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By Wade Keller, Torch editor

---WWE.com hypes tonight's ECW main event as follows: Maria's posing in Playboy has sparked debate across WWE and ECW. Some are for it; others are against it. One of those against it is Maria's own beau, Santino Marella. This week on ECW, he will take his debate to the Extreme when he visits ECW and teams with Layla in an tag team match against Kelly Kelly & the undefeated Kofi Kingston, who both favor Maria's appearance in Playboy. [Thanks to PWTorch.com reader Devin Cutting]

---TV Guide mentioned WWE twice in this week's issue with Oprah on the cover. PWTorch.com reader Jon Mezzera details those items: The first (minor mention) comes in Cheers & Jeers (TV guide's version of Hits & Misses:), in a Cheer for "Project Runway" for coming up with creative challenges for the contestents, specifically highlighting the recent episode when they had to design outfits for WWE Divas. The second (major mention) is under the Monday 2/25 Highlights section. It is a small article titled
"Lords of the Ring". The article starts out talking about how the 5-6 million weekly Raw viewers should not be ignored when thinking about the Monday ratings giants "Two and a Half Men" and "Deal or No Deal." Most of the article is about John Cena and he is also pictured. It details his early return from an injury at Royal Rumble and his title match against Randy Orton at No Way Out. This is the first time I remember seeing wrestling highlighted in TV Guide in years (other than the Benoit controversy). I remember during the Monday night wars TV Guide even had covers with both WCW and then later WWF wrestlers on it, but whatever respect wrestling had at the publication back then se.

---And finally, the following is a press release sent to PWTorch.com today by WWE regarding their relationship with Make-a-Wish:

PRESS RELEASE

World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. is strengthening its 20-year dedication to the Make-A-Wish Foundation of America and granting the wishes of children with life-threatening medical conditions with a new multi-year agreement announced Tuesday during a joint press conference at US Airways Center.

The partnership’s first act under the new, multi-year million dollar sponsorship commitment will be to hold the WWE®’s biggest wish-granting event ever at WrestleMania XXIV on March 30 in Orlando, Fla.

WWE and the Make-A-Wish Foundation will grant the wishes of more than 50 children during the course of the next five weeks, culminating in a star-filled experience hosted by WWE in Orlando during the weekend of WrestleMania XXIV. The children will meet their favorite WWE Superstars while participating in a weekend full of activities, including events at Universal Orlando® Resort, being officially inducted into the WWE Make-A-Wish “Circle of Champions” at the annual Bacon, Bagels and Biceps brunch sponsored by the David Mauss Foundation, which will make a donation to the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Central and Northern Florida, and attending WrestleMania

The Make-A-Wish Foundation also recognized WWE Superstar John Cena with an award to celebrate his 100th wish granted to a Make-A-Wish child. Modern-day superstars such as Cena and Rey Mysterio now carry the torch for WWE in its wish granting, following in the bighearted footsteps of past WWE Superstars such as Hulk Hogan, Stone Cold Steve Austin and The Rock.

WWE long has been one of the Make-A-Wish Foundation’s most enthusiastic wish granters, fulfilling hundreds of wishes in the past 20 years. In 2004, the Foundation paid tribute to WWE with its Chris Greicius Celebrity Award, which recognizes organizations and individuals from the entertainment and sports worlds for their inspirational wish-granting activities. Jesse Ventura (1991), Hogan (1994), Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson (2000) and WWE executive Sue Aitchison (2006) also have received the Chris Greicius Celebrity Award.

“WWE has been creating incredible wish experiences and providing in-kind support to the Make-A-Wish Foundation for the past two decades, and we’re honored to bring our relationship to a new level through this generous donation,” said David Williams, Make-A-Wish Foundation of America president and chief executive officer. “We’re also delighted to join with WWE to grant 50 kids’ wishes on the road to WrestleMania. It symbolizes the Foundation’s devotion to making wishes happen for children with life-threatening medical conditions in all 50 states.”

“For more than 20 years, WWE has had the honor to work with the Make-A-Wish Foundation to grant wishes to children, and now we’re taking that relationship to a new level,” said Vince McMahon, WWE Chairman. “There’s no better stage than WrestleMania to hold the WWE’s biggest wish event ever with the world’s pre-eminent chidren’s wish- granting organization.”

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