Lillian Garcia, "Sex Lies and Headlocks", Raw, Eric Bischoff/the Hulkamania Tour, and more!

**NOTE: this is going to seem out of date; I actually typed it 3 days ago - like Tuesday or so - and then hit 'save draft' instead of 'publish'. But wanted to share my thoughts anyway. Will be discussing this next hour on ITVR so meh ... **

Lots to talk about today guys - after a quiet weekend, it's been a busy couple of days in the wrestling world. So let's just jump into it, shall we?

• First of all, congratulations are in order to Lillian Garcia, who got married this weekend. It's interesting that she is the second high-profile Diva in the last couple of years to leave the WWE to get married. How very old-fashioned, and yet also considerate of hubby-to-be. Would that male wrestlers gave as much thought at times to the loved ones they leave at home. Regardless, congratulations Lillian and all the happiness in the world to you and your new husband.
• For that matter, happy birthday as well to former WWE competitors Tajiri and Steve Blackman! "Smackdown Numba One Announcah" and "Head Cheese" for life!
• I just finished reading "Sex Lies and Headlocks" by Shaun Assael and Mike Mooneyham - a truly interesting and important wrestling book, perhaps one of the best I've read yet in terms of covering how the industry itself has changed in the second half of the 20th century and into the 21st; while there are some factual discrepancies (check out my personal blog at http://shortysar.blogspot.com for a full review), this book is a true and enlightening piece of work on Vince McMahon and the WWE in particular, and wrestling in general. Check it out!
• Raw this week had many fine moments; I loved DX's promo with the Legacy kids, although I wish the young guys had had more of an opportunity to talk back, and the final image of John Cena and Randy Orton fighting on the Hell in a Cell structure did a great job of selling Sunday's PPV; and making even me, who is dreading it, dread it a whole lot less. I wish Cena hadn't had to no-sell the beating he'd gotten from JeriShow in order to participate in that last go-home moment, but it was still cool. At the same time; Jack Swagger and Evan Bourne deserve to be showcased better than they were this night, and the Mickie James-Rosa Mendes match was lacklustre given what these women can do. And Al Sharpton ... don't get me started. A very poor job, and I LIKE the guy! He'll have a hard time justifying his stand on stereotypical portrayals on TV, however, when he appeared in one scene with Santino Marella, Chavo Guerrero, Primo Colon, Hornswoggle ... but perhaps he's mainly against stereotyping blacks? Good thing they kept Cryme Tyme under wraps!
• Eric Bischoff will be appearing on the Between the Ropes radio show (click here to check out their site) tonight to promote the Hulkamania tour of Australia - added to the tour today were Paul London and Nick "Eugene" Dinsmore. I definitely hope they get some DVD distribution going on in North America; this sounds like it could be a fantastic show if played right.
• Lastly, the week ahead: in WWE-land Friday should be a big night as it's Smackdown's 10th anniversary episode, featuring a guest spot by none other than Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, who hasn't appeared on WWE television whatsoever since 2008's Hall of Fame ceremony. Sunday is the big Hell in a Cell pay-per-view, and Monday night's show will be hosted by NFL great Ben Roethlisberger, fresh off his Sunday game, going head-to-head with Vikings vs. Packers; a good mainstream get with an opportunity to grab the football crowd during commercials and (if done right) keep them. Thursday night we will also be giving TNA a shot to see how their new writing team is doing. This means that ITVR will be going up a bit later than usual, but we'll be able to discuss TNA on it. Should be interesting anyway. Also on that show we will have a recap of the news discussed here, anything that happens in the next couple of days, and our Hell in a Cell predictions, so be sure and tune in late Thursday. Until then, be well!
  

Upcoming

Hi guys, quiet weekend in the world of wrestling, not a whole lot to talk about since ITVR's podcast Friday, but I am just about finished "Sex, Lies and Headlocks" by Shaun Assael and Mike Mooneyham, AND am currently watching Raw, so there should be more to discuss tomorrow; tune in then! I just didn't want you thinking I'd forgotten y'all. Quiet news week = quiet Sarah unfortunately. But it was a nice one and hopefully for you all too! Peace.

