WWE Daily

It has just been announced that WWE has sent their Raw star, Randy Orton, home from the European tour. The rumors flying around are saying that it’s because he thoroughly trashed a hotel room and the hotel was extremely unhappy.

Orton is a third generation wrestler, his father was “Cowboy” Bob Orton, his grandfather was Bob Orton Sr., and his uncle wrestled as Barry O. Is Orton destroying the legacy of these great wrestlers?

In April of 2006, the WWE suspended Orton for sixty days citing “unprofessional conduct” as the reasoning. It is still unclear exactly why they suspended him - they came out later and said it was due to an injury, while Orton himself said he got caught smoking marajuana backstage. The interesting thing is that while he was suspended, Orton spent four weeks at an anger management clinic in Atlanta, GA.

Back in 2005, he was accused by two WWE Diva’s, Amy Weber and Rochelle Loewen, as being:

“He’s an animal…he’s an absolute animal. What kind of man acts like that when he likes a beautiful woman? This guy is just absolutely out to lunch..he’s just retarded”!

Orton’s actions against Weber caused her to leave WWE, while Loewen was moved to Smackdown before she was let go.

What’s going on with Randy Orton? Is he worth all of the trouble he’s causing for the WWE? Is Vince only keeping him on staff because of his family’s contribution to wrestling?
Randy Orton” The Legend Killer” seems to me his just did this to himself.

Orton recently announced his engagement to his girlfriend, Samantha Speno.

Randy Orton, WWE, Orton Suspended

No one can argue that if it wasn’t for the Four Horseman, none of the factions that have dominated sports entertainment would have ever existed. This 2 disk DVD collection talks about the birth and the dominance of the Four Horsemen. You will also see various old interviews from the Horsemen and those who feuded with them, such as Dusty Rhodes, Magnum TA and more. This is probably the best documentry WWE has offered up to this point. It features footage by various superstars to include some of the superstars who later joined the Horsemen, like Barry Windham, Michael Hayes, Paul Roma and more.

Ric Flair speaks on how he discovered Arn Anderson and why he wanted to work with him in the first place. You also hear from Arn Anderson himself and his point of view as well to include Tully Blanchard and J.J. Dillon. They spoke about their personal lives outside the ring and how they actually got along.

Ric Flair especially is very straightforward on his feelings regarding Eric Bischoff and the NWO. He explains the very heated situation on why he took off from WCW for a few months. The additions of Chris Benoit, Dean Malenko, and Steve McMichael are also touched as well.

The 400th episode of Smackdown, coming at you from Milan, Italy.

MATCH #1 Batista vs Finley

Batista starts on the arm of Finley, then Finley lands a cheapshot behind the ref’s back, fighting toe to toe. Batista throws Finlay outside the ring and then into the barricade. Seconds later, Kennedy rushes down to the ring and attacks Batista from behind. Finlay uses the Shilalleigh on Batista, ending the match in a disqualification.

WINNER: Batista

Is Finlay man enough to handle his own battles? Seems not.

Jillian Hall comes to the ring and brags about Ashley Massaro and how she is going to take her out of action when she is interupted by Michelle McCool. Michelle speaks to her in Italian saying “you suck” and the crowd roars with excitement. Jillian attacks Michelle, but Michelle takes her down until she kicks her out of the ring.

MATCH #2: The Hardy Boys and Chris Benoit vs Chavo Guerrero and Gregory Helms and M.V.P.

Benoit starts off on Chavo with the quick speed and agility that has made him the US Champ. Jeff utilizes his quickness against Helms and MVP. Matts knocks Chavo to the ground then gives the twist of fate to Helms. Immediately following, Jeff gives the swanton off the top rope onto Helms. MVP tries to break up the action but gets shoved aside by Benoit. Benoit tops the ropes and gives a flying head-butt to Helms. While Helms is in a daze, Benoit applys the sharpshooter. MVP again tries to break it up but fails just before Helms submits.

WINNER: The Hardy Boys and Chris Benoit

The most exciting match by far. Great action with great opponents.

MATCH #3: Deuce and Domino vs Paul London and Brian Kendrick

The WWE Tag Team titles are on the line. The Fonzie-looking thugs masking white t-shirts and black jeans start out with size and power. London and Kendrick utilize their quickness and speed. London pulls off a moon-sault off the outside of the ring, just missing Domnio. London is left lying on the ground while Kendrick continues the match as a handicapped match. Kendrick manages to fight off what Deuce and Domino throw at him with numerous pin falls. Meanwhile officials are taking care of London on the outside of the ring. Domino holds Kendrick while Deuce side kicks him for the 1-2-3.

