Saturday, August 28, 2010

LUNA VACHON PASSES AWAY

World Wrestling Entertainment issued the following statement this afternoon acknowledging the death of former performer Gertrude Vachon (a/k/a Luna Vachon), who was reportedly found dead this morning at her mother’s home

World Wrestling Entertainment has been made aware of the passing of Gertrude (Luna) Vachon. WWE extends its deepest condolences to the Vachon family.
Ms. Vachon was under contract with WWE at various times from 1993 through 2000, and performed under the name “Luna” Vachon. She last performed for WWE in early 2000.

WWE CONFIRMS SERENA'S RELEASE

 World Wrestling Entertainment announced exactly at 10:00 p.m. this evening that Serena has been released from the organization.


“WWE has come to terms on the release of WWE Diva Serena. We wish Serena the best in all future endeavors,” they wrote.


It is believed that she was released from her contract last weekend, but due to her appearance on tonight’s taped episode of Friday Night SmackDown, WWE waited until the conclusion of the broadcast to make an official announcement.


As reported Monday, she was released for disciplinary reasons.

UPDATE ON NXT SEASON 3

The SyFy network once again had their TV cameras at the WWE developmental FCW tapings this week filming matches.
Based on who wrestled at the tapings, you could speculate as to who might be on season 3 of NXT.
Superstars that wrestled and haven’t previously appeared on NXT included Xavier Woods, Idol Stevens, Bo Rotunda, Richie Steamboat, Wes Brisco, Tag Team Champions Johnny Curtis & Derrick Bateman, Hunico & Epico and FCW Heavyweight Champion Mason Ryan.
There have yet to be Diva Rookies on NXT, but we’ve heard that the idea is being strongly considered for Season 3. Divas in action included Aksana, AJ Lee, Livianna and FCW Divas Champion Naomi Night.
The Florida Championship Wrestling website recently confirmed that it will be holding live events in the coming weeks featuring the stars of “NXT Season 3,” so perhaps we’ll see NXT Season 3 on SyFy in some capacity this fall.

BATISTA SIGNS NBC'S CHUCK

 Batista has signed on for a reoccurring role on NBC’s Chuck. Batista will debut on the show October 11th, the week after Steve Austin’s appearance. Batista will play character Casey’s former soldier buddies who have gone rogue and are back to get revenge on him.

STEPHANIE MCMAHON GIVES BIRTH

Stephanie McMahon reportedly gave birth to her and Triple H’s third child Tuesday, a baby girl. The name of the child has yet to be revealed. McMahon already has two daughters; Aurora Rose Levesque (born July 24, 2006) and Murphy Claire (born July 28, 2008).

MICKIE JAMES TALKS ABOUT LEAVING WWE, HER MUSIC CAREER

- Mickie comes onto the show and jumps into a discussion on her new album “Strangers & Angels” and she says the experience has been very positive with good reviews & a great fan response.


- She decided to go into music because its something she’s always loved. She played violin in high school and was always interested in it, and she began writing songs while on the road in the WWE. She was never professionally trained to sing, but decided to give it a shot and she’s very happy with how its turned out.


- For right now, she’s trying to balance both wrestling & music, and will actually be facing Awesome Kong in October. She did make it sound as though music was more the route she was hoping to travel.


- Going into her wrestling career, James mentions being a fan of her work since first seeing her in BBOW back in 2001. She says going from the independents to the WWE was a huge accomplishment in her career. She was also very proud of the storyline with herself and Trish Stratus for Wrestlemania 22. She feels she was brought up to the main roster in an awesome story that helped her in the long run.


- James mentions that on this show’s WrestleMania 22 preview years ago, they remarked that the longest running story going into the show was the Mickie/Trish angle and as a result, it was one of the most anticipated. Mickie says there was pressure to deliver, but they both knew their characters well & understood the storyline perfectly, so they made it work.


- In comparing music to wrestling, she says that wrestling is more of a display of strength while performing music shows a more vulnerable side of her, so fans get to see a different side to her personality.


- She talks about her appearance on the television show “Psych” and she had a lot of fun playing the role she played. She says acting isn’t really the route she’s attempting to travel but she’s open to it.


- Mickie felt that the reason WWE didn’t want to use her Indy name “Alexis Laree” is because they probably thought it didn’t sound like a real name. She had no problems using her real name on WWE television as the name sounds cool. She gives her mother props for the cool name though Mickie and James brieftly joke
about the “Hey Mickie” song from the 80’s.


- When she started going into music, she says that the WWE supported her every step along the way up until she left the company.


- Dixie Carter attended some of Mickie’s concerts, and when asked if she’d go back to TNA, she says its something that interests her. However, she wants to balance both music & wrestling. She says she’ll have to see where music takes her and if she would be able to do both. She did also mention that TNA has a less strenuous schedule.


- She’s going to perform at a huge concert in her hometown of Richmond, VA with huge country music talents such as Gretchen Wilson and Montgomery Gentry. She says it’s a huge honor to be doing a big show like that, especially with big names involved. She says it is by far the biggest audience she’ll have ever sung in front of and is so happy that it is in her own hometown.


- She has heard people compare it to Gretchen Wilson which she sees as a massive compliment but she wants Gretchen to sound like Gretchen and Mickie to sound like Mickie.


- Mickie describes her music as “Where country meets rock”. James says he can hear a lot of rock influence, especially classic Southern rock. Mickie seems happy that he caught that.


- The discussion shifts to her leaving the WWE. Mickie says that there were goals she wishes she had accomplished, but was happy with her success there. When asked about the “Piggy James” story with Michelle McMcool, she acknowledges the mixed reactions the storyline got, but it ultimately didn’t get the payoff it needed because she got the Staff Infection. She also talks about how she forced herself to be ready in time for Wrestlemania 26.


- She has written more music for another album and hopes to keep growing bigger and bigger in her music career as she continues to improve.


- James mentions that recent guests have said how loyal wrestling fans are. Mickie agrees saying she has some of the best fans in the world and that wrestling fans are a lot like music fans in that if they really connect with you, they’ll be fans for life. She loves them all.