Draft, Lesnar/Kidman, Tara & WWE, Undertaker On Raw

How far ahead do WWE superstars know about being drafted to another brand?

In years past, WWE stars haven't known they were being drafted until it was announced on live television. That wasn't the case this year as both Cody Rhodes and Kofi Kingston knew they were moving because they were involved in the filming of a commercial for Smackdown's move to SyFy. Several workers were notified on Monday afternoon as I reported at this link.

Will Brock Lesnar and/or Billy Kidman ever return to WWE?

I never like to say never in this business but I'm 99.9% sure Brock Lesnar is finished with WWE. He's had great success in UFC and looks to continue that with his comeback this summer. Billy Kidman is under WWE contract as he is a developmental instructor/trainer at Florida Championship Wrestling. Injuries ended his in-ring career.If TNA were to start calling (for example)

Mr. Anderson, Mr. Kennedy, or Team 3D, The Dudley Boyz: Exactly what could (and would) the WWE do about it?

Usually when someone is infringing upon WWE's copyright they demand an immediate cease and desist of the copyright or they will file a lawsuit. If TNA, or any other company, called them out on this they would be quick to react. WWE is very protective of their copyrights and have people in the company not only watching what other companies do but what happens on the Internet as well.

Tara is reported to be leaving TNA. Could she be on her way back to WWE?

Or she hanging up the boots?

Tara says she isn't retiring but I have a hard time believing WWE would bring in a 40-year-old Diva, especially with the Divas division being built around younger workers such as Eve Torres and Kelly Kelly. She has expressed interest in Mixed Martial Arts and may give that a try.Why is The Undertaker never drafted to Raw? Smackdown has been seen as The Undertaker's brand. He likes it and company management likes it. Raw has traditionally had the more star power so The Undertaker has traditionally been the leader on the brand. Many workers enjoy the atmosphere in the Smackdown locker room more than the Raw locker room because it reportedly is more relaxed with less politics.To submit your question for our next installment of Ask WNW, click here.Remember questions with proper spelling and grammar receive top priority and stand the best chance of getting answered. The next installment of Ask WNW will run on Friday, April 30, 2010.

News on the WWE Releases, Mickie's Heat, Katie Lea Plans, Shelton's Rep & More

- The feeling is that the WWE releases came because several stars from NXT and WWE developmental are scheduled to be brought to the main roster soon.
The recent releases aren't a budget-cutting move as much as just WWE making way for new members on the roster.

Shelton Benjamin's contract was releasing soon and there was always frustration internally with him. Shelton had the reputation of being one who coasted through the job and that his promos were never as good as his in-ring work.

Mickie James' release from WWE didn't surprise many within the company. Apparently there was talk of cutting her before WrestleMania. Word is that while on the SmackDown brand, Mickie had a few run-ins with Batista and when things became heated, he threatened to quit if she wasn't fired and Undertaker had to step in and calm things down. It's said that Mickie's recent behavior on the European tour was the deciding factor in letting her go.

It's said that Mike Knox didn't carry himself like a main eventer backstage but he still had his share of supporters within WWE. At one point, Shawn Michaels and Triple H were among those in favor of pushing Knox.

There was speculation online that Jimmy Wang Yang's release came after a Wellness violation because he Tweeted "three strikes and your out" after being released. Yang was referring to his third time being fired from the company.

Katie Lea's release was not something planned in advance because the WWE creative team had her booked to move to SmackDown in the Draft.

It's said that Slam Master J, son of the late Terry Gordy, mainly had a job because SmackDown head writer Michael Hayes considered him almost like a son. His release came as a bit of a surprise to some because Hayes had always protected him.

Batista Leave WWE

word making the rounds in Baltimore, where the WWE crew has already arrived for tomorrow night's Extreme Rules pay-per-view, is that Batista is finishing up with the company this week.

Batista has made noise about leaving in recent months and it appears to have come to fruition.

He's challenging John Cena in what may ultimately be his final match inside a WWE ring.

Tonight's TNA iMPACT, Kurt Angle Opening a Cafe, Sacrifice

TNA will shoot tonight's iMPACT live from the iMPACT Zone in Orlando, Florida tonight at 8pm EST.

- The official theme song for TNA's Sacrifice pay-per-view will be Shake It Out by the Manchester Orchestra.

- Kurt Angle wrote on Twitter last week that he has five movies finishing in 2010. Angle also mentioned that Kurt Angle's Foodies Cafe will open in Pittsburgh's strip district next Monday. Angle will be appearing for the cafe's opening

Final 4/2 WWE Friday Night Smackdown rating

The post-Wrestlemania edition of Friday Night Smackdown on 4/2 dropped to a 1.68 broadcast rating, down from a 1.9 rating the previous week. The show was viewed by 2.79 million viewers, down from 3.24 million on 3/26

TNA Impact Quarter Hour Ratings

TNA Impact ended up doing a .80 rating last night off hours of .82 and .78. The show was down 10% from last week. Here are some quarter hour details...

