Dr. Keith Report (drkeithshow.com) – June 29th

Dr. Keith Report – June 29 2007 – Dr. Keith Lipinski of www.drkeithshow.com

A complete listing of upcoming big showsâ€¦and whacky hijinxâ€¦

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New Dr. Keith Show up at F4WOnline.com with an hour long discussion and reaction to the Benoit tragedy.Â Also, I will be on Nick Digilio’s show on WGN (AM 720) in Chicago on Sunday Night/Monday Morning around midnight.Â It should be good.Â Of course, it won’t be as contraversal as the Ultimate Warrior on FOX NEWS

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This weekend:

Friday:Â FIP, OVW

Saturday:Â FIP, IWA-MS

Sunday:Â ROH PPV (Dish Network), SHIMMER

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http://www.nypost.com/seven/06292007/sports/benoit_tragedy_wakes_up_media_sports_phil_mushnick.htm

BENOIT TRAGEDY WAKES UP MEDIA

By PHIL MUSHNICK

June 29, 2007 — LOOK what it has taken for the news media to finally begin to report that Vince McMahon has been operating a death mill the past 25 years.

Look what it took for the news media to finally learn and report that McMahon produces a TV show that regularly features physically fit and soon-to-be dead young men.

It didn’t take one death, or even 20, for the media to finally wake up. Hell, pro wrestlers have been steadily dying young since the early 1980s, when McMahon began to rule the industry.

And it didn’t take Monday’s suicide of a McMahon-made star, Chris Benoit. It took three deaths in one weekend in one home; it took Benoit’s murder of his son and wife for modern pro wrestling to finally be stamped with a skull-and-crossbones caution label.

Hell, Brian Pillman died at 35; Louie Spiccoli was 27; Chris Candido was 33. For all the drugs Eddie Guerrero relied on to become one of McMahon’s champs, it was miraculous he made it to 38.

“Ravishing” Rick Rude was 41; “The British Bulldog,” Davey Boy Smith, was 39. Curt Henning, “Mr. Perfect,” died at 44. “Road Warrior Hawk” made it to 45, which can be like 85 in pro-wrestling years.

Given cartoon names, they were real people. They are among the most renowned pro wrestlers who died young – just since 1995. There are dozens more from where they came from, and wound up. None of their deaths made for big, nationwide news.

Uppers in the morning, painkillers at night, juice in between to sustain those massive physiques, the kind the industry has demanded and rewarded since McMahon took over. That’s the regimen. You wanna be a TV star, don’t you?

But the media only went for the fun stuff, helping McMahon promote “Wrestlemania” or Donald Trump’s made-for-pay-per-view feud with McMahon.

Until Monday, and since McMahon became king, pro-wrestling deaths would occur only one at a time. No big deal. If you’ve ignored one, you can ignore them all. Even during the drug trial that led to the conviction and imprisonment of the WWE’s McMahon-appointed doctor, McMahon, himself a former steroid user, escaped media inspection.

Until this week, the only sudden, premature death of a pro wrestler that caused a national stir came in 1999, when Owen Hart died what in pro wrestling relativity constituted a natural death. He didn’t drop dead; he was dropped dead, from the rafters in a pay-per-view skit-too-far.

Hart’s death made big news. For two days. Sure, it did. He died a spectacular, public death. Wrestlers dying in a hotel room, prescription bottles on the night table, don’t make noise or news, even if the deceased did perform on TV the night before.

But there was no ducking this one. Benoit, 40, wasn’t just a current, excessively muscled WWE star; he didn’t die solo. He also killed his wife and kid. Three deaths at once; that’s tough to ignore. And steroids were found. Naturally.

So this one made news. And, for the first time, the news media began to note a pattern: Pro wrestlers do drugs, go crazy and die young. Well, whattya know.

Monday night, in the midst of a plot in which he was supposed to have been murdered, McMahon knew exactly what to do. He replaced that night’s USA Network show with a Benoit memorial. McMahon’s best ratings have been generated by tribute shows following the sudden, real deaths of his performers. He cashes in on these guys coming and going.

And aside from a news media that are just now waking up to McMahon – in addition to the deaths, his WWE TV shows rely on fringe pornography that’s in large part aimed at kids and teens – McMahon has long been enabled by friends in very high places.

Lowell Weicker, a former governor and senator from Connecticut, where the WWE is headquartered, is a major WWE stockholder and sits on its board of directors. Weicker also serves as president of the board of Trust for America‘s Health, a health policy research group. Hmmm.

Then there’s Dick Ebersol, head of NBC and USA Network sports, who has long been in McMahon’s corner, both as a business partner and buddy. It was Ebersol who turned NBC over to McMahon in the form of the XFL, an obscene blend of pro football and WWE that also died young, but from embarrassment.

Joe Lieberman, the senator from Connecticut who has famously targeted the entertainment industry for its reliance on garbage – especially when thrown at kids – helped fund his last campaign with donations from the McMahon family.

Then there are big shots such as Trump, happy to throw in with McMahon for all the attention they can generate together.

When Congress subpoenas MLB about steroids, that’s huge news, as it should be. But imagine if every season four or five big-league players died drug-related, performance-related and institution-related deaths. Well, it happens in pro wrestling.

Imagine if there were a long-running, scripted TV series in which recurring characters kept dropping dead, for real, in their 20s, 30s and 40s. That would be the most scandalous story in TV history. But it has been happening in pro wrestling.

Pro wrestling manufactures death. And the guy who owns and operates the biggest factory, the boss who sets the standards, is Vince McMahon. And, though it took 25 years and the deaths this week of Chris Benoit, his wife and son, the media are finally beginning to notice.

phil.mushnick@nypost.com

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http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/070629/wrestler_dead.html?.v=1

Wikipedia User Admits Benoit Posting

Friday June 29, 11:26 am ET

By Jason Bronis, Associated Press Writer

Anonymous Wikipedia User Admits Altering Benoit Profile, Says Edits Were Based on Rumors

ATLANTA (AP) — Investigators had not yet discovered the bodies of pro wrestler Chris Benoit, his wife and their 7-year-old son when someone altered Benoit’s Wikipedia entry to mention his wife’s death, authorities said.

An anonymous user with the same IP address as the person who made the edits confessed early Friday on an online discussion page attached to the Web site, saying the changes were based on rumors and speculation, not hard evidence.

The authenticity of the posting could not immediately be confirmed.

“I just can’t believe what I wrote was actually the case, I’ve remained stunned and saddened over it,” the user wrote.

According to Wikinews, an online news source connected to Wikipedia, the Internet protocol address of the individual is identical to that of the user who edited Benoit’s profile early Monday morning. An IP address is a unique series of numbers carried by every machine connected to the Internet.

Benoit’s page on Wikipedia, a reference site that allows users to add and edit information, was updated at 12:01 a.m. Monday, about 14 hours before authorities say the bodies were found. The reason he missed a match Saturday night was “stemming from the death of his wife Nancy,” it said.

Wikipedia confirmed the authenticity of the time stamp and said entry was made by someone using an IP address registered in Stamford, Conn., where World Wrestling Entertainment is based. The anonymous user acknowledged being from Stamford, but claimed no connection to WWE.

Wikipedia referred all further questions to authorities investigating the deaths. Messages left for Fayette County District Attorney Scott Ballard were not immediately returned Friday.

Benoit strangled his wife and son during the weekend, placing Bibles next to their bodies, before hanging himself on the cable of a weight-machine in his home, authorities said. No motive was offered for the killings.

Also Thursday, federal drug agents said they had raided the west Georgia office of a doctor who prescribed testosterone to Benoit.

The raid at Dr. Phil Astin’s office in Carrollton began Wednesday night and concluded early Thursday, said agent Chuvalo Truesdell, a spokesman for the Drug Enforcement Administration. No arrests were made.

Hours before the raid, Astin told The Associated Press he had treated Benoit for low testosterone levels, which he said likely originated from previous steroid use.

