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Tuesday, December 25, 2007

Gail Kim Facts

Gail Kim was born on February 20, 1977 and she is more than a professional wrestler, being a valet and actress. She did become famous for her WWE and now TNA wrestling matches and will forever be the first ever TNA Women's Champion, although she was also a WWE Women's Champion. Gail Kim actually won her debut match for the WWE, which was for the women's title. Before becoming a professional wrestler, Gail attended the York Memorial Collegiate Institute in Toronto. She was very sporty from day one and was even named "Athlete of the Year". After graduation she started studying kinesiology at the University of Toronto until she eventually switched to nutrition at Ryerson University.

Our lovely Korean Canadian lady decided to become a professional wrestler and joined Ron Hutchinson's "School of Pro Wrestling". Gail also got special training from Rob Etchevarria at "Squared Circle Pro Wrestling Gym". Her wrestling debut was under the name "The Queen of the Cats" La Feline in Apocalypse Wrestling Federation. She wore a mask that she had to get rid of in a "mask versus hair" match against Tracy Brooks. The two female wrestlers met again in the semi finals of the WXW Women's Elite 8 Tournament held in Danbury, Connecticut on September 27, 2002. Brooks won the match.

Gail Kim is truly a talented female professional wrestler and everybody knows this. Her matches in both WWE and TNA were always admired and it is a delight to see her in the ring. On the other hand, another move that boosted her popularity came when pictures of Gail Kim topless appeared for a cell phone ad in Japan. This was in 2005 and December 2007 saw her listed as among the top 40 "America's Most Eligible Bachelorettes" by Forbes. Needless to say that "Gail Kim Naked" is something that would sell products.

Getting back to Gail Kim wrestling, you probably saw her execute some finishers including Happy Ending (a cross-arm neckbreaker slam), Christo in the WWE or Flying Dragon in TNA (a tilt-a-whirl headscissors armbar), the Flipping neckbreaker in TNA between 2005 and 2006, the Air Raid Crash and the Hurricanrana pin in the WWE. Gail Kim also managed some wrestlers including Jeff Jarrett, James Storm, Chris Harris, Petey Williams, Molly Holly and Eric Young. If you want some Gail Kim MP3s to purchase you can go for her three entrance theme songs: International Woman in the WWE, Anime Girls or Unstoppable in TNA, with a revamped introduction after Gail Kim won the TNA Knowckouts Championship in October 2007. If you want to download some Gail Kim Themes and find out more info about her be sure to check out her official web site: www.thegailkim.com

Monday, December 24, 2007

Diva Playboy Poll Results

Playboy.com recently held a poll that asked fans to vote on their favorite Playboy cover of the past that featured a WWE Dive. The poll is over and the result is very interesting as the winner is a current TNA Knockout in Christy Hemme. On the other hand, the winner and the second place are the only two Divas that promoted the poll and even asked fans to vote by using their MySpace profiles. Here are the official results:

- Christy Hemme's April 2005 cover - 119,913 votes
- Ashley Massaro's April 2007 cover - 70,378 votes
- Torrie Wilson's May 2003 cover - 41,096 votes
- Chyna's November 2000 cover - 8,002 votes
- Chyna's January 2002 cover - 2,230 votes
- Sable's April 1999 cover - 1,984 votes
- Candice Michelle's April 2006 cover - 1,870 votes
- Torrie & Sable's March 2004 cover - 1,266
- Sable's September 1999 cover - 843 votes

source: PWInsider

Carlito Stays With WWE

It is well known that Carlito was seriously considering leaving the WWE as he was not happy with his position in the company, ending up with even giving a notice to management some time ago. The latest series of events that took place, including Booker T going to TNA, determined Vince McMahon to keep Carlito on the active RAW roster. It seems that Carlito and Vince talked a lot at the RAW edition of December 3 and the result was the wrestler staying with the company. It also looks like WWE did not want to lose another superstar to TNA and that Carlito is an important member of the roster as the WWE wants exposure in South and Central America. Carlito is a fluent Spanish speaker after all!

The initial problem between Vince and Carlito actually happened when the wrestler compained to the Ottawa Sun that he was not used in WrestleMania 23 because he wanted to be heel again. It also seems that Carlito's father, Carlos Colon, had some problems with the WWE as he believes WWC is to be a good developmental territory and that he wanted to do some joint shows with the WWE and they did not show any interest. In any case, what is important for the WWE is that Carlito is staying.

Thursday, December 13, 2007

Wrestlers of the Year

One of the most appreciated awards a professional wrestler can obtain stands in Pro Wrestling Illustrated (PWI) Wrestler of the Year. There are a lot of legends here that received the award and I thought it would be interesting to know who they were. Ric Flair won 6 titles and was a runner up for two more. Hulk Hogan won three titles and was a runner up for 4 more. Bret The Hitman Hart never won the award but was a runner up twice. One of my favorite wrestlers ever, Sting, won the big prize as well in 1990. Stone Cold Steve Austin was the wrestler of the year three times and was a runner up once more. In 2005 we saw Batista win the award, with John Cena coming second while in 2006 we saw John Cena winning while Samoa Joe was second and Batista was not even in the first 4. Other famous winners of PWI's Wrestler of the Year award include Kurt Angle, Chris Benoit, Brock Lesnar, The Rock, Lex Luger, Big Show (known as The Giant at that point in time), Kevin Nash (known as Diesel at that time), Vader, The Macho Man Randy Savage, Harley Race, Bob Backlund, Dusty Rhodes, Terry Funk, Mr. Wrestling II, Bruno Sammartino, Jack Brisco and Pedro Morales. The Undertaker never won it and will probably never win it although he did come third and fourth in two years. Nevertheless, it will be interesting to see who will win in 2007. John Cena is kind of out of the question, in TNA we could say Kurt Angle and Sting and in the WWE I have no idea. A lot of injuries and back and forth matches. We'll just have to wait and see!

Karen Angle Injured

This came up as a huge surprise for me. I never would have expected such an injury happening in these circumstances. TNA recently launched a text alert through their mobile service in which they stated Karen Angle suffered from a broken foot at the Impact tapings. It seems that the injury was suffered when she landed strangely while she was exiting the TNA six sided ring. People that were there said she needed to be carried backstage and did not return to the ring for the rest of the night, even if Kurt Angle had a match later in the tapings. At first sight everybody believed it was a sprain or break of the ankle although the official term used by TNA was "broken foot". There are no extra details but is still is strange. How can you get a broken foot while exiting the ring? Although she is not a wrestler, she will be needed and this is a considerable loss for TNA and Kurt Angle's character.

Wednesday, December 12, 2007

Randy Orton Facts

Randy Orton's real name is Randal "Randy" Keith Orton and he was born on April 1 1980. He is currently wrestling for World Wrestling Entertainment on the RAW brand. Randy's family is no stranger to professional wrestling as he is a third generation wrestler. His Grandfather was Bob Orton Sr. and his father is famous wrestler "Cowboy" Bob Orton. Even his uncle, Barry O, was a professional wrestler. What is interesting is that Randy Orton is currently the youngest World Heavyweight Champion in WWE history and he was also an Intercontinental Champion and World Tag Team Champion. We also know him as the Legend Killer, due to his gimmick that consists of attacking legendary and star wrestlings, even outside of matches.

WWE wrestler Randy Orton is no stranger to controversy. He was accused in the past of harassing two fellow WWE employees in Rochelle Loewen and Amy Weber. It seems that this was the reason why Weber left from the entertainment company and Loewen was transferred to SmackDown. She was eventually released from her contract. There were mixed opinions in the media and it was Mark Jindrak that said the accusations were not true and that Orton apologized to Loewen at Royal Rumble 2005. Christy Hemme also stated that she does not believe Randy Orton harassed any of the two fellow employees. Sports Illustrated also included Orton on March 19, 2007 on a list of professional athletes that were using steroids. It was alleged that the wrestler bought different substances including testosterone, stanozolol, nandrolone, oxandrolone and others.

In case you were wondering, Randy Orton is married to Samantha Speno. The wedding took place on September 21 of 2007. If you take a close look at Randy, he has his wife's name tattooed on his right arm, together with others on his wrists, upper biceps and upper back finishing on his shoulders. He gets his tattoos touched up once per year. It is also interesting to know that he had a tattoo on his left arm saying USMC (United States Marine Corps), which he covered up after receiving a bad conduct discharge. Randy suffers from hypermobile shoulders and is a big fan of heavy metal bands Pantera and Metallica.

