News Archives - Winter 2010(January - March 2010)
Saturday, January 2, 2010 :
-A big string of Wrestling Roundtable news to start off the new year :
* Remember the story of Eric meeting with some 'name independent wrestlers' regarding a future project reported here a month ago? Now it can be told ; Delirious has announced Pro Wrestling Respect, presented by the Ring Of Honor Wrestling Academy. Featuring alumni from the Academy & other independent names such as Daizee Haze, Ricky Reyes & Shimmer Champion MsChif, the promotion will be small, family-friendly wrestling events with strict rules, win/loss records, & The Wrestling Roundtable will be lending it's full support to the events in many capacities. Alex Payne & Shane Hagadorn(who have appeared on the Roundtable) will be on the show, so if you can, join us at the Burlington National Guard Armory, Sunday January 24th at 4:00pm in Burlington, NJ. Tickets are for sale online for only $5, and will be $8 at the door the afternoon of the event. You can get tickets on our Online Store to the left, Pro Wrestling Respect's website, emailing prowrestlingrespect@hotmail.com, or by calling 613-534-5821. For more info. be sure to check out prowrestlingrespect.com
* The Wrestling Roundtable should be starting Season 3 this January 31st, the same day as The Royal Rumble. We'll
be discussing the 2009 Year In Review & Decade In Review. This is a tentative but likely shooting date. For more of
the latest goings on with the Roundtable(including iTunes, Roundtable Radio & more), check out the Happy New Year! thread on the message board.
-After a long up-and-down battle with throat cancer over the years, former UWF/AJPW/NWA/ECW/WCW/WWF
wrestler "Dr. Death" Steve Williams, 49, died Tuesday night. This unfortunately brings the dead wrestler tally for 2009 to 42. Personally speaking, I was a fan of Dr. Death and admired his work over the years. I met him a few years ago and he was very friendly & in good spirits. The Wrestling Roundtable sends it's sincerest condolences to Williams' friends & family.
-Dana White recently said that the 'likely(i.e. not announced, yet)' Frank Mir/Shane Carwin fight at UFC 111, March
27 in the Prudential Center, could possibly be for an interim heavyweight championship, but the decision will likely come after Brock Lesnar's future is established(Credit : MMAJunkie). White said "We'll know this week," about
Lesnar's health, as Lesnar is going to see a doctor to determine whether he'll be able to fight again.
-David "The King" Bollea, nephew of Hulk Hogan, fights for Tachi Palace Fights in Lemoore, CA on Feb. 2nd. His opponent us yet to be determined. He made his MMA debut March 2nd at XFC 2 : Rage In The Cage in St. Petersburg, Fl against Jesse Lawrence, winning in the 2nd round by submission via armbar(Credit : sherdog.com).
-Former ROH Champion John Xavier, 1-3, suffered two unanimous decision losses in his most recent fights : first, to
Phil "The Machine" Mazzurco at Asylum Fight League XXIII in South Amboy, NJ on Nov. 14th, then to John Restrepo
at the 2nd New Jersey KAPMMA Amateur Championships in Newark, NJ on Dec. 18th.
-Future RAW guest host & former boxing champion Mike Tyson's case wherein he is alleged to have punched a paparazzi at LAX was rejected by the LA City Attorney on Thursday(Credit : TMZ).
-Melina tore an ACL at a WWE house show Tuesday night in Manchester, NH(Credit : wrestling observer).
-Cody Deaner was released from TNA this week(Credit : pwinsider)
-Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson will be a featured coverman & guest writer for a future issue of Muscle & Fitness magazine(Credit : wrestling observer).
Thursday, January 7, 2010 :
-The Wrestling Roundtable is now on iTunes! We're going to be updating the back catalog of shows from Seasons 1 & 2 so you can listen to us on your iPod, iTouch, iPhone, iwhatever, with episodes from Season 1 available now! To get the podcasts, simply type 'Wrestling Roundtable' in the search box of your iTunes browser. You can also click on the 'Podcasts/iTunes' button in the Video/Audio section to the left, click the link on the Video/Audio or Links pages, or visit wrestlingroundtablepodcast.com
-The biggest night for pro wrestling in years came & went this past Monday with tons of huge consequences as TNA presented a 3-hour live iMPACT! head-to-head with WWE's Monday Night RAW, the first time in almost 9 years that WWE faced direct wrestling competition on a Monday night :
-Jeff Hardy made his surprise return to TNA(with Shannon Moore in tow) after the opening X Division cage match, getting in a brawl with Homicide. Hardy had originally made a verbal agreement with WWE that he'd come back down the line(which he has denied), but instead signed a short-term deal with TNA, returning a day before being indicted in Moore County, GA on all charges stemming from his Sep. 11th, 2009 arrest(felony possession of cocaine, felony drug trafficking of opium, two counts of felony possession with the intent to distribute a Schedule III controlled substance, maintaining a dwelling for drug use and/or distribution, & misdemeanor possession of drug paraphernalia). He will be headed to Superior Court, with a future court date to be scheduled next week.
-ODB defeated Tara to reclaim the Knockouts title for a third time.
-Ric Flair debuted in TNA, signing a one year non-exclusive deal. He will 'mentor' AJ Styles on TV.
-Hulk Hogan, along with Eric Bischoff, finally made his in-ring debut for TNA in a segment that also featured the return of Sting. Hogan has been pushing for TNA to return to a traditional four-sided ring, but that is still up in the air.
-Sean Waltman & Scott Hall returned to TNA, forming a familiar-looking faction with Kevin Nash that - as was teased at the end of the night - might or might not be working with Hogan and/or Bischoff. Cliffhanger!
-Sean Morley, Orlando Jordan & The Nasty Boys debuted in backstage segments along with Bubba The Love Sponge as a new backstage interviewer.
-Awesome Kong & Ayako Hamada won the Knockouts Tag Team titles from Sarita & Taylor Wilde. Hamada injured her ankle in the match, but she doesn't plan on missing any time.
-Bryan Danielson wrestled his first match under WWE contract, winning a dark match against Chavo Guerrero, Jr. Congratulations to the American Dragon!
-On RAW itself, Melina was stripped of the Divas title due to her ACL injury this weekend at a house show in Manchester, NH, an injury that will put her out about 6 months. A tournament was set up to determine a new champion.
-Bret Hart appeared in a WWE ring for the first time in over 12 years, doing an angle where he made 'peace' with Shawn Michaels, and Vince McMahon kicked him in the balls after agreeing to induct Stu Hart in the Hall Of Fame this year. After RAW went off the air, the entire roster(sans HHH & HBK, mmm hmm) came out to the ring & paraded Bret around on their shoulders.
And the numbers are in :
-TNA iMPACT! did a 1.5(2.2 million viewers) Nielsen rating. It beat ECW on SyFy the next day by a wide margin(ECW did a 0.9), was their highest rated show ever, & was up 114.4% from last Thursday's New Year's Eve show that did a 0.7.
-RAW did a 3.6(5.6 million viewers), unchanged from the previous week's rating but up 48% in the male 18-34 demo. This has been viewed as a disappointment in WWE as they expected to do a 4.0.
-The combined audience was 7.8 million(a 11.4 combined rating during the peak period), the most people who have watched wrestling on a Monday night in a long time.
-The Hart/Michaels segment that opened RAW was RAW's highest rated portion, while Hogan's debut/not-nWo segment on at the same time was the highest rated on iMPACT!
-TNA bought several ads during RAW in many major markets advertising their show on the other channel at that very moment.
-Jeff Hardy has been replaced in WWE's fanfare by Kofi Kingston, and like Hulk Hogan & Mick Foley before him, Flair was removed also.
-It seems 'a lock' TNA will run Mondays again, which may be a permanent move.
(Credit : wrestling observer, pwinsider, pwtorch, wgn, 411mania)
-With all the Bret Hart talk, Rodney of The Wrestling Roundtable has posted this clip of Bret Hart(whose ex-wife Julie is writing a "tell-all" book according to WGN) talking about the rise of Mixed Martial Arts as it relates to pro wrestling from his upcoming documentary The Grappling Kings :
-Frank Mir Vs. Shane Carwin at UFC's 111 event in Newark, NJ's Prudential Center will be for an Interim Heavyweight title. If Brock Lesnar has surgery on his intestines, the title will likely be vacated and the match will be changed for the Heavyweight Title itself.
-Hulk Hogan & Shane McMahon, now officially gone from WWE, attended Saturday's UFC 108 event in Las Vegas.
-Fighters Only Magazine presented the "World MMA Awards" on the Versus Network last night. The main category winners were Fight Of The Year, won by Diego Sanchez & Clay Guida's bloody battle from UFC"s The Ultimate Finale 9 on June 20, 2009, and Fighter Of The Year, won by UFC's Welterweight Champion, Georges St. Pierre, who claims he is "50/50" about leaving UFC this summer to train for the 2012 Olympics(!!!) in freestyle wrestling.
-Shane Del Rosario has stated that he will not fight for Strikeforce until March, against Lavar Johnson, so the proposed Bobby Lashley fight at Strikeforce : Miami on Jan. 30th will not be happening(Credit : fiveouncesofpain.com). Lashley, 4-0, will fight on this card against another opponent, to be determined.
-Daizee Haze Vs. Rayna Von Tosh will co-main event Pro Wrestling Respect's first show on January 24th in Burlington, NJ. Tickets are available at the Roundtable Store to the left!
-Kid Kash's trial date for theft & forgery has been set for March 1st(Credit : WGN).
-Criminal charges of battery & trespassing filed by his ex-girlfriend were dropped against Sean O'Haire recently in Savannah, GA(Credit : WGN).
-Next week is the last episode for this season of Conspiracy Theory with Jesse Ventura on TruTV, covering 2012.
-Rowdy Roddy Piper will be doing standup comedy Friday at the Hollywood Improv in Los Angeles, CA(Credit : WGN).
-William Shatner will host RAW on February 1st, while James Roday & Dule Hill(who??) from Psych will host Jan. 25th(Credit : wrestling observer).
-Frankie Kazarian & Traci Brooks are getting married this weekend(Credit : WGN).
-Sylvester Stallone is claiming that Stone Cold Steve Austin hairline fractured Stallone's neck shooting a scene together during the filming of The Expendables(Credit : New York Daily News). Stallone said he had emergency surgery, with a metal plate inserted in his neck.
-Alex Shelley could possibly have a herniated disc & is being 'checked out' today(Credit : wrestling observer).
-Mattell officially took over WWE's toy license from Jakks Pacific on Jan. 1st(Credit : WGN).
-Spike TV will be producing a reality series, "Half Pint Brawlers" about midget wrestlers starring Puppet The Psycho Dwarf & Teo(Credit : wrestling observer).
-Brian Kendrick is expected to debut with TNA soon, while Angelina Love returns on the Jan. 14th iMPACT! after finally getting her U.S. work Visa in order(Credit : WGN). The Young Bucks have been renamed "Generation Me" and will debut on Xplosion.
-The Briscoes are expected to sign with WWE after their ROH contracts expire this spring.
-The Federal Election Commission has 'flagged' Linda McMahon's campaign expenditures for her Connecticut Senate election that she had recorded as in-kind contributions(Credit : Connecticut Journal-Enquirer). Her campaign finance report is requested to be corrected to include "missing" information about it's vendors, which include amounts, dates & purposes of purchases. McMahon's campaign hasn't responded to the request yet.
Wednesday, January 13, 2010 :
-The Wrestling Roundtable is fully supporting Pro Wrestling Respect, presented by the ROH Wrestling Academy. You can buy tickets in our store to their debut event in Burlington, NJ on Sunday, January 24th, and Respect has posted their first video presentation - an introduction to the promotion, their spirit, their style & a profile on Andy "Right Leg" Ridge, hosted by the Roundtable's own Eric Santamaria and with an appearance from Shane Hagadorn. Check it out :
-And now the news so many of you have been waiting for : The Wrestling Roundtable returns this Sunday! We're going to tape the first episodes of Season 3, and they're big ones! We'll be discussing January 4th's Monday Night War & the Best/Worst Gimmick Matches on the first show to be online next week, and the following week, we'll be discussing The Year In Review 2009, then the Decade In Review 2000-2009. We'll have some major announcements as far as it concerns the Roundtable community, and don't forget to check us out on iTunes!
-Ludvig Borga(Tony Halme), 47, former WWF wrestler, UFC fighter, powerlifter, boxer, actor, member of Finland's Parliament via the True Finns Party & apparent Nazi sympathizer(he had an "SS" tattoo on a calf), died last week in what is being reported by Finnish tabloid Ilta-Sanomat as a suicide after being found in his apartment Sunday. Finnish police claim no foul play involved, however.
-Jim White, 67, a 70s Memphis wrestler, died on Thursday from cancer(Credit : wrestling observer).
-Flash Entertainment, a subsidiary of the United Arab Emirate's government based in their capitol Abu Dhabi, bought 10% of stocks from Zuffa Inc, owners of UFC, WEC & several defunct organizations, including Pride(Credit : AP). UFC President Dana White said the deal was made to provide global growth for UFC's brand. The Best Of Pride starts airing this Friday night on Spike TV.
-(Former?) UFC Heavyweight Champion Brock Lesnar's coach Marty Morgan is claiming Lesnar would fight again, while Randy Couture told Inside MMA that Lesnar told Couture that he's back training for a planned spring return(Credit : wrestling observer).
-Bobby Lashley's opponent at Strikeforce : Miami on January 30th has finally been named : Yohan Banks, 2-1(Credit : MMAWeekly).
-Ken Shamrock has signed to fight Seth Petruzelli March 6th in Cancun, Mexico for International Unlimited Fighting.
-Mike Tyson made his in-ring 'pro wrestling' debut(if you count the non-moves he did) on WWE RAW this past Monday in his first match, teaming with Chris Jericho against DX(HHH & Shawn Michaels) before turning on Jericho & revealing that he had rejoined DX - at least for a night, and in effect, costing himself the match as Michaels pinned Tyson's tag partner Jericho, whom Tyson had just knocked out. To complete WWE's 1997/1998 nostalgia trip, Stone Cold Steve Austin will guest host RAW March 15th, while Jon Heder & Don Johnson host next week. Weekly guest hosts could be dropped after WrestleMania in favor of a General Manager.
-El Hijo Del Santo & Perry Aguayo, Jr. met last week to negotiate a merger of Todos Y Todos and Perros Del Mal to create a "super indy promotion" that would hold events in Mexico and internationally(Credit : luchaworld)
-At NJPW's Wrestle Kingdom IV In Tokyo Dome PPV this weekend, NOAH's Naomichi Marufuji defeated Tiger Mask IV for the IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Title. In a 8-man tag team match, two legends returned to New Japan : Abdullah The Butcher(either 68 or 73 years of age) teamed with Toru Yano, Takashi Iizuka & Tomohiro Ishii to face also returning 65-year-old Terry Funk, Riki Choshu, Manabu Nakanishi & Masahiro Chono(Credit : wrestling observer). Also, Yujiro & Tetsuya Naito won the IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team titles in a three-way hardcore tag match, defeating champions Team 3D and Giant Bernard & Karl Anderson when Yujiro pinned Anderson.
-EMLL luchador El Super Nova, Rikishi's son Joshua Fatu & OVW wrestler Asher Knight have been signed to WWE developmental contracts(Credit : wrestling observer). DJ Gabriel, however, was released recently, along with developmental wrestlers Black Pain, Dylan Klein, Rashad Goff, Bryan Wilcott, Aaron Reed, Leroy Morgan & Johnny Riggs(Credit : WGN).
-Alex Shelley's neck scan results showed several bulging discs(Credit : WGN).
-Bryan Danielson, as per his request, will soon debut for FCW.
-WWE.com profiled Ivory(Lisa Moretti) in which she stated there would be a GLOW reunion on January 30th in Los Angeles.
-Katie Lea returned to RAW last Monday, whereas Shark Boy returns for TNA this weekend at their house shows in Pennsylvania.
-MWF in Boston is claiming to be holding The Iron Sheik's retirement match April 24 in Melrose, MA - a handicap match, teaming with Jay Lethal against Dylan Kage(Credit : WGN).
-Mickie James' first country single will be released Feb. 16th, and her first album will be coming out in March(Credit : wrestling observer).
-Shane McMahon's old position of head of WWE International has been filled by formerly London-based employee of several years, Andrew Whitaker(Credit : WGN).
-Ric Flair is working on a second book & signed with JAKKS to be in their NWA Classics action figures(Credit : wrestling observer).
-Black Warrior has left EMLL & will debut for AAA soon(Credit : Super Luchas)
-pwinsider claims Brent Albright will be returning to ROH "soon."
-Tiffany & Drew McIntyre are engaged(Credit : wrestling observer).
-Rumors of Ken Anderson(Kennedy) or Rob Van Dam debuting for TNA on Sunday's Genesis PPV(Credit : pwinsider).
-Colt Cabana debuts tonight at the ComedySportz Theater in Chicago, doing stand up improv comedy from Jan. 27th through March 10(Credit : rohwrestling.com)
-Once again trying to be WCW, TNA will now be doing a pre-and-post show, TNA Live, on their website, ala WCW Live.
-WWE Heroes Comic #1 will be released on March 23rd(Credit : wrestling observer). I'm sure the new Aliens Vs. Predator will be better.
Monday, January 18, 2010 :
-The Wrestling Roundtable taped our first two shows of the third season yesterday. Expect the first episode to be uploaded this week, where we discuss the latest Monday Night War on January 4th, and the Best & Worst Gimmick Matches.
-Awesome Kong and several other TNA wrestlers held a fundraiser days ago at the Midtown tavern in Harrisburg, PA for Haiti relief in the aftermath of the earthquake that devastated the island nation last week. If you wish to send a donation via Paypal, the address is Wrestlers4Haiti@gmail.com
-Bob Shamrock, 68, adopted father of both Ken & Frank, died this past Thursday due to complications caused by diabetes(Credit : WGN).
-Ed Chuman, 62, long time NWA Midwest promoter, died due to "health problems(Credit : Pwtorch)."
-Last night at TNA's Genesis PPV in Orlando, they started off the show returning to a traditional 4-sided ring with a ramp leading to the ring from the entranceway. The crowd did not react well to this and Hogan & Bischoff trying to sell them on it, with TNA staff removing signs making negative remarks about the ring(Credit : pwinsider). Elsewhere on the show, Tara defeated ODB in two straight falls during a 2/3 falls match to reclaim the Knockouts title for the third time. The British Invasion(Brutus Magnus & Doug Williams) lost the Tag Titles to Hernandez & Matt Morgan, making Hernandez a two-time champion. Also debuting for TNA tonight were Brian Kendrick(losing an X Title match against Red in the opener) and Mr. Ken Anderson, defeating Abyss. Sean Morley made his in-ring debut against (Christopher) Daniels, and Desmond Wolfe had an unnamed new valet, who is one of the hottest women I've ever seen. An angle was done with Jeremy Borash where Bischoff told him he wasn't going to be backstage interviewer anymore, and World Champion AJ Styles turned heel on Kurt Angle in the main event World title match, with Ric Flair's help.
-Pro Wrestling Respect has released another video in preparation for their first event on Sunday featuring Agent Sly Stetson :
-Mixed Martial Arts is one step closer to being regulated in New York State, and that means UFC running a show in Madison Square Garden might be sooner than you think - NY Governor David Paterson is expected to propose legalization of MMA in his next budget plan which is to be revealed tomorrow(Credit : New York Daily News).
-Originally proposed to be Yohan Banks, Bobby Lashley's opponent for Strikeforce : Miami on January 31st is still undecided. First, Banks was rejected by the Florida State Boxing Commission as "non-competitive." Then, former NJPW wrestler and MMA fighter Jimmy Ambriz(14-12-1) was proposed, then approved by the commission after both sides agreed, but "other sources/channels" are causing problems, meaning Lashley will not fight on the 31st if a last-minute replacement cannot be found(Credit : MMAJunkie). This will be the second fight in a row to be stalled for Lashley, who was written out of the TNA PPV last night to not risk injury for a fight that probably won't happen now.
-Dana White has hinted that he is in re-negotiations with M-1 Global regarding Gegard Mousasi & Fedor Emelianenko, which some in M-1 have denied.
-The first UFC Gym will be opening on Jan. 23rd in Concord, CA(Credit : wrestling observer).
-On the same card that Hulk Hogan's nephew David Bollea(1-0) faces Tim Denham(0-1), Rowdy Roddy Piper's son Colton Toombs will make his professional MMA debut at TPF 3 : Champions Collide in Lemore, CA, against Anthony Vidal(1-2)(Credit : MMA Spot).
-Speaking of Hogan, his boy Bubba The Love Sponge is an even bigger piece of shit than we thought. After a huge debacle with BTLS giving away too many free tickets(or TNA giving him too many) to the live Jan.4th show, then tweeting, "Fuck Haiti," TNA has pretty much decided to separate themselves from Bubba(Credit : pwinsider).
-The Rock has said after being unable to host RAW last week due to his promotional schedule that he & WWE are hoping to reschedule for the summer(Credit : Slam Wrestling). Scheduled to host RAW coming up are William Shatner on Feb. 1st & Jerry Springer on Feb. 15th(Credit : pwinsider).
-Jeff Hardy's trial date will be March 17th in Moore County, NC with an additional felony charge added - conspiracy to traffic opium(Credit : wrestling observer).
-luchador Mini Cibernetico was arrested for stabbing his girlfriend & a man he caught her "hanging around with." (Credit : wrestling observer).
