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Updated throughout the day, the Torch News Ticker delivers a constant stream of news and information from WWE, TNA, ROH, Japan, the independents, and whatever else pops up. Keep it open in a new tab and bookmark it every Monday! Promoters and readers: Send in news, upcoming events, interview highlights, or wrestling-related information to the Torch News email address, Wade Keller, and James Caldwell for inclusion on the constantly-updated Ticker. Contact link.

Saturday, April 19, 2008

- WWE Smackdown from last night averaged a 2.5 in the overnight ratings. The rating is down from the 2.6 rating the previous two weeks. The show averaged a 2.4 first hour and 2.6 second hour, with the final hour picking up fourth place ahead of ABC's offering again.

- ROH Notes: The big news of the weekend is ROH debuting in Canada on July 25 in Toronto. ROH has not made an official announcement of details, venue, line-up, etc. ... Main event of last night's show in Detroit was Jimmy Jacobs & Tyler Black defeating Alex Shelley & Chris Sabin in Shelley & Sabin's return to ROH. We're looking for a report from last night's show. ... We're also looking for a report from tonight's show in Chicago, which features Nigel McGuinness vs. Kevin Steen for the ROH Title and Shelley & Sabin vs. the Briscoes. ...

- Speaking of Toronto, the Toronto Star published a story on Trish Stratus's new yoga program. No DDP references, but you can't go wrong with a photo of Trish in a yoga pose. Trish is opening a 5,200-square foot yoga facility called "Stratusphere" on April 26 that will offer classes throughout the day. Trish said the opportunity really connected with her after her WWE career ended. "All these interesting offers came: a clothing line, an energy drink, facial care - all great opportunities," she said, "but nothing felt real. It wasn't my idea or product." Article link.

- Totally360.com has a new video game trailer for TNA's video game, which has not been given an official release date yet after being pushed back until possibly after the summer. Article link.

- Bloggingstocks.com published a story on reality shows vs. WWE programming. The premise is that producers of reality shows simply need to fess up that portions of their shows are embellished or edited for dramatic effect, which apparently is news, to be more accepted like WWE. Article link.

- 850 AM The Buzz out of North Carolina posted a youtube clip of Rep. Sue Myrick's speech for Ric Flair last week in Congress. Article link.

- WWE is getting a little pop culture pub with the NBA playoffs starting up, and a feud between LeBron James of the Cleveland Cavaliers and DeShawn Stevenson of the Washington Wizards. Bloggers have suggested that James, who has been seen ringside for WWE shows in Cleveland in the past, and Stevenson battle out their differences in a WWE steel cage. Article link.

***

Friday, April 18, 2008

Evening Update

- We're looking for a live report from tonight's ROH show in Detroit featuring the return of Alex Shelley & Chris Sabin to ROH. Follow the "Contact Us" link on top of the page to drop in a report.

- Miami Herald published a story on TNA trying to compete against WWE in the video game world before competing in overall business. Both sides of the battle (THQ for WWE and Midway for TNA) were amicable talking about what each other brings to the table. "I've seen stuff here and there, not a whole lot, but I wish them all the luck," THQ's Bryan Williams told Scott Fishman. "Competition is good. The video game market and genre are big enough for both of us. I'm looking forward to playing it as a gamer myself."

Midway's Jaime Bencia says they're looking to bring new elements to the table that surpass WWE's video game series. "We've spent a significant amount of time and effort to bring as much realism to every single wrestling animation implemented in the game," said Bencia. "We think we've got an experience that will give any wrestling game out there a legitimate run for its money."

The article also includes info on WWE wrestlers working with THQ on the features in the 2009 video game. Former Spirit Squad members, MVP, and Victoria have helped out with motion capture for the game. Good read on what goes into a wrestling video game. Article link.

- Paul Heyman's take on the Mike Adamle situation is on the U.K. Sun website here.

- Eric Garguilo on Phillyburbs.com posted a story on Tod Gordon announcing his official retirement from the wrestling business. Eric and Tod had a close relationship in ECW, so it's definitely worth a read. Article link.

- Mashable posted a story on WWE trying to reach the Facebook and Myspace crowds as part of their WWE Fan Nation initiative. Article link.

