----Mike Aldren with WGN.
WORLD WRESTLING ENTERTAINMENT
11/9 NXT TV results from Manchester, England: Kaitlyn won an arm wrestling challenge; AJ over Nikki Bella; AJ won a high school photo identification challenge; and Naomi over Aksana.
Superstars tonight on WGN has Zack Ryder vs. Yoshi Tatsu; Ezekiel Jackson vs. Primo; and Kaval vs. Drew McIntyre.
***
Linda McMahon since her election defeat last week has been vacationing at her oceanfront condo in Boco Raton, FL. She told the Connecticut Post that she is plotting her next move and doesn't regret spending $50 million of her own money on her failed Senate campaign. "I don't regret any of that, at all. I was making an investment to serve and I think that's a really good thing. I think you have to go into any kind of endeavor knowing what your downside is when you get into it." When asked if she would run for public office again, she said: "Sure. I'll be moving forward this next year... I have a couple (of avenues) to pursue. You'll have to stay tuned."
William Regal, 42, who recently signed a new multi-year deal, announced at Tuesday's Raw show in London that the current European tour may be his last. Following his match, he gave what many people perceived to be as a retirement speech. He later clarified his comments via his Twitter account writing, "I'm having a great tour and wrestling Daniel Bryan has made me realize that unless I can keep up to that standard, it's possibly time for me to start winding down. I said it might be my last tour the other day, not that it was. I would like to continue with quality and not quantity." One person close to Regal noted to us that they didn't believe he was retiring any time soon. They felt he may transition to an office position as a trainer or agent and would stick around as long as he was able to help develop younger talent on the roster.
Zak and Britani Knight (brother and sister), were among those who received tryouts with WWE before the Raw show in London. The siblings are the children of veteran British wrestler's Ricky Knight and Sweet Saraya who have pretty much groomed them for the business since an early age.
lav Bulgaria, 25, out of Torrence, CA was recently signed to a developmental deal. He trained at Rikishi's wrestling school in Burbank.
Another recent signing is Jesus Rodriguez, who plays the role of Alberto Del Rio's personal ring announcer, Ricardo.
Jim Ross revealed that Jerry Lawler has a severe staph infection that may require further treatment. Lawler has made no public comment thus far. He is currently convalescing in Memphis.
Raw on Monday night did a 3.1 rating and 4.5 million viewers.
Smackdown on 11/5 did a 1.8 rating and 2.7 million viewers--second highest number since the move to SyFy and a good indication that last week's show was well received.
Michelle McCool missed the entire European tour to tend to Undertaker following his shoulder surgery.
WWE officially announced that Ted DiBiase Sr. will appear at Monday's "Old School" Raw.
The company has also contacted other legends about doing the show, including Mae Young and one other person who if they appear would be a major surprise. Honky Tonk Man turned down the booking a couple of days ago for reasons the company understands.
Wrestlemania 27 tickets go on sale this Saturday with prices ranging from $25 to $1000. An internet presale is already underway with the passwords FRIEND or WM27GA at Ticketmaster. Triple H and Shawn Michaels were in the Atlanta area today and will be for the rest of the weekend making promotional appearances. They will be on Good Morning Atlanta on Friday as well many other local TV and radio shows. Ricky Steamboat, Evan Bourne and The Bella Twins are also in town and will be appearing Friday night at Centennial Park from 7-10pm.
The Smackdown house show on 1/17 which is a Monday was canceled presumably because the company needs the Smackdown roster available for Raw which will be the go home for the Royal Rumble.
Great Khali may be facing some legal problems in India. This relates to contractual obligations to promote a movie that he made some time ago which he may not be able to meet due to his participation in the Bigg Boss (Big Brother) reality series over there. Full story at http://tinyurl.com/22jpeuh.
UFC fighter Roy Nelson said this week that he is looking to fight Brock Lesnar or Undertaker, too, if given the chance. "I think it's great that Brock wants to fight me," Nelson said in an interview with BloodyElbow.com. "It would be a great matchup and I believe the fans want to see it so let's make it happen. I don't care if it is in the UFC or the WWE... let's just get down to it." He added: "If Brock still doesn't want to fight there I guess I'll take on the Undertaker because I'm sure he'd be happy to fight me. We can do Hell in the Cell or we can even do a complete throwback and sign a Lion's Den match like Ken Shamrock. I can get paid to act."
The WWE website has a Where Are They Now? feature on Ken Patera at http://tinyurl.com/39mta5v.
Bret Hart teamed (he didn't take any bumps) with the Hart Dynasty tonight at the Smackdown show in Nuremberg, Germany over a Nexus team of Justin Gabriel, Heath Slater and Husky Harris.
Matt Hardy and Shane Helms recorded a webshow last night for GeekWeek.com. They talked various topics as they drank their way through a bottle of vodka. Hardy said he was sent home from the last UK tour after someone stooged him out to management for taking some meds that made him appear drowsy. I guess he forgot about the YouTube video he posted hours later denying such a thing ever happened. Anyway, nothing else too noteworthy was said, although he did brag about bedding four different Divas, and claimed one of them was blowing Vince.
TOTAL NONSTOP ACTION WRESTLING
Impact tonight has Jay Lethal & Taylor Wilde vs. Robbie E & Cookie; Samoa Joe vs. Gunner & Murphy; Rob Van Dam vs. Kazarian; AJ Styles vs. Stevie Richards for the TV title; and Beer Money & Douglas Williams vs. Matt Morgan in a handicap match.
