The Custom Made News Report 9.16.07
Posted by Ryan Byers on 09.16.2007
Talk of Simon Dean's departure, Jim Ross' contract status, a statement by TNA's president, TNA stars in Mexico, CHIKARA preview, and much more!
Welcome, one and all, to the Custom Made News Report. As always, I'm Ryan, and I'm ready to guide you through a weekend's worth of pro wrestling news from WWE, TNA, Japan, Mexico, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. indies. As I am writing this introduction, it appears that this may be one of the longer CMNR's in recent memory, so let's head straight to the news!
All the Stuff from Stamford
Ross Staying the Course?
With men like Crime Time, Simon Dean, and Eugene being fired by the company, men like Booker T. apparently quitting, and men like Ric Flair coming close to walking out, it's good to know that there is one long-time WWE employee who appears to be making an effort to stick around.
Jim Ross converses with Doctor Death.
According to an newsbit posted by F4WOnline, Jim Ross has recently entered in to negotiations with WWE so that the two sides might come to terms on a lengthy employment contract. This is true despite the fact that, several times over the last few years, WWE has seemingly wanted to get rid of Ross and his partner Jerry Lawler, going as far as contacting Ultimate Fighting Championship announcer Mike Goldberg to replace J.R. a couple of years ago. In fact, on a late August edition of Raw, Tazz was given a try-out in Jerry Lawler's spot as yet another attempt to see how a team other than Ross/Lawler would do on live television. Given WWE's constant inclination towards getting rid of Ross and Lawler, it seems bizarre that they suddenly want to lock the Oklahoma native in to a long-term deal, though it's not necessarily the case that Jim Ross being employed by WWE means Jim Ross calling Monday Night Raw. I personally wouldn't be surprised to see J.R. locked in to a WWE deal until he retires, only to be shunted to providing commentary for original programming on WWE 24/7 instead of working on the promotion's biggest show.
Details on Dean's Departure
By this point, everybody knows that Simon Dean, also known as Mike Bucci is done with World Wrestling Entertainment after being named as a client of Signature Pharmacy, an online entity that prescribed steroids, human growth hormone, and other drugs to wrestlers without first examining them. Many individuals concluded that Bucchi's release took place because he was a WWE executive (Bucci was in charge of the developmental program) on the list of Signature clients as opposed to simply being a wrestler on the list.
However, information was recently published in the Wrestling Observer about the shaky ground that Bucci stood on within WWE even before the drug story hit. Apparently there has been a lot of concern within WWE that the developmental system is not been churning out nearly enough talented wrestlers in recent years, an assessment that I completely agree with. (Although placing the blame for that problem entirely on Bucci is probably misguided, as Johnny Ace is the individual responsible for hiring the individuals who become a part of the developmental system.) Furthermore, Bucci hosted a seminar in April in which he met with several young wrestlers from Memphis and discussed with them what it took to be a member of the WWE roster. What do you think that the former Super Nova emphasized during that lecture? Wrestling ability? Mic skills? No, according to the Observer, he outright told this group of youngsters that WWE's hiring decisions are based primarily on looks and that the should do what needs to be done in order to develop the sort of body that WWE desires. Though some might interpret this as a message about hitting the gym more often, apparently higher ups in the E were under the impression that Bucci was hinting that the wrestlers needed to be on steroids in order to be a superstar on Raw. Though this incident took place before WWE had come under major media scrutiny as a result of the Benoit murders and the Signature scandal, that sort of talk was still not looked upon highly and lead to Bucci being on thin ice even before his name was linked to an online pharmacy.
Drugs & Developmental
LET'S TALK MORE ABOUT WELLNESS! Yeah!
