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WRESTLING GLOBE NEWSLETTER
Wednesday January 6, 2010
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Wrestling Globe Newsletter by Mike Aldren - All the latest professional wrestling news, gossip and occasional opinion direct to you. WGN is read by industry power players, many top wrestlers and thousands of fans from all around the world.
WORLD WRESTLING ENTERTAINMENT NEWS
1/5 ECW TV results from Louisville, KY: Shelton Benjamin over Chavo Guerrero; Ezekiel Jackson over Kozlov; and CM Punk over Mark Henry.
Superstars tomorrow night on WGN has Yoshi Tatsu vs. Caylen Croft; Mike Knox vs. Finlay; Gail Kim vs. Jillian Hall; and Ted DiBiase vs. Chris Masters.
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Tammy Sytch was upset with us for publishing her comments regarding the Bella Twins. She felt we quoted her out of context, a view we don't share. We told her that we made an observation just like she did. The fact she has improved her life during recent years is admirable, but some of the mean-spirited pot-shots she's taken at other performers have been reprehensible, especially those aimed at Lacey Von Erich. There is a big disclaimer at the top of this sheet which states we are news, gossip, and occasional opinion. As a prominent wrestling promoter told me earlier today reporting has often become too much a reporter's opinion of what someone says, does or writes as opposed to simply what they said, did or wrote. I too am guilty of that on occasion. So, with that said, I apologize to Tammy if I offended her. I hope she has the integrity to do the same to those young women she has bashed in recent months.
Raw on Monday night did a 3.6 rating and 5.6 million viewers. While it seems on the surface they didn't take a hit from Impact they likely would have done a 4.0 rating without the head-to-head competition. An interesting note is that Raw was up 48 percent in the male demo 18-34, which means back in 1997 when Montreal went down, those people would have been aged between six and 22, so it seems a number of casual fans from 12 years ago were curious to see what was going to transpire.
TNA purchased ad time in major markets during Raw. We had a reader in Houston email in saying that Hulk Hogan popped up on his TV screen saying something like, "What are you doing Maniacs? I'm on TNA right now on Spike. Turn the channel now!"
Jeff Hardy (replaced with Kofi Kingston) and Ric Flair have been removed from the WWE opening montage.
Chris Jericho did a pretape with Kelly Kelly at Raw where he says he is going to return next week to bully the guest host. Kelly told him the host next week was Mike Tyson. Presumably they are working to a confrontation of sorts.
Michelle McCool hasn't been wrestling lately as she is still having issues with her knee. At the tapings yesterday they filmed another Piggy James segment positioning McCool and Layla with Beth Phoenix as a new foe. The dark match at the tapings was Tyler Reks over The Hurricane.
Mattel and WWE issued a joint press release on the launch of their new toy line at http://tinyurl.com/y9cmz2q: "Mattel is excited to bring the iconic WWE entertainment brand to fans worldwide, through an authentic line of products that capture all the drama and excitement that makes the WWE a worldwide phenomenon," said Tim Kilpin, general manager, Mattel Brands' Girls, Boys & Games Division. "WWE has spent the past decade tailoring its live and broadcast entertainment experience to a more mainstream audience. Our goal is to help kids and parents extend the experience even further by safely recreating the action in the home through play with these action figures."
Vince McMahon in a rare media interview discusses the Mattell deal with the New York Times at http://tinyurl.com/yj6t9l5. Awesome quote right here: "We’re about the only variety show on television," McMahon said. "We sell fun."
Ritchie Steamboat Jr. starts with FCW in Tampa this week.
Goldust and Eve Torres will be making an appearance for FCW on January 15 at the Harborside Event Center in Fort. Myers, FL. More info at www.fcwwrestling.com.
Jim Ross in his latest blog at www.jrsbarbq.com had a health update on Edge: "Received a nice text from Edge during the holidays from his mountain retreat in the Carolinas and it is my understanding that Edge is still questionable as it relates to him being physically ready to compete at WM26. I do understand that Edge is healing well from Achilles tendon surgery but it has always been a photo finish as to whether or not Edge will be able to wrestle at the end of March. I hope so and would hope that it would be Edge vs. Jericho. I'm certainly not counting Edge out of WM26 but Mother Nature has more to say about this matter than any one else. Edge returning prematurely and not being 100% would make no sense." Ross is also pushing for Jerry Lawler to have a match at Wrestlemania.
Embattled incumbent Connecticut Senator Christopher J. Dodd announced his retirement at the end of his term. Local press are saying that the state with choose Attorney General Richard Blumenthal to run for Dodd’s seat in the 2010 Senate race, which will likely diminish Linda McMahon's chances of winning the election even if she wins the Republican vote. Blumenthal is apparently very popular in Connecticut.
The Federal Election Commission has flagged Linda's campaign expenditures that she recorded as in-kind contributions, reports the Connecticut Journal-Enquirer. In a letter sent on Christmas Eve to the treasurer of McMahon’s campaign committee, an FEC analyst asked that the candidate’s third-quarter campaign finance report be corrected to include information that was "missing" about its vendors, including the dates, amounts, and purposes of the purchases. Linda's campaign has yet to respond.
