According to a commercial that aired locally last night during ECW the following talents are scheduled for the 6/22 house show in Cincinnati, Ohio: Kurt Angle, Booker T, “The Phenomenal” A.J. Styles, Scott Steiner, X Division Champion “Maple Leaf Muscle” Petey Williams, The Rock N’ Rave Infection, Curry Man, Kaz, “Cowboy” James Storm, Eric Young, Consequences Creed, Black Reign, Shark Boy, Angelina Love, “The Guru” Sonjay Dutt, Roxxi Laveaux, Velvet Sky and Abyss.

The 5/10 iMPACT! replay did a 0.4 rating.

ShopTNA.com is now featuring two variations of men’s TNA logo polo shirts.

Credit: ProWrestling.net

There has been very little buzz backstage in TNA about Bobby Lashley signing with the company. TNA management is still hopeful that he will sign with them because they see him as another big name with some star power. Lashley has also been in talks with the NWE promotion that runs in Spain and AAA out of Mexico.

Lashley has in fact been doing MMA training, but Kurt Angle and Booker T have been doing their best to recruit him for TNA. Angle has sounded very confident when talking about the odds of bringing Lashley in.

Most sources within TNA assume it’s only a matter of time before Lashley joins the roster, and the question is “when”, not “if”.

STAMFORD, Conn., May 12, 2008 – Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Hillary Clinton believes the greatest potential for new jobs for younger voters lies in alternative energy, innovation, and infrastructure and public sector jobs, according to her responses to WWE®’s Smackdown Your Vote! 18-30 Voter Issues Paper (VIP). The Smackdown Your Vote! initiative has encouraged millions of young adults to vote in federal, state and local elections.

“I believe that alternative energy, innovation and infrastructure have the potential to create millions of new, high-paying jobs for young adults,” said Sen. Clinton. “That is why I have committed to making investments in each of these sectors.”

Sen. Clinton is the first of the presidential candidates responding to the national Smackdown Your Vote! 18-30 VIP, which covers issues important to younger voters, such as the economy, health care, education, the Iraq war, energy and the environment. This is the second presidential cycle that Smackdown Your Vote! circulated the VIP to the major political candidates, all of whom responded in 2004.

On health care, Sen. Clinton said universal health care was a critical priority because too many young people without insurance face the prospects of dire economic circumstances if they get sick. “It is unconscionable that in the richest country in the world, in this day and age, some people die because they do not have health insurance,” she said. “It is unacceptable that insurance companies spend $50 billion a year on elaborate calculations and schemes to figure out how to avoid covering people and deny claims.”

On education, the senator said she had proposed a comprehensive plan to make college more affordable and accessible. “At the heart of my plan is a proposal to create a new $3,500 partially refundable college tax credit that would cover the full average cost of tuition at a community college and half the average cost of tuition at a public college or university,” said Sen. Clinton.

Sen. Clinton’s complete answers to the 18-30 VIP are attached and are posted on smackdownyourvote.com. The issue paper is being reviewed by the campaigns of Sen. Barack Obama and presumptive Republican candidate Sen. John McCain. The three candidates each provided special videotaped messages on a recent Monday Night RAW to promote their candidacies.

Additional information on World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. (NYSE: WWE) can be found at wwe.com and corporate.wwe.com. For information on our global activities, go to http://www.wwe.com/worldwide/

Credit: ProWrestling.net

Kurt Angle’s doctor has warned him to stop wrestling after his most recent neck injury aggravation. Angle considered going against doctor’s orders, but ultimately all parties involved felt that it was best for him to sit out. Multiple sources report that TNA officials spoke directly with Angle’s surgeon regarding his health.

Angle was in noticeable pain prior to the Sacrifice PPV on Sunday, but observers say that he looked like was feeling better at the Impact tapings.

The working plan at the Impact tapings continues to be for Angle to wrestle AJ Styles at Slammiversary. There are some in the company who are concerned that Angke will try to gut his way out through the match even if he’s not ready. Many within TNA are hoping that management will continue to look out for his best interests even if he is not willing to do so himself.

Credit: PWInsider.com

Impact Spoiler Report for 5/22:

-Homicide defeated Brother Ray by DQ. Brother Devon ran in to break it up. They started beating down Homicide until Hernandez ran in. Booker T then came out and Booker and 3D beat down LAX putting Homicide through a table and leaving both bleeding.

-Angelina Love defeated. ODB with some help from Velvet Sky. Afterwards they teased they were going to cut ODB’s hair until Roxxi made the save. Roxxi was going to try to cut Angelina’s hair until the referee took the machine away from hair. Roxxi then laid out Rudy Charles.

