– As reported earlier this week, the woman portraying Claire Lynch—purportedly pregnant with AJ Styles’ child—on Impact Wrestling is Julia Reilly, an Orlando, Florida-based actress and model. She is 36-years-old and has 15 years of acting experience. TNA Wrestling held an audition a few months ago for the role and she was chosen because she resides in Orlando, where Impact is taped, which saves them money on airfare.

Reilly also works at Universal Studios Orlando—where Impact is taped—as Olive Oyl by the theme park’s “Popeye” ride. It is something Reilly has tried to conceal—she did not list it in her resume, which she deleted last week after her identity was revealed online.

– TNA Wrestling producer Eric Bischoff congratulated former WWE chief executive Linda McMahon on her triumph in the Connecticut GOP Senate primary on Tuesday.

He wrote on Twitter, “Congratulations to Linda McMahon on her nomination. Smart, strong, experienced. Ct. voters are fortunate to have a legitimate leader.”

Bischoff had also tweeted on last week’s episode of Impact Wrestling, writing, “It was a solid show that reached its goal. Looking forward to producing a “big moment” ep soon. Pacing.”

(source: Wrestling Observer Newsletter)

– Big Show is featured in a public service announcement promoting the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s anti-drunk driving campaign, “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over.”

– Donald Trump congratulated former WWE chief executive Linda McMahon on her triumph in the Connecticut GOP Senate primary on Tuesday.

The eccentric billionaire wrote on Twitter, “Congratulations to Linda McMahon on her victory in the Connecticut Senate primary. She is an amazing woman–smart as you get!”

– Former WWE Superstar Edge is today’s featured Superstar on WWE.com. The WWE Hall of Famer is free to appear for any wrestling organization since he is no longer under contract to WWE.

Yahoo.com published a brief article noting that former WWE chief executive Linda McMahon won her GOP Senate primary on Tuesday night after spending almost ten times as much as her opponent and $61 million over the course of two campaigns to try to win the seat for U.S. Senator from Connecticut. When McMahon campaigned in 2010, she broke Connecticut state records for out-of-pocket spending by splurging $50 million of her own money—and still lost. This time around, McMahon spent over $11 million to defeat former Representative Christopher Shays by a three to one margin, who had spent approximately $1.2 million.

According to MyFoxNY.com, McMahon actually spent $15.7 million of her personal money on the campaign, which would bring the total thus far to approximately $66 million.

After the race was called Tuesday night, the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee immediately attacked McMahon over her WWE past.

“Linda McMahon is a greedy CEO who made millions marketing sex and violence to little kids, all at the expense of the health and safety of her own employees,” said Executive Director Guy Cecil. “Everything about McMahon’s record, principles and agenda prove that she is wrong for Connecticut. There isn’t enough money in the world to convince Connecticut voters otherwise.”

– Shawn Michaels tweeted on Tuesday that he his “highly unlikely” to appear at SummerSlam this Sunday, but the WWE website has followed up with a report that he won’t be there. Michaels suffered a [storyline] broken arm at the hands of Brock Lesnar on RAW and was scheduled to be in Triple H’s corner for his match against Lesnar

– Linda McMahon won Tuesday’s GOP U.S. Senate primary in Connecticut by defeating former U.S. Representative Christopher Shays. She is now the Republican nominee for November’s Senate race. For more on this story, visit StamfordAdvocate.com.

As A.W. predicted, his original Twitter account was suspended after the terminated WWE Superstar posted a multitude of messages disparaging his former employer and Vince McMahon’s wife Linda McMahon. A.W., however, set up another account under his real name, Brian Jossie, at BJRatedR and has continued to sound off on the sports-entertainment organization as well as Linda.

Jossie believes WWE had his original account shut down, writing, “Yeah the #WWE shut down my old account. It’s all good. It was fun while it lasted.” When asked whether the account was his property, he responded, “Not really sure. Although when it comes to the #WWE they own everything like Satan, including your soul,lol!”

