Hailey's Newsies Issue 47 - August 3rd 2009

Youtube's Favorite TNA Knockout

Another Knockout gets eliminated.
14 Knockouts are left.

Link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FKQr-Hyxh5Y

18. Jenna Morasca
17. Traci Brooks
16. Raisha Saeed
15. ???

Dutch Mantel Released

Dutch Mantel has been released from TNA.

In a clear sign that Jeff Jarrett is losing power within the company, the long time creative team member was removed from his position. Dutch Mantel (whose real name is Wayne Cowan) has been with TNA since 2003. He's considered one of the closest friends that Jeff Jarrett has in the company.

While many people believe that Dutch Mantel, a Vietnam War veteran, was only given his spot because of his close relationship with Jeff Jarrett, others also acknowledge that he did help improve TNA. The former USWA Heavyweight Champion is widely credited with creating the Knockouts division; he is also credited with bringing in Awesome Kong and Raisha Saeed into the company.

There's no word yet on whether or not a replacement will be brought in to fill Dutch Mantel's spot in the company. TNA could also opt to promote from within.

Summerslam Poster

Need another poster for your wall? Then, get the new Summerslam poster.

http://www.wweshop.com/Product_detail.asp?productId=10-00566

Ric Flair's Gambling Issue

The last time that WWE and Ric Flair were in negotiations, the company informed him that they were concerned about gambling issues

Starting September of this year, Ric Flair will become the official spokesperson for the North Carolina lottery. Considering how popular the former NWA World Heavyweight Champion is in his home state, this makes a lot of sense for North Carolina to utilize his likeness.

WWE was concerned about employing someone that was involved with gambling. The company still wants to maintain a PG product, and there was some concerns of being indirectly linked to gambling. Even though the gambling is legal, the company still expressed some concerns.

Obviously, this wasn't the sole reason why Ric Flair and WWE aren't working together. There were many other issues involved as well. This was simply just one of them.

Cena Helps Fallen Firefighter

John Cena's endless charity work continues in his hometown of West Newbury.

The former WWE Heavyweight Champion is organizing a charity car show (featuring muscle cars) for Kenny Fowler, a firefighter that lost his life in 2007. Organizing the show with him will be his brother Dan Cena, who is a Sargeant with the police force.

John Cena used his own money to purchase a 2010 Chevrolet Camaro (valued at approximately $23,000) for the event. The car will be given away in a raffle (tickets are $100 each). The proceeds from the event will go to the family of the fallen firefighter.

The Cena brothers chose the muscle car theme for the event because Kenny Fowler was a huge fan of muscle cars growing up.

UFC Helps THQ

Looks like the partnership with UFC has done a lot more for THQ than they expected.

Thanks to the success of UFC 2009 Undisputed, THQ has broken sales records. The company reported a first quarter profit of $6.4 million. The game increased net sales by 77% to $243.5 million.

THQ has been quick to show appreciation towards UFC. The company's president, Brian Farrell, publicly stated that the success of UFC 2009 Undisputed helped to lead to a resurgence for the once struggling video game developer.

THQ is also the company that develops video games for WWE.

Hernandez Returns

Back in April, Hernandez took some time away from the ring to have neck surgery to repair some lingering issues that he had.
The fear among wrestlers is that taking time off from the ring is generally going to affect the push that you would receive. You move down the pecking order while the healthy wrestlers move up.
Since he wasn't an established headliner like Kurt Angle or Sting, the concern had to have been in the back of Hernandez's mind.
Those concerns were wiped away when he returned because management decided to push him towards the main event scene right away.
Hernandez made his return and defeated Samoa Joe, a guy that many consider to be one of the top overall performers in the entire company. Not only did he win, he also got a clean win as well.
With that big win, Hernandez has made a mark in his return.

Hernandez built up a strong following through the years because of his work with Homicide. LAX was easily one of the most entertaining tag teams in the entire business.
As much as people enjoyed the tandem, though, there were still whispers from fans that wanted to see Hernandez breaking away from the group. The whispers kept getting louder and louder, and TNA management had no choice but to listen.
It's really simple why Hernandez is destined to become a main event player. He fits the formula to a tee.

• The Look
  Hernandez is a physical specimen. He might not be as scuplted as Lex Luger, Batista, or Chris Masters, but he is still larger than life.
  
• Exciting Moveset
  Batista had his spinebuster and powerbomb. Goldberg had his spear and jackhammer. Those exciting moves helped to elevate both guys into the main event. Hernandez? Well, he has the Border Toss, a variety of powerful suplexes, and an incredible top rope suicide dive.
  
• Intriguing Character
  Hernandez might not get to talk on the mic for 15 minutes at a time, but he does have an intriguing character. He's basically a bad ass in the same mold that Samoa Joe and Steve Austin were.
  

Put them all together, and Hernandez has the formula to become a main event player.

There's more to Hernandez's appeal than simply from the wrestling side of things. The big man's success could very well end up helping out TNA's bottom line as well.
With Hernandez being from a Mexican and Puerto Rican background, the company stands to benefit with two key demographics if his ascension into the main event works out.
If he ever becomes the TNA World Heavyweight Champion, then the company would have a major draw in Mexico, the southwestern states (such as Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, California), and Puerto Rico.

Power 25 Divas - August 1st 2009

25 - Melina
Losing her opportunity to regain the Women's Title has Melina dropping two spots this week, and now at No. 25, the SmackDown Diva is at the brink of falling off the P25.

23 - Hart Dynasty: Smith, Natalya, Kidd
Two losses this week does not bode well for The Dynasty. This young, promising group really needs to step it up in the coming weeks unless they'd like to be on the "Farewell" list.

18 - Mickie James
For weeks it seemed as if Maryse did her best to avoid facing Mickie James. Now we understand why. After watching Mickie capture the Divas Title at Night of Champions, Maryse's fears appear justified.

16 - Michelle McCool
It wasn't easy, but Michelle McCool managed to retain her gold against Melina. There is, however, no rest for the wicked. That said, now the Women's Champion must concentrate on her next opponent.

Farewell
Maryse - Losing to Mickie James on Sunday not only cost the French beauty her Divas Championship, but also her spot on the Power25.

Sources : WrestlingRevealed, WWE.com

I was super excited Hernandez was back. Although for like a split sec i thought he was kurt angle..like wtf is Kurt doing here? lol

Cena is a good guy. I just wish he wasnt always winning and always in the main event. That makes him annoying.

I hope Flair can recover from this gambling problem. Stuff like that ruins lives.

lol at flair
cena does need a break from the M.E

That Summerslam poster owns.

i didnt hear about the flair thing, but another major thing was having him wrestler since he wants to