-Samoa Joe and Kevin Nash come to the ring and Joe announces the 4 people he chose. (I was mistaken yesterday and it is not an 8 man King of the Mountain match, it will be 4 and 8 were chosen to be in qualifying matches, sorry about the error). Jim Cornette picked 4 and Joe gets to pick the other 4. Cornette picked Tomko, James Storm, Robert Roode, and Matt Morgan) Joe then announces his picks, a man he faced all over the world and in different companies, AJ Styles. He also picks Rhino, Christian Cage, and Booker T. Nash was upset that he wasn’t picked since fans were chanting for him and he gives Joe a piece of his mind, then leaves the ring.

-King of the Mountain Qualifying Match: Robert Roode defeated Matt Morgan with his feet on the ropes.

-Kurt Angle comes to the ring and he brings out Karen to see if she will take him back. Angle says that now that Karen knows her role and priorities she should take him back. At one point Kurt asks if she is seeing AJ. Karen says that Kurt will never change and Kurt says he can change and gets on his knees and Karen walks out the ring leaving Angle.

-Jeremy Borash is in the ring and explains the rules of the King of the Mountain match. He is about to introduce the next qualifying match until Awesome Kong and Raisha Saeed come out with a briefcase. They issue an open challenge to any female in the crowd who can beat Kong would get $25,000. A plant in the crowd is chosen her name is Melissa ( I believe she is a student from Team 3D’s school). Kong destroys her easily for the win.

-King of the Mountain Qualifying Match: Booker T defeated AJ Styles. Tomko made his way down to the ring during the match, and when AJ went for a springboard Tomko pulled him down allowing Booker to get the win. After the match, Tomko and AJ went at it. Team 3D ran in and they started to beat down AJ. Booker joined in as well. Karen Angle runs down screaming for them to stop as AJ is bleeding. She leaves when Brother Ray shoves her out the ring, only to return with Kurt Angle, who has a steel chair. They clear the ring while Karen is attending to AJ. Brother Ray is yelling at Kurt to turn around and when he does he see’ Karen and AJ. Kurt proceeds to blast AJ with the chair. They continue the beatdown and it ends with the 5 of them posing. I thought it was good with lots of heat.

Xplosion: Motor City def. Black Reign and Rellik.

– WWE’s website posted a story on Rey Mysterio helping relief efforts in China following the 7.9 level earthquake in the Sichuan province earlier this week. The former World Heavyweight champion was already in China doing promotional work for the compnay when the quake struck. He’s now working with AmeriCares for relief effort. WWE has a link to make a donation to help the families of the victims and survivors.

– This week’s WWE RAW drew a 3.3 rating, up from last week’s 3.2. Although the rating is in line with the average rating the last several shows have drawn, it is the first time in a while that the rating has not dropped from the previous week.

– The season premiere of “American Gladiators” drew a low 2.9 rating, according to Zap2It.com.

– This week all of the big television networks have been holding press events to anounce their fall lineups. Yesterday the CW Network presenting its new line-up, which focuses strictly on the female demographic. Their big for the fall is be a re-make of Beverly Hills 90210. An article on Forbes.com mentions that CW Network President Dawn Ostroff took a shot at Smackdown when explaining why they let go of their top-rated show. “It is not a program that is going to break out any more. It is a program that is on the demise. It’s also a program that does not fit our brand.”

– Multichannel.com reports that TNT has overtaken the USA Network as the #1 rated cable network in primetime over the past 2 weeks. This has been thanks to the NBA playoffs. USA went 16 straight weeks as #1 to start the year.

Chuck Palumbo vs. CM Punk

Michelle McCool vs. Layla

Tag-Team Match
Big Show & Finlay vs. MVP & Mark Henry

Funaki vs. Vladimir Kozlov

Cherry vs. Maryse

Matt Hardy vs. Shelton Benjamin

6-on-1 Handicap Match
The Undertaker vs. La Familia (Edge, Vickie Guerrero, Ryder, Hawkins, Chavo Guerrero & Bam Neely)

Teddy Long, Deuce, Domino, Kofi Kingston, Mick Foley, Michael Cole will also be appearing on the show.

Complete WWE Friday Night SmackDown spoilers can be read at, this link.

PAGE 2: Major **SPOILERS** For Sunday’s WWE Judgement Day Now Online! [>>]

Highlights aired from last week of Colin Delaney beating Armando Estrada to earn an ECW contract.

