Ratings News, Shelton Benjamin Update, Original Brodus Clay Plans, Kurt Angle Interview
- Here are the latest ratings from the UK:
Elimination Chamber: 267,000 airing live, replay drew 136,000 viewers.
RAW (from February 21st, week after the Rock): drew 132,000 live, drew 81,000 in Thursday night’s replay and drew 72,000 in Friday afternoon’s replay.
Smackdown: (from February 25th): drew 163,000 in the first airing, drew 75,000 in Saturday morning’s replay.
TNA Impact (from February 17): drew 158,000 in its first airing on Tuesday February 22nd, yet another record high for the show.
WWE are still dominating in Mexico:
Smackdown 9.0
CMLL 2.5
AAA 3.8
RAW 8.8
Source: PWInsider.com
- According to the Wrestling Observer Shelton Benjamin is likely to be offered a contract following Wrestlemania. The company were impressed with his dark match and are willing to give him another chance.
- Former WWE creative member John Piermarini noted on Twitter that Brodus Clay was originally supposed to be Ted DiBiase’s “Virgil” last year.
- Press Release:
TNA’s Kurt Angle was one of the featured guests on this week’s live edition of Monday Night Mayhem. You can check out the show every Monday evening (at 7PM ET/6PM CT) at MondayNightMayhem.com. Here are some highlights of the interview, courtesy of The Mayhem’s official correspondent, Paterson from New Jersey:
The experience of filming “River of Darkness” & how he is trying to mirror what Sylvester Stallone has done in the movie industry: “The movie (‘River of Darkness’), a lot of people will look at it, watch it, and think ‘Wow they put a lot of money into that movie.’ In reality, we only put $30,000 into this movie. North Shore Pictures is growing. What I wanted to do is 15-20 Hollywood films and do my own films. Right now, I’ve done three films in Hollywood, but I also wanted to do is what Sylvester Stallone has done in the movie industry, which is take on his own films, his production company, and come up with great films people would like to watch.”
What fears he had about heading into his current feud with Jeff Jarrett & his ex-wife Karen (especially with his children being seen on national television), if he has been comfortable in everything to this point, & why he credits Hulk Hogan for helping him through this point in his TNA career: “I never wanted to get the kids involved. I know that we have a little bit, but the kids are not allowed to watch the program. We’re going to continue to have them involved. I”m not all for it. There have been a few things I have been uncomfortable with in the storyline & the writing, but I’ve been a trooper, and I’m trying to be a team player. The one person who has really helped me out is Hulk Hogan. He’s really protecting me and making sure nothing gets out of hand. I have to give him a lot of credit, because he’s the one guy I really trust. Dixie Carter is a great woman, and I trust her too, but Hulk Hogan has been the guy. He’s kind of my buffer. I have a lot of respect for him.”
His reaction to those that feel it’s a foregone conclusion that he will return to the WWE when his TNA contract expires this August, the importance of him transitioning into wrestling part-time, & why that could be the determining factor if he stays with TNA or leaves for the WWE: “I love TNA. I love the way they treat me, I love the way they take care of me. My contract is up in August, and a lot of people think ‘Hey, Kurt Angle is going over to the WWE.’ I can’t really tell you where I’m going, but I do want to say that I am very happy in TNA. We just have to work out our new contract, and God willing, we do it the right way, and I won’t have to worry about coming back to the WWE, but I don’t want to count that out. I love WWE, but I love TNA even more. Hopefully, God willing, Dixie Carter & I can come to an agreement, and I can start wrestling on a part-time basis. I’m forty-two years old right now. Some days I feel like I’m sixty-two. It really comes down to how they use me. my job in the company is to have the best match on the card every Pay-Per-View. In order to do that, I have to be well-rested. I like to do house shows, I love to do TV’s, but I do have to make sure that I am ready for the Pay-Per-Views, because that’s the most important thing. Dixie Carter has been very good about making sure that I will be ready. I do want to sign a deal with TNA with Dixie Carter for the next three years, and I do want to retire in TNA, but I can’t guarantee that I will do that.”
You can check out more of the interview, including a revealing look at the knee injury that he suffered at the TNA iMPACT tapings, whether or not he would embrace a one-on-one match with New York Jet star linebacker Bart Scott if an NFL lockout came to pass, why he feels that he may have disappointed Vince McMahon after signing with TNA and much more at MondayNightMayhem.com.
WWE - Netflix Update, WWE Title Match In Ireland Correction, Kelly On Shelton - WWE
-- UFC 128 takes place tomorrow night and FightLine.com will be providing live coverage of the event. You can also watch the weigh-ins for the event LIVE on FightLine.com this afternoon by clicking here.
-- A quick correction for our article yesterday where we stated that the card in Belfast, Ireland was advertising a match between WWE Champion The Miz and John Cena on April 19th. The correct date for The WWE WrestleMania Revenge Tour in Belfast, Northern Ireland is Thursday, April 14th at Odyssey Arena in Belfast. The match is advertised as "WWE Championship Match: John Cena vs. The Miz," with the Miz not being advertised as the WWE Champion.
-- WWE keeps adding more documentary titles to the Netflix instant service including:
Breaking the Code: Behind the Walls of Chris Jericho
The Rise and Fall of WCW
The John Cena Experience
Bobby "The Brain" Heenan
Hart & Soul: The Hart Family Anthology
Ricky Steamboat: Life Story of the Dragon
Thanks to Matt Snyder and Sam for contributing to this article. Got a news tip? Send it to us by clicking here.
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Ratings News, Shelton Benjamin Update, Original Brodus Clay Plans, Kurt Angle Interview
- Here are the latest ratings from the UK:
Elimination Chamber: 267,000 airing live, replay drew 136,000 viewers.
