In This Very Ring ...

Will be up tomorrow - we did broadcast it but my uploader is busted.

Meanwhile everyone have a GREAT New Year! All the best in 2009.

Chyna's Hospitalization

I know it's a Raw night and this is usually where I give my thoughts on the show - but given Ari and I will be going on the air tomorrow night (or else Wednesday morning depending on the timing) to air a special New Year's Eve edition of In This Very Ring, I figured I'd save the discussion of tonight's very newsworthy and interesting show for that, to discuss Joanie Laurer, the former "Chyna" of WWE.

On her birthday this weekend, Laurer was found passed out in her bathroom with cuts on her arms, and was rushed to the hospital. There, a psychiatric assessment couldn't even be completed due to her high level of blood-alcohol. Laurer herself explained to TMZ today that her blackout was the result of drinking alcohol to celebrate her birthday, and that they mixed unexpectedly poorly with a new prescription she's on.

A few thoughts on this:

1. Jim Ross commented today on his blog that Laurer, when she was with the WWE, was incredibly health conscious, and that it is sad to see what she's become today. He reminds Laurer that WWE has a policy of providing all former employees access to rehab and other help should they need it. This is a good point, and I strongly encourage Laurer to consider this option. I know she has her issues with those in charge at the WWE - particularly former boyfriend Triple H, and his wife, boss's daughter Stephanie McMahon. But she shouldn't be too proud if she needs help, to accept it.
2. Even if this time it was simply an unfortunate and accidental mix of alcohol and prescription drugs, firstly, this is not the first time Chyna's drug problems have been exposed to the world - even if it was 'just alcohol', that's still dangerous in a former addict. And even if it was an innocent and thoughtless few drinks at a party, by someone on prescription meds, let's remember that similarly innocent mistakes have killed before, even within the wrestling industry. See Miss Elizabeth, a wrestling valet who died at the age of 42 when mixing vodka with prescribed anxiety medications and sleeping pills.
3. On an unrelated note - the idiot interviewing Chyna today when she said she would 'be OK', mentioned he was concerned about a string of deaths in the Ultimate Fighting world lately and was afraid that the tragedies might spill over into the wrestling world. Hello? Unfortunately we wrestling fans are all too used to this nonsense. Wrestling did unnecessary and sudden freak tragedies well before UFC came on the scene - and still does it much better. Sadly.

Bottom line: Joanie, Chyna, Ms. Laurer. I know you've had a tough life. Your mother sounds like a real nut job, and your father as well. I know that Triple H's involvement with the family which monopolizes your chosen profession made it, and obviously continues to make it, difficult for you professionally. I know your relationship with Sean Waltman was also volatile. But you were a strong woman, an intelligent woman who spoke many languages, wanted to be a UN interpreter, had a military background, and have traveled the world. You taught the WWE and its fans that one can be beautiful without necessarily fitting into a particular mold. It's sad to see what you've become, as you're starting to fit into the saddest mold of all - that which will have you following the likes of your friend Anna Nicole Smith to an early grave.

You have lots of avenues open to you with your background - it's time to stop the pity party and start exploring them. After teaching so many lessons through your work in wrestling, it's now time to learn, and in turn to demonstrate, perhaps the toughest one of all - that a truly strong woman, when faced with personal and professional setbacks, gets up, cleans herself off, and faces the next challenge better than any man ever could. Now get up and go get 'em!

Merry Christmas and Smackdown

First of all everyone I hope everyone had a lovely Christmas yesterday, is enjoying a wonderful Hanukkah, and/or has enjoyed/is enjoying/will enjoy this festive season in whatever way they celebrate. It's been a special Christmukkah around the Daigen household this year, so I can't help but wish all of you the same! :)

Having said that, tonight's Smackdown; due to it being a holiday I don't feel there's a WHOLE lot to address but let's see ... in no particular order ...

