Why Abyss Has Been Off Television, Knuckles Upset With YouTube Clip, Joe & AJ

— Abyss has been off television as of late for two reasons, reports prowrestling.NET. He was tapped to feud with Scott Steiner upon his return, but Steiner suffered a knee injury at the Sacrifice, aggravated it at a house show last month, and then needed surgery. Also, TNA doesn’t want to overuse him anymore as they think they exposed him too much before his time off earlier in the year. During his time off, Abyss worked backstage, learning different aspects of the wrestling business, but he has since stopped.

— According to the wife of IWA-MS promoter Ian Rotten, Mickie “Moose” Knuckles was livid when she found out that someone had posted a video clip of her breaking her leg at an indy show this past Sunday on YouTube. The video garnered over 70,000 views in less than two days before it was pulled sometime late Tuesday/early Wednesday. When you search “Mickie Knuckles” on YouTube, it says also try “mickie knuckles breaks leg,” which then leads to similar variations of the phrase. After being pulled, the video was copied and posted again a few times, but they’ve since been deleted too. Also, Jeff Jarrett and Dixie Carter have both been in touch with Ian Rotten regarding Knuckles’ condition. Terry Taylor also spoke with Rotten and said that Knuckles has a spot waiting for her in TNA as soon as she is ready. Here is what Rotten’s wife posted on the IWA-MS message board:

We definitely want the clip pulled but not much we can do about it right now since we are at the hospital. Mickie was livid when she found out that someone would post that clip and that someone would even be making videos at the show.

In an update that should make our fans a little happier and we know it will make Mickie breath a lot easier when she gets out of surgery…

Ian has spoken with Terry Taylor and TNA has told him that Mickie’s spot will be waiting for her in three months, six months however long it takes to come back from this. Terry Taylor has told Ian that Jeff Jarrett and Dixie Carter both have called him today asking if he has any news on how Mickie was doing. So that is definitely great news.

Mickie has been back in surgery for a little over an hour now as I type this. We haven’t gotten any updates but we will get on here and post something as soon as we do.

We would like to thank everyone for their kind words as it has eased Ian and myself’s minds as we sit in the waiting room here at the hospital. We know that it is those positive thoughts that will help Mickie pull through this and come back stronger than ever.

Again, I will post an update when we get it as they said it would take 1 – 2 hours for the surgery and she should be getting towards the end depending on how long prep time ran after they took her from us and into the surgery room.

— Samoa Joe and AJ Styles will be signing autographs at the Old Colonial Best Buy in Orlando, Florida, next Tuesday from 10:30 a.m. until noon. Click here for more information on their appearance.

Click here to see pics of Abyss unmasked! (>>)

Brock Lesnar Talks About His Upcoming Fight With Heath Herring On August 9th

Source: KARE11.com

UFC star Brock Lesner and his handlers invited the media to a public workout and press conference Wednesday morning to promote his upcoming fight with Heath Herring at UFC 87 on August 9th.

Lesnar tells NBC affiliate KARE 11, “Every day I’m tryin to polish my striking, kicking, jujitsu, jujitsu defense. There’s alot to learn in this sport.”

The former wrestling champion explains that he left the WWE because he had the internal drive to compete. “That’s one of the reasons he wanted to get out of professional wrestling and into football, he wanted to compete again,” said David Olsen, Lesnar’s longtime agent and attorney. “He wanted the real deal and it doesn’t get any more real than mixed martial arts fighting.”

Lesnar found out just ‘how’ real during his first Ultimate fighting championship bout in February. He stormed out at the bell and dominated veteran MMA fighter Frank Mir, but lost concentration and fell into a submission hold.

“I got over excited, got sloppy in my first fight, and I think this fight you’re going to see a calmer fighter in me, and a much more polished fighter,” Lesnar promised. “I’m gonna win this fight, that’s my number one goal.”

* VIDEO of HEATH HERRING Training For Brock Lesnar – HOLY HELL, This Guy is an Animal!! [>]

