WWE Hall of Fame 2013 rumours

WWE Hall Of Fame 2013: The Rock, Mick Foley and more touted as potential inductees.

By Phil Allely

With WWE's WrestleMania only a few short months away many smart fans are beginning to think about what names the company may announce as inductee's into the hallowed WWE Hall Of Fame.

With WrestleMania hailing from the famous Madison Square Garden in New York City, it seems the WWE are planning to pay tribute to the venue and state.

This means the names announced for the HOF will inevitably be people from NYC, or ones who stole the show at an event held in the popular WWE venue.

Mick Foley is one of the top names being bandied about for the honour. Foley has been a part of many Mania matches and performed countless battles in the Garden. He has also been heavily pushing for his inclusion into the HOF. Foley has previously stated how he watched his first ever wrestling match at the venue.

Wrestler turned movie star Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson. Who has returned to part time duties for the WWE is also high on the wish list list for inductees. His return to grappling has been a joy to behold and the man certainly dos warrant a spot at the HOF.

Sources also hint that The Nasty Boys (Brian Nobbs and Jerry Sags) and Harlem Heat (Booker T and Stevie Ray) may be receiving the nod too. Both have connections to New York (either through storyline or reality).

Rumour has it the WWE have reached out The Ultimate Warrior (Jim Helwig) recently, although Helwig is a bit of a loose cannon and the company may wish to forgo any potential awkward situations, and have considered inducting the late Owen Hart and Chris Benoit. Hart may never be inducted (even though he deserves it), due to the situation revolving around his death and his wife Martha's attitude toward the company where he sadly passed away. Benoit's name will come to a shock to many, he has however been featured in a few DVD releases and features of late. His in-ring career and success has long been over-shadowed by the infamous murder-suicde that saw Benoit, his wife Nancy and their child all perish.

Whilst these are all speculative at present fans across the globe have their list of wrestlers past and present they wish to see inducted into the HOF. Your reviewer fro instance would love to see the much-missed Randy 'Macho Man' Savage, manager extraordinaire Jim Cornette,the monster Sid Vicious and tag team legends The Rock n Roll Express (Ricky Morton & Robert Gibson) grace the event too.

WWE Publish top 50 moments of 2012

WWE published article counting down the top 50 moments of 2012. Listed below are the top 10.

10: Ryback “Shell Shocks” CM Punk on top of the “Hell in a Cell”
9: John Cena grants his 300th wish for Make-A-Wish
8: The Shield’s debut at The Survivor Series
7: Jerry Lawler suffers a heart attack on RAW
6. The AJ Lee – John Cena storyline.
5: The 1,000th episode of RAW.
4: Brock Lesnar’s WWE return.
3: CM Punk becoming the longest reigning WWE Champion of the modern era.
2: The Rock defeating John Cena at WrestleMania 28.
1: The Undertaker defeating Triple H at WrestleMania 28.

Nigel McGuinss Interview Highlights

When he was 15 years old, Nigel McGuinness painted his face like the Ultimate Warrior and attended SummerSlam at London’s Wembley Stadium – a pivotal experience that solidified his dream to one day be a top wrestling star.

Nearly two decades later, he embarked on a retirement tour – the swan song of a 12-year wrestling career that was universally lauded by die-hard fans, yet always fell frustratingly short of mainstream success.

Although the London-born McGuinness is widely considered to be one of the most talented in-ring performers of his generation, a combination of bad timing and bad luck left his dream of WWE stardom unfulfilled and, eventually , abandoned.

It was a 12-year journey of emotional peaks and valleys that McGuinness has conveyed in a documentary released this month called The Last of McGuinness, which has earned resoundingly positive reviews so far.

“The response has been really amazing,” McGuinness tells WrestleNewz over Skype from his Los Angeles home. “The feedback has been so positive.”

So far, that feedback has been coming primarily from wrestling fans – many of whom likely contributed to the $32,000 Kickstarter campaign for the film, which reached its funding goal in just three days – but McGuinness hopes the film will have an even wider appeal.

“When people who aren’t wrestling fans see it, I think maybe I’ll get a different perspective,” he says. “I think there are a lot of good messages in it that apply to a lot of people, even if they’re not wrestling fans.”

McGuinness is currently in the process of shopping the documentary around to film festivals in the hope that its deeper themes will resonate even with audiences who might turn up their noses at professional wrestling.

When McGuinness began work on the film, he envisioned it as a chronicle of his retirement tour and an explanation of why he vanished from in-ring action in 2011 (rumors had swirled about concussions and infectious disease; we won’t provide spoilers here). Once the cameras started rolling, however, the project went in directions McGuiness hadn’t foreseen.

