Wrestling is an extremely popular and increasingly growing sport that has been around for a great many years. More and more individuals from all over the world are coming to know and love wrestling as not only a sport, but a wonderful source of entertainment.

It is a sport that has not just become popular in the last several years, wrestling has actually been a popular sport that has been around for a lot longer than many people may have originally thought. The sport of wrestling is believed to have first begun over as many as a thousand years ago in ancient Greece, and it was not really even considered to be a sport at all.

An interesting fact about wrestling is that when this sport originated, it was not taught to individuals for the sport aspect of. The many individuals that learn and train in wrestling develop graceful movements, dexterity, a large amount of strength, and they learn great skill. Many of these reasons are what is thought, as to why it might have been used as an ancient form of military training. These factors made it very beneficial when the need would arise, and the soldiers would have to fight against other opponents on the battlefield. The helpful skills that they learned in wrestling, was extremely useful while they were in combat.

Another interesting fact is about wrestling is that it was also offered in ancient Greece, as part of students education, along with the regular courses that were taken for educational purposes.

In today’s fast paced society, professional wrestling is not only played by many and looked upon for the sport that is involved in it, but it is also used as a career for a large number of successful wrestlers that entertain thousands of people all over the world.

Partial source: PWInsider.com

- Steve Austin’s “The Condemned� has now brought in $7,1093,581 in the past 18 days.

- Sabu was originally scheduled to lose to Kevin Thorn last night on ECW. His release from the company lead to ECW on Sci-Fi being rewritten. Nunzio ended up putting Thorn over instead.

- The reason the Snitsky promos have been airing on RAW is Snitsky may be heading over to the RAW brand to challenge John Cena for the WWE Title.

1. Kurt Angle is not healthy and should retire.

Chris Morciglio: FACT. Wasn’t the reason that Kurt “left” the WWE was because he needed time to heal his injuries that accumulated over years and years of abuse? Or are those my rose-colored glasses speaking again? While training for the 1996 Olympics, he fractured two cervical vertebrae, herniated a couple of discs and pulled four muscles. In 2003, Angle was operated on to repair nerve and spinal damage. I think that operation also had something to do with bone spurs and recurring disc problems. Hello!!!??!!! Anyone there?!? We are talking about the spinal column here, Kurt, not a twisted ankle!! I think we all understand how much you love the game, how much you are responsible for the wonderful memories you have etched in our minds (athletically, comedically, and entertaining-wise), and how much you feel you could still offer. That is what makes you great, Kurt. You give us until you can’t give anymore. You have fans that need you, but you have a family and children that need you more. Who cares about the millions you can potentially make when there is even the slightest chance that permanent debilitating injury may await? The impact (no pun intended) you have made on the wrestling world will never be forgotten and probably never duplicated. Your legacy is guaranteed. Kurt, the white horse is here, the sunset is here…..you know what to do.

Bryan Carpenter: FICTION. Well, yes, he’s unhealthy at the moment, but I disagree heavily on the latter part of the statement. Maybe it’s the diehard Kurt Angle fan in me, but I can’t stand behind the Olympic Champion throwing in the towel for good just yet. Sure, he desperately needs to take some time off from in-ring action for awhile, maybe even up to a year or more, in order to rehabilitate from the overwhelming amount of injuries he has accumulated over the last six years. But retire altogether? No way. Ever hear of a guy named Chris Benoit? He has been through similar injuries in the past, but he’s still pushing forward, and his career has been going on for much longer than Angle’s. Besides, Angle has just signed with TNA, which could be the start of the company’s long-awaited rising up against the WWE. Hopefully the TNA officials keep him out of action until he is at least 85%, because obviously, he’s never going to be 100% again. Most wrestlers who have been as active throughout their careers as he has never are again. It just comes with the job. Picture a one-year build for an Angle-Joe World title match (think Hogan-Sting circa Starrcade ‘97, only better). I’m almost creaming my jeans just thinking about it… and that, my friends, is true.

Score: 0 for 1

2. The signing of Kurt Angle cements TNA’s status as the first legit #2 promotion in the U.S. since WCW.

Chris Morciglio: FACT. Unfortunately. For all the reasons I listed above is where the misfortune of this lies. Kurt Angle gives name recognition to this promotion. This will, in turn, drive Kurt Angle, possibly like he has never been driven before. He, for all intents and purposes, could be the foundation of TNA. Angle brings amazing ring skills and excellent mic skills to the table, as well as a positive presence in the locker room. Does anyone think AJ, LAX, Daniels, Sabin, Dutt, Roode, EY, Joe, or Petey would turn down the opportunity to sit with Angle for a few hours and tap his brain? A promotion could certainly start with worse (please see Jarrett, Jeff). The “dream” matchups will ensue. Angle/Joe, Angle/Jarrett, Angle/Sting?, Angle/AJ, Angle/Daniels………shall I continue? Kurt Angle knows this and will give until his body can’t give anymore. I just hope the success of TNA isn’t realized at the expense of a true great athlete.

