Sunday 30 September 2012

Kelly Kelly News

Rob Feinstein of RF Video, who coordinates wrestler appearances at trade shows, posted a lengthy blog on his Facebook page detailing his recent negotiations for the former Kelly Kelly, Barbie Blank, to appear at next month's "Legends of the Ring" convention in Monroe, New Jersey. The former Diva's agent verbally agreed to a deal six weeks ago, but it fell through Friday after Feinstein was informed that her asking price to appear at independent events had increased to $10,000. Feinstein writes, "I make it a rule to NEVER bury anyone in the wrestling business publicly if a deal goes wrong. Well in this case I want to inform anybody who might be a fan of Barbie Banks (FKA Kelly Kelly) on how her manager conducts business. To say I am pissed is a understatement. This is no way reflect Barbie Banks FKA Kelly Kelly. "About 6 weeks ago we struck a verbal deal to bring her into Legends of the Ring. We were told by her manger that she was going to be able to do outside projects while she was still under WWE contract. It really made no sense but she told me that she was in the progress of getting her a new deal that would allow this. She told me that we had a done deal and we agreed on terms. We just never signed a deal because she wanted to wait until she got a new contract which I was told would be a week. "A week went by and than I was told that because of the holiday labor day I would have to wait another week. When that week passed I was told that Barbie had to do something personal and we would have to wait another week to see if she was medically cleared to make it to our show. To me that is when things got fishy. I informed her manager that two weeks ago you told me we had a deal and we were just waiting for the paper work to go thru. Now things seemed fishy. Well later that week I was informed that she was not going to be able to make it because WWE at the time was not giving her another contract. Honestly none of this made sense to me but I thought that maybe it was true because I have heard she was trying to get a new deal to do outside projects. "So after 3 weeks or so of being put on hold finally her agent told me the deal was dead and we would have to wait until March to book her. We left everything on great terms even though I was pissed for being put thru the windmill for 3 weeks. "I went out and booked Shane Helms instead which is great. "On Friday I get a call from her agent again out of the blue asking me if its to late to book Kelly for Legends of the Ring and now she was able to do it. I told her I only had two weeks now to promote this and I wanted a better rate. I also had to talk to the promoter of Legends of the Ring and get his approval since I once already told him I had her and than had to tell him I lost her. I called up James who is always professional and told him that I could get her again and that I would feel more comfortable if he talked to her agent with me to confirm everything. "We had a three way call and we came to terms on money, the times and everything. All we needed to do was sign off on the deal. She than asked me for the address of the venue and the times and everything you would put into a contract. I told her I would sign it as soon as I looked it over and we agreed on the phone I would be able to announce this today. "A hour after we talked I was informed by the agent that someone called with in the hour that we struck our deal and offered Kelly more money that weekend for another event. She than basically tried to hold me up for more money asking well cant I match the deal and I told her no way we already verbally comitted to a deal. "The professional thing to do here was to tell the other party you already stuck a deal for that date and you would work with them in the future. That is how you conduct proper business in wrestling. A deal is a deal and especially in this business you stick to your word. "She than told me she had to talk to Barbie and she would call me back. Well with in 4 minutes I got a text no call…..just a text saying that she talked to Barbie and that Barbie decided to go with the other guy. It was obvious she never talked to her as many people in that circle told me that it was so wrong to do. I also want to point out that I had given her at least 10 other dates at the time. For the record her asking price is 10k a shot…you do the match….We had alot of money on the table over the next 7 months with her. "I informed James of the situation and to say he was not happy was a understatement. James texted her and tried to get her to call him but she refused saying that we never had a deal which was a total lie. "We had a deal, we agreed and everything was set. Like I said in wrestling when you verbally committ and tell someone your drawing up a contract its a deal. I told her agent that I have worked with everyone from the Rock which I had at my store before, to every big name in the business and that this was a first. Of course she did not reply and I just wanted to let everyone know that because of this the fans of her will not be getting to meet her at the upcoming legends convention. "I will never work with her agent again unless she gives us the proper apology and does business the right way. "I never like to work with agents in wrestling for this reason. They do not understand the wrestling business and usually end up costing their clients money, in this case ALOT of money. "I was not going to pay her full price because we had a deal set because of all the dates but now that is all off the table. So if you book her beware of what your getting yourself into. "Again this does not reflect on Barbie just the person taking her bookings."

