HEADLINE NEWS: legal strife!
- WWE Hall of Famer "Rowdy" Roddy Piper was arrested yesterday morning for DUI, according to www.TMZ.COM Piper was in Hollywood, California, when he was pulled over by the cops. He was administered a sobriety test ~ which he failed ~ & was taken into custody immediately after. His bail was set for $5,000 & was released later in the day. He's expected to go to court to face the charges on July 23rd.

- Former WWE Superstar Brian Blair of the Killer Bees tag team was set free yesterday, after all charges on child abuse were dropped against him. The Tampa Tribune reported that while Blair was the 1st to throw the punch @ his 17-year-old son, it was the teen who was the aggressor. After the investigation, Assistant State Attorney Pam Bond said that, due to this conclusion, all charges against him will be dropped & the Department of Children & Families said the family was free to reunite immediately. Brian was arrested on June 21st, after he engaged into a fight with his 2 sons. According to the Tampa Tribune, the whole argument was about the kids coming in @ 4AM to "very angry parents." Blair said his oldest son reacted in an
"unexpected way" & he had to defend himself. "Teenagers are teenagers & things will happen sometimes," he added.

- As reported Sunday, Jerry Lawler's son & former WWE Superstar Brian Christopher, was arrested for public intoxication. WBBJ-TV in Tennessee reported Monday that the man formerly known as "Grand Master Sexay" was fined $50 & ordered to attend a 30-day rehab program, after he entered a guilty plea. This is his 2nd run-in with the law, as in February, he was arrested
for disorderly conduct.

- The Atlanta Journal-Constitution's reporting that the family of Nancy Benoit's won 1 battle against Hustler Magazine, for publishing nude photos of Nancy when she was younger, months after she, along with her son Daniel, were murdered by the equally-late Chris Benoit. While the original Judge sided with Hustler, the US Court of Appeals over turned the decision. After Hustler published the magazine in March 2008, with photos taken in 1983, her family filed the lawsuit, saying Hustler had no right to publish them. The 1st Judge said that the photos were news-related & ruled against the Toffolonis. The appeals Judge, however, didn't agree, saying that the photos served no legitimate purpose. There was no compensation to her parents from any of the sales of the magazine. Hustler will probably appeal the decision. Assuming you're just that perverse, you can see 2 photos from the spread @ bit.ly/Xn4yo

PAY-PER-VIEW NEWS:
- We've received the poster for the SummerSlam 2009 pay-per-view, featuring John Cena. The poster has a big picture of the Doctor of Thuganomics with the Los Angeles skyline in the background & spotlights from behind. The usual green/blue SummerSlam logo's replaced with black, white & gray colors. The show will be held @ the STAPLES Center in Los Angeles, California, on Sunday August 23rd. You can see the poster @ bit.ly/p68Ko & I hope ya really like the Chain Gang Commander, because he's friggin' huge on the poster!

- The No Mercy & Cyber Sunday pay-per-view names have been ditched, in favour of 2 new names. No Mercy has been renamed to "WWE Hell In A Cell", with the 2 main events to be contested inside the infamous cage. No Mercy initially made its debut as a UK-only PPV in May 1999 & then became a permanent PPV in October of that same year. The other event, Cyber Sunday, has been renamed to "WWE Annihilation." Cyber Sunday has been around since 2004, although it has been under that name since 2006; the show was originally called Taboo Tuesday.

- While @ RAW this week, Dave "The Animal" Batista was telling people that his physical rehabilitation's going well, according to www.PWInsider.com The Animal had surgery last month to repair a torn tendon in his arm & he's on schedule to get back in the gym in about 4-6 weeks. Batista's hoping to return by November's Survivor Series Pay-Per-View, which takes place from his hometown of Washington DC. As reported earlier this week, he's keeping busy during his time off ~ as he's set to star in a new "martial arts comedy" film with boxing champion & fellow Filipino national hero, Manny Pacquaio.

- WWE's new '25th Anniversary of WrestleMania Calendar' includes a list of dates & locations for all of their 2009 PPV's. . .
Night Of Champions, July 26th @ the Wachovia Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. . .   Summerslam, August 23rd @ the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California. . .  Breaking Point, September 13th @ the Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec. . .  Hell in a Cell, October 4th @ the Mellon Arena in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. . .  Annihilation, October 25th @ the IZOD Center in East Rutherford, New Jersey. . .  Survivor Series, November 22nd @ the Verizon Center in Washington, DC.