Among other things, investigators were looking for Benoit’s medical records to see whether he had been prescribed steroids and, if so, whether that prescription was appropriate, according to a law enforcement official speaking on condition of anonymity because records in the case remain sealed.

Astin prescribed testosterone for Benoit, a longtime friend, in the past but would not say what, if any, medications he prescribed when Benoit visited his office on June 22.

WWE attorney Jerry McDevitt said that to his knowledge, no one at the WWE knew Nancy Benoit was dead before her body was found Monday afternoon. Text messages released by officials show that messages from Chris Benoit’s cell phone were being sent to co-workers a few hours after the Wikipedia posting.

WWE employees are given WWE e-mail addresses, McDevitt said, though he did not know whether Chris Benoit had one.

“I have no idea who posted this,” McDevitt said. “It’s at least possible Chris may have sent some other text message to someone that we’re unaware of. We don’t know if he did. The phone is in the possession of authorities.”

On Thursday afternoon, the Wikipedia page about Benoit carried a note stating that editing by unregistered or newly registered users was disabled until July 8 because of vandalism.

Associated Press Writer Harry R. Weber contributed to this story.

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http://www.edmontonsun.com/News/Canada/2007/06/29/4299746-sun.html

Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â

June 29, 2007

Wrestling legend says Benoit had trouble with reality

By STEVE SIMMONS

Chirs Benoit hoists his World Heavyweight Championship Belt after defeating Triple H and Shawn Michaels at the WWE’s Backlash pay-per-view event at Rexall Place in Edmonton, Alta., Sunday April 4, 2004. (Perry Mah, Sun Media File)

Chris Benoit was a “delusional juice freak” who chased the dark side and had trouble distinguishing between his fictional character and reality, says the man who started him out in professional wrestling.

“The last time I saw him he was in pretty rough shape mentally,” said Bruce Hart, son of the legendary Stu Hart. “I didn’t know all the details but I knew it wasn’t good. I was not at all shocked (by what happened).

“If I could see and determine that in a few visits, how the hell could they (World Wrestling Entertainment) not have known something was wrong? (In my opinion) I think the WWE needs to re-evaluate what it is doing here.”

Hart will not simplify the shocking murder of Benoit’s wife and 7-year-old son or the eventual suicide of the wrestler by attributing it only to steroid usage. But he truly believes that steroid abuse, in combination with delusional behaviour, painkillers and failing health — “almost all the people we started out with (who did steroids) began breaking down around 40,” Hart said — is a deadly cocktail that needs to be further examined.

“I’ve known too many wrestlers who couldn’t separate the character they play on television from their real life,” said Hart, who has wrestled professionally, promoted wrestling and trained wrestlers all his life.

“Wrestlers start believing their press clippings and what is said on television. It’s like an actor leaving the set but still playing the part. There’s a delusional element to this. I’ve seen it over and over again. Some people can’t separate the character from real life, and Chris was one of those people.

“From my experience, that has been quite prevalent with wrestlers and that becomes exacerbated by steroids, drugs, painkillers and failing health.”

They hadn’t seen each other much over the past few years, with Hart still in Calgary and Benoit working the circuit. “We saw each other mostly at funerals,” Hart said. “At my brother’s (Owen), my dad’s, my brother-in-law’s (Davey Boy Smith). Not that long ago I was talking to Hillbilly Jim and we were reminiscing a little. I told him I was worried about Chris.”

While the WWE has a drug-testing policy, Hart believes they should bring in psychologists and physicians to evaluate not only their drug-testing procedures but how they treat their athletes, deal with them, and the toll their gimmicks take on the lives of their performers.

“Imagine if Wayne Gretzky, Mario Lemieux and Mark Messier were all dead in their 40s. Imagine what the reaction would be?” Hart asked. “There would be investigations and more investigations. Wouldn’t people want to know what happened and why?”

Hart was also deeply angered that the WWE aired a three-hour tribute to Benoit on Monday night.

“I kept hearing ‘He was a nice guy, a great guy’ and I knew him when he was a kid. But all I know now is he’s a murderer,” Hart said. In my opinion, “for them to do a tribute show was disgraceful.”

Officials at WWE Canada refused to comment yesterday.

WWE owner Vince McMahon told NBC Today Show viewers yesterday that “steroids may or may not have had anything to do with this. It’s all speculation until the toxicology reports come back.”

Hart did wonder if Benoit had been given an unfavourable medical report, which may been another factor in his violent behaviour. “A lot of the steroid users start getting liver and kidney problems around the age of 40,” Hart said. “There are a lot of wrestlers out there who are dead that you never heard about whose bodies broke down. I’ve known others who had looming health issues and went a little crazy. Maybe this caused him to go off.”

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http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Wrestling/Benoit/2007/06/28/4300795-ap.html

Police probe doc’s records in Benoit tragedy

By HARRY R. WEBER

Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â

ATLANTA (AP) – Investigators are looking into who altered an online encyclopedia’s entry for Canadian wrestler Chris Benoit to mention his wife’s death hours before authorities discovered the bodies of the couple and their seven-year-old son.

Benoit’s Wikipedia entry was altered early Monday to say that the wrestler had missed a match two days earlier because of his wife’s death. A Wikipedia official, Cary Bass, said Thursday that the entry was made by someone using an Internet protocol address registered in Stamford, Conn., where World Wrestling Entertainment is based.

An IP address, a unique series of numbers carried by every machine connected to the Internet, does not necessarily have to be broadcast from where it is registered. The bodies were found in Benoit’s home in suburban Atlanta, and it’s not known where the posting was sent from, Bass said.

Chris Benoit’s father, Michael Benoit, said Thursday that a private memorial service will be held in Canada for the wrestler, and services for his wife and son probably will be in Daytona Beach, Fla.

He did not give a date and no further details were available.

“We have no understanding why it happened. It’s going to take us a long time to come to terms with this, and we may never come to terms with it,” Michael Benoit of Ardrossan, Alta., told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Nancy Benoit’s parents, Paul and Maureen Toffoloni, live in Daytona Beach, he said.

A spokeswoman for the funeral home in Georgia said the mother and child were expected to be cremated in Georgia, with a service in Florida “at a later date.”

Also Thursday, federal drug agents said they had raided the west Georgia office of a doctor who prescribed testosterone to Benoit.

Hours before the raid, Astin told The Associated Press he had treated Benoit for low testosterone levels, which he said likely originated from previous steroid use.

Astin prescribed testosterone for Benoit, a longtime friend, in the past but would not say what, if any, medications he prescribed when Benoit visited his office Friday.

State medical records show that Astin’s privileges were suspended for three months in 2001 at a Georgia hospital for “reasons related to competence or character.”

Astin did not return calls to his cellphone from the AP on Thursday.

Anabolic steroids were found in Benoit’s home, leading officials to wonder whether the drugs played a role in the killings. Some experts believe steroids cause paranoia, depression and violent outbursts known as “roid rage.”

Fayette County District Attorney Scott Ballard said in a statement Thursday that he could not immediately comment on the raid.

Reporters informed the Fayette County district attorney’s office of the posting Thursday, and the agency forwarded the information to sheriff’s investigators, who are looking into it, a legal assistant said in an e-mail to the AP.

WWE attorney Jerry McDevitt said that to his knowledge, no one at the WWE knew Nancy Benoit was dead before her body was found Monday afternoon. Text messages released by officials show that messages from Chris Benoit’s cellphone were being sent to co-workers a few hours after the Wikipedia posting.

WWE employees are given WWE e-mail addresses, McDevitt said, though he did not know whether Chris Benoit had one.

On Thursday afternoon, the Wikipedia page about Benoit carried a note stating that editing by unregistered or newly registered users was disabled until July 8 because of vandalism.

In other developments Thursday, Ballard told the AP that 10 empty beer cans were found in a trash can in the Benoit home. An empty wine bottle was found close to where Benoit hanged himself, Ballard said.

It could take several weeks for toxicology tests to be completed on Benoit to see what substances, if any, were in his system.

Benoit took four months off from work in 2006 for undisclosed personal reasons, McDevitt said.

“He was feeling depressed, that kind of thing,” McDevitt said.

