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WRESTLING GLOBE NEWSLETTER
Friday October 16, 2009
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Wrestling Globe Newsletter by Mike Aldren – All the latest professional wrestling news, gossip and occasional opinion direct to your mailbox.
WGN is read by industry power players, many top wrestlers and thousands of fans from all around the world.
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WORLD WRESTLING ENTERTAINMENT NEWS
WWE are back on the road this weekend. The Raw crew runs tonight in Huntsville, AL then Saturday in Columbus, GA and Sunday in Dothan. Top matches on the Raw side are Randy Orton vs. John Cena; and Triple H vs.
Legacy in a handicap match. The Smackdown crew run tonight in Puebla, Mexico following by two straight nights in Mexico City at the Palacio De Los Deportes.
Smackdown TV tonight has Batista vs. Rey Mysterio; the return of The Dirt Sheet with John Morrison & The Miz; plus the following matches to determine Team Smackdown at Bragging Rights; Fit Finlay vs. Mike Knox vs. Dolph Ziggler; Cryme Tyme vs. The Hart Dynasty; Matt Hardy vs. Eric Escobar; and R-Truth vs. Drew McIntyre.
***
Shane McMahon announced this morning that he has tendered his
resignation as WWE’s Executive Vice President, Global Media. In a
statement posted on the WWE website he said it was “with great sadness
that I announce my resignation from the WWE, effective January 1, 2010.”
He said he never considered a future outside of WWE but, “sometimes life
takes an unexpected turn and while it is the most difficult decision I
have ever made, it is time for me to move on.” He gave thanks to Vince
McMahon, all the WWE talent, and staff, and said he was proud to be 4th
generation in the business. He also thanked the fans: “I am profoundly
grateful to have been able to entertain you both in front of the camera
and from behind the scenes. You are the greatest fans in the world. I
will always love this business and will remain a fan forever.”
In a statement posted on the corporate website Vince McMahon said: “Even
though I am personally saddened by Shane’s decision to leave the
company, I am proud of the enormous contributions he has made. He will
unquestionably bring passion, commitment and extensive business
experience to any endeavor he pursues.”
Shane, 39, has worked for WWE and been around the business most of his
life. He graduated from Boston University with degree in Communications
in 1993, and began working on WWE’s television production as a runner
all the way up to executive level and becoming a multi-millionaire in
his own right.
He also wrestled on and off over the years holding the now-defunct
Hardcore and European titles after the McMahon family took an on-screen
role following the Montreal Screwjob in 1997.
This news came as a complete shock to several WWE people we communicated
with this morning. Some speculated that Shane may be interested in
promoting MMA, which is something he has talked about for years, and one
knew his resignation was coming but didn’t know what he plans to do
next.
Story is developing.
***
WWE Diva Maria Kanellis and Bill Goldberg were filming in New York City
yesterday for the next Celebrity Apprentice. They are on the show with
VH1 star Bret Michaels, Sharon Osbourne, former Governor Rod
Blagojevich, baseball player Darryl Strawberry, singer-actor Holly
Robinson Peete, 80s pop icon Cyndi Lauper, and stand-up comedian Sinbad.
Jerry Lawler finished fifth place in the Memphis mayoral elections
garnering 4 percent of the vote out of a field of 24 candidates. Only
three runners received more than 4 percent of the vote. A.C. Wharton,
Jr. won the election with 64 percent in a landslide victory. Lawler was
quoted as saying: “I guess we got lulled into that false sense of
reality. We thought we were going to do a lot better than this… It is
a bitter pill to swallow.” He said he is sure Wharton will work hard
towards making Memphis a better place. He also said it was unlikely that
he would run again for mayor. The Memphis Wrestling TV show last weekend
was a Lawler for Mayor Special. They ran videos with WWE talent pushing
his bid as well as news clips on him from the local television stations.
They even had Pittsburgh Steelers QB, Ben Roethlisberger and Rev. Al
Sharpton endorsing him.
Pending a work Visa, WWE has signed Barri Griffiths, a former UK
Gladiator from Wales. He looks like the love child of Batista and Andrei
Arlovski. His local newspaper, The Caernarfon Herald, has a story on him
at http://tinyurl.com/yljrjls noting he will be headed to developmental
in Tampa if his Visa application is successful. His trainer and manager
Orig Williams predicted he would become a future WWE champion.
Apparently Vince McMahon is no longer okay with the Hulkamania tour next
month in Australia.
Chris Jericho appears on VH-1 Classics That Metal Show on Saturday
night.
Fun ad at http://tinyurl.com/ygh5ux3 with John Cena, Kelly Kelly and
Kofi Kingston pushing the new Raw vs. Smackdown video game.
The Hartford Courant at http://tinyurl.com/yhmwmuc has a story on Linda
McMahon spending 2 million in just two weeks to hype her Senate bid in
Connecticut. This is already the most money spent on a campaign in State
history.
WWE Chief Operating Officer Donna Goldsmith was listed as No. 2 on a
Forbes list of the “Most Powerful Woman In Sports,” trailing Lesa France
Kennedy from the International Speedway Corporation.
A correction on our Lou Albano obit. He never technically managed Pat
Patterson. In the storyline The Grand Wizard sold Patterson’s contract
to Albano, but Patterson refused to allow himself to be managed by
Albano and was immediately turned on.
TOTAL NONSTOP ACTION WRESTLING NEWS
10/15 Impact TV results from Orlando, FL: The Beautiful People over
Awesome Kong, Tara & ODB; Amazing Red vs. Suicide was a no contest;
Hernandez over The British Invasion in a gauntlet match; Daniels over
D’Angelo Dinero; Hamada over Alissa Flash in a falls count anywhere
match; Bobby Lashley over Rhino in a stretcher match; and AJ Styles vs.
