Friday 31 December 2010

Awesome Kong to WWE!

According to many sources former TNA Knockouts Champion Awesome Kong has inked a deal with the WWE. A recent arrest could not sway the WWE it seems and Kong will surface there soon. Whether this means a career reignition for her former opponent and fellow ladies division rejuvenator gail Kim is yet to be seen, but signing someone like Kong is a great decision for the WWE, she may not be standard Diva material, but her in ring abilities and skills will help elevate the Divas and give Natalya, Beth Phoenix and Kim the chance to shine.

Thursday 30 December 2010

AN UPDATE ON TNA WRESTLING "iMPACT!" IN THE UNITED KINGDOM

AN UPDATE ON TNA WRESTLING "iMPACT!" IN THE UNITED KINGDOM




On Thursday, TNA President Dixie Carter posted a message to UK Fans about iMPACT in the United Kingdom. Thanks to your messages, Sky responded



From Sky: "TNA will be broadcast on a different Sky channel when Bravo closes, we are trying to find out which channel this will be and will let you all know as soon as we find out"



From Dixie Carter: "Thanks to all of our fans in the United Kingdom for your support! Your voices truly made a difference today!"



--------------------

TNA Twin Pack 2010 - DVD Review







TNA DVD Twin Pack Review - Victory Road 2010/No Surrender 2010




By Phil Allely



This is a novel idea by TNA, teaming up two very popular and heavily linked Pay-Per-View events from 2010 and packaging them in one nice little two disc set.



Yes many of us have seen these events and as has become traditional with TNA PPV’s the match quality varied considerably throughout, ranging from the bearable to the spectacular, usually the tag team encounters and X Division battles falling into the latter. However there were some interesting story threads running through these events and by combining the two of them like this we can follow their natural progression from July’s Victory Road to September’s No Surrender.



The main reason to buy this set is to see the story unfold revolving around the TNA World Heavyweight Championship, Firstly in the extremely heated four-way title scrap between Rob Van Dam, Abyss, Jeff Hardy and Mr Anderson and then further as the duo’s of Kurt Angle/Jeff Hardy and Mr Anderson/The Pope vied to snare a place in the final of the tournament to crown a new World Champ (after Abyss took RVD out of the picture and left the title in limbo). Both sets of main events are great to view again and have some fine action too.



Elsewhere on the cards there are some great match-ups, Ric Flair’s heated comedy brawl with Jay Lethal is amusing, exciting and surprising all at once. Motor City Machineguns versus Beer Money for the vacant Tag Team belts has a well deserved ending. Doug Williams has two very different, yet enthralling bouts against Kendrick (Victory Road) and Sabu (No Surrender). Abyss and Rhino head to ECW country for a decent Falls Count Anywhere scrap and AJ Styles takes on Tommy Dreamer in a very good I Quit match-up.



There are also pretty decent Knockouts matches, tag team brawls involving teams of Sting/Kevin Nash, Jeff Jarrett/Samoa Joe, AJ Styles/Kazarian and Samoa Joe/Rob Terry. Overall both events hit the mark an awful lot more than they miss. There are some nice title encounters, loads of near-falls, high risk moves and some great glimpses of just why TNA, when on form has all the tools to be as successful as a certain other big name wrestling outfit well known across the globe.



TNA DVD Twin Pack Victory Road 2010/No Surrender 2010 is available now via www.tnawrestling.com and all good retailers.

Graphic Pics of Hulk Hogan's Recent Back Surgery



A few recently circulated pics of Hulk Hogan's back/side after his most recent spinal fusion surgery.

Nice Posed TNA Knockouts Pics

So Cal Val, Velvet Sky and Angelina Love pose for a candid pic.

Rare Christy Hemme Posed Pics





some pics of TNA Knockout Christy Hemme, quite rare so I hear.

Wrestlemania 2011 - WCW Themed Hall Of Fame!!!

According to sources the 2011 Wrestlemania (hailing from Atlanta) is to be WCW orientated/themed. Considering the company that rivalled the WWE for many years and almost beat it into submission in the late 1990s, is owned now by the WWE this makes perfect sense for the McMahon run operation to do. There are already rumours flying about that Lex Luger, Arn Anderson and Ron Simmons are to be inducted into the WWE Hall Of Fame as part of the event. There are of course possibilities that such former WCW stars as Booker T, Scott Hall, Kevin Nash and other may also be added to the HOF ceremony, they are all not under cntract to TNA at present. A big coup would be Sting, who was such a huge part of WCW that his inclusion would make the event very special indeed, however sources are saying that the Stinger is set to re-sign with TNA soon. Ric Flair, Mick Foley, Vader and others are off the card due to TNA contracts or other issues with the WWE.

