INSIDE THE RING NEWSLETTER
by Trevor Hunnicutt and Eddie T.
Edition 46
The staff and management of TheBalrogsLair.com, as well as Inside the Ring
Newsletter, would like to extend our condolences and feelings of sorrow to the
families and friends of the victims of the Katrina Hurricane. To those who
are still trying to escape this dark moment in our modern-day history, we wish
you the best of luck and good health. Hang in there, and God bless!
MICK FOLEY ALMOST SIGNS WITH TNA; ENDS UP IN WWE
by Eddie T.
Mick Foley revealed earlier tonight on the Between the Ropes radio show that
he has signed a WWE contract, which was known since yesterday. However, he
added that he was extremely close to signing a deal with TNA before heading to
WWE. The contract had been on the table with TNA for about four months when
Foley spoke with McMahon and made up his mind to go to with WWE. He’s expected
to return to the ring and WWE TV soon, although he’s doing a very few
matches. TNA had wanted Foley as a figurehead type of role. Mick is close with many
of the guys in the company, and is very high on Samoa Joe and his future in
the business. He even responded to a recent question (on ESPN’s Cold Pizza –
to air soon) of who he hopes to wrestle next by picking the Samoan.
MATT HARDY AND LITA BACK TOGETHER, OR “YOU HAVE BEEN WORKED ALL ALONG”
by Eddie T.
Surprise, surprise. According to several fan reports as of late, Matt Hardy
and Lita have been spotted together on the road on several occassions. The
latest on the saga is that the two were spotted together at the Bahama Breeze on
International Drive in Orlando, on 8/28, where they ate together.
Conveniently, this happens to be right after the WWE house show that day.
Well, perhaps we’ll never know the answer to the million-dollar question of
whether the two ever broke up or not, but this goes to show you what pro
wrestling is all about.
GAIL KIM SIGNS WITH TNA; JACKIE GAYDA TO FOLLOW?
by Eddie T.
Gail Kim has come to terms with Total Nonstop Action, and is expected to
debut very shortly for the company, as they start to get ready for their TV
debut, Saturday nights, on SpikeTV, beginning October 1. Gail Kim is a former WWE
Women’s Champion, originally from Toronto, who’s considered a good worker.
This is definitely a strong signing for TNA if they want to push a women’s
division.
Word going around the ‘net and the wrestling circles is that another former
WWE diva, Jackie Gayda, will also be headed to TNA soon. This, however, has
not been confirmed.
UPDATE ON CHRISTIAN MERCHANDISE SITUATION; CM PUNK UPDATE
by Eddie T.
A couple of weeks ago, we reported that WWE pulled all the Christian
merchandise containing the phrase “Captain Charisma.” As it turns out, the reason
for the pull was the fact that WWE doesn’t own the trademark rights to the
phrase, and whoever the owner is has good legal standing against the company. The
latest with Christian is that he continues to be very unhappy with his push
on SmackDown!, or lack of push rather. He’s very upset with the way his
program with World Champion Batista was blown off in only one week.
CM Punk is now officially a part of Ohio Valley Wrestling, as he is now in
Louisville, Kentucky, and training at OVW.
TRIPLE H TO FACE JOHN CENA AT WWE AUSTRALIAN TOUR IN OCTOBER
by Eddie T.
The cards for the late October WWE tour of Australia have been announced,
and there’s some very interesting pair-ups. The most important and interesting
ones, though, would have to be the bookings of former World Champion, Triple
H. A returning Helmsley will face John Cena, then Ric Flair, and also
participate in a six-men tag match as a heel. Credit for the following cards should
be given to Michael Bowen and PWInsider.com.
Catch all the action and all the excitement of WORLD WRESTLING ENTERTAINMENT
when it returns to AUSTRALIA!! The following Superstars are scheduled to
appear at ADELAIDE ENTERTAINMENT CENTRE!!
THE DEBUT OF THE RAW SUPERSTARS IN ADELAIDE!!
WWE CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH
John Cena vs. Triple H
Shawn Michaels, Ric Flair vs. Kurt Angle & Edge w. Lita
INTERCONTINENTAL CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH:
Big Show vs. Carlito
TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH:
Hurricane & Rosey vs. Kerwin White & Rob Conway
Shelton Benjamin vs. “The Masterpiece” Chris Masters
Eugene vs. Trevor Murdoch
Tajiri vs. Lance Cade
Also appearing:
Torrie Wilson
Candice Michelle
2005 Diva Search Winner Ashley Massaro
And many more!!
Card is subject to change.
Tickets on sale NOW!
Catch all the action and all the excitement of WORLD WRESTLING ENTERTAINMENT
when it returns to AUSTRALIA!! The following Superstars are scheduled to
appear at SYDNEY SUPERDOME!!
RETURN OF THE RAW SUPERSTARS IN SYDNEY!!
