Joe's 411: B/R Pro-Wrestling News (May 7)

Welcome to another Joe's 411: B/R Pro-Wrestling News. This is the place for all the wrestling news you want to know for May 7, 2009.  And without further adieu, here is the 411.

Although the WWE and "Superstar" Billy Graham have settled the feud between them now, insiders were able to get a hold on one of Graham's e-mails to the WWE.

Here is one from when he first found out he was not able to use his gimmick or name outside of the WWE because of his release:

“One more thought concerning not being able to use my wrestling name of Superstar Billy Graham in any capacity related to wrestling once my contract is up. What if I wanted to paint a portrait of a dead wrestler, my dear and precious friend, Eddie G.

"And I wanted to sell this painting of Eddie for his memory to and for wrestling fans and wrestlers alike. I would not be able to sign my wrestling name of Superstar Billy Graham to a portrait I just painted of Eddie?

"Vince will indeed burn in Hell for trying to stop me from using my pro wrestling name, because he doesn’t want me to, let him burn, he is one evil man."

As I mentioned earlier the feud has been settled and Graham is able to use his name and gimmick outside of the WWE. As he did use it before he arrived, meaning it was his property.

Speaking of releases...

Jeff Hardy has been getting a lot of wins lately and is even in the World Heavyweight Championship match, meaning he has signed some sort of contract with the WWE right?

In the words of Lee Corso "Not so fast my friend"

Hardy has yet to sign a contract for anything. Word has it, that he will sign a one year deal when he contract is up next month. And will keep that contract until they can renegotiate on a new long term deal.

The WWE and Hardy believe they can settle on a new deal within a year.

Rumors got out about Hardy leaving the company, most were over blown and many were just that "rumors."

The WWE nor Jeff Hardy have addressed the situation publicly. But most close to Hardy believe he will sign a new contract when his contract is up. 

The wins he has been getting are just in the words of the people backstage, "throwing him a bone."

ECW Original and former Champion Shane Douglas was backstage at the recent ECW/SmackDown tapings in his hometown of Pittsburgh, PA. Don't count on a return though, as he was just visiting.

However one person has been kind of following the WWE around, it is former ECW Superstar Colin Delaney. He was backstage at the RAW show on Monday night in Buffalo. And was also backstage at last night’s SmackDown tapings in Pittsburgh visiting.

Now, he lived in New York as of now, so like Douglas, a visit was expected. But traveling to Pennslyvannia is kind of weird to me. Sure it is not a long long ride from Buffalo, but still.

I think someone is trying to get his job back.

Onto the people who are still employed by the WWE....

In recent house shows, Rey Mysterio and Chris Jericho have been having matches. Jericho has been trying to take Mysterio's mask off in those matches. And although it is not set is stone just yet, a Jericho/Mysterio storyline could be happening soon.

Jericho has been asking to do it for a while now, as he knows they can have great matches on TV. He recently was in the Fatal Four Way match for the No. 1 Contendership with Mysterio, and was DQed for hitting Mysterio with a chair.

So something could be brewing there.

I personally would like to see it, but what would it be about?

Maybe Jericho could be talking about Legends or something, and then start to degrade Eddie Guerrero causing Mysterio to come out.

And it could develop from there. But who knows where they are going with it? I personally would be happy just seeing a match with the two.

Speaking of storylines...

New stars may be getting a push they need. People inside the WWE have let it slip that Stephanie McMahon recently met with management and said they should be pushing new stars in the company more.

That everyone should get a chance, instead of the some old people again and again and again. People are getting tired of seeing people constantly at the top, and it is time to see new people.

Also, the new stars would be able to pitch their own gimmicks and storyline ideas.

Traditionally this was looked down upon by the WWE. If a person came up with their own gimmick and the "staff" did not come up with it, it was considered to be wrong.

I personally like the idea, because some of the stupid gimmick out there are from this so called creative team. And the wrestlers a lot of times, hate the idea. But only do it to stay in the company.

Take DJ Gabriel for example. Great wrestler in the ring, and can talk on the mic if given the chance. From what I have seen, he is very good on it. However he is not getting the push he wants, because fans are turned off by the dancing gimmick.

If they were to use him right, and kill the gimmick all together, he would be liked more.

The gimmicks that were done by the superstars themselves have worked out in the past for them. The Rock, John Cena (rapper), Stone Cold, etc.

