HEADLINE NEWS: RING RUST's Year-End Top 50 Countdown!
- It's that time again, kiddies! It's time for me to open up the polls & allow you, the great RING RUST listeners, to tell ME what to play during the Year-End Countdown!
Do you have a favourite wrestling song that you've heard on my show? Do you think I should play a particular theme more often? Here's your chance to make your voice heard.
Just submit your TOP 5 WRESTLING-RELATED SONGS {be they entrance themes, pay-per-view themes, tribute songs, Top 40 songs that have been "converted" to fit wrestling, or whatever} to ring-rust@hotmail.com between now & December 19th, for inclusion into the YEAR-END TOP 50 COUNTDOWN!!
Remember, submit your 5 favourite songs {& if necessary, what relevance they have toward wrestling, if they're not WWE or TNA} as well as why you feel these deserve to be included in the RING RUST YEAR-END TOP 50 COUNTDOWN & I'll be seeing you on December 26th with #50-26!
PAY-PER-VIEW NEWS: Survivor Series this Sunday, PPV calendar & Starrcade on DVD next year
- WWE's new "25th Anniversary of WrestleMania Calendar" includes a list of dates & locations for all of their 2009 PPV's (excluding Armageddon). . .
Royal Rumble, January 25th @ the Joe Louis Arena in Detroit, Michigan. . . No Way Out, February 15th @ the Key Arena in Seattle Washington. . . Wrestlemania 25, April 5th @ the Reliant Stadium in Houston, Texas. . . Backlash, April 26th @ the Dunkin' Donuts Center in Providence, Rhode Island. . . Judgment Day, May 17th @ the Allstate Arena in Chicago, Illinois. . . 1 Night Stand, June 7th @ the New Orleans Arena in New Orleans, Louisiana. . . Night Of Champions, June 28th @ the ARCO Arena in Sacramento, California. . . Great American Bash, July 26th @ the Wachovia Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. . . Summerslam, August 23rd @ the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California. . . Unforgiven, September 13th @ the Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec. . . No Mercy, October 4th @ the Mellon Arena in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. . . Cyber Sunday, October 25th @ the IZOD Center in East Rutherford, New Jersey. . . Survivor Series, November 22nd @ the Verizon Center in Washington, DC.
- Tickets for the Royal Rumble, which went on sale Saturday morning, sold pretty well & while there are still single seats scattered throughout the arena in decent places, fans wanting more than 1 ticket next to each other will have to be happy with the nosebleeds & seats which are partially obstructed, either by the light display or by the stage. The company sold most of the tickets during the pre-sale on Friday.
- It was announced on RAW Monday night that 5 Divas from SmackDown will be wrestling 5 Divas from RAW in a Traditional Survivor Series Elimination Match on Sunday. Team RAW will be captained by RAW Women's Champion "Glamazon" Beth Phoenix with Mickie James, Kelly Kelly, Candice Michelle Beckman & Jillian Hall by her side. Team SmackDown will be captained by Smackdown Divas Champion Michelle McCool, with Maria Kanellis, Maryse Oullett, Victoria & Natalya Neidhart rounding out the group. Divas being left out include Katie Lea Burchill, Layla El, Melina Perez & The Bella Twins. Katie Lea was also left off of WWE's recent tour of Europe & so she was unable to visit her home country of England. This match, coupled with the 2 previously-announced Survivor Series matches -- Team HBK versus Team JBL, which sees 2016 WWE Hall of Famer "HeartBreak Kid" Shawn Michaels captaining RAW's Rey Mysterio Junior & Cryme Tyme, as well as Smackdown's Great Khali, to take on RAW's John Brad$haw Layfield & Kane, Smackdown's Montell Vontavius Porter & ECWWE's Altered Reality (Mike "The Miz" Mizanin & John Morrison). . . also, RAW's Dave "The Animal" Batista will captain his team, which also includes RAW Tag Team champions the New Generation (CM Punk & Kofi Kingston), ECWWE Heavyweight champion Matt Hardy & Smackdown's "R-Truth" Ron killings, to take on team captain RAW's "Legend Killer" Randy Orton, RAW's Cody Rhodes, Smackdown United States champion "Gold Standard" Shelton Benjamin, RAW InterContinental champion William Regal & ECWWE's "World's Strongest Man" Mark Henry -- make for somewhat of an interesting mishmash, as the classic Survivor Series matches used to be @ times.
- In other semi-related news, WWE Owner Vince McMahon and John Cena were spotted in the front row of the November 13th AC/DC rock concert @ Madison Square Garden in New York City. http://www.MSNBC.com does a "celebrity sightings" feature on their Entertainment page & said Vinnie-Mac & the Doctor of Thuganomics were seen having a good time & rocking out." AC/DC's new song "Fixing For a Fight" is the official theme song of Sunday's WWE Survivor Series PPV.
- WWE has released the cover art & content listings of the upcoming Starrcade: The Essential Collection DVD set, which's set to be released in January. TNA's Sting & WWE Hall of Famers "Nature Boy" Ric Flair & "American Dream" Dusty Rhodes are featured on the cover. The DVD set counts down the top 25 matches in Starrcade history, as voted on by the fans. The matches are currently airing on WWE 24/7, by the way. The DVD set also features a documentary on Starrcade. For more information on the DVD set, check out http://www.silvervision.co.uk/products/Starrcade-The-Essential-Collection-DVD-3-Discs.html
WWE NEWS: 'Taker, Cena, Piper & Mary Jane
- WWE Hall-of-Famer Jim Ross updated his blog & you can read the latest posting @ http://www.jrsbarbq.com
- Wednesday marked 18 years since The UnderTaker made his WWE debut. The Dead Man 1st wrestled in a WWE ring @ the WWF Superstars taping in Rochester, New York, working as "Cain the UnderTaker." He won a squash match over Mario Mancini. The match didn't air until mid-December, so most people think Survivor Series 1990 was his WWE debut.
