WWE releases three, including Elijah Burke

Photo courtesy of wikipedia.com


Just a little while ago, I read on wwe.com that the company had released three talents....Lena Yada, Kenny Dykstra and "The Black Pope" Elijah Burke [pictured above].

While the first two weren't a total surprise to me as Yada was just there for eye-candy and Dykstra reportedly had a bad attitude and was an immature 22-year old, I was blown away by the fact that Burke, who I personally feel is a future main-eventer [and TNA would be wise to snatch him up], was released because the wonderful geniuses on the WWE Creative Team couldn't think of anything for him and told him to stay home the last few months.

It baffles me beyond belief that a natural talent like Burke, who has ability, charisma and was hand chosen by Vince McMahon to be the face of the new "ECW" in early 2007, can be let go but guys like Snitsky, Ryan Braddock, Val Venis, who have no purpose in the company, are still employed. I like Venis as a wrestler but let's be honest, he hasn't been relevant since his Intercontinental Championship run in the summer of 2000 with Trish Stratus as his manager and hasn't done anything in almost a decade, yet is still employed.

On the bright side, Burke is still young at age 30 and will most likely be brought back once WWE finishes their annual winter cleaning and adds more to his repertoire. In addition, Burke seems upbeat about his release as he stated the following in his recent blog:

"My time is at hand. Do not weep, nor mourn, for I am gone but 4(up) a while. Hold on to that which I gave you, share it in laughter with those around you. For I have landed but for a brief refueling, for the course YOUR Pope takes is far far away. Your Pope smiles as he writes this knowing that peace is filled within, to all within the Congregation, NOW the true test begin! And remember, MY COMEBACK SHALL BE GREATER THAN MY SETBACK!~ The Pope Has Spoken!"

As a tribute to Mr. Burke, here is a custom titantron created by YouTube user "JBZA2003." Enjoy:

No more Florida Championship Wrestling

Photo courtesy of fcwwrestling.com

Earlier today, I logged into my YouTube account to see if member "KaceCC" had uploaded the newest Florida Championship Wrestling [FCW] videos to his page and was shocked to see that not only were there no videos, the YouTube Nazi's got to him as his account is now suspended, meaning no more Florida Championship Wrestling here on Sunday's.

I will never understand why YouTube or World Wrestling Entertainment [WWE] feel the need to remove videos such as these when they air on public television. I understand the FCW shows are a part of the WWE banner but having the videos on YouTube give those fans who don't live the Florida area a chance to see the shows and some great up-and-coming talents before they appear on one of the main rosters. Why ruin that for your fans?

To quote Ebenezer Scrooge......"Bah, Humbug!"

Pictures from my first live wrestling event in 1988

November 15, 1988 may not mean much significance to the majority of the people in the world, but to me, this day forever holds a special place in my heart for the fact that six days after my fourth birthday, my grandfather, who unfortunately passed away in April 2007 after a seven-year battle with Alzheimer's, got me tickets to see my first live professional wrestling event, which was a World Wrestling Federation show at the legendary Cow Palace in San Francisco, Calif.

Only a few years ago did I found out that I was lucky enough to have sat through several television tapings and close to five hours of then non-stop WWF action.

Being only four-years old at the time of the event, I only remember a few things from that night. I remember wearing a a blue shirt that said "Hulk Jr" in sparkling gold letters, which I wore under my yellow "Hulk Rules" tanktop my dad bought me at the event that night.

The other thing I remember, other than the event ending really late, was waiting all night just to see Hulk Hogan wrestle, as he was my childhood hero. When Hogan finally came out for his main-event match against the Big Boss Man, I felt like I was the only person in the arena. It was something words cannot describe and if they could, wouldn't do it justice. Luckily for me being a young Hulk-a-maniac, Hogan won his match against the Boss Man via count-out after handcuffing the Boss Man to the top rope.

Below are some photos, and the event sheet, from the event my parents took that have luckily survived the last 20-years thanks to my mom putting them in a special photo album

Enjoy some one-of-a-kind photos........