Morning Update

- Northern Echo in the U.K. published a story on WWE's stop in Newcastle on the European tour. Cade and Murdoch were interviewed for the story, with Cade commenting on a previous gruesome injury in the ring. Murdoch said he got into the wrestling business to work for WWE, and it's more difficult to stay in WWE than it is to actually get to that point. "You certainly question whether you made the right decision," Murdoch said about getting into the business.
Article link.

- U.K. Sun published a story on WWE's tour stop in Birmingham on Wednesday. Main event was Edge vs. The Undertaker. Article link.

- Roddy Piper is claiming tonight is his final match in Newburgh, Pa. at Northeast Wrestling's Spring Slam. Of course, Piper is booked for a show in Bristol, Ct. on Saturday. Kurt Angle and Samoa Joe are also scheduled to appear at tonight's show, then travel to the show in Bristol. Article link.

- Newport Independent (Ark.) published a good story on Jimmy Valiant, with a wrestling arena being opened in Tuckerman, Ark. in Valiant's name. Good read. Article link.

- ROH Notes: ROH returns to Detroit tonight with a tag match main event of Jimmy Jacobs & Tyler Black vs. the returning Sabin & Shelley. Top matches on the card are tag matches ... Announced for ROH's May 10 debut at the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York City is Bryan Danielson vs. Marufuji and Morishima vs. Necro Butcher. The third match announced is FIP champion Roderick Strong vs. Erick Stevens vs. Go Shiozaki ...

***

Thursday, April 17, 2008

Evening Update

- TNA Impact preview: Following the Lockdown PPV, TNA is advertising three title matches for tonight. They have Jay Lethal vs. Johnny Devine for the X Division Title, A.J. Styles & Tomko vs. Kaz & Eric Young for the TNA Tag Titles, and Awesome Kong vs. the Queen of the Cage Roxxi LeVeaux for the Knockouts Title. ... Also, the fall-out from Samoa Joe's TNA Title victory over Kurt Angle.

- WWE will be reporting first quarter earnings (which will include WrestleMania business) on Tuesday, May 6. They'll have the quarterly conference call with investors at 11:00 a.m. EST. Press release.

- NWA's Showcase TV show will be moving from its Wednesday night timeslot on DISH Network's Colours TV to a Saturday evening slot at 6:00 p.m. EST. NWA is selling it as a move to the traditional Saturday timeslot, which is most recently known for WCW Saturday Night on TBS. The timeslot change takes effect this Saturday night. Since Colours has the exclusive first-run rights to the Showcase shows, NWA's website will run the shows online after each episode airs on Colours.

- Roddy Piper and Jerry Lawler are headlining the Northeast Wrestling promotion's Wrestlefest XII show in Bristol, Ct. on Saturday night. The local NBC affiliate picked up the story, so there should be a decent turn-out. Also scheduled to appear are Samoa Joe, Awesome Kong, and Velvet Sky. Lawler will be wrestling in a cage match and he'll have a meet and greet at 5:30 before the show starts. NBC article link.

Morning Update

- Samoa Joe is interviewed in the U.K. Sun on his championship victory at Lockdown. Joe said the timing was right this time for a title switch, even though people wanted him to win the belt last year. "Back in the day I was really just a big mean dude, who didn’t talk very much and punched everybody in the face," he said. "That’s all fun and good, but after a while it gets a bit tiresome. It wasn’t right time to get the title."

Joe commented on the promo from the Turning Point PPV where Scott Hall no-showed and he ripped on TNA. "Looking back now I regret a few of the things I said and some of the things I don’t," he said. "At the same time, I think it needed to get out and for me personally it cleared a lot of things and paved a new road." Joe also said nothing is currently in the works for him returning to ROH, but with TNA and ROH renewing talks, he wouldn't rule out an appearance when his schedule lightens up. Good interview. Article link.

- Comments made by Kevin Nash back in March were published today in the Daytona Beach News Journal, including his thoughts on wrestling philosophy and WWE vs. TNA. On TNA management, he said, "Dixie Carter and the people that run the company have a different philosophy. It's also just the working environment -- there's a lot less pressure. Our boss cares about the guys. She wants us to be healthy. And she feels if it evens the playing field, then nobody has an advantage and guys will live longer." Article link.

