Smith

Question for the ages: is Sunny a terrible person because of her mental illness....or is she just a terrible person anyway who happens to have mental issues?

I'd like to say the former, but, truthfully, I never heard any stories about her being a nice person at all even back in the '90s before all her issues. The woman is quite amazingly arrogant and self-centered.

Mike Johnson claimed on his hotline that Sorensen's mom actually went bankrupt paying her son's medical bills. He's been talking to Sorensen for his shoot, so I guess he would know.

I believe she did have insurance, which should have covered him too, but knowing how fucked up health insurance companies in America are, it sounds like maybe they screwed her on money. I think something similar happened to Kamala, he had insurance, but they still refused to cover the bill over his leg amputations over a technicality.

It gets trashed, but thank God for the NHS. They might be inept sometimes, but at least they're not actively trying to rip you off and bleeding you dry of everything your worth.

-I like how we were spared the whole "hero's big personal journey" most of these movies hit you over the head with. Dredd did change a bit by the end, but they didn't feel to draw a huge amount of attention to it or make it a big deal.

 

That

Got Dredd on DVD. It really is as great as everyone has said.

-Never rated Karl Urban as an actor, but he is fantastic here. Easily one of the best comic book movie performances I've seen, and maybe even more impressive considering he has to act with the majority of his face covered. His "Dredd voice" was basically what Christian Bale was probably going for in the Batman movies, only he doesn't sound terrible.

-looks gorgeous and the neo-goth set pieces are great.

-I like how we were spared the whole "hero's big personal journey" most of these movies hit you over the head with. Dredd did change a bit by the end, but they didn't feel to draw a huge amount of attention to it or make it a big deal.

-loved that they didn't water it down to a PG13 (or 12A) rating. Gave it an edge.

Has to be one of top 5 comic book films ever. Only complaint I have is that the DVD extras are a bit lacking. I was hoping for a commentary. Maybe they're saving it for the special edition, I don't know.

Yeah, totally different.

 

They're like Hale and Pace in a pair of little black dresses.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

*edit* for clarity's sake, I should point out I still don't know who's who.

Nikki having massive boobs and being like 20 pounds heavier doesn't it give it away?

The Bellas are good looking girls, but that's about it. They can't wrestle or cut promos and all this recent exposure on them as proved the don't really have personality either.

All they ever had to make them stand out was being twins. Which is useless now since they look totally different.

Truthfully, I think Jesse has just taken all this "miraculous recovery" stuff too seriously.

Yeah, he has recovered well if you're talking about living a normal life. I'm sure there are some sports he could still play too.

But in terms of getting back into the ring and taking serious bumps again? No way.

TNA wouldn't even clear him. And these are people who will let virtually anyone, including Hulk Hogan, get in the ring. What does that tell you?

Erm...okay?

 

That doesn't really relate to anything I said.

I mean he was stupid for expecting anyone to actually buy such a ridiculous story.

In pro-wrestling terms, he's positively foetal; I'd bet my left bollock he still thinks he can get to the WWE.

 

He's young, based on his hand writing he isn't that bright and his dream is all he's ever known.

 

*EDIT* I've just saw the injury incident for the first time. Fuck me. That's disgraceful.

This is same guy who tried to dismiss his initial angry blog post and fundraiser account by claiming "a friend" set it up, even though he never asked them to. And the friend, instead of saying they were a friend, impersonated him and spoke from his POV on the blog.

OK.

Presumably this is the same person hacking all the wrestlers' twitter accounts.

Jesse is an idiot for wanting to wrestle again.

OK, I can understand Austin and Angle coming back after serious neck injuries to wrestle. There were millions and millions of dollars at stake there.

But, he's making, what? $300 a match. And his neck issues are way worse than either of those two's were.

It's simply not worth the risk. Find something else to do with your life.

Weirdly, the Bellas' brother JJ has completely flipped out on Maria on twitter. He's also said the reason Maryse, Kelly and Maria didn't come back was because they spoke badly about WWE.

Maria almost certainly did. But, IIRC, Maryse and Kelly have always been very classy about them.

He also called her a tramp. Why do I feel all this is more interesting than Total Divas will be?

TNA's hands were tied. They were not in a position where they could afford, right now, to keep anyone who they couldn't prove was pulling his weight. In his position, Sorensen wasn't, not in comparison to others who would be cut in his place.

Does anyone actually believe that TNA had to fire Sorensen or risk going out of business? They're spending over one million a month on taping on the road, but somehow getting rid of him is going to make a difference.

Reading that Bellas thing. They've got it made at the moment haven't they. Just something to me says they'll be safe for a good time under contract.

