Mikk

WC's Sexy Beast

Inside The Ring!


Welcome ladies and gentlemen to the returning {for now} of Inside The Ring, the definitive round up of the weeks wrestling news.
On this weeks Inside The Ring, Mike Awesome Passes, The Hall Of Fame becomes Perfect, Donald vs. Vince: Wrestlers Announced, ROH Crowns a new champion and much more!



WWE

The Passing Of Mike Awesome



Former ECW World Champion Mike Awesome has been found dead on Saturday in his home, according to Dave Metzler. He was found by close friends, they were going out, but when Awesome didn't open the door, they came in and found him hanging there. After the autopsy it is apparent that the death was a suicide. He was 42 years old.

Mikk’s View: This was quite a shock to read when it came out the other day and the wrestling world is losing one of its best big men. However, the way he left the world doesn’t leave much sympathy with me as to take that way out is very cowardly. Yes he may have had problems but to resort to hanging yourself is just a wimps way out as he’s left all that loved him behind.
He will be missed and may he rest in peace.


The Hall Of Fame Becomes Perfect



"Mr. Perfect" Curt Hennig was the second inductee announced for the WWE Hall of Fame Class of 2007

Mikk’s View: Great news as the rumours I’d heard about who were going in this year hadn’t filled me with a happy sense. Its certainly good to see him going in along with Dusty Rhodes.


Trump vs. McMahon: Wrestlers Announced



On this weeks Raw, The Samoan Bulldozer Umaga became Mr McMahon’s pick for his Wrestlemania clash with Donald Trump.
And the rumour now going around is that Bobby Lashley is going to be the choice for Donald Trump and will be announced next Monday night on Raw.

Mikk’s View: This match is going to be awful and should be no where near Wrestlemania. I would of liked to have seen Mick Foley vs. Umaga but obviously now that won’t happen and that is a shame as I’d of liked to have seen Foley resume his Cactus Jack persona to fight Umaga.


The 4 Horsemen DVD Partial Match List



Here are some of the matches that will be appearing on the upcoming three disc Four Horsemen DVD set. The DVD will also include interviews with Ric Flair, Tully Blanchard, J.J. Dillon, Jim Ross, Dean Malenko, Barry Windham and Dusty Rhodes. The DVD is scheduled to be released on April 10.
- Arn Anderson & Tully Blanchard & Ric Flair vs. Pez Whatley & Italian Stallion & Rocky King 6/22/85
- Ric Flair vs. Ricky Morton cage match from Charlotte on 7/5/86
- Dusty Rhodes vs. Tully Blanchard First Blood match Starrcade 86
- Four Horseman vs. Dusty Rhodes & Steve Williams & Lex Luger & - Nikita Koloff & Paul Ellering 7/16/88 in a War Games match
- Arn Anderson & Tully Blanchard vs. Sting & Nikita Koloff 7/16/88
- Arn Anderson & Tully Blanchard vs. Barry Windham & Lex Luger 3/27/88 Clash of Champions
- Arn Anderson vs. Ric Flair 9/17/95 Fall Brawl

Mikk’s View: Hopefully they don’t mess this up like they have done with some DVD’s in the past. Also looks like a fantastic year for biographical DVD’s.


Big Show Turns Down 2 Offers



It's being said that The Big Show turned down two specific WWE deals. He rejected the first, which carried a price tag in the ballpark of his current $1 million/year deal, due to the fact that it required him to wrestle. The wrestler feels physically burned out, and he has no desire to commit to a long-term contract with required in-ring work.

WWE also offered Big Show a smaller (but still financially large) deal for his "intellectual property rights," which is essentially a fee to keep Show at home and prevent him from joining a competitor. He rejected that as well, although sources say he has no immediate intentions to join TNA.

Mikk’s View: This is clearly a desperate move from WWE to try and stop Show from going anywhere and to be honest, I don’t blame him turning down those offers as in the past he hasn’t been used effectively and was pretty much given the WWE title because they didn’t have anyone else to put it on. If he went elsewhere then I’m sure they would use him as the monster big man he should be.


