TO THOSE WHO LOST THERE HOMES AND LOVE ONES DURING HURRICANE KATRINA, WE HERE AT WTF ATTITUDE WANT YOU TO KEEP HOPE ALIVE AND STAY STONG.
The following is from Yahoo.com:
The Wrestling Saga Continues With WWE(R) Day of Reckoning 2(TM) for the Nintendo GameCube(TM)
Latest WWE Video Game Continues Original Storyline With New Plot Developments and Delivers Amazing Graphics, Roster Updates and an Enhanced Fighting System
CALABASAS HILLS, Calif., Aug. 29 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- THQ Inc. (Nasdaq: THQI - News) and JAKKS Pacific, Inc. (Nasdaq: JAKK - News) today announced that WWE® Day of Reckoning 2(TM) has shipped to retailers throughout North America. Continuing the popular series with a full-scale offering of action, excitement and attitude, WWE Day of Reckoning 2 was developed by Yuke's Co., Ltd. in Japan exclusively for the Nintendo GameCube(TM).
WWE Day of Reckoning 2 offers players more than 45 characters, including current Superstars John Cena®, Batista(TM), Triple H®, Big Show®, Randy Orton(TM) and playable Legends such as The Rock®, Mankind(TM), Stone Cold(TM), Hulk Hogan(TM) and Bret Hart(TM). Including a new and longer original story mode filled with deception and betrayal, players can create their own Superstars and enjoy plot lines tying back to the original WWE Day of Reckoning video game. Complete with high quality cut scenes, improved graphics and an enhanced fighting system, WWE Day of Reckoning 2 also offers multiple levels of pain and limb damage, new finishing moves, special grapples and improved AI differentiators between characters to bring new levels of realism and fun to the franchise.
"With the original game having just achieved 'Player's Choice' status on Nintendo GameCube and now with this next stellar rendition, the WWE Day of Reckoning franchise is on track to become a long-term success story," said Peter Dille, senior vice president of worldwide marketing, THQ. "WWE Day of Reckoning 2 picks up where its predecessor left fans yearning for more and delivers another powerful installment of first class wrestling action."
"WWE Day of Reckoning 2 marks another step forward for the franchise," said Nelo Lucich, vice president of interactive, JAKKS Pacific. "With significant game play improvements, an impressive offering of Superstars and new Legends playable for the first time, WWE Day of Reckoning 2 is a must-have for gamers and core wrestling fans."
In what has been one of the more interesting stories over the past few days, WWE has officially banned The Dudley Boyz from using that name outside of the company. The duo was forced to use "Team 3D" at the recent WrestleReunion event and faces the difficulty of not being able to fully benefit from the work associated with WWE's trademark.
WWE filed for the trademark on 10/28/03; it was registered on 9/28/04, citing a first use of 10/17/99. The Dudleys actually debuted for WWE on 8/30/99.
Sources close to the situation report that the ECW bankruptcy proceedings forced WWE to wait so long to file the trademark. As has been reported, Paul Heyman assured the tag team that they'd get the rights to their name upon leaving ECW, but, for whatever reason, that never happened.
WWE issued the following press release: World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. Announces Date for First Quarter Earnings Release and Conference Call
STAMFORD, Conn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 30, 2005--World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. (NYSE:WWE(R)) will issue its earnings release for the first quarter of fiscal year 2006 before the market opens on Wednesday, September 7, 2005. The Company will host a conference call at 11:00 a.m. ET to discuss the results.
All interested parties are welcome to listen to a live webcast that will be hosted through the Company's website at corporate.wwe.com. The website will feature a presentation that will be referenced during the call.
All interested parties also can access the conference call by dialing 800-895-1715 (conference ID: WWE). Please reserve a line 15 minutes prior to the start time of the conference call.
