The WWE recently released a statement in their official website addressing the issue of Umaga’s release from the company. Here’s the complete statement:

“As reported on WWE.com on Monday, June 8, 2009, WWE Superstar Umaga (Edward Fatu) has been released from his World Wrestling Entertainment contract. However, consistent with the practice of announcing wellness policy violations, it should be noted that Umaga’s termination was due to his second violation of the WWE Wellness Program and his subsequent refusal to attend a rehabilitation facility.”

The statement is consistent with earlier reports that Umaga failed the drug test and was unwilling to attend rehab. His first violation occurred during August 2007, after he was among a number of WWE wrestlers named in several news articles in Sports Illustrated to have purchased WWE prohibited drugs in an online pharmacy.

WD Opinion: At least the WWE is staying true to its word. Umaga was probably a warning to all the members of the roster to straighten their act together. If Umaga did indeed fail the tests, it would have meant a 60-day suspension without pay, not to mention that he still was required to go to rehab. He was scheduled to win the Samoan strap match at Extreme Rules against CM Punk. The WWE wanted to level the playing field and not bury his character since Punk had already beaten him at SmackDown 2 days prior to the event. When the creative team got hold of the news, the match outcome was changed, even though Punk was still going to cash in the Money in the Bank contract. Umaga was also scheduled to enter in a program against The Undertaker but due to injuries to both men, the plans have been put on hold for a year now.

Well, LOL. I know both are speaking their languages but the place is US. Why the hell they dont understand that US people would’nt understand their aggressive conversation and neither Khali or Umaga.

Edward Fatu is a professional wrestler currently working under the World Wrestling Entertainment’s SmackDown brand. He has also previously worked under different ring names such as Ekmo and Jamal.

He is born into the Anoa’i wrestling family. He is the nephew of Afa and Sika, collectively known as the Wild Samoans. He is also the younger brother of Sam (the Tonga Kid) and Solofa Jr. (known by WWE fans as Rikishi) and is the cousin of Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. Prior to his Umaga gimmick, he usually wrestled as part of a tag team with his cousin Matt Anoa’i (Rosey). They both worked for the WWF before as the tag team 3-Minute Warning.

Fatu trained at a young age at his uncles’ wrestling school, the Wild Samoans Pro Wrestling Training Center. After he completed his training in 1995, he joined Afa’s World Xtreme Wrestling. Eventually, he and Matt were brought to the WWF as part of a storyline with his brother Rikishi. Nothing came out of the angle and he was instead sent to the company’s developmental territory, the Heartland Wrestling Association. Together with Matt, they formed a tag team under the names Samoan Gangstaz and Island Boyz. By 2002, they were brought back to the WWE still as a tag team. This time, they were now henchmen of the Raw General Manager, Eric Bischoff. However, he was released in June 2003 and the team disbanded.

After his work with the WWE, Fatu joined Total Non-Stop Action Wrestling where he used the name Ekmo and was paired up with Sonny Siaki, another wrestler with Samoan heritage. Fatu only spent 6 months in TNA and left the company around November 2003 to wrestle in Japan. He wrestled there as Jamal, forming tag team partnerships with Justin Credible and Taiyo Kea.

In 2005, he was re-signed by the WWE and began wrestling in dark matches with Rosey. However, the proposed 3-Minute Warning reunion never came to fruition when Rosey was released from his contract. Fatu was then re-packaged as Umaga, a similar gimmick used by the Samoan tag team “The Headshrinkers”. He was billed as a nearly-unstoppable competitor, destroying jobbers week after week in Raw episodes. As the weeks went on, Umaga continued to pile up victories against Ric Flair, Shawn Michaels, Triple H, John Cena, and Kane. His streak ended when Cena defeated him for two consecutive matches with Cena’s WWE Championship on the line. He then captured Jeff Hardy’s Intercontinental Championship prior to WrestleMania 23.

Mr. McMahon chose Umaga as his representative in the “Battle of the Billionaires” match at WrestleMania 23. Donald Trump’s representative Bobby Lashley emerged victorious against Umaga, prompting Trump to shave off McMahon’s hair as part of the stipulation. He entered a feud against Batista, ending in a loss at WrestleMania 24. Upon Jeff Hardy’s return, the two reignited their feud, leading to a Falls Count Anywhere match in WWE One Night Stand, which Umaga lost.