Kurt Angle for the TNA title was a 20-minute time limit draw.
TNA are all over Southern California this weekend for their biggest show
of the year, Bound For Glory, from the Bren Events Center in Irvine.
Complete line up is AJ Styles vs. Sting for the TNA title; Kurt Angle
vs. Matt Morgan; Samoa Joe vs. Bobby Lashley in a submission match; Mick
Foley vs. Abyss in a Monster’s Ball match with Dr. Stevie as the
referee; Amazing Red vs. Suicide vs. D’Angelo Dinero vs. Daniels vs.
Homicide in Ultimate X; ODB vs. Awesome Kong vs. Tara for the Knockouts
title; Booker T & Scott Steiner vs. Team 3D vs. Beer Money vs. The
British Invasion in Full Metal Mayhem; Kevin Nash vs. Hernandez vs. Eric
Young for the Legends title; Taylor Wilde & Sarita vs. The Beautiful
People for the Knockouts tag titles; and The Motor City Machineguns vs.
Lethal Consequences will air free on the pre-show.
TV tapings are next Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday at Universal Studios
in Orlando.
***
Alex Marvex at http://tinyurl.com/ykwb69p has a story on AJ Styles
pushing the PPV. He talks about toning down his act and cutting down on
high spots to prolong his career. He said he has no plans to leave TNA:
“My next career goal is paying off my mortgage…I just want to make
sure my personal life is taken care of, and someday I can say I retired
from TNA after being there from the get-go.”
Slam Wrestling has a story on Robert Roode at
http://tinyurl.com/ykbeu8k.
Evil Eye Entertainment announced a comedy tour with Mick Foley and Colt
Cabana doing stand up at various locations in November. Gigs include New
York City, Worchester, Middletown, and Providence. More info at
www.TotalExtremeComedy.com.
OTHER WRESTLING NEWS
The sale of Ric Flair‘s original NWA heavyweight title belt by Highspots
took a new twist when it was revealed another party also holds a claim
to the belt as security for a judgment Flair lost relating to the sale
of a Gold’s Gym in Charlotte. A company called Conbraco Industries holds
several of Flair’s possessions, including the NWA belt; his WWE Hall of
Fame ring, an expensive Gold Rolex watch engraved “To Be The Man,” all
of his wrestling robes and boots, and other items of sports memorabilia.
These are listed in a UCC filing relating to a lawsuit Conbraco brought
against Flair. Highspots say they have the belt in their possession with
several buyers lined up, including a current major wrestling
personality, and are hoping to complete the sale once Conbraco makes a
decision on how to move forward.
An update on Torrie Wilson. She said she is doing much better following
her hospital stint last weekend in Los Angeles. Medication she was
taking for a thyroid problem didn’t agree with her and it slowed her
heart rate down to 30bpm. She said her arms and legs went numb and
thought she was having heart failure. She is currently convalescing back
home in Texas.
There are some very nice photos of Torrie at www.hollywoodtuna.com.
The Iron Sheik was on the Opie & Anthony radio show this morning. He
said he was sad when he learned that Lou Albana passed away and called
him a good man. The hosts then played the audio of Brian Blair accusing
him of smoking crack on a plane and molesting a young boy. Sheik went
nuts and ranted about making The Killer Bee’s humble at Wrestlemania
III. They also had Bushwacker Luke and Demolition on telling some rib
stories. Sheik also ripped on Hulk Hogan and The Ultimate Warrior,
calling them, “piece of garbage, low life [expletive], embarrassment to
WWF, [expletive] son of a [expletive].”
Angelina Love is planning to work some upcoming convention and indy
dates, which is risky business in her situation.
Wrestling promoter Bert Prentice is reportedly battling colon cancer. I
say reportedly because some people are skeptical, even those friendly
with him. Prentice runs the USA Championship Wrestling out of Tennessee
and at one time hosted TNA’s Xplosion show with Jeremy Borash.
Jim Cornette at http://tinyurl.com/ps3rb2 was on Detroit sports radio
this past week promoting his book at www.jimcornette.com. He wins the
quote of the week award for saying this, and you can probably guess who
he was referring to: “He couldn’t book Lassie in a pet shop.”
Trent Acid (Michael Verdi) claims he will be entering rehab soon, due to
his recent arrest for drugs.
WRESTLING GLOBE MAILBAG
I first met Lou Albano in the mid-1960s. It was not in a wrestling ring
but rather a diner located on Sanford Blvd. in Mount Vernon, NY. Lou was
driving a cab and I was in my first summer job as a Good Humor Man
selling ice cream from one of their trucks. I recognized Lou having seen
him on the three-times weekly NWA (this was pre-WWWF) broadcast on the
old Dumont Network that was channel five in NYC. He and the late Tony
Altimore were The Sicilians. I had also seen them live at Sunnyside
Gardens in Queens, NY.
A few decades later, I was one of the referees on The Heroes of
Wrestling PPV from Biloxi, MS. Lou was on the show. What a regular guy!
He joked with the boys and told stories that had everyone rolling. On
the plane ride back to Philadelphia, it was me, Lou and Jimmy Snuka. I
thought the poor flight attendant was going to parachute off the plane.
Lou did his special walk and went into Captain Lou-mode and had the
passengers cracking up.
Rest in peace, Captain. And thank you for the memories that will
survive you.
Fred Richards
NWA NJ & NY
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