Dean Malenko Coming Out Of Retirement



Dean Malenko will be coming out of retirement for at least one match as he will be teaming up with Funaki to take on Mr. Aguila (former WWE star Essa Rios) & Damian 666 and Tajiri & Ultimo Dragon in a three-way match. The match will be taking place on 3/3 at Plaza de Toros la Monumental de Monterrey for the Toryumon Mexico promotion. This will be his first match since December 2001.

Mikk’s View: Well that will be a match to see and maybe this could be a tempter to try and get Malenko back inside a WWE ring in the future.



TNA

TNA Impact Rating Takes Massive Hit As It Went Head To Head With Raw



Last night's airing of TNA iMPACT! took a huge hit in the ratings as the show drew a 0.59 (0.6) rating going head-to-head with a special Thursday night airing of WWE RAW. Last week's show drew a 1.1 rating, and thus there was a 47% decrease in viewer ship this week. This was the least watched edition of iMPACT! in the show's history since the move to Spike TV. Additionally, the two hour replay of 'This is TNA!' that preceded last night's iMPACT! drew an even lower rating, a 0.48 cable rating.

'Pros vs. Joes', which aired right after RAW and iMPACT! had concluded at 10 p.m., drew a 0.77 rating. 'Inside the UFC', which usually draws a fraction of Impact's audience, drew a 0.46 rating.

Mikk’s View: This isn’t too surprising that TNA did that kind of rating as at the moment its not a threat to WWE and this proves it. However, given time, TNA will be able to go head to head with WWE and pull off some decent ratings.


Kurt Angle Invades Japan, Inoki Keen To Have Angle Over Again



TNA star Kurt Angle made his debut for New Japan Pro Wrestling on Sunday in Tokyo.
Angle teamed with Yuji Nagata defeating TNA star Travis Tomko and former WWE star Giant Bernard (aka A-Train/Prince Albert).
An estimated crowd of 11,500 were said to be in attendance for the event.
New Japan President Simon Inoki was very happy with Kurt Angle's New Japan debut over the weekend, and plans to send out another offer at once.
Nikkan Sports said New Japan invited Angle for two reasons, one to assist the company's ongoing reactivation and the other to strengthen their ties with TNA.
If all goes well, there could be more productive talent exchange between the two promotions from now on.

Mikk’s View: Well this to me was obviously going to be good for both New Japan and Angle as the Japanese seem to have more appreciation for wrestling than some other countries. Hopefully this does lead to more talent from TNA going to Japan.


Real Heat Between Team 3D & LAX



There is actually some real life backstage heat between Team 3D and the LAX in TNA.

Brother Ray has been frustrated with fans cheering for LAX instead of Team 3D due to Konnan’s promos. While Team 3D still does get cheered, some are comparing the situation to how WCW fans were cheering for the New World Order which was a heel group. Brother Ray has complained to management about the situation.

Mikk’s View: What can management do to get the fans to cheer Team 3D? They can’t physically go out there and pressure the fans to cheer for them so what is Ray expecting. LAX have been a revelation in TNA and are the better workers which is why they are getting the cheers instead of Team 3D. Team 3D has had its time and should be willing to let LAX have the spotlight they deserve.


Lockdown Tickets Selling At A Steady Rate



It should be noted that tickets for the Lockdown PPV, which can be purchased over at Metrotix.com, appear to be moving well so far.

Floor seats priced at $150, $120 and $60 all appear to be sold out as of today. The total capacity for the show according to the Family Arena website is 9,249.

Mikk’s View: I hope TNA do start doing more shows on the road as the fan base appears to be there and ready to accept TNA.

Independent

ROH

Morishima Crowned New ROH Champion



On February 17 in Philadelphia, Takeshi Morishima defeated Homicide by pinfall to become the new Ring of Honor World Champion. Morishima is one of the top stars of Japan's Dragon Gate promotion, which has a working agreement with ROH.
During the match, Morishima hit Homicide with two T-Bone suplexes, but Homicide kicked out. Morishima hit a lariat, then finished Homicide off with the suplex for the victory. A very pro-Homicide crowd was stunned at the finish. Homicide was visibly crying, losing the belt he worked four years to win.
This was only Morishima's second match in Ring of Honor and Homicide's second title defence. Many believed Homicide would be a transitional champion but for them to have taken the title off him so soon is surprising. Ironically, Homicide lost his title before the release of the "Final Battle 2006" DVD, the event where he won the belt.
Ring of Honor will be touring Japan in early 2007 and you can be sure that having Morishima as their champion will help those shows be successful.

