News and Notes

I was sorry to hear about the passing of "Dr. Death" Steve Williams, who lost a long battle to cancer (his action figure has had a place here on my desk for the past couple of months). Williams was known as one of the legit toughest men in wrestling. He was one of my favorite "good guys" when the UWF was my favorite wrestling league in the 80's. He was great as a singles wrestler and also made great tag teams with Ted DiBiase, Terry Gordy, Johnny Ace, and perhaps my favorites as partners with Kevin Sullivan, Rick Steiner, and Mike Rotunda in The Varsity Club. Here is a classic clip with Williams and Gordy vs. The Steiner Brothers:



In other news, we are only a few short days until the big Monday night wrestling showdown on January 4th. I think WWE is going to trounce TNA. Recently Hulk Hogan and Eric Bischoff have been making noises about concentrating on the in-ring product; if so, I'm all for that. The first two moves they need to do is get rid of writer Vince Russo and get rid of that awful name. I don't see how they are going to beat the return of Bret Hart to Raw though. I'll be switching back and forth all night... What a classy send-off for Tommy Dreamer on Tuesday night's ECW. Even I was fighting back tears when they showed Beaulah and the kids in the crowd. It would have been funny if they did a take-off of the Ric Flair retirement ceremony and brought back Paul E., Sandman, Justin Credible and the rest of the gang... I'm about half way through with the Ring of Honor year in review on HD Net. Incredible stuff. These guys always remind me why I became a wrestling fan... I can't believe they haven't pulled the Charlie Sheen/Michael Jordan ads yet. It almost feels like you're supporting domestic violence (allegedly) just for buying a pair of draws... Between that and the bomber guy, it's been a bad week for draws... I caught the season premiere of MTV's Real World: Washington D.C. last night. Decent cast. It's always funny to see the first episode with everyone getting along, just knowing it's gonna end badly. The Stephanie McMahon lookalike girl is the one to watch this season.

"This Is It" Music Video

Here is the new video for the Michael Jackson song "This Is It", directed by Spike Lee. Great stuff!:

WWE Tables, Ladders and Chairs Results

Results from tonight's WWE TLC pay-per-view show:

- Christian beat Shelton Benjamin in a Ladder Match

- Drew McIntyre beat John Morrison to win the I-C title

- Michelle McCool beat Mickie James

- Sheamus beat John Cena in a Tables Match to become the palest world champion since Bob Backland

- Undertaker beat Batista in a Chair Match to retain the Smackdown World Title

- Randy Orton beat Kofi Kingston

- DX beat Chris Jericho and The Big Show in a TLC match to win the World Tag Team Titles

(Photo from wwe.com)

-

Eddie Fatu a.k.a. "Umaga", 1973-2009

Sorry to hear about the death of Eddie Fatu, better known as "Umaga" from his monster heel role the last few years in WWE, who died today at the age of 36. He came from a big wrestling family and was perhaps the best of the bunch. My condolences to his family and friends.

(Below is one of my favorite clips of Eddie Fatu, playing the role of "Jamal" of Three Minute Warning, when he interrupted the infamous wedding of Billy and Chuck and got to attack Stephanie McMahon-- go to about the 5:00 minute mark):

ShopTNA.com Skit

The stars of TNA Impact help process your orders:

Alissa!

This week's bonus Impact match features my new favorite wrestler Alissa Flash vs. Hamada. Enjoy!:

WWE Survivor Series Results

- Team Miz beat Team Morrison

- Batista beat Rey Mysterio. Rey got carried out on a stretcher.

- Team Kofi beat Team Orton

- Undertaker retained the Smackdown World Title in a Triple Threat match over Chris Jericho and The Big Show

- Team Mickie beat Team McCool

- John Cena retained the Raw World Title in a Triple Threat match over Triple H and Shawn Michaels

Sounded completely skipable... I loved Jesse Ventura as guest host on Monday's show. I think he was just about the best one they've had so far. He and Vince McMahon doing commentary was fun. It was refreshing to see a WWE character not kissing Vince's ass. Jesse clearly didn't care.

(Photo from wwe.com)

TNA Turning Point Results

Results from last night's TNA Turning Point show, which actually was a really good show:

- Amazing Red beat Homicide

- ODB, Sarita, and Taylor Wilde beat The Beautiful People

- The British Invasion beat Beer Money and The Motor City Machine Guns

- Tara beat Awesome Kong in a cage match

- Scott Steiner beat Bobby Lashley

- Rhyno and Team 3D beat Hernandez, Matt Morgan and The Pope

- Kurt Angle beat Desmond Wolfe

- AJ Styles beat Samoa Joe and Christopher Daniels

(Photo from tnawrestling.com)

Hogan vs. Flair

In a perverse way, I kinda want to see this:




By the way, Ric Flair reportedly got married again today! When will this sumbitch learn?