• I said in no particular order but I WILL start with the opener - Triple H calling out Vladimir Kozlov, Chavo Guerrero coming out to express GM Vicki Guerrero's displeasure at his involvement in Kozlov's match last week, etc. etc. was all well and good. Triple H's insulting Vicki's size, as a plus-size woman myself, wasn't entirely cool but if I wanted to complain about the misogynistic tendencies of wrestling this is NOT the time to start lol. I was also not entirely pleased with how quickly Triple H defeated Chavo when Vicki declared the impromptu match between them, but that's Chavo's role of late I suppose. It IS a fair point of Triple H's that Chavo - the 'real' Guerrero - is the whipping boy of Vicki - the Guerrero by marriage only - and the best I can hope is that his treatment at the hands of Vicki's inner circle (Edge, Big Show, Vicki herself) will eventually turn Chavo face to defend the honour of his family name. It would be much more honest than Rey Mysterio Jr. doing so. *shrug*
• The heat between Edge and Big Show - as Vicki's two pet favourites - makes sense and I can't wait in some ways to see where it goes. And if it builds to tag team matches against the Hardys, as it will next week, then no complaints. But I'm afraid once Matt takes his little title and goes back to ECW, that it's going to lead to more Triple Threats for the SD title ... and that? That's not cool. Also, Jeff beating Big Show by countout? I suppose it's better than LOSING his first non-title match as champ (see Mysterio, Rey, and Punk, CM) - but, still. Weak.
  
• A surprising victory for Carlito Colon vs. The Brian Kendrick. Good for Carlito - does this mean they might start giving him the push he deserves - or that he'll start earning the push they want to give him? Please! :) Let's hope so. He's a talented wrestler if he could get over the attitude. Now I just hope they either change MVPs luck, or else give us the punchline to his losing streak of late. Losing to Khali? Getting picked on by some dude who's been off for months and has only been seen pimping his new movie out since? Sigh ...
  
• Michelle McCool finally pulled the trigger on her heel turn. All good as this leaves her feuding with Maria, and Maryse, a talented young French Canadian wrestler, as Diva's champ. Except who will feud with Maryse then? Hmm ...
• Gregory Helms and Shelton Benjamin put on an awesome match. PPV worthy? Not neccesarily. Above and beyond for Smackdown? Definitely.

A good show seeing Edge getting cheered by us weirdos in Toronto-town. Aagin it was a holiday show so not THE most eventful, but not entirely UN-newsworthy either, now that I've written it all out. Some good progress, and seeds sown for the coming weeks ... such as, Triple H can't interfere in Vladimir Kozlov matches without losing his Royal Rumble spot. Oooh drama. Anyway, again, final verdict? Good stuff.

Surprise! Early ITVR (sort of)

Merry Christmas! Just a solo session of ITVR tonight as Ari's working late, but please enjoy - and my apologies for the shody microphone; you try podcasting and holding a baby at the same time. ;)

I hope you guys all lay the smackdown on some turkey this Christmas and have a wonderful Holiday. I'll be back on Boxing Day! Happy Holidays one and all.

This n That

So - as much as it is for a worthy cause - our son - I have to cop to being disappointed at missing tomorrow night's Raw in Toronto. Tomorrow night is when the four champion vs. champion matches are going to happen to determine who will go on to the fatal four way next week, which will in turn determine the #1 Contender to John Cena's world championship. It would have been cool to see:

Shawn Michaels vs. Kane
Randy Orton vs. Batista (pending Batista's 'condition' after being punted in the head by Orton)
Rey Mysterio vs. JBL
Chris Jericho vs. CM Punk

Either way be sure and tune in here tomorrow night - Tuesday at the latest - for my thoughts on tomorrow's Raw. With that lineup, barring any baiting and switching, it should be an OK show. :)

Also be sure to check out http://www.slate.com (under the 'arts' section) for Mick Foley's review of 'The Wrestler'. Some good thoughts and what seems like a fair analysis of the film from a wrestling insider's point of view. Worth the read.

Vince McMahon's screening of "The Wrestler"

If anyone hears any loud and thunderous bellows coming from the direction of Stamford, CT today, don't worry, it is not a sign of the Apocalypse, but simply Vince McMahon during his private viewing of "The Wrestler", scheduled for this afternoon. ;)

In this Very Ring, December 17 Episode

Click the post title to listen. :) And for Little Tyke's on air debut. ;)

The Action Plan for a Live ITVR, and Raw Last Night

Before going into my thoughts on last night's Raw (a decent show, by the way), just wanted to update you on the stop-n-go plans to bring ITVR live on the air in the near-future. I was working on doing so for this week, but then it occurred to me the next two weeks are Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve, so no one will probably be listening live anyway. So the plan as of right now is to podcast tomorrow night's show (to be up around midnight or so), as well as next week's. New Year's Eve will also be podcast, and kind of a Year in Review/Best and Worst of ... kind of episode. And with any luck then, the first In This Very Ring of the New Year will be brought to you live over the interweb. :D Check back here for updates if that plan changes. And meanwhile, expect a good show tomorrow, lot's to talk about with Jeff Hardy's title win and just what that means for the company, who now has a world champion one bad session of peeing in a cup away from being fired.