ECW Opener:
Backstage, Armando asked Colin if he knew how lucky he was to beat him last week. He said he was an even bigger target now that he won the match. He presented Colin with his contract and asked him if he had second thoughts. Colin smiled and signed the contract. “Congratulations, amigo, I’m going to prove my point,” Estrada said. He booked Delaney in a match against Mike Knox…

CM Punk vs. The Miz
-Punk gets a standing waist-lock and slams Miz down on his stomach. They get back up, still with the waist lock and he takes Miz back to the mat. Again, Miz gets to his feet and this time makes it to the ropes. Punk comes back off the ropes with a sunset flip for 2. A couple of kicks from Punk lead to Miz getting whipped into the corner. Punk runs at him, but Miz gets the boot up and takes control. He mounts Punk and throws some right hands and proceeds to hit a series of forearms to the chest. Reverse chinlock time and Miz gets down in it. Punk right back up though now with a series of kicks. Miz returns with a dropkick to the back and literal clothesline using the ropes for 2.

-Miz sits back down in the chinlock. Back out of the hold Miz hits the running leaping clothesline in the corner. The chinlock is revisited with slight camel clutch styling. Punk wiggles out from it, but gets hit with a series of clotheslines. Miz runs at him again, but Punk pulls out the snap powerslam that’s so popular these days. Punks now back on offense with the whip in the corner and running knee. He goes for the bulldog, but Miz blocks it only to get hit with a roundhouse. A leg lariat by Punk leads to a 2 count. Miz with a roll-up now, and Punk bridges it and goes for a backslide. Miz counters that and runs off the ropes and gets caught into the GTS position. Miz slips out and hits the reality check for 3!

Winner: The Miz

- After the match Morrison came out on the ramp and celebrated with him, while Punk looked on in disbelief.

- Cherry, Kelly Kelly, and Michelle McCool are walking the halls. Adamle says they’re coming up in a 6-Diva tag.

McCool, Kelly, and Cherry vs. Layla, Victoria, and Natalya
McCool and Natalya open the bout. Natalya unloads with forearms in the corner, then tags in Victoria. She leg scissors McCool, then works over her arm. McCool backflips out of the corner, then kicks Victoria down. Cherry tagged in, then slid under for a sunset flip attempt.

Victoria ducked out of the ring, leavinga distracted Cherry to be clotheslined by Natalya in a sweet spot. Natalya (head and arms above everyone else in the working department it really seems) locks on an armbar. The heels continue to work on Cherry. Victoria hit a flip legdrop into the ring. Sabu would be proud. Victoria went for a spot but Cherry got her knees up. Victoria recovered, nailed the other face Divas, then locked on a front facelock to prevent a tag.

She went after the babyface corner again, and this time Cherry rolled her up for the pin.

Winners: McCool, Kelly, and Cherry

Lena Yada interviewed Shelton Benjamin and asked him about not being able to end Kofi Kingston’s undefeated streak. Benjamin said Kofi has a horseshoe where the sun doesn’t shine and he’s going to pull it out. He promised to beat Kofi. Kofi showed up and asked him if that was right, then wished him luck. Benjamin told him to get out of his interview time and shoved Kofi. Kingston tackled him into the wall, then stared down before walking away. Benjamin looked like he wanted to do something, but knew better than to try, so it was a staredown. Decent segment building their tension.

Mike Admale and Tazz discussed last night’s Raw, then ran a video feature.

Colin Delaney is taping up for his match against Mike Knox. He’s all alone, despite the fact that last week everyone was wishing him well backstage. I guess now that he’s a threat to their spot, they want to see him fail - hey, just like real life! They play a good Delaney video feature.

Colin Delaney vs. Mike Knox
Colin tried to start out fast but ate boot. Knox clotheslined him then powered him into the corner. Knox beat Colin down, then nailed him with his finisher for the pin.

Winner: Mike Knox!

Armando Estrada came out and announced that Colin just had his first match as a member of the ECW roster and would know wrestle the newest member of ECW, Armando. He kicked Colin in the head and announced that as General Manager, he signed himself as a wrestler to a lucrative contract.

Armando Estrada vs. Colin Delaney
Estrada beat Colin, then pinned him. Delaney was bleeding from the nose.

Winner: Armando Estrada!

John Morrison vs. Kane
Kane cleaned house early. Miz came to ringside. Morrison fought back. Kane took back over. Pretty basic. Morrison ducked a charge in the corner and worked him over with punches. Miz distracted Kane by grabbing his leg. That led to Punk coming out as they went to commercial.

When they return, Kane was choking out Morrison with a knee across the throat, then nailed a hangman’s neckbreaker. Kane cinched in a side chinlock. Morrison came back, working on Kane’s leg with kicks and a chop block from behind. Morrison went to the mat, working on the leg. Kane battled back with punches.

Kane fought his way to his feet but Morrison continued to work on the leg. He bridged the leg over the middle rope and dropped a knee across it. Morrison kept up the beating with leglocks and kicks. From a story standpoint, this was good stuff. Kane tried to kick Morrison off with the other leg, finally succeeding.