Thursday 27 September 2012

Katarina 'Winter' Waters Interview Highlights

Former WWE Diva and TNA Women's Knockouts Champion Katarina Waters (a/k/a Katie Lea Burchill and Winter) joined Kayfabe Wrestling Radio this week to discuss her time in Ohio Valley Wrestling and learning the WWE style of wrestling, the incest angle with Paul Burchill, her WrestleMania experiences and more. Highlights from the interview are as follows: If her early background in drama and theater helped her developing a character for wrestling: "Yeah, I would say it helped, especially the improvisational part helped, because there's just so many times when you're just thrown out there and given just a general note of what you're supposed to be saying; you know, what your bullet points are and you're supposed to create a whole conversation around it and make it interesting and varied and in turn with the character that you're trying to portray. Especially the improvisation then helps; just that you have experience and that it's not regular bunny-in-the-headlights 'Oh God, what am I going to say next', but that it's something that you're used to and feel more confident doing that. So, I'd say that especially helps. And then with the character building, I guess a lot of wresting is being able to portray a character that you sort of secretly want to be, a lot of the time; not always, obviously. But if you really get to pick and choose who you can be, you know, the evil "B" that you never get to be in real life; maybe you grew up being very nice and polite to everybody, at least you get to scream and shout and swear and be this horrible being. Yeah, it's fun." On her days in OVW and learning the "WWE Style": "Al Snow was in charge of us (OVW Divas), and I think that Al Snow is one of the people I've learned more from than anybody else. He's such a great teacher and really the WWE style made a lot of sense, especially the way he was able to explain it because it's all about the story; storytelling in the ring and the dramatics and the story between the two people that will keep you watching rather than just some moves, one next to the other. So, in that sense, I was really grateful to be able to learn that and understand that and I'm still grateful now when I go to do shows, that I have that knowledge, that I got in OVW; that I have that in the back of my mind that I can use. It was just a really great learning experience, especially because Al and Danny Davis were writing the TV show. So, you were able to go to Al with ideas for storylines and for your character and he would help you put together something that, if what you suggested didn't work, he would explain why and what to change, but he would always take your ideas on board so that you could learn from your own creativity and be creative. It was a really awesome experience." Her character in WWE and the possible 'incest' angle with Paul Burchill: "I thought it was going to be a wonderful idea. I mean, I knew it could eventually end up disastrous but it could also be amazing. I mean, who is not interested in that? Any time the mainland TV show has run some kind of incest angle, it's been the most talked about thing. I don't know if you guys do that over here; in England, we've had a few of those going on. I thought it was alright to refer to the film 'The Crow' where you have Top Dollar, the bad guy, and his sister or half-sister have some kind of thing going on there between them. I just figured it would be something like that where it's kind of implied by not right there; maybe a tease and maybe it would come out a bit more or maybe it was just an unspoken kind of thing. But wither way, I really felt it was something intriguing and that people would be fascinated by and would want to watch. I was all for it. What the Wrestlemania experience was like for her, for both events she was at: "Well, the thing is for me, growing up Wrestlemania didn't stand out amongst the other PPVs. To me, Royal Rumble, Survivor Series, Wrestlemania, King of the Ring; I really didn't understand, really, the difference. Like I didn't see Wrestlemania as being the uber-supershow, because I wasn't that plugged into it; I was just watching on TV, you know, in Germany. So for me, any PPV they had then, not right now where they have one every month, but back then when it was the 4 or 5 big ones, that was (PPVs) a big deal, in general. In hindsight obviously it's 'Wow, I was at Wrestlemania" so that's awesome. But Wrestlemania didn't stand out for me as a bigger PPV that the others. But that being said, it's still something I can say "I was at TWO Wrestlemanias"; that's pretty savvy." Who truly came up with her Winter gimmick in TNA; herself or Vince Russo?: "I think that's a difficult question to answer because he basically came up with the thing, the story and that, and he would tell you pretty much what to say and then you also have to, as an actress or a performer, change around little pieces and you have to make your own, but I'd have to say Vince essentially came up with it and I changed it out; you know how you have those coloring books, Vince was the one who gave me the coloring book, and hopefully, maybe, I put the right colors into it." In this 50-minute interview, Waters also discusses if she was more comfortable growing up German or British, who made the decision for her to be promoted to the main WWE roster, social media's place in wrestling, the infamous ‘future endeavored’ speech from WWE, being an action figure, WWE's marketing of women's wrestling, leaving TNA Wrestling, her future and more. The interview is available at WildTalkRadio.com.

