SEScoops

Author: Staff

  • Vickie’s New Love Interest, Lilian Supporting Gay Marriage

    — The latest “SmackDown After the Bell” video segment on WWE.com is teasing that Dolph Ziggler and Vickie Guerrero are romantically involved. Click here to see the video.

    — Former WWE ring announcer Lilian Garcia recently took part in a photo shoot for the NOH8 campaign petitioning against anti-gay marriage laws. In another Lilian note, the former WWE Diva sang the National Anthem before 76,000 fans prior to last week’s Jets game. She is auctioning off the #6 Mark Sanchez jersey she wore to the game at the following link.

    — In today’s wrestling birthday, Tammy Sytch turns 37 years old. “Sunny” was born on December 7, 1972 in Matawan, New Jersey.

  • Vickie's New Love Interest, Lilian Supporting Gay Marriage

    — The latest “SmackDown After the Bell” video segment on WWE.com is teasing that Dolph Ziggler and Vickie Guerrero are romantically involved. Click here to see the video.

    — Former WWE ring announcer Lilian Garcia recently took part in a photo shoot for the NOH8 campaign petitioning against anti-gay marriage laws. In another Lilian note, the former WWE Diva sang the National Anthem before 76,000 fans prior to last week’s Jets game. She is auctioning off the #6 Mark Sanchez jersey she wore to the game at the following link.

    — In today’s wrestling birthday, Tammy Sytch turns 37 years old. “Sunny” was born on December 7, 1972 in Matawan, New Jersey.

  • McMahon Says Steroids Were A Significant Problem In WWE

    In an interview with political website TheHill.com, former WWE CEO and United States Senate hopeful Linda McMahon spoke about a number of topics pertaining to pro wrestling. McMahon acknowledged that steroids were a “significant problem” in WWE back in 2006 before the company relaunched its drug testing program. She says WWE’s Wellness policy is “as good as it can be for today. But as technology advances and more is known and developed, we’ll continue to develop our policy, as we have done over the years.”

    “Unlike football or baseball or basketball, where steroids can actually enhance performance, they do nothing to enhance performance in WWE,” McMahon said. She added that its mostly about a wrestler’s “charisma, the ability to connect with the audience, and how successfully they can act and perform within the storyline.” No mention about the long standing culture of freakishly muscular wrestlers getting pushed or the increasing pressure for wrestlers to stay in shape and maintain an HDTV-friendly physiques.

    WWE legends Superstar Billy Graham and Bruno Sammartino have been very outspoken towards Linda McMahon since she began her Senate campaign. Graham recently told the Hartford Courant, “She may look like a Sunday school teacher, [but her] hands are as bloody as her husband’s, because she is aware of every move in the ring.” Linda called Graham a “self-confessed liar” and dismissed Sammartino as someone who has “still got sour grapes because he didn’t make as much money as the guys today are making.”  She said, “You’re going to always have the old-timers who are going to come out and say [things],” she said. “It’s just not like that.”

    To read the full interview, visit TheHill.com.

  • Details Behind TNA’s Monday Night iMPACT! Strategy

    As reported over the weekend, TNA Wrestling has announced that a live three-hour iMPACT! special will air on Monday 1/4 from Orlando, FL. It will be the first time TNA goes head-to-head with WWE Raw on a Monday night.

    Testing the waters on a Monday night has been on TNA’s radar for quite some time. When TNA met with Spike TV and a Monday night show was discussed, original plans called for a live 2-hour broadcast from 8-10PM, with only the second hour opposing WWE Raw. TNA and Spike liked the idea of getting a 1-hour unopposed lead-in and then competing with Raw’s first hour. It was then thought that WWE would counter TNA by asking the USA Network for a third hour to combat TNA, so the decision was made to make iMPACT! a 3-hour show.

    At this time, January 4th is a one-time experiment with a lot riding on it. Should TNA hold their own and get their usual 1.0 rating or better, we could see iMPACT! move to Monday nights permanently in 2010.

    It’s also worth noting that Spike TV is going head-to-head with WWE Raw the following week after Monday Night iMPACT! with a live UFC Fight Night special. You can be sure all parties involved (Spike, USA, WWE, TNA, UFC) will be watching to see how TNA and UFC stack up against WWE Raw in early January.

