It was reported earlier that Dean Malenko underwent brain surgery for an issue related to Parkinson’s disease.

During his podcast, Grilling JR, Jim Ross revealed this past week that Malenko underwent the surgery and was present at AEW TV tapings.

“I saw Dean Malenko. Malenko’s had some health issues. I saw him there. And he had brain surgery and it stops his shakes form the Parkinson’s and it has, he’s had the surgery. He’s such a sweetheart of a guy,” Ross said.

There was uncertainty regarding the timeline of Malenko’s return after the surgery, leading to various assumptions. However, Mike Johnson of PWInsider clarified that Malenko had undergone surgery towards the end of September.

Given that the surgery took place several months ago, it is reasonable to assume that Malenko has likely recovered by now. He resumed working for AEW at the start of November and wasn’t in the process of recuperating from the surgery since it had taken place months earlier.

Dean Malenko, a wrestling veteran with an extensive career, was highlighted by Ross for his contributions to AEW. Malenko holds a significant behind-the-scenes role wherein he coaches and mentors young performers on the AEW roster, ensuring they deliver strong performances inside the ring.

Ross said that Malenko is an unsung hero, describing him as a valuable asset due to his guidance and coaching within the company. According to Ross, Malenko encourages talents to share their ideas and then assists and coaches them. He praised Malenko’s adeptness in teaching and coaching wrestlers within AEW.

We extend our best wishes to Dean Malenko, hoping for his continued recovery in his battle with Parkinson’s disease.

RELATED:  Dean Malenko On Why He Ended His 18 Year Long Stint With WWE

AEW signed an impressive list of pro wrestling minds and legends when Tony Khan started the company. Dean Malenko was one man that helped in a big way during the company’s early days, but a health problem stood in the way. Now, he is recovering after brain surgery. 

Dean Malenko’s Brain Surgery

During the recent Grilling JR podcast, Jim Ross mentioned encountering Dean Malenko during the Dynamite and Rampage tapings in Oklahoma City. Ross shared that Malenko underwent surgery to address symptoms related to his Parkinson’s disease.

I saw Dean Malenko. Malenko’s had some health issues. I saw him there. And he had brain surgery and it stops his shakes form the Parkinson’s and it has, he’s had the surgery. He’s such a sweetheart of a guy.

Jim Ross elaborated on Dean Malenko’s significant contribution to AEW. He also shed light on Malenko’s role in guiding talent through the process of constructing their matches on AEW programming.

He one of those unsung guys that’s such an MVP at AEW because of his guidance, his coaching. He encourages the talents to bring with them to him what they want to do… and then he helps them, he contributes. It’s teaching. All that is is coaching. And he’s really, really good at it. 

Dean Malenko’s History in Pro Wrestling

Dean Malenko is a veteran in the world of professional wrestling, with a storied career that spans multiple decades. Malenko gained popularity over the years, while working for various wrestling companies, including WCW, where most fans remember his work. 

During Dean Malenko’s time in WCW, he achieved considerable success, earning the nickname “The Man of 1,000 Holds” for his extensive list of wrestling moves. That is a nickname he certainly earned by demonstrating his technical expertise every time he stepped in the ring.

In recent years, Dean Malenko continued to contribute to the wrestling industry, making a notable appearance in All Elite Wrestling. As part of AEW, Malenko played a crucial behind-the-scenes role, utilizing his experience to contribute to the development of younger performers on the AEW roster, and to ensure that they put out the best product possible. 

Our thoughts are with Dean Malenko as he gets over this rough patch. Hopefully, there are much brighter days ahead for him.

AEW star Dante Martin is aware of those who are critical of him due to his high-flying style. Very few wrestlers can get as much hang-time as Martin.

His flashiness has left many in awe. With that said, you can’t please everyone. Some fans have been vocal about wanting to see Martin develop other skills, such as mic work, facial expressions and in-ring storytelling.

During a recent chat with Jon Alba, the 20-year old Dante Martin was asked about people who are critical of his work.

“I think to the critics, they’re gonna voice their opinion and as long as overall the people are happy and you’re doing your job to the best you can that’s all that really matters,” he said. “People are gonna say what they’re gonna say at the end of the day. Whether your back’s turned or facing them, you just gotta do you.”

Assistance From Dean Malenko

Dean Malenko is one of the most renowned cruiserweights in wrestling history. He currently serves as a senior producer for AEW and Martin hasn’t hesitated to pick his brain.

