(source: Wrestling Observer Newsletter)

– Current creative plans call for Jack Swagger to defend his World Heavyweight Championship against Undertaker at SummerSlam. A match between Triple H vs. Edge is also being talked about for WWE’s annual summer pay-per-view.

– Rey Mysterio is said to be unhappy with WWE after they prevented AAA from holding a Rey Misterio Jr., Cup this year. Mysterio asked WWE for permission, but turned him down, saying they don’t want him appearing on a AAA show even if it’s merely to present a trophy.

— NXT Rookie David Otunga is scheduled to work SmackDown house shows. Company officials feel he has star potential but want him to get more experience on the road since his wrestling isn’t close to ready.

— The following article was printed in yesterday’s edition of the Sunday Mail, a Scotland based newspaper.

“SCOTS wrestling star Drew McIntyre has secretly married his former Playboy model girlfriend. WWE Intercontinental champion Drew tied the knot with fellow wrestler Taryn Terrell in Las Vegas. Drew’s parents, from Ayr, got a call 15 minutes before the ceremony. His dad Andy Galloway, 50, said: “It was a shock, but we were really pleased.”

— On Jun. 8, WWE will release a three-disc DVD set on Undertaker focusing on historical gimmick matches, including casket matches, Hell in a Cell, and inferno matches. You can view the cover art for the DVD here.

— Yesterday was former WWE Champion Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s birthday as he turned 38 years old.

— WWE officials are reportedly looking to book golfer Tiger Woods to host the Jun. 7 Monday Night Raw taking place in Miami, Florida. However, few believe he will accept the offer. (source: Wrestling Observer Newletter)

— On Wednesday, May 19th, Florida Championship Wrestling will hold a meet and greet autograph session with the one and only Undertaker. Those who purchase a Gold Ringside ticket for the evening’s event will have a chance to meet “The Deadman” himself, as well as FCW talent and Chris Hovan of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Click here for more information. Those interested should act now as tickets are very limited.

— Justin Gabriel has posted his first video blog. He discusses Tuesday’s Talk the Talk Challenge, feeling he could have done much better.

– Triple H is currently suffering from a neck injury and is only booked for WWE television and pay-per-view events for the next few months.

– Ted DiBiase was busted open at last night’s RAW live event in Ireland during a match with Randy Orton and Cody Rhodes. DiBiase ended up receiving several staples in his head to close the wound.

– The latest on Ezekiel Jackson’s injury from over the weekend is that it might be a torn quad, which would keep him out of action for a while. Jim Ross acknowledged the injury in his latest blog, writing, “Ugh.”

– The Undertaker is currently working a reduced, part-time schedule. While he was booked at last Tuesday’s SmackDown tapings and was the focal point of promoting the tapings, he did not appear.

(Partial credit toF4Wonline.com)

— It appears Mickie James will be appearing on this week’s episode of Friday Night SmackDown as she noted arriving to England yesterday on her Twitter account. The multi-time women’s champion has been confined to the sidelines in recent weeks due to being diagnosed with a staph infection on her right knee.

— A number of former WWE Superstars and Divas will be taking part in a convention taking place this November in Dublin, Ireland including Mick Foley, “The Million Dollar Man” Ted DiBiase, The Honky Tonk Man, Candice Michelle, Lilian Garcia, Brutus “The Barber” Beefcake, Rick Martel, Tito Santana, Greg “The Hammer” Valentine, The Genius and Virgil. The event will feature a meet and greet, photo opportunities with the wrestlers, chat, autographs, Q and A with all of the wrestlers, and more. Visit WrestlezoneIreland.com for more information.

— Undertaker is ranked No. 1 on this week’s edition of the POWER 25 on WWE.com. Meanwhile, World Heavyweight Champion Jack Swagger moves up to the No. 3 position after not even being ranked the week before.

— Former WWE star Paul Burchill has launched an official website at www.PaulBurchillOnline.com.

— Today is Undertaker’s birthday as he turns 45 years old. While his age has been disputed over the years, the official website of S.P. Waltrip high school notes that he graduated from the school in 1983. Additionally, the March 2010 issue of WWE Magazine does not acknowledge his birthday.

