Ted Dibiase Set as First Inductee in the 2010 Hall of Fame

The Road to Wrestlemania 26 is in full swing, and that means it's also time for the Hall of Fame inductees for this year's class to be revealed each week. We kick off this year's class with a man who is no doubt deserving of the honor, the one and only "Million Dollar Man" Ted Dibiase. Ted is one of the guys that has been a lock to go into the Hall of Fame for years now, and it's only been a matter of when. Dibiase debuted in WWE in 1987, and stepped right into a memorable angle that would put him as an immediate main eventer. Before debuting in WWE, Dibiase was a top face in Bill Watt's UWF promotion, but in the tradition of the good old days, the transformation to the "Million Dollar Man" was explained in the mid-south area as an inheritance from one of Ted's rich relatives. Upon entering, Ted claimed he was going to buy the WWF Heavyweight Championship from Hulk Hogan, which of course Hulk turned down, but these events lead to the infamous end of Hogan's 4 year reign as champion when he lost to Ted's hired gun, Andre the Giant, in controversial fashion. Andre then handed the belt over to Dibiase, and Ted reigned as the WWF Champion for a few days and even appeared at house shows with the belt, before being stripped and the title being held up for the Wrestlemania 4 tournament. Ted had a good long run with WWE, having memorable feuds with Randy Savage, Jake Roberts, Dusty Rhodes, and his own bodyguard Virgil. Ted also formed a successful Tag Team Championship team with I.R.S. as Money Inc. Now Dibiase still makes appearances for WWE, including being one of the best guests hosts of RAW that we've seen. Dibiase has 3 sons in wrestling, including Ted Jr. of course, Bret in FCW, and Mike on the independent scene, and we'll probably see at least Ted Jr. inducting his dad into the Hall of Fame. So we've got our first inductee, and with rumors abound on others, it will be interesting over the next few weeks to see who will comprise the 2010 class of the WWE Hall of Fame.

JBL Proclaims #1 Choice for Ratings

Former world champion John "Bradshaw" Layfield decided that people weren't paying enough attention to him and thought "I need to make them remember".

The self proclaimed "wrestling god", which is comical considering he couldn't do an arm bar to save his life, says that he is the #1 choice for ratings because he and Ron Simmons had an 8.1 and he and Shawn Michaels had a 4.1. (I'm standing and clapping for you Bradshaw) You wrote on your WWE blog almost a year ago stating how you were done with WWE wrestling and that that chapter had ended. Are you Bret Favre now? wanting to get back into the squared circle, lace em up and give it the ole Texas try one more time? Last time we saw you come back you got to Wrestlemania 25, lost in 5 seconds and quit. Seriously, when you left the Acolytes and became the Wall Street "wrestling god" it became a joke for many.

Congratulations on your 8.1 rating, that is something to be proud of. I will not bash on that aspect at all. The thing that has me irritated with you JBL is the fact that all you ever did is disrespect people left and right. Hating on the Miz, decking blue meanie, disrespecting ECW and getting laid out by Joey Styles which by every standard you deserved. If you think you can bring in more ratings then do it! No one likes to hear about what you did. It is either put up or shut up and quite honestly many will agree for you to shut up.

I was big fan of Bradshaw. JBL not so much. Unfortunately, thanks to Twitter we are going to deal with your boastfulness till you can't type anymore. Oh happy Day

ECW Officially Off the Air in Three Weeks

Well we knew this was coming eventually, and it's probably the best move. ECW will cease to exist in three weeks, after an official announcement made by Vince McMahon on ECW tonight. Vince made a rare appearance on the show, didn't even bother walking all the way down to the ring, and dedicated about 1 minute to announcing ECW was done, and that a new show would take it's place. Rumor has it the new "show" or "brand" maybe, will be called WWE NXT, which is supposed to come across as WWE Next, meaning the next generation of stars i guess, and will basically be the same "C" show that ECW has been for the past few years. I'm not seeing anything new coming out of this. We'll get a new intro, new belts, a different visual look, and that's about it. ECW hasn't been meaningful for 4 years or so, and only at the beginning of the ECW revival was there a glimmer of hope that the old ECW magic would be there, and it wouldn't be just another WWE show with the same old same. Sadly it got bad fast, and for years ECW has just been the low level brand that the new guys or guys they had nothing else for were sent to. So Vince tells us this will be revolutionary...we tend to doubt that one. WWE's road to Wrestlemania buildup is about the only interesting thing going right now, and after that, it's going to be hard for WWE to create anything interesting enough to go to hold people's attention when they're up against TNA.

