~~~~~THE TBL NEWSLETTER~~~~~
All New, Bright and Shiny!!!
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Official Newsletter of:
The Balrog’s Lair
”Still an Internet Original!”
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Note from the NEW Editor:
Things are a’changing! The TBL Newsletter has a new Editor.
After much soul searching, my boss, Joe Balrog, has stepped down as the Editor-in-Chief due to the tremendous schedule that he keeps. But in my quest to become the unquestioned ruler of The Balrog’s Lair, I, Roland G, have stepped up to the plate.
So, what does this mean for the TBL Newsletter? Lots. Number one, it means you will be getting these in your mail box every week. Number two, it means exclusive content, with opinions and points of view only found here. You won’t even find these views on the Website itself. The subscribers of this Newsletter will mean something again! Number three, it means contributions from other writers. It is my ultimate goal to get our other columnists at TBL to contribute their opinions to the week’s news items to give even more variety. I may even include thoughts from you, Mr. Joe Fan.
But most of all, my goal is to save you time. I realize in your hectic lives that looking up wrestling news is not always the easiest thing to do. Well, now you don’t have to worry about it. Why go to the news when the news can come to you? Let your old pal Roland do the work for you. All week long, I will scour the web for news items that matter, write them down, give my opinion, and then package them all up and send them to you, piping hot with a cherry on top. What more could you ask for?
Roland G and the TBL Newsletter. A marriage made in Heaven. Let’s have some fun.
Roland G, Editor-in-Chief
rolandg77@sbcglobal.net
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A New IC Champ?
We found out late Sunday Night, in somewhat surprising news, Christian pinned Booker T in a Des Moines, Iowa house show. Tt seems as if Booker’s back problem has become a serious issue, and he will be out of action for 6-8 weeks. But there is also some talk that the injury could be career ending.
This is a real shame for Booker. After all that time fighting for the IC Title, he finally wins it and now goes on the shelf. There is some silver lining though. Ever since he won the title, Booker has received absolutely zero reaction from the fans. Due possibly to the long and overexposed feud with Christian or the fact that he might be still feeling the effects of being buried by Triple H for the title at Wrestlemania, WWE fans have seemed bored with him. I don’t think that’s Booker’s fault at all. He is a solid guy with solid work. A fresh feud would have done him good, but creative kept his never-ending matches with Christian going. Now that he is out for a little while, the fans can start to miss him. And after eight week (should he return-fingers crossed), I think the fans will be extremely excited to see him. It will be a good, fresh start for a guy that was starting to turn stale.
As DDP might say, “And that’s a good thing.”
The RAW rating
WWE RAW scored a 3.9 rating this week. That is down slightly from the 4.0 the show did last week. But they are maintaining the status quo.
Did you miss RAW this past week? Well hop on over to RAW Rage and catch up on all you missed!
Where in the World is Lita? And Why Haven’t I Seen Teddy Long?
Ah Grasshopper, you ask the good questions. It was reported this week that the current plan is to bring Lita back as a partner to Trish Stratus, feuding with Gail Kim and Molly Holly. Lita will be limited in what she can do in the ring, but she is almost ready to get back into it. We can only hope that this will happen very soon because her high flying style might actually make Gail Kim look better in the ring.
As for my man Theodore Long, he’s not really on a “cruise” as The King said on RAW Monday night. He has actually been out of action since doctors found hepatitis in his blood. But, he is expected to be back on RAW as soon as next week.
Both of them will be a great addition to RAW. It’s been far too long since we’ve seen Lita and, limited or not, she will only help strengthen an already blossoming women’s division. And everyone already knows how I feel about Teddy. There is no better manager around right now. When he was being given microphone time to actually be effective, he accomplished an almost impossible task of getting me interested in Rodney Mack matches. Once hepatitis stops “haterizing” on him, he should be given more time to do what he does best.
Who Betta Than. . .Mortis?
Chris Kanyon worked a dark match before last Tuesday’s Smackdown tapings. He appeared as Mortis, a former gimmick.
It’s such a shame that the creative staff can’t seem to come up with something for Kanyon since his return. One of the few emerging starts out of the Invasion angle that audiences responded to, Chris proved his is someone that really should be used somehow. He’s not terrible in the ring either. Well, if this Mortis gimmick works to get him back on television, more power to you, Chris.
Whoa dude! I spent all my cash on the new Austin shirt!
Madison Square Garden has announced prices for tickets to WrestleMania XX which will take place next year. Ringside seats are priced at $754.50. The lowest priced seats are $54.50. Those high end tickets now set a record for the highest priced tickets ever for a wrestling event. Tickets will go on sale September 27th.
It’s hard to say what I think about this. Certainly Wrestlemania XX will be the biggest wrestling event ever (as evidenced by the barrage of ads we’ve seen for it already). But $754.50!!! Anyone who has that much scratch to throw away on a wrestling even has too much scratch as it is. Either that, or they are waaaaaaaaaaaaay into it. Geez, and I thought I love wrestling a lot to give my time to writing about it for free, but man!
Ah, Wrestling fans don’t read anyway
Due to sagging book sales, the WWE has turned down two potential biographies. Both Bob Backlund and Bobby “The Brain” Heenan were turned down for book offers. Heenan had already written one book but was looking to pen a second.