— Landing his first magazine cover, Dolph Ziggler is featured on the latest issue of Fighting Spirit magazine out of the UK. You can view the cover here. However, the article’s not actually about him, but rather WWE’s midcarder performers needing to promote themselves better. The synopsis reads: “Why WWE’s midcarders need to start promoting themselves Shawn Michaels and Triple H did it many years ago, so why aren’t more WWE midcard stars taking the reins of their careers and pushing themselves, rather than waiting for WWE to put them in the main event? FSM thinks it’s about time they did…”

— SLAM! Wrestling has an article on Wendi Richter, who is set to be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame this Saturday night by “Rowdy” Roddy Piper. This will be her first business dealing with WWE since leaving the company in 1985 after losing the Women’s Championship in controversial fashion.

— It’s worth noting that Shawn Michaels is not advertised for any shows past the night after WrestleMania when Raw emanates from the US Airways Center in Phoenix, Arizona. Furthermore, Undertaker is being advertised to appear at all SmackDown television tapings announced thus far — through June.

— The Wall Street Journal Magazine published a story this past week profiling WWE’s international business and use of international stars.

Stephanie McMahon is quoted in the piece, noting WWE is searching China for new talent to add to a roster that includes The Great Khali from India, Kofi Kingston from Ghana, West Africa, and Kung Fu Naki from Tokyo, Japan.

“We are making more of an effort to recruit from other countries,” Stephanie McMahon said. The Wall Street Journal Magazine added she is looking to recruit talent from China.

To read the story, click here. Former WWE performer Paul Heyman is also quoted in the story.

— The Feb. 26 episode of Friday Night Smackdown scored a 2.0 rating with 3,443,000 viewers for MyNetworkTV. (source: PWInsider.com)

— Here is the synopsis for WWE’s upcoming DVD set on Undertaker, The Undertaker’s Most Dangerous Matches: “He’s the most ominous presence in the history of Sports Entertainment, known for his remarkable “WrestleMania” streak and taking the souls of scores of superstars. Now the Undertaker’s most dangerous conflicts are collected in one 3-disc DVD set, “Undertaker’s Deadliest Matches”. This set includes “Casket Matches”, “Buried Alive Matches”, “Hell in a Cell”, “Last Ride Matches”, “Body Bag Matches”, “Boiler Room Brawls”, “Concrete Crypt Matches” and numerous other brutal bouts.”

— Today, Batista moves into eighth place all-time of longest reigning WWE World Champions, surpassing “Stone Cold” Steve Austin. He surpassed Randy Savage last week as well. Here is the complete list:

1) Bruno Sammartino – 4,040 days
2) Hulk Hogan – 2,185 days
3) Bob Backlund – 2,138 days
4) Triple H – 1,151 days
5) Pedro Morales – 1,027 days
6) John Cena – 969 days
7) Bret Hart – 654 days
8) Batista – 530 days
9) Steve Austin – 529 days
10) Randy Savage – 520 days

— WWE will be holding a “WrestleMania Kick-off Party” on Friday, Mar. 20 at the Westgate City Center in Glendale, Arizona. WWE Superstars and Divas are scheduled to appear. Click here for more details.

— WWE announced today that Saturday Night Live cast members Will Forte and Kristen Wiig will bring their MacGruber co-star Ryan Phillippe to guest host Monday Night Raw when it emanates from East Rutherford, New Jersey on Apr. 19. MacGruber opens on Apr. 23 and also features a number of WWE Superstars such as Mark Henry and Montel Vontavious Porter.

Jericho recently praised Wiig on his Twitter account, calling her “a dang genius and the funniest female (SNL) cast member of all time.”

To see the official movie trailer for MacGruber featuring the RAW guest hosts and several WWE Superstars, click here.

— The Elimination Chamber DVD has already been released in Singapore and a reader noted that it features three extra features; an interview with new WWE World Heavyweight Champion Chris Jericho, highlights of the HBK-Taker storyline since December, and Edge’s title decision the next night on Raw. Regarding Undertaker’s fiery mishap at the event, the reader said that the part where he was burned was changed to a low camera angle where only fog is displayed which is then followed by a quick shot of Rey Mysterio. When they cut back to Taker, he is seen briskly walking to the Elimination Chamber.

Undertaker had first and second degree burns on his chest and neck. Those within WWE consider him very lucky, having escaped with the burns he had, as opposed to how badly it could have been.

