Online Wrestling News

Floyd Mayweather Jr. Media Work Out Las Vegas Highlights

2011-09-09T11:39:00.000-07:00

On the hands of Victor Ortiz’s media workout last week, Floyd Mayweather Jr. held a private media work out yesterday at his Las Vegas boxing gym where he went thru a two hour workout to show media and fans watching online alike the tremendous shape he is in. Our Fight Hub TV fight correspondent Michael Mardones braved near 100 degree heat and a gym that mimicked a furnace to film Mayweather work his magic in this high light video of the work out.

Dana White says negotiations with Alistair Overeem are ongoing, next fight could be in the octagon

2011-08-29T08:45:00.000-07:00

UFC President, Dana White has reiterated that talks between the Las Vegas based promotion and Strikeforce heavyweight champion, Alistair Overeem are ongoing before adding the Dutchman’s next fight could come inside the octagon if everything comes together.

Speaking at the UFC 134 post-fight press conference, Dana said:

“We’re talking. You guys know how that whole thing went down. Golden Glory was in this position where we couldn’t do business, and they changed their position, which I respect. Now we can do business.”

“We’re never going to be in a situation where we pay managers and not fighters. We pay fighters. Fighters pay managers. We’re never going to be in that situation, no matter who the guy is.”

“Look how many guys from team Black House fight in the UFC. If tomorrow, they said, ‘Hey, listen – you’ve got to pay us and not the fighters,’ we’re going to be in the same situation. It’s not going to happen.”

Overeem spoke just a couple of weeks ago and indicated he would be more than happy to sign an exclusive deal with the UFC but he’d want a shot at the title in return and a lorry load of money. We’ve since found out that a potential fight with Brock Lesnar would also interest “The Reem”.

Floyd Mayweather vs. Ortiz in September

2011-08-22T07:54:00.000-07:00

So fight fans the news broke Floyd Mayweather's Twitter that he will indeed be fighting WBC welterweight champion Victor Ortiz on Sept. 17.

Ever since, the announcement many have been weighing in on their opinion of this fight. I think all personal feelings aside, it is a decent matchup style-wise and Ortiz did win the WBC belt in an impressive fight of the year worthy performance against Berto.

Ortiz is going back to his vicious ways of fighting more and more aggressively with constant pressure which will play well into Floyd's master defense technical style where he will most likely easily counter all night causing himself to open up and throw more than usual.

Floyd must have bought a new luxury pimped out duster to dust the WBC belt that he plans on easily winning by a comfortable decision.

The real question of this fight is will Ortiz agree and be subjected to Mayweather's full random Olympic style testing?

Here is the actual Tweet verbatim from Floyd Mayweather on his Twitter: "My fans have been waiting long enough. Floyd Mayweather versus Victor Ortiz. Sept. 17, 2011 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena Las Vegas, NV for the WBC World Championship."

Major RAW Tonight, Shane McMahon Update, SmackDown Action, DH Smith

2011-08-15T08:50:00.001-07:00

Stan sent word that this past Friday’s WWE SmackDown on SyFy had 26 minutes and 38 seconds of in-ring action, down from the previous week.

- David Hart Smith will be appearing at the Pro Wrestling Syndicate event on August 20th in Ronkonkoma, New York. Smith will be signing autographs and wrestling in a four-way match with Necro Butcher, Dan Maff and Devon Moore. Also appearing that night will be Ted DiBiase Sr., Carlito, Amazing Red and Sonjay Dutt.

- Shane McMahon was among those in attendance on Thursday night in New York for a benefit art show to help raise funds for Aidanhasaposse.org, a charity helps 6-year old Aiden Seeger, who suffers from a brain disorder.

- Tonight’s WWE RAW will take place from the Valley View Casino Center in San Diego, California with the fallout from SummerSlam. Hometown star Rey Mysterio is scheduled to get a WWE Title shot against new champion Alberto Del Rio.

UFC 133: Rashad Takes Out Tito; Belfort Surprises Akiyama

2011-08-08T07:10:00.000-07:00

Saturday night’s UFC 133 was filled with much excitement and plenty of knockouts. The main event ended with Rashad Evans landing a ridiculous knee to Tito Ortiz’s chest, and then following up that powerful knee with a flurry of pushes before the ref was forced to end the bout. Tito’s Cinderella-story comeback did not end how he had hoped, but it is hard to criticize a guy who took the fight on two and a half week notice and still came out ready to brawl. If nothing else, Dana White recognized the hard work put in by both fighters, and awarded them “Fight of the Night” bonuses. The co-main event between MMA legend Vitor Belfort and Japanese sensation Yoshihiro Akiyama ended with a great TKO victory by Belfort as all fans saw signs of the young Vitor Belfort that he all grew up loving. Belfort stunned Akiyama early and was able to put him away at the 1:52 mark of the first round. His quick hands and relentless aggression gave Belfort the “Knockout of the Night” bonus that all fighters aspire to get.

