LAWLER LIES....

--Jerry Lawler was on the ch. 13 news in Memphis saying steroid use is rare in wrestling. The King may have never done steroids himself, but saying that only shows he can lie with the best of them. One of the reasons wrestling will always have problems is because so many of the people in wrestling deny even the most obvious problems.

Credit: http://www.wrestlingobserver.com/

----What did you expect him to say; really?? He is just saying the company line on this one and I would not expect him to say anything else but that. Or maybe he could have said, "I have never used steroids, but it would be hard to say other wrestlers have never used steroids." BTW, for a guy that is turning 58 this November, Lawler is probably in the best shape he has ever been in. During my interview with him, he did look his age in the face, but you could tell he works out and keeps fit. He even said "no thanks" to a energy drink from Kenny Valiant because "those things are full of carbs."

----Lawler did make comments about the Sal Corrente on his web site, which were actually posted the Friday morning of the day I interviewed him that night. The post is very similar to what he had said to me that night. An interesting note on the whole Corrente/Lawler situation is that Lawler is suppose to be served papers on 7.20.07 in Tunica, MS at "Sam's Town", but he is scheduled to be at Ohio Valley Wresting for a "Six Flags" show at 7:30 PM that night. If Lawler is advertised for the Memphis Wrestling show, then they are doing a "bait & switch" and doing a big angle revolved around him getting arrested.

M.E.W.A Wrestling in Batesville, AR.

Is Proud to Present

“NO RULES”
No One Will Leave The Same !!!

Saturday, July 7th, 2007
The One Year Anniversary Show
These great matches
Already Signed:

Strap for Strap Match- Casino Kid VS Scottie Graham, for the M.E.W.A. World Heavy Weight Title, in where the fans bring the straps.

Ladder Match-“The Suicide King” Ray Ray will defend his M.E.W.A Light Heavy Title against “Mr. Playboy” Tommy Wayne.

A 20 plus Man Royal Rumble.

Dress Match-{Where the loser has to wear a dress until he win’s} “Crazy” Luke Graham VS Gerry “Chubby” Graham.

A Dog Collar Match.
“The Velvet Lover” Cody Thunder VS ?????

2 More Huge Matches Will Be Revealed Saturday, July 7th, 2007
At The M.E.W.A WRESTLING
One Year Anniversary Show.

Door’s Open at 7:15 P.M

Bell Time 8 P.M
Admission Is FREE !!!

Moondog Nathan Passes Away

----Nathan Brian Randolph, who worked with Spot Moondog at one time as The Moondogs team, was found dead on July 4, 2007 from an apparent heart attack. Nathan wrestled as the second Rex [original one being Randy Colley]. He was also known in the area as Moondog Nathan to workers and friends. Nathan came to surface on this site when he showed up to work as a Moondog team along with a guy named Runt in June of last year. This all sparked a controversy, which lead to a few articles and arguments throughout the summer.

----I talked with Nathan over the phone during this story and he was a nice and polite guy. He stated about using the Moondog gimmick - “I have been doing this since Larry and I broke up.” Booker and Nathan worked in Nashville and Memphis as the Moondogs. Larry moved to Osceola to start his wrestling school and Nathan moved to Athens, AL. He said, “I have always been a Moondog and I always will. Larry did not care that I was a Moondog when he was alive, why do they care now??”

----Nathan will be buried tomorrow with the funeral services at Spry Funeral Home in Athens, Alabama. Services start at 12:30 PM, which will be followed by graveside services. There will be no visitation due to no insurance.

----Our condolences to friends and family of Nathan Brian Randolph.

Credit: Mid-Southern Message Board

Real Pro Wrestling To Debut on August 4, 2007!!!

----This Saturday night will be the last XWO show. Brody Hawk has decided to change the name to differentiate from XOW. The show will be shut down after tomorrow night’s show in Ecru, MS and it will return revamped as Real Pro Wrestling. Their myspace page states the following..