Q-Tip feat/ Norah Jones "Life Is Better" Video

Real hip-hop, baby!:

Dixie Carter's Speech To The TNA Locker Room

I still can't get over how Impact started last week with the apparently real speech that TNA President Dixie Carter gave to the locker room. She basically told the locker room that they need to step up (what?!) and blindly follow whatever decisions the management makes. Instead of addressing the hard working locker room, how about getting rid of the current "creative team", bringing in someone who knows how to book, and giving the roster a chance to succeed? Vince Russo has failed for the past three years-- time to move on. And with Hulk Hogan and company coming in, this thing is gonna be a disaster. Thank goodness for videotapes, DVDs and WWE 24/7:

WOOOOOOOOOO!

Here's a funny Ric Flair promo for the upcoming Hulkamania tour in Australia:

New Britney

Here's the new Britney Spears video for her latest song "3". I approve:

Jim Cornette Explains His Departure from TNA

Here's a great commentary by Jim Cornette regarding the series of events that led to him leaving TNA Wrestling. It still defies logic that Vince Russo is still there (hopefully not for long) and they let Cornette go. Russo must have pictures of TNA owner Dixie Carter with a horse or something. Regardless, you can find the commentary right here.

Shocker: Hogan Signs With TNA

I never would have expected it but today Hulk Hogan and Eric Bischoff signed with TNA Wrestling. Hogan's role hasn't been specified yet but it looks like he will have a major on-air role. I would like to see him in a mentor or commissioner role, but knowing him, he will have the title by the next Impact. I'm hoping for the best but I'm not getting my hopes up. Here are some of my major questions/comments:

- Is this going to be a rehash of his early WCW days where we see all of his old cronies like Brutus Beefcake and the Nasty Boys start dominating the show? I'm gonna cry when A.J. Styles gets pinned by Jimmy Hart.

- According to the Wrestling Observer breaking audio, more major announcements could be coming. Ric Flair? RVD? Jeff Hardy? A move to Monday nights? Brooke vs. Rhino?

- As Wade Keller pointed out today on the Pro Wrestling Torch website, this is the perfect time to change the name, which I have been saying for ages too. "TNA" is an embarassing name. I always call it "Impact" or "The Thursday Night Wrestling League" to friends and family who don't watch wrestling. Keller's suggestion was to call it "Impact Wrestling Federation". That's perfect.

WWE Bragging Rights Results

Results from last night's WWE Bragging Rights pay-per-view show. I have no idea who is ordering this shit:

- The Miz beat John Morrison

- Three generic Divas beat three other generic Divas

- Undertaker won a four-way over C.M. Punk, Rey Mysterio and Batista. Batista turned heel on Rey after the match, resulting in a hilarious photo on wwe.com that made me laugh this morning

- Team Smackdown beat Team Raw when Big Show turned against Team Raw. They won a trophy.

- John Cena beat Randy Orton in a one hour iron man match

Impact!

In between phone calls, Facebook chats, and a glimpse at the Real Housewives of Atlanta, I managed to catch a few minutes of Impact. I like the direction they're heading in with AJ vs. Samoa Joe vs. Daniels, the immediate elevation of Nigel McGuiness/Desmond Wolff, and of course the addition of Kristal Marshall Lashley. Now granted, with Vince Russo in charge, I have ZERO faith that they will sustain this momentum, but a man can dream. Might I actually be on the road to purchasing one of their PPV's again? Time will tell.

The Spin Cycle

Another edition of the Spin Cycle. This week's guests are Kevin Nash, Mick Foley, Traci Brooks and Matt Morgan. Worth watching just to see Mick Foley's joke right around the 9:20 mark:

TNA Bound For Glory Results

Results from last night's Bound for Glory PPV show in Orange County, CA:

- Amazing Red won an Ultimate X Match

- Taylor Wilde and Sarita beat The New Beautiful People

- Eric Young won the Legends Title in a three way over Kevin Nash and Hernandez

- Team 3D won the IWGP tag belts and The British Invasion won the TNA tag belts in a four way match over Beer Money and Booker T & Scott Steiner

- ODB beat Tara and Awesome Kong in a three way to retain the Knockouts title

- Bobby Lashley beat Samoa Joe by ref stoppage

- Abyss beat Mick Foley

- Kurt Angle beat Matt Morgan

- AJ Styles beat Sting to retain the TNA World Title

From most reports, this was a good show.