WWE NEWS:
- WWE Hall-of-Famer Jim Ross updated his blog & you can read the latest posting @ www.jrsbarbq.com

- 15 Superstars & Divas switched places & ECWWE ended up on the short end of the stick big time, losing almost every main eventer they had. Packing their bags & moving to Monday Night RAW are "World's Strongest Man" Mark Henry, Evan Bourne, "All-American American" Jack Swagger, Alicia Fox & Gail Kim. Moving to Smackdown are Matt Hardy, Fit Finlay, DH Smith, Tyson Kidd & Natalya Neidhart. ECWWE trades all its top stars for ~ get ready ~ Goldust, William Regal, "Gold Standard" Shelton Benjamin & the Bella Twins.

- WWE Hall of Famer "Mister USA" Tony Atlas' future with WWE's very much in doubt, following the transfer of his associate, "World's Strongest Man" Mark Henry, to the RAW brand this past Monday. Company officials plan on pushing the former Sexual Chocolate as a top babyface, which as a result, has left Atlas to fend for himself, as he isn't being brought alongside him. As of this week, he's still considered a member of the ECWWE roster, but creative has no idea on how to use him. His contract may be coming due as early as next week, as he returned to the company on July 8th, 2008 & signed a deal {more than likely for 1-year} shortly thereafter.

- Matt Hardy posted thoughts on his Twitter account ~ twitter.com/matthardybrand ~ concerning an Internet wrestling writer, for assuming that he spoiled his move back to SmackDown on said account. The Internet writer in question did a post, saying Hardy "spilled the beans" after saying he was pleased with being moved to SmackDown on Monday night. However, the information had been on www.WWE.com for an hour or so when Hardy posted the tweet message.

- 2 episodes of RAW were taped Monday night in San Jose, California @ the HP Pavilion, as that brand heads out to New Zealand & Australia, coming back in the country towards the end of next week. The 1st show in New Zealand will be on July 3rd & then from July 4th till the 8th the WWE Superstars will be Down Under. Smackdown & ECWWE had back-to-back television tapings

Tuesday & Wednesday in Fresno & Bakersfield, as the crew will leave for the Land of the Rising Sun next week, with 2 shows in Japan on the 7th & 8th, with 1 in the Philippines on the 10th. Tapings resume their normal schedule the week of July 13th.

- THQ & JAKKS Pacific, the license holders for WWE video games, have engaged into a fight of their own, after JAKKS notified World Wrestling Entertainment, that they want to renew their video game license for 5 more years, which will see them issuing games till December 2014. However, THQ weren't happy about JAKKS going behind their backs & planning without their consent. The 2 companies ~ whose joint venture with WWE made them $1,000,000s ~ are now battling in court, as THQ sued JAKKS in the California Supreme Court in Los Angeles.

- Europe's WWE DVD distributor, SilverVision, has released the chapters for the highly anticipated "Rise & Fall of WCW" triple disc DVD, which'll be released on August 25th. The story starts all the way from Jim Crockett Promotions & ends with WWE purchasing WCW. The 1st disc will contain documentary-style sit-down interviews with several WWE Superstars & former WCW executives, while discs 2 & 3 will have some of the best matches, in full, in WCW history. To see a list of chapters & matches, go to bit.ly/2QTDYJ

- The brother of WWE Superstar Paul Burchill, Sean, has passed away in Afghanistan after an Improvised Explosive Device {IED} hit his convoy. He died while being transported to a helicopter landing site. The 33-year-old Major was the commanding officer of 9th Company, 1st Battalion Welsh Guards. He's survived by his wife, Joanna & 18-month-old son, Charlie. The Guardian newspaper in the UK has a story about him @ bit.ly/4Ktlu ; Our condolences go out to his family & friends.

- Yesterday was referee Charles Robinson's birthday. He turned 45 years old.  He shares that birthday with 7-time Heavyweight champion & WWE Hall of Famer Bret "HitMan" Hart, who turned 52 years old.