Jossie, who blames Linda and her ongoing U.S. Senate campaign for his termination from WWE, subsequently posted three images ridiculing the political hopeful. In the first pic, he posted a joke poster of McMahon reading “UNSTOPPABLE”-a takeoff of the Barack Obama “Hope” poster. He then posted an unflattering photo of McMahon, noting, “Is it me or does Linda McMahon make Hilary Clinton look like Angelina Fucking Jolie!!” Jossie was also sent a side-by-side image of Linda and the Cryptkeeper and asked if he sees a resemblance. “Yep! CryptKeeper might have her beat,” he wrote.

Jossie had also tweeted, “@Linda_McMahon has cost more negroes jobs than hurricane Katrina!!” However, he stated minutes later that he doesn’t hate Linda and that he’s merely joking around.

“I don’t hate Linda, I’m doing what a comedian would do. Making light of a serious situation inorder to make people think!” Jossie wrote.

He then continued the Linda jokes, writing, “David Duke would hire my black ass before @Linda_McMahon!” He then added, “Sorry I won’t be HANGING out at any #WWE shows. There’s enough pro wrestling lynching as it is….”

In response to a fan comment stating, “It’s pretty damn funny that @WWE actually thinks @Linda_McMahon has a chance at winning,” Jossie responded, “Agreed, Them muthafuckas are as high as Jeff Hardy!!!”

Jossie was also asked whether one needs to “play the game” in order to survive the political minefield of WWE. He responded, “Politics is a must. Everyone plays the GAME!! Some (Divas) more than others….#WinkWink #HHH.”

A Twitter user sent Jossie a mock graphic proposing a Street Fight between himself and Vince McMahon at WrestleMania XXIX, to which he responded, “Ha! Yeah I’d whoop that old man’s ass! I’d only do it if Shane and Steph joined in. #McMahonSmackdown!” He also noted “as soon as I see Vince on TV this Nike is gonna fuck my plasma up!!”

Jossie was also asked how WWE would have acted had he made a Mike Tyson rape joke rather than a Kobe Bryant one. “Nope I would have probably got a raise! #WhatTheFuck?” he responded.

Finally, Jossie was asked whether he’s calling out WWE for exposure, to be controversial or out of bitterness. “I’m just saying my peace. I wish more people would be like JTG and not be afraid to speak up. #Courage,” he says.

After WWE unceremoniously terminated A.W.’s contract Friday for what a company spokesman said was due to his continued use of offensive and inappropriate comments on live television and on social media after uttering a rape joke on the July 30 episode of Raw, the All World Promotions chief posted a barrage of vitriolic messages on Twitter blistering his former employer for what he perceives are double standards.

A.W. strongly feels it is unjust that he’s now out of job when Big Show made a similar remark referencing NBA player Kobe Bryant’s sexual assault case, Vince McMahon reneged WWE’s anti-bullying campaign two months ago on Raw by ridiculing Jim Ross’ facial paralysis, CM Punk told a fan on Twitter to kill himself, Triple H simulated mock sex with a mannequin in a casket, McMahon used a racial epithet on national television, and the company showcased a character making light of mentally challenged individuals, among other unsavory events. Fans comments he posted include: “VINCE MCMAHON CAN SAY THE “N” WORD ON NATIONAL T.V. BUT @AWPromotions CAN’T TELL A JOKE………….whats wrong with this picture???”

“McMahon is a hypocrite! It’s cool for him to mock JR’s Bells Palsy, & you aren’t cut any slack for one joke? #BeAStarVince.”

“I hope Vince hasn’t forgot How he mocked @JRsBBQ on #RAW live, and @AWPromotions gets released for one joke?”

“@if only you had strangled someone with your tie, you’d be back within 6 months lol.”

“so Dx can tell everyone to suck it but u can’t make a joke?”

“@CMPunk told one of his twitter followers to kill themselves. biggest double standard in the world.”

“@kane has sex with a dead girl but @AWPromotions makes a kobe joke and gets fired.”

“Vince can kick the leg out from under a one legged kid, wrestle women, mock The mentally retarded and he fired you!!!”

“@Didn’t Big Show make a Kobe Bryant reference in a battle rap with Cena in 2003 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1V6gr8CB-Eg … but AW gets let go?”

