Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Kia Michelle Stevens (Awesome Kong / Kharma)

Kia Michelle Stevens (born September 4, 1977), better known by her ring names Amazing Kong, Awesome Kong and Kharma, is an American professional wrestler. She is signed with WWE, currently performing in its Divas division. She is best known for her work in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) and has also worked for Shimmer Women Athletes, National Wrestling Alliance (NWA), Lucha Libre USA, and various independent promotions in the United States and Japan.

She is a former two-time TNA Knockout's champion, a former WWWA World Women's champion in All Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling, a former NWA World Women's champion and a former AWA Superstars of Wrestling World Women's champion. Her success is not limited to singles wrestling, as she frequently teamed with Aja Kong to form the tag team Double Kong who held tag team championships in four different promotions, along with winning the TNA Knockouts Tag Team Championship with Hamada. She was also ranked first in the inaugural list of Pro Wrestling Illustrated's Top 50 Females.

She began her professional wrestling career in 2002 after appearing on a reality television show. She primarily wrestled in Japan for the first five years of her career, holding numerous championships there. In 2006 she began wrestling in her native United States again, appearing on the independent circuit before appearing on national television with TNA Wrestling where she was a driving force in the foundation of their Knockout division.

Joanie Laurer, known during her WWF career as Chyna, served as Stevens' primary inspiration to become a professional wrestler. In 2002, Stevens appeared on the Discovery Health Body Challenge as a contestant trying to lose weight in hopes of becoming a professional wrestler. Afterward, Stevens trained at the School of Hard Knocks out of San Bernardino, California. Soon, she was able to have her first professional match in the Empire Wrestling Federation.

On December 29, 2010, it was reported that Stevens had signed a contract with World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). From April 11, 2011 onwards, vignettes aired during WWE television with Stevens, whose face was concealed by shadows and her signature braids, dismembering female dolls while cackling maniacally. During the April 25 episode of Raw, Stevens' face was shown for the first time in the vignettes, and her new ring name was revealed as Kharma. Kharma made her debut on May 1 at Extreme Rules, attacking Michelle McCool after a match where she had lost her WWE contract, and she continued to attack different WWE Divas on both Raw and SmackDown in the following weeks. On the May 23 episode of Raw, Kharma interrupted a tag team match but rather than attack everyone, she uncharacteristically broke down crying. The following week, Kharma spoke for the first time to reveal she was pregnant and thus forced to take a leave of absence from WWE. Despite not having wrestled a match for WWE at the time, THQ made Kharma available as a downloadable, playable character in the WWE '12 video game.

Kharma made her return at the 2012 Royal Rumble event, becoming the third woman to enter a Royal Rumble match (after Chyna in the 1999 Rumble Match and Beth Phoenix in the 2010 Rumble Match). She eliminated Hunico before being eliminated by Dolph Ziggler

Stevens grew up in Carson, California and has a younger brother. Prior to becoming a professional wrestler, she was employed as a social worker. She also owned a business that put vending machines in several high schools. Stevens' family and friends helped her fund her career in wrestling, when she went to train in Japan. She is also an investor in Nu Skin Enterprises, a line of skin and nutritional products.

On December 22, 2010, Stevens was arrested in Hillsborough County, Florida for driving without a valid license. She was charged with a second degree misdemeanor and released less than two hours later on $1,000 bond.

On May 30, 2011 Stevens announced that she was pregnant with her first child. Later that year, on December 5, TMZ.com published a story about her wrestling themed engagement ring, announcing both her engagement and the likelihood of a June 2012 wedding. On December 31, 2011, Stevens gave birth to a baby boy named Jamie.

 
 

Picture Of The Day

Dolph Ziggler

Diva / Knockout Picture Of The Day

Aksana... Gold-Digger!

Great Moment In Wrestling History

Sheamus Destroyed Sin Cara @ Money In The Bank

Who Will Sheamus Challenge @ Wrestlemania?

World Champion Daniel Bryan or WWE Champion CM Punk?
Don't forget, those Champions may change in the Elimination Chamber!

Royal Rumble Highlights

Road Dogg, Mick Foley, and Richardo
Snake vs Socko
The Return Of Hacksaw Jim Duggan
The Winner Of The Very First Royal Rumble In 1988


Brodus Clay's First PPV Match/Victory (Defeated Drew McIntyre)

 CM Punk Retains WWE Championship!