In the days before the killings, Benoit and his wife argued over whether he should stay home more to take care of their son, according to a lawyer for the WWE wrestling league.

The child had a rare medical condition called Fragile X Syndrome, an inherited form of mental retardation often accompanied by autism.

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http://www.mercurynews.com/breakingsports/ci_6253690

Hucksters make their living ahead of the curve, or at the very least, by selling that illusion. So there was something satisfying about watching pro wrestling czar Vince McMahon being forced to come clean, if only this once.

“Steroids may or may not have had anything to do with this,” he acknowledged Thursday during an interview on the “Today” show concerning the murder-suicide of one-time WWE star Chris Benoit, his wife and son. “It’s all speculation until the toxicology reports come back.”

McMahon is right about that last part, though just two days earlier, his World Wrestling Entertainment issued a statement insisting that even though anabolic steroids were found in Benoit’s home, they “were not, and could not be related” to the deaths.

The statement went on to decry “sensationalist reporting,” then suggested the way Benoit went about the business of murdering his wife and son, placing Bibles next to their bodies before hanging himself on a weight machine “indicate deliberation, not rage.”

McMahon repeated that assertion in the interview, and he might be right about that, too. The shame is he didn’t stop there.

“There’s a rush to judgment,” McMahon said. “There’s almost a hysteria around us.”

In case anybody is still wondering why that is, tragedy seems to find its way into pro wrestling more often than called for in McMahon’s feverish scripts.

In 2005, Eddie Guerrero was found dead in his Minneapolis hotel room, the victim of heart failure linked to steroid use. Two years earlier, the deaths of Curt “Mr. Perfect” Hennig and Miss Elizabeth, the girlfriend of former champion Lex Luger, were tied to drug and alcohol abuse. A year earlier, heart failure linked to steroid abuse was blamed in the death of Davey Boy Smith, the “British Bulldog.”

In 1999, real life intruded on wrestling’s art when Owen Hart was killed trying to perform a stunt during a pay-per-view event. The audience had no idea Hart’s death was realâ€”not just a stuntâ€”in large part because the show continued.

Even Benoit’s nickname, “The Canadian Crippler,” was a mocking reference to the very real havoc the sport occasionally wreaks on its cast; he acquired the moniker, according to SLAM! magazine, because Benoit broke an opponent’s neck a dozen years ago by accidentally dropping him on his head.

Wrestling is hardly our only diversion that destroys bodies at an alarming rate, as the testimony of a handful of former NFL players before Congress this week reminds us. It’s not the only one, either, pressuring its participants to pop pillsâ€”and worseâ€”in pursuit of ever-bigger and more spectacular performances. Just think of all the witnesses from baseball, bookended by the odd couple of commissioner Bud Selig and superstar-turned-informant Jose Canseco, who have made appearances before lawmakers over the last few years. And stories about well-off celebrities who have trouble handling fame and fortune are so numerous they’ve become a cottage industry.

The difference with pro wrestling is that tragedies like Benoit’s are almost part of its allure. McMahon and his handlers do their best to sell recklessness, then pretend to be surprised every time someone proves more reckless than scripted. It’s like that old trick of choking an opponent with a cord, then tucking it into your shorts and throwing up your arms in protest when the referee comes looking.

Just two weeks ago, McMahon had WWE cameras follow him out of the ring and toward a waiting limousine that exploded. His own publicists tried to pass off the spectacular fake as a real assassination and pretended the FBI was investigating. McMahon might have been hiding still, if not for the grisly scene at Benoit’s house and the attacks it prompted on McMahon’s empire.

McMahon was hauled into court in 1994 on charges of providing steroids to his employees a decade earlier, and acquitted. There’s no question he knows the difference between truth and lies, and now is hardly the time to be disingenuous.

If there’s a hysteria around his “sport,” all he has to do is pause in front of a mirror to find the huckster who’s responsible.

â€”â€”â€”

Jim Litke is a national sports columnist for The Associated Press. Write to him at jlitke@ap.org

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http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=hill/070628

hursday, June 28, 2007

Pro wrestling has more problems than steroids

By Jemele Hill

Page 2

You could say what’s happened in pro wrestling recently is very Tupac-esque.

Tupac foreshadowed his own death in his 1996 video for “I Ain’t Mad At Cha,” which was released a few days after he was shot and killed in Las Vegas.

Hopefully the Chris Benoit tragedy will open some eyes in the world of professional wrestling.

The WWE was in the middle of an elaborate, fake-death story line involving chairman Vince McMahon — going as far as to put out a press release about it and declare a day of mourning — when life decided it could trump art.

The WWE got its wish, all right. The pro wrestling world was indeed leveled by a major death, creating the nationwide buzz it so desperately sought. Only this death wasn’t staged, it wasn’t McMahon’s and it pointed to a much more significant problem in the “sport.”

The bodies of legendary wrestler Chris Benoit, wife Nancy and 7-year-old son Daniel were discovered Monday after a gruesome murder-suicide. Initially, all three were thought to be victims — the WWE and USA Network even aired a three-hour tribute to the 22-year wrestling vet — but it soon became apparent the deaths were executed by Benoit, who strangled his wife and suffocated his child before hanging himself on the portable weight machine in the family’s home.

I realize we’re supposed to look at pro wrestling as a high-flying version of “The Young and the Restless.” But it is inconceivable that, given the appalling number of real wrestling deaths, there would ever be any plot lines involving fake deaths.

The real lives of pro wrestlers, as the Benoit tragedy illustrates, are far more disturbing than anything they could act out in the ring.

Two years ago, Eddie Guerrero was found dead in his Minneapolis hotel room — medical examiners ruled Guerrero had an enlarged heart, a result of the anabolic steroids he had abused. In 2003, Miss Elizabeth — the girlfriend of former WCW champion Lex Luger and a one-time fixture in the sport — overdosed on a combination of pain pills and alcohol. That same year, Curt “Mr. Perfect” Henning died of a cocaine overdose. And in 1999, Owen Hart died while trying to perform a stunt during a pay-per-view event — the show went on, and because pro wrestling is always full of theatrics, the viewing audience had no idea the mishap it had just witnessed resulted in a real death.

“Personally, I thought the [McMahon] story line was in extremely poor taste from the start,” said Phil Lowe, editor of WrestleMag.com, the largest wrestling Web site in the United Kingdom. “I’d like to think a story line such as this should never even be considered again and that the company now focuses on wrestling over far-fetched story lines, as well as paying more attention to the well-being of those who play a massive role in ensuring that the company is such a massive success.”

Although pro wrestling makes no illusions about its purpose, the countless deaths suggest it’s time to scrutinize what goes on there with the same seriousness as in the NBA or NFL. Pro wrestling is still sports entertainment, which doesn’t make it all that different from the sports leagues that don’t have predetermined outcomes.

It took Jose Canseco’s book, “Juiced,” and the BALCO scandal to get Congress to question officials from the NBA, NFL and Major League Baseball. How many more pro wrestlers have to die before Congress gives McMahon, who was charged with conspiring to distribute steroids to his wrestlers, a phone call?

“Depending on what comes out from [Benoit’s] toxicology reports, we could see changes implemented or at least changes called for,” Lowe said.

Although steroids are poised to be the banner issue that emerges from the Benoit tragedy, the changes that need to be implemented should go further than just drug testing, which WWE already has.

As we’ve seen with the retired NFL players who have taken their plight to the government, the mental strain that comes from competing in brutal sports — and despite its being programmed, you could argue pro wrestling is as physically taxing as professional football — can be debilitating, whether steroids are involved or not.

Many pro wrestlers, as shown in the stunning 1999 documentary “Beyond the Mat,” lead lives that are demoralizing, not glamorous. In that documentary, we learn that Jake “The Snake” Roberts — whose signature “DDT” move I tried many times as a kid — is just a lonely cocaine addict estranged from his family. Based on the things in “Beyond the Mat,” we should almost be surprised when a pro wrestler doesn’t die tragically.