Despite the burns, Undertaker continued to work through the match in tremendous pain, and even refused to shorten the match. The sleeve of his jacket and part of his hand had melted when the pyro went off prematurely.

There was talk of having Shawn Michaels take responsibility for the pyrotechnics incident that happened at the Elimination Chamber PPV. The decision was made prior to RAW, and that idea was ultimately shot down.

One of the key things in the decision making was going to be based off how their camera angles had the incident, if it came off impressive, the idea would have been used on TV.

(Credit to F4wonline.com for some of the news used in this report)

– WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross posted a message on Twitter.com/jrsbbq reacting to the pyrotechnics accident that occurred at the WWE Elimination Chamber: “Undertaker is okay from what I understand but ‘lucky,’ He’s as (tough) as they come without question.” Read more tweets from Jim Ross at PWTweets.com.

– WWE spokesman Robert Zimmerman has commented on the pyrotechnics malfunction that almost set the Undertaker on fire during his entrance at Elimination Chamber. Zimmerman described what happened as a “mistiming” with the pyrotechnics. “Thank God he was fine. It basically amounted to a sunburn. It wasn’t over a large area of his body, just a short area, just a little bit on his chest.” He also stated that the Undertaker was checked out by a ringside doctor before competing in the match.

* VIDEO of Undertaker Being Set on Fire at Elimination Chamber

— Handheld videos of Undertaker momentarily being engulfed in flames as a result of a pyrotechnic malfunction at last night’s Elimination Chamber pay-per-view are quickly being pulled off of YouTube due to copyright notices from WWE.

— Just five days after Team Lay-Cool defeated Divas Champion Maryse and Gail Kim at WWE Elimination Chamber, Michelle McCool will invoke her rematch clause to face Women’s Champion Mickie James for her title. The match referee will be none other than Vickie Guerrero, who is being referred as the “Official SmackDown Consultant” by the WWE website.

— WWE will be holding an event at the Baseball Stadium in Puebla, Mexico on Friday, May 7th, 2010. Bell time is 8:30 PM. Tickets go on sale Monday, March 8th, 2010 at 11 AM. (Thanks to Devin Cutting)

Undertaker suffered burns to his chest as a result of a pyrotechnic malfunction during his entrance when flames reached and burned his jacket as he made his way ringside for his match at tonight’s Elimination Chamber pay-per-view.

Upon catching on fire, he immediately ripped off his coat and sprinted towards the ring. He then doused himself with bottles of water before and during his scheduled match in the Elimination Chamber.

Company sources indicate Taker was extremely upset about the situation upon returning to the locker room, though officials tried calming him down.

TMZ.com has picked up on the story and posted this fan video of the incident:

— It appears Undertaker will once again be taking time off following WrestleMania this year as he was pulled from all advertising for the company’s annual spring European tour this past week.

Shawn Michaels is also expected to take time off following WrestleMania.

— WWE.com garnered 13.0 million unique visitors for the month of December, up from 12.1 million in November.

— WWE’s latest music album, WWE The Music: A New Day, dropped from No. 94 to No. 167 on this week’s Billboard chart with approximately 3,000 units sold.

(source: Wrestling Observer Newsletter)

– There has been talk of turning SmackDown star John Morrison heel in the near future. WWE is firmly behind the developing star and he’s still seen as having a ton of potential.

– Morrison’s former partner Joey Mercury is said to be returning to WWE shortly. While several sources are reporting that a deal has been signed, many people backstage at the Royal Rumble were not aware of his upcoming return.

– The feeling within WWE is that The Undertaker will work a very light schedule headed into WrestleMania. Undertaker is still in rough physical shape and there are plans to get the World Heavyweight title off him before WrestleMania. With Undertaker vs. Shawn Michaels still looking likely for WrestleMania, the match has enough going for it that it doesn’t need a title on the line and WWE could probably get more drawing power in having a separate match for the World Heavyweight title.

(Partial Source: F4wonline.com)

— Undertaker — and Michelle McCool — missed Sunday’s SmackDown/ECW live event in Cleveland due to a death in his family. Triple H appeared instead and wrestled Chris Jericho in the main event.

