Miscellaneous WWE News Thread.

[Y 2 Jake]

On Saturday, Rey Mysterio Jr. will be appearing from 2 to 4PM at the World of Wheels in St. Paul, MN.

Sylvester Terkay, who was recently released by WWE, is seeking a multi-fight contract with one of the MMA organizations.

Prior to the Royal Rumble PPV in San Antonio, TX, JTG of Cryme Tyme defeated Lance Cade.

 

[Y 2 Jake]

This week's Raw headlined by Rated RKO vs. WWE champion John Cena and Shawn Michaels for the Tag Team titles scored a 4.2 cable rating, off hours of 4.0 and 4.3. The show posted a strong 6.2 share. However, last year's Raw following the Royal Rumble did a 4.5 cable rating.

 

[Y 2 Jake]

WWE.com's latest superstar-to-superstar features the Big Red Machine Kane interviewing horror icon Robert "Freddy Krueger" Englund. Obviously they discuss horror movies, and much more. Check out the official website to read the full interview.

ECW's Brooke Adams is now on MySpace and you can view her profile here: http://www.myspace.com/21616007.

Mick Foley's latest book titled "Hardcore Diaries" is due for release on 3/6 in hardback. It's likely Foley may appear on WWE television soon to promote the release of his new book.

 

[Y 2 Jake]

The 1/28 edition of AM Raw drew a final 0.7 cable rating with a 3.1 share.

Domain Registrar, Go Daddy, Super Bowl Ad, Gets Approval by CBS Network.

Hulk Hogan has hinted that this season of "Hogan Knows Best" could be the last in the series. Hogan has said that Brooke will be more spending time touring to promote her singing career, and Nick is apparently interested in drift racing, thus the family won't be together as much in the future.

In the days following the New Haven Coliseum being demolished, there is talk that the Mellon Arena in Pittsburgh, PA could also be demolished if the NHL's Pittsburgh Penguins receive funding to build a new arena. The largest crowd in the history of the building was the January 30, 1999 WWE house show headlined by Mankind vs. The Rock vs. Undertaker vs. The Big Bossman for the WWE title.

 

[Y 2 Jake]

Partial Source: The Wrestling Observer Newsletter

ESPN's "Pardon this Interruption" on Wednesday eluded to the Donald Trump-Vince McMahon Raw angle.

NWA champion Christian Cage, Christy Hemme, and Eric Young will be appearing at The Family Arena in St. Charles, MO from 10AM-Noon on Friday, February 16th for the on-sale of Lockdown tickets.

The release of Deep South head trainer Bill DeMott was related to Mike Bucci (Simon Dean), who has replaced Tommy Dreamer as the head of the WWE developmental program. It was Bucci's call to hire Dr. Tom Pritchard. Pritchard was unsuccessful in landing an agent position in TNA. In addition to DeMott, several have also tried to push owner Jody Hamilton out of the picture, but John Laurinaitis is a Hamilton supporter. On a side note, Hamilton changed his tune regarding DeMott's release.

Cassidy Reilly has been told to report to Ohio Valley Wrestling. The former TNA talent signed a developmental deal a few weeks ago after his ECW match against Marcus Cor Von (Monty Brown).

 

[Y 2 Jake]

Kevin Dunn made the call to pull Jim Ross from the announcing duties at the Rumble. In his opinion, Michael Cole is the heir apparent and he wanted everyone to know this.

Regarding Matt Sydal, Ruckus and now Joey Ryan, people close to them say that WWE contacted them as they were interested in them once their WSX contracts expire. However, WWE sources are saying that all three individuals contacted WWE first. Also, they are under iron-clad contracts with WSX, not to mention that they are not under short-term deals. Apparently, Teddy Hart's deal is two years long, and thus it won't be expiring within the next few months, obviously. Due to all this, WWE isn't going to use them and they have no major interest in any of them.

There are plans on paper for WWE to bring in minis and dress them up as Vince McMahon and Donald Trump within the next few weeks.

Former Spirit Squad members Nick Nemeth and Mike Mondo are doing a tag team gimmick down in OVW as 'The Fraternity Brothers'.

