Dr. Keith Report – September 7, 2007
Dr. Keith Lipinski of www.drkeithshow.com
A complete listing of upcoming big shows…and whacky hijinx…

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This weekend
Friday: IWA-MS
Saturday:  UFC 75, IWA-MS, CZW, JAPW
Sunday:  TNA No Surrender PPV, IWA-MS (afternoon)
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http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0709/06/lkl.01.html
 
Why Did Wrestler Kill Wife, Son, Self?
 
Aired September 6, 2007 – 21:00   ET
 
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
 
LARRY KING, HOST:  We welcome to LARRY KING LIVE Michael Benoit, the father of pro- wrestling star, Chris Benoit, who killed his wife and 7-year-old son before taking his own life during a weekend in late June.  Joined by Robert Cantu, chief of neurosurgery and director of sports medicine, Emerson College in — Emerson Hospital in Concord, Mass. and co-director of the Neurological Sports Injury Center at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, and founding member of the Sports Legacy Institute.  How, Michael, are you coping?
 
MICHAEL BENOIT, FOUND SON CHRIS BENOIT’S DIARY AFTER CHRIS KILLED WIFE, SON & HIMSELF: It’s been very difficult, Larry.  When something like this happens to your child — I know Chris was a 40-year-old, but he is our son. We loved him very much. When it happened, we just couldn’t understand that this was the Chris that we know and love.
 
KING: How did you hear about it?
 
BENOIT: Actually, it was through a reporter that used to be a friend of Chris’. I was on my way home from work. It was about 5:00 at night. It’s one night that, for some reason, I didn’t turn the radio on in my car, otherwise I would have picked the news up that way.  I was just about entering my driveway and my cell phone rang and it was my cousin in Ottawa.  And he said to me, “Mike, is it true?”  And before I could get the words out, the reporter came up to me and said, “He’s gone.”
 
KING: When you heard about the whole thing, how — what do you tell yourself?  What do you — we spoke on the phone shortly after that.  You were asking me how to explain to you — how could I do that?  What do you tell yourself?
 
BENOIT: Larry, we were — we were searching for answers. The world was so black. Not only did we lose our son, but we lost our daughter-in-law and our grandson. We — we couldn’t…
 
KING: How is your wife doing?
 
BENOIT: She’s having a very difficult time.
 
KING: You’re not doing well either, are you?
 
BENOIT: Well…
 
KING: How can you do well?
 
BENOIT: You know, I don’t think that you ever recover from something like this. We’re very fortunate, Larry. We have a daughter that’s extremely strong and been very helpful to us.
 
KING: Now, Chris had two other children, right?
 
BENOIT: Yes.
 
KING: From another marriage?
 
BENOIT: Yes.
 
KING: They’re how old?
 
BENOIT: Ten and 15.

KING: And are they with their mother?
 
BENOIT: Yes.
 
KING: How are they doing?
 
BENOIT: Well, it’s difficult to understand how a 10-year-old and a 15-year-old are actually coping with this. We’re doing our best to explain to them the circumstances that — their father’s passing and, also, their stepbrother. It was absolutely overwhelming and continues to be, in our life.
 
KING: How soon before this had you spoken to your boy?
 
BENOIT: He phoned me on Father’s Day.
 
KING: Which was how far…
 
BENOIT: The week — the week before.
 
KING: Was he in good spirits?
 
BENOIT: He was. I asked him where he was and he said, “Unfortunately, I’m on the road today.” He said, “It’s Father’s Day. I wish I was home with my wife and family.
 
KING: Was he a doting father?
 
BENOIT: Oh, he absolutely adored his children, absolutely adored his children. When he was coming off the road, he would phone us and I’d say, how you doing? And he’d say, really, really tired and his voice was sort of dragging.  And I’d say, how’s Daniel and Nancy?  And right away he’d lighten right up and get right into it and tell us how well that they were doing.
 
KING: Tell me about the diary.
 
BENOIT: Well, the diary — we found the diary after the fact. It was actually a neighbor of theirs that retrieved it from the trash. And this is a diary that he wrote over a period of about 10 days back in 2005, shortly after the death of his best friend in the wrestling business, Eddie Guerrero. After I read it — it was very, very disturbing to me and I thought…
 
KING: Because?
 
BENOIT: The way he was writing it. There was a lot of…
 
KING: Was he depressed?
 
BENOIT: He seemed extremely depressed. And it’s — it was almost like he was sitting there talking to Eddie. And a lot of quotes out of the bible, which was out of character for Chris.
 
KING: So we come to the conclusion that he snapped.  And did you — did you — what did you think it was?  Did you think it was drugs he was taking?  What did you guess?
 
BENOIT: I — at that point, in time, we were completely overwhelmed. We didn’t know what to think. You know, I liken it to being in the middle of this huge storm — no light in the sky, just no way out.  What do you do?
 
KING: How did Dr. Cantu come into the picture?
 
BENOIT: Well, what happened was on the fourth day, I got a call from the chief medical examiner saying that they were releasing the body. And so I called the funeral parlor in Atlanta. I was going to have Chris’ remains cremated and then brought home.  So I called the funeral parlor, made the arrangements and that afternoon — Thursday afternoon — I got a call from a fellow by the name of Chris Nowinski. Chris explained to me that he thought perhaps there might be brain damage there because of concussions that Chris would have suffered in the ring.  I was somewhat skeptical at first. I kept looking at the phone, looking for was it the “National Enquirer” calling?  Was it “The Globe?”  I — you know, I was — I really didn’t know what to believe. But at least there was straws there that I was grasping at.
 
KING: Had an autopsy been done?
 
BENOIT: But we didn’t have the results at that point in time.
 
KING: So you were going to cremate without the results — before the…
 
BENOIT: Yes. Well, they…
 
KING: But the results would have been the same.
 
BENOIT: They had — they had the tissues. The autopsy had already been completed. So we were just going to cremate.
 
KING: So you didn’t cremate?
 
