Morning & Afternoon News Update:

Ashley Massaro Update, SmackDown!, Tatanka, More

MaximOnline.com has posted the "Girls Of Maxim" photos and bio for 2005 diva search winner Ashley Massaro, who appears in the latest issue of the magazine. Viewers can check out her photos at:

www.maximonline.com/..4/AshleyMazzaro.girl

No Smackdown house shows this weekend due to the Armageddon PPV. The Raw crew start back on the road Saturday night at the Ocean Center in Daytona Beach, FL, then Sunday afternoon at the Germain Arena in Fort
Myers, with special appearances by Jack Brisco in the Cabana.

Speaking of house shows, Tatanka's WWE return date is the 12/28 Raw house show at the Mellon Arena in Pittsburgh, PA. He teams with Shelton Benjamin vs. Carlito and The Coach.

Source: www.prowrestling.com

Eugene & JR Update, Ric Flair/NYR, Hogan & More

Nick "Eugene" Dinsmore was visiting at the Deep South Wrestling TV taping in Georgia last Thursday and watched most of the show from the crowd. There’s no word for when Eugene will be removed from his indefinite suspension from WWE stemming from passing out in his hotel while under the influence of somas last month.

Jim Ross was scheduled to appear at the December 5th RAW show to make his TV return as one of the witnesses in the trial of Eric Bischoff. However due to his surgery, he wasn't cleared to fly in.

Ric Flair is expected to defend his Intercontinental Championship at New Year's Revolution, possibly against Trevor Murdoch.

WWE are planning to release a new Hulk Hogan DVD on April 4th next year.

Sources: www.prowrestling.com & www.pwinsider.com & The Wrestling Observer Newsletter

Goldberg News, Diva Updates, RAW/UK & More

Starting next week, RAW is being moved in the UK. The Wednesday night replay airing of RAW, which is the most watched airing of the show in the country, is being moved to Thursday night’s. The live airing of RAW will still remain at 2am on Tuesday mornings. The Best of RAW special that aired in the U.S. in October will air several times on Sky Sports 3 starting December 22 at 11pm throughout until December 31.

WWE's Kristal Marshall will be one of the models on the NBC show "Deal or No Deal" which airs at 8pm, Monday through Friday of next week. Kristal Marshall is the new interviewer on Friday Night SmackDown, who was found on the Diva Search and was formerly a model on "The Price is Right." The show was described as "Let's Make a Deal" without Monty Hall, the costumed contestants and the trivia questions.

Bill Goldberg will be featured on a VH-1 show this Monday called "So Jewtastic" at 9pm. Gene Simmons and David Lee Roth among others are also featured on the show.

Leyla Milani of the RAW Diva Search played a bartender in the movie "Sleeper Cell" on Showtime last week.

Final Card For Tonight's WWE Armageddon

The following is the final card for tonight's WWE Armageddon PPV:

Hell in a Cell Match
Randy Orton vs. Undertaker

MNM vs. Psicosis & Super Crazy

WWE Tag Team Champions vs. World Tag Team Champions
Batista & Rey Mysterio vs. Big Show & Kane

Match 4 of Best-of-7 Series for the United States Championship
Booker T vs. Chris Benoit

Cruiserweight Championship
Juventud vs. Kid Kash

JBL vs. Matt Hardy

Handicap Match
Bobby Lashley Vs. William Regal & Paul Burchill

Batista On Drug Testing, RAW Moving, More News

The 12/16 edition of WWE Friday Night SmackDown drew a 2.9 broadcast rating according to the fast nationals. This took UPN to a fourth place finish overall. That is one of the best ratings the show has drawn in the new timeslot with the exception of the Eddie Guerrero tribute show.

The Miami Herald featured a story on Batista talking about his back injury. He talked about the challenge of working around the injury and said he is so limited he can't even throw punches. He said he has the option of surgery but that would mean him being out of action for 3 months. "It was a very uncommon injury for a wrestler, but it happens to a lot of baseball players. It was a muscle tear. They could sew it back together, and then I would not be able to use it at all for three to four months. I would just have to have my hands by my side and do nothing." He said he realizes that Smackdown is lacking star power at the moment so he didn't want to take time off and be a detriment to the show. On drug testing, he said: "'We take a heck of a beating year round, and it's a wear-n-tear on your body. Drug testing will help. You don't want to see a guy messed up. What if you're working against someone who is messed up and he drops you on your head? People tend to point a finger at us a lot. In one aspect, I can understand it, but the testing policy is to protect us from people pointing a finger.'' On a lighter note he made an unintentional hilarious comment regarding Sunday's tag match with Big Show and Kane: "Those are two big, scary guys. They are a wrecking crew, but I know I can always count on Rey. He is a tough SOB. If you're in bar fight, you want Rey on your side, watching your back."

