USA Delivers Best Week of 2010

Last week’s MONDAY NIGHT RAW delivered more P18-34 (1.14 million) than any episode of the franchise has since 4/26/10. In the 10pm hour, RAW was the top entertainment option for P18-34, M18-34 and M18-49...More?

source: tvbythenumbers

Matt Hardy Comments on Leaving the WWE, Creative and More

From an interview with Monday Night Mayhem:

Why he felt he needed to break ties with the WWE, his transition over the past two months, & where he feels he's at mentally/physically/emotionally right now:

"It's been nice for me, because I needed to get away. One, my body was just so beat up and so abused. One thing with Jeff was that he took some time off during his run with WWE. I never did. The only time I was out was when I was injured, and during that time, I was doing intense rehab, so I had twelve and a half years straight that I worked everyday. I missed one day during that whole while, and that was when my girlfriend at the time was having neck surgery. Besides that, I never missed a show. I never asked off for a day. I worked hurt, I worked through injuries, and it just came to a point that I felt like between where I was at being utilized on TV, and the injuries catching up with me, and me not being in the top condition I needed to be at that I needed to take time off or get away. I started talking about possibly getting some time off or getting a release, and I eventually did what I had to do to get a break. I'm happy about it, I'm been happier & healthier physically, mentally, & emotionally than I've been in a long, long time. I've really enjoyed just having my own schedule. It's been a blast. I've just been loving life. The last couple of months have been two of the greatest months of my life."...More?

This Day in Wrestling History

Frank Gotch dies of uremic poisoning at the age of 39 at his home in Humboldt, Iowa.
December 16, 1917

Scott Steiner makes his return to RAW for the first time in 8 years and challenges Triple H for the World title.
December 16, 2002

Martha Hart vs. WWE Lawsuit Update

World Wrestling Entertainment and representatives for Martha Hart and the Owen Hart Foundation met on 12/3 to attempt to negotiate a settlement in the lawsuit Hart brought against the company but the two sides were unable to reach an agreement.

Hart's lawsuit claims the company violated their original 2000 Settlement Agreement in the wake of Owen Hart's death, that WWE violated the family's privacy with the release of Owen Hart matches and the "Hart & Soul" DVD documentary, that WWE intimates the Owen Hart Foundation endorses their company with the release of Hart's matches and that the rights to Owen's footage reverted back to his estate upon his death.

WWE responded with well over 100 pages of documents to dispute Hart's allegations.

source: pwinsider.com

WWE Settles Sexual Harassment Lawsuit Filed By Former Employee

World Wrestling Entertainment settled a lawsuit brought against the company by former WWE Global Licensing Coordinator Fara D'Angelo yesterday, according to court records.

The presiding Judge ordered the case to be dismissed with the possibility it can be reopened by 1/13/11 if either side fails to keep their side of the settlement agreement.

In October 2008, D'Angelo, who worked for WWE from April 2004 through May 2006, filed a suit against the company, alleging that she was sexually harassed by then-Senior Director of International Consumer Products Alex Romer.

D'Angelo claimed that Romer pursued an intimate relationship with her almost immediately after she started working at WWE even though Romer was married, claiming that he would do so in person, via text messages, late night phone calls, etc.

In her lawsuit, D'Angelo alleged that another employee who witnessed the harassment told her to "switch jobs" and that when she took her complaint to WWE's Senior Director of Quality Assurance, Mike Archer, Archer also encouraged her to look for a new job.

D'Angelo claimed in her suit that she felt as if her job would be put in jeopardy if she continued to shed light on the harassment, so she resigned her position after informing WWE of the harassment and filed the lawsuit.

According to court documents filed during the course of the case, WWE offered D'Angelo a promotion and raise if she would stay with the company after she filed her harassment charges with the company's Human Resources department, rather than leave to start a new position with another company.

The settlement follows a 10/14 ruling by the Judge denying WWE's attempts to have the case thrown out, ruling that a jury could conceivably side with D'Angelo's claims based on the evidence presented to the court by both sides and that the case needed to go forward to trial.

Romer is no longer with World Wrestling Entertainment.

source: pwinsider.com

Interview with "Miz Girl"

When The Miz cashed in his Money in the Bank contract and won the WWE Championship from a Nexus-pummeled Randy Orton last November, the disgust of the WWE Universe was clearly pictured in the face of one young girl in Orlando’s Amway Center crowd.

That young girl’s expression of anger caught by the WWE cameras spread virally on the Internet, and the girl became known as “The Miz Girl.” The new WWE Champion even showed her picture on Raw the following week as part of his championship celebration.