“For sure. Just about every week I pull him to the side and we talk a little bit. He gives me an amazing amount of helpful tips, tricks, things he’s learned, different ways to set things up. He’s an amazing coach.”

Martin turned some heads with a recent angle on AEW TV. He ditched Lio Rush in favor of signing a contract to be a part of Team Taz.

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Former AEW Champion Chris Jericho recently discussed Dean Malenko and the role of an agent/coach on his Talk Is Jericho podcast. This week’s episode featured AEW star QT Marshall, who himself has apparently been working with Chris Jericho to ‘agent’ some of his matches.

“Dean [Malenko] was always my coach, agent, producer, until finally recently I was like, ‘he’s being wasted with me'” Jericho began on the podcast. “Because I put together my stuff and I’ll always ask Dean his opinion. But [AEW should] put him with some guys that he can really be helping with.”

Jericho and Malenko are of course two stars who are very well aware of each other’s in-ring capabilities. Chris Jericho’s famous ‘man of 1,004 holds’ promo (including the armbar) came during the duo’s feud in WCW. During the late nineties both Jericho and Malenko were an integral part of WCW’s Cruiserweight division. Both men would end up leaving to join the then WWF at different points.

Chris Jericho on QT Marshall

“I said just put QT with me” Chris Jericho would continue. “Because the few times when I had a question for QT or I said ‘do you have any suggestions?’ He came up with a couple of things. That’s like what Jamie Noble was like [as an agent], it didn’t have to be a lot.”

Jericho would finish by saying how he is at a point in his career where he wants to get pointers and ideas, whereas someone the calibre of Malenko can be helping younger talent on a more 50/50 basis.

• MJF Named In The New York Times’ Best Performances of 2020

“Dean did it last week with me and Max’s [MJF] match. Sometimes one idea is all you need to fit everything together you know? I was like ‘just put QT with me, let me bounce off my 99%. if he has 1%? Great. Let Dean go do 50/50 with the younger guys, you know?”

Do you think that Chris Jericho will move into a ‘coaching’ role when he finishes in-ring with AEW? Let us know in the comments

David Benoit recently appeared on The Ryback Show podcast. The son of Chris Benoit discussed a litany of topics during the interview, including his want to appear in the ring himself.

David has spoken at length about the difficulties of carrying his last name, following the tragic events of June 2007. These can be heard at length on VICE’s Dark Side of The Ring.

Although Benoit is still in the “early stages” of his wrestling training? He has already made a major decision regarding his professional wrestling future. “I don’t want to go to WWE” Benoit stated on the podcast.

David Benoit as a ‘Technical’ Wrestler

Benoit would also claim that he wants to be a “technical” style wrestler when he finally makes it to the ring. It’s clear that David is heavily influenced by his father, as well as Chris Benoit’s contemporaries such as Chris Jericho and Dean Malenko. David would list Jericho and Malenko as two men who have guided him thus far and are his longtime friends.

• Tony Khan: “The Balance of Power in Wrestling Will Shift Tonight” at AEW Dynamite

It’s been reported previously how David Benoit has been spotted backstage at both WWE and AEW. Ryback would ask Benoit if there were differences between the two company’s atmospheres backstage.

“I’d say, yes, you know?” Benoit revealed. “Because everyone seems to be more happier [in AEW] I find.” Benoit would finish by saying that “I’ve seen…I’ve seen a lot of old ex WWE employees at AEW. They’re just a lot happier.”

Do you want to see David Benoit in an AEW ring? Do you think that he will struggle to get past the baggage of his last name? Let us know in the comments

Dean Malenko ended his 18-year long stint as a road agent with WWE last year. AEW was quick to act on the opportunity and sign the veteran producer to their brand.

During the recent episode of the AEW Unrestricted podcast, the former WCW star joined Aubrey Edwards and Tony Schiavone and talked about a number of things.

Malenko also explained the reasoning behind his WWE departure, saying that he thought it was time to move on and claimed that he hasn’t looked back since:

“I thought it was just time to move on. There’s a little birdie that sits on his shoulder and tells you it’s time to make the next move, it’s time to move on,

And I haven’t looked back since. I’ve had nothing but fun and some really good group of guys here working” said Dean Malenko. ” With Tony and Cody and everybody here in the office just marvelous to work with.”

• Also Read: Vince McMahon Provides Update On Next Saudi Arabia Show

He later admitted that he was a little nervous in AEW because it’s a startup but at the same time, he likes taking chances and taking risks.

