Friday, January 15, 2010

(WGN) Jan 15: Wrestlers for Haiti, Cena injured, Dixie Carter meets with Spike chief, Divas talk future and more!!

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WRESTLING GLOBE NEWSLETTER
Friday January 15, 2010

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Wrestling Globe Newsletter by Mike Aldren - All the latest professional wrestling news, gossip and occasional opinion direct to you. WGN is read by industry power players, many top wrestlers and thousands of fans from all around the world.

WORLD WRESTLING ENTERTAINMENT NEWS

1/14 Superstars TV results: Primo Colon & Gail Kim over Chavo Guerrero & Jillian Hall; Chris Masters over Carlito; Jimmy Yang & Slam Master J over Mike Knox & Charlie Haas; and Christian over William Regal.

WWE are on the road this weekend with Raw tonight in Jackson, TN, Saturday in Birmingham, AL, and Sunday in Chattanooga. Smackdown runs Saturday in Augusta, and Sunday in Florence, SC. We're looking for reader reports from all these shows to you2us@wrestlingglobe.com.

Raw is live Monday from Knoxville while SD/ECW tapes Tuesday in Greenville.

Smackdown TV tonight has Chris Jericho vs. John Morrison; The Hart Dynasty vs. Matt Hardy & Great Khali vs. Cryme Tyme vs. CM Punk & Luke Gallows in a four-way for a tag title shot at DX; Kane vs. Dolph Ziggler in a re-match from last week; Mickie James vs. Beth Phoenix; and Batista vs. Rey Mysterio in a cage match with the winner facing The Undertaker at the Royal Rumble.

***

The Sun at www.the-sun.co.uk/wrestling has a story on Maria Kanellis and Kelly Kelly who are in the UK promoting the Royal Rumble. They were both guests last night on Sky Sports News. Maria noted that she wants to start a family one day but knows that's not possible while working for WWE so was working on projects for life after wrestling. She said: "I just got announced as one of the cast members for the US version of Celebrity Apprentice and I'm also [doing] an album coming out in April. So I'm starting to do other things and it's partially because one day I want to be a mom and I want to get married and you can't really do that when you're on the road. So I've got to find a job that will allow me to do that." Kelly put over John Cena and said she wants to work for WWE as long as she can. Smart girl.

In an awesome video, Kelly Kelly, who turns 23 today, auditions to be a UK news anchor at http://tinyurl.com/ydk4rmv.

John Cena reportedly has a back injury which likely explains why he's not wrestling Sheamus for the WWE title at the Royal Rumble. We have heard from a reliable source that Cena also has lingering neck issues stemming from his 2008 surgery to fuse a herniated disc.

Fans who purchased Hall of Fame tickets at LiveNation.com had them canceled after a miscommunication meant that some of WWE's reserved seating [you know, where the wrestlers sit] were sold to regular Joes in error. Many unhappy fans who thought they had great floor seats had to re-order them yesterday and are now seated in the nose-bleed section. We also had an email from a reader who was told that anyone with a bank card registered outside of North America cannot purchase tickets because their booking system won't allow it. Sounds like a shitty system to me. The reader said they had complained to WWE but have not yet recevied a response.

Fit Finlay was in Tampa yesterday training developmental Divas with FCW. Look for some fresh faces to be called up soon.

Linda McMahon is trailing potential Democratic Senatorial candidate Richard Blumenthal 64 percent to 23 percent of potential voters, according to a new poll by Quinnipiac University. The poll was based on 1,430 registered voters in Connecticut... Linda is ripped again by the Rob Simmons campaign at http://tinyurl.com/yzkulee.

The Myrtle Beach Sun News at http://tinyurl.com/y9prwv9 has a story on Big Show, R-Truth and the Bella Twins in town taping an episode of ABC's Extreme Makeover: Home Edition.

WWE is returning to the Pepsi Center in Denver, CO, for the first time since the "Denver Debacle" with a Raw house show on Friday, March 12th. If you dare, tickets go on sale January 30.

Media controversy in Finland following the death of Tony Halme [former WWE wrestler, Ludwig Borga] at http://tinyurl.com/yf8ttw4.

Tommy Dreamer wrote a blog for the WWE website at http://tinyurl.com/yljgo7u.

Shane McMahon turns 40 today which was the same age Vince was when he promoted the first Wrestlemania.


TNA WRESTLING NEWS

1/14 Impact TV results from Orlando, FL: Generation Me over The Machine Guns; Hamada & Awesome Kong over Velvet Sky & Madison Rayne to retain the Knockout tag titles; Team 3-D over Lethal Consequences; Beer Money vs. Hernandez & Matt Morgan was a no contest; Desmond Wolfe over Samoa Joe; and AJ Styles defeated Tomko to retain the TNA heavyweight title.

1/14 house show results from Johnstown, PA: Shark Boy over Homicide; Rhino over Jay Lethal; Hamada & Awesome Kong over Madison Rayne & Velvet Sky; Abyss over Dr. Stevie with Jeff Jarrett as special referee and Mick Foley as guest ring announcer; Beer Money over The British Invasion; and AJ Styles over Daniels.

TNA runs tonight in Reading, PA. We're looking for reader reports to you2us@wrestlingglobe.com.

Sunday is the Genesis pay-per-view from Orlando where they hit the re-set button. They just announced the complete line up: AJ Styles vs. Kurt Angle for the TNA heavyweight title; Beer Money vs. Scott Hall and Kevin Nash; Abyss vs. Bobby Lashley; The British Invasion vs. Matt Morgan & Hernandez for the tag titles; ODB vs. Tara in a best of three falls match for the Knockouts title; Amazing Red vs. TNA on Sunday night for the X-title; and Desmond Wolfe vs. Pope D'Angelo Dinero. The stip on the Styles-Angle match is if Kurt loses he can't have another title shot until 2011 unless Styles drops the title to someone else. Hulk Hogan also makes his TNA PPV debut with a big name surprise.

***

Awesome Kong and a bunch of TNA wrestlers are getting together to raise funds to help the victims of the Haiti earthquake. DJ Seth Gold is hosting a charity event tonight at the Midtown tavern in Harrisburg, PA, with wrestlers getting up to all kinds of shenanigans. The Beautiful People have promised to cat crawl along the bar if they raise over $1000. Plus, Mick Foley has agreed to match whatever funds are raised, up to $2,500. Those that can't attend can send a pledge via PayPal to Wrestlers4Haiti@gmail.com.

Dixie Carter noted on her Twitter that she was in Los Angeles for the TV Critics Conference. She said she had dinner last night with Hulk Hogan and Kevin Kay of Spike TV. "Very exciting talks," she Tweeted. "Stay tuned".

Bobby Lashley is currently without a Strikeforce opponent on January 30 after the Florida Athletic Commission ruled his potential match with Yohan Banks was not competitive. Jimmy Ambriz is being targeted by the promotion as a late replacement for Banks, and the matchup is pending commission approval. Ambriz is 13-12-1 and lost his last three fights.

Alex Marvez interviewed Eric Bischoff at http://tinyurl.com/ya3oh9m. Bischoff said he's more creative than Vince McMahon but admitted Vince was more successful: "I have a tremendous respect for Vince and, in a perverse way, like him... But at the end of the day, I think I'm better than him. I'm more creative than him and have a better feel for the business. It's just that he happens to be a lot more successful than I am."

Vince Russo posted a message to "dirt-sheet writers" like me last night on his Facebook page. It was basically a thank you note for bringing attention to his page, which promotes his upcoming book. Well, your very welcome Vince. However, nothing constructive can come of what you write. You are lashing out at the media for no reason. Most media actually enjoyed the show last week. It's just a negative environment in which creativity is stifled.

TNA's latest Spin Cycle at http://tinyurl.com/y9wbdz2 has Desmond Wolfe, The Pope, Chris Sabin, and Lacey Von Erich. Apparently they had to edit this show at different points due to Lacey's potty mouth.

Hermie's Hotseat with Traci Brooks at http://tinyurl.com/yadqxt7.

New dates have been added to Mick Foley's comedy tour with Colt Cabana and Brother Love. Upcoming gigs include Baltimore, Las Vegas, and Manchester, NH. More info at www.totalextremecomedy.com.


OTHER WRESTLING NEWS

UFC President Dana White told Dave Meltzer that MMA website reports claiming that UFC was holding a press conference next week in Las Vegas to discuss Brock Lesnar’s health status are untrue and that no such conference is scheduled. Meanwhile, Lesnar's trainer, Greg Nelson, told ESPN show MMA Live that Lesnar is definitely returning to UFC.

Sad to report that Bob Shamrock, adopted father of Ken and Frank, passed away on Thursday due to complications from Diabetes. He was 68 and had reportedly been in poor health for some time.

TMZ caught up with Diamond Dallas Page discussing Jewish wrestlers and steroids. Video is online at http://tinyurl.com/ydfbz8k.

Former WWE wrestler Mark Copani aka Muhammad Hassan makes his first wrestling-related appearance since leaving the company several years ago this April at the KandSWrestlefest in Carteret, NJ. Other names advertised: Mae Young, Steve Lombardi, Harvey Wippleman, Tony Mamaluke, Shark Boy, Dutch Mantel, and Hamada. More info at www.kandswrestlefest.com.

Dwayne Johnson talks Shazam and playing super heroes at http://tinyurl.com/yf83udg.

There is a wrestling bio marathon on The Biography Channel on Sunday with features on Steve Austin, Hulk Hogan, Andre the Giant, plus The Unreal Story of Pro Wrestling that was released on VHS [remember those things?] in 1988.

Torrie Wilson is running in the Houston Marathon this weekend.

Today's Diva of the Day is Mschif at http://www.thewrestlingpress.com/DailyDiva.

WWE in Jackson, TN

----As reported by "Hollywood" Jimmy at www.wrestlingnewscenter. I think it is funny that this show has had absolutely no "buzz" about it being in the area.

WWE presents Raw Live

Date: January 15, 2010
Time: 7:30 p.m.
Venue: Oman Arena
City/State: Jackson, Tenn.


On-Sale Date: On Sale Now


Ticket Information: Get your tickets at the box office and www.cityofjackson.net/venues , Starting at $15

Charge by Phone: 866-262-8867

Prices: $60, $40, $25 and $15


WWE Is The Best Value In Entertainment

Come See Your Favorite Raw Superstars Including:

Triple H
Randy Orton
The Big Show
Mark Henry
Ted DiBiase/Cody Rhodes
The Miz
MVP
Kofi Kingston
Jack Swagger
Evan Bourne
Sheamus

Bella Twins
Maryse

And Many More!!!

*Lineup subject to change

Thursday, January 14, 2010

RRO Award Winner Alan Steele To Debut for Mid-South Wrestling This Weekend!!


