• Wrestling News & Wrestling Rumors – WWE & TNA

- WWE programming on Premiere has temporarily been canceled and will remain off air unless the two sides can work out a new deal. The pay TV provider has become a staple for German wrestling fans so it will be a shame to see it go.

- The final estimate for Wrestlemania 24 is that it brought in over $51.5 million for Central Florida; according to an independent study by the Enigma Research Corp. No matter what slump WWE is in, a number like that is mind blowing!

“WrestleMania drew fans from all 50 states and 21 countries, according to the Central Florida Sports Commission. About three-quarters of the spectators came from beyond Central Florida and stayed for an average of 3.8 nights. The Enigma study indicated that $1.8 million was generated in local tax revenue.”

- Jim Ross is back with more of his JRSBARBQ.com blog thoughts. Here are the wrestling highlights:

More On Idiot Fans:
“In my last blog I wrote about the vocal minority of internet educated wrestling fans who over imbibe and like to let every one within ear shot know just how versed they are in the comings and goings of the wrestling business. There was a fan like this in Albany who sat near Tazz and me and made an ass of himself that even had his peers rolling their eyes. The overall crowd in Albany was great especially including making ample noise in the Big Show vs. Undertaker Steel Cage match that ended the approximate 4 hour evening. I was emailed a link to a site, perhaps in the Albany area, which said that I allegedly called all the Albany fans “jackasses” which is absolutely NOT true. At no time did I infer this nor was I rude to any fans in Albany of which the many fans that I spent time with at the Albany Crown Plaza Hotel after the event posing for photos and autographs can attest. I was damn tired after a long day but was never rude and signed every autograph and posed for every photo that was requested.”

On Mr Kennedy:
“Seems as if the WWE is looking to get Mr. Kennedy some TV exposure in preparation of his return in hopefully January or February and for the DVD release January 6 of “Behind Enemy Lines” by the looks of Kennedy’s role this past week on Raw and Smackdown. I don’t think Kennedy-Kennedy’s long term future is anything but wrestling and perhaps doing some entertaining interviews, etc will help him display his personality. I’m willing to give it a shot as Kennedy’s verbal skills are excellent.”

On The Spirit Squad:
“I did mention that I did not enjoy the persona of the Spirit Squad on a recent WWE 24/7 Roundtable but please don’t take that as an indictment of the individuals in the group as they were merely doing their jobs. The group had several athletic young men in it but I simply never thought that male cheerleaders would ever be taken seriously by the large, defiant male demo that watches the product.”

On Eddie DVD:
“Even though the Eddy Guerrero DVD is currently a #1 best seller it is really hard for me to watch. I became very close with Eddy during some really trying times of his life and like many of his fans I made an emotional investment in the human being, not just the wrestler, and his death was another passing that was tough on me as a man and in my role as the head of talent for the WWE. It is one heck of a DVD as evidenced by how it affects many of Eddy’s friends who I have spoken with about the recently released DVD. I envy no man who has the head of talent for any wrestling company for a variety of reasons because if one does that job correctly it will take a little out of said individual every single day.”

On Steve Austin:
“Stone Cold called me Friday and finished his movie project up in Vancouver and is looking forward to doing some hunting on his Texas ranch over the next few weeks. Steve is driving himself and his dog from near Los Angles all the way to South Texas beginning Saturday morning but is planning on stopping to watch the OU Football game Saturday night with his chocolate Lab.”

On Great Muta:
“Reading recently about the Great Muta, it reminded me of the time when I was on the WCW Booking Asylum, Er, Committee and I suggested that the handsome, young and talented Kenji Muta might make a great protagonist at some point in his WCW run. The look on the faces of many of my peers reminded me of what it must have been like when it was suggested to Caucasian wrestling territory owners that African American wrestlers be put into positions of prominence in the territory. I was passionately reminded that American wrestling fans would NEVER support a Japanese protagonist thanks to December 7, 1941 and the attack on Pearl Harbor. Forget that moment occurred almost half a century before as the idea wasn’t embraced and never fully materialized.”

On Jeff Hardy:
“It is amazing how topical Jeff Hardy is at this time with my friends who watch Smackdown and that Jeff seems more popular to ever to them even though he hasn’t “won the big one.” Most of my friends are simply casual wrestling fans who don’t over analyze the product and watch the 2 hour Friday night show and then call it a week for their wrestling “fix.” ”
[Were they worried he had died or don't they pay that close attention?]