New WW Brock Lesnar DVD News

Silvervision.co.uk has released the trailer for WWE's upcoming Brock Lesnar video release, Brock Lesnar - Here Comes the Pain!. The majority of the content will be the same as the 2003 DVD of the same title, but updated with new footage and interviews to reflect Lesnar's 2004 departure and return to the organization. The synopsis for the product reads: "The night after WrestleMania XXVIII, Brock Lesnar made a shocking return to the ring and leveled John Cena with an F-5, sending a message that after eight years, the pain is back! In 2002 and 2003, The Next Big Thing brought it to the biggest and baddest competition in WWE, becoming the youngest WWE Champion of all time and a household name virtually overnight. His awe-inspiring physique, amateur championship pedigree and affinity for punishing opponents made him an unstoppable force in the ring. Now, after years of dominating the MMA scene, Brock is back and looking to steamroll the biggest Superstars of today. This rerelease of the 2003 DVD, Here Comes the Pain, includes the original documentary that chronicles Brock's meteoric rise to fame, as well as six hours of additional matches not included on the original DVD! Plus, here Brock's controversial comments upon his return to sport entertainment! . Fans can experience classic matches against Hulk Hogan, Undertaker, Rey Mysterio, Randy Orton and many more!" The set will be released on DVD and Blu-ray on Oct. 30, 2012. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yOzyB_7lRKI&feature=player_embedded

Wednesday 26 September 2012

Former WWE Writer Interview Highlights

Former WWE writer Court Bauer joined Konnan and Mister Saint Laurent on MLW Radio and talked about the friction between John Cena and Vince McMahon regarding Cena's surgery last week: "John Cena has this procedure done in Birmingham, AL. WWE.com puts out there that he'll be down for only two weeks and that life will go on. It was basically like removal of fragments and bone spurs in his arm or his elbow, which if you follow sports, baseball players have it done all the time, usually in the office season. NFL guys will have it done here or there. It's a pretty easy deal. So, I don't think anyone was thinking it was going to be this long stretched out thing, but then the reports came out about how long John Cena was going to be down for. John Cena then took to Twitter saying that WWE.com got the story wrong and that he's going to be out for a full six [weeks] and he just buried WWE.com and all the guys over there. The story obviously then switched to 'now he's out six weeks.'" "From what I know, Vince McMahon himself, in the agent meeting, the producers meeting, told everyone straight up the dude is out for just two weeks, 'we dodged a bullet and that he's very much in the mix moving forward.' That was Tuesday, he said that. Then Cena had very different things to say and I understand WWE.com did talk to James Andrews [Cena's doctor], who WWE and Cena did give them the blessing to talk to. That's standard protocol at WWE. They always try to interview the doctor, get insight so they can have the news. Sometimes it's a kayfabe site and sometimes it's a legit news site. Sometimes it's a TMZ site, but that's the story. They interviewed him and Dr. James Andrews did say he'd be out just two weeks." "So you have to wonder if Vince and the doctor said it and Cena is saying six weeks, there is an interesting issue there. Is it that John Cena wanted the full six weeks out? Was John Cena then told something after Tuesdays that conflicted with this? But it was very quickly thereafter they reported it on the website that this was not in fact the situation. The reality of it is, John Cena is coming off a divorce, he's beaten up. He's got a bad neck, a bad hip, bad everything. He's closing in on 36. The wear and tear of a guy like that, that goes, goes, goes and is a company man, you gotta think about." "And if you're Vince McMahon, you look at the clock, you look at the calendar and you think, is it time to build the next John Cena?"

Tuesday 25 September 2012

WWE DVD Review - Falls Count Anywhere

WWE DVD Review : Falls Count Anywhere In recent years many loyal WWE fans have complained about the company embracing a PG rated format and thus (the once prominent of old) blood and violence becoming second fiddle to story line's and more. This new release (Falls Count Anywhere) gives those fans old and new a wonderful trip back in time to see what the federation once delivered on a regular basis. Over the course of the discs we get to see all manner of matches that have strayed beyond the normal realms of regular bout style and for that we must welcome this addition to the WWE DVD release calendar. Across the discs we get to see some of the finest and most brutal match-ups from not only the WWE roster (across the decades), but the WCW and ECW ones too. These are (for the main) matches that we the fans have yet to own on DVD and also ones that perfectly highlight just how each promotion at the time handled such matches that took things beyond the norm. As WWE release go this is one of the best to appear this year. This set features violence, blood and some very brutal moves. All of which just go to show how the world of wrestling has changed in recent years. 'Falls Count Anywhere' showcases such athletes as Mick Foley, Sting, Ric Flair, Triple H and many others in its duration. Each one receives a worthy accolade along the way too. Newer fans may struggle to learn who some older grappler's are, but for anyone interested in the industry this is a release that will appeal to many . WWE Falls Count Anywhere is on general release now. Www.silvervsion.co.uk By Phil Allely

