WWE News and Notes for 7/31

[Hunter's Torn Quad 0]

Part One – July 31st

 

Bobby Lashley and the Great Khali have been diagnosed with liver problems and removed from the active roster for the time being.

 

In testing both men WWE found conclusive liver problems and had no choice but to take them off the road.

 

The damage was enough that were was real fear that one or both could have Hepatitis.

 

Super Crazy was pulled off the Bash at the last minute for similar liver problems.

 

Jimmy Korderas was also pulled off the road for health problems found during his physical exam.

 

Lashley’s problems were known at least two weeks back, and the US Title was taken off of him due to preliminary testing showing the potential problem that, if further testing showed them to be accurate, Lashley would be not be available to wrestle for some time. The change was done on TV because they knew there was a good chance he would not be able to work the PPV.

 

Lashley and Khali were rushed on the roster too soon because of their unique physiques.

 

Lashley might have been a hopeful for Olympics at wrestling but it wasn’t his wrestling that put him on the fast track.

 

Like with Chris Masters, Lashley and Khali were brought up far too soon because of their look, and now all three have been taken off the active roster, and off the big pushes, because of what it took to achieve that look.

 

While it is not yet proven that the liver problems are steroid related, there are steroids that greatly affect the liver, and a number of wrestlers who have used steroids have had kidney problems too. Rick Martel had similar issues that came out during the Zahorian trial.

 

Masters suspension and rehab was down to painkiller use without prescription, and his health issues are psychological in nature rather than physical.

 

There is not set time for Lashley or Khali to come back. They join RVD, Kurt Angle and Joey Mercury has either being suspended, for RVD and Angle, or in rehab, with Mercury. Of them all, if it were not for the more stringent testing in the wake of the death of Eddie Guerrero, the only ones likely to not be on the road now would be Van Dam, because got arrested, and Mercury.

 

There have also been a number of recent failures of the steroid test, and there will be suspensions shortly. The names could get released by the company as the names will get out at some point anyway. No names have yet been confirmed as failing the test, but the suspensions will likely begin after the 7/26 Smackdown taping. At least one more Smackdown wrestler will be suspended soon. (I assume this would be Tatanka)

 

Matt Hardy’s suspension is not necessarily for failing the steroid test. Hardy wasn’t involved in anything major, but his loss makes Smackdown barley able to fill a house show card.

 

Lashley, Khali and Crazy being taken off the roster was unavoidable due to significant health issues.

 

If there is one good thing about all this, it’s that the new policy caught the problems early enough that there is an increased chance of people recovering.

 

Regarding Canadian TV:

 

Raw will never air live, but on a tape delay from 10pm.

 

TSN cancelled Raw after the Edge and Lita live sex show but Vince was able to get a reprieve. The show got cancelled for real after the 7/3 show with the Hunter/Candice Michelle blow job skit. It was not a ratings issues.

 

At the press conference that announced this, a couple of the wrestlers took shots at TSN over the changeover, even though TSN tried to keep things looking amicable.

 

For Raw on 7/17, the biggest segment gain was for Cena being interviewed by Matt Striker and Cena’s match with Umaga, which gained over 1 million viewers (1,021,000).

 

Referee Mickey Jay was moved to ECW because after getting rid of all the ECW ref’s, they were left with Mike Posey and a couple of rookies. It’s bad deal for Jay, because referees are paid on a percentage of the gate, so he’s going from a percentage of $90,000 to $200,000 gates to a percentage of $15,000 to $30,000 gates.

 

The Diva Search finale will take place on 8/16 on USA.

 

Part Two – August 2nd

 

The problems for the Smackdown roster exploded over the past week.

 

The scorecard of names taken off the active roster is now: Great Khali, Bobby Lashley and Super Crazy for liver enzyme issues, Jimmy Korderas for health reasons, and Matt Hardy and Kid Kash suspended for 30 days. Neither Hardy nor Kash have known medical issues that would cause their suspension, despite what has been said elsewhere, and Kash’s suspension had nothing to do with behavior. There was talk on 7/25 that a few more names would be added to the list of suspensions after TV, all of them believed to be on Smackdown, and none would be from the Raw brand.

 

While there has been talk of a feared Hepatitis outbreak, due to three liver issues, the company didn’t believe that, and there is apparently evidence to support that conclusion. There is internal fear among the wrestlers that the liver problems are not coincidence.

 

As far as the suspensions go, a number of them were for violating the steroid test, as several failed the first test before Wrestlemania and levels did not decrease in subsequent tests. At least three or four fit the criteria, not all of whom would be known right now. Not all of the suspensions are for steroids, but some of them are.

