Joe's 411: B/R Pro-Wrestling News (May 8)

Welcome to the newest Joe's 411: B/R Pro-Wrestling News, May 8, 2009 edition. The 411 is THE place for all pro-wrestling news you want to know.

So why keep you waiting anymore? Here is the news you want to know.

Hacksaw Jim Duggan has posted a blog on his WWE Universe page, he tells a story about getting into a war of words with "The Wrestler" star Mickey Rourke during WrestleMania weekend. Duggan wrote:

"BUT, my one high spot of the night, I went up to the top floor to check on my girls and on the way back downstairs I saw three guys coming toward me in the hallway. The top floors of the hotel have security, so I figured they must be someone I knew. As we get closer, I step to the right and two of the other guys do also, but one guy takes up the whole hallway, even though he is not all that big. I don't have on my glasses, so I can't really tell who he is, but anyway, as we pass I say " you got enough room there Mack" and keep walking. The other guy stops and says "What did you say to me?" So I told him again, but with a few adjectives. He says " You don't talk to me that way" now, as I start to focus in on the guy, I can see it is Mickey Rourke. The other two guys step in and break up the war of words. But, I was disappointed to see someone like that, act like he was a big shot. After of years of meeting real Movie stars, musicians, sports stars and other true big time celebrity's, I was not going to let that ruin my night."

Rourke was a big star in the 80s, but had been out of acting for some time. About 10 years even. People had forgotten all about him until he starred in the great movie, "The Wrestler".

He won a Golden Globe for his work in the movie, and was nominated for an Oscar.

So he is a good actor of course, but to see him do something like that is just wrong in my opinion. Rourke has restarted his career, and will be starring along side "Stone Cold" Steve Austin in a new movie.

No word on what it is called yet, but is should be coming out in late 2009 or early to mid 2010.

So in my mind, he needs to stay on the good side of fans he just grabbed from the wrestling world. And to be full of himself, is not good for him. So try to stay humble Rourke, you don't want to be one and done.

Speaking of people being done....

There have been talks within the WWE about the future of the Announcing team.

With JR being 57 and Jerry Lawler turning 60 this year, they are not to certain about the group yet. One big reason why we are seeing Todd Grisham on SmackDown along side Jim Ross instead of another wrestler, is because they feel JR will not be around to much longer.

The SmackDown schedule is lighter than RAW's of course, and JR also has more time to spend with his family with it. So he may stick around a bit longer than people think.

Lawler has left the company before because he needed a break, so since he is turning 60, they feel he won't be around really long either.

Michael Cole was drafted to RAW from SmackDown because they wanted the future of RAW to be set with a top announcer. The wrestlers on color can come and go, but they have to have a legit #1 commentator.

They have that in Cole for RAW in my opinion.

And Alabama native Grisham can be a #1 on SmackDown when JR leaves. The problem is who will be on color?

The ECW announce team in Todd Matthews and Matt Striker is one of the best. Striker iis terrific in my opinion on the announce team, and should stay there. He has a bright future there, outside of the ring.

Matthews could work as the #1 for ECW.

The problem is that once Lawler and JR do go, there may not be anyone to take their place. Striker could move to RAW or SmackDown, but then that still leaves 2 spots open.

Either way, the WWE needs to find someone to replace them. They really need to bring people in, and also start getting people who are former wrestlers and try them out on the announce table.

With both Tazz and Mick Foley leaving, they really lost a lot on the announcing crew. So they are in desperate need there.

Word is that Tommy Dreamer could be put on the announce table. He has always been good on the mic, and has a lot of wrestling knowledge there. Also he wants to stop with his in-ring career.

His contract is going to be up in June so with that said, they will need to renew his contract to put them there. There is also word of him taking over the GM position too. So I feel he is way to valuable to be let go, expect the contract to be renewed.

Also Sim Snuka has been in training for it too, but no one expects him to be there on the table.

Still we will being seeing new faces there obviously. But who? We will have to see, but of course I will let you know when I get word.

On the TNA Front

Lance Cade has been rumored to be trying to get a contract there. Jethro Holliday, formerly Trever Murdoch is there. And of course Cade and Murdoch were former tag team champions in the WWE before.

With the good tag team wrestling there, I feel seeing those two together could be great. It could also work out storyline wise, because they mentioned Eric Young took the spot of Holliday's tag team partner because his flight was delayed and couldn't make it.

So Cade could be that partner he had originally.

With Eric Young and Jethro Holliday being eliminated in the tag tournament on iMPACT last night, that means they are not attached as tag partners.

Also Cade is good in the ring, on the mic, and has the build and talent to be a star there. Not just in the tag team scene, but singles too.

Now, they will look at why he was let go from the WWE. He went into a seizure on a flight with the WWE. Lillian Garcia was there and called for help.

It was said to be drugs he took, but no one has officially said which drug it was.

There have been rumors of different ones though, so no definitive information there.

That is the only worry. If he does it again, TNA can let him go. I say give him a shot TNA. It is better than Spencer Pratt, who is rumored to be at Slammiversary.

Going back to the WWE

They have signed a new superstar to a developmental deal. His name is Fred Sampson. He worked in independents and ECW as "Frederick of Hollywood".

Now, he has worked for the WWE in the past, posing as a police officer.

