by James Caldwell, Assistant editor

RESULTS

1/13 ECW TV on Sci-Fi: (1) D.J. Gabriel & Alicia Fox beat Paul Burchill & Katie Lea in 4:00. ... Tommy Dreamer begins ECW Title quest. ... (2) The Boogeyman beat Sammy Savard in 1:00. ... (3) Jack Swagger beat ECW champion Matt Hardy in 19:00 to capture the ECW Title.

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NEWS

WWE News: John Cena's "12 Rounds" movie required major formula change from "The Marine"

WWE World Hvt. champion John Cena's first WWE movie, "The Marine," required a considerable amount of "suspension of disbelief" from movie-watchers, as Cena's character seemed to escape every possible form of death in superhero-like fashion.

"12 Rounds" will be different in the respect that WWE wants to portray Cena as a regular guy, such as Bruce Willis's character in the first "Die Hard" movie - able to overcome the stacked deck in realistic fashion.

As a result, filmmaker Renny Harlin ditched a great deal of special effects in his toolbox to capture Cena's action scenes more realistically in the movie coming out on March 27.

"I wanted this film to have a visual style that complemented John’s athleticism,” Harlin told WWE in a recent interview. "But instead of portraying him as a superhero, we’ve made him an everyman."

He adds that modern-day movie techniques were tossed out, including fancy CGI effects. "I’m injecting more adrenaline by using an in-your-face, handheld camera style that places the audience in the center of it all," Harlin said.

Link: WWE interview with Renny Harlin.

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Other News: "Family member" from Hillbilly Jim's WWF stable found dead today

Lanny Keane, Jr., who was better known as Cousin Junior from Hillbilly Jim's WWF stable in the 1980s, was found dead today in Frankfort, Ky., according to Bill Behrens at wrestlezone.com.

Keane appeared on a few episodes of WWE's "Saturday Night's Main Event" show in 1985 as a clumsy family member carrying a horseshoe in a sack before being written off TV storylines.

In the 1990s, Keane wrestled as Big Daddy Cyrus and feuded against Jerry Lawler in the USWA promotion. On the Feb. 11 edition of USWA TV, Keane was dismantled by Lawler and former WWE champion Sid Vicious.

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WWE News: TV ratings for last night's Raw - how did John Cena vs. Shawn Michaels fare?

WWE Raw posted significantly strong numbers for last night's Raw, averaging a 3.5 rating and 5.26 million viewers for the two-hour show.

Without any football competition to take away adult male viewers and delivering an epic TV main event between Shawn Michaels and John Cena, the Raw numbers jumped 5.0 percent from last week's show.

Compared to the previous five weeks of TV, last night's show was up 5.5 percent and compared to the previous ten weeks of TV, the show was up 7.8 percent.

Raw swept the demographic ratings as well, delivering a strong 11.3 percent jump among males 18-49. The show also increased among all adults 18-49, but by a smaller margin.

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WWE News: Smackdown featuring Jeff Hardy hit-and-run breaks another ratings record

Last Friday night's edition of WWE Smackdown, featuring the Jeff Hardy hit-and-run angle and Triple H running the Triple Jeopardy gauntlet, broke the previous ratings record on MyNetworkTV set on December 19.

WWE reports that last week's episode on January 9 scored a 2.2 rating and averaged 3.90 million viewers to break the previous record of a 2.1 rating and 3.87 million viewers.

Since moving to MyNet in October 2008, Smackdown has averaged 3.60 million viewers per episode, with every episode since Nov. 21 above the 3.70 million level.

Link: WWE.com report.

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Other News: Ric Flair making wrestling appearance this weekend with legendary tag team

Former WWE champion Ric Flair will be appearing with the Rock 'n Roll Express in Easley, South Carolina this Saturday night. Although Flair is not scheduled to wrestle on the card, he will be making a live appearance.

Express member Ricky Morton says Flair might be retired, but he's not ready to retire anytime soon despite being at the age of 52.

"I'm not ready to do that just yet. I'll just keep going as long as my body will go. I still depend on wrestling to make my living," Morton told the Pickens (S.C.) Sentinel to promote the show. "It hurts a lot more these days. But as long as I can keep going, I want to. I like to get in there with the young guys and let them see if they can keep up with this old man."

