TNA News and Notes: PWI Anual, DVD Releases, Angle at Spring Training, LAX

Here's some TNA news and notes, you can't live without, and for those that have already died from not being able to live without this stuff, we can't be held legally responsible.

Angle at Spring Training, TNA DVD Releases, PWI Anual, More

Interesting that we're getting a Best of Bloodiest Brawls II and a Best of Abyss DVD, I'd expect a lot of duplicate matches on those 2.

Breaking News: LAX attack Trainer Johnny Rods at his wrestling school
This happened before the last Pay Per View, nice of TNA to finally get the memo.

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Ticket Sales up, Gate receits down for Pride 33 'The Second Coming'

You can read all of the details released by the Nevada State Athletic Commission by clicking Here

Short form, they sold 255 more tickets than they did for the debut in October, but took in about 23,000 less at the gate.

This show ranks 9th out of the top 10 gates for MMA in Nevada just ahead of the Pride debut show. UFC holds the top 8 slots with UFC 66 - Liddell, Ortiz II being #1 with $5.4 million at the gate.

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Tuesday Ratings Report

ECW did a 1.6 rating last night, up from a 1.3 last week which was the lowest in that timeslot.

WSX did a 0.6 rating last night which was also up from the rating for the prior new episode 2 weeks ago which did a 0.5 rating.

For WWE the ECW jump continues a trend upward in the ratings for last Friday Night's Smackdown which did a CW best 3.2 and monday's Raw which did a 4.3 the best in a long time.

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Raw Rating

Raw did a 4.3 rating on Monday, its best of the year.

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Pennsylvania becomes latest state to lift ban on MMA.

According to This MMAWeekly Report
Philadelphia and Pittsburgh are prime candidates to host events, think UFC, with Philadelphia being a city that promotion has been targeting as of late.

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Test released from WWE.

Andrew 'Test' Martin was released from World Wrestling Entertainment.

He was suspended earlier this month for a wellness violation, and was also involved in a car accident this past weekend.

We here at the OC Times tracked down a source close to the situation for an official comment...



Ha, Ha! /Nelson Munce

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Complete 3/24 WEC Event Lineup

*Fixed

So I'm a bit late with this one, but better late than on time I suppose. Canvas Chronicle gets the credit here.

The lineup is as follows:

World Extreme Cagefighting
The Joint (Hard Rock Hotel & Casino)
Las Vegas, Nevada
Saturday, February 24
6 PM PT

* Vacant Welterweight title: John Alessio vs. Carlos Condit
* Featherweight title: Urijah Faber vs. Dominic Cruz
* Bantamweight title: Eddie Wineland vs. Chase Beebe
* Middleweights: Joe Riggs vs. Hiromitsu Miura
* Welterweights: Brock Larson vs. Eric Apple
* Welterweights: Dave Terrel vs. Tiki Ghosn
* Featherweights: Cub Swanson vs. Tommy "Don't Call Me 'Tommy Lee'" Lee
* Welterweights: Alex Serdyukov vs. Scott "Don't Call Me 'Flash'" Notron
* Featherweights: Micah Miller vs. Jesse Moreng
* Light Heavyweights: Brian Stann vs. Steve Cantwell

Note: Bouts are in order of last-to-first.

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Sean Sherk to fight at UFC 73?

According to a report at MMAWeekly.com the UFC Lightweight Champion who has been out of action since having shoulder surgery after defeating Kenny Florian at UFC 64 on 10/14/2006 to capture the vacant title will be returning to the Octagon at UFC 73.

UFC 73, now scheduled for July 7 is currently set to feature a Middleweight title bout with Nathan Marquardt challenging Anderson Silva. Sean Sherk's opponent for the show is expected to be Hermes Franca who has had 3 consecutive wins in the UFC, most recently defeating Spencer Fisher on the 1/25 Ultimate Fight Night Live event.

Sherk's only 2 UFC losses have come to the current Welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre and the former champion Matt Hughes.

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Pride 33 'The Second Coming' Fallout: Medical Suspensions and Fighter Earnings

First for the Suspensions, credit goes to MMAWeekly.com

Medical Suspensions Stemming from Pride 33:

-Nick Diaz has been medically suspended for six months (until August 24th) due to an injured and possibly broken orbital bone (the orbital bone is the bone
that surrounds the eye socket). If Diaz is medically cleared before then, his minimum suspension would still last through April 26th.

-Dan Henderson has been medically suspended for six months (until August 24th) due to a broken second metacarpal in his right hand. If Henderson is medically
cleared before then, his minimum suspension would still last through April 11th.

-Mac Danzig has been medically suspended for six months (until August 24th) due to an injured and possibly broken left thumb. If Danzig is medically cleared
before then, his minimum suspension would still last through April 11th.

-Takanori Gomi has been medically suspended for six weeks (until April 11th) due to damage sustained in his submission loss.

-Wanderlei Silva has been medically suspended for six weeks (until April 11th) due to damage sustained in his KO loss.

-Alistair Overeem has been medically suspended for six weeks (until April 11th) due to damage sustained in his KO loss.

-Antonio Rogerio Nogueira has been medically suspended for six weeks (until April 11th) due to damage sustained in his KO loss.

-Jason Ireland has been medically suspended for six weeks (until April 11th) due to damage sustained in his submission loss.

-Travis Wiuff has been medically suspended for four weeks (until March 27th) due to damage sustained in his submission loss.

All but Travis Wiuff are suspended for an amount of time that makes them unavailable to fight on the April 8 Pride show from Japan. Also, Nick Diaz was rumored to fight for EliteXC on their May 5 show on Showtime but it is unlikely he will be cleared by then.

There is more, so continue reading.



As for the earnings per fighter, this also comes from MMAWeekly.

Main Event Fighters

-Wanderlei Silva: $150,000 (28th fight in Pride; lost to Dan Henderson in main event)

-Dan Henderson: $50,000 (18th fight in Pride; defeated Wanderlei Silva in main event)

Main Card Fighters

-Mauricio "Shogun" Rua: $50,000 (13th fight in Pride; defeated Alistair Overeem)

-Takanori Gomi: $20,000 (15th fight in Pride; lost to Nick Diaz)

-Antonio Rogerio Nogueira: $20,000 (10th fight in Pride; lost to Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou)

-Nick Diaz: $15,000 (1st fight in Pride; defeated Takanori Gomi)

-Joachim Hansen: $15,000 (6th fight in Pride; defeated Jason Ireland)

-Hayato Sakurai: $10,000 (11th fight in Pride; defeated Mac Danzig)

-Frank Trigg: $10,000 (2nd fight in Pride; defeated Kazuo Misaki)

-Kazuo Misaki: $10,000 (8th fight in Pride; lost to Frank Trigg)

-Sergei Kharitonov: $10,000 (11th fight in Pride; defeated Mike Russow)

-Alistair Overeem: $10,000 (14th fight in Pride; lost to Mauricio "Shogun" Rua)

-Travis Wiuff: $10,000 (1st fight in Pride; lost to James Lee)

-Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou: $10,000 (1st fight in Pride; defeated Antonio Rogerio Nogueira)

-Mac Danzig: $10,000 (1st fight in Pride; lost to Hayato Sakurai)

-Jason Ireland: $10,000 (1st fight in Pride; lost to Joachim Hansen)

-Mike Russow: $10,000 (1st fight in Pride; lost to Sergei Kharitonov)

-James Lee: $10,000 (1st fight in Pride; defeated Travis Wiuff)

Disclosed Fighter Payroll: $430,000

You can see more details Here

Nothing surprised me here, the guys I expected to be at the top end of the scale were and the guys at the bottom end were who I expected to be there.

No $3,000 payoffs on this show.

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TNA iMPACT Spoilers for 03/01/07 and 03/08/07

Thanks to Richard Trionfo, Mike Johnson and PwInsider.com

For the spoilers, click on Continue Reading.

TNA taped the next several episodes of Impact tonight at Universal Studios Florida. Richard Trionfo called in the following results:

Impact 3/1

*Kurt Angle and Scott Steiner brawled into the crowd and were separated by security. A furious Jim Cornette came out.

*Backstage, Jeremy Borash interviewed NWA champion Christian Cage and Tomko. Cage told Tomko that tonight was his chance take care of Samoa Joe before
Destination X and he had to do it for "the team." Tomko pointed out that he was going to be in the ring alone and Cage wouldn't be out there with him,
so what's in it for him? Cage tells Tomko that when he wins, he'll get a title match. Tomko leaves and after he departed, Cage called him selfish.

*Kurt Angle was in Jim Cornette's office, being yelled at for jumping Scott Steiner in the hall. Angle acts like he was going to assault Cornette and Cornette
warned him not to disrupt the rest of the show tonight.

*Senshi & Jerry Lynn & Jay Lethal defeated X-Division champion Chris Sabin & Alex Shelley & Austin Starr when Bob Backlund grabbed Starr's leg, allowing
Senshi to get the pin. Before the match, Shelley gave his latest "film" to Don West and Mike Tenay.

*Backstage, Jeremy Borash witnesses Abyss attacking one of TNA's sound guys, throwing him into a trash can.

*Scott Steiner pinned Chase Stevens after a belly to belly suplex off the ropes. Angle attacked Steiner before the match but was pulled off by a number
of people. After the match, Steiner said that he embarrassed Angle before his friends and family. Angle comes back out and they brawl. They are separated
and Jim Cornette asks Angle if he lost his mind, telling him TNA doesn't revolve around him. Angle tries to put Cornette in the ankle lock. Cornette
throws him out of the building and tells Angle he's not the whole show.

*Outside, Don Harris tells Kurt Angle he has to leave. A number of wrestlers try to convince Angle to leave.

*Alex Shelley comes out and introduces his newest video, which was LAX attacking Johnny Rodz at his school in Brooklyn, NY. Shelley does a parody of an
Academy Award speech. Brother Ray comes out and says that Rodz was like a father to Brother Devon. He asked Shelley what he's ever accomplished in the
business and demands to know what Shelley's problem is. Shelley gives him a half hearted apology. Kevin Nash comes to the ring. Ray tells him to leave,
which gives LAX a chance to attack Ray. Ray fights them off but Shelley hits a lowblow. Konnan comes out and tells LAX to get the tables. Hernandez
gives Ray a spinebuster through the table.

*Backstage, Jeremy Borash promotes a fan text message voting to predict the Elevation X winner. Borash interviewed Samoa Joe, who says his hard work will
culminate with the NWA title at Destination X. Joe says that Tomko will pay for the sins of his father (Cage) tonight. The camera catches Abyss trying
to attack a photographer. Joe stops Abyss and tells him that maybe Abyss should listen to Sting and stand up for himself for a change.

*Tomko pinned Samoa Joe. Joe went for the musclebuster when Tomko bumped the referee. Christian Cage nailed Joe with a chair and Tomko clotheslined him
for the pin. After the match, Cage was preparing to hit Joe with the belt, but Joe ducked. Joe nails Tomko with the belt and chokes out Cage. Scott
Steiner attacks Joe and lays him out. Cage hits an Unprettier on Joe. Abyss comes to the ring and the heels back off. Abyss stood over Joe as he recovered,
then hit the Black Hole Slam.

Impact Thurs 3/8

*The Elevation X apparatus was lowered.