When it comes to wrestling signature moves and finishers, you probably do know that he uses the RKO (a jumping cutter), The Legend Killer (a running punt to the head of a kneeling opponent), the Super RKO, the Wheelbarrow suplex (used when he was wrestling in OVW), Overdrive (used in 2002), the Randy Orton Stomp, the Inverted headlock backbreaker, the knee drop, chinlock, European uppercut, body scissors, standing dropkick and that elevated DDT using the ring ropes as help.

In the past Randy Orton saw his wrestling career managed by his father, "Cowboy" Bob Orton and Ric Flair. You might have also seen him with the nickname The Iceman in OVW. If you want to get your hands on some Randy Orton MP3 music of his themes, you should look for Burn in My Light by Mercy Drive (used after Orton was kicked out of Evolution), Line in the Sand by Motorhead (while Orton was a member of Evolution) and This Fire Burns by Killswitch Engage (Although it was only utilized for one week and eventually became CM PUNK's theme). If you want to know more about Randy Orton, you could visit his profile on WWE.COM by clicking HERE or you could visit his official web site by clicking HERE

Saturday, December 8, 2007

Psycho Sid Vicious Back in the Ring?

There have been a lot of rumors lately that one wrestler of the past might want to get back in the business. In an interview with Live Audio Wrestling, Psycho Sid Vicious confirmed that he wants to get back in the WWE ring. His actual words were:
"We have been talking for awhile now, and we are trying to get things worked out" - talking about being in talks with Vince McMahon.
It does seem like TNA also wanted to get Sid in th ring but it does seem like the company can not meet one of his demands, which is wrestling in front of 80 thousand people again. According to some fans, Sid is looking very good and he is also in a good health. Think about the fact that the WWE loves to have big men on the show so it might be that Psycho Sid Vicious will be brought back in the wrestling ring on SmackDown or Raw. A lot of people think that Sid and Nash are still two important wrestlers that have the need to be in the ring at the moment.

Bret Hart Appearing on Raw?

We all know about the problems Bret Hart had in the past with the WWE. This is why it does seem strange for me that Bret The Hitman Hart might appear on the 15th anniversary edition of WWE Raw. According to the Comcast Cable Preview, Bret Hart is listed as appearing on the show. Also, according to DirecTV and TV Guide, the anniversary Raw show will see wrestlers like Stone Cold Steve Austion, Undertaker, Bret Hart, the McMahon Family, Triple H and Hulk Hogan. There are also rumors that the Rock was supposed to appear on the show but he declined. As far as we know, WWE is trying to get everybody that has been a big superstar in WWE on the show. Too bad there are some wrestlers that have signed contracts with other wrestling federations like Kurt Angle or Diesel (Kevin Nash).

Saturday, November 24, 2007

Randy Orton vs Shawn Michaels - Survivor Series 2007

One match that was pretty interesting at Survivor Series 2007 was between Shawn Michaels and Randy Orton for the WWE Heavyweight Championship. We were faced with "Special stipulations" that actually ment that Shawn Michaels was not allowed to use Sweet Chin Music while Randy Orton would lose the title if he got himself disqualified. With such stipulations I thought that the match would be very technical and that Shawn would lose and Orton would retain the title. I also thought this would be the end of the HBK vs Randy Orton rivalry. Shawn Michaels appeared to be looking for a submission ever since the start of the match. We also saw a lovely Springboard moonsault on the outside followed by a lovely cross body from the turnbuckle. Then came the sharpshooter, a move I have not seen Michaels execute in a long long time. Then came the elbow drop from the turnbuckle and then soon came the crossface, the one made famous by the late Chris Benoit as The Crippler Crossface. I did not expect that one at all although the sharpshooter was expected. The next submission move was even more unexpected as it was the ankle lock, the one made famous in professional wrestling by Ken Shamrock and Kurt Angle. We saw it being actually quite similar to Angle's ankle lock. Then came the end, Michaels wanting to go for Sweet Chin Music, hesitating and stops so that he would not get discualified and then came the RKO. Randy Orton won although the entire match saw Shawn Michaels being on top of Randy when it comes to wrestling skills. Great match and the heel won. But this was not the end. We did get to see Sweet Chin Music after the end of the match so in the fans' eyes the real winner was Shawn Michaels.

Memorable Wrestling Matches Steve Austin vs Bret Hart at Wrestlemania 13

This was an incredible wrestling match that saw Bret "The Hitman" Hart fight against "Stone Cold" Steve Austin at Wrestlemania 13. It was really a special fight and it was actually a submission match. We were faced with Bret Hart, we all know his submission wrestling capabilities, the man that basically put the Sharpshooter on the map and Steve Austin, who is not really a submission wrestler. The match was great! We saw the excellence of execution at work and the street fighting style of Austin coming into play. Chairs were of course used and we did see Austin try submission moves. Hart focused on the knee of Austin and utilized a figure 4 leg lock on the turnbuckle. We also saw the Stunner of course and Steve Austin did end up a crimson, bloody mask. The special referee of the match was another individual that is known for his submission style. I am talking about Ken Shamrock. He did not get involved and did call the match correctly. We saw a superplex by Austin and then he used electric cables to try and choke out Bret Hart. But then came a ring bell shot and the sharpshooter was applied. Steve Austin did not tap out but Shamrock had to stop the match because Stone Cold was out. He passed away from the pain but he did not give up. This match was so special and one of the best ever in the WWE. Here are the highlights of this tremendous submission wrestling match at Wrestlemania 13:

Wednesday, November 21, 2007

Rey Mysterio Facts

Rey Mysterio - meaning ‘King of Mystery‘ in Spanish - is considered one of the stars in the World Wrestling Entertainment’s (WWE) constellation and today he is the World Heavyweight Champion. He is famous for using aerial techniques in the ring and still gets asked to give autographs for winning the WCW/WWE Cruiserweight championship eight times – a record.

By his real name Óscar Gutiérrez y Rubio, he is also known in the ring as Rey Misterio, Jr. and Rey Mysterio, Jr. His name is a sign of honor to his uncle and trainer, Rey Misterio, Sr. Rey Junior started wrestling in 1989 in Mexico at just 14-years-old, and because of that, he was not given a license. He started out using the name Colibri in Mexico but after reaching the age of 18, he took his uncles name, added the Jr. and changed Misterio into Mysterio.

In the late 1990s and early 2000s, Mysterio took on a lot of important matches, including a fight in 1999, with Kevin Nash – fight he lost and got his mask off. This made him return to Mexico where his fame was still growing. He decided later to go back to the WWE in 2002 where he had the opportunity to his mask again. In February 2005, Mysterio got a victory at his third WWE Tag-Team Championship by pairing up with his long-term friend but still formal rival, Eddie Guerrero. The date of November 2005, when Guerrero was sadly found dead in his hotel room, brought a lot of grief to Mysterio who after that made a speech and in the middle of it, out of respect for his friend took of his mask.

Mysterio’s recent winnings like becoming the new WWE Tag Team Champions, along with Batista, after defeating MNM besides giving him more glory and making him more famous were for him an opportunity to dedicate something important to his past-away friend. He also won the January 2006 Royal Rumble in Miami, Florida. Mysterio is the lightest and shortest wrestler to have won this competition and the world title. Thumbs up for Rey Misterio and his incredible career.

Saturday, November 17, 2007

CM Punk facts

“Luck is for losers”, according to CM Punk - known by his real name as Phil Brooks – when asked about his success. Although his arm is covered with good-luck charms, he sustains that everybody makes his own destiny by working hard and believing in themselves.

He grew up in Chicago, watching the likes of “Rowdy” Roddy Piper and Jimmy Snuka exchange words, then blows. The likes of these heated rivalries helped him realize that he belonged in sports-entertainment. He adopted the “straightedge” movement—meaning that one bases their life around only personal development, avoiding drugs, alcohol and a dependency lifestyle.

Trained by Ace Steel and Danny Dominion at the Steel Domain Wrestling School, Punk had his debut in 1999 and since then he proved himself and his abilities to be worth of great fame. His style is only to be praised because it encouraged young wrestlers to stay clean and keep away from drugs. He showed the world that if you work hard enough and you don’t get tangled up in addictions, you can make it to the top just like him.

He brought his personal touch to ECW. Although considered ECW’s new breed, his style is an accumulation of fighting styles learned in his travels around the world – this includes Muay Thai Kickboxing and Brazilian Jujitsu.

In his WWE debut as a part of Team DX, Punk gave a new hero to Philadelphia where participants to the matches showed their respect for his skills. With the reactions all over the globe like in Philly, CM Punk’s famous-power will only get stronger within the perimeters of ECW.

