Wrestling Observer thread

[Kazuya Mishima]

Cormier treated him more like a hooker...cheap one at that.

[Fat Cat]

He a hooker alright.

[Ericc]

On Wrestling Books - Kurt Angle's book is pretty good as is Rick Flair's.
I also enjoyed Brett Harts book.
If you can find Gene Lebells book it's a fun read too - if you can't find it let me know and I'll send it too you (Fat Cat)

[Fat Cat]

Thanks Eric, I'll look around. It's "The Godfather of Grappling" or something right?

[Ericc]

Yep, Godfather of Grappling - although I think it originally came out under the title The Toughest Man in The World.
The History of Stampede Wrestling is pretty good too - a lot of details on some legit tough guys (Bad News Brown)

[T200]

The History of Stampede Wrestling is pretty good too - a lot of details on some legit tough guys (Bad News Brown)

If you or anyone else wants a copy of the Bad News Brown/Allen Wrestling Observer obituary send me an e-mail and I'll forward it.

[T200]

5-28 issue

The fate of UFC’s two potentially biggest matches of the year was decided at a meeting of the Nevada State Athletic Commission on 5/21. In the end, it appears fans will get Chael Sonnen, as the fourth fighter in history approved by the commission for testosterone replacement therapy, facing Anderson Silva for the middleweight title on 7/7 in Las Vegas.

As for the other biggest match of the year, Georges St. Pierre vs. Nick Diaz, that’s not happening any time soon, as the commission suspended Diaz for one year based on his second marijuana test positive on a test taken after his 2/4 loss to Carlos Condit. Diaz was fined 30% of his purse from 2/4, or $79,500 of his combination $200,000 listed purse and $65,000 best fight bonus.

Both decisions were passed unanimously. And watching both hearings, despite controversy after the fact based on the handling of the two cases, and Diaz being suspended longer than Alistair Overeem, while Sonnen was given a green light to use testosterone, the two decisions this week were the obvious decisions based on the testimony.

While there is the natural reaction that Diaz got one year for smoking a joint at the wrong time, while Alistair Overeem got nine months for anabolic steroids, they were two entirely different cases. My feeling is Overeem should have gotten harsher punishment, at least a full year out, because even though it was his first failure, that failure came on the heels of a series of shady circumstances in November and December when it came to drug testing.

But the Diaz case was different. I don’t know why it was, but in the end, while I agreed with the suspension, and if you heard the testimony, it would be hard not to, I still felt sorry for the guy. A marijuana positive cost him $79,500 in fines, and a lot more money for not getting a match with Condit this summer, and the potential of millions had he beaten Condit and then faced GSP. Not to mention how much it cost to get Ross Goodman, one of the most respected lawyers in Nevada, to represent him in the case. Plus, he’s, at 28, missing out on a peak performance year of his career.

And, with Diaz, who can predict how he will react to this setback. He’s often unhappy and depressed even when he wins. His life consists of training all day, and smoking pot for relaxation. But the commission had no choice. It all came down to the famous statement Diaz made years ago when asked if his use of marijuana was going to get in the way of his fighting career, and he said it was that his fighting career is getting in the way of his use of marijuana.

There were simply too many things that came up during the testimony. Goodman kept trying to fight the battle on the idea that Diaz tested positive for a marijuana metabolite, not marijuana. The argument was that WADA (World Anti-Doping Agency) considered marijuana a drug that is only banned in competition. He argued that for marijuana to affect someone in competition, it would have to be smoked within a few hours of the fight, and that Diaz had stopped using it eight days before the fight. Pat Lundvall from the commission talked about marijuana being on the commission’s list of drugs prohibited at all-times, both in and out of competition. Goodman interpreted it differently. He said the results of the test (25 nanograms per milliliter, a far lower concentration than his 2007 positive test, but more than the 15 nanograms base that WADA allows) would be consistent with someone who ceased usage eight days ago. Others testified that the ratio is not an indicator of how long ago someone ceased using.

Goodman later told MMAFighting.com, “It was clear that the commissioners didn’t really prepare for the hearing. It was really alarming the fact that something so basic, so clear, which is that marijuana in general is allowed out of competition but not in competition. To kick off the hearing suggesting there is no distinction indicated what was to come after that.”

After the hearing, Goodman has threatened to take the commission to court, trying to get a District Court judge to rule on the commission’s handling of the case. They were in court last week and while the court ordered Diaz to get an immediate hearing, they also ruled that the commission had the authority to rule on the case. Goodman said they could file a motion asking for a hold on the suspension that would allow him to continue fighting while the case was in progress.

He also argued that Diaz had not lied on his fight form, which he was charged with. Diaz failed to disclose usage of marijuana going into the 2/4 fight with Carlos Condit when asked if there were any prescription drugs and over the counter medications he was using. Goodman said marijuana in California, where there are medical conditions that allow usage, is not a prescription drug or an over the counter drug. When Diaz was asked if he had any serious medical condition, he said he didn’t, although in a letter from Diaz’s doctor in 2009 to him, the letter said the ADHD he was suffering from since childhood was those exact words, a serious medical condition.

Goodman argued Diaz the day before the fight was thinking of something like a heart condition or cancer as what would be a serious medical condition. The arguments about not lying on the form by Goodman seemed reasonable, even though the commission was negative about them. The argument that his test being positive for metabolites of marijuana shouldn’t be a marijuana failure was not going to fly. Goodman’s argument was the WADA code, but when WADA’s Dr. Barry Sample testified that their interpretation for a drug banned in competition meant that if you test positive for it in a test taken 12 hours before or after competition. WADA, in Diaz’s case would have ruled him in violation.

However, Goodman conceded that the WADA code does prohibit having the metabolite in your system during a drug test taken in competition, but even though Nevada may have used WADA’s prohibited list of banned substances, they have not enacted WADA’s code. He said the Nevada rule prohibits banned substances, but he contend that metabolites of marijuana are not marijuana, and thus not banned. The commission at every turn rejected that argument.

He also complained about the commission trying to portray marijuana as performance enhancing, but it was Diaz’s testimony and claims that made that point, nobody else’s, and said WADA, by not banning marijuana out of competition, while banning PED’s out of competition, has thus ruled marijuana is not a PED.

What hurt him the most before the commission was in 2007, after he tested positive the first time after a Pride win over Takanori Gomi, he was conciliatory, said he learned a lesson, and would no longer use marijuana. But when asked at this commission hearing, when his testimony in 2007 was brought up, how quickly did he use marijuana after initial hearing, he said, “I imagine when I got home.”

In addition, in his petitioning to California to allow him to fight after all of his problems related to usage of pot and no-showing a test, he claimed to have a medical marijuana card. But when Nevada requested evidence for the card, Diaz never provided it and eventually admitted he didn’t have the card. He did have a recommendation from a doctor from 2009, and another letter from April of 2012, stating the doctor recommended him using it. However, the term of the letters were said to be one year. By 2/4, the time of the first letter ran out years ago, and he never went to the doctor to get his policy renewed until after testing positive.

Diaz claimed marijuana was a performance enhancer and admitted using it during hard sparring, saying it increases his senses and allows him to concentrate harder on avoiding being hit with punches. He also claimed it allowed him to concentrate better in Jiu Jitsu training. He also said it increased his ability to train, his ability to stay on a strict diet, to cut weight, and to maintain a disciplined lifestyle. He said during the last week before a fight when he gives it up to attempt to pass the test, it changes his energy level, makes it harder to sleep, makes him more restless and creates issues with his appetite while having to diet hard and cut weight.

In addition, there was testimony from Keith Kizer that Diaz’s test on 10/31, after his fight with B.J. Penn in Las Vegas came back “Abnormal/negative,” meaning that he didn’t test positive for any drug, but abnormal because the lab believed there was an attempt to dilute the sample. Kizer also felt Diaz was attempting to dilute the sample on 2/4, because it was two-and-a-half hours after the fight before Diaz left a sample. Kizer said he only did so because the commission threatened to withhold his pay for the fight until he left a sample. Kizer said there was “definitely an attempt in both cases to dilute the sample.”

Lundvall spoke at the end of the Diaz hearing, saying the test result was conclusive and there was no indication in any testimony that testing positive for a metabolite of marijuana is not an indication of marijuana usage. She said that the athlete is responsible for the results of their drug test. She said she wished he would have at least applied for a therapeutic use exemption for marijuana, because she had problems with his integrity based on his answers on his form where he didn’t mention using it.

She said she felt Diaz was very smart, she had great admiration for his intelligence, but she had issues with the way his story has changed so many times, particularly when it came out he didn’t have a medical marijuana card, she said it was a credibility issue, and suggested a suspension and fining him 30% of his listed earnings.

Commissioner Bill Brady Jr. stated that they had a boxer who tested positive for marijuana twice, and the decision was made to double the usual six months suspension, and felt that was the fair sentence in this case.

For Sonnen, he submitted multiple documents and had taken both steroid tests and blood tests about a week before the hearing to the point they joked it was amazing he had any blood left.