According to reports, WWE RAW in the UK will be moving starting next week. The Wednesday night airing of RAW, which is the most watched airing of the show in the country, is now being moved to Thursday. RAW will still air live at 2am on Tuesday morning.

WWE Notes: Sable, SmackDown!, Cena, Flair, Angle, More

Former WWE Women's champion Rena "Sable" Mero is the AskMen.com Model of the Week at:

www.askmen.com/women..0/316_rena_mero.html

On Saturday night in Edison, NJ, Austin Aries and Roderick Strong defeated Tony Mamaluke and Sal Rinauro to capture the Ring of Honor Tag Team titles.

Kristal Marshall, who is working on Smackdown as a backstage interviewer, will be appearing on NBC show "Deal or No Deal" Monday night.

WWE is advertising John Cena and Ric Flair vs. Kurt Angle and Triple H for their RAW house show in Charlotte on January 23.

I see that lots of people predicting Undertaker winning the HIAC match. I have a question for all of you: If Taker wins the match, then according to logic, he will probably challenge Batista for the WHC belt at RR. But when was the last time you guys saw a face-face match? Batista will not turn heel unless RO turns faces which is almost impossible. Therefore, RO will win tonight and carry the momentum to win the RR. P.S: There is a rumor saying that Booker T will win in 5 and challenges Batista at RR.

At 12/18/05 04:38 PM, Dream_of_Duke wrote: I see that lots of people predicting Undertaker winning the HIAC match.

Yep

I have a question for all of you: If Taker wins the match, then according to logic, he will probably challenge Batista for the WHC belt at RR.

Logistically, yes. But since when has the WWE ever used logic?

But when was the last time you guys saw a face-face match?

Wrestlemania X8 -- Hollywood Hogan vs The Rock

Batista will not turn heel unless RO turns faces which is almost impossible.

Agreed

Therefore, RO will win tonight and carry the momentum to win the RR.

Not neccessarily. Undertaker may not chase Batista. He may simply have another rivalry. I think Batista will be involved in several Tag Team matches with Mysterio, then RO will come back from 'injury' to screw Rey and Batista out of the WWE Tage Team Championship and challenge Batista at the Royal Rumble for the WHC. Of course, I could be wrong...

If Undertaker wins, he doesn't necessarily have to chase the WHC. He is only a part-time wrestler, after all, so he wouldn't be able to make a title run.

While Mitsubishi is making a good prediction of RO screwing Batista out of tag team championship, I don't really think that RO is gonna have anything to do with those titles.

Look Takers job in the WWE is to launch young superstars. The only reason Orton is remotely good and interesting to watch is because he got a few wins over Taker. I am 90% sure that Taker will never get gold again he will just keep on getting rivalry after rivalry until he retires.

Oh yea! Im pretty sure taker is gonna win the HITC match. Look at last SD ending Taker took one hell of a beating from Orton and we all know that whenever a face gets beaten the eve of a PPV he comes back and kicks the heels ass.

HITC predictions (just guessing):
Randy gets busted open first. Soon after taker gets bloodied. Orton gets a chair smashes Taker. Orton delivers the RKO Taker kicks out. Like all HITC matches they get ontop of the cell they hit each other with a chair Tombstone piledriver and Ortons out 1 2 3.

Possible Spoilers For Tonigts Armageddon & More Notes

Again, with my new policy, I will NOT be posting spoilers. Instead, I will simply post the links to the spoilers:

http://www.prowrestl..=16367/articles/news

http://www.prowrestl..=16368/articles/news

Evening News Update

TNA News: Team 3D, Lance Hoyt, DVDs, More

TNAwrestling.com has added the official ballot for the 2005 TNA Year-End Awards. The categories include: Finisher of the Year, Knockout of the Year, X Division Star of the Year, Tag Team of the Year, Who to Watch, Mr. TNA MVP 2005, Match of the Year, & Memorable Moment of the Year.

After missing a TNA TV taping due to being booked for an All Japan show, Team 3D have cancelled all their January 2006 All Japan dates so that they can focus on TNA. That was their reason too.

TNA's entire line of DVDs are now available at Best Buy, HMV and Future Shop locations in Canada.

MTV’s “Room Raiders” taped an episode featuring TNA star Lance Hoyt last week, which will air next year.

Source: www.prowrestling.com

WWE News & Notes: John Cena, Ric Flair/Stacy Keibler & More

The Daytona News Journal has an interview online with John Cena. The paper also has a story about WWE appearing in their town for last night's house show.

