Pro Wrestling Discussion Thread **Spoilers Possible**

[Neon_Chaos]

Originally Posted by DeToxRox

Last Cabana video .. I promise

http://youtube.com/watch?v=yH6Z-i_sPt4

"THIS IS FIVE FUCKING STARS!"

[DeToxRox]

Originally Posted by Neon_Chaos

"THIS IS FIVE FUCKING STARS!"

Punk doing commentary on IWA-MS shows is the best thing ever

[DeToxRox]

I still stand my idea that Vinces son is Colt Cabana. Just imagine .. Colt McMahona.

[molson]

Originally Posted by DeToxRox

I still stand my idea that Vinces son is Colt Cabana. Just imagine .. Colt McMahona.

I hope they can up with something for him that clicks, he definitely has the charisma and personality to make it. (unlike a lot of guys who are heavily touted on the indy scene).

[DeToxRox]

MORE WWE TALENT SUSPENSIONS MAY BE COMING TODAY
by Mike Johnson @ 10:22:13 AM on 8/31/2007

World Wrestling Entertainment may be suspending more talents today, according to WWE's lead attorney Jerry McDevitt. McDevitt said that the company would be having conversations with several talents today before making an official decision on whether to suspend them or not. McDevitt made the comments last night during an appearance on FOX News' Greta Van Sustren.

[DeToxRox]

WWE has 2 days to rewrite their shows. SD/ECW tapes Sunday then Raw Monday as they're going to South Africa this week.

[DeToxRox]

According to PWI Elite Hotline, everyone in WWE is freaked out because no one knows what is and isn't acceptable. Talent is genuinely freaked out for the future of the business, it's that awful an atmosphere there. Everyone is looking to cover their own asses and just flat out totally clueless as to what is going on.

[DeToxRox]

CM Punk will be winning the ECW Title Sunday according to PWI regardless if Morrison goes off camera or not. That is the plan as of today. I'd mark it a spoiler but let's be honest, who else would win it?

[molson]

Originally Posted by DeToxRox

CM Punk will be winning the ECW Title Sunday according to PWI regardless if Morrison goes off camera or not. That is the plan as of today. I'd mark it a spoiler but let's be honest, who else would win it?

Ya, they might as well put all the belts on Punk, just to be on the safe side.

[DeToxRox]

Some more news .. some guys absence will be explained through angle while others as of right now, will not and just vanish.

The big point of this is Sunday when Spoilers for ECW/SD come out, we'll know what exactly is going on.

[DeToxRox]

Originally Posted by molson

Ya, they might as well put all the belts on Punk, just to be on the safe side.

Agreed. Punk is a cool dude too. He has a rep of being an ass but I met him at a few ROH shows and he's just opionated. I had on my Sage Francis shirt so he loved me because Sage is one of his favorite aritst. People say how do you know Punk is sXe? And as someone who knows a bunch of sXe kids and spent plenty of time in the scene, I can tell you I am 100 % positive he is.

He took one painkiller for a fractured skull. The dude is awesome.

[DeToxRox]

According to numerous sources, WWE talent executive Mike "Simon Dean" Bucci was released today by WWE from his post in talent relations. Bucci was largely the manager for the developmental territories, leaving his career as an active wrestler to take the management position. The word among the wrestlers is that Bucci was called in for a meeting today by WWE in the wake of his name being mentioned by the The New York Daily News yesterday as being someone on the list of workers named in the Signature Pharmacy growth enhancing drug scandal.

As it was explained to me, Bucci was probably something of a sacrificial lamb, let go because he was considered expendable and someone that WWE could release to "show" that they were serious about the current problem. The story making the rounds is that since he was in management and wrestlers fell under his leadership, the company felt that they had no choice but to let him go because "they couldn't have him setting an example like that". The irony here is that to the best of my knowledge, Bucci's dealings with Signature took place when he was still an active wrestler, not a manager. So, had he never moved to the other side of the curtain, he probably would have only been suspended for a month. Instead, he was let go.

[molson]

Kurt Angle's name is showing up one of those client list as well.

So will TNA just continue to get a pass on this whole thing? They have no testing policy at all, as far as I know. They're not exactly Jersey All-Pro or something, TNA has national TV and has a ton of big stars that even casual WWE fans would be familiar with.