As trivia about CM Punk’s life here are some facts I bet you didn’t know about:
• Red starbursts are his favorite
• Before he signed up with the WWE, he worked a few house shows and some dark matches.
• He was the former trainer at the Ring of Honor
• Punk used to work for NWA-TNA and that’s were he teamed up with Raven for a while before turning on him later
• In Summer 2005 he signed with the WWE
• James Gibson won the ROH World titles from CM Punk after he had won it over from Austin Aries

Punk can be considered one of the best wrestlers that brings an innovating style into this sport and so gives his fans the pride of loving him after every mach he has won knowing he didn’t do it because of use of drugs but because of his hard work.

Tuesday, November 13, 2007

Historic Wrestling Matches - Steve Austin vs Shawn Michaels Wrestlemania 14

This was a history making wrestling match in the WWE. We saw the world champion at the time, Shawn Michaels going at it against Stone Cold Steve Austin. Those were the days of the original Degeneration-X and in Michaels' corner stood Triple H and Chyna. To make the odds even worse for Steve Austin, there was also special enforcer Mike Tyson, who came to the ring wearing a DX T-shirt. We saw Shawn Michaels getting thrown on Triple H and of course, we also saw Triple H interfering in the match. Then we saw a shift in the momentum as Triple H and Chyna were forced to leave ring side. This did not have an immediate impact on the match. Stone Cold and Shawn Michaels battled outside of the ring, hit each other with whatever they got their hands on. This includes the ring bell, chairs and throwing the opponent into the crowd. We saw a figure four leg lock by Michaels and soon a sleeper that saw Stone Cold trying to escape and the referee was knocked out. Shawn Michaels delivered the elbow drop from the turnbuckle and then went for a Sweet Chin Music finisher but only received the Stunner from Steve Austin. Then we did not have a referee but Mike Tyson shocked the world by counting the 1-2-3 and making Steve Austin the new World Heavyweight Champion. To make it even better, he also punched out Shawn Michaels. Here is the end of that match. Sorry for the low quality but I couldn't find this wrestling match in higher quality anywhere:

TNA Genesis 2007 Kurt Angle and Kevin Nash vs Sting and Booker T

I did say it before, it was obvious that Booker T was going to be Sting's mistery partner in the main event wrestling match at the TNA Genesis pay per view. On the other hand, we had a nice setting here that saw anybody up for the TNA World Heavyweight Championship. We were bound to see an interesting match with a lot of finishers. Actually, we got to see one finisher from each of the wrestlers involved. The TNA audience welcomed Booker T with a standing ovation and we have to see how his career was going to go on here in TNA. That really was a stupid gimmick with King Booker in the WWE. So, the match was nice, I am still wondering if Kevin Nash can still wrestle properly and I think he can although he does look like moving slow and stuff. The wrestling moves he executed were done pretty well. OK, we saw the Jacknife Powerbomb on Booker T, the axe kick by Booker T on Kurt Angle and the Scorpion Death Drop by Sting on Kevin Nash.

Karen Angle kept saying in the entire pay per view that she had everything under control and we got to see what it was all about at the end of the match. The tag team champions, AJ Styles and Tomko came in and Tomko took out Sting while AJ Styles created the diversion. Then Styles gave Angle the belt and he hit Nash with it and then the Olympic Slam on Sting. Sharmell and Karen Angle were involved in a battle outside but this was the end. Kurt Angle is still TNA World Heavyweight Champion and the end of the pay per view saw him celebrate in the middle of the ring with his wife, AJ Styles and Tomko. Christian Cage appeared in the ramp way and look stunned, not understanding what was happening. It will be interesting to see what happens next. We might get to see a stable of Cage, Sting and Booker T (maybe with a surprise join by Nash and a reformation of the NWO Wolfpack - that would be priceless and I am dreaming here of course) or of Kurt Angle, AJ Styles and Tomko. Well, we will see next, good job TNA for a highly entertaining Genesis pay per view main event.

TNA Genesis 2007 Kaz vs Christian Cage

This was the final of the Fight for the Right wrestling tournament organized in TNA to offer the winner a title match at the world championship. Kaz was the underdog of course and Christian Cage, "The Instant Classic" was the one that was supposed to win, given his experience in ladder matches as this was a ladder match. Christian Cage instructed AJ Styles and Tomko to stay out of the arena but this did not happen of course. We saw what looked like a devastating frog splash by Cage on Kaz, who was put on a ladder outside the ring. That one there was the highlight of the match in my view but the inverted DDT from the ladder by Christian Cage was also lovely and a classic when it comes to his ladder matches. The end was pretty interesting and I did not see it coming. Both wrestlers were on the ladder, small distraction by AJ Styles and then the ladder fell with both Kaz and Cage still on it. Kaz held on but Christian Cage landed on Tomko and AJ Styles. The winner thus became KAZ, who I do not really think is going to get the title at the end but hey, the guy is still young and pretty good.

TNA Genesis 2007 - Robert Roode vs Samoa Joe

Nice feud build up and since Samoa Joe was in the ring with such a feud behind it, well built up, we did expect a great match. I was not disappointed by any match in TNA Genesis till that moment so what was there to disappoint me at a match with Joe and Roode. My predictions saw Samoa Joe definitely winning but not by submission. I expected a muscle buster. The match was pretty interesting but it was not as good as I expected. I have no idea what happened with Mrs Brooks at ring side, she was probably hit by that number 1 fan as it was labeled by the commentators. Well, the match saw Roode with some interesting moves but of course, Samoa Joe also had great moves. A little innovation and the end saw Roode going for the finisher and Samoa Joe switching and applying the muscle buster. The conflict is probably not over with the laying out of Mrs Brooks and should go on with something there. We will just have to wait and see.

TNA Genesis 2007 - The Steiners vs AJ Syles and Tomko

This was a wrestling match for the tag titles between the Steiner Brothers and the team of Tomko and AJ Styles. I wanted AJ's team to win but I was sure that there was going to be some controversy there as theoretically speaking the Steiner Brothers are the better team with the biggest wrestling experience. Unfortunately I did not expect a great match and thought that this might just be the weakest of TNA Genesis 2007. Up until that moment all the matches were great so this one being bad would probably make no difference.

The match was pretty good although quite slow. On the other hand we did have only one fast man in the ring and the other three wrestlers have other qualities. We saw shifts in momentum, as if it should happen at a wrestling pay per view and the end was controversial of course. We did see the classic tag team finisher by the Steiners and then a counter at an attempt of a head scissors take down with a powerbomb by Rick Steiner. We had the three count but the referee was busy with Tomko and Scott Steiner on the outside. Well, then AJ Styles used a chair on Rick Steiner after a low blow and AJ Styles got the pin. Great tag team wrestling match for the titles. Not a lot of combined tag team moves but great nonetheless.

Monday, November 12, 2007

TNA Genesis 2007 Sonjay Dutt vs Jay Lethal for the X Division Championship

This was for the X Division Championship and I was sure we were bound for a good, athletic wrestling match. We got to see Sonjay Dutt "The Guru" fight against the title holder, "Black Machismo" Jay Lethal. Although I hate the way Lethal's character is so similar to Randy Savage I still wanted him to win as I do see him as the better wrestler between the two. Well, what can I say? If I were to put down on paper all the great moves and wrestling combinations we saw in this match I wouldn't be able to deal with just one A4 sheet of paper. The match was great, we of course saw the lethal combination followed by the flying elbow drop for the win but we also saw Sonjay Dutt's Camel Clutch submission. A lot of flying, great athletic ability by both wrestlers and I must say that training together as a tag team probably made it possible to have so many interesting moves in just one match. It was truly a wrestling match that represents the X Division of TNA.

TNA Genesis - Knockout Championship First defence for Gail Kim

This was an interesting set up. We have a four way fight for the Women Championship in TNA, called Knockout, a match that saw Gail Kim (the title holder) against ODB, Roxxi Laveaux (she was my favorite) and Angel Williams. ODB definitely had the best entrance and we can say that she has a powerful character set up there, as does Roxxi Laveaux. Well, I must say that it has been a long time since I saw a good women's wrestling match. In the WWE it has been a long long long time but it looks like in TNA I can have a chance to do this. These ladies here wrestled a hell of a match with Gail Kim winning and retaining the Knockout Championship on her first title defense since when she won it at Bound For Glory. We did see a lot of wrestling moves, some very well executed. We also saw a triple involvement in the corner, similar to what we sometimes see in the X Division. I must say that TNA has a golden opportunity to put women's wrestling back on top. Bulldogs, suicide dives, side slams, a spear, inverted neck breakers, these ladies really know how to wrestle.