During the Leafs/Senators hockey game last night, Kurt Angle's music was played over the loud speakers during the dying minutes of the contest. The announcers claimed that the Ottawa fans were chanting "We Won" along with the music.

Over at the ABC News' website features a very good piece about WWE's trip to Afghanistan, praising WWE and its wrestlers for going over and supporting the troops. It was a positive piece that WWE will be very happy about.

CBS Sportsline.com posted a story earlier this week claiming that the mystery woman who Ric Flair spent $92,000 on an engagement ring was Stacy Keibler. Obviously, that is horrendously un-true, however when mainstream media covers wrestling that tends to happen.

Sources: www.prowrestling.com & www.pwinsider.com & The Wrestling Observer Newsletter.

More WWE Notes: NYR PPV, Kurt Angle, Big Match, More

The theme song for the upcoming January WWE "New Year's Revolution" pay-per view will be the song "Stricken" by the rock band Disturbed. Disturbed is the same band that did the heavy-metal remake of "Stone Cold" Steve Austin's theme song several years ago.

During the Ottawa Senators vs. Toronto Maple Leafs hockey game last night, Kurt Angle's theme song was played. The crowd at the Corel Center broke into chants of "Leafs suck" to the tune of the song, instead of the typical "you suck".

The Low Ki vs. KENTA match at the Ring of Honor show last night in New Jersey was said to be an incredible match worth going out of your way to see. KENTA got the win to keep the GHC Junior Heavyweight championship.

Sources: www.prowrestling.com & www.liveaudiowrestling.com

Armageddon Backstage Pics, Batista, & More Notes

WWE.com has added pre-Armageddon pics to their website. Photos of Funaki, Randy Orton, Howard Funkel, Melina, and Joey Mercury are up.

Speaking of WWE.com, they will once again do their Unlimited program tonight without the video of course because it's a PPV. They will feature post match text interviews during the show.

Batista is ranked #1 on this weeks Power 25.

The Village Voice is reporting that Ted DiBiase is trying to purchse the rights to his old WWF theme song "Money Money Money Money Money!" from WWE in-house producer Jim Johnson. It was also reported that DeBiase and Mike Jones (Virgil) were stuck in a money laundering suit in March, and in June DiBiase reportedly sued his housekeeper for $10,000 after she laundered one of his diamond encrusted ring outfits by mistake.

Evening Update: Austin, Orton, TNA Notes, & More

"Stone Cold" Steve Austin turns 41 years of age today. Sputnik Monroe turns 77 today as well.

The Ottawa Sun has a small piece with Randy Orton where he explains why he and his father Bob Orton do not travel together. You can read it online at www.ottsun.canoe.ca

Mainstream media all over the country is running the AP story on the Chicago White Sox baseball player A.J. Pierzynski, and his recent angle in TNA Wrestling.

Sources: www.prowrestling.com & www.wrestlingobserver.com

WWE Wrestler's Health A Major Backstage Concern

According to a source within WWE, one wrestler is in worse shape than any wrestler who lived through an addiction to pain pills.

Reportedly, the wrestler is "incoherent" when away from WWE television, but is able to get himself in good enough shape to work through the health problem.

It is not known if this is the same wrestler that The Torch said was on "death watch" in a report a few weeks ago.

Sources: www.prowrestling.com & www.pwtorch.com

Well, DuMa, you are right. TNA is the future. It's sad that WWE hasnt responded to your letter. Course, I cant believe you actually wrote that to them.

Anyways, my final predictions to the Armageddon PPV tonight.

Undertaker vs. Randy Orton- Taker
Mexicools vs. MNM- Mexicools
WWE tag champions vs. World Tag Team Champions;
Rey Mysterio and Batista vs. Kane and Big Show- Kane and Big Show
JBL vs. Matt Hardy- JBL
Booker T vs. Benoit- Booker T
Lashley vs. Paul Birchill and William Regal- Lashley
Juventud vs. Kid Kash for the Cruiserweight title- Juventud

Ok, there it is. This is final on my part. Guess we'll wait and see what happens...

ProWrestling.com is currently posting results live from Armageddon -- upadtes every 5-10 minutes. Check it out:

http://www.prowrestl..om/index.php?id=news

Holy shit. The only predictions I got right were Lashley and Undertaker.

I finished watching the PPV earlier, I'll post the winners but not the Full results/details. I don't have time for all that..

