WORLD WRESTLING ENTERTAINMENT NEWS
3/20 Raw house show results from Tucson, AZ: Santino & Primo over Chavo Guerrero & Carlito; Chris Masters over William Regal; The Miz over Christian; Kelly Kelly, Gail Kim, Eve Torres over Maryse, Jillian Hall & Eve Torres; Legacy over Kofi Kingston & Evan Bourne; Big Show over MVP; and John Cena & Mark Henry over Sheamus & Batista. The drew just under 6,000 people.
The 3/21 Raw show in Reno, NV had the same results drawing 3,600.
The 3/20 Smackdown show in Visalia, CA was canceled due to a poor advance.
3/21 Smackdown house show results from Sacramento, CA: R-Truth over Mike Knox; Goldust over Vance Archer; Matt Hardy over Fit Finlay; John Morrison over Dolph Ziggler; Kane over Ezekiel Jackson; Michelle McCool over Beth Phoenix; and The Undertaker, Edge & Rey Mysterio over Chris Jericho, CM Punk & Luke Gallows.
Baron Mikel Scicluna passed away this past weekend after a battle with liver cancer. He was 80. Sciclune was a main event heel in the 1960s and 1970s--a Maltese-born Canadian who spent most of his life living in the Pittsburgh area. He will be best remembered for his feuds with Bruno Sammartino, Gorilla Monsoon, and Pedro Morales. Out of the ring, he was regarded by those who knew him as a class act and a true gentleman. Scicluna retired from active competition in 1984 and was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 1996. Visitation will be Friday at Devlin Funeral Home, 806 Perry Hwy, Pittsburgh, PA. Tel: 412-364-051.
Richie Steamboat, son of the Dragon, in developmental tore his PCL which will likely require surgery and sideline him for several months.
Actor/Comedian Wayne Brady is booked to host Raw on May 3 from Jacksonville, FL. He is promoting the return of his game show, Let's Make A Deal.
WWE is all over the place this week promoting Wrestlemania. John Cena will be on Jimmy Fallon on Tuesday night on NBC. Chris Jericho will be on George Lopez on Tuesday night on TBS. CBS Evening News has a piece on MVP. Steve Austin will be on G4's Attack of the Show tonight and The Miz is on the same show on Thursday.
Variety has a story on WWE's PPV business at http://tinyurl.com/ydgsfbn which includes a lot of spin from WWE executive Michelle Wilson. She basically claims that PPV buys have increased of late due to cracking the Mexican market, which is somehow a reflection of the U.S. economy. "If something gets tired or old, it's something we have to look at," Wilson was quoted as saying. "It's just like any entertainment property. It's crucial to continue to reinvent yourself. WWE fans will tell you right away if they like it or don't like it and if it's something they don't want, we don't do it again." Riiiight. She also claims that more kids are watching WWE programming these days due to the PG rating saying that 20 percent of viewers are under 18. Ten years ago that figure was closer to 40 percent.
Sky Sports in the UK interviewed John Cena at http://tinyurl.com/y9d5nyn. He said regarding the Wellness Program, "It's nothing but a positive. I'll be quite honest with you, it's a company move that didn't need to be made. This is the entertainment industry, we're not organised athletics. But the WWE made a positive effort to look after its athletes and I'm very, very happy. It was the right move." Actually, the Wellness Program was a public relations move stemming from the death of Eddie Guerrero, although I think everyone will agree that the program IS a good thing.
Slam Wrestling has a story on Mad Dog Vachon going into the Hall of Fame at http://tinyurl.com/ybdnj8w. Vachon notes that WWE sent a camera crew to his house to interview him about his career and Stu Hart.
The Arizona Republic has a story on Ted DiBiase Sr. at http://tinyurl.com/ygpv53q.
The April edition of WWE Magazine has 26 different covers. Matt Hardy didn't make the 26 so he kicked up a stink on his Twitter. He even had brother Jeff tweet, "Matt Hardy not on one of the WWE Wrestlemania magazine covers. That is some bullshit to me. Think about it WWE fans, is that right or wrong?" Matt then followed up by thanking his fans for their support. Many years ago I used to think this guy was smart and knew how to play the game.
The house show scheduled for June 5 in Montgomery, AL was canceled.
TNA WRESTLING NEWS
3/21 Destination X PPV results from Orlando, FL: Kazarian over Daniels, Amazing Red & Brian Kendrick in a Ladder match for an X-Divison title shot; Tara over Daffney to retain the Knockout title; Rob Terry over Magnus to retain the Global Championship; The Machine Guns over Generation Me in an Ultimate X match for a tag title shot; Scott Hall & Syxx-Pac over Kevin Nash & Eric Young to win storyline contracts; Doug Williams over Shannon Moore to retain the X-Division title; Matt Morgan & Hernandez vs. Beer Money to retain the tag titles; Kurt Angle over Mr. Anderson; and who knows what happened but AJ Styles vs. Abyss was a no contest.
This show was just another example of the roster working their tails off to make over-thought often illogical creative make sense. No title changes. No great matches aside from Ultimate X--which was a solid effort. Save your money for a house show because Destination X was completely forgettable.
