The Halloween edition of SmackDown is in the books, and as usual for a Halloween episode, it was built around the Undertaker, who took on Chavo Guerrero in a “Casket Match” that of course saw interference from The Big Show, who is in the midst of a feud with Taker.

Taker though got the win, which is not a shock since they want to build towards next week’s showdown between Taker and Vladimir Kozlov. The stip as Vickie Guerrero told us at the very end of the show is if Vlad wins, he gets Triple H at Survivor Series (gee, wonder what is going to happen there). In other words, it’ll be Show getting a win for Vlad, who will then move on to a match with HHH at the PPV.

The show other than that was mostly filler matches, with matches like the tag champs (Carlito and Primo) losing in the opener to Miz and Morirson in a non-title match. A strong open, but the moment you heard it was a non-title, you knew that Miz and Morrison would win, thus pushing their match on Monday night on the 800th RAW vs DX.

The pair of six-person tag matches were okay for what they were worth, but the most annoying aspect of them and other parts of the show for that matter was the countless interruptions by the “Hurrapop” which is nothing more than Gregory Helms, who is on his way back, giving some quips about a wrestler, diva, or whatever he feels like.

First off, Helms is not funny, and second, he’s been gone so long, no one really cares he’s coming back anyway. Sorry Gregory. I also guess they will finally be pushing Brian Kendrick’s sidekick – Ezekiel, who beat up and took out Jimmy Wang Yang after he upset Kendrick by DQ. The monster then came in and beat on Yang. It also marks the end of any real push for Kendrick, who has been off TV a lot lately, and seems to be back to mid-card or lower status.

Other than that, not a whole lot to this show, we’ll see next week when Kozlov gets his Survivor Series shot at Triple H, and what else they start building towards this usually pretty good PPV. I can forsee a “casket match” with Show vs Taker as well. For the most part, this SmackDown was a show worth missing.

Labels: Brian Kendrick, smackdown, the big show, triple h, undertaker, Vladimir Kozlov

Posted by Matt Loede at 10:22 PM | Permalink | Comments

No one seems to know where former WWE/WCW wrestler Perry Saturn is. Some of his closest friends actually believe he’s not alive, but no one has proof one way or the other. At the funeral of Killer Kowalski, the whereabouts of Perry Saturn was the number one topic of conversation with a number of his friends saying they didn’t believe he was still alive. Every few months or so, his friends ask Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer to do a missing persons search on him, but it always turns up with nothing.

Labels: perry saturn

Posted by Matt Loede at 6:37 PM | Permalink | Comments

TNA Wrestler Booker T was scheduled to picket Vito’s Deck House, a sports bar in Houston, Texas because he claimed they racially discriminated against the Christian faith.

On October 26th, Booker and WWE Superstar The Boogeyman went to Vito’s Deck House to watch an NFL football game. About 15 minutes after they arrived, a bartender came up to Boogey and asked him to take off his cross, or leave, because it violated the dress code. Booker got pissed off and asked to talk to the manager. The manager explained it was part of the bar’s dress code. Booker asked to see where the code was posted, and it wasn’t. Booker then refused to leave and told Boogeyman, real name Marty Wright, not to leave.

Police were called and told Booker and Wright to leave, then filing a report. Booker claimed he saw two other people in the bar wearing crosses but they were not approached by staff and told to leave. However, those two people left the bar when they saw Booker and Wright being kicked out over the cross. Booker scheduled a protest march and wanted to get as much publicity as possible to tell people about the sports bar.

Labels: boogeyman, booker t

Posted by Matt Loede at 2:36 PM | Permalink | Comments

From: WrestleScoop.com

You may have noticed that Chris Jericho’s character has changed a bit lately. When the RAW ratings continued to tank, Vince McMahon blamed that partly on Chris Jericho. Vince felt that Jericho was playing the character the wrong way, being hard with the fans and blaming them for everything.

Vince felt like the fans wanted a whiny heel character that always complained about losing and everything else. We can’t confirm this, but this likely played a factor in the decision to take the World Heavyweight Championship off Jericho and give it to Batista at the Cyber Sunday pay-per-view. At one point, plans had Jericho holding the World Title through December.

Labels: chris jericho, vince mcmahon

Posted by Matt Loede at 12:34 PM | Permalink | Comments

Chris Jericho was interviewed by The Baltimore Sun today to promote the Fuse-TV series “Redemption Road.” You can read the rest at this link. A good part of the interview focused on the series, but here are highlights of some of the professional wrestling-related discussion:

Reaction after the angle where he struck Shawn Michaels’ wife Rebecca: “I mean, what could you say? It was one of those things where there’s always the X factor that something could happen like that, and we all knew what the danger of it was. Obviously, Shawn and I felt terrible. Rebecca did not. She loved it. She thought it was awesome. And the fact that she didn’t end up with any permanent damage – no broken teeth, a fat lip for a couple weeks – it’s probably the best thing that could have happened. That really kick-started the angle and took it to a different place. Obviously, I felt so bad about it, but when all was said and done, it actually worked out for the best.”

His Broken Tooth in the Michaels Ladder Match: “[My wife] wasn’t happy about it, but it was more that she was sad that I got hurt. My son wasn’t happy about it either, but that’s the business. I’m a warrior and sometimes things like that happen. I’ve never lost a tooth before; I hope I don’t ever lose one again. You live with it. You look like Lloyd Christmas from Dumb and Dumber until you get to the dentist. And then the next thing you know, you get the crown on there and you never notice anything different. It’s a war wound and that’s the way I treat it. I think it made that match even more dramatic. I think a lot of people said that was the best ladder match they had ever seen, and that’s probably one of the reasons for it, because they knew it was real. Once again, something happened that was outside the box of what a “normal” wrestling match is. I’m actually lucky that I didn’t lose more teeth. The dentist told me that I should have lost all four of the teeth. So I’ll take the half-tooth and just consider myself lucky.”

Whether his World Title Run ended Prematurely: “I was very happy with the work I did while I had it on this run, and how long you keep a title has nothing to do with me. That’s up to the boss, and whatever he wants to do, I’ll be happy to do it. And I’ll get my chance again, and when I do, I’ll do exactly the same thing I did when I had it the last time, which is do the best work that I possibly can and make people hate me even more. Usually in Vince’s grand scheme of things, even though things sometimes don’t seem like they’re the right way to do things at the start, in the big picture they usually always are. And I’ve been around long enough to know that you have to trust the boss when he has a feeling, and that’s what I’m going to do.”

Jericho also noted he’s working on his second book but hasn’t had as much time to devote to the book as he’d like with his schedule.

Labels: chris jericho, shawn michaels

Posted by Matt Loede at 9:32 PM | Permalink | Comments

Jim Ross is back with another blog update at jrsbarbq.com. Here are some of the highlights:

- Well….yours truly finally made the front page of WWE.com and I didn’t even have to have a cancer scare. People will see Ol J.R. and the “World’s Angriest Announcer”, Tazz, in a much different light than ever before this Friday Night on Smackdown. After arriving at the San Diego Sports Arena, boy do they need a new facility in that beautiful city, Tazz and I were told that we would be in costume for the Smackdown that airs Friday night which is Halloween. We weren’t given any advance warning other than that and our costumes were already provided for us, as two Navy men. Tazz’s costume “might” have fit Hornswoggle as Tazz wears a size 56 coat and a 3X top. My Navy whites had to be altered significantly as well but we made it work. Tazz had to go with plan “B” in camouflage fatigues and reminded me of Sgt. Hulka from the classic film “Stripes.” The bottom line is that we made it work. We were asked to go along with the Halloween theme, look somewhat ridiculous and do our best to create an entertaining atmosphere for the night. On that goal we kicked ass.

