Miscellaneous WWE News Thread.

[A.J.]

- Former WWE wrestler, Trish Stratus is confirmed to host CBC, Second City Get real in the near future.

- Recently Sylvan Grenier and Renee Dupree were removed from the ECW roster page. However, Test has yet to be removed from the site.

- The Detroit News has submitted several articles related to Donald Trump’s involvement in this years Wrestlemania event.

 

[A.J.]

Big Vision Entertainment will release an official statement on the future of WSX tomorrow. MTV and Big Vision had discussions about the future of the series yesterday and apparently no final decision has been made yet. MTV remains in a state of chaos right now, with 250 people fired last week and another 250 people fired from the London branch this week. Several divisions have also been shut down.

The following press release was issued today: TORONTO, March 1 /CNW/ - Beginning this Monday, March 5th, 2007, Monday Night RAW will be airing at 9pm ET. This convenient new time will start with a 15 minute countdown and recap show leading into a brand new episode of RAW at 9:15pm ET! Don't miss Monday Night RAW on The Score at 9 pm ET, each and every Monday beginning March 5th. Additional information on World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. (NYSE: WWE), can be found at wwe.com and corporate.wwe.com. For information on our global activities, go to http://www.wwe.com/worldwide/.

 

[A.J.]

According to an Associated Press report this evening, “millions” could be without The CW Network from next week, meaning WWE fans in several markets across America may be unable to watch Smackdown on Friday nights.

Comcast are at loggerheads with the Sinclair Broadcasting Group, with Sinclair wanting Comcast to pay for the rights to retransmit the CW’s content in several markets, and Comcast refusing to pay for “free” content. If an agreement isn’t reached by the end of this evening, Sinclair could leave Comcast subscribers without CW programming from next week.

 

[A.J.]

It looks like Rene Dupree and Sylvan are going to be repackaged yet again. Their profiles have been removed from the roster section on ECW.com. Sylvan returned to the main roster two weeks ago and reformed the original La Résistance with Dupree on ECW on Sci Fi.

All references to the term "ECW Extremists" have been removed from ECW.com. ECW wrestlers are now being referred to as "ECW Superstars". As noted earlier, this has been in the works for weeks now as they want ECW as a totally separate brand.

Test's profile has yet to be removed from ECW.com, but it will be any day now. It seems to be that when a person is suddenly released, they'll keep the profile up for a few days after the firing due to the surplus in web traffic it's likely receiving. When the traffic simmers down, then they pull the profile.

 

[A.J.]

Source: The Wrestling Observer Newsletter

Jillian Hall's terrible singing character isn't based off of "American Idol", but rather, Brooke Hogan. The company is using Jillian as retribution to Hulk Hogan for revealing the names under consideration for this year's Hall of Fame over the radio, which infuriated Vince McMahon to say the least. She's now being marketed as that character, so it looks like it's permanent.

Jillian debuted the character at the February 6, 2007 SmackDown tapings in Omaha, NE, a few weeks after Hogan read the HOF candidacy list on the Bubba the Love Sponge show. Jillian had her hair styled after Brooke Hogan. She was also given accented contact lenses to make her eyes the same unusual blue color that Brooke's eyes are.

As it turns out, Stephanie McMahon and Triple H actually came up with the character, not Vince McMahon. Vince simply okayed it because he's currently upset with Hogan. Also, Triple H holds great disdain for Hogan, so this thing shouldn't come off as a surprise

 

[A.J.]

Fox News is reporting that hall of famer Hulk Hogan was among the celebrities that attended Anna Nicole Smith’s funeral service.

World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. today named Frank Serpe to replace Michael Sileck as its new Chief Financial Officer. Serpe, a 20-year employee, was the company’s acting CFO upon Sileck’s promotion to WWE’s Chief Operating Officer. Serpe has also been the company’s Senior Vice President, Finance and Chief Accounting Officer.

From Jeff Sheridan: WWE Fanatics - Divas Do NY: The Lingerie Edition debuts on PPV on 4/2.

 

[A.J.]