 

[Y 2 Jake]

The Baltimore Sun has an article up on Stacy Keibler and her attempts at building an acting career. In the article, she mentions that WWE actually "fired" her during Dancing With The Stars, then two days later changed their minds and decided to just let her contract run out.

 

[Shining Wizard]

I just checked WWE.com and they have put in their broad band network into there site. The site looks different well the nav bar does anyways. Check it out. They have lots of videos non of importance to me though.

 

[Y 2 Jake]

Kurt Angle's ECW Entrance Video is still hidden in the ECW website.

In the daily soap opera of "As Wrestlemania 23 Changes," the new discussion appears to be Cena vs. Undertaker, Batista vs. HBK, Lashley vs. Holly, and Edge vs. Orton, according to Pro Wrestling Insider. Of course, this is far from official, and I wouldn't be surprised to see the talked about card changing several times in the coming weeks.

IWM Wrestling Returns to Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada at Doubles Fun Club in the Travelodge Hotel (Fermor & St. Annes) Saturday, February 10th featuring WWE Hall Of Famer Greg "The Hammer" Valentine. Doors open at 7 PM, Bell time is 8 PM.

 

[Y 2 Jake]

WWE Smackdown vs. Raw 2006 is up the best fighting game award, as nominated by The Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences. Also nominated include Fight Night Round 3 and Mortal Kombat: Armageddon and Tekken Dark Resurrection. The winner will be announced 2/8.

According to WWE sources, WSX grapplers Joey Ryan, Ruckus and Matt Sydal connected them looking for work, rather than the other way around.

Kevin Federline was paid a cool $500,000 for his National Mutual Insurance super bowl commercial.

On 2/9, John Cena will be appearing from 7 to 9PM at the World of Wheels in Birmingham, AL.

 

[Y 2 Jake]

source: WrestlingObserver Newsletter

--WWE SmackDown vs. RAW 2006 has been nominated for the best fighting game award by The Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences. Other games nominated for the awards are Fight Night Round 3 and Mortal Kombat: Armageddon and Tekken Dark Resurrection. The winning game will be announced on February 8th.

--According to WWE sources, WSX grapplers Joey Ryan, Ruckus and Matt Sydal connected them looking for work, rather than the other way around.

--WWE Champion John Cena will be appearing from 7 - 9 p.m. EST at the World of Wheels in Birmingham, Alabama on February 9th.

 

[Y 2 Jake]

sources: PWInsider, Reader Submissions

--According to PWInsider, the current discussion for WrestleMania 23 is WWE Champion John Cena vs. Undertaker, Batista vs. HBK, Lashley vs. Holly, and Edge vs. Orton. This is not official and could change many times over the next few weeks.

--WWE Superstar Matt Hardy has a mySpace page at http://www.myspace.com/theonlymatthardy.

 

[Y 2 Jake]

Mick Foley's latest book, titled "Hardcore Diaries", will be released on March 6 in hardcover form. It is considered something of a third autobiography with stories about his career in the last few years. Foley will be doing a signing tour to support the book, while a return to WWE television could be taking place very soon.

The Saturday replay of iMPACT! did a 0.7 cable rating with 1.4 share.

Shoptna.com is selling backstock of their old Kid Kash "Poisoned at Birth" t-shirt for $2.99 each.

AJ Styles brand new TNA t-shirt at TNAShop.com.

 

[Y 2 Jake]

Source: The Wrestling Observer Newsletter

Tony Mamaluke was released because Vince McMahon thought he was too small (he's 5-10 and 155 pounds). ECW writer Dave Lagana fought hard for Tony Mamaluke to keep his job, but in the end, McMahon won out. Lagana came up with an idea of pushing him as an underdog character similar to Sean Waltman as the 1-2-3 Kid, but McMahon didn't go for it and he was subsequently released.