There were a couple other great fights on the main card. Young British prospect, Rory Macdonald, once again proved why some are comparing this 22-year-old kid to Georges St. Pierre. Macdonald took out another veteran fighter with his TKO victory over Mike Pyle. Middleweight bout between Jorge Rivera and Costantinos Philippou was not the fast pace, exciting fight we had all hoped for, but this bout still featured great technique and skill as Philippou walked away with a split decision victory. That last main event fight was between Brian Ebersole and Dennis Hallman. Although these are relatively low profile MMA veterans, these two men put on quite the performance in their four-minute bout. Ebersole walks into the cage with a big arrow shaved into his chest hair pointing to his head, while Hallman comes out wearing what looks like a little blue speedo. These two engage early, and Ebersole ultimately comes out on top after unleashing a number of vicious elbows that put Hallman to sleep. Due to the fact that there were no submission victories, Dana White also awarded Ebersole a “Knockout of the Night” bonus.

UFC 133 may not have gone as planned, but the main card still featured four TKO victories which is unheard of. The fans in attendance were happy, the audience watching PPV at home were happy, and Dana White was happy as well. So in the end, UFC 133 didn’t end up too bad at all.

This is The Best Wrestling Takedown You Will See Today

2011-08-01T08:57:00.000-07:00

This is Team USA wrestler Ellis Coleman performing one of the most innovative takedowns I’ve ever seen. Coleman went on to win the bronze in the 66 KG (145.5lbs) at Junior World Championships in Bucharest, Romania but made the most noise with this awesome takedown.

Movie to be based on fighter's life

2011-07-29T06:34:00.000-07:00

On Wednesday, Eric Eisner announced that his Double E Pictures production company has optioned the life rights to former UFC middleweight champion Rich Franklin. David Hollander, know for his work on “The Cleaner” and “The Guardian,” will write the script about Franklin’s career as a fighter.

“American Fighter” tells the unlikely story of how Franklin, a family man and high school math teacher, taught himself mixed martial arts, quickly emerged as one of the dominant figures in the sport, and ultimately became champion of the UFC. The movie also chronicles the rise of MMA as the fastest growing sport in the world and transformation into a billion-dollar industry.

“I’m excited to see the story of my career as a fighter brought to the screen, and I feel confident that the team assembled will do a great job in telling this story,” Franklin said.

Eisner will produce the film with Motion Theory’s Sean Sorensen. Mathew Cullen of Motion Theory will serve as the executive producer.

“I’m happy to be in business with Sean and Motion Theory, and look forward to working with David to capture the story of Rich’s remarkable life,” Eisner said. “This is a truly inspirational story that we are excited to tell.”

Franklin is currently sitting the sidelines after his UFC 133 bout against Antonio Rogerio Nogueira was canceled due to an injury to Little Nog.

Watch "Leaked" Gamplay Footage of UFC Undisputed 3

2011-07-25T08:01:00.000-07:00

Combat video game enthusiasts can finally revel after 14 month since a UFC Undisputed has been released to buy. The game creators, THQ, are taking the 2011 year off from making the video game available for purchase due to a lack of sales of UFC Undisputed 2 in May of 2010 with a plan to release the third game in January of 2012. If you make fans of the video game wait, they are inevitably going to get antsy. Which will lead to one tech-savvy nerd to make a "leak" known to the general MMA video game public.

Interesting to note the leak consists of a match-up that all fans are waiting to watch between Jon Jones and Rampage Jackson at UFC 135 in September.

CM Punk Confronts Triple H At Comic Con

2011-07-22T06:20:00.000-07:00

Just when you thought that CM Punk was gone from the WWE Universe, he returns in a big way. Punk confronted Triple H and head WWE writer Brian Gerwitz at Comic Con 2011, causing quite a scene and possibly taking his first step in the build to WrestleMania 28.

This is the kind of stuff I never would have dreamed that the WWE would book in 2011. I give all credit to whomever it is that made the call to go this route and embrace this angle because it is turning out to be pretty damned awesome.

According to the report, Punk stormed a Q & A which featured “new” WWE CEO Triple H, Brian Gerwitz, and other WWE superstars. Punk brought his bullhorn with him and started mocking the Q & A with his unannounced presence. Punk reportedly took exception to the WWE championship tournament this past week on RAW. Punk challenged Rey Mysterio or anyone else to go to Chicago and wrestle him for the title.