There was a heavily-promoted wrestling convention this past weekend featuring the likes of Bret Hart, Bruno Sammartino, Matt Hardy The Dudley Boyz and more wrestling stars both past and present. Tammy Sytch decided to show up at WrestleReunion 2 to set up a table to sell promo photos, autographs, poloroids, etc... She had also appeared at the NWA Legends convention the previous weekend as an un-announced guest along with Missy Hyatt. Unlike at WrestleReunion, Tammy didn't cause any problems, although she seemed bored.
From several accounts from people who were at WrestleReunion, Tammy Sytch was thrown out of the building crying and screaming by security and warned to never come back again. Apparently, she was bothering several of the wrestlers and acting unusual, mostly notably to Bret Hart.
Here is a detailed fan account of what went down...
Tammy was drunk or high. She was on something and kept asking Bret for his number and asking if they can "re-connect" as friends. She kept mentioning their time in the WWF and said she wanted to get "close" again. When Bret asked that she be escorted out, she began crying and causing a scene saying she had the best pussy he ever had and she needed him in her life because she spent all of the Candido Benefit money and was broke. She needed a sugar daddy to take care of her.
Later in the hotel, she was stumbling around the hotel topless and asking for Billy Gunn who wasn't even there. Ask D-Lo Brown, he was there. He can tell you. As a matter of fact, The Masked Maniac should try to get him on the honker for a hotline to confirm this. Tammy has fallen off the wagon and needs help.
And for those keeping score, Tammy's regained a good amount of the weight that she had previously lost earlier this year as she's ballooned quite a bit in the last month or so.
Sean Waltman, formerly known as the 1-2-3 Kid, X Pac, etc. will be meeting with WWE some time this week. The reason for the meeting however, is unknown. TNA is looking to sign Waltman, but due to his friendship with Vince McMahon and Triple H, not to mention that they have more money, it’s likely that he would sign with WWE if that's what they are interested in.
Sean is a long time friend of Triple H, and has stated on numerous occasions that he feels Triple H and Vince saved his life when they paid for him to go into rehab during his battles with addiction.
WWE management held a meeting prior to SummerSlam with both the RAW and SmackDown! crews. The point of the meeting was to discuss some new rules being enforced within the company.
First and foremost, WWE has banned video game playing from the backstage area as they don't want the wrestlers to be distracted from the job at hand. The guys frequently have contests with the RAW vs. SmackDown! game before house shows and live TV to pass time.
Secondly, the guys were notified that if they need hotels and flights booked through the office, they need to have a credit card on file with them. The old policy was that if the guys needed help from the office, it was fine and the money would be taken from their payroll.
The staff also noted that there were several big international tours coming up and that everything looked great.
It's also interesting to note that they showed a match between Hardcore Holly vs. Steven Richards from Velocity and noted that Richards did a great job putting Holly over in the match. Two days later at the SmackDown! tapings, Richards wasn't even used at the show despite praise by management at the meeting.
Chris Jericho has re-designed his official website at ChrisJericho.com. They have added the press release on the site. Here is an exert:
Whether I do achieve success outside of wrestling or I don’t, I can say one thing for sure…I’m not retiring from the wrestling business. Too many people over too many years have said that and have constantly returned. I’m not leaving the WWE for good, I’m not leaving wrestling for good. When I’m ready to come back I will. It may be one month, it may be one year, but when the time is right, I’ll know and I will return and be better than ever...I wouldn’t think of returning any other way.
You won’t see me doing any conventions or indie shots in the meantime. If I’m going to be in the wrestling biz, it will be with the WWE. I’m a member of the WWE family for the rest of my life…just like the mafia…and I have absolutely nothing bad to say about my company. So you won’t see me doing any shoot interviews either. Why would I? Vince and I have accomplished a lot of awesome things together and I have nothing but respect for him. He’s the best guy I’ve ever worked for, along with Paco Alonso in Mexico and Genchiro Tenryu in Japan. I also enjoyed working with Paul Heyman, who gave me my first break and Eric Bischoff, who gave me my first big money contract. Thanks to them for the opportunities.
There is absolutely no mention of TNA on the site so it appears that Chris was just messing with the fans last week with the TNA logo and it definitely worked.