Now, I love a good read as much as anyone, but I’ve been burned by some of these books already. The Rock’s book was so fluffy it floats on it’s own and Hogan’s book gutted out all the good stuff. If you want to read about wrestling from a wrestler, read Have A Nice Day by Mick Foley. You aren’t going to get any more honest than that. I haven’t read Freddy Blassie’s book but I understand it is also a good read. If your just out to read about wrestling in general, stick to the columns on The Balrog’s Lair. You can’t go wrong with that.
Ha, Ha! Russo gets away with everything
Fulton County Judge Susan B. Forsling ruled last Wednesday that Hulk Hogan’s charges of defamation against WCW and Vince Russo were groundless and were just part of a wrestling storyline. The suit stemmed from the 2000 Bash at the Beach PPV where Vince Russo came out following Hulk Hogan’s win over Jeff Jarrett and blasted Hogan. The Judge ruled that Russo’s verbal assault was aimed at Hulk Hogan the character, not Terry Bollea the actual person. The Judge said that what happened that night seemed to be part of the storyline, and that Hogan did not provide enough evidence to prove otherwise. The Judge did, however, keep in tact that WCW may have breached Hogan’s contract by now making him the focal point of that PPV, not giving him creative control, and not featuring him in at least 6 PPVs that year. That case will now go to trial. (Credit: Daily Report)
This is quite possibly the most asinine lawsuit of all time; including the World Wildlife Fund’s suit and that’s saying something.
Maybe Preacher D’Von could perform a Healing.
After three different surgeries to repair his shoulder, Batista is about a month away from returning to action.
And not a moment too soon. The question is, will he be involved in Evolution again? I, for one, pray so. Evolution has been making it’s mark on RAW, but it needs something more. And Batista is that guy. The “enforcer”, Dave has a great look and anything he lacks in microphone ability can be covered up by Flair, Orton, and Triple H. While many columnist are lamenting the current state of the WWE, guys like Orton, Batista, Sean O’haire and John Cena make me think that the future is looking brighter and brighter.
Set your clocks now.
In somewhat surprising news, Rob Van Dam showed up for an interview on KSPN in Los Angeles on Wednesday and might have gotten himself in some hot water. Among other things, RVD admitted the reason he has not been pushed well is because of backstage politics and that he is in the middle of it right now. He also mentioned that he would be upset that Shane and Bischoff are headlining shows while he opens them, but he is used to it by now.
I like RVD and have since ECW. I don’t think I’m in the minority here. And even though he seems to be running on auto-pilot in the last six months, he still has enough talent to really get the fans behind him. But saying things like this are not going to help him keep his job. We all remember what happened to Roddy Piper. I do think it’s interesting, however, if WWE management were to let him go and he were to be signed by NWA:TNA, RVD might just be the one man to take them out of weekly PPV’s and onto national television. Maybe that is his plan after all. Who knows?
The Odd Couple.
It was reported by Celebrity Justice this week that Joanie Lauer (formerly Chyna) is in hiding from Sean Waltman (formerly X-Pac). Her claim is that on August 1st, Waltman allegedly beat her, put her in a choke hold, and nearly killed her. There are rumors also that Waltman allegedly beat her all throughout their relationship. Lauer has filed a restraining order and has disconnected all her phones and has moved.
What a sad story. I certainly have never been one to make light of spousal abuse (and readers of my RAW Rage reports know I take shots at Mr. Austin on a regular basis because of it) and I’m not doing that here. But I’ve always found it odd that these two ever got together in the first place. Waltman was part of the clique (or Kliq, whichever you prefer) with Triple H and it always seemed odd to me that these two got together after the nasty break up of Joanie and Chachie (or Paul L.). Plus it seems odd that such a small man like Waltman could manhandle such a big woman like Lauer, but who is to say? If there is truth to this, may X-Pac be permanently removed from my consciousness.
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Closing Thoughts and Plugs (and something for you)
Well, I guess that about raps it up for this, my first edition of the TBL Newsletter. And, true, this hasn’t been as long as the ones in the past, but give me time and you’ll see what I can do.
I do have something for you to do. I would love to incorporate your thoughts into the newsletter. I mean, what makes me smarter than you? If you see something in the news that you would like to comment on, email me here, include your thoughts, and I might just use them in this Newsletter and make you a star! Haven’t you always wanted to see your name in lights?
Need something to do from now until the next Newsletter? How about you go and check out some great opinion columns on TBL? Let me recommend a few. There is this one where my boss, Joe Balrog, talks about storylines in the WWE. You like NWA:TNA? Cool brother, because Trevor has one up giving us a recap of the last show. What about someone else’s opinions on the news? You’re in luck because Eddie loves to give his News and Analysis on everything wrestling. Want more? Well, how can I not plug myself? Go check out Part 1 of my newest edition of Roland’s Chamber: The Wrestling Geek.
I guess that’s it. Please forgive any HTML errors as this is my first time. Be kind. Hope everyone has a great weekend. See you next time.
Roland G
rolandg77@sbcglobal.net
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Copyright © 1999 – 2003
