tag:weblogs.baltimoresun.com,2009:/sports/wrestling/blog//103 2009-07-10T02:07:27Z Ring Posts is a Baltimore Sun blog about wrestling Movable Type 3.36 tag:weblogs.baltimoresun.com,2009:/sports/wrestling/blog//103.203533 2009-07-10T01:47:23Z 2009-07-10T02:07:27Z

Here is the second of three videos from of an interview I conducted with former WCW star and Maryland native Van Hammer last week. In this installment, he talks about his ups and downs in WCW....

baltimoresun.com ]]> tag:weblogs.baltimoresun.com,2009:/sports/wrestling/blog//103.203284 2009-07-09T10:19:17Z 2009-07-09T15:50:08Z

Speculation about Hulk Hogan possibly having interest in going to TNA has been making the rounds on wrestling Web sites. In an interview with The Southtown Star, Hogan spoke favorably about the company and said he still wants to wrestle....

Kevin Eck The Southtown Star, Hogan spoke favorably about the company and said he still wants to wrestle. Hogan, who also had complimentary things to say about WWE in the interview, said: “[TNA's] like the little engine that could. Everybody thought they wouldn't be around for long, and they've been chugging along for seven years. They gain momentum every week. They seem to be real fresh. When a lot of guys go over to that side of the fence, they seem to get a spring in their step.” ]]> The Southtown Star: “I’m trying to not joke or fool myself. I’m trying to get a logical assessment. I’m dying to get in there. … There has to be a talented wrestler willing to slow dance with me.” ]]> tag:weblogs.baltimoresun.com,2009:/sports/wrestling/blog//103.203246 2009-07-08T22:15:30Z 2009-07-09T00:22:52Z

Here is the first of three videos from of an interview I conducted with former WCW star and Maryland native Van Hammer last week. In this installment, he talks about how he fell into the wrestling business....

baltimoresun.com ]]> tag:weblogs.baltimoresun.com,2009:/sports/wrestling/blog//103.202988 2009-07-08T00:12:22Z 2009-07-08T00:31:02Z

Jim Cornette's book signing that was scheduled for Saturday in Glen Burnie, Md., has been canceled, according to a representative of Maryland Championship Wrestling. He will now be signing copies of his book, The Midnight Express 25th Anniversary Scrapbook, at...

baltimoresun.com The Midnight Express 25th Anniversary Scrapbook, at the MCW event Saturday night at The New Green Room in Dundalk. For more information, go to marylandwrestling.com.]]> tag:weblogs.baltimoresun.com,2009:/sports/wrestling/blog//103.202971 2009-07-07T22:34:21Z 2009-07-08T18:44:46Z

Beginning Wednesday I will be posting a series of video interviews with former WCW star Van Hammer that I conducted last week. His story is definitely one worth listening to, as he fell into the self-destructive lifestyle of so many...

baltimoresun.com Beginning Wednesday I will be posting a series of video interviews with former WCW star Van Hammer that I conducted last week. His story is definitely one worth listening to, as he fell into the self-destructive lifestyle of so many pro wrestlers and actually lived to tell about it. *** WWE.com reported that Edge did undergo surgery this morning to repair his torn Archilles tendon. Renowned surgeon Dr. James Andrews performed the operation in Birmingham, Ala. There was no mention in the article of how long Edge would be out, but the preliminary estimation when the injury first occurred was that he wouldn't be back before January. *** Just a reminder that ECW will not be on tonight. It will air on SyFy (formerly known as Sci-Fi) Thursday at 7 p.m. this week. tag:weblogs.baltimoresun.com,2009:/sports/wrestling/blog//103.202928 2009-07-07T20:06:03Z 2009-07-07T20:08:18Z

WWE promoted Monday’s Raw main event between Triple H and John Cena with a shot at the WWE title on the line as an epic clash between two of the industry’s biggest stars – and rightfully so. It was a...