Bubba Ray Dudley recently called TNA the 'new ECW' and said it was similar where the guys go out each week and try to make a name for themselves. He really has high hopes for the company as do many others including myself.
Nora 'Molly Holly' Greenwald is noted expected to debut in TNA at this time, but may do so in the future. About a week or so ago, we noted the following on this website "Molly Holly was recently on the Voice of Wrestling radio show and noted that she would work TNA and has been in contact with them. Molly is currently taking the summer off, doing some 'construction' as well as bike riding and hanging out with friends. Molly noted that she hated the blood and violence in wrestling and she cringed every single time they asked her to do something violent but always smiled and did it 'for the money'. She actually just bought some property where she'll earn income from tenants who rent. Molly is probably one of the nicest people you'll ever talk to."
WWE.com posted the following:
After Matt Hardy drove Edge off the RAW ramp with a Side Effect Monday night, both Superstars were taken to a local medical facility. Both Hardy and Edge were held overnight for observation. It has been determined that no structural damaged occurred, however, both men are extremely battered and bruised. Hardy and Edge are expected to recover.
As we noted here on the site, neither Matt nor Edge were injured during the spot and it was planned.
Matt Hardy recently answered some tough questions at a Q & A session at WrestleReunion this past weekend. Here are some highlights:
Hardy was asked to work WWE events this weekend but turned them down due to already committing to WrestleReunion which probably didn't make management happy.
Hardy was asked why he returned to WWE to get 'buried'. He noted that it was only part one of a five chapter story.
He noted that there are hard feelings between Edge-Lita-Hardy but that there were only four people who knew the entire story.
He says the two are just trying to make money with each other and when he was asked why he lost to Edge at SummerSlam, he said "Ask me again in six months"
When asked about losing to Rob Conway on RAW, Hardy said that he was "still hurt" from Summerslam.
Hardy also noted that Triple H is powerful backstage and that sometimes he agrees with him and other times he does not.
The latest to sign a WWE legends deal is former WCW World Champion Vader.
The son of the late Terry "Bam Bam" Gordy, Ray Gordy, has been signed to a developmental deal by World Wrestling Entertainment. There was been talk for some time about signing him and he's set to train for the Deep South territory. For the past four years, Gordy has been wrestling and has worked for Pro Wrestling NOAH in the past.
Paul London has been at home the last several weeks due to a family illness. WWE management gave London the time off to get everything situated and he'll be back in a few weeks.
London has been very negative towards management ever since the road agents at the Rochester Smackdown taping several weeks ago requested that he change his finisher. London told the agents that he wanted to speak to Vince McMahon about the situation first. Several sources indicated that when he went to McMahon he gave a plea stating that he not ban any high flying moves because guys like him who were small would really never make it to the top and wouldn't be huge muscular guys. He said it was the cruiserweight style and that it shouldn't be toned down. McMahon's 'response' to that was having London drop the title to Nunzio the next week and has since been cutting 'whiny' interviews. That is normally what happens when you approach management about something you don't like or agree with. It's interesting that WWE management always tells the wrestlers to 'submit idea's but when they do, they sure pay the price.
WWE management is not happy about the move to Friday Nights for SmackDown!. It doesn't help that many SmackDown! shows in the Boston and New York market will be preempted due to Sox-Yanks baseball.
For those who’ve been wondering as to the latest on Muhammad Hassan, Shawn Daivari posted on his official website that Hassan never reported to Ohio Valley Wrestling and that Daivari himself is back home in Minnesota after several weeks working out at Deep South Wrestling to stay in ring shape.
In the latest issue of Smackdown! Magazine (with Chris Benoit holding the US Title on the cover), there is an article/review about what you can expect from the forthcoming Ultimate Warrior DVD to be released by WWE on Tuesday, September 27, 2005.
