Randy Couture exit shows cracks in slick veneer of the UFC

Leaving the limelight at 44 is not unexpected for an athlete but heavyweight champion Randy Couture's sudden decision to quit the UFC exposes a few cracks in the slick veneer of the mixed martial arts powerhouse.

One visible scratch left by Couture on his way out of the UFC concerns money.

The lid has been lifted on player salaries in most major pro leagues in North America, either because of the need to fit within salary caps or because unions have decided that their membership benefit when the numbers are known...More?

MTV Announces Casting Call for Industry Members

MTV documentary show “True Life” has put out a casting call for industry members between the ages of 18 to 28 who are not performers, to appear in an episode titled “True Life: I'm In the Sex Industry.”

The show, produced by Left/Right Inc., put out a casting call in June, but then was notified by MTV that they want non-performers to appear in the episode...More?

Excerpt from Batista's Book

Speaking of Charles Barkley, I met another of my basketball heroes thanks to wrestling, though I can’t say that he was much of a Batista fan. In fact, his idol turned out to be Triple H.

The player was Alonzo Mourning. He’s best known now as a star for the Miami Heat in the NBA, but back at the end of the eighties and early nineties he was starting for the Georgetown Hoyas, then as now one of the country’s top college basketball teams. Seeing as how I was from Washington, D.C., Georgetown University was my local team and I was a big fan of theirs and Mourning.

Hunter and I did a celebrity pool tournament at the tail end of 2004. The only thing I remember about the tournament was the fact that Alonzo was in the celebrity tournament, too. I, of course, turned into a little kid. I was just about jumping up and down. “Man, it’s great, it’s Alonzo Mourning, yeah!” I was thinking to myself.

Anyway, Alonzo saw us and recognized Hunter. He came over and started talking to him, telling him he’s a big fan, the whole thing. Hunter thanked him and they started talking.

I have to admit, I was kind of jealous. Here’s this guy I absolutely idolized, and he was talking to my friend for a good half hour and pretty much ignoring me. I just stood there, taking it all in.

So, they’re talking and talking. Finally, Hunter says goodbye to him and we all move on. As we’re walking away, Hunter turns to me and says, “Who was that, anyway?”

“Are you fucking kidding me?” I asked.
“No. Who was it? Really. Who was it?”

That sort of thing happened a lot that night. People would come up to Hunter and he had no idea who they were. He has tunnel vision sometimes. If it doesn’t involve wrestling, he doesn’t know about it.

Hunter has all sorts of fans across the world. As a matter of fact, my mom is a great fan. She calls him a living legend.

Captain America Lives

Marvel Entertainment announced Thursday that its slain hero Captain America will rise again with a new outfit and a new secret identity, after the character was killed off in March by a sniper's bullet in a storyline on the War on Terror.

The company unveiled the patriotic superhero's new look Thursday with artwork by Alex Ross and Steve Epting for the new issue, No. 34, to hit comic book shops in January 2008...More?

Ken Shamrock IFL Tryouts & Lion's Den Tryouts

MMA legend Ken Shamrock, announced that the team will hold an open tryout for elite MMA hopefuls at Reno’s premiere sports complex, The Stadium Sport and Fitness Club, located at 9393 Gateway in Reno, Nevada, at 10:00 a.m. on Thursday, October 25th...More?

Nicolas Cage in Negotiations for New Wrestling Movie

Academy Award winner and Hollywood superstar Nicolas Cage is currently in negotiations to star in a movie about the pro wrestling industry, currently titled "The Wrestler." Here's a synopsis of the project from the Entertainment Trade Journal: "The movie tells the story of Randy ''The Ram'' Robinson, a 1980s-era pro wrestler who has become a burnt-out shell of his former self. After he has a heart attack during a small-time match, a doctor tells him he could die if he fights again. He moves in with an aging stripper and takes a job at a deli, but then decides he can't pass"

Jim Ross Comments on Hunter's Matches at No Mercy

From J.R.'s Blog:

Speaking of HHH, what a night he had at No Mercy. I have been around a long time, no jokes please, and I can assure you that it is tougher than the proverbial $2 steak to wrestle THREE main event level bouts in one night, but The Game pulled it off. The last main event with Last Man Standing rules was old school spectacular and HHH and Master Randy Orton told a damn compelling story. I hope all the talents who were not booked on No Mercy, but were in Chicago, were paying attention and not packing their bags to make a quick getaway from the arena or playing video games in some hidden part of the building. I thought the last match of No Mercy was really special and I had a blast being a fan and enjoying every moment of it.

Superstar Ink

WWE.com's newest weekly feature, Superstar Ink, tells the stories of your favorite Superstars' tattoos...More?

Breaking News: Randy Couture Resigns from the UFC

Randy Couture, the face of the Ultimate Fighting Championship and one of mixed martial arts most revered fighters, notified the UFC via fax from South Africa at 11 o'clock Thursday morning that he has chosen to resign from the UFC, "The Natural" confirmed with Sherdog.com.

"I sent the letter of resignation to the UFC today, resigning not only from my position in the company as a commentator and as an ambassador, but also as the heavyweight champion," Couture said over the phone from South Africa, where he is currently filming a movie.

"The motivation for the decision is two-fold," he continued. "I know Fedor (Emelianenko) just signed with another organization and that's the only real fight that makes sense for me at 44 years old as the heavyweight champion of the UFC. That's the fight I wanted and if that can't happen it doesn't make sense for me to compete with all these other guys...More?

source: sherdog.com

Why the WWE Never Says "I Quit"

Vince Mcmahon like everyone else has made mistakes and has also made some very bad decisions but what makes Vince Mcmahon the saviour of WWE is because he is very smart. Lets look back the last time that WWE was really bad 1995 after putting on perhaps the worst Wrestlemania ever Vince needed an idea so at Survivor Series 1995 he made Bret Hart

read more | digg story

PWI artist aims to be a top draw

For almost every professional wrestling fan, there has been a time when they watched their beloved show on television, and thought "I would love to do that." Though it may have been a fleeting thought, many of us have dreamt of competing in the ring, or being the modern day equivalent of Tommy Young or Gordon Solie.

There is, of course, a huge difference between "I would love to do that" and "I could do that." So when New Zealand-born Jason Conlan, Pro Wrestling Illustrated's "Mister J" cartoonist, wanted to get involved in professional wrestling, he married it with his tremendous talent for art...More?

source: slam.canoe.ca

SI.com Picks a Fight, Sort Of, With Mark Cuban Over His New MMA Show

Mark Cuban took a break from dodging another bullet on Dancing With the Stars to speak with SI.com’s Luke O’Brien about the Benefactor’s new mixed martial show on HDNet. O’Brien, a former columnist for the Village Voice Media chain, wrote a great piece on MMA earlier this year for Washington Post Magazine. If you’re a fan of the sport, check it out.

Perhaps the most interesting part of the interview are the questions Cuban refused to answer, specifically questions about steroids and rumored discussions he’s had with Vince McMahon and World Wrestling Entertainment about co-promotions...More?

source: blogs.dallasobserver.com