Dean Malenko explained that he did the same when he left WCW with The Radicalz to join the WWF in early 2000. He said that it’s always been a lot of fun for him and he likes anything that’s new or exciting and gives him a challenge.

Matt and Nick Jackson, collectively known as The Young Bucks, have opened up about how instrumental Dean Malenko and All Elite Wrestling World Champion Chris Jericho have been backstage during their shows. 

“Let’s Try To Give Them Something Different”

“It’s a team effort, but I would say Chris Jericho has definitely given the most pointers to us, individually, I would say” Nick Jackson shared during an episode of SiriusXM’s Busted Open Radio. “Because he’s been doing it for so long and he’s given us tips on how to make things work perfectly. He knows what he’s talking about. He’s so smart. I feel like he’s taught us the most with timing things.”

His brother, Matt Jackson, added “[…] I think the way to stay on top in wrestling is you never stop learning. So to have a guy like a Dean Malenko there, it’s so great to have these minds to just pick. Not even just that. Sometimes we’ll sit at the go position, and I’ll watch a guy like Dean, and I’ll watch the way that he produces the segment and I” ll listen to him. […] You just mentioned with the timing; he knows exactly when to time things.”

He continued, “Chris Jericho is the master at these things. He told Nick the other day, like, if you’ve got a 13-minute match, plan a kickass 13-minute match. Don’t worry too much about the break spots tonight. Let’s try to give them something different. […] We don’t want to fall into doing the same thing every week and fall into these patterns. We’re trying to be unpredictable still, and trying to find our sweet spot.”

The Young Bucks are scheduled to compete against Inner Circle members Santana and Ortiz at AEW’s next pay-per-view, Full Gear, on November 9.

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Dean Malenko officially brought his skills and knowledge to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) when he signed with the company back in May.

With AEW on the cusp of their TNT debut in October, Malenko opened up about how he has been preparing AEW talent for television during an appearance at Starrcast III.

“I think a lot of my experience will help Cody out and help a lot of these young guys get adjusted to TV,” Malenko said. “TV is a whole different animal than when you’re doing live events. It’s a beautiful luxury that you don’t have commercials built into them where TV you do, so your matches are chopped up a little bit.”

The former WWE agent explained that his job is to help coach AEW wrestlers. In particular, he wanted them to understand the balance between in-ring action and downtime for commercials:

“You got a guy in there dealing with time because you have a span you have to reach when you’re doing an 8 to 10 show, you have to be off the air at a certain time. I’m here to help these guys learn how to do that, instruct them on the best way to do that and get over. And try to get them recognized with this new audience that’s coming up.”

AEW’s television show will debut on TNT on October 2nd.

H/T to Wrestlezone for the transcription.

Dean Malenko has officially joined All Elite Wrestling as a Senior Producer/Coach. AEW made the news official today.

“AEW announced a multi-year deal with world-renowned coach, producer, and wrestler Dean Malenko,” an AEW press release reads. Malenko will begin working backstage for the promotion at this weekend’s PPV, Double or Nothing.

“Dean Malenko has been a massive force behind some of today’s biggest wrestling stars,” said Cody. “He’s never stopped being a major talent who was part of the ECW revolution as well as a fixture in the cruiserweight movement on Nitro.”

Dean Malenko Joints All Elite Wrestling

Malenko was also quoted in today’s press release.

“It’s not often you get an opportunity late in your career to be a part of building something from the ground floor,” Malenko said. “The freedom to be able to contribute uninhibited will only lend itself to foster creativity and produce an outstanding product. I’m excited about what the future holds for AEW, and I can’t wait to be part of the journey.”

Malenko left WWE in April after having spent 18 years with the promotion. He began his tenure with WWE as part of the Radicalz in 2000. He had his last official match in late 2001.

• AEW Double Or Nothing Weigh-In & Press Conference Scheduled For Today

Ex-WWE producer, Dean Malenko, who recently parted ways with the company, has already booked his first non-WWE appearance.

Malenko, known as “The Man Of 1000 Holds” during his time as an in-ring competitor, will officially be in attendance during Starrcast II.

The Starrcast Twitter account sent out the following tweet, accompanied by an image of Malenko:

“This Superstarr is known as The Man of a 1000 holds!! He’s held championships all over the world… #Starrcast II is proud to welcome DEAN MALENKO to Las Vegas, Memorial Day Weekend!

Appearing Friday 1-4pm at Caesars Palace

Meet & Greets on sale now: Starrcast.com”

Starrcast II Superstarrs

Dean Malenko joins a star-studded convention, with legendary names and current ‘Superstarrs’ set to appear. Wrestlers like Bret Hart, Ric Flair, Scott Hall, Kevin Nash, Cody, The Young Bucks, Chris Jericho, Kenny Omega, and many more will all be in attendance.

