Kurt Angle Wins NJPW Debut; Touching Story Involving WWE & Randy Orton; TNA Signs / ECW
Special thanks to ProWrestlingBlog.com for sending along this humorous pic. It's a screen capture from a recent edition of ECW on Sci-Fi. Obviously a sign WWE neglected to confiscate.
Puroresupower.com reports Kurt Angle won in his match earlier today in Tokyo for New Japan Pro Wrestling.
The former WWE champion and current TNA superstar teamed up with Yuji Nagata defeating Travis Tomko and Giant Bernard (formally A-Train / WWE).
Special thanks to Uri for sending this along. Kudos to WWE and Randy Orton specifically for this very special gesture to a sick boy.
WWE stars make dream come true
Madison Heights boy meets hero through Kids Wish Network
MADISON HEIGHTS -- Professional wrestlers can be pretty nice -- when they're not beating the pulp out of each other, Justin Negron discovered.
The 11-year-old rubbed elbows some of the biggest names in World Wrestling Entertainment -- including his wrestling hero, Randy "Legend Killer" Orton -- during a once-in-a-lifetime trip to Dallas, Texas, last month.
The Madison Heights boy and four other members of his family -- parents Juan and Josie, and brothers Joshua, 13, and Jesse, 6 -- were special guests of the Kids Wish Network, a charity that grants wishes to children with life-threatening illnesses.
Justin was born prematurely with bleeding on the brain. A shunt implanted in his head drains fluid away from the brain and to the abdomen, where it is reabsorbed by the body. He also has cerebral palsy, a brain disorder that impairs function on his right side. He has undergone numerous operations to his leg and hip, and receives physical therapy four times a week to improve his movement.
His mom had never heard of the Kids Wish Network until the Florida-based non-profit organization called her at home to solicit a donation. Asked if she knew of a child who might qualify for a wish, Josie immediately thought of her son and later submitted an application. Within a month, the family was notified that Justin had been chosen for a special wish.
An avid wrestling fan, Justin knew he wanted to meet Orton, an up-and-coming star and the son of WWE Hall-of-Famer "Cowboy" Bob Orton.
The charity arranged a meeting with the wrestler prior to a Jan. 29 WWE show at American Airlines Arena, as well as airline tickets, hotel accommodations and activities for the family in the Dallas area.
"(Justin) thought I was kidding at first," Josie recalled of the telephone call confirming her son's selection. "Then he talked to the coordinator we dealt with on the phone. He was excited when I did all the paperwork."
Arriving in the Lone Star State on Jan. 28, the family checked in to a two-room suite in the luxurious Hilton Anatole, where Justin and his brothers romped in the hotel pool before everyone enjoyed a complimentary dinner.
The next afternoon, the Negrons were driven to the arena by limousine and led to a restricted area where they met Orton and other WWE luminaries, including Jeff Hardy, Shawn Michaels, Carlito and Monday Night Raw ring announcer Lilian Garcia.
"They were so kind and so generous," said Josie. "They gave the boys hats and shirts and autographed pictures. They treated us so well."
Justin was a little unnerved in the presence of the 6-foot 4-inch, 245-pound Orton, who burst on the WWE scene in 2002 by defeating a litany of revered wrestlers -- "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, Mick Foley, Jake "The Snake" Roberts and Sgt. Slaughter, among them -- before winning the world heavyweight title in 2004.
"Big guy," said Justin, who spent 10 minutes with the superstar from St. Louis, Mo.
"I told him I know his finisher," he said, referring to Orton's signature move, the RKO. "I know about wrestling. I have a wrestling video game; you press a button and it will tell you their finisher."
The family was invited to sit ringside to watch the night's matches, including a tag-team championship match that saw Orton and partner Edge -- together known as Rated-RKO -- lose their belts to Jon Cena and Shawn Michaels. Justin was not as upset as one might expect, however.
"I was rooting for John Cena and Shawn Michaels," he said. "When it comes down to that kind of match I vote for whoever (Orton and Edge) are going against... I didn't think they'd win."
Being so close to the action "was awesome," said Josie, who like her sons had never been to a live wrestling event. Her husband is a longtime fan who was in the crowd at the Pontiac Silverdome for WrestleMania III in 1987.
Juan works at a Costco warehouse; Josie is a stay-at-home mom. Their family's unforgettable experience never would have happened without the efforts of the Kids Wish Network and their wish coordinator, Steva Stewart, they said.
"They took care of everything," said Josie.
Justin is still talking about the trip and has been showing his souvenirs and photos to his classmates at Edison Elementary, where he is a fifth-grader.
His summary of the experience: "The flight, I was a little nervous. The room was real nice," he said. "Meeting the wrestlers was awesome."
ORIGINAL ARTICLE
Printer friendly page