Post by michaelporter on May 4, 2005 21:32:49 GMT -5
Michael Porter's WrestleBeat (5-5-05)
Hey there again, Wrestling Fans! And welcome to another edition of WrestleBeat. I've got a lot of news and notes from the World of Professional Wrestling. So, let's get right to business.
In national news:
Written by Ryan Clark:
In regards to the 6/12 ECW PPV, Vince McMahon has talked to Mick Foley about doing a match as Cactus Jack. Tommy Dreamer is expected to wrestle on the show.
Despite his release, there is talk of Rhyno still working the ECW PPV.
The recent WWE Australian tour drew $4.5 million for six shows including a $1.1 million gate for the Sydney Superdome show
Written by Richard Gray:
Thanks to PWInsider.com
Word going around the WWE locker room is that the ECW pay per view will be given little to no promotion from WWE, at least as far as storylines are concerned. The feeling amongst many backstage is that they want ECW fans to find it and buy it, much like they did the DVD. One of the biggest things that company officials are trying to accomplish with the pay per view is to stay true to what the brand always was.
The pay per view is going to have a “rougher” feel to it with less camera angles, staying true to the true ECW style. The PPV will of course feature hardcore wrestling, a few women spots, and a lot of great wrestling but will not be as polished as a WWE production.
WWE is attempting to get Joey Styles to do the commentary for the event, although no final deal has been reached. Many fans hope that this definitely goes through as they feel Styles was a big part of ECW.
Amongst others, Mick Foley is scheduled to be a part of the PPV. The initial idea brought to Foley was to have him work the event as Cactus Jack, although sources close to Foley say that he is not interested in doing a match like that as he has finally realized at his age that his body can not endure that type of punishment. Many feel that he will probably be limited to just a promo.
Tommy Dreamer has been the centerpiece of the project with of course a lot of input from Paul Heyman. Vince McMahon still has the final say in everything.
Written by Richard Gray:
Source: PWInsider.com
As I reported earlier, WWE is interested in bringing in Mick Foley for the June 12th ECW PPV to wrestle as Cactus Jack. The latest on the situation is that Foley wants to tie the ECW PPV in with all of his other WWE responsibilities and quite possibly return full time with the company.
The catch is that Mick Foley wants total creative control of the direction of his character and Vince McMahon does not want to give it to him. Some are already calling this another Bret/Vince classic standoff as everyone knows how McMahon’s massive ego doesn’t back down to even the biggest of superstars.
Just to reiterate what we reported earlier, it is highly unlikely that WWE will have their name tied into the ECW PPV at all, as this project will be strictly ECW.
There is an article on Yahoo! Finance talking about WWE’s WrestleMania 21. The article reveals that the preliminary estimate is more than 940,000 pay-per-view buys which is a 14% increase over last year's WrestleMania 20. WWE is expecting the event to have done 1 million buys once they receive all of the PPV data.
It will be a busy summer for Hulk Hogan, starting with his tag-team match at Backlash this past Sunday night. In an interview with BlackJack Brown last week, Hogan acknowledged that Backlash would be a huge test for him as it will be the first time he's wrestled since his hip-replacement surgery last year. Hogan has yet to perform the pattented leg drop since his return to WWE.
"If the hip is OK after this one, I might consider a return on a part-time basis to complement the current roster,''said Hogan.
After Backlash, Hogan was scheduled to start promoting his new reality series which debuts in July on VH1. The show will follow Hogan's family and their attempts to get Brooke's singing career into the spotlight.
