Alberto del Rio Missed RAW to Take Care of His Visa

Photo Credit: WWE.com

Via PW Torch

For those of you, myself included, who were wondering where the WWE Champion was last night, well, there was a good reason he missed RAW. Alberto del Rio was at home taking care of visa issues, which apparently will be resolved "very soon". He was scheduled to wrestle Sin Cara tonight, but oddly enough, WWE has scrubbed any mention of the match from ads. He is expected to be back for the weekend house show run.

Quick Hits: Rise of the Planet of the Quick Hits

Photo Credit: ChikaraPro.com

- Chikara announced three more wrestlers for their North Carolina/Tennessee swing in October. Joining KANA will be Jessie McKay, Atsushi Kotoge and Daisuke Harada. I think McKay has wrestled for Chikara before, but she hasn't appeared since I started following the fed in 2009. Kotoge and Harada not only have been at the last two King of Trios tournaments, but they also amassed three points at Night Three this year, which means a title defense by the winner of the QuackSaw/Team FIST match in September. Just three more reasons for me to be jealous of you Southerners, well, at least until y'all remind me that I live in Philly and get a lot more than you do on a regular basis in terms of indie wrestling. So yeah, shame on me?

- Shane Helms obviously learned a life lesson from Matt Hardy this past weekend. No silly, it wasn't not to drive impaired, it was that if you end up getting caught driving impaired, make sure you don't crash into a tree first. Helms got popped for DWI Wednesday morning in Johnston County, NC. Honestly, I'm not sure how stupid someone could be, but hey, whatever, he clearly doesn't value his own life. For the people who do value his life, for their sake? I hope he gets help.

- In future endeavored news, Impact and Becky "Cookie" Bayless have parted ways. No details have been discerned yet, but the disgruntled former Knockout and manager of Rob "Robbie E" Eckos left a Twitter message relaying that she was indeed gone from Impact. I may be in the minority, but I really thought they had something with The Shore. They didn't have the charisma of Zack Ryder, but at the same time, I thought they were a good pairing. Of course, they went out and hotshotted a big moment early on by having J-WOWW punk out Cookie in one of the latter's first appearances with the company, but hey, no one has ever accused Impact of being a smart company. She'll be back on (i)PPV for WSU in November.

- In Future Endeavors (the podcast) news, they had Chris Masters on yesterday. Give the interview a listen.

Todd Grisham Follows in the Footsteps of Jonathan Coachman

Via Cageside Seats via Twitter

Todd Grisham, the often maligned but still too-plain-for-WWE announcer, has taken a job with ESPN. He's the second WWE announcer to take a job with the Worldwide Leader in the last three years, with Jonathan Coachman jumping ship in 2009. Grisham had announced for both ECW and Smackdown before being shunted away on NXT lately. I always found him to be serviceable, a calm counterbalance to his usual broadcast partner Matt Striker's overbearing bombast. Still, I can see why someone would think he never quite fit in WWE. Anyway, at least his home office won't be changing states. Good luck and godspeed, Mr. Grisham.

One Hardy's Gone, Another Hardy Returns

Via F4W Online

Apparently, Jeff Hardy makes his return to Impact Wrestling at the TV tapings in Huntsville, AL on Thursday. Just when you think it's safe to laud the former-TNA for good decision making after firing his brother Matt (and that's even laughable, but if I say too much else, I'm giving away my CCB column for this week), they're bringing back the other brother. Then again, did anyone ever think that Jeff would be the more stable of the two (and that's a relative term)? I dunno. Anyway, like Alvarez, I'm skeptical that Jeff is 100% ready to return, but then again, maybe he is clean and ready for the schedule again. Who knows. I guess we'll find out Thursday.

Mysterio Blew Out His Knee Monday Night

Photo Credit: WWE.com

Via Cageside Seats via the Observer Paysite

Rey Mysterio is going to be getting that vacation he's needed for the last year so. Too bad it's coming involuntarily, as he blew out his knee Monday night in his main event match for the WWE Championship against Alberto del Rio. Mysterio said he heard his knee tear on a baseball slide spot, and apparently, he couldn't even walk when he got backstage.

Obviously, this is a major blow to WWE, as Mysterio is one of their most popular wrestlers and best workers. Think this might end up being a lesson to the company that maybe they should give their ailing stars a month off here or there so that they remain fresh in the long term? Nah, probably not.