”STARTING SAT. NIGHT AUG. THE 4th 2007; RPW WILL CHANGE THE WAY PRO WRESTLING IS PERCEIVED IN THE MID-SOUTH AREA. WITH A FAST PACE IN YOUR FACE STYLE WHERE PRO WRESTLERS CAN GO OUT AND BE PRO WRESTLERS INSTEAD OF WORRYING ABOUT GETTING FIRED FOR OFFENDING SOMEONE. AT RPW OUR GUYS CAN DO WHAT THEY DO BEST AND THAT'S WRESTLE THEIR FREAKIN ASSES OFF. WE DON'T WORRY ABOUT LANGUAGE OR VIOLENCE OR ANY OF THAT PANSY SHIT. WARDROBE MALFUNCTIONS ARE ENCOURAGED NOT DISCOURAGED. SO IF YOU'RE A TRUE WRESTLING FAN THEN SIT BACK BUCKLE YOUR SEATBELT AND FREAKIN ENJOY!”

----It looks like they will have some new roster members and some mix of the old roster. By the message above it looks like they might be a little more adult oriented. Scott Porteau will be a major part of the promotion backstage helping with booking and such. I will have more details when I get them.

RassleResults: TLCW Ripley, TN 6.30.07

---- “The Posse” [Lil Chris/Simon Reed] was suppose to work Dell Tucker/Chris Lexx for the tag belts, but Tucker/Lexx walked away from the ring and up the ramp – “Genocide” [Albino Rhino/Maxx Corbin] jumped them and beat them up. Lexx got color… Precious beat Alex Fontez…Tatt2 over Shawn Shultz…Bishop beat Shannon Lee…Chris O'Neal over Matt Foley. Stan Lee over Randy in Non-Title Match….Seth Knight over Tommy Redneck… Lexx got color…”The Golden Boy” Greg Anthony vs Derrick King – No Contest.

----Bishop hurt his ACL…Brian Steele threw Redneck a chain, but the ref caught him with it. When he turned around Knight caught him with a RKO. Knight got a good pop as this was his first show back since “Mayhem”…Dustin Starr told Chris O’Neal that if he beat Matt Foley, then he would get him in the ring next week. Starr vs O’Neal last week ended with Starr running away from O’Neal. Man, they are milking this angle big time. Good to see someone take some time to do an angle, instead of rush everything…Dell Tucker/Chris Lexx won the TLCW Tag Team Titles from “Rhythm & Blues” [Brian Steele/Ike Tucker] last week…DK did an interview where he said how could TGB call himself “Best of the Best” when he had not beat DK??...”The Posse” jumped Stan Lee who was at ringside with DK…”Posse” are not full fledge heels yet – it is just a program they are working vs “Hot Topic”…I have been told that Flash Flanagan is taking some time off.

Ratings Are In!!!

----Nothing good can be said about this week’s show. The overall rating of the show was a 1.8 [29,884 viewers] making it the second lowest rating of the year. This was coming off last week’s second highest of the year. This happened pretty much the same earlier this year when they scored a 4.1 and the next week they lost 30,000 viewers. This show did the same. You have to go into producing EVERY show trying to put on the best show possible, so when there are a lot of people watching like last week, then they will return to watch it.

----There are two other bad trends of the show. For the last three weeks, the program has lost over 20,000 in one quarter of the show. All three shows have had over 50,000 people turn it off from start to finish. The last three weeks the show’s highest quarter has been the first quarter. As one vet in the business asked me this week, “Doesn’t show suppose to GROW???” The first quarter being your highest quarter just tells you that you had people tuning in, but they seen it was going to be same crap, so they just turned it off. This would be a death for any other TV show.

----It is really sad because this group had three really good shows in a row and seemed to be on a roll at bringing back the crowd. They must get over all of the talent and keep consentient storylines. Long term planning of angles and shows for weeks in advance. But, we all know that doesn’t happen, when Corey Maclin usually books the shows that morning. I really hope this doesn't get any of the guys heat, but the first thing I would do to revamp the show with Corey being joined by another announcer [like Michael Ward, Brian Thompson or Kimble Winstead] and hire either Derrick King or Bill Dundee as the booker.

