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We're looking for reports tonight on the WWE house shows in Glasgow, Scotland and Frankfurt, Germany tonight, as well as the ROH TV tapings in Philadelphia (Colt Cabana vs. Claudio Castagnoli, Tyler Black vs. Sonjay Dutt, Jay & Mark Briscoe vs. Kevin Steen & El Generico) at
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There is a big weekend coming up with Strikeforce running a show tomorrow night in Fresno on Showtime at 11 p.m. (Billy Evangelista vs. Jorge Gurgel main event), as well as the Saturday night show from Chicago on CBS (Fedor Emelianenko vs. Brett Rogers; Jason Miller vs. Jake Shields, Gegard Mousasi vs. Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou and Fabricio Werdum vs. Antonio Silva). There is also a Dragon Gate PPV show tomorrow night and if you're on the fence on it, I highly recommend it. The Davey Richards vs. Shingo, Dragon Kid vs. Masato Yoshino and Bryan Danielson vs. Naruki Doi matches are the best 1-2-3 matches on any PPV this year by a wide margin.
Tomorrow is also the second night of ROH tapings in Philadelphia (Austin Aries & Kenny King vs. Colt Cabana & Tyler Black, Davey Richards vs. Roderick Strong, Chris Hero vs. Kenny Omega), WWE in Newcastle, England and Brussels, Belgium and TNA in Murray, KY,
Saturday night, besides the Strikeforce show in Chicago, has WWE in Minehead, England and Dusseldorf, Germany, TNA in Tupelo, MS and ROH in Edison, NJ.
TNA Impact at 9 p.m. tonight:
*Taylor Wilde vs. Madison Rayne
*Beer Money vs. Rob Terry & Eric Young
*Cody Deaner vs. Desmond Wolfe
*Tara vs. Hamada
*Bobby Lashley vs. Homicide
*A.J. Styles vs. Daniels with Samoa Joe as ref
*Team 3-D vs. Matt Morgan & Hernandez
Superstars tonight on WGN America at 8 p.m.
*Santino Marella vs. Chavo Guerrero
*Primo vs. Jack Swagger
*Tyler Reks vs. Paul Burchill
*Fit Finlay vs. Chris Jericho
Tonight on Spike also has Unleashed at 7 p.m. with Martin Kampmann vs. Drew McFedries, Marcus Davis vs. Jason Tan, Rich Franklin vs. Jason MacDonald and Travis Lutter vs. Anderson Silva, plus a replay of last night's Ultimate Fighter show at 8 p.m. before Impact.
An update on the Hulk Hogan/TNA relationship is the lead story in this coming Monday's issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter. We look at the real questions related to Hogan as far as running TNA, including what has been told to wrestlers he is recruiting about competition with Vince McMahon including a start date, as well as what those in TNA know and what Spike TV is saying.
We look at how history looks at this, as well as both the advantages and disadvantages of promoting pro wrestling in 2010. We look at when Hogan is likely to return, as well as the one example of Raw vs. Impact head-to-head historically and why that example changed a lot of minds about going to Mondays.
We look at Hogan's income and what it will take for him to stay in TNA, thoughts from people in the company, where things stand, people who look to be safe, those who aren't, as well as the track record of Hogan since the folding of WCW, and Eric Bischoff. We look at the good and bad of the first TNA rating since Hogan, Hogan's drawing power in WCW. We also look at the level of media interest and fan interest of the announcement of Hogan coming in and comparing it with other major events in TNA history, including what two wrestlers led to significantly more fan interest based on Internet responses than Hogan, as well as their effect on long-term business.
The issue is available right now to premium subscribers on the web site. You can also get the Observer mailed to your home with details below.
We also have a look at the death of the Hustle promotion, the press conference talking about it, the hopes to revive it, as well as the unique list of major stars who performed for the promotion during its nearly six years of existence.
We also have a review of what is one of the best PPV shows of this year, the taped Dragon Gate "Untouchable" show, with match-by-match coverage and star ratings, including what was and wasn't good on the show.
We've got some updates on Survivor Series and even WrestleMania, ridiculous politics and Linda McMahon's campaign, notes on WWE PPV shows in 2010, notes on some guest hosts for Raw upcoming as well as how TNA ratings came up in WWE this past week.
We look at the HHH interview with Powerslam magazine and what does and doesn't make sense, as well, some notes on the 2010 Hal of Fame, an update on Edge's return, WWE movie notes, new DVD release and awards given the promotion.