WINNERS: And New WWE Tag Team Champs Duece and Domino

Really pathetic match here. London and Kendrick fought their hearts out while Duece and Domino used sized and no wrestling ablilities what so-ever. I find more talent in Zach McGowen then Duece and Domino.

MATCH #4: William Regal and Dave Taylor vs Kane

2 on 1 Handicap match

Kane takes blow after blow from the Englishmen. Kane prevails with size and strength, sending the Englishmen running up the ramp and allowing Kane to win by count out. The Big Red machine takes a lick’n but keeps on tick’n.

WINNER: Kane

MATCH #5: Mr. Kennedy” Mr. Money in the bank” vs Undertaker

Taker enters the ring at the same time Kennedy exits while staring at him with the greatest of respect. Fear resides in the eyes of Kennedy. Kennedy suplexd Undertaker off the top rope. Taker sits up as if the dead man has risen, he then grabs Kennedy and gives him the choke slam from hell. Finley runs down the ramp and attckes Undertaker with his Shillaleigh. Both Kennedy and Finley double-team Taker as he remains lying on the mat, thus disqualifying Kennedy.

WINNER: Undertaker

It seems that Kennedy is not man enough to take on the Taker. I see a match coming forth that will have Mr. Kennedy and Finley vs Batista and The Undertaker to take back what is theirs.

All in all, not a bad Smackdown. Definitely a hell of a lot better than the last few weeks! Imagine that, we actually got to see wrestling instead of commercials for once!

WWE, Smackdown

Wrestlemania 24 will be taking place in Orlando, Florida on March 30, 2008 at the Florida Citrus Bowl. This will be the second Wrestlemania to be held in an outdoor arena, the last one being Wrestlemania IX at Ceasar’s Palace in Las Vegas.

It is interesting that WWE has plans for another another outside Wrestlemania as they can not control the weather. I will throw in my two cents and say that I believe there is a reason Vince McMahon wants it this way; Could he have something up his sleeve for this event that is so large it can only occur outdoors?

Coming from the lions mouth, WWE, this arena will hold about 60,000 fans and has the ability to meet WWE’s needs.

WWE, Orlando Citrus Bowl Vince Mcmahon Wrestlemania 24

CM Punk is quickly rising up the ECW ladder. It seems like he’s going to become their top draw aside from Bobby Lashley. But how does CM Punk know the WWE’s newest acquisition, Colt Cabana?

CM Punk enrolled as a student at the Steel Domain wrestling school in Chicago, where he was trained by Ace Steel, Danny Dominion and Kevin Quinn. Part of the training included wrestling at St. Paul’s Steel Domain Wrestling. It was in the Steel Domain that he met Scott Colton, who later adopted the stage name Colt Cabana.

With the cross-overs we’ve been seeing between ECW and WWE, it’s not unlikely that Punk and Cabana will be come either rivals or, maybe, partners.

The words “Straight Edge” that are spelled out on Punk’s stomach, and has become known as his identity.

CM Punk, Colt Cabana, ECW

Ravishing Rick Rude

Rick Rude died of a heart attack on this day back in 1999. He was 40 years old.

Hokie Spirit Memorial Fund

April 16, 2007, will be remembered as one of the darkest days in the history of the Virginia Tech community and the world beyond.

To remember and honor the victims of those tragic events, the university has established the Hokie Spirit Memorial Fund to aid in the healing process and generate financial support.

The fund will be used to cover expenses including but not limited to:

• Grief counseling
• Memorials
• Communication expenses
• Comfort expenses
• Incidental needs

If you plan to give, please click the link below:

Gamers are abuzz today with the talk of the new video that showed up on Gamespot.com. There is a statement made in the video about HUDS (Heads Up Display) not being included in the highly anticipated Smackdown VS Raw 2008.

Some fans of this series are worried that the lack of HUDS is going to become a serious issue during gameplay, while others seem to think that the least amount of “trash” on the screen, the better.

There is also talk about being able to create a move - whether this means to create a true move or a move-set, no one knows yet. The release date is still quite a ways away so who knows what will happen before it is released?

Smackdown VS Raw 2008, WWE, PS3

On April 27, 2007, Memphis Wrestling is set to return to the Mid-South Coliseum after a two year absence with a “Clash Of Legends”.