If that wasn’t enough, here is where things got interesting. Punk badgered Hunter and Gerwitz asking them why Zack Ryder wasn’t on RAW.

“Triple H, in what seemed to be a part of a storyline, told Punk that things had changed on RAW and that there was a new regime. He told Punk to give him a call. Punk responded by telling Hunter that he was sure Stephanie had his number”

Shockingly the WWE cameras just happened to be there and catch everything. An amazing coincidence wouldn’t you say?

Latest Casualty of UFC 133 injury wave

2011-07-18T06:36:00.000-07:00

A third light heavyweight in a week has been forced to withdraw from UFC 133 - Dana White confirmed today via Twitter that Antonio Rogerio Nogueria is out of the August 6 fight against Rich Franklin due to an injury. The bout will not replaced, and the Vitor Belfort vs. Yoshihiro Akiyama bout will be moved to the co-main event slot, while the welterweight battle between Dennis Hallman and Brian Ebersole has been moved to the main card.

Hamill in for Injured Matyushenko at UFC 133 updated July 14
For the second time this week, an injury has knocked a light heavyweight off the UFC 133 fight card. Dana White announced today that Vladimir "The Janitor" Matyushenko has been forced to withdraw from his scheduled fight against Swede Alexander "The Mauler" Gustafsson.

Stepping in for The Janitor will be fellow wrestler Matt "The Hammer" Hamill, who last faced Quinton "Rampage" Jackson in the main event of UFC 130. Hamill and Gustafsson have verbally agreed to the August 6 matchup.

Davis Injured, Ortiz Gets Call to Face Evans in UFC 133 Rematch updated July 13
The stakes have just gotten higher for UFC 133 main eventer Rashad Evans, as the former light heavyweight champion will now face an old rival, Tito Ortiz, on the August 6th card in Philadelphia after his original opponent, Phil Davis, was forced out of the bout due to injury.

The two originally met in July of 2007, battling to a three round draw. Ortiz is coming off a UFC 132 win over Ryan Bader, and now he’s back to battle Evans just one month later.

Tickets are on sale now for this exciting clash of former champions looking to get a shot at the title once again.

News On The Big Show, Edge, Colt Cabana-WWE, More

2011-07-15T06:54:00.000-07:00

-- The Big Show will be on Burn Notice on USA tonight.

-- WWE.com has an interview with Edge about his acting career and more.

-- Scripps News has an interview with Colt Cabana about his attendance at Money in the Bank this weekend at http://www.scrippsnews.com/node/62864 Interestingly, he mentions that he'd "love to be with WWE and working again with CM Punk" but that he can't just wait around for a call.

-- Hulk Hogan is at a show called "Back From The Brink" on August 26rh in Greensboro, NC where he is scheduled to be "in a very intimate setting in Greensboro as he discusses his life."

VIDEO: Brilliant UFC 134 Trailer With Anderson Silva, Forrest Griffin And Others

2011-07-12T08:18:00.000-07:00

This UFC 134 trailer is easily one of the best trailers for a UFC event I have ever seen. It's visually understated, provocative, star-laden (featuring Forrest Griffin, Shogun Rua, Anderson Silva, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, Brendan Schaub and Yushin Okami), and most importantly, bears little resemblance to typical UFC trailers. There is no cacophonous music or Clockwork Orange forced visual brutality or even the cheerleading of commentators. There's just delicate touch to remind you of the greatness to come. In short, it's the epitome of less is more.

It also upholds what I consider to be one of the most fundamental best practices of production: the fighters talk in their own language with their own voices. No one is dubbing over them, missing their inflection, intonation and sound. The point may sound petty, but can one imagine Lou Gehrig being dubbed over when he told baseball he was the luckiest man on the face of the earth? What about Martin Luther King when he proclaimed to have a dream? The point isn't to equate the most significant moments in sports or civil rights history with an upcoming UFC card. It's to underscore how voice and language are central to human identity.

Ortiz leads UFC 132 payroll

2011-07-06T12:22:00.000-07:00

from:

Last weekend's Ultimate Fighting Championship show will produce the smallest paycheck in years for Tito "The Huntington Beach Bad Boy" Ortiz, but he still gets a bigger purse than anyone else's on the publicly disclosed list.

Ortiz received $450,000 for competing at UFC 132 on Saturday in Las Vegas, according to data released Tuesday by the Nevada Athletic Commission. He was followed by fellow MMA legend Wanderlei "The Ax Murderer" Silva, who took home at least $200,000.