Gail Kim did appear to be the better in the match and dominated a lot of it although it was a fatal four way. Only Roxxi Laveaux did not really impress me but she did take a nice cross body on the outside of the ring and she did seem to hit hard when she fell. Well, maybe Roxxi is still not a good wrestler or maybe this is just the character. No matter the case, TNA Genesis got better and better as I watched it and this ladies match was great. And, when all seemed finished, Awesome Kong appeared and walked to the ring. Showdown and maybe we get to see a David vs Goliath type of feud with Awesome Kong and Gail Kim in the future. Thumbs up TNA!

TNA is turning into WCW

I think everyone is noticing this and I am not the only one watching wrestling that is old enough to remember World Championship Wrestling. I mean, the main at TNA Genesis 2007 saw 3 wrestlers that were high on the ladder of popularity in WCW: Sting, Kevin Nash and Booker T. Everybody I think realized that Booker T was Sting's mistery partner so I am not going to discuss that. TNA told enough to let everybody know who he was but without actually mentioning the name Booker T. Kurt Angle is the only one that is true WWE in TNA and this says a lot. WWE managed to get Jeff Hardy but that is about it. I can not think of any other wrestler that WWE got from TNA while the other way around is much more obvious. It is enough to mention Dustin Rhodes, now transformed into Black Reign. He will probably never get inducted in the WWE Hall of Fame for this move. We also have Kurt Angle, the wrestler that is probably the best in the world one it comes to how technical he is. I mean he almost delivered a perfect 450 degrees splash on the last pay per view and that says a lot. Then Christian Cage came to TNA, another blow to WWE and at Genesis he was in a ladder match. We all know the Edge and Christian ladder matches. We see Kevin Nash, good old Diesel, looking a little old but I still think he can wrestle and this is just a gimmick.

Then we are talking about the former Dudley Boys, who doesn't remember them? The Steiner Brothers. I still remember the feuds between the Steiners and the tag team of Sting and Lex Luger. What more is there to say? We are clearly witnessing a revival of World Championship Wrestling through TNA. We even had Scott Hall in (remember the Outsiders and the New World Order). It seems like good wrestlers are leaving the WWE and coming towards TNA. The wrestlers with more experience are coming to TNA. The main event at Genesis meant that the 4 fighters held over 40 belts in their careers. Only one thing would be more of a shock than Jericho possibly appearing in TNA and that would be somebody like Shawn Michaels or the Undertaker joining TNA, although that will never happen. Too bad for Jeff Hardy though, he might be a champ now but he is more suited for the TNA style. Well, as I said before, WCW is coming back to life through TNA and I am curious what will happen next.

TNA Genesis 2007 Motorcity Machine Guns vs Team 3D

This one had a nice build up behind it with Team 3D trying to destroy the X division, this after the Motorcity Machine Guns aided the Steiners in defeating Team 3D at Bound for Glory. I expected team 3D to win but the match should have been quite interesting. The machine guns came in with moves that are very characteristic for the X Division and they gained the upper hand against Brother Ray in the 6 sided wrestling ring. Then, we got to witness what was already expected as Team 3D took over and started working with a very good double team move. After all, they are very good together and the experience factor was sure to pay off via special moves from both wrestling teams as the match started. Well, I did not expect such a quick shift in momentum and it is a delight to watch Sabin and his partner wrestling. They are quite quick, athletic and make a good team. Then, a lot of moves were interesting and Sabin delivered a nice tornado DDT that was not that well executed but still looked good. As the match continued we saw an isolation of Brother D-Von and the Motorcity Machine Guns did their best to try and double team him as much as possible while constantly hitting Brother Ray as well so that he would not interfere as in the rest of the match till that moment. The most interesting was a turnbuckle based frankensteiner followed by a highly elevated frog splash. It was not enough to bring Brother D-Von down, which makes sense as he is a pretty huge wrestler. Then a new shift in momentum and another one with a dropkick through the table on D-Von. The guns had the match won but D-Von took the referee out of the ring and then Shelley tried a springboard to the outside that did not connect. Then Team 3D did a trademark double team move but Sabin was not defeated. I did not expect that at all. I mean if the match ended then it would have been great but it still went on. It was a good move for TNA as the match continued and the heels ended up defeated after an acrobatic walk by Sabin and a lovely double kick. 5 Stars ranking for this wrestling match as it was highly entertaining. My favorites did not win but hey, neither did The Undertaker at the last Pay per View.

TNA Genesis 2007 Black Reign vs Abyss

I don't think many people know this but just in case you do not, Black Reign is actually highly experienced wrestler Dustin Rhodes (just in case you missed the transformation). Well, this is how TNA's Genesis 2007 started, with a Shop of Horrors match between Black Reign and Abyss. It was of course a no disqualification wrestling match that should have been interesting and I thought that Abyss was going to win (I just like this wrestler more). We saw the two wrestlers going at it in the crowd and then an interesting suplex delivered by Black Reign on Abyss. Then something like a stunner on Abyss, then Abyss with a nice kick to the groin and putting Black Reign through a chair set up in a corner and then Abyss brought in the highly popular weapon, the baseball bat wrapped in barbed wire. Then we got to see the same Abyss with a cholkeslam on the top of the stage, not that spectacular but the fans loved it. The next interesting moment came with the interference of Mitchell and Black Reign's finisher executed on a set of rat traps. As expected, it was not enough for a win as this wrestling match, if we can call it that, just started. Well, it ended soon afterwards after Abyss delivered a Black Hole Slam that leveled Black Reign. Pretty interesting match from two big guys although not much wrestling in it. Would have loved to see some wrestling moves but hey, decent opener for TNA Genesis 2007. As the match was over we saw Abyss open the box and a masked wrestler attacked him. The similarity in masks is obvious but this new guy truly has a great body and seems interesting enough. It would be interesting to find out who he was.

PS: I really love Abyss' entrance theme, very good track for his character and I can not stop loving to listen to it.

Thursday, November 8, 2007

Top 3 in DVDs for the WWE

Well, we just had a chance to take a look at the most sold Recreational Sports DVDs according to Billboard and here is the list:
1. WWE: Rey Mysterio: The Biggest Little Man (DEBUT)
2. WWE: Unforgiven 2007
3. WWE: SummerSlam 2007
4. 2001 FedEx Orange Bowl National Championship
5. TNA: Christian Cage: The Instant Classic
6. Ultimate Fighter: Season 1
7. UFC Presents: The Ultimate Fighter 2
8. WWE: The Ladder Match
9. WWE: Wrestlemania 23
10. UFC 70: Nations Collide
We basically have a lot of WWE DVDs and some Ultimate Fighting DVDs. Unfortunately for TNA it seems that only Christian Cage has a DVD that is popular enough. Well, TNA is still a lot smaller than the WWE even if they have wrestlers like Sting, Kurt Angle or Christian Cage on the roster.

Chris Masters Released from Smackdown

Well, we all kind of saw it coming so it should not be a surprise. The latest wrestling news that appeared around the web is about Chris Masters, and the fact that he was released from his contract by the WWE because of his second Wellness policy violation. It seems like the company wants to make it clear that the superstars are not dealing with college wrestling or they are involved in a simple wrestling game where wrestlers can do whatever they want. Well, it will be interesting to see what happens next for Chris Masters (real name Chris William Mordetsky). He had never won a title in the WWE and so far his wrestling career was not that successful as his only belt ever won was the OVW Southern Tag Team Championship. We wish him all the best and hope he will never fail a drug abuse test again.

Tuesday, November 6, 2007

Survivor Series Update

Survivor Series is quickly coming round the corner for the WWE and it seems like their traditional match is going to be one that will put in a lot of wrestlers that were not fitted anywhere else, which is kind of weird. The traditional Survivor Series elimination wrestling match will see the team of Rey Mysterio, Kane, Triple H, Jeff Hardy and Matt Hardy fight against the team of Umaga, Big Daddy V, MVP, Mr. Kennedy and Finlay. So we basically get to see the feuds of Finlay vs Rey Mysterio, Matt Hardy vs MVP and Triple H vs Umaga continue while the rest are just extras. Still, a lot of talent and potential in this match. We are also going to see a WWE Title match that will see Randy Orton against Shawn Michales (as expected) and Batista vs The Undertaker in a Hell in a Cell wrestling match for the World Heavyweight Title.

This basically means that we will get to see Shawn Michaels win the title now and maybe The Undertaker defeating Batista to get back the World Heavyweight Title although there is one big question coming up: where is Edge in these plans? Given how things stood before his injury it might be something concerning both The Undertaker and Batista so we might see him interfering in the match or maybe even getting add on the title match, thus maybe obtaining a 3-way Hell in a Cell Match. That would be special and could end up spectacular. Also, what in the world happens with Chris Jericho and what is with that Save.US commercial? Leaving all aside now, I want to see Edge wrestle again and let us hope it will be a nice pay per view, not like Cyber Sunday, which in my view was kind of like a fiasco except for the Batista vs Undertaker match and the Shawn Michaels vs Randy Orton match (which still should have been better). I am also tired of Umaga vs Triple H. Get him in DX again or maybe in contendership spot or something. You are wasting him on the roster. After what Triple H had to endure at No Mercy he should get a prize of some sort!

