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April 27, 2012
World Academy to hold gala fundraiser for school’s GBO fund
World Academy, formerly known as the World Schools, in conjunction with the Gordon B. Ouellette Memorial Fund, will host the second annual GBO Memorial Fund Spring Gala Friday, May 11 from 7-11 p.m. at the Radisson Hotel Nashua.
The GBO fund exists, in loving memory of the late Gordon Ouellette of Nashua, to support the high quality of World Academy’s student community by promoting access to the exceptional educational experience offered regardless of financial circumstances.
The school focuses on enhanced opportunities in Science, Technology, Engineering, the Arts and Math (STEAM), 21st century learning and extraordinary curricular and extra curricular experiences through the 8th grade.
World Academy celebrated its 30th anniversary in 2011, commemorating three decades of excellence for infants through middle school students.
The gala’s theme is appropriately “Taste of the World” and will combine different ethnic foods with fellowship, music and alumni performances as it marks the culmination to the fund’s second annual silent auction.
Nashua’s Mayor Donna Lozeau and New Hampshire native Paul Levesque (HHH) of the WWE and Gordon’s brother-in-law, will be in attendance as celebrity auctioneers.
The Gala offers a venue for parents, staff, alumni, family and friends to celebrate the diversity of the World Academy community and support the GBO fund.
There are some truly special auction items from the community, families and especially from the classrooms themselves that deserve the focus the gala will afford them.
To participate, donate or purchase admittance to the gala, contact Nancy Goulden at World Academy at 888-1982 or ngoulden@worldacademynh.com.
The WWE Guide to the NBA
With the NBA playoffs upon us, the question occurred to me: If David Stern is the league's Vince McMahon, then who are the NBA equivalents of pro wrestling's other biggest names? With an assist from some of my stablemates (to deliberately mix metaphors) in the Grantland staff, I've put together a rough list.
Carmelo Anthony Is Triple H
Both guys jumped from smaller markets to be the biggest star on the biggest stage. Along the way, both guys seemed to think they deserved more glory than they were getting. Both guys married public figures (Melo wed LaLa and Triple H said his vows to Stephanie McMahon). They each have reputations for being selfish and egotistic, and for holding others (like Lin and Chris Jericho) down to maintain their place at the top of the food chain. Because of this, they're both hated by a huge swath of the fan base, to the point that it clouds how great they actually are. Melo and Triple H can do many things better than almost all their peers, which is why it's so frustrating that their "characters" are all people talk about. Eventually, they'll both go into the Hall of Fame, and we'll probably forget how they were so unpopular that they were underrated for the second halves of their careers...More?
source: grantland.com
Wrestling school to be part of reality show; wrestling try-outs wanted
The Monster Factory wrestling school headed by Larry Sharpe is scheduled to be part of a new wrestling reality show. PBR Productions is planning to film a pilot episode based on student try-outs scheduled for May 12 at the wrestling school in New Jersey. According to a press release, "one participant who shines the most will be offered a partial scholarship."
Contact Info: Larry Sharpe at (609) 381-9164 or email 4MonsterFactory@gmail.org . More info on tryouts at the wrestling school - Corey Armideo at (302) 753-2179 or email Pbrproductions@gmail.com
List of FCW Television Tapings in Tampa & Orlando
To follow up on pwinsider.com's earlier story about the schedule for Florida Championship Wrestling television tapings in Orlando and Tampa, at the television tapings tonight in Tampa, they had a list of the tapings over the next few months:
Tapings will take place in Orlando on the following dates:
All tapings are on Thursdays:
May 17, 2012
June 14, 2012
July 5, 2012
July 19, 2012
August 9, 2012
August 23, 2012
September 6, 2012
September 20, 2012
Tapings will take place in Tampa on the following dates:
May 24, 2012
June 7, 2012
June 28, 2012
July 26, 2012
August 16, 2012
August 30, 2012
September 27, 2012
October 18, 2012
FCW Moving Some TV Tapings To Orlando, Florida
WWE developmental Florida Championship Wrestling will be moving their TV Tapings to Full Sail University near Orlando, FL starting Thursday 5/17.
WWE has signed an exclusive contract with the facility to insure they are the only wrestling promotion running there.
There have been plans and discussions to move tapings there since they ran a very quiet pilot taping several months back. The company has booked dates in the venue through September currently.