They topped the event's official payouts:

Ortiz: $450,000 (no win bonus)
Silva: $200,000
Chris "The Crippler" Leben: $92,000 (including $46,000 win bonus)
Carlos "The Natural Born Killer" Condit: $68,000 ($34,000 win bonus)
Melvin "The Young Assassin" Guillard: $64,000 ($32,000 win bonus)
Dennis Siver: $50,000 ($25,000 win bonus)
Dong Hyun "Stun Gun" Kim: $41,000
Dominick "The Dominator" Cruz: $40,000 ($20,000 win bonus)
Urijah "The California Kid" Faber: $32,000
Brian Bowles: $34,000 ($17,000 win bonus)
Aaron "A-Train" Simpson: $34,000 ($17,000 win bonus)
Rafael Dos Anjos: $28,000 ($14,000 win bonus)
Shane Roller: $21,000
Ryan "Darth" Bader: $20,000
Matt "Handsome" Wiman: $18,000
Anthony Njokuani: $16,000 ($8,000 win bonus)
George Sotiropoulos: $15,000
Andre Winner: $14,000
Takeya Mizugaki: $12,000
Jeff Hougland: $12,000 ($6,000 win bonus)
Brad Tavares: $10,000
Donny Walker: $6,000

As always, note that the official purses do not include money from sponsors, UFC's post-fight awards or unofficial bonuses the promotion may choose to award at its own discretion.

Counting fight night awards would add $75,000 each to the payouts for Ortiz, who received Submission of the Night for his first-round guillotine choke of Bader; Condit, who got Knockout of the Night for finishing off Kim with punches on the ground after flooring him with a flying knee; as well as Cruz and Faber, who earned Fight of the Night for a main-event bout that combined speed, action and a high degree of skill, which staying competitive throughout the five-round affair.

The listings also don't include any payments that might be contractually owed to fighters who directly get cuts of pay-per-view sales, such as Randy "The Natural" Couture and Ortiz used to.

Ortiz before the event admitted to taking a large pay cut to convince UFC to give him one more chance after a five-fight unbeaten streak. Saturday's show was actually the largest officially disclosed purse he has ever received, but if his previous share of pay-per-view receipts has been reduced or eliminated, that could put a substantial dent in his real take-home pay.

Well all we can say is that UFC is sure worth watching !

Snitsky Offered WWE Contract?, Finlay Returning To The Ring

2011-06-27T11:58:00.000-07:00

from: SEScoops

Gene Snitsky was backstage at Tuesday’s SmackDown taping in Hershey, Pennsylvania. The Wrestling Observer Newsletter reports that there are ‘rumors’ of the former WWE star returning to the organization.

The rumors are apparently based on messages Snitsky posted on his Twitter account following the appearance as he asked his followers if he should go back to WWE.

“Decisions, decisions!” he wrote. “Thinking about it!!!!!!!”

Former WWE talent Dave Finlay is advertised to appear for EVOLVE on July 26 at BB King Blues Club and Grill in Times Square, Manhattan, New York. He will appear in the main event against Sami Callihan. Visit EvolveWrestling.com for event information.

Tough Enough contestant Ryan Howe is advertised to wrestle at Dickenson County Fair in Haysi, Virginia on August 4, 2011.Ricky Morton of the The Rock ‘n’ Roll Express will also appear.

Give ‘em hell in Heaven, Macho Man

2011-06-21T10:06:00.000-07:00

from: pwrestlingnews.com

As I may have said before I grew up in a family that loved wrestling. We would go down the Boutwell Auditorium to watch The Armstrong’s take on The Stud’s Stable. Back then it was all about the territories. At a risk of aging myself I would proceed by saying that…..then came the 80′s and WWF. My very first non-Continental Championship Wrestling memories happened on the night of November 22, 1986. Don’t quote me but I think it was an episode of Saturday Nights Main Events. I remember the colors on the show to be so vibrant, nothing like the dull coloring of the rest of the shows on tv. The match that stands out that night just happen to be between two guys I’d never seen before. Those two men just happened to use that moment to create a moment that would last in my mind forever. Not since I watched the Dirty White Boy hang Tom Pritchard by the neck with a rope had I seen something as barbarian as the show these two men created.

