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January 30, 2009
SmackDown Airing LIVE During WWE's Fan Axxess Weekend
PWInsider.com is reporting that during Wrestlemania's Fan Axxess weekend, Smackdown will air LIVE from Houston, TX on April 3rd, 2009, 2 days before Wrestlemania. Tickets for this event as well as the Axxess weekend will go on sale this Saturday morning through Ticketmaster.
January 29, 2009
Vince Issues Statement Claiming Mickey Rourke will be at WMXXV
WWE honcho Vince McMahon tells E! News that Rourke will still be in Houston, even if he's not in a leotard: "I am pleased that Mickey Rourke will be in attendance at WrestleMania to support the WWE Superstars who support him and the film in which he stars, The Wrestler."
MMA Legend Passes Away
Helio Gracie, legendary patriarch of the Gracie family and father of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, has passed away at the age of 95, according to a report by GracieMag.com.
Gracie passed in his sleep early Thursday in Itaipaiva, Rio de Janeiro, said another report on Sherdog.com, after he had been admitted to a local hospital a few days prior for stomach problems.
Gracie was recognized worldwide for his accomplishments in the sport of jiu-jitsu, as well as crossing over into other formats, while also serving as father to legends like Royce, Rickson, and Rorion Gracie, who helped found the Ultimate Fighting Championship...More?
source: mmaweekly.com
Wrestler Chris Benoit's Doctor Pleads Guilty to Drug Charges
Dr. Phil Astin, 52, from Carrollton has entered a guilty plea to 175 counts, charging him with illegally dispensing prescription drugs from 2002 until his arrest in 2007. The case stems from the investigation in to the murders of wrestler Chris Benoit’s wife and young son as well as his suicide in June 2007. Astin entered the plea in federal court in Newnan Thursday morning.
According to the federal government, a professional wrestler told investigators that it was widely known in the professional wrestling community that Astin would dispense prescriptions without performing a medical examination. “The [wrestler] said that a number of professional wrestlers obtained prescription drugs from Astin for the purpose of abusing drugs, adding that some of these wrestlers were addicted to these drugs.” (according to the United States Attorney’s Office)...More?
source: myfoxatlanta.com
Former AWA celebrity regular battling Lou Gehrig's disease, believes head trauma may have contributed
Former pro boxer and AWA celebrity regular Scott LeDoux is battling amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (a/k/a Lou Gehrig's disease), according to the St. Pioneer Press. "I thought it was arthritis," LeDoux said in an interview published over the weekend. "Now, it's going to my legs and stomach. Now it's a real issue... "I'm living with ALS; I'm not going to die from ALS. I'm going to fight it till the end."LeDoux also stated that he believes boxing contributed. "It has a lot to do with head trauma and stuff like that," LeDoux said. "They don't know how it works. It varies in speed. I think I'm on a slower pace." To read the full story, visit TwinCities.com.
source: prowrestling.net
Local Trio Produces Comic Book about a Wrestler
The first 100 issues of "Bamn," a chronicle of a down-and-out professional wrestler who decides to mentor a group of high school backyard wrestlers are printed and ready for sale...More?
source: gazette.net
January 28, 2009
Triple H Key to SmackDown Ratings Success
WWE.com has posted another article touting their ratings success since moving to MyNetworkTV. What it didn't mention is that the ratings go up the more Triple H is on the show.
The January 9th edition of SmackDown was the most watched show in MyNetwork TV history with 3.9 million viewers. It was also the night Triple H was a major part of the show - wrestling three times. He beat John Morrison and The Miz and then lost to the Big Show. The rating was a 2.2.
The January 16th edition had Hunter on early in the show to antagonize Vickie Guerrero with her "nude" photos. He then did a run-in to assist MVP with his match against The Big Show. The ratings went down slightly to a 2.1.
The January 23rd edition had Hunter losing to Vladimir Kozlov after Vickie Guerrero added The Big Show to the match. There was a lot of build-up for this match. The ratings went up to a 2.2. In addition, the wwe.com article has these numbers:
1. The January 23rd SmackDown delivered four million viewers to MyNetwork TV and proved to be the most watched telecast in the network’s history among households and total viewers (based on live viewing or DVR viewing until 3 a.m. Friday night).
2. SmackDown has broken the record for the most watched telecast in MyNetwork TV history 11 times in its first 17 weeks on air.
3. The 2.6 million male viewers watching SmackDown on Friday night more than doubled the male audience watching the Winter X Games on ESPN.
All of this has happened since Triple H was drafted to SmackDown and the two highest rated shows (Jan. 9th & 23rd) featured him greatly. This can't be just a coincidence.
Interestingly, the Raw ratings are up since the return of Stephanie and Vince McMahon.
Mickey Rourke won't rumble with WWE superstar
A spokeswoman for actor Mickey Rourke says he won't be taking his role as a professional wrestler into a real-life ring after all. Paula Woods told The Associated Press on Wednesday night that Rourke will not wrestle WWE superstar Chris Jericho at Wrestlemania 25 in April at Houston's Reliant Stadium.
Woods wrote in an e-mail that the Oscar-nominated actor "will not be participating in Wrestlemania. He is focusing entirely on his acting career." Rourke portrays professional wrestler Randy the Ram in the acclaimed movie "The Wrestler." He made a surprise announcement about the wrestling event Sunday night on the red carpet before the Screen Actors Guild Awards in Los Angeles.
Rourke had said he was going to toss Jericho "around the ring like tossed salad."
source: associated press
Oderint Dum Metuant: Let Them Hate As Long As They Fear
