June 18, 2001 Wrestling Observer Newsletter: Potential Awards winners halfway through 2001

We’re roughly halfway through certainly one of the most unique years in the history of pro wrestling. We’ve had arguably the biggest news story of the past 15 years, the combination of the cancellation of pro wrestling on the Turner networks and the purchase of the name WCW by WWFE. In reality, we’ve had the folding of WCW and ECW and other companies, most notably RINGS, seemingly teetering on the edge. After seemingly having the midas touch for the past few years when it comes to promotion, Vince McMahon had his biggest and most publicized flop of his career with the XFL, and followed that with the quickest ratings decline of a show in a constant time slot in the history of the industry. We’ve heard a million rumors about start-ups in the U.S., none of which have gotten off the ground. Even the re-launched WCW brand is hardly viewed with the excitement it was even a few weeks ago.

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