News Archives - Summer 2010(July - September 2010)

Thursday, July 1, 2010 :

-The Wrestling Roundtable is happy to announce our new Mailing List. A great way to stay up-to-speed on all things Roundtable, including site updates, wrestling/MMA news, exclusive content & more! You can sign up by using the form on the front page of wrestlingroundtable.com or by going here.

-Wrestling Roundtable Radio will return this Tuesday at 11pm EST/8pm PST on BlogTalkRadio. Call 347-857-4647 to share your thoughts on the latest happenings in the worlds of MMA & pro wrestling, as we'll be discussing the results & fallout of Strikeforce : Fedor Vs. Werdum, UFC 116, Martha Hart's lawsuit against WWE & more.

-Pro Wrestling Respect 4, sponsored by The Wrestling Roundtable, takes place Sunday July 18th at the Burlington National Guard Armory in Burlington, NJ, featuring Austin Aries, Delirious, Daizee Haze, Ricky Reyes, Pelle Primeau, Bobby Dempsey, Rhett Titus, Jamilia Craft, Mike Sydal and many more. The Roundtable will be there as usual, and we hope you will be too! Tickets can be purchased at our Store.

-Scorpio(Rafael Nunez, former UWA Champion luchador in the 70s & 80s), 67, died Friday morning.

-Toni Adams(Tony Donahoo, 45), wrrestler/valet in Tennessee & Texas during the late 80s/early 90s, died Thursday.

-Pro Wrestling Respect's Alex Payne, frequent Roundtable guest panelist, debuted in Pro Wrestling NOAH on their Sunday June 27th "Summer Navigation Part 1" event at ACT City Hamamatsu in Japan, teaming with Naomichi Marufuji in a losing effort against company President Akira Taue & Mohammed Yone. Payne is booked on several more shows for the tour, big congratulations to Alex Payne!

-Strikeforce(…oops, AND M-1 Global!) presented 'Fedor Vs. Werdum' this past Saturday on Showtime at the HP Pavilian in San Jose, California, and the main event sent shockwaves throughout the MMA world, as 2-time BJJ World Champion & BJJ black belt Fabricio Werdum(14-4) became the first man to ever decisively beat heavyweight Fedor Emelianenko(31-2), and did so by tap out due to triangle choke after 1:09 in the first round. While they initially promoted Heavyweight Champion Alistair Overeem(who might be done with DREAM, as he was supposed to face Ricco Rodriguez at their 15th show in Japan on July 10th but has since backed out) facing the winner, it remains to be seen whether they will follow through with that fight or instead do a Werdum/Fedor rematch on PPV, as that has been talked about. Dana White had recently squashed an attempted sponsorship of Fedor by clothing line(and UFC sponsor) Affliction, threatening them with being banished from UFC if they went through with the proposed T-shirt deal with Fedor. Elsewhere, middleweight Cung Le(7-1), returning from Hollywood, avenged his only loss, against Scott Smith(17-7) by defeating Smith 1:46 in to round 2 via TKO, and Women's Featherweight Champion Cristiane "Cyborg" Santos(9-2) destroyed Jan "Cuddles" Finney(8-8) by TKO 2:56 in to the second round. Last by not least on the show, MMA legend Frank Shamrock announced his retirement during an in-ring ceremony. Strikeforce Middleweight Champion Jake Shields was released from his contract yesterday, while Light Heavyweight Champion King Mo is set to face Rafael "Feijao" Cavalcante at Strikeforce : Houston in August(Credit : Sherdog, MMAJunkie).

-Owen Hart's widow Martha Hart has filed a lawsuit against WWE, specifically Vince & Linda McMahon, in response to WWE's Hart & Soul DVD and other unauthorized uses of Owen Hart's likeness.  As part of a contract(twice amended) that Owen Hart signed with the-then WWF in 1996, he was allowed to main intellectual property of his character & himself(his real name) from material created  by the WWF before the contract signing. From the signing onward(1996 and beyond), the WWF would own that material. In the event of his death or his contract ending, the 'old intellectual properties' would remain his, or part of his estate. As part of the wrongful death settlement brought forth by Martha Hart in 1999 following Owen's accidental death on May 23rd of that year, the WWF agreed that the estate owned the likeness of Owen Hart, but neither gave outlines for payment in regards to what the estate would be entitled to should the need arise for royalties(which WWE has not sent checks for at any point since Owen's death) or asked the estate/Martha's permission for the use of Owen's likeness in the past several years in videos, programming, publications & other venues. As such, she notified WWE on March 25th that they did not have permission to use Owen's image, likeness or name. In a fifty page suit filed on March 29th in Canada, Martha tried getting an injunction from releasing the Hart & Soul DVD. Despite WWE admitting using Owen's likeness many times, but there was no injunction, the case was dismissed & Martha was ordered to pay WWE's counsel fees(Credit : Hamilton Ave. Journal/411mania, WGN). Since the 1996 contract was signed when the WWF was a private company, the lawsuit is being brought against the WWE company & the McMahons themselves, as they were operating these business matters directly then. No word on whether Martha's claims to intellectual property rights created before 1996 would now include the Stampede Wrestling library or even WCW(where he wrestled very briefly before his WWF career) that WWE has since purchased, though it may not be the case as the contract Owen signed in 1996 obviously only referred to WWF creations.

-New York Democrats are divided on the legalization of MMA in the state as proposed by assemblyman Steven Englebright, which has led to the bill's stalling in the state assembly after the Ways & Means committee removed the language regarding MMA in the budget, despite the state Senate recently voting to approve the bill(Credit : MMAJunkie).

-UFC president Dana White has banned vuvuzelas, the ultra-annoying horns blown during soccer/football games, from the 116 event this Saturday headlined by Lesnar/Carwin's Heavyweight Title unification fight, the winner of which will defend against Cain Velasquez in their first defense. Also, Chris Leben has replaced Wanderlai Silva in Silva's middleweight semi-main event bout on the card against Yoshihiro Akiyama after Silva cracked ribs in training, while Quinton "Rampage" Jackson Vs. "Little Nog" Antonio Rogerio Noguiera will take place likely in September or later(Credit : MMAJunkie). UFC signed undefeated Korean middleweight Dong Yi Yang Tuesday.

-The Pope returns to TNA tonight on iMPACT!, as does Rhino, as part of the ECW group with Dreamer, Stevie Richards & Raven.

-Triple H is expected to return at Summerslam against Sheamus(Credit : pwinsider).

-WWE confiscated Daniel Bryan/Bryan Danielson signs at the Fatal Fourway PPV in Uniondale, NY the other weekend(Credit : WGN). There's that 'freedom of expression' they always talk about.

-Carlito, Daizee Haze & Steve Corino have been added to WWC's Aniversario shows next month(Credit : WGN).

-Scotty 2 Hotty, Mickie James & Nick "U-Gene" Dinsmore will wrestle for Tajiri's SMASH promotion on July 24th in Japan(Credit : WGN).

-Wade Barrett & Drew McIntyre(who recently married Tiffany) were written off of WWE television due to their working VISAs running out(Credit : WGN). They returned to England & Scotland respectively until the situation was sorted out, with Barrett expected back on Monday(Credit : wrestling observer).

-Velvet Sky recently signed a long-term contract extension with TNA, while TNA has it in mind to tour India soon. Rumor is they might sign Shane Helms soon, though other rumors talk about a 'signing freeze,' so whatever(Credit : WGN).

-Ricky Steamboat went to the hospital late last night after complaining of pains in his neck & shoulder, suffering what turned out to be a brain aneurysm(Credit : wrestling observer). He is now in stable condition. 

-Christopher Daniels suffered a ruptured eardrum at ROH's Death Before Dishonor iPPV in a match against Kenny Omega(Credit : WGN).

-WWE fired Savannah(Angela Fong, NXT ring announcer) a week ago today. Ashley Valence has taken over for Matt Striker as host on NXT, which saw Titus O'Neil 'eliminated' on Tuesday. WWE appears to be done using Virgil as well. Dos Caras Jr is expected to debut soon using the name Alberto Del Rio(Credit : WGN).

-Former WrestleMania main event Lawrence Taylor was indicted a week ago on third degree rape & criminal sexual act charges, as well as endangering the welfare of a child, sexual abuse & patronizing a prostitute stemming from his arrest in Montebello, NY on May 6th(Credit : WGN).

-Shelly Martinez & Annie Social will debut for Los Perros Del Mal at their Lucha Libre Expo show in Mexico City next month(Credit : Lucha World).

-The Undertaker(who, it is hoped, will return to WWE for SummerSlam) got married for the third time this past weekend to Michelle McCool(Credit :WGN, pwinsider). Bret Hart will be doing the same on July 24th, also for the third time, as well(Though not to Michelle McCool). Kenta Kobashi announced his marriage in Tokyo on October 1st to singer Mizuki Mai.

-The TNA iMPACT! : Cross The Line video game was released Tuesday for the Nintendo DS & PSP by South Peak Games(Credit : WGN).

-Raven does stand-up comedy July 8th at Cozzy's Comedy Club in Newport News, VA. Yeah, he's SOOOO funny in those annoying shoots he does.

-Bonnie Steamboat will be writing an autobiography about her experience in wrestling(Credit : WGN). Dutch Mantell is working on a second book already.


