New Women's Promotion Debuting In July

In what seems to be confirmation of a rumor currently going around, PWInsider is reporting that SHIMMER Women Athletes founder Dave Prazak will be teaming up with Full Impact Pro Wrestling’s founder and owner, Sal Hamaoui, to debut a brand new women’s promotion on July 20 in Ybor City, Florida. The promotion will apparently act as a sister promotion to Prazak’s SHIMMER promotion.

With SHIMMER only taping DVDs two or three weekends in a year, their plan is to run monthly shows in between the SHIMMER tapings, which will bridge the gap between shows, and allow their talent to get more work in the process. It will also serve as a place to newer talent to attempt to get their name out there. The company is currently assembling their talent roster and they have signed an exclusive deal with the venue they will be running.

It’s being reported that Lexie Fyfe and Daffney – both former SHIMMER stars – have played their own roles in the creation of the company, with Fyfe acting as an agent and a liaison between SHIMMER and this new promotion, whereas Daffney will assist in securing talent and likely appear as part of a storyline.

That’s not all, though – Gabe Sapolsky (current vice president of Dragon Gate USA, owner of EVOLVE and former booker to ROH and FIP) will be involved in a supervisory/promotional role. PWInsider also reports that Florida Underground Wrestling promoter Dontay Brown will act as part of the senior management and will be in charge of promotions.

In addition to all that, all of the events will be streamed via iPPV on WWNLive.com.

Sal Hamaoui commented on the creation of the company by saying:

"I’ve been involved with SHIMMER from the very start and I’m very proud what Dave and everyone at SHIMMER have done to legitimize women’s pro wrestling. I’m extremely happy to be part of this expansion and very excited to be working with such a talented and driven group of exceptional people."

An official announcement, including the name of the group, is forthcoming.

Kelly Kelly And Layla Join Maxim Hot 100

WWE Divas Layla and Kelly Kelly are amongst the 100 hottest women of 2012, as ranked by Maxim magazine.

The Divas Champion, Layla, who received a high number of write-in votes, makes her Hot 100 debut at #95.

Meanwhile Kelly Kelly, who ranked at #82 last year, moves into the top half of the list at #38 this year.

Kelly covered Maxim magazine last year, also.


Elsewhere, former Diva Stacy Keibler — whose fame has shot up since last year’s list as the girlfriend of George Clooney — ranks at #51.

Layla Pushes Beth Over Her Limit

The Divas Championship remains firmly around the waist of Layla, proving her mettle in her first super competitive match since returning from a serious ACL and MCL injury.

Layla and Beth Phoenix battled in a solid match with the Glamazon paying particular focus to Layla’s injured knee. The Divas Champ took her licks, but ultimately managed to take the victory with her patented Lay-Out neckbreaker.

The match is the first time since her return that Layla has had to perform in a highly competitive match and looked as though she hadn’t skipped a beat in the ring.

Kharma did not make an appearance as many hoped she would, but Layla and Beth Phoenix put on a pretty good match.

Beth targeted Layla's knee, which Layla sold well (either that or it really hurt). Layla showed off some athletic moves herself and ended up hitting a Neck Breaker for the win.

It was longer than your typical diva's match, showcasing two of the best women the WWE has. Hopefully the division can build off this and start rebuilding.

Brooke Hogan: New Knockouts Exec

TNA has announced that Hulk Hogan’s daughter Brooke Hogan will join Impact Wrestling beginning the May 31st episode taking over the executive role previously held by Karen Jarrett.

Brooke will serve as the executive in charge of the Knockouts division.

TNA President Dixie Carter said: “I have really gotten to know Brooke by working with her on her music career this past year and a half. When we did talk wrestling, I not only loved her passion and knowledge of it, but the fresh, creative ideas she would come up with. She is very savvy. I asked if she would consider teaming up with me in this capacity while she also worked on her music, and I was thrilled when she said ‘yes.’ A big personality runs in her genes, obviously, and I know she is going to take an already exciting division of Impact Wrestling to another level.”

Brooke’s debut coincides with Impact going live in a new time slot of 8pm ET from May 31st.

RAW Expanding, Impact Going Live

WWE announced at today’s USA Network upfront presentations that Monday Night Raw will be expanding to three hours on a permanent basis from July 23rd.

The move means that Raw will now start at 8pm ET every week.

Will this mean more time and storyline development for the Divas? Fingers crossed.

Elsewhere, TNA and Spike TV announced that Impact Wrestling will be going live on a weekly basis through the summer beginning May 31st, the same night the show moves to a new time slot of 8pm ET.

Gail Kim Breaks The Record!

Knockouts Champion Gail Kim has officially broken the record for single longest Knockouts Championship reign.

Marking 190 days as champion today, Gail surpasses Madison Rayne‘s 188 day reign to take the crown for single longest title reign.

Kim returned to TNA after three years in WWE last October, quickly winning the Knockouts Title in her very first pay per view match at November’s Turning Point pay per view, and the rest, as they say, is history.

Awesome Kong — Kharma in WWE — still holds the record for longest reigning champion in history; her two title reigns rank at a combined 347 days. Madison Rayne comes second, logging 299 days as champion over three title reigns. Kim now ranks third with 275 days as champion between her first title reign in 2007 and her current reign.

Kim was, of course, the very first Knockouts Champion.

In hindsight, it seems quitting WWE and returning to TNA was the right choice indeed.

Layla And Beth Go Over The Limit!

WWE has announced via its website that Divas Champion Layla will defend the belt against Beth Phoenix, who just a couple of weeks ago held the title.

Beth never did cash in her rematch against Nikki Bella, the Diva she lost the belt to, so it certainly makes sense for her to cash in her shot against the new champion.

The storyline between the pair started via WWE.com with Beth commenting on Layla’s return. She said: “I’m going to bust her other knee, and make sure that she goes away and never comes back. She has no idea what she has gotten herself into."

Layla made her return after nearly year of absence at Extreme Rules, winning the Divas Title in her first match back.

Layla's triumphant Extreme Rules return

Layla was out of action with a torn ACL and MCL. Coincidentally, a year before Layla’s injury, Beth suffered an ACL tear, also.