christopher Daniels, a veteran of the independent scene who had a cup of coffee in WCW in 2000 & 2001. James Mitchell, the former Sinister Minister and James Vandenberg is in the group as a manager and mouthpiece, joined by Nelson Knight, the former Viscera, as Viscz and a new incarnation of Mortis, a gimmick that was last portrayed by Chris Kanyon and was more of a Mortal Kombat spoof, with no word on who is under the mask yet.

Yoshihiro Tajiri worked a dark match before the Velocity tapings on the 9th. Tajiri teamed with Shane Helms & Jason Jett to defeat the team of David Young, Johnny Swinger & Rodney Mack. Tajiri is said to likely be signed to a contract shortly.

Kaz Hayashi & Yun Yang who recentley left WCW did so by request. Hayashi had wished to return home, and word backstage is convinced his partner Yang to join him. Both remain in good standings with the company and many backstage were said to be sad to see the pair go as they were well liked.

All Japan Pro Wrestling held a massive press conference earlier today in Tokyo, and to say they shook the entire landscape of Puroresu would be a massive understatement.

Motoko Baba officially opened the presser by announcing she is stepping down as AJPW President, effectively ending her run at the top following the absolute nightmare of the Misawa/NOAH exodus. In a move that absolutely nobody saw coming a few months ago, Keiji Muta was introduced as her official successor. Muta has legitimately left New Japan Pro-Wrestling to take the executive reins here, claiming his sole focus is rebuilding All Japan back to its former glory.

But Muta didn’t come to the podium alone. He brought a ton of firepower with him right out of the gate. Joining Muta at the podium was Satoshi Kojima. Kojima has officially defected from NJPW to follow Muta. Kojima looks ready to be inserted directly into the main event scene and will likely be a centerpiece of the companies heavyweight division going forward.

Muta also laid out his immediate plans to completely resurrect the virtually dead AJPW Junior Heavyweight division, announcing series of huge signings that are bound to turn some heads. First was Kendo Kashin, who has also left NJPW alongside Muta and Kojima, though he’s currently sporting a broken leg and won’t be able to get in the ring for a while. TAKA Michinoku is officially in, marking his first major landing spot since leaving the WWF in mid-2001. Joining them are the former Jung Dragons, Kaz Hayashi and Jimmy Yang, who both left WCW in the last week. Muta clearly wasted zero time getting them on the phone.

This is easily the biggest news week of 2002 so far. Can Muta actually save All Japan? We'll find out soon enough.

The numbers for last nights Nitro are in. The event drew a paying crowd of 6,498 fans to the Cumberland County Civic Center in Portland, Maine.

Viewership figures for the FX broadcast reached 762,003 viewers in the United States, with the total worldwide audience reaching 1,682,246 when all international markets are tallied.

For the third week in a row, Ric Flair wrestled in a post-Nitro dark match, again wrestling Lance Storm. Flair defeated Storm with a Figure Four Leglock as plans for his official in-ring return are being drawn up by WCW.

The Blonde Bombshell appears to be going by Torrie Wilson again, with the Blonde Bombshell sticking as a nickname. She so far seems to remain associated with the Misfits In Action, but for one reason or another has reverted to using her real name.

Kid Romeo was let go after Nitro and was said to be leaving on good terms. Romeo's contract was set to expire soon, and WCW granted him his release early at his request. Romeo was made aware his contract was not going to be renewed, and requested the early release with hopes of getting on the next World Wrestling All-Stars Tour of Australia which begins soon. Reportedly several of the recent WCW departures are looking to join the tour, with The Wall and Reno also reportedly in discussions with the Hulk Hogan-affiliated company.

Several of the recentley released WCW talents have signed on for World Wrestling All-Stars next tour of Australia. The Wall under the gimmick Malice, Kid Romeo, Reno were all announced as joining the Australian company in the last week. They join several other notable talents in Kevin Nash, Rick Steiner and Ernest Miller in joining the upstart company. WWA launched with some hype in the fall of 2001 thanks to its association with Hulk Hogan, but thus far, not much has come of it outside of an Australian and British tour in 2001. While WWA looks to cement itself as a major player, several talents seemingly used it as a stepping stone with Jeff Jarrett, Nova, Lenny Lane & Lodi all leaving the company to sign with WCW. Scott Steiner joined the company for the UK tour, but has also seemingly left the company, with a chance to return, to start working full time with IWA in Puerto Rico.

