According to numerous reports, Tiffany and Matt Striker of ECW fame will be participating in a celebrity charity baseball game for the Staten Island Yankees on the 15th of August.

Another appearance of note occurring on August 15th is that of Ric Flair (you know, the WWE hall-of-famer himself) at the East Coast National Convention.

On a recent poll conducted by the WWE on their site, WWE.com, fans were asked to vote for their favorite match from the July 23 edition of Superstars. One of the options was Evan Bourne v. Brian Kendrick. This is of interest due to the fact that such a match up simply never occurred. Bourne fought with Jamie Noble that night, and Brian Kendrick just got released. Hmmm. Perhaps the powers that be at the WWE are not even able to keep up to date on their own story lines anymore. The shame of it all.

Reports now point out that Ric Flair will not be offered a new contract by the WWE since they have no plans of putting him on television. Most likely, the company didn’t sign him to a new contract since the WWE will not be able to control his bookings. As of press time, Flair is still accepting bookings from independent circuits.

2 weeks ago, Flair was brought to Charlotte, North Carolina to stir rumors on him being appointed as the new Raw General Manager. This was to hide the surprise Donald Trump angle which lasted only a week. I’ll miss the Nature Boy but the indie fans will get more. Congratulations, Ring of Honor. It seems you will get your wish.

WD Opinion:
The WWE really dropped the ball on this one. The Nature Boy is always gold on television and he’s one of the most recognized names in wrestling. The WWE didn’t even give his latest angle with Orton a resolution. Basically, Flair was just used as a red herring to cover up on what the WWE was really cooking: Donald Trump’s “purchase” of Raw. Well, we all know how well that turned out.

Ric Flair will still be able to accept bookings outside of the WWE and is still allowed by the company to do so even though he’s scheduled to work back for them. Here’s a statement from the Nature Boy himself:

“I will always be a part of the WWE family, however I am still anxious to get out there and meet my fans in person. I have had a great time doing just that since my retirement! My agent is currently negotiating appearances across the US and several abroad that will allow me to meet my fans around the world. I am very excited about these new opportunities! WooooOOOooo!”

Ric Flair was backstage in this week’s episode of Raw however he was only there to serve as a decoy. Internet reports have hinted that Flair will be announced as the next General Manager of Raw because of several clues: Raw was held in Flair-country, Charlotte, NC, and his departure from Ring of Honor, and not to mention dozens of internet “spoilers”. As it turns out, the WWE is bent on proving these internet rumors false as it would make them predictable.

Flair’s presence backstage was merely to throw off people to the real announcement in Raw, which was Trump’s “purchase” of the show. Although he was not named as the General Manager, it doesn’t mean Flair won’t be. In the Vince-Santino segment where Vince was supposedly talking to Trump on the phone, Vince said that “You want to bring HIM back?” Right now, that clue points to Flair being appointed as the next GM.

The USA Network released a press statement regarding the “sale” of Monday Night Raw. The network released that “World Wrestling Entertainment(R) announced the sale of its ratings juggernaut, Monday Night RAW (R), on USA Network to Donald Trump. The terms of the deal were not disclosed.”

“Donald Trump is one of the most entertaining personalities with one of the sharpest business minds of our time. He’s always had the Midas touch, which will only add to the level of excitement for the loyal fans of WWE Monday Night Raw,” said Chris McCumber EVP Marketing, Digital and Brand Strategy for USA Network.

“The Monday Night RAW franchise has been one of the top cable franchises since its launch 17 years ago. I’m going to do things on the show that have never been done or seen before. As my first act as owner, I am doing something unprecedented. I am giving back to the people who have been loyal all these years. For the first time in more than 838 episodes of RAW, next week’s show will be live and commercial free” said Donald Trump.

To know more about Trump’s “purchase”, log on to wwe.com

WD Opinion:
I believe the WWE pulled off quite a surprise last night regarding the Trump “purchase” of Raw. Vince and Trump have always had great chemistry and Trump has always been an interesting personality in the wrestling world. By going with this storyline, both parties can get the customary publicity and it’s already paying dividends. TV Guide posted an article in their website about the issue but quickly pulled it out after they realized it was just a WWE storyline.

