Thursday 29 January 2009

WWE Hall Of Fame Class of 2009

Cold Flair be lined up to induct his former foe Ricky 'The Dragon' Steamboat? The pair had a hugely successful series of matches over the WCW/NWA title and would make a great double act to headline the event. The HOF will of course be overshadowed by Steve Austin's induction, but considering he almost single-handidly saved the WWE during the Monday Night War, he deserves that accolade. Other names tipped are Ted Dibiase (senior of course), The Funks, Von Erichs. More when I hear it

Random wrestling notes

Rumour has it Ric Flair is not in the running to induct Austin into the WWE Hall Of Fame, odds are on Bret Hart (who I mentioned yesterday).

TNA's suicide character (an odd name for a in-game character and kids role model) is now being played by Chris Daniels (the former curryman), Kaz who was under the mask is sidelined for a few months with a bicep injury.

TNA's Gov Palin is to be a semi-permanent member of the roster, the former Daffney (in WCW) has her own msuic and entrance now.

Wednesday 28 January 2009

Flair to be at Wrestlemania

Ric Flair has said that he will be present at Wrestlemania this year, rumours were about that he would be the man to induct Stone 'Cold'Steve Austin into the WWE hall of fame, but I'd say that role should fall to someone like Bret Hart or Shawn Michaels, two men that WWE fans will know Austin had successful feud and matches with during his WWE prime.

The Wrestler Review

I've just written my review of the Mickey Rourke starring movie The Wrestler, see it on my sister site philallelyreviews.blogspot.com, link to it from here.

Tuesday 27 January 2009

Hardys news

Now Jeff's dropped the world title, the next logical step seems to be having both Hardy's meet in a match at Wrestlemania, whether the feud will be fueled by jealousy or a storyline to be made yet only time will tell. But if they are given the time and energy the Hardy's could steal mania with the match of the night.

Monday 26 January 2009

WWE Versus TNA - The Live Experience

For a long time the WWE had the edge on its competitors and dominated the UK/European scene with their brand of live House shows. Often selling out the numerous venues and raking in an obscene amount of cash whilst doing so. Of course this was after WCW folded and no one else was in competition to offer a similar product to the wrestling starved fanbase. I've attended many WWE shows and found that in recent years the roster sent has improved dramatically. Yes we still get some c-list grapplers, but more often than not you do get to see Triple H, Orton, Jericho and on the last occasion Shawn Michaels too.
So what is the difference between a WWE show and TNA one?
WWE shows are slick, the grapplers usually perform well and don't often slip out of character. We get the full pyro entrances and some very decent matches.
TNA offer something different indeed, the grapplers show a more fun side to them, though still pull out all of the stops. The more intimate venues allow the fans to feel more a part of the in-ring action and the roster use that to their advantage.
You can feel an atmosphere more like the old ECW shows than a glossy WWE show and that is where TNA works best.
During the recent Dublin shows (see my review on the Sun's site for full details) We were fortunate enough to be given not only VIP treatment, but to get ringside seats on the first night. The venue was a purpose built boxing stadium and housed 2000 people, the six-sided ring was so close you could touch it and when the action started you could feel the bump and slams as they echoed through the ring. I must admit it was tough to concentrate when The beautiful People decided to station themselves right in my eye line during their tag match with ODB and Taylor Wilde.
Ringside is unique spot to watch a wrestling show from, on one hand you get to See the action up close, shake hands with your heroes and witness perfect moves and spot botched ones in equal measure. The drawback is when the crowd rush the ring to do that same and you get squashed beneath a horde of fellow fans.
WWE have more of a problem with this than TNA though.
The other thing you'll notice about the two companies is that TNA seem to be a lot more relaxed security wise etc, they allow press like myslef bakcstage more, the pr people (Steven Godfrey you are a legend) spend time with you and staff even take time out from their matches/rest to watch the shows. During the second night in Dublin, whilst enjoying the show from the elevated stage entrance area, senior official Earl Hebner literally walked from the backstage area and sat behind me to enjy the show before he refereed his next match. You'd never see this on a WWE show. Earl (who i'd interviewed last year in Liverpool) chatted for a while about TNA, his enjoyment of working there and the general feeling backstage, yet again you'd never get this in WWE unless it was scripted or checked first. TNA also has the best PR person it can have in TNA President Dixie carter, she not only attends as many shows as she can, but personally makes sure she meets and greets as many fans as she can prior or following a show. This is where TNA sauced and prove their worth, the fans mean a lot to them and not simply act as a means to an end. So which company is better to see live? well it depends what you want, if you only watch WWE then that's the one for you, if you watch TNA only then same goes, if you are open to new ideas and willing to witness the contrasting styles and factors then give them both a try.
What you'll find is that some stars you don't rate on ppv or tv are actually well worth their ages when you see them live, Team 3D may seem past it at times, but live and in comic form the duo have something special indeed.
It's really a personal choice, but for fan interaction and involvment I'd plump for TNA, with the like sof Jeremy Borash whipping the crowds into a frenzy and the fan friendly appeal they have the edge so far, it may change when the company grows. The recent 8000 record sell-out in Wembley England may be good, but did it feel as intimate and special? Only time will tell I guess, here's hoping we can all enjoy watching, seeing and participating along he way.