*Voodoo Kin Mafia & Lance Hoyt defeated Serotinin. After the match, Raven caned Devine and Bentley. Before he can cane, Kazarian gets in his face, then
accepts his fate and takes it anyway.

*Kurt Angle and Samoa Joe enters the ring. On the mic, Angle says the next few days are going to feel like an eternity but he and scott Steiner will meet
at Destination X. He says that he and Joe aren't friends but respect each other. He says that when Joe wins the title, they can resolve things in the
ring. Christian Cage, Tomko, and Scott Steiner come out on the ramp. Christian refers to them as the Christian Coalition and says they are family. He
dares Joe and Angle to find a partner for a six man tag. Angle says he has someone in mind and it's someone who's crazy. Joe and Cage brawl out. Angle
and Steiner brawl at ringside and security breaks them up.

*Mike Tenay, Leticia, So Cal Val, and Jeremy Borash enter the ring. Tenay introduces Hector Guerrero, announced as the newest member of the TNA front office
and Spanish Announce Team. Guerrero's hair was dyed black. They presented him with a plaque and Guerrero says he's proud to be part of the TNA family.
Abyss comes to the ring and hits a Black Hole Slam on Val.

*James Storm & Eric Young & Robert Roode defeated Jay Lethal & Petey Williams & Sonjay Dutt. Gail Kim came out during the match and attacked Jackie Moore.

*Mike Tenay and Don West ran down the Destination X lineup, including the added LAX vs. Team 3D brawl.

Xplosion:

*Senshi pinned Alex Shelley.

*Austin Starr pinned Petey Williams

Impact Main Event:

*Samoa Joe & Kurt Angle & Rhino vs. NWA champion Christian Cage & Tomko & Scott Steiner - AJ Styles comes to the ring when Rhino is preparing to gore Tomko
and stops Rhino. Styles climbs up the Elevation X and Rhino follows. Styles escapes and goes to the back. Angle has Steiner in the Anklelock. Abyss
hits the ring and the referee calls for the bell. Abyss hits the Black Hole Slam on Angle. The lights go out and Sting's music plays. He appears in
the ring. He and Abyss brawl. All eight battle. Joe puts Cage in the choke. Angle puts Steiner in the Anklelock.

This set of tapings proves they learned nothing.

Continue Reading!

WWE RAW 2/26/07 Live Coverage

Here I am once again with live coverage of RAW. The "Holy Crap!" segment of the night, which was started last week on ECW, will now be a new and improved feature to my coverage.



Video of Trump and McMahon starts out the show again.

HBK and Cena vs. Rated RKO for the Tag Titles start out the show. This was a surprise. Orton and Edge show up on the Titantron. Orton says they're not ready until later tonight and sow seeds of doubt by showing some video of HBK turning on other people over the years. Interesting video package that I hope to see again, possibly at Wrestlemania.

Commercial break.

Another video of Mick doing what he does best.

Money in the Bank Qualifying match with Jeff Hardy taking on Shelton Benjamin. Lillian runs down the rules of the WM Ladder match then does some announcing of the wrestlers like they do in MMA. Shelton with a couple nearfalls to start out. Hardy now in control with a nearfall. Mule kick from Hardy sends Shelton to the outside. He then rides the rails and clotheslines him then sends Shelton back in. Whisper in the Wind but Hardy takes too much time which allows Shelton to jump up and belly to belly suplex Hardy clear across the ring.

Commercial break.

Shelton still in control and gets a nearfall. Shelton slips when he tries to leap on the top rope and Hardy capitalizes to get the Swanton for the win. Vince appears on the Titantron to interrupt Jeff's victory celebration and talks more about his match.

Commercial break.

The "Holy Crap!" segment of the night goes to another video of Ashley's Playboy shoot. Backstage with Melina and Nitro. Melina runs down Ashley then talks about her match tonight with Maria but Nitro tells her to shut up.

Nitro vs. Super Crazy is up now. Nitro takes the fight to Super Crazy on the outside. He throws Super Crazy's shoulder into the steel steps then walks off.

Commercial break.

Melina and Maria are up now. Maria with a nearfall but misses a dropkick. Melina with another unique submission and a nearfall. Melina with a Camel Clutch! Insert your own Sheiky joke here. Maria gets a close nearfall. Maria spends too much time showboating and Melina takes advantage for the win.

Commercial break.

Vince McMahon is coming to the ring. Vince blabbers on for a few minutes then Trump appears on the Titantron. He says that Umaga needs to be tamed and the man to that is Bobby Lashley. Vince now calls for security guards and refs to make sure Lashley and Umaga don't go at it but it doesn't work of course.

Commercial break.

The Great Khali is now taking the Masterlock Challenge. Who did Master's piss off? Master's can't make the hand meet. Kane is out! He chokeslams Masters, clotheslines Khali to the outside then clobbers Masters in the head with a chair.

Backstage with Vince and Coach. Vince gets a call from a member of the board saying he's going to take a suggestion to the entire board for a special ref in the Umaga/Lashley match.

Commercial break.

The next Inductee for the 2007 WWE Hall of Fame is Jerry "The King" Lawler! Another awesome video.

They do the short version of the HBK video from earlier in the night.

Carlito comes out for a match as we go to commercial.

His oppnent for tonight is Kenny who doesn't even get an intro. Kenny called Carlito Flair's flunkie during the break. One man Flapjack gets Carlito 2. Carlito misses a springboard move and Kenny takes control. Nearfall by Kenny. Carlito tries to fight back but a knee to the gut and gets a nearfall. Carlito fights out of an Abdominal stretch and hits a springboard reverse elbow for a nearfall. Kenny hits a sitout powerbomb for 2. Kenny runs at Carlito in the corner but he moves and Kenny stradles himself on the middle turnbuckle and hits the backcracker for the win.

Backstage with Vince and Coach again. Vince is going to be on ECW tomorrow night.

Commercial break.

Main Event time. I would like take this time during the entrances to applaud WWE. What they did at the start of the show was pure genius. I thought I had seen everything but it's nice to be surprised once in a while. I would also like to say I love that HBK video. It was an excellent way to put some doubt into Cena about if he could trust Michaels. Edge and HBK start. Edge lit up by chops but Edge elbows him and tags Orton. Cena now in. Excellent Fisherman Suplex from Cena gets 2. Edge back in. Edge with a field goal kick right into Cena's ribs and tags Orton in. Cena tries to fight back but Orton punches him into the corner and tags Edge. Edge not in long this time and tags Orton back in. Counter by Cena and tags HBK in. Tope rope elbow and Edge tries to interfere but gets taken to the outside. HBK tries to superkick Orton but Orton moves and Cena catches his foot as we go to commercial.

Edge and HBK in the ring. Edge with a nearfall then tags Orton who also gets a nearfall. HBK tries to fight back but Orton gets an inverted atomic drop for 2 then tags Edge. HBK stradles Edge on the ropes and tags Cena. Five Knuckle Shuffle to Orton then tries for an FU but Edge breaks it up and we got a ref bump. Edge tries for a spear but Cena catches him, goes for an FU. Orton tries to hit Cena with a tag title but HBK stops him, takes the belt, hits Edge in the back then hands the title back to Orton. Edge thinks Orton hit him so he walks out on him which allows Cena to get the FU for the pin.

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Pride 33 'The Second Coming' brief thoughts

This show was sofa king awesome.

Gomi-Diaz was an amazing fight and I can't pick a worst match. It was a night of upsets that's for sure. James Lee defeated Travis Wiuff which was the upset of the night for all of one fight until Sokoudjou smoked Rogerio Nogueira in 23 seconds in the next fight.

I was going to do live round-by-round but didn't due to the fact I had a little trouble ordering the show.

I wish I could grow more thumbs to point them up. UFC 68 is screwed for having to follow this show.

I'll have a predictions recap tomorrow or when I'm not so tired out, but here's the important stuff.

Ric: 5-4
Casey: 4-5
Euan: 3-6
Scott: 2-7
Wade: 2-7
Art-Marcus: DNP

Tit borrent this show, or hell spend the $40 on the replay it will be worth it.

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Pride 33 Weigh-in report

Can be read by Clicking here

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UFC 70 Tagline?

Not sure if this is final or not, but in the release on UFC.com talking about today's press conference, they referred to it as UFC 70 'Nations Collide'.

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TNA iMPACT rating for 02/22

The show did a 1.0 rating last night. That's back to its normal range after getting pounded by Raw last week, but not close to the record set a couple of weeks ago.

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Randy Couture has ageless story

Read Dave Meltzer's column in the L.A. times on Couture and his fight with Tim Sylvia Right here

Also, this is OC Times post #2,000~!

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Complete lineup for 03/24 WEC Event

Credit to Canvas Chronicle

World Extreme Cagefighting
The Joint (Hard Rock Hotel & Casino)
Las Vegas, Nevada
Saturday, February 24
6 PM PT

* Vacant Welterweight title: John Alessio vs. Carlos Condit
* Featherweight title: Urijah Faber vs. Dominic Cruz
* Bantamweight title: Eddie Wineland vs. Chase Beebe
* Middleweights: Joe Riggs vs. Hiromitsu Miura
* Welterweights: Brock Larson vs. Eric Apple
* Welterweights: Dave Terrel vs. Tiki Ghosn
* Featherweights: Cub Swanson vs. Tommy "Don't Call Me 'Tommy Lee'" Lee
* Welterweights: Alex Serdyukov vs. Scott "Don't Call Me 'Flash'" Notron
* Featherweights: Micah Miller vs. Jesse Moreng
* Light Heavyweights: Brian Stann vs. Steve Cantwell

Note: Bouts are in order of last-to-first.

Continue Reading!

Preview for the 03/01 episode of TNA iMPACT

It can be read Here

I'll save you the trouble, the only 2 things teased are:

A main event of Tomko Vs. Samoa Joe.
Alex Shelley has been hired by a new cliant to shoot a video.

In another TNA note that means nothing, apparently A-1 was released from his contract. If you are like me, you were surprised to realize that this didn't happen months ago.

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New Bouts for UFC 70?

According to this UFCJunkie.com post UFC 70 has gotten a couple of new bouts.

The first is Fabricio Werdum making his UFC debut against Andrei Arlovski and Forrest Griffin Vs. Ryoto Machida

Those 2 bouts join the previously announced Mirko Cro Cop Vs. Gabriel Gonzaga and Michael Bisping Vs. Elvis Sinosic

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Raw and ECW Ratings

Raw on Monday did a 4.0 rating with a 6 share.
ECW did a 1.3 with a 2 share on Tuesday.

That is the lowest rating that ECW has done on Sci-fi.

Credit goes to: PwInsider.com

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TNA iMPACT - 02/22/2007 Recap

As I am ready to recap iMPACT tonight, first I would like to shill for the new OC Times discussion board. You can head over there by going Here this a good chance for you to get connected with knowledgeable wrestling fans, and Him as well!

This is TNA...We are, still on the air after last week's ratings.

On with the show.


We've got a ladder match tonight and a belting pot match. You know, I was just saying to myself earlier today, as I'm the only one who will talk to me face-to-face these days, I said self I think TNA needs to have more gimmick matches on each show. Of course, I was being sarcastic, but how was I expected to know that?