RAW Report 8/4/08 Knoxville, Tennessee

RAW this week starts with Adamle on the stage talking. He introduces himself to some heat. Saying he’s the new GM gets him more heat. “You suck” chants are loud and well put together. There once was a man who worked in a circus like atmosphere but managed to become great despite everything that had happened. Ronald Reagan is who he’s talking about. He went from being a “B” rated movie actor to one of the best presidents ever. He’s trying to prove that looks can be deceiving. He once called Jeff Hardy Jeff Harvey. He wasn’t the greatest announcer in ECW history and a lot of people won’t let it go. There’s even a petition on WWE.com asking for his resignation. That’s their right as Americans but it’s not an America he wants to be part of. He want to be part of the land of oportunity. Where a man who’s 5’9″ can play seven years in the NFL and be a star. That’s why he added Cole to the match last week. It didn’t work well, but he thought it was worth a try.
Who’d like to see one championship match? He gets pop. He asks who wants to see two title matches? Even bigger pop for that. Well, there will be three. Huge pop to that.
Ted and Cody will be defending their title against Cena and Batista. JBL comes out and cuts him off at the end of this. He congratulates Adamle on his position. Looks can be deceiving. For years people thought he was a beer drinking cigar smoking, fun-loving guy. But now they know he’s a self made millionaire. He’s in Fortune magazine with his wife on the cover. He shows a copy of the magazine.
He thinks the Cena and Batista match for SS is great and he wants Adamle to make JBL against Punk for the title.
Adamle starts to thank him for his kind words, but Y2J comes rushing out to say something.
JBL says it doesn’t concern him.
Y2J says he put HBK out at GAB. He thinks he deserves the title shot. “HBK” chants.
JBL talks about his match with Cena at GAB. JBL says Y2J is not in his league.
Y2J says Adamle was in the front row at GAB. He’s in a league of his own and he deserves it. They continue to argue.
Adamle says this is the type of competition he was anticipating. It would be easy to make it JBL against Y2J against Punk, but he doesn’t like the easy way. He wants it to be a handicap match. JBL and Y2J will go against Punk. Whoever makes the pin, if they beat Punk, will face Punk. If Punk wins, then neither get a title shot at SS. Adamle leaves the stage.

– Commercial

Lillian (in a really hot little corset and miniskirt) announces an IC Title match. Kofi comes bouncing out to the ring. Paul Burchill comes out with Katie in tow.
Kofi gets slammed down to the mat. Arm bar on Kofi. Kofi tries to flip out but gets slammed down again. Kofi slams Paul down for two. Paul slams Kofi down by his hair. A back elbow drops Paul. In a corner Kofi gains control. An upper cut and Kofi covers for two. Katie distracts from outside and Paul hits a clothesline to the back of Kofi for two. Kofi gets slammed in a corner then down to the mat. A roll up to Kofi for two. A face rake to Kofi. An arm and chin hold by Paul to Kofi in the center of the ring. Kofi works to his feet and arm drags out of the hold. Kofi uses his feet and takes Paul down. Flying forearm to Paul them Kofi climbs. Flying cross body for two. Kofi hits his double leg drop for two. Kofi hits his finisher and covers Paul for three.

– Winner: Kofi

Katie rushes in to her brother. Kofi celebrates but Katie comes up to him. She yells at him and distracts him. Paul rushes at him but Kofi is ready. Kofi sends Paul flying from the ring. Kofi hits double feet through the ropes on Paul and follows him out. Katie’s in the ring all upset and confused when Mickie’s music hits and she runs to the ring in her yellow wrestling outfit. Mickie rushes the ring and Katie flees. Their title match is next.

– Commercial

Snap mare to Katie. A kick to Katie’s back and Mickie continues with forearms to Katie’s face. A hard kick takes Katie down. Katie leaves the ring and Mickie flies off the apron to take Katie down. Katie’s backed into a corner and the ref makes her back off. She does but rushes in again only to eat the corner padding. Katie takes Mickie down and gains control. Katie snaps Mickie’s head through the ropes and covers for a long two. Katie rolls Mickie a bridge submission. Mickie gets out and covers Katie for two. Head scissors to Katie. A couple flying elbows take Katie down. A neck breaker and Mickie covers for two. A jaw breaker to Mickie. Katie hits a suplex and bridges for two. A kick to Mickie’s gut and she tries for a move that Mickie counters. Mickie hits her swinging DDT for three.

– Winner: Mickie

Out of nowhere Beth quickly enters the ring and attacks Mickie. She slams her against the apron back first and then they go back in the ring. Mickie almost gains control until Beth slams her face first to the mat in a reverse power bomb move. Beth leaves the ring all smug and Santino meets her on the stage. She grabs his bum when he turns away. She poses and he lightly slaps her bum. She slowly leaves the stage while he’s still smiling to the crowd.

Cena is out back talking to Cryme Tyme.

– Commercial

WWE Classics On Demand – as Vince interviewed Sarge, Austin showed up and confronted him. Austin attacked Sarge but Vince got away without getting a stunner… that time.

Adamle is on the phone with Steph. He talks about how WWE likes to think outside the box. He congratulates her on the baby.
Santino and Beth walk in and congratulate him on his job. He says he and Beth should both have title shots at SS. He says it sounds good, but there’s only one title slot open left. He wants to see Beth happy so he should have his match. Beth tells him to make the Woman’s Title Match. Santino says he doesn’t want to be Woman’s Champion. He goes on until Adamle says it will be a Tag Match, winner takes all. Santino and Beth will face Mickie and Kofi at SS.