Mickey Rourke to Participate In Wrestlemania

Things look good for star of the Wrestler and Oscar nominee Mickey Rourke to step into a WWE ring and battle WWE superstar Chris Jericho. This years Wrestlemania is in need of a suitable star name to help with ppv buys and having Rourke on board could help that.
The odds are also good that Vince McMahon and Hulk Hogan may bury the hatchet and join up to make Mania the biggest yet. Hogan is always up for a nice payday and it would be a coup to get him back on board for one more match or angle.

Most Disgusting PR Tactic's In 2008

Wrestling Observer have released their list of dodgy and downright disgusting tactics used by wrestling companies this past year.

1. WWE JEFF HARDY TEASED OVERDOSE TO GET HITS
2. TNA Using Jill Jarrett’s death in Angle vs. Jeff storyline
3. WWE having the set collapse on Vince McMahon just days after a TNA crew member was killed in similar fashion
4. ROH Larry Sweeney rape tease on Allison Danger
5. IWA Mid South Mike Levy incident
6. Elite XC pushing Kimbo Slice as a main eventer
7. AAA using Antonio Pena’s ashes in an angle
8. WWE McMahon’s Millions

any thoughts on these or others you'd include in the list?

TNA UK Tour Results

JANUARY 24 - LONDON, ENGLAND
X Title Match: Alex Shelley defeated Eric Young, "Black Machismo" Jay Lethal and Doug Williams
"Big Poppa Pump" Scott Steiner defeated Consequences Creed
ODB and Taylor Wilde defeated The Beautiful People
Brutus Magnus defeated Sheik Abdul Bashir
London Street Fight: Team 3D defeated TNA World Tag Team Champions Beer Money in a non-title match
Samoa Joe and AJ Styles defeated Matt Morgan and Abyss
Jeff Jarrett defeated Olympic Gold Medalist Kurt Angle
To end the event, Jarrett brought out Mick Foley, AJ Styles and Samoa Joe to thank the fans for attending

JANUARY 22 - GLASGOW, SCOTLAND
X Title Match: Alex Shelley defeated "Black Machismo" Jay Lethal, Consequences Creed and Eric Young
Abyss defeated Sheik Abdul Bashir
Taylor Wilde and ODB beat The Beautiful People
Brutus Magnus defeated Matt Morgan
Glasgow Street Fight: Team 3D defeated TNA World Tag Team Champions Beer Money in a non-title match
Samoa Joe defeated Doug Williams
TNA Executive Shareholder Mick Foley came out to thank the crowd
Jeff Jarrett & AJ Styles defeated Kurt Angle & Scott Steiner

JANUARY 21 - BIRMINGHAM, ENGLAND
Four-Way X Title Match: Alex Shelley defeated Eric Young, Consequences Creed and "Black Machismo" Jay Lethal
Abyss defeated Sheik Abdul Bahsir
ODB and Taylor Wilde defeated The Beautiful People
Birmingham Street Fight: Team 3D defeated TNA World Tag Team Champions Beer Money in a non-title match
Brutus Magnus defeated Matt Morgan
Samoa Joe defeated Doug Williams
AJ Styles & Jeff Jarrett defeated Kurt Angle & Scott Steiner in the main event

TNA President Dixie Carter and TNA Executive Shareholder Mick Foley came out to thank the fans for attending - and Carter announced that TNA was negotiating to hold a live Pay-Per-View in England in 2009! TNAwrestling.com hopes to have more info on this big announcement in the coming weeks!

