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Updated throughout the day, it's the Torch News Ticker with all the news and info that's not fit for print. Keep it open in a new tab and bookmark it every Monday! Promoters and readers: Send in news, upcoming events, interview highlights, or wrestling-related information to the Torch News email address, Wade Keller, and James Caldwell for inclusion on the constantly-updated Ticker. Contact link.

Sunday, March 2, 2008

10:00 p.m.

- WWE's Raw preview indicates Big Show will be taking on a "professional boxer" as a warm-up match for Floyd Mayweather at WrestleMania. No other official matches have been announced for Monday night's show.

3:00 p.m.

- TNA Notes: Tickets go on sale March 10 for TNA's U.K. tour from June 13 - 15. June 13 is in Liverpool, June 14 is in Coventry, and June 15 is in Essex. ... TNA lobbed a half-court shot at the buzzer and shot an airball. The attempt to pick up Bobby Knight's services as a TNA head coach was officially rejected by Texas Tech p.r. staff this weekend. TNA wanted Knight to tape a message for a future Impact broadcast, but that was rejected as well. Jeff Jarrett said, "We had to give it a shot". TNA statement.

- It has now been 1 day and 23 hours since WWE's website updated the new "Industry News" section of their front page. Apparently their Industry News section doesn't work weekends.

10:00 a.m.

- WWE Live reports: We're looking for live reports from this weekend's WWE house shows in the Midwest. Friday night was in Cape Girardeau, Mo., last night was Raw in Louisville and Smackdown in Fort Wayne, and tonight is Raw in Danville, Ill., and Smackdown in Muncie, Ind.

- Mike Mooneyham's Sunday column has a look at Ric Flair's retirement with quotes from Jeff Hardy, Johnny Weaver (days prior to his death), Triple H, The Rock, Shawn Michaels, Buddy Landel, Jim Ross, and Blackjack Mulligan. Said Johnny Weaver about Flair: "He was the only one who was able to take my place after I had enjoyed such a long span of success." Article link.

- Orlando Sentinel has a story on WWE's business model and how exactly they make their money in the post-Austin/Rock era of the early 2000s. "We're in a healthy state of growing and the early stages of an upswing," said WWE's investor relations VP Michael Weitz. "What makes us healthier than we've ever been is we've diversified into new areas. We came out of 2007 very strong," Article link.

- Nick Hogan's defense attorney is claiming that police officer did a sloppy job of police work at the scene of Nick's car crash last August. They claim Nick should not have been given a blood test, then they filed the wrong paperwork two months after the fact. Article link.

- The Austin American-Statesman has a story on the Texas Rollergirls, who they call a mix of WWE, burlesque, and X-Games. The league games are being held in Austin at Playland Skate Center and the Travis County Expo. Article link.

***

Saturday, March 1, 2008

Top stories of the Day

- WWE Smackdown from last night averaged a 2.6 rating to finish last on the night. The show did a 2.6 first hour, but there wasn't a customary increase for the second hour, as it held at 2.6. The show had been right around 2.8 for the last month. In the adult 18-49 range, CW averaged a 1.4 rating, which is in line with the recent numbers.

- New York Times has a puff piece profiling Vince and Linda McMahon as a down-to-earth family running a wrestling business. Linda presents Vince as a babyface with stories about Vince delivering flowers to her for Valentine's Day two weeks ago. Newsworthy is that WWE is going to break ground on a $70 million project this summer to triple the size of its TV studio at WWE HQ in Connecticut. Article link.

- Monsters and Critics has some quotes from Dwayne Johnson (The Rock) on his ambitions in acting and leaving wrestling. Johnson said he aspires to win an Oscar, not just present an award at the Acamedy Awards. He said people still think of him as a wrestler and ask if he's ever coming back because he didn't announce an official retirement from the business. "I probably wouldn't keep getting asked when I'm going back to the ring if I had made a bigger splash about my retirement," he said. "But I retired quietly five years ago. I didn't want it to be a grand exit; I just wanted to walk away. So I thanked everyone I needed to thank and did just that." Article link.