Kane made the white meat babyface comeback with punches and a running clothesline. He hopped across the ring to punch him in the corner. Morrison got caught with a sideslam for a two count. Kane went to the top rope and hit a flying clothesline. He called for the chokeslam. Miz got on the apron but Punk attacked him. Miz slammed Punk back-first into the ring steps. The referee stepped over to admonish them, allowing Morrison to nail Kane with the Tag strap, then hit a springboard enziguiri for the pin. Probably the biggest singles win of Morrison’s career.

Winner: John Morrison!

The champs put the boots to Kane. Punk made the save but was laid out as well. Show goes off the air.

Thanks to rvd331 & f4wonline.com:

I attended the Smackdown/ECW tapings tonight in Grand Rapids. Here is my report from the show. I’m not sure if everything on Smackdown is in the right order in my report, but everything that happened is there.

Them only dark match was Jimmy Wang Yang over Ted Dibiase jr. Match was ok.

WWE SmackDown (Airing This Friday At 9:00 PM EDT):

Show opened with La Familia. Edge cut a promo talking about how he was magically healed last week and will be the next world champion because Undertaker cannot use his illegal chokehold at Judgment Day. Teddy Long then came out. Vickie yelled at him for being late. Teddy said he was late because he was meeting with the board of directors. Vickie threatened to fire Teddy and then Teddy quit. Teddy then said that the board of directors have told Vickie that she must either face the Undertaker tonight or she will be fired.

CM Punk beat Chuck Polombo with the GTS. Match was pretty good. It was a back and forth even match up. Punk escaped Polombo’s finisher and hit the GTS moments later for the pin.

La famlia was talking backstage. They were trying to come up with a plan for tonight. MVP came in complaining about last weeks championship chase. Big Show and Finlay came in as well. Vicki signed Finlay and Big Show vs. MVP and a partner of his choice for later. Chavo then questioned Vickie about the championship chase last week as well.

Michelle McCool beat Layla. Match sucked. Michelle won with a leg lock after working over Layla’s leg during the match.

Batista came out and cut a promo. They showed the footage of HBK and Jericho from Raw. Batista said he was going to hurt Shawn next time he sees him. Batista implied that he would be at Judgment Day.

Vickie changed the main event to her, Edge, Chavo, Bam Neely, Ryder, and Hawkins vs. Undertaker in a 6 on 1 handicap match.

Big Show and Finlay beat MVP and Mark Henry. Match was good, especially when it was MVP and Finlay. Probably the best match on the show. Big show pinned MVP with the chokeslam.

Vladimir Koslov beat Funaki. This was a bad squash match. Koslov won with the reverse ddt.

Cherry beat Maryse. Duece and Domino came out with Maryse. Match was not very good. Cherry won with a bulldog. After the match Duece stared at Cherry as she walked up the ramp.

Backstage Kofi was talking with Matt Hardy. He congratulated on his new dvd and called him an inspiration. Shelton Benjamin then came in. He said he would beat Hardy tonight.

Matt Hardy beat Shelton Benjamin. Match was good. Matt won after he countered a suplex and hit the twist of fate.

Main event was next. I don’t know what the official decision was. When La Famlia came out Chavo and Bam Neely left them at the ramp way. This left Edge, Ryder, Hawkins, and Vickie vs. the Undertaker. They fought for a bit. Eventually Taker had Vickie alone in the ring. He went to chokeslam her but Edge hit a spear. Edge then got her out of the ring and pushed Vickie up the ramp in her wheelchair. Kane’s music then hit and he pushed Vickie back to ringside. Undertaker and Kane beat up everyone until it was down to just Vickie. Kane threw Vickie into the ring. Undertake teased a chokeslam, but eventually tombstoned Vickie.

I think this is where the Smackdown ended.

Kane and Undertaker celebrated for a while. Teddy Long came out. He and Kane danced. Mick Foley joined them. Then Michael Cole joined in as well.

Tony Chimmel thanked us for coming. At this point I left. Not sure if there was a dark match or not. I think as we were leaving Mick Foley was singing happy birthday to someone.

Other notes.

Crowd was into the show. They don’t come here for tv tapings often, so the crowd was into it. It wasn’t a sell out but it was a pretty good-sized crowd. The Hogan impersonator who was at Raw Monday was here as well. There were also two people in the front row dressed as clowns. The crowd pretty much cheered for who you would expect. Cm Punk and the Undertaker were especially over. Edge and Vickie had huge heat as well. There was a huge pop when Undertaker tombstoned Vickie. Show was enjoyable overall, although I’m not sure how many buys it sold for Judgment Day.