Video of Cena and his career.

Batista is out back watching the video. Grisham shows up and asks about his match tonight and his match at SS. He’d rather fight for the title at SS, but if it gets him closer to the title, he’s happy. About tonight’s match, Cena better stay out of his way.

– Commercial

Layla is in the ring dancing. Video from earlier where Jamie is kissing up to Layla. He wants to take her to Waffle House. She says nothing between them is working. She says she doesn’t associate with losers. She leaves and yells something at her about her pecan waffle. Regal’s music hits and Layla stops dancing and looks shocked. Regal says he has something to say. He wants to remind us all of who he is. He introduces himself as our King. He talks about the 2008 KOTR tournament. And as our King…
Jamie Noble’s music hits and he comes stomping out. Jamie attacks Regal and they go at it hard until refs break them up. Layla’s outside trying to figure out what’s going on.

Out back Punk is heading for the ring.

– Commercial

Slam of The Week – the 8 man tag match at SNME. JBL and the heels won.

JBL comes out in his limo and walks the rest of the way to the ring. Y2J comes out to the ring next. Punk comes out to face them both. (For some reason they blurred out the front of his belt when he was posing on the corner.) Adamle comes on the tron to say he forgot something. This match is slated for ten minutes. If no one wins in that time, then it will be a Triple Threat Match at SS.
The bells rings but JBL and Y2J stand there screaming at each other until Punk attacks them. “CM PUNK” chants. JBL stomps Punk. Punk sends Y2J over the top and ducks JBL’s clothesline Punk flies at JBL who catches him. JBL hits a fall-away slam for two. JBL beats Punk down in a corner. JBL hits a swinging neck breaker for two. JBL goes outside. JBL wants to send Y2J into the stairs, but Y2J reverses it and JBL lands in the stairs hard. Y2J enters the ring and works over Punk. Y2J covers Punk for two. Headlock on Punk. Punk gets to his feet and elbows out. Y2J gets up on the second rope and flies. Y2J covers for two. Scoop slam to Punk. Y2J climbs but Punk gets up and attacks. Punk tries to a superplex. Y2J rakes Punk’s face and he falls off the corner. Y2J hits a flying elbow for two at the 5 minute mark. Abdominal stretch to Punk. Punk gets out with an arm drag. A knee to Y2J’s head but JBL comes back in. Clothesline to Punk but Y2J breaks the cover. Y2J drops an elbow but JBL breaks the cover. JBL and Y2J start fighting. Forearms to JBL’s face and JBL gets whipped. JBL gets a foot up to Y2J’s face. JBL and Punk go outside and Punk is bounced off the announce table. Punk is rolled back in and Y2J hits a lionsault. JBL manages to pull Y2J out of the ring as he covers. JBL and Y2J fight in the ring. Punk climbs and flies. Y2J moves and JBL gets the brunt of it. Y2J somehow gets caught up in the ropes and all are down. Punk gets a knee to Y2J in a corner. Punk hits a GTS on JBL and goes for a cover but Y2J hits a flying kick to the back of Punk’s head. Punk slingshots Y2J into JBL who flies from the ring. Punk rolls Y2J up for two. Punk gets Y2J up for the GTS but Y2J rakes his eyes. Y2J gets Punk in the walls at 50 seconds left and JBL not in sight. Y2J drags Punk to the center of the ring but JBL hits Y2J from behind. JBL tossed Y2J from the ring. JBL knees at the ropes lost and confused. JBL gets to his feet. From the apron Y2J hangs JBL up on the top rope. This sends JBL falling back onto Punk. JBL covers Punk with only a couple seconds left but he gets the three somehow.

– Winner: JBL

Y2J is outside looking pissed. JBL is in the celebrating.

HBK is at his home getting a mic for his interview.

– Commercial

Video of GAB where Y2J injured HBK’s eye. It turns to black and white due to all the blood. The ref ends up stopping the match.
King talks to Cole about it being the worst eye injury he’s ever seen and the ref did the right thing.
Cole asks HBK how he is.
HBK says he’s been better. There’s been severe damage done to his eye and they’re watching it quite closely. Before Y2J pats himself on his back he should know HBK has been having a rough time with injury. He’s been wrestling for four moths with broken ribs. He’s had numerous knee surgeries and what should have been a career ending back injury. He has a review of his eye the day before SS. He’s going to be at SS with his decision. But for the first time in his life he’s going to listen to the doctors. If they say he can wrestle in a limited capacity, he will. If they say he shouldn’t, then he won’t.
He’s loved working for the WWE but he loves his family more. He’s thinking he maybe should stay home with his family. The fans are not too happy about this.
King says he’s glad they got to talk and to take care of himself.