- Johnny Dotson vs. Poker Face - The Spellbinder vs. Chris Neal
1st Quarter – 2.9 [48,017 viewers]

-Hollywood Jimmy/Grady Watson angle
-Interview w/ Jerry Lawler
2cnd quarter – 1.5 [25,687 viewers] [-22330 viewers]

-Too Cool Two vs. Tattoo & Dustin Starr
3rd Quarter – 1.3 [20,483 viewers] [-5204 viewers]

-Agent Blue, Agent Green, & Agent Yellow vs. Sam Shaw, Cameron Valentine, Chris Lexx
-Mr. Hughes vs. The Posse (Handicap Match)
4th Quarter 1.5 [24,848 viewers] [+4365 viewers]

12 Week Average – 2.6 – 43,889 viewers
12 Week High – 3.8 = 63,966 – 6.23.07
12 Week Low – 1.6 = 26,862 viewers – 5.05.07
Growth from start to finish [–22,169 viewers]

What was Memphis watching?? Channel 3 News and Saturday Night Live 7.4 [123,735 viewers]

Shows for The Weekend 7.06.07

----"Show of the Weekend" would have to be the one year anniversary show in Battesville, AR this weekend. That is a major accomplishment in this area. It should be a hot show with Ray Ray vs Tommy Wayne and Casino Kid vs Scottie Graham probably stealing the show.

----TONIGHT!!! for LAW in Rector, AR with …Arnez, Christopher O’Neal, Tommy Redneck, Alec Fontez, Psycho “The Golden Boy” Greg Anthony, Erik Hayes, TL Jones, Jon Michael, Christian Jacobs, Slim Pickens and many more.

----TONIGHT!!! The Future of Wrestling has a show at the TFW Arena in Tupelo, MS with Shawn Reed,Josh Matthews, Chris Styles, "Bad Attitude" Tony Dabbs, Special Ed, Cassanova Kid, Chris Kaos, Hittman, T-Byrd, "Southern Thunder" Chris Kilgore, The Freakshow, The Interns, Hunter Montgomery Jackson, and much more.Tickets are $5. Doors open at 6:30 and the show starts at 8:00.

----Saturday night, Golden Triangle Wrestling returns for a show behind Cathy's restaurant, located on Highway 45 in West Point, MS. "The Warrior" Justin Reed, Hittman, Josh Matthews, Chris Styles, Jack Irons, "Southern Thunder" Chris Kilgore, Hunter Montgomery Jackson, and much more. I believe tickets are $5. Doors open at 7:00 and the show starts at 8:00.

----Saturday night New Blood Wrestling @ Country Nights 1901 Saint John Ave - Bell time 8:00 PM in Dyersburg, TN –Tank, “Real Deal” Tim Edwards, Gunner Thompson, J Weezy, Kilo, Jeremy Moore, Slim Pickens, Mark Justice, “Picture Perfect” [Jon Michael/Christian Jacobs] and more.

----Saturday night @ True Force Arena 256 Gill Street Jackson, TN at 7:30 PM with This Saturday Night June 2nd in Jackson Tennessee @ the True Force Arena on Gill Street Ron Rage, Way Cool, PK Ripper ,Highrollers, Steven Rampage, Big Boy BOB, “Black Label Society” [Void and AJ Bradley],The MoonDogs, Lawman Williams, Ravishing Randy, Wildside, Hardknox, Johnny Thunder, Billy Joe Dream, Punisher Dra Black, Azreal.....All taking place this saturday night bell time 7:30 tickets only $5.00 This is a Live TV Taping for channel 17 in Memphis, TN

----Saturday night in XWO in Ecru, MS for Mark Manson, Jay Webster, Shawn Manson, Max Steele, Izzy Rotten, Neil Taylor, Kross, JR Mauler, Cody Hawk, Brody Hawk, Colton Anderson Pappy, Psycho and many more!

----Saturday night in Ripley, TN with TLCW 207 Washington Street Match: Flash Flanagan,TGB Greg Anthony, Stan Lee, Chris O'Neal, Maxx Corbin,Albino Rhino, Tommy Redneck, Rockin' Randy, Erik Hayes, Dell Tucker, ", "Rhythm & Blues" and much more!!!