“I went on a very big emotional journey, not just a physical journey, in making the documentary,” McGuinness says. “I realized certain resolutions as I was making it, and I think it put me in good stead to move forward.”

During his wrestling career, McGuinness was in a perpetual tug-of-war with himself, torn between enjoying his many successes – he held the Ring of Honor World Championship, travelled the world, got national TV exposure in TNA and was immortalized as an action figure – and always yearning for more.

In 2009, Pro Wrestling Illustrated ranked him sixth in its annual PWI 500 rankings, putting him ahead of many of the wrestlers he once idolized. His talent took him to Japan’s famed Korakuen Hall and to a hometown show in Wembley Arena. He shared the ring with the likes of Hulk Hogan, Ric Flair and his other childhood idols.

Yet amid all the acclaim and stellar matches, a WWE contract remained his Holy Grail, and it always seemed just beyond his fingertips.

“I had a great, great experience in wrestling – travelling the world and meeting a lot of wonderful people. But I didn’t make a whole lot of money and I’m still not recognizable on the street, which, when I was a kid, was one of those things I really wanted. I always wanted more.”

Though largely inspired by Colt Cabana’s light-hearted Wrestling Road Diaries documentary, The Last of McGuinness has been described as a powerful tear-jerker by a number of reviewers – like a documentary version of Darren Aronofsky’s The Wrestler.

But McGuiness isn’t looking for any sympathy. He insists that “life is good,” in large part due to the support and encouragement he received in making the film.

He is now pursuing other avenues of entertainment in California — dabbling in stand-up comedy, auditioning for acting roles and pondering his next film project.

“I’m here in Los Angeles, having a wonderful time, taking it day by day,” he says. “I don’t have to eat every three hours and go to the gym five days a week. If I want to eat pizza, I eat pizza. I’ve got a big belly and I don’t care – I’m keeping it. It’s all good.”

For the moment, he’s busy shipping DVDs of the film to fans who supported the project from the get-go, and cheered (or booed) him throughout his years in the ring.

“I wouldn’t have had a career without the fans – the real fans, who really understand the art form of professional wrestling,” he says.

“These people dug in their pockets. That’s what touched me. Some could only afford a few dollars, but they gave it to me because they believe in me and they believe in professional wrestling.”

Ricky Morton Interview HIghlights

One half of the legendary tag-team “The Rock N’ Roll Express” Ricky Morton joined Kayfabe Wrestling Radio Tuesday Night. In a nearly 30 minute interview, he discussed how the ‘Rock N’ Roll Express’ came together, facing the Fabulous Ones (Stan Lane and Steve Keirn), working for Jerry Lawler and Jerry Jarrett in Memphis back in the day and how he got started in wrestling, the differences with wrestling today, on moving to and working with the Crockett’s NWA promotion, being part of Starrcade ’85 and selling out two arenas for one event, the iconic match between the Rock ‘N Roll Express and the Andersons from Starrcade ’86 and that being named Steve Austin’s favorite match of all time, working different styles and the role of the babyface back in the day, his times as Richard Morton in WCW with the York Foundation and what as more fun: being Ricky Morton or Richard Morton, his upcoming match with Jerry Lynn vs Kid Kash and MMA fighter Josh Shockman at Crossfire Wrestling’s TV Taping and more.

On how the Rock N Roll Express come together as a team: “Well, I knew Robert real good; but in 1983, matter of fact this is our 30 year anniversary that Robert and I have been tag team partners, Jerry Lawler in Memphis, Tennessee put us together in 1983. We were, back then, were looking for a place; they had the Fabulous Ones in there and were looking for another tag-team, so he (Jerry) put Robert and I together and they came up with the “R N’ R Express”, the Rock N’ Roll Express, and that’s what we stuck with man.

Working for Jerry Lawler and Jerry Jarrett in Memphis and how he got into wrestling: “Oh, they were great. But you got to remember; we were back in the time when Memphis was real hot, that was after when Jerry and Jeff Jarrett and all of them came up there. Working for Lawler, you got to understand; not only working with Lawler, you had Bill Dundee too; they were two great, great thinkers, booker wise, for business. You got have to understand, you had to keep this territory going; you had to have new ideas. If you were working on top and you didn’t sell Memphis and Louisville and Evansville out, they moved you down the figurative spot.