-A complaint was filed against Randy Orton last week after he allegedly spit gum in the face of a 15-year old boy, then cursed him out after the teen had taken a picture of Orton in the parking lot of Kowloon's Restaurant in Sauguas, MA(Credit : wrestling observer). A hearing has been scheduled by police on an assault & battery charge, where the clerk magistrate will determine if charges will be pressed.
-John Cena has a back injury and lingering neck problems(Credit : WGN).
-Rene Dupree debuted with AJPW on Jan. 3rd as the newest member of the Voodoo Murderers faction(Credit : wrestling observer).
-Japanese wrestler Milano Collection AT has retired after wrestling almost 10 years.
-WWE released former FCW Champion Eric Escobar, with more releases expected soon(Credit : wrestling observer). They won't have to worry about firing Chris "The Bambikiller" Raaber, as he quit.
-Pro Wrestling Unplugged in Philadelphia has shut down so promoters Johnny Kashmere & Trent Acid could work full-time for Juggalo Championshit Wrestling. Speaking of ICP, they are opening a wrestling school(Credit : WGN). No joke.
-Apparently Danny Bonaduce will wrestle at TNA's LockDown event this year, making it his second match for TNA & second to be at LockDown in a row.
-IWA Puerto Rica sent WWC cease & desist orders regarding the use of the name 'Ricky Banderas' for wrestler Gilbert Cosme.
-Maria Kanellis will release her first album, Sevin Sins, on April 13th(Credit : WGN).
Wednesday, January 27, 2010 :
-The Season Premiere for Season 3 online! Check the Video/Audio section to the left!
-Long-time wrestling fan, writer of The Wrestling Chatterbox newsletter and president of several fan clubs Georgiann Makropoulos, 68, died days ago after suffering a heart attack.
-Katsuhisa Shibata, 66, former NJPW wrestler & referee, died Sat. the 16th from a heart attack(Credit : WGN).
-Finnish police have ruled Tony Halme(Ludvig Borga)'s death a suicide.
-Brock Lesnar announced last week on Sports Center that he is still UFC Heavyweight Champion & Dana White said Lesnar will fight the winner of the Mir/Carwin bout at UFC 111 to unify the interim Heavyweight Title with Lesnar's title over the summer. Lesnar was also in attendance this past Saturday in Fargo, ND to see his training partner, 2-time NCAA Heavyweight wrestling champion Cole Konrad, make his MMA debut, defeating Gary Hamen(Credit : wrestling observer).
-The UFC unveiled their first UFC Gym this past Saturday in Concord, CA.
-Bobby Lashley's opponent for Strikeforce : Miami this Saturday as finally been found - Wes Sims, 22-12-1.
-Pro Wrestling Respect, presented by the ROH Wrestling Academy & sponsored by The Wrestling Roundtable, had their first event in Burlington, NJ this past Sunday afternoon drawing a sell-out crowd to the Burlington National Guard Armory. The Roundtable was out in full force to help the crew & roster put together a stellar first show. Check prowrestlingrespect.com for results and more!
-Awesome Kong & Bubba The Love Sponge were reported here in Haitian-earthquake-related news, Kong for helping organize a fundraiser, BTLS for saying, "Fuck Haiti." In response to this, Kong attacked Bubba at Monday's iMPACT! taping, brutalizing the fat MC. Apparently unhappy for sometime beforehand, Kong asked her for release afterwards, which has yet to be granted, and she's not alone with at least one but up to 3 others have requested their release as well. In the meantime, she was at the tapings Tues & Wed., but was taken off TNA's UK tour(Credit : WGN). Alex Shelley will not be on the tour either, however in his case it's due to his recent neck issues, nor will Lashley as he is fighting for Strikeforce this weekend.
-Melissa Anderson(Alissa Flash/Cheerleader Melissa/Raisha Saeed) was released from TNA last week. The Honky Tonk Man, however, claims he's "close" to signing with TNA, as WWE feared Rob Van Dam had already done & so blocked him from signing on to his WWE Universe blog.
-Go Shiozaki of Pro Wrestling NOAH broke his arm in a match on Jan. 16th and will be replaced by Takeshi Morishima for a tour of AAA(Credit : wrestling observer).
-NJPW is sending Taichi Ishikari to tour EMLL soon & Kazuchika Okada to get a tryout with TNA(Credit : Luchaworld)
-To follow up on the Randy Orton Vs. teenager story from last week, the Saugus Wicked has an eyewitness story from the Kowloon's Restaurant in Massachusetts saying that Orton was yelled at with profanities when he turned down autographs to a crowd of kids who had rushed him as he was leaving the establishment, but didn't see Orton spitting gum in someone's face was not seen, nor was Orton seen coming close to any fans(Credit : wickedlocal.com)
-After being unsuccessful in a motion to dismiss the lawsuit before the case would have gone to trial, Jody Hamilton's ongoing lawsuit with WWE about closing DSW has settled out of court for an undisclosed sum(Credit : WGN, wrestling observer).
-Hulk Hogan, who wants TNA to stop running house shows, won a judgment over ex-wife Linda regarding removing fixtures & furniture from their Bellaire mansion(Credit : WGN). The judge ruled Linda(who recently settled with the Graziano family in the auto-negligence lawsuit against the Hogans that Hulk & Nick have yet to resolve on their end) must return the items.
-ROH announced there will be a tournament over their Feb. 5-6 tapings in Philadelphia for HDNet to crown their first TV Champion. After announcing their Big Bang show in Charlotte, NC for April 3rd(their debut in North Carolina), they are looking in to running other new states as well. ROH's first show in Los Angeles is this Friday as part of the WrestleReunion 4 convention.
-Jake "The Snake" Roberts claimed on his myspace that he'll be retiring at the conclusion of 2010 following a retirement tour.
-The ever-PG Cheech & Chong will be hosting RAW on March 1st. And no, this story following Jake The Snake is not a coincidence....man. NASCAR driver Carl Edwards hosts Feb. 8th & Bret Hart will return to RAW next week.
-WWE Studios, who finished shooting Brother's Keeper with John Cena last week, has separated themselves from Lionsgate & 20th Century Fox, and will now self-distribute & market their next 9 movies. Samuel Goldwyn Films will be their theatrical distributor & Vivendi Entertainment will be their DVD distribution partner, both domestically. Randy Orton will be starring in their next movie, Big Red(Credit : WGN).
-The Rock's newest movie The Tooth Fairy opened at #4 at the box office this weekend, earning $14.5 million domestically.
-Chris Jericho's band Fozzy's new album, Chasing The Grill, is now available on iTunes. SO ARE WE!
-WWE releases WWE The Music Vol. 10 : Copy & Paste Generic Symbols.....whooops, Vol 10 : A New Day, this Thursday.
-Minnesota's Golden Age Of Wrestling : From Verne Gagne To The Road Warriors, a new book by George Schire of the Minnesota Historical Society Press will be released on May 1(Credit : WGN).
-WWE wants to create a sitcom starring Santino Marella along with Vladimir Kozlov & Beth Phoenix for WWE.com, but plan on shopping it around to various networks(Credit : InsideTV). Unless of course this is a big joke.
-Serena Deeb debuted on WWE this past Friday on Smackdown as part of CM Punk's group of shaved heads.
-Wrestlelicious has finally secured a TV deal and will be distributed in the US, Canada & the Caribbean, signing a non-exclusive deal with MAV TV that left them open to sign deal with local stations for syndication(Credit : Hamilton Ave Journal).
Wednesday, February 3, 2010 :
-Jack Brisco, 68, former NCAA National, 2-time NCAA All American & 2-time NWA World Heavyweight Champion(and first American Indian to do so), died this past Monday morning due to complications from heart surgery he had two weeks ago.
-We had some technical issues with our iTunes account last week. It looks to have been cleared up and you can once again download episodes. Also, we hope to have our latest episode on Go Fight Live's website shortly.
-WWE held the 2009 Royal Rumble this past Sunday, where the Rumble match was won by surprise returning entrant Edge, winning his first Rumble. Also, Mickie James won her 5th Women's title, defeating Michelle McCool in 20
seconds. Santino Marella was pulled from the Rumble due to injuries, though the reason William Regal was pulled is unknown.
-It was announced on ECW on SyFy last night by Vince McMahon himself that on March 2nd, the "ECW" name/brand will be put back on the shelf on favor of a new show, "WWE NXT," with the 'NXT' standing for 'Next Generation,' essentially a FCW 2.0 focusing on newer wrestlers. No word on what will become of the ECW title held by Christian.
-WWE announced this week that WrestleMania 27 will be held in the Georgia Dome in Atlanta, GA on Sunday, April 3, 2011.
-New York Governor David Paterson's proposal to legalize MMA in New York State as part of his 2010-2011 Executive Budget was shot down by 68% of the members of the electorate(Credit : maristpoll).
-It appears as if the Monday Night Wars 2.0 will be (un)officially back on starting March 1st, as Spike TV & Universal Studios let it be known TNA is scheduled for that Monday, and will probably be that way for now on as TNA will go live one week, then tape the next day for the following Monday's airing. Wrestlelicious will also begin airing at 11pm that night on MAVTV & Bite TV.
-This past Saturday, Bobby Lashley(5-0), made his Strikeforce debut, continuing his undefeated streak by beating
Wes Sims in 2:06 of the first round via TKO after ref stoppage. Lashley, whose next opponent is rumored to be Brett Rogers, will be appearing in the EA MMA video game. Strikeforce, which just signed a huge international TV
distribution deal that will show over 70 hours of programming to several countries, also featured 47-year-old former football player Herschel Walker's MMA debut, defeating Greg Nagy in 2:17 of Round 3 by TKO.
-Chris Jericho & Gregory "Hurricane" Helms were arrested last Thursday in Crescent Springs, Kentucky for public intoxication. They had been traveling in a cab with Matt Hardy & a young woman, Ashley Storer. They began play fighting, with her getting accidentally elbowed. The cab driver pulled in to a gas station, called the police & Hardy fled the scene after chasing down a running-away Helms. Helms returned to the scene on his own accord. Christian & CM Punk posted bond for Jericho & Helms at the Kenton County Detention Center, with the two scheduled to appear at the Kenton District Court on Feb. 16th(Credit : LA Times, WGN, TMZ). Helms had a single white Soma pill, the muscle relaxer Carisoprodol, which he claimed to have a prescription for. Due to the small amount, he was not charged, but
he was sent home by WWE for the week.
-Damian El Terrible & El Hijo Del Texano were suspended from Arena Coliseo De Gaudalajara for 60 days after getting in to a fight with a fan(Credit : Luchaworld).
-A lot of ROH news stemming from before their Los Angeles debut on Friday during the WrestleReunion 4 convention, which saw Jushin "Thunder" Liger's return to the promotion after over 5 years. Just before showtime, it became
known that they had re-signed Davey Richards to a contract that prevented him from working for the Dragon Gate
USA or EVOLVE Wrestling promotions(Credit : pwinsider). Richards' contract was to expire in April, and before a resolution could be reached in regards to the April Phoenix shows on WrestleMania weekend where Richards had verbally agreed to wrestle for DGUSA(which could have been in violation of his ROH contract had they pursued legal action), he re-signed with ROH and was pulled from the DGUSA shows. DGUSA, who recently sent legal letters to TNA & Generation Me(Nick & Matt Jackosn, The Young Bucks) regarding TNA pulling The Young Bucks from DGUSA's
Phoenix shows, is expected to do the same to Davey Richards and also leaked personal emails Richards wrote.
-It also came to light that ROH has filed a lawsuit against Ric Flair stemming from not fulfilling all of his paid appearances for the promotion last year, seeking damages of $40, 000.
-Ring Of Honor will be crowning their first TV Champion in a tournament spanning the two nights of HDNet tapings
this Friday & Saturday at The Arena in Philadelphia.
-Current NWA Florida Heavyweight & NWA Midwest Champion The Sheik defeated El Gran Apollo for the NWA North American title this past Saturday at an NWA Pro Wrestling Fusion show in Ft. Pierce, FL(Credit : luchaworld). This makes The Sheik (not the Iron one, btw) the first man hold three NWA titles at once, ever, holding a state, a regional and a continental title simultaneously.
-Several wrestlers were denied entry to the country of England this weekend for The WrestleSlam convention. Molly Holly, Mr. Fuji, Nikolai Volkoff, Tugboat, The Barbarian & Bushwhacker Luke were detained, questioned for several hours, had their passports confiscated, were granted temporary entry but then ordered to return to the US on the
first available flights the next day after getting a charge on their file that stays for 10 years(Credit : WGN).
-The Honky Tonk Man, who was claiming to be close to signing with TNA, turned down an invitation to enter the WWE Hall Of Fame this year in favor of appearing at the Wizard World Comic convention, and Eric Bischoff has said HTM will not be coming to TNA as well. Antonio Inoki was announced as the next official inductee however, to be inducted by Stan Hansen!
-This past Wednesday at a TNA house show in Cardiff, Wales, Rob Terry defeated Eric Young to win the Global Championship. Matt Morgan was not on the tour due to being with his father, who was getting (successful) surgery to remove brain cancer(Credit : WGN).
-WWE has (re)signed Joey Matthews, and re-signed Randy Orton to a new long-term contract(Credit : WGN).
-Vince Russo's book, Rope Opera : How WCW Killed Vince Russo, has had it's release date pushed back to March 1st.
Tuesday, February 9th, 2010 :
-Well, it looks like I won't be used for Ring Of Honor commentary any more.
-Pro Wrestling Respect(who just announced their return date to the Burlington National Guard Armory in Burlington,
NJ as Sunday March 14th at 4pm), however, is a different story. The Wrestling Roundtable will continue it's
sponsorship of Respect and we encourage you to purchase tickets in our Online Store to the left. Join us on March
14th!
-The Wrestling Roundtable is also proud to follow up on our announcement on the last show of our partnership with
Go Fight Live - The Roundtable will now be featured as part of GFL's incredible variety of programming. From boxing,
to mixed martial arts, to now pro wrestling, we're happy to be a part of the action and hope to welcome many new
fans to the community! Gofightlive.tv today mentioned that "the well-known and regarded Wrestling Roundtable" is now part of the fold, as you can now watch us on YouTube, iTunes or GoFightLive! Thanks to the guys at GFL, and we look forward to working with you more in the future!
-The weather reeked havoc on the Northeast this weekend, and took several wrestling shows along with it. WWE canceled their RAW house show at Philadelphia's Wachovia Center and the second night of ROH on HDNet at Philadelphia's The (ECW) Arena followed suite. Consequently, Ring Of Honor(which just re-signed Roderick Strong)
was not able to crown their first TV Champion. The first TV Champion will likely be decided at the next tapings on
March 5th & 6th. Also due to the snowstorm, Colt Cabana was unable to fly out of Philadelphia to perform stand-up with Mick Foley & Bruce Prichard in Las Vegas.
-Steve Blackman, who now promotes MMA, was doing a show in Harrisburg, PA Saturday that was delayed until the next day. Blackman's 2nd show, the PFC PA Fighting Championship II, was held this past Sunday.
-At the TPF 3 show in Lemoore, CA this past Thursday, Colt Toombs, Rowdy Roddy Piper's son, lost his MMA debut via unanimous decision to Art Becerra(Credit : wrestling observer). On the same card, Hulk Hogan's nephew David
Bollea, now 2-0, continued his unbeaten streak by submitting Tim Denham via armbar in the first round at just under two minutes.
-Yesterday on WWE RAW, Big Show & The Miz(ShowMiz) won the WWE ("Unified") World Tag Team Titles from HHH & Shawn Michaels in a three-way elimination tag match that also included CM Punk & Luke Gallows. This is Big Show's 5th World Tag Title, and Miz' second. It was also announced on the show that "The Million Dollar Man" Ted Dibiase will be inducted in the Hall Of Fame, and ECW Champion Christian let it be known that the soon-to-be-nonexistant ECW roster will become "free agents" in the storylines as fake ECW dies in favor of the reality-show-centric NXT program.
-Scott Steiner is gone from TNA, as his contract was not renewed(Credit : pwinsider).
-Several releases are expected out of WWE now through WrestleMania(Credit : wrestling observer).
-The owners of Applied Pharmacy Services out of Mobile, AL were found guilty of 'steroid conspiracy' today(Credit : blog.al.com). The Wrestling Observer says Edge, Hurricane, Kurt Angle(who is launching his own line of health food), Randy Orton, Rey Mysterio & Eddie Guerrero were 'listed' as having purchased drugs from this establishment, as well as UFC Heavyweight Shane Carwin.
-Frankie "Suicide" Kazarian of TNA had quite a scandal this weekend as the just-married-to-Traci-Brooks-weeks-ago wrestler had nude photos he took of himself leaked online by former mistress Lela Star, a porn star Kaz had an affair with for three years(Credit : tabloidprodigy.com). As revenge for the break-off, Star released the pictures.
-The attorneys representing the Graziano family(who represent John Graziano, former friend of Nick Hogan now with half a head) filed new motions seeking punitive damages from Hulk Hogan & son Nick last week stemming from the
car accident both Nick & John were involved in in August of 2008(Credit : Tampa Tribune).
-The DUI charge Rowdy Roddy Piper earned last summer in Los Angeles was recently expunged(Credit : WGN).
-luchador Magno will be returning to ROH at The Big Bang on April 3rd in Charlotte, NC. Meanwhile, Brian "Spanky" Kendrick returns to ROH this Saturday in New York City for ROH's 8th Anniversary Show. However, due to his recent 'retirement,' The Human Tornado will not be on the show.
-Ron Simmons, who will be inducted in the Georgia Sports Hall Of Fame's class of 2010, wrestled his 'retirement'
match this past Saturday for Historic Purks International Championship Wrestling in Georgia, teaming with Air Paris & David Young in a losing effort against Bobby hayes, Terry Lawler & Alexander The Great.
-TNA has allowed The Young Bucks(Generation ME) to wrestle on the Dragon Gate USA shows in Phoenix
WrestleMania weekend.
-Scott D'Amore has quit TNA and will be merging his Border City Wrestling with BSE(Blood, Sweat & Ears) Pro
Wrestling to form a new company based out of Canada called Maximum Pro Wrestling.
-Varsity Pro Wrestling of the UK was sent a cease & desist letter by WWE's legal representative in regards to VPW promoting shows with Kip James, Brian James & Boby Holly as "DX & Hardcore Holly."
-Future guest hosts of RAW : Jewel & Ty Murray on Feb. 22nd, Criss Angel on March 8th.
-UFC's 2010 Undisputed video game will be released on May 25th(Credit : wrestling observer).
-Trish Stratus will be starring in an independent Canadian film, Bail Enforcers(Credit : WGN).
-Sure enough, Santino filmed three sitcom pilot episodes last week(Credit : wrestling observer).
-Jesse Ventura's next book, American Conspiracies : Lies, Lies & More Dirty Lies That The Government Tells Us, will come out March 8th. Chris Jericho's next book goes in to print next month(Credit : wrestling observer).
Wednesday, February 17th, 2010 :
-TNA announced today that iMPACT! will be moving to Monday nights on Spike TV in the 9-11pm timeslot starting March 8th, a week later than expected. They will be going live one week, then tape the next week's iMPACT! for a taped showing. Hulk Hogan will be making his in-ring comeback/TNA debut on that night, teaming with Abyss
Vs. Ric Flair(also making his in-ring TNA debut) & Champion AJ Styles(Credit : wrestling observer).
-Jeremy Borash returned as a backstage interviewer on Sunday's TNA Against All Odds PPV while Bubba The Love Sponge was working backstage at the next day's tapings(Amazing Kong is still suspended). Jimmy Hart also returned on the show to once again manage The Nasty Boys, helping them defeat Team 3D in a street fight.
-Tyler Black defeated Austin Aries for the ROH title this past Saturday at ROH's 8th Anniversary Show in New York
City's Manhattan Center.
-Last night on the final fake ECW on SyFy, Ezekiel Jackson defeated Christian to win the ECW title. No word on
whether he will keep that belt when he's switched to Smackdown for what one would assume to be a unification
match of sorts or if it'll be dropped altogether like it never happened, though the broadcast did imply it would be discontinued(Credit : pwinsider).
-At WWE's investors conference call last week, Vince McMahon announced the pay per view Survivor Series will be dropped after over 20 years of usage, and that they expect to have their cable network up & running within a year
and a half. Also announced at the conference was WWE's fourth quarter report, showing $117.3 million in revenues & $11.2 million in profit for the time period. Total revenue generated between Dec 31, 2008 & Dec. 31, 2009 was
$475.2 million, with a $50.3 million profit.
-Ring Of Honor signed Rhett Titus & Rasche Brown to contracts. It is looking like The Briscoes will be re-signing with ROH after it was initially thought they'd be WWE-bound.
-Turns out Jeff Hardy's Jan. 4th appearance for TNA was a one-time deal. He will be offered a longer deal soon(Credit : pwinsider).
-Wes Sims(who just lost to Bobby Lashley at Strikeforce : Miami) and Frank Trigg(who was just released from UFC)
are rumored to be talking to TNA, along with "another MMA fighter(Credit : WGN)."
-UFC signed a deal recently with the company Fathead to produce wall posters of UFC fighters, the first line of which are likely to include Heavyweight Champion Brock Lesnar and others.
-Hulk Hogan claimed on BTLS's radio show last week that he would be turning heel in TNA soon(Credit : WGN).
