Hey everyone. Amazing...2 columns in one month!
Surprisingly, there has been quite a bit of news the last week or two.

Firstly...I am still looking for a new catch phrase, so keep them coming to:

newcatch@aroundthering.com

Now, here are the first 10 people who got the last brain buster:

Mike "ratdog" Kapilow, George Gilliam, Jimmy L.
Fiddler Jr, Ron Hall, Leon Woody, Nate Dooley, Daniel Bowman, Joe Stone, Kevin Redding, Tom LaMarca. Congrats to the first 10 and to all of you who sent in the correct answer. If you didn't get the right answer, don't get too frustrated and keep on trying!!

There is a lot of news, so lets get to the meat and potatoes...

I guess I will start with the biggest news which broke this morning and that is Linda filing for divorce from The Hulkster. I guess things there haven't been so good for the Hogan family, especially with the troubles going on with Nick and his accident. I have read rumors all day and one of the biggest is that they are getting divorced in order to put all the money in Linda's name in case the Graziano family decides to sue. In any event, it is sad to see this, however not totally unexpected. In the last season of the VH-1 reality show "Hogan Knows Best", there were signs of a break and the couple even with to a counselor. Seemingly, it just didn't work out. I hope things improve for that situation.

Y2J...Chris Jericho returned to WWE and Raw this passed Monday. It was really good to see Y2J and he definitely got a great pop. But was it me or did it just seem to lose the luster that it could have had, had WWE Magazine NOT sent out the latest issue early? I mean I think we all knew he was back with the company, but he kept denying the rumors in all his interviews. I like his way of thinking...if you give away everything, what fun is it if everyone knows? It would have been so much cooler if they had just kept it quiet. Well...there goes WWE ruining another big surprise. Drop by my board and give your thoughts. http://www.aroundthering.com/phpBB

Okay...the other day in the W-O newsletter, there was news about Trish Stratus at the Gemini awards and how stunning she looked. Ummmm...uh...I may be in a minority here, but I don't think she looked that hot. I don't dig the new hair at all. I think she looked best just before she retired and then when she was on the short-lived reality show "Armed and Famous". I mean her body is definitely still hot but that hair and the way it makes her face look... I just don't know. Check out the new poll of the week on my page and tell me which way you prefer Trish!! http://www.aroundthering.com

Funny...the last article I wrote had a little tidbit on Chris Masters and his WWE suspension. For those that subscribe to my article directly, you all saw it. But as I said I hope he gets his act together before he is shown the exit door...well by the time my article got to print in the W-O newsletter...Masters had been fired.
I hope he can get himself cleaned up and learn how to "work" and "sell" injuries, otherwise no one will want to work with him.

I don't like "The Miz". But at least he knows how to follow orders. Not too long ago he and John Morrison won the WWE Tag Belts from MVP and Matt Hardy in what JBL thought was a pathetic in ring performance. JBL told the duo to apologize to MVP and Hardy and to Punk as they did Color commentary for a Punk match. Miz listened to the "Wrestling God" however, Morrison told JBL to mind his own business...which is a big mistake. Morrison is still a bit of a rookie and needs to learn from his elders. He did end up apologizing in the end, but take a cue from Miz and do what you are told!!

I read recently that the Georgia Athletic and Entertainment Commission has set up new rules for wrestling events. Under these rules, it will make it a lot harder to put on a wrestling event let alone, a good event. No more cage or Hell in the Cell matches for Georgia as the rules don't allow for wrestlers to blade. This is a real shame for all the Georgia wrestling fans!!

