Wrestling

AS I SEE IT – Finally Addressing Concussions in Wrestling Bob Magee Pro Wrestling: Between the Sheets http://pwbts.com First, word on a long-overdue but welcome step by WWE to address the issue of concussions in wrestling. This past week, World Wrestling Entertainment contributed $1.2 million over three years to further research aimed at developing a treatment for Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy. CTE, which has been seen in athletes and wrestlers suffering repeated concussions, and is linked to depression and dementia. This fact and the liability for it has notably challenged by the class action lawsuit by 4,000 former NFL players against the league. CTE has been linked to depression and dementia. The gift is being made to the Sports Legacy Institute, a Boston non-profit addressing the effects of concussions in  .” The WWE says the gift is a continuation of the Talent Wellness Program it started in 2006, which now includes the same neurological baseline testing used in the NFL and such pro wrestling-specific mandates as a ban against bashing an opponent over the head with a metal chair. Notable in the changes in addressing concussions in WWE is seen even this past weekend when Dolph Ziggler recently sustained a concussion after getting hit with an errant kick that was supposed to be in the chest and instead got hit on the chin. He was pulled from last night’s Extreme Rules pay-per-view. WWE’s donationt will be used by researchers at Boston University’s Center for the Study of Traumatic Encephalopathy in a new investigation aimed at studying the effectiveness of potential treatments for CTE. Nowinski suffered a concussion while wrestling and in the attitude of the time, kept right on going.  Nowinski said of his situation in USA Today: “…I lied about my symptoms for five weeks and kept going. … I had a headache and was nauseous every time I got my heart rate up, but I fought through it as best I could.” In the same USA Today interview, Paul “HHH” Levesque stated pretty openly about the goal of pro wrestling: “The goal in what we do is first and foremost … protect your opponent. Without him you have nothing. … Our whole goal is to make something look as devastating as possible and as impactful as possible with as little impact as possible. It’s really the art of what we do. We really work on that with talent. If John Cena and I are in a story line together and I hit John Cena hard and he gets injured, and he’s out, it hurts me as much as it hurts him. He’s out; now my opponent that I’m in a story line with is gone and my storyline just ended.” The research figures to benefit other sports, but Levesque noted that WWE often gets its wrestlers from other sports: “We recruit a lot of our talent from other contact sports, NFL, NHL, rugby and the Olympics. … It’s important for us as to where they’re coming from and what has happened to them prior to them getting to us because it’s … in essence what we’re getting as a talent.” Now, in contrast, here is news on a fan campaign to help pro wrestler Michael Paris (aka TNA’s Zema Ion) with his medical expenses. Paris was recently rushed to the hospital and diagnosed with appendicitis, after suffering from severa abdominal pains. It may well have been the most fortunate attack of appendicitis ever, as while examining his condition through CAT scans, doctors discovered a five centimeter tumor located on his colon. As of this writing, it is unknown whether the tumor is cancerous, Paris will soon have to undergo another surgery to remove it. In the meantime, fans are trying to help pay his growing medical expenses. He does not have health insurance, so the costs for these surgeries and hospital will be expensive. Please help us to afford this effort and pitch in any way possible, It’s notable that there’s been no word w

Source: KineticFix.com A few days ago, one half of Bad Influence and former TNA World Tag Team Champion and TNA X-Division Champion Christopher Daniels talked with the team at KineticFix.com. During the interview, Daniels talked about how he became a professional wrestler, the Best Moonsault Ever, and other topics related to healthy living. Below are highlights of the interview, though you can read the entire interview by clicking here. Enjoy! On How He Became a Professional Wrestler Well, I grew up in Fayetteville, N.C., where I became a pro wrestling fan at an early age, watching people like Ric Flair, Dusty Rhodes, the Road Warriors and Sting wrestle for Mid Atlantic Championship Wrestling. But those men seemed a lot larger than I thought I’d ever become, so I didn’t envision becoming a wrestler until a lot later in life. After I graduated college, I moved to Chicago and did some children’s theater, telling my girlfriend at the time (who is now my wife), “You know, if this acting thing never works out, I could always try to be a pro wrestler,” never actually meaning it. Little did I know, she found a local professional wrestling school (Windy City Pro Wrestling in Chicago) and made an appointment for me. She says that I came out of that meeting with a look in my eyes that said, “I’m going to do this!” Because I grew up a fan, I had a frame of reference and finished my initial training in three months. In my third match, I won my first championship, the Windy City Lightweight Championship, and I just stuck with it until this slowly became my career. On Eating Clean and Lifting Weights I do admit that the hardest facet of my fitness routine is eating clean, especially in terms of carbs. I have two kids, so I’ve always got snacks and sweets around and it’s hard to be super-strict, but I do try to keep my protein intake as high as I can to offset whatever carbohydrates I may consume. When I’m home, I know that my job is to hit the gym at some point during a day, so it’s very rare that I take a day off. I usually try to do a four-day split in a given week – a day each for chest, back, shoulders and arms, plus leg exercises each day in-between sets. On Perfecting the Best Moonsault Ever It was a two-part process. First off, the moonsault itself (for non-wrestling fans, basically a back-flip off the top rope landing on your opponent chest-to-chest) I initially saw watching the Great Muta, one of the most famous Japanese wrestlers ever to compete in the US. It took me a while to get confident enough to try and back-flip without worrying about landing on my head…and even longer to learn how to do it by leading with my head instead of one of my shoulders, which keeps me going straight over instead of leaning to one side or the other. Then, the unique way I do it, bouncing first on the second rope and leaping straight up to the top rope before executing the moonsault, I learned from a Mexican wrestler who came through Chicago to train with us. After a bit, I decided to put them together, and the rest is history.