----Alan Steele, who took honors in Most Underrated and Booker of the Year 2009, is scheduled to debut Saturday night in Ft. Smith, AR for Mid-South Wrestling. Steele will join other RRO Award winners Brian Thompson and "The Golden Boy" Greg Anthony for the big show Saturday night. Anthony is scheduled against Steve Anthony, who is a trainer for Harley Race and has wrestled in Japan. This could be our first candidate of Match of The Year 2010. Someone send me a DVD of that show!!!

Throwdown in Downtown II

Date: January 16, 2010
Time: 7:30 P.M.
Venue: Events Center
City/State: Ft. Smith, AR

On-Sale Date: Now

Ticket Information: On sale at the Fort Smith Radio Group

For More Info Call: 479-461-0126

Prices: Front Row VIP Table Seating - $30
Ringside Seats - $25 and $15
General Admission - $10

Mid-South Wrestling returns to Ft. Smith!

If it's not Mid-South, it's not pro wrestling!

Double Main Event!

-Main Event #1-
International Title Match
Champion Tim Storm vs. Al Snow with Head

-Main Event #2-
Mid-South Tag Team Title Match
Champions Reckage & Romance (VH1 Star Matt Riviera & Jeff Jett) vs. "Nature Boy"
Buddy Landel & "All That" Allan Steele (with Rich Rude)

-Ladies' Match-
Special guest referee DJ Dennis McCasslin
Malia Hosaka vs. Athena

-Special Challenge Match-
Prince Al Farat vs. "Major" Scott Murdoch

-Feature Bout-
Shawn Shultz (with Tony Lacassio) vs. Dexter Hardaway (with Talon)

Plus...

"Golden Boy" Greg Anthony (with Brian Thompson) vs. Steve Anthony

Apoc vs. Wes Robinson

*Card Subject to Change

(WGN) Jan 14: WWE wrestler freaks out on flight, TNA Impact tonight, Divas in UK, FCW notes, Chris Benoit documentary in works and more!

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WRESTLING GLOBE NEWSLETTER
Thursday January 14, 2010

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Wrestling Globe Newsletter by Mike Aldren - All the latest professional wrestling news, gossip and occasional opinion direct to you. WGN is read by industry power players, many top wrestlers and thousands of fans from all around the world.


WORLD WRESTLING ENTERTAINMENT NEWS

1/12 ECW TV results from Green Bay, WI: Zack Ryder over The Hurricane; Trent Barreta over Goldust; and Ezekiel Jackson won the battle royal for a titleshot at Christian's ECW title at the Royal Rumble.

Superstars tonight on WGN has Chris Masters vs. Carlito; Christian vs. William Regal; and Jimmy Wang Yang & Slam Master J vs. Mike Knox & Charlie Haas.

***

In a bizaree incident WWE wrestler Tyler Reks apparently freaked out as a flight was minutes away from taking off at the airport in Green Bay, WI, on Wednesday morning. Reks, who was traveling home to Tampa from the Smackdown/ECW television tapings, who we understand holds a private pilot license, complained to flight crew that he observed a strange movement on the flaps of the wing. He caused panic among other passengers by saying that the movement on the flap wasn't supposed to happen and that the plane was unsafe. He then demanded to be deboarded. A well-placed source even commented that Reks blurted out, paraphrased, "If anyone else on the plane doesn't want to die, they should get off the plane too." The pilot decided that they didn't want to take any chances with him disrupting the flight or distressing other passengers so they returned to the terminal and escorted him off the plane. The flight was then delayed which irked a lot of WWE people. Reks, real name Gabe Tuft, was recently called up to ECW from developmental with a surfer gimmick. He hasn't been used on television since November.

Austrian-born Chris "The Bambikiller" Raaber quit WWE developmental because he was unhappy with how things were ran. He told friends from his perspective guys were getting unnecessary injured during training, among other incidents he witnessed in Tampa.

Rod Vista, a referee from developmental, was recently called up to the main roster.

No update on the complaint filed against Randy Orton in Saugus, MA, for allegedly assaulting a fan in the parking lot of Kowloon's on Friday night. A 15-year-old teen filed the complaint on Tuesday saying that Orton spat gun in his face and used a profane word. The WWE legal department are already on the case so I wouldn't expect this to go anywhere. Kowloon's, a popular Chinese restaurant outside of Boston, is a regular after show hangout of WWE wrestlers when they are in town. The owners are huge fans and the meal tab is taken care of more times than not.

Not a great week for Orton. In a post that has since been deleted somebody of the creative team tweeted: "It's amazing how two missed spots can turn into Ring Rage... missed punt... blocked T.I.P [trouble in paradise].... RKO... guys, lets get it right next time."

Freddie Prinze Jr. was a guest last night on Jimmy Fallon. For a brief period he was actually on the WWE payroll. He joked that he has more friends in wrestling than in Hollywood noting The Undertaker sent him a nice text when the news broke about his wife's pregnancy. He put over the locker room and said Orton was his favorite wrestler.

Rob Feinstein of RFVideo.com has a major documentary in the works on Chris Benoit. The working title is "Chris Benoit: Aftermath" focusing on what his peers think about him in the present day after events unfolded in 2007. Feinstein said: "The film deals with the aftermath of what happened when Chris Benoit committed those horrible acts and how his peers perceived him after those untimely events. Chris went from being considered one of the worlds greatest wrestlers to one of the most despised human beings. You will hear first hand from people that traveled with him, worked with him and people who talked to him only days before the acts took place. This is going to be one of our most emotional DVD's of all time."

Jim Ross at www.jrsbarbq.com added his two cents on DQ's in cage matches. Likely in reference to Vince Russo's absurd recent comments, he wrote: "Been reading on line some interviews with those in the biz who feel that Cage Matches need not a winner via the stipulations set forth in the presentation. I could not disagree more. Cage Matches were created to bring about closure, literally and figuratively, and to have a disqualification in a cage match is wrong... in my opinion. Granted, my opinion may not be 100% accurate either but it's my opinion nonetheless. I'm not even a big fan of 'escaping the cage' to determine a winner in a cage match but I can live with that easier than I can seeing someone get disqualified inside a cage in a pro wrestling match. Ugh." Ross added: "The TV wrestling biz is actually much more simple to produce than some folks want to acknowledge. As long as wrestling fans have access to a remote and the trend persists that most TV viewers don't or won't watch commercials any TV show that has too much content becomes challenging to watch. Most of us can only process so much info when watching a TV show. TV programs that are overproduced encourage an emotional detachment and channel surfing... it's as simple as that."

Raw on Monday night with Mike Tyson did a 3.7 rating and 5.45 million viewers. UFC Fight Night did a 1.2 and 1.7 million viewers. ECW on Tuesday did a 1.0 rating.

Mike Tyson at http://tinyurl.com/yf7ve4e talks about being a huge WWWF fan, says Bruno Sammartino was his favorite wrestler as a child, and gets emotional when talking about his son in the ring with him during Raw. I watched the excellent Tyson documentary for the first time last night and now have a completely different perspective on the former baddest man on the planet. How scary was it watching him pound pads with Jericho on Monday?

Big Show, R-Truth and the Bella Twins missed television this week as they taped an upcoming episode of ABC's Extreme Makeover: Home Edition. They were sent to South Carolina to meet a family of wrestling fans who had their home demolished and re-built for the show.

Kelly Kelly and Maria Kanellis are in the UK this week promoting the Royal Rumble. Both are guests on Sky Sports News today at 6pm GMT and also a show called Soccer AM on Saturday morning.

Kanellis releases her debut album Sevin Sins on April 13. It's dedicated to her partner Vin. We understand she shot a music video last year in Hawaii for one of the tracks.

Goldust is a guest Friday morning on Bubba the Love Sponge promoting his FCW appearance that night in Ft. Myers at the Harborside Event Center.

NBC executive Jeffrey Zucker had an interesting line the other day when responding to Conan O'Brien over the Tonight Show debacle. He said: "All I've been hearing for the last three days is, 'You screwed Conan!' I didn't screw Conan. Jay Leno didn't screw Conan. NBC didn't screw Conan... CONAN SCREWED CONAN. However, I do wish him well in his future endeavors."

There was a Hall of Fame ticket presale yesterday at LiveNation.com. There were a lot of unhappy overseas fans who were unable to purchase tickets through that website for some reason or another.

WWE and THQ issued a press release yesterday announcing the launch of a Smackdown vs. Raw 2010 game for the iPhone.

There is a fake Ted DiBiase Jr-People magazine intieview transcript making the rounds. Some websites posted it. It quotes DiBiase saying he wants to be out of the business in two years and claimed his dad foced him into becoming a wrestler. A total fabrication.

WWE's return to the American Airlines Center in Dallas has been moved to Tuesday, June 1, and changed to a Smackdown/ECW taping. The event was originally going to be a house show on February 27.

Chris Jericho will be appearing tomorrow at 2pm at the NAMM convention in Anaheim, CA.


TNA WRESTLING NEWS

TNA runs house shows tonight in Johnstown, PA, and Friday in Reading with AJ Styles vs. Daniels; The British Invasion vs. Beer Money; Dr. Stevie vs. Abyss; Awesome Kong & Hamada vs. The Beautiful People; plus Mick Foley, Jeff Jarrett, Rhino, Jay Lethal, Homicide, and Shark Boy. We're looking for reports to you2us@wrestlingglobe.com.

Impact tonight includes more nWo fun, Jeff Jarrett reacting to Hulk Hogan's comments, Ric Flair cutting a promo, Desmond Wolfe vs. Samoa Joe, Team 3D vs. Lethal Consequences, and Beer Money vs. Matt Morgan & Hernandez. It's an important night for the company as they need to draw a higher than average rating coming off last Monday's live show, and it's also the go-home show for Sunday's Genesis PPV.

Following Impact, TNA Epics premieres on Spike with a special on Kurt Angle, and so does TNA Live at www.tnawrestling.com with shows at 8.30pm and 11pm ET. The Genesis countdown show is also on the TNA website which is being revamped with a new look this weekend.

***

IGN.com interviewed Abyss about the evolution of his character and Hulk Hogan at http://tinyurl.com/y9v7rxb. He also talks about paying his dues at http://tinyurl.com/yj2dh4u.

Bobby Lashley talks fighting Fedor at http://tinyurl.com/y865ce8.

The Miami Herald interviewed Sarita at http://tinyurl.com/yelcupf.

Matt Morgan is listed in an article on celebs with ADHD at http://tinyurl.com/yajsnk5.


OTHER WRESTLING NEWS

UFC President Dana White announced that he will hold a press conference next week to discuss Brock Lesnar’s health status. He also confirmed that Lesnar would be attending the conference.

