The OTTB Wrestling News thread

[m. inferno]

TAMPA - WWE wrestler Jimmy Uso was arrested for driving under the influence early Thursday, Tampa Police said.

Uso, whose real name is Jonathan Fatu, was pulled over at the corner of Howard Avenue and Platt Street. He was arrested at 3:14 a.m.

Tampa Police say an officer "observed the defendant traveling the wrong way on Howard Avenue in a silver Mustang."

According to the arrest report, Fatu's blood alcohol level (BAC) was .180. That's more than twice the level (.08), at which a driver is assumed impaired, under state law.

According to the World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) website, Uso is "A descendant of the Samoan Anoa'i family." His bloodline "includes such in-ring legends as his father Rikishi, his great uncles The Wild Samoans and even 'the most electrifying multi-time WWE Champion in all of entertainment: The Rock."

The following is from TampaBay.com:

TAMPA — Professional wrestler Jimmy Uso went from body slams in the ring to being thrown in the slammer Thursday when he was accused of drunken driving.

Uso, whose real name is Jonathan Fatu, was arrested just after 3 a.m. Thursday at Howard Avenue and Platt Street after a police officer said Uso was driving the wrong way on Howard in a silver Mustang, according to an arrest affidavit.

The 26-year-old World Wrestling Entertainment performer, who weighs in at 6-foot 2 and 240-pounds, had a blood alcohol reading of .180 — well above the .08 limit at which point the state presumes impairment.

Uso, who lives in South Tampa, remained in jail Thursday in lieu of $500 bail. He wrestles as part of a tag team with his twin brother, Jey, while wearing Samoan tribal beads. He has worked in the WWE since May 2010.

The websites have also posted his mugshot photo.

 

[m. inferno]

As noted before, WWE officials have discussed an in-ring return for Booker T, likely a short feud. Word is that Booker may feud with Intercontinental Champion Cody Rhodes. An idea has been pitched that would have the two wrestle at Vengeance as a way to put Cody in the spotlight.

-- At one point in the past week, the idea for the main event at WWE’s Vengeance pay-per-view was John Cena vs. CM Punk vs. Alberto Del Rio vs. Kevin Nash in a four-way, but that will likely change. We noted earlier that WWE has a CM Punk vs. Alberto Del Rio singles feud penciled in for this year

 

[m. inferno]

On this day back in 2010, WWE NXT ended it’s run on the SyFy network and moved over to WWE’s website. The current season of NXT is the third that has ran on WWE’s website and just wrapped week #30.

-- Regarding CM Punk’s spotlight in the WWE main events over the past few months, word is that the push will continue at least through the end of the year.

Following the Hell in a Cell pay-per-view, Punk is scheduled to go into a singles feud with Alberto Del Rio.

 

[m. inferno]

The October 11th WWE SmackDown! taping in Dallas, TX will now be a Supershow. The advertised main events (probably dark matches) are:

*John Cena vs. Alberto Del Rio for the WWE Championship

*Mark Henry vs. Randy Orton for the World Heavyweight Championship

*The Largest Battle Royale in WWE history - A 41 Man Battle Royal featuring stars from RAW and Smackdown

Plus a Special Appearance by DX.

 

[m. inferno]

According to a source, WWE spent a ton of money on building and shipping the Hell In A Cell cage to the arena on RAW Monday. While an exact dollar figure wasn’t given, it was said that the cost is a lot more than you would think.

-- The Associated Press, TMZ.com and numerous other media outlets have picked up the Jimmy Uso DUI arrest. WWE spokesperson Kevin Hennessy told the Associated Press that WWE is looking into the incident but did not offer any further details. Uso was released from jail earlier today on a $500 bond. You can click to view his mugshot.

 

[m. inferno]

WWE is expected to begin heavy promotion for their WWE Network in the next few months. The plan is still to have the network go live by the end of 2012.