For all of the talk that's been going on about drugs in WWE, not much as been said about what sort of testing goes on in WWE's developmental leagues, Ohio Valley Wrestling and Florida Championship Wrestling. According to F4W Online, drug testing has been going on in developmental for quite some time despite the fact that it has not been expressly addressed in WWE's Wellness Policy. Frankly, I was glad to hear this news, particularly when combined with changes to the Wellness Policy a couple of weeks back in which talent wishing to join WWE needs to pass a drug test before their contract with the company can be signed. Obviously, cutting down on drug use in professional wrestling in any way is appreciated. However, there is something more significant about the developmental drug policy and the pre-signing test. If WWE truly is serious about eliminating the steroid and HGH use in their company, these steps are crucial. They can now guarantee that an individual is clean upon signing him to a developmental deal and monitor the progress that he makes as a professional wrestler without the use of banned substances. They don't have to worry about an individual who is "WWE size" in developmental suddenly deflating once he's called up to the main roster and subjected to tests four times per year. This move gets a thumbs up from yours truly, though WWE's claims that they want to clean up their locker room remain somewhat dubious.
The Word from Dixieland
Carter Appearance Underwhelming
TNA President Dixie Carter made an appearance on the most recent edition of TNA Today, an internet exclusive program that Total Nonstop Action runs on YouTube. (They also embed it on the main page of the company's website, meaning that it starts to load every time you visit the page. Obnoxious.) Numerous wrestling websites treated this story like it was HUGE NEWS~!, but those websites were wrong. Though I'm sure Dixie Carter is an upstanding human being and would make a fine dinner companion, the appearance amounted to nothing more than the Panda Energy exec standing around with Jeremy Borash and exchanging pleasantries. Topics discussed included:
~ Dixie thinks that Bound for Glory will be a GOOD SHOW!
~ Dixie thinks that Impact's expansion to two hours will be GOOD FOR THE PROMOTION!
~ Dixie thinks that the TNA video game will be THE BEST FIGHTING GAME EVER!
~ Dixie thinks that TNA fans are AWESOME!
Honestly, I don't understand what the point of this appearance was. If the promotion is putting Dixie Carter on an internet-only broadcast, clearly they're trying to cater to hardcore wrestling fans, as the more casual wrestling fan is a.) not going to watch a show on YouTube and b.) doesn't know who Dixie Carter is, since she's never been acknowledged in any major way on Impact. Now, I'm not expecting TNA to go out there on its own show and tackle hard-hitting questions that may make the company look bad (e.g. why they have yet to turn a profit), but one would think that, in an interview targeted at fans who are in the know, the company wouldn't run such a blatant fluff piece. Standing around and talking about how great the promotion is to a group of people who are already hooked in to watching it doesn't accomplish much aside from wasting everybody's time.
Basic Economics
A few weeks back, TNA cut some fat by letting go five or six wrestlers that they weren't doing much with. A few of these releases made sense (Spike Dudley), while I was slightly annoyed by others (Michael Shane). The most surprising departure to several people was Jerry Lynn, and the Wrestling Observer recently provided some insight as to why the veteran wrestler left the company after working with them since their first show (their first match, in fact) in 2002.
It turns out that Lynn left the company because he simply wasn't making enough money. He had been a road agent for the promotion, though TNA stopped using him in that capacity when he decided to make a return to the ring in January of this year. Without his agent pay, Lynn was only being paid by TNA when he actually worked on a show, and these appearances were dwindling as a result of the creative team focusing on other wrestlers. In fact, there were certain weekends in which Lynn actually LOST MONEY by being under TNA contract, as the promotion would require wrestlers to fly in to Orlando at least one day prior to a Sunday show. Despite being required to do this, Lynn would often not be used on the program, meaning that he not only missed out on a payoff for Sunday but also probably had a hard time finding work on Saturdays and/or Friday evenings due to his flight schedule.
Though he wasn't going to be a main eventer at any point, I think that Jerry Lynn was actually a pretty big loss for the company. If the promotion plans on once again focusing on the X Division as a part of their new two hour program, they need an experienced individual like Lynn around in order to compliment and teach the numerous young lightweight wrestlers who inhabit TNA's undercard. Lynn's departure also raises problems with TNA's current system of paying many of their wrestlers. If individuals are only going to be paid per appearance but are also going to be barred from working on independent wrestling shows with high levels of DVD distribution (e.g. Ring of Honor, Pro Wrestling Guerilla), TNA is essentially setting them up to make significantly less money than they could otherwise. Though hopefully this problem will be alleviated somewhat by TNA's increasing house show schedule and two hour television program, the company may want to think about instituting a small amount of minimum pay per month if they wish to keep some of these men under their employ.