----Saturday Night in Batesville, Arkansas. Main Event Wrestling located at the Old Miller Gym at 9th and Oak Street. Admission is FREE to the public, sponsored by local businesses and community leaders. 1 Year Anniversary Show - Strap for Strap Match- Casino Kid VS Scottie Graham - for the M.E.W.A. World Heavy Weight Title, in where the fans bring the straps...Ladder Match-“The Suicide King” Ray Ray will defend his M.E.W.A Light Heavy Title against “Mr. Playboy” Tommy Wayne...A 20 plus Man Royal Rumble.... Dress Match-{Where the loser has to wear a dress until he wins} “Crazy” Luke Graham VS Gerry “Chubby” Graham...Dog Collar Match-“The Velvet Lover” Cody Thunder VS. ????????...and much more.

RassleResults: TIWF Jackson, TN 6.30.07

----PK Ripper and Moondog Rex def. The Gathering …"The Punisher" Dre' Black def. Steven Rampage…Wildside def. Spyder…Black Label Society ( Robbie, AJ, Void) def. Johnny Thunder, Billy Joe Dream, Mr. Tiny…Storm def. Wyked…Weasel def. Big Nasty Bob by DQ…Way Cool [pictured]def. Lawman Williams to retain the TIWF Regional Heavyweight Title.

-----67 in the crowd with a gate close to $335…Storm ended up with a broken ankle in the match with Wyked. Wyked hit him with a crutch. I figured these guys would work stiff, but damn!! Storm out for 6 to 8 weeks.

RassleResults: ASWF Jonesboro, AR 7.04.07

----RAy Ray/Tommy Wayne beat "The Posse" [Lil Chris/Simon Reed]..Reno Diamond beat Marcus O’Neil…Handicap Match: The Leprechauns [Lethal & Lucky] beat Loose Cannon with RottnRandy…“TEAM POLSTON” JERRY "THE KING" LAWLER/ "SUPERSTAR" BILL DUNDEE/SARGE O'REILY/X-KALIBER beat “TEAM HOLLWOOD” THE JUICE & SCOTTY GRAHAM ACID & HOLLYWOOD JIMMY…Brandon Baxter over Austin Lane with Nikki Lane in a Street Fight.

----As usual this event draws thousands of people, but it is hard to judge gate and actual number, when they are charging $5 per car load. We did not include this event in the Biggest Gates list last year due to getting actually paid numbers and it looks like it will be the same this year…San Francisco Treat could make it due to a stomach virus. Too much action the night before I guess. [Did I say that out loud?? LOL]…The Leprechauns had good time with Cannon double drop toe holded him into the lake. That had to be funny.

Congrats TGB and Jeanna!!!

----"The Golden Boy" Greg Anthony wrote the following in a myspace bulletin. Congrats!!!

"We went in Tuesday morning at 7am to enduce labor. Well It took forever for Jeanna to dialate. she wasn't 4 cm until after 7pm. So by like 9pm she was 5cm then at 10pm she was still 5cm. So the Doctor said that with her contractions being a good as they are but with no progress in dialation that we should think about C-Section. We decided that was the best thing for her and the baby and went ahead with it, so at 1:31am on July 4th, 2007 Xavier Anthony Hertel was born and we found out the reason she couldn't deliver him naturally.... he was 9lbs and 3ozs!"

Classic Heel Turn by Gene Jackson

As I'm currently writing an article for this site on the "good ol' days" of great tag team wrestling, I was thinking of who was MY favorite tag team and while I was a big fan of the Rock & Roll Express when I was a kid, being an avid Continental fan my favorite was the Nightmares. During the time Eddie Gilbert was booking there they booked a great angle (although heartbreaking for me at the time) where the Nightmares split.

I'm posting two videos of the angle below so be sure and check it out, if it seems familiar to you it was booked almost exactly like Eddie Gilbert's turn on Tommy Rich in Memphis, but it plays out perfect here, I was around 10 years old at the time and I completely fell for the swerve and I was yelling at Ken Wayne through the tv. I don't think hardly anyone of any age feels any real emotional connection to todays stuff like you did back then. Anyways this led to a great series of matches between the two, many I got to see in person in Columbus, MS. One of the matches was great, Ken said Danny Davis couldn't out WRESTLE him so they had a match where the first person to throw a punch lost. So the whole match Wayne is insulting him and doing everything he can to try to get Danny to throw a punch at him til finally after 15 minutes or so, Davis snaps and just starts beating the shit out of him, which is a great finish cause Ken Wayne gets the win, but the crowd popped huge and went home happy seeing Wayne get his ass kicked.......and so it goes on. Anyway, check out the clips below and check back soon for my article on the glory days of tag team wrestling. ENJOY YOUR FOURTH!