BENOIT: Well, what happened was, when Chris called me, he said — he asked me for this and I said, “You know, you need to send me more information. I can’t just tell you that it’s OK to take my son’s remains over the phone.” So he sent me two articles that were in the “New York Post” and he also sent me a letter saying to sign off so that he could take the remains.  I called him back and said, “Chris, this really is incredible. There’s no company name. There’s nothing on here that would associate you with the Sports Legacy Institute. I said I could do it on my home computer. He said how about I give you some doctors’ names that you can call?  And at that time, he gave me Dr. Cantu’s name. He gave me Dr. Bales and he also gave me Dr. Kris Sperry, which — who was the chief medical examiner for the State of Georgia.
 
KING: Let me get a break right there.  And when we come back, we’ll bring Dr. Cantu in and get his summation as to what happened to Chris Benoit.  Dr. Gupta will join us later, as well.  Don’t go away.
 
(VIDEO CLIP OF WRESTLING MATCH WITH CHRIS BENOIT)
 
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And yes, Chris Benoit, (INAUDIBLE).
 
CHRIS JERICHO, FORMER WWE WRESTLER: This is not about steroids, Russ. This is about a man who had some severe mental, damaging, horrible issues in his head that he kept bottled up inside and it exploded into this horrible, violent act. And I’m sure there’s many factors for it.
 
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Benoit can damn sure weaken the 500-pounder.
 
JOHN CENA, WWE WRESTLER: What we have is an unexplainable tragedy.
 
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh. Oh, no. Oh. Oh.
 
BRUNO SAMMARTINO, FORMER PRO WRESTLER: What’s wrong with wrestling that it has all of these deaths?
 
All these deaths.
 
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE). Finally!
 
(END VIDEO CLIP)
 
KING: Michael Benoit remains with us now.  Robert Cantu, M.D. what’s your summation here?
 
DR. ROBERT CANTU, SPORTS LEGACY INSTITUTE, EMERSON HOSPITAL NEUROSURGERY CHIEF: Well, Larry, prior to Chris Benoit’s brain being examined by Sports Legacy Institute, four prior brains had been looked at and all four of them had chronic traumatic encephalopathy — brain damage due to concussive and cumulative subconcussive brain injuries. All four of these were in National Football League players.  Chris Benoit’s brain was similarly studied by the neuropathologist within the Sports Legacy Institute, Dr. Ben Omalu, with the special immunohistochemical stains that look for abnormal tile protein deposition.
 
KING: Break it down for me what you mean.
 
CANTU: Well, there is normal tile protein that all brain cells have and there is an abnormal form of it which occurs in certain neurodegenerative diseases and also occurs with brain damage due to brain trauma.
 
KING: So you’re saying that a man who receives severe — many concussions as a football player or a wrestler would — could cause him to do something he would not normally do?
 
CANTU: Yes. The tile protein depositions in Chris Benoit’s brain were far more extensive than in any other of the brains that the Sports Legacy Institute has examined.
 
KING: There’s no way anyone could have then done something about this, right?
 
How would you have known?
 
CANTU: Well, the final definition clearly is a neuropathological definition, looking at immunohistochemical staining of the brain tissue. But any individual with a history of traumatic brain injuries — especially multiple ones — who exhibits behavior consistent with cognitive impairment, depression and erratic emotional behavior — that’s kind of a triad that fits with chronic traumatic encephalothopy and then he…
 
KING: And, therefore, something could have been done?
 
CANTU: It would lead one to suspect the problem and hopefully pull one away from the activities that would lead to progressive damage.
 
KING: Stop wrestling?
 
CANTU: Yes, in this case.
 
KING: Does this at all satisfy you, Michael?
 
BENOIT: Well, we now have an understanding of why, because the Chris Benoit that we knew was incapable of doing this. The man that we loved, the man that was our son, would never do this. I mean he talked of his love for his wife and his children.  How could this possibly happen?
 
KING: Did you ever buy the stories about steroids?
 
BENOIT: Well, steroids themselves are pretty rampant in sports today — pro-football, baseball, track and field, the Tour de France. We’re hearing it all the time.  The difference that — between professional wrestling and these sporting events is that in professional wrestling, the outcome is — it’s scripted.
 
KING: Right.
 
BENOIT: So, in other words, they script who’s going to win. So the wrestlers aren’t cheating. And I’ll give you an example of — my description of steroids is that his mom had read an article about tanning booths one time, phoned Chris up and said they’re very dangerous, why are you doing this?  And he said mom, I can’t go in the ring looking like a plucked chicken.  So steroids were being taken for the look.
 
KING: Can steroids, doctor, cause someone to do like what Chris did?
 
CANTU: I think there’s significant debate within the medical community about that, whether steroid rage really exists. And I realize here we’re dealing with actions over a three-day period that clearly were not just rage reactions. There was deliberation that went on, at least for part of it.  There — most importantly, Larry, there is no evidence in the medical literature or science to suggest that the steroids lead to the traumatic encephalopathy brain damage changes that were present in Chris’s brain.
 
KING: So severe brain damage as could occur from constant concussions in wrestling can cause someone to do something horrific?
 
CANTU: Yes. Four out of — three out of the other four cases committed suicide.
 
KING: The NFL players?
 
BENOIT: Yes.
 
KING: LARRY KING LIVE asked the WWE, the wrestling organization, for a statement in connection with tonight’s discussion of the findings about Chris Benoit’s brain tissue.  This is what they said.  The WWE referred us to a statement the organization issued on Tuesday. It reads: “Today’s attempt to explain Chris Benoit’s murder of his family was possibly caused by some form of dementia as a result of alleged concussions is speculative. WWE can certainly understand the anguish of a father having to deal with the fact that his son allegedly murdered his wife and young son, as Chris Benoit is alleged to have done. We respect the desire of the father to do whatever he can to find some explanation as to why his son might commit such horrible acts.”
 
When we come back, our CNN’s Dr. Sanjay Gupta, a practicing neurosurgeon, joins us.
 
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
 
TED DIBIASE, FORMER WWE WRESTLER: Nothing about Chris Benoit’s character says that he was capable of doing this. I mean he was a man’s man. He was a stand up guy. He was a guy that all of the other wrestlers looked up to and admired.
 
JERICHO: If you lined up a thousand guys and said which guy would do this, he would be the last guy that I would guess.
 
BRET HART, FORMER PRO WRESTLER: You know, maybe one of those kind of guys that everybody would lean on. This was a guy that was really loved by the industry. He was loved by the fans. Everyone would have reached out and helped this guy and maybe tried to change this from ever happening.
 
