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Bobby Lashley - looking pleased.

FORMER WWE CHAMPION AND UNDEFEATED MMA HEAVYWEIGHT

BOBBY LASHLEY TO MAKE STRIKEFORCE DEBUT ON JANUARY 30

NEW YORK (December 10, 2009)-Former World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) heavyweight champion and undefeated mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter has signed a multi-year agreement with STRIKEFORCE and will make his debut for the world championship MMA promotion at BankAtlantic Center in Sunrise, Florida on Saturday, January 30.

The 6 foot 3 inch, 250 pound Lashley, also a former collegiate wrestling star for Missouri Valley College and member of The United States Army, will face an opponent that has not yet been determined during the live, SHOWTIME® telecast of STRIKEFORCE: Miami, the historic, first-ever STRIKEFORCE event in the state of Florida.

In his last MMA start on June 27, 2009, the 33-year-old pulverized and scored a first round (3:17) TKO on 6 foot 5 inch, 350 plus pound goliath Bob “The Beast” Sapp with a barrage of punches in Biloxi, Mississippi. The win brought Lashley’s overall MMA record to 4-0.

“I’m looking forward to fighting for STRIKEFORCE and challenging myself by taking on some of the top heavyweights in MMA,” said Lashley, a native of Junction City, Kansas and resident of Denver, Colorado.

After getting his feet wet with several matches in both the WWE Raw and SmackDown! shows in 2005 and 2006, Lashley captured the WWE United States Championship by defeating rival competitor “JBL.” During this stint with the league and another in 2007, Lashley wrestled several top superstars, including The Big Show and John Cena.

Lashley made his MMA debut on December 13, 2008, earning a 41 second TKO over Joshua Franklin after Franklin sustained a cut that would not allow him to continue their fight.

Earlier this year, Lashley joined Total Nonstop Action (TNA) Wrestling. In his first appearance with the league on July 30, he helped tag team matchup partner Mick Foley defeat superstars Kurt Angle and Kevin Nash.

Tickets for STRIKEFORCE: Miami officially go on-sale tomorrow/Friday, December 11 at the BankAtlantic Center ticket office as well as online at www.Ticketmaster.com or by phone at (800)745-3000.

Doors at BankAtlantic Center open at 7 p.m. The first non-televised, preliminary card fight will begin at 8 p.m.

STRIKEFORCE in March 2009 signed a multi-year agreement to stage live MMA events on premium cable television network SHOWTIME. The promotion made its live, primetime debut on CBS with the “Fedor vs. Rogers” mega-fight that it co-promoted with M-1 Global on

Saturday, November 7 and generated 5.46 million viewers for the main event between the world’s number one heavyweight, Fedor Emelianenko, and superstar Brett “The Grim” Rogers.

www.strikeforce.com

- It appears Bobby Lashley may well be done in the world of pro wrestling having signed a deal with the California based fight outfit and number 2 cage fighting brand Strikeforce. This may leave some of his British TNA fans disappointed who hoped to see the big man in action as part of the UK tour late January 2010, considering Lashley is to debut against a yet to be announced opponent on January 30th 2010 in the sunshine state of Florida.

Presumably Lashley joining Strikeforce will be a lucrative deal for the ex-WWE superstar, who will continue to enjoy good exposure on TV. For the MMA fans this is huge news, there is the potential for Lashley to challenge WAMMA champion Fedor “Last Emperor” Emelianko.

UFC & MMA blog by Duane Farr

duane@bluraymma.com

John Cena starring in 12 Rounds.

As the Christmas shopping season makes the usual early start many DVD and  Blu Ray movies are getting a timely release. One such release this week is action-packed thriller 12 Rounds.

WWE wrestling superstar John Cena faces his toughest challenge yet in 12 Rounds. Cena’s second Hollywood outing, following debut The Marine is seen by many as an improvement  on his first forray into the world Hollywood stardom, which is no bad thing.

Cena is a huge name in the WWE wrestling world but the question being asked is can he cut as a big time movie star?

Helped by the World Wrestling Entertainment hype machine Cena is a big recognised crowd drawing name, much like Hulk Hogan and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson who helped pave the way.  I don’t feel Cena quite has the ability to charm viewers in the same way as the aforementioned heroes of the squared-circle turned actors but never-the-less Cena plays a classic and convincing hero, playing the role to his best strengths as New Orleans detective Danny Fisher.

Constantly keeping you on the edge of your seat, Fisher  plays a thrilling game of 12 rounds, set by the villain Irish arms dealer, who attempts to out wit him with his trail of clues and many timed explosives. The action packed film moves along at an amazingly fast pace, packed full of awesome stunts following Danny striving to rescue the love of his life and save the day.

I won’t spoil the ending for you but who wants to see the bad guy win? That’s right, no one. The film creators who worked on Die Hard 2 and Speed give us thrill seekers what we want.

So will pro wrestler John Cena leave the ring full-time for Hollywood? Perhaps not right now but like retired WWE superstar Steve Austin he has that opportunity following retirement playing an action hero on the big screen instead of in the ring.

Bonus DVD features include optional commentary by lead star John Cena and writer Daniel Kunka and 2 alternative endings plus Cena gag reel.

The Blu-Ray disc release features all that and a whole lot more extras going behind the scenes plus much, much more.

Out now, rated 15.

DVD review by Duane Farr

duane@bluraymma.com