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Updated two or three times per day, the Torch News Ticker delivers a 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 Ticker. Contact link.

Saturday, July 5, 2008

Evening Update

- WWE's international tour concludes in San Salvador tonight after a four-night tour. Triple H, Shawn Michaels, and John Cena headlined in Lima, Peru on Thursday, with local news reports having attendance at 15,000. The reports also noted plenty of kids in the audience. LivinginPeru.com article link.

- Jim Ross said in his latest blog that the Lima show grossed more than $1.0 million, which would make it one of WWE's top shows of the year financially. Ross also commented in his blog about the Trevor Murdoch release. "It was surprising to see that likable Trevor Murdoch was released this week from the WWE," Ross said. "This one really caught me off guard as I personally always liked the Harley Race trained wrestler who I know will land on his feet and continue to grow in the business that he loves."

Ross also comments on Smackdown live taping rumors and his new schedule, which he finds quite convenient for running his restaurant business. On the rumor, he said, "My 'sources close to the decision makers' say it is absolutely not going to happen." Blog link.

- ROH owner Cary Silkin says the ROH show in Toronto on July 25 has sold over 1,000 tickets three weeks prior to the show. "We've sold more than 1,000 tickets for the Toronto show and for a company without prime-time TV," Silkin told Tim Baines of the Edmonton Sun. "We've been wanting to come to Canada for quite a while. But we didn't rush into it. One of the reasons Ring of Honor has been successful in a tough wrestling business climate is we've done everything in slow steps." Article link.

- Jack Evans was pulled from PWG's show tomorrow night in Reseda, Calif. Evans, who is one-half of the PWG tag champs, had to make a decision to stay in Mexico to fulfill his AAA obligations or reportedly lose his job with the company. The card will be rearranged and the tag title situation addressed at PWG' fifth-anniversary show tomorrow night. Main event is Human Tornado vs. Chris Hero in a steel cage match for the PWG Title. Card line-up.

- The independent student newspaper at the University of Oregon published a review of Chris Bell's "Bigger, Stronger, Faster" documentary. It's one of the few negative reviews out there, with the author believing Bell took a one-sided look at the steroid issue in pro sports. The author concludes that the documentary "may reveal a lot about steroid use but it paints itself to be more than it is: an informative, yet biased look at anabolic steroid use among athletes." Article link.

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Friday, July 4, 2008

Happy Fourth of July to our U.S. readers

- WWE announced on its website yesterday that Trevor Murdoch has been released from WWE. They wished him good luck with his future endeavors. It certainly seems like Murdoch has a spot with Beer Money in TNA. No other details are available on why Murdoch was released at this time. Stay tuned.

- John Morrison says he lives off the adrenaline rush from a live wrestling crowd to keep him going in the ring. "It’s hard to have a normal life, that’s for sure," Morrison told the ABC affiliate in Baton Rouge, La. to promote next week's TV taping. "And it’s hard to have to work out when you’re tired and aching. But then you get in front of the fans and you feel that rush again." Morrison says he has worked over 100 matches with The Miz as his tag partner, and they're constantly working on chemistry. Article link.

- MVP interview link off the main listing.

- Ring of Honor owner Cary Silkin says they are close to record ticket sales for the Toronto debut on July 25. "We're always nervous going into a new market," Silkin told the Oakville Today in Canada. "We're close to our record crowd numbers in sales." Silkin said they'll announce a return date during the show, which they expect to be a very special show. Article link.

- Chris Bell says his "Bigger, Stronger, Faster" documentary didn't start out as a documentary on steroids, but it evolved into that as they put together the story. "The idea that being the best, whatever it takes, the sacrifices that you have to make," Bell told LAist.com. "I realized that if we're going to do this topic we would have to talk about steroids. It turned into a movie where steroids were the focus. We set out to make a movie about that win at all cost attitude and it turned into an exposé on performance enhancing drugs and how they fit into society."

