Wednesday, September 30, 2009

"Hell" in Jersey

So, Hell in A Cell premieres this weekend in Newark! Have you got tickets? At press, there were still floor seats available (tickets range in price from $25-$300)! This event puts matches in a 16 ft high steel cell. The Hell in a Cell match has only appeared 16 times since created in 1997, with Undertaker and Shawn Michaels in the inaugural match.

I'm assuming WWE planned to have this PPV in Jersey because we are the home of the Jersey Devil and the arena is the home of the Devils NHL team (which, by the way, has opening night Saturday).

I wonder if any of the Superstars (say, Santino and Hornswoggle) will go a Jersey Devil Hunt, as many of us have done in our youth, perhaps finding the Devils' mascot or that guy who dresses up as the Jersey Devil during the hockey games... (if they actually do it, they'll probably run into the Bogeyman along the way!)

Smackdown will also be filmed Tuesday in Trenton... Tickets start at $15 for this event. Also, a championship match between Taker and CM Punk is being advertised. Does this mean Punk will need to use his rematch clause? Look for a Trentonian meeting with a couple of Divas later on this weekend...

Thursday, September 17, 2009

Government Smackdown

If you've been watching Raw, you know Jerry "the King" Lawler is running for Mayor of Memphis (This is his second time, by the way-- his first run for the office was in 1999). But now, another face of the WWE has entered the political arena-- Linda McMahon.

According to the Associated Press, McMahon stepped down from her role as WWE CEO and is one of four Republicans trying to unseat Connecticut Sen. Christopher Dodd. Her opponents in the Republican primary are U.S. Rep. Rob Simmons, state Sen. Sam Caligiuri and former U.S. Ambassador to Ireland Tom Foley.

Earlier this year, McMahon was appointed by Connecticut Gov. Jodi Rell to serve on the state's board of education. She has served the community in many other ways, as can be read in her WWE profile.

McMahon co-founded the WWE with her husband, and she has been CEO since 1997. As of Sept. 16, WWE Chairman Vince McMahon assumed the role of CEO.

Wednesday, September 16, 2009

Hardy in trouble again

CM Punk never seems to shut up, but he was right about Jeff Hardy being trouble waiting to happen.

Hardy was charged this week with trafficking in opium, two counts of possession with intent to sell or deliver a Schedule III controlled substance, maintaining a dwelling for drugs, possession of cocaine, and possession of drug paraphernalia, according to The News and Observer of Raleigh.

Police raided his home in Cameron, NC, and allegedly found 262 Vicodin prescription pills, 180 soma prescription pills, 555 milliliters of anabolic steroids, a residual amount of powder cocaine, and drug paraphernalia.

If Hardy is convicted of opium trafficking, he faces a minimum prison sentence of three years.

Here's hoping Hardy gets his life straightened out for real and not just on TV.

Smackdown in Trenton Oct. 6

The WWE is coming back to Trenton, and this time, it's a TV taping of Smackdown/ECW at Sovereign Bank Arena on Oct. 6.

This should be an awesome show, and there are many reasons to get your tickets now.
* This will be the taping of the ECW and Smackdown episodes immediately following the Hell in a Cell pay-per-view. Usually, the shows right after PPVs are the best ones, since new plots develop, people take revenge, etc.
* Two words - THE UNDERTAKER. If you haven't seen him live, get there. His entrance is nearly worth the price of admission. It is cool on TV, but you haven't seen anything until you've seen it live.
* Tommy Dreamer is not getting any younger, and for any Philly-area wrestling fans who used to watch him go through flaming tables in the real ECW back in the day, this could be your last chance to see him in action.
* Batista is back, and if he can avoid the injury bug that bites him so frequently, he will likely compete for the Trenton fans.
* The talented Hart Dynasty could make an appearance, a pair that in my opinion includes two promising young stars in Tyson Kidd and DH Smith.
* John Morrison will be in the house as well, and if we're lucky, he will compete. Morrison could be the next HBK.

I'd say you ought to be there.

Angle cleared on most charges

Kurt Angle was cleared of charges that he stalked former girlfriend Rhaka Khan and that illegally possessed HGH. He still faces an assault charge against Khan from during their relationship.

In the ring, Angle was pinned by AJ Styles last week on IMPACT thanks to interference from Matt Morgan, who later slammed Angle and essentially ended their pretend friendship. The four-way title match at No Surrender should be fantastic, and I think Sting is least likely of the four to come out on top. He will likely work to get the heretofore unheralded Morgan over, while also boosting his protege Styles' chances to be the main star in TNA when all the old guys finally conk out. It feels like the right time for the belt to come off Angle for a while, and they have been giving Morgan a major push. I'm going with Styles, though, to sneak in and become the new TNA world heavyweight champ.

As for Homicide betraying Hernandez, that is a shame because now it is Hernandez against seven or eight guys every week. He needs allies in a hurry or it wlil become tiresome to watch him get a beatdown every Thursday.

Wednesday, September 9, 2009

Montreal Submissions

Sunday night will be the premiere of a new PPV event in which all matches will be submission matches. The most interesting match won't be a title match-- it will be the DX v. Legacy match, a Submissions Count Anywhere match.

It won't be because I'm dying to see Jerry Lawler's idea that toilets could be used for submissions purposes come true.

You see, almost 12 years ago, in very same arena Breaking Point will be held in, Shawn Michaels made history with the Montreal Screwjob. (If you have no clue what I'm talking about, look it up on You Tube) Triple H was at ringside and stayed at Michaels side backstage as they swore they knew nothing.

I'm hoping on Monday night the tape of Bret Hart's wife telling Triple H "what comes around goes around," outside the locker room after the Screwjob isn't replayed to show the ironic twist of the previous night's match...

Tuesday, September 1, 2009

TNA's wild ride

Kurt Angle, fresh off his recent arrest for possession of HGH and stalking his girlfriend Rhaka Khan, is still calling the shots in TNA. I guess there is no 30-day suspension coming his way like the one that got Rey-Rey in WWE.

In any case, Angle is messing with Matt Morgan, who as it turns out, can talk. He has more of a personality than we were led to believe when he was in WWE, and I like what he has done lately, though his rants are too long at times.

Bobby Lashley, meanwhile, gets Rhyno for his first match at the pay per view. Lashley says he loves to fight, then adds that he also loves professional wrestling. This marks the second time that TNA was candid enough to allow a character to openly discuss the true nature of the business that in most circles is known but not spoken of on TV.

Speaking of the Lashley announcement, TNA president Dixie Carter appeared on camera for the first time ever to make the match, and man was I disappointed when it wasn't the woman from Designing Women. Seriously, though, maybe she will make some more appearances and channel her inner Linda McMahon.

One other thing, what was with Kyp James (who I still like to call Billy Gunn) showing up at the beginning of IMPACT to park Sting's car, then saying he had one back when he was over? Memo to Kyp/Billy: Get back into DX and maybe you'll be over again.