As for Raw, my thoughts in no particular order are:

• I actually liked the angle with Kane and Kelly Kelly. It's not exactly original, which is too bad, to have Kane pining after a girl he can't have, and assaulting her boyfriend, but it brings us back to the roots of the Kane character I suppose, and it was an interesting switch to have Kelly Kelly tell him she's dating the Miz when she clearly isn't. Taking bets on who Kelly's 'real' (kayfabe) boyfriend is?
• I was disappointed they didn't go straight into the Punk-Regal match tonight as there are only so many Raws left in 2008 if they want to do the 'Punk wins all the titles in one calendar year' bit. But I suppose as the tag champs who just lost their belts, it makes sense that they want to give the fans who didn't see the title switch on TV a chance to see these two teams - Kingston/Punk and Miz/Morrison - go at it.
• I feel bad for Hacksaw Jim Duggan and this was probably my biggest complaint about the show - Cryme Tyme takes him offscreen and from what I could see they never followed up on it. He's been mouthed off to and abused by heels for awhile and had just come off being insulted by Chris Jericho - I like that they addressed this issue, but just HOW?
• I'd have liked to see Shawn Michaels and JBL actually live instead of a recap of last night - especially since we paid $40 to see that, and why since they now played it for the non-paying Monday Night audience. I am still not buying Shawn Michaels as being concerned he's going to end up playing for peanuts in high school gyms anywhere, but I did find this speech a bit more ... satisfactory, the second time around. And kudos to Shawn for playing this as well as he can given it's nonsense.
• A good long main event, decent given the folks involved - a bit draggy but still impressive.
• I like the 'former champions compete in 4 matches, winners compete in a four-way to determine the #1 contender' format Stephanie McMahon announced to choose John Cena's next opponent. It will take up a good 2-3 weeks of Raw, provide for some top-notch wrestling given some of the names involved in this mini-tournament, and it makes more sense than 'The #1 contender is whoever the champion hates most this week". It gives Raw, also, a wrestling focus for the coming weeks.
  
• My only complaint about the above? I just found the 'Batista's rematch clause expired' thing hokey. Stephanie and Shane McMahon neglected to put him in a rematch as he requested in a timely fashion, and HE suffers? Oh well. He'll get his chance here. And the nice thing with this, given the 8 men involved, it is actually not easy to figure out who Cena's Royal Rumble opponent will be! (I'd say Tista, but I think they're saving that for Mania).
  

Jeff Hardy, new WWE Champ

So there's not a lot bad to say about Armageddon tonight - it was a good show, solid action ... sure there wasn't a lot in terms of storyline or character development, but there were some good solid matches, moreso than I expected and it was an entertaining 3 hours. Matt Hardy extracted a decent match out of Vladimir Kozlov, Rey Mysterio-CM Punk was good except for the sloppy Go To Sleep which broke Rey's nose, the Shawn Michaels-JBL interaction was interesting although I have a hard time believing Shawn's hard up for money (as Jason Powell pointed out - couldn't good buddy Trips lend him some if he is?), Finlay-Mark Henry was better than I expected it to be, the 8-diva match was OK even and Mae Young-Khali was hilarious, Randy Orton-Batista was predictably slow but solid, and Chris Jericho and John Cena put on the very good match I expected.

And then we got to the final match of the night, on of the best Triple Threats I've ever seen, at least a 4-star match in which Jeff Hardy finally won his first WWE title. I was at the PPV where the Hardy Boys made one of their very earliest appearances as a team in a dark match; I turned to my brother, father, and buddy at that time and said 'These boys are going to be something'. I think they agree with me they were talented, but not the types who'd get far in the WWE. No real gimmick (and eventually a kinda weird one), on the small side of 'wrestling normal', etc. And for too many years they were right. Well, tonight, mine did :D. There's still ample opportunity for 'one more strike and you're out' Jeff to let down the WWE now that they've put the ball in his court, but wherever things go from here, for one magical night, the boys from Cameron NC done good:

This n That

TOPIC #1: ARMAGEDDON
So Armageddon's tomorrow night - please tune in after the show for our thoughts on it! Jim Ross predicts some surprises, as that seems to have been the theme of PPVs this year (think John Cena's returns, Edge's return last month, Chris Jericho's title wins, etc.) - so it might not be the cut & dry secondary PPV we expected. Let's see where it goes. :) Meanwhile an 8-diva tag team match has been added to the Armageddon show since Ari's and my broadcast Thursday - an 8 woman tag match featuring Michelle McCool, Maria, Mickie James and Kelly Kelly vs. Natalya, Maryse, Victoria, and Jillian Hall. I predict the heels win and Michelle McCool's heel turn trigger gets pulled ... now.

