by James Caldwell, Assistant editor

NEWS

Other News: MTV interview with Rourke and Aronofsky - insider details on the deli scene in "The Wrestler" (w/VIDEO)

Darren Aronofsky, the director of "The Wrestler," made himself very well-known this past Sunday when he shot a middle finger to Mickey Rourke during Rourke's acceptance speech for Best Actor at the Golden Globes awards shows on NBC.

It could have been taken as a sign of disrespect, but based on their tight-knit relationship after filming and promoting the movie, the gesture should be considered merely part of the back-and-forth between the lead actor and the director who pushed and pushed Rourke every day of filming.

"It had been a long time since I gave all of myself to a project," Rourke told MTV's Kurt Loder inside MTV Studios during a recent interview.

While Rourke went into relaxed mode for the interview, Aronofsky eagerly talked about the strict filming requirements to get the movie done within the miniscule budget.

Aronofsky described the "Borat" style of filmmaking for the wrestling scenes, where they used one camera and had to rehearse the match action ahead of time to get the key scenes done in one or two takes.

One of the key scenes in the movie came outside of the ring, though, when Rourke was shown working at a local deli. Aronofsky talks about not having the money to close down the market or meat counter, so there was plenty of improvisation with real people.

"A woman asking for friend chicken was a real woman asking for fried chicken," Aronofsky said. He says filming the scene made for a tough personal day for Rourke, however.

"The shame of having to be doing something that you feel is degrading," Rourke explained. "I begged Darren can't he (Randy "the Ram" Robinson) just be a dishwasher where he doesn't have to relate to the people?"

Aronofsky says one of the keys to the scenes is Rourke's character cracking jokes to relieve tension on the outside, but the pain is still evident beneath the surface.

"You can see underneath all the jokes he's making that he's hurting," Aronofsky said.

Link: Aronofsky and Rourke MTV interview.

Video Selection below: Video of the four-part mini-interview with Aronofsky and Rourke at MTV News studios.



***

WWE News: Very surprising ECW TV rating for last night's Hardy vs. Swagger title match

WWE actually hyped a significant World Title match between then-ECW champion Matt Hardy and the new ECW champion Jack Swagger, but the results didn't come in as expected.

Last night's ECW on Sci-Fi broadcast scored a surprisingly low 1.1 rating and averaged 1.47 million viewers. Although we don't have a rating for last week's show for comparison purposes, the rating is a huge drop from the December 30 show, which averaged 1.93 million viewers.

The audience level hasn't been this low for an episode of ECW since the Nov. 4, 2008 show two months ago, which averaged 1.29 million viewers.

Caldwell's Analysis: I was stunned when I saw the numbers come over for less then 1.5 million viewers tuning in for an advertised ECW Title match, but the show was up against the season premiere of American Idol on FOX. It didn't help that hardly anything happened in the first-half of the show before Tommy Dreamer's retirement quest speech, and the show was filled with video packages.

***

Other News: Bret Hart interview part 4 - Review of "The Wrestler" movie; evaluation of Harry Smith and Teddy Hart

As a future film student and author of a best-selling book, former WWE champion Bret Hart is looking forward to watching "The Wrestler" movie to see how the story of certain aspects of the wrestling business unfolds.

Although Hart believes the producers and director Darren Aronofsky "got the lifestyle down" from what he's heard, he's not sure if they accurately captured the highs of being a pro wrestler to complement the lows.

"I never found myself as a broken down, down-and-out, miserable wreck of a human being," Hart said on the Ringside Live radio show. "I escaped a pretty lousy ending.

Hart says he wrestled in huge arenas and lived a pretty good career in wrestling as an international star, and he went through trials with his stroke, but he's still able to function and live a normal life beyond the wrestling career that took up the first-half of his life.

Although he's removed himself from the wrestling business depicted in the movie, Hart says he still has a vested interest in watching Harry (D.H.) Smith and Teddy Hart's wrestling careers. Hart is confident Teddy's experiences in Mexico will help him mature and be humbled enough to listen to what people in WWE are telling him should he receive another opportunity.

As for Harry Smith, who is rumored to be returning to national WWE TV soon, Hart says he needs to show some personality and find a confidence boost within himself.