Thursday, July 8, 2010 :

-"Midge" Ciminello & myself, Eric Santamaria, will be hosting a new monthly internet show from Pro Wrestling Respect, Slam Session! Look for that to premiere later this week!

-UFC 116 took place at the MGM Grand Garden Arena this past Saturday in Las Vegas, NV. For the second year in a row, Undisputed Heavyweight Champion Brock Lesnar(5-1) unified his title against an Interim Champion, in this case the previously undefeated Shane Carwin(12-1) in 3:52 of the 2nd round via head/arm triangle tap out(Credit : WGN). Lesnar, who is expecting his third child to be born in a couple weeks times, is co-writing his autobiography with Paul Heyman, and will be defending his title next against the second undefeated heavyweight in a row, Cain Velasquez, some time later this year if it goes as planned. Also, middleweight Chris Leben defeated Yoshihiro Akiyama in the co-main event by triangle submission with time having almost run out of the third round, and light heavyweight Stephan Bonnar secured his spot in UFC with a decisive 2nd round TKO victory over Krzysztof Soszynski.

-M-1 Global has denied closing their head office, located in Holland, The Netherlands, despite firing several employees(Credit : SBNation). M-1 is also at odds with Strikeforce for about the third time in a row about Fedor Emelianenko's contract, that has 1 fight left ; M-1 wants a rematch with Fabiricio Wedrum, whereas Strikeforce wants Fedor to fight Heavyweight Champion Alistair Overeem, where a champion's clause(that will dictate Fedor keep fighting for Strikeforce should he win the title) is to be negotiated(Credit : MMA Fighting).

-Batista started a two-day training camp yesterday at Cesar Gracie's California gym to evaluate a potential MMA career, the same day he met with Strikeforce's matchmaker Rich Chou to negotiate a deal(Credit : Sherdog).

-Ed Ferrara has left the creative team at TNA(Credit : 411mania). Doug Williams & Magnus have been signed to long term contracts, however, while Mick Foley is expected back on TV before the end of the summer.

-Psicosis II will be getting tryouts with WWE July 26th & July 27th at their shows in Texas(Credit : Luchas 2000). Congratulations to the Bravado Brothers of Pro Wrestling Respect on their recent WWE tryouts in North Carolina!

-Dixie Carter has stated that TNA house shows will be announced in Europe & the Middle East soon, and they hope to run Australia again as well.

-Ricky Steamboat is expected back home in North Carolina later this week for a month's worth of recovery as he suffered a ruptured blood vessel last week, not an aneurysm as originally reported(Credit : WGN).

-Triple H just had surgery, though it has not been discovered what for(hopefully a vasectomy), while WGN reports Hulk Hogan's back is still in bad shape & may require another surgery soon.

-CM Punk had minor arm surgery last week(Credit : WGN). He will be out a few weeks.

-Golf company Acheshnet & eye lens company Intercast Europe are opposing WWE's trademark of "NXT," both claiming their own previous trademark of the term(Credit : pwinsider).

-Two in a row : After no-showing his arraignment on June 9th, Scott Hall also didn't appear for his July 1st pre-trail conference for disorderly intoxication & resisting arrest charges in Florida(Credit : WGN). The judge has ordered a review hearing on July 22nd.

-Super Crazy will be returning to All Japan on a tour for the AJPW Jr. League, from July 25th-August 8th(Credit : Lucha World).

-Booker T has been added to the July 11th WWC Anniversario show(Credit : pwinsider).

-WGN says Teddy Hart has "apparently" been fired from AAA.

-WWE runs their first show in China August 22nd at the Shanghai World Expo(Credit : cageside seats). UFC plans on opening a China office as well, soon to be followed by India & South Korea.

-Lance Storm is working on a reality series about his school in Calgary, Alberta, Canada called World Of Hurt that will be airing in early 2011 for the National Canadian Network(Credit : WGN).

-Eric Bischoff's Micro Championship Wrestling runs a show in Austin, TX on August 6th(Credit : 411mania).

-Gene Snitsky will star in the movie Manos : The Search For Valley Lodge(Credit : kvia).

-MVP & R-Truth are working on new entrance themes(Credit : WGN).

-Ring Of Honor has turned Tag Wars in to a tag tournament this year, culminating in an Ultimate Endurance match August 28th in Charlotte, NC.


Monday, July 12, 2010 :

-Pro Wrestling Respect Slam Session, a new monthly internet show, premiered this past weekend. Check it out here.

-TNA presented Victory Road this past Sunday at the iMPACT! Zone in Orlando, FL. Tara returned as a mystery biker during Madison Rayne's Knockouts Title defense against Angelina Love, inadvertently costing Rayne the title, which changed hands on the disqualification Tara caused by attacking Love, who is now a record-breaking 4-time Knockouts Champion. The Motor City Machine Guns finally won the TNA Tag titles, defeating Beer Money, Inc. for the vacant tag titles. Elsewhere, Hernandez won a steel cage match against Matt Morgan, The Pope lost to Kurt Angle in his comeback match via submission, Jay Lethal also defeated Ric Flair by figure four submission, and Rob Van Dam defended the TNA title in a four-way main event against Abyss and the Enigmatic Assholes. Yes, that is their name. Mick Foley returns at tonight's iMPACT! taping, and Dave Scherer is claiming TNA is still negotiating with Paul Heyman, who they are "closer to a deal (with) than they are letting on." There has been some interest in Delirious as well.

-UFC Undisputed Heavyweight Champion Brock Lesnar(5-1)'s next defense of his title has been determined ; he will face undefeated Cain Velasquez(8-0) at UFC 121 in Anaheim, CA's Honda Center October 23rd(Credit : MMAFighting).

-David "King" Bollea(3-0) continued his undefeated streak at Tachi Palace Fights 5 this past Saturday in Lemoore, CA, with a quick 2nd round armlock submission over Cody Gibson(3-1) in 31 seconds. The main event of the card saw Rob McCullough beat Isaac De Jesus via TKO from strikes 4:31 in Round 1(Credit : MMAJunkie).

-DREAM 15 from the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan saw Lightweight Champion Shinya Aoki bounce back from his loss to Strikeforce Lightweight Champion Gilbert Melendez on CBS months ago by tapping out Tatsuya Kawajiri by anchilles lock 1:53 in to Round 1 Saturday. Though Aoki challenged Melendez to a rematch - in DREAM - after his fight, also bouncing back from a loss on CBS was Gegard Mousasi, who also won via submission in his match, tapping Jake O"Brien to a guillotine choke 31 seconds in to Round 1(Credit : MMAJunkie).

-Impact FC 1 : The Uprising took place Saturday night in Brisbane, Australia's Brisbane Entertainment Center, which saw Josh Barnett quickly defeated Geronimo Dos Santos via TKO(strikes) 2:35 in the main event's 1st round. Also, Jeff Monson defeated Ubiratan Lima Marinho by unanimous decision and Karo Parisyan defeated Ben Mortimer via rear-naked choke submission 4:18 in round 2(Credit : MMAJunkie)

-WWC held three 37th Anniversario shows this weekend in Puerto Rico. Sunday July 11th saw the last show, where Ray Gonzalez defeated Scott Steiner to win the vacant Universal title, and Orlando Colon beat Carlitos to win the Puerto Rican title.

-Consequences Creed won ECWA's 14th Super 8 Tournament on Saturday in Newark, DE.

-Shane McMahon has invested in sports-management firm International Sports Management based out of Great Britian(Credit : Manchester Evening News).

-Bobby Lashley will be fighting on Strikeforce's Houston show August 21st, against a-to-be-determined opponent, the same show where Tim Kennedy(12-2) will face Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza(12-2) for the vacant Middleweight title(Credit : MMAJunkie).

-Dave Meltzer reports Jim Ross has been pushing for Danny Hodge to be inducted in WWE's Hall Of Fame this year, deservingly so.

-WWE has signed Northeast indy wrestler Bill Carr to a developmental deal(Credit : WGN).

-Former WEC Featherweight Champion Urijah Faber has pulled out of his next scheduled fight - his first fight at bantamweight(135 lbs.) August 18th against Takeya Mizugaki in Las Vegas - due to an injury suffered in training a week ago.

-Triple H's neck surgery is reported to be a minor neck operation by WGN, and still has a targeted return of a few weeks.

-Scott Hall was hospitalized this past Thursday with double pneumonia(Credit : WGN).

-Bobby Eaton was hospitalized in Arkansas for fluid built up around his heart & lungs, but is expected to recover.
(Credit : Rasslinriotonline).

-UFC reached settlements with more than 500 individuals & businesses whom they had filed suit against for illegal streaming on websites as well as bars/establishments for bootlegging UFC events(Credit : wrestling observer). The settlements on the piracy charges were confidential.

-Jerry Lawler is suing former Memphis wrestling promoter currently running for County Clerk, Cory Maclin, over videotape rights to the old Memphis wresting tape library(Credit : wmctv).

-Kansas City-based Metro Pro Wrestling has shut down after one show(Credit : pwinsider).

-Jimmy Yang will be wrestling with All Japan starting in a few weeks(Credit : WGN).

-Masato Yoshino defeated YAMATO to win Dragon Gate's Open The Dream Gate title in Kobe, Japan(Credit : wrestling observer).

-Lucha Libre USA's Masked Warriors, featuring AAA lucha, will premiere on MTV2 this Friday night(Credit : pwinsider). Also from AAA, their Heroes Del Ring video game comes out October 12 across all the major platforms.