AJ Styles comes out to the ring. He is the most decorated wrestler in TNA history. He invented the X-division and made Ultimate X famous. He's on top of the world, just like James Cameron only with a lot less money.
He claims Elevation X is his new invention. I wouldn't brag about that just yet if I were you. Crowd tells AJ that he sucks.
AJ is going to give someone a chance to become famous. Rhino comes out and Tenay says that he never expected this. Yeah, I'm surprised that the man AJ is feuding with would answer his challenge, I mean that like never happens in wrestling.

Rhino says that AJ's latest invention is going to be responsible for the end of his career. That's what I'm afraid of actually. He's going to send Styles straight to hell, now that's what I call a stipulation match. Wonder if he got God's approval for that?

Team 3D is backstage with Borash. Brother Ray talks up the Belting Pot match, oh and for those who care what's his face from the Sopranos is with them. A very loud 3D chant is in the background of their talking.

Match 1: Team 3D Vs. The Latin American Xchange - Belting Pot match
I told you this last week but this is a lumberjack match with straps.

We're going to get the Team 3D introduction after the break.

Now would be a good time to plug the new OC Times message board which you can find Here so come sign up and join us. All of the OC times regulars keep up appearances over there.

Ok, done plugging the message board and back to the show which is significantly less important.

Team 3D told LAX last week that they just won't go away, and here I thought God answered prayers. I guess my answer to that prayer is no.

A nice loud 3D chant starts out the match. A Thesz press launches Tenay on a praise of the city of St. Louis that only makes me want to hurl. For as much as I've hated TNA these past few months, I hate St. Louis that much more year-round. I don't want to get in to all of the reasons why but lets just say one of them involves a girl and the other involves that wretched baseball team that somehow won the world series last year.

All of my St. Louis hatred has distracted me from this match. Typical throw your opponent out to the side where your friends can be found. The heat for this has actually been pretty super.

Crowd chants for tables, but I don't know how they're going to get them in a lumberjack match.

Well, it was eventually going to happen and sure enough the lumberjack factions start brawling on the floor. A diving headbutt from D-von to the gonnads of Homicide and they call for the tables. I guess God was not on their side as they had to settle for hitting the 3D and scoring the pin.

Winners: Team 3D
For a man so associated with the swerve, sometimes Russo's booking is so predictable.
The crowd made this match enjoyable though. Lets see how long this lasts?

Now, we go straight to a Sting-Abyss video package.

We're off to a commercial break. While we take a break, you should go and Register for the message board don't let the fact that Ric Gillespie posts there stop you.

A Pros Vs. Joes commercial airs, a marathon is running this Sunday.

A lockdown commercial airs for the St. Louis show. All I have to say to you citizens of St. Louis is go Braves!

Sting is speaking from a death bed or something. Ok, so now we know what a Last Rights match is. You get strapped to this symbol thing and raised in the air and die in the metaphorical sense.

JB is with Abyss but no Jim Mitchell. Hey, I bet Abyss says nothing. Yeah, he grunts and groans and Borash does the wise thing and gives up. Oh, if only Panda Energy would do the same.

Match 2: Robert Roode, Eric Young and James Storm w/Traci Brooks and Jacqi Moore Vs. B.G. James, Kip James and Lance Hoyt.

I like Eric Young, but Meatloaf once said 2 out of 3 ain't bad, well liking 1 out of 6 ain't good.

Well, we've already got more than the 1 minute of wrestling we got in last week's first half hour in the first half hour this week.

A contract signing with Scott Steiner and Kurt Angle is coming up later, it would be a tragedy if something bad happened during that time.

Hoyt is headed up top but is cut off by Robert Roode. This leads to James Storm getting the pin.

Winners: Roode, Young and Storm.
Storm and Roode celebrate, Young does not and Chris Harris comes out to run Storm off.

This was the kind of match that I don't complain about going short.

A Christopher Daniels promo airs.

Don West is in the iMPACT zone with former Raider as well as a ton of other teams Wide Receiver, Andre Rizon. West asks Rizon about Pros Vs. Joes and Rizon says something that gets bleeped.

Abyss comes out, it would be a tragedy if something bad happened to Andre Rizon. West foolishly asks Abyss if he has something to say. Andre Rizon apparently just asked for trouble because much to the protests of Mike Tenay Abyss just gave him the black hole slam.

We go to a commercial.
Time once again to plug the OC Times message board home to the Wandering Euan's Nomadic forum of Wackiness. If that's not enough to get you to register, at the end of this recap, none other than TNA announcer Don West will shill for the board.

We're back from the break and get a recap of the bad thing that just happened to Andre Rizon. Now we're back to the Kevin Nash personality makeover clinic and Jay Lethal's impressive Randy Savage impersonation.

Tenay is with Jim Cornette who is running down the card for Destination X. I am not looking forward to reviewing the Destination X 2005 PPV for the iMPACT Analysis but you should look forward to reading it.

Samoa Joe and Christian are apparently in training, but will be here next week live Cornette says. The joke will be on those 2 when they show up at the iMPACT zone next Thursday and nobody from TNA is there and the building is empty of fans. Now won't that be funny?

Tenay introduces Scott Steiner who comes to the ring for his contract signing. Tenay introduces Angle who enters the ring to co-sign the contract.

Ok, a couple of things:
1. Why do we have contract signings? Both men work for the same company.

Hold it, Cornette expects them to remain civil during this contract signing. Here I thought Cornette was a long time wrestling fan, you'd think he'd know by now.

Steiner cuts a promo on Angle. He says he'll melt down Angle's gold medal and sell it. He doesn't expect that he'll get a cup of coffee for it. Oh, see its an insider reference and I know this because Don West said: "That's not the first time Angle has heard that."

Angle calls Steiner an idiot. He said Steiner is all about the money while Angle came to TNA for noble reasons, yeah, like a failed drug test.

Hey, I know you're shocked but the contract signing broke down in to a brawl. As I said earlier, Russo is known for being the swerve-Meister but yet his booking is so predictable. A good swerve would be if a contract signing went off with no incident.

It turns out that Christian was lying because he joined in the beatdown of Kurt Angle. Steiner finishes by shoving the contract down Angle's throat. I'm not sure of the legality of that one. So I guess Christian's being there was the swerve that will make 100,000 people plus by this up coming PPV. Yeah, good luck with that.

Commercial time.
Hey, you know what I haven't done in awhile? I haven't plugged the Message board and to be honest this is the best message board I've ever plugged in this recap. If that's not true, then your money back. Hey suckers, you're reading this for free...I didn't get any money for writing this recap, so who's the sucker now? Bwahahahahahahahahahah wait a minute...

A commercial for Destination X featuring Elevation X.

Tenay calls Steiner's actions unpredictable, I can't believe he would have done such a thing. I mean when a heel asks for a public contract signing they always, always have the best interest of their opponent in mind...shame Steiner had to go and ruin it. He has ruined the name of all fine upstanding heels every where.

Match 3: Ladder match - Senshi Vs. Jerry Lynn Vs. Sonjay Dutt Vs. Jay Lethal Vs. Austin Starr
Why 5 men? Why not put Alex Shelley in to make it an even 6? West brings up Lynn's involvement in early X-division ladder matches, too bad TNA doesn't like to show footage of anything that happened before the move to Orlando.

Mr. Backlund comes out and Tenay claims to know why, right before we hit the break.

You're probably expecting that I'm going to plug the message board again, well I've swerved you because I'm not going to do that. Ha, that was a swerve too, check out the Board see my swerves are just as good as Vince Russo's. I expect a hundred sign-ups by the end of tomorrow for that 1 swerve alone. Marvel at my ability to swerve you, the audience. I still don't understand how I'm not a millionaire just from recapping iMPACT every week.

I've got no time to think about why it hasn't happened yet because we're back.

If you need to know what is happening in this match, lets just say that a lot is happening. Bodies are flying everywhere and ladders are now heavily involved.

Lynn takes out Lethal and Dutt with a double powerbomb and Senshi and Starr are battling for the X. Tenay says that Dr.'s are attending to Kurt Angle, and its very graphic so if you stay tuned after this match, you'll get to see it. Yes, that's what he said and no it doesn't make sense but really is that a shock?

In all the excitement of things, I forgot to say Jerry Lynn was the winner. That's ok though because I also forgot how he won.

Winner: Jerry Lynn

Backlund hits the ring and Starr takes exception to his presents. A few seconds later and Starr finds himself in the crossface chickenwing.

We get a remix of the Adrenalin Rush theme to close the show.

Thoughts: I over-rated last week's show, but this was definitely a marked improvement. They're still far away from producing anything I could call good with a straight face as 2 gimmick matches on 1 show and one of them being a 5 minute ladder match is still unnecessary.
I've decided a drastic measure must be taken and so I'm putting out a hit on Vince Russo. Yes, I'm taking out a hit on him. So if you see Vince Russo, hit him. If my taking out a hit on him doesn't get him to resign, then in a few months I'm going to take out a kick to his balls wearing Iron Sheik's pointy boots. You may want to stock up on pointy boots just in case.

Now, I turn this over to Don West for his pitch of the Old Country Times Message Board

Thank you Casey. Folks, you want to talk about a board. This is much better than Jim Duggan's 2X4, if you run your hands up and down this Board you're not going to get any slivers. I'm bringing this message board to you at the low-low-low price of Free! One might ask how I, Don West can get away with such a fantastic deal. Let me tell you my bosses think I've gone crazy and it isn't just because I ran down the halls last week saying 9.95!! over and over again.
I promise you fans that you're not going to find a deal like this anywhere else especially if you don't look for it.
This is a classic, it is brand new and in perfect condition. Folks, usually I'd sell this board to my mom for $300 a day but now we're offering it to you for absolutely nothing. Yes, all of This can be yours if you just act now. I'm Don West and I never say things I don't believe, and you fans should know by now I'm not the type to over hype things. So Act now! while the acting is good. This is the jumboest of jumbo boards and I am Don West thanking you for your time.

Continue Reading!

3 consecutive sellouts highlight WWE's Road to Wrestlemania swing through California

STAMFORD, Conn.--Feb 22, 2007--World Wrestling Entertainment® continued its Road to WrestleMania 23 live event tours with three consecutive sellouts in
California this week, grossing more than $1.4 million in ticket sales.


On Sunday night, more than 17,000 fans packed the Staples Center in Los Angeles for WWE’s No Way Out® pay-per-view. The following night, “Monday Night RAW®”
Superstars performed to a capacity crowd of more than 8,600 at the Rabobank Arena in Bakersfield. On Tuesday night, a sold-out crowd of more than 11,000
witnessed “Friday Night SmackDown®” and “ECW®: Extreme Championship Wrestling™” at the ipayOne Center in San Diego.

“We continue to see a great reception from our fans to our Road to WrestleMania live events as we tour around the country,” said Geof Rochester, Senior
Vice President, Marketing.

WrestleMania 23 takes place Sunday, April 1, live on pay-per-view from Ford Field in Detroit, Mich. The event will be highlighted by John Cena® defending
the WWE Championship against Shawn Michaels™, Batista™ defending the World Heavyweight Championship against The Undertaker®, and a “Battle of the Billionaires”
between Vince McMahon™ and Donald Trump in which the loser has his head shaved bald.