"Looking at him to come out of his shell a little bit and show some personality," Hart said about his nephew, the son of Davey Boy Smith. "Character will come out of him over time. Big, nice kid who is shy."

Hart says the way in which WWE randomly debuted him on TV without a back-story or sense of importance to his star presence made Smith question his own abilities. Failing a drug test certainly didn't help Smith, but he believes Smith's ability will eventually take over.

"WWE took away from their own product when he was brought in and (they) didn't give him character development," Hart said. "WWE is guilty of breaking his confidence."

Link: Bret Hart interview with Ian Hamilton on Ringside Live.

***

Other News: Bret Hart interview part 3 - Interesting back-story on why Hart recorded events from his wrestling career

As detailed in part 1 of the Bret Hart interview recap, Hart is content going home and "being normal" outside of the public limelight to work on some novel ideas and attend film school in California this summer.

He said everything he needed to say about the wrestling business in his autobiography, which he says was the product of keeping a verbal diary on his now-famous micro cassette tapes for 16 years to record everything he saw and heard while in the wrestling business.

Hart says the reason why he started doing that when he first joined WWE in 1984 was because he didn't think his WWE career would last much longer than a brief run as a prelim wrestler, and he wanted to put down his thoughts and feelings while it lasted.

"When I first joined WWE, I didn't think I would be there very long," said Hart on the Ringside Live radio show. "Didn't think I'd be there more than four, five months."

Hart says having a record of the information from each time period of his career made it easier to provide accurate details for his book. He says he didn't have to wonder who was at the dinner table or what Andre the Giant said after a show that otherwise would be blocked from his personal memory.

"Have it on tape," he said. "I can assure you that everything in my book is pretty much accurate down to the last detail."

Link: Bret Hart interview with Ian Hamilton on Ringside Live.

***

Other News: Bret Hart interview part 2 - Shocking revelation on wrestling future if Montreal never happened

The wrestling business would be vastly different today if Survivor Series 1997 in Montreal never happened and if Bret Hart simply left WWE for WCW with a basic storyline write-off instead of losing the WWE Title when Vince McMahon went behind his back.

Who knows if Steve Austin's mega-stardom would have been the same without Vince McMahon being the strongest heel character in wrestling following McMahon's act of betrayal to Bret Hart. These are things that could be debated for some time.

One revelation from Bret Hart is that had Montreal never happened, he believes he would have ended up back in WWE anyways. In a post-Montreal wrestling world, it's hard to imagine Hart returning to WWE, but that could have been the case without the Survivor Series incident.

"My guess is that after a short of period of time, I would have ended up back in WWE," Hart said on the Ringside Live radio show. "Maybe even a year or two later. I don't think I was ever happy in WCW."

After lending his name to a WWE DVD project and appearing at the 2006 Hall of Fame induction at WrestleMania 22 in Chicago, he vowed never to work with WWE again and never appear before a paid WWE crowd.

Hart says the Hall of Fame acceptance was a year too early for him, personally, as he didn't feel he was ready. But, he felt it was necessary to show Vince McMahon he was willing to play ball.

"I needed to show him that I was at least trying to accommodate him in some ways," Hart said, but he'll "never work for them ever again."

Hart did put out feelers to WWE for a second DVD project, but he believes WWE has soured on that potential project after his book came out naming names, places, and events that cast WWE and certain people in a negative light. As a result, some wrestlers from WWE aren't returning his calls and he believes there could be "some injured feelings there."

Link: Bret Hart interview with Ian Hamilton on Ringside Live.

***

Other News: Bret Hart interview part 1 - who he would like to wrestle today; future in wrestling

Former WWE champion Bret Hart put a cap on his pro wrestling career at the end of last year when he completed a U.S. and international book signing tour to promote his recently-released autobiography.

For anyone wondering about future plans in wrestling, there aren't any, according to Hart, who says he is perfectly fine with his wrestling career coming to a close.

"For the most part, I don't miss it all," Hart told the Ringside Live radio show in a recent interview.

Hart says he still keeps up with WWE and TNA, but says it's not the same wrestling program he was a part of when today's shows feature too much talking on the mic instead of inside the ring.

