WORLD WRESTLING ENTERTAINMENT
5/6 Superstar TV results: Primo vs. Carlito was a no contest; Chris Masters over Chavo Guerrero; Beth Phoenix over Rosa Mendes; and Shad Gaspard over JTG.
5/7 Smackdown TV results from North Charleston, SC: MVP over Luke Gallows; Michelle McCool & Layla over Tiffany & Kelly Kelly; Kofi Kingston over Dolph Ziggler; Christian over Cody Rhodes; and Kane over Jack Swagger via DQ.
Raw is live tonight from Pittsburgh with Flavor Flav hosting the last ever WWE show at the Mellon Arena before the building is torn down to make way for the new home of the Penguins. The Arena, better known as The Igloo, has played host to numerous WWE events over the years, the most famous of which, arguably is the 1998 King of the Ring where Mick Foley dove off and through the Cell. The only thing announced at press time is John Cena deciding the stipulation for his match against Batista at Over the Limit.
The Smackdown/NXT tapings are Tuesday night in Buffalo.
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The bizarre Drew McIntyre firing storyline has a lot of people talking. Nobody internally seems to know the exact situation and my impression is that he's not Raw bound. My guess would be if they needed to write him out for what ever reason (injury, wellness, etc.), then the original storyline was that Vince McMahon hired him, so therefore Vince could show up and over rule Teddy Long.
Lawrence Taylor pleaded not guilty to rape charges following his well publicized arrest last week. His attorney, Arthur Aidala, described Taylor as "a loving family man" who would never have sex with a prostitute. A 16-year-old girl, not named for legal reasons, says she was forced into having sex with Taylor by a pimp, who was also arrested. Taylor is due back in court on 6/10.
John Cena recently passed his 1,000th day as WWE champion putting him on a count on one hand list along with the likes of Bruno Sammartino (4,040 days), Hulk Hogan (2,185 days), Bob Backlund (2,138 days) and Pedro Morales (1,027 days).
YesNetwork.com published its Top Nine Towel Uses in Sports, which included the Iron Sheik beating Bob Backlund for the WWF title when Arnold Skaaland threw in the towel at Madison Square Garden in 1983.
New Orleans, LA's FOX 8 interviewed Cena about his Olympic style training at a local gym he frequents when he's in town at http://tinyurl.com/3a8rl83.
THQ is expected to reveal a new WWE video game at next month's E3 convention in addition to the previously announced WWE Online game.
Live Audio Wrestling interviewed Jim Ross on a variety of subjects, including the sale of the UWF, the WCW invasion, his stint as head of WWE talent relations, and more. Ross talked about talent relations as being in a position where you are damned if you do, and damned if you don't. He said: "I had one of the most hated roles in professional wrestling as head of talent. You got deliver all the bad news without question and you try to balance it out with good news. But you can deliver bad news without being confrontational or abrasive or power hungry and I would like to think I wasn't that way. I'm sure again in that role it's inherent that people will say 'Jim Ross is a prick' or 'Jim Ross is a jackass' and I'm sure that were guys that played for coaches or people work in film or television for various directors that would say 'he's good guy' I don't believe I was ever a bad guy but I had to deliver a lot of bad news and deal with lots of bad issues and that came with the job and I knew that when I accepted the terms that I had to cut people, you got to fire people, you have to send people to rehab, you have to sit some guys down for mentoring and leadership and whoever has the role after John Laurinaitis will have that. It's like the old deal in NFL training camp when the guy comes to pick up your playbook - they call that guy 'the turk' and when they make cuts in the preseason and turk comes and asks for your play book and says the coach want to see you, well you know you're done and have been cut. I never relished in some of the functionalities of that job but my job was to recruit great people and good young athletes and guys that I could see were going to be contributors and on any team when you make a bad recruit or you the recruit goes bad or they didn't materialize or they developed problems you couldn't solve and you eliminated them and move on. It was a tough job but I enjoyed what we accomplished, I thought our body of work during the mid to late 90's to early 2000s was exemplary. I thought we assembled the best roster in the business and I know for a fact that we drew more money than any period from any territory or any company in the history of the business and I know that we helped manufacture a lot of millionaires so I think at the end of the day I won, I had a lot of wins here so I was happy." Full interview at www.thefightnetwork.com.
Ross noted in his latest blog that Cowboy Bill Watts, 71, is getting married again this week. Watts lost ownership of his Mid South/UWF video library many years ago as part of a divorce settlement with his former wife Ene. WWE has been attempting to purchase those highly coveted tapes for some time.