– Commercial

Matt Striker is in the ring in argyle with his chalkboard. He thanks Adamle for allowing him to compete as a member of the RAW roster. Makes sense it takes place in an esteemed university, but he sues that term loosely. He’s sure Adamle is going to pick someone to show off Matt’s wrestling skills. Kane’s fire and music hit. Matt about fell over when it happened. Kane still has his sack in hand.
Matt tries to kick Kane but his foot is caught. Axe handle from Matt and Kane doesn’t even notice. A huge upper cut form Kane. Sidewalk slam from Kane. Kane goes to the apron then climbs. A flying clothesline from Kane. Huge chokeslam from Kane for three.

– Winner: Kane

Kane goes to his corner, grabs his sack and then heads to the announce table. King and Cole get to their feet quickly. Kane then rolls back in the ring with a mic. He says he’s been in a bad place lately but he’s better now. He holds up his sack, looks at it and says, “He’s not alive, he’s dead.” Kane drops the mic and leaves the ring.

– Commercial

SD! video form last week where Edge talks about TLC Matches and Taker. He bring Foley into the ring. They showed video of Foley being tossed off the cell then through it. Edge talks about how Foley can help him. Foley says he won’t help him and can’t help him. Edge has to help himself and find the Edge he was before. If he brings this Edge to SS he’ll be torn apart. Edge says he understands and then beats Foley down. A spear outside the ring and then back in the ring Edge climbs a ladder and flies with a chair, putting Foley through a table.

Cole and King go through the matches slated for SS.

Batista video.

Cena is watching the video out back. Grisham shows up and asks how he feels. Cena says you really get a feel for how much he’s loved by the fans and how capable he is in the ring. I”m sure we’re all as shocked as him at Adamle becoming GM, but he made the great match of Cena and Batista at SS.
Cena fought HBK at WM but Batista and Taker brought down the house. Then they’re both on the same Show and people say it’s not big enough for both of them. Then he hit Batista square in the face, so now it will happen. Now Adamle has them in a match together tonight. Either they’re going to win the Teg Titles or lose and tear each other to pieces. He hopes they win.

– Commercial

Adamle is in his office. Kelly comes in and congratulates him on the job he’s done tonight. He says it means a lot coming from her. She says Kane is so scary. He agrees and says next week they’re going to find out what’s in Kane’s bag. If he doesn’t want to give it up, Adamle’s going to take it.

Ted and Cody come out to the ring. Cena comes out next and dives into the ring chasing the heels out. Batista is last to the ring but gets the big pop.
Cena and Ted start. They lock up and a side headlock on Cena. Cena pushes out and gets an arm drag on Ted. Bulldog to Ted and covers for two. Cena tags out and Batista smirks. It’s almost like a dare. Cody and Batista lock up but Cody goes flying. Side headlock on Batista who pushes out. He tosses Cody around a bit then lands him in a corner. Shoulder to Cody’s gut and Batista covers for two. Back elbow to Cody from Batista. Cody gets whipped but moves so Batista ends up shoulder first to the ring post.

– Commercial

Arm bar from Cody on Batista. Batista manages a big boot and can tag out. Cena takes Ted out then works over Cody. Cody ends up flat on his back in the middle of the ring due to lots of tossing around. Cena hits the five knuckle shuffle. Cena gets him up for the FU, but Ted manages a blind tag. Ted comes in and blind sides Cena. They end up outside and Cena gets tossed into the stairs. Back in the ring Ted covers for two until Cena grabs the bottom rope. Cody tags in and the hit a double suplex on Cena. Cody covers for two. Ted tags back in and hits a suplex on Cena after a couple punches. “Let’s go Cena” chants. Ted covers for two. Cody tags in and hits a standing dropkick for two. Punches to Cena but Cena fights back. Cody manages to take Cena down and drops a knee on his face. Ted tags in and comes off the corner onto Cena’s arm that Cody’s holding. Cody tags in and they hit a double elbow on Cena. Cody covers for two. Cody stomps Cena. They exchange punches. Ted tags in. Ted locks a sleeper on Cena. Ted is up on Cena’s back until Cena drops to a knee. Loud “Cena” chants. Cena tries to drag Ted across the ring to tag Batista, but Batista backed off a bit and talked to the ref, acting as if he didn’t see Cena. The fans give him heat for this. Ted gets Cena back in the center of the ring with the sleeper locked on. Cena powers out of the sleeper and locks on his own sleeper. Cody comes off the corner to break it up.
Cena lightly cuffs Batista on the face to tag him in. Ted tags in and gets beaten down. Snake eyes to Ted in a corner. Batista pumps up. Batista sets up for the Batista bomb. Cena rushes in to take out Cody who’s rushing in. Batista hits his Batista bomb and covers for three.