It looks this DVD will be a bury-job on Warrior for the most part, the first time WWE has buried a wrestler on a home video release about him. Also, this DVD will be a six hour double-disc DVD, not a three hour single-disc DVD and it will retail for approximately $30.00. Silvervision.co.uk and Highspots.com had the DVD previously listed with only five matches and at under $20, so some may have feared that it would only be one disc, but that is not the case as it will be two discs jam-packed with hours upon hours of nothing but Ultimate Warrior footage.
The Ultimate Warrior has updated his site with a commentary. He mostly talks about some problem he is having with "Warrior Workout START Kits" not being sent to the people who shipped them.
Warrior...Intense, dynamic, vigorous.
Whether it be actively speaking on college campuses, appearing in the media, participating in fan conventions and events, offering advice and mentoring, or throwing another rare item onto the collectable market...there is always a flock of activity going in the World of Warrior. This will provide fans with all up-to-the-minute information on all Warrior happenings. If you 'Keep your finger on the Pulse' then you'll never miss a beat of Warrior's activities.
Hello warriors. Things are great for you, I know. Thanks for all the great email response concerning the WWE DVD project. The internet is filled with idiots, but few come around here. It’s really inspiring to read the thoughts of regular visitors here to Warrior Web. Many of you are making inquires about the OTHER DVD project. Next week I will be making an update to tell you more.
For now, this important update is for those who signed on for Warrior Workout.
It was my understanding until a few days ago that ALL START kits had been sent out. You all had great patience and I appreciate that you did. I was told, by Daniel, that he kept you informed all along the way; telling you about the problems he had with printers, etc. producing the quality Limited Edition Kit we wanted you all to possess. In case you did not know, Daniel was in charge of finding vendors to perform the fulfillment of these tasks. He was also in charge of fulfilling and shipping orders. I, of course, provided the content of the material. Some of you have gotten this START Kit. Because they were truly Limited Edition in a quantity of 100, I did not not even take one for myself initially -- leaving Number 1 for someone who really would cherish it. Recently, believing that all ordered START Kits had been shipped out, I ask to have one. I had seen the design and whatnots over the course of developing it, but I now wanted one for my own archive. At the same time I also asked Daniel to send me all digital materials on a CD. For obvious reasons, I wanted these in case I should have to know for myself the actually look and quality, or know where to go to get it reproduced. Oddly, after I ask for these, Daniel disappeared. And, as of this moment, is nowhere that I can find him. He’s returned none of my contact. I know some of you correspond with him. If you know anything, please let me know. In addition, some have begun to write and are concerned where their START Kits are!? This is all new news to me. Evidently, Daniel did not fulfill all the orders as he told me.
As for Daniel, I am not going to speculate right now about why the weird disappearance. What is clear is that I need to intervene and make things right as quickly as I can.
I need to ask a couple of favors. One, I need someone who has gotten their START Kit to please send it to me. I need a Kit and its exact materials to build one myself. Yes, I have the text files and such that ended up printed on the quality paper, but there are some aspects of the Kit I need to have in my possession for closer review to be able to replicate it exactly. Especially since the START Kit is Limited Edition, Collector’s quality. Any Warrior Workout member out there who is reading this and already has your Kit, please contact me immediately and let me know if you can help me out here. I will gladly return it asap. In addition, for the favor, I will throw in some complimentary live interaction with me. If you are a member who has not received your START Kit but know of some other member who has, please inform them of my request for help.
The other favor I need is to ask for an extra very short amount of time and additional patience to get START Kits to those of you who do not yet have yours.
Over the weekend, I will put together a group list of all Warrior Workout member e-mail contacts. I don’t have them, Daniel did. But I can access them through paypal. If you paid via check, please let me know. I will keep you informed each step of the way until I get this rectified. The START Kits are really great -- well, I know the content is! And I’ve heard that the quality is super, too. If I discover that it is less than my expected standard, I will make ii right in short order.
Expect to hear from me by first of next week.
Thanks
Always Believe
Warrior
SLAM! Wrestling has a great article about the whereabouts of Ahmed Johnson (Anthony Norris). He says he'd love to return to WWE and be back on RAW. He also comments on several points in his career. There is also a recent photo of him.