Mexican wrestler Electroshock was involved in an automobile accident on the Mexico-Puebla freeway on the way to a show in San Pedro Cholula on Saturday. He made the show but wasn’t in condition to wrestle. He told the crowd the accident was his fault as he was speeding to make the show because he forgot what time it started and left his home too late. He punctured his tire and lost control of his vehicle and crashed into a small trailer. After meeting with the police at the scene, he told them that he needed to be at a wrestling show and they gave him a ride. Electro said that he would return in April and work a show for free to make a mends.

Jim Cornette is traveling to Charlotte this weekend to scout potential buildings as Ring of Honor looks to expand to the Southeast.

The Insane Clown Posse are planning to open a wrestling school. They have purchased an industrial sized building in Novi, MI, where they will train aspiring wrestlers and run live events. For more info you can call (313) 483-0949 and leave your name and number.

Brooke Hogan was romantically linked with Chris Brown this past week after they were spotted hanging out together in Los Angeles. "They looked like they were more than friends," said the source of one gossip columnist. Brooke on Bubba the Love Sponge claimed they have never even met.

Dwayne Johnson was re-scheduled on Jay Leno for tonight. Next week his media tour includes appearances on David Letterman, Jimmy Kimmel, and Regis & Kelly.

Ultimate Death Match 3, an independent movie starring several pro wrestlers, will be shot in Portland on January 25. The cast list includes: Al Snow, April Hunter, Kevin Nash, Ricky Morton, Dr. Stevie, Shane Douglas, Sean Morley, Raven, Abyss, Tommy Dreamer, and Ted Dibiase. The director has signed with a production company to make several more sequels over the next two years.

Hamada, Cheerleader Melissa, Portia Perez, Mercedes Martinez, Ariel and LuFisto will be part of NCW's Femmes Fatales 2 event at the St. Barthelemy Sports Center in Montreal, Quebec, on Saturday, February 6. Bell time is 7:30pm. Full line up and more info at www.ncwfemmesfatales.com.

Lanny Poffo has re-launched his official website at www.lannypoffo.com.

Chavo Guerrero Sr. was interviewed at www.InYourHeadOnline.com talking about his territory days. He said he's happy for son Chavo in WWE because he's getting exposure and getting paid for what he loves to do.

Promolast Events, LLC, the company that produced Lex Luger’s recent series of video blogs following his spinal stroke recovery,
announced a fanfest at the Renaissance Concourse hotel on June 4 and 5 in Atlanta, GA. Dallas Page and former wife Kimberly will be at the event giving a Yoga demonstration. More info at http://promolastevents.com.

Tylene Buck, the former WCW valet Major Gunns, rips on Kimberly Page at http://tinyurl.com/ylxbfcq.

A correction from the last newsletter. It was actually Tom Lawlor not Aaron Simpson who came out to Hulk Hogan's entrance music during Monday's UFC Fight Night.

Jim Duggan turns 55 today.

Today's Diva of the Day is Lauren at http://www.thewrestlingpress.com/DailyDiva.


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Shows for the Weekend 1.15 to 1.16.10

----CLICK HERE to get the regular scheduled shows. Nothing special this weekend, but please get out there and support your local wrestling!! If you would like to have RRO to be a guest at your show for RRO Book Tour 2009, then please contact me ASAP. I am working on dates already. If anyone would like the Book Tour to be joined with either Dustin Starr or "Midnight Gold" as part of the package, then contact me!! I will send you in the right direction!! If you own or have a friend that has a comic bookstore, a general bookstore, baseball card shop, supermarket or whatever. I am interesting in book a full 8 weeks [at least 16 stops] of shows from the day it is released. There is also talk of a banquet again this year, if that interests you then contact me!!

----RRO will be in full force coming up in late January and early February. There is no way the book will be done for the first show [too bad because a lot of the award winners are on the show], and only a slight chance for the second show, but we will be there to attend the shows below.

-RCW Debut in Trumann, AR 1.29.10
-NBW presents "Vendetta" Newbern,TN 2.06.10

Wednesday, January 13, 2010

RassleResults: DoggCW Jonesboro, AR 1.09.10

Show starts off with the National Anthem..Casey Rinaldi, JD Kerry, and Jeff Perryman welcome everyone to the DCW Arena and then the PokerFace Showcase music hits...Poker comes out with Iron Mike Ward and Poker tells everyone that tonite Ward will be facing Angelina and Lovely Latricia...

Match 1: Mike Ward vs Angelina & Lovely Latricia
-I tell you that Mike Ward should def think about another career instead of a wrestler..j/k! He actually did a pretty good job keeping up with the talented Angelina and up and comer Latricia..but in the end experience will win everytime! Angelina low blows Mike Ward and they roll him up for the 1-2-3...winner Angelina and Lovely Latricia!! After the match Poker starts to attack both Angelina and Latricia, Poker then knocks out Angelina then puts Latricia in one of the SICKEST DDT's i have ever seen at any wrestling event ever...then Soul Train Jones comes out to the arena to help out!!

Match 2: Soul Train vs PokerFace (DCW Heaveyweight Championship match)
-these two are amazing in the ring together..with Poker's in-ring technical and agility moves mixed with Soul Train's power and quickness for a big guy equals a pretty good match for the fans..these two traded moves for about 15-20 mins with match ending in a DQ with interference from the Gorillaz...winner Soul Train via DQ

Dynasty's music hits, Blalok and Anthony (in my opinion one of the best young tag teams in the region) come out to talk about people being in their business and that tonite would be the beginning of the end of all that...they go back to the locker room and Jon Allen's music hits...Allen comes out but is attacked by Anthony, Anthony really puts the boots to Allen and causes Allen to be carried to the back by DCW Security!!

Match 3: Kolby Stern vs Logan Adams
-match was pretty good from start to finish! Stern definitely stepped his game up this week and he had to, to be in the ring with DCW Veteran Logan Adams...Adams was def the dominating most of the match and really showed why is on one the top tag teams in DCW, but one mistake in the ring costs him! Stern reversed a move and rolled up Adams for the 1-2-3...winner Kolby Stern!!

Intermission

Then Tejano Kid and Dangerous Dominique come out (to MASSIVE HEAT) and once again the fan that gives Tejano a hard time every week is sitting front and center, and DCW Security has to hold him back when Tejano tells him he will beat him down if he does not shut his mouth and show him some respect...Then Ricky Ruby comes out to ask Tejano why he keeps getting into it with the fans who pay their hard earned money to see us wrestle week end and week out...Tejano tells him to shut his mouth and while Dominique distracts him, Tejano attacks Ruby!! Tejano begins to beat Ruby down and then knocks him out...then Tejano tells Rodney Mack that he is going to come after him, and then Rodney Mack comes out and says he doesn't have to look far to find him..and if he wants to do this, why not do it now, but Tejano says he will do this on his time and his time only!! Rodney then helps Ruby to the back after Tejano leaves the ring...

Match 4: Boss vs Ron McClarity
-once again, in my opinion match of the night! These two really work well in the ring and I've been at Monday Night Raw when Ric Flair has chopped someone and at Smackdown when Chris Benoit chopped someone, but that does not compare to when Big Boss chomps someone..it def sounds like a gun going off in the DCW Arena..Ron once again was amazing in the ring and should have def been nominated in this area for some kind of award..no one can work the crowd like this man, he is def OLD SCHOOL! Match goes back and forth with Boss once again coming up victorious....winner Boss!! After the match Ron attacks Boss and leaves him laying in the ring..it is def getting dangerous in DCW to win a match these days with everyone getting attacked!!

Main Event: Gorillaz vs Natural Born Playaz
-match was good from beginning to end..these two big Gorillaz are def getting better in the ring every week and can really move in the ring for guys who weigh 440+ lbs each...Southside and Pimp were great in the ring as usual and really utilized speed and tag team moves to chop down the Gorillaz but in the end Mike Ward hits Mr Pimptacular with a road sign...winner via DQ the Natural Born Playaz!!

After the match the Gorillaz start to attack the Playaz and really start beating on them pretty good until Rodney Mack comes out, but he accidentally spears Southside into the wall behind the DCW Ring from the apron and Southside was not moving for at least 7-10 mins...DCW Security carried him back the back and he def was in pain while Rodney Mack sat in the ring in dis-belief in how bad the night was going and then he left....

Show was pretty good...had about 140 people there and crowd was def into the show from the beginning!! Play by Play announcer Jeff Perryman was acting a lot different that he usually does..Rinaldi and Kerry both were asking him why he was actually calling matches down the middle and not being bias...Perryman just looked at them and smiled, and then he said to be patient..things would be revealed in due time!

Credit: Jeff Perryman

IWA RETURNS TO TV!!!

----I am being told that IWA will start airing again this weekend on Channel 50 on Memphis TV this Saturday. They have a new start time of 12:00 Noon. I will have a report and such posted sometime next week, if it does air.

Wayne's World "Smart Marks" by "3G" Eric Wayne

When it comes to wrestling, there's usually a few ways to present everything. Over the years, everything has gotten repetitive and predictable. When a cake is brought out, someone's face ends up in it. When a heel tries to shake a babyface's hand, he's gonna boot him/clothesline/whatever. Its all the same and eventually the fans pick up on that. Well, some of the fans do....the ones that do usually figure out A LOT more. They think they know everything about wrestling and yet they still pay to attend shows. We call them smart marks. Ring of Honor is known for having a smart audience, yet they still draw decent numbers every single show. How is this possible if the fans know what's going on? Because ROH promotes athleticism instead of repeating the last 30 years of wrestling, a lesson the promotions and wrestlers around here could benefit from.

I recently met a small group of smart marks after a show in Tuckerman and it gave me the idea for this column. I ran in to them at the store and one of them told me they had to give me a hard time but that they appreciate someone with a good "workrate" whether they're heel or babyface. I had to laugh when they said workrate because I knew they were trying desperately to not sound like marks, but that statement proved they were indeed, marks. I understood what they meant and told them thank you.

Its moments like this that show me there are still people out there that will come to watch local wrestling looking for an alternative to WWE or TNA, unfortunately they usually find a very bad product and don't come back. It sounded like the night in question they got lucky and said they'd try to come back. I forgot to mention this group came from Poplar Bluff, MO also. So it just goes to show you, be different and look what happens....people start to come out in support.

I used to really get annoyed by smart marks til I realized that entertaining and pleasing them, means a lot more than entertaining and pleasing just a normal crowd. Sure, its easy to go back to 1983 and be predictable because in some towns that still works. But when you can stop a smart mark from heckling you from the front row and make them watch the match, you've accomplished quite a goal. That's when they realize you're not like everyone else on the card and they watch to see what's going to happen next instead of trying to predict it. That makes my job harder and makes the rest of the crew work harder as well, or it should. So to the smart marks everywhere, come back and be impressed! And thank you for helping make me a better wrestler.

