January 2008 News Archive

In a nutshell, Ashley Massaro was born born on May 26, 1979.

She was the winner of the WWE RAW Diva Search 2005 and was on the cover of the April 2007 issue of Playboy. Ashley was also a contestant on the fifteenth season of Survivor in China.

One of Massaro's biggest victories to date came at New Year's Revolution 2006 when she won the first ever Bra and Panties Gauntlet match by being the final WWE Diva left still wearing her clothes. Following WWE tradition, of course, she removed all layers herself before making her exit.

During the February 16, 2007 edition of SmackDown!, Ashley unveiled her Playboy cover.

Ashley returned on January 7, 2008 as part of the RAW brand, winning a WWE Divas lingerie pillow fight against Maria, Jillian Hall, Melina, and Mickie James.

In his latest blog entry, Jim Ross wrote about the return of John Cena at last week's Royal Rumble:

The biggest news to come out of the weekend was the surprising return of John Cena, who some WWE fans seemingly dislike as much, if not more than they did before John was injured and underwent pec surgery to repair a torn tendon.

As I have said before, when fans pay their hard earned cash they can cheer or boo for whomever the hell they choose. This is certainly not to say that John Cena doesn’t have a legion of fans, because I can tell you from his merchandise numbers that John does.

How did you feel about Cena's return? Let us know now at our latest poll.

Early plans for WrestleMania 24 have changed a bit.

Triple H facing John Cena for the WWE Title is currently the plan. Of course, this would mean Triple H wins the Elimination Chamber and Cena takes the belt from Orton at No Way Out.

The expected SmackDown main event is still Edge vs. The Undertaker, which would mean both men win their matches at No Way Out.

MVP vs. Matt Hardy for the WWE United States Championship is still being planned and, as always, there will be the Money in the Bank match. The rest of the big stars such as Hardy, Kennedy and Orton (if he's not in the main event) are expected to be thrown into the MITB match.

What about Vince McMahon at WrestleMania? He could never leave himself out, could he? There has been talk of doing something between him and Finlay over Hornswoggle, although not necessarily a singles match.

Other possible matches are Vince vs. Mick Foley, Foley vs. Shane McMahon or Finlay and Foley vs. Shane and Vince.

Source: F4Wonline 

The first Smackdown following the Royal Rumble airs tomorrow night. It was taped on Tuesday. Here's a look at the results...

- Teddy Long announces that Vickie Guerrero isn't at the show as a result of her injury at the Royal Rumble. Long said Vince McMahon has put him in charge and he determine a #1 contender for the World Heavyweight Title at WrestleMania 24 tonight. He announces that a second Elimination Chamber Match will take place at No Way Out involving The Undertaker, Batista, Finlay, The Great Khali, Big Daddy V & WWE U.S. Champion MVP.

Long announces that the winner of that Elimination Chamber will face the winner of a Royal Rumble rematch between Edge and Rey Mysterio for the World Title.

- Ric Flair defeated WWE U.S. Champion MVP via DQ in a Royal Rumble rematch. The finish saw MVP reverse a Figure Four on Flair and refuse to break it when Flair got to the ropes causing the DQ. After the match, it was announced Flair had "damaged ligaments."

- Chuck Palumbo came out and tried to apologize for what happened to Michelle McCool last week. Palumbo said everything was fine between them until Jamie Noble got involved. Michelle eventually came out, wouldn't accept Chuck's apology and slapped him.

- Rey Mysterio & CM Punk defeated World Heavyweight Champion Edge & ECW Champion Chavo Guerrero.

- Backstage, Vince McMahon told Finlay that he was disappointed he would throw away his shot at a World Title by getting disqualified in the Royal Rumble to save Hornswoggle. Finlay said loyalty and friendship was more important.

- Finlay & Hornswoggle defeated Deuce & Domino.

- WWE Diva Search winner Eve Torres introduced Batista. Batista came out cutting a promo about how he was ready for No Way Out and the Elimination Chamber.

- Curt Hawkins and Zack Ryder defeated Jimmy Wang Yang & Shannon Moore.

- The Undertaker and Kane defeated Big Daddy V & Mark Henry.

Candice Michelle stars in a new Super Bowl ad, airing this Sunday during the Giants/Patriots game.

