WWE Flexing its Muscle

World Wrestling Entertainment Inc., the global leader in sports entertainment, has announced a new global organization. Shane McMahon, Executive Vice President, Global Media, is expanding WWE's operations into London, Shanghai, Tokyo, Sao Paulo, Toronto and Sydney in an effort to tap into WWE's strong worldwide appeal.

The regional office in London will be led by Andrew Whitaker as the President of Europe, Middle East and Africa. Carl DeMarco will continue to focus on expansion through the Toronto office as the President of Canada, Latin America and China. Jonathan Sully will establish WWE's headquarters in Sydney, Australia, as the President of Asia Pacific.

"Whitaker, DeMarco and Sully will oversee integrated sales, marketing and digital initiatives as well as focus on new and emerging markets. This new structure will allow us to more quickly exploit business opportunities and leverage the strength of the WWE brand," said McMahon.

source: business wire

New TNA Knockouts

Amazing Kong made her TNA debut at Tuesday's iMPACT! taping in a match with Gail Kim. She dominated the match and Gail only got in a few moves against her. Kong won the match. With the exception of Ms. Brooks (who was involved in an important storyline earlier in the show) and Shelly "Ariel" Martinez (they're saving her debut), all the other women scheduled for the Knockouts Gauntlet match at next month's pay-per-view were at ringside including Angel Williams, Talia Madison and ODB. Both Williams and ODB made forgettable appearances for TNA in 2004. Talia Madison has appeared on several indy shows featuring TNA talent. Furthermore, the five debuting females are not under contract to TNA just yet; the girls who perform the best during next month's pay-per-view gauntlet match will likely be offered deals.

WWE Creative Team Now Working On WWE.com

Stephanie McMahon sent out a memo to WWE officials notifying Michael Cole (who is head of WWE.com) and the rest of the staff of the official WWE web site that the creative team will now be copy editors and sometimes staff writers for WWE.com. The thinking behind this is to make sure that the stories published on the web site matchup with what is being done from a creative standpoint. The initial reaction backstage to the announcement is fairly negative as the WWE.com people feel that their toes are being stepped on while it is more work for the WWE creative team.

IFL To Hold 3 Tryout Sessions At L.A. Boxing Locations

The International Fight League, the world’s number one professional mixed martial arts league,will conduct IFL 2 008 Draft, a series of combine-style workouts for aspiring professional mixed martial artists to be held in conjunction with L.A. Boxing on successive Saturdays in October in Southern California, Metro New York, and Chicagoland. IFL Coaches will conduct the sessions, which are open to MMA athletes ages 18 and over with a minimum of one professional MMA bout to their credit, seeking potential spots on the 2008 IFL team rosters...More?

Cryptic Save_US.222 Video

Last night on RAW, WWE aired a very strange and cryptical video clip. The clip shows blue text scrolling on a black screen - very similar to the green scrolling text from the movie "The Matrix". Text is constantly flashing on the screen and it's hard to make out exactly what to make of the clip.

The video has been posted online and by pausing the clip at certain spots, several "clues" can be made out:

- The phrase "SAVE_US.222" flashes several times and is the focus of the video

- Some of the frames show what looks like computer code containing the names of current and past WWE shows. It appears to be the "video paths" used by WWE's production software.

- Now, let the speculation begin. There is a "3-2-1" countdown that flashes quickly. One of the phrases that shows up a few times is "cd_volume4_1.act". On WWE's CD "WWE The Music: Volume 4", Track 1 is the theme music of .. Chris Jericho. With that in mind, the clip is somewhat similar to Chris Jericho's old entrance video.

- The phrase "7OCT" is repeated over and over on one frame. October 7th is the date of WWE's next PPV, No Mercy.

Click here to view the video.

The Game gets played by Mr. McMahon

All week, Triple H had planned to settle the score between him and Carlito in the 15-foot-high steel cage on Raw. He dreamt of ways to turn the Caribbean Bad Apple into applesauce. But an old rival reared his head to foil The Game’s plans, and put the first blemish on Triple H’s record since he returned at SummerSlam – Mr. McMahon...More?

Why WWE developmental has failed

WWE developmental has, in some shape or form, been in use for over a decade now. The most predominate of the developmental groups belongs to Danny Davis in Ohio Valley Wrestling. Yet in the last decade, WWE developmental has failed to turn out more than a handful of major stars and none of them have been mega-star level...More?

source: f4wonline.com

NSAC Opts Not To Suspend Babalu For Choke Incident

The Nevada State Athletic Commission voted today to withhold the $25,000 win bonus Renato “Babalu” Sobral earned for his Aug. 25 submission victory over David Heath at UFC 74 “Respect” in Las Vegas, Nev.

Sobral allegedly refused to relinquish a fight-ending anaconda choke on Heath during a preliminary light heavyweight bout, despite referee Steve Mazzagatti’s instructions in the cage. Heath was rendered unconscious as a result, and the crowd at the Mandalay Bay Events Center, once firmly in Sobral’s corner, showered the Brazilian with boos...More?

source: mmanews.com

Wrestling Convention

There's going to be a big wrestling convention/PPV show at the Cow Palace in San Francisco during the weekend of October 19. DirecTV, TVN and inDemand will be carrying the PPV. Several of the names being advertised are under contract to TNA, and TNA wrestlers are expressedly prohibited from appearing on non-TNA pay-per-views. The show is advertising Nash & Hall vs. Sid & mystery partner (who is hinted at being Goldberg even though Goldberg has said time and time again that he is likely done with wrestling), Team 3D vs. Steiners, Corino vs. Sandman, Muta vs. Ultimo Dragon, Greg Valentine & Dr. Death vs. Koko B. Ware & Beefcake vs. Kamala & One Man Gang vs. Warlor & Barbarian, Gail Kim vs. Tracy Brooks, Abyss vs. Shark Boy, Rikishi vs. Black Pearl (his cousin), Mil Mascaras vs. Rey Misterio Sr., Luke Hawx & Al Katrazz vs. Orlando Jordan & Kidman, and a match between Vampiro & Vic Grimes.

DEA makes record steroid raid

Federal drug officials say they've arrested 124 people and busted 56 labs in the largest illegal steroid investigation in U.S. history.

The 18-month investigation, dubbed "Operation Raw Deal," targeted traffickers who allegedly imported raw materials from China and used them to make anabolic steroids, human growth hormone and insulin growth factor, the Drug Enforcement Administration said...More?

source: cnn.com

Shelly "Ariel" Martinez Headed to TNA

Rumors of Shelly "Ariel" Martinez headed to TNA Wrestling are true. The former manager of Kevin Thorne on WWE's ECW brand will make her TNA debut at TNA's biggest PPV of the year, Bound For Glory...More?

source: rajah.com

The many hats of WWE personality Johnathan Coachman

Johnathan Coachman does everything from being a WWE superstar to broadcasting Football and Basketball games on the Collesge Sports Television.

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