— Rey Mysterio’s autograph session at a Kmart in Chicago Sunday afternoon did not go off without a hitch as many fans were left angry. Customers who purchased $35 in WWE merchandise could get an autograph from the SmackDown Superstar, but he arrived late and had to leave early for that night’s show while people waited in line. Things then got out of hand as he was leaving the discount department store as people began rushing towards him. Many people who didn’t get autographs subsequently asked for refunds on purchased merchandise.

source: f4wonline.com

– As previously reported, the Undertaker is said to be in rough physical shape and is working through significant pain in recent months. However, talk of him retiring at WrestleMania 26 are premature. His physical limitations are already affecting how often he wrestles and what he’s able to do in the ring, but there’s been talk of Undertaking retiring for nearly a decade, so many expect him to continue working through the pain for months and years to come.

— Although Batista is currently advertised to be one of the 30 participants in the Royal rumble match, Rey Mysterio did a radio interview in Mexico last week stating that his match with the Undertaker at the Rumble will be a three-way.

– Speaking of the Royal Rumble, the Phillips Arena in Atlanta, GA, the site this year’s Rumble, is already sold out.

(Source: F4wonline.com)

– In a bit of great news for wrestling fans everywhere, WWE superstar Edge will be returning from injury well ahead of schedule. Edge is currently doing physical rehabilitation following foot surgery last year and WWE officials expect him to be healthy in time to appear at the Royal Rumble in 2 weeks. The plan is for Edge to wrestle his former tag team partner Chris Jericho and WrestleMania and there is talk of Edge showing up as a surprise entrant in the Rumble to eliminate Jericho. However it goes down, Edge will be back soon to start his program with Jericho.

– Many within WWE are very concerned about The Undertaker’s body and how much longer he can wrestle. WWE’s World Heavyweight champion is a shell of his former self these days, clearly in pain as he moves around and no longer possessing the agility that has made him such an impressive “big man” wrestler over the years. After the WrestleMania classic he and Shawn Michaels put on last year, its believed that Shawn Michaels will have to do a great deal of bumping around to save this year’s rematch from being a total letdown.

(Credit to PWInsider.com for the information used in this report)

Source: Wrestling Observer Newsletter

– The Undertaker is confirmed for this Monday’s RAW to further the WrestleMania storyline
with Shawn Michaels. Bret Hart will also be appearing on this week’s show.

– As noted before, WWE’s DVD set on the Hart family is scheduled for an April 6th release. Bret Hart is going to have a hand in putting together the final product. The Hitman spent a few days in Stamford, CT last week working on the DVD. WWE has contacted a number of Hart family members including Bret’s sister-in-laws Diana and Ellie, who he had been on bad terms with for years.

– On a related note, Bret is scheduled to give the speech for his father Stu into the WWE Hall of Fame this year.

WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross

WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross has updated his blog, which you can (and should) read in its entirety at JRsBarBQ.com. Some highlights:

WWE teasing Bret Hart will host RAW: “The teasing of Bret Hart potentially hosting Raw was cool. That was the first that I had officially heard of any sort of ‘Hitman’ return but it’s always good to see Bret in any forum and one would think that the WWE HOF’er would enhance the ratings for Raw when and if Bret does make an appearance. Could that particular appearance occur on January 4? Your guess is as good as mine.”

Shawn Michaels challenging Undertaker: “Shawn Michaels challenging the Undertaker for a match at WM26 captured my imagination. These two created magic in Houston at WM25 and the question will be asked if both future WWE HOF’ers can recreate such a moment one more time. I will always consider being a part of the broadcast team for WM25 and being a small part of the HBK-Taker presentation as one of the greatest experiences that I’ve had in this business.”

His own health and WWE contract status: “Yours truly is awaiting some important, medical test results that I hope to have sometime this week. I am of the belief that they will provide good news and refuse to believe any thing else. It goes without saying that I sincerely appreciate all the get well wishes and prayers from so many of you. Since making many, overdue life style changes I have been feeling great the past several weeks as I await the aforementioned medical test results and the facial nerve to kick start. With my personal health still my most important issue, I am not stressing about any contractual issues or negotiations and nothing has changed on that front or my mindset regarding such since I last addressed this matter. All my contractual issues are still in motion and being discussed.”