baltimoresun.com WWE promoted Monday’s Raw main event between Triple H and John Cena with a shot at the WWE title on the line as an epic clash between two of the industry’s biggest stars – and rightfully so. It was a pay-per-view-quality match-up that fans didn’t have to shell out $40 to watch. However, while the match was very good, the somewhat predictable finish and the fact that these two have wrestled each other a number of times over the years took some of the shine off of it. interviewed him in 2007. “I think it would have to [be used in an angle] because I have a deep-seeded interest in using my past to help others with a similar background,” he said. “I made some bad decisions that cost me a sizable chunk of my life, and I’d like to be able to use my experience to show [inner-city kids] that there is hope and there’s a way out of that, and it doesn’t necessarily have to be crime or drugs. I’d like to be a role model. ... I think in order to do that, at some point we’d have to address it.” As for Swagger, he played his role as a cocky, obnoxious heel perfectly – just as he always does. MVP-Swagger should be an entertaining mid-card program, but it can be more than that. It just might be a springboard for two deserving talents. Other thoughts on Monday’s show: While a lot of us figured out that there wouldn’t be a definitive winner between Cena and Triple H and it would result in a triple threat match between these two and WWE champ Randy Orton at The Night of Champions pay-per-view, we didn’t know exactly how it would go down. I liked what WWE came up with. It ended up being a double disqualification, thanks to interference from Ted DiBiase Jr. and Cody Rhodes, which Orton assumed meant that he wouldn’t have to face Cena or Triple H. But his plan backfired, as guest Raw general manger “The Million Dollar Man” Ted DiBiase ruled that it would be a triple threat. ... It was good to see DiBiase, one of WWE’s all-time great heels, on TV. I liked the fact that he did not favor Legacy, which would have been predictable. The scene in which he and his son had a confrontation that ended with Ted Jr. giving a hard slap across the face to his father was well done. ... Orton and DiBiase Jr. had a good match that was nicely booked. DiBiase Jr., who is destined to be a star, got in a lot of offense before Orton won. It seems a little soon for a DiBiase babyface turn, though. Hopefully, WWE will slowly build to it. ... Speaking of slow builds (or the lack thereof), a brother versus brother feud between Carlito and Primo shouldn’t happen after just a one-week tease. It probably needed to be done at some point, though. The Colons most likely weren’t getting the tag team title back, and Carlito is better-suited to be a heel. ... The Code Breaker-Spear combination used by Chris Jericho and Edge to beat the Colons looked great. It’s really a shame that the Jericho-Edge title reign has been cut so short. By the way, WWE posted on its Web site today that Edge was scheduled to undergo surgery for his torn Achilles tendon this morning. ... It sounded as if Mark Henry got a nice pop when he came out for his match against Rhodes, but because Raw wasn’t live this week, the enthusiastic crowd reaction may have been the result of post production enhancement. ... I was surprised that Evan Bourne pinned U.S. champion Kofi Kingston in their non-title bout. I would like to see a longer match between these two – one in which The Big Show is not involved. ... Gail Kim and Mickie James – wow, talk about a dream team. Kim pinning divas champion Maryse (who was partnered with Alicia Fox) in the tag match was unexpected. Perhaps this is setting Kim up for a title shot with the winner of the Maryse-James match at Night of Champions. ]]> tag:weblogs.baltimoresun.com,2009:/sports/wrestling/blog//103.202752 2009-07-07T01:33:54Z 2009-07-07T01:48:36Z

For those who have asked how Edge could wrestle tonight on Raw with a torn Archilles tendon, it's because Raw is not live this week. The show was taped last Monday. Edge suffered the injury at a house show last...

baltimoresun.com For those who have asked how Edge could wrestle tonight on Raw with a torn Archilles tendon, it's because Raw is not live this week. The show was taped last Monday. Edge suffered the injury at a house show last Friday. Edge will also be on Friday's episode of Smackdown, which was taped last Tuesday. tag:weblogs.baltimoresun.com,2009:/sports/wrestling/blog//103.202742 2009-07-07T00:05:43Z 2009-07-07T00:12:21Z

As if WWE doesn’t already have enough talent on the disabled list, Matt Hardy is expected to be out for eight to 10 weeks after undergoing abdominal surgery several days ago, according to a report in The Sun (U.K)....

baltimoresun.com The Sun (U.K). ]]> Hardy suffered a torn abdominal muscle two weeks ago during a triple threat match on Raw against Kofi Kingston and MVP. The injury has to be frustrating for Hardy, who has been wrestling with a cast on his right hand since breaking it during a match with his brother Jeff at the Backlash pay-per-view in late April. If there is a silver lining for Hardy, it’s that some time off TV may be beneficial to his character. He wasn’t getting much of a push on Raw before being sent to Smackdown as part of the 15-wrestler trade last week. WWE now will have the opportunity to hit the re-start button on his character when he returns. tag:weblogs.baltimoresun.com,2009:/sports/wrestling/blog//103.202450 2009-07-05T07:08:43Z 2009-07-05T07:10:22Z

I’m assuming that most people reading this already know by now that the injury Edge suffered at a WWE house show Friday night in San Diego was a serious one. According to pwinsider.com, Edge has a torn Achilles tendon, which...