(COMMERCIAL BREAK
 
KING: We’re back with Michael Benoit, the father of the late Chris Benoit and, of course, his grandson and daughter-in-law killed, as well.  And Dr. Robert Cantu.  We’re joined now, also, across the way in our studios, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, himself a neurosurgeon and CNN’s chief medical correspondent, who’s been following this story.  What more can you tell us, Sanjay?
 
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, sometimes, Larry, a picture is worth a thousand words. And Dr. Cantu was sort referring to this.  we got a very unusual glimpse here. You know, oftentimes we don’t get this sort of detail after someone has passed on, to get a chance to look at their brain. And then maybe I can explain a little bit about what you’ve been talking about this.  Larry, look over here. This is a normal brain. Take a look at some the cells here. You just see the normal borders around these cells. That’s what a normal brain looks like under the microscope when you do a pathological examination. What Dr. Cantu has been talking about here — and this is Chris Benoit’s brain, a piece of it — and they actually are looking at these specific deposits of protein. And, I think, Larry, even to the untrained eye, people can see that these are unusual. These are different. And these are the deposits of this tile protein that seems to be of such significance here.  When you get deposits like this, several things happen. It can approximate someone having dementia, someone having memory loss, someone having behavioral changes. Again, you might expect these sort of changes in someone of advanced age who had Alzheimer’s Disease or some sort of dementia like that, but we’re talking about a 40-year-old man.  So I thought maybe just showing these pictures like this, Larry…
 
KING: Yes, that’s great.
 
GUPTA: …might tell you what — give you a little of the story.
 
KING: Dr. Gupta, do you buy the theory that someone, through constant brain concussions, having a brain like that, could cause the horrific acts that Chris caused?
 
GUPTA: I don’t know, Larry. It’s that — establishing that cause and effect relationship — I guess I’m not prepared to say that for sure.  We do know several things, though. We know, for example, concussions to the brain become exponentially worse. So while one concussion is bad, a second concussion is exponentially worse, a third concussion and so on. So, as you — as you get more and more concussions throughout your life, you can cause significant brain abnormalities.  And we also know that we’re starting to get emerging evidence about what that does to your brain. Larry, in the 1920s — you may have heard of it. They called it Punch Drunk Syndrome, from boxers, right?
 
KING: Um-hmm.
 
GUPTA: And it was the same thing. We just didn’t know what it was, exactly. We couldn’t look at it in this level of detail.  But to take that and put it to the next step about this cause and effect relationship — the cause being this, the effect being violent, vicious behavior — I think it’s very hard to establish that still.
 
KING: Are you open to the possibility?
 
GUPTA: Yes, I think we’re open to the possibility. And, you know, Dr. Cantu is referring to five patients now that have been studied who, as a result of these concussions, have had depression. They’ve had marital problems. They’ve had financial problems. Some have committed suicide.  So we’re starting to be able to recognize something that really hasn’t been recognized before.  Alzheimer’s, for example, is a recognized condition.  Could this be a recognized condition that is just starting to emerge and the scientific evidence is building?  Perhaps. I don’t know that we’re quite there yet, though, Larry.
 
KING: Do you have any questions for Dr. Cantu?
 
GUPTA: Dr. Cantu, one of the questions I had, you know, we talk a lot about this looking like the brain of an Alzheimer’s person.  Are you surprised, with all your work that you’ve done, that Chris Benoit didn’t have more symptoms that might resemble dementia prior to what happened?
 
CANTU: Well, Sanjay, as a fellow neurosurgeon, thank you for your comments.
 
GUPTA: Thank you.
 
CANTU: I certainly am interested.  With regard to the symptoms Chris did or didn’t have, I don’t think tonight we have all the answers to that. The diary is certainly suggesting — and the diary antedates his death by almost two years — that symptoms and erratic behavior were being experienced some years before. There’s other evidence that we have seen that suggests that he’s had cognitive difficulties, as well.  So I don’t really think his problems came about just at the end. I think there is a track record that goes back several years. And as it’s more exhaustively studied, it may actually go back more than two years.
 
KING: Sanjay, I guess you can certainly understand Michael’s desire to put a close to this.
 
GUPTA: Yes, absolutely. And, you know, I think that, obviously, you want to be as accurate as possible. And, you know, and what we’re looking at is the brain of a 40-year-old man that obviously is very abnormal. And, most likely, this is not due to steroids, as I think Michael — Mr. Benoit — sort of alluded to. This is most likely due — based on everything we know — due to those repeated concussions. And something clearly happened in his brain and you can see it very clearly here, Michael.
 
KING: Should wrestlers, pro-football players and others who deal with this be looked at more often, Sanjay?
 
GUPTA: I think so. And this is something that we’ve done quite a few stories on.  As you know, Larry, I would say not only should they be looked at more, but they probably should be looked at at the time of the injury and maybe even be grounded or kept off the field or kept out of the ring maybe more diligently.  A first concussion, as quickly as someone may recover from that and actually get back to the level of play, what has happened to their brain at that point?  And what will happen to their brain if they have a second concussion?  We know now — and I think Dr. Cantu would agree with this — that it’s exponentially worse. So we’ve really got to be diligent as doctors, as trainers, as people who help monitor this sort of thing, whether or not we should let these players back on the field.
 
KING: Obviously, Dr. Cantu, looking at what we’re looking at there, it can’t be beneficial to your health.
 
CANTU: No, not at all. And I think…
 
KING: Hitting a board with your head.
 
CANTU: And I think what you also saw there was the neck being snapped very violently.
 
KING: Yes.
 
CANTU: The head, it’s — at the end of it, concussive blows can be imparted by whiplash.
 
KING: Did you like the fact that your son wrestled, Michael?
 
BENOIT: That was my son’s passion. He loved to wrestle. What bothered me about the wrestling industry was the extremes that they went to. Wrestling is a work and a work means that it’s an illusion. What you see in the ring is really not happening. People aren’t killing themselves in the ring. But once they introduce the chairs, the ladders, the tables, this is real.  I once asked my son, I said, “When you get hit with a chair, does it hurt?  He said, “You’re damn right it hurts, dad.”  So…
 
KING: Yes. You look at it and it seems crazy.  Thank you, Michael.
 