- Actually this was a helluva Smackdown when it comes to some really nice wrestling especially the 6 man tag featuring the Hardy Brothers and Rey Mysterio, dressed in San /Diego Charger blue and gold, vs. Kane, Mark Henry and the snake bit MVP. This might have been the best match on WWE TV all week and I would like to think that the announcing helped enhance it somewhat as well.

- The Masked Magician makes a cameo and he might want to consider looking for a day job but then again…..

- Vladimir Kozlov has really been progressing nicely in all phases of his game and it seems inevitable that the athletic Russian will meet HHH for the WWE Sooner than later as this has been brewing for a while. I really like Kozlov’s upside and pairing him with HHH will help the Russian’s development.

Labels: jim ross, smackdown, tazz, Vladimir Kozlov

Posted by Matt Loede at 8:29 PM | Permalink | Comments

From: WrestleScoop.com

The injury to Evan Bourne came after he did a flip dive on to Bam Neely. Bam caught Bourne fine but when he landed, his leg got caught underneath Neely. Bourne’s injury is going to cancel a planned Bourne and Mysterio vs. Kane and Mark Henry match that was planned for the three-hour RAW.

Labels: bam neely, Evan Bourne

Posted by Matt Loede at 6:28 PM | Permalink | Comments

WrestleMania 25 Tickets will go on sale in about a week, and it's time to have some fun and come up with a WAY premature card for the big event that will take place in Houston. Of course have some fun back with some of your matches, which you can leave in the comments section or at our email which is letswrestlewwe@gmail.com

Here we go:

Main Event for WWE Title:

Triple H (C) vs Undertaker - The title reign of HHH vs the undefeated streak of the Undertaker. Who wins? Of course Taker will be the heavy favorite, but I have heard more rumors than ever of the streak coming to an end, and it would be an interesting thing to do it at the 25th edition in Takers home state.

Semi-Main for the World Heavyweight Title:

Batista (C) vs John Cena - They already blew this match with a rather snooze fest at SummerSlam with these two, but I think with the proper promotion as well as a belt on the line this one would be a ton better. They could always turn Batista heel and have him up against a heavy face in Cena, or for a real switch have Cena go heel, which has been rumored for some time.

Legend Killer vs Legend:

Randy Orton vs "Stone Cold" Steve Austin - From all indications, Mania 25 is going to be built around Austin, with a for sure induction into the WWE Hall of Fame the night before. This match though was somewhat teased at Cyber Sunday, with Orton taking a stunner from Austin. They can build on the whole "legend killer vs legend" angle, and if Austin isn't ready to have a 20-minute match, he can still hang in and get a 5-7 minute win over Orton in a match that will get huge exposure.

ECW Title Match:

Matt Hardy vs Jeff Hardy - I know in years past we've seen this before, but this time I will throw it out there as more of a dream match, as how cool would it be to see brother vs brother for a major title, and no, not the IC belt. No need to do any major heel turn, as what you could have is a battle royale or some sort of tourney for the challenger for Matt Hardy, and then in a shock his brother wins. I think it would and can be a great match, and maybe they allow Matt to turn the belt over to his brother?

Money in the Bank for a Title Shot:

Rey Mysterio vs Kane vs Evan Bourne vs MVP vs Shelton Benjamin vs Kofi Kingston - Always a great match, and I think with Bourne, Kingston, Benjamin and Mysterio, it could be even more high-flying than ever. Kane is your classic "big man" in the match, and MVP is a good worker as well that can make the match complete. This match is a for sure, and now it's just down to what wrestlers will compete in it.

Smackdown vs RAW:

Edge vs C.M. Punk - I think they will also make this a WrestleMania annual match, to have a RAW star go up against a SmackDown star. Last year it was Umaga vs Batista, and it wasn't really that great, but there is some history with these two, and I think this years version can be a whole lot better.

Great Khali vs Mark Henry - The WWE sitll has a love for these two guys, even though they are rather painful to watch. Khali is becoming a fan favorite (why I don't know) and Henry is a decent enough heel to have some sort of hevyweight vs heavyweight type of match. Didn't work so well with Big Show vs Khali, and it won't work here, but there always has to be a stinker on the card.

Big Show vs Umaga - Two more guys the WWE loves, so let's have the Big Show back to face for the 100th time, and throw him in with another big man who is a much better worker than Khali and Henry for a quick 4-5 minute match.

Tag Team Turmoil for WWE Tag Belts:

Miz and Morrison (C) vs Carlito and Primo vs Cryme Tyme vs Jesse and Festus - Since they don't ever want to seem to break up Miz and Morrison, why not let them win the belts, and then throw them in what could be a good opener for the show with a couple other tag teams that can get the crowd in the mood.

There are some rather big names off the card with my above matches - Chris Jericho, JBL, Beth Phoenix, Santino Marella, Dibiase and Rhodes, Michelle McCool, Mr.Kennedy, Brian Kendrick, Vladimir Kozlov, and Finlay.

So with that, I am sure there will be a Divas match of some sort, and I would be shocked if guys like Jericho and JBL were not on the show. But then again, that's the fun of looking ahead.

Labels: batista, john cena, steve austin, triple h, undertaker, wrestlemania 25

Posted by Matt Loede at 9:41 PM | Permalink | Comments

TMZ.com is reporting that Jamal Grinnage, Eric Murray and Daryl Pittman (Lil’ Fame, Billy Danze and Pittman from rap group M.O.P.) have filed a federal lawsuit against World Wrestling Entertainment and John Cena claiming that John Cena’s song, “Time Is Now” borrows heavily from their hit song “Ante Up.”

In lawsuit claims that WWE’s lawyers actually found somebody to sign off on the license who was only a receptionist and did not have authority to sign anything.

The biggest point of actual musical contention is one non-English line, “BRRR Abado”, that appears in the original song once, and in Cena’s theme song three times. Grinnage and Murray are seeking for the destruction of Cena’s theme song and $150,000 in damages from the defendants. It’s possible WWE may have to stop selling any WWE DVDs featuring Cena’s music and edit the music out of all footage they intend to broadcast in the future.

No word yet from Cena or WWE.

Labels: john cena

Posted by Matt Loede at 9:16 PM | Permalink | Comments

The Miz and Morrison fired some serious shots at DX tonight to fuel the fire for their meeting next week on Raw. The residents of the place of wisdom laid claim they are younger, hipper and more accomplished than their veteran rivals. This remains to be seen, but you have to imagine DX will have some new gimmicks to respond to the young ins boastfully statements. This should be a great match and will show what the Miz and Morrison are made of.

Our first match tonight very well could have been the main event as it featured a 6 man tag match. We had Matt Hardy, Evan Bourne and Finlay up against Mark Henry, Chavo and Bam Neely. This match was pretty much dominated by the faces, but an end of match melee turned the tide into the favor for Chavo as he pinned Hardy despite the attempts of Finlay and Horswoggle. The continued riff between Chavo and Bam also continued as Bam accidentally elbow dropped Chavo. Not surprising they will split these two as Neely has not done much and may be on his way out. Also this match may have featured a major injury to Bourne. He slipped on a leap out of the ring and looked to injure his heel. He did not return to action and looked to be in some pain at the end.

In long and boring match we saw Tommy Dreamer finally show down one on one with Jack Swagger. Dreamer is an old school hard core wrestler past his prime and Swagger is a big brute who has nothing else going for him. Add these facts together and you get the dull result we saw tonight. You have to figure Dreamer is on his way out sooner rather than later, and Swagger has yet to impress and most likely never will. Look for his program to die a quiet death.

