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Post by Blaise Zebrataur on May 22, 2008 14:22:53 GMT -5
-The New York Post newspaper is reporting that Hulk Hogan’s son Nick is having a very tough time adjusting to life in prison. The Post was quoted as saying, "Nick's doing really bad. He's struggling to even form a sentence. They have him in a cell by himself, isolated from the general population, because of threats. He didn't understand how awful jail really is until now."
-Reader Bryan Gray sent this in:
In a recent email I got from WWE.com they asked me to take a survey. I was bored and did so. In the survey it asked all kinds of information about Judgment Day and general WWE, but then it came to this question.
"Which of the following recent pay-per-view events did you order?" (Check all that apply)
* WWE Backlash (April 27, 2008) * UFC 83: Serra vs. St-Pierre (April 19, 2008) * TNA: Sacrifice (May 11, 2008) * None of the above
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Post by Blaise Zebrataur on May 22, 2008 18:25:00 GMT -5
-According to an article on TV.Yahoo.com, SmackDown's soon-to-be former home, the CW Network, could be in trouble if the low ratings don't turn around. The CW Network has pretty much been a bust as The WB and UPN were drawing a combined 6 million viewers in their final season, and the CW averaged about 3 million in its first season (and ratings are even lower this season). The article notes that advertisers have "cooled" on the network, and "at least" one of the owners of the CW is ready to bail on the venture. "And that next season could be its last," according to the article.
-Police out of Henry County, Georgia are moving on in the Mike Knox steroid link investigation. They are more interested in finding the supplier of the drugs. Knox formerly lived in a residence in Henry County with three other wrestlers, but steroids were left behind in an attic after they moved out. Knox said the steroids weren't his, and WWE believes him as they have defended him publicly (and continued to push him on TV). Police managed to pull up fingerprints off the vials of the drugs to find out which of the people living in the home, if any, matched. At least two former WWE developmental wrestlers previously lived in the home with Knox including Ryan O'Reilly and Derrick Neikirk. It's interesting to note that both wrestlers have violated WWE's Wellness Policy in the past; Neikirk this past January, who was subsequently fired, and O'Reilly in September 2006 (which caused him to miss his scheduled call-up to the ECW roster in a tag team with ironically enough, Derrick Neikirk). Furthermore, reportedly another former developmental worker also lived in the house, but his name has yet to be disclosed. Police have not tracked the other three individuals down to talk to them. Also, everyone has since left the state of Georgia, and because it's not a major crime, it's not a high priority for police to search for them. Police are investigating a GH clinic in Stuart, Florida as part of the ongoing case.
-A few readers have pointed out that in the Hall of Fame portion of the WrestleMania DVD (which was released this past Tuesday), Ric Flair's mention of Chris Benoit during his speech was edited out. Flair started running down the names of the 1998 version of the Four Horsemen, and the Benoit mention was replaced by Flair's mention of Steve "Mongo" McMichael. When you hear the speech, it comes off as if Flair said McMichael's name twice when he really didn't.
-As noted earlier, The Washington Post did a big story on the frenzy The Great Khali has caused in his native India. In case you missed it, Khali made the following quote in the article: "I play to bring honor to India's name abroad, and I feel very proud when I am beating up white wrestlers." Also, some people from the world of mud wrestling (an ancient and popular sport in India) have questioned Khali's wrestling prowess. "Why are they challenging me? Why don't they challenge the Undertaker instead?" Khali asked. "Why should I fight my own Indian brothers?" If you haven't read the article yet, you can do so at washingtonpost.com.
-Twist Of Fate: The Matt & Jeff Hardy Story topped Billboard's Recreational Sports DVD chart for the second consecutive week (with the Triple H DVD trailing behind again). It's interesting to note that according to a number of Matt Hardy Internet wrestling profiles, Triple H allegedly said of Matt Hardy's departure from the company in April 2005, "He never drew money anyway." Hardy countered H's alleged comments in an online interview stating that he and his brother Jeff, as the Hardy Boyz, had been top sellers of WWE merchandise.