Kevin Eck I’m assuming that most people reading this already know by now that the injury Edge suffered at a WWE house show Friday night in San Diego was a serious one. According to pwinsider.com, Edge has a torn Achilles tendon, which could keep him out of the ring until early next year. Obviously, losing one of the best all-around performers in the business for a significant length of time is horrible news for WWE. Edge joins Batista, The Undertaker and Shawn Michaels on the list of Hall of Fame-caliber WWE stars who are either injured or on hiatus. What makes the situation even more troubling – specifically for Smackdown – is that Jeff Hardy’s departure from WWE could be imminent. Hardy recently said in an interview with a TV network in Spain that he has a few weeks remaining on his contract and still hasn’t decided if he is going to renew it. WWE also has to figure out what to do with the unified tag team title, which was won by the dream team of Edge and Chris Jericho last Sunday at The Bash pay-per-view. I wouldn’t be surprised if the belts were put up for grabs in a tournament (which could play out on Raw, Smackdown and ECW), with the final match taking place at The Night of Champions pay-per-view on July 26. Legacy (Ted DiBiase Jr. and Cody Rhodes) and The Hart Dynasty (Tyson Kidd and David Hart Smith) would be the favorites to win it, unless WWE wanted to put two top singles wrestlers together like it did with Edge and Jericho. Another possible scenario is that Jericho is allowed to choose a replacement for Edge. That would present an opportunity for WWE to elevate someone by giving them the rub of teaming with Jericho. One guy immediately comes to mind – Dolph Ziggler. Then again, how fitting would it be if the man Jericho selected to take Edge’s spot was Christian? Jericho and Christian have a history and they would be great together, but it probably wouldn’t happen. It looks to me as if Christian is going to be getting the ECW title back soon. tag:weblogs.baltimoresun.com,2009:/sports/wrestling/blog//103.202427 2009-07-04T17:45:28Z 2009-07-04T17:46:42Z

Smackdown has been such a strong show as of late that it’s usually difficult to find fault with anything on the program. However, while Friday night’s episode was good, I do have a couple of nitpicks in regard to the...

Kevin Eck Smackdown has been such a strong show as of late that it’s usually difficult to find fault with anything on the program. However, while Friday night’s episode was good, I do have a couple of nitpicks in regard to the booking. Having The Hart Dynasty lose to Cryme Tyme in their Smackdown debut just seems ridiculous to me. The problem, which I noted in a post earlier this week about the WWE trade, is that Cryme Tyme is the only babyface tag team on Smackdown for THD to feud with, and I guess for it to be a true feud, the same team can’t win every time they meet. As the saying goes, however, you only get one chance to make a first impression. Some viewers may not have seen THD before, and a victory over a team fans are already familiar with would have immediately established Tyson Kidd and David Hart Smith as a force to be reckoned with. The other finish I wasn’t thrilled about was Kane scoring a clean win over Rey Mysterio. I understand Kane needed to win his first match on TV since returning from his hiatus, but did it have to be against Mysterio, who was coming off a big victory over Chris Jericho for the Intercontinental title? Other thoughts on Friday’s show: The star of Smackdown once again was CM Punk. He was more heelish in his promo than he has been in previous ones, but he held back just enough to maintain his tweener status. His “just say no” line to Jeff Hardy was tremendous. … The tag team main event that pitted reluctant partners Punk and Hardy against Jericho and Edge was entertaining. I liked the twist of Hardy feigning an eye injury to lead to Punk being pinned. With that being said, I don’t think Punk should be doing too many more jobs. He has now suffered clean pinfall losses on consecutive episodes of Smackdown. … John Morrison showed some personality in the backstage skit in which he and Teddy Long were singing Michael Jackson tunes. WWE needs to do more things such as this to humanize Morrison, whose showy entrance and phenomenal moves are only going to get him so far. … I figured Dolph Ziggler would defeat R-Truth since he seems to be getting the bigger push of the two. I’m all for elevating Ziggler, but I would love to see R-Truth get a similar opportunity at some point. … The budding romance between Ziggler and Maria could be interesting. … There are no words for how awful Cryme Tyme’s Word Up segment was. The only reason I didn’t fast-forward through it was because I was hoping Jesse would show up. Fortunately, he did. Jesse as a wanksta – now that’s funny. … Finlay and Ricky Ortiz had a decent TV match. Call me crazy, but I still see something in Ortiz. tag:weblogs.baltimoresun.com,2009:/sports/wrestling/blog//103.202421 2009-07-04T16:34:13Z 2009-07-04T16:35:00Z