Additional information on World Wrestling Entertainment Inc. (NYSE: WWE), can be found at wwe.com and corporate.wwe.com. For information on our global activities,
go to http://www.wwe.com/worldwide.

Trademarks: The names of all World Wrestling Entertainment televised and live programming, talent names, images, likenesses, slogans and wrestling moves
and all World Wrestling Entertainment logos are trademarks which are the exclusive property of World Wrestling Entertainment Inc. All other trademarks
are the property of their respective owners.

Forward-Looking Statements: This news release contains forward-looking statements pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Securities Litigation Reform
Act of 1995, which are subject to various risks and uncertainties. These risks and uncertainties include the conditions of the markets for live events,
broadcast television, cable television, pay-per-view, Internet, feature films, entertainment, professional sports, and licensed merchandise; acceptance
of the Company's brands, media and merchandise within those markets; uncertainties relating to litigation; risks associated with producing live events
both domestically and internationally; uncertainties associated with international markets; risks relating to maintaining and renewing key agreements,
including television distribution agreements; and other risks and factors set forth from time to time in Company filings with the Securities and Exchange
Commission. Actual results could differ materially from those currently expected or anticipated. In addition to these risks and uncertainties, our dividend
is based on a number of factors, including our liquidity and historical and projected cash flow, strategic plan, our financial results and condition, contractual
and legal restrictions on the payment of dividends and such other factors as our Board of Directors may consider relevant.

Contacts
World Wrestling Entertainment Inc.
Media:
Gary Davis, 203-353-5066
or
Investor:
Michael Weitz, 203-352-8642

Continue Reading!

WWE brags about ratings success again

STAMFORD, Conn.--Feb 22, 2007--For the second time in three weeks, World Wrestling Entertainment® again proved to be a prime time triple threat with its
three prime time programs -- “Monday Night RAW®,” (USA, 9/8C), “Friday Night SmackDown®,” (CW, 8/7C)and “ECW®: Extreme Championship Wrestling™” (Tuesdays,
SCI FI, 10/9C) -- all achieving No. 1 status on their respective networks the week of February 12. The WWE also achieved that feat during the week of January
29.


WWE programs were No. 1 in households and total viewers for their respective networks, reaching more than 16.9 million total viewers in more than 11.6 million
homes. RAW continued to demonstrate its ability to draw an audience wherever it appears on the USA schedule. The program aired on Thursday the week of
Feb. 12 instead of Monday to accommodate USA’s presentation of the Westminster Dog Show.

“WWE prides itself on providing programming that people love to watch, and we’re proud of the fact that all three of our prime time programs on cable and
broadcast networks have reached No. 1,” said Kevin Dunn, Executive Vice President, Television Production. “We anticipate seeing continued interest in our
programming as we build towards our biggest event of the year, WrestleMania 23.”

WrestleMania 23 will be seen live on pay-per-view on Sunday, April 1, from Ford Field in Detroit.

Additional information on World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. (NYSE: WWE), can be found at wwe.com and corporate.wwe.com. For information on our global
activities, go to http://www.wwe.com/worldwide/.

Trademarks: The names of all World Wrestling Entertainment televised and live programming, talent names, images, likenesses, slogans and wrestling moves
and all World Wrestling Entertainment logos are trademarks which are the exclusive property of World Wrestling Entertainment Inc. All other trademarks
are the property of their respective owners.

Forward-Looking Statements: This news release contains forward-looking statements pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Securities Litigation Reform
Act of 1995, which are subject to various risks and uncertainties. These risks and uncertainties include the conditions of the markets for live events,
broadcast television, cable television, pay-per-view, Internet, feature films, entertainment, professional sports, and licensed merchandise; acceptance
of the Company's brands, media and merchandise within those markets; uncertainties relating to litigation; risks associated with producing live events
both domestically and internationally; uncertainties associated with international markets; risks relating to maintaining and renewing key agreements,
including television distribution agreements; and other risks and factors set forth from time to time in Company filings with the Securities and Exchange
Commission. Actual results could differ materially from those currently expected or anticipated. In addition to these risks and uncertainties, our dividend
is based on a number of factors, including our liquidity and historical and projected cash flow, strategic plan, our financial results and condition, contractual
and legal restrictions on the payment of dividends and such other factors as our Board of Directors may consider relevant.

Contacts
World Wrestling Entertainment
Media:
Gary Davis, 203-353-5066
or
Investor:
Michael Weitz, 203-352-8642

Continue Reading!

SNME postponed until June?

This according to PwInsider.com

The show which was scheduled to air on 3/10, has been postponed until June. It is believed that the timeslot of the show was a factor, as NBC didn't want it in Primetime due to the low ratings last year and they were afraid that putting it in the SNL timeslot would result in them having to pay back advertisers for not getting the ratings that they were guaranteed.

The special has been removed from being mentioned at all by the America West Arena in Phoenix which was scheduled to host the special along with being the host of the 03/05 episode of Raw.

The special has been postponed until June, where the networks could be looking for alternative programming if the Writers Guild of America goes on strike. The WWE would not be impacted by a writers strike.

All international carriers of the show have been notified of the change.

Once again, credit PwInsider.com

Continue Reading!

Site update

Posting has been light of late and here are the reasons for it.



1. The past couple of days, I've devoted a lot of my time to the OC Times message board, which I encourage you to sign up for.
2. I've been having some computer trouble lately and I'm still trying to resolve that.
3. I've been taking it easy, recharging my battery hoping that march sees a new beginning to the times.

Those are pretty much the reasons. Having said that, I will be here for iMPACT tonight, and I will be doing live coverage of this weekend's Pride 33 show from Las Vegas, so if you're not watching it you can join me here for coverage.

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ECW 2/20/07 Live Coverage

Welcome to another edition of ECW Live Coverage. I see they have Kennedy on the show going after the ECW World Title. They must be getting desperate for challengers if they're pulling them from other shows.



Video of Lashley destroying Kennedy at NWO.

CM Punk is taking on Nitro in another Money in the Bank Qualifying match.

The New Breed have come to the ring. They talk about their victories over the Originals last week and they pick Kevin Thron for the first match. The Originals are now out and they choose RVD. They're gonna keep saying that RVD held the ECW and WWE Titles at the same time. Body scissors by Van Dam gets him 2. Nice kick by RVD who clotheslines Thorn roken down which outside then launches himself at Thorn. It's all broken down with the res trying to bring back order.

Commercial break.

Thorn now in control and they had some trouble with the live action when they went to the replay. RVD fights back and hits the Rolling Thunder for 2. Ariel tries to distract RVD but he still hits the top turnbuckle sidekick then another top rope move for 2. Thorn comes back and gets a nearfall. Windmill kiick from RVD then Frog Splash gets him the win. Another good match from Van Dam in 2 days.

Video of Snitsky.

Commercial break.

Punk and Nitro now up. Punk trying for a pin early but gets 2. Sideheadlock takedown but Nitro reverses it. Punk kicking Nitro but Nitro answers with his own kick and and gets 2. Punk with a rollup for 2 but Nitro counters with a Russian Leg Sweep and gets a nearfall. Punk with a wicked kick, high knee in the corner, bulldog and double underhook backbreak gets 2. Punk gets caught in between in the ropes and gets a great European uppercut to the back of his head. Nitro misses a twisting moonsault and Punk capitalizes for the win.

Backstage with a hottie interviewing Kennedy. Kennedy asks if he's in Bizarro land. Says his match tonight isn't fair to him then Holly comes in and tells him life isn't fair and lets him know he ain't leaving with the ECW World Title.

Commercial break.

Oh geez. La Resistance is back! They're taking on some "Luchas" tag team. They win via squash then Snitsky comes out and destroys the Luchas himself.

Another video of Lashley's life.

Commercial break.

The "Holy Crap!" segment for tonight is Extreme Expose!

They show the video package of the late "Mr. Perfect" Curt Hennig. I have a feeling this is going to be another awesome Hall of Fame ceremony.

Main event time. Holly and Kennedy enter and we go to commercial break.

Kennedy and Holly are jawing at each other as Lashley comes in. Holy and Kennedy double Lashley for a while but Lashley fights back. Holly throws Lashley shoulder first in the ring post and Kennedy rolls him up for 2. Kennedy now stomping on Lashley in the corner. Full Nelson slam from from Holly on Kennedy gets 2. Lashley back in the match with a belly to belly suplex to Holly. Kennedy trips up Lashley, tries to throw him into the steps but Lashley reverses which allows Holly to baseball dropkick him. Lashley fights off both men with a back bodydrop on Kennedy and then throws Holly into Kennedy. Suplexes for both Kennedy and Holly but Holly hangs him on the ropes, hits him with a chair, hits the Alabama Slam but Kennedy pulls the ref out. Kennedy tries to hit Lashley with the chair but he ducks, hits Holly then gets powerslammed by Lashley for the win to end the show.

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New OC Times Discussion Forum

I was going to wait until Old Country Times.net was launched to do this but I decided to do it sooner.

Please register for the OC Times Discussion forum and feel free to advertise it to your friends and readers.

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UFC on ESPN? What could that mean?

Sam Caplan of FiveOuncesOfPain.com takes a look at that very topic in This article

Getting on ESPN would be a good thing for UFC, how could it not be? But, getting on ESPN makes me afraid because ESPN almost always hires the biggest idiots around to work as studio analysts. On second thought, perhaps that'd be the best way for me to get hired at ESPN.

Continue Reading!

Non-Raw Notes from Bakersfield

Here they are

All I can say about the dark match is that I love dubble-dubble-e.

Continue Reading!

WWE RAW 2/19/07 Live Coverage

Hello and welcome to another exciting edition of RAW! I'm Jim Ross alongside...whoops! Sorry about that folks, channeled the spirit of Good Ole JR for a sec there but I'm back. Be forewarned, the words "Holy Crap!" might creep into this because I will purposely channel the spirit of the late, great Frank Barone.



Video of Trump/McMahon from last week starts us out.

Vince has come out to the ring which has a barber chair and a barber's pole. Talks about his match at WM23. Shows a picture of Britney Spears with her head shaved on the Titan Tron then a picture of Trump is up and they do some hair styles on him. Vince's representative is Umaga. That's a better choice than Great Khali since Umaga is actually very good. He the announces that Umaga is taking on Jeff Hardy for the IC Title right now.

Commercial break.

Hardy using his speed to start out. Tries to hit Umaga by running on the security rail but gets caught. Back in the ring with Umaga in control. Hardy tries to come back but to no avail. It's nice to see that not only did WWE sign Jeff again but they also pushed him enough to get the IC Title. Umaga tried to splash Jeff from the 2nd rope but Jeff moves. Whisper in the Wind but Umaga powers out then gives him a samoan drop. Jeff now sitting in the turnbuckle and gets squashed. Samoan Spike gains Umaga the Intercontinental Championship. This is how you book a wrestler who is supposed to be an unstoppable monster.

Commercial break.

Video of Mick Foley plugging his new book "The Hardcore Diaries"

Ric Flair and Carlito are taking on Cade and Murdoch with Flair and Cade starting out. Tag to Carlito who is now getting beat down by Cade and Murdoch. Murdoch tries for a 2nd rope elbow but Carlito blocks it and tags in Flair who opens up on Cade and Murdoch. Tries for the Figure Four but Cade breaks it up but gets a punch to the gut for his trouble. Low Blow to Murdoch by Flair who tags in Carlito who hits the backcracker for the win.