 

Dave has spoken to doctors who have headed steroid testing for major sports organizations. The secretion of steroids is not an even handed process, in that if you take steroids and stop it is possible for levels to not drop, and even be elevated if you’re tested on the wrong day. Generally, this style of testing can be accurate, but it is not foolproof in showing of people are off steroids or are getting off them.

 

Says steroids are such a strong part of the culture that all the deaths and controversies of the past 15-years can’t stop it. Dave knows of many wrestlers who were told flat out by doctors that certain health issue were steroid related and the wrestlers simply took the view the doctor didn’t know what they were talking about. All people are different, but there is the belief held that how can these things that can do so much for you be so bad. In addition, you are judge by management, and fans, by how you look. At the 7/24 taping, there were a very vocal segment of fans getting on Edge and calling attention to what appeared to be a loss of upper body size in Edge, and some people were upset about this feeling that this kind of response will get in the heads of some people.

 

While Smackdown will be decimated for a while, ECW should be back to almost full strength very soon. Rob Van Dam will be eligible to come back at either the 8/5 house show or the 8/8 taping in Nashville and will apparently be back at that time. His suspension was something forced on the company, as he got arrested rather than failing a test. Kurt Angle returns on the 8/1 show at the Hammerstein Ballroom. The suspensions were without pay, so Van Dam is out around $20,800, minus whatever else it might cost him to take care of the legal issues. With Angle, due to his downside of $1 million per year, he’s out to the tune of around $83,300. The wrestlers taken off due to liver issues will similarly be earning their downside money, though it’s possible there might be an exception.

 

WWE’s handling of the situations has been inconsistent, to no surprise. Van Dam and Lashley’s issues were acknowledged, while nothing was said about Angle, Masters or Mercury.

 

As a rule-of-thumb, the 30-day suspensions are going to be for steroid violations or public situations they cannot ignore, while the longer disappearances for rehab are for painkiller issues. Disappearances for an unspecified amount of time that do not include rehab are more likely going to be down to health issues.

 

It’s not known how they’ll handle the latest suspensions, but they’ll probably be inconsistent yet again.

 

Lashley’s liver problems are a major concern and he is not expected back any time soon. Khali’s problems are said to be not as bad, and he was kept strong because of the belief he may be able to get his levels down to where he can be brought back. Super Crazy is also not expected back soon, and there is fear that he and Lashley’s issues are serious.

 

Great American Bash

 

Thumbs Up: 57 (32.2%)

Thumbs Down: 83 (46.9%)

Thumbs in the Middle: 37 (20.9%)

 

Best Match Poll

 

London and Kendrick vs. Kash and Noble: 82

 

Worst Match Poll

 

Undertaker vs. Big Show: 97

 

Said the Bash was a show that didn’t click, that there was little heat for the undercard bouts that didn’t get pushed, but that the matches themselves were not bad. Said Matt Hardy replacing Super Crazy likely made the match better, and said that as bad as Undertaker vs. Show was that it’s mind boggling to think how bad it would have been had Khali wrestled instead. Said that Batista vs. Mark Henry probably would have had more heat than Batista vs. Mr Kennedy, but it’s unlikely it would have been as good. Said that while Finlay vs. Regal without Lashley looked better on paper the lack of crowd interest meant the match didn’t get over as well as the original match would have done.

 

King Booker winning the World title was changed again over the last week. The scenario itself had been planned for quite some time and would have happened at Judgment Day had JBL not taken himself off the road due to injuries. Said Mysterio is hardly the prototypical WWE Champion and was booked like no other champion before him with numerous television losses that never lead to title programs. The title change had nothing to do with the other changes that were made to the show.

 

The show drew about 9.750 fans, with 8.750 paying $490,000

 

Said JBL’s announcing had good and bad points. Said his non-stop talking takes over every show and while he clearly does his homework he is so dominant that, like with Smackdown, it felt like it was the JBL show, and that when it was over you don’t remember the matches as much as you remember hearing JBL commentate for three hours. Said his going off on tangents hurt some of the matches, most notable Finlay vs. Regal, although that match was already hurt by the crowd.

 

London and Kendrick vs. Kash and Noble: ***1/4.

Dave noted there some funny signs in the audience about livers, and brought up one that read, “I came to see who is left”.

Fit Finlay vs. William Regal: **1/4. Said the match didn’t work on both storyline levels, as Finlay was playing face and Regal the heel but nobody caught on, and Cole never directed things to set that storyline up. Said the crowd was dead except for “boring” chants which Cole said was because fans wanted to see Lashley. Dave jokes that he didn’t know Lashley’s nickname was “boring”.

Gregory Helms vs. Matt Hardy: ***1/4.