- Dory Funk, Jr. wrestled his retirement match in Japan, teaming with Nishimura to defeat Tenryu & Masa Fuchi at All Japan's show earlier today in Tokyo. Dory scored the fall with a spinning toehold on Masa Fuchi in the semi-main event. In the main event, Kensuke Sasaki beat Satoshi Kojima. Show results (courtesy puroresupower.com) and image of Dory's send-off.

- AOL Sports has a look at 2008 being a make-or-break year for MMA with the upcoming exposure of the sport through EliteXC's TV deal with CBS. The comparison is made to Vince McMahon running the XFL on NBC for one season, and how that didn't affect the NFL because NFL is an American institution. But if EliteXC bombs on national TV, it could affect other organizations, such as UFC, because the sport is still in a growth stage. Article link.

- A local paper in Illinois has a story on hometown girl Maria posing for Playboy. Article link.

- Jerry Lawler is interviewed by Brian Fritz in the Orlando Sentinel discussing WrestleMania. Interesting note is that Lawler doesn't have a WrestleMania match on his resume, but he's content calling the action with Ross. Article link.

- Tammy Sytch (Sunny) is interviewed in the Winnipeg Sun about her return to wrestling after being out of the spotlight for years. Asked about a potential return to WWE after her appearance on the Raw 15-year show, Sytch said, "I don't want to jinx anything. But in my heart, I've got a good feeling, hopefully (I'll be back) before the end of the year." She said she became good friends with Melina and Maria at the Raw show. Article link.

***

Friday, February 29, 2008

Top stories of the Day

- The Omaha (Neb.) World-Herald has a story on Rep. Lee Terry vs. Vince McMahon. Terry is the Committee member who accused Vince McMahon of flipping the finger to Congress during Wednesday's hearing. The paper reports that McMahon called Terry's office later in the day "apparently steamed about the comments", but Terry was out of the office. McMahon then issued the press release on Wednesday afternoon defending his and WWE's record.

Terry told the paper that he's not backing down from his comment about McMahon, especially when McMahon's excuse was that his attorney, Jerry McDevitt wasn't available. "He probably has more than one attorney, so it sounded pretty hollow," Terry said. He added, "There's no doubt that the entertainment factor is that they are physically huge freaks — that's part of the show, so there is kind of a belief that steroids are very ubiquitous in the wrestling entertainment industry."

WWE spokesman Gary Davis commented to the newspaper that Terry's comments "represent stereotypical assumptions made by people who don't follow professional wrestling". Davis presented the fallacy that because wrestled is centered on storylines with predetermined outcomes, then it doesn't make a difference whether one wrestler is stronger than the other. Article link.

- FOXSports has an article on steroids in wrestling, highlighted by this week's Congressional hearings in Washington, D.C. that Vince McMahon declined to attend. Reporter Mark Kriegel suggests the Committee could have issued a subpoena for McMahon to appear before Congress to testify on what WWE has done to address drug and steroids in pro wrestling.

Kriegel also cuts down the sports-related fallacy that because wrestling is fake, then drug and steroid oversight isn't necessary. "There is, however, a difference between the baseball players and the wrestlers," he writes. "The baseball players may be cheating. But the wrestlers are dying." Article link.

- The Orlando Sentinel, which has been covering WrestleMania 24 build-up in Orlando, is planning to publish a story on steroid issues in pro wrestling "in the coming weeks". This is according to an email exchange between wrestling author Irv Muchnick and reporters from the paper. Muchnick blog.

- WWE's website has changed up its front page to include a new section of "WWE" news and "Industry" news. In the Industry News section, they're pulling news stories from pro wrestling websites, including Jason Powell's prowrestling.Net, and republishing the stories on their website.

It's WWE's latest idea to "own" the wrestling news, and follows statements from WWE executives in their latest conference call with investors about bringing more eyeballs to their website by creating what they believe will be the ultimate destination point on the Internet for wrestling fans.