The 300 Word or Less DVD Review
In this segment of the column, I attempt to review wrestling DVDs in three hundred words or less, with the idea being that I enjoy reviewing shows but don't have the time to make them as long as I otherwise would. The three hundred word limit begins . . . now.
Ric Flair & The Four Horsemen (Disc 1)
Documentary: The first half was great, as the glory days of the Horsemen were recapped, complete with interviews from Windham, Blanchard, and Dillon. No Ole. The second half is depressing, though, as it goes from "Hey, remember this awesome time in professional wrestling?" to "This is how WCW took a top-notch concept and proceeded to screw it up for ten straight years." They try to go back to the glory days at the end, but it wasn't all that effective. I would've preferred 90% of the feature being about the early Horsemen and 10% being about everything from Sid Vicious onward.
Documentary Deleted Scenes: These are a bunch of quick stories that didn't fit anywhere in the main narrative. The highlight is J.J. turning bruising from surgery in to an angle. That's the kind of thing nobody does anymore.
Four Horsemen Vitamins: A wacky featurette about Crockett selling Horseman-themed vitamins, despite the fact that they were heels. Insert steroid joke about wrestlers selling "vitamins" here.
Four Horsemen Interviews: This is a longer deleted section of the documentary which goes in depth on the group's promos. I don't understand how they couldn't have worked this in to the main feature, but it's entertaining regardless of where it appears.
J.J.'s Pre-War Games Match: Dillon works a job guy before War Games. Even though he's a trained wrestler, he went out of his way to look incompetent to get heat. J.J. doing all of the Horsemen's signature moves (and intentionally doing them poorly) is a riot.
Overall: This was a fine start to a WWE DVD, criticisms about the documentary aside. It's already a good release, and, if the matches on the second half deliver, it could be great. Disc two is next week!
Foreign Fanatics
Monday Night AAA
As was mentioned in passing last week, Triple A, Mexico's largest wrestling promotion, will be having one of its biggest shows of the year on Monday night. Though I don't quite have the time to do a complete rundown of the card, we do have a good deal of involvement from wrestlers familiar to those of us in the United States, so I thought that I'd take a look at some of the more recognizable names who are appearing on the card.
The most prominent of these individuals is Ricky Banderas, who is the former World Heavyweight Champion of MTV's short-lived Wrestling Society X promotion and who recently made his on-screen debut with TNA as Judas Mesias. He will be competing in a match to determine who will be the first ever AAA Heavyweight Champion. This could actually be a huge moment in the history of AAA specifically and even lucha generally, as traditionally Mexican wrestling has not had strong singles champions who are the focal point of the promotion as we're used to seeing in the United States. However, AAA has decided that now is the time for them to crown such a champion, though it remains to be seen whether the promotion will actually follow through on that plan. If they do and the championship concept is successful, it could lead to a major shift in the focus of lucha.
Elsewhere on the show, Juventud Guerrera will be leading his Mexicools knockoff stable the "Mexican Powers" in to battle. The Powers will be represented by Juvi, Crazy Boy (Super Crazy's Cousin), Extreme Tiger, and Joe Lider, and their opposition will be team of the AAA version of Psicosis (who is not the original), Mr. Niebla, Antifaz, and Histeria, with the final two having recently returned from a tour with Japan's Pro Wrestling NOAH. Luchador Abismo Negro will head up a team composed entirely of United States transplants, as he takes Kenzo Suzuki, Sabu, and Ron "The Truth" Killings up against the AAA version of La Parka (also not the original), Laredo Kid, Latin Lover, and NOAH regular Ricky Marvin. Rounding out the card is former WCW star Super Calo who, after being unmasked recently, will team up with his brothers Chris and Alan Stone against Decnis, Scorpio Jr., and Zumbido.