-In light of some Ashley Massaro fans saying that the escort scandal is a case of mistaken identity and that the person allegedly involved is not the WWE Diva, Awful Plastic Surgery decided to take one of their theories to task. The website compared the WWE Diva's physical features to a bikini photo of "an alleged Las Vegas model who happens to have the same name as WWE wrestling diva, Ashley Massaro." According to Awful Plastic Surgery, fans of Massaro have been saying that the girl in the bikini photo is a dead ringer for the WWE Diva, but actually an entirely different person. Awful Plastic Surgery comes to the conclusion that it's the same exact person. They wrote: "It is the same girl in both photos. They both have the same fake breasts that sit high, identical scar jaw lines and heavy masculine brows. The only difference are the lips on the right, which is are larger thanks to collagen. A little lip collagen does not make a person look completely different, nice try WWE fan club."
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Post by Blaise Zebrataur on May 22, 2008 22:05:08 GMT -5
TNA Impact,5/22/08,Impact! Zone,Universal Studios,Orlando,Florida Xplosion Matches: First Match:The Motor City Machine Guns(Chris Sabin&Alex Shelley) defeated Black Reign&Rellik. TNA Impact Matches: First Match:One Half of the TNA World Tag Team Champiosn Homicide defeated Brother Ray by disqualification in 3:27 when Brother Devon interfered. Second Match:Angelina Love(with Velvet Sky) pinned O.D.B in 3:06. Third Match:Robert Roode pinned Matt Morgan in 3:59 with his feet on the ropes in a King of the Mountain Qualifying Match. Fourth Match:TNA Women's Knockout Champion Awesome Kong(with Raisha Saeed) pinned Melissa(something) in 1:19 in a non-title in a $25,000 Challange. Fifth Match:Booker T pinned"The Prince of Phomenal"AJ Styles in 4:56 in a King of the Mountain Qualifying Match after Tomko interfered.After the match,Team 3D(Brother Ray&Brother Devon),Booker T,Tomo and Kurt Angle beat up Styles to a bloodly pulp.
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Post by Blaise Zebrataur on May 23, 2008 1:44:36 GMT -5
It is well known that William Regal has had problems with recreational drugs in the past; ultimately losing his job two times over it (early 1998 from WCW and April 1999 from WWE), as well as a stint in rehab (early 1999). However, he has long since claimed to be clean. No one has said anything on Regal struggling to maintain his sobriety, so that the theory of him failing a drug test due to recreational drugs appears to be out.
Regal has been telling people that believes he took an illegal supplement by mistake, which led to his drug failure. However, a number of people are skeptical of that, mostly because so many athletes have used that excuse in the past and its rarely believed.
The belief backstage among some in WWE is that Regal started taking steroids again somewhat recently due to his renewed push after winning the King of the Ring tournament. Seeing how he was being pushed as an active wrestler and not just a suited-up authority figure, he needed to get back on the gas to look his absolute best.
Obviously, Regal doesn't have the chiseled bodybuilder look that many people associate with steroid use, but he also didn't have that look when he was nabbed for buying steroids online last August. According to Sports Illustrated, Regal purchased a variety of steroids including stanozolol, somatropin, genotropin and anastrozole between November 2004 and November 2006 through Signature Pharmacy, an alleged illegal internet drug distribution network.
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Post by Blaise Zebrataur on May 23, 2008 21:17:29 GMT -5
Smackdown,5/23/08,Wells Fargo Arena,Des Moines,Iowa Dark Matches: First Match:Matt Sydal defeated Jamie Noble. Smackdown Matches: First Match:Deuce,Domino&Maryse defeated Jesse,Festus&Cherry when Maryse pinned Cherry in 6:18. Second Match:Finlay(with Hornswoggle) pinned Chuck Palumbo 9:44. Third Match:"The Animal"Batista pinned"MVP"Montel Vontavious Porter in 14:00. Fourth Match:Vladimir Kozlov pinned Nunzio in 1:59. Fifth Match:Kofi Kingston&United States Champion Matt Hardy defeated Elijah Burke&Shelton Benjamin when Kofi pinned Benjamin in 4:51. Sixth Match:The Undertaker pinned Chavo Guerrero(with"The Rated R Superstar"Edge,Zack Ryder,Curt Hawkins&Bam Neely) in 5:25.
