From American Gladiators to the WWE!

Wrestlezone.com is reporting that former host and commentator of both American Gladiators and International Gladiators Mike Adamle is to debut at the Royal Rumble this Sunday.

I'm not sure if he is being groomed as an eventual replacement for good ol' JR, Jim Ross, or whether he will join Michael Cole eventually on SmackDown, but at the moment he will be joining the RAW team, alongside Jim Ross, Jerry Lawler and Todd Grisham.

I think this is a good move for WWE, as because of his background with American Gladiators, he is probably more qualified than some others that WWE have taken on before. He was also an NFL star back in the 1970s, so he is quite used to the rough and tumble of sports. I look forward to seeing Mike Adamle in action on WWE programming.

TNA Doubles it's iMPACT!

Some very interesting news for the pro-wrestling industry was announced at TNA's No Surrender pay-per-view last night in the US. From October 4th, TNA Impact! becomes a two-hour show on Spike TV on US cable.

It is anticpated that UK satellite channel Bravo 2, which is currently airing Impact in the UK and Ireland will also expand their slot at around the same time. Whether EuroSport will do the same with their airings is not yet known.

This will prove to be quite troubling for WWE. Until now, TNA's 1 hour shows were not regarded as serious competition by WWE. But with the expansion of Impact! to 2 hours, WWE cannot afford to take the newcomer lightly. Now, it can truly be said that TNA has arrived. It has monthly pay-per-views, it has it's own World Championship, as it now no longer has use of the NWA world Heavyweight Championship, and now, its main show, Impact!, is expanding to 2 hours weekly.

Let the new wars begin! WWE vs TNA. The battles are just beginning...

WWE suspends 10 superstars, maybe more!

I've said it before, it's rare for a wrestling story to get any traction in the mainstream news. So with MSNBC reporting on 10 WWE superstars being suspended by the company for violations of it's "Wellness Program", well, I get interested.

The story reveals that no names have been released by WWE but that the suspensions were...

"...based on independent information from the Albany County, N.Y., district attorney’s office, which has been investigating sales of steroids and growth hormones through Internet and phone-order firms."

Wrestlezone.com is amongst many other sources with more information, although I cannot completely verify the accuracy of some of their stories. In this case however, they seem to be relying on information released by the mainstream media. Of the various other mainstream media outlets that are reporting the story, three seem to be more up on it than the rest.

The New York Daily News is on the case, thanks to the fact that the investigation is being carried out through Albany County, NY Distict Attorney's Office. They were the first people to list names connected with the investigation.

ESPN also listed names, though a different set. They too seem to be well on-top of this story.

Sports Illustrated seem to be the most clued up though, with a story that reads very authoritatively, and gives a more complete list of names. It has to be said that all the names in NY Daily News and ESPN lists also appear in this list. This is why I have said thatb I feel both of the other sources are well on top of this story. There are more details here though, including drugs listed and dates of supply. All of them are between September 2004 and February 2007.

Amongst some of the other reports I have seen for this, are reports that one of the pharmacies involved in the investigation is a company called Signature Pharmacy in Orlando, FL, and that a Florida doctor is apparently helping with the DA's enquiry.

There are also reports that say that stars from Major League Baseball and the National Football League could also be involved in this scandal, so this may not be a WWE exclusive problem.

WWE are known to be facing congressional hearings soon, so this information could not have come at a worse time for them.

This is one of those stories that will probably take a long time to go away, and will be followed by many media sources with interest. Wrestling fans too will want to follow this story, even if they don't like the result of it. One thing I know for sure is that TNA, WWE's best known rival in the wrestling world, will be looking at this as a major oppourtunity. I doubt they will be completely silent on this for long.

Chris Benoit: 1967 - 2007

It's very rare when a story about professional wrestling makes major news. It happened a couple of years ago with the untimely demise of Eddie Guerrero, and now it has happened again with the death of Chris Benoit, in more suspicious circumstances.

CBC News and the WWE both have the story about what happened, but I will not remember him that way.

I will remember him as "The Canadian Crippler", who was incredibly intesne in the ring, and gave it his all every time. I will remember him as the man who retired "The Taskmaster" Kevin Sullivan in WCW, because of a storylined affair with Sullivan's manager, Woman. Ironically, life would imitate art as Woman eventually divorced Sullivan and married Benoit!

I will remember him as a former WCW World Heavyweight Champion, winning the title the night before he defected to WWE. I will remember his amazing victory over Triple H at Wrestlemania 20 by submission to win the WWE's World Heavyweight Championship, and to be joined in the ring by his good friend Eddie Guerrero, who held the WWE Championship at the time, and the celebration they had that night was incredible.

Rest In Peace, Rabid Wolverine.