ITVR

As promised. As always, click heading for podcast. Happy weekend!

ITVR tech difficulties

Hi all - so ... embarrassing ... we sat down tonight and recorded an entire episode of ITVR before realizing ... our mic was not plugged in. In a way this was a blessing in disguise as last night was a short night and I think we were half asleep through the show - not a strong one by any means - but it annoys me because whenever we have an 'off week' like last week I always try to be super-on time the week after. But looking at the bright side, we WILL re-record and podcast tomorrow, a better show for you our listeners, so be sure and check it out around this time (give or take an hour) tomorrow night. :) Until then, love to ya mudda. Oh - and wishing Stephanie McMahon a happy 33rd birthday today ... hope the Mister got you something nice! ;) Pax.

RAW and Hulk Hogan

So I'm not talking too much about last night's Raw; it was entirely lacklustre, and more entertainment than wrestling, without being much of that either (sorry Cedric the ... well, Entertainer). Some good stuff with DX, and we get to see Super Cena run a Randy Orton-Chris Jericho-Big Show gauntlet next week, and Lillian Garcia gave a classy goodbye speech, but if you missed it ... that's OK. Be sure and check out next week, hosted by Al Sharpton - the poor fit of Al Sharpton in a wrestling arena will be entertaining in itself.

On a more interesting note, news has been breaking today that Hulk Hogan might be in some hot soup for threatening to send some Hells Angels over to break the legs of a rocker ex-boyfriend of his daughter; I'll keep you posted as this story progresses. Meanwhile at the very latest be sure and tune in Thursday night for In This Very Ring, and stay with ITVR for the latest news and thoughts from this little corner of the online wrestling community. Peace.

Why is Terri Runnels going to Australia?

I was going to sit and paraphrase this story (click here) I've read in a few outlets in order to enlist support, but I feel Jason Powell tells the story better than I could as it's getting later in the evening and I'm quite tired. So please follow the above link, and please support Terri Runnels' (the former Marlena's) trip to Australia to be by the bedside of a devoted fan as he goes through his kidney transplant. As a single mother travelling through Wrestler Rescue (wrestlerrescue@aol.com), there is a chance through that link to donate to help subsidize her travel costs. If you have a few cents to help a less-than-wealthy former celebrity and a mega-fan connect, or to donate to wrestler rescue generally (a charity aimed at helping out down-on-their luck aging former wrestlers in terms of battling poverty and addiction issues), please check it out. Peace.

Quick Plug to TNA

Tonight is TNA's No Surrender PPV; no idea of the card, who's on it, or anything (although it sounds like when TNA's PPV provider contract comes up next year, this event is one of 6 Dixie Carter intends to put on the chopping block to provide a higher quality, more streamlined product). I DO know the main event is Kurt Angle vs. Matt Morgan vs. Sting vs. AJ Styles for the TNA World Title; as I've read, in another attempt to focus more on getting as many people on the card than on actually pushing a signature, draw-inducing feud like Hulk Hogan-Andre the Giant or Bret Hart-Shawn Michaels or Rock-Steve Austin used to be.

But razzing them aside, TNA to our experience has always produced quality PPVs, as dubious as Impact sometimes can be (although I've heard this has reversed in the past year, where PPVs have started to drag while Impact has done a better job of showcasing TNA as a unique product), and this PPV marks Ed Ferrara's joining the TNA booking team which now consists of him and Vince Russo. While Vince Russo on his own has no sense of pacing or the value of tradition, Ferrara has historically been his best editor, balancing his 'shock TV' ethos with a more old school, wrestling-focused viewpoint; hopefully their efforts in TNA will more closely resemble the job they did for the WWE than that of the dying days of WCW. They have an opportunity here to prove their point, that WCW was dying anyway and there was little they could do with it - I generally have enjoyed their work when they can keep each other in check, and I look forward to giving them a chance in the weeks ahead to write the endings of their career on more of a high note.