Pwinsider.com is reporting that Edge suffered an ankle injury after landing badly during his match with Jeff Hardy at a WWE house show Friday night in San Diego. There’s no word yet as to how serious the injury is, but...

Kevin Eck Note: Check back later for my thoughts on Friday night’s episode of Smackdown. I hope everyone is having a happy and safe Fourth of July. ]]> tag:weblogs.baltimoresun.com,2009:/sports/wrestling/blog//103.202383 2009-07-03T20:42:09Z 2009-07-04T07:09:52Z

I want to preface this entry by saying that I like Jeff Jarrett as a performer. While there are many “smart” fans who think he’s overrated and that his pushes have been more about politics than ability, I actually think...

Kevin Eck I want to preface this entry by saying that I like Jeff Jarrett as a performer. While there are many “smart” fans who think he’s overrated and that his pushes have been more about politics than ability, I actually think he gets a bad rap. Jarrett has always been a good worker, and while he has never been a huge box office draw, he is a star. With that being said, however, Jarrett gave those who criticize him for using his position as TNA founder to excessively push himself plenty of ammunition on Thursday night’s episode of Impact. Rocky movies lately. Foley “wrestled” a Sylvester Stallone cardboard cutout in May, and Angle quoted a line from the movie on Thursday’s show. I thought Abyss was going to deliver another Rocky line, but he put a clever spin on it instead. He told Lauren: “I never asked you to stop being a woman, so I don’t want you to ask me to stop being a monster.” … By the way, when do you think Lauren will turn on Abyss and start making out with Stevie? … I swear I think the writers were intentionally trying to make Mike Tenay look silly by saying juvenile things that seemed totally out of character. When ODB was grabbing her breasts outside the ring during Cody Deaner’s match, Tenay said it was like a baseball coach giving signals: “One bounce of the boobs means swing away, two bounces and a grope means hit and run.” He later talked to Don West about “sexting.” Good lord. … Speaking of Deaner, I’m so glad the talented Amazing Red didn’t have to put him over. … Tara was wearing a t-shirt that said “Tara Rizing.” I hope she has more success with that moniker than Paul Levesque did in WCW 15 years ago. … When Tara put her tarantula on an unconscious Velvet Sky, how many people were wishing that they were a tarantula? Actually, after seeing Torrie Wilson with snakes and giant cockroaches on her face on I’m a Celebrity … Get Me Out of Here, a spider crawling on someone’s stomach doesn’t seem all that scary. … Why are Jay Lethal and Consequences Creed always the guys getting beaten up when a top star is on a rampage? I could possibly see it with Creed, but Lethal deserves better. … I had to laugh when Sharmell said “Did I stutter?” to Matt Morgan. It would have been even funnier if Morgan had been scripted to say that line. … Sharmell and Sojourner Bolt are friends? When did that happen? … TNA is not doing a good job of making Jesse Neal a likable character. Given his story, it seems like the easiest thing in the world to do, but no one is going to care when Rhino turns on him. Hey, maybe it’s all a swerve and Neal is going to turn on Rhino instead. Actually, no one will care about that either. … What’s the story with this Mike Davis guy, TNA’s head of security? ]]> tag:weblogs.baltimoresun.com,2009:/sports/wrestling/blog//103.202358 2009-07-03T17:33:45Z 2009-07-04T06:58:29Z

So was world heavyweight champion CM Punk’s left eye partially closed at the end of Thursday’s episode of WWE Superstars because it was injured, or was he really winking at us because he had just pulled another fast one? Punk,...