RRO CONTEST!! WIN A FREE COPY OF YEARBOOK 2009!!!

----I got this photo [Eric Wayne/Idol Bane] sent in by Lily Winningham and instead of just making it a regular "Picture of the Week" I thought I would come up with a contest. I was looking at the photo and thinking "What were they saying?" so......Come up with a caption for the photo!! If we use your caption, then you will win a FREE Yearbook 2009 when it is published early next month. Send all caption ideas to admin@rasslinriotonline.com, not my personal e-mail!!

Tuesday, January 12, 2010

RassleResults: MCW Osceola, AR 1.08.10

The New Year has come in like a lion at MCW. Matches have been many and furious. Jump starting the night was a match between Miss Innocent(which we all know is far from the truth) and Ms. Nae Nae with their manager Rashard against Homer Lee and Ms. Candi. Miss Innocent and Ms. Nae Nae took the win, cheating of course.

2nd Match was Pokerface and Snuffy the Hillbilly with manager Rashard Devon vs Wild Bill and Jeremy Spiker. Winner of the match Pokerface and Snuffy.

3rd Match was our "All American" Frankie Tucker vs Bishop for the Heavy Weight Belt and as always Frankie Tucker took Bishop down the road of hard knocks. Frankie is always so precise and vicious in the ring. Bishop has his strengths but his strengths are overpowered by the All American.

Semi Main match made by Big Daddy. Tag team champions The "Natural Born Playas" [Southside/Mr. Pimptacular] vs Vman and Officer Hudson. Stipulations the winner gets double pay and the losers get nothing. If the wrestlers don't give 100% Rashard gets canned. Tag team belts were on the line. Rashard interfered and neither team got the win or the money.

Main event street fight Hambones vs Big Daddy and Showoff. Homer Lee and Jeremy Spiker came in as well as Bishop,Rashard and Poker. Big Daddy and Showoff took the win.

Credit: Kim Wallace and MCW

(WGN) Jan 12: Brian Kendrick publicly calls WWE's John Laurinaitis "cowardly", former Diva backstage at Raw and more!!

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WRESTLING GLOBE NEWSLETTER
Tuesday January 12, 2010

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Wrestling Globe Newsletter by Mike Aldren - All the latest professional wrestling news, gossip and occasional opinion direct to you. WGN is read by industry power players, many top wrestlers and thousands of fans from all around the world.


WORLD WRESTLING ENTERTAINMENT NEWS

1/11 SD/ECW house show results from La Crosse, MN: Kane over Dolph Ziggler; Vladimir Kozlov, Goldust & Yoshi Tatsu over William Regal, Tyler Reks & Zack Ryder; Mickie James over Beth Phoenix; Eric Escobar over Mike Knox; The Hart Dynasty over Jimmy Wang Yang & Slam Master J; Christian over Ezekiel Jackson; Drew McIntyre over John Morrison & Matt Hardy in a three-way; and Rey Mysterio over Batista. Show drew 3,500.

The 1/9 Raw show in Lincoln, NE, drew 4,600.

1/11 Raw TV results from Minneapolis, MN: Alicia Fox over Kelly Kelly; Legacy over Mark Henry & Evan Bourne; Santino Marella over Jack Swagger; Randy Orton over Kofi Kingston & John Cena in a three-way; Eve over Katie Lea in the Divas title tournament; and DX over Chris Jericho & Mike Tyson, who turn on Jericho and knocked him out. Show drew 8,500 paid and just over 9,000 in attendance.

Thanks to everyone that sent in house show reports over the weekend.

The Smackdown/ECW tapings are tonight from Green Bay. ECW features a battle royal for a shot at Christian's ECW title at the Royal Rumble. Smackdown has Rey Mysterio vs. Batista in a cage match for a shot at Undertaker's World title at the Royal Rumble. We're looking for reports to you2us@wrestlingglobe.com.

***

Brian Kendrick talks his WWE run at http://tinyurl.com/ych2fym. He said working for Vince brought out the worse in him: "TV sucked because you saw a circus, backstabbers, power hungry people, suck ups, weak people... Also lots of really great, nice, funny people. But I felt like a tool sitting in the bleachers waiting in case they need my skills for something. The boss, I heard, not from his mouth, hates cigarettes, so I would smoke a half a pack a day at work. It was also an excuse to get the f--- out of the building for 10 minutes at a stretch." He talked about his release saying John Laurinaitis called him at home and blamed the economy but Kendrick felt it was due to his marijuana usage: "[Johnny] then tells me I wasn't really getting the job done like they expected, at which point I said, "Bulls--- Johnny, I made a 60-year-old man look like he still belongs in the ring; don't give me that.' Johnny had always been very supportive of my work to my face, always. I know that was garbage. He then says, 'Look do you want help getting to Japan or what?' I was insulted. I don't want his help. I told him I don't need his help. I asked for the real reason, 'Is it the pot fines?' I had a script for it, I had heated discussions with Dr. Black [who operates the WWE Wellness Program], I had to refuse a test to get him to call me at one point. He wouldn't admit to that. I wanted honesty, maybe I got it, but I think more likely I am dealing with a coward. He did fire me over the phone after all."

Nora "Molly Holly" Greenwald was visiting friends backstage at Raw as she resides a few miles away from Target Center. Since leaving the company in 2005 she has dedicated her time to various charities and missions. Most recently she helped to raise funds for the Special Olympics.

A smart crowd last night in Minneapolis. Chants of "You Screwed Shawn" at Tyson, "What!" chants during segments, and more fans behind Orton than Cena. The Miz received a lot of praise for his promo talking about how Chris Benoit [not mentioning him by name] once banned him from the locker room for spilling food debris on a referee's bag, JBL constantly hazing him, and basically how he would rub people the wrong way during his first few years with the company.

Layfield responded to Miz via his Facebook page. He wrote: "I hear Miz cut a promo on me last night on Raw. Heard he called me a dinosaur- he is correct, I am down here in the tar pits in Cabo right now using my wireless as I look over sea of Cortez-Dino, heaven where an old wrestler should be and he is right where a young wrestler with a great future should be -- cutting a promo on me in front of large crowd. Go get 'em kid, because I am, no joking whatsoever, pulling for you!"

Mike Tyson came out last night to a PG remix of Viscera's old entrance music.

The finish in the Orton-Cena-Kingston three-way was botched. Most people wouldn't have known but Orton drew attention to it by throwing a fit and saying, "he f--ked it up," into the camera.

Katie Lea returned to Raw which adds depth with Melina out injured until July. I believe this was her first match on television since September. Hopefully they will utilize her in-ring moving forward because she's a solid worker, cuts a decent promo, kind on the eye, and makes everyone look great that she works with.

Rosa Mendes and ring announcer Savannah are the only women left on ECW right now so expect some reshuffling or new faces soon.

Looking at the brackets for the Divas title tournament is appears they are building towards Maryse vs. Gail Kim at the Royal Rumble. They had a decent match last April when Smackdown taped in the UK. They need to get some heat on Kim because they haven't really done anything with her since she started back here last year.

As noted yesterday, an airline lost Kelly Kelly's luggage which explains her ring attire and tennis shoes on Raw.

Steve Austin was announced as Raw guest host for March 15 in San Diego. This will be an interesting show, for many reasons.

Bret Hart is scheduled for Raw next Monday in Knoxville with Jon Heder and Don Johnson as guest hosts. You would think they would promote this but the storyline right now is Vince claiming Bret is gone for good.

Matt Hardy noted on his Twitter than he and Jimmy Yang were hanging out with Ken Anderson, the former Mr. Kennedy, during the house show swing through the Midwest this past weekend. Hardy said he missed Anderson's presence on the road.

Jack Swagger recently relocated from Florida to Texas.

Super Luchas magazine reported that Mexican luchador Super Nova [son of El Texano] was signed to a developmental deal. Told he is a good kid with a lot of potential. He had a brief stint in CMLL last year but there was heat over an overseas booking he took with Nu-Wrestling Evolution and they stopped using him.

Ohio Valley Wrestling in Lousivlle, KY, will host a two-day WWE tryout next month with John Laurinaitis, The Miz and Gail Kim. Laurinaitis canceled his planned trip to OVW last week to attend the funeral of Steve Williams. He is attending the second day of tryouts on February 23. Cost is just $100 with 100 places available but you must be licensed by the Kentucky Athletic Commission. For more information you can visit www.ovwrestling.com or call (502) 473-0660.

UFC legend Randy Couture talks Tony Halme at http://tinyurl.com/yeego2v.


TNA WRESTLING NEWS

This morning on Bubba the Love Sponge, Brooke Hogan said she would be back at the Impact Zone next Monday for another live Impact broadcast. Bubba then played it like she gave away a major announcement. A source at Spike did confirm another live Impact but said it wouldn't be next Monday.

Speaking of Bubba, Jim Cornette responded to him and Hulk Hogan in his latest podcast at www.WhosSlammingWho.podomatic.com. Responding to Hogan's claim he was going to offer Cornette a job but doesn't like negative people in TNA, he said: "[Hogan's] going to be dealing with plenty of negativity soon; from all the young guys with knots in their head from hitting the glass ceiling... I appreciate Hulk's comments, and putting me over, and etc. But I was there for three years watching Vince Russo systematically destruct and destroy the foundations of the company, and I don't need to see the big equipment come in to finish the job off. I've got the gig I want [with Ring of Honor] but I do appreciate the offer, thank you very much." Cornette added: "If Hulk really is broken up about not being able to work with Jim Cornette because I'm negative then I would suggest that he looks across the table at that buggy whip armed Vince Russo clearly with a deer caught in the headlight look wondering what to do next because he's worried about his job, and say, 'Why did you run Cornette off with your goofy booking you dumb s--t? And slap him around a little bit." Cornette's podcast last week did close to 100,000 downloads.

Eric Bischoff was a guest on the Monday Night Mayhem radio show. He said he started talking to Dixie Carter last June but negotiations weren't finalized until September, a few months before his debut, and that he has been working in a creative capacity since October. He put over the locker room and said he was thrilled to be working with the company. He said: "From [his and Hulk Hogan's] perspective we had to make sure that the business side made sense for us. Our hearts were in it, but we had to make sure the business was right. And on the TNA side, they had to be sure it was right for them. This was a big, big, big challenge from a business standpoint, but it became apparent early on that everyone was committed, that everyone was serious. It took a while but once we finished it up, the first question was, 'Great, where do we have our press conference?' And it was actually Hulk's idea, he said what better place to make the announcement then in Vince's backyard, let's do it in Madison Square Garden. The Garden thought they were doing the start of Hulk's book tour, and we surprised everybody when we used that press conference for the book and to announce the TNA deal." When asked about TNA people worried about their job or spot with Hogan coming in, he said: "The cream will rise to the top, and that does breed paranoia and insecurity but it is what it is. It's the entertainment business, and everyone is concerned about their spot, no matter what it is. At the end of the day those who can will do, and those who can't won't, and a lot of that is up to the talent." And on Spike moving Impact to Monday night: "Let's hope so. There's no hyperbole here, and I'm not selling. I don't know, but I really hope that's the case, because I believe that we can produce a better show. I believe the energy of a live show every Monday night head-to-head will create a much bigger audience. Not only do I believe it, we proved it, and we know it. History has proven it's correct. The WWE would be better off for it, TNA would be better off for it, Spike would be better off for it, USA Network would be better off for it, the talent would benefit from it. So it really is my biggest hope that in 2010, we will have a weekly head-to-head battle." Full audio is online at www.mondaynightmayhem.com.

