March 2007 News Archive

Arash Markazi of SI.com is in Detroit, taking notes on Wrestlemania 23.

He spoke with Batista and the champion confired that his match with the Undertaker would not be the main event of the evening:

"Even if it's lost now by the time we hit the ring at 'Mania it won't be, I'm telling you right now," he said. "We're going to give them a match they're always going to remember. I guarantee it. We're going to tear the house down. As of right now we're not in the main event, which breaks my heart, but wherever we are on the card I feel sorry for the match that has to follow us. When we found out that we wouldn't be the main event we both looked at each other and we knew what we had to do."

Markazi said WWE Divas Ashley Massaro and Mickie James began posing in front of him. But before he got a big head, they pointed out that he was actually in the way of their intended audience: a full-length mirror taped to the wall.

Click here to read the entire article.

By Pete Ellis

I know what you're thinking. Here sits another self-indulgent sports entertainment journalist shoving his two cents down our throats. JUST WHAT WE NEED!

But listen, kids. I tried - I really tried - not to write some predictable, pedantic, self-indulgent, half-baked, plagiarized, zero-hour rant about how great Wrestlemania is.

There's just no denying it, though. This is the best of pro wrestling, and the WWE has managed to assemble a card I can't help getting pumped about. Even a cynic like me has to appreciate this lineup.

The Good:

• John Cena/Shawn Michaels
• The biggest "money in the bank" match ever
• JR and Jerry Lawler in the hall of fame
• Lashley/Umaga, expecting huge surprises
• Looking forward to the first WWE RAW afterwards: the end of a chapter, the beginning of a new one

The Bad:

• Metal hooks that won't get used
• WWE Divas who aren't ready to wrestle
• Injuries, guys who need some time off
• Every old fart being described as "hardcore before there was hardcore"

The Ugly:

• Improvisational endings
• Bald billionaires
• Guest celebrities
• The Great Khali

Things to Have:

• A decent TV and a reliable cable hook-up
• Four hours worth of beer, soda, pizza, and assorted junk food
• Neighbors who can stand a little ruckus between 7-11 p.m. on a Sunday night
• An understanding girlfriend

Things to Remember:

• Ordering the event usually entitles you to a second viewing at midnight. If you missed it the first time, it's probably worth watching again.
• Girls come and girls go, but you'll never forgive yourself if you miss the main event. If she truly loves you, she'll go away while the pay per view is on.
• Winning 20 bucks off of your best friend for an underdog pick is reason enough to run naked through the front yard. Anyone worth a crap will know "what all that damn noise is"

Things to expect:

• Victory from Cena, Randy Orton, and The Undertaker
• Cheating from Vince
• Jim Ross getting hoarse
• Having a damn good time

Look for my next article the week after Wrestlemania; we'll have a little mock draft just in case Vince gets any crazy ideas. Until then, thanks for reading, and enjoy the show!

The following report is courtesy of wrestleview.com ...

- The show kicks off with Edge coming out to talk about WrestleMania and the "Money in the Bank" Ladder Match this Sunday. He says he is scheduled to face Matt Hardy. Hardy comes out, but Edge announces that The Great Khali will be replacing him.

- The Great Khali vs. Matt Hardy ends in a No Contest after Khali gives Hardy his two-hand chokeslam and pyro goes off in all four corners. Kane appears on the TitanTron and says the time is near for Khali.

- Finlay defeated Mr. Kennedy.

- MVP defeated unknown wrestler.

- Jeff Hardy defeated Randy Orton.

- Ashley, Maria, Candice Michelle, Torrie Wilson & Mickie James defeated WWE Women's Champion Melina, Victoria, Jillian Hall, Kristal & Michelle McCool.

- CM Punk defeated King Booker.

- JBL gets into the ring to talk about Batista vs. The Undertaker; Looks to be attempting an interview) when Steve Austin's music hits. Austin gives JBL a stunner and drinks beer celebrating with the fans.

- Smackdown GM Teddy Long then comes out to conduct the interview. Batista says he has already lost respect for The Undertaker. Both start brawling and Batista takes out Undertaker with a big spinebuster. Batista leaves, but Undertaker sits up.

The following report is courtesy of lordsofpain.net ...

Paparazzi productions show's Sting talking to Mitchell. The woman we saw last week was Abyss' mother. She shot Abyss' father three times in the back because of him abusing her and Abyss. Abyss wiped her prints off the gun and stuck his grubby hands all over it, and did six years of hard time for his mother. Mitchell gets up and tells Sting that he can foot the bill for their lunch, it's the least he could do.