- Maria was interviewed in the Miami Herald on WWE and fitness. She said she was working out twice a day prior to the Playboy shoot, and now she's lucky to get three work-outs per week with her busy schedule. "I love wrestling. I really do. It takes so much hard work," Maria told Scott Fishman. "The most important thing is making it out to the signings and the media. If I got to skip out on the gym, I got to do it, but hopefully it's not showing too much." Article link.

***

Wednesday, April 16, 2008

Evening Update

- Forbes published an article on UFC's market value and overall market share dominance over the MMA market. They compared UFC being valued at $1.0 billion to WWE being valued at $1.4 billion. It's a small difference, especially considering WWE has double the annual revenue as UFC. Good piece of financial information on UFC here. Article link.

- Jim Ross posted a new blog on jrsbarbq.com discussing a variety of topics from the week. Ross commented on Mike Adamle, who Ross said he spoke with at length on Monday night about the new ECW assignment. "Wrestling fans can be tough to please at times and there is no doubt that Mike will have to earn the audience’s confidence, which will be a work in progress," Ross said. "Hopefully, wrestling fans will give Aamle the opportunity to settle in and develop his wrestling broadcasting skills." Blog link.

- Livedesign.com published an article on the amount of technical work that went into WWE's HD upgrade earlier this year. WWE production designer James Robinson discussed the technical upgrades to give the TV sets a more professional feel. Article link.

Afternoon Update

- Samoa Joe appeared on the Monday Night Mayhem radio show to discuss his TNA Title victory at Lockdown on Sunday. "The next challenge is to make the best of this run, and to give the fans something different," Joe said. He added that Angle and himself tried something different in the ring. "Our intent was to going for something different and unusual that people do not see every day in professional wrestling," he said. "Things went well...I think the fans enjoyed it for the most part." Full interview transcript on prowrestling.NET.

- Joe also commented on his contract situation during an interview with KFNS radio in St. Louis. Joe said he believes his side and TNA's side will come to a new contract agreement this week. He claimed issues over trademarks caused a stall in negotiations. "I had trademarks pending and now they got put through, and just the timetable wasn't right," he said. "TNA, of course, they want to get me signed and locked down. I mean, I do have their championship." Full interview transcript on prowrestling.NET.

- We haven't been able to confirm the details yet, but the word in the WWE locker room is that WWE made the call to move Mike Adamle to the ECW broadcast position because of his hefty salary. WWE wants to justify his big contract by having him to do more than basic backstage interviews.

- In the surprise of the week, USA Network won last week's cable ratings yet again. They have yet to be surpassed in 2008, but Spike TV gave them a run for their money with several airings of Star Wars this past week. USA averaged 2.56 million viewers in prime time, compared to 2.21 million from Spike. It was a 38 percent spike (pun kinda not intended) for Spike from their first quarter average. Mediaweek article.

- ROH announced the first two matches for their debut in Virginia on May. Main event will be Roderick Strong & Davey Richards & Rocky Romero vs. NOAH's Morishima & Marufuji & Go Shiozaki. Bryan Danielson vs. Tyler Black has also been signed.

***

Tuesday, April 15, 2008

Evening Update

- IGN.com published a story on TNA's new video game. Tons of new details on the gameplay and a 2:26 video clip on how the game was made. Mark Turmell, Midway's design director, commented on the game compared to WWE's video game series. "We know we can't compete with Smackdown on features," Turmell said. "We really, on this first go, are trying to hang our hats on gameplay." Article link.

- Videogamer.com also has a story on the Impact game, with comments from Kurt Angle. Quite the surprise that Angle said they'll win a WAR between WWE and TNA on the video game front. "You're going to see it's so much more authentic," he said. "It's a no brainer. We're going to win the war definitely." Article link.

- Gaston Gazette (N.C.) published the transcript of Rep. Sue Myrick's tribute speech to Ric Flair at Congress today. Article link.

- For last week's cable ratings, WWE Raw finished fourth and sixth behind Spongebob, a Lifetime movie, and VH-1's Rock of Love 2. Raw did top Yankees vs. Red Sox on ESPN Sunday night. Top 20 ratings.