“Ultimately, every guy is responsible for his or her own actions,” Lowe said. “That said, some of these guys — especially those at the top of the tree — are under huge pressure to keep in shape and maintain their physical condition while burning themselves out on the road 200-plus days a year.”

It seems the drama in pro wrestling isn’t as fake as we’d like to believe.

Page 2 columnist Jemele Hill can be reached at jemeleespn@gmail.com.

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http://www.thehawkeye.com/Story/t0257_BC_JimLitke_062807_06_28_0746

Maybe pro wrestling has lost control of the script

Hucksters make their living ahead of the curve, or at the very least, by selling that illusion.

So there was something satisfying about watching pro wrestling czar Vince McMahon being forced to come clean, if only this once.

McMahon repeated that assertion in the interview, and he might be right about that, too. The shame is he didn’t stop there.

“There’s a rush to judgment,” McMahon said. “There’s almost a hysteria around us.”

In case anybody is still wondering why that is, tragedy seems to find its way into pro wrestling more often than called for in McMahon’s feverish scripts.

In 1999, real life intruded on wrestling’s art when Owen Hart was killed trying to perform a stunt during a pay-per-view event. The audience had no idea Hart’s death was real — not just a stunt — in large part because the show continued.

Wrestling is hardly our only diversion that destroys bodies at an alarming rate, as the testimony of a handful of former NFL players before Congress this week reminds us. It’s not the only one, either, pressuring its participants to pop pills — and worse — in pursuit of ever-bigger and more spectacular performances. Just think of all the witnesses from baseball, bookended by the odd couple of commissioner Bud Selig and superstar-turned-informant Jose Canseco, who have made appearances before lawmakers over the last few years. And stories about well-off celebrities who have trouble handling fame and fortune are so numerous they’ve become a cottage industry.

If there’s a hysteria around his “sport,” all he has to do is pause in front of a mirror to find the huckster who’s responsible.

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http://www.journalreview.com/articles/2007/06/28/viewpoints/01sam.txt

Wrestling champion will be remembered as murderer

By Sam King

Posted: Thursday, June 28, 2007 11:43 PM EDT

I used to watch professional wrestling, not unlike most teenage boys who begin to fill up with testosterone.

Once wrestling promoters got past the Hulk Hogan positive messages to take vitamins â€” while selling Hulk Hogan ice cream bars to those same kids â€” and allowed the athletes to be themselves, wrestling took off. After all, itâ€™s easier to act like yourself than act like a warrior from â€œparts unknown.â€

One of the newer generation pro wrestlers who never had a goofy gimmick was Chris Benoit. Benoit elected to use his real name, had a real hometown and a real family who came to the matches.

Recently, wrestlers have been dropping like flies, many dying with links to steroid use. Benoit died this week, but not before strangling his wife and 7-year old son, who was mentally retarded, and placing Bibles next to their limp bodies. He then hanged himself from a weight pulley cable in his home, where police later found the three dead.

Not surprisingly, steroids are linked to the case. Benoit suffered from low testosterone levels, a sign of previous steroid use. Steroids were found in the Benoit home and may be the cause of a violent rage, officials said. Another possible link is a career of blows to the head causing concussions and leading to erratic behavior.

Following the news of Benoitâ€™s death, World Wrestling Entertainment â€” Benoitâ€™s employer, canceled its Monday Night Raw show and instead replaced it with a three-hour tribute to the 40-year old former champion.

This seemed logical. When someone with fame, who has brought money into your company based on their likeness dies, you recognize his accomplishments in a tributary matter. Benoit goes out appearing as a legend.

That legendary status lasted one day. After news of Benoit spread, WWE President Vincent McMahon issued an apology for the tribute show. McMahon disallowed the use of Benoitâ€™s name on a Tuesday show, other than an opening statement issuing the apology.

Benoit did not go out on top. The WWE quickly pulled his DVD â€œHard Knocks: The Chris Benoit Storyâ€ from shelves and all Benoit merchandise was pulled from the WWE Web site.

First thought to be a triple homicide case, the murder-suicide will be Benoitâ€™s lasting image.

He is not a hero, who comes to the ring to suppress evil villains to the delight of wrestling fans around the world. He used to be. Had Benoit died from steroids and that alone, thatâ€™s how heâ€™d still be viewed. Itâ€™s unfortunate, but true. Eddie Guerrero, a close friend of Benoitâ€™s, died of steroid use. Guerrero is still often mentioned and given tributes by the WWE.

All Benoit had to do was be that guy. As sad as it is, had he killed himself and himself alone, heâ€™d still go out a hero. But he had to go after his wife and son. He had to send a message of terror to all those who have family members taking steroids, or have suffered blows to the head.

When you remember the name Chris Benoit, it will be killer instead of wrestling champion.

Sam King is the Journal Reviewâ€™s assistant editor. He can be e-mailed at sking@jrpress.com.

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http://sports.aol.com/fanhouse/2007/06/28/joanie-laurer-chyna-bashes-vince-mcmahon-wwe-in-chris-benoit/

Joanie Laurer (chyna) Blasts Vince McMahon, WWE in Chris Benoit Murder-Suicide

Michael David SmithPosted Jun 28th 2007 6:28PM by Michael David Smith

Filed under: Fighting

Whether steroids, the WWE or its owner Vince McMahon deserve any blame for the murder-suicide involving pro wrestler Chris Benoit will be a subject of great debate in the coming weeks.

Count the former pro wrestler Joanie Laurer, better known as Chyna, among those who think McMahon and the culture of pro wrestling deserve a great deal of blame.

In an interview on Jim Rome’s radio show, Laurer said there’s a lot of blame to go around, and McMahon deserves a lot of it.

Â She said that she thinks steroids, depression, and mental stress were probably the main factors in Benoit doing what he did. She also blasted WWE and Vince McMahon, saying that McMahon tends to wash his hands of any tragedy that happens in WWE and that she has no respect for Vince McMahon.

Laurer also said the WWE hid Benoit’s problems and described her own negative experiences in wrestling. Dozens of ex-wrestlers despise McMahon, and we will no doubt hear from many of them after this tragedy.

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http://www.jossip.com/drugs/chris-benoit-wrestled-with-severe-depression-20070628/

Newsflash: Chris Benoit â€˜Wrestledâ€™ With Severe Depression

WWE To Media: ‘Enough With The ‘Roid Rage, Already’

June 28th, 2007

Sometimes, when something horrible happens, people cope with the tragedy by trying to find someoneâ€”or somethingâ€”to blame. Which explains why, in the wake of WWE wrestler Chris Benoitâ€™s gruesome double murder-suicide, everyoneâ€™s latching onto the popular notion that steroids made him do it.

But just because thatâ€™s what everyoneâ€™s saying doesnâ€™t mean itâ€™s the truth.

As Jim Varsallone of the Miami Herald writes, â€œThat the violence went on for an extended period indicates it was not a â€˜roid rageâ€™ sparked by steroid use, according to WWE and others.â€

And while weâ€™re on the subject of â€˜roid rage, did you know that it kinda, sorta maybe doesnâ€™t even exist?

Â Â Â From Wikipedia: â€˜One of the most common misconceptions regarding the side effects of anabolic steroids is known as `roid rage.â€™ There seems to be little or no evidence such a condition actually exists. Some early studies done have shown a slight correlation between manic symptoms and anabolic steroid use.

Â Â Â â€˜However more comprehensive and recent studies have brought into question their methodology and conclusions. The majority of recent studies done on angry behavior and anabolic steroid use show no psychological effect, implying that either `roid rageâ€™ does not exist or that anabolic steroidsâ€™ effects on aggression are too small to be measured.

On top of that, less than three months back, Benoit passed a random drug test with flying colors, testing negative for use of anabolic steroids, legal or illegal drugs.

So letâ€™s review the evidence:

1) Scientifically, thereâ€™s no such thing as â€˜roid rage.

2) Even if there is such a thing as â€˜roid rage (which, for the record, there isnâ€™t) that has nothing to do with Benoit seeing as he wasnâ€™t taking steroids.