X-Division X-scape Match - Shelley v. Sonjay v. Lynn v. Shark Boy v. Starr v. Petey
They all begin attacking one another. Petey v. Shark Boy. Lynn v. Starr. Shelley v. Sonjay. Sonjay with two huracanrana's on Shelley, off the top rope moonsault on Shelley. Shelley with a suplex on Sonjay. Petey comes over, Shelley into the ropes, Shark Boy with a knee to Shelley. Petey gets Shelley in the Russian leg sweep, Shark Boy drop-kicks him into it. Lynn with five hip tosses on each competitor. Lynn clotheslines Starr, spinning back kick on Lynn by Shelley. Shelley into the corner, Shark Boy eliminates Shelley with the DSD.

Shark Boy on the attack against Sonjay. Sonjay drop-kicks Shark Boy down, senton roll into a back flip splash. Sonjay up top, tries to huracanrana on Lynn, Lynn power bombs Sonjay into the cage. Lynn then eliminates Sonjay with the Cradle Piledriver.

Starr sets Lynn up top, raking Lynn's back with his nails. Shark Boy attacks Starr, Shark Boy up top, trying to get the DSD on Starr. Starr rakes his eyes and flips him over. Starr eliminates Shark Boy with a brainbuster.

Lynn and Petey double team Starr, sending him into multiple sides of the cage. They trade blows on Starr. Starr with double thumbs. Double kick brought back against Starr. Lynn sets up Starr for the Cradle Piledriver, Petey begs him to let him do the Canadian Destroyer. Petey eliminates Starr with the Canadian Destroyer.

Lynn and Petey trade chops, Petey up top, Lynn catches him and throws him into the cage face first. Lynn begins scaling the cage, Petey quickly meeting him on the cage. They trade blows as they get to the top, sitting on the edge of the cage. Lynn almost falls as they climb to the other side, slamming each other's head into the cage. Lynn drops to the floor for the victory. Post-match, Daniels comes in from the crowd and cracks Lynn with the bat.

Moments ago, Tomko showed up at the iMPACT! Zone. Christian Cage comes in and asks him if he had a good time, ate some sushi and some little noodles. Christian answers his phone, Tomko walks off. Christian gets off the phone and yells at Tomko, telling him that's fine, they'll catch up in a bit.

Team Cage make their way to the ring. Christian says he'd like to take this opportunity to make the official announcement that Scott Steiner is the third member of Team Cage. He welcomes Scottie to Team Cage. Steiner says to not forget the title shot that he deserves. Christian says they'll get to that later. He's going to officially announce the fourth member of Team Cage, Abyss. Christian says it's a pleasure doing business with a righteous man like Mitchell. He said Team Cage is complete. AJ says he doesn't know how they do it in Canada, but in Gainesville, Florida, that equals four. Where's number five? Cage introduces Tomko as the fifth and final member of Team Cage. Tomko is a no show, Christian assumes he didn't hear him. Another introduction, music is still playing. Tomko finally comes out, with a mic of his own. Since Tomko's come to TNA, Cage has made a bunch of promises, and they've all been a lie. He plays second fiddle to no one. Second, and most importantly, he owes him a title shot. He couldn't care less who else he's promised it to. Before he joins anyone's team, he wants his title shot. Tonight. Cage calls Tomko selfish, putting himself before the team. He's a man of his word, he will give Tomko a title shot, but not until after they beat Team Angle at Lethal Lockdown. Cue the good guys.

Team Angle make their way to the ring. Kurt Angle tells Tomko that Cage was never going to give him a shot. He's a liar. Tomko might want a piece of his former boss. If he joins Team Angle, he'll be able to kick his former bosses ass. Cage tries to speak for Tomko, Tomko tells him to shut up. Cue Cornette to screw all this up. This is a wrestling program, not a soap opera or a debate. It's going to be one member of Team Angle vs. one member of Team Cage. Whoever wins, wins Tomko. If Tomko agrees, Cornette assures him he'll get the shot Cage promised him. Tomko tells 'Jimmy' that he's got a deal.

JB backstage with Team Angle. JB asks him who's going into the match tonight. Angle said it's him, he won't let his team mates down. He's a man of his word. He's had set backs the past few weeks. His fourth and fifth members were supposed to be Sting and Abyss, but obviously that won't work now. Starting with Tomko tonight, he'll get the fifth member. JB says that's only four, who's the fifth? Angle tells him that some things are best left unanswered.