CM Punk Interview Highlights

In a newly published interview with SunSport, WWE Champion CM Punk commented on becoming a hated figure again and his alignment with Paul Heyman. For Punk, getting fans to react to his character is one of the best parts about being a WWE Superstar. “Anytime I get to do stuff hands-on I’m more into it. To me I started to feel like I wasn’t where I should be at that stage, creatively. And I wanted to get there," Punk said. "To me it’s the name of the game – you have to evolve. You have to constantly change. I think the best wrestlers have always evolved." He continued, “I’ve never been the same for too long, but my changes have always been extremely logical. I don’t just wake up one day and I’m a different character. I’ve pretty much always been the same guy, I’ve just dialed things up or dialed things down certain things based on the circumstances. It’s important to not be a phoney, to not just one day say one thing and then the next day say another. Then people will never buy you’re whole stick if you are that wishy-washy.” A little over a year after referencing himself as a "Paul Heyman guy" during his infamous speech chastising WWE brass, Punk is now aligned with the man. He said, “I’m very excited about it. It’s pretty crazy to me. We’ve never gotten to work together in front of the camera. "I have worked with him extensively behind the camera. I think a lot of people are in for a treat." Punk also dismissed people who feel he shouldn't have a mouthpiece. “Rick Rude didn’t need anyone to talk for him, and Paul Heyman was his manager. Bobby Heenan didn’t need to talk for Ric Flair. Those are two examples of great duos," said Punk. “You’ll just have to wait to see what happens.”

Monday 17 September 2012

Kurt Angle Interview Highlights

Speaking to ChadDukesWrestlingShow.com, Kurt Angle discussed his movie career, various stars of TNA Wrestling talents, wrestlers small in stature being involved in the heavyweight championship scene and whether he still aspires to compete in mixed martial arts. Highlights from the interview are as follows: Whether he's still interested in competing in mixed martial arts: "The last time I talked was two and a half years ago with Dana White, I took the UFC physical. We just couldn’t come to terms on a starting time. I wanted it 3-6 months, Dana needed me in four and a half weeks and I understand he wanted me to be ready and he needed me at that point and it just wasn’t gonna work out." When asked whether White had an opponent in mind for Angle, he responded, "Well, they wanted me to be on Ultimate Fighter but I told them I wouldn’t do it for free. So he came up with a very nice deal, that being I would get paid very well for that, thank god, and a 6 fight deal. I didn’t want to go in there half prepared. I wanted to go in there full blown. I’m 43 now, I tried out for the Olympics or I was going to and I got injured five different times last year. So my body’s just not holding up the way I want it to so I don’t think it’s going to be a possibility." On being the go-to guy in assisting new talent in getting over: "I really enjoyed it, I took it as a compliment. At TNA they did the same thing. They’d bring in somebody like the Pope or Mr. Anderson or whoever else that was coming in that was coming from WWE or had somewhat of a name, the first program they’d do would be with me. I’ve always enjoyed that it’s a good challenge and Desmond Wolfe was another one that came from Ring of Honor. So I like that and I know that the company has faith in me. Both WWE did and TNA had the faith in me to make the guys look as good as I could." Whether Austin Aries is too small to be TNA World Heavyweight Champion: "No. I think Austin Aries as champion, I think he deserves it, he’s an awesome talent. Chris Benoit and Eddie Guerrero, unfortunately their tragedies really damaged the ability for smaller guys to step up and become champions. I don’t know why but I think they were just unfortunate. I don’t think it was because of their size, I think they were just terrible tragedies that happened with both those families and it’s gotten a little bit of a bad reputation now, the under 6 foot club and I don’t think it should be that way. I think any size is a good size."

Saturday 15 September 2012

Katarina 'Winter' Waters Interview Highlights

Katarina “Winter” Waters was a guest on this week’s “Running The Ropes” hosted by Brian Bertand & Chris Kelly , which can be heard on http://www.snsradionetwork.com & http://www.unchained-wwe.com, and below are some of the highlights: Her thoughts on the teased incest angle between Paul Burchill and herself: "I can’t exactly remember who (came up with the idea), it was put to us by one of the agents and honestly, I thought it was a great idea. I was totally for it and I thought it could have been cool, something like “The Crow” where you have the bad guy with the sister and they teased that incest thing. It has that ambivalent “you don’t know if it is happening or isn’t happening” feeling but people are kind excited about it. Any incest angle that has been on any kind of television had amazing ratings as people are fascinated by anything that is a little taboo. I thought we were lucky to have a storyline that would have been a little “on the edge” but unfortunately, with the whole PG thing, it got nixed." The idea behind the “drugging “Angelina Love storyline: "It’s about the lingering effects. It’s like when you take a drug a lot (to a point) where certain parts of your brain with simulate to the effects of the drug and it might change you forever. So seeing as I was drugging Angelina and putting her under my hypnotic spell, eventually it just so happened her brain altered itself in tune with the drug." Her feelings about her 18 day Knockout’s title reign last year before dropping it to Mickie James then regaining it: "Honestly, I thought it was kind of pointless with the little switch-a-roo in between. Sometimes it’s worth building the storyline with one person holding the championship for a little longer. The same thing happened when Velvet (Sky) won it (at Bound For Glory), she was built up at the top babyface and finally she won it and she dropped it immediately and I felt like it was kind of weird." Her thoughts on leaving TNA Wrestling and if she is happier now she has left: "I’m happier because I’m making the transition into acting to where I don’t want to be restricted by contacts or obligations to a wrestling company. I still love wrestling but in terms of having a career, I’m not going to have a career in wrestling now, I’m going to have a career in acting. I don’t want a thing that could stand in the way of that number one, and number two, I don’t want to constantly be on the road and constantly traveling for wrestling as I don’t want to get injured.

