Although it's strictly rumor, and one we've seen a thousand times, several wrestlers within WWE are under the impression that their is interest in starting an ECW "brand" to go along with the current two of RAW and SmackDown! Many draw these conclusions from the continuous attempt by WWE to obtain legal rights to the ECW video library. If this were to ever happen, which seems far-fetched, some claim WWE would devote either the Heat or Velocity air-time to the brand.
Some conspiracy theories going around regarding why Paul Heyman was demoted from lead SmackDown! writer include his encouraging of Eddie Guerrero to complain about a scripted promo given to him, and his attempt to talk Stephanie McMahon into stepping down as head of the creative team when she became engaged to Triple H, using the "conflict of interest" speech to support his claim. While those would definitely be added logs to an already openly burning fire, many suspect neither were the "final straw" of sorts that led to his demotion.
Dave Meltzer reports that WWE and Goldberg are much closer now to reaching a deal than they were a few days ago. He expects a deal to be reached soon, but how soon depends on Goldberg and what he is willing to accept. WWE and Goldberg seem close on dates, which appears to be in the ballpark of 10 dates per month, maximum. Goldberg also wants short vacation time.
The main problem appears to be that Goldberg wants creative control of his programs. Anybody who followed the fall of WCW knows that the company ran into serious issues due to all their top talent having creative control (and thus often refusing to go along with plans).
Vince McMahon has brought up doing programs between Goldberg and The Rock, Steve Austin, the Undertaker, and Kurt Angle. Obviously Kurt Angle will no longer be an option since he will be out for the next year. For whatever reason, a program with Brock Lesnar appears to have not been mentioned.
Keep in mind that Wade Keller, another reliable source, reported yesterday that a deal is not any closer to being reached than it has been during the past few weeks. Make of all this what you will.
Credit: WrestlingObserver.com
The Hurricane recently stated on a radio appearance that WWE wrestlers have bee told not to use vertebreakers anymore. The move features one man holding his opponent upside down, back-to-back, via his arms. He then drives his opponent into the mat by dropping to the seated position. It can be assumed that WWE is doing what it can to work against neck injuries, which most recently hit Edge and Kurt Angle. The two stars will now be out for around a year.
Credit: 1wrestling.com
- Randy Orton has been told that he will have pain in his foot for the rest of his life, due to the severity of his current foot injury. Orton will now have to work through pain even after he returns.
- It now appears that Batista will be able to return in 3 months, not the original 6 months expected from his torn triceps muscle injury. WWE is hoping he will be ready in June for the company's first RAW-only PPV.
The Mayof Panama City, Lee Sullivan, has spoken out against the upcoming Girls Gone Wild PPV that is being produced by Eric Bischoff and WWE.
Sullivan stated that anyone promoting or taking part in public nudity will be arrested. His comments were meant to be aimed at GGW and WWE. City police have been on alert ever since the PPV production crew arrived on scene.
The first 51 minutes of WWE Smackdown, pre-empted by the George Bush speech in most major markets, scored a 2.6 rating with a 4 share. The remaining portion of the broadcast scored a 3.8 rating with a 6 share. The overall rating for the two hour block was a 3.3 rating with a 5 share. Smackdown scored a 3.5 rating with a 5 share last week.