JBL VS Matt Hady -
Winner: JBL

Mexicools VS MNM
Winners: MNM

Booker T VS Benoit
Winner: Benoit

Lashly VS Birchill/Regal
Winner: Lashley

Kid Kash VS Juventub
Winner: Kid Kash

Mysterio/Batista VS Kane/BigShow
Winner: Kane/BigShow

Ortan VS Taker
Winner:Taker

What the hell was that 'Suicide' crap that the WWE did tonight at Armageddon don't know how many of you guys saw it but that was the stupidest thing the WWE has done in a while.

At 12/18/05 11:37 PM, pepeatumi wrote: What the hell was that 'Suicide' crap that the WWE did tonight at Armageddon don't know how many of you guys saw it but that was the stupidest thing the WWE has done in a while.

With the former refereee? Heh heh. I compltely forgot about that guy until I saw his face again.

Oh my god, ref.

"Juventub?" That's one of the weirdest wrestler misspellings I've ever seen. :P

At 12/18/05 11:59 PM, cornontheconn wrote: Oh my god, ref.

"Juventub?" That's one of the weirdest wrestler misspellings I've ever seen. :P

To add with that, Let's just be glad that he lost. ;)

damn I got nearly all of my predictions wrong. heh guess you can't get it right all the time.

How was teh ppv? Were the matches good? What the hell happened?

"I'm The BoogeyMan, and i'm comin to get yah!"
*chews worms*

This BoogeyMan character seems really entertaining. It's about time they added another evil type character to the roster.

At 12/19/05 12:02 AM, ref wrote:

At 12/18/05 11:59 PM, cornontheconn wrote: Oh my god, ref.

"Juventub?" That's one of the weirdest wrestler misspellings I've ever seen. :P

To add with that, Let's just be glad that he lost. ;)

Eh, I'm not into this Kid Kash guy just yet. He's too new to win the belt.

Is Lashely the next Brock Lesnar???

I love Lashely, and the intensity that he brings. He's tough, he man handles anyone in front of him with ease. But I see alot of similarities between Lashley and Brock. Am I wrong??? The come in and demolish everyone attitude, and the big body/little girl voice and bad acting? (Lashely dont kick my ass for that). Is Lashely going to be a star? Or is he going to be a passing fad?

-Mitsubishi- Armageddon Recap

For FULL results, click here! Simply too much went down @ Armageddon to fit into one or two posts. Here is the condensed version from www.wwe.com

The Undertaker def Randy Orton - Hell in a Cell

At Armageddon, the mind games came to an end, and Undertaker defeated Randy Orton inside Hell in a Cell.

Throughout the match, both combatants took turns brutalizing each other, using chairs, the ring steps, the steel cage itself and any other weapons they could find to inflict punishment. One particularly vicious chairshot by the Deadman busted the Legend Killer open early in the match.

After the Deadman controlled much of the early going, Orton hit an RKO out of nowhere and seemed to get a second wind. It was then Orton’s turn to brutalize the Deadman, and the Legend Killer drew blood by rubbing Undertaker’s face into the steel cage of the cell. Outside the cell, even Cowboy Bob Orton shed blood. Cowboy Bob held Undertaker’s hair through the cage to help Randy assault the Deadman, but Undertaker avoided a charging Randy, and father and son crashed into each other.

After escaping an Undertaker chokeslam, Orton took control and set the Deadman up on a table. Orton then climbed the ropes and delivered a death-defying splash through the table, but Undertaker escaped the pinfall attempt at 2. The Deadman was able to come back, but Orton escaped the Last Ride, and an errant swing by the Deadman knocked the referee unconscious.

Orton then reversed a chokeslam attempt into the RKO, but by the time a new referee was able to make the count, the Deadman escaped the pinfall. Undertaker later hit the Last Ride on the Legend Killer, but Cowboy Bob, who entered the cell when referee Charles Robinson entered, pulled him out of the ring to stop the count. Undertaker then attacked Cowboy Bob, but that gave Randy precious time to recover.

Back in the ring, Undertaker attempted to put Randy away with a Tombstone, but in a role reversal of what happened at WrestleMania 21, Orton reversed it into a Tombstone of his own. However, there was once again no referee, and Undertaker sat up. A flabbergasted Orton tried to keep the Deadman down, but he kept popping up after every punch.

Undertaker then attempted another chokeslam, but Cowboy Bob re-entered the ring. The Deadman stopped to attack Cowboy Bob, allowing Randy to set up for an RKO, but the Deadman blocked that as well. Undertaker then hit both Ortons with an urn, and after delivering a Tombstone to Cowboy Bob, the Deadman nailed the Legend Killer with a Tombstone as well to secure the victory. After the match, Undertaker climbed the Cell, kneeling down to worship the urn as the Ortons lay bloody and beaten in the ring below.

