Three-day old news, WWE's clothing line, and an addition to the blog!

So I'm back from my aforementioned journey to Texas. I've missed a lot of wrestling as a result of the trip, but I can't let this post pass without discussing WWE's 2008 draft. The short results of the draft, including after-show trades and picks, are as follows: The Raw brand gained Batista, CM Punk, Kane, the injured Rey Mysterio, Michael Cole, Kofi Kingston, Chuck Palumbo, Deuce, Jamie Noble, Layla, and Matt Striker. SmackDown got Triple H, Jim Ross, Jeff Hardy, Ken Kennedy, Umaga, Shelton Benjamin, Carlito, Brian Kendrick, Trevor Murdoch, Maria, and DH Smith. Likewise, ECW is now the home of Finlay (and presumably Hornswoggle), Matt Hardy, John Morrison, and Super Crazy.

I have several thoughts about the draft picks themselves. We'll get to them one by one, starting with ECW. First, I have to say that one part of the draft bothered me tremendously. Matches were held to determine which brand received a draft pick. I'll accept that. What I refuse to accept is ECW's almost total lack of involvement. Each match should've featured a member from all three brands, if only to give them the appearance of equality. This didn't happen. ECW got the short end of the stick and it was obvious from the start that they would. If WWE wants us to take this draft as seriously as the draft of any other major sport, they need to make us believe the playing field is even from the start. That being said, I'm happy to see Super Crazy back on the ECW brand. It adds another Original to the roster, and with none of the WWE brands currently featuring a lightweight division of some sort, ECW is likely the best home for Crazy.

DH Smith being a part of SmackDown is also rather interesting. No, seriously! His presence on the blue brand kills the rumor that he'll be revealed as the partner of Ted Dibiase Jr. at Night Of Champions. Many times, the wrestling business won't do what's predictable just because it's so predictable, even if the majority of fans know it's coming and want to see it. Many times, this logic blows up in the faces of the promoters/writers/bookers. For proof of this, see Hornswoggle being revealed as Vince McMahon's son instead of Ken Kennedy. With DH Smith out of the picture on Raw, it should be interesting to see who Ted's new partner is going to be. Only time will tell if it turns out to be a better or worse choice than the Bulldog's kid. Likewise, Carlito is now a part of SmackDown, which is where he began his WWE career. Carlito recently complained about his status in WWE, and has now been "demoted" because of it. Interestingly enough, he remains on the same brand as the man he buried, Triple H. Jeff Hardy, who also recently got in hot water with WWE management, is also now a part of the B show. For Hardy's health if not his career, I hope this serves as a wake-up call.

Does CM Punk's move to the Raw brand suggest a larger push for his character? One would think so. Deserved or not, WWE is currently in the aftermath of a steroid scandal. Considering this, a "straight-edge" smaller wrestler seems like the perfect person to feature on their lead brand. It should also be pointed out that the last time WWE rebounded from a steroid accusation, wrestling saw the rise of smaller wrestlers including Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels. That worked out rather well. Furthermore, Punk's Money In The Bank title shot has yet to be cashed in. The storyline says he has between now and next year's WrestleMania to do so. How this will play out, especially with different champions switching brands in the draft, will hopefully make for fascinating TV. Kane re-joining Raw is also a good move in my opinion. He's far more associated with the red brand than with ECW. This move could be used to explain the upcoming working relationship between the Raw and ECW brands. Night Of Champions will now feature Raw versus SmackDown matches for two of the company's Heavyweight titles. How WWE writes themselves out of those corners should be fun to watch. Or just very confusing. Unfortunately, the results of the pay-per-view seem a bit more predictable now that the trades have been made.