Mistico worked Dean Malekno in his try out match for the WWE agents on Tuesday night in San Jose, CA, prior to the ECW/Smackdown tapings. According to reliable sources, agents were impressed with his work.

WWE Superstars John Cena, Bobby Lashley, Randy Orton and Edge will be appearing on the NBC game show Deal or No Deal this Sunday at 9PM EST. (Thanks to Colin Vassallo)

When Rey Mysterio Jr. returns to action this summer, he is scheduled for a big push.

 

[A.J.]

Source: The Wrestling Observer Newsletter

JBL recently went off on Carl DeMarco, who is the president of the Canadian arm of WWE. DeMarco proposed to have Vancouver host the Great American Bash.

JBL also doesn't like SmackDown referees Charles Robinson and Chris Kay. In Robinson's case, he doesn't drink alcohol, so that automatically puts him on JBL's bad side.

 

[A.J.]

Smackdown will be preempted in Chicago tonight due to a Bulls basketball game. It will be airing at 7:00 P.M. on Saturday evening.

Hulk Hogan’s daughter Brooke will be featured in the March 12 edition of Star Magazine in the “worst dressed” section.

There are currently around 63,000 tickets sold for WrestleMania 23, topping $5 million in advanced sales. However it is expected that more tickets will be released for a final number of about 78,000 in total attendance. This will bring the sales to around $5.7 million, beating out UFC 66.

Dave Meltzer reports that Vince and Shane McMahon had at least two meetings during the past week in regards to some sort of MMA project. Shane is all for doing it, and has been a big fan of MMA for years. Vince, however, is not so warm on the idea. While he isn’t totally cold on doing it either, he feels that MMA is oversaturated in the United States right now. Shane argues that aside from UFC, nobody is doing MMA successfully on a nation wide basis.

 

[A.J.]

Good get for Montel Williams: He'll interview Semi nole Police Chief Charlie Tiger on Monday's show (4 p.m./Ch. 9) in Tiger's only TV appearance since the death of Anna Nicole Smith. Tiger was the official who first faced the press after Smith's death and he's in charge of the investigation. Also on Monday's show: Chyna Doll, who co-starred in Smith's last movie, "Illegal Aliens," out next month."

Dave Meltzer reports that the autopsy results have come in on Bam Bam Bigelow. His death was due to multiple drugs in his system, cocaine and benzodiazetine (an anti-anxiety drug) at lethal levels. His was also suffering from heart disease.

 

[A.J.]

Following on from the story we reported yesterday regarding The CW Network possibly being dropped for some Comcast subscribers, Sinclair Broadcasting Group Inc. and Comcast have agreed to extend the retransmission agreement that was set to expire last night.

The agreement means that those who were possibly set to lose CW will continue to receive the station until at least March 10 while the two companies work out a new deal.

As we’ve previously reported, Sinclair wants Comcast to pay for the rights to retransmit the CW’s content.

 

[A.J.]

"The Marine" is now available on DirecTV PPV. Cena's movie is in DirecTV's DVR showcase: WWE wrestling superstar John Cena makes his motion picture debut as John Triton, a heroic Marine who returns home after being discharged against his will from the war in Iraq. Stateside, he finds himself back in action when his wife (Kelly Carlson) is kidnapped by a murderous gang. To watch the DVR Showcase for the The Marine, go to "Showcases" in your DVR main menu.

Jim Ross is back with an updated blog at JRsBarBQ.com.

From Billy Rouse: Kevin Greene was one of the pros the other night on 'Pros vs. Joes.' Although they didn’t mention that it was in WCW, when Greene got on the platform to swim, they said “They’re not wrestling, they’re swimming.”

From Martel Loomis: "ECW,ECW,ECW" That's all I could basically remember hearing while watching the ECW:Extreme Rules DVD. Just like the previous ECW DVD release, it left a taste of nostalgia in my mouth. Now, as someone who never watched ECW during its original run, I would have to say that this DVD is somewhat of a good representation of what the old product might have looked like. Each match was packed with Hardcore action and with wrestling that I thought was talentless. Sure this Extreme rules DVD may have been action packed.... but I don't really see much wrestling. And for the WWE too release an "Extreme Rules" DVD, why not put on the match where Chris Benoit broke Sabu's neck where he earned the moniker "The Crippler." This was great for nostalgia, but the current ECW matches weren't that entertaining.