-- The Miz will appear on the CW series H8R, which is a reality series where celebrities go face to face with people who dislike them. According to the preview, their could be a fight between Miz and his "hater." The show airs Wednesdays at 8 PM EST.

-- The aspects of WWE sticking to PG programming are said to be "less solid" than before.

-- Below are some recent WWE attendance figures:

* RAW on September 23rd in Albuquerque, New Mexico drew 4,400 fans for $110,000.

* RAW on September 24th in El Paso, Texas drew a sellout of 7,000 fans for $200,000.

* SmackDown on September 24th in Amarillo, Texas drew 3,769 fans for $116,000.

* The WWE Supershow on September 25th in Lubbock, Texas drew 3,500 fans for $94,000.

 

[Chi-Town Bully]

TAMPA - WWE wrestler Jimmy Uso was arrested for driving under the influence early Thursday, Tampa Police said.

Uso, whose real name is Jonathan Fatu, was pulled over at the corner of Howard Avenue and Platt Street. He was arrested at 3:14 a.m.

Tampa Police say an officer "observed the defendant traveling the wrong way on Howard Avenue in a silver Mustang."

According to the arrest report, Fatu's blood alcohol level (BAC) was .180. That's more than twice the level (.08), at which a driver is assumed impaired, under state law.

According to the World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) website, Uso is "A descendant of the Samoan Anoa'i family." His bloodline "includes such in-ring legends as his father Rikishi, his great uncles The Wild Samoans and even 'the most electrifying multi-time WWE Champion in all of entertainment: The Rock."

The following is from TampaBay.com:

TAMPA — Professional wrestler Jimmy Uso went from body slams in the ring to being thrown in the slammer Thursday when he was accused of drunken driving.

Uso, whose real name is Jonathan Fatu, was arrested just after 3 a.m. Thursday at Howard Avenue and Platt Street after a police officer said Uso was driving the wrong way on Howard in a silver Mustang, according to an arrest affidavit.

The 26-year-old World Wrestling Entertainment performer, who weighs in at 6-foot 2 and 240-pounds, had a blood alcohol reading of .180 — well above the .08 limit at which point the state presumes impairment.

Uso, who lives in South Tampa, remained in jail Thursday in lieu of $500 bail. He wrestles as part of a tag team with his twin brother, Jey, while wearing Samoan tribal beads. He has worked in the WWE since May 2010.

The websites have also posted his mugshot photo.

What is up with all these drunk driving arrests, dude might get future endeavored before the week is over

 

[TRILLip Brooks]

i think the punk and del rio fued will be over the title and cena will be involved with miz/truth and whatever that new nwo is supposed to be

 

[VIBE]

A special appearance by DX? So they're coming back.

PG era now less solid, nice...

 

[m. inferno]

We reported earlier that Matt Hardy was essentially forced to enter a rehabilitation program following his most recent arrest. Magistrate Charlie Smoak agreed to release the former WWE Superstar on a "promise to appear" in court that was tied to his undergoing treatment for substance abuse.

"That is only part of the release order," Krueger said. "It also states that he must comply with a treatment program or be placed in the detention center under a $1 million bond."

On September 14, Moore County deputies searched Hardy's Cameron, North Carolina home and charged Hardy with possessing a controlled substance with intent to sell or deliver, possessing a controlled substance, maintaining a dwelling for use of drugs and misdemeanor possession of drug paraphernalia.

Following their search at his residence, deputies said they had discovered "one hit" of the drug known as ecstasy and also found 20 vials of anabolic steroids.

This was his third arrest within a month. On August 19, Hardy crashed his Cadillac into a guard rail on U.S. 1 in Southern Pines but was not cited. The next day, he ran his Corvette into a tree south of Vass. That resulted in a DWI charge.

On September 12, police arrested Hardy outside RDU International Airport Monday afternoon and charged him with driving under the influence. He was given a written promise to appear at the Wake County courthouse in Raleigh on November 30.