- WWE has released a new John Cena shirt, with the design being a takeoff of the old AWA logo. In place of the AWA initials, it reads H~R~L (Hustle, Loyalty, Respect) with John Cena putting the 'STFU' "Submission Through Fear" Stepover Toehold Facelock on an opponent. You can see the shirt @ http://www.wweshop.com/Product_detail.asp?cat=cat-johncena&productId=01-09649
- A video has recently surfaced online of WWE Hall of Famer "Rowdy" Roddy Piper smoking marijuana from a bong in front of a crowd @ a party. After smoking from the bong, Piper can be heard saying, "Now you're gonna put this on tape for the FBI!" He also added, "That's funny tasting tobacco, man!" In reference to the bong, Piper said, "That's the damndest thing I've ever seen!" You can see the video in question @ http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=46057969 http://www.TMZ.com has an article (& video) on the situation, which you can check out @ http://www.tmz.com/2008/11/19/rowdy-roddy-pipe-smoker/ The incident took place this past August @ the Gathering of the Juggalos -- an Insane Clown Posse fan festival. Regarding the incident, Piper issued the following statement to TMZ: "I'm not an advocate of using drugs, however due to the lack of appropriate medicine, this alternative treatment was recommended to alleviate the symptoms associated with cancer." Hot Rod was diagnosed with cancer in November 2006. Wednesday night's episode of TMZ featured a segment on the story, which included footage of Piper wrestling Hollywood Hogan @ WCW Starrcade 1996. In the segment, the TMZ narrator questioned Roddy's decision to smoke weed passed on from somebody who's obviously not a doctor, after running his statement on it being medical. They lampooned Piper's "medical excuse" more by running down the excuses Arnold Schwarzenegger, Snoop Dogg & Woody Harrelson likely would have used in order to smoke pot.
- Regarding WWE's recent crackdown of marijuana use, this has frustrated a number of wrestlers. Some are telling friends they'll continue to smoke pot, in spite of the crackdown. Others predict those recently approached by management regarding their habit will replace it with alcohol. As noted earlier, 1 wrestler in particular has failed for pot 12 times, with his push leveling off as a result. The wrestler in question is a SmackDown performer, reports http://www.ProWrestling.NET WWE held another round of Wellness drug tests before the RAW & ECWWE taping on Monday night in Atlanta. With the company looking to cut $20,000,000 from their budget, this would be a very bad time for anybody to test positive.
- Speaking of WWE's budget cuts, the company's in the midst of changing their policy on referees. In the past, referees have been assigned to a specific brand. Moving forward, the referee roster will be consolidated, with WWE bringing 1 group of referees on the road 1 week, then alternating the following week. WWE will be going by senority, so tenured referees will get priority treatment & younger refs being sent to WWE developmental, or possibly even being released.
- Best Buy's offering an exclusive Eddie Guerrero DVD box set, featuring the new 3-disc DVD, as well as the November 14th, 2005 RAW Tribute show in his honour, as well as the 2004 Eddie Guerrero DVD "Cheating Death, Stealing Life" release. Some footage was edited out of the RAW tribute show, including all footage of the late Chris Benoit, tons of footage of him with Chyna & for some reason, ECW Owner Stephanie McMahon's tribute to Latino Heat, where she talked about meeting him for the 1st time.
- We here @ RING RUST have received the artwork for the 'Behind Enemy Lines: Colombia' movie, featuring WWE Superstar Ken Kennedy in the leading role. The cover of the DVD has Kennedy all decked out in combat gear, with 3 of his team mates behind him & the American flag in the background. The tag line's 'Framed. Abandoned. But Never Defeated.' The DVD will be out in the beginning of January & is a collaboration between WWE Studios & 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment. You can check the artwork & the new teaser trailer for the movie @ http://www.wrestling-online.com/news/News_9/BEL_Colombia_teaser2.shtml
- The idea of "Main Sho From Tokyo" Shoichi Funaki's new "Kung Fu Naki" actually came from Funaki himself, who's been pitching the character to creative for several years now. http://www.ProWrestling.net reports that he's been showing up to WWE television for years with the same piece of paper that had his ideas of the gimmick. Owner Vince McMahon shot down the idea countless times, but for whatever reason, it finally got the green light.
- The WWE site has a video of Charlie Haas impersonating Michael Hayes as 'Michael "PS" Haas'. He starts cutting a promo, but is interrupted by Hayes himself, who cuts a "Freebird-style" promo on him. Haas appeared in a dark match prior to Monday's RAW taping. He defeated WWE developmental wrestler Mike Kruel. You can see the video @ http://www.wwe.com/content/media/video/vms/afterthebell/2008/november15-21/8700030 Man, I love it when wrestlers are paid to have a good time @ work!
- DJ Gabriel – the newest member of ECWWE General Manager Theodore Long's New Superstar Initiative – made his debut on Tuesday night's edition of ECWWE on Sci Fi. With former wedding planner Alicia Fox in his corner, Gabriel defeated Sal Rinauro with the European uppercut, which's apparently his finishing maneuver. Gabriel's Steve Lewington & was signed to a developmental contract following the spring 2007 European tour, in which he wrestled Umaga @ the UK RAW taping. WWE signed a handful of European wrestlers following this particular tour, including Lewington, Drew McIntyre, Sheamus O'Shaunessy, Hade Vansen, Chris Gray & Tommy Taylor. It looks like Lewington's the 1st wrestler of the group to actually make it in WWE, as McIntyre was quickly sent back to developmental following a handful of matches. Gray & Taylor have since been released, Vansen's M.I.A. & Drew McIntyre & Sheamus are still plying their trade in Florida Championship Wrestling. Lewington also appeared as a jobber on RAW during WWE's 2 tours of England in 2005. Carlito Caribbean Cool beat him up during a Cabana segment & he once wrestled Kurt Angle as a jobber.