WWE Title MATCH
John Cena vs. Kurt Angle
Ric Flair vs. Triple H
Shawn Michaels vs. “The Masterpiece” Chris Masters
Big Show vs. Edge w. Lita
Kerwin White vs. Tajiri
Tag Team Title Match:
Hurricane & Rosey vs. Lance Cade & Trevor Murdoch
Eugene & Rob Conway
Also Appearing:
Torrie Wilson
2005 RAW Diva Search Winner Ashley Massaro
Candice Michelle
Shelton Benjamin
Catch all the action and all the excitement of WORLD WRESTLING ENTERTAINMENT
when it makes its way to AUSTRALIA!! The following Superstars are scheduled
to appear at ROD LAVER ARENA!!
RETURN OF THE RAW SUPERSTARS TO MELBOURNE!!
WWE CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH
John Cena vs. Kurt Angle
6 MAN TAG TEAM MATCH
Shawn Michaels, Ric Flair & Big Show vs. HHH, Carlito and Edge w. Lita
TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH
Hurricane & Rosey vs. Lance Cade & Trevor Murdoch
Shelton Benjamin vs. Rob Conway
Tajiri vs. “The Masterpiece” Chris Masters
Eugene vs. Kerwin White
Also Appearing:
2005 Diva Search Winner Ashley Massaro
Candice Michelle
Torrie Wilson
And many more!!
Card is subject to change.
DUSTY RHODES SIGNS WITH WWE AND REPLACES DAVE LAGANA
by Eddie T.
Dusty Rhodes signed an additional contract with WWE earlier today, having
already signed a “Legends” deal with the company a couple of weeks ago, after a
meeting with Stephanie McMahon.
It was announced in the day that he conducted an interview with WWE.com and
was expected to be working as part of creative on the SmackDown! brand.
We can now confirm that Rhodes will be replacing Dave Lagana from his spot
as head writer on SmackDown!, as Dave Lagana is moving to a better-paid,
less-travel-requiring position on Shane McMahon’s New Media team. Lagana will help
Rhodes make the transition into head writer of SmackDown! as well as
continue to help out the creative process in the company, since he’s very well-liked
inside the company.
Rhodes’ interview was posted a bit ago on WWE.com – you can read it _HERE._
(http://www.wwe.com/inside/news/dustyback) He basically mentions he’s excited
to be back, and that he’s looking forward to working with Stephanie McMahon,
which was the smart thing to say. He shot down the idea of being an
on-camera character with WWE, but has said that he wants to work with Ric Flair. Time
will tell. This hiring makes it very easy for the company to get him to join
the Hall of Fame at WrestleMania in Chicago next year.
RAW & SMACKDOWN! TAPINGS REPLACED; SUPERSHOW ANNOUNCED
by Eddie T.
WWE has had lots of problems with their schedule due to the problems
associated with the Katrina hurricane.
A major update is that they have changed the locations for upcoming TV
tapings. RAW, which was supposed to take place on 9/26 in Bioxi, Mississippi, will
be now airing live from Waco, Texas. In the same week, the 9/27 taping of
SmackDown! has been moved from New Orleans, Louisiana to Laredo, Texas. Good
move on WWE’s behalf to make the changes so far ahead of time. They have also
done a pretty good job of keeping fans updated on the situation over at the
live events calendar section of WWE.com.
Speaking of WWE shows, the company announced that they will be doing another
“supershow” taping of RAW & SmackDown! in the same night on Monday, December
5. The taping takes place in North Charleston Coliseum in North Charleston,
South Carolina.
HOGAN KNOWS BEST FINALE REVIEW; LONGEST YARD DVD RELEASE DATE
by Eddie T.
The following is the preview for the season finale of VH-1’s reality show,
Hogan Knows Best.:
“After 25 years on the road wrestling, Hulk has always had an outlet for his
energy and aggression by body-slamming people nightly. Now that he’s home,
he’s bored and antsy — and driving his family nuts. Brooke, Nick and Linda
all try to find Hulk a hobby. First Hulk tries golf at an exclusive country
club — but he’s much too tense for that. Next he tries tennis, but ends up
drinking beer on the court with a buddy. Finally, Brooke suggests Pilates…”
Several media outlets have also picked up on the story that we ran a day ago
concerning Brooke Hogan’s “feud” with Lindsay Lohan. The update here, I
guess, is that Brooke is now saying she doesn’t want to beat up Lindsay Lohan,
whom she strongly dislikes, but if she wanted to she could. Quite the news
story…
The Longest Yard, starring Adam Sandler, Chris Rock, Burt Reynolds and pro
wrestling & MMA names such as Kevin Nash, Goldberg, Steve Austin, and Bob
Sapp, will see the DVD release of the movie on 9/20.
CONTACT US
Make sure to check out _TheBalrogsLair.com_ (http://www.thebalrogslair.com)
for the latest news and plenty of opinion articles from the world of
professional wrestling. The site has really caught on fire as of late!
Trevor Hunnicutt – _THunnicutt at aol.com_ (mailto:THunnicutt at aol.com)
Eddie T. – _Levski11 at aol.com_ (mailto:Levski11 at aol.com)
