February 2021 – Page 5

Source: PWinsider.com

— Although WWE is upset that RAW only did a 3.92 rating (hourly ratings were 3.77 and 4.05), the quarter hour ratings that were released tell an interesting story. The show had a slow build in viewership during the night – peaking with a 3.99 for the final quarter hour and a 4.7 for the overrun.

— With WrestleMania behind us and Backlash later this month, WWE has already starting promoting their May 18th PPV event – JUDGEMENT DAY. Here’s their synopsis of the event: Judgment Day is upon us. Don’t miss Triple H, John Cena, Shawn Michaels, Chris Jericho, Undertaker, Batista, and all your favorite Superstars as they face the consequences of their actions at Judgment Day, Sunday, May 18th live at 8pm ET/5pm PT, only on Pay-Per-View. The PPV poster features Triple H in an orange prison jumpsuit walking down a cellblock with other prisoners in the background.

JUDGEMENT DAY PPV Poster Featuring Triple H in PRISON! (Picture) [>]

source: PWInsider.com

— Chavo Guerrero is now officially a member of the ECW roster as WWE.com has moved his profile to their section.

— Mike Knox will continue to wrestle while the investigation regarding HGH and steroids being found at his former home is going through. He wrestled at tonight’s SmackDown/ECW house show in Valencia, Spain. He lost to Tommy Dreamer in a match at the show.

— Elijah Burke remembers Ric Flair’s career in his latest column, which you can read at this link.

Click here for news on a possible CM Punk heel turn

WWE sent out a mass email this afternoon hyping tonight’s WWE RAW featuring Presidential candidates Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama and John McCain.

THE RACE COMES TO RAW: The night before an important Pennsylvania primary, Presidential candidates Sen. Hillary Clinton, Sen. Barack Obama and Sen. John McCain will each make a very special appearance on a three-hour edition of Monday Night RAW

The announcement also linked to a YouTube clip showing the three candidates talking to the WWE fans. It’s cool to see that each one of them made references to WWE in their messages. This is likely the footage that we’ll see on RAW tonight. You can see that video clip here.

VIDEO of the ULTIMATE WARRIOR’s Return to Wrestling in Spain Last Night [>]

Source: TheSun.co.uk

In his latest column for the UK Sun, Paul Heyman goes on a rant about how poorly TNA has marketed Samoa Joe since he won the TNA Title earlier this month. He does a pretty good job explaining the various problems with the way TNA promotes their product and how the company does absolutely nothing to emphasize their unique strengths. You can read the column here. Some highlights:

Heyman says, “The live crowd, for the most part, loved [Joe & Angle’s MMA-style match]. Customer satisfaction with the TNA product probably reached an all time high with this match. And yet, NOTHING CHANGED!”

He continues, “Why? Because TNA had no marketing campaign behind their new champion. ‘Crossing the Line’ was done by ECW in 1994. David Sahadi is a genius whose videos deserve massive praise, but the theme is the same as what he did for WWE a half decade ago. What public relations firm was hired to make Samoa Joe ‘the IT guy’ in today’s pop culture? What marketing firm was retained to get the TNA name out there? … Where’s the expansion? Where’s the reach-out for the new audience? Where’s the strategy to blast past the 1.0 ratings and target a 1.5, dare I say a “2.0” rating?

* NEW Pictures of HULK HOGAN Oiling Up His Daughter Brooke … THIS – IS – CREEEEPY!!

— PTINews.com out of India has an interview with The Great Khali. Regarding WWE matches, he said, “Everything whatever you see out there is real.” Khali also added, “Sometimes wrestlers receive serious injuries, and even die in the ring. There is no way of manipulation by the media.” You can read “WWE bouts are real, not manipulated, says Khali” at this link.

— This is your big chance if you’ve ever wished to become a WWE Superstar. WWE’s holding wrestler tryouts — for people living in Australia and New Zealand. “Bushwacker” Butch Miller and management from Kiwi Pro Wrestling are holding WWE tryouts in Auckland, New Zealand on June 11. For more information, click here. Only a few applicants will be selected. WWE has held a few tryouts in New Zealand in the past, but has never signed anyone. Also, WWE held tryouts in the U.K. last year, and with the exception of one wrestler (Hade Vansen), the only wrestlers that landed contracts and are still employed are guys with the overly muscular look that WWE covets; Drew McIntyre, Stu Sanders (who is 6 foot 7) and Sheamus O’Shaunessy (who looks like a bodybuilder).

— IndiaTimes.com has an interview with “Stone Cold” Steve Austin. When asked to name his most challenging opponent, Austin said, “I wouldn’t say challenging, but there were a few favorites like Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat and The Rock. Bret Hart and I shared great chemistry in the ring too.” Austin also shares a story on The Great Khali. “Khali’s a very nice guy, we get along very well. While we were shooting for The Longest Yard, we used to work out together. I’ll never forget the time when Khali walked into the women’s loo in the gym by mistake! The girls were hysterical and Khali was so embarrassed!” Austin also talks about how the “Stone Cold” name was created and how much of his image was pre-planned. You can read the interview at this link.