Sonnen got his TUE based on the advice of Dr. Timothy Trainor, a Sports Medicine doctor in Las Vegas who works with the commission. The commission ruled that Sonnen would have to undergo regular blood testing of his serum testosterone level and it must always fall within normal ranges. They specified in particular that the morning after his fight with Anderson Silva he had to agree to a serum testosterone test and fall within normal limits and that he would regularly be asked for blood tests to make sure he stayed within range, and these blood tests would be at his own expense.

This would not be the usual T/E test, because with the condition he has, his body is likely to be producing a low level of epi-testosterone, so it is possible his T/E level may be off with a normal level of testosterone. Another condition is that he would not be allowed to take a shot after 7/1, or six days before the fight, so he’d have to skip his usual Thursday shot.

Trainor said the diagnosis of Sonnen with Hypogonadism, which means his body produces low levels of testosterone, was accurate. He said he believed Sonnen’s doctor had actually misdiagnosed him as having primary Hypogonadism and he believed it was actually secondary Hypogonadism based on him having normal FSH and LH levels. Secondary Hypogonadism is often related to problems with the pituitary gland or hypothalamus. It can occur in conjunction with gynocomastia, a condition known as bitch tits that comes from steroid use. But there are a number of things it can come from, and there is a theory out now that blows to the head can create issues with the pituitary gland that leads to low production of testosterone, and why this condition is seeming to affect fighters at a younger age and in far higher percentage than the public at large. It should be noted that there absolutely are cases of guys creating a low testosterone production by getting off a steroid cycle and being checked, but in the case of Sonnen, there were enough tests done that his condition is legitimate. But if he had been using testosterone consistently since 2008, as he testified, it would be no surprise his body would be producing a low level naturally.

Trainor said that the problem with the diagnosis was with the doctor and not with Sonnen, but that he believed he had a legitimate medical issue. When asked what the cause was, he said they could not determine that. When asked directly if you can test and determine if this problem comes from steroid use, Trainor said you couldn’t.

This was a key because Kizer has said that Nevada would not give a TUE for testosterone for anyone who had used steroids. But this testimony would indicate that it would only be people who have a failed steroid test in their past that could be determined had used steroids.

Sonnen becomes the fourth fighter in the state of Nevada, along with Dan Henderson, Todd Duffee and Shane Roller, to be given a TUE with testosterone. What is notable is with the exception of Duffee, the other three have all competed as amateur wrestlers at a high level since childhood, and have decades of weight cutting. It is not conclusive that years of hard weight cutting lowers testosterone of men in their early and mid-30s, but you can’t help but note what all three had in common. Kizer didn’t give an exact number, but indicated that prior to Sonnen, about ten fighters had applied, and the others had been turned down for a variety of reasons. He did expect a lot more fighters to apply given all the publicity from this case and from Rampage Jackson’s case.

I still have issues with TUE’s in competitive sports, because most commissions simply don’t monitor them well enough to prevent taking advantage of the system and it’s ridiculously easy for a celebrity to find a doctor that will write him a prescription for anything. Plus, it’s pretty common knowledge how to artificially manipulate ones testosterone level low because that’s a gimmick bodybuilders have used for years. But there are people who do have legitimate medical conditions that require artificial testosterone. There is no reason they shouldn’t be able to use that for health reasons. Whether they should be allowed to use them and also compete in professional sports that test for drugs is a different issue.

Sonnen was most recently tested for his serum testosterone level on 5/5 and 5/15, being low the first time and normal the second time, both while undergoing therapy of two shots per week. He said he missed his 5/3 shot due to traveling which is why his test came in low two days later.

What wasn’t talked about at the hearing is that Sonnen claimed he had been taking two shots per week since 2008–every Sunday and every Thursday, except sometimes missing a shot when traveling. He fought regularly, including several times in Nevada. He was tested regularly during that period. He never tested positive for artificial testosterone until his 2010 fight with Anderson Silva, when he admitted to taking a shot two days before the fight .

Sonnen claimed that he would get sick an average of three times per month dating back to childhood, but that was just him and he never worried about it, figuring it was from all the training and traveling he did, along with weight cutting, and lack of sleep.

Lundvall gave him the exact same line of questioning she gave King Mo Lawal, regarding in all his fights in Nevada, never listing on the form that he had used testosterone. He claimed his former manager (Matt Lindand, although Lindland’s name was never mentioned) had told him he was cleared for use in Nevada and Florida by the commission. He said Lindland told him that Kizer had approved it under one condition, that he would never talk about it and never bring it up. Kizer noted that no such thing happened, and that Lindland also claimed to have asked him about this via e-mail and asked Florida, but neither his commission, the Florida commission, nor Lindland, have ever been able to find any such e-mail. Sonnen said that he followed instructions, never discussed his medical condition with anyone and followed the agreement.

“I contend I was told it (the agreement with Kizer) happened. I don’t contend it happened. My manager still contends it happened. I was told four years ago and it’s what I believed at the time.”

He said he applied for a TUE in both Illinois and Texas for his fights with Michael Bisping and Brian Stann, respectively. He said he never got anything in writing one way or another from those commissions, but was licensed and his condition was disclosed, and he did have follow up blood exams in Illinois.

While not opposing the license, Kizer did mention that he was told by Mr. (Dana) White and Mr. (Marc) Ratner that, “He lied about you, Marc, Jeff Davidson (a doctor affiliated with UFC, all at the California hearing when he got his suspension halved, although he was later suspended a second time). That’s who he is.”

Skip Avansino, the chairman of the commission, said he believed Sonnen was being honest at this hearing, although noted he had a history of issues in California, but he did his time.

[T200]

Linda McMahon captured the Republican party’s official endorsement as its candidate for the 2012 U.S. Senate race in Connecticut on 5/18.

McMahon defeated rival Christopher Shays 730-389 at the convention among party delegates. Shays, as expected, has insisted on staying in the race and battling it out again in the primary. The party wasn’t happy about that as they were looking for a united party to get behind McMahon this go-around. Shays did agree that if he doesn’t win the primary, that he would back McMahon.

McMahon is campaigning on the theme that our economy isn’t working and pointing to her experience as a job creator, although not pushing the WWE aspect of it since that was a negative lightning rod the last time she ran.

McMahon was flanked on the stage as the votes came in by Vince McMahon, Shane McMahon, Stephanie and Paul Levesque (HHH). Linda said she wanted to start targeting Chris Murphy, her likely Democratic opponent in the November general election.

There was no surprise as McMahon was widely expected to win handily here. In this election, she is spending a fraction of the $50 million she spent the first time. She’s trying to portray herself as a self-made success story. As of the end of April, she had raised $3.7 million, of which $2.8 million was her own money.

There are two schools of thought among the Republicans, some who like the idea of someone with money running so the party doesn’t have to fund the campaign, and others think it’s a waste because she has too much baggage with pro wrestling and can’t win. In polls, McMahon runs ahead of Shays with Republicans, but Shays runs stronger against Murphy if the general election was to be held now.

In a New York Times interview last week, they noted McMahon avoided answering any questions about global warming or same-sex marriage. She is targeting women voters, a group she did poorly in when she ran in 2010, because women voters were very negative about the pro wrestling product she was linked with. That’s why she’s trying to not play up pro wrestling.

It’s also why we’re going to be seeing more and more Make-a-Wish and anti-bullying stuff on WWE television over the next several months, as WWE this time is trying to go on the offensive before any possible negative publicity hits.

Rob Simmons, who lost in the Republican primary to McMahon in 2010, was backing Shays, and said the goal should be winning the overall election for the Republicans and polls show him the stronger candidate to win, and noted that the party went through this two years ago and it turned out badly.

“All the money in the world can’t win a candidate a race that has high unfavorables,” said Simmons.

McMahon, 63, is going to try and reposition herself by pushing her childhood, thinking that voters thought she grew up as part of a rich family and saw her as someone who grew up with a silver spoon in her mouth. She wants to push she came from a modest upbringing and through hard work became a multi-millionaire. That was also a message she tried to tell in the first election, pushing the idea that her family went through bankruptcy and pulled themselves out of it.

The deaths of wrestlers was used as an issue against her, and in the last two years, there have not been as many of the young deaths of prominent wrestlers like there were during her campaign, particularly when Lance Cade and Luna Vachon both died the usual wrestler deaths during the heart of the campaign.

The finals of the Strikeforce heavyweight Grand Prix tournament over the weekend leaves you with the impression of just how fast things have changed in 15 months.

The tournament started in February, 2011, billed as the greatest heavyweight tournament in history, due to the big four of Alistair Overeem, Josh Barnett, Fabricio Werdum, and the biggest star of them all, Fedor Emelianenko. The event promised the dream match of Emelianenko vs. Overeem in the second round.

At the time, Daniel Cormier was a rookie fighter, albeit one with plenty of promise given the athletic ability of a former captain of the U.S. Olympic wrestling team. Overeem was eliminated by firing after he won his first match. Emelianenko was eliminated after losing his first round match, and is now almost a forgotten man from another era. Werdum lost to Overeem and was moved to UFC. And Barnett made it to the finals.

His opponent, and the eventual tournament winner, was Cormier, who most describe as a really good guy who has had a really hard life. His father was shot and killed when he was seven on Thanksgiving Day. His young daughter died in a car accident.