- WWE's stock just finished a very strong week of trading to cap off a significant 30-day surge from the end of January until the end of February. Over the last month, WWE's stock price has increased 23.3 percent, thanks to an earnings report that topped analyst predictions, leading to strong "buy" recommendations from financial analysts.

The company's stock is now trading at pre-Benoit tragedy levels, with the price reaching $17.70 per share at the end of today's trading after peaking at $17.93 earlier in the day. Prior to reaching $18.09 on Tuesday, the last time WWE's stock traded above the $18 level was June 7, 2007 - three weeks before the Benoit tragedy.

Following the Benoit tragedy, WWE's stock took a major tumble and bottomed out in August at below $14 per share. From August until January, they had some weak earnings reports, which were a good indication that consumers had soured on WWE's business post-Benoit. The stock hovered between $14 and $16 during that stretch until the price nearly bottomed out at $13.76 on January 28.

- Variety has a significant article looking at UFC following WWE's path of crossing over its stars into movies, TV, and other forms of entertainment. The article says Hollywood agencies like Endeavor and Creative Artists are looking at UFC as the next WWE in terms of creating celebrities out of the professional athletes. Article link.

- Daniel Jacobs, who was allegedly racing Nick Hogan (Bollea) on the day of Nick's near-fatal car crash last year, has been sentenced to 90 days probation and 25 hours of community service with a $500 fine. Jacobs claimed he wasn't racing Nick that day. Nick is due in court April 14. Article link.

- TNA Notes: TNA sent out a notice that they will be holding a live TNA Impact taping on Thursday, March 27 from Universal Studios in Orlando. They'll be taping the April 3 edition of Impact on March 28. ... Tickets officially went on-sale this morning for the Lockdown PPV in Lowell, Mass. in April. They had been doing a two-day pre-sale on Wednesday and Thursday.

- TNA announced a new partnership with Longtail Studios to produce a mobile video game. There will be all sorts of available mini-games on the software, including strategy games and wrestling match play. TNA president Dixie Carter said the deal will put TNA on the "cutting edge of gaming". It's expected to be released in spring 2008, around the time of the actual TNA video game. TNA press release.

- ROH Notes: Austin Aries vs. Genki Horiguchi has been added to the March 28 ROH vs. Dragon Gate card in Orlando. ... ROH isn't set on a line-up for the next PPV taping on March 16, as they have a World Title contender's tournament on March 14 and 15 that will affect the PPV card in Philadelphia ...

- Hulk Hogan's nephew, David Bollea, is continuing the Hogan family's "Road to WrestleMania" publicity angle by calling out Floyd Mayweather for an MMA fight. David is making his MMA debut on Sunday night for XFC's "Salute to Arms 2" show at the St. Petersburg Times Forum in Florida.

A press release was issued today where David said, "The outcomes of wrestling matches are predetermined. If Floyd Mayweather truly wants to establish himself as the best fighter on the planet, then he needs to enter the XFC steel cage and prepare to get his ass kicked. And kicking the asses of over-hyped ‘Pretty Boys’ is a Hogan family specialty."

- Heavyweight boxing champion Wladimir Klitschko was on ESPNews Thursday night talking about boxing topics, when the host asked him about the supposed $20 million payday for Floyd Mayweather to appear at WrestleMania. Klitschko laughed off the story. He said Mayweather must be bored with boxing , and there's no way he's getting paid $20 million anyways. (Thanks to Ivan Trembow)

***

Thursday, February 28, 2008

Top Stories of the Day

- Rey Mysterio had surgery today in San Diego to repair his torn bicep muscle. Dr. David Chao of the Oasis Sports Medical Group performed the surgery and told WWE's website that it was one of the most significant biceps injuries he has ever seen because it was a complete rupture of the tendon in the arm. He said an injury such as Rey's would take an average patient six-to-nine months to recover from, but he's confident Rey will be able to return sooner because he a history of faster recovery time.