A.W. feels he is a casualty of Linda McMahon’s Republican pursuit of a United States Senate seat in Connecticut, which many have speculated has led the sports-entertainment organization to take action on any matter deemed controversial so as not to affect her campaign.

He tweeted to Linda, “Creates jobs my ass!! I’m fired thanks to you and your campaign.”

Amid pressure to reveal more of her personal financial information, United States Senate candidate Linda McMahon released her and Vince McMahon’s 2011 tax returns.

The returns show the couple made $24.1 million in 2011, down from $30 million in 2010. The report that they released will be amended soon as the McMahons are waiting on a report from some investment incomes. In 2011, the McMahons paid approximately $3.6 million in federal taxes and $1.72 million in state taxes.

Recent Pictures of the McMahon Family Together At A Political Function

Speaking of Linda McMahon, she may be under fire in Connecticut from Democrats and angry moms, but she can rest assured that she has the support of All World Promotions. AW tweeted:

https://twitter.com/awpromotions/status/233751085297303554

According to Connecticut’s CTNewsJunie.com, a group of women calling themselves “Moms Opposing McMahon” gathered Wednesday morning in a park to protest Republican Linda McMahon’s bid for United States Senate. The group’s leader, Leslie Simoes, said this about McMahon:

“We oppose McMahon’s candidacy and attempts to reinvent herself as a proven jobs creator when in reality she has profited by marketing violence against women and mistreatment of her employees.”

WWE has since responded to the claims made by “Moms Opposing McMahon”:

“All WWE broadcast programming is TV-PG, rated not by us, but by the standards and practices departments of our TV network distributors, while the majority of today’s prime time programming is rated TV-14. Five million women watch WWE’s weekly TV programming, representing nearly 40 percent of our TV audience. Women would not be watching if they found our programming objectionable.”

* Recent Pictures Of The MCMAHON FAMILY Together At Political Function

– There has been talk of giving Brodus Clay’s character more of an edge and dropping his dancing Funkasaurus gimmick. Clay will be appearing in the upcoming WWE Studios horror movie “No One Lives,” which could be factor.

– WWE posted the following video counting down the Top 10 Fantasy Matches that never took place:

(Partial Source: f4wonline.com)

– Chris Jericho’s metal band Fozzy will be playing New York City’s Grammercy Theater on Thursday, August 30th.

It was also announced this week that Fozzy will play the “Soundwave” Australian hard rock festival next year. The festival typically takes place in early march.

Details On Chris Jericho Leaving WWE Again This Summer

– According to Connecticut’s Stanford Advocate newspaper, a recent filing with the Federal Election Commission reveals that US Senate candidate Linda McMahon donated another $4.3 million to her campaign in July.

The latest contribution brings her total contributions to the current campaign to $12.4 million.

– WWE officials were impressed with Billy Gunn and his interactions with Shawn Michaels on Raw 1,000 and the belief is he’ll receive at least one match on a future televised show. Meanwhile, many backstage feel Sean “X-Pac” Waltman didn’t appear in great shape on the milestone episode so it is unlikely that he’ll be brought back for a match.

Some people were surprised that with WWE’s TV-PG directive and Linda McMahon running for United States Senate, officials had no problem having Waltman appear on television despite his involvement with a sex tape years ago. Some people backstage were also joking about how friendly Gunn was with everyone considering that he challenged Triple H and Shawn Michaels to a “shoot” fight years ago.

– After AJ Lee was named General Manager of Raw last week on Raw 1,000, her first act in the position was to grant Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson a WWE Championship Match at the Royal Rumble. The angle, however, was nixed due to time constraints and Johnson announced that he would face whoever the WWE Champion is at the pay-per-view event.

WWE plans to downplay Johnson’s upcoming title shot until after the Survivor Series on November 18 as to not draw attention away from any of the other shows they have to promote in the meantime. Officials also want Royal Rumble, which takes place in Phoenix, Arizona, to be sold out by November.

(source: F4WOnline.com)

– Linda McMahon and her husband, WWE CEO Vince McMahon, earned $30.6 million in 2010, according to a tax return provided to The Associated Press on Friday by Linda.