"Stone Cold" Steve Austin recently appeared at Wizard World in Los Angeles, California to promote his upcoming movie, "The Condemned."

 

[A.J.]

Tickets to the WWE Hall of Fame induction of the Class of 2007 are already sold out. The induction ceremony takes place on 3/31 in Detroit, the night before Wrestlemania 23. Mike Johnson reports that Nick Bockwinkel is expected to be inducted later this month.

from Chris Johnson: WWE has announced that Mick Foley will be appearing on the first Raw and Smackdown/ECW tapings following Wrestlemania on April 2nd and 3rd in Dayton, OH and Fort Wayne, IN respectively.

 

[A.J.]

Former WWE and WCW champion Hulk Hogan is currently in the Bahamas for the Anna Nicole Smith funeral which was held yesterday where about 100 guests showed up. Smith met Hogan at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Florida while attending the James Toney vs Sam Peter boxing match on 1/6. That is the same hotel in which she was found dead earlier last month. Smith posing with Hogan made it on several celebrity gossip websites and magazines.

Ian Hamilton sent in word that WWE's DVD European distributor Silver Vision has stopped rental rights of any of the titles for the foreseeable future. This means that movie rental retailers and their online counterparts will not be able to rent any kind of DVDs that sports the WWE logos. Silver Vision also put the ban on their Pride FC titles. European online rental company LOVEFiLM is urging its customers to contact WWE about this decision, saying that they will do all they can to have the decision reversed even though they have not been able to convince WWE of the benefits of renting their titles to fans who may not be in a position to buy the product. (thanks to Colin Vassallo)

Last night's Friday Night Smackdown scored a 2.9 fast national rating, based on data compiled by Nielsen Media Research.

When Jerry Lawler was asked who he wanted to induct him into the WWE Hall of Fame this year, he said Lance Russell. According to reports, WWE staff panicked and Kevin Dunn had to talk him out of it saying that no one knows who Lance Russell is. For those unaware, Russell was a legendary wrestling announcer for Memphis Wrestling.

As noted earlier, Mick Foley will be appearing at the WWE TV tapings following WrestleMania 23. Foley will be at Monday Night Raw on April 2 in Dayton, Ohio and then the Smackdown taping in Fort Wayne, Indiana on April 3.

 

[A.J.]

Source: The Wrestling Observer Newsletter

WWE currently doesn't have any plans for Mick Foley at WrestleMania.

He was trying to get a match on the show because his book, The Hardcore Diaries, is coming out in March. The first commercial aired on TV last week and they are selling it very similarly to how they sold the Bischoff book. It would have made sense for both Foley and the company to do a return to coincide with that, and his name was thrown around to be Donald Trump's rep for WrestleMania, especially considering that Vince McMahon fired him in the storylines when he last appeared.

Internally, there are people trying to block Mick Foley from appearing at WrestleMania. Vince McMahon is currently on that side of the fence as well. The problem seems to be that he was too honest in his book, and he rubbed a lot of key people the wrong way with what he said in the book, as some of them have already read it. What he put in the book definitely didn't help his cause.

In the book he expressed major disappointment with how Vince and RAW writer Brian Gerwitz treated him at one point last year during his comeback. The book is based on his 2006 comeback, starting with his program with Edge, to ECW One Night Stand, to his match with Flair at SummerSlam. He also talks about many of his meetings with the creative team in Stamford, CT. There's nothing too controversial in the book, but some people still got hot about what was said anyways.

 

[A.J.]

Ric Flair has been talked about as being the "main event" candidate for the WWE Hall of Fame in 2008.

