Inside Scoop on WWE Diva Search

The highlight of Derek's week may not be on the up and up, as evidenced by this first hand account penned by the recently eliminated "Alexis," better known as Leilene, of National Lampoon's Strip Poker" fame.

• WARNING: this is not totally work safe

Greatest Wrestling Stars of the 80's?!

Just finished watching the WWE's 3-disc Greatest Wrestling Stars of the 80's. Nice, but brief looks at some of the big names, and some not quite big names. Here's what I mean.

DISC 1
Bobby Heenan (agree)
Sgt. Slaughter (agree, but only because of GI Joe)
Greg "The Hammer" Valentine (disagree)
Junkyard Dog (agree)
Rowdy Roddy Piper (agree)

DISC 2
Jerry Lawler (agree, thanks to Andy Kaufmann)
Arn Anderson (disagree, strong supporting character)
Dusty Rhodes (agree)
Ricky Steamboat (agree)
Ric Flair (agree)

DISC 3
Jimmy Snuka (agree)
Iron Sheik (agree, although a one-trick pony)
Paul Orndorff (disagree, too brief a run NEAR the top)
Cowboy Bob Orton (disagree, see Arn Anderson)
Hulk Hogan (duh)

I just don't understand how this set, personal differences with the talent aside, could overlook three of the top five draws of the decade; Andre the Giant, Randy "Macho Man" Savage and the Road Warriors. Maybe Andre was too 70s. He did draw the biggest house EVER in 1987. Other big names that quickly come to mind: Bobby Heenan but no Jesse Ventura or Jimmy Hart? Tito Santana? The Freebirds? Terry Funk? The British Bulldogs? Hell, Mean Gene hosted the thing, and he should have gotten a spot.

More Bad News for WWE Fans

Chris Masters and Christy Hemme still have jobs.

Black Wednesday for 17 WWE Wrestlers

On top of the Dudley Boyz learning that their contracts will not be renewed by WWE. The following WWE Superstars have been given their release:

Joy Giovanni
Kenzo Suzuki
Matt Morgan
Charlie Haas
Jackie Gayda
Marty Jannetty
Dawn Marie
Mark Jindrak
Maven
Shannon Moore
James Yun (Akio)
David Heath (Gangrel)
Billy Kidman
Spike Dudley
Kevin Fertig (Mordecai)

ECW Flop?

WWE is reporting around 270,000 buys for ECW One Night Stand. Record numbers for ECW, not so good for WWE. Not quite the 700,000 some were predicting. Wonder if we'll see another event?

Mid-Card Trade Finalizes Lottery

Final results, courtesy of the Inside Pulse and WWE.com (I guess this means Tomko stays on RAW):

WWE.com has learned that RAW General Manager Eric Bischoff and SmackDown! General Manager Theodore Long have agreed on a blockbuster 11-person deal that will likely have a big impact on both rosters.

RAW brand gets:


Mark Jindrak: Former WCW Tag Team Champion


Rene Dupree: Former WWE Tag Team Champion; former World Tag Team Champion


Danny Basham: Two-time former WWE Tag Team Champion


Kenzo Suzuki (with Hiroko): Former WWE Tag Team Champion


Chavo Guerrero: Five-time former Cruiserweight Champion; two-time former WWE Tag Team Champion

SmackDown! brand gets:


William Regal: Four-time former WCW Television Champion; three-time former Hardcore Champion; four-time former European Champion; former Intercontinental Champion; four-time former World Tag Team Champion


Candice: 2004 RAW Diva Search contestant


Sylvain Grenier: Four-time former World Tag Team Champion


Simon Dean: Former RAW sponsor


Steven Richards: Former two-time ECW Tag Team Champion; former 21-time Hardcore Champion

Watch RAW on Monday (9/8CT; Spike TV) for more on this trade.

Therefore:

FULL DRAFT/TRADE PERIOD RESULTS

To RAW:
WWE Champion John Cena
Kurt Angle
Carlito
Big Show
RVD
Mark Jindrak
Rene Dupree
Danny Basham
Kenzo Suzuki (w/Hiroko)
Chavo Guerrero

To SD:
Chris Benoit
Randy Orton
Muhammed Hassan (w/Daivari)
Christian
World Champion Dave Batista
William Regal
Candice
Sylvain Grenier
Simon Dean
Steven Richards