-'Predators,' which stars former UFC tournament winner Oleg Taktarov, opened this past Friday.

-Awesome Kong is working on a children's book(Credit : WGN).

-Greg Valentine claims WWE is producing a DVD & book on his career(Credit : pwinsider).

-Tommy Dreamer will be inducted in the (ECW) Arena' Hardcore Hall Of Fame, as Trent Acid was this past weekend at this memorial show, at Chikara's next stupidly-titled show there.


Tuesday, July 20, 2010 :

-Pro Wrestling Respect 4, sponsored by The Wrestling Roundtable, took place in Burlington, NJ's National Guard Armory this past Sunday. Austin Aries along with Celso Rivera & Ricky Reyes defeated Delirious, Andy Ridge & Pelle Primeau, and in the main event, Rhett Titus lost to Bobby Dempsey & must leave Respect for 1 year. Thanks to everyone who came out Sunday & we look forward to seeing you at Pro Wrestling Respect 5, Sunday August 22nd.

-Wrestling Roundtable Radio returns tonight on BlogTalkRadio at 11pm EST/8pm PST. We'll be discussing TNA's Victory Road 2010, WWE's Money In The Bank pay per view & much more of the latest goings on. We want to hear your comments & questions by calling 347-857-4647

-The Wrestling Roundtable tapes two new episodes this Sunday July 25th. We'll be talking about the Attitude Era, What To Do & What Not To Do, and the Best & Worst PPVs of all time. Look for the new shows to hit YouTube, GoFightLive & iTunes starting sometime next week.

-Popiptekus(Hilario Vargas Ruiz), 53, former Mexico National Heavyweight Champion and popular luchador in the 80s, died 8 days ago due to complications from diabetes(Credit : Lucha World).

-WWE presented their first Money In The Bank pay-per-view event this past Sunday from the Spring Center in Kansas City, MO. In the RAW MITB semi-main event match, US Champion The Miz defeated John Morrison, Mark Henry, Edge, Randy Orton, Ted Dibiase, Jr., Chris Jericho & Evan Bourne. In the Smackdown MITB which opened the PPV, Kane won the briefcase over The Big Show, Christian, Matt Hardy, Cody Rhodes, Dolph Ziggler, Drew McIntyre & Intercontinental Champion Kofi Kingston. After Rey Mysterio successfully defended the (WCW) World title against Jack Swagger, Kane used his title shot and defeated Mysterio in a very brief scrap for his third world title & first (WCW) World Heavyweight title. This also makes Kane only the second wrestler to ever win the WWF, WCW & ECW World titles, behind The Big Show. In the main event, Nexus interfered in Sheamus' WWE title defense against John Cena in a steel cage. Despite their efforts to attack both men, Sheamus escaped the cage & kept the title. Dave Meltzer reports that if the buyrate for this PPV is good, it will be brought back next year as a yearly event and not done at WrestleMania, but if it under performs, it will be brought back for WrestleMania.

-Impact Fighting Championship presented a PPV, the Uprising, this past Saturday from the Sydney Entertainment Centre in Australia that saw Murilo "Ninja" Rua defeat Jeremy May via guillotine choke submission 4:02 in Round 1, Denis Kang Vs. Paulo Filho ended as a draw, Payl Daley beat Daniel Acacio by submission to strikes 1:15 in to Round 3, and Pedro Rizzo destroyed Ken Shamrock by TKO 3:33 in Round 1 of the main event(Credit : MMAJunkie).

-UFC 119, set for the Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianoplis, IN on Sep. 25th, now has a main event, in the heavyweight division : Frank Mir Vs. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira II(Credit : MMAJunkie). On the same card, light heavyweight 'Little Nog' Antonio Rogerio Noguiera faces Ryan Bader. UFC 120 takes place at the O2 Arena in London on October 16th. All fighters tested at the 116 show(attended by US Senate Majority leader & former boxer Harry Reid, who has pledged to help legalize MMA in New York) passed. UFC announced a deal last week with Getty Images for distribution of their photography collection(Credit : wrestling observer).

-M-1 Global will be holding their Selection Tournament's Semi-Finals Saturday August 7th at Bally's Hotel & Casino in Atlantic City, NJ, also where the Finals will take place September 18th(Credit : TheMMANews). Fedor Emelianenko will be in attendance, as Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Puttin was at the Sochi Open European Championships(an M-1 promoted MMA show) this past Wednesday(Credit : wrestling observer).

-On TNA iMPACT! Thursday, Mick Foley lead the ECW invasion with Raven, Stevie Richards, Tommy Dreamer, Al Snow, Rob Van Dam, etc. with President Dixie Carter saying she invited the group. WHAT SUSPENSE!!!!…..not at all.

-Now-former Strikeforce Middleweight Champion Jake Shields has signed with the UFC. He is expected to start at UFC 121, October 21st in Anaheim, CA, against Martin Kampmann in the welterweight class(Credit : wrestling observer).

-AAA's Mega Heavyweight Champion Dr. Wagner Jr. made a surprise appearance at the Promociones Gutierrez show Nuevo Laredo, Mexico 8 days ago in Plaza De Toros Lauro Luis Longoria with his belt, gear & AAA's video game(Heroes Del Ring) title at well(Credit : Lucha World). The uproar is that CMLL, AAA's rival, is affiliated with the show and Wagner is still until contract to AAA but they are negotiating a new deal. In the main event of the show, Oriental lost his mask to Mistico.

-Bobby Lashley(5-0)'s next opponent, at Strikeforce : Houston on August 21st in the Toyota Center, will be Chad Griggs(8-1) out of Arizona(Credit : MMAJunkie).

-Shark Fights' next planned event has been moved to the Civic Center in Amarillo, TX(Credit : Lubbock online). Shark Fights 13 on PPV was to have been in Lubbock, TX headlined by Keith Jardine Vs. Trevor Prangley on Sep. 11th at the City Bank Coliseum, but since WWE has a Smackdown event scheduled on August 21st & their contract with buildings prevents other wrestling AND MMA shows from happening in the same building WWE runs in for 30 days before and after their events the event had to be moved. But remember, they're not competition!

-Last night on WWE RAW, Bret Hart(who will be getting married for the third time this weekend) returned to help the team of John Cena, Edge, John Morrison, Chris Jericho, R-Truth & The Great Khali fend off Nexus in the last segment of the night, setting up a 7-on-7 main event for SummerSlam. Bobb'e J. Thompson & Toby Keith are slated to guest host RAW October 18th & October 25th. Why even bother any more?

-In a surprise announcement during Ring Of Honor's HDNet taping this past Saturday at The Arena, Jerry Lynn(who will headline against Rob Van Dam for the TNA title on their 'HardCORE Justice' PPV) was inducted in to the Hardcore Hall Of Fame.

-FEG(Fighting & Entertainment Group, parent company of K-1 & DREAM) USA director Mike Kogan said Friday that a deal with Shanghai-based investment bank PUJI Capital will lead to international expansion in a $230 million campaign(Credit : MMAJunkie).

-Hulk Hogan is claiming recent back surgery will prevent him from ever wrestling again.

-Kurt Pellegrino, UFC lightweight, underwent surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his knee this past week, but during surgery, a torn ACL was discovered, which will require a future surgery and could be out until 2011(Credit : MMAJunkie).

-WWE has signed a woman named Celeste from Texas to developmental, as well as Aaron "Idol" Stevens(Credit : WGN, wrestling observer).

-Sean Waltman has signed with a new promotion in Florida supported by Kevin Kleinrock and various other promoters(Sean Davis, Mister Saint Laurent, Cody Michaels & Peter Karoftis), expected to launch in early 2011(Credit : pwinsider). One of the first wrestlers to sign, however, was arrested 9 days ago for lewd & lascivious battery of a minor, a third degree felony ; Florida indy wrestler who appeared on VH1's Tool Academy Chasyn Rance is alleged to have had sex with a then-15-ear-old girl two years ago, as told to the Orange County sheriff's office(Credit : Orlando Sentinel, wrestling observer). Rance was released the next day from Orange County Jail on $3,500 bond.

-Speaking of fucking minors, Lawrence Taylor has pleaded 'not guilty' to statutory rape & solicitation stemming from his May 6th arrest in New York(Credit : ESPN).

-All assault charges against Ric Flair's wife Jacqueline were thrown out by a judge a week ago, as Ric refused to testify against his wife(Credit : TMZ).

-Prince Devitt & Ryusuke Taguchi defeated El Samurai & Koji Kanemoto yesterday for the IWGP Jr. tag team titles in Sapporo, Japan(Credit : wrestling observer).

-Alex Payne has one more match on his current NOAH tour and will returning to the US in a few weeks.

-Female luchador Silueta lost her mask in a match to Zexius Sunday at EMLL's Arena Coliseo De Guadalajara in Mexico. EMLL also announced on their recent TV show that they will be holding a Universal Tournament involving all the champions in the promotion starting on July 30th(Credit : Lucha World).

-Maria De Los Angeles & Estela Gonzalez, the prostitutes who drugged & killed mini luchadors La Parkita & Espectrito III last year, were sentenced to 47 years in prison(Credit : WGN).

-Bryan Danielson won the IWA Puerto Rican title from QT Marshall Saturday night at their IWA Anniversary show(Credit : wrestling observer).