Mikk’s View: This certainly was a surprise as I expected Homicide to hold the title for a while longer. This is going to be good for ROH should it give them a decent amount of exposure in Japan.


Aries, Strong & Evans No More



Austin Aries, Roderick Strong & Jack Evans have climbed the ranks and made their marks in the wrestling business together. After the events of last weekend, these long-time team-mates have split and now are looking to make their mark against each other.

It all started last Friday at the Manhattan Center. Aries & Strong just lost a ROH World Tag Team Title Match against Christopher Daniels & Matt Sydal. Davey Richards came to the ring to confront Aries. Then in a shocking moment, Strong attacked Aries by hitting him with a backbreaker. Strong then stated that he was tired of being in the background and it was time to lead his own faction. Richards said you just saw the birth of the No Remorse Corpse.

Jack Evans came to Aries' aid and almost got into it with Richards, but Strong separated them. Strong did not want to fight Evans. When Aries recovered from the attack he stated that he and Evans would battle Richards & Strong. However, Evans stepped in and said that he was friends and tag partners with both Aries and Strong. Evans found himself stuck in the middle.

The next night in Philadelphia saw Aries call out Strong early in the show. Evans came to the ring instead and said that this all needs to stop. Strong then appeared on the stage and said that Evans is either with him or against him. Later in the show, Aries asked Evans where he stood. Evans once again wasn't willing to pick sides. Aries then said that he led Generation Next and now he would once again find the new talent and lead the next generation. Evans responded by saying that maybe he needs to get his own crew together. It should also be noted that Richards said in Philadelphia that there would be more recruits for the No Remorse Corps.

So after this weekend here is what we know:

-One of the greatest factions in ROH history have all split up to lead new factions.
-Roderick Strong has formed the No Remorse Corps with Davey Richards and they are looking to add other recruits. Does this mean one more recruit or more?
-Austin Aries is looking for new talent that he can lead. Where will this talent come from?
-Jack Evans is going to form his own crew. We have no idea if this means people already in ROH or newcomers.

This news will have ripple effects on all ROH shows. Stay tuned to the ROHwrestling.com Newswire for more details as they become available.

Mikk’s View: I’m really liking this as it means we are likely to have 3 new factions in ROH all going at each other and faction wars are always good if done well.


1PW

1PW Lives And The Resurrection Is Upon Us



UK wrestling fans, there are now just 45 short days until the most important show in the history of 1PW. On Good Friday April 6th LIVE from the home of 1PW, The Doncaster Dome, 1PW will present RESURRECTION. This show will be our bold statement to wrestling fans and the wrestling business, as we fully intend to put our best foot forward. Everyone from the staff, the production team and our roster of wrestler are determined to give you fans everything we have got, and to make sure that 1PW version 2 builds and improves on the legacy of One Pro Wrestling.


JAY PHOENIX AND SPUD TO GO ONE ON ONE

“ Flawless “ JAY PHOENIX has signed to go one on one with SPUD at Resurrection on April 6th . With competition in the new 1PW hotter then ever this match is pivotal to both men’s chances in the company. 1PWOnline.com hopes to have comment from 1PW GM Adam Curtis on this match next week.


TAG TEAM CONTENDERS MATCH EXPECTED

1PWOnline.com today learned of the rumour that a tag team championship contenders match of sorts could be added to the Resurrection card. With 1PW committed to building up aspects of Pro Wrestling that often go overlooked in some promotions, tag team wrestling is seemingly high on the agenda. Whilst 1PW World Tag Team Champions TEAM SHAG will face their toughest challenge to date in the form of DOUG WILLIAMS & NIGEL MCGUINESS, a host of other tag teams, including former champions JONNY STORM & JODY FLEISCH, and the tag team specialists ENTOURAGE ( MARK SLOAN & OLLIE BURNS ) are queuing up, and chomping at the bit to establish their contention to the belts. An Official announcement is expected next week