Commercial break.

Backstage with Cena and HBK. Cena says the reason they won is because they know where they stand. HBK and Cena plug their DVDs in what is the most hilarious segment of the night.

Backstage with Edge and Orton. Edge talks about his match next.

Commercial break.

Money in the Bank Qualifying match now up. Edge trying for a quick pin but only gets 1. RVD with an excellent monkey flip and Edge rolls to the outside.

Commercial break.

RVD still in control and gets 2. RVD with a Spinning leg drop on Edge onto the security railing but gets caught coming back in. Edge gets 2. RVD with a kick ti the head of Edge to break a headlock. Awesome kick to the head of Edge in the corner and he gets clocked again coming off the ropes but Edge counters the rolling thunder for 2. Edge and RVD now on the top turnbuckle and Edge gets stradled on the ropes then kicked again. Good lord Edge's head is taking a lot of damage but he's still coming. RVD tries for another high risk move but Edge dropkicks him and gets 2. RVD counters the spear and hits a split legged moonsault for 2. Another kick to the head of Edge. RVD now on the top rope for the Frg Splash but Orton interferes which allows Edge to get the spear to qualify. Awesome match!!!

Commercial break.

Mickie James and Melina are now on. This is the 2nd time Melina has had a shot at the title which shows you how messed up the Women's Division is now. Mickie going to the well once too often and Melina takes control. Melina with a nearfall. Melina gets that interesting submission on Mickie then what I believe is called a "Curb stop". Mickie fighting back now and gets a nice Thesz press. Mickie tries for a Hurracanrana but Melina holds onto the ropes then rolls her up for the win.

Commercial break.

Backstage with Mickie. Todd tries to talk to her but gets slapped hard in the face for his trouble.

The Highlanders are in a Handicap match with The Great Khali. Big headbutts from Khali. King: "If you can't beat them, run!" Khali of course is the winner via squash.

Commercial break.

Backstage with Coach and Kenny. Khali shows up and Kenny bolts. Khali says he wants better competition. Simmon's comes in and says "DAMN"

Video package of Ashley from Smackdown and No Way Out. I got 2 words for seeing video of Ashley from NWO...Holy Crap!

Backstage with Melina who runs down Ashley.

The 2nd Inductee for the 2007 Hall of Fame is Mr. Perfect!!! Awesome video.

Commercial break.

Cena and Orton is now up. Fisherman Suplex from Cena gets 2. Armdrag and elbow gets another 2. Cena charges into the corner but Orton moves then clotheslines Cena for 2. Bulldog on Orton who rolls outside but Cena comes out, throws him back in and both men go for a clothesline. Orton now has a steel chair.

Commercial break.

Orton now with a headlock on Cena. Cena tries to fight back but Orton stops it. Orton with an innovative DDT for 2. Fyling kneedrop gets Orton another nearfall. Orton now coming back with a 5 Knuckle Shuffle but Orton rakes Cena's eyes to counter the FU then dropkicks him. Orton goes up top and tries for a cross body block but his momentum takes him over and Cena gets 2. Orton ready for the RKO but gets blocked by Cena who tries to go for the FU again but Edge spears him for the DQ. Edge and Orton now try to hit a conchairto but HBK makes the save, clobbers Edge and Orton but doesn't hit Cena with it as we end the show.

Continue Reading!

Another former ECW World Champion passes away

Dave Meltzer has news on the death of former ECW world champion and WCW-WWE star Mike Awesome

Best wishes, to his friends, fans and his family.

Continue Reading!

TNA DVD special coming to FYE, Suncoast and other locations

Click Here
for news on the buy-one, get one free sale taking place from 02/22 to 03/14.

Continue Reading!

Action!: International Fight League athletes gather in Miami for IFL Battleground Promos, Title Sequence shoot

It looks like the name Total Impact is out the door.

Intensive Two-day Studio Shoot Puts Pieces In Place For March 12 Premiere Of Mixed Martial Arts Series On MyNetworkTV


MIAMI and BOCA RATON, Fla., February 19, 2007 – Ben Rothwell let out a primal scream, one to which fans of the International Fight League Silverbacks’ star
have become accustomed. But this time, instead of occurring in the ring with one of the league’s other heavyweights on the business end, the venue was
a Boca Raton, Fla., television studio with a heavy bag and the MyNetworkTV cameras in the firing line.

That scene wrapped two days of intensive activity in several studio and outdoor venues, as 11 of the top IFL athletes served as subjects in interviews,
green-screen shoots, titles, interstitials and promos, all key elements of “IFL Battleground,” the exciting new series which will debut on March 12 on
MyNetworkTV affiliates across the country. The two-hour program, which will air at 8 p.m. ET/PT and 7 p.m. CT/MT, will cover the stories of each of the
athletes both in and out of the ring, bringing fans all of the event and behind the scenes action of the world’s first team-based professional mixed martial
arts league. Segments will take viewers up close during the competition and also into the locker rooms, training routines, and home lives of this diverse
set of athletes who are a part of the world’s fastest growing professional and recreational sport.

MyNetworkTV reaches more than 95% of U.S. television households -- or more than 100 million homes across the nation. Each of the 22 episodes of “IFL Battleground”
will be re-broadcasted on Saturdays from 8-10 p.m. ET/PT and 7 p.m. CT/MT.

In between interviews and choreographed green-screen sessions, several of the athletes also made a side trip to “Salvation,” a Miami Beach tattoo parlor,
for some critique of their art, and, for the Silverbacks’ Bart Palaszewski, some new ink. They also took a spin on scooters, all with the cameras in tow.
In addition to Palaszewski and Rothwell, also participating were: Jay Hieron and Chris Horodecki of the Anacondas; John Gunderson of the Lions; Vladimir
Matyushenko and Antonio McKee of the Sabres; Chad Griggs of the Scorpions; Rory Markham of the Silverbacks; Brad Blackburn of the Tiger Sharks; and Ryan
Schultz of the Wolfpack.

“It was a great experience being part of the making of ‘IFL Battleground,’” said Markham, who also has a role in the upcoming feature film The Death and
Life of Bobby Z. “It will be exciting to see how all the pieces we did in the two days fit together when the show hits the air.”

Blackburn, Griggs, Horodecki, Markham and McKee also shot promotional spots for more than a dozen MyNetworkTV affiliates nationwide and provided commentary
for MyNetworkTV screenings of feature films to air in the days leading up to the debut of “IFL Battleground.” The others participated in a series of interviews
and promotional pieces for WBFS-TV, My33 in Miami/Fort Lauderdale.

Viewers can locate their local MyNetworkTV affiliate online at http://www.mynetworktv.com/local_stations.html. In addition to the 44 hours of “IFL Battleground,”
mixed martial arts fans can catch one-hour broadcasts of IFL action on Fox Sports Net on Fridays at 11 p.m., beginning on February 23, for a total of 66
hours of original-run IFL programming on over-the-air television or basic cable.

About the IFL

International Fight League™ (IFL) is the world’s first professional mixed martial arts sports league. IFL has its headquarters in New York, NY and offices
in Las Vegas, NV. For more information about IFL, please see: www.ifl.tv

About MyNetworkTV

MyNetworkTV is a primetime general entertainment broadcast television network. Targeted to Adults 18-49 and broadcast television’s only all Hi-Definition
network, it reaches over 95% of the country. MyNetworkTV provides its affiliates 12 hours of programming Monday through Saturday. Currently, MyNetworkTV
airs Twentieth Television’s dramas “Wicked Wicked Games,” starring Oscar-winning actress Tatum O’Neal, and “Watch Over Me,” with Dayanara Torres, Casper
Van Dien and Catherine Oxenberg. For more information, please visit www.mynetworktv.com.

Continue Reading!

02/19/07 MMA News, Notes, Rumors and Quotes

Lets take a look around the news and rumor mill shall we?

Note: All of the links should work now.

We've got quotes from Matt Hughes, Jake O'Brien, Michael Bisping and others. We also have a match for UFC 69, and an update on Joe Riggs and Nate Quarry, all that and more just by clicking on continue reading.



First we have a Houston Chronicle article by Steve Sievert looking at Rich Franklin and his quest to get back to the middleweight title
Franklin says he’d want another fight before facing Anderson Silva again. I think that’s smart, may as well delay your beating for as long as you can.

We also get a Follow-up from the Chronicle’s Brawl Sports Blog
Talking a little bit more about Franklin’s fight with Jason MacDonald at UFC 68.

Recently, Mike Chiapetta of NBCSports.com interviewed Jake O’Brien who had this to say about his fight with Heath Herring at Fight Night 8.

Q: Herring bad-mouthed you a little bit in the post-fight interview, basically saying that you didn't really come to fight. What do you think about his
comments?

A: He was a sore loser. It was supposed to be his big coming-out party and I ruined it, so he wasn't happy. If he wants to fight, he had plenty of time
to knock me out. In the first three minutes of the fight, we were standing up. And even after that, the referees stood us up how many times? Every time
we exchanged, he'd back up and I wouldn't chase him. He wanted me to chase him so he could hit me with a big shot, and I wouldn't, so he was frustrated.

It is hard for me not to agree with him that Herring was a sore loser that night. You can read the rest of the interview Here

Speaking of Heath Herring his next opponent will be Brad Imes at UFC 69

Next is an article on the man~!
Anderson Silva – Here Comes the Spider-Man
Serene Thio of MSN sports.

Michael Bisping had some interesting things to say in a recent interview, and here is what he said about Quinton Jackson.

But even though I enjoyed myself and the fights, I switched out of "fan mode" when Quinton Jackson made his Octagon debut.

Because he's in the same division as me, I took a very close interest in Jackson's win over Marvin Eastman. Because of his big win over Chuck Liddell in
Japan a couple of years back, Jackson's come to the UFC with this massive reputation but, to be honest, I've got to say I wasn't that impressed.

I'd probably give Jackson five out of 10 on his performance, if you forgive the pun.

Even allowing for the fact that Eastman is a very underrated fighter, I didn't think Rampage looked like this killer who has put the entire division on
red alert.

Jackson said he was nervous and I am sure he was – and maybe he'll show more of himself next time. I hope he does because I want my division to be the most
exciting one in the UFC.

You can read the rest of Bisping’s interview here

Matt Hughes was profiled in the St. Louis Post Dispatch and had this to say.

"I want to get my (welterweight) belt back from Georges, then I want to fight for the middleweight title," Hughes said. "I'd like to hold both belts at
the same time. I'd be the first person in the UFC to do that."

My suggestion for Hughes would be to not put the cart before the horse as it were, he still has to deal with GSP.
Small town guy is big time fighter

UFCJunkie.com says that Karo Parysian will fight again in May

Speaking of UFCJunkie.com, sponsored fighter and columnist and man of the brutal KO at the foot of Rashad Evans, Sean Salmon Talks about his next bout against Eric Schafer in May

One more from UFCJunkie.com where they have an update on Nate “The Rock” Quarry

MMAWeekly says that Frank Trigg will pull double duty planning to fight and then announce Pride 33 this weekend.