WWE developmental will still run the FCW Arena in Tampa regularly and will continue using it for TV Tapings as well.
source: pwinsider.com
This Day in Wrestling History
Happy Birthday to Frank Gotch
April 27, 1878 - December 16, 1917
Frank Gotch is truly one of the original pioneers of professional wrestling. Long before the money, fame, and glitz of modern wrestling, long before the post WWII boom of Gorgeous George and "TV wrestling," before Lou Thesz, before Ed "Strangler" Lewis, before there was even a such thing as a "federation" in wrestling, there was Frank Gotch.
During this fleeting time of legitimacy in wrestling, Gotch was renowned for his great skill and power, despite his deceivingly small stature, and became perhaps wrestling's first true box-office attraction. As crafty and ruthless as he was skilled, Gotch held the undisputed World Title until he retired, undefeated as champion. His professional record was an impressive 132 victories out of 140 total matches...with several of his losses coming in handicapped matches. His bouts with Hackenschmidt, Jenkins, Stanislaus Zbysko and others were truly legendary...and can be traced back to the earliest days of what we now know as professional wrestling...More?
source: wrestlingmuseum.com
April 26, 2012
Top Ranked Dividend Stock WWE is Oversold
The DividendRank formula at Dividend Channel ranks a coverage universe of thousands of dividend stocks, according to a proprietary formula designed to identify those stocks that combine two important characteristics — strong fundamentals and a valuation that looks inexpensive. World Wrestling Entertainment Inc (NYSE: WWE) presently has an above average rank, in the top 50% of the coverage universe, which suggests it is among the top most “interesting” ideas that merit further research by investors...More?
source: forbes.com
Sin Cara Returning To Mexico For WWE
Sin Cara will be doing promotional work for WWE in Mexico City this weekend. Cara will be doing media appearances to promote the Smackdown tour from May 24-May 28th. Cara is currently out with an injury and isn’t expected back until next month at the earliest.
source: wrestlingnewssource.com
WWE Suspends Rey Mysterio
In accordance with its Talent Wellness Program, WWE has suspended Oscar Gutierrez (Rey Mysterio) for 60 days effective Thursday, April 26, for his second violation of the company’s policy.
This Day in Wrestling History
Ed "Strangler" Lewis goes to a two hour draw with Joe Stecher at Madison Square Garden.
April 26, 1918
Happy Birthday to Kane (Glen Jacobs)
April 26, 1967
Sting defeated Diamond Dallas Page for the WCW Title. That same night, DDP regained the title defeating Sting, Bill Goldberg and Hulk Hogan.
April 26, 1999
April 25, 2012
Shays Campaign on WWE's History of Violence
On Tuesday, World Wrestling Entertainment sent a letter to the Senate campaign of Chris Shays asking the former Connecticut congressman to publicly apologize for alleging that WWE promotes bullying and violence. Shays contends that these practices reflect on his Republican primary Senate opponent, Linda McMahon, who co-founded WWE and was its CEO until 2009.
McMahon Shays
While WWE senior vice president Robert Zimmerman has called such characterizations "factual inaccuracies," the Shays campaign argues the evidence says otherwise.
"Anyone who does a quick YouTube search on Linda McMahon's family business can see that WWE has a long history of promoting violence, bullying and degradation of women and minorities," said Shays spokeswoman Amanda Bergen in a press release.
The McMahon campaign responds in an email: "Candidate Shays will say anything to get elected. Candidate Shays has gone to great lengths to run from Congressman Shays' 21-year record — all in hopes of appealing to the same electorate that threw him out of office in 2008. In recent weeks, Candidate Shays has changed his position, distorted his record, or promised not to make the same mistakes again on a myriad of fiscal issues."
source: weeklystandard.com
The Motley Fool Criticizes WWE's Business Model
The Motley Fool is featuring an article criticizing WWE's current business model noting that despite the success of Wrestlemania 28, the company's stock price year-to-date is at the lowest levels since 2003.
"World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. (NYSE:WWE) has been dropping consistently year-to-date. The company has recently reduced its dividend, and its stock price hasn't been this low since 2003. What is happening to the company? It is simple really and it has very little to do with what everyone believes - the lame storylines or John Cena. The past several years, people have been chanting for the Rock to come back along with other legends. Well he is back. So is Brock Lesnar. However, neither can help fix the broken business model that is now endangered in today's world.
