Randy Orton Update; ECW Rating; Shelton Benjamin Article; ECW / Wachovia Center Release
Good news for Randy Orton as he didn't suffer any serious injury last night at the ECW taping. No breaks, no tears, just soreness. He will be fine to wrestle Kurt Angle Sunday at the Vengeance PPV.
ECW scored a 2.3 rating, down from last week's 2.7.
Keeping on the ECW topic, the following was published for the Wachovia Center to hype WWE's upcoming July events at the arena. As you will read, the much rumored 7/4 event at the former ECW Arena will take place at the Wachovia Center. Here's the announcement:
EXTREME CHAMPIONSHIP WRESTLING LIGHTS UP WACHOVIA CENTER ON INDEPENDENCE DAY
THREE WRESTLING EVENTS IN TWO DAYS PUT WACHOVIA CENTER IN NATIONAL SPOTLIGHT ON UPN, USA NETWORK, AND SCI FI
On a night when the Philly skies will light up with fireworks, Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) brings the most hardcore wrestling extravaganza to light up the Wachovia Center on Tuesday, July 4 at 9 p.m. Tickets go on sale this Friday, June 23 at 10 a.m.
With the WWE SuperShow on Monday, July 3, the Wachovia Center will be in the national spotlight an unprecedented three times in two days with all of WWE's properties including Smackdown! (tape delay on UPN), RAW (live on USA), and ECW (live on Sci Fi).
Due to overwhelming popular demand in its founding city of Philadelphia, ECW hits the Wachovia Center after selling out Philly's 1,100-seat New Alhambra Arena (a.k.a. ECW Arena) for a live show on Saturday, June 24 - an event that sold out in four minutes.
ECW, complete with Superstars Rob Van Dam, Kurt Angle, and more, made a full-time comeback with its formal partnership with the Sci Fi channel beginning June 13 and continuing live on Tuesdays at 10 p.m. The partnership marks the first time in five years that ECW is broadcast on a network.
Tickets at $22 and $32 will go on sale this Friday, June 23 at 10 a.m. at the Wachovia Complex Box Office, ticketmaster.com, or charge by phone at 215-336-2000, 856-338-9000, or 302-984-2000.
The following interview is courtesy of the Coming Weekly website:
Andrea Pantelic: You will be making an appearance on Fort Bragg with Victoria. Do you happen to have any connection to the military?
Shelton Benjamin: I have a few cousins in the military in South Carolina, in Beaufort.
AP: You went to Iraq and Afghanistan with John Cena and some other wrestlers. What was it like to meet the soldiers over there?
Benjamin: That was actually pretty eye opening because the only thing most people know about what's going on over there is what they see on television. The work those guys are doing over there is just amazing, and to be honest, it was a privilege for me to over over there and see those guys and put a smile on their face.
AP: What did you think of the surroundings they were in and the terrain?
Benjamin: For me, it was like something out of a movie. It was pretty scary. The first thing (officials) tell us is, 'Don't leave the beaten path' because of land mines around the camp. People were taking pot shots at the camps so they actually sent a helicopter out that marks where the shots are coming from. Basically, they shot a giant bullet out there that destroys everything in a hundred meter radius of where it landed. It was kind of scary. As far as the terrain, when we first landed, the first thing I thought was, 'Sixteen hours and I've landed in Salt Lake City.' It's very pretty. It's beautiful terrain.
AP: You grew up in a rough neighborhood in Orangeburg, SC and have admitted in the past that you could have ended up in a gang. How did you end up on the right path and at the University of Minnesota?
Benjamin: Well, first and foremost, I had very positive people guiding me. My high school coach and a lot of other teachers. I had a really strict mom, which helps. My mom was checking up on me, making sure I wasn't out of hand. And sports. Sports are what saved me. I played three sports and I never had an off season and I was always training for football and track and wrestling. I had enough sense of my own that I could listen to what the adults were telling me.
AP: Has your family been supportive of your career?
Benjamin: Extremely supportive. They know this is my dream. Everyone's proud of me.
AP: Was it your dream as a kid to be in what is now the WWE?
Benjamin: Without a doubt. I've been a professional wrestling fan since I could change the channel on a television, so I got to follow a lot of my heroes.
AP: Who were some of your heroes?
Benjamin: Dusty Rhodes, Sting, Ricky the Dragon, The Rock 'n' Roll Express, Magnum TA.
Benjamin: You have won the WrestleMania fan festival video game championship tournament two years in a row. Are you are a fanatic?
SB: I hate to say 'fanatic,' but I have played a lot of video games. I just crush the competition.
AP: Have you played video games since you were a kid, too?
Benjamin: Yeah, since Atari.
AP: What are some of your favorite games?
Benjamin: Right now, my favorite games are Call of Duty 2 on X-Box 360. I play that online a lot. I also like playing Tomb Raider and a bunch of games on PSP. I don't have a favorite, I just like playing that because it is portable and I take it on the road.
AP: You are defending your Intercontinental title at Vengeance on June 25, the day before you are in Fayetteville. Can you give fans a preview of what to expect?
Benjamin: I plan on stealing the show. I'm defending against Carlito and Johnny Nitro. Both guys are very athletic but I do plan to come out on top. I'm the world's greatest athlete. No one can match up with me as far as I'm concerned, much less two people.
AP: In the WWE world, Momma has been by your side and she just helped you reclaim your title by faking a seizure outside the ring. Where is she now?
Benjamin: She helped me win my second title. Since then, Momma's not going to be there. We decided she's going to be at home.
AP: Will she be making an appearance ever again?
Benjamin: Well, this is the wrestling business, so never say never, but she won't be around anytime soon.
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