Bell says he has received feedback from some government folks and WWE, but some people have ignored the existence of the doc. "We haven't heard anything from Henry Waxman's office," Bell said. "We did screen it for congress Tom Davis and the Committee on Oversight. They were interested by the film because it covers many of the themes and ideas that they covered in the steroid hearings. I know that it caused some internal debates, but we haven't heard anything official from any of those people. Some of the people at the WWE have seen it. They like the film because it is honest." LAist.com interview link.

- There's apparently a new independent horror flick titled "Roid Rage" that will focus on a drug dealer who injects unsuspecting bodybuilders with steroids, then watches them become insane killers. "With the current hoopla about Roger Clemens, Barry Bonds, and the WWE Chris Benoit murder, this is a topical and fierce movie that has the potential to generate the lucrative box office that Saw and Blair Witch scared up," director Josh Mitchell told fangoria.com.

"One of the things that makes the film different is the antagonists—all the bodybuilders who end up infected by the rage were regular people before the drug took its effect. So you come to like them and invest in them before they all become insane killers." Can't wait. Fangoria article link.

- St. Louis Post-Dispatch published a story on the Family Arena, which has hosted two TNA events. The former director refused to book WWE events because he deemed the product "unacceptable" after coming up with a moral code for acts performing at the arena.

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Thursday, July 3, 2008

Morning Update

- Melina will be out of action for up to five months with a broken heel suffered during the diva tag match on the June 23 Draft show. "My spirits are good," Melina told WWE's website. "I was upset I was unable to finish the match the way I wanted to. I felt like I let Mickie down and I let the fans down." Melina said it's frustrating not being able to do anything right now, with rest being required to let the injury heal.

Melina said she thought she was going to be able to finish the match with the adrenaline taking over for the immediate pain, but she realized she couldn't even stand up. "I’ve been doing this for a few years and been going strong. There’s no way I’m going to stop," Melina said about being determined to return. "When I come back, I don’t want to be the same Melina I was before. I want to give Raw an even better and improved Melina — a Melina who’s more determined and focused." Article link with photo of the injury.

- Jim Ross says TMZ suggesting Mark Henry won the ECW Title based on his ethnicity is an insult to Henry's skill as a performer. "Mark deserves this opportunity because he has earned it and now it will be up to Mark to raise his game and run with the ball," he said on his latest jrsbarbq.com blog. Ross also commented on rumors of Smackdown going live on some Friday nights prior to major PPVs. "I feel it is 'highly unlikely' that this will happen but time will tell I suppose," he said. "For the record, I talked to people even closer to those close to the decision makers and they don’t think this will happen either except on a rare occasion. It is too expensive and would take completely retooling the schedule." Blog link.

- Gamespot published an article on video game developers depending heavily on franchise brand names, such as WWE and Pixar, to boost sales and meet revenue expectations. Sales of WWE's video game series made up roughly 25 percent of THQ's total revenue in 2007 with $232 million. It's a sharp increase from $166 million in 2006 and $135 million in 2005. Article link.

- Mr. Kennedy will be joining Minnesota Vikings center Matt Birk in a series of PSAs to promote the Republican party's convention in St. Paul this year. They need 10,000 volunteers for this year's convention, and organizers hope Kennedy and Birk can urge local residents to show their civic pride when the Republicans come to town. The spots will begin airing on local TV soon. Article link.

- Gulf Breeze News (Fla.) is advertising Batista as one of the top attractions for this Sunday's Smackdown/ECW house show in Pensacola, Fla. Remains to be seen if he'll be on the Smackdown tour this weekend, where he's been advertised for weeks, despite the move to the Raw brand. It's the same issue with promoters on the current Raw brand international tour expecting the big names, such as Triple H, who were on Raw prior to the Draft. Pensacola show ticket details.

