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WRESTLING GLOBE NEWSLETTER
Friday October 16, 2009
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WORLD WRESTLING ENTERTAINMENT NEWS
WWE are back on the road this weekend. The Raw crew runs tonight in Huntsville, AL then Saturday in Columbus, GA and Sunday in Dothan. Top matches on the Raw side are Randy Orton vs. John Cena; and Triple H vs. Legacy in a handicap match. The Smackdown crew run tonight in Puebla, Mexico following by two straight nights in Mexico City at the Palacio De Los Deportes.
Smackdown TV tonight has Batista vs. Rey Mysterio; the return of The Dirt Sheet with John Morrison & The Miz; plus the following matches to determine Team Smackdown at Bragging Rights; Fit Finlay vs. Mike Knox vs. Dolph Ziggler; Cryme Tyme vs. The Hart Dynasty; Matt Hardy vs. Eric Escobar; and R-Truth vs. Drew McIntyre.
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Shane McMahon announced this morning that he has tendered his resignation as WWE's Executive Vice President, Global Media. In a statement posted on the WWE website he said it was "with great sadness that I announce my resignation from the WWE, effective January 1, 2010." He said he never considered a future outside of WWE but, "sometimes life takes an unexpected turn and while it is the most difficult decision I have ever made, it is time for me to move on." He gave thanks to Vince McMahon, all the WWE talent, and staff, and said he was proud to be 4th generation in the business. He also thanked the fans: "I am profoundly grateful to have been able to entertain you both in front of the camera and from behind the scenes. You are the greatest fans in the world. I will always love this business and will remain a fan forever."
In a statement posted on the corporate website Vince McMahon said: "Even though I am personally saddened by Shane’s decision to leave the company, I am proud of the enormous contributions he has made. He will unquestionably bring passion, commitment and extensive business experience to any endeavor he pursues."
Shane, 39, has worked for WWE and been around the business most of his life. He graduated from Boston University with degree in Communications in 1993, and began working on WWE’s television production as a runner all the way up to executive level and becoming a multi-millionaire in his own right.
He also wrestled on and off over the years holding the now-defunct Hardcore and European titles after the McMahon family took an on-screen role following the Montreal Screwjob in 1997.
This news came as a complete shock to several WWE people we communicated with this morning. Some speculated that Shane may be interested in promoting MMA, which is something he has talked about for years, and one knew his resignation was coming but didn't know what he plans to do next.
Story is developing.
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WWE Diva Maria Kanellis and Bill Goldberg were filming in New York City yesterday for the next Celebrity Apprentice. They are on the show with VH1 star Bret Michaels, Sharon Osbourne, former Governor Rod Blagojevich, baseball player Darryl Strawberry, singer-actor Holly Robinson Peete, 80s pop icon Cyndi Lauper, and stand-up comedian Sinbad.
Jerry Lawler finished fifth place in the Memphis mayoral elections garnering 4 percent of the vote out of a field of 24 candidates. Only three runners received more than 4 percent of the vote. A.C. Wharton, Jr. won the election with 64 percent in a landslide victory. Lawler was quoted as saying: "I guess we got lulled into that false sense of reality. We thought we were going to do a lot better than this... It is a bitter pill to swallow." He said he is sure Wharton will work hard
towards making Memphis a better place. He also said it was unlikely that he would run again for mayor. The Memphis Wrestling TV show last weekend was a Lawler for Mayor Special. They ran videos with WWE talent pushing his bid as well as news clips on him from the local television stations. They even had Pittsburgh Steelers QB, Ben Roethlisberger and Rev. Al Sharpton endorsing him.
Pending a work Visa, WWE has signed Barri Griffiths, a former UK Gladiator from Wales. He looks like the love child of Batista and Andrei Arlovski. His local newspaper, The Caernarfon Herald, has a story on him at http://tinyurl.com/yljrjls noting he will be headed to developmental in Tampa if his Visa application is successful. His trainer and manager Orig Williams predicted he would become a future WWE champion.
Apparently Vince McMahon is no longer okay with the Hulkamania tour next month in Australia.
Chris Jericho appears on VH-1 Classics That Metal Show on Saturday night.
Fun ad at http://tinyurl.com/ygh5ux3 with John Cena, Kelly Kelly and Kofi Kingston pushing the new Raw vs. Smackdown video game.
The Hartford Courant at http://tinyurl.com/yhmwmuc has a story on Linda McMahon spending 2 million in just two weeks to hype her Senate bid in Connecticut. This is already the most money spent on a campaign in State history.
WWE Chief Operating Officer Donna Goldsmith was listed as No. 2 on a Forbes list of the "Most Powerful Woman In Sports," trailing Lesa France Kennedy from the International Speedway Corporation.
A correction on our Lou Albano obit. He never technically managed Pat Patterson. In the storyline The Grand Wizard sold Patterson's contract to Albano, but Patterson refused to allow himself to be managed by Albano and was immediately turned on.
TOTAL NONSTOP ACTION WRESTLING NEWS
10/15 Impact TV results from Orlando, FL: The Beautiful People over Awesome Kong, Tara & ODB; Amazing Red vs. Suicide was a no contest; Hernandez over The British Invasion in a gauntlet match; Daniels over D'Angelo Dinero; Hamada over Alissa Flash in a falls count anywhere match; Bobby Lashley over Rhino in a stretcher match; and AJ Styles vs. Kurt Angle for the TNA title was a 20-minute time limit draw.