We have notes on UFC's injuries and illnesses and how they affect and totally change the big show at the end of the year. We've got a detailed update on Brock Lesnar as well as a timetable of when he can possibly return, as well as what Paul Heyman was talking about regarding Lesnar turning down a movie role.
We've got updates on how UFC 104 looks to have done and comparing it with UFC 102. We also have tons of new UFC fights including the next probable Kimbo Slice match, as well as the lawsuit against a current member of the cast of Ultimate Fighter regarding a wrongful death. We have an update on UFC coming to a major market in 2010 and perhaps its first stadium show.
We also have more on DVR usage and how that affects Ultimate Fighter viewing this season as compared to last season.
We also have a rundown of the Pro Wrestling NOAH jr. heavyweight tournament, as well as an update on KENTA, and final standings. We also run down the New Japan tag team tournament.
We also have a history piece on the Super J Cup, leading to its fifth edition later this year. We look at the first four shows, including two shows that won Big Show of the Year, one of the great one-night performances in pro wrestling history, as well as how the Super J Cup led to one of today's biggest stars getting his first U.S. major league break, as well as spawning the tournament that led to the formation of today's top indie group.
We also have an addendum to the Bill Miller Hall of Fame story, with a look back at the start of the Bruno Sammartino vs. Bill Miller feud and the unique angle, which included a rare pinfall loss by Sammartino in a singles match.
We also have a look at the ratings for all the major pro
wrestling and MMA shows on television over the past week.
We also have our usual weekly features such as the results of the
biggest matches of the week and rundown of the major television shows.
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Also in this week's issue:
--El Hijo del Santo talks about what is going wrong with the local Mexican promotions
--Updated ratings from Mexico continuing a pattern
--A look at where Raw actually beat the World Series head-to-head on Monday
--Major star returns to promotion and his debut bombs
--Perhaps the worst wrestling crowd ever at Arena Mexico was this past week
--Sons of legends all put their masks at stake
--Wrestler who in his retirement ceremony couldn't get out of his wheelchair
--A company other than WWE does Groundhog Day bit show booking
--New shoot angle
--Lawsuit over names of characters
--Update on the next Dragon Gate USA show
--A look at the Dragon Gate European tour
--Legends meet for the first time in upcoming tag team tournament
--Scary main event for major arena
--What top ten MMA heavyweight gets belt reminiscent of the world champion in the 80s and issues open challenge for it
--New celebrity athlete talks about going into pro wrestling
--Retirement of 90s star
--An update on the affect of DVRs and the modern television business
--Former wrestling star will host new TV show debuting in a few weeks
--A new level of trying to work the public
--Notes on Hulk Hogan's book
--Hogan talks TNA
--Linda Hogan talks Hulk's book
--Wrestler on biggest woman's show in history gets elected to FILA wrestling Hall of Fame
--Legendary wrestling announcer Dave Brown talks about his years in the sport
--Former wrestler talks about health hazards from his use of steroids during his career
--Notes on an MMA movie that features tons of 80s pro wrestling stars
--More on color barrier being broken in the NFL by a pro wrestler
--Update on Bound for Glory with matches announced and not yet announced
--Notes on negotiations with Bobby Lashley when it comes to fighting
--Update on Kevin Nash in TNA
--Notes on TNA house shows and TV tapings over the past week including 80s WWF star coming in
--Fedor files lawsuit
--Strikeforce signs overseas champion
--Notes on the last Dream and K-1 shows
New subscribers ordering 24 or 40 issues have to let us know what
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our history are:
*November 17, 1997 (full details of everything leading to the most famous
wrestling match finish of modern times at the Survivor Series plus a
history of in-ring double-crosses)
*December 21, 1998 (the complete Vince McMahon-Bret Hart conversation
right before the Survivor Series match so you'll know exactly what was
said--the conversation played in edited form both on the inaugural
broadcast of Confidential as well as in Wrestling with Shadows, but
everything that was said between the two about the match that was going
to take place that same night)
*August 1, 1994 (the most detailed coverage anywhere of the Vince McMahon
steroid trial, an issue praised in numerous newspaper article
