Anyone pick up on the fact that Booker may have sandbagged Batista last night (Torch's words, not mine) when he didn't cooperate with the Batista Bomb?

I thought it was just a mis-communication. Why would Booker possibly put himself at risk like that? Batista could have just let go and dropped Booker on his neck (which is what I thought would happen)...

From all I've read Batista all but mailed it in. I think he's still not over the ECW crowd, and now the other crowds are letting him hear it.

Dola - Speaking of Batista, they should bring Shad Gaspard up from OVW and let he and Batista battle. Gaspard is a MONSTER.

hxxp://youtube.com/watch?v=KrtpAoQBHEs

Notice in the video .. HNIC .. I wanna see SD confront him.

The Wrestling Observer Newsletter reports that Spike TV and TNA are currently negotiating the terms for a new two-hour TV show.

The day, start date, and airing time have not yet been decided. The only thing that is certain right now is that the show likely will not be airing on Mondays.

Also heard that Ron Killings and Monty Brown asked for their release at the last iMPACT tapings.

Is there any character on the indy scene better then Jimmy Rave? He's fucking awesome.

Yay, Hardcore Holly and Matt Striker are now in ECW! :rolleyes:

Read on one of the rumors sites that the next ECW PPV will be December to Dismember in Augusta, GA. Here's to hoping that Augusta can give a Hammerstein Ballroom experience.

there is an ecw house show 15 minutes from my house on saturday night....too bad i have to go to a bachelor party...i would have enjoyed the tiny little venue its in, probably gonna be a great atmosphere.

From WWE.com:

Due to personal issues, Kurt Angle has been granted an early release from his contract. WWE looks forward to establishing a new relationship with Kurt in the near future.

The only Olympic gold medalist in WWE history, Kurt Angle arrived in 1999 and quickly became one of the most decorated champions in sports-entertainment history. "The Wrestling Machine" is not only a six-time World Champion, but also held the Intercontinental Championship and WWE Tag Team Championship; he also won the 2000 King of the Ring tournament. Recently joining ECW, Angle's unmatched intensity was rivaled only by his technical and athletic in-ring prowess.

interesting...wonder if he got hurt again, or if he is trying to put his life back together since his wife bailed?

My thought?

He failed the Wellness Policy yet again, and they couldn't risk it. This is the easiest way to get him away from everything and if he cleans up he'll be back.

I'm sure Vince will help him still but this is the best for everyone.

the above reasons added to the fact that he is out of control when it comes to backstage politics

Rumor has it the impetus of this came from WWE, NOT angle.

With the amount of abuse Angle's body has taken, I think the WWE released him specifically so they wouldn't have another Eddie Guerrero situation

so they release him because of the abuse he took, for them? Why wouldnt they put him behind the scenes in a roadie type role? so he keeps insurance and stuff? or am I thinking too small and he has so much money insurance doesnt matter? help me out here.

Because he is such a "company man", he would accept anything, but a position as a wrestler if that makes any sense. They begged and plead with him about taking an extended break and he refused. My guess is they felt like this was the only way they could get him to slow down.

He'll probably be out for at least a year before returning to the ring.

Vince gets a bad rep, but I bet you he's taking care of him still. He is a loyal person, and he'll make sure Kurt has all the help he needs.

Why not just stop booking him?

I'm not sure why. Because of his politics?

Because he was demanding to wrestle, basically.

He's literally ADDICTED to the business. He's willing to do anything to wrestle, fucking up his body to the point that most wrestlers expected him to be dead within the next 24 months if he didn't slow down/

Where are they at? Stabler?

yup. tomorrow night.

Hmm... I might have to go.

Holy cow, aside from HHH, Angle is one of the guys the most grotesquely deformed from using 'roids and/or HGH. His head just grew to hideous proportions. Barry Bondsesqe.

"My body is so beat up and run down, I can’t even think straight,” Kurt Angle tells WWE.com in an exclusive interview Saturday concerning his early release from his contract with World Wrestling Entertainment. Angle and WWE officials mutually agreed to end Angle’s relationship with the company on Friday.

