----Mike Aldren returns with Wrestling Global Newsletter.
WORLD WRESTLING ENTERTAINMENT
WWE runs Saturday night with a dual brand house show in Winnipeg. The Bragging Rights pay-per-view is Sunday from Minneapolis, Raw is live Monday in Green Bay, and Smackdown is taped Tuesday in Milwaukee.
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Voters in Connecticut were advised by election officials today not to turn out to the upcoming Senate polls wearing WWE merchandise or it could be construed as electioneering for Linda McMahon. The Polictico website broke the story quoting Av Harris, the spokesman for the Connecticut secretary of state. "Nobody is going to be denied their right to vote, but (election officials) may ask them to cover up a shirt, go back to the car take it off, come back with a jacket on top," Harris said adding that officials will evaluate people wearing WWE garb on a case-by-case basis. "It may be a thing where an 18-year-old kid walks in with a Smackdown T-shirt. If the moderator determines it's no big deal, it's fine," Harris said. "Forty people walking in when the Connecticut candidate for Senate is associated with the company, and her husband is the CEO — it's a celebrity type of CEO, it's not just a run-of-the-mill CEO of a company. This a well-known ubiquitous company." Linda McMahon’s spokesman Ed Patru fired back in a statement this afternoon saying there is nothing in the state election guidelines that prohibits a voter from wearing a nonpartisan piece of clothing to the polls. "This opinion seems overtly partisan, and anytime the state starts arbitrarily denying citizens the right to vote, democracy itself is under attack," claimed Patru. "We’re very concerned at this point that they may soon decide to prohibit Vietnam veterans from voting."
Vince McMahon on the WWE website today also attempted to claim voters were being denied the right to vote--which he described as a violation of first amendment rights. Really hilarious stuff. Next time you go to a WWE event, try wearing a TNA or ROH T-shirt, talk to them about the first amendment, and then see what happens.
Meanwhile, the Connecticut Democrats' chairwoman is seeking a federal elections investigation into the Stand Up for WWE campaign and whether Linda McMahon's Senate campaign illegally coordinated it and other activities with WWE. Vince has also responded to these allegations by saying that WWE will not be bullied or intimidated. More at http://tinyurl.com/2uucm8h.
Ricky Steamboat was back in Tampa this past week following his hospitalization in June. He was initially diagnosed with a brain aneurysm, later confirmed as a capillary burst or bleeding on the brain. Steamboat is said to be in high spirits and was looking forward to resuming his work with WWE, likely a role in developmental.
Jim Ross at www.jrsbarbq.com noted that he recently caught up with Shawn Michaels. "HBK is happy, healthy and not missing the wrestling business at this time," explained Ross. "Shawn is busy working on a hunting show for the Outdoor Life Network, I think, that will likely begin airing next year. We discussed some upcoming hunts and yours truly might actually go on one of these taped hunts somewhere down the road. I might be better suited to be the camp 'cook' as my hunting skills aren't at the level of say a Brock Lesnar, Steve Austin, or Dusty Rhodes. But the 'camp fire' talk would be entertaining."
Paul Bearer praised Vince McMahon for saving his life this week during a radio interview with Arda Ocal on The Score on Sirius Radio 98. “I’ve always been heavy, in fact I was morbidly obese (before Wrestlemania 20) and Vince McMahon picked up the $35,000 tab for the gastric bypass surgery," said Bearer, who was promoting Sunday's Bragging Rights pay-per-view. "There’s no doubt in my mind, if I didn’t have that surgery, I wouldn’t be here today, I would have died long before my wife did." He added: "When my wife was first diagnosed with cancer in 2001, Vince and Linda and company were always there for me. When my wife passed away, they were reaching out and taking care of me." Bearer also put over Undertaker for developing his character over the last two decades and being a model professional and inspiration to the younger wrestlers on the roster. Full audio at http://tinyurl.com/2vyyyvm.
Jillian Hall is a recent addition to the training team in developmental.
Truth missed TV this week due to a past criminal offense which prohibits him from entering Canada.
There are plans to bring back Tough Enough on USA Network as part of the networks expansion into reality TV. This is something that WWE Producer Kevin Dunn has been pushing for some time although some in power are against the move. Vince McMahon green lighted the project a couple of months ago.
WWE has also announced plans to hire over 100 new employees in anticipation of it's cable TV network launch next year.
Blood Brothers, the latest WWE Studios movie with John Cena, started shooting this past week in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The film stars Cena, Ethan Embry, Michael Rispoli, Boyd Holbrook and Amy Smart as dysfunctional siblings who inherit their fathers fast fortune, but are handed an unpleasant surprise.
Mad Catz and THQ have signed a deal to produce WWE themed video game controllers.
TOTAL NONSTOP ACTION WRESTLING
TNA has live events tonight in Cadillac, MI, Saturday night in Saginaw and Sunday in Port Huron. TV tapings follow this coming Monday and Tuesday back in Orlando.
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Impact last night on Spike did a 1.2 rating averaging 1.5 million viewers followed by Reaction which did a 0.7 rating averaging 800,000 viewers.
Tweet of the Day via Dixie Carter. One fan brought up how the end credits of Reaction still had Dixie listed, despite the takeover by Eric Bischoff and Co. She responded with, "See how stupid THEY are."
Spike will be adding replays of Reaction on Fridays at 12:30am and Sunday at 9am.
The company is talking to Bruce Prichard about coming in to work on television production following a recent tryout. Prichard, a long time McMahon loyalist, worked for WWE on-and-off from 1987-2008. On his latest audio show, Prichard described the TNA locker room as "cool as hell.. a great atmosphere by a group of guys and girls who want to go out and get the job done."
Kevin Nash addressed his status in an interview with RingsideRadio.com. Nash said that he's no longer with the company because he was never offered a new deal. He said: "I was never given a contract to sign. We never had the discussion... I think that they were involved in a couple of other things. I mean TNA is a small company and I think some other things came up and I just slipped between the cracks. Even before that I signed my (last) contract 21 days after my deal was up. I guess maybe they thought I would just wait patiently. Somebody has owned me since I was 30 years old. I just wanted to see what it was like to wake up in the morning and not have to answer to somebody. It's pretty sweet." When asked if he now considers himself retired he noted how nobody ever really retires in wrestling. "I’ve seen Hulk do it for years. Take time off and low and behold four or five guys get hurt some place and your value goes up 20 percent."
Rhino's contract expires soon.
Kurt Angle, 41, and his bride, model/actress Giovanna Yannotti, 25, are expecting their first child in February.
Desmond Wolfe has told friends that he hopes to return to television soon. Wolfe has been sidelined since August with an undisclosed medical issue.
Jeff Hardy is booked as a guest on CBS' The Talk this coming Tuesday.
Former Big Brother contestant Jessie Godderz has denied reports elsewhere that he's signed a deal.
The former Katie Lea in WWE (Katrina Walters, 29) just started here under the name Winter.
OTHER WRESTLING NEWS
ROH announced signing Christopher Daniels to a contract this past week. This is believed to be a non-exclusive deal.
Greg Valentine, 60, who teased retiring earlier this year is back taking indy bookings following a recent knee surgery.
Dave Bautista told Washington, DC's 101 radio that he's closing to signing a with Strikeforce with his MMA debut possibly in March.
The Arena in Philadelphia has been renamed as Asylum Arena after the Asylum Fight League MMA promotion.
Melissa Anderson, as Alissa Flash, has just started with AAA in Mexico.
Former WWE Diva Torrie Wilson noted that she shut down her clothing store in Texas a few weeks ago. She said she was excited about moving back to California in the near future.