Kofi Kingston Hand-Stand @ Royal Rumble

Perhaps the highlight of the Royal Rumble 2012 was Kofi Kingston's hand-stand that enabled him to return to the ring without either of his feet actually touching the floor. 

Kharma (Awesome Kong) & Boyfriend

Kharma's Boyfriend

Kharma (Awesome Kong) Returns @ Royal Rumble

Kharma made her long awaited return to the WWE in the Royal Rumble match. She is only the third woman in WWE history to compete in the Royal Rumble match (Chyna & Beth Phoenix). She hit Dolph Ziggler with her finishing move, then eliminated Hunico. All this after she scared Michael Cole into climbing out of the ring and eliminating himself.

Before her departure, Kharma was on an unstoppable rampage since her arrival in the WWE. She destroyed every Diva she came into contact with, and appeared to be on track to be the next Divas Champion. However, she then suddenly disappeared from the WWE. She announced that she was pregnant and she would be gone for a while. Well now she had finally returned. I think its safe to say that Beth Phoenix's Divas Championship is in serious danger now, and I say its about time. The Divas division has been horrible lately. Every since Micheal McCool left there has not been any serious Divas matches. It was nice to see Kelly Kelly win but honestly she can't wrestle. Personally, I think Natalya should have been challenging Beth for the title but they decided to form a team instead. Well now that Kharma has returned I think they are both in trouble!

Adam's Wrestling: Kharma aka Awesome Kong is Pregnant

Adam's Wrestling: Kharma aka Awesome Kong is Pregnant: Former TNA Knockout Champion Awesome Kong recently debuted in the WWE under the name Kharma. She immediately started destroying every WWE Di...

Monday, January 30, 2012

Royal Rumble 1988

 
Hamilton Ontario Canada. In 1988. First Royal Rumble ever. Only 20 wrestlers instead of the usual 30. The  entrant was Bret Hart who lasted longer than anyone else. Jake The Snake Roberts and Hacksaw Jim Duggan were by far the most popular stars in the Rumble. The crowd was chanting DDT and HOOO over and over during the match.

The final 4 were Don Muraco, One Man Gang, Hacksaw Jim Duggan, and Dino Bravo. Muraco was eliminated, then Bravo. It all came down to Duggan and the One Man Gang.Gang charged across the ring at Duggan who ducked and pulled down the top rope and Gang fell to the floor. The winner of the very first Royal Rumble was Hacksaw Jim Duggan.

The Ultimate Warrior was in the Rumble. And the contract signing for the Hulk Hogan / Andre The Giant rematch took place in the middle of the ring before the Rumble.

Mike Tyson WWE HOF 2012

Mike Tyson is going to be the next inductee announced for the HOF Class of 2012

Mr. Socko vs Santino's Snake

Mr. Socko vs Santino's Snake

WWE Hall Of Fame

The WWE Hall of Fame was created shortly after the death of Andre the Giant in 1993 as a way to honor him. For the next three years, the WWE inducted multiple wrestlers in a ceremony held in hotel ballrooms. From 1997 until 2003, no one was inducted into the Hall of Fame.

Starting in 2004, the induction ceremony has been held the evening prior to WrestleMania. These events have become a big part of WrestleMania weekend and tickets for it can be purchased by the public. The 2004 ceremony was released on DVD, while the ensuing ceremonies were included as a bonus disc on the WrestleMania DVD sets.

Unlike other halls of fame, there is no physical structure and the selection process has never been made public. There is also the issue that in order to be put into the Hall of Fame, you need to be on good terms with the WWE. This has led to Bruno Sammartino, the man that has held the WWE Championship longer than anyone else, to not be a part of the Hall of Fame. To make matters worse, some of the names in the WWE Hall of Fame have never been main event caliber wrestlers. In addition, many fans are turned off that there is a celebrity wing in this hall.