Morton, who wrestled every Monday in Greeneville, S.C. in the Mid-Atlantic territory days, says Robert Gibson and himself will probably be outside the gym talking with the fans before the show.

"It's a hard business," he said. "But I love it. It's the way I make a living. And I don't go out and give folks a two-minute match. I want to give people what they are paying to see."

FYI: Included in a $20 "super ticket package" for the show at Easley High School's McKelvey Gymnasium is an autographed photo of Flair. Also booked on the card are Buff Bagwell and the Midnight Express.

Link: Pickens Sentinel article.

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WWE News: Interesting notes about Undertaker and Michelle McCool at the airport heading to Smackdown taping

PWTorch.com specialist Brian Hoops sent the following notes on The Undertaker and Michelle McCool, who are currently dating, traveling to tonight's Smackdown taping in Omaha, Nebraska.

-- One of my employees flew from Dallas to Omaha, Neb. last night and the Undertaker and Michelle McCool were on his plane. He recognized the Taker, but is not a big wrestling fan so there may have been other wrestlers on the plane that he didn't recognize. He didn't know McCool, but said it was his girlfriend and she was tall, blond, and thin. Said Taker wore a hat and black long sleeve shirt. Other than an 11-year-old kid, no one talked to them or asked for autographs.

-- My employee is about 6'2" and said the Taker is legit about 6'5" or 6'6". I have another employee who is 6'8" and my employee who met Taker said no way is Taker taller than that.

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WWE News: First celebrity for WrestleMania 25 in the works - reality TV star with WWE connection

Reality TV star Tiffany "New York" Pollard from the "I Love New York" VH-1 series is being discussed as one of the major celebrities involved at WrestleMania 25 this year, reports mediatakeout.com.

Pollard has reportedly been in negotiations with WWE for months and the both sides are close to an agreement. The source cited by mediatakeout says Pollard could play an "integral role" at WrestleMania.

Pollard's connection to WWE is related to recent WWE developmental signee David "Punk" Otunga, who was on season two of "I Love New York" and nearly made the finals of the show.

WWE has a history of utilizing celebrities to hype the annual WrestleMania. Last year's Mania famously involved Floyd Mayweather beating Big SHow, Snoop Dogg kissing Maria, and Kim Kardashian doing whatever Kim Kardashian does.

Link: Mediatakeout.com report.

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WWE News: Expected return date for Mr. Kennedy, who he would like to wrestle when he returns

WWE star Mr. Kennedy is still well over a month away from even thinking about returning to a wrestling ring after suffering a dislocated shoulder last year and needing extensive recovery time.

Kennedy, frustrated by another injury setback, is set to meet with Dr. James Andrews on February 28 to get the "okay" to return to the ring, hopefully in time for WrestleMania 25.

"It's been extremely frustrating," Kennedy told Kevin Eck in the Baltimore Sun. "I think you just have to keep your head up, though."

He says he's slowly getting full range of motion back in his shoulder, but it's tough to stay motivated to train for wrestling shape when the rehab on the shoulder is so draining.

"I've just been in the wrong place at the wrong time," Kennedy said about the injury bug striking him. "I had the Money in the Bank and was on the way to becoming a world champion and then injury struck. And it's just been one thing after the other, but I just keep my head up. I was told a long time ago that if you have talent you cannot be denied and eventually good things will happen."

Kennedy is part of the Smackdown brand and hopes to return to the ring with a feud against Triple H. "We've done it on a couple house shows, and we've had a couple tag matches together on TV, but not a whole lot of contact," he said. "He is the man right now and I'd really like to get in there with him."

Kennedy has been on TV for the past month hyping the "Behind Enemy Lines" WWE film and defends the movie against critics of the movie. "It's just a fun action movie — nothing more, nothing less," he said.

"It's not going to win Oscars. It's not going to be Picture of the Year or anything like that, but it's a fun movie if you're in that type of mood."

Link: Baltimore Sun interview with Mr. Kennedy.

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