Written by Ryan Clark:
Terri Runnels posted a statement on her website regarding her ex-husband and current TNA star Dustin Rhodes regarding his recent arrest following a domestic dispute involving his current girlfriend. She wrote: "As all of you know by now...in the wee hours of the morning on April 25th Dustin made a very bad choice and assaulted his girlfriend at the HardRock Hotel. While that is a horrible act alone...it was made reprehensible due to the fact that (her daughter) Dakota was witness to it in both visual and audible ways. She ended up going to the hospital with Dustin's girlfriend and called me collect from the ER. I cannot tell you how helpless I felt as a mother to be 2 hours away from her at that moment! I have not ever made a public statement about Dustin that was negative in any way and have always spoken positively to Dakota about her father...however he has set a new precedent because of what he has exposed her to therefore I will no longer cover for him. I never wanted Dakota to see this part of her father for fear that as she got older she would see such behavior as acceptable. It is not now and will never be acceptable! While I am a private person and do not like my personal life exposed I realize that I must now speak about this travesty. Years of lies and abuse have been swept under the rug and would have stayed there had this and other things not occurred in public. Dustin should not blame any of this on anyone else as he has done in years past. He has to stand up and be accountable for his actions or be completely disrespected by his child and others around him. I do not wish anything bad for Dustin...just the opposite. I have been supportive of him even when he was terrible to me. I hope that he gets help and changes his life for Dakota's sake. This doesn't have to be a horrible ending, I hope it will be a wonderful beginning of truth, hard work and showing love not just saying it! Thanks to all who have sent good wishes and prayers for Dakota. She is a tough cookie and hopefully will be stronger as a result of the trials she has been put through. Her innocence has been taken away far too early due to the person who should have lived his life to protect her! I hope she never has to experience anything like this ever again. Once again, thank you to all of you who have shared love and support! Onward and upward!"
Written by Ryan Clark:
Vince McMahon has given the OK for Muhammad Hassan to use the throat slash motion that got some press recently. He was not in trouble for it then, nor will he be if/when he uses it again.
Hassan's partner, Khosrow Daivari, is just 20 years old, something few people know. He trained in Minnesota with current ROH World Champion Austin Aries. Working in WWE is a great opportunity for Daivari this early in his career.
For those of you wondering about when Marty Jannetty will be back on WWE TV, he is currently finishing up some indy commitments. He will be back in WWE when they're all completed. (Partial Source: The Torch)
Expect the arrival of many Hispanic wrestlers to the cruiserweight division on SmackDown very soon that will include Psicosis, Super Crazy and possibly Juventud Guerrera at this point. The paperwork is currently in WWE's legal department at this time.
The word making the rounds right now regarding Ted DiBiase's 90-day trial run as a creative consultant for WWE is that many don't seem impressed with him at this point. Many feel he has a lot of catching up to do in regards to what happend in the last 15+ years in the business. Given what was said about him from others, the opinion is that he thinks something that worked 20 years ago would work with today's audience. DiBiase hasn't reportedly watched wrestling on a regular basis for well over a decade.
According to a statement on his official website, Aaron "Jesus" Aguilera was assued by John Laurinaitis that once he is medically cleared to wrestle that WWE would give him another look. Aguilera is hoping to work in Mexico and Japan once he is ready to wrestle again in a month or so.
From PWTorch.com:.
A.J. Styles (Allen Jones) and wife Wendy gave birth to a six pound 12 ounce son named Ajay Kovell Jones (A.J. II) at 3:07 a.m. Tuesday. Congratulations to the Jones family. Mother and son will be released from the hospital sometime Thursday morning.
Among those in attendance at the wakes on Monday for Chris Candido included Tom Prichard, Balls Mahoney, Mick Foley, Shane Douglas, Jimmy Shoulders, Johnny Ova, George Napolitano, Amy Lee, Ken Sweeney, Johnny Diamond, Donnie Buci, Tommy Cairo, Tommy Dreamer, Al Snow, Simon Diamond, Mike O'Brien, Allison Danger, Devon Storm, Electra and Justin Credible.
Candido's funeral was Tuesday. Among those who attended were Dixie Carter, Jeff Jarrett, Terry Funk, Howard Finkel, Jeremy Borash, Bob Ryder, Scott D'Amore, Shane Douglas, Billy Gunn, Sonny Siaki, C.M. Punk, Rob Feinstein, Steven DeAngelis, Sandman, Sabu, Terry Taylor and many of the names listed above. Tammy Sytch was described as very strong and smiling most of the time, giving winks and hugs to those who were said. It was reported as a nice touching service with one of the NWA tag team tilte belts draped over the casket during the mass. TNA offered the belt if the family wanted to bury Candido with it due to his love for wrestling.
WWE will have another Supershow (Live RAW and SMACKDOWN) taping at the Arco Arena in Sacramento on Monday July 4th.
Well, that does it for another edition of WrestleBeat. I'll be back next time with more news and notes from the Wonderful World of Professional Wrestling.
So, until next time, KEEP BOTH FEET ON THE MAT AND YOUR PUNCHES ABOVE THE BELT! Later, Michael.
