Klik GAMBAR Dibawah Untuk Lebih Info

Sumber Asal Berita :-

The Star Online: Entertainment: TV & Radio

Posted: 21 Jul 2011 01:56 AM PDT

Professional WWE wrestlers Melina Perez and John Morrison vouched that a big part of the ring actions are for real.

AS a kid, Melina Perez used to get beaten up by her big brother. These days, however, she has not only turned the tables on her brother, she could probably choke slam him as well. She is after all, Melina, professional World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) wrestler and one of the most popular and toughest WWE Divas in the business.

Lucky for her brother, Melina doesn't actually want to beat him up. After all, he was instrumental in cultivating her interest in wrestling in the first place.

She has fond memories of watching the WWE on TV with her big brother when she was a little girl.

"I loved my brother and always wanted to hang out with him, but he hated having me around. That's why I loved watching wrestling with him, because that was the one time I could spend time with him and not get beaten up!" she recalled with a laugh. "He now claims that he toughened me up for wrestling, and made me what I am today."

Melina was in Petaling Jaya, Selangor, recently together with fellow professional wrestler (and on-and-off boyfriend) John Morrison for the WWE Asia Tour meet-the-fans session presented by Astro (which broadcasts all the WWE shows).

Winner of three WWE Intercontinental Championship and one ECW World Championship titles, John Morrison (real name John Randall Hennigan) has also wrestled under the names Johnny Nitro and Johnny Blaze (amongst others). He has also won the WWE Tag Team Championship four times with two different partners – Joey Mercury and The Miz; and one World Tag Team Championship with The Miz.

Also dubbed "Guru of Greatness" and "Shaman of Sexy", John started out in professional wrestling through a show called Tough Enough, and gradually progressed through the ranks to become the bona fide WWE star he is today.

"I was into wrestling, martial arts and gymnastics during school and college. So without really thinking about it, I was doing stuff that was preparing me for a career in sports entertainment," said John, who also used to study film.

"Then when I found out about Tough Enough, it hit me – this is what I really wanted to do. I was interested in film and sports ... and here was a show that could lead me to the WWE and allow me to do everything that I want."

Melina's path to the WWE was a little different though. After all, not many little girls dream of becoming a professional wrestler, even though she already had a close affiliation with the ring, thanks to her father who used to be a boxer.

Initially, her dream was to become a doctor. However, Melina's life changed when she reluctantly joined a beauty pageant at a local mall, which she won, much to her surprise. After a stint as a model, she decided to become a professional wrestler, and though she failed to get into Tough Enough, she perservered and eventually got into the Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW), a feeder programme for the WWE.

Melina made her debut on OVW in 2004, introduced into the programme as John's ex-girlfriend. She and John (then known as Johnny Nitro) then teamed up with Joey Mercury (with Melina as manager) to form the formidable MNM team that took the WWE by storm by winning the WWE Tag Team Championship in 2005 on their very first match on WWE Smackdown.

Melina made her singles debut as a wrestler in 2005, and has won three WWE Women's Championship and two WWE Diva's Championship titles since.

Underneath that tough, bad girl image Melina portrays in WWE, the real Melina is actually surprisingly gentle, soft-spoken and a real sweetheart who looks more like a high school cheerleader than a professional wrestler. Admitting her soft-spoken and timid real life persona, she uses the stage to let out another side of herself.

"My character on TV is the complete opposite (of me in real life). I tend to let people walk all over me in real life; so when I'm on stage, it's my time to do or say the things I should have done to those people off stage," she said.

"Who you are in the ring is the same as who you are in real life, but with the volume turned way up like, a hundred times," said John, who is not as intimidating, but is no less charismatic in real life as he is on TV.

"Your character (on stage) has to be based on something real. I'm basically just being myself, but in a larger-than-life way, and in an arena where I can push myself athletically and try to entertain people the best way I know how."

John likens the WWE locker room to a big fish tank with sharks like John Cena, Kane, Batista and Triple H all circling around waiting to go in for the kill. So who is the biggest shark in the dressing room then?

"Biggest shark is John Morrison!" he declared.

"And if you ask John Cena, he'd say the same thing, except that his answer would be himself! That's the way we all see ourselves, because if you don't see yourself as the biggest shark, other people aren't going to see you that way."

One thing he doesn't like is when people come up to him and complain that the WWE isn't "real sport" or that "it's all fake!".

"Yes it's staged, but people who ask that question don't really get it," John said indignantly.

"Movies are fake as well. It's all entertainment ... that's what the 'E' in WWE stands for. Ultimately, that's what we are – we're entertainers.

"And as far as the wrestling goes, we're not trying to kill each other. The whole point is to have a good time – to cheer people you like and jeer people who don't like."

According to Melina, the show may be scripted, but the athleticism is all real.

"You can't wrestle unless you're an athlete. You can't do the superhuman stuff that John Morrison does unless you train hard for it," she says.

And when the wrestlers get injured, it's for real. John has been out of commission with an injury recently, after an altercation with fellow wrestler R-Truth two months ago.

"I have a herniated disc, a compressed vertebrate that is compressing the nerves in my right arm. I had to go for a simple neck surgery where they drilled through some bone at the back of my neck to make room for the nerve to go through.

"It's like taking your foot off a hose – that's what they did when they took the bone out, to make room for the nerve," he explained, adding that he can't wait to get back in action and go for his first ever World or WWE Championship title.

One thing is for sure though, if I were R-Truth, I wouldn't want to be anywhere near John Morrison when he gets back. "I'm now in rehabilitation, and trying to get the strength back into my arm. I'm hoping to come back in August, find R-Truth and give him some payback!"

