TNA champion Kurt Angle NOT on "Dancing with the Stars"

TNA champion Kurt Angle was NOT announced this morning as a cast member of "Dancing with the Stars," to no great surprise considering recent developments. Angle had been rumored as a potential candidate for the ABC reality series over the past several months, even reported by his agent to have made the show's shortlist.

It isn't clear that Kurt Angle would have made the final cut for DWTS even without his recent arrest on harassment and drug charges. With that arrest though, any chance of Angle being announced just two days later on "Good Morning America" dropped to nill.

UFC star Chuck Liddell was cast to the series instead, perhaps in the very show slot that could/would have been allocated for Angle. Considering that the mainstream sees mixed martial arts and pro wrestling as appealing to the same demographic, it would have been a redundancy to have cast both men. Angle likely had to lose for Liddell to win.

Torrie Wilson makes 2nd place in "I'm a Celebrity" finale

Ex-WWE diva Torrie Wilson finished in second place in the "I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here!" reality competition finale, losing the NBC viewer vote by a reported narrow margin to actor Lou Diamond Phillips. Ex-NBA player John Salley was eliminated earlier in the episode for a 3rd place finish.

That Torrie Wilson even achieved a second place finish was a significant surprise considering that she went in a complete unknown among non-wrestling fans and didn't enjoy WWE promotional support. Despite the obstacles, her combination of strength with femininity clearly connected with voters.

Though the poor viewership levels for "I'm a Celebrity" will be a limiter, Torrie's largely positive run on the program should allow for at least a few more non-wrestling entertainment possibilities to open up for her.

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Torrie Wilson / "I'm a Celebrity" final result

Did Torrie Wilson survive the final viewer vote on NBC reality competition series "I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here!" and become the show's Queen of the Jungle?

Highlight the blacked out text to see the result:
No. Torrie Wilson finished second to Lou Diamond Phillips. John Salley was eliminated earlier in the episode.

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Torrie Wilson qualifies for "I'm a Celebrity" finale

Ex-WWE diva Torrie Wilson qualified for the finale of NBC reality series "I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here!", being voted to the last day of the jungle isolation competition by show viewers. Sanjaya and Patti Blagojevich were eliminated.

Voters face one final choice between Torrie Wilson, John Salley and Lou Diamond Phillips to decide the so-called King or Queen of the Jungle, to be crowned Wednesday evening. Voting will continue by phone and e-mail via NBC till 4 a.m. EDT Wednesday.

FWIW, Torrie Wilson's number to call-in votes is 1-877-553-3711 though busy signals on phone lines may leave e-mail the true decider of the outcome. Whatever happens Wednesday, Torrie should be pleased to have made it this far without the WWE promotional machine to support her.

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Ratings for Torrie Wilson's "I'm a Celebrity" dropping

After a semipromising beginning, Nielsen ratings for NBC's "I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here" reality television series are dropping day by day.

The jungle competition program featuring ex-pro wrestler Torrie Wilson scored a respectable 2.6 preliminary demo rating among age 18-49 viewers for its extended Monday premiere. Unfortunately for the show, the same measure dropped to 2.2 for Tuesday's broadcast and a 1.8 for the Wednesday airing. (Ratings courtesy PIFeedback.com)

Torrie Wilson is one of several contestants threatened with elimination from the program based on a vote of the U.S. viewing public. Her status will be announced during the airing of Thursday's episode.

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Torrie Wilson announced in NBC "I'm a Celebrity..." cast

Ex-WWE wrestler/diva Torrie Wilson was announced Friday as a cast member on new NBC reality series "I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here!" The interactive survival competition program will be taped from Costa Rica this June for live and same-week airings.

Torrie Wilson had been a longtime mainstay of WWE since the fed's buyout of WCW assets, being released just last year after recurrent back issues caused an effective end to her wrestling career. She returned to WWE just for a one-time appearance in this month's WrestleMania XXV women's battle royal.

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Wilson is just the latest in a long string of ex-WWE divas to appear as full-time reality show cast members with Trish Stratus & Chyna having done the same after leaving WWE while Stacy Keibler and Ashley Massaro worked as such while still with the company.

One suspects that the Stacy Keibler success in "Dancing With The Stars" is what NBC had in mind with the casting of Wilson to its own project. "I'm a Celebrity..." is the revived offshoot of a British concept which ran one year on ABC before its cancellation. The originial U.K. version has enjoyed much more success.
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