Kevin Eck So was world heavyweight champion CM Punk’s left eye partially closed at the end of Thursday’s episode of WWE Superstars because it was injured, or was he really winking at us because he had just pulled another fast one? Punk, who suffered the (kayfabe) eye injury at last Sunday’s Bash pay-per-view, aggravated it during his non-title match with Edge Thursday. After Edge raked his eyes, Punk told the referee that he couldn’t continue, and Edge was awarded the match via forfeit. Punk got a lot of heat from the crowd for conceding the match, as he took another step forward in his progression from tweener to heel. The announcers continued to play up the fact that there are two sides to every story and that Punk could really be hurt. As I have said before, I think Punk is the most compelling performer in wrestling right now. As much as I’m enjoying his tweener phase, however, I think Punk is really going to get over once his heel turn is complete. The other interesting thing about the Punk-Edge match is that Edge played subtle babyface. Edge is such an awesome heel that I hate to see him turn, but he hasn’t been a babyface in more than five years, so it will be a big deal when he does the turn at some point. Other thoughts on Thursday’s show: It’s so silly that WWE management has banned the announcers from saying the names of the referees. Most of the time it’s not a big deal, but referee Scott Armstrong was a key figure in Punk’s matches against Jeff Hardy at The Bash and Edge on Superstars, so to hear Jim Ross and Todd Grisham constantly referring to him as “this official” was ridiculous. I just don’t see how mentioning a referee by name on occasion in any way affects the product. … The crowd seems to be gradually getting behind John Morrison, who followed up his big victory over Punk last week on Smackdown with a nice win over Charlie Haas. … Santino Marella and The Brian Kendrick had a fun match, although it really demonstrated just how buried Kendrick is. Marella’s winning percentage is worse than the Washington Nationals’, yet even he beat Kendrick. I don’t understand why WWE just doesn’t put Kendrick on ECW and let him do his thing. … It seems odd that Tyler Reks would lose in his first match on WWE television, against Zack Ryder. That's not exactly the best way to get new talent over. tag:weblogs.baltimoresun.com,2009:/sports/wrestling/blog//103.202194 2009-07-02T19:10:38Z 2009-07-02T20:17:24Z

I conducted a phone interview Wednesday with former WWE diva Torrie Wilson, who talked about her runner-up finish last week on the NBC reality show I’m a Celebrity … Get Me Out of Here, as well as her negative experience...