The 6 foot-2, 305-pound Johnson was born in Indiana, but grew up in Auburn, Florida, Pearl River, Mississippi, and then moved to Texas. He was a natural athlete in football, basketball, wrestling, and track in high school. But he can't talk about his upbringing without unpleasant memories of family strife. "I had very abusive father, who is still alive as we speak; he beat my mom constantly and I tried to help her but he would beat me as well."
Johnson went to college at the University of Tennesee, which led to two seasons -- 1990, 1991 -- kicking around the Dallas Cowboys squad as a middle linebacker.
After his football career ended, he joined the Army as a part of the Deltas. "It went well until I beat up my captain," laughed Johnson. "We went out on patrol and he gave me orders something I thought was very unfair that was kind of cowardly. Name calling started and I did what I did to him."
After the Army, Johnson worked as lion tamer for premier trainer Dave McMillan at Circus World in Florida. He helped train lions, tiger, panthers, and leopards with McMillan. "That was very interesting man. Totally."
Following such a varied career, pro wrestling was a perfectly sane next choice.
He fell into the training school run by Steve Casey and Ivan Putski in Houston, with fellow trainees Booker T and Stevie Ray Huffman.
"Stevie Ray and I man we were tighter than tight," said Johnson. "People used to think we were brothers. We lived at the same complex at the time, we were wrestling fanatics, him moreso then me. We used to watch the old, old, old, old, old, old, NWA tapes, Mid-South tapes. Then we started to tumble, we use to climb around and wrestle and then along the streets, we were pretty tough guys, Stevie Ray and I. We kind of made a name on the streets as far as not being the ones to mess with. Ivan Putski opened up a wrestling school here in Houston. We all decided to go give a shot, Stevie Ray, Booker T., and I . We all went to the school man and give it a shot and all three of us were like top of the class as always and kind of went from there."
After their wrestling training, they all started in the Texas-based Global Wrestling Federation in 1992. Johnson was known as Moadib.
"It was not run the best. The people who ran it did not know exactly what they were doing but they had a market in Dallas, Texas that was unbelievable," Johnson said. "They could have been contenders with ECW and WCW. They really could have been something if the right people did the right things instead of money being stolen." On most nights with Global, Johnson and the boys might take home $20 if things went well. Others who got their early starts in the GWF were Scott Putski and JBL.
Up next, Johnson arrived in the Memphis-based USWA, having been seen by Terry and Dory Funk, Jr. in Dallas. Johnson found the USWA to be a "pretty good" training ground. He had no problems with USWA boss Jerry Lawler.
"There were rumors of Jerry Lawler being a racist, but he always treated me great," said Johnson. "He was a cheap ass that did not pay, but treated me very fair. ... I'd rather you not pay me and be a straight shooter with me than you be paying me a bunch and be a big liar. He was great man, he treated me great." Johnson also credits Joe Blanchard, Nitika Koloff and Paul Orndorff for various early advice in his career.
Then the WWF came calling in late 1995. Dubbed Amhed Johnson, his first pay-per-view was at Survivor Series of that year on Shawn Michaels' team. This newcomer to the big league found himself teamed with Michaels, Davey Boy Smith & Psycho Sid (Vicious), taking on Yokozuna, Owen Hart, Razor Ramon & Dean (Shane) Douglas. Michaels, Smith and Johnson were the survivors, with Amhed scoring the duke over both Hart and Yokozuna. It was quite the push.
His first major feud was with Jeff Jarrett. Johnson doesn't mince words when it comes to "Double J" Jeff Jarrett was one of the guys who had a problem, and let me know by his actions that he did not like me very much."
Then, on June 23, 1996 in Milwaukee at the Mecca Arena, Johnson pinned Goldust in 15:34 to win the Intercontinental belt.
According to Johnson, the glory of the title win was dimmed by racial tension, both from fellow wrestlers and fans.