-Bryan Danielson has been re-named Daniel Bryan in FCW in preparation for the NXT fake reality show. There will be two teams(one heel, one face) of 8, four "rookies" and four coaches for each. The face team will be Matt Hardy coaching Justin Gabriel, MVP coaching Skip Sheffield, Christian coaching Heath Slater, & R-Truth coaching David Otunga. The heel team will be Chris "Paid my $159 fine" Jericho coaching Wade Barrett, Carlito coaching Michael
Tarver, CM Punk coaching Darren Young, and...please excuse me while I laugh....The Miz coaching Daniel Bryan
(Credit : 411mania). So not only do I have to believe that someone who's wrestled 10 years is a "rookie," but also
that Bryan fuckin Danielson needs to be coached by the fucking Miz? Delightful! Kaval(Low Ki), originally reported by pwinsider as part of the show, is yet to be listed. The original NXT, out of Scotland, announced they made a deal with WWE regarding the rights to their name & they will be renamed SWA(Credit : wrestling observer).
-Ric Flair is supposedly interested in opening a gym & a wrestling school in Charlotte, NC(Credit : WGN).
-Jenny Quinn(Jenny Cash in FCW) was released by WWE(Credit : pwinsider).
-Bobby Lashley said in an interview with heavy.com that "...as far as I know, I've been released." Uhuh. He was removed from TNA's website, but it's still possible this could be an angle, though he is in the prominent Strikeforce promotion now, which opposes UFC, TNA's neighbor on Spike TV. Dave Taylor, on the other hand, was hired as an agent(Credit : wrestling observer).
-Kazuchika Okada from NJPW debuted for TNA at their taping last night on Xplosion(Credit : pwinsider).
-New Japan announced a couple days ago that EMLL's "Strongman" Jon Anderson would be making his first tour with NJPW in March as part of the New Japan Cup(Credit : Luchaworld)
-Former WWE developmental wrestler Glen Kulka made his acting debut in Shakespeare's As You Like, presented by
the Third Wall Theatre Company in Ottawa, Canada(Credit : WGN).
-WWE Studios' next movie will be called 'Killing Karma,' set to start shooting on April 13th in New Orleans, LA(Credit : WGN).
-Tammy "Sunny" Sytch is writing a book, one would presume an autobiography(Credit : WGN).
-Mickie James will be having her first concert on Feb. 22 in Nashville, TN as part of the Third Annual W.O. Music School's Dustin Wells Gift Of Music concert(Credit : WGN).
Wednesday, February 24th, 2010 :
-A big string of Wrestling Roundtable news to start off the new year :
* Remember the story of Eric meeting with some 'name independent wrestlers' regarding a future project reported here a month ago? Now it can be told ; Delirious has announced Pro Wrestling Respect, presented by the Ring Of Honor Wrestling Academy. Featuring alumni from the Academy & other independent names such as Daizee Haze, Ricky Reyes & Shimmer Champion MsChif, the promotion will be small, family-friendly wrestling events with strict rules, win/loss records, & The Wrestling Roundtable will be lending it's full support to the events in many capacities. Alex Payne & Shane Hagadorn(who have appeared on the Roundtable) will be on the show, so if you can, join us at the Burlington National Guard Armory, Sunday January 24th at 4:00pm in Burlington, NJ. Tickets are for sale online for only $5, and will be $8 at the door the afternoon of the event. You can get tickets on our Online Store to the left, Pro Wrestling Respect's website, emailing prowrestlingrespect@hotmail.com, or by calling 613-534-5821. For more info. be sure to check out prowrestlingrespect.com
* The Wrestling Roundtable should be starting Season 3 this January 31st, the same day as The Royal Rumble. We'll
be discussing the 2009 Year In Review & Decade In Review. This is a tentative but likely shooting date. For more of
the latest goings on with the Roundtable(including iTunes, Roundtable Radio & more), check out the Happy New Year! thread on the message board.
-After a long up-and-down battle with throat cancer over the years, former UWF/AJPW/NWA/ECW/WCW/WWF
wrestler "Dr. Death" Steve Williams, 49, died Tuesday night. This unfortunately brings the dead wrestler tally for 2009 to 42. Personally speaking, I was a fan of Dr. Death and admired his work over the years. I met him a few years ago and he was very friendly & in good spirits. The Wrestling Roundtable sends it's sincerest condolences to Williams' friends & family.
-Dana White recently said that the 'likely(i.e. not announced, yet)' Frank Mir/Shane Carwin fight at UFC 111, March
27 in the Prudential Center, could possibly be for an interim heavyweight championship, but the decision will likely come after Brock Lesnar's future is established(Credit : MMAJunkie). White said "We'll know this week," about
Lesnar's health, as Lesnar is going to see a doctor to determine whether he'll be able to fight again.
-David "The King" Bollea, nephew of Hulk Hogan, fights for Tachi Palace Fights in Lemoore, CA on Feb. 2nd. His opponent us yet to be determined. He made his MMA debut March 2nd at XFC 2 : Rage In The Cage in St. Petersburg, Fl against Jesse Lawrence, winning in the 2nd round by submission via armbar(Credit : sherdog.com).
-Former ROH Champion John Xavier, 1-3, suffered two unanimous decision losses in his most recent fights : first, to
Phil "The Machine" Mazzurco at Asylum Fight League XXIII in South Amboy, NJ on Nov. 14th, then to John Restrepo
at the 2nd New Jersey KAPMMA Amateur Championships in Newark, NJ on Dec. 18th.
-Future RAW guest host & former boxing champion Mike Tyson's case wherein he is alleged to have punched a paparazzi at LAX was rejected by the LA City Attorney on Thursday(Credit : TMZ).
-Melina tore an ACL at a WWE house show Tuesday night in Manchester, NH(Credit : wrestling observer).
-Cody Deaner was released from TNA this week(Credit : pwinsider)
-Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson will be a featured coverman & guest writer for a future issue of Muscle & Fitness magazine(Credit : wrestling observer).
Thursday, January 7, 2010 :
-The Wrestling Roundtable is now on iTunes! We're going to be updating the back catalog of shows from Seasons 1 & 2 so you can listen to us on your iPod, iTouch, iPhone, iwhatever, with episodes from Season 1 available now! To get the podcasts, simply type 'Wrestling Roundtable' in the search box of your iTunes browser. You can also click on the 'Podcasts/iTunes' button in the Video/Audio section to the left, click the link on the Video/Audio or Links pages, or visit wrestlingroundtablepodcast.com
-The biggest night for pro wrestling in years came & went this past Monday with tons of huge consequences as TNA presented a 3-hour live iMPACT! head-to-head with WWE's Monday Night RAW, the first time in almost 9 years that WWE faced direct wrestling competition on a Monday night :
-Jeff Hardy made his surprise return to TNA(with Shannon Moore in tow) after the opening X Division cage match, getting in a brawl with Homicide. Hardy had originally made a verbal agreement with WWE that he'd come back down the line(which he has denied), but instead signed a short-term deal with TNA, returning a day before being indicted in Moore County, GA on all charges stemming from his Sep. 11th, 2009 arrest(felony possession of cocaine, felony drug trafficking of opium, two counts of felony possession with the intent to distribute a Schedule III controlled substance, maintaining a dwelling for drug use and/or distribution, & misdemeanor possession of drug paraphernalia). He will be headed to Superior Court, with a future court date to be scheduled next week.
-ODB defeated Tara to reclaim the Knockouts title for a third time.
-Ric Flair debuted in TNA, signing a one year non-exclusive deal. He will 'mentor' AJ Styles on TV.
-Hulk Hogan, along with Eric Bischoff, finally made his in-ring debut for TNA in a segment that also featured the return of Sting. Hogan has been pushing for TNA to return to a traditional four-sided ring, but that is still up in the air.
-Sean Waltman & Scott Hall returned to TNA, forming a familiar-looking faction with Kevin Nash that - as was teased at the end of the night - might or might not be working with Hogan and/or Bischoff. Cliffhanger!
-Sean Morley, Orlando Jordan & The Nasty Boys debuted in backstage segments along with Bubba The Love Sponge as a new backstage interviewer.
-Awesome Kong & Ayako Hamada won the Knockouts Tag Team titles from Sarita & Taylor Wilde. Hamada injured her ankle in the match, but she doesn't plan on missing any time.
-Bryan Danielson wrestled his first match under WWE contract, winning a dark match against Chavo Guerrero, Jr. Congratulations to the American Dragon!
-On RAW itself, Melina was stripped of the Divas title due to her ACL injury this weekend at a house show in Manchester, NH, an injury that will put her out about 6 months. A tournament was set up to determine a new champion.
-Bret Hart appeared in a WWE ring for the first time in over 12 years, doing an angle where he made 'peace' with Shawn Michaels, and Vince McMahon kicked him in the balls after agreeing to induct Stu Hart in the Hall Of Fame this year. After RAW went off the air, the entire roster(sans HHH & HBK, mmm hmm) came out to the ring & paraded Bret around on their shoulders.
And the numbers are in :
-TNA iMPACT! did a 1.5(2.2 million viewers) Nielsen rating. It beat ECW on SyFy the next day by a wide margin(ECW did a 0.9), was their highest rated show ever, & was up 114.4% from last Thursday's New Year's Eve show that did a 0.7.
-RAW did a 3.6(5.6 million viewers), unchanged from the previous week's rating but up 48% in the male 18-34 demo. This has been viewed as a disappointment in WWE as they expected to do a 4.0.
-The combined audience was 7.8 million(a 11.4 combined rating during the peak period), the most people who have watched wrestling on a Monday night in a long time.
-The Hart/Michaels segment that opened RAW was RAW's highest rated portion, while Hogan's debut/not-nWo segment on at the same time was the highest rated on iMPACT!
-TNA bought several ads during RAW in many major markets advertising their show on the other channel at that very moment.
-Jeff Hardy has been replaced in WWE's fanfare by Kofi Kingston, and like Hulk Hogan & Mick Foley before him, Flair was removed also.
-It seems 'a lock' TNA will run Mondays again, which may be a permanent move.
(Credit : wrestling observer, pwinsider, pwtorch, wgn, 411mania)
-With all the Bret Hart talk, Rodney of The Wrestling Roundtable has posted this clip of Bret Hart(whose ex-wife Julie is writing a "tell-all" book according to WGN) talking about the rise of Mixed Martial Arts as it relates to pro wrestling from his upcoming documentary The Grappling Kings :
-Frank Mir Vs. Shane Carwin at UFC's 111 event in Newark, NJ's Prudential Center will be for an Interim Heavyweight title. If Brock Lesnar has surgery on his intestines, the title will likely be vacated and the match will be changed for the Heavyweight Title itself.
-Hulk Hogan & Shane McMahon, now officially gone from WWE, attended Saturday's UFC 108 event in Las Vegas.
-Fighters Only Magazine presented the "World MMA Awards" on the Versus Network last night. The main category winners were Fight Of The Year, won by Diego Sanchez & Clay Guida's bloody battle from UFC"s The Ultimate Finale 9 on June 20, 2009, and Fighter Of The Year, won by UFC's Welterweight Champion, Georges St. Pierre, who claims he is "50/50" about leaving UFC this summer to train for the 2012 Olympics(!!!) in freestyle wrestling.
-Shane Del Rosario has stated that he will not fight for Strikeforce until March, against Lavar Johnson, so the proposed Bobby Lashley fight at Strikeforce : Miami on Jan. 30th will not be happening(Credit : fiveouncesofpain.com). Lashley, 4-0, will fight on this card against another opponent, to be determined.
-Daizee Haze Vs. Rayna Von Tosh will co-main event Pro Wrestling Respect's first show on January 24th in Burlington, NJ. Tickets are available at the Roundtable Store to the left!
-Kid Kash's trial date for theft & forgery has been set for March 1st(Credit : WGN).
-Criminal charges of battery & trespassing filed by his ex-girlfriend were dropped against Sean O'Haire recently in Savannah, GA(Credit : WGN).
-Next week is the last episode for this season of Conspiracy Theory with Jesse Ventura on TruTV, covering 2012.
-Rowdy Roddy Piper will be doing standup comedy Friday at the Hollywood Improv in Los Angeles, CA(Credit : WGN).
-William Shatner will host RAW on February 1st, while James Roday & Dule Hill(who??) from Psych will host Jan. 25th(Credit : wrestling observer).
-Frankie Kazarian & Traci Brooks are getting married this weekend(Credit : WGN).
-Sylvester Stallone is claiming that Stone Cold Steve Austin hairline fractured Stallone's neck shooting a scene together during the filming of The Expendables(Credit : New York Daily News). Stallone said he had emergency surgery, with a metal plate inserted in his neck.
-Alex Shelley could possibly have a herniated disc & is being 'checked out' today(Credit : wrestling observer).
-Mattell officially took over WWE's toy license from Jakks Pacific on Jan. 1st(Credit : WGN).
-Spike TV will be producing a reality series, "Half Pint Brawlers" about midget wrestlers starring Puppet The Psycho Dwarf & Teo(Credit : wrestling observer).
-Brian Kendrick is expected to debut with TNA soon, while Angelina Love returns on the Jan. 14th iMPACT! after finally getting her U.S. work Visa in order(Credit : WGN). The Young Bucks have been renamed "Generation Me" and will debut on Xplosion.
-The Briscoes are expected to sign with WWE after their ROH contracts expire this spring.
-The Federal Election Commission has 'flagged' Linda McMahon's campaign expenditures for her Connecticut Senate election that she had recorded as in-kind contributions(Credit : Connecticut Journal-Enquirer). Her campaign finance report is requested to be corrected to include "missing" information about it's vendors, which include amounts, dates & purposes of purchases. McMahon's campaign hasn't responded to the request yet.
Wednesday, January 13, 2010 :
-The Wrestling Roundtable is fully supporting Pro Wrestling Respect, presented by the ROH Wrestling Academy. You can buy tickets in our store to their debut event in Burlington, NJ on Sunday, January 24th, and Respect has posted their first video presentation - an introduction to the promotion, their spirit, their style & a profile on Andy "Right Leg" Ridge, hosted by the Roundtable's own Eric Santamaria and with an appearance from Shane Hagadorn. Check it out :
-And now the news so many of you have been waiting for : The Wrestling Roundtable returns this Sunday! We're going to tape the first episodes of Season 3, and they're big ones! We'll be discussing January 4th's Monday Night War & the Best/Worst Gimmick Matches on the first show to be online next week, and the following week, we'll be discussing The Year In Review 2009, then the Decade In Review 2000-2009. We'll have some major announcements as far as it concerns the Roundtable community, and don't forget to check us out on iTunes!
-Ludvig Borga(Tony Halme), 47, former WWF wrestler, UFC fighter, powerlifter, boxer, actor, member of Finland's Parliament via the True Finns Party & apparent Nazi sympathizer(he had an "SS" tattoo on a calf), died last week in what is being reported by Finnish tabloid Ilta-Sanomat as a suicide after being found in his apartment Sunday. Finnish police claim no foul play involved, however.
-Jim White, 67, a 70s Memphis wrestler, died on Thursday from cancer(Credit : wrestling observer).
-Flash Entertainment, a subsidiary of the United Arab Emirate's government based in their capitol Abu Dhabi, bought 10% of stocks from Zuffa Inc, owners of UFC, WEC & several defunct organizations, including Pride(Credit : AP). UFC President Dana White said the deal was made to provide global growth for UFC's brand. The Best Of Pride starts airing this Friday night on Spike TV.
-(Former?) UFC Heavyweight Champion Brock Lesnar's coach Marty Morgan is claiming Lesnar would fight again, while Randy Couture told Inside MMA that Lesnar told Couture that he's back training for a planned spring return(Credit : wrestling observer).
-Bobby Lashley's opponent at Strikeforce : Miami on January 30th has finally been named : Yohan Banks, 2-1(Credit : MMAWeekly).
-Ken Shamrock has signed to fight Seth Petruzelli March 6th in Cancun, Mexico for International Unlimited Fighting.
-Mike Tyson made his in-ring 'pro wrestling' debut(if you count the non-moves he did) on WWE RAW this past Monday in his first match, teaming with Chris Jericho against DX(HHH & Shawn Michaels) before turning on Jericho & revealing that he had rejoined DX - at least for a night, and in effect, costing himself the match as Michaels pinned Tyson's tag partner Jericho, whom Tyson had just knocked out. To complete WWE's 1997/1998 nostalgia trip, Stone Cold Steve Austin will guest host RAW March 15th, while Jon Heder & Don Johnson host next week. Weekly guest hosts could be dropped after WrestleMania in favor of a General Manager.
-El Hijo Del Santo & Perry Aguayo, Jr. met last week to negotiate a merger of Todos Y Todos and Perros Del Mal to create a "super indy promotion" that would hold events in Mexico and internationally(Credit : luchaworld)
-At NJPW's Wrestle Kingdom IV In Tokyo Dome PPV this weekend, NOAH's Naomichi Marufuji defeated Tiger Mask IV for the IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Title. In a 8-man tag team match, two legends returned to New Japan : Abdullah The Butcher(either 68 or 73 years of age) teamed with Toru Yano, Takashi Iizuka & Tomohiro Ishii to face also returning 65-year-old Terry Funk, Riki Choshu, Manabu Nakanishi & Masahiro Chono(Credit : wrestling observer). Also, Yujiro & Tetsuya Naito won the IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team titles in a three-way hardcore tag match, defeating champions Team 3D and Giant Bernard & Karl Anderson when Yujiro pinned Anderson.
-EMLL luchador El Super Nova, Rikishi's son Joshua Fatu & OVW wrestler Asher Knight have been signed to WWE developmental contracts(Credit : wrestling observer). DJ Gabriel, however, was released recently, along with developmental wrestlers Black Pain, Dylan Klein, Rashad Goff, Bryan Wilcott, Aaron Reed, Leroy Morgan & Johnny Riggs(Credit : WGN).
-Alex Shelley's neck scan results showed several bulging discs(Credit : WGN).
-Bryan Danielson, as per his request, will soon debut for FCW.
-WWE.com profiled Ivory(Lisa Moretti) in which she stated there would be a GLOW reunion on January 30th in Los Angeles.
-Katie Lea returned to RAW last Monday, whereas Shark Boy returns for TNA this weekend at their house shows in Pennsylvania.
-MWF in Boston is claiming to be holding The Iron Sheik's retirement match April 24 in Melrose, MA - a handicap match, teaming with Jay Lethal against Dylan Kage(Credit : WGN).
-Mickie James' first country single will be released Feb. 16th, and her first album will be coming out in March(Credit : wrestling observer).
-Shane McMahon's old position of head of WWE International has been filled by formerly London-based employee of several years, Andrew Whitaker(Credit : WGN).
-Ric Flair is working on a second book & signed with JAKKS to be in their NWA Classics action figures(Credit : wrestling observer).
-Black Warrior has left EMLL & will debut for AAA soon(Credit : Super Luchas)
-pwinsider claims Brent Albright will be returning to ROH "soon."
-Tiffany & Drew McIntyre are engaged(Credit : wrestling observer).
-Rumors of Ken Anderson(Kennedy) or Rob Van Dam debuting for TNA on Sunday's Genesis PPV(Credit : pwinsider).
-Colt Cabana debuts tonight at the ComedySportz Theater in Chicago, doing stand up improv comedy from Jan. 27th through March 10(Credit : rohwrestling.com)
-Once again trying to be WCW, TNA will now be doing a pre-and-post show, TNA Live, on their website, ala WCW Live.
-WWE Heroes Comic #1 will be released on March 23rd(Credit : wrestling observer). I'm sure the new Aliens Vs. Predator will be better.
Monday, January 18, 2010 :
-The Wrestling Roundtable taped our first two shows of the third season yesterday. Expect the first episode to be uploaded this week, where we discuss the latest Monday Night War on January 4th, and the Best & Worst Gimmick Matches.
-Awesome Kong and several other TNA wrestlers held a fundraiser days ago at the Midtown tavern in Harrisburg, PA for Haiti relief in the aftermath of the earthquake that devastated the island nation last week. If you wish to send a donation via Paypal, the address is Wrestlers4Haiti@gmail.com
-Bob Shamrock, 68, adopted father of both Ken & Frank, died this past Thursday due to complications caused by diabetes(Credit : WGN).
-Ed Chuman, 62, long time NWA Midwest promoter, died due to "health problems(Credit : Pwtorch)."
-Last night at TNA's Genesis PPV in Orlando, they started off the show returning to a traditional 4-sided ring with a ramp leading to the ring from the entranceway. The crowd did not react well to this and Hogan & Bischoff trying to sell them on it, with TNA staff removing signs making negative remarks about the ring(Credit : pwinsider). Elsewhere on the show, Tara defeated ODB in two straight falls during a 2/3 falls match to reclaim the Knockouts title for the third time. The British Invasion(Brutus Magnus & Doug Williams) lost the Tag Titles to Hernandez & Matt Morgan, making Hernandez a two-time champion. Also debuting for TNA tonight were Brian Kendrick(losing an X Title match against Red in the opener) and Mr. Ken Anderson, defeating Abyss. Sean Morley made his in-ring debut against (Christopher) Daniels, and Desmond Wolfe had an unnamed new valet, who is one of the hottest women I've ever seen. An angle was done with Jeremy Borash where Bischoff told him he wasn't going to be backstage interviewer anymore, and World Champion AJ Styles turned heel on Kurt Angle in the main event World title match, with Ric Flair's help.
-Pro Wrestling Respect has released another video in preparation for their first event on Sunday featuring Agent Sly Stetson :
-Mixed Martial Arts is one step closer to being regulated in New York State, and that means UFC running a show in Madison Square Garden might be sooner than you think - NY Governor David Paterson is expected to propose legalization of MMA in his next budget plan which is to be revealed tomorrow(Credit : New York Daily News).