Alex Shelley of the Machine Guns is in really bad shape. A scan revealed he has several bulging discs and a herniated neck.

In an effort to drive website traffic, TNA Live debuts on Thursday at www.tnawrestling.com with streaming web shows pre- and post-Impact with Jeremy Borash, Don West, and SoCal Val. They have just finished constructing a new set for the show at the TNA office in Nashville.

More from Vince Russo via his Facebook. He defended the DQ finish in the cage match that opened Impact last week by saying it could happen in an MMA match. He wrote: "Show me the wrestling rule book where it says you can't have a DQ in a cage match. As far as Monday nights match went there was a reason behind the scenes why the match had to end in a DQ. These are some of the things wrestling critics never take into consideration." Not sure what he is talking about here. If he's claiming they called an audible and changed the finish to a DQ while the match was in progress, then why was Homicide packing a retractable baton?

Bobby Lashley was interviewed about MMA and TNA at http://tinyurl.com/yfcuvyc. On working for TNA and Strikeforce, he said: "If it becomes a problem for either side, we'll have to sit down and talk about it. But for now [Scott Coker, Strikeforce CEO] knows that I am completely dedicated to fighting. So he's checking my schedule. I keep him up to date on what I have scheduled with TNA. And right now, he's cool with it." He said he was going to assess his schedule again in April: "If it's not causing any problems, I'm going to keep doing it." He also said he won't be working for TNA more than four or five dates per month and is happy with that schedule.

Taz noted on his Twitter that he was considering a knee replacement.


OTHER WRESTLING NEWS

Dwayne Johnson, who is a guest on Jay Leno on Wednesday night, spent the weekend in Mexico promoting his new movie Tooth Fairy. He talked a little wrestling putting over lucha libre saying he was a big fan of Mil Mascaras and El Santo growing up. He also put over the Guerrero family: "I will always be grateful for the support they gave me. In my development as a wrestler I learned a lot from them, they always offered me their support during the most difficult times of my life."

Konnan is working on an autobiography about his early years in Mexico, and his runs in AAA, WWE, WCW and TNA.

Former WWE Diva Joy Giovanni is now working an internship for a chiropractor in Los Angeles. She also recently got re-certified in massage therapy for a new business venture she is working on.

Colt Cabana has a comedy gig on January 27 in Chicago at the ComedySportz Theater.

Former WWE announcer Kevin Kelly was hanging out at the Ring of Honor TV tapings this past weekend in Philly... Kelly, along with Antonio Thomas, is hosting a seminar for aspiring wrestlers in Chicopee, MA, on January 17. Kelly will take attendees through the steps needed to succeed in the corporate world of the sport, how to dress, how to act, and how to avoid certain pitfalls. He'll also touch on interviews and promotion skills. Those interested in the camp should contact tjm2333@aol.com.

Jim Cornette is booked for the ROH shows in Phoenix during the weekend of Wrestlemania 26.

ROH has just launched an iPhone application. More info at www.rohwrestling.com.

Victory Crown Championship Wrestling runs this Friday in Fort Worth, TX, at the Ridglea Theater. More info at www.victorycrown.com.

Not shown on camera last night during UFC's Fight Night special was Aaron Simpson coming out to Hulk Hogan's I Am a Real American music complete with an oversized American flag.

Today's Diva of the Day is Angelina Love at http://www.thewrestlingpress.com/DailyDiva.

The Golden Circle: "Ghosts of Golden Boy's Past" by Greg Anthony

I'm a big believer that to know where you're going then you have to know where you've been. That's why I've spent so much time studying the history of our business. One of my biggest pet peeves is guys not knowing their own history. If you're going to be a cowboy then you should know a guy like Stan Hansen. If you insist to use the mist as part of your gimmick then you should know each color does different things. So when I decided that I was going to be "The Golden Boy" then I imediatley researched Golden Boy's of the past.



Arnold Skaaland [photo above] is a WWE Hall of Famer. He was a cornerstone of the then WWWF(World Wide Wrestling Federation) during their most formative years. Holding the the tag titles with Spiros Arion. He later retired from competition and began managing. Arnie maganged two world champions in Bruno Sammertino and Bob Backlund. He was also the one whom threw in the towel in the infamous Iron Sheik-Backlund confrontation that cost Backlund his title. It also became Backlund's catalyst for his heel run as champion in the mid 90s that resulted in Backlund attacking him. Mr. Skaaland was a loyal member of the WWE family his whole career until he passed away in 2007. I never had the pleasure of meeting him but his impact on me is evident.



Some familiar names have also been a Golden Boy. Before he was a Skyscrapper, Dan Spivey [photo above] was a Golden Boy. Spivey was brought in to WWF to team with Mike Rotundo but when that team was dismantled he was repackaged as "Golden Boy" Dan Spivey even competing in Wrestlemania 2. Jeff Jarrett was one early in his career. Before he was King of the Mountain, a member of The 4 Horseman or even J-e-double f, J-a-double r-e-double t.. "Double J" Jeff Jarrett.



Because of my proximity alot of people bring up the name of "Golden Boy" Chick Donovan [photo above]. A journeyman that laid his bed mostly in the southeast. He was apart of Jimmy Hart's First Family and even had a run as the Southern Heavyweight Champion. I just saw a match on youtube featuring Chick and he is still in tremendous shape. I would love to get together a maybe have a battle of The Golden Boys or even a tag match.

I hope that these past golden boys approve of my current use of the name. I've always shrived to be respectful to those who paved the way in our business. Over the years I've used different aspects of each of these guys interpretation of the gimmick while creating my own. When I was very young in the business these men gave me a templete to create what the golden boy is today. So I say thank you to them all because they are truly is as good as gold.

RCW Poster Revealed!!!

----I thought this was a nice poster. Check out www.rcwwrestling.com for the latest news on the new RCW promotion.

Monday, January 11, 2010

(WGN) Jan 11: Raw tonight with Mike Tyson, Russo talks Cornette, another legend battling cancer, unconfirmed report on Tony Halme and more

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WRESTLING GLOBE NEWSLETTER
Monday January 11, 2010

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Wrestling Globe Newsletter by Mike Aldren - All the latest professional wrestling news, gossip and occasional opinion direct to you. WGN is read by industry power players, many top wrestlers and thousands of fans from all around the world.

To subscribe email to: wrestlingglobe-subscribe@app.topica.com

Twitter: www.twitter.com/wrestlingglobe

Please send all news tips to: you2us@wrestlingglobe.com


WORLD WRESTLING ENTERTAINMENT NEWS

1/10 Raw house show results from Rochester, MN: MVP over Jack Swagger; Evan Bourne over Johnny Curtis; Cody Rhodes over Primo; Gail Kim & The Bella Twins over Maryse, Alicia Fox & Jillian Hall with Santino as special referee; Chris Masters over Carlito; The Miz over Kofi Kingston; Sheamus over Mark Henry; and DX over Big Show & Randy Orton. Show drew an estimated 3,000. Reader Rick Ward writes: Over all it was a pretty good show. A lot better than the Smackdown crew that came through last year. The family had a great time.

1/10 SD/ECW house show results from Duluth, MN: R-Truth over Dolph Ziggler; Vladimir Kozlov, Goldust & Yoshi Tatsu over William Regal, Tyler Reks & Zack Ryder; Mickie James over Beth Phoenix; Eric Escobar over Mike Knox; The Hart Dynasty over Jimmy Wang Yang & Slam Master J; Chris Jericho over Matt Hardy; Christian over Ezekiel Jackson; Drew McIntyre over John Morrison; and Rey Mysterio over Batista. Show drew around 2,500.

There is a Smackdown show tonight in La Crosse ahead of Tuesday's TV taping in Green Bay. ECW will feature a battle royal for a shot at Christian's ECW title at the Royal Rumble. We're looking for reports from both shows to you2us@wrestlingglobe.com.

***

In a follow up to yesterday's report on the death of Tony Halme, who once worked for WWE as Ludwig Borga, Ilta-Sanomat of Finland, a tabloid, has published unconfirmed reports that Halme took his own life. The paper claims that a pistol, for which Halme didn't have a firearms permit, was found next to his body. Finnish police previously stated there were no suspicious circumstances but declined to release further details. Halme had just turned 47, was destitute, and was suffering from various health issues including short-term memory loss reportedly due to years of substance abuse.

The 2010 WWE Hall Of Fame induction ceremony will air on USA Network on Saturday, March 27, from 11pm to midnight. They have slightly extra editing time this year so hopefully induction speeches won't be butchered too much. There is such a good case to move the ceremony to Friday night. Aside from talent getting an early night, fans win because they get a better production, and inductees win because they get to say what they want to say without being limited to summing up their careers in three or four minutes.

Jim Ross blogged about the funeral of Steve Williams at www.jrsbarbq.com. Ross gave a eulogy before 1,000 family, friends, and fans praising Williams saying he was an only child but considered Williams a brother. Among those in attendance were John Laurinaitis from WWE, Terry Taylor from TNA, Leon "Vader" White, Stan Hansen, Ted DiBiase Sr., and Barry Switzer, Williams' old football coach at the University of Oklahoma.

The Minneapolis Star Tribune has a story on Mike Tyson at http://tinyurl.com/ybgtme9. He is promoting his foundation and the release of his documentary. "I'm not interested in fighting anymore, but the sky's the limit on everything else," Tyson said during a telephone interview. "We got international tour dates, we got movies, autograph sessions that's going to help our foundation. It's just awesome man. ... I'm not taking this for granted this time [referring his lifestyle of the past]. I took it for granted, I took all my hard work for granted last time."

The Chicago Tribune has a story on Ted DiBiase Jr. who is promoting The Marine 2 on DVD. He talks about acting classes supposedly led by Vince McMahon at television tapings. "For the CEO of a company to take an hour of his day and spend it with up-and-coming guys is really cool," he said. "You get to know him on a more personal level." He also noted his dad cried after watching his movie because he was so proud of him. Well, that's one way to explain it. Story is at http://tinyurl.com/yccl5jw.

