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WWE NEWSBYTES

WWE HISTORY OF THE INTERCONTINENTAL TITLE DVD CONTENTS…The 3-disc upcoming WWE DVD contains the following: Pat Patterson vs. Ted DiBiase (Madison Square Garden October 22, 1979), Ken Patera vs. Pedro Morales (Madison Square Garden October 20, 1980), Pedro Morales vs. The Magnificent Muraco (Madison Square Garden December 28, 1982), The Magnificent Muraco vs. Jimmy ‘Superfly’ Snuka (Steel Cage match from Madison Square Garden October 17, 1983), Greg Valentine vs. Tito Santana (Lumberjack match from Madison Square Garden March 17, 1985), Tito Santana vs. Randy ‘Macho Man’ Savage (Boston Garden February 8, 1986), Randy ‘Macho Man’ Savage vs. Ricky ‘the Dragon’ Steamboat (WrestleMania III March 29, 1987), Ricky ‘the Dragon’ Steamboat vs. Honky Tonk Man (WWF Superstars June 2, 1987), Honky Tonk Man vs. Ultimate Warrior (SummerSlam 1988), Ravishing Rick Rude vs. Ultimate Warrior (SummerSlam 1989), Mr. Perfect vs. Bret ‘Hit Man’ Hart (SummerSlam 1991), Bret ‘Hit Man’ Hart vs. British Bulldog (SummerSlam 1992), Razor Ramon vs. Shawn Michaels (the ladder match from WrestleMania X), Razor Ramon vs. Jeff Jarrett (Royal Rumble 1995), Stone Cold Steve Austin vs. Rocky Maivia (In Your House: D-Generation X 1997), Triple H vs. The Rock (2 out of 3 falls from In Your House: Fully Loaded 1998), Jeff Jarrett vs. Chyna (No Mercy 1999), Chris Jericho vs. Kurt Angle (No Way Out 2000), Eddie Guerrero vs. Chris Jericho vs. X-Pac (Smackdown October 12, 2000), Triple H vs. Jeff Hardy (Smackdown April 12, 2001), Rob Van Dam vs. Jeff Hardy (IC belt vs. European belt in a ladder match from RAW July 22, 2002), Randy Orton vs. Edge (Vengeance 2004), Ric Flair vs. Triple H (Steel cage from Taboo Tuesday 2005), Rob Van Dam vs. Shelton Benjamin (Money in the Bank/IC title winner take all from Backlash 2006), Shelton Benjamin vs. Carlito vs. Johnny Nitro (Vengeance 2006), Umaga vs. Jeff Hardy (Great American Bash 2007), and Jeff Hardy vs. Chris Jericho (RAW March 10, 2008).

Submitted by: "Bocepheus"
Source: Silvervision

Posted:102408

EDDY GUERRERO DVD CONTENTS…The new Eddie Guerrero DVD Viva La Raza! The Legacy of Eddie Guerrero (out 11/11) will contain the following: the 1995 ECW World Television Championship Match against 2 Cold Scorpio, Guerrero vs. Dean Malenko (from 1995), Guerrero vs. Shinjiro Otani (Starrcade 1995), Ric Flair vs. Guerrero (Hog Wild 1996), Guerrero vs. Chris Jericho (SuperBrawl 1997), Rey Mysterio vs. Guerrero (Nitro November 10, 1997), Guerrero vs. Dean Malenko (Starrcade 1997), Guerrero vs. Ultimo Dragon (Slamboree 1998), Juventud Guerrera vs. Guerrero (Nitro August 3, 1998), Psychosis vs. Guerrero (Thunder June 24, 1999), Chris Jericho vs. Guerrero (RAW April 3, 2000), Guerrero vs. Matt Hardy (Smackdown June 8, 2000), Rob Van Dam vs. Guerrero (Backlash 2002), Guerrero vs. Jeff Hardy (RAW April 29, 2002), Edge vs. Guerrero (Smackdown September 26, 2002), Team Angle vs. Los Guerreros (Backlash 2003), John Cena vs. Guerrero (Smackdown September 11, 2003), Eddie vs. Chavo (Royal Rumble 2004), Brock Lesnar vs. Guerrero (No Way Out 2004), all of the Los Guerreros Vignettes, Guerrero vs. Rey Mysterio (Smackdown March 18, 2004), Guerrero vs. John “Bradshaw” Layfield (Judgment Day 2004), JBL vs. Guerrero (Smackdown July 15, 2004), Guerrero vs. Kurt Angle (Smackdown! April 14, 2005), Rey Mysterio vs. Guerrero (Smackdown September 9, 2005), Batista vs. Guerrero (No Mercy 2005), Guerrero vs. Mr. Kennedy (Smackdown November 11, 2005-his last match), both tribute shows (I have no idea how they are going to edit out the Chris Benoit footage) and a ton of video tributes covering everything not covered on the first Guerrero DVD.