Bryan Carpenter: FACT. This is a no-brainer. I’m in full agreement with Chris on this one. Angle SHOULD be the foundation of the company. Let’s face it, no one in a million years saw him leaving the WWE for TNA. So many fresh and interesting feuds lie ahead for Angle in TNA as long as his body is able to hold up. Like I stated above, if they were to tease an Angle-Joe World title match and let it simmer in the minds of the fans long enough for Angle to heal up, there’s no telling how many pay-per-views the company would sell. Basically, as long as Angle stays far, far away from the likes of Jarrett, Nash, and Sting (sorry, he’s dead to me), I’ll be a happy camper.

Score: 1 for 2

3. Ultimately, bad TNA booking will suck all the drawing power from Kurt Angle, just as it did from Sting.

Chris Morciglio: FICTION. Kurt Angle can survive bad booking, because he is an “honest” character. Let me explain. The nostalgic lust we have as wrestling fans can sometimes cloud our judgement. Sting has gone through too many metamorphoses. Blade Runner Sting guy was cool. Screamin’ surfer 80’s Sting guy was OK. If we are honest with ourselves, the 80’s Sting surfer dude was a little bit hacky, kinda like the whole Two-fer-Tuesday on your local rock stations. Steve Borden ran the whole bleached flat top thing into the ground into the 90’s. Then, came the amazing transformation. Steve Borden was painted white and patterned after a guy who was killed during the filming of his movie. Creepy!! Plus, the Crow Sting guy was born of a set of circumstances that necessitated his creation. In other words, Crow Sting guy would never have been born if it weren’t for the NWO. In the majority of Sting’s career, his character hasn’t necessarily been “honest”. It has always played off of something else. Kurt Angle, on the other hand, came into ECW as an Olympic wrestler, beat Shawn Stasiak in his WWF/E debut as an Olympic wrestler, joined the Corporation and had many wonderful interactions with Austin/McMahon as an Olympic wrestler, and became the Wrestling Machine as an Olympic wrestler. Kurt Angle has been boo’ed as loudly as he has been cheered. That’s because we can all relate to being both a heel and a face in our own lives. We identify with the honesty, and honesty will ALWAYS draw at the “box office”.

Bryan Carpenter: FICTION. I pray to God, FICTION. This was a difficult question for me to decide on. TNA has always seemed to have a knack for pulling the plug on guys at the peak of their popularity (Christian Cage and Monty Brown, just to name a few), but something tells me that Kurt Angle might be able to dodge this bullet. Like Ric Flair, Angle has the ability to make almost anyone look good against him, and weither he’s winning or losing, the fans will always show a massive amount of appreciate and support for his efforts.

Score: 2 for 3

4. Bringing Vince Russo back is the right move for TNA.

Bryan Carpenter: FICTION. I’ve never been a fan of Russo, at least not since he started appearing as an on-camera personality years ago. Right now, TNA has enough going for it to launch itself into real competition with the WWE, something the E hasn’t experienced since WCW went under. They just signed Kurt Angle, Samoa Joe is inches away from gaining the World title, and the company has finally snagged a primetime television slot after five years of hard work. Russo’s return can only do harm for TNA, and at this all-time high point in the company’s history, they really need to be focusing their attention on more pressing matters. Russo, go back to church.

Chris Morciglio: FICTION. Spot on, Brian. TNA was going to get to this plateau on the star power alone. Names like Steiner, Nash, Sting, Jarrett have all gotten the attention of the WWE-brainwashed fans who lost interest and are now returning to the scene. You know why these fans left? Probably had a lot to do with Vince Russo, his ego, his sometimes nonsensical booking, and the politics he destroys locker rooms with. Russo may bring an initial pop in regards to the shocking things he’ll do right off the bat, but after that, it will be “same old, same old”. Let the names above draw the viewers, and then let the product (Ultimate X, Joe, AJ, Daniels, Six Sides of Steel, a real tag division, etc.) sell itself.

Score: 3 for 4

5. WWE should bring back Kevin Nash and Scott Hall and work an NWO vs. DX program.

Bryan Carpenter: FICTION. No, no, no, no, NO! Does anyone really want to see that happen? It was bad enough being subjected to a DX/McMahon feud for six months that did nothing for anyone involved. Hall and Nash’s best years waved bye-bye a long time ago, and bringing them in to feud with HBK and HHH now would be an unforgivable sin. Everyone knows that HHH is going to find himself back in the WWE title hunt in the next three to six months anyway, so why waste our time with yet another return of the NWO? Besides, we all remember how well that turned out when it was attempted back in early 2002. Puke.