Benoit: A Sad Situation - By Brian Thompson

We all have those moments in life where we will never forget where we were when a certain event happened. This is certainly the case with the Chris Benoit tragedy.
I was driving home from work. It was a normal Monday at the Wynne Progress/East Arkansas News-Leader in Wynne, AR. We completed another edition of our weekly East Arkansas News-Leader publication and began initial work on the Wynne Progress.
I left the office around 5 p.m. and began my one-hour drive home to Jonesboro, AR.
On the way, I decided to give Brian Tramel a call to discuss some wrestling tidbits. It’s a call I will never forget.
Tramel answered with his usual “hello” and I gave him my typical line of “Do you want to know what is wrong with the wrestling business today?”
Usually Tramel will at least chuckle or give me grief by saying, “What do you want?” in a humorous tone. There was no humor in his voice on this occasion.
I started the conversation in a good mood which caused Tramel to comment, “You haven’t seen the website have you?”
“No,” I replied. “What’s up?”
He informed me that Chris Benoit and his family were found dead earlier that afternoon. I was floored.
How could this be? What happened?
Then, as the week went by, details of the alleged double murder-suicide came to light. Something went wrong with Chris Benoit. There are all sorts of speculation as to what it was, but I won’t go back into those details. In my opinion, this is just an extreme tragedy all the way around.
My first glimpse of Benoit came in 1993 during his brief tenure with World Championship Wrestling. He teamed with one of my all-time favorites and future friend “Beautiful” Bobby Eaton. The pair had a short feud with the Cole Twins and Tex Slazenger and Shanghi Pierce, who later became the Godwinns in the World Wrestling Federation.
I wouldn’t see Benoit again until early 1995 and his stint in Extreme Championship Wrestling. I followed Benoit from there through his run in WCW from 1995-2000 and eventually WWE stint from 2000 until his death.
Benoit’s biggest career moment came on March 14, 2004 at WrestleMania XX in New York City’s famed Madison Square Garden. He defeated Triple H and Shawn Michaels in a triple threat match to win the WWE World Title. I watched this pay-per-view along with Eaton and his youngest son. We went to a PPV party at a restaurant in Nashville, TN, to view the event after returning from a Saturday evening booking in Portsmouth, OH, the night before.
I did get to meet Benoit once. He was on the card, facing Kurt Angle on a Memphis Championship Wrestling show at Oman Arena in Jackson, TN, in April 2001. I watched as Benoit gave advice to one of the developmental stars who was injured in his match.
Sadly, Benoit will be remembered as “the wrestler who killed his wife and kid.” He should be remembered as one of the greatest to ever compete and certainly tops of his generation. That will not be the case now.
I can never condone what you did Chris, but I do thank you for your contributions to professional wrestling. You were one of the few who tried to keep “wrestling” alive in an era where many want a complete shift to “sports entertainment.”
In our crazy fantasy world of pro wrestling, I wish this were all some stupid storyline we could complain about. Unfortunately, this ordeal is real and is one that I don’t think we can ever truly understand.
I wish we could turn back the clock and maybe find out what led Chris to his terrible decision. Maybe we could have changed his mind. God bless the families of Chris, Nancy and Daniel. You are in all of our thoughts and prayers.

RassleResults: XWO Ecru, MS 6.30.07

JR Mauler defeated Bonscrusher by DQ when Kross interfered...Brian SoFine came out of the back and issued a challenge to anyone in the back. Jay Webster answered the challenge, and was defeated by Brian SoFine... Brody Hawk defeated Kross by DQ when Bonecrusher interfered. Brody Hawk issued a challenge for match later in the show, Brody & JR Mauler vs. Kross & Bonecrusher. Challenge was accepted...Damion Rage came to the ring, along with his manager Dustin Burcham, who was angry about the opponents that had been selected for Rage in past weeks, and had demanded some “real competition.” Out came his opponent for the night, XWO TV Champion Psycho, who promptly demolished both Rage and Burcham to retain the belt....XWO Champion Pappy defeated Chazz Stone to retain...The main event was Kross & Bonecrusher vs. Brody Hawk & JR Mauler. It was a wild match and a very good match, and it was won by Kross & Bonecrusher.