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Post by Blaise Zebrataur on May 23, 2008 21:24:09 GMT -5
-Big Show has been telling people that he will be starring in a new WWE Film project soon. Apparently the movie will be a comedy crossed between "The Waterboy" and "Kingpin."
- In late June, NBC's "Dateline" is considering running a story on the pro wrestling industry revolving around the one-year anniversary of the Benoit murder case.
- WWE is looking for feedback from people who will attend WrestleMania 25. They are looking at what people who will travel to Mania want to do with their spare time while in town and how to coordinate events for Mania week. To answer the survey, visit this link.
- On June 1st, Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson is slated to present at the MTV Movie Awards partially to promote the Get Smart film.
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Post by Blaise Zebrataur on May 23, 2008 21:49:13 GMT -5
1.WWE Champion"The Game"Triple H 2.The Undertaker 3."Heartbreak Kid"Shawn Michaels 4.ECW Champion"The Big Red Monster"Kane 5."The Animal"Batista 6.Randy Orton 7.CM Punk 8."The Rated R Superstar"Edge 9.The Big Show 10.United States Champion Matt Hardy 11.Intercontinental Champion"Y2J"Chris Jericho 12.John Cena 13.Chavo Guerrero 14.WWE Tag Team Champions John Morrison&The Miz 15.Vladimir Kozlov 16.Kofi Kingston 17."The Glamazon"Beth Phoenix 18."MVP"Montel Vontavious Porter 19.Mr.Kennedy 20.Women's Champion Mickie James 21.Finlay 22."The Samoan Bulldozer"Umaga 23.Mike Knox 24.Armando Estrada 25.Jeff Hardy
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Post by Blaise Zebrataur on May 24, 2008 3:07:48 GMT -5
Mike Johnson reports that starting in June the ECW on Sci Fi tapings will be moving to Monday's before Raw. This obviously means the show will no longer be live. The show will also no longer feature Smackdown talent. ECW will also become a part of Raw house shows and it is very likely that Raw superstars will be a part of the ECW show as well. Heat which is taped before Raw now will end soon. It will no longer be shown on WWE.com or in the UK. A new show with Classic footage will replace it.
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Post by Blaise Zebrataur on May 24, 2008 14:52:49 GMT -5
Shortly after he was put in a cell at Pinellas County Jail, Nick Bollea started complaining about the accommodations to his parents in telephone conversations, often breaking into tears.
Nick told his mother Linda, "I have to get out of here. I can't deal with this for eight months." Linda responds, "Don't cry, baby."
"They put me in a crazy ward," he says. "It's so much worse than you could ever imagine. This is like a state prison. I'm all by myself."
Bollea says his cell is half the size of his bathroom at home, and he repeatedly complains about there being no windows. That kind of arrangement is made for all juveniles who are sentenced as adults to spend time in the jail or are awaiting trial to face felony charges.
Hulk Hogan told Nick to "man up" and deal with life behind bars.
Nick also took a few shots at his attorney, Kevin Hayslett, saying that if knew he was going to be in a windowless cell by himself, he would rather have gone to trial. If Bollea would have gone to trial and been found guilty, he would have faced up to 5 year sentence.
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Post by Blaise Zebrataur on May 24, 2008 14:55:22 GMT -5
TMZ.com has posted audio of a chat between Hulk Hogan and his son Nick from jail. Amongst the things that were discussed were how the victim John Graziano, who is in a permanent vegetative state due to the accident that Nick caused, was a negative person and Hulk stating that God laid some "heavy s**t" on him because of things that he was "into."
It only gets better as they later talk about creating a reality show for Nick once he's out of jail, with Hulk suggesting the title "The New Nick". Nick states that "I want to do it where I'll make the most money."