We’re taking another trip down under for this edition of The Two Sheds Review, with a return to Australia’s Wrestlerock promotion, as Carnish and Chris Knight battle it out over the big prize in Wrestlerock 9: Australia Day Massacre. Our announcers for the evening are Julian James and the returning Chris Fresh.

First up, former champion Lazer takes on Cletus. Cletus basically looks like an Australian farm boy, decked out in jeans and a sleeveless checked shirt. Apart from that I know nothing about him. The match begins with a press-ups showdown. Lazer challenged Cletus to stand on his back while he did his set, but the farm boy double-crossed him by launching himself off Lazer’s back and into a standing shooting star press. From there we get an extremely good opening contest between two men who were very well matched. As always, Lazer is impressive, but Cletus is just as good as his opponent in this one, especially with his high-flying moves, including a hurricanrana off the second rope, jumping onto his opponent’s shoulders while he was in the middle of the ring. Mention must also be made of Lazer press-slamming Cletus over the top rope and into the front row. But no matter what they did to each other, neither man could get the pin, moves off the top rope, high impact stuff like a TKO, a TKO off the top rope, sleeper hold, none of it worked. It was only after Cletus missed a frog splash from the top that Lazer finally got some joy, finishing off the farm boy with his leg drop finisher. A hell of a contest to open the show, and if this doesn’t make it onto any Best of Wrestlerock compilations, I’ll send Chris Fresh a sternly-worded letter.

Tag-team action follows, with Temo, Brian and Dowey, taking on the Bastard Brothers, Krackerjack and Logan. Well, that was the original plan, until Logan came out on crutches. After they gave a story that involved drugs, drinking and fighting, Krackerjack announced Logan’s replacement, the “Queen of Hardcore”, Vixen. So now it’s a mixed tag-team match. As for Temo, Julian James described them best, they’re a team, and they’re emos. If you don’t know what an emo is look it up on Wikipedia. Anyway, back to the match. The early exchanges showed that Krackerjack can put on a good wrestling contest, as well as putting on good hardcore bouts. His exchanges with Dowey were good, and when Vixen was tagged in, she more than held her own against the Temo boys, who showed some good teamwork themselves, looking very impressive. The hardcore king and queen had their moments as well, but as they were setting up a table in the ring, Dowey got the roll-up on Krackerjack to get the pin. This led to the after match altercation between Jack and Vixen, who, while Jack was acknowledging the fans on the middle rope, was grabbed by Vixen and power bombed onto the table. It was when manager Benny English turned up that Vixen finally put Jack through the table, and as English went through his spiel, Vixen clobbered Jack with a chair, before cutting off his long beard, as English announced that the Krackerjack Kontinental was now closed, and that Vixen’s House of Pain was now open. It was only when a limping Logan returned to the ring did this little scenario stop. A good tag-team match here, and a good storyline afterwards.

With that match over, Corey Heartthrob came to the ring and began throwing out CD’s to the crowd. As Corey took in the “cheers” of the crowd, he seemed reluctant to leave the ring, when Julian James reminded him that there was another match coming up. It was then that Mad Dog, complete with barbed wire steel chair, came to ring and cleaned house. Quite what this segment is leading to remains to be seen. Maybe all will be answered when I review Wrestlerock 10.

Back to the action, and it’s Jag against Carlo Cannon. Jag is one of those no-nonsense kind of wrestlers, who’s only gimmick is that he’s a tough bastard who doesn’t take any shit, especially when he’s clobbering a fan on the way to the ring. In short, he’s the kind of wrestler I mark out for. It’s a distinct clash of styles in this one, with Cannon’s high-flying style up against Jag’s hard hitting approach, and it makes for a really good match, another one of those encounters where both guys try everything they have, and they still can’t put the other guy away. In the end, Jag came out on top, catching Cannon as he came off the top rope, putting him on his shoulders, and taking him out with his version of the death valley driver, the jagged edge. Another good match, and I’m fast becoming a big fan of this Australia tough guy.

Main event time, with Carnish defending the Wrestlerock title against Chris Knight. This one starts while the national anthems are being played. While Knight showed respect for the Lebanese anthem, Carnish didn’t respond likewise when the Australian anthem was played. His initial attack on Knight didn’t come off, but his second did, as he threw powder into Knight’s eyes. From there we get a rather interesting match, and another with two distinct styles, with the sly and cunning supplied by Carnish and the power supplied by Knight, and if I’m to be totally honest, it’s good, but not as good as the other matches on the show, mainly because the execution of some of the moves looked a little off at times. But despite that it was still quite good, and Knight looked like he was about to get the pin when Carnish’s manager Sebastian Walker, who had been absent from ringside, pulled the referee out of the ring and threw powder into his eyes. Knight then dealt with Walker before taking out Carnish with a spine buster off the ropes. It was then that Julian James left the commentary table, complete with stripe shirt, and made the count as Knight made the cover, giving him the title winning pin. A good match, let down a little in some places, but a good storyline to end the show with.

