EXTREME RISING DEMANDS RETURN OF TITLE BELT FROM STEVIE RICHARDS OVER VIDEOGAME...YES, REALLY

In what will go down as one of the strangest stories I can ever remember writing about, Extreme Rising emailed current champion Stevie Richards today, demanding he return their title belt (which he has kept since winning and has taken overseas and to independent shows to defend as a way to raise the profile of the promotion) or else...because of Richards said he would defend the belt via a videogame.

Yes, really.

So, let's start at the beginning.

Over the course of the weekend, Richards and former ECW star Danny Doring, who are close friends, were writing each other back and forth via Twitter and Facebook.

Richards, a videogame and technology aficionado, posted a photo of the Rising belt and his copy of the latest Madden videogame on his Twitter account, jokingly offering to defend his belt via the game online since he lost his bookings over Wrestlemania weekend.

Doring then posted a photo of the old ECW World Tag Team belt (which has been in his possession since the company closed in 2001) on his Twitter account and responded that he would put up that belt as well, joking it would be "defunct promotion vs. defunct promotion."

Shortly after, Richards received an email from the promotion, upset over the two friends "blowing off steam online", as Richards termed it, demanding the return of the belt by the end of this week, noting they were "disappointed" over the description of the promotion as defunct.

Richards noted that what really upset him the most was that the promotion "doubted his ability as a Madden player." He noted that Rising was upset over something that "20 people saw on Twitter" and said he's tried to help the company by carrying their belt and was amazed they saw the comments as anything more than two people goofing off online.

He also noted that it was silly no one just called him, especially since he hasn't had any communication with anyone at Rising beyond a text announcing the cancellation of the Wrestlemania weekend shows.

One Extreme Rising official noted they were upset over the promotion being described as "defunct", which is something Doring, not Richards, wrote.

Despite the threat, Doring and Richards intend to play the game after all and Richards is looking for a way for the game to be streamed online for whoever cares to watch it. The two intend to build up their "new rivalry" online. Stay tuned to their Twitter accounts (linked above) for more.

PWInsider.com left word for Extreme Rising's Steve O'Neil and should there be any official statement, we will post it, although in my opinion, the entire thing is really silly...unless you really love your Madden.

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