Normally the ringside bell is used to remind the grapplers to start and stop their match but on this night “Macho Man” Randy Savage gave the bell a different purpose. I think every fan has a match tucked away into the corners of our minds of our most unforgettable moments and this is one of mine. Throughout the years Randy Savage would continue to be consistent and give us the madness we had come to expect from him. He had a style that was flamboyant yet never left a doubt in our minds that he was all man. He was a glory hound who wouldn’t be outshined even by his very classy, reserved wife. He was the quintessencial villain left you wondering, to this day, where the character ended and the man began. We despised the way he treated Miss Elizabeth but loved him when he came to her defense. And COME ON anyone who loves a good character simply had to love it when he ditched the goody-goody image of the Mega Powers and put a spotlight stealing Hogan in his place. I mean, what kinda man hoists another mans girl onto his shoulders?

Just recently, we heard that the reason Savage never returned to WWE was because he gave Vince 5 across the lip in a bar one night. I love the idea of this as it stands true to who we understood him to be. No matter how it came to be that we haven’t seen him in a ring for several years througout the years one thing remained true; he was who he said he was. If he said ”I’ll kick your ass” he did it. Whether he was the “Macho Man” or the “Macho King” or just sitting at the table being one of the best wrestler color commentators to date he left no doubt that there was someone who was not to be ignored in the room. Pomp and Circumstance will never be remembered as the song I marched to at my 8th grade graduation but the song that meant “Macho Man” was coming.

The news of his death was shocking to all of us. For years he’s remained out of the spotlight as we longed for his return. I find comfort in the thought that he stepped away from the spotlight and into a life where he found a new love with his wife Lynne. Rumor has it that WWE has attempted to induct Savage into the Hall of Fame for quite some time now but he refused the request suggesting that his father, Angelo Poffo, be inducted first. Within the next few years I think it would be very fitting to have them both finally inducted as they have done a great service to the wrestling business. Although, I am saddened by his untimely death I can’t help but want to be a fly on the wall in a room with Savage, Miss. Elizabeth and Sherri Martel.

See you in that main event in the sky Randy Poffo. We still love you down here.

BRUINS are our Heroes !!

2011-06-16T05:49:00.000-07:00

After a long fought battle against the Vancouver Canucks, The Boston Bruins have prevailed and managed to bring the much craved STANLEY CUP back home to Boston.
Congratulations to the fearless fighters !!!!

Randy Savage's Cause of Death Announced, Comments from His Brother

2011-06-08T08:08:00.000-07:00

from: RingSide News

- BayNews9.com reports that Randy Savage's brother Lanny Poffo told them that The Macho Man died from a condition known as ventricular fibrillation (VF), which is a severely abnormal heart rhythm that can lead to heart attacks or fainting.

Poffo said: "What it means to me is, it was a beautiful way to die. It's quick, painless."

Poffo also praised Savage's widow Lynn: "Randy's foot was still on the accelerator. She reached over and steered the Jeep Wrangler into a tree, saving the life of a motorcyclist and possibly a bus. You know, there's no telling what can happen when you're going the wrong way."

WWE SmackDown Sucks

2011-05-12T06:57:00.000-07:00

from BR:

In case you missed it, the ratings for last Friday's much ballyhooed episode of SmackDown were bad. Like, worst ratings of 2011 bad.

The episode received tremendous attention, and indirect hype, prior to its airing as news broke that internet icon Christian would be dropping the World Championship to Randy Orton just five nights after his historic first time title win. The quick title turnaround would extinguish a short-lived feel good moment of the year.

The news, now unofficially known as Spoilergate, led to overwhelming outrage as fans flooded relevant Twitter accounts with hate mail and negative feedback. There hadn't been this much outrage for something that hadn't yet aired since South Park teased that it would be drawing a cartoon of Muhammad.

Following the "any press is good press" theory, all the buzz appeared to have been good news for SmackDown. Orton was drafted to SmackDown to inject some life into the brand, and the big stink in which his World Title win created was the most buzz that surrounded SmackDown in years.

I myself predicted a sizable rating for the show, as A) fans would be curious to see how the whole thing went down, and B) world title matches on SmackDown are relatively rare and should have built-in intrigue.

The result, however, was the antithesis of the Mick Foley channel changing incident in 1999 that would eventually contribute to the downfall of WCW. Amidst all the unprecedented fuss and controversy, the proverbial butts didn't take their seats to watch Christian lose the World Championship as SmackDown's 1.73 overall performance fell below every one of its predecessors in 2011.

Bleacher Report are like the only people who write about the WWE. KEEP IT UP GUYS

Why Don't You Like TNA?

2011-05-10T07:55:00.000-07:00

from Bleacher Report:

This questions is one that has interested me for a very long time.

I’ve talked to other fans via this website and others in an attempt to find a more clear answer on this. I’m a big fan of TNA. I watch Impact every week and all of their PPVs and enjoy almost all of them.

However, when I read what others fans say online, I see mostly negative.

I’ve never understood this.