Four of PWG's Finest Received a WWE Tryout Last Night

Two of the WWE's tryouts last night

I mused on Twitter last night that I thought I saw Scorpio Sky among the throng of security installed to keep CM Punk from attacking Kevin Nash last night. Apparently, I wasn't dreaming, as Sky was in attendance at RAW last night. According to Mike Johnson of The Site That Shall Not Be Linked (PW Insider for those new to the blog), Sky as well as Joey Ryan and the Young Bucks all received tryouts last night before the show.

This is huge news, although in the case of the Bucks, not surprising, as Triple H seems to want to bolster the tag ranks. Both the Bucks and the teaming of Ryan and Sky as The Dynasty would be tasty additions to the tag team division from where I sit. My guess is that there'll be a long hard look at body types. Then again, if Trips is all for pushing Daniel Bryan and seems to be going all in on CM Punk, maybe the mindset that bodybuilders are the only potential stars as an institutional condition of stardom is going out the window.

Hopefully, at least someone gets signed out of this though.

Photo Credit: Scott Finkelstein - Please visit his site to view the plentiful amounts of pictures he's taken for DGUSA, ROH and other indie feds: Get Lost Photography

Silent Roid Rage?: Andy Leavine WELLNESS'd

Photo Credit: WWE.com

Via WrestleChat via the Site that Shall Not Be Linked

Tough Enough mk. 2 winner Andy "Silent Rage" Leavine was popped for violating the Wellness policy. It's unknown what he got suspended for (I just thought the headline was fruit that was too low-hanging to pass up), as this hasn't even been announced by the company yet. But yeah, it's working its way backstage according to PWI.

Also suspended, and confirmed, is Mike Chioda. A referee getting snipped for Wellness may seem surprising, but if you had to drop to the mat several times a match a couple of times a night, you'd develop lingering pains too.

Jimmy Wang Yang's Impact Paycheck Is Made of Rubber

So, Jimmy Wang Yang wrestled for Impact last month, reprising his Flying Elvis gimmick during the whole Destination X tournament for a contract. It probably was a nice, one-off payment for the wrestler who hasn't worked much in terms of visible projects in the domestic indies since being released from WWE, right? In theory it was. Turns out JWY is waiting to get paid. He sent this missive via Twitter last night:

It has been over 6 weeks since i wrestles for tna and i still havent been paid and the check that they sent me 2 weeks ago bounced WTF!!!!!

If you can't wade through the poor grasp of English (probably not his first language, so yeah, not mocking him there), then the gist is, he's playing the role of ECW employee circa 2000 and Impact is Paul Heyman, amateur accountant. His paycheck bounced and they still haven't paid him for his work.

I'm very curious to know whether his was the only check that bounced or whether others had the same problem. My guess is it was an oversight, because, good Lord, it's not like Panda Energy is wanting for cash to pay out to people who appear on the televised product of one of their subsidiary brands. There was a mistake, which happens. However, the fact that they haven't fixed that mistake yet would be troubling to someone who didn't know the history of Impact Wrestling's human resources ineptitude. It's par for the course here.

In the interest of fairness, of course, we don't know if Wang Yang is only taking to Twitter for this for a cheap plug or whether he's done anything constructive about it before taking it to social media, but c'mon now. With all the other stories that have come out about how shitty Impact is run, who are you more likely to believe, the guy complaining publicly for the first time or the company that has featured a wrestler going on food stamps and one of their Champions working at Sunglass Hut to make ends meet? Thought so.

Heath Slater Accused of Assault

Photo Credit: WWE.com

Via Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Heath Slater has been accused of assaulting a female security guard in Atlanta the morning after WrestleMania on April 4. The guard accused Slater of propositioning her for sex, and when she refused, choking her to the point where she had to wrestle out of the grip and escape. Slater denies the accusation, saying he was with his fiancee at the time of the alleged assault. The report was not filed until June 22nd, mainly because of consultation and other legal wrangling.

WWE spokesman Jerry McDevitt had a very interesting response to this. When asked about the incident by local Atlanta news, he said "The alleged victim is making claims against Slater individually, and it’s being investigated. This has nothing to do with the WWE." Obviously, what he says seems cut and dried, but I feel like if I read between the lines there, it sounds like if anything comes of this, the WWE wouldn't be slow to cut ties with Slater.

