-- Ric Flair was on local sports talk show Prime Time with The Packman this morning on WFNZ here in Charlotte. He said he will be opening a new business in Charlotte this week called Ric Flair Finance. Flair talked a little bit of football before the host asked him if he really quit WWE. Flair kinda laughed at it and said "No, it's not true." and asked what WWE would do without him. He didn't seem too sure of himself but he said he would talk more about everything next week on the same show.
-- Shelton Benjamin is set to take on Intercontinental Champion Jeff Hardy at upcoming RAW house shows. It's expected Benjamin will get a push while his WGTT partner Charlie Haas is suspended.
-- A couple wrestling related DVD releases this Tuesday: Snoop Dogg's Hood of Horror featuring former WCW Champion Diamond Dallas Page and the film adaption of video game DOA, featuring Kevin Nash.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-- Kristal reveals in her new storyline wedding blog over at WWE.com that R&B group Jagged Edge will perform a song during her and Teddy Long's ceremony. The wedding takes place on SmackDown in less than 2 weeks.
-- WWEshop.com has released a new Batista Punishment t-shirt, a John Cena inflatable hand set and several WWE superstars pillows and blankets among other new items.
-- The DirecTV preview for RAW this week: "Mr. McMahon's illegitimate child is revealed; John Cena hunts down Randy Orton." Direct's ECW preview simply says "New Champion CM Punk."
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Jim Ross has posted his latest blog entry, which you can check out at jrsbarbq.com. Some highlights from this edition:
- I feel ECW is still a work in progress and the final form it eventually takes could be termed as “still to be determined.†I am not a major fan of a weekly hardcore or extreme rules match because they cease being special if one sees them every week and these matches increase the odds of a wrestlers getting injured. With the overall lack of quality depth available, injuries should be avoided when they can. I do think that C.M. Punk is a “find†and will continue to grow into the asset the WWE needs to cultivate more of going forward. For those that are holding out for the “old ECW†to emerge, I would suggest that isn’t going to occur any time soon but I do feel the current brand is steadily improving. I watch it every week and enjoy most shows.
- I have no idea why the first War Games match was not on the Four Horsemen DVD, unless there were simply space limitations. I would expect to see many more DVDs in the future that would provide a nice platform for War Game matches from the past.
- Good people are not immune to making stupid and ill-conceived decisions, such as evidenced by the several athletes who were recently suspended for violation of the WWE Wellness Program. The key here is education and learning from one’s mistakes and not allowing a negative part of history repeat itself. In the meantime, now is certainly time to make hay while the sun shines for many athletes who will be provided an opportunity with so many of their teammates on the sideline.
- The Raw vs. Smackdown 08 video game is big time to say the least and the addition of Rick Rude, among others, is huge for all gamers. If you are a wrestling fan and like to play video games, I don’t see how one cannot make this purchase.
- Drug abuse in our society is a horrible thing, not to mention wrestlers who use poor judgment and abuse drugs. This problem is far reaching in our society and there are many that need to assess their accountability for rampant, illegal or ill advised drug usage. I often wonder why the FDA even allows HGH to be sold so easily and frequently when it was created to help treat dwarfism but has been spun into several other arenas’s since its creation. Plus one has to wonder why the FDA can continue to condone internet drug sales of any kind. I get bombarded with junk emails soliciting me to buy prescription medications over the internet. I am smarter than I look and I am not taking any thing without the counsel of my personal physician who is not a “celebrity doctor†and takes care of my health, not any childish needs I might attempt to fabricate.
- I heard when I first came to the WWE in 1993 that there was going to be a Hulk-Hitman match or matches, but that Hogan had second thoughts.
- To the best of my knowledge, Ric Flair is still an active member of the WWE and is still on the payroll. The rumors surrounding Ric’s future are flying, but Ric has not told me he was quitting. I will believe it when I see it and as I have said on many occasions I feel that Ric still has a great deal to offer the business, as his legacy could be enhanced and should live forever. It would be very easy to build the 2008 WWE Hall of Fame class around “Naitch.â€
- My remarks on “Beyond the Mat’ was to an athlete that simply needed to spend more time in the gym focusing on his upper body, which would have enhanced his look naturally. I never inferred that for this wrestler to “get bigger†that he needed to do drugs. That’s a little Oliver Stone-ish of a theory and is insulting to boot. I have repeatedly said that I do not feel an athlete needs to be 6’2â€-250 to be a star, but that they do have to be in shape and have a natural, athletic look which this individual did not have at that time.