- Former RAW General Manager Mike Adamle was said to be very upset, upon being informed of his removal from television @ the November 3rd RAW. Adamle was told plans had changed & it was going to be his last show with WWE. Happy traaaaaaails to youuuuu. . .
- The reason Ted DiBiase Junior was written out of WWE storylines, is because he's landed a movie role. He'll be starring in WWE Films' 2nd straight-to-DVD movie, "The Marine 2". John Cena, who starred in the 1st film, isn't currently scheduled to appear in the sequal. DiBiase's expected to be off television for a while.
- World Wrestling Entertainment has come to terms on the release of ECWWE Superstar Armando Alejandro Estrada, as of November 18th. WWE wishes him the best in all future endeavours, in not allowing the door to hit him in the arse on the way out.
- Dustin Runnels is returning to World Wrestling Entertainment, as he's signed his contract, as he recently faxed it to officials. He hasn't been given a start date, but is expected to end up on the RAW brand. Head writer Brian Gewirtz is pushing for him the most, as he's always been a fan of the Goldust character. Upon his return, he'll likely play a comedic role, rather than a risque/serious character.
- Pro Wrestling Illustrated's releasing a magazine next week entitled "Greats of the Game" profiling 6 WWE & TNA wrestlers. Among those featured are Smackdown's UnderTaker, RAW's "Legend Killer" Randy Orton, Booker TNA, 2016 WWE Hall of Famer "HeartBreak Kid" Shawn Michaels, TNA's Samoa Joe & RAW's Rey Mysterio Junior. The magazine takes an in-depth look @ their careers. You can see the issue's cover @ http://www.PWI-Online
TNA NEWS: TNA in Newfoundland, Angle, Nash & . . . Lesnar?
- For all the latest Total NonStop Action news, join the official Yahoo! TNA community @ http://groups.yahoo.com/group/tnathemextreme/?yguid=69468874
- Newfoundland TNA fans!! Tired of not being able to see pay-per-views @ a local establishment? Same here! So that's why I've set up a MySpace page to help get our message across! As per instructions on http://www.tnawrestling.com, if fans want to promote TNA in their local area, they can set up a "TNA U" page on MySpace & get other fans from their area to pitch in to help get the word out locally about the great wrestling action of Total NonStop Action! So if you wanna get TNA Wrestling pay-per-views into local bars around St. John's, or even have a dream of even the slimmest chance @ getting a house show here in the unforeseeable future, then add http://www.myspace.com/tnanewf as a friend & pledge your support!
- Kurt Angle, Kevin Nash, The Motor City Machineguns & Team 3D are all booked for the January 4th Tokyo Dome event, promoted by New Japan Pro Wrestling
- A recently-signed UK "Gladiator" star Nick Aldis was in the United States 2 weeks ago to prepare for his upcoming debut in TNA. Aldis was known as "Oblivion" on the UK version of Gladiator. Nick joins Doug Williams as the newest TNA UK roster members.
- This past Monday, TNA President Dixie Carter presented a cheque of $98,000 US to Tennessee Titans defensive star Kyle Vanden Bosch for his KVB Sack Foundation. TNA wrestlers were present @ a benefit event in Nashville, Tennessee, for Vanden Bosch's birthday party, which was held less than 24 hours after the Titans beat the Jaguars. Other members of the Titans team were also @ the event, which had several TNA matches & appearances by the company's top stars.
- http://www.TNAWrestling.com has their leading story on new UFC Champion Brock Lesnar, congratulating him on his win Saturday @ the UFC 91 pay-per-view. "Every1 @ TNA Wrestling would like to congratulate Brock Lesnar, who defeated Randy Couture in Las Vegas to become the new UFC World Champion. Lesnar made the successful transition from pro wrestling to mixed martial arts, ultimately winning the top prize in the UFC @ Saturday's Pay-Per-View event." The story then turns to teasing Kurt Angle's involvement in mixed martial arts in the future. "Will Olympic gold medalist Kurt Angle follow in Lesnar's footsteps & enter the world of mixed martial arts?" Angle's thoughts about this is heavily featured in his new double-disc DVD, which will be released by TNA on November 25th.