It'll be interesting to see if anything comes from this, but it is a very bad situation for a company that has had employees getting into trouble this year. Granted, if Rock, John Cena, Michael Cole and CM Punk putting their feet in their mouths at various points are black eyes, this comes as a broken nose if anything else comes from it.

I did have one problem with the article. They referred to Slater as a "popular pro wrestler". That's an out-and-out lie, amirite?

WWE Hires a Wrestling Writer to Write Wrestling

Via Baltimore Sun

Kevin Eck, the wrestling blogger/columnist for the Baltimore Sun announced today that he has accepted an offer to join the WWE Creative Team. This is a monumental occasion seeing that Eck covered wrestling for a living and is an actual fan rather than a failed sitcom writer who is trying to collect a paycheck between doing 2 Guys, 2 Girls, 1 Cup, a Pizza Place and Law and Order: Petty Crimes Unit and CBS' televised adaptation of the Jesus M. Christ Twitter feed.

More and more, it seems like the culture is changing in Stamford, or at least it's appearing to change. Maybe the pendulum is swinging back to a more old school feel, or at least one that embraces wrestling, whether in traditional forms or under a guise that still unmistakably retains its feeling as the unique form of entertainment it is rather than something it really isn't.

And above all else, a warm congratulation to Eck, who is getting what is hypothetically a dream job. Hopefully, the culture within the company when it comes to the atmosphere has changed too, because I'd hate for him to have to endure things like flying down to Florida for a meeting at Vince McMahon's condo, only to be sent home without Vince even opening his front door.

WWE Chopping Block Report, Part 1

Adios, Masterpiece :(
Photo Credit: WWE.com

Five WWE Superstars have left the company, four by way of future endeavoring, one by way of quitting. The worst news is that more are reportedly forthcoming, which is terrible. I hate reporting on people losing their jobs, and I don't get why people pass that info along with such glee. It's news, but it's also people not being employed anymore. Here are the five that have been axed so far:

Gail Kim - She was the one who quit. She's been making a big fuss on Twitter about how unhappy she's been lately, and it seemed everything came to a head when she inexplicably eliminated herself in the Divas battle royale Monday. Well, apparently she quit after RAW Monday but waited until today to drop the knowledge. Oh well, she really hadn't done anything for me since coming back, especially after everyone pumped her up to be this great worker. I guess Kharma/Awesome Kong did all the heavy lifting in Impact, right? Plus, she quit, so she obviously didn't want to be there. I wouldn't be surprised to see her retire, since she's engaged to big deal TV chef Robert Irvine.

Melina - This is the least shocking firing ever. She's apparently been batshit crazy backstage, and constantly getting her boyfriend John Morrison in hot water because of the dumb stuff she said and did. Again, this is apparently and reputedly since I really don't have a whole lot of firsthand sources to go on for this. She really hadn't been featured for months either. Something tells me WWE will be better without her.

Vladimir Kozlov - I was a little bummed about this one. Kozlov had found a niche as a tag wrestler and a big Russian blockhead who got some comedy with culture-shock spots and the like. This also continues to prove that WWE really has missed the boat on featuring a tag division, since he was over by proxy of absorbing some of Santino's heat when they were Tag Champs. Oh well.

David Hart Smith - The rumblings are that he wants to do MMA. He's been training in it for months, so this is really not surprising either. Nothing more to say here either.

Chris Masters - This is the one I'm gutted most over. Really, he had come into his own as a worker, and every time he was featured on Superstars or Smackdown, he came through with a good to great match. He also was able to get over as a good guy without the benefit of any promo time whatsoever. Yeah, the jiggling pecs were a huge boon to him, but when that died down, he stayed somewhat over. Why? Because he knows how to engage a crowd and get them behind him in the ring. That is something that is invaluable and what a lot of current faces lack in the ring. Ugh, total miss the boat moment on him. Hopefully, he continues to wrestle, preferably in the indies, like I don't know, CHIKARA? Really bummed, man.

And again, there are more coming apparently. I fucking hate when WWE cleans house.

Amazing Red Gone from Impact

Via Twitter

Amazing Red, the long-time Impact wrestler who's been used very little lately, has parted ways with the company. Apparently, he got the "Creative has nothing for you" line, and he decided to head it off at the pass rather than wait around for no bookings and thus no paychecks. I was never the biggest Red fan, but he was good at Chikara's King of Trios this year. Obviously, the rumors are going to swirl about him signing with ROH, but at this point, who knows anymore.