– Winners: Batista & Cena

They hold their belts and stare at each other in the center of the ring. Cena holds his high then puts it down. Batista then follows suit. Cena smirks and nods before showing off his belt to the fans, but looking at Batista. Batista does the same on the other side. Cena shows off on the third side. Batista climbs a corner and shows off. Cena nods and smirks before holding his belt high for a louder pop from the fans. They then talk in the center of the ring. Video of Batista ignoring Cena wanting to tag. Cena then lightly bitch slaps Batista as a tag. Batista bomb for the win. They’re still in the ring staring at each other and showing off for the fans to get pop.

Biggest pop
HBK
Batista
Cena
Punk

Biggest heat
JBL
Y2J
Adamle

Weekend WWE Schedule – 2 Supershows Before SummerSlam, Next Week's TVs

There will be two WWE house shows this weekend before SummerSlam on Sunday. Both shows will be Supershows as Raw, SmackDown, and ECW will come together as one for two packed shows to promote Sunday’s pay-per-view.

Tonight there will be a WWE Supershow at the Rockford Metro Centre in Rockford, Illinois. The following names have been advertised locally for the show: World Heavyweight Champion CM Punk, John Cena, Batista, JBL, Jeff Hardy, Kane, Kennedy (who will not be there or work), Umaga (questionable because of injury), The Great Khali, Cryme Tyme, Shelton Benjamin, World Tag Team Champions Ted DiBiase & Cody Rhodes, Santino Marella, Paul London, The Brian Kendrick, Chavo Guerrero, Beth Phoenix, Katie Lea, WWE Women’s Champion Mickie James, Kelly Kelly, and Eve Torres.

WWE will hold a Supershow tomorrow night at the Athletics-Recreation Center in Valparaiso, Indiana.

WWE SummerSlam will broadcast live on pay-per-view Sunday night from the Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Indiana. We will provide our free live play-by-play coverage of the event on Sunday night.

Next week’s edition of Raw will be taped at the Allstate Arena in Chicago, Illinois on Monday. WWE will tape ECW and SmackDown next Tuesday at the I Wireless Center in Moline, Illinois. If you are attending either one of the TV tapings next week and would be interested in sending us text message updates (which would be dark matches/off camera stuff from Raw or full match by match results from both ECW & SmackDown), please send your name, mobile phone number, show name, and show date to us by clicking here.

If you are attending any of the live events over the weekend be sure to submit a live report.

Original Plans For Mick Foley In Edge/Undertaker Match, Will He Be Back In WWE? >>

Kelly Kelly-Playboy Update, Jeff Hardy Entrance Cut, FCW TV Update, Mark Henry

sources: Wrestling Observer Newsletter, www.f4wonline.com

— As noted earlier, Maria talked about the possibility of Kelly Kelly posing for Playboy in an interview with The Sun last week. This has been speculated and rumored about for a while, and to confirm reports, that was the plan from WWE right after WrestleMania last April. WWE has worked with Playboy in conjunction with WrestleMania every single year since 2003, and providing that nothing suddenly comes between them, it’s pretty much a lock that Kelly Kelly will be posing for the magazine next year.

— The SmackDown broadcast in the UK cut out Jeff Hardy’s ring entrance, likely because a clip of Undertaker giving Vickie Guerrero a tombstone aired during the regular broadcast. Although, the segment wasn’t cut out during the original airing, but it likely garnered some viewer complaints. Men-on-women violence is frowned upon in the UK as those type of segments are usually cut out. Back in August, Sky Sports cut out the show closing segment of Edge verbally torturing Vickie Guerrero, and then shoving her while she was sitting on her wheelchair. They also cut out two backstage segments featuring the two earlier in the show.

— As reported earlier, WWE’s developmental promotion Florida finally reached a deal to air their television show. The shows airs on the Brighthouse Sports Network in Tampa on Sundays at 6:00 PM. The show started airing this past Sunday, with the pilot episode they taped back in July featuring appearances from a few big stars including John Cena, Ric Flair and Rocky Johnson. They’ve got about ten shows in the can, but apparently, they won’t be used. They’re going to start fresh with tomorrow night’s television taping, which will air this Sunday.

— WWE.com has an exclusive video of Mark Henry making a demand to Theodore Long on last night’s ECW. You can see the video at the following link.

Click here to see bikini candid photos of Kelly Kelly in 2006!