HAUGHTY HOTTIES NEWS: Lilian, Lena, Trish & Stacy
- To read the coolest news on the hottest women in wrestling today, check out Shimmer's official Yahoo! Group -- http://sports.groups.yahoo.com/group/shimmerwrestling
- WWE Diva Lilain Garcia's apparently coming here, to our quaint little rock off the East coast of Canada, to DJ a show @ Whiskey's on George Street tomorrw nigt! For more information, check out http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=31748239649
- Lena Yada has issued a statement regarding her recent release from World Wrestling Entertainment. As it turns out, she was in the hospital, visiting her sick father, when she was informed of her dismissal from the company 2 Mondays ago. The WWE site did a story on her father this past year, who's currently suffering from sarcoidosis, an immune system disorder that manifests as a restrictive disease in the lungs. Her father was sick this time a year ago as well & almost prevented her from accepting WWE's contract offer, because she'd have to go on the road. Yada admits to seeing her release from the company coming. It's still up in the air whether she'll continue her career in professional wrestling. Lena posted the message @ the http://www.Unique-Divas.com forum. Yada registered on the site when she was involved in the Diva Search contest last year & would occasionally post during her time in WWE. "So I guess its time I made a statement. I got a call Monday morning, when I was at the hospital with dad. Kinda knew it was coming, to be honest. Am I sad? Yes. Will I move on? Yes. If I will continue to train or seek another outlet is still up in the air. There are many rumours circulating in the system about the reason for my release. Only Vince himself will know. I've had a very fulfilling time so far with WWE. Could I have gone further? I believe yes. BUT! We all have to remember that it's a business @ the end of the day. The door's still open for a possible return in the future, though, so let's just wait & see, shall we? When darkness surrounds, it's only opportunity for the light to shine even brighter. Never give up on your dreams. Life's filled with disappointment & will challenge you constantly, but it's what you do in the aftermath that defines you as a person. Love & Aloha, Lena"
- http://www.WWE.com has an article about former diva Trish Stratus, who left the company over 2 years ago to pursue life outside of the squared circle. The article notes that Trish recently completed filming for her reality TV travel show, "Stratusphere," which currently airs in Canada on the Travel + Escape channel on Monday nights @ 9pm EST. You can read the entire piece @ http://www.wwe.com/inside/news/8707032 As for plans to return to the ring. . . "I’ve heard that {Glamazon} Beth Phoenix & this new Diva Natalya {Neidhart} have talked {trash} about me,” says Stratus with a gleam in her penetrating eyes. “I’ve said it before, but if they ever decided to call me out, I wouldn’t hesitate to step into the ring.” The 7-time WWE Women's Champion's also up for Canada's Gemini award for "Hottest Canadian Female TV star." The ceremony takes place November 28th & you can vote for Trish now @ http://www.GeminiAwards.ca Stratus also now has an account on the WWE Universe site. It's legit, as her page's linked @ the tail end of the "Superstars Profile" bar on the front page of the site. You can visit Stratus' page @ http://fans.wwe.com/trishstratus While you're @ it, check out http://fans.wwe.com/ringrust too!
- Several new photos of former WWE Diva Stacy Keibler, wearing a bikini in Miami from over the weekend, have surfaced on the popular "What Would Tyler Durden Do" website. You can see them @ http://www.wwtdd.com/post.phtml?pk=15091 In other Keibler news, the former WWE Diva will be doing her 1st wrestling convention, since leaving the business, on December 6th & 7th in East Hanover, New Jersey. Former beau & WWE / TNA "Superstar" Andrew "Test" Martin will also be @ the convention. A number of other interesting names are slated to appear @ the event, including the recently-released Elijah Burke, Stacy "Miss Kitty" Carter (who turned up @ her 1st wrestling-related event in 7 years this past September), Ryan Shamrock, Jackie Haas, Carmel "Miss Jones" Macklin (the former manager of Ernest "The Cat" Miller in WCW), Leticia Cline, Shawn Stasiak, Roxxi Laveaux, Juventud Guerrera & TNA Road Agent Terry Taylor. Keibler autographs cost the most, as they're running for $30 US, whereas most everybody else's $10-15. For more information on the event, visit http://www.TurnbucklePromotions.com
- Former WWE Diva Rena "Sable" Mero's expecting a child shortly, with former Smackdown Heavyweight Champion Brock Lesnar. Following his UFC championship victory over Randy Couture on Saturday night, Mero could be seen congratulating Brock, while he kissed her stomach. PHEW, this time I'm off the hook! . . .
- TNA Knockout Angelina Love was recently interviewed by Mike Mooneyham of the Charleston Post & Courier. The Beautiful People member said she's confident she would be 1 of the top Divas in WWE right now, had they evaluated her talent correctly when she was in WWE's Ohio Valley Wrestling developmental system a few years ago. "I was probably the most talented girl they had in developmental, but they were more interested in hiring Hooters girls & models & putting them on TV without any experience." Angelina tore her ACL & was out of action for 10 months during her time @ OVW & feels she wasn't given another chance to prove herself. "They had me up @ TV for a few ideas, but it never panned out & I'm a firm believer that everything happens for a reason. So obviously there's a reason why my 1st run in WWE didn't work. We'll see what happens in the future." Check out a full synopsis of the interview @ http://www.charleston.net/news/2008/nov/16/beautiful_people_courting_palin/
- Former RAW Women's champion Melina Perez returned to the ring late last week during the Florida Championship Wrestling television tapings. Melina has been out of action since June, after suffering an ankle injury during a Divas tag team match with Mickie James against Natalya Neidhart & Victoria. The match was cut short & had an impromptu ending. In her 1st match back, Perez teamed up with FCW's Tyler Reks to take on Edge & Vickie Guerrero's former wedding planner Alicia Fox & Jake Gabriel.
DECLARATION of INDEPENDENTS NEWS: Cage, Dykstra, London & Savage
- To view an up-to-date listing of all the *omnivorous* upcoming independent shows, check out http://www.prowrestlingevents.tk/
- "Instant Classic" Christian Cage has indeed been offered a contract from WWE to return to the company. He's, of course, mulling it over. Cage's scheduled to work a pair of independent shows next month. He's advertised for the BSE Pro shows in Northern Canada on December 12th & 13th. Traci Brooks & Christy Hemme are also scheduled to appear @ the events. For more information on the shows, visit http://www.BSEPro.com TNA shot the angle on iMPACT! 2 weeks ago, to protect them if Christian doesn't re-sign, as they've received no word from Cage on his plans. There have been no plans created for the Instant Classic if he returned to WWE, so far. If he does return to the company, RAW writer Brian Gewirtz would like to work with him, because of past experience. Michael "Pure Sexy" Hayes & Edge are pushing WWE Owner Vince McMahon to sign Christian & put him on Smackdown to reunite the pair. The general feeling's that he'd receive a big push, but depending on the reaction, he could be pulled back down to mid-card status. Vinnie-Mac was behind the stopping of his push in 2005 & was said to be very negative on him, despite creative team members being huge supporters of the Instant Classic.