In other news, WWE has launched an official t-shirt line similar to the Afflication brand. "WWE Top Rope" shirts will retail for about $45 USD. Normal WWE shirts sell for around $20-$30 USD. It is currently unknown whether the Top Rope shirts are of a better quality. The first two shirts in the Top Rope line are for Shawn Michaels and Triple H. They can be viewed at the links below:

http://www.wweshop.com/Product_detail.asp?cat=cat-shawnmichaels&productId=01-09882

http://www.wweshop.com/Product_detail.asp?cat=cat-tripleh&productId=01-09870

Lastly, I'm happy to announce that this blog will soon feature a female's perspective in addition to my own. A friend of mine who through the years has worked with me on various wrestling-related projects will soon be joining this blog with a regular column. We're still working out the specifics, but I assure you, her work will be worth reading.

Enjoy your weekend, loyal readers.

News, and another interview!

Chris Jericho completed his heel turn this week on Raw, which was capped off by the return of Ric Flair. Jericho's promo was excellent as usual, although some question if he should truly be getting booked as the bad guy in this feud.

Michael Hayes is back in creative, but he is being required to do a number of different things. He was made to sit down and speak with all black WWE wrestlers, and he is no longer allowed to drink on company time.

Randy Orton's collarbone injury will keep him out of action until at least this fall. However, Rey Mysterio is expected back in early to mid-July.

I will be in Texas over the next few days, so don't expect any updates for about a week. However, before leaving, I put in a request for an interview with Kiley McLean. She's an indy wrestler best-known for playing Rosie O'Donnell on Raw. My request for an interview with Kevin Nash has gone unreturned so far.

See you all in a week!

WWE/ROH news and notes

This week's Raw was rated TV-PG instead of TV-14. This could signal the official beginning of WWE marketing its TV product toward children. In the early 1990's, children were also the target audience of the then-WWF. SmackDown has always been rated TV-PG, even during the adult-themed Attitude era.

Carlito is said to once again be unhappy with his role in WWE. WWE continues to employ Carlito despite his continued unhappiness, in part because the company covets wrestlers with appeal to Hispanic audiences.

The recently released book Ring of Hell: The Story of Chris Benoit and the Fall of the Pro Wrestling Industry alleges that Vince McMahon has had a "love affair" with the drug cocaine that may or may not have subsided. "(McMahon) liked to brag with apparent justification that 'I can snort as much of that stuff as anyone can put in front of me and never get hooked.' One WWE employee of recent years told me, "The boys and former office staff use euphemisms when they talk about Vince's 'energy." The inside joke about it is that sixty-something Vince most likely isn't that energetic over multi-day sleepness stretches without help. I've seen him so wired that his eyes looked like they were going to pop,"" the book says.

Production will begin immediately on Ring Of Honor's next pay-per-view "Respect Is Earned II." It will premiere on IN DEMAND, The DISH Network and TVN cable systems on August 1st and feature a triple main event. The top three matches are: Jimmy Jacobs and Tyler Black versus Bryan Danielson and Austin Aries, Nigel McGuinness versus Go Shiozaki and Roderick Strong versus Erick Stevens.

In other ROH news, Jerry Lynn is only scheduled for the 6/28 ROH Chicago date. Also, Lance Storm will not be wrestling at the 7/25 and/or 7/26 ROH events, but he will have a role on each show and be available for autographs. Storm has already given advice to several members of the roster after watching their pay-per-view shows. KOCH Vision will release ROH's next two DVDs "Best In The World" and "Greatest Rivalries" into retail stores everywhere on July 8th.

Former WWE writer Seth Mates wrote in his "Steel Cage" column for Newsday that WWE has been sending various news outlets a "money-themed gift basket" as a way of promoting Raw's on-going million dollar giveaway sweepstakes. The problem with this? The gift baskets contain actual money. $4.94 USD to be exact. Technically speaking, does this mean WWE has attempted to pay off members of the press? Seth Mates believes so, stating that he refunded WWE's money for ethical reasons. For the record, I haven't received one of these gift baskets, but they sure sound neat. If any other members of the media find themselves facing this ethical dilemna, I'll gladly take Vince McMahon's gift basket off your hands.