3) Even if Benoit was taking steroids, thereâ€™s no way that the â€˜roid rage theory would explain the meticulous planning and premeditation that preceded his acts of violence.

And so on, and so forth.

Sometimes, as it happens, it takes a comedic mind to give us perspective on even the most serious of tragedies. And since this certainly isnâ€™t the first time the media has rushed to find meaning in meaningless tragedy (think Virginia Tech, for example) and, unfortunately, it wonâ€™t be the last, we bring you the immortalâ€”and unexpectedly poignantâ€”words of Chris Rock:

Â Â Â Everybody wants to know what the kids was listening to. What kind of music was they listening to? Or what kind of movies was they watching?

Â Â Â Who gives a fuck what they was watching? Whatever happened to crazy? What, you canâ€™t be crazy no more? Did we eliminate â€crazyâ€ from the dictionary?

Now do we really want to blame this entire thing on steroids, or do we want to try and find a cause in Chris Benoitâ€™s library, or his CD or DVD collection?

Or, on the other hand, do we want to accept that sometimes mental illness (particularly in athletes, celebrities or public figures) is often overlooked and figure out how to look for the early warning signs next time, instead of trying to piece together what happened after the fact?

The choice is yours.

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http://www.tmz.com/2007/06/29/who-knew-about-benoit-murders-before-cops/

Who Knew About Benoit Deaths Before Cops?

Posted Jun 29th 2007 8:08AM by TMZ Staff

Filed under: Let’s Get This Party Started

Chris BenoitSomeone knew that Chris Benoit’s wife had been killed before her body was found — and wrote about it in a chilling message on the wrestler’s Wikipedia page.

Just after midnight on Monday morning, reports FOX News, Benoit’s Wiki entry read, “Chris Benoit was not [at a WWE event the Saturday before] due to personal issues, stemming from the death of his wife Nancy.” But the bodies of Nancy Benoit and their son weren’t found until 2:30 PM that afternoon, more than 13 hours after the Wikipedia entry.

The report of the death was questioned by Wiki overseers, though it reappeared via a wireless device later. One lead has trickled back to Stamford, CT, home of the WWE, though there’s not evidence that anyone there made the change. A WWE lawyer says, “I have no idea who posted this.”

*** *** ***

Sunday, July 1, 2007 (DISH Network)

Sunday, July 8, 2007 (TVN)

Friday, July 20, 2007 (in-Demand)

ROH Respect Is Earned PPV, Manhattan Center, New York, NY

1.Â Â Â Â Â Â Takeshi Morishima & Bryan Danielson vs. Nigel McGuinness & KENTA

2.Â Â Â Â Â Â ROH World Tag Team Title Match:Â Jay & Mark Briscoe vs. Claudio Castagnoli & Matt Sydal

3.Â Â Â Â Â Â Roderick Strong vs. Delirious

4.Â Â Â Â Â Â Rocky Romero vs. Naomichi Marufuji

5.Â Â Â Â Â Â ROH World Title Match:Â Takeshi Morishima vs. BJ Whitmer

UFC 73 – Stacked – Saturday July 7, 2007 – ARCO Arena, Sacramento CA

1.Â Â Â Â Â Â UFC Middleweight Championship Bout:Â Nate Marquardt vs. Anderson Silva

2.Â Â Â Â Â Â UFC Lightweight Championship Bout:Â Hermes Franca vs. Sean Sherk

3.Â Â Â Â Â Â Rashad Evans vs. Tito Ortiz

4.Â Â Â Â Â Â Alvin Robinson vs. Kenny Florian

5.Â Â Â Â Â Â Heath Herring vs. Minotauro Nogueira

6.Â Â Â Â Â Â Mike Nickels vs. Stephan Bonnar (Dark)

7.Â Â Â Â Â Â Diego Saraiva vs. Jorge Gurgel (Dark)

8.Â Â Â Â Â Â Drew Fickett vs. Chris Lytle (Dark)

9.Â Â Â Â Â Â Mark Bocek vs. Frank Edgar (Dark)

TNA Victory Road 2007 – Sunday July 15, 2007 – iMPACT! Zone, Orlando FL

1.Â Â Â Â Â Â All titles on the line:Â Kurt Angle & Samoa Joe vs. Team 3-D (Brother Ray & Devon)

2.Â Â Â Â Â Â (rumored) Rhino vs. James Storm

3.Â Â Â Â Â Â (rumored) Christian Cage vs. Chris Harris

4.Â Â Â Â Â Â (rumored) Abyss vs. Tomko

5.Â Â Â Â Â Â (rumored) Sting vs. Aj Styles

WWE Great American Bash 2007 – Sunday July 22, 2007 – H.P. Pavilion, San Jose, CA

*** *** ***

ROH (Ring Of Honor – www.rohwrestling.com)

Monday July 16, 2007

Tokyo Differ Ariake (1-3-25 Ariake, Koto-Ku Tokyo, JapanÂ 135-0063)

Co-Promotional show with Pro Wrestling NOAH

1.Â Â Â Â Â Â ROH World Title Match:Â Takeshi Morishima vs. Nigel McGuinness

2.Â Â Â Â Â Â Jay & Mark Briscoe & Naomichi Marufuji vs. KENTA, Ricky Marvin & Matt Sydal

3.Â Â Â Â Â Â FIGHT WITHOUT HONOR~!~!~!: Delirious vs. Roderick Strong

4.Â Â Â Â Â Â Jack Evans & Kotaro Suzuki vs. Davey Richards & Rocky Romero

5.Â Â Â Â Â Â Bryan Danielson vs. Go Shiosaki

6.Â Â Â Â Â Â Jimmy Rave vs. BJ Whitmer

Tuesday July 17, 2007

Osaka Furitsu Taiikukan (3-4-36, Nanba Naka, Naniwa-ku, Osaka, Japan 06-6331-0121)

06-6331-0121Co-Promotional show with Dragon Gate

1.Â Â Â Â Â Â ROH World Tag Team Titles Match: Shingo Takagi & YAMATO vs. Jay & Mark Briscoe

2.Â Â Â Â Â Â CIMA & KENTAÂ vs. Davey Richards & Rocky Romero

3.Â Â Â Â Â Â Delirious, Masato Yoshino & Naruki Doi vs. Matt Sydal, Dragon Kid & Ryo Saito

4.Â Â Â Â Â Â Nigel McGuiness vs. BJ Whitmer

5.Â Â Â Â Â Â Bryan Danielson vs. Jimmy Rave

6.Â Â Â Â Â Â Jack Evans vs. Roderick Strong

Friday July 27, 2007

Deer Park Community Center (41 Homer Avenue Deer Park, NY 11729 moved from Sports Plus Entertainment Center)

8:00pm

Race To The Top Tournament – Night One

1.Â Â Â Â Â Â ROH World Tag Team Titles Match:Â Jay & Mark Briscoe vs. Bryan Danielson & Nigel McGuinness

2.Â Â Â Â Â Â Race To The Top Tournament – First Round Match:Â TBA vs. TBA

3.Â Â Â Â Â Â Race To The Top Tournament – First Round Match:Â TBA vs. TBA

4.Â Â Â Â Â Â Race To The Top Tournament – First Round Match:Â TBA vs. TBA

5.Â Â Â Â Â Â Race To The Top Tournament – First Round Match:Â TBA vs. TBA

6.Â Â Â Â Â Â Race To The Top Tournament – First Round Match:Â TBA vs. TBA

7.Â Â Â Â Â Â Race To The Top Tournament – First Round Match:Â TBA vs. TBA

8.Â Â Â Â Â Â Race To The Top Tournament – First Round Match:Â TBA vs. TBA

9.Â Â Â Â Â Â Race To The Top Tournament – First Round Match:Â TBA vs. TBA

Race to the Top Tournament participants:Â

1.Â Â Â Â Â Â Jack Evans

2.Â Â Â Â Â Â BJ Whitmer

3.Â Â Â Â Â Â Brent Albright

4.Â Â Â Â Â Â Chris Hero

5.Â Â Â Â Â Â Claudio Castagnoli

6.Â Â Â Â Â Â Davey Richards

7.Â Â Â Â Â Â Delirious

8.Â Â Â Â Â Â El Generico

9.Â Â Â Â Â Â Erick Stevens

10.Â Â Â Hallowicked

11.Â Â Â Jigsaw

12.Â Â Â Kevin Steen

13.Â Â Â Matt Cross

14.Â Â Â Matt Sydal

15.Â Â Â Mike Quackenbush

16.Â Â Â Pelle Primeau

Already signed:Â Roderick Strong, Austin Aries, Jimmy Rave, Gran Akuma, Daizee Haze and more!!!