Wednesday 29 December 2010

WWE DVD Review - D Generation X




WWE DVD Review: D Generation X




By Phil Allely



In the late 1990s the WWE was on the brink of the ‘Attitude Era’ and breaking records galore with it’s viewing figures, PPV buy rates and live show attendance. One of the key factors in this was the change in direction the company took, moving away from it’s fascination on musclemen and characterisations, allowing it’s performers to pretty much be themselves in the ring. One such act that took the wrestling world by storm was the original incarnation of D Generation X (lovingly known as DX).



The Shawn Michaels fronted outfit took the WWE world on a rollercoaster ride for a fair few years and are still fondly remembered today, even though the recent two man Triple H /Michaels outings have been poor relatives to the characters they once brought to the fore.



This DVD from 2006 is one no real wrestling fan should be without, taking a look at the formation of the rebellious faction and featuring some of their finest bouts.



Originally DX was just Michaels, Triple H and his bodyguard (and at that time girl friend) the scarily muscular Chyna. The threesome obliterated, cheated and mocked many of the rising WWE stars of the time en route to becoming superstars themselves. Real life buddies HHH and Shawn especially proving to be as good on the mic as they were in the ring. The group added more to their number by recruiting top tag team the New Age Outlaws and good pal X Pac (Sean Waltman) to the mix, ensuring the advantage was always in their favour. Trough 1997-1998 DX ran roughshod over everyone from ‘Stone Cold’ Steve Austin and Bret Hart to Mankind to snap up as many title belts as they could and rule the promotion with no fear at all.



This DVD has a nice documentary style feature that follows the formation of the group and runs through their initial history, taking in the additions of the various members and even the (at the time) hugely popular involvement of boxer Mike Tyson into the mix. There is even a mention of the DX invasion of rival company WCW, which saw the crotch chopping gang embark on a mission to gatecrash a live WCW event.



On the match front it’s hard to find fault with the ones chosen for this disc. There are some fine matches from Raw including Michaels v Mankind, Triple H v Bret ‘Hit Man’ Hart and Michaels/Triple H v Mankind/Undertaker. There are also two fine examples of PPV bouts from that era, first up is the match that sidelined Shawn Michaels for many years against the Undertaker (Royal Rumble 1998), up next is the 8 man tag brawl from No Way Out 1998 that saw Savio Vega join the Outlaws and Triple H to face ‘Stone Cold’ Steve Austin, Cactus Jack, Chainsaw Charlie and Owen Hart.



With Michaels on the shelf for an unknown period (his injury received at the Rumble against Undertaker was seemingly career ending) Triple H did lead DX for a while longer before they disbanded and he himself went on to become the multiple time champion he is now. Michaels of course did eventually return to the WWE after a number of years and the pair did resurrect the concept every so often, but never to the degree of success they had in the late 1990s.



As a snapshot of just how to get an idea right this is a wonderful DVD, the matches are as great today as they were back then and considering Michaels is now retired, Triple H is injured and the rest of DX are long gone from the WWE this is a fine was to look back at one of wrestling’s glory eras.



WWE D Generation X is still available from all good retailers and of course www.silvervision.co.uk

Top 45 Most Searched Wrestler/MMA Personalities 2010

Based on Google search data from 2010 in the United States, here are the 45 most-popular wrestling and MMA personalities from the past year:




1. John Cena

2. Brock Lesnar

3. Georges St. Pierre

4. Anderson Silva

5. Edge

6. Jeff Hardy

7. Batista

8. Randy Orton

9. Hulk Hogan

10. Triple H

11. BJ Penn

12. Kimbo Slice

13. Cain Velasquez

14. Shane Carwin

15. Rey Mysterio

16. Shawn Michaels

17. Matt Hughes

18. Chuck Liddell

19. Rampage Jackson

20. Undertaker

21. Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson

22. Tito Ortiz

23. Steve Austin

24. Dana White

25. Rashad Evans

26. Randy Couture

27. Bret Hart

28. Frank Mir

29. Chael Sonnen

30. Fedor Emelianenko

31. Big Show

32. Gina Carano

33. Urijah Faber

34. The Miz

35. Herschel Walker

36. Chris Jericho

37. Jon Jones

38. Lyoto Machida

39. James Toney

40. Ric Flair

41. Dan Hardy

42. Matt Hardy

43. Sheamus

44. Forrest Griffin

45. Rich Franklin

New TNA Knockouts Winter Pics

A few pics of latest TNA Knockout Division member Winter (formerly WWE star Katie Lea)



