PWTorch is reporting that Ric Flair has quit. He was upset with his lack of a push, and any encouraging communication from the front office, however has nothing to do with the current suspensions. WWE Officials are frantically trying to get him to change his mind. TNA knows this has happened, and would most likely attempt to bring Flair in for their impending 2-Hour debut this fall. UPDATE: WrestlingObserver.com has confirmed this story, saying that Flair gave notice on August 21 and that “WWE has offered him a major program to return” but likely only Flair knows what will happen.
In other news (thanks to Matthew Michaels for contributing the below):
– Last Thursday’s (August 30) iMPACT! did a 1.05 cable rating for the third week in a row, according to PWInsider and Nielsen Media Research.
– It looks like Matt Sydal has indeed finally signed his WWE contract, according to Mike Johnson at PWInsider. He’ll be reporting to OVW after he completes some indie committments later this month.
– Chris Benoit’s father Michael is scheduled for Good Morning America on Thursday morning, according to WrestlingObserver.com. (Update: It seems that with the announcement of Benoit’s brain analysis coming tomorrow, according to PWTorch.com, the GMA appearance will actually take place first thing Wednesday morning.)
– This may or may not have been reported here, but just in case it wasn’t, here’s an interesting note about the recent WWE suspensions: PWTorch.com has reported that, according to its sources, at least one WWE wrestler tied to the Internet pharmacy case won’t be being suspended due to (this is not confirmed) having already been punished for this violation. Seems to us that this person is Randy Orton, if we’re going only based on the very detailed SI.com story and the fact Randy’s still scheduled to main event Unforgiven.
– Umaga, Mr. Kennedy and King Booker did not appear at this weekend’s RAW house show in Terre Haute even though they were advertised for the event. Orton did appear and wrestle in the main event, according to WrestlingObserver.com. The site also reported that the wrestlers who were recently suspended were flown to Stamford to meet with Vince McMahon, and according to WWE lawyer Jerry McDevitt’s most recent interview with Newsday, 11 wrestlers have been suspended in total (the original ten, plus one that, according to WrestlingObserver.com, some believe wasn’t initially suspended due to missing his flight to the McMahon meeting). Of those mentioend in the recent news articles on wrestlers with Signature Pharmacy connections, only Mike Bucci (Simon Dean) was fired.