TNA has some of the biggest legends of the past: Hulk Hogan, Ric Flair, and Sting. You get some of the best stars of today such as AJ Styles, Christopher Daniels, Kurt Angle and Ken Anderson. You also have several talented up and comers like Crimson and Gunner.

Unlike the WWE, Impact doesn’t just revolve around one person. You have multiple feuds and story lines to follow each week. You have the X-Division for those who like the fast pace high flying type of wrestling on each PPV. You have a tag team division with actual tag teams. You have a women’s division where the women get real feuds, real story lines and actual character development.

TNA gives you all of this in only 2 hours a week. You got pretty much every thing any reasonable wrestling fan could want.

Yet the organization is consistently disparaged by wrestling fans. I kept finding myself asking. “What more do you want”?

So, I’ve been looking into that answer. I talk to other fans, I listen to wrestling radio shows, and I read the comments here on Bleacher Report.

I’ve come up with a theory on this question and I’d like to get some feedback from the readers here. I think that most of the IWC falls into 2 groups.

The first one is a group that I talked about in one of my previous articles. I’ve noticed a large group of people who want TNA to be, what I’ve referred to as, Ring of Honor with a bigger budget.

They want Ring Of Honor to have the TV deal that TNA has.

For whatever reason, no national network has picked up ROH and no one with a enough money has invested in them. In fact, many of these people also believe that if ROH has TNA’s TV deal, they would be able to compete with WWE to the point that ROH would take viewers from WWE and force them to change their programming.

Ring of Honor doesn’t seem to be growing in the way that these people want it to, so that want TNA to become Ring of Honor.

Many Indy wrestling fans fall into this category. Fans of promotions like ROH, Dragon Gate USA, Evolve. Pretty much, fans of any promotion that has ever involved Gabe Sapolsky fall into this group.

The second group seems to want TNA to be the compliment to WWE. Basically, they want TNA to do all of the things that WWE doesn’t do.

WWE has no cruiserweight division anymore so they want TNA to put more focus on the X-Division. WWE doesn’t do tag team wrestling. So they want TNA to do tag team wrestling.

For different reasons, I think that both of these methods would be unsuccessful for TNA to follow. However, that is for another article.

So what do you think readers? What do you think of my theory? What do you want from TNA?

Personally, I want the show to jump out of the television and have sex with me. And not just TNA, pretty much any of them.

2011-05-09T07:35:00.000-07:00

from Bleacher Report:

Since the turn of the millennium, WWE has somewhat struggled building and establishing new stars. Whilst there have been some success, namely Cena, Batista and Orton, there have been numerous Superstars who the WWE have dropped the ball on. The likes of Mr. Kennedy and MVP should be prominent figures in the WWE right now. But they are not.

For whatever reason, WWE are seemingly unable to build Superstars the way they did in the late '90s. Instead of committing to a number of performers and pushing them appropriately, WWE have pushed numerous wrestlers only to halt their progress on a whim.

The following talents, although pegged as the future of the company, have been plagued by the dreaded “depush”: CM Punk, Jack Swagger, Drew McIntyre, Wade Barrett, Sheamus, Kofi Kingston, Evan Bourne, Dolph Ziggler and Daniel Bryan. That's a lot of guys to be pushed only to be depushed in the space of a year and this is a dangerous game for the WWE to play.

The audience will end up feeling ambivalent towards newly pushed talent as they will immediately question how relevant they will be four weeks from then.

The WWE needs to establish new stars as the audience demands something new. Unfortunately, recent history suggests this may be a struggle.

But there may be hope.

...

Let’s run through a number of potential shows WWE could experiment with in order to establish new stars.

How about a scripted "reality" show focused on an individual Superstar? One example that would have the potential to be great would be CM Punk. The show would follow Punk as he trains, badmouths his current opponent and preaches the straight-edge lifestyle to the public, subsequently getting in entertaining scenarios.

christ that sounds like the worst thing in the universe, oh my good lord

you couldn't pay me to watch that

Matt Hardy: a WWE martyr

2011-05-05T06:36:00.000-07:00

from Wrestling News Source:

To ask a know-it-all fan about Matt Hardy is equivalent to asking Denise Richards her true feelings on Charlie Sheen: be prepared to listen for a while.

It’s no secret that “Coldblooded” Matt has fallen down the hierarchy of fan respect over the last few years. Once a promising midcarder with creativity to spare, and a keen eye for the business, Hardy seemingly threw away much of that sentiment, in the fans’ eyes, by becoming so self-deluded, he’d make Mike Sorrentino look like an authority on humility.

