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?

WWE Superstar Jeff Hardy

Jeff Hardy, one of the top high-flying acts in World Wrestling Entertainment, might possibly be on his way out of the company in the near future.

Hardy’s contract expires this summer and the WWE has been pushing hard to sign him to a new deal. So far however, Jeff Hardy has turned down several reportedly lucrative offers from the company – including a new long-term deal and a 1-year contract extension.

Much of the Matt vs. Jeff storyline has been dictated by Jeff’s current contract negotiations. With Jeff likely on his way out the door, WWE is booking Matt to come out of the feud looking strong.

Jeff Hardy is said to be interested in getting away from the hectic lifestyle of a pro wrestler and wants to spend some time living on his own terms.

Will the WWE be able to offer Jeff Hardy something he can’t refuse? We have no idea…Stay tuned and we’ll report anything we hear.

Rey Mysterio, 34, has agreed to all terms on a new contract, but it has yet to be confirmed if he has officially signed the deal. Mysterio has agreed to terms for a three-year deal with a two-year option. His current contract with WWE was set to expire soon. It actually would have expired already, but the company extended it due to all the time he missed as a result of his various injuries. The standard WWE contract allows the company to extend it in the event of long hiatus.

Current ECW Champion Matt Hardy has told The Post and Courier that he has indeed re-signed with WWE. Hardy also talked about hyperextending his previously surgically repaired left knee during an ECW title match with Finlay. “I hyperextended it and tore ligaments in the back of it midway through the European tour,” Hardy said. “I had to wrestle on television a couple times after that, but what do you do? You wrap it up and go. But I’m pretty good at being responsible whenever I do get injured, and I do what I need to do as far as icing and heating and giving it the treatment it needs.” Hardy saw a chiropractor a few days for the Survivor Series. “It’s going to be fine. I was lucky. I had three or four days to kind of heel and rehab it. It’s one of those things. It comes with the territory.” You can read the article at Charleston.net.

We’re excited to see that at least one huge Wrestling star like Matt Hardy will continue to stay with ECW and the WWE.

A while back, we reported that Christian Cage’s TNA contract was about to expire and he might leave TNA Wrestling and head over to the WWE. Well, there’s been more evidence that Christian Cage is indeed on his way out of TNA.

Sources say he will most likely be heading back to WWE in the next few months, as they’re going to offer the best deal for his family. Cage apparently has informed Dixie Carter and Jeff Jarrett that it’s in his best interest to consider WWE’s offer.

*Spoilers* Hit the Jump for the results of Christian Cage’s Future Match

And TNA is taking the safe bet in this situation as Christian Cage was left in a bad situation at the taping of Next Thursday’s show. Mafia without Sting comes to the ring and Kurt Angle calls out Christian Cage. Angle asks Christian where’s the suit they gave him. He talks about commitment and says he is questioning Cage’s commitment since he heard that when Cage’s TNA deal is up, he’s jumping to WWE. Angle says this isn’t a welcoming party but in fact a goodbye party. As they all attack Cage and lay him out, they go about posing over him.

Is this the end of Christian Cage at TNA? We’ll just have to wait and see.

In what gives our previously published rumor a little more clout, The Baltimore Sun has interviewed Kevin Nash about his future in wrestling, whether it be in TNA or WWE.

According to The Sun, Nash has privately said that he is actually “planning” to go to WWE, wrestle a year or two, and then retire. Kevin Eck did another big interview with Nash a few months ago and was on hand for his appearance at a Maryland Championship Wrestling show last month. Nash’s TNA contract is set to expire before the end of October and it is unknown if WWE is interested in bringing him back as a performer.

On the plus side for Nash, he is good friends with Triple H & Shawn Michaels, and is still reportedly on good terms with Vince McMahon. Even though WWE officials told their employees to stay away from people employed to TNA during WrestleMania weekend, Kevin Nash was invited to watch the event in McMahon’s private luxury suite at the Citrus Bowl.

For those of you who have been following wrestling for a while, you will recognize the image above. But for those who wonder why TNA has a crazy barb-wired smiley face on their website, allow us to explain. Back when the WWE was called the WWF, Wrestling legend Mick Foley wrestled under the name Mankind and Cactus Jack. Mankind fought with and against with all the big names: The Undertaker, Stone Cold Steve Austin, Shawn Michaels, and The Rock just to name a few.