Originally the show was slated to be Jerry “The King” Lawler VS Hulk Hogan. Hogan stated during his recent press conference that everything was set to go until members of the Fed Ex Forum called WWE to get final approval. Once WWE officials heard that Lawler’s match would be televised on Hogan’s VH1 show, they did everything they could to pull the plug.
According to what Lawler stated during his press conference, he is allowed to wrestle but must do so off-camera due to his contract with WWE. Because the match was going to be aired on Hogan’s Hogan Knows Best show on VH1, Lawler stated that WWE would not allow the match to go on.

I find this interesting considering that there have been other WWE talents that have appeared on Hogan Knows Best, but for some reason isn’t not okay for Lawler to do it?

Anyway, apparently WWE felt threatened by Hogan, because not only did they say “no” to Lawler wrestling, they even tried to buy out the FedEx Forum where the match was supposed to take place! The Memphis promoter in charge of this whole thing, Cory Macklin, refused the offer.
Instead of the match being Hogan VS Lawler, it will now be Hogan VS Paul “The Great” Wight. Wight told reporters during his press conference, that he was proud to no longer be a part of the WWE. He said that he renounced the slave name of “The Big Show” when he left the WWE. He said that he had lost 60 pounds and was feeling great.

When reporters asked him if he planned on joining TNA, he replied that although he was friends with Kurt Angle and Billy Gunn (James Kipp), he was wary of being owned by any corporation again.

Is Vince afraid of competition from the man who made his millions?

Vince McMahon, Hulk Hogan, Paul Wight, Jerry Lawler, WWE, Memphis Wrestling, TNA

It was easily noted on Raw (because it’s been the talk of the internet) that Vince McMahon pulled a “nobody” out of the audience to wrestle Umaga, with the Intercontinental title on the line. He was announced as Santino Marella but his real name is actually Anthony Carelli.

Anthony Carelli has studied and compted in Judo for most of his life. He was in a variety of MMA (Mixed-Martial Arts) tournaments in Japan until 2004, it was then that he signed a developmental deal with the WWE and was immediately signed to OVW (Ohio Valley Wrestling). He debuted there as an audience plant in July 2005. Paul Heyman renamed him Boris Alexiev in 2006 and he was to become known as the “Russian shoot fighter”.

In January of 2007, Carelli won the OVW title in a televised match. He lost the belt on March 17. Less than a month later he suddenly appeared in Italy posing as a member of the Raw fan nation, when Vince plucked him out of the crowd.

Carelli is no more Italian or Russian than I am. He was born in New York, NY, and currently lives in Louisville, KY.

While I do not believe he is a viable contender to take the championship from Cena, I do think that he will be grouped in with the likes of Rey Mysterio and Chris Benoit. His martial arts background will come in handy against these cruiserweights.

WWE, Rey Mysterio, Chris Benoit, Santino Marella, Anthony Carelli

My thoughts, today, are with the thirty-three people whose lives were taken in the Virginia Tech Shootings yesterday. My thoughts and prayers are with the grieving family as well…to have your son/daughter/sister/brother/grandchild ripped from your life in such a way is the most horrible thing that can happen to any family.

Monday Night Raw coming live, for the first time in WWE history, form Milan, Italy.

Right from the start Jonathan Coachman comes out and confirms that Michael Pena’s decision last week to have Cena, HBK, Edge and Orton in a four way at Backlash will occur. Tonight, however, our main match will be Cena vs. Randy Orton and Edge, team Rated RKO.

Vince McMahon struts his stuff down to the stage where he cracks fun at the Italian culture. He says that Shane will not be at Raw due to a problem with the Italians - something about lack of deodorant. He also says that Lashley won’t be present due to custom immigration problems.

Vince calls to the wrestlers in the back, asking for a challanger against Umaga. He sweetens the deal by putting the Intercontinental belt up for grabs, but still no one comes out. Vince eventually picks a man from the crowd and, after verifying that he spoke English (si..si), put him against Umaga.

MATCH #1: Umaga VS. Santino Morella

Morella actually came out strong, kicking Umaga’s butt. A few minutes into the match Vince came to the ring and announced that it was going to be a no holds barred match. “Anything goes” he said.

Umaga immediately starts taking cheap shots and Santino and just when Umaga’s on the top of the turnbuckle ready to land his rotund body on the poor Italian guy, Bobby Lashely comes running down the ramp from the back and body-slammed him off the top rope.

Lashley continues to beat Umaga up, hitting him with a metal chair three times to the chant of the crowd. After the spear from Lashley, Umaga drops. Lashley then picks up Morella and places him on Umaga’s body for the three-count.