Unfortunately, two names will no longer be present during Starrcast: The Undertaker and Kurt Angle.

Although initially advertised, WWE has since locked down ‘Taker and Angle to new contracts. These contracts allow the company to withhold talent from attending events considered to not be in WWE’s best interests.

Starrcast II, apparently, falls into that criteria.

Starrcast II takes place from May 23-26th from Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Dean Malenko is no longer working for WWE as a backstage agent. There are conflicting reports about whether he quit or was released.

Malenko, 58, worked for WWE behind the scenes since he retired from active competition in the early 2000’s. There has been a big influx of new backstage producers brought in over the past several months, including Shane “Hurricane” Helms, Joseph Park (Abyss), Sonjay Dutt and others. There have also been a number of departures, including Arn Anderson and Brian “Road Dogg” James.

His greatest strengths as an agent were booking tag matches and finding ways to highlight talents which are shorter compared to other WWE stars.

No word yet on what is next for the former Champion but AEW seems to be a natural spot for his landing and while there is no solid news on the same, the rumors regarding it have already begun.

Dean Malenko is considered to be one of the greatest technicians that have ever stepped foot in the ring and he was even ranked number one in Pro Wrestling Illustrated’s “PWI 500” list in 1997.

AEW has a good number of young talents on their roster and guidance from someone like Malenko would certainly be beneficial for the newcomers.

However, it’s too early to determine this and we wouldn’t know anything for sure until we have a better idea of what Dean himself is planning for his future. Stay tuned with us for more updates on his departure.

Ten years ago today, former WWE champion Eddie Guerrero passed away from heart failure in a Minneapolis hotel. One of his best friends and fellow WWE alumni Dean Malenko recently spoke with The Sun to remember Guerrero.

On his match with Guerrero at WCW Starrcade ’97:

“We’d always try different things every night — see what worked, what didn’t work. And we fell into something, some kind of move – and the place started going crazy.

“I grabbed Eddie in a rear chin lock, and he goes: ‘Listen to the crowd! They’re going nuts!’

“I looked over my right shoulder into the audience, and everybody’s looking up into the tiered seating. There was a girl who had lifted her shirt off and was well-endowed and entertaining the menfolk there in the crowd. So I turned to Eddie and said: ‘This is what they’re popping on, buddy.’

On Seth Rollins using the frog splash:

“Seth [Rollins] had a match with Kane and he hit a frog splash off the top. And the crowd responded by chanting Eddie’s name, and it gave me goosebumps.

“Wrestling fans have never forgotten and will never forget Eddie Guerrero.”

You can read the entire interview here.

The following are highlights of a new Shining Wizards podcast interview with WWE Hall Of Famer Ricky Steamboat:

On becoming Ricky Steamboat: “The late Eddie Graham gave me the Steamboat name. In 1976 I walked into the Tampa office and there sat Eddie Graham, and Verne Gagne had sent him pictures of me wrestling as “Rick Blood,” and Eddie said what a great wrestling name- but for a heel. He then said we had a guy here in Florida named Sammy Steamboat and he was from Hawaii. What I would like to do is call you Ricky Steamboat, but I will not bill you as his son. How about you be his nephew? I told Eddie, “you can call me anything you like. I’m just happy to have a job.” The very next night in West Palm Beach- and this is a story that not too many people know… I don’t know if I’ve ever told this story live like this, I told it to a couple friends and some wrestlers- but the story goes that the next night in West Palm Beach, I’m the first match. I’m standing in the ring and the ring announcer goes “Ladies and Gentlemen, we have a substitute this evening. Rick Blood is unable to make it.” And I’m standing there and I completely freak out and forget that I’m Ricky Steamboat. So I make my way up to the announcer in the middle of the ring and I’m saying, “I’m here! Hey, hey, look, I’m right here!” And the announcer puts the microphone behind his back and off the side of his mouth says, “Stand in the corner, kid. Get over there and stand in the corner.” So I go back to the corner, and he says “Give it up, Ladies and Gentlemen, for the nephew of Sam Steamboat, Ricky Steamboat!” And the crowd jumped out of their seats, and I’m looking around with my mouth open. The first thought that comes to my mind is, “Oh, this is what they do when they know you or when you get over.”

