WWE, TNA, pro wrestling news, rumors, photos

Pipeline: Benoit update, plus, Regal blasts media, more!

Thursday, August 30th, 2007

pro wrestling news

It had to happen — and low and behold, it has. This week’s edition of the Pro Wrestling Pipeline is SO big, SO large, SO jam-packed with the latest tidbits, rumors, ramblings and other assorted whisperings from around the internet that we just HAD to break it up into TWO reports!! Look for the second half soon, but in the meantime, sit back and enjoy the latest report from your pal, Mr. Mal. Welcome to our site! Thanks for visitin’!! Now — let’s get to the news, shall we?

BENOIT’S FATHER SAID SON’S MENTAL STATE “DIMINISHED�? – The sad, sorry affair surrounding the late Chris Benoit and his surviving family has had another development. Speculation has surfaced that, in order to ensure that Chris’ two surviving children are entitled to the estate, Michael Benoit (Chris’ father) is trying to circumvent Georgia’s “slayer’s statute�? which prevents a killer or his heirs from profiting from a crime. To do so, Michael has now reportedly gone on record as saying his son had “diminished capacity�? when he took the life of his wife Nancy, child Daniel and himself at their Fayetteville home. “Chris’ actions in doing this are wholly at odds with the person I knew him to be and everybody else who knew Chris,�? said Cary Ichter, one of two attorneys representing Michael at a probate court hearing earlier in the week. “He was the model father. He was the model husband. He was a great guy, as nice a person as you’d ever want to meet.�? Neither Chris or Nancy had wills, and as such, a battle has begun between the two families for control of the estate. Whether Nancy died before Daniel will largely determine whether control will favor Benoit’s two children (David, 14, and Megan, 10) from a previous marriage or to the (Nancy) Toffoloni family.

REGAL DOWN UNDER – WWE Superstar William Regal conducted an interview with an Australian newspaper yesterday. In it, Regal (who admittedly dabbled with steroids earlier in his career) said he is upset at the way the media is painting all pro wrestlers as steroid-users in the light of the Chris Benoit scandal. “It’s something that I find very frustrating at the moment and all of a sudden because one person has done something that’s absolutely . . .I just can’t comprehend it and why we’re all being labeled as monsters all of a sudden and it’s not the case.�? In a side note, Regal – not surprisingly, given his talent for physical humor – said that, following his career in the ring, he may go into comedy back in Britain. He added that he had no interest in movies as so many other pro wrestlers seem to have. For the complete interview, click here.

WWE ANNOUNCER SHAKEUP? – Word has it that the recent pairing of Jim Ross and Tazz on Monday Night RAW while only a trial, may be a sign of things to come. The WWE is looking to possibly shakeup the “too-Southern�? pairing of Ross-Jerry Lawler, with JBL having the inside track to move to RAW. He is highly regarded by both management and talent for his ability to get talent over, while Ross (reportedly) has HHH pulling against him for his friendship with Stone Cold Steve Austin. Ross has allegedly gone out of his way to praise HHH of late in order to quell any hard feelings, given HHH-Austin’s professional rivalry from years back. Stay tuned.