Anyway, even if you don't agree that Red was a guy that needed to go, at least Impact is shedding some roster members. They're extremely bloated still, although given the choice, I'm sure that many Impact fans would have rather seen Rob Terry, Murphy and the Hardy Boys gone rather than Red, Jay Lethal and the Young Bucks. Them's be the breaks though...

KANA Is Coming

The real best in the world?
Photo Credit: Dirty Dirty Sheets

Via Chikara's Google+

KANA, who has been making her name in Japan as one of the best, if not the best, wrestler in the world, woman or otherwise, will be making her way to the United States of America for both SHIMMER and Chikara in October. The good news is she'll be coming to two feds with which I am intimately familiar. The bad news is she's coming to Chikara when they're in North Carolina and Tennessee. Although I guess Philly can't get ALL the good guest stars.

Anyway, I'm just as curious as you to see what she can do in America, but if you want more info, you need to check out the Dirty Dirty Sheets (and their Tumblr), because they're ALL about KANA, especially their interview with her.

Finlay's In Battle of Los Angeles This Year, Guys

The man

Via PWG's site

PWG has announced the eight names to compete in this year's Battle of Los Angeles tournament, held in Reseda August 20th (is it just me, or are they having BOLA earlier and earlier in the year every year now?) The competitors are Willie Mack, World Champion Kevin Steen, former Champ Claudio Castagnoli, Roderick Strong, Eddie Edwards, Chris Hero, El Generico and... wait for it...

Finlay.

They fucking got Finlay for BOLA this year, and they've paired him off with Steen in the first round. It's at this point that I submit to PWG to stop being so awesome because they're all the way on the West Coast and I got a kid coming and I can't in good conscience plan a West Coast road trip to Reseda when I gotta feed a baby GAWD. I'll say it before and I'll say it again; I expect no one to feel sorry for my jealousy because I live in Philly, the mecca of indie wrestling in America. However, that'll never stop me from being out and out jealous that SoCal has one of the two best indies in America and that I can't go to experience it live without great personal cost.

*Awaits backlash from people who note I'll be going to both shows this weekend for the other best indie fed in America*

But yeah, Finlay vs. Steen is obviously Match of the Year candidate bait, but some of those other first round matchups are good looking too. Chris Hero vs. Willie Mack is something that a lot of people have been looking forward to. Eddie Edwards vs. Roderick Strong is a match we've seen in ROH, but that doesn't mean it won't be really good in PWG too. Claudio and Generico is tried-and-true proven goodness. So yeah, it's no stretch to say that if you live in SoCal, like wrestling and don't go to this, you're a terrible person and deserve to be dragged around East Los Angeles by your pinkie toes.

Photo Credit: Scott Finkelstein - Please visit his site to view the plentiful amounts of pictures he's taken for DGUSA, ROH and other indie feds: Get Lost Photography

Injury Report: Kane, Richards

Photo Credit: WWE.com

Two injuries of note in two different companies. First up, Kane "suffered" a fractured fibula last night on Smackdown. I haven't seen the show yet, but apparently, WWE.com posted a note about Mark Henry splitting Kane's wig breaking the Big Red Machine's fibula, sending him out for three months. So with all that being said, it looks like a kayfabe injury. With that in mind and Daniel Bryan's spot in one of the three-four biggest matches at WrestleMania next year announced, maybe they are looking to build up new stars. Bless my stars and call me Betsy!

In PWG news, Davey Richards landed in the hospital for a very much legitimate and scary staph infection, announced via the PWG Facebook page. Obviously, his spot in tonight's main event three-way against the Kings of Wrestling for EIGHT will be vacated. Not sure if they'll run with a straight up rematch between PWG Champ Claudio Castagnoli and his tag partner Chris Hero, or whether they'll insert another challenger in the fray, but folks, this is PWG we're talking about. They'll deliver. In fact, I feel bad for not posting a preview column for tonight's anniversary show, but perhaps I'll watch one of my PWG DVDs in the coming week.

I know it's kinda weak to post a kayfabe injury along with a real one, but hey, they're both huge deals for different reasons.

Sin Cara Suspended for Wellness

On the shelf...
Photo Credit: WWE.com

Via WWE.com

When it rains, it pours it seems. Although the blame this clearly rests on his own shoulders, it seems another mishap has befallen Sin Cara in his WWE career, as he flunked a Wellness test. He's gone for 30 days, which it seems is the reason why he got stretchered out of the Allstate Arena last night. The offending substance was not disclosed, but here's where I remind you that steroids and HGH aren't the only things the WWE bans over.

