Bronnen:
www.f4wonline.com, Wrestling Observer Newsletter
-- Regarding Ace Steel, a developmental wrestler who was released by WWE a few weeks ago, former creative team member Court Bauer had been pushing for Steel to be hired for a long time and finally got him a gig doing the Donald Trump angle as an impersonator on Raw last year. Steel won everyone over and was given a developmental deal. Last summer, there was an idea for he and Colt Cabana (who Steel trained, along with CM Punk) to be brought up to the main roster to play Edge's henchman, with Steele being the serious one and Cabana being the goofy one. However, Edge went down with an injury, and the idea went on the backburner. When Edge returned from injurt last November, WWE went with the Major Brothers instead, who were already on the roster but weren't doing anything.
-- Regarding the health of Bobby "The Brain" Heenan, he is showing very slow improvement from reconstructive surgery on his jaw, which put him in a medically induced coma for a few weeks. Heenan is still unable to speak, but now communicates using a chalkboard.
- Jim Ross did another interview with the Daytona News-Journal that was published in today’s edition. In it, he addresses questions involving Ric Flair’s induction into the WWE Hall of Fame, the importance of the Intercontinental Title, the possibility of a WWE Draft after WrestleMania and more. You can read the full interview at this link.
http://www.news-journalonline.com/Ne...lJAW022808.htm- Sky has announced that they will begin offering Sky Sports 3, Sky Movies Premiere, and FX channel all in High Definition. With the announcement, Sky claims that they will begin offering WWE programming in HD on March 17th.
- In other United Kingdom/WWE news, the Wrestling Observer is reporting that WWE No Way Out did 149,000 viewers live.
- Below is last week’s Billboard Recreational Sports DVD top 10 chart:
1. WWE: The Best Of Raw: 15th Anniversary 1993-2008
2. UFC: The Ultimate Fighter 5
3. UFC 76: Knockout
4. UFC 77: Hostile Territory
5. WWE: John Cena: My Life
6. TNA: Turning Point 2007
7. WWE: Armageddon 2007
8. WWE: The Shawn Michaels Story: Heartbreak & Triumph
9. UFC 74: Respect
10. 2001 FedEx Orange Bowl National Championship
-- "Stone Cold" Steve Austin's DVD The Legacy Of Stone Cold Steve Austin debuts at No. 1 on this week's Billboard top 10 selling sports/recreational DVDs chart. The DVD is followed by the Raw DVD (which was ranked number one for four weeks in a row), The Shawn Michaels Story: Heartbreak & Triumph, and John Cena: My Life.
- The final Ohio Valley Wrestling television tapings involving WWE talent were held last night in Louisville, Kentucky. All talents under WWE contracts that still held titles in the promotion dropped them last night. The taping concluded with former ECW Champion CM Punk giving an emotional speech to the fans in attendance. On-screen WWE talent that worked the event included WWE Women’s Champion Beth Phoenix, Armando Estrada, Elijah Burke, Domino, Paul Burchill, and Katie Lea.
- Kane’s scheduled appearance at Monster Comics Cards & Toys in Holbrook, New York scheduled for this Saturday has been rescheduled.
- Contrary to rumors on the Internet reporting otherwise, I was told that there is no immediate interest in WWE in bringing back BG James. BG James is good friends with Jeff Jarrett and is currently on a media tour for TNA Wrestling in Norfolk, Virginia.
We've got an update to the story that Hulk Hogan was cheating on his wife Linda with one of Brooke's friends, Christiane Plante. After hearing the news, Brooke posted a scathing blog on her MySpace page:
Thursday, February 21, 2008
hey….
Current mood: distressed
Category: Life
I'm going through one of the hardest issues i've ever had to deal with in my life…please keep me and my family in your prayers…. I'm continuing work in the studio… I'm sure my writing will reflect my state of mind at the moment. I need all the support i can get. thank you…
love you much, b
Brooke later posted the following update, but then deleted it shortly after:
Saturday, February 23, 2008
i never thought…
Current mood: sad
Category: Life
When your best friend and one of your closest family members that you have loved unconditionally since your first day on this earth, betrays you together, you could MAYBE find it in yourself to forgive one day… but you will NEVER forget the hurt they caused you and how it hurt the people who mean the most to you…its the worst feeling in the world to be betrayed. And worse to know you can never trust the one you should be able to…
- Candice Michelle is being advertised for tomorrow night’s Raw house show in Cape Girardeau, Missouri in a match against WWE Women’s Champion Beth Phoenix. It will be her first bout back since her clavicle injury that she suffered back in October on Raw against Phoenix. As announced on Raw this past Monday night, Candice will be featured on the WrestleMania card alongside Maria in a match labeled as BunnyMania against Beth Phoenix and Melina.