That’s why I followed my dad’s footsteps; my dad was a referee there. He wrestled in the early days but he was a referee there in Memphis. You’ve got to understand, I’ve been in the business all my life; I broke into the business. I started when I was a very young kid, I’m talking back in elementary school, going with him and putting the rings up. But eventually I started in Memphis; I started out, first of all, with a promoter of the name of Nick Gulas in Nashville, Tennessee and then when I switched and went to Memphis and it was like going to the show, going the big leagues. When you stepped into the Memphis Coliseum, it was 10-12,000 people and that was every Monday night and working with these guys from all over; when you stop and look, some of the greatest stars that ever been in this business came out of Memphis, Tennessee because there you had to learn to carry the load, you had to learn what to do. You had Lawler, you had Jarrett and you had Bill Dundee and that was the main three that really ran that territory and kept it going, giving the people something to see every week and bring excitement to them. To me, it was a great pleasure to be there, you understand?”

The differences working back then as opposed to today: “Now-a-days, and I’m not taking nothing away from nobody, and understand these younger guys don’t have the opportunity to learn like we did and how sacred our business was too. You wrestled every night and you got into the programs and you were on a bicycle tape of the towns if you know what I mean by that; you went around from town to town and it wasn’t that you had the same match every night because you had to follow your TV shows and your shows were on a bicycle tape; it was a week late getting from Memphis to Louisville the next night. You might start an angle on Saturday with somebody that went to Memphis that Monday, but on that Tuesday, you had to wrestle from a week before that, which you shot on TV. And it was a great experience learning, not only that but watching how these guys ran these programs and kept them going. And another thing about back then, and I don’t know if you understand, the heel and babyfaces kayfabed; we didn’t even dress in the same locker rooms, so we didn’t have the time, like these guys do today, to go over every move of your match. When you went out, you called everything in the ring, you know, your finishes, well not the finish but every move you did. That was just the way it was back then with our business and I’m sorry that guys missed out, but business was different back then.”

What was more fun: being Ricky Morton or Richard Morton from this time with the York Foundation in WCW: “To tell you the truth, I’m Ricky Morton, that’s who I am and that’s who I’ve built my character off of for years. Robert (Gibson) got hurt, that’s what that was all about and I was lost in the shuffle. So, I had to keep a job, so they turned me heel and made me part of the York foundation. It’s not like I had a choice; I just needed to change a bit of character and it didn’t last for long because it wasn’t me and I didn’t stay in WCW much longer than that; that’s when Robert and I went to Smokey Mountain Wrestling and we toured. They only reason Robert and I weren’t together was cause Robert got injured and was out for about a year. So I had a lot more fun being Ricky Morton. We were just lost in the shuffle.”

The audio interview is available here.

WWE TLC Review 2012

WWE Live Show Review: TLC (Tables, Ladders, Chairs) 2012

WWE's TLC pay-per-view event is one that has a tendency to deliver greatly with its match quality and results. Even the lack of blood can't affect the violence that many of the wrestlers bring to the ring when foreign objects such as table, ladders and steel chairs become legal weapons. This year we were also treated to a few new faces, which helped create new feuds and elevate some often neglected mid-card talent. With CM Punk injured there was some re-jigging behind the scenes match wise, but perhaps it was for the best. WWE need his fresh and ready for his upcoming scrap with The Rock.

It was also nice to see the legendary Jerry 'The King' Lawler return to his commentary duties. Lawler seems to have recovered well after his near fatal heart attack (which occurred during a live raw show).

TLC kicked off with a (dark match) battle of the 'Santa's Little Helpers' In other words a diva encounter. This will of course probably make its way on to the DVD version of the show. Here we had a reasonable if not too exciting Diva's style scrap. Competitors were Alicia Fox, Askana, Naomi, Cameron, Tamina, Kaitlyn, Layla, Natalya and Rossa Mendes. The match was short and sweet, with Divas champ Eve Torres sticking her oar in to allow Namoi a shot at her title.

TLC started (proper) with a very reasonable tables match for the number one contender spot for the WWE tag team belts. The duo of Rey Mysterio and Sin Cara battled Damien Sandow and Cody Rhodes in a fun battle. Cara is looking so much better in the ring now he is teamed up with fellow high flyer Mysterio. Rhodes Scholars on the other hand are a wonderfully fresh addition to the diminishing tag ranks. Rhodes and Sandow picked up the win after Cody caused Cara to plough through a table.