Joe Riggs to fight on next WEC show so says the rumors page for the show at MMAWeekly.com

I may have more later but that should be enough to tide you over for now.

Continue Reading!

Care/Other Vuz, Vuz, Vuz Jabronis: No Way Out 2007 Predictions Recap

Lets break this one down scientifically.


Chris Benoit and the Hardies Def. MNM/MVP
Casey: MNM/MVP
Art: Benoit and Hardies
Ric: Benoit and Hardies
Euan: Benoit and Hardies
Scott: Benoit and Hardies
Wade: Benoit and Hardies
Marcus: MNM/MVP
It was a 5-2 split with 5 winners and 2 fools as The Hardies prevail over MNM yet again.

Cruiserweight Open – Chavo Guerrero, Def. Daivari, Funaki, Gregory Helms, Jamie Noble, Jimmy Wang Yang, Scotty Too Hotty, Shannon Moore
Casey: Daivari
Art: Daivari
Ric: Chavo Guerrero
Euan: Gregory Helms
Scott: Gregory Helms
Wade: Jimmy Wang Yang
Marcus: Gregory Helms
Art and I were the first to look really bad in this match, with Daivari going out first. Then, Euan, Scott and Marcus were history with Helms. It came down to Wade’s pick against Ric and Ric’s man Chavo pulled it out. As Ric was the only one to get this right, I as your stats keeper rule this an invalid pick and no points will be awarded…no just kidding but I’d like to think that upon reading that Ric shreaked like a little girl.

Fit Finlay and Little Bastard Vs. Boogeyman and Little Boogeyman
Casey: Finlay and Little Bastard
Art: Boogeyman and Mini-Boogeyman
Ric: Boogeyman and Mini-Boogeyman
Euan: Boogeyman and Little Boogeyman
Scott: Finlay and Little Bastard
Wade: Boogeyman and Little Boogeyman
Marcus: Finlay and Little Bastard
It was a 4-3 split on the night with the foolish 4 picking Boogeyman and his worm eating surrender monkey to win.

King Booker Vs. Kane
Casey: King Booker
Art: Kane
Ric: King Booker
Euan: King Booker
Scott: King Booker
Wade: Kane
Marcus: King Booker
Another 5-2 split but this time it was the 5 and not the 2 whom were fools as Kane picked up a win that was more surprising to me than anything else on the show.

WWE Tag Titles: London and Kendrick Vs. Deuce and Domino
Casey: London and Kendrick
Art: Deuce and Domino
Ric: London and Kendrick
Euan: London and Kendrick
Scott: London and Kendrick
Wade: Deuce and Domino
Marcus: London and Kendrick
A 5-2 split and most importantly for the first time, I your roundtable supervisor was not in the fool category as sanity prevailed.

ECW Title: Bobby Lashley Vs. Mr. Kennedy
Casey: Bobby Lashley
Art: Bobby Lashley
Ric: Bobby Lashley
Euan: Bobby Lashley
Scott: Bobby Lashley
Wade: Bobby Lashley
Marcus: Bobby Lashley
Here’s a tough one, we all were right in the sense that Lashley is still ECW champion but he got disqualified and lost the match so he screwed us out of the point by not killing Mr. Kennedy. This is why we hate ECW, this one point.

Diva Talent Invitational
Casey: Ashley
Art: Maria
Ric: Ashley
Euan: Maria
Scott: Ashley
Wade: Maria
Marcus: Ashley
I can’t believe someone namely 2 people and Euan making Art’s pick for him actually picked someone other than Ashley to win. It is kind of obvious with the Playboy thing coming out. It was so obvious, even Ric got it.

Shawn Michaels and John Cena Vs. Batista and Undertaker
Casey: Cena and Michaels
Art: Cena and Michaels
Ric: Batista and Undertaker
Euan: Cena and Michaels
Scott: Batista and Undertaker
Wade: Cena and Michaels
Marcus: Cena and Michaels
Ric and Scott were the fools here.

Well, it was a close one tonight.

Casey: 4 wins, 4 losses for 50%
Ric: 4 wins, 4 losses for 50%
Scott: 4 wins, 4 losses for 50%
Marcus: 4 wins, 4 losses for 50%
Art: 3 wins, 5 losses for 37.5%
Euan: 3 wins, 5 losses for 37.5%
Wade: 3 wins, 5 losses for 37.5%
None of us did outstanding that’s for sure.

In the WWE Standings…
Wade: 2 events, 8 wins, 5 losses for 61.54%
Scott: 2 events, 8 wins, 5 losses for 61.54%
Casey: 3 events, 11 wins, 9 losses for 55%
Marcus: 2 events, 7 wins, 6 losses for 53.85%
Ric: 3 events, 10 wins, 10 losses for 50%
Art: 3 events, 7 wins, 12 losses for 36.84%
Euan: 3 events, 6 wins, 13 losses for 31.58%

Pro Wrestling Standings
Wade: 4 events, 17 wins, 13 losses for 56.67%
Marcus: 4 events, 17 wins, 13 losses for 56.67%
Ric: 5 events, 19 wins, 18 losses for 51.35%
Scott: 4 events, 15 wins, 15 losses for 50%
Casey: 5 events, 18 wins, 19 losses for 48.65%
Art: 5 events, 14 wins, 22 losses for 38.89%
Euan: 5 events, 14 wins, 22 losses for 38.89%

Overall Standings
Wade: 7 events, 35 wins, 22 losses for 61.40%
Marcus: 7 Events, 34 wins, 23 losses for 59.65%
Ric: 8 events, 37 wins, 27 losses for 57.81%
Scott: 7 events, 31 wins, 26 losses for 54.39%
Euan: 8 events, 33 wins, 30 losses for 52.38%
Casey: 8 events, 34 wins, 30 losses for 51.13%
Art: 8 events, 31 wins, 32 losses for 49.21%

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Morishima Crowned ROH Champ - Live Thoughts

By Art Shimko
shimko_7@hotmail.com



[Photo credit: www.ROHWrestling.com]

-- Takeshi Morishima defeated Homicide last night in Philadelphia to become the new ROH World Champion in front of close to 1,000 fans at the Pennsylvania National Guard Armory. Morishma was a fucking monster as he wasted no time beating the shit out of Homicide pulling off power moves a man half his size normally does. My friend DJ called him the Japanese Terry Gordy and that pretty much summed it up. I was fine with Morishma winning the title from Homicide because let's face it, Homicide's NWA tag champ in TNA and I'm sure the office wants him concentrating on his TNA tenure than outside indy dates not booked by TNA. People from the back came out, including BJ Whitmer towards the ring only to get their asses kicked by Morishma, he then stormed towards the back. It was also Samoa Joe's final match in Philadelphia defeating Jimmy Rave in a match that was good, not great in my opinion but it was somewhat of a historic moment which included Joe coming out to his original entrance theme Another Body Murdered by Boo-Yaa Tribe and Faith No More and concluded his match putting Philadelphia and its fans way over. The Briscoes and Kevin Steen and El Generico had an AWESOME (~!) match that really got the crowd hot, Steen and Generico impressed the crowd and recieved a "PLEASE COME BACK~!" chant. I'm not crazy about FIP title matches on ROH shows, just not into it man and Roderick Strong/Delirious furthered my opinion of FIP matches on an ROH card. The tag title match was decent but fell apart at some point only to pick up the pace and turn out for the better. The street fight was fun, lots of brawling in the crowd and Lacey and Daizee both looked so hot, I don't know why but I really became more into BJ Whitmer after this match and the storyline with Lacey/Jimmy Jacobs/Colt Cabana has been great. Aries/Castagnoli and McGuinness/TJ Perkins were good opening matches. Here are the results from last night and from results from Friday night in NYC.

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CHIKARA King Of Trios Finals results/thoughts

By Art Shimko
shimko_7@hotmail.com

Great show tonight from the New Alhambra Arena in South Philadelphia (Viking Hall for all you historians), lots of the usual fun and crazy spots and great wrestling overall, here are the results from CZWFans.com -

CHIKARA King Of Trios 2007 Night 3
2/18/07 - Philladelphia, PA
1. King Of Trios Tournament Semi-Finals: MIYAWAKI, Yoshiaki Yago and KUDO defeated Gran Akuma, Icarus and Chuck Taylor to advance to the Finals of the King Of Trios Tournament.
2. King Of Trios Tournament Semi-Finals: Mike Quackenbush, Jigsaw and Shane Storm defeated El Pantera, Sicodelico, Jr. and Lince Dorado to advance to the Finals of the King Of Trios Tournament.
3. Allison Danger defeated La Malcriada following an STO.
4. CHIKARA Young Lion's Cup Match: Max Boyer defeated Sal Thomaselli following the Life Style to retain the CHIKARA Young Lion's Cup.
5. Hallowicked defeated Matt Sydal following The Graveyard Smash.
6. Gauntlet Match: Cheech and Cloudy won the Gauntlet Match over Lucky and JC Ryder, Jason Gory and Shiima Xion, Dunn and Marcos, Dashinoku Dino and American Balloon, Mitch Ryder and Robbie Ellis, Dr. Cheung and Darkness Crabtree, Jagged and Shane Matthews, Joey Ryan and Excalibur, Soldier Ant and Fire Ant, Jimmy Olsen and Colin Olsen, Larry Sweeney and ShareCropper, Player Uno and Create-A-Wrestler, Chris Bosh and Scott Lost, Fire Ant and Equinox, UltraMantis Black and Hydra and Vito Thomaselli and Brandon Thomaselli.
a) Jason Gory and Shiima Xion defeated Lucky and JC Ryder to advance in the Gauntlet.
b) Dunn and Marcos defeated Jason Gory and Shiima Xion to advance in the Gauntlet.
c) Dashinoku Dino and American Balloon defeated Dunn and Marcos to advance in the Gauntlet.
d) Mitch Ryder and Robbie Ellis defeated Dashinoku Dino and American Balloon to advance in the Gauntlet.
e) Mitch Ryder and Robbie Ellis defeated Dr. Cheung and Darkness Crabtree to advance in the Gauntlet.
f) Jagged and Shane Matthews defeated Mitch Ryder and Robbie Ellis to advance in the Gauntlet.
g) Jagged and Shane Matthews defeated Joey Ryan and Excalibur to advance in the Gauntlet.
h) Jagged and Shane Matthews defeated Soldier Ant and Worker Ant to advance in the Guantlet.
i) Jimmy Olsen and Colin Olsen defeated Jagged and Shane Matthews to advance in the Gauntlet.
j) Larry Sweeney and ShareCropper defeated Jimmy Olsen and Colin Olsen to advance in the Gauntlet.
k) Larry Sweeney and ShareCropper defeated Player Uno and Create-A-Wrestler to advance in the Gauntlet.
l) Chris Bosh and Scott Lost defeated Larry Sweeney and ShareCropper to advance in the Gauntlet.
m) Chris Bosh and Scott Lost defeated Fire Ant and Equinox to advance in the Gauntlet.
n) Chris Bosh and Scott Lost defeated UltraMantis Black and Hydra to advance in the Gauntlet.
o) Cheech and Cloudy defeated Chris Bosh and Scott Lost to advance in the Gauntlet.
p) Cheech and Cloudy defeated Vito Thomaselli and Brandon Thomaselli to win the Gauntlet. As a result of the win, Up In Smoke now have 3 points and can challenge F.I.S.T. for the Campeonatos de Perejas.
7. MECHA Mummy defeated Mokujin Ken.
8. Daizee Haze defeated Sara Del Ray.
9. Masamune defeated Nobutaka Moribe.
10. Claudio Castagnoli defeated Ricochet.
11. King Of Trios Tournament Finals: Mike Quackenbush, Jigsaw and Shane Storm defeated MIYAWAKI, Yoshiaki Yago and KUDO to win the King Of Trios Tournament.