Last summer, Hardy’s bizarre self-shot videos and erratic Tweets amounted to a portrait of a madman; a burnout in his mid-thirties who was now spending his free time ripping his co-subordinates (namely Drew McIntyre), ranting about wanting his release from WWE, and arguing with fans who dared question his conditioning, both mental and physical.

In many ways, we as fans had seen nothing like it. Brian Pillman’s dementia had a foundation in the kayfabe world, as his maniacal attitude was part-character. Those like Iron Sheik and Honky Tonk Man, never ones to bite their tongues, may shoot with the veracity of Ted Nugent these days, but they’re also pretty far removed from the mainstream, while Hardy was (at the time) still a prominent WWE talent.

For Hardy to be so unabashedly open about his dissatisfaction with WWE was borderline revolutionary, and while we as fans clamor for wrestlers to shed corporate red tape to bring us their true feelings, Hardy flooded the internet with his machinations to the point where it was overkill.

By the time Hardy got his WWE release last October, many of us were relieved. Maybe he’d shut up, finally.

But now, in hindsight, perhaps we need to look a little bit closer to what Matt Hardy was saying in his diatribes.

Read the article at Wrestling News Source

Improving Extreme Rules 2011

2011-05-04T07:36:00.000-07:00

from Bleacher Report:

After reluctantly purchasing the 2011 Extreme Rules pay-per-view and coming away fairly pleased, here are five things that would have made it that much better:

1. Announce All of the Matches
This aspect of the PPV setup is really frustrating. Someone needs to explain or demonstrate the benefits of not telling the viewers what will be on the card.

Does it create a better buyrate? Is the suspense intended to keep viewers buying even when they're not completely satisfied with the pre-purchase card, in hopes that others will compete (only to be inevitably disappointed at least some of the time)? Do they just not know what the plan is until literally that late?

Whatever it is, it doesn't seem productive and can be quite frustrating for the fan and potential viewer. Having names like Sheamus, Kingston, Big Show and Kane on the card surely would have increased the buyrate at least a bit. What was gained from keeping them off.

2. Make Layla Look Good (Since She's The One Sticking Around)
Michelle beat on Layla their entire match, only for Layla to get an out-of-nowhere pin that even surprised her out of her sleeve. If she is the one staying on TV, why not make her look better? Now, one diva is gone and the other one looks extremely weak.

more at Bleacher Report

The Big Show to be on USA's "Burn Notice"

2011-05-03T07:08:00.000-07:00

from ScreenRant:

USA Network is bringing extra-large WWE star The Big Show back for his second appearance on the network in two years, as a physically intimidating villain pitted against Michael Westen on ‘Burn Notice’.

The cast of Burn Notice is about to get remarkably larger. Super-sized wrestler The Big Show is slated to make a guest appearance on the highly rated action-drama as one of the new bad guys.

Standing at a staggering 7 ft. and weighing in at a colossal 485 lbs., The Big Show (Paul Donald Wight Jr.) is billed as ‘The Largest Athlete in the World’, and now he is the biggest foe Michael Westen and his band of do-gooders have ever faced.

Well isn't that special. Enormous man cast as dumb thug, not really a shocker.

Why is John Cena the Champion? I wanna be the Champion

2011-05-02T07:27:00.000-07:00

from Bleacher Report:

John Cena is the New WWE Champion.

The Rock will appear on Raw tonight.

These two men face each other in 11 months or 334 days.

These two men will face off at some point tonight, which leads back to my first line. John Cena will face off with the Rock with the WWE title that the Rock previous prevented him from obtaining. This fact will hopefully be mentioned on tonight’s show.

John Cena is at it again with the twitter comments about how he can wrestle and appear in movies and have time for both. Cena apparently doesn’t seem to understand the difference in his Hollywood status versus that of Dwayne Johnson.

That's right. You don't mess with the Tooth Fairy.

WWE Focuses On Investment

2011-04-29T07:13:00.000-07:00

from the Wall Street Journal:

World Wrestling Entertainment Inc. (WWE) slashed its quarterly dividend by two-thirds, saying the decision strikes the right balance between investment and shareholder reward.

Shares fell 5.1% at $10.85 in after-hours trading. Through the close, the stock had fallen 39% in the last year.

The move goes against the tide of most dividend changes of late, as many company have raised or revived dividends as target seek ways to appeal to investors and tap cash piles they needn't preserve as vigilantly in the improving economy.

World Wrestling Entertainment Chairman and Chief Executive Vince McMahon called the cut "both prudent and appropriate."

"We believe this change strikes the right balance between returning capital to shareholders and investing in our future," McMahon said Thursday.