Your reviewer is not a hug fan of US Title holder Anonio Cesaro, but he can put together a pretty decent match with the right (talented) performer. The match however didn't really sizzle as much as we had hoped it would. Cesaro was able to overcome a few nice looking pin attempts by Truth and nailed a 'Neutralizer' to retain his gold.
Uk wrestler Wade Barrett has been making real strides in recent months to get one more big push for his WWE career. His match with Kofi Kingston here highlighted the fact that Barrett does have potential. Putting Kofi's Intercontinental Title on the line helped as well of course. Wade is a very good big man and has an aura about him, perhaps he will be William Regal's successor to the role of sterotypical British bad guy. Kofi did manage to fend off his European influenced assault and retained the belt.

Whether they are associated with Champion CM Punk The Shield are a welcome addition to the WWE roster. Their sneak attacks and N.W.O. Inspired storyline is something that may just inject some much need adrenaline into the WWE product.

The match here was a TLC one and The Shield (Seth Rollins, Roman Reigns, Dean Ambrose) faced off against the formidable trio of WWE Tag Team Champs Kane/Daniel Bryan and the fastest rising star of the year Ryback. This match was a brutal, tough and well-paced affair. Working with such talented opponents The Shield team were on perfect form. What was nice was that amidst the weapons based fun and games, we saw some new faces get their hands raised (over some more established acts). This angle by WWE may just work out very well for all concerned. The Shield pulled off a rather good win, to continue their progression.
The Divas returned next, with Eve defending her title against (pre-show match winner) Naomi. Naomi did show some impressive in-ring ability here. It was of course always going to be Eve's night and here she did not disappoint. Eve retained her glamorous belt as predicted.
As explained before a TLC PPV should really feature some blood. But you know what sometimes the spilling of claret is not necessary. The World Heavyweight Title match between champion Big Show and challenger Sheamus was a real barn-stormer. Sheamus seems to bring something out in show that we have not seen in a while and perhaps Show himself has grabbed this opportunity to highlight how valuable he is to the company. The match was violent, hard-hitting and worked to both men's advantage. Shows win maintains his grasp of the belt and Sheamus' loss does little more than make him a man we will root for next time.
Next up we saw an interesting battle. This was Heath Slater, Jinder Mahal and Drew McIntyre taking on Alberto Del Rio, The Miz and Brooklyn Brawler. This was a nostalgic match for veteran fans, as longtime jobber the Brawler (Steve Lombardi) returned to the ring. Lombardi is a familiar face to anyone whoo who watches WWE biographical or special edition DVDs. He often pops us as a talking head on such releases. Lombardi never won a major title, but he did elevate many superstars to the enxt leevl and his simple style made him a minor league star. Brawler got his chance to shine on PPV in Brooklyn (of course) and even picked up a rare win.

Love him or hate him John Cena is one of the few real stars the WWE have available to perform at present. His act may need polished and a break from his main event appearances would help things. But with no one else ready to fill his spot or shift as much merchandise this is a picture we will have to expect for a while, the one of Cena in the main event.

The storyline featuring Cena/AJ/Vickie Guerro has been fun (even if it does echo a recent ill-fated TNA one). This match between Dolph Ziggler and Cena was a curious entry too. Ziggler could have as easily cashed in his 'Money in the Bank' title shot, but instead he offered it up in a match with Cena. This was a ladder match to remember. Cena took some stiff shots, Ziggler was a bump-machine (in the style of Shawn Michaels) and the outside interference proved to be beneficial to the pair. Cena in a rare moment for his character stared at the lights for the ever-exciting Ziggler. AJ did prove to be the thorn in Cena's side, but this was really all about raising Dolph to the next level. After all if he can beat Cena, this man may just be able to win the big one.

TLC 2012 was a very good event to round off 2012 for the WWE. The company may be floundering slightly talent wise, but things are looking up and after so many journos like myself suggesting it, there are now some fresh faces in the mix.

Here's hoping Punk can recover OK in time for his Royal Rumble encounter with a certain Mr Johnston.

Wwe.com

By Phil Allely

TNA Knockouts Festive Pics

Jerry Lynn Interview Highlights

Speaking to The Shining Wizards Wrestling Podcast, Jerry Lynn looked back at his career before his final Ring of Honor match at Final Battle. Highlights from the interview are as follows:

On his run with WCW and the creation of Mr. J.L.: "Brad Rheingans had ties with them, and he had asked me to come to his camp and help train the session he had at the time, and I asked him "It's been seven years, what do I have to do to get a break?" And Brad said, "Well, it's all changed, it's TV now, you have to come up with something visual." So I had an idea in my mind before he mentioned that, 'cause I'd been going to Japan quite a bit for Universal Pro and Michinoku, and saw a lot of cool masks, and no one was doing that in the states. 