Saturday July 28, 2007

Inman Sports Club (990 Inman Avenue Edison; NJ)

7:30pm

Race To The Top Tournament – Night Two

Already signed:Â Jay & Mark Briscoe; Bryan Danielson; Nigel McGuinness; Roderick Strong; Matt Cross; Erick Stevens; Jimmy Rave; Larry Sweeney; Matt Sydal; Delirious; Claudio Castagnoli; Jigsaw; Gran Akuma; Hallowicked

Friday August 10, 2007

Roxbury Community College – Reggie Lewis Track and Athletic Ctr (1350 Tremont St Roxbury Crossing, MA 02120)

8:00pm

Death Before Dishonor V – Night One

1.Â Â Â Â Â Â ROH World Title Match:Â Claudio Castagnoli vs. ROH World Champion

2.Â Â Â Â Â Â ROH World Tag Team Title Match – Boston Street Fight:Â Jay & Mark Briscoe vs. Kevin Steen & El Generico in a Boston Street Fight

Already signed: Nigel McGuinness; Roderick Strong; Rocky Romero; Davey Richards; Chris Hero; Larry Sweeney; Tank Toland; Bobby Dempsey; Erick Stevens; Brent Albright; Jimmy Rave; BJ Whitmer; Matt Sydal; Daizee Haze

Saturday August 11, 2007

Pennsylvania National Guard Armory (2700 Southampton Rd, Philadelphia, PA)

7:30pm

Death Before Dishonor V – Night Two

1.Â Â Â Â Â Â ROH World Title Match:Â Brent Albright vs. ROH World Champion

2.Â Â Â Â Â Â Philadelphia Street Fight:Â No Remorse Corps (Roderick Strong, Davey Richards & Rocky Romero) vs. Delirious, Erick Stevens & Matt Cross

Already signed: Mike Quackenbush; Jay & Mark Briscoe; Nigel McGuinness; Chris Hero; Larry Sweeney; Tank Toland; Bobby Dempsey; El Generico; Kevin Steen; Jimmy Rave; BJ Whitmer; Matt Sydal; Daizee Haze; Claudio Castagnoli

Friday August 24, 2007

Connecticut Expo Center (265 Reverend Moody Overpass, Hartford, CT)

8:00pm

Saturday August 25, 2007

Manhattan Center Grand Ballroom (311 West 34th St. New York, NY)

7:30pm

Friday September 14, 2007

Michigan State Fairgrounds & Expo Center (1120 W. State Fair Ave, Detroit, MI)

8:00pm

Saturday September 15, 2007

Frontier Park Field House (9807 S. Sayre Avenue Chicago Ridge, IL)

7:30pm

PPV Taping #3

Friday November 30, 2007

Montgomery County Fairgrounds (1043 S. Main St, Dayton, OH)

8:00pm

*** *** ***

PWG (Pro Wrestling Guerrilla – http://www.prowrestlingguerrilla.com)

Sunday July 29, 2007

Fourth Anniversary Show

1.Â Â Â Â Â Â Non-Sanctioned Street Fight (Scorpio’s reinstatement or banishment!):Â Joey Ryan vs. Scorpio Sky

Friday August 31, 2007

2007 Battle of Los Angeles – Night One

Saturday September 1, 2007

2007 Battle of Los Angeles – Night Two

Sunday September 2, 2007

2007 Battle of Los Angeles – Night Three

24 2007 BOLA Participants

1.Â Â Â Â Â Â Joey Ryan

2.Â Â Â Â Â Â Doug Williams

3.Â Â Â Â Â Â Susumu Yokosuka

4.Â Â Â Â Â Â Dragon Kid

5.Â Â Â Â Â Â “Photogenic” Chris Bosh

6.Â Â Â Â Â Â Davey Richards

7.Â Â Â Â Â Â Jimmy Rave

8.Â Â Â Â Â Â Chris Hero

9.Â Â Â Â Â Â Human Tornado

10.Â Â Â Jack Evans

11.Â Â Â Tyler Black

12.Â Â Â El Generico

13.Â Â Â Pac

14.Â Â Â Roderick Strong

15.Â Â Â Matt Sydal

16.Â Â Â Scott Lost

17.Â Â Â Claudio Castagnoli

18.Â Â Â SHINGO

19.Â Â Â Kevin Steen

20.Â Â Â Bryan Danielson

21.Â Â Â Super Dragon

22.Â Â Â Rocky Romero

23.Â Â Â Nigel McGuinness

24.Â Â Â CIMA

*** *** ***

FIP (Full Impact Pro – http://www.fullimpactpro.com)

TONIGHT~!Â Friday June 29, 2007

Eau Gallie High School (1400 Commodore Blvd., Melbourne, FL 32735)

8:00 pm

Hot Summer Nights Tour

1.Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â FIP Heavyweight Title – No DQ Match:Â Roderick Strong vs. Jimmy Rave

2.Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Melbourne Street Fight:Â The YRR (Kenny King, Chasyn Rance & Sal Rinauro) vs. The Heartbreak Express & Steve Madison

3.Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â FIP Florida Heritage Title Match:Â Damien Wayne vs. Erick Stevens

Already signed:Â Mad Man Pondo, Black Market, Allison Danger, Larry Sweeney, Gran Akuma, Hallowicked, Jigsaw, Sara Del Rey, Eddie Kingston, Daizee Haze, Jason Blade, Irish Airborne (Jake & Dave Crist), Seth Delay, Jerrelle Clark, Lexie Fyfe, Malia Hosaka, Rex Sterling, Ricky Vega, Serena Deeb, Portia Perez

TONMORROW~! Saturday June 30, 2007

National Guard Armory (8551 W. Venable St., Crystal River, FL)

8:00 pm

Hot Summer Nights Tour

1.Â Â Â Â Â Â FIP Heavyweight Title (if Strong is still champion):Â Roderick Strong vs. Eddie Kingston

2.Â Â Â Â Â Â IP Florida Heritage Title Match (if Stevens is still champion):Â Erick Stevens vs. Jigsaw

3.Â Â Â Â Â Â Sara Del Rey, Allison Danger & Daizee Haze vs. Amazing Kong, Lacey & Rain

Already signed: Jimmy Rave, Mad Man Pondo, Sal Rinauro, Kenny King, Chasyn Rance, Becky Bayless, Black Market , Larry Sweeney, The Heartbreak Express, Gran Akuma, Hallowicked, Steve Madison, Jason Blade, Irish Airborne, Seth Delay, Damien Wayne, Jerrelle Clark, Tiana Ringer, Rex Sterling, Nikki Roxx, Cindy Rogers

Upcoming FIP shows

August 17 – Crystal River, FL

August 18 – Arcadia, FL

September 28 – Inverness, FL

September 29 – Crystal River, FL

November 16 – Crystal River, FL

November 17 – Arcadia, FL

December 7 – Melbourne, FL

December 8 – Crystal River, FL

*** *** ***

CZW (Combat Zone Wrestling – www.czwrestling.com)

Saturday July 14, 2007

New Alhambra Sports & Entertainment Center (7 Ritner Street Philadelphia, PA)

8pm

Best of the Best VII – Leave It All….In The Ring

1.Â Â Â Â Â Â Necro Butcher, Toby Klein and Danny Havoc vs. Mitch Ryder, DJ Hyde and Brain Damage