MNM def Mexicools

Just two days after the stunning loss of their WWE Tag Team Championship, MNM was able to recover and defeat Psicosis & Super Crazy at Armageddon.

Backstage before the match, the Mexicools offered to cancel the match if Melina took care of them the way she did with Batista on Friday Night SmackDown. Instead, Melina walked away disgusted, and the Mexicools dominated the early going, highlighted by both Super Crazy & Psicosis hitting corkscrew planchas onto MNM on the floor.

Melina would turn the tide for her team, however, pulling Psicosis off the top rope and allowing MNM to take control. MNM then cut the ring in half and would not allow Psicosis to tag out, until an enzuiguri to Mercury allowed the Mexicools to make a tag.

After hitting a tornado DDT on Mercury, Super Crazy went up for the moonsault. Melina tried to stop him, but was kicked away. Crazy would hit the moonsault, but the distraction by Melina allowed Nitro to recover enough to break up the pin. Crazy then tried to fight off both members of MNM, but walked right into the Snapshot, allowing Nitro & Mercury to claim the victory.

Big Show & Kane def Batista & Rey Mysterio

RAW finally got a victory over SmackDown at Armageddon, as World Tag Team Champions Big Show & Kane defeated WWE Tag Team Champions Batista & Rey Mysterio in a Champions vs. Champions Match.

Early in the match, Batista maintained control over the World Tag Team Champions, using his equal size and power to keep them off guard. Mysterio then tagged in and used his speed to frustrate Kane & Show, and managed to get Kane into position for the 619. Kane rolled out of the ring, but the SmackDown team maintained the advantage, and the Big Red Monster ended up in position for the 619 again. This time, Big Show pulled Rey out of the ring as he ran the ropes, and Show rammed Mysterio into the ringpost to give his team the advantage.

The RAW team then took turns dominating Mysterio and keeping Batista at bay to prevent a tag. Eventually, Mysterio reversed Kane’s chokeslam attempt into a bulldog, but Big Show attacked Batista to prevent a tag. The World Tag Team Champions then tried a double chokeslam on Mysterio, but the Animal ran in to attack.

After Batista hit a spinebuster on Kane, he clotheslined Big Show over the top rope, sending both big men crashing to the floor. Rey then got Kane into position for the 619, and was finally successful. Rey then tried the West Coast Pop, but Kane caught him in mid-air. The Big Red Monster then nailed Mysterio with a chokeslam, and covered him for the victory.

Continued from previous post

Chris Benoit def Booker T

Facing sudden death down 3-0 in the Best-of-7 Series, Chris Benoit defeated Booker T at Armageddon to keep his chances of regaining the United States Championship alive.

Benoit kept his rival at bay early, forcing Booker to continually roll to the floor to regroup with Sharmell. Benoit attempted both the Sharpshooter and Crippler Crossface early in the match, but Booker was able to escape every time. The Rabid Wolverine’s strategy was to work on Booker’s knee, but Booker was able to keep the injury to a minimum.

At one point, Benoit paid tribute to Eddie Guerrero, using Latino Heat’s patented Three Amigos rolling suplexes to subdue Booker. Benoit went up top to attempt the flying headbutt, but Sharmell distracted him with the broom, allowing Booker to re-take control. With the referee tied up, Sharmell hit Benoit with a low blow, and Booker followed with a scissors kick. Booker seemingly had the match won, but Benoit was able to kick out.

Benoit was then able to counter the Bookend into a Crippler Crossface, but Booker managed to escape again. He would try again, but an errant fist knocked the referee down. Benoit maneuvered Booker into the Sharpshooter, but Sharmell interfered again, hitting Benoit with the broom. Benoit released the hold to stalk Sharmell, allowing Booker to eventually attack from behind. He would try the Bookend one more time, but the Rabid Wolverine reversed it into a DDT, and then locked on the Crippler Crossface. This time, Booker was unable to escape and was forced to tap out, giving Benoit the victory and reducing Booker’s lead in the Best-of-7 Series to 3-1.

JBL def Matt Hardy

Despite suffering numerous “injuries” the past few weeks on Friday Night SmackDown, JBL was able to overcome Matt Hardy at Armageddon.

Prior to the match, JBL grabbed a microphone and ran down Hardy, saying that Matt was a whiner and not a Wrestling God like JBL. Hardy ran out to attack JBL as he spoke, and unleashed an early offensive flurry. However, JBL was able to hang Hardy neck-first in between the top and middle ropes, and Hardy was never able to overcome that early setback.