 

[m. inferno]

TNA World Tag Team Champion Hernandez's current contract is set to expire in the near future. Many people aren't asking if Hernandez will re-sign as much as they are questioning whether TNA management will or should make him a contract offer. It should be noted that company officials are no longer high on him as he has shown little improvement since returning from Mexico in February.

 

[m. inferno]

WWE star Dolph Ziggler recently answered a bunch of fan questions via DolphZiggler.com. When asked what the most annoying question interviewers ask him, he responded with the following: "Do you model yourself after Mr. Perfect?" — the answer is no! He was awesome and I was obviously a huge fan. We both have frizzy hair and are great athletes, he's a Hall of Famer and I'm trying to get there! I have carved my own personality and love showing off, but because of my hair and WWE theme song that says "perfection," I'm a 'Mr. Perfect' clone!"

 

[m. inferno]

Two additional Bound for Glory matches were set on this week's episode of Impact Wrestling.

The X Division Championship will be on the line as Austin Aries defends the strap against Brian Kendrick. Winter will defend the Women's Knockouts Championship in a four-way match against Velvet Sky, Mickie James and Madison Rayne.

The updated line-up is as follows:

TNA World Heavyweight Championship Match:

Kurt Angle (c) vs. Bobby Roode

Sting vs. Hulk Hogan

TNA World Tag Team Championship Match:

Hernandez and Anarquia (c) vs. Shannon Moore and Jesse Neal

TNA X Division Championship Match:

Austin Aries (c) Brian Kendrick

TNA Women's Knockouts Championship Match:

Winter (c) vs. Velvet Sky vs. Mickie James vs. Madison Rayne

Full Metal Mayhem Match:

Jerry Lynn vs. Rob Van Dam

Bully Ray vs. Mr. Anderson

Crimson vs. Matt Morgan vs. Samoa Joe

 

[m. inferno]

Gerald Brisco's son, Wes Brisco, is gone from WWE developmental. Brisco has been working in FCW in recent months. He's already starting to take indy bookings. Many people are surprised by the release.

-- Forbes.comdid a story today talking about how Vince McMahon has about 400 million dollars in WWE stock now that its back over 9 dollars a share. That means he's no longer a billionaire.

-- This week's edition of Hulk Hogan's MCW did a 0.69 (0.7) cable rating, with 853,000 viewers.

 

[m. inferno]

- What’s the one thing that I would do if I could institute any change in the business? It is and always will be adding more developmental areas so more world class/ highly recruited athletes can train and be given the opportunity to make the primary roster and contribute sooner than later. It would also make sense to have a positive working relationship with all the smaller wrestling promotions that are fighting to survive and crave out their niche. Virtually every talent in a smaller promotion wants to advance to WWE where they can maximize their opportunities to earn better money in a career that generally has a short shelf life.

- It’s amazing that some fans think that WWE going back to the attitude era would automatically cure any perceived ailment that WWE may have in some fan’s eyes. That is essentially absurd. Evaluate the attitude era’s talent roster and compare it to today’s. If you do so objectively then you can easily answer the question.

Smart PG works just fine and developing new stars is much more imperative than the TV rating. Some fans need to understand that stars like HBK, Austin, Rock, etc don’t come along in every generation. Plus, age and injuries adversely affect talents just like they do any athlete. Too many young wrestlers have found their comfort zone performing in the mid card and thus avoiding the immense responsibility that comes with being a main event star. The money is good for the mid card role and some talents are simply content to not make waves and to take their ‘good money’ and move on. Squeaky albeit talented wheels need to create more awareness for their desires to be headliners. It’s not as simple as raising one’s hand.

- So many have asked about Jerry Lawler’s physical condition. King will likely return to the announce table on Sunday at Hell in a Cell. I plan on seeing him on Monday in Lafayette for Raw if things go as they are currently planned. Or I might just show up in New Orleans.

- HIAC predictions as asked….Cena retains the WWE Title while Mark Henry retains the World Title. I am hard pressed to see many titles changing hands, except Beth Phoenix over Kelly-Kelly, Sunday in New Orleans which likely means the opposite. No wagering, kids.