and Sex, Lies and Headlocks)
*March 26, 2001 (death of WCW and history of pro wrestling on the Turner
networks)
*October 22, 2001 (why the adult audience has left pro wrestling in such
great numbers and what needed to have been done to save them)
*July 8, 1991 (Ric Flair leaves WCW as world champion/Zahorian steroid
trial)
*February 8, 1993 (the life and times of Andre the Giant)
*May 13, 2002 (the life story of the most incredible pro wrestling career
ever, a look at Lou Thesz, in one of the largest issues of our
history)
*January 27, 2003 (part one of the two-part series covering the career
and life of The Sheik)
*February 3, 2003 (Part two on The Sheik including thoughts from people
who worked with him and where he stands historically)
*March 24, 2003 (history of the WWWF title, inside behind the Sammartino,
Backlund and Backlund era)
*April 21, 2003 (history of WWF continues with the expansion nationally,
the death of the regional territories and the rise of Hulk
Hogan)
*May 12, 2003 (The life and death of Elizabeth, and the rise of fall of
Lex Luger)
*June 9, 2003 (Part 1 of history of WWF vs. WCW wars and what many say
was the greatest year in U.S. wrestling; plus a look at Fred Blassie)
*June 16, 2003 (Freddie Blassie through the eyes of his biggest rivals
and friends)
*July 28, 2003 (Part 2 of the history of the WWF vs. WCW war and the
plans to make new superstars in the early 90s, what happened, and the
night where the three biggest wrestling companies in the world combined
for a joint show and what happened)
*August 25, 2003 (2003 Hall of Fame issue with huge profiles on the
controversial career of Shawn Michaels, Chris Benoit as well as
historical features on Earl Caddock and Francisco Flores)
*September 22, 2003 (Part 3 of the history of the WWF vs WCW war with the
seeds that caused the collapse of the industry in the 90s,
Zahorian trial, Gulf War controversy, Flair leaves WCW while holding
world title and much more)
*October 27, 2003 (The fascinating life of Stu Hart plus the story of
Road Warrior Hawk)
*January 19, 2004 (2003 Awards issue)
*February 2, 2004 (History of Toronto wrestling, Jack Tunney life story,
Royal Rumble and Battle Royal history)
*February 23, 2004 (History of Guerrero family with Eddy's win over Brock
Lesnar)
*March 1, 2004 (History of WWF continues with the period that brought the
company down in early 1992, the mistakes, the real stories and how the
business changed)
*March 8, 2004 (History of Wrestlemania, its greatest matches and best
and worst shows as voted both by wrestlers and non-wrestlers and
Wrestlemania history books)
*July 5, 2004 (A look behind the scenes and Ric Flair's book and his
background with Eric Bischoff and Hulk Hogan)
*July 12, 2004 (A look at more on Ric Flair's book and his comments on
Bruno Sammartino, Bret Hart and Mick Foley)
*August 16, 2004 (History of the Olympians in pro wrestling)
*August 23, 2004 (2004 Hall of Fame issue and biggest issue of the year
with huge profiles on Kazushi Sakuraba, Undertaker, Bob Backlund,
Masahiro Chono, Ultimo Dragon, Kurt Angle and Tarzan Lopez--this counts
as one issue if you are asking for a free issue, but ordered separately,
due to size, is $6 in North America and $7 overseas)
*October 4, 2004 (the life and times of Big Bossman; as well as details
of the life and times of one of the most influential men world wide in
pro wrestling history, Jim Barnett)
*November 15, 2004 (the full story of what happened between Kurt Angle
and Daniel Puder, plus coverage of the most important week in the
history of TNA)
*January 24, 2005 (2004 Awards issue, Rock and WWE part company)
*March 14, 2005 (the 50 biggest money players in the history of WWF and a
look at their Hall of Fame)
*May 9, 2005 (the life and times of Chris Candido)
*June 20, 2005 (The full story behind Paul Heyman and the death of ECW,
as well as coverage of One Night Stand, Hardcore Homecoming and
behind the scenes of both shows)
*July 18, 2005 (death of Shinya Hashimoto and his records with a look at
the fall of New Japan, the Matt Hardy angle, tons of WWE firings,
Cornette firing in detail as well as problems of a WWE developmental
territory in our biggest news issue of the year which is a double-sized
issue and would be $6 on its own and $7 overseas)
*August 24, 2005 (2005 Hall of Fame issue with career profiles of Paul
Heyman, HHH and Freebirds plus debut of MMA Hall of Fame)
*September 12, 2005 (History of Mid South Wrestling)
*October 10, 2005 (Life and Times of the Ultimate Warrior)
*November 21, 2005 (Life and Times of Eddy Guerrero and Crusher, double
issue $6 on its own and $7 overseas)
*December 5, 2005 (The Eddy Guerrero special issue, double issue $6 on
its own, $7 overseas)