According to this week's Diva Dish on WWE.com, Mickie James plans on having a little bit of downtime later this month. In a few weeks she's heading down to Panama City Beach, Fla. for some rest and relaxation. Mickie said, "We have a little beach house down there. I'm taking my brother, who is 21, and some other friends. We're going to do it up. It's going to be huge. It should be pretty fun." Diva Dish also has items on Michelle McCool & American Idol, Lilian Garcia's shopping habits, Candice's sister, and even something on Vickie Guerrero.

 

[A.J.]

source: PWTorch Newsletter

-- TMZ.com ran an article recently joking that either Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson or Ryan Reynolds would come out gay soon. The Rock joked back saying he would come out tomorrow; however of course he didn’t.

-- Speaking of The Rock, Jim Ross commented in his recent blog saying that it would be a “long shot” to see The Rock at this year’s WrestleMania.

-- WWE’s new COO Michael Sileck recently said that the company is considering expanding their international presence. Sileck said, "One idea we're exploring calls for building WWE organizations around the globe, creating a localized WWE product for each international market."

 

[A.J.]

Tickets went on sale this morning for the WWE's 2007 Hall of Fame induction ceremony, taking place Saturday, March 31 in Detroit, Michigan. According to fan reports, the event sold out in roughly twenty-five minutes (WWE.com is reporting they sold out in one minute). Additional tickets will most likely be available when the event nears closer, according to the WWE website.

In Chicago, Smackdown airs tonight at 7pm (Central time), on the CW affiliate, WGN-TV.

An interview with Jimmy Wang Yang on WWE.com was just posted.

The latest Power 25 is up on WWE.com. Rounding out the top five is Bobby Lashley at #1, John Cena at #2, Shawn Michaels at #3, Batista at #4 and Umaga at #5.

The latest edition of WWE Heat is also up on WWE.com featuring: Eugene vs. Tony Jones, The Highlanders vs. Kabu & Oliver Stone, Charlie Haas vs. Val Venis and Cryme Tyme vs. Lance Cade & Trevor Murdoch.

Hector Guerrero of the famous Guerrero family has officially joined Total Nonstop Action Wrestling.

wilson2k3 sent this in: While I was watching the Big South NCAA Finals on ESPN today the broadcasters started talking about one of the players being the JYD (Junk Yard Dog), then he went on to say he got the name from the wrestler who beat the Macho Man at Wrestling Challenge, Then he showed a WWE Legends figure of JYD setting over the players locker. They went on talking about the JYD's real name and what his first intro music was "another one bites the dust."

Adam Otero sent this in: Checking out the profiles over on WWE.com and noticed that both Idol Stevens & KC James' have been removed from the SmackDown roster, although Michelle McCool's still remains. Over on the ECW roster, La Resistance (Rene Dupree & Sylvan) are no longer on the page, but Test is still up.

Will Bowers sent this in: Hey guys, I was watching Mad Money on CNBC and the WWE was mentioned again. A caller asked Jim Cramer what he thought about the WWE stock and this is what he said. "I've liked it. The stock has done absolutely nothing, but you do get that 6% yield while you wait for something to happen, particularly overseas." After what the stock markets taking a dive like they did yesterday, this might not be a bad stock to have. The stock was down $0.12 and finished at $15.90

 

[A.J.]

source: PWInsider

-- The cover story of the April issue of “Men’s Fitness” is a feature on UFC star Chuck Liddell. In the article Liddell speaks about going out drinking with WWE’s Executive Vice President of Global Media, Shane McMahon. Liddell said the following about Shane, "Man, that guy can drink like no one else I've met. And when it's me saying that, you know that's saying something."

-- WWE is claming that the 2007 Hall of Fame ceremony sold out in one minute today. It actually sold out in twenty-five.

-- WWE developmental group Deep South Wrestling will be holding a live show on March 16th at the Atlanta Auto Show.

 

[Downward Spiral]

Source = Wrestlezone.com

Ric Flair has been talked about as being the "main event" candidate for the WWE Hall of Fame in 2008.