Impact is live tonight from Orlando with Hernandez vs. Matt Morgan as tag champs who hate each other; The Beautiful People & Daffney vs. Tara, Angelina Love, Sarita & Taylor Wilde; plus Hulk Hogan has a "major announcement" for Lockdown.
It's not advertised but the plan as of this afternoon was to go with Rob Van Dam & Jeff Hardy vs. Beer Money.
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TNA head writer Vince Russo wrote in his just released book, Roap Opera: How WCW Killed Vince Russo, that last year he personally called Paul Heyman to come to TNA. He said Heyman declined. I do know that ideas have been pitched for an ECW faction (Team 3D, RVD, Taz and Tommy Dreamer) to feud with the newly formed Wolf Pac (Nash, Hall and Waltman), who may soon add Sting to the group.
Rob Van Dam mistakenly thought he was booked for last night's PPV and showed up to the airport a day early for his flight to Orlando. "My bad. Thought I was booked or something," RVD wrote on his website. "I actually had several reasons to think I was expected at a pay per view from conversations earlier in the week, and the schedule they gave me, but it all boils down to me not paying attention. I simply didn’t know what the date was yesterday or I would (have) known I misunderstood plans. That’s what happens when you don’t worry about anything, and are so care free you don’t plan ahead. Sometimes it bites you in the ass!" More at www.robvandam.com.
Brian Hebner (son of Earl) started last night as a referee.
Former WWE wrestler Jon Heidenreich was backstage at the PPV as was Jesse Godderz of Big Brother fame. Karen Angle was also sat in the crowd watching the show under the hard camera with her children.
There is at least talk of breaking up Beer Money as a tag team.
Scott Hall posted a new video (shot backstage at the Impact Zone) at http://www.youtube.com/scotthalltv where he basically jokes about the Wolfpac's past drug and alcoholism exploits.
OTHER WRESTLING NEWS
The NWA Legends Fanfest Hall of Heroes will honor Joe Blanchard at their 2010 banquet. More information at www.nwalegends.com.
Ring of Honor ran in Mississauga, ON this past weekend with Davey Richards over Kenny Omega in the main event. The card was revised slightly as Roderick Strong and Mark Briscoe did not clear the Canadian border.
ROH just signed a TV deal with Canada's Fight Network for a Best of Ring of Honor series.
Dutch Mantell is opening a wrestling school in the Southeast. More infomation at www.dutchmantell.com or email to universityofdutch@gmail.com.
A follow up on the Randy Poffo (Randy Savage) news note from the last newsletter. Steve Wilton, Poffo's former webmaster, wanted it made clear that he resigned from managing the website, due to the abuse he received from Poffo.
Northeast Wrestling ran this past weekend in Poughkeepsie, NY at the Mid-Hudson Civic Center with Tommy Dreamer over Jerry Lawler, Booker T over Ken Anderson, and Roddy Piper doing a Piper's Pit. The show, filmed by HighSpots.com, was a sellout drawing 1,800 people on Saturday--more than the recent TNA house show-- and 600 people on Friday. Angelina Love and Velvet Sky also worked the show as The Beautiful People. The return dates are April 23 and 24 with Jeff Hardy.
Juggalo Championship Wrestling also drew a sellout claiming 1,700 in Philadelphia on Saturday night. Main event was Corporal Robinson vs. Mad Man Pondo in a death match. The next show is April 6 in Pontiac, MI at the Crofoot Ballroom.
Bobby Heenan, 65, with his wife Cindi did an autograph signing over the weekend for Pro Championship Wrestling in the Chicago area. He wrote the foreword for a wrestling book written by P.L. Meyers who is a manager in PCW. We're told Bobby still has his sense of humor and a very quick wit.
The Toledo Free Press has a story on April Hunter talking health care reform at http://tinyurl.com/y9r7o9u. The story notes that her doctor told her to retire in 2007 but she's now taking bookings because her mother is battling stage four lung cancer, and she is helping to pay the medical bills. "I travel for a living, I’ve lived in other countries, so I’ve used socialized health care before, and actually a lot of times had less wait and less bills to pay... It kills me when people argue with me who have never left their backyard, they have never been to another country, and yet they love to tell me that the Canadian health care system is horrible. No, it’s not! I’ve used it lots of times. I’ve used the Japanese system. I’ve used the British system, where they actually came to my hotel and took care of me. I’ve used it in Germany. I’ve used these health care systems before."
The Asbury Park Press interviewed Tammy Sytch about her plans to write a book and more at http://tinyurl.com/yf9sex8.
Maria Kanellis' team won the team competition last night on Celebrity Apprentice, winning $20,000 for the Make-A-Wish foundation. Sportsbook.com is now taking bets on the overall winner. Before last night's show Maria was the long shot along with Selita Ebanks. The odds-on favorite is Sharon Osborne.
The Heyman Hustle has some exclusive photos of Maria at http://tinyurl.com/yem728l.
Wrestlicious taped some new shows last week. You can watch all the episodes online at http://www.bite.ca/.
Today's Diva of the Day is Candice Michelle at http://www.thewrestlingpress.com/DailyDiva.