*January 9, 2006 (The life and times of Superstar Billy Graham, plus New
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*January 16, 2006 (2005 Awards double issue, $6 or $7 overseas)
*April 3, 2006 (Story of Ann Calvello and the history of Roller
Derby--many called this the best issue of the Observer ever)
*April 10, 2006 (Behind the scenes at the 2006 Wrestlemania/Hall of Fame
week)
*July 24, 2006 (The History of the Von Erichs and World Class
Championship Wrestling--the most unreal story ever in wrestling)
*September 4, 2006 (The Rise and Fall of Kurt Angle; 2006 Hall of Fame
inductions of Eddie Guerrero, Paul Bowser, Masakatsu Funaki, Aja Kong and
Hiroshi Hase including tons of wrestling history around the world from
the 20s through the 60s, the evolution of working to not working
in Japan, and a look at Guerrero in hindsight, double issue $6 or $7
overseas)
*October 9, 2006 (A look back nine years later at the life and legacy of
Brian Pillman with tons of inside information about what made him
tick as his real objectives)
*November 15, 2006 (History of WCW part one, Eric Bischoff's book and how
the industry was changed forever)
*November 20, 2006 (History of WCW part two, Why Jim Ross left WCW, How
Bischoff changed the company, signing of Hulk Hogan, Beginning of Nitro,
Jesse Ventura, Brian Pillman, Chris Jericho and signing Wrestlemania
planned celebrity away)
*November 27, 2006 (History of WCW part three, When Bischoff challenged
McMahon to fight; Truth and fiction around Bret Hart signing with WCW and
why it didn't click)
*December 6, 2006 (details behind Pride's offers to sell promotion and
Part four of History of WCW part four, Hogan-Goldberg match and why
there was no rematch, WCW loses NBC network deal in 1999 and the real
reasons the company fell apart)
*January 22, 2007 (2006 Awards issue, double issue $7 on its own, $8
overseas)
*February 14, 2007 (Life and Times of Bam Bam Bigelow)
*March 5, 2007 (WWE begins plans that will change the business)
*March 12, 2007 (Life and Times of Mike Awesome)
*March 19, 2007 (Life and Times of Ernie Ladd)
*April 4, 2007 (Life and Times of Badnews Allen Coage--which many are
calling one of the best issues in history)
*July 2, 2007 (Part one of the Benoit double murder-suicide)
*July 5, 2007 (Part two of the Benoit double murder-suicide)
*July 10, 2007 (Part three of the Benoit double murder-suicide)
*July 19, 2007 (Part four of the Benoit double murder-suicide)
*July 23, 2007 (Part five of Benoit double murder-suicide)
*July 25, 2007 (Part six of Benoit double murder-suicide)
*August 15, 2007 (The legend of the God of Japanese wrestling and his
influence on MMA, Karl Gotch)
*October 15 (2007 Hall of Fame double issue, $7 on its own, $8 overseas
including inductions of The Rock, Tom Packs and the original
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*November 12, 2007 (Life and times of Fabulous Moolah and history of U.S.
women's wrestling) .
*December 31, 2007 (History of Ric Flair and the heyday of wrestling at
the Greensboro Coliseum)
*January 21, 2008 (2007 Awards issue, double issue $7 on its own, $8
overseas)
*March 17, 2008 (Life and times of Johnny Weaver)
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*April 10, 2008 (Farewell to Ric Flair; My thoughts, Shawn Michaels talks
of Flair's meaning to him; Hall of Fame; Wrestlemania double issue, $7 on
its own, $8 overseas)
*August 11, 2008 (Ric Flair leaves WWE; Updated history of pro wrestlers
and MMA fighters who went to the Olympics)
*September 8, 2008 (2008 Hall of Fame double issue, $7 on its own, $8
overseas; part one of Killer Kowalski bio)
*September 15, 2008 (Life and Times of Evan Tanner)
*September 22, 2008 (The amazing career of Killer Kowalski, one of our
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--WWE had its quarterly investors call earlier today. The results were good in that the company took in $111.3 million over the months of July through September and made an $8.9 million profit. The profit margin was better than the same period last year, which is considered a plus. The profit didn't cover the dividend, but few expected it would. House shows were up for the three month period, merchandise, Internet and PPV were all down but television rights fees were up. The key is spending is way down. Vince McMahon and George Barrios talked more confidently about the future, believing the movie division will start being a profit center since they are going to do low budget movies, give them short commercial releases and then go to DVD. Regarding Shane McMahon leaving, Vince just said he left to pursue other opportunities in the marketplace. He noted that the people running the company are there based on performance and merit "and not because your last name is McMahon."