Friday 14 September 2012

TNA Review - No Surrender 2012

TNA PPV Review – No Surrender 2012 By Phil Allely Jeff Hardy overcame the odds at TNA's No Surrender PPV to win a the number contender spot at the company's upcoming Bound For Glory event. The entire PPV was overshadowed by the sneak attack heavy group called the Aces and 8's and their decimation of the TNA roster. The run-ins and dodgy finishes that were missing from previous PPV's returned too unfortunately. Hardy kicked off proceedings with a nice win over Samoa Joe in the first semi final of the BFG series. Jeff and Joe unleashed a world of hate on each here and swiftly drew the crowd into the zone with them. The action swayed to and fro, near falls were attempted and the finish came as Hardy took advantage of an arm injury to the Samoan and countered a move with a roll-up to progress. Many fans thinking this year was James Storm's chance to shine were shocked by the result of the next encounter. Facing Bully Ray Storm put forth a well-paced scrap and seemed set to fulfil his destiny and win that elusive World Title Match. Ray of course took every heel short cut he could throughout the match and after a ref bump, Bobby Roode hit the ring to deck Storm with a beer bottle and allow Ray the all important pin. The Knockouts Title match between champ Miss Tessmacher and challenger Tara saw the friends trade near falls, trademark moves and some decent looking exchanges. Tessamacher retained her gold to prove her loss on Impact! was a fluke. Up next TNA World Heavyweight Champion Austin Aries (in street clothes) battled Aces & 8's man The Armbreaker in a stiff looking encounter. The pair took it in and out of the ring, Aries gave as good as he got here. Armbreaker received an assist from his fellow group members after Aries nailed a brainbuster, the TNA locker room (including The Hulkster) hit the ring to even things up and chase the gang away. The X Division Title was up for grab next, with Sonjay Dutt challenging champion Zema Ion. This fast-paced match perfectly highlighted the enthusiasm the division has and can have provided the correct talent are utilised. Ion retained his gold after a series of good looking near falls. Rob Van Dam and Magnus then had a reasonable, although not too overwhelming match. The pair gelled well, but never really got off the starting blocks. Van Dam's style proving to be a slight problem for the more European influenced grappler. RVD hit a 'Five Star Frog Splash' on a prone Magnus to send the Brit home with a loss. With Kurt angle nursing a leg injury the Tag Team Title match between him and team mate AJ Styles against champions Kazarian and Daniels was mainly Styles heavy. Angle worked where he could and hit some nice looking suplexe's etc too. The action was good to very good throughout and the Kaz/Daniels combo played their parts well, Styles took a hammering and still out performed all the talent featured. With Angle down at ringside and Styles prone Daniels threw his martini in his opponents face to allow Kaz an easy pin. The main event saw an injured (from the earlier Aces & 8's scrap) Jeff Hardy face Bully Ray with a Bound For Glory World Title shot on the line in the final of the BFG series. After a short stall featuring Hulk Hogan Hardy took to the ring (selling his injuries) and offered up a great selection of counter moves to Ray's brutal shots. Hardy through sheer will and determination fought through the pain to nail a Swanton and net himself the 'series' winning pin. No Surrender may have been a an event where the afore mentioned run-in and outside involvement prevailed over natural results. The matches for the most part were good to excellent and we now have a challenger for Austin Aries title at BFG. The Ace's and 8's storyline is progressing nicely and fans are now primed for the eventual reveal of who the group may be. Running The Ropes may have been left slightly let down by No Surrender, but the potential for BFG overshadows that. Www.impactwrestlingcom By Phil Allely