- Also being promoted for the show is WWE Champion Randy Orton vs. Jeff Hardy, Chris Jericho vs. Ken Kennedy, and World Tag Team Champions Hardcore Holly & Cody Rhodes vs. Carlito & Santino Marella.
- Ultimate Fighting Championship today announced during the UFC 82: “Pride of a Champion” pre-fight press conference that Bud Light will become the exclusive beer sponsor of the promotion, beginning with UFC 84 on Saturday, May 24. It’s a three-year deal that will also include the Zuffa-owned World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC) promotion. Here’s a quote from UFC President Dana White: “Landing Anheuser-Busch and Bud Light is huge for us, our fighters and especially our fans. We’ve got the number one selling beer in the world and one of the top marketers in all of sports as our sponsor. If our TV ratings, pay-per-view buys and venue sell-outs weren’t enough, this definitely cements UFC as a major player in sports business.” Under terms of the agreement, Bud Light signage inside the Octagon will be present for each of the UFC’s 10 or more annual pay-per-view (PPV) events. In addition, the sponsor will be featured prominently during UFC press conferences and weigh-in events. Bud Light will be the presenting sponsor of two UFC PPV events each year during the agreement and serve as the official beer sponsor of the four or more UFC Fight Night SpikeTV special events.
-- Regarding TNA Impact going live every other Thursday night, the final decision is said to be in the hands of Spike TV. A source at Spike said, "We're working on it," so it's not a dead issue.
-- Kurt Angle claims he's been doing MMA training, largely focusing on jiu-jitsu.
-- Ticket sales for Destination X have fared much better in contrast to TNA's last pay-per-view, Against All Odds, which still had front tickets available up until the day before the event. The best available seat for Destination X on TicketMaster.com is a thirteenth row seat.
-- Former WWE wrestler George "The Animal" Steele is featured in an article on PJStar.com to promote an autograph signing this Saturday at the Peoria Rivermen hockey game at the Peoria Civic Center. WWE Hall of Famers Sgt. Slaughter and Nikolai Volkoff will also be there. Steele commented on his feud with "Macho Man" Randy Savage over Miss Elizabeth. "Randy was very jealous of her," he said. "It was a real challenge at times. He was a real pro but at times, he was caught up in the character. He got jealous sometimes with it."
-- WWE is looking to hire people in the following jobs for the company website; Flash/Interaction Designer, Interactive Designer, Digital Media Analyst and Director, Digital Content Development. If you're interested in applying, click here.
http://hotjobs.yahoo.com/job-search?...3&industry=NEW-- WWE's official website has an article dubbing SmackDown General manager Vickie Guerrero a "cougar" due to her relationship with the younger Edge. The article compares Guerrero to Demi Moore and Halle Beery because they're two independent and influential women who have dated "younger, virile men." However, the article says that none of those "female predators" compare to Vickie Guerrero, "the Queen of Cougardom." For the record, Vickie Guerrero is 39 years old and Edge is 34.
Kurt Angle recently spoke very openly with Orlando Quinones of After Hours Spot Radio on several subjects including WWE erasing Chris Benoit's name from the books, his DUI, his family life and much more. The following is a recap:
- Kurt says that TNA’s goal is to match SmackDown’s ratings, and wants to get it done within the next year.
- Angle says that Booker T is one of the best in the business, and isn’t only a great wrestler but a great coach to the younger guys. He says that when Booker T came in, Booker got him more focused on helping the younger guys which Angle admits he wasn’t doing as much as he could have been.
- On the subject of Chris Benoit, he says that Chris was a very quiet guy who kept to himself, and he never thought Chris would do something like that. Angle said that the first version of the story he heard had Chris’s wife and son dieing from food poisoning which lead to Chris killing himself, but as time went on the real truth revealed itself. Angle says that the Benoit incident was not because of pro wrestling, but because of Chris’ personal decisions, including not taking time off when he needed it as opposed to Angle and Booker who both left when they were unhappy.
- Kurt says that WWE erasing Chris Benoit’s name from the history books is B.S., and you can’t re-write history no matter how bad it was.
- Kurt spoke on his DUI, saying that he had three beers at a restaurant and the only person who said he was driving erratically was some crazy lady that he accidentally cut off. The police questioned people working at two construction sites that Angle passed in his Cadillac Escalade and they didn‘t see anything out of the ordinary. The lady who called the police on him had a DUI herself just three weeks earlier, and actually wrote down his license number to give to the police on the back of a receipt from a liquor store which had enough alcoholic purchases on it to kill three people. Angle says he passed the field tests, but was arrested for not taking the blood test at the advice of his agent. Kurt says his agent is an NFL agent and knows that if they find the pain-blockers Angle takes in his blood test they will blow it out of proportion.
