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March 15, 2007
Sneaking up on Vince: Is UFC the next big thing in Pay-Per-View?
Thomas Keister
March 13, 2007
It isn't very often you see mention of World Wrestling Entertainment or the Ultimate Fighting Championship in the business section of a newspaper. More often than not, when either company is named, there is a spot that usually proves the mainstreams media's overall ignorance of an established and successful entertainment product. A case in point was a recent British feature on the WWE making matches and other content downloadable for cell phones. The only star on the WWE roster mentioned by name, other than a generic reference to the Divas, was "Hacksaw" Jim Duggan. No offense to the Hacksaw, but since when did you ever have mainstream heat? Certainly not in 1991, certainly not today. Maybe the British reporters could flip the channel and check out Monday Night Raw once in a while. I mean, how hard can it be? They only have like six-and-a-half channels or something.
While Spike TV has yet to grow a set and give TNA Impact a two-hour prime time slot, the UFC has been creeping up slowly on professional wrestling, not only in popularity, but profitability as well. Just the recent doses of mainstream exposure UFC has been getting has amped up its profile, with Tito Ortiz dating Jenna Jameson and Chuck Liddell appearing in the recently-released Frank Miller film, 300. Under president Dana White's leadership, the UFC has grown well beyond its reputation as a money-losing organized brawl.
The numbers aren't lying, and they are eye-opening as well. For 2006, not only did Ultimate Fighting Championship tie World Wrestling Entertainment with $200 million of pay-per-view revenue, they beat HBO Boxing, which brought in around $170 million with their PPV productions. Don King and the rest of boxing's ilk must be pissed....More? Click here.
March 14, 2007
March 13, 2007
Triple H on Bodybuilding.com Radio
Triple H was on Bodybuilding.com Radio yesterday. You can still listen to the interview. It will be available through March 19th....
The remarkable success of pro wrestling has long been a hot topic among bodybuilding fans. "Pro Bodybuilding Weekly" explores the relationship between bodybuilding and wrestling as bodybuilding talk radio welcomes WWE Superstar Triple H. A former competitive bodybuilder and host of two Mr. Olympia contests, Triple H remains one of the most popular and successful wrestling champions of all-time.
http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/player.htm
March 11, 2007
Hilary Clinton in Triple H's Hometown
Clinton packs ’em in
By Albert McKeon, Telegraph Staff
NASHUA – Democrats had their political appetites satisfied Saturday: chocolate in the afternoon with Hillary and then a chicken dinner with Hillary.
U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton made a brief but memorable visit to Swan Chocolates in the afternoon – stopping downtown traffic to sip a hot drink and meet admirers – before headlining the state Democratic Party’s annual dinner at the Sheraton Nashua Hotel...
You can read the rest of the article here.
March 10, 2007
UFC PRESIDENT DANA WHITE DISCUSSES FORMER WWE CHAMP BROCK LESNAR & TNA STAR KURT ANGLE
by Mike Johnson @ 6:56:00 PM on 3/9/2007
Ultimate Fighting Championship president Dana White did an interview with CBS Sportsline that was posted earlier today. Of the most interest to professional wrestling fans were comments made regarding former WWE champions Kurt Angle and Brock Lesnar. UFC's Interest in Lesnar: "Very interested in Brock Lesnar. Brock Lesnar is out there, I believe right now he had signed a deal with K-1, and he's out there training hard from what I hear, and he's taking this serious. And that's what you need to do. Brock Lesnar seems like a serious guy to me." White went on to say there have been no contract talks between the two.
Kurt Angle in UFC: "I like Kurt. I've talked to Kurt a bunch of times. I'm just not sure how committed he is to fighting. I made him an offer before, and he went over and did TNA wrestling. I don't know. If the guy is seriously interested in fighting, then he should be fighting with the UFC."
What It Would Take for UFC to Sign Angle: "The guy, seriously, is a legend in Olympic wrestling, and is a legend in professional wrestling. I'm not going to bring anybody in here for some type of freak show to get hurt. If the guy wants to be serious and wants to come over and train -- and I can hook him up with all the right people to train with, the right training places, and everything else. If he wants to be serious, I'm interested, but I'm not going to bring him over here to get hurt."
Angle Competing in MMA and pro wrestling simultaneously: "I'd prefer he did one or the other. I mean, how the hell are you going to professional wrestle and professional fight? It doesn't work that way. It takes a lot of time and training to dedicate to fighting." Angle saying he'd need six month of training: "At his age and having never had a pro fight, that would be a very good idea. This thing isn't a joke. You don't just decide "I'm a professional wrestler I think I'm going to fight." It takes a lot of time, dedication and hard work -- just like wrestling does. I'm sure these guys have to train hard and have to get in great shape to professional wrestle. You can't just jump up one day and say, "I'm going to be a pro fighter and I think I'll fight next month." It doesn't work that way. It doesn't even come close to working that way.
White discusses a number of other topics in regards to MMA including the announcement that UFC 70, scheduled to be held in Great Britain, will be broadcast for free on SpikeTV. You can read the entire interview at http://www.sportsline.com/boxing/story/10050453.
March 9, 2007
Disney's First Black Princess in an Animated Film
The film, set for release in 2009, also is the first hand-drawn film Disney has committed to since pledging last month to return to the traditional animation that made it a worldwide brand.
