Miscellaneous WWE News Thread.

[A.J.]

Devin Cutting sent this in: Molly Holly attended the Raw house show in Guatemala last night. WWE.com has an article about Molly and photos from the show.

Jennifer Kasaboski sent this in: Edge will be on Mad TV on Saturday, March 17th on Fox.

At one time, former WWE superstar Rikishi was working as the head booker for the Nu-Wrestling Evolution (NWE) promotion in Italy, but Vampiro convinced the powers that be to give him the reigns, with the idea that Vampiro (with Wrestling Society X) could get guys exposure on MTV worldwide, reports the Wrestling Observer Newsletter. There is definitely some heat between those two over this.

Rene Dupree is suspended. A big update is coming this week.

Devin Cutting also sent this in: Due to the NCAA basketball tournament, The Score in Canada won't be airing Smackdown on Friday, March 16th and Friday, March 23rd.

Smackdown will air at the following dates and times:

Saturday, March 17th - 1 AM (ET)
Saturday, March 17th - 9:30 PM (ET)
Saturday, March 24th - 1 AM (ET)
Saturday, March 24th - 9 PM (ET)

 

[A.J.]

Jake "The Snake" Roberts had his false teeth come out of his mouth during a recent wrestling match with Casey Thompson at an indie show on 3/3 in Davie, Florida.

Roberts' appearance during the match was quite embarrassing. Roberts had a hard time getting up after going down, not to mention that he looked really out of shape. He looked disoriented in the ring at times as well. In regards to his teeth, Thompson delivered a forearm to Roberts while he was tied up on the ropes and his false teeth flew out of his mouth. The ref then kicked the teeth to the corner so that they wouldn't get stepped on. A security guard then grabbed them and gave them to Roberts, who then lodged them back into his mouth. Unfortunately, they didn't seem to fit correctly as Roberts may have also gotten a swollen jaw from the forearm.

After the show, Roberts told people at his gimmick table to always brush their teeth so that they don't lose them when they get older.

 

[A.J.]

The following is from WWE.com:

Hall of Famer Ladd passes away

Written: March 11, 2007

WWE Hall of Famer Ernie Ladd passed away last night, according to TheNewsStar.com. Ladd, 68, had been battling cancer since 2004.

Professionally known as the “Big Cat,” Ladd was one of the premiere professional wrestlers of the 1960s and 1970s. Long-time fans in the Northeast particularly remember the havoc he wreaked in WWE throughout the ‘70s as one of the biggest names the territory had ever seen. Managed by the Grand Wizard, Ladd was a persistent challenger to WWE Champions Bruno Sammartino, Pedro Morales and Bob Backlund.

Prior to a successful career in sports-entertainment, Ladd earned fame as a dominant football player at both the college and pro level. He was a star lineman for Louisiana’s Grambling State University in the late ‘50s, and was recruited in 1961 by the AFL’s San Diego Chargers. He was a member of the Chargers’ 1963 AFL Championship team, and appeared in four straight AFL All-Star Games from 1962-1965. In addition to the Chargers, he also played for the Houston Oilers and Kansas City Chiefs.

 

[A.J.]

From Steph Taylor: 3/9 Heat Recap - 1) Shelton Benjiman d. Val Venis via suplex .. 2) The Highlanders d. Navajo Warrior & John Williams via slingshot reverse suplex.. 3) Kenny Dykstra d. Eugene .. 4) JTG d. Trevor Murdoch with a schoolboy.

According to Paul Latif, who attended the Smackdown! and ECW tapings this past Tuesday, sent in word that the original backstage segment with Khali attacking Kane involved Khali throwing Kane through a fake wall. That's what was shown to the fans inside the arena but it was filmed again later and replaced with what you saw on television. (Thanks to Colin Vassallo)

According to Dave Meltzer, Rey Mysterio Jr. is heading this week to Mumbai, India on 3/14 and 3/15 on a WWE promotional tour.

DirecTV is advertising a one cent WrestleMania PPV. Last year they did one that was a "best of" recap show.

Vijay Kumar sent this one. ... I walked into a Mick Foley autograph signing at the Border's in Hagerstown, MD - I didn't know it was going on. The local NBC station was there for coverage.

 

[A.J.]

Source: The Wrestling Observer Newsletter

Backstage, people are comparing Batista to the Ultimate Warrior. He is resented because of his lack of love for the business and his not paying enough dues. However, HHH is still a big supporter of Batista because he made Batista a star.

No D-X vs. Orton/Edge feud is planned for when HHH returns. HHH feels that the feud should occur, but Vince believes that it will be impossible to keep Orton and Edge hot as a team for that long. So Orton and Edge are supposed to be splitting up and feuding within the next few months. Edge also has been pushing to NOT feud with Triple H.

