T.G.I.F. with Matt Dawgs: #136

Good day to you all and welcome to World Wrestling Insanity. I am your host for today, Matt Dawgs and this is my column. Today is the end of the work week and the time to look back at all the goings-on over the past seven days as I wrap it up with a bow and spout it out bit by bit. Buckle up. Let's go...

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WWE News and Notes

- RAW oh RAW, why have you forsaken us? This week's show was god awful. There was some quality wrestling but how can you build a PPV by using a show where everyone looks like geeks?

• Miz defeats Randy Orton due to interference from Wade Barrett.
• Zack Ryder defeats Mark Henry due to interference from John Cena.
•  Sheamus defeats Dolph Ziggler due to interference from Zack Ryder.
• Zack Ryder gets completely buried on television. First losing to John Cena after getting in little offense. Then Cena “feels sorry” for Ryder and gives up a WWE Title shot so that Ryder can have another chance to earn a US Title shot vs. Ziggler. Then he gets destroyed by Henry only for Cena to save him by costing Henry the match. So babyface Ryder backs into a title shot vs. Ziggler. LAME BOOKING. Made Ryder look like nothing more than a goof.
•  Miz and Alberto Del Rio getting a title shot at TLC. Good of Punk to point out how he has beaten them both over the last two months and the single handedly lay them out to end RAW. Way to put over the challengers. And before someone tells me that they will get their heat back next week, please remember how Super Cena laid waste to both R-Truth and Miz by himself all the way up to Survivor Series.
• Miz by the way is supposed to be booked like this big tough heel who takes people out yet he gets killed by Randy Orton only to back his way into the title match at TLC as well.
• David Otunga is awesome in his roll. Loving the stupid bowtie and cup of coffee. Can't wait to see him use that metal coffee container as a weapon in a match.
• Guess what folks, no Brodus Clay.
• Kevin Nash is going to be in a ladder match on PPV in the year 2011. I cannot believe I just typed that. KEVIN NASH IN A LADDER MATCH. The same Kevin Nash, who the last time he wrestled on RAW 8 years ago, tore his quadriceps muscle by WALKING ACROSS THE RING. 8 years ago and NOW you are going to put him in a ladder match?
• I love how WWE and Otunga convinced Nash to do the match by saying there would be no consequences for his actions if he got the sledgehammer and injured HHH with it. Um, excuse me but were their any consequences when he almost killed HHH backstage a few weeks ago? A suspension? A hefty fine? Slap on the wrist? Anything?
• Pin Up Strong? What happened to the Divas of Destruction? Then the Divas of Doom? How many goddamn names are they going to come up with for Beth Phoenix and Natalya?
• Evan Bourne is back. He is shown backstage yet there is no Kofi Kingston this week. The angle with CM Punk was to build some sort of story with Kingston and Bourne however the reality is, Kingston was in AFGHANISTAN filming footage for “Tribute to the Troops”.
• Amazingly enough, John Cena doesn't have an opponent for the PPV so unless they are going to throw him in the title match, he is not going to be booked which is weird on many levels.
• THIS is why Big Show missed RAW Monday, he was at the Country Music Awards.

- Vince McMahon was NOT at RAW this week as he was in Afghanistan with Kofi Kingston and the Bella Twins visiting the troops. The show was run backstage by HHH.

- The Bella Twins are a high priority on the McMahon totem pole so there is going to be a lot more backstage stuff and them being featured in main event angles going forward.

- I am beginning to believe that there is no Brodus Clay. Either that or this is like the deal WWE did back in the day with 2 Ultimate Warriors. I think the original Clay died of a heart attack and WWE has been working to recast Clay with a look alike to play the role.

- WWE Diva Layla El was backstage at RAW this week. She has healed up from her knee surgery last year and is expected to make her television return soon.

- Also backstage were Sean “X-Pac” Waltman who lives in Tampa and works unofficially in WWE developmental. He was also asked to come in to film for the new Monday Night Wars series that is going to air on the WWE Network. It will be different than the one that airs on WWE On Demand because the episodes will feature discussions amongst those who were there at the time as well as current WWE Superstars who watched on television.