Monday, November 5, 2007

Bret Hart Admits to Taking Steroids

We are currently witnessing on a huge debate related to steroid use in a lot of sports and not just wrestling. The latest superstar to make a statement concerning this is none other than the former WWE Champion, Bret "The Hitman" Hart, one of the biggest personalities in the past for professional wrestling and one that was made famous with the motto "The Best there is, The Best there was and The Best there ever will be" or with phrases like "The Excellence in Execution", due to the way in which he performed various wrestling moves. In a recent interview Bret Hart was quoted as saying:
"I credit steroids for saving my career back then. Having taken them, I don't have any regrets and I'm sure I wouldn't be here if I hadn't taken those shots."
This was said in an interview for Vancouver 24, in a segment that was aimed to promote Bret Hart's new autobiography entitled "Hitman: My Real Live in the Cartoon World of Wrestling". As expected, such a statement did not add up well to the image of the WWE, which seems to lose popularity lately. I am curios about the book as I did not get a chance to read. As soon as I do I will tell you all about it!

Friday, November 2, 2007

MVP vs Kane - Cyber Sunday 2007

After Matt Hardy's injury the WWE was left without a match for the US Championship at Cyber Sunday. This was quickly fixed by changing everything to a regular wrestling match with the US championship on the line between MVP and an opponent that was supposed to be chosen between Mark Henry, The Great Khali and Kane. I thought Kane was going to be the opponent and this was the fact at Cyber Sunday 2007. My first thought was that I was going to see a bad match that will see MVP win but out of something like a DQ so that MVP will retain the title in order to continue the feud with Matt Hardy. So, the match saw vintage Kane wrestling moves and a focus by MVP on his ribs because of the injured ribs of Kane keyfabe going on at the moment. What was interesting in this match was that Kane fought back and attacked MVP's ribs as well. The end of the match was kind of unexpected as it was a count-out of MVP. So, Kane won the wrestling match but did not win the title.

Wednesday, October 31, 2007

CM Punk vs The Miz - Cyber Sunday 2007

OK, this was quite a shocker. CM Punk was supposed to put the ECW Championship against one of three individuals: The Miz, Big Daddy V and John Morrison. I expected to see John Morrison face CM Punk simply because it was the best match that could have happened. Well, on the other hand the start of the pay-per-view with Rey Mysterio vs Finlay was a disappointment so I was sure I was going to see another disappointing wrestling match. The Miz in my view was not ready to perform for a championship and still has a lot to learn about wrestling. Well, the highlights of this encounter were:
  • a very acrobatic wrestling move from The Miz that saw him go over the ring ropes
  • a hip toss from the turnbuckle by CM Punk
  • the classic corner knee hit followed by the bulldog by CM Punk
  • a slingshot into a clothesline by CM Punk
And that is about it. Not a great match!

Monday, October 29, 2007

Finlay vs Rey Mysterio - Cyber Sunday 2007

Well, here we have it, the first match of Cyber Sunday 2007, Finlay vs Rey Mysterio. Fans had to vote the type of match and we ended up with the one that I hoped will not happen: a stretcher match. Well, I sat down after I cursed a little as I would have loved to see a No DQ match that would have Rey Mysterio fly around outside of the wrestling ring. Well, stretcher match between Finlay and Rey Mysterio. So, we get to see the two wrestlers exchanging blows and then a slide out of the ring on to the stretcher. Then a front suplex on the stretcher. Finlay and Rey Mysterios battling around the stretcher. Then we get back to the wrestling ring and Rey mounts a comeback starting with a classic head scissors take over. When I thought I was going to see some action we get back to the stretcher. On the other hand Mysterio did come with a baseball slide to the groin area of Finlay that was interesting and then we had a modified 619 and a summersault on Finlay, which ended up on the stretcher after that strange 619. Eventually Mysterio won but the match was not at all special. Bad start to the WWE Cyber Sunday 2007 pay per view.

Saturday, October 27, 2007

Jeff Hardy Wrestling Facts

Jeff Hardy (real name Jeffrey Nero Hardy) was born on August 31, 1977. As we all know, the biggest part of Jeff's wrestling career was linked to his older brother, Matt Hardy, as the tag team of the Hardy Brothers is really well known across the wrestling world as they were known as The Hardys or The Hardy Boyz. We will all remember the incredible Tables Ladders and Chairs matches The Hardy Boyz had against the Dudley Boys (now Team 3D in TNA). Jeff Hardy did step up when compared to Matt Hardy because his wrestling career also had him win some singles championships including the WWE Hardcore championship, The European and Light Heavyweight championship or the Intercontinental Championship. Jeff Hardy's wrestling career is highly respected and fans around the world would love to see him as a World Champion as soon as possible.

Jeff Hard appeared under various wrestling ring names including Ingus Jinx, the current Jeff Hardy, Will O' the Wisp and Wolverine. Stats show him at 6 feet 1 inches tall and weighing 225 pounds. He was trained by Dory Funk Jr. and Michael Hayes and debuted in professional wrestling on October 15, 1993. Jeff Hardy told press that his inspiration towards becoming a wrestler came by watching Sting, The Ultimate Warrior and Shawn Michaels.

When it comes to wrestling moves, Jeff Hardy has a huge repertoire and is a highly respected high flier and risk taker when it comes to strange and risky wrestling moves. There are 4 finishing moves associated with Jeff Hardy. First off we have the highly acrobatic Swanton Bomb (a really high angle senton bomb), the Twist of Fate (in the WWE it is a front facelock into a cutter while in TNA the same move was finished with a stunner), the Extreme Twist of Fate (an inverted facelock into a neckbreaker slam) and a special move we do not get to see anymore as it was a part of Jeff's wrestling moves in the late nineties - the 450 degrees splash.

Jeff Hardy is also known for some interesting wrestling signature moves. He usually performs the Whisper in the Wind in most matches (a turnbuckle climb that leads into a rebounded corkscrew senton executed on a standing opponent), the compactor clutch (a simple Russian leg sweep that leads into a double leg roll-up pin), the beautiful Leafrog Leg Drop (a guillotine leg drop executed over a ladder), the Spine Line (a modified cloverleaf used in TNA and OMEGA), the double leg drop to the groin, sitout jawbreaker, the leg feed spinning mule kick, a flying clothesline executed from the barricade, the snap reverse STO (used in TNA) the sitout inverted suplex slam and more.

Jeff Hardy's wrestling career saw him managed by Gangrel, Michael Hayes, Lita, Matt Hardy, Terri and Trish Stratus. His career was highlighted by 5 DVDs launched especially including Jeff Hardy: The Hardy Boyz: Leap of Faith (2001), Enigma: The Best of Jeff Hardy (2005), Hardy Boys - From the Backyard to the Big Time (2005), WWE The Ladder Match (2007) and the "Most Powerful Families in Wrestling" DVD.

Thursday, October 25, 2007

Top 10 Worst Gimmicks Ever

Some guy just made this video highlighting the 10 worst wrestling gimmicks ever. I wonder if people would agree with him. Some of them are really stupid, the Rooster was supposed to be number 1 in my view but also the Shocker or whatever it was is still good to be Number 1. Well, watch:

Candice Michelle Facts

Candice Michelle (real name Candice Michelle Beckman-Ehrlich) was born on September 30 1978. In the WWE she is simply known as Candice or Candice Michelle and she is a model, actress and of course professional wrestler currently working under WWE on the RAW brand.

Candice Michelle spent a lot of years acting and modeling before she was eventually hired by the WWE in 2004, after that year's Diva Search. You might also know her as the Go Daddy Girl as she did shoot the company's Super Bowl ads in the past. Most men will also enjoy the fact that she was seen naked when she posed for Playboy and appeared in a pictorial in the April 2006 issue. Talking about wrestling, Candice Michelle won her first WWE Women's Championship on June 24, 2007, after she defeated WWE Diva Melina.

As with any male wrestler, female wrestlers also have signature and finishing moves. This is the case with Candice Michelle as well, as she does have an interesting repertoire for a female wrestler. We did see her executing the Candywrapper (a modified standing bulldog or inverted double underhook facebuster), the popular woman move Spinning heel kick, the forward Russian legsweep, Candylicious (a hanging figure 4 necklock), the northern lights suplex, rolling neck snap, the Go Daddy dance followed by a simple elbow drop, the headscissors takedown, the sitout rear mat slam and the diving crossbody.