The Heyman Hustle has photos of Maria Kanellis at http://heymanhustle.craveonline.com.

Kelly Kelly noted on her Twitter she was having a bad day because the airline she traveled on lost her bags and had no idea where they were.

WWE.com posted an update on Lisa "Ivory" Moretti at http://tinyurl.com/yas782e. During recent years she ran a business called Downtown Dog, a do-it-yourself bathing facility for animals, out of her hometown of Friday Harbor, WA. She also talked about a GLOW [Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling] reunion at the end of January. "There’s a documentary coming out around the GLOW girls and they’re organizing a big reunion in Los Angeles January 30," she said. "I recently spoke with the guys who did the documentary and it turns out a lot of girls are showing up so it’s going to be a big deal."

Linda McMahon talks politics with ABC News at http://tinyurl.com/yca2hza. When asked why she was running for U.S. Senate, she said: "Well, I've had a really good career. And, it's been an exciting career. But, I am very concerned of where our government is taking our country at this particular point. A mounting debt, free-wheeling spending that we have in Washington, and I've just been watching it, and looking at it, and understanding that there's potential that the American dream that I was able to live will not be there for other generations, if we continue down the paths where we are. So, I'm running, just because I felt, well, I think I'd like to make a difference. I have business experience. None of the other candidates that are running bring the same kind of experience to the table. I've gone from bankruptcy at the beginning of my career, of losing my home, losing cars, not be able to get any credit, to rebuilding, and now having a company that grew from a small family business, you know, to a global brand, traded now on the New York Stock Exchange, under the symbol WWE."

MVP noted in a recent interview that he is planning to perform his next entrance music to debut this summer.

There is a meet and greet with Ted DiBiase Sr. and Mike Rotundo before the FCW show in Crystal Rivers, FL, on January 16. More info at www.fcwwrestling.com.


TNA WRESTLING NEWS

1/10 TNA house show results from Danbury, CT: Amazing Red over Homicide; Taylor Wilde & Sarita over The Beautiful People; Rhino over D'Angelo Dinero; Beer Money over Eric Young & Kevin Nash; Kurt Angle over Desmond Wolfe; and AJ Styles over Daniels with Jeff Jarrett as the special referee. Reader Brian McDonald writes: The show had a good turn out drawing around 1,500. Match of the night was definitely Daniels vs. Styles which was close to 20 minutes with lots of spots. Good show!

***

Mick Foley wrote in his latest blog that he called Ric Flair on December 27 to talk him into signing with TNA. Flair didn't sign until January 4 although he had been in negotiations with them for a while. He was telling people at the tapings last week that he has a new book in the works.

Actor Eric Roberts (brother of Julia) was hanging out backstage at the TNA show in Westbury this past weekend. Apparently a huge fan who was hoping Hulk Hogan would be there.

Vince Russo answered more reader questions on his Facebook page. Regarding Jim Cornette, he said: "Throughout my entire career I have never said one negative word about Jim Cornette, not one. If he wants to be a Vince Russo and TNA hater, let him knock his socks off, but I'm not really interested in listening to that." Russo also commentated on Internet critics: "It's because they hate me and hate Hogan, and it's also because they want TNA to be a 2 hour wrestling show, with TWO HOURS of wrestling, that ain't gonna happen, so the haters will continue to hate." Russo recently set up the Facebook page to promote his upcoming book, How WCW Killed Vince Russo.

DirecTV Ch. 101 premieres a 30-minute Genesis countdown show today airing in various timeslots. The only matches announced for Sunday's PPV are AJ Styles vs. Angle for the TNA title, and The British Invasion vs. Matt Morgan & Hernandez for the tag titles. Genesis will also be Hogan's TNA PPV debut.

TNA Epics premieres on Spike this Thursday after Impact and will be a special on Kurt Angle.

Shark Boy returns this coming weekend at the house show loop in Pennsylvania.

Reader Rob Curran noted that Scott Hall's old WWF entrance music [as Razor Ramon] was played after Steve Breaston caught a TD pass from Kurt Warner during the 4th quarter of Sunday's Packers-Cardinals game.


OTHER WRESTLING NEWS

Sorry to report that Gene Kiniski, 81, one of the all-time greats in wrestling history, is said to be in rough shape after battling cancer that spread to his lymphatic system.

Ring of Honor tonight on HDNet has Kenny Omega vs. Chris Hero in a Pick Six series match; Necro Butcher vs. Joey Ryan in a no-DQ match; plus Colt Cabana and Kevin Steen in action.

Wrestling's newest promotion from Gabe Sapolsky, EVOLVE headlined by Davey Richards vs. Kota Ibushi, debuts this coming Saturday in Rahway, NJ at the Rahway Rec Center. Sapolsky is also promising an "extreme surprise" which likely means an ECW original that has just left WWE. Complete line up is Richards vs. Ibushi; Mike Quackenbush, Hallowicked & Frightmare vs. Gran Akuma, Icarus & Brodie Lee; TJP vs. Munenori Sawa; Arik Cannon vs. Ricochet; Chuck Taylor vs. Cheech; plus Bobby Fish, Jimmy Jacobs, Silas Young, Ken Doane, Brad Allen, and The Dark City Fight Club. The Rahway Rec Center is located from the NJ Turnpike and Garden State Expressway. There is also 24 hour public transportation from New York City three blocks away. Go to www.EVOLVEwrestling.com for tickets and more information.

World Series Wrestling announced Tommy Dreamer will be touring Australia as part of their upcoming International Assault Tour. Other names on the tour include Balls Mahoney, Tajiri, Paul London, Petey Williams, Sonjay Dutt, Heidenreich, Jesus Aguilera, El Generico, and Shawn Daivari. More info at www.internationalassault.com.au.

Northeast Wrestling is also advertising Tommy Dreamer for their March 20 show in Poughkeepsie, NY.

The MWF group out of Boston are claiming the Iron Sheik's retirement match on April 24 in Melrose, MA, at the Memorial Hall. Sheik teams with Jay Lethal against Dylan Kage in a handicap match. Dan Mirade is the promoter. More info at www.bostonwrestling.com.

The Iron Sheik takes on comedian Maz Jobrani at http://tinyurl.com/yfr3fav. A note on Sheik from a few weeks ago at the Raw taping at Madison Square Garden. The pre tape he did with the Hulk Hogan action figure took several takes because he found it difficult to rip on Hogan without dropping an F-Bomb. Stephanie McMahon [who was producing the segment] thought that Sheik was hilarious but had to cut several lines including one where he said, "Hulk Hogan, you are nothing but a gay bleach-blonde Jabroni!"

Tommy Fierro is putting together a big show on March 27 in Freehold, NJ, the day before WrestleMania 26 called ISPWMANIA. The show will features former WWE/WCW wrestler Bill DeMott returning to the ring against Rick Fuller. Dutch Mantell will also be making a rare appearance wrestling in New Jersey that evening. Nunzio and Tony Mamaluke will be reuniting as The Full Blooded Italians against The Logan Brothers. Judas Young defends the ISPW title in a three-way against Danny Inferno [managed by Tammy "Sunny" Sytch] and Crowbar. Also appearing: Danny Doring, Big Vito, former WWE announcer Kevin Kelly, and many more. There will also be a fan fest before the show and a fantasy training camp on the morning on the show with DeMott, Mantell, and Vito. For further information visit www.ISPWLive.com or email to ISPWWrestling@yahoo.com.

2010 Nearly Naked Girls Of Wrestling, a calendar to benefit the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation, is available at http://tinyurl.com/y95ye9v. The calendar features April Hunter, Melissa Coates, Kelly Couture, Miss Danyah, Cherry Bomb, Lanna Titus, Rinnie Sinn, and Amy Victory.

Lizzy Valentine, real name Elizabeth Miklos, wrote on her Twitter that wrestling websites recently confused her with former adult film star and XPW wrestler Janet Romano, who is currently in prison, who once used the name Lizzie Borden. She wanted to clarify that she has never had any legal issues nor has ever done porn. Miklos had a recent shot with TNA in a dark match against Amber O' Neil.

Stacey Carter, the former Miss Kitty in WWE, is working on a potential reality show for CMT.

The Wrestlicious group are about to make a major announcement later this month.

Rene Dupree has a new look. He dyed his hair black with a red streak down one side. He has also dropped a lot of weight since his WWE days.

Dwayne Johnson talks weight training and his upcoming movie Tooth Fairy at http://tinyurl.com/yg8xtuz.

Southern indy wrestler The Nighthawk [Dr. Ron Thomas] underwent back and neck surgery, two procedures four days apart on either side of Christmas. The surgeries were done at Tampa's Laser Spine Institute, which had previously performed similar work on Hulk Hogan. Thomas had been forced to give up wrestling after injuries sustained in a highway incident matching a FedEx tandem-trailer rig against his black Camaro in 2007. He is now back home in Daytona Beach and his recovery is coming along well. He noted he should be cleared to return to the gym in February with hopes of being ring-ready this summer.

Jerry Lawler, Tracy Smothers and Chase Stevens will be appearing at the Main Event Championship Wrestling event in Evansville, IN, on March 20. More info at www.mecwpro.com.

Nick "Eugene" Dinsmore and Jonny Fairplay have been added to the WFX event in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada on March 5. Also appearing are Tajiri, Kip James and Sheik Abdul Bashir. More info at http://wfxwrestling.com.

WFX Chapter One runs on March 5 in Winnipeg, Manitoba, with Tajiri, Kip James, Shawn Daivari, Kushida, Jon Cutler, Mentallo, Arik Cannon, and many more.

Today's Diva of the Day is Maryse at http://www.thewrestlingpress.com/DailyDiva.


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The Winners Are...RRO Awards Race 2009

----I would like to first thank everyone for voting!! I believe we had a bigger turnout this year than ever. I actually made it harder on myself by having an e-mail poll, but as close as some of the awards were, I do think this is the most legit way to do the voting. Below are the winners - complete results will be posted in Yearbook 2009. We are hard at work on that with details coming about the tour and ordering it online!!

Wrestler
Dustin Starr

MVP Performer
Austin Lane

Tag Team
"Midnight Gold" [Greg Anthony/Bobby Eaton] with Brian Thompson

MVP Team
"Midnight Gold" [Greg Anthony/Bobby Eaton] with Brian Thompson

Moondog Spot Brawler Award
Psycho

Rookie of the Year
JD Kerry

Horizon Award
Austin Lane

Promotion
NEW

Booker
NEW Committee

Announcer
Terrance Ward

Gimmick
Baron Malkavain

Manager
Brian Thompson

Referee
Downtown Bruno

Most Improved
Bishop

Most Underrated
Alan Steele

Arena Match
Austin Lane vs Eric Wayne

TV Match
Dustin Starr vs Kevin White

Website
Wrestling News Center

Columnist
Greg Anthony

Female Performer
Jazz


FUN FACTS

-The Year of Gold?? Greg Anthony wins four awards - both tag team awards [first time a team has done that], columnist and part of the NEW committee for a good part of the year.