Chao added that Rey worsened the injury by continuing to wrestle after the initial injury overseas a few weeks ago. "Rey made it worse by trying to compete with this injury on more than one occasion, but we are confident the surgery has repaired all damage,” Chao told WWE's website.

- Today's scandal involves Hulk Hogan, who is the subject of a story in the National Enquirer. Christiane Plante, a 33-year old former friend of Brooke Hogan, claims that she had an affair with Hulk when the Hulk-Linda marriage appeared to be doomed. Plante told the Enquirer she had the affair when the Hogan family was filming "Hogan Knows Best" last year.

Plante claimed to the Enquirer, "My relationship with Terry began at a time when Terry and Linda privately knew their marriage was ending. She had left him already, although no official papers had been filed. Terry is a good man, good father and a good friend, and he and I grew close at a time when he was going through a very difficult period. It seemed right then, but I know it was wrong. Having felt the guilt and pain build up, I gave a note to Brooke apologizing for my actions. I will never be able to fully forgive myself for this. I have lost an amazing friend." Article link.

- Variety has an article on today's announcement that EliteXC is partnering with CBS to have prime time MMA specials this spring. Lumping pro wrestling and MMA together because of the appeal to the 18-34 male demographic, the article references the success of WWE on broadcast television, including SNME on NBC in the '80s and Smackdown on UPN and CW since 1999. Article link.

- Sky announced today that it will add three more channels to its HD line-up in the U.K., including Sky Sports HD 3. Sky claims it will be the only European carrier to have regular HD coverage of WWE, which will begin March 17. Details.

- Jim Ross has a weekly interview in the Daytona Beach News-Journal hyping WrestleMania. Ross said about the possibility of a draft following WrestleMania: "I assume that there is a chance, but I have heard nothing concrete about this matter. In 2008, I would rather see an influx of new, young talents make their debuts in an organized, systematic process rather than see the same established talents simply change addresses." Jerry Lawler is also interviewed in this week's piece. Good interview. Full interview.

- MMA fighter Michael Bisping was asked in the U.K. Sun about MMA stars crossing over to WWE, as a switch from the likes of Brock Lesnar trying out MMA. Bisping said, "I’m not too keen on the idea of a UFC fighter appearing on a WWE show simply because some people think the UFC’s fake. ... Mixed martial arts is a real sport whereas the WWE is fake and is entertainment so to be honest I’d like to see the two kept at a distance." Interview link.

- TNA's B.G. James and ODB will be making some appearances in Virginia today and tomorrow to promote the Destination X PPV in Norfolk, Va. At 2:45 p.m. today, they'll be on “The Mike and Bob” Show on WROX 96 FM. They'll also be filmed for a story on Norfolk's ABC, CBS, and NBC affiliates. They have a one-hour autograph signing scheduled for tonight at Tidewater Sports in the MacArthur Center Mall. ... On Friday, they have several radio appearances. 7:00 a.m. is WNOR FM 99, 9:00 a.m. is WGH FM, and 10:00 a.m. is WXMM 100.5. They'll be appearing at Langley Air Force base at 1:00 p.m. Be sure to send in a report if you catch one of the in-person or radio appearances.

***

Wednesday, February 27, 2008

10:00 p.m.

- Newsday has a report on the Committee hearings in D.C. today, with news that Rep. Bobby Rush told reporters after the hearings, "There might be a possibility that legislation might not be required." Rush placed great emphasis on government oversight through legislation during the hearings on Wednesday morning, when he said, "It is my full intention to move a bill, a bipartisan bill."

Also of note is that John Fahey, president of the Anti-doping Agency, said there might be a reliable HGH drug test ready for the Olympics in China. That technology currently is not available to test athletes, especially pro wrestlers. Article link.

- Jim Ross has a new blog on jrsbarbq.com commenting on the hot topic news items from the past week. He predicts that The Rock won't be making an appearance at WrestleMania 24, but he'll certainly be in Orlando night before for the Hall of Fame inductions. Ross also discusses a very tame celebration of Ric Flair's 59th birthday in Las Vegas before Flair headed to Germany for P.R. work. Definitely worth a read when there's a Wahoo McDaniel car-ride story mixed into the blog. Blog link.