Chris Morciglio: FICTION. Ever have to take a pee and then you get a pee-shiver out of nowhere that rocks your spine like a Double-A Spinebuster? That’s what this question did to me. This may work if we turned back the clock 8 years, got Kevin Nash some prosthetic hips, knees, legs, ankles, quads and got Scott Hall to step 3 of his twelve step program. Don’t get me wrong, I loved this back in the day, as I loved old-school DX. But, this DX isn’t really DX, the “new n.W.o.” wasn’t the real one, either, and the tolerance of fans for the rehashing of old angles is beginning to wear thin. While we’re at it, let’s tie it all up together in a tidy little package. Hall and Nash vs. HBK and HHH, with Katie Vick as special referee, the Gobbledygooker as the ringside enforcer, in a Dog Kennel Match where the winner has to drag the Big Show’s dad’s coffin into an open grave that the Undertaker lost another match in.

Score: 4 for 5

6. Hulk Hogan will wrestle his final match sometime in the next 12 months.

Bryan Carpenter: FACT. Again, this was another difficult question for me to decide on. I don’t think that Hogan will address it his “final match” beforehand, though. Like Terry Funk, it’s doubtful that Hogan will ever call it quits and stick to his word. But for God’s sake, the man almost crippled himself while standing up from his couch! It sure would be a shame to see Hogan kill himself in the ring in front of all his Hulkamaniacs (who, by this point, must be running on nostalgia and nostalgia only), but if he doesn’t throw in the towel for good soon, it’s going to happen. I honestly don’t think there’s going to be enough left of The Immortal one in the next 12 months to continue on, but then again, I have been wrong before.

Chris Morciglio: FICTION. Hogan = paycheck-chasing attention whore. Well, we know there is going to be Wrestlemania. Just who it’s against is really the only question. I’m sure there will be another phenomenal young talent who needs to be knocked down a few pegs to the Infernal One. Ooops, sorry…..Immortal One!! The man is a walking train wreck. His body probably sounds like a bowl of Rice Krispies in the morning, but for some stupid reason, we keep cheering. And cheering, and cheering, and cheering. He will pollute our TV screens for as long as we keep encouraging him to do just that. He can’t last forever, can he? I mean, who does this guy think he is, Mae Young and Moolah? 12 months, ……….hell, he can pull that off with no problem. Maybe by that time, Hogan’s son will have something going on that Hogan can pimp out for him.

Score: 4 for 6

Styles and Tazz welcome us to the show and hype Sandman vs. Big Show in the main event.

Tonight’s special guest is Jim Ross. BOOMER SOONER BAH GAWD~!

JR: Boy I gotta tell you, it is great to be back in Tulsa. I want to thank Joey and Tazz for allowing me to be here, as I started my career here in Mid-South. A long time ago, and I am a big fan of ECW. This style reminds me of…

Matt Striker makes his way out.

STRIKER: I am out here at the behest of Paul Heyman to educate you Mr. Ross and to teach all of the ignorant masses. I am a boneified NY School teacher. After listening to you it is apparent that just like all of these people you lack education. It is fitting that you are wearing blue, because you are blue collar. You champion hard work and morals. I bet you enjoy alcohol as well. You remind me of Sandman with his beer and cane. Getting this close to you I see you are an old man, where is you cane? Oh, you just have a ridiculous hat.

Sandman appears and Striker begs off to JR…and Sandman nails Striker and hands the cane to JR! Sandman holds him and JR NAILS Striker! BOOMER SOONER! Striker escapes.

JR: Before we drink, I want to toast the next ECW champion…THE BAH GAWD SANDMAN!

Sandman and JR share a beer.

We get a commercial for the Eric Bishoff book. He’s shootin and people will be pissed off.

Back from commercial and in 2-weeks, we will get Extreme Strip Poker. Perhaps bondage will be involved.

Holly is in the back. He will not tell RVD what he is going to do, he’ll show him.

Highlights of Holly costing RVD his match with King Booker.

EXTREME RULES: RVD vs. Hardcore Holly

Lock up and off the ropes and an arm drag by RVD. Spinkick by RVD and he yells at Holly. Holly back with rights, off the ropes and a counter and superkick by RVD. Clothesline to Holly and he is kicked to the floor. Holly pulls RVD to the floor as RVD celebrated, rights by Holly but RVD suplexes Holly onto the barrier…spinning leg drop from the apron connects. RVD now looks for toys and gets a table. He sets it up and Holly nails him in the back. RVD is slammed to the steps and then chops by Holly. Holly then whips RVD to the steel post. Back into the ring now and a leg drop and cover for 2 by Holly. To the corner and RVD fights back and connects with rights. A whip and Holly nails RVD with a boot to the head. Holly chokes RVD over the middle rope now. Camel clutch variant by Holly, RVD fights and gets the ropes. Holly doesn’t break and RVD gets to his feet and escapes. Clothesline by Holly and RVD is down. Boots by Holly and RVD tries to fight back again. Elbow by Holly and RVD is down again and Holly covers for 2. RVD with rights, off the ropes and Holly to the apron and they brawl… Holly tries a suplex through the table…and it CONNECTS, DAMN! We head to commercial @ 6:40.