I don’t know how long they will run the storyline, but they’ve already hinted that Ric Flair will be back and run things as the new Raw General Manager during that Vince- Santino segment.

This week’s Raw didn’t really deliver that much except lay the grounds for The Bash on June 28. It looked like things were hurried and could you please what’s Orton doing with the title? The man just lost it 2 weeks ago and somebody needs to run with that belt. Orton will always be a douchebag with or without the belt. Out of the four participants, it was Big Show who needed that belt; instead he got buried once again. Hey, at least it took 3 finishers to take the giant down but it doesn’t change the fact his character has lost its credibility. His losses have piled up and the creative team seems to have nothing for him. The last time Big Show had a great run was against The Undertaker.

Just when you think Big Show’s misery couldn’t get any worse, he’s now being sued by Sobe Entertainment. They claim that they gave Big Show a $1 Million advance yet he owed the IRS $450,000. Big Show reportedly backed out of the deal and signed back with the WWE in 2008.

“The Nature Boy” Ric Flair was present at the Ring of Honor event this Saturday. Although he was able to deliver a promo to the crowd, he didn’t appear as scheduled as the special outside enforcer in the Ring of Honor Championship match.

According to reports, Ric Flair left the Ring of Honor event just minutes after he cut a promo, surprising many RoH officials. It was believed within the company that Ric Flair had no issues with the officials before the Nature Boy’s scheduled appearance. Several sources say that Flair had a problem with that night’s booking, stating that he was only there for a fan meet and greet and to cut a promo. Flair was not supposed to be the special enforcer in the championship match. HDNet was also filming in the arena and Flair expressed concerns about his appearance in RoH television while he was already scheduled to appear back in WWE programming.

Roh officials were allegedly alerted of the Nature Boy’s departure and tried to catch up with him but Flair had already left the arena in a rented car.

Now that’s a good bye. We all feel proud of Ric Flair. All WWE Superstars comes out to honor Ric Flair on his retirement. Many gets emotional as well. Undertaker though made a diference in his honouring way. Can you imaging moments ago they were after each other and just not huhing Ric Flair and clapping for him. That makes everyone say WOW!! You must see this video.

It’s official. “The Nature Boy” Ric Flair has come out of retirement and will wrestle overseas. In an interview with Mike Mooneyham of The Post and Courier, Flair said “I don’t think anyone could begrudge me for throwing my gear on (overseas). If Brett Favre can come back once in a while, I certainly can. If I did wrestle, it would be overseas, it wouldn’t be here.”

Flair retired last year after a series of “retirement matches” in the WWE. His last match to date was against Shawn Michaels at WrestleMania 24 where Michaels pinned Flair after Michaels hit the Sweet Chin Music.

Over the weekend, Flair was also pulled out by the WWE from Ring of Honor. Flair was originally scheduled to make appearances from RoH so that he can help out his son, Reid Flair. Flair wanted RoH to use his son in several matches but with Reid booked for illegal drugs possession; it will be unclear if ever he comes back to RoH.

To address the situation, Flair added “I just can’t work for two people. It doesn’t make sense. The people received it very well. I just said goodbye, thanked them for all their respect, and told them that my loyalties and my family was with WWE. It worked out fine. It would be hypocritical if I tried to do both. I just told the truth. You can’t go wrong telling the truth. My loyalty is with WWE, and that’s where I’m at.”

WR Opinion:
Flair certainly is entitled to work and by wrestling overseas, it doesn’t take anything away from Shawn Micheals whom he wrestled in an outstanding match at WM 24. While US fans would probably like to see Flair work for WWE again, it would probably just be as an ambassador and he probably won’t compete in any WWE matches.

Ric Flair is reportedly planning to come out of retirement and go back into the ring. Yes, The Nature Boy has recently spoken out about getting back into the ring as he feels he is still competitive enough to perform. He even sent a text to the WWE head honchos to offer his services. Jim Ross seems to think that Flair must’ve gotten tired of all the autograph signings and having Naitch back would certainly be welcome. The problem is how to get it into a storyline since Flair retired after losing to Shawn Michaels at WrestleMania 24. Well, anything can happen in the WWE. Heck, if they can book “God” as Michaels’ tag team partner, then they surely can think of something to get Flair back into the ring.