Queries on David Hart Smith and Shane McMahon/TNA, final WM28 hype and visitors, May PPV posters, Questions on wrestling in wrestling promotions, the anonymous Raw GM, the HoF, and Rock wrestling on Raw, AXXESS notes, FCW update, Brock and Batista to WWE?, Finlay denies WWE return, and the Mania pre-show match result

Some serious queries sent in for April Fools' Day:
1. David Hart Smith was released from WWE in 2011. I don't know of any plans for either major company to bring him back into the fold, though he did work on TNA's off-shoot in India.

2. I haven't seen anything to suggest that Shane McMahon is interested in getting back involved with wrestling, much less buying TNA. I know that's a popular "what if" scenario, but I don't see it happening. There's been surprisingly little in the news about him since he left WWE. TNA is currently run by Dixie Carter as President, on behalf of Panda Energy (who invested a lot of money into it).

As for the day's news:
The chairman of New Japan Pro Wrestling attended WrestleMania. He was accompanied by Funaki. That's kind of cool. I don't know if that means anything as far as any kind of agreement between the two sides.

Diamond Dallas Page was interviewed ahead of WrestleMania. Though I'm a fan of his, and his workout regimen, I don't think him just appearing to hit someone with his finisher would do much for anyone outside of himself.

Also to add to the Hall of Fame attendees list: Carlos Colon, Jim Duggan, Jimmy Hart, Tony Atlas, Bill DeMott, Meng/Haku (father of Camacho), Maryse, Wes Brisco, Gerry Brisco, and Sharmell. Cool list.

MTV covered Mike Tyson's Hall of Fame induction.

After the break, I go into everything else from WrestleMania Sunday. Next up, posters for TNA Sacrifice and WWE Over The Limit.

As promised: TNA Sacrifice WWE Over The Limit


WWE continued its Mania videos on its social media pages and YouTube.


John Cena talked about staying in the wrestling aspect of WWE vs. movies, and longing for the days when wrestlers didn't depend on Creative for material. Good read.

For my take on PWInsider.com's questions:
1. Well... WWE just goes by "WWE" now instead of it being an abbreviation involving wrestling. TNA is still TNA. The show is Impact Wrestling. ROH's show is Ring Of Honor Wrestling. So, it's not that cut-and-dry.

2. There were plans, but apparently no one's talking on who it was supposed to be. In kayfabe, they dropped it because HHH took over Raw and they didn't need the anonymous GM to run it anymore if I'm not mistaken. So, from that aspect, it was "finished". Did it really matter at that point who it was, since they were no longer in power?

3. Obviously this was specifically directed towards them, but I'd wait a number of years before inducting any of them since they're either still mostly active. Christian, Henry, and Goldust I think all would have good chances. Victoria would lag behind since we still haven't gotten Trish and Lita (and only so many people can get in per year). I'm split on Jazz since I only saw her in WWE.

4. I also think they should go in separately. Taker's had enough success on his own to warrant that.

5. What they said. A lot of the draw for Mania was Rock's first singles match in years. Giving that away on TV would definitely have hurt buys.

The NWA World Championship that was in dispute in a Ric Flair legal case was on display at AXXESS, so it seems that WWE now has it.

FCW talents wrestled at AXXESS as advertised, with the FCW logo visible. In other words, it's still not shutting down despite the rumors to the contrary.

Rima Fakih also signed at AXXESS as a special surprise.

Brock Lesnar continues to be in negotiations with WWE, but nothing's official as of this writing. He wouldn't work a full-time schedule, but WWE would be fine with him only working a number of dates. The UFC's Dana White has cleared him to return if he wants. Some speculated that he would be at Mania, but a return at Raw could also happen. I'm cautiously optimistic on this one.

Batista was in Miami as well, but there's been no word of him entering talks to return to WWE. He's been outspoken about the PG direction, so I wouldn't bet on him coming back.

Drew McIntyre and Ted DiBiase (Jr.) talked ahead of WrestleMania.

As did Hornswoggle.

Finlay shot down reports that he's returned to WWE. Note that the former Albert did as well, and now "Lord Tensai"'s getting videos on Raw. The story is that he's back as a producer (agent).

Add Layla to those talking before Mania. She's cleared to return to the ring.

Primo and Epico retained the Tag Team Titles in the pre-show match for WrestleMania. Their opponents were The Usos and the team of Justin Gabriel and Tyson Kidd.

That's all for Sunday's news. More to come tomorrow. Thanks for reading!