TOPIC #2: SMACKDOWN LAST NIGHT
Only got to see snippits of this show through a 'sleeping until the next feeding' fog; but of particular note: I enjoyed the interactions between Jeff Hardy and Triple H, particularly Jeff attacking the Gamey one before he even got to the ring for the opening match. Frick's sake foos, who lets their opponent actually get to the ring and wind off for 20 mins before attacking them anyway? Smart stuff. And they closed the show too; granted Edge attacked both of them but the heat between them with Edge as pot-stirrer has been awesome. Also good interaction between Edge and Matt Hardy. This furthers my thoughts the other day of a build to some Matt-Jeff dissention goodness. I'd THOUGHT Jeffy might go heel as having orchestrated the appearance of his own 'beatdown' at the hotel last month, but the possibility is also there Matt did it and is pointing the finger at Edge to cover his own tracks. Interesting stuff to see play out.

TOPIC #3: WWE IN CANADA
WWE's embarking on a Canadian tour that's already newsmaking! Miz and Morrison defeated Kofi Kingston and CM Punk for their tag team championships on the tour, and Trish Stratus placed a visit during WWE's swing through Toronto. Now that her Travel Channel show "Stratusphere" is done ... might the many-times former WWE Women's Champ be preparing to grace the WWE with some more Stratusfaction?

Again, be sure and tune in tomorrow night for Armageddon thoughts! Have a great Saturday night all! :D

ITVR

Click title for podcast. :) Tune in next week.

Stay Tuned

Hi Folks,

Our apologies--we're still working out the kinks in this "live broadcast" thing, so very sorry to anyone tuning in at precisely 10 EST. We're just going to go for the podcast this week, which we'll record now and post around or before midnight. Hopefully by next week we'll have this all sorted out--thanks for bearing with us!

SCHEDULING NOTE

Due to some conflicts we didn't foresee with Ari's work, adjusting to a new feeding schedule for our boy etc. In This Very Ring will air tomorrow at 10pm instead of tonight. We will be back to Wednesday nights next week as usual; should we switch nights again you will be informed. :) So be sure to tune in tomorrow for our thoughts on Raw, and on Armageddon coming up!

Smackdown

So I still didn't catch the show, so this will be brief as I'm going largely by what I heard, and the bit I DID see.

The Divas: Good stuff! I'm a little concerned about Michelle McCool going heel, when the heel Divas on SD are the stronger group as it is, but she's executing this well. Maria looks ... different though. Has she like, lost a LOT of weight? Or is it just me? She looks awfully skinny and I think I liked her better before, if so.

Edge and Vicki Guerrero have that awesome heel heat chemistry - I still await the explanation of just how Edge's time away helped them resolve their differences. I suspect I could wait until Doomsday however, and that wouldn't be forthcoming. Maybe the odd loose end NOT tied up is for the best anyway. Chalk it up to absence makes the heart grow fonder, and try not to vomit when they make out lol. BTW: Edge playing pot-stirrer between the newly-attitudinal Jeff Hardy and Triple H is highly amusing. I think they could have come up with a better 'punishment' match than a 'gauntlet till the makeshift Hardy-H team loses' however; really if either of these men were bright they'd have lay down and saved their strength for a match that really matters. That said, this match signaled the return of Ryder and Hawkins so can't complain about that.

Not much to root for in the Big Show-Undertaker rivalry ... it's actually been very boring where as a high-impact feud between big men it should be very interesting ... but Big Show did an awesome promo on Friday, just awesome. I had a hard time for awhile getting into him as a heel after he'd played the big friendly giant for so long, but this promo was very convincing to me.

So there, yeah - basically a good show. Will be interesting to see everything play out going into Armageddon coming up next weekend. More talk about that as the week goes on, and about the Slammy's - which I'm going to leave you with some picks for the last few categories.