Hulkamania Tour

Hi guys - just to let you know ITVR wasn't up last night or tonight as last night we forgot we had some commitments with Ari's new coworkers, and this evening just kind of got away from us; we'll try to get the show up this weekend sometime, but if not, we'll be back next week for sure, and on time we promise! :) (Bet on the latter - we have some company coming this weekend, joy, our first really busy week since moving to Ottawa ... life never changes lol).

Meanwhile though the main thing in wrestling news this week I haven't covered is Hulk Hogan's upcoming Australian tour he's co-promoting with Eric Bischoff this coming fall. Featuring Ken Anderson (the former Ken Kennedy), Shannon Moore, Rikishi and Umaga, as well as the latest and greatest get, Ric Flair in his first in-ring appearance since he retired at Wrestlemania 24. A surprising addition, not because we expected he'd never wrestle again (we didn't), but due to his at-times tense relationship with Hulk Hogan, as well as his unquestionably frought relationship with Eric Bischoff. However, Flair vs. Hogan, even if a good 20-30 years after it was wished for, is always a good get, and should draw some fans Down Undah.

Again - my apologies for the sporadicness (probably good we haven't gone live yet, to give us the freedom to keep this as flexible as we have seemed to have needed - hopefully we'll string together a good 5-10 shows on time in a row in the coming weeks, at which point we'd feel comfortable making the transition to a live show now that we have unlimited long distance, and can start seeking on-air guests as well). But we'll be back next week as usual, and in the meantime I will continue to blog regularly so be sure and check back often. Till then, keep fit and have fun. Peace.

Legal Briefs, and a Scathing Editorial

OK, last thing first: check out this editorial (click here) over at World Wrestling Insanity written by the Canadian Bulldog (non-Harry Smith variety). Unfortunately and shamefully funny stuff.

Nothing major to report before tomorrow (already did my Raw thoughts for the week, and I'm going to save the discussion of Hulk Hogan and Eric Bischoff's new Hulkamania tour for tomorrow on the air with Ari), but I wanted to give a couple updates on some wrestling-related legal situations we've been covering in recent weeks:

1. Kurt Angle's had his day in court yesterday as the charges against him for violating a restraining order, possession of controlled substances and driving on a suspended license were dropped. Initial thoughts: maybe TNA knew what they were doing keeping on Kurt Angle and firing Rhaka Khan; maybe it wasn't just about him being a bigger draw. Further thoughts: maybe the same celebrity keeping him alive in TNA also kept him alive in court. Final verdict: Either could still be true. For the record, Angle still faces a hearing in regards to said restraining order in the future, but no further criminal proceedings.
2. After several Tweets and the promise of a statement to be released 'later' that remains unforthcoming, Jeff Hardy's Twitter account was taken down today. Initial thought: hey, where's our statement? Further thoughts AND final verdict: wise, someone is obviously and probably listening to their lawyer. Statements regarding ongoing criminal matters should not be released through social media but through legal representatives.

Be sure and tune in tomorrow night for more on these, wrestling TV this week, and Hulkamania's upcoming tour promoted by Hulk Hogan himself, and the Wizard of World Championship Wrestling, Eric Bischoff. Speaking of which - also coming tomorrow; a review of The Rise and Fall of WCW. See ya then folks!

Breaking Point and Raw

Hi all - so I'm not going into desperate gobs of detail on Breaking Point and Raw (though whenever I say that, it always ends up going longer than I expect), so that Ari and I have something to talk about in a few evenings on the air; but some of the key thoughts I had were (and in no particular order):