Booker T Interview Highlights

Current SmackDown G.M and multi-time World Champion, Booker T, took to the hot seat with AllWrestling.com’s show host, Dan the Cannon. In a 2.5 hour long interview, he talked about various things ranging from his autobiography to personal and professional life. Highlights from the interview are given below: On His Book (From Prison to Promise): About his autobiography that released on Sep. 1st, he says that he wanted to write it for a long time. According to him, it is an honest book that talks about his troubles and eventual triumph. On His Early Life: He shares how difficult his early life was. He lost his parents at a very young age and had difficulty in making friends. He also shares his jail experience and in his words he learned a lot from that experience and wouldn’t like to change that. On Family and Son: He discusses how he had to fight for his son and prove that he was worthy of being a father to his son. On the prospects of his son joining wrestling, he cleared that he hasn’t talked about it with his son. He also discussed working with Sharmell and the ‘King and Queen’ gimmick they had together. Booker T spoke about being on the road without a break and how the schedule affects his family life. On Early Career: He says that he’d always dreamt of becoming a wrestler and that wrestling has totally changed his life. He also thanks his fans for their continuous support. He also says that he was never greedy about the belts. He also discusses his time in the Texas Indy scene and the racial issues he had to face in GWF, and how things eventually changed. On His Gimmicks: He talks about the multiple characters he has played over the years, including G.I. Bro, and King Booker. Also, according to him, Spinaroonie helped him win over fans. He also discusses how the move was born and how it immediately changed people’s reaction towards him. Time in WCW: He was spotted by Sid Vicious, who brought him into the company from where his true success story began. He also sheds light on his first title reign, backstage environment and the difficulties he had to face to reach the position he has reached. He also credited many people, such as Vince Russo, for his success in WCW. Time in WWE/F: He explains how he had to go through a character development session when he joined the ‘E. He also sheds light on working with names, such as Steve Austin and Kurt Angle. He discussed his early feuds and famous scenes, such as the supermarket brawl with Austin. Time in TNA: He discusses his stint in TNA, where he was a part of a famous stable, Main Event Mafia. He also praises the up and coming TNA stars, such as James Storm and Robert Roode. On Current Phase: On the PG era, he says that things have changed and one has to make every move carefully. He also said that he enjoyed his stint as a commentator and he always wanted to try his hands at it. He also talked about the social media rage and how it affects the business. According to him, people have to be responsible regarding social media and be careful with their words. On Relationship with Colleagues: He talks about Chris Benoit in detail, and also states that he has great respect for JR, who helped him a lot in his career. Talking about friends, he says that he considers JBL and Michael Cole great friends, and has good relationship with backstage people. He also appreciated The Rock and says that he has no problem with Dwayne working in the ‘E. Other Things: He discusses his time as a trainer, and how much fun he had training the newcomers. He says that he considers himself a ‘teacher’ and not a trainer. He also discusses being the general manager and how he was not prepared for it. On Future: He says that in his opinion the business is in good hands and he has great expectations from guys like Cody Rhodes and Dolph Ziggler. However, he says that he has yet to see the next ‘superstar’. On his own future plans, he says that he is thinking of coming up with an improved wrestling school so that he can churn out talent. As far as HOF is concerned, he says that he has never thought about it, but it would be great to be inducted. Other than this, he talked about various other controversial topics including his favorites, the firing of Abraham Washington, regrets in his life, possible DVD, invasion angle and many more. You can listen to the complete interview here.

TNA Announce Bound For Glory PPV US Theatre Deal

TNA WRESTLING ANNOUNCES PARTNERSHIP WITH SCREENVISION TO BRING “BOUND FOR GLORY” PAY-PER-VIEW EVENT TO THEATERS NATIONWIDE TNA Wrestling’s Biggest Pay-Per-View Event of the Year “Bound For Glory” to be shown Live on Sunday, October 14, 2012 in more than 100 theaters across the United States NASHVILLE, TN (September 13, 2012) – TNA Wrestling teams up with Screenvision, a leading innovator in cinema advertising and alternative content programming, to once again bring the biggest Pay-Per-View event of the year, “Bound For Glory,” to fans nationwide in more than 100 theaters across the country live on October 14. The event, presented by Direct Auto Insurance, will be delivered to theaters primarily by Microspace Digital Cinema's satellite distribution system. The exciting collaboration of TNA and Screenvision forms a one-of-a-kind viewing experience. TNA offers this exclusive event in high-definition and surround sound because nothing means more to IMPACT WRESTLING than its dedicated fan-base. In addition to this unique experience, everyone attending this live in-theater event will receive special messaging explaining how to receive free TNA “Bound For Glory” 2012 T-shirts. "Following the success of our previous events, TNA Wrestling is thrilled to continue our partnership with Screenvision," stated TNA Vice President of Marketing, Michael Weber. "Screenvision has proven to be a dynamic partner with an exciting platform that offers a captivating fan experience." "Theater, concerts and sporting events like ‘Bound for Glory’ are all hugely popular with cinema-goers," said Darryl Schaffer, executive vice president, operations and exhibitor relations for Screenvision. "Based on its past performance and its still-expanding fan base, we’re excited to once again bring the 'Bound for Glory' opportunity to our exhibitor partners.” The superstars of Spike’s “IMPACT WRESTLING” will headline “Bound For Glory,” including Hulk Hogan, current TNA World Heavyweight Champion Austin Aries, Sting, Jeff Hardy, Olympic Gold Medalist Kurt Angle, Rob Van Dam, Mr. Anderson, “The Phenomenal” AJ Styles, “The Samoan Submission Machine” Samoa Joe, the lovely and lethal TNA Knockouts, the stars of the X-Division and many more. “Bound For Glory” will feature the winner of the “Bound For Glory Series” in the main event for the TNA World Heavyweight Championship. Tickets for the in-theater event will retail between $14.99 and $19.99. Start time will be 7:30PM ET. For more information, theaters or tickets go to: TNAonscreen.com