(Photo from tnawrestling.com)

WWE Hell in the Cell Results

Results from last night's WWE Hell in the Cell pay-per-view results:

-Undertaker beat C.M. Punk for the Smackdown title in the first Cell match

- John Morrison beat Dolph Ziggler to retain the IC title

- Mickie James beat Alicia Fox to retain the Divas title

- Chris Jericho and Big Show beat Batista and the returning Rey Mysterio

- Randy Orton beat John Cena to win the Raw world title in the second Cell match

- Drew McIntyre beat R. Truth

- Kofi Kingston retained the U.S. title over The Miz and Jack Swagger

- DX beat Legacy in the last Cell match

Sounded skippable.

New This Week

I paid a little visit to my local retailer on Tuesday to pick up the latest releases from Mariah Carey and Madonna. Mariah's "Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel" received lackluster reviews and it's first single "Obsessed" tanked. But I had to listen for myself. And it was quite shitty. Pretty boring stuff. The best part was the packaging, which featured classic flashback photos and an Elle Magazine insert with stuff all about Mariah (the most interesting parts were that Mean Girls is one of her favorite movies and that her goofy husband really does have a giant "Mariah" tattoo scrawled across his upper back).

The new Madonna CD "Celebration" is a greatest hits package with new material. If you decide to get it, you might as well splurge for the two CD set with the two new songs (including one with Lil Wayne). You can't go wrong. I was listening to the likes of "Don't Tell Me" and "Open Your Heart" for the past two days at work. Timeless material.

(Mariah photo from Island Music, CD is available at retailers and online, including here)

Insanity!

This commercial is currently running in North Carolina for the Ric Flair lottery tickets:

WWE SummerSlam Results

Results from last night's WWE SummerSlam show on pay-per-view from L.A.:

- Rey Mysterio beat Dolph Ziggler to retain the IC Title

- MVP beat Jack Swagger

- Chris Jericho and Big Show beat Cryme Tyme to retain the WWE tag team titles

- Kane beat The Great Khali

- Shawn Michaels and Triple H beat Cody Rhodes and Ted DiBiase

- Christian beat William Regal

- Randy Orton beat John Cena to retain the Raw title

- C.M. Punk beat Jeff Hardy in a TLC match to win the Smackdown title. Undertaker chokeslammed Punk afterwards. Said to be a really good match.

Sounded like a really good show. Who would have guessed?

Land of a Thousand Figures

Just caught this on You Tube. Hilarious!:





But of course, there's nothing like the original:

Britney on Letterman

Britney Spears from last night's Late Show doing the Top Ten ways the country would be different if Britney were president (in a bikini):

Megan Wants A Millionaire

VH-1 has done it again with one of their latest offerings, Megan Wants A Millionaire. The show centers around former Rock of Love and I Love Money contestant Megan searching for love (like every other VH-1 show). The twist about this show is that all of the guys vying for Megan are allegdley millionaires. Like the wrestler I'VE NEVER HEARD OF. One of the saving graces is that each show will feature a cameo from one of my favorite reality contestants of all-time, sweet little Brandi C. from Rock of Love. Anyway, the show is decent and has a few different twists to keep your interest. The first episode seemed like she was favoring the black guy, but he kind of faded in the second episode. I was a little bummed in the second episode when my favorite character, the goofy plumber, got the boot. He made an awful song for her, which she didn't like, so he tried it again by slowing it down and it was fantastically awful. This show is a keeper.

(Photo from vh1.com)

News and Notes

- WWE is stuck in a major rut. It seems like the GM gimmick has run its course already. The Shaq skits were predictible and featured typical WWE-style humor-- meaning not funny. And what's the main event of SummerSlam? Randy Orton vs. John Cena? Again? Why not plug Evan Borne in there? According to their stupid storylines, since he had the shortest win time in the Beat the Clock Challenge, shouldn't he get the title shot anyway? There I go, trying to make logic out of WWE storylines. What the hell am I doing?

- This just in: Kim Kardashian and Reggie Bush have split. Fellas, I think I'm gonna step on up to the plate. Soon as I put this cheeseburger down.

- Hulk Hogan and his ex-ball & chain made it an official split today as well. Glad to know her crazy ass is single now.