----Around 75 paid with a gate close to $375.

Big Show Tonight!! ASWF In Jonesboro, AR!!

ASWF WRESTLING
PRESENTS LIVE WRESTLING AT THE FOURTH IN THE FOREST
TONIGHT!!
CRAIGHEAD FOREST PARK
JONESBORO AR.
ADMISSION
$5 A CAR LOAD
BELL TIME 7:30PM.

X-TITLE ON THE LINE MARCUS O'NEIL(C) VS RENO DIAMOND

TAG TEAM ACTION THE TREAT CONNECTION -LOOSE CANNON
&
SAN FRANCISCO TREAT
VS
THE LEPRECHAUNS
(LETHAL & LITTLE LUCKY)

SEMI-MAIN EVENT:
8 MAN TAG TEAM MATCH:
TEAM POLSTON
JERRY "THE KING" LAWLER/
"SUPERSTAR" BILL DUNDEE
SARGE O'REILY & X-KALIBER
VS
TEAM HOLLWOOD
THE JUICE & SCOTTY GRAHAM
ACID & HOLLYWOOD JIMMY

MAIN EVENT:
STREETFIGHT
BRANDON BAXTER
VS
AUSTIN LANE
W/ NIKKI LANE

LIGHTS OUT
LADIES BIKINI WATER FIGHT

Happy 4th of July!!!

----Happy 4th of July from the cast and crew of www.rasslinriotonline.com. Hope you have a safe and fun holiday. Please don't stick your head in the bbq grill and don't drink & drive!!

Benoit Coverage: Konnan On Nancy Grace

----These two pieces are with Konnan on Nancy Grace. Konnan is the most honest wrestler here. More honest than 99% of the wrestlers in this business.

Benoit Coverage: More News Items

----This opening part is pretty sad to think that his family were probably dead while Benoit talked to his neighbor.

--The Boston Herald at
www.thetrack.bostonherald.com/moreTrack/view.bg?articleid=1009424&format=text has a story about Holly McFague, Benoit's next door neighbor who actually was the one who found the bodies, hiding out in Boston while the media from around the world is staking out her home. Officers were at first afraid to go to the house because of Benoit's attack dogs, and since she knew the dogs, she actually went in first. She also said she talked to Benoit on Saturday, while his was likely between murders, and he told her in great detail about Nancy and Daniel having food poisoning. McFague actually was surprised at the detail he went into about their illness. She said she liked Nancy but didn't particularly like Chris.

----Don't you just love that?? He denies it? His name will be link to a long list of wrestlers in the WWE before this investigation is over.

Doctor denies prescribing steroids to Benoit

Dr. Phil Astin's lawyer, Manny Arora, claimed his client never prescribed steroids to Chris Benoit during their six-year doctor/patient relationship.The government claimed yesterday that Astin was prescribing ten months worth of steroids to Benoit every three to four weeks over a one-year period.

----No other names were released, but they are checking on all guys that had autographed photos in the doctor's office. I am really starting to wonder about the Fragile X claim also. Maybe Benoit was just shooting his kid up because he was short.

WWE backs off on Fragile X claims; More wrestlers linked to Astin
Fox affiliate in Atlanta today reported that federal investigators have in their possession medical records pf pro wrestlers under the care of Dr. Phil Astin III. They seized records in particular of pro wrestlers who had autographed photos on the walls of his office.It was well known in the Atlanta sports community that Astin was the doctor to several pro and college athletes, hardly limited to wrestling, and had been well known in the WCW days.

Astin was released today on bond and his whereabouts will be electronically monitored.

WWE spokesperson Gary Davis backed off the company's claim that Daniel Benoit had Fragile X syndrome today."A lot of people got caught up in the idea Daniel had Fragile X syndrome," said Davis in an AP article. "We were just as caught up as everyone else."Davis said the company has no information to contradict the claims of Nancy Benoit's parents that Daniel had no such disease."I think we have to go with what the district attorney has said as being the best, up-to-date information available right now," Davis said.Davis said McDevitt was confident from speaking to WWE employees who knew Daniel Benoit.