BREAKING POINT

• The wrestling on this show was solid; even Kane vs. Khali didn't totally suck. There was not one stinker match on the card, for what the respective matches were supposed to accomplish (eg: John Cena vs. Randy Orton was hardly a technical standout, but absolutely brutal in its violence level, and to me well beyond WWE's sought-after PG rating these days).
• My predictions were almost entirely wrong (should never have let Ari talk me into saying of the two title matches, Undertaker was leaving with CM Punk's belt), but I don't mind that; I knew that there was not one match that was 100% a lock, and the one I *did* think that of - DX vs. the Legacy - was a pleasant surprise when the young Cody Rhodes and Ted Dibiase Jr. won. This win will not at all hurt Shawn Michaels and Triple H as they brought everything they had and vice versa, and will absolutely give Rhodes and Dibiase that last little push and polish they need to be taken seriously amongst the big boys. And kudos to the Legacy having been given more of a role than simply Randy Orton's window dressing of late.
• I didn't so much mind the 'screwjob' ending of CM Punk-Undertaker, with Teddy Long ordering the match restarted after Undertaker used what turned out to be a still-illegal triangle chokehold to make Punk submit, although yes I understand it capitalizes yet again on a 12-year-old incident that both we Canadians AND Vince McMahon should have long since let go; but since it's entertaining and a 'thing' in Montreal, I don't so much mind that. My main complaint is, if you were going to have a screwy, 'send 'em home unhappy' ending to one world title match, and a feelgood, 'hero wins against all odds' ending ... tell me, which of these should have closed out the show? Yeah. I thought so. This ending was unpredictable and hot, but not so hot as to cancel out the disappointment of a questionable ending, and I'm obviously not the only one who thinks so.

RAW:

• I enjoyed the opening with Batista and Randy Orton; it wouldn't have been surprising, at Batista's age and with his injuries, if he HAD announced his retirement (although I'd have suspected we in the internet wrestling community would have heard more REAL rumours to that end by now), but he played it perfectly and, with Jeff Hardy gone and Edge on the DL, will provide a much-needed shot in the arm to the Smackdown brand. He should provide a worthy foe to CM Punk, and perhaps rekindle a very strong feud with the Undertaker.
• It was great to see Trish Stratus again; referencing her history with Chris Jericho, and putting her in-ring with Beth Phoenix was a dream match scenario, even if it did involve the two teams from the tag title match last night; and tying her in-ring appearance to an existing storyline made some sense in terms of making it not just a gratuitous one-off, even if it did lower her ring time and visibility as such.
• A nice bow-out to the Randy Orton-Batista feud while continuing Orton's feud with John Cena into Hell in a Cell - which I hope is the blow-off to this longstanding feud, and also marks I believe the first HIAC match not involving one of Triple H or the Undertaker. By the way - as a note for last night, they made it known that the main event matches would be HIAC matches; I am still not a fan of multiple HIAC matches in one night as it cheapens one of the WWE's strongest matches; but that' s better than a card full of them.
• Chavo Guerrero vs. Evan Bourne again, with even less involvement from Hornswoggle; hopefully this becomes an exclusively big(ish) people feud soon.
• Overall a decent show; my main concern is that potentially good matches - Bourne/Guerrero, Kofi Kingston/Jack Swagger - were too short and quick to have really stood out, a problem plaguing Raw while Smackdown for example gives stellar performers like Rey Mysterio Jr. and John Morrison a 20+ minute platform to do their stuff. But that's the ultimate difference between the two shows these days isn't it?

And that's it - as I said I suppose longer than I'd intended but those were my thoughts. Be sure and tune in to hear more about this, along with all the other wrestling news, on Thursday night when Ari and I podcast 'In This Very Ring'; meanwhile of course I will be around all week blogging any updates, for example, on Jeff Hardy, or other pressing news in the world of wrestling. Be sure and check it all out. Have a great night!

