Pipeline: Horror gimmick? Angle-Jarrett off? Rock update!
As promised, here is the second half of this week’s edition of the Pro Wrestling Pipeline. Mr. Mal has to go take a nap now, what with all the typin’ and surfin’ and what not. What I do fer you kids, I tell ya!!! The least you could do is drop me a line, or, better yet, BUY something off one of our sponsors. Fer cryin’ out loud, would it kill ya to click on a Highspots ad and buy something? Grab a mask or something! Yer wife’ll love it!! And at the very least — you’ll move the front of the line VERY quickly at the bank!! Trust me, Mr. Mal knows this from experience. But enough of the beggin’. Let’s get back to the pro wrestling newsbits, shall we? Let’s see, where were we? Oh yes:
REDRUM!! REDRUM!! BY GOD – REDRUM!!! Keep your eyes peeled for an off-the-wall gimmick to debut soon in the WWE. It was announced recently that World Wrestling Entertainment has rehired Johnny “The Bull� Stamboli, who is now working a horror persona called REDRUM – murder, spelled backwards, as referenced in the Stephen King book/movie The Shining. Reportedly, Stamboli (who had recently worked some dark matches on Smackdown as “The Unknown Wrestler�) wears Boogeyman-style makeup complete with a Vader-like mask. Further, he pours red liquid over his entire body to simulate blood. He last worked for the company prior to his release in November of 2004. Since then, he’s done time in Japan, Italy and Mexico. Of note, Stamboli – real name Jon Hugger – had his name linked earlier this year in the investigation of a drug ring, and specifically, the distribution of performance enhancers 
to various wrestlers such as Rey Mysterio, Randy Orton, Edge, Gregory Helms and Eddie Guerrero. At the time, only the more prominent names were mentioned. Since then, in addition to Hugger, the names of former WWE wrestlers Matt Bloom (aka A-Train and Giant Bernard) and Jon Heidenreich have also come to light. Allegedly, the names involved were prescribed steroids by a Dr. David Wilbirt. Mysterio, incidentally, has recently denied ever taking steroids, despite his name being linked to both the Wilbirt case as well as the doctor of the late Chris Benoit.
MORE WWE NEWS AND NOTES - ECW Superstar Balls Mahoney is scheduled to appear on the season finale of Who Wants to Be a Super Hero? The show is scheduled to air Thursday, September 6th on the Sci-Fi Network . . . former all-everything WWE Dwayne “The Rock� Johnson to appear in an upcoming remake of “Witch Mountain.� The original Disney film dates back to 1975, titled “Escape to Witch Mountain.� . . . a $100,000 lawsuit alleging the Sandman injured a fan’s back, aggravated a pre-existing condition and splattered blood on one Karlene Boutwell of Nashville, TN will be getting a grand jury on Nov. 4th. The WWE has tried to distance themselves from the suit, claiming Sandman is an “independent contractor�. The alleged incident in question took place August 8, 2006 . . . 
WWE Diva Ashely Massaro will be the featured attraction on this year’s coming CBS Survivor show, scheduled to begin September 20th. Look for her to appear prominently in the advertising for the show . . . former WWE Superstar Rene Dupree is now working as Rene Bonaparte in Japan’s Hustle promotion . . . Johnny “Aceâ€? Laurinaitis is once again lobbying to bring former WWE World Champion Sid Vicious into the fold. Of note, it was Laurinaitis who – while with an agent with WCW – suggested Sid try the top rope aerial kick that led to him snapping his ankle . . . Bret Hart commenting on the recent death of Brian “Crushâ€? Adams said, “I can’t get over how many friends of mine are gone. I spoke with Brian (recently) several times and for nearly two hours on Sunday afternoon. He sounded really good. We had one of those long heart-to-heart chats about how close friends we were. He’d stayed over a month at my house in Hawaii and was in excellent spirits. He talked about moving back and opening up a wrestling school. He was the best one for bringing Owen back to me, telling me the long-forgotten ribs they took part in till the wee hours of the night. Both of them were great at disguising their voices doing prank phone calls. He was my best and most reliable friend left in the business. What a damn shame. Two young boys and a great wife.â€? . . . Jamie Noble has been getting praise for his work as agent for the WWE cruiserweight division, both for his calling of the matches as well as his willingness to speak up and offer suggestions in planning sessions for Smackdown . . . Vince McMahon has reportedly flat-out shot down the idea of an off-season in pro wrestling.
TNA NOTES – Looks like plans for a Kurt Angle-Jeff Jarrett match at the Bound for Glory PPV in October have been scrapped. No real reason given as of yet. No other opponent has yet to named, or speculated, for that matter . . . Rick Steiner will be selling his injuries inflicted by Team 3D for a few more weeks. Steiner was recently put through a table by the duo on TNA iMPACT! . . . TNA talent have reportedly been told that the company is going ahead on the two-hour TNA iMPACT in October. While nothing has of yet been confirmed, all reports indicate it is only a matter of time until an official announcement is made. Both SpikeTV and FOX are still in the mix according to reports . . . former TNA star Konnan was released from hospital on August 18. High doses of anti-rejection medication given to the former leader of LAX have caused him to begin suffering from diabetes, now necessitating in insulin shots as well. Further, he also reportedly contracted pneumonia and is still in need of four-times-per-week treatment for the new kidney. Despite all this, Konnan is still looking to resume a wrestling manager role within a few months. Don’t look for him in TNA, however. Too many reports of bad blood there over Konnan’s exit and subsequent litigation over payment for his surgery. Then again, never say never in pro wrestling.
- Mr. Mal
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