Yeah, but look what happened to Mickie James' career in WWE as soon as Cena gave her the elbow.

http://www.wrestlingnewsworld.com/maria-sa...rns-of-3-divas/

Maria Kanellis is now claiming that not only did the Bellas block her return, they did it to two other girls as well.

They never hold up if you take them to court. They never do. WWE is different because they have the money to either pay you off or tie you up in court. But TNA never win. Imagine anyone with a moral standing looking at them contracts wrestlers are made to sign? Because there's little industry in wrestling, the wrestlers have to sign anything. R-Truth, Konnan and Daffney signed those TNA contracts as well. And they all got settlements. Its the same with the trademarks. The ones who fight it, get their names. A lot of people dont think its worth the hassle, though. Wrestlers sign them and worry about it later. "Circling the pussy before you get to the hole" is the way Brickhouse Brown describes it.

I think it is different because while WWE do have something similar written in, they would never actually try to enforce it. Owen Hart, Droz, etc, they handled that financially. Even more minor injures they pay for without a fuss. It came up during Linda McMahon's senate run and her response was basically "well, tell me exactly when WWE ever left someone on the hook for medical bills" and no one could find any examples. Yeah, Vince is a prick, but he's not THAT much of one.

TNA is a lot more sinister because, as has been shown in the past, they will try to enforce it. Yeah, you would win if you took them to court, but how many people can afford a lengthy trial?

"TNA sources" are usually spin doctors when it comes to PWInsider. They are the only ones who phone into their conference calls. Their TNA sources are probably Jeremy Borash or Bob Ryder. They can say what they like on this subject, but TNA sacking someone for being overpaid is so laughable. Most of their company is overpaid.

 

Also, they've throw out a new video, building up the signing of a new bloke. When in doubt "BIG SURPRISE" time.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=playe...p;v=hrFJKHhVQPE

 

Jesse Sorenson posted this the other week, interestingly enough. Its his original Gut Check (the ones before it came to TV) contract:

 

Wrestling is so scummy.

TNA are scumbags, true. But why anyone would sign that is beyond me. Who wants to be on television THAT badly?

I'd love to know what sort of numbers we're talking about here, too, because it has to have been next to fuck all. PA is a low paid job, even if they were paying him double what they usually would, it must have been peanuts compared to what they throw at some people on their payroll. I bet Mr Anderson makes more for two tapings than Jesse would have done all year.

Per Meltzer, Hogan gets $35,000 a show. I'm pretty sure Jesse didn't even make that in a year.

TNA Spin patrol out in full force. From PWI.

Since Jesse Sorensen announced on Monday that he had been released from his TNA contract, there's been a lot of outrage and resentment towards TNA for releasing someone who had suffered a broken neck working for the company. That negative response to Sorensen's release certainly amplified the #askdixie Twitter madness that took place over the course of the week when TNA President Dixie Carter began requesting questions from fans for her to answer. That request, obviously, came with the worst possible timing for the online audience.

 

Over the course of the last week, a number of people within TNA have discussed the circumstances leading to the decision to release Sorensen, so here are the confirmed details from the TNA side of things.

 

As previously noted, Sorensen release was made from a financial perspective, as the company is re-evaluating just about every employee and seeing where they can streamline things financially to better reflect the financial realities of taking TNA and turning Impact Wrestling into a full-time touring road show, instead of something based out of one location.

 

Sorensen was being paid a wage much higher than someone in his usual position as a production assistant would have received. This was TNA trying to help Sorensen as he recovered from his broken neck. At the time of the injury, he was on a TNA deal that paid him per appearance. TNA later signed him to a monthly guarantee where he paid no matter what and he was paid during his recovery period without being asked to do anything.

 

When TNA went on the road, the decision was made that Sorensen would then put to work as a PA, basically making sure everyone who was needed for the taping had signed in and confirmed they were present, then bringing talents to different areas they were needed for filming of promos, vignettes, etc. So, he was being paid a good salary for 2-3 days' work a month. The mindset behind that, we were told, was to give Sorensen the chance to learn some additional production skills that he could take elsewhere and have some additional work under him.

 

When the financial cutbacks began, TNA found themselves in a position where they began cutting staff - wrestlers and otherwise It is an across the board situation - wrestlers, office, production, etc. are all in the process of being reviewed with some being let go and others being given more responsibility.

