Pro Wrestling/Mixed Martial Arts news and notes

By Art Shimko
shimko_7@hotmail.com

-- Tons of pro wrestling and mixed martial arts news from the last few days...

-- Doug Gentry, who was an important figure in starting up Ring Of Honor and RF Video with Rob Feinstein, passed away Friday morning at the age of 34. Gentry was recently diagnosed with a rare bacterial infection of the heart and was to have surgery to clear a clogged heart valve from the infection. He was hospitalized Thursday night after having trouble breathing with an pneumonia as well, Gentry then went into cardiac arrest at 3AM. Gentry became a major part of behind-the-scenes duties for ECW in its early years and also RF Video and Ring Of Honor. After ROH split from RF Video in 2004 Gentry continued to work with other independent wrestling promotions such as PWX and Pro Wrestling Elite. Condolences go out to Gentry's family and friends during this tragic time. For more on Gentry there are articles on PWInsider.com, SLAM! Wrestling, www.pwbts.com and thoughts from Eric Gargiulo.

-- Some press coming out of Thursday night's UFC Fight Night show which recieved an impressive 1.7 rating:
- Rashad Evans scores stunning win on UFC Ultimate Fight Night (Canadian Press)
- Evans floors Salmon to remain unbeaten (Houston Chronicle)
- Evans Punctuates UFC Fight Night with Classic KO (Sherdog.com)
- Lansing UFC fighter wins (Lansing State Journal)
- Evans, Marquardt, and Franca Win; O’Brien Upsets Herring (UFC.com)
- Fantastic finishes (USA Today)

-- One-on-one with UFC President Dana White

-- MMA fighter knows adversity, carries no fear into fight with Cro Cop

-- The Crow ready to rise on new MMA circuit, putting 2006 behind him

-- ULTIMATE PRIZE: Franklin hungry for another UFC middleweight title

-- UFC's new law enforcer

-- I'm watching the Wrestling Society X premiere as I type this, here's an article about it. The show airs again on Tuesday at 10:30PM on MTV up against the last half-hour of ECW and features Matt Sydal vs Jack Evans and a TLC Battle Royal.

-- WWE reports on its corporate site that its 2/18 No Way Out PPV at the Staples Center in L.A. is sold out.

-- This weekend's the Royal Rumble PPV, Casey, Euan, Ric, myself and the gang will be previewing the show on Ric's site CanvasChronicle.com this weekend.

-- J.R.'s blog: Hogan vs. Savage… JBL… Sid… Mid South… Cruise

-- Impact Preview for next week

-- TNA Impact! Impressions

-- Announced for Pro Wrestling NOAH's "Navigate for Evolution" Tour 2007: Bison Smith, Doug Williams, Bobby Fish and Chris Hero.

-- ROH at the Inman Sports Club in Edison, NJ on Saturday night:
- ROH World Title (If Homicide is still champion): Homicide vs. Samoa Joe
- I Quit Match: Nigel McGuinness vs. Jimmy Rave
- Last Man Standing: BJ Whitmer vs. Jimmy Jacobs
- Six Man Tag Team Match: Austin Aries, Roderick Strong & Jack Evans vs. Delirious, Davey Richards & Shingo
- Tag Team Challenge Match: Jay & Mark Briscoe vs. Rocky Romero & Ricky Reyes
- Three-Way Match: ROH World Tag Team Champion Christopher Daniels with Allison Danger vs. Claudio Castagnoli vs. Chris Hero with Larry Sweeney (if Hero wins the World Title on 1/26 he will defend it in this match)
- Mixed Tag Team Match: Colt Cabana & Daizee Haze vs. Brent Albright & Lacey
- Grudge Match: Adam Pearce vs. Pelle Primeau

-- Winter Heat 2007 MMA event this Saturday at the James H. Rainwater Convention Center in Valdosta, GA

-- World Best Fighter “Fearless One” Mixed Martial Arts and Sanda on Saturday 2/3 at the Adrian Phillips Ballroom at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City: Tank Abbott vs Ji Hoon Kim, Eric Tavares vs Okuda Masakatsu, Greg Soto vs Hyun Kyu Lim, Lee Gibson vs Jong Man Kim, (WBF North American Light Heavyweight Championship) Bryan Vetell vs Jon Murphy, (WBF North American Light Heavyweight Championship) Tim Boetch vs John Doyle

-- This Day in Sheiky History: 01/26

-- An MMA event scheduled for 2/17 at the Nevada County Fairgrounds in California has been canceled. According to Jay Perry of Perry's Athletic Training Center in Grass Valley who was promoting the event, his fighters were unable to meet new CSAC requirements for complete EKG tests and MRI brain scans on time for the event. Perry canceled an MMA event last month because of problems with his promtor's license.

-- A clipping from the Great Falls Tribune in Montana: Michael Hall's next women's self-defense class runs from 10 a.m. to noon, Saturday, Feb. 3, at Gold's Gym. Thanks to support from the Great Falls Clinic, Dahlquist Realtors Jim and Annette Dea and Gold's Gym, the seminar is free. For more information, call 727-8888

-- Wrestling up good, clean fun

-- Rivas to fight in 1st IFL tournament

-- Red Wing bans ultimate fighting

-- Ultimate Combat Fighting coming to Oshkosh Saturday

-- Accused child molester waives hearing

-- Martial arts fighter sues former N.J. Partners

-- Pillow fighters make their case
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