[molson]

I don't know how reliable Gerweck.net is, but if the following news blurb is true, the WWE doesn't have to worry about the steroid nonsense - as the future of sports entertainment is upon us -

"Following elbow surgery, Hardcore Holly was sent to Ohio Valley Wrestling on a rehab stint. He told the company that he had no feeling from the elbow to the hand. At this point, his elbow injury is considered career threatening. Apparently WWE had plans to bring him back to television to form a tag team with Eugene as an odd couple team, with a monkey as their manager.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by molson

Kurt Angle's name is showing up one of those client list as well. So will TNA just continue to get a pass on this whole thing? They have no testing policy at all, as far as I know. They're not exactly Jersey All-Pro or something, TNA has national TV and has a ton of big stars that even casual WWE fans would be familiar with.

TNA did receive a request for information on their policies from Congress (or a committee member, or something to that affect) as did the NWA. I thought the latter was kind of amusing since I don't believe the NWA as an organization has any wrestlers under contract (and I doubt there are even 1% of their members who have written contracts with any of their talent either).

As for TNA, what little I've seen written about them seems to indicate that they want to stay as far as possible away from having to do anything although their roster was reportedly told that something similar to the wellness program would start later this year. I think they gave the guys 60-90 worth of notice so that only the really stupid would get caught with anything in their system. It bears noting though that this is a company that's been getting some internal heat for refusing to pay anything toward worker injuries that occurred while working for TNA, so I really have a hard time seeing them being willing to do anything beyond the most cursory testing since they're too damn cheap to pay for it. Gotta save that money to pay Pacman y'know.

[Neon_Chaos]

11 wrestlers suspended.

10 for 30 days
1 for 60 days, indicating a repeated offense.

Anyone have a list of the guys who've failed the test since being installed?

[SirFozzie]

the 60 would likely be Randy Orton, who had one before.

[molson]

I thought Orton's previous suspension was behavior-related, rather than under the wellness program. (Wasn't it indefinite, rather than the 30 days)?

Or he might have had both - I've lost track.

[DeToxRox]

Orton is not one of the 11. Kennedy and Umaga were pulled from Raw's show tonight but Orton was not.

[Neon_Chaos]

Originally Posted by molson

I thought Orton's previous suspension was behavior-related, rather than under the wellness program. (Wasn't it indefinite, rather than the 30 days)?

Or he might have had both - I've lost track.

I remember Orton being suspended because he was caught smoking pot at WrestleMania.

[molson]

Originally Posted by Neon_Chaos

I remember Orton being suspended because he was caught smoking pot at WrestleMania.

He also got suspended after being sent home from Europe for trashing a hotel room.

I don't think either of those incidents were technically a part of the wellness program.

[molson]

Originally Posted by DeToxRox

Orton is not one of the 11. Kennedy and Umaga were pulled from Raw's show tonight but Orton was not.

Interesting - is there a complete rundown of that RAW show anywhere?

[AZSpeechCoach]

Originally Posted by Neon_Chaos

I remember Orton being suspended because he was caught smoking pot at WrestleMania.

Which Wrestlemania?

[Neon_Chaos]

Originally Posted by AZSpeechCoach

Which Wrestlemania?

IIRC, it was 2006. Wrestlemania 22.

[AZSpeechCoach]

He was probably pissed that Rey Mysterio was going over him in the WWE title match.

[molson]

Nick Dinsmore released.

The timing would seem to be wellness-related. Dinsmore was the idiot that OD'd in Europe the week after Guerrero died, so it makes sense that they wouldn't have patience with him.

[molson]

It looks like they're keeping guys on TV to finish angles before their suspensions start. There's no obvious ommisions from the ECW/Smackdown tapings tonight, but the title match between Punk & Morrison, and advertised match of Umaga v. Hardy for RAW Monday tell you two guys who will be out a while. And there was an I-Quit match between Chavo and Rey. I don't think we'll see the loser of that for a while either.

[Neon_Chaos]

Originally Posted by molson

Nick Dinsmore released.

The timing would seem to be wellness-related. Dinsmore was the idiot that OD'd in Europe the week after Guerrero died, so it makes sense that they wouldn't have patience with him.

The shit is starting to hit the fan.

I have a feeling an avalanche is coming.

Vince McMahon has apparently asked all the suspended stars to fly in to CT for interviews.

[Deattribution]

Originally Posted by molson

It looks like they're keeping guys on TV to finish angles before their suspensions start. There's no obvious ommisions from the ECW/Smackdown tapings tonight, but the title match between Punk & Morrison, and advertised match of Umaga v. Hardy for RAW Monday tell you two guys who will be out a while. And there was an I-Quit match between Chavo and Rey. I don't think we'll see the loser of that for a while either.

