Wrestling...thats right, Wrestling!

[Hammy]

Mr. Kennedy Declares Tom Cruise Is Still Crazy

[BlowUpYourVideo]

Here's a little example for you guys. I saw Ric Flair wrestle live in spring last year. All I remember is that he had his arse hanging out his trunks for about 5 minutes of the match. I saw Kurt Angle wrestle last summer. All I remember is that he and Booker T had an amazing match.?

I think I saw that match....

[Evolution]

Aberdeen, Scotland? June 17th?

[BlowUpYourVideo]

Aberdeen, Scotland? June 17th?

I think that was it.

[Sober_times]

you dont just throw a legend in the trash. You let him leave on his terms.

Flair is a has been. Thats it. I dont deny he was a legend, and I will never deny that I loved watching him while I was growing up. He did have some of the most amazing matches in wrestling history. But not one of those amazing matches has occurred in the last 7 years. He goes out there, is out of shape, and can't make it nearly as exciting as he use to.

When a legend is looking like trash, its time to tell him to leave. He's ruining his own legacy.?

[Evolution]

Aberdeen, Scotland? June 17th?

I think that was it.

Hey! A quick check to your profile alerts me that you are Scottish too! We went to the same Smackdown brand house show!!

[BlowUpYourVideo]

Aberdeen, Scotland? June 17th?

I think that was it.

Hey! A quick check to your profile alerts me that you are Scottish too! We went to the same Smackdown brand house show!!

I've been to 3 in Aberdeen.

[Evolution]

I've been to the last four I think. I take it you missed either May 03, March 04, April 05 or June 05.

[BlowUpYourVideo]

I've been to the last four I think. I take it you missed either May 03, March 04, April 05 or June 05.

Missed May '03.

[Hammy]

D-X Get's an old member back 

[Evolution]

I've been to the last four I think. I take it you missed either May 03, March 04, April 05 or June 05.

Missed May '03.

Awesome. Pretty crazy to think we were in the same building without realising it three times.

[Hammy]

X-Pac was invited to Friday night's RAW brand house show by Triple H. He hasn't been signed, he was simply a guest. Although, there is a movement to bring back stars from the 90's and it wouldn't be surprising if he got hired again.

From Chris Kanyon's blog -

WHY I MADE AN APPEARANCE AT A WWE HOUSE SHOW SEPT.8, 2006, TAMPA, FL

You may have read or heard that I showed up at a WWE Raw house show Friday, 9-8-06, and created a "disturbance." Well, before people jump to conclusions and try to put their own spin on what and why I did what I did, I figure you might as well hear it from the horse's mouth.

Part of the reason dates back to the Smackdown show taped on 2-11-03, airing on UPN 2-13-03. It was my return to national TV after many months recovering from injury as well as many months helping with the WWE's training system, Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW), in Louisville, KY. After so much time off TV, instead of any build up and fanfare for my return, the WWE had me dress up as a known homosexual (Boy George), come out of a large crate in the middle of the ring (a closet, so to speak), sing in a very effeminate voice ("sing like a fag" I was told by the agent/creative person assigned by Vince McMahon to me and this "storyline,"), and take a very physical, stiff beating from the Undertaker including 3 extremely brutal and UNSAFE chair shots to the small of the back and the top of the head.

Now, I believe this was in response to my possible plans, at the time, to come out of the closet nationally. Prior to my comeback, I had several discussions with people within the WWE about coming out, and I am sure it got back to Vince. Instead of just telling me that he would prefer it if I didn't come out, I believe he set up this angle as a message to me. I can't say that for sure, but if it wasn't a message, it was an incredible coincidence. Following this incident I was very rarely on Smackdown or Raw, and was pretty much beaten every week until I was fired. I guess everyone can draw his/her own conclusions.

Now, as recently as a few weeks ago, my goal was to return to the WWE, I guess in some ways not wanting to believe that I was really fired because I was gay. But I was curious. Several attempts to contact and talk to the WWE about a possible return went unanswered. And in trying to find out about the potential for a return, I found out from people within the WWE that my suspicions about being fired because I was gay, according to them, were correct.

One person high up on the corporate side confirmed that Vince knew that I was gay and that was at least part of the reason that I was released. This person told me that Vince has said in the past, "it is my company, and I can hire and fire whoever I want for whatever reason I want." And, although morally I do not agree with that statement, in some ways I see his point and in some ways I agree with him?.if it was a private company. But the WWE is a public company, and Vince's top priority should be turning a profit for his stockholders. He should not allow any of his personal animosity or prejudices towards any groups or individuals affect decisions that may affect potential profit for his stockholders. But that is just my opinion.