Angle says seven years of non-stop wrestling has taken a major toll on his body, his mind and his family. “I need my body to reheal and rehab, I have done this for too long without a break. I haven’t been able to really enjoy my life. I haven’t seen my family, I’ve had problems with medication - I’m just fried physically and mentally.”

Angle’s business manager David Hawk claims, “Kurt’s in a tremendous amount of pain, he’s used prescription medication to deal with it. Kurt has come to the conclusion that unless he can get in the ring without the use of pain medication then he doesn’t need to be in there. He realizes he was just endangering himself and his opponents.

The last straw for Angle seems to have occurred on August 13th, 2006, at an ECW live event in White Plains, New York. Angle was wrestling Rob Van Dam in a match where both competitors were fueled by the passionate ECW fans. “The crowd was wild,” Angle says. “Early on in the match, I pulled my groin, but I kept going, feeding off the crowd. Then I pulled my abdominal muscle off the pelvic bone, but I kept going as the crowd grew more wild. Finally, I blew out my hamstring, but we finished the match. The crowd stood and applauded - a standing ovation and that meant so much to me.”

Ironically that would be Angle’s last match.

WWE.com asked Angle if he would ever return to competition in WWE. Angle says “I can’t tell you that right now, I need to heal up mentally and physically. Until then, I can’t even think about returning.”

But Angle says WWE Chairman Vince McMahon told him the door is always open. “Vince says when I’m ready, if I’m ever ready, to come back just sign on the dotted line. I’ll tell you if I do return I’m going back to my roots, training on the mat like my amateur days. Longevity is the key.”

Hawk seems confident Angle will be in the ring again someday.

Angle has a final message to his legion of WWE and ECW fans. “Don’t be concerned, this move was for the best. It was a privilege to be able to compete for all of you. I’d like to say thank you.”

That bolded quote reallt struck me. I always find it remarkable when an athlete/whoever can do something like this... not that it's good for them, and it really shows how addicted he is to wrestling... but to be able to continue with multiple tears like that. Wow.

Channel surfing & I run across Raw ...
just in time for a "Back To School Girl Paddle-On-A-Pole" match.
Complete with ol' JR quoting from the current edition of FHM no less.

To be honest, I'm not sure whether to mention this event in this thread or in the one about MTV's Undressed.

Trish confirms retirement

According to one of the wrestling sites I've seen, Lita is going to be retiring this fall as well to try acting.

Who's she going to play? Lead role in The Marion Jones Story?

She try acting before and hurt her neck in a stunt.

She cracked three vertebrae while filming an episode of Dark Angel.

From PWTorch:

Trish Stratus and Lita are both expected to let their contracts expire this fall without renewing them. Trish is getting married and wants to settle down with a more routine life, while Lita is interested in pursuing acting.

They reported this before Trish's 'announcement' on Monday.

I would agree that Lita can't act her way out of a bag. And she doesn't look half as good as she did a few years ago. But her health issues have seriously affected her wrestling as well.

They probably do a story line between Trish and Lita before they both leave.

They mention on Raw that Lita leak the information before Trish can tell her fans she is retiring.

Wow is that weird booking... shouldn't they put Trish and Lita in angles to give the rub to other women wrestlers?

I heard they are both going to retire to try out some fantastic blackjack strategy.

i think Shawn Michaels has completely given up on pulling his superkicks. Week in and week out he is blasting people Goldberg style. im surprised no one is bitching about this.

Dave Meltzer is reporting that Bobby Eaton had a heart attack and is hospitalized.

Get well, Beautiful Bobby. One of the most under-rated wrestlers ever IMO - if he's not the best tag-team wrestler in history, he's in the top 3 without question.

Dola - great news:

Ok.. it was from the Onion. But it sounds very real and could definitely happen.

Big week for TNA this week.

Aside from tonight's PPV, there's news & rumors running fast and furious for the past few days.