- Recently-released WWE stars Ken Doana (Dykstra) & Lance Cade are currently accepting indy bookings & appearance dates through NWA Anarchy promoter Bill Behrens, reports http://www.prowrestling.NET Interested parties can contact Behrens ~ showbis@aol.com
- Regarding the recent release of Paul London, he'd been in the dog house for quite some time, ever since he smiled during the live shot right before Owner Vince McMahon's explosion angle in June 2007. London also had a reputation for having no instincts as a performer, as far as how his character should be doing promos, even though everybody knew he has the wrestling ability. After losing the Smackdown Cruiserweight Championship on the August 4th, 2005 edition of Velocity {ouch!} to Nunzio {uber-ouch!!}, Paul was told to deliver a heartfelt promo regarding his title loss. Instead, he did a goofy comedy promo, encouraging fans to protest his title loss, which officials frowned upon. It was said that London didn't like SmackDown writer David Lagana's idea, but by not doing what he was told & doing a bad promo, it really hurt his standing with the company. Paul soon went on a losing streak, before returning as a face & teaming with the newly-rehired Brian Kendrick. London also had a rep of being a complainer, which obviously didn't help matters. London asked for time off from the road on a few occasions. After asking for time off 1 time, Paul said he wasn't sure he wanted to commit his life to professional wrestling. He was given the time off & came back looking invigorated, but a mere month later, people felt the same issues were coming back up & that nothing had changed regarding him. Sometime back, WWE had plans to give London & Kendrick a huge push, but the Carefree Daredevils performed poorly in the pre-taped promos given to them, to the point that most of them never made it to air. London also had a relationship with former WWE Diva Ashley Massaro, which was seen as negative by most in the company, with 1 person saying it ruined his standing in the company. Paul had heat in the locker room as a result of his relationship with Massaro. Approximately 2 years ago, WWE had plans to do an angle on Kendrick having a crush on Massaro, but it was dropped. They also had plans to do a big break-up angle between London & Kendrick, but those plans were dropped as well. Paul had a reputation of being a headache to work with among WWE's creative staff. That helps explain why his obvious talents didn't go as far as they could have. Regarding his future in wrestling, London's continuing his wrestling career, as he's currently accepting bookings through an agent. The AAA promotion out of Mexico is said to be interested in his services & he speaks Spanish, which helps a lot. However, this may not be the right time, because a number of the top wrestlers in AAA are pressuring officials to keep foreigners from taking their spots. Well, when it rains, it pours, eh Pauly?
- Wednesday night's episode of TMZ had a brief segment on MC "Macho Man" Randy Savage's appearance @ the movie premiere of Bolt this past week. Savage has a speaking role in the movie, playing a character called "Thug". No word yet on whether that's the character's name, or a generic title, but we'll find out soon, as Bolt hits theatres today. A person held up a photo of Savage @ the event & asked people to guess who it is. They couldn't & the person then held up a mid-1990s photo of Savage, to their shock. The Macho Man, in a fit of rage, top-rope elbow dropped the entire crowd, sending them all into low orbit.
- Ring of Honor announced an agreement with DirecTV last Thursday. The satellite company will begin carrying ROH pay-per-views in early 2009. The "Rising Above" show with Bryan Danielson versus Nigel Mc****ss will be the 1st pay-per-view shown. Meanwhile, DirecTV will also feature ROH Classics via their on-demand service. To read the full press release, visit http://www.ROHwrestling.com
- A few WWE & TNA stars are scheduled to appear on the same show for the retirement of Abdullah The Butcher, which will be held by the World Wrestling Council on December 13th in Bayamon, Puerto Rico @ the Ruben Rodriguez Coliseum. WWE wrestlers Carlito Caribbean Cool & Primo Colon are scheduled to appear, as are TNA's Team 3D. Other wrestlers scheduled to appear include Sabu, Balls Mahoney & Steve Corino. For more information on the show, check out http://www.SuperEstrellasWWC.com WWC's owned by Carlos Colon, father of Carlito & Primo, which explains why they're allowed to appear @ the show. Yeah, "allowed". . . ! Good 1 Vince!
- Reid Flair has been sent to former NWA World champion Harley Race's WLW Wrestling Academy in Eldon, Missouri & will be training there through the end of the month. Reid's debut match was officially postponed due to "health reasons", but it was also reported that WWE Hall of Famer "Nature Boy" Ric Flair felt his son needed more training & delayed the debut, which will now take place in December.
- In other Nature Boy news, the National Wrestling Alliance will be holding several autograph sessions with Slick Ric in the coming months: "The National Wrestling Alliance®, Harding Road Entertainment & HK Entertainment & Big Vision Entertainment presents the 10 Times NWA™ Worlds Heavyweight Champion “Nature Boy” Ric Flair @ Chickie’s & Pete’s 1526 Packer Avenue in South Philly, on Friday, November 28th from 2 – 5 PM. Limited tickets for this autograph event are on sale now @ all Chickie’s & Pete’s locations (outside the airport) or by calling (215) 218-0500."
- As reported a few months ago, a short film starring WWE Hall of Famers Greg "The Hammer" Valentine & George "The Animal" Steele entitled "Somethin' Fishy" is set to be released. The movie will finally premiere on Friday, December 5th in Orlando, Florida, reports SLAM! Wrestling. The short film will be shown 3 times during the evening @ the Darden Theater in the Orlando Science Center, 777 East Princeton Street, in downtown Orlando. Both Steele & Valentine will be in attendance @ the film's premiere. For more information on the film, visit http://www.somethin-fishy.org But will it also stink of something else?
