From: The Bleacher Report

This may come as a shock to some, but not to others: Many people on this site and around the world do not know Paul London has been released.

Many superstars over the years have been part of the creative team, which London was a part of. He had been doing well on the WWE's creative team, but still he was sacked.

But many people don't know that London was going to be part of one of the biggest storylines in the last couple years until tragedy struck.

Remember when Vince McMahon entered his limousine and it exploded?

London smiled while Vince, accompanied by superstar wrestlers, walked through the lobby to his limousine, because Paul London was supposed to be the doer. This would leave London as the enemy of the WWE, putting him up against Shane McMahon and having him come out on top.
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He would try and take Stephanie McMahon out, which would inevitably cause a feud with Triple H. London possibly would win the WWE title from the current title holder and catapult to the top of RAW.

Paul London would be the man that took out the McMahons, which would be something people would never expect, but obviously Vince would claim he exited the limousine before the explosion and fire London.

London would later return to ECW or SmackDown.

The Benoit tragedy halted this storyline, however.

Stephanie appeared crying about her father's death and Shane vowed to find out who did it.

Chris Benoit did not show up on the Saturday before the Night of Champions PPV. Benoit had killed his wife and child, and then hung himself.

The Night of Champions had CM Punk against John Morrison, with Morrison coming out as winner. CM Punk was supposed to lose and feud with Benoit, but instead Vince McMahon appeared on WWE RAW and told the wrestling world that Benoit had died, therefore, the London storyline never picked up.

Some people believe that London's smile was a mistake, which Jerry Lawler first pointed out during a Live RAW, but it could only be considered a mistake if it wasn't going to happen.

Labels: paul london, triple h, vince mcmahon

Posted by Matt Loede at 12:28 PM | Permalink | Comments

Jericho’s bad intentions

Unless WWE is pulling a major swerve, Chris Jericho is about to embrace his inner heel again.

It was hinted at last week on Raw when he was stirring the pot during the interview segment with Shawn Michaels and Batista. Last night on Raw, Jericho was even more heelish.

First, he interrupted another strong promo by Michaels by coming out to Ric Flair’s entrance music, which naturally elicited a chorus of boos from the crowd. Then, in trying to goad Michaels into admitting that he retired Flair to satisfy his own ego, Jericho recited Michaels’ past transgressions, including the fact that he had conspired against Bret Hart in Montreal in ’97. After Michaels had heard enough, he gave Jericho a superkick that looked as if it legitimately caught him square on the chin.

Later in the show, Jericho successfully defended the Intercontinental title against Umaga by scoring the pinfall with his feet on the ropes.

I enjoyed the interaction between Jericho and Michaels, who are two of my favorite performers, and I’m looking forward to them reviving their rivalry.

It was announced that Jericho will be the guest referee in the Michaels-Batista match at the Backlash pay-per-view on April 27 at 1st Mariner Arena in Baltimore. It sure seems like Jericho will be turning against Michaels at that show. Raw could use another good heel, and Jericho always is entertaining whether he’s a heel or a face.

Other thoughts on last night’s show:

It was a nice surprise to see Mickie James defeat Beth Phoenix for the WWE women’s title. I just wish WWE would have followed through on the story line of James chasing Phoenix, with the title change occurring at WrestleMania XXIV. It would have meant a lot more. Instead, we got a lackluster women’s tag-team match at WrestleMania and Snoop Dogg making out with Maria. …

I feared for the worst when Randy Orton landed badly on his head and neck from a suplex by William Regal. I’m amazed that he wasn’t seriously hurt and was able to finish the match. I also was surprised at how much offense Regal got in. I know he was wrestling in front of his countrymen, but I don’t think the Raw general manager should be able to physically dominate the WWE champion. …

The main event between Triple H and JBL whetted my appetite for a singles program between them. They’re both strong characters, and I’m sure the promos would be great. …

When JBL and Orton double-teamed Triple H after the match, it was pretty obvious that one of the heels was going to turn on the other, and it ended up being JBL who laid out both guys. It sounded like the fans were expecting to see John Cena make the save, but he did not appear on the show. …

Carlito and Santino Marella versus Paul London and Brian Kendrick was a good-but-short, fast-paced match. Carlito and Marella prevailed in the bout, which was to determine the No. 1 contenders to the tag-team title. I would love to see Carlito and Marella get a run as tag-team champions, although those belts don’t really mean much at this point.