Credit: http://www.wrestlingobserver.com/

Chris Benoit: My Thoughts

PRELUDE

----Last Tuesday was the first time I had to cover a major death for this site. It was a very sad and crazy day. The details kept unfolding and the story became harder and harder to cover. I never met Chris Benoit, but as being part of wrestling he was part of the brotherhood. I was a big fan of his and will always consider him one of the greatest wrestlers I ever had the chance to watch.

CHRIS BENOIT : MY THOUGHTS

"You always rooted for him, because he was a good guy and he overcame the odds," said Dave Meltzer, editor of the Wrestling Observer, a weekly news letter. "It's like if you watched 'Rocky,' and in the end it comes out that Rocky killed his wife and his son."

----The quote above I took from one of the various random sites I was looking at over the weekend. It really summed up my feelings about the whole Chris Benoit story. When I first heard about this tragedy I was very sad for whole family, but I was really upset that one of my favorite wrestlers had died. Eddy Guerrero’s death almost took me completely away from wrestling. Have ever watched a TV show and when they kill off a character, then that is it?? That is the way felt like when Eddy died.

----I am not blind to the fact of the lifestyles of all the wrestlers. I have seen most of it first hand. Pain pills are a must in most circles. Smoke a little weed is not frowned upon. I have seen guys drinking anything from diet coke to vodka backstage. If you can perform on that given night and you do not hurt yourself or your opponent, then so be it.

----Are the steroids as bad as they were before Eddy died?? I would say yes. They are tested, but tests are made to have ways of getting around them. That was prevalent yesterday when they discovered that Benoit was taking 10 months supply every 3 to 4 week. When looking at a wrestler that you say would make it in the WWE, what do most of think about?? Their body – if it doesn’t look good, then they are not going to make it. No one gains or cuts without using stuff like testosterone, Windrol, Deca, Anadrol or a variety of different steroids along with meal supplements and such. The guys wanting contracts are encouraged to look good and there are very few ways of doing that.

----Is steroids really the problem here?? I think the general wear and tear on the body, the plan rides and the other drugs help a lot also. Have you ever been on a long trip and come back and you are so tired?? These guys are doing it every week. No other sports group, TV crew, movie crew or rock star has a year around schedule like these guys do.

----Can you blame Vince McMahon for all the abuse and the deaths?? Maybe he could make less days a month on the schedule. That would improve things. But, let me tell you the fans want to see the big muscle guys. They don’t want to watch guys that look like the guy next door. That is one of the big reasons that indys in this area only draw around 100 people. The main point that most people don’t realize is no one forces you to take the roids. No one forces you to take the pain pills. No one forces you to become a wrestler. No forces you to be a drug addict. I have heard many of the guys when I mention they are drug addicts, they say, “It’s just steroids!” This is all on the individual – if they want to make it big – they know what they have to do. If not, then get a decent looking body, a real job during the week and wrestle on the weekends.

----I say all of the above because I know Eddy Guerrero was smart enough to know what he was doing. I never blamed Vince McMahon and I never blamed steroids. Eddy lived his dream and knew he had to take certain paths to do it. Those paths may have shortened his life and I miss seeing him wrestle to this day. It was on him.

----Chris Benoit is a different case. You can say it was the road, the roids and the abuse of his body. It could have been all those factors. If they do some research on his brain and find that he did all of this because of concussions, then I will retract what I am about to say. Benoit was a coward. I have spoke to a few people on this during the week saying, “well if it was only his wife, then maybe I could see why..”, because both my ex-wife and I both wanted to kill each other more times than one. Guess what though?? I didn’t. I didn’t take my angry or whatever out on her. I didn’t kill her, and then kill our kids. This man did.

----Study the timeline and the series of events. He killed his wife. He apparently bonded her feet and hands. Her head was busted in the back. She was there for at least a day before he then went into his son’s bedroom and smothered him. And then he did the most coward act of all – he killed himself. He could not face the world after what he had done.