SOURCES FOR THIS ENTRY: http://weblogs.newsday.com/sports/specialevent/wrestling/

sequels

This update should thrill fans of John Cena and women's wrestling.

Big Vision Entertainment has launched www.MySpace.com/glowrestling and are currently casting for a new roster of GLOW girls. They currently distribute Best Of DVDs of the former GLOW promotion run by David McLane. The all-female promotion ran nationally via syndication in the late 1980s out of Las Vegas.

WWE Films will be releasing a sequel to John Cena's debut movie The Marine. The movie grossed less than $20 million. However, it was successful on DVD and is WWE's most successful film project to date. The sequel will most likely be released directly on DVD.

Orlando Jordan's bisexual angle

In an interview starting to make the rounds on YouTube, former WWE wrestler Orlando Jordan partially discusses the much-talked about bisexual angle he was supposed to be involved in before his release from the company. I decided to post Orlando's side of the story because it obviously fits the nature of this blog. WWE has yet to comment on matters concerning Orlando Jordan, beyond making his release known on WWE.com at the time it happened.

According to Jordan, the storyline was going to start out with Orlando being told he was one of the best-dressed guys in the company. After that, he would start coming to the ring with an entourage while wearing a robe. The valet of the group (who was supposed to be played by Trinity of TNA and OVW fame) would disrobe Orlando and the bell would ring, but Jordan's crew would remain on the ring apron. OJ would give his valet a kiss, and then would also kiss the male counterpart. Everyone would act shocked by this, except Jordan and his group. Jordan would use the shock to his advantage and score a quick victory. Jordan would then be questioned about the kiss backstage, but would ignore the question and only discuss his victory and victories to come, etc. Jordan also claims the character was originally going to be a part of the ECW brand. He said the gimmick was considered too risque for network television, but ECW was on a cable network where the envelope could be pushed further. OJ claims Tommy Dreamer came up with a lot of the character, and that Dreamer also wanted to put it on ECW to better differentiate the brand from other WWE programs. Jordan says Vince McMahon supported the character and even saw big money in it. He claims McMahon viewed the character as "the ultimate player" who could get anyone he went after.

Following his release from WWE, rumors began that Jordan was traveling to shows each week (across different state lines) with a sixteen-year-old male. This was believed to be the main reason for the firing. Jordan claims the story got exaggerated by someone who didn't feel comfortable with his sexuality. Jordan claims many people were uncomfortable with him and the bisexual storyline, and so he was released from the company before problems could occur.

The bi storyline has yet to be done with another performer. Also, the ECW brand wasn't officially brought back to regular television until June of 2006.

Raw's giveaway, PPV results & another question for my readers

Huge update today!


First of all, the Associated Press has released information concerning WWE's recently announced million dollar giveaway. I've been getting a lot of questions about it, so I thought I'd pass along the information available via this blog. As expected, there's a catch or two involved. The full AP article can be found at the following URL: http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5indhctjJFAtfOVHroIOX_lG5-_GwD912264G3.

One thing that I find curious is WWE announcing they'll give out the codes at the start of each Raw episode. What would make the casual fan stick around to watch the rest of Raw after getting the code? WWE is doing this promotion to increase ratings, so logically they really shouldn't be telling you when during the broadcast the code will be given out. I suspect the only people who will enter this contest are the wrestling fans who already watch Raw now. Myself included. Hey, a man has to pay for gas, right? The giveaway begins June 9th.


Here are the short results for WWE's One Night Stand pay-per-view:


Jeff Hardy beat Umaga in a Falls Count Anywhere match.


The Big Show beat CM Punk, Tommy Dreamer, John Morrison, Bam Neely, and Chavo Guerrero in a 6 man Singapore Cane match to earn a shot at Kane's ECW championship at the Night Of Champions pay-per-view. Big Show became hurt legit during the match.


John Cena beat JBL in a First Blood match.


Beth Phoenix beat Melina in an I Quit match.