Anyway, I think a 30 day vacation will do the former Mistico good. If you believe the dirtsheets (and I wouldn't blame you if you didn't), the front office is kinda ticked at him for being so damn botchy and not picking up the WWE style fast enough, as if the WWE style is something concrete. That is unless you want to argue to me that Sheamus and Rey Mysterio work exactly the same. He needs to sit back, watch some tapes and then hit the gym and run through spots with anyone who's willing so that when he comes back, he doesn't embarrass the people he's supposed to impress, if that's the case.

But that's enough speculation. The fact is he flunked a drug test, so he's on the sidelines. Hopefully, this is the last roadblock for him, because I'm all about the dude being exciting and bringing lucha libre to a wider audience.

Davey Richards Is Not Under Contract

Richards, choked up after winning
the strap

Via WrestleChat.Net

Davey Richards is currently ROH's World Champion. He's also not under contract to the company, as he revealed on the Wheelhouse Radio program. He's still with the company, presumably on a per-deal basis, because he "believes in the product". In an odd way, I can believe him. Regardless of how trustworthy Richards is to the ROH brass (although you can ask now-rival promoter Gabe Sapolsky of that trustworthiness after the two had a falling out over signing a ROH contract and bailing on DGUSA and EVOLVE dates in early 2010), it's still a very risky proposition in this day and age to have a guy on top of the fed without a contract. Granted, if he's to be believed, he turned down an offer from WWE in the past, so his dedication to the indies and to ROH might not be that much in question. Still, very surprising that ROH is going along with this.

Photo Credit: Scott Finkelstein - Please visit his site to view the plentiful amounts of pictures he's taken for DGUSA, ROH and other indie feds: Get Lost Photography

Sarita Suffering from Facial Paralysis

Photo Credit:
ImpactWrestling.com

Via Diva-Dirt

Sarah "Sarita" Stock had to miss a couple of dates in Mexico recently. She revealed on her Facebook page that she was suffering from "facial paralysis". It's unknown what's caused the condition - there are several things that could - but regardless of what's causing it, here's to hoping for a speedy recovery.

JSCW's First Show a Free One on the Boardwalk

Via JSCW's site

Jersey Shore Championship Wrestling is kicking off with a bang. Frank Iadaveia's rising-star-focused new promotion will debut August 6th in Seaside Heights, NJ, on their boardwalk, free of charge. Yep, their first show is free. This is huge news. It's very bold on the fed's behalf to go free for the first show, but it should pay off, especially when it's going to be on the boardwalk. They can get walk-up audience pretty easily.

Set to appear will be Dan Maff, Monsta Mack, Corvis Fear and Bandido, Jr. among others. Frightmare has been confirmed as a competitor in the fed, but he hasn't been announced for the first card yet. Anyway, if you're in NY or Philly, it's a somewhat easy drive. Seaside Heights is generally regarded to be right on the borderline between the two cities' shore towns (although it's more associated with New York than Philadelphia).

Madison Eagles Injured

Eagles

Via Chikara Pro Blog

Madison Eagles announced today via the Chikara website that she was involved in a minor car accident on April 19th. Coming off the heels of Amasis announcing his retirement due to a car accident, it bodes as bad luck for Chikara wrestlers in general for being in motor vehicles. Fortunately, she won't have to retire due to her injuries - a SLAP tear (shoulder injury) and two cases of tendonitis - but they will cause her to go back to her home country of Australia for treatment. She's vacated her Chikara roster spot for now.

It's unknown how this will affect her standing in SHIMMER, where she is the World Champion. Luckily for her and the promotion, they don't have another taping until October, but then again, it's unknown whether that'll be enough time for her to come back and compete. These kinds of injuries usually take about a year to fully heal. What that bodes for her reign as Champion is not entirely clear.

However, those kinds of things are immaterial in comparison to her overall health. Here's hoping for a speedy and most importantly full recovery for Eagles. She's really grown on me in the last year since first seeing her in action, and her match with Manami Toyota at King of Trios was one of the best all weekend, if not the entire year. Get well soon!

Photo Credit: Scott Finkelstein - Please visit his site to view the plentiful amounts of pictures he's taken for DGUSA, ROH and other indie feds: Get Lost Photography