In sports, the guy was an awesome athlete, three-time state champion in Louisiana in wrestling in high school and all-state in football. He had his share of triumphs, a two-time Junior College national champion, six national freestyle championships and was even champion in the old Real Pro Wrestling promotion. But on the big stage, something always came up short. At the 2001 NCAA tournament, he ran into Cael Sanderson in the finals. In the 2004 Olympics, he lost in the bronze medal match. In the 2008 Olympics, his body shut down trying to cut from 240 to 211 pounds, and when he was expected to be on the stand medaling, he was in the hospital trying to recover from kidney failure.

Cormier only started training in MMA two-and-a-half years ago, but entering the tournament as an alternate when Overeem was taken out, he won the big one, beating the far more experienced Josh Barnett. It was a battle of heavyweights who may not physically have looked the part of being well-conditioned. But they went five rounds at a pace heavyweights don’t fight at. And they stood up to punishment that would have put most fighters down several times. What made the match, largely striking on its feet, even more impressive is that Cormier broke his right and Barnett broke his left hand in the first round. Both continued to use the broken hands as primary offensive weapons.

Cormier won 50-45, 49-46 and 50-45.

While Barnett was able to keep up the pace, it was Cormier, much shorter, blockier, but with quicker hands, that was able to get the better of the stand-up. And much as Barnett talked about how MMA and wrestling are different sports and he was going to take Cormier down, he never came close to pulling that one off.

Right now, the agreement is that both men will fight once more in Strikeforce, at both an unknown time and against unknown opponents. At that point, Cormier will be moved to UFC, where he may start out being put right at or near the top of the heavyweight mix. For Barnett, his future isn’t as certain. He’s been on the outs with UFC and Dana White for a decade. But his places to make big money are drying up. Strikeforce is dropping its heavyweight division. Japan is dead. Japanese pro wrestling is weak. Barnett actually would have made a better star for the Bellator/TNA connection, because he’s a very good pro wrestler already, and a strong promo, and with the exception of champion Cole Konrad, I don’t see many Bellator heavyweights who would stand much of a chance against him. Even with the loss, there are a ton of interesting UFC matches for Barnett, who didn’t know where he would end up.

Chyna’s condition moved to red alert on the scary standpoint this past weekend when the 41-year-old former WWF star passed out three times while in Miami for festivities related to the Exxxotica Expo, a porn convention. The first incident took place on 5/17 when she attended an evening pool party at the Catalina Hotel. She was said to be acting strange, took off all her clothes and jumped into the swimming pool. Given that this was a porn convention, it wasn’t the taking off her clothes and jumping in a public pool that constituted acting strange. However, she suddenly passed out while in the swimming pool and they had to pull her out. She was at that point taken back to her room to sleep it off. The next afternoon at 4 p.m., she passed out while backstage at the convention, just before she was scheduled for an autograph session. It was reported first that she was taken to the hospital, but she claimed she was taken back to her room to rest. She was there both to sign autographs and promote a Vivid Entertainment porn release, “Avengers XXX” where she plays She-Hulk. She claimed she had a cold and it was a reaction to overdoing it on cold medicine, mixed with drinking a glass of wine. Then, on 5/19, back at the convention, she passed out again. This time she was rushed to Mount Siani Hospital in Miami and a photo of her slumped over in a wheelchair made it to TMZ and a number of other outlets. Chyna has been troubled dating back to her teenage years if not earlier and from most accounts has never been the same since HHH broke up with her for Stephanie and WWF then pulled out in negotiations with her over a new contract, stating her contract demands were out of whack. Even though HHH was not in the McMahon family, he still carried a lot of pull and Chyna’s push where she would wrestle and defeat men, including holding the IC title twice, was due to HHH’s influence and something that a number of key people in the company were strongly against. When they broke up, she no longer had that protection and it was decreed she could only wrestle women, but they were pushing her as the top female star because she had a great deal of name value. There was unhappiness when she was put in a program with Lita and it was designed to get Lita over as the new star and Chyna outworked her politically and the program didn’t work out like management wanted. She appeared on Celebrity Rehab in 2008, but was in denial of having any problems even though it had been pretty clear from her track record that she had issues. TNA wanted her early on in their existence but there were money issues that couldn’t be reached. She did eventually do one PPV show one year ago as Kurt Angle’s mystery partner in a tag match with Jeff & Karen Jarrett. That show did several thousand buys above norm and she was the only unique thing on the show, and the match was not as bad as feared. But at the same time, she announced she was going to be regularly doing XXX movies and TNA washed their hands of her after the PPV match.

[T200]

Miguel Aaron Lopez Hernandez ( El Hijo de Rey Misterio I) and his brother, 18-year-old Esteban Daniel Lopez Hernandez were arrested on 5/16 on charges of being in possession of a kilo of crystal, or ice (methamphetamines) as the drug is known. The two brothers were in a fight in front of their father’s house (Miguel Lopez, the original Rey Misterio, now crippled from his decades in the ring) in Rosarito Beach in Baja California. Police came to break up the fight and believed the two were impaired, and searched their car and found two lined packages of the drug, Both were arrested. El Hijo de Rey Misterio I, known as Aaron Lopez, was a pretty good drawing card in Hispanic cities in California and Nevada, drawing some very big independent crowds. Promoters would put photos of him on posters, and since he wears the same mask, similar contacts and the same tattoos as the WWE wrestler, who is his first cousin, many fans bought tickets thinking they were seeing the WWE star. It wasn’t that unusual for him to headline shows drawing 1,000 to 1,500 fans in some towns. Just a few days earlier he had worked a Southern California show that drew 1,000 fans. With the arrest, there was some immediate question as to whether he’d be able to come to or work in the U.S. It’s also telling in Mexican culture that this made the newspapers in Tijuana. Photos of both brothers appeared in the papers, but neither was identified as El Hijo de Rey Misterio I even though he regularly headlines in the city.

King Mo was on Inside MMA and said TNA was going to get him a custom-made throne for his ring entrance. He said he’s hoping to start in OVW in two months. We’ve heard now they want him on television in November, and his deal would be appearing on one set of tapings each month during Bellator season. Mo and Daniel Cormier on Inside MMA, who also was a big pro wrestling fan growing up, when the subject of Mo forming a Four Horseman like group was brought, said if Mo was going to team with anyone, it would be him. Cormier said that Mo can be Arn Anderson (one of Mo’s all-time favorites) so he can be Flair. Mo joked back that Cormier would be Ole Anderson, not Flair. Cormier shot back and said if they were going to be the Four Horsemen, then Mo would be the Luger.

Jon Jones was arrested at 5:02 a.m. on 5/19 and charged with a DWI in Binghamton, NY, after he crashed his 2012 Bentley Continental GT into a utility pole. He was later released when a family member posted bond. He will have a hearing on 5/29, and a pre-trial probably around August where he could plea bargain down or ask for a trial. If he asks for a trial and is convicted, he will face a maximum one year in prison and a $1,000 fine. Jones was driving with a passenger, whose name was not identified. What makes this story bigger than a usual DWI charge is not just his celebrity status, but his public portrayal, both in talking heavily about religion in interviews and saying that he was the kind of guy that you never have to worry about being arrested on a DUI charge. Rashad Evans during the promotion of the match kept saying that people can see through Jones, 24, and that he’s not what he says he is, but would never elaborate further. It also came out after the fact that on 11/24, while in Albuquerque, Jones was driving his Bentley when, according to the police report, it came around the corner sideways with the tires squealing. The car continued at a high rate of speed before pulling into the parking lot of Fantasy World (a fully nude adult club). Police approached him at the time and found that he was driving on a suspended license. He was cited for loss of traction while driving and operating a vehicle with a suspended license, and his vehicle was towed away. Those charges were dismissed on 3/8. The situation is that Jones had been looking at high level sponsorships, like Nike. These incidents will be quickly forgotten and won’t affect his drawing power. They pale to what Floyd Mayweather Jr.’s conviction for attacking his children’s mother and being sentenced to 90 days, yet that meant nothing when it came to Mayweather’s PPV numbers. As far as sponsorships, who knows, but in time, they’ll be forgotten. But he will have a hard time convincing fans of the sincerity of the image he has tried to project.