Stacy Keibler Pic

TNA Announce British Boot Camp TV Series

Aspiring UK wrestlers pursue their TNA Wrestling dream on Challenge TV First non-game show commission for Challenge TV backs Sky’s commitment to home-grown entertainment content TNA Wrestling: British Boot Camp starts December 2012 (6x30mins episodes) Challenge TV today announces TNA Wrestling: British Boot Camp a new series which marks the channel’s first full commission with TNA Productions. The thrilling six-part entertainment series follows four aspiring professional British wrestlers, who are trying to make it big in the ultra-competitive world of American impact wrestling. TNA Wrestling: British Boot Camp will go behind-the-scenes of TNA Wrestling’s search for a UK superstar. Exclusive to Challenge TV, the series documents the story of four aspiring home-grown wrestlers as they pursue a professional wrestling contract with TNA Wrestling. Challenge viewers will experience the triumphs and tribulations of Manchester-based female tag-team wrestling twins Hannah and Holly Blossom, along with two male wrestlers Marty Scurll and Rockstar Spud from Cambridge and Birmingham, as they embark on their ambition to join TNA’s wrestling roster. Cameras follow them as they travel from their homes in the UK to the USA, get trained and mentored by famous names from the world of UK and US wrestling, and meet TNA’s President Dixie Carter. The finalists will enter the TNA developmental system, to hone their wrestling skills, and be put to the test by legendary British wrestlers and current TNA stars including Rollerball Rocco and Hulk Hogan. Culminating with a match at the TNA Impact Zone in Orlando, Florida, they compete to impress the judges and Dixie Carter. It’s an opportunity of a lifetime for the professional wrestlers. At the end of the series the successful candidate(s) will get signed to a contract by TNA and have the chance to appear in front of a home crowd on the TNA World Tour which travels to London’s Wembley Arena in January 2013. “TNA Wrestling: British Boot Camp really is compulsive viewing,” adds Dominic Wilkins, Acting Director of Challenge TV. “TNA Wrestling has a huge fanbase in the UK and it’s great to be able to commission exclusive original content which cements Challenge TV as the UK home for TNA Wrestling. This series will provide unmissable entertainment content which resonates with our viewers.” John Jelley, Sky Commissioning Executive for factual and features said: “We are confident that this show’s focus on four of Britain’s most promising wrestlers will inspire Challenge’s passionate TNA fans, and draw in a new audience to professional wrestling, as we track their daunting journey from the UK, through TNA boot camp to the high pressure finale in Florida.” TNA Wrestling: British Boot Camp marks Sky’s first non-game show commission for Challenge TV since it re-launched on Freeview last year. It aims to compliment the burgeoning success of the TNA Impact series which is one of the top performing series on the channel and aims to enhance the channels late night male-skewed audience. The series supports Sky’s commitment to increase its investment in home grown content to £600m by 2014, and will let viewers see first-hand what it really takes to become one of the superstars of TNA Impact Wrestling. For further information visit: www.challenge.co.uk www.impactwrestling.com By Phil Allely

Wednesday 12 September 2012

Jerry Lawler News

WWE Hall of Famer Jerry “The King” Lawler continues to recover in a hospital in Montreal, Canada, after suffering a heart attack during Monday’s Raw broadcast. Lawler’s family members are with him, including son and former WWE performer Brian Christopher Lawler, who released a statement Tuesday evening concerning his father’s condition. Though stable, the concern now is whether he suffered brain damage following the heart attack. His message reads: “Ok, here’s the latest real update. Lauren and I are here at the hospital in Montreal. He does not look good at all. He is responsive to questions that he is asked which is very good. His sedation and breathing support are being lowered slowly right now. He was shocked a total of 7 times at the arena and underwent a balloon stint to open up a clogged artery when he arrived at hospital. Everyone out there needs to say a special prayer for his brain at this point, please. Tests on his brain will not be available until the morning. One of us two will keep all you guys informed as we know more.” Stacy Carter, Lawler’s former wife, remains optimistic on “The King.” She tweeted late Tuesday night, “Gonna try to get some sleep. Been a long 24 plus hours. I just know there will be some good news about @jerrylawler ‘s condition tomorrow!!!”