--He was more optimistic about the future, expecting major increases in profitability over the next three years due to expected merchandise sale increases outside of North America because of working with Mattell and believing they will increase revenues on international television rights over the next few years. He also talked of doing a WWE Network, which has been talked about for years, but apparently more seriously now, although no budget or battle plan has been laid out.
--The Breaking Point PPV did poorly, with 169,000 buys worldwide. SummerSlam (369,000) was down from 478,000 last year. However, there was a big increase in the July number from 195,000 last year for the Great American Bash to 264,000 this year for Night of Champions. We'll have a lot more, including how those shows did domestically and examining every aspect of company business in next week's Observer.
--McMahon once again said he felt the best barometer of whether the creative and storylines are working is house show attendance, and for the three-month period, they were up 9% in North America from a 5,300 paid per show average to 5,800. July was up significantly, August was down significantly to offset it (although that was also due to playing smaller buildings), and September was up.
--Notes from today's Strikeforce press conference in Chicago. Fedor laughed at Jason Miller antics. Miller used his iphone to take photos of himself with Fedor. Miller talked about the importance of being entertaining. (thanks to Keith Lipinski)
--Rey Mysterio vs. Batista is official for Survivor Series
--Tuesday's Smackdown tapings in Sheffield will have both John Morrison vs. Dolph Ziggler for the IC title and Christian vs. William Regal for the ECW title
--Even with Monday Night Football on ESPN, USA won the ratings race this week with a 2.6 prime time average to 2.3 for ESPN and 1.6 for Fox News. Syfy was No. 7 at 1.1 and Spike was No. 14 at 0.8. Raw was No. 2 and No. 5, behind Monday Night Football. The NCIS episode before Raw did a 3.7 and NCIS is the big hit on cable carrying USA with 12 of the top 25 rated shows for the week. Raw was No. 5 in the second hour and but in the top ten in the first hour in 18-34. Ultimate Fighter was No. 8 in that demo, although in Males 18-34 it was the second highest rated show of the week behind Monday Night Football. In 18-49, Raw was No. 2 and No. 3 behind football. Ultimate Fighter was No. 10 in that demo. In Males 18-49, Ultimate Fighter was behind only Raw and the NFL.
--Georges St. Pierre has signed a multi-year endorsement deal with Under Armour. GSP will be the face of their line of BoxerJock, BoxerBrief Underwear and will also be among the primary faces of Under Armour's Recharge suit Recharge suit starting early next year. He will be part of a media campaign for the Christmas season as well. He's the first MMA fighter the company has signed up.
--Hulk Hogan was doing media day in Los Angeles today. He was on "Good Day L.A." today and in a ten minute interview, during the last 15 seconds he said he was coming back to run a wrestling company called TNA. He's signing books at "The Grove" in Los Angeles tonight.
--We've gotten a lot of compliments today on last night's Roller Derby based audio show talking with Jerry Seltzer, who owned and ran the promotion from 1958 to 1973. If you are older and were a fan of it, this is probably the best and most in-depth interview Seltzer has done publicly, including talking about the season when the games were a shoot, what led to Derby folding, why it never came back, and his feelings on today's Derby, his father (who invented the sport), Charlie O'Connell, the rise of Derby and RollerJam (which he was a consultant on). The show also has a lot more on Brock Lesnar's illness and Hogan and TNA.
--Inside MMA moves to 6 p.m. Eastern tomorrow on HDNet live from Chicago with the Strikeforce weigh-ins carried live. Among the guests on the show scheduled are Frank Shamrock, Bobby Lashley and King Mo Lawal.
--For those in Orlando, WKMG was originally going to air the Strikeforce show on Saturday night on tape at 1:35 a.m.. Brian Fritz noted after talking about it on his radio show on ESPN radio in Orlando, and telling people to contact the station with calls and e-mails politely, the station has agreed to show the event live at 9 p.m.
