by James Caldwell, Assistant editor

WEEKEND EVENTS

-- Friday: WWE Raw/ECW brand in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. (Report Wanted)
-- Saturday: 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.

NEWS

ROH News: Cary Silkin discusses WrestleMania weekend fan convention, Gabe Sapolsky firing, Paul London and TV deal rumors

Ring of Honor's annual WrestleMania weekend two-show tour will be in Houston this April and ROH president Cary Silkin is hinting that a fan convention could be in the works.

Silkin says they are considering a convention the Saturday before WrestleMania and it would be held prior to ROH's 3:00 p.m. show on Saturday afternoon at the George R. Brown Convention Center in Downtown Houston.

Ticket sales for both shows were "very well-received," Silkin said on the Monday Night Mayhem radio show, and he added that they bumped up the Saturday show's timeslot to accommodate the WWE Hall of Fame start time. "I want to go to the Hall of Fame too," Silkin said.

Regarding the content of the WrestleMania weekend shows, Silkin says nothing formal has been announced yet, but plenty of things are in the works. "There are going to be some special surprises," he said. "I think we're going to have legends and some foreign talent. But nothing has been announced yet."

Radio co-hosts Mosh & Blade asked Silkin the inevitable question about Gabe Sapolsky's firing as head booker, and Silkin was gracious in answering while complementing Gabe's work.

"Gabe did an incredible job and maybe had an all-time record as a booker for six and a half years," Silkin said. "Business is business. There were changes that had to be made. It was a rough year for businesses in general. What should we have done different? I don't know. I think it was just a sign of the times with everyone struggling."

Silkin talked about the current crop of young talent in ROH that he's banking in 2009 and he listed Kenny Omega, Erick Stevens, Tyler Black, and the tag team of Davey Richards & Eddie Edwards.

On another notes, Silkin addressed Paul London returning to ROH rumors. "I don't know what he's got in mind yet," he said. "We put out a few feelers, but nothing yet."

And on potential for a TV deal after representatives from HDNet were spotted at ROH's Final Battle weekend shows, Silkin said he doesn't want to jink anything. "I just hope that something happens," he said. :Right now, what I'm focused on is our debut on DirecTV, which is huge for us. If anything more transpires, I will be very pleased and I hope something happens."

Link: Monday Night Mayhem interview with ROH president Cary Silkin.

***

WWE News: Former WWE champion backstage at Raw house show on Friday night

WWE's first house show of 2009 took place last night in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. and we're looking for a match-by-match results report from the Raw brand show.

What paid customers didn't see last night was a backstage appearance by former WWE champion (specifically ECW Titleholder) Bobby Lashley, who is doing his MMA training in the area.

The former WWE star attended the show after taking a break from training with the American Top Team in South Florida, reports Jim Varsallone in the Miami Herald.

Link: Varsallone's Miami Herald notes from the 1/2 house show.

***

WWE News: JBL's "corporation" stable expanding to add more wrestlers? WWE diva hints at storyline progression

If business and legal terms were applied to JBL's "corporation" of sorts on WWE Raw TV, it would be a partnership with only JBL and Shawn Michaels the named employees.

WWE hasn't made it clear in the storyline what Michaels's role is - perhaps a salesman for Mamajuana energy or a window-washer for JBL's limo - but it's not much of a corporation when only two folks are involved.

Katie Lea recently jumped to the ECW brand with Paul Burchill, but that shouldn't hold her up from joining JBL's company considering WWE's tendency to ignore the brand split altogether.

Lea says she would like to join JBL's group and she adds it's quite obvious the "mouse-faced grumpy man" Michaels will be turning on JBL soon.

"I predict that the 'Kid' ... will snap one day turning things pretty ugly for everyone involved," Lea said on her WWE Universe blog. "I would think (and I'm good at thinking), that it would be a far better option for JBL to have a virile and beautiful young woman by his side, willing to do absolutely anything he asks of her. Needless to say, I have sent in my application."

As for now, her bone to pick is with Alicia Fox on ECW after D.J. Gabriel beat big brother Paul Burchill on this week's ECW show. "I am ready to unleash my demon, to finally let him roam free and spread his wings causing chaos and destruction everywhere," she said. Charming.

Link: Katie Lea blog on WWE Universe.

Caldwell's Analysis: Fun blog to read this morning. Katie has a personality waiting to be shown on TV, but it's tough for that to come out when she's hooked up with Paul "the powerless pirate" Burchill, who doesn't exactly exude charisma.

On the topic of JBL's stable of employees, we seem to be harkening back to the 1996/1997 pre-Attitude era in WWE with the potential for multiple stables. In that era, it was the Hart Foundation and Nation of Domination. This era could be JBL's Energy Corporation and Randy Orton's Legacy group. I'm all for the expansion of both warring corporations, as I believe it would be a benefit to the Raw brand.

***

Other News: Former WWE star Bobby Lashley's next MMA fight signed

After a successful MMA debut last month competing for the MFA promotion, former WWE star Bobby Lashley has signed with the Palace Fighting Championship promotion for his next fight on February 6 in Lemoore, Calif.

Lashley's opponent has not been named yet, but a list of opponents who Lashley could face to build up his resume has been sent to Lashley for review, reports sherdog.com.

Lashley has signed a two-fight deal with PFC as he continues to look for a heavyweight title shot, even if it's not in UFC where president Dana White recently said he had no interest in bringing in Lashley.

Link: Sherdog.com report.

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