    (Credit to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter for some of the information used in this report)

  • Details Behind TNA's Monday Night iMPACT! Strategy

    As reported over the weekend, TNA Wrestling has announced that a live three-hour iMPACT! special will air on Monday 1/4 from Orlando, FL. It will be the first time TNA goes head-to-head with WWE Raw on a Monday night.

    Testing the waters on a Monday night has been on TNA’s radar for quite some time. When TNA met with Spike TV and a Monday night show was discussed, original plans called for a live 2-hour broadcast from 8-10PM, with only the second hour opposing WWE Raw. TNA and Spike liked the idea of getting a 1-hour unopposed lead-in and then competing with Raw’s first hour. It was then thought that WWE would counter TNA by asking the USA Network for a third hour to combat TNA, so the decision was made to make iMPACT! a 3-hour show.

    At this time, January 4th is a one-time experiment with a lot riding on it. Should TNA hold their own and get their usual 1.0 rating or better, we could see iMPACT! move to Monday nights permanently in 2010.

    It’s also worth noting that Spike TV is going head-to-head with WWE Raw the following week after Monday Night iMPACT! with a live UFC Fight Night special. You can be sure all parties involved (Spike, USA, WWE, TNA, UFC) will be watching to see how TNA and UFC stack up against WWE Raw in early January.

    (Credit to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter for some of the information used in this report)

  • RAW Preview, ESPN Hypes Cuban vs. Rhodes, Batista News

    — Philstar.com reports that SmackDown superstar Batista was in the Phillipines this weekend to help endorse the launch of a new energy drink called Xplode.

    – Tonight’s edition of WWE RAW takes place from the American Airlines Arena in Dallas, Texas. Businessman Mark Cuban will be the special guest host. The main event for tonight will be DX vs. Chris Jericho in a Handicap match.

    — ESPN.com features an article hyping NBA Dallas Maverick’s owner Mark Cuban’s hosting gig tonight, looking at what could be a physical showdown between Cuban and Legacy’s Cody Rhodes. Cuban began hyping his appearance last week in the local Dallas media, saying he was looking for retribution against Randy Orton after getting RKO’s back at Survivor Series 2003. Orton protege Cody Rhodes spoke to the Dallas Morning News and issued a challenge against Cuban. ESPN teases a match between the two and includes several potential nicknames for Cuban should he wrestle.

  • Jim Ross Comments On Umaga’s Death

    Eddie "Umaga" Fatu
    Eddie "Umaga" Fatu

    WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross has updated his blog, which you can read in its entirety at JRsBarBQ.com. Here’s what Ross said about the untimely death of former WWE superstar Umaga:

    The sudden passing of Eddie “Umaga” Fatu certainly put a damper on the weekend as Eddie’s death on Friday came as a total shock to me. Eddie had moved his family to Houston a while back as many WWE performers now base out of the Houston area and some of them actually are neighbors. Nonetheless, when I think of Eddie I think of the many, many conversations that we had over the years and how they usually ended up with Eddie talking about his wife and children. I recall discussing with Eddie that one of his sons, who has the potential to be a special football player, was already on Oklahoma’s radar and I think at the time the young man was only in the 9th or 10th grade. OU coaches were recruiting an upper classman at the same school that Eddie’s son attended but coaches told the OU folks, ” just wait until you see this really young kid we have. His Dad’s a wrestler and this kid is special.” Eddie was elated to know that his son had already distinguished himself on the gridiron and we talked of Eddie sending his son to the OU Summer Football Camp.

    Eddie Fatu was very proud of his children and loved his wife tremendously and Eddie was proud of the home that he was able to create for them in Houston. “Umaga” may have been a “Samoan Savage” or “Samoan Bulldozer” but in reality Eddie Fatu was a gifted athlete with amazing agility and quickness for a 300+ pounder who was one of the most sensitive and likable athletes that I have had the honor of being around in the past 35 years.