- Also backstage were former WWE Diva Cherry who lives in the area and still keeps in touch with several WWE stars who live nearby

- Jim Ross was backstage although he was not booked to be there. He was in Tampa this week evaluating the FCW roster. When asked via Twitter about Tough Enough winner Andy Leavine being called up to the main roster, Ross replied: "Don't see it being eminent. Lots of work to do."

- Longtime WWE Diva/ring announcer Lillian Garcia has returned to the company fulltime and will be the lead ring announcer for the Smackdown brand starting tomorrow night. She left the company in 2009 as she had just gotten married and wanted to spend time with her new husband. She will be replacing longtime ring announcer Tony Chimel who will be moving to the production team backstage at Smackdown.

- WWE has been doing a phenomenal job with the Mick Foley comeback huh?

- CM Punk is AWESOME. Via his Twitter: "I'm heading for X-rays, then gym. Because broke shit don't stop me." He added, "Soon to be a dirt sheet headline: Punk gets X-rays.” Then later he wrote: "Going to go jump in a volcano then gym. Because hot lava don't stop me.” "Soon to be dirt sheet headline: Punk jumps into volcano."

- Punk also tweeted the following messages this week: "If you're a professional athlete and you use performance enhancing drugs, you're a pussy."

- Don't forget, 3 Hour Slammy Awards are on RAW Monday.

- Congrats to WWE Kharma, currently out of action on maternity leave, was recently engaged to her child's father who did something awesome. He proposed with a “wrestling ring”. You have to SEE IT to believe it.

- Former WWE Tough Enough competitor and Miss USA RIMA FAIKH was arrested last week in Detroit for drunk driving. She blew a .20 in the breathalyzer that was administered to her and the legal limit in Michigan is .08. She immediately went on Twitter and claimed it was not her that was arrested and it was someone with the same last name as she was not even in Michigan. Suffice to say, those tweets were removed when her attorney VERIFIED that she was arrested.

- Damien Sandow (Aaron Stevens) is expected to debut on WWE television shortly. Sandow was actually a WWE Superstar a few years ago managed by Michelle McCool before being released. He was rehired a few years later. Dean Ambrose (Jon Moxley) and Seth Rollins (Former ROH World Champion Tyler Black) are also set to tour with the main roster to be reevaluated soon.

- Celebrity Maria Menounos is currently in training as she plans on wrestling for WWE during the “Tribute to the Troops” show this year in a tag match.

- The Sin Cara penis shirt has found its way to EBAY .

- As mentioned in a previous column, “Stone Cold” Steve Austin is working on a movie (likely straight to DVD) with Steven Seagal. The synopsis of the movie is as follows: “When former black ops operative TOM STEELE (Seagal) and his partner MANNING (Austin) are assigned to decommission an old prison, they must oversee the arrival of two mysterious female prisoners. Before long, an elite force of mercenaries assault the prison in search of the new arrivals. As the true identities of the women are revealed, Steele realizes he's caught in the middle of something far bigger than he had imagined.”

- Steve Austin on Attitude: "It's funny to me that "The Attitude Era" was named that way. Guys and gals in this business have always had attitude. But for some reason, I started cutting off-the-hook promos, and someone wanted to label it 'The Attitude Era.' It's an interesting way to reference that time, but WWE has always had over-the-top, extreme attitudes. I don't think the answer is creating something different, or bringing back the The Attitude Era. I think you need to let these cats fly. Kick them out of the nest to see if they can survive. The cream will rise to the top and the weak is going to fall by the wayside because this is a competitive environment. That's the only way to bring any edge back into the product. It's about letting guys fly, talking from their hearts, and their guts, and their brains. That's what makes for exciting TV. It ain't about 'attitude.' End of story."

- WWE confirmed that they are launching the WWE Network on April 1, 2012; the same day as Wrestlemania. Since they are now part of a synergy with Comcast Cable (due to their merger with NBC Universal), Comcast is doing a lot of the grunt work to get the network cleared with other cable providers. WWE is claiming that the launch will be in 40,000,000 homes which is a HUGE number for a new network. No head of the network has been named yet however WWE is looking to fill the position with someone who has a background in reality television. Most if not all of the WWE PPV's will air on the Network at some point. No word on if that means a replay or live but the talk is of moving all “B” shows to the channel.

- THE WWE NETWORK .

