Back in 2007 Todd Grisham signed a new contract with WWE under the impression that he was going to become the new lead announcer on Raw. Grisham was told that Jim Ross would be phased out after his Hall of Fame induction, either finishing at WrestleMania 23 or announcing his retirement there and leaving soon afterwards. After the huge reaction by the crowd in Chicago when his induction was announced, however, Vince McMahon feared a fan backlash and decided to keep Ross around until SummerSlam. The Benoit murders happened before that point, however, and so McMahon kept Ross around to prevent him discussing WWE in the media while the company was under great scrutiny. Ross was then kept on Raw until the draft in 2008, at which point he was to become the colour commentator to Grisham’s lead announcer as part of the transition. Ross then had another Bell’s Palsy attack and this enabled WWE to remove him without a public backlash, since he had been off of TV for several months by the time word got out that he was officially not returning to TV.
Bret Hart is a grandfather. His daughter Beans (real name Jade) gave birth to a daughter, Kyle Beans Doenz.
Melina is expected to return in late June.
Credit: Wrestling Observer Newsletter, 17 May 2010 (subscribe here)