 

Sources indicate that when Sorensen came up for review, he was in a position where he was making more than the average TNA staffer that could also handle the responsibilities, but wasn't working full-time. So, it was a case of the company being stuck with a choice of cutting someone who could handle more for less or someone who was being paid a lot more to do very little. From a bottom line perspective, TNA's hands were tied. They were not in a position where they could afford, right not, to keep anyone who they couldn't prove was pulling his weight. In his position, Sorensen wasn't, not in comparison to others who would be cut in his place.

 

Some have asked why Sorensen wasn't just given a different deal or asked to do more. Sorensen wanting to return to the ring was another factor that strongly worked against him while the company was reviewing him. There was a feeling within the company that despite the fact they were assisting him and helping him move on to whatever the next stage of his life would be, Sorensen was still pushing TNA to allow him to take independent wrestling dates and even let him back in a TNA ring. So, the company was trying to help him and assist him and he was more interested in getting back in the ring and potentially hurting himself, as opposed to learning more about the production aspect of the company.

 

It should be noted that Sorensen's recovery is nothing short of miraculous as he was initially expected to be a permanent quadriplegic. Within days, however, he began being able to walk again and all accounts are that he can do anything he wants physically - but cannot take the physical punishment that comes with contact sports or an activity like pro wrestling. Sorensen, however, has pushed himself to return to the ring and has, at times, trained to return inside the ring we are told. This led to issues with TNA. There were numerous occasions where Sorensen was told he could not take dates without getting himself medically cleared, which just wasn't going to happen given the reality his circumstances. We are told that Sorensen pushing to be allowed to wrestle during the same time that he was being paid higher than normal rates to do very little certainly worked against him.

 

TNA sources also noted that when Sorensen was first injured, the company did everything in their power to assist him financially and with his medical bills, as well as flying in and paying for his mother to remain with him as he recovered, then signed him to a guaranteed deal in order to make sure he had money coming in.

 

The Sorensen release, by all accounts, was one that TNA did struggle with, especially considering the circumstances. He was well liked personally and TNA sources indicate that they wanted to help him all they could, but they were in a situation where they had to make hard choices, and one of those choices was that Sorensen needed to be released from his contract - especially when he was pushing for things the company wasn't willing to allow him to do.

 

It should be noted that Sorensen has been soliciting bookings on his Twitter account, so it would appear he is still planning to pursue a return to the ring. So, while he has not publicly stated he would be wrestling, he is certainly looking to make appearances, something that a few people in TNA have expressed concern about privately.

Here are some sales figures for the latest WWE DVDs:

 

12 Rounds 2: Reloaded sold 31,855 copies in its first week. This is down from the 52,000 units from The Marine 3 sold in its opening week.

 

Speaking of which, The Marine 3 is up to 167,559 units sold in North America.

 

Wrestlemania 29 has sold 92,740 units in its first three weeks.

 

Source: The Numbers

Wrestling News World. I got 12 Rounds 2. It was OK. Darker than I thought.

WWE's The Marine 3 with The Miz is their most successful straight-to-DVD release in a long time. After four weeks of being released, the movie sold 153,226 units for $2,292,261. That's more than any regular WWE DVD will do this year with the possible exception of WrestleMania 29.

Oh, and Rock gave his cousin Tamina Snuka an SUV for his birthday. Class act.

Hmm a hysterectomy is a massive surgery for a woman, it takes a long long time to recover so I don't think she will be beating anyone up for a while. I don't know if a hysterectomy alone would cure cervical cancer, its interesting that she said that was all she needed. I may have to look in to that... I wish her a speedy recovery anyway

She may have had chemo too, and just not mentioned it.

Odds of her already being on her way to her boyfriend's house?

from 411mania.com

- For those who were wondering how The Marine 3: Homefront did on home video, The Numbers has some belated sales numbers. The film, which released on Blu-Ray and DVD on March 5th, opened at #13 with 51,934 in its first week and went to #19 in its second week with another 37,320 sold for a total of 89,254 units during that time. The film's gross sales numbers during that time was $1,335,240.

 

Further weeks of sales aren't yet available.

The Call made like $50 million and did great too, but Meltzer says it hasn't saved the movie division, just given it a reprieve. They still lost a lot with Dead Man Down even if The Call balanced it out,, so at the end of the year they'll look at how the other movies do (No One Lives, 12 Rounds Reloaded) then decide if they want to dismantle their film division.

Daffney and Amber O'Neal showed up and were in the crowd protesting. TNA basically paid her to stalk them.

Speaking of WWE movies, The Call had a huge opening weekend and did far better than anyone expected. It'll probably be No. 2 at the box office. The Marine 3 has always been doing great DVD sales too.

Dead Man Down flopped big though, although I place the blame for that on Colin Farrell, more than anything.