Where is the Triple H Concussion Angle Heading? According to F4WOnline.com, last night's angle with Triple H to end Raw was reportedly the beginning of a concussion angle for HHH. According to the report, Triple H will be kept off TV for awhile, and when he returns, it is likely that the McMahon family, Stephanie and Vince, will return to TV to urge Triple H never to wrestle again due to the concussion. Foley to Appear on Total Divas The following was posted on Twitter, and E! cameras were on hand to film footage for the upcoming Total Divas reality show: Today at Busch, @wwe stars @realmickfoley & @nicoleandbri will be signing autographs in Ford Plaza from 5-6 p.m. atmlb.com/Z1IH45 — St. Louis Cardinals (@Cardinals) May 18, 2013

TMZ.com is reporting that the family of Randy Savage gathered at a local Olive Garden yesterday to remember the WWE Legend on the 2 year anniversary of his death. The restaurant was one Savage frequently visited, and Lanny Poffo had the following to say to TMZ: "I have to be strong for my family now. I'm just glad to have had him as a brother and wanna celebrate his life as much as I can instead of continuing to mourn."

John Cena Grants a Wish at Raw The following has been posted on Twitter: one more time for my new follwers! My lil buddy Josh got his @makeawish HE MET @johncena twitter.com/wwemom24/statu… — WWEMOM. (@wwemom24) May 21, 2013 Titus O'Neil Curses on Raw Last Night, Foley Comments For those who missed it last night, Titus O'Neil accidentally used the "F word" while on commentary on Raw last night, and the censors were able to bleep it out. Mick Foley commented on the mistake by posting the following on Twitter: I'm guessing that @vincemcmahon's post-match chat with @titusoneilwwe will be a memorable one. — Mick Foley (@realmickfoley) May 21, 2013

On this day in history: May 21st, 2006 | Jillian was one of those Divas who never got a real moment in the spotlight, known more for her ability to enthusiastically sing very, very poorly. So, it was nice to see that her feud with Melina gave her a chance to have a big-time Pay Per View match at 2006′s Judgment Day. It was billed as a “grudge match” and fittingly, the match was far from clean, filled with hair-pulls and chokes. Even the end was muddy, Jillian pinning Melina while the latter’s hand was holding the bottom rope. The referee did not see this, and awarded the victory to Jillian. Furious, Melina attacked interviewer Kristal Marshall post-match when she tried to ask her some poorly-timed questions. Unfortunately for Melina, she couldn’t even best an interviewer, and was chased off, insult added to injury. What are your memories of this moment? Tell us in the comments! Note: This was originally posted on 5/21/12.

Here's your Daily Open Thread for Tuesday, May 21, 2013: Come chat about whatever you would like. Come back all day and night for discussion of all things pro wrestling and beyond. Don't forget to check out everything else we have going on here at Cageside today, like our CSS Greatest Finisher Tourney and our On This Date in Pro-Wrestling History feature. Since it's Tuesday, that means you can anticipate an all new Rumor Round-Up from our Author Eric B. Stephen and a brand new WWE Raw results and reactions post from myself. Keep checking that front page for even more content throughout the day, as well. But for now, scroll on down to the comments and talk about whatever your heart desires.

What Happened After Raw Last Night? Several readers have sent in word that after Raw went off the air last night, WWE medical staff continued to check on Triple H, asking him questions like what his name is and what day it is. Triple H remained silent, and officials then asked him if he remembered anything about his match, to which he answered by saying he remembered only his entrance. Eventually, HHH was assisted to the back, and then Heyman and Axel made their way to the back. After HHH's exit, the dark match main event began, which saw John Cena and Alberto Del Rio defeat Jack Swagger and Ryback. Cena scored the pin fall on Swagger after hitting the AA. Heyman & Many Superstars React to the Debut of Curtis Axel The following superstars have reacted on Twitter to the debut of Curtis Axel: Proud & excited for the debut of #CurtisAxel! He’s been waitin for this his whole life. Somewhere Mr Perfect is smiling his mischievous grin — Chris Jericho (@IAmJericho) May 21, 2013 I always wanted to manage @realcurtisaxel's father. A better-than-Perfect debut tonight! @wwe #RAW twitter.com/HeymanHustle/s… — Paul Heyman (@HeymanHustle) May 21, 2013 Yeah @cdagardnerwwe, I think @realcurtisaxel has a real shot at getting over. Otherwise, the master(@heymanhustle) wouldn't be guiding him — Mick Foley (@realmickfoley) May 21, 2013 Anyone who thinks Curt Axel as new @heymanhustleguy is a miss, doesn't understand building to the future. #RAW — Lance Storm (@LanceStorm) May 21, 2013 genuinely proud of @wwemcgillicutty go get em, kid!(curt axel) — Dolph Ziggler (@HEELZiggler) May 21, 2013

Source: F4WOnline.com Mark Henry to Return as a Babyface? According to reports, there has been talk of Mark Henry returning to WWE as a babyface. Henry said he was "going home" during the Extreme Rules post-show on Sunday night, and word is that WWE has been talking for months about him turning babyface, which could happen upon his return to TV. The Latest on Brock Lesnar's WWE Future While WWE has written Brock Lesnar off TV for the time being, as Paul Heyman noted that Lesnar has fulfilled his "obligations" to the company, it is expected at this point that he will be back to WWE TV in time for SummerSlam.

The following matches were taped at Raw last night for this week's WWE Superstars: -Brodus Clay, Tensai, Naomi and Cameron defeated The Bella Twins and The Usos. -Damien Sandow defeated Alex Riley.