-Dustin Starr was nominated for five awards, but only takes home two awards. He does become only the second wrestler to win Wrestler of the Year in 4 years.

-Austin Lane returns as MVP Performer after 2 year absence and takes home the Horizon Award. He totals three awards with his Match award.

-Wrestling News Center, Greg Anthony [as booker], Eric Wayne [in match], Downtown Bruno and Baron Malkavain are the only repeat winners from 2008.

-This is the first year that Derrick King did not take home an award.

-Brian Thompson takes home three awards in categories he was never nominated in. His win in Manager category made him only the third person to hold that award - Rashard Devon and Hollywood Jimmy have made it a two man race for the last three years.

-The second year in a row that Kevin White wins TV match.

RassleResults: EWE Ripley, TN 1.09.10 - Flash Flanagan Returns!!

JR Manson over Tommy Redneck

Bishop over Seth Knight
*DK made it where Bishop couldn't be DQ'd but Seth could*

Cody Melton over Tommy Lee Jones
*Tucker was special Guest Ref*

Christian Jacobs over "The Golden Boy" Greg Anthony in a submission match

Derrick King over Flash Flanagan

Show started with Christian Jacobs thanking the fan for all their support. DK interrupts and tells CJ that he has a huge main event planned tonight, the rematch between him and Greg Anthony. Golden Boy comes out, says last week was a fluke and it would never happen again. CJ tells him to put his money where his mouth is... in a submission match. Golden Boy says he would never tap again to CJ or any other man and agrees to the match...Then DK calls out Dustin Baker, Seth Knight and Stan Lee. He tells Dustin that he'll be his errand boy from now on. He tells Seth that he will be wrestling Bishop and that is NO DQ Rules for Bishop not himself. Then he tells Stan from now on he's security and if anyone fan touches DK then Stan will be fired...After Dustin, Seth and Stan leave the ring Flash's music hits, DK is all excited that Flash is on their team but they soon find out he's not - knocking out everyone in the ring. Flash then challenges DK to match tonight. In the main event, all of DK's cronies came out but Flash was able to take care of them one by one until Cody put on the ref's shirt and knocked him out with his belt buckle the counted the 3 himself.

----I was told about 70 in the crowd...Also, told that DK has some crazy heat from the fans that are attending. They had to hold people back Saturday night...Good idea with Lee working security. The only thing is there were not 40 people on the show, so we know DK is REALLY not running the angles. LOL

Jason Reed: Picture of the Week

Jason Reed and Neil Taylor fight over a bottle!



The Kid sporting his RKO Randy Orton shirt [this is funny on so many levels]



Jason Reed inspecting Jeremy Moore's back - Reed wonders if Moore is on the gas?? [Answer to your question Reed - NO!! LOL]

(WGN) Jan 10: Former WWE wrestler found dead, Diva injured, Bret talks Hogan, developmental cuts, son of former star hired and more!!

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WRESTLING GLOBE NEWSLETTER
Sunday January 10, 2010

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Wrestling Globe Newsletter by Mike Aldren - All the latest professional wrestling news, gossip and occasional opinion direct to you. WGN is read by industry power players, many top wrestlers and thousands of fans from all around the world.

WORLD WRESTLING ENTERTAINMENT NEWS

1/8 Smackdown TV results from Louisville, KY: Dolph Ziggler over Kane; Chris Jericho & The Hart Dynasty over R-Truth & Cryme Tyme; Luke Gallows over Matt Hardy; Beth Phoenix over Layla; and Batista vs. Rey Mysterio was a no contest.

1/8 Raw house show results from Boston, MA: MVP over Jack Swagger; Evan Bourne over Johnny Curtis; Cody Rhodes over Primo; Gail Kim & The Bella Twins over Maryse, Alicia Fox & Jillian Hall with Santino as special referee; Chris Masters over Carlito; The Miz over Kofi Kingston; Sheamus over Mark Henry; and DX over Big Show & Randy Orton.

The 1/9 Raw show in Lincoln, NE, was the same results as Boston with Eve Torres and Lalya doing the ticket upgrade gimmick.

1/9 SD/ECW house show results from Fargo, ND: R-Truth over Dolph Ziggler; Vladimir Kozlov, Goldust & Yoshi Tatsu over William Regal, Tyler Reks & Zack Ryder; Mickie James over Beth Phoenix; Eric Escobar over Mike Knox; The Hart Dynasty over Jimmy Wang Yang & Slam Master J; Chris Jericho over Matt Hardy; Christian over Ezekiel Jackson; Drew McIntyre over John Morrison; and Rey Mysterio over Batista. A few fans were ejected during the main event. I don't have all the details but one kid was apparently tossed simply for flipping the bird at Batista. How times have changed.

They Raw crew run today in Rochester, MN, while Smackdown runs in Duluth. We're looking for reports from both shows to you2us@wrestlingglobe.com.

Raw TV is Monday from Minneapolis with Mike Tyson likely knocking out Chris Jericho and the continuation of Vince McMahon-Bret Hart although Bret won't be there. There is also a Smackdown house show in La Crosse on Monday night while the TV tapings are Tuesday from Green Bay including a battle royal for a shot at Christian's ECW title at the Royal Rumble.

***

Former WWE wrestler Tony Halme aka Ludwig Borga passed away last night in Finland. He had just turned 47. Police and medics were called to his apartment but efforts to resuscitate him failed and he was pronounced dead at the scene. Finnish police said there were no suspicious circumstances and the case had been passed to the coroner. Halme headlined for WWE during the mid-90s following a run with New Japan Pro Wrestling. He worked a heel foreigner gimmick as a fighter who hated the U.S. due to pollution. He had a notable main event feud with Lex Luger and also ended the two-year undefeated streak of Tatanka. At Survivor Series in 1993, he teamed with Yokozuna, Jacques Rougeau and Crush [representing Hawaii and replacing an injured Pierre Karl Ouelette] as the "Foreign Fanatics" against the "All-Americans" of Lex Luger, The Undertaker and the Steiner Brothers. However, an ankle injury forced the company to cancel their plans for him and he left soon after. He went on to become a professional boxer, amassing a 13-6 record from 1995-2002, including ten knockouts. He lost to Randy Couture via choke at UFC 13 in his only MMA fight in 1997. He was actually Couture's first-ever UFC opponent who gave up over 50 pounds in their 57-second fight. He also appeared on the Finnish TV version of American Gladiators under the moniker "Viking" and later, in 2003, entered the political arena with an extreme right-wing group called the True Finns Party. He served on Finnish Parliament from 2003-2007. In 2004, he was given a four-month suspended sentence for firearms and drugs offences after he fired a pistol during a domestic dispute with his wife. At the time he blamed the incident on being under the influence of prescription drugs and alcohol, and a search of his home and office revealed steroids and amphetamines. In March 2006, Halme was committed to a mental institution, reportedly due to delirium caused by substance abuse. A few months earlier he had been diagnosed with alcohol-related cirrhosis and acute pancreatitis. After being on sick leave for most of 2006, he went on disability pension at end of his Parliamentary term. Just last month he said in a newspaper interview that he was destitute and suffering from issues with his short-term memory. He said he had trouble remembering anything, but was trying to pencil his memoirs.

Mickie James suffered a minor arm injury necessitating nine stitches. She isn't expected to miss any time.

The Calgary Herald has a story on Bret Hart returning to WWE at http://tinyurl.com/ya42azp. He described his return as "bizarre" and "surreal," adding, "I kept asking myself if I was really there." He made a point to note his return had nothing to do with Hulk Hogan going to TNA: "[They are] playing it up like that. Like WWE was scared of whatever Hulk Hogan was going to do, so they went and got Bret Hart to compete." He said he came back to give himself closure with his wrestling career and since he was planning to live in Calgary for the next two years (his girlfriend has two years left on her degree program) he wanted something to do. "What else am I going to do," he said. "Garden?"

There were several departures from developmental this past week. John Elliot who was working as Dylan Klein and before that Johnny Riggs is gone after giving his notice before the holidays due to a personal situation. Steve "DJ Gabriel" Lewington, a native of the UK, was released. He posted a statement on his Myspace page saying that he loved every minute of his five years with the company but knew his time was up. He wrote: "I had a blast working in the WWE, there are so many matches and memories that will always put a smile on my face. Kenny Bolin [OVW worker], Jim Cornette, and the McMahon family were big inspirations on my career. I have nothing but good things to say about all of them. They helped me incredibly the entire time I was with the WWE and I am honored to have come to know them." Other releases include Rashad Goff, Bryan Wilcott, Aaron Reed, and Leroy Morgan, who is the son of former WWF ring announcer Mike McGuirk.

Joshua Fatu, the youngest son of Rikishi, was signed and made his FCW debut this past week. Asher Knight from OVW was also offered a developmental deal after impressing at the television tapings in Louisville.

Johnny Curtis from developmental made his house show debut this weekend in his hometown of Boston. He was billed from New York City as a rib. Curtis, 6-4, 230, is a former male model who got his start under Killer Kowalski and worked various New England area independent promotions from 1999-2006.

Tiffany (Taryn Terrell), 25, and Drew McIntyre (Galloway), 24, recently got engaged. They have been a couple for some time and were happily showing off the engagement ring this past weekend in San Jose. Terrell was previously in a relationship with Alfonso Ribeiro, better known as Carlton Banks from The Fresh Prince of Bell-Air.

Stacy Keibler noted that WWE has been in touch with her about hosting Raw. They gave her some dates but wasn't able to work them around her schedule. She said if the timing was right she would love to return for one night. Keibler has a role on Monday's 100th episode of How I Met Your Mother which airs before Raw at 8pm on CBS.

WWE people were watching Impact live backstage at last Monday's Raw.

There is talk of doing away with the guest host concept and appointing a big-name storyline GM. Stephanie McMahon had said in interview last year that the company had planned to continue with guest hosts until Wrestlemania.

Edge is advertised for May live events in Texas.

Booker T downplayed the notion of returning to WWE in an interview with the Monday Night Mayhem radio show. He said he doesn't want to work a full-time schedule anymore but liked the idea of announcing. He said: "Going back to the WWE, I know I would have to pretty much [work] 180 days a year. I don't think that's something I want to do at this point. A lot of people speculate, but if I was to go back to the WWE, it would probably be from a wrestling announcer standpoint, that's something I have always wanted to do. TNA is better for me as far as scheduling goes, but I don't think I'll working that hectic schedule anymore." He said during his TNA tenure he was frustrated creatively and wanted to have a bigger role with the company: "I wanted to wrestle the Kurt Angle's, the Scott Steiner's, the Sting's. I'm a professional wrestler. I go out and entertain, and I entertain best in the middle of the ring one-on-one. I just had a lot of matches that I wasn't happy with, and I think I got frustrated with the writing more than anything. I think that was maybe my own demise wanting to go out there and do one-on-one matches when there was a lot of [tag team matches]. I just didn't feel happy with the way my career was going in that direction." Full audio at www.mondaynightmayhem.com.