The event card



My ticket for the event



Ring shot before the event started



Brutus the Barber Beefcake giving a post match haircut



Honkytonk Man & Greg Valentine



The Hart Foundation in tag-team action



Ravishing Rick Rude w/Bobby Hennan



Koko B. Ware & The Blue Blazer entering the ring



Jake "The Snake" Roberts after his match



Ken Patera vs. Ron Bass



Ted DiBiase vs. Tito Santana



The Ultimate Warrior making his entrance



Sam Houston & Jim Powers vs. The Bolshvics



Hulk Hogan vs. The Big Bossman



Hulk Hogan post-match posing



Me as a happy four-year old with my dad


As a special bonus, here is the entire card from that night, courtesy of the history of WWE website:

WWF @ San Francisco, CA - Cow Palace - November 15, 1988 (14,600; 12,200 paid; sell out)
WWF Superstars taping:
Jim Duggan pinned Darryl Peterson

Mr. Perfect pinned Lee Hansen

King Haku pinned Eric Simms

WWF IC Champion the Ultimate Warrior pinned Randy Tyler

Brutus Beefcake pinned Ron Bass

Shawn Michaels & Marty Jannetty defeated WWF Tag Team Champions Demolition via count-out

Jake Roberts (w/ Cheryl Roberts) pinned Rick Rude with the DDT; pre-match stipulations stated that the wrestlers could only attempt a pin after hitting their respective finisher; after the bout, Cheryl slapped Rude several times before Roberts wrapped Damien around his opponent

Hulk Hogan defeated the Big Bossman (w/ Slick) via count-out after handcuffing Bossman to the top rope and clotheslining him over the top to the outside after Bossman attempted to use the cuffs on Hogan

Prime Time Wrestling - 11/22/88: Ted Dibiase (w/ Virgil) defeated Tito Santana via disqualification at 11:59 when Hercules interfered; after the bout, Hercules and Santana cleared Dibiase and Virgil from the ring

Prime Time Wrestling - 12/5/88: Ron Bass pinned Ken Patera at 7:24 with an elbow drop after a running kneelift to the back

Prime Time Wrestling - 12/5/88: The Blue Blazer & Koko B. Ware defeated the Conquistadors at 8:57 when Koko scored the pin with a missile dropkick

Prime Time Wrestling - 11/29/88: Akeem, Nikolai Volkoff, & Boris Zhukov (w/ Slick) defeated Sam Houston, Paul Roma, & Jim Powers when Akeem pinned Houston with a splash at 8:49

12/3/88 - included WWF World Champion Randy Savage and Miss Elizabeth as guests of the
Brother Love Show:

Brutus Beefcake defeated Chuck Campbell via submission with the sleeper at 2:08

Dino Bravo (w/ Frenchy Martin) pinned Ricki Ataki at 1:34 with the airplane spin and side slam

Harley Race pinned Jim Gorman at 1:46 with a fisherman suplex; prior to the bout, Race did an untelevised promo saying he wanted to regain his throne from King Haku and that Bobby Heenan never visited him or contacted him while he was injured

Bret Hart & Jim Neidhart defeated Barry Horowitz & Iron Mike Sharpe at 2:16 when Bret pinned Horowitz following the Hart Attack

Akeem (w/ Slick) pinned Louie Spicolli with a splash at 1:22

Rick Rude (w/ Bobby Heenan) pinned Nito Gomez at 1:25 with the Rude Awakening

12/10/88 - included footage of Hulk Hogan and Slick on the Brother Love show from SNME:

Jim Duggan pinned Darryl Peterson at 1:53 with the running clothesline

Jake Roberts pinned the Black Knight at 2:37 with the DDT

Bad News Brown pinned Frankie Valdez at 1:58 with the Ghetto Blaster

The Red Rooster (w/ Bobby Heenan) defeated Scott Casey via submission with the Scorpion
Death Lock at 2:33

Shawn Michaels & Marty Jannetty fought Arn Anderson & Tully Blanchard (w/ Bobby Heenan) to a no contest when all four men began brawling on the floor prior to the match beginning; eventually, both teams battled their way backstage with numerous referees and officials trying to seperate them

Ted Dibiase (w/ Virgil) defeated Lanny Poffo via submission with the Million $ Dream at 1:50

Jacques & Raymond Rougeau (w/ Jimmy Hart) Sam Houston & Stefan Diablo at 3:37 when Raymond pinned Diablo after a double team move off the top