  • Jim Ross Comments On Umaga's Death

    Eddie "Umaga" Fatu
    Eddie "Umaga" Fatu

    WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross has updated his blog, which you can read in its entirety at JRsBarBQ.com. Here’s what Ross said about the untimely death of former WWE superstar Umaga:

    The sudden passing of Eddie “Umaga” Fatu certainly put a damper on the weekend as Eddie’s death on Friday came as a total shock to me. Eddie had moved his family to Houston a while back as many WWE performers now base out of the Houston area and some of them actually are neighbors. Nonetheless, when I think of Eddie I think of the many, many conversations that we had over the years and how they usually ended up with Eddie talking about his wife and children. I recall discussing with Eddie that one of his sons, who has the potential to be a special football player, was already on Oklahoma’s radar and I think at the time the young man was only in the 9th or 10th grade. OU coaches were recruiting an upper classman at the same school that Eddie’s son attended but coaches told the OU folks, ” just wait until you see this really young kid we have. His Dad’s a wrestler and this kid is special.” Eddie was elated to know that his son had already distinguished himself on the gridiron and we talked of Eddie sending his son to the OU Summer Football Camp.

    Eddie Fatu was very proud of his children and loved his wife tremendously and Eddie was proud of the home that he was able to create for them in Houston. “Umaga” may have been a “Samoan Savage” or “Samoan Bulldozer” but in reality Eddie Fatu was a gifted athlete with amazing agility and quickness for a 300+ pounder who was one of the most sensitive and likable athletes that I have had the honor of being around in the past 35 years.

  • The Marine 2 With Ted DiBiase Getting Good Reviews

    Early reviews are coming in for the latest WWE Studios release, “The Marine 2,” starring WWE Raw superstar Ted DiBiase and the reviews are surprisingly positive. IGN.com gave a surprisingly favorable review (6/10) saying:

    While we wouldn’t expect Shakespeare any time soon, Ted DiBiase obviously has sufficient acting chops to carry the film. That said, the wrestler-turned-action star lacks the kind of distinct and intimidating visual presence of somebody like Cena. In truth, for as tough and capable as the man appears, there’s something all too vanilla about DiBiase. He looks like a normal, Mid-Western good-old-boy in prime physical condition, more likely to hold open the door for the lady at the market than single-handedly assassinate a group of highly trained killers. Regardless, his athletic skills are hardly in question as he does so with a good deal of command.

    Overall, The Marine 2 isn’t exactly a great film – honestly, it’s barely a good film – but it’s significantly better and more creatively crafted than anything we’ve seen hit direct-to-video shelves in quite some time. If you liked the original or if you’re just a WWE fan looking for a fun, action-packed night at home, you’d do well to check this out.

    To read the full review, visit IGN.com.

  • Monday Night War Details, Ashley Massaro’s New Tattoos

    — The January 4th edition of WWE Raw, which will go head-to-head with TNA’s special 3-hour Monday night iMPACT!, will tape place from the Nutter Center in Dayton, Ohio. The show is currently scheduled to be a 2-hour broadcast, but it will be interesting to see if WWE offers any counter programming to offset TNA’s 1-hour lead-in that night.

    — Ashley Massaro got some new tattoos on her wrists over the weekend. The former WWE diva wrote a message on Twitter saying, “This is one of 2 I got yesterday, small but were building, awesome artist, i wanted to distract from the roman num”

    To view a picture of the new ink, click here.

    She noted that the picture is backwards/inverted and the picture she posted is of her right wrist.

    She said the new tattoos are in addition to the roman numerals .. The word/name “Lula” is new – anybody know if the cupcake and heart are also new?

  • Monday Night War Details, Ashley Massaro's New Tattoos

    — The January 4th edition of WWE Raw, which will go head-to-head with TNA’s special 3-hour Monday night iMPACT!, will tape place from the Nutter Center in Dayton, Ohio. The show is currently scheduled to be a 2-hour broadcast, but it will be interesting to see if WWE offers any counter programming to offset TNA’s 1-hour lead-in that night.

    — Ashley Massaro got some new tattoos on her wrists over the weekend. The former WWE diva wrote a message on Twitter saying, “This is one of 2 I got yesterday, small but were building, awesome artist, i wanted to distract from the roman num”

    To view a picture of the new ink, click here.