Eric Young v. James Storm
Eric tries to be friends with Storm, multiple attempts at a clothesline, Eric ducks. Hip toss on Storm, drop-kick by Young. Jackie grabs Eric's leg and allows Storm to pummel him. Kick to Young's midsection. Storm sets up Eric on the bottom rope, to the outside, running boot. Back inside, two count. Clothesline on Storm. Young into the corner, Flair flop, back in, belly to belly on Storm. Two count. Reversal, Eric into the corner, hops over Storm. Backdrop suplex on Storm. Eric up top, Jackie knocks him off right into a super kick from Storm. 1-2-3.Continue Reading...

Imagine The Donald -- without the hair.

It could become reality, thanks to World Wrestling Entertainment owner Vince McMahon.

On April 1, he and Donald Trump will have a wrestler compete on each's behalf in the "Battle of the Billionaires" at WrestleMania 23 in Detroit -- the WWE's biggest annual pay-per-view event.

If Umaga beats Bobby Lashley, McMahon will give Trump what some might call a long-overdue buzz. If Lashley, Trump's rep, wins, McMahon will sport a new look.

Trump, the real estate mogul and star of NBC's "The Apprentice," knows his 'do isn't popular with some fans.

"A lot of people want to see it shaved," he told The Associated Press in a phone interview from his New York office. "I do get criticized, there's no question about it, although I've never had any problem with it. It certainly has seemed to work."

Trump deserves to be humiliated, McMahon said during an interview before an edition of WWE RAW in Indianapolis.

"Hopefully, I have really dull scissors so I can yank the rest of it out that I can't cut," McMahon said. "But I may be surprised how much Mother Nature has already beaten me to the punch. I won't know that until I start cutting."

McMahon credited Bonnie Hammer, president of the USA and SciFi networks, with the idea to get Trump involved in WrestleMania.

Click here to read the rest of this article.

• WWE hardcore legend Mick Foley’s “Hardcore Diaries” has had the most successful WWE book opening since Ric Flair’s autobiography in 2004.

• Rumors of Edge taking several months off this summer are false. Edge is currently scheduled to take place in many major storyline angles over the summer months.

• Both Hulk and Brooke Hogan were spotted in the crowd at a Jamie Fox concert at the Glass club in Miami.

By Pete Ellis

Eat, drink and be merry, for tomorrow we may diet?

Ever wonder what some of your favorite pro wrestlers eat? I did, and the results are interesting, if not quite what I expected.

My research indicates that most of these athletes eat a fairly standard diet, which means a lot of the same foods and portions over and over. I would expect that to get boring, but it has an impact on how the body processes food.

One training regimen suggests eating the same three meals every day will encourage your digestive system into a design of "expectation," meaning your stomach will eventually know what's coming and your system will make more efficient use of the food.

A different program says that if the meals don't include enough variety, you might develop allergies to the foods you eat most often.

One plan outlined in California suggests four egg whites and Tabasco first thing in the morning to give your insides a wake-up call. This program recommends you follow that up with meat and salad at lunch, then non-fried poultry for dinner everyday.

Looking for specifics?

Chris Benoit claims that baked or grilled chicken is always the main food for almost every professional wrestler. High protein, low fat, low carb, and quite versatile. You cat eat chicken with everything from a honey glaze to wasabi.

Green vegetables seem to be the next most common component. Anyone remember the Warlord? He was once in a tag team called The Powers of Pain along with The Barbarian. A pair of real muscle heads, but pretty good wrestlers and an old magazine article points to their passion for shark steaks as a main protein source.

Meanwhile, former WWE women's champion Trish Stratus (pictured, because she's hot) outlines her diet with very simple foods: Tuna, skinless chicken, and everyone's favorite... protein shakes.

I suppose it really makes a difference what kind of results you are trying to achieve. The late, great Yokozuna was once suspected of eating close to 20 pounds of fish and rice in one sitting.

That may not sound like much for a person who weighed over 500 pounds, but if you wanna find out what a meal like that is, like try this formula:

500/20 = 25. Yoko ate 1/25 of his body weight. If you weigh 200 pounds, you'd have to eat eight pounds of food to match it. That's 32 hamburgers from McDonalds, or eight of those lard ass-man frozen dinners that boast a pound of food per box.