Kevin Eck I’m a Celebrity … Get Me Out of Here, as well as her negative experience doing the divas battle royal at WrestleMania XXV last April. So, what’s the first you did when you got back home after three weeks or so in the jungle in Costa Rica? When I arrived at my house I had a very small party with my closest friends and family and I ate some vanilla cake. I’m sure it tasted good to you. Man it was delicious. What was the toughest part about being in the jungle and what was the toughest challenge that you had to do? I think the toughest part about being there was that some of the personalities were clashing, so it was difficult at times to get along with everybody. And, of course, the eating was really difficult. The hardest challenge – there was one where we stuck our head in something [a glass case filled with snakes]. I was really glad I didn’t get the tarantulas. Spencer and Heidi Pratt and Janice Dickinson came off as incredibly annoying. What was it like being in the jungle with them? ]]> Did you get the sense that they were playing to the cameras or that they really were just that obnoxious? At first I thought for sure Spencer was doing his rant for the cameras, but the longer I was around him the more I thought, maybe because he’s been on a reality show for so long that he’s started to let it blend into his real character. I don’t really know him personally so it was hard for me to differentiate, but it seemed like much of what they were doing – all of them – was very close to their true personalities. The people on reality shows with obnoxious over-the-top personalities always seem to make the biggest impression with viewers. You came off as very normal. Do you think that hurt you at all in the eyes of the viewers who were voting for who they wanted to remain on the show? The first couple episodes they pretty much devoted completely to Spencer and Heidi and Janice. Just looking around at those larger-than-life characters and seeing how hard they were trying to get camera time, I definitely thought in the beginning that it was going to be hard to compete with that, because I wasn’t willing to devalue myself and be someone I wasn’t just for camera time. So I definitely think in the beginning it hurt me, but I knew that if I was able to stick around long enough that people would appreciate who I was and that I just wanted to be myself. I can’t imagine letting snakes or cockroaches crawl across my face like you did. What goes through your head? How do you get through it? Really what I’m doing is thinking fully on the task that I’m trying to do. With the snakes and stuff I just reminded myself over and over again – and it was hard at times – that they weren’t going to hurt me. They weren’t going to put snakes that were going to bite my arm off in there with me, and I’m just so competitive that I was completely thinking about the task and beating the other person. So which was worse, a snake slithering across your face or making out with Vince McMahon? Oh, making out with Vince, for sure [laughs]. I’ll take the snake any day. You talked about knowing that things weren’t going to bite you, but you actually did get bitten by rats during the challenge where you had to stick your hand into a rock, right? Yeah. The biggest reason I was upset with that was because they kept telling me to put my hand back in after I had been bitten and I had blood everywhere. I had trusted them not to let something bad happen and they kept filming. For quite a few days afterwards they had heard me talking, saying that I don’t know if I can trust them to do another trial. What if they’re not thinking about my safety again? So it took me a few days to realize that they’re going to be extra cautious after that accident. They had to build up our trust again. Yeah, I thought that one was over the line, especially when Lou Diamond Phillips kept his hand in there with the rats and came out bleeding pretty bad. It was over the line. I can’t believe he kept his hand in there to get it gnawed off. He ended up getting like eight stitches. I’m like, “Man, this guy really wants to win. I’m not putting my hand back in there.” [laughs] Did you surprise yourself with some of the things you were able to do? Oh definitely. I always want to win and I know that I’m athletic and competitive, but anytime I won a challenge, especially against a guy, I surprised myself. There was a challenge where you had to go up on a high wire. I knew I was a little bit scared of heights but once I got up there I got really upset. I was crying and just didn’t know what I was going to do. John Salley really calmed me down. The fact that I got over that and did it was the greatest feeling in the world, to be scared to death to do something and just plunge forward and do it anyway and complete it is just the best feeling. What kind of feedback have you gotten from your friends about your appearance on the show. Do you think you surprised any of them? [Laughs]. Yeah, definitely. Pretty much everybody that I talk to says they don’t think they could do that. I like to say, “You can’t?” or “You won’t?” John Salley taught me that. It was such an amazing experience and it really changed me. How so? I really feel at this moment in time that if I can do that I can really get through any obstacle put before me. I’ve had plenty of obstacles in the past and things that frighten me, and I’m definitely not going to be as afraid. And I’ve changed my entire way of eating after the show. I became a vegetarian, almost vegan. I feel wonderful after having the cleansing I had there and getting off sugar. Of course my patience has been way better, and I’m just appreciating all the luxuries that I have. There was one point on the show where they weighed everyone and they had all lost between 10 and 20 pounds, but you gained seven pounds. Were you just working out like crazy or what was going on? [Laughs]. I was working out like crazy, but my body’s really weird. I gained seven pounds but I went down a pants size. I wasn’t working out that much because it was so hot; maybe like 30 minutes a day. My whole thing with that was that America is going to see that I gained seven pounds and not believe how starved I am the entire time. They said on the show that the final vote between you and Lou Diamond Phillips was very close. How close was it? Oh my gosh. They told me that the night before and the morning of that they thought I had it won, but then he ended up beating me by less than one-tenth of one percentage point. They even did a recount. It’s all good. I’m happy with second and I’m happy for Lou. Just knowing that I was that close to someone like him – he’s a big movie star with a huge following and to be that close with him in itself is an accomplishment for me. A lot of these types of reality shows have a lot of back-stabbing and conflict, but when it got down to you, Lou and John Salley, you all came off as very likable and friendly toward one another. I’m really glad that I did this reality show versus something where they try to set up lots of instances where you’re backstabbing each other. Of course we had a little bit of that, which we saw later when we got home, but for the most part I think everyone really was themselves. It’s kind of a relief not to see crazy larger-than-life characters all trying to backstab each other. Do you think you will remain friends with some of the people that you met on the show? Definitely. I’ve got all their information. I really miss them a lot already. It’s really weird spending 30 days with people in such close quarters with no interruptions. We got so close that we’re definitely going to be friends for life. All of them? Are there any you won’t remain friends with? You know, by the end I really learned to appreciate and love everybody. As many times as I wanted to strangle Janice, there are many aspects to her that I do appreciate. She’s definitely a complex person, but she’s been through a lot. I’ve just learned to understand that. What’s next for you at this point? I am working on a workout video, which I think we’re going to start taping in August. It’s a lot of the workout that I did in the jungle, really back to basics. We’re going to do a series of them. I’ve got lots of meetings out in L.A. now. Hopefully [the show] will open up quite a few doors for me. There’s definitely been a lot of interest. What are your thoughts on the divas battle royal that you participated in at WrestleMania XXV? It seemed like a bit of a cluster. I’m very mad at myself and embarrassed that I agreed to be a part of something like that. A lot of people in the audience didn’t even know that I was in that match because they didn’t even announce it. For me, that whole experience at WrestleMania was kind of like closure. I feel like maybe I’m not appreciated like I would have hoped. They just wanted all these girls there. Now I can understand why Trish [Stratus] decided not to do it; she was smart. Going into it I trusted them that they would use me in the right way and I should have known better. All in all, I learned a valuable lesson. When you say it was closure, do you think that’s it for you as far as doing anything in wrestling? I do. I just didn’t appreciate that experience and I felt very unappreciated after all of the years that I put in for them. You combine that with the fact that I asked them to do a little thing on wwe.com to “vote for Torrie” and they just ignored me. So, my feelings are hurt. Torrie Wilson’s office Web site is www.torriewilsonusa.com. The Web site for her clothing store is www.officiallyjaded.com. Her MySpace is www.myspace.com/torries_space . Photo: Getty Images]]> tag:weblogs.baltimoresun.com,2009:/sports/wrestling/blog//103.201927 2009-07-01T19:47:46Z 2009-07-01T19:53:06Z

