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WRESTLING GLOBE NEWSLETTER
Monday, May 3, 2010
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Wrestling Globe Newsletter by Mike Aldren – All the latest professional wrestling news and analysis direct to your inbox. WGN is read by industry power players, many top wrestlers and thousands of fans from around the world.
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WORLD WRESTLING ENTERTAINMENT
Raw is live tonight from Jacksonville, FL with Wayne Brady as the guest host. Nothing else has been announced at press time. There is also a Smackdown show tonight in Aiken, SC followed by the TV tapings on Tuesday in North Charleston.
***
Hall of Famer Tony Atlas, 56, was let go as creative has had nothing for him since the demise of the Abraham Washington show.
Jim Ross’ talent contract expired without a new agreement reached on 4/30. The company has offered him a behind the scenes role handling payroll duties, which he’s done for years, along with some other talent-related functions. “I am considering this offer and I trust that a decision will be made soon regarding this opportunity,” Ross wrote in his blog. “In the meantime, I am still interested in a variety of projects and opportunities.” He added, “While some may feel that it is in their best interest that I not remain in broadcasting, I do not share in that belief at this time.” Ross has been talking to HD Net of late about doing some broadcasting that could include MMA events. He also wrote that his dream job would be to provide play-by-play for the University of Oklahoma football and basketball teams.
Matt Hardy is off house show duty for the next few weeks to allow his body time to heal from injuries. He said he was hurt bad in Europe two week’s ago when Drew McIntyre rammed his shoulder into a ring post during a match. “It’s complicated, but it’s better to be safe than sorry,” he wrote on Twitter. “I’ll be making all the TVs for sure though. I’m sorry, I hate missing any WWE event. On the bright side, having some time off from beating my body up should help allow me to get my body back to where I want it physically.”
Kane comments on the travel issues during the recent European tour at http://tinyurl.com/35283sf. When asked about WWE’s PG direction, he said it’s a good thing and feels they are seeing more families coming to shows as a result.
If elected to Senate, Linda McMahon has pledged to forego accepting a paycheck, which would have been around $174,000 per annum. “Linda just doesn’t believe politics ought to be a cushy job that turns into a profession,” said Linda’s spokesman, Shawn McCoy. “There’s an enormous amount of work that needs to be done to get this country back on track beginning with job creation and tightening of government’s fiscal belt.
Her refusal to take a salary, I think, is an important symbolic gesture that underscores her principles on this.”
Bill Goldberg is interviewed at http://tinyurl.com/37e6ycl. He said WWE’s contract offer was something he would never accept but thought it would be awesome if they could get a deal done because he wants his young son to see him as an action figure. He added: “But that is not going to cloud my business judgment by any stretch of the imagination.
It’s been a while since I’ve been involved in the business. And I know there are a number of manufacturers out there that would love to get their hands on Goldberg products. And it’s, you know, I’m not like anybody else; I’m going to stand my ground and a deal will be done if it’s to my liking and to my liking only.”
The latest celebrities talked about for the guest host deal are NBA legend Michael Jordan and Pamela Anderson.
WWE.com posted an MTV Cribs-style look at The Miz‘ condo in Los Angeles at http://tinyurl.com/28javk6.
India’s Mid-Day at http://tinyurl.com/37bqgt4 interviewed Great Khali about his time in WWE, his future plans and how he snagged his wife. He says he owns 130 acres of land and plans to start farming after retirement from the entertainment business.
JBL attended a White House Correspondents Dinner over the weekend with wife Meredith Whitney. He dined at the same table as Academy Award winner Michael Douglas. Both families were guests of Foutune Magazine.
Slam Wrestling has a story on Jason Maschke, an indie wrestler from Ontario, and his decision to retire after recovering from a life-threatening injury suffered during a WWE tryout match in 2006.
Maschke collapsed during a match and was later diagnosed with a rare ailment called rhabdomyolysis, which releases dangerous proteins into the body, and if left untreated, can cause kidney failure. Story is at http://tinyurl.com/2uw2y2r.
Joey Styles wrote a blog at http://tinyurl.com/yajwp7j about the recent passing of Lena Buffone–the mother of Ron Buffone–who was producer of the original ECW television series. The Buffone’s home was featured in the Beyond the Mat where Paul Heyman, Styles, and others edited ECW TV.
Mike Mooneyham has a great article on Jack Swagger at http://tinyurl.com/274bcyr. Swagger says he wrestled on the same school team as Danny Hodge’s grandson. He said he’s studied all the great wrestlers to come out of Oklahoma like Hodge, Bill Watts, and Steve Williams.
Triple H was spotted at the Floyd Mayweather vs. Shane Mosley fight on Saturday night in Las Vegas.