-Originally proposed to be Yohan Banks, Bobby Lashley's opponent for Strikeforce : Miami on January 31st is still undecided. First, Banks was rejected by the Florida State Boxing Commission as "non-competitive." Then, former NJPW wrestler and MMA fighter Jimmy Ambriz(14-12-1) was proposed, then approved by the commission after both sides agreed, but "other sources/channels" are causing problems, meaning Lashley will not fight on the 31st if a last-minute replacement cannot be found(Credit : MMAJunkie). This will be the second fight in a row to be stalled for Lashley, who was written out of the TNA PPV last night to not risk injury for a fight that probably won't happen now.
-Dana White has hinted that he is in re-negotiations with M-1 Global regarding Gegard Mousasi & Fedor Emelianenko, which some in M-1 have denied.
-The first UFC Gym will be opening on Jan. 23rd in Concord, CA(Credit : wrestling observer).
-On the same card that Hulk Hogan's nephew David Bollea(1-0) faces Tim Denham(0-1), Rowdy Roddy Piper's son Colton Toombs will make his professional MMA debut at TPF 3 : Champions Collide in Lemore, CA, against Anthony Vidal(1-2)(Credit : MMA Spot).
-Speaking of Hogan, his boy Bubba The Love Sponge is an even bigger piece of shit than we thought. After a huge debacle with BTLS giving away too many free tickets(or TNA giving him too many) to the live Jan.4th show, then tweeting, "Fuck Haiti," TNA has pretty much decided to separate themselves from Bubba(Credit : pwinsider).
-The Rock has said after being unable to host RAW last week due to his promotional schedule that he & WWE are hoping to reschedule for the summer(Credit : Slam Wrestling). Scheduled to host RAW coming up are William Shatner on Feb. 1st & Jerry Springer on Feb. 15th(Credit : pwinsider).
-Jeff Hardy's trial date will be March 17th in Moore County, NC with an additional felony charge added - conspiracy to traffic opium(Credit : wrestling observer).
-luchador Mini Cibernetico was arrested for stabbing his girlfriend & a man he caught her "hanging around with." (Credit : wrestling observer).
-A complaint was filed against Randy Orton last week after he allegedly spit gum in the face of a 15-year old boy, then cursed him out after the teen had taken a picture of Orton in the parking lot of Kowloon's Restaurant in Sauguas, MA(Credit : wrestling observer). A hearing has been scheduled by police on an assault & battery charge, where the clerk magistrate will determine if charges will be pressed.
-John Cena has a back injury and lingering neck problems(Credit : WGN).
-Rene Dupree debuted with AJPW on Jan. 3rd as the newest member of the Voodoo Murderers faction(Credit : wrestling observer).
-Japanese wrestler Milano Collection AT has retired after wrestling almost 10 years.
-WWE released former FCW Champion Eric Escobar, with more releases expected soon(Credit : wrestling observer). They won't have to worry about firing Chris "The Bambikiller" Raaber, as he quit.
-Pro Wrestling Unplugged in Philadelphia has shut down so promoters Johnny Kashmere & Trent Acid could work full-time for Juggalo Championshit Wrestling. Speaking of ICP, they are opening a wrestling school(Credit : WGN). No joke.
-Apparently Danny Bonaduce will wrestle at TNA's LockDown event this year, making it his second match for TNA & second to be at LockDown in a row.
-IWA Puerto Rica sent WWC cease & desist orders regarding the use of the name 'Ricky Banderas' for wrestler Gilbert Cosme.
-Maria Kanellis will release her first album, Sevin Sins, on April 13th(Credit : WGN).
Wednesday, January 27, 2010 :
-The Season Premiere for Season 3 online! Check the Video/Audio section to the left!
-Long-time wrestling fan, writer of The Wrestling Chatterbox newsletter and president of several fan clubs Georgiann Makropoulos, 68, died days ago after suffering a heart attack.
-Katsuhisa Shibata, 66, former NJPW wrestler & referee, died Sat. the 16th from a heart attack(Credit : WGN).
-Finnish police have ruled Tony Halme(Ludvig Borga)'s death a suicide.
-Brock Lesnar announced last week on Sports Center that he is still UFC Heavyweight Champion & Dana White said Lesnar will fight the winner of the Mir/Carwin bout at UFC 111 to unify the interim Heavyweight Title with Lesnar's title over the summer. Lesnar was also in attendance this past Saturday in Fargo, ND to see his training partner, 2-time NCAA Heavyweight wrestling champion Cole Konrad, make his MMA debut, defeating Gary Hamen(Credit : wrestling observer).
-The UFC unveiled their first UFC Gym this past Saturday in Concord, CA.
-Bobby Lashley's opponent for Strikeforce : Miami this Saturday as finally been found - Wes Sims, 22-12-1.
-Pro Wrestling Respect, presented by the ROH Wrestling Academy & sponsored by The Wrestling Roundtable, had their first event in Burlington, NJ this past Sunday afternoon drawing a sell-out crowd to the Burlington National Guard Armory. The Roundtable was out in full force to help the crew & roster put together a stellar first show. Check prowrestlingrespect.com for results and more!
-Awesome Kong & Bubba The Love Sponge were reported here in Haitian-earthquake-related news, Kong for helping organize a fundraiser, BTLS for saying, "Fuck Haiti." In response to this, Kong attacked Bubba at Monday's iMPACT! taping, brutalizing the fat MC. Apparently unhappy for sometime beforehand, Kong asked her for release afterwards, which has yet to be granted, and she's not alone with at least one but up to 3 others have requested their release as well. In the meantime, she was at the tapings Tues & Wed., but was taken off TNA's UK tour(Credit : WGN). Alex Shelley will not be on the tour either, however in his case it's due to his recent neck issues, nor will Lashley as he is fighting for Strikeforce this weekend.
-Melissa Anderson(Alissa Flash/Cheerleader Melissa/Raisha Saeed) was released from TNA last week. The Honky Tonk Man, however, claims he's "close" to signing with TNA, as WWE feared Rob Van Dam had already done & so blocked him from signing on to his WWE Universe blog.
-Go Shiozaki of Pro Wrestling NOAH broke his arm in a match on Jan. 16th and will be replaced by Takeshi Morishima for a tour of AAA(Credit : wrestling observer).
-NJPW is sending Taichi Ishikari to tour EMLL soon & Kazuchika Okada to get a tryout with TNA(Credit : Luchaworld)
-To follow up on the Randy Orton Vs. teenager story from last week, the Saugus Wicked has an eyewitness story from the Kowloon's Restaurant in Massachusetts saying that Orton was yelled at with profanities when he turned down autographs to a crowd of kids who had rushed him as he was leaving the establishment, but didn't see Orton spitting gum in someone's face was not seen, nor was Orton seen coming close to any fans(Credit : wickedlocal.com)
-After being unsuccessful in a motion to dismiss the lawsuit before the case would have gone to trial, Jody Hamilton's ongoing lawsuit with WWE about closing DSW has settled out of court for an undisclosed sum(Credit : WGN, wrestling observer).
-Hulk Hogan, who wants TNA to stop running house shows, won a judgment over ex-wife Linda regarding removing fixtures & furniture from their Bellaire mansion(Credit : WGN). The judge ruled Linda(who recently settled with the Graziano family in the auto-negligence lawsuit against the Hogans that Hulk & Nick have yet to resolve on their end) must return the items.
-ROH announced there will be a tournament over their Feb. 5-6 tapings in Philadelphia for HDNet to crown their first TV Champion. After announcing their Big Bang show in Charlotte, NC for April 3rd(their debut in North Carolina), they are looking in to running other new states as well. ROH's first show in Los Angeles is this Friday as part of the WrestleReunion 4 convention.
-Jake "The Snake" Roberts claimed on his myspace that he'll be retiring at the conclusion of 2010 following a retirement tour.
-The ever-PG Cheech & Chong will be hosting RAW on March 1st. And no, this story following Jake The Snake is not a coincidence....man. NASCAR driver Carl Edwards hosts Feb. 8th & Bret Hart will return to RAW next week.
-WWE Studios, who finished shooting Brother's Keeper with John Cena last week, has separated themselves from Lionsgate & 20th Century Fox, and will now self-distribute & market their next 9 movies. Samuel Goldwyn Films will be their theatrical distributor & Vivendi Entertainment will be their DVD distribution partner, both domestically. Randy Orton will be starring in their next movie, Big Red(Credit : WGN).
-The Rock's newest movie The Tooth Fairy opened at #4 at the box office this weekend, earning $14.5 million domestically.
-Chris Jericho's band Fozzy's new album, Chasing The Grill, is now available on iTunes. SO ARE WE!
-WWE releases WWE The Music Vol. 10 : Copy & Paste Generic Symbols.....whooops, Vol 10 : A New Day, this Thursday.
-Minnesota's Golden Age Of Wrestling : From Verne Gagne To The Road Warriors, a new book by George Schire of the Minnesota Historical Society Press will be released on May 1(Credit : WGN).
-WWE wants to create a sitcom starring Santino Marella along with Vladimir Kozlov & Beth Phoenix for WWE.com, but plan on shopping it around to various networks(Credit : InsideTV). Unless of course this is a big joke.
-Serena Deeb debuted on WWE this past Friday on Smackdown as part of CM Punk's group of shaved heads.
-Wrestlelicious has finally secured a TV deal and will be distributed in the US, Canada & the Caribbean, signing a non-exclusive deal with MAV TV that left them open to sign deal with local stations for syndication(Credit : Hamilton Ave Journal).
Wednesday, February 3, 2010 :
-Jack Brisco, 68, former NCAA National, 2-time NCAA All American & 2-time NWA World Heavyweight Champion(and first American Indian to do so), died this past Monday morning due to complications from heart surgery he had two weeks ago.
-We had some technical issues with our iTunes account last week. It looks to have been cleared up and you can once again download episodes. Also, we hope to have our latest episode on Go Fight Live's website shortly.
-WWE held the 2009 Royal Rumble this past Sunday, where the Rumble match was won by surprise returning entrant Edge, winning his first Rumble. Also, Mickie James won her 5th Women's title, defeating Michelle McCool in 20
seconds. Santino Marella was pulled from the Rumble due to injuries, though the reason William Regal was pulled is unknown.
-It was announced on ECW on SyFy last night by Vince McMahon himself that on March 2nd, the "ECW" name/brand will be put back on the shelf on favor of a new show, "WWE NXT," with the 'NXT' standing for 'Next Generation,' essentially a FCW 2.0 focusing on newer wrestlers. No word on what will become of the ECW title held by Christian.
-WWE announced this week that WrestleMania 27 will be held in the Georgia Dome in Atlanta, GA on Sunday, April 3, 2011.
-New York Governor David Paterson's proposal to legalize MMA in New York State as part of his 2010-2011 Executive Budget was shot down by 68% of the members of the electorate(Credit : maristpoll).
-It appears as if the Monday Night Wars 2.0 will be (un)officially back on starting March 1st, as Spike TV & Universal Studios let it be known TNA is scheduled for that Monday, and will probably be that way for now on as TNA will go live one week, then tape the next day for the following Monday's airing. Wrestlelicious will also begin airing at 11pm that night on MAVTV & Bite TV.
-This past Saturday, Bobby Lashley(5-0), made his Strikeforce debut, continuing his undefeated streak by beating
Wes Sims in 2:06 of the first round via TKO after ref stoppage. Lashley, whose next opponent is rumored to be Brett Rogers, will be appearing in the EA MMA video game. Strikeforce, which just signed a huge international TV
distribution deal that will show over 70 hours of programming to several countries, also featured 47-year-old former football player Herschel Walker's MMA debut, defeating Greg Nagy in 2:17 of Round 3 by TKO.
-Chris Jericho & Gregory "Hurricane" Helms were arrested last Thursday in Crescent Springs, Kentucky for public intoxication. They had been traveling in a cab with Matt Hardy & a young woman, Ashley Storer. They began play fighting, with her getting accidentally elbowed. The cab driver pulled in to a gas station, called the police & Hardy fled the scene after chasing down a running-away Helms. Helms returned to the scene on his own accord. Christian & CM Punk posted bond for Jericho & Helms at the Kenton County Detention Center, with the two scheduled to appear at the Kenton District Court on Feb. 16th(Credit : LA Times, WGN, TMZ). Helms had a single white Soma pill, the muscle relaxer Carisoprodol, which he claimed to have a prescription for. Due to the small amount, he was not charged, but
he was sent home by WWE for the week.
-Damian El Terrible & El Hijo Del Texano were suspended from Arena Coliseo De Gaudalajara for 60 days after getting in to a fight with a fan(Credit : Luchaworld).
-A lot of ROH news stemming from before their Los Angeles debut on Friday during the WrestleReunion 4 convention, which saw Jushin "Thunder" Liger's return to the promotion after over 5 years. Just before showtime, it became
known that they had re-signed Davey Richards to a contract that prevented him from working for the Dragon Gate
USA or EVOLVE Wrestling promotions(Credit : pwinsider). Richards' contract was to expire in April, and before a resolution could be reached in regards to the April Phoenix shows on WrestleMania weekend where Richards had verbally agreed to wrestle for DGUSA(which could have been in violation of his ROH contract had they pursued legal action), he re-signed with ROH and was pulled from the DGUSA shows. DGUSA, who recently sent legal letters to TNA & Generation Me(Nick & Matt Jackosn, The Young Bucks) regarding TNA pulling The Young Bucks from DGUSA's
Phoenix shows, is expected to do the same to Davey Richards and also leaked personal emails Richards wrote.
-It also came to light that ROH has filed a lawsuit against Ric Flair stemming from not fulfilling all of his paid appearances for the promotion last year, seeking damages of $40, 000.
-Ring Of Honor will be crowning their first TV Champion in a tournament spanning the two nights of HDNet tapings
this Friday & Saturday at The Arena in Philadelphia.
-Current NWA Florida Heavyweight & NWA Midwest Champion The Sheik defeated El Gran Apollo for the NWA North American title this past Saturday at an NWA Pro Wrestling Fusion show in Ft. Pierce, FL(Credit : luchaworld). This makes The Sheik (not the Iron one, btw) the first man hold three NWA titles at once, ever, holding a state, a regional and a continental title simultaneously.
-Several wrestlers were denied entry to the country of England this weekend for The WrestleSlam convention. Molly Holly, Mr. Fuji, Nikolai Volkoff, Tugboat, The Barbarian & Bushwhacker Luke were detained, questioned for several hours, had their passports confiscated, were granted temporary entry but then ordered to return to the US on the
first available flights the next day after getting a charge on their file that stays for 10 years(Credit : WGN).
-The Honky Tonk Man, who was claiming to be close to signing with TNA, turned down an invitation to enter the WWE Hall Of Fame this year in favor of appearing at the Wizard World Comic convention, and Eric Bischoff has said HTM will not be coming to TNA as well. Antonio Inoki was announced as the next official inductee however, to be inducted by Stan Hansen!
-This past Wednesday at a TNA house show in Cardiff, Wales, Rob Terry defeated Eric Young to win the Global Championship. Matt Morgan was not on the tour due to being with his father, who was getting (successful) surgery to remove brain cancer(Credit : WGN).
-WWE has (re)signed Joey Matthews, and re-signed Randy Orton to a new long-term contract(Credit : WGN).
-Vince Russo's book, Rope Opera : How WCW Killed Vince Russo, has had it's release date pushed back to March 1st.
Tuesday, February 9th, 2010 :
-Well, it looks like I won't be used for Ring Of Honor commentary any more.
-Pro Wrestling Respect(who just announced their return date to the Burlington National Guard Armory in Burlington,
NJ as Sunday March 14th at 4pm), however, is a different story. The Wrestling Roundtable will continue it's
sponsorship of Respect and we encourage you to purchase tickets in our Online Store to the left. Join us on March
14th!
-The Wrestling Roundtable is also proud to follow up on our announcement on the last show of our partnership with
Go Fight Live - The Roundtable will now be featured as part of GFL's incredible variety of programming. From boxing,
to mixed martial arts, to now pro wrestling, we're happy to be a part of the action and hope to welcome many new
fans to the community! Gofightlive.tv today mentioned that "the well-known and regarded Wrestling Roundtable" is now part of the fold, as you can now watch us on YouTube, iTunes or GoFightLive! Thanks to the guys at GFL, and we look forward to working with you more in the future!
-The weather reeked havoc on the Northeast this weekend, and took several wrestling shows along with it. WWE canceled their RAW house show at Philadelphia's Wachovia Center and the second night of ROH on HDNet at Philadelphia's The (ECW) Arena followed suite. Consequently, Ring Of Honor(which just re-signed Roderick Strong)
was not able to crown their first TV Champion. The first TV Champion will likely be decided at the next tapings on
March 5th & 6th. Also due to the snowstorm, Colt Cabana was unable to fly out of Philadelphia to perform stand-up with Mick Foley & Bruce Prichard in Las Vegas.
-Steve Blackman, who now promotes MMA, was doing a show in Harrisburg, PA Saturday that was delayed until the next day. Blackman's 2nd show, the PFC PA Fighting Championship II, was held this past Sunday.
-At the TPF 3 show in Lemoore, CA this past Thursday, Colt Toombs, Rowdy Roddy Piper's son, lost his MMA debut via unanimous decision to Art Becerra(Credit : wrestling observer). On the same card, Hulk Hogan's nephew David
Bollea, now 2-0, continued his unbeaten streak by submitting Tim Denham via armbar in the first round at just under two minutes.
-Yesterday on WWE RAW, Big Show & The Miz(ShowMiz) won the WWE ("Unified") World Tag Team Titles from HHH & Shawn Michaels in a three-way elimination tag match that also included CM Punk & Luke Gallows. This is Big Show's 5th World Tag Title, and Miz' second. It was also announced on the show that "The Million Dollar Man" Ted Dibiase will be inducted in the Hall Of Fame, and ECW Champion Christian let it be known that the soon-to-be-nonexistant ECW roster will become "free agents" in the storylines as fake ECW dies in favor of the reality-show-centric NXT program.
-Scott Steiner is gone from TNA, as his contract was not renewed(Credit : pwinsider).
-Several releases are expected out of WWE now through WrestleMania(Credit : wrestling observer).
-The owners of Applied Pharmacy Services out of Mobile, AL were found guilty of 'steroid conspiracy' today(Credit : blog.al.com). The Wrestling Observer says Edge, Hurricane, Kurt Angle(who is launching his own line of health food), Randy Orton, Rey Mysterio & Eddie Guerrero were 'listed' as having purchased drugs from this establishment, as well as UFC Heavyweight Shane Carwin.
-Frankie "Suicide" Kazarian of TNA had quite a scandal this weekend as the just-married-to-Traci-Brooks-weeks-ago wrestler had nude photos he took of himself leaked online by former mistress Lela Star, a porn star Kaz had an affair with for three years(Credit : tabloidprodigy.com). As revenge for the break-off, Star released the pictures.
-The attorneys representing the Graziano family(who represent John Graziano, former friend of Nick Hogan now with half a head) filed new motions seeking punitive damages from Hulk Hogan & son Nick last week stemming from the
car accident both Nick & John were involved in in August of 2008(Credit : Tampa Tribune).
-The DUI charge Rowdy Roddy Piper earned last summer in Los Angeles was recently expunged(Credit : WGN).
-luchador Magno will be returning to ROH at The Big Bang on April 3rd in Charlotte, NC. Meanwhile, Brian "Spanky" Kendrick returns to ROH this Saturday in New York City for ROH's 8th Anniversary Show. However, due to his recent 'retirement,' The Human Tornado will not be on the show.
-Ron Simmons, who will be inducted in the Georgia Sports Hall Of Fame's class of 2010, wrestled his 'retirement'
match this past Saturday for Historic Purks International Championship Wrestling in Georgia, teaming with Air Paris & David Young in a losing effort against Bobby hayes, Terry Lawler & Alexander The Great.
-TNA has allowed The Young Bucks(Generation ME) to wrestle on the Dragon Gate USA shows in Phoenix
WrestleMania weekend.
-Scott D'Amore has quit TNA and will be merging his Border City Wrestling with BSE(Blood, Sweat & Ears) Pro
Wrestling to form a new company based out of Canada called Maximum Pro Wrestling.
-Varsity Pro Wrestling of the UK was sent a cease & desist letter by WWE's legal representative in regards to VPW promoting shows with Kip James, Brian James & Boby Holly as "DX & Hardcore Holly."
-Future guest hosts of RAW : Jewel & Ty Murray on Feb. 22nd, Criss Angel on March 8th.
-UFC's 2010 Undisputed video game will be released on May 25th(Credit : wrestling observer).
-Trish Stratus will be starring in an independent Canadian film, Bail Enforcers(Credit : WGN).
-Sure enough, Santino filmed three sitcom pilot episodes last week(Credit : wrestling observer).
-Jesse Ventura's next book, American Conspiracies : Lies, Lies & More Dirty Lies That The Government Tells Us, will come out March 8th. Chris Jericho's next book goes in to print next month(Credit : wrestling observer).
Wednesday, February 17th, 2010 :
-TNA announced today that iMPACT! will be moving to Monday nights on Spike TV in the 9-11pm timeslot starting March 8th, a week later than expected. They will be going live one week, then tape the next week's iMPACT! for a taped showing. Hulk Hogan will be making his in-ring comeback/TNA debut on that night, teaming with Abyss
Vs. Ric Flair(also making his in-ring TNA debut) & Champion AJ Styles(Credit : wrestling observer).
-Jeremy Borash returned as a backstage interviewer on Sunday's TNA Against All Odds PPV while Bubba The Love Sponge was working backstage at the next day's tapings(Amazing Kong is still suspended). Jimmy Hart also returned on the show to once again manage The Nasty Boys, helping them defeat Team 3D in a street fight.
-Tyler Black defeated Austin Aries for the ROH title this past Saturday at ROH's 8th Anniversary Show in New York
City's Manhattan Center.