WWE had high expectations for Sylvester Terkay because he was being groomed to feud with The Undertaker in a headline program on SmackDown. But after a few weeks, WWE didn't think his MMA style in the ring was getting over and they wanted him do a pro wrestling oriented style. He was lost with the new style and was subsequently sent to ECW. Also, Gerald Brisco, who loves amateur wrestlers, wanted to make him into a Kurt Angle-style wrestler. He too gave up on him in the end and that led to Terkay being dropped. Terkay's pro wrestling career seems to be over because he is now looking to sign a multi-fight contract with one of the MMA organizations.

 

[Y 2 Jake]

Source: The Wrestling Observer Newsletter

There was talk of bringing The Bashams back to SmackDown once Danny's torn biceps injury healed, but that obviously never came to be. Apparently, the call-up of the more colorful, yet far less skilled Deuce & Domino act led to The Bashams being expendable.

Back in May, Todd Shane tore his pectoral muscle, which meant he was going to be out of action for a few months. His injury healed up by the fall season and WWE were planning to bring The Gymini back to SmackDown with Angel Williams as their manager. They worked a few tryout matches before SmackDown crowds back in November, but apparently, WWE officials didn't like what they saw because they probably would have otherwise been on television by December. Soon after, Angel was split from the group in DSW and of course, The Gymini were soon released. To show how little long-term planning was done in their departure, they were still the DSW tag team champions at the time of their termination. They were stripped of their titles the very next day and never mentioned in DSW ever again.

The team of High Impact, which consisted of Mike Taylor and Tony Santarelli, with Mike's wife Tracy as their manager, were the top babyface tag team in DSW since the promotion's inception back in September 2005. This act was actually really close to being called up to the SmackDown roster back in July, but the problem was that WWE officials wanted a heel team to feud with Kendrick & London. Some felt they weren't ready because High Impact worked exclusively as babyfaces in DSW. Their spots on the roster ended up going to the team of Idol Stevens and K.C. James, with Michelle McCool as their manager. Idol and James got the nod over High Impact because they had more wrestling experience and were more natural at being heels. A few months later, High Impact were going to get some WWE tryout matches during the swing of house shows they do right after Christmas. However, Mike Taylor was injured and thus they obviously couldn't go on the road to show their stuff. They were released a few weeks later.

 

[Y 2 Jake]

Source: The Wrestling Observer Newsletter

Perhaps the biggest surprise on the recent WWE cut list was Bill DeMott, the head trainer of Deep South Wrestling.

DeMott ran a high intensity boot camp style conditioning program that the wrestlers hated. He was seen as trying too hard to "break" the wrestlers and make them "pay dues" in an "old school" way to the point that trainees grew disgruntled. Some quit and others suffered injuries severe enough to require hospital visits because they were so fatigued before their in-ring lessons. DeMott was also criticized internally for being overly harsh verbally toward trainees, jumping on them for any mistakes. It got so bad that WWE brass in Stamford, Connecticut had cameras installed at the training facility so they could monitor his training sessions. There were apparently times he'd turn off the cameras right before berating trainees. However, the office usually backed him up when people would complain about him to talent relations.

Demott being let go is related to Mike 'Simon Dean' Bucci taking over from Tommy Dreamer as the person in charge of the developmental program. Bucci wanted a trainer he was more closely associated with, and that came to be Tom Prichard. Prichard was let go in October 2004 because he clashed with John Laurinaitus. Prichard was negative towards the company's direction and of the internal changes after John Laurinaitus replaced Jim Ross. After his release, Prichard did several small-time indie shows in the Tennessee area. He tried to get an agents job with TNA, but they didn't pick him up.

Also, it's just coming out that several people have tried to run Deep South Wrestling owner Jody Hamilton out of the promotion as well. However, John Laurinaitus has always protected him, probably because he put the Deep South Wrestling promotion together. And for some reason, WWE wants outside ownership of its developmental territories.

 

[Y 2 Jake]

Source: The Wrestling Observer Newsletter

Let go alongside the slew of other releases was developmental wrestler Ryan Reeves, who finished fourth in the 2004 Tough Enough competition. He bleached his hair blonde and added enough muscle to look like the type of wrestler the company usually loves. Down in OVW, he was doing a high-energy act that was copied after the Ultimate Warrior. However, he was knocked for not being able to understand the concepts presented to him. He was working with powerlifting champion Jon Bolen in a tag team called High Dosage. Also, Reeves failed a company drug test back in July and he was subsequently suspended for 30 days for it.