See a photo of how former WWE star Giant Gonzalez looks like now (>>)

Source: The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Dr. Phil Astin III, the doctor who allegedly prescribed steroids and other drugs to Chris Benoit, was indicted today on 175 federal counts of illegal prescription abuse. He was previously indicted in July 2007 on seven federal counts of overprescribing to two other patients.

Today’s indictment includes the charges from the first indictment and adds 150 counts relating to 17 additional patients.

According to AJC.com, the patients allegedly received illegal prescriptions for Percocet, Oxycontin, Demerol, Lorcet, Ritalin, Vicodin, Xanax, Adderall and Soma. The indictment also alleges the drugs Astin dispensed resulted in the death of a patient. You can click here to read the entire article.

* CRAZY Videos of Kurt Angle’s BROKEN NECK & Warrior Back in the Gym

Source: Variety.com

Original Media, the shingle behind unscripted hits “Miami Ink” and “L.A. Ink,” has sealed a development pact with WWE wrestling legend “Stone Cold” Steve Austin.

Under the pact, Original will partner with management/production company Caliber Media to create a reality show with Austin at the center. Producers are keeping tight wraps on the concept, which they plan to pitch to network and cable nets shortly.

“I’m a big fan of wrestling and of his,” said Original Media CEO Charlie Corwin. “He’s a dynamic personality, and I seek out characters that I feel are exciting and dramatic and entertaining. This show’s going to be big, broad, accessible, heroic and American.”

Corwin will exec produce with Caliber’s Jack Heller and Dallas Sonnier. The WWE is not involved in the deal — and Austin is not going by his wrestling-related “Stone Cold” moniker.

Austin said he’d been approached several times with TV projects over the past year, but didn’t find anything that felt right until Original and Caliber brought their idea to him.

“They came to me a couple of months ago with a vision and show concept that really got me excited,” Austin said.

Beyond the initial reality show, Original and Caliber are developing other projects, both scripted and unscripted, with Austin in mind.

Original has a first-look scripted deal with NBC Entertainment, where it’s landed a 13-episode order for the midseason series “The Philanthropist.”

* PICTURES of LINDA HOGAN & Her New 19-Year-Old Boy Toy: He Looks like Nick!

Click:chinese novel

Source: WWE.com

Preview: The 2008 WWE Draft

In the midst of the build-up to Night of Champions, there’s one thing on every Superstar’s mind: the 2008 WWE Draft. For the second year in a row, the Draft will take place on a special three-hour Raw, where all Superstars, all Divas and all announcers from all three brands are eligible. How will the entire landscape of sports-entertainment change in the wake of this year’s Draft?

Even with the Draft dominating Raw next week, Mr. McMahon has announced that there’s nothing keeping him from giving away another $1 million of his money as part of Mr. McMahon’s Million Dollar Mania. For your chance to get a share of the Chairman’s cash, all you have to do is register to win.

Temperatures continue to rise between WWE Champion Triple H and his Night of Champions challenger John Cena. Last week, Mr. McMahon was forced to send in a referee to keep The Game and Cena from taking each other apart at the very start of Raw, and we still have more than a week to go until Night of Champions, when they’ll finally be turned loose on one another. When two competitors this powerful and confident want to compete, is there anything capable of keeping them apart?

After being kept away from Cena, Triple H participated in a match against Intercontinental Champion Chris Jericho as retaliation for Y2J’s cruel treatment of Shawn Michaels the week before. Jericho has stated that he’s tired of being booed for doing the right thing only to see HBK cheered for his dishonest behavior, and to back his claim, he was willing to throw down with not only the WWE Champion but also Ric Flair, in the Hall of Famer’s first appearance since his retirement. After having his head smashed into the Jeri-Tron 6000, Michaels is currently receiving medical care, but how long will it be before he returns to Raw looking for payback?

Though they have had their share of difficulties in prior weeks, the World Tag Team Champions Hardcore Holly & Cody Rhodes managed to defeat Cryme Tyme in a non-title match on Raw. Watching them compete was Ted DiBiase, who along with a partner of his choosing will be challenging Holly & Rhodes at Night of Champions in the third-generation Superstar’s first in-ring performance. Who is this mystery competitor, and will the World Tag Team Champions be able to stand up to their assault?

Tune in to witness sports-entertainment history on a three-hour Monday Night Raw at the special time of 8/7 CT only on the USA Network.

Draft *SPOILERS* – Find Out WHO Is Getting TRADED Tonight! [>]

Rajah.com reader Cristian Leon sent this in…

Hey there. Long time Rajah reader, here’s my first report. Hope it’s good enough!