Because I know this is shocking, but the police we see on the WWE shows are not real policeman. That is right, we broke it here first.

I have not had a chance to see him, and there is no word on if he will use the same name he used in ECWA. So I don't know how good he is yet.

But, if he has signed a developmental deal, that means he will be in FCW. And usually new stars don't have to wait long to wrestle there. About 3 to 4 weeks at the most. Which is pretty fast.

Kaval who we knew in TNA as Low Ki signed a deal with the WWE and has been working in FCW for a few months now. 

He started wrestling in about 2 weeks after arriving in FCW. So we may see footage on Sampson there soon.

For those of you who have Twitter, Zack Ryder is now set up there. And you can follow him if you wish at Twitter.com/ZackRyder. And it is legit too, as the WWE confirmed it.

If you saw on ECW and Supertstars, Ryder does have a new gimmick. A kind of stupid one if you ask me, but none the less he does have one.

Kind of like the infamous New Jersey jerk gimmick. A guy who gets spray tanned, works out constantly, and wears to much hair gel.

So when you want to know what Ryder is doing; whether is walking his dog, getting spray tanned, or buying hair gel. You can find out, by following him on Twitter.

Of course for those of you who do care about Twitter, I would like you to know Facebook has more characters to use in its "status" than Twitter does in its "tweets".

With that said, I just don't get Twitter. Sorry, but Ryder, I will not be following you.

Sticking with the WWE....

Their stock prices went down of course, but now people have heard of what their first quarter earnings where they are getting off the bandwagon.

It is not close to what they made least year at this time, and they even left Wrestlemania's earnings out of the 1st quarter to not compare to last year.

Mania has been in the 1st quarter every year for them, but obviously for business reasons, they took it out.

It is not a meager drop of 3 to 4 million or so, but 10 million and up. Which is a significant drop.

People on Wall Street liked WWE in the past because they knew they would get better when story-lines were good.

Since they are not a sport and obviously a business, they are looked into more than NFL, NBA, MLB, and others.

It is solely entertainment, as Vince McMahon has said in the past. But it is the most successful form of entertainment on the market today.

Which is why people love to invest in it. But with the economy, people are not buying as many tickets or merchandise as previous years.

We all know businesses have been suffering.

But to drop out of WWE all together is a bad idea. As they will be improving when the economy does.

I feel if they want to do well, they will drop ticket prices.

Front Row seats can be 40 and up, and others are 15-20. Which is good for them. But maybe you could drop them a bit more.

Also merchandise may need to drop a little too, that is if they want to sell more of it. In the end, more will buy. Meaning they will make the money back that they drop on the price.

But they of course know this I'm sure.

I feel WWE will improve in its second quarter, but that is only if they can do something to get people in. That means you have to do one thing Vince, GIVE THE PEOPLE WHAT THEY WANT.

Mr. Kennedy will be back soon according to management and others.

Word is that he made his way back into the ring at FCW last night. And within the next month, he could be back on WWE RAW.

This would be good for Kennedy, and I feel he will be better than ever.

I do wonder why they took him on SmackDown though, as he was doing well there. He also said that he loved working on SmackDown, and wants to stay there.

But in any case he was drafted to RAW in the draft, so he is forced to wrestle there.

As everyone knows, Kennedy has all the talent in the world. But he just keeps getting injured.

The WWE is said to not give him a push to a World Title that he could easily be good with, until he shows he can stay healthy.

I feel if he can go a year, maybe win the US Title or Tag Title, and stay 100% healthy; He will be a World Champion next year.

He has all the tools, he just has to show that he can stay off the sidelines. Lets hope he does stay healthy. Because people do like him, and want him to succeed.

Staying with the WWE....

The WWE does not care about ratings as much now. Ok, they do. But they are said to be in a "rebuilding" stage. They want to push young stars in the company, and could care less if ratings slip along the way.

They want to make sure their future will be set, and they know Superstars are getting older like Triple H, Batista, Undertaker, and others.

They are bringing up 4 superstars from FCW, and they want to make sure they become stars instead of just coming there and not getting noticed.

They are going top push guys like MVP, Morrison, Bourne, Swagger, and others.

They are not really big in the WWE just yet, compared to that of John Cena, Triple H, and others.

But they want them to be in the future. And they feel if they push younger stars, people will like that. But also have a good balance with Cena, Triple H, Orton, and others.

We may see a young star get into a title match right away compared to before when they would not allow them to win a title for almost a year or so. Unless they were liked by Vince, which obviously got them to the top fast.

I personally love the idea of pushing new talent. I mean how many times have people said they are tired of seeing the same people in title matches or getting air time. While others deserve it.

Good job WWE, this is what the people want. And you know what, I feel ratings will increase not decrease because of it.

That is all for the 411 today.

Also after speaking with fans of the article, as well as thinking logically myself, I am changing the 411 a bit.

It will be an every other day article now.

You'll get all your news of course, and even more. But it just won't be everyday like it has been.

Also remember to send in your questions of what you want to know in the world of wrestling. If your hearing a rumor, and want to know if it is true. Ask away.

You can ask here in the comments, on my profile, or e-mail them to me at [e-mail]

It will be added to my newest article, Weekly Wrestling Mailbag. Which will debut tomorrow to answer all your questions.

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