16 Man 2007 Best of The Best Tournament (8 first round singles matches, 2 four way elimination semi-finals, one final)

1.Â Â Â Â Â Â Chuck Taylor

2.Â Â Â Â Â Â Vito Thomaselli

3.Â Â Â Â Â Â Drake Younger

4.Â Â Â Â Â Â Sal Thomaselli

5.Â Â Â Â Â Â Brandon Thomaselli

6.Â Â Â Â Â Â Ruckus

7.Â Â Â Â Â Â Cheech

8.Â Â Â Â Â Â Ricochet

9.Â Â Â Â Â Â B-Boy

10.Â Â Â The Human Tornado

11.Â Â Â Sabian

12.Â Â Â Scotty Vortekz

13.Â Â Â Cloudy

14.Â Â Â Jigsaw

Upcoming CZW Shows

August 11, 2007

September 8, 2007

October 13, 2007

November 10, 2007

December 8, 2007

*** *** ***

JAPW (Jersey All Pro Wrestling – www.japw.net)

Saturday July 21, 2007

St. Joseph‘s School Gymnasium (865 Roosevelt Ave Carteret, NJ)

7:30 pm

ULTIMATE RUMBLE II

1.Â Â Â Â Â Â 2007 JAPW Ultimate Rumble Match:Â Monsta Mac, The Grim Reefer, Danny Demanto, Archadia, Deranged, Bandido Jr.

2.Â Â Â Â Â Â JAPW Championship:Â Low Ki vs. winner of the Ultimate Rumble

3.Â Â Â Â Â Â Gail Kim vs. Alicia

4.Â Â Â Â Â Â NJ State Championship Match: The Grim Reefer vs. TBA

Also signed; Style and Finesse (Donovan & Vegas), Mo Sexton

*** *** ***

IWA-MS (IWA Mid South – www.iwamidsouthwrestling.com)

Capital Sports Center (1915 Gladden Road Plainfield, IN)

TOMORROW~! Saturday June 30, 2007

New Alhambra Sports & Entertainment Center (7 Ritner Street Philadelphia, PA)

POINT PROVEN!

1.Â Â Â Â Â Â Tough Crazy Bastards (Necro Butcher & Toby Klein) vs. Low-Ki & Homicide

2.Â Â Â Â Â Â The Kings of Wrestling (Chris Hero & Claudio Castagnoli) vs. BLK OUT (Ricky Reyes & Sabian)

3.Â Â Â Â Â Â Tag Team Scramble TLC Match for IWA Tag Titles:Â The Iron Saints (Vito & Sal Thomaselli) vs. Team PWU (Johnny Kashmere & Devon Moore) vs. Naptown Dragons (Vortekz & xOMGx (substitute for Diehard))

4.Â Â Â Â Â Â Drake Younger vs. Hotstuff Hernandez

5.Â Â Â Â Â Â IWA-MS Heavyweight Championship Match:Â Chuck Taylor vs. Josh Abercrombie

6.Â Â Â Â Â Â Two out of Three Falls Match:Â Matt Sydal vs. Human Tornado

7.Â Â Â Â Â Â 4 Team Hardcore Rumble (2 teams start out for the first 5 minutes then every 2 minutes after that, another team gets added to the mix. The tag team that wins gets an invite to the Double Death Tag Team Tournament in November):Â The Devil’s Rejects (TANK & ICEBERG) vs. Vulgar Display of Power (Brain Damage & Deranged) vs. Six Feet Under (Insane Lane & Freak Show) vs. Children of Pain (Jacob Ladder & Darrin Childs)

8.Â Â Â Â Â Â Tracy Smothers vs. “Black Machismo” Jay Lethal

9.Â Â Â Â Â Â IWA-MS Womens Championship Match:Â Mickie Knuckles vs. Rachel (Putski) Summerlyn

10.Â Â Â Arrogance (Scott Lost & Chris Bosh) vs. Up in Smoke (Cheech & Cloudy)

Cancelled:Â Matt Sydal vs. Tiger Mask, Chuck Taylor vs. Matt Sydal, 30 minute iron man match:Â Mike Quackenbush vs. Claudio Castagnoli, Super Dragon, Kevin Steen & TBA vs. Joey Ryan, Chris Bosh & Scott Lost, Davey Richards vs. Chris Hero, Tag Team Scramble TLC Match for IWA Tag Titles:Â The Iron Saints (Vito & Sal Thomaselli) vs. Team PWU (Johnny Kashmere & Devon Moore) vs. Pretty Unreal (Elgin & Ash) vs. Naptown Dragons (Vortekz & Diehard)

Saturday July 21, 2007

Hartman Rec Center (511 Collins Street Joliet, IL)

8pm

Saturday July 28, 2007

Don Preston Rec Center (14500 Kostner Avenue Midlothian, IL)

7:30pm

Saturday August 4, 2007

Capital Sports Center (1915 Gladden Road Plainfield, IN)

8pm

1.Â Â Â Â Â Â Anything goes, fans bring the weapons:Â Ian Rotten, Corporal Robinson & Drake Younger vs. Insane Lane, Freak Â Show & Tank

Sunday August 19, 2007

The Venue (800 Lexington Ave. San Antonio, TX)

1.Â Â Â Â Â Â Low Ki & Hotstuff Hernandez vs. Necro Butcher & Masada

2.Â Â Â Â Â Â Mickie Knuckles vs. Jazz

Saturday September 8, 2007

Capital Sports Center (1915 Gladden Road Plainfield, IN)

8pm

Kings of Extreme

Friday September 28, 2007

Don Preston Rec Center (14500 Kostner Avenue Midlothian, IL)

Ted Petty Invitational 2007 – Night One

1.Â Â Â Â Â Â 2007 TPI – Round One:Â Samoa Joe vs. Low Ki

24 Participants:Â

1.Â Â Â Â Â Â Chris Hero

2.Â Â Â Â Â Â Mike Quackenbush

3.Â Â Â Â Â Â Claudio Castagnoli

4.Â Â Â Â Â Â Matt Sydal

5.Â Â Â Â Â Â Davey Richards

6.Â Â Â Â Â Â Alex Shelley

7.Â Â Â Â Â Â Low Ki

8.Â Â Â Â Â Â Samoa Joe

9.Â Â Â Â Â Â Eddie Kingston

10.Â Â Â BJ Whitmer

11.Â Â Â Nigel McGuinness

12.Â Â Â Joey Ryan

13.Â Â Â Drake Younger

14.Â Â Â Billy Roc

15.Â Â Â Human Tornado

Saturday September 29, 2007

Don Preston Rec Center (14500 Kostner Avenue Midlothian, IL)

Ted Petty Invitational 2007 – Night Two

*** *** ***

IWC (International Wrestling Cartel – www.IWCwrestling.com)

Saturday July 7, 2007

Court Time Sports Cener (95 Enterprise St., Elizabeth, PA 15037)

7:30pm

Summer Sizzler 4

1.Â Â Â Â Â Â Samoa Joe vs. Raymond Rowe

2.Â Â Â Â Â Â IWC World Heavyweight Title Match:Â Dennis Gregory vs. Ricky Reyes

3.Â Â Â Â Â Â Babyface Fire (Shiima Xion & Jason Gory) vs. Ernie Osirus & Alex SUGARFOOT~! Payne

4.Â Â Â Â Â Â No Rules Match:Â Jon Bolen vs. Brent Albright

5.Â Â Â Â Â Â IWC Super Indy Championship Match:Â “Sweet N Sour” Larry Sweeney vs. “Fabulous” John McChesney

6.Â Â Â Â Â Â IWC World Tag Team Titles:Â Michael “The Bomber” Facade & Johnny Gargano vs. Mickey & Marshall Gambino

7.Â Â Â Â Â Â Jason Gory vs. Troy Lords

8.Â Â Â Â Â Â Sexual Harassment (“The Aerial Icon” Justin Idol & “The Sexual Icon” Eric Xtasy )vs. Hollywood Balds (Vendetta & “DeeeeeLicious” Jimmy DeMarco)

Saturday July 21, 2007

Ellsworth Ballfied (Ellsworth, PA 15331)

6:00pm

Basebrawl 2007

Already signed: Abyss, Eric Young

*** *** ***

CHIKARA (Chikara Pro Wrestling – www.chikarapro.com)

Saturday July 21, 2007

Knights of Columbus Hall (279 Quinnipiac St.Â Wallingford, CT)

Showdown in CrisisLand!

