WWE Releases 4 Superstars, 2 Divas

Shocking news today that WWE has released four male wrestlers and two of its WWE Divas. According to a note on WWE.com, they've released Shad Gaspard, Luke Gallows, Vance Archer and Caylen Croft as well as divas Jillian Hall and Tiffany.

This may come as quite a shock seeing as several of these individuals had been featured in recent matches and feuds. Shad was the least recently seen of those released, but Vance Archer and Luke Gallows had both been involved in recent contests. Gallows was seen on Friday's edition of Smackdown, albeit in a brief backstage appearance as Kane rushed past.

Vance Archer had been a tag team partner along with Curt Hawkins, while Caylen Croft was one half of the Dudebusters. It'll be interesting to see if they continue to announce Trent Barretta as one half of the Dudebusters, or if they will officially disband that concept.

As for the divas, the Tiffany release is less shocking than that of Jillian Hall. Hall had pretty much been a main stay to help push divas over. She had been involved in a recent feud with the Bella Twins and even released new Christmas music. According to website Diva-Dirt, it appears Jillian will be doing more work as a part of the developmental training staff. Still, her gimmick of awful singing prior to matches will be missed on Raw and other events!

Tiffany had been involved in some off-screen drama with hubby Drew McIntyre, and was suspended from WWE. This happened after a successful bit of feuding with Team LayCool and partnering up with Kelly Kelly. Tiffany has been tweeting about her release and mentioned her off-screen real life husband, WWE star Drew McIntyre:

"I am sad that I won't be able to work with Drew. He is the best thing in my life and I know he is going to do amazing things with WWE. WWE is still a major part of my family and will always be. I am so proud of my husband and will be his biggest cheerleader. If it wasn't for WWE, we would have never met. I love you Drew. Thanks for being my rock :)"

Wishing best luck to Shad, Luke, Vance, Caylen, Tiffany and Jillian in all future endeavors. Any guesses as to which of these former WWE stars will show up in TNA?

WWE Superstars Recap 04.29.10

WWE Superstars recap 04.29.10

Michael Cole said it's been a controversial week in the WWE. He and Lawler agreed that the WWE Draft really shook up the landscape of the WWE this past week. They promised a full draft review after the first match. Gail Kim arrived out for the opening Raw divas match on Superstars.

Gail Kim vs. Jillian

During the match, Jillian put Gail up on her shoulders then dropped back to slam her to the mat. She had a near fall with Gail kicking out, then put a submission hold on before standing Gail up. Gail started to punch back, but Jillian knocked her down.

Late in the match, Jillian picked up Gail near the ropes, but Gail held onto the top rope then used her legs to throw Jillian. From there, the two divas started exchanging strikes, but Gail got the upperhand. She whipped Jillian to the corner and hit her with a flying clothesline. On the second charging move, Jillian moved. Gail flew back off the corner for a flying bodypress pin, but Jillian rolled through. Gail kicked out of the pinfall. Jillian did her handstand flip to ram Gail in the corner, but then missed on her next move, hitting the post shoulder first. Gail grabbed her by the arm and stuck a foot against Jillian's neck before dropping down to the mat. Gail scores the pinfall win.

Winner: Gail Kim wins via pinfall over Jillian.

They reviewed Monday night Raw's 3 hour show which included the 2010 WWE Draft. Matches were held between the members of Raw and Smackdown to determine which brand got the next draft picks. Each brand got 4. Kelly Kelly, Big Show, Christian and Kofi Kingston were drafted to Smackdown. R-Truth, John Morrison, Edge and Chris Jericho to Raw. During the main event Triple Threat match for the #1 Contender's spot, Orton, Batista and Sheamus fought it out. Orton hit the RKO and was ready for the pin, until new Raw acquisition Edge came to the ring and speared Orton, allowing Batista to score the winning pinfall.

Michael Cole said to check out WWE.com for full details on how the rest of the draft went. Later tonight, the new Unified Tag champs, Hart Dynasty, will be in action.

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Primo vs. Zack Ryder

Rosa Mendes accompanied Ryder to the ring. Cole said Rosa has been drafted to Smackdown so it will be interesting to see how their relationship goes in the next few weeks.

During this contest, Primo managed to gain some momentum when he dumped Ryder out over the top rope. Ryder hit chin first on the apron then fell to the outside. Primo prepared to run and jump out onto him but Ryder got up and blocked it. Primo grabbed the top rope and jumped out onto Ryder anyway, crashing to the floor. The two got back in the ring for more of a fight. Ryder suplexed Primo gut first onto the top rope, then delivered a high knee to knock him to the outside. Superstars went to commercial break.

Superstars returned with Ryder locking a submission hold on Primo to ground him, as Rosa looked on from ringside. Primo tried for a comeback as he ran against the ropes, but Zach hit him with a Flapjack for a near fall. Later still, Ryder missed on a leg drop from off the corner. Primo was still down but kicked Ryder in the face with both legs, then rolled him up for several near falls. Primo continued to be in control but couldn't capture the pinfall. In the closing moments, Ryder yanked Primo by his leg off the corner, then hit the Zack Attack for the win. The commentators claim it was due to Rosa Mendes providing a distraction to Primo from ringside.