The real ECW died at the "One Night Stand" pay per view in 2006, and thankfully this WWE version of ECW will now be finished, and probably will barely be remembered in the history books, because WWE chose to make it worthless.

Edge Returns and Wins the Royal Rumble!

In a nice twist by WWE, they not only brought back Edge as a surprise entrant in the Royal Rumble, but Edge actually pulled out the win, and has won a title shot at Wrestlemania. Leading into the Rumble, there were rumors that Edge was about ready for a return, and that the return could even be made at the Rumble to confront his former tag team partner Chris Jericho. Well as Jericho entered the Rumble at 28, Edge entered at 29 to a huge ovation, and cleaned house on Jericho and everyone else in the ring. Batista entered as number 30, and the stage was set as the final few competitors were left in the Rumble. Shawn Michaels was a favorite going in, with his possible rematch with The Undertaker on the line, Cena always has to be considered a favorite since it's WWE, and even Batista seemed to be a possible winner given his recent heel push. The word has been that Edge vs. Jericho would be the plan for Mania, but to WWE's credit they went with the swerve, and Edge won the Rumble, last eliminating Cena. So with Edge now back and immediately back in the main event picture, it throws off the Mania plans that have been rumored for a few months, which included an Edge vs. Jericho match. Now with one pay per view before Wrestlemania, we have Edge getting a title shot at one of the champions, both of whom retained their titles at the Rumble. It seems WWE knows that TNA is making moves to compete, so it's time to shake up their programming as well, which is a very necessary move if they are going to keep our interest.

Bobby Lashley Dominates in Strikeforce Debut

Bobby Lashley made his Strikeforce debut earlier tonight against Wes Sims of The Ultimate Fighter fame. Lashley went into this fight with a 4-0 record, but this was the first time Lashley got to fight in one of the 2 top MMA promotions in the U.S. right now. Of course Lashley's involvement with pro wrestling was heavily mentioned, with both his history with WWE and TNA brought up a few times. For anyone that doubted Lashley was the real deal, and was just another pro wrestler trying to get in on Brock Lesnar's success, Lashley proved he was the real deal in MMA by dominating Wes Sims with a TKO win in the first round. Lashley took Sims down fast, unloaded punches, and never really seemed to be in any trouble. After Lashley took the back, Sims laid flat on the mat, causing the referee to stop the fight, although Sims complained about the call. It was evident to anyone that Lashley won convincingly, and is going to be ready for some big fights in Strikeforce. Rumblings about a fight with Fedor have already been making the rounds, and this win will probably only push the idea more. With the more success Lashley sees in MMA, one has to wonder how much we will see him in TNA at this point.

CM (Charles Manson) Punk

Well, last week i was watching SMACKDOWN! and I couldn't help but notice a little comparison that kind of struck me as scary. CM Punk's new "Straight Edge Society" is strangely becoming similar to a dangerous cult that rose in the late 1960's. Yes, I mean the infamous Manson Family lead by Charles Manson. (For those who do not know about this dangerous group, I will touch on some aspect but I won't be going into deep detail....wikipedia has a good history on it). Now what could be the benefits of pushing this type of story? Unfortunately I do not see many.

This is very dangerous territory especially with the message that could be sent to younger viewers. Being straight edge should not be seen as a bad thing but that is the focus that is being put on Punk and Gallows. Last week, Punk said something that literally had me worried. Yes it is entertainment and its all acting but there are certain lines that should not be crossed and WWE crossed it.

Do you accept Straight edge? Do you accept me, CM punk as your Savior -Punk said while shaving his new protege's head.

I was stunned at what i was seeing. I remember a video I saw of Charles Manson talking about being a savior in nearly the EXACT same quote. This isn't entertaining for me and it is extremely dangerous to be referencing a storyline after a notorious murderer and conspirator. Yes it is all good fun and games but what is being forgotten is that families who allow their kids to watch WWE because of the new PG rating and the good role models that are present will see this eerie resemblance and be mortified. With his new beard and hair, Punk literally looks like Manson did in his younger days.

