Former Divas Returning for Miss Wrestlemania Battle Royal

The Miss Wrestlemania Battle Royal at this weekends Wrestlemania 25, is actually a bright spot considering the match has some nostalgic value, being it is the 25th anniversary of Wrestlemania, as where some of the other matches on the card just seem like matches you could see on any old edition of RAW (::cough JBL vs. Rey Mysterio ::cough::) But WWE at least made the right move with the Divas. Instead of a regular women's title match, or even just a battle royal with all the Divas, they're actually bringing in some former Divas to make the divas battle royal truly special. Earlier today at the Wrestlemania press conference, Kelly Kelly and Eve Torres revealed that Torrie Wilson, Molly Holly, Sunny, Victoria (who's barely been retired,) and Jackie Gayda (who I fear will get zero reaction, due to her run in WWE being less than memorable other than some classic move botching.) Not a bad line-up at all, but too bad Wendi Richter and Lita turned down the offers, especially Richter, who hasn't done anything with WWE since 1985, but in that era was a huge name who did a lot for women's wrestling in WWE as far as women in major storylines and matches go. Also not appearing will be Debra, who apparently wasn't asked, and neither was Ashley Massaro, but we can live without her. Also too bad Stacy Keibler has moved on, would have been nice seeing her in a WWE ring one more time. The battle royal should be fun at least, and good to see Divas like Torrie and Sunny who are still hot, and really should be used by WWE still. And of course, her name is not on the list, but I'm sure EVERY one, including me, is hoping for the one and only Trish Stratus to make another appearance comeback appearance this Sunday, as Wrestlemania is always in need of some Stratusfaction. Hopefully WWE is saving Trish for a little Mania surprise, hopefully as the final entrant in the Miss Wrestlemania Battle Royal, because if anyone should be called Miss Wrestlemania, I'd say it's Trish Stratus..

Also see:
WWE Divas Nudity Review, Pics, and Clips at MrSkin.com

Breaking News: Tazz Leaves WWE

It's Wrestlemania week, so as usual, there is always a heaping helping of news, rumors, happenings, etc. First off, out of the blue, news hit this morning that Tazz has officially left WWE after doing commentary at last night's Smackdown tapings in Dallas. His contract was up, and he opted to not renew, which is VERY weird being it's Mania week, as you think he'd at least stick around to do one last Mania. Now it should be interesting to see who they put with Jim Ross to commentate at this Sunday's Wrestlemania 25. One also has to wonder, what does Tazz do from here? His active wrestling days are over as far as we know, but he could still make an impact (no pun intended) by jumping over to TNA as a commentator, being he's been a well known voice on WWE broadcasts for around 7 years now. And of course, he'll can easily make the rounds at one of the many autograph conventions going on around the country, especially those that have ECW reunion themes. Of course, I'm sure Shane Douglas will make a play for Tazz (or Taz if it happens) to appear at Shane's final November to Remember ECW reunion which was recently announced. Tazz's departure from WWE raises a lot of question, some of which will be answered this weekend at Wrestlemania 25, while the rest can only be answered by Tazz himself. Hopefully we'll be seeing a Tazz shoot interview soon so we can get his side of the story.

Stone Cold and Batista Making Appearances at Wrestlemania???

There is a lot of buzz right now about whether or not both Stone Cold and Batista will be used in Wrestlemania somehow. I believe they both will be used in some capacity.

I believe that Stone Cold will not be wrestling at mania but will be a special guest referee for the Michaels/Taker match. The reason I think he will be used in this match is because I think Batista will make an appearance during the HHH/Orton match, seeking revenge on Orton for punting him in the head. I don't think they will be involved in the same match. There would be too much chaos considering how they are both major faces. Reports have come out that Batista has been training fairly heavily and don't be suprised if he actually wrestles at mania. Remember how the WWE elongated John Cena's injury only to see him make a triumphant return three months later at the Royal Rumble. We shall see what happens.

Another possible scenario is that Austin will be the special guest referee sent in by Vince McMahon to keep Orton in check and Batista doesn't show up at all. It would be very cliche for Batista to return at mania and the WWE has been desperately trying to suprise people, especially after Christian returned to ECW of all places.

Anyway, these are just some thoughts conceived from buzz on the internet. I would love to hear feedback on this and anything I right. I love to hear from the real fans out there.

Until next time...

RIP Andrew "Test" Martin

PWInsider.com is reporting this morning that former WWE star Andrew "Test" Martin was found dead in his apartment in Tampa, Florida at the age of 33, just four days shy of his 34th birthday. We don't have much in the way of details at this time. Tampa area authorities have declined to officially confirm it is Martin they found but word within the industry has been widespread the last few hours.

Check back to PWR today and we'll keep the info coming.

Very sad news if it's true....

Update:

At approximately 8:00pm on Friday, March 13, 2009, Tampa Police Officers responded to the Post Harbour Apartments, located at 725 Harbour Place Drive to check on the welfare of Mr. Andrew J. Martin. A neighbor reported that she could see into his apartment through a window and that Mr. Martin appeared motionless for several hours.

Officers entered the apartment and discovered Mr. Martin to be deceased. At this time there is no indication of foul play. The deceased was transported to the Medical Examiners Office for an autopsy to determine the cause of death. The date of the autopsy is undetermined at this time. The next of kin has been notified of the death.

Andrew "Test" Martin is a former wrestling champion with the WWE (World Wrestling Entertainment).