"Rikishi and I went to the car one time and somebody had scraped my car with 'Congratulations nigger' on it. Then I was getting letters saying 'Go get your own sport, Nigger.' But that was expected, man." He also had reservation at a hotel changed to "Uncle Tom."
The title run went until he was injured by Faarooq (Ron Simmons). Upon his return to action in 1997, Johnson was set to be a key player in '97 with a heel turn and aligning with the Nation of Domination. A torn ACL injury put him out for a time, and derailed him.
NOTE: We'll have more on Amhed Johnson's career, including his time in WCW and more about a planned comeback, in the coming weeks.
Ric Flair will be establishing himself on RAW as a babyface for the next five weeks or so leading into the WWE's return episode to the USA Network on October 3rd when Triple H is slated to return. A match between Flair and Triple H was originally scheduled for SummerSlam, but was later cut when Triple H took some time off to take part in some backstage duties. A match between Flair and Triple H is possible for the Taboo Tuesday PPV on November 1st.
The final touches are being put on the Bret Hart DVD as of press time. Bret Hart has been going back and forth to Stamford, CT. working on the DVD for the past week. Hart is said to be very happy with how the DVD turned out.
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THE LAST MONDAY OF THIS MONTH IS HERE AND EVERYBODY IS STILL ASKING ME THE SMAE OLD QUESTION. "WHEN THE HELL IS THE NEXT GARDEN SHOW". I'M JUST AS CLUELESS AS ALL OF YOU. BUT AS SOON AS I KNOW SOMETHING I WILL POST IT UP. AGAIN, THIS IS NOT LIKE WWE BEING AWAY FOR SO LONG TO COME BACK HOME. WELL, HERE IS TODAY'S UPDATED. I SEE YOU ALL ON WEDNESDAY.
From Jericho's official website:
"I eventually had my first match on Oct 2, 1990 in Ponoka, Alberta….and on August 22, 2005 in Hampton, Virginia, I had my last match. For now. Yes it’s true. After months of speculation and rumors and numerous decoys and red herrings being thrown about, the official news from the boss man (me) is that I am leaving the WWE." Jericho noted that after wrestling for 15 years, he was mentally burnt out and that he is a "goal oriented person who thrives on a challenge and I’m not challenged by wrestling at this point in time," noting that he has accomplished everything he ever wanted to do in the business.
Many people within the wrestling business, both in WWE and TNA, are wondering what Chris Jericho is up to after placing an image of himself on his official website standing beneath a TNA logo doing his usual wrestling pose. What makes the situation interesting is that this comes only days after an angle was shot on RAW last Monday night where Jericho was "fired" by Eric Bischoff following a WWE Championship rematch against John Cena.
Jericho's bio was quickly removed from WWE.com after this angle hit TV and rightfully so to match up the storyline. As we all know however, this situation is a bit different then a typical WWE release. Jericho's short-term contract extension he signed last month with the company expired following SummerSlam, meaning he is free agent at this time and could legally go to TNA if he desired. If Jericho was to make this move, it would be no secret that he would be burning a bridge with WWE in doing so.
From what is at least known about the situation, Jericho assured WWE management that he was leaving the company to simply take a break from the business and gave no impression that he had any interest in heading to TNA. Although some "informal" conversations have taken place between both Jericho and TNA lately, it is very possible that Jericho simply placed the TNA logo on his website to further the WWE "firing" storyline.
What does make things even more interesting is that press release written by Jericho himself that was issued briefly on his website where he sore his allegiances to WWE was quickly removed. According to reports, the press release was never meant to be seen as the link to it was quickly pulled after many wrestling websites picked up on it. Whether that confirms where he might be headed remains to be seen. Either way, we do know (and have known for quite some time) that Jericho's intention was to take some time off following SummerSlam and he is doing just that. His main focus was to take a break from the business and stay involved with outside activies such as music, radio and acting. What he may end up doing following that break is what remains to be seen.