One individual who will not be on this show is Scott Hall. Though there was talk of bringing him in, there were apparently transportation issues, which resulted in Hall being stuck in Puerto Rico. Because of this, he'll work for P.R.'s World Wrestling Council in a main event that sees him teaming with former TNA star Apolo against Eddie and Orlando Colon, two of Carlito's brothers.
Not Just Joe
Several days ago, news broke that Samoa Joe will be working his first two dates for Pro Wrestling NOAH on October 25 and October 27, with the second date being a shot at the GHC Heavyweight Title, which at that time should either be held by Mitsuhara Misawa or Naomichi Marufuji (with the far more likely candidate being Misawa). In the online furor surrounding the news of Joe's trip, the names of the other foreigners who are on the tour got lost in the shuffle, so I thought that it would be a good idea to run down the names of the other individuals from the western hemisphere who will be on the show alongside our Samoan Submission Machine. The following men will be on all of the NOAH shows for the month of October as opposed to Joe, who will only be there for the two dates listed above.
~ Bison Smith – Smith came out of nowhere to dominate on the California indy circuit in 1998, competing in Northern California's All Pro Wrestling and Southern California's Ultimate Pro Wrestling after training under the watchful eyes of Mike Modest and Donovan Morgan in Pro Wrestling IRON. Though IRON has since closed its doors and Modest and Morgan have retired from the business, Smith is still active and stands as the testament to the talent of those men and the quality of the promotion that they ran. Smith is now considered NOAH's top foreigner and is one of the only Americans to receive the opportunity to challenge for the GHC Heavyweight Title, which he did in 2003 and again in June 2007.
~ Doug Williams – Big Brit Doug Williams has been making trips to NOAH since 2003, and during that time he has developed in to one of the more formidable foreign members of the company's roster. Though he has yet to taste singles gold, the Anarchist did manage to have a five month reign as one half of the GHC Tag Team Champions in 2005, as he teamed with Too Cold Scorpio to take out the legendary Misawa and Yoshinari Ogawa. Williams also recently scored a victory over Ogawa in singles action, which may be an indication that he is ready to take a step up and become a bigger threat in one-on-one competition.
Doug Williams
~ D-Lo Brown & Bull Buchanan – D-Lo and Bull Buchanan, two men who haven't been seen in WWE rings since 2003, have been making waves in Japan ever since their departure from the United States. They got their start in All Japan Pro Wrestling with TAKA Michinoku before jumping to NOAH in early May of this year. With TAKA still by their side, Brown & Buchanan formed a formidable tag team and plowed through much of the NOAH roster en route to receiving a shot at the GHC Tag Team Titles on June 8 against Jun Akiyama and Takeshi Rikio. Though the former WWE stars were unsuccessful in their initial bid for the straps, Rikio and Akiyama will need to be careful if Buchanan and Brown decide that their hearts are still set on holding gold.
~ Bobby Fish – Fish is a New York-based independent wrestler who was trained by Tony DeVito, formerly of Da Baldies in ECW and the Carnage Crew in Ring of Honor. Fish first received the opportunity to compete in NOAH when he participated in a camp hosted by Harley Race's World League Wrestling in 2005. In his two prior tours with the company, the youngster has not managed to rack up that many victories, but he has impressed several people with his in-ring skills and may be able to break through this time around.
Best PAC in Wrestling Scores Big
I'm not talking about Sean "X-Pac" Waltman, and I'm definitely not talking about Adam "Pac-Man" Jones. I'm talking about just plain old PAC, the independent wrestler from the United Kingdom who has recently been making waves in virtually every important independent promotion in the United States, including ROH, PWG, and CHIKARA. Yesterday in Japan, PAC continued his current tour with the Dragon Gate promotion and was successful in wrestling the wXw Lightweight Championship away from Dragon Kid, one of Dragon Gate's top stars. wXw, which is the single largest wrestling promotions in Germany and one of the largest promotions in all of Europe, was shocked when Kid managed to wrestle away their Lightweight Championship from PAC on a card held in Essen, German in July. This victory isn't just big because it's a title win, though. It also highlights just how much demand the young wrestler is in. He's a British wrestler, who, shortly after coming through America for several shows, traveled to wrestle in Japan, where he won the championship of a German company. PAC-fever is sweeping the globe, and I have to wonder how long it will be before a company like TNA takes notice and tries to get this young man under contract.