    She noted that the picture is backwards/inverted and the picture she posted is of her right wrist.

    She said the new tattoos are in addition to the roman numerals .. The word/name “Lula” is new – anybody know if the cupcake and heart are also new?

  • *Spoilers* WWE Tribute To The Troops Taping Results

    Thanks to SGT Jason Moore for sending these *Spoilers* from WWE’s Tribute to the Troops tapings:

    Hello my name is SGT Jason Moore. I am based at Joint Base Balad, Iraq. I was at the “Tribute to the Troops” show today and here is what happened.

    * MVP over Chris Masters

    * Mark Henry & Rey Mysterio over C.M. Punk and Carlito

    * The Miz over John Morrison

    * R-Truth came out dressed as Santa with the Divas and threw stuff to the crowd.

    * John Cena (with the title) over Chris Jericho

    He never mentioned Sheamus what so ever. He thanked the troops and did a speech. I have enclosed a picture of Cena after the match with the title.

    Cena In Iraq

  • Dixie Carter Says Monday Night iMPACT! Is Only The Beginning

    TNA President Dixie Carter posted a message on her Twitter page regarding TNA’s live 3-hour Monday night edition of iMPACT! on January 4th. Carter acknowledges that TNA is going to war with WWE and implies that more moves like this are on the way. She wrote:

    “Hogan to debut Jan 4 in a live 3 hr iMPACT! special up against Raw. How’s that for a 1st shot? Spread the word.”

    To read more from Dixie Carter and other wrestlers & divas on Twitter, visit PWTweets.com.

  • Umaga Update: Wrestlers Comment On His Condition

    Eddie "Umaga" Fatu
    Eddie "Umaga" Fatu

    Several wrestlers have posted messages on Twitter regarding the hospitalization and rumored death of former WWE superstar Eddie “Umaga” Fatu. Here’s what some of them are saying:

    Ken “Mr. Kennedy” Anderson: “Say a prayer for my boy Umaga”

    D’Angelo Dinero / Elijah Burke: “Pope was informed many hours ago of my friend Umaga. Pope will not comment until the family speaks, neither should you. Prayer is key! ~ PHS”

    Bobby Lashley: “Very sad day today. A good friend is gone.”

    Visit PWTweets.com to follow what wrestlers and divas are saying on Twitter about Umaga’s condition.

  • Umaga Hospitalized & Feared To Be Dead

    Eddie "Umaga" Fatu
    Eddie "Umaga" Fatu

    Former WWE superstar Edward “Umaga” Fatu, 36, is currently in a Houston hospital and is in very bad shape.  A long-time friend described his condition as “life threatening.”

    Details are still sketchy at this point, but he apparently fell asleep last night while watching television, and several hours later, his wife found him not breathing with blood coming out of his nose. He was rushed to the hospital last night and his family has been told to fly into town as quickly as possible.

    There were reports going around that Umaga had died from prescription pain pills and WWE was already preparing a statement regarding his death, but those reports have been unsubstantiated at this time. There was been talk among many wrestlers that Umaga is dead or brain dead, but at this time, his family will only confirm that he’s been hospitalized.

    We wish Eddie Fatu the very best and hope he pulls through this.

  • Umaga Hospitalized & Feared To Be Dead

    Eddie "Umaga" Fatu
    Eddie "Umaga" Fatu

    Former WWE superstar Edward “Umaga” Fatu, 36, is currently in a Houston hospital and is in very bad shape.  A long-time friend described his condition as “life threatening.”

    Details are still sketchy at this point, but he apparently fell asleep last night while watching television, and several hours later, his wife found him not breathing with blood coming out of his nose. He was rushed to the hospital last night and his family has been told to fly into town as quickly as possible.

    There were reports going around that Umaga had died from prescription pain pills and WWE was already preparing a statement regarding his death, but those reports have been unsubstantiated at this time. There was been talk among many wrestlers that Umaga is dead or brain dead, but at this time, his family will only confirm that he’s been hospitalized.

    We wish Eddie Fatu the very best and hope he pulls through this.

  • PPV Buyrates For Breaking Point, Hell In A Cell, Bragging Rights

    WWE has released ome new financial information that includes PPV buyrate estimates for three of the company’s new gimmick-concept events.