-Last night on the final fake ECW on SyFy, Ezekiel Jackson defeated Christian to win the ECW title. No word on
whether he will keep that belt when he's switched to Smackdown for what one would assume to be a unification
match of sorts or if it'll be dropped altogether like it never happened, though the broadcast did imply it would be discontinued(Credit : pwinsider).
-At WWE's investors conference call last week, Vince McMahon announced the pay per view Survivor Series will be dropped after over 20 years of usage, and that they expect to have their cable network up & running within a year
and a half. Also announced at the conference was WWE's fourth quarter report, showing $117.3 million in revenues & $11.2 million in profit for the time period. Total revenue generated between Dec 31, 2008 & Dec. 31, 2009 was
$475.2 million, with a $50.3 million profit.
-Ring Of Honor signed Rhett Titus & Rasche Brown to contracts. It is looking like The Briscoes will be re-signing with ROH after it was initially thought they'd be WWE-bound.
-Turns out Jeff Hardy's Jan. 4th appearance for TNA was a one-time deal. He will be offered a longer deal soon(Credit : pwinsider).
-Wes Sims(who just lost to Bobby Lashley at Strikeforce : Miami) and Frank Trigg(who was just released from UFC)
are rumored to be talking to TNA, along with "another MMA fighter(Credit : WGN)."
-UFC signed a deal recently with the company Fathead to produce wall posters of UFC fighters, the first line of which are likely to include Heavyweight Champion Brock Lesnar and others.
-Hulk Hogan claimed on BTLS's radio show last week that he would be turning heel in TNA soon(Credit : WGN).
-Bryan Danielson has been re-named Daniel Bryan in FCW in preparation for the NXT fake reality show. There will be two teams(one heel, one face) of 8, four "rookies" and four coaches for each. The face team will be Matt Hardy coaching Justin Gabriel, MVP coaching Skip Sheffield, Christian coaching Heath Slater, & R-Truth coaching David Otunga. The heel team will be Chris "Paid my $159 fine" Jericho coaching Wade Barrett, Carlito coaching Michael
Tarver, CM Punk coaching Darren Young, and...please excuse me while I laugh....The Miz coaching Daniel Bryan
(Credit : 411mania). So not only do I have to believe that someone who's wrestled 10 years is a "rookie," but also
that Bryan fuckin Danielson needs to be coached by the fucking Miz? Delightful! Kaval(Low Ki), originally reported by pwinsider as part of the show, is yet to be listed. The original NXT, out of Scotland, announced they made a deal with WWE regarding the rights to their name & they will be renamed SWA(Credit : wrestling observer).
-Ric Flair is supposedly interested in opening a gym & a wrestling school in Charlotte, NC(Credit : WGN).
-Jenny Quinn(Jenny Cash in FCW) was released by WWE(Credit : pwinsider).
-Bobby Lashley said in an interview with heavy.com that "...as far as I know, I've been released." Uhuh. He was removed from TNA's website, but it's still possible this could be an angle, though he is in the prominent Strikeforce promotion now, which opposes UFC, TNA's neighbor on Spike TV. Dave Taylor, on the other hand, was hired as an agent(Credit : wrestling observer).
-Kazuchika Okada from NJPW debuted for TNA at their taping last night on Xplosion(Credit : pwinsider).
-New Japan announced a couple days ago that EMLL's "Strongman" Jon Anderson would be making his first tour with NJPW in March as part of the New Japan Cup(Credit : Luchaworld)
-Former WWE developmental wrestler Glen Kulka made his acting debut in Shakespeare's As You Like, presented by
the Third Wall Theatre Company in Ottawa, Canada(Credit : WGN).
-WWE Studios' next movie will be called 'Killing Karma,' set to start shooting on April 13th in New Orleans, LA(Credit : WGN).
-Tammy "Sunny" Sytch is writing a book, one would presume an autobiography(Credit : WGN).
-Mickie James will be having her first concert on Feb. 22 in Nashville, TN as part of the Third Annual W.O. Music School's Dustin Wells Gift Of Music concert(Credit : WGN).
Wednesday, February 24th, 2010 :
-The Wrestling Roundtable tapes two new episodes
this
Sunday the 28th. We'll be discussing WWE's Elimination Chamber 2010,
TNA's Genesis 2010, the Best & Worst of The Royal Rumble, UFC 110,
Strikeforce : Miami, and the
Best & Worst Comebacks! Look for the newest show next week.
Best & Worst Comebacks! Look for the newest show next week.
-Frankie Martinez, 81, a
wrestler from the 60s &70s and former NWA Southern Tag Team Champion
with Al Greene,
died the other week in Tampa(Credit : WGN).
died the other week in Tampa(Credit : WGN).
-WWE held Elimination
Chamber 2010 this past Sunday in St. Louis, MO, featuring three world
title changes.
Firstly, in RAW's Chamber match, John Cena reclaimed his spinning belt
for mere minutes, after tapping out HHH in an STF to become a 6-time WWE
champion and an 8 time World champion. However, Vince McMahon made a
match
immediately against Batista, causing John Cena to have one of the shortest WWE title reigns ever, as he lost 31 seconds in to the match to Batista, who is now the current WWE champion on his 2nd reign for the spinning belt, making him a 6-time World champion. In Smackdown's Chamber match, The Undertaker suffered first & second degree burns on his chest & neck during his entrance as the pyro went off at the wrong time while he was standing on the entrance way(Credit : wrestling observer). The AP reports St. Louis fire officials are investigating the accident that occurred due to the company that WWE contracts for pyrotechnics. Undertaker was very upset but went on to wrestle in the match, where Shawn Michaels cost him the (WCW) World Heavyweight title, assisting Chris Jericho win the title for the fifth time, making Jericho a 6-time World champion. Both Undertaker and Shawn Michaels are expected to take time off after their WrestleMania match.
immediately against Batista, causing John Cena to have one of the shortest WWE title reigns ever, as he lost 31 seconds in to the match to Batista, who is now the current WWE champion on his 2nd reign for the spinning belt, making him a 6-time World champion. In Smackdown's Chamber match, The Undertaker suffered first & second degree burns on his chest & neck during his entrance as the pyro went off at the wrong time while he was standing on the entrance way(Credit : wrestling observer). The AP reports St. Louis fire officials are investigating the accident that occurred due to the company that WWE contracts for pyrotechnics. Undertaker was very upset but went on to wrestle in the match, where Shawn Michaels cost him the (WCW) World Heavyweight title, assisting Chris Jericho win the title for the fifth time, making Jericho a 6-time World champion. Both Undertaker and Shawn Michaels are expected to take time off after their WrestleMania match.
-This past Saturday at
UFC 110 in Australia, Cain Velasquez, 8-0, destroyed Antonio Rodrigo
"Minitauro" Nogueria, 32-6-1, with a first round KO. UFC President Dana
White claimed that if the winner of Frank Mir & Shane Carwin's
Interim Heavyweight title fight at UFC 111 in Newark, NJ March 27th(the
first UFC event to be shown in movie theaters) is too hurt to face
Heavyweight Champion Brock Lesnar to unify the Heavyweight titles(likely
to be at UFC's July 3rd event, UFC 116), then Velasquez will face
Lesnar for the title.
-Dana White claimed last
week that UFC would have a show once per year in Australia for now on,
and he was "sure they would have Fedor Emelianenko sooner than
later."(Credit : wrestling observer).
-Jason David Frank, the
former Green/White Ranger of Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers fame,
defeated Chris Rose this past Saturday via first round knockout at the
Lonestar Beatdown event in Dallas, TX, upping his undefeated record to
2-0.
-Josh Barnett's appeal
with the California State Athletic Commission in regards to his
suspension due to testing
positive for steroids has been delayed for a fourth time to April 20th due to Barnett not appearing in court as he was doing a pro wrestling match in Japan for IGF against Bob Sapp(Credit : MMAJunkie).
positive for steroids has been delayed for a fourth time to April 20th due to Barnett not appearing in court as he was doing a pro wrestling match in Japan for IGF against Bob Sapp(Credit : MMAJunkie).
-Quinton "Rampage"
Jackson signed to finally face Rashad Evans, rumored to be taking place
for UFC May 29th in Las Vegas(Credit : wrestling observer).
-WWE has purchased the
Ultimate Pro Wrestling video library(Credit : pwinsider).
-Ric Flair's wife,
Jacqueline Beems, was arrested & jailed Sunday night for misdemeanor
assault on Ric after a 9/11
call from their Charlotte apartment. Flair has since been admitted to a hospital while his wife was released from
custody yesterday(Credit : wrestling observer).
call from their Charlotte apartment. Flair has since been admitted to a hospital while his wife was released from
custody yesterday(Credit : wrestling observer).
-It was announced last
night on WWE RAW that Wendi Richter will be inducted in to WWE's Hall Of
Fame by Rowdy Roddy Piper. What, Cyndi Lauper wasn't available? What the
fuck? Next week, Cheech & Chong host RAW. The
Richmond Coliseum website has confirmed that the 3-hour RAW they will host on April 26th will feature the Draft.
Richmond Coliseum website has confirmed that the 3-hour RAW they will host on April 26th will feature the Draft.
-TNA has re-signed
Shannon Moore. Eric Bischoff claimed on his Facebook page, however, that
there is "zero(chance)" of DDP appearing in TNA.
-As Frankie Kazarian has
returned to playing himself on TV, TNA will have the Suicide character
replaced with another wrestler playing the role, possibly Kiyoshi(Credit
: wrestling observer, WGN).
-luchador Solar debuts
for ROH April 3rd at the Big Bang iPPV. Alex Kozlov returns to ROH for
the March 26th Phoenix show, while Kenny Omega returns to ROH on March
19th in
Michigan.
-William Regal will be
replacing MVP as Skip Sheffield's mentor on NXT, which debuted on SyFy
last night.
-WWE last week announced
several more pay-per-view replacements : Backlash, Judgment Day, The
Bash & Breaking Point join Survivor Series on the chopping block.
Wild Card on May 23rd, Fatal Four Way on June 20th & Money In The
Bank on July 18th will be replacing many of these, while Survivor
Series' replacement has yet to be determined. Extreme Rules has been
moved to April 25th, Night Of Champions has been moved to September 19th
and Money In The Bank does not affect the match at this year's
WrestleMania(Credit : WGN).
-WWE.com lists Ezekiel
Jackson as "the final ECW Champion," so it looks as if his title will
not be brought with him to Smackdown, or whatever new roster he's on,
and will just be dropped altogether.
-Vader plans on tag
teaming with his son Jesse in Japan this summer(Credit : WGN). Dory Funk
IV tag teamed with
his grandfather, Dory Funk, Jr. last week at a show in the Funking Conservatory in Ocala, FL.
his grandfather, Dory Funk, Jr. last week at a show in the Funking Conservatory in Ocala, FL.
-The Midwest Ambulance
website has posted a message telling visitors to not call asking about
the condition of Bret Hart, stemming from last week's accident angle on
RAW where a 'woman backed in the limo as the Hitman got in, causing a
broken leg and ligament damage that required the ambulance.'
-Cliff Compton(Domino,
from the former Deuce & Domino), is back wrestling in FCW along with
Rosa Mendes, Tiffany
& Savannah(Credit : WGN). Jemma Palmer, the former American Gladiator "Inferno" from the UKm will be starting in FCW next month while Jimmy Snuka's daughter Sarona debuts for FCW March 19th.
& Savannah(Credit : WGN). Jemma Palmer, the former American Gladiator "Inferno" from the UKm will be starting in FCW next month while Jimmy Snuka's daughter Sarona debuts for FCW March 19th.
-New Jack announced he
will be donating his brain posthumously to Chris Nowinski's Sports
Legacy Institute. Can you say "Abby Normal?"
-Hulk & Nick Hogan
have finally settled with John Grazziano's family, the terms of which
include providing lifetime
care for John after the 2007 car accident involving Nick that left John in a vegetative state(Credit : TMZ).
care for John after the 2007 car accident involving Nick that left John in a vegetative state(Credit : TMZ).
-Juventud Guerrea won
cash compensation in a court case against Konnan & AAA stemming from
his backstage
assault last year, and will be getting a job back with the company(Credit : Box Y Lucha).
-Ken Shamrock's lawsuit against UFC regarding alleged contract violation after Shamrock was cut from their roster in 2007 has been dismissed(Credit : WGN).
assault last year, and will be getting a job back with the company(Credit : Box Y Lucha).
-Ken Shamrock's lawsuit against UFC regarding alleged contract violation after Shamrock was cut from their roster in 2007 has been dismissed(Credit : WGN).
-Tommy Wayne, Memphis
indy wrestler, was arrested February 6th for failure to appear in
regards to paying a
speeding ticket. He paid a fine & was ordered to do community service. He had recently been charged with soliciting nude pictures from a 14-year old girl, a charge that was dismissed in court & declared a no contest due to lack of evidence(Credit : WGN).
speeding ticket. He paid a fine & was ordered to do community service. He had recently been charged with soliciting nude pictures from a 14-year old girl, a charge that was dismissed in court & declared a no contest due to lack of evidence(Credit : WGN).
-The Distrito Federal
Box Y Lucha commission stated last week that if Mistico doesn't return
the Mexican National
Light Heavyweight Title belt to Volador Jr. by yesterday's date he would be suspended for 15 days(Credit : Lucha World). This is a work, btw.
Light Heavyweight Title belt to Volador Jr. by yesterday's date he would be suspended for 15 days(Credit : Lucha World). This is a work, btw.
-Misterioso II has
stated that he will seek legal action to prevent an imposter Misterioso
II from using the name
(Credit : Lucha World).
(Credit : Lucha World).
-Randy Orton will not be
charged with assault, as TMZ reports that Saugus, MA authorities found
no probable cause to charge him with the alleged January incident where
Orton was said to have spit gum in the face of a 15-year old male
autographed seeker whom he also cursed out.
-luchador Hijo del
Tirantes was assaulted & robbed last week at knifepoint in Mexico
City after a return flight home(Credit : WGN).
-Shad Gaspard is trying
out for a minor role in the next Conan The Barbarian film.
-Ed Harris & Amy
Madigan will star in WWE Studio's Big Red starring Randy Orton(Credit :
Variety).
-The movie Wrong Side Of
Town, starring Rob Van Dam, Batista & Viscera, comes out on DVD
this Tuesday(Credit : WGN).
-Six Flags Kentucky in
Louisville, which used to host OVW events, will be permanently closed
due to a lease dispute with the Kentucky State Fair.
-The New York Times
several days ago had a story about the US government planning to crack
down on businesses that classify employees as 'independent contractors'
as a tax dodge. Part of President Obama's 2010 budget assumes the
investigation will yield $7 billion over the next 10 years. Keep your
eyes peeled, pro wrestling!
Tuesday, March 2, 2010 :
-The Wrestling Roundtable taped two new episodes this past Sunday. However, I'm about to finish up the
DVD of the first Pro Wrestling Respect event, Inaugural! So bare with me, it'll probably be a few more days
until they're online, but they're on the way! In the first episode, it's an all-show-review edition, as we talk
about TNA Genesis 2010, WWE Elimination Chamber 2010, Strikeforce : Miami & UFC 110, a PPV from each
of the big pro wrestling/MMA promotions!
-Speaking of Pro Wrestling Respect, be sure to pick up tickets in our store to your left for the next Pro
Wrestling Respect event in Burlington, NJ on Sunday March 14th! Find out more on prowrestlingrespect.com
-Irv Muchnick printed on his website an email from the Harris County medical examiner in Houston, TX which announced the official cause of death of Edward "Umaga" Fatu from several months ago : Acute toxicity due to the combined effects of hydrocodone(a painkiller), carisoprodol(a muscle relaxer aka soma), and diazepam(valium).
-WWE's NXT program debuted a week ago on SyFy, replacing fake ECW and upping the last ECW's 1.1 Nielsen rating to a 1.4 with a 73% increase in the 18-34 demographic, according to SyFy's press release. The debut show featured the former Bryan Danielson, rechristened Daniel Bryan, feuding with his 'trainer' US Champion The Miz and have an awesome showing against (WCW) World Heavyweight Champion Chris Jericho in the main event.
-Wrestlelicious, who just signed Josie(Sojourner Bolt) debuts tonight on MAVTV at 11pm, but don't watch it because it's fucking garbage. March 15th will not see a TNA iMPACT! air up against WWE's RAW. However, a 3-hour X-Division-focused TNA Epics will air at 9pm instead, head-to-head with Stone Cold Steve Austin guest hosting RAW.
-WWE made several releases this past weekend, as had been rumored/expected. Fired were Maria Kanellis, "Hurricane" Gregory Helms, Paul Burchill, Charlie Haas & referee Scott Armstrong. With the firing of Helms, that now makes Chavo Guerrero Jr.(who needed six stitches to fix a wound suffered during last night's Superstars taping in a match against Kofi Kingston) the last survivor of the WCW buyout in 2001, as Chavo is the only wrestler left whose contract was bought and has not been released at any point. WWE made two new signings in the past week, however : Joe Francosi, a former NWA & UPW producer, was hired for the creative team, and Orlando Colon, cousin of Carlito & Primo, was signed to a developmental deal.
-Hulk Hogan & Eric Bischoff visited the Knokx Pro Wrestling School(run by Rikishi, Orlando Jordan, Gangrel & Black Pearl) yesterday to 'scout(Credit : pwinsider, 411mania).' Wonder if they were looking for midgets, because they've involved themselves in Spike TV's Micro Championship Wrestling midget reality show. The show will be taped at the iMPACT Zone this week with Bischoff making an appearance.
-Alabama recently legalized MMA in their state(Credit : MMA Junkie). The Alabama Boxing Commission will be renamed the Alabama Athletic Commission and will oversee MMA events, pro & amateur.
-Andre Arlovski announced yesterday he has re-signed with Strikefroce, and he is believed to be fighting Antonio "Bigfoot" Silva May 15th(Credit : wrestling observer).
-Former WBA & WBC welterweight champion boxer Ricardo Mayorga will also fight on May 15th, on PPV at the Shine Fights' "Worlds Collide" show, making his MMA debut against former UFC fighter Din Thomas(Credit : wrestling observer).
-Cole Konrad, a former NCAA wrestling champion and Brock Lesnar training partner, announced Saturday after fighting for Matrix Fights at The (ECW) Arena that he signed a deal with Bellator Fighting Championships(Credit : USA Today). Konrad won a 1st-round TKO over Joel Wyatt, which I filmed!
-Alternative Pro Wrestling, out of Royston, GA, has just joined the NWA(Credit : wrestling observer).
-Last night on WWE RAW, Maurice Vachon was announced as the next inductee for WWE's Hall Of Fame, to be inducted by Pat Patterson, because he's Canadian too. Elsewhere, Jack Swagger qualified for the Money In The Bank match at WrestleMania over Santino Marella, as did MVP over Zack Ryder. Gail Kim injured somehow hurt back or foot in a fucking Pajama Pillow Fight match, and Bret Hart Vs. Vince McMahon was made official for WM26 also. Chris Angel guest DJs RAW next week.
-Amazing Kong is still officially with TNA(Credit : pwinsider). She claims she will be filing a lawsuit against AT&T and Bubba The Love Sponge(which The Honky Tonk Man claims he's going to do also) for allegedly prank calling her & using racial insults, a charge BTLS has denied. AT&T would not release the identity of the blocked call.
-WWE made more PPV name/concept changes recently : Wild Card in May has been changed to Over The Limit and Bragging Rights will return in October(Credit : wrestling observer). Speaking of show changes, they've moved William Regal, YoshI Tatsu & Christian to RAW, & Shelton Benjamin to SmackDown.
-ROH crowns their first TV Champion this weekend.
-Phil LaFon comes out of retirement to wrestle for Monster Pro Wrestling on March 6th in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
-Last week AAA announced that Mr. Ken Anderson & LA indy wrestler Christina Von Eerie would debut for them n the Rey De Reyes show, March 12th in Queretaro, Mexico(Credit : Lucha World).
-WGN claims the recent story in Box Y Lucha about Juventud Guerrera winning a lawsuit against Konnan & AA is bullshit as the case hasn't even gone to court. Who knows with these Mexican news sources & kayfabe?
-Last week, UFC filed several lawsuits against several websites & individuals who illegally stream their PPVs. No specifics yet, but one would assume justin.tv, as they were cracking down on that website specifically during their last PPV, UFC 110, a few weekends ago.
-The Turtle Company Inc is suing WWE, claiming they own the patent on the method that ABC Corp 1-10 Inc. used to print textbook covers featuring WWE wrestlers(Credit : The Hamilton Ave. Journal). Filed on January 20th, part of the lawsuit is an injunction to stop production of the covers immediately and damages awarded from the patent infringement. WWE & ABC Corp 1-10 have until March 23 to respond.
-The Georgia Supreme Court has denied Hustler Magazine's request to dismiss the lawsuit filed against them by the family of Nancy Benoit(Toffoloni) for publishing over-20-years-old nude photos of Nancy after the Benoit murders a few years ago(Credit : pwinsider).
-Shad Gaspard did not get the role of Ufaka in the next Conan The Barbarian movie that he auditioned for. Bob Sapp did(Credit : wrestling observer).
Tuesday, March 9, 2010 :
-The latest episode of The Wrestling Roundtable is online! Show #40 is an all-show-review edition, covering one
major event each of the big pro wrestling & MMA promotions in America ; TNA Genesis 2010, WWE Elimination Chamber 2010, Strikeforce : Miami & UFC 110. You can view the show in the Video/Audio section, on our YouTube page, or you can view the show in it's entirety on Go Fight Live. A podcast version should be on our iTunes page in a few days!