* The show opened with a .74 in quarter hour one.

* Quarter hour four was the highest rated full quarter hour, with a .85. The segment featured Eric Bischoff, Hulk Hogan, and the Knockouts.

* Quarter hour five, the first against RAW, dropped to a .78. The segment featured Angelina Love vs. Velvet Sky, the Abyss angle, and the beginning of Motor City Machineguns vs. Matt Morgan & Amazing Red.

* Quarter hour six fell to a show-low .65. The segment featured the rest of the Motor City Machineguns vs. Matt Morgan & Amazing Red match, more of the Abyss angle, and intros for Jeff Hardy vs. Robert Roode.

* Quarter hour seven increased to a .72. The segment featured Hardy vs. Roode and the fireball angle.

* Quarter hour eight increased to a .80 for the AJ Styles/Pope brawl.

* The highest rated segment was the two minute overrun which did a .97 rating.

DVD Wrestlemania 26 Cover

New Match to Open TNA's Lockdown PPV, Rumor on Christy Hemme's New TNA Deal

For what it's worth, The Honky Tonk Man wrote on Facebook that Christy Hemme's new three-year deal with TNA is worth $175,000 a year, far more than the other TNA Knockouts are earning. Honky's Facebook says that Eric Bischoff played a big part in getting Hemme her new deal. Honky also claims that Hemme's new deal with TNA has left some of the other Knockouts upset.

- The opening match for this Sunday's TNA Lockdown pay-per-view will be James Storm vs. Rob Van Dam. The winner of the match will get the "numbers advantage" for his team in the Lethal Lockdown main event

WWE Smackdown Is Moving To SyFy

According to a report by The Los Angeles Times, WWE Smackdown is leaving MyNetwork TV and heading to SyFy. The deal will fully be announced later this week, but the report noted that SyFy will be paying $30 million a year for the show, up from the $20 million the company was getting for the show. WWE was free to shop the show around to new channels, but had to move the series to a network owned by NBC-Universal on cable. Smackdown will continue to air on MyNetwork TV until late September or early October. SyFy formerly hosted ECW, and now airs WWE NXT.

Sheamus Works as Face, Cody Rhodes Update, Swagger/Mysterio

Rey Mysterio vs. Jack Swagger for the World Title is being advertised for the main events of the SmackDown shows in Tennessee on May 1st and 2nd.

- Cody Rhodes has been wearing amateur wrestling head gear during the WWE European tour, to go along with the punt kick he received from Randy Orton at WrestleMania.

- After the RAW live event in Dublin this weekend, John Cena cut a promo on the hometown hero Sheamus following their match that Cena won. Cena put Sheamus over as a WWE Superstar and handed him the WWE Title. Sheamus then cut a babyface promo to the hometown crowd, laid the WWE Title down in the ring and said that was for them. The crowd popped big for Sheamus as he celebrated with the fans to end the show.

7 eleven & WWE

"This is much bigger for us than what we did in the first film," he tells Marketing Daily. "For the first, it was about Slurpee; this includes Big Gulp, so it's about 10 different cups." He says retail elements include front-of-store and window banners. There is also a separate promotion with Reese's candy, which is sold at 7-Eleven.

Brody says films are just one part of the company's promotional strategy, which includes sponsorships around gaming, sports and TV programs.

"We have had success with anything that's exciting; in the case of blockbuster films, it's something where excitement is building well before the premiere," he says, adding that 7-Eleven has programs with WWE Summerslam, and a big promotion planned around a video game. "But films do very well -- no question about it. There is so much support as well from studio and distributors. It really gives lots of buzz to a property

Details Behind Lance Cade's Departure From World Wrestling Entertainment

As reported earlier, Lance Cade was released again last week by World Wrestling Entertainment.

He was re-hired this past October, but was conspicuously never used sans a one-off appearance in developmental. In an interview last week with PWInsider.com, Cade said John Laurinaitis told him last December they were going to call him up to the main roster, but he was having problems going through pain killer withdrawal and it was keeping him awake.

He said that led to getting hooked on sleeping pills, so he called the office and asked to be put into rehab. Cade completed four weeks of rehab and in early March, talked to his mentor, Shawn Michaels. He claimed HBK told him "he's done" and would never be used a top guy.

During the interview, Cade expressed his displeasure with being let by WWE as he couldn't understand why they would fire him for asking to go to rehab considering that everyone else is given an ultimatum to take up rehabilitation assistance or have their contract terminated. He felt he was doing the right thing by addressing the issue and asking to enter rehab, especially considering that his ongoing pill problems stemmed from working for WWE.