Over the past few years in WWE, the word "diva" has been synonymous with "replaceable." While constantly hiring new female faces, WWE has shown no restraint in letting others go, regardless of their looks and in-ring ability. Thus, it should come as no surprise that the WWE women are constantly on-guard and feel threatened by the appearance of new female faces.
Torrie Wilson, who many believe only narrowly escaped the last batch of roster cuts, was said to be one of the most threatened by the recent presence of younger "Diva Contestants" on RAW. It seems that the jealousy expressed in her feud with Ashley Massaro stems from true backstage sentiment.
Said a source close to the situation, "Torrie's gotten so skinny - to an unhealthy level - this year because she feels the pressure from the new divas being brought in. She knows her clock is ticking. All the women know that. The new girls make them feel inferior."
And, Torrie's hardly the only diva to have expressed concern. Miss Jackie, for instance, was said to have been openly worried in the weeks leading to her release from WWE. The fact that Dawn Marie - who served an advocate for the girls - is no longer with the company only makes morale among the divas worse.
WWE announced that Batista would be defending the World Heavyweight Title against JBL on the first episode of Friday Night Smackdown, which debuts on September 9.
In addition to the title match, Road Warrior Animal and John Heidenreich will defend the WWE Tag Team Championship against MNM while Eddie Guerrero and Rey Mysterio will face each other.
Just before Muhammad Hassan was removed from the equation, the plan was for Batista to defeat Hassan at Summerslam and move onto a feud with Randy Orton. In the weeks that followed, talk began to surface regarding plans for a Batista vs. Eddie Guerrero feud, only for later reports to confirm that Batista vs. Orton was still on the cards. There's now evidence to suggest that Batista vs. Guerrero might be on after all.
According to PWInsider.com, house show lineups for late September feature Batista squaring off against Eddie Guerrero. The lineups also feature the continuation of Randy Orton vs. Undertaker, furthering the notion that the Orton-Batista feud has been postponed.
Assuming WWE does not once again revert to Batista vs. Randy Orton, one can draw the conclusion that WWE deemed Orton unprepared for a high-profile title feud. Orton's perceived lack of readiness for such a feud was what led to the Guerrero-Batista discussions in the first place, and the feeling is that a lengthier feud with Undertaker can help him rise to the level of being a top heel.
The WWE WrestleMania Anthology box set will be released on November 1st and feature all of the WrestleMania shows. The box set will include four collectible cards featuring WrestleMania moments and a historical DVD photo gallery. Beginning with WrestleMania I in 1985 and spanning all the way to the historic 2005 show, this unique box set will thrill sports entertainment fans of all ages. The set contains four individual, 5-disc digi-packs with each containing 5 exciting years of WrestleMania allowing fans the opportunity to witness every slam, every bell and every single WrestleMania moment. Watch Hall of Famers like Hulk Hogan and Andre the Giant to The Rock, Undertaker and Triple H to Mike Tyson and even NFL great Lawrence Taylor. See immortals collide and titles change hands in epic battles that could only happen on sports entertainment’s grandest stage. The set will retail at $279.95.
The Dudley Boyz, whose WWE contracts expired on Friday, were added to September's Hardcore Homecoming tour.
Speaking of the Dudley's, WWE has trademarks on Bubba Ray Dudley and D-Von Dudley as well as Dudley Boyz.
Bill Goldberg's movie "Santa's Slay" will debut on Spike TV this fall.
Steve Austin will appear on "The Bernie Mac Show" on Friday, September 23rd.
WWE has trademarked the name "The Highlanders" which is for a new tag team that recently started training in WWE's developmental system.
According to reports, Amy "Lita" Dumas has no enthusiasm at all for the current Edge & Matt Hardy storyline and has stated on numerous occasions that she can't wait for it to be over. Says on WWE wrestler, "She's not a real public person and never has been. She's one of the least sociable people backstage so getting a read on her is hard."
