Dirt Sheet History: June 2008

Take a trip back to a memorable timeline in sports entertainment with the most important stories reported as fact in the journalistic world of pro wrestling dirt sheets.

Following the timeline of the last Dirt Sheet History looking back at May 2008, we get a glimpse into the top scoops from June of 2008 as we read Dirt Sheet History.

Reminder that you can find all past editions of Dirt Sheet History looking at 2004 through 2007 right here. Now enjoy June 2008.

6/1/2008

* Former WWE Diva Stacy Keibler lobbied hard to do a topless scene in the movie Mercy, an upcoming film by writer Scott Caan, but director Patrick Hoelck nixed the idea. Hoelck soon changed his mind and okayed the scene with Keibler, but Keibler nixed the idea herself. Keibler was then dropped from the film altogether. The role has since been given to a “no-name” actress.

6/2/2008

* At last Tuesday’s SmackDown taping, a fan jumped the barricade and punched one of the Edgeheads. Chavo Guerrero’s bodyguard Bam Neely jumped in and pummeled the guy before security arrived to break it up. Had the show been live, the incident probably would have been visible on camera, but WWE managed to completely edit it out of Friday’s broadcast.

6/4/2008

* The recently released Ring of Hell: The Story of Chris Benoit and the Fall of the Pro Wrestling Industry book has an account from a former WWE writer claiming that Stephanie McMahon would “relentlessly” badmouth her brother Shane McMahon to pretty much anyone who would listen during his time in the company. The former WWE writer also notes that Stephanie can be really confrontational at times. Here is the passage from the book concerning this:

“Stephanie’s not as smart as she thinks she is,” says one former WWE writer. “You can’t tell her a damn thing; she was confrontational about her stupidity, like coming up to you and saying ‘I know you think I don’t deserve this job!’ To be honest, put fake (breasts) on a rattlesnake and that’s Stephanie. She’s a conniving little (c-word) who I personally saw bury her brother Shane relentlessly to people in the industry, I mean just (expletive) all over her own brother. She’s disgusting; she’s got that Lady Macbeth ego to her.”

6/5/2008

* Steve Carell, who plays Maxwell Smart in the upcoming spy comedy “Get Smart,” says he had a scent-sational time kissing co-star Dwayne Johnson, who most might recognize as “The Rock.”

“The Rock has softer lips. I guess I could say that,” the 44-year-old actor told AP Television. “He smells like strawberry shortcake. For me, that’s why they call him The Rock. He rocks people’s worlds.”

Johnson countered that he doesn’t smell or taste like strawberry shortcake — “strawberry shortcake with liver I think.”

The 36-year-old wrestler-turned-actor said he was gung-ho about planting a kiss on Carell.

“It was just one of those things where I thought well, you know, `What could be the most entertaining and funniest moment that we could think of that would still make sense and still kind of root in reality?’”

“We came up with a great kiss,” said Johnson, who plays Agent 23. “I thought if Jake Gyllenhaal can do it, Will Smith can do it, then I can do it, too. I’m going to own it. I was like, `Give me those lips right now. Right now.’”

Said Carell: “He is such a good guy. We just laughed that whole day. That was a total no-brainer in terms of that scene. There was never one moment of hesitation or awkwardness. He’s game for anything, let me put it that way.”

6/7/2008

* The recently released Ring of Hell: The Story of Chris Benoit and the Fall of the Pro Wrestling Industry book alleges that Vince McMahon has something of a “love affair” for cocaine that may or may not have ever subsided. Here is what was written in the book:

According to numerous sources, McMahon had a great love affair with cocaine that may or may not have ever subsided; “he liked to brag with apparent justification that ‘I can snort as much of that stuff as anyone can put in front of me and never get hooked.”

One WWE employee of recent years told me, “The boys and former office staff use euphemisms when they talk about Vince’s ‘energy.’ You’ll hear it in things like, ‘I don’t know where he gets all the energy….. He doesn’t ever seem to sleep!’ The inside joke about it is that sixty-something Vince most likely isn’t that energetic over multi-day sleepness stretches without help. I’ve seen him so wired that his eyes looked like they were going to pop.”

