Weekend Roundup

Just a little news coming out of the wrestling world this weekend...

JBL lost to Rey Mysterio at Smackdown after stating that he would leave Smackdown if he lost. Reports indicate that JBL needs time to let his body heal from nagging injuries and that is the reason that he will be off Smackdown. As I stated in the Judgment Day PPV result, he looked very chubby. Maybe he can use this time off to drop some extra pounds. There are also reports that he will be jumping to RAW and possibly joining DX, but I seriously doubt it. JBL has also been outspoken as of late saying that he would like to retire some time in the near future but would like to feud with some of the RAW superstars such as HHH and HBK before he decides to hang up his boots.

Looks like the plan may be to have The Great Khali beat Rey for the title....Yes, you've read that correctly - Khali may get the belt. The plan then would be for Batista to come back and take the belt from him. I wonder if they will reprise the angle where Batista raped Melina.

On Friday it was announced that during this Monday's RAW Vince McMahon would be announcing who the new GM of Raw is going to be. Here is a list of who I think it may turn out being. Dusty Rhodes (he was rumored before Vince decided to fill the role himself), Shane McMahon (he looked like an obvious choice when Bischoff was fired), Eric Bischoff (He actually filled the role quite well so why not bring him back - he is still under contract after all), and JBL (he would only have to be on the road 1 day per week allowing him time to rest / get into better shape). There are rumors that it may be Stephanie, but she's over 7 months pregnant so I would have to rule her out. The Coach's name has also been thrown around, but I just can't see it. He's not really a big enough name.

Benoit is also being taken off of the road to heal nagging injuries. Ever since Eddie Guererro died there has been a plan to have Benoit take on Dean Malenko in an Eddie tribute match at ECW's 1NS. I hope the match is still planned. It's only 2 weeks away.

Orlando Jordan has been released from the WWE. He supposedly had a lot of heat on him for bringing unauthorized people with him backstage to WWE events and to WWE pubic apperences. I wonder if it's the same person that the WWE was thinking of bringing in to portray Orlando's boyfriend before they decided to drop the whole angle.

A friend of mine has told me that he has read that the WWE has come to terms with the New Age Outlaws, but I have yet to confirm the story. Like I have written in a DX-related post earlier this weekend - They are under contract to TNA and bringing them in is more trouble than they are worth. We'll see...

Randy Orton's suspension is going to be lifted on June 13th. I haven't done the math, but that seems like around 60 days. Here's to hoping that he's learned his lesson and will behave in a professional manner. By the way, June 13th falls on a Tuesday which is the day that they film Smackdown. It also happens to be the day of tapings for the debut edition of ECW's weekly show on the Sci-Fi network. I am curious as to see if he will return as a member of Smackdown or if he'll jump to ECW.

I was sorry to read that the WWE has started confiscating anti-Cena signs. That's the kind of stuff that WCW used to pull. Vince is supposed to be such an advocate of free speech. It's not as if the signs were obsene.

It may have taken a few months, but it looks like the first two violators of the WWE 'Talent Wellness Program' (Drug Testing Policy) are now known. The first one being MNM's Joey Mercury. This most likely played a role in WWE's decision to break MNM up. Reports have Mercury entering a substance abuse program. The second violator is reported to be none other than Chris Masters. There aren't many detail, but a source close to the situation has said, "your first guess would be the correct guess." My first guess would be steroids.

The WWE has decided to raise the prices for their PPVs. The price increase is going to be $5.00. It has been a long time since the WWE has made a PPV worth the price.

Finlay's leprechaun debuted on Smackdown this past week. After a match with Chris Benoit, Finlay lifted the ring apron up and the leprechaun came crawling out. Finlay threw him into the ring and then threw him on top of Benoit. Finlay then told him to crawl back under the ring. It looked pretty lame.

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