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The first film was a vehicle for John Cena, but the WWE Films sequel, The Marine 2, will star Legacy member Ted DiBiase Jr., it has been revealed. Footage of the new flick is making its way around the usual Internet sites, from IGN.com to YouTube.

While DiBiase is just old enough to no longer need a natural acne treatment every day, he’s certainly being given a big boost by being highlighted in this film. Apparently the McMahon family has faith in this kid. And that’s a good thing, as the stars of tomorrow need to be built today, while the stars of today are still at the top of their game.

Former WWE CEO Linda McMahon, wife of WWE owner Vince McMahon, resigned from the WWE recently to run against Democratic incumbent Senator Chris Dodd in Connecticut. McMahon, who is running as a Republican, will have to beat back a couple of other GOP hopefuls before she is ensured of facing off with Dodd, but with her name recognition, winning the party endorsement is not seen as too big a hurdle at this point.

McMahon is expected to run as a fiscal conservative and a government spending fat burner, but if she runs also as a social conservative, it may prove a hard sell to a public largely unaware of her on-screen roles on WWE.

In her WWE persona, McMahon has often played the cuckolded wife to husband Vince’s flagrant philandering ways, and that just includes the sketches that can be repeated in relatively socially-acceptable terms. Far more challenging will be defending the general content of WWE programming, a line of attack Dodd’s campaign is almost certain to leverage against the GOP challenger.

However, if Linda McMahon can focus on her fiscal experience turning WWE into a multi-billion-dollar company and how she plans to bring fiscal restraint to Washington, compared to Dodd’s tax-and-spend record, she could stand a chance. Word is McMahon plans to spend up to $30 million of her own personal fortune on the campaign, and will take little to no public money in seeking elective office.

McMahon has not run for public office prior to this campaign; she will rely on her private-sector experience in WWE to prove her qualifications as a leader. And that $30 million war chest may be enough to put pressure on the incumbency advantage Dodd enjoys.

The WWE is being intentionally vague about Jeff Hardy’s future with the company. That’s because Hardy’s at the end of his current contract and has not decided whether to re-sign or not. There’s no immediate plans for him to sign with TNA, and yet there’s also no immediate plans for him to return to WWE.

Basically, Hardy needed some time off and by not re-signing, he’s getting it. Of course, there’s always the risk that he won’t be welcomed back but Hardy has gone away – even to rival TNA – and come back before. If he signs with TNA again, he might not be back in WWE again, but if he simply takes some time off and then comes back – similar to what The Undertaker does – then it could work in his favor.

No, Hardy’s not taking any Branson vacations or anything. He has had some personal troubles. But to the best of my understanding, mostly he just wants some time away from the grind. Hard to blame him for that.

WWE Superstar John Cena will appear in a prominent role one the third-season premiere of PSYCH, the USA original series, this Friday following the Smackdown broadcast on MyNetworkTV. This news brings together two of my favorite things: a WWE superstar who can act, and my current favorite USA suspense-comedy.

PSYCH features James Roday as a faux psychic detective who’s just a really good observer of the world around him. The show’s a laugh riot, especially with the off-screen chemistry between Roday and co-star Maggie Lawson spilling over onto the small screen. Makes a person want to tell their moving companies Los Angeles is the place to be!

As part of a press conference going over their quarterly results, it came to light that while the WWE doesn’t expect the recent litigation between videogame maker THQ and toy maker Jakks Pacific to affect WWE much one way or the other, CEO Vince McMahon indicated a clear direction for the company as it relates to Jakks Pacific.

“Jakks are obviously not our friends,” McMahon said. “We’ve been going after them aggressively.”

The WWE is currently tied to Jakks Pacific through the rest of the year, but in January 2010 will be hooking up with Mattel as their toy partner. How this will affect THQ’s deal in unclear at this time, since Jakks has been involved with THQ’s game development for the past several years. Makes a person wonder if this means they’ll be able to get a John Cena figurine at Circuit City anytime soon.

Probably not.

Here’s a move that shocked me: the WWE has released Mr. Kennedy. Talk about going from the penthouse to the outhouse!

Ken Kennedy has made some bone-headed statements in the press over the past year, sure; and he’s become injury-prone to boot. But few wrestlers have made as solid a definition of their in-ring persona as did Mr. Kennedy when he debuted on SmackDown a few years ago.

I’ve long tagged Mr. Kennedy with being part of the main event rotation within the next couple years, but I guess things went south with WWE recently. I think it’s a bit of a mistake and short-sighted by WWE’s part, though there may be factors that are not known to the public that make this move make sense.

Still, TNA will undoubtedly sign him and since he’s still in his prime, Mr. Kennedy will add some real firepower to TNA if they use him right.

What, huh? Jeff Jarrett’s still in charge over there?

Never mind; even if they sign him, Kennedy’s doomed to a fate worse than a lifetime of needing the very best acne treatments available.

I’ve never been a fan of Mickey Rourke, nor am I a fan of many wrestling-themed movies, because so few ever even come close to getting it right. That’s where The Wrestler surprised me. Rourke’s performance was superior to the absolute best moments of Sylvester Stallone in Rocky, while director Darren Aronofsky adroitly captures the mood and atmosphere of pro wrestling.