A few extras on this one for you to enjoy, including a segment from the rock of Wrestlerock, X-Halen. And yes, they are a Van Halen tribute band, but it’s a twenty minute segment, so you get a good chance to hear some decent music.

In conclusion - these Aussies are really putting on some great shows, and having followed Wrestlerock from the beginning, this may be the best one I’ve seen. Three great matches and one good one make for a very good DVD, and if you haven’t seen any of these shows yet, don’t waste any more time reading this review, get your credit card out and go and order their DVDs now!

Once again with thanks to Rohan Herbstreit for supplying a copy of this DVD. The all important website address, www.wrestlerock.com, is where you can get those DVDs. Go there now!

You couldn’t have asked for a better opening last night. You got the return of John Cena and that return set the tone for more than just a good show. Cena’s interaction with GM/King William Regal was done well. I was thrilled that Cena confronted Regal about the lights being turned off during matches. Cena then read some emails complaining about Regal’s actions. And see this was perfect, because Regal acting totally shocked by the complaints gave in and announced there would be no more “DARK” matches on Raw. I’m so glad that this was all done because let’s face it many fans including me did not want to have to wonder when and if the lights would go off during a decent match. I thought Cena came off well, as did William Regal. And yes I really believe this got Raw off to a very good start.

The first match of the night was Carlito and Santino vs. the current tag team champs, Bob Holly and Cody Rhodes. It wasn’t the title match that was the hit of this segment; no it was the tension between Rowdy Roddy Piper who was sitting at ringside and Santino. Now I have to say this, this match was for the title, yet just as things got going, Santino seemed to focus more on his enemy Piper than winning the match with his partner Carlito. Unfortunately for Carlito Santino was so wrapped up with Piper that it cost them the title when Rhodes was able to DDT Santino for the win. Now see I was waiting for Carlito to go ballistic on Santino, but that never happened. So this was one of the minor things that I questioned, but I still loved seeing Piper get the best of Santino.

The next match was with my favorite Snitzky. He took on Mr. Kennedy…. Kennedy. Now normally I wouldn’t bother watching this, but last night I was cool with this match. That’s because I knew Mr. Kennedy was going to win. It’s obvious that the push is on for Kennedy and having Kennedy beating this guy was a nice way to keep Kennedy’s momentum going. So this was another match that I had absolutely not problem with. And by the way, this was another week where I’m starting to become a Kennedy fan again. Santino did it again. He was outstanding being interviewed by Todd Grisham backstage. Of course I was laughing when he made some good comments against Piper. He said this wasn’t the 1980’s and Hogan isn’t the champion, Regan isn’t the President and Michael J. Fox is not going to play the werewolf again. Oh yes Santino was hot because Piper cost him and Carlito the title. As I said I like this mini feud that’s going on with Piper and Marella. The next segment was also backstage and we saw Mickie James thanking Cena for his help at the beginning of the show. And then Ms. James asked Cena to go out for drinks with her, her brother and his girlfriend. Cena pretended to be more focused with his match against Orton that was coming up later in the show, he then said he was kidding and he would love to go out. Mickie was good here; it was like watching a teenager asking a guy out for a date. Could love be in the air, nah but it was an okay segment.

Melina and Beth Phoenix teamed up against Mickie and Maria. Now I was really waiting to see what would happen between Phoenix and Melina because of what happened last week. I’m talking about Melina accidentally hitting Phoenix with the belt instead of Mickie. So I was thinking that during this match Beth would go after Melina. Well that didn’t happen, but things started to heat up again when Melina accidentally pushed Phoenix off of the apron after Mickie Irish whipped her. After Phoenix was tossed off the apron she walked away from the match and left Melina on her own, and of course Melina didn’t stand a chance as she was pinned by Mickie. This was another segment that was more about what was building between Melina and Phoenix than the match itself. And again this was a damn good segment.