Inductees by Year

1993
Andre the Giant

1994
Arnold Skaaland
Bobo Brazil
Buddy Rogers
Chief Jay Strongbow
Freddie Blassie
Gorilla Monsoon
James Dudley

1995
Antonino Rocca
Ernie Ladd
George Steele
Ivan Putski
Pedro Morales
The Fabulous Moolah
The Grand Wizard

1996
Mikel Scicluna
Lou Albano
Jimmy Snuka
Jimmy & Johnny Valiant
Johnny Rodz
Killer Kowalski
Pat Patterson
Vincent J. McMahon

2004
Big John Studd
Billy Graham
Bobby Heenan
Don Muraco
Greg Valentine
Harley Race
Jesse Ventura
Junkyard Dog
Sgt. Slaughter
Tito Santana

2005
Bob Orton
Hulk Hogan
Jimmy Hart
Nikolai Volkoff
Paul Orndorff
Roddy Piper
The Iron Sheik

2006
Bret Hart
Eddie Guerrero
Gene Okerlund
Sherri Martel
The Blackjacks (Blackjack Mulligan & Blackjack Lanza)
Tony Atlas
Verne Gagne

2007
Curt Hennig
Dusty Rhodes
Jerry Lawler
Jim Ross
Nick Bockwinkle
Mr. Fuji
The Sheik
The Wild Samoans (Afa & Sika)

2008
Eddie Graham
Gordon Solie
Jack Brisco
Jerry Brisco
Mae Young
Peter Maivia
Ric Flair
Rocky Johnson

2009
Bill Watts
Dory Funk Jr.
Howard Finkel
Koko B. Ware
Ricky Steamboat
Steve Austin
Terry Funk
Von Erich Family

2010
Antonio Inoki
Gorgeous George
Maurice "Mad Dog" Vachon
Stu Hart
Ted DiBiase
Wendi Richter

2011
Abdullah the Butcher
Bob Armstrong
Jim Duggan
Shawn Michaels
Sunny
The Road Warriors & Paul Ellering

Celebrity Wing
Pete Rose (2004)
William Perry (2006)
Bob Uecker (2010)
Drew Carey (2011)

2012 Announced So Far...
Edge
The Four Horsemen (Flair/A Anderson/Blanchard/Windham/Dillon)
Mil Mascaras

Zack Ryder USA Today Article

Ryder Harnesses Web To Boost His Career

WWE wrestler Zack Ryder is the self-proclaimed "Internet Champion of the World," thanks to the success of his YouTube Z! True Long Island Story videos. Created to lobby WWE to give him more TV airtime, the gamble paid off with a vocal fan base, 11 million online views and attention from the front office, which now features him more regularly on its USA Network WWE Raw TV shows.

Friday, Ryder's web show moves to WWE's revamped YouTube channel, part of the Google owned company's $100 million gamble to beef up original programming. The show features Ryder making silly jokes and talking to the camera about his life, as well as behind-the-scenes footage from wrestling arenas.

We met with up with Ryder, whose real name is Matthew Cardona, during rehearsals for a WWE Live event in Anaheim, Calif. Among the things we discussed were YouTube, his gear, and his "Woo, woo, woo" and "Broski" catchphrases.

Why the web show
"I realized I wasn't going anywhere in the WWE, and if I was going to go out, I was going to go out swinging. I was saying some risky things about the company and why I wasn't on TV. I thought, this will either get me noticed and back on TV or get me fired. It was a risk I was willing to take. A year later, it saved my career. It's unbelievable."

Internet Champion of the World?
"It started as a joke. I wasn't on TV, I couldn't compete for a real championship, so I made a toy title belt. Eventually I paid $1,600 for a real leather belt, and now I'm the Internet Champion!"

ZLI Gear
He shoots on a Flip compact video camera, a product killed off by Cisco last year, and edits back home in New York on an iMac desktop computer. He prefers the big computer to a laptop for video editing. "I tried it on a MacBook, but it was too small." Besides the Flip, he travels with an iPhone and iPad. He would love to make the video show on his iPad, but with no USB port there's no easy way to get his Flip footage in there, he says. "It would be so convenient."

His shtick
When he enters arenas to compete, he struts out holding his Flip camera and filming the audience, who respond by holding up "Broski" and "Woo woo woo" signs. The catchphrases are such a part of his act that he sports a "Broski" T-shirt during the interview. On the back is a QR code that when viewed on smartphones takes you directly to his videos. WWE now sells Broski T-shirts and headbands at the shows.

The costs of the ZLI
He figures $10,000 to $15,000 yearly. "I'm constantly buying things. I did a thing where I took my sunglasses and threw it at the camera, and it broke my camera. You never know what costs are going to pop up, but it's all worth it."