Breaking news on Breaking Point, plus Lance Storm's take on the Jeff Hardy situation

A new match has been added to the Breaking Point roster (musta been listening to Ari and I last night lol), as Kofi Kingston will be defending his U.S. title vs. The Miz tomorrow night. I'm going to go out on a limb to say The Miz is your new U.S. champ; Kofi has had a great run and been winning several multi-man title challenges by the skin of his teeth; going down as a fighting champion to someone who's been pushed quite decently overall but tripped up a bit in recent weeks, to reestablish the Miz's push and set up a viable feud on the U.S. title level (with appearances of course by Jack Swagger and MVP along the way), is completely a believable way to go - although like many matches on this card, neither result would 100% surprise me, and booking the ending so both come out strong-looking is key; that kind of booking is in fact key to the entire card, as victories don't come any more decisively than by submission, and there's a real risk of each match's loser looking awful in the end.

Speaking of looking awful more and more has come out on the Jeff Hardy situation today, at least in terms of comments from other wrestlers expressing their support for Jeff. I personally await the statement he promised would be forthcoming, but in the meantime you can find his brother Matt Hardy's thoughts, as well as those of Chris Jericho, on their respective Twitter pages. Perhaps the deepest and most interesting take, however, comes from Lance Storm at http://www.stormwrestling.com -

The first thing I want to say is that people need to remember that being charged with something and being guilty of something, can be two different things. I’ve gotten email from fans that were both crushed and appalled to read that Jeff Hardy was dealing drugs. Let me just say, I don’t believe for a second Jeff Hardy was selling drugs and I’m pretty sure that any trafficking charges are based solely on the quantity of drugs found, not him actually selling them. I believe in the US there are limits on the amount of certain drugs you can have in your possession, and as soon as those limits are reached the charge is trafficking, because they feel you have more of the substance than would normally be considered for personal use.

If that is the case that certainly does not put Jeff free and clear, but I think having your own personal drug problems (no matter how severe) and being a drug trafficker are two completely different things. If the quantities of drugs, reportedly found in Jeff’s possession, are accurate then we have to assume he has a very serious drug problem, and that, even more so than his pending legal woes, is my biggest concern.

Some very good points, and probably the outlook I most agree with thus far. If Jeff Hardy has been dealing drugs, and is guilty as found, that will certainly come out in court and be handled appropriately; if not, it is nonetheless a sad story and hopefully he will find the help - legal, psychological, spiritual, and otherwise - that he needs to finally see the light at the end of this unfortunate tunnel he finds himself in.

ITVR for this week

Please click the heading to get all of the news in wrestling this week, including news on Jeff Hardy's arrest (!!!) earlier today and predictions for Sunday's Breaking Point Pay Per View.

As a side note, also be sure and check my personal blog for my Sept. 11 thoughts. Wishing you and your families well on this day. :) Have a great weekend and you'll hear from me again I'm sure with updates on the Jeff Hardy situation, and after the PPV Sunday.

A fun vid, and ITVR tomorrow

Hi all,

No no not falling into bad habits already - good ones! This was our first day with NO packing, NO housework, NO babysitter, and we felt we should spend it with our little guy giving him our undivided attention. But we'll definitely be up tomorrow with our podcast, including our Breaking Point predictions and our thoughts on a highly highly entertaining RAW. Be sure and tune in then. Meanwhile, enjoy this fun video I found on Youtube ... I dunno, I never thought of Stephanie McMahon Levesque as Disney-esque, but I suppose they call her the Billion Dollar PRINCESS ... rofl ... enjoy.

Update from the weekend + RAW

So guys, Raw was last night and you know what? An entertaining show it was! But first a quick bit of news from this weekend's WWE tour of Puerto Rico.

Apparently Big Show and the Great Khali got into an actual fistfight following a six-man tag team appearance Saturday night over the use of certain 'big man' moves (I'm picturing chokeslam-esque stuff here) that the Show thought should be his exclusive domain, but have been used by Khali. Show threw the first punch. All I can say is - this happening backstage would probably be more entertaining than it would have been in the ring .. snicker. Boys boys boys, there are other ways to resolve disputes. Honestly. How old are these people sometimes? Ah well, there's locker room justice, and 'da boyz' handling their bidnis for you.

As for Raw ...