Hungry for more WWE action? Catch WWE Raw (Tuesday, 10pm) and WWE NXT (Thursday, 10pm) on Astro SuperSport (Ch. 811); and WWE SuperStar every Monday at 10pm on Astro SuperSport 2 (Ch. 816). For highlights of Smackdown, check out WWE After Burn at 11pm every Friday on Astro SuperSport 3 (Ch. 817).

Astro subscribers can also catch the latest WWE Pay-Per-View programmes on Astro Box Office Sports (Ch. 971). For more information on how to subscribe to these, check out Astro's website astro.com.my.

Full Feed Generated by Get Full RSS, sponsored by USA Best Price.

Packing a wallop

Posted: 21 Jul 2011 01:51 AM PDT

Young actor Ammar Alfian Aziz is more than capable of muscling his way toward meatier roles.

HE is all muscles, confident in attitude and still holds the "bad boy" tag for speaking his mind. This aside, newcomer actor Ammar Alfian Aziz, who has a hot sizzling body, is probably the most misunderstood upstart around. In person, he's actually a really nice guy who is no push-over – just slightly reserved and the no-nonsense type.

Exactly a year after he posted on his Facebook page that he hated (local) entertainment journalists and wanted to "kill one of them", this solidly built actor, who became notorious overnight, has found that things have not changed much.

He is still on the blacklist of some media channels but it doesn't bother him in the least. The focus is on his acting career and he is bent on making an impression with ... well, meatier roles.

"I don't care if people don't like me. I am here to do my thing, earn some money and improve my acting skills along the way," said Ammar who was first introduced as the lead hero Neo in the TV drama, Tari Tirana, after he took part in Hero Remaja 2008 alongside handsome actors Kamal Adli and Fizo Omar.

Even if the negative perceptions about him remain, Ammar is pretty cool about it. This is because he had tasted fame long before he became an actor. As a teenager, he was making good money as a model in Singapore and was the face for a line of men's briefs. Life as a model has given him perspective and a reason to stay calm despite the adverse media publicity last year.

"At 16, I was ahead of my time. Now I feel like I've matured even more after I got involved in acting. So, when I got mixed up in some controversy, I knew I could handle it," said the 24-year-old actor who is wise beyond his years.

Ammar, known as one the sexiest actors in the industry, is a well tanned hunk who has only been around for two years. He is already making heads turn. Thanks to his brooding muscleman image and the controversy, Ammar's female following has grown by leaps and bounds. His Facebook fan page is fast approaching 5,000 fans.

"It's kind of flattering but I don't really care anyway if girls like me or not. I guess that's the way I've always been," said Ammar who is the youngest of three siblings.

According to Ammar, he doesn't need to react to any publicity, be it good or bad.

"If anyone wants to write me off, that is their prerogative. My family and friends know who I am and they wouldn't believe everything that's written about me," said the actor, who was born in Cardiff, Wales.

He stands at 185.4cm and has a degree in sports science from UiTM Shah Alam.

Though he has mastered every possible martial arts from boxing, kick-boxing, wrestling, ninjutsu, taekwando, kung fu, karate and will soon take up MMA (mixed martial arts), Ammar doesn't often show off his beautiful physique. He isn't an exhibitionist. If you are lucky, you might only catch him flaunting his frame when training in the gym.

There are no magic pills to get a body like his. The man believes in hard work in the gym and the right diet.

"Just a lot of workouts and discipline. Every workout counts and you to have to really push yourself, train your mind to become immune to the pain when you carry weights. Then there is also a strict diet to follow. I take 30 half-boiled eggs (without the yolk) every day, steamed chicken, grilled fish, vegetables and fruits.

"I will only have rice once a week in moderation. You have to set a personal standard and try to keep to this discipline or else you will never achieve your goal," said Ammar who trained intensively two years to tone his body and muscles.

As a fitness freak and a trained gym instructor, Ammar sometimes doubles up as a bodyguard when the situation warrants it. He has a lot to show off in the martial arts area. And this is something he would like to do in dramas and movies if he gets the right roles.

"I'm so eager to act in movies that will test my physical ability. It's nice to do it ('bash people') on screen and get paid for it," said the actor whose parents are professors at a local university.

When it comes to love, this Malaysian lad is looking for a woman with brains. She has to be caring and understanding too. If you are wondering what happened to his on-off relationship with actress Puteri Sarah Liyana Megat Kamaruddin of Aduh Saliha, his girlfriend of three years, that question is off limits.

This sexy actor who got his good looks from his Arab lineage, said he has experienced countless fan encounters that have ranged from the sultry to the slightly uncomfortable.

"I get proposals and suggestive offers which are slightly inappropriate to say here but I just brushed them aside. It sounds kind of odd, but it's most flattering nonetheless!" said Ammar, who is the nephew of popular motivator, Datuk Fadzilah Kamsan.

Though he has logged a number of memorable roles on more than 30 TV dramas to date, like Dimensions, Cinta Luhur Ezumin, Kemp Pink, Dia Atila, Sirah Cinta and Kasanova Metropolitan, Ammar is eagerly looking forward to get bigger roles.

"It would be great if I could get a gangster role like the one in KL Gangster. A character that is not evil but just misunderstood – something like me. That would be really cool," concluded Ammar who hates cheesy roles.

Full Feed Generated by Get Full RSS, sponsored by USA Best Price.

Kredit: www.thestar.com.my

Rabu, 20 Julai 2011