Note: At this point in the show Cena did a backstage skit with Mickie James. Cena said he enjoyed "girl on girl submissions." Cena's character has made both pro-gay and anti-gay statements in the past. I guess this one would fall on the pro side, technically. During this segment ECW's Mike Adamle suggested Cena and James were a couple, so I guess WWE is continuing on with the romance angle between them.


Batista beat Shawn Michaels in a Stretcher Match.


Triple H beat Randy Orton in a Last Man Standing match. Orton may or may not have been hurt legit during the match.


Edge beat The Undertaker in a TLC match to win the vacant World title. According to the match stipulation, The Undertaker must now retire from the entire WWE.


Finally, I'd like to once again pose a question to you, my readers. Recently I've been struggling with a question: What's the best way to present this blog's content? On one hand, I want to present the content as professionally and close to journalism as possible. On the other hand, I feel like a little editorializing and personal humor interjected into the entries would add some more flavor to my blog, while also not hurting anyone. You can certainly find a ton of other so-called wrestling journalists who aren't shy about interjecting their own opinions into articles where they may not belong, but does that make it okay for me to do as well, or would I then become just as annoying as they are by stating opinions rather than strictly facts? What do YOU look for in a pro wrestling blog? E-mail me at donaldtbishop@yahoo.com or simply post a reply. I look forward to hearing from you.

was DX gay?

Did the D-Generation X stable appear homosexual? The guys over at wrestlecrap.com certainly seem to think so.

http://www.wrestlecrap.com/booksample.html

sex scandal rocks WWE

A prowrestling.net podcast along with the upcoming book Ring Of Hell alleges that former WWE writer Dave Lagana was fired primarily because he approached Kevin Thorne at a WWE event in the bathroom and offered to perform oral sex on him. The story says that Thorne went to Mark "Undertaker" Calloway and complained and Calloway went to Vince McMahon. Lagana was fired shortly thereafter. It has also been alleged that Lagana was well-known as a pervert backstage, and that he hit on various WWE developmental talents of both sexes.

Lagana was a writer for WWE since 2002. He was once the head writer of the SmackDown brand and also wrote for the new ECW. Originally it was believed that Lagana's firing was due to him leaking storyline plans to various pro wrestling news sites. Unlike many other talents released in recent years by WWE, Lagana wasn't "wished well."

It's also interesting to note that current SmackDown writer Michael Hayes was only suspended for recently making what some consider to be racially inflammatory remarks toward Mark Henry and concerning Barack Obama.

threesomes and the WWE title

Not since the lesbian twist to the Dreamer/Beulah pregnancy angle in the original ECW have we seen a wrestling storyline involving a threesome. Monday's Raw changed that-although it was most likely due to a character misspeaking or a writer not realizing the double entendre of what they'd written down. Mistake or not though, I believe that great potential for money lies within the remark made. WWE now has the chance to elevate one of its young stars into the main event scene and freshen up the Raw brand.

Last week I commented on Mickie James' new relationship with John Cena. As it turned out, that segment was shot not to put John Cena into a romantic storyline, but rather to setup a Mickie James/Katie Lea feud over the Women's title. This week's backstage promo between James and Lea has already been blasted by the people at wrestlecrap.com. It was definitely a very confusing promo and will most likely be edited in any future WWE video packages. However, one part of it really interested me, so I thought I'd blog about it. Katie Lea implied during a portion of the promo that she and/or her on-screen brother Paul Burchill would have sex with John Cena if he would've gone out with them instead of Mickie James and her sibling the week before. The Paul Burchill/Katie Lea incest storyline was dropped a few weeks ago because WWE is rumored to want to take their product in a more "kid-friendly" direction, similar to their business model of the early 90's. Lea's implication in this promo suggests that the incest storyline might not only be back on, but may now involve main event level babyface John Cena! WWE will most likely ignore this part of the promo. As I said, it was clear this moment was meant to set up a solo feud with James and Lea. Expecting more to come out of it would be foolish. At best we might get a mixed tag team match on Raw one week pitting James and Cena against the Burchills, and this saddens me.