6/8/2008

* Former Ring of Honor champion “American Dragon” Bryan Danielson worked a dark match at this week’s WWE RAW. Ring of Honor has released a statement saying that Danielson’s appearance was done with the permission of Ring Of Honor. Danielson, who trained at Shawn Michaels‘ wrestling academy and was under a WWE Developmental contract earlier in his career, is under contract with Ring of Honor and was featured prominently at the company’s most recent Pay-Per-View taping.

6/9/2008

* Ring of Honor tried bringing in Ric Flair for an upcoming show. ROH was close to having Ric Flair as a special guest on the 8/2 Manhattan event. However, the deal is now not possible. If ROH had secured Flair attempts would have been made to get Kenta Kobashi to the event so that Kobashi and Flair would have the opportunity to shake hands in front of the crowd. There are no talks of Kobashi returning to ROH.

6/10/2008

* Charlie Haas‘ appearance as Vince McMahon‘s special guest on Raw on Monday was said to be a rib. The idea was pitched by the creative staff as a joke. In the past, McMahon has stated to members of the creative team that “he’d rather watch paint dry” than watch Charlie Haas. McMahon got a kick out of the joke and approved of the two appearing together on camera. One WWE source compared this situation to the sort of vindictive booking that often took place in WCW. “This is really scary and it’s getting like WCW,” the source said. This wouldn’t be the first joke played on Haas by people in WWE. A few years ago, some people in management coined the term “Haas Pop.” They would use the term in reference to wrestlers getting no crowd reaction.

6/11/2008

* There is currently no deal in place between Bryan Danielson and WWE, reports prowrestling.NET, however, that could change at any time. Danielson is scheduled to work some shows in Mexico this week as well as some shows in Europe soon before returning to Ring of Honor at the end of the month. Danielson, who is under contract to Ring of Honor, received permission from the organization to work the WWE show. Should WWE offer Danielson a deal, most people believe that ROH would let him out of his contract with them.

Danielson was close to be offered a deal with WWE two years ago, but Vince McMahon and Johnny Ace put up a 6-2 height requirement and the deal was off the table. The height requirement doesn’t exist anymore as WWE has since signed wrestlers shorter than that height, Matt Sydal being a prime example as he is 5-7. However, one inside source expressed concern that the creative team wouldn’t know how to use him the best of his advantage. “He’s a hell of a mechanic and he would have gotten over fine,” one WWE source said. “I’m not sure in today’s environment.”

On another note, William Regal has been high on Danielson and other ROH wrestlers for quite some time. “If Regal had any stroke, Bryan Danielson and a lot of guys would have been signed a while ago,” one WWE source said. “He’s a good mentor, though. He gives golden advice.

6/12/2008

* Jim Ross on Bryan Danielson‘s Dark Match: “I watched ROH’s Bryan Danielson wrestle in Oakland and I told any one who would listen that the young man is a keeper. Great work ethic, unique skills, lots of character, and he wrestles like he is a “star” which is not something all wrestlers can do. I wished Bryan good luck as I left the arena in Oakland Monday and he went back to speaking with Shawn Michaels which can’t be a bad thing for Bryan. The WWE might be well served to help subsidize the ROH as they seem to be one of the most viable entities when it comes to developing talent.”

6/13/2008

* When asked about Triple H‘s marriage, Carlito said (PWInsider.com): “I may get in trouble, but that’s why I’m here. My opinion is that it was a smart move by [HHH]. I think that’s why he’s champion now and has been champion in the past, it’s easier to him. We, the real wrestlers, don’t depend on people in the business. We don’t have that benefit. We have to deliver the maximum in the ring. Others are given championships in a plate of gold or platinum, I’m happy for him.”

Same topic, but from PRWrestling.com: “Well I know I’ll probably end up with problems but f— it. It was a smart move on his part [to marry Stephanie McMahon]. That’s why he’s a champion now and has been for a couple of times. That makes your job a little easier, having people to help you backstage meanwhile us wrestlers break our asses off.”