6:00 p.m.

- A political blog, the New Republic, has full text of Rep. Bobby Rush's comments about Vince McMahon declining the invitation to speak before the Committee this morning. Rush said: "I am extremely and exceptionally disappointed with [McMahon's] decision not to appear at this hearing. ...While I recognize that professional wrestling is not a quote, sport, unquote, it still requires significant athletic talent and is widely watched by our young people. I want to to assure Mr. McMahon that we fully intend to address the issue of steroid use in professional wrestling." Article link.

- The Detroit Free Press has comments from Rep. John Dingell, who is the Chairman of the Committee involved in today's proceedings. Regarding the reason why they are pursuing the role of steroids in sports, Dingell said, "...Sometimes the outcome is incomprehensively tragic, such as the tragic event last summer when World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) wrestler Chris Benoit killed his wife and 7 year old son, and then committed suicide. Shortly thereafter, WWE suspended 10 WWE performers tied to an alleged steroid ring. This has to stop." Article link (scroll down).

2:00 p.m.

- TheHill.com is reporting on more of the details from today's Committee hearing in Washington, D.C. that WWE chairman Vince McMahon declined to attend. Rush cited WWE's problems with steroids, including the tragedy of Chris Benoit, as one of the prevailing issues in the company. Rush promised to pursue the matter of performance-enhancing drugs further with or without the cooperation of McMahon, which opens up the possibility of Congress getting involved in oversight of pro wrestling. Article link.

- Jason Powell is reporting at prowrestling.Net that Chris Masters and Bobby Lashley were two wrestlers who were contacted by the Committe for testimony on steroids in pro wrestling. The committee sought information from Masters on whether he was publicly chided for losing his muscular physique (a reference to the comments Triple H made on TV when Masters was still employed by WWE, where Hunter kidded Masters about losing muscle).

1:00 p.m.

- Zacks, a leading investment research company, issued a press release today that WWE stock is one of their top recommendations - a "strong buy" - for investors looking to buy stock. They labeled WWE as having "aggressive growth" prospects, and they believe the company is immune from an economic recession, citing information from the latest financial report that WWE's consumer products division "showed impressive growth even though the economy is struggling." They add that analyst estimates for WWE's yearly earnings has risen 10 percent over the last 30 days. Press release.

11:00 a.m.

- Forbes has a report on this morning's conference in Washington, D.C. hosted by the House subcommittee on Commerce, Trade and Consumer Protection, with the big names from U.S. professional sports being asked to speak about drug and steroid abuse in their respective reports. Rep. Bobby Rush said he was "exceptionally and extremely disappointed" that Vince McMahon turned down the offer to appear before the subcommittee. Rush said McMahon was the only potential witness who declined the invitation to speak. Article link.

10:00 a.m.

- ROH Notes: ROH champion Nigel McGuinness's next title defense will be at the March 16 PPV taping in Philadelphia. They have not announced his opponent yet. One match that is confirmed for the PPV taping is Kevin Steen vs. Roderick Strong ... Steen will face Davey Richards on the March 14 show in Dover, N.J. They will be filming scenes for "The Wrestler" during the shows on March 14 and 15. ... ROH will be putting tickets on sale Friday morning for their return to Cleveland, Ohio on August 15.

- The Rock is starring as the Tooth Fairy in an upcoming family movie that will begin filming in August. He plays the role of an ordinary man who is called to save the tooth fairy kingdom. Article link.

9:00 a.m.

- MyNetworkTV president Greg Meidel has some additional quotes in the New York Daily News about the deal with WWE to air Smackdown in the fall. Asked whether he's going to have any input on the content of the shows, Meidel said, "We're going to continue to let the creative brains behind the WWE - the McMahon family, both Vince and Linda - do what they do best. Their enthusiasm and their excitement today is equal and probably more than what it was years ago."