Posted by JSX at 9:07 PM | Permalink | Comments

Last night on Raw saw the ushering in of the young talent as it featured great matches and challenges by the young stable of superstars on the roster. Yes there was excitement in the air as Batista made his first appearance as champ. The match featuring him and HBK against Jericho and JBL was solid and worthy of main event status, but it was the young stars who shone rightly.

And there was one who has been shinning more brightly than the others. Right now Evan Bourne is on fire. He had an exciting match against Matt Hardy for the ECW belt at Cyber Sunday, then followed it up with another great showing against Mysterio. It was obvious these two would match well with their high flying moves, but Bourne showed in the span of two nights he is ready to take on the big dogs. At the rate he is going I'm looking on seeing him in Money in the Bank with a possible ECW title reign shortly after.

Another group of youngsters in CM Punk, Kofi Kingston, Ted DiBiase and Cody Rhodes had a solid showing in a World Tag Team championship match. It would be former ECW big boys CM Punk and Kingston walking away with the belts in an exciting match. Both team have great chemistry as they work together to put on some good combo moves. As new champs Kingston and Punk mesh well with their athletic abilities and this should be a good feud going forward. With Punk's popularity it will shine a light on these matches and hopefully raise the profiles of all the participants.

The other great young tag team of Miz and John Morrison perhaps had the biggest news of all. To celebrate the 800the episode of Raw these young upstarts will take on the biggest stable in the history of the WWE, DX. There can be no bigger stage for this young team than taking on a legendary group like Triple H and HBK on the record breaking night for the staple of the WWE on network TV. A strong showing here will no doubt firmly entrench Miz and Morrison and their futures should be unlimited. It could raise a big question in what they want to do with them, as both could do very well on their own. But right now they are tearing up the web with the Dirt Sheet show and provide a great heel dynamic to the shows they appear on.

Posted by JSX at 5:58 PM | Permalink | Comments

Former World Wrestling Federation regular "Special Delivery" Jones (a/k/a Conrad Efraim) died on Sunday in Antigua at age 63. He died following a stroke he suffered on Saturday, according to Slam Wrestling.

Labels: s.d. jones

Posted by Matt Loede at 7:41 PM | Permalink | Comments

In the old adage of “is it what it is” the WWE’s latest PPV – Cyber Sunday is in the books. What is hailed as the most interactive PPV of the year because it involves fans voting either for the stip of the matches or the wrestlers in the matches, there was both some good and bad on the show, and below are the highlights as it went down:

Good:

I thought both title matches were well done. Batista getting back the belt came as a bit of a surprise at first, but then I realized that you can have a series of rematches at Survivor Series and beyond. Long term I am thinking that this belt at some point goes back on the waist of Randy Orton, as he will come back and eventually have a showdown with Batista possibly at Royal Rumble.

As for the Jeff Hardy-Triple H match, again, a very solid match between two guys we’ve seen in the ring together before. I am hoping this is it for Hardy, as he’s had enough shots for now at the belt. With that said, I am assuming we’ll move on to Vladimir Kozlov and see he and HHH at Survivor Series. As for Hardy, how about a run at Shelton Benjamin and the US Belt?

Bad:

The opener with Rey Mysterio and Kane came off a little flat, and I think they did all the wrong things with this program. First, they rushed the whole angle with them taking Rey’s mask off, then they really never gave a real honest reason for Kane beating on Mysterio in the first place, other than because he wears a mask? Kind of a lame feud all the way around, and I hope this match is the last we’ll see with them.

Good:

The Evan Bourne-Matt Hardy match was very good on all accounts, and I hope that we’ll see these two in the ring more down the road. Hardy is a very worthy ECW Champion, and while it’s just ECW, the show is way better with him having a belt on it and being the face of the brand. Bourne’s time will come, and this was a great teaser for what the future holds for him.

Bad:

I am not a huge fan of “Last Man Standing” matches, and thought that the Undertaker-Big Show match was not as good as it could have been if there was another stipulation involved. What was wrong with the “knockout” match? That to me would have fit both better, as it would have been Show trying to knock out Taker with a punch, and Taker trying to choke Show out with the triangle choke.

Good:

The tag match between Miz and Morrison vs Cryme Tyme was a solid match, and I guess my only slight issue is what they will be doing long-term with Miz and Morrison. For now though, this was a decent win for a team that over the past year and a half has been by far the best tag team in the company.

Bad:

I have always enjoyed the Intercontinental belt, and for whatever reason they keep wanting to make this belt the joke of the company. They allowed Santino Marella to take on basically one of three “legends” in Roddy Piper, Goldust, or the Honky Tonk Man. The Honky Tonk Man won the vote, looked totally out of shape, then won by DQ. Let’s allow Marella to stop defending against the likes of Honky and D-Lo Brown, and get some real and worthy challengers in there.

Labels: "Rowdy" Roddy Piper, 2008 cyber sunday, batista, Santino Marella, triple h

Posted by Matt Loede at 12:20 PM | Permalink | Comments

A new champ, some solid matches, and interesting results. It's all what made up the latest WWE PPV - Cyber Sunday. A card that is picked by the fans, Cyber Sunday had it all, and now you can listen to the Let's Talk Wrestling Post Match Show, with Site Editor Matt Loede and co-Editor John Sefcik. The pair take you though the card, talk about what's next, and what to look forward to at the Survivor Series. Click below to hear the Let's Talk Wrestling Cyber Sunday Post-Match show.

Labels: 2008 cyber sunday, batista, john sefcik, matt loede

Posted by Matt Loede at 10:44 PM | Permalink | Comments

The Honky Tonk Man tells Slam Wrestling that his injured finger has healed and he is ready for Cyber Sunday if the fans vote him to face Santino Marella for the WWE Intercontinental Championship. Honky wrestled on Friday night for the Big Time Wrestling promotion and picked up a win over L’Empereur. That was Honky’s first match in four months.

Labels: honky tonk man

Posted by Matt Loede at 6:02 PM | Permalink | Comments

It's Cyber Sunday, the interactive WWE PPV in which fans vote for the type of or the wrestlers involved in the matches. In this Let's Talk Wrestling Cyber Sunday Pre-match show, Matt Loede and John Sefcik of Let's Talk Wrestling break down the matches, give their thoughts and opinions on who will win, and insight on the programs and where the WWE is headed. Click below for the Let's Talk Wrestling Cyber Sunday Pre-Match Show.

Labels: 2008 cyber sunday, john sefcik, matt loede

Posted by Matt Loede at 9:52 AM | Permalink | Comments

From: PWPIX.net

Umaga should be making his return to WWE TV anytime now. He's advertised to face The Undertaker in what is being billed as a "first time meeting" on December 5th at the SmackDown/ECW show in Greenville, SC. Umaga is also advertised for several matches teaming with Big Show and Vladimir Kozlov to take on Triple H, Jeff Hardy and The Undertaker.

Labels: big show, umaga, undertaker

Posted by Matt Loede at 11:16 PM | Permalink | Comments

From: WrestleScoop.com

The New Hart Foundation - DH “Harry” Smith, “Stampede Kid” TJ Wilson and Natalya Neidhart - recently reunited in Florida Championship Wrestling. The group got back together at last week’s FCW taping in Tampa. Smith & Wilson wrestled FCW tag champs Joe Hennig & Heath Miller in the main event of the show, with Natalya as their manager.

Wilson & Smith worked as heels even though Wilson has always been a babyface in FCW. Hennig pinned Smith with “The Perfect Plex” - his finishing move, which is a tribute to his father. At last night’s taping, the same main event took place, but Miller pinned Wilson this time around.

The faction was originally slated to be called up to the main roster around this time a year ago, but things fell apart right before their scheduled promotion. Teddy Hart was released from his developmental contract on October 11, 2007 due to behavioral issues. A week later, WWE decided to bring DH Smith on the road and call him up to the main roster, giving him a mini-push in the process.