TNA NEWS:
- For all the latest Total NonStop Action news, join the MySpace TNA community @ www.myspace.com/wrestlingwarlordtnafan

- TNA Executive Shareholder Mick Foley has posted a new blog on his MySpace account, putting over former WCW Valet Daffney & discussing non-scripted promos. "Daffney's got it going on. That's what I think whenever I see her on TV, doing promos, in the ring, etc. Which's my way of saying that she's really hit her stride; everything seems to be coming together simultaneously. I've always thought that anything that's different's good & man, is this chick different. I try to give feedback when I see something I like & it seems that I'm always saying something to her about what I see. 'I love the outfit, Daffney, it's creepy, it's you.' Or, 'great promo, I like how calm you are.' She slithers like a snake, she's got a cool walk, all her stuff in the ring looks good & like all good characters, she makes you wonder where the character ends/where the person begins. I've been around her for a while now & I don't really have a clue. Plus, she's read 1 of my novels like 4 times & that's a little scary." To read his blog in its entirety, go to blogs.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=b...

- Jakks Pacific was @ last week's set of iMPACT! tapings, scanning wrestlers for the forthcoming TNA action figure line. However, it'll be a while before the figures are released, as the launch isn't expected until sometime next year.

- Jason Agnew from Live Audio Wrestling out of Ontario sent this notification via Facebook: "TNA Wrestling's running a house show on Friday July 10th @ Copps Coliseum & THE LAW crew's going to be there & wants you guys, our listeners, to be there with us!!! This weekend on The LAW, we'll be giving away our grand prize of a pair of BOX SEATS to the event, plus a full buffet dinner @ Gibson's Club Lounge & Restaurant with The Mouth & Jason Agnew. Be sure to tune into The LAW LIVE @ 11pm EST this sunday, to find out how you can win. . .  we'll also have several pairs of regualr tickets to give away on the show as well & actually I'll give a pair of tickets to the 1st person to reply to this message on Facebook! . . . just to prove you've read it :)  Also, even if you don't win our contest, there are still seats available to the TNA event that you can purchase @ www.ticketmaster.ca/TNA-Wrestling-ticket...; Along with that, The Mouth & Jay will be hanging out before the show @ Gibsons Club Lounge & restaurant @ 6pm for a meet-&-greet for any of our fans that want to come by say hello. If you wish to attend the entire dinner, you can do so for $25 Canadian.  To make reservations @ Gibsons, call (905) 521-0323 or email 10721@compass-canada.com  Hope to see you on July 10th! Thanks for listening to The LAW"

- Jeremy Borash has uploaded a "hidden camera" video he filmed this week inside TNA's headquarters in Nashville, Tennessee. Borash uses his iPhone 3G-S to capture stealth footage of a 7th Anniversary autographed plaque given to TNA employees who have been with the company since it was founded back in 2002. The video ends with a funny altercation between Borash & an on-air personality. You can check it out @ www.youtube.com/watch?v=uPKn7OdFStk

- 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 www.tnawrestling.com, if fans want to promote TNA in their local area, they can set up a "TNAtion" 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 www.myspace.com/tnanewf as a friend & pledge your support!

HAUGHTY HOTTIES NEWS:
- To read the coolest news on the hottest women in wrestling today, check out Shimmer's official Yahoo! Group -- sports.groups.yahoo.com/group/shimmerwre...

- This from Dave Prazak. . . "Everybody @ SHIMMER - WOMEN ATHLETES would like to congratulate Serena Deeb on officially signing a contract with World Wrestling Entertainment.  From the 1st day she stepped into a wrestling ring, it has always been Serena's goal to earn a job with WWE. Serena moved from Virginia to Kentucky on her own dime, for the sole purpose of enrolling in the Ohio Valley Wrestling training program several years ago & she has been a mainstay in the OVW women's division ever since. Serena debuted for SHIMMER on May 21st, 2006 as a last-minute substitution, when an opening on the lineup created an opportunity. During the 3 years that followed, Deeb displayed tremendous drive, determination & eagerness to constantly learn. She's always tried to improve her game, be it in SHIMMER competition, @ OVW, or in her handful of appearances for Ring of Honor. Despite OVW losing its status a WWE developmental territory last year, Serena remained focused on achieving her goal of impressing WWE officials enough to be given a chance. All of Deeb's hard work has now paid off, as she'll soon be relocating to Florida to start with WWE developmental territory Florida Championship Wrestling. Personally speaking, I feel that Serena Deeb's 1 of the top 3 female babyface talents in North America today. She's got unbelievable fire & can project emotion better than most wrestlers of a similar age & experience level. These are essential attributes, to go along with the sound athletic wrestling fundamentals which she also possesses. She's a complete package & is perfect for television. Serena's training @ OVW not only prepared her quite well for professional wrestling in general, but also specifically for the style of wrestling which WWE's looking for. Deeb's continued instruction @ FCW will only sharpen her existing skills, in preparation for the next stage of her career. The 3 match series between Serena & Sara Del Rey were truly breakout performances for her as a wrestler. I feel those matches excellently displayed Deeb's unbelievable potential to become a star in this industry. In her outings several weeks ago @ the SHIMMER Volumes 23-26 tapings in Chicago, Serena continued to show that she absolutely deserved the spot @ the top of the card that she'd worked her way into. I'd like to thank Serena Deeb for all of her contributions to SHIMMER during the past 3 years. From all of the memorable matches, to sacrificing her car on the drive up for the SHIMMER Title Tournament weekend, Serena gave so much to our product. Though we'll greatly miss her @ future tapings, Deeb has now been given the chance of a lifetime ~ to work her way to the top of her chosen profession. Good luck, Serena. . . & congrats!"  Check out a picture of this future WWE Diva @ i200.photobucket.com/albums/aa28/shimmer...