BENOIT: Well, thanks.
 
KING: The best of luck to you.  We’ll be talking to you again.
 
BENOIT: Thanks so much.
 
KING: Dr. Cantu.  Sanjay, thanks for joining in on this.
 
GUPTA: Thanks, sir.
 
KING: And thanks for that look at — the look at the brain. I’ve never seen anything like that.  You have our deepest sympathies, Michael.
 
BENOIT: Well, Thank you.
 
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on the lighter side
http://www.wwe.com/shows/ecw/articles/5313166/beautybeast
 
Beauty & the Balls
By Andrew Rote
Written: September 6, 2007
 
Have you ever noticed that when Kelly Kelly makes an entrance, your eyes focus on the blond bombshell and stay there? No matter how hard you try, you can’t look away. But behind that beauty and that ear-to-ear smile is complexity. One of the greatest conflicts in the Land of the Extreme is the apparent battle between Kelly’s heart and her mind, her entourage or an ECW Original. The question remains: Which will guide her?
 
When The Miz was drafted to ECW, it didn’t take him long to gain a few arm ornaments in Extreme Exposé. Kelly, Layla and Brooke have brought him nothing but good luck as he boasts an undefeated record in solo matches since his debut. Along the way, however, Kelly has drifted, showing concern for The Miz’s greatest rival, Balls Mahoney.
 
What once began with Kelly’s eyes locking with Mahoney’s during his contests has progressed to the Diva rushing to the ECW Original’s side when he suffers losses. Still, she is perpetually torn from Mahoney. Her host and fellow Exposé members – rather effortlessly – sway her to return to the locker room with them.
 
This could be a simple case of a woman choosing her friends over a love interest, but this situation seems to exceed that. The Miz has made it impossible for Kelly’s loyalty to him and her feelings for Balls to coexist. And when forced to choose sides, Kelly listens to her brain.
 
Aside from friendship and devotion, a prevalent factor could be popularity. Similar to fitting in with the right crowd in middle school, Kelly’s niche has been as a member of ECW’s hottest faction. Falling for a guy tagged the Chair-Swinging Freak doesn’t exactly help that reputation. What can he offer her? What could she gain from him?
 
As the pages turn in Kelly’s Romeo & Juliet saga, we will see what she values most between passion and loyalty, and we will see if those stolen moments make up the beginning of true love or are the pieces of a catastrophe.
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http://www.wwe.com/shows/ecw/articles/5313166/landofextremenewchamp
 
Punk sweeps the Land of the Extreme
By Craig Tello & Zack Zeigler
Written: September 6, 2007
 
Almost instantly after being handed his newly earned ECW Championship, the Straightedge Superstar dropped to his knees and clutched the gold symbol in his capable hands, overcome with the emotion of the moment. That night, CM Punk’s victory was audibly welcomed by the torrent of raving Punk fans and even individuals in the ECW locker room that applauded his triumph.
 
Now, even after the new ECW Champion’s big win, the Land of the Extreme is still buzzing over the new flag-bearer in ECW.
 
Tommy Dreamer:
“I’m both happy and honored to have CM Punk as the ECW Champion. If there’s anyone who represents what a lot of the Originals fought for – work rate, passion and loving this business – it’s CM Punk. He is addicted to this business. And like I said, I’m proud to have a champion like him. There’s a legacy here in ECW. Morrison is an amazing performer, but he has a really big chip on his shoulder. CM Punk represents what I envisioned the new ECW to be.”
 
The Miz:
“What did CM Punk have to go through to get to this? A Fatal Four Way Match where I took out both Boogeyman and Big Daddy V. That night, Punk got lucky. It should’ve been me competing against John Morrison for the ECW Title. Granted, CM Punk is a great competitor who won the championship match [against Morrison], but that Punk should be looking for me to take that title.”
 
Balls Mahoney:
“For someone who has been working this hard for as long as CM Punk has, he deserves it. I don’t say that too often about too many champions, but he’s dedicated his life to wrestling. I’ve followed his career and he always gives it all he’s got every night. Now, who knows, maybe one day he’ll have to put up the ECW Championship against me…and lose it.”
 
Stevie Richards:
“I’m very happy for [CM Punk]. Every Superstar in ECW aspires to be the ECW Champion. I, myself, am included in that long list of people waiting in line for the big one. But, I know what kind of a competitor CM Punk is and I know the kind of fighting champion he will be. This is a big day for ECW.”
 
Elijah Burke:
“I will give the devil his due; CM Punk went out there and won a very competitive match against John Morrison. I’ll tell you one thing though: If I was in the ring with Morrison, it wouldn’t have taken me four times to beat him.
 
There are a lot of great men that have held the ECW Championship, but there are also many men that some would refer to as transitional champions – those who hold the title for a small amount of time until someone else comes along to take their rightful place as champion. CM Punk will join that great list of transitional champions that didn’t even have enough time to leave their fingerprints on it…and the man he’s temporarily holding that title for is YOUR Guiding Light, Elijah Burke.”
 
Unlike the embittered Burke, our fans who were on hand at the U.S. Bank Arena in Cincinnati seemed to believe that CM Punk is and will be much more than a transitional champion in the Land of the Extreme. According to some, the Straightedge Superstar may be the one individual who will reshape ECW.
 
Andy Foster, Cincinnati:
This proves that dedication and getting up when you’re knocked down pays off. Punk has been on the short end of the stick on many occasions. He’s faced setbacks and has come close in many matches… and now he’s a champion. Holding the championship has proven to be a lot tougher than winning it, so how long Punk can hang onto it will be the true testament to his abilities.
 
Ryan Glenn, Butlerville, Ohio:
“I’m glad I was here [in the U.S. Bank Arena] to witness this. I think this is going to change ECW forever. It’s one of those things that will shape the direction of the brand for years to come. It shows how much [Punk] has progressed since his debut last year.”
 
Lisa Christie, Cincinnati:
“The hot guys always win! I’m totally in love with CM Punk. He’s always been a champion in my book and now he’s the ECW Champion!”
 
Jane Lee, Madeira, Ohio:
“John Morrison was been barely beating Punk when he wasn’t cheating to win. It was only a matter of time before the tides turned. Now that Punk has won, I don’t think Morrison can create another formula for victory. It’s CM Punk’s turn now.”
 