"And at the time the Power Rangers were pretty popular on TV so I thought I'd come up with something similar to that but not exactly like it. And they (WCW) said that was exactly what they were looking for. So when I showed them the outfit, they brought me in, but they gave me such a lame name. But I was probably the last thing they had on their minds, because they had a lot of heavy hitters, with the NWO and stuff. I would tell people, no, that's Jushin Liger.

His time in ECW: "It was ironic that I even went to ECW because when I was living in Atlanta wrestling for WCW I'd get together at my buddy's place and watch ECW, and I always swore up and down that was one company that I would never work for. I was watching Balls and Sandman trading chair shots, then they'd hit each other with anything the fans handed over the rail; frying pans, Super Nintendos, and microwave ovens. It was crazy. But I ended up there anyway... 

"I had a tryout match in WWF with Taka Michinoku, and when that aired, Paul E. knew I wasn't with WCW anymore, and he had Chris Candido hunt me down. He asked me if I wanted to do a couple shots. So I was like OK, this is what I want, and one more thing: I don't want some idiot hitting me in the head with a frying pan. It worked out alright at first, but then I wound up getting clocked in the head with that kendo stick, a few chairs here and there, and I don't know how many tables I went through, and how many Van Daminators I took."

On working with Justin Credible and taking the next step: "At first, I would come up with ideas involving here and there, tables and who knows what else, and I always asked permission first, and I'd get shot down. And finally, Justin and I had a 2-out-of-3 falls match at the Arena, and I told Justin before the show that we're not going to ask permission to do anything out there. We're just going to go out there and do what we do. And after that, everything changed. I was just tired of being held back. I had more freedom."

Working with Rob Van Dam: "The first time I wrestled Rob, I came back through the curtain, my nose was bleeding, my lip was bleeding, I had blood coming out of my shoulder, my head was stuck turned to the side, and Al Snow sees me and said "you look like you've been through a war," and I looked at him and said "it's not supposed to be like this!" It's funny, Rob and I played rough, and it seems like every match either he or I or both of us got popped open. And the more they (the fans) were digging it, and the louder and rowdier they are, the harder we worked." 

The creation of the "New F'N Show" moniker: "This is the coolest thing. I never could never think up a weird, wacky gimmick for myself, you know, some show biz name or anything like that. And in Asbury Park at Living Dangerously, I think it was Rob and I in his first PPV match, after a series of moves, one whole section of the crown started chanting 'New F'N Show.' And the name just stuck. It was kinda cool that the fans gave me that name."

On the current state of pro wrestling: "When you have the bookers and storywriters hired from Hollywood, and they know absolutely nothing about wrestling, it becomes, you know, what do you do? When I do seminars, I tell guys watch older wrestling from the 80s. It was working, they must've done something right. Like in the earlier days of TNA, I liked the way they were furthering storylines. When I was in the feud with AJ Styles, we would do stuff like one of us would jump the other in catering, and we're fighting over tables and stuff instead of going to the ring and having a Def Comedy Jam with microphones. It's ridiculous. 

"There's so many times with guys out there sounding like two kids on a playground going 'my dad can beat up your dad.' If you're really pissed off and you're serious, and you're in a built up feud and there's heat, you're like alright, sh##'s on, let's go. That's why I miss the old NWA days where the Four Horsemen followed Dusty into the parking lot of the TV studio and jumped him. Stuff like that. Or when Eddie Gilbert and Tommy Rich in the USWA, Tommy Rich just bloodied him and Eddie came out and apologized, he had tears in his eyes, a heartfelt apology, and then he turned on him again. It was brilliant. Old school worked. Old school psychology will still work, you just fit the fancy new moves like a piece in the puzzle, where they make sense. Otherwise it's just a stunt exhibition. 

"There's a lot of guys that are in this to prove how tough they are. It's not about that. If you do this for any significant amount of time, you're gonna lose. The human body wasn't made for this whatsoever... Brad Rheingans, the guy who trained me, told me the secret to having a good match every time is if you and your opponent go out there and try to make each other look like a million bucks. But now it's so many guys that are like 'I wanna get this in.' It's all me-me-me. And when I'm gonna be in there with someone like that I'm just like 'oh, God, this is gonna be like pulling teeth' and 'am I gonna get out of this alive?' and all, and they forget the show isn't about one person, it's a team effort."

If there was anyone he didn't look forward to working with: "I'll have to admit, Rob and I were practically married it seemed for a couple of years there, and there were some nights I just wanted an easy night. And when I saw my name with Rob I was like 'oh, boy.' 'Cause he wasn't going to let up, I wasn't going to let up, we were wrestling each other three nights in a row on a weekend, it was crazy, and all those house show matches were PPV matches, I think."