At the 2010 Slammy Awards, the girl, named Cayley, won the Slammy for WWE Universe Fan Reaction of the Year. WWE.com’s Joey Styles interviewed Cayley moments after winning the award – and having it stolen away by The Miz. Click here.

source: wwe facebook page

Triple H Makes Surprise Appearance At Mississippi WWE House Show

Triple H made a surprise appearance at the Raw house show from the Mississippi Coast Coliseum in Biloxi, Mississippi during a segment with Wade Barrett and Juan Cena. Hunter was quickly banished from ringside before the triple-threat main event featuring The Miz defending the WWE Championship against Barrett and Cena. After the match, Barrett revealed Juan as John Cena and WWE cameras were filming.

source: wrestlingnewsworld.com

This Day in Wrestling History

The most important figure in the history of professional wrestling in Japan, Rikidozan, dies of complications from a stab wound suffered on December 8th at the age of 38. Rikidozan, who debuted in 1951, helped to popularize professional wrestling in post-WWII Japan, and would train Antonio Inoki and Giant Baba, who would become two of the most influential and powerful individuals in Japanese wrestling. While it was thought that Rikidozan, whose Japanese name was Mitsuhiro Momota, was born in Nagasaki, Japan, in truth he was Korean. Because Koreans were heavily discriminated against in Japan, his real background was kept secret, not being revealed until long after his death. Rikidozan's final match was on December 7th, teaming with Great Togo & Michiaki Yoshimura to battle The Destroyer, Buddy Austin & Illio DiPaolo to a draw. Stories of what happened the night Rikidozan was stabbed are cloudy, with legend and fact often getting mixed up. He was stabbed in a nightclub and allegedly it was by a member of the Yakuza, the Japanese Mafia. However, stories have circulated for years that he beat up his attacker and partied into the night before going to the hospital, which is why the wound got infected and ended up killing him. Obviously, there are many that doubt that account of the stabbing.
December 15, 1963

Dory Funk Jr. and Terry Funk wrestled a legendary match against Abdullah The Butcher and The Sheik in Japan. The match turned the Funks fan favourites in Japan because of the extreme violence.
December 15, 1977

A tribute show to Stu Hart was held in Calgary, Alberta, Canada at the Calgary Corral, the site of many Stampede Wrestling shows.
December 15, 1995

Triple H defeated Shawn Michaels in a two-out-of-three falls match in 38:30 to capture the Raw World Title.
December 15, 2002

partial source: pwinsider.com

WWE NXT Results: Steps in the Right Direction

Week two results:

NXT Rookie Challenge: Byron Saxton won Karaoke
Brodus Clay & Ted DiBiase def. Chris Masters & Byron Saxton
NXT Rookie Challenge: Johnny Curtis won The Obstacle Course
Alberto Del Rio def. Derrick Bateman

NXT Rookie Records:

Brodus Clay: Challenge points: 0, Win/Loss record: 1-0
Byron Saxton: Challenge points: 1, Win/Loss record: 0-1
Conor O'Brian: Challenge points: 0, Win/Loss record: 1-0
Derrick Bateman: Challenge points: 0, Win/Loss record: 0-2
Jacob Novak: Challenge points: 1, Win/Loss record: 0-1
Johnny Curtis: Challenge points: 2, Win/Loss record: 1-0

HBK Hinting at Working with WWE Again

Shawn Michaels posted the following on his facebook page:

It was gr8 seeing the WWE gang @ Tribute show. Got some business done too. Seems there may be a future w/the WWE & yours truly:-)

Triple H on the Cover of Inside Wrestling/The Wrestler Magazine

THE H-FACTOR: HOW THIS MAN CAN SHIFT THE BALANCE OF POWER IN WWE

Triple H is in a position to influence just about every nuance of WWE. How and where he decides to wield his power upon his return is keeping everybody on their toes.

Look for the Volume 38, 2011 issue of The Wrestler/Inside Wrestling, on sale February 1, 2011.

Fallen Angel Raises Bar in Ring of Honor

The Fallen Angel Christopher Daniels ended last year in main events for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling. That changed in the weeks that followed when TNA ventured into a new creative direction.

In March, the veteran was released from his TNA contract. Daniels saw this as an opportunity to return to his old stomping grounds in the Philadelphia-based Ring of Honor.

"These are things that happen, and you kind of got to roll with the punches. When I got the call in March that they weren't going to use me anymore. Again, I was disappointed. I thought it was a bad decision on their part, but it was a decision that they made. You try to roll with the punches and land on your feet."

"I was fortunate to have a good relationship with Jim Cornette and with Adam Pearce, who was at Ring of Honor at the time and with [ROH owner] Cary Silkin. That was literally the first phone call I made was to get in touch with them and see if there was a position for me or to see if there was any interest in me rejoining Ring of Honor. Luckily, the answer was yes."...More?

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