Mark Trillo, Cincinnati:
“His competitive nature led to him achieving goals that nobody thought possible. It’s quite possible that CM Punk is the craftiest champion in [sports-entertainment]. Some champions are giants; some champions are built like inside linebackers; and then some champions win because they’re smarter competitors than everyone else, and that’s where Punk fits in.”
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TOMORROW~! UFC 75:  Champion vs. Champion – Saturday September 8, 2007- O2 Arena, London, UK
1.       UFC & PRIDE FC Light Heavyweight Championship Unification Bout: Quinton Jackson vs. Dan Henderson
2.       Matt Hamill vs. Michael Bisping
3.       Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipović vs. Cheick Kongo
4.       Marcus Davis vs. Paul Taylor
5.       Houston Alexander vs. Alessio Sakara
6.       Gleison Tibau vs. Terry Etim (Dark)
7.       Tomasz Drwal vs. Thiago Silva (Dark)
8.       Naoyuki Kotani vs. Dennis Siver (Dark)
9.       Anthony Torres vs. Jess Liaudin (Dark)
 
SUNDAY~! TNA No Surrender – Sunday September 9, 2007 – iMPACT Zone, Orlando, FL
1.       TNA World Heavyweight Championship Match:  Kurt Angle vs. Abyss
2.       TNA X Division Title Match:  Kurt Angle vs. “Black Machismo” Jay Lethal
3.       TNA World Tag Team Titles Match:  Kurt Angle & Sting vs. Team Pacman (Ron “The Truth” Killings & Adam “Pacman” Jones)
4.       Robert Roode vs. Kazarian
5.       Samoa Joe vs. Christian Cage
6.       Rhino vs. “Cowboy” James Storm
7.       No Disqualification: “Wildcat” Chris Harris vs. Black Reign
8.       10 team Gauntlet Match (winners get a shot at the TNA World Tag Team Championship at Bound For Glory) Teams:  The Voodoo Kin Mafia, The Latin American Xchange, Team 3D, The Motor City Machineguns, Triple X, AJ Styles & Tomko, “The Guru” Sonjay Dutt & Petey Williams, Raven & Havok, Eric Young & Shark Boy, Lance Hoyt & Jimmy Rave
 
WWE Unforgiven – Sunday September 16, 2007 – FedEx Forum, Memphis, Tenn.
1.       WWE Championship Match:  John Cena vs. Randy Orton
2.       The Undertaker vs. Mark Henry
3.       World Heavyweight Championship Match:  The Great Khali vs. Rey Mysterio vs. Batista
4.       WWE Women’s Championship Match:  Candice Michelle vs. Beth Phoenix
5.       World Tag Team Championship Match:  Paul London & Brian Kendrick vs. Lance Cade & Trevor Murdoch
6.       WWE Tag Team Championship Match:  Montel Vontavious Porter (MVP) & Matt Hardy vs. Deuce & Domino
 
UFC Fight Night – Wednesday September 19, 2007 – The Pearl, Las Vegas, NV
1.       Kenny Florian vs. Din Thomas
2.       Chris Leben vs. Terry Martin
3.       Dustin Hazelett vs. Jonathan Goulet
4.       Junior Assuncao vs. Nate Diaz
5.       Joe Veres vs. Gray Maynard (Dark)         
6.       Edilberto Crocota vs. Luke Cummo (Dark)
7.       Leonard Garcia vs. Cole Miller (Dark)
8.       Kuniyoshi Hironaka vs. Thiago Alves (Dark)
9.       Pete Sell vs. Nate Quarry (Dark)
 
UFC 76: Knockout – Saturday, September 22, 2007 – Honda Center in Anaheim, CA
1.       Chuck Liddell vs. Keith Jardine
2.       Thiago Tavares vs. Tyson Griffin
3.       Mauricio Rua vs. Forrest Griffin
4.       Kazuhiro Nakamura vs. Lyoto Machida
5.       Jon Fitch vs. Diego Sanchez
6.       Wilson Gouveia vs. Jason Lambert (Dark)           
7.       Diego Saraiva vs. Jeremy Stephens (Dark)
8.       Justin McCully vs. Christian Wellisch (Dark)
9.       Michihiro Omigawa vs. Matt Wiman (Dark)
 
*** *** ***
ROH (Ring Of Honor – www.rohwrestling.com)
 
Friday September 14, 2007
Michigan State Fairgrounds & Expo Center (1120 W. State Fair Ave, Detroit, MI)
8:00pm
Motor City Madness 2007
1.       ROH World Title Match:  Takeshi Morishima vs. winner of Four Corner Survival
2.       Four Corner Survival- Winners Get World Title Shot That Night:  Roderick Strong vs. Delirious vs. Erick Stevens vs. Kevin Steen
3.       ROH World Tag Team Title Match:  Jay & Mark Briscoe vs. Austin Aries & Matt Cross
4.       Naomichi Marufuji vs. El Generico
5.       Rocky Romero vs. Jack Evans
6.       Jimmy Jacobs vs. Chris Hero
Already signed: Bryan Danielson (Danielson will still appear if he can’t wrestle); Nigel McGuinness; Davey Richards; Brent Albright; BJ Whitmer; Claudio Castagnoli; Daizee Haze; The YRR (Young, Rich & Ready For Action – Chasyn Rance, Kenny King, Jason Blade & Sal Rinauro)
 
Saturday September 15, 2007
Frontier Park Field House (9807 S. Sayre Avenue Chicago Ridge, IL)
7:30pm
PPV Taping #3
1.       ROH World Tag Team Title Ladder Match (if the Briscoe’s are still champions after 9/14):  Jay & Mark Briscoe (if still champions) vs. Kevin Steen & El Generico
2.       Their Final Meeting:  Matt Sydal vs. Delirious
3.       Daizee Haze & Amazing Kong vs. Sara Del Rey & Lacey
4.       No Remorse Corps vs. The Resilience singles match #1 (match determined the night of the show between members of the No Remorse Corps (Roderick Strong, Davey Richards, Rocky Romero) vs. The Resilience (Austin Aries, Matt Cross, Erick Stevens)
5.       No Remorse Corps vs. The Resilience singles match #2
6.       No Remorse Corps vs. The Resilience singles match #3
Already signed:  ROH World Champion Takeshi Morishima; Bryan Danielson (Danielson will still appear if he can’t wrestle); Nigel McGuinness; Naomichi Marufuji; Claudio Castagnoli; Chris Hero; Brent Albright; The YRR (Young, Rich & Ready For Action – Chasyn Rance, Kenny King, Jason Blade & Sal Rinauro); Irish Airborne
 