- Former WWE star Orlando Jordan's scheduled to appear @ a Pro Wrestling Holland show in Lelystad, Netherlands tomorrow.
- Check out a synopsis of a recent interview with Eric Bischoff @ http://www.lordsofpain.net/news/2008_/1227199734.php
- WWE Hall of Famer Bret "HitMan" Hart's featured on the main page of http://www.TMZ.com Their cameras caught Bret in Washington DC Wednesday & asked him if he's still "The best there is, the best there was & the best there ever will be." TMZ calls Bret's response "depressing". You can see the TMZ video clip of Bret Hart @ http://www.tmz.com/videos?autoplay=true&mediaKey=c83708c7-a3fe-4984-b2a1-fbb57d5ffbdd
- Paul Heyman has updated his UK Sun blog, with his thoughts on Brock Lesnar's UFC Heavyweight title win last weekend. "Brock Lesnar's greatest strength isn't physical. It's a great athlete's mentality & acceptance of instruction. For all the talk about 'Size does matter' & 'Youth & power prevailed over age & experience,' the secret to Brock's success is his intense drive to be the alpha male, to be #1 @ what he does, to be dominant against all competition. . . & his willingness to simultaneously be humble enough to accept the advice of others that he trusts, listen to their guidance & implement their game plan." Heyman also talks about the 1st time he met Brock & Vince McMahon's initial reaction to Lesnar's "Next Big Thing" moniker. You can read Heyman's latest blog entry @ http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/sport/wrestling/heyman/article1949276.ece
- Former WWF Intercontinental Champion "Wildman" Marc Mero's gym in Alamonte Springs, Florida was broken into this past Wednesday. A thief was captured on surveillance video, smashing a window of the gym & stealing a plasma TV & computer, according to police. Mero was happy that none of his several dozen pictures & memorabilia of his days as a professional wrestler were stolen. "Things like that are irreplaceable to me & I was very thankful that he didn't take those."
- "Wildcat" Chris Harris will be appearing @ the Northern Wrestling Federation event in Fort Wright, Kentucky on December 13th. Go to http://nwfwrestling.com for info about the NWF.
- Tonight on Ringside Live, they'll have a special guest whose name is familiar to practically all wrestling fans -- Brutus 'The Barber' Beefcake. He'll talk about his involvement on Hulk Hogan's "Celebrity Championship Wrestling" & to chat about his career. Ian Hamilton taped the interview last Sunday. A big thanks goes out to Brutus, who was really patient considering the technical difficulties thrown @ them on their original day of the interview (Saturday) & was cool to do it on Sunday. . . & to Chris over @ VH1/CMT for the hook-up. Ringside Live airs @ 7PM EST / Midnight GMT & you can listen live @ http://www.blogtalkradio.com/ringsidelive/ or else download the podcast from iTunes after the show's over.
- The Insane Clown Posse is going around claiming they are going to invade WWE and ROH shows next, reports http://www.f4wonline.com Note where I put this on the page, in case you have any doubts as to the validity of this proclamation.
SPOILERS NEWS: unseen on RAW & a preview of Smackdown
- Check out what you *didn't* see on RAW this week @ http://www.lordsofpain.net/news/2008_/1227030027.php
WRESTLER BIRTHDAYS: Savage Terrible Yeti!
- November 15th: former WWF & WCW Heavyweight champion "Macho Man" Randy Savage. . . former New Japan Pro Wrestler Michiyoshi Ohara. . .
- November 16th: former CEW Newfoundland Heritage & North Atlantic champion Jason the Terrible. . . former NWA, WCW & IWA-Puerto Rico Wrestler Lou Perez. . .
- November 18th: All Japan Pro Wrestler "The Hawaiian Tornado" Taiyo Kea. . . former WCW "wrestler" Ron "Yeti" Reis. . .
- November 19th: "former" WWF & WCW Valet Miss Elizabeth {Hulette}. . . former NCW Xtreme champion, CEW Canadian Tag Team co-champion, CEW North Atlantic, Newfoundland Heritage & Inter-Cites champion, CEW-NCW Canadian Heritage champion & RPW Tag Team co-champion "Newfoundland's Own" Vince Austin. . .
- November 20th: former Total NonStop Action Wrestler "Sirelda" Jamie Dauncey. . .
- November 21st: former WWF Tag Team wrestler & WXW Founder Wild Samoan Afa. . . former ECW Television & Heavyweight champion "Franchise" Shane Douglas. . . Dragon Gate Pro Wrestler SHINGO Takagi. . . Pro Wrestling NOAH Wrestler Tsuyoshi Kikuchi. . . former NWA Southweaster Tag Team co-champion, Southeastern United States Junior Heavyweight & NWA Alabama champion Johnny Rich. . . "former" WCW & Raw Heavyweight champion Chris Benoit. . . "former" XPW & WSX Wrestler "Mister 80s" Dynamite D. . . WWE Diva Brie Bella & her Mid-Match From-Under-The-Ring Replacement {but don't tell anybody!!} & twin sister Nikki Bella. . .
THIS WEEK IN WRESTLING HISTORY: I love making up Tag Team names!!
- November 15th:
{1983} The Soul Patrol {Tony Atlas & Rocky Johnson} defeated the Wild Samoans {Afa & Sika} for the WWWF Tag Team
titles. . .
{1998} World Wrestling Federation's " Survivor Series" @ the Kiel Center in St. Louis, Missouri, where Sable defeated Jacquelyn for the WWF Women's title & the Rock defeated Mankind in a tournament final for the Heavyweight title . . .