-MMA referees "Big" John McCarthy, Herb Dean & Nelson "Doc" Hamilton are making a presentation to the California State Athletic Commission on July 26th regarding changes they'd like implemented to the scoring system in MMA in cases of a draw, while Hamilton & McCarthy are also applying to be boxing judges(Credit : wrestling observer).

-Jerry Lawler has licensed his name/likeness to a new deli & retail store opening next to City Hall in Memphis, TN, "King Jerry Lawler's(Credit : WGN)."

-Former wrestler Steve McMichael was inducted in to the College Football Hall Of Fame this past Saturday(Credit : wrestling observer).

-Tony Atlas is working on an autobiography(Credit : WGN).

-Rodney Leconte, director of upcoming documentary Grappling Kings & panelist of the Roundtable, attended the ESPYs this past Wednesday in Los Angeles. George St. Pierre lost to Floyd Mayweather, Jr. in the "Fighter Of The Year" category(I call bullshit) and Frankie Edgar also did not win in his category(Upset Of The Year, for his UFC Lightweight Title victory over BJ Penn earlier this year).

-Playboy recently released nude pictures taken a few years ago of Maryse via their Cyber Club(Credit : WGN).


Monday, July 26, 2010 :

-The Wrestling Roundtable, after a several month break due to working on various other projects, returned yesterday, as we taped two new episodes for this week, and next week. Look for this week's episode on The Attitude Era on YouTube, GoFightLive & iTunes later this week.

-Bret Hart's first Madison Square Garden match in 13 years will take place at WWE's September 25th house show when he'll team with The Hart Dynasty against three Nexus wrestlers(Credit : pwinsider).

-Undefeated Strikeforce Women's Welterweight Champion Sarah Kaufman(12-0) defended her title successfully this past Friday on Showtime during Strikeforce's Challengers 9 show from Everett, WA in a ESPN-highlighted TKO slam on Roxanne Modaferri(15-6).

-UFC light heavyweights Quinton "Rampage" Jackson & Lyoto Machida have verbally agreed to a fight on November 20th(Credit : MMAJunkie).

-Both Scott Hall & Ricky Steamboat have been released from their respective hospitals and are recovering from pneumonia & a bleeding brain.

-Consequences Creed has signed a WWE developmental deal(Credit : pwinsider).

-Wrestlelicious referee Austin Aries made his OVW debut this past Wednesday, teaming with James Thomas in a losing effort against recently-signed-to-WWE-developmental Beef Wellington & Lowrider(Credit : 411mania). Jim Cornette has officially returned to OVW as well(Credit : wrestling observer).

-WGN reports Terry Taylor will be training Reid Flair for TNA.

-Booker T, who is currently working on an autobiography, has signed with Sean Davis' Florida promotion, as has Vader & his son Jessie White(Credit : wrestling observer, pwinsider). They might possibly be signing some ROH wrestlers as well.

-Tasha Simone defeated MsChif Saturday at NWA Top Rop Wrestling's Lebanon, PA show for the NWA Women's title(Credit : wrestling observer).

-Kaval & Michael McGuillicutty defeated Los Aviadores for the FCW Tag Team Titles on Thursday, July 15th, but lost them back to Los Aviadores a day later in Sebring, FL(Credit : TPWW).

-UFC has subpoenaed Ustream.tv & Justin.tv, demanding they reveal the identities of the users who have uploaded & streamed UFC content on their sites(Credit : MMAJunkie).

-Dawn Marie has been accused of embezzling funds from her Wrestlers Rescue charity, alleged to be using funds to pay for flights to autograph conventions & not sending money to wrestlers in need as she claimed(Credit : wrestling inc., The Sun).

-El Hijo Del Santo has filed a lawsuit against AAA seeking royalties regarding AAA not having the rights to use his likeness on the DVD of last year's Triplemania show(Credit : Lucha World).

-Mike Sydal suffered a concussion Saturday in Chicago Ridge, IL in a pre-show match against Brad Bradley after being clotheslined in the face. He is expected to recover. Grizzly Redwood also needed 10 staples in his head after hitting it on a guardrail leg Saturday in Chicago in his tag match with Rasche Brown against Necro Butcher & Erick Stevens.

-Female Japanese wrestler Manami Toyota makes her US debut in September for Chikara(Credit : pwinsider).

-Kenzo Suzuki returned to AJPW Saturday in Korakuen Hall on the same show they started a junior heavyweight tournament(Credit : wrestling observer).

-Mickie James has pulled out of her upcoming appearance in the SMASH promotion in Japan due to a family emergency.

-WWE has until August 11th to file a response to Martha Hart's lawsuit(Credit : Hamilton Ave Journal).

-Former IWA PR/WWC Champion Shane Sewell is backing a new reality show in Puerto Rico, "Fight For Real," which will see two teams of 6 pro wrestlers each training under MMA instructors to compete for an-as-of-yet-unrevealed grand prize(Credit : PRWrestling). One can only assume an Ultimate Fighter-style series of fights to take place.

-Saturday, Paul Heyman announced working with former WCW & New Line Cinema employee Jeff Katz on a new social network app that puts pro wrestlers & fighters(from boxing & MMA) together in 'dream fight' scenarios(Credit : pwinsider).

-The Macho Man Randy Savage made a surprise video appearance on screen at ComicCon this weekend in San Diego, CA promoting his new WWE Legends action figure from Mattel.

-Hulk Hogan & Friends(yes, it's actually called that. I say 'copyright infringement,' ha) is taking their Q & A shows on tour to casinos & other venues after a successful first show in Vancouver, Canada's Red Robin Theatre on Monday July 29th featuring the usual suspects ; Hogan(whose ex-wife is now engaged to her 21-year old boyfriend younger than her own daughter Brooke), Jimmy Hart, Brutus Beefcake(who is currently working on a SERIES of autobiographies), Greg Valentine, The Honky Tonk Man, The Nasty Boys & someone named "Cocoa Beware" I've never heard of(Credit : pwinsider).

-32-year old virgin Molly Holly is engaged(Credit : presspubs.com). And my heart is broken.


Tuesday, August 3, 2010 :

-Wrestling Roundtable presented our latest episode on The Attitude Era last week, and we'll be following up on that topic tonight on Roundtable Radio. Be sure to listen live on BlogTalkRadio at 11pm EST/8pm PST. Call 347-857-4647 to ask questions, share your thoughts or whatever else you want to discuss. In addition to the WWF's Attitude years, we'll be reviewing UFC On Versus 2, giving our predictions on UFC 117, SummerSlam 2010 & TNA HardCORE Justice : One Last Stand, and much more!

-UFC On Versus 2 took place this past Sunday at the San Diego Sports Arena in California, headlined by the light heavyweight bout between Jon "Bones" Jones(11-1) & Vladimir Matyushenko(24-5), that saw Jones win via TKO 1:52 in the first round after referee Herb Dean stopped the fight due to elbow strikes in a crucifix position. The show opened with a stunning first round knockout, as former Pride lightweight champion Takanori Gomi KO'd Tyson Griffin in 1:04. Jake Ellenberger stopped John Howard's multi-fight UFC win streak, as referee Herb Dean stopped the bought 2:21 in to round 3 due to a badly swollen left eye, awarding the fight to Ellenberger via TKO. Middleweight Yushin Okami defeated Mark Munoz via split decision in a fight refereed by "Big" John McCarthy, making his return to the Octagon for the first time in almost 3 years.

-UFC 117 takes place this Saturday at the Oracle Arena in Oakland, CA. It has been determined that the winner of the heavyweight bout between "Big Country" Roy Nelson and Junior Dos Santos will face the winner of Champion Brock Lesnar's next defense against Cain Velasquez in the first Heavyweight title fight for 2011. UFC also announced the first international Fan Expo(in partnership with Reed Exhibitions), to take place Friday October 15th-Saturday October 16th(before UFC 120) at the Earls Court Exhibition Centre in London, England.

-Lightweight Ryan Couture(5-1-1 amateur MMA record), son of Randy, has signed a multi-fight deal with Strikeforce and will make his professional MMA debut Friday, August 13th at the Challengers event in Phoenix, AZ's Dodge Theatre(Credit : MMAJunkie).

-MC Hammer has started a new sports management company for MMA fighters, Alchemist Management, that has already signed Vladimir Matyushenko, James McSweeney, Antoni Hardonk, Nate Marquardt and others(Credit : MMAJunkie).

-Sean Davis & Milton Wilpon's upcoming Florida-based pro wrestling promotion has signed Rocky Romero, Sonjay Dutt, Super Crazy, Hijo Del Rey Mysterio, 2 Cold Scorpio and Paul London, though the promotion is several months away from starting(Credit : pwinsider). Scorpio, in the mean time, will be making his in-ring TNA debut at this Sunday's HardCORE Justice : The Last Stand PPV, as will Balls Mahoney, Axl Rotten & Al Snow, while Sabu, Simon & Swinger make their TNA return.

-The man who topped Pro Wrestling Illustrated's Top 500 list at #1 for 2010, AJ Styles, has renamed his Global Championship the TNA Television title.

-Last night on WWE RAW, Melina returned to WWE, attacking Diva's Champion Alicia Fox after a 6-man tag match.

-On this Friday's WWE Smackdown taped last week, Dolph Ziggler becomes the Intercontinental title for the first time, defeating Champion Kofi Kingston(Credit : lordsofpain).