However, it was a trap set up by officials so they had a pushed wrestler to announce as failing a drug test when the November 1, 2007 provision went into effect for the company to publicly announce drug suspensions. Smith failed a drug test the month before (for Winstrol, an anabolic steroid), but WWE held off his suspension for a number of weeks so they could have a name to announce after November 1, 2007.

They also pretended to push him so they could show people they were suspending a pushed wrestler. Smith eventually returned to the active roster, but primarily wrestled on Heat. In April 2008, he began wrestling as a tweener, alternating between face and heel roles, but his character apparently didn’t work out too well as he was written off of television following a beatdown from John Bradshaw Layfield on the May 5, 2008 Raw in Toronto.

Though he’s still listed as a member of the WWE roster on the company website, Smith was sent back to developmental for retooling, where he’s been ever since. As part of the 2008 WWE Supplemental Draft, Smith was drafted to SmackDown, but he still has yet to debut on the brand.

Labels: harry "DH" smith, Natalya Neidhart

Posted by Matt Loede at 9:15 PM | Permalink | Comments

From: Wrestlescoop.com

Should new WWE signee Ryan “Ryback” Reeves get called up to the main roster, it may be under a “Terminator” gimmick. During his most recent stint in Ohio Valley Wrestling, the 6′4″, 280 pound wrestler did a “Terminator” gimmick where he’s billed from “The Future.” He sports a leather vest and wears contact lenses where one eye is red and one eye is blue. Also, the movie’s theme song was his personal theme song in OVW. Reeves nabbed his WWE developmental deal back this past week after WWE’s recent talent evaluation in Ohio Valley Wrestling.

Labels: ryan reeves

Posted by Matt Loede at 7:14 PM | Permalink | Comments

Lance Cade was released from WWE because company officials believe prescription pill abuse led to the seizure he suffered on a commercial flight. The feeling was that because the incident occurred in public and became a life and death situation, it warranted a punishment more severe than the standard Wellness Policy suspensions. The airline attendants didn’t recognize Cade and had no way of knowing what caused the seizure. Lillian Garcia, who was traveling on the same flight, told them his name and informed them that he is a professional wrestler. He was rushed to the hospital and was still incoherent when he arrived, so he underwent a series of tests because the medical staff wasn’t sure whether the seizure was caused by an athletic injury.

Labels: lance cade

Posted by Matt Loede at 1:04 AM | Permalink | Comments

Good ‘ol Jim Ross is back with another blog update on his website, jrsbarbq.com. Below are the highlights:

- Nice, quick trip to Laredo, Texas on Tuesday for the Friday Night Smackdown taping with the HHH vs. Undertaker match being the highlight of the night in what was well over a 20 minute battle. The match was physical and intense and was the best old school main event I have seen in a good while on free TV.

- The King seems to be unusually excited regarding the Divas Halloween Costume Contest this Sunday. Word on the street has it that Jerry is going to dress up as either Hugh Hefner or Larry Flynt for the contest that only he should MC and/or judge. Of course, now in the PG world of the WWE no one will hear the Hall of Famer blurt out “puppies” even on PPV….I don’t think.

- The WWE’s 3 day tour of Puerto Rico grossed over $1.2M in tickets sales alone.

- In Mexico, the WWE did huge business during their four events in Monterrey and Mexico City grossing approximately $2.5M in ticket sales in only four events.

Labels: jim ross, triple h, undertaker

Posted by Matt Loede at 11:03 PM | Permalink | Comments

In an interview with Alex Marvez, Bret Hart said he's done with professional wrestling following his U.S. book tour. Hart believes his wrestling career will be complete after saying good-bye to his American fans on various book signing tours to promote its release in the States. Hart is content saying good-bye to wrestling through his book and not working for a promotion after spending seven years on the project. "I'd be happy being remembered for really brilliant storytelling in my matches, not for some last chance to snap up some money," Hart said. "I respectfully understand my light in wrestling is fading. I can live with that."

Hart said he nearly gave up on the project while trying to fight with the illnesses he faced after suffering a stroke in 2002. However, Hart wanted to bring closure on his wrestling career. "A lot of times, I thought about giving up because it was hard reliving some of these events. But I couldn't say goodbye to my wrestling character until I finished." Hart also wanted his family, especially his kids, to find out about his story and experience what he lived through.

"I just wanted people - even my kids - to walk in my shoes and know that it was never easy being gone all the time. I was pretty much on the road for 300 days a year and that didn't include travel back and forth. It's hard to keep a marriage going."

Labels: bret hart

Posted by Matt Loede at 9:01 PM | Permalink | Comments

Congratulations go out to RAW Superstar Paul Burchill, who got married to his long time American girlfriend on October 17th. Many wrestlers flew in to attend the wedding. No word if “sister” Katie Lea was in attendance.

Labels: paul burchill

Posted by Matt Loede at 10:32 PM | Permalink | Comments

Evan Bourne continues to see his star quickly rise on ECW as he came away with a big win tonight over Mark Henry and Finlay in a triple threat match. These three are all the candidates to face Matt Hardy for the ECW Championship at Cyber Sunday. Based on the result and the fans reactions to Hardy speaking about who he should face there must be a large discrepancy in the voting slated towards Bourne. Hardy indicated he wants another match with Henry, but that most likely will have to wait as I really can't see Bourne losing. The match showed why Bourne is so popular now as he had some fantastic moves taking on the two brawlers. A match up with Hardy will no doubt showcase this even more, but I'm not sure the WWE has Bourne in their long term plans right now.

Shad would win tonight via a DQ over the Miz as this rivalry between the Hollywood elite and the streetwise Cryme Tyme keeps on rolling. It was John Morrison who cause the DQ via a kick to the back of Shad. A disappointing ending to a decent match as both men matched very well. The Miz showed he can handle himself without Morrison an could have a good future at the mid card level. Even Shad looked decent and may be able to find a place for himself if this tag gimmick ever dies out. This pairing would have to be one of the favourites to win the tag team vote for Cyber Sunday in what should be a close vote with the potential CM Punk/Kofi Kingston vs. DiBiase and Rhodes. I like this match up and it's too bad there are no belts on the line.

The opening match tonight for once was not one of the best as it was a bore fest featuring Jack Swagger. Tonight he got to beat on a jobber in Brett Badery while not really make much noise for himself. If they want to push this guy like Bourne and Ricky Ortiz they need to develop the story line with Tommy Dreamer soon. But unlike Bourne and Ortiz, Swagger will be taking on Elijah Burke in dark matches in a matter of months.

Posted by JSX at 9:02 PM | Permalink | Comments

From: WrestleScoop.com

The Honky Tonk Man was telling friends over the weekend that is is planning on showing up at WWE’s Cyber Sunday pay-per-view next weekend. No word yet if Honky can wrestle because of his finger injury, but WWE can likely book something that will work around the injury if Honky is picked by the fans.

Labels: 2008 cyber sunday, honkey tonk man

Posted by Matt Loede at 8:30 PM | Permalink | Comments

From: WrestleScoop.com

WWE has leaked a match that has not been announced for Cyber Sunday on their official website.

The leak can be found on their site as it reveals that Shelton Benjamin will defend the US Championship against the fan vote of R-Truth, Festus, or MVP. It looks like that the voting will be online for this match as well.