Both WWE and UFC may be in line for losing one of their biggest sponsors. A bill is gaining traction, as on 5/17 it was passed by the House Appropriations Committee, that would ban all military commercials and sponsorships of sports events. Pro wrestling was specifically written into the bill as a sports event in case some would have tried to argue the language, as was fishing. Several branches of the service have sponsored WWE and UFC events. The Marines are a major UFC sponsor and the National Guard is a major WWE sponsor (and the national guard is the prime reason Fit Finlay is no longer with WWE). The bill was mainly aimed at NASCAR, where the bulk of military sponsorship revenue is spent. According to Congresswoman Betty McCollum, a Minnesota Democrat who co-sponsored the bill, our military spent $121 million annually on sports event sponsorships and she feels that is wasteful spending. Of that money, $90 million went to various racing sports, with $80 million to sponsor NASCAR racing teams. The National Guard over the past five years has spent $136 million sponsoring Dale Earnhardt Jr. and his team. They also sponsored pro fishing to the tune of $20 million. The bill would not ban recruiters from attending sports events. McCollum in particular talked about how we’re cutting back on things like Meals on Wheels for senior citizens and nutrition for underprivileged children, this constitutes wasteful government spending. McCollum introduced this legislation last year, and it failed, but there is more support this time around. The bill would first have to pass in the House before going to the Senate. There is talk that in the Senate they would be able to pass the bill, but only a watered down version that would ban the military from sponsoring sports but would leave NASCAR as an exception, because there are key senators in states where NASCAR is strong that would block the bill if NASCAR was included. She’s considered a major enemy in NASCAR with them trying to paint her sponsorship of the bill as being part of an agenda against the sport. Patrick McHenry, a Republican from North Carolina said, “This (bill) shows that she is on the warpath against NASCAR. This is more about her disdain for NASCAR than it really is about saving taxpayers’ money.” She claimed it makes no sense in a budget crunch to give any sports organization money with all the cuts being made, and also noted that last year racetrack owners received $45 million in tax breaks. Yeah, NASCAR and WWE get huge tax breaks while our national debt increases.

Chael Sonnen, right now at 222 pounds, won Jim Rome’s smacktalker of the year competition. Sonnen was asked to be involved as Rome said he interviews all the greatest talkers in sports and said Sonnen blows all of them away. It was people calling in on the phone cutting promos and Sonnen did a promo ripping every major sport. He’s also been doing more Superstar Graham inspired stuff, clearly he’s been doing Youtube searches on him, although this promo was not inspired by anyone in wrestling.

[T200]

Fedor Emelianenko, 35, has said this week that his 6/21 fight with Pedro Rizzo in St. Petersburg, Russia will be his final fight. He seemed last February after losing to Bigfoot Silva that he was wanting to retire. But since the entire M-1 Global organization was built around him, a few days later he changed his mind. He’s hinted a few times in the past two weeks that this would be his final fight, and when directly asked the question, said, “Yes, I think it’s time to end my career.” It’s amazing how quickly things change in this industry because in February, Emelianenko vs. Bigfoot Silva set Showtime’s ratings record and he still headlined in a wild one round fight with Dan Henderson last July. The loss to Henderson, in a great brawl that really could have gone either way since both big punchers hurt the other and Henderson was in serious trouble before coming back, was devastating became it came after a first round submission loss to Fabricio Werdum in one of the most amazing moments in MMA history, and the loss to Silva. Worse, when Silva was knocked out by Daniel Cormier in his next fight after he largely had dominated Emelianenko, it destroyed most of the leverage M-1 Global had as far as holding people over the barrel to use him. While some will dismiss the Dana White stories of crazy Russians and Vadummy (manager Vadim Finkelchstein, whose demands were so high UFC never made a deal with Fedor even though they badly wanted to put Fedor vs. Brock Lesnar at Cowboys Stadium), everyone who did business with M-1 Global ended up telling horror stories after it was over. He left in his wake a series of dead promotions, banking on the idea that having the “best heavyweight in the world” was a valuable building block, that they paid $1.5 million to $2 million per fight to M-1 and gave them co-partnership in the shows. Henderson was the last fight of his contract, and it couldn’t have turned out worse for his crew, because he lost to a guy who was a small light heavyweight who had fought extensively at middleweight. The lack of response to the Emelianenko retirement is really an indication of how MMA has really become Zuffa or nothing. There will be extensive pressure on him for this not to be the case, because the entire M-1 promotion is likely to collapse without him to carry them. They have no other star where they could run major shows.

Blagoi Ivanov, a heavyweight who was formerly with Bellator, was brought back from a medically induced coma after being stabbed in a bar fight in Sofia, Bulgaria on 2/26. Ivanov and two friends were attacked by eight men at a bar called “Ice,” and he was stabbed below the armpit with the blade penetrating his heart. He needed six hours of surgery and was placed on a respirator. He regained consciousness a few days later but had problems with his lungs. But his condition then deteriorated and after surgery on 3/12, was placed in the coma. He was in last year’s heavyweight tournament, but was injured after winning his first round match. He was 6-0 with wins over Ricco Rodriguez and Kazuyuki Fujita. But he’s best known for beating Fedor Emelianenko in the 2008 world sambo championships, which, in hindsight, was really the first indication that Fedor had slipped.

Dan Madigan, who was on the creative team, talked about the WWE’s first-released movie, “See No Evil,” which he wrote the original script for. He brought up when they were filming the movie in Australia and he got a call from Gregory Dark, the director, saying, “Vince has a suggestion about the movie.

Vince wants this scene in the movie where Kane’s character pulls out his penis, and he wants it to be three feet long.

Yes, Vince wants Kane’s penis to be three feet long and none of the producers are saying anything about it (welcome to wrestling where the producers, with the idea of keeping on good terms with Vince, if there’s something on TV they don’t think is right, most of the time you just go with it; Pat Patterson, who is rarely around is the notable exception to this).

[T200]

1995 vintage obit for Big John Studd

Big John Studd passes away from cancer at 46

John William Minton, who was one of pro wrestling's biggest draws and most famous personalities during the period the World Wrestling Federation went national under the ring name Big John Studd passed away on March 20 from liver cancer after a 17-month long battle with Hodgkins Disease.

At 6-7 and 320 pounds during the mid-80s, Studd, who was one of the biggest wrestlers in the world at the time, was a frequent opponent for Andre the Giant and Hulk Hogan in the World Wrestling Federation. The matches were hardly classics, but they were a strong part of a package that packed buildings and paved the way for the early Wrestlemanias that pioneered national broadcasts of pro wrestling.

He discovered he'd contracted Hodgkins disease in November 1993. He found this out shortly after being a last minute fill-in for a match in October 1993 for his trainer, Walter "Killer" Kowalski in New England against Honkytonk Man when Kowalski found out the previous day that his scheduled main eventer, Jimmy Snuka, wouldn't be appearing. Studd, who was in town along with protege Ron Reis, had his wife fed-ex his wrestling gear to town to be a fill-in. While Studd was limited as a performer to begin with, when he got in the ring he realized he no stamina whatsoever and he and everyone watching realized something was wrong. Shortly thereafter, he was taking a shower and washing under his arms and felt a hard lump. He was also having chest pains. He went to the doctor who X-rayed his chest and found a large tumor in the middle of his chest.

Because he was an immensely prideful individual in not wanting to admit to anything potentially devastating and also because he was afraid if word got out that promoters would be afraid to book him for his planned comeback in wrestling as a tag team partner and coach for Reis, he tried to keep the news quiet. When it broke, he tried to downplay the severity of his condition except to his closest friends until the end.

Minton had been in Fairfax Hospital near his home in Burke, VA for the ten days leading to his death. During 1994, he spent approximately 20 weeks in the hospital in fighting Hodgkins Disease which went into remission first after chemotherapy, came back, and went into remission again after the bone marrow transplant. His lungs collapsed six weeks ago, but he recovered from that as well. On about the 10th, he started running a fever, was sick in the morning and was suffering terrible joint pain, all symptoms of cancer recurring. His fever reached 108 degrees, which was the highest fever any of his doctors had ever heard of for someone to not only live through, but suffer no brain damage from. Over the past month he had gotten strongly into religion stemming from a near-death experience when he was being worked on and could hear the doctors talk about being afraid of losing him.

"He had made his peace with God and Jesus Christ and he said he had tremendous peace when the doctor said that (he was afraid of losing him)," said Graham. "He said he had absolutely non fear of death because he was going to heaven. One time we talked for an hour about eternity. I guess he was feeling he was getting close."

Minton had three children, 14-year old John Jr., 11-year old Janelle and four-year old Sean. Funeral services were scheduled for 3/23 at St. Katherines Church in Falls Church, VA.

"He never complained or had any self pity," said Donny Laible, who was one of his few links toward the wrestling world the past few years. "He took it like a man. He was at peace with himself."

"I talked to him at about 2:45 p.m. (Mountain time, about two-and-a-half hours before he died)," said Billy Graham, who had kept in close contact with him the past few months, particularly recently, and had been good friends with him for 23 years. "I talked to him today but he couldn't talk. Donna (his wife) put the phone by his ear. All he could do was breathe.

"I don't know of anything more dramatic in my entire life then talking to one of your best friends and all you can do is hear him gasp for air.

"When we talked ten days ago, he told me his liver had holes. John asked me if it could have been all the matches with Andre because Andre would hit him in the side with that big hand. I didn't think so but told him it could be. He was happy if it would have been from Andre. He was trying to come up with something that would be a viable reason."

Minton was put back on chemotherapy three days earlier when the cancer had all but destroyed his liver and had spread throughout his body, and was told Friday morning that if the chemo didn't work, that he had less than a week to live. It wasn't until that point that his spirit and belief he would beat the cancer ever wavered.

"That was the first time he was ever negative," Graham said. "He said when they were treating him it was like treating a corpse because he was so tired. He resigned himself to the fact he might not make it, but even then he said `I still think I can beat it.'"