He was then drafted to SmackDown as part of the WWE Draft in June 2008. Shortly after, he suffered an injury in a house show on August 2008, forcing him out of action for several months. He made his return on January 2009 and is now currently involved in a feud with CM Punk.

Real Name: Eddie Fatu
Date of Birth: March 28, 1973

WWE Career:
2007
WWE Intercontinental Championship (Raw) – February 19, 2007
WWE Intercontinental Championship (Raw) – July 2, 2007

The World Wrestling Entertainment has released Eddie Fatu aka Umaga. As for the reason for his departure, no word has been released from the WWE yet.

WD Opinion: I gotta tell you, no one saw this coming. Umaga just recently wrestled in a PPV and suddenly he’s out of a job. While the Kennedy release made sense since he was “injury-prone”, the WWE could’ve really used Umaga more. The problem is he just got buried twice cleanly by CM Punk and it looked like the creative team didn’t have anything going for him. I even thought that since Punk defeated him in the SmackDown episode before Extreme Rules, he’d probably win the Samoan strap match. Rumors point to a 3rd strike regarding the Wellness Policy rules. Whatever the real reason is, we’ll know in a few days or so.

CM Punk vs. Umaga
CM Punk comes out swinging; hitting Umaga with several kicks but the Samoan Bulldozer still manages to stand up. Umaga manages to hit Punk with shots to the jaw and bodyslams which resulted to several near pin-falls. Towards the end of the match, Punk tries to bodyslam Umaga but he’s either too tired or Umaga’s just too heavy. Punk unleashes several high-flying maneuvers but ends up taking both of them crashing outside the ring.

The finish saw Umaga hitting a Samoan Drop on Punk after another failed bodyslam attempt. After Umaga punishes Punk with a superkick, Punk gets hit by Samoan Spike. Umaga covers Punk and gets tonight’s victory!

Christian vs. Jack Swagger for the ECW Championship
Swagger dashes in looking to regain the ECW Championship belt but almost gets hit by a Killswitch instead, barely escaping it. The two men exchange blows but Swagger was able to apply a body scissors submission move on Christian. Swagger uses the ropes as leverage but Christian was able to break free.
Swagger then hits Captain Charisma with a few stomps, Christian counters it with a high knee and makes Swagger pay with a DDT but Swagger was able to kick out after a 2 count. Both men then take each other out with a double clothesline.

Christian’s face gets slammed into the corner, allowing Swagger to roll him up but the referee breaks count when sees Swagger grabbing into Christian’s tights. Christian attempts the Killswitch but Swagger was able to counter it into a flip. After Swagger attempts a gutwrench powerbomb, Christian counters it by rolling Swagger and grabs hold onto Swagger’s tights. The referee counts 1-2-3 and Christian’s peeps celebrate along with him for the win! Christian is still the ECW Champion!

John Morrison vs. Shelton Benjamin with Charlie Haas
Benjamin with a quick start in the match, hitting a suplex then turns it into a fireman’s carry then an arm submission on Morrison. Benjamin rolls outside after Morrison gets in a few rights. We see a high spot as Morrison hits an insane 450 splash on to Benjamin outside the ring! Morrison rolls Benjamin and goes to the top rope. Benjamin recovers and sends Morrison flying outside the ring with a big kick.

Benjamin gets a few high knees on Morrison but Morrison counters it with a few elbows on his own. Both men take each other out after a bump in the middle of the ring. Benjamin continues to work on Morrison’s shoulder and back area. Morrison tries a springboard of the corner but gets powerbombed to the corner instead after Benjamin catches him mid-flight!

The finish saw Morrison using a drop toe hold that sends Benjamin crashing to the second turnbuckle. Haas tries to interfere but gets taken out as well. Morrison catches Benjamin with a flying kick that sets up the twisting corkscrew off the top rope. Morrison hits his finisher, hooks Benjamin’s leg and gets the pinfall!
After the match, The Miz comes out and dishes out a promo against John Cena. He tries to get cheap heat from the home crowd by insulting Alfonso Soriano and the Chicago Cubs. Santino Marella comes out to the ring to defend his “fellow Italian”. Santino gets dropped by The Miz with a big DDT. Chavo Guerrero picks up the pieces and hits a frog splash on the hapless Santino.

Backstage, Josh Matthews interviews Chris Jericho who guarantees that Mysterio will lose his Intercontinental Title.