How weird is it when the reliable fall back guy is Jeff Hardy?

[Neon_Chaos]

molson: are we getting this from the same source? 411?

[Flasch186]

is their a site for wrestling news that isnt a ridiculous morass of ads and spam?

[DeToxRox]

With the ending of Rey vs Chavo on SD it's obvious the loser is gonna be off TV a while and on RAW Umaga vs Hardy tomorrow night for the IC Title. I assume another title change.

[molson]

Originally Posted by Flasch186

is their a site for wrestling news that isnt a ridiculous morass of ads and spam?

I stick to the message boards and avoid the news sites. So you get all the news in one place. I use Deathvalleydriver.com and wrestlecrap.com. The former is more accurate and "elite" but has less posts. The latter has a ton of info, but sometimes you have to weed through the crap.

[molson]

Originally Posted by Deattribution

How weird is it when the reliable fall back guy is Jeff Hardy?

Who just came off a 30-day suspension of his own.

Orton appears to be safe for kind of the same reason. He showed up on that client list, but apparently has already been disciplined for that, so he won't face "double jeopardy" (goes the speculation)

[DeToxRox]

Pretty sure Alex Shelley is out of TNA. Rumor was his deal ended today and he's been wrestling in the biggest indy tournament around, PWG Battle of Los Angeles. PWG had come out saying they'd no longer book TNA talent so it increases the speculation.

A total waste by TNA, I see him being a future star.

[DeToxRox]

"Scrap Iron" Adam Pearce won the NWA Title in Puerto Rico tonight defeating Brent Albright with Bryan Danielson as Guest Ref.

[AZSpeechCoach]

Originally Posted by Flasch186

is their a site for wrestling news that isnt a ridiculous morass of ads and spam?

Inside Pulse has always done right by me.

[Maple Leafs]

hxxp://www.wrestlingobserver.com/wo goes easy on the ads, but only updates once or twice a day.

[DeToxRox]

LOTS OF RUMORS LEADING INTO RAW TAPING TONIGHT AND MORE WWE NEWS
by Mike Johnson @ 12:46:18 PM on 9/2/2007

The word going around among the Raw roster right now is that the wrestlers expect some more talent to be fired today. Based on the suspended list, I'd also expect a title change tonight at the tapings. There is a rumor and I stress RUMOR) that one top Raw talent may have given notice as well, but until we can confirm that as 100% correct, I'm going to withhold the name. It's going to be interesting to see where the company goes with their storylines.

[molson]

Originally Posted by DeToxRox

LOTS OF RUMORS LEADING INTO RAW TAPING TONIGHT AND MORE WWE NEWS
by Mike Johnson @ 12:46:18 PM on 9/2/2007

The word going around among the Raw roster right now is that the wrestlers expect some more talent to be fired today. Based on the suspended list, I'd also expect a title change tonight at the tapings. There is a rumor and I stress RUMOR) that one top Raw talent may have given notice as well, but until we can confirm that as 100% correct, I'm going to withhold the name. It's going to be interesting to see where the company goes with their storylines.

Since when have wrestling reporters used restraint? It's not HHH, Cena, and I doubt it's Orton. Kennedy would be a pretty big shock. Who's left? I think Carlito's on the way out eventually (not necessarily for wellness, just because he's regressed performance-wise). If Regal's a "top guy", that's somebody I can see being let go, since like Eugene, the WWE has gone out of their way to help him clean up.

And what's up with the weird taping schedule this week?

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by molson

And what's up with the weird taping schedule this week?

They've got an overseas tour coming up this week, South Africa Wednesday through Saturday.

[DeToxRox]

Originally Posted by molson

Since when have wrestling reporters used restraint? It's not HHH, Cena, and I doubt it's Orton. Kennedy would be a pretty big shock. Who's left? I think Carlito's on the way out eventually (not necessarily for wellness, just because he's regressed performance-wise). If Regal's a "top guy", that's somebody I can see being let go, since like Eugene, the WWE has gone out of their way to help him clean up.

And what's up with the weird taping schedule this week?

Well, Booker had agreed to a new contract but I don't know if he had ever signed it, so he could be the one on the way out.

[DeToxRox]

In good wrestling news ..

PWG Battle of Los Angeles finishes up tonight with some amazing matchups..