The endorsed Republican candidate in the race for Connecticut’s open U.S. Senate seat says her 2011 returns will eventually be released.

The vast majority of their income came from stock dividends. They paid $4.7 million in federal taxes. (Article)

– Former WWE Champion Dave “Batista” Bautista took part in a photo shoot for men’s magazine GQ on Thursday to promote the upcoming Quentin Tarantino produced Kung Fu movie The Man with the Iron Fists. The noted wrestler appears in the flick with Academy Award winner Russell Crowe, Lucy Liu and mixed martial artist Cung Lee.

– Former WWE tandem Perry Saturn and Terri Runnels have been announced to appear a The Big Event 3. The event takes place Saturday, October 6 at the Courtyard Marriott LaGuardia Airport 9010 Ditmars Blvd. East Elmhurst, New York.

WWE “set the record straight” via WWE.com Tuesday regarding its programming and storylines following a negative blog post by Colin McEnroe of the Hartford Courant concerning the mentally challenged character Eugene, who appeared for the organization from 2004 to 2007 and once in 2009. Darien Times writer Joshua Fisher stated in an editorial last week blistering Linda McMahon’s United States Senate campaign that her job creation method included making fun of retarded men, which led McEnroe to describe the former character in an editorial.

He wrote, “Eugene is a mentally retarded WWE character who is, unmistakably, played for laughs. In [the following video], we see him strolling a stadium corner, ogling a skin mag and sporting a huge “my name is Eugene” name tag. He walks into the women’s locker room and “hilarity” ensues. Entirely at his expense. In its latest “how dare you” letter to a Connecticut newspaper, the WWE argues that Eugene is an underdog who repeatedly triumphs. Maybe. That does not change the fact that his mental retardation is essentially a comic device.

“If a video like the one above-linked or the one below surfaced in connection with any other campaign, the candidate would have some serious ‘splainin’ to do. Somehow, because she is associated with so many hundreds of dehumanizing videos, Linda McMahon is inoculated against the shame of any one of them. The thing to remember is that, solely on the strength of a career of spewing out this boorish dross, she claims to deserve one of this nation’s 100 Senate seats.”

McEnroe also enclosed a video of Eugene exclaiming “I want to see her boobies!” to Diva Search contestant Carmella DeCesare on a 2004 episode of Raw.

WWE responded, “It is clear, based on Mr. McEnroe’s latest blog post, that he does not understand WWE’s programming. Like Hollywood movies and Broadway shows, it is an exciting blend of action, characters and fictional storylines of good versus evil that entertains millions weekly. His assertion that the Eugene character was “essentially a comic device” is inaccurate and lacks total perspective.”

In their statement, WWE enclosed a video of the man behind Eugene, Nick Dinsmore, offering a “truthful portrayal” of the character. The sports entertainment organization adds, “We will continue to implore the media to make accurate descriptions of our characters and storylines versus taking sound bites, scenes and footage out of context that mischaracterizes WWE’s content.”

Dinsmore states in the video, “Hi, my name is Nick Dinsmore, and for five years I had the privilege of playing a character on WWE television, Eugene.

“The character Eugene was unique in the fact that he was a person with special needs. The WWE has and continues to showcase a wide variety of characters and a fictious WWE Universe. This WWE Universe comes to you each and every week and entertains millions and millions of fans.

“When I was playing the role of Eugene, I wanted to display a character that had not only special needs, but incredible qualities; honesty, strength, very playful, quite naïve at times. But my favorite quality was his heart and desire. He went after his dreams and achieved at any cost and didn’t let anything stand in his way.

“Once the fans started to see that he could live his dream, he was winning championships, he was meeting his idols, more and more people cheered for Eugene and wanted to see him succeed. No different than in the movie Forrest Gump when he started to do good for himself, everybody cheered him on, everybody wanted him to do better. Eugene’s no different and the people treated him the same way, they wanted to see him succeed. I’m proud that I got to portray a true hero.