JBL dominated most of the match, but Hardy managed to make a comeback. However, as Matt recovered after hitting a moonsault press, the crafty JBL un-laced the protective covering on one of the turnbuckles. JBL then rammed Hardy back first into the exposed steel, and followed that up with a Clothesline from Hell to earn the victory.

Bobby Lashely def William Regal & Paul Bruchell

In recent weeks, Lashley has had his hands full with William Regal & Paul Burchill in singles action. At Armageddon, Lashley was able to defeat both men in a Handicap Match.

Lashley dominated his opponents early in the bout, but the numbers game eventually caught up with him, and a cheap shot from Regal allowed Burchill to take over. Regal & Burchill then worked over Lashley’s back, with Regal ramming him into the steel ringpost.

Eventually, Lashley was able to break free from their double teaming, using his vast array of devastating suplexes to subdue his British adversaries. Lashley was then able to hit the Dominator on Burchill to secure the three count and the victory, keeping his undefeated streak alive.

Kid Kash def Juventud - Cruiserweight Championship Match

At Armageddon, Kid Kash made his first big shot count, defeating Juventud to win the Cruiserweight Championship.

Juventud attacked Kash at the bell, and the two men slugged it out before Juventud sent Kash to the floor. Juventud hit a plancha, but Kash was able to ram the champion’s arm and shoulder into the post, establishing his point of attack.

Kash had Juventud set up for a moonsault, but the champion was able to get his knees up and take control. Juventud hit a top-rope hurricanrana on the challenger, but appeared to hurt his knee on the way down, and a delay in covering Kash allowed him to get a foot on the ropes.

Juventud was then able to hit the Juvy Driver after a sequence of reversals, but the challenger kicked out at 2. Juventud went to the second rope, but Kash avoided a somersault legdrop. The challenger then immediately capitalized, hitting a brainbuster to pick up the victory and become Cruiserweight Champion.

Was it just me or was Kid Kash's wrestling style different than in TNA.

I don't think wwe lets them go as crazy as they sometimes want to like in TNA. Thats just my guess of it anyway.

Title Shot ideas by TheGhostOfNewGrounds!

WHC= Undertaker should go into a fued with Batista and at RR he should win the WHC

USC= Chris Beniot should win it but then have a match against BoogeyMan and loose it

TTC= Booker T and Chris Beniot should team up and win the TTC from Batista and Rey

CWC= Kid Cash should loose the CWC to Rey M.

WWEC= Carlito should win the EC match and become new WWEC

WTTC= Kane and Big Show should keep the title for a long time

IC= Ric Flair should loose the IC to HHH

WC= Trish Stratus should loose it to Mickie James but then win it back at next PPV

i havent been on NG in a while (well last came on at haloween) just gotta say how sad and sorry I am about Eddie Guerero (or however you spell it) diying

Iknew they were going to give the win to taker. let's face it, it is similar to the hogan thing. he is an old fuck who doesn't have it anymore and they from time to time give him a hnad me down victory in the hopes he can maintain his fan base. all the other matches at the PPV last night sucked ass. tonight is the taped Raw, I for one will not watch it since I don't care about them being overseas or any of that. the action will be worse and suck more ass. so I will kill two hours and then wait for the TNA replay that comes on at midnight on spike. for anyone who missed it tonight is your chance to see it.
on a side note, today was my last class and I am fucking happy. now I sit back and wait till I get my BA and become a teacher. WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Armeggdon was a little ok now that some of my predictions were wrong (That i didn't posted here) I will watch RAW about the taped show overseas. Oh and DuMa you are right about that TNA is the future of wrestling. I'm thinking of watching TNA replay on Spike Tv.

Morning & Afternoon News Update

Backstage Notes From Last Night's Armageddon PPV

The bar that Josh Mathews was in was The Friendly Tap which is owned by WWE referee Tim White. Tim portrayed the drunk at the bar who killed himself. White noted during the segment: "Hell in a Cell ruined my life. I've been in pain for over two years and took it out on everyone I know. My wife left me. My friends are all gone. I got nothin'. You know what pain is? I don't think you do. I got everything there is and nothing to live for," he said. "Everything is gone. Get away from me." Josh also wished White a "very white Christmas." WWE has presented tasteless angles in the past, but this is perhaps a new low. What is Vince honestly thinking these days?

Vito's segment on the PPV is looked at by many insiders as some sort of punishment. It was described by Meltzer as creative punishment for people who don't know "locker room etiquette." Vito has had locker-room issues in the past and is not known to make many friends. We'll see where it goes from here but it definitely got a laugh from many backstage.

WWE teased problems with Sharmell and Kristal Marshall last night at the PPV which will probably lead to a feud at some point.