FULL ANNOUNCED LINE UP

1PW World Heavyweight Championship - Fans Decide the Fate
ULF HERMAN VS ICEMAN

1PW World Tag Team Championship
TEAM SHAG VS DOUG WILLIAMS & NIGEL MCGUINESS

1PW Open Weight Championship
PAC VS JUVENTUD GUERRERA

NWE Heavyweight Championship
ROMEO ROSELLI VS STERLING JAMES KEENAN

ULTIMO DRAGON VS EL LIGERO

JOHN HEIDENREICH vs. MAD MAN MANSON

JAY PHOENIX VS SPUD

ALSO FEATURES -

JONNY STORM & JODY FLEISCH

DARKSIDE

MARK SLOAN & OLLIE BURNS

THE CHAVS

And making his 1PW debut… 6ft 10� 300 + lbs … KRUGER

Mikk’s View: I am really pleased that 1PW has stayed open after all the crap they have taken from the british wrestling promoters over the past year. If I had the money as well I’d certainly be making my way down to Doncaster to catch this as it should be a fantastic show.
PAC vs. Juventud should be a fantastic match and hopefully SJK will win the NWE title.


Ultimo Dragon Is Coming To 1PW



1PW is very happy to announce on behalf of Nu-Wrestling Evolution that appearing at RESURRECTION will be the Legendary ULTIMO DRAGON. He is the soul of the NWE , and a huge worldwide wrestling star. Ultimo Dragon is one of the few wrestlers in the entire world to have competed for such a variety of major wrestling organisations globally, including WWE and WCW in the US, ALL JAPAN and NEW JAPAN PRO WRESTLING in Japan, CMLL in Mexico, NWE in Europe, and now this legendary figure is set to arrive in 1PW on April 6th at Resurrection.
The UK Luchadore Sensation EL LIGERO will face the biggest test of his young career on April 6th at Resurrection when he will go one on one with the legendary ULTIMO DRAGON. Ligero, who has shot from obscurity to being one of the hot prospects for 2007 in the new 1PW in his battles with such standout athletes as El Generico, Davy Richards, and Jimmy Rave, will receive the chance of a lifetime April 6th as the new 1PW is born.

Mikk’s View: I hope this isn’t the only time we see Dragon on british soil as I’m certain he will make this match very special for those attending.


Iceman vs. Ulf Match Choices Announced, Fans Bring The Weapons For All Matches



1PW management today announced the five final choices for the Fans Decide the Fate World Heavyweight Championship Main Event of Resurrection between ULF HERMAN and ICEMAN…. The five choices are ..

Option one - FIRST BLOOD MATCH
Option Two - I QUIT MATCH
Option Three - DONCASTER DEATH MATCH
Option Four - STRAIGHT UP
Option Five - STAIRWAY TO HELL

Details on how you can cast your vote to decide the Fate of Ulf Herman and Iceman will be announced later this week, although we can tell you that voting will open next week, and will run up to 15 minutes before the match up on the night of the show, and fans have the right to cast multiple votes.

Also we can tell you that the FANS BRING THE WEAPONS stipulation , will now be applied to all Five match choices…. On the day of Resurrection , outside the arena doors 1PW will set up a weapons drive stall, where fans can bring and donate items of destruction to be considered for use during the main event.

Mikk’s View: This match doesn’t fill me with a whole load of happiness as it’s a match 1PW has done at least twice and both were brawls where both bleed. I’d of liked to have seen Ulf against someone from N W E instead of Iceman.



The Top 10!

This Week: Top 10 HOF Inductees

10. Dusty Rhodes
9. Billy Graham
8. Junkyard Dog
7. Mene Gene
6. Jimmy Snuka
5. Jimmy Hart
4. The Blackjacks
3. Bret Hart
2. Bobby Heenan
1. Curt Hennig

Nicky Talent

I agree with just about all of your points (BTW, Homicide has defended it 4 times, I'm sorry)

If Lashley is the representative, then ECW is a very dead cause. (Which was one of many reasons for the death of Awesome)

Danny Diamond

Founder/Admin

Great Post.

Absolutely top notch stuff.

Felix

The Enigma Of WC

Now that is what being a Mod is all about. Nice job Mikk!

WackoJako

Great stuff Mikk!

Mikk

WC's Sexy Beast

Psst, i'm not a mod anymore

Danny Diamond

Founder/Admin