Mickie James Released

WWE.com announced today the release of Shelton Benjamin, Katie Lea, Jimmy Wang Yang, Slam Master J, Funaki and Mickie James. I was shocked to see Shelton released, but Mickie above all. Shelton had a dull gimmick and had zero mic skills, but made up for it with his excellent in ring abilities. However, Mickie being released was the biggest shocker in my opinion. I thought she had a good program going with Michelle, Layla and Vickie. Mickie was a great in ring performer and had good mic skills. She held both the Diva's and the Womens Championships throughout her career. From what I've both read and heard, Mickie had a poor attitude backstage and was late for the buses on this past European Tour, which lead to her release. Personally, I don't agree with it and hope to god she surfaces back in the WWE sooner, rather than later.

Rob Van Dam; TNA World Heavyweight Champion

Mr. Monday Night, The Whole Damn Show and now, The TNA World Heavyweight Champion; Rob Van Dam. I'm not a religious viewer of the TNA product simply because I've always stuck to WWE. Back when WCW and then WWF were going head to head on Monday Nights, I still stuck to the WWF. However, I did check out Impact this week. At the beginning of the show, Hogan announced that Jeff Hardy and Rob Van Dam would face one another to determine who would face AJ Styles later in the night with the TNA World Heavyweight Championship on the line. Being a fan of both Hardy and Van Dam it didn't matter to me who won. I would've settled for Hardy vs Styles or Van Dam vs Styles. It turns out Rob got the chance and took full advantage of it in the process. On TNA behalf, the star power is there to compete with the WWE in the ratings war, which WWE has dominated thus far. Many people know who Rob Van Dam is and all it takes is for a someone to call a friend and let them know Van Dam won the title and that could be enough for them to tune in. I know I'll pay closer attention to TNA now because Rob Van Dam is their World Champion. My initial reaction was excitement because RVD has always been one of my top favorite wrestlers. I've supported him for many years and will continue to do so until the day he retires. For TNA, this is a good thing because of the star power this man has. A former ECW and WWE Champion. And without a doubt, a future WWE Hall Of Famer. As long as he's used properly throughout this title run and doesn't drop it and look weak in the process, I believe this will do nothing but help TNA. Hopefully good comes from this because I'd love to see things heat up between WWE and TNA. But from the looks of it, it will be a long time before that happens. Giving RVD the title was the best thing TNA could have done up to this point since the ratings war started. Hope for the best and let's see RVD tear the roof down week after week with that title belt around his waist. Maybe we'll see another classic Hardy/RVD match in the future with the title on the line.

Who To Keep An Eye On

In my personal opinion, I think Shannon Moore is someone to keep an eye on. Being a long time fan of his, some might say I'm doing this out of favoritism, however many people feel the same way about him as I do. Shannon has so much talent and so much potential and I think this run in TNA is finally gonna allow him to showcase it, giving him the push he deserves in the process. He shocked the world when he returned to TNA when he put a beat down on Doug Williams. Since then, he has unsuccessfully attempted to win the X-Division Championship. In my opinion, with another shot coming up at TNA's Lockdown pay per view on April 18th, I see Shannon walking out with the gold around his waist. In the triple threat match featuring himself, Kazarian and Doug Williams, I'm pulling for Shannon. To me, it's now his time and with that much said, he will walk out of Lockdown as the new X-Division Champion.

Jack Swagger, World Heavyweight Champion

How do you people feel about Swagger cashing in his Money In The Bank briefcase and becoming the new World Champ? Me personally, I think the gun was jumped with him. However, theres so much potential in him. So in this case, it's either hit or miss. The guy has so much talent and has the look of a World Champ. He knows how to get the crowd to hate him, which in his case is a good thing. But on the other hand, I personally think they could have waited and gotten him over more. Maybe had him compete for the Title on a few occasions, to test him. Like I said, talent wise, the kids got it. So for something like this, it has it's ups and downs. Perhaps it's a test to see who from the younger generation can carry the workload on his back and help keep the company where it's at when guys like Undertaker and Triple H aren't there anymore. Anyway, whether the gun was jumped or not, this could be the beginning to something great. I guess we'll have to wait and find out how it goes.