Yes, the attitude Era has been bashed for things being demonic and vulgar, (Stone Cold on a crucifix, the Ministry of Darkness, the Brood, Goldust, DX etc) but this is now a PG rated show. Promoting a bad light on straight edge lifestyle and turning it into a cult (dangerously close to a mass murdering family) is completely wrong on every front. It is a lack of sensitivity, it is a lack of respect and most of all it is a complete show of bad taste.

Quite honestly, the current state of the WWE as a whole has me shaking my head due to lack of creativity and this is by far has me hoping TNA does something huge in the future.

Chris Jericho and Hurricane Helms Arrested, Matt Hardy Also Involved

The big gossip going on right now is the arrest of Chris Jericho and Greg "Hurricane" Helms early Wednesday morning in Kentucky 20 miles from where the Smackdown tapings were held, with more and more details coming forth. According to TMZ, Helms allegedly struck three people in a taxi, including a female. The cab was also was also carrying Chris Jericho and apparently Matt Hardy. The alleged story says that Helms and Hardy both ran from the scene, but Helms eventually returned, where he was arrested with Jericho for alcohol intoxication at a public place at the gas station where the cab driver stopped and called 911. Helms and Jericho's mug shot is all over TMZ, and the Hardy tidbit is a new piece of information on this situation. Apparently Hardy fled and didn't return, but no one is pursuing charges against Hardy. The female involved has decided not to press charges, but one of the males is still deciding if he will press charges against Helms. Being Jericho is a top star right now in WWE, he probably won't get any kind of disciplinary action, but it wouldn't shock us to see Helms gone soon, being he isn't doing much of anything in ECW. If Helms is gone, don't be surprised to see him pop up with TNA alongside his other troublesome North Carolina friend, Jeff Hardy.

Randy Orton New Contract...and Drama

It is has been reported that Randy Orton signed a multi year contract with the WWE at around 60 million dollars. WWE is no doubt thrilled about signing one of the companies top heels.

With all that money what could Randy possibly buy? well from what resent findings are proving to be true and according to Randy's website a woman is sueing him for "assaulting" her handicapped child. Randy of course is denying the claim and admitted that he told the woman to "sue" him if she was truly upset about it.

Looks like Randy may have to pay some of his new contract towards a lawyer, but honostly the guy may have a bad attitude and a temper, but I seriously doubt he is this insensitive.

TNA Impact is Moving to Monday Nights

Earlier today we reported that TNA would go head to head with RAW again on Monday March 1st, well now reports from Pro Wrestling Torch are stating that the March 1st live Impact will be the start of a permanent move to Monday nights for TNA. The schedule seems to be going live every other Monday, then taping the next week's episode on Tuesday. So basically we'll be getting TNA vs. WWE every week, with every other Monday being live. This is a great way for TNA to start, although of course we'd all love to see it live every Monday, but they're going with the more financially sound decision at this point, and the hope is that Eric Bischoff and Hulk Hogan know what they're doing, because they've been here before. Now it's time for TNA to step up and prove they can not only get a great rating on one Monday night special, but steadily go to war with WWE and even increase their numbers to really make this war happen. TNA has already made major moves with the new arena and return of the 4 sided ring, and also a lot of new (or old in some peoples opinions) talents including Ric Flair, Scott Hall, X-Pac, Sean Morley, and the Nasty Boys. After the initial debut of the new talents, TNA has also debuted Mr. Anderson (formerly Kennedy) and have put him in a prominent position as well. TNA still has some big guns to possibly bring out that they could be saving for the head to head battle. Jeff Hardy hasn't been seen on TNA since the initial January 4th appearance, and Rob Van Dam is constantly in the rumor mill as a major player that could be huge for TNA. With AJ Styles now managed by Ric Flair and in the role of the "new Nature Boy," it seems that both Hardy and RVD would be prime candidates for big time Heavyweight Title matches. The ball is now in TNA's court, and it's up to them to give us quality, where WWE has given us boredom. With the Road to Wrestlemania in full swing at the same time as TNA moving to Mondays, the fans will be the big winners in all this, at least in the initial phase.

Monday March 1st.... Raw vs Impact 2!

Spike TV confirmed today that TNA Impact will go live once again on Monday March 1st going head to head against Raw! Could this be the start of Impact moving to Monday nights for good? Time will tell!