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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.

Sunday, July 13, 2008

Morning Update

- TNA debuts in Houston tonight at Reliant Arena next door to the Astrodome with the Victory Road PPV. Torch columnist James Caldwell will be on the front row covering the show with his live perspective on the event. Main event is TNA champion Samoa Joe defending against Booker T with Booker expected to have the hometown backing. Booker was on one of the local hip-hop radio stations during Friday evening rush hour promoting the PPV and cutting promos on Joe. ... The rest of the card: Styles & Christian & Rhino vs. Angle & Team 3D, LAX (hometowner Hernandez & Homicide) vs. Beer Money for the TNA Tag Titles, World X Cup tournament finals, Taylor vs. Awesome Kong for the Knockouts Title, Jay Lethal vs. Sonjay Dutt, and Gail Kim vs. Angelina Love.

- TNA has announced on its website that the PPV will start with the World X Cup 12-man tag match. The subsequent Ultimate X match will feature Kaz vs. Naruki Doi vs. Volador, Jr. vs. Daivari ... B.G. James will be handling backstage interview segments with Lauren throughout the show.

- Mark Henry says he hopes to be part of WWE well past his wrestling career, but not quite to the extent of Jake Roberts wanting to wrestle until he dies. "I'm hoping I can do something for the company until I'm dust," Mark Henry told The Republican in Massachusetts to promote next weekend's house show. Henry also commented on his personality outside of the ring. "Most kids when they see me are afraid," he said. "I'm a big guy, but when I'm talking to them, they see that I'm human - not a big monster. I'm an intelligent, articulate and sensitive man." Henry interview link.

- Stacy Keibler will be appearing at this year's Comic-Con in San Diego on Friday, July 25. Keibler will be promoting the new "Samurai Girl" TV series that will be airing on ABC Family starting September 5. Her session at the Convention will be from 12:00 to 1:00 p.m. Appearance details.

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Saturday, July 12, 2008

Afternoon Update

- We're looking for WWE a house show report from last night's Raw brand event in Lexington, Ky. Tonight, Raw is in Charleston, West Virginia and Smackdown/ECW are in Savannah, Ga. We're looking for reports from tonight as well. ... Beth Phoenix has an interview with the Gazette-Mail in West Virginia to promote tonight's house show. Article and video link.

- WWE stock took a significant hit on Friday, closing at $14.87 per share (3.5 percent loss from Thursday) after dipping as low as $13.94 during afternoon trading. The company's 52-week low is $13.35. Stock had been trading in the mid-$15 range for weeks until the sudden drop with the overall market down.

- Multichannel News published a report today on entertainment stocks being hurt by market conditions over the last six months. WWE and Outdoor Channel are the only two "content companies" that had seen a stock price increase since January. An overall gloomy outlook for entertainment-related companies has certainly affected the valuation of WWE stock. "We're seeing historic lows in valuation for anything in the cable, media and broadcasting space," said a media analyst. Article link.

- Batista and MVP will be appearing in a new TV ad campaign for F.Y.E. stores that will be airing in the Albany, N.Y. and Harrisburg, Pa. media markets. FYE is trying to appear more hip to attract customers to its stores as the chain's ownership group is losing money. Bizjournals.com describes the WWE spot: "In one 30-second commercial, Batista and another WWE wrestler, MVP, drop-kick and body-slam each other in what seems like an impromptu fight inside an f.y.e. mall store. Bass-thumping rock music blares as fans cheer from outside the roll-down security gate." Article link.

- IGN.com published a story on new features being added to the Smackdown vs. Raw 2009 video game due out later this year. Major changes are to the game for the Nintendo DS system. Article link. ... Videogamer.com also a story on the latest version of WWE's video game series going up against the first edition of TNA Impact. Story link.

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Friday, July 11, 2008

Morning Update

- WWE announced that John Cena vs. JBL in a New York City parking lot brawl has been added to the Great American Bash PPV line-up next weekend. ... With the new iPhone 3G launch today, WWE is promoting its Mobile content service, which is available on AT&T's service. They're offering a free month of service to people who re-subscribe or switch to AT&T. Mobile offer.

- Ric Flair's finance company is out of business, according to a report by Josh Stewart in the Long Island (N.Y.) Press. The website for Ric Flair Finance simply lists information on booking Flair for a personal appearance, and no longer promotes mortgage loan services. Stewart reports that a call placed to the business office led to a contact person confirming that the company has been offline trying to "wrap things up." Report link.