RAW (from February 21st, week after the Rock): drew 132,000 live, drew 81,000 in Thursday night’s replay and drew 72,000 in Friday afternoon’s replay.
Smackdown: (from February 25th): drew 163,000 in the first airing, drew 75,000 in Saturday morning’s replay.
TNA Impact (from February 17): drew 158,000 in its first airing on Tuesday February 22nd, yet another record high for the show.
WWE are still dominating in Mexico:
Smackdown 9.0
CMLL 2.5
AAA 3.8
RAW 8.8
Source: PWInsider.com
- According to the Wrestling Observer Shelton Benjamin is likely to be offered a contract following Wrestlemania. The company were impressed with his dark match and are willing to give him another chance.
- Former WWE creative member John Piermarini noted on Twitter that Brodus Clay was originally supposed to be Ted DiBiase’s “Virgil” last year.
- Press Release:
TNA’s Kurt Angle was one of the featured guests on this week’s live edition of Monday Night Mayhem. You can check out the show every Monday evening (at 7PM ET/6PM CT) at MondayNightMayhem.com. Here are some highlights of the interview, courtesy of The Mayhem’s official correspondent, Paterson from New Jersey:
The experience of filming “River of Darkness” & how he is trying to mirror what Sylvester Stallone has done in the movie industry: “The movie (‘River of Darkness’), a lot of people will look at it, watch it, and think ‘Wow they put a lot of money into that movie.’ In reality, we only put $30,000 into this movie. North Shore Pictures is growing. What I wanted to do is 15-20 Hollywood films and do my own films. Right now, I’ve done three films in Hollywood, but I also wanted to do is what Sylvester Stallone has done in the movie industry, which is take on his own films, his production company, and come up with great films people would like to watch.”
What fears he had about heading into his current feud with Jeff Jarrett & his ex-wife Karen (especially with his children being seen on national television), if he has been comfortable in everything to this point, & why he credits Hulk Hogan for helping him through this point in his TNA career: “I never wanted to get the kids involved. I know that we have a little bit, but the kids are not allowed to watch the program. We’re going to continue to have them involved. I”m not all for it. There have been a few things I have been uncomfortable with in the storyline & the writing, but I’ve been a trooper, and I’m trying to be a team player. The one person who has really helped me out is Hulk Hogan. He’s really protecting me and making sure nothing gets out of hand. I have to give him a lot of credit, because he’s the one guy I really trust. Dixie Carter is a great woman, and I trust her too, but Hulk Hogan has been the guy. He’s kind of my buffer. I have a lot of respect for him.”
His reaction to those that feel it’s a foregone conclusion that he will return to the WWE when his TNA contract expires this August, the importance of him transitioning into wrestling part-time, & why that could be the determining factor if he stays with TNA or leaves for the WWE: “I love TNA. I love the way they treat me, I love the way they take care of me. My contract is up in August, and a lot of people think ‘Hey, Kurt Angle is going over to the WWE.’ I can’t really tell you where I’m going, but I do want to say that I am very happy in TNA. We just have to work out our new contract, and God willing, we do it the right way, and I won’t have to worry about coming back to the WWE, but I don’t want to count that out. I love WWE, but I love TNA even more. Hopefully, God willing, Dixie Carter & I can come to an agreement, and I can start wrestling on a part-time basis. I’m forty-two years old right now. Some days I feel like I’m sixty-two. It really comes down to how they use me. my job in the company is to have the best match on the card every Pay-Per-View. In order to do that, I have to be well-rested. I like to do house shows, I love to do TV’s, but I do have to make sure that I am ready for the Pay-Per-Views, because that’s the most important thing. Dixie Carter has been very good about making sure that I will be ready. I do want to sign a deal with TNA with Dixie Carter for the next three years, and I do want to retire in TNA, but I can’t guarantee that I will do that.”
You can check out more of the interview, including a revealing look at the knee injury that he suffered at the TNA iMPACT tapings, whether or not he would embrace a one-on-one match with New York Jet star linebacker Bart Scott if an NFL lockout came to pass, why he feels that he may have disappointed Vince McMahon after signing with TNA and much more at MondayNightMayhem.com.
Backstage Update: Shelton Benjamin Returning To WWE?
As most of you know by now, Shelton Benjamin worked a dark match prior to this week's SmackDown! taping in Houston, Texas, beating SmackDown Superstar Curt Hawkins. The feeling is that based on how well he performed and the solid reaction he received from the hometown crowd, he will receive an offer to return to the organization after WrestleMania XXVII.
Follow the match, Benjamin said on Twitter that he 'may or may not be returning to WWE'.
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Shelton Benjamin's WWE Return Update
In an exclusive update on this, we're told that Benjamin showed up to the arena during the afternoon hours to visit friends. He spoke with WWE management and was offered a dark match prior to the TV tapings. He obviously took them up on their offer. As of now, he has not re-signed with the company and is scheduled to work numerous upcoming ROH events.
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Shelton Benjamin Returns To WWE - Details
During Benjamin's near ten year tenure with World Wrestling Entertainment, he won the Intercontinental Championship three times, the United States Championship once, and the WWE Tag Team Championship on two occasions. Benjamin was released from his contract last April, along with Slam Master J, Kung Fu Naki, Jimmy Wang Yang, Mickie James and Katie Lee Burchill.
Benjamin appeared for Ring of Honor alongside longtime tag partner Charlie Haas following his dismissal from WWE. It is not known at this time if he has re-signed with the organization. He's shedualed to work numerous upcoming ROH events with Haas.
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