Welcome to an all new Joe’s 411: B/R Pro-Wrestling News, Independence Day edition. While all of you non-Americans have a normal day, we Americans will be celebrating our Independence from England, like we do every year on July 4.
We have a lot to get to, from John Morrison to Torrie Wilson News. So why don’t we get started, eh?
Torrie Wilson Update
It seems that Torrie Wilson is very frustrated by the WWE. In a recent interview with the Baltimore Sun, she mentioned she was embarrassed at Wrestlemania. Take a look at what she had to say:
“I’m very mad at myself and embarrassed that I agreed to be a part of something like that. A lot of people in the audience didn’t even know that I was in that match because they didn’t even announce it.
For me, that whole experience at WrestleMania was kind of like closure. I feel like maybe I’m not appreciated like I would have hoped. They just wanted all these girls there. Now I can understand why Trish [Stratus] decided not to do it; she was smart.
“Going into it I trusted them that they would use me in the right way and I should have known better. All in all, I learned a valuable lesson.”
We all saw the abomination called the 25-Diva Battle Royal at Wrestlemania. They had Santina come in and touch no one until the end when he/she pushed Beth Phoenix out. Torrie was hotter than ever, and they didn’t take advantage of that?
I mean not announcing her was terrible enough, and you have her go out and basically be just another diva out there? Like she said, she put in years of work there. That is no way to repay one of the most popular WWE Divas of all time.
I feel Trish was smart myself, she knew the WWE had something planned. So, she asked them what they were going to do, and because she knew before commiting, she declined.
When she was asked in the same interview about doing something else with the WWE, she responded by saying this:
“I do. I just didn’t appreciate that experience and I felt very unappreciated after all of the years that I put in for them.
You combine that with the fact that I asked them to do a little thing on wwe.com to ‘vote for Torrie’ (for the reality game show “I’m A Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here!”) and they just ignored me. So, my feelings are hurt.”
Who can blame her? I mean when you are basically shunned away after being apart of the WWE for some time, then that is just wrong. They could have supported their former Diva by putting up a “vote for Torrie” thing on the site.
But no, they decided to ignore her, why? She did the stupid battle royal, she worked in the WWE for years, why not repay her in the slightest bit by putting that up?
In any case, Torrie is obviously unhappy. I can’t say I blame her.
Fox wants Wrestling!
It seems that FX Network, which is owned by Fox obviously, really thinks highly of wrestling. BroadcastingAndCable.com is reporting how Fox wants to viable ratings competition for the USA Network and TNT.
The articles states that they know without getting pro wrestling or a sports league, they won’t ever be able to compete.
TNT really doesn’t have wrestling anymore, of course WCW was there in the past, but they are no longer there of course.
Basketball is on TNT, but that is the only sport that they have right now. It would be impossible to get a sports league to be there, but pro-wrestling is very likely.
I would like to see WWE get involved here, but it is possible TNA could take advantage with a second show, they are wanting to bring “Epics” here to the US. They debuted it in Europe I believe, it has yet to really get great ratings though. So it would be unlikely.
I would like to see TNA bring another show like iMPACT to TNT, but I don’t know if they have a large enough roster to do that.
The WWE has talked about having a show on Wednesday, but it has just recently been in talks, so it is unlikely they would be in the running to be on TNT. I would like to see them move SmackDown there personally.
MyNetwork TV is rumored to be going dying and will be gone by the end of 2010. So, if they want to be proactive, the WWE will move while they have interest.
Sure, FX is on cable. The WWE wants to keep at least one show on regular TV.
However, this was when they realized not all people had cable or satellite. They wanted to get SmackDown on TV to be visible to those people.
However, because of the digital transition, most people went ahead and got cable or satellite. Some just got a converter box, but according to Direct TV over 20% of people who didn’t have satellite before, got it this past year with them.
That is not including who switched to Dish, or another cable company out there.
Therefore, the WWE would be ok to put SmackDown on FX if you ask me.
Ring of Honor would be smart to get in the running. Like MyNetwork TV, HDNet is rumored to go down. They are falling financially, and their owner Mark Cuban has been having financial trouble himself and may cut his losses.
So, because FX is most likely not going anywhere because they are owned by Fox, ROH should try and get on.
It has been getting known more and more by wrestling fans, and people are starting to take notice and that is always a good thing.
FX can really get them out there, so because of that FX and ROH would have a good partnership if you ask me.
Edge hurt
As we all know, Edge has been in serious need for time off. In a recent house show, Edge twisted and was rumored to have broken his ankle in a match with Jeff Hardy. People there said the foot was in a very awkward position.
The match was immediately stopped and EMTs came out to attend to him. Edge even took the time to get on the mic and say “Sorry” to the fans.
It is a terrible blow for the WWE, as Edge just won the Unified Tag Titles with Chris Jericho. Edge has needed to leave for a while, and this looks like he will finally get it.
The SmackDown tapings were Tuesday, which was why we saw him last night on the show of course. The House Show was Thursday, so that means Edge will most likely be out of action next week if he indeed did break his ankle.
If he is really hurt, it is highly likely Edge and Jericho will lose the tag titles at Night of Champions. Afterwards, Edge will take his much needed break.
It seems that Edge and Jericho were supposed to hold the titles for a few months, so now that Edge is hurt he won’t be able to compete obviously. That means they will have to drop them.
