Guest Author - Patty Therre

Hello!

I hope you all had a happy and safe New Year's Eve and a relaxing day off from work the next day.

It's been a fairly slow week for wrestling news and, honestly, I think that's a good thing. Usually we hear the bad news fast and just float along when things are going well. I much prefer to float than to read a bunch of shocking scoops.

However, there's a WWE Pay Pay View coming and other things happening so let's take a look at what's going on in the wrestling world.

WWE'S NEW YEAR'S REVOLUTION IS THIS SUNDAY

Is it me or does it seem like WWE has a pay per view every week rather than every month? It's overkill. I don't know how people who get every pay per view can afford it. This one looks weak on paper but anything can happen especially with an Elimination Chamber Match on the card.

Let's take a look at the matches we know are taking place and what I think will go down.

WWE champion John Cena vs. Shawn Michaels vs. Carlito Caribbean Cool vs. Chris Masters vs. Kane vs. Kurt Angle - Elimination Chamber Match

The Elimination Chamber match could be good or may drag. Angle and Michaels will have to carry this one although Kane can be a power worker when he tries. Carlito and Masters have no place in this match yet. They haven't worked hard enough to be in a pay per view main event for the world title, in my opinion. John Cena, who has been enduring escalating boos from fans, may just drop the belt this time but I don't think so. I know the original plan was for him to hold it until Wrestlemania where he would then wrestle Triple H (and no doubt lose). But can Cena hold on that long with the crowd against him? If he turns heel, then it will be a heel vs. heel match at WM, something that WWE doesn't like to do. They want one good guy versus one bad guy. Unfortunately, the male fans are booing Cena and nearly forcing him to become a bad guy before he should. Personally, I think he would be a great heel and was before. He needs more of an edge to him and, if he does turn, I think the male fans who have been booing him will accept him again.

Don't forget that Vince McMahon has it in for Shawn Michaels suddenly and could be part of this match in some way. It looks like they are building up to a Vince vs. Shawn match. ACK.

The crowd is behind Michaels and/or Angle in this match and they want a title change. Will they get it? My guess is no.

Triple H vs. The Big Show

Blahhh. I am not interested in this match although the two work well together. Expect lots of cheating and sledgehammers in this one. As for the win, well, my head says Big Show if they are going to continue this feud. Triple H will come out on top in the end whenever that end may be. If this is the "blow off" match of the feud then expect Triple H to win by some heinous act. If there will be more matches between the two, I can see Triple H taking the first loss. Either way, don't expect this one to be a showstopper.

WWE Intercontinental champion Ric Flair vs. Edge

With all of Flair's dirty laundry airing in public and the way he has been humiliated, you would think I would say I believe he will win. I don't. I think Edge will win the IC title on his way to the "Money in the Bank" match that he has been waiting forever to wrestle.

WWE Women's champion Trish Stratus vs. Mickie James

Trish has held the belt for over a year and it may be time for a change. I don't particularly think Mickie James is the best choice as women's champ but the pickins are slim. It's almost time for Mickie to turn heel on Trish and for them to have a series of matches against each other. This match just may be the start of it.

Jerry Lawler vs. Gregory Helms (Former Hurricane)

With all the unused talent on the roster, why in the world is WWE feuding an announcer with Helms? Crazy stuff. I don't know (or care too much) who will win this match but I hope that there will be something in store for us. Perhaps Helms has brought in a friend to help him or maybe he will get the clean win to jumpstart his new push. Certainly, if Lawler wins, it would be a big blow to Helms who desperately needs to prove himself.

Ashley vs. Victoria vs. Candice Michelle vs. Maria vs. Torrie Wilson - Bra & Panties Gauntlet Match

This one doesn't even need to be discussed. It's for you, guys! I expect they will all end up in their bras and panties anyway. None of these women, except for Victoria, can wrestle so expect just a botched catfight of a match with clothes being torn off.

I am not sure if additional matches will be added but, as it stands now, this is one heck of a weak card. I'm not even sure who could wrestle to make it better either.

I will be back after the show to discuss it.

NEWSBITS

* The late Eddie Guerrero was honored by the El Paso city government on Tuesday. The city council presented Eddie Guerrero's widow, Vicki, and their daughters with the keys to the city in recognition for the pride he brought to El Paso, his hometown. WWE representatives were present to talk about a possible movie highlighting Eddie's wrestling career. Speaking of which, if you haven't gotten Eddie's book yet, I highly recommend you do. I am reading it now and it is really good. He was brutally honest about the people in the business and who he liked and did not like and I think you will definitely learn a lot about the man that was Eddie Guerrero after reading this book. I will have a full review of it in a week or so. (I wish I had more time to read!)