Submitted by: "Bocepheus"
Source: Amazon.com

Posted:102408

CAGE MAY RETURN TO THE WWE…The door is open for a Christian Cage WWE return according to sources within the company. He has told friends that he's happy with his current situation in TNA but he told the WWE he was happy before he left to work in TNA. The fact that when he was in the WWE creative wouldn’t push him as hard as they could since he wasn’t a jacked up genetic freak is an advantage since workers with that look are harder to come by. If he does return he would either feud with Edge or reunite with his ‘brother’.

Submitted by: "Bocepheus"
Source: fw4online

Posted:102408

HELL IN THE CELL DVD MATCHES…The matches that are on the just released WWE Hell in a Cell collection are: Undertaker vs. Shawn Michaels (10/5/97), Steve Austin & Undertaker vs. Mankind & Kane (6/15/98), Undertaker vs. Mankind (6/28/98), Mankind vs. Kane (8/24/98), HHH vs. Cactus Jack (2/27/00), Kurt Angle vs. Rikishi vs. Rock vs. Undertaker vs. HHH vs. Steve Austin (12/10/00), HHH vs. Chris Jericho (5/19/02), Undertaker vs. Brock Lesnar (10/20/02), HHH vs. Kevin Nash (6/15/03), HHH vs. Michaels (6/13/04), Batista vs. HHH (6/26/05), Undertaker vs. Randy Orton (12/18/05), DX vs. Vince & Shane McMahon & Big Show (9/17/06) and Undertaker vs. Batista (11/18/07). Yes, the Undertaker/Big Boss Man match that happened during the Corporate Ministry days is not included as you can see. (The match ended with Boss Man being hung from the top of the cell)

Submitted by: "Bocepheus"
Source: WWE Online

Posted:102408

HARDY AIRPORT INCIDENT…There was an incident involving Jeff Hardy at the Nashville International Airport recently. Apparently he was removed from a flight because he appeared to be drunk and as a precaution he was made to wait for a later flight. Hardy was on his way home at the time and when he was told he had to wait for another flight he was cool about it and just sat in the waiting area until his new flight boarded. He wasn’t caught with anything illegal. The WWE was made aware of the issue and investigated. In an interview with the Baltimore Sun afterwards, Hardy explained what happened at the Nashville International Airport: "That was extremely blown out of proportion. So many wrestlers drink at times, and I had been drinking a lot that night. I’m not going to lie — I’ve been on planes a lot drunker than that. There was nothing rude done; I wasn’t violent or anything like that. I guess I was stumbling boarding the plane or something, and somebody must have just said that I was drunk, because I was asleep on the plane. This is Southwest, you know, open seating and everything. The first thing I remember is just waking up and security — it wasn’t police; it was security — saying, 'Mr. Hardy, you have to get off the plane. We feel you’ve had too much to drink.' Matt got up and was like, 'What’s the problem?' They were like, 'He’s had too much to drink.' I go, 'I was asleep. I’ll wake up in Raleigh. I’ve been like this before.' But I just cooperated and left the plane." Now since alcohol isn’t covered by the Wellness Policy (and if it was most of the WWE would be suspended) this has no bearing on Jeff keeping his job since with two failures he would have to be fired if he had another violation.