Lea and James fighting over John Cena, with brother Paul Burchill in the mix battling Cena along the way, could do a lot to freshen up the WWE product right now. The borderline incest already makes Paul Burchill a sexual deviant, so make him a bi one. Hell, make him all-out gay for John Cena while still doing suggestive things with his own sister. WWE could then easily hide behind the logic of "It's not incest because he's gay." Such a storyline would do a lot of things at once. It would give four wrestlers something to do instead of two. It would keep Cena out of the title hunt longer while he fights off the Burchills. It would create another romantic storyline which has proved to be successful for WWE numerous times in the past (see Hunter/Stephanie, Savage/Elizabeth, and Lita/Edge). Perhaps most importantly, it would elevate Paul Burchill. William Regal's suspension leaves a heel void that needs to be filled, and Burchill getting involved in a program with someone on the card as high up as John Cena could be just the ticket. Don't misunderstand me. As I said last week, I'd still much prefer Mickie James to be the psycho she was when she first came into WWE. Those days are long gone though, and I've accepted that. If a storyline like the one above were to take place, I could definitely live with it.

Particularly if WWE wanted to pay me to write it for them. ;)

Hardy Boyz news

WNW events correspondent Devin Cutting reporting... Matt and Jeff Hardy are being advertised for the WWE Supershow in Springfield, Massachusetts on July 19th, 2008. Also, Twist Of Fate: The Matt and Jeff Hardy Story has topped Billboard's Recreational Sports DVD charts for two weeks in a row. And just like last week, the Triple H DVD trails behind it, this week finishing in second.It's interesting to note that according to a number of Matt Hardy Internet wrestling profiles, Triple H allegedly said of Matt Hardy's departure from the company in April 2005, "He never drew money anyway." Hardy countered H's alleged comments in an online interview stating that he and his brother Jeff, as the Hardy Boyz, had been top sellers of WWE merchandise.

Mickie James officially straight?

Mickie James' original character has been dead for some time now, but this past Monday on Raw the WWE creative team put the final nail in the coffin of what was once a very interesting character.

In a backstage skit, James invited John Cena out to the bar and Cena agreed. John Cena forgets that this is the same Mickie James who once stalked Trish Stratus. Cena forgets this because, of course, we the fans are also supposed to have forgotten about it. This skit, written a little differently, would've actually made for a perfect comedy moment while simultaneously making WWE look like a very moral organization. Cena could've brought up Mickie's past heel history and declined her offer to go out drinking because of it. Besides playing to some of Cena's strengths as a wise-cracking babyface, such a skit would've also sent the message that drinking is bad. Only "crazy girls" like Mickie James go get wasted, kids! Perhaps best of all, such a simple moment could've re-established Mickie James as a meaningful character in the women's divison.

After Trish Stratus left the company, WWE appeared to want to fill the void. Mickie James turned face and became "Trish lite." Since then, she has quickly degenerated into just another Raw diva. She is so far removed from her original, deep character at this point that you may as well start calling her Kane. Worse than losing her crazy personality along the way, Mickie lost the lesbian aspects to her character. Inviting John Cena out to the bar, coupled with her showing no interest in any of the other divas in years, suggests that Mickie has finally made the full transition from a psychotic lesbian or possibly psychotic bisexual to a sane and straight women's wrestler. She no longer stands out from any other women on Raw, aside from maybe her superior in-ring ability.

I don't know if this will be the start of a Cena/Mickie James love storyline or not, but I know I'll shed a tear when Mickie doesn't treat Cena like the male version of Trish.

Mr. T for the Hall Of Fame

Mister T deserves to be inducted into WWE's Hall Of Fame.

No, I'm not joking!

Vince McMahon Junior's juggernaught wrestling promotion partially began its national expansion by incorporating mainstream celebrities into wrestling shows. Mister T was right at the forefront of that movement, gaining the WWF press it wouldn't have otherwise gotten thanks to his star power back in the 80's. Now, as we approach a major milestone, I believe the time has come for Mister T to get what's owed to him by the wrestling business.