TNA's final show at the Nashville Fairgrounds takes place Friday before the venue closes in December. The advertised line up is Jeff Hardy vs. TBA; AJ Styles vs. Raven; Machine Guns vs. Beer Money, Inc. vs. Ink, Inc; Pope vs. Abyss; Jeff Jarrett vs. Samoa Joe; Madison Rayne vs. Velvet Sky; plus Mr. Anderson returns to the ring from injury.
The company also runs Saturday at the Georgia Mountains Center in Gainesville, and Sunday at the Northwest Georgia Trade & Convention Center in Dalton. Then follows another round of TV tapings Monday and Tuesday back in Orlando.
***
Kevin Nash said Wednesday that he has not signed a new contract with TNA, disputing online reports to the contrary. There would appear to be an offer on the table but so far Nash is keeping tight-lipped about his next move. "My wife, my son and myself will decide what's best for our family," wrote Nash on his Twitter account. "I appreciate the support and love of my fans. Hope my decision pleases all."
Lacey Von Erich, who is a lot smarter than people think, is gone from the company. She said she's leaving to pursue other opportunities and has talked about trying her hand at sports hosting. She wrote on her Facebook page that she had a blast wrestling, although she admits, "I was no Von Erich in the ring."
Kurt Angle wrote on his Facebook page that "anything is possible" when asked by a fan if he would ever return to WWE. He added: "Dixie Carter has been wonderful to me. She cares about my well being. That means more to me than anything. So I would never count out WWE, but TNA is my loyalty right now."
The latest update on Tommy Dreamer is that the TNA doctor diagnosed either a fractured or dislocated wrist, stemming from the bad bump he took at Turning Point. Dreamer wrote on Twitter last night that he couldn't get to the hospital "cause of work".
Brian Kendrick is currently battling a knee injury.
Don West was interviewed on the Monday Night Mayhem radio show. He didn't rule out a return to television one day but said he was very happy with his current role working in the merchandise department. Audio at www.mondaynightmayhem.com.
Regarding some of the recent departures from the EV2 group--We should note that the door is always open for them to return in most cases.
There is also a strong belief that Eric Young will be back at some point soon.
US Magazine was none too complimentary about the upcoming A&E special on Hulk Hogan. They gave the Bischoff-Hervey produced film just a two-star rating. "Considering his stature in pop culture, this effort could have been a bit more insightful and less self-promotional," wrote TV critic John Griffiths. Finding Hulk Hogan premieres next Wednesday at 9pm CT.
Mick Foley's appearance from The Daily Show last night is online at http://tinyurl.com/2vzjt55.
OTHER WRESTLING NEWS
Linda Claridge, the former Mrs. Hulk Hogan, has just secured a book deal with Harper Collins. The tentative title is "Wrestling the Hulk: My Life on the Ropes". Don't expect too much dirt as her divorce settlement calls for her not to disparage the Hulk.
Irish promoter Alan Keoghan postponed both of his events scheduled this weekend in Maynooth, County Kildare. He cited talent issues saying that some of the former WWE names he booked needed to leave his shows early which, "for the money charged by the stars is unacceptable." Keoghan specifically pointed to issues with Mick Foley, Candice Michelle and Lilian Garcia. He said he hopes to reschedule these events in 2011... In response, agent Steven Woolf, who booked Foley, Candice and Lilian, released the following statement: "I would like to clear the air so wrestling fans understand about the cancellations of Mick Foley, Candice Michelle and Lilian Garcia for the Wrestlezone Ireland event. I booked all three for this event six months ago. We have signed contracts in which all the terms of appearance have been clearly spelled out and agreed to by both sides. Now suddenly this promoter, Alan Keoghan, has cancelled all three stating they are overpriced. The fees charged this promoter are their normal booking fees for International appearances. Alan is also upset that Mick Foley has scheduled (2) book signings in London prior to his event. Mick is paying his own airfare to London and we can't see how a book signing in another country could hurt his business. It's apples and oranges...it's just not the same thing... Speaking on behalf of Mick, Candice and Lilian, all three were prepared to make the appearances both days for the agreed upon times and were looking forward to meeting all their Irish fans. But, this promoter has now turned into an unprofessional belligerent person. We feel bad that these fans have paid a lot of money to attend the Wrestlezone Ireland event and now won't be able to get what they paid for due to what appears to be a very wishy washy promoter. I might add, he never booked airfare for Candice and Lilian as per the agreement. When a promoter signs an agreement agreeing to all the terms and conditions, it is his obligation to the talent and the wrestling fans to abide by it. Steve Woolf."
Northwest indy group Combat Zone Wrestling drew 502 people to it's overseas debut in Oberhausen, Germany on 11/6. The show was co promoted by the WXW group in the country. The second night, hyped as a Tournament of Death show, drew just 356.
American Wrestling Rampage ran last night in Bordeaux, France drawing an estimated 1,000 people. This was the first night of a two-week 7-date tour with Booker T, Scott Steiner, Charlie Haas, Shelton Benjamin, Rene Dupree, The Sandman, Daivari, and others. The tour continued tonight in Marseille, then runs Saturday in Grenoble which is a DVD taping, Sunday in Dijon (home of mustard), 11/16 in Lille, 11/20 in Claremont, and 11/21 in Rouen.
Gabe Sapolski blogs on the Heyman Hustle at http://tinyurl.com/272xnhq looking at who may emerge as the hottest new wrestling stars of 2011. And you've probably never heard of any of them...
James Guttman at www.clubwwi.com has a great new interview up with Jamie Dundee.
Chris Jericho wrote on Twitter that he injured his rectus abdominus (ab muscle) while performing with his band Fozzy in the UK.
Today's Babe of the Day is Lauren Brooke at http://thewrestlingpress.com/?page_id=298.