A fan was ejected during the weekend Smackdown show in Knoxville for slapping CM Punk.
The former Paul Bearer, Percy Pringle, was backstage visiting friends at the weekend Raw show in his hometown of Mobile, AL
TOTAL NONSTOP ACTION WRESTLING
5/1 house show results from Greenwood, MS: Generation Me over The
Machine Guns; Brain Kendrick over Shannon Moore & Jay Lethal in a
three-way; The Beautiful People over Hamada & ODB; James Storm over Jeff
Jarrett; Abyss over Desmond Wolfe; and Jeff Hardy over AJ Styles.
Impact tonight is live from Orlando with RVD vs. either Desmond Wolfe or
Jeff Hardy for the heavyweight title based on the results of the new
online rankings (which they originally said would not take effect until
after the 5/16 pay-per-view); The Beautiful People vs. Tara, Taylor
Wilde & Sarita with the Knockouts title and Knockouts tag titles all on
the line; Beer Money vs. The Mchine Guns; plus, Hulk Hogan will “demand
answers” from Sting regarding his recent actions; Douglas Williams
returns, and the debut of Orlando Jordan’s new segment with Rob Terry as
his first guest.
***
A portion of the audio that got Bubba the Love Sponge fired is online at
http://tinyurl.com/2ujmu5k. We’ve had literally dozens of emails from
people inside and outside the business who are rejoicing Bubba’s firing.
Bubba is now blaming the wrestling media for his dismissal saying that
they worked TNA management into believing he did something wrong. That’s
a good one.
During his radio show this morning, Bubba noted that Dixie Carter sent
him an email which said TNA had a zero tolerance policy on racial
insensitivity. He then buried Dixie calling her a “mark bitch” and
accused her of making business decisions based on what online fans
wanted. He said TNA was below him and he thinks that the product sucks.
He claimed he’s talked to his attorney about about filing a lawsuit to
seek damages based on the incident where Awesome Kong attacked him
backstage in January.
Christopher Daniels is likely returning soon. The company recently
contacted him about working a per show basis opposed to the guaranteed
contract he was under before they decided to release him recently for
what was described as budget reasons.
Scott Steiner talks WWE and TNA at http://tinyurl.com/34228a3. He says
regarding TNA: “It pisses me off, the guys that they push to the
forefront… They’re basically puppets. It’s an agent on a headset
controlling everything.” He also said WWE’s Wellness Program is a
“political issue” saying that he would only ever agree to do a urine
test if Triple H picked him up in a limo and they went and got tested
together.
Generation Me only have a few dates remaining on their contracts.
Team 3D are pushing to bring in Brother Runt as a regular.
The Sun at www.the-sun.co.uk/wrestling has a deal for UK readers where
you can order package deals on TNA merchandise.
The Impact replay this past Thursday night did a 0.7 rating, ahead of
last Monday’s record-low 0.5 rating.
OTHER WRESTLING NEWS
ROH tonight on HD Net includes Roderick Strong vs. Joey Ryan and the
main event of Austin Aries vs. Delirious. More info at
www.rohwrestling.com.
Jake Roberts pulled out of several Canadian appearances this past
weekend reportedly due to being unable to leave the United States. He
had asked the promoters to contact immigration ahead of time to confirm
he was able to travel, but they didn’t, so he didn’t get on his flight.
He said he was going to return all deposits to the promoters in
question. He also posted a statement on his blog: “I regret being unable
to appear in shows that are happening as we speak, in the Nova Scotia
area. I was really excited about coming back there. Nothing can make me
feel any worse than feeling that I have let you down. Unfortunately,
many immigration laws and expectations were raised after 9/11. Sometimes
things are overlooked by not only myself, but promoters, particularly if
they are new to the game. What might work for one athlete, may not for
another. My only concern was not to enter the country illegally.
Hopefully in the future there will be an opportunity to appear with
everything done the correct way.”
Torrie Wilson wrote on Twitter that her Chihuahua puppy was stolen from
the back room of her Texas clothing store over the weekend. The puppy
was later returned after she advertised a reward. She also wrote that
Hulk Hogan’s claims that she called TNA for work are untrue.
Brooke Hogan made several gossip columns over the weekend after she was
photographed hanging out in a bikini on Miami Beach. She looked good and
was doing charity work to help teach inner city kids to surf. Apparently
she credits her new physique to using a food delivery service called
Fresh Diet. And obviously regular trips to the gym.
TMZ reported that Jenna Jameson and Tito Ortiz have agreed to reconcile
following the events of last week. The latest story is at
http://tinyurl.com/36csdu4.
Today’s former Diva of the Day is Candice Michelle at
http://www.thewrestlingpress.com/DailyDiva.
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