- WWE is reporting second quarter 2008 earnings on Tuesday, August 5. Conference call is at 11:00 a.m. EST. Press release.

- Tickets go on-sale today for TNA's August house show tour through Texas, Florida, Oklahoma, and Kansas. Show listings and ticket details.

- Chris Bell's "Bigger, Stronger, Faster" documentary was positively reviewed in the Houston Chronicle yesterday after opening in Houston last weekend. Chronicle writer Jerome Solomon called it a "superb documentary" that posed tough questions about the double standards regarding steroids in American society. Article link.

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Thursday, July 10, 2008

Afternoon Update

- The June 30 Raw featuring C.M. Punk's World Hvt. Title victory finished second on cable for last week, averaging 5.1 million live viewers for the two hour broadcast. The total should push 6 million viewers when DVR viewing is added in. NASCAR on TNT took the first spot, while USA had four of the top six spots on all of cable. Top 20 ratings.

- Jim Ross says Friday night's episode of Smackdown will feature the best wrestling of any WWE programming this week. He added, "Edge had another memorable night of TV and is simply on top of his game and doing what he does better than any one in the WWE." Ross says the commentary on Smackdown continues to progress with Ross and Mick Foley growing accustomed to each other. He also gave a gross revenue figure of $2.2 million for Raw's four-night tour of South and Central America last weekend. Ross blog link.

- John Morrison talks wrestling psychology in an interview with the Augusta Chronicle (Ga.) to promote Sunday's house show at James Brown Arena. "The root of sports entertainment is striking a chord, making people feel something," Morrison said about his philosophy in the ring. "Wrestlers are essentially showing society the things we all want to do. They are standing up to their boss or living up to a dream." He said his thinking has evolved to constantly trying to improve and not settling. Interesting interview. Article link.

- Midway Games will be featuring the TNA Impact game at this year's E3 gaming convention in Los Angeles from July 15-17 to promote its fall release schedule. The game is still set for release sometime in September. Press release.

- TNA knockout So Cal Val says she always assumed a more prominent role would be in her future in TNA, but it was tough biding her time as the ringside girl. "I always assumed an opportunity would arise because so many girls and guys go in and out of story lines," Val told Alex Marvez for his weekly syndicated column. "I hear people complaining while wishing for the same thing. We all would get down about it, but at the same time, everyone can't have a prominent role all the time."

Val said she and Jay Lethal watched tapes of the Miss Elizabeth-Randy Savage relationship on WWF TV from two decades ago so they could put their own spin on the relationship for TNA TV. Being a babyface character doesn't come naturally to Val, though. "People think the baby-face thing comes naturally to me, but it's actually the opposite. You can't do as much creatively," Val said. "For a lot of males in the audience, their first reaction is to cheer a pretty girl. It's a little more challenging to get them to hate you, especially as a dressed-up girly type." Article link.

- Terri Runnels is doing an essay-writing contest to sell her house. She says the real estate market stinks, so she wants to give away her house in Gainvesville, Fla. to a contest winner who can "make the world a better place." Terri has two interviews on the contest and her thoughts on recent wrestling events. Both entertaining and worth a read. Daytona Beach News Journal article and Phillyburbs.com article.

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Wednesday, July 9, 2008

Evening Update

- The following news was inevitable. WWE announced the release of diva Ashley Massaro, effective today. Ashley posted on her myspace last week that she was taking a leave of absence to tend to her child. This came after Rolling Stone magazine linked Ashley to a Hollywood escort service earlier this year.

- DVR numbers from the June 16 Raw put total viewership at 5.4 million viewers for the episode. 9.0 percent of the total audience watching Week 2 of the McMoney giveaway came shortly after the live show. Going back to Week 1 of McMoney, 8.6 percent of total viewing came from DVRs to bring total viewership to an average of 4.8 million viewers.

- WWE announced the promotion of Cheryl Kong to VP of marketing in Canada, Latin America, and China. She'll oversee WWE's international expansion as WWE continues to add TV slots in China, which is their next market to really tap into. Press release.