- I am all for the WWE revealing the names of the individuals who fail a wellness test and wish they had revealed the latest results. I do think it will be a positive tool in deterring the abuse of illegal substances and over medicated athletes by physicians without character or a conscience. Being singled out publicly could be an embarrassing moment for many performers and one would think that this would make one think twice about doing something so stupid.
- I am in hopes of re-signing with the WWE and talks are on going. I don’t see any immediate issues on the negotiation horizon. This is another story that has taken a life of its own and many internet sites have written about it as if they know exactly what is going on, but none of them have talked to me about it, which should illustrate that there are times when some sites simply take a rumor and run with it as fact. My goal is to continue to work for the WWE, but if that were not to work out, I still have plenty to do to keep me busy. My wrestling career has been a blessed one that I would have never envisioned over 30 years ago, but all things have to come to an end at some point. Our Bar-B-Q biz is going to continue to grow as we hope to start rolling out more store stores in 2008 and plan on building several stores over the next few years.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-- WWE.com has a new feature that takes a look at some of the classic chair shot moments in WWE history. Just a few of them are Tommy Dreamer's attack "Heard 'Round the World" on Raven at ECW's Heatwave 1995, Mankind being knocked out by the chair falling through the Cell roof at King of the Ring 1998, The Rock's chair shot to Mankind at Royal Rumble 1999 and Austin hitting The Rock at WrestleMania X-Seven. It's interesting that the majority of the matches featured are from the early ECW days.
-- Danny sent the following: I just wanted to let someone know that on the WWE.com homepage, there is a countdown clock for Unforgiven and it says that Unforgiven starts next Monday the 17th at 8:00 a.m. instead of next Sunday the 16 at 8:00 pm.
-- WWE's tour of South Africa has come to an end and all RAW superstars should be back in the States today. The next International tour will be with the SmackDown and ECW brands in Spain and France from 9/11 to 9/14.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Torrie Wilson posted the following message on her MySpace page in response to the recent Diva drug scandal reports:
Hey guy's and gal's!
I am heading to Spain this week after our t.v. tapings and am pretty excited! I have to be honest with you, I don't like planes and have actually started to hate them lately. I guess it must be the fact that I am on one at leaste 2 times per week and many times more than that! I have been pretty much all over the world a trillion times and have seen lots of cool places, but have always dreamed of going to Spain and it's actually happening. I just hope that I will have at leaste a few hours in each city we go to see a little of the place. I know a few hours doesn't seem like much but it is to a WWE Diva that wants to see Spain! I will let you know what happens...
I am also excited because I was just informed that I am going to be attending the special olympics and at the opening ceremony in China in October with Bobby Lashley. I love Bobby so that trip will be a breeze. We will also be attending the Nickelodeon kids choice awards in Australia after the China trip and that will be a cool too. I wonder if I can pay to get that slime thrown at my head!
Last night I shot with a photographer from 10pm to 6am for my new website. It was fun but so exhausting. I thought I would totally emerge myself in this website project and be a model for many of the products as well. It's always fun for a girl to play dress up so my friend Jessie and I had a little wine and just cranked out about 400 photos between the two of us. What a friend she is....I don't think she really knew what she was getting herself into! Nick was actually a trooper as well and shot a ton of pictures too. He wasn't the typical model though and has his own touch of zoolander in many shots...so funny! What a goof ball. We all had a great time and will probably have to make that a ritual from now on.
As always, thanks to all of you for your sweet messages and encouraging words. I hope you understand that it is nearly impossible for me to write each and every one of you back personally and do try to address things that are asked often on my blog....which brings me to the issue of getting a Women's championship title on Smackdown! Seriously guy's, please petition to anyone that will listen! Smackdown needs a women's title. The diva's on Smackdown are just as good if not better than the wrestling diva's on Raw and we need something to fight for! I have worked for wwe for 6 years and have never even had a match for the title once...that is CRAZY to me! I hope that I will get that chance at leaste once before my career in the wrestling world ends....
Another point of concern is that I am being told that some of those stupid wrestling sites that people go to for who knows why are saying that WWE Divas are using steroids! Well,first of all take a look at us! Also, I think that all you have to do is spend a little time on the road or at a gym with any one of us. I will gladly drag somebody's naysaying butt to the gym with me for a 7 to 10 mile run before hitting the weights for 45 minutes. I absolutely hate when people try to devalue someone's hard work to make themselves feel better. I do have to thank those people though, because they do keep us working hard, which is what we do best!