In regards to the other developmental releases, Jack Bull wasn't too good of a worker and he didn't have much going for him other than size. He was doing a gimmick in OVW where he was always drunk. Seth Skyfire was basically released because he was too small (5-10 and 195 pounds) and he didn't have the look the company likes as he looks kind of 'indy'. Also, he was probably the best worker in OVW for a long time, but that didn't seem to change their tune on him all too much. Surprisingly, he was under a developmental contract to WWE when it was believed that he didn't have one. He was working in OVW for a long time without one.

Out of the twenty talents that were released during WWE's purge two weeks ago, the Ring of Honor promotion seems to only be interested in using one individual. That person is Doug Basham. Also, you never know, maybe we'll see Doug Basham in TNA one day because he has a personal connection due to Gail Kim. They were dating long after Kim had been fired from WWE and was working in TNA. No word yet if they still are though. Gail was at the 2006 WWE Hall of Fame ceremony last year as Doug's date.

 

[Y 2 Jake]

WWE RAW was the top two hours of prime time cable TV programming in the week ending January 28.

According to HispanicBusinessNews.com, WWE SmackDown reached number 5 rated show among Hispanic viewers for the week ending January 28.

Tickets for the June 24th WWE Vengeance PPV are now available via internet pre-sale. For those who are interested in purchasing tickets can do by logging on to http://click.nba.com/index.cfm?n35009s802c1489433t803o1233.

CBS have approved Candice Michelle's Go Daddy Super Bowl ad. The advert will now air during the game on Sunday.

Speaking of Candice Michelle, she is featured in "Steppin' Out" magazine. There is an amazing picture of her followed by an article.

 

[Y 2 Jake]

WWE.com launched their new broadband network service earlier. It features many original programs, including 'Lifestyles of the Built & Dangerous' where the WWE Superstars show you their homes. Torrie Wilson is featured in the first edition of the program. There is also a video of Melina talking about how she came up with her ring entrance. There's also original content on Val Venis, Victoria and Ashley. You can see the site at wwe.com/broadband. This service is free, for now at least.

Matt Hardy has opened up his own MySpace page at myspace.com/theonlymatthardy. This one's obviously real considering that he has a picture of himself holding up a piece of paper with the URL of the page.

The 1/20 RAW brand house show in New Orleans drew 9,796 paying fans for a $306,590 gate. The next night in Biloxi drew 3,000 fans. 1/21 SmackDown/ECW in Monroe drew 3,218 paying $102,000. The 1/22 SmackDown/ECW show drew 3,000 fans.

The Baltimore Sun has an article about former WWE Diva Stacy Keibler and her budding future on acting. The article notes that in addition to her guest star spot tonight on George Lopez, she will begin a seven episode stint on the drama What About Brian, as well as a cameo in the upcoming movie, The Comebacks, scheduled to be released later this year. The article also notes, concerning her not appearing on WWE programming with still five months to go until the end of her contract , "My lawyer was in the process of renegotiating my contract ... and they ended up firing me during Dancing With the Stars. Then I got a call a day or two later saying they're not going to fire me, but they're just going to let my contract run out. I don't know why they decided not to use the term 'fired.'"

 

[Y 2 Jake]

PHILLYPHAN12 sent this in: Donald Trump dropping money on the WWE fans Monday night was mentioned on ESPN's "Pardon the Interruption." It was a topic during the "rundown" of events they talk about at the end of the show.

Chris sent word that it was announced at the Smackdown and ECW tapings on Tuesday in Houston that WWE would be returning this June for the WWE Vengeance PPV (Raw brand) on June 24.

Roy Sutherland sent this in: I was browsing through the WWE DVDs on highspots and I noticed they put up WWF SummerSlam 2000 and Survivor Series 2000 back up on there shop again.