    – WWE Breaking Point drew under 200,000 buys, making it the least successful event of 2009. The submission-themed show featured The Undertaker’s first WWE match since WrestleMania. By comparison, the event that Breaking Point replaced (WWE Unforgiven) drew close to 225,000 buys last year. WWE recently released its PPV schedule for 2010 and WWE Breaking Point was not part of the schedule, so this event may be a one time affiar.

    – WWE Hell in A Cell, which featured three Hell in a Cell cage matches, drew around 300,000 buys, way up from the 261,000 buys that No Mercy 2008 drew.

    – WWE Bragging Rights, which featured a Raw vs. SmackDown theme, drew approximately 200,000 buys. This is a big improvement over the event it replaced (Cyber Sunday,) which drew 153,000 buys in 2008.

    For more on the WWE’s latest round of financial info, visit Corporate.WWE.com.

  • Monday Night TNA, RVD & Flair In TNA, No More 6-Sided Ring?

    – The ongoing speculation that TNA will wind up on Monday nights competing head-to-head with WWE Raw continues. While nobody from TNA or Spike TV have commented directly about the rumor, people who are being contacted by Hulk Hogan and Eric Bischoff about joining them in TNA are “under the impression” that a Monday night show is inevitable. There has been talk of TNA holding a live television special on Monday night, January 4th to test he waters and see how they would do up against Raw.

    – Hulk Hogan is not a fan of TNA’s 6-sided ring and has been telling people that it’s one of the first things he’s like to change when he comes into power next month.

    – Hogan and Bischoff are said to be confident that Rob Van Dam and Ric Flair will wind up in TNA.

    Related News: Ric Flair Comments On Whether He’d Work For TNA

    – Despite being featured on the TNA Genesis PPV poster, Hulk Hogan will not be wrestling on the show. It’s likely that he will eventually step in the ring, but not until the right match has been set up with months of storyline build leading up to it.

    Related News: TNA Genesis PPV Poster With Hulk Hogan

    – It’s interesting to note that the DVD cover for “End Game” which starred Kurt Angle and former TNA Knockout Jenna Morasca promotes Angle as a WWE star with no mention of TNA. There is also no mention of Jenna’s run in wrestling.

    (Credit to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter for some of the information used in this report)

  • Monday Night TNA, RVD & Flair In TNA, No More 6-Sided Ring?

    – The ongoing speculation that TNA will wind up on Monday nights competing head-to-head with WWE Raw continues. While nobody from TNA or Spike TV have commented directly about the rumor, people who are being contacted by Hulk Hogan and Eric Bischoff about joining them in TNA are “under the impression” that a Monday night show is inevitable. There has been talk of TNA holding a live television special on Monday night, January 4th to test he waters and see how they would do up against Raw.

    – Hulk Hogan is not a fan of TNA’s 6-sided ring and has been telling people that it’s one of the first things he’s like to change when he comes into power next month.

    – Hogan and Bischoff are said to be confident that Rob Van Dam and Ric Flair will wind up in TNA.

    Related News: Ric Flair Comments On Whether He’d Work For TNA

    – Despite being featured on the TNA Genesis PPV poster, Hulk Hogan will not be wrestling on the show. It’s likely that he will eventually step in the ring, but not until the right match has been set up with months of storyline build leading up to it.

    Related News: TNA Genesis PPV Poster With Hulk Hogan

    – It’s interesting to note that the DVD cover for “End Game” which starred Kurt Angle and former TNA Knockout Jenna Morasca promotes Angle as a WWE star with no mention of TNA. There is also no mention of Jenna’s run in wrestling.

    (Credit to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter for some of the information used in this report)

  • Ric Flair Comments On Whether He’d Work For TNA

    Alex Marvez of ScrippsNews.com recently interviewed WWE Hall of Famer Ric Flair and asked him about whether he’d ever seriously consider going to TNA Wrestling now that Hulk Hogan is on board.

    “I haven’t entertained the idea of working there because I’ve been so loyal to WWE, but you never know what’s going to go on,” Flair said. “I don’t want to make any predictions, but I’ve certainly got a lot left to offer. I think I would be a good addition to (TNA’s) program.