12/17/88 - included Andre the Giant & Bobby Heenan as guests of the Brother Love Show:

WWF Tag Team Champions Demolition defeated Nick Ferrari & Art Penna at 2:45 when Ax pinned Penna with the Decapitation; prior to the bout, an untelevised Brother Love Show segment took place with Demolition as guests; during the segment, Brother Love said they couldn't win a match without the help of Mr. Fuji; to prove him wrong, Mr. Fuji went to the back and Demolition wrestled the match without him; this was done to explain his absence at ringside since the bout would air after the Survivor Series where Fuji and Demolition split up

Hercules defeated Steve Lombardi via submission with the backbreaker at 1:27

Mr. Perfect pinned Nito Gomez with the Perfect Plex at 2:05

King Haku (w/ Bobby Heenan) pinned Frankie Valdez with a side kick at 1:42

The Big Bossman (w/ Slick) pinned Pete Kitchum at 1:36 with the sidewalk slam; after the bout, Bossman handcuffed his opponent to the middle rope and beat him with the nightstick

WWF IC Champion the Ultimate Warrior pinned Conquistador #1 with the gorilla press slam / splash combo at 1:32

Greg Valentine & the Honkytonk Man (w/ Jimmy Hart) defeated Paul Brown & Rex Farmer at 4:10 when Brown submitted to Valentine's figure-4, applied while wearing the Heartbreaker shin guard

Wrestling Recipes Week 10 - Hooligan Tribal Gumbo

Photo courtesy of WWE Magazine


Earlier today, I read on the World Wrestling Entertainment [WWE] website that current Raw superstar and former Cruiserweight and WWE Tag Team Champion Paul London had been released from the company, along with fellow Raw superstar Chuck Palumbo.

In tribute of London's tenure in WWE, I figured it would be appropriate to post his recipe for "Tribal Gumbo" that was featured in the December 2006 issue of WWE Magazine.


Hooligan Tribal Gumbo


INGREDIENTS
*1 tsp vegetable oil
*1 chopped onion
*1 diced sweet potato
*2 cloves crushed garlic
*8 cups chicken broth
*1 cup uncooked rice
*1 tsp ground thyme
*1/2 tsp ground cumin
*3 cups salsa
*1 16oz can garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained
*1 cup diced zucchini
*2/3 cup creamy peanut butter

DIRECTIONS
1) Heat oil in large saucepan and saute onions.
2) Add sweet potato and garlic. Cook for five minutes.
3) Add chicken broth, rice, thyme, cumin and stir.
4) Bring to boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer until rice is tender [18-20 minutes]
5) Add salsa, garbanzos, and zucchini.
6) Cook until zucchini is tender [10 minutes].
7) Add creamy peanut butter and stir.
8) Heat throughly and serve immediately.

WWE to release Mike Adamle

Photo courtesy of wwe.com

Earlier today, I read an article on the Lords of Pain website that reported former World Wrestling Entertainment [WWE] announcer and Raw general manager Mike Adamle [pictured above] is done for now as an on-air personality and the company could be done with him for good soon as both sides appear to be in agreement NOW that Adamle just isn't cut out for this job.

I would like to know what the heck took Vince McMahon and WWE so long to realize that Adamle, who has three-decades worth of play-by-play experience and was the voice of the original "American Gladiators" television show in the late 1980's and early 1990's, had no business in the wrestling industry, which most fans knew as soon as Adamle uttered "Jest Harvey" instead of "Jeff Hardy" at the 2008 Royal Rumble, which was edited out of the dvd-release of the event.

Why it took McMahon and company this long to realize this is baffling to me. I can understand McMahon wanting to give a job to a friend and trying to find a spot for him [ringside reporter, ECW on SciFi announcer and Raw General Manager] but Adamle's constant blundering made all that impossible and sometimes one just has to cut a man loose.

I still don't know which was worst though.....Adamle's constant blundering on live television or the fact he was making as much as Jim Ross with a salary of $300,000. Am I the only one seeing something wrong that?

Why WWE brought in Tony Atlas

Photo courtesy of wwe.com

During an episode of ECW on SciFi this past summer, new and old World Wrestling Entertainment [WWE] fans were a bit perplexed after seeing several appearances throughout the show by WWE Hall of Famer Tony Atlas [pictured above on right side] and even more perplexed after he aligned himself with then ECW Champion Mark Henry [pictured above on left side], becoming Henry's manager.