Random Video Interlude
There's not a heck of a lot of surviving wrestling footage from the 1950's. There's even less surviving women's wrestling footage from the 1950's. Thus, I figured that I'd provide you all with a look at this treat, a clip from a 1954 match pitting Penny Banner against June Byers. (Relation? I'll leave you to figure that out.) It starts a little bit slow, but check out the big bump by Banner in the second half, as well as the knee strike thrown by grandma.
Indy-Sent Headlines
September Huge for CHIKARA
Earlier this week, I posted a review of CHIKARA's second pod per view event. The PPV concept, in which the indy promotion makes a forty minute show available online for a nominal fee, is just one of many unique ideas that the company has had in order to differentiate itself from other independent brands currently on the market. In addition to the pod per view, several other events are taking place in CHIKARA that could make September 2007 in to one of the young promotion's biggest months in history.
Though the company is no doubt getting a lot of exposure on iTunes – both through the pod per view and through its free weekly video podcast, they will soon be able to tap in to a whole new fanbase, as it was announced that, in November, CHIKARA will be releasing its first DVD that will be available in retail stores across the country. The disc, which is a "Best Of" compilation featuring the greatest CHIKARA bouts from the last several years, is scheduled to be released in early November. It can already be pre-ordered through Amazon or through Deep Discount, with a very reasonable price tag of $9.99 at the first site and $6.09 at the second. I've already seen a couple of the matches on the DVD, and I would say that they alone are worth the purchase at that price. (And, if you want to see any of the DVD-R's that CHIKARA has put out prior to this national release, take a look at Smart Mark Video.)
But the CHIKARA news doesn't just revolve around the release of previously taped matches through the internet or through DVD. Oh no. The company continues to produce a fine live product as well, and one of their signature events will be taking place six days from today. On September 22 at 7:00 PM in the former ECW Arena, CHIKARA will unleash "Cibernetico & Robin," a show featuring their fourth annual Torneo Cibernetico match. What is a Torneo Cibernetico, you ask? You'll find out at the end of this preview of the entire card.
Moscow the Communist Bovine vs. Moohammad: Well, this is the sort of match that you're only going to see in CHIKARA. Moscow was formerly known as Create-a-Wrestler, the only grappler that I'm aware of who hailed from "Wherever you want him to be from" and weighed in at "Whatever you want him to weight." After a contest was held in which fans received the opportunity to create his gimmick, he was repackaged as Moscow, the Communist Bovine. However, Moscow attracted attention from other grappling cattle. Moohammad, a Muslim cow who is a mainstay in the obscure promotion Inter Species Wrestling, caught wind of the new hooved grappler and appeared at a recent CHIKARA event to cost Moscow a match. Now the bovine battlers will head to the ring and face off mano-a-mancow, though the history between the two remains obscured by a shroud of mystery.
Super Xtremo vs. Kris Chambers: Xtremo and Chambers are both on loan from the Canadian independent scene. I believe that this is Chambers' CHIKARA debut, while Xtremeo first made his mark on the promotion during June's Young Lions' Cup Event. Though he was unable to score a victory in either of his matches during Young Lions weekend, Xtremo was impressive enough in the ring that CHIKARA officials decided to welcome him back. The youngster, who was trained in the same wrestling school that produced the likes of Gail Kim and Traci Brooks, looks to finally make a big impact on the United States scene.