If the future includes opening a wrestling school: "That's a tough gig. You gotta have a building, you gotta have a ring, you gotta have insurance in case someone gets hurt. Most people who wanna get into wrestling don't have money. I wouldn't want to put someone on a payment plan 'cause who's to say they won't quit after a few weeks and then run around and say Jerry Lynn trained me, and they're the drizzling sh##s. So I'd collect all the money up front, but no one has money. So that's a tough gig."

For more with Jerry Lynn, including his time in Global (GWF), his chemistry with Justin Credible, working up the ladder in wrestling, the family atmosphere and the fans in ECW, his time in the WWF, watching roller derby and wrestling growing up, the faceplant against Rob Van Dam, injuries over the years, the beginnings of the X-Division, his favorite metal bands, his upcoming, and last, match for Extreme Reunion with Homicide, and the possibility of coming out of retirement for Rob Van Dam's last match, go to ShiningWizards.com and listen to Episode 66.

TNA Final Resolution 2012

Hardy still champ as Ace's invade the ring.

By Phil Allely

TNA World Heavyweight Champion Jeff Hardy retained his gold in the main event of the Final Resolution PPV. However his victory celerations were short-lived as Aces and 8's beat hiom and opponent Bobby Roode down in the middle of the ring.

The event kicked off with an impromptu scrap beween Kaz and James Storm. Storm swiftly put the former tag team champ away easily with a 'last call' superkick for the popular win.

Rob Van Dam retained his X Division Title against challenger Kenny King. The action was decent here and the pair gelled well.

The TNA tag team division is swelling nicely these days. The company have perhaps the best talent in pro wrestling at present. Champs Hernandez and Chavo worked hard against foes Matt Morgan and Joey Ryan. Both teams matched styles well, however the DQ finish did leave us wanting more.

Austin Aries then beat Bully Ray in a scorcher of a match. Ray is fast-proving how valuable a player he is in the industry and the new heel Aries is a real star performer too. The end came as Brooke and Hulk Hogan got involved, allowing Aries the chance to hit a low blow on a bloody Ray for the win.

With Mickie James returning to action and Velvet Sky back on the scene the Knockouts Division may get the shot in the arm it needs now. Next up we had James face KO Champion Tara. James showed no signs of ring rust, but the outside interference from Jesse saw her title hopes dashed. Tara picking up the win.

The team of Kurt angle, Samoa Joe, Garrett Bischoff and Wes Brisco tackled the Ace's and 8s next. This was a hard-hitting affair and one that showed the mighty Aces may have a few chinks in their armour. Angle and Joe shone throughout, Angle nailing an 'angle slam' to claim victory.

AJ Styles and Daniels pulled out all the stops in what was billed as their final match. All those years of friendship and working together certainly paid off here. Unleashing every move in their arsenal the pair put on one heck of a show for the fans. Daniels pulled off the win with his take on AJ's 'styles clash'.

In the main event Hardy and Roode battled in and outside of the ring. Each trading the advantage and near-falls. The finish saw Roode get double crossed b Aces and 8s and Hardy retain his gold. The show went off the air with the masked gang beating down both men.

Final Resolution was a mixed bag of matches, when they were good they were very good, however too many run-ins/cheap finishes continue to hamper the TNA product. The aces and 8s storyline is going well and will surely lead to a big reveal soon. 2012 has been a great year for TNA, they just need to fine tune their creative team and let the talent do the work for them. Roll on January's UK/Ireland tour.

DVD Review: The Randy Savage Collection

WWE DVD Review: The Randy Savage Collection

It is hard to believe that 'Macho Man' Randy Savage is no longer with us. His sad passing was well documented across the globe (including a few pieces by yours truly). This three disc DVD box set is a very good way to fondly remember the legendary grappler. The only thing it lacks is any fresh input form Savage himself. This is of course just how these things go sometimes. Randy and the WWE were not on good speaking terms when the DVD was produced (2009) and thus his inclusion was something that we cannot really have expected to see.

Overall this is a perfectly enjoyable highlight reel of 'Macho Man's WWE and WCW career, plus much more along the way.

Matt Striker and Maria are our hosts in this roller-coaster ride through the ups and downs of Savage's tenure in wrestling. Savage was one of the few former wrestlers who retired gracefully and never returned to the ring. He did however make an appearance in the original Tobey Maguire starring Spiderman film though.

I for one had hoped the WWE and Randy would one day bury the proverbial hatchet and offer him a place in the Hall of Fame. Maybe that will still happen, it is just a shame that the man himself will not be able to appreciate it. That fateful heart attack and subsequent car crash saw to that unfortunately.