Labels: Festus and Jesse, MVP, r-truth, shelton benjamin

Posted by Matt Loede at 6:01 AM | Permalink | Comments

Tonight featured another Adamle original on Raw as both Jericho and Batista were involved in a gauntlet match against the same three opponents. They would face in order; William Regal, Mark Henry and Kane. The reason behind this was to establish respect for both men in the WWE, especially for Jericho who is claiming he does not get the respect he deserves as champion. It would be Batista who would win the match by pinning all three of the challengers. Jericho was only able to muster a win against Regal, was DQ'ed against Henry for using the belt to knock Henry out and was pinned by Kane. an interesting twist going into their match at Cyber Sunday as it clearly gives Batista a big advantage with the momentum in his favor. The lose in this gauntlet showed Jericho is incapable of winning cleanly, nor can he take on the lesser talents of WWE. With this result you have to think they are ready to take the belt off of him and put it on Batista as he looked very unimpressive. The only way they can make this look good is to have Jericho complain how he was screwed by Adamle and them have him still retain the title with an impressive win over Batista. But with the possibility of Stone Cold being the ref it will be long odds for that to happen.


There really wasn't much happening in the warm up matches to the main event tonight, but there were a few previews for the upcoming pay per view. In what was a good tag match we saw Miz and Morrison take on Kofi Kingston and CM punk. Both tag team can be voted into Cyber Sunday for a match, and from what happened tonight they both would put on a fine display against their opponents. It was the Miz who got the pin on CM Punk with some quick thinking as Punk was distracted with Morrison. These tag teams are intriguing as they both feature members who are destined to be big stars on their own. First Punk is the former World Heavy Weight Champion, but now finds himself saddled with Kingston. Yes, Kofi was a Intercontinental champ, but he really hasn't established himself as a major player. Punk on the other hand has been a crowd favorite for the past two years and it has been more a question of when will he be champ, not if. Morrison also can be viewed as a future superstar as he and Punk had some epic battles for the ECW title and he also has worn Intercontinental gold. Not to say their partners are lacking any talent, but it's odd to see two guys who you know the WWE want to be the next big stars spending their time in tag teams.

Another preview saw Santino Marella come to the ring dressed as all three of his potential opponents for this Sunday. As he was mocking the Honky Tonk Man, Gold Dust and Roddy Piper, Jim Duggan came to the ring to silence the boastful Italian. Santino then would challenge him to a fight but tricked the veteran and proceeded to smash Duggan over the head with a guitar. The attack did more damage to Marella as he cut his mouth open and was gushing blood from the guitar shards.

Rey Mysterio warmed up for his match against Kane by making quick work of Snitsky. Not much of a surprise there as Snitsky has not been on TV in a long time. Rhodes and DiBiase also made their claim for Cyber Sunday by attacking their opponents, Cryme Tyme, before the match began with the help of Manu. Charly Haas kept his impersonation gimmick going in a match with JBL. This time he was Stone Cold Haastin, but there was no can of whup ass opened as JBL made quick work of the impostor. And our divas match of the night featured Kelly Kelly and Candice winning over Jiliian and Katie Lea.

Posted by JSX at 10:22 PM | Permalink | Comments

Jim Ross is back with another blog update at jrsbarbq.com. Here are some of the highlights:

- Over 17,000 fans in San Juan enjoyed the WWE Saturday night and that was without one of the Colon brothers on the card as the Raw brand was in town. The WWE’s 3 days in Puerto Rico did well and got a break in the weather as it looked as if at one time the tour would be in jeopardy due to a possible hurricane.

- Saturday night in Mexico City the WWE drew over 15,000 fans for a combined Smackdown/ECW event. I know that the wrestlers were looking forward to this trip as it was two days in Monterrey and three days in Mexico City. Staying multiple nights in one hotel room is a nice perk when touring.

- Funny story told to me Saturday night by an ABC staffer who knows several Red Sox players and who knows John Cena. Cena grew up just outside Boston but seems to have turned his MLB allegiance toward his new hometown Tampa Bay Rays. As the story goes, Cena hooked up with some of the Red Sox players on Friday night and demonstrated with vengeance and fury how a “knife edge chop” feels particularly to Boston knuckleballer Tim Wakefield. Cena is obviously feeling much better after neck surgery but why anyone would even think of withstanding a “chop” from the freakishly strong Cena is beyond me even if Jack Daniels was allegedly looking on. It was all in fun but it will be interesting to see the reaction that John gets when he next wrestles in Boston. But come to think of it, many Bean Town fans jeer Cena any way which I still think motivates John and certainly makes for an interesting presentation.

- Yours truly got a text from Steve Austin after the Oklahoma victory over Kansas Saturday saying that he was in Vancouver where his new movie begins filming this week. Steve had a helluva time finding the game on TV in Vancouver and only got to see the 4th quarter. Steve is looking forward to being in Phoenix for Cyber Sunday next weekend as he always enjoys catching up with “the boys” and reconnecting with his fans on his trips back into WWE land.

Labels: jim ross, john cena

Posted by Matt Loede at 10:29 PM | Permalink | Comments

From RealityTV.com

American Gladiator host and Pro Wrestler, Hulk Hogan cannot wait for his son Nick’s early release from jail in a few weeks for good behavior and he wants to set the record straight about it. He spoke to Fox Reality recently about the early release.

“He’s not getting home earlier. That’s the biggest misconception that everybody has. He was sentenced to eight months and just like the other 800 prisoners who have been released this year, if you work a full-time job, and you behave, you get days taken off,” he says. “He’s not getting out any earlier than he should have. He’s just working hard and not sitting in his cell staring at the walls. He’s been working a full-time job as a janitor scrubbing floors and toilets.”

Hogan has had a difficult year with his wife filing for divorce and his son going to jail for a drunk driving accident which left his friend permanently injured. Hogan told Fox Reality TV that he’s now seeing the light at the end of this very long tunnel thanks to some much-needed faith.

“It’s kind of weird because I’ve had a lot of fastballs being thrown at my head this past year. A lot of things happened with personal stuff and different legal problems,” he notes. “Someone said, ‘Don’t worry about it Terry because it’s alright already. It’s in God’s hands, and everything happens for a reason.’

“It made me wake up again and be very grateful and realize that I don’t have to go anywhere to find anything because God’s taking care of me as long as I follow the path and stay positive. Things are going to be great again.”

His Faith in God may be getting him through indeed. He has a new reality show, “Hulk Hogan’s Celebrity Championship Wrestling,” premiering tonight on CMT. 10 celebrities will attempt to become wrestlers.

Hogan stated, “I figured they might be using it to get another look on TV and may not take it seriously, but everybody on the show got so into this.” Of course some took it a little too far. “Dustin Diamond was living this character. He’s a big Andy Kaufman fan, and he was a comedian who got into wrestling, so Dustin pretty much copied his character. He just got on everybody’s nerves. There was definitely some drama.”

For more Reality TV news visit SirLinksALot: Reality Television. Also, come join us on the new Reality TV Magazine message boards and talk about your favorite show!

Labels: bubba the lovesponge, celebrity championship wrestling, hulk hogan, linda hogan, Nick hogan

Posted by Al Gordon at 10:49 PM | Permalink | Comments

A brand new radio show is coming today! Lets Wrestle correspondent Tyler "Tymo55" Moliterno hosts Lets Wrestle; Weekly Wrestling Recap along with his fellow wrestling enthusiasts Lee "Huffy" Huffnagal and Alec A.K.A "The Greek". Join us as we recap this week's WWE Programming from Raw to ECW to Smackdown.
We will Broadcast LIVE today and every Saturday afternoon at 3 p.m! We'll discuss the wrestling news including the release of Lance Cade, and will feature live polls and chat! You can hit us up on youcastr.com and send us an email at tylerletswrestle@yahoo.com and we will read and answer it on the air. To tune in live just click HERE, and don't forget to tune in TODAY! at 3:00 for the LIVE Premiere episode!