 

[A.J.]

As noted, WWE has been negotiating with Chris Jericho about him returning on RAW in September. We'll keep you posted on his status as TNA's Dixie Carter is also pursuing him.

Vince McMahon currently has himself lined up to wrestle in the SummerSlam main event. We'll have a big update on this later this week here on the site.

The 2008 Royal Rumble is expected to be at Madison Square Garden while WrestleMania 24 will probably be held in Orlando, FL.

 

[A.J.]

Source: Wrestling Observer Newsletter

Rene Dupree's WWE status is very much in question.

Dupree has been suspended by WWE. No details have been given, but it probably had something to do with the WWE Wellness program. He was suspended for 30 days back in June for violating the policy. WWE is now seriously considering firing the 23-year old.

Dupree and Sylvain Grenier re-debuted as La Résistance on the 2/20 ECW show. The story today is that we should consider their debut like it never happened. La Résistance was pulled from ECW due to Dupree's suspension. Their profile pages were inexplicably removed from the official ECW website a few days after their debut.

The latest incarnation of La Résistance is considered to be finished. Even though he wasn't used on television this past week, Grenier is now considered to be back on the SmackDown roster in his Ambassador to Quebec gimmick.

 

[Y 2 Jake]

I was at Raw in DC.

This is what happened for the Opening Dark match

Freakin Deacon def. Val Venis

For Heat

Hacksaw def. Judas (did not get the last name)
Cryme Tyme def. Michael Bennett and another jobber who's name I did not catch.
Kenny Def. Eugene.

Post Show Dark Match
John Cena def. Umaga by DQ to retain the title

Here are a few comments from the show.

Lilian got a lot of chants, but during the opening greeting before the match, it was almost as if she nearly called Washington DC by the name of Miami.

The crowd was just on fire when Val Venis's entrance began. As soon as Freakin Deacon came out, some fans remembered him as the Fake Kane and a few chants began.

The Jobber that faced Hacksaw was just booed for being in the ring. The guy did not do anything, just stood there waiting and the crowd was ready to kill him. He was actually got the loudest boos.

When Hacksaw was swinging the 2 x 4 around the ring, he legitimately almost hit his opponent in the head with it.

When Charlie Hass was working on Cena during the HBK/Cena vs. World Greatest Tag Team, there was opposing "let's go Cena" and "Cena sucks chants".

During the Diva's match, there was a "just get naked" chant.

Whenever Umaga was out, there was a "Monkey Penis" chant.

When Vince was looking at Lashley after Stone Cold gave the "what do you have against bald people" rant, the crowd was really laughing.

Most Cheers:

HBK
Donald Trump
Jeff Hardy
Flair
Hacksaw (during heat)

Most Boos

Judas (a jobber on Heat)
Kenny (who was on heat)
Vince
Melina
Edge

Also, on a silly note, when my tickets where near the top, and my view was blocked by that big giant blue "WrestleMania 23" sign. I did not even know there was a steel cage until Coach mentioned it on heat. Half the Titantron was blocked by the sign. To see anything on screen from my section, you would have to use the screen
the Verizon Center have in the center.

 

[Y 2 Jake]

WWE.com has a video up of the Rock's promo from RAW last night.

Teddy Hart may be headed to WWE once his current deal with MTV/WSX ends. There is even some talk of Hart, Harry Smith, and Nattie Neidhart joining to form a new Hart Foundation.

The Detroit Press ran an interview with Johnny Nitro where he talks about how Randy Savage would be his dream opponent and put over MNM's early feud with Eddie Guerrero & Rey Mysterio. Check out the full interview at DetNews.com.

 

[A.J.]

Source: Wrestling Observer Newsletter

- The Soup on E! Network today discussed Donald Trump’s involvement with WWE, saying that he was "bringing down wrestling."

- Edge will be a guest on this Saturday’s new episode of Mad TV on Fox.

 

[A.J.]

Tickets will go on sale April 7th for the June 3rd WWE/ECW One Night Stand III PPV from Jacksonville, FL at Veterans Memorial Arena. Prices are $20 to $150.

Billy Dunlevy sent this along: Here in Dayton, Ohio... WWE had multiple commercials about the Monday Night RAW from Dayton on April 2. They said the main event is going to be HBK & John Cena defending the Tag Team Titles against Rated RKO. As skeptical as that sounds with the current storyline.

John Cena will be involved with a new reality show for ABC about racing. The show will have six half hour episodes and also feature William Shatner, Serena Williams, Jewel, Ty Williams, and John Elway. The show will be about professional racecar drivers teaching some finer points of racing to celebrities who will then enter various competitions. The show will be filmed this week at the Lowe's Motor Speedway in Charlotte, North Carolina.