So what will you see on this three disc set? Well from the get go we get to see Randy as the perfect heel for the WWE at that time. He was cocky, exciting and more than willing to bend the rules when he could. Things really picked up when he was aligned with (real life spouse) Miss Elizabeth. Liz was something the WWE had never seen before, she was a glamorous young woman and she was a breath of fresh air in a company that possessed mainly older male managers.

From a match point of view across the discs we get to see some classic encounters between macho and Ricky Steamboat (with whom he had one of wrestling's finest ever feuds and WrestleMania's best match too), we also see him face off against Ted DiBiase, Honky Tonk Man, Shawn Michaels and Ric Flair. Included here also are the legendary Mania match with Hulk Hogan, the well-paced 'retirement match' with Ultimate Warrior and the quite scary battle with Jake Roberts (which saw Savage get mauled by Jake's pet snake).

Throw in some nice TV matches, WCW classics and a huge amount of vignettes, the 1991 in-ring wedding of Randy and Liz, and you have one hell of a good release.

This Christmas this may just be the one wrestling DVD that the wrestling fan in your life would love to have.

The Randy Savage Collection is available now from www.silvervision.co.uk and all good retailers.

By Phil Allely

WWE DVD Review: Summerslam 2012

WWE DVD Review: Summerslam 2012

WWE's annual summer extravaganza remains one of the company's top pay-per-views of the year. Like The Royal Rumble and WrestleMania Summerslam is one event where we the fans know the matches will be lined up to please all. This year the main talking point was the encounter between Triple H and the as yet not as exciting as he should be Brock Lesnar. Now you can purchase this release on DVD to re-view and savour all over again

Summerslam 2012 was built around one epic encounter. That was of course the much hyped and well worth a watch battle between Triple H and Brock Lesnar. This was superbly paced and makes this DVD a must-have one. It's rare these days to be able to say that, but there you go.

Elsewhere Antonio Cesaro tackled Santino Marella for the United States title. Dolph Ziggler faced (future world champion I hope) Dolph Ziggler. Kane took on the ever-impressive Daniel Bryan. The Intercontinental Championship was on the line as The Miz defended it against Rey Mysterio. World Heavyweight Champion Sheamus fought off Alberto Del Rio in a great scrap. In a bout which highlighted the need for new tag teams Titus O'Neil and Darren Young brawled with Kofi Kingston and R-Truth. The Triple Threat match featuring Big Show, John Cena and CM Punk for the WWE Title was a prefect lead in for the main event and leaves you more than ready to see Lesnar/Triple H.

Summerslam 2012 is a nice addition to your WWE DVD collection and is well worth watching a few times at least.

Available now from www.silvervision.co.uk and all good retailers.

By Phil Allely

Tony Mamaluke retires

Tony Mamaluke, who appeared for WWE, World Championship Wrestling, Extreme Championship Wrestling, TNA Wrestling and Ring of Honor, officially announced his retirement from professional wrestling at Saturday's East Coast Wrestling Association event in Newark, Delaware on Saturday, 15 years to the date of his first grappling affair.

The 35-year-old headlined the show against Papadon and announced his retirement following the match. He then left his boots in the ring and exited.

Mamaluke, whose real name is Charles John Spencer, reflected on his career on Facebook: "Final thought, I would like to say that it was all so wonderful, that I have no regrets , that I made a lot of money and been famous. But not everybody can be. I was a good jobber in an era where there wasn't any. I was a good hand when the era was all about me and not the show. Tonight I was Mamaluke for the last time and I am not bitter, broken or emotionally unstable. I survived. In the end I have to ask myself if the last 15 years were worth it. I will answer that question after time and reflection. 15 years to the day, my career began in a flea market with 3 people in the crowd. The show was cancelled that night for obvious reasons. Tonight I had one of my best matches in years. I finally got a chance to shine 15 years later. Thank you to my ECW family. I love you all. Guido, my brother, my friend I love you and will never forget all you have done for me. Frankie a better friend doesn't exist. Dean Malenko you will always be my idol. To the fans, I don't know if you ever quit got me but, if you did then thank you. Life is good, time to move on to a new chapter."

Mick Foley interview highlights

Mick Foley joined The Big Mosh and "The Chairman of the Board" Todd Vincent for an interview Monday Night Mayhem, which is now available for free download, exclusively on the WrestleView Radio Network (available here). Highlights from the interview are as follows:

How he wanted to have his latest book ("A Most Mizerable Christmas") stand out from his previous releases: "It is a story based on my own son, who as a three-year old, told me he didn't need anything from Santa, no matter how much I tried to prod him. When I approached the WWE about the idea of doing it, I knew the book market had changed a lot, and that there wasn't going to be a lot of money in a children's book. So, I made it very clear that it wasn't about the money, that it was about trying to get a fun story with a positive message out there. I think we've accomplished that."