Posted by Tymo55 at 12:13 PM | Permalink | Comments

ECW Champion Matt Hardy talked about who he would like to face at Cyber Sunday in a new bulletin on MySpace. Hardy wrote:

I have never wrestled Evan Bourne, but I would love to, no doubt! He is one of the challengers that you can vote in to face me at Cyber Sunday for the ECW Title.. I can definitely see this match being a non-stop adrenaline rush-a true show stealer. If you guys and gals want to see this match as bad as I wanna have it, make it happen with your text votes! The other option are Finlay or Mark Henry. It is truly up to the WWE fans what goes down that night-make your vote count! Matt

Labels: Evan Bourne, matt hardy

Posted by Matt Loede at 7:50 PM | Permalink | Comments

From: Wrestling Observer Newsletter

Lance Cade’s release from WWE this past Tuesday was not something planned and is now being looked at as a disciplinary issue. Jim Ross noted in a new blog that on a recent plane flight, Cade had a seizure and was taken off the plane. Lilian Garica, who was on the flight, made sure he was rushed by ambulance to the hospital where he had several tests done.

They found nothing wrong with him. However, whatever it was that caused the problem was enough for WWE to cut ties with him. One belief is that he could have been the wrong guy on the wrong day in the sense that they just had an issue with Jeff Hardy being removed from a flight and did nothing about it. Whether it was setting an example or they felt they had to let him go remains to be seen. Shawn Michaels was seen as a big proponent of Cade’s backstage, which was evident when Michaels put him over on TV a few weeks ago leading into the No Mercy PPV.

With Cade’s win over Michaels and being aligned with Chris Jericho, it looked like Cade’s long-awaited break was finally coming. Cade, who isn’t commenting in full on his release from WWE, did say he knows what he did to cause the release, but felt things could have been handled better on both sides. He is now looking at working the independent scene and doing things with his career that he wanted to do before signing with WWE.

It should be noted that Michaels destroying Cade the night after No Mercy on Raw with all the chair shots was not a reaction to him having a bad night on the 9/29 Raw against DX and had nothing to do with him being let go. Cade did work Raw house shows over the weekend in Reno and San Bernardino, going over D’Lo Brown at both events. He was also scheduled for upcoming house shows as well. This just shows that if you’re a younger guy and you screw up, best of luck or as they now say - you get future endeavored.

Labels: lance cade, shawn michaels

Posted by Matt Loede at 6:49 PM | Permalink | Comments

Jim Ross is back with another blog update at jrsbarbq.com. Here are the highlights from this entry:

- I was watching several clips of Friday night’s Smackdown broadcast on MyNetworkTV earlier this week and it is amazing how much info is provided the viewers. Times have really changed over the years regarding the volume of information wrestling fans in general are subjected to and are encouraged to remember.

- Lance Cade had his WWE contract terminated a few days ago which completely caught me off guard. As I wrote a few days ago, I was and still am a fan of Lance’s and was shocked when I heard news of his dismissal. I feel confident that Lance will rebound from this misstep and find the success that many feel he deserves. Nonetheless, for some to compare Lance’s incident where he had a seizure on an airplane that necessitated an emergency trip to a hospital with Jeff Hardy being asked to leave a plane because it was perceived that he was allegedly intoxicated seems like a stretch to me. Neither individual was on the right side of the equation of their respective issues but Lance, unfortunately, came too close for comfort by incurring a life threatening seizure and put the WWE in a position to make a really tough call. Could this matter have been handled better? I have no idea as I was not in the loop, thankfully, but I do feel that at some point in the future, and this is simply my opinion, after enough water has gone under the bridge that both parties could well do business again with each other.

Labels: jim ross, lance cade, smackdown

Posted by Matt Loede at 5:47 PM | Permalink | Comments

Before the great tandem of Gorilla Monsoon and Bobby Heenan ever took the stage for USA's Prime Time Wrestling, the first hosts of the show were Jack Reynolds and Jesse Ventura. Reynolds was a staple for the WWF for years before it really got mainstream and Vince Jr. took the company national.

Reynolds was with the company in the early 80's and assumed the role of play-by-play announcer for the then-All-Star Wrestling telecasts. On Thursday, Reynolds passed away in Cleveland at the age of 71.

Reynolds, real name Jack Rizzo, also worked at WHK and for a dozen years at WWWE 1100. He is the father of Fox 8 TV Sportscaster and personal good friend of mine Tony Rizzo.

Thoughts and prayers go out to Tony and his family, as well as the family and friends of Jack.

Labels: bobby heenan, gorilla monsoon, jack reynolds, jesse ventura, tony rizzo

Posted by Matt Loede at 11:11 PM | Permalink | Comments

As announced on Tuesday nights ECW on Sci-Fi, Matt Hardy will defend his ECW Championship against the Cyber Sunday pay-per-view in just two weeks. Fans can pick Hardy's opponent from the following Superstars through text message voting:

*Mark Henry, Evan Bourne and Finlay

Below is the updated card:

World Heavyweight Title Match
Batista vs. Chris Jericho
Special Referee Options: Randy Orton, Shawn Michaels, Steve Austin

WWE Title Match
Triple H Defends
Opponent Options: Jeff Hardy, Vladimir Kozlov, Jeff and Vladimir in a three-way

WWE Intercontinental Title Match
Santino Marella Defends
Opponent Options: The Honky Tonk Man, Goldust, Roddy Piper

ECW Championship Match
Matt Hardy Defends
Opponent Options: Mark Henry, Evan Bourne, Finlay

Big Show vs. Undertaker
Stipulations TBA

Divas Halloween Costume Contest
Featuring WWE Women's Champion Beth Phoenix, WWE Divas Champion Michelle McCool, Brie Bella, Candice Michelle, Eve, Jillian, Katie Lea, Kelly Kelly, Layla, Lena Yada, Maria, Maryse, Melina, Natalya, Tiffany, Victoria and Mickie James.

Fans Vote on WWE's Website During the Pay-Per-View

Labels: 2008 cyber sunday, Evan Bourne, the big show, undertaker

Posted by Matt Loede at 7:42 PM | Permalink | Comments

Former WWE Diva and Dancing with the Stars hottie Stacey Kiebler is set of the cover of Maxim magazine. We've got the scoop with the cover, and here it is!

Labels: Stacy Keibler

Posted by Matt Loede at 8:24 PM | Permalink | Comments

Need to fulfill your reality TV fix with something new?... Well, look no further - Fuse has what you need! Hosted by wrestler and rocker Chris Jericho, Redemption Song gives 11 dysfunctional women the chance to compete against one another for a recording deal with Fuse/Geffen Records. However, it won't be that easy: for these 11 women, their bad attitudes, hard-partying ways, and trouble-making pasts have delayed their dreams of success, but with the help of vocal coach Mauli B. they will have the chance to achieve music stardom.

Watch a sneak peak of Redemption Song and learn more about all 11 contenders right here:

http://www.fuse.tv/videos/shows/redemption-song/

Labels: chris jericho

Posted by Matt Loede at 8:17 PM | Permalink | Comments

In the world of pro wrestling, it's always a shame when a young wrestler get a push, only to then just get pushed out the door for some unknown reason. That seems to have been the case in the WWE the last 24 hours, as the company has announced the release of former Shawn Michaels' protege and Chris Jericho pal Lance Cade.

The company put out its usual standard release when they let a superstar go: "World Wrestling Entertainment has come to terms on the release of Raw Superstar Lance Cade as of October 14, 2008. WWE wishes Lance the best in all future endeavors."

Now I am sure there is more to story that meets the eye as to the release of Cade, but one thought off the bat is that the company felt he was never going to have the impact that they thought he would. They have been booking him in main event angles the past few months with Jericho involving Michaels, but there is no doubt that Cade didn't have the type of charisma that Y2J brought to the table.