- TNA added a new August house show tour to the schedule. Tickets go on-sale Friday, July 11 for most of these dates... Aug. 14 in Estero, Fla., Aug. 15 in Dallas, Tex. at the House of Blues again, Aug. 16 in Lawton, Okla., Aug. 17 in Muskogee, Okla., Aug. 22 in Salina, Kan., Aug. 23 in Topeka, Kan., and Aug. 24 in Wichita, Kan. Most of the tap stars, besides Kurt Angle, are being advertised for the tour. Schedule listing.

- ROH Notes: ROH has added Adam Pearce vs. Brent Albright for the NWA Title to the August 2 show in New York City after Pearce threw a fireball in Albright's eyes at last weekend's show in Chicago. ... For the Aug. 1 show in Manassas, Va., Albright will face Chris Hero, with Larry Sweeney.

***

Wednesday, July 2, 2008

Morning Update

- No rest for the weary, as the Raw brand stars begin a four-night tour of South and Central America today. After performing Friday in Lubbock, Saturday in Abilene, Sunday in Dallas, Monday in Oklahoma City, and traveling Tuesday, they start tonight in Santiago, Chile, before going to Lima on Thursday, Panama City on Friday, and San Salvador on Saturday. Sunday is travel before Raw TV in New Orleans on Monday. For our international readers, if you attend one of WWE's events this week, be sure to send in a report.

- WWE's ratings surge last week pushed USA Network into the top spot on cable TV for the week of June 23. The final hour of the three-hour Draft show averaged a significant 6.2 million viewers to put Raw in first place. The second hour (in the regular first-hour timeslot) averaged 5.4 million viewers for fourth place, and the extra first hour finished seventh with 4.2 million viewers. Top 20 ratings.

- For the second quarter of 2008, USA Network claimed the top spot despite a challenge from TNT with the NBA Playoffs coverage. The new crime drama, "In Plain Sight" is cited as the main catalyst for USA's success. USA said in a story reported in the Hollywood Reporter that WWE Raw and Law & Order "continued to perform well" to boost the network. USA saw a 5 percent increase in viewership compared to the same quarter last year, and topped broadcast network CW for the quarter. Article link.

- Santino Marella says the ribbing he received from The Rock at the 2008 Hall of Fame ceremony was an "informal passing of the torch" in his eyes. "There probably won't be an official opportunity to pass the torch with regards to the charisma, so I hopefully interpreted that as some sort of informal passing of the torch," Santino said in an interview with Main Event radio. "I'm not sure exactly what they had in mind with that but that’s how I interpreted that."

Santino said his first night in WWE - where he won the Intercontinental Title in Italy - was put together very quickly a few days before the Raw taping. Santino said he was traveling for an OVW spot show, then suddenly received a call to fly into Italy for Raw. Once there, Santino said Arn Anderson pulled him aside and told him he was winning the title on the show. "I actually froze for the first time," Santino said. "He continued walking by me, and I kept looking in the same direction, and I just froze in disbelief, and sure enough it ended up happening." Main Event radio audio interview link.

- "Paparazzi" photos of Stephanie McMahon holding her daughter, Aurora Rose, have surfaced. Stephanie is also showing from her second pregnancy, with her due for delivery sometime this month. Article link.

- ROH Notes: ROH has signed Nigel McGuinness vs. Kevin Steen for the ROH Title on their next show, July 25 in Toronto. The winner will then defend against Claudio Castagnoli at the PPV taping the next night in Detroit. Also signed for the eighth PPV taping is Bryan Danielson vs. Tyler Black. ... Line-up thus far for the July 25 debut show in Canada: Nigel vs. Steen, Austin Aries & Jay Briscoe vs. Tyler Black & Jimmy Jacobs, Bryan Danielson vs. Claudio Castagnoli.

***

Tuesday, July 1, 2008

Morning Update

- Chris Jericho says he's working on a second book as a sequel to his first autobiography, and the book won't be released through WWE. "I signed a two-book option with Warner Brothers and they took the option when the first one hit the New York Times bestseller list," Jericho said in an interview with Slam Wrestling. "Since it isn't a WWE project I don't know if they will release anything in conjunction with it, they will probably just ignore it." Jericho said he's unsure why he doesn't have a WWE-themed DVD to his name, and he joked that a Funaki retrospective is probably in the works before his.