On never working heel & wanting to: “I never had a match where I worked as a heel. When I started in 1974, I was always a face, and the reason for that was that the heel would always lead the match. Now for me to graduate to be a heel, most times you started out as a face, and then when you got good, you would transfer over to a heel and you were the guy in charge. So I never had an opportunity to work as a heel, although in and around 1991, I expressed my desire to work as a heel and the response that I got back was it would never work. Pat Patterson said that I was the consummate babyface and it would probably hurt my career. I tried to push it to them hard and said, “Let me go under a mask and let me go under a full suit and cover up my body. I won’t throw any chops and I’ll just kick and punch and I’ll be a heel. Then the big surprise, if we can carry this thing through, after about a year or so, have somebody finally takes the mask off, hopefully the response we get from the fans will be ‘Oh my God, all this time it’s been Ricky Steamboat,’” but they wouldn’t buy it.
On being legit knocked out by a Jake Robert’s DDT: Well you know, I’ve talked about this on other radio stations and in public. They always bring that up, and I want to make this clear that I wasn’t knocked out. I know people watching that, you could hear the splat of my head hitting the cement floor. I know how to take a DDT, and he knows how to give it. You know he was the best in the business, but I just got caught off guard and my forehead hit the cement. I had all my faculties. I was working. My body language was dictating what would happen to a guy if that happened. Jake Roberts was trying to pick up a dead body and I was limp and everybody was thinking that I was knocked out, but I wasn’t. I mean, it sounded like a hand grenade went off in my brain and it wasn’t too long afterwards I had such a lump appear on my head. I mean I looked like Elephant Man. It was huge and there was water and fluids built up underneath. It was huge, but I wasn’t knocked out.”

His last run as a performer in WWE: “A lot of the guys say that, but during the match there were moments where I knew I was a step off, and that’s just Mother Nature. I like to go 100 miles per hour when I hit the ropes, and I knew I was a step off. I wasn’t as flexible as I once was. One of my biggest things before the match was having a lot of the guys ask me what I do before a match. Some guys like to run in place, some would do push-ups, some do warm-ups. I really focused on stretching. I really think that helped me throughout my career. Getting back to the match: God, it was such a great feeling. I had a lot of déjà vu coming back over me in that match with (Chris) Jericho. I was so happy he took care of me.”

On the superstar he’s most proud of: “I was not coaching at the time, but a guy that I’m really, really proud of when I was a producer/agent, with Arn Anderson & Dean Malenko, is Dolph Ziggler. You could talk to him and see it in his eyes that he would get it. He knew what you were talking about. It wasn’t like you just go out there and do something for the sake of doing it. I always told him to have a rhyme and reason. I give this example: You’re having a match and you’ve been working on this guy’s arm and the guy’s gotten away from you a few times but somehow you’ve been able to get back to that arm. The story that you’re telling is that you’re trying to wear the guy’s arm down. Then you have a moment to which he gets away and you end up in the turnbuckle and he charges with a high knee, and you move. He hits the top turnbuckle with his knee and goes down and grabs his knee. I look at Zig and I said, “Dolph, what do you do?” And he said, “Well, I grab the arm.” I said, “You got it, kid.” Most times, the answer I get is “I grab his leg.”

His favorite match with his favorite opponent, Ric Flair: “This was a match where George Scott was the booker. And I’m going back, say 1979-80. Back then they had time limits and most of the main events had 60 minutes. And we wrestled to a draw. Back then we called them Broadways… George (Scott) said I don’t’ want to beat Ricky & I don’t want to beat Flair, so we wrestled 60 minutes to a draw. I’ve never wrestled anybody as many times as Ric Flair to one hour draws. So we are in Charlotte and this night Flair is going to go over and he was going to cheat, and George said you don’t have to go out there and go 40 or 50 minutes. Just give me a good solid 20. So we’re out there and the flow is going so good after 20-25 minutes that we go 45-50 minutes. The crowd has seen us wrestle so many times to the draw that they’re already calling it. Fifty-five minutes in and the announcer announces: 5 minutes left… 4 minutes left… 3 minutes left… 2 minutes left… 1 minute left in this contest. Then 30 seconds, 15 seconds, and as he starts the countdown 10… Flair hooks my legs and I go down on my back and he puts his feet up on the corner and the ref counts 1-2-3 with 3 seconds left on the clock… I laid there and Flair was laying there, because normally in a Broadway the last couple of minutes you’re really kicking into fifth gear. And I’m painting a picture that I’m trying to pin him all over the place. It’s false finish after false finish because the people understand time’s gonna run out for Ricky. And all of a sudden, he yanks my feet out as he’s begging off in the corner, and throws his feet up on the second rope, and the ref jumps down and counts 1-2-3. There was a hush over the Coliseum, and then all of a sudden it erupted… and they were throwing so much crap at Flair as he was trying to make his way back to the locker room. Coke cans, popcorn, cups… and I just stood there watching him cover up his head and try to make his way to the back… and then I looked up at the people and said, “We got ya.”