{2000} Chris Michaels defeated The Masked Maniac for the USA Pro-Wrestling United States Heavyweight Title. . .
- November 16th:
{1961} Shillaleigh School {"the Professor" Dale Lewis & "Irish" Pat Kennedy} defeated the Mat Classics {Hardboiled Haggerty & Bob Geigel} for the AWA Tag Team titles. . .
{1984} Crusher Blackwell defeated Harley Race for the Missouri State Heavyweight title. . .
{1992} The Sandman defeated Don Muraco for the ECW Heavyweight title. . .
{1994} World Championship Wrestling's "Clash of the Champions 29", where Stripes & Stars {The Patriot & Marcus Alexander Bagwell} defeated Pretty Wonderful {"Pretty" Paul Roma & "Mister Wonderful" Paul Orndorff} for the WCW Tag Team titles. . .
{1996} Extreme Championship Wrestling's "November to Remember" @ the ECW Arena {New Alhambra Arena} in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. . . WWE Hall of Famer Jerry "The King" Lawler defeated the Colorado Kid for the USWA Unified Heavyweight title. . .
{1998} Juventud Guerrera defeated Billy Kidman for the WCW Cruiserweight title. . .
{2000} the Boogie Knights {Disqo & "Das Wunderkind" Alex Wright} defeated the Power Plant {Mark Jindrak & Sean O'Haire} for the WCW Tag Team titles. . . WWF Owner Vince McMahon hired Minnesota Governor Jesse Ventura as colour man for the XFL broadcast team. . .
- November 17th:
{1994} The Rat Pack {Jimmy Cicero & Sean "Showtime" Powers} won a 1-night tournament for the SCW Tag Team titles. . .
{1996} World Wrestling Federation's "Survivor Series" @ Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York, where Sycho Sid defeated 2016 WWE Hall of Famer "HeartBreak Kid" Shawn Michaels for the WWF Heavyweight title. . .
{1997} Iceman Chris Cannon was stripped of the SCW Light Heavyweight title. . .
{1998} "Gillberg" Duane Gill defeated Christian for the WWF Light Heavyweight title. . .
{2000} Da Hit Squad {Monsta Mack & Mafia} defeated Wanna Wrestle for the Heavyweight Title Next Year? {Don Montoya & Homicide} for the Jersey All Pro Tag Team Titles. . .
{2002} World Wrestling Entertainment's "Survivor Series" @ Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York, where Billy Kidman defeated Jamie Knoble for the Smackdown Cruiserweight title, Victoria defeated Trish Stratus for the RAW Women's title, Los Guerreros {Eddie & Chavo Guerrero} defeated Almost the 1st-Ever Smackdown Tag Team Champions {Edge & Rey Mysterio Junior} & the 1st-Ever Smackdown Tag Team Champions {Kurt Angle & Chris Benoit} in a 3-Way Elimination Match for the Smackdown Tag Team titles, 2016 WWE Hall of Famer "HeartBreak Kid" Shawn Michaels defeated HHH, Kane, Chris Jericho, Booker T & Rob Van Dam in a 6-Way Match for the RAW Heavyweight title & The Big Show defeated Brock Lesnar for the Smackdown Heavyweight title. . .
- November 18th:
{1938} Jim Londos defeated Bronco Nagurski for the World Heavyweight title. . .
{1978} Eric "the Red" Hansen died in a motor vehicle accident @ age 34. . .
{1983} Ted DiBiase defeated Brett Wayne for the Georgia National Heavyweight title. . .
{1992} NWA World Championship Wrestling's "Clash of the Champions 21", where Dos Hombres {Shane Douglas & Ricky "the Dragon" Steamboat} defeated the 2nd Generation of Clubberin' Masters {"Natural" Dustin Rhodes & Barry Windham} for the WCW Tag Team titles. . .
{1995} Extreme Championship Wrestling's "November to Remember" @ the ECW Arena {New Alhambra Arena} in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. . .
{1996} Brian Christopher defeated Macho Warrior Ric Hogan {best wrestler name ever!!} for the USWA Southern Heavyweight title. . .
{2000} Skinhead Ivan defeated Doctor Hurtz for the New Jersey State Title, Nick Berk defeated Trent Acid & Ric Blade to win the vacant for the Jersey All Pro Light-Heavyweight Title & Homicide defeated Jay Lover for the vacant Jersey All Pro Heavyweight Title. . .
{2001} World Wrestling Federation's "Survivor Series" 2 the Greensboro Coliseum in Greensboro, North Carolina, where Trish Stratus defeated Ivory, Lita, Jazz, Molly Holly & Jacqueline in a 6-Way Match for the vacant WWF Women's title, WCW Tag Team champions The Dudley Boyz {BuhBuh Ray & D-Von Dudley} defeated WWF Tag Team champions The Hardy Boyz {Matt & Jeff Hardy} to unify both championships & WCW United States champion Edge defeated WWF Intercontinental champion Test to unify those championships. . .
- November 19th:
{1960} Wanna Wrestle for the United States Title Next Year? {Johnny Valentine & Buddy Rogers} defeated the Fabulous Kangaroos {Al Costello & Roy Heffernan"} for the WWWF Tag Team titles. . .
{1989} Bill Dundee defeated Tony Anthony for the USWA Southern Heavyweight title. . .
{1990} WWE Hall of Famer "Mister Perfect" Curt Hennig defeated "Texas Tornado" Kerry Von Erich for the WWF Intercontinental title. . .
{1991} NWA World Champinship Wrestling's "Clash of the Champions 17", where the Natural Dragons {"Natural" Dustin Rhodes & Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat} defeated the Enforcers {"Enforcer" Arn Anderson & "Living Legend" Larry Zbyszko} for the WCW Tag Team titles. . .