- As many times as I have called for her head since 2002, I think the producers of American Idol need to pony up and give Paula Abdul some of that scrilla so she can stay on the show. They gave it up for Simon and Ryan, so it's only right. Yeah, I know-- I'll be regreting this statement ten minutes into the season premiere.

- Wrestling sites are reporting that Total Nonstop Action Wrestling has a deal with Playboy to feature some of the TNA Knockouts in the magazine. Could this mean The Beautiful People? This might save the publishing industry.

- I caught the new show on Fox tonight where overweight women vie for the love of a male goofball. The show was decent but seriously, did they need to show the weights right next to the ladies? I'm sitting there trying to listen to what they have to say then all of a sudden it's like "DAMN, 279!!!" Absurd.

(Kim Kardashian photo available at allposters.com)

WWE Night of Champions Results

Results of last night's WWE Night of Champions PPV from Philadelphia:

- Chris Jericho and Big Show beat Cody Rhodes and Ted DiBiase. Show debuted as Jericho's surprise partner, which is a pretty good idea. Match was said to be lackluster.

- Christian beat Tommy Dreamer for the ECW title. They hugged afterwards. Awwww.

- Kofi Kingston won a scramble match over five or six other mid-carders.

- Michelle McCool beat Melina

- Randy Orton retained the Raw title over HHH and John Cena

- Maryse beat Mickie James

- Rey Mysterio pinned Dolph Ziggler

- Jeff Hardy beat C.M. Punk to win the Smackdown title

Seemed like an average show with nothing really glaring bad or great.

(Photo from wwe.com)

TNA Victory Road Results

Results from last night's wretched TNA Victory Road PPV show in Orlando:

- Angelina Love beat Tara to regain the TNA Knockouts title. Tara had her foot on the rope but the referee didn't see it (he was later seen coming out of the shower with a clothed Madison Rayne)

- Matt Morgan beat Daniels. Kurt Angle just last month proclaimed that Christopher Daniels was the best worker in the company, now he is being buried in the 2nd match of the show

- Abyss destroyed Dr. Stevie. Decent match. Daffney is hot.

- Team 3D beat the British Invasion. I don't even remember this.

- Jenna Morasca beat Sharmell. Incredible. First of all, Jenna from Survivor entered the ring with the most lewd ring entrance of all-time. She crawled in the ring and the camera was focused right on her crotch. Sharmell looked on appalled. The match was dreadful and that may be an understatement. Awesome Kong splashed Jenna afterwards.

- Kevin Nash pinned A.J. Styles for the Legends title. Reprehensible. I hope I spelled that right.

- Scott Steiner and Booker T beat Beer Money for the tag titles. Decent.

- Samoa Joe beat Sting. Taz debuted and inspired Joe to victory. Sting tapped.

- Kurt Angle beat Mick Foley to retain the world title. They tried but it wasn't that good.

(Photo from tnawrestling.com)

The Michael Jackson Memorial

I didn't get to see most of the Michael Jackson Memorial yesterday but I liked what I did see. The most memorable moments (of what I saw) included:

- Mimi singing "I'll Be There" with Trey Lorenz
- The speeches from Al Sharpton and Magic Johnson
- Stevie Wonder singing "I Never Dreamed You Leave In Summer"
- The speech from Michael's daughter

It was a very classy ceremony and great way to pay tribute to perhaps the greatest entertainer ever.

Michael Jackson

Hollywood Nation is back after a brief hiatus. I am still reeling from the death of Michael Jackson. The man was not only a great entertainer but also an icon and an inspiration. I can't even put into words how much him and his family meant to me and other black families in the 70's. They were the good guys from little Gary, Indiana that we could all root for. I've spent hours listening to his music and even pathetically trying to imitate him. If I had to name just one of his songs as my favorite, I'll go with "I Can't Help It" from the Off The Wall album (written by Stevie Wonder and sampled by De La Soul in the hip hop classic "Breakadawn"). Rest in peace. Here are just two of my favorite memories from his illustrious career:

This Week's Raw

I guess the combination of no commercials and the Donald Trump special appearance paid off because WWE Raw had its best ratings since 2002. The show had two good matches but the rest was pretty bad. Also I had to pick and choose when to go to the bathroom and do laundry. Anyway, I hope it was worth it, especially that $250,000 that they gave away for nothing. Fools.

- Props to Torrie Wilson for finishing second on "I'm A Celebrity Get Me Out of Here". She presented herself very well on the show and hopefully this will lead to other things.

- Big happenings on Impact tonight. Samoa Joe joins the Main Event Mafia and it's on and poppin'. Spike TV, 8PM CST/9PM EST.