 

[m. inferno]

Dana White spoke last night about Kurt Angle's claims that he was offered a UFC fight against Kimbo Slice. Check out the highlights:

On Kurt wanting to join the UFC: "I like Kurt Angle. He's a nice guy. I've never had any problems with Kurt Angle. Good guy. Kurt Angle was calling me to fight in the UFC. He wanted to fight in the UFC. He wanted to come over here and whatever, especially after Brock got in."

On what was offered: "What I offered him was, I said, 'Come over here. I'll put you on 'The Ultimate Fighter.' The season Kimbo Slice was on, I was going to put him on 'The Ultimate Fighter.' He wanted to do it. We worked out a deal, but he didn't pass the medicals."

On Angle's claim that of a fight with Kimbo: "That's it. That's all I'm saying. I never set up a pay-per-view fight for him. I never told him, 'You're fighting Kimbo Slice on pay-per-view.' Kurt, you're a good guy, but that's not true, and that never happened. I thought it would be interesting, and I thought it would be cool, but never once did I say, 'We're going to set up a pay-per-view match with you and Kimbo.' That is not true."

 

[m. inferno]

As noted before, Vince McMahon was in a very bad mood at RAW two weeks ago in Cleveland, Ohio. Some speculated that what set Vince off was when Alberto Del Rio name-dropped him in a promo. Sources say that while Vince was absolutely mad at Del Rio for the promo, he was mad at everyone in general and didn’t treat Del Rio any worse than other people.

The promo that mentioned Vince by name actually was approved by McMahon himself and others in charge. Vince didn’t want his name mentioned on TV until he returns as the idea is for people to think he’s gone for good, so when he does re-appear it will be a surprise. Vince felt that Del Rio ruined that.

Vince’s name was originally put in the promo to establish Triple H as not being an emissary of Vince’s and to get him over as a babyface. There was a fear that because Punk is so over with the fans, people were booing Triple H and officials didn’t want that.

WWE producer Kevin Dunn was also in a bad mood but it’s said when Vince is that upset and takes it out on Dunn, he gets in that mood also.

Things were reportedly way better at this week’s RAW. Word is that Vince and Dunn both thought Michael Cole’s line about Jerry Lawler having anal bleeding was one of his funniest lines. They were even happier when the term “anal bleeding” was trending on Twitter.

 

[m. inferno]

In addition to Jerry Lawler returning on RAW tonight, the plan as of yesterday was for The Big Show to return tonight. The Big Show has been sidelined since the Money in the Bank pay-per-view due to storyline injury. The fabricated injury occurred moments after Henry secured victory, when he wrapped a chair around Big Show’s ankle, ascended the ropes and brought all of his weight down on his opponent's leg

 

[m. inferno]

Japanese wrestler Taishi Takizawa was spotted at Thursday's Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW) show in Tampa, Florida. He is 26 years old.

 

[m. inferno]

WWE.com has a story up, claiming that the Great Khali suffered a fractured fibula from Mark Henry's attack on SmackDown!. They noted that the injury was similar to the ones suffered by both Big Show and Kane.

Here is their article:

WWE.com has learned that The Great Khali has suffered a fractured fibula following a brutal attack by World Heavyweight Champion Mark Henry on SmackDown Friday night.

Dr. Michael Sampson confirmed the devastating injury to The Punjabi Giant and that the fracture was very similar to the injuries suffered by both Big Show and Kane at the hands of The World’s Strongest Champion.

The injury occurred moments after Mark Henry impressively secured a victory against The Great Khali following the World’s Strongest Slam. Wrapping a steel chair around the Punjabi Superstar’s leg, Henry ascended the ropes and brought all of his weight down on his opponent’s leg. Writhing in pain and unable to stand on his own, the fallen giant was tended to by medical technicians and taken out of the arena on a cart.