TNA More Festive Themed Knockout Pics



Monday 27 December 2010

Goldust talks about his drug issues

WWE talent Dustin Rhodes (a/k/a Goldust) speaks frankly and openly about his journey through the professional wrestling industry in his newly released autobiography, Cross Rhodes: Goldust, Out of the Darkness. He gives a no-holds barred account of his severe drug problems, which notably persisted during his two stints with TNA Wrestling. In the book, he admits that his issues had worsened to the point that he was using cocaine prior to matches for the organization in 2005. Regarding this, he wrote:




"Eventually, and thanks to my dad, I started working for Total Nonstop Action for $1,000 a show. He was the boss, right under Dixie Carter. TNA wasn't doing too well at that point, but I had a job making okay money. I could drive home just about every night. All I was doing was what little I had to do in the ring, then hanging out spending my money on coke, pills, and booze.



"I started making excuses for why I couldn't hang with Dakota. Subconsciously I probably knew I didn't want her around me or my girlfriend because the environment was so toxic. Despite the chaos, I showed up every night for work. I have no idea how I was able to stay on point with work at that time. One of my cardinal rules was never to drink before I worked a match. I wouldn't consider doing coke before a match either. I'd take painkillers, fine. I had been taking painkillers for so long that I had convinced myself I really need them. I was taking medicine because I worked in a tough business. That was the story I had cemented into my mind. But drugs have a way of altering everything, including the stories you tell yourself. Eventually, I started doing a little coke before matches while retaining my vow to never drink alcohol before I go into the ring, as if that was something to be proud of."



Rhodes parted ways with TNA Wrestling after being arrested on April 25, 2005 and charged with misdemeanor battery following a domestic incident with his girlfriend at the Hard Rock Hotel in Orlando, Florida. He would return to the organization two years later as the split personality character Black Reign. He said that time was the hardest period of his life as his painkiller usage increased.



"Every morning, as soon as I pulled myself out of bed, I'd take three Vicodins or Lortabs just to get moving. I was sore and pretty banged up physically, but over time pain pills exaggerated rather than eliminated whatever pain I was feeling. It was a slow process for me to get into the day. I'd get that first rush from pills and then I'd get moving. I might do something around the house, or jump into my truck and drive to the river to work on this book."



He continues disclosing his severe self-medication issues, which culminated with the following in early 2008:



"I was probably taking close to forty pills a day at the end. I was so desperate that I actually bought pain pills from drug dealers because I would run out long before I could find another doctor to write a prescription. If I dropped a pill and it fell into the carpet, I would spend hours down on my hands and knees trying to find it. At the same time I was drinking so much that I'd wake up dizzy and unable to walk.



"Finally, after a three-day binge, I'd had enough. It was raining, I pulled myself up and walked right out the door. The rain was pouring down and I stumbled up a hill near this house where I knew I could get cell-phone reception. Somehow, I managed to call my dad. It was four thirty in the morning. I was falling down the hill in the mud. Ta-rel (his girlfriend) was trying to hold me up. I was scared half to death. I managed to get into the house, soaking wet.



"I had found the bottom."



Rhodes, still affiliated with TNA Wrestling, then reveals calling Ann Russo-Gordon, the liaison between World Wrestling Entertainment and talent who take up the company's offer for rehab. He remained locked away in a rehabilitation center for thirty days to face his demons and was successful. He credits his family and WWE, which he also considers family, for helping him turn his life around. He says he has remained sober since May 20, 2008.






Thursday 23 December 2010

WWE TLC 2010 PPV Review

WWE TLC: Tables Ladders & Chairs 2010WWE TLC 2010 PPV Review


By Phil Allely

Considering the WWE’s current PG orientated programming an event that features tables, ladders and chairs as a theme is one that should justifiably raise a few eyebrows. This year’s effort was a thoroughly decent one and whilst a few of the matches missed their mark, most did the job.

Things kicked off well as Dolph Ziggler put his Intercontinental Title on the line in a ladder match against Kofi Kingston and Jack Swagger. All three had their work boots on and happily risked life and limb to entertain. Vickie Guerrero even stepped through the ropes to assist Ziggler. A slightly botched ending couldn’t harm proceeding s, as Kingston and Swagger battled for the belt atop the ladder the strap slipped to the mat between them and into Ziggler’s hands to retain his gold.

