That’s right–TNAWrestling.com has pulled Christian Cage off their roster page. He’s got to be officially gone from the company.

For more on Christian’s future, please read on.

**POTENTIAL SPOILER WARNING!!!** (more…)

Rep. Henry Waxman is the man behind  the report on steroids in pro-wrestling that Lex posted earlier this week. He has spent the better part of the last four years investigating steroids in professional sports and was the one who called those now infamous baseball hearings. As you can see, he is well informed on the issue of performance enhancing drugs:

That clip was from the documentary “Bigger, Stronger, Faster,” which was directed by Christopher Bell, the brother of Mike “Mad Dog” Bel. He’s the most recent wrestler to pass away, most likely due to his abuse of performance enhancing drugs. I post this to say if whoever takes over for Henry Waxman (who is moving on to another government job) is anywhere near as uninformed as he was I don’t think anything will come of these government probes into WWE and TNA.

By the way, I really recomend “Bigger, Stronger, Faster.” It will change your entire outlook on performance enhancing drugs. It is avaiable on Netflix watch instantly if any of you have that service.

 -sideshowRaheem

Throughout the years theat I have been on the PWB blog, I have read a variety of opinions from many smart wrestling fans. Whether its Mollie, SideShow, DK, Jeyrod, Arron, Kanadian, Da Tru, or even Kitty Limits, they have been a lot of insightful looks into the wrestling business. What I dont know about you (except for Lex and Kanadian) is who are your favorite wrestlers of all-time. This positive post will make up for yesterday’s negative VOTD post.

My FAV 5:

1) Shawn Michaels

Ever since I was a 4 year old watching WWF in St Martin, Shawn Michaels has been one of my favorites. As a young lad my favorites included Bob Holly, the Smoking Gunns, Takanka, British Bulldog, Warrior, and Steamboat. I see why kids like Cena. They will grow out of it, trust me. HBK’s matches with Razor, Diesel, Undertaker, Bret, Mankind, and Vader (along with his”Heart-break Hotel” segment) made me a lifetime fan.

2) Christian (his TNA heel run was very good)

Christian and Edge are complete equals in my opinion. As heels they are both top notch and there in work wrestling is very good. Edge may be better than Christian in the ring, but not by much. Christian’s TNA run, right from his shocking PPV debut was good. It wasn’t until Kurt Angle came in that it went sour. The “Angle’s Alliance” ruined Christian because it turned him face. Christian was undefeated for 2 years in TNA.

3) Santino

What can you say about this guy? Matt has Jeff, JR has Austin, and Santino has Microphones. Santino is gold on the mic, comic gold. At first I wasn’t against him because as a face all he would do is win by flukes. He consistantly won via roll up. When they turnd him heel when facing Umaga, little did I know that Santino would become a star. He doesnt need to have wrestling skills to be a star. I predict that Santino will be in the Hall of Fame some day, right next to Heenan. Noone has been this good on the mic since The Rock.

4) Scott Hall/ Razor Ramon

5) Ricky Steamboat and Rob Van Damn (a tie)

“This is your brain on Drugs”

Last year, C.M. Punk was booked to capture one of the “big two” world titles in the WWE (sorry Matt Hardy). I wonder…will we see another young WWE superstar put in a situation like that this year?

There’s no sure answer, but I think there is one question we can debate: which young WWE star will have the best 2009?

Here are the candidates:

• John Morrison
• The Miz
• Evan Bourne
• Jack Swagger
• Brian Kendrick
• Kofi Kingston
• Cody Rhodes

What do these guys have in common? They are all under the age of 30. While we might consider guys like Shelton Benjamin, MVP and Mr. Kennedy young superstars, they are actually in their 30s.

The way I see it, the guys on the list above are the most likely candidates to have an outstanding 2009. But which one will get pushed the most?

If I had to guess, I’d say John Morrison, although Evan Bourne is a close second when he comes back from his injury–I could easily see either of them main-eventing a PPV in the later stages of 2009.

I wish WWE would pull the trigger on some of these guys like they did a few years ago with the New Year’s Revolution Elimination Chamber match; rememember when the match came down to Cena, Carlito and Chris Masters? That was a cool finish to the match, and I’d love to see a champion put in the position defending against one of these guys in 2009.

So let’s debate: which one of these guys will it be? Is there anyone under 30 I left off the list? You be the judge.

I know everybody’s enthralled with Vickie Guerrero’s nude pictures right now, but there are more important issues at hand. And when I said important, I mean IMPORTANT.

Chairman of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform Henry Waxman (D, California) released the results of the committee’s investigation of steroids in pro wrestling yesterday. Unfortunately, the findings aren’t pretty. Since these are your government’s tax dollars hard at work, I’m going to quote the heck out of Waxman’s letter to the Office of National Drug Control Policy that came with the report.

Here’s a summary of the investigation’s findings:

The documents produced to the Committee, and the information provided during interviews, indicate that steroid use is pervasive in professional wrestling and that the organizations involved have not taken adequate steps to address this problem. The information reviewed by the Committee shows:

• In the first year of the WWE’s testing program, which began in March 2006,40% of wrestlers tested positive for steroids and other drugs even after being warned in advance that they were going to be tested.
• Six months after the WWE announced its 2006 steroid testing policy, it relaxed the policy to allow wrestlers suspended for steroid abuse to participate in “selected televised events” and “pay-per-views.”
• The WWE hired four of five wrestlers who tested positive for steroids in “pre-contract” testing conducted in 2007 and 2008.
• The WWE regularly approved “therapeutic use exemptions,” explicitly allowing the use of steroids as part of a “testosterone replacement acceptance program” for wrestlers who abused steroids in the past.
• Test results from the WWE’s top competitor, Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, reveal that a large proportion of TNA wrestlers have also tested positive and that there are significant weaknesses in the TNA testing program.

More on the WWE from the report: (more…)

MMA and pro wrestling legend Dan “The Best” Severn joined Lex and Ian on the latest edition of the PWB Podcast Hotline. In a captivating interview, Severn discussed several topics, including:

• His MMA and Law Enforcement training
• Winning the “Ultimate Ultimate 95″ tournament
• The evolution of MMA and various fighting styles
• The toll that MMA fights and wrestling matches take on the body
• His time in the WWF
• The “Brawl for All” tournament
• MMA fans’ perception of pro wrestlers
• His “retirement tour” and who he’d like to fight in 2009

For more on Dan “The Beast” Severn, please visit his official web site, the-beast.com.

Photo courtesy Fightbook.