JBL was clearly agitated by a fan at ringside and flipped him off after the match.

Many question why WWE would even bother with The Big Show and Kane against Batista and Mysterio match having the two job to the RAW team after winning the SmackDown! titles two days earlier. It really speaks volumes about the state of the SmackDown! tag titles and how Vince feels.

For those who never saw him in TNA or on the indies, Kid Kash worked a 'WWE style' match last night. Any Kash fan could clearly see that his style was slowed down.

Source: www.prowrestling.com

Major Backstage TNA Update: Sting's Contract, Big Names, More

Team 3D (Brother Ray & Brother Devon, aka the former Dudleys) have cancelled all future appearances with All Japan for the upcoming January 2006 tour and have made the decision to focus on working for TNA. As reported on earlier, there was a big communication error when Team 3D was scheduled to be at the TV tapings before the Turning Point PPV, but were unable to be due to commitments to All Japan.

After it was confirmed last week that Sting had signed a new one-year contract with TNA at an estimated $500,000 guarantee, reports came out that former TNA CEO Frank Dickerson tried to prevent TNA management from investing in yet another former wrestler and instead choose to spend their money elsewhere. When Dickerson was removed from his position as CEO, TNA decided to offer Sting the one-year deal in hopes that he could bring in former "Monday Night War" era fans. Sting hasn't appeared on national cable television for a wrestling promotion since the final episode of WCW Monday Nitro in March of 2001. Many in TNA are waiting to see how Sting's attitude is when he starts up with the company in 2006. During his previous run with the company, he was very known for simply showing up and collecting a check.

On a related note, many core TNA wrestlers who have been with the company since the beginning have taken many new signings to heart as of late. A good portion of the talent who have been with TNA since day one are making considerably less than some recent acquisitions such as Rhino and even more with the recent signing of Sting. There is no question that the argument could be made that since they are not "known names", they don't deserve more pay or even the same as some established talent. Despite that, TNA is continuing the same pattern they did in 2004 when a lot of former WWE/WCW talent was brought in such as Kevin Nash, Scott Hall and Diamond Dallas Page. This was done when the company had just debuted on Fox Sports Net and were using that to build around their monthly PPV events. With the company now on Spike TV, they are continuing that same trend. Only time will tell if it spells success with a much larger audience watching on Spike.

Sources: www.prowrestling.com & www.pwtorch.com

Major News & Preview For RAW Tonight - Tribute To Troops

Note: Spiolers for this event have been posted earlier on in this thread

Earlier this holiday season, Vince McMahon and members of the RAW roster boarded a military C-17 plane and flew 13,000 miles to pay tribute to the United States troops. This Monday night, watch RAW to see everything that happened when the WWE Superstars visited with the troops stationed in Afghanistan.

The trip culminated with a live performance of Monday Night RAW, featuring WWE Champion John Cena, Triple H, Ric Flair, JBL, Mick Foley, Big Show, Carlito, Shelton Benjamin, Snitsky, Women's Champion Trish Stratus, Ashley, Candice Michelle, Maria, Coach and Lilian Garcia. But the in-ring action was only a fraction of the action that happened during WWE’s tour of Afghanistan.

While visiting with the troops, the Superstars of WWE were able to see first-hand the experiences the troops go through everyday to help keep America free. They ate in the same mess halls, slept in the same quarters and even traveled by the same means, including air travel in Apache and Blackhawk helicopters.

Back on the ground, the Superstars were taken to various shooting ranges and were taught by the troops on how to use each weapon correctly. Some of the weapons the WWE Superstars used in Afghanistan include 50-calibur machine guns and grenade launchers. They were also shown how the troops disable live land mines.

The tour turned very emotional when the Superstars visited soldiers in various hospitals. Not only did they have the opportunity to bring smiles to the wounded American troops, but they were also able to spread cheer to the citizens of Afghanistan who were also recovering in the same hospital. Be sure to read Mick Foley’s touching account of his visit with a little boy recovering from kerosene heater explosion.

In addition, the Superstars toured several tributes and shrines to the troops that gave their lives for the United States.

To re-live the amazing trip the WWE Superstars experienced in Afghanistan, be sure to catch this truly emotional edition of Monday Night RAW this week on the USA Network at 9/8 CT.

Sources: www.prowrestling.com & www.wwe.com

I told you guys Taker was gonna win :).

At 12/19/05 05:48 PM, Puzzled wrote: I told you guys Taker was gonna win :).

lol...same here, my man! Same here!