I can’t tell you how much I loved this next segment. It was Chris Jericho apologizing to Shawn Michaels for doubting that he was hurt. What was so cool about this was that HBK admitted he lied and that he was fine, but it was Jericho that I thought stole the segment. The more Shawn tried to convince Jericho that he feigned his injury the more a forgiving Jericho started to get pissed. At first Jericho laughed it off and didn’t buy it, but as this went on the laughter turned to anger and the angrier Jericho got the more Michaels reminded him that he said that he would do ANYTHING to win. And with that Jericho was hit with a super kick and the crowd reaction was really interesting. For the most part the crowd seemed somewhat quiet while most of this was going on, yet when Jericho went down with Sweet Chin Music, the majority of that hot Detroit crowd chanted HBK. I was amazed that Shawn would get that and not booed out of the building. This was one of the top highlights of the night. But I guess you could say that the return of Jeff Hardy was my number 1 HIGHLIGHT. Okay I was a little nasty when Hardy got his second suspension back in March, but I was so glad to see him return last night. I really want to believe that he’s done making bad decisions and that it’s all good for Jeff not only in the WWE but in his personal life as well. As I said I got goose bumps when he came out and I liked the fact that he got to say that he never wanted to be away and that he made a bad mistake, and then Regal turned his mic off just as Hardy was about to say something about the I.C. title that he lost. And that turned off mic worked for me, we got a little something from Jeff and that little something was all that needed to be said. Now I will admit I didn’t need to see another Umaga vs. Jeff Hardy match, but this turned out to be a good match with Jeff Hardy looking as good as he did before he was suspended. It’s great to have Jeff back.

Money money, yeah yeah, the next match was Cryme Tyme vs. Cade and Murdoch, and this was another rematch that I didn’t need to see. BUT, just like the women’s match this had nothing to do with the wrestling. This was all about something that I think most of us have been waiting for, and that would be the Cade/Murdoch split. I will admit when Murdoch pinned Shad for the win, I figured the split was not happening last night. But honestly once Cade stood in the ring all smiles listening to Murdoch sing, I swear I knew that happy go lucky Cade was going to attack Murdoch a few seconds before he did. Cade and Murdoch are done as a tag team and now I want to see how each guy does on his own. And one of the best action filled backstage segments had to be Melina getting her ass kicked by Beth Phoenix. Wow did Melina take a beating; I loved this so much, because I’m so ready for Melina to take her character into a different direction. This was one very good segment. And finally Cena vs. Randy Orton was the main event, with the promise made by Regal to Cena that there would be no interference by JBL or anyone. Should that happen that person would be suspended. The crowd was on fire for this match and I have to say I was very into this match as well. There was a lot of good action going on between Cena and Orton and of course near the end, JBL dressed as a ref came out with Regal’s approval to take over and instead of Cena allowing it, Cena went after JBL immediately, which again worked for me. Let’s face it Cena knew that JBL wouldn’t be fair and would do nothing but give him trouble.

Cena was able to get rid of JBL for a few seconds, but right after Cena was about to give Orton the F’U, JBL came back with a boot to Cena’s head and Orton got the pin and the win. Of course this just continued with JBL and Orton going at Cena and then Triple H made his way out. I loved how this show ended, with the cage coming down, Hunter and Orton beating on each other and then Hunter throwing Orton into the cage and Orton landing outside on the floor. We then saw Hunter standing at the top of the cage looking down at Orton. I have to say that I’m all ready for Judgment Day. The cage just added a nice touch to get the fans ready for their cage match on Sunday.

Raw was excellent and you have no idea how much I’m looking forward to Smackdown. I’m wondering if Batista will get himself into that Jericho/HBK match. He did say last week that if Shawn were lying he would go after him. And I can’t wait to see what Edge and Vickie have up his sleeves for Taker. I’m even a little excited about tonight’s ECW show. I guess it’s fair to say that Raw put me in a very good mood. Okay I will be back over the weekend with my Judgment Day predictions. I can’t wait to see your picks so start sending them to me.

Email lindarobin3@yahoo.com

Source: TNAWrestling.com

PREVIEW FOR THURSDAY’S “IMPACT!” ON SPIKE TV: THE AFTERMATH OF THE SACRIFICE PAY-PER-VIEW EVENT!

Awesome Kong vs. Gail Kim, The LAX vs. Motor City Machineguns and much more

This Thursday night, TNA returns to SpikeTV at 9pm ET for two hours of Total Nonstop Action featuring the aftermath of the Sacrifice Pay-Per-View event!

The below is a preview of what you can expect on the broadcast:

- Still reigning TNA World Heavyweight Champion Samoa Joe will speak out about his win at Sunday’s Sacrifice!

- “iMPACT! will also have an update on the condition of Kurt Angle, who was forced out of Sunday’s Pay-Per-View due to a neck injury.

- Plus, rumor has it there will be huge news regarding the upcoming King Of The Mountain Match for the World Championship at June’s Slammiversary Pay-Per-View event!

- Will Booker T explain his actions from Sunday’s Pay-Per-View after he attacked Christian Cage and Rhino? Plus, how will Cage and Rhino react to what Booker did? Tune in and find out!

- We will also hear from the NEW TNA World Tag Team Champions - The Latin American Xchange. In addition, The LAX will be in action on “iMPACT!” against Chris Sabin and Alex Shelley, The Motor City Machineguns!