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Post by Blaise Zebrataur on May 25, 2008 18:38:47 GMT -5
WWE
-In light of declining ratings the past two months, WWE has some major shake-ups in store for viewers over the next few weeks.
-Thursday night in Monterrey, Mexico, Chris Jericho got busted open and needed stitches after his match with Jeff Hardy.
- Triple H has some major competition for the lead role in Marvel Comics' upcoming Thor movie. According to some entertainment websites, Brad Pitt is apparently being considered for the lead role. No offer has been made to Pitt yet, but he is high on the list of potential candidates to play the part. Another lead candidate for the role is actor Kevin McKidd of HBO's Rome series. Furthermore, according to the latest issue of Pro Wrestling Illustrated, the deal with Triple H and Thor is that Marvel officials are interested in his services, but scheduled director Matthew Vaughn is greatly opposed to the idea of casting him in the movie. Vaughn has informed the studio about his displeasure with possibly using Triple H in the movie.
-Dave Meltzer confirms in the latest issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter that former ECW Champion Chavo Guerrero is actually one drug test failure away from an automatic termination from World Wrestling Entertainment, not two. The other two wrestlers in the company in the same uneasy position are of course Jeff Hardy and William Regal.
-Just like last year, WWE plans on trotting out old stars for the pay-per-view formerly known as Vengeance, Night of Champions. WWE plans on bringing back a number of ex-champions for cameo appearances. The theme of having every WWE title defended on the show made it last year, by a small margin, the most successful of all the "B" pay-per-views. The event is set to take place in Dallas on June 29.
TNA:
-Here are some ratings notes from the 5/8 Impact. The opening match featuring a slew of X Division wrestlers (Jimmy Rave vs. Consequences Creed vs. Johnny Devine vs. Shark Boy vs. Petey Williams vs. Curry Man) lost 26,000 viewers. A bunch of backstage segments as well as a video package on LAX lost 144,000 viewers. The entrances for the Knockouts Pole match drew 39,000 additional viewers. The conclusion of the match and Sting vs. James Storm gained 231,000 viewers to do a 1.06 peak rating. However, Impact lost all of the viewers they had gained in the previous two matches within a matter of moments. The Kip James vs. Matt Morgan match lasted a total of three minutes and managed to lose 262,000 viewers in the process. The main event featuring Kurt Angle & Scott Steiner vs. Samoa Joe & Kevin Nash gained 13,000 viewers and did a 0.87 rating. The show drew 0.91 overall rating.
The Kaz, Lethal & Dutt vs. Rock 'n' Rave Infection & Johnny Devine match and "Black Machismo" Jay Lethal's marriage proposal to SoCal Val following it lost 265,000 viewers for the 5/15 Impact. Kurt Angle's speech asking Karen to come back and a LAX vs. Motor City Machine Guns match lost 88,000 viewers, and that was at the 10:00 hour. The main event featuring Booker Team 3D & Booker T vs. Samoa Joe, Christian Cage and Rhino lost 63,000 viewers, drawing a 0.87 rating. As if that isn't enough, the quarter hour featuring the vignette of Eric Young looking for Elvis and Sting talking about his past with Ultimate Warrior drew Impact's lowest rated quarter hour of the year with a 0.78 rating. The only segments to not lose any viewers were matches featuring the women. The Gail Kim vs. Awesome Kong match following the marriage proposal segment stopped the bleeding and gained 25,000 viewers. However, the biggest gain of the show was reserved for surprise, surprise, Velvet Love & Angelina Love. "The Beautiful People" vs. ODB & Roxxi Laveaux match managed to pull in 176,000 viewers. This was the lowest rated show of the year with a 0.87 overall rating.
-"Black Machismo" Jay Lethal's wedding proposal to SoCal Val was apparently a play on a similar scenario the World Wrestling Federation did in the summer of 1991 when "Macho Man" Randy Savage asked Miss Elizabeth to marry him. Lethal asked Val to marry him in that raspy Randy Savage voice, and Val responded in the same exact manner that Elizabeth did in the 1991 angle by saying, "Ooooh Yeah!"