He had underwent a bone marrow transplant in October which only had a seven percent chance of success, but he beat strong odds when it sent the cancer into remission. They couldn't find a matching marrow donor, so they removed his bone marrow and then put it back in. As recently as a few weeks ago he sounded great to those talking to him on the phone and as recently as six weeks ago was told by his doctors that there was no reason he couldn't return to the ring within six months. However, the indication his physical condition was not as rosy as he wanted people to believe came when he was unable to travel to Baltimore for the WCW SuperBrawl PPV because of his health for a meeting with Eric Bischoff about using Reis.

Minton wrestled for 18 years after originally playing college basketball. Originally from Butler, PA, after college he gravitated toward Los Angeles and was training there under Charlie Moto in early 1972 when Kowalski was in town as the top heel. Kowalski helped break Minton in and Minton always credited Kowalski as his trainer and remained loyal to him. He started in California as The Mighty Minton as a large prelim wrestler. He returned home and worked in a glorified jobber role for the old WWWF under the ring name Chuck O'Connor.

"We met in Los Angeles and were tag teaming together, usually against the Tolos Brothers" remembered Graham. "We would potato those guys to death. We used to joke about how the poor Tolos Brothers had to deal with our inexperience. Studd and I were both so green and so big and strong at the time that we practically beat them to death. John (Tolos) would get in the ring with Studd and tell him to tag me. Then I'd get in with Chris (Tolos) and he'd tell me to tag Studd.

"John didn't have a car. We were living in North Hollywood and Burbank and I'd drive him to the matches. He was doing some bouncing in North Hollywood and I would drive him to work. He never forgot it. I didn't think it was a big thing since we were teaming together and he didn't have a car and I liked the guy, but it always stuck with him about me giving him rides back-and-forth."

His second WWWF stint was in 1976 with Kowalski as The Masked Executioners holding the tag team titles, which was his first major career push. Because of his size, unique in wrestling at the time, he was a headliner for most of the remainder of his career.

It was in Texas in 1977 that he picked up the name Big John Studd, a name which probably helped a great deal as far as his name recognition when wrestling went national seven years later. He had first come in under the name Captain USA, under a mask and ring costume similar to WCW's Patriot, as a heel feuding with the likes of Fritz Von Erich, Bruiser Brody and Stan Hansen. When he was unmasked, it was Houston promoter Paul Boesch who came up with the name he used most of the rest of his career. Ten years later he and Hansen were the only wrestlers to eulogize Brody at his funeral in Texas.

After working based out of Hawaii for about a year, he was part of the package when Jim Crockett Jr.'s Mid Atlantic territory went on fire using young wrestlers that were to become superstars in the business like Ric Flair, Ricky Steamboat and Greg Valentine. During that period Studd worked against one of the few wrestlers of that period who rivalled him for size in Blackjack Mulligan (Bob Windham). Studd used to always tell his kids that when they looked around the house, they should always thank Mulligan and Andre because they were the ones who made most of it possible.

At no time was Studd ever a classic worker or even an average worker. He was a very big man during a period in wrestling where three were only about three or four others in the business with that kind of size and the biggest draw of them all was Andre. Studd in that period just before the arrival of Hulk Hogan on the national scene, was along with Ernie Ladd and Mulligan the few men who came within a few inches of the 6-10 Andre and drew huge money programmed against him.

Studd was billed at between 6-6 and 6-8 during the bulk of his career. When the WWF went national, his billed height gravitated toward the 6-10 or even 6-11 mark to give him even more of a monster appeal, claiming to the "the real Giant" of pro wrestling for his feud with Andre, the gimmick Paul Lauria is now spoofing in ECW. He took to wearing thick lifts in his wrestling boots to accentuate his height as a gimmick and to give him the visual appearance of being the same height as Andre.

"He had a very hardcore attitude about pro wrestling as business," remembered Larry Matysik, who worked in the St. Louis office in the late 70s where Studd was flown in, first as Chuck O'Connor. "It was about money for him."

Studd did well with his money investing his wrestling earnings into local real estate around Virginia and Maryland, to where he was able to retire from wrestling and be financially well off enough that he never had to look back for financial reasons. He had largely gotten wrestling out of his blood before becoming friends with the 7-foot-2 Reis, a college basketball star out of Santa Clara University who grew up being a fan of Studd's during his WWF heyday and while being a high school and college star had always talked of possibly getting into wrestling. Studd introduced him to Kowalski and wanted to manage and team with Reis as a tag team called The Giants when he got his first major break with either the WWF or WCW.

Matysik recalled it was Studd's reputation as a basketball player as opposed to a wrestler that first got him into St. Louis, then considered the wrestling capital of North America. Sam Muchnick had agreed to coach a team of wrestlers against the local media in a celebrity basketball game in early 1978 and was trying to load up the wrestlers' side with guys who could play basketball. They brought in Studd, who had never worked in St. Louis previously, as a ringer of sorts, who they first called Chuck O'Connor, on a team with Ron Fuller (who played at the University of Miami), Greg Gagne, David Von Erich and Evan Johnson.

"He was pretty good (at basketball)," remembered Matysik. "He didn't look anything then like he looked later. We billed him at 298 pounds then and it was probably pretty legit."

After leaving the Carolinas and having a short stint in Georgia, Studd wound up with a lengthy tenure in the AWA forming a tag team with Jerry Blackwell and feuding with the likes of Mad Dog Vachon and The Crusher in the early 80s.

"He wasn't happy in the AWA," said Matysik, who used him in St. Louis, generally in the semifinals to put over babyfaces they were pushing for upcoming title matches, often during that time period. "He never got the push there he thought he deserved. He wasn't Verne's type of big man. Jerry Blackwell was, a big man who could take bumps for Greg. John didn't take bumps. He thought that was for the smaller guys working underneath and that the big men drew the money and he worked a big man style."

After leaving the AWA in 1981, he started the first of his three singles tours as a star with the WWF. The first run was as a foe for both Andre and Bob Backlund at all the big arenas throughout the Northeast. After a brief run in Florida feuding on top with Dusty Rhodes, he returned for another go-around, this time as Vince McMahon Jr. positioned himself for the national expansion. While never the focal player on the heel side in the expansion, Studd, the first WWF protege of Bobby Heenan, was a key surrounding element usually doing the monster bit underneath or working on top against Hogan or Andre, more frequently Andre. Perhaps his most famous angle was when he and Ken Patera cut Andre's hair off. Later he and King Kong Bundy formed a tag team for another run for Andre, and later the abortive feud with Andre and Bill Eadie as The Masked Machines. Well off financially and wanting to make it in Hollywood (he had a bit part in a Dudley Moore comedy with a few other wrestlers while in the WWF), he left pro wrestling in 1987 and did some acting gigs. While doing the movie "Marlboro Man," he was doing a stunt where he fell off his motorcycle. He would tell friends that he wouldn't admit to steroid use with that he believed the jarring to his system from the fall caused the Hodgkins Disease.

Studd was intensely defensive on the subject of steroids. While most wrestlers around in that era knew Studd used steroids, as did most during that era, he even hid it from his closest non-wrestler friends and always vehemently denied it to outsiders and the media. Those in wrestling remarked that Studd, who had told his wrestling friends that he had never used anything stronger than aspirin before entering wrestling, saw the kind of money Andre made and always wanted to gain that sort of freakish size or at least become the closest thing in pro wrestling to Andre, which may have led him to being a pioneer among wrestlers in the use of Growth Hormone. While Studd never had a bodybuilder look, his weight probably approached 400 pounds later in his career. His limited mobility suffered even more from the added weight, particularly the stress on his knees which plagued him greatly during his final WWF comeback.

"I remember him telling me he wanted to be like Andre, he wanted to be as big as he could get," said Graham. "He wanted to get as big as Andre. I think that led him into the Growth Hormone and he did grow. A wrestling magazine did a story showing before and after pictures of 10 or 15 wrestlers including John. The width between his eyes had widened by an inch at least because of the Growth Hormone. The Growth Hormone enlarged the bones in his forehead. At the time he thought the Growth Hormone was safer than steroids.

"When he first got sick, he was concerned that the Growth Hormone might not have caused the cancer but may have accelerated it. This was after (Lyle) Alzado's thing. He was concerned that the amount he had taken may have led to the cancer coming sooner than it would have."

Studd admitted to Graham one of his doctors said it was a possibility that the Growth Hormone could have not necessarily caused the Hodgkins Disease, but accelerated the onset of it.

Those within that scene noted that a recent bodybuilding champion named Dennis Newman, who was 20 years younger than Studd, is currently fighting the same Hodgkins Disease, a disease that is considered rare for someone in their mid-40s to contract, and has admitted to both steroid and Growth Hormone use and said his doctors said that he had the genes to get it, but his GH use could have sped the timetable up.