-The Roundtable will not be taping a new episode until about mid-April. However, there is good news! We're going ahead with Wrestling Roundtable Radio! We're excited about this new venture for the show, as it will keep us up-to-
date and we plan on doing the show WEEKLY starting sometime in the next few weeks.
-Don't forget - this Sunday, March 14th, Pro Wrestling Respect II comes to the Burlington National Guard Armory in Burlington, Nj! Sponsored by The Wrestling Roundtable, see graduates of the ROH Wresting Academy attempt to earn Respect as they match up against world-traveled veterans, and each other! Tickets are still available in our Store to your left, or at the door the day of the event. To find out more about the lineup, bios of the wrestlers & much more, visit ProWrestlingRespect.com. The DVD of the first event, Inaugural, will be available soon and will also be available
at the building Sunday!
-Angelo Poffo, former wrestler/promoter & father of The Macho Man Randy Savage & Leapin' Lanny Poffo, 84, died Wednesday night in his sleep.
-Ring Of Honor crowned their first TV Champion on Friday at The Arena when Eddie Edwards defeated his fellow American Wolves teammate Davey Richards in the finals of the tournament.
-Stephanie McMahone-Levesque is pregnant again with HHH's third child. Let the jokes commence. Gotta keep going until one of them has a penis, right? Speaking of which, Shane McMahon's wide Marissa recently had a third child(Credit : WGN).
-At WEC 47 this past Saturday, Dominick Cruz defeated Brian Bowles for the bantamweight title after Bowles couldn't continue after the 2nd round due to a broken hand. Also, Javier Vazquez submitted Jens Pulver in the first round of their contest via armbar. Pulver gave an emotional speech afterwards, indicating retirement for about the 5th time. Frank Mir did not announce this show as he is in training for his Interim Heavyweight title fight with Shane Carwin coming up on the 27th in Newark, NJ.
-CBS & Scott Coker had discussions last week regarding whether to move the next Strikeforce network show due to UFC counter-programming with with a free event on Spike TV Saturday April 17th(Credit : wrestling observer). Kimbo Slice was initially thought to have been on the UFC event, but he will be facing Matt Mitrione on May 8th in Montreal.
-UFC signed currently recognized NABO & IBA boxing heavyweight champion James Toney last week(Credit : fiveouncesofpain).
-Mirko Mladenovic, Vancouver Athletic Commission chair, said recently that MMA should be regulated in the Canadian city in "about two months."(Credit : wrestling observer).
-Gerald Brisco was scouting at the Division 3 college wrestling tournament in Iowa this past weekend for WWE
(Credit : WGN). That's good to hear.
-Last night on TNA iMPACT!, Rob Van Dam debuted against a returning Sting(yeah, they fucking gave that away & it lasted 9 seconds to bat. Get it? TO BAT?) Shannon Moore & Jeff Hardy also returned, seeing Moore attack X
Champion Doug Williams(who won the title at the end of January), while Hardy made a run-in with great SPEED
during the post-match brawl of the tag team main event, which saw Hulk Hogan win his TNA in-ring debut when partner Abyss pinned TNA Champion AJ Styles, who teamed with the also-debuting Ric Flair. Also on the show, the Knockouts Tag Team Titles were vacated, and The Beautiful People(Velvet Sky & Madison Rayne) claimed the belts in
a threeway Vs. Angelina Love & Tara Vs. Taylor Wilde & Sarita. Al Snow also worked as an agent backstage.
-Last night on RAW, Evan Bourne became the last wrestler to qualify for the Money In The Bank match at
WrestleMania. Pete Rose will guest host RAW on March 22nd, while next week's host Stone Cold Steve Austin will be the Grand Marshall of the Food City 500 at Bristol, TN's Motor Speedway on March 21st.
-Goldust, Tiffany & Tyler Reks have been moved to the Smackdown roster, while former AJPW wrestler Joe Doering & former bouncer G-Rilla were signed & sent to FCW(Credit : WGN). WGN also reports former Playboy model Jillian
Beyor is "gone from developmental."
-AAA announced last week a new working agreement with TNA. Speaking of TNA & Mexico, Sean Morley has left TNA
& says he will be 'heading to' Mexico(Credit : wrestling observer). Traci Brooks, Awesome Kong & Roxxi were also
fired last week from TNA, while AAA announced Taiji Ishimori & Takeshi Morishima would appear on their March 19th show in Mexico City(Credit : Lucha World).
-Mexican Mini luchador Mascarita Dorada was told he wouldn't be used anymore in EMLL after he wrestled on the
Todos Y Todos tour of Belgium promoted by El Hijo Del Santo under another name, 'Mini Santo.' (Credit : Super
Luchas)
-Blue Demon, Jr. announced last week that the NWA will no longer recognize Hijo Del Texano as NWA Light Heavyweight Champion, or Averno as NWA Middleweight Champion, as EMLL, whom they wrestle for, isn't an NWA affiliated promotion.
-ROH announced their Kentucky debut in Louisville on July 22nd at the Danny Davis Arena. Kevin Kelly will be announcing their pay per views for now on. Not me.
-Hulk Hogan made an appearance on the first MCW taping, produced by Bischoff-Hervey Productions that will likely
air on TruTV.
-Melina tweeted that she won't be wrestling again for another 4 months, while Mickie James was released from the hospital this weekend after having surgery on her foot for a staph infection(Credit : wrestling observer). She is expected back for WrestleMania(Credit : WGN).
-Speaking of hurt females, Gail Kim claims she wasn't injured last week, but that's likely untrue(Credit : wrestling observer). Either way, it doesn't appear to have been serious.
-Matt Bourne is currently in rehab as part of WWE's offer to former wrestlers to have paid-rehabiliation(Credit :
WGN).
-WWE is developing two new DVDs, a Ricky Steamboat set and another Undertaker collection. They have just
released a WrestleMania Almanac.
-Bobby Lashley opened the American Top Team Altitude Gym in Aurora, CO this past Saturday(Credit : wrestling observer).
-Mick Foley's next book, Countdown To Lockdown, will be released October 1st(Credit : WGN).
-Jerry Lawler will be drawing the cover of an upcoming Green Hornet comic book(Credit : comicbookresources.com)
-Super Porky has allegedly been sending death threats to fellow luchador Intocable for Intocable giving money to Porky's wife, a longtime friend, to help the family out after Porky got fired from AAA, which Porky is obviously taking the wrong way. ALLEGEDLY(Credit : El Grafico).
-luchador Jose Estrada is currently in custody on a first-degree murder charge(Credit : WGN).
Tuesday, March 16, 2010 :
-In the past week, it came in threes in terms of obscure wrestlers dying :
-Sandy Scott(Angus Scott), 75, a promoter & tag team wrestler from the 50s & 60s, died last week.
-Corsica Joe(Francois Miquet), 90, former NWA Tag Team Champion with Corsica Jean, died March 14th in Nashville, TN.
-"Gentleman" Jerry Graham(John Hill), 68, IWA Champion & WWWF Tag Team Champion, also died last week.
-That was just this past week. On March 6th, Black Demon(Anthony Aurelio), 85, former US Heavyweight Champion
in the early 60s aka Prince Nero, died(Credit : wrestling observer).
-Pro Wrestling Respect II weathered the aftereffects of the Nor'easter that slammed the northeast this weekend and
we thank everyone who came out to enjoy the show! However, the PWR news doesn't end there, as the first event, Inaugural, from January 24th 2010, is available for download at Go Fight Live for $4.95, and on DVD for $15 at prowrestlingrespect.com. The DVD is loaded with extras & the reviews from those who have seen the event so far
have been nothing short of overwhelmingly positive, so give it a shot!
-If you haven't seen it yet, be sure to check out the latest segment from the Roundtable, Best & Worst of The Royal Rumbles, covering the history of the Rumble from it's first event to the latest, including matches, moments & overall shows. The second half of this show, Best/Worst Comebacks, should be available soon.
Also, we have a new Chat room feature, so be sure be sure to register to chat with fellow fans and sometimes
someone from the show, especially while you're watching a PPV or TV show! We hope to have Roundtable Radio up &
running within the next few weeks, and our iTunes account updated as well.
-The Wrestler Rescue Association, after months of work, has created a type of insurance/discount prescription
program available for all current & former professionals wrestlers, as well as fans(Credit : Hamilton Avenue Journal). This is encouraging news.
-Congressman Bobby Rush, chair of the House Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade & Consumer Protection, confirmed to Irv Muchnick that Rush will not follow through on Henry Waxman's House Committee on Oversight & Government Reform hearings on steroids in sports(which saw Dixie Carter & the McMahons interviewed) & the HSCTC will not investigate further.
-Last night on WWE RAW, Bret Hart Vs. Vince McMahon was made "official" for WrestleMania 26 in a No Holds Barred match. Next week on RAW, Pete Rose hosts, while the stars of Hot Tub Time Machine host March 29th, David Hasselhouff will host April 12th, and the stars of the movie MacGruber will host April 19th, as it seems this celebrity guest GM thing will continue past WrestleMania, unlike originally thought. Speaking of past WrestleMania, Hart will be with WWE after the event, as he will be special enforcer for Edge Vs. Jericho matches in Germany, and rumor is The rock will guest host RAW June 7th(Credit : WGN).
-Last week, the first night of the new "Monday Night War" saw both WWE RAW & TNA iMPACT! come up with lower ratings from the previous week's shows. TNA dropped to a 0.98 from Thursday's 1.1, while WWE dipped from a 3.7
the week before to a 3.4. Not a good start at all for either side, but WWE rebounded this week, destroying TNA in the process ; Last night's spat saw WWE rise back up to a 3.7 Vs. TNA's declining 0.8. Sad.
-Cincinnati Bengals linebacker football player Dhani Jones shot an angle last week for his Travel Channel "reality"
show with Mascara Ano Dos Mil Jr. where MA2K Jr. attacked Jones' female friend sitting next to Jones in the crowd.
He "fought back" & trained with Black Terry for a match with MA2K Jr. at Arena Naucalpan this past Sunday for
IWRG, which Jones lost by DQ(Credit : Lucha World).
-Gorgeous George, whose bio film rights were purchased by WWE recently, was announced as the next inductee to WWE's Hall Of Fame on WWE.com yesterday. Production on the film is set to being early next year(Credit : WGN). He will be inducted by his first wife Betty Wagner, while Bob Uecker will be inducted by NBC Sports chairman Dick Ebersol(Credt : Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel).
-Fedor Emelianenko's management & Strikeforce are in dispute currently regarding the promotion of the M-1 Global brand during the coverage & advertising for Fedor's 1st CBS fight earlier this year against Brett Rogers, as M-1 was upset their brand was not featured anywhere. In addition, Vadim Finkelschtein, Fedor's manager, has implied
rumored Fedor opponent, Strikeforce Heavyweight Champion Allistar Overeem, abused steroids to jump from light
heavyweight up a weight class to heavyweight(Credit : Yahoo! Spots). The wording is he "questioned how (he) …achieved his physical transformation," but we all know what that means. Strikeforce President Scott Coker, who recently stated their next CBS show April 17th will not be moved should UFC plan a free event the same night on
Spike TV, said they haven't worked out a new deal with Fedor/M-1 yet but are hopeful of getting one soon, while expectations are now that Fedor will not night until at least August.
-Josh Barnett will returning to fighting, this time for DREAM 13 in Japan at the Yokohama Arena on March 22nd
against Mighty Mo
-Former boxing champion Ray Mercer's next MMA fight happens for King Of The Cage on April 16th at the Cobo Arena in Detroit, MI against Ron Sparks(Credit : wrestling observer). HDNet signed Maria Kanellis as KOTC's backstage interviewer. Kanellis appears with Goldberg on this season's The Apprentice, which features a cameo by Mark Henry next week.
-Roger Huerta has been signed by Bellator FC.
-AJPW announced last week Chessman & Ozz would debut for them on March 21st at the Sumo Hall against Tetsuya Bushi & Kiyoshi(Credit : Lucha World).
-TNA recently formed a partnership with Mach-1 Wrestling out of Anaheim, CA(Credit : WGN). They have sent Lacey Von Erich there for more training & will seemingly use it for a training ground/developmental la OVW, and, in addition
to Mr. Anderson, sent Hernandez to AAA's Rey De Reyes event in Queretaro, Mexico this past Friday, which also saw L.A. Par-K returne by attacking Cibernetico(Credit : Lucha World). Latin Lover no-showed the event.
-Can we get a straight fucking answer on whether Amazing Kong is with TNA still or not? ha, anyone care at this
point? For a few weeks everyone had a different story - now pwinsider says she's still under contract.
-Mascarita Dorada signed with Perros Del Mal last week(Credit : Lucha World).
-WWE hired Dennis Condrey for a 6-week tryout as a trainer in FCW for the NXT crew, while Jim Ross was signed to a short term contract extension that will keep him under WWE's wing until after WrestleMania. Sgt. Slaughter was also re-signed to an "ambassador" role(Credit : wrestling observer, pwinsider).
-Andy Douglas, one half of the former tag team The Naturals, retired Sunday night after main eventing Nashville,
TN's Showtime All-Star Wrestling in a cage match against SAW International Champion Chase Stevens(Credit : pwinsider). Meanwhile, Human Tornado seems to be coming out of retirement already after several WEEKS to wrestle
in Maryland for RCW May 1st(Credt : 411mania).
-"Doctor Death" Buddy Ward of England, 75, who retired over 30 years ago as a wrestlers, will be returning to the
ring at the Ellsemere Port Civic Hall Saturday April 3rd in Liverpool(Credit : liverpoolecho).
-The rumor is Sting recently had shoulder surgery(Credit : WGN).
-Jeff Hardy's trial for drug charges begins tomorrow(Credit : pwinsider).
-UFC has filed lawsuits against several websites that were set up to bootleg the upcoming 111 show & sued another last month(Credit : wrestling observer).
-Charges of theft & fraud against Kid Kash were dropped recently when the complainant did not appear in court
(Credit : timesnews.net). Cash also repaid the $84.10 he was accused of putting on the complainant's credit card.
-Ronald J. Gardner, Jr, a former pro wrestler, was found guilty in Pittsburgh today of willfully failing to file tax returns
& for trying to obstruct or impede the administration of internal revenue laws(Credit : Post-Gazette)
-Ken Doane was eliminated from the Seducing Cindy reality show(Credit : pwinsider).
-WWE will be releasing a book this winter on the history of WWE championships (Credit : pwinsider).
-WWE's first comic book goes on sale March 23rd.
-The film feature Killing Karma featuring Batista will be released in 2011(Credit : pwinsider).
-Former Chikara Commissioner Bob Saget(yup) will be shooting "wrestlers" trying out for DGUSA WrestleMania weekend in Phoenix for the Stranger Days reality show(Credit : pwinsider). The show had previously shot backyard wrestlers.
-Adam Pearce won his third NWA World Heavyweight Championship this past Sunday at NWA New Beginnings in Charlotte, NC in a three-way against champion Blue Demon Jr. & Phill Shatter.
Tuesday, March 23, 2010 :
-Baron Mikel Scicluna, 80, former WWWF Tag Team Champion & Hall Of Famer, died this past weekend after a bout with cancer.
-Pro Wrestling Respect III will take place either May 30th or June 6th once again at the Burlington National Guard Armory in Burlington, NJ. Confirmation of the event will be coming later this week hopefully. Also, if you're traveling
to Phoenix for WrestleMania, be sure to stop by the Ring Of Honor shows in the area, as we hope to have DVDs of the
first show, Inaugural, available at their merchandise table.
-At TNA's Destination X this past Sunday, Kevin Nash turned on tag team partner Eric Young as expected by everyone ever to re-form "The Wolfpac" with Scott Hall & Sean Waltman, complete with 1998 rap theme.
-Jeff Hardy's drug trafficking trial has been pushed back until May 10th after the defense requested continuance(Credit : prowrestling.net).
-UFC On Versus 1 took place live this past Sunday. In the featured fights, Cheick Kongo defeated Paul Buentello via submission 1:16 into round 3 after Beuntello tapped to strikes, as he had dislocated his pinkie finger in the first round.
In the co-main event, Junior Dos Santos knocked down Gabriel Gonzaga, finishing him with punches to a TKO victory 3:53 in round 1. Then, Jonny "Bones" Jones defeated Branden Vera via TKO 3:19 in the first round of the main event. Vera suffered three breaks in his orbital bone during their Light Heavyweight bout, though UFC President Dana White has stated Jones will be kept away from title-level fighters for another year to get him ready, while also pointing out they have no show scheduled for April 17th & never did(Credit : wrestling observer).
-Grappler's Quest will once again be holding a tournament in conjunction with UFC's Fan Expo, this year at the end of May, May 28th & 29th.
-At Dream 13 this past weekend in Japan, Josh Barnett defeated Siala Siligia via first round submission(Credit : fiveouncesofpain). Barnett has been added to the EA MMA 2010 video game, along with Joachim Hansen and Vladimir Matyushenko(Credit : MMA Junkie).
-Dan Severn, 55, was victorious this past weekend at King Of The Cage : Thunderstruck 2 in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, upping his record to 92-16-7 by defeating Buddie Dixon, 2-2, by TKO in the 2nd round(Credit : MMAJunkie).
-Referee John McCarthy's wife Elaine is promoting Let's Get It On MMA April 23rd at the River Cree Casino in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada(Credit : wrestling observer).
-Bobby Lashley has been pegged to fight on Strikeforce's CBS show April 17th in the preliminary matches, though no opponent has been named yet(Credit : wrestling observer). Lashley has also recently stated he won't do pro wrestling again for at least 12 months.
-Strikeforce has made Heavyweight Champion Alistair Overeem Vs. Brett Rogers official for their May 15th, along with Andre Arlovski Vs. Antonio "Bigfoot" Silva
-A German agency has ruled UFC cannot be aired on the channel DSF as it's "too violent."(Credit : wrestling observer). Dave Meltzer reports UFC is 'going to fight it.' FIGHT it, get it? In a story about glorifying violence? Hoo ha!
-Gerald Brisco was scouting for WWE at the NCAA wrestling tournament this weekend in Omaha(Credit : WGN).
-WWE made a change to their Wellness Policy in January that apparently only came to light last week - banning chair shots & "intentional" blows to the head(Credit : WGN).
-Fantasia will sing the National Anthem at WrestleMania 26 this Sunday(Credit : Arizona Republic). Jim Ross has said he will not be commentating at the event.
-Last night on WWE RAW, Kofi Kingston defeated Vladimir Kozlov to be the last man to qualify for the Money In The Bank match at WrestleMania, joining Intercontinental Champion Drew McIntyre to bring the total to 10 participants. Wayne Brady will guest host RAW May 3rd. Also, a correction from last week - Betty Hanson, Gorgeous George's first wife, 96, will be accepting the Hall Of Fame award, not inducting, as that is reportedly to be done by Dick "The Destroyer" Beyer(Credit : WGN).
-The Fight Network has released a new Bret Hart documentary, Survival Of The Hitman.
-Jesse Ventura's Conspiracy Theory show on TruTV has been picked up for a second season(Credit : WGN).
-After weeks of back & forth reports, Awesome Kong is officially released from TNA. Samoa Joe is expected back on TV soon.
-In a Wall Street Journal article, Stephanie McMahon stated WWE is actively looking to recruit a wrestler from China. Good luck with that one. Expect an American of Korean descent to be playing a Chinaman any day now.
-Some recent FCW name changes : Incognito/Mystico is now Hunico, Joe Doering is now Drake Brewer, Ray Lepton is Leo Kruger, Asher Knight is Rudy Parker, Orlando Colon is Tito Nieves, Lamar Porter is Cable Jones and Sarona Snuka is Tamina(Credit : pwinsider). Recently signed model Brittany Beede has been renamed Jamie Keyes. Curt Hawkins has been sent back to FCW while Abraham Washington is doing commentary now with Byron Saxton(Credit : WGN).
-(Queen) Sharmell is pregnant(Credit : Media Takeout). Congratulations, Booker! And have fun raising my kid ;) ha
-Speaking of Booker T, The Boogeyman wrestled for Booker's PWA show the other weekend. Boogeyman claimed to fans he was never released by WWE & will be returning there soon(Credit : WGN).
-Valiente Lucha Libre and Masked Republic will be taping a lucha PPV in Yonkers, NY April 25th(Credit : pwinsider).
-AAA announced yesterday that Marco Corleone has left the company and is now a free agent. They also announced Friday that Latin Lover was fired. AAA will also be featured on MTV2 & MTV Tres this spring with "repackaged" footage & English commentary(Credit : pwinsider).
-At CMLL's Dos Leyendas event this past Friday in Arena Mexico, La Sombra defeated Felino in a mask vs. mask match(Credit : Lucha World). AAA President Dorian Roldan gave away the finish at a press conference Friday in a Bischoff-like move to promote AAA's show that went head-to-head with CMLL that night.
-Daniel Puder will debut for NJPW in June(Credit : WGN).
-Ryota Hama defeated Satoshi Kojima for the AJPW Triple Crown this past Sunday at the Sumo Hall in Tokyo, Japan(Credit : wrestling observer).
-Keiji Mutoh, was scheduled to have knee surgery last week that will keep him sidelined for several months(Credit : WGN).
-Jushin "Thunder" Liger will return to New Jersey for the first time in over 5 years as he takes on Teddy Hart May 22nd in Rahway, NJ for JAPW(Credit : pwinsider).
-NWS & WSU(who just recently signed with The Fight Network) will be holding a Jersey J Cup women's tournament on April 2nd in Neptune, NJ(Credit : wrestling observer).