JANUARY 20 - MANCHESTER, ENGLAND
X Division Champion Alex Shelley defeated "Black Machismo" Jay Lethal
ODB and Taylor Wilde defeated The Beautiful People
Brutus Magnus made his sucessful debut, defeating Consequences Creed
Matt Morgan and Abyss defeated Eric Young and Doug Williams
Samoa Joe defeated Sheik Abdul Bashir
TNA World Tag Team Champions Beer Money defeated Team 3D
AJ Styles & Jeff Jarrett defeated Kurt Angle & Scott Steiner

JANUARY 17 - DUBLIN, IRELAND
X Division Four-Way: Eric Young defeated Sheik Abdul Bashir, Consequences Creed and Doug Williams
The Beautiful People defeated Taylor Wilde and ODB
X Division Champion Alex Shelley defeated "Black Machismo" Jay Lethal
Samoa Joe & AJ Styles beat Abyss & Matt Morgan
TNA World Tag Team Champions Beer Money defeated Team 3D
Jeff Jarrett defeated Kurt Angle with Mick Foley as special enforcer

JANUARY 16 - DUBLIN, IRELAND
X Title Match: Alex Shelley defeated Eric Young and Doug Williams
The Beautiful People defeated Taylor Wilde and ODB
Samoa Joe defeated Sheik Abdul Bashir
Dublin Street Fight: Team 3D defeated Matt Morgan and Abyss to earn a TNA Tag Team Title shot against Beer Money at the second Dublin event
TNA World Tag Team Champions Beer Money defeated "Black Machismo" Jay Lethal and Consequences Creed
Olympic Gold Medalist Kurt Angle defeated "The Phenomenal" AJ Styles
Executive Shareholder Mick Foley came out to thank the fans for attending the big event

Sunday 25 January 2009

Booker T

Watching the latest episode of TNA's Impact show i couldn't help but realise that current Legends title belt holder (self given of course) and Main Event Mafia member Booker T has not defended his title for a long time now, in act the last defence was against Christian (I'm heading back to Vince and a big payday) Cage last year.

Let's hope the current fed with ref/wrestler Shane Sewell can lead to a defence at least and perhaps even a loss of the belt.

TNA announce a possible PPV in the UK

At one of the Maximum Impact shows here (Birmingham I think), Dixie Carter anounced that there are plans to hold a TNA PPV in the UK. More news as i get it and of course I'll hope that i can be there to cover it too.

Friday 23 January 2009

TNA Rumours




Various sites are reportng that TNA may be interested in bringing in the following former WWE employees.

Ric Flair, the legend has stated that he's not interested in TNA, but surely financially the high-life living slick Ric will take the cash at some point and sign up for Jeff Jarrett's group.

Victoria, the retiring WWE Diva would be a superb addition to the TNA Knockouts league, she could help fill the void that gail Kim left behind when she jumped ship to the WWE. The lesser shcedule would help Victoria's various in-ring injuries too.

Shannon Moore, the recently dropped WWE star would I'm sure love to return to his old stomping ground, but has he burnt his bridges by choosing the WWE over TNA?

Wednesday 21 January 2009

TNA Dublin - Some Personal Pics






A selection of pictures taken during the TNA house shows in Dublin, Ireland this past weekend.

Tuesday 20 January 2009

Victoria to retire from the WWE

WWE's longest serving female wrestler Victoria is set to retire from in-ring activity. many have noticed the knee brace she sports and that perhaps her body could be feeling the wear and tear of the sport too. It will be interesting to see if she leaves the company or has some form of on-air of behind the scenes role lined up.

CM Punk makes history

CM Punk may have dropped the WWE world title quite quickly after a less than successful (although fans loved it) run, but he has now had the last laugh as he has become the fastest ever triple crown champion in the company.
Punk beats Kevin 'Diesel' Nash to become one of the select group of grapplers who has won the World, Tag and IC championships. Beating William Regal this past Monday Punk now can wear the second level title with pride and perhaps give it the prestige it deserves.

Monday 19 January 2009

TNA Results: Dublin Ireland

Here are the results from the TNA shows in Dublin, Ireland.
A Full review will be on The Sun's website.

TNA Dublin, Ireland: Fri Jan 16th 2009

1. X Division Champ Alex Shelley beat Eric Young and Doug Williams.
2. The Beautiful People overcame ODB and Taylor Wilde.
3. Samoa Joe won a challenge match against Sheik Abdul Bashir.
4. Team 3D bested Abyss and Matt Morgan.
5. Beer Money retained their straps against Jay Lethal and Consequence Creed.
6. Kurt Angle pinned AJ Styles.