WINNER: And New Intercontinental Champion - Santiago Morella

Now I’m wondering if Morella, an obvious plant, will be following the WWE around Europe and back to the states. Whatever happens, it was one hell of a good opening - something Raw hasn’t done in quite awhile.

This was a long one…for the rest of the results click more…
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It is widely known that Vincent K. McMahon sees the potential wrestlers have in bringing publicity into the WWE by doing outside projects, such as movies and music videos.

Surprisingly, his father, Vincent J. McMahon did not feel the same way. Vincent Sr. was the one that originally hired Terry Bollea, better known as Hulk Hogan. Two years after Hogan started his run with the WWF, he was fired by Vincent Sr. Hogan had been personally invited by Sylvester Stallone to have a part in Rocky III. When Hogan politely asked for permission, Vincent J. said “no”. He firmly believed that wrestlers should remain wrestlers and should not be actors.

Shortly after Vince Jr. bought the company from his father, he brought Hogan back and allowed him to pursue other avenues of medium, such as movies and even allowed him to voice the popular Saturday morning cartoon show, Hulk Hogan’s Rock ‘n Wrestling.

Vince has gone on to allow wrestlers such as The Rock, John Cena and now Stone Cold Steve Austin to act in movies, even starting his own production studio in order to launch these movie careers.

What do you think: do you believe that wrestlers should be allowed to act or are you on Vincent Sr.’s side and feel that they should stay just wrestlers?

Vince McMahon, Vincent J. McMahon, WWE, Hulk Hogan, The Rock, John Cena, Stone Cold Steve Austin

Part of my interests in running this site is to unmask the wrestlers in the WWE. To find out exactly who they are and where they’ve come from, so that we can all be better informed about these great athletes.

Bobby Lashley was born Franklin Roberto Lashley on July 16, 1976. Lashley attended Missouri Valley College where he graduated with a degree in Human Service Agency Management. He also won three national amateur wrestling championships between 1996 and 1998, placing fourth in 1995. Throughout 1997 and 1998 he was the NAIA National Wrestling Champion. Lashley later joined the United States Army where he continued to wrestle for his enjoyment.

Lashley signed a developmental contract with World Wrestling Entertainment in November of 2003 and was assigned to the WWE’s official training ground, Ohio Valley Wrestling, where he started his training under Lance Storm.

Almost two years after his training began, Lashley made his televised WWE debut on SmackDown! under the name Bobby Lashley on September 23, 2005. Lashley was introduced as a three-time National Amateur Wrestling Champion, four-time All-American, a two-time Armed Forces Champion and a 2002 Silver Medalist at the Military World Championship.

On November 14, 2006, Lashley moved to ECW in a surprise appearance. At December to Dismember Lashley was the fifth person released into the match. He eliminated Test and The Big Show by pinfall after a Spear to both and became the new ECW World Champion. This victory made Lashley the first African American to hold the ECW title.

Some of his finishing and signature moves are:

• Dominator (Running front powerslam or Inverted front powerslam)

• Military press powerslam

• Spear

Lashley currently has a daughter, Kyra, that was born in 2005.

So you wanna be a wrestler? Wrestling is becoming so popular that there are now any number of professional wrestling schools you can choose from. But if you want to give the crowd an amazing show and learn some high-flying, bone-cracking skills, then one of the best places to learn them is at the Funking Conservatory in Ocala, Florida.

Dory Funk Jr. is the proprietor of this school. Does the name sound familiar? It should. Dory Funk Jr. is credited with inventing the texas cloverleaf submission hold as well as for holding the NWA (National Wrestling Alliance) World Heavyweight Championship title for over 4 years.

Dory Funk Jr. is also the brother of Terry Funk, the original hard-core legend.

Dory now spends his time training only the best and uses his own wrestling show, !BANG!, to do it. Wrestlers under him can get on TV in as little as three weeks.

Some of the big names he’s trained include: Kurt Angle, Lita, Chris Sabin, Test, Christian, Edge, Matt Hardy, Jeff Hardy, Rhino, Christopher Daniels and Paul London, among many more.

Dory sent me a direct link to his latest !BANG! TV show so that us mere mortals can get a glimpse behind the scenes of a true professional wrestling school.

If you are interested head on over to the Funkin Conservatory’s Wrestling School homepage. There you can get a small idea of what it must be like to train to become a wrestler that will live on to become legendary.

Even if you are not interested in becoming a wrestler, but love wrestling as much as I do, head on over and give Dory some of the recognition he deserves: he is a true legend in the business.

Click on the thumbnails for a bigger pic!

Dory Funk Jr., Terry Funk, The Hardy Boys, Lita, Edge, Wrestling School