Advice
"Embrace the audience. They really help out. I found a guy who makes my logos. I've never met him. We just talk through Twitter and he just sends them over. The power of the Internet is amazing."

His work week
"I spend every moment thinking about the show, and at least 10 hours per week on production and editing. I'm making them in my living room, and trying really hard. But it's worth it."


Zack Ryder USA Today Article

Sunday, January 29, 2012

Royal Rumble Results

Opening match, steel cage, World Championship. Daniel Bryan escaped the cage and the Big Show to retain his title. Mark Henry was not a factor in the match. Big Show dominated, but in the end Bryan dangled from the Big Show who sat on top of the cage, until eventually Bryan slipped free and fell to the floor to win the match. 


They had some filler matches. Diva's Champion Beth Phoenix lead her team of Natalya and the Bella Twins to victory over Kelly Kelly's team. The Funkasaurus Brodus Clay crushed Drew McIntyre with the "What The Funk" and celebrated to a great reaction from the crowd.

John Cena and Kane ended their match in a double count-out, but continued fighting backstage. Once Cena was down, Kane broke into Zack Ryder's dressing room and found Ryder in a back-brace in a wheelchair. Kane wheeled Ryder to the ring, and in front of a crying Eve Tombstoned him in the middle of the ring. Cena ran out just in time to receive a chokeslam. Kane left both Ryder and Cena dead in the ring and Eve crying on her knees next to them.

CM Punk managed to leave with his WWE Championship despite all the disadvantages. John Laurinaitis actually threw Vickie from ringside at the start of the match and decided to referee from the outside of the ring. But when the real referee was knocked out Laurinaitis failed to see Ziggler tap out to the Anaconda Vise, and count the three when Punk hit the GTS. The highlight was when Punk went for the second GTS and Ziggler turned it into a huge Fameasser. But the third GTS spelled the end for Ziggler, and Laurinaitis even counted the three along with the referee. 


The Royal Rumble Match

Of course The Miz started the match. Alex Riley came out second. R-Truth was third. Things did not look good for The Miz, but he hung in there. A few funny moments with Mick Foley and Santino, they officially had Mr. Socko vs Santino's Snake. All three announcers were in the match (The King, Booker T, and Michael Cole). Road Dogg made a surprise return. But the biggest surprise was when the winner of the very first Royal Rumble, Hacksaw Jim Duggan came out! Unfortunately, those were the only surprises. No Undertaker, Brock Lesnar, Batista, Goldberg, Triple H, Rey Mysterio, or Rob Van Dam... who were all rumored to make appearances. The only other surprise was Kharma. She came out and chased away Cole, hit her finisher on Ziggler, and then attempted to throw Hunico over the top and onto his partner but dropped him and he crashed hard on the floor below and appeared injured. The highlight of the match was when Kofi Kingston was sent out of the ring head first, but did a hand-stand on the floor and walked on his hands all the way around the ringside and back to the ring-steps so he could climb back into the ring!

In the end, after Randy Orton and Chris Jericho came out, the 30th entry was the Big Show. He cleared hosue and the final four were Jericho, Orton, Sheamus, and the Big Show. Orton eliminated the Big Show and Jericho eliminated Orton in the process. That left Jericho and Sheamus to have a long drawn out back and forth match. I was cheering for Jericho the whole time and was sure he would win, but in the end he was sent off the ring apron by a Bro-Kick and Sheamus won the 2012 Royal Rumble. 


The only other highlight was when Alberto Del Rio's music hit, but instead of a nice car, a beat up piece of junk pulled out, and behind the wheel, dressed as Del Rio was his announcer Richardo. He actually competed in the Rumble and the crowed chanted Richardo. He didn't last long though, but it was a good laugh.

Overall, it was a good PPV, but did not live up to the hype and the expectations. Where were all the stars we wanted to see? Too many jokes and gimmicks and young mid-card wrestlers. Only about 3 real main eventers were in the Rumble and none of them won. Given the participants in the Rumble, the winner should have either been Chris Jericho or Randy Orton. Just like last year when Del Rio won, I don't think Sheamus should have won yet. Its too soon. I would rather see Jericho or Orton in the main event of Wrestlemania rather than Sheamus who wasn't even on Wrestlemania last year.