MTV is running commercials on MTV in the UK stating that WSX will start being shown in the UK starting in April.

 

[A.J.]

Jimmy Snuka is backstage at the Smackdown/ECW taping. He is likely there visiting his son (Deuce).

Mr. Kennedy has launched his official website at ken-kennedy.com.

 

[A.J.]

WWE has doubled (and in some cases, tripled) the price of booking WWE talent for autograph sessions. Because of this, it is likely that WWE talent will start to appear less and less for autograph signings. WWE made the change to bring their talent up to the price they feel they are worth on the market.

In an interview with SLAM! Wrestling, Nick Bockwinkel states that Bobby Heenan will be inducting him into the WWE Hall of Fame.

Randy Orton vs. Bobby Lashley, an appearance by Mick Foley, and a battle royal featuring the New Breed vs. The Originals is all confirmed for ECW tonight.

 

[A.J.]

The racing reality series that WWE champion John Cena will take part in on ABC will run for six half hour episodes, followed by a one hour series finale. Some of the other celebrities involved include William Shatner, Serena Williams, Jewel, Ty Williams, and John Elway. The series will be filming this week at the Lowe's Motor Speedway in Charlotte, North Carolina. The basic of the series is that a number of professional race car drivers will be instructing celebrities on the finer points of racing before they enter a series of different competitions.

WWE's new deal with Cingular was covered by MobileMag.com today.

Ernie "The Cat" Ladd's passing has continued to receive a lot of national media attention. World Wrestling Entertainment ran a tribute video last night on Monday Night Raw.

According to The Calgary Sun, there is a report making the rounds that Ted Annis (aka Teddy Hart) will be signing a deal with WWE once his contract with MTV expires (Hart was part of the Wrestling Society X project). There has been a lot of talk about him coming into WWE for some time to possibly team with Harry Smith and Nattie Neidhart to create a new Hart Foundation. However, when Teddy Hart's name is involved, you don't always take everything you hear 100% seriously. So for now we will take this as nothing but a strong rumor, if anything.

The Extreme Battle Royal will open up tonight's ECW on Sci Fi from Trenton, New Jersey. ECW champion Bobby Lashley vs. Randy Orton plus an appearance by Mick Foley are also scheduled.

Gormer WCW World champion David Arquette (who doubled starring in the infamous film "Ready to Rumble") will be signing this April at the Chiller Theatre horror convention.

 

[A.J.]

The 3/12 edition of WWE Monday Night Raw drew a final 4.1 cable rating with a 6.4 share.

The first hour scored a 3.6 rating, while the second hour drew a strong 4.4 rating.

This is the same rating the show drew last week, with a slight audience increase thanks to the longer overrun going all the way to 11:16pm ET.

 

[A.J.]

The following is from WWE.com:

After the events that have transpired recently on Raw and SmackDown, a new match has been made for WrestleMania 23. All parties, including Raw's Executive Assistant Jonathan Coachman and SmackDown General Manager Theodore Long have agreed that on Sunday, April 1 at Detroit's Ford Field, The Great Khali will go one-on-one with the Big Red Monster, Kane. What will happen when two of the largest and most deranged Superstars in all of sports-entertainment meet in the same ring?

 

[Y 2 Jake]

As noted earlier here on the site, Kane vs. The Great Khali is now official for WrestleMania.

The USA network was the top rated basic cable network in prime time again for the week ending on March 11th. They led in all of the major demographics and both hours of Raw from March 5th were the highest rated shows on basic cable that week.

The Detroit News has an interview up with King Booker where he talks about his wrestling school and more. Check it out DetNews.com.

ESPN2's Cold Pizza had a segment this morning where they talked about the Battle of the Billionaires match and who they wanted to win. Both hosts said they wanted to see Donald Trump shave his head.

Yahoo! has Umaga ranked at #19 on the Biggest Movers list relating to terms searched. WWE is #5.

The American Chronicle has an article up about WWE vs. UFC. Check out the article at AmericanChronicle.com.

 

[Y 2 Jake]

Source: The Pro Wrestling Insider

Edge suffered a fractured jaw several weeks ago in a match with ECW's Rob Van Dam.

That is the reason he has not had a match since and will not wrestle until the Money in the Bank Ladder Match at Wrestlemania.

 

[Y 2 Jake]

WWE.com is putting over Chris Masters' Master Lock maneuver by counting down the Top 5 Master Lock Challenges.

Former WWE Diva Lauren Jones is the newest 'Barker Beauty' for the television game show The Price Is Right. Her appearances were taped last month. The confirmed dates of her TV appearances are as follows: April 17th, 19th, 20th and 23rd; with more to come.

