— Happy birthday to Paul Burchill, who turns 30 day and WWE United States champion The Miz, who turns 29.

Miz posted a message on his Twitter.com/mikethemiz page saying, “thanks for all the birthday wishes the mizfits remember. what am i doin on my bday? working of course have a thq video game appearance.”

— Former TNA creative team member Dutch Mantel has posted a blog this week where he talks about working with The Undertaker before he became a star. Mantel wrote on TheWorldAccordingToDutch.blogspot.com:

“When I first became acquainted with Mark, he was the complete opposite of what he is today. His hair was cropped short and he had no tattoos. When I first laid eyes on him, he actually looked too clean cut to be a wrestler. Today, he is a walking tat advert. He turned out to be a great guy and for a man his size, he moved like silk”

He continued, “At first glance, Mark had all the physical tools to succeed in the pro wrestling business. He had the size, the look and the raw talent to be a HUGE star. His next hurdle he would face would be to decide if he possessed the temperament to succeed. Over the next several months, I got to know Mark Calaway’s temperament very well and he passed the test.”

Earlier this week, we picked up on the story that CM Punk was booked to lose his World Heavyweight title at Hell in a Cell just weeks after winning it due to a backstage altercation with the Undertaker. Undertaker reportedly confronted Punk  on WWE’s recent European tour about dressing sloppy and not carrying himself like a World champion on the road. Punk was said to be confrontational towards then Undertaker, explaining not all champions (he mentioned John Cena by name) dress the part at all times.

There’s now a another story going around regarding CM Punk’s backstage demeanor.  According to F4WOnline.com, Punk caught heat with WWE officials for openly expressing the belief that he felt it was too soon for him to drop the World Championship.

While most believe the original story (Punk having an “attitude” when Undertaker confronted him about not dressing like a champion), both stories generally point to the same thing: Punk’s perceived attitude problem was a factor in him being dropping the World Heavyweight title so soon.

Punk getting punished because of his perceived attitude has generated two different reactions from the locker room. Punk has a reputation as being “aloof” and rubbing many people the wrong way, so those people were naturally pleassed to see him get put in his place. There are also wrestlers that feel Punk’s actions weren’t bad enough to warrant taking the title off him, especially since the Undertaker’s is in rough physical shape and does not work most house shows.

Word going around the WWE locker room is that the reason CM Punk lost the World Heavyweight Title last night is because of heat on him stemming from an incident on the recent European tour, according to Dave Meltzer’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter.

The story goes that there was in issue with how Punk was dressed, and The Undertaker tried to nicely tell Punk that he was the World Champion and was representing WWE overseas so he should dress better. Punk said something to the effect of “what about John Cena?”

This got back to WWE management and they took it as Punk thinking he was a bigger star than John Cena. Then the decision was made to take the belt off Punk at Hell in a Cell and put the match as the opener. There are a couple versions of the story going around, but which ever one is being told, the end result remains the same.

The problems with Punk has been the talk of the SmackDown locker room for the past two days. There are some who are wondering why Undertaker was given the title considering his limited schedule and health problems with the feeling that it was too soon to take the title off Punk. Word is that WWE is planning on going with a Batista vs. Undertaker feud for the World Heavyweight Title.

UPDATE: Jim Ross has commented on this situation in his latest JRsBarBQ.com blog, writing, ‘Crazy email….CM Punk lost the World’s Title because of a “dress code” violation. Please, stop the pain.’

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Details On CM Punk-John Morrison Backstage Fight Last Week, New Maryse Pics, & More

Source: PWInsider.com

After his work in Puerto Rico several weeks ago, there is backstage concern about the health and long-term viability of The Undertaker.

In terms of his last hiatus from the ring, several sources are claiming that The Undertaker actually had hip replacement surgey after WrestleMania, not minor surgery which was originally reported. Regardless, there was concern at the time that the problem may stop him from competitive in the ring again.

Many wondered why his match at Breaking Point only ran around the nine minute mark, and it is because he has been complaining of suffering from pain lately and his visibly slowed down as a result.

Considering all of this, there has been talk that Taker may be looking at retirement after next year’s WrestleMania.