Submitted by: "Bocepheus"
Source: Various Sources

Posted:102408

FOLEY ON HIS FUTURE…Mick Foley did an interview with the Between The Ropes radio show and commented on his leaving the WWE and why he signed with TNA. Here are the highlights: he isn’t extremely upset about being taken off the WWE website's alumni page or being removed as a character from the upcoming Legends of WrestleMania video game…he says he left the WWE was that Vince's approach towards his commentary actually made him care less about the job, causing him to under perform. "At a certain point when you stop thinking about it and you stop being as good at it as you could be you're doing a disservice to the guys you're supposed to be putting over. So, I thought it was having a negative effect on me and I wanted to get out while I was still credible"…he told Vince that he didn't sleep on cots, sleep in his car, and save his money over the years to be treated in the way he was being treated…he did love his last promo with Edge and his onscreen exit from WWE in that segment…his deal with TNA is at present a short term deal that at present doesn’t have him wrestling but all that could change…he would be interested in a program with Sting that played off of their matches in WCW…his deal also calls for TV appearances on Spike TV programming.

Submitted by: "Bocepheus"
Source: The Ropes

Posted:102408

WWE BYTES…Vancouver based Insight Films has signed Steve Austin for an upcoming action movie…Chris Jericho will host a show called Shame 2 Fame airing 10/29 on Fuse as a reality show with ten messed up women competing for a record deal and a video that airs on Fuse…The Great Khali isn't expected to have a long WWE career due to his bad knees…the WWE has sent out 500 letters offering former employees free rehab and at least 12 former stars have taken them up on the offer... …Mark Henry said that he has forgiven Smackdown head writer Michael Hayes for the racial remark he made during WrestleMania weekend…Steve Austin is being advertised for Cyber Sunday on 10/26 in Phoenix as making a special guest appearance on the PPV…Keith Elliot Greenberg has signed on to do the Iron Sheik autobiography for WWE and Simon & Schuster…JBL's latest business venture is a drink called Drank. He calls the beverage an extreme relaxation drink. The concoction tastes like grape soda but is billed as having prescription-strength cough syrup power but instead of cough syrup it's valerian, rose hips and melatonin (an algae hormone)…Mike Adamle is working with a personal trainer in Chicago to prepare for his in-ring debut…former MNM member Joey Matthews cut a promo at an Indy show saying he would be going back to WWE in December with former partner Christian York…the WWE will release a Ric Flair Hall of Fame Christmas ornament…WWE creative is not high on newcomers Scotty Goldman (Colt Cabana), Ryan Braddock (Jay Bradley) or Gavin Spears (Shawn Spears) since none have actually been booked to win a match. Some feel that Spears was only good while teaming with Cody Rhodes in OVW (most reports say he was the better member of the team). Braddock is said to only have one speed and I have no idea why they hate Cabana. My feeling is that if you don’t have plans for someone then why bring them up in the first place? …Edge is expected to return before Survivor Series since he has a DVD coming out in November. He asked for some time off to recharge his batteries…the WWE considers WrestleMania, SummerSlam, Survivor Series, and the Royal Rumble as their four major PPV’s but creative is discussing giving the other events a unique gimmick to make them stand out. We will see the return of the Championship Scramble and Elimination Chamber in 2009…creative is discussing the possibility of altering John Cena's character when he returns from his neck injury…Japanese wrestler Naofumi Yamamoto has signed with WWE…Hardcore Holly is in rehab due to a pain pill addiction. He was caught stealing painkillers from another wrestler's bag and was immediately sent to rehab…Chuck Palumbo is said to be on the "endangered species list." Vince McMahon was high on him and liked the motorcycle gimmick but has lost interest in him. His only fan inside the company is talent relations pinhead John Laurinaitis. He was drafted to Raw but hasn’t been used at all…Paul London is believed to be on the "endangered species list" as well. He is well liked, has talent, is bi-lingual and has invested in acting classes to improve his character but he hasn’t hooked up with anyone who has power in WWE…Batista is frustrated with his push and has considered retirement…as of now there will be no Diva Search this year…Freddy Prinze Jr. has fit in well with the WWE creative team. He works the same schedule as everyone else and people are surprised at how well he has adjusted backstage. He, Christopher (Big Dick Johnson) DeJosephs and John Carle come up with segment ideas then Michael Hayes makes the decision on which one should be pitched to Vince McMahon for Smackdown…the robe worn by Ric Flair in his retirement match has been installed in the Smithsonian Institute in their Pop Culture exhibit.

