Hailey's Newsies Issue 45 - July 23rd 2009

Youtube's Favorite TNA Knockout

The second Knockout is eliminated.
A new Knockout is added to the contest.

Link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yWf26h8u9cY

18 - Jenna Morasca
17 - ???

WWE Pursuing Snoop Dogg

Snoop Dogg could very well become the guest host of Raw pretty soon.

WWE has revealed that they are pursuing the long time rapper/producer/actor to fill in one of the spots for celebrity guest hosts. Snoop Dogg, whose real name is Calvin Broadus, is a known fan of WWE. He's been seen in the audience plenty of times. Plus, he was involved with Wrestlemania 24.

The company is also said to be pursuing other musicians to fill the role as well. Sheryl Crow's name has popped up as being a potential guest host.

Thus far, WWE has utilized Batista, Ted DiBiase, Seth Green (of Family Guy fame), and ZZ Top as guest hosts.

Shaq in WWE

Vince McMahon has never been one to avoid doing things to gain media attention for his company.
That's why Pete Rose is in the WWE Hall of Fame. That's why Donald Trump was allowed to participate in storylines despite not being able to show any charisma whatsoever on the mic.
As a smart businessman, Vince McMahon knows that getting mainstream media attention (especially for free) is good for his company because it might draw in a few new viewers.
When the idea came up to use celebrity guest hosts on Raw each week, Vince McMahon basically fell in love with the idea since he knew that there was a chance for him to gain more and more mainstream media attention.
The media hates WWE, but they will cover it. Usually, they'll cover wrestling when something bad happens. However, the media has also shown an inclination to cover wrestling whenever a celebrity gets involved
Thus far, WWE has managed to secure the likes of Seth Green and ZZ Top as celebrity guest hosts. They decided to take things up a notch next week.
During this week's edition of Raw, WWE announced that NBA superstar Shaquille O'Neal would be the guest hosts for next week's show.

The wrestling purists are going to hate the focus being taken away from the ring, but signing Shaquille O'Neal is going to provide WWE with a nice boost in business.
First of all, you can bet that a bunch of wrestling fans in the Washington DC area are going to try to get their hands on some tickets and attend the event live in person next week.
Secondly, there's going to be much more interest in teh show next week, which should cause a rise in the ratings. Not only are wrestling fans going to tune in, but sports fans are going to tune in as well just out of curiosity.
It's really doubtful that Shaquille O'Neal is going to be able to keep the new fans interested in WWE after he leaves, but the one week bump in ratings should be enough for WWE to put a positive spin on it to the media and stockholders.

Shaquille O'Neal isn't like any other celebrity guest host. He stands at 7'1", 325 pounds.
At that size, he's bigger than just about every single wrestler on the roster. Some may weigh more, but none (with the exception of Great Khali) is as tall as he is (WWE exaggerates the height of the other wrestlers).
His tremendous size puts him in a unique position to where he can actually be used as an in-ring performer. Shaquille O'Neal is going to look diminutive like Seth Green did.
The fact that Shaquille O'Neal is the type of person that loves to show that he's playful means that he's more likely to get physically involved than most of the celebrities that WWE will end up getting.
The one thing that might prevent him from actually wrestling, though, is going to be his NBA contract.
Shaquille O'Neal is scheduled to make approximately $20 million next season in salary. Pretty sure that the Cleveland Cavaliers aren't going to be all that happy about him risking any potential injuries prior to the start of the season.

Smackdown Spoilers

Spoiler:

iMPACT! Spoilers

Spoiler:

WWE Rejects Hogan

It appears as if the "on again, off again" relationship between Vince McMahon and Hulk Hogan is currently "off again".

With Vince McMahon looking to extend the current storyline where there's a new celebrity guest hosts of Raw each week, the creative department and the marketing department have been brainstorming like crazy to come up with ideas.

One of the ideas that was brought to Vince McMahon was shot down instantly.

A member of the creative team came up with an idea for Hulk Hogan to be the celebrity guest host. He obviously has a history with wrestling fans, so he makes sense on that aspect. He's also a celebrity as well. While he might not generate as much publicity for the company (mainly due to him being associated with wrestling anyways), he can still help boost the ratings.