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Post by Blaise Zebrataur on May 26, 2008 14:30:46 GMT -5
WWE-
One idea being thrown around is a heel stable composed of a group of younger WWE wrestlers. Also, they would use an older wrestler or a manager as a mentor. One idea is to make it a second generation stable featuring Ted DiBiase, Jr., Afa, Jr., DH Smith, Cody Rhodes (who would turn heel), and maybe Carlito as the mouthpiece if they don't get a manager. However, it may not be a 100% second generation stable after all, as other names being tossed around include CM Punk and Chris Harris. However, the young wrestlers stable is the basic idea they have in mind.
-The SmackDown writing team has been trying to keep things in a holding pattern during Michael Hayes' absence. Hayes made some storyline plans before his suspension and writer Ed Koskey has been trying to keep them in check by not making any major moves while he's away. Hayes' original plans go through One Night Stand. As far as the Raw writing team is concerned, they are said to be resistant on creating & launching new stars on the program.
Randy Orton's Last Man Standing Match for the WWE Title with Triple H at One Night Stand next Sunday will be the twelfth consecutive pay-per-view event featuring him in the WWE Title match. If you count the two title matches at No Mercy, it will be his thirteenth consecutive WWE Title match at a pay-per-view. Additionally, this will be Orton's sixth pay-per-view title match wrestling Triple H during the same span.
-Brooke Hogan was driving a Merdeces that crashed in a seven car pileup earlier today in Clearwater, Fla., not Hulk Hogan as reports initially stated. The Fox News affiliate led with the headline: "Hulk Hogan involved in car accident." The CBS affiliate said his role wasn't known. The police report, obtained by TMZ.com, says Brooke was driving when the car in front of her lost control while changing lanes, then collided with her car, pushing her car into the left concrete barrier wall. Eyewitness reports say the other car was speeding, and doesn't fault Brooke. Hulk and Linda, Brooke's parents, arrived on the scene, but neither were a passenger with Brooke.
TNA:
-Officials are indeed trying to get the Ultimate Warrior to come to TNA. If he comes in, he would likely tag team with Sting. Should Warrior end up coming to TNA, it won't be happening at Slammiversary because no deal is done. In a trivia note, WCW's original plan for Warrior was to have him debut at the record setting July 7, 1998 Monday Nitro show at the Georgia Dome, which ended up featuring the memorable Goldberg title win over Hollywood Hogan. WCW's plan was to have Sting & Warrior team up to take on Hogan & The Giant. However, WCW couldn't seal the deal with Warrior in time and the match was called off. Warrior and Sting did team up at one point though. The two wrestled Hulk Hogan & Bret Hart on October 11, 1998 on Monday Nitro.
-The Miami Herald has an article on TNA referee Earl Hebner. Hebner said he has no desire to return to World Wrestling Entertainment, but is okay with his son Brian returning. "I would never go back to WWE, but if that's what he wants. The reason I wouldn't go back to WWE is because I wouldn't be happy there. Even though it is more money than TNA pays me, TNA makes me happier. It's not a money factor for me now. It's being happy doing what you're doing and enjoying it."
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Post by Blaise Zebrataur on May 26, 2008 19:10:08 GMT -5
-1270 WMPM is reporting that Gregory Helms faces criminal charges for his role in an altercation at a Smithfield bar with Dustin Narron. Helms took out an assault warrant shortly after the incident on May 6. Since, Narron has filed a misdemeanor assault charge which was served to Helms on May 22.
-Former ECW Champion Bobby Lashley made his return to professional wrestling last Friday night at an event promoted by Booker T’s PWA promotion in Pasadena, Texas. Lashley went over Jared Steele at the show. According to live reports, Lashley worked hard and even took a nasty bump into the ring stairs. Lashley came out to his old WWE theme music and used the Spear as his finisher. Lashley’s ring attire was the same as it was in WWE and he did not look any different than he did when he worked for WWE.