Rey Mysterio vs. Chris Jericho for the Intercontinental Championship
Mysterio tries to end the match quickly after almost hitting Jericho with a 619 right at the start but Jericho scampers away. Jericho grabs Mysterio and tosses him outside. Mysterio comes back up and hits Jericho with a kick to the chest, sending Jericho to the ropes. Mysterio gets a shoulderblock on Jericho and goes to the top rope but gets knocked off. Jericho sends Mysterio crashing outside and uses the ring barricades on Mysterio. Jericho drags Mysterio back in the ring and hits a body splash!

Jericho is now getting the upper hand and applies a submission on Mysterio. Mysterio once again puts Jericho in the 619 position but gets on the short end of a back body drop for his troubles. Jericho tries to apply the Walls of Jericho, Mysterio wiggles out but Jericho hits a nasty backbreaker. Jericho covers but Mysterio kicks out!

Back and forth action now as Mysterio gets Jericho into the 619 position, Jericho himself counters it into a Walls of Jericho attempt but Mysterio grabs hold of the ropes. Jericho drags him back to the middle of the ring and the Walls of Jericho is now completely applied. Mysterio screams in pain but manages to get an inside cradle on Jericho for the near fall. Jericho powebombs Mysterio for a 2 count once more. Mysterio recovers and sets up Jericho for the 619 once more. This time, Mysterio connects, and then proceeds to springboard off the top rope for a splash on Jericho. Mysterio covers Jericho and gets the pinfall victory!

Randy Orton vs Batista for the WWE Championship.
Batista quickly charges on Orton but Orton slides out to avoid The Animal. As Orton comes back up, he manages to hit Batista with a kick but Orton gets hit with a vicious clothesline from Batista. The Animal continues to charge on Orton, sends a few shoulder shots in the corner. Both men go outside the ring as Orton manages to get the upper hand now. He sends Batista back to the ring and applies a headlock.
Orton hits a few stomps on Batista before reapplying the headlock. Orton is now setting up Batista for the head punt but gets blocked with a huge Spear. Orton tries to bring a steel chair to the ring but is leveled with a right hand. Batista goes for the Batista Bomb, but Orton wriggles free and goes outside, grabbing his WWE Championship belt and goes up the ramp.

Batista chases Orton and sends him back to the ring, hitting Orton with a spinebuster. Batista counters an RKO attempt and charges for a Spear but Orton manages to avoid it. Orton attempts an RKO once more but Batista blocks it. Orton then slaps the referee and intentionally gets himself disqualified. Batista wins the match but Orton gets to keep his title.

DiBiase and Rhodes then enter the fray for the post match beatdown. Suddenly, Ric Flair’s music hits and The Nature Boy cleans house! He gives Batista a hug and the members of Legacy head up the ramp. Flair then holds Batista’s arm high in the ring to celebrate!

John Cena vs. Big Show
Big Show manages to back Cena into a corner and lands some punches. He drops Cena and stands on Cena’s chest. The referee breaks it up and Big Show scoops Cena from the ring and slams him back down. Big Show dominates as he applies a camel clutch. Cena escapes it but gets punched by the giant. Big Show now has Cena on a bear hug and though Cena manages to power out, he sends Cena crashing chest first into a corner.

Big Show hits Cena with a series of splashes. Cena counters and works on the giant’s legs. Cena hits Big Show with a blockbuster followed by a Five Knuckle Shuffle. Cena uses the ropes and hits Big Show with a drop kick. Cena tries to apply an STF but gets a few elbows in the face in the process.
Cena is now dazed and the Big Show sets up Cena for a powerbomb but drops him face first instead. Big Show now signals for the finisher but Cena ducks the right hand hook, gets the Big Show on his shoulders and hits the Attitude Adjustment. Cena covers the Big Show and gets the win!

Edge vs Jeff Hardy for the World Heavyweight Championship
Both men circle each other and have the same thing in mind as they both work on each other’s arm. Hardy hits multiple arm drags on Edge, who then quickly rolls out. Hardy takes out Edge after a flip off the top rope. Hardy drags Edge back to the ring and attempts a Whisper in the Wind but Edge moves out of the way. Edge counters a Twist of Fate attempt into a huge DDT that plants Hardy to the mat.