Winner: Zack Ryder wins via pinfall over Primo.

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Superstars returned with highlights from the Extreme Rules Street Fight which Sheamus won against Triple H. Todd Grisham and Matt Striker of Smackdown were on hand to review this past Monday night Raw's unified tag team title match. Hart Dynasty was able to defeat ShowMiz when Kidd locked a Sharpshooter on The Miz. After the match, Big Show clocked The Miz with a huge knockout punch.

The Hart Dynasty vs. The DudeBusters

Grisham noted that Hart Dynasty and Natalya all ended up being drafted over to Raw in the Supplemental draft.

Midway through the match, Barretta baited DH Smith into going after him. Smith kept his attention on Barretta outside the ring, while the legal man Croft came over and hit Smith out of the ring. Barretta ran over and smashed Smith down outside the ring as the ref was distracted by Croft inside.

When Superstars returned from commercial, Barretta had Smith down in a headlock. Smith managed to break away eventually and tagged in Kidd who had serious momentum. Croft and Barretta regained control when Barretta DDT'd Kidd on the side apron. Croft tagged back in and had the near fall in the ring, then started to use the headlock to wear Kidd down. The DudeBusters continued to keep Kidd from tagging out and tried to wear him down near their corner.

In the closing moments, Kidd was down in the corner. Barretta charged at him, but Kidd got up and tossed Barretta face first into the ringpost. Kidd slowlsy crawled over, then jumped to make the hot tag to Smith. Croft tagged in as well, but was taken down several times by Smith, who also clocked Barretta off the apron. Croft hit a chinbusters, but then made the mistake of putting his head down. Smith grabbed him for a standing suplex, letting the blood flow down to Croft's head before completing it. Croft and Barretta started to leave outside the ring, but Natalya came over and slapped Barretta in the face.

Kidd came into the ring and then ran against the opposite ropes. DH Smith helped launch him up over the top rope, and Kidd crashed down onto The DudeBusters. Back in the ring, Smith put Croft into a Bear Hug. Tyson Kidd jumped off the ropes to complete the Hart Attack finisher.

Winners: The Hart Dynasty wins via pinfall over The DudeBusters Croft & Barretta.

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WWE Superstars Recap 04.01.10

WWE Superstars Recap 04.01.10

Raw commentators Michael Cole and Jerry Lawler were on hand to start off Superstars. They talked about how exciting the past Wrestlemania week was. Kofi Kingston made his entrance first for the opening tag team bout.

Kofi Kingston & MVP vs. Zack Ryder &

Ryder arrived without girlfriend Rosa Mendes, and kept looking back asking where she was, then pointed to someone in the audience and made the "call me" signal. Carlito was accompanied by his NXT rookie Michael Tarver, who held his apple at ringside.

Early on, MVP and Tarver got into a war of words outside the ring. MVP started shoving Tarver then punched him down. MVP went back in the ring as Carlito came out to calm Tarver down.

MVP hit the Ballin Elbow on Ryder during the early part of the match. He was about to go for a pin but Carlito pulled Ryder out of the ring to save him. Kofi and MVP did a double baseball slide dropkick to kick both guys into the crowd barrier before a commercial break.

In the final moments of the match, Kofi hit the double leg drop on Carlito. As Kofi slapped his hands together to signal his finisher, Ryder came over and took a swing at him on the side apron. Kofi struck back, and then MVP did a running boot kick to send Ryder off the apron to the floor. Carlito tried to throw Kofi out through the ropes, but instead Kofi hit the ropes with his shoulders to bounce back. He waited for Carlito to turn around then did the Trouble in Paradise kick for the win.

Winners: MVP & Kofi Kingston win via pinfall over Carlito & Zack Ryder.

They rolled video highlights of the various WWE superstar appearances during Wrestlemania week. John Cena was shown on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon Show, Chris Jericho was on George Lopez Late Show. Various interviews and WWE events were profiled such as the WWE art show, and Fan Axxess.

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A commercial was shown for Wrestlemania XXVII 27, which will be held in Atlanta, Georgia on April 3rd, 2011.

Yoshi Tatsu vs. William Regal

Cole and Lawler noted how Yoshi Tatsu won the 26 Man battle royal to kick off Wrestlemania 26. Regal arrived with WWE NXT rookie Skip Sheffield. Justin Roberts announced Regal as the 2008 King of the Ring winner.

Late in the match, Yoshi missed on a kick move from off the corner, and crashed to the mat. From there, Regal locked in his Regal Stretch submission. Yoshi managed to crawl over to grab the bottom rope. Regal began stomping away on Yoshi. Yoshi roleld to the apron, and as Regal came over towards the ropes, Yoshi landed two kicks to the side of Regal's head. Regal collapsed in the ring, allowing Yoshi to score the winning pinfall. Skip Sheffield came into the ring to check on his mentor Regal.

Winner: Yoshi Tatsu wins via pinfall over William Regal.