Back @ 9:58 with Holly in control and bleeding pretty damn well from the back as his back is SLASHED open, like it is almost 10-inches of cut! He drops RVD throat first onto a chair. Holly lays the chair across RVD and goes to the 2nd rope…ALABAMA JAM connects, 1…2…NO! Holly grabs RVD, suplex try…countered and RVD suplexes Holly onto the chair! Holly with rights now, RVD fights back and they trade shots. RVD with repeated shots and clotheslines to Holly. Off the ropes and a rolling monkey flip by RVD. RVD up top…leaping sidekick to Holly! RVD has the chair…running basement dropkick connects! That was harsh. RVD has the chair, lays it on Holly and gets Rolling Thunder for 2! RVD with the chair again, lays it down…leaps and Holly catches him and POWERBOMBS him onto the chair! 1…2…NO! Kick by RVD and Holly is down. RVD lays the chair on him, goes up top…Frog Splash but Holly tosses the chair into RVD’s face! Holly covers 1…2…NO! Holly goes for the Alabama Slam, countered and then Holly gets the chair…VAN DAMNINATOR~! RVD up top…FROG SPLASH! 1…2…3!

Winner: RVD @ 17:40 via pin

Trainers rush out to check on Holly and start to wrap up his back as we get replays of the action. Holly is helped to his feet and gets a great ovation.

We see CM Punk in the back. He’s straight edge, I got it. He is addicted to competition and ECW. He wants the best like RVD, Sabu, The Big Show and Sandman. Kelly Kelley is here, she loves his “ink.” She promotes the strip poker and wants some help with learning strip poker. Knox is here and is pissed. Punk says he has his own women and Knox needs a higher fence because Kelly wants in his yard. Knox says Punk is lucky because he has to straighten Kelly out, but when he is done he will come looking for Punk. Punk says he’ll be ready.

Back from commercial with more Marine Propaganda!

Ariel on the mic. She read Francine’s tarot cards and it says she will be fat, ugly and pregnant, wishing she was with someone like Thorn.

EXTREME CAT FIGHT: Ariel w/Thorn vs. Francine

Francine attacks…CATFIIIIGHT! Francine strips some stuff off of Ariel, knee and a toss by Francine. Mount and a choke and Thorn is in and grabs Francine and they beat her down. Ball sis here and lays out Thorn with a chair.

Winner: No Contest @ 0:50

Balls checks on Francine.

We get a video package for the Sandman.

In the back Heyman is with Big Show. He knows Sandman will use the cane. Show is not worried, he’s the champ and a giant. If Sandman uses the cane, Show will make him a Popsicle. He tells Paul and the boys to stay backstage and that he wants the cane to be legal!

Back from commercial and Rene Dupree walks out of the shower, with towel. He says he is extreme and then checks to see if he has any balls left after all the steroid use.

They head to a commercial before the match begins.

ECW TITLE MATCH – Singapore Cane Legal: The Sandman vs. The Big Show ©

We are J.I.P with Sandman caning the hell out of Show. Sandman works the legs with the cane and finally takes Show down and to the floor. Sandman follows and nails him in the back of the head. Sandman with more shots and Show is now busted open. Sandman covers for 1. Styles tells us Holly needed 24 stitches in his back to close the gash he got and that it was deep into the fatty tissues. Damn. Show back with chops and the bloody giant is angry and in control, dropping Sandman with chops. More head butts by Show, rights now and Sandman is down. Eye poke by Sandman, rights and lefts to Show and then Show levels Sandman with a clothesline. Slam by Show. He kicks away the cane and big rights to Sandman. Sandman tires to battle back with rights and lefts, off the ropes…GOOZLE by Show, escape and a DDT by Sandman! He has the cane and works over Show with it again. Up top…CANE SHOT to the head and Show is down! Sandman grabs his knee right away and manages a cover for 2. He tries to get the cane again and Striker is here to take it away. Clothesline by Show. Cobra Clutch Back breaker by Show into the submission and Show picks him up and gets the standing leg drop (Showstopper) and covers for the win.

Winner: The Big Show @ 5:52 via pin

Show celebrates and says that no one can beat him.