Friday October 5, 2007
Roxbury Community College – Reggie Lewis Track and Athletic Ctr (1350 Tremont St Roxbury Crossing, MA 02120)
8:00pm
1.       ROH World Title Match:  ROH World Champion vs. Kevin Steen
2.       The Vulture Squad (Jack Evans, Ruckus, & TBA) vs. No Remorse Corps (Roderick Strong, Davey Richards, & Rocky Romero)
3.       BJ Whitmer vs. Delirious
 
Saturday October 6, 2007
Inman Sports Club (990 Inman Avenue Edison; NJ)
7:30pm
PPV Taping #4
 
Sunday October 21, 2007
Cow Palace (2600 Geneva Avenue, Daly City, CA 94014)
4:00pm
Already signed:  Jay & Mark Briscoe; Bryan Danielson; Nigel McGuinness; Roderick Strong; Davey Richards; Rocky Romero
 
Friday November 2, 2007
Pennsylvania National Guard Armory (2700 Southampton Rd, Philadelphia, PA)
8:00pm
Glory By Honor VI – Night 1
1.       Mitsuharu Misawa & KENTA vs. Takeshi Morishima & Naomichi Marufuji
Already signed:  Jay & Mark Briscoe; Bryan Danielson (he will appear if he is still injured); Nigel McGuinness; Roderick Strong; Rocky Romero;  Davey Richards; Austin Aries; Chris Hero; Claudio Castagnoli; BJ Whitmer; Jimmy Jacobs; Jack Evans; Ruckus; Mike Quackenbush
 
Saturday November 3, 2007
Manhattan Center Grand Ballroom (311 West 34th St. New York, NY)
7:30pm
Glory By Honor VI – Night 2
Already signed:  Mitsuharu Misawa; Takeshi Morishima; Jay & Mark Briscoe; Naomichi Marufuji; KENTA; Bryan Danielson (he will appear if he is still injured); Nigel McGuinness; Roderick Strong; Rocky Romero;  Davey Richards; Austin Aries; Chris Hero; Claudio Castagnoli; BJ Whitmer; Jimmy Jacobs; Jack Evans; Ruckus;
 
Friday November 30, 2007
Montgomery County Fairgrounds (1043 S. Main St, Dayton, OH)
8:00pm
 
Friday, December 28th, 2007
Connecticut Expo Center (265 Reverend Moody Overpass, Hartford, CT)
8:00pm
 
Friday February 22, 2008
Deer Park Community Center  (41 Homer Avenue Deer Park, NY)
8:00pm
 
*** *** ***
PWG (Pro Wrestling Guerrilla – http://www.prowrestlingguerrilla.com)
 
Sunday October 14, 2007
Burbank Armory (3800 W. Valhalla Dr., Burbank, CA, 91505)
 
Friday October 26, 2007
Studio Jenny (1 Avenue Jenny, 92000 Nanterre Paris, France)
8:30pm
Co-Promotional Show with Queens of Chaos Wrestling
1.       PAC vs. Jack Evans
2.       Austin Aries vs. Joey Ryan
Already signed: Super Dragon, Nigel McGuinness, El Generico, Kevin Steen, Bryan Danielson
 
Saturday October 27, 2007
The Mountbatten Centre (Alexandra Park, Twyford Avenue, Portsmouth, UK PO2 9QA)
6:30pm
Co-Promotional Show with International Pro Wrestling: United Kingdom
1.       PAC vs. Kevin Steen
2.       Nigel McGuinness vs. Austin Aries
Already signed: Joey Ryan, Jack Evans, Super Dragon, Martin Stone, Spud, El Generico, The Kartel (Terry Frazier & Sha Samuels), Bryan Danielson
 
Sunday October 28, 2007
Musik Palette (Kettwiger Str. 20 45127, Essen, Germany)
4:30pm
Co-Promotional Show with Westside Xtreme Wrestling
1.       Four Way Match:  Kevin Steen vs. Jack Evans vs. PAC vs. Super Dragon
2.       Austin Aries vs. Emil Sitoci
Already signed: Joey Ryan, Nigel McGuinness, El Generico, Tommy End, Bad Bones, Ares, Bryan Danielson
 
*** *** ***
FIP (Full Impact Pro – http://www.fullimpactpro.com)
 
Friday, September 28, 2007
National Guard Armory (16386 Springhill Dr., Brooksville, FL)
8:00pm
1.       FIP Tag Team Title Match:  Jay & Mark Briscoe vs. The YRR (two of the following:  Sal Rinauro, Kenny King, Chasyn Rance & Jason Blade)
2.       FIP World Heavyweight Title:  Roderick Strong vs. TBA
3.       FIP Florida Heritage Title:  Erick Stevens vs. TBA
Already signed:  Delirious; The Necro Butcher; Black Market; The Heartbreak Express; “Sweet & Sour” Larry Sweeney; Steve Madison; Lacey; Rain; Jigsaw; “Kool” Seth Delay; Hallowicked; Gran Akuma; Irish Airborne; Scott Commodity
 
Saturday, Septemer 29, 2007
National Guard Armory (8551 W. Venable St., Crystal River, FL 34429)
8:00pm
Cage of Pain II
1.       Cage of Pain II – Wargames:  Black Market & The Heartbreak Express vs. The YRR of Sal Rinauro, Kenny King, Chasyn Rance & Jason Blade
Already signed:  Roderick Strong; Jay & Mark Briscoe; Erick Stevens; Delirious; The Necro Butcher; “Sweet & Sour” Larry Sweeney; Steve Madison; ; Lacey; Rain; Jigsaw; “Kool” Seth Delay; Hallowicked; Gran Akuma; Irish Airborne; Scott Commodity
 
