»Reported by Dale Mills of WrestleView.com

On Saturday, July 9, 2005 at 6:44 PM EST

And I thought a lot happened when I was on holiday....

Jeeze, where to begin. The releases I think. This past week saw the WWE enter one of their releasing of the dead wood periods. And boy did they release some dead wood. Morgan, Joy, Akio, Kidman, Kenzo, Jindrak, Haas, Gangrel, Moore, Jackie and Mordecia, however talented they were or were not had all been given a decent amount of time and opportunities to get over and make the company and themselves some money, most of them had a medium amount of success but not enough to warrant them being on the books anymore and it came as no surprise(with the possible exception of Haas)when they were let go. But as for the others released I was kind of shocked. Maven I thought had a great future ahead of him. He had just shown that he had a real good personality that could click with the fans. His mini program with Shelton Benjamin was very entertaining and at some points during that feud Maven actually showed that he had more charisma than the Intercontinental Champion. Maven's ring skills weren't too shabby either, showing that he had come a long way from the days of being a Tough Enough winner and I really thought that Maven would reach I.C level at the very least. I guess I was wrong on that one. Spike Dudley was another guy that I was surprised to see go. After being part of the hugely successful One Night Stand PPV and a decent run as The Boss of his fellow family members I expected Spike to slot back nicely in to the role of tough fighting little guy Spike the company man with a few more tag title reigns down the line. Obviously not. The one thing that did piss me off a little with Spike was his sour grapes attitude with his sinking ship comments. The WWE did more with Spike than they had done with many grapplers his size and he most likely made some decent money at the same time. Spike should have been thankful for the opportunities that the WWE gave him. He could of been treated a whole lot worse. I guess that Little Spike Dudley doesn't want to go back to the WWE anytime soon. Marty Jennetty was a shocker too but if the stories of him getting his ass thrown in jail(not sure what for)are true then he really did screw up a huge second chance in the WWE. This time round, on the strength of that great bout against Angle and the one off Rockers reunion, it looked like Marty had a chance at hitting the big time once again. But he threw that all away. I bet he's regretting it now. Perhaps the biggest shock was the biggest names to go. Bubba and D-Von. Although they had done just about everything they could possibly do, even them both having failed singles runs. Reverend D-Von and Bubba Ray Dusty were awful yes and they both were doomed from the start but they were given singles shots nonetheless, I never thought that they would get released. As stale as they are and as crap as the tag team divisions are on both shows the Dudley Boys were still mega over. At least if the Duds were on one of the shows as a tag team the division would have doubled. And that can't be all bad. Can it?

Maybe one of the reasons for this cost cutting measure of offloading wrestlers is to finance the big juicy contract of the looks like soon to be returning Brock Lesnar. When WWE.com broke the news of Lesnar meeting with WWE officials earlier in the week everyone is now thinking that it's only a matter of time before we see the Pain back on our TV's. Me included. If the WWE have any sense then Brock will be plonked right back on SmackDown. With Lesnar on that brand it might just even things up as far as big name main eventers on each show goes. Yes, Lesnar is a main eventer and he will be making main event money for both himself and the WWE with his impending feud with the Animal Batista. Now everyone knows how Lesnar left the WWE and how he failed to become a pro football player. Everyone also knows that Lesnar was a royal pain in the ass towards the end of his WWE run shooting of demands left right and centre. Will Brock have changed? I think so. Brock was very young when he made it to the top of the WWE and all the money and the bright lights was all too much for the Pain to handle. It all went to his head big time. Having left the WWE and failed to make it as a football player coupled with all the legal dealings and lawsuits with the WWE added to the fact that he know looks like he wants to be back in the WWE has to have matured Lesnar quite a bit. A big slice of humble pie with help you along nicely too. I'd wager that in the meetings between Lesnar and the WWE the WWE saw a whole different Brock. A Brock that is willing to be a team player and a Brock that's eager to get back in to a ring, back in to a place where he can excel again and put behind him his past failings. Brock needs the WWE and the WWE could do with Brock too so both parties will be winners, as will the fans too. Can the Next Big Thing become The Big Thing? I for one can't wait to find out.

