Joe's 411: B/R Pro Wrestling News

Welcome to the latest edition of Joe's 411: B/R Pro Wrestling News. I have a lot to tell you, so let's get on with it.

RAW's New General Manager

If you saw RAW last night you saw that storyline RAW GM Vickie Guerrero has now resigned from her position. This actually came as a surprise, as management loved her heat with the fans and didn't mind keeping her around.

However, she has already given her notice to the WWE because she wants to spend more time with her family. She was paid very well while in the WWE, so she could just about be set for life.

There is a rumor going around that says she will be making a few more television appearances. So don't be surprised if she pops up on RAW next week. Regardless, she is leaving and not going to be back as RAW GM.

Many of the fans did not like her in the GM position and have complained about her for some time.

But as mentioned before, the WWE actually liked that because it gave her more heat, which is why she wasn't let go. And also because she was Eddie's wife, they do have a soft spot for her.

With a person like Mike Adamle, he wasn't liked since his first day. So when he got on ECW as an announcer and on RAW as the GM, the WWE Universe set out millions of posts criticizing him.

I was actually part of the first thread criticizing him as RAW GM on WWE Universe and I was personally happy we finally saw him leave.

That led us to Stephanie and Shane McMahon, who took things over until Stephanie became the full-time GM.

She was later hurt during the Orton rising which led to the aforementioned Guerrero taking her place.  Now the question is, who will take Guerrero's place?

Take the location of next week's RAW as a clue.

It is in Charlotte, N.C.

Whose hometown is that again?

Oh that's right, Ric Flair's.

The WWE could not have planned this any better.  They just signed Flair to a deal under which he will not officially wrestle.  Vickie just left, and now they need a new GM right when they are going to Charlotte, NC.

What I am worried about is that the WWE will make Ric Flair seem stronger than Triple H. Triple H was punted in the head, and just came back after two months of being out. If Flair is brought back next week it will make it seem as if he is stronger than Triple H.

We all know Flair could not be stronger than Triple H realistically, especially at his age. But it's still possible we will see Flair come out next week and say he will be the new RAW GM.

Flair was asked to be the SmackDown GM a few months back by Stephanie McMahon. He turned it down to go and work in ROH as its Ambassador and did a little more work in some other places.

On top of that, his son Reid has gone through some tough times with drugs.

So he may have been too busy to be the SmackDown GM at the time. But it might be the right time for him now.  He's also the only realistic fit.  

Shane McMahon was taken out of action by Orton, so it looks like they didn't want him to be involved in the storyline for now.

We could see Stephanie or even Vince take over on RAW considering both would fit the storyline and have done GM work in the past. Plus they are McMahons, so if one wants to do it, they certainly will.

However, if you give Flair a deal and you don't want him to come out of retirement under it, then why wouldn't you have him be the RAW GM? Many people and websites are saying Flair looks to be the guy, so look for it to most likely happen next week.

WWE Releases WWE Superstars

As I mentioned in the last 411, I promised to keep you updated on the people from developmental being released.

Word coming out of the WWE is that they have released Jon Cutler, who is a great wrestler if you ask me. He was liked for his in-ring ability, but suffered mic wise. That certainly could have been why he was let go.

He had also been around for a while and hadn't been brought up.  Apparently he just took up space for them. 

As reported yesterday here on B/R and on other sites, WWE SmackDown Superstar Umaga has been released.

This is the second surprising superstar to be let go within the last few weeks. If you remember, Mr. Kennedy was let go, too.

While many believe the Kennedy release was a bit hasty by management, not as many are disputing Umaga's release as you would think.

If you ask me, he was one of the best athletes I had ever seen at his size. He was a super heavyweight and moved like a man half his size, which was unique.

The rumor going around was that he violated the Wellness Policy, which was his final strike. I think it makes more sense to people after hearing that.

Still, it was a little surprising considering he just competed against CM Punk at the Extreme Rules PPV a day before the release. I feel we were just about to see a turn in his character when he spoke English on WWE TV for the first time.

But if you continue to violate the rules set forth by the WWE then you deserve to be let go. He may go to TNA, considering he wrestled there after he was let go from the WWE the first time.

But I could easily see them going for Kennedy instead.  Regardless, both could help to bring in some ratings to TNA.

WWE Injuries

As we all know by now Batista is really injured, not just storylined. He is set for surgery today at some point. He actually did not injure himself at Extreme Rules, but beforehand, about three weeks.  Not sure why the WWE decided to give him the Title anyway (surprisingly, it was the first time the WWE Championship changed hands in a Steel Cage Match).

I figured they would explain things a little more on RAW, yet I saw nothing that helped. Okay, we know we have a storyline injury for Batista. But what else did they explain for the WWE Title?

They obviously must be setting up something for the big RAW they are having next week where all the World Titles will be on the line.

We know the champions of both ECW and SmackDown will be there. But if Batista is having surgery today, he will not be able to compete next week.

So we most likely will see Triple H versus Randy Orton. Because Batista will be out at least a month (the WWE originally thought he could be out for four to five months), he cannot fulfill the obligation to defend the title in 30 days. Therefore, he would have to surrender the title.

Obviously they have something big in their plans for the WWE Championship.

Jeff Hardy did in fact hurt himself in the Ladder Match at Extreme Rules. He actually broke his finger and banged up his shoulder pretty bad.  At least he and Matt now have another thing in common I guess.