- The Network launch on April 1^st is a very lofty goal by Vince McMahon. The company is looking to hire up to 200 employees to work for the network including a network head. They have not hired ANYONE as of yet. This is also a telling sign of the power struggle within the WWE hierarchy because longtime Executive Producer Kevin Dunn is not being considered for ANY role for the Network.

- Awesomeness by former WWE Diva Serena Deeb. For those who do not remember, Serena was part of the Straight Edge Society with CM Punk. Serena was released from her contract unexpectedly due to her not “living the straight edge gimmick” on the road. Apparently she was getting drunk a lot after shows and it got to the point where it was an embarrassment to the company including an undisclosed, non-reported incident. WWE went far enough to release her on a Wednesday, following a Smackdown taping where she was involved in an angle. That is how bad it was. Anyway, Serena announced this week that she has not had a drink in one full year. That is a tremendous accomplishment and hopefully it opens a door for an eventual return, so long as her concussion issues are cleared up.

- If anyone is wondering about when John Morrison can debut with TNA should he want to go there, he can as soon as he possibly wants to. Morrison was not released from his contract so he has no 90 day no compete. His contract expired making him a free agent.

- LOOK WITHIN . Still think that this is Jericho and unless they show Taker in one of these videos, you are not going to convince me otherwise.

- WWE Hall of Famer “The American Dream” Dusty Rhodes has opened a Twitter account. He can be found @DustyWWE.

- Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson confirmed that he is signed to a new Michael Bay comedy co-starring Mark Wahlberg titled “Pain and Gain”. The film is about two professional body builders who get involved in a extortion and kidnapping scheme that goes wrong.

- Episode 42 of " Z! True Long Island Story ".

WWE TLC PPV is on Sunday, December 18^th from Baltimore Maryland and the line-up is as follows:

• WWE TITLE: CM Punk (c) vs. The Miz vs. Alberto Del Rio in a TLC match.
• WORLD TITLE: Mark Henry (c) vs. The Big Show in what will likely be a Chair Match.
• Triple H vs. Kevin Nash in a Ladder Match where a sledgehammer will hang over the ring.
• Randy Orton vs. Wade Barrett in a Tables Match.
• US TITLE: Dolph Ziggler (c) w/Vickie Guerrero vs. Zack Ryder.
• WWE INTERCONTINENTAL TITLE: Cody Rhodes (c) vs. Booker T
  

IMPACT WRESTLING News and Notes

- Bully Ray is looking very good physically. It is as if he found a new workout regimen since he now travels and teams with Scott Steiner. He is skinnier and is beginning to show muscles in his arms.

- PS – Steiner and Ray are GOLD in their segments together. I cannot help but imagine how much more AWESOME Steiner would have been had he gotten pushed better when he was in his physical prime in WCW instead of lingering in the midcard for so long before eventually being pushed as a main eventer in WCW.

- Per the ST. PETERSBURGH TIMES in Florida, Hulk Hogan has filed a defamation lawsuit against ex-wife Linda for her book which was released last year. More legal battles betweent he Hogans!!

- Sarita, while working in Mexico; took a REAL BAD SPILL .

- Jesse Neal has NOT been released from TNA and is still with the promotion. They are still working on sending him to OVW for future training.

- Already in OVW are Anarquia and Rob Terry (Robbie T) who are debuted there this week.

- Congratulations to Robbie E who was married last weekend.

TNA “FINAL RESOLUTION” PPV is THIS SUNDAY from Orlando Florida and the line-up is as follows:

• TNA TITLE: Bobby Roode (c) vs. A.J. Styles in a 30 minute Ironman Match
• Jeff Hardy vs. Jeff Jarrett (If Jarrett wins, Hardy leaves TNA. If Hardy wins, he is #1 contender to the title). Karen Jarrett will be handcuffed to Sting at ringside.
• TNA TAG TEAM TITLES: Matt Morgan & Crimson (c) vs. ”The Pope” D'Angelo Dinero & Devon
• TNA X-DIVISION TITLE: Austin Aries (c) vs. Kid Kash
• TNA TV TITLE: Robbie E (c) vs. Eric Young
• KNOCKOUTS TITLE: Gail Kim (c) vs. Mickie James
• Kurt Angle vs. James Storm

Independent / International News and Notes:

- The 2 hour time limit/6 man elimination match from last weekend's Ring of Honor show ended up going for 80 minutes with the first elimination not coming until 48 minutes in. That is CRAZY.