BEST ANNOUNCE TEAM - I'm going JR/Tazz; either that or the ECW announce team to build some heat between Tazz and Matt Stryker, who have been takiang some jabs at each other of late. This one will be given out exclusively on the internet.

BEST MUSICAL PERFORMANCE - Santino's rapping to Akon, hands down. Unless they want to take it seriously and give it to R-Truth's entrance. Another wwe.com exclusive.

BEST WWE.COM EXCLUSIVE: Either the Dirt Sheet or Word Up wins here - let's give it to the Dirt Sheet, as that's the one *I* personally would choose. Miz and Morrison at their best. Another internet-based category.

BREAKOUT STAR OF THE YEAR: I really want to say Evan Bourne for this one, but I'm afraid his injury might put him out of the minds of some. But they've done a good job of keeping him in the spotlight so I'm keeping this prediction anyway. Evan Bourne. It's an easy one to throw ECW, who is really suffering in my predictions I notice, unless they walk away with announce team as well.

Slammy Awards

I was going to comment on Smackdown tonight but I didn't have the chance to see it yet - tune in for my thoughts on that show over the weekend. Meanwhile - my predictions for the Slammy's now that all nominees have been announced.

Category: Superstar of the Year
Nominees: Batista, Chris Jericho, Edge, Jeff Hardy, John Cena, Triple H
Prediction:
Common wisdom would say Triple H, and since it doesn't look like the fans make this choice, it probably will be. But if they want to simulate the opinion of the fans, my personal choice would be Chris Jericho, for being (hate to admit as an HBK fan) the stronger half of WWE's feud of the year.

Category: Match of the Year
Nominees: "Royal Rumble" Battle Royal, "WM 24" Shawn Michaels vs. Ric Flair, "WM 24" Money in the Bank, "Summerslam" Hell in a Cell, Edge vs. Undertaker
Prediction:
My prediction and common wisdom, I think will coincide here - I'm going with Flair/Michaels in Ric Flair's last match as a professional wrestler. The end of an era.

Category: Diva of the Y ear
Nominees: Mickie James, Beth Phoenix, Kelly Kelly, Michelle McCool
Prediction:
Beth Phoenix is the most dominant Diva on Raw, which means she is the most dominant Diva in the most competitiev field. Go with er for the win here, on my opinion, AND likely that of WWE Brass.

Category: OMG Moment of the Year
Nominees: CM Punk cashing in his Money in the Bank; Undertaker 'sending Edge to Hell' at Summerslam; Floyd Mayweather breaking Big Show's nose; John Cena's Royal Rumble return
Prediction:
Personally I liked Floyd Mayweather's punch to Big Show because it was an unscripted, beautiful moment in wrestling TV. In terms of surprise factor, long term impact, etc. etc. etc. though I'm going with John Cena's Royal Rumble return. For 5 seconds, everyone was behind Dr. Thuggypants and poppin' bigtime. It was a VERY cool moment.

Category: "DAMN!" Moment of the year
Nominees: Khali Kiss Kam; JR in a sailor suit for Halloween; CM Punk disguised as a Mariachi to attack Chavo Guerrero; Santino Marella's attempt at Melina's entrance
Prediction:
I'm going with the latecomer here - Santino all the way! :D King of the damn moments.

Category: Tag Team of the Year
Nominees: Cryme Tyme, Miz and Morrison, the Colons (Carlito andPrimo), Priceless
Prediction:
Tough call - Miz and Morrison and Priceless are the two most pushed teams on their respective brands. Raw's gotten a lot of handouts so far, let's go with the NEW M&M. :) Especially since they've been appearing on Raw as often as not lately anyway. ;)

Category: Finishin Move of the Year
Nominees: Randy Orton's RKO, Undertaker's Hell's Gate, Big Show's Knockout Punch, Evan Bourne's Shooting Star Press
Prediction:
Unless they go with a real darkhorse here - ie trying to keep Evan Bourne in the picture by giving this to him - I'm going with Taker's Hell's Gate; while the RKO is a perennial favourite, Undertaker's triangle choke has been a real boon to his arsenal this year, and highly touted.