--Poll on Raw from Monday
Excellent 8.8%
Good 28.5%
Average 27.6%
Fair 12.3%
Poor 22.8%
25.0% of those responding didn't see the show
--Poll on ROH from Monday
Excellent 44.7%
Good 28.9%
Average 13.2%
Fair 2.6%
Poor 10.5%
75.5% of those responding didn't see the show
--Who Will be UFC heavyweight champion at the end of 2010?
Brock Lesnar 69.9%
Cain Velasquez 8.3%
Fedor Emelianenko 8.0%
Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira 7.5%
Junior Dos Santos 2.1%
Shane Carwin 1.9%
Mirko Cro Cop 1.1%
Frank Mir 0.8%
Cheick Kongo 0.3%
Gabriel Gonzaga 0.3%
--Greatest tag team in history
Road Warriors 39.2%
Midnight Express 24.1%
Misawa & Kobashi 9.9%
Brody & Hansen 5.2%
Stevens & Patterson 3.9%
Kawada & Taue 3.7%
Stevens & Bockwinkel 3.5%
Funk Brothers 3.3%
Kangaroos 2.8%
Gene & Ole Anderson 2.5%
Rocca & Perez 1.5%
Baba & Tsuruta 0.2%
--U.K. ratings for the week ending 10/25. Bound for Glory on a three-day tape delay had 49,000 viewers (on TV, not PPV). Impact did less than 38,000 viewers. Raw did 39,000 live, 37,000 on a Thursday replay and 44,000 on a Friday replay. Smackdown did 62,000 on Friday (thanks to Ian Hamilton)
--Brett Rogers is on Adam Carolla today at http://www.adamcarolla.com/ACPBlog/
--Cain Velasquez appeaers tonight at the Latin Grammmy Awards in Las Vegas. He will be in an opening video segment.
--A review of Irv Muchnick's book on Chris Benoit is at http://www.beyondchron.org/articles/_Book_Exposes_Pro_Wrestling_s_Cocktai l_of_Death_7522.html The review itself is very good, pointing out that you can't expect anyone to care about deaths in wrestling when they don't care about steroid use in baseball or dementia in football.
--Peter King has an old article about Brian Pillman when he played for the Cincinnati Bengals at http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/football/nfl/2001/preview/news/2001/07/2 3/postcard_bengals/
--UFC has a Matt Hughes TV special at 8 p.m. tomorrow on Spike, plus replays the December 10, 2008 live event from Fayetteville headlined by Josh Kosheck vs. Yoshiyuki Yoshida.
--Roddy Piper is expected to guest host Raw on 11/16 from Madison Square Garden
--Chris Jericho made TMZ twice today. Two weeks ago when he was in Sacramento at the Horror Film Festival, he made a joke calling the moderator "Hadji" and when the host sniffed his drink, he said, "It's apple juice, fag." Jericho responded saying, "After seeing the video I realize some inappropriate comments were made and I apologized if I offended anybody. Just know that everyone on stage was having a blast and we all shared a drink and a laugh after. The good news is I got my wish of being posted on TMZ." I saw the tape and it was clearly just him as a heel making a joke, but as Dana White and Mickey Rourke found out, that word gets you bad pub these days. GLAAD has since responded saying, "Just three months ago, Chris Jericho's boss and WWE Chairman Vince McMahon acknowledged to GLAAD that words matter. There is no time, context or occasion in which it is acceptable to utter racist and anti-gay slurs. Jericho's hollow apology `if offended anyone' is a template used by many and is insincere and worn."
--Jigsaw vs. Gran Akuma vs. Nick Jackson vs. Matt Jackson vs. Lince Dorado vs. Johnny Gargano was announced as another first round match in the 11/28 Open the Freedom Gate title tournament on the 11/28 Dragon Gate USA PPV taping in Philadelphia
--Frank Shamrock on Jim Rome talking Saturday's fight at http://recordings.talkshoe.com/TC-19817/TS-289043.mp3
--The Miz talks guest hosts, being a reality show star in WWE and being accepted by the wrestlers and WrestleMania at http://blogs.orlandosentinel.com/wrestling/2009/11/interview-wth-wwe-supe rstar-the-miz.html
--Mike Swick talks being the heel in his fight with Dan Hardy next week at http://www.heavy.com/post/mike-swick-interview-1340
--Christopher Daniels in in three short skits on the web series "Cubed" on Foxsports.com
--A direct link to the Sam Ford article on what corporations can learn from pro wrestling at http://www.fastcompany.com/blog/sam-ford/conversation-convergence/10-thin gs-corporations-can-learn-pro-wrestling
--Kyle Busch and Joey Logano race their WWE cars at the NASCAR race in Texas which airs at Noon Eastern time on ESPN2
--A note on the dividend of WWE stocks is at http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601039&sid=angXHtQ2n9eY They expect the dividend to be cut since earnings never cover it.