Hitman Hart: Wrestling With Shadows Review

The Best There Is, The Best There Was and The Best There Ever Will Be. For years now, I've been trying to get my hands on this. People have told me it's the tell all tale documentary of Bret Hart and the events leading up to the Montreal Screwjob. Finally, after watching it, I soon realized that it exceeded the hype. My expectations were just gonna be basic details about Bret and The Montreal Screwjob. Little did I know it was gonna go into depth in such a strong manner and show the entire world what really happened. Now, I've read up on it in the past and it said what it had to offer. But it turned into I have to see it to believe it. After watching it, I do truly believe that Vince screwed Bret. Some people will argue that and their obligated to their opinion, however I say Vince screwed Bret. Without spoiling the entire documentary for those who haven't seen it, it discusses that Bret was always loyal to the WWF and Vince McMahon. Bret was indeed offered a 20 year contract with the WWF, or a 3 year contract with WCW that would give him 9 million dollars. Being loyal and what not, Bret decided to stick to the WWF. Little did he know, Vince would soon call him up and back out of it, telling Bret they couldn't afford it or afford him. That's where things got hasty and Bret had no choice but to call Eric Bischoff. Everyone knows how Bret didn't want to drop the belt in Montreal, but was more than willing to come out the next night on Raw and surrender it or gladly lose it. No problem, right? No. Vince didn't trust him, thinking he'd walk out of the company still Champ and show up on WCW Nitro with the belt. So rather than work things out like a business man, decides to take matters into his own hands. You can say that Bret wasn't being a professional, but he seems like one of the most honest and loyal guys this world has to offer. I truly believe he would've showed up on Raw the next night and dropped the belt. But they didn't see it that way and that's when the plot for the Montreal Screwjob was discussed and before you know it, Shawn Michaels locks The Sharpshooter in on Bret Hart and that signifies the end of The Hitman's run in the WWF.

How would I rate this movie? Like I said, it exceeded expectations. If it were it to me, every wrestling fan should own a copy so they too can see what actually went down and can form their opinion about who screwed who on that. This dvd is highly recommended and for wrestling fans around the world, it's a must see. If you don't believe me, go out and get the dvd yourself. For certain you will be in for a treat.

Vince kills off the Mr. McMahon Character?

So according to reports, Vince has finally decided to kill off the Mr. McMahon character. He said the character has ran it's course and it's time to end it. Obviously, this choice was well time seeing as how that character came to after the Montreal Screwjob and it ends after Bret Hart gets his revenge. Personally, I enjoyed the Mr. McMahon character. It was always a good laugh and I think that's how the wrestling world will forever see him. The maniacal boss, out to better himself and could care less about his employees. I guess to a point, it was a good thing he ended it now before the image was completely killed. However, it will be alot different without the insane Mr. McMahon running around, wrestling a mediocre match, but giving everyone watching an enjoyable moment.

Thank You, Shawn Michaels

Where do I even start with this? Shawn Michaels is without a doubt a future WWE Hall of Famer and an inspiration for many. By far one of the greatest superstars to ever lace a pair of boots. In the ring, Shawn was untouchable. There weren't many people that could keep up with him, which is why Shawn was in a category of his own. When he was in the ring, he was in his own world. His drive to be the best was unmatched. (Many will argue that, but that's my opinion.) Anyways, HBK had many classic battles with superstars like Bret Hart, Stone Cold Steve Austin, Triple H, Kurt Angle, Chris Jericho and of course, The Undertaker to name a few. Without a doubt, Shawn was The Showstopper. People paid to see him wrestle because he had incredible talent. I had my hopes for Shawn to defeat The Undertaker at Wrestlemania 26, but I also had my doubts. The Undertaker's streak is legendary and nobody can say that their 18-0 on the grandest stage of them all. Seeing HBK lose was tough because it was the end. As far as anyone knows, that was the last time we'll ever see him lace up a pair of boot and put on a show that the entire world will remember. His retirement speech on Raw this past Monday was sad. This has been his life for 25 years now and it's all coming to an end. As a longtime fan, I will without a doubt miss seeing him perform. I'm sad to see him go, but I guess you can't do this forever. So I want to say, Thank You Shawn Michaels. For everything you've done and the entertainment you've provided. Being a longtime wrestling fan, I've been watching Shawn for the last 12 or 13 years now. Maybe in time, we'll get to see one more match. But as it stands, Wrestlemania 26 was his last match. So like I said, thank you for all the memories and I hope we get to see one more match.