Jeffrey Norwood sent this in: While the WWE has it share of critics on the internet, it's financial and stock performance is generally acclaimed by Wall Street. The Motley Fool reviewed the year for the WWE, and included some funny quips about one quarter being "about as big as Triple H's ego" and another being about as "boring as an Al Snow match."

 

[Y 2 Jake]

source: PWInsider

The voice of RAW Jim Ross has posted a short blog on his website, shooting down rumors about his career.

Regarding the decision to not call the Royal Rumble match, Ross stated: "It has been brought to my attention that the reason I did not handle the play by play of the Royal Rumble match this past Sunday was because of a decision made by my friend and fellow Oklahoma Sooner football fan WWE Executive Producer/Executive Vice President Kevin Dunn. This is categorically false. I am not blaming any internet sites for reporting this as I am sure their sources provided them info but there sources are wrong.

 

[Y 2 Jake]

World Heavyweight champion Batista was voted the 2006 Wrestling Observer Most Overrated wrestler. Jeff Jarrett finished second, followed by Triple H, Carlito and Shawn Michaels to round out the top five.

Shelton Benjamin, on the other hand, was voted the Observer's 2006 Most Underrated wrestler of the year. Benjamin edged out William Regal, who finished second place in Observer voting, followed by Matt Hardy, Jamie Noble and Alex Shelley. Benjamin was also voted the Most Underrated wrestler for 2005.

On 2/9, Matt and Jeff Hardy will be signing autographs at the Westchester County Center in White Plains, NY from 6 to 8PM.

The Raw crew on 1/20 drew 9,796 paying fans for the house show in New Orleans, earning WWE a $306,590 live gate. Raw the next night in Bixoli, MS drew 3,000 fans.

 

[Y 2 Jake]

Credit: WWE.com

- On this weekend's edition of HEAT, two stars made their RAW brand television debuts. Scotty 2 Hotty, who recently moved over from SmackDown, takes on indy wrestler Jared Steele in a match. The other person making his RAW brand debut is former Tough Enough 4 contestant Dan Rodimer. He takes on Eugene in what is being billed as a "tryout" match. His sudden debut is quite surprising considering that Stephanie McMahon was looking to give him a major push right off the bat. Also, some people were thinking about pairing him up with Rated RKO. Background information on where Rodimer stands now in WWE's eyes should be known soon.

- Candice Michelle has a new blog on WWE.com that is called 'Candy-Coated'.

- Immediately at the start of RAW this Monday night, Undertaker will name which champion he will face at WrestleMania 23.

 

[Y 2 Jake]

Credit: Wrestling Observer

- Tomorrow, Paul London & Brian Kendrick will surpass Owen Hart & Davey Boy Smith (1996-1997) as the longest reigning tag team champions since Demolition in 1989. They've been champions for 8 months and 4 days.

- WWE.com has posted up the entrance video for Deuce & Domino. Click here to check it out.

- About.com conducted an interview with Trish Stratus about her time on the now cancelled Armed and Famous reality show. When asked about her feelings on the cancellation of the show, Trish foots the blame on American Idol, which ran head-to-head with her show. Trish said, "The death of Armed and Famous is courtesy of American Idol. We went up against American Idol and obviously, the numbers just weren't there. That's what they based the cancellation on, which is unfortunate. I find everybody really loved the show...I think it was just a numbers thing. We had four episodes that aired. We had two more to go, so at least we made it more than half way through." Click here to read the interview in its entirety. Also, VH1 will be airing a five hour marathon of the series today beginning at 5PM ET, including the fifth episode that was to air on Wednesday night on CBS.

 

[Y 2 Jake]

TNA employee Scott D'Amore was spotted at today's WWE Wrestlemania 23 press conference in Windsor, Ontario.

As announced last night on Smackdown, Mr. Kennedy faces World champion Batista on next week's Smackdown on the CW Network.

Candice Michelle is on American Chopper on Thursday on TLC and Trish Stratus' MTV diary is available on MTV.ca.

The 3 ''councilmen'' from Houston during tonight's segment were V.I.P (MVP's Brother), Chris Adams & Gabe Hollier. All three men are part of King Booker's PWA Academy and training under King Booker.