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Rey comes out first to a huge pop. He said that since the draft happened he’s here and so are others such as Kofi Kingston (mild pop) and CM Punk (nice pop). He said he can’t wrestle yet but will be able to next week and got some heat for that. He also mentioned about how someone recently made bad comments about latin women (which Carlito kinda did in a press conference weeks ago), and that he disagreed because he thinks latin women are very nice looking. Carlito comes out to a pop and says that Rey and the crowd are jealous because they’re not from puerto rico like he is. Carlito said he wants to fight Rey right now but Rey says he can’t fight but has a friend that would love to wipe the floor with him. Batista comes out to a huge pop, gets in the ring. Carlito spits apple on Batista’s face and they start fighting. Rey hits the 619 on Carlito followed by a Batista bomb and they celebrate.

Tony Chimel announces the next match. Paul London comes out to a decent pop, does his backflips and the crowd is impressed. Lance Cade comes out to some heat. Pretty good match, London gets some offense in. Cade wins the match.

For the next match Charlie Haas comes out to some heat. Jim Duggan comes out holding the american flag and 2×4 as usual. Crowd goes HOOOOOOO along with Duggan. Duggan wins. No U S A chant, though…

Chimel announces that the next match is for the world tag team championship. Cryme Tyme come out to a pretty good pop. JTG does the cueca (national dance of Chile) in the ring and gets a huge reaction from the crowd. Ted and Cody come out to some heat. They retain after Ted hits the million dollar dream legsweep on Shad. Pretty good match with great team moves from Shad and JTG.

The following match is for the women’s championship. Santino is the special guest referee. He talks about how he knows a lot about Chile, such as Chili Fritos and Chili Palmer, gets a lot of heat. Beth comes out to a decent pop, followed by Mickie who gets an even bigger pop. Santino tries to check if Mickie was hiding anything in her pants by trying to feel her legs up but Mickie kept avoiding his hands (it was pretty funny). He did the same with Beth but she got mad and grabbed him and felt him up instead. Good match, Mickie retained despite Santino’s slow counts.

After the break Jericho comes out to a huge pop. He says (all of this in Spanish) that Michaels did not come to Chile because he’s a liar and a coward, just like everybody in the crowd, which got him a lot of heat. Michaels comes out and gets the biggest pop of the night. Great match, Cade tries to interfere but the referee tells him to get out. Michaels wins after hitting sweet chin music.

Chimel announces that the following contest will be for the World Heavyweight Championship. Kane comes out to a huge pop, followed by Punk who also gets a huge pop. Kane’s more over than Punk with the crowd. Punk wins after hitting the Go To Sleep on Kane, which didn’t look too great considering how big Kane is, but still impressive. They shake hands after the match.

JBL comes out for the main event, getting lots of heat from the crowd. He goes on saying George Bush is the greatest president in history and that all of you should respect him, because he protects this country. He starts singing God Bless America and gets LOADS of heat. The crowd starts insulting him in spanish and he demands that they speak to him in English. Cena comes out to mixed booing and cheering. He throws his shirt at the crowd and they return it, much like in One Night Stand, and the crowd popped for that. JBL points at the crowd and says THESE ARE MY FRIENDS in spanish, getting half of the crowd behind him for the whole match, including several JBL chants. The shirt deal goes on for a while until someone throws back something that kinda looked like a black Hello Kitty shirt instead of Cena’s shirt. Cena looks at it confused and everybody laughs. He throws it at JBL, who stomps it and then uses it to wipe his armpits. Pretty good match, ref bump near the end, JBL goes for a chairshot but Cena counters it, hits the FU and wins.

Cena celebrates with the crowd, takes a Chilean flag and holds it up at the ring entrance but he’s holding it the wrong way (flipped). Oops! The crowd didn’t really mind. Pretty good show but several people in the audience were mad about Triple H and others not showing up due to the draft.

Huge *SPOILER* – The Raw Main Event For Great American Bash REVEALED HERE >>

— As we reported earlier this week, Ric Flair appeared at Tuesday’s SmackDown! tapings from Charlotte, North Carolina. Flair gave a farewell address to the fans of “Flair Country” and talked about how much he loved the city. Flair said that when he first came there in the 1970s, it was all about professional wrestling and NASCAR – long before they had any major sports franchises. He pointed out his children in the audience and said that everyone tells him how much Reid is like him. The speech will not air on television, but a video clip of it has been posted online and can be viewed at this link.

— This week’s edition of ECW on Sci Fi featuring the Hardy Boys reunion scored a strong 1.42 cable rating, up from last week’s 1.38. PWInsider.com reports that WWE brought Jeff Hardy to SmackDown! this week to offset the stiff competition of the MLB All-Star game. Apparently it worked.

* NEW RAW GM Revealed, PICTURE of CARLITO’s New Hairdo (CORNROWS!) & More [>]

Judgement Day PPV Poster, Flair RAW Celebration Draws Huge Quarter Hour Rating

Wrestler Moved To ECW, Latest On Mike Knox, Elijah Burke Remembers Flair