“Eugene had a lot of forces, a lot of “bad guys” against him. Probably the meanest, nastiest, dirtiest, devious of them all was the sinister character Mr. McMahon. But even with all those forces against him, Eugene always came out on top—even pinned Mr. McMahon one time.

“I’m proud to have been a part of the WWE, an organization that has the commitment to individuals with special needs. WWE is a proud supporter of The Arc (the world’s largest community-based organization of and for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities), Muscular Dystrophy Association and the Special Olympics.

“Nobody ever really came up to me and said, “Oh you’re doing a bad thing, oh, I can’t believe you did this.” If anything, I got a lot of positive affirmation. I met several people with special needs and without a doubt, they would always run to me and just want to hug me. That one instance for them to be able to meet what I hope would be their hero is a little bit indescribable and is an incredible feeling.

“Characters like that have to overcome adversities and face everyday challenges, and they always come out on top.

“It’s Hollywood, where the good guys always win!”

A Connecticut newspaper writer has once again drawn the ire of WWE for editorial remarks they feel are inaccurate and damaging to their corporate reputation.

In a May Darien Times editorial criticizing Linda McMahon’s United States Senate campaign, Joshua Fisher dismissed WWE’s product as “barely above pornography.” The article drew a strongly-worded response from WWE in defense of their product, which led Fisher to point out televised incidents that could be defined as pornography, such as Edge and Lita’s unprecedented Live Sex Celebration and Trish Stratus stripping her clothes off and barking like a dog for company chief Vince McMahon.

Fisher wrote another column last week criticizing Linda McMahon where he stated that it’s strange that she says she’s not a career politician “because she can bob and weave a question like some of the best politicians around.” He also dismissed Linda’s boastful proclamations of creating jobs.

He writes, “Mrs. McMahon loves to point out how she’s created jobs. But she does not like to answer questions about those jobs. While CEO of World Wrestling Entertainment, she created jobs that included making fun of retarded men, demeaning women and possibly encouraging steroid use — this does not even touch on how it possibly has influenced the future bullies of American schools.”

Fisher’s remarks rattled WWE, who feel his ‘misstatements’ are damaging to their corporate reputation. WWE issued a letter to the Darien TimesTuesday in response to Fisher, which was also published on WWE.com. Darien Times also published the letter, with editor Brian Flinn noting the previous editorial WWE is referring to “is all based on fact.” In the letter, Fisher included links to various videos and articles of matters WWE asserts are inaccurate.

Dear Mr. Fisher:

It is regrettable that we find it necessary to once again point out that you have made inaccurate statements and mischaracterizations in the Darien Times regarding WWE, this time in your editorial on July 12. Although this was an opinion piece, you are still required to report accurately and not distort the truth. This is now at least the second instance in which you have made misstatements that damage WWE’s corporate reputation.

Your assertion that WWE has made “fun of retarded men” is inaccurate, takes our content completely out of context and fails to factually portray a storyline. WWE featured a character — an actor playing a role — named “Eugene,” who was a person with intellectual disabilities. He was often faced with difficult challenges, situations and rivals, including some of the most villainous and dastardly WWE characters. What you failed to convey is that Eugene, like most of WWE’s “good guys,” overcame the obstacles, prevailed and was a hero to our millions of fans.

Your statement that WWE was “demeaning women” is also inaccurate and again takes our content out of context and makes no mention of storylines. WWE has produced a variety of powerful and heroic female characters throughout the years that have come up against malicious villains, who are also actors playing a role. And yes, those “bad guys” do reprehensible things, but they eventually pay a price for their behavior. Our television audience would not be nearly 40 percent female if we were degrading women.

As it relates to the foregoing clarifications, it is important to note that WWE programming, like Hollywood movies and Broadway shows, is an exciting blend of action, characters and fictional storylines of good versus evil that entertains millions every week. Without Darth Vader there is no Luke Skywalker. We, too, create protagonists and antagonists and tell stories of good versus evil.

