Query on Alex Riley, Interviews with Taker/Rock/Heyman/Foley, Where's Punk?, ex-WCW star returning to the ring?, Flair at NXT, Miz appearance, another WWE signing finishing up, what WWE stars almost looked like, ECW ticket lady passes, more on Jericho/McMahons, special edition of Impact, and Questions on One Night Stand, the WWE pay scale, the TNA lottery, and Stephanie

First up, a query:
1. The only story I've heard as to why Alex Riley isn't being used by WWE is because of some sort of locker room situation where he "didn't show John Cena the proper respect" or something of the sort. The opinion I heard of the situation was that he wasn't disrespectful, but rather didn't treat Cena as well as he was expected to. Other than that, it could always be as easy as "no one in Management or Creative is pushing for him". There are a lot of performers in WWE and NXT, and only some of them can be featured at a given time.

The Undertaker gave a very rare interview to promote his charity. Here are some highlights. I was somewhat under the impression that he was going to stop performing at Mania when he felt that he couldn't contribute at a high enough level anymore, but it sounds like he'll keep going until he stops getting big enough reactions. It's crazy for me to think of a WrestleMania without Undertaker. Will the crowd EVER get tired of seeing him? Also, who else thinks it would be hilarious to see Taker play golf in full costume?

The Rock talked to prison inmates. It's amazing how he's turned his life around. A true role model.

Everything else from yesterday is after the break.

C.M. Punk was at a Rancid concert on Monday, appearing on stage. Cool.

Former WCW star Alex Wright is considering returning to the ring. I have actually never seen him compete, since he didn't come over to WWE and he hasn't shown up in TNA.

Ric Flair is advertised for the 6/20 NXT taping. As if we needed another reason to watch. Other than the obvious exception of Bo Dallas, the shows are a lot more "hit" than "miss". Antonio Cesaro, Big E, the Wyatt Family, Conor O'Brian, Corey Graves, Kassius Ohno, Sami Zayn, Bayley, Emma, Paige, and Summer Rae have all impressed me both as characters and as wrestlers down there. Are they all ready for the main roster? Probably not. But they've all shown me good things and that they could be good additions in the months and years to come. I know that Cesaro and Big E are on the main roster, but they still work somewhat regularly in NXT.

The Miz was at E3 this week to put over WWE 2K14. Not much to say there.

Paul Heyman basically buried TNA in an interview, though it was presumably in-character. He was in talks to work there in the past (how cool would that have been?). But no, he's definitely better off in WWE. He might could do more with Curtis Axel than he ever could with anyone in TNA. Though Heyman in the corner of a Samoa Joe, Austin Aries, or Bobby Roode would be pretty cool. At any rate, it was a very entertaining interview. Heyman's a showman like few others.

New WWE signing Smith James is finishing up his indie commitments on Saturday. That's one of my favorite names ever.

WWE posted a bunch of early character sketches of superstars. Early Mankind looked pretty scary. I can't imagine Goldust without face paint. What does it say about Rock's talent that he pulled off that costume? Wow. I.R.S. almost looked really... flamboyant. And poor Konnan's never going to live down Max Moon.

ECW staff member Debbie Beaumont passed away at 58 after a battle with cancer. PWInsider.com has a good rundown of her career.

Mick Foley did an AMA on Reddit. Entertaining stuff. I HAVE to meet him some day.

Currently, Chris Jericho's last advertised appearance is a 7/9 Smackdown taping. That's a little surprising. He's definitely not one to overstay his welcome.

Vince McMahon and Triple H on the other hand are advertised through the 7/8 Raw taping, so it looks like we'll be seeing a LOT of them. I hope the actual (regularly appearing) wrestlers benefit from them being around.

TNA will have a Destination X - themed edition of Impact on 7/18, where Chris Sabin may or may not attempt to cash in his X-Division Championship to dethrone Bully Ray. I will be VERY surprised if Sabin becomes the World Champion then.

For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
They pretty much nailed 1, so I'll just refer to their answer. It was really something at the time.

Nothing to add to 2.

They also really nailed 3. What in the world could I add to such a thorough answer?

4. I see no reason why they wouldn't be able to receive the money. Unless it says otherwise on the ticket itself, I think they'd be in the clear.

5. There's really no telling.

More wrestling tomorrow.