Well after playing inside the ring, Mick Foley turned to announcing since Blacklash when he replaced Jonathan Coachman. But all that’s set to change now. As of September 1, 2008 Mick Foley’s contract with WWE has expired and being fed up with the organization, Foley has turned his talents towards the other circus in town, TNA.

In a statement from Mick Foley himself, he wrote about leaving WWE, his future with TNA Wrestling and other opportunities:

As of today, I am a free agent in the world of professional wrestling. I will always begrateful to WWE for affording me so many incredible opportunities over the pastthirteen years, but feel the time is right to pursue other endeavors.

Mick Foley is available for booking through The Gillespie Agency. Formore information contact Elaine Gillespie (elaine@GillespieTalent.com) or Nola Armstrong (nola@GillespieTalent.com).

And today, the WWE has responded with:
“Three-time WWE Champion Mick Foley allowed his contract with WWE to expire on August 31, 2008. WWE and Foley have mutually agreed to sever business ties at this time as the former Smackdown announcer pursues other options.”

TNA’s website features this smiley face wrapped in barbed wire with the slogan: “Have A Nice Day,” written next to it – of course both being Mick Foley’s trademarks.

WWE.com hasn’t posted a statement yet, but we have been told the following wrestling superstars have been released from their contracts:

Big Daddy V

Shannon More

Domino

Nunzio

James Curtis

Referee Nick Patrick

They’re could be some other additional firings, so stay tuned.

Ok, so here’s an interesting story. It started with this on WWE.com
Flair and WWE Part Ways
Written: August 3, 2008

WWE and Hall of Famer Ric Flair have mutually agreed to contractually part ways. After an extraordinary career Ric has chosen to pursue opportunities outside of WWE.


Then we started to hear reports claiming that Ric Flair is going through some personal problems, but we’ve got no confirmation on what the problems actually are.

In Charlotte, NC last night Ric Flair discussed his upcoming appearance at the NWA Legends convention. And the neat part is now that Ric Flair and World Wrestling Entertainment have parted ways, the door is now open for TNA to step in and grab Flair. His WWE release does have the 90 day clause so unless things change, he will not be able to do certain bookings until the 90 days are up.

And the story continues with Ric Flair releasing the following statement:

“WWE and I parted on the best of terms. This gives me the chance to pursue new opportunities…corporate speaking engagements, product sponsorships, autograph shows for my loyal fans (who made me what I am today) and film and television roles. My agent and I are very excited about what the future holds!”

Wrestling promoters interesting in booking Flair should contact his agent, Elaine Gillespie. She also coordinates bookings for “Rowdy” Roddy Piper as well as SmackDown announcer Mick Foley. Here is her contact information and e-mail address for promoters interesting in booking the one and only Ric Flair.

ELAINE GILLESPIE
THE GILLESPIE AGENCY, INC.
Advertising/Media/Public Relations
Booking for Wrestling Legends Mick Foley, Roddy Piper and Ric Flair
3007 Millwood Avenue Columbia, SC 2920
803-779-2126 BookRic@thegillespieagency.com

Her agent has also set up a page on Facebook.com for him, so that will be his “official website.” His agent plans on posting his event schedule on the page. You can reach Flair’s Facebook page at this link. You can also find the page by typing in “Ric Flair, The Nature Boy”.

We’ve received numerous questions regarding where Rey Mysterio has gone on WWE TV recently. Ask and you shall receive they say. The first problem for World Heavyweight champion Mysterio is still not medically cleared to wrestle (even though he wrestled Carlito several weeks back on RAW). The second, and larger problem however is, Mysterio and the WWE are said to be in the midst of a rather severe contract dispute.

Mysterio, of course, feels he is significantly underpaid compared to the other top stars in the company, and is seeking a good amount more money than the company is reportedly willing to pay.

True to high profile negotiations, Mysterio is said to have told friends that he’s open to the idea of returning to the AAA promotion in Mexico if WWE doesn’t give him want he wants. The wild thing is that there’s still plenty of time left in his contract (about a year), but he’s quite frustrated at the moment.

The other side of the story is that from WWE’s standpoint, they view Mysterio as injury prone. Undeniably, Mysterio’s a big merchandise seller, but they want him to prove he can stay healthy. He has spent the majority of the past two years on the sidelines, collecting a pretty substantial downside guarantee.

But, Mysterio should be cleared to return to the ring full-time in a 2-3 weeks is our best estimate. Good Luck Rey.