    “Everything is about money, timing, what they want me to do and the job description. There’s a lot up in the air. I haven’t talked to (TNA ownership) yet, but I’ve had conversations with people who work there. I’ve stood by WWE, but if they’re not going to use me anymore, I’m ready for any kind of action.”

  • Ric Flair Comments On Whether He'd Work For TNA

    Alex Marvez of ScrippsNews.com recently interviewed WWE Hall of Famer Ric Flair and asked him about whether he’d ever seriously consider going to TNA Wrestling now that Hulk Hogan is on board.

    “I haven’t entertained the idea of working there because I’ve been so loyal to WWE, but you never know what’s going to go on,” Flair said. “I don’t want to make any predictions, but I’ve certainly got a lot left to offer. I think I would be a good addition to (TNA’s) program.

    “Everything is about money, timing, what they want me to do and the job description. There’s a lot up in the air. I haven’t talked to (TNA ownership) yet, but I’ve had conversations with people who work there. I’ve stood by WWE, but if they’re not going to use me anymore, I’m ready for any kind of action.”

  • Resentment Towards Cena, Little People’s Court, Sheamus

    — On recent episodes of WWE Raw, we’ve seen the likes of Jesse Ventura and Carlito talking about there being  some backstage resentment towards WWE Champion John Cena. While the storyline exaggerates the locker room’s feelings towards Cena, there is some truth to it, as a number of wrestlers do reportedly resent Cena’s standing with management. There is naturally some jealousy towards Cena’s comfortable spot at the top of the roster while others are turned off by his “company guy” attitude.  Sources say his public airing of grievances with The Rock, regardless of the fact that he was likely reading company-fed lines, did not help his standing with “the boys.”

    – Timing issues also played a factor in “little people’s court” with DX and Hornswoggle not airing on RAW this past week. WWE’s talent relations that were to book the little people weren’t getting answers back from creative as to how many they needed, who would get what roles or a male/female breakdown. The original idea for the segment came from Vince McMahon and nobody wanted to commit to doing anything about the angle until it came from Vince first and since Vince didn’t get around to it until the weekend, it was too late to throw everything together for Monday. Word is that those in creative weren’t really crazy about the idea to begin with. For what it’s worth, there is consideration of Hornswoggle doing a run-in near the finish for the DX vs. Chris Jericho & Big Show match at the TLC pay-per-view.

    – This week’s edition of ECW on SyFy scored a 1.0 rating.

    – The Great Khali returned to action at the SmackDown live event this past weekend. He recently had his knee scoped.

    – WWE may have had plans to continue something between Jerry Lawler and Sheamus before changing it. Lawler was scheduled for an independent wrestling show on November 21st, five days after he was attacked by Sheamus on RAW. After the angle on RAW that week, Lawler’s people sent a text message to the indy promoter saying, “due to an ongoing storyline, Jerry Lawler can’t make his appearance.”

    (Credit to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter for some of the information used in this report)

  • Resentment Towards Cena, Little People's Court, Sheamus

    — On recent episodes of WWE Raw, we’ve seen the likes of Jesse Ventura and Carlito talking about there being  some backstage resentment towards WWE Champion John Cena. While the storyline exaggerates the locker room’s feelings towards Cena, there is some truth to it, as a number of wrestlers do reportedly resent Cena’s standing with management. There is naturally some jealousy towards Cena’s comfortable spot at the top of the roster while others are turned off by his “company guy” attitude.  Sources say his public airing of grievances with The Rock, regardless of the fact that he was likely reading company-fed lines, did not help his standing with “the boys.”

    – Timing issues also played a factor in “little people’s court” with DX and Hornswoggle not airing on RAW this past week. WWE’s talent relations that were to book the little people weren’t getting answers back from creative as to how many they needed, who would get what roles or a male/female breakdown. The original idea for the segment came from Vince McMahon and nobody wanted to commit to doing anything about the angle until it came from Vince first and since Vince didn’t get around to it until the weekend, it was too late to throw everything together for Monday. Word is that those in creative weren’t really crazy about the idea to begin with. For what it’s worth, there is consideration of Hornswoggle doing a run-in near the finish for the DX vs. Chris Jericho & Big Show match at the TLC pay-per-view.