Lieutenant William Ferguson

Tampa Police Department

New Wrestlemania Matches Announced

Edge (world heavyweight champ.) vs. Big Show vs. John Cena

This should actually be an interesting match to watch. Edge and Show are pound-for-pound two of the best workers and Cena is well....uh...not. With the cheating angle with Vickie and Show now thrown into the mix, it should give the match some nice heat and actually make Cena look even more over in this match. Unfortunately for all those Cena haters, it looks like Cena might be in for another title reign. Don't be suprised if the ending comes down to Cena planting the "attitude adjustment" on Show.

Winner: John Cena (new world heavyweight champ)

MITB -- CM Punk vs. Kane vs. Mark Henry vs. Shelton Benjamin (us champ.) vs. MVP vs. Kofi Kingston vs. Christian vs. Finlay

Sorry to those who didn't know the last two participants but rajah.com leaked that this morning after tapings this week. I don't think there is any way that Christian will not be winning this match. I think he came back to wwe, making sure he was going to be a main eventer and that's what he will be. I don't think we'll see as many big spots as years past with all of the big men, but it probably won't dissapoint. I think the match will come down to Christian and Kane with Captain Charisma taking the briefcase.

Winner: Christian

Money In the Bank Ladder Match Turning into Heavyweight Battle?

With the additions of Kane and Mark Henry to this year's MITB at Wrestlemania, it's starting to shape up to be a different kind of match rather than the high-flying, fast-paced match we are all used to.

I'm starting to wonder who else the WWE might end up putting in this match...Big Daddy V???? I mean, come on. It's one thing to go into the ring every time and work a five minute match in which you barely have to move, but it's another thing to go to the biggest stage of them all and constantly try and please an audience that is dying for a backflip onto a ladder.

To me, having Mark Henry in this match makes absolutely no sense whatsoever!!!!! He flat out can't move in the ring like he used to. Most of his matches involve a guy who is much smaller, allowing that guy to do all the ring work.

The MITB match has become a cornerstone of Wrestlemania and fans expect nothing but the best and biggest spots of the night. Mark Henry can not and will not bring that to the table!

If the WWE wants to salvage this situation, they'll throw in guys like evan bourne, christian, and the brian kendrick into this match. Otherwise, I'm not sure what fans can expect from this bout.

Wrestlemania 25 unfolding

Last night on Raw, we found out that certain matches have already been made for Wrestlemania. None are really suprising considering what I posted a few weeks ago, but I wasn't completely right about my predictions. Here's what we know so far and below each match is predicted winner now that we know certain matches...

Triple H (wwe champ.) vs. Randy Orton -- This match was very predictable after the attacks on the McMahon family and will probably be a very good match. It prob. will be very slow and meticulous but will most likely be one of the best matches of the night. Look for the McMahon's and Legacy to be involved somehow.

Winner: Randy Orton (new wwe champ.)

Edge (world heavyweight champ) vs. Big Show -- This is a little suprising considering how they are both currently heels. It's prob. gonna be a battle over Vickie's affection, or atleast that's how the storyline will pan out. This match might suprise some people because Big Show can really work. In the end, I think Big Show will get screwed some how by Vickie.

Winner: Edge (still world heavyweight champ.)

Money In The Bank Ladder Match (CM Punk vs. Kane vs. 6 other participants) -- I truly thought there was no way that Mysterio wasn't gonna be in this match but I guess the WWE has different plans for him. Maybe him vs. knox at mania but Im not sold on Knox yet. He blew a lot of spots last night and his ring work was just really choppy. I think Kofi Kingston, Evan Bourne, Mr. Kennedy, the Brian Kendrick, Christian, and either Dolph Ziggler/Hurricane Helms/R-Truth/Umaga (just trying to think out of the box here people) will be the final participant. I'm somewhat confident that Christian will prob. get a rematch for the ecw title at mania considering how good that last match was but it's still all up in the air at this point.

Winner : will predict winner after all participants are announced

HBK vs. Undertaker

Good matchup but very predictable in my sense. I think it might be the best match of the night only to see the streak continue...

Winner: Undertaker (17-0 at mania)

Keep checking back when more mania matches are announced.

Ken Shamrock Set to Face Bobby Lashley in MMA Fight

In a pretty shocking move, it's been announced that Roy Jones Jr.'s "March Badness" hybrid boxing and MMA show, that 2 former WWE stars will face off in an MMA match, as "The World's Most Dangerous Man" Ken Shamrock will take on MMA newcomer Bobby Lashley. This is the very first time (to our knowledge) that 2 former WWE stars have faced off in MMA. Shamrock being a former WWE Intercontinental Champion, and Lashley most recently being the ECW Champion before leaving WWE. Lashley only recently made the transition from WWE to MMA, and easily won his MMA debut. Shamrock just fought a couple of weeks ago at the show "War Gods" which he promoted, and got his first win in a few years. Although Lashley is new to MMA, he may just be the favorite due to his size, skill, youth, etc. Shamrock is an MMA legend, but in his mid 40's, Lashley will be coming at him full force, maybe even more than Kimbo Slice would have in the scheduled Shamrock vs. Slice fight that ended up not happening. Dana White has said that he has no interest in Lashley coming to MMA, and doesn't think Brock Lesnar's success can be captured by another wrestler, but if Lashley scores a win over Shamrock, people will notice, and doors will be opened for Lashley, and he would no doubt be on to bigger and better things. It may be premature to think about now, but could a huge Brock Lesnar vs. Bobby Lashley showdown for the UFC Heavyweight title be happening in the future? Lashley's first big recognition will depend on this Shamrock fight at "March Badness" on March 21.