In 1991, when Graham underwent his hip replacement surgery and was told by doctors that his own steroid use was the cause and he estimated 90 percent of the WWF wrestlers at the time as being on steroids, Studd told him he was too low in his estimation. Ironically Studd, believing strongly he always had to protect the business to the end, during that period would publicly deny ever using steroids and said that reports of use in wrestling were exaggerated and that Graham's physical problems weren't due to steroids, and even denied there was a steroid problem in wrestling. Even after what Graham went through, Studd didn't want to believe any of Graham's health problems were really due to steroids because he felt if he accepted they were, he'd have no way to rationalize continuing to take steroids himself.

It wasn't until the McMahon trial during the summer of 1994 that Studd was forced to admit, under oath, in a strange scene of being under oath in the trial via telephone from his home, that he had used steroids. The government called him as a witness, amidst substantial protest from both McMahon and his lawyers, to recount a conversation Studd claimed he had with Zahorian where Zahorian told him about a conversation he and McMahon had regarding Zahorian telling McMahon he was distributing steroids to his wrestlers and McMahon not telling him to stop. It was also the first public admission of what Studd had been trying to hide from all but his closest friends for the previous eight months, that he suffering from Hodgkins Disease and had been so weakened from the chemotherapy that he couldn't travel to New York for the trail and had to testify via telephone. McMahon, having been around wrestlers his entire life, was vehement about wanting the name of his doctor and to call the doctor to get confirmation Studd wasn't making this up. Judge Jacob Mischler, not having been around wrestlers, seemed perplexed that McMahon wasn't willing to believe Studd was really that ill.

After insistence from the Titan lawyers, it would not be allowed to mention at the trial the reason, the illness, that Studd would be testifying by phone for fear the jury would tie his illness and the fact he would admit to purchasing steroids from Zahorian and regularly using them together, based on side effects of steroids that were to have been testified to later in the trial. Studd, who had a lawsuit out against Titan Sports at the time that has since gone unresolved, said at the trial that he believed Zahorian was doing himself and the wrestlers a great service because steroids were an important part of the wrestlers' regiment to help that maintain their performance level.

After a few years away from wrestling, Studd has his final run in 1989 returning to the WWF, this time as a babyface to feud with Andre, who had turned heel. McMahon gave Studd a major push, having him come out of the first PPV Royal Rumble in 1989 in Houston dominating the field and barely selling for anyone, including finalist Ted DiBiase, enroute to victory. However Studd had gained about 40 pounds since his previous stint which had greatly slowed him down. Added to the problems were Andre's own health problems and the fact that Andre had gotten a lot moodier as his physical condition had deteriorated. One night Andre actually fell asleep in the ring with Studd and Studd had to hold a headlock on him for a lengthy period of time in the ring while trying to wake him up. Although Studd always had nice things to say about Andre, who was the person who introduced John to his wife, Donna Conklin of Montreal at Andre's restaurant, Le Pichet, and was quite distraught at Andre's in 1993, he had told friends he preferred not to remember Andre as he was during that final run. The combination of that and probably more so, Studd being unhappy with earning about $3,500 per week in a top spot when he had earned much more in his previous stint on top, although the Andre-Studd feud at this point was a disappointment at the box office, and unhappy with his Wrestlemania payoff cause him to walk out of the WWF in the middle of the run. He wrestled a few matches as favors for Kowalski after that but for the most part never returned to wrestling, although he did have a few negotiation sessions with WCW over the next few years.

"He wasn't the wild type of crazy person that a lot of wrestlers were," Matysik said. "He was just your average Joe middle class guy. Just a nice guy who wound up being a wrestler."

"John was the most loyal and faithful friend Wayne (Billy Graham) ever had," said Valerie Coleman, Graham's wife. "He called every day whenever Wayne was in the hospital. He'd call even when Wayne was so weak he couldn't talk and talk with me. He would leave messages calling from the hospital saying `When I hear his (Billy's) voice it makes me feel better. He was so faithful. He was never judgmental of Wayne, never got down on him when he had his drug problem or for not being good with his money. He was an exceptional man and an amazing person. The wrestler part of him was the smallest part of what he was. He was a loner like Wayne, a family man, and his kids and his few good friends meant everything to him."

***********************************************************

BIG JOHN STUDD

CAREER TITLE HISTORY

Source: Wrestling Title Histories third edition

WORLD WIDE WRESTLING FEDERATION

WWWF tag team title: as The Executioners w/ Killer Kowalski def. Tony Parisi & Louis Cerdan May 11, 1976 in Philadelphia; stripped of titles for using a third Executioner October 26, 1976 in Hamburg, PA

TEXAS

American title: as Captain USA def. Bruiser Brody July 25, 1977; lost to Ox Baker September 30, 1977

Texas tag team title: w/Apache Bull Ramos held title in 1977; lost to Jose Lothario & Al Madril February 1978

FLORIDA

Global tag team title: w/ Jimmy Garvin won tournament 1982; lost titles to Ron Bass & Barry Windham November 14, 1982

GEORGIA

National tag team title: w/ Super Destroyer (Scott Irwin) awarded title March 1982; lost titles to Michael Hayes & Terry Gordy July 2, 1982 in Chattanooga, TN

CAROLINAS

Mid Atlantic tag team title: w/ Ric Flair held title 1978; lost titles to Ricky Steamboat & Paul Jones November 5, 1978; w/ Ken Patera def. Steamboat & Jones January 1979; lost titles unknown; as Masked Superstar #2 w/ Bill Eadie won titles March 26, 1980; titles vacated rather than lost

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6-4 issue

UFC 146 was the rare example of a tremendous show which didn’t have any great fights. The show, built around an all-heavyweight main card, was instead a night of a lot of great finishes, with a number of stories playing out up and down the show.

That was reflected in the bonuses, as instead of a best match bonus, the promotion instead gave two bonuses for best knockout, one to Dan Hardy and the other to Roy Nelson, and two for best submission, one to Paul Sass and the other to Stefan Struve.

The 5/26 show at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas was a great spectator show, and an even better one at building future business. The final two matches created a scenario that you’d wish every show would have. Heavyweight champion Junior Dos Santos finished Frank Mir in the second round, and Cain Velasquez massacring Antonio Silva in the first round. When the show was over, the same thing was on everyone’s mind. When do we get to see Dos Santos vs. Velasquez together in a rematch? That match will likely do several hundred thousand buys more than it would have before this show took place. As they say, it’s exactly what you want out of a big show and one of those things that couldn’t be scripted better. The champion and top contender coming out of the show looking super strong, leading to them meeting down the line. Dos Santos was simply too fast for Mir, who probably had little chance to win under any circumstances given the way they match up. But Mir lowered his odds by coming in at 261 pounds. Mir thought he needed power to lock up and take Dos Santos out of his boxing game. Instead, he was never able to tie him up, attempt to pull guard, or catch him. He tried once to take Dos Santos down right away, and when he couldn’t, gave up the strategy and went to trade fists with him, which in his case was a very low percentage game plan. Dos Santos had said all week he was going to win via knockout in the second round, and that’s exactly what he did.

Velasquez, who suffered a one punch knockout loss to Dos Santos on 11/12, rebounded by quickly taking Silva off his feet and using his fists and elbows to open up a number of different cuts on the giant’s face, with so much blood it looked like the scene in a horror movie, before it was mercifully stopped. Velasquez had some issues in camp, a knee injury that healed, and a cut that required six-stitches about three weeks before the fight, which meant he did no sparring during what should have been the hardest part of his camp. But the cut healed in time.

Dos Santos came out of the main event injury free. Velasquez had a bruised knuckle on his left hand. He underwent X-rays as a precautionary measure. After the fight he didn’t think it was too bad but it was hurting. We had no X-ray results at press time, but his camp didn’t think the hand was broken.

Dana White confirmed Dos Santos vs. Velasquez as the next heavyweight title fight, but had no idea where or when it would happen. If both are healthy, October or November looks like the timetable, although with Georges St. Pierre fighting in November in Montreal, putting both on the same show would be overkill. When the suggestion was made regarding doing a show at a soccer stadium in Brazil, Dos Santos was all for it and said that he’s sure they’d be able to sell it out. UFC, due to a noise ordinance that requires the show ending early, meaning it couldn’t air live in prime time in the U.S., won’t do the show in Sao Paulo. They can do it in Rio de Janeiro, although from a timing standpoint, Mahayana Stadium, which holds 85,000 for soccer, is currently being renovated and won’t be open until early 2013. The smaller Joao Havelange Stadium, which holds 46,931, would be a potential site, although most of UFC’s PPV dates for the remainder of the year are scheduled and nothing was planned for a Brazilian stadium. At one point San Jose, Velasquez’s home market (he lives in Morgan Hill, just outside of San Jose), was slotted for a PPV in November, and the hope was for Velasquez to headline. But with two shows already this year, probably neither of which will draw well, it’s questionable whether that will happen.

Dos Santos has a chance to become one of the real sport icons of Brazil. He’s already said to be as popular as any athlete in the country who isn’t a soccer player. He’s not just a heavyweight champion who wins frequently by knockout, which in itself in most cases can make one a big star, but he’s from the country where right now the sport is the most popular. But added to that, and the difference maker, is he’s got a great personality, both to the public and behind the scenes. He may never be the all-around fighter Anderson Silva was, but his potential from a marketing standpoint blows away Silva. Plus, this fight and his first fight with Velasquez both aired on Globo, the largest network in the country, two of the earliest fights to get that level of exposure. So he’s on the ground floor with a huge viewership when the sport is exploding as a television entity in the country. And he’s only 27, meaning he has the potential of years more at or near the top of his game.

