---=New WGN from Mike Aldren.
WORLD WRESTLING ENTERTAINMENT
1/27 Superstars TV results: Tyler Reks over Trent Barreta; Zack Ryder & Primo over Yoshi Tatsu & David Hart Smith; and R-Truth over Tyson Kidd.
Smackdown tonight has Kelly Kelly & Kaitlyn vs. Michelle McCool & Layla; Drew McIntyre vs. JTG; Rey Mysterio & Kofi Kingston vs. Alberto Del Rio & Kane; Big Show vs. Heath Slater; and Edge & Randy Orton vs. The Miz & Dolph Ziggler.
Just the one house show this weekend ahead of Sunday's pay-per-view. A Supershow on Saturday in Springfield, MA (Mass Mutual Center) headlined by John Cena & Randy Orton vs. CM Punk & The Miz.
The Royal Rumble on Sunday in Boston (TD Garden) has Natalya vs. LayCool in 2-on-1 handicap match for the Divas Championship; The Miz vs. Randy Orton for the WWE title; Edge vs. Dolph Ziggler for the World title; and the 40-man Rumble for a championship match at Wrestlemania 27.
Raw is live Monday from Providence (Dunkin' Donuts Center) with all the fallout from the Rumble, and there will be fallout. The Smackdown/NXT taping is Tuesday from Long Island (Nassau Coliseum).
***
WWE has hired Steve Austin to host the upcoming season of Tough Enough on USA Network. It's also believed that he will be involved in coaching some of the contestants.
The town of Gwynedd in North Wales is upset that WWE is billing Mason Ryan from Cardiff. A WWE spokesperson told the local newspaper: "Mason Ryan is a character from Wales and that character is from Cardiff. We appreciate this is not his local town but Cardiff is used as WWE is a global brand. For ease of recognition we have chosen a city that is best known.” Story is at http://tinyurl.com/5rk3ywo.
Beth Phoenix says she wants to enter the Rumble again at http://tinyurl.com/5vcnbs2.
Radio personalities John Boy and Billy, who have been on the airwaves since 1986, are opposing WWE's new trademark of "The Big Show" as it's also the name of their radio show.
Wrestlemania Axxess tickets go on sale tomorrow morning at the Georgia Dome box office, Ticketmaster outlets and Ticketmaster.com. General admission is $35 while VIP sessions are $75.
TOTAL NONSTOP ACTION WRESTLING
1/27 Impact TV results from Orlando, FL: Velvet Sky, Angelina Love & Mickie James over Madison Rayne, Tara & Sarita; Max Buck over Amazing Red & Chris Sabin in a three-way; Mr. Anderson over Matt Hardy in a non-title match; and Team Immortal over Team Angle in a handicap match.
1/27 house show results from Glasgow, Scotland: Kazarian over Chris Sabin, Shannon Moore & Mark Haskins in a four-way; Angelina Love & Mickie James over Tara & Madison Rayne; Jeff Jarrett over Lionheart (local wrestler); Beer Money w. Ric Flair over Douglas Williams & Magnus; Matt Morgan over The Pope; and Rob Van Dam & Mr. Anderson over the Hardy Boyz.
The tour continues tonight in Manchester, England (MEN Arena), and concludes Saturday in London, England (O2 Arena). These are the two biggest shows on the entire tour both of which are expected to draw at least 4,000 people.
There are television tapings Monday and Tuesday back in Orlando, leading into Against all Odds on 2/13. The taping for next Thursday's show includes Mr. Anderson vs. Jeff Hardy for the TNA title and the debut of "They".
***
Ric Flair rejoined the European tour yesterday in Glasgow after apologizing to the crew for his behavior in Dublin. The story making the rounds is that the company relented and gave him a modest cash advance as he requested. There were mixed feelings among some of the crew about him rejoining the tour. But most realized that Flair was the main attraction and didn't want to punish the fans who had purchased tickets to see him.
Lockdown on 4/17 will be held at the US Bank Arena in Cincinnati, OH. Tickets go on sale on 2/18. The company has offered a cage match at the pay-per-view to feuding Bengals wide receiver Chad Ochocinco and head coach Marvin Lewis.
Impact last night did a 1.3 rating and averaged 1.9 million viewers--said to be the third highest overall audience for a Thursday night show in company history.
OTHER WRESTLING NEWS
Veteran wrestler Johnny Heidman passed away yesterday morning at age 90 in a Charlotte-area nursing home.
OVW trainer and former WWE wrestler Eugene, Nick Dinsmore, is holding a tryout and seminar in London, KY on 2/19. The seminar will run from 2-5pm at a cost of $50 and is only for professional wrestlers currently licensed in the state of Kentucky with at least one year of experience. To apply go to: www.ovwrestling.com.
The Slam Wrestling website has a story on Roddy Piper who was promoting the Wrestle Reunion event this weekend in Los Angeles. Piper at http://tinyurl.com/6gtbuqq talks about giving back to the business. "I understand it is business to a certain degree, but I have had autograph lines that were four or five hours long and at the two-hour point they want to stop. There is dad and a kid who has been in the line for two hours, I can't do that. It is just wrong as a performer, a legend, a Hall of Famer. You can't treat your fans like that, you have to take care of them because they took care of us."
Alex Marvez has a story on Bob Orton who talks son Randy at http://tinyurl.com/6f332pq.
The Miami Herald interviewed Scott Hall at http://tinyurl.com/6zzqvdw. Hall says he's going back to rehab soon and talks about his recent heart problems. “We have bad hearts in my family genetically. My lifestyle contributed to it, too. I made some bad decisions and some bad choices. If you dance with the devil, you got to pay the price.”
The New York Daily News has a story on Low-Ki moving forward with his life post-WWE at http://tinyurl.com/5rtr6a8. A lot of people felt he jumped the gun in asking for his release but WWe says the door is open for him to return.
Shane Helms in an interview with Monday Night Mayhem explained his animosity towards Shawn Michaels. Helms said: "He tried to undercut me a couple times, and this was supposedly after his 'salvation,' when he's supposed to be such a good guy. He's undercut a lot of people, Ken Kennedy being one, that he really went out his way to bury for absolutely no reason. When you're out there hurting somebody's career and hurting somebody's family, and then you go out on the stage and pray, that just rubs me wrong. I'm not getting anything out of telling the truth. I might have lost some fans just because I told the truth, but I think in the end there will be more people that will eventually, when they fall into a level of comfort that I'm at now, there will be more stories like that coming out." More at www.mondaynightmayhem.com.
Gabe Sapolsky previews the Dragon Gate USA shows this weekend in New York, New Jersey and Philadelphia at http://tinyurl.com/48kqyyk.
Jerry Lawler vs. Superstar Bill Dundee with Dutch Mantell as special referee headlines on Saturday night at the Nashville Fairgrounds. The show is to benefit the Make-A-Wish Foundation. Tickets are just $10. More info at http://www.sawfairgrounds.vze.com.
Today's Babe of the Day is at http://thewrestlingpress.com/?page_id=298.