He then said he doesn't want to be part of a company that says they want to help wrestlers with their issues, but then turn their backs on them when they ask for help. He also feels it sends a bad message to the wrestlers in the locker room that if they get injured and take time off, they'll lose their spot. Or, if they have issues medication and ask for help, they'll be fired. Additionally, Cade implied during the interview that there are top guys doing stuff much worse than he had done, saying WWE's drug testing policy "doesn't apply to everyone.

" Cade was previously released from WWE on October 14, 2008. Jim Ross later stated on his official website that "he made a major league mistake while utilizing bad judgment" and that it was instrumental to his departure. J.R. also made reference to Cade having a seizure on a plane and needing emergency medical care.

Latest on the 2011 WWE Hall of Fame, Note on WWE PPV Increase

- Since WWE started the pay-per-view price increase with the Royal Rumble in January, they have not suffered any significant hit on pay-per-view buys.

- Because WWE in general wasn't happy with this year's Hall of Fame ceremony, they have been working on next year's event in advance. Names currently being discussed include Bill Goldberg, Ron Simmons, Lex Luger and The Steiner Brothers. Sting is also being talked about but his status with TNA will always play a factor, obviously.

While it probably will never happen, two people in the company brought up Ted Turner's name this past week. It's said that Goldberg and Simmons are likely a lock for next year's class.

EDGE AN INTEGRAL FIGURE IN MONEY IN THE BANK

Every Money in the Bank 'cash in' so far has involved Edge in some form.

1st - Edge beats John Cena
2nd - RVD beats John Cena after interference by Edge
3rd - Edge beats Undertaker
4th - CM Punk beats Edge
5th - CM Punk beats Jeff Hardy after a match with Edge
6th - Jack Swagger beats Chris Jericho after Edge beats up Jericho

Also, this was the fourth year in a row that the MitB winner beat the Smackdown champion when they cashed in the briefcase.

EXTREME RULES, MICHAELS ON JANNETTY, CHRIS JERICHO IN CHITOWN

Chris Gabbard sent this item. ... On Thursday, I saw a commercial for Backlash on my cable provider in the Detroit Market. Obviously, Extreme Rules is the WWE PPV in April so WWE must of sent the wrong video for April to promote the PPV.

Steven Fernandes reporting. ... WWE.com has excerpts from Shawn Michaels interview in the latest WWE Magazine, where he talks about making up with Bret Hart, the original Monday Night Wars, and Marty Jannetty being used as an example of how a career can go wrong (during the Miz/Morrison feud).

You can read it by clicking here.Terri Bey sent word that Chris Jericho is doing a signing on 4/6 at the FYE at 26 E. Randolph Street Chicago , IL 60601 at 2 p.m. I called the store myself and confirmed it. You have to buy the Fozzy CD. The store opens at 8:30 a.m.

Former TNA Star Backstage At Raw, NXT Rookie Suffers Food Poisoning, More

Recently released TNA star Sean Morley was backstage at Monday's Raw, which emanated from his hometown of Phoenix. He was simply visiting friends.

Morely worked for TNA as recently as February before parting ways with the organization to compete in Mexico. He wrote the following note on his Facebook account regarding his experience: "Just got back from visiting old friends at Raw here in Phoenix. Drive to the arena with my buddy Matt(Atrain). It's always great to see old friends again."

-- NXT rookie Skip Sheffield noted on his Twitter account this past week that he was suffering from food poisoning. He said he vomited three times and had very high body temperature. He's blaming his sickness on Burger King and said he will never eat there again.

-- Today marks the twenty-year anniversary of the historic Champion vs. Champion match between Hulk Hogan and The Ultimate Warrior at WrestleMania VI.

Vince McMahon's "Mr. McMahon" Character Reportedly Finished

Vince McMahon was privately saying over the past week that his match with Bret Hart at WrestleMania would be the blow-off to the evil "Mr. McMahon" television character.

He noted that the "Mr. McMahon" character was spawned by the aftermath of "Montreal" in 1997 and that WrestleMania was the right time and perfect angle to finish the story and put the character to rest. It should be noted that McMahon, who is of the belief that television is for younger faces and having an aging look is death to the promotion, has said in the past that he felt he was too old to be a performer. However, an angle would come up, ratings would come down and he'd get the itch to return.

McMahon was originally pegged for a match with Undertaker at WrestleMania before the angle with Hart was put together. His absolute destruction at the hands of the Hart family was meant to signify the end of the character, to blow off all the heel heat off the character, and for the character to ultimate be turned babyface. However, many noted amusement that the scenario he chose to turn babyface completely failed.

WWE News: Smackdown Preemptions, Undertaker DVD Cover

Here is the cover for the WWE's The Undertaker's Deadliest Matches DVD

For readers in New York, WWE Smackdown will be preempted by New York Yankees baseball on the following dates:* June 18th* July 16th* August 6th* October 10th- John Morrison
debuts on InDemand PPV on April 1st.

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