There is talk that several of WWA's talents are on the radar of both WCW and WWF, with the larger American companies seeing WWA more as a feeder ground or place for talents to make some money while they wait to sign with a more major company. Hulk Hogan, Kevin Nash, Scott Steiner, Ken Shamrock, Konnan, Sabu & Ernest Miller lead the names that are constantly rumored to be headed to either of the large promotions, though some lesser known talent is attracting eyes as well like Nathan Jones who is a 7-foot giant with a great look. AJ Styles, who is an innovative Cruiserweight who had a cup of coffee with WCW towards the end of its Turner-run as Air Styles in a tag team called Air Raid. Frankie Kazarian who is another Cruiserweight talent who has strong fundamentals and a natural charisma.

Yoshihiro Tajiri signed a contract with WCW and has debut as a new assistant to Arn Anderson. His profile was added to WCW.com and he seems to be going by just "Tajiri" thus far.

Rumors are strong that the upcoming edition of Playboy is about to be revealed and is going to be featuring Melina Perez as the cover and centerfold model. Perez, who is signed to a WCW Developmental contract and wrestles as Kyra in ACW, had been trying to raise her profile and managed to secure the shoot and cover on her own with Playboy wanting to do a focus on an athlete and Melina's own agent securing the deal. Perez's choice to pose nude has thus far drawn postive feedback from WCW management, who are said to be welcome to talents trying to increase their profile. TEWNews is sure to have the images of Melina when they are published!

Similar to Perez, ACW talent Bob Sapp has an MMA fight coming up he booked on his own a month ago or so. However, there was said to be slightly more pushback on Sapp over his decision to step into a Mixed Martial Arts fight. Firstly, he has missed a good deal of time training in ACW and has not been available for their events. Further, WCW has made it know that losing an MMA fight would possibly hurt a wrestlers credibility with the larger audience so some expect Sapp may end up cut or see a much reduced role should he lose the fight. Internally, Sapp is seen as one of the top prospets in ACW, due to his look, size and charisma.

The numbers for last nights Nitro are in. The event drew a paying crowd of 7,352 fans to the Portland Memorial Coliseum in Portland, Oregon.

Viewership figures for the FX broadcast reached 777,531 viewers in the United States, with the total worldwide audience reaching 1,692,692 when all international markets are tallied.

A fairly quiet week backstage for WCW as it prepares for Souled Out. Ric Flair worked another post-Nitro dark match, again against Lance Storm in a winning effort. Storm, who is being kept off TV for hte time being, is being utilized to get Flair back to in-ring status for an eventual full time return to the squared circle full time. Flair is doing better, but still working off some ring rust.

Melina Perez, known as Kyra in WCW's Atomic Championship Wrestling developmental company, is starting to get more attention thanks to her upcoming Playboy spread. Perez is indeed featured on the cover and as the centerfold model of the February edition of the popular men's magazine, a deal she negotiated on her own through her own agents. WCW has already been receiving calls about Perez who's shoot is said to have been getting positive reviews from people in the industry. Perez also did a brief interview that is featured in the magazine where she mentions her time training on the Southern California independent circuit, and her excitement to hopefully join the WCW roster soon.

The Lost Church group that has been gettting vignettes on Nitro is said to be debuting soon. The group has been working various dark matches before Nitro and Velocity tapings, both as a three man group, and with Daniels in singles matches while Morits & Viscz have been tagging. The new Mortis is Crowbar in a new version of the Mortis mask and attire. Its uncertain if Kanyon, the original Mortis who in storyline, voluntarily unmasked to join Raven's Flock way back in 1998, will be involved with the group or new character at all.

Souled Out's match card is reportedly locked in. Interestingly, the Tommy Dreamer, Hardcore Championship match is still being listed as an open challenge, though it seems apparent Amos Hersch will be his opponent. The Booker T vs. Steve Corino match is confirmed as the main event, and inside sources are saying the Rob Van Dam vs. Guido Maritato match will likely open the show.

TEWNews has managed to get an early preview of the upcoming February edtion of Playboy which features WCW developmental talent Melina Perez, aka Kyra, as the cover and centerfold model. The cover is already getting a good deal of attention online with rumors that Joanie Laurer was originally lined up to be the featured woman for February, but for reasons thus far unknown, Melina Perez was chosen instead. See the cover below!