Hacking is a Felony

Quite a few news reports for today .. putting them all in one thread.


Great Khali and knee problems, Estrada's WWE status, Nitro & Dykstra

According to new reports, The Great Khali has continued to have problems with one of his knees. He is expected to remain on the road full-time with WWE unless plans change.

For those wondering where Armando Alejandro Estrada has gone, he is not in the dog house with WWE according to sources. Based on what is known, Estrada's character was downplayed because the McMahon's felt he was one person too many to be included at ringside or in promos during Umaga's recent involvement in the Bobby Lashley vs. Vince McMahon, Shane McMahon and Umaga feud.

In staying on the topic, there are no negatives against either Johnny Nitro or Kenny Dykstra right now. The word on them is that it is just a matter of when Vince McMahon sees an opportunity to elevate them on the roster.

Source: Pro Wrestling Torch Newsletter

Hacking is a Felony

As reported earlier, Shawn Michaels had knee surgery last month on May 23. Michaels won't be able to put weight on his knee for the month or two after the surgery and then he will begin serious rehabbing. A return date in the late summer appears to be the most likely option. With the type of surgery that Michaels had, the belief is that he will return stronger and in less pain than he has been in for the last year. It should be noted that Michaels has around three years left on his current WWE contract and plans to fulfill the rest of it. Says one WWE source about Michaels, "I don't think he gives a sh*t about being the top act alone on any brand at this point in his career. He has pride in what he does, but he doesn't need or want the burden of being built around like Cena or Edge right now."

According to reports, the feeling within WWE management is that Shelton Benjamin "coasts" too much because he is so gifted in the ring. As a result, sources close to WWE say this is the reason why Vince McMahon hasn't invested more in him quickly because there are doubts internally about his hunger and will to work as hard as he can if he was to get a big push. Benjamin's promo skills are still a concern and have been for some time now. It should be noted that many within WWE feel Carlito could be grouped into this same train of thought as both Benjamin and Carlito are marked as being consistently inconsistent. The feeling on Carlito is that he comes off as spoiled or feeling as if he is entitled to have his spot given his family's history in the business.

The Hardys and Lance Cade & Trevor Murdoch have been getting strong reviews from WWE agents at Raw House Show events.

Source: Pro Wrestling Torch Newsletter

Hacking is a Felony

According to reports, one of Bobby Lashley's biggest problems in developing his promos is that he didn't grow up a wrestling fan and still hasn't quite adapted to the "culture" of wrestling on how to play it up and fake emotion in a genuine way on camera. One WWE source says that Lashley fears being embarassed on TV because he knows he is not a natural on the mic.

Althought it was a while ago, the rationale behind having Shawn Michaels pin the then newly crowned World Heavyweight Champion Edge on the May 14 edition of Monday Night Raw was based on two factors: Michaels had to set up Great Khali for Cena the week before by being beat down badly, so many in the company felt Michaels had to rebuild himself by getting a win (although this was the match where Michaels tweaked his knee when the original plan was to have HBK be a major main event player in the summer). The second factor was many felt Edge is the type of heel who could easily come back from a loss since his gimmick isn't based on being invincible, but rather that he "squeaks" through matches by luck. The decision to have Michaels go over Edge was not made by the Raw booking team, but was rather Vince McMahon's call.

Based on a new report, one person that wasn't sad to see Sabu go from WWE was Tommy Dreamer. Dreamer and Sabu reportedly haven't gotten along for a long time now and sources said that Sabu was growing increasingly frustrated with his role in WWE as it upset him to see how the company demeaned and mishandled the ECW name. Sabu did tell friends in TNA when he left for WWE's new ECW brand last summer that he would probably be back soon as he didn't anticipate ECW lasting very long under the control of Vince McMahon. Sabu was also said to be upset that many within WWE, especially top agents, felt that the ECW Originals didn't deserve the jobs they were given and that they were only around because they were simply ECW Originals. The perception backstage among many was that Sabu was lucky to have his job and that he was looked at as a second class citizen among the roster. This reportedly ate away at Sabu and once he got the opportunity to participate at WrestleMania and induct his uncle into the WWE Hall of Fame, he felt he had accomplished everything he felt was worth sticking around for.

Source: Pro Wrestling Torch Newsletter

Hacking is a Felony

Although this is only June and it's very early to be speculating about this, The Pro Wrestling Torch is reporting that the early candidates for WrestleMania 24 main events next year in Orlando, FL are Triple H vs. John Cena, The Undertaker vs. Edge (with Undertaker's winning streak vs. Edge's never pinned/submitted streak at WrestleMania) and Shawn Michaels vs. Randy Orton. Again, plans change very frequently, but these are some of the match ideas that are reportedly being tossed around right now in the company.