1.Â Â Â Â Â Â Lince Dorado vs. Chris Hero

2.Â Â Â Â Â Â The Colony (Soldier Ant, Fire Ant & Worker Ant) vs. The Kings Of Wrestling (Icarus, Gran Akuma, Maxime Boyer)

3.Â Â Â Â Â Â Los Ice Creams (El Hijo del Ice Cream & Ice Cream, Jr.) vs. The Olsen Twins

4.Â Â Â Â Â Â Cheech & Cloudy & Hallowicked vs. The Order Of The Neo-Solar Temple (UltraMantis Black & the man monster Hydra & Crossbones)

Sunday August 5, 2007

New Alhambra Sports & Entertainment Center (7 Ritner Street Philadelphia, PA)

4pm

Maximum Overdraft

1.Â Â Â Â Â Â Best 2 out of 3 falls:Â Sara Del Ray vs. Daizee Haze

Friday August 17, 2007

Riverside Beneficial Assoc. (1742 Pear Street Reading, PA)

Here Come the International Invaders: 1st Stage – Attack of the Phantom Sith

Saturday August 18th, 2007

American Legion Hall (935 Main St. Hellertown, PA)

Here Come the International Invaders: 2nd Stage – Revenge of the Clone Menace

*** *** ***

UWA Hardcore (UWA Hardcore Pro Wrestling – www.uwahardcorewrestling.com)

*** *** ***

SHIMMER (SHIMMER Women Athletes – www.shimmerwrestling.com)

SUNDAY~!Â Sunday, July 1, 2007

Citrus County Auditorium (3610 S. Florida Ave. Inverness, FL 34452)

6pm

Hot Summer Nights!

1.Â Â Â Â Â Â SHIMMER Title Match:Â Sara Del Rey vs. Lacey

2.Â Â Â Â Â Â Amazing Kong vs. Nikki Roxx

3.Â Â Â Â Â Â 2 out of 3 falls match:Â Cindy Rogers vs. Allison Danger

4.Â Â Â Â Â Â MsChif vs. Daizee Haze

5.Â Â Â Â Â Â Cheerleader Melissa vs. Rain

6.Â Â Â Â Â Â Lexie Fyfe vs. Daffney

7.Â Â Â Â Â Â Portuguese Princess Ariel vs. Amber O’Neal

8.Â Â Â Â Â Â Serena Deeb vs. Malika Hosaka

Saturday, October 13th, 2007

Eagles Club (6309 26th Street Berwyn, IL)

4pm

*** *** ***

UWF (United Wrestling Federation – www.uwfusa.com)

*** *** ***

OVW (Ohio Valley Wrestling – http://www.ovwrestling.com)

TONIGHT~! Friday June 29, 2007

Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom

1.Â Â Â Â Â Â Carlito vs. Idol Stevens

2.Â Â Â Â Â Â OVW Heavyweight Title Match;Â Jay Bradley vs. Chet The Jet

3.Â Â Â Â Â Â OVW Southern Tag Team Title Match:Â The Major Brothers vs. The James Boys

4.Â Â Â Â Â Â Strap Match:Â Cody Runnels vs. Shawn Spears

5.Â Â Â Â Â Â OVW Women’s Championship Match:Â ODB vs. Roucka

6.Â Â Â Â Â Â Bodyslam Challenge:Â Antoni Polaski vs. Steve Lewington

7.Â Â Â Â Â Â Colt BOOM BOOM~! Cabana vs. Vladimir Kozlov

Friday July 6, 2007

Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom

Special Guest:Â CM Punk

Friday July 13 2007

Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom

Special Guest: Cryme Tyme

Friday July 20 2007

Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom

Special Guest:Â Jerry Lawler

Friday July 27 2007

Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom

Special Guest:Â John Cena

Friday August 3 2007

Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom

Special Guest:Â Finlay

Friday August 10 2007

Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom

Special Guest:Â Matt & Jeff Hardy

*** *** ***

Dragon Gate WrestleJam lineups (courdsey of Jae at http://dgusa.puroresufan.com/)

Sunday July 15, 2007

Hakata Star Lanes (Fukuoka, Japan)

1.Â Â Â Â Â Â Gamma, Genki Horiguchi, Jimmy Rave vs. Masaaki Mochizuki, Lupin Matsutani, Jorge Rivera

2.Â Â Â Â Â Â Dragon Gate vs. Sekai Senbatsu Special Single Match: Taku Iwasa vs. Austin Aries

3.Â Â Â Â Â Â SHINGO, YAMATO, BxB Hulk, El Generico vs. CIMA, Susumu Yokosuka, Dragon Kid, PAC

Monday July 16, 2007

Takamatsu Symbol Tower 1st Floor Hall (Kagawa, Japan)

1.Â Â Â Â Â Â SHINGO, YAMATO, BxB Hulk vs. Masaaki Mochizuki, Yasushi Kanda, Austin Aries

2.Â Â Â Â Â Â Open the Brave Gate & PWG Double Title Match: Genki Horiguchi vs. El Generico

3.Â Â Â Â Â Â Naruki Doi, Masato Yoshino, Gamma, Muscle Gang vs. CIMA, Ryo Saito, Susumu Yokosuka, PAC

Wednesday July 18, 2007

Yokohama Red Brick (Kanagawa, Japan)

1.Â Â Â Â Â Â Genki Horiguchi, Gamma, Jimmy Rave vs. Susumu Yokosuka, Dragon Kid, PAC

2.Â Â Â Â Â Â Dragon Gate vs. Sekai Senbatsu: CIMA vs. El Generico

3.Â Â Â Â Â Â SHINGO, Cyber Kong, BxB Hulk, Jack Evans vs. Naruki Doi, Masato Yoshino, Muscle Gang, Dr. Muscle

Thursday July 19, 2007

Korakuen Hall (Tokyo, Japan)

1.Â Â Â Â Â Â BxB Hulk, Delirous vs. Ryo Saito, PAC

2.Â Â Â Â Â Â Dragon Gate vs. Sekai Senbatsu: SHINGO vs. Austin Aries

3.Â Â Â Â Â Â JAM CUP 2007 Naniwa-shiki Elimination 3 Way 8 Man Tag Match:Â CIMA, Dragon Kid, Susumu Yokosuka, Matt Sydal vs. Naruki Doi, Masato Yoshino, Muscle Gang, Jimmy Rave vs. YAMATO, Cyber Kong, Jack Evans, El Generico

Saturday July 21, 2007

Gifu Chamber of Commerce (Gifu, Japan)

1.Â Â Â Â Â Â Challenge Match: Akira Tozawa vs. Jorge Rivera

2.Â Â Â Â Â Â Dragon Gate vs. Sekai Senbatsu: Masaaki Mochizuki vs. Jimmy Rave

3.Â Â Â Â Â Â SHINGO, BxB Hulk, El Generico, Delirous vs.Ryo Saito, Dragon Kid, Matt Sydal, PAC

Sunday July 22, 2007

Kobe Sambo Hall (Hyogo, Japan)

1.Â Â Â Â Â Â Akira Tozawa, Taku Iwasa, Keni’chiro Arai vs. YAMATO, Jack Evans, El Generico

2.Â Â Â Â Â Â Dragon Gate vs. Sekai Senbatsu: Yasushi Kanda vs. Jorge Rivera

3.Â Â Â Â Â Â Masato Yoshino, Gamma, Jimmy Rave vs. Ryo Saito, Dragon Kid, Anthony W. Mori

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Dr. Keith Lipinski

Host Of The Dr. Keith Lipinski Show http://www.f4wonline.com
Head Of Talent Scouting – Wrestling Society X http://WSX.MTV.COM
MySpace http://www.myspace.com/vivalipinski