New Spin Cycle

And now the best part of TNA Wrestling, The Spin Cycle. Mick Foley and Jeremy Borash do a skit at the beginning that is hilarious. Then the panel portion is Raven, Scott Steiner, Angelina Love and Alex Shelley. I wish they would run these four talking for two hours instead of Impact:

TNA Slammiversary Results

Results from last night's TNA Slammiversary show in Detroit:

- Suicide won the X-Division King of the Mountain match

- Christopher Daniels beat Shane Douglas

- Angelina Love beat Tara

- Abyss and Taylor Wilde beat Raven and Daffney

- Sting beat Matt Morgan. I love Sting, but the man is 50.

- Beer Money beat Team 3-D to win the tag belts

- Kurt Angle won the King of the Mountain match to win the title. Samoa Joe apparantley turned heel in this match. Angle has a new look with a beard and letting his hair grow out.


Sounded like a subpar show. Glad I didn't get it. What's the point of TNA PPVs at this point?


(Photo from tnawrestling.com)

New Mariah

Mimi News! Mariah Carey's latest single "Obsessed" hit radio yesterday. Decent song. You can check it out here. The new CD comes out August 25th. Is she still married to that sucka from Drumline?

(Photo from mariahcarey.com)

Last Night's Raw

So Donald Trump is the new "owner" of WWE Raw. Great, more emphasis on out of the ring characters (pre-taped, no less). And at the end, we get yet another Randy Orton vs. Triple H match! I can't sit through another match with these two. I gotta find some reading material.

Impact Preview

Tonight on Impact:

- Sting vs. Kurt Angle in a King of the Mountain Qualifing Match

- Booker T and Scott Steiner vs. Samoa Joe in a First Blood Match

- Shane Douglas vs. A.J. Styles

- Tara (Victoria) vs. Madison Rayne of The Beautiful People

Tonight at 8PM CST/9PM EST on Spike TV

(Photo from tnawrestling.com)

Adam Lambert Out of the Closet

American Idol runner-up Adam Lambert announced via Rolling Stone magazine yesterday that he is gay. In other breaking news, grass is green and the sky is blue.

(Photo from rollingstone.com)

Brooke Knows Best

Sunday was the return of the most contrived reality show of them all, Brooke Knows Best. I think every single frame of it is as scripted as The Office or Law and Order. With that said, I can't pull myself away from it. The season premiere addressed the problems between Daddy Hulk and her mother, who is now dating a teenager. Brooke was also introduced to Hulk's new girlfriend, the one who creepily looks just like Brooke. Sometimes I kind of felt bad for Hulk, especially on the part when he said he sacrified his body to buy that house and now some teenager was living in it. He even cried in the episode. Anyway, it was good episode and the season should be pretty good with upcoming shows focusing on Brooke going on a date with a girl (?) and putting out another wretched CD.

(Photo from vh1.com)

Zack Morris and The Roots

Jimmy Fallon's dream of reuniting the Saved By the Bell cast came one step closer on Monday night when "Zack Morris" was a guest on his show and agreed to the reunion. Funny stuff. He even played with The Roots at the end of the segment. Looks like this reunion may happen. Only Screech and Kelly left to go!:

Last Night's Raw

According to internet reports, Vickie Guerrero quit WWE and thus was written out of the show on last night's Raw. And what a classy way they sent her out, by calling her a "pig" and a "she-beast", all because she committed the cardinal sins of not being anorexic and being in her 40's. This is why WWE will always be leveled as D-Level entertainment. Vickie allegedly quit to "spend more time with the family" but I think she left because she got tired of being called names every week. Good for her. People deserve to be treated better than this.

WWE Extreme Rules Results

Results from last night's WWE Extreme Rules pay-per-view:

- Kofi Kingston retained the U.S. title in a four-way match over William Regal, Matt Hardy and MVP when Kofi pinned Regal

- Chris Jericho beat Rey Mysterio to win the I-C title. Jericho pulled off Rey's mask and while Rey covered his face, Jericho got the pin.

- C.M. Punk beat Umaga in a strap match

- Tommy Dreamer won the ECW Title over Jack Swagger and Christian when Dreamer pinned Swagger

- Santina beat Vickie Guerrero in a hog pen match that was described as horrendous

- Batista beat Randy Orton clean in a cage match to win the Raw title

- John Cena beat The Big Show in a submission match

- Jeff Hardy beat Edge to win the Smackdown title in a ladder match. Afterwards, C.M. Punk cashed in his money in the bank title shot and beat Jeff Hardy in about one minute.

