Team Hogan defends lawsuit in court Thursday
Representatives for Hulk Hogan and Gawker.com, which published portions of a sex tape featuring Hogan and Heather Clem, the ex-wife of radio host Bubba the Love Sponge, met in Florida court on Thursday to argue their positions on Hogan’s $100 million lawsuit against the website.
In court, Hogan’s attorneys requested an injunction to force Gawker to pull the footage from their site. Gawker argued that the tape should remain online, claiming it is newsworthy because of Hogan’s celebrity status and “tabloid journalism in America is protected under the newsworthy standard every day.”
After hearing arguments from both sides, U.S. District Judge James Whittemore said he plans to make a ruling next week.
The next course of action to get the video removed could be Hogan copyrighting the tape at the center of the scandal and lawsuit. Hogan’s attorney said Hogan has filed an application to copyright the recording, which could give his attorneys more pull to have the video removed.
Drew McIntyre announces death of his mother
WWE wrestler Drew McIntyre announced Thursday the death of his mother, Angela Anne Galloway, at the age of 51.
McIntyre missed this week’s WWE TV tapings in England following his mother’s death, which he says occurred on Saturday, November 3. The funeral is scheduled for Friday.
“I wish we could thank everyone individually as everyones words have touched us all. From my WWE family, my brothers and sisters and even those we don’t know, but we were all connected through the thoughts and prayers for her which were simply unreal,” McIntyre said in a Twitter blog. “We say goodbye tomorrow and it’s going to (be) one big celebration with Mums request of no black, we’re getting colourful.”
Edge Update
Retired WWE wrestler Edge (Adam Copeland) says neck surgery “went well” on Thursday.
Copeland tweeted: “Btw I don’t know how anyone else could ‘report’ it, but surgery went well #guessoneofmyfriendsisastoogelol.”
Copeland said on Twitter earlier this week that there is still not a chance he could wrestle again according to doctors.
The WWE Hall of Famer will now begin the recovery process, which Copeland said in recent interviews could last a few to several months. He will be aided by Beth Phoenix, who finished up with WWE last month in order to take care of Copeland.
The Final Card For Sunday’s TNA Turning Point PPV
TNA World title Ladder Match:
Jeff Hardy © vs. Austin Aries
Winner Gets a TNA Title Shot, Loser of the Fall Cannot Get a Title Shot Until BFG 2013:
AJ Styles vs. Bobby Roode vs. James Storm
TNA Tag Team Title Match:
Chavo and Hernandez © vs. Daniels and Kaz
TNA TV Title No DQ Match:
Samoa Joe © vs. Magnus
TNA X-Division Title Match:
RVD © vs. Joey Ryan
Kurt Angle vs. Devon
Joseph Park vs. Doc
ODB & Eric Young vs. Tara & Jesse From Big Brother
A WWE UK Stadium Event Possible?
Following Wade Barrett discussing his desire for WWE to bringSummerSlam back to the UK, it has now been reported that WWE officials have been meeting with representatives from several major stadiums in the UK about running a stadium event. WWE recently met with representatives from a stadium in London as well as Manchester’s Old Trafford soccer stadium. On Friday, WWE officials will meet with officials from the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff, Wales.
– Wade Barrett posted the following on Twitter, discussing the WWEbringing SummerSlam back to the UK… “Wrestlemania 29 tickets go on sale this Saturday and I’ve no doubt that the Brits will again make up a disproportionately large % of sales. After showing that they are the best fans on the planet this week in Brum, I think it’s about time Summerslam made a return to Wembley. There is no place in the world i’d rather beat Sheamus than over the centre-circle of the greatest stadium in the world.”
Linda McMahon Speaks Out – Senate Loss & Major Spending
Linda McMahon was recently interviewed by Business Week about her recent campaign loss. Here are the highlights…
Realizing she had lost the election: ”I was sitting by myself, actually. I had just taken a moment to go upstairs and get my thoughts together on what I was still hoping would be a victory speech. I was just sitting there, going over my speech—clearly you have a concession speech as well, but you’re hoping that’s not the one you use. I wasn’t paying that much attention to the TV. This was about 40 minutes after the polls closed. Then I looked up and saw a check mark next to Chris Murphy’s name on ABC. I barely caught it out of the corner of my eye. I just thought, “Wow.” I was stunned for a moment. I sat there for a few minutes on my own, reflecting on what the race had been. I thought about the thousands of people who not only had touched me but whom I had touched as well. All the notes, “Thank you for running. Thank you for showing me that it’s worth putting everything on the line,” and things like that.”
What She Learned from the First Race: ”I felt I really needed to have my thoughts and plan written down so people could see it. Because of the associations with WWE, I wasn’t resonating with women so that became a priority, so we started something called “Conversations with Linda.” ”
Why She Ran Again: ”What really got me in the race the first time was looking at where our economy was. There didn’t seem to be businesspeople focusing on that. After I lost, I just kept watching. I had four little grandchildren when I first decided to run in 2009. By the end of the year, I had six. It just wasn’t fair for these kids to be shouldering such debt and to then grow up in an economy that didn’t offer the same opportunity that their grandfather and I had. I don’t want to minimize the job of a senator. It’s not just about the economy, but that was the biggest gap we had. When Senator [Joe] Lieberman announced he was retiring, I thought it was time to reach out again. I knew the opportunity would probably never come back again for me.”
Whether the $97 Million was ‘Well Spent Money’: ”I feel really good about what I’ve accomplished. So many people have said, “You’ve made me think that I can do something. You’ve made me look at things a new way.” I think people were more thoroughly convinced the second time around that I was passionate about these issues. I found that I had a special following among 12- to 14-year-old girls. I was incredibly flattered. When I asked a mother about it, she said, “You have become a role model for these girls.” ”
Her Future: ”One thing I’ll continue to do is our philanthropic work. I’m not really focused right now on what happens next. I don’t really anticipate running for public office again. I think I’ve given that a really good, strong shot. At this moment, it’s not a consideration. Things can always change but it’s not something I anticipate right now.”
Backstage News on The Rock Winning the WWE Title
WWE officials are faced with two issues right now as far as The Rock winning the WWE Title at the Royal Rumble goes.
One is that The Rock winning theWWE Titlewill mean there are noWWE Titledefenses at any live events for a three-month period.
They will also haveto workout with The Rock whether or not he will be available for the Elimination Chamber pay-per-view and whether they want himto workthat event. Those details may have already been worked out as it was a topic largely talked about among some of the WWE talents this past week.
It’s coming down to the wire in terms of needing to have a set plan and commitments to dates considering the hectic movie promotion schedule Rock has in early 2013.
With the challenges they are facing, it’s said that nothing has changed – the plan is still for The Rock to win the WWE Title at Royal Rumble, from CM Punk, and main event at WrestleMania 29, possibly against John Cena.
More Later!