Joey Ryan vs Roderick Strong
Matt Sydal vs Alex Shelley
Claudio Castagnoli vs PAC
CIMA vs Shingo
Nigel McGuiness vs Necro Butcher
Dragon Kid vs El Generico

I full expect Alex Shelley to win the whole thing as the winner gets a title shot vs Bryan Danielson at the next PWG show.

The pure thought of a Shelley vs Claudio vs Generico Main Event makes me think this is going to be a MOTY Candidate. But no matter how they do it it's going to be amazing.

[DeToxRox]

http://youtube.com/watch?v=WlQ1DHW6fuo

last years BOLA for those interested

[molson]

Cryme Time has also been released, as confirmed by WWE.com.

Weird timing for a team that's gotten a lot of tv time - there are rumors of an "incident", so this might be behavior related.

[DeToxRox]

World Wrestling Entertainment released Raw tag team Cryme Time, Shad Gaspard and JTG, this afternoon.

I haven't heard particulars yet but do know there was an incident this weekend involving Cryme Time and WWE Tag Team champions Lance Cade and Trevor Murdoch that took place on the Raw house show in Terra Haute, Indiana yesterday. WWE Management was dealing with the incident via telephone from yesterday's TV Taping in Cincinnati and made the decision to release the pair at the Raw tapings this afternoon. Given the timing of the release, I'd say this is likely not a Wellness Policy issue but something stemming from the Indiana incident.

Cryme Time were brought up to the Raw roster in September 2006 after spending time working together in Ohio Valley Wrestling. WWE.com has not yet officially announced the release.

[DeToxRox]

LOTS MORE DETAILS ON YESTERDAY'S MEETING INCLUDING TOP WWE STAR CLAIMING HE WANTS TO SUE THE MEDIA, STEPHANIE DISCUSSING VINCE WANTING TO GO BEFORE CO
by Mike Johnson @ 4:16:37 PM on 9/2/2007

During the talent meeting with the wrestlers on the ECW and Smackdown brand yesterday afternoon, Stephanie McMahon told the performers that thirteen suspensions were handed out in regard to issues with performers receiving substances from online pharmacies and two were issues due to drug screening failures. We've only seen the company publicly confirm 11, so it's possible Stephanie had incorrect numbers or there are more suspensions/firings to be announced. If McMahon was speaking correctly, there was 15 total suspensions, plus the firing of Mike Bucci.

Also interesting to note that McMahon told the wrestlers that Vince McMahon was "looking forward to the Congressional hearings" on the sport and to testifying before Congress if and when he was called to do so. Two separate sources stated that Stephanie joked to the wrestlers that Vince was thinking of wearing a clown wig and shoes when he entered Congress in order to make a statement on the hearings.

During the meeting, Batista asked Stephanie about what could be done legally about his name being included on the recent media reports, citing publicly in front of the crew that he had never received anything from the online pharmacy companies. Stephanie told him that was an issue he and his personal attorneys should look into, also commenting that she was under the impression he was already doing that (which would mean a civil lawsuit seeking damages). Batista was telling numerous performers that he was extremely upset at Sports Illustrated and other media outlets for reporting his name, claiming there was no connection between him and the pharmacies.

When the meeting was over, Triple H addressed the wrestlers with something of a "rah rah" speech, saying that right now, he knows they are probably feeling they are in a horrible business and questioning why they want to be involved in it. He reminded them that they have a dream job where they get to make children happy and they get to live out their dreams of being involved in the business they all grew up loving. He said that he was proud to be a professional wrestler and that the entire business, not just WWE but all of wrestling, was under fire so it was up to the boys to stick together and work through it.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Sounds like night 3 of PWG's annual BOLA was a pretty hot show.

[Neon_Chaos]

Batista responds to speculation at his website.

hxxp://www.demon-wrestling.com

To my fans and friends: I categorically deny a report on ESPN.com, and repeated by other media outlets, that I am or ever have been a customer of Signature Pharmacy of Orlando, an on-line pharmacy company that is a target of an investigation by the Albany, New York District Attorney's Office.
I am being tested regularly by the WWE, and I am in full compliance with the WWE Wellness Program.
I regret the inaccurate reporting, and I will do all I can in the future to stop any publication or anyone from making such false accusations.

[Schmidty]

I really hope the WWE stops the whole Ron Simmons "Damn" thing soon. It was fricking hilarious when he did it originally to Booker that one time, but it has become unbelievably painful to watch at this point.