- Former WWE Diva Torrie Wilson was interviewed by Kevin Eck of The Baltimore Sun to discuss her 2nd place finish in NBC's "I'm A Celebrity. . . Get Me Out of Here" & she had some interesting things to say regarding World Wrestling Entertainment. Check out a synopsis @ www.lordsofpain.net/news/3004.html or to read the whole interview, check out weblogs.baltimoresun.com/sports/wrestlin...

- "Until we're the biggest wrestling company in the world, we won't be satisfied." Those were the words uttered by TNA President Dixie Carter in an exclusive interview for www.TNAWrestling.com where Carter noted that their iMPACT! television show beats ECWWE most of the times in the ratings. "We can't just say we're going to beat RAW {in the ratings}. Right now, that's unrealistic. We had to start with a more obtainable goal to beat the ratings of our competitor's 3rd-rated show ~ & we've done that." Dixie isn't happy with just that, next in line's taking on Smackdown. Asked what's the biggest challenge in TNA, Carter said, "Making new superstars" & then proceeded to give her take on several of the TNA Superstars. You can check out the full interview @ www.tnawrestling.com/content/view/1575/8...

- Daizee Haze has launched a new web store for fans to get a variety of different merchandise items on-line. Among the items available are a series of Best of Daizee Haze DVDs, 8x10 photos, Property of SHIMMER Wrestling Academy t-shirts & a whole lot more. Browse the Daizee Haze web store @ www.deliriouswrestling.com/daizee/

- Also, Diva-Dirt.com is going to be conducting an interview with Haze. Don't miss your opportunity to add any questions you might have to the list by posting them in the Comments @ www.diva-dirt.com/2009/06/21/diva-dirt-w...

- Well, as it turns out, my initial assumption was wrong, as RAW ring announcer Lilian Garcia has in fact given her notice & will be leaving once her contract expires @ the end of this year. "It's with a heavy heart that I've made this decision, because WWE has been my family from day 1 & you, the WWE Universe, have always been incredible to me," Garcia said on her blog @ liliangarcia.com "The fact's that I'm getting married later this year & have decided to enter into a new phase of my life, but I'll truly miss all of you & the WWE tremendously," she added. Garcia made her debut in August 1999 & has been the ring announcer for RAW ever since. A couple of weeks ago, WWE issued an open position for a young female announcer who can sing & speculation kicked in that Garcia was indeed leaving the company after 10 long years. Sad to see her go, but I'm gonna enjhoy watching her leave! . . .

- Even more new posed photos taken by SHIMMER staff photographer Gilda Pasquil @ the recent set of tapings have been added to her photo thread @ The SHIMMER Forum. Beginning on Page 9 of the replies are new photos of MsChif, Serena Deeb, Lexie Fyfe, Malia Hosaka, Rain, Jetta, Lacey, Melanie Cruise, Rayna Von Tash, Daizee Haze & Daffney ~  shimmerwomen.proboards.com/index.cgi?boa...

- During Tuesday's episode of Wrestling Observer Live on www.f4wonline.com it was said that WWE Diva Rosa Mendes was told by management to slim down. Reportedly, she took the comment to heart & has dropped weight in recent weeks.

- Howard Finkel pointed out in his latest blog on the WWE Universe site, that ECWWE General Manager Tiffany has dropped the "Interim" label from her title.  Check that out @ fans.wwe.com/howardfinkel/blog/2009/07/0...

- Christy Hemme's band HEMME will be playing The Social in Orlando Friday night. Read more about it @ blogs.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=b...