* For those fans of Charlie Haas who were upset to see that he and his new wife Jackie Gayda were fired from WWE a while back, you can smile again. Haas has re-signed with WWE and will be appearing in Raw very soon. His wife Jackie is an integral part of TNA now. This can't be easy on their marriage and I wish them the best of luck. I don't know when they will ever see each other! Nonetheless, Charlie will be back soon, possibly to be part of the Shelton Benjamin/Mama storyline that began Monday.

* Speaking of Shelton Benjamin's Mama, she is being played by 49 year old comedienne/actress Thea Vidale, who once starred in an ABC comedy titled "Thea" and has been in a lot of guest starring roles for TV as well as a doing a load of stand up comedy touring. You can see her website by clicking on the link at the top right of the page.

I have no idea where WWE is going with this storyline but she is the typical ear pulling "Mama" who wants to see her son win. I can't imagine this will be entertaining but I'll give it a chance if it means getting Shelton over. His wrestling is already highly respected but fans don’t yet connect with him personally. Maybe they will after this storyline.

* Former WWE head official Earl Hebner, who was fired a few months ago after WWE discovered he was illegally selling WWE merchandise (His twin brother Dave and his son Brian were also fired in the mini scandal) is back working in wrestling. This time, he isn't refereeing. He will be handling color commentary duties for United Wrestling Federation's DVDs. UWF is run by Earl's brother Dave and NASCAR's Hermie Sadler.

* There has been no official word on budding wrestling star and previous WWE Tough Enough winner Matt Cappatelli except that the tumor that was discovered on his brain is reportedly very close to his vision center which is obviously bad news. I wish him all the best and so hope he can beat this and become healthy once again.

* Stacy Keibler is all geared up for her debut on "Dancing with the Stars" which begins this Thursday, January 5 on ABC at 8 p.m. She and a partner will compete against other couples weekly and the audience and judges will vote for the favorite dancers. There will be a one half hour show on Fridays to reveal the results of the audience and judges voting and eliminate one couple. Couples will dance to either Ballroom or Latin American dance music. Stacy and her partner are already favorites of the show and it hasn't begin yet! ABC has put a bio of her on their site which you can access by clicking on the link at the top right of this page.

* A.J. Styles was voted Mr. TNA 2005 and will be given his award on the next TNA Impact! show. The fans in attendance at the tapings were vocally against this, wanting Samoa Joe to win the award. I feel bad for AJ because he has been the heart and soul of TNA for the last four plus years and certainly does deserve the award. Samoa Joe is an amazing athlete but has only been with TNA a short time. It seems almost certain that, if he stays with TNA, he will win the award next year. He has become the most popular wrestler on the roster in a very short time.

* By the way, Sting was at the tapings that just happened on Tuesday, January 3, but you will only hear his voice until their pay per view when he will make his big debut. I hear he is in very good shape and ready to roll. He is slated to debut January 15 at the TNA Final Resolution pay per view tagging with Christian Cage (formerly Christian) against Jeff Jarrett and Monty Brown. Let's hope he makes a positive impact on TNA. They have a solid following but need to pick up new viewers to even come close to competing with WWE. You can watch Impact! on Saturday nights at 11 p.m. on Spike TV.

That's it for now. I will be back after the WWE New Year's Resolution pay per view barring any breaking news.

In the meantime, please join in my new daily challenge, which just began January 1. The subject for the next couple of days is WWE Wrestling and the quiz is just 10 questions long. It's a lot of fun and the top 10 scorers for the month are written into the Fringe Hall of Fame forever. Check it out RIGHT HERE!

Also, My Wrestling on the Fringe message boards have spoilers, results, and all the news big and small every day so you may want to check the boards out in between updates here.

And! Don't forget the forum right here! If you want me to post news there, I will. But I need YOU to participate. I have no problem posting breaking news and spoilers on the BellaOnline forum. But I need to know my time isn't being wasted. Talk to me and let me know what you want to see. And I will be posting a message about a chat very soon so watch for that!

Have a great week and I will be back soon with lots of thoughts and news.

Happy New Year!
Patty

Here are some links to great after Christmas reading. Remember, Eddie's book sales will all go to his family so you're helping the Guerrero family when you buy his book plus getting an amazingly honest look at a wonderfully talented wrestler at the same time. WWE's "Are We There Yet?" Is a funny, easy to read book about road stories. I breezed through it and laughed a lot. Flair's book is honest as well and he lets it all hang about his crazy ways. And, as you know, his crazy ways are plaguing him now with debt a, divorce, and an arrest! It's reading about all the old school things that happened and how Flair became…well…Flair! Shawn Michaels' new book is a riveting account of a young boy who truly realizes his dream but stumbled along the way. The Divas book is a great one for you guys and for female fans of the divas. More pics than words in that one! The rest are all good reading.