The Smackdown wrestlers’ tour does not end after their taping last night in Fresno, CA. Currently, they are flying down under to Sydney, Australia for Friday’s show. They continue on Saturday in Brisbane and close out the tour on Sunday in Melbourne. They then get to fly back to California for Tuesday’s Smackdown taping in Sacramento.
There are stories going around of growing discord among at least some of the non-televised employees in WWE like those working back in the Tower and in the production studio. The basic rumor is that with WWE cutting back on costs (as evidenced by Monday’s financial numbers where WWE managed to turn a greater profit off of lower revenues), more and more people in the company are feeling squeezed both financially and by the tough schedule with little or no raises to show for their dedication and hard work. Some people in the company have even said that they went to work for WWE at a “below market price” because it was something of a dream job for them, but those hometown discounts are being tossed aside due to the current environment. As a result, some are exploring other career options. Another story is that employees have been leaving WWE over the last year at a higher rate than they have in the past.
The Cumberland County Civic Center has released the card for the Raw brand house show in Portland, Maine on October 1st:
Randy Orton, Chris Benoit & Eugene vs. HHH, Ric Flair & Batista
Intercontinental Title Match – Edge vs. Chris Jericho
World Tag Team Title Match – La Resistance vs. Rhyno & Tajiri
Shelton Benjamin vs. Chuck Palumbo
Women’s Title Match – Victoria vs. Trish Stratus
John Jeter vs. Christian
Matt Cappotelli vs. Tyson Tomko
Maven vs. Simon Dean
The Hurricane vs. Mark Magnus
Looking at this card it appears that WWE is planning to add several OVW superstars to the Raw roster within the next month and that WWE’s plans to have Matt Cappotelli join the Smackdown roster have changed and he will be on RAW as well.
Credit: Dave Scherer, PWInsider.com