You also wrote that WWE has been “encouraging steroid use,” which is a blatant misstatement of fact. WWE prohibits steroid use and conducts a minimum of four random drug tests per year for all talent, and any performer that tests positive is suspended. WWE began testing for steroids in 2006, before many major sports leagues, and we currently have one of the most comprehensive talent wellness programs in all of sports and entertainment, managed by world renowned third party medical experts. Additionally, WWE has always encouraged its talent to live a healthy lifestyle, as they are the company’s greatest asset. For more information about WWE’s talent wellness program, please visit corporate.wwe.com.

In your editorial, you also state that WWE “influenced the future bullies of American schools.” The fact is that WWE promotes anti-bullying and has created a global initiative called be a STAR (ShowToleranceAndRespect) designed to teach children how to deal with conflict in the real world. We recognize the power and influence of our brand and spend a considerable amount of time and resources to make sure children understand the difference between what they see on television, where storylines and conflicts are resolved in the ring, versus how to deal with challenges in everyday life.

WWE expects you will print this letter in as public a manner as that in which you made the foregoing false statements. In the future, we request you contact us for factual information about our company before attempting to characterize our programming as you continue to do so erroneously.

Sincerely,

Brian Flinn

Senior Vice President, Marketing and Communications

Former Connecticut Rep. Chris Shays took aim at U.S. Senate frontrunner Linda McMahon and the content of WWE programming several times during an hour-long Republican debate at the University of Connecticut Thursday, saying that the wrestling organization’s stories are the real “war on women.” At two points, he referred to McMahon’s husband, Vince McMahon, making a woman—Trish Stratus—remove her clothing and bark like a dog during a skit.

“I think when you force a woman to take off all her clothes in an arena, and get down on the ground and bark like a dog, I think that’s assault on women,” said Shays.

“You can’t talk about you’re a job creator without talking about the jobs you created,” he told reporters after the debate, adding how McMahon has no answers to his criticism. Shays also referenced stories of WWE wrestlers who have died young, which have been widely attributed to the use of performance-enhancing drugs. McMahon, however, steered away from his WWE-related criticism to focus on her job plans.

“I’m very proud of the company that I have helped grow, from the point of time when my husband and I shared a desk,” said McMahon. “I’m proud of the jobs that I have created here in Connecticut, and I’m proud of the millions of dollars that we have put into the economy here in our state.”

“A job creator?” Shays responded. “Hugh Hefner is a job creator. I don’t want Hugh Hefner being there, and I don’t want Linda McMahon being there.”

Additional details from the debate are available here.

In his latest interview with CYInterview.com, Jesse Ventura discussed numerous political, entertainment and wrestling topics among other things. Speaking with Chris Yandek and Jay Bildstein, the former Governor of Minnesota says Vince McMahon got mad at him because he wouldn’t support Linda McMahon’s failed United States Senate run in 2010. He hasn’t spoken to Vince since.

“I haven’t spoken to Vince since he got mad at me ‘cause I wouldn’t endorse Linda for the senate…He got mad at me because I was on Good Morning America or something and they asked me would you support Linda McMahon? And I said no. But let me explain, I don’t support any Democrats or Republicans. She’s running as a Republican and I don’t support anyone from those two parties no matter who they are and so it was nothing personal against Linda, but Vince got real mad at me that I said that on national TV, but he should’ve known better.”

Governor Ventura supports former Governor of New Mexico Gary Johnson in the 2012 Presidential Elections. Mr. Johnson is the Libertarian candidate and will be on the ballot in all 50 states:

“I will fully support Governor Johnson. I know him. We were Governors at the same time. He is a terrific man. He’s left the Republican Party because he sees what a farce they are and I urge everybody that reads this book vote for Gary Johnson for president. Don’t vote for Democrats or Republicans. Vote for Governor Johnson.”

The full interview is available here.

– WWE.com announced Thursday that United States Champion Santino Marella has challenged Ricardo Rodriguez to a Tuxedo Match at No Way Out on Sunday. The website asks, “Who’s best suited for the cummerbund-crushing contest: The Milan Miracle or Alberto Del Rio’s personal ring announcer?”

Click here for a WWE.com video of Marella issuing his challenge to Rodriguez.