Jericho commented on the program with Shawn Michaels, which he's been excited about because of the chemistry they have. "I always love working with Shawn we have great chemistry and the same mindset," he said. "We have so many similarities in so many ways he is probably my perfect opponent. I am very excited and really happy with it." Jericho also commented on the Money in the Bank match that has become an annual tradition at WrestleMania. Jericho said, "When Brian Gewirtz and I first came up with the concept I never expected it was going to become a tradition and one of the highlights of the show." Interview link.

- WrestleMania Notes: Tickets for WM 25 at Reliant Stadium in Houston go on-sale Saturday, Sept. 20 at 10:00 a.m. EST. ... The 2009 Hall of Fame ceremony will be held the Saturday before WrestleMania at the Toyota Center. The Raw following WrestleMania will also be held at Toyota Center.

- TMZ reported on Mark Henry's ECW Title victory at the Night of Champions PPV on Sunday. They drew the obvious conclusion that Henry won the ECW Title to appease him following the racial slur scandal involving Michael Hayes. "When does being hit with racial slurs improve your career?" TMZ asked. "For WWE wrestler Mark Henry, it may have happened last night on PPV." WWE did not return calls for comment. Article link.

- Kresten Ericksen, who was involved in a receipt-forging scandal following a WWE fundraiser in New York state, was sentenced to one year in prison. Ericksen's involvement was forging a receipt that indicated WWE had been paid for shows at Ogdensburg (N.Y.) Free Academy. WWE complained they had been shorted $15,000, which led to an investigation into Ericksen's pattern of behavior. Article link.

- KSBI TV in Oklahoma published a story on WWE honoring 30 wounded U.S. soldiers at the Raw in Oklahoma City last night. Jim Duggan, the voice representing the WWE for the article, said it's a great opportunity to give back to the folks who put their lives on the line in battle. "For a lot of these guys, especially the Vietnam vets, this is the first time they've heard the word thank you since they've come home," said Sheryl Walker, the team leader of OKC Veterans Affairs. Article link.

- Kevin Nash provides child-rearing tips using a steel chair in an interview from this weekend's Tristar Convention in Houston. Nash, Christy Hemme, and Angelina Love were at the convention signing autographs and promoting the Victory Road PPV. Entertaining three-minute interview found below from the Houston Chronicle website.



***

Monday, June 30, 2008

Morning Update

- WWE Raw preview: With Raw's only singles champion being Kofi Kingston, WWE's preview focused on the lack of World champions and the status of Vince McMahon. It would seem the title picture would be more important than the stunt, but alas, that isn't the case. From the preview: "After Night of Champions, where Raw Superstars suffered three prominent losses, the Monday night brand is left with no World Championship. Perhaps more important, though, is the fact that WWE is currently without its Chairman." ... As announced on the PPV, the McMahon family will provide an update on Vince's storyline health.

- Kevin Nash says many wrestlers have made the switch from WWE to TNA mainly due to the schedule. "As guys get older, they want to spend more time with their kids at home," Nash said during a TV interview on the local NBC affiliate in Houston to promote the Victory Road PPV. "The schedule that the WWE does is very demanding. It's a young man's game and people like me (wrestling) six, seven times a month is perfect."

Prior to Nash's segment on Sports Sunday, they aired an intro spot from Triple H at the WrestleMania press conference, which prompted Nash to dryly ask why Hunter is so angry after marrying into the McMahon family. Nash said Houston is a historical stronghold for wrestling with strong crowds, so it made sense to bring PPV to a market where they appreciate wrestling.

- Windsor Star in Ontario published a story on Scott D'Amore's Border City Wrestling promotion and training school. D'Amore made a claim that five million people watch the TNA product. "We are a lot of people's guilty pleasure," he said. "But that's OK because there are five million people watching." Rhino is headlining tonight's Border City show in Windsor. Border City website.

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