I also heard from a high profile wrestler who was in both the WWE and WCW who said that he was aware of an agent who had also known that I was gay (it was not a well kept secret within the industry for many years), and that this agent would often talk of me being gay and he would refer to me in some circles as "that fu**ing faggot," and "that queer." This agent was often responsible for my matches (the agent is often the liaison between the wrestlers and Vince McMahon), and on several occasions, I know that he lied to Vince about things that I had said and did. I do believe that may have also been a factor in my being fired, but again, you can form your own opinions.

All that brings us to Friday, September 8, 2006 in Tampa, Florida. I decided to attend the show because I was frustrated with my inability to hear from Vince McMahon on whether what I had heard was true or not. If I found out from him that it was true, I would have to move on with my life. There would be no attempted lawsuits (I really don't believe in them) and I believe I would really have no hard feelings. I would just know it was my time to move on. Everything happens for a reason, and I would take this as a sign that there are other things for me to do out there. It would give me closure to a great chapter in my life.

On the other hand, if it is not true, I would like one more run. I miss wrestling in the WWE and I feel I still have something to offer. But, thus far, I have not heard from Vince. So I decided to bring 2 signs to the house show. "HHH, PLEASE ASK VINCE WHY HE REALLY FIRED ME" and since that really didn't let Vince know what I was thinking. "SHAWN PLEASE PRAY FOR MY GAY SOUL." I intentionally did not do this during the match out of respect to Shawn and HHH, since I would never want to distract from anyone's match.

So, during their INTRODUCTION, I went to ringside with the signs and HHH and Shawn both came to the rope on the side I was standing and acknowledged my presence, which was a show of class by them. Shawn nodded and gave me a thumbs up, I assume meaning he would, in fact, pray for me. HHH grabbed the mic and said something, almost inaudible, I think saying, "Who invited Kanyon?" Security ushered me out of the building, although I had paid for my ticket (the nice promoter for the WWE, Bret, did get tickets for my friends, but I bought my own ticket).

And that was that. Not a publicity ploy, as some will accuse. And it was definitely not an attempt to upset anyone or distract from the show (if I did that I am sorry). I do want to take this opportunity to personally apologize to WWE Security, Jimmy N. He is a great guy, always treated me well when I was with the WWE, and he does a great job. I am sorry if I upset him. In closing, I would like to say that what I did was just an attempt to get some answers so that I can move on with my life, get some closure or return to the national wrestling scene. The ball is in Vince's court. I really wish he would just let me know if I can still play the game again or not.

So he just wants his job back......

It's amazing how many Attitude Era stars are showing up at the moment.

In recent weeks 2 Cold Scorpio, Bull Buchanan & Henry Godwinn have worked dark matches.

Test & Jeff Hardy got resigned.

X-Pac showed up at a house show....

...then on the Ex-WCW front

Chuck Palumbo, Shannon Moore & Jimmy Yang were resigned and Sean O'Haire & Billy Kidman wrestled a Dark Match.

[Evolution]

That was quite a read about Kanyon. I didn't know he tried to commit suicide in late 2003. It's a pretty sad story really. I remember reading in a Powerslam magazine in a little box at the start, something about rumours: "Rumour has it an active former WWF and WCW Tag Team Champion is homosexual" or something. I never thought it would be Kanyon. He brings up a good point about his return in early 2003 though. It was so random, and he didn't get to do anything after except job. I remember on the Sunday Night Heat prior to Vengeance of that year he lost to Ultimo Dragon, and didn't even get his entrance televised.

P.S What the hell are they gonna do with Chuck Palumbo? I think an enforcer role wouls suit him. Maybe someone smaller like Gregory Helms or even Wang Yang could "employ" him.

[Hammy]

PW Torch Newsletter:

Dave Hawk and Kurt Angle met with WWE officials last Friday morning, and Angle was told that he needed to get help for his prescription painkiller addictions. They told him to go to rehab and then return to the company once he was clean, which is something they've done for tons of other men throughout the years. Angle, despite the story that was weaved on WWE.com and in the press releases, does not believe he has an issue with painkillers, and so he flat-out refused to go to rehab or seek any kind of help whatsoever.