Dr. David Chao, who is the orthopedic surgeon of Rey Mysterio and several other WWE wrestlers, is under scrutiny from the California state medical board for unprofessional conduct and alcohol abuse. Story is at http://tinyurl.com/yale26g. Chao is also the team doctor for the San Diego Chargers.

Rob Van Dam and Batista are the main players of an upcoming independent movie called Blood Out. The film is about a small-town sheriff who goes undercover to avenge his brother’s death. Production begins in February out of Baton Rouge, LA.

Superstars on Thursday did a 0.8 rating.

A new Bret Hart t-shirt is currently the No. 1 selling item on the Shopzone website.

Tickets for the 2010 Hall of Fame ceremony go on sale on January 16 with Stu Hart the only confirmed name at press time. The event will emanate from the 5,000-seat Dodge Theatre in Phoenix, AZ.


TNA WRESTLING NEWS

1/8 TNA house show results from Long Island, NY: Amazing Red over Homicide; Taylor Wilde & Sarita over The Beautiful People; Desmond Wolfe over Daniels; D'Angelo Dinero over Rhino; Beer Money over Eric Young & Kevin Nash; and AJ Styles over Kurt Angle with Jeff Jarrett as the special referee. The show had a good turn out drawing around 2,500. Don West was working the merchandise stand driving a lot of sales with "Don's insane $20 brown bag specials." Mick Foley and Taz were also at the show signing autographs. During the Knockouts match they did a spot with ref Earl Hebner who kissed Madison Rayne followed by his best Jackie Fargo strut. Nash hardly worked and several people remarked how he looked to be in severe pain. Wolfe-Daniels was said to be match of the night just behind Styles-Angle.

The 1/9 show in Poughkeepsie drew just over 1,000 with the same matches except Angle over Wolfe and Styles over Daniels.

The weekend tour wraps today in Danbury on the campus of Western Connecticut State University. We're looking for reader reports to you2us@wrestlingglobe.com.

***

Bobby Lashley debuts for Strikeforce against Yohan Banks on January 30 in Sunrise, FL. Lashley is still heavily promoted the same night for a TNA house show in London, England.

Ric Flair talked to Mike Mooneyham about his TNA debut at http://tinyurl.com/y8ehmzm. He said he came here because he felt wanted: "I think I certainly can add something to the show. And the nice thing is ... they want me... I’m really excited about this company. I’m very happy with the way they’re doing things. They’re doing it the right way. I can see them getting better and better."

Vince Russo has started answering questions from fans on his Facebook page. When asked about doing away with the six-sided ring, he said: "It looks that way." He put over working with Jeff Hardy but wasn't sure what his status was following his indictment. He said there probably wouldn't be any bra and panty matches in TNA because he respects the Knockouts too much. That's funny, because didn't we just have strip poker and a recent mud wrestling match? He put over Randy Orton and Kurt Angle and said the most underrated TNA wrestler was Eric Young. When one fan compared Impact to Nitro, he said: "I don't think it seems like WCW at all. Wrestling, is wrestling. There is only really one way to do it. AJ, Joe, Daniels, Morgan, Hernandez, Brit Invasion, Pope, Machine Guns, were any of those guys from WCW?" Well, Styles and Daniels were actually both in WCW.

The Impact replay on Thursday night did a 0.9 rating which is a very good number. Although they haven't promoted it the entire 3-hour Impact was quietly uploaded to the TNA YouTube channel.

Jeremy Borash was interviewed on Rochester Sports Talk radio. When asked about Monday's live Impact he felt they didn't hit a home run but left people wanting more by bringing in Hogan, and the surprises of Jeff Hardy, and Ric Flair. He teased another big name surprise for next Sunday's Genesis PPV but said he didn't know who this was going to be. He also put over Eric Bischoff saying having him on-board was like signing Michael Jordan.

Booboo Stewart, the teenage actor of the next Twilight movie, will be writing an interview-based column for the TNA website. He is a huge wrestling fan and attended Bound For Glory with his parents last year.


OTHER WRESTLING NEWS

1970s Memphis wrestler Jim White passed away on Thursday after a lengthy battle with cancer. He was 67. I believe he was Jerry Lawler's first tag partner drawing huge crowds against Jerry Jarrett and Jackie Fargo. After retirement he mentored a number of young people in the business and entertained many with stories of Elvis Presley attending local shows. A funeral service was scheduled for 11am Monday at the Briton Funeral Home in Manchester, KY. Greg Oliver has a nice obit at http://tinyurl.com/ye6jeqm. Jerry Lawler on his new website at www.kingjerrylawler.com wrote: "Jim White never really got the recognition he deserved. I know for a fact if it had not been for Jim there would never have been a 'King' Jerry Lawler. He had no problem working in the background while I was out front getting most of the attention. It takes a special person to do that and Jim White was that kind of person. I will miss Jim, and I send my sincere condolences to his family who Jim loved dearly."

Bruno Sammartino, 74, will be honored at the 74th annual Dapper Dan banquet in Pittsburgh in March for a lifetime of achievement in sports. "I never expected anything like this. Wrestling isn't looked upon like the other sports of football, baseball, basketball and hockey. I'm deeply honored." Today's Pittsburgh Post Gazette has the story at http://tinyurl.com/ydhl26a.

Randy Couture told Inside MMA that he recently spoke with Brock Lesnar and Brock told him his health issues are now under control, he was back training, and he plans to return to a UFC Octagon in the Spring.

Ken Shamrock, 45, has signed to fight Seth Petruzelli, 30, in Cancun, Mexico on March 6. The fight is for a group called International Unlimited Fighting and would be his return to MMA since he failed a drug test last March in California. He was originally scheduled to fight Bobby Lashley but had tested positive for steroids and received a one year suspension.

Austin Aries vs. Tyler Black was announced for the Ring of Honor 8th Anniversary Show in New York City on February 13. If there is no winner after 60-minutes then a three judge panel of Jim Cornette, Kenny King and Roderick Strong will decide the winner. More info at www.rohwrestling.com.

The Hulkamania show taped in Sydney, Australia, back in November, that was originally scheduled to air on One HD in the country, but didn't without explanation, will likely never air on television. Michael Condon and his company Condon Sports, the promoter behind the Hulkmania tour, recently went bankrupt. I guess that tells you how well the tour did although they did draw decent crowds. The tour footage will eventually be sold off to pay creditors.

Former WWE Diva Ashley Massaro attended a Survivor Reunion show taped for CBS on Saturday in Los Angeles. Footage airs on February 4.

Brooke Hogan is a guest on the forthcoming season of the Tyra Banks Show.

All the stories about Steve Austin suppoesedly breaking the neck of Sylvester Stallone are attibuted to an interview Stallone gave to FHM magazine. Sly also claims while filming The Expendables that he told Dolph Lundgren to stiff him. "I was told that Dolph had punched my rib cage into my chest, compressing my heart. If it had swollen any more, I would have died."

Former TNA booker Dutch Mantell with his take on who actually won the Monday Night Wars at www.dutchmantell.com.

Lance Storm also adds his two cents at www.stormwrestling.com.

Today's Diva of the Day is Katie Lea at http://www.thewrestlingpress.com/DailyDiva.

Sunday, January 10, 2010

REMINDER!!! LESS THAN 20 hours!!

----I want to remind everyone to VOTE - today is the last day!! Award winners will be announced tomorrow and voting will stop at 12:00 MIDNIGHT tonight!! CLICK HERE to copy and paste the ballot and e-mail to me!!

RassleResults: NBW Resutls WrapUp

12.26.09

NBW Championship tournament

1st round

Mark Justice def. Shannon Lee

Motley Cruz def. Jason Reed after interference by the Anarchy

Weezy def. Syn

Crazy Train def. D.J. Stunner

2nd round

Crazy Train def. Weezy

Mark Justice def. Motley Cruz

Non-tournament tag match

Law and order def. Mo. Bad Boys/Void

NBW Championship Finals

Crazy Train def. Mark Justice


1-2-10

Jeremy Moore def. The Kid

Weezy def. Shannon Lee

Mark Justice vs. Jason Reed went to a time limit draw

The “Family of Pain” [Sarge O’Reily/Mickey Ray] def. The Anarchy ( syn/stunner ) to retain the NBW Tag Titles

Crazy Train def. Motley Cruz by DQ to retain the NBW Championship


1-9-10

The show opened with the leader of The Anarchy, Jeremy Moore, coming out for an interview, accompanied by his manager Jason the brain. Moore stated tonight he had Sarge 1 on 1 and he would put Sarge in his grave and then look ahead to feb. 6th, at NBW Vendetta he would challenge Crazy Train for the title.Moore then said last week he and Ricky Andrews got off to a bad start and he would like to call him out to talk this over. Andrews came out and Moore said Andrews was misguided and had to ride his coattails. Moore said without him there would be no Ricky Andrews and Moore offered Andrews a spot in his faction. Andrews declined and told Moore that soon he would show Moore just how much better he is than Moore!

Shannon Lee def. The Kid

Weezy def. Neil Taylor w/ a rollup

Jason Reed def. Oz/Blaine Devine in a handicap match after Ricky Andrews came out for a hot tag to help Reed

Sarge def. Jeremy Moore w/ a chain shot after Moore had been cheating the whole match... Post-match Moore said Sarge had to cheat to beat him and that earlier in the night he had promised a surprise and he decided to use it to his own benefit. Moore said that instead of going after Crazy Train at Vendetta he and a partner would face Sarge and Mickey for the Tag Titles. Moore said his partner would be none other than......... "PSYCHO" SID VICIOUS!!!

Motley Cruz def Crazy Train in a non-title match, next week Motley gets a title shot.

Great show and all 3 weeks were probably between 70-80 or so in the crowd.

Sat. Feb 6th: NBW Vendetta

**MAIN EVENT**

NBW TAG TEAM TITLE MATCH

F.O.P. vs. Jeremy Moore and Sid Vicious

Credit: nbwguy

----I like the thing with "Anarchy" as Moore as leader. He needed a group name to get it over as heels...Fun to see Train vs Cruz again, since there was so much controversy over Cruz beating the hell out of Train one time before. Those should be good matches...It will be interesting to see if Sid draws the numbers that Eaton and Rich drew here. I am thinking he will.