Masamune/Nobutaka Moribe kicked ass, the tag team guantlet match was fun, long but not too long as there were some quick eliminations, the return of SHARECROPPER~! got huge pops, Hallowicked/Sydal was good, Ricochet moves like crazy and the main event had lots of action and at the end out of respect the Quack's team gave the Dragon Gate team the medals they won. I heard the first two nights were great shows with the first one sounding like it was the best... GET THE DVDS~!

P.S. - The most amusing moment of the evening wasn't anything CHIKARA-related but Mickie Knuckles from IWA-Mid South came over and asked if I had bought tickets IN ADVANCE for their upcoming show at the New Alhambra Arena on 6/30 which was so funny on many levels which only me and few people would get.
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Note to webmasters/reporters: When recapping news or referencing commentary from this site please include a link to meanfilipine.blogspot.com as opposed to "Strong Style Shimko", "From The Mean Filipine Blog" or derivatives. Thank you!

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Scott's No Way Out picks

I forwarded these to Euan yesterday, but he either didn't get them or forgot to include them in the roundtable so here you go.

*Cruiserweight Open: Winner - Helms
*Diva Invitational: Winner - Ashley
*Finlay & Little Bastard Vs. Boogeyman and Mini-Boogeyman: winner - Finlay and LB
*Kane Vs. King Booker winner - King Booker
*Benoit and the Hardies Vs. MNM/MVP winner - Benoit and Hardies
*Bobby Lashley Vs. Mr. Kennedy winner - Bobby Lashley
*London and Kendrick Vs. Deuce and Domino: winner - London and Kendrick
*Cena and Michaels Vs. Taker and Batista: winner - Taker and Batista

Now you've got all of them.

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Takeshi Morishima captures RoH world title

You can read all about the show from last night, Here

Some say this is a product of the RoH-Pro Wrestling Noah relationship, but I've got to think that Homicide being a TNA talent and likely to be pulled from RoH at any time might've also had something to do with it. Not knowing how long you'll have a guy makes it hard to commit to him as champion.

Just my theory I guess.

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'The Pearl' to hold UFC Fight Night April 5

The Pearl to Hold the Venue’s First Ever UFC® Fight Night™ Live April 5

Main event will air on Spike TV featuring lightweights
Joe “Daddy” Stevenson vs. Melvin “The Young Assassin” Guillard

Las Vegas, Nev. – February 16, 2007 – The first ever UFC® Fight Night™ live from The Pearl at The Palms Casino Resort is set to take place on April 5 and
be telecast live to millions of fans on Spike TV. The UFC Fight Night series on Spike TV feature many of the biggest names in the world of mixed martial
arts and this main event of the inaugural fight at The Pearl will be no exception featuring lightweights Joe “Daddy” Stevenson vs. Melvin “The Young Assassin”
Guillard.


“Having The Pearl host the April 5 Fight Night shows the versatility of the theater for live entertainment. The first year of entertainment in The Pearl
just keeps getting larger – to partner with a brand like the UFC is huge and we look forward to a lasting relationship,” said Palms owner George Maloof.

“We are pleased to be working with the Maloofs to bring the most exciting live combat sport in the world – the UFC – to The Palms in Las Vegas,” said UFC
President Dana White. “I am very excited about this partnership, the property fits perfectly with the UFC demographic, and I look forward to holding a
series of UFC events inside the state-of-the-art venue The Pearl.”

The UFC® Fight Night™ main event couples two extraordinary skillful fighters both hailing from The Ultimate Fighter® 2, Stevenson and Guillard. Fighting
out of Las Vegas, Stevenson (31-7) is known for his overwhelming wrestling and ground and pound. Like Guillard, Stevenson fought his way through The Ultimate
Fighter® 2 competition to the finals where he defeated Luke Cummo by unanimous decision in a classic fight to earn his claim as the welterweight winner.
Since then, Stevenson scored a second round TKO over Yves Edwards at UFC 61, and recently won a first round submission over Dokonjonosuke Mishima at UFC
65. At the upcoming UFC® Fight Night™, Stevenson is planning a convincing victory over Guillard to show he will be the new favorite in the UFC lightweight
division.

Fighting out of Baton Rouge, LA, Guillard (39-6-3) is an explosive fighter with good wrestling and striking skills. His brash personality made him stand
out immediately on The Ultimate Fighter® 2, but with a decisive win over Marcus Davis in the finale, Guillard proved he has more than just attitude. After
a setback against Josh Neer at welterweight, Melvin dropped down to the lightweight division at UFC 60 and destroyed Rick Davis quickly in the first round.
Continuing as a lightweight, he followed that win with a second round TKO over Gabe Ruediger at UFC 63. Now Guillard is ready to take on Stevenson and
prove his new-found dominance in the UFC’s 155-pound division.

Tickets for UFC® Fight Night™ are $150.00, $250.00 and $350.00, plus any additional box office or service fees, and go on-sale Thursday, February 22 at
10:00 am. Please visit any Ticketmaster location, call 702-474-4000 or visit www.ticketmaster.com to purchase tickets. Doors for UFC® Fight Night™ will
open at 1:00 pm and the first bout begins at 2:00 pm.

About The Ultimate Fighting Championship:
The Ultimate Fighting Championship® brand is the world’s leading professional mixed martial arts organization and offers the premier series of MMA sports
events. Owned and operated by Zuffa, LLC, and headquartered in Las Vegas, Nev., the UFC® organization produces approximately twelve to fourteen live pay-per-view
events annually that are distributed through cable and satellite providers. In addition to its U.S. distribution, UFC fight programs are distributed throughout
the world including broadcast on WOWOW, Inc. in Japan, on MAIN EVENT in Australia, Globosat in Brazil and Bravo in the United Kingdom. For more information,
or current UFC fight news, visit www.ufc.com.

Ultimate Fighting Championship®, Ultimate Fighting®, UFC®, The Ultimate Fighter®, Submission®, As Real As It Gets®, Zuffa™, The Octagon™ and the eight-sided
competition mat and cage design are registered trademarks, trademarks, trade dress or service marks owned exclusively by Zuffa, LLC in the United States
and other jurisdictions. All other marks referenced herein may be the property of Zuffa, LLC or other respective owners.

About The Pearl:
The Pearl is Las Vegas’ premier concert theater boasting accommodations for up to 2,500 ticket holders. Featuring a stage just four feet from the floor
and the farthest seating area being a mere 120 feet from the stage, The Pearl offers the utmost in intimate viewing of your favorite acts. Private and
semi-private skyboxes are located on each side of the venue offering private bars, lounges and restrooms. The Pearl is a marvel of modern technology using
only top quality sound and video equipment throughout. Hard wired to The Studio at The Palms, The Pearl allows artists to create a cost-effective live
album with efficiency and without additional venue set-up. For more information, please visit www.palms.com.

About the UFC on Spike TV:
Spike TV began airing UFC programming in January, 2005 and was the first television network in North America to air a live UFC bout. Thus far, nine live
UFC Fight Nights have averaged 2.2 million viewers - more than the average regular season telecasts of the NBA, NHL, MLB, and NCAA basketball on cable
television. Spike TV is available in 91 million homes and is a top five cable network for Men 18-34 featuring such popular UFC branded shows as The Ultimate
Fighter, UFC Unleashed, UFC Fight Night, UFC Countdown, Ultimate Knockouts, UFC All Access, UFC Live and Inside and Inside The UFC. The Ken Shamrock/Tito
Ortiz III fight on October 10, 2006 peaked at a viewer ship of nearly six million and drew more men 18-34 than Game 1 of the ALCS that same night. For
more information on Spike TV, please visit www.spiketv.com.

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International Fight League Sores; Why?

Click Here for an article looking at the IFL's stock.

I've got thoughts:


From the day that stock price started going up, I was not impressed. The minute they had to declare a quarterly report was when I thought things would start heading south. It hasn't happened yet, but I still think its a matter of time. Sure, the money they've made has erased their opporating losses but the problem is that it is funny money that rises and falls with the stock. In short, none of it can realistically be called theirs because it could go away in a hurry.
I'm sorry, but as the article notes there is no way this league should be worth more than the Freaking New York Yankees and I loathe the Yankees. I wonder what will happen to the stock price when the investors see things like tickets sold for these events? My advice would be if you own IFL stock, now would be a good time to sell as while they do have some things going for them there's no way this stock can do anything but go down.

Now having said all of that, provided that it is actually on in my area on My Network TV, I'll give recapping Total Impact a try.

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Change to No Way Out, Raw Rating

Seems the No Way Out card has been Changed
*Finlay Vs. Boogeyman is now Finlay and Little Bastard Vs. Boogeyman and Mini-Boogey.

Also Chris Benoit has been added to the card.

Raw last night did a 3.0 rating.

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Raw has a big iMPACT on TNA rating

Last Night's iMPACT going head-to-head with Raw did a 0.58 rating.

So, lets put an end to the possible Monday Night War talk for about the next million or so years.

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The Nevada State Athletic Commission hands down some rulings

*Kevin Randleman was suspended for one year and fined $5,000 for a fraudulent drug test
*Thiago Alves was suspended for eight months and fined $5,500 for failing a drug test for a diuretic in his last UFC fight
*The Gilbert Yvel vs. Sergey Kharitonov proposed match by Pride was nixed as Yvel was denied a license for a 2004 incident where he punched and kicked a
referee after a match
*Kit Cope (Gina Carano's boyfriend) and Joe Pearson were both temporarily suspended for failing drug tests after the WEC show

Credit: Wrestling Observer.com

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Don't miss your chance to go one on one with the Stars of TNA Wrestling

TNA Wrestling’s “Lockdown Fan Interaction” kicks off an unforgettable weekend in St. Louis on April 14

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

St. Louis, Missouri (February 16, 2007) - Don’t miss your chance to go one on one with stars of TNA Wrestling.


On the eve of “Lockdown,” one of the biggest Pay-Per-View events in TNA history, fans can meet their favorite superstars at the “Lockdown Fan InterAction”
on Saturday, April 14 at the St. Louis Airport Hilton starting at 1 p.m.

More than 40 TNA stars will come together for over four hours to participate in exclusive Q&A sessions, sign autographs, take pictures with fans and much
more. Got something to say to the superstars of TNA? This is your chance to be heard.

