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WRESTLING GLOBE NEWSLETTER
Wednesday October 21, 2009
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WORLD WRESTLING ENTERTAINMENT NEWS
10/20 ECW TV results from Columbia, SC: Yoshi Tatsu over Zack Ryder; Sheamus vs. JT Quinn was a no contest; and Christian over Chris Jericho.
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Team Smackdown for Bragging Rights changed last night at the TV taping. Out are Cryme Tyme, Eric Escobar and Drew McIntyre, and in are R-Truth, Finlay, and The Hart Dynasty. This was a Vince McMahon call. They also did a wacky angle with Vince promising referee Scott Armstrong that his dad, Bullet Bob, would be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame. And 86-year-old Mae Young was brought in for a cameo.
Edge called into the Bubba the Love Sponge radio show on Tuesday. He said the Achilles injury was the most painful of his career and he doesn't know yet when he will be able to return. He noted his contract is up next June. When asked about Shane leaving the company he said he was really surprised and said it's hard to work with Vince and be his son at the same time. He put over Christian, Cena and Orton, and said watching Orton is like watching a horror show, but in a good way. He also said something about buying a house in the Carolinas. (Thanks to Terri Bey)
Raw on Monday night did a 3.3 rating.
WWE has been in contact with the New York Yankee's to work of getting some players to guest host Raw at Madison Square Garden on November 16. This will be the first Raw TV taping at MSG in over two years.
CM Punk appeared yesterday at the South Carolina State Fair for an autograph signing. Only problem was nobody promoted it, not even WWE on their own website. Hardly anyone showed up.
The Bella Twins and Edge appear tomorrow in Las Vegas at the NACS Tradeshow as part of a promotional deal for Wrestlmania 26 sponsor Slim
Jim.
There is a trailer for Frat Party starring ECW ring announcer Lauren Mayhew at http://tinyurl.com/ykpu67v. The movie drops on DVD on December
1.
Story on a U.S. Marine who faked battle injuries to gain freebies, including tickets to WWE shows at http://tinyurl.com/ygxqjz8.
I had a chance to watch the documentary portion of the new Batista DVD. The best way to describe it would be a 1hr 27min PG-rated version of his book but told by his friends and family. All of the more controversial stories were left out and they focused more on rags to riches.
Access Hollywood's Maria Menounos reports on training at Ric Drasin's wrestling school in California at http://tinyurl.com/ygy9ajw.
The Baltimore Sun interviewed Bruno Sammartino about Captain Lou Albano at http://tinyurl.com/yk9re4d.
TOTAL NONSTOP ACTION WRESTLING NEWS
Nigel McGuinness as Desmond Wolfe appeared last night at the TV tapings in Orlando. One backstage observer noted he made a great first impression with everyone and there is a feeling within the company that they got one over WWE. However, the joke may be on them because WWE turned down offering him a contract after they ran some health tests and felt he was too banged up to invest in. No idea on the origin of the Desmond Wolfe name. A Google search pulls up an infamous Jamaican drug dealer and a porn star.
Travis Tomko was backstage yesterday at the tapings.
The top matches for Turning Point on November 15 are AJ.Styles vs. Samoa Joe vs. Daniels in a three-way for TNA title; Kurt Angle vs. Desmond Wolf; Amazing Red vs. Homicide for the X-Division title; and The British Invasion vs. Motor City Machine Guns for the TNA tag titles.
This week's TNA Today webshow is online at http://tinyurl.com/yg4w94m. SoCal Val and Christy Hemme discuss which wrestlers they would like to have sex with while promoting TNA trading cards. Seriously.
Regarding the Lisa Varon-Kim Couture deal they also shot some footage backstage at the PPV. After the show both were trying to work the locker room like it was a shoot to the amusement of many. Varon also wrote a Myspace blog trying to sell the angle.