Next up the Divas got their teeth into stunt matches, Michelle McCool and Layla facing formidable teammates Beth Phoenix and Natalya in a table match. Both pairings had a great brawl, trading the advantage and proving that the Divas division of the WWE has got some decent workers in it. The ending came after the table refused to break and Natalya had to hit a nice double cross body to put LayCool down through it to ensure the win for her team.

The nexus showed their force in the WWE tag Team Title match, champions Santino Marella and Vladimir Kozlov were kept on their toes as opponents heath Slater and Justin Gabriel (with assistance from fellow Nexus members Husky Harris and Michael McGillicuty) pulled every rule braking tactic they could out of their arsenal. Kozlov and Marella managed to retain their belts via DQ after a Harris and McGullicuty run in. The Nexus boys beat down the champs afterwards too for good measure.

With a WWE title shot hanging above the ring Sheamus and John Morrison assembled a rather good match up. Battling in and out of the ring they soon took to using a ladder as a weapon and both taking some risky ladder oriented bumps. Morrison pulled off the surprise win and takes one step closer to winning the prestigious WWE Title in doing so.

WWE Champion The Miz (with Alex Riley in tow) faced challenger randy Orton in a Tables match, putting his belt on the line against the unpredictable Orton. The combatants may not have gelled as well as planned, but with Riley in the mix and the table based nature of the bout, there was enough going on to disguise the failings. With Riley’s help Miz was able to retain his gold and take one more win in his quest to defend the belt at Wrestlemania, a re-start couldn’t help Orton’s fate as he finally found himself lying amongst a shattered table courtesy of Miz.

In a TLC match World Heavyweight Champion Kane saw his latest title reign end, but with a decent calibre of opponents to face (Alberto Del Rio, Rey Mysterio) and a very hungry Edge chomping at the bit to win back the belt, the end was pretty much inevitable. With tables, ladders and chairs at their disposal the foursome had a blast tearing down the house with as many set-pieces, dangerous moves and high spots to keep all those in attendance and at home on the edge of their seats. Considering Mysterio’s knee issues and other injuries he played a blinder, Del Rio is fast proving himself to be main event material and Edge and Kane did their veteran bit to perfection. Edge overcoming the competition to climb the ladder and nab the title.

After a brief interlude with The Bella twins, Cody Rhodes and Big Show (as Santa) the action switched to John Cena versus Wade Barrett in a chairs match.

With Cena systematically knocking nexus members down throughout the show Barrett had no one to help him here (even CM Punk on colour commentary sat back and watched). With chairs in hand the Nexus frontman and Cena had a good looking brawl around the ringside area and arena, sometimes slipping back into the ring for a while to rest up and contemplate their next move. The fun ended with a ring full of chairs and a nice looking attitude adjustment by Cena on a prone Barrett for the win. A post match beat down by Cena saw the show end with Barrett lying beneath the ring ramp and Cena celebrating his win.

TLC was a good way for the WWE to round off a year of ups and downs. It was great to see Edge win the Title, John Cena perhaps end his nexus feud and the Divas Division rise to the occasion with a fine tables contest. The lack of blood and overt violence on WWE programming has hampered many match concepts, but the viewing figures are still high and with many big names due to return soon things are looking good for 2011. Roll on the Royal Rumble.







Playboy Model Turns Down WWE

The Los Angeles Times has a story on the surging popularity of Reby Sky, a 24-year-old Playboy model who hosts Lucha Libre USA: Masked Warriors on MTV2 and pro wrestling talk show Busted Open on Sirius 125/XM 241. Sky wrote last week on Twitter that she had rejected a contract offer from World Wrestling Entertainment, which caused a spike in online searches related to her. Searches pertaining to Reby Sky broke the top 20 in Google Trends twice this week. The spike in interest caused her website to shut down due to capacity issues. The tweet, which has since been deleted, indicated that she could not accept WWE's offer due to her contract with MTV

Lawler makes TV moments list

Jerry Lawler's slap on Andy Kaufman has been named the 30th Greatest Moment in Television history according to the David Letterman segment in the new issue of The Hollywood Reporter. The moment was featured higher than the likes of the OJ Simpson chase, the fall of the Berlin Wall and Elvis Presley's debut on the Ed Sullivan show.