Check out the complete interview at ShiningWizards.com.

– For those unaware, the agents used in the RAW segment with Roman Reigns and Kane on Monday night were Jamie Noble, Fit Finlay, Dean Malenko, Joey Mercury and Mike Rotunda. Reigns shoved Noble across the ring and speared Finlay. Finlay was actually trending on Twitter after the segment, as several fans noticed who he was.

– Also at RAW last night was former WWE Tag-Team Champion Sylvain Grenier.

– The following are the extras for WWE’s 2014 Money In The Bank DVD, which is scheduled for a July 29th release:

Daniel Bryan Interview (Money In the Bank Kickoff)
Fandango & Layla Interview
Money In The Bank Moment 1: Jack Swagger
Money In The Bank Moment 2: Daniel Bryan
Money In The Bank Moment 3: Dolph Ziggler
Money In The Bank Moment 4: Randy Orton

Longtime WWE producer Dean Malenko is no longer working on the road or at the RAW and Smackdown TV tapings.

Malenko, who has been plagued by a series of heath issues in the past few years, has been “re-assigned” (you can read that as “demoted”) to NXT.

Malenko came into WWE as part of The Radicals with Chris Benoit, Eddie Guerrero and Perry Saturn, and was tagged into the producer role by John Laurinaitis when Laurinaitis started moving up in the corporate world as Jim Ross’ second in command in the talent relations division. He lives in Florida, and will reportedly commute between Tampa and Orlando.

As previously reported, WWE held another tryout camp at the WWE Performance Center earlier this month. The tryouts were held by Bill DeMott, Norman Smiley, Matt “Tensai” Bloom, Billy Gunn, William Regal and Dean Malenko.

One of the participants in the camp was Matt Dawson, a professional bodybuilder who stands 6’3” and weighs in at 282lbs. Dawson wrote the following blog recently at JTStrong.com about his experience.

“Incredible experience, but the most difficult thing I have EVER done, as far as athletics go.

I arrived in Orlando on Wednesday evening. Met my roommate and several others who were attending the camp at the car rental place inside the airport. We got our car and headed back to the hotel to unpack. Several of us then went out to eat, and turned in pretty early, as we knew we were about to go through hell.

Hell just might be an understatement. We arrived to the WWE Performance Center at 7:30am, as we did not want to be late for the 8am start time. We checked in and immediately had full physicals to ensure we were all healthy enough for the camp. I measured in at 6? 2 3/4? and 282lbs. I was the second largest athlete there. There was somebody they brought in from Russia who was at least 6’4? and 320lbs.

There was 30 of us in total. 20 of the guys were experienced “professional” style wrestlers, who have been doing this type of wrestling for years and years (some as long as 10 years). They were professional wrestlers from Japan, and various countries around Europe, as well as the US. These are the people who have worked their entire lives and are 100% dedicated for the sole purpose of making it into the WWE. Almost all of them have impressive amateur athletic backgrounds, from All State and All American amateur wrestlers, football, track and field and other athletic endeavors. Several of them even majored in theater while in college for the sole purpose of trying to make it into the WWE.

The other 10 of us were referred to as “athletes.” We have no “professional” style wrestling experience at all, but all have extremely various athletic backgrounds ranging from former NFL football players, All American amateur wrestlers, bodybuilders, powerlifters, Olympic bobsledders, All American college football players and even All American gymnasts.

I was extremely impressed with the coaches, as they knew ALL of us right when we walked in. They definitely did their homework as they knew our entire athletic backgrounds and all of our previous experiences. For all you wrestling fans, the coaches were Bill Demott, William Regal, Billy Gunn, Dean Malenko, Normal Smiley, Matt Bloom (Prince Albert) and several others.

