Lex Luger Addresses Exclusion from Horsemen in WWE HOF

Former WWE/WCW star Lex Luger says he does not feel "snubbed" by WWE for including Barry Windham in the Four Horsemen group announced for the 2012 WWE Hall of Fame. Luger said on the Busted Open satellite radio show this week he would have picked Windham or Ole Anderson for the fourth spot along with Ric Flair, Arn Anderson, and Tully Blanchard. "I think it would be a great time in Barry's life right now from what I hear (battling health issues), for him to receive that," Luger said before noting he plans to attend the ceremony. "I'm going to be down in South Beach for WrestleMania. I wouldn't miss it. I will be in the audience cheering on the guys who gets selected as the Four Horsemen."

source: pwtorch.com

Photo: Triple H at the Timex Performance Center

Apparently, wrestler Triple H is a New York Giants fan.

The Giants hosted the former WWE champion at practice today as they prepare to face the Green Bay Packers this week and he had a couple fans of his own on the team.

That’s cornerback Prince Amukamara and safety Tyler Sash giving Triple H the hero worship treatment in the photo.

This Day in Wrestling History - The Debut of Monday Night Raw

WWF(E) Monday Night Raw debuts.
January 11, 1993

Video: Brodus Clay's Debut

The internal reaction to Brodus Clay's debut at RAW last night was positive. Officials felt that the gimmick got over how they wanted it to.

source: pwinsider.com

Kurt Angle Says 2011 Was A Subpar Year For TNA

"I think that 2011 was a subpar year, I think We did a lot of things right and a lot of things wrong. The most important thing I would say is the lack of communication within the writing and creative team. When you have a written show and you present that to everybody and then they start changing things and it becomes a watered down version of what the writer wanted in the first place. Now you don’t know which way to go. We do have a lot of chefs in the kitchen. I think that is the hardest part for our company because when Vince Russo is writing the show and you have Hulk Hogan and Eric Bischoff and a few other people and other TNA writers changing it up the last second which I don’t disagree with what Hogan says, I agree with him 100 percent.

"But we need to regroup earlier, maybe a week earlier and get it done, change it up, make sure we have the right changes so that we can keep going with the story the right way. So I think 2011 was a confusing year, so this is what we are going to capitalize on in 2012. We are not going to make the same mistakes. I think Hulk Hogan will get with to Vince Russo quicker, I think Eric Bischoff will get with Vince Russo quicker. We will get the show written, get it done a week earlier instead the day of the show, and changing it up. It was just very frustrating. Because I’m a little bit of part of everything in TNA and I watch what’s going on and sometimes I get a little frustrated when I see what Vince Russo is trying to do and I see what the outcome is."

How Much is John Cena's Brand Worth to WWE?

In 2010, the "John Cena retail brand" was worth $106 million, according to ESPN reporter Michele Steele . WWE confirmed the amount to PWTorch, noting it's the figure WWE uses to tell corporate partners the story about Cena's brand value. In 2010, WWE reported $477.7 million in total revenue, which translates to Cena directly contributing to 22.2 percent of revenue two years ago.

Triple H at Disney on Ice

Triple H took his family to Disney on Ice this week.

Linda McMahon Accused of Writing Keystone Op-Ed Parroting TransCanada

After calling out an opponent for plagiarism, Republican Senate candidate Linda McMahon pulled key parts of her own Keystone XL op-ed, which ran last week on a Connecticut news site, from the website of the corporation that stands to profit from construction of the $7 billion pipeline: TransCanada.

In her op-ed, McMahon, who is running for the seat held by retiring Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.), wrote of TransCanada's pipeline: "Keystone XL stands ready to put some 13,000 Americans to work to construct the actual pipeline. These would be pipefitters, welders, mechanics, electricians, and heavy equipment operators, among others."

That sounds strikingly similar to what TransCanada itself wrote of the Keystone project on its website: "TransCanada is poised to put 13,000 Americans to work to construct the pipeline -- pipefitters, welders, mechanics, electricians, heavy equipment operators, among other jobs."

McMahon also wrote: "Another 7,000 manufacturing jobs would be created across the U.S. What's more, thousands of additional spin-off jobs likely would be created by the increased demand for local goods and services along the pipeline route."

Compare that with what's on the TransCanada site: "... in addition to 7,000 manufacturing jobs that would be created across the U.S. Additionally, local businesses along the pipeline route will benefit from the 118,000 spin-off jobs Keystone XL will create through increased business for local goods and service providers."

McMahon's office on Tuesday defended the language, arguing she is hardly alone in parroting TransCanada's numbers.

"These are factual statements widely used by advocates for the Pipeline," said McMahon spokeswoman Erin Isaac via email. "In researching the project and arguments both for and against it, the most compelling language revolves around job creation. These stats are repeated by respected industry experts and across multiple sources including TransCanada's website, which we should have cited in our piece. Ultimately, this project represents thousands of jobs and it remains unacceptable that this administration would continue to put up roadblocks when millions of Americans are still looking for work."...More?

source: huffingtonpost.com

Raw Results 01/09/12

Another Inductee Announced for 2012 WWE Hall Of Fame

The Four Horsemen - Ric Flair, Arn Anderson, Tully Blanchard, Barry Windham and JJ Dillon.

Inductee Announced for 2012 WWE Hall Of Fame

Edge was announced as the first inductee to the 2012 Hall of Fame class, but he is actually the second. WWE announced in October 2011 that Mil Mascaras would be inducted this year.

Rumor Mill - Change in Start Date for WWE Network?

According to pwinsider.com, the word at Raw was that WWE will be pushing the debut of the WWE Network back several months until the Fall of 2012.

The reason for the push back is that the company just won't have the infrastructure needed in place by the originally planned launch date of April 1st to tie it into WrestleMania weekend. It was described to me as a decision the company didn't want to make but one that they "had to make" for the long term good of the Network's viability.

A new official launch date beyond "The Fall" hasn't been announced. April 1st was the rumored launch date, the company never officially announced it to the public.

Projects that were currently being produced for the Network will go forward as planned, as the feeling is they can be kept "in the can" and ready to go when the Network launches.

There had been no word on any cable or satellite clearances for the WWE Network as of this writing.

WWE currently has 31 open positions, many of them related to the Network.