-In Palmdale, CA this past Friday, four luchadors were brought by a radio station to a local Spanish video store to promote a show. A call was made to police reporting an armed bank robbery, to which they responded by sending 7 squad cars with dogs & guns drawn, until they realized it was a mistake(Credit : wrestling observer).
-Iron Sheik was taken to a private room for questioning after his plane landed in Atlanta, flying back from Las Vegas where he attended a bong convention, a flight where he attempted to bring alcohol on the plane but was denied, causing a screaming scene(Credit : WGN). His bags were searched, bongs were confiscated, then he was escorted to his driver's car & driven home.
-Zebra Kid(Roy Bevis), was spared jail time for trashing the Heartsease pub on May 6th last year & nearly killing a drug dealer by throwing a piece of tarmac at him this past November 10th in Norwich City, England(Credit : evening news 24). Bevis had pleaded guilty, served 4 months jail time, then given a 12 month suspended sentence for two years and an 18-month community order. Bevis, eheh eheh, what a Butt-Head.
-WWE Magazine will have 26 different covers for their April issue(Credit : pwinsider).
-After bragging about the royalties he gets from his 4-year old book Controversy Creates Cash, WWE's ShopZone slashed the price of Eric Bischoff's book 92%, which in turn made it the second best selling item in their online store.
-Bill Goldberg will be inducted in the National Jewish Sports Hall Of Fame April 18th in Commack, NY…for football(Credit : wrestling observer).
-The Barbarian is in the latest North Carolina Education/Powerball Lottery commercial dressed as a sumo wrestler(Credit : pwinsider).
-Absolute Publicity said this week that Mickie James' first album will be delayed until May 18th for release due to her MRSA surgeries.
-Prince Nana & Steve Corino have been added to the Total Xtreme Comedy show in Phoenix, AZ this Saturday, replacing Bruce Prichard(Credit : pwinsider).
-Chris Hero re-signed with Ring Of Honor.
Tuesday, March 30, 2010 :
-We're hoping to get Wrestling Roundtable Radio (finally!) off the ground sometime within the next week or so. As the show is currently on hiatus until probably sometime in late April, we'll be covering WrestleMania 26, UFC 111 & more
on the premier episode. We also hope to do weekly Radio shows, but we've yet to sort out the details on a technical side(also having laptop troubles!) and really, I've been all over the place recently so haven't had much time at home either! So please bare with us! In the meantime, we're glad to announce that the DVD of Pro Wrestling Respect 1 : Inaugural is now available in store! Just click the Store tab to the left and place your order today! The DVD is loaded with extras, but if you prefer to just watch the show itself, you can purchase the download at GoFightLive also!
-Jack Savage, 60, former WWWF referee in the 70s & 80s, died 8 days ago.
-WrestleMania 26 set the indoor attendance record of Arizona's Phoenix Stadium with 72,219 fans witnessing
John Cena win his 9th World title as he recaptured his (WWE) spinning Championship for the 7th time, defeating
Batista in the pre-main event and tying The Rock's record for 7 times holding WWE's original championship. They are both now tied behind Triple H's record 8 WWE Championships. In addition, Jack Swagger won the Money In The Bank ladder match, and Vickie Guerrero made a "successful" in-ring debut in a truly pathetic 10-woman tag team match featuring her teaming with Layla El, Alicia Fox, Women's Champion Michelle McCool & Diva's Champion Maryse against Mickie James, Gail Kim, Eve Torres, Kelly Kelly & Beth Phoenix. Also, Bret Hart came out of retirement to defeat Vince McMahon in a No Holds Barred match that saw an impromptu swerve as the-then-announced lumberjacks of the Hart Family turned on Vince, and Shawn Michaels "retired" after losing to The Undertaker in the main event's "Career Vs. Streak" match. Michaels is expected back at some point in the fall, though he's been insisting that he is really retired. Both he & Undertaker were expected to
take time off, Undertaker after the next European tour.
-At UFC 111 in Newark, NJ's Prudential Center this past Saturday, George St. Pierre defended his Welterweight title in dominating fashion against the UK's Dan Hardy, taking every round & winning by unanimous decision. In the other main event, Shane Carwin continued his undefeated streak by destroying Frank Mir 3:38 in to the first round by ref. stoppage(TKO) to become UFC Interim Heavyweight Champion. Carwin, 12-0, will face current Heavyweight
Champion Brock Lesnar(4-1), likely in July, to unify the Heavyweight titles. Rousimar Palhares was suspended for
three months by the New Jersey Athletic Control Board, however, for not letting go of the heel hook he had Tomasz Drwal in after Drwal tapped(Credit : wrestling observer).
-On Friday's Ring Of Honor show in the North Gym at Phoenix University, The Kings Of Wrestling both received
injuries against Scorpio Sky & Scott Lost ; Claudio caught a foot in the face and suffered a fat busted lip, while Chris Hero suffered a back injury that kept him out of the following day's event. Hero is going to try to fight through it to make it to ROH's iPPV Saturday. Human Tornado, fresh out of his 6-week retirement, also returned to ROH on
Friday's show.
-After an initial scare of a career-ending injury forced him out of his scheduled fight with Jon Fitch Saturday, UFC welterweight fighter Thiago Alves saw a doctor last week and will have a minor surgery Wednesday to correct an irregularity in his brain(Credit : TMZ).
-Wade Barrett suffered a broken nose last week on NXT(Credit : wrestling observer).
-Elaine McCarthy's Let's Get It On league will be holding tournaments to crown 155 lb & 170 lb Canadian champions, who will then get contracts to fight on Strikeforce's Challengers Series show(Credit : wrestling observer). Strikeforce also announced that Heavyweight Champion Alistar Overeem Vs. Brett Rogers on May 15h's Strikeforce St. Louis : Heavy Artillery show will, in fact, be for the title. Bobby Lashley, however, is not listed on the card for Strikeforce : Nashville on April 17th(Credit : MMAJunkie).
-On last night's taped TNA iMPACT!, in addition to revealing a new steel cage in the main event match of Jeff Hardy, Rob Van Dam & Eric Young Vs. Scott Hall, Kevin Nash & Sean Waltman, Daffney fought Knockout Champion Tara in a losing effort in the first ever womens First Blood match on cable TV. Earlier in the show, Bubba The Love Sponge
(whose nose was fractured last week by a stiff shot from Mick Foley) joined The Band a week after Awesome Kong
(who will return to Ring Of Honor May 8th in New York City) was officially let out of her contract. TNA has also
released The Nasty Boys & Consequences Creed, so this time around both a black person AND Hogan's friends were released to even it up 2-2(Credit : wrestling observer). iMPACT will be airing 8-10pm next week.
-DREAM 14, originally scheduled for April 24th at Jangchung Gym in Seoul, South Korea has been canceled, with a possible rescheduled date for the fall(Credit : MMAJunkie).
-Goldberg has announced he is in negotiations for a new (merchandising) deal with WWE and has been hinting at a
return to the ring for them as well. Bet you he gets inducted in the Hall Of Fame next year in Atlanta, too.
-TNA signed a deal with Namco Networks to develop TNA games for Apple products & other mobile platforms next year(Credit : WGN).
-Marco Corleone(Mark Jindrak) has left AAA(Credit : WGN). L.A. Park-K's first match back with AAA will be at their
April 17th taping in Orizaba, Mexico(Credit : Lucha World).
-luchador El Signo announced he will wrestle his retirement match on May 1st at Arena Neza(Credit : Lucha World).
-Scott Steiner is headed to Puerto Rico to wrestle for WWC(Credit : 411mania).
Tuesday, March 2, 2010 :
-The Wrestling Roundtable taped two new episodes this past Sunday. However, I'm about to finish up the
DVD of the first Pro Wrestling Respect event, Inaugural! So bare with me, it'll probably be a few more days
until they're online, but they're on the way! In the first episode, it's an all-show-review edition, as we talk
about TNA Genesis 2010, WWE Elimination Chamber 2010, Strikeforce : Miami & UFC 110, a PPV from each
of the big pro wrestling/MMA promotions!
-Speaking of Pro Wrestling Respect, be sure to pick up tickets in our store to your left for the next Pro
Wrestling Respect event in Burlington, NJ on Sunday March 14th! Find out more on prowrestlingrespect.com
-Irv Muchnick printed on his website an email from the Harris County medical examiner in Houston, TX which announced the official cause of death of Edward "Umaga" Fatu from several months ago : Acute toxicity due to the combined effects of hydrocodone(a painkiller), carisoprodol(a muscle relaxer aka soma), and diazepam(valium).
-WWE's NXT program debuted a week ago on SyFy, replacing fake ECW and upping the last ECW's 1.1 Nielsen rating to a 1.4 with a 73% increase in the 18-34 demographic, according to SyFy's press release. The debut show featured the former Bryan Danielson, rechristened Daniel Bryan, feuding with his 'trainer' US Champion The Miz and have an awesome showing against (WCW) World Heavyweight Champion Chris Jericho in the main event.
-Wrestlelicious, who just signed Josie(Sojourner Bolt) debuts tonight on MAVTV at 11pm, but don't watch it because it's fucking garbage. March 15th will not see a TNA iMPACT! air up against WWE's RAW. However, a 3-hour X-Division-focused TNA Epics will air at 9pm instead, head-to-head with Stone Cold Steve Austin guest hosting RAW.
-WWE made several releases this past weekend, as had been rumored/expected. Fired were Maria Kanellis, "Hurricane" Gregory Helms, Paul Burchill, Charlie Haas & referee Scott Armstrong. With the firing of Helms, that now makes Chavo Guerrero Jr.(who needed six stitches to fix a wound suffered during last night's Superstars taping in a match against Kofi Kingston) the last survivor of the WCW buyout in 2001, as Chavo is the only wrestler left whose contract was bought and has not been released at any point. WWE made two new signings in the past week, however : Joe Francosi, a former NWA & UPW producer, was hired for the creative team, and Orlando Colon, cousin of Carlito & Primo, was signed to a developmental deal.
-Hulk Hogan & Eric Bischoff visited the Knokx Pro Wrestling School(run by Rikishi, Orlando Jordan, Gangrel & Black Pearl) yesterday to 'scout(Credit : pwinsider, 411mania).' Wonder if they were looking for midgets, because they've involved themselves in Spike TV's Micro Championship Wrestling midget reality show. The show will be taped at the iMPACT Zone this week with Bischoff making an appearance.
-Alabama recently legalized MMA in their state(Credit : MMA Junkie). The Alabama Boxing Commission will be renamed the Alabama Athletic Commission and will oversee MMA events, pro & amateur.
-Andre Arlovski announced yesterday he has re-signed with Strikefroce, and he is believed to be fighting Antonio "Bigfoot" Silva May 15th(Credit : wrestling observer).
-Former WBA & WBC welterweight champion boxer Ricardo Mayorga will also fight on May 15th, on PPV at the Shine Fights' "Worlds Collide" show, making his MMA debut against former UFC fighter Din Thomas(Credit : wrestling observer).
-Cole Konrad, a former NCAA wrestling champion and Brock Lesnar training partner, announced Saturday after fighting for Matrix Fights at The (ECW) Arena that he signed a deal with Bellator Fighting Championships(Credit : USA Today). Konrad won a 1st-round TKO over Joel Wyatt, which I filmed!
-Alternative Pro Wrestling, out of Royston, GA, has just joined the NWA(Credit : wrestling observer).
-Last night on WWE RAW, Maurice Vachon was announced as the next inductee for WWE's Hall Of Fame, to be inducted by Pat Patterson, because he's Canadian too. Elsewhere, Jack Swagger qualified for the Money In The Bank match at WrestleMania over Santino Marella, as did MVP over Zack Ryder. Gail Kim injured somehow hurt back or foot in a fucking Pajama Pillow Fight match, and Bret Hart Vs. Vince McMahon was made official for WM26 also. Chris Angel guest DJs RAW next week.
-Amazing Kong is still officially with TNA(Credit : pwinsider). She claims she will be filing a lawsuit against AT&T and Bubba The Love Sponge(which The Honky Tonk Man claims he's going to do also) for allegedly prank calling her & using racial insults, a charge BTLS has denied. AT&T would not release the identity of the blocked call.
-WWE made more PPV name/concept changes recently : Wild Card in May has been changed to Over The Limit and Bragging Rights will return in October(Credit : wrestling observer). Speaking of show changes, they've moved William Regal, YoshI Tatsu & Christian to RAW, & Shelton Benjamin to SmackDown.
-ROH crowns their first TV Champion this weekend.
-Phil LaFon comes out of retirement to wrestle for Monster Pro Wrestling on March 6th in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
-Last week AAA announced that Mr. Ken Anderson & LA indy wrestler Christina Von Eerie would debut for them n the Rey De Reyes show, March 12th in Queretaro, Mexico(Credit : Lucha World).
-WGN claims the recent story in Box Y Lucha about Juventud Guerrera winning a lawsuit against Konnan & AA is bullshit as the case hasn't even gone to court. Who knows with these Mexican news sources & kayfabe?
-Last week, UFC filed several lawsuits against several websites & individuals who illegally stream their PPVs. No specifics yet, but one would assume justin.tv, as they were cracking down on that website specifically during their last PPV, UFC 110, a few weekends ago.
-The Turtle Company Inc is suing WWE, claiming they own the patent on the method that ABC Corp 1-10 Inc. used to print textbook covers featuring WWE wrestlers(Credit : The Hamilton Ave. Journal). Filed on January 20th, part of the lawsuit is an injunction to stop production of the covers immediately and damages awarded from the patent infringement. WWE & ABC Corp 1-10 have until March 23 to respond.
-The Georgia Supreme Court has denied Hustler Magazine's request to dismiss the lawsuit filed against them by the family of Nancy Benoit(Toffoloni) for publishing over-20-years-old nude photos of Nancy after the Benoit murders a few years ago(Credit : pwinsider).
-Shad Gaspard did not get the role of Ufaka in the next Conan The Barbarian movie that he auditioned for. Bob Sapp did(Credit : wrestling observer).
Tuesday, March 9, 2010 :
-The latest episode of The Wrestling Roundtable is online! Show #40 is an all-show-review edition, covering one
major event each of the big pro wrestling & MMA promotions in America ; TNA Genesis 2010, WWE Elimination Chamber 2010, Strikeforce : Miami & UFC 110. You can view the show in the Video/Audio section, on our YouTube page, or you can view the show in it's entirety on Go Fight Live. A podcast version should be on our iTunes page in a few days!
-The Roundtable will not be taping a new episode until about mid-April. However, there is good news! We're going ahead with Wrestling Roundtable Radio! We're excited about this new venture for the show, as it will keep us up-to-
date and we plan on doing the show WEEKLY starting sometime in the next few weeks.
-Don't forget - this Sunday, March 14th, Pro Wrestling Respect II comes to the Burlington National Guard Armory in Burlington, Nj! Sponsored by The Wrestling Roundtable, see graduates of the ROH Wresting Academy attempt to earn Respect as they match up against world-traveled veterans, and each other! Tickets are still available in our Store to your left, or at the door the day of the event. To find out more about the lineup, bios of the wrestlers & much more, visit ProWrestlingRespect.com. The DVD of the first event, Inaugural, will be available soon and will also be available
at the building Sunday!
-Angelo Poffo, former wrestler/promoter & father of The Macho Man Randy Savage & Leapin' Lanny Poffo, 84, died Wednesday night in his sleep.
-Ring Of Honor crowned their first TV Champion on Friday at The Arena when Eddie Edwards defeated his fellow American Wolves teammate Davey Richards in the finals of the tournament.
-Stephanie McMahone-Levesque is pregnant again with HHH's third child. Let the jokes commence. Gotta keep going until one of them has a penis, right? Speaking of which, Shane McMahon's wide Marissa recently had a third child(Credit : WGN).
-At WEC 47 this past Saturday, Dominick Cruz defeated Brian Bowles for the bantamweight title after Bowles couldn't continue after the 2nd round due to a broken hand. Also, Javier Vazquez submitted Jens Pulver in the first round of their contest via armbar. Pulver gave an emotional speech afterwards, indicating retirement for about the 5th time. Frank Mir did not announce this show as he is in training for his Interim Heavyweight title fight with Shane Carwin coming up on the 27th in Newark, NJ.
-CBS & Scott Coker had discussions last week regarding whether to move the next Strikeforce network show due to UFC counter-programming with with a free event on Spike TV Saturday April 17th(Credit : wrestling observer). Kimbo Slice was initially thought to have been on the UFC event, but he will be facing Matt Mitrione on May 8th in Montreal.
-UFC signed currently recognized NABO & IBA boxing heavyweight champion James Toney last week(Credit : fiveouncesofpain).
-Mirko Mladenovic, Vancouver Athletic Commission chair, said recently that MMA should be regulated in the Canadian city in "about two months."(Credit : wrestling observer).
-Gerald Brisco was scouting at the Division 3 college wrestling tournament in Iowa this past weekend for WWE
(Credit : WGN). That's good to hear.
-Last night on TNA iMPACT!, Rob Van Dam debuted against a returning Sting(yeah, they fucking gave that away & it lasted 9 seconds to bat. Get it? TO BAT?) Shannon Moore & Jeff Hardy also returned, seeing Moore attack X
Champion Doug Williams(who won the title at the end of January), while Hardy made a run-in with great SPEED
during the post-match brawl of the tag team main event, which saw Hulk Hogan win his TNA in-ring debut when partner Abyss pinned TNA Champion AJ Styles, who teamed with the also-debuting Ric Flair. Also on the show, the Knockouts Tag Team Titles were vacated, and The Beautiful People(Velvet Sky & Madison Rayne) claimed the belts in
a threeway Vs. Angelina Love & Tara Vs. Taylor Wilde & Sarita. Al Snow also worked as an agent backstage.
-Last night on RAW, Evan Bourne became the last wrestler to qualify for the Money In The Bank match at
WrestleMania. Pete Rose will guest host RAW on March 22nd, while next week's host Stone Cold Steve Austin will be the Grand Marshall of the Food City 500 at Bristol, TN's Motor Speedway on March 21st.
-Goldust, Tiffany & Tyler Reks have been moved to the Smackdown roster, while former AJPW wrestler Joe Doering & former bouncer G-Rilla were signed & sent to FCW(Credit : WGN). WGN also reports former Playboy model Jillian
Beyor is "gone from developmental."
-AAA announced last week a new working agreement with TNA. Speaking of TNA & Mexico, Sean Morley has left TNA
& says he will be 'heading to' Mexico(Credit : wrestling observer). Traci Brooks, Awesome Kong & Roxxi were also
fired last week from TNA, while AAA announced Taiji Ishimori & Takeshi Morishima would appear on their March 19th show in Mexico City(Credit : Lucha World).
-Mexican Mini luchador Mascarita Dorada was told he wouldn't be used anymore in EMLL after he wrestled on the
Todos Y Todos tour of Belgium promoted by El Hijo Del Santo under another name, 'Mini Santo.' (Credit : Super
Luchas)
-Blue Demon, Jr. announced last week that the NWA will no longer recognize Hijo Del Texano as NWA Light Heavyweight Champion, or Averno as NWA Middleweight Champion, as EMLL, whom they wrestle for, isn't an NWA affiliated promotion.
-ROH announced their Kentucky debut in Louisville on July 22nd at the Danny Davis Arena. Kevin Kelly will be announcing their pay per views for now on. Not me.
-Hulk Hogan made an appearance on the first MCW taping, produced by Bischoff-Hervey Productions that will likely
air on TruTV.
-Melina tweeted that she won't be wrestling again for another 4 months, while Mickie James was released from the hospital this weekend after having surgery on her foot for a staph infection(Credit : wrestling observer). She is expected back for WrestleMania(Credit : WGN).
-Speaking of hurt females, Gail Kim claims she wasn't injured last week, but that's likely untrue(Credit : wrestling observer). Either way, it doesn't appear to have been serious.
-Matt Bourne is currently in rehab as part of WWE's offer to former wrestlers to have paid-rehabiliation(Credit :
WGN).
-WWE is developing two new DVDs, a Ricky Steamboat set and another Undertaker collection. They have just
released a WrestleMania Almanac.
-Bobby Lashley opened the American Top Team Altitude Gym in Aurora, CO this past Saturday(Credit : wrestling observer).
-Mick Foley's next book, Countdown To Lockdown, will be released October 1st(Credit : WGN).
-Jerry Lawler will be drawing the cover of an upcoming Green Hornet comic book(Credit : comicbookresources.com)
-Super Porky has allegedly been sending death threats to fellow luchador Intocable for Intocable giving money to Porky's wife, a longtime friend, to help the family out after Porky got fired from AAA, which Porky is obviously taking the wrong way. ALLEGEDLY(Credit : El Grafico).
-luchador Jose Estrada is currently in custody on a first-degree murder charge(Credit : WGN).
Tuesday, March 16, 2010 :
-In the past week, it came in threes in terms of obscure wrestlers dying :
-Sandy Scott(Angus Scott), 75, a promoter & tag team wrestler from the 50s & 60s, died last week.
-Corsica Joe(Francois Miquet), 90, former NWA Tag Team Champion with Corsica Jean, died March 14th in Nashville, TN.
-"Gentleman" Jerry Graham(John Hill), 68, IWA Champion & WWWF Tag Team Champion, also died last week.
-That was just this past week. On March 6th, Black Demon(Anthony Aurelio), 85, former US Heavyweight Champion
in the early 60s aka Prince Nero, died(Credit : wrestling observer).
-Pro Wrestling Respect II weathered the aftereffects of the Nor'easter that slammed the northeast this weekend and
we thank everyone who came out to enjoy the show! However, the PWR news doesn't end there, as the first event, Inaugural, from January 24th 2010, is available for download at Go Fight Live for $4.95, and on DVD for $15 at prowrestlingrespect.com. The DVD is loaded with extras & the reviews from those who have seen the event so far
have been nothing short of overwhelmingly positive, so give it a shot!