Candice Michelle enjoys weight and fitness training (you can see this from her body). She also likes roller skating, hockey, basketball, foot modeling, dance skating. She loves eating candies and sweets when watching football (favorite team Greenbay Packers) and basketball (favorite team LA Lakers). Candice's favorite tv show is Sex and the City, her favorite movies are Dirty Dancing, Fast and the Furious and grease, her favorite food is of persian type.

Botchmania Clips

Wrestling is after all entertainment and there is one popular series on YouTube that highlights this fact by putting together a collection of wrestling mistakes that went on along the years. Here are two of them and you will find the rest of them on YouTube. Please be advised, these clips will also show you why you should not try wrestling moves at home. You can easily get hurt.

Wednesday, October 24, 2007

Batista's new book causes Criticism

We did briefly talk about Batista's book as it compared in sales with Chris Jericho's some time ago. On the other hand we failed to mention the fact that Batista's is quite hard on details and the personal level of the book is drawing a lot of criticism at the moment. Batista is currently the World Heavyweight Champion and he will soon have to defend the title against the Undertaker at Cyber Sunday. On the other hand, the book is making fans think twice about considering him a good guy and this might even have to mean that a heel turn is in order soon. One quote from his latest book is the thing that made people attack him as he stated that:
Now, don't get me wrong, my ex-wife is the love of my life and I would never knowingly hurt her. However, while I was busting my butt on the road like a dog, she would sit around the house and do nothing. I mean, yeah, she had cancer, but she couldn't vacuum? And since the chemo made her "not in the mood", I had no choice but to have threesomes on the road. I mean, she's talented and I hated to see her waste her life like that when she could be a dancer, or maybe a nurse. But she's not a bad person and I take full responsibility for my actions, even though it was her fault.
Later on in the book Batista says that his wife did suspect him of cheating on her but he did not do that yet and it was only after that moment that he got involved physically with WWE Diva Melina. Quite controversial isn't it?

Candice Michelle Injury

WWE Diva fans will not be happy to hear this but Candice Michelle is injured. Unfortunately, the lovely female wrestler that was previously the women's champion is suffering from a concussion and a broken collar bone (clavicale). It is hard to say how long she will be out but she will definitely be out of the wrestling ring for quite some time. Candice Michelle fell from the top rope in a match against the current women's champion on RAW. Unfortunately, everybody thought it might be a mild shoulder injury but the lovely and agile diva is quite seriously hurt. You can view videos of Candice backstage after being injured and being taken care of on wwe.com by clicking HERE

Tuesday, October 23, 2007

Will Sting Retire?


There are a lot of reports going on saying that Sting wants to retire at the end of this year. On the other hand, we do know of negotiations between the wrestler and TNA in order to have Steve Borden sign a new contract and have him as Sting on TNA for one more year. Well, nobody really knows if Sting will still be on TNA for one more year but we do know that if he were to sign a new contract, it would mean that he would get $500,000 for working on pay per view and tv dates only. He is currently the TNA World Heavyweight Champion and the fans love him. Maybe he should stay in for another year. I would love to see Steve Borden wrestle as Sting for 12 more months on TNA's roster.

Cyber Sunday updates


Well, we know have 6 matches to vote for when talking about the WWE's interactive pay-per-view. Besides the ones previously announced, we have three more that really need to be discussed. So, we have Triple H vs Umaga, again. We get to choose the type of match from First Blood, Street Fight or a Steel Cage Match. It will probably be a Street Fight wrestling match so I am curios to see if I am right on this. Triple H definitely needs to win this one after the incredible showing at No Mercy. Loosing to Umaga will not be tolerated by the WWE fans.

The second match sees Rey Mysterio vs Finlay, with the fans deciding the type of wrestling match again. This has been an interesting feud between the two, Rey Mysterio will probably win no matter what but I would love to see Finlay here. We get to choose from a stretcher match, a shillelagh on a pole match or a no disqualification match. After the No Mercy stunt by Finlay, maybe a stretcher match would be nice although I find it a stupid match type. My vote is for No Disqualification.

The last one is Matt Hardy vs MVP. We get to choose the type of match but this one is very interesting because we get to choose between a wrestling match, a boxing match or a mixed martial arts match. It is interesting to see that the WWE is bringing in such stipulation. A MMA match or a boxing match should end up causing a lot of damage to the opponent if we were to see it properly carried out. On the other hand, this is pro wrestling, this is entertainment so this will not happen. I am a fan of mixed martial arts though so my vote is in for that.

My personal most expected match will be Batista vs The Undertaker, Randy Orton vs Shawn Michales (if it is to happen) and a possibility of a spectacular match between CM Punk and Jon Morrison (if it is to happen again).

Thursday, October 18, 2007

What is The Monster's Ball Match

Well, in professional wrestling, the Monster's Ball match is a special multi competitor hardcore match. It was created by TNA with a name derived by the 2001 movie, Monster's Ball. The idea of the match stands in the fact that those that enter the ring are kept alone in a locked room without food, water or light for 24 hours before the match starts. As you can imagine, this is just stipulation and it is aimed to motivate, and make the wrestling match more interesting. It also explains the use of weapons and various extreme hardcore moves in the match. Victory is achieved when one wrestler is pinned or submits, kind of like a first fall wins. Because of the nature of the Monster's Ball match, the hardcore wrestling implication, there will be many pre-planned high impact moves that are aimed to draw reaction from the plan. For instance, at the last year's Monster's Ball we saw Raven execute an elbow drop from a high place in the arena on Abyss, who was placed on a table. This was a pre-planned high spot in the match.

Up until know we saw 6 Monster's Ball Matches and one wrestler was involved in all of them. Abyss is that wrestler and the interesting fact is that he only won one of them, this year at Bound For Glory when he executed a Black Hole Slam on Raven on tacks and pieces of broken glass. The first Monster's Ball wrestling match was held on November 7, 2004 and Monty Brown winning over Raven and Abyss. The second saw Rhino defeating Sabu, Jeff Hardy and Abyss on October 23 at Bound for Glory 2005. The winner of the third wrestling match of this type was Samoa Joe, winning over Abyss and Rhino on June 10 at TNA House Show 2006. Number four had only two wrestlers compete in Rhino and Abyss at the 2006 TNA house Show on August 24. Rhino won the second Monster's Ball match of the career then. Monster's Ball number 5 saw Samoa Joe win his second wrestling match of this type after defeating Brother Runt, Abyss and Raven on October 22 at Bound For Glory. This year we saw Abyss winning his first ever Monster's Ball match after defeating Raven, Black Reign and Rhino at Bound for Glory.

The Monster's Ball match is high end profile for TNA and as you can see, it was held at Bound For Glory, the company's largest pay per view, 3 out of 6 times. Samoa Joe and Rhino both won two matches but the difference between the two wrestlers stands in the fact that Samoa Joe won each of the Monster's Balls he participated in.

Since Abyss won the last Monster's ball, I invite you to take a look at a quick promo by TNA about one DVD. Hope you like it!

AJ Styles Quick Wrestling Bio

Aj Styles (real name Allen Lloyd Jones) was born on the 2nd of June 1978. We all know him as "The Phenomenal" AJ Styles and his work in TNA wrestling. He did wrestle in the former WCW and WWE as well but this is where he became famous, even earning him the nickname Mr. Tna at one point in time. His previous wrestling names were Mr. Olympia and Air Styles and he stands in at 5 ft. 10 in. and 215 lbs at the moment. Styles was born in Gainesville, Georgia and was trained by Rick Michaels. His pro wrestling debut was on February 15, 1999.

Aj Styles is an interesting wrestler and has 4 associated finishing moves to his profile. We have the Styles Clash (a belly to back inverted mat slam) and the Super Styles Clash (the same move executed from the second rope). Then we do know of the highly acrobatic Spiral Tap (a Somersault corkscrew leg drop or somersault corkscrew senton) and a nicely executed frog splash. As with any good wrestler, Aj Styles also comes out with a lot of signature moves. We can see him executing the Pele Kick, the Fosbory Flop, the Superman Splash (a 450 Springboard splash) and of course the Phenomenon / Stylin' DDT (a springboard moonsault turned into a standing opponent inverted headlock, quickly followed by an inverted DDT). This highly acrobatic DDT always reminded me of Sting and his Scorpion Death Drop, although that move is still a basic inverted DDT. Getting back to the list, AJ Styles has more wrestling signature moves. We thus can see the Shooting Styles Press, the Cliffhanger (used in 2002 and 2003), the Rack Bomb, the Spine Breaker (backbreaker follwed by a gutbuster), the Starmaker, Styles Suplex Special (a vertical suplex drop into a neckbreaker slam), the Styles Buster (a belly to back suplex wheelbarrow facebuster), the German Suplex (yeah I know, many wrestlers use it), the Springboard forearm strike and a nifty Kip-up frankensteiner.