I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here

I caught most of I'm A Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here last night. The only reason I'm watching the show is because former WWE Superstar Torrie Wilson (above) is part of the cast. She actually got a decent amount of facetime, so I was pleased with that. Unfortuantely, most of the show was built around making some clown from one of those MTV reality shows into the main heel. It would have worked if him and his woman weren't such bad actors. They pretended to walk off the show a couple of times and had a few contrived fights. It got old quickly. Luckily they dropped it in the second hour and concentrated more on the Survivor-ripoff aspects of the show. The show was decent but as soon as Torrie gets cut, I'm out.

(Photo from nbc.com)

Victoria and Raven Show Up on Impact

Two of my favorite wrestlers returned to the ring last Thursday on Impact. Lisa Marie Varon a.k.a. Victoria debuted and beat up my beloved Beautiful People. Also, the legendary Raven returned and attacked Abyss. And all is right with the world. Check out the clips below:

Mr. Kennedy Gone!

In kind of a surprise move, after reportedly suffering a wrist injury in his first match back on Raw last Monday, WWE has given Mr. Kennedy his release. Release.

Tonight On Impact

Tonight's Impact features the fall-out from last Sunday's pay-per-view show:

- Sting makes some changes in the Main Event Mafia

- The debut of Victoria/Lisa Marie Varon

- The return of Shane Douglas and RAVEN!

That's tonight on Spike TV, 8PM CST /9PM EST

(Photo from tnawrestling.com)

WWE Raw

What a wretched skit. Vince McMahon had a personal vendetta because an arena got double booked and again the wrestling fans had to pay the price. It was typical WWE "comedy"-- meaning not funny in any way. Sad that they had a week to put something together and this was the best they could do. With all of the attention put on the skit, the rest of the show fell apart as well. Brutal show. Only bright spot was Jim Ross announcing. Please bring him back to Mondays.

New Spin Cycle

Happy Memorial Day. Sit back and enjoy an all-Knockouts edition of the TNA Spin Cycle with Sharmell, Jenna, Daffney and So Cal Val:

Spin Cycle

An all-new edition of the TNA Spin Cycle with A.J. Styles, Lauren, Matt Morgan and Don West:

American Idol

I caught the big American Idol finale last night and enjoyed it for the most part. I thought it was a major upset with Kris winning over Adam, but I didn't really care because I had no emotional attachment to either of them. Kris was a little boring to me and Adam was a bit too theatrical to me. I did like the guest performances though. I thought KISS was great. Hard to tell who had on more makeup between Gene Simmons and Adam. Carlos Santana was good as well. The funniest part of the evening was the showdown between Bikini Girl and Judge Kara. BG didn't waste any time in getting implants (probably coming to a gentlemen's club near you soon). I haven't seen that much dignity left on the stage since Vince McMahon sang "Stand Back" on the Slammy Awards in 1988. Anyway, I'm glad this thing is over so I can reclaim my life.

American Idol

I hated the show last night, but I'm just not that enthused about either contestant. Glad to see that consistently, every single year, the original song at the end is always dreadful. It's almost comforting. Tonight's finale should be good though with the guest stars, etc.

WWE Raw

How great was Ric Flair on Monday? The segment where he tapped Big Show on the shoulder, passsed the chair to John Cena, and cleared the ring of Legacy was wonderful. He was in great shape too. With that said, I still don't want to see him back in the ring but this kind of involvement is fine. Can't wait for next week's "fight" with Randy Orton (wherever Raw is held).

WWE Backlash Results

Results from last night's WWE Backlash PPV in Chicago:

- Umaga beat C.M. Punk, thus continuing to prove the WWE rule that you must lose in your hometown

- Christian beat Jack Swagger to retain the ECW Title

- John Morrison beat Shelton Benjamin

- Rey Mysterio beat Chris Jericho to retain the I-C Title

- Batista beat Randy Orton by DQ, Ric Flair returned to save Batista from a beating

- John Cena beat The Big Show

- Edge beat Jeff Hardy to retain the Smackdown title

Lashley Wins

I want to give a shout-out to former WWE headliner Bobby Lashley, who is now moving up the ranks in the MMA world. He had a bout this weekend against a guy named Mike Cook. Cook mocked Lashley's wrestling background by wearing a Rey Mysterio mask to the ring and doing the Hulk Hogan posing routine. Lashley then proceeded to beat Cook in all of 25 seconds. Glad to hear it. I hope he makes it all the way to UFC.