-If you haven't seen it yet, be sure to check out the latest segment from the Roundtable, Best & Worst of The Royal Rumbles, covering the history of the Rumble from it's first event to the latest, including matches, moments & overall shows. The second half of this show, Best/Worst Comebacks, should be available soon.
Also, we have a new Chat room feature, so be sure be sure to register to chat with fellow fans and sometimes
someone from the show, especially while you're watching a PPV or TV show! We hope to have Roundtable Radio up &
running within the next few weeks, and our iTunes account updated as well.
-The Wrestler Rescue Association, after months of work, has created a type of insurance/discount prescription
program available for all current & former professionals wrestlers, as well as fans(Credit : Hamilton Avenue Journal). This is encouraging news.
-Congressman Bobby Rush, chair of the House Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade & Consumer Protection, confirmed to Irv Muchnick that Rush will not follow through on Henry Waxman's House Committee on Oversight & Government Reform hearings on steroids in sports(which saw Dixie Carter & the McMahons interviewed) & the HSCTC will not investigate further.
-Last night on WWE RAW, Bret Hart Vs. Vince McMahon was made "official" for WrestleMania 26 in a No Holds Barred match. Next week on RAW, Pete Rose hosts, while the stars of Hot Tub Time Machine host March 29th, David Hasselhouff will host April 12th, and the stars of the movie MacGruber will host April 19th, as it seems this celebrity guest GM thing will continue past WrestleMania, unlike originally thought. Speaking of past WrestleMania, Hart will be with WWE after the event, as he will be special enforcer for Edge Vs. Jericho matches in Germany, and rumor is The rock will guest host RAW June 7th(Credit : WGN).
-Last week, the first night of the new "Monday Night War" saw both WWE RAW & TNA iMPACT! come up with lower ratings from the previous week's shows. TNA dropped to a 0.98 from Thursday's 1.1, while WWE dipped from a 3.7
the week before to a 3.4. Not a good start at all for either side, but WWE rebounded this week, destroying TNA in the process ; Last night's spat saw WWE rise back up to a 3.7 Vs. TNA's declining 0.8. Sad.
-Cincinnati Bengals linebacker football player Dhani Jones shot an angle last week for his Travel Channel "reality"
show with Mascara Ano Dos Mil Jr. where MA2K Jr. attacked Jones' female friend sitting next to Jones in the crowd.
He "fought back" & trained with Black Terry for a match with MA2K Jr. at Arena Naucalpan this past Sunday for
IWRG, which Jones lost by DQ(Credit : Lucha World).
-Gorgeous George, whose bio film rights were purchased by WWE recently, was announced as the next inductee to WWE's Hall Of Fame on WWE.com yesterday. Production on the film is set to being early next year(Credit : WGN). He will be inducted by his first wife Betty Wagner, while Bob Uecker will be inducted by NBC Sports chairman Dick Ebersol(Credt : Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel).
-Fedor Emelianenko's management & Strikeforce are in dispute currently regarding the promotion of the M-1 Global brand during the coverage & advertising for Fedor's 1st CBS fight earlier this year against Brett Rogers, as M-1 was upset their brand was not featured anywhere. In addition, Vadim Finkelschtein, Fedor's manager, has implied
rumored Fedor opponent, Strikeforce Heavyweight Champion Allistar Overeem, abused steroids to jump from light
heavyweight up a weight class to heavyweight(Credit : Yahoo! Spots). The wording is he "questioned how (he) …achieved his physical transformation," but we all know what that means. Strikeforce President Scott Coker, who recently stated their next CBS show April 17th will not be moved should UFC plan a free event the same night on
Spike TV, said they haven't worked out a new deal with Fedor/M-1 yet but are hopeful of getting one soon, while expectations are now that Fedor will not night until at least August.
-Josh Barnett will returning to fighting, this time for DREAM 13 in Japan at the Yokohama Arena on March 22nd
against Mighty Mo
-Former boxing champion Ray Mercer's next MMA fight happens for King Of The Cage on April 16th at the Cobo Arena in Detroit, MI against Ron Sparks(Credit : wrestling observer). HDNet signed Maria Kanellis as KOTC's backstage interviewer. Kanellis appears with Goldberg on this season's The Apprentice, which features a cameo by Mark Henry next week.
-Roger Huerta has been signed by Bellator FC.
-AJPW announced last week Chessman & Ozz would debut for them on March 21st at the Sumo Hall against Tetsuya Bushi & Kiyoshi(Credit : Lucha World).
-TNA recently formed a partnership with Mach-1 Wrestling out of Anaheim, CA(Credit : WGN). They have sent Lacey Von Erich there for more training & will seemingly use it for a training ground/developmental la OVW, and, in addition
to Mr. Anderson, sent Hernandez to AAA's Rey De Reyes event in Queretaro, Mexico this past Friday, which also saw L.A. Par-K returne by attacking Cibernetico(Credit : Lucha World). Latin Lover no-showed the event.
-Can we get a straight fucking answer on whether Amazing Kong is with TNA still or not? ha, anyone care at this
point? For a few weeks everyone had a different story - now pwinsider says she's still under contract.
-Mascarita Dorada signed with Perros Del Mal last week(Credit : Lucha World).
-WWE hired Dennis Condrey for a 6-week tryout as a trainer in FCW for the NXT crew, while Jim Ross was signed to a short term contract extension that will keep him under WWE's wing until after WrestleMania. Sgt. Slaughter was also re-signed to an "ambassador" role(Credit : wrestling observer, pwinsider).
-Andy Douglas, one half of the former tag team The Naturals, retired Sunday night after main eventing Nashville,
TN's Showtime All-Star Wrestling in a cage match against SAW International Champion Chase Stevens(Credit : pwinsider). Meanwhile, Human Tornado seems to be coming out of retirement already after several WEEKS to wrestle
in Maryland for RCW May 1st(Credt : 411mania).
-"Doctor Death" Buddy Ward of England, 75, who retired over 30 years ago as a wrestlers, will be returning to the
ring at the Ellsemere Port Civic Hall Saturday April 3rd in Liverpool(Credit : liverpoolecho).
-The rumor is Sting recently had shoulder surgery(Credit : WGN).
-Jeff Hardy's trial for drug charges begins tomorrow(Credit : pwinsider).
-UFC has filed lawsuits against several websites that were set up to bootleg the upcoming 111 show & sued another last month(Credit : wrestling observer).
-Charges of theft & fraud against Kid Kash were dropped recently when the complainant did not appear in court
(Credit : timesnews.net). Cash also repaid the $84.10 he was accused of putting on the complainant's credit card.
-Ronald J. Gardner, Jr, a former pro wrestler, was found guilty in Pittsburgh today of willfully failing to file tax returns
& for trying to obstruct or impede the administration of internal revenue laws(Credit : Post-Gazette)
-Ken Doane was eliminated from the Seducing Cindy reality show(Credit : pwinsider).
-WWE will be releasing a book this winter on the history of WWE championships (Credit : pwinsider).
-WWE's first comic book goes on sale March 23rd.
-The film feature Killing Karma featuring Batista will be released in 2011(Credit : pwinsider).
-Former Chikara Commissioner Bob Saget(yup) will be shooting "wrestlers" trying out for DGUSA WrestleMania weekend in Phoenix for the Stranger Days reality show(Credit : pwinsider). The show had previously shot backyard wrestlers.
-Adam Pearce won his third NWA World Heavyweight Championship this past Sunday at NWA New Beginnings in Charlotte, NC in a three-way against champion Blue Demon Jr. & Phill Shatter.
Tuesday, March 23, 2010 :
-Baron Mikel Scicluna, 80, former WWWF Tag Team Champion & Hall Of Famer, died this past weekend after a bout with cancer.
-Pro Wrestling Respect III will take place either May 30th or June 6th once again at the Burlington National Guard Armory in Burlington, NJ. Confirmation of the event will be coming later this week hopefully. Also, if you're traveling
to Phoenix for WrestleMania, be sure to stop by the Ring Of Honor shows in the area, as we hope to have DVDs of the
first show, Inaugural, available at their merchandise table.
-At TNA's Destination X this past Sunday, Kevin Nash turned on tag team partner Eric Young as expected by everyone ever to re-form "The Wolfpac" with Scott Hall & Sean Waltman, complete with 1998 rap theme.
-Jeff Hardy's drug trafficking trial has been pushed back until May 10th after the defense requested continuance(Credit : prowrestling.net).
-UFC On Versus 1 took place live this past Sunday. In the featured fights, Cheick Kongo defeated Paul Buentello via submission 1:16 into round 3 after Beuntello tapped to strikes, as he had dislocated his pinkie finger in the first round.
In the co-main event, Junior Dos Santos knocked down Gabriel Gonzaga, finishing him with punches to a TKO victory 3:53 in round 1. Then, Jonny "Bones" Jones defeated Branden Vera via TKO 3:19 in the first round of the main event. Vera suffered three breaks in his orbital bone during their Light Heavyweight bout, though UFC President Dana White has stated Jones will be kept away from title-level fighters for another year to get him ready, while also pointing out they have no show scheduled for April 17th & never did(Credit : wrestling observer).
-Grappler's Quest will once again be holding a tournament in conjunction with UFC's Fan Expo, this year at the end of May, May 28th & 29th.
-At Dream 13 this past weekend in Japan, Josh Barnett defeated Siala Siligia via first round submission(Credit : fiveouncesofpain). Barnett has been added to the EA MMA 2010 video game, along with Joachim Hansen and Vladimir Matyushenko(Credit : MMA Junkie).
-Dan Severn, 55, was victorious this past weekend at King Of The Cage : Thunderstruck 2 in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, upping his record to 92-16-7 by defeating Buddie Dixon, 2-2, by TKO in the 2nd round(Credit : MMAJunkie).
-Referee John McCarthy's wife Elaine is promoting Let's Get It On MMA April 23rd at the River Cree Casino in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada(Credit : wrestling observer).
-Bobby Lashley has been pegged to fight on Strikeforce's CBS show April 17th in the preliminary matches, though no opponent has been named yet(Credit : wrestling observer). Lashley has also recently stated he won't do pro wrestling again for at least 12 months.
-Strikeforce has made Heavyweight Champion Alistair Overeem Vs. Brett Rogers official for their May 15th, along with Andre Arlovski Vs. Antonio "Bigfoot" Silva
-A German agency has ruled UFC cannot be aired on the channel DSF as it's "too violent."(Credit : wrestling observer). Dave Meltzer reports UFC is 'going to fight it.' FIGHT it, get it? In a story about glorifying violence? Hoo ha!
-Gerald Brisco was scouting for WWE at the NCAA wrestling tournament this weekend in Omaha(Credit : WGN).
-WWE made a change to their Wellness Policy in January that apparently only came to light last week - banning chair shots & "intentional" blows to the head(Credit : WGN).
-Fantasia will sing the National Anthem at WrestleMania 26 this Sunday(Credit : Arizona Republic). Jim Ross has said he will not be commentating at the event.
-Last night on WWE RAW, Kofi Kingston defeated Vladimir Kozlov to be the last man to qualify for the Money In The Bank match at WrestleMania, joining Intercontinental Champion Drew McIntyre to bring the total to 10 participants. Wayne Brady will guest host RAW May 3rd. Also, a correction from last week - Betty Hanson, Gorgeous George's first wife, 96, will be accepting the Hall Of Fame award, not inducting, as that is reportedly to be done by Dick "The Destroyer" Beyer(Credit : WGN).
-The Fight Network has released a new Bret Hart documentary, Survival Of The Hitman.
-Jesse Ventura's Conspiracy Theory show on TruTV has been picked up for a second season(Credit : WGN).
-After weeks of back & forth reports, Awesome Kong is officially released from TNA. Samoa Joe is expected back on TV soon.
-In a Wall Street Journal article, Stephanie McMahon stated WWE is actively looking to recruit a wrestler from China. Good luck with that one. Expect an American of Korean descent to be playing a Chinaman any day now.
-Some recent FCW name changes : Incognito/Mystico is now Hunico, Joe Doering is now Drake Brewer, Ray Lepton is Leo Kruger, Asher Knight is Rudy Parker, Orlando Colon is Tito Nieves, Lamar Porter is Cable Jones and Sarona Snuka is Tamina(Credit : pwinsider). Recently signed model Brittany Beede has been renamed Jamie Keyes. Curt Hawkins has been sent back to FCW while Abraham Washington is doing commentary now with Byron Saxton(Credit : WGN).
-(Queen) Sharmell is pregnant(Credit : Media Takeout). Congratulations, Booker! And have fun raising my kid ;) ha
-Speaking of Booker T, The Boogeyman wrestled for Booker's PWA show the other weekend. Boogeyman claimed to fans he was never released by WWE & will be returning there soon(Credit : WGN).
-Valiente Lucha Libre and Masked Republic will be taping a lucha PPV in Yonkers, NY April 25th(Credit : pwinsider).
-AAA announced yesterday that Marco Corleone has left the company and is now a free agent. They also announced Friday that Latin Lover was fired. AAA will also be featured on MTV2 & MTV Tres this spring with "repackaged" footage & English commentary(Credit : pwinsider).
-At CMLL's Dos Leyendas event this past Friday in Arena Mexico, La Sombra defeated Felino in a mask vs. mask match(Credit : Lucha World). AAA President Dorian Roldan gave away the finish at a press conference Friday in a Bischoff-like move to promote AAA's show that went head-to-head with CMLL that night.
-Daniel Puder will debut for NJPW in June(Credit : WGN).
-Ryota Hama defeated Satoshi Kojima for the AJPW Triple Crown this past Sunday at the Sumo Hall in Tokyo, Japan(Credit : wrestling observer).
-Keiji Mutoh, was scheduled to have knee surgery last week that will keep him sidelined for several months(Credit : WGN).
-Jushin "Thunder" Liger will return to New Jersey for the first time in over 5 years as he takes on Teddy Hart May 22nd in Rahway, NJ for JAPW(Credit : pwinsider).
-NWS & WSU(who just recently signed with The Fight Network) will be holding a Jersey J Cup women's tournament on April 2nd in Neptune, NJ(Credit : wrestling observer).
-In Palmdale, CA this past Friday, four luchadors were brought by a radio station to a local Spanish video store to promote a show. A call was made to police reporting an armed bank robbery, to which they responded by sending 7 squad cars with dogs & guns drawn, until they realized it was a mistake(Credit : wrestling observer).
-Iron Sheik was taken to a private room for questioning after his plane landed in Atlanta, flying back from Las Vegas where he attended a bong convention, a flight where he attempted to bring alcohol on the plane but was denied, causing a screaming scene(Credit : WGN). His bags were searched, bongs were confiscated, then he was escorted to his driver's car & driven home.
-Zebra Kid(Roy Bevis), was spared jail time for trashing the Heartsease pub on May 6th last year & nearly killing a drug dealer by throwing a piece of tarmac at him this past November 10th in Norwich City, England(Credit : evening news 24). Bevis had pleaded guilty, served 4 months jail time, then given a 12 month suspended sentence for two years and an 18-month community order. Bevis, eheh eheh, what a Butt-Head.
-WWE Magazine will have 26 different covers for their April issue(Credit : pwinsider).
-After bragging about the royalties he gets from his 4-year old book Controversy Creates Cash, WWE's ShopZone slashed the price of Eric Bischoff's book 92%, which in turn made it the second best selling item in their online store.
-Bill Goldberg will be inducted in the National Jewish Sports Hall Of Fame April 18th in Commack, NY…for football(Credit : wrestling observer).
-The Barbarian is in the latest North Carolina Education/Powerball Lottery commercial dressed as a sumo wrestler(Credit : pwinsider).
-Absolute Publicity said this week that Mickie James' first album will be delayed until May 18th for release due to her MRSA surgeries.
-Prince Nana & Steve Corino have been added to the Total Xtreme Comedy show in Phoenix, AZ this Saturday, replacing Bruce Prichard(Credit : pwinsider).
-Chris Hero re-signed with Ring Of Honor.
Tuesday, March 30, 2010 :
-We're hoping to get Wrestling Roundtable Radio (finally!) off the ground sometime within the next week or so. As the show is currently on hiatus until probably sometime in late April, we'll be covering WrestleMania 26, UFC 111 & more
on the premier episode. We also hope to do weekly Radio shows, but we've yet to sort out the details on a technical side(also having laptop troubles!) and really, I've been all over the place recently so haven't had much time at home either! So please bare with us! In the meantime, we're glad to announce that the DVD of Pro Wrestling Respect 1 : Inaugural is now available in store! Just click the Store tab to the left and place your order today! The DVD is loaded with extras, but if you prefer to just watch the show itself, you can purchase the download at GoFightLive also!
-Jack Savage, 60, former WWWF referee in the 70s & 80s, died 8 days ago.
-WrestleMania 26 set the indoor attendance record of Arizona's Phoenix Stadium with 72,219 fans witnessing
John Cena win his 9th World title as he recaptured his (WWE) spinning Championship for the 7th time, defeating
Batista in the pre-main event and tying The Rock's record for 7 times holding WWE's original championship. They are both now tied behind Triple H's record 8 WWE Championships. In addition, Jack Swagger won the Money In The Bank ladder match, and Vickie Guerrero made a "successful" in-ring debut in a truly pathetic 10-woman tag team match featuring her teaming with Layla El, Alicia Fox, Women's Champion Michelle McCool & Diva's Champion Maryse against Mickie James, Gail Kim, Eve Torres, Kelly Kelly & Beth Phoenix. Also, Bret Hart came out of retirement to defeat Vince McMahon in a No Holds Barred match that saw an impromptu swerve as the-then-announced lumberjacks of the Hart Family turned on Vince, and Shawn Michaels "retired" after losing to The Undertaker in the main event's "Career Vs. Streak" match. Michaels is expected back at some point in the fall, though he's been insisting that he is really retired. Both he & Undertaker were expected to
take time off, Undertaker after the next European tour.
-At UFC 111 in Newark, NJ's Prudential Center this past Saturday, George St. Pierre defended his Welterweight title in dominating fashion against the UK's Dan Hardy, taking every round & winning by unanimous decision. In the other main event, Shane Carwin continued his undefeated streak by destroying Frank Mir 3:38 in to the first round by ref. stoppage(TKO) to become UFC Interim Heavyweight Champion. Carwin, 12-0, will face current Heavyweight
Champion Brock Lesnar(4-1), likely in July, to unify the Heavyweight titles. Rousimar Palhares was suspended for
three months by the New Jersey Athletic Control Board, however, for not letting go of the heel hook he had Tomasz Drwal in after Drwal tapped(Credit : wrestling observer).
-On Friday's Ring Of Honor show in the North Gym at Phoenix University, The Kings Of Wrestling both received
injuries against Scorpio Sky & Scott Lost ; Claudio caught a foot in the face and suffered a fat busted lip, while Chris Hero suffered a back injury that kept him out of the following day's event. Hero is going to try to fight through it to make it to ROH's iPPV Saturday. Human Tornado, fresh out of his 6-week retirement, also returned to ROH on
Friday's show.
-After an initial scare of a career-ending injury forced him out of his scheduled fight with Jon Fitch Saturday, UFC welterweight fighter Thiago Alves saw a doctor last week and will have a minor surgery Wednesday to correct an irregularity in his brain(Credit : TMZ).
-Wade Barrett suffered a broken nose last week on NXT(Credit : wrestling observer).
-Elaine McCarthy's Let's Get It On league will be holding tournaments to crown 155 lb & 170 lb Canadian champions, who will then get contracts to fight on Strikeforce's Challengers Series show(Credit : wrestling observer). Strikeforce also announced that Heavyweight Champion Alistar Overeem Vs. Brett Rogers on May 15h's Strikeforce St. Louis : Heavy Artillery show will, in fact, be for the title. Bobby Lashley, however, is not listed on the card for Strikeforce : Nashville on April 17th(Credit : MMAJunkie).
-On last night's taped TNA iMPACT!, in addition to revealing a new steel cage in the main event match of Jeff Hardy, Rob Van Dam & Eric Young Vs. Scott Hall, Kevin Nash & Sean Waltman, Daffney fought Knockout Champion Tara in a losing effort in the first ever womens First Blood match on cable TV. Earlier in the show, Bubba The Love Sponge
(whose nose was fractured last week by a stiff shot from Mick Foley) joined The Band a week after Awesome Kong
(who will return to Ring Of Honor May 8th in New York City) was officially let out of her contract. TNA has also
released The Nasty Boys & Consequences Creed, so this time around both a black person AND Hogan's friends were released to even it up 2-2(Credit : wrestling observer). iMPACT will be airing 8-10pm next week.
-DREAM 14, originally scheduled for April 24th at Jangchung Gym in Seoul, South Korea has been canceled, with a possible rescheduled date for the fall(Credit : MMAJunkie).
-Goldberg has announced he is in negotiations for a new (merchandising) deal with WWE and has been hinting at a
return to the ring for them as well. Bet you he gets inducted in the Hall Of Fame next year in Atlanta, too.
-TNA signed a deal with Namco Networks to develop TNA games for Apple products & other mobile platforms next year(Credit : WGN).
-Marco Corleone(Mark Jindrak) has left AAA(Credit : WGN). L.A. Park-K's first match back with AAA will be at their
April 17th taping in Orizaba, Mexico(Credit : Lucha World).
-luchador El Signo announced he will wrestle his retirement match on May 1st at Arena Neza(Credit : Lucha World).
-Scott Steiner is headed to Puerto Rico to wrestle for WWC(Credit : 411mania).