Carlito on Triple H never going overseas to promote WWE (PWInsider.com): “I don’t see him coming to Chile or Paraguay, places like that. He’s always comfortable.”

6/14/2008

* There is an interview online with Triple H from last Thursday’s WWE press conference. Triple H is asked to respond to some recent comments Scott Steiner made about him and Ric Flair. He feels if he saw Steiner tomorrow, he’s sure they’d get along just fine. He said that Steiner has been saying the things he’s been saying about him so he has someone to blame for his failure in WWE a few years ago. Triple H also added that Steiner is trying to get noticed since he is “out of the limelight.” Triple H also noted that both he and Shawn Michaels aren’t the only people who like Ric Flair.

6/16/2008

* As seen last week on Raw, the password for the first Million Dollar giveaway was “WWE Universe,” which is a marketing buzz term used by the company similar to the “Raw Fan Nation” idea WWE television producer Kevin Dunn came up with last year due to his love for the NFL’s Oakland Raiders. “Raw Fan Nation” has pretty much been phased out by the company with the exception of the occasional airing of the commercial featuring 2005 Diva Search contestant Leyla Milani talking about the WWE Divas being empowering and so forth.

Internally, “Raw Fan Nation” is considered to be a failed idea, quite like WWE’s dismal attempt at creating buzz on SmackDown with the long forgotten “Smack Your TV” initiative in late 2003/early 2004. Anyway, Vince really hates the term “fan.” At one point he actually banned the creative team members from using that particular term during meetings, feeling it’s demeaning. As if that isn’t enough, McMahon hates the term “mark” even worse. With that being said, don’t expect “fan” to be included in any of the future passwords for the contest.

6/17/2008

* Regarding Carlito‘s comments on Triple H‘s position with World Wrestling Entertainment and his marriage to Stephanie McMahon at a press conference last week, a large percentage of the WWE roster share the same sentiments. However, there is a key difference as they keep their feelings to themselves and say it in private. A number of people have strong feelings over Triple H’s position in the company, but it’s a subject matter that almost everyone is smart enough to never talk about publicly as it’s practically political suicide.

6/19/2008

* Ring of Honor made attempts to bring in Ric Flair and Kenta Kobashi for the Saturday, August 2nd show at the Hammerstein Ballroom, but WWE isn’t letting Flair attend. Due to this, it looks Kobashi isn’t attending the show either. NOAH was looking to get a photo shoot of Flair & Kobashi together.

6/20/2008

* The recently released Ring of Hell: The Story of Chris Benoit and the Fall of the Pro Wrestling Industry book alleges that when Carlito was starting out in WWE, Vince McMahon made a racial remark towards him. It comes off somewhat similar to the Michael Hayes–Mark Henry situation in that quite like Hayes, McMahon likely didn’t mean any harm by his comment, but it’s still not something that should be said.

Here is the passage from the book regarding this incident with former WWE writer/See No Evil screenwriter Dan Madigan telling the story:

“I remember when I was working with Carlito [Puerto Rican wrestler Carlos Colon] when he just started. Vince wanted to talk to him to get to know him, and I was asked to attend the meeting to help work out a character. So we’re there, Carlito’s talking to him, just a normal conversation; Carlito comes from a normal background, has money. He speaks well. Vince interrupts Carlito mid-sentence and says to him, ‘Hey, can you spic it up some? Y’know spic it up when you talk?’ I look at Vince, this billionaire who just asked some Puerto Rican employee to ‘spic it up’ right to his face, and I just look at Carlito and say, ‘Yeah, spic it up’ like it was a joke,” says Madigan, laughing. “Vince’s image of a Puerto Rican was a Puerto Rican pimp. How out of touch do you have to be to not realize you could get in trouble for that?”