Farfetch partners with Nataal to “champion Black creativity”

Farfetch is launching a partnership with Nataal, the leading global multimedia brand celebrating contemporary fashion, beauty, visual arts, music and culture from Africa and its diaspora, as part of its commitment to give more space to Black-owned brands, boutiques and creatives.

The year-long partnership will see Farfetch working with Nataal and their community of change-makers to create content that supports their talent, as well as bring Nataal’s vision to a global audience.

The first iteration of the partnership launches on February 3, as part of Farfetch’s celebration of US Black History Month, and is brought to life through a collaboration with Balmain and their creative director, Olivier Rousteing.

The editorial, captured by photographer Kenny Germé and stylist Edem Dossou, is inspired by Rousteing’s Black style icons. It showcases how the ground-breaking spirit of these icons remains an enduring influence on modern luxury today.

Nataal creative director, Marie Gomis-Trezise, said in a statement: “It was important for us to share this opportunity with Kenny and Edem, two Black artists in Paris who have brought their unique gaze to this story alongside a diverse creative team. We hope this project opens doors for more young Black French artists to work with luxury houses in future.”

Images: courtesy of Farfetch

Mick Foley Agrees To Terms With TNA, Set To Debut Soon

source: www.pwtorch.com

TNA and Mick Foley have come to an agreement. He will able to debut in TNA as soon he is contractually permitted to. His current contract with WWE expires by September 1.

Spike TV helped TNA in landing the deal with Foley, and he may have a subsidized contract. Foley could end up being involved in other projects with Spike TV.

WWE dropped Foley from television a few weeks ago after they found he was unhappy with his status in the company and likely not renewing his contract.

There was a lot of buzz among the wrestlers in the locker room this past, but TNA officials are keeping quiet on the situation. Although, they were hopeful that TNA President Dixie Carter would get a deal done with Foley.

Click here to see pics of Abyss UNMASKED

Drug Case Involving WWE Stars Thrown Out, Superstars' Hidden Talents, Katie Lea

— The Signature Pharmacy case, which led to a free-for-all of WWE suspensions and forced them to clamp down on their drug testing procedure, was thrown out by Albany County Judge Stephen Herrrick, who faulted how prosecutors presented the case to the grand jury. Judge Herrrick threw out indictments against company owners Robert Loomis and Noami Loomis, pharmacist Michael Loomis and business managers Kirk Calvert and Anthony Palladino. The judge blamed the government’s “amorphous quality of the evolving indictments” and inadequate instructions to the people on the grand jury. You can read an article on the situation at this link.

A number of WWE names emerged in the Signature Pharmacy doping scandal, including Randy Orton, Charles Haas, Adam “Edge” Copeland, Robert “Booker T” Huffman, Gregory Helms, Mike “Simon Dean” Bucci, Anthony “Santino Marella” Carelli, John “Johnny Nitro” Hennigan, Darren “William Regal” Matthews, Ken “Mr. Kennedy” Anderson, Eddie “Umaga” Fatu, Shoichi Funaki, Chris Mordetsky (Masters) and Chavo Guerrero. Three deceased wrestlers in Chris Benoit, Eddie Guerrero and Brian “Crush” Adams were also listed. They were all identified as clients of Signature Pharmacy in Orlando, the site raided by Albany County and Florida law enforcement agencies in February 2007 for distributing steroids and other prescription drugs to clients who had not been examined by doctors.

Bucci was let go and everyone else sans Randy Orton & Santino Marella were suspended as a result. It is unknown as to what happened with Marella, but Orton was definitely guilty. However, the feeling in WWE at the time was that he had already served his suspension (in August 2006 for failing a drug test for steroids and was only taken off of house shows for a month) and didn’t need to serve one again. Although, it should be noted that WWE had a heavily hyped WWE Championship pay-per-view match to promote between Orton and John Cena at that year’s Unforgiven a few weeks later. Although, it should also be noted that Orton continued receiving packages of drugs for six months after his initial drug test failure – until the company was finally shut down by authorities in February 2007 – so he should have been suspended again.

— WWE.com has an interesting feature looking at the hidden talents of a number of Superstars & Divas. CM Punk, Michelle McCool, Mark Henry, Big Show, Kelly Kelly, John Bradshaw Layfield, Shawn Michaels, Mickie James, Matt Striker, Shelton Benjamin, JTG and Bam Neely all reveal their hidden talents in the feature. {SUPERSTARS & DIVAS HIDDEN TALENTS REVEALED}

— WWE Diva Katie Lea has posted a new in-character blog on the WWE Fan Nation site. She talks about the confrontation between JBL and Charlie Haas this past week. She also talks a lot about the recent happenings between fellow countryman William Regal, Jamie Noble and Layla. She basically praises Regal and insults Noble. The blog doesn’t feature one mention of “brother” Paul Burchill, who has been MIA in recent weeks. {Short and Snappy Tales of Greatness #4}

See the *NEW* Cyber Sunday poster featuring a star who won’t be suspended for drugs!