Anyways, day 1 and 2 were broken down into two, 3 hour training sessions, with a 90 minute lunch break or so. After all the physicals were complete they immediately began our training which consisted of 3 hours of pure, 100% conditioning. This certainly isn’t my forte, as all my training for the past 15 years has been geared towards lifting maximal weights, and no conditioning work longer than 30 second bursts. There were 3 wrestling rings set up and we went nonstop from one ring to the other to the other doing various wrestling style conditioning drills. Let me emphasize that this was 3 hours of practically non stop conditioning with various rolls, jumps, flips, slams, updowns etc… I thought I was going to die at least 5 times, but I never quit or gave up. I couldn’t believe the extent that they pushed us, as this was by far the hardest thing I have ever done athletically. I would rather go through 2 months of college football 2-a-days then experience another 3 days of this. Brutal is an extreme understatement.

After each and every training session I honestly didn’t know if i was going to survive. Every single muscle, joint, tendon, and ligament was screaming.

Day 3 was a bit easier as it was the final day, and we only had one session, half of it consisting of doing our “promos” and photoshoots. I did my promo as a crazy school teacher who was fed up with children who were spoiled, parents who don’t discipline their children, and kids running the show while the parents sit back, hopeless and afraid to set rules and guidelines for their kids. Apparently it went extremely well, as everybody was super impressed with the promo I gave….little did they know it wasn’t that far off of what I truly believe anyways!

At the end of the camp, the coaches gave us a great speech. Basically they all said that this was one of the best camps they have ever had (they hold 3 camps per year). Nobody quit, and we all powered through the training. They knew all of our backgrounds and knew many of us were not designed for that crazy level of conditioning. They simply wanted to weed us out, see who was tough enough, and who wouldn’t quit. The WWE is a great company, and they took very good care of us while we were down there. I was totally impressed with the professionalism and dedication of the WWE. They said they will let us know, one way or another, if they want to offer us a contract or not within 6-8 weeks.

All in all it was an amazing experience, but an experience I never want to repeat. I have an entire new respect for all the WWE superstars, and the brutal training they put their bodies through day in and day out.”

– Kellan Lutz, who is portraying “Hercules” in a separate film from the one Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson recently starred in, noted in a recent interview that he was unable to get as big as The Rock did for his role. Lutz even went as far as to say, “There’s not enough ‘extra-curricular’ stuff for that.”

Check out the complete interview online at ContactMusic.com.

– WWE Superstar Mark Henry has apparently been spotted in Boston, Massachusetts, the site of tonight’s WWE Survivor Series pay-per-view. Henry was seen flying into Boston with WWE agents Billy Kidman and Dean Malenko.

Obviously Henry’s presence in Boston doesn’t necessarily mean that he will be making his return during the show. Some are speculating, however, that he will return to answer the “open challenge” that Ryback is rumored to be a part of on the show tonight.

– WWE agent Dean Malenko, who has dealt with heart issues in the past, was apparently sent home early from the WWE European tour due to chest pains. Malenko was first taken to the hospital and after being examined by doctors, was sent home.

– As previously reported, WWE Superstar Sheamus mentioned in a recent interview that his dream WrestleMania opponent would be The Undertaker. Apparently Sheamus is actually trying to push the idea of that match taking place internally, so he seems to be quite serious about it.

The official WWE website has published an article Friday profiling former NBA star Dennis Rodman’s attention-grabbing tenure with World Championship Wrestling in the late-1990’s. Diamond Dallas Page, Lex Luger, Kevin Sullivan, Dean Malenko and Billy Kidman are quoted in the piece.

The then-member of the Chicago Bulls joined forces with WCW in early-1997 while serving a suspension from the NBA for kicking a cameraman in the groin during a game against the Minnesota Timberwolves. He appeared alongside the New World Order at the March 1997 Uncensored pay-per-view event and made his wrestling debut four months later at Bash at the Beach, where he partnered with Hollywood Hogan in a loss to Luger and The Giant. According to accounts, Rodman tried in earnest to prepare for the match, with Sullivan stating that he spent time learning the ropes from Paul Orndorff and Jody Hamilton at the WCW’s training facility, the Power Plant.

“He was a natural,” Luger told WWE.com. “Man, he caught right on. I was almost envious. It took me a lot longer to even have a clue how to do this.”

Rodman laced up the wrestling boots again one year later as he squared off against Karl Malone at the 1998 Bash at the Beach, just one month after playing against him in the NBA Finals. Page brainstormed the idea of himself and Malone (who had become friends due to Malone’s wrestling fandom) facing Rodman and Hogan at the pay-per-view event, but admits that former WCW executive Eric Bischoff initially had another wrestler in mind as Malone’s tag team partner.