Mike Quackenbush vs. Tim Donst: Everybody knows and loves Mike Quackenbush. He's the owner of CHIKARA, the lead trainer of their school, a twelve year veteran, a Ring of Honor star, and the reigning NWA Junior Heavyweight Champion. Not as many people have heard of Tim Donst, though he has been hanging around CHIKARA's school and shows for the last three years or so. Recently he has developed the reputation of being a plucky underdog, as he's been completely decimated by but kept fighting back against much larger challengers in the form of Eddie Kingston and Brodie Lee. Now, after he's gained a bit of popularity amongst the promotion's diehard fans, we will get to see what Donst is capable of against an opponent who is closer to his own size. Though Timmy could do a lot to prove himself here, the smart money is still on Quack.
Incoherence vs. The Order of the Neo-Solar Temple: Incoherence is the year and a half old team of Delirious and Hallowicked, which was formed quite accidentally at last year's Tag World Grand Prix. Though they didn't choose each other as partners, the green and black attack has been a force to be reckoned with in CHIKARA's tag team division. Equally formidable is the Order of the Neo-Solar Temple, who, after the Kings of Wrestling, have to be considered the company's number two rudo faction. In this match, the Order will be represented by UltraMantis Black and Hydra, which puts quite the spin on things since Wicked and Mantis were partners quite some time ago in the now-defunct Dark Breed faction. How their knowledge of each other affects this match will be interesting indeed. It should also be noted that this match has a bearing on the tag team rankings in CHIKARA. In order to receive a shot at the promotion's Tag Titles, a team must first score three consecutive wins without being defeated. The winner of this match will have two victories and be one away from a title shot, whereas the loser will be reset to zero and head to the bottom of the contenders' pool.
Shane Storm & Jigsaw vs. The Osirian Portal: Nobody knows who or what the Osirian Portal is. They've presumably never appeared in CHIKARA before, and the graphic on the company's website advertising this match shows nothing but a pair of cartoon ankhs with eyes. However, if they're going to debut, they may as well debut against the best, which is what many CHIKARA fans would consider ShaneSaw to be. They're one of the most successful tag teams in the promotion and got a big shot in the arm this year when they won the inaugural King of Trios tournament alongside Mike Quackenbush. This match will be an important one for the Storm/Jigsaw pairing, as a win here would give them their third straight victory and thus earn them a shot at the titles held by Icarus and Gran Akuma.
The Colony vs. BLK Out: Fire Ant, Solider Ant, and Worker Ant, collectively known as the Colony, have made quite the name for themselves after spending a little over a year in CHIKARA. A big part of building that name has come at the expense of BLK Out, as the ants hold two big upset victories over the streetwise brawlers. In this match, the BLK Out unit of Joker, Sabian, and "King of Diamonds" Eddie Kingston hopes to save a little bit of face by showing the world that they can beat the insects.
Sixteen Man Torneo Cibernetico: For many months in CHIKARA, bad blood as been brewing between Mitch Ryder and Lince Dorado. Ryder, a veteran wrestler from Indiana, has had many negative things to say about young luchador Lince. In fact, some would consider a few of his comments to be outright racist. It was decided that the animosity between the two men could only be settled in one way – the Torneo Cibernetico, a match that CHIKARA plucked from the world of lucha libre and turned in to one of its signature events. In the Cibernetico, two teams of eight men collide in an elimination match. Each team has a designated "batting order," and the wrestlers can only tag in using that order (i.e. the first wrestler can only tag the second, the second can only tag the third, and so on). If an entire team is eliminated, the remaining members of the surviving team must do battle, as there can only be one winner of the Cibernetico.