--Another review of Smackdown vs. Raw 2010 at http://kotaku.com/5395253/wwe-smackdown-vs-raw-2010-review-a-game-for-sma rt-people
--Pro Wrestling World 1 on 11/22 in Neptune, NJ at the Fire Hall with Steve Corino vs. Ace Darling at 2 p.m. and Corino vs. Ricky Reyes in the same building at 5 p.m.
--Hoosier Pro Wrestling on Saturday night in Columbus, IN has its 11th anniversary show at the 4-H Fairgrounds with Diceman Ronnie Vegas & April Hunter vs. Pastor Pain & Koa Marie and a bikini contest, plus Flash Flanagan wrestles.
--CMLL on Monday night in Guadalajara before 1,250 fans: Johnny Dinamo b Halcon Suri, Exterminador & In Memoria b Meteoro & Relampago, Samurai & Egipcio b Gallo & Rafaga, Virus & Misterioso Jr. b Rouge & Neutron, Atlantis & Negro Casas & Dragon Rojo b Stuka Jr. & La Sombra & Mascara Dorada, Ultimo Guerrero b Mistico-DQ (thanks to Steve "Dr. Lucha" Sims)
--Jake Shields talks about his fight with Mayhem Miller at http://www.fightline.com/news/mma/2009/1105/458758/jake-shields/index.sht ml
--An Australian reporter who was in Vancouver and did a story on the city, noted the sport in that city that got people the most excited was UFC, saying it's like WWE wrestling but real. Story is at http://www.theage.com.au/travel/worlds-most-liveable-city-put-to-the-test -20091022-hahu.html
--Matt Riviera of VH-1 makes his debut with Tri-State Wrestling along with Blue Meanie, Steve Corino and others appear on 12/5 in Williamstown, NJ at Saint Matthew's Baptist Church
--Maryland Night of Legends on Saturday night in Dundalk MD at the Green Room featuring Gillberg, Headbanger Mosh, Axl Rotten and Nikolai Volkoff
--Front Row Wrestling tomorrow night in Rochester, NH at the American Legion with Bruiser Costa vs. Maverick Wild
--Anthony Macias, best known as the UFC fighter who got suplexed out of his shoes by Dan Severn at UFC 4, faces Shonie Carter on Saturday night in Tulsa at the Million Dollar Elm Casino. Macias hasn't fought in four years. (thanks to Anthony Sullivan)
--GOUGE on 11/7 in Youngsville, NC at the National Guard Armory
--CHIKARA on 11/22 in Philadelphia for an afternoon show at the Arena has Fire Ant & Soldier Ant vs. Ophidian & Amasis, Claudio Castagnoli vs. Eddie Kingston, Helios vs. Kushida, Mike Quackenbush & Jigsaw & Jorge Rivera vs. FIST and more.
--Dangerous Women of Wrestling on 11/19 at The Roxxy in Philadelphia for a TV taping featuring Lizzy Valentine, Annie Social, Amy Lee and others
--NCW on 11/21 at York County Tech High School in York, PA with Iron Sheik making an appearance
--The most sports show in Sweden (Sporspegeln) had a debate about MMA on Sunday. A reporter said the biggest problem was a fighter could be out cold and still get punched in the head and was too violent for his taste. MMA is very controversial in Sweden even though UFC airs seven nights per week on television and Dream and -1 are on almost every week. (thanks to Daniel Carlsson)
--Matt Cross has been added to the upcoming Hulkamania tour in Australia at the end of the month
--Collectors Realm as the former Mr. Kennedy plus Dusty Rhodes from 1-3 p.m. doing signing at 44 Raymond Avenue in Poughkeepsie next to Vassar College
--The Detroit wrestlers on Travel Channel's Man vs. Food show that airs again Saturday at 11 a.m. were Eddie Venom (tall guy with blond Mohawk), The Bump N Uglies (masked tag team), and Mo Dred/Cadillac Jones (African American with deadlocks)
--Maxim Model Catalina White, who briefly was with WWE developmental as Saylor James, is going to have a ex tape released on 11/17
--World Series of Grappling on 12/12 in North Las Vegas at Texas Station.
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