Upcoming FIP shows
November 9 – Crystal River, FL
November 10 – Arcadia, FL
December 14 – Melbourne, FL
December 15 – Crystal River, FL
January 18 – Crystal River, FL
January 19 – Arcadia, FL
February 15 – TBA
February 16 – Crystal River, FL
March 21 – Melbourne, FL
March 22 – Crystal River, FL
April 18 – TBA
April 19 – Crystal River, FL
May 30 – Crystal River, FL
May 31 – Arcadia, FL
 
*** *** ***
CZW (Combat Zone Wrestling – www.czwrestling.com)
 
TOMORROW~! Saturday, September 8, 2007
New Alhambra Sports & Entertainment Center (7 Ritner Street Philadelphia, PA)
7:30pm
Chri$ Ca$h Memorial Show
1.       Joker vs. Drake Younger
2.       CZW World Junior Heavyweight Championship – Ladder Match:  Scotty Vortekz vs. Danny Havoc
3.       CZW World Tag Team Championship Match:  BLK OUT (Ruckus & “The Black Jesus” Sabian) vs. TBA
4.       CZW Iron Man Championship – Stipulation TBA:  “Mr. Insanity” Toby Klein vs. DJ Hyde (with Maven Bentley)
5.       Dustin Lee vs. Cloudy
6.       Chris Cash Memorial Battle Royal!
Already signed:  Team AnDrew (Andy Sumner & Drew Gulak); Cheech; G.Q. & Jon Dahmer; Spike Dudley; Olson Twins
 
Saturday, September 15, 2007
Bulldozer’s Saloon (Smyrna, DE)
2:30pm
TOD Fast Forward (tournament for CZW Ultraviolent Underground Championship)
1.       CZW Ultraviolent Underground Championship – First Round Match:  Brain Damage vs. Hellaware Assassin
2.       CZW Ultraviolent Underground Championship – First Round Match:  Drake Younger vs. J.C. Bailey
3.       CZW Ultraviolent Underground Championship – First Round Match:  TBA vs. TBA
4.       CZW Ultraviolent Underground Championship – First Round Match:  TBA vs. TBA
5.       CZW Ultraviolent Underground Championship – Second Round Match: 
6.       CZW Ultraviolent Underground Championship – Second Round Match: 
7.       CZW Ultraviolent Underground Championship – Finals: 
8.       Homicide vs. Joker
Other tournament participants:  Dustin Lee, Danny Havoc, Scotty Vortekz, TBA
 
Upcoming CZW Shows
October 13, 2007
November 10, 2007
December 8, 2007
 
*** *** ***
JAPW (Jersey All Pro Wrestling – www.japw.net)
 
TOMORROW~! Saturday September 8, 2007
Rahway Rec Center (275 East Milton Avenue Rahway, NJ)
7:30pm
Calm Before The Storm
1.       JAPW Tag Team Championship Match:  Low Ki & Samoa Joe vs. LAX (Homicide y Hernandez)
2.       JAPW NJ State Championship – Four Way Dance:  The Grim Reefer vs. Jay Lethal vs. Azreial vs. B-Boy
3.       Frankie Kazarian vs. Chris Hero
4.       Archadia vs. Seth Delay vs. Sal Rinuaro
5.       Sonjay Dutt vs. Eddie Kingston
6.       La Familia (EC Negro, Oman Tortuga, & Bandido Jr) vs. TBA, TBA & TBA
Already signed:  Kenny Omega; Danny Demanto;
 
Saturday October 27, 2007
Rahway Rec Center (275 East Milton Avenue Rahway, NJ)
7:30pm
10th Anniversary Show
 
Saturday December 8th, 2007
Rahway Rec Center (275 East Milton Avenue Rahway, NJ)
7:30pm
Seasons Beatings
 
*** *** ***
IWA-MS (IWA Mid South – www.iwamidsouthwrestling.com)
 
TONIGHT~! Friday September 7, 2007
Capital Sports Center (1915 Gladden Road Plainfield, IN)
8:00pm
1.       Fans Bring the Weapons:  Six Feet Under (Freak Show & Insane Lane) vs. J.C. Bailey & Drake Younger
2.       Roderick Strong vs. Ricochet
3.       IWA Mid-South World Heavyweight Title Match:  Chuck Taylor vs. Delirious
4.       IWA Mid-South Women’s Title Match:  Mickie Knuckles vs. Daizee Haze
5.       Davey Richards vs. Ian Rotten
6.       Tracy Smothers vs. Nate Webb
7.       Devon Moore vs. B.J. Whitmer
8.       One Fall – Stipulations TBD:  Chuey Martinez vs. Hugh Rogue vs. Deranged
 
TOMORROW~! Saturday September 8, 2007
Capital Sports Center (1915 Gladden Road Plainfield, IN)
8:00pm
Kings of Extreme – 3D DVD Taping
1.       300 Light Tubes – JCW Tag Team Titles Match:  Mad Man Pondo & Necro Butcher vs. Corporal Robinson & Dysfunction
2.       Home Run Derby…Panes of Glass Death Match:  Freak Show vs. Ian Rotten
3.       Tables, Ladders, Chairs & Scaffolds:  J.C. Bailey vs. Devon Moore
4.       Fans Bring The Weapons:  Mickie Knuckles vs. Youth Suicide
5.       Taipei Glass, Pits of Glass, Shit That Hurts When It Gets In Your Cuts Match:  Insane Lane vs. Deranged
6.       Unlimited Log Cabins – However Many It Takes To Pin Your Opponent:  Tank vs. Juggulator
7.       Barbed Wire Madness:  C.J. Otis vs. xOMGx
8.       Electrified Light Tubes:  Chuey Martinez vs. Hugh Rogue
 
SUNDAY~! Sunday September 9, 2007
Alley Cats (929 S. Indiana Avenue Sellersburg, IN)
3:00pm
1.       Exploding Barb Wire Cage Match:  Ian Rotten & Mickie Knuckles vs. Six Feet Under (Freak Show & Insane Lane)
2.       IWA Death Match Title – Fans Bring Weapons Match:  Tank vs. Corporal Robinson vs. The Necro Butcher
3.       IWA Mid-South World Heavyweight Title Match (if Chuck is still champion):  Chuck Taylor vs. xOMGx
4.       Roderick Strong vs. Devon Moore
5.       C.J. Otis vs. Davey Richards
6.       B.J. Whitmer vs. Dysfunction
7.       Ricochet vs. The Amazing Pookie
8.       Mike Roach vs. Rough Tough Jimmy Clough
 