(Contact Michael Porter by e-mail at kmichaelporter@yahoo.com or by snail-mail at P.O. Box 5282 Marysville, CA. 95901-8521)
Hey there again, Wrestling Fans! And welcome to another edition of WrestleBeat. I've got a lot of news and notes from the World of Professional Wrestling. So, let's get right to business.
In national news:
Written by Ryan Clark:
In regards to the 6/12 ECW PPV, Vince McMahon has talked to Mick Foley about doing a match as Cactus Jack. Tommy Dreamer is expected to wrestle on the show.
Despite his release, there is talk of Rhyno still working the ECW PPV.
The recent WWE Australian tour drew $4.5 million for six shows including a $1.1 million gate for the Sydney Superdome show
Written by Richard Gray:
Thanks to PWInsider.com
Word going around the WWE locker room is that the ECW pay per view will be given little to no promotion from WWE, at least as far as storylines are concerned. The feeling amongst many backstage is that they want ECW fans to find it and buy it, much like they did the DVD. One of the biggest things that company officials are trying to accomplish with the pay per view is to stay true to what the brand always was.
The pay per view is going to have a “rougher” feel to it with less camera angles, staying true to the true ECW style. The PPV will of course feature hardcore wrestling, a few women spots, and a lot of great wrestling but will not be as polished as a WWE production.
WWE is attempting to get Joey Styles to do the commentary for the event, although no final deal has been reached. Many fans hope that this definitely goes through as they feel Styles was a big part of ECW.
Amongst others, Mick Foley is scheduled to be a part of the PPV. The initial idea brought to Foley was to have him work the event as Cactus Jack, although sources close to Foley say that he is not interested in doing a match like that as he has finally realized at his age that his body can not endure that type of punishment. Many feel that he will probably be limited to just a promo.
Tommy Dreamer has been the centerpiece of the project with of course a lot of input from Paul Heyman. Vince McMahon still has the final say in everything.
Written by Richard Gray:
Source: PWInsider.com
As I reported earlier, WWE is interested in bringing in Mick Foley for the June 12th ECW PPV to wrestle as Cactus Jack. The latest on the situation is that Foley wants to tie the ECW PPV in with all of his other WWE responsibilities and quite possibly return full time with the company.
The catch is that Mick Foley wants total creative control of the direction of his character and Vince McMahon does not want to give it to him. Some are already calling this another Bret/Vince classic standoff as everyone knows how McMahon’s massive ego doesn’t back down to even the biggest of superstars.
Just to reiterate what we reported earlier, it is highly unlikely that WWE will have their name tied into the ECW PPV at all, as this project will be strictly ECW.
There is an article on Yahoo! Finance talking about WWE’s WrestleMania 21. The article reveals that the preliminary estimate is more than 940,000 pay-per-view buys which is a 14% increase over last year's WrestleMania 20. WWE is expecting the event to have done 1 million buys once they receive all of the PPV data.
It will be a busy summer for Hulk Hogan, starting with his tag-team match at Backlash this past Sunday night. In an interview with BlackJack Brown last week, Hogan acknowledged that Backlash would be a huge test for him as it will be the first time he's wrestled since his hip-replacement surgery last year. Hogan has yet to perform the pattented leg drop since his return to WWE.
"If the hip is OK after this one, I might consider a return on a part-time basis to complement the current roster,''said Hogan.
After Backlash, Hogan was scheduled to start promoting his new reality series which debuts in July on VH1. The show will follow Hogan's family and their attempts to get Brooke's singing career into the spotlight.
Written by Ryan Clark:
Terri Runnels posted a statement on her website regarding her ex-husband and current TNA star Dustin Rhodes regarding his recent arrest following a domestic dispute involving his current girlfriend. She wrote: "As all of you know by now...in the wee hours of the morning on April 25th Dustin made a very bad choice and assaulted his girlfriend at the HardRock Hotel. While that is a horrible act alone...it was made reprehensible due to the fact that (her daughter) Dakota was witness to it in both visual and audible ways. She ended up going to the hospital with Dustin's girlfriend and called me collect from the ER. I cannot tell you how helpless I felt as a mother to be 2 hours away from her at that moment! I have not ever made a public statement about Dustin that was negative in any way and have always spoken positively to Dakota about her father...however he has set a new precedent because of what he has exposed her to therefore I will no longer cover for him. I never wanted Dakota to see this part of her father for fear that as she got older she would see such behavior as acceptable. It is not now and will never be acceptable! While I am a private person and do not like my personal life exposed I realize that I must now speak about this travesty. Years of lies and abuse have been swept under the rug and would have stayed there had this and other things not occurred in public. Dustin should not blame any of this on anyone else as he has done in years past. He has to stand up and be accountable for his actions or be completely disrespected by his child and others around him. I do not wish anything bad for Dustin...just the opposite. I have been supportive of him even when he was terrible to me. I hope that he gets help and changes his life for Dakota's sake. This doesn't have to be a horrible ending, I hope it will be a wonderful beginning of truth, hard work and showing love not just saying it! Thanks to all who have sent good wishes and prayers for Dakota. She is a tough cookie and hopefully will be stronger as a result of the trials she has been put through. Her innocence has been taken away far too early due to the person who should have lived his life to protect her! I hope she never has to experience anything like this ever again. Once again, thank you to all of you who have shared love and support! Onward and upward!"