Scheduled to appear are Kurt Angle, Sting, Christian Cage, The Monster Abyss, Rhino, Jeff Jarrett, Team 3-D, Rhino, Samoa Joe, Scott Steiner, Tomko, Showtime
Eric Young, Robert Roode, Kevin Nash, AJ Styles, Christopher Daniels, Raven, Serotonin, Petey Williams, Cowboy James Storm, Wildcat Chris Harris, the TNA
Knockouts, LAX, Voodoo Kin Mafia, Lance Hoyt, Jerry Lynn, Chris Sabin, Don West, Mike Tenay, James Mitchell, Ron Killings, Senshi, Jay Lethal, Austin Starr,
Alex Shelley and Sonjay Dutt. The talent lineup is subject to change without notice

Tickets are $40 at www.shopTNA.com or $50 at the door (if available). Tickets go on sale Friday, February 23. All tickets ordered in the first 48 hours
will receive a $5 early bird discount!

Doors will open at 11 a.m. for ticket pickup and merchandise sales. The autograph signing will begin at 1 pm. and end at 5 p.m. There will also be a 30
minute Q&A session immediately following the event at 5 p.m. For more information, visit www.tnawrestling.com

Don’t miss TNA's most brutal event of the year, Lockdown live on Pay Per View April 15 at the Family Arena. Tickets for “Lockdown” will go on sale at 10
a.m. CT, Friday, February 16, at the Family Arena Box Office (2002 Arena Parkway, St. Charles, MO 63303), all Metrotix outlets, online at Metrotix.com
or by calling (314) 534-1111.

TNA Wrestling delivers a distinct brand of high-risk, athletic entertainment, featured weekly on “Thursday Night iMPACT!” at 9 p.m. ET/PT on Spike TV. TNA
features the innovative six-sided ring and the high-flying "X Division," as well as concept matches such as "Ultimate X," "King of the Mountain," and "Six
Sides of Steel." TNA Entertainment, LLC is a privately held company headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee. For more information, visit www.tnawrestling.com.

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A couple of WWE press releases

World Wrestling Entertainment declares quarterly dividend

The other press release touts WWE's Television success

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TNA iMPACT: 02/15/2007 Review

Welcome to our on-going coverage of WWE Raw and TNA iMPACT. Wade has been doing Raw for an hour now and it is time for me to step in with iMPACT.

This is TNA...We are, not worth a funny line here.



Show opens with highlights and we're being generous here with that description from Against All Odds. I guess because we're going head-to-head with Raw we're going to fool people by starting with a Raw promo.

Scott Steiner comes out. He says Christian wanted to know if he knew how to beat Angle, and he did but didn't think it would be easy. Steiner says that negotiations on his contract were put on hold so TNA could sign Angle. Steiner, you should be thankful. Steiner claims to have beaten John Cena, Batista and it didn't matter how many times HHH slept with the bosses daughter, he beat him as well.

Steiner talks some more smack and out comes Kurt Angle for a rebuttal of sorts.

Angle doesn't know Steiner but knows he's got a rep for being a self-centered egomaniac. Angle says he'd gladly kick Steiner's ass for free. TNA's cost cutting measures at their best. He says he came to this company for the company and to go head-to-head with WWE. Steiner says screw him, and screw the company. Angle wants to know if Steiner is going to talk or if he's going to do something. Steiner takes the first blow and then Angle starts with the Suplexing. Germans, belly-to-belly and so on. Fans of humility be dismayed that no camel clutch followed and rejoyce that no ass fucking followed that.

Out comes Tomko and it is 2 on 1. Samoa Joe makes the save. Angle promised Joe a title shot even though he's not the champion. Angle tells Joe that he's got it in the gauntlet for the gold, and may the best man win.

Now we get the usual iMPACT opening.

Elevation X is being lowered down to the ring. We've got a 14 man gauntlet for the gold tonight for a title shot at Destination X.

JB is backstage with LAX. Konnan does the talking and lays a verbal smackdown, no not WWE Smackdown, but the verbal edition on Team 3D. I've got no problem with this.

Commercial Break!!
I've got no problem with the way the first segment went down even if it was all talking with a brief brawl mixed in.

We're back with Christian Cage with the ranting and the raving. He protests the Gauntlet match and tries to get Tomko and Steiner to coexist and ensure no title shot for anything. Steiner is not down with this and lets Christian know and this includes Tomko being called a redneck.

Match 1: Sharkboy and Norman Smiley Vs. The Latin American Xchange w/Konnan
No Spanish intro, and that greatly disappoints me.

LAX waste no time with the muds and the holes and the stomping of holes full of mud. In other words, they start kicking the crap out of Boy and Smiley before the bell.

Sitout powerbomb on Sharkboy by Hernandez and a Senton from Homicide and that ends the match.

Winners: LAX - 1:00 if that.
A serving of squash with a side of squash. I've got no problem with the accasional squash match.

Brother Ray starts to cut a promo and some dorkus from the Sapranos shows up as well. Brother Ray translates this guys words in to next week we're going to have a belting pot match. I'll save you the long version of his explanation of what that is, by saying lumberjacks with straps.
So, Team 3D challenges LAX to an anything goes streetfight and they lose. So of course, they get to dictate the stips for the next match as well. It is best not to think about it.

Konnan says that LAX is going to be on Team 3D like a monkey on a cupcake or Team 3D on a pizza. He also gets in a goodfellas reference.

We get a brief video recapping the silliness at the pay per view between Eric Young and Traci Brooks. Wehn I say silliness I don't mean it in the funny sense just so we're clear.

Backstage, Eric Young plays the role that so many men have in history by telling Traci: "But, but, you said that you love me". Traci laughs at him and introduces him to reality. Robert Roode comes in and tells him not to talk to her because that's not his job. His job is to help make sure Robert Roode wins the Gauntlet for the Gold.

Commercial Break!!
Hey, another relatively focused segment, plus it contained more Konnan talking, an LAX squash and at the end of it I actually remember what happened at the beginning of it.

Although between commercials we saw: Christian, Tomko, Steiner, Team 3D, LAX, Sharkboy, Norman Smiley, Robert Roode, Traci and Eric Young.

Inside the UFC commercial airs for a Tim Sylvia interview. Still trying to talk myself out of picking him at UFC 68.

Lockdown commercial airs, and no they haven't ditched the all cage format if you were curious.

A recap airs of the silliness, used in the same context as before, involving James Storm, Ms. Tennessee, Gail Kim, Petey Williams and Chris Harris.

Match 2: Arm Wrestling Match - Gail Kim Vs. Ms. Tennessee
Jacqi Moore

James Storm's music sounds vaguely familiar but I can't place it.

5 people chant "Brokeback Mountain" at Storm. Referee Slick Johnson overseeing the armwrestling match.

Gail Kim is victorious in the match. However, this just triggars a brawl in which Storm immediately becomes involved. Here comes Petey Williams to make the save or at least attempt it. Chris Harris comes out and does a significantly better job of clearing house than does Petey.

Latisha is backstage with Chris Sabin. She actually manages to ask the question and it is about next week's ladder match for the top contendership to the X-title. Sabin babbles incoherently either to make fun of the interviewer or old people. Bob Backlund shows up and says his friends at the senior citizen lunchen in Connedicutt don't appreciate his mockery.

Then we move to a skit with Nash, and some of the X-guys and I guess they're doing x-division idol. All you need to know is singing was involved. Someone busted out Amazing Grace. Jay Lethal impersonates Randy Savage and I don't mean in his wrestling skill just so we're clear.

Commercial Break!
Well, the string of good segments comes crashing to a hault. Just too much whatever in this one for my liking.

Ron Killings is back in his horrible movie roles.

Sting and Abyss video package. I'm sad that Jim Mitchell will be off of TV for awhile as Mitchell is a great, great man.

Match 3: 14 man Gauntlet for the Gold
2 minute periods between entries, last 2 men wrestle in a singles match all others are eliminated by going over the top rope and having both feet touch the floor.

Wrestler 1: Sting
Wrestler 2: AJ Styles

I'll try to keep track of who comes out and when they're eliminated and by whom, but if I don't care then I don't care. Jim Cornette has just randomly shown up at the broadcast booth. Don't get me wrong I'm glad he's there, but he just happened to appear.

Ok, there's no way that it is 2 minute periods as we've already got our next entry and it is:

Wrestler 3: Rhino

This is not good news for AJ Styles as Rhino still seems to be pissed at him.

Commercial Break!!
That's 1 short segment, I guess so they can avoid another break during this match.

I'd say that the entries are about 45 seconds apart. Of course in Russo time 45 seconds is roughly 2 weeks 1 day 16 hours 13 minutes 44 seconds and 1/8 of a second to be more exact.

Lockdown tickets go on sale tomorrow. A Christopher Daniels promo airs bringing us out of the break. This couldn't have aired before the match started?

Wrestlers entered during the break and they were:

Wrestler 4: Chris Sabin
Wrestler 5: James Storm
Wrestler 6: Kip James

and just as we returned, we got...

Wrestler 7: Abyss

Abyss comes in and he sends Chris Sabin packing shortly thereafter.

Wrestler 8: Kurt Angle
Maybe its only 30 seconds because they're coming out Fast and Furious, well at least they're coming out fast you'd have to ask them if they're furious.

Wrestler 9 Tomko
He comes out and he dumps both AJ Styles and Rhino for their trouble. Styles and Rhino seem to be linked forever.

Wrestler 10: Samoa Joe
Jim Cornette says: "As a friend of mine would say, business is picking up".

He remember my theory for the short commercial break before? Screw that as they just took another 1. That was roughly a 2 minute segment not counting the Daniels thing. That's weird.

This kind of match does not lend itself well to the format of television.

Bodog fight commercial, fun fact, my ION affiliate didn't show that show on Tuesday which greatly disappoints me. Perhaps I'll see if the USA Vs. Russia show advertised is on.

A snickers commercial airs and its not the one with the 2 dudes kissing that debuted during the Super Bowl and did unspeakable damage to the brand. Oh, and I never thought that Iron Sheik would have something in common with Tim Hardaway.

Wrestlers entering during the break: Eric Young, Robert Roode and B.G. James, not necessarily in that order.

Wrestler 14: Scott Steiner
B.G. James is eliminated shortly after Steiner entered.

Abyss was eliminated by Samoa Joe and Kurt Angle was next to go at the hands of Steiner and Tomko.

Roode had Sting ready to go out, called for Eric Young to help, he hesitated and Robert Roode would be eliminated by Sting. Sting was promptly dumped by Steiner.

Eric Young was next out, and we're down to 3 Tomko, Joe and Steiner.

Not sure when Kip James was tossed and guess how much I care to go find out?

Tomko and Steiner are playing a game of "Can you top this?" unfortunately for Joe, he is whom they are playing it on.

Tenay says it appears that Steiner and Tomko are unified at this point. Expect problems shortly. Joe teases elimination. Steiner is eliminated as Joe managed to sneak back in.

They wrestle for a bit and a muscle buster is executed. If you don't know by whom, and what the result is, then you just don't pay enough attention.

Winner: Samoa Joe
Christian is out, the goons attack Joe and Angle comes to even the odds as the show ends.

Thoughts: This isn't saying much in reality, but this was probably the best iMPACT in a couple of months. Don't get me wrong, I have no doubt that Raw was way better than this show.
The first half was better than the second. The Gauntlet was hurt by the 2 commercial breaks that screwed up the flow. I've seen so many worse episodes though.
Sorry for the lack of jokes as compared to usual, for some reason I wasn't in a joking mood tonight.

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