- Jay Lethal also won a Royal Rumble style battle royal to earn himself a title shot at the winner of Davey Richard vs. Eddie Edwards sometime in 2012.

- Count Homicide as one of the people no longer associated with UWF at this time. He has left the promotion due to a contract dispute. Joining him are The Dirty Rotten Scoundrelz, Grimm Reefer, and others. The roster has been completely revamped for the next PPV tapings with only a few hold overs from the original roster including Monsta Mac, Lowlife Louie Ramos, Slyk Wagner Brown & The SAT.

- The Infamous ECW Arena is once again under new ownership and will be scaling down on the amount of wrestling shows it holds. Combat Zone Wrestling will still use the building as their headquarters for shows however will now have to remove their school/training facility from the building. The new owners are looking to primarily use the building for concerts.

- Episode 7 of “ TOMMY DREAMER TV ”

ROH FINAL BATTLE is on Friday, December 23^rd from New York City and the line-up is as follows:

• ROH TITLE: ROH Champ Davey Richards (c) vs. “Die Hard” Eddie Edwards with UFC Hall of Famer Dan “The Beast” Severn
• ROH TAG TEAM TITLES: ROH Tag Champs Wrestling's Greatest Tag Team (Charlie Haas & Shelton Benjamin) (c) vs. The Briscoes (Jay & Mark Briscoe)
• ROH TV TITLE: ROH TV Champ Jay Lethal (c) vs. El Generico vs. “The Prodigy” Mike Bennett
• Kevin Steen vs. Steve Corino with Jimmy Jacobs as referee and Jim Cornette at ringside. Steen's first match in ROH since Final Battle 2010.
• Tag Team Gauntlet: The Young Bucks (Matt & Nick Jackson) vs. Future Shock (Adam Cole & Kyle O'Reilly) vs. Caprice Coleman & Cedric Alexander vs. The Bravados (Lance & Harlem Bravado) vs. The All Night Express (Kenny King & Rhett Titus)
• Also scheduled to appear: Roderick Strong & "Unbreakable" Michael Elgin with Truth Martini, TJ Perkins and more.

MMA News and Notes

-Major breaking UFC news. Dana White broke the story via his Twitter on Wednesday but apparently UFC Welterweight Champion George St. Pierre has tore his ACL and will be out of action for a minimum of 10 months. Due to this, Carlos Condit will fight Nick Diaz for the interim Welterweight title and GSP will fight the winner upon his return to the promotion.

- Poor Jason “Mayhem” Miller. Jesus H. Christ did Michael Bisping put a beating on him or what? Sure he may have squeaked by winning the 1st round but after that, beatdown city. Dana White even discussed it in an interview saying the following: “I still don't know (what I'm going to do with him). It was bad. To be honest, and my Twitter's been blowing up with Mayhem fans blasting me, but facts are facts: It was the worst standup I've ever seen in my life. I don't know if I've ever seen standup that bad. I don't even know what to call it – I've seen guys with some ring rust. Some of the punches that were thrown by Mayhem Miller in this fight, you can go to a girl's Tae Bo class and see better form in standup. It was embarrassing. The guy's been in the business over 10 years. It looked like it was his first fight ever. It was the weirdest thing I've ever seen."

- For his win, Bisping was given a fight on the UFC on FOX 2 show vs. Demian Maia and one step closer to a shot at Anderson Silva's Middleweight title.

- Dana White is taking a BIG RISK with his UFC on Fox 2 show. By making Rashad Evans, Chael Sonnen and even Michael Bisping fights on the same day, while unlikely, if all three of them lose, he is losing on 3 BIG MONEY fights for PPV in 2012. Losses for all three would effectively kill Evans vs. Jones for the Light heavyweight title, Sonnen vs. Silva for the Middleweight title and Bisping vs. Silva for the Middleweight title.

- FYI…Chael Sonnen OWNED the press conference announcing the UFC on FOX 2 line-up. The man sells tickets, plain and simple.