"Talking is getting to be the phony part of wrestling," said Hart. He adds that WWE and TNA have turned into a bad soap opera and he can't buy into the over-scripted storylines.

The other bothersome thing for Hart is many wrestlers looking and wrestling the same way. The notable exception he said by name is Samoa Joe, who he says looks believable and is "different than everyone else."

Hart says if he were able to hypothetically get back in the ring, he would want to work with Randy Orton, John Cena, or Batista. Hart was complementary of Batista's fiery persona in the ring and Cena having an "interesting character."

Link: Bret Hart interview with Ian Hamilton on Ringside Live.

Caldwell's Analysis: One of the missing ingredients from today's wrestling environment is the lack of believable, credible veteran wrestlers in a position to make a future star. The last obvious moment of that happening was the Backlash 2004 PPV when Randy Orton became a star in a hardcore match against Mick Foley.

Finlay is a solid veteran who helped make Bobby Lashley a star and propelled Jack Swagger to an ECW Title reign last night, but he lacks the credibility to be a main eventer. Bret Hart would be the perfect respectable veteran who could take Randy Orton to another level working a program.

Meanwhile, Shawn Michaels is working a program that isn't establishing a younger talent, Chris Jericho had Lance Cade by his side, but Cade was never in a position to grow as a star, and Triple H hasn't been in a program to help make a young talent since the Spirit Squad debacle three years ago.

***

WWE News: Public outcry begins against Linda McMahon's board of education hiring

The governor of Connecticut appointed WWE CEO Linda McMahon to the state's board of education on Monday, prompting questions about whether McMahon is fit to serve in the education field.

Gov. M. Jodi Rell pointed to McMahon's business acumen as a reason for hiring, but "The Day" newspaper in Connecticut openly criticized the hire.

"Our disagreement is not with Ms. McMahon's business abilities, but rather her line of work," writes The Day. "Ms. McMahon has every right to run a business that sends such a message, but given her line of work we believe the governor erred in recommending her for a seat on the state school board."

The newspaper points to WWE's programming content - and the messages sent to children through that content - as the basis for their disagreement.

From The Day article: "Some lessons a child might learn from watching a WWE event: Being a violent bully is cool. Smashing someone over the head with a metal chair won't cause serious injury. Women are sex objects and attracted to the most brutish men. It's entertaining to make fun of people."

Link: The Day.com article source.

***

WWE News: Identity of "enhancement talent" against The Boogeyman on last night's ECW TV (w/VIDEO)

In the second match of last night's WWE: ECW on Sci-Fi broadcast, The Boogeyman easily defeated Sammy Savard in less than a minute.

Savard was the designated "enhancement talent" to make Boogeyman look somewhat decent in an over-matched match-up, but Savard's actual job in wrestling is a trainer for the new Gagne Wrestling Academy.

Savard works with Greg Gagne and Jim Brunzell in the Gagne school run out of the Minneapolis/St. Paul area. Information on the training school is available here. (Thanks to Torch specialist Brian Hoops for contributing.)

Video Selection below: Savard working with someone more his size on an independent show.



***

TNA News: Kevin Nash issues statement on missing TNA PPV; update on surgery recovery

TNA's Main Event Mafia star Kevin Nash was forced to miss the Genesis PPV on Sunday when he was hospitalized with a severe staph infection in his elbow. Nash is still in Charlotte, N.C. where the PPV was held as he awaits the results of the severity of the infection.

"I have some sort of infection in my right elbow; the culture has not come back yet," Nash wrote from his hospital room. "The doctors have been treating it as MRSA. For those of you who do not know, MRSA is an antibiotic-resistant infection. A mutated superbug. Lucky me."

Nash says the operation to cut upon his elbow to draw out blood occurred on Monday afternoon, which would be surgery number 27 for Nash in his career.

"Don't know when this will heal, depends on how my body reacts to the antibiotics," Nash said. "I have a gaping, open wound in my elbow, with the equivalent of a small ShopVac hooked up to it."

Missing the PPV was tough, Nash says, as he felt the Mafia storyline was starting to build momentum. He says his left arm should be okay to where he can return to the ring.

Link: Nash blog on TNA's websie.

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