While it could definiteley have been stronger on the wrestling side, it didn't suck - Chris Jericho vs. MVP was solid gold yet again, and while Evan Bourne and Chavo Guerrero could have done more, especially withot Hornswoggle's interference, they still put on a decent clinic as well - and any in-ring mediocrity (B grade overall as opposed to an A, as opposed to a C) was more than made up for by the entertainingness that was Bob Barker guest hosting. He set the show up like a Price is Right episode, complete with wrestlers and celebrity audience members 'coming on down' to a makeshift contestant's row, competing for big prizes, spinning the wheel, etc. I can't describe every gag and every line (although Santino's asking for a vowel, and IRS's involvement in contestant's row were tremenjusly amusing), but definitely a must-watch Raw if you're into the entertainment side of sports-entertainment.

Main complaint of things that actually didn't work? The ending dragged - I got DX spun the tag match, and I got all that; Randy Orton stalking DX, then delivering a longish go-home promo in the ring to close the show wasn't the most effective way to end an otherwise fast-paced program. Cody Rhodes' promo earlier in the night was more effective, in terms of being succinct, and explaining why he was still a member of the Legacy following last week's shenanigans to his father by Randy Orton. Overall a good show, I just think it could have ended five minutes earlier on an even hotter note going into this weekend's PPV. A must-see, again, for those more 'mainstream' entertainment-oriented WWE fans.

Smackdown

So - didn't catch all of Smackdown on Friday (couldn't bring myself to sit through Finlay/Khali vs. Mike Knox/Kane, sorry - though I've heard it wasn't as abysmal as it could have been). But some highlights I enjoyed (oh and sorry for not posting this yesterday as I had planned, btw - much more regular poster than at the height of the move but getting life in order here is still taking up SOME time more than I'd like) --

• Loved CM Punk's promo, coming out impersonating Jeff Hardy etc. I was actually VERY momentarily fooled, not that Jeff was coming back but at least getting a 'proper goodbye' after Punk attacked him during his goodbye last week. Punk delivered a tremendous promo, and Matt Hardy played his part effectively too; he's not the strongest promo artist ever (though not the weakest either by any means), and his wordlessly attacking Punk and delivering a minimalist promo about their match made by Teddy Long worked well. Obviously his heel turn has been dropped into the abyss, and with his brother and Rey Mysterio both out for a time and Punk having turned heel, I suppose Smackdown needed another face.
• John Morrison and Rey Mysterio had a fantastic 20-25 minute matchup. I expected, with Rey's being (a) suspended and (b) mouthing off about said suspension, that he might get semi-squashed by Morrison or Dolph Ziggler or whoever they threw in front of him; pleased they gave him a decent sendoff and Morrison a proper beginning to his Intercontinental title reign, although I suspect this might mean Rey's release or else burial upon his return.
• Matt Hardy and CM Punk also had a great match, although it was unfair they had to follow on Morrison-Mysterio; no one could have looked TERRIFIC after that. It's unfortunate too that THIS was when Undertaker made his official Smackdown redebut; he deserved better, and so did the two young guys.
• Otherwise weak points included the above mentioned tag team match, as well as the Diva's match. But they can't all be winners right, and they were better than matches serving the same purpose on Raw. For that matter ... when was Raw's last 30-minute, 4-star matchup? Just asking ... Good show people. :) Enjoyed the parts I saw.
  

ITVR - back and better than ever (sort of lol)

As promised. Click the post heading to listen to this week's podcast. Thanks for y'all's patience.

So it took me a bit longer

To get up and running than I thought - go figure that working fulltime AND moving etc. could take up some of my attention! But we're now back much more permanently, and to demonstrate such, our return of IN THIS VERY RING is TOMORROW! I won't comment on too much going on in wrestling right now (except to say Rey Mysterio, that sucks! and a quite entertaining Raw on Monday) so I can save it for myself and Ari tomorrow night. I hope I haven't lost you over the last month, and I truly appreciate your patience as we've transitioned to our new hometown. PLEASE join us for our re-debut tomorrow night, and keep on checking back as I'm back to 100% regular blogging status. :) Cheers all!