Though it sounds a bit complicated, the Cibernetico is easy to follow and has produced some excellent matches that have lasted upwards of one hour. Who will be joining Lince and Ryder in this battle? Not surprisingly, Ryder has assembled his team from the King of Wrestling, the heel mega-stable of which he is a member. Joining him in the Cibernetico will be Shayne Hawke,
veteran star Chris Hero, Young Lions Cup Champion Chuck Taylor, "Sweet n' Sour" Larry Sweeney, and the reigning CHIKARA Campeones de Parejas, Team F.I.S.T. KOW member Max Boyer was left out in the cold due to the fact that a ninth spot was not available, and it remains to be seen how the young Canadian star will react to that news. On the opposite side of the ring, Lince Dorado will be joined by seven of his countrymen who all hope to show Ryder that Mexico is worth something. CHIKARA regulars Equinox and Los Ice Creams will provide the backbone for Lince's Latin American all-star team, and they will be joined by a few special guests. Los Chivas, a team of soccer playing goats who made their CHIKARA debut at the group's last weekend of shows will be on board, as will Incognito and Magno, two Juarez-area wrestlers who fans may remember from TNA's most recent installment of the World X Cup.
With a heated rivalry, new wrestlers debuting, and possible tension in the Kings of Wrestling, the Torneo Cibernetico promises to be one of the most exciting matches of the CHIKARA season. If you're near Philadelphia and would like to check it out, tickets are still available through CHIKARAPro.com.
Article Questions Blair's Political Future, Recaps Wrestling Past
The Tampa Tribune recently ran an article on former Killer Bee and Iron Sheik antagonist B. Brian Blair, who has been serving as a part of the Hillsborough County Commission in recent years. In his elected position as a commissioner, Blair is in part responsible for determining whether various corporations will be able to develop land in the area. According to the article, the good friend of Hulk Hogan has built a reputation for being anti-environment and a lapdog of big business in the area. On top of that, he apparently doesn't mince his words, making public comments about other county officials that have been somewhat terse and ultimately resulted in apologies being issued by Blair's camp. Though the article doesn't explicitly state this, there is a strong implication throughout that, when Blair runs for reelection in 2008, he will have trouble keeping his spot. (And that's not just a liver spot or your dog Spot . . . it's HIS spot.)
The article also contained an interesting story about Blair's retirement from the ring that I had not previously heard. Apparently Blair claims that he was forced to leave wrestling in 2002, after he slipped on a tray of dirty dishes in a Florida restaurant. He sued based on the injuries that he supposedly received, and, though the case was settled before it could go to trial, the public became aware that Blair was legally intoxicated while the accident took place and that he competed in wrestling matches in Japan after he claimed that his career had been ended. Yup, sounds like a politician to me.
Following Up
Here are a couple of small updates to stories that I have discussed in previous editions of the report:
~ Last week, I had a lengthy bit on Victoria responding to accusations that WWE Divas use drugs to shape their physiques. It should be noted that, in addition to Victoria's response, Torrie Wilson wrote a similar note on her website.
~ Travis Tomko has landed in Japan after cancelling some NJPW dates to appear at last week's TNA PPV and the Impact tapings for the next three weeks. Tomko is 2-1 since returning to the Land of the Rising Sun, as he and co-IWGP Tag Team Champion Giant Bernard defeated Togi Makabe and Tomoaki Honma on Thursday and formed a six man team with Milano Collection AT to defeat IWGP Champion Yuji Nagata, Manabu Nakanishi, and Naofumi Yamamoto in the main event of Saturday's show. Unfortunately, the Tomko/Bernard/Milano unit was not as successful on Friday, as the trio of Nagata, Nakanishi, and Takashi Iizuka was able to defeat them in the Maebashi Green Dome Sub Arena.
Wrapping Up
And that does it for another week of Custom Made News. Though a couple of editions have been longer due to readers' letters, I believe that this may be the most that I personally have ever written for the column, so you're probably tired of me by this point. However, if you're not for some reason, I've got plenty of other content out there on the internet that you can feel free to check out, including:
~ My review of this week's CHIKARA Pod Per View event.
~ A guest appearance in the Movies Zone, where I reviewed a film starring Sally Field of all people. Join me as I take a look at Two Weeks.
~ As always, I rant about TNA's weekly show in the Impact Crater, and this week be sure to check out my special request for reader input.
~ Last but not least is the MySpace blog, which I swear will actually be updated sometime this week. You can add me as a friend to get a notification of when that happens.
