by James Caldwell, Assistant editor

UPCOMING EVENTS

-- Tonight: WWE Raw/ECW brand in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.
-- Saturday, Jan. 3: Raw/ECW brand in Lake Charles, La. and Smackdown brand in Tyler, Tex.
-- Sunday, Jan. 4: Raw/ECW brand in Baton Rouge, La. and Smackdown brand in Bossier City, La.

Torch readers: If you attend one of the upcoming house shows, be sure to send in a report to pwtorch@gmail.com.

RESULTS

1/2 WWE Smackdown TV on MyNetworkTV: (1) Finlay & Khali beat Hawkins & Ryder ... (2) The Brian Kendrick & Ezekiel Jackson beat Jesse & Festus. ... (3) Vladimir Koslov beat Hurricane Helms. ... Royal Rumble participants announce: Triple H, Big Show, Koslov, Shelton Benjamin, and The Undertaker. ... (4) Kizarny beat MVP. ... (5) ECW champion Matt Hardy & WWE champion Jeff Hardy beat Edge & Big Show.

NEWS

BREAKING NEWS: Major steroid report in pro wrestling comes in from U.S. Senate; determined as "serious problem"

U.S. government Rep. Henry Waxman issued a letter dated today to the Officer of the National Drug Control Policy with a recommendation that pro wrestling organizations, specifically WWE and TNA, have not effectively dealt with pro wrestling's steroids issue.

After conducting interviews with WWE's Vince and Stephanie McMahon and TNA's Dixie Carter, Waxman concluded: "the information provided during interviews indicate that steroid use is pervasive in professional wrestling and that the organizations involved have not taken adequate steps to address this problem."

The letter reveals that during WWE's first year of steroid testing under the new Wellness Policy, 40 percent of wrestlers tested positive for steroid use "even after being warned in advance that they were going to be tested."

Subsequently, regular exemptions were made to lax the policy. Dr. David Black, the independent third party hired to administer the drug testing policy, became fed up with the program and WWE's handling of it.

Waxman quoted Dr. Black that "it was becoming difficult to deal with talent who were being suspended" and he was "unaccustomed to programs that suspend and you're not suspended," referring to WWE amending the policy that a violation of the policy would lead to certain suspensions, but not from PPV and live TV.

Related to TNA, the letter from Mr. Waxman states that when TNA installed its drug testing policy 12 months ago, 15 out of 60 wrestlers tested positive for steroid use and an additional 11 wrestlers tested positive for other drugs.

Waxman concludes: "The evidence obtained by the Oversight Committee indicates that illegal use of steroids and other drugs in professional wrestling is a serious problem that the wrestling organizations are not effectively addressing."

He recommends the National Drug Control division "examine steroid use in professional wrestling and take appropriate steps to address this problem."

Link: Sen. Waxman's letter.

***

TNA News: Shark Boy reveals which TNA writer pushed for his Steve Austin character, his future on TV

TNA wrestler Shark Boy (Dean Roll) was involved in the Prince Brotherhood "group" on Impact until Curry Man's character was fired and Eric Young dropped the goofy superhero gimmick for a serious role in the Frontline.

Not part of a brotherhood anymore, but still having a compelling character worth TV time, Roll says he's just looking to keep a spot on Impact as a goal for 2009.

"Everyone wants to main event the big pay-per-views, and be the World champion, and I can tell you that I'd love to do that, but I don't know that I could list it as a goal," Sharkie told Slam Wrestling's Brian Elliott. "You know, even if I don't achieve that in this business, I've had the time of my life."

Roll says the Steve Austin imitation character that he's recently portrayed on Impact has helped keep him on TV, and Jeff Jarrett pushed for the character change on TV, with Vince Russo filling in the blanks on how to get the character into storylines.

"When Jeff Jarrett heard me do this in front of the other guys, he said that it was something that we could possibly do on TV at some point," Roll said. "Vince Russo and I decided that we could transition that into me doing these impressions, by having Shark Boy fall into a coma (laughs)."

Roll says his sense of humor matches with Russo, which has allowed them to connect on TV storyline developments involving the Stone Cold Shark character. But, does it detract from the wrestling portion of the show when his character isn't taken seriously?

"If you had asked me a few years ago whether doing things like this would have detracted from my wrestling, I might have said yes," Roll said. "But now, I've been in the business for a while, and I feel that you have to go out there and entertain, period. If people get more out of what I do on the mic or in the vignettes than they do from watching me in the ring, that's fine and I'm happy with that."

Link: Slam Wrestling interview with Shark Boy.

