Booker T. is currently scheduled to be calling WrestleMania. No word on anyone else.
WWE is looking into hiring more Divas. They just signed a fitness model to a developmental deal, and more deals in that area are expected soon.
Update: A former SHIMMER wrestler who went by "Tenille" has also signed a deal with WWE.
Update: Four of Lance Storm's students have also been signed to developmental deals. One has been there for a few months under the name Mike Dalton. Two of the other three are female.
In addition to the Father-Son idea mentioned earlier (in my NXT Thoughts column) another idea for NXT going into tonight was a "Battle of the Sexes" theme. They really threw this season together at the last minute.
On to PWInsider.com's questions of the day. I don't have anything to add to the response to the first question, so I'll skip to the one about Sting. I did wonder why Sting didn't just go on his website or start a Twitter page and say that he wasn't going to WWE, but I know that he's always been rather tight-lipped about his plans in the business. And they did make a good point: It was in his advantage to stay silent and let the rumor build. It increased his value I think.
More answers and news after the bump!
Owen Hart isn't in the Hall of Fame because his widow Martha wants absolutely no association between him and WWE. In fact, they're currently in a lawsuit because the company used footage of him in a Hart Family DVD. My understanding is that WWE is legally able to use any footage of him, but doesn't promote him as being on any DVDs to respect her wishes. Not to mention that they don't want to be seen as "profiting off of his death". It's a bit similar to the Chris Benoit situation in that regard. Benoit and Owen are shown in complete events and the WWE Encyclopedia and the like, but they aren't shown in any ads or anything.
It's kind of like OJ Simpson (in Benoit's case). What they did was appalling, but you can't tell the history of the sport without looking at those names.
Anyway. moving on... I don't think that Kurt Angle will leave TNA over the angle with Jeff and Karen. While the parties involved (mainly Jeff and Kurt) legitimately had heat years back, they're able to work together professionally in an angle like this. Kurt is said to be ok with the marriage.
To add to the answer to their last question, there's never been any indication that Punk isn't straight-edge "in real life". His ex-girlfriend Maria Kanellis confirmed as much in an interview.
Eric Bischoff was interviewed recently and had a lot to say. I'll add something here (I'm pretty sure I've covered that I didn't like ReAction, it'd really help TNA to be on the road more when they can afford it, and other aspects that he brings up, so I'll slip those):
I'm normally not crazy about TNA's celebrity ventures, but if they could get Charlie Sheen to make an appearance, that'd be huge. Massive even. Sheen's probably the most talked about person in America right now, and TNA could get a lot of buzz off of him making an appearance. Would that improve the product in significant ways? No. Would it turn business around overnight? No. But it would get a lot of eyeballs on the product, and even if only a few stick, that's a start. They'd gain brand awareness for sure. They have a lot of things they can improve upon, but it's rare that you get a chance to get that much buzz for a show.
WWE Magazine reports that this year, footage of past WrestleManias will be shown between matches. That's a pretty good idea as it gets over how big the event is.
Raw did another monster 3.9 this week. More good news going into Mania.
Finally, Shelton Benjamin worked a dark match before Smackdown in front of his home crowd. He is currently under a contract with Ring Of Honor, because apparently neither WWE nor TNA could find a role for him. There's something wrong with that picture.
That's all for today. More news tomorrow.
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