Bubba the Love Sponge recently let Hulk Hogan know on his radio show that Jillian Hall's bad singer gimmick was intended to a spoof on his daughter Brooke by Vince McMahon. He read the news report word-for-word from the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, which is where the story originated from. Bubba didn't mention the Wrestling Observer Newsletter by name; he simply said that he was reading it from "a publication."

 

[Y 2 Jake]

Kris Gibson sent this in: Sad, I know, but after reading your posting about Umaga being 19th on search list at Yahoo, I thought I hunt around to see if I could find a Samoan definition of "Umaga". From this link, www.nzetc.org/tm/scholarly/tei-PraDict-c3-5.html, about 2/3 down the page are these two definitions."

 

[Y 2 Jake]

Partial Source: Wrestling Observer, Puroresu Power

- Jakks Pacific recently signed Rikishi for their Classic Superstars action figure line.

- Tomko will be at the NJPW show tomorrow night in the Fukushima Sports Arena in Japan. For those wondering what A-Train has been up to lately, he will also be at the show and has been working for New Japan under the name Giant Bernard since his WWE release.

- WWE.com has added and interesting interview with Hugh Heffner and Ashley Massaro which you can check out here.

 

[A.J.]

Austin sent this: I was at the event in Liberty, New York on Saturday and Snitsky wrestled Hardcore Holly in an extreme rules match. Anyway Snitsky took a vicious chair shot to the head and it drew lots of blood. It drew so much I thought it couldn't be real. I watched ECW last night and there was a big gash in his head. Just thought that was interesting to know for all other fans.

Grant sent this one: I was recently randomly looking at wrestlers websites and I went to Batista's (www.davebatista.com) and the home page in big white letters it says Turkish hackers were here. There is also a big poem about the Armenians and it says peace at home peace in the world.

Tickets for ECW One Night Stand will go on sale April 7th. Ticket prices will range from $20 to $150. The show is scheduled for June 7th at the Jacksonville Veterans Arena in Jacksonville, FL.

 

[A.J.]

James Gambles sent word that Hulk Hogan's profile has been removed from WWE.com.

Jrp633 sent this in: On his latest edition of "Shootin with Tazz", Tazz expressed disappointment with the WWE.com staff and plans to change the show a little bit as he feels it's getting boring and that he is trying to be PC while others don't. He also said that "Shootin with Tazz" may be pulled or at the least he is planning to change the show around a little bit. Tazz added he records the show on either his cell phone or his home phone but it doesn't bother him being that's how the "original ECW did it."

Monday Night RAW will be held at Madison Square Garden in New York City on August 13th, 2007. Tickets go on sale April 21st, 2007 at noon

 

[A.J.]

NOTE FROM US: This confirms a previous report we posted regarding WWE's plan to bolster the "B" PPVs.

WWE(R) Pay-Per-Views To Follow WrestleMania(R) Formula

STAMFORD, Conn.--In the spirit that has made WrestleMania the premier brand in the pay-per-view industry, every future World Wrestling Entertainment pay-per-views will feature talent and storylines from all three WWE programs: -- "Monday Night RAW®," "Friday Night SmackDown®," and "ECW®: Extreme Championship Wrestling(TM)."

Starting with Backlash® on April 29, WWE fans will see all their favorite Superstars on every pay-per-view. This is a change from 2005 and 2006, when only four of WWE's 16 pay-per-views featured talent from more than one WWE brand.

"We have seen over the past two years that WWE pay-per-views have significantly better buy rates when more than one WWE brand is involved," said Kurt Schneider, Executive Vice President, Marketing. "WrestleMania, with an average of one million buys per event over the past three years, is the perfect example. This new direction will give our fans more of what they want in every one of our pay-per-views."

Schneider said that the tri-branded WWE pay-per-views will benefit from promotion on all three WWE prime time programs - "Monday Night RAW," (USA, 9/8C), "Friday Night SmackDown," (CW, 8/7C)and "ECW: Extreme Championship Wrestling" (Tuesdays, SCI FI, 10/9C). WWE has had the No. 1 prime time shows on USA, SCI FI, and The CW each week in January and February among households and total viewers, compared to programs with two or more telecasts. Throughout January and February, WWE programs reached 15.7 million viewers in 10.8 million households during the average week.

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 Home Media Retailing, John Cena's "The Marine" has now pulled in over $24 million in DVD rentals.

Tmz.com has picked up the Vince McMahon/Donald Trump RAW deal from Monday.

ECW did a 1.6 rating with a 1.58 in M18-49, a 1.88 in M18-34 and an average audience of 2.0 million viewers.