– Former WWE Divas Lita and Torrie Wilson, as well as WWE Champion CM Punk, attended Wednesday’s New York Yankees vs. Atlanta Braves game at Turner Field. Wilson is in a relationship with Yankees star Alex Rodriguez while Lita dates Punk.

– Shawn Michaels is promoting the upcoming season of the Outdoor Channel’s MacMillan River Adventures on June 23 at a Bass Pro Shop location in Gurnee, Illinois. The autograph session is free and takes place from noon to 2:00 p.m.

– Linda McMahon, who spent $50 million of her own money in her first Senate run in Connecticut, has been spending and loaning her campaign much less so far as she makes a second bid, according to federal elections records. The Associated Press reports McMahon loaned her campaign $5.1 million through mid-May and spent $3.8 million as of late April.

– According to a source within WWE, several company employees believe Chris Jericho was suspended for thirty days due to the act of denigrating the Brazilian flag at a Raw live event in São Paulo on May 24 for political reasons. Linda McMahon is campaigning for U.S. Senator of Connecticut and many feel the organization suspended him out of concern over what the Connecticut media would think if they read a story online about their wrestlers defacing an international flag.

– Following his appearance on Monday’s Raw SuperShow, WWE.com had added Vader to their Alumni section.

– WWE will hold a SmackDown live event at the Copps Coliseum in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada on September 8. The event begins at 7:30 p.m.

– WWE will hold a SmackDown live event at the K-Rock Centre in Kingston, Ontario on September 9. The event begins at 7:30 p.m.

(source: F4WOnline.com)

United States Senate candidate Linda McMahon has been under attack in recent weeks due to her ties to WWE, with two newspapers comparing the wrestling product to pornography. Democrat Susan Bysiewicz, a prospective candidate for the same office Linda is running for, gave a speech last Thursday saying, “I’ll be damned if I let someone who sells sex and violence and pornography for a living be our next United States Senator. We have to send the right woman to Washington.”

The McMahon campaign quickly responded with a great deal of evidence showing Bysiewicz not only strongly endorsed McMahon in the past, but also worked directly with WWE and its superstars. When Bysiewicz was Secretary of State, she worked with Linda on the Smackdown Your Vote campaign and even spoke at high schools with along with WWE superstars. Bysiewicz had previously endorsed McMahon when she was running for the Connecticut Board of Education.

Moving forward, McMahon’s campaign strategy is to reach out to female voters, holding daily women-only meetings across the state.

Check out these recent pictures of the McMahon family at a recent campaign event for Linda:

[nggallery id=13]

(Source: Wrestling Observer Newsletter)

Linda McMahon officially received the Connecticut Republican party nomination for the United States Senate at Friday’s convention in Hartford, CT. McMahon received 57% of the vote while Chris Shays received 31%.

Stephanie McMahon, Shane McMahon, Vince McMahon and Triple H were all there to support Linda as you can see in the photos below:

[nggallery id=13]

Linda McMahon political opponent Christopher Shays bluntly argued this week that the former professional wrestling executive should not be running for the Republican nomination for the U.S. Senate position for Connecticut because she is an unsuitable candidate. McMahon, whose background with WWE became an unflattering focus of her last campaign, was once again railed for her past ties to the professional wrestling organization.

In an interview with The New York Times, Shays listed “some of the more distasteful episodes” in the history of WWE, including husband Vince McMahon’s penchant for dropping his trousers and underwear in the middle of the ring and having wrestlers kiss his bare buttocks. It is known as the “Mr. McMahon Kiss My Ass Club.”

“You’re clearly not a social conservative when you do those things, and you’re clearly not a fiscal conservative when you spend $50 million so wastefully,” Shays says.

McMahon created the “Mr. McMahon Kiss My Ass Club” following the collapse of The Alliance in November 2001, which consisted of various WWE personalities being ordered to kiss his posterior under the threat of suspension or termination. Members of this exclusive club include William Regal, Jim Ross, Shawn Michaels, Shane McMahon, Mick Foley and Hornswoggle. Hornswoggle, however, did not actually kiss McMahon’s derriere, instead biting him. The WWE Chairman ruled Hornswoggle as an official club member since his lips came in contact with his backside.