All of them had their own gimmick they suggested, and the WWE let them do it. It worked out, and now they are some of the most popular of all time.

Sure the WWE added to the character of course, to put their stamp on it. But the suggestion and idea was all their's.

With that said, if we can see other stars do the same thing. We may see another Stone Cold or Rock in the company. Which is something we really do need.

Former WWE Superstar Elijah Burke is "almost but not yet" set in stone to go to TNA. Which is big for both TNA and their future. He should have never been let go from the WWE, as he was a great member of the ECW roster.

Problem was the WWE failed to use him right when he came back from injuries and what not. He had been off of WWE TV for some time before the release.

They could have used his former profession as a gimmick, amateur boxing. He was a good one too, with over 100 wins.

TNA backstage interviewer Jeremy Borash updated his Twitter account saying he spoke to him backstage at last night’s TV tapings.

Burke tends to remain in charcter during interviews, he has popped up several times backstage,and has been dating Knockout So Cal Val.

This may save Val's job, as she was a valet for Sonjay Dutt. He was released a while back, which left Val without a job or anywhere to go storyline wise.

With Burke coming in, Val may be managing him. So this is good for her and TNA in my mind. I would think they would keep him heel, because he could do well in that role.

He could shine in the X-Division in my mind, maybe even the tag division. We will see where it goes. But I personally think TNA is going to pull the trigger and bring him in. 

Burke, unlike former WWE stars that have gone to TNA, is still young and has a many years left in him.

Lashley is a former WWE superstar, true. But he will not be wrestling full-time as he is still doing his MMA career too.

Burke will be full-time, meaning he will be a bigger asset to the company.

The WWE has financial results in for the 1st quarter of the year. It is not great, believe me. Sure it may seem like a lot on paper, but if you are a business person, you know the figures are not near where they should be.

Vince McMahon said in the annual shareholders meeting, that the numbers would be down. The WWE is like all other businesses, and is suffering because of the economy. Which I cannot help but think the WWE should be up compared to other businesses.

Considering they have been selling out arenas, and merchandise was being sold a good bit too. You would think they would be ok. But here are the figures.

-Revenues totaled $107.8 million as compared to $162.6 million in the comparable prior year quarter.

- Operating income was $16.7 million as compared to $27.1 million in the prior year quarter.

- Net income was $10.3 million, or $0.14 per share, as compared to $19.5 million, or $0.27 per share, in the prior year quarter.

A drastic drop in money here is not good for the WWE. But I am sure they will be fine.

Their best time of the year was around Wrestlemania time. Which of course is obvious because that is the biggest event of the year for the WWE.

However, it was not in the 1st quarter figures. So that could be why they look down. Last year it was, but they left it out to avoid comparisons from the previous year.

While a good business move, people did make the comparisons. And they can be seen here:

http://wrestlingtruth.com/news/wwe-reports-poor-2009-first-quarter-financial-results/

By looking at that, it is a significant drop more so that the figures they used. Which is of course why they did not release those figures.

Batista is still considering retirement. He recently had an interview with the UK Sun, here is a bit from it:

"I realize that I am closer to the end of my career than I am to the beginning. It's something I'm really going to have to take a look at. I don't want to hang around past my welcome. I also don't want to hang around to the point where I'm so beat up that its hard for me to get out of bed. I don't want to be that guy."

Now you cannot be to mad at Batista for leaving if your a fan of his. He is in his 40s, so he is not some young man leaving the company to early. Fans who like him, I am sure they understand this.

He can't go as much anymore, which means he won't be able to be around as often. Plus he wants to be healthy, and wants to live his life when he retires.

And maybe he does not want to have any regrets. If maybe he stays in the WWE longer, he would injure himself. And regret staying longer, when he knew he should have left.

Batista's WWE contract expires next Spring, we will have to see what he does. But as of now, it is probably going to be retirement.

That is all for the 411 today, remember to come back tomorrow.

Also if you have any questions let me know. I have a new series coming out, called the Weekly Wrestling Mailbag.

You send the questions you want to see answered in the world of wrestling, and in this new series, I'll answer them.

You can ask me by leaving a comment here, on my profile, or e-mail me here: [e-mail]

credit: pwrestlingnews.com, prowrestling.net, prowrestling.com, UK Sun, wrestling observer, wrestlingtruth.com, wrestlenews.com, lordsofpain.com