Written by Ryan Clark:
Vince McMahon has given the OK for Muhammad Hassan to use the throat slash motion that got some press recently. He was not in trouble for it then, nor will he be if/when he uses it again.
Hassan's partner, Khosrow Daivari, is just 20 years old, something few people know. He trained in Minnesota with current ROH World Champion Austin Aries. Working in WWE is a great opportunity for Daivari this early in his career.
For those of you wondering about when Marty Jannetty will be back on WWE TV, he is currently finishing up some indy commitments. He will be back in WWE when they're all completed. (Partial Source: The Torch)
Expect the arrival of many Hispanic wrestlers to the cruiserweight division on SmackDown very soon that will include Psicosis, Super Crazy and possibly Juventud Guerrera at this point. The paperwork is currently in WWE's legal department at this time.
The word making the rounds right now regarding Ted DiBiase's 90-day trial run as a creative consultant for WWE is that many don't seem impressed with him at this point. Many feel he has a lot of catching up to do in regards to what happend in the last 15+ years in the business. Given what was said about him from others, the opinion is that he thinks something that worked 20 years ago would work with today's audience. DiBiase hasn't reportedly watched wrestling on a regular basis for well over a decade.
According to a statement on his official website, Aaron "Jesus" Aguilera was assued by John Laurinaitis that once he is medically cleared to wrestle that WWE would give him another look. Aguilera is hoping to work in Mexico and Japan once he is ready to wrestle again in a month or so.
From PWTorch.com:.
A.J. Styles (Allen Jones) and wife Wendy gave birth to a six pound 12 ounce son named Ajay Kovell Jones (A.J. II) at 3:07 a.m. Tuesday. Congratulations to the Jones family. Mother and son will be released from the hospital sometime Thursday morning.
Among those in attendance at the wakes on Monday for Chris Candido included Tom Prichard, Balls Mahoney, Mick Foley, Shane Douglas, Jimmy Shoulders, Johnny Ova, George Napolitano, Amy Lee, Ken Sweeney, Johnny Diamond, Donnie Buci, Tommy Cairo, Tommy Dreamer, Al Snow, Simon Diamond, Mike O'Brien, Allison Danger, Devon Storm, Electra and Justin Credible.
Candido's funeral was Tuesday. Among those who attended were Dixie Carter, Jeff Jarrett, Terry Funk, Howard Finkel, Jeremy Borash, Bob Ryder, Scott D'Amore, Shane Douglas, Billy Gunn, Sonny Siaki, C.M. Punk, Rob Feinstein, Steven DeAngelis, Sandman, Sabu, Terry Taylor and many of the names listed above. Tammy Sytch was described as very strong and smiling most of the time, giving winks and hugs to those who were said. It was reported as a nice touching service with one of the NWA tag team tilte belts draped over the casket during the mass. TNA offered the belt if the family wanted to bury Candido with it due to his love for wrestling.
WWE will have another Supershow (Live RAW and SMACKDOWN) taping at the Arco Arena in Sacramento on Monday July 4th.
Well, that does it for another edition of WrestleBeat. I'll be back next time with more news and notes from the Wonderful World of Professional Wrestling.
So, until next time, KEEP BOTH FEET ON THE MAT AND YOUR PUNCHES ABOVE THE BELT! Later, Michael.
(Contact Michael Porter by e-mail at kmichaelporter@yahoo.com or by snail-mail at P.O. Box 5282 Marysville, CA. 95901-8521)