-This past Saturday in Puerto Rico, Shelton Benjamin won the WWC Universal title from Ray Gonzalez(Credit : pwinsider). Benjamin & his tag team partner Charlie Haas will be debuting for Ring Of Honor on their next iPPV, Glory By Honor 9, September 11th from the Manhattan Center in New York City against the ROH Tag Team Champions The Kings Of Wrestling.

-Carlito will be appearing for MTV2's Lucha Libre USA : Masked Warriors show on their taping August 7th at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas, NV(Credit : wrestling observer).

-Ayako Hamada appears at Shimmer's next set of tapings in September.

-Jose Maximo has stated he is retiring from wrestling. Billy Kidman is still involved in wrestling, however, working now as a full-time producer for WWE(Credit : pwinsider).

-Zuffa has filed a lawsuit against Bellator Fighting Championships & Ken Pavia(head of MMA Agents) due to alleged theft of "trade secrets and confidential documents," seeking punitive damages and a permanent injunction barring Pavia or Bellator FC from using Zuffa's assets(Credit : MMAJunkie). Pavia is alleged to have passed along emails to Bellator CEO Bjorn Rebney on July 4th, a day after UFC 116.

-Dawn Marie has denied allegations of embezzlement from her charitable organization Wrestler's Rescue, alleged by Wrestling Globe Newsletter's Mike Aldren.

-Hulk Hogan's lawsuit against Wells Fargo Insurance will go back to state court in Pinellas County, Florida, after Wells Fargo tried bringing the case to Federal court(Credit : Tampa Bay Online).

-Bobby "The Brain" Heenan suffered a broken hip several weeks ago after a fall(Credit : pwinsider). While in rehabilitation, Heenan slipped and broke his shoulder in addition to fracturing his hip. He is scheduled to have surgery tomorrow for his shoulder.

-UFC fighter Alan Belcher had right eye surgery this past week to repair a detached retina(Credit : MMAJunkie).

-ROH referee Todd Sinclair pulled a groin muscle during last weekend's tour of the Midwest.

-Two wrestling weddings this weekend : Bret Hart married for the third time, to Stephanie Washington on Saturday in San Francisco, while Kizarny & The Kat married each other(Credit : wrestling observer).

-Triple H has joined the Muscular Dystrophy Association's Muscle Team, and will be appearing in ads for their "Make A Muscle, Make A Difference" campaign this month.

-"Exttreme Wrestlers," a series of 1-hour PPV compilations featuring 3PW, Wrestlezone & other indy promotions will debut in September.

-Elan Entertainment Group has acquired the rights to distribute mobile media versions of the Wrestlelicious : Takedown series, as well as Latin American distribution rights.

-Former ECW wrestler Tony "The Hitman" Stetson was nominated for the Barrymore Award in Phildelphia for Best Choreography & Movement for the InterAct Theatre Company's production of wrestling play, The Elaborate Entrance Of Chad Deity.

-Kurt Angle & Ken Shamrock will be appearing in Beyond The Mat, a film on high school wrestling to be released in early 2011, Angle as a coach and Shamrock as a color commentator.

-THQ Vice President of Core Games Danny Bilson has stated a new WWE series is in the works(Credit : CVG).

-Mick Foley will be in the new independent film "Savage Hot Babe Massacre," based on 'Macho Man' Randy Savage's WCW run in 2000. Ok, just seeing if you're paying attention ; it's really a horror/comedy parody.

-John Cena will be appearing in the upcoming films Fred : The Movie & Legendary.

-Forrest Griffin's second book, Be Ready When The Shit Goes Down : A Survival Guide To The Apocalypse, comes out August 3rd.

-WWE will be releasing their next DVD set, "Monday Night RAW - The Beginning : Seasons One & Two," this Tuesday.


Tuesday, August 10, 2010 :

                                                

-NAGA's Battle At The Beach took place this past Saturday at the Wildwood Convention Center in Wildwood, NJ, and Lecontes competed in both Gi & no Gi divisions, both winning bronzes ; Ronin Athletics' Rodney Leconte placed third in the Beginners Cruiserweight No Gi division, and Team Olivera's Martin Leconte placed third in the Intermediate Bantamweight Gi division. Congratulations, guys!

-Alex Payne, frequent guest on the Roundtable & wrestler for Pro Wrestling Respect, has an update on his tour of Pro Wrestling NOAH in Japan here.

-WWE has signed two independent wrestlers to developmental contracts in the past week : Storm Wrestling Academy graduate Mattias Wild and ROH Champion Tyler Black. His ROH contract recently expired, TNA hoped to have signed Black, though they did sign northeast indy wrestler Rob Eckos following Eckos' tryout match with Bobby Fish last week. After deciding against signing with TNA, Black is expected to start in FCW during September after ROH's Glory By Honor IX iPPV(Credit : pwinsider).

-This past Saturday at the Oracle Arena in Oakland, CA, UFC 117 saw one of the biggest come-from-behind victories in MMA history, as Middleweight Champion Anderson Silva tapped out Chael Sonnen with just 1:50 left in Round 5 of a completely one-sided title fight he was losing, catching Sonnen with a triangle choke/armbar combination. Also, Junior Dos Santos defeated Roy Nelson via unanimous decision to secure a Heavyweight title shot against the winner of Lesnar/Velasquez. Hall of Famer Matt Hughes got a Technical Submission(choke out) victory over Ricardo Almeida with a version of the anaconda choke 1:51 in Round 1.

-This past Sunday at the iMPACT! Zone in Orlando, FL, TNA presented the HardCORE Justice : The Last Stand pay-per-view. Originally scheduled to face World Champion Rob Van Dam in a non-title match, Jerry Lynn injured himself in training last week and had to not only pull out of the PPV, but also his other independent bookings. Sabu replaced him against Vam Dam, losing by pinfall to Van Dam's frog splash. Also, Tracy Smothers & Sal E. Graziano debuted for TNA, Big Sal managing Smothers teaming with Guido Maritato & Tony Luke(Tony Mamaluke) against Kid Kash, Simon Diamond & Johnny Swinger. The Gangstas reunited, attacking Team 3D(managed by the debuting Joel Gertner). CW Anderson, The Sandman & P.J. Polaco(Justin Credible) returned to TNA, CW losing to debuting 2 Cold Scorpio, Polaco losing to Stevie Richards, Sandman beating up Polaco after the match. Florida independent wrestler Tilly did a Blue Meanie parody. Not attending the show was Samoa Joe, who was suspended for a month after storming in to the production truck at the last iMPACT! taping in Florida regarding ring announcer Jeremy Borash doing a countdown on Joe's match against Jeff Hardy, as Joe felt that gave away the time-limit draw finish. TNA ReAction will start this Thursday on Spike TV at 11 p.m after iMPACT!, which sees Angelina Love reclaim the TNA Knockouts title from Madison Rayne(Rayne had been rewarded the title back on July 13th after losing the title at Victory Road), making Love a record-setting 5-time Champion(Credit : pwinsider).

-Booker T & Sharmell had twins last week(Credit : pwinsider). Jeff Hardy will be a father as well(scary as that is to think about), as his girlfriend is pregnant. Yuck.

-EMLL's 77th Anniversary Show will happen September 3rd at Arena Mexico(Credit : Lucha World). EMLL luchador Polvora suffered a concussion Sunday August 1st at Arena Coliseo in a match with Cancerbero & Loco Max against Delta, Metro & Rush after Delta and he banged heads on a tope Delta performed. Polvora will be out for a couple weeks.

-Last night on WWE RAW, Bret Hart main evented his first RAW in about 13 years when he teamed with John Cena Vs. Chris Jericho & Edge in a lumberjack match with no finish. Penn & Teller will guest host RAW September 20, while next week will be hosted by Jason Sudeikis, Charlie Day & Justin Long.

-The Other Guys, with Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson in a featured role, was #1 at the American movie box office this weekend, garnering $35.6 million.

-A new documentary, Wrestling - Then & Now, directed by Dwayne Walker is available for download. Another documentary, Card Subject To Change, had to be re-edited due to Trent Acid's recent death, as it originally portrayed him coming out of rehab in a positive light.

-Rick Bogner(the Fake Razor Ramon from WWF 1996) has a new book out, Wrestling With Consciousness(Credit : pwinsider). Wrestling In The Canadian West by Vance Nevada, about Western Canada's wrestling history, is also out.


Monday, August 16, 2010 :

-Wrestling Roundtable's latest episode, featuring the discussions on What To Do/What Not To Do & Best/Worst Pay-Per-Views Of All Time, is online! We'll also be returning to BlogTalkRadio tomorrow night at 11pm EST/8PM PST. We'll be talking about UFC 117, SummerSlam 2010 & much, much more! Call 347-857-4647 to chime in, ask questions or share your thoughts.

-Pro Wrestling Respect 5, sponsored by the Wrestling Roundtable, takes place this Sunday at the Burlington National Guard Armory in Burlington, NJ, at 4pm headlined by ROH Wrestling Academy head trainer Delirious taking on his student Harlem Bravado. Also, ROH World Tag Team Champion Chris Hero faces "Pound 4 Pound" Pelle Primeau, Derek Dempsey makes his PWR debut teaming with brother Bobby against Orange Cassidy & Marker Dillinger, Colby Godwin debuts against Shane Hagadorn and more! Go to prowrestlingrespect.com for more details. See you Sunday!