In the meantime, here's a photo of the WWE Diva from a recent Go Daddy photo shoot:

Reportedly, Vince McMahon has given the green light to an incest storyline. The two characters involved are Paul Burchill (formerly a pirate, pictured here) and Katie Lea.

According to the angle, there is sexual tension between Paul and his sister Katie, who manages him. The sinful duo made their debut in a dark match at last night’s WWE RAW.

Before the match, Katie took the mic and said that all she wants is to see her brother win. Burchill responded: “What Katie wants, Katie gets.”

Week by week, WWE will drop hints as to what it is that Katie truly wants (her brother... but not to just win matches!). The characters are scheduled to debut on either RAW or ECW in the coming weeks.

This week's edition of WWE Monday Night Raw drew a final 3.9 cable rating. The first hour drew a 4.05 rating, while the second hour drew a 3.69 rating.

The numbers are up from last week's 3.5 rating and the highest non-special number WWE has gotten for Raw since April 2 of last year (the day after WrestleMania).

Overall interest in the return of John Cena to WWE seems to have played a strong factor in this huge jump from last week as the first quarter hour of the show drew a strong 4.31 rating.

In a blog on WWE.com, former WWE Women's Champion Candice Michelle has updated her injury status:

"The doctors told me I’d be out for 6-8 weeks at the emergency room. Then, the orthopedist said 8-12 weeks. Now, it’s at 14 weeks and the fracture is still not fully healed. I had my X-rays a week ago, and while it is healing, the rate has been slowed down. Right where the break is, my chest muscle attaches to my collarbone.

Normal daily activities move this area, and the process takes more time. I also had an MRI of my shoulder and biceps muscle, and they found contusions in both.

Candice Michelle should be back in the ring soon. We'll stare at this picture until then.

Thankfully, they are minor and will heal with time, too! The doctor has said it could be a few weeks or a month – but I don’t know what to believe when it comes to time frames. It’s very frustrating and mostly disappointing to me. I promise I will be back as soon as I can. “Faith!”

I apologize to the fans who have expected me to be back already due to time frames, but believe me, I’ve tried to push the doctor to get me back. (Not even flirting works! LOL.) The bottom line is this fracture healing and coming back healthy and strong!"

Yesterday, former TNA wrestler Chris Harris confirmed on his official website that he has signed a deal with World Wrestling Entertainment. Here's the message from his website:

Wildcat Chris Harris is officially announcing that he has signed with the WWE on January 29th.

Think Harris will be a useful addition to the company? Who else from TNA Wrestling would you like to see inside a WWE ring? 

As ECW struggles to gain momentum heading into Wrestlemania 24, let's take a look at the results from last night's show:

Kane defeats Shelton Benjamin via count out
Shelton walks to the top of the ramp, falls down, and is counted out. Kane gets the easy victory. Someone give this man a push!

Victoria defeats Kelly Kelly
Layla El and Lena come to ringside and sit during the match. Victoria wins after hitting Widow's peak. The three get in the ring and celebrate afterwards.

Tazz is in the ring with Colin Delaney, who is almost completely wrapped in bandages and medical tape. We are shown footage of his beat down from The Great Khali last week. Tonight Colin must face WWE Tag Team Champions The Miz and John Morrison.

John Morrsion & The Miz defeat Colin Delaney
After the squash match, Morrison and The Miz proceed to beat up on Colin. Tommy Dreamer comes out and makes the save.

CM Punk defeats Elijah Burke via pinfall
CM Punk gets the biggest pop of the night. He wins the match with Go To Sleep.

A preview is shown for ECW Champion Chavo Guerrero's Fiesta Celebration later tonight.

Kofi Kingston defeats Echo via pinfall
Kofi Kingston hits a spinning heel kick to the head for the victory. He looked very good in the ring.

ECW General Manager Armando Estrada comes out with a Mexican band. They show a recorded message from World Heavyweight Champion Edge. He is unable to be at the show tonight because he is at the bed side of Vickie Guerrero after the injuries that she sustained from absorbing the 619 from Rey Myumble pay-per-view.

CM Punk is disguised as the band's leader. He takes his violin and hits Chavo Guerrero over the head and celebrates with the title as the show goes off the air.