They showed behind the scenes footage of how John Cena has a special guest role on the Nick show True Jackson VP. The show will air this Saturday night at 8:30PM EST on Nickelodeon.

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WWE Superstars returned with Smackdown's commentary team, introducing the Raw Rebound. It covered Shawn Michaels' farewell to the WWE Universe. Michaels thanked everyone he was involved with in the business including Triple H, Vince McMahon and even Bret Hart who he re-established a friendship with. Despite chants of "One more match" Michaels said he's going to keep his word to the fans and The Undertaker, that he will retire. Michaels finished his speech with "Ladies and gentlemen, the Heartbreak Kid has left the building". As Michaels went up the ramp he was hugged by his longtime friend Triple H, who took out two green glow sticks and put them down in X formation at the top of the ramp.

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The Hart Dynasty vs. Crofy & Barretta

Croft and Barretta did a promo speech in the ring before the match announcing themselves as the "Dudebusters". They told the Hart Dynasty to stop bragging about knowing Bret Hart, because they met Kriss Angel this past week. They said to write down Trent Barretta and Caylen Croft, and memorize it, but don't ever forget it.

The Hart Dynasty received a strong round of cheers from the fans as they arrived to the ring. DH Smith slapped hands with fans on the way to the ring. Still images were shown of how Hart Dynasty helped Bret in his match against Vince McMahon.

DH Smith had control right before a break as he attempted the Sharpshooter on Croft. Barretta grabbed his arms to pull Croft out of the ring to safety as Superstars hit break.

In the late part of the match, Kidd was caught in a doubleteam by Croft and Barretta. Kidd blocked their doubleteam attempt, flipped and then hit a double dropkick to send both guys down. DH Smith begged for him to tag and got it. Smith came in like a bulldozer knocking the opponents down. He hit a backdrop on Barretta, followed by a suplex. Croft ran in to break up the pinfall. DH Smith survived an attack from Barretta, tagged Kidd, and got Barretta up in the Bear Hug. Kidd did a springboard clothesline to take Barretta down. Smith rushed over with a big boot to take Croft out of the equation. Kidd looked around at the fans then put the Sharpshooter on Barretta. Barretta soon tapped out giving Hart Dynasty the victory.

Winners: The Hart Dynasty wins via submission over Croft & Barretta.

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ECW wrestlers are free agents

With the ending of the ECW brand, the fate of the ECW Superstars was at first unknown. Would they all be aprt of the new show, WWE NXT, or moved around between other brands? It's now been officially announced on Raw by Christian, and then confirmed by ECW GM Tiffany on Tuesday's show that all ECW Stars will be free agents. This means ECW wrestlers can sign with any brand they choose, if that brand will accept them of course.

Although Christian appeared on Raw Monday night and lost in a match to Sheamus (to tune up the WWE champ for Elimination Chamber), it may work best for the ECW champion to sign with Smackdown. There he can either feud with or team with Edge, to recreate their tag team of glory days. Christian hasn't won the United States title yet, so putting him on Raw could work as well, as a formidable new challenger for The Miz.

For some reason, most of the ECW stars seem suited for Smackdown, but we know it won't work out that way. The biggest movers will of course be Christian, Ezekiel Jackson, Shelton Benjamin, William Regal, Zack Ryder, Vance Archer and Vladimir Kozlov. Croft and Barreta is a promising new tag team to add some more life to WWE's almost non-existant tag division. It's unknown at this point if any of the ECW stars will be released, but hopefully everyone gets a shot in the aftermath of the ECW shutdown.

One thing is certain, we may finally get some new and exciting matchups that haven't been seen before involving some of the ECW stars versus Raw or Smackdown's own.

ECW to end, WWE NXT to begin

According to an announcement on Tuesday night's ECW on SyFy, the ECW brand will officially end in three weeks time. WWE Chairman Vince McMahon appeared on the ramp to let everyone know a new "evolution in television" will take its place at that time, the same time slot ECW currently has. The fans cheered the news, but it will mean the end of a four year run for ECW under WWE.

According to reports for months, ECW was being pressured by SyFy execs to get better ratings. Unfortunately it wasn't able to live up to its bigger brothers in Smackdown and Raw which do well in their current spots. Then again, ECW is more of a show for newer talent, and the new show which replaces it will be even more of that type of showcase. The next show will be named "WWE NXT" and we can supposedly expect to see much more developmental talent on that show. Right now ECW has several FCW stars such as Vance Archer, Trent Barreta and Caylen Croft as well as ring announcer Savannah. The recent member to join CM Punk's Straightedge Society named Serena is also a FCW alum. So expect to see more fresh faces and new stories to come from FCW. Check out the current FCW talent roster here.

Most likely we'll see Christian as the last ECW champion, having successfully defended his belt at the Royal Rumble against Ezekiel Jackson. The belt will probably be retired and Christian may make his move to Smackdown or Raw for bigger championships. Stay tuned as more news comes forth on WWE NXT, which is scheduled to begin airing on SyFy March 2, 2010.