    – This week’s edition of ECW on SyFy scored a 1.0 rating.

    – The Great Khali returned to action at the SmackDown live event this past weekend. He recently had his knee scoped.

    – WWE may have had plans to continue something between Jerry Lawler and Sheamus before changing it. Lawler was scheduled for an independent wrestling show on November 21st, five days after he was attacked by Sheamus on RAW. After the angle on RAW that week, Lawler’s people sent a text message to the indy promoter saying, “due to an ongoing storyline, Jerry Lawler can’t make his appearance.”

    (Credit to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter for some of the information used in this report)

  • Hogan-Dixie TNA Storyline, Angle High On Wolfe, Drug Testing

    – We’ve got some new details regarding a storyline that’s already underway involving Hulk Hogan’s involvement with TNA Wrestling. The original plan was for Hulk Hogan to lead the younger, homegrown stars of TNA against the “old guard” of established WWE & WCW castoffs, led by TNA president Dixie Carter. Hulk Hogan’s recent comments that he’ll be “in charge” of TNA are all part of the storyline (Hogan will have a great deal of power in TNA, but his comments are the start of this angle). Dixie Carter was going to be a big player in the “Hulk Hogan joins TNA” angle, but there was a recent decision to cut back on Dixie’s role and have Mick Foley is now expected to be the leader of TNA’s “old guard” movement. Dixie Carter will still be involved, but will not have the same role as originally planned.

    – Kurt Angle is said to have a high opinion of TNA newcomer Desmond Wolfe following their pay-per-view match last month. Angle actually laid the entire match out but claimed that after his back went out in the first minute they had to change plans and work on the fly until the finish.

    – TNA held surprise drug testings at the last set of TV tapings. The last set of tapings like this had a 25% failure rate but nobody was punished.

    – The four-hour TNA special on New Year’s Eve on Spike TV will air from 7-11PM. The first two hours will be a countdown with the ten best matches of 2009, as voted on by the fans on TNA’s website. The last two hours will be a regular edition of iMPACT.

    (Credit to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter for some of the information used in this report)

  • JR Blog: Ventura Talking Trash, TNA’s Broadcast Team

    WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross
    WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross

    WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross updated his blog, which you can (and should) read in its entirety at JRsBarBQ.com. Some highlights:

    Responding to a jackass fan who questioned him for not being at Monday’s Raw: “He essentially accused me of having no passion for the product and basically backing up to the pay window as a reason for not driving the 5-6 hour round trip from Norman to Dallas to hang around the locker room area and ‘see the boys.’ I forgot to let ‘Logan’ know that I have a doctor’s appointment with a specialist on Monday that I was lucky to be able to be able to secure. Yes, Logan, I too, wish that I did not have any health issues to deal with and that I could make the trip to Dallas to hang out. But my health issues will be behind me soon enough I assure one and all but for now they are what they are. Oh, yeah…I’m feeling better every day.”

    Jesse Ventura: “Logan also said he spend 5, whole minutes with Jesse Ventura once upon a time and that Ventura told thim that ‘Jim Ross was selfish and only cared about himself.’ That must be accurate because it was uttered by the former Governor of Minnesota who’s NEVER been known to embellish a story or ‘break his arm patting himself on the back’ as Gorilla Monsoon often said about Jesse. For the record, in the politically volatile world of pro wrestling if one doesn’t look out for one’s self then one can easily be taken advantage of and kicked to the curb for a variety of reasons or for no reasons. So, perhaps at the end of the day many of the ‘survivors’ within pro wrestling have to be a little selfish to make it long term. I am indeed a survivor.”

    TNA’s broadcast team: “Finally, it was also suggested that if I hated travel so much that I go to work for TNA because of their reduced schedule. Best I can tell TNA either produces TV or they do voice overs every week Plus, and more importantly, TNA has an announce team that I happen to feel are very competent. I appreciate everyone’s career advise but I think I can handle this one not to mention that no one knows what’s going to happen at the end of the day.”