Satan's Prison - The Anthology of the Elimination Chamber is another new DVD release slated for 7/13.
The WWE Studios movie "Killing Karma" with Triple H has been given the new working title of "Inside Out."
Astronaut Buzz Aldrin, 80, may be hosting the commercial free Raw from Toronto, ON on 5/17. There were reports that Aldrin's people conmfirmed the announcement on his website but the post was later deleted. Aldrin was the Lunar pilot for Apollo 11 and was the second person to ever step foot on the moon.
The New York Times ran an article over the weekend on WWE's celebrity guest host deal with quotes from past hosts Ryan Phillippe and Maria Menounos. Stephanie McMahon and Triple H are also quoted. Hunter says WWE has now evolved to PG and says he wouldn't let his kids watch the product they produced back during the attitude era, and Stephanie compared Vince to Saturday Night Live creator Lorne Michaels: "Vince would hate that I said this... But he and Lorne Michaels are a lot alike. They both have a clear vision, and they both know exactly how they want you to execute it."
Terry Funk speaks his mind at http://tinyurl.com/2vb37su. He says at 65 his body is destroyed and jokes that he used to jump out of bed, but now he crawls. "I don't need any enhancing drugs. Wrestling is my drug. It's what I love. I grew up in the backseat of a car. I didn't want to be a cowboy. I wanted to wrestle. I went to college and played football. I was with the Kansas City Chiefs. But I had an opportunity to wrestle. And it's been the love of my life." He talked about guys virtually killing themselves in the ring for the love of the sport while querstioning the motives of others. "You watch The Undertaker or Shawn Michaels walk into the ring. They're physically hurt, but they do it. It's the rush you get. It's the same for a lot of guys in the business. They're the true wrestlers. It's in their hearts. For a guy like Hulk Hogan, I think it's the money for him. It's about the bucks." He also talked about his Hall of Fame induction saying he enjoyed the moment, but noted, "if one person doesn't want you in, you're not in. Is that really a true Hall of Fame?"
FCW at http://fcwwrestling.info/undertaker.html are doing a silent auction to benefit The Angelus, a home for severely handicapped people who cannot take care of themselves. The prize is a framed and autographed Undertaker wrestling boot and glove--Taker will present the prize to the winning bidder in the ring at the FCW show at Dallas Bull in Tampa on 5/19.
Vickie Guerrero has been on tour with the Smackdown crew in Mexico this past week. She did several media interviews speaking in Spanish putting over Dos Caras, Jr. as having a bright future.
Kane injured his ankle last night in Leon but the knock isn't thought to be too serious.
The Hindustan Times at http://tinyurl.com/39t3rkl has a story on the Great Khali allegedly no showing a wrestling event which sparked a riot among thousands of locals in the town of Gurgaon. Fans fought with security at a show where Khali was advertised as appearing. The promoters claimed a no show but Amit Swami, Khali’s spokesman said they notified the promoters 10 days ago that Khali wouldn't be at this event and had also returned a deposit. "Despite that the organisers went on to publicise Khali’s supposed appearance for reasons best known to them," said Swami. There was little crowd control but police eventually came and arrested the promoters for suspected fraud.
TOTAL NONSTOP ACTION WRESTLING
Jeff Hardy is back in court this coming week in North Carolina relating to the drugs bust at his home in September, 2009. He is facing charges of felony drug trafficking of opium, two counts of felony possession with intent to redistribute a Schedule III controlled substance, maintaining a dwelling for drug use and/or distribution, felony possession of cocaine, and misdemeanor possession of drug paraphernalia.
Nick Massie of Generation Me suffered a concussion over the weekend wrestling for PWG in California. He went to the hospital for a CAT scan but the feeling was he's going to be OK.
Jim Cornette spoke out during his weekly podcast over the public firing of Bubba the Love Sponge. He said: "(Bubba) disparages the wrestling fans, calls the product crap, when it is a crappy product, but he was one of the crappiest parts of it, and then knocks the people in the company he hasn’t really known long enough to form an opinion... How can (TNA management) not know that by hiring these type of people who disrespect the wrestling fans, look down their noses at the wrestling business, and say now that it’s beneath them--they bring this guy in and give him television time while other people languish in obscurity that could be the future generation of the wrestling business." You can listen to Cornette's always entertaining and often on the money podcast at http://whosslammingwho.podomatic.com/.