Submitted by: "Bocepheus"
Source: Various Sources

Posted:102408

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THE BENOIT TRAGEDY... Catch up on all the events surrounding the death of the Benoit Family... HERE

FIGHT NEWSBYTES

TANNER DEAD AT 37…Evan Tanner, a former UFC middleweight champion and one of MMA’s most popular fighters, was found dead in the Palo Verde mountain area of California. He was 37 years old. The last time anyone had heard from Tanner was on 9/3. He was supposedly out on a vision quest in an area where temperatures reached about 115 degrees. Tanner (32-8 MMA, 12-5 UFC) was a Texas native who won state high school wrestling titles in both his junior and senior years, turned an MMA professional in 1997 and began his career with a 19-1 record to earn his way into the UFC. He claimed that he learned the sport from instructional tapes and DVD’s. Tanner was able to copy any move that he saw and got his first UFC title shot in 2001 but suffered a quick first-round knockout to then-UFC light heavyweight champion Tito Ortiz. He then dropped down to the middleweight division and went 7-1 in his next eight fights before he beat David Terrell for UFCs vacant 185-pound title in February 2005. Tanner wasn’t champion long since he lost to Rich Franklin in his very next fight. Tanner took a two year break from UFC to work on a charity to provide a home, training and support system for disadvantaged athletes, but he dropped the idea soon after the home opened. He returned to the UFC in November 2007 with a four-fight deal. While most fighters looked for corporate sponsorships he created Team Tanner, which allowed fans to sponsor him directly. Fans were rewarded with gear, memorabilia and other items depending on the amount paid. Tanner only fought twice in his return and lost twice. Tanner became a blogger for Spike.com and in an Aug. 16 entry, Tanner discussed his plans to camp out in a California desert as a sort of a spiritual journey. “I’ve been gathering my gear for this adventure for over a month, not a long time by most standards, but far too long for my impatient nature,” Tanner wrote. “Being a minimalist by nature, wanting to carry only the essentials, and being extremely particular, it has been a little difficult to find just the right equipment. I plan on going so deep into the desert that any failure of my equipment could cost me my life.” Tanner is believed to have died of heat exhaustion.

Submitted by: "Bocepheus"
Source: Various Sources

Posted:102408

COUTURE/UFC RESOLVE DIFFERENCES; SET UP FIGHT WITH LESNAR…The legal issues between the current UFC heavyweight champion Randy Couture and UFC are now over. Couture has a new three-year contract and his first match will be against Brock Lesnar on Nov. 15 at UFC 91. The new contract covers three fights. The resolution came about on 9/3 after the UFC settled some differences in the new contract. The need to come to a resolution came after a Texas court decided to move the legal fight between the parties back to Nevada on 8/1. The ruling meant that Couture could wait it out even longer or make a deal with the UFC to arrange for him what he wanted-a fight with Fedor Emelianenko. Couture's lawyers arranged a full day of meetings and photo shoots with Emelianenko and his management team on Aug. 11 in Los Angeles and a lot of press coverage. When asked Emelianenko said the parties had met to discuss "mutual business interests" and by the end of the week text messages went from Couture and Dana White and the American company hired to handle all of Fedor’s business in the U.S. As this was going on Mark Cuban (yes, the same guy who sued UFC in Texas to clarify Randy’s status) worked with Couture and tried to broker a deal between the parties. The rival promotion Affliction wanted to loan out Emelianenko for one fight but the UFC isn’t interested in that. White is unwilling to "co-promote" a fight with Emelianenko's managers but would like to sign him to a contract. Fedor’s contract with Affliction commits him to two more fights but his contract contains a clause that allows him to fight for another promotion during the term of his contract. The deal is also confined to fights in the US so a UK fight between the two could happen. The match up with Lesnar came about because Lesnar had no opponent for the 11/15 PPV. The winner of the fight will fight the winner of the Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (the current paper champion)/Frank Mir fight on 12/27 sometime in 2009. The announcement was made at a press conference with Lesnar in attendance and when he was asked if he would also like to fight Fedor he screamed, "Who give a s--t about Fedor? I'm sick of hearing about f----g Fedor. He's not with the company. He might not ever be with the company, so who gives a s--t?"