Mickie James Pics

Mickie james Pics

Hulk Hogan recovering from back surgery

The Hulkster is said to be recovering well from his recent back surgery. This is his most recent surgery in a matter of years and this time is a form of spinal fusion. Whether Hogan will ever wrestle again is yet to be seen. Grapplers like Shawn Michaels and Kurt Angle have been able to compete again after fusion surgery, but Hogan's age and condition may put paid to him returning to action for TNA.

Wednesday 22 December 2010

Angelina Love Pics







Tammy 'Sunny' Sytch some new pics



Hogan Hospitalised

- RadarOnline.com reports today that TNA star Hulk Hogan checked into a Tampa, Florida hospital for another back surgery this morning. Radar's source says that Hogan may be hospitalized through Christmas but could be out as early as the New Year.




Radar's source said: “The idea is to look for real solutions because of the ongoing wear and tear.”

Tuesday 21 December 2010

Card for the upcoming Raw event in MSG

Below is what is advertised for Sunday’s WWE RAW live event in Madison Square Garden, New York:




-The Miz vs. John Cena vs. Randy Orton vs. Wade Barrett in a four-way cage match for the WWE Championship.



-Roddy Piper hosts Piper’s Pit with special guest Sgt. Slaughter.



-Michael Cole will appear to deliver special messages form the Raw general manager.



-A 12-man battle royal.



-Daniel Bryan defends the U.S. Championship against the winner of the battle royal.



-John Morrison vs. King Sheamus in a New York Street Fight.



-Melina and Eve vs. Alicia Fox and Mayrse in a Santa’s Little Helper match.



-David Hart Smith vs. Tyson Kidd.



-Santino Marella and Vladimir Kozlov vs. The Nexus for the WWE Tag Titles.



-The Bellas appear as hosts.



Remember to join W-E on Facebook

Paul London lets rip on the WWE

Former WWE Cruiserweight and Tag Team Champion Paul London pulled no punches in a lengthy interview published in the latest issue of Power Slam as he candidly discussed his five-year run with World Wrestling Entertainment (which he calls "The Entertainers"), the wide array of characters he came into contact there, and much more.




Regarding a possible return to the organization that ultimately did not live up to his expectations, he said wouldn't go back for all the money in the world.



"I think it should be changed to Take A Squat On WWE," he responded regarding the organization's Stand Up for WWE campaign. "It's a joke. It's a nasty place. I wouldn't go back there for a gazillion dollars. Not for all the money in the world."

Monday 20 December 2010

DVD Review: WWE Raw - The Beginning : The Best of Seasons 1 & 2

WWE Raw - The Beginning : The Best of Seasons 1 & 2




By Phil Allely



Back in 1993 the WWE (then the WWF) decided to up the ante in terms of it’s wrestling TV output and created what would become its flagship show Monday Night Raw. The show all but revolutionised the concept of weekly Grappling shows and helped to kick start one of the hottest times in the industry the legendary Monday Night Wars between WWF and its nearest rival WCW. This four disc set takes a look at the first two years of Raw and offers forth a nice insight into just what was happening in this historic period of Vince McMahon’s company history.



The idea of Monday Night Raw was that instead of the constant stream of squash matches that WWE programming offered until then, the shows would sprinkle in many top class match-ups and even title challenges (including the odd title change). This all helped elevate the show to it’s current state as the number one wrestling show in the world.



Some of the confrontations on offer do pale in comparison to the events that we se these days on free TV, but back then such matches as Ric Flair versus Mr Perfect, Lex Luger versus Crush and Shawn Michaels versus Marty Jannetty were things that we all usually had to pay for on PPV or in the case of the UK shell out for a video tape of the event.



Over the course of this set there are some great moment to become nostalgic, there are events like the 123 Kid’s (Shawn ’XPac’ Waltman) upset win over Razor Ramon (Scott Hall), Yozozuna decimating the roster, Doink The Clown’s debut, Bret Hart’s rise from a tag team master to World Title Contender, Macho Man Randy Savage’s final run as a top class performer, Jeff Jarrett’s debut in the WWE, comic character Duke ‘The Dumpster’ Drosse’s appearance and Shawn Michaels career skyrocketing as he turned heel on his former partner Jannetty.



Raw in 1993-1994 was where we all looked to for our entertainment and for a retro look back at the era where muscle men vanished and characters and performers took over you really cannot fault this first instalment of the Raw story. Just how impressive other entries will be is another and one for another time.



This DVD set gets a lofty 8 our of 10 and deserves a spot on every WWE fans shelf.



WWE Raw The Beginning: The Best of Seasons 1 & 2 is available now, check out www.silvervision.co.uk for more information.