Called the angle with Show and Khali attacking Undertaker shockingly weak for what it was meant to do, that being set up Show replacing Khali, but says they didn’t want Undertaker hurt so much that he’d have to sell the whole match, and that they also wanted to protect Khali. Says they got lucky, because putting Khali in there for 20:00 would have made for one of the worst matches of all time plus he would likely have lost, but now he can come back for the program and still be untouched.

Undertaker vs. Big Show: -*. Said that after JBL compared Undertaker to Michael Jordan in his final year with the Washington Wizards, and how he used to be the greatest and he’s only showing flashes of it, when Undertaker won he said he was like Jordan in his prime. To which Dave commented, “Yeah, maybe Orlando Jordan.

Four-Way bra and panties match: DUD. Said Dean Malenko got a lot of heat for this one, as he tried to book a wrestling match out of it.

Mr Kennedy vs. Batista: **1/2.

Booker T vs. Rey Mysterio: ***.

 

Other News

 

As well as Hunter and Vince not being at Raw, Brian Gewirtz was not there having taken a week off for a vacation.

 

Vince did not like the Bash and wanted to re-evaluate everything on television that week. Vince rewrote Raw after the Bash and when he left the show had to be rewritten again. Vince was in constant cell phone contact with the writers, approving the new show as it was being written.

 

Chris Benoit is expected back in the fall, although there is no timetable set.

 

Dave said he liked the DX stuff for the first two weeks but that is now become unbearable. He called the segment with Michaels that opened the show the single worst one he can recall Shawn being a part of. Dave also said that when Shawn was rolling around laughing that almost nobody was laughing with him and that he went from cool to the epitome of uncool.

 

There was talk of sending some of the Spirit Squad to Smackdown to bolster their roster.

 

Said Foley’s promo’s are so good that while they are not turning Flair heel that a number of anti-Flair signs are showing up. Also said that Flair really needs a great promo right now but that he is not getting the chance to give one.

 

Said the gimmick with Batista and Mr Kennedy is that Batista can’t find a way to pin him even though he dominates.

 

There were problems between WWE and the staff of the Joe Louis building over the Smackdown and ECW tapings, among them being the building staff not being told about the pyro testing, and when they tested the pyro some security staff from the outside rushed in thinking that a bomb might have gone off.

[KingPK 0]

Said Foley’s promo’s are so good that while they are not turning Flair heel that a number of anti-Flair signs are showing up. Also said that Flair really needs a great promo right now but that he is not getting the chance to give one.

 

Well we all know that Flair can't cut a money promo to save his life, so that's probably a good thing.

[Guest wildpegasus]

I wonder who will be suspended next.

 

It's good to hear Benoit's coming back in the fall. Apparantly, he had 2 surgeries recently. One for his shoulder and perhaps another for a hernia.

 

But honostly if they're never going to do anything with him (We NEED an Undertaker fight yesterday) than I just hope he leaves and goes to Japan or something.

[Guest wildpegasus]

Said Foley’s promo’s are so good that while they are not turning Flair heel that a number of anti-Flair signs are showing up. Also said that Flair really needs a great promo right now but that he is not getting the chance to give one.

 

Well we all know that Flair can't cut a money promo to save his life, so that's probably a good thing.

 

For some reason, the WWE doesn't believe he can cut a promo.

[Guest Princess Leena]

I like how Dave assumes Lashley and Khali took steroids, but doesn't group Crazy in there when he had the same liver problem.

[KingPK 0]

Yeah, that's kind of the point I was making. Guess I should have used the [sarcasm] tag.

[Guest wildpegasus]

Yeah, that's kind of the point I was making. Guess I should have used the [sarcasm] tag.

 

Not needed. It can be tough to note sarcasm on the internet but I say your post came off as obvious sarcasm.

[Guest Oblivious Heel]

Neither Hardy nor Kash have known medical issues that would cause their suspension, despite what has been said elsewhere, and Kash’s suspension had nothing to do with behavior.

 

If it's not medical or behavioral then what the fuck is Kash suspended for?

[Jericholic82 0]

wwe.com says Lashley has been cleared to compete by doctors

 

hmmmmmmm

[The Niggardly King 0]

For being himself

[Atticus Chaos 0]

Did Hardy fails the wellness?

[Maztinho 0]

I like how Dave assumes Lashley and Khali took steroids, but doesn't group Crazy in there when he had the same liver problem.

 

Yeah... but Crazy isn't like UBER-RIPPED either. Or is he? [/shifty eyes]

[Hunter's Torn Quad 0]

Neither Hardy nor Kash have known medical issues that would cause their suspension, despite what has been said elsewhere, and Kash’s suspension had nothing to do with behavior.

 

If it's not medical or behavioral then what the fuck is Kash suspended for?