Submitted by: "Bocepheus"
Source: Various Sources

Posted:102408

AFFLICTION ISN’T SCARED…Affliction VP Tom Atencio isn’t concerned about the people who doubt his Affliction Entertainment MMA promotion. One of the main doubters is UFC president Dana White who always refers to them as “the t-shirt guys” before saying they will soon go out of business. White took more shots at the company at the teleconference that announced Randy Couture’s return to the UFC. He said, “In this economy right now, losing money is a really bad thing. There’s nobody out there looking to fund anything, nobody’s spending any money, nobody’s investing in anything. When you’re losing the kind of money that these guys are losing, you’ve gotta sell a lot of t-shirts to get back that money. My dispute with Randy Couture is done. I’m not saying that my dispute with anybody else is done.” At the conference White suggested that legal action was forthcoming against Affliction but Atencio told MMAWeekly.com he had no knowledge of any forthcoming litigation against his company. He does, however, believe the UFC was interfering with his ability to promote in Las Vegas in some way: “They’ve been messing with me every step of the way. There have been issues that I’ve been dealing with. So I can’t say it’s them, but there’s been things we’ve been dealing with that have never happened before, so I guess that’s why.” The company still plans to two more shows (one in October, one in February) then assess future plans from there. At the teleconference White said he would wait for Affliction to go out of business then pick up the contract of Fedor Emelianenko afterwards: “These guys are dying on the vine, they’ll be gone in a couple of months anyway, and Fedor will have to come here. You’re not under contract if the company isn’t in business anymore. I would be (expletive) horrified if Affliction is still in business by January. They’re going to burn a lot of cash in the next few months, believe me. Good luck to ‘em. I’ll be sitting here waiting to see what happens.”

Submitted by: "Bocepheus"
Source: MMAWeekly.com

Posted:102408

TUF 1 REUNION NOTES…Recently eight members of the cast of season one of The Ultimate Fighter got together at the UFC training center to reminisce about their experiences on the show and the impact it had on them. Spike ran the show after a marathon of TUF 1 and here are the highlights of their reunion: Nate Quarry talked about finally having money to allow his 8-year-old daughter, Ciera, to buy what she wanted in a store…Chris Leben told the group he is sober and no longer drinking alcohol…Mike Swick owned a pressure-washing company before auditioning and getting picked for the show…even though there was a plan for a rematch between Leben and Swick since both had fought in WEC the match never happened and Swick thought Leben was ducking him. As the reunion show was taped Dana White called UFC matchmaker Joe Silva and asked why the fight never happened. It turned out that Leben’s managers never came to him about a rematch…Bobby Southworth was added to the show with only 12 days notice so he arrived weighing 237 pounds and had to get to 205. Southworth was the guy who kept the house clean while he was on the show…Kenny Florian had Leben show him one of his best moves but didn’t tell Leben that he was going to use it against him in a fight…Stephan Bonnar actually escaped the house to buy alcohol thru a tiny bathroom window…White who came up with the idea for the reality series in a last-ditch attempt to save the UFCs since the company had lost $44 million in a little more than three years since White and partners Frank and Lorenzo Fertitta purchased it from original owners Semaphore Entertainment for $2 million in 2001. The brothers paid for the show and it wasn’t even sure that the show would air after filming was done.

Submitted by: "Bocepheus"
Source: Yahoo Sports

Posted:102408

IKE PUSHED WEC SHOW BACK…Denny Burkholder of CBS Sportsline reported that the 9/10 WEC show headlined by Urijah Faber was moved to 11/5 due to concern about Hurricane Ike. The official WEC statement follows: World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC) and The Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino today announced that WEC: Faber vs. Brown fight at the Hard Rock Live scheduled for Wednesday, September 10 has been postponed due to the threat of Hurricane Ike to South Florida. The fight has been rescheduled for November 5 at Hard Rock Live at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino. Tickets purchased for the September 10th date remain valid and will be honored on the new date. Refunds for fans that are unable to attend the rescheduled date can be obtained at the point of purchase. The WEC press conference scheduled for September 8 at Paradise Live has also been cancelled. Ike is supposed to hit the Florida coast on 9/9.

