The wrestling universe was shook up a couple weeks ago with the news of an apparent drug arrest involving two of ECW’s top talent, Rob Van Dam and Sabu. The two were arrested on charges of possession on their way back from an ECW event in Hanging Rock, Ohio. The two have a court date pending.The WWE has implemented a new “wellness” program. In it, drug testing occurs. If a failed test occurs the wrestler is suspended for 30 days. Because of the arrest, Rob Van Dam was suspended for 30 days and Sabu was fined. Van Dam, a known marijuana user, was the one mostly blamed for the incident.
Rob Van Dam was then reprimanded on television, being forced to lose both his WWE and ECW championship belts on consecutive nights. To combine with these two black eyes, Kurt Angle, another ECW superstar, according to sources was also suspended for an apparent failing of a drug test. The WWE has been really standup so far with their testing program, which I am very surprised with.
But in these times, guys should be held accountable. Too many wrestlers have been dying young, with a lot dying before they turn 55. The WWE was forced to do this with the way Congress has attacked the major sports. It was only a matter of time before they would attack the WWE, and the WWE was proactive instead of reactive here. They were mentioned when Congress started talking steroids last year.
Saturday Night’s Main Event went down this past weekend with the return of Hulk Hogan. He is doing an angle with Randy Orton (who, according to sources, also tested positive for steroids) at Summerslam. Look for Hogan to win out in the feud. The idea behind it is to help launch Brooke Hogan’s singing career. She has an album coming out soon.
TNA has decided to openly attack the WWE on its airwaves. The upstart company, which is pulling in good ratings for Spike TV, is going to air footage of Rhyno with the old ECW Championship belt. For those of you who do not remember, he was the last ECW true champion. He takes a lot of shots at Paul Heyman and Vince McMahon; it is supposedly a must-see.
TNA is looking into bringing in Eric Bischoff to the company in the next few months. His contract with the WWE runs out in the end of August after which he will be free to do whatever he wants. TNA’s thinking is that it will add legitimacy to the product, and add more to the WWE/WCW feel that it is trying to incorporate around its young, talented roster.
Ric Flair is in line for a huge push this summer. The WWE is thinking of giving the Nature Boy one more last run at a major title. Interesting how things change, a couple months ago he lost in :30 to Umaga. Who, by the way, is such a cheap knockoff of Samoa Joe it is actually quite comical. You heard it here first, Umaga will be teaming up with Eugene…I say in about three more months.
Jay Lethal, a local New Jersey TNA wrestler, is getting a lot of kudos from TNA management. They like his look and wrestling style; look for the Elizabeth product to carry X-Division gold in the near future. It’s nice to see a hometown guy make it. I have personally seen all of his TNA matches; he is legit.
The Rock’s movie career took a hit recently when he suffered an Achilles injury on the set of a new movie. The Rock will have to take a couple months off from filming. On a side note, the previously green-lighted movie “Spyhunter” starring the Rock may be shelved. The WWE and TNA are waiting to get into a bidding war if he ever decides to come back. He has been backstage recently in Orlando at various TNA tapings.
Speaking of another big return, Bill Goldberg has been in negotiations with TNA. He wants a deal similar to the one-year contract Sting recently signed. TNA, however, is not ready to make such a commitment. They are trying to use him as leverage to force Spike TV into giving them a two-hour primetime show.
The TV ratings TNA has been getting recently is going to force its hand. TNA’s contract with Spike TV is up this fall, and it will surely be offered better deals now that it has proved itself on cable. Spike TV knows what it has though, and is expected to give TNA a 9-11 p.m. spot on Thursday nights.
That is all for this month, Sixshooter-a-holics. Remember to check me out over at http://mattygslife.blogspot.com. When wrestling news goes down, you get it there first. You can post your comments/questions; I’d love to hear from you. Until next we meet…as the 4-Horsemen would say, “I don’t want to toot my own horn but…toot, toot!”