- ROH Notes: ROH announced a major ROH Tag Title match for the August 1 show in Manassas, Va. Tyler Black & Jimmy Jacobs will defend against Go Shiozaki & Marufuji. This is in addition to the Aries & Danielson vs. Shelley & Sabin mega-tag match. ... Marufuji's summer schedule includes July 25 vs. Roderick Strong, July 26 with Strong against Shiozaki & Hero, Aug. 1 in the tag match with Marufuji, and Aug. 2 vs. Shiozaki.

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Tuesday, July 8, 2008

Morning Update

- WWE tapes Smackdown and ECW tonight in Baton Rouge, La. We're looking for a live report if you attend the taping tonight.

- Ric Flair's new DVD hits retail stores today. Jim Ross posted a brief review in his blog. He said, "One can make an argument as to why certain matches were included and some were left off but all in all this is a helluva DVD and I love the seemingly endless interviews and some of the classic bouts are timeless." Ross said someone dropped the ball, though, with Ricky Steamboat being left off the sit-down interview list. Ross blog link.

- A mild victory for WWE Smackdown on Friday night, as the show won the adults 18-49 demographic on the Fourth of July night. The show averaged a 1.1 rating in the demo, topping CBS and NBC, which topped the overall ratings on the night.

- WWE's developmental territory in Tampa, Florida will open its new arena on Thursday night, July 17. FCW will tape its debut TV show at the new FCW Arena, with special appearances by John Cena, Chris Jericho, Ric Flair, Dusty Rhodes, Rocky Johnson, and Gerald Brisco. Show starts at 7:30 p.m. and tickets are available at the door starting at 4:30. Event details.

- TNA announced they are returning to New York City for a house show in September. They'll announce venue and date later this week.

- Video is online from TNA knockout Moose's injury at the IWA Mid-South show over the weekend. It's a quick nine-second clip of Moose leaping off a concrete block and ending up with her knee completely twisted in the wrong direction. Viewer beware on the injury. Video link.

- You can find a bottle of JBL's Mamajuana in John Cena's hand, and now you can find it in select MAPCO quickie marts across the Mid-South region. JBL's company issued a press release today that the virility drink will be distributed in 500 of the convenience stores in the region. Press release.

***

Monday, July 7, 2008

Morning Update

- TNA knockout Moose was reportedly seriously injured during last night's IWA Mid-South show, according to Wrestling Herald. She apparently was going for a running dive from the top of a cinder block wall when her knee buckled and her leg snapped. Moose was rushed to the hospital and the show was called off at that point. Article link.

- Chris Jericho says one of the main changes during his second WWE run is the lack of experience for most of the talent on the roster. "The experience level has gone down quite a bit," Jericho said in a Q&A with Slam Wrestling. "Now I don’t think there are five guys that have ten years experience besides the guys like me and Hunter, Shawn, Undertaker, guys like that. It is a different world and it is kind of fun to be one of the guys who is asked for advice and help."

Jericho says the recent heel turn against Shawn Michaels has been in the works since April and it wasn't rushed due to Randy Orton's sudden injury to create another heel on Raw. He added that he's one of the few to co-write his own promos and not read what someone else has written. "I always had creative freedom with my promos, so it has been the same all across the board," he said. "I have never been a guy who is given a piece of paper and told to read this." Full article link.

- Chris Hero won the PWG Title last night in Reseda, Calif. by defeating Human Tornado in a Guerrilla Warfare steel cage match. Also, the Age of the Fall of Jimmy Jacobs & Tyler Black won the PWG tag titles over Roderick Strong and his fill-in partner, El Generico. Local favorite Chris Bosh returned to the ring for the first time in years and lost to Scorpio Sky.

- ROH Notes: ROH announced the first two challengers to the ROH Title at the August 2 show in New York City. Tyler Black and Bryan Danielson and a third challenger to be named will face the ROH champion (currently Nigel McGuinness) in a four-way match. ... Signed for the July 26 PPV taping is Chris Hero & Go Shiozaki vs. Roderick Strong & Marufuji. ...

- We're looking for a live report from last night's SD/ECW house show in Pensacola, Fla. The Pensacola News Journal published a story on the show, where one fan said her favorite wrestler is Evan Bourne. He apparently made quite the impression with only a few weeks of TV under his belt. Article link.

- Shawn Michaels and Triple H will be on the cover of the Smackdown vs. Raw 2009 video game to be released later this year. PC Magazine published a story on the first line of characters confirmed for the game and added features for the Wii system. Article link.

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