TNA are all over Southern California this weekend for their biggest show of the year, Bound For Glory, from the Bren Events Center in Irvine. Complete line up is AJ Styles vs. Sting for the TNA title; Kurt Angle vs. Matt Morgan; Samoa Joe vs. Bobby Lashley in a submission match; Mick Foley vs. Abyss in a Monster's Ball match with Dr. Stevie as the referee; Amazing Red vs. Suicide vs. D'Angelo Dinero vs. Daniels vs. Homicide in Ultimate X; ODB vs. Awesome Kong vs. Tara for the Knockouts
title; Booker T & Scott Steiner vs. Team 3D vs. Beer Money vs. The British Invasion in Full Metal Mayhem; Kevin Nash vs. Hernandez vs. Eric Young for the Legends title; Taylor Wilde & Sarita vs. The Beautiful People for the Knockouts tag titles; and The Motor City Machineguns vs. Lethal Consequences will air free on the pre-show.
TV tapings are next Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday at Universal Studios in Orlando.
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Alex Marvex at http://tinyurl.com/ykwb69p has a story on AJ Styles pushing the PPV. He talks about toning down his act and cutting down on high spots to prolong his career. He said he has no plans to leave TNA: "My next career goal is paying off my mortgage...I just want to make sure my personal life is taken care of, and someday I can say I retired from TNA after being there from the get-go."
Slam Wrestling has a story on Robert Roode at http://tinyurl.com/ykbeu8k.
Evil Eye Entertainment announced a comedy tour with Mick Foley and Colt Cabana doing stand up at various locations in November. Gigs include New York City, Worchester, Middletown, and Providence. More info at www.TotalExtremeComedy.com.
OTHER WRESTLING NEWS
The sale of Ric Flair's original NWA heavyweight title belt by Highspots took a new twist when it was revealed another party also holds a claim to the belt as security for a judgment Flair lost relating to the sale of a Gold's Gym in Charlotte. A company called Conbraco Industries holds several of Flair's possessions, including the NWA belt; his WWE Hall of Fame ring, an expensive Gold Rolex watch engraved "To Be The Man," all of his wrestling robes and boots, and other items of sports memorabilia. These are listed in a UCC filing relating to a lawsuit Conbraco brought
against Flair. Highspots say they have the belt in their possession with several buyers lined up, including a current major wrestling personality, and are hoping to complete the sale once Conbraco makes a decision on how to move forward.
An update on Torrie Wilson. She said she is doing much better following her hospital stint last weekend in Los Angeles. Medication she was taking for a thyroid problem didn't agree with her and it slowed her heart rate down to 30bpm. She said her arms and legs went numb and thought she was having heart failure. She is currently convalescing back home in Texas.
There are some very nice photos of Torrie at www.hollywoodtuna.com.
The Iron Sheik was on the Opie & Anthony radio show this morning. He said he was sad when he learned that Lou Albana passed away and called him a good man. The hosts then played the audio of Brian Blair accusing him of smoking crack on a plane and molesting a young boy. Sheik went nuts and ranted about making The Killer Bee's humble at Wrestlemania III. They also had Bushwacker Luke and Demolition on telling some rib stories. Sheik also ripped on Hulk Hogan and The Ultimate Warrior, calling them, "piece of garbage, low life [expletive], embarrassment to WWF, [expletive] son of a [expletive]."
Angelina Love is planning to work some upcoming convention and indy dates, which is risky business in her situation.
Wrestling promoter Bert Prentice is reportedly battling colon cancer. I say reportedly because some people are skeptical, even those friendly with him. Prentice runs the USA Championship Wrestling out of Tennessee and at one time hosted TNA's Xplosion show with Jeremy Borash.
Jim Cornette at http://tinyurl.com/ps3rb2 was on Detroit sports radio this past week promoting his book at www.jimcornette.com. He wins the quote of the week award for saying this, and you can probably guess who he was referring to: "He couldn't book Lassie in a pet shop."
Trent Acid (Michael Verdi) claims he will be entering rehab soon, due to his recent arrest for drugs.
WRESTLING GLOBE MAILBAG
I first met Lou Albano in the mid-1960s. It was not in a wrestling ring but rather a diner located on Sanford Blvd. in Mount Vernon, NY. Lou was driving a cab and I was in my first summer job as a Good Humor Man selling ice cream from one of their trucks. I recognized Lou having seen him on the three-times weekly NWA (this was pre-WWWF) broadcast on the old Dumont Network that was channel five in NYC. He and the late Tony Altimore were The Sicilians. I had also seen them live at Sunnyside
Gardens in Queens, NY.
A few decades later, I was one of the referees on The Heroes of Wrestling PPV from Biloxi, MS. Lou was on the show. What a regular guy! He joked with the boys and told stories that had everyone rolling. On the plane ride back to Philadelphia, it was me, Lou and Jimmy Snuka. I thought the poor flight attendant was going to parachute off the plane. Lou did his special walk and went into Captain Lou-mode and had the
passengers cracking up.
Rest in peace, Captain. And thank you for the memories that will survive you.
Fred Richards
NWA NJ & NY
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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.
