Update on HBK's WWE Status..More

[Impact!]

Although Shawn Michaels revealed prior to WrestleMania that he planned to cut back his schedule following the PPV, there has been no talk of when that cutting back will actually take place.

When Michaels first returned to action, he never intended to become a full-time performer. However, he enjoyed wrestling so much that he continued to accept new storyline proposals.

Recently, however, he has become very disillusioned with the company.

He was particularly upset when WWE revoked his access to Vince McMahon’s private jet; HBK was only allowed to use it on one emergency occasion.

Michaels felt that such an incident sent the message that despite being one of management’s favorite workers, he does not have very much backstage stroke.
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- Ric Flair is undergoing lens restoration surgery as a follow-up to his cataract surgery in 1995 and is expected to be sidelined for several weeks.
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- There is talk of WWE diva search winner Ashley being switched to the Smackdown roster.
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- One of the reasons Harry Smith signed a WWE contract was due to New Japan cutting back on booking foreign talent.
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TNA will be undergoing a format change starting with the debut edition of iMPACT! tonight (Thursday) (TNA's new night) on Spike TV. For now at least, TNA will be doing without needless squash matches and will instead focus on longer matches and major angles leading into their monthly PPV events. Tonight's show will be a perfect example of this.

Although plans to bring in Jushin "Thunder" Liger for the Lockdown PPV on April 23 didn't work out as reported earlier, TNA still plans on using him down the line.

Due to Liger no longer being able to compete at Lockdown, the reported new plan for Lockdown is for Christopher Daniels to face a mystery opponent.
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Spike TV will be hyping TNA's new timeslot on Thursday throughout the night by showing cutaways to the Impact Zone to keep interest until the show begins at 11pm ET/10pm CT.

TNAwrestling.com has posted some exclusive footage of the X Division Title Match between champion Christopher Daniels and Samoa Joe that will air on TNA iMPACT! tonight, TNA's new night on Spike TV, at 11pm Eastern/10pm Central.

The footage that TNA has put online will not be shown on Spike TV as the match will be "joined in progress" to kick off the show tonight. The feeling is to have blood in the ring coming off the UFC special.
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– A number of Internet wrestling outlets are reporting that a legal battle with Jim Crockett could result in WWE having to officially refer to Ric Flair as “Rick Flair.” That story is unequivocally false—it was merely a joke started by the Wrestling Observer in response to WWE misspelling Flair’s first name in a video package.

– Sources say that, over the past few months, Triple H has scaled back his criticism of the WWE creative process. While many do not believe HHH’s actual attitude has changed, he has definitely become more low-profile in terms of backstage involvement. Many attribute that behavioral change to the stress of preparing to welcome a child into the world.
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-- Masato Tanaka is rumored to appear at WWE’s ECW PPV this year, but nothing is signed or confirmed yet.

-- It’s rumored that WWE wants Steve Corino to appear at this year’s ECW PPV, however like Tanaka, he has not signed yet so nothing is confirmed. In his online blog Corino said that he has not yet been contracted by WWE. Corino said last year that he wasn’t going to be doing any ECW-related events, since that part of his career is over and he is doing a different style now.