Part 1 of the 2009 Dr. Keith Present Christmas Party featuring Alan (of this site), Chris Hero, Rob Naylor and even Dr. Keith making his return.

Listen below.

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Topics covered include:
-ROH NYC PPV
-Hero in NOAH
-Ricky Marvin stories
-Teddy Hart impressions
-PWG

and more…

Big D and I chatter about the Manny Pacquiao/Floyd Mayweather drug test issue which I wrote about last night.

We also talk a little bit about Strikeforce Evolution, TNA wrestling, and ROH.

Then we discuss what we’d ask Santa for as it pertains to Pro Wrestling, MMA, and boxing. Big D kept asking for a red bicycle.

Have a funky, funky, Christmas!

Listen below.

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FIP Owner Sal Hamaoui, FIP Champion/ROH Tag Team Champion Davey Richards, and former ROH/FIP booker and current Dragon Gate USA booker Gabe Sapolski, possibly believing that ROH’s days are numbered, have opened a new wrestling promotion for the Northeast entitled EVOLVE. Hamaoui recently has made a bid to be granted a New York State promoter’s license, which is the first step.

The project has been worked on in secrecy for months and I heard clues and hints about it at the last FIP show I attended, but as usual they worked me. Bastards. Seriously though, this partially explains the union between Dragon Gate and FIP as now Sal plans to expand into the Northeast market.

The company is beginning the tease with an online viral campaign, starting with this YouTube video, teasing the birth of the company.

The company’s homepage is already in effect over at www.EVOLVEwrestling.com. There is no word as to whether or not they will feature Dragon Gate talent, but I have a feeling that they will. Will they compete against Ring of Honor? Well considering DGUSA is running in Arizona the same day that ROH is for Wrestlemania weekend, that seems to be the case. I don’t know if competing for the same 2000 or so fans is that great of an idea, but whatever.

I’m excited to see what this trio can come up with!

Alright folks, here is ALL I was able to dig up (more in the Observer tomorrow):

- Nigel’s new TNA name is Desmond Wolf and he will be facing Kurt Angle at TNA’s Turning Point PPV next month in something of a hardcore fan’s dream match. Nigel came up with this name on his own and was asked to change it so TNA can market him and trademark the name.

- Shockingly, as we speculated on before, there WAS something that World Wrestling Entertainment discovered when they performed the pre-signing physical on Nigel McGuinness and it was enough to freak WWE out to repudiate their initial contract offer. I have no idea what they discovered whether it be a wellness issue or perhaps due to the head injuries and recurring muscle tears. There ARE conflicting stories, but one source stated it was “kinda like Claudio in 06″.

- Vince Russo has been watching Nigel McGuinness and was immediately enamored with his gimmick and workrate and wanted to bring him in for a while and jumped at the chance to do so. Dixie Carter was also a fan of his work and wanted McGuinness to be an original member of the British Invasion.

- This contract was worked out in the past 3 or 4 days.

- As far as I know, Bryan Danielson has fully passed his physical and is still heading in to WWE.

I await tomorrow’s issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter with hopefully more details.

Jason Powell reported earlier today that former ROH World Champion Nigel McGuinness, rather than sign with World Wrestling Entertainment as it was thought, instead has opted to sign with Total Nonstop Action Wrestling and will be debuting (technically re-debuting since he’s worked a few shots there before) tonight at the Impact tapings.

You’re probably wondering “what the hell?” I can shed some light into this.
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On the latest edition of FGB Radio, Big D and I talk the big boxing number for Floyd Mayweather and Juan Manuel Marquez, the UFC middleweight division, and the Chris Hero to WWE story in general, as well as internet reporting.

Listen below.

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It has not been reported yet on any major site but I have it on very good authority that ROH superstar Chris Hero has agreed in principle to sign with World Wrestling Entertainment. Hero is scheduled to face Eddie Kingston at tonight’s ROH show in New York City.

Hero has been one of the top independent workers for a little under a decade. He has worked main events for ROH, Chikara, CZW, PWG and won the 2007 Jeff Peterson Memorial Cup. He is another talent added to the list of ROH talents that WWE has swiped.

We will have more on this as the story breaks.

UPDATE 12:21AM Eastern: This story has now been confirmed by Power Slam Magazine and one other indy promoter.

UPDATE 02:33AM Eastern: Chris Hero states on his twitter that he has not signed yet but IS headed to “MSG”. Unsure of what that means. Another private source close to Hero informed me this evening that it was talked about jokingly but as far as he knew, WWE has not officially signed him yet.

UPDATE 02:38AM Eastern: Yet another source very close to Chris states that earlier tonight he was contacted and that Chris denied being signed. Again, we will keep you posted.

UPDATE 02:46AM Eastern:: The same source contacted me and explained that Hero has not signed YET but is under the radar. Will he sign? We will see.

Again, we will keep you posted on this story as we are also unsure of whether or not it is factual since there are various stories going around.

Yesterday, I was shocked to learn that Sal Hamaoui has parted ways with Ring of Honor. Hamaoui is the owner of Full Impact Pro and Riot Pro Wrestling in Florida and the World Wrestling Network; the company that produced, edited, and duplicated the DVDs for Ring of Honor, Dave Prazak’s Shimmer Women’s Wrestling, and various other independents, including his own FIP. Now it seems that relationship has been severed.

Exclusive: One source close to the situation which chose to have their name omitted claimed that somebody within Full Impact Pro described it as, and I quote, “I saw the iceberg”, an obvious indication that the World Wrestling Network believes what a lot people believe about the future of ROH – that there is no future. Another source also informed me that it has been talked about internally that several talents from DG USA would work FIP shows in the near-future. Whether this is influence from current DG USA/former FIP booker Gabe Sapolski or Lenny Leonard, I simply cannot say, but as a fan of FIP I can tell you that I loved when they brought in Dragon Gate stars in the past and will love it once they bring them back.

Hamaoui opened Full Impact Pro in 2003 and ran various spot shows in the Florida area. At the time, the booking was primarily done by pro wrestler Jaison Moore and the majority of the talents used were top FL independent names such as Ralph Mosca and former ECW main eventers such as Mike Awesome and New Jack.
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Two weeks ago on FGB Radio’s Lunchtime with FGB, I said who was under contract and who wasn’t.

The DC Sniper came on last Wednesday’s episode of my podcast, Superfriends, and confidently cemented what I knew was going to happen soon, but certainly not this soon.

Well it’s done.

According to Ring Of Honor’s website, Nigel McGuinness has agreed in principle to a contract with World Wrestling Entertainment.

Nigel, a trainee of Les Thatcher and the Heartland Wrestling Association (a former WWE farm system company), has been on the independent circuits for about a decade or so and is one of the most improved acts ever. A guy who Bryan Alvarez once said was “horrible” went from that to being one of the most beloved and versatile workers in pro wrestling. He was ROH champ for about 16 months and has been on injury reserve for most of 2009. Now he will get the biggest break of his career in WWE.

Danielson, Nigel – who’s next?

P.S. You can stream Superfriends 031 – ROH: Endgame here.

Big D and I returned last night for FGB Radio. We gave our thoughts on UFC 102, Rey Mysterio’s situation with WWE, how Jeff Hardy left the WWE, ROH and Bryan Danielson, and lastly, Mayweather/Marquez 24/7.

Listen below.

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The show is Twitter interactive, so follow us on Twitter @fightgameblog. You can also follow Big D @EmperorBigD, and Stevie J (who hosts our shows for us) @Angrymarks.