Vince McMahon then fired him. It was not a release, nor a mutual agreement. Angle refused to get treatment for his illness, so Vince was left with the only real option the company had at that point, which was to fire him. Whether it was to send a message or to protect the interests of the company or Angle himself, the end result is that Angle was released from his job. His no-compete clause remains in effect and will expire near the end of November.

Kurt Angle is not going to rehab, and he's not going home to let his body heal up. He'll probably go rest for three months or so, because at that point his no compete clause expires and WWE officials expect him to sign a contract with TNA. In fact, WWE officials actually encourage him to go to TNA, because he'll be working a much more limited scheduled, and the lack of house show tours will allow him to greatly rest up between shows. He'll make $500,000 or so per year to wrestle 5 times per month, and WWE sources believe that he can get his pain levels back down to a manageable level by working for the smaller promotion. There are also those in WWE that believe that Vince McMahon actually WANTS Angle to go and work for TNA, because he's apparently realized in this very late mid-life crisis he's currently enduring that he's a much better businessman and much more creatively inclined when he actually has competition to try and defeat. By signing Angle and perhaps Bill Goldberg, TNA would earn themselves a bigger place on the map and could perhaps instantly jump to that two-hour timeslot they so desire.

My TNA source tells me that they're a bit hesitant to sign Kurt, but that it's already being discussed internally. They realize that if they bring in the incredibly damaged Angle, they're going to need built-in safeties in his contract to help him avoid getting to the point he was at near the end of his WWE run. If TNA does eventually tour, Kurt Angle will likely not be on a majority of those house shows and instead will stick to the television shows and pay per view events. Since he'll instantly be the biggest star in the company, they will be able to market him as a special attraction much the way WWE does with Undertaker, thereby giving him more time to heal, reduce his addictive need for painkillers, and perhaps extend his career (and his life) by many years.

Some have speculated that Angle will go to Japan, but that's not even a remote possibility at this point. In order to make big money in Japan, you have to do shoots and fight with Pride or K1, and Angle will do neither of those. There's a small chance that New Japan or another of the big three major promotions will overpay for his services, but sources close to the situation say they don't see it happening because the rigors of a months-long Japanese tour will kill him even faster than the WWE schedule was. In all likelihood, we'll see Kurt Angle make his TNA debut sometime around November 27, a few weeks after his WWE no-compete clause expires.

Hoo-Rah!

Now that would improve the competition...

Samoa Joe vs Kurt Angle

[Evolution]

That would be a pretty amazing thing to see. Imagine that. Kurt Angle as NWA Heavyweight Champion.

I love wrestling sometimes. What happens out of the ring is usually much more exciting that inside it.

[Hammy]

I just worry that the dude is risking his life, even with his limited schedule, recently he's been in a fucked every match period and it's been said without painkillers he cannot wrestle.

Buyrate-Wise for TNA a Goldberg vs Kurt Angle Main Event, although not helping them develope as a company or push talent, would draw HUGE me thinks.

[Evolution]

I believe Kurt Angle sadly wrestle himself to an early end. The kind of interest in that match would certainly draw people worldwide.

[Sober_times]

Kurt Angle would put TNA on the map, the guy is simply amazing, and with limited work he'll perform so much better, and safer. I really hope he goes there cuz their right, competition makes for better wrestling shows. It would finally put a fire in WWE's ass to actually improve the qualty of their shows, because if TNA can take off like WCW did, it would greatly benefit wrestling fans all around to have a choice.

[Sober_times]

Buyrate-Wise for TNA a Goldberg vs Kurt Angle Main Event, although not helping them develope as a company or push talent, would draw HUGE me thinks.

Ya i agree, and I think angle could carry Goldberg to make it a good match. Also I think a Christian & Angle fued would be great. Christian has the ability, i think, to have some classic matches with Angle. I just hope they dont throw him in with a Jarret fued. I'm not a big fan of Jeff.?

[Axl4Life]

I agree that Angle vs Joe would be a brilliant match up, but if that happens you may as well just put Angle back on the shelf afterwards. Not to say that Joe's not a good wrestler, it's just that....well, we all know, Joe can be very Physical. If Angle were to go to TNA, I'd rather, have him start off against a smaller opponent, such as Jarrett, or create a tag team, with Jay Lethal, which would be real cool. Then, when he's ready, match him up with guys, like Joe, and Abyss.