BG James Turns 40, Knockout Has New Role, Jakks/WWE Over, Steel Cage Match
Jeremy Borash announced on his Twitter page (twitter.com/jeremyborash) over the weekend that SoCal Val is TNA's new backstage interviewer. However, she will apparently be handling her duties at live events rather than iMPACT! tapings. "Lauren and I will still be handling iMPACT," Borash wrote. "Val will be keeping the crowd hyped at TV tapings & doing local TV interviews. She's a natural!"
WWE hauled in the steel cage for last night's SmackDown/ECW taping, but the Edge vs. Jeff Hardy dark match following the tapings lasted a mere four minutes.
Today is BG James' birthday, who turns 40 years old.
After years, the United States Court of Appeals supported the ruling of the U.S. District Court's decision to dismiss the JAKKS Pacific Inc. vs. WWE lawsuit. WWE started the lawsuit, due to the belief that JAKKS was involved in acts of bribery with WWE's licensing agent. At the end of the year, WWE's deal with JAKKS ends, as they have signed a new deal with Mattel.
JAKKS sent out the following press release today: Court of Appeals Affirms Dismissal of WWE Lawsuit Against JAKKS Pacific JAKKS Pacific, Inc. (NASDAQ:JAKK) announced that the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit unanimously affirmed the judgment of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York (Karas, J.), dismissing in its entirety WWE's federal action against JAKKS and certain of its officers. Jack Friedman, the Company's Chairman and Co-Chief Executive Officer, stated: "We are pleased that both the Federal District Court and the Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit have dismissed WWE's federal claims." About JAKKS Pacific, Inc. JAKKS Pacific, Inc. (NASDAQ: JAKK) is a leading designer and marketer of toys and consumer products, with a wide range of products that feature some of the most popular children's toy licenses in the world. JAKKS' diverse portfolio includes Action Figures, Art Activity Kits, Stationery, Writing Instruments, Performance Kites, Water Toys, Sports Activity Toys, Vehicles, Infant/Pre-School, Plush, Construction Toys, Electronics, Dolls, Dress-Up, Role Play, and Pet Toys and Accessories, sold under various proprietary brands including JAKKS Pacific?, Play Along?, Flying Colors?, Creative Designs International?, Road Champs?, Child Guidance?, Pentech?, Funnoodle?, Go Fly a Kite?, Color Workshop?, JAKKS Pets?, EyeClops?, Plug It In & Play TV Games?, Girl Gourmet?, Kids Only?, Tollytots? and Disguise. JAKKS is an award-winning licensee of several hundred nationally and internationally known trademarks including Disney, Nickelodeon, Warner Bros., World Wrestling Entertainment, Ultimate Fighting Championship, Graco and Cabbage Patch Kids. JAKKS and THQ Inc. participate in a joint venture that has worldwide rights to publish and market World Wrestling Entertainment video games. For further information, visit www.jakks.com.