SmackDown wrestler Jeff Hardy has handed in his notice to World Wrestling Entertainment. He has three months left on his contract and is refusing to sign an extension at the current time. They've offered him several separate deals and he's turned them all down as of this point.
It's being said that he is very burned out and looking to do some other things outside of wrestling, so there is a very good possibility that he won't be renewing his contract when it comes due this summer. This could explain his losses to his brother in recent weeks.
Ted DiBiase revealed at a speaking engagement at the Boys and Girls Club in Tomah, Wisconsin on Friday that his son, Ted DiBiase, Jr., will be turning babyface this fall or before Christmas to promote The Marine 2 film. The direct-to-video action film is currently in post-production and slated to be released late last year or early next year. During the speaking engagement, DiBiase recalled a conversation he had with Randy Orton a few years ago in which the leader of Legacy told him he was a better wrestler than John Cena and asked him why he didn't have the title. DiBiase said Orton had been dealing with personal problems in the past, but he now has a wife, a child, and has started to ask him about Jesus Christ. Later, DiBiase mentioned that Cena has the title because he has Vince McMahon's trust. "He (Vince) is never going to get a call in the middle of the night about his wrestler being kicked out of a hotel or something like that," DiBiase said.
WWE will be running one of their European tours in November under the handle
"Undertaker's Rest In Peace Tour." According to those in WWE, this is simply a marketing strategy by using his catchphrase as a selling point and not an indication that he's retiring.
Chris Jericho vs. Ricky Steamboat has been added to the Backlash card. This is a complete 180 on the mindset of last week, when WWE told everyone not to even mention Steamboat's name on the air because he was done as a character
Regarding TNA's usage of the name Cactus Jack, even though WWE has a trademark for the name, Foley can continue to use it because he had used the name prior to WWE and ECW. The Cactus Jack name dates back to working the indies. The reason that doesn't work for the Dudleys, for example, is because that name was given to them by Paul Heyman in ECW, and thus WWE owns it. There are other aspects of the Dudley story, but evidently Team 3D decided against fighting that case in court.
ESPN has published an article by Sherdog.com writer Jake Rossen in which he slams Bobby Lashley for his decision to sign with TNA Wrestling while still being an active MMA fighter. After calling "professional wrestling" slang for "embarrassment to the human race," Rossen said, "Lashley can obviously do as he pleases to earn a buck, but I don't think his hybrid career will do the sport of MMA in the States any favors.
Ric Flair retired from WWE because he could make more money than 500,000 he was making, and wouldn't accept 250,000 as GM of Smackdown because WWE would have control of his bookings, and thus risk making way less than he wants.
Ric Flair is doing commercials for the Lowe's Shootout on May 17th at the Lowe's Motor Speedway. Commercials are currently running on Fox Sports Radio's XM Radio channel.
Shawn Michaels has been talking about taking some time off for quite awhile, and it is being speculated that when his contract is up, he will get a deal with a lot less hectic of a schedule as he has taken his toll of injuries, and want to be there for his sons as they grow up, and WWE doesn't want to lose his presence on the roster.
Fox Atomic, the division of 20th Century Fox which recently distributed the box office bomb "12 Rounds" starring John Cena, has been shut down. Fox Atomic was launched in 2007 and all of Atomic's projects currently in progress will be distributed directly through 20th Century Fox.
Since today's date is 4-20-2009, the last news item will be from
ROB----VAN------DAM
Rob Van Dam has posted a new blog on his MySpace page. RVD wishes everybody a Happy 4/20 and talks about the recent passing of former co-worker Andrew "Test" Martin. Here's what RVD said about Test: "One thing that's worth mentioning-I've been asked a few times if Test's passing put a dark cloud over the whole trip," Van Dam wrote. "We were bummed that we wouldn't see him again, and all told Test stories to each other, but sadly, we are all used to this routine. After so many of us have died prematurely, it's almost like we're trained to handle this, and life goes on. We all took a look at the bus full of wrestlers, and have to admit to ourselves that there's a decent chance that next time we all get together, we may be a smaller group still. Over the years I've gone from being devastated by news of Louie Spicolli's death, to asking 'Who died this time?' when someone in the business asks, 'Have you heard?' At 33 years old, Test accidentally ended his life, while my peers continue to push the envelope. Being away from a binding contract that kept me on the road, I often feel like a survivor that made it home from the war. That's not meant to be insensitive to war vets that have experienced far worse than I have."
