ECW Logo

Sad news for some, but the ECW brand will be discontinued once and for all shortly.

According to a reliable source, WWE officials have had several meetings with the Syfy network about re-branding WWE’s Tuesday night show. However, both sides are in agreement that WWE’s version of ECW has been a bust and plans are already being made for a new weekly series. While several ideas have been tossed around (including a magazine-style recap show), right now the most likely option is that WWE will drop the ECW letters and “identity” and create a new brand that will feature young and-and-coming stars. The Tuesday night timeslot will likely stay the same.

For those who remember, WWE relaunched the ECW brand back in 2006 after the success of the “Rise and Fall of ECW” DVD set and later the ECW One Night Stand Pay-Per-View events. After ECW was relaunched as a brand, it quickly became apparent that WWE had no intention of keeping the elements that made the original ECW special and turned ECW into a watered-down, generic “C” show. The 1st week of ECW on Syfy back in 2006 drew around a 2.8. These days a 1.1 is considered a good week.

While it may be bittersweet to see the ECW letters go, ECW has been dead for a long time and a brand featuring primarily young stars sounds like it has potential.

Stay tuned for more news.

Umanga WWE

The WWE website issued the following statement on Friday evening:

Umaga passes
WWE would like to express its deepest condolences to Mr. Fatu’s family, friends and fans on his tragic passing. Mr. Fatu was under contract with WWE at various time periods and most recently performed under the name “Umaga.” Mr. Fatu’s contract was terminated on June 11, 2009.

We Also would like to express our deepest condolences to Mr Fatu’s family for this terrible loss.

WrestleMania XXVI

WrestleMania XXVI – March 28, 2010

With WWE Survivor Series already in the history books, we’ve turned the corner on WWE’s calendar year and the road to WrestleMania 26 has begun. Here’s the latest on what WWE is currently planning for the big event:

- There is a feeling in the WWE that something special needs to be done with The Undertaker for WrestleMania 26. WWE knows that more and more fans are tired of the same old matches and want to deliver a match that fans have not seen before. The Dead Man’s health continues to deteriorate and he’s less mobile now than he’s ever been, so his years as a Wrestlemania draw are certainly winding down. Right now, a match with John Cena is being strongly considered as the main event for WrestleMania.

- There is also talk of a Triple H vs. Shawn Michaels match at WrestleMania XXVI. The 2 have wrestled each other many times before, but not in several years now and never on the grand stage of WrestleMania. While DX is still one of the top babyface acts in WWE, this one makes sense and WWE may have planted the seed for the match at Survivor Series with HBK superkicking The Game in the opening moments of their triple threat match with John Cena.

- At one point, there had been a plan for a CM Punk vs. Rey Mysterio Hair vs. Mask match at WrestleMania 26, but this is unlikely to happen now considering Mysterio’s injury problems.

Lauren Mayhew WWE Announcer

Sad news for fans of the blonde bombshell Lauren Mayhew, who appeared on ECW as the ring announcer, has parted ways with World Wrestling Entertainment.

Both parties were working together on a short term deal, but could not come to terms on a full term contract.

The word going around at today’s television taping in Bridgeport, Connecticut was that the aspiring actress and WWE parted on amicable terms and the door was open for her to return to the company in the future.

Moving swiftly and silently, Mayhew’s profile has already been removed from the WWE website, and Tony Chimel handled the ring announcing duties during tonight’s episode of ECW.

We’ve heard an update on The Big Show, he will indeed need to be undergoing arthroscopic knee surgery. However, what does that mean for his Unified Tag Team Championship belt as he will need to be in recovery for a while?

Hit the jump for the news!

Luckily, The Big Show will not be forced to relinquish his Unified Tag Team Championship because he is not expected to be kept out action for too long.

WWE Jim Ross aka J.R.

In what might be bad news for some, its being speculated that announcer  Jim Ross has yet to sign a new contract with World Wrestling Entertainment.  On top of that, due to the uncertainty regarding his condition, reportedly there has not been any real serious contract talks nor any offer made.

Jim Ross will see his contract expire in only a minimal 3 weeks time.

Thoughts on how this will turn out? Would you stop watching if J.R. isn’t going to be the announcer?

However, the story doesn’t end there. The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) is effectively rejecting what they call Chris Jericho’s “insincere and worn” apology for using anti-gay and racist slurs that day at the Sacramento Horror Film Festival.

GLAAD president Jarrett Barrios issued the following statement to TMZ.com this week:

“Just three months ago Chris Jericho’s boss and WWE Chairman Vince McMahon acknowledged to GLAAD that words matter.

There is no time, context or occasion in which it is acceptable to utter racist and anti-gy slurs. Jericho’s hollow apology ‘if (he) offended anyone’ is a template used by many and is insincere and worn.”

Are the Walls of Jericho really coming down?

Hulk Hogan

Hulk Hogan called in to Bubba The Love Sponge’s satellite radio show Monday morning and as always, the Hulk Hogan Hype Machine (patent pending) was in full force. During the Hogan said that some big names in the pro wrestling world could be headed to TNA Wrestling. Hogan said we could see Steve Austin, Randy Savage and the Nasty Boys in the future.

Steve Austin is a working actor and it’s highly unlikely he’d ever appear for any company outside of WWE. Hogan said he’s buried the hatchet after a long personal feud with Randy Savage, who is 56 years old and did not look very good during his last TNA run several years ago. The Nasty Boys are close with Hogan and actually could wind up in TNA at some point.

Hogan also joked with Bubba and asked if he wanted a spot on TNA’s creative team with him.

WWE Superstar Jeff Hardy

Gilbert Hardy, father of Matt and Jeff, spoke to the Fayetteville Observer newspaper last week and said Jeff has been doing his best to keep a very low profile in the weeks since his September 11th drug arrest. “He won’t talk. He ain’t talking to nobody,” the senior Hardy said. “He doesn’t even want to talk to me.”

The newspaper tried getting a quote from Jeff, but he refused to speak to them.

Hardy was due in court last week for a probable cause hearing to determine whether there is enough evidence to warrant indicting the former WWE champion on the various drug charges (including six felonies) he’s facing. The hearing was rescheduled for December 2nd.

If convicted of the opium trafficking charge alone, Hardy faces nearly 6 years in prison, at a minimum, said Warren McSweeney, a Moore County prosecutor. “It could be substantially more,” he added.

Greg Price, who runs the NWA Legends Fanfest each August in Charlotte, said he doesn’t believe Hardy’s career will be jeopardized even if he’s found guilty of drug charges. “The worst-case scenario – jail time,” Price said. “Honestly, in the wrestling business, all that would do is delay his career. No wrestling promoter out there today is not going to use him because of that. I think again, that comes back to society and prescription pill use. A lot of people don’t look at that as being illegal.”

WWE Ex-Star Eugene

Just days after he made his first return appearance on WWE television, Nick “Eugene” Dinsmore has been released from the company.

“WWE has come to terms on the release of WWE Superstar Eugene as of August 14, 2009. We wish Eugene the best in all future endeavors,” read a WWE.com statement.

Eugene wrestled a masked The Miz in a “contract on a pole” match that determined who would become part of the RAW roster. Miz won the match, but few would have figured that Eugene’s failure to capture the contract would be his final WWE appearance.

Stay tuned for further details.