UGO.com has a Q&A with Mick Foley at http://tinyurl.com/yksmxxh. When asked about the recent creative shift in the company he said he likes and respects both Vince Russo and Jim Cornette, but feels Russo doesn't get the credit he deserves: "I worked under Cornette in Smokey Mountain Wrestling and I think he's a genius. So it could just be that the two of them can't co-exist peacefully. But with that being said, I like the direction that TNA is going, and I know that they want more emphasis on the younger guys, which I think is essential, and which I hope to be a
big part of in the next few years." He also talks about his upcoming book, his comedy tour, and much more.
Rob Van Dam on the Between The Ropes radio show talked about going to Bound For Glory. He noted it was the first time meeting Dixie Carter and Vince Russo face to face. He said it was an awkward meeting and compared talking to Dixie like talking to Vince McMahon in that they didn't really have anything to say to each other aside from small talk. He said he was sceptical of Russo's booking but admitted that was largely based on second hand information. He didn't give the impression he is looking
to go there but said all or his friends who work there put the company over as stress-free environment compared to WWE.
Kristal Marshall, Lashley's wife, is in for at least one storyline.
Raisha Saeed is done as a character.
Booker T and Sharmell appear to be done. They were written out with the stretcher job at the PPV.
No update on Daffney other than she was hospitalized overnight in California after breaking her arm at the PPV.
OTHER WRESTLING NEWS
More excerpts from Hulk Hogan's new book were released to media today. He claims in 2007 he almost blew his brains out after taking a cocktail of Xanax and rum because he was so devastated that his ex-wife Linda filed for divorce. However, he says an unexpected phone call from his American Gladiators co-star Laila Ali saved his life. Apparently she talked him out of pulling the trigger. He also claims that Linda was an alcoholic and abusive mother who once threatened to beat their son with a wine bottle: "In public, [the family] were all having the time of our lives, but that public image only further masked the problems that were growing behind the scenes. There were plenty of times when Linda would lose it, but no one wanted to see that kind of ugliness on TV."
Paul London and Brian Kendrick are reportedly opening a wrestling school together in California.
A bizaree video of Marty Jannetty partying with college kids has surfaced at http://tinyurl.com/ykes6sn.
Marty "Boogeyman" Wright has been in touch with some friends this past week so he is alive but is still MIA. He told one person he went to South America but it had nothing to do with wrestling while he told someone else a different story.
Paul Heyman takes RnB singer Rihanna to task at http://tinyurl.com/ygt27u3.
Mean Gene Okerlund and Justin "Bam Neely" Rocheleau are among the celebrity judges at the 10th annual Morton's Firehouse Chili Cook-Off in Sarasota, FL on November 1 . The other judges are former Tampa Bay Buccaneers Mark Royals and Nick Nichols, Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Jesse Litsch, former Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Tom Neidenfuer, and U.S. Olympic team swimmers Brooke Bennett and Tripp Schwenk. The event will be from 2 to 5 pm on Osprey Avenue between Hyde Park Street and Hillview
Avenue, Sarasota.
The Examiner at http://tinyurl.com/yf52whg has a Q&A with long time Memphis Wrestling announcer Dave Brown. On whether he thought the people of Memphis took Jerry Lawler seriously in his mayoral campaign: "It's complex. Jerry convinced many people including thousands who did not vote for him that he had a serious message in this latest campaign. In the first televised debate, our anchor team rated Jerry's performance that night second only to the acting mayor. Elections are complex. This
one even more so since there were 25 candidates splitting the vote, a proven and hugely popular county mayor and a strong desire for significant change from the previous mayor."
Bushwacker Butch turns 65 today. I believe he is enjoying retirement in his native New Zealand.
Monday night on the Best Damn Sports Show Period a Top 50 Most Emotional Moments segment featured David Wills, the guy from Atlanta who cried and said "It's still real to me damnit!" at the Mid Atlantic Fanfest in
2005.
The National Wrestling Alliance (yes it still exists) announced a five-year deal with Jakks Pacific for a toy line.
NWA Anarchy run October 21 in Cornelia, GA at the NWA Arena, located at 4236 Level Grove Road. More info at www.nwaanarchy.net.
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----Wrestling Globe Newsletter by Mike Aldren - All the latest professional wrestling news, gossip and occasional opinion. WGN is read by industry power players, many top wrestlers and thousands of fans from all around the world.