So the bWo are in the WWE. Meanie and all. If some one had given me the beating that JBL had given the Blue Meanie would I have stepped in the ring with him in a no dq environment with none of my buddies around to help me out if things got out of hand? Um... no. After watching the brawl at the end of the ECW PPV over and over, were Bradshaw's shots to the Meanie all that bad? Sure, they were stiff but JBL always works pretty snug. Maybe busting the Meanie's stitches on the back of his head from a previous PPV chair shot was just an unfortunate side effect of the brawl. Maybe Bradshaw didn't bust the Meanie's forehead giving him in stitches. If he did then surely Meanie would have more than a little red mark on his forehead. Maybe the WWE decided that the little stitch busting accident could be used to garner some interest(in Bradshaw as we all know how he loves controversy). Plastering it all over WWE.com wasn't a bad move either. Maybe the WWE has finally realised that the net isn't a bunch of nerds and are in fact intelligent hardcore fans. Maybe this whole thing was a little work. In case you didn't get it by now, I do. The whole thing just seems to nicely set up. Seeing the bWo on SmackDown and seeing the reaction they got just made me think more and more that the whole thing was a work born out of an accident. Everyone's on to a winner here. JBL gets more heat, bWo gets back on TV with the chance for the members to makes some impact and cash. Just you wait for those WWE made bWo tees to hit the shelves. Work, work, work. The whole JBL jobbed so the WWE didn't get sued story just didn't fly for me either. Vince has taken on much bigger fish than the Blue Meanie and won. After the steroid scandal that he and the WWE faced the Meanie incident just seems too small a deal for Vince to even think about. Dontcha think? Let me know.

Fourth of July Raw's are traditionally low ratings getters, so what do the WWE do? Load the card and end the show with a killer heel turn. HBK's heel turn on Hogan was an unexpected and welcomed surprise. I always preferred a heel HBK as even as a face his cockiness was one of a heel. Hogan Vs HBK looks set to be a lock at SummerSlam and even if the in ring product isn't of Michael's usual standard the emotion and heat should be up there with all of Hogan's and Michael's big time matches. To be honest I can't wait to see these two lock up. Just why did HBK turn on the Hulkster though? That is the big question. My bet is its because Hogan made HBK look like a great big pansy by doing the ear cupping routine over and over. Or perhaps HBK's big ego was put in to place by The Immortal one. We all know how Shawn loves to be the centre of attention. It could be because HBK is jealous of all the hair Hulk has. All will be revealed this week on Raw no doubt. A special mention must go to the sound guy who stopped Hogan's music just as HBK Sweet Chin Music connected. It was a choice piece of timing that added to the moment brilliantly. Pat yourself on the back sound guy.

As if one triumphant return this weeks wasn't enough..... RANDOM THOUGHTS!!....

Are the WWE preparing Rene' Dupree' for a Musketeer gimmick?....

I saw Batman Begins finally this week. Just one thing to say. Secret identity Bruce. SECRET!....

Maria is in danger of becoming a cult favourite....

I now have 118 wrestling games....

Will WWE turn CM Punk in to a disgruntled basketball player and call him CM Dunk?....

I now have 45 wrestling tees....

Carlito's Cabaña is no Highlight Reel....

Must...not...kill....Hemme....

Kerwin White. Superstar waiting to happen. Just wait and see....

Why do John Cena's promos make no sense whatsoever?....

Loving Big Vis's ring attire....

Luckiest man in the WWE. Scotty Too Hotty....

Oh, don't forget to check out http://www.freewebs.com/millsanomics/index.htm and http://www.freewebs.com/millsanomics2/ You just might like it.

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This has been....

D.