* (Obviously that is not Bobby Lashley pictured above, but instead his girlfriend, former WWE Diva Kristal Marshall, who is much more pleasing to the eye).

(Photo from mykristalonline.com)

Precious

Here is the trailer for the movie Precious. This looks deep. Mo'nique seems to really deliver in a dramatic role and even Mariah comes across well. I'll be sure to check this out. I'm depressed already!

American Idol

After all this time it finally comes down to Adam and Kris next week. That surprises me because I didn't even notice Kris until about two weeks ago. I'm putting my fictional money on Adam. It was a fun show last night with the hometown visits and eye candy galore with Alicia Keys, Jordan Sparks (all grown up!) and Katy Perry. I'm looking forward to next week's finale and putting this season behind us.

Celebrity Apprentice

Congratulations to Joan Rivers, who won the second season of Celebrity Apprentice last night (I posted a picture of Deal or No Deal's Claudia Jordan above, because who wants to sit around looking at pictures of Joan Rivers). I went back and forth throughout the three hour finale about who was more annoying between Joan and the Poker Player, but I think Joan was about 2% less annoying when it was all said and done. In the end, you knew Trump was going to select the bigger celeb anyway. Great season and I'm looking forward to another edition.

(Photo from nbc.com)

Daisy Of Love

A couple of days ago in real life, Poor Daisy was hospitalized for "exhaustion" (likely a code word for something else), but apparently she is fine now. Slow down, baby. Anyway, back to the fictional world of reality TV, Daisy of Love continues to chug along. Somehow last week I missed that my favorite character "Weasel" was cut. That's a damn shame. Rock dudes who are stuck in the 80's are funny as hell. On this week's extravaganza, it was week three of the show so like clockwork on every other VH-1 reality show, it was time for the token black cast member to get booted. I'm not sure who she is going to pick out of this creepy group that is left, but I am going out on a limb and going for a surprise ending of Rikki Rachtman throwing his hat in the ring in the final episode and asking the broad out. He follows her around like a sick puppy dog anyway, so he might as well. In the meantime, I'm looking forward to more tattling and whining on next week's show.

(Photo from vh1.com)

Jim Ross Dancing

I ran across this on You Tube and I was howling. It only gets funnier with each viewing:

Awesome Kong vs. Velvet Sky

Poor little Velvet!:

American Idol

Allison was sent home last night on American Idol, which was no big surprise considering that she had landed in the bottom two so many times in the past. However I do think she might be one of the contestants that does have success in the future. This leaves the three guys as the final three and I'm pretty sure Adam is going to take this. The big story of the night (for me anyway) was the return of Paula Abdul to the stage. She's back! Sure it had trainwreck potential but I thought she pulled it off nicely. The song had a Britney/T-Pain type of vibe to it and the performance itself was good. It was like 1990 all over again. Good job! Next thing you know, C&C Music Factory will be trying to stage a comeback.

Dancing With The Stars

I've been following most of Dancing with the Stars this season (although I usually tune out when 24 comes on). However last night my last remaining favorite, Lil Kim, got voted off, which leaves four people left that I've never heard of. Well, I'm out! Let me know who wins (like it matters now).

(Photo from abc.com)

I Love Money Finale

Congratulations to Myammee (above) for winning this season of I Love Money (and for wearing those great outfits during the elimination ceremonies). If Prancer or that fool It had won, I don't think I would have been able to sleep. Good job!

(Photo from vh1.com)

Celebrity Apprentice

Celebrity Apprentice has been really good this season and I almost hate to see the season wrap up, but we are down to the final two. Clint Black and his creepy smile were finally cut when he lost the songwritten challenge to the Evil Poker Lady. Of the final four, I wanted Jesse James and Brande Roderick (above) to stay, but of course they cut got. Still, next week's finale will be good with Joan Rivers vs. Annie Duke. I have to go with Joan since, amazingly, she's the less annoying of the two. Can't wait to see Andrew Dice Clay, Dennis Rodman and the rest of the gang return.

TNA Impact Bonus Match

Bonus action from TNA Impact: It's Velvet Sky of the Beautiful People vs. ODB!

American Idol

American Standards Week worked out pretty well. Jamie Foxx was an entertaining mentor. I almost thought that crowd favorite Adam Lambert was going home for a second. He probably didn't get as many votes because people thought he was safe. I still have no idea how that Chirs guy keeps squeeking by. I expect he may go next week. We'll miss Hat Guy. Hopefully he can get some assistance for that pimple on his forehead. Don't they have makeup people on Idol?