All my best to you this week and hopefully I will check in from Spain!
love you all!
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-- Shelton Benjamin is set to take on Intercontinental Champion Jeff Hardy at upcoming RAW house shows. It's expected Benjamin will get a push while his WGTT partner Charlie Haas is suspended.
-- A couple wrestling related DVD releases this Tuesday: Snoop Dogg's Hood of Horror featuring former WCW Champion Diamond Dallas Page and the film adaption of video game DOA, featuring Kevin Nash.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-- Kristal reveals in her new storyline wedding blog over at WWE.com that R&B group Jagged Edge will perform a song during her and Teddy Long's ceremony. The wedding takes place on SmackDown in less than 2 weeks.
-- WWEshop.com has released a new Batista Punishment t-shirt, a John Cena inflatable hand set and several WWE superstars pillows and blankets among other new items.
-- The DirecTV preview for RAW this week: "Mr. McMahon's illegitimate child is revealed; John Cena hunts down Randy Orton." Direct's ECW preview simply says "New Champion CM Punk."
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Jim Ross has posted his latest blog entry, which you can check out at jrsbarbq.com. Some highlights from this edition:
- I feel ECW is still a work in progress and the final form it eventually takes could be termed as “still to be determined.†I am not a major fan of a weekly hardcore or extreme rules match because they cease being special if one sees them every week and these matches increase the odds of a wrestlers getting injured. With the overall lack of quality depth available, injuries should be avoided when they can. I do think that C.M. Punk is a “find†and will continue to grow into the asset the WWE needs to cultivate more of going forward. For those that are holding out for the “old ECW†to emerge, I would suggest that isn’t going to occur any time soon but I do feel the current brand is steadily improving. I watch it every week and enjoy most shows.
- I have no idea why the first War Games match was not on the Four Horsemen DVD, unless there were simply space limitations. I would expect to see many more DVDs in the future that would provide a nice platform for War Game matches from the past.
- Good people are not immune to making stupid and ill-conceived decisions, such as evidenced by the several athletes who were recently suspended for violation of the WWE Wellness Program. The key here is education and learning from one’s mistakes and not allowing a negative part of history repeat itself. In the meantime, now is certainly time to make hay while the sun shines for many athletes who will be provided an opportunity with so many of their teammates on the sideline.
- The Raw vs. Smackdown 08 video game is big time to say the least and the addition of Rick Rude, among others, is huge for all gamers. If you are a wrestling fan and like to play video games, I don’t see how one cannot make this purchase.
- Drug abuse in our society is a horrible thing, not to mention wrestlers who use poor judgment and abuse drugs. This problem is far reaching in our society and there are many that need to assess their accountability for rampant, illegal or ill advised drug usage. I often wonder why the FDA even allows HGH to be sold so easily and frequently when it was created to help treat dwarfism but has been spun into several other arenas’s since its creation. Plus one has to wonder why the FDA can continue to condone internet drug sales of any kind. I get bombarded with junk emails soliciting me to buy prescription medications over the internet. I am smarter than I look and I am not taking any thing without the counsel of my personal physician who is not a “celebrity doctor†and takes care of my health, not any childish needs I might attempt to fabricate.
- I heard when I first came to the WWE in 1993 that there was going to be a Hulk-Hitman match or matches, but that Hogan had second thoughts.
- To the best of my knowledge, Ric Flair is still an active member of the WWE and is still on the payroll. The rumors surrounding Ric’s future are flying, but Ric has not told me he was quitting. I will believe it when I see it and as I have said on many occasions I feel that Ric still has a great deal to offer the business, as his legacy could be enhanced and should live forever. It would be very easy to build the 2008 WWE Hall of Fame class around “Naitch.â€
- My remarks on “Beyond the Mat’ was to an athlete that simply needed to spend more time in the gym focusing on his upper body, which would have enhanced his look naturally. I never inferred that for this wrestler to “get bigger†that he needed to do drugs. That’s a little Oliver Stone-ish of a theory and is insulting to boot. I have repeatedly said that I do not feel an athlete needs to be 6’2â€-250 to be a star, but that they do have to be in shape and have a natural, athletic look which this individual did not have at that time.