According to this week's Diva Dish on WWE.com, Mickie James plans on having a little bit of downtime later this month. In a few weeks she's heading down to Panama City Beach, Fla. for some rest and relaxation. Mickie said, "We have a little beach house down there. I'm taking my brother, who is 21, and some other friends. We're going to do it up. It's going to be huge. It should be pretty fun."

 

[A.J.]

Source: Dave Meltzer of The Wrestling Observer Newsletter

Kelly Kelly seems to be one of the most disliked people in the locker room.

The heat seems to be due to her lack of knowledge of professional wrestling, although that is probably more of the fault of the people who hired her. They hired her because she looked good in a catalog and didn't care if she didn't know anything about the business. Also, she hasn't really been taught by anybody. Some people complain about why "people like her" are in the company, but then again, it should go back to WWE's hiring practices. This situation seems to be similar to when guys complain about another wrestler who has a favorable contract.

Furthermore, it was clear from a number of reactions at last week's television tapings that a lot of the women on roster dislike Kelly Kelly. Also, most of the guys give her no respect and Joey Mercury in particular was running her down to anyone who would listen to him.

 

[A.J.]

source: PWInsider

-- WWE Superstar Batista was spotted on camera at last night’s UFC 68 “The Uprising” pay-per-view. Given UFC is some of WWE’s biggest competition; it is interesting to see the Superstars supporting it. Undertaker is also noted as another big UFC fan.

-- Auditions for Sci-Fi’s second season of “Who Wants to Be A Superhero” are being held at WWE Fan Axxess Tour events across the United States. If you are attending one of them and are interested in an audition check out this link for more information.

 

[A.J.]

source: PWInsider

-- In today’s New York Daily post, WWE Diva Ashley Massaro is featured. The article speaks on how she is from Long Island and her recent shoot with Playboy. Massaro will also be at the Virgin Megastore in Times Square on Thursday at 2 p.m. EST for an autograph session.

-- In Jim Ross’ latest blog he address a fan who comments about Arn Anderson being vocal backstage in saying that CM Punk wasn’t over enough to get a big push yet. Ross writes, "Try some decaf. You should never write when you are angry. I have learned that the hard way. Arn Anderson is adversely affecting C.M. Punk? Highly unlikely. That may be an outsiders observation or interpretation of a second hand story, but I don’t see it. Punk is really good and everyone in the WWE knows it." Ross also says he was surprised with what happened in Montreal in 1997 that he did not see it coming.

 

[A.J.]

Lance Storm has updated his Q & A section on his web site.

From Billy Rouse: According to the DSW bio on dswrestling.com of the Bag Lady, her true identity is Melissa Coates. The story’s worth reading, as it’s the most creative bio I’ve seen in years.

From Will Marchildon: I was just browsing Timbaland's myspace and noticed that under "Upcoming Shows" he has Wrestlemania listed. "Apr 1 2007 8:00P Wrestlemania Pay-per-View Event Performance Los Angeles, California." The website is http://www.myspace.com/timbaland

From Pro Wrestling Alliance: We hold monthly events in the Houston area, with the next event scheduled for March 21, 2007 at the Pasadena Convention Center. The Main Event is scheduled to be King Booker vs. Hardcore Holly. Last month's main event at "Texas Tap Out" was a barn burner between Matt Hardy and Gregory Helms!

 

[A.J.]

Credit - Wrestling Observer Newsletter

There is a lot of negativity towards Batista right now from the Smackdown crew. There is tremendous resentment of him from many in the locker room, some of which he had from day one due to negative things he said about Smackdown while he was on the RAW roster.

Some feel that Batista was a guy hand-picked for stardom by Jim Cornette (when he was head of OVW) and Vince McMahon based off his physique alone, who doesn’t have passion for wrestling that the Benoit and Mysterio types have. Most within the company attribute his popularity with fans to the rub he got from HHH and Ric Flair. The feeling backstage is that they are lucky crowds haven’t completely turned on him already.

Kurt Angle made himself the first to publicly bash Batista when in a recent interview with Live Audio Wrestling he said that Batista is simply “horrible.”