Last Night's Raw

Raw was decent last night. They did a nice job of trying to hype up the new draft picks. Miz seemed quite hateable and they are continuing to try to re-build The Big Show. They really could have done something with MVP if he had scored some kind of victory over Randy Orton, but it was just a backdrop for Super Shane, who isn't going to ever draw a rating, sell any merchandise, or add buys to PPV. It never ends.

Rams Draft

My beloved St. Louis Rams had the second overall pick in the weekend's NFL draft and thankfully they picked an offensive lineman (Jason Smith). With their second pick they got James Laurinitis, a linebacker. Perhaps the best thing about him is that he is the son of Road Warrior Animal (above) and the nephew of Johnny Ace/John Laurinitis, the dreaded head of WWE Talent Relations. If he becomes good enough, maybe the Rams can give him his own seperate entrance where he could come out to "Ironman" wearing spiked shoulder pads like his father or he could come out on a skateboard like his uncle. This is the best thing to happen to the Rams since Denzel Washington's son washed out a couple of years ago.

WWE Backlash Results

Results of last night's show from Providence, Rhode Island:

- Christian beat Jack Swagger for the ECW Title

- Chris Jericho beat Ricky Steamboat

- Kane beat C.M. Punk

- Jeff Hardy beat Matt Hardy in an I-Quit Match

- Randy Orton became the new Raw World champ by pinning Triple H in the six-man tag match

- Edge beat John Cena to win the Smackdown World title

Sounded like a decent show.

American Idol

Disco Week was kinda fun. The individual performances were solid and even the group song was good. Seeing the ghosts of Freeda Payne, Thelma Houston and KC was interesting. No big surprise that Lil Rounds and Anoop got sent home. Probably the most amazing thing was that Paula was really good doing the choreography, making this the second week in a row that she wasn't that annoying. That must be some kind of record.

The Wrestler on DVD

The acclaimed movie The Wrestler is now available on DVD and Blu-Ray in stores and at online outlets. I picked it up on Tuesday.

Number of times I watched the entire movie: 0

Number of times I watched the DVD extras: 0

Number of times I watched every scene involving Marisa Tomei: approx. 18

Ric Flair Promo For ROH

Ric Flair is coming to ROH TV!:

WWE Raw

Pretty lame show (at least the half that I saw after 24). Why is one of their most popular and most marketable champions (Rey Mysterio) being jobbed out in seconds to Big Show (who is involved in nothing right now)? I swear, they don't know how to promote anymore. Speaking of which, why is Ricky Steamboat doing a singles comeback match with one week of notice? Triple H vs. Randy Orton picked up towards the end, but I never need to see these two go at it again. Please remove Shane McMahon from my screen.

Rock of Love Bus Reunion Show

The Rock of Love Bus Reunion show was typical VH-1 reunion fare: the infomercial atmosphere, fake laughing in the crowd shots, cast members you couldn't possibly remember and an obviously staged fight. It was mildly entertaining with the funniest things being host Rikki Rachtman barely being able to contain his contempt for winner Taya and Taya acting like a total prick. It was blatant that Bret and Taya will not last. Bring on Rock of Love Car, Rock of Love Motorcycle or whatever the hell is next.

(Photo from vh1.com)

TNA Lockdown Results

Results from last night's TNA Lockdown pay-per-view show from Philadelphia:

- Eric Young beat Danny Bonaduce in the pre-show. Bonaduce got gored by Rhino after the match.

- Suicide won a four-way X Division match

- ODB won a four-way Queen of the Cage match

- Motor City Machine Guns beat LAX and No Limit

- Matt Morgan beat Abyss. Stevie Richards debuted and attacked Abyss

- Angelina Love became the new Knockouts Champion by beating Awesome Kong and Taylor Wilde

- Team 3D beat Beer Money to win the TNA Tag Team titles

- The Good Guys beat the Main Event Mafia in the Lethal Lockdown Match. Bobby Lashley came out but no one knows which side he is on.

- Mick Foley beat Sting to win the TNA World Title.

The consensus seems to be that this was an average show.

(Photo from tnawrestling.com)

Impact!

Awwww, look who messed around and put on a good show! The return of Christopher Daniels (who put on a good match with Kurt Angle), a showdown between Cactus Jack and Sting, and The Beautiful People cut Awesome Kong's hair. Plus they just announced that they signed a former world champion from another organization. Let the speculation begin (Tazz). This weekend's PPV could be pretty good.

(Photo from tnawrestling.com)