Major Evening News Update

What You Didn't See @ Armageddon Last Night

This was without a doubt one of the worst put together PPVs I've ever seen. JBL talking on the mic...a 10 minute Boogeyman segment where he beats up Santa Claus (and poor Nunzio dressed up like an elf) and for what?...a thrown together Lashley match, and a Hell in the Cell that was so small, they couldn't even do half the spots they wanted to in the ring, not to mention Batista and Mysterio not even able to get over on their own brand's PPV. Now your tag team division looks absolutely weak, not to mention your brand as a whole. When the highlight of the night is Juventud losing the strap to Kash, that's pretty sad. I told my buddy that Kash looked like a Partridge family member with his new locks. The amount of fluff was ridiculous and for the most part, tasteless. If WWE thinks so little of their fans, perhaps it's time for the fans to think so little of WWE. They think they can just throw a Cell match on the card and the rest will take care of itself. Absolutely horrible.

The crowd was active early. One section decided to be cute and cheered for JBL early on. It was obvious they were trying to make their mark and it was just stupid. Only a quarter of the top of the building was tarped...may have been comp city according to your earlier reports about ticket sales.

EVERYONE was disappointed that the Hell in the Cell door was opened and nobody got out of the cage! Of course this match sells because there is the "possibility" of a major spot. But for WWE to show highlights of all the big spots all week long and to come through with this match was a major disappointment for the live fans. For 'Taker to climb on top of the cage AFTER the match had ended simply pissed me off and was too little too late. I understand the table, chair, and chain spots were an attempt to make the match "brutal" but watching 'Taker and Orton having to duck around so they wouldn't hit their heads on the top of the cell during the major spots was laughable.

The Tim White segment was the worst thing I've ever seen on WWE television...period. And that's saying a lot. My buddy and I were so disgusted with it that he grabbed his coat and wanted to leave. I said, "Hell no"...not before the cage match. It was just so tasteless on so many different levels...I can't believe, for the simple fact that they were in Providence, that they would run an angle like that. It does nothing for anyone. There's nowhere for that to go. The worst fluff in the world.

The most important note was that I was sitting in the lodge section, one section over from the entranceway. I happened to be on the end seat. During the Tim White angle, just below me, both Bruce Prichard and Kevin Dunn came out to watch it on the Jumbotron. Not sure why, but they stayed there until the whole segment was over.

Nobody in the crowd really cared what happened. During Kid Kash-Juvi, the crowd was dead. No reaction to either man except near the end when both used a few high spots Even when Kash won the title there were almost no cheers at all. There were a lot of "end this match now" chants however.

Source: www.pwinsider.com

Update On Tajiri, His Future, TNA, & More

www.pwinsider.com is reporting that Tajiri will be in the UnitedStates for at least the next 60-90 days before relocating to Japan. He’s looking into writing a book and writing for some different publications in Japan. Tajiri currently writes a regular column for a major Japanese wrestling magazine. New Japan Pro Wrestling and Zero-One are both looking at bringing in Tajiri, as well as PRIDE who promotes the HUSTLE-1 shows.

Word going around now is that Tajiri will be taking indy bookings in the United States. Whether he’d be willing to work with TNA or not is unknown. It’s almost a sure thing however that TNA will be interested in bringing him in.

More On Tajiri, DDP, Hogan, Various News & Notes

Zach Arnold is reporting that Tajiri, who finished up with WWE last week at the Raw tapings, is in talks with Simon Inoki of New Japan Pro Wrestling.

The Hustle promotion has Kenzo Suzuki booked for an upcoming match against Akira. Suzuki is also booked for the 12/25 Korakuen Hall show.

DDP will appear on the Monday December 19th edition of The Abrams Report on MSNBC. Page will discuss his pending trademark lawsuit against Jay-Z for the first time publicly. The Abrams Reports airs on MSNBC at 4:00 PM and 6:00 PM EST. Check local listing for additional information.

ABC News has an article regarding the trip that WWE had two weeks ago in Afghanistan to tape the Tribute to the Troops special that will air tomorrow night on RAW on USA Network. It's a nice article, that surely puts WWE in a good light for what they did.

WWE is set to release a Hulk Hogan DVD on April 4, 2006, according to pwinsider.com, although details on the project are still unknown at this time.

Source: www.prowrestling.com

Trish Stratus News, The Rock/WrestleMania, & More

Ted DiBiase is trying to get the rights to his 80’s theme song “Money, Money, Money, Money, Money”, which WWE currently owns.

Shooting for The Rock’s next movie, “Daddy’s Girl”, will begin in March or April, which could conflict with WrestleMania.

Happy Birthday to Trish Stratus who turns 30 years old today.

Sources: www.prowrestling.com & The Wrestling Observer Newsletter