Jim Ross is now sitting between Jerry Lawler and The Coach during the RAW broadcasts. When The Coach was first added to the broadcast team, Ross was off to the right and the company feels he can orchestrate and control the flow of announcing now that he is in between Lawler and Coach now. As some WWE viewers may have noticed, there is some legitmate verbal shots being taken between Ross and Coach at the moment. Some of the verbal shots that Coach says are fed to him by Vince McMahon backstage as McMahon feels the on-camera tension between the two makes better TV.
Maven Huffman spoke on his official website about his release from WWE and the way the company misused many talents on TV. According to Maven, he left WWE on his own terms and had no problem pursuing other interests. "If the company doesn't want to invest their time and their money in me, then I don't want to be there," said Huffman. According to his website, he might be looking into a career in acting at the moment. He did say at one point that he was interested in joining TNA if they were "interested in me and decide to pursue me." There has been no serious talk within TNA about bringing in Maven however.
With a week past since SummerSlam, there was a lot of talk regarding the Hulk Hogan and Shawn Michaels match at the event in Washington, DC. According to reports, Vince McMahon made a very firm decision to have Hogan go over with the legdrop against Michaels and Michaels didn't put up a fight regarding that finish. Many feel that by Michaels not arguing the finish, it was going to give him the ability to have a forum the following night on RAW to say what he wanted about about the situation. Coincidentally, Michaels ended up doing just that on RAW in a rather sarcastic way.
Even though Michaels didn't argue the finish with Vince McMahon, those close to Michaels have stated that he didn't return phone calls after SummerSlam right away and that led many to believing he was more upset and frustrated as a whole about the situation with Hogan and his inability to "pull enough strings" like Hogan backstage. Some have also came to the conclusion that Michaels could have sabotaged the match if he wanted to by not selling anything for Hogan, but given that he is a devout Christian now many felt he was doing as much as possible to not let the "old Shawn Michaels" come out.
According to one WWE source regarding the Hogan vs. Michaels match, "Michaels stole the show and made Hogan look better than he is. The finish was fine. Michaels gained great respect with his efforts." Many feel Michaels was able to get back some edge despite the loss to Hogan the night after SummerSlam on RAW with some of his snide comments towards Hogan. From what is understood, there are no plans for Hogan to return for another match in the immediate future. Many feel it is only a matter of time until he returns, with one WWE source stating that Hogan might have agreed to do a job at WrestleMania 22 if he was to get the win over Michaels at SummerSlam. Who Hogan's opponent would be at WrestleMania next year is still up in the air, as John Cena and even Stone Cold Steve Austin have been rumored as possible candidates.
Torrie Wilson is looking to get back into the ring and will be wrestling on RAW. The plan is for Trish Stratus to return as a face and align herself with Ashley setting up Ashley/Trish against Torrie/Candice.
Weeks after all discussions regarding the future of ECW came to a close, The Ottawa Sun reports that the plan is for WWE to bring back the ECW brand after WrestleMania.
"And we're not talking about One Night Stand 2," the article says. "WWE, apparently, has talked about putting the promotion on its own -- keeping the integrity of ECW, small venues and all."
In addition to remaining unconfirmed by other sources, this rumor comes at a very odd time. It had been recently reported that WWE was not planning to utilize the ECW brand for anything other than an annual PPV. While solid, the ECW PPV's buyrate was hardly better than the average brand-only PPV, which likely came as a disillusionment to those hoping it would do record numbers. Both DVDs performed rather well, however.
The French newspaper "Sport" had an interview with Stacy Keibler today. She noted that she would not pose for Playboy and has turned down the offer twice and said she thought she would need implants in WWE until the office told her she had 'natural beauty' and didn't need them. She also claimed she suffered two broken noses, broken ribs and a strained hip flexor in her career thus far.
USA Network has announced the time slot & debut date for the one hour WWE program that will air every weekend. The program will air on Saturday mornings from 9 to 10 AM. No name has been announced for the program yet. The program debuts on October 8th, 2005.
Chris Benoit did set a new record for a SummerSlam match by beating the record held by Ultimate Warrior which was 30.88 seconds against The Honky Tonk Man when he first won the Intercontinental Title.