-TMZ.com continued to post phone calls between Nick and his dad Hulk Hogan and with them knowing that conversations are taped, they must not be very wise considering the amount of crap they're talking about. In one of the conversations, Hulk and Nick basically trash Linda. Hogan was saying how he's putting money in the phone, starting with over $100 just to talk to Nick while Linda only put $25 and Nick says "She's down to $6 again." "That's ridiculous dude, I don't get it," Hogan adds. "And she spends $10 million on lawyers!" Nick complained how when his mom calls she puts him on the phone with everyone else but barely talks to him. "I said mom God dammit quit putting me on the phone with other people," he tells his dad. The second call is quite simply impossible to decode as the father and son keep talking in some weird code that only they could understand. Maybe Nick is turning into Michael Scofield and planning his own prison break! The other call - also between the two - has Nick explaining that for the next hearing he's going to put his jail jumpsuit for the sympathy factor and Hulk said he won't be there since it would be too high profile and they don't want the media. "Don't tell her to be there, Jesus Christ," said Hogan when referring to Linda. The two also talk about a possible transfer of Nick to a different place.
-From Brooke Hogan's MySpace (the blog has since been deleted):
"I truly believe my brother and John saved My life and my best friends life.... I don't know if you heard, but my friend and I got into a really bad car accident today ourselves... As I turned on my car I clicked my seatbelt. I reminded (my friend) to put it on and the minute she clicked it, a car crashed into us. It was a horrible car accident, one that most would be severely hurt in, but we had our seatbelts on and they kept us in tight. I have to thank my brother and my best friend John for teaching me an important lesson that saved our lives."
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Post by Blaise Zebrataur on May 26, 2008 22:24:01 GMT -5
Raw,5/26/08,Pespi Arena Denver,Colorado First Match:Melina defeated Jillian Hall by submission in 2:04. Second Match:World Tag Team Champions Cody Rhodes&Hardcore Holly defeated Paul London&Brian Kendrick when Holly pinned London in 3:33.After the match,"Million Dollar Man"Ted DiBiase came out and said his son,Ted DiBiase Jr. has his eyes on Holly and Rhodes Third Match:"The Samoan Bulldozer"Umaga&John"Bradshaw"Layfield defeated Jeff Hardy&John Cena when Layfield pinned Hardy in 9:32. Fourth Match:Mr.Kennedy pinned Carlito in 2:42.After the match,Paul Burchill attacked Mr.Kennedy. Fifth Match:Intercontinental Champion"Y2J"Chris Jericho wrestled"Heartbreak Kid"Shawn Michaels to a double-countout in 9:59 in a non-title match.
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Post by Blaise Zebrataur on May 27, 2008 18:10:09 GMT -5
WWE: -Rev Theory issued the following press release today: May 27th, 2008 - Los Angeles, CA - Former WWE champ Randy Orton debuted a new theme song, "Voices," to shocked wrestling fans on Monday Night Raw on May 12th. Written specifically for Orton, "Voices" is a brooding new track from Interscope artists Rev Theory. Amid chugging guitars and thundering drums, the song is an arena-ready anthem. No strangers to WWE fans, Rev Theory also provided the theme to this year's Wrestlemania, "Light it Up" and played at the event. Rev Theory's Interscope Records debut, Light It Up, is due in stores June 10th. "Voices" on Raw clip - youtube.com/watch?v=_ZKSP5cU6dM Rev Theory Official Website - www.RevTheory.com Rev Theory MySpace - www.myspace.com/revtheory-At the recent stockholders meeting, Vince McMahon talked about more changes in the works: - McMahon wants WWE more media-friendly. WWE is attemping to build a stronger relationship with the media. - McMahon noted that going forward, the company would be a less-McMahon driven company. - To help prevent the abuse of prescription druges, WWE has hired three new doctors to monitor that. The company has also hired two new doctors that will go on the road with the talent, one assigned to the Raw brand, and the other to the Smackdown brand. - McMahon wants a more realistic in ring product. -Regarding Ultimate Warrior Rumors of TNA/WWE "Warrior is completely focused on "The Ultimate Return" on June 25th in Barcelona. The NWE has provided us an incredible opportunity on our own terms and we are preparing to bring the fans much more than they are expecting. With