-- The biggest (and potentially most horrible) is that Vince Russo has been rehired and is taking over the booking team, effective with tomorrow's tapings. He'll share duties (on paper at least) with Dutch Mantell, while Tenay, D'Amore, and Borash are off the booking committee.

-- Tenay is slated to head back to announcing full-time, D'Amore is expected to stay but in a new role, possibly as some sort of talent scout. Borash's future isn't even that clear.

-- President Dixie Carter promised a major annoucement on the official website earlier in the week "In the course of history, there are defining moments that change the fabric of a company forever. These are moments that are spoken about for years, not days, and serve as benchmarks in the annals of a company’s growth. And on occasion, those moments transcend the individual company and re-write the history of an industry. This Sunday at the NO SURRENDER PPV, an announcement will be made that will do just that. You will not want to miss the NO SURRENDER PPV."

-- Latest rumors say Russo isn't the big news, but instead it's a new upgraded timeslot, with the latest speculation being 8p-9p on Monday nights as well as a Spike announcement of additional 2 hour specials throughout 2007.

-- Buff Bagwell & Lex Luger are both in town, expected to be part of tomorrow night's TV tapings & possibly tonight's PPV as well

-- Ron Killings reportedly wants out in order to join Wrestling Society X in time for their tapings later this year but TNA won't let him go. He's stuck tagging with Lance Hoyt (who makes his return) in the multi-team match tonight

-- The Ultimate X match for the Tag Team Titles (LAX vs Styles/Daniels) is now getting top billing for tonight's PPV, with Joe vs Jarrett in the Fan Strap match being moved down to the 2nd spot.

Lots of stuff is almost certain to change with the addition of Russo. Lockerroom morale is said to be extremely low, which means it's about on par with my own morale about the future of TNA. Looks like they're going to get a much better timeslot just in time for the product to suck horribly.

It's either Brock Lesnar or Goldberg.....I think.

If it's either of those (or Angle for that matter), I'd think that it would qualify as a disappointment.

I see the hiring of Russo as a fit of cluelessness (although one that I have a feeling Spike may have pushed them into), so it wouldn't surprise me much if the annoucement was the hiring of Scott Hall. (or insert any of a half dozen other possibilities that would do nothing good for the product).

edit to add: My comment about Angle has to do with his health, not about what he might bring to the product if he were healthy.

It makes sense it's Goldberg. After signing a holding deal with Spike, It'd make sense.

My surprise pick is Jericho. I think he still itches to wrestle and the TNA schedule is perfect for what else he is doing.

I think Goldberg would be more of the same, bringing in has beens or never was. He is too limited to give them a huge boost.

Lesnar, Angle, Jericho would be big. They're all former WWE champions who aren't washed up (Angle is banged up but still a top guy).

With that said, It'll probably be Goldberg, and essentially a letdown.

If it's Goldberg, he'll have the distinction of being a part of the two most obnoxious surprise hype angels of all time.

If Russo's reigned in, he might help TNA gain a little personality and help create some star power in certain guys. The key words are reigned in though.

In case anybody wants pbp (not sure if anybody here bought the PPV), try
http://tnawrestlingnews.com/

(I didn't buy because it's on too late for Will to watch, so we'll do the replay either Tuesday or Thursday on Dish. I'll read the spoilers online, he prefers not to know, so I can only talk about it here ;) )

I'd bet on Goldberg, which I think is something Spike wanted, and may have even basically traded tit for tat, Goldberg = better time slot. Problem is, I can't see him having a purpose other than putting Joe over, and selling ain't exactly Goldy's strong suit.

Jericho would be a tremendous addition but I don't see him wanting in. I'd have serious concerns about an Angle hiring just because I'd be afraid he'd die in the ring or something. Lesnar is a bad fit for the roster IMO

I think Angle is leaning towards MMA, so I don't think that is the surprise.

dola

Russo is going to help the product because it's very bland as the ratings are starting to dip slightly from that.

I doubt it's Jericho, he still wants to come back to the WWE.