2009 marks the 25th anniversary of WrestleMania I. The main event of that historic pay-per-view was Hulk Hogan and Mister T versus "Rowdy" Roddy Piper and "Mister Wonderful" Paul Orndorff. Here's a fun fact for all you wrestling trivia buffs: Everyone involved in that famous match has been inducted into the WWE's Hall Of Fame, with the exception of Mister T. When I say everyone has been inducted, I mean from Hogan and Piper all the way down to heel cornerman Bob Orton and ring announcer Howard Finkel. Think about that for a second. Mister T, an actual participant in the match that started Wrestle-freaking-Mania, was deemed less worthy for a HOF spot than "The Fink"! As Gorilla Monsoon used to say, I consider this a travesty of justice. Many would argue that Mister T didn't deserve a spot anywhere on a WrestleMania card, let alone at the top of it. They would point out that Mister T didn't work his way up in wrestling. That he only got such a placement on the WrestleMania show because of his celebrity status and not a love for wrestling or excellent in-ring skills. In all fairness, those people would be correct. For better or worse though Mister T fought and won alongside the then-WWF champion. History cannot erase that fact and T deserves to be acknowledged for it.

Let's also not forget that the mighty T made more than one WrestleMania appearance. His worked boxing match against Roddy Piper at WrestleMania II is still talked about today (mostly by Roddy Piper). That "match" was also a main event-in this case the main event of the New York portion of WMII. The show was held in three cities that year. You could certainly argue that fans went to see any of the other matches that night, but the headliners of a show are the ones that promoters believe can draw the most fans in. That, of course, is what makes them the headliners. As a result the main eventers-in this case Piper and Mister T-get the credit for the capacity crowd. Once again T was on the top of one of the biggest cards in wrestling history and receives no credit for it. Oh, and for what it's worth, Mister T won that boxing contest by disqualification, making him undefeated in WrestleMania matches. The Undertaker just better hope T doesn't dawn the gold jewlery and come out of retirement.

Mister T also had a brief stint in World Championship Wrestling in 1994. While there he scored a victory over veteran wrestler Kevin Sullivan at WCW Starcade-which was WCW's equivilant to WrestleMania. T hasn't wrestled since, making him undefeated in wrestling matches period! How many people can say that? Yet another reason T is Hall Of Fame worthy today. On paper alone he's clearly done more in wrestling than other HOF inductees such as William Perry or Pete Rose.

Last but not least, let's also not forget T's role in the legendary Rocky series as Clubber Lang. T was a natural heel, and the underdog story of Rocky Balboa is something wrestling fans can all relate to. Vince McMahon will be the first one to tell you that his performers are just as much actors as they are athletes. T transcended pro wrestling, much like Hulk Hogan (who can forget Thunderlips?) and the Rock.

I pity the fool who doesn't select Mr. T for the Hall Of Fame!

Agree? Disagree? Let me know!

vince mcmahon vs ultimate warrior

According to PWInsider.com and WWE.com, the Ultimate Warrior recently appeared on The BJ Shea Morning Experience radio show in Seattle and spoke about WrestleMania XXV. He suggested to have a match between himself and Vince McMahon headline the pay-per-view. This could certainly explain why Ultimate Warrior is maknig a comeback, as previously reported on this blog.

backlash results

Here are the short results to WWE's Backlash pay-per-view.

Triple H won the WWE championship, last eliminating Randy Orton.

Matt Hardy won the United States championship from MVP.

The Undertaker retained the World championship against Edge.

Kane retained the ECW championship against Chavo Guerrero.

Big Show defeated the Great Khali.

Shawn Michaels defeated Batista, and may or may not have been legitimately injured during the match.

Beth Phoenix, Melina, Jillian Hall, Layla, Victoria and Natalya Neidhart defeated Mickie James, Maria, Ashley, Michelle McCool, Cherry and Kelly Kelly.