-Lance Cade(Lance McNaught), 29, died Friday morning after checking in and out of a hospital a week ago due to breathing trouble. Not looking healthy in addition, his wife called an ambulance. He asked to be released Wednesday, came home, left, did not return, came to his father's workplace looking unwell Thursday and died at his father's home in San Antonio during the night from what's believed to be heart failure(Credit : wrestling observer). He had been scheduled to wrestle on All Japan's Korakuen Hall show in Tokyo this weekend.

-SummerSlam 2010 took place last night at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, CA. Kane successfully defended his World Heavyweight Title against Rey Mysterio, Jr., after which The Undertaker returned in his 1,715th SummerSlam comeback, only to get beat up by Kane. Undertaker is expect to wrestle again in another month. In the main event, Daniel Bryan returned to WWE as the 7th man in John Cena's team(Cena, Bryan, R-Truth, John Morrison, Bret Hart, Edge & Chris Jericho) Vs. Nexus, where Bret "The Hitman" Hart main evented his first SummerSlam in 13 years in this 7-on-7 elimination tag match. After US Champion The Miz attacked Bryan, leading to Danielson's elimination by Wade Barrett, Cena won the match by eliminating Justin Gabriel(pinfall) & Barrett(tap out to STFU). Also, Melina defeated Diva's Champion Alicia Fox to become a 2-time champion.

-Powerhouse World Promotions' first event, War On The Mainland, took place this past Saturday at the Bren Events Center in Irvine, CA, headlined by Tim Sylvia(27-6) defeating Paul Buentello(28-13) by second round TKO. Sylvia looks to be facing Pedro Rizzo next. Jens Pulver(22-14-1), moving back up to lightweight, was felled by Deigo Garijo(5-1), tapping to a guillotine in 68 seconds of the 1st round.

-ROH Head Booker Adam Pearce was fired Sunday. He has been replaced by Pro Wrestling Respect's Delirious.

-Ontario, Canada's Premier Dalton McGuinty announced Saturday that his government will officially sanction and regulate mixed martial arts within the providence's boundaries(Credit : Toronto Sun). UFC's director of Canadian operations Tom Wright said that they will likely hold their first event at the Rogers Centre(rumors say in March), are prepared to hold three or four pay-per-views in the country every year, and are also prepared to hold Fight Nights in smaller Canadian venues likely within two years. Ontario-based promotion Warrior One plans to take advantage of the regulation and run four to five large shows in Toronto and other Ontario cities, plus a challenger series.

-Linda McMahon won the GOP Senate primary this past Tuesday(Credit : CT Post). WWE made $106.8 million in revenue for the 2nd quarter of 2010, compared to $106.6 at the same time last year.

-WWE's Tiffany was suspended following an 8am misdemeanor arrest at a hotel in West Los Angeles for assault on her husband Drew McIntyre on Sunday August 8th(Credit : The Sunday Mail, pwinsider). She was released from Van Nuys Valley Jail on $20,000 bail later the same day and heads to court September 2nd.

-UFC fighter Anthony "Rumble" Johnson was sentenced to three years probation, community service, 52 weeks of counseling & paying court costs this past Wednesday after pleading no contest to a June 27, 2009 domestic violence charge(Credit : wrestling observer).

-A Mobile, AL federal judge sentenced J. Michael Bennett(Applied Pharmacy Services supervising pharmacist, one of 5 men found guilty in February of 'steroid conspiracy' regarding 762,388 dosages of anabolic steroids sold to 22 professional athletes, including many wrestlers, between 4/4/04 and 8/30/06) to a 4-year prison term(Credit : al.com)

-Chasyn Rance's first court date on charges of lewd & lascivious battery of a then-15-year-old girl a few years ago will be November 22nd(Credit : pwinsider).

-Judge David Danielsen was scheduled Thursday to sentence former UFC fighter War Machine to jail for a year in San Diego, CA for assaulting two people & violating probation, but rescheduled the sentencing for August 24th after War Machine asserted he had not read the terms of the plea deal. Judge Danielsen said he was not inclined to honor the plea deal and thinks the case calls for state prison(Credit : Washington Post).

-Martha Hart has filed an amended complain in her lawsuit against WWE, which WWE has until September 20th to respond to(Credit : pwinsider).

-Mikey Whipwreck was diagnosed with ruptured discs in his neck(Credit : pwinsider).

-Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira(32-6-1) has bowed out of his scheduled fight against fellow UFC Heavyweight Frank Mir(13-5) at UFC's 119 event at the Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, IN September 25th, reportedly due to a recurring hip injury(Credit : MMAJunkie). Replacing him is Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic(27-7-2). Cro Cop had been medically suspended after his last fight at UFC 115 against Pat Barry on June 15th due to head & face contusions, but it's likely he sought early clearance.

-Mr. Wrestling II(Johnny Walker) is slated for open heart surgery a week from now in Charlotte, NC for multiple blockages(Credit : pwinsider).

-Following the beating of the Fortune group at the end of TNA's Whole F'n Show this past Thursday, Rob Van Dam has been stripped of the World title due to 'injuries' and will be taking time off. A tournament to crown a new champion culminates at the Bound For Glory PPV in September. Also last week, a fake Hulk Hogan Twitter account fooled the internet for a few hours in to thinking Hogan & Bischoff had left TNA, playing up on real-life rumors and showing how wrestling "journalists" are mostly jokes who don't check shit before they print it. Hogan just had another back surgery procedure this past Thursday(Credit : pwinsider). Eric Bischoff has also stated that TNA's ReAction show has a 10-week commitment from Spike TV.

-UFC welterweight Ben Saunders was cut from the company Friday(Credit : MMAJunkie).

-EMLL has announced the main event of their 77th Anniversary Show in Arena Mexico on 9/3 will be a 10-man steel cage where the losers unmasks between Mistico, La Sombra, Alebrije, Averno, Ephesto, Histeria, Mephisto, Olimpico, Volador, Jr. & Psicosis(Credit : Lucha World). They also announced they will be replacing the CMLL Historic Lt. Heavyweight, Middleweight & Welterweight titles held by Averno, Hijo Del Texano & Mephisto respectively with new designs. Mr. Niebla returned at their Friday show as well after having knee surgery in the United States last month, and Rey Bucanero joined faction La Peste Negra.

-Reid & David Flair debut for MTV2's Lucha Libre USA on their August 28th tapings against El Oriental & Tinebulas Jr.

-Satoshi Kojima defeated Hiroshi Tanahashi at the Sumo Hall Sunday to win New Japan's G-1 Climax tournament in Tokyo(Credit : wrestling observer).

-Batista has stated he is looking to have his first MMA fight in early 2011, likely for Strikeforce, who presents Strikeforce : Houston this Saturday from the Toyota Center in Texas. Ronaldo "Jacare" Souze faces Tim Kennedy for the vacant Middleweight title, and King Mo's first defense of his Light Heavyweight title against Rafael "Feijao" Cavalcante main events over Bobby Lashley's fight against Chad Griggs.

-Bellator Sport Worldwide LLC filed a lawsuit against Zuffa this past Tuesday in a New Jersey court alleging Jonathan Brookins(11-3) joined Spike TV's Ultimate Fighter 12 cast while still under exclusive contract to Bellator FC(Credit : MMAJunkie).

-Lucky Cannon was eliminated from WWE's NXT this past Tuesday. Two 'rookies' will be eliminated tomorrow.

-M-1 Global holds tournament finals in five weight divisions at Bally's Casino Hotel in Atlantic City, NJ on September 18th. Director Of Operations Evgeni Kogan says Fedor Emelianenko is looking to fight 4-6 times for Strikeforce going forward and has no interest in UFC(Credit : Cage Today). The man who defeated Fedor, Fabricio Werdum(14-4-1), will be out of action until the first quarter of 2011 after scheduling elbow surgery this Wednesday to remove bone fragments in his left elbow(Credit : MMAJunkie). He will need six weeks of physical therapy before before he can start training again.

-Shane McMahon has been appointed CEO of China Broadband, Inc., a provider of cable broadband services in China's Shandong Province(Credit : impactwrestling.com).

-Shawn Michaels and his wife Rebecca have endorsed the Emerald Rainbow Family Fun Center, a 20,000 square foot indoor facility with lots of activities & food for the whole family(such as a playground, batting cages, rock climbing, theaters, salon/spa, coffee shop & cafes, etc.) that push their Christian agenda.

-Plans for Jerry Lawler to lend his name to Joe Cooper's Deli are off, as Lawler's likeness will not be featured at the Memphis deli(Credit : Memphis Daily News).

-Lou D'Angeli(the former Sign Guy Dudley) has left his marketing/promotional job at WWE, finishing up last night at SummerSlam(Credit : pwinsider).

-The Expendables, starring Steve Austin & Randy Couture, was #1 at the American movie box office this weekend, earning $35.03 million(Credit : 411mania).

-Fighters Only is taking nominations for the 2010 World MMA Awards.

-The autobiography of Brock Lesnar, penned by Lesnar & Paul Heyman, will be titled "Brock Lesnar - Undisputed."(Credit : pwinsider). Another Lesnar book, unauthorized The Making Of A Hardcore Legend, will be released October 11th.

-Canvasman, a documentary on indy wrestler Robbie Ellis, will be screened at the Atlantic City International Film & Music Festival in New Jersey, and the Camden Film Festival in Maine(Credit : wrestling observer).