After Hardy crashes by missing a splash, Edge tries to cover but only gets a two count. Hardy manages to hit the Twist of Fate but Edge is able to kick out. Edge goes outside but Hardy stalks him and sends him to the security wall. Hardy gets climbs up the wall and tries to run into Edge but he gets speared in mid-air! Hardy is down and Edge goes back to the ring. The referee starts the count but Hardy manages to roll back into the ring at 9! Both men once again crash out of the ring and the action now spills into the crowd. Matt Hardy interferes in the match and hits Jeff in the head with his cast and Edge now has the upper hand. Edge sends him back to the ring and hits a DDT off the top rope on Jeff. Edge gets the cover and retains his title for the big win!

As the PPV closes, Edge goes up the ramp holding his title up while the WWE officials still check on Jeff Hardy!

Video and Picture Gallery:
  

Result:
World Heavyweight Champion Edge def. Jeff Hardy
Batista def. WWE Champion Randy Orton by disqualification
John Cena def. Big Show
Intercontinental Champion Rey Mysterio def. Chris Jericho
ECW Champion Christian def. Jack Swagger
Umaga def. CM Punk
John Morrison def. Shelton Benjamin

Remember those reports about the WWE trying to make new stars? Well, John Morrison’s supposed to get a push, turn face because Smackdown is running out of babyfaces. With the Undertaker out and Jeff Hardy leaving, certain plans have to be scrapped and re-evaluated. If Morrison’s supposed to be a top face, then why on earth did he lose to Chris Jericho cleanly and as easy as 1-2-3? People think this is a classic example of the WWE giving out signs that their plans might not be taken seriously. Cmon, wrestling creative team, give us something worth watching and I don’t mean bikini pillow fights.

Shawn Michaels will be out of action until July, giving the WWE more reasons to push younger talent and make stars out of them. The Heart-Break Kid’s knees needs time to heal. He hasn’t been on the road since WrestleMania 25 and if reports are correct, he may take more time off after his contract with the company expires after WrestleMania 26.

Taz is reportedly now with Total Non-Stop Action Wrestling (TNA), slowly being brought to the TV tapings. His contract with the WWE expired while many thought he will take time off like the initial reports, he’s now going to be in an angle where he will act as Samoa Joe’s mentor. This will not be the long term plan by TNA though as they will eventually look to move him towards an announcing job. While nothing is confirmed yet, he could be replacing either Don West or Mike Tenay or make it a 3-man announcing team. Nothing is solid yet but these are the stories running in the rumor mill.

If you’re getting your butt handed to you in the ring in a squash match, it’s never a good sign for a wrestler. This past week, Umaga just destroyed R-Truth, leaving people to think about his future with the company. It’s never a good sign when a wrestler is in the receiving end in a squash match, as it’s seen as the beginning of the end of the wrestler’s tenure in the WWE. Everything is pure speculation at this point but with the WWE making many cuts these days, we never know.

Fans can probably expect a new match to be announced this week to be part of next week’s Judgment Day PPV, with Chris Jericho going up against Rey Mysterio. Jericho reportedly asked management for program against Rey, which will involve an unmasking. Take note that these two does have history and have been in matches together while they were in WCW.

Former ECW Champion Bobby Lashley has now worked out a long-term deal to appear in TNA Wrestling. Lashley initially signed up to appear in a PPV and then a 3-day contract but ended up signing up for the long term. Lashley left the WWE because he was suspended for 60 days for allegedly violating the WWE Wellness Program by allegedly taking steroids. After he served his suspension, he resigned from the WWE and pursued a MMA career.

CM Punk vs. Umaga
Punk seems to be getting a marginal push back to top dog status but in his recent feud with Kane, it seems that Kane was getting the cheers. Umaga is now being pushed back to his old unstoppable self, destroying Jimmy Wang Yang in a squash match. Umaga already drew first blood in Smackdown by attacking Punk in the May 1 episode. Since this is the first match in the feud, I would normally go with the heel. It would be such a waste if Punk emerges the winner, effectively doing nothing for Umaga’s return. Punk will receive some pretty nasty bumps in this one. Umaga may not be the most talented wrestler out there (being a Samoa Joe clone) but he’s taking the W on Sunday.

John Cena vs The Big Show
Haven’t we seen this one before? The not so jolly giant goes against the little guy (hey, everybody’s little compared to the Big Show. He can probably crush your head with one hand), giant beats the crap out of little guy in the TV matches, makes him look real puny and giant laughs his ass off. Not gonna happen in a PPV. Cena will pull a bunny out of Show’s ass and make him eat it. Not-so-big Hollywood star Cena gets my vote.