As we saw, Hardy did still win the match, which meant he won the World Heavyweight Championship. His reign didn't last long, as CM Punk came out and cashed in Money in the Bank and took Hardy's newly won World Heavyweight Title.

Hardy joins an elite group by being one of the few who have won both the WWE and World Heavyweight Title within a year. Also, his reign is said to be the shortest for the World Heavyweight Title. That could be false, but I can not think of anyone else personally.

Edge was said to have hurt himself, too, in the fall from the ladder. Rumor has it that he may have a sprain or two. So, if we do not see either in action for very long you'll know why.

Lashley Interview About Kennedy

Recently, the "Busted Open" radio show had an interview with rumored future TNA Wrestler Bobby Lashley. They asked him about his MMA career and about TNA. But then they asked him about the release of Mr. Kennedy from the WWE. This is what he had to say:

"I've been punched in the face, kicked, [and] I've been hammered left and right by several different people. I never went crying and said, 'Oh, he hit me too hard.' That's just part of the business of wrestling. It ain't volleyball. It ain't tee-ball.

"They're grown men, most of which being well conditioned grown men... I had several matches with Kennedy and I never left the match and said, 'Oh, man, you hit me too hard.' I liked the way he worked.

"I didn't think he was too stiff. I worked a lot of people who are top guys that are a lot stiffer than him. Some of the veterans would even say that they work a little snugger out there. It kind of helps. I don't mind if someone works stiff with me because it helps me react a little better. It helps me get into the match a little more."

Lashley of course has his opinion on what kind of wrestler he prefers to face, but you have to agree with him about the fact that some go crying to management too much. I understand if he injures people every single time he is in the ring. But he hasn't hurt that many people.

Also, I feel Kennedy was not treated right. Vince was already mad because of the "Denver Debacle." Therefore Vince was in no mood to hear of any other bad news and anyone who got just a bit on his bad side was a victim.

I think Kennedy was one of those victims, as he was released for simply botching a suplex on Orton. This by the way, did not actually hurt Orton. He may have almost, but he freakin' didn't!

This was only his second match back, and first on WWE TV. You pair that with the fact that it is the main event in front of a massive crowd and the WWE should have understood.

But they didn't. Instead they released him and even tried to say a bogus wrist injury was the reason.  As if he went back to his injured ways again.

CM Punk Turning Heel?

It seems a lot of people are talking about CM Punk possibly turning heel after cashing MITB on Jeff Hardy Sunday at Extreme Rules. It looks like the WWE is trying to dismiss the idea by having Jim Ross address it on his blog.

He said some people will like it and others will not, basically skipping the question and defending Punk a bit. Many think Punk could go heel because he was a great one in the past with ROH.

However, because SmackDown has a lack of faces and some of them (like Hardy) have contract issues and Taker is still out, it probably wouldn't work right now. People are saying now that Umaga has been released that Punk could take his place as a heel.

Umaga was the fifth best heel on the show if you ask me. He was behind Edge, Chris Jericho, Shelton Benjamin, and even Dolph Ziggler. So that is four good heels right there and we have maybe four good faces right now.

Hardy, Mysterio, Punk, and Morrison are the top faces. You take Punk and make him a heel then you nix all of that and give the "edge" to the heels. This does not work storyline wise.

Some think Edge will turn face and that could easily have Punk turn heel. However, who would you rather see as a heel in the WWE? Punk or Edge?

I would rather see the proven Edge, who has worked well as a heel for years. Punk was a good one in ROH, but the WWE would never let him do what he did in ROH on SmackDown.

If we see Edge go face, then of course Punk turning heel would work. But, I'd personally rather not see Edge turn to a face. Plus, Punk is the ultimate face with his straight edge gimmick.

Only time will tell, but if Ross is sort of dismissing the idea, then I don't see it.

TNA Bringing in New Talent

TNA really wants to make their promotion international. They saw that the WWE made huge stars out of Rey Mysterio which helped them with the Hispanic audience.

TNA is lacking in Hispanic viewership even with LAX on the roster, which is why they are looking to bring in some "lucha" talent to the promotion.

On the suggestion of Hector Guerrero, they are currently considering Mistico and Cibernetico. It is being reported that they have already met with Mistico, and that they hope to meet with Cibernetico soon.

If you have not seen either of these men, I ask you to do so. Both can be seen on youtube.com, and when you see them you'll know why TNA is so eager to get them in.

Mistico is one of the best "luchadors" out there today. However, he seems like a twin to Rey Mysterio, so hopefully they don't have the same finisher. That would be weird to watch.

Cibernetico looks a bit different, he relates to Mistico and Rey, but he has a lot of moves that separate him. Also, he is a bit bigger than them. So, he could easily be a World Champion there, not just stuck in the X-Division.

Many who know the two, would love to see them as a tag team. TNA may bring them in that way, but nothing is concrete just yet. For now, there has just been a meeting set up with Cibernetico, and no one knows what went down with the Mistico meeting yet. Lets hope it is good.

TNA previously brought in Japanese talent to pander to the Asian audience and to try to bring in some different wrestling styles. Now they will pander to the Hispanic audience and add additional styles to their organization.

Personally I hope both get signed for TNA, because I will be excited to see them.

That is all for the 411, make sure to check out the others when they come out.

credit: ewrestlingnews.com, prowrestling.com, prowrestling.net, pwrestlingnews.com, wrestlenewz.com, pwmania.com, wrestlingtruth.com, pwtorch.com, lordsofpain.com, Busted open radio show, UK Sun