They could set up and injury angle for the two, where Jericho hurts Edge after they lose causing an injury. Edge could come back and they could have a storyline together. It could be good to see.
People have wanted to cheer for Edge for a while, and now they can. Edge has not been a face since 2003 I believe, so he is due for a face run if you ask me.
ROH News
As we all know Ric Flair is able to work anywhere he wants because he did not sign a deal with the WWE. So, that meant that he was able to work for the ROH tapings last Friday and Saturday.
He did interviews and even did promos this time around. There was a bit of controversy last time he was at ROH because he was having to step down from ROH as its ambassador to do work in the WWE.
Flair was not going to do promos for ROH like they wanted, nor was he going to stick around long, mainly because he had to leave for a WWE event. He didn’t tell anyone about it, most likely to keep things secretive.
He didn’t know what his WWE role would be, and was under the impression he was getting a WWE contract of some sort.
He didn’t get it, although the WWE does have plans for him in the future according to reports.
Now, he can do whatever he wants in ROH. He does love the company and what it represents, so this should be the only promotion he will work with outside the WWE. He does not wish to work for TNA, he said in the past he could care less about working there.
“Their only focus is beating Vince”, he said. “ROH doesn’t want to put people out of business, they are just doing their own thing.”
Flair will probably be doing other appearances off and on with ROH in the future.
Shawn Spears, former WWE Star Gavin Spears was at ROH TV tapings for HDNet on July 17 and July 18. Spears recently had a tryout match with TNA earlier this month in a match with former WWE star Elijah Burke.
It is not clear if either will get a TNA contract, but if Spears can do well in his appearances on ROH, they will want to keep him around for sure.
I personally like this guy, and I know what he can do in the ring. He reminds me of Randy Orton a lot, and he could really be a great addition to ROH’s young roster.
ECW News
If you saw WWE.com, they have Tiffany as a Full-Fledged GM now and not just Interim as she has been for some time now. Therefore, we will see her there for a while. Its better than seeing Teddy Long there, no offense Teddy, but Tiffany is hotter.
This comes as a surprise because the WWE has not been happy with her in her role. She has actually been in talks within the WWE as the person to take over for Lilian Garcia in the RAW announcing job.
As we all saw, 4 new stars debuted on ECW this past week. Yoshi Tatsu, Abraham Washington, Sheamus, and Tyler Reks.
Tatsu was basically made fun of by Shelton Benjamin for a few minutes, which lasted longer than the match itself. Tatsu kicked him in the head, and got the 3 count. If you don’t know a lot about this man, I ask you to look him up on youtube, he is very impressive.
Washington was not a fun person to see, he is obviously doing a talk show gimmick, as he had The Bella Twins on his talk show. He was both face and heel in the talk show, so it is unclear what role he will have.
He was the FCW GM before being called up. I have not seen him wrestle yet, lets hope he is actually good.
Sheamus is one person I have liked for some time, I have expressed it on B/R in the past. He was doing house shows and dark matches for the past few weeks. He is really the crown jewel of the new superstars we are going to see.
He really doesn’t have as much of a deep Irish accent as we saw on ECW, he has spoken better on FCW in the past. He is very technical too, and is not one to make mistakes in the ring.
He has shown deadly submissions in the past, and as we all saw, he has a lot of moves that are very impressive, especially that finisher.
Reks didn’t wrestle on ECW, but appeared there. He had his match on Superstars and was pretty impressive, he is supposed to be on ECW this week for his first match there.
This is actually not the end of the new superstar initiative. These stars are basically on a match by match basis, so some of the people we saw this past week won’t be on ECW in a main spot.
They are bringing up a lot of new stars, and if liked, they will be on the roster. Fans should be watching ECW for the next few weeks, because we will see more being tested like the 4 we saw this week.
None will be full-fledged members of the WWE roster yet, but will rather still be in try out mode for the next few months. The WWE has not been patient with young stars in the past, which means the new stars need to impress right away.
Tony Atlas will probably be released. After Mark Henry was drafted to RAW, Atlas was forced to stay on ECW. His WWE future is in doubt of course, and he is not able to wrestle often anymore.
This means that the WWE has no way to use him, if he can’t wrestle and will not fit for any managing role, there is no use for him. He signed a WWE deal back on July 8. 2008, which was most likely a 1 year deal. So they may let his contract run out, and not renew it.
John Morrison and Dolph Ziggler update
If you have seen SmackDown, you have obviously seen John Morrison and Dolph Ziggler. The WWE decided to push both when the arrived on SmackDown, to see what they could do.
They really impressed management, and has since been thought to be the best young stars in the company, so the WWE has decided to push them more. While Morrison will be in more main events, such as possible World Title matches, Ziggler will be in Intercontinental Title talks.
Both will most likely be wearing gold by the end of 2009, and I am very happy personally. I personally love both of these men, and Ziggler is a guy I have mentioned for a while, will be the next big star in the WWE.
Ziggler has not let me down, and I am very happy to see that. Morrison is a beast, the dude is going out and having great match after great match. How can you not push a guy who is doing so well?
Good job WWE, for finally giving us what we want!
That is all for the 411 Today, remember to check out the upcoming 411s!
credit: ewrestlingnews.com, wrestlenewz.com, wrestlingtruth.com, pwmania.com. pwtorch.com, prowrestling.com, prowrestling.net, lordsofpain.com, Baltimore Sun, wrestleblog.com