numerous rumors being reported by wrestling "insiders".... we have not discussed any potential deals with other wrestling federations nor have I made mention of any money specifics with TNA, WWE or otherwise. The wrestling industry has long been on the record for using Ultimate Warrior's name, likeliness, and persona to bring great attention to their company with an agenda only suiting themselves". Bernie J. Gernay President, PSI Marketing Group Agent for The Ultimate Warrior -The WWE site has an article on Vince McMahon's $1 million giveaway. To clarify, the sum of the total giveaway over the next few weeks will be $1 million, not $1 million every single week. WWE.com plans on posting further details regarding the contest as soon as they get them. Vince McMahon's million dollar giveaway isn't something that's never been done before in pro wrestling as it's been done two other times. As a matter of fact, on the July 28, 1997 episode of Raw currently airing on WWE 24/7, a million dollar contest is being hyped for the SummerSlam 1997 pay-per-view. In two backstage segments, Sable and Sunny are shown handling several dollar bills in front of a lengthy case of one million dollars. The contest was misleading as the "winner" only got a mere chance to win one million dollars. During the SummerSlam pay-per-view, the winner got on the phone and had to play some sort of matching game in order to win the money. The person only had a 1 in 25 chance in winning, and lost. Also, back in September 1999 when Eric Bischoff was getting really desperate and pretty much throwing anything against the wall in hopes of a ratings increase, he created an idea to run a contest on Nitro that would award a viewer a million dollar prize if they could sort through clues that would be announced weekly through Nitro. However, the contest was abruptly cut off in a cost cutting move as Bischoff was removed from his duties as President of WCW the very next week. The contest was never mentioned again on WCW programming. -The Night of Champions PPV will be similar to last year's show, with all of the titles being defended as well as former champions appearing and being celebrated. Mick Foley is trying to work similar to Jim Cornette and Kevin Sullivan in the color commentator's role. Foley feels that both men were underrated, due to the fact that they made their character secondary and did everything they could to get the matches and angles over. TNA: -The latest on the World X-Cup, which will be held in late June and finish at the July 13th Victory Road PPV is as follows. There will be four teams, and as of now (and things can and likely will change) these are the expected lineups. Team TNA looks to be Alex Shelley and Chris Sabin so far, with nothing else confirmed. Either Sonjay Dutt or Black Machismo are likely to be added. Team Mexico as reported last week should be Averno, Volador Jr, Ultimo Guerrero and Rey Bucanero. This is said to be about 90% likely. Team Japan will be Milano Collection AT and Taichi Ishikari, who were already announced. Their partners, who are from Dragon Gate will be Naruki Doi and Masato Yoshino. The final team will be Team International, and there is not a lot conformed about the team. The top names being considered for the team are Tyson Dux, Doug Williams, Alex Kozlov and Shawn Daivari. -TNA is planning for the possibility of Sting retiring when his current contract expires at the end of the year. Company officials want to give him a proper sendoff after watching what WWE did for Ric Flair. Although, Sting has not indicated whether he plans to retire from professional wrestling at the end of the year. At Slammiversary, the plan for Sting is to give an interview pondering his future in wrestling. -Based on some of the crowd's reactions at Sacrifice a few weeks ago, it was largely conceded that TNA needs to move the pay-per-views out of Orlando. Some feel that the crowd has seen so much that they need to take them on the road, but others say that that the Orlando fans still react when the product is good, not to mention that it's much more cost-effective. -Scott Steiner was too injured to wrestle at the last set of Impact tapings. He suffered some sort of injury during his title match at Sacrifice. TNA had plans for him nab a singles win at one of the tapings, but he was too hurt to wrestle. The injury isn't serious as he should be back in the ring soon, perhaps as early as tonight's Impact taping.
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