“I went over to Eric Bischoff’s house and I said, ‘I got this idea: Me and Malone against Rodman and Hogan,” Page said. “Bischoff thought about it and went, ‘Wow, Hogan and Rodman versus Savage and Malone.’ I said, ‘Maybe you didn’t hear me. Me and Malone, because this is my connection and I’m not giving it to anybody.’”

The 23-minute match, however, was poorly received, with WWE labeling the match as “not very good” and branding Rodman as “sluggish and, at times, barely conscious.”

“He’s probably one of the only people in the history of our business to fall asleep during a match, using the turnbuckle as a pillow,” said WWE producer Dean Malenko, who worked for WCW at the time.

WWE also acknowledges the end of Rodman’s wrestling career, which included matches against “Macho Man” Randy Savage and Curt Hennig, and winning the Hulk Hogan’s Celebrity Championship Wrestling reality show. To access the article, click here.

– With Sheamus’ Brogue Kick banned by SmackDown General Manager Booker T, the World Heavyweight Champion heads into his Night of Champions match with Alberto Del Rio with a new submission maneuver; Cloverleaf.

Innovated by WWE Hall of Famer Dory Funk, Jr., Sheamus says former WWE and WCW competitor Dean Malenko’s use of maneuver inspired him to master the hold.

“Dean was one of the greatest submission experts ever, and as history has seen, he’s made hundreds and hundreds of Superstars tap out [to the Cloverleaf],” Sheamus told WWE.com. “It’s one of the most agonizing and painful submission holds, and it’s also one of the most effective. Plus, being Irish, the Cloverleaf fits me well.”

To read the full article, click here.

– WWE has released Ryback’s current entrance video featuring “Meat On the Table” by Jim Johnston.

— Husky Harris has been removed from WWE.com’s Raw Superstars page. He is, however, still under contract to WWE as he is still listed as a member of Florida Championship Wrestling.

Harris last appeared on WWE programming on the January 31, 2011 episode of Raw as he and Michael McGillicutty unsuccessfully challenged Santino Marella and Vladimir Kozlov for the WWE Tag Team Championship. Following the bout, Randy Orton attacked both individuals for costing him the opportunity to recapture the WWE Championship in an earlier match, and punted Harris in the head. This was a scripted injury to write the second generation wrestler off television and demote him to developmental.

Harris resurfaced in FCW as the hockey mask-wearing character Axl Mulligan but has since appeared as himself.

— Triple H will be a guest on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon Friday night. Tune in to NBC at 12:35/11:35 CT to see “The Game” on the hit talk show.

— WWE producer Dean Malenko turns 51 years old today.

— According to WhatsPlaying.com.au, John Cena is being considered for a television adaption of the James Cameron film True Lies, which is currently being developed. The report doesn’t indicate that the WWE Superstar has been approached, just that he is on the production company’s radar.

— There had been some discussion regarding the health of WWE producer Dean Malenko, but his wife posted on Facebook that he suffered a heart attack. He had a stent placed in his heart, but many in WWE denied he suffered a heart attack.

— Last Saturday’s airing of Tribute to the Troops on NBC drew a 1.45 broadcast rating and 2.34 million viewers overall. The number is similar to last year’s show, which was a 1.43 rating and 2.39 million viewers.

The show finished in last place among the four networks by a wide margin, even with ABC and CBS airing rerun programming.

— Half Pint Brawlers, which aired on Spike TV a few months ago, has been picked up by MTV Australia. The program debuts next month.

source: www.f4wonline.com

— It was reported this week that WWE developmental wrestler Verity Thomas (real name Vickie Skeeles), a recently signed women’s grappler from the U.K., was removed from the roster page of the official website of Florida Championship Wrestling.

Skeeles confirmed on her Twitter account today that she she decided to part ways with World Wrestling Entertainment over Thanksgiving weekend, citing locker room politics.

She wrote: “Yes guys I have been removed from the FCW page. I have decided, during thanksgiving break, to move on from wrestling-too many locker room politics. Life is meant for living and being happy&cheery;:) I’m a positive girl who doesn’t need negativity in her life. I will still be modelling and doing appearances. Thank you for all your support but now I would LOVE you to support my girl Sonia, she is a fantastic worker and one of my very very special friends- I love her to bits and I you should too. Love you all :) and keep smiling because I still am!”

— Sports columnist, author and podcaster Bill Simmons conducted an interview with WWE Champion The Miz yesterday for his ESPN.com podcast, The B.S. Report.

The interview can be accessed here.

— The heart procedure that WWE producer Dean Malenko underwent was to have a stent placed. (source: Wrestling Observer Newsletter)