WWE DVD Review: Over The Limit 2012

WWE DVD Review: Over The Limit 2012 WWE's latest DVD release Over The Limit 2012 is a well-paced pay-per-view form the top wrestling organisation in the world. Over The Limit was built around (like most WWE offerings) few key matches/feuds and padded out with some fair to middling encounters. Highlights were the John Cena versus General Manager John Laurinaitis brawl. Which of course featured some outside interference and the usual superhuman style of battle from Cena. The CM Punk and Daniel Bryan WWE Title match is well worth a repeat viewing too. Elsewhere on the card we saw a WWE Tag Team Title match that featured a fair few thrills and spills. An exciting Fatal Four Way war for the World Heavyweight Championship with Sheamus defending his gold against the formidable foes of Chris Jericho, Alberto Del Rio and Randy Orton. Ryback and Comancho had a brief, but fulfilling scrap. Layla defended her WWE Divas Championship against Beth Phoenix and twenty superstars fought it our in a 'People Power' Battle Royal. Over The Limit 2012 was certainly a more hit than miss affair for the WWE. The key matches delivered what they promised and some are most certainly well worth re-viewing once again on DVD. The storyline's progress nicely where they can too. WWE Over The Limit 2012 is available now on DVD and Blu-ray from www.silvervision.co.uk and all good retailers. By Phil Allely

Tuesday 4 September 2012

WCW's Crowbar - Post Wrestling Career

Got a nagging injury you want to fix? A bad back? Stiff knees? If you’re in the market for a physical therapist, look no further than the pipe-wielding wildman of WCW, Crowbar. While that may not sound like the best advertisement for a therapist, the former WCW Hardcore and Cruiserweight Champion, whose real name is Christopher Ford, has dedicated years of his life to the craft, working with several hospitals in northern New Jersey before branching out and opening his own practice. And he did it all while competing in the ring, bouncing around between WCW, ECW and WWE before finding a stable spot in Ted Turner’s Atlanta-based organization in 1999. But the story of how Ford got there, and what he’s done since leaving WCW in 2001 is stunning. Ford’s love of wrestling began at childhood. A major fan of superheroes and comic books, the Rutherford, N.J., native was originally drawn to larger-than-life characters like Hulk Hogan and Ultimate Warrior. But as he got older and was drawn more to the craft of wrestling, Superstars like Randy Savage and Ric Flair began to mesmerize him. By the time he hit high school, wrestling became an extreme passion for Ford and he began to consider stepping in the squared circle. “It was getting to where being a fan wasn’t enough,” he told WWE.com. During his sophomore year of high school, Crowbar found out that former WWE Superstar “Iron” Mike Sharpe was going to open a wrestling school in Brick Township, N.J., about 90 minutes from home. That was all he needed to hear to make up his mind. He spent the summer working as a bus boy in a banquet hall, eventually saving up enough to begin training at Sharpe’s school. Ford was “Iron” Mike’s first student at the Jersey Shore academy. He quickly learned that there wasn’t much of a difference between Sharpe, the man he had seen on television, and Sharpe, the teacher. “What you saw of him on TV was how he trained you,” Ford explained. “He would put on his black tights and boots, tape up his wrists and actually oil up to train. He would be explaining the moves and all that, but he was working out himself, too.” And if you’re wondering, Sharpe did occasionally wear his trademark leather armband, his student said. Sharpe’s quirkiness didn’t end in the ring, though, as he’s long been rumored to be one of the “neatest” grapplers ever — a fact which Ford laughed about when asked about his teacher’s penchant for organization, before confirming it was true. “His bag was immaculate,” he said. “If you opened it up, it was a series of Ziploc bags. It was almost like those Russian egg dolls. You would open one bag that would go into a smaller one that would go into a smaller one.” After studying under Sharpe for nine months, Ford hit the independent scene on the east coast in early 1992. Taking the name “Dangerous” Devon Storm, he barnstormed throughout New York and New Jersey, wowing crowds with talent like Ace Darling, who later became his tag team partner in WCW. The bleach blond grappler adapted an aerial style he learned from Bill DeMott. Devon Storm’s high-flying ability caught the attention of WCW’s higher-ups, who put the young New Jersey native on the biggest stage they had to offer. Ford began working for the company on a regular basis, appearing on several episodes of Saturday Night and an early edition of Monday Nitro, challenging then–United States Champion Konnan. Though he was taking to the air on national television, when the cameras were off, Ford was trying to keep his feet firmly on the ground and his nose in books. When he wasn’t wrestling, he was a full-time student at Kean University, pursuing a degree in physical therapy so he’d have something to fall back on. “It was a unique thing,” he explained. “I would attend school, get my work done ahead of time and fly out to TV.”