Asked about additional scrutiny on WWE due to steroid allegations, similar to baseball the past three months, Meidel said, "Every sport goes through the ebb and flow of life. We've witnessed that in baseball and football this past year with certain incidents, and they've weathered the storm and will be bigger and better because of that. This is a very proud organization and the McMahons have done a phenomenal job in the past several decades of building it from the ground up." Article link.

- Reuters has a story with quotes from Meidel that IFL's two-hour timeslot was dropped because the MMA show appeals to a narrower audience than Smackdown, which they want to use to expedite MyNet's growth as an upstart network. He said they spoke with affiliates in the local markets, and the station owners were onboard with bringing Smackdown to the network. Article link.

- Mediapost.com has some additional details on the MyNet deal. They are paying WWE a licensing fee for Smackdown. To help off-set that cost, the local market affiliates are being asked to give up an extra two minutes of ad inventory during each hour of the show for MyNet to collect additional advertising revenue. That's a significant deal when looking at eight 30-second spots over the course of the show that MyNet is taking from the local carrier. Article link (scroll down).

- New York Times has chimed in on the WWE-MyNet deal. Article link.

- Ohio Valley Wrestling is promoting that C.M. Punk will be at tonight's TV taping in Louisville, Ky. at the Davis Arena. They are calling it an "historic episode of TV" that will feature several surprises.

- OVW is also the subject of a piece in the Louisville Courier-Journal about them staying in business despite WWE pulling their official working relationship. Article link.

***

Tuesday, February 26, 2008

Top Stories of the Day

- SI.com has an article on how the Floyd Mayweather deal came together for WWE. Mayweather's agent, Leonard Ellerbee, said he approached WWE a year ago, but the timing wasn't right. He said they re-started talks a month ago, and WWE presented an offer his camp couldn't refuse. Shane McMahon commented that Vince got involved in the negotiations because he promoted Muhammad Ali three decades ago. Shane said Mayweather is "tailor-made for our business" and he's "Ali-plus" in terms of marketability for a spectacle fight. Sports Illustrated article link.

- Los Angeles Times has an article on why Vince McMahon chose to throw $20 million at Mayweather to take part in WrestleMania. "We're all about sports entertainment," he said. "I had to do something Madison Avenue could understand, and I paid for the attention Floyd's going to get." Ellerbe said it's a chance for Mayweather to be seen by a ton of eyeballs through WWE's programming. He said the company brings in "47 million viewers" for the weekly TV shows. Hopefully he's counting international viewership. LA Times article.

- Boxing website The Sweet Science has more quotes from Mayweather, who claimed he's going to stick around in WWE until he wins the WWE Title. Vince McMahon is quoted in the article on the value of bringing in a world champion in boxing to mix with the various world champions in WWE. "We’ve had other boxers cross over like Muhammad Ali, and we even had Evander Holyfield help promote a show," Vince said. Article link.

- Oscar De La Hoya was interviewed in the Las Vegas Review about Floyd Mayweather's involvement in WrestleMania. De La Hoya said he's not worried about Mayweather getting hurt in the ring and he's sure Mayweather will be successful playing a role in entertainment. "Obviously, any visibility a fighter can have is great," he said. "Floyd Mayweather is doing a lot of touring and appearances, which is a plus for our September rematch. The more he does, the better." Article link.

- Eastsideboxing.com has an article critical of Floyd Mayweather's involvement in WrestleMania. Very strong points on Mayweather being more concerned with outside-boxing endeavors rather than accepting fights before the De La Hoya re-match in September. The article calls boxing an apparent "means to an end" for Mayweather, who runs the risk of alienating PPV-buying boxing fans. Article link.

- Floyd Mayweather is the subject of an article on TMZ.com regarding his 31st birthday celebration last night in Las Vegas. They said he was tossing around money with Keisha Cole, and he's due for more money with the $20 million payday at WrestleMania. Article link.

- As if the $20 million figure for Mayweather's payday couldn't be even more inflated, an Australian newspaper reminds us that Mayweather would be getting $21.45 million in Australian dollars for the WrestleMania appearance. Article link.