TNA... SSDD

I have officially changed the name of TNA to SSDD. So instead of referring to it as Total Non-Stop Action we should just refer to it as Same Shit Different Day. I think that is a much better description of the company. 

I try to keep watching it so I can blog about it just in case anything interesting happens. But nothing has in months, hell when has anything really exciting ever happened in TNA? When Hogan took over and Rob Van Dam, Jeff Hardy, and Mr. Anderson showed up it was good. When RVD was TNA Champion, when Jeff Hardy turned Heel, and a few times when Sting returned. But other than that, its just been the same shit every week.

This week they had another #1 contenders match for the Knockout's Champion Gail Kim. This time Mickie James surprisingly didn't win. Tara did. I'm sure Gail will find a way to cheat and keep her title for another month. 

The Tag-Team Champions had singles matches for yet another week. Meanwhile the main event challengers for the TNA Championship had a tag match. See the irony lol. And there was no X-Division or Television Champion to be found. Good job TNA... or should I say SSDD!

Check out how pathetic the TNA crowds are. They only use the one side of the arena to make it look full on TV. Obviously the TV cameras are on the empty side facing the full side. What a joke. So when the wrestlers look at the camera they are talking to the empty side of the building with their backs to the crowd lmao what a joke!

Who Should Be Inducted This Year?

Yokozuna WWE Hall Of Fame?

Picture Of The Day

Diva / Knockout Picture Of The Day

Aksana Had Her First Match This Week On Smackdown!
I Still Say She Looks Better As A Blonde!!!

Great Moment In Wrestling History

Mr. Anderson Dresses As Old Sting!

Saturday, January 28, 2012

Poll Closed: Who Will Win The 2012 Royal Rumble?

And the results are in... the Royal Rumble is tomorrow night and here are the results of our poll. I asked you all who you thought would win the Royal Rumble and I listed every major superstar in the WWE as well as a few other options. In listing the results here I have removed any superstar with less than 10% of the votes. That leaves us with a list of 9 in total. By the way, this poll also broke my record for the most votes, receiving a record setting 238 votes. Here are the results... 
  1. Undertaker - 60 (25%)
  2. Chris Jericho - 54 (22%)
  3. Randy Orton - 40 (16%)
  4. Kane - 36 (15%)
  5. Sheamus - 37 (15%)
  6. CM Punk - 35 (14%)
  7. John Cena - 33 (13%)
  8. Triple H - 24 (10%)
  9. Zack Ryder - 26 (10%)
However, in recent events a few of those names could be removed from the running. First, Zack Ryder was thrown through the steel ramp by Kane and was said to have a broken back. I would assume that means he will not be entered in the Rumble match. 

John Cena is wrestling Kane in one of the main events, so I would assume that neither of them will be taking part in the Rumble match. That is a shame since Kane holds 2 separate Rumble records, Most Eliminations In One Rumble (11) and Most Consecutive Rumble Appearances (13). His streak ends now and he won't get the chance to break his record of eliminations in one match or add to his total to break Shawn Michaels record for Most Eliminations In Total. 

In the World Championship match, Daniel Bryan defends against Mark Henry and the Big Show. So again I assume they won't be in the Rumble. So that eliminates 3 more possibilities. However, ironically enough none of the 3 wrestlers in the Smackdown main event received enough votes to even qualify haha. What does that say about the popularity of the Smackdown superstars?

The real main event is the WWE Championship. CM Punk vs Dolph Ziggler. So with those two not in the Rumble I think two major contenders to win the Rumble have been removed. Again, ironic because Ziggler did not receive enough votes to qualify. However, CM Punk did. Clearly, you all want to see Punk win the Rumble, but I don't think we will get that chance this year. 

So if we remove the superstars I have mentioned so far, that leaves...
  1. Undertaker - 60 (25%)
  2. Chris Jericho - 54 (22%)
  3. Randy Orton - 40 (16%)
  4. Sheamus - 37 (15%)
  5. Triple H - 24 (10%)
Triple H hasn't really been seen since his match with Kevin Nash. I'm not sure if he will be main eventing anymore Wrestlemanias or winning anymore Royal Rumbles.

The Undertaker has not been seen since his match with Triple H at Wrestlemania last year. It is assumed that he will be returning to face Triple H one more time at this year's Wrestlemania, but there is no reason to believe he will return at the Royal Rumble, let alone win the Royal Rumble. 