----I really don’t care how many times I cheered him on. I would watch his PPV matches only because I knew they would be good. The fact is - he had a monster living inside of him. A man that actually could take the life of a child is nothing more than the devil himself. Is there forgiveness for something like this?? Yes there is. But, I will never be able to forget this story every time I watch a Chris Benoit match. Will it make his matches worse?? Is he a horrible worker now because he killed his family?? No his skills will forever live in the matches. His legacy will be killing his family – not what it should have been – one of the greatest wrestlers that ever lived.

THE END

----The match below provided from youtube.com is one of the matches that paved the way of me being a big time Benoit mark. I had seen him wrestle on Calgary tapes, but when he stepped in the ring with my other favorite wrestler at the time – Jushin Liger – I totally marked out. At the time, I was watching Japanese wrestling – All Japan/New Japan – on a monthly basis. It was always a treat to see The Pegasus Kid vs Liger.

Benoit Coverage: Benoit Was Getting 10 Months of Steroids

--If the revelation that Chris Benoit was getting ten months worth of steroids every three to four weeks from Dr. Phil Astin is accurate, it is beyond devastating for WWE. U.S. attorney David Nahmias reported that on average, Benoit was getting a ten month supply of steroids every three to four week during a period from May 4, 2006, and May 9, 2007, from Dr. Astin. The April 10, 2007, drug test that Benoit passed was right in the middle of that period, which is why this charge is the most devastating to the company since the deaths themselves.

Whether fair or not, to the public, it is a complete credibility loss when it comes to the drug policy that the company can't afford at this time. And quite frankly, since Benoit was regularly tested during this entire one year period, it is impossible to have confidence in the drug policy with the release of this information. Benoit was off for several months in 2006 and likely not tested during this period, but he should have been tested at least four times minimum during a period it would appear he was taking heavy doses of steroids. As noted in this week's issue, he and his wife were arguing over his increased use of steroids at the same time he was subject to a drug testing policy.

The announcement that Benoit passed his 4/10 steroid test, even if he did, is one that can't hold up to public opinion with the revelation in this indictment, because it covers a period well into the Wellness policy. A key point of this is unlike with Balco, where they were using designer drugs that could beat the tests, Astin was prescribing Benoit regular steroids, so either the testing is incredibly flawed, Benoit had a way to easily beat the tests, or the tests themselves were a sham. I strongly believe the latter is not the case, but I also believe the latter will be the conclusion most will come to. This is the first time when I truly fear that wrestling as we know it not only will be undergoing great changes, but that as bad as Vince McMahon's reputation is in some circles, and even with his history of rebounding from negatives, this will tarnish it to a level that he may never live to fully turn around. There will be a far increased number of cries in the media over the next week, which have already started, to do something about the industry. Between the advertisers, sponsors, and those action figures with the muscular physiques, this is not a story going away soon.

--Astin was indicted on seven federal counts of distributing painkillers in an illegal manner, as in for reasons other than the treatment of disease. The names of people he is accused of doing this with were not released. It is not known whether any of the people named in the sealed indictment are pro wrestlers, but it is known Chris Benoit is not one of them. The raid of Astin's office included looking at medical records to see if he was appropriately prescribing steroids to Benoit. The indictment regarded prescribing drugs like percoset, vidoprofen, xanax, lorcet and adderall to men with initials M.J. and O.G.

--Prosecutor Scott Ballard of Fayette County stated he currently has no plans on filing any charges against anyone involved in the case.

--Even worse for WWE, Ballard said there are reports that contradict the information Daniel Benoit was suffering from Fragile X syndrome. Ballard said a source with access to Daniel's medical records shows no mention of any mental or physical impairment. Reports from his teacher also contradicted the claim, saying he was prepared this year to go into first grade on par with the other students in his class.

--Ballard said they have looked into the possibility of it being a triple murder or anything other than the murder-murder suicide but have found no evidence to suggest it's anything other than what it is believed to be. He said it's irresponsible not to consider anything, but all the evidence leads in the same direction.

http://www.wrestlingobserver.com/

Congrats!!!

----Congrats to Derrick King and his girlfriend Kristy for on the birth of their son – Caleb Princeton Taylor on Saturday June 30, 2007. I just word that they are leaving the hospital today and everyone is doing good.