Source: Mike Mooneyham of The Post and Courier
It’s been a week of major changes in WWE.
On Monday, the company announced the official release of former champion Bobby Lashley, who has been sidelined since last August following rotator cuff surgery.
Two days later, WWE notified its Ohio Valley Wrestling promotion that it was severing its decade-long relationship with the developmental territory.
On Thursday night, WWE announced that the CW network would cease airing its long-running Smackdown wrestling show at the end of the broadcast season in September. WWE said it is in negotiations to find a new television home for the brand.
Smackdown, which premiered on UPN in 1999, moved to CW in 2006 when UPN merged with the WB network. The show was consistently one of the highest-rated programs on CW.
It has been speculated that the show might end up on the USA network, home of WWE’s flagship Raw show, or the Sci Fi Channel, which airs WWE’s weekly ECW show. MyNetworkTV affiliates may be another potential home for the brand.
WWE recently extended its contract with USA for Raw through 2010. Viacom’s Spike TV, now home to Total Nonstop Action wrestling, also aired Raw for five years between its previous and current run on USA.
Lashley’s release Monday came as little surprise, as the former ECW world champ had become increasingly unhappy during his time away from the ring and had asked out of his contract.
Lashley, who headlined last year’s Wrestlemania against Umaga (with Donald Trump and Vince McMahon in their respective corners), recently posted on his Web site that he wouldn’t be coming back.
“Circumstances which are out of my control left me no decision but to leave the WWE. I can’t go into details of this now, but like I said before, sometimes people will hate you personally and try to destroy you, which has happened here.”
WWE announcer Jim Ross noted on his blog that Lashley never really embraced the business.
“Lashley is a genuine physical specimen who is supremely gifted athletically, but much like Brock Lesnar, Bobby apparently did not like the travel demands of being a pro wrestler in today’s marketplace, nor do I think that Bobby ever fully understood the business of sports entertainment, which added to Lashley’s consternation at times. Financially, Bobby had a superb, hell fantastic, 2007, one of the best I can ever recall for any one at his stage of the game. In my personal opinion, if a pundit speculates that Bobby did not do well or wasn’t treated fairly financially, I would dispute that uninformed statement wholeheartedly.”
John Laurinaitis, senior vice president of WWE talent relations, made the announcement concerning OVW on Wednesday during a visit to the Louisville-based facility where he thanked company officials for their partnership and for their role in developing current WWE stars such as John Cena, Batista and Randy Orton.
The move leaves Florida Championship Wrestling as WWE’s lone official developmental territory. Current OVW developmental talent will be relocated to the Tampa area. WWE considered Florida, where many WWE performers and officials live, to be a more desirable, centrally located site for its developmental operations.
“The facility has four wrestling rings and approximately 35 contracted athletes, with plans to increase that number to more than 70 in the near future,” WWE said of the Florida site in a press release. “The facility is now fully operational, as WWE undertook large-scale renovations to FCW in order to accommodate its training needs. The finished training facility is more than 10,000 square feet, including an arena that will seat nearly 300 fans. The new training facility will also host a weekly show in front of a live audience, to be broadcast for regional television.”
FCW is owned and operated by former pro wrestler Steve Keirn. Tom Prichard oversees all talent training at the facility. WWE performer and longtime OVW trainer Al Snow was released.
OVW was established in 1998 and was run by owner Danny Davis and booker Jim Cornette. Cornette, who now works for TNA, was fired by WWE several years ago after slapping OVW performer Anthony Carelli (later called up to WWE as Santino Marella) for breaking character and laughing at The Boogeyman (Marty Wright) during an OVW show.
A number of developmental workers were released by WWE in the days prior to the announcement. The list included Michael DiPaolo, the original Roadkill in ECW, who had worked most recently in OVW as Antoni Pulaski. Other OVW talent cut were Ace Steele (Chris Guy) and Cassidy James (former TNA worker Cassidy Riley). Released from FCW were Badseed Shawn Osbourne (Shawn McGrath), G-Rilla (George Murdoch) and Robert Anthony.
Reid Fliehr, 19-year-old son of Ric Flair, has signed with FCW. Dropped from the roster was third-generation hopeful Lacey Adkisson (daughter of the late Kerry Von Erich and granddaughter of the late Fritz Von Erich).
–Old School Championship Wrestling will hold a show March 9 at Weekend’s Pub, 428 Red Bank Road, Goose Creek. Bell time is 6 p.m. Adult admission $8; kids 12 and under $5. Main event will be a four-corner tag-team battle for the OSCW title. Semifinal will pit Italian Ice vs. Johnny Blaze for the Universal title. For more information, call 743-4800 or visit www.oscwonline.com.
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