- Variety has added more details to the deal announced today between WWE and MyNetworkTV to air Smackdown beginning this fall. MyNet president Greg Meidel said the network will control the advertising inventory, which means they will sell advertising during Smackdown's timeslot and keep the ad revenue. This is similar to WWE's deal with USA Network, as WWE simply receives licensing revenue. Meidel said the timeslot has not been decided on, but it will be either Thursday or Friday so they can sell advertising for weekend movie releases aimed at the WWE demo. Variety report.

- Variety also has some numbers to chew on comparing MyNetwork TV to CW, as it relates to WWE Smackdown switching second tier broadcast networks in the fall. MyNet is averaging 1.17 million viewers this season, which is up 690,000 viewers from last season. CW is averaging 2.4 million viewers this season, which is down 630,000 viewers from last season. Variety article.

- Mediaweek has a story on WWE signing with MyNetworkTV to air Smackdown. They point out that WWE and MyNet haven't decided on what night Smackdown will air during the week. That's one important detail yet to be announced in the deal. Article link.

- John Cena is quoted in the U.K. Sun from an interview done before the Royal Rumble with some harsh comments for The Rock (Dwayne Johnson). He is complimentary of Johnson for being a genuinely nice and fantastic human being. Cena then says about Johnson that he once loved wrestling, but Cena doesn't understand why he won't give back.

"Associating with sports entertainment doesn't do much for his acting career. I get it," Cena said. "Just don't f--- me around and tell me that you love this (the wrestling business). That's the only thing that gets me really pissed off." Cena said the fans admire Johnson, which he respects, but Johnson "doesn't give anything back." Article link.

- There's an article in a local Florida newspaper on WWE's FCW promotion having an afternoon show at USA Flea Market in Port Richey, Fla. on Saturday. The show starts at noon, and will run about 90 minutes. The flea market general manager said they've had all kinds of circus-like activities to draw people to the flea market, so why not wrestling. Show details.

- MLB.com has a report that Edge and Tommy Dreamer were at White Sox spring training camp in Tucson, Ariz. visiting the players. The Smackdown/ECW TV taping is tonight in Tucson.

- TNA released the pre-sale code for tickets to the Lockdown PPV on April 13 in Boston. The pre-sale starts Wednesday morning at 10:00 a.m. EST and ends Thursday, Feb. 28 at 11:59 p.m. EST. The code is: CAGE. Tickets go on-sale to the general public on Friday morning.

- TNA's website has a note about the Los Angeles rock band "Operator" performing the theme for the April Lockdown PPV. One of their songs, "Nothing to Lose" will be theme of the PPV. Notes on the band.

- For last week, the Feb. 18 WWE Raw finished fifth and sixth in the cable ratings. The show averaged 5.6 million viewers over the course of two hours and finished just behind USA Network's other top cable show, Monk, and CNN's coverage of the Democratic debates. Top 20 cable ratings.

- Chris Jericho's band, Fozzy, will be re-releasing their first album on March 25. The re-release package will include a DVD of them touring the U.K. in 2006. Press release.

- WWE issued a press release that they are making a multi-year commitment to the Make-A-Wish foundation, with a big event planned for WrestleMania weekend in Orlando. The new partnership will allow WWE to grant the wishes of 50 children over the next five weeks before a weekend of WWE-related activities at Universal Studios in Orlando. Press release.

- Interesting note that investment firm B. Riley downgraded WWE's stock from a "buy" to "neutral". The firm cited that WWE's stock is currently trading 1 percent below analyst's target price. The downgrade to "neutral" came with the condition that stock price should increase over the next 30-35 days for WrestleMania season.

- Filming of the next WWE Films movie, "12 Rounds", starring John Cena, began in New Orleans on Monday. IMDB.com has updated the cast list to remove Al Pacino, who was rumored for a cameo appearance in the movie.