6/21/2008

* Michael Cole recently played a joke on Tazz by fooling him in regards to the upcoming Draft. Cole told Tazz that Mike Adamle was been moved to Raw for an announcing position. Tazz got hot, feeling that he has more tenure in the company and is more deserving of a promotion to one of WWE’s bigger shows than Adamle. Of course, Cole was only joking.

6/23/2008

* One reason Triple H was moved to SmackDown is due to a scheduling matter. The schedule on Smackdown is actually a lot more convenient for him, especially considering that wife Stephanie McMahon-Levesque is due to give birth in about a month and will be taking the babies on the road upon her return to work. The regular Raw show schedule runs from Friday to Monday, so he is always on his own on the road because Stephanie doesn’t attend house shows. However, Stephanie always attends the weekly Tuesday SmackDown tapings, whereas Triple H is at home or on a plane going home.

When he was on Raw, they pretty much only saw each other on Monday, the latter part of Wednesday, entire Thursdays, and the early part of Friday. Now that he’s on SmackDown, he can see Stephanie and the kids Monday through at least Friday. The weekly SmackDown schedule doesn’t start until Saturday night, so that gives them part of another day to be together some weeks. Instead of seeing his family for parts of three or four days a week, he should usually be able to see them as many as six days a week.

6/24/2008

* TNA’s starting an angle either this week or next week on Impact building towards Kurt Angle landing a new on-screen love interest. No word yet on who it will end up being. The role was originally designed for former WWE Diva Tammy “Sunny” Sytch, but a few TNA wrestlers came back with a bad report on her from a wrestling convention back in April, and TNA no longer had interest in using her.

6/26/2008

* Reportedly, there was an argument between Jim Ross and Vince McMahon after Raw as Ross turned down an invitation to fly on the WWE corporate jet from San Antonio to Houston for SmackDown after being drafted. As noted earlier in his blog, Ross contemplated quitting WWE with his wife until 6:00 a.m Tuesday morning.

Anyway, McMahon told Ross that he (Vince) risked his life on Raw and ruined his son-in-law’s life for the sake of the company. Word got out on what Vince said regarding Triple H and it gave some people a chuckle considering that his move to SmackDown is greatly beneficial to his personal life.

6/27/2008

* With the exception of Umaga to SmackDown, the closest thing to a surefire move was Rey Mysterio to Raw. Officials actually made the decision a few weeks ago while SmackDown writer Michael Hayes was away on suspension. Hayes wanted to keep Mysterio on SmackDown, but he had to give him up to Raw in order to land Jeff Hardy, and as most of you know, Hayes is close to the Hardys.

Although, SmackDown later lost Matt Hardy to ECW. Matt was moved over to ECW because the feeling was that if the two brothers appeared on the same brand, they would have to be a tag team, and Vince doesn’t want to push them as a tag team at the moment, even if they are incredibly over with the fans. Vince doesn’t believe in pushing tag teams as he prefers focusing on singles competitors. Also, with ECW losing CM Punk and Kane to Raw, they obviously needed someone to soften the blow, and that person was Matt Hardy.

6/29/2008

* Internally, WWE officials have a pecking order list regarding the top five stars in the company. In no particular order, Triple H, Undertaker and John Cena are regarded as the company’s three biggest stars. Batista and Shawn Michaels fall in the second tier level right behind them.

6/30/2008

* Former World Heavyweight Champion Rey Mysterio is speaking out for the first time about what he calls his “disappointing” title run in 2006.

Rey won the belt at WrestleMania 22 in April and only held it until July’s Great American Bash PPV. During his short reign on top, he was defeated in several non-title matches by Great Khali, Mark Henry, Rob Van Dam and others.

Mysterio tells The Sun, “Now I go back and reflect on it, when I don’t have the title, I think that things could have been handled a different way. Unfortunately I was the champion that lost more times holding the title.”

– Tune back in next time for more Dirt Sheet History as we continue 2008.

Stories are credited from Rajah, PWTorch, PWInsider and The Wrestling Observer. Month name photo art is by Phillip Martin.

All past editions of Dirt Sheet History are found here.