ECW Championship Match
-Christian (c) vs. Jack Swagger
Why is Christian even in ECW? Smackdown needs a major star and Captain Charisma is in the C show? Cmon, Vince! Swagger is young and looks like he’s got lots of potential in him, not to mention he acts a little like Biff Tannen (Back to the Future, anyone) in the shows. Christian’s only held the belt for a couple of weeks that’s why I’m hoping he would at least hold this belt a little longer so that he can have his credibility back. Plus, I’m a member of the Christian Coalition that’s why I’m picking Christian to win this baby coz that’s how I roll.

WWE World Heavyweight Championship Match
Edge (c) vs. Jeff Hardy
This is pretty much a no-brainer. Edge is living the good life, he’s actually on the poster of Judgment Day, he’s the champ, he’s on a roll, and he’s got Vicki Guererro as his wife (ok so maybe the last reason shouldn’t be there). Was this actually ever a feud at all? Everybody in the internet wrestling community knows that Jeff Hardy is on his way out of the company to get some much needed rest. I’m with the Rated R Superstar all the way on this one.

WWE Championship Match
Randy Orton (c) vs. Batista
Clearly, this is a minor detour in the Triple H-Randy Orton feud. With The Game out because of a kayfabe head injury (brought by Orton’s punt to Trips’ head), Batista will have to pick up the slack in this feud by the former Evolution members. Batista will probably win this match by DQ, with Orton’s lackeys laying the beatdown on Batista and possibly Shane McMahon. Expect a Triple H-sledgehammer reunion at the end of the show.

That’s all folks.

We have an update on the Undertaker’s status. Previous reports point that the Undertaker has been out of the TV tapings for several weeks after WrestleMania 25 due to injuries in his hip and to both knees. The Undertaker has been working with both parts of his body injured and many feel that the Undertaker will take some time off to heal. The current plan is to have him undergo arthroscopic surgery and probably work him into a storyline, coming back in 2-3 months time for Summerslam. There’s a possibility that these plans may be scrapped altogether if the doctors discover more damage than initially suspected in the Undertaker’s injuries. Now, there’s fear that these injuries may keep him out of the ring for more than what was initially expected. The Undertaker has been working with these injuries for quite some time and nobody knows how much damage his knees and hips taken. Barring any additional injuries, the Undertaker should be available during Summerslam in a program against Chris Jericho.

With Smackdown’s top face out of action, the company will now put that role in Jeff Hardy’s hands although Hardy is also reportedly aiming to take some time off. The WWE now hopes that they can convince Hardy to re-sign with them or risk losing a major draw in the brand.

While some stars may be on their way out, another will be making his return in a few weeks. Mr. Kennedy made his return in a 6-Man Tag match in Florida Championship Wrestling, one of the WWE’s developmental areas. Kennedy got injured in a house show match against Shelton Benjamin on August 2008. He did make several non-wrestling appearances in both RAW and Smackdown to promote his straight-to-DVD film “Behind Enemy Lines: Colombia” which was released on January 2009. Reports say that Kennedy should be back in active duty in RAW by June.

Another star made his in-ring return in this early this month. Umaga (Eddie Fatu in real life) made his presence felt after attacking CM Punk. Umaga hasn’t appeared in Smackdown since January. As a result of his attack on Punk, they will now face each other in a match at the Judgment Day PPV event on May 17.

Speaking of The Judgment Day in Chicago, Illinios, here’s the current match line-up:
CM Punk vs. Umaga
John Cena vs The Big Show
ECW Championship Match
Christian (c) vs. Jack Swagger
WWE World Heavyweight Championship Match
Edge (c) vs. Jeff Hardy
WWE Championship Match
Randy Orton (c) vs. Batista

Is there such a thing as too much wrestling? We have Raw on Mondays, ECW on Tuesdays, Superstars on Thursdays and Smackdown on Fridays? So what’s stopping the WWE from adding another show to fill up Wednesdays?

Apparently, Vince McMahon doesn’t think so as he is planning to add another show to fill up your weekdays. Before, the company felt that having this many shows is tantamount to overkill but with so many TV channels these days, they feel that they can capitalize on that.

By the way, I forgot to mention that we also have monthly Pay per View events. Whew.