TNA Dublin, Ireland: Sat Jan 17th 2009

1. Eric Young won a X Division match against Doug Williams, Sheik Bashir and Consequences Creed.
2. Taylor Wilde and ODB beat The Beautiful People.
3. Alex Shelley retained his X Division title over Jay Lethal.
4. AJ Styles and Samoa Joe won against Matt Morgan and Abyss
5. Beer Money retained their tag team belts beating Team 3D
6. Jeff Jarrett won against Jurt Angle

Tuesday 13 January 2009

Stonecold For HOF 2009

THe WWE have confirmed that Stone Cold Steve Austin will be the headline attraction at the 2009 Hall Of fame ceremony. There has been talk of austin doing one more match for the WWE, but considering his various injuries and general well being, I'd say that is not going to happen. Steve was one of the best in-ring performers of the 1990s and had a hugely successful run with the WWE, almost single handedly rejuvenating the company, as WCW drew close to beating it in the Monday Night War. His neck injury at the hands of he late Owen Hart halted a career that could quite possibly still have been going on today.

Monday 12 January 2009

TNA Injuries HIt Upcoming UK Tour


I've just heard that TNA stars Christy Hemme and Awesome Kong have had to pull out of the UK/Ireland tour, Hemme has a damaged neck, which she has had a procedure on, Kong's injury is unknown at present. Also Kevin Nash is said to be in hospital with a staph infection, this could be a serious one for the big man, I'd say he was off the tour too at present at least.

Friday 9 January 2009

TNA sell-out Dublin Shows

In great news, TNA have just announced on their website that their two Dublin, Ireland shows next week have sold out totally. Should make for a fun pair of nights as I'll be reviewing the shows live.

Phil

Thursday 8 January 2009

TNA Stars Grab Gold In Japan

TNA Stars Win Gold In Japan

This past weekend at Japan’s prestigious Tokyo Dome venue, members of the TNA roster took part in the huge Global Impact event, battling alongside many of the top stars of New Japan Pro Wrestling.

In big news from that card TNA’s Team 3D (Brother Ray and Brother Devon) won the IWGP tag team Championship in a hardcore match against the duo of Togi Makabe and Toru Yano.

Also in gold winning form were the Motor City Machine Guns (Chris Sabin and Alex Shelley), the fast-paced pair beat Yujiro and Naito to raise the IWGP Junior heavyweight tag straps.

Kurt Angle and Kevin Nash also took part in proceedings, joining Riki Choshu and Masahiro Chono to beat Giant Bernard, Iizuka, Tomohiro Ishii and Karl Anderson.

TNA look set to continue their working relationship with New Japan, with some of the promotions stars making the trip to the US soon.

Wednesday 7 January 2009

Gladiator Oblivion On TNA UK Tour

he's been making his presence felt in promos, but latest TNA signing Nick Aldis (aka Gladiator's star Oblivion) is set to make his in-ring debut for the company during their upcoming UK and Ireland tour. Known as Brutus Magnus, Nick will join fellow UK star Doug Williams and fly the flag for the UK.
I remember Dixie carter talking about an email she got from Nick last June and asking myself and my colleagues whether we'd heard of him, he must have made some impression as he is now a fully fledged TNA roster member six months later.

Christian story a fake!

According to some sites the stroy about Christian Cage being at Raw is false, it could not be confirmed and has been removed from many sites now. Of course many of us still beleive he will resurface in the WWE, as TNA have removed his profile from their site and no mention has been made of the grappler since his beatdown from the Main Event Mafia.

Tuesday 6 January 2009

TNA Tour Coming To A Venue Near You Soon

Yes in two weeks time the second and most ambitious TNA UK/irish tour will hit our shores. Will it be as sucessful and well receievd as the previous smaller scale one last June? Only time will tell, but with an ever-growing fanbase we can only hope that the guys and girls of TNA will pull out all of the stops to give us a superb series of shows. We can expect Kurt Angle, Jeff Jarrett, Mick Foley, Kevin Nash, AJ Styles, Samoa Joe, Awesome Kong, Christy Hemme and many others, to all hit our shores running. I'll be there for the first two Irish shows and hope that you will enjoy reading about the evenst as mcuh I'll surely enjoy being a part of them. Look out for my review on The Sun website soon after the shows on january 16 & 17.

Phil

Christian Spotted At WWE Taping

An eagle-eyed Sun reader has spotted former TNA star Christian cage at a WWE taping this week. The former champ was spotted at the Raw taping early this week and is thought to have inked a contract in preparation for his big return. Cage was of course amultiple time tag champ with on-screen brother edge and should be able to capitalise on his TNA success and former WWE glory when he makes his long-awaited return to the promotion.

Vote For The Sun's Golden Robe Awards

My fellow writers and I for The UK Sun newspapers wrestling page have all made our nominations for the annual Golden Robe Awards. It's now your turn, please feel free to drop by the webpage and make your nominations.