- Here's a bizarre story. According to TMZ.COM, the father of John Graziano
- the man who Nick Hogan had in the car with him when he crashed and left
brain dead for the rest of his life - was arrested today for trying to hire
a hit man to kill his wife with a combination of cash and.....a gift card.
The Grazianos are not living together but reunited for the trial of Nick
Hogan and spoke against him and his family during their testimonial. His
wife, Debra, was a friend of Hulk and Linda Hogan before the tragic accident
in August of 2007. TMZ.COM reports that the dad allegedly paid for the hit
with $1,100 cash, a $1,000 personal check and a $13.06 gift card to
Westshore Pizza. The Sheriff's Office Criminal Investigative Division have
been following him for two and a half months undercover trying to bust him.
The wife's attorney said in a statement: "She is saddened by all of this.
She can't believe so much tragedy can strike one family. Her main purpose is
concentrating on John getting better." Nick was sentenced to eight months in
jail for his role in the accident and was released late last year early for
good behavior. While both Hulk and Linda are in a major divorce battle at
least none of them are trying to kill each other....or at least not that we
know of!
- 2/24 ECW TV notes from Nashville, TN: The show opened with Mark Henry squashing DJ Gabriel. The match was pretty pointless. Here you have a guy just coming up from developmental who's trying to get over being destroyed by a guy who spent years in developmental who never got over. At least give Gabriel a chance and don't bury him in stupid situations. Tyson Kidd beat Matt Boyce. Matt Striker said Boyce looked like one of the Mulkey's. Finish was Kidd's springboard elbow drop that Todd Grisham thinks is shades of Shawn Michaels. Tommy Dreamer finally won a match. He pinned Burchill with a roll up after he was distracted by Boogeyman who is stalking Katie Lea. It's a shame that Katie Lea and Natalya, the best women wrestlers on the roster, are stuck in non-wrestling roles. Dreamer was emotional and celebrated like he won the Olympics. Swagger vs. Christian for the ECW title went 20 minutes and was arguably the best TV match this year. Very nicely paced with some nice spots and near falls. More to the point it told a story. Finish was Swagger fighting out of the killswitch (unprettier), and hitting his power bomb for the pin.
- WWE dominates the latest Billboard Recreational Sports DVD sales chart: 1 WWE: The Best Of Saturday Night's Main Event; 2 WWE: Starrcade: The Essential Collection; 3 WWE: WrestleMania XXIV; 4 WWE: Nature Boy Ric Flair: The Definitive Collection; 5 UFC: Ultimate Knockouts 6; 6 WWE: Hell In A Cell; 7 WWE: The Rock: The Most Electrifying Man In Sports Entertainment; 8 WWE: The Legacy Of Stone Cold Steve Austin; 9 WWE: Edge: A Decade Of Decadence; and 10 WWE: Triple H: The King Of Kings.
- Shark Boy's (Dean Roll) home was destroyed in a fire in Ohio. He lost all of his possessions including his gimmicks. Luckily he was on the road with TNA at the time of the fire and nobody was hurt.
- Indy wrestler Michael Taris, better known as Shane Taylor, was arrested and charged with one count of insurance fraud and one count of criminal attempt theft by deception. It's claimed he filed a false injury claim preventing him from working. Attorney General Tom Corbett said back in August of 2007 Taris filed the claim against the 7-Eleven Corporation after he allegedly injured his back, neck and legs after slipping on a puddle of coffee in a Levittown, PA, 7-Eleven. Taris claimed due to the injuries he was unable to stand or sit for long periods of time or play with his son. The criminal complaint states that during the time after the accident Taris continued to work wrestling shows, and also worled as a male escort. Corbett said they have surveillance footage which shows Taris actively participating in wrestling matches. "Mr. Taris was hoping to make fast, easy money at the expense of others," Corbett said. "Fortunately his scheme was discovered and he was never able to profit from his deception." Taris was preliminarily arraigned and was released on a $10,000 unsecured bail. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for 3/6.
- On this day in wrestling history:
* 1967 - Verne Gagne defeated Mad Dog Vachon for the AWA Heavyweight
title
* 1978 - Dick Murdoch defeated Ted DiBiase for the Missouri State
Heavyweight title
* 1990 - Jimmy Valiant defeated Jerry Lawler for the USWA Unified
Heavyweight title
* 1995 - Bobby blaze defeated Jerry Lawler for the Smokey Mountain
Heavyweight title
* 1996 - Davey Boy Smith defeated Owen Hart in a tournament final for
the WWF European Heavyweight title
* 2000 - Tommy Dreamer & Masato Tanaka defeated Lance Storm & Justin
Credible for the ECW Tag title
* 2000 - Chris Candido defeated Damien Steele for the XPW Heavyweight
title