{1994} Extreme Championship Wrestling's "November to Remember" @ ECW Arena {New Alhambra Arena} in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. . . Chris Candido defeated Tracy Smothers in a tournament final for the NWA Heavyweight title. . .
{1995} World Wrestling Federation's "Survivor Series" @ the US Air Arena in Landover, Maryland, where WWE Hall of Famer Bret "HitMan" Hart defeated Diesel for the WWF Heavyweight title. . .
{2000} World Wrestling Federation's "Survivor Series" @ the Ice Palace in Tampa, Florida. . .
- November 20th:
{1990} NWA World Championship Wrestling's "Clash of the Champions 13". . .
{1997} former AWA President Stanley Blackburn died @ age 80. . .
{2000} Nate Hatred defeated Wife Beater for the Combat Zone World Ironman Title, Justice Pain defeated The Thrill Kill Kult {Diablos Macabre & Midknight} in a handicap match for the vacant CZW Tag Team Titles, then John Zandig defeated Wife Beater for the CZW Heavyweight Title. . .
{2002} Jeff Jarrett defeated Ron "The Truth" Killings for the NWA Heavyweight title. . .
- November 21st:
{1978} the Livign Legends {Tony Garea & "Living Legend" Larry Zbyszko} defeated The Yukon Lumberjacks {Eric & Pierre} for the WWWF Tag Team titles. . .
{1980} Ted DiBiase defeated Ken Patera for the Missouri State Heavyweight title. . .
{1999} World Championship Wrestling's "Mayhem" @ the Air Canada Centre in Toronto, Ontario, where Evan Karagias defeated Disco Inferno for the WCW Cruiserweight title & WWE Hall of Famer Bret "HitMan" Hart defeated Chris Benoit in a tournament final for the Heavyweight title. . .
{2000} Billy Gunn defeated Eddie Guerrero for the WWF Intercontinental title . . .
* * * * *
Check out RING RUST every Friday @ 11:30am EST -- http://www.chmr.ca/listen.html
* * * * *
This Week's PLAYLISTS. . .
-=* RING RUST *=-
ARTIST "SONG" {ALBUM}
LILIAN GARCIA "NEED a LITTLE PLACE" {ANTHOLOGY - WWE}
LILIAN GARCIA "YOU JUST DON'T KNOW ME @ ALL" {WWE ORIGINALS}
TNA "FINAL RESOLUTION" {HTTP://WWW.TNAWRESTLING.COM}
SANTINO's CASA "LOVE LIFE" {HTTP://WWW.WWE.COM}
JIM JOHNSTON "REAL GOOD GIRL" {WWE THEMEADDICT: The MUSIC VOLUME 6}
TRADEMARC & JOHN CENA "MY TIME's NOW" {YOU CAN'T SEE ME}
QUEEN "INNUENDO" {INNUENDO}
BRET HART & STEVE WHITE "HART BEAT (HEEL)" {ANTHOLOGY - REMIXES}
JIMMY BOWSKILL "The TRUTH" {SOAP BARS & DOG EARS}
JIM JOHNSTON "PAUL LONDON 1st" {ANTHOLOGY - WWE}
TNA "JANUARY TOURS" {HTTP://WWW.TNAWRESTLING.COM}
EVANESCENCE "TOURNIQUET~IMAGINARY" {FALLEN}
MC 'MACHO MAN' RANDY SAVAGE "FEEL The MADNESS" {BE a MAN}
BROCK LESNAR "NEXT BIG THING" {ANTHOLOGY - WWE}
TNA "KURT ANGLE ~ CHAMPION" {HTTP://WWW.TNAWRESTLING.COM}
KURT ANGLE "I DON'T SUCK!" {WWE ORIGINALS}
MERCY DRIVE "BURN IN MY LIGHT" {WWE WRECKLESS INTENT}
ZEBRAHEAD "WITH LEGS LIKE THAT" {WWE WRECKLESS INTENT}
DIRT SHEET "The MARINE VERSUS SAW 5" {HTTP://WWW.WWE.COM}
SUPER CRAZY "MUY LOCO" {WWE The MUSIC VOLUME 7}
JIM JOHNSTON "LENA YADA" {ANTHOLOGY - WWE}
WEIRD AL YANKOVIC "ALL ABOUT The PENTIUMS" {RUNNING WITH SCISSORS}
WHITE ZOMBIE "LIVING DEAD GIRL" {ANTHOLOGY - 709 WRESTLING}
LEOSBEL JIMENEZ LICEA "NO SIENTE" {ANTHOLOGY - WWE}
MADONNA & DAMIEN SPRACKLIN "LIKE an EVANGELIST" {ANTHOLOGY - REMIXES}
RASCALZ "SHARPSHOOTER (BEST of DA BEST)" {HITMAN HART: WRESTLING WITH SHADOWS ORIGINAL TELEVISION SOUNDTRACK}
-=* HETEROSEXUAL CAVALCADE of ÜBERSWANK *=-
ARTIST "SONG" {ALBUM}
RANEE LEE Featuring OLIVER JONES & MILT HINTON "I WONDER WHERE OUR LOVE HAS GONE / WHEN A WOMAN LOVES A MAN / CRAZY HE CALLS MEWHAT A LITTLE MOONLIGHT CAN DO / GOOD BLESS The CHILD / SOMEBODY's ON MY MIND / EASY LIVIN' / STRANGE FRUIT / AIN'T NOBODY's BUSINESS / THEM THERE EYES" {DEEP SONG}
LOVERBOY "WORKING FOR The WEEKEND" {FANTASTIC 80s}