- UFC has announced that the coaches for the 15^th season of The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) will be Dominick Cruz and Urijah Faber. The show debuts on March 9^th on FX. This is going to be different than past seasons of TUF mainly because Cruz and Faber legitimately dislike each other but the show is going to be virtually LIVE each week so it isn't as if we have two coaches building to a fight and then having to wait months for it to finally air. This is going to be real time and both coaches will be training with their students simultaneously.

- Alistair Overeem, who has been training for his fight with Brock Lesnar in Las Vegas, has left Vegas and went back to training in Holland due to his mother who is currently battling cancer. Overeem wanted to be around her to help.

- Dana White and Zuffa are surprisingly close to a deal with Showtime to keep Strikeforce on the cable network.

- Strikeforce Women's Bantamweight Champion MIESHA TATE .

UFC 140 is TOMORROW NIGHT from Toronto Canada and the line-up is as follows:

• LIGHTHEAVYWEIGHT TITLE: Jon "Bones" Jones (c) vs. Lyoto Machida
• Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira vs. Frank Mir
• Antonio Rogerio Noguiera vs. Tito Ortiz
• Claude Patrick vs. Brian Ebersole
• Mark Hominick vs. Chan Sung Jung (The Korean Zombie)

STRIKEFORCE 37: Melendez vs. Masvidal is on December 17^th from San Diego California and the line-up is as follows:

• STRIKEFORCE LIGHTWEIGHT TITLE: Gilbert Melendez (c) vs. Jorge Masvidal
• WOMEN'S FEATHWEIGHT TITLE: Cristiane "Cyborg" Santos (c) vs. Hiroko Yamanaka
• Gegard Mousasi vs. Ovince St. Preux
• Billy Evangelista vs. K.J. Noons

UFC 141 is on December 30^th from Las Vegas Nevada and the line-up is as follows:

• Brock Lesnar vs. Alistair Overeem
• Nate Diaz vs. Donald Cerrone
• Alexander Gustafsson vs. Vladimir Matyushenko
• Johny Hendricks vs. Jon Fitch
• Nam Phan vs. Jimy Hettes

STRIKEFORCE 38 is on January 7^th from Las Vegas Nevada and the line-up is as follows:

• STRIKEFORCE MIDDLEWEIGT TITLE: Luke Rockhold (c) vs. Keith Jardine.
• Robbie Lawler vs. Adlan Amagov
• Mohammed "King Mo" Lawal vs. Lorenzo Larkin
• Tarec Saffiedine vs. Tyler Stinson

UFC 142 is on January 14, 2012 from Rio de Janeiro Brazil and the line-up is as follows:

• FEATHERWEIGHT TITLE: Jose Aldo (c) vs. Chad Mendes
• Vitor Belfort vs. Anthony Johnson

UFC on FOX 2 is on January 28^th from Chicago Illinois and the line-up is as follows:

• Rashad Evans vs. Phil Davis
• Chael Sonnen vs. Mark Munoz
• Michael Bisping vs. Demian Maia

UFC 143 is on February 4^th from Las Vegas Nevada and the line-up is as follows:

• INTERIM WELTERWEIGHT TITLE: Carlos Condit vs. Nick Diaz
• Josh Koscheck vs.
• Erik Koch vs. Dustin Poirier

UFC 144 is on February 26^th from Tokyo Japan and the line-up is as follows:

• LIGHTWEIGHT TITLE: Frankie Edgar (c) vs. Ben Henderson
• Quinton “Rampage” Jackson vs. Ryan Bader
• Jake Shields vs. Yoshiro Akiyama
• Joe Lauzon vs. Anthony Pettis
• Chieck Kongo vs. Mark Hunt

Random Thoughts, Links, Pics, ETC.

- Random VIDEO of the week: WHAT. THE. F*CK…..?????!!!!!!

- BONUS Random VIDEO of the week: Flying is fun!!

- BONUS Random VIDEO of the week PART 2: Live action Catwoman fight scene from Arkham City. Awesomeness.

- BONUS Random VIDEO of the week PART 3: Drunk and under the influence newscasters rule!!

- BONUS Random VIDEO of the week PART 4: LOL. Exactly.

- BONUS Random VIDEO of the week PART 5: We've all seen it but how many of you know it is called “The Fencing Response”?