-Tully Blanchard is working on an autobiography(Credit : pwinsider).

-Writer Libnan Ayoub has a new documentary soon to be released about Jim Barnett's old Australia-based World Championship Wrestling promotion(Credit : 411mania).


Friday, August 27, 2010 :

-Wrestling Roundtable Radio #12 is online, where the panel discusses UFC 117, SummerSlam 2010, TNA HardCORE Justice & much more! Roundtable Radio returns this Tuesday at 11pm EST/8pm PST on BlogTalkRadio. We'll be talking about Strikeforce : Houston, WEC, UFC 118 &, oh yeah, wrestling! Call 346-857-4647 to share your thoughts or questions. We also want to do another Submission Round Q & A soon, so please send your questions to wrestlingroundtable@gmail.com, or any other way of posting/sending messages on our various sites/message boards. Just please be sure to include your FIRST NAME & LOCATION to be considered!

-Former FCW, UWF, WWF, ECW & WCW women's wrestler Luna Vachon, 48, was found dead at her new home this morning in a pool of blood, her face on a piece of pizza(Credit : TMZ).

-Skandor Akbar(Jimmy Saied Wehba), 75, former WCCW & Mid-South(NWA) wrestler/manager in the 60s & 70s, died 8 days ago.

-"Nightmare" Ted Allen, 54, journeyman wrestler & trainer from the 70s to the present, died 8 days ago(Credit : SLAM! wrestling, rasslin riot news).

-Tough Tony Borne(Anthony Osborne), 83, 60s & 70s indy wrestler mainly from the Pacific Northwest, father of Matt "Doink The Clown" Borne, died this morning(Credit : wrestling observer).

-Pro Wrestling Respect 5 took place this past Sunday at the Burlington National Guard Armory in NJ. ROH Tag Team Champion Chris Hero defeated "Pound 4 Pound" Pelle Primeau via knock out, and in the main event, Delirious beat Harlem Bravado via technical submission when Bravado passed out in the cobra clutch. Also, in his first appearance since returning to the US from touring in Japan's Pro Wrestling NOAH, Alex Payne returned to PWR, helping former rival Shane Hagadorn beat down the debuting Colby Godwin in Payne's heel turn.

-This past Saturday, Strikeforce : Houston took place at the Toyota Center in Texas. In the opener, Bobby Lashley's undefeated streak came to an end at the hands of Chad Griggs(9-1) when referee John Shorle stopped the fight after the 2nd round due to a cut under Lashley's left eye. Lashley, 5-1, was taken to a hospital on a stretcher following the fight for severe dehydration, but was released the next day. Elsewhere, Karl James(KJ) Noons(10-2) earned a title shot against Welterweight Champion Nick Diaz on the upcoming San Jose event on October 9th with a victory over lightweight Jorge Gurgel(13-7). Not only did Noons miss weight(155) by 1.25 lbs., the bout featured questionable officiating by referee Kerry Hatley, who took no action in response to several illegal blows. Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza defeated Tim Kennedy for the vacant Middleweight title via unanimous decision, and in the main event, Light Heavyweight Champion King Mo lost the belt on his first defense to Rafael "Feijao" Cavalcante, which was also Mo's first loss. Mo will be out 9 months after getting surgery this Tuesday to replace both ACL & PCL ligaments in his left knee(Credit : Sherdog). Both Mo & KJ Noons' corners used bottled oxygen prior to their fights, but this was deemed not a violation by the Texas Department of Licensing & Regulation(TDLR). No drug tests were done during the event, as the TDLR does not do drug testing for combat sports(Credit : MMAJunkie). Hershel Walker claims he'll fight again this year, sometime after the Oct. 9th San Jose show that will also feature Women's 135-lbs. Champion Sarah Kaufman defend her title against Marloes Coenen.

-Fedor Emelianenko stated this week that he'd like to face Strikeforce Heavyweight Champion Alistair Overeem in the winter(November or December), but not only does M-1 Global want Olympic-style drug testing ala Pacquiao/Mayweather, it's alleged the time period suggested by Fedor/M-1 was with them knowing full well that Overeem could be competing at K-1's Grand Prix on New Year's Eve and thus the fight would not happen so they could instead have either Fedor fight Blagoi Ivanov(who defeated Fedor in the 2008 World Sambo Championships) in Russia, or on New Year's Eve in Japan(Credit : Middle Easy, MMAJunkie). A Dec. 4th fight with Antonio "Bigfoot" Silva is also a possibility.

-The Canadian Medical Association is seeking a ban on MMA in Canada, voting as such a 8 days ago at the organization's annual Niagara Falls, Ontario meeting(Credit : Middle Easy).

-UFC President Dana White has stated the winner of Saturday's Kenny Florian-Gray Maynard lightweight bout will get a title shot against the winner of BJ Penn's rematch with Champion Frankie Edgar tomorrow in Boston at UFC 118. Also at the pre-fight press conference, White let us know hot UFC card girl Arianny Celeste will be on the cover of Playboy in November, the same month Vitor Belfort is scheduled to fight again(Credit : Midde Easy). Vladimir Matyushenko(24-2) has signed a new 4-fight deal with UFC, and will likely next face Jason Brilz(18-3-1) at UFC 122 from Oberhausen, Germany's Konig Pilsener Arena on November 13(Credit : MMAJunkie). A rematch between Middleweight Champion Anderson Silva and Chael Sonnen is expected early next year, likely Superbowl weekend, while Light Heavyweight Champion Mauricio "Shogun" Rua likely won't be able to defend his belt against Rashad Evans until mid-2011 after recovering from knee surgery.

-WWE toured Asia this past weekend, holding their first ever show in China Sunday , a free show at the Shanghai World Expo, where they gave away 5,000 tickets(Credit : hamilton avenue journal). On their Japan show Friday night, Chris Jericho did an angle where he brawled with Pro Wrestling NOAH's Yoshihiro Takayama. Sho Funaki refereed tryouts before the shows Friday & Saturday, which saw wrestlers from Kaientai Dojo, Dragon Gate & Zero-One among others, perform before John Laurinaitis & Dean Malenko. Skip Sheffield broke his ankle during a tag match in Hawaii Wednesday 9 days ago, however, will be out for some time(Credit : wrestling observer).

-Sean Davis' mystery Florida-based promotion, now named Worldwide Wrestling Promotion with 50-65 wrestlers signed, has pushed their start-up date back from October to early 2011, possibly January.

-Kimbo Slice is leaving MMA for boxing and could have his first fight by the end of the year according to promoter Gary Shaw, who pushed Kimbo in the short-lived Elite XC(Credit : ESPNNew York). Roy Jones Jr. has said he's willing to fight Kimbo.

--Homicide, Rosie Lottalove & Tyson Tomko were all fired from TNA within the past week and a half, while The Sandman no-showed Monday's taping in Orlando after missing his flight and may be done with the company as well(Credit : pwinsider). At the TNA iMPACT! taping for next week, Tara officially returns, revealed as the Mystery Biker, and the original Beautiful People of Knockouts Champion Angelina Love & Velvet Skye reunite. Katie Lea Burchill had a tryout dark match, TNA signed Becky Bayless to portray Jersey Shore rip-off "Cookie," while Team 3D's contracts expire next week, and drug screenings took place this week.

-On last week's WWE NXT, Percy Watson & Husky Harris were eliminated. Next week is the finale, as well as RAW's 900th show this coming Monday.

-WWE fired Serena last week(who just made her in-ring debut on Smackdown this past Friday), allegedly for not living the Straight Edge Society gimmick in public. Also this past Friday, Alberto Del Rio(Dos Caras, Jr.) debuted for WWE, tapping out Rey Mysterio in the main event with a juju gate. MVP is working on a new rap gimmick(Credit : wrestling observer). Ty Bailey from WWE's talent relations department attended M-1's "Battle On The Neva" tournament in Russia 8 days ago, likely to scout talent(Credit : Fight Opinion). WWE has signed Pat Brink, Kris Logan & Vic Adams to developmental deals in the meantime.

-This past Saturday, ROH TV Champion Eddie Edwards cut his hand on a guardrail sign in his title defense Vs. Rhett Titus at The Arena in Philadelphia, PA for ROH's HDNet tapings. The "10 Minute Hunt" angle for the TV title has been dropped, with the Pick 6 set-up for the World title set to follow suite soon. Also, Rasche Brown and ROH parted ways after he missed his flight to Friday's taping in the same building. Mark & Jay Briscoe re-signed with Ring Of Honor however, in addition to Mike Bennett & Adam Cole also being signed to deals.

-Strikeforce released welterweight Jay Hieron(19-4) this week, while CEO Scott Coker has shown interest in bringing Paul Heyman(who is currently working on an autobiography) in to his company(Credit : Bloody Elbow).

-EMLL pulled Mr. Aguila from IWL's Arena Lopez Mateos show 9 days ago, who was replaced by Halloween(Credit : Lucha World). EMLL also added Atlantis, Ultimo Guerrero, Mr. Niebla & Jushin "Thunder" Liger to their 77th's Anniversary Show's now-14-man steel cage mask match at Arena Mexico on September 3rd.

-Jake "The Snake" Roberts defeated Zachary Springate in Watertown, NY this past Saturday for 2CW and announced his retirement after the match in the ring.