- Kurt says for the first two years of his daughter’s life, he was gone so much working for WWE that she was calling him Kurt instead of Dad because she thought he was a friend of the family. Kurt says that Dixie Carter and Jeff Jarrett give him a schedule that has let him clean up his life and he feels much better about his health and his family now.
- Angle speaks on TNA’s drug testing. He says that Dixie and Jeff are both concerned about keeping their talent clean, and Jeff had Angle tested a few weeks ago.
- In regards to power struggle rumors, Kurt admits that the first month in TNA was very rocky between him and Jeff Jarrett. After the first month though things smoothed out and after a sit-down talk him and Jeff have gotten along great.
- Kurt says that he is very good friends with Bobby Lashley was he was actually the one who got him his WWE try-out. Kurt talks with Lashley every week, and says there’s a possibility he might come to TNA.
- Kurt says that WWE would probably be more innovative and unpredictable if Triple H would just fall back a little bit. Kurt says that The Undertaker is doing things the right way, he is a veteran but he goes in cycles between the main event and mid-card and helps to make new guys in the business. Kurt says that he once told Stephanie that Triple H would be a bigger asset to the company backstage as an agent or creative team member, and out of the ring.
- Kurt says that Brock may have lost his first fight with UFC but he did a great job and just made a rookie mistake. He says that when the referee stopped the fight, he should have put them back in the position they were in rather than standing them up again. Kurt admits that there was a little bit of heat between him and Brock, but has nothing bad to say about him.
- WWE has announced that Maria will be signing copies of her Playboy on Thursday, March 13th from 7-9 PM at the Virgin Megastore at Hollywood Highland in Los Angeles, California. Maria’s Playboy will be released a week from tomorrow.
- The listing for the WWE Hall of Fame ceremony on the Ticketmaster website asks those attending to wear “business attire.” Tickets will officially go on sale for the ceremony on Saturday, March 1st. The 2008 WWE Hall of Fame ceremony will take place on Saturday, March 29th (the night before WrestleMania) and all tickets will be $54. The major inductions will be featured during a one hour broadcast of the ceremony on the USA Network on Saturday night at 11 PM.
- The boy that was driving Hulk Hogan’s silver Dodge Viper that Nick Bollea was allegedly racing when he had his highly publicized car wreck this past summer, Daniel Jacobs, pleaded no contest to misdemeanor reckless driving charges today. Jacobs was sentenced to 90 days probation, 25 hours of community service, and had his driver’s license revoked for 90 days.
- Jake Roberts is one of the names that's heavily favored to be inducted into the WWE Hall Of Fame next month. Apparently he will be given a temporary release from his rehab treatment to attend the award show. There are also rumblings that Scott Hall, who is in the same treatment facility as Roberts, might also attend the ceremony. Roberts is one of the only wrestlers who openly and publicly accepted WWE's rehab offer, and even sent out a thank you letter to Vince. We don't have an update on Roberts' condition, but Scott Hall is said to be doing exceptionally well and looks forward to mending broken business relationships when he completes his treatment.
- While ticket sales originally started out good for TNA Wrestling’s upcoming pay-per-view Destination X in Norfolk, Virginia, according to reports, they have slowed down considerably. While a lot of ringside seats have sold for the event, the venue has had to alter the floor plan to reassure that the event looks filled on camera. Destination X will take place at the Norfolk Scope in Norfolk, Virginia on Sunday, March 9, 2008.
- The Global Impact DVD is now on sale on ShopTNA.com.
- The official TNA website is touting that Alex Shelley and Chris Sabin, The Motor City Machineguns, will be on an upcoming episode of “Made” on MTV. In an episode scheduled to debut at Noon EST on Saturday, March 8th, Shelley and Sabin will be featured as the coaches of a high school student named Chris Hendricks who wants to be made into a “larger-than-life pro wrestler.” Hendricks, who is a homosexual, is tired of being stereotyped as weak because he is gay. According to TNA’s official website, several TNA wrestlers will appear on the episode.
- WWE will put tickets for this year’s SummerSlam on sale on Saturday, March 8th. The event will be held on August 17th at the Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Indiana. The tickets will range from $30-$300.
- Mike Johnson of the Professional Wrestling Insider is reporting that the Florida Championship Wrestling weekly television series will air on the Tampa CW Network. According to Johnson, the debut TV taping has been pushed back until after WWE’s WrestleMania pay-per-view.