The PWI Female 50 Rankings: Who Is The Top Women's Wrestler In The World?

Pro Wrestling Illustrated has released an issue similar to the “PWI 500,” but based on the women of professional wrestling instead. They’re calling it the first annual “PWI Female 50,” which ranks the top 50 women’s wrestlers. PWI feels there is enough credible women’s wrestlers out there now to warrant a top 50 ranking. Michelle McCool, Beth Phoenix, Awesome Kong, with “The Beautiful People” – Angelina Love and Velvet Sky – in the front, grace the magazine cover.

It should be noted that PWI has opted to exclude Mexican and Japanese women’s wrestlers from the rankings – sans Sarah Stock. Regarding this, PWI wrote: “That isn’t intended to be a slight against international competitors. More so than with the male counterparts, women’s wrestling varies tremendously between the North American style, the Japanese joshi puroresu styles and the Mexican lucha libre style. With few notable exceptions (such as Sumie Sakai and Gail Kim), a wrestler who excels in one style may fare much more poorly in a different style. Besides, we wanted to shine the spotlight primarily on the U.S. and Canadians competitors first. If reader response to this special section is strong, perhaps we will consider ranking more women, including international competitors, in the future.”

On how they ranked the wrestlers, PWI wrote: “To determine this list and compile the rankings, we examined a variety of criteria. While placing special emphasis on a wrestler’s accomplishments over the past calender year, we also took note of each women’s career accomplishments as well. For example, a veteran like Malia Hosaka may not have wrestled as many matches or as many high-profile bouts as Cherry over the past 12 months, but based on her accomplishments throughout her 20-plus year career, we felt she deserved inclusion.”

PWI also went over possible controversy in regards to ranking the likes of Maria and Velvet Sky ahead of more “scientifically skilled technicians” such as Lexie Fyfe and Cindy Rogers. Prominence and marketability factored into the rankings as it’s not only based on technical ability and accomplishments. PWI wrote: “We evaluated each woman on championships held, quality of opposition faced, overall athletic ability, prominence, and marketability. To some critics, those last two criteria may be controversial. After all, some may argue that wrestlers like Maria Kanellis and Velvet Sky have no business being ranked ahead of more scientifically skilled technicians like Cindy Rogers and Lexie Fyfe. We would argue that marketability and prominence are an important aspect of pro wrestling, and that the success of these Divas and Knockouts have had on such a major stage has to be taken into consideration.”

Here are “The PWI Female 50” rankings in its entirety:

1. Awesome Kong
2. Beth Phoenix
3. Gail Kim
4. Mickie James
5. MsChif
6. Sarah Del Ray
7. Roxxi Laveaux
8. Melina
9. Michelle McCool
10. Candice Michelle
11. Mercedes Martinez
12. Victoria
13. Taylor Wilde
14. ODB
15. Daizee Haze
16. Angelina Love
17. Jacqueline
18. April Hunter
19. Natalya
20. Sumie Sakai
21. Allison Danger
22. Traci Brooks
23. Velvet Sky
24. Sarah Stock
25. Moose Knuckles
26. Katie Lea Burchill
27. Cherry
28. Cheerleader Melissa (a.k.a. Raisha Saeed)
29. Maria Kanellis
30. Amber O’Neal
31. Lexie Fyfe
32. Kelly Kelly
33. Cindy Rogers
34. Jillian Hall
35. Malia Hosaka
36. Christie Ricci
37. Becky Bayless
38. Alere Little Feather
39. Layla El
40. Kelly Couture
41. Jaime D (a.k.a. Sirelda)
42. Christy Hemme
43. Milena Roucka
44. Annie Social
45. Lufisto
46. Rhaka Khan
47. Danyah
48. Jennifer Blake
49. Daffney
50. Portia Perez

Rankings by affiliation

World Wrestling Entertainment
1. Beth Phoenix (2)
2. Mickie James (4)
3. Melina (8)
4. Michelle McCool (9)
5. Candice Michelle (10)
6. Victoria (12)
7. Natalya (19)
8. Katie Lea Burchill (26)
9. Maria Kanellis (29)
10. Kelly Kelly (32)
11. Jillian Hall (34)
12. Layla El (39)
13. Milena Roucka (43)

TNA
1. Awesome Kong (1)
2. Roxxi Laveaux (7)
3. Taylor Wilde (13)
4. ODB (14)
5. Angelina Love (16)
6. Jacqueline (17)
7. Traci Brooks (22)
8. Velvet Sky (23)
9. Moose Knuckles (25)
10. Cheerleader Melissa (a.k.a. Raisha Saeed) (28)
11. Christy Hemme (42)
12. Rhaka Khan (46)