- Episode 2 of the Heyman Hustle is online at the U.K. Sun. Paul Heyman's second attempt a video blogging has a brief cameo from Dawn Marie in a bikini, plus a free lecture in branding and marketing philosophy from the Naked Cowboy in New York City. Hustle video link.

***

Monday, February 25, 2008

Top Stories of the Day

- At the WrestleMania press conference in Los Angeles, WWE announced that it's official for Mayweather vs. Big Show in a wrestling match for WrestleMania. Mayweather came out and was booed by the L.A. crowd. They chanted "De La Hoya" at him to upset him. He then pulled out a wad of bills and teased the audience to draw excited screams from some fans. Mayweather was clearly the heel in this, as he played the cocky, rich superstar athlete.

Big Show then came out and they had a face-to-face stare down. Mayweather stood on a chair to get in Show's face, but no blows were exchanged. Show told him to get a free shot, but Mayweather returned to his seat on the podium, folded his arms, and stared straight ahead. Show then sat down and conferenced with Shane McMahon to close the conference.

Rey Mysterio came out prior to Mayweather and said he's having biceps surgery on Wednesday. He'll be missing WrestleMania, but he offered to help Mayweather train for his match. ... Shane McMahon introduced Mayweather, and said TV companies such as HBO, DirecTV, and Comcast are nervous about Mayweather stepping into the ring and risking his body for a wrestling payday.

- WWE's Films division signed a distribution deal with 20th Century Fox to distribute theatrical and straight-to-DVD movie releases. Details on main listing under WWE News.

- WWE CEO Linda McMahon made a studio appearance on CNBC's "Fast Money" show this afternoon to talk about the Floyd Mayweather match at Mania and the recent WWE stock performance. McMahon said the company's current look at the first quarter numbers shows that that momentum from last quarter has carried over into the first two months of 2008. Article link (includes video of appearance).

- The New York Times had a story today on Disney possibly looking to acquire THQ, which publishes WWE's line of video games. Viacom is also looking to get into the video game business through acquisition. They already own a share of Midway Games, which has partnered with TNA for their first video game. NYTimes article link.

- Financial website Motley Fool has a look at WWE's recent decision to double the stock dividend to its common stock shareholders, while keeping the McMahon family shares at the same dividend rate. From the Fool article: "Gee, a company that wants to give more to its investors than it does to itself? What must those McMahons be up to? It sounds like another great pay-per-view plot twist." Article link.

- Financial website seekingalpha.com has a look at WWE's financials and whether the company would be affected by a recession in the U.S. economy. The conclusion is that WWE is currently not affected by economic fluctuations, as they re-evaluated strategies to use free cash flow for the international expansion after hitting a rut in the summer months (due to the Benoit tragedy). They also say WWE's stock is an attractive buy for investors with the 8.1 percent dividend yield and solid consumer products sales for toys and DVDs. Article link.

- Brandweek.com has a look at an upcoming advertising campaign on Spike TV that will air on an upcoming episode of TNA Impact. There will be a series of 45-second spots for Mountain Dew airing on Impact, which they call a "series that's a little mixed martial arts and a lot of theatricality." Never would have known. Article link.

- ROH Notes: Alex Shelley & Chris Sabin vs. The Briscoes is official for the April 19 show in Chicago. Shelley & Sabin are scheduled for April 18, but their opponents have not been named yet ... Kevin Steen won the impromptu one-night tournament on Friday to earn an ROH Title shot, and he'll get the title shot on April 12 in Edison, N.J. ... ROH has posted a statement on its message board regarding the Larry Sweeney rape angle on Saturday night where Sweeney KO'ed Allison Danger and told Bobby Dempsey to "score" on her. The statement: "ROH officials are embarrassed and apologetic over the actions of Larry Sweeney last Saturday at the Manhattan Center." The context of the statement, though, is storyline-related to ROH officials being upset with Sweeney's antics as a heel manager.

- A newspaper in India has a note that Great Khali is scheduled to appear in a Bollywood movie, "Rama - The Saviour", alongside one of India's top young female actresses. Article link.

***

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