“The Frog Princess,” a musical scored by composer Randy Newman, is “an American fairy tale” starring a girl named Maddy who lives in the French Quarter in New Orleans, said John Lasseter, chief creative director for Disney and Pixar Animation Studios...You can read the rest of the article here.
March 8, 2007
Tito Ortiz vs. Dana White Boxing Match Confirmed
LAS VEGAS -- " Nevada regulators today approved an unusual grudge match between Ultimate Fighting Championship president Dana White and the "bad boy" of Huntington Beach, Calif., Tito Ortiz. White is the 37-year-old president of the mixed-martial arts promotion company that has become a heavyweight in the pay-per-view business. Ortiz (15-5-0) is one of its toughest, most popular combatants. Ortiz made the three-round match -- " in which both fighters will box only, no grappling -- " a condition of his recent contract negotiations.
White was once Ortiz' manager, but the two "had a real bad falling out" in 2003, White said. "The last time Tito and I boxed was six years ago, and he's a lot better than he was six years ago," White said after a hearing at the Nevada Athletic Commission, which approved the fight 3-1. "I'm a lot older than I was six years ago, so we'll see."
Regulators expressed concern that White would be seriously hurt by Ortiz, 32. But most commissioners were reassured by sparring tapes showing White in the ring against another heavyweight from two months ago. White said he's been training since last July. "I've seen Tito as a boxer, and he's probably not as good as you are," commission chair Dr. Tony Alamo told White.
Ortiz will weigh in at 205 pounds, while White weighs 196 pounds, both the boxing equivalent of heavyweight fighters. The fight March 24 will likely take place at the UFC training center in Las Vegas and be broadcast later on the company's Web site, www.ufc.com, the company said.
source: wrestlezone.com
Cingular to Put Wrestling on Mobile Phones
Triple H will be on my phone!
NEW YORK (Reuters) -- Professional wrestlers will soon be fighting for space on tiny mobile phone screens thanks to Cingular Wireless.
The top U.S. mobile service provider, owned by AT&T Inc (Charts). , plans to announce an agreement with World Wrestling Entertainment Inc. (Charts) Thursday to sell everything from ringtones with famous wrestlers' voices to graphics and videos, including weekly matches and the annual spring tournament.
Some World Wrestling videos will be available as part of Cingular's $19.99 a month media service plan and the company will also sell a premium video package for $4.99 a month featuring highlights from WrestleMania and other shows.
Cingular, which is being rebranded as AT&T, will also sell related ringtones for $2.49 each and graphics for $1.99.
It will launch the service Thursday on phones with high-speed Web links with video clips and will add new features in the following months, said Cingular spokesman Mark Siegel.
He believes enough of Cingular's 61 million customers are wrestling fans "that this will do very well."
But WWE's 15 million weekly viewers are the ones who will ultimately decide if the phone screen can deliver a clear enough image of favorite super stars such as Hacksaw Jim Duggan or his curvaceous female counterparts.
source: cnn.com
March 6, 2007
Inside the Steroid Sting-Kurt Angle Being Investigated for Steroid Use
By Luis Fernando Llosa and L. Jon Wertheim
The Palm Beach Rejuvenation Center is decidedly less exotic than its name might suggest. Wedged between a lawyer's office and a brokerage firm on the third floor of a dreary Jupiter, Fla., office building, it is a glorified boiler room, "basically a call center," as one employee explains. Yet investigators contend that the Palm Beach Rejuvenation Center (PBRC) -- and dozens of so-called antiaging or wellness centers like it -- is a vital component in a massive illegal distribution network that enabled customers to place orders over the Internet for performance-enhancing drugs, including steroids and human growth hormone (HGH)...
...Kurt Angle, a 1996 Olympic gold-medal-winning freestyle wrestler and now a star professional wrestler, received two prescriptions for trenbolone and one for nandrolone between October 2004 and February '05. (Angle did not return messages left with his spokesman.)...
source: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com
March 5, 2007
Countdown to Battleground - International Fight League
By Jessica Schweitzer
New York, NY -- MyNetworkTV, the broadcast home of the International Fight League, announced today that it will present “Countdown to Battleground” on Wednesday, March 7th at 8:00 p.m. (EST/PST) The one-hour special will give audiences a sneak preview of the new MyNetworkTV show, “IFL Battleground.”
The program is designed to introduce audiences to the IFL and mixed martial arts, as well as the athletes and teams that make up the league.
“Countdown to Battleground” will include interviews with the fighters and the five legendary coaches, Ken Shamrock, Renzo Gracie, Pat Miletich, Bas Rutten and Frank Shamrock. Audiences will also get a taste of the action-packed fast-paced competition through recaps of recent IFL events.
“We are excited to bring viewers a taste of the powerful battles, intense rivalries and inspiring stories that will be featured this season on ‘IFL Battleground,’” said Greg Meidel, President, MyNetworkTV.
“We are looking forward to exposing these great athletes and our legendary coaches and the sport of MMA to the largest TV audience ever,” said Gareb Shamus, co-founder and CEO, International Fight League.
source: www.ifl.tv
Triple H Sighting!
Raw's most wanted man was at the Arnold Classic this past weekend and damn didn't he look good! See for yourself...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xv2wpC7qReE
Oderint Dum Metuant: Let Them Hate As Long As They Fear
