by James Caldwell, Assistant editor

PWTorch.com Weekend News Report - 1/19
-- News, Views, and Results from the weekend

Top Five News

(1) Victoria retirement airs on Smackdown. After losing to former Divas champion Michelle McCool in an abrupt WWE retirement match on Smackdown, Victoria gave a tearful speech off TV, then took a victory lap around the ring. Victoria explained on myspace that she was not in agreement with the direction of her character on TV and wanted out of wrestling all together. READ MORE:
-- Victoria explains retirement
-- Victoria's off-TV retirement speech
-- Michelle McCool blogs on Victoria's retirement
-- Jim Ross blogs on Victoria's sudden retirement

(2) Pro wrestler found dead at age 33. Independent wrestler Paul Fuchs, known as Paul E. Normous, was found dead at his parents home in New York on Friday morning. Fuchs was 33 years old. Police were called to the house at 5:20 a.m. on Friday morning when Fuchs was found "unresponsive." ... READ MORE

(3) Debut movie trailer for John Cena's movie. WWE Studios released the debut movie trailer for "12 Rounds," starring John Cena. ... READ MORE w/VIDEO of trailer

(4) PWTorch.com Exclusive Report - Health Update on Scott Steiner. Steiner certainly has aches and pains from a very lengthy career in pro and amateur wrestling but friends say he trains harder than mos wrestlers and does not rely on painkillers to ease the pain. "Does he have aches and pains? Yes, however he does not drink alcohol or indulge in numbing amounts of painkillers like so many do to numb their pain," said a close friend of Steiner's. ... READ MORE - Exclusive Report

(5) "THE WRESTLER" Tops $5.0 million. "The Wrestler" officially topped $5.0 million in ticket sales on Sunday. The movie expanded to 144 theaters this weekend and averaged $5,236 per theater on Saturday. That was the highest per-theater average of any movie out in the U.S. this weekend. READ MORE: "The Wrestler"

***

Select Results

1/16 TNA in Dublin, Ireland: First night of TNA's U.K. tour with Kurt Angle defeating A.J. Styles in the main event. ... Samoa Joe surprise return. FULL RESULTS

1/16 ROH in Manassas, Va.: Main event was Tyler Black defeating ROH World Champion Nigel McGuinness in 19:00 in a non-title match. ... Jimmy Jacobs defeated Bryan Danielson in the semi-main event. FULL RESULTS

1/17 WWE in LaCrosse, Wis.: John Cena & Rey Mysterio defeat Randy Orton's Legacy group in a main event handicap match. ... Jack Swagger makes first weekend rounds as ECW champion, wrestling against Tommy Dreamer. FULL RESULTS

1/17 ROH in Edison, N.J.: Austin Aries returns and puts off his scheduled ROH Title match in favor of a three-way match. ... Bryan Danielson loses again, this time clean to Jerry Lynn. ... Nigel vs. Black goes to a time-limit draw for the ROH Title. FULL RESULTS

1/18 WWE in Madison, Wis.: Cena & Rey vs. Legacy again, Swagger vs. Dreamer again, Prominent Raw diva begins heel turn, and Santino loses a pose-down, then a match. FULL RESULTS

***

VIEWS

-- RICK GARDNER'S "KEY MOMENT OF THE WEEK" on Steve Austin in the Hall of Fame. Excerpt: "... The WWE Hall of Fame offers an opportunity for Steve Austin to bow out without risking his health, although whether that will satisfy the millions of fans who want to see him have one last match is another issue. Steve Austin should stay strong, and content himself by looking back on a fantastic career rather than risk tarnishing it." READ MORE: Gardner's column

-- WWE Smackdown - "Under the Microscope"

-- WWE Smackdown Hits & Misses

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