Chris Jericho has been my choice all along. And when he finally spoke on Raw he said the world as we know it will end at the Royal Rumble. Sounds like he has something major planned. So he is still my vote!

Randy Orton was said to be the one who was supposed to win. The Royal Rumble is taking place in his hometown of St. Louis so it would make sense for him to win. However, he did injure his back on Smackdown and may not be able to compete, at least not well enough to win the Royal Rumble. However, typically the winner of the Rumble match is a wrestler who is returning from injury, so this would make sense. 

That just leaves Sheamus. He seems to be the most popular star lately, and he did take over Randy Orton's main event spot against Wade Barrett following Orton's injury. So perhaps he will take over Randy's spot as the Rumble's winner as well?

Bottom line, the results of the poll say the Undertaker will win. 

My vote says Chris Jericho will win. 

But the major rumour is that Randy Orton will win. 

You be the judge. We can only wait and see!

Adam's Wrestling: Divas / Knockouts




Reached 1,000 Views!

Evan Bourne Done With WWE

As most of you know by now, former WWE tag-team champion Evan Bourne is currently serving a 60-day suspension for violating WWE's Wellness Policy for the second time in less than three months.

According to PWInsider, there are numerous people backstage at RAW today who are under the impression that Evan Bourne will soon be done with WWE. As of right now, no official decision has been made but most are leaning towards him not returning to the company.

It should also be noted that Bourne's latest suspension was for something "completely unrelated" to the first one, aka it wasn't just weed this time lol.

Randy Orton Got Mr. Anderson Fired From WWE

Backstage politics in WWE: "It's insane. If you do something wrong, no one will tell you you did something wrong. They'll smile to your face and say everything's fine, but… I'm an adult, if I did something wrong, come to me and tell me I did something wrong or am doing something wrong and I will work to change that, but I'm not a mind reader! But over there, it's just a huge game and you're constantly being mind-f-cked."



If Randy Orton was responsible for his WWE departure: "I've never said that, I don't know where it started, it's the telephone game at its finest. He definitely was the final straw, but by no means did I say he was the reason for me getting fired. I've said it time and time again, I was to blame for me being fired. I made the mistakes, I did the things I shouldn't have done, I said things I shouldn't have said. And that's it.



"Randy Orton - responsible for Mr Kennedy's firing?I was injured a few times at the hands of others and rather than come back and bury those individuals and point fingers and say 'He hurt me in a match,' I just came back and said 'You know what? This is wrestling, it's not ballet, I got hurt. Period'. Meanwhile, when I was off rehabbing, people were saying I'm injury-prone.



"If I take a sledgehammer to your knee, that doesn't make you injury-prone. If I smash you in the face with a baseball bat, that doesn't make you injury-prone. I just happened to be in a couple of situations like that, and wasn't around to defend myself when those burials were taking place. And then – on top of that – I said the things that I said and I did the things that I did, and the final straw was when I supposedly dropped Randy on his head, and I think at that point Vince just said 'I've had enough of it'.



"There were certain guys, and there were three or four of them, that were lobbying for a long time [to get rid of me] and he finally gave into it and said enough's enough."

Lex Luger Not In HOF Because He Killed Miss Elizabeth

During a recent public appearance, Lex Luger was asked what being inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame would mean to him.

"It would just be a tremendous honor if someday I was inducted in the Hall of Fame, but really, we're here to get down to glory to God now with our lives and serve others and use open vessels for him to bring people to Christ," says Luger, who in 2006 declared himself a born again Christian.

Lex continues, "But, would that be an honor? It's something that would also help to use as a platform to continue ministry as well. It would be wonderful, definitely."

According to sources, Luger not being inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame this year as part of the Horsemen clan stems from the events surrounding Miss Elizabeth's death, which occurred on May 1, 2003 in the home they shared. Her cause of death, according to the coroner's report, was "acute toxicity" brought on by a buffet of prescription painkillers and vodka. Many people in WWE blame Luger for her tragic death as he's seen as her enabler. Luger himself has admitted to being a negative influence on her life.

"I take a lot of responsibility for that—my influence in her life," he told ESPN.com in 2007 regarding his heavy drug abuse, which rubbed off on her during their relationship. "Her little heart and body couldn't take what I was doing."