-ECWA promoter/owner Jim Kettner has retired, selling ECWA to Mike Tartaglia, who will work with TWA promoter Joe Zanolle, after 43 years of running shows. The last show Kettner ran was August 14th.

-Mikey Whipwreck will be undergoing Anterior Cervical Disectomy & Fusion surgery in mid-October.

-Jerry Lynn is waiting to hear results from an MRI that will determine whether he will require surgery to fix bulging discs in his back.

-Scott Hall is attending rehab under WWE's wellness program.

-"Mr Wrestling II" Johnny Walker's hear surgery was postponed from this past Monday but likely has occurred by now(Credit : pwinsider).

-UFC heavyweight Todd Duffee(6-1) has pulled out of the planned fight with Jon Madsen(6-0) at UFC 121 Oct. 23rd at the Honda Center in Anaheim, CA due to a knee injury, being replaced by Gilbert Yvel, 36-15-1(Credit : MMAJunkie).

-WEC 50 took place Wednesday August 18th at The Pearl in Las Vegas, NV's Palms Casino Resort, featuring Bantamweight Champion Dominick Cruz retain his title against Joseph Benavidez by split decision. Also, lightweight Anthony Pettis scored an impressive victory per Shane Roller, taping Roller to a triangle choke with just 9 seconds left in the third & final round. Pettis Vs. Lightweight Champion Ben Henderson was hinted at, and with WEC officially coming to Phoenix December 16th(Henderson's home town), a Henderson Vs. Pettis title fight is likely. Featherweight Urijah Faber will likely return to fighting at WEC 52 in November against Takeya Mizugaki. WEC's next major card is Wednesday September 30th, featuring Featherweight Champion Jose Aldo defending against Manny Gamburyan, and Miguel Torres' return against Charlie Valencia(Credit : MMAPlayground).

-UFC Fighter Spencer Fisher was arrested for interfering with an officer's duties Tuesday, then released later on $300 bond(Credit : wrestling observer).

-Vyacheslav Datsik, former Russian MMA fighter, escaped from a psychiatric ward Saturday by tearing a hole through a chain-link fence with his bare hands, going on to allegedly rob a store, taking 7,000 rubles & a cell phone(Credit : Middle Easy). He had been incarcerated at a high security psychiatric clinic since 2007 after being arrested in St. Petersburg for robbing numerous mobile phone stores, but was transferred to a  low security facility last month.

-Former UFC fighter War Machine was sentenced to a year in a jail & probation(conditions include no alcohol consumption for three years, treatment, therapy or counseling if directed) on Tuesday for assaulting a female bartender & assaulting a bouncer in separate bar attacks(Credit : 10 News).

-Balls Mahoney &  John "The Outpatient Kissel" were arrested this past Saturday for disorderly conduct after staging a fake fight at a Perth Amboy, NJ diner that included a knife being pulled, all in an effort to create interest in an upcoming indy match(Credit : NBC NY). Both have since been released.

-Luchador Lady Apache is pregnant with Electroshock's baby(Credit : Lucha World).

-The Expendables was #1 again at this past weekend's movie box office in America earning $16.5 million, bringing the total earned to $64.9 million.

-Kurt Angle will be starring in two new movies, Madman Marz and Death From Above.

-WWE has signed deals with K-Mart, for them to carry exclusive Mattel Hall Of Fame action figures as well as host appearances, and Burger King, for in-restaurant promotions of toys(Credit : hamilton avenue journal). WWE will also be releasing children-targeted biographies featuring Rey Mysterio and Hornswoggle(Credit : pwinsider).

-Goldust's autobiography, Cross Rhodes - Goldust Out Of The Darkness, will be released December 14th(Credit : pwinsider).

-John Cena's next movie for WWE Films, Blood Brothers, starts shooting in Albuquerque, NM October 14th, while Edge started shooting Breaking The Rules earlier this month(Credit : pwinsidier).

DEAD WRESTLER TALLY FOR THE PAST WEEK AND A HALF : 4


Tuesday, August 31, 2010 :

-Wrestling Roundtable Radio returns tonight at 11pm EST/8pm PST on BlogTalkRadio. We'll be taking your calls on 347-857-4647, and discussing the latest MMA shows(Strikeforce : Houston, WEC 50 & UFC 118) & pro wrestling goings-on(WWE RAW's 900th show, firing Serena, etc.). Share your thoughts/questions with us, don't just stay in the chat room!

-J.C. Bailey(Joseph Carl Bailey, Jr.), 26, CZW & IWA Mid-South indy wrestler, was found dead yesterday morning(Credit : pwinsider).

-Kotetsu Yamamoto, 68, 70s New Japan wrestler, commentator, referee and trainer through to recently, died Saturday in Nagano, Japan from hypoxic encephalopathy(Credit : Fight Opinion, pro-wrestling.com, wrestling observer).

-Espanto II(Fernando Cisneros Carillo), 78, 60s tag team luchador, died Friday in Gomez Palacio, Mexico from an undisclosed illness(Credit : Lucha World).

-Anton Geesink(Antonius Johannes Geesink), 76, Judo World Champion & Olympic gold medalist who wrestled for All Japan in the 70s, died Friday in The Netherlands(Credit : wrestling observer, wikipedia).

-Mickey Garagiola, 89, ring announcer for St. Louis' Wrestling At The Chasefrom 1969-1983, died Sunday morning(Credit : wrestling observer).

-Stephanie McMahon-Levesque gave birth to her third baby with Triple H this past Wednesday, their third daughter(Credit : pwinsider).

-TMZ reports the Pasco County Sheriff's Office discovered crushed Oxycodone pills & a snorting straw in the Florida home where Luna(Gertrude) Vachon was found in Friday along with numerous prescription bottles and pills.

-Tonight on NXT, it is expected Season 3's rookies will be introduced, half of which will be divas(Credit : pwinsider). The next season is set to wrap up October 1st, with the future of the show being up in the air.

-Vitor Belfort's return fight is official, as the middleweight will be facing Yushin Okami in the main event of UFC 122 in Germany November 13th, which may end up being a Spike TV special(Credit : f4wonline).

-Jason "Mayhem" Miller(23-7) is set to face Kazushi Sakuraba(26-13-1) at DREAM 16, September 25th at the Nippon Gaishi Hall Nagoya, Japan(Credit : MMAJunkie).  Gegard Mousasi faces Tatsuya Mizauno to crown a DREAM Light Heavyweight Champion on the show as well.

-Womens Champion Layla El Vs. Divas Champion Melina at WWE's Night Of Champions PPV on September 19th is apparently a unification lumberjack match(Credit : diva dirt).

-WWE has signed Martin Stone, British indy wrestler, to a developmental, as well as 6'9 female wrestler Isis The Amazon and they also recently signed Alicia Fox's sister Cristina Crawford. This past Friday, AAA's Alex Kozlov wrestled Alberto Del Rio on Smackdown as Carlos Sanchez, and they might be interested in signing him as well(Credit : pwinsider, diva dirt). Other name changes in Florida Championship Wrestling :
Consequences Creed is now Xavier Woods
Shane Canterbury is now Buck Dixon
Phil Friedman is now James Bronson
Fady The Arabian Bull is now Fahd Rakman
Joe Anaoi is now Roman Leakee
Celeste is now Ricki Vaughn
and Bill Carr is now Bobby Dutch

-Lucha Libre USA is being put on hiatus by MTV2, as they are promoting a "season finale" while the company plans on reorganizing for their second run, which may include taping the next 'season' from one location for TV while running house shows - if it does indeed come back(Credit : pwinsider). Petey Williams debuted for LLUSA Saturday at their Charlotte event, which saw also debuting David & Reid Flair win their tag bout against Tinibelas Jr. & El Oriental when Reid tapped out Tinibelas to a figure four leglock. Some name changes in LLUSA also :
Charly Manson is Charly Malice
John Walters is RJ Brewer
and Rocky Romero(who left AAA in July along with Teddy Hart) is Azteko.

-Mr. Wrestling II Johnny Walker had successful bypass surgery this past Friday(Credit : pwinsider). Bobby Heenan is also recovering from surgery, for a broken shoulder and is currently in physical rehab.

-Lawrence Tayor is scheduled to appear in court September 24th for a hearing on third-degree rape/criminal sexual act charges(Credit : New York Daily News).

-La Legion Extranjera(Alex Kozlov, Hernandez & Decnis) from AAA did an angle with Billy Corgan during a Smashing Pumpkins concert in Mexico City Friday night, with Extreme Tiger, El Mesias & La Parka, Jr. making the save(Credit : LA Weekly).

-Rumor is FYE may soon stop stocking WWE DVDs(Credit : wwedvdnews). WWE is expanding releases for iTunes, though.

-Lita is planning to open a Lucha Libre-themed Atlanta restaurant(Credit : wrestling observer). She will also be doing a Lucha-themed movie with Trish Stratus(Credit : impact wrestling).

-Bruce Hart's book coming out February 1st will be titled Straight From The Hart, while the autobiography Road Warrior Animal : Danger, Death & The Rush Of Wrestling comes out March 11th(Credit : pwinsider).

-Ring Of Honor will be holding HDNet tapings Dec. 9th & 10th in Lousville, KY, the first time the show will be taped outside of The Arena in Philadelphia.

DEAD WRESTLER TALLY FOR THE PAST FOUR DAYS : 4