- BONUS Random VIDEO of the week PART 6: Who in the bloody f*ck green lights movies in Hollywood and how come I do not have a movie in production right now after watching this ungodly, ridiculous load of f*cking crap that is linked right now? This has to be the worst looking piece of sh*t movie I have ever seen and am wondering if this is the same movie that Sean Penn, Benecio Del Toro and Jim Carrey were going to star in. Gee, I wonder why in the world did they drop out?

- BONUS Random VIDEO of the week PART 7: HILARITY AT IT'S FINEST!!!!

- Random PIC of the week: Stacy Kiebler, model Chrissy Tiegen & actress Juliette Lewis. Fantastic picture. P. Diddy is a F'N genius as this picture is one of many in his new coffee table book titled “Culo” which is out on sale. Culo is Spanish for ass and it is a book that is filled with the asses of several celebrity females.

- BONUS Random PIC of the week: 2^nd week in a row with a Lady Gaga picture. You honestly can say that you wouldn't? Really? Cause I would. Also from the “Culo” book.

- BONUS Random PIC of the week PART 2: That is a pretty big cock for a billionaire.

- BONUS Random PIC of the week PART 3: I would.

- BONUS Random PIC of the week PART 4: THE ONLY redeeming quality about the above mentioned “Three Stooges” movie, KATE MOTHERF*CKING UPTON as a nun in a bikini. WOW.

- FUN on FACEBOOK : Well played bro.

- BONUS FUN on FACEBOOK : Funny stuff. I chuckled.

- BONUS FUN on FACEBOOK PART 2: That wasn't a typo.

- BONUS FUN on FACEBOOK PART 3: True story?

- Random ARTICLE of the week: Who the f*ck greenlit this?

- BONUS Random ARTICLE of the week: This is why I don't fight in bars anymore. Stuff like this. Never know who you are fighting with anymore.

- BONUS Random ARTICLE of the week PART 2: This sucks, a lot.

- BONUS Random ARTICLE of the week PART 3: Reason #1,562 proving Dogs > Cats.

- BONUS Random ARTICLE of the week PART 4: Remember several months ago when two drunk and disorderly women jumped the counter at McDonalds and ended up with the beating of their lives at the hands of a McDonalds employee with a pipe and then the employee was charged with a crime? He got acquitted and they are charged now. JUSTICE!!

- Random GIF of the week: Hypnotizing.

- BONUS Random GIF of the week: Hypnotizing Part 2.

- BONUS Random GIF of the week PART 2: Hypnotizing Part 3.

- BONUS Random GIF of the week Park 3: US cheerleaders need to step their games up and be on par with Japan.

- BONUS Random GIF of the week PART 4: He hasn't figured out how to stop yet.

- BONUS Random GIF of the week PART 5: Zero gravity!

- BONUS Random GIF of the week PART 6: Ever wonder what a cheerleader sees when being thrown through the air?

- Autocorrect FAIL : Awesomeness.

- BONUS Autocorrect FAIL : Definitely not something I would text to someone. I'd want it to be a little more personal if it were me.

- Wrong Number TEXTS : Definitely not the way he envisioned it in his head.

- BONUS Wrong Number TEXTS : This has to suck royally.

- BONUS Wrong Number TEXTS PART 2: Whoops.

- I am not a big fan of college sports. A lot of people ask me why. They say it is more exciting and less politics involved, etc. Well let me ask you guys something, can anyone explain how San Diego State just going the Big East conference. Yes, a team in California has joined the Big EAST. WTF? San Diego is the opposite of East.

- My Future Wife, Kim Kardashian-Aponte with a sexy HEADSHOT and giving us a SEXY LOOK .

- Check it out at CLUBWWI.COM if you haven't had a chance yet. There are literally HUNDREDS of interviews with your favorite wrestling stars of yesteryear and today!!! If you're not a member then please do yourself a favor and JOIN CLUB WWI right NOW!!!! What are you waiting for? DO IT. DO IT NOW. Good stuff folks; don't miss out. You'll thank me for it.

Feel free to discuss whatever you'd like in the "Anger Management" section of the message board or whichever section you see fit. Also drop a comment in the comment box below as I try my best to answer in a timely fashion.