The latest video blog from Scott Hall features Hall and Sean Waltman hanging out at an indie show with former WWE wrestler Ricky Ortiz. Hall jokes that the indie show draws bigger houses than TNA, and then tells Ortiz's opponent that he's spent more money in rehab than he will ever make in his career. Not sure that's something to be proud of. The video is at http://tinyurl.com/3aash57.
Eric Bischoff wrote on his blog, "Before the internet gets a hold of it: Its true. I am getting married to a woman I have been having an affair with for some time. While everyone will be quick to judge, at some point one just does what one needs to do. Hope everyone understands." Since we got several emails about this, I assume this means he's renewing his wedding vows.
A correction from the last newsletter. The new Hogan grill is promoted as being worth $1,200 but actually costs a lot less than that.
Hogan will be a guest on the syndicated Wendy Williams show on Friday.
Impact will begin airing on Al Jazeera Sport in the Middle East from 5/23.
Mick Foley wrote an update to his recent blog post on Triple H making fun of Lilian Garcia behind the scenes. He didn't say much other than saying fans can draw their own conclusions but thinks his comments may have cost him work with WWE in the future.
The NBC news affiliate in Wilmington, NC has a story on the 1975 plane crash involving Ric Flair, Johnny Valentine, Bob Bruggers, and Tim Woods. Story is at http://tinyurl.com/34ll62n including quotes from R.C. Shackelford, assistant manager at the former New Hanover County Airports, who was one of the first people at the scene after the plane crash landed.
OTHER WRESTLING NEWS
Robert "Kinji" Shibuya passed away last week in East LA at the age of 88. Shibuya was a major star during the 1960s and early 70s. He played a traditional Japanese heel famously teaming with Masa Saito in Roy Shire's San Fransisco and Lebelle's Los Angeles territories where they were billed as cousins. Ironically, Shibuya was originally from Utah, and would often joke that the closest he ever came to Japan was changing planes en route to Australia. He also had a lot of success as a tag team with Mitsu Arakawa. After retirement, he bought a home in Hayward, CA, and was known for farming Koi fish at a local Buddhist Temple.
Dwayne Johnson has been attached to the latest installment of the Fast & The Furious franchise along with Vin Diesel and Paul Walker. The working title of the film is Fast Five and would likely star Johnson as the lead cop chasing down the characters played by Diesel and Walker. Pamela Anderson is also rumored for a role.
Zap2It has a profile on Rated-R, allegedly a pro wrestler on this season of ABC's Bachelorette. WWE won't like that name. Does anyone recognise this guy? http://tinyurl.com/3yc2oas
There was a wrestling convention that bombed this past weekend at the St. Charles, MO Convention Center with the likes of Bob Backlund, Jimmy Snuka, Roddy Piper, Tommy Rich, Road Warrior Animal, Ted DiBiase Sr., Dory Funk Jr. and many others. I don't know the exact turn out but was said to be just over 100 paid. Promoter Mike Palermo reportedly gave a speech saying he would be starting a new promotion in Texas that will eventually go national and compete with Vince McMahon. He also some how blamed Vince sabotaging his weekend.
Bruce Hart has a book in the works from ECW Press slated for early 2011.
Balls Mahoney did a surprise run-in during ROH's show in New York this past weekend at the Manhattan Center. Colt Cabana was injured at the show and needed six staples in the back of his head following a ladder shot. I also believe they announced Terry Funk as coming in for a date in September.
UFC fighter Tom Lawlor, a pro wrestling fan known for imitating other fighters (especially Dan Severn) during his weigh-ins and octagon entrances, came out looking like Apollo Creed to Living in America for his fight at UFC 113 in Montreal against Canadian Joe Doerksen. Bryan Alverez reported that Lawlor had originally asked UFC officials to use Jacques Rougeau's old Mountie WWF entrance music, but was refused because they felt Rougeau wasn't over anymore in Quebec. Lawlor ended up losing the fight via submission in the second round.
Promolast posted another Lex Luger video promo for the Promolast Atlanta Reunion Pro Wrestling Fanfest discussing his spinal cord injury and more at http://tinyurl.com/2vsgabe.
The catastrophic flooding in Nashville caused some local groups to cancel events. SAW's Reno Riggins canceled his 5/15 show at the Nashville Fairgrounds.
Today's Diva of the Day is April Hunter at http://www.thewrestlingpress.com/DailyDiva.