Caldwell's Analysis: Roll's comments in that last paragraph certainly fit the locker room mentality that it's better to just be on TV than try to push for an opportunity to have quality wrestling match opportunities. It's the evolution (fortunate or unfortunate) of wrestling where the craft of being a pro wrestler is seemingly lost in favor of being an entertainer.

This is also why TNA can't push beyond a 1.2 rating because there's simply not that much of a wrestling audience that's left over from the Attitude era that isn't already watching the product. And they don't have enough marketing behind them to grab a portion of the WWE audience. The format of over-the-top gimmickery just isn't going to attract non-wrestling fans, and only keep TNA's current hardcore wrestling audience tuned in.

***

WWE News: Natalya opens up about lost Hart family members; discusses how to be a WWE diva

Being around family members during the Christmas holiday season can lead to recollections of great memories or bring back fresh reminders of family members who have died.

The Hart Family has unfortunately lost many family members, and the current national TV link to Stu Hart's family legacy is Smackdown diva Natalya. It's a great deal of pressure, and Natalya says remembering the lost family members was a necessary step for her this holiday season.

"I saw the faces of friends and family that have come and gone...and I wish that they were still here today," Natalya said on her WWE Universe blog. "I hadn't forgotten about them, but tucked them away into my memory so I wouldn't be reminded of how hard it was to let them go."

Natalya says her thoughts were prompted by looking back at old pictures when she went home to Calgary for Christmas. "These people I have lost put things in perspective for me that our lives are more fragile than we know and to make each day count," she said.

The certainly future Divas champion says she's asked all the time how to be a WWE diva, or at least what it takes to be successful, considering the amount of hard work she put into training to become a wrestler.

"I find that the answer they are looking for is not one I am capable of giving," she said. "Most people don't really want the truth."

Link: Natalya blog on WWE Universe.

***

WWE News: Chris Jericho reveals inspiration for heel character; locker room reaction to punch on HBK's wife

When Chris Jericho turned heel on Shawn Michaels to set off one of the top feuds of 2008, Jericho completely transformed his persona to fit that of a movie or comic book villain.

Jericho's costuming - the stuffy, yet sharp suit-and-tie look - was as much a part of the transformation as the words he spoke and the sneer he had on his face. The change was inspired by a trip to the movies to see the Academy Award winning film for 2007.

"I didn't want to become a nostalgia act," Jericho told Alex Marvez for his weekly syndicated column. Jericho says he saw "No Country for Old Men" and wanted to model his heel character after the lead mercenary played by Academy Award winner Javier Bardem.

"The guy was completely committed to what he was doing," Jericho said. "You could say he was evil and wrong, but in his mind, he was right and that's all there was to it. He was very calm, cool and collected, and a complete psycho as well. I thought, 'These are the elements of a great (wrestling) character.'"

When the Jericho vs. Michaels feud intensified, culminating with Jericho knocking out Shawn Michaels's wife at the Summerslam PPV when he was overly aggressive, Jericho claims in the interview that it caused some locker room resentment from other wrestlers.

"Nobody in the world felt worse than I did, but fortunately she couldn't have cared less," Jericho said. "She thought it was great. It did add to the intensity of the feud and took everything to the next level."

Link: Chris Jericho interview with Alex Marvez.

***

TNA News: Kurt Angle facing returning wrestler on next week's Impact; line-up for Genesis preview show

Next week's TNA Impact will lead into the first PPV of 2009, appropriately titled Genesis, and the show includes Kurt Angle taking on the returning B.G. James, who has been involved in the Jeff Jarrett vs. Kurt Angle program as a peacemaker.

At the end of the last regular edition of Impact, B.G. was knocked out by Angle to set up next week's match-up. TNA's website calls B.G. a "longtime ally" of Jarrett.

The Jarrett-James connection goes back to the mid-'90s WWF era when Jarrett was singing "With My Baby Tonight" and B.G. was his roadie. After Jarrett left the company for WCW, the storyline turned out where B.G. was doing the singing while J-E-Double F was lip-synching.

That piece of information has a small chance of being revealed on Impact next Thursday when B.G. defends Jarrett's honor in anticipation of Angle vs. Jarrett at Genesis, but that's some background on Jarrett and B.G.

Other matches scheduled for next week's Impact include Alex Shelley vs. Eric Young in an X Division Title semi-final tournament match. Winner gets Chris Sabin at the Genesis PPV for the belt. ... Also, Robert Roode vs. Matt Morgan and Awesome Kong in action.

Link: TNA's official preview for 1/8 Impact.

-- RELATED STORY at PWTorch.com: Torch Today 1/1 Recap.

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