Afternoon Update

- TV notes: WWE tapes Smackdown and ECW tonight in London, with the featured matches of The Undertaker vs. Batista on Smackdown and Undertaker & Kane teaming up on ECW. ... TNA tapes this week's Impact tonight in Orlando featuring their three title matches. We're looking for live reports on both tapings.

- Jeff Hardy is being advertised for a house show in New Mexico on June 20. His 60-day suspension would be over in May, so it remains to be seen how long WWE holds him off TV when his suspension is over.

- ICWales.com published a story on WWE's Smackdown/ECW show in Cardiff, Wales. Basic recap on seeing the spectacle of WWE up-close-and-personal. Article link.

***

Monday, April 14, 2008

Evening Update

- Raw preview: Matches taped in London for tonight's Raw include WWE champion Randy Orton vs. Raw G.M. William Regal and Women's champion Beth Phoenix vs. Mickie James for the title. There will be another confrontation between Shawn Michaels and Batista to advance their program leading to Backlash.

- WWE TV Notes: Next week's three-hour Raw is being built around the offer to Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama to settle their differences in the ring. PWInsider.com is reporting it will also be a one-night-only King of the Ring tournament. ... The Undertaker vs. Batista will be the main event of this Friday's Smackdown. WWE tapes Smackdown/ECW in London tomorrow night.

- St. Pete Times (Fla.) published a story on WWE's developmental territory. FCW trainer Steve Keirn said it's like a baseball farm league where they train wrestlers to understand the entertainment aspect of pro wrestling. "This business is very demanding," Keirn said. "You get in, make as much money as you can and get out, because if you don't, you won't have a family. They're aren't many of these places like this and this is the only game in town, so we have to fill the void of talent somehow."

Ted DiBiase, Jr. was interviewed about learning the craft to prepare for WWE. He said they're being groomed for TV, so they need to learn how to be entertainers. "We come here because we want to be at the top," DiBiase said. "TV is the finished product, obviously, but every wrestler starts at the bottom. It's not easy, but that's why we're here." Article link.

- There's an event outside of Pittsburgh scheduled for May 24 that will feature Kurt Angle, Bruno Sammartino, Chris Masters, Blue Meanie, Heart Throbs, and Joey Mercury. "Steel City Wrestlefest" will be at the Rostraver Ice Garden. Show details.

- PCauthority.com published a story on top video games coming out in 2008. TNA's video game made their list, but not without a dig at the name of the company. Article link.

- Ted DiBiase will be speaking at John 3:16 Ministries in Charlotte on Thursday. Appearance details.

Afternoon Update

- TNA Impact notes: TNA has a travel day today before taping this Thursday's television in Orlando on Tuesday. The main focus will be on Samoa Joe's title victory at Lockdown ... They are advertising three title matches on the show: X Division champion Jay Lethal vs. Johnny Devine, Knockouts champion Awesome Kong vs. Roxxi LaVeaux, and a three-way match for the TNA Tag Titles with Styles & Tomko defending against LAX and Kaz & Eric Young. ... A non-title match advertised for the show is Christian Cage & Rhino vs. Team 3D.

- ROH Notes: Kevin Steen will get an instant re-match against ROH champion Nigel McGuinness this Saturday in Chicago. ... After capturing the ROH Tag Titles this past Saturday in Edison, the Briscoes will make their first defense on May 9 in Virginia. ... ROH is claiming that Austin Aries is not officially cleared for this weekend's shows in the Midwest. If he is cleared, he will team with Kota Ibushi against the Briscoes on Friday in Detroit. ...

- We reported early this morning that WWE Smackdown will remain in the Friday night timeslot this fall when SD moves to MyNetworkTV. Reuters published a story from the Hollywood Reporter on MyNet's upcoming fall season in their continued progress to become a respected network. The opening paragraph: "Could Flavor Flav and the Undertaker provide the ratings boost that MyNetworkTV needs?" Article link.

- Sky Sports published a story on WWE's U.K. tour, with interviews from C.M. Punk and Finlay. Finlay commented on European wrestlers being offered developmental contracts to potentially become WWE wrestlers. "The worst thing you can do is come over here and start wrestling like all of the Americans do. I tell them when they come over: keep the British style," Finlay said. "I think they are all trying to find their niche. I want that European influx; I want that European style because it is really good. I hope they can stay with that European style; that British style." Story link.

***

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