I was reading an article on Thanksgiving with the WWE Superstars saying what they were thankful for. Now I am not a huge Matt Striker fan, but what he was talking about is true. The days of the male managers is really becoming less and less in this industry. The days of the Bobby Heenans, Classy Freddie Blaisse's, Johnny Valiants, The Grand Wizard of Wrestling. Where did this lost art go? The days when Jimmy Hart would toss the megaphone into one of his wrestlers to crack it over the skull of an opponent and win the match. Or Classy Freddie Blaisse handing his cane to the Iron Sheik or Johnny Valiant handing his cigar to rub it into an unsuspecting opponents eyes. This is exactly what this business needs right now. A manager with a stable of wrestlers. Why they took this away is beyond me. To me it always added something to the show..."What's Heenan reaching for in his pocket??" or "Jimmy Hart is distracting the ref...there's the megaphone!! Oh no!! Some poor shlub just got whacked!!" Bring back the managers now!!!

In some good news, I was just reading a report that said according to the new WWE Magazine, that Bobby Lashley is scheduled to return in December. That is some good news and I definitely am a fan of Lashley.

A quick Happy Birthday to WWE Women's champ Beth Phoenix who turned 27.

Well in something I am surprised to see is that they are allowing CM Punk to establish himself as a credible ECW champion. Back when John Morrison dropped the title due to his Wellness suspension, the plan was to have Punk drop the title back to Morrison once he came back. They have had one or two matches in which Punk has retained and now with Morrison and Miz winning the WWE Tag titles on Smackdown, I think this will help Punk. CM Punk is a great superstar and is truly good enough to hold the belt for awhile as long as they don't screw him over.

Edge is back...yay...can you hear the sarcastic enthusiasm??? This guy is like a bad penny...keeps turning up. As if that was not bad enough, they now put him in an angle with Vickie Guerrero. I can't believe she sold out to an angle that even Kristal Marshall wouldn't do. And then the kiss between Edge and Vickie...it was horrible. Worse than watching old people kiss!! Gotta wonder what Eddie would have thought of this angle??

Kristal Marshall was released from WWE. In a statement she made on her website, she said that she was released because she didn't want to do the angle with Edge, as she felt it was morally degrading. Glad to see there are still people out there that are willing to not sell out their morals. But what got me was the rest of her statement. "Lita was in my opinion the greatest female wrestler of all time". Ok...where do I even begin? To steal a Stone Cold line...WHAT?!! Are you kidding me?? I won't take anything away from Lita's in ring accomplishments, but to say she is the best female wrestler of all time is a complete slap in the face to the likes of the late Fabulous Moolah, Mae Young and even Madusa. Without the likes of those ladies, Lita would have been nothing. To end her statement about Lita she said "On the day of Lita's retirement, the fans didn't just boo her because she had heat; they booed her because despite all that she contributed to women's wrestling, all that they seemed to remember about her was the "slutty" vamp she played on TV." Not quite. People booed her because of what she did to Matt Hardy in real life. At least that's my opinion.

I read that the Nasty Boys had a dark match at SD and stunk the place up!! Reports were that they made it out like they were still big stars of the early 90's. The reports also said they worked stiff against Dave Taylor and Drew McIntyer. And due to The Nasty's taking their time to get to and into the ring, it left the ring crew only 6 minutes to change the set and ring for ECW. Not a good way to get a contract in WWE guys!!

Phew...That was a lot of news to get through!! Well, in closing, I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving. And with that, it is time for...

***The Last Brainbuster***

Q: This Canadian wrestler started his pro career at the age of 16. He wrestled for the AWA in the early to mid 70's and had a 5 year stint in the NWA from 1975 to 1980. He came to the then WWF and was one of the top heels of all time. He is a former US, Intercontinental and tag team title holder. He is a real wild man. Who is this man?

A: Rowdy Roddy Piper

***This Weeks Brainbuster***
(Be sure to send all answers and/or comments to ericknudsen@aroundthering.com. Remember to include your name.)

Q: He was the first major person from his country to become champion of a major U.S. group In The 70's and into the 80's. He won the WWF World Title, Intercontinental Title, U.S. Title, and Tag Belts with Bob Backlund. He even had a great 75 Minute draw match with Bruno Sammartino at Shea Stadium. Who is he??

Well that's it for me. Thank you for joining me for this edition of Around The Ring. I am Eric, that's my opinion and I am standing by it!!