Of course, I’m not talking about life in WWE here; I’m talking about this small, one-state promotions that are basically the talent farms for the big guys like WWE, TNA and the mid-majors. These are also the places where burned-out talent goes to die, and that’s the sort of character Rourke portrays.

While many comparisons have been made between Rourke’s Randy “The Ram” Robinson and the careers of Hulk Hogan or Ric Flair, the image I kept getting in my head was that of Shawn Michaels, since that’s the sort of wrestler Rourke would fit in with better. And his fate is as sad as any suffered by the victims of Mesothelioma.

Anyway, the movie was terrific… something I don’t often say about wrestling movies. But this one could have been lifted straight out of Have A Nice Day by Mick Foley.

It’s not often that I stray outside the WWE to talk about other aspects of professional wrestling, but I had to mention how much I enjoy the app known as Wrestler on Facebook. You can build your own wrestler, purchase moves, train, join a tag-team as well as a stable, and just generally do a lot of matches.

In the early going, it’s frustrating because it’s hard to win when you only have a half-dozen moves and everyone else has twenty. But it’s a trial by fire that soon fades from memory. Sure, it’s not as fun as a series of European cruises, but it’s a whole lot less expensive, too.

Not everyone can succeed in professional wrestling. In fact, out of the entire nation, the WWE employs only about six to 10 divas at any one time. Even if you include other promotions, you’re talking about less than 100 job opportunities, and fierce competition for every single spot.

So it’s good to consider a back-up career, you aspiring divas-to-be! That’s where St. Xavier’s Masters in Nursing program is a much better bet. The job opportunities for nurses are far more numerous, and the careers far more rewarding in the long run. The clinical nurse leader degree offered by St. Xavier’s means you’ll be highly trained, able to meet the dynamic and ever-changing needs of employers in this field.

The degree offers the convenience of online training with the discipline of some on-campus experience, and with St. Xavier’s, you know you’re receiving your training in the field from accomplished and highly professional staff. The MS Nursing degree is a great way to enter an in-demand career field, whether you aspire to WWE Diva-hood or not!

I nearly knocked my TV set off its TV stand when I saw it after RAW on Monday; when Duane Johnson appeared for the first time without the nickname of “The Rock,” granted to him by the WWE where he got his start, and introduced himself as Duane “Uncle Handsome” Johnson, I wasn’t sure whether to laugh or REALLY laugh.

Uncle Handsome? Really, Rock?

If Duane Johnson wants to put his pro wrestling career in his taillights, that’s fine and I wish him well; I’ll even continue to patronize most of his movies – on Netflix if not in the theater. But really, Uncle Handsome? That’s creepier than a creeping creep-steak-eating creep from Creep City. Especially considering how many child-stars Duane’s been in movies with of late.

If you want to be taken seriously now as an actor, Duane, perhaps you’d be better off without a nickname at all. But if you feel compelled to use one, try choosing one that doesn’t bring parish priests to mind, will ya? What you need is a nickname that says, “Funny, but harmless.”

How about this: Duane “Uncle Buck” Johnson.

And that’s the bottom line, because I said so.

An altercation between two patients at a nursing home, both suffering from dementia, with one of them dying as a result, wouldn’t normally spark headlines across the nation. But then, normally one of the patients isn’t a pro wrestling legend.

Sadly, this time, one was.

Verne Gagne, 82, was implicated in the death of Helmut R. Gutmann, 97, when Gagne allegedly pushed Gutmann, injuring the man’s hip and banging his head in the resulting fall. Gutmann was initially treated, then released, then readmitted; he passed away on Saturday.

Gutmann was a German Jew who fled Nazi Germany and, in his time in America, became an accomplished cancer researcher and violinist.

Gagne built his American Wrestling Association (AWA) into a Midwest legend with footholds on the West Coast as well. Gagne helped launch the careers of Hulk Hogan, Andre the Giant, Shawn Michaels and Curt Hennig, just to name a few. He was an old-school territory promoter, however, and when Vince McMahon launched the WWWF into a nationwide promotion rebranded WWF, and eventually WWE, Gagne was out-promoted, out-spent and out-matched. Gagne kept the AWA clear of some of the weight loss pill-hawking commercialism that worked well for McMahon and WWE.

Gagne retired from the ring in 1981 and by 1991, the AWA was in a shambles and filing for bankruptcy. Son Greg Gagne recently accepted a Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame honor on behalf of Verne prior to a WrestleMania.

Though Verne was staying at Friendship Village at the time of the incident, he has been moved since. Bloomington Police are investigating the death, recently ruled a homicide, but given the medical state of Gagne, it appears unlikely charges will be filed.

WWE Wrestlers make good money, but risk their health and well-being every day; by comparison, a project management professional can make a highly respectable income without ever taking the risks taken by those in sports entertainment.

St. Joseph’s University offers an online management certificate in several areas, including the lucrative field of project management. In addition to a degree or certificate from a respected A-10 university, entry level positions in this field range from $71,000 to $111,000 annually, and only go up from there.

Wondering what a project manager is? Just watch any season of The Apprentice on NBC to get a bit of an idea. Yet reality is always better than reality TV, so be sure to check out all St. Joe’s has to offer, from their many degree and certificate programs to PMP exam preparation. It’s all there, it’s all good, and it’s all a whole lot safer than a 720 swanton off the top rope!