This Day in Wrestling History

Larry Hennig & Harley Race defeated Crusher & Verne Gagne for the AWA Tag Team title.
August 7, 1965

Kane & The Undertaker defeated Sean O'Haire & Chuck Palumbo for the WCW Tag title.
August 7, 2001

Ron Killings defeated Ken Shamrock for the NWA Heavyweight title.
August 7, 2002

SmackDown Results: Accusations Run Red

Just nine days before their SummerSlam showdown, Rey Mysterio accused World Heavyweight Champion Kane of being The Undertaker’s attacker. Meanwhile, Dolph Ziggler stunned the WWE Universe by capturing the Intercontinental Championship from Kofi Kingston and Team Lay-Cool brought their B.F.F. relationship to a whole new level. Full results.

source: wwe.com

Putting TNA's Epic Fail in Perspective

TNA's last few PPVs have drawn around 8,000 buys each, which is beyond pathetic and even lower than what the early pre-taped ROH PPVs drew. It gets worse.

In the newest Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Dave Meltzer analyzed the Boston Globe story about Dana White. In this piece, he mentioned that during UFC's dark ages, they drew 14,000-19,000 buys per event. This was when they had no TV outlet and their shows were only available on DirecTV (which was much less of a powerhouse at the time), Primestar (Which was dying and sold to/folded into DirecTV in 1999), and a handful of small cable systems, making them available to about 25% of the PPV market. TNA has a weekly TV show seen by a million people and 100% PPV clearance.

So...yeah. There you have it.

source: cageseats.com

Vince McMahon Comments on Critics of the WWE and Linda's Senate Run

Vince McMahon, chairman and CEO of World Wrestling Entertainment, says his wife's political opponents are taking unfair shots at his business to try to discredit her U.S. Senate candidacy.

In an interview with The Associated Press, McMahon says the wrestling empire's detractors have taken snippets of footage out of context, such as a necrophilia scene and one in which a woman barks like a dog at his command.

McMahon says opponents of his wife, Linda McMahon, left out the "soap opera elements" leading up to those moments.

He concedes the WWE has made some mistakes. He says the company two years ago decided to move away from "shock TV" to more family-friendly scenes.

Linda McMahon, former CEO of WWE, faces two opponents in the Aug. 10 Republican primary.

WWE Attorney Comments on TNA Using ECW Theme

Newsday's Alfonso Castillo recently contacted WWE attorney Jerry McDevitt for comment regarding TNA's Hardcore Justice PPV this Sunday featuring an all ECW-theme.

McDevitt said, "The WWE is sole owner of the ECW marks, and as with all of WWE's intellectual property it will be vigorously protected. TNA acts at its peril if it infringers upon WWE's rights."

As of this week, WWE has made no attempts to get the event shut down due to copyright issues.

source: wrestling observer

Another Raw Guest Host Revealed

WWE announced today that Penn & Teller will host the September 20th edition of Monday Night Raw.

Michelle McCool Named Top Female Wrestler in North America

On September 7th, Pro Wrestling Illustrated will release an issue featuring the third annual "PWI Female 50" list, which ranks the top 50 female wrestlers in North America. It has been revealed that WWE Diva Michelle McCool will rank number one on the list, topping last year's number one female, Mickie James. PWI noted that the decision was made based on the following:

FACT: In June 2009, McCool became the first woman in WWE history to have held both the Divas and Women's championships, thanks to a win over Melina.

FACT: Over the past 12 months, McCool has scored pinfall victories over Melina, Gail Kim, and Mickie James—three of the most decorated women wrestlers of the past decade.

FACT: From July 1, 2009, through June 30, 2010, McCool held (or co-held) the WWE Women’s championship for 325 of 365 days.

source: wrestlezone.com

Let the "she only gets over because she is married to The Undertaker" comments begin. Poor McTrip...

TNA iMPACT! Recap 08/05/10

WWE Superstars Results: Flying High

Trading in his one-legged tights for a traditional pair of trunks, Zack Ryder looked like he was ready to take on a more focused attitude tonight. That was until he hopped up on the top rope and screamed, “Woo! Woo! Woo!” at the WWE Universe. Still, the Long Island Superstar’s serious talents couldn’t be denied as he battered Evan Bourne without mercy. But Ryder made the major mistake of underestimating his high-flying opponent. Sensing an opportunity, Bourne flipped Ryder off the top rope and then nailed a breathtaking Shooting Star Press for the win. Full results.

source: wwe.com

Complex Forging of ROH's Adam Pearce

Iconoclast. Old school wrestler. NWA standard-bearer. Ring of Honor booker.

On the surface, that might make “Scrap Iron” Adam Pearce sound like something of a walking paradox. But as you peel away the layers, you understand it's more a matter of Pearce not fitting any one category.

“I was voted ‘Class Non-Conformist’ my senior year because I kind of did things as I wanted, and authority was the one thing I seemed to always have issues with. I guess some things never change,” Pearce told SLAM! Wrestling...More?

Chris Jericho Comments on the Nexus Angle

I think it's been a stroke of genius. I think it's something that has got people talking and of course there are critics in everything and it's your job to do that. I think the fact you took seven guys that no one had heard prior to February of this year and made them into the main event of SummerSlam with a viable, interesting, money making match I don't think that's ever been done in the history of the business. It worked, it's worked better than anything we've done in awhile and I'm very excited to be a part of it, originally I wasn't supposed to be a part of it and was supposed to be involved with someone else but that didn't work so we started working on this...More?

Vince McMahon on Lousy Quarter, Decline in PPV Buyrates

During the WWE conference call held earlier today, Vince McMahon described the scenario as WWE just having a very lousy quarter. He also blamed the retirements of Shawn Michaels and Batista, injuries to Triple H and The Undertaker and the Icelandic volcano as reasons for the company struggling over the last few months. McMahon did address a question about plans for an all WWE cable network saying they are going to cable systems with a presentation in January. He added they are making a pitch based on the Major League Baseball model and that they have already received strong reactions to the idea of a "WWE Network" within the cable industry.

sources: corporate.wwe.com, prowrestling.net