Why he wanted to return to the WWE at this time in his life/career and if his on-air return lived up to his personal expectations: "Yeah, anything I do on the show is just a bonus, because I didn't have any expectations as an on-air personality. That is one of the reasons why I really wanted to come back to the WWE, because there are so many ways to make contributions without being on the show. I'm happy for anything that comes my way."

If he believes that a WWE Hall of Fame induction next April is closer to happening, after the recent focus given to him on WWE television: "I'm happy that the rumor I started has gotten this far. Yeah, I love the idea that people are talking about it. It is a big deal. If it were to happen at Madison Square Garden, it would be a bigger deal that if it happened anywhere else. It seems like a good idea, but I don't call those shots. There are other guys that did better in that building than I did who should get the call as well. I would certainly accept it if it came my way, but I won't be to bitterly disappointed if it doesn't. I hope it does."

Much more is contained in Mick Foley's exclusive interview with Monday Night Mayhem, including his candid thoughts on how the WWE locker room has responded to "A Most Mizerable Christmas," how he believes The Miz has shed the image of the "reality TV star," getting the opportunity to work with CM Punk on the WWE stage, how their exchange of promos delivered for the audience, and why he decided to become part of the WWE's "Be A Star" campaign.

Ric Flair interview highlights

WWE Hall of Famer Ric Flair recently spoke with WrestleNewz.com
in an exclusive two-part interview. In the first part, The Nature Boy
discusses WWE's current product, his future, what he has left to
contribute, some of WWE's current talents and lots more.

Flair was asked if he will wrestle again:

WNZ: Will we see you wrestle again?

Ric Flair:
I want to be in the ring, but it will never happen again. I said I'd
never wrestle in WWE... and then there's the Jerry Lawler incident.

WNZ: So Lawler’s heart attack has changed the perception of older wrestlers continuing to perform?

Ric Flair:
Yeah, it really did. I like Jerry very much. What happened to Jerry was
terrible, and thank God he’s OK. But I wish people wouldn’t gauge me by
what happened to him. Everybody's an individual. But I think it kind of
put a decision on my future in the ring, you know what I mean? And
that's fine, because I went back to the ring in TNA, and that will never
happen again.

The full interview can be read at WrestleNewz.com
where Flair gives props to three top WWE stars, reveals who he still
keeps in touch with, if he would have tried MMA and what wrestlers would
have been successful at it, if wrestlers need to be tough these days
and more. Part 2 will be posted later this week and features Flair
discussing his daughter working with WWE, his #1 goal with a WWE return,
his run with TNA and more.

Johnny Swinger interview highlights

Johnny Swinger joined The Big Mosh and “The Chairman of the Board” Todd Vincent for an interview Monday Night Mayhem, which is now available for free download, exclusively on the WrestleView Radio Network (available here). Highlights from the interview are as follows:

His memories of working with his long-time tag team partner Simon Diamond and how competing together turned into a lifelong friendship: “He’s the godfather of my son, and we were both the best man at each other’s weddings. We go beyond the wrestling business at this point. He’s doing the job he is supposed to be doing (in TNA Impact Wrestling), and he loves it. I’m happy for him. I wish I could work with him again someday, because there isn’t anything more fun than working with your buddies. I miss our time together, because it was a lot of fun.”

Whether or not he’s considering a fun run with the WWE or TNA: “Another favorite saying is ‘Never Say Never,’ and I want to remind everybody again that I am 37, not 40, plus even though that doesn’t mean anything to me. Clint Eastwood in Grand Torino was a badass at 75. It is all about how you’re presented. I intend to keep doing this in the future. I worked in both of those places, and I would love to work there again.”

If it’s a worthwhile and productive idea idea to debut new Superstars at big Pay-Per-Views like we saw at the WWE Survivor Series with Seth Rollins, Dean Ambrose, and Roman Reigns: “They (the WWE) got the vehicle with their Pay-Per-Views, and their TV is still huge. I learned from Vince (McMahon) that perception is reality, and if you send a couple of these guys out on a big show, you’re telling these people that these guys are premiere talent. They are going to do something the night you initially watched them (on the Pay-Per-View), they are going to do something the next night (on Raw), and the next show thereafter. But what greater place to make an impact than on one of their major Pay-Per-Views, because they were presented like players.”