Submitted by: "Bocepheus"
Source: Various Sources

Posted:102408

UFC 88 AFTERMATH…All that remains of the events of UFC 88: Chuck Liddell has been suspended for 60 days and will require a CT Scan or MRI and a neurological evaluation before being cleared to fight again…Rich Franklin was suspended for 60 days for the serious cut above his right eye…Matt Hamill was suspended for 30 days…Martin Kampmann was suspended 30 days for his TKO loss to Nate Marquardt due to jaw soreness and TMJ tenderness…Thiago Tavares was suspended for 60 days and will require a CT scan to his face to evaluate his nose before being cleared to fight again…Ryo Chonan was suspended for 42 days due to a large laceration on his right eye…Matt Brown was suspended for 15 days due to a cut he sustained in his fight with Dong Hyun Kim…the total disclosed payroll for the evening came in at $1,270,000...Rashad Evans received $120,000 for the night with a win bonus of $60,000 and an extra $60,000 for UFC Knockout of the Night while Chuck Liddell made $500,000 by losing…Rich Franklin received $100,000 with a win bonus of $50,000, Matt Hamill made $10,000…Dan Henderson made $250,000 with a win bonus of $150,000…Rousimar Palhares made $7,000…Nate Marquardt made $56,000 with a win bonus of $28,000…Martin Kampmann made $15,000…Dong Hyun Kim made $46,000 with a win bonus of $23,000…Matt Brown made $8,000…Kurt Pellegrino made $24,000 with a win bonus of $12,000…Thiago Tavares made $13,000 (both also earned an extra $60,000 for UFC 88 Fight of the Night)…Tim Boetsch made $16,000 with a win bonus of $8,000…Michael Patt made $5,000…Jason MacDonald made $44,000 with a win bonus of $22,000 and also made another $60,000 for Submission of the Night…Jason Lambert made $17,000…Ryo Chonan made $30,000 with a win bonus of $15,000 and Roan Carneiro made $9,000.

Submitted by: "Bocepheus"
Source: MMAWeekly.com

Posted:102408

ORTIZ ABOUT TO MAKE A LANDING…Tito Ortiz has told MMAWeekly.com that he expects to announce his new deal very soon. His home will not be the UFC even though he had been negotiating with them for a new contract. “Most likely I’m not going with the UFC, that’s about 99% sure that that’s not happening,” said Ortiz in an exclusive interview with MMAWeekly.com. “I’ve got to be thankful for Lorenzo Fertitta, what he gave me to this point, but it’s too bad that they have a president the way he is, just hot headed the way he is, takes everything personal and I wash my hands clean. I did as much as I possibly could for them, and they did as much as they possibly could for me.” Ortiz says the new deal is still being finalized but he expects the announcement to happen by the end of the month: “I’m in the midst of possibly signing with somebody. I’m going to go to a company that’s going to take me very seriously and use everything that they can use for me. In the public, in fights, in everything. I’m going to move on and I’m going to try another company out, I’m going to see how it goes. By the end of this month there will be a big news break, where Tito Ortiz is going and what I did for a contract.”

Submitted by: "Bocepheus"
Source: MMAWeekly.com

Posted:102408

FIGHT BYTES…In a recent interview UFC’s Matt Hughes said he didn't envision himself fighting all that much longer and wanted to spend more time with his family…both Randy Couture and Gina Carano are part of the new EA game Command and Conquer Red Alert 3…UFC’s Rachelle Leah will be on the cover of November's issue of Playboy with a nude layout inside…Costco has started stocking the Axis Iceman Chuck Liddell Signature Series Men's shaver…Showtime has entered into negotiations to buy EliteXC outright…former Chicago Bear Alonzo Spellman, who later turned to MMA, was arrested for threatening a man with a knife outside a bar in Burlington Township, NJ. Spellman was charged with aggravated assault, unlawful possession of a weapon, possession of a weapon for unlawful purposes and making terrorist threats. He was put in the Burlington County Jail and held on a $100,000 bond…Mark Cuban's HD-Net has offered $650,000 to purchase the assets of the IFL in bankruptcy court…the WEC officially announced that starting in 2009 they will only be promoting matches in the 135, 145, 155 and 170 pound weight classes, so 185 and 205 classes will be eliminated and the fighters will be absorbed into UFC.

Submitted by: "Bocepheus"
Source: Various Sources

Posted:102408

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