The club even spawned its own online cartoon, “Mr. McMahon’s Kiss My Ass Club – The WWE’s Most Valuable Asset. The cartoon series, produced by Animax Entertainment, debuted on WWE.com in November 2006. The cartoon was later canceled as part of a settlement between WWE and Cartoon Network due to the show’s similarities with Cartoon Network program Assy McGee. If you haven’t seen the short-lived cartoon – here it is:

— Stephanie McMahon is featured in a promotional advertisement for Linda McMahon’s campaign for United States Senator from Connecticut.

[vsw id=”vVl5qRhQ0nk” source=”youtube” width=”590″ height=”330″ autoplay=”no”]

— WWE’s European DVD distributor Silvervision announced via Facebook that anyone who ordered the following pre-order titles will be refunded in full due to production errors: The Best of WCW Clash of the Champions DVD, The Best of WCW Clash of the Champions Blu-ray, The Biggest Matches in ECW History DVD, The Biggest Matches in ECW History Blu-ray, WrestleMania XXVIII DVD, WrestleMania XXVIII Blu-ray.

— Sheamus appears at Saturday’s Market in Middletown, Pennsylvania today from 11:00 a.m. until 1:00 p.m. Santino Marella is also appearing at Bryant and Stratton College in Syracuse, New York beginning at 2:00 p.m.

— With Linda McMahon running for Senate in Connecticut this year, Vince McMahon is once again contemplating a second “Stand Up for WWE” campaign to refute all the negative media coverage he expects his sports entertainment organization to receive.

The WWE CEO has told people that the company will be more aggressive toward the persecution from “the liberal media” given what is expected to occur once the Senate race heats up. An individual close to the matter said that if Linda doesn’t perform well in the campaign, the organization will be very outspoken.

— WWE developmental wrestler Kassius Ohno is currently sidelined due to a cervical sprain. The injury occurred at the April 26 Florida Championship Wrestling television tapings in Tampa, Florida when Antonio Cesaro attempted a twisting dive maneuver onto numerous wrestlers but fell short and on top of Ohno’s head. He finished the match but he was taken to a local hospital for X-rays.

— Mike Shaw, who performed as Norman the Lunatic for World Championship Wrestling and Bastion Booger for the World Wrestling Federation, would have turned fifty-five years old on Wednesday. He died of a heart attack on September 11, 2010.

source: Wrestling Observer Newsletter

– Christian will be returning to SmackDown at Tuesday’ tapings from Grand Rapids, Michigan. Christian returned to the ring at the European tour that just finished.

– Rey Mysterio and Kelly Kelly were at the Sarasota Film Festival in Florida this weekend, for the premiere of the WWE Studios film, “The Day.” The movie was screened twice this weekend but received no awards.

Rey Mystrio Reveals When He Can Wrestle Again

– Linda McMahon will release her 2011 income tax return soon after her campaign initially turned down a request from opponent Chris Shays. McMahon filed for an extension on her tax return this past week but “intends to make it public once the paperwork is complete.”

— Former WWE CEO Linda McMahon participated in the first debate for Republican Senate candidate hopefuls on Thrusday night from Norwich, Connecticut. Other participants included attorney Brian Hill, attorney Peter Lumaj, former congressman Christopher Shays and attorney Kie Westby.

As you can imagine, McMahon’s history with WWE came under fire, with Westby attacking her by saying, “I have been in private practice for over 32 years, and during the course of that time, I have worked with dozens upon dozens of entrepreneurs. These are real jobs, not men bulked up on steroids or women prancing around in bikinis.”

McMahon responded that she earned her fortune as WWE CEO “the old-fashioned way” – “I’m very proud of earning my money the old-fashioned way, and putting people to work throughout the state.”

For more on Thursday night’s debate, visit NorwichBulletin.com.

— Former WWE champion Alberto Del Rio and his personal ring announcer Ricardo Rodriguez have officially switched to the Smackdown brand. Del Rio toured with the SmackDown brand during this week’s European tour and has an upcoming title shot against Sheamus.