Give your mom a call when you get past the first four so she can call the hospital and get your stomach pumped... pansy.

USA Network sent out the following press release, hyping WWE as having reached mainstream status in pop culture:

Since Monday Night RAW has returned to USA Network, the program has helped USA become #1 in basic cable prime across all demographics and brought new, younger viewers to the network. In 2006, RAW's first full year back on USA, the show averaged a better household rating (4.04) than in three previous years on Spike TV. RAW has also delivered 13% more P18-34 (1.4 million) and 9% more P18-49 (2.6 million) than Spike had the previous two years. On the February 26, 2007 broadcast of RAW, more than six million viewers tuned into USA Network for the show, the largest number since 2002.

WWE rose to the heights of its popularity while on USA Network during the mid-1990's and early 21st century, then saw a pop-culture drop-off while on Spike TV. Monday Night RAW returned home to USA in October of 2005 and since then has come back with a vengeance to mainstream pop-culture. In 2007 to date, RAW is averaging a household rating of 4.01, with 2.8 million in P18-49, 1.5 million in P18-34 and 2.5 million in P25-54.

On network television within the past year, WWE Superstars such as John Cena, Triple H, Edge, Stone Cold Steve Austin, Candice Michelle, Mick Foley and others have appeared on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Late Night with Conan O'Brien, The TODAY Show, Live with Regis and Kelly, The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson, Jimmy Kimmel Live, MadTV and many others. In the print media, there have been features and mentions in People Magazine, Entertainment Weekly, TV Guide, Us Weekly and OK! Magazine.

WWE's mainstream popularity is supported by leading Web portal Yahoo!'s rankings which listed WWE as the second most searched item for 2006, outscoring such notables as Paris Hilton, American Idol, Jessica Simpson and Pamela Anderson. RAW has featured appearances by Donald Trump, Kevin Federline, The Rock (former WWE Champion turned movie star), and the cast of MTV's Jackass as well as professional athletes from the NFL, NBA, MLB and NHL.

For the first time in 20 long years, WWE and Detroit will make history on April 1 when an all-grown up WrestleMania 23 emanates from Ford Field. On behalf of the Motor City, Mayor of Detroit Kwame M. Kilpatrick (pictured) welcomed the “Grandest Stage of Them All” which returns to its roots this year after two unbelievable decades.

“We are proud to have WWE and WrestleMania 23 in our great city,” Kilpatrick said in a statement issued to WWE.com. “We have a great track record for successfully hosting large-scale sporting events. We are excited to be the host city for WrestleMania.”

Click here to read the entire article.

Jeff Hardy recently sat down with IGN Sports. Here are excerpts from the interview ...

IGN Sports: What's your favorite Wrestlemania moment?
Jeff Hardy: Our first Wrestlemania when I climbed to the tip-top of this big ladder and did a Swanton through a table that had Bubba Ray on it. Every now and then you still see that clip, and it's such an unforgettable memory in my mind because you get to do something so cool, you've done it in your backyard before imagining you were in front of a bunch of people, but then to actually do it and see all the flashes, it's very dreamlike. Every time I look back and see that clip, it makes me proud of what I've accomplished.

IGN Sports: The other iconic Wrestlemania moment you were involved in was the TLC match when Edge speared you from up high.
Jeff Hardy: That's another one that's so cool because it's something I saw in my mind, but to bring it to life, that's another one of those clips that I'm proud of, even though I'm on the defense on that one. [laughs]

IGN Sports: You're hanging by the belts and Edge jumps off the ladder. What goes through your mind?
Jeff Hardy: There's not much time to think of anything. It's almost like a car wreck. It's like bam! That was unbelievable, I can't believe that just happened. Once the breath comes back and you can feel your toes move, it's a good payoff when you can live through something like that.IGN Sports: Did you have a favorite Wrestlemania moment as a fan watching the sport?
Jeff Hardy: I remember Wrestlemania 6 with The Ultimate Warrior against Hulk Hogan. It was so cool to see those guys go in there and the fans getting into the match so much. Warrior got the upset win, but when they hugged at the end and showed respect for one another after all of the buildup of animosity between the two and the fans gave them the standing-O, that was one of the best moments to me. Warrior was always such a weird, methodical type character anyway, but he was coming out of his realm and being human for a moment and hugging Hulk Hogan and hitting him on the back and that's still one of my favorite moments from Wrestlemania. That show of respect.

Click here to read the rest of the interview.