In the late 1990s and early 2000s, professional wrestling - although fake to some, produced very real results in pay-per-view buy rates. The stadiums are still sold out, but people are not spending the high prices to watch a three hour show on Sunday nights. One big change that has occurred is the internet. It would be naive to think that internet piracy only affects the music and movie industries. It has definitely affected professional wrestling and the business model that was the bread and butter to its profits for years.
Additionally, mixed martial arts and the UFC have taken market share away from the fans of professional wrestling. UFC has the edge because if people don't want to buy it at home, they can easily find a sports bar around that will show it for free (with the idea being you buy the beer and food at that establishment). I haven't seen a wrestling event shown in public in a long time. This hurts the bottom line of the WWE if you just think for a second of all the sports bars that are within a city and then multiply that around the country."
Indy Wrestler Reveals More Details on WWE Cruiserweight Show
Steven Muehlhausen, host of The Fight Club Chicago, conducted an interview with Independent Wrestler Steven Walters, as he recently had a tryout match with WWE. Walters has also appeared as an extra on WWE TV as an EMT in the angle that exited John Morrison from the WWE, and he was used as a cameraman when he was attacked by Mark Henry when he was World Champion.
During the interview, Walters talks about how he has been approached by WWE for a Cruiserweight Show on the WWE Network.
Walters on being contacted by WWE: "I've been in contact back and forth from WWE about that Cruiserweight Show they're going to be putting on the network soon. They're looking for guys my size, around 200 pounds, like around 5ft 9 to 6ft tall also. I've been going back and forth with them a few times about that."
When he was contacted: "It wasn't long after I did that extra spot for them in December. I got hit with a chair. I got a chance to talk to Lauranitis a little bit. I got a 1 on 1 meeting with him. That was one of the things he approached me about."
Last time he talked to them: "I talked to them was about 3-4 weeks ago. They had to push the debut of it back to later this year around November or so."
The rest of the interview we talk about his close friendship with Hall of Famer Edge, what he has meant to him and much more. You can listen to the complete interview at www.sportstownchicago.com/fightclub.
Shawn Michaels Signs with EyeBlack
EyeBlack, the company that started a sports revolution by combining logos, phrases and bible verses with EyeBlack, today announced a partnership with Shawn Michaels, former WWE Superstar and current star of the Outdoor Channel's show Shawn Michaels' MacMillan River Adventures. Michaels will serve as an ambassador for the company and will collaborate with EyeBlack to produce a customized product line.
Top 20 Moments in Baltimore Wrestling History
Top Moments 1-10
Top Moments 11-20
16. ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER LAYS THE SMACK DOWN ON TRIPLE H (1999): Schwarzenegger, who was at SmackDown to promote his latest movie, sat in on commentary during the eight-man tag team main event that pitted The Rock, Test, Kane and Shane McMahon against DX (Triple H, The Road Dogg, Billy Gunn and X-Pac), with “Stone Cold” Steve Austin as the special enforcer referee. Schwarzenegger got involved in the finish. He handed a chair to Austin, who blasted Triple H over the head with it, allowing Test to score the winning pinfall. After the match, Triple H took a swing at Schwarzenegger, who ducked and then proceeded to beat down “The Game.”
To watch the end of the match and the post-match angle, click here.
source: ring posts
This Day in Wrestling History
In a very surprising move by WCW, David Arquette pinned Eric Bischoff in a tag team match to become the new WCW Champion that saw Arquette team with DDP against Bischoff & Jeff Jarrett. He vacated the title six days later on May 1.
April 25, 2000
April 24, 2012
Television Ratings for the 3-Hour Monday Night Raw 04/23/12
Last night's three-hour episode of WWE's RAW Supershow from Detroit, Michigan scored a 3.0 cable rating with 4,388,000 viewers over the full three hours. This week's show did hours of 2.48, 3.22 and 3.41.
During the normal two hours, RAW did a 3.3 cable rating with 4,752,000 viewers. This is up from the previous week and can be seen as a good sign for the John Cena vs. Brock Lesnar feud.
Video: WWE Superstars and Divas sing "Happy Birthday" to John Cena
WWE has released video footage of the birthday party that was held after Monday's Raw show went off the air.
This Day in Wrestling History
April 24, 1922
Better known as Blue Demon (Demonio Azul in Spanish), Munoz was a Mexican luchador Enmascarado (Masked professional wrestler) who was widely considered to be one of the greatest Mexican wrestlers of his time. He was affectionately referred to as "Blue" and was known for his signature blue wrestling mask.