- By winning the Knockouts Makeover match on Sunday night, Gail Kim will get her shot at the Women’s Championship this Thursday night against her longtime nemesis Awesome Kong! Each time Gail and Kong clash, it’s an all-out war! This Thursday promises to be no different as they once again battle for the gold!

- Speaking of the Knockouts, this Thursday night Roxxi will get her chance at revenge for getting her head shaved as she teams with ODB to battle “The Beautiful People” tandem of Angelina Love and Velvet Sky.

All this and much more this Thursday night on “iMPACT!” on SpikeTV, plus news on the upcoming Slammiversary Pay-Per-View event!

TBLWrestling.com: 1000’s of Pages of Wrestling Information! ›››

Source: TNAWrestling.com

TNA WRESTLING PRESIDENT DIXIE CARTER MAKES SURPRISE APPEARANCE ALONGSIDE IN-RING STARS IN UPCOMING TRADING CARD SET

TRISTAR also to produce cards of Kurt Angle, Kevin Nash, Booker T, Sting and others.

Dixie Carter, the president of Total Nonstop Action (TNA) Wrestling, makes her first-ever appearance alongside the in-ring stars of TNA in the company’s trading card set to be released in June by Houston-based TRISTAR Productions, Inc., the nation’s premier producer of sports collectibles, memorabilia and memorabilia conventions and the exclusive licensee for the production and distribution of TNA trading cards and memorabilia.

Carter will be card No. 68 in the 69-card base card set, which includes such pro wrestling superstars as U.S. Olympic Gold Medalist Kurt Angle, the icon Sting, Kevin Nash and Christian Cage, and reigning TNA World Heavyweight Champion Samoa Joe. The 100-card inaugural TRISTAR-TNA trading card set - “TNA iMPACT!” – will feature TNA wrestlers, TNA Knockouts, autographed cards and event-used memorabilia cards. These will be the finest licensed TNA trading cards ever produced by TRISTAR.

“As we were compiling the checklist for the ‘TNA iMPACT!’ set, there was not even a hesitation whether or not to include a card of Dixie Carter. We knew she had to be featured in the set,” said TRISTAR Vice President Mandy Fuerst. “In addition to Dixie’s base card, we’re thrilled to announce that Dixie personally autographed a very limited number of cards, which will be randomly-inserted into packs. And there’s no doubt that, simply based on the quantity of cards Dixie signed, her card has the potential to be one of the most sought-after cards in the entire set.”

TRISTAR will release three TNA trading card products in 2008. The first set, named “TNA iMPACT!,” is named after TNA’s two-hour weekly program on SpikeTV, viewed every Thursday night (9 p.m. ET/PT) by an average of 2.3 million viewers weekly. In the fall, TRISTAR will release its second set, tentatively titled, “Cross The Line.” And just in time for the holidays, “TNA Knockouts” will feature a look at the attractive females on TNA’s roster, aptly referred to as “Knockouts.”

“Since I have yet to win my first match, I was a little hesitant to be included in the TNA Trading Card set,” Carter joked. “Seriously, even though I prefer to stay out of the spotlight, I was honored to be asked to appear alongside the talent in what is another exciting licensing venture for TNA.”

TBLWrestling.com: 1000’s of Pages of Wrestling Information! ›››

Breaking into the business: I drove past a sign on my way to work everyday in 1997. The sign said ‘Danny Davis School Of Wrestling’ (OVW) and I really liked watching wrestling and thought I would check it out. They had a Sunday show which I watched a couple of times and then signed for the school. OVW later became the WWE Developmental system in 1999 and I got hired in 2000.

Winning the Tag-Team Championship: Winning the WWE Tag-Team Championship in Montreal from Chris Benoit and Edge was the highlight of my tag-team career in WWE.

Working with The Rock, Mick Foley and others: They were great to work with and the fans were amazing, it was awesome. Working with William Regal and Nick Dinsmore was great and working with The Rock and Mick Foley was fun. Being the only tag-team to wrestle The Rockers in years was a blast. I had a lot of big time matches with top talent which was great.

WWE’s backstage atmosphere: The atmosphere changes the longer you are there because you become more of a veteran and become more comfortable.

Being released from WWE and possibly returning to WWE: They said that creative did not have anything for me. I was with them for 7 years and was featured on RAW from 2003 to 2007. I have never been on SmackDown or ECW, so I think that we could work together again. WWE is a good place to work and make really good money.

TNA: I like to watch all wrestling and think TNA is a fun show to watch. I hope they continue to grow and create jobs for more wrestlers. It would be nice to see another Monday night war on TV. I think it would be good for the business.

Click here to read the full interview or go to http://www.pwmania.com/interviews.php?page=robconway.

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