If Velasquez can win the rematch, and most see Velasquez and perhaps Alistair Overeem (although so many questions abound about Overeem and what will happen when he’s subject to the constant drug testing that he’s going to undergo when he returns) and Daniel Cormier as the only fighters who can beat Dos Santos, he also has tremendous potential for the U.S. in both the American and Mexican markets. Velasquez is one of the most unique characters, because from a personality standpoint, his quiet kind of shy demeanor and non-descript look would seem to make him a heavyweight version of a Frankie Edgar, a good fighter with no charisma. Yet, Velasquez is one of the most popular fighters on the roster, with his proven huge drawing power already to the Hispanic demo in the U.S. A lot hard to do with being the guy who slayed Brock Lesnar on a major show, and the marketing effort of billing him as the man trying to become the first Hispanic world heavyweight champion in a major combat sport. There was the question of how much was lost by the nature of the one minute knockout at the hands of Dos Santos, if somehow that made him the product of over hype and fans would feel betrayed. But his reaction at the show, arguably as big or bigger than Dos Santos, appeared t indicate otherwise. What was really notable is how his appeal cut across demographics, as this was hardly a Hispanic crowd. In fact, the crowd had a strong Brazilian presence, with flags everywhere, and chants in Portuguese. Velasquez, in facing a Brazilian, heard no boos, and it was the Brazilian heavily booed when the fight started.

Yet another big story from the show didn’t involve a participant on the show. Lesnar, with a purpose that perhaps only he really knows, texted Dana White about ten days before the show, asking him if could come, and schedule a meeting to talk potentially about returning.

White said Lesnar wanted to keep his attending a secret, so he never spoke about it. The day before the show, we had heard rumors that feelers had been sent by the Lesnar camp about returning, and questioning what that meant about his WWE relationship. Lesnar didn’t show up until right before the main event started. He was shown on camera, and had Mir actually won the title, we perhaps would have seen even more.

At the post-fight press conference, White explained the details of Lesnar coming, said they were going to have a meeting later that night. He expressed interest in Lesnar returning, posing the question as to whether Lesnar, who turns 35 in July, could still be a top five heavyweight. He reversed a previous position, saying he was open to using Lesnar even though Lesnar was under contract with the WWE at the same time. White had nixed Lesnar appearing at WrestleMania in 2011, saying he felt it would confuse the audience. He said he believes the audience is smart enough to know the difference between pro wrestling and UFC.

Lesnar’s deal with WWE specifies exclusivity during the year duration, so Vince McMahon would have to approve him doing UFC. Keep in mind Lesnar had a similar deal in UFC in 2010, but still negotiated with McMahon for The Undertaker angle for the 2011 WrestleMania, shooting the first part of it the angle without White agreeing to let him do the match, and the match didn’t happen that year.

At this point one would think that would be the last thing McMahon would want was to risk a planned WrestleMania headliner beating beaten up badly in a real fight while under contract, let alone risking injury. The only exception to that rule would be if McMahon had already soured on Lesnar due to the Extreme Rules numbers and was trying to get out of the deal, but there is no indication that’s the case. While Lesnar could likely draw another big number on PPV, or FOX, he is used to making millions, and he’d have to be able to perform at the top tier level to be able to drive the kind of revenue to earn the money he’s done in the past. But perhaps a comeback fight would be a big deal, as MMA fans are very forgiving of losses, and Chuck Liddell drew big after a string of a lot more knockout losses than Lesnar had.

It appears from the outside this was simply a publicity stunt by Lesnar, that had nothing to do with either McMahon or White, as White, all smiles when talking about Lesnar right before the meeting, indicated the next day that negotiations did not go well.

Perhaps Lesnar was trying to send a message to McMahon that he has options the rest of McMahon’s wrestlers don’t. Perhaps he was just trying to get some mainstream publicity to sell his angle that he’s fired from WWE and having news that he’s negotiating for a UFC return sells that storyline. Clearly, if McMahon was in on it, he’d have acknowledged what happened on his web site and his television show. He did neither. In fact, Lesnar’s name was never spoken on the 5/28 Raw. White isn’t going to put over a publicity stunt by Lesnar to take one iota of media attention away from Dos Santos and Velasquez unless he thought at that moment that he had a good shot at bringing Lesnar back.

From what we’ve been able to find out, McMahon was not behind this, and White had nothing to gain from putting over a McMahon angle. Lesnar, who doesn’t travel anywhere for business unless there is a good reason, obviously had a game plan in mind. And it may not be about now, but may be about April 2013, when his WWE deal expires.

Due to Memorial Day weekend, few numbers are available at press time for the show. It did a sellout 14,592 fans and a $3.4 million gate. Company officials were both predicting and projecting PPV numbers of 500,000 or slightly more, which is the range many outsiders were predicting as well, but with the holiday, even the most preliminary of numbers aren’t available. The prelims on FX did 1.3 million viewers. That is the fourth lowest of the five PPV prelims since FX began airing them in January.

The crowd was the most heavily-Brazilian for a U.S. show in history. However, even among the Brazilian fans, and facing a Brazilian, Velasquez was cheered as much as anyone on the show, while Silva was booed at the start. The crowd arrived earlier in general, and was hotter than usual.

Nearly every match had a theme. In the opener, where Mike Brown won a decision over Daniel Pineda, Brown announced his retirement after the show. But a few days later, he was already second guessing his decision, based on how good he felt.

In the second match, Glover Texeira, unknown to all but the hardcores, destroyed a usually durable Kyle Kingsbury in just 1:53, indicating he’s a major player in the light heavyweight division. UFC has been wanting to bring Texeira in for years, but it hasn’t happened due to visa issues.

Paul Sass went to 13-0, 12 by submission and nine by triangle in stopping former University of Minnesota wrestler Jacob Volkmann. This win will move Sass into the deep waters in the lightweight division. Volkmann, in losing, did not have a chance to cut a promo that would result in him getting suspended from his coaching job at White Bear Lake High School in Minnesota. He had twice done anti-Obama promos so extreme he was suspended. He came out wearing a “Jacob Volkmann for President” T-shirt. Later, Dan Hardy on a banner had “Dan Hardy for President” written on it.

Hardy, who was one of the most popular fighters on the card both at the weigh-in and at the live show, upset Duane Ludwig via knockout in 3:51. Hardy had lost four in a row and it was known by a lot of fans that his job was on the line. Some theorized that in these economically challenging times, the idea of a guy who fans know, fighting to keep from losing his job was an easy storyline that clicked, as the reaction was similar to when Tito Ortiz was in the same position in the same city when he faced Ryan Bader and won last year.

Jason “Mayhem” Miller, the former “Bully Beatdown” host, was also one of the most popular fighters on the card. But for him, the show ended with him being cut, and then announcing his retirement. Miller came in with a knee injury, and blew the left knee out in the first round, and also injured his right thumb. Even thought the consensus worst fight of the show, the first round and part of the second were exciting. But for most of two and all round three, opponent C.B. Dollaway turned it into a wrestling match. Dana White said Miller did some stupid things, that he wouldn’t go into detail about, after the show and was getting cut. Miller claimed the only incident was him getting mad at Burt Watson, a UFC employee, who refused to allow Miller to go out on his ring entrance with a gas mask. Others noted Miller also having issues backstage after the match ended.

Jamie Varner, cut from the UFC, was brought back as a late replacement, largely because they just needed a body, to face heavily favored Edson Barboza Jr. But what we learned about Barboza Jr. is that he doesn’t take a punch well. Varner hurt Barboza Jr. frequently with punches to the head, was able to take him down and finished him with punches on the ground.

Diego Brandao, who looked impressive in winning the last season of Ultimate Fighter, had a strong first round, but tired in rounds two and three, leading to losing a decision to Darren Elkins.

Stefan Struve jacked up Lavar Johnson’s elbow with an armbar almost the second the fight hit the ground.

In a battle of unbeaten heavyweights, Stipe Miocic, a former Division I wrestler, boxer and baseball player, stopped Shane Del Rosario in the second round. But Miocic was losing the standing battle, even though he connected with some good punches. It was only after he finally took the fight to the ground that he had real success.

Roy Nelson dropped Dave Herman with an overhand right and it was over in 51 seconds.

[T200]

Wrestlers Kazushige Nosawa and girlfriend Masami Odate (known as Io Shirai), were both arrested by Chiba police on 5/24 at Narita Airport going through customs after flying in from Mexico. Both wrestlers were bringing in huge portraits of themselves, and police found 75 grams of marijuana, worth about $5,000, hidden inside the Nosawa portrait. Marijuana has a major stigma in Japan. Nosawa, who was the latest Black Tiger, was pulled from New Japan’s Best of the Super Junior tournament.