The latest blog entry from Dutch Mantel recalls a night than he and the Undertaker were out drinking, with the night ending in a bar patron being knocked out by Taker in one punch. The bouncers had seated us at the front of the bar but when Mark left, he headed into the back where the rest rooms were,” Dutch wrote.

“As I was looking into the crowd of people toward the back looking for Mark, I saw some activity going on and I heard some loud yelling. Since Mark was right beside me and he had been drinking, I had the wrestler’ss intuition that something was wrong. It took me 30 seconds to find out.

“Off I went to find Mark and as soon as I got close to the rear of the club, I saw some dude laid out all over the floor. Everybody was standing in a circle around the guy with some girl kneeling over him. He was in dreamland. I then saw Mark over to the side with the bouncers talking to him. I walked up and asked what had happened and the bouncer said that Mark had leveled this one guy with one shot and he dropped him like a bad habit.”

WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross

WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross has updated his blog, which you can read in its entirety at JRsBarBQ.com. In this update, Ross gives his thoughts on Sunday’s Survivor Series PPV and more. Some highlights:

Undertaker’s Next Feud: “I assume that ‘Taker is Batista’s next target as I can’t see a return match from Sunday night. Taker-Batista seems the most logical but I don’t have any inside info to base this on FYI.

Rey Mysterio: “I assume that ‘Taker is Batista’s next target as I can’t see a return match from Sunday night. Taker-Batista seems the most logical but I don’t have any inside info to base this on FYI.

WWE’s Young Talent: “The key, young guys got the chance to shine in the first tag bout including (Dolph) Ziggler, Miz, (Jack) Swagger, (Drew) McIntyre, and Sheamus. All these guys are ‘keepers’ and are counted on to be future, PPV headliners. The creative debate aside, the level of success these young men find will largely be up to them, how innovative they can become, and how willing they are to dedicate themselves to getting better and being reliable and problem free individuals. Good, solid opening contest.”

– The Undertaker vs. John Cena is one of the planned main-event’s for WrestleMania 26, according to F4WOnline.com. The groundwork for potential matchup was set on this past Monday’s RAW when Cena received a tombstone after the main-event match had ended.

– According to sources, WrestleMania 27 is looking to be held in Toronto at the Rogers Centre. WWE is still weighing other options including Miami, Indianapolis and Atlanta and an official decision should be made soon.

– During an interview with the Hartford Courant, WWE Hall of Famer “Superstar” Billy Graham hit out at Linda McMahon and her run for senate. “She may look like a Sunday school teacher,” Graham said. “Linda McMahon’s hands are as bloody as her husband’s because she is aware of every move in the ring.” Graham said WWE has changed their colors and deceived the public before Linda’s run for Senate. He cites the lack of blood, Divas posing for Playboy and the lack of bra and panties matches as examples.

– There has been some preliminary talk about having the Undertaker wrestle Chris Jericho at WrestleMania. Original plans were for Undertaker to wrestle Vince McMahon and Chris Jericho to wrestle Edge, but with Edge’s health status up in the air, Undertaker-Jericho is now being considered.

– Business man Marc Cuban is rumored to be hosting WWE Raw on December 7th from Dallas, TX.

– Cryme Tyme vs. The Hart Dynasty is slated to be a dark match at WWE’s Survivor Series PPV, according to Wrestling Observer.

– The three-hour RAW the night after WWE’s Survivor Series pay-per-view at the Giant Center in Hershey, PA has an advertised main event of DX and John Cena vs. Randy Orton, Chris Jericho and Big Show. This will likely be a dark match.

WWE World Heavyweight champion The Undertaker is not expected to retire at WrestleMania 26, despite speculation to the contrary. His surgically repaired hip is still causing him a great deal of discomfort during and after his matches, but he’s working through it and receiving regular physical therapy to manage the pain.

There has been speculation that he had hip replacement surgery after WrestleMania, but a well-placed source disputes that rumor. “That’s physically impossible to come back that soon” (from hip replacement surgery), the source said.

The feeling is that barring any unforeseen circumstances, the Dead Man is hoping to work his current [reduced] schedule for another two to three years.  Even then, after he’s had enough of being a full time member of the roster, the belief is that he’ll still make himself available for special appearances and the occasional special attraction match.

(Credit to prowrestling.net for some of the information used in this report)