- WWE developmental women's wrestler Angela Fong, who's worked a number of WWE live events in recent weeks as a ring announcer, noted on her Twitter account ~http://www.twitter.com/missangelafong ~ that fans were constantly mistaking her for Gail Kim over the weekend. "Would be a millionaire if I had a quarter for every, 'hey gail kim' this weekend!! Heheh. . . no worries tho. . . just wait til I debut 1 day!" She also congratulated all of the Florida Championship Wrestling talent that debuted on last night's episode of ECW. "Hard work does pay off!!! :) yay!!!"

- SmackDown Diva Melina Perez talked to KSEE-TV this past Monday about losing her title @ The Bash pay-per-view & what it takes to be a WWE Diva. The former Women's Champion also discusses how rewarding it is when you get what you're striving for & earn the respect of your peers. To view the video interview, check out www.ksee24.com/sports/49465267.html

- Monday was Raw Diva Alicia Fox's birthday. She turned 23 years old. She's been under contract to World Wrestling Entertainment for over 3 years, as they signed her when she was only 19.

- You can download the high resolution version of Nicholas Andrews' new SHIMMER highlight video "1 Shot" (featuring clips from Vols. 19-22 of the SHIMMER DVD series) @ www.sendspace.com/file/rptgxb

DECLARATION of INDEPENDENTS NEWS:
- To view an up-to-date listing of all the omnivorous upcoming independent shows, check out www.prowrestlingevents.tk/

- July 18th, CPW Wrestling returns to The Ice Box {3 West Olive Street in Scranton, Pennsylvania ~ 570-955-0923}  Doors open @ 6:30 & belltime's 7pm.  Tickets $10, kids under 5 free.  Already scheduled to appear: 3 ECW superstars {Axl Rotten, Rockin Rebel & Justin Credible} versus 3 CPW Superstars {Mister Saturday Night, Hvoak & Mean Mark Mest}  The Patriot, The Dark Patriot, Jason Havok, Debis Reaper, Miss Dixie, La Parka & many, many more are also appearing.  EVERY MATCH A HARDCORE MATCH!!!  Stay tuned!  Tickets available @ The Ice Box {(570) 955-0923}

- Last month the Davis arena was nearly filled to capacity, as the tradition of introducing the future superstars of pro wrestling returned, when Ohio Valley Wrestling presented "Future Talent Showcase 2009" {available on DVD @ www.ovwrestling.com}  That night, we saw OVW talent past & present, such as Nick "U-gene" Dinsmore & TNA knockout Sojourner Bolt break in the future stars of the sport, some of which have already gone on to make a huge impact on OVW television.  On Sunday, July 28th, we do it again, as OVW presents: Trial by Fire.  No pushover baby steps here.  Come see why OVW competitors are still the #1 recruited talent in pro wrestling today.  Come be apart of the next step in creating the next John Cena, Mickie James or "Legend Killer" Randy Orton.  Doors open @ 6PM eastern, with a 7PM bell time.  Tickets are just $10 & can be purchased @ the Danny Davis Arena box office {4400 Shepherdsville Road in Louisville, Kentucky}  OVW:  Tomorrows Superstars Today!!!

- FULL IMPACT PRO WRESTLING: Saturday, August 1st @ the National Guard Armory {8551 West Venable Street, Crystal River, Florida 34429} Doors open @ 7:30 & show starts @ 8pm.  Tickets are $20 Ringside & $15 General Admission, Kids 13 & under $10 General Admission.  Advance tickets $12 GA & Kids $8 GA.  To purchase advance tickets call (352) 422-4582 or visit
www.FullImpactPro.com

- In a 1st, a wrestling act was featured on NBC's "America's Got Talent" this past week. Midwest-based indy wrestlers Steve Boz & Austin Roberts performed some sort of wrestling act, alongside model Koa-Marie Turner, on Wednesday's edition of the talent show. Unfortunately, their performance didn't go over too well with the audience, as well as judges Piers Morgan, Sharon Osbourne & David Hasselhoff. You can see video of their appearance @ www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pf6dLkluBqk

- Paul London recently filmed 1 of those "hidden camera" commercials for Pizza Hut, according to www.Paul-London.net Friends of the former WWE star say he's trying to get into acting, while picking & choosing his wrestling dates.

- Independent wrestler Matt Riviera's a contestant on the VH1 reality show "Megan Wants a Millionaire", which's set to air this fall. For more information on Riviera, visit www.MattRiviera.com