David McLane, the man behind the original GLOW Wrestling in the 80s, is back in business working with Jeanie Buss, the Executive Vice President of the Los Angeles Lakers, in producing a reality TV show called “Wow Girls.” The show will be about the resurrection of Women of Wrestling, a GLOW-like promotion that McLane did after his first one went belly-up, a documentary reality show about aspiring actresses and wrestlers going through auditions, creating their characters and trying to launch a new promotion.

Jon Jones entered into a plea bargain deal with the Binghamton District Attorney’s office on 5/29 stemming from his DWI charge after he crashed his Bentley into a telephone pole at 5 a.m. on 5/19. Jones pleaded guilty to Driving White Intoxicated. Two other charges, an improper turn and deviating from a direct course, were dismissed. Jones’ plea bargain deal was that he would pay a fine of a maximum of $1,500, pay all damages stemming from the accident, and the charges would then be conditionally discharged if he has no other legal problems over the next year, and he would serve no time. He also has to complete an alcohol abuse and dependency assessment before his next sentencing hearing. The fine and any probation will be determined at a hearing on 6/19. He also has to put a device in his car for one year that forces him to essentially pass a Breathalyzer before the ignition will work. His drivers license was also suspended. Jones was brought to Las Vegas this past week for a sit down meeting with White and Lorenzo Fertitta. As it turned out, the uncle of the wife of one of our readers was the one who called 911 when Jones got in the wreck in front of his house at 5 a.m. on 5/19. He woke up at 5 a.m. as it sounded like someone had driven into his house. He looked out the bedroom window and saw two headlights smashed into a telephone pole. He ran outside the car was filled with smoke, likely from the air bags and nobody was inside. He called 911, told them the car was destroyed and said Jones was very lucky he wasn’t seriously injured.

When asked about Daniel Cormier getting a title shot when he comes into UFC either late this year or early next year, he said it was a possibility but also said he’d rather Cormier cut to 205. The problem is, Cormier’s kidneys shut down in 2008 trying to cut to 211.5. Cormier is not strict on his diet at all, and eats pizza at midnight in bed which most fighters can’t afford to do, but he’s so athletic at 240 and such a good wrestler that the bigger guys can’t bully him around. If he was strict on his diet, perhaps he could get his natural weight to 215-220 and cut to 205, but it’s not something he wants to do. I think the only way he’s going to 205 is if Cain Velasquez wins the heavyweight title. Later White said that it’s Cormier’s choice and if he wins his next fight and moves over, he could come in and get a title shot.

Regarding Josh Barnett, both he and White were non-committal. Both have one more fight left in Strikeforce and White said that he’s not having anything to do with Strikeforce. One would think a UFC heavyweight would be sent over to face both Barnett and Cormier because, with the exception of Fedor Emelianenko, or someone like a Pedro Rizzo or Ricco Rodriguez, virtually every name heavyweight is in Zuffa. There would still be interest in a Fedor fight with Cormier or Barnett to a degree, but Emelianenko is saying he’s retiring after his next fight. Plus, would Showtime be willing to pay for such a fight and how much would he be worth, not to mention dealing with his handlers as the ex-Strikeforce folks no longer in the business pretty much admit it was a nightmare dealing with M-1 Global.

The day of 5/26 started out bad for the UFC. First, Arianny Lopez, 26, the ring girl better known as Arianny Celeste, was arrested on a domestic battery charge. She was later released on $3,000 bond. She was at the building for UFC 146 in the afternoon, but Brittney Palmer did all of the ring card stuff all night long until Arianny showed up in her outfit right before the main event. Domestic battery means a use of force or violence between two people in a domestic relationship (married, family, child in common, dating, living together). Contrary to some reports, former UFC fighter Tiki Ghosen was not the person involved as she and Lopez broke up some time ago. Lopez’s boyfriend of seven months, Praveeen Chandra, 34, was also arrested on a domestic violence batter charge. The incident took place at the Wynn Hotel in Las Vegas. One of the hotel employees heard a crashing sound from a room and saw Lopez running out of the room at 4:30 a.m. according to the police report. Police came and Lopez said Chandra had choked her and grabbed her right arm during an argument about a text message, the report said. The officers noted scratches on her right arm. Chandra said the fight started earlier in the night when the two were in a limousine and she kicked him in the nose. He said they kept arguing when they got to their hotel room. Chandra claimed that Lopez then threw two vases at him. Chandra recorded parts of the disturbance on a cell phone which he played to the police. The video showed him following her around the room demanding to know why she kicked him in the nose. Chandra had an injured nose and scratches on his chest and arm. Chandra denied touching her and said he didn’t know why she had cuts on her arm. Both have hearings on 6/1. In Nevada, if there is any kind of a physical fight, the person the police determine was the primary aggressor must be arrested, even if the other party refuses to press charges. There is also a mandatory 12 hour hold per Nevada state law. One officer in Las Vegas who is a longtime subscriber noted that in all his years on the force, he’s never seen anyone released before that 12 hour limit was up, but evidently she was as she was seen at the MGM Grand backstage at 3 p.m. that afternoon. White said the company was standing behind Lopez regarding this incident. He said she’s been with them for five years, and that he didn’t know any of the details of what happened as of the night of the show.

[T200]

Lots of Linda McMahon notes. After Democrat Susan Bysiewicz, who is running for that party’s nomination, gave a speech on 5/24, saying, “I’ll be damned if I let someone who sells sex and violence and pornography for a living be our next United States Senator. We have to send the right woman to Washington.” The McMahon campaign quickly called her a hypocrite. They noted when Bysiewicz was Secretary of State, she worked with McMahon on the Smackdown Your Vote campaign. They even sent out a photo of Bysiewicz talking with John Layfield from 2001 to note in the past Bysiewicz spoke at high schools with WWE wrestlers. They also released a letter Bysiewicz wrote where she endorsed McMahon for a spot on the Connecticut Board of Education. In the letter, Bysiewicz wrote, “Under Ms. McMahon’s leadership, WWE has devoted significant time and resources to this important community service (the Smackdown Your Vote campaign). I believe Ms. McMahon’s experience as a successful business woman and her commitment to community service would be an asset to the State Board of Education.” McMahon’s campaign strategy is to try and reach the women who wouldn’t vote for her in the last election because of her connection to wrestling, by playing down the wrestling and doing a number of meetings with women voters with no men allowed. She said she will continue to do so all summer. She said she’s done over 100 meetings with small women’s groups, usually two a day, mostly with groups of 70-75 but others as small as a dozen.

WWE has demanded that Chris Powell, the Managing Editor of the Manchester Journal-Inquirer, print a public retraction of a negative column he wrote on Linda. Brian Flinn, who took over from the departed Rob Zimmerman as the Head of Communications (Senior Vice President of Marketing and Communications for WWE), wrote a letter to Powell saying if he doesn’t print a retraction by 6/4, WWE “will seek legal and all available remedies.” Powell’s offensive remarks worthy of threat is that McMahon is pushing that Connecticut didn’t get to know her well enough two years ago, and he wrote, “But of course nearly everyone knew very well who McMahon was–that was the problem. Her practical qualifications for office did not extend beyond her fantastic wealth, and that wealth derived from the business of violence, pornography, and general raunch.” WWE’s claim is that they aren’t any of those things. According to Jerry McDevitt, the one that they took most umbrage with was the statement that they were in the business of pornography. The paper noted that WWE was never used in the statement. But the implication was there. “It’s inflammatory as hell,” said McDevitt. “When you state as a fact that they were in the business of pornography, that’s beyond the pail.” He said they would be fine if they state whatever opinion they have about the product, but draw the line at using that word in the context of a factual statement. The story behind the story seems to be threats of legal action against reporters if they go strongly after the company or how Linda made her money and portray it negatively, or at least that is how it’s being viewed in some circles. Arguing violence is a joke, because wrestling is simulated violence. Pornography is certainly not a word I’d use to describe wrestling, at least the major league television version of wrestling, today, and even at its raunchiest. There have been times and eras when it was raunchy as hell and bad taste often abounds in many if not most eras. Even with the cleaned up product, McMahon was in charge during the late 90s so does have to answer for that product. The story has gotten a decent bit of regional play in Connecticut and some national play. Colin McEnroe of the Hartford Courant said that anyone who works in journalism or cares about the first amendment should be watching this case and defending Powell and wrote, “This incident sums up perfectly why Linda McMahon has no place in U.S. government. A journalist has offered a legitimately worded criticism of her, and her response has been to let slip her deep-pocketed dogs of war to threaten him with a lawsuit. The suit would last about 60 seconds in court, but it’s a financial nuisance the WWE can more easily afford than the Journal-Inquirer. And that’s how she plays. She uses her money as a club, and this time it’s pounding hard to shut up the press.” McEnroe asked what about when Linda McMahon was President of the WWE and they partnered with Girls Gone Wild on a show, and brought up the necrophilia angle and said people need to ask McMahon why that isn’t pornography. Powell wrote that he hopes all depositions take place before 8/14 (the day of the Republican primary) and hopes that he can meet Trish, apparently indicating Stratus will be deposed for the barking like a dog while in her bra and panties in mid-ring angle with Vince. The paper itself wrote an editorial on the subject saying they weren’t apologizing.