Aj Styles also saw some interesting wrestling managers in Mick Foley, Jeff G. Bailey, Alexis Laree, Jimmy Hart, Mortimer Plumtree, Trinity, Larry Zbyszko, Vince Russo, Tomko and Chritian Cage. Also, all of his wrestling entrance themes are actually the same song, "I Am" by Dale Oliver. We had two more remixes, the Phenominal Remix (used between 2003 and 2007 and the Heel remix that is still used at the moment these lines are written.

In Total Non Stop Action Wrestling, Aj Style won a lot of belts. We see him as a 3 time NWA World Heavyweight Champion, a 4 time NWA World Tag Team Champion, a TNA World Tag Team Champion, a six time TNA X Division Champion, a 3 time First Triple Crown Champion and he was Mr. TNA 3 times. In 2006 we did see Aj Styles involved in the TNA Tag Team of the Year with Christopher Daniels and was in the TNA Match of the Year in the same year in a match at No Surrender that saw the tag team of AJ Styles and Christopher Daniels vs Latin American Exchange.

If you want to know more about AJ Styles you can visit his official website:
www.stylesclash.net - although you will not find a lot of info there. You will see a lot of AJ Styles pictures though.

Did You Know That?

Here are some interesting facts you might not have known about wrestling and some wrestlers. I just thought it would be interesting to know some of these:
  • Test was trained by Bret "The Hitman" Hart.
  • Kane was born in Madrid.
  • Bret "The Hitman" Hart owns a professional hockey team known as The Calgary Hitmen.
  • Garth Brooks has a big fan in Shawn Michaels
  • Killer Kowalski trained Chyna, Triple H and Perry Saturn
  • Kevin Nash was Super Shredder in the highly successful Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2 Movie
  • X-Pac is an expert in computers
  • Andre the Giant once drank 119 bottles of beer in one drinking session.
  • Hulk Hogan vs Ric Flair is a classic match but the first meeting took place in October 1991. Ric Flair won it!
  • Kurt Angle's wife is a former stripper
  • The average match length that saw Ric Flair wrestle between 1986 and 1989 was of 34 minutes. During that time 19 of his wrestling matches lasted for more than 50 minutes.
  • Hulk Hogan earned 1.8 million dollars for his Wrestlemania 5 match against the Macho Man Randy Savage.
  • Randy Savage was trained by Angelo Poffo, his father
  • Kevin Nash was a bouncer before getting into wrestling
  • Chyna has a full license that lets her compete in boxing.

Demo for Smackdown vs Raw Released

The demo for the new WWE Smackdown vs Raw videogame was just released for XBox 360. We get to chose from 4 wrestlers to play: The Undertaker, Rey Mysterio, Bobby Lashley and Randy Orton. Those that want to play can chose from three venues: ECW, SmackDown and RAW and we only got to see two match types: Normal and Hardcore. Not much, but a good teaser. Unfortunately from the WWE, in my view, the TNA Impact videogame looks a lot better and should be more spectacular.

Tuesday, October 16, 2007

The Steiner Brothers vs Team 3D - Bound for Glory 2007

Well, here is another dream match that took place at TNA's Bound for Glory 2007: a 2 out of 3 tables match between the Steiner Brothers and Team 3D. It was a pretty nice build up that puts us in an interesting position: the formerly known as Dudley Boyz, now Team 3D are heels and the Steiner Brothers are kind of like a face on TNA. On the other hand, during the long wrestling careers of all 4 wrestlers involved, we did see changes from heel or face point of views. Getting back to the wrestling match, it started off just as we expected, as a brawl. We did notice some help from the fans thanks to some beer and Scott Steiner, that was kind of interesting. The fight was also brought to the public, in the middle of the public to be more exact with trash cans and chairs. To sum this up, the beginning of the match saw a complete domination by the Steiner Brothers and not much wrestling, just a simple fight. Then, after this complete domination, we saw a quick move by Team 3D and Rick Steiner was taken out with a classic move through the table, the 3D beautifully executed. After that, table number two saw Brother Ray taken through the table thanks to a nice Frankensteiner by Scott Steiner from the top rope. The last table saw the Steiner Brothers benefit from a distraction by The Motor City Machine Guns. All enough to see a bulldog by Rick Steiner out of an Electric Chair position by Scott Steiner. Interesting match but kind of slow when compared with other TNA matches. Interesting build up though and it is a feud that will continue in TNA, I think!

Jay Lethal vs Christopher Daniels - Bound For Glory 2007

OK, so we have here the match for the TNA X Division Championship at Bound for Glory 2007 between the Black Machismo Jay Lethal and The Fallen Angel Christopher Daniels. I must say I was a big fan of the Macho Man Randy Savage in the past and it is disturbing for me to see somebody that imitates him like Jay Lethal's Machismo gimmick but hey he is pretty good and that Lethal Combination finisher is interesting. The match did start with a domination of Jay Lethal with huge, quick moves but then we saw Christopher Daniels take control. After that we kept seeing a lot of changes in momentum and some really well executed wrestling moves by both Lethal and Daniels. The end was very nice with the Lethal Combination starting from the top rope of the wrestling ring. This match was very good and the best one till that time at Bound for Glory. Fans kept screaming TNA and Jay Lethal won. I don't like the Macho Man impersonation but he is a very good wrestler and quite fit as an athlete to hold the X Division Championship.

Team Pacman vs AJ Styles and Tomko

I had my favorites going into this match, AJ Styles and Tomko vs Team Pacman. I wanted to see AJ Styles and Tomko walk out the TNA World Tag Team Champions. So, it seemed that Pacman Jones was not allowed to wrestle so we got to see a substitute. That substitute made an entrance that was hilarious and reminded me of Rocky. So we have this new guy, Rasheed Lucius Creed, teaming up with the only other member of Team Pacman that can wrestle, against Aj Styles and Tomko. I was really curios to see what the big deal was with Creed. It does seem like this guy has some potential but the real deal in that tag team has to be considered "The Truth". He is so athletic and we got to see that as well in this match. We did see him fly over the ropes in a spectacular move. We then saw Aj Styles with a beautiful over the top shooting star press. The "make it rain" move was hilarious as we saw the referee picking up the money instead of counting the pin on AJ Styles, thus costing Team Pacman the pin at that moment. Then we got to see an interesting double team move by Tomko and Styles and they became the new TNA World Tag Team Champions. Nice match. I would have wanted to see more but kind of nice nonetheless.

Monday, October 15, 2007

Sting Wins TNA Title

Well, this was the main event of Bound For Glory and should have been the best match. It was not, but it was still a dream match. We had Kurt Angle, probably the best technical wrestler in the business square off against a wrestling legend, "The Icon" Sting and it was bound to be big. We saw Sting win his second world title in TNA at their biggest pay-per-view, Bound for Glory, for two years in a row. Last year he won against Jeff Jarett and now against Kurt Angle, both being the top heels of TNA at the given points in time. It is also quite interesting since Kurt Angle was built by TNA management as an unstoppable force this year, even owning 4 championship belts at the same time. Now we need to see what will come next. Kurt Angle will probably get another title shot, I just hope it will be at a pay-per-view and it was also rumored that Kevin Nash will return to wrestling after signing a new contract with TNA. Samoa Joe's win over Christian Cage might also put him in contender spot. It has been rumored that at TNA Genesis we were going to see a fatal four way between Kevin Nash, Samoa Joe, Sting and Kurt Angle. It was also rumored that this will be the last year of Sting's legendry career in professional wrestling so we might just see him lose the title or retire as the champion. There are many possibilities here, even a possible feud between Kevin Nash and Kurt Angle but that would leave Sting with no real valuable contender for the world title. I can't wait to see what happens.

TNA Impact - Videogame

Here is something interesting. I found this video that shows us a videogame demo of TNA Impact. It is a fight between Sting and Kurt Angle, something like a preview of Bound for Glory. On the other hand we just basically see some moves in the game. The game does look incredible though.

Joey Mercury Update

Just if you were wondering, Joey Mercury will be back in wrestling in TNA. He worked a tag team match right before TNA's Bound For Glory went on the air. We will be seeing him in TNA in a tag team with another former WWE wrestler, Johnny Swinger!

