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The Steel Cage

Newsday tag team champs Alfonso Castillo and Josh Stewart slam you with pro wrestling news and insights.

Long Island wrestling school trains hopefuls

New York Wrestling Connection teaches fundamentals and offers

Photo credit: Anthony Castellano

Newsday.com made a stop at New York Wrestling Connection in Deer Park last month to check out a training session and shoot some video, which you can see above.

NYWC is both a pro wrestling promotion and a wrestling school. Some of the guys who have trained there will be competing in tonight's Fusion card (belltime 8 p.m.) at the NYWC Sportatorium (435-13 Brook Ave. in Deer Park).

The...

RAW going to 3 hours, Impact Wrestling going live

Photo credit: The Steel Cage

 

Both WWE and TNA today made blockbuster announcements regarding the future of their flagship television programs. WWE dropped the bombshell that Monday Night Raw will expand to three hours beginning with its forthcoming 1,000th episode in July. And TNA revealed plans to air Impact Wrestling live on Thursday nights this summer.

It’s a mixed bag as far as what the changes mean to...

Why it's too late for TNA to turn things around

Total Nonstop Action Wrestling President Dixie Carter

Photo credit: TNA Wrestling

In April, 2010, I wrote the following in a blog post here in the Steel Cage:

“For my money Total Nonstop Action is, indeed, totaled – as in broken beyond repair.”

I went on to write that, no matter how much TNA worked to reverse its course, it was simply too late. After years of offering up one of the worst nationally televised wrestling products fans had ever seen, the damage had been...

WWE: Vince McMahon should feature Invicta Fights women's MMA on new network

EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ - FEBRUARY 16: Governor Chris

Photo credit: Getty/Michael N. Todaro

Why does Vince McMahon fail at every business endeavor he attempts other than pro wrestling?

Because unlike the squared circle, every other time the WWE chairman tries something he forgets the business model that made him a (at least short-term) billionaire: buy low, sell high.

In his dad's Northeast regional promotion, the WWWF, McMahon saw the potential to create a global wrestling...

Cena vs. Lesnar: Really fun, and really bad for business

Brock Lesnar, the biggest pay-per-view draw in MMA,

In wrestling, doing what fans want to see and doing what’s good for business are sometimes not one and the same. To that end, I can say I thoroughly enjoyed last night’s Extreme Rules pay per view, and thought the main event between John Cena and Brock Lesnar was one of the most entertaining spectacles I’ve seen in ages. That said, at the end of the night, I think WWE may have really screwed things...

WSU women's wrestling in Deer Park Saturday

Women's Superstars Uncensored returns to Long Island Saturday night at the NYWC Sportatorium in Deer Park.

The event will feature the WSU Women's J-Cup tournament, in which the winner will get a future title shot at the WSU champion.

That title is also on the line Saturday night when champ, Jessicka Havoc, defends against Mercedes Martinez.

WSU will be taping the event for a future...

WWE suspends Rey Mysterio for second time

WWE superstar Rey Mysterio

WWE Superstar Rey Mysterio has been suspended for 60 days for a second violation of the company’s Talent Wellness Program, the company reported on its corporate website Thursday.

Mysterio was suspended for 30 days in 2009 for an initial Wellness violation, but his name had already been connected with performance-enhancing drugs. He was among the athletes linked to Dr. Phil Astin, the personal...

WWE: Wrestlemania 28 sets pay-per-view record with 1.3 million buys

Dwyane 'The Rock' Johnson celebrates after defeating John

Photo credit: AP

The WWE announced today that WrestleMania XXVIII set a new pay-per-view purchase record, with 1.3 million homes worldwide buying the show.

The number makes the show a huge success for the WWE, and also indicates that the experiment of building toward the Rock vs. John Cena match for a full year was well worth it.

Naysayers may wonder if the buy rate could have been even better had some...

LI's Papadon wins prestigious Super 8 tournament

The “Greek God” Papadon, an independent standout from

Photo credit: Newsday/Alfonso Castillo

Over its 15 year history, the winners of the ECWA Super 8 tournament have included champions in WWE, TNA and the reigning ROH world champion. And, now, it includes a Long Islander too.

The “Greek God” Papadon, an independent standout from the LI area for more than a decade, beat Tony Nese, Bobby Fish and Bandido Jr. to win the prestigious tournament held in Newark, DE.

Past winners of...

WWE WrestleMania: Why John Cena, Triple H should have won

Dwyane 'The Rock' Johnson, left, and John Cena

Photo credit: AP

I gave myself nearly a week to simmer about this one.

After all, there are lots of ways to book a wrestling show, and if I had the corner market on creative team omniscience, I might actually be on the creative team.

But sometimes you know you're right, and I am on this one: Triple H should have beaten The Undertaker Sunday at WrestleMania XXVIII, and John Cena should have beaten The...