Cade was a decent talent, and he seemed to have a good in ring style and presence, but at the same time, the company felt that they could not waste anymore time and anymore effort on trying to get him to be the heel that the company needed him to be. For now, it's a lesson in even though he was a good worker with a great in ring look, he just didn't have it.

Labels: chris jericho, lance cade, shawn michaels

Posted by Matt Loede at 5:11 PM | Permalink | Comments

WWE has announced that the Divas of RAW, SmackDown and ECW will compete in a Halloween Contest at this year's Cyber Sunday pay-per-view, like last year.

Featured in this year's contest will be WWE Women's Champion Beth Phoenix, WWE Divas Champion Michelle McCool, Brie Bella, Candice Michelle, Eve, Jillian, Katie Lea Burchill, Kelly Kelly, Layla, Lena Yada, Maria, Maryse, Melina, Natalya, Tiffany, Victoria and Mickie James. The winner of last year's contest was Mickie James.

The WWE Divas will be showing off their contests during Cyber Sunday and the fans will vote for the best costume on WWE's website.

Labels: kelly kelly, RAW, victoria

Posted by Matt Loede at 4:42 PM | Permalink | Comments

WWE has just announced a "Pick the Tag Team Match" for the Cyber Sunday pay-per-view. The match options for fans to vote on are:

* Ted DiBiase & Cody Rhodes vs. CM Punk & Kofi Kingston

* John Morrison & The Miz vs. Cryme Tyme

* Jamie Noble & Mickie James vs. William Regal & Layla

Labels: cody rhodes, jamie noble, william regal

Posted by Matt Loede at 3:41 PM | Permalink | Comments

Labels: johnny knoxville, RAW, the great khali

Posted by Matt Loede at 1:27 PM | Permalink | Comments

....Or Sort of. ECW tonight didn't feature much other than two matches that would qualify the winner to be included in the vote to take on Matt Hardy at Cyber Sunday. Mark Henry was given one spot automatically by GM Teddy Long, but there would still be two spots up for grabs with the fans getting the final decision on who would earn the right for the title.

The first match was classic display of athleticism with Chavo taking on newcomer Evan Bourne. We have sen these two in action before an they have mixed very well considering their styles are very similar. This would be the case again tonight as they put on the best match of the night. I would love to see this program continue as we don't see too many matches featuring the Lucha style. Bourne would get the win and I really think he will be the one chosen to face Hardy. The fans love this kid and given the other two choices it would seem like a no brainer as to what would be the most entertaining match. I'm not to sure if they may be rushing this as I doubt Bourne would win and I don't see a continued program with Hardy in the cards.

The other winner was Finlay over John Morrison in a long and dull match. While Bourne and Chavo complemented each other, the styles of Finlay and Morrison mixed like water and oil. Finlay's power game took the quickness of Morrison and threw it out the window. It seemed like this match lasted forever ans Morrison is not a great ground and pound style of wrestler. To top it off the ending was terrible as they had to find a way to get Finlay his shillelagh, as that seems to be the only way he can win. First Hornswoggle pretended to be dead in the corner of the ring to serve as the distraction. but just as Finlay went for the illegal object it was pulled from his hands by Mike Knox. Then Knox would be pulled under the ring only to have Cryme Tyme appear and give the shillelagh back to Finlay who then KO'ed Morrison. And their thanks for helping out the Irishmen, a knock in the head with the shillelagh. On this one I have to ask, why? Does it help sell Finlay as the tough guy he once was before Hornswoggle? Anyway you cut it, it was an unimpressive end to an equally unimpressive match.

Posted by JSX at 9:12 PM | Permalink | Comments

We had ourselves some fun and frivolities tonight as Johnny Knoxville and fellow Jackass cohort Chris Pontius paid a visit to Raw to make amends for offending the Great Khali. It all kicked off with Sanitno Marella calling Knoxville to the ring and having Knoxville insult Beth Phoenix by calling her a man. Phoenix would retaliate but botched both her slap to his face and her body slam. Still Knoxville played along and attacked being knocked out. This would lead to Hornswoogle tadpole splashing Knoxville to show him "where the midgets were at" as Johnny asked earlier in the show. But we were not done as Big Dick Johnson and Pontious had a g-string dance show only to be interrupted by the Boogie Man who "shared his worms with Pontious. It all came to an end as Khali put the vice grip on Knoxville, thus finally getting the last laugh. We shall see if the Jackass crew makes any more appearances as they were due to be involved in last years Summer Slam bu pulled out do the hype around the Benoit murders.

Let's get to the serious stuff now as there were two major matches tonight. The first was created by Chris Jericho who wanted to weaken his opponent at Cyber Sunday, Batista. Jericho would try to kill two birds with one stone by having Batista face his other rival HBK in a lumber jack match. Of course the lumber jacks were made up of the heels from the Raw and ECW rosters and they tried their best to take out both men as they got to "involved" and the match ended in a draw. Despite this they put on a good match and I like this grouping of Jericho, Batista and HBK now as they have firmly established a feud. It keeps Batista happy as he is in the spotlight and can face either Jericho or HBK. Mitchael's gets some time to rest while Jericho and Batista go at it. And Jericho can put on a good match with either and is playing his self righteous heel role prefect that as long as they give him the mic, he can sell any program.

Later in the night Batista got his revenge by being the special ref of Jericho's match with CM Punk. It was nice to See Punk back with the big dogs since he lost his title. Recently he has been the tag a long with Kofi Kingston, not very becoming for the supposed future star of the WWE. Batista would get his revenge by gifting Punk the win after a Batista Bomb put Jericho out of business. I really liked what I saw out of Punk as he shows he can still challenge for the Heavy Weight title. Look for him to make another solid run this time next year once they run through programs for Jericho, Batista and Cena, when he gets healthy. I could even see a turn for Punk as they need another big heel on Raw and it would be a major shocker since he has such a clean cut image on the show.

The other match-up that is developing nicely is the on going feud between Cryme Tyme and the Miz and Morrison. It's a great way to highlight these two tag teams as they both have the charisma and abilities in the ring to make each match interesting. Not to mention their ongoing war between their shows on WWE.com. Th only question is, who of the pair will get their chance to take on the champs Of DiBiase and Rhodes? We may see a tag gauntlet or three way dance to determine who may be the next champions on Raw. As for the match tonight Cryme Tyme and Kelly won using some "creative" techniques over Jillian and the Miz with John Morrison.

Th other matches of the night saw Mark Henry and Kane tag to face Mysterio and Matt Henry. This match was a convenient way to keep these programs going without doing to much to bring them to an end. No much to say for the match as we all know what these guys bring to the ring. Kane would get the pin over Mysterio and we shall see what type of match these two will now have at Cyber Sunday. Will it be Falls Count Anywhere, No Holds Barred or a 2-out-of-3 Falls match. Not much of a way to come off a match that featured tho possible unmasking of Mysterio.

Finally Charlie Haas continued his impersonations by becoming Haas Hogan tonight. Too bad it was not enough as JBL made quick work of him. The gimmick is still working for Haas as I enjoy the persona's he takes on, but we all know this will end fairly soon. As for Haas we may never see him again after this shtick runs out.

Posted by JSX at 10:44 PM | Permalink | Comments

A brand new radio show is coming! Lets Wrestle correspondent Tyler "Tymo55" Moliterno hosts Lets Wrestle; Weekly Wrestling Recap along with his fellow wrestling enthusiasts Lee "Huffy" Huffnagal and Alec A.K.A "The Greek". Join us as we recap each week's WWE Programming from Raw to ECW to Smackdown.
We will Broadcast LIVE every Saturday afternoon at 3 p.m! We'll discuss the wrestling news each week, and will feature live polls and chat! You can hit us up on youcastr.com and send us an email at tylerletswrestle@yahoo.com and we will read and answer it on the air. To tune in live just click HERE, and don't forget to tune in THIS SATURDAY at 3:00 for the LIVE Premiere episode!