TNA Wrestling - The Videogame

OK, I got a chance to look at some previews of TNA Wrestling, the videogame by Midway and I must say I am pretty surprised. It does look pretty good and it might be more spectacular than the popular Smackdown vs Raw 2008. I browsed around and here is what I found concerning the TNA Videogame. First off we have an official trailer:

We also have an interesting making of the game, featuring TNA wrestlers dressed in special costumes to capture their moves:

Sunday, October 14, 2007

Batista vs The Undertaker

There have been so many rumors around this match that few knew what to believe. There were many wrestlers that were put into contender spot in what was going to be a special four way match for the World Heavyweight Championship at Cyber Sunday. Wrestlers that were supposed to be put into the match included Finlay, Undertaker, The Great Khali, Mark Henry and Rey Mysterio. Well, it seems that we finally have a conclusion to that in a singles match for the title between Batista and the Undertaker. OK, this brings a lot of possibilities, maybe even a long feud between the two while concentrating on the ongoing feud between Finlay and Rey Mysterio as well. The Undertaker or Batista? This is an interesting question and I do not really know who should win although the Undertaker has long been one of my favorites. Fans can get involved in the match by choosing the referee of the match between Steve Austin, Mick Foley and JBL. My pick was Steve Austin. Cyber Sunday is becoming very interesting!

Chris Jericho vs Batista

OK, we are not talking about a possible dream match here in the WWE. We are talking about biographies written by these two popular wrestlers. Chris Jericho's "A Lion's Tale" is currently at number 5 on the list of best sold biographies on Amazon.com. To make things interesting, number 6 is currently occupied by Batista's "Unleashed". It is quite interesting to notice the success of these two popular wrestlers in writing their biographies. Amazon also has special offers if you decide to purchase them together. I did and I was quite surprised to find out interesting facts about Batista and the dark side of the man that is now the World Heavyweight Champion. Also, Chris Jericho is currently considered retired although by reading the book I got a feeling he will get back as the WWE years are not really portrayed that much. Both books were highly entertaining and I understood why they are so popular for readers.

Saturday, October 13, 2007

Kane Pyro Fails

Here is an interesting video I found on YouTube. I did forget about this moment in history. At one point in time Kane's Pyro failed because the Undertaker had taken his power away. That was the storyline but the clips is very very funny. Enjoy:

Brothers of Destruction are Back?

Last night we got to see The Borthers of Destruction, Kane and Undertaker team up again against the current tag team champions, MVP and Matt Hardy. As everybody probably expected, The Brothers of Destruction won with a Tombstone Piledriver on MVP. The match was kind of interesting and we did get to notice that the tag team champions did work together a little. The problem is that the gold was not on the line. Why is that? It would have been a perfect move to make the Brothers Tag Team Champions while coming back to the United States Championship feud between MVP and Matt Hardy. On the other hand, maybe there are bigger plans for the Undertaker, maybe the World Heavyweight Championship. This might be a historic moment in the WWE. If you want to see it, here is the end of the match between The Undertaker and Kane vs MVP and Matt Hardy:

Friday, October 12, 2007

Shawn Michaels is Back

OK, so Shawn Michaels is back in the wrestling ring. There have been many rumors that he had to come back in November but yet, he seems to have been recalled earlier. Now we see him going after the guy that took him out, Randy Orton, which is conveniently enough the WWE Champion. OK, the WWE did good in dealing with John Cena's Injury, I have to give them that as the recent events give us many possible scenarios of how things are going to stand in the future. We might have a DX re-formation or we might see Shawn Michaels attacked by Umaga or we might see a good match that will bring The Legend Killer down or we might seem Triple H help Shawn Michaels without a re-formation of DX and we could get to see matches between Shawn Michaels and Triple H but that would mean choosing one as more of a face than the other one. Maybe Shawn Michaels will turn heel and will compete with Triple H as face. Who Knows? So many possibilities!

On the other hand, we might also see a re-formation of The Brothers of Destruction on Smackdown. They could start dominating the Tag Team titles and work towards challenging Batista. I would love to see The Undertaker as Tag Team Champion and the World Heavyweight Champion. We will have to wait and see what happens.

Thursday, October 11, 2007

Photos from Beth Phoenix vs Candice Michelle at No Mercy 2007

Here are 10 photos from the match between Beth Phoenix and Candice Michelle for the Women's Title at No Mercy 2007:




Should The Great Khali get a new Chance?

There is a small debate going on about the fact that The Great Khali should get a new opportunity at the World Heavyweight Championship in the WWE. Well, it seems that a poll organized on wwe.com currently says that most people do not want The Great Khali to have this chance so maybe we can see some interesting wrestling matches from now on for the World Heavyweight Championship currently held by Batista. It will be curios to see who will be the next opponent and how things go with Cyber Sunday soon to come.

Kill The Undertaker

I was just browsing around and I got to a web site that had some free flash games. I took a closer look and there was a game called Kill The Undertaker! It was funny for around 10 minutes but why would anyone want to kill the Undertaker? In any case, as expected, he kept coming back for more and you just kept killing Taker. OK, here is the catch, be sure to shoot the watch as it appears and the spider if you can. Avoid murdering the pore little rapid. Only kill the Undertaker. We have 4 types of Undertakers: a ghost, skeleton, monster and body with no skin. There are also multipliers but I did not realize how they were obtained. So without further ado, play:

Kill The Undertaker

Cyber Sunday coming to WWE


Cyber Sunday is a very interesting pay per view for the WWE. We now have two matches to vote on and decide what will happen. The first one, and the one that is the most interesting so far stands in choosing Randy Orton's opponent for the WWE Championship. We can choose between Mr. Kennedy, Jeff Hardy and Shawn Michales. Mr. Kennedy is out of the picture in my view and Jeff Hardy is certainly popular enough to count although my personal pick stands in Shawn Michaels. The Heartbreak Kid could get some payback and since Triple H is not added to the options (although No Mercy could have made him a clear first pick opponent for a rematch) we might get to see Shawn Michaels becoming the new WWE Champion with a little help from Triple H, plus a re-formation of Degeneration X.

The second match on the Cyber Sunday pay per view announced will see CM Punk defend his ECW Championship against one of three possible opponents: Big Daddy V, The Miz and John Morrison. The Miz is not a popular and Big Daddy V is only valuable because of the size he has. John Morrison on the other hand has some skill but I find it personally disturbing that the WWE have chosen to make him look so much like the now deceased The Doors frontman, Jim Morrison. Even the physical resemblance is disturbing as we see the wrestler wearing those outfits, which in my mind bring dirt to the name of Jim Morrison. On the other hand, in my view, he is the one that should face CM Punk simply because the match between these two can be highly entertaining. Let us wait and see what happens.

Tuesday, October 9, 2007

Popular TNA Finishers

I just came across this interesting clip that features some of the most popular TNA finishers since 2004. Some are pretty nice. Hope you like it:

Monday, October 8, 2007

My View on No Mercy

No Mercy was a pretty good pay-per-view and mostly because of Triple H and the fight with Randy Orton twice and Umaga. This guy went through a very physical night and stepped up to raise the people on their feet. One teaser was interesting because it hinted at a possible Y2J comeback to the WWE. That would be interesting. The teaser was right after the Finlay vs. Rey Mysterio Jr. match, one that was not that great. The match for the women's championship was not that special. I think everybody expected to see the outcome. Beth Phoenix, a good looking lady that reminds us of Chyna became the Women's Championship.

We also had a "Bonus Match" in which the team of Mr. Kennedy, Lance Cade and Trevor Murdoch defeated Brian Kendrik, Paul London and the Intercontinental Champion, Jeff Hardy. We saw a great swanton by Hardy and the end saw Mr. Kennedy pinning London after a Green Bay Plunge. A pretty decent match. Not the same can be said in the CM Punk vs Big Daddy V ECW Championship match. Stupid ending that saw Matt Striker attack CM Punk in a moment that was not necessary and made no sense. The Batista vs The Great Khali match was again not interesting at all for me and the one thing that I really enjoyed at No Mercy 2007 was the Triple H vs Randy Orton feud. That was a great series of matches that made Triple H become even more valuable for the WWE in my eyes.

I would personally give No Mercy 2007 a rating of 7 out of 10. This is mainly because of the highly entertaining Triple H, Orton, Umaga and Mr. McMahon feud. Without it, the rating would have been a five probably. On the other hand, I am very curios to see whether Y2J will come back or not. Also, I think it would have been a whole lot more interesting to have a Brothers of Destruction vs MVP & Matt Hardy Match instead of the stupid pizza/pie eating contest I got to see. Maybe we are up for a huge re-united Brothers of Destructions that need to be highlighted better.
 
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