- I am all for the WWE revealing the names of the individuals who fail a wellness test and wish they had revealed the latest results. I do think it will be a positive tool in deterring the abuse of illegal substances and over medicated athletes by physicians without character or a conscience. Being singled out publicly could be an embarrassing moment for many performers and one would think that this would make one think twice about doing something so stupid.
- I am in hopes of re-signing with the WWE and talks are on going. I don’t see any immediate issues on the negotiation horizon. This is another story that has taken a life of its own and many internet sites have written about it as if they know exactly what is going on, but none of them have talked to me about it, which should illustrate that there are times when some sites simply take a rumor and run with it as fact. My goal is to continue to work for the WWE, but if that were not to work out, I still have plenty to do to keep me busy. My wrestling career has been a blessed one that I would have never envisioned over 30 years ago, but all things have to come to an end at some point. Our Bar-B-Q biz is going to continue to grow as we hope to start rolling out more store stores in 2008 and plan on building several stores over the next few years.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-- WWE.com has a new feature that takes a look at some of the classic chair shot moments in WWE history. Just a few of them are Tommy Dreamer's attack "Heard 'Round the World" on Raven at ECW's Heatwave 1995, Mankind being knocked out by the chair falling through the Cell roof at King of the Ring 1998, The Rock's chair shot to Mankind at Royal Rumble 1999 and Austin hitting The Rock at WrestleMania X-Seven. It's interesting that the majority of the matches featured are from the early ECW days.
-- Danny sent the following: I just wanted to let someone know that on the WWE.com homepage, there is a countdown clock for Unforgiven and it says that Unforgiven starts next Monday the 17th at 8:00 a.m. instead of next Sunday the 16 at 8:00 pm.
-- WWE's tour of South Africa has come to an end and all RAW superstars should be back in the States today. The next International tour will be with the SmackDown and ECW brands in Spain and France from 9/11 to 9/14.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Torrie Wilson posted the following message on her MySpace page in response to the recent Diva drug scandal reports:
Hey guy's and gal's!
I am heading to Spain this week after our t.v. tapings and am pretty excited! I have to be honest with you, I don't like planes and have actually started to hate them lately. I guess it must be the fact that I am on one at leaste 2 times per week and many times more than that! I have been pretty much all over the world a trillion times and have seen lots of cool places, but have always dreamed of going to Spain and it's actually happening. I just hope that I will have at leaste a few hours in each city we go to see a little of the place. I know a few hours doesn't seem like much but it is to a WWE Diva that wants to see Spain! I will let you know what happens...
I am also excited because I was just informed that I am going to be attending the special olympics and at the opening ceremony in China in October with Bobby Lashley. I love Bobby so that trip will be a breeze. We will also be attending the Nickelodeon kids choice awards in Australia after the China trip and that will be a cool too. I wonder if I can pay to get that slime thrown at my head!
Last night I shot with a photographer from 10pm to 6am for my new website. It was fun but so exhausting. I thought I would totally emerge myself in this website project and be a model for many of the products as well. It's always fun for a girl to play dress up so my friend Jessie and I had a little wine and just cranked out about 400 photos between the two of us. What a friend she is....I don't think she really knew what she was getting herself into! Nick was actually a trooper as well and shot a ton of pictures too. He wasn't the typical model though and has his own touch of zoolander in many shots...so funny! What a goof ball. We all had a great time and will probably have to make that a ritual from now on.
As always, thanks to all of you for your sweet messages and encouraging words. I hope you understand that it is nearly impossible for me to write each and every one of you back personally and do try to address things that are asked often on my blog....which brings me to the issue of getting a Women's championship title on Smackdown! Seriously guy's, please petition to anyone that will listen! Smackdown needs a women's title. The diva's on Smackdown are just as good if not better than the wrestling diva's on Raw and we need something to fight for! I have worked for wwe for 6 years and have never even had a match for the title once...that is CRAZY to me! I hope that I will get that chance at leaste once before my career in the wrestling world ends....
Another point of concern is that I am being told that some of those stupid wrestling sites that people go to for who knows why are saying that WWE Divas are using steroids! Well,first of all take a look at us! Also, I think that all you have to do is spend a little time on the road or at a gym with any one of us. I will gladly drag somebody's naysaying butt to the gym with me for a 7 to 10 mile run before hitting the weights for 45 minutes. I absolutely hate when people try to devalue someone's hard work to make themselves feel better. I do have to thank those people though, because they do keep us working hard, which is what we do best!
All my best to you this week and hopefully I will check in from Spain!
love you all!
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