Top Non-Affiliated Women’s Wrestlers
1. Gail Kim (3)
2. MsChif (5)
3. Sarah Del Ray (6)
4. Mercedes Martinez (11)
5. Daizee Haze (15)
6. April Hunter (18)
7. Sumie Sakai (20)
8. Allison Danger (21)
9. Sarah Stock (24)
10. Cherry (27)
11. Amber O’Neal (30)
12. Lexie Fyfe (31)
13. Cindy Rogers (32)
14. Malia Hosaka (35)
15. Christie Ricci (36)
16. Becky Bayless (37)
17. Alere Little Feather
18. Kelly Couture (40)
19. Jaime D (a.k.a. Sirelda) (41)
20. Annie Social (44)
21. Lufisto (45)
22. Danyah (47)
23. Jennifer Blake (48)
24. Daffney (49)
25. Portia Perez (50)

Notes

— According to the magazine, April Hunter recently un-retired after announcing her retirement from in-ring competition at the start of the year. PWI factors in body of work (see Malia Hosaka, Lexie Fyfe), hence Hunter’s relatively high ranking.

— Jacqueline is the only wrestler in history to be listed in both the PWI 500 as well as the PWI Female 50.

— Over a quarter of the rankings are composed of women’s wrestlers from Canada. Gail Kim is the highest ranked at No. 3, and Portia Perez rounds out the list at No. 50. Other Canadians in the Top 50 include Taylor Wilde, Natalya (Neidhart), Allison Danger, Traci Brooks, Sarah Stock, Kelly Couture, Jaime D (Sirelda), Milena Roucka (WWE developmental wrestler), LuFisto, Danyah, and Jennifer Blake.

— Of the the 50 women listed, 22 have wrestled for the SHIMMER promotion. Those names include Awesome Kong, Beth Phoenix, MsChif, Sara Del Ray, Roxxi Laveaux, Mercedes Martinez, Taylor Wilde, Daizee Haze, Natalya (Neidhart), Allison Danger, Sarah Stock, Cheerleader Melissa (a.k.a. Raisha Saeed), Amber O’Neal, Lexie Fyfe, Cindy Rogers, Malia Hosaka, Christie Ricci, Lufisto, Jennifer Blake, Danyah, Daffney, and Portia Perez.

— Notable women left off the list: 6-time Ohio Valley Wrestling Women’s Champion Serena Deeb (and current champion), Josie (has held the OVW women’s belt three times in 2008 and recently wrestled on Impact), Maryse (who’s been wrestling in WWE since the spring and in developmental prior), Brie and Nicole Bella (who were called up to WWE within a year, whereas Milena Roucka is still in developmental after two – and counting), Rain (a.k.a. Ms. Payton Banks), Lacey, Shelly Martinez (who’s wrestled at least as much as Rhaka Khan), and Ashley Lane.

The magazine is currently on-sale via online order at www.PWI-Online.com.

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Maria Talks About the Next Diva to Pose for Playboy, Boyfriends, Getting Traded

Source: TheSun.co.uk

The UK Sun has posted a new interview with WWE Diva and Playboy covergirl Maria Kanellis which can be read here in its entirety. Some highlights:

What She Looks For In a Boyfriend: “I may kick some butt out there, but at the end of the day I’m still a girl and I still wont to be treated like one. I need someone who is romantic even when I’m in my pyjamas and watching some terrible movie and eating burnt popcorn. If you can still have fun when you’re doing that, that’s when its really romantic. That’s what makes a real relationship. And, you know, if I’m treated like a woman then I’ll treat you like a man. That’s the basic structure of a relationship. If I can count on you, if I can trust you, if I can laugh with you and be myself then that’s everything that I look for.”

Getting Traded to SmackDown: “The WWE’s annual draft is always such a scary thing for me because I’ve been on Raw for almost four years. It was especially scary for me this year, because I had this feeling in my gut that I would move. But when I made it past that Monday night Raw when they were doing the draft on TV, I thought that I was in the clear. But then I got a phone call the next morning about the draft and I have to say that instantly I burst into tears. I was so close with the girls over on Raw, the guys on Raw that I was very scared and timid moving over to Smackdown and I’m still getting used to it.

The Next WWE Diva to do Playboy:“I’ve heard rumours that it’s going to be Kelly Kelly this year and I’d like to see her or Mickie James do it. If I had the opportunity to do Playboy again, I definitely would – especially if it was together with one of those two. I think that it would be a great shoot and a great thing to go back to. Plus it’s always hot to see two women naked together!”

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