The Smackdown/ECW house show on February 28 has been moved to the Taylor County Expo Center in Abilene, TX. The original location was the Civic Center in West Plains, MO... The house show in Huntsville, TX on February 7 has been canceled. Refunds are available at the Central Ticket Office in Fort Worth.
WWE returns to the Cow Palace in Daly City, CA (near San Francisco) for a Supershow on Sunday, March 14. Tickets go on sale January 23. This will be the first WWE event at the Cow Palace in several years.
Ted "The Trailer" McNailer from OVW in Louisville has a cameo this Friday night on Smackdown TV.
Chelsea Handler on her TV show Chelsea Lately has been saying "suck it" a lot recently and has brought out a t-shirt line using that phrase.
TNA WRESTLING NEWS
The update we have on Hamada is that she injured her ankle, not her knee, in the Knockout tag title match. The injury wasn't said to be as bad as Roxxi's. Everyone is putting her over as one tough cookie and she has told people she doesn't plan on missing any time.
We confirmed that Ric Flair has signed a one year deal for guaranteed money. The deal allows him to work outside the company and take on endorsement and sponsorship opportunities. His first storyline will be as the mentor of A.J. Styles.
People close to Jeff Hardy have told us that he although he has an agreement with TNA, it's believed to be verbal and not in writing. TNA public relations won't confirm or deny that. This is quite worrying if true as the company has a history of putting talent on television without a signed contract. I can't see the WWE touching him while under indictment but his future here appears questionable. He didn't attend the tapings yesterday in Orlando and drove home to North Carolina.
Hardy is also saying rumors of him having a verbal agreement to return to WWE later this year are untrue.
Shannon Moore was a guest today on the Busted Open radio show. He claimed the stories regrading Jeff Hardy's indictment were just silly rumors. I seriously hope he doesn't really believe that. He declined to comment when asked if he and Jeff had signed with the company.
Another note from Hogan's talent meeting on Monday afternoon was that he said his office door is always open if anyone wanted to come to him to discuss their storylines, etc. The meeting was described as more of a pep talk than anything else.
Was Brutus Beefcake the masked wrestler who jumped everyone on Monday? I have no idea. Just saying.
The Young Bucks have been renamed as Generation Me. The new name is a term that commonly describes anyone born in the 1970s, 1980s, or 1990s -- so in 2009, this means people between the ages of 10 and 40; today's young people who take it for granted that they come first. Reports we had last night was that Generation Me made their television debut in a decent match against the Machine Guns which airs soon on Xplosion.
Angelina Love returns on the January 14 airing of Impact.
There has been internal debate during the last few days regarding the six-sided ring. Somebody pitched an angle that would lead to them reverting to a tradition four-sided ring, but they have yet to pull the trigger with anything in that regard. Hogan has said in recent interviews that he doesn't like the six-sided ring because it limits mobility which is contrary to the view of most TNA talent who work in it.
Kevin Nash wrote on his Twitter that he was under the impression that switching Impact to a regular Monday night slot was in the works. He noted Spike TV execs were very happy with Monday's show.
Jim Cornette weighs in on Impact vs. Raw at http://whosslammingwho.podomatic.com/. Among some very valid, and some somewhat harsh comments, he said: "In five years, people will be looking back at January 4, 2010 as the night that the wrestling business finally fell in the toilet and led the way to change what will be meaningful. Because [who] wants to buy a ticket to anything that TNA or WWE does ever again after seeing five hours of a bunch of old, gray-haired guys yelling at each other about shit that took place 15 years ago? ... If you look up the phrase buyer's remorse in the dictionary, there's a picture of Dixie Carter today. Even she, with her limited knowledge of anything related to professional wrestling, had to realize that they were dropping a turd on a plate in the middle of all those people."
Former backstage interviewer Lauren Thompson said she is going to continue her work with the Golf Channel and is working on other exciting projects in 2010. She noted she was sad to leave TNA but it was time to move on. She is also getting married later this year.
Jeff Wilen at http://www.go386.com/jawbreaker/ puts over Impact from a live perspective.
Dory Funk Jr. and his wife Marti Funk were also backstage at the tapings.
Homicide is taking the blame for the debacle in the steel dome as he was blown up and had assured people he was able to climb out in time for Hardy's entrance through the crowd.
OTHER WRESTLING NEWS
The 24-year-old daughter of Roddy Piper is lucky to be alive after an auto accident yesterday afternoon in West Hollywood. Ariel Teal Toombs, an aspiring actress, was sat in her parked vehicle when a bus smashed into her drivers side door at around 40mph. She was exiting the vehicle at the time. She managed to walk away unscathed but was very shaken up, according to her agent Noelle Kim.