Labels: lets wrestle, Weekly Wrestling Recap, Youcastr

Posted by Tymo55 at 1:48 PM | Permalink | Comments

The latest WWE entry into "mainstream" Hollywood (if you want to call it that) will take place tonight on RAW when former horse-piss drinker and "Jackass" leader Johnny Knoxville comes on the show to have a "fight" with moster The Great Khali. If you missed how this all came about, Knoxville has some sort of show on MTV, and Khali was on and Knoxville questioned how big Khali's privates are.

Typical Knoxville, but the 7+ foot, 400+ pound Khali didn't like the unprofessional line of questions, and stormed off the set. While it likely was real at the start, Vince McMahon took the incident and is running with it, and now Khali has been on the last few shows making out with women (quite the site) and proving just how much of a "man" he really is.

At the same time, he has called out Knoxville, and you can bet with money on the table that Knoxville will show up tonight, as the company is sending out releases to check out the show and see just in fact if Knoxville shows up or not. Gee, I wonder. Don't forget that the entire "Jackass" crew are no strangers to the WWE and being in a WWE ring.

It was just two years ago that a deal was done where the cast of the TV show was booked in a match at SummerSlam against Umaga and another wrestler. The match was pulled when Knoxville, who at the time was making a movie or two in Hollywood, said he didn't want to be involved. Now, with Knoxville being an afterthought when it comes to being involved with Hollywood projects, he suddenly is more than willing to be on the show.

So how will this end? Knoxville will probably have a verbal exchange with Khali, and the two will then have a match at the upcoming PPV - Cyber Sunday, where they will have three choices of what type of match it will be that is "choosen" by the fans. Could this be good? Maybe, but I wouldn't put much stock into making it must see TV for a Monday.

Labels: 2008 cyber sunday, johnny knoxville, the great khali

Posted by Matt Loede at 10:41 AM | Permalink | Comments

Last Friday's Smack Down was a solid show as the card was filled with entertaining matches up and down still establishing a good showing since the move to My Network. But the one aspect that stuck out most in my mind was the current character development that is taking place. To quote the immortal lines of R-Truth, "what's up"? There are certain members of the roster that are being hot shot into major roles without really paying their dues, while other solid performers are taking a backseat. I understand the need to inject fresh talent into the roster, but to do so at the expense of established guys makes no sense to me.

The first guy that I question is Vladimir Kozlov as he now finds himself entangled in the biggest program going right now of Triple H and Jeff Hardy. Hardy and H are both well established stars and are clearly in the top five of fan favorites. Some how the WWE has deemed Kozlov worthy of being in the same program as them? I don't get this, especially since Kozlov hasn't even taken on many of the mid card guys to show what he is made of. He is way to much of an unknown commodity to thrust him in the spotlight now. As of right now you can even vote to include him in a title match at Cyber Sunday. I could be wrong, but I see it ending in a disaster and really hurting Kozlov's chances of making a name for himself.

The other guy who is getting a big push is the aformationed R-Truth. There has been talk he will become the big large African American talent on Smack Down. Again this would thrust a unestablished talent into a big time role without really proving himself. All we really know about this guy is he can sing and dance and frankly the angle is not good at all. Right now it's looking like he will be the US Champ pretty soon taking it from Shelton Benjamin. This again is a recipe
for disator as it takes another unproven talent and puts him in a major role.

This angle will most likely put an end to Benjamin's days at the top and that is a shame. They wanted this guy to work his butt off and he has responded. He had some great matches including a solid showing one on one with Triple H. Now his reward will be losing his title to a gimmicky song and dance man in Truth. I can only see this sending a poor message to the rest of the locker room. No matter how hard you try, if your not one of the chosen few in the WWE you really have no chance of making it.

Another guy who falls into this category is MVP. Who knows what the plans for this guy are anymore. He has supposedly been in the dog house, but the guy has too much talent to let go to waste. Ever since Wrestle Mania 23 he has shown he has the skills to role with the big dogs. I was hoping to see him in a program with Hardy or Benjamin to help establish his resume. Right now it looks like neither will happen, especially considering you have Umaga and Edge coming back soon and the Undertaker and Big Show looming around. It looks like MVP is going doe the same path as Mr. Kennedy, plenty of talent, but forever unable to get over the hump.

Posted by JSX at 12:31 PM | Permalink | Comments

Labels: 2008 survivor series, john cena

Posted by Matt Loede at 9:52 PM | Permalink | Comments

From: Wrestlescoop.com

WWE has plans to debut a new character speaking carny — the secret language of carnival workers. On last night’s edition of SmackDown, vignettes promoting the debut of WWE developmental wrestler Sinn Bowdee began to air. He was shown at a carnival talking carny. The vignette referred to him as Kizarny, his new WWE ring name.

Labels: kizarny, smackdown

Posted by Matt Loede at 8:51 PM | Permalink | Comments

Jim Ross is back with another blog update over at jrsbarbq.com. A few of the highlights this time around:

- I can't remember when I felt compelled to read one "wrestling" book twice but the Bret Hart book is the first. If you are a real fan of the business and you don't read this book then you are not really a fan of the business. Make sense? The book is now available at Amazon.com and would make a great holiday gift idea. Just don't expect Bret to sign yours as he signed mine. :) Bottom line (thanks Stone Cold) is BUY THE BOOK!

- Listening to some young wrestlers talk amongst themselves recently, I was shocked to hear of the variety of subject matters they so "profoundly" discussed. IPods, IPhones, "I" period but nothing about wrestling, counters, submissions, paying their taxes, saving their money, hiring a financial planner, preparing for their future....you get the picture. It is easy for many of today's wrestlers to bitch and moan about their position in their chosen profession or lack thereof and provide an overall woe is me version of their lives to whomever will listen but change for the better, or worse, starts with looking in the mirror. I walked away from this inadvertent eavesdropping shaking my head but thinking that young wrestlers are no different than young stockbrokers (bad analogy), young professionals, etc. All company's can do a better job in putting the right tools in the hands of their people but only the people themselves can make the tools work for them. Broke and seemingly helpless wrestlers from any era can largely blame themselves for not having the common sense or discipline to prepare for their futures.

- The "Naitch" called yours truly today from L.A. He sounded great and was, surprise, staying REALLY busy. He wanted to wish the Sooners good luck this Saturday against the 'Horns. Ric sounded refreshed and happy and truly excited about some upcoming projects that he could not elaborate on at the moment but one could tell he was jacked about the future. I wish my dear friend nothing but the very best and hope that all his ventures are "hits." It sounds as if a MAJOR announcement will be forthcoming from Flair's "people."

- I read of the proposed "tell all" book about "The Warrior" to be written by his ex-wife. Sounds juicy and sensational based on the press release that I read. I doubt that "The Warrior" and yours truly will ever exchange Xmas cards but I don't feel good about this project as I am not a die hard fan of "tell all's" that love to dish the dirt. Warrior is his own man, is outspoken and has every right with which to be so whether I personally agree with him or not but to have one's former life exposed to what ever level is tough to swallow. Even if the book is embellished to a degree some readers will believe every word of it. Perhaps in the eyes of some this story "needs" to be told but I don't see it. It will be interesting to see how well this book sells, any pending litigation that it may incur, etc. Based on societal trends, the book will likely sell well.

Labels: bret hart, jim ross, ric flair, ultimate warrior

Posted by Matt Loede at 5:39 PM | Permalink | Comments