Category: Extreme Moment of the Year
Nominees: Jeff Hardy's 30-ft. Swanton onto Randy Orton; Undertaker's fall off a ladder through a table in TLC vs. Edge; JBL throwing John Cena off the stage through a car windshield; Shawn Michaels gets put through the Jeritron by Chris Jericho
Prediction:
Tossup here - Jeff Hardy's Swanton vs. Jericho's attack on Michaels. I'll give the edge to Hardy here again as these awards have been Raw heavy thus far. Also, this was cool to watch. :) Although meanwhile can someone take the time to explain to me the difference between this category, the "DAMN!" category, and OMG category? Pls n thx? :P

Category: Couple of the Year
Nominees: Vicki Guerrero and Edge, Santino Marella and Beth Phoenix, Layla and William Regal, Finlay and Hornswoggle
Prediction:
Finlay and ... what?! Ugh. OK nevermind - not even going there. It's going to come down to one of the first two options; I'm going with Glamarella since a. they're more recent and fresh in all our minds and b. on Raw which seems to be an advantage here.

A couple of notes on ITVR

1. The PLAY button is now there - however it only works on Internet Explorer from what I can see at this hour w/how tired I am lol. Be sure and hit play around 10pm Wednesday nights - some other times I might put some archived shows up as well ... I'll play around with it a bit more tomorrow to see if I can keep my station running with my computer off. :)

2. Thanks again for your patience. :)

ITVR!!!

Bad news - no ITVR this week either. I'm going to explain though, no more cryptic excuses. We adopted a little boy who was born about 18 days ago. Because it's an adoption we've been not sharing as it isn't our story to tell - and we will say no more from here as we might already be pushing the envelope. But THAT'S why the difficulty in getting the broadcast up these last few weeks.

But now do you want the good news?

We will be able to broadcast LIVE going forward! :D We have hooked up with uBroadcast, which means a live show ... which means hopefully going forward the opportunity for guests, call-ins, and an actual time frame to keep us honest. 10pm Eastern every Wednesday ... no fussing with uploads or downloads anymore or any of that ... just click the 'play' button that is going to appear in our sidebar at that time, and join us LIVE! :)

No promises as to when guests or any of those other features are going to start ... but stay tuned. I figured a couple dead weeks here will be worth the transition to the bigger, better ITVR! And thanks for your patience these last 3 weeks ... and over the whole run of getting back into the show. It's been fits and starts, but the best is yet to come.

Meanwhile ... stay tuned this week for thoughts on Smackdown, as well as a preview of Monday's big 3-hour Raw special, featuring the Slammy's, Batista vs. Triple H, and John Cena vs. Edge.

Behind the scenes info.

First and foremost, be sure to tune in tomorrow for my thoughts on Raw, currently in progress. But I thought I'd check in during a commercial break to discuss some bits and pieces of news I've heard about over today and the weekend in wrestling-land.

1. McMahon sycophant and longtime road agent Bruce Pritchard (more famously known as Brother Love) has been let go. I'm generally going to say 'good' - as much as he's a very experienced 'wrestling' guy, if there's stuff that doesn't work, you start replacing the machine.

2. Batista reveals he was involved recently with Kelly Kelly, 21-year-old WWE Diva. The 40-year-old Superstar and grandfather also admitted to finding the 56-year-old Morgan Fairchild attractive. At least there's no age discrimination there, but hey, Dave; ever think of dating someone, oh, say 35-45? Just sayin' ...

3. WWE came in #2 on Yahoo's Most Searched list this year, beating out President-Elect Barack Obama. Also, Stephanie McMahon was named one of Cablefax's 20 to Watch - one of the 20 most powerful individuals in cable. Congrats to WWE and the McMahon's on both impressive feats. Kudos should be given when due.

4. Randy Orton has been offered a new 10-year deal with the WWE; he is currently considering the offer. In the meantime, that is a huge reflection on how valuable they consider Orton to be. In perspective, they offered Rey Mysterio a 5-year deal. Rey settled for a shorter, 3-year deal.

5. Lastly, and perhaps most interestingly, there was a very, VERY good interview with Terri Runnels, formerly Marlena in the WWE and the ex-wife of Dustin Runnels (son of Dusty Rhodes, brother of Cody Rhodes, a.k.a. Goldust) at http://www.charleston.net/news/2008/nov/30/wrestling_diva_woman_all_seasons/. A very interesting look at the former Diva's life before, during, and after her entry into the wrestling business.

Again - tune in tomorrow for Raw thoughts, and as always, tune in Wednesday for In This Very Ring. :) Hope to see you then.