Vince McMahon was said to have shot down the idea without even thinking about it.

It is also being said that Vince McMahon is turning more to his Entertainment Relations department for this storyline as opposed to turning to his creative department.

Lashley Rejects Fedor Fight

Bobby Lashley has wisely refused a fight against a man that many people consider to be the best heavyweight MMA fighter in the world.

Fedor Emelianenko was scheduled to fight Josh Barnett on August 1, 2009 at the Affliction: Trinity show. The plans have been changed now that Josh Barnett has been suspended for a drug violation. Affliction is scrambling now to find an opponent for Fedor Emelianenko.

One of the names being tossed around was Bobby Lashley, who is currently undefeated.

Bobby Lashley immediately put a stop to those talks by stating that he would be hesitant to sign up for the fight. He stated that he would definitely need time to go up against Fedor Emelianenko, a fighter who has 30 wins and just 1 loss (which was controversial, to say the least). Bobby Lashley also acknowledged that he would have a lot to gain financially from accepting the fight, but he stated that money wasn't the main reason why he's doing MMA.

Piper Facing Criminal Charges

Roddy Piper could be spending six months in prison soon.

The City of Los Angeles has decided to file criminal charges against the 55 year old wrestling legend. The charges stem from an arrest in Los Angeles at the beginning of the month. He was arrested for driving under the influence; he was also driving without a valid driver's license.

If convicted, Roddy Piper could spend up to six months in jail. He will also be required to pay $1,000 in fines.

New Orton Shirt

WWE has released a brand new shirt for Randy Orotn. It is entitled "Root of Evil".

The company decided to go with the typical black color that they use for most of their shirts. WWE also brought back the gas mask theme for Randy Orton's shirt. Now, they added some roots growing through the mask, which is basically a pun for him being a third generation star (i.e. family roots).

The fact that WWE keeps creating shirts for Randy Orton is a clear indicator that he is capable of moving merchandise.

http://www.wweshop.com/Product_detail.asp?productId=01-10818

Jeremy Piven in WWE

Jeremy Piven has made a nice career for himself, going from being a feminine fashion advisor in Rush Hour 2 to being an Emmy and Golden Globe winning actor for his role in the hit television series, Entourage.
All of that hard work has now been paid off with the announcement that Jeremy Piven is going to be a guest host of Raw next week.
Well, I might be exaggerating a bit about how much of an accomplishment it is to be the guest host of Raw. I think winning those Emmy and Golden Globe awards might have been a bit more satisfying for him.
Anyways, the New York City native will be joining NBA superstar Shaquille O'Neal as the guests host of WWE's weekly flagship television show Raw.

Every celebrity guest host that WWE utilizes for Raw is generally doing it because they have something that they want to promote. As part of the deal with WWE, the company will promote something for the celebrity.
Seth Green was promoting his Robot Chicken DVD, and ZZ Top was promoting their summer tour.
Jeremy Piven is doing the guest host spot so that he can promote his upcoming movie called "The Goods", where he plays a fast talking car salesman. Based on the previews, it's going to be a pretty entertaining movie.
Pretty sure that he's also going to mention a thing or two about his hit television show, Entourage.

Jeremy Piven is bigger than Seth Green, but he's not nearly half as big as Shaquille O'Neal. Come to think of it, if you combined Seth Green and ZZ Top together, even they might not be bigger than Shaquille O'Neal.
That means that he's not going to be an imposing figure when he gets into the wrestling ring with some of the wrestlers that appear to be larger than life.
You're not going to be able to pit him in a match against Triple H, John Cena, or the Big Show.
However, what you can do with Jeremy Piven that differs from the other celebrity guest hosts is that you can utilize him as a heel. He's displayed characters that can easily be modified to draw jeers from the audience.
Not sure that's going to happen, though, since he will probably want to be in good with the audience in the hopes that they buy tickets to see The Goods.

When the announcement was made that Shaquille O'Neal was going to be the celebrity guest host of Raw next week, wrestling fans were eager about seeing the episode.
Getting Shaquille O'Neal was more than enough.
It's a bit curious that WWE decided to add another celebrity into the mix. That leads us to believe that something must be going on. Perhaps one of them isn't going to be in the arena?

Source : WrestlingRevealed