Roddy Piper is doing a stand-up show this Friday at Hollywood Improv, 8162 Melrose Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90046. For ticket information you can call (323) 651-2583. We would love a brief report if any readers are in attendance.
The newest twins in wrestling are Hannah and Holly Blossom, 21, out of Stockport, England. They started wrestling at age 16 for a local group and have spent the last few months training with OVW in Louisville. They put over the school as the best training they have ever had praising Rip Rogers and Danny Davis. For more on OVW you can check out their website at www.ovwrestling.com.
A memorial service for Steve Williams will be held on Friday at 2:30pm at the Mile High Church, 9079 W Alameda Ave. Lakewood, CO. Donations in lieu of flowers can be sent to the Steve Williams Memorial Trust c/o Jeff Williams. 2406 Fossil Trace Drive, Golden, CO, 80401 which will fund Steve's life expenses and his son Wyndam's life and educational expenses.
The Young Bucks vs. The American Wolves was announced for the Ring of Honor television tapings this weekend in Philadelphia at The Arena. More info at www.rohwrestling.com.
Bobbi Billard, a former WWE developmental Diva, underwent major cosmetic reconstructive surgery over the holidays and is the new owner of smaller, capsular contracture free breasts. Her procedure was performed by Dr. Gary Motykie, the famed Beverly Hills surgeon featured on the reality show Dr. 90210. She is warning other women about the dangers of breast implants saying after four breast surgeries she has experienced nothing but problems. She said: "From having my first doctor cut my pocket too low, to having ripples from hell, to having capsular contracture over and over again, to having two different sized and shaped nipples in two completely different spots... You name it, it's gone wrong with my boob jobs. There were periods of time in my life where I was too humiliated to even take my shirt off in front of a guy so I didn't even date and became cellibate. It's certainly been a journey. I have spent over $40,000 in breast augmentations/corrective procedures. And to spend all that money on something that you are insecure about in the first place AND properly do your research/due diligence with thinking you are selecting the right surgeons and STILL be right back where you started from ONLY worse off, is a completely depressing and devastating situation." She added that now with Dr. Motykie's help she finally has the breasts she has always wanted: "Dr. Gary Motykie also did a wonderful revision job on the scar on my neck that I got courtesy of my wonderful experience of working as a professional wrestler for WWE and my resulting two level fusion surgery. I was left with a thick red scar that was noticeably visible but Motykie was able to correct this for me and I will be forever grateful for his amazing work."
UK comedian Dom Joly talks Bid Daddy and watching bios on Andre the Giant and Steve Austin at http://tinyurl.com/yzw66z9. He wrote: "For the life of me, I can't understand the appeal of wrestling. If you're really stupid then you may believe that the whole thing is real. If that's the case then I can see that it must be gripping. If however, you have an IQ in double figures then you must have better things to do than to spend hours watching big men in small pants grapple on the floor. All this, as I considered entering my third solid hour of viewing with a Hulk Hogan bio. I drew the line there however – I had to start taking the Christmas decorations down ... in my pants."
DDP's appearance on Good Morning Atlanta promoting his Yoga system is online at http://tinyurl.com/yes7vct.
Kid Kash has a trial date set for March 1 stemming from his arrest over the holidays for theft and forgery.
Dwayne Johnson's next movie Tooth Fairy hits theatres on January 22. No word on whether he will host Raw in the coming week's but WWE is trying to work out a date with him.
Chavo Guerrero, Sr. will be the guest tonight on In Your Head Wrestling Radio at 8:00pm ET at www.InYourHeadOnline.com. Listeners can call in at 1-508-644-8503. Chavo will also be appearing at the NWA Legends booth at Wrestle Reunion in Los Angeles on January 29-31 at the LAX Hilton. For more information go to http://www.wrestlereunion.com/.
The NWA returns to Charlotte on January 23 at the Metrolina Expo Center. Mike Posey, Caprice Coleman, Jimmy Rave, Sal Runauro, Mikael Judas, and many more. Tickets are just $10. More info at www.nwaincharlotte.net.
A story on former WWE wrestler Marc Mero at http://tinyurl.com/y8w8vnb who returned to his high school to talk to students about making the right choices in their life. Mero, now 49, was quoted as saying: "Your friends are like elevators and they are either going to take you up or they are going to take you down. I hung out with losers and I became a loser." Mero also has a website at www.championofchoices.org.
BG James was interviewed at www.carnagecrew.net.
I Believe In Wrestling this Saturday at Ker's Winghouse, 649 W. Livingston Street, Orlando, FL with Raymond Snow vs Chasyn Rance, managed by Larry Zbyszko. For More Information, call (407) 694-3912 or visit www.ibelieveinwrestling.com.
Juggalo Championship Wrestling drew 800 fans back on December 19 for a show with Santa-Bu (Sabu in a Santa costume), The Necro Butcher, Mad Man Pondo, Buff Bagwell, The Weedman, Kevin Thorn and the Insane Clown Posse.
Today's Diva of the Day is Natalya at http://www.thewrestlingpress.com/DailyDiva.