Several months later, some light has finally been shed as to why Atlas was brought in to WWE. According to a report on rajah.com, the main reason WWE brought Atlas in was not so much to mentor Henry but rather, to be a good influence on him on the road.

Henry has often traveled alone and has never been a healthy eater during his 12-year tenure with WWE, who were concerned about Henry's weight as a result of him becoming immobile when becoming too heavy. Atlas, who is in his early 50's, is in fantastic shape due to his strict training schedule and eating habits, which prompted WWE to make Atlas Henry's traveling partner with the feeling Atlas will keep Henry's weight, eating habits and conditioning under control.

Kudos to WWE for recognizing a problem with one of their talents and for having the brains to pair that talent with a positive influence. Yes, Atlas has had his battle with steroid and drug use in the past, but the man has paid for those mistakes and has been clean for close to two decades.

In addition, because of Atlas' strict training regimen, Atlas is actually in better shape than most the guys on the WWE roster today and is not afraid to show it as evident by his preference to wear a cut-off dress shirt with a tie that shows of his muscles, something Vince McMahon frowns upon because he doesn't want the audience to think Atlas is coming back as a wrestler.

I will say that the move appears to be a stroke of genius on WWE's part as Henry has not only be injury free since his move over to the ECW roster but is also having the best run of his career. While he may not be as thin as his days in the "Nation of Domination," Henry has definitely been looking leaner [less side rolls] and more muscular, especially in the arms and legs of late.

In addition to being in shape for his size and looking a lot healthier, Henry has also stepped up his in-ring work, improving his craft and having very solid matches against the likes of Undertaker and Matt Hardy, which are probably the best in-ring matches Henry has had during his entire WWE tenure.

If anyone needs any further proof, just watch the Hardy vs. Henry match from No Mercy 2008 and most will agree it is the best match Henry has ever been in because of the psychology involved, something Henry never had a grasp on before.

For the sake of both men, I hope this pairing is for the long-haul because both can benefit from each other with Atlas being the breath of fresh air for Henry to turn his lifestyle around and Henry having somebody he can not only train with but also, confide in while on the road, a rarity in professional wrestling.

UFC suspends Chris Leban for nine months

Photo courtesy of mmaforum.com

Earlier today, Dave Metzler of Yahoo! Sports reported in an article that Ultimate Fighting Championship [UFC] light-heavyweight fighter Chris Leben [pictured above] has officially been suspended by the UFC for nine months and fined one-third of his fight purse as a result of a positive drug test for the steroid Stanazolol at a post-fight drug testing session at UFC 89 in England this past Oct.

Leben, who lost to fellow light-heavyweight Michael Bisping at the UFC 89 event, becomes the first high-profile fighter suspended by the UFC for failing a drug test and joins fellow UFC fighters Tim Sylvia, Sean Sherk and Josh Barnett, all of whom were not only suspended after positive drug tests but also had to relinquish their championship belts.

UFC president Dana White stated that Leben [18-5] admitted to him that he used the drug, which is also known as Winstrol V, shortly after his win over Alessio Sakara in March and had believed enough time had passed for the drug to clear his system.

I am honestly at a loss for words over this situation. How big of a bonehead does one have to be to not only take something that is illegal in the first place but to also take it knowing that your going to be tested for it at your next fight and every fight in the contract? What is the logic that goes on in one's head when answering that question?

I had hoped Leben got a reality check after being arrested for a prior DUI case in Oregon this past April and having to spend 35-days in jail due to the arrest and violating probation but obviously, we the fans were all fooled by having the wool pulled over our eyes by Leben and his publicists.

Leben apparently hasn't matured from his time spent on the inaugural season of "The Ultimate Fighter" and believes like every other young person out there with no good sense in them, that they are indestructible and nothing bad is going to happen to them. Professional boxer Diego Corrales thought the same thing and look what happened to him almost a year-and-a-half ago.

Hopefully, this suspension will be the wake-up call Leben needs to get his life and priorities in order and when his suspension is up, he comes back a better and mature fighter that is more appreciative of the opportunity he has been given by White and the UFC and doesn't take it for granted anymore.