He does say known medical issues, so it could be something medical but it isn't known what it is.

[bob_barron 0]

Isn't Lashley coming back? So I guess it wasn't that serious.

 

What did Matt Hardy do?

[Hunter's Torn Quad 0]

Isn't Lashley coming back? So I guess it wasn't that serious.

 

What did Matt Hardy do?

Possibly steroids. Some of the suspensions were for violating the steroid tests and not all of the names are known yet.

[Just John 0]

I'm still upset that everyone being suspended is from SD.

 

You're telling me no one on Raw besides Masters is on the roids? Please.

[BigPoppaKev 0]

So Angle failed for steroids?

[Art Sandusky 0]

That's because the different rosters may have been tested at different times.

[Hunter's Torn Quad 0]

That's because the different rosters may have been tested at different times.

That is correct.

 

So Angle failed for steroids?

 

Painkillers. He really shouldn't be back until he's kicked whatever habit he has but that was never going to happen.

[Guest Human Highlight Reel]

For Raw on 7/17, the biggest segment gain was for Cena being interviewed by Matt Striker and Cena’s match with Umaga, which gained over 1 million viewers (1,021,000).

Matt Striker = Ratings

[Guest wildpegasus]

Isn't Lashley coming back? So I guess it wasn't that serious.

 

What did Matt Hardy do?

 

He apparantly still had dormant trace elements of a staph infection which plagued him months ago.

[Lil' Bitch 0]

Did Hardy fails the wellness?

 

Just a little update on Matt for the sake of killing any rumors and assumptions as to his status.

 

Simply enough, when Matt was given the standard blood test, they found dormant trace elements of the Staph infection which plagued him many months ago.

 

After a light antibiotic treatment and a few weeks off to properly rest, Matt will be back...

 

Edit: Damn, it, WP, beat me to it. Curse you!

[Guest wildpegasus]

Did Hardy fails the wellness?

 

Just a little update on Matt for the sake of killing any rumors and assumptions as to his status.

 

Simply enough, when Matt was given the standard blood test, they found dormant trace elements of the Staph infection which plagued him many months ago.

 

After a light antibiotic treatment and a few weeks off to properly rest, Matt will be back...

 

Edit: Damn, it, WP, beat me to it. Curse you!

 

Sorry buddy!

[benn 0]

wwe.com says Lashley has been cleared to compete by doctors

Yeah, I was going to say that too.

[Hunter's Torn Quad 0]

Neither Hardy nor Kash have known medical issues that would cause their suspension, despite what has been said elsewhere, and Kash’s suspension had nothing to do with behavior.

 

If it's not medical or behavioral then what the fuck is Kash suspended for?

They found traces of a drug in his system that he does not have a prescription for.

[Guest Euronymous]

Four-Way bra and panties match: DUD. Said Dean Malenko got a lot of heat for this one, as he tried to book a wrestling match out of it.

God forbid that there should be any attempts at wrestling made on a wrestling show.

[Hunter's Torn Quad 0]

Four-Way bra and panties match: DUD. Said Dean Malenko got a lot of heat for this one, as he tried to book a wrestling match out of it.

God forbid that there should be any attempts at wrestling made on a wrestling show.

I guess they wanted it to be less of a wrestling match and more of a skin and pantie show.

[Vern Gagne 0]

That's what it should be, if they want to go down that road.

 

When do they start testing for RAW, and ECW?

[Vyce 0]

Dave said he liked the DX stuff for the first two weeks but that is now become unbearable. He called the segment with Michaels that opened the show the single worst one he can recall Shawn being a part of.

 

WAS IT?

 

Goddamn, sometimes Dave reaches Tony Schiavone levels of hyperbole.

 

Said Foley’s promo’s are so good that while they are not turning Flair heel that a number of anti-Flair signs are showing up. Also said that Flair really needs a great promo right now but that he is not getting the chance to give one.

 

I noticed this on RAW yesterday. It's a real problem. Maybe it's that they're not letting Flair give that killer promo for this feud, and that Foley is allowed to just say whatever he wants, but Foley is kicking Flair's ass when it comes to the verbal end of this feud. It's not even really close.

[The Niggardly King 0]

Said Foley’s promo’s are so good that while they are not turning Flair heel that a number of anti-Flair signs are showing up. Also said that Flair really needs a great promo right now but that he is not getting the chance to give one.

 

I noticed this on RAW yesterday. It's a real problem. Maybe it's that they're not letting Flair give that killer promo for this feud, and that Foley is allowed to just say whatever he wants, but Foley is kicking Flair's ass when it comes to the verbal end of this feud. It's not even really close.

 

I don't know... all Flair has to do is come out and do his crazy old man routine... seems like he had most of the crowd back on his side.