With Jack Swagger, Evan Bourne and The Hart Dynasty having graduated with honors from ECW, a new class of young talent debuted on the show Tuesday night. Four performers from the Florida Championship Wrestling developmental territory – Yoshi Tatsu, Abraham...

Kevin Eck With Jack Swagger, Evan Bourne and The Hart Dynasty having graduated with honors from ECW, a new class of young talent debuted on the show Tuesday night. Four performers from the Florida Championship Wrestling developmental territory – Yoshi Tatsu, Abraham Washington, Sheamus and Tyler Reks – appeared on the program. It’s always exciting to see fresh faces, but it may have been too much to throw at the audience all at once. The combination of all the unfamiliar characters, a train wreck interview segment and a stupid booking decision regarding Shelton Benjamin made for one of the worst episodes of ECW in quite a while. After ECW general manager Tiffany opened the show by addressing the roster changes, things quickly went downhill. In the first match of ECW’s new era, Benjamin was defeated by Tatsu in a matter of seconds. As Benjamin bowed in a mocking gesture, Tatsu caught him with a kick to the head and pinned him. Given yet another opportunity to do something meaningful with the athletically gifted Benjamin (like make him the ECW champion, for instance), WWE treated him like he’s Santino Marella. It really is mind-boggling. The idea was that Benjamin’s arrogance and failure to take the match seriously cost him, but that same goal could have been accomplished with an actual match. Championship-level competitors just shouldn’t be taken out with one kick. The only way Benjamin losing like that makes any sense is if he does a promo next week saying that it was a wakeup call and he now is on a serious mission to win the ECW title. As bad as that was, the interview segment with Washington was even worse. Washington, who bears a physical resemblance to Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, can talk, but his material was beyond lame and his guests – the Bella Twins – were incredibly annoying. For some unknown reason, the Bellas are bickering again. To say that this segment died a slow, agonizing death would be an understatement. Other thoughts on Tuesday’s show: Vladimir Kozlov looks to be the next in line for a shot at ECW champion Tommy Dreamer. With William Regal as his partner, Kozlov pinned Dreamer in a tag team match that also involved Christian. Kozlov had a smirk on his face at times, but the goofy grin and waving to the crowd from three weeks ago were absent. … Sheamus, who has been wrestling on WWE house shows and in dark matches for months, looked decent in winning a squash match. … Reks, who had a backstage verbal confrontation with Zack Ryder to set up a match between them on WWE Superstars Thursday, has a good look. He was one of the top guys in FCW.