Johnny Valentine passes away.
April 24, 2001
Buddy Rogers vs. Johnny Valentine - 1953
Johnny Valentine (born John Theodore Wisniski, September 22, 1928–April 24, 2001) was a professional wrestler with a career spanning almost three decades. He has been inducted into four halls of fame for his achievements in wrestling. Wisniski is the father of professional wrestler Greg "The Hammer" Valentine.
He held numerous world champion and regional titles, including the NWA United States Championship and the World Heavyweight title. He had long running rivalries with Bobo Brazil, Pat O'Connor, Buddy Rogers, Antonio Rocca, Lou Thesz, Harley Race, The Sheik, Wahoo McDaniel, Fritz von Erich, Bruno Sammartino, Johnny Powers, Antonio Inoki and Jack & Jerry Brisco. He alternated between being a villain and a hero during the Golden Era in the 1940s through 1960s of wrestling.
In 1975, he was injured in a plane crash; he suffered a broken back and was forced to retire from wrestling. He worked briefly as a manager before retiring altogether. He suffered from several health problems during his career, which worsened considerably after a fall in 2000. He died the following year.
source: wikipedia.org
April 23, 2012
WWE Releases Tough Enough Winner
br>Multiple wrestling media sources are reporting that 2011 WWE Tough Enough winner Andy Leavine (Big Andy) was quietly released by WWE some time ago. Leavine had been working under the name Kevin Hackmann in Florida Champoinship Wrestling. Prowrestling.net reports that Leavine had not been progressing well and was not being used on FCW TV recently.
Don’t Count UFC Boss Dana White Among the Brock Lesnar or WWE Detractors
“When he did the deal with the WWE, all the rumblings started with you guys," White told reporters. "He never called me. He never told me. He didn’t have to. It was always up front and said in his deal, he could do the WWE." White added, "I’m happy for him. To do what he did in the WWE, came here and did what he did, now he’s back over there. Good for him; good for them.”
source: mmaweekly.com
This Day in Wrestling History
Happy Birthday to:
Tony Atlas
April 23, 1956
Terry Gordy
April, 23, 1961
John Cena
April 23, 1977
Sting & Lex Luger, managed by Magnum T.A., win the third, and final, Jim Crockett Sr. Memorial Cup tag team tournament in Greensboro, North Carolina by defeating Tully Blanchard & Arn Anderson.
April 23, 1988
Curt Hennig defeated Tito Santana in a tournament final for his first WWF(E) Intercontinental title.
April 23, 1990
April 22, 2012
This Day in Wrestling History
The Blue Demon ( Alejandro Munoz) is born in Nuevo Leon, Mexico.
April 22, 1922
April 21, 2012
Status of Ronald Basham III vs. WWE, Dwayne Johnson & Paul Levesque
The case of Ronald Basham, III vs. WWE, Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson & Paul "Triple H" Levesque (filed January 2011) appears to be set for a motion hearing on April 23, 2012 at 2:30 in the Jefferson County Circuit Court of Kentucky.
A little review to bring you up to speed:
The Courier Journal out of Louisville, Kentucky, is reporting that an 18 year old Indiana man is suing WWE, Triple H and Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson over an alleged injury that took place at WWE's 2000 Judgment Day PPV.
The article notes, "An Indiana man has filed a lawsuit against World Wrestling Entertainment, specifically naming former wrestler Dwayne Johnson, known as “The Rock,” and wrestler Paul Levesque, known as “Triple H,” claiming he suffered injuries at a wrestling event in Louisville more than a decade ago when he was 7 years old.
An attorney for Basham, who now is 18, filed the suit in Jefferson Circuit Court on Monday alleging Basham's right leg and knee were injured at the May 21, 2000, professional wrestling match billed as “Judgment Day.”
As the wrestlers pushed and shoved each other, one collided with an audience member, then shoved that person into the audience toward Basham. The lawsuit alleges that Johnson then pushed that same spectator again into a woman, causing her to fall on Basham, causing his injuries.
The lawsuit accuses the WWE of failing to properly stage the match and provide adequate security for its customers. Both Johnson and Levesque are accused of “reckless, willful and wanton conduct.” You can read the entire article by clicking here.
A few days after the lawsuit wsa filed, TMZ.com published photos of Basham participating in stock car racing. The article also noted that he played football in high school even though his suit claims severe knee injuries.