The company moved the dividend to 12 cents a share, with the decrease saving roughly $18 million each payout, based on its total number of Class A and Class B share outstanding as of March 2.

In its latest quarterly results, the company's income fell 28% despite a small revenue climb as costs weighed on the bottom line. Ticket sales for live wrestling events fell, as did demand for pay-per-view programs and home videos.

Does anybody else think Vince McMahon is the most ridiculous person in the world?

Just saying.

(I don't have any idea what slashing the dividend means)

A New Era for the WWE

2011-04-28T07:40:00.000-07:00

from The Sun:

Forget the silliness of John Cena's yo-yoing between brands, the real talking points were Rey Mysterio moving to Raw, Randy Orton jumping to Smackdown and a string of midcarders switching brands.

But for me two draft picks stood out among the crowd because of the impact their moves could cause in the make-up of the company.

The most eyecatching transfer of all was probably Alberto Del Rio leaving Smackdown, his home since he debuted in June last year, for Raw.

It was hardly a surprise as he has been pushed heavily in his short WWE career, and a move WWE's A-brand was heavily rumoured in the run-up to the draft.

But the last move of all could also be potentially significant.

Irish brawler Sheamus is the United States champion, and his switch to Friday nights means that he will join Intercontinental champ Wade Barrett, on Smackdown, leaving no 'secondary' title on the Raw brand at all.

After the draft, Extreme Rules, and The Rock's one-off cameo next week, WWE essentially will hit a reset button.

They need to find a big hook or two to keep us going through the summer, a big angle to define a new era for the company.

Is it possible that this major occurrence could be the unification of the company's major titles?

I don't know about you, but I'm shaking in my oversized golden boots.

Miss USA kicked off Tough Enough

2011-04-27T07:04:00.000-07:00

from Detriot:

Dearborn's Rima Fakih, the reigning Miss USA, was booted off "WWE Tough Enough" during Monday night's episode, ending her quest to win a professional wrestling contract.

Fakih hasn't decided on her future, but she has several offers on the table. Even though she was kicked off the show, she is strongly considering becoming a professional wrestler and being part of the WWE after she ends her reign as Miss USA on June 19.

"It's fair to say, this is better than anything that has ever happened to me," she said at the end of the show.

And it's fair to say that I'll never understand women. Being on a WWE reality show is better than winning Miss USA?

Oh wait, is Miss USA different from Miss America?

God, I'm confused...

The WWE Draft is Bizarre

2011-04-26T08:21:00.000-07:00

from The Sun:

JOHN CENA was moved to Smackdown in a fascinating WWE draft special — but returned to Raw within two hours.
The nine-time world champion was the first name announced as shifting from the red brand to its blue counterpart after Smackdown's Big Show and Kofi Kingston won a battle royal to open this week's Raw.

However, in the main event — a match Cena actually competed in for Smackdown — the red team of The Miz, CM Punk and newly-drafted Alberto Del Rio emerged victorious, earning another pick.

This turned out to be Cena, who destroyed the heels and celebrated to close the show.
Other moves during the evening saw Randy Orton, Sin Cara and Mark Henry go from Raw to Smackdown, with Rey Mysterio, Big Show and Alberto Del Rio heading in the opposite direction.

The two-hour show whizzed by and was entertaining enough, but WWE's draft concept is so full of logic flaws it is difficult to give it a thumbs up.

As in previous years, wrestlers competed in inter-brand matches, with the winners getting a randomly-drawn superstar from the other brand to join their show. Wrestlers were then seen celebrating this fact.

But if we follow logic through, surely if you were, say, Drew McIntrye, would you be celebrating the arrival of Orton to your show?

You would not want a top level wrestler and former world champion competing and potentially getting above you in the pecking order — whether that be from a storyline or real-life perspective.

Similarly, there is also no real reason to try and win a match to bring more competition to your door. Baffling, really.

So, in what sense is this a "draft"? Isn't it more like... Red Rover?

TNA's Abyss injured

2011-04-25T11:16:00.000-07:00

from examiner.com

Last Tuesday, during TNA's tapings of their weekly show Impact, Abyss suffered a serious injury to his mouth. On Saturday, PWInsider.com reported that Abyss needed surgery to repair teeth that were severely damaged. Abyss is expected to return to action for next week's tapings. On Thursday, the taped episode of Impact aired and Abyss' injury was apparently due to a botched kick from Rob Van Dam. After the match, Abyss left the ring and was bleeding profusely out of his mouth.

I'm not sure how he could have been injured, with that gigantic leather mask over his mouth. Apparently it isn't good for much.

Post One

2011-04-25T10:31:00.001-07:00

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