Friday September 28, 2007
Don Preston Rec Center (14500 Kostner Avenue Midlothian, IL)
Ted Petty Invitational 2007 – Night One
1.       2007 Ted Petty Innovational – First Round Match:  BJ Whitmer vs. Davey Richards
2.       2007 Ted Petty Innovational – First Round Match:  “Lightning” Mike Quackenbush vs. Billy Roc
3.       2007 Ted Petty Innovational – First Round Match:  TBA vs. TBA
4.       2007 Ted Petty Innovational – First Round Match:  TBA vs. TBA
5.       2007 Ted Petty Innovational – First Round Match:  TBA vs. TBA
6.       2007 Ted Petty Innovational – First Round Match:  TBA vs. TBA
7.       2007 Ted Petty Innovational – First Round Match:  TBA vs. TBA
8.       2007 Ted Petty Innovational – First Round Match:  TBA vs. TBA
9.       2007 Ted Petty Innovational – First Round Match:  TBA vs. TBA
10.    2007 Ted Petty Innovational – First Round Match:  TBA vs. TBA
11.    2007 Ted Petty Innovational – First Round Match:  TBA vs. TBA
12.    2007 Ted Petty Innovational – First Round Match:  TBA vs. TBA
Cancelled: Samoa Joe vs. Low Ki (unless Ian Rotten comes up with the money)
 
24 Participants: 
1.       Chris Hero
2.       “Lightning” Mike Quackenbush
3.       Claudio Castagnoli
4.       Matt Sydal
5.       Davey Richards
6.       Human Tornado
7.       Drake Younger
8.       Billy Roc
9.       Eddie Kingston
10.    B.J. Whitmer
11.    Nigel McGuiness
12.    Joey Ryan
13.    Chuck Taylor
14.    Too Cold Scorpio
15.    Jimmy Rave
16.    B-Boy
17.    Josh Abercrombie
18.    Joker
19.    Devon Moore
20.    Tony Kozina
21.    Brent Albright
22.    TBA (reserved for Samoa Joe)
23.    TBA (reserved for Low Ki)
24.    El Generico
 
Saturday September 29, 2007
Don Preston Rec Center (14500 Kostner Avenue Midlothian, IL)
Ted Petty Invitational 2007 – Night Two
1.       2007 Ted Petty Innovational – Second Round Match:  TBA vs. TBA
2.       2007 Ted Petty Innovational – Second Round Match:  TBA vs. TBA
3.       2007 Ted Petty Innovational – Second Round Match:  TBA vs. TBA
4.       2007 Ted Petty Innovational – Second Round Match:  TBA vs. TBA
5.       2007 Ted Petty Innovational – Second Round Match:  TBA vs. TBA
6.       2007 Ted Petty Innovational – Second Round Match:  TBA vs. TBA
7.       2007 Ted Petty Innovational – Semi-Final Match:  TBA vs. TBA
8.       2007 Ted Petty Innovational – Semi-Final Match:  TBA vs. TBA
9.       2007 Ted Petty Innovational – Semi-Final Match:  TBA vs. TBA
10.    2007 Ted Petty Innovational – Finals:  TBA vs. TBA Vs. TBA
 
Friday October 26, 2007
Capital Sports Center (1915 Gladden Road Plainfield, IN)
8:00pm
2007 Queen of the Death Matches
 
Saturday October 27, 2007
Capital Sports Center (1915 Gladden Road Plainfield, IN)
2007 Double Death Tag Team Death Match Tourney
 
*** *** ***
CHIKARA (Chikara Pro Wrestling – www.chikarapro.com)
 
Saturday September 22, 2007
New Alhambra Sports & Entertainment Center (7 Ritner Street Philadelphia, PA)
7:00pm
Cibernetico & Robin
1.       TORNEO CIBERNETICO~!:  Lince Dorado’s Technico Squad (Lince Dorado, Las Chivas Rayadas (Chiva #1 & Chiva #2) , El Hijo del Ice Cream, Ice Cream Jr, Equinox, Incognito, TBA) vs. Mitch Ryder Rudo Squad (Mitch Ryder, Shayne Hawke, Chris Hero, Icarus, Gran Akuma, Larry Sweeney, Claudio Castagnoli, Chuck Taylor) – The Rules of the Cibernetico:  Each team will announce a “batting order.” Once the order is established, it will dictate the order in which the participants can tag. The first person in the order can only tag the second. The second person can only tag the third, and so on.  Eliminations can occur via pinfall, submission, disqualification or knockout. Cibernetico rules also allow for an elimination to occur if the next person in the batting order fails to tag or refuses a tag.  Only one person can win the Cibernetico. If all the members of one team are eliminated, the members of the surviving team must wrestle each other until just one remains.
2.       The Colony (Fire Ant & Soldier Ant & Worker Ant) vs. BLK OUT (Eddie Kingston & Joker & Sabian)
3.       Moscow, the Communist Bovine vs. Moohammed
4.       Jigsaw & Shane Storm vs. TBA
5.       Super Xtremo vs. Kris Chambers
 
Friday, October 26, 2007
Riverside Beneficial Assoc. Building (1742 Pear St. Reading, PA)
7:30pm
Bruised
1.       Tim Donst vs. Eddie Kingston
 
Saturday, October 27, 2007
The Ryan Township Fire Hall (945 Barnesville Drive Barnesville, PA)
7:30pm
New Star Navigation
 
Friday November 16, 2007
Riverside Beneficial Assoc. Building (1742 Pear St. Reading, PA)
7:30pm
Battle of Who Could Care Less
 
Saturday November 17, 2007
American Legion Hall (397 Main Street Hellerton, PA
7:30pm
The Sordid Perils of Everyday Existence
 
Sunday November 18, 2007
New Alhambra Sports & Entertainment Center (7 Ritner Street Philadelphia, PA)
4:00pm
Chapter 11
 
*** *** ***
Dr. Keith Lipinski

Host Of The Dr. Keith Lipinski Show http://www.f4wonline.com
Head Of Talent Scouting – Wrestling Society X http://WSX.MTV.COM
MySpace http://www.myspace.com/vivalipinski