Labels: baltimore sun, carlito, chris jericho, paul london

Posted by Matt Loede at 9:24 AM | Permalink | Comments

From PWPIX.net

Former TNA World Champion Ron "The Truth" Killings made his return to WWE at tonight's Raw show in Columbia, South Carolina. He defeated Raw star Paul London in a dark match prior to tonight's Heat & Raw tapings. Killings finished London off with the axe kick and got the pin.

Labels: paul london, ron killings

Posted by Matt Loede at 10:38 PM | Permalink | Comments

- Next week’s Raw is highlighted by a really solid HBK vs Jeff Hardy one on one match. I think most fans of pure wrestling will like this particular main event. I know that after the show, while the King and I were sitting in the drive thru at Whataburger, the Hardy-Michaels match was one of the things we talked about, as it related to work.

- I have read where the WWE and Bobby Lashley have come to terms of a contractual release. I did not take the time to discuss this matter with any WWE officials the past few weeks, but things like this don’t surprise me now days as they perhaps once would have. Lashley is a genuine physical specimen who is supremely gifted athletically, but much like Brock Lesnar, Bobby apparently did not like the travel demands of being a pro wrestler in today’s marketplace, nor do I think that Bobby ever fully understood the business of sports entertainment, which added to Lashley’s consternation at times. Financially, Bobby had a superb, hell fantastic, 2007, one of the best I can ever recall for any one at his stage of the game. In my personal opinion, if a pundit speculates that Bobby did not do well or wasn’t treated fairly financially, I would dispute that uninformed statement wholeheartedly. Bobby is apparently in a relationship with Krystal Marshall, another former WWE performer, and I wish them well. The business of sports entertainment isn’t for everyone and sometimes people don’t realize that until they have put in some time on the road and spending in the locker room community. My personal philosophy is that “wrestling relationships” rarely, not never, but rarely make it long term and if it is true that Lashley and Marshall want to have a life together, perhaps being in another line of work will work better for them. Lashley vs. Lesnar some day in the UFC is intriguing, as Bobby definitely has the background to have a fighting chance to make it as a MMA star, if Lashley chooses to go that route, with the proper training. But that’s just me doing some fantasy booking.

- Paul London’s foot injury apparently is not 100% healed, from what I hear, but I would love to see London ready to rock and team with Brian Kendrick, with the hopes that they might get on a “roll”. With the duos of Holly/Rhodes, Cade/Murdoch, and Carlito/Marella all getting some TV time, the possibility of seeing some competitive tag team wrestling on Monday Night Raw seems to be improving.

- Many of the Raw superstars took ample supplies of J.R.’s Beef Jerky with them on this upcoming, long road trip that will see many of them travel to Alaska, South Korea, Japan, Hawaii, California, Nevada and back to California, before they get to make it home. There is not a damn thing glamorous about international travel these days, but it actually should be a fun trip if one chooses to make it such. I think the WWE Superstars get two days in Hawaii, which can’t be all bad. Perhaps some of the WWE superstars will cross paths with Bret “The Hitman” Hart who is spending some quality time at his place in Hawaii. Bret recently sent me a copy of his book and it was postmarked from “the islands." I can name many WWE Superstars who would benefit from sitting under the Hitman’s learning tree for a few hours.

- Not much fallout from the Brock Lesnar loss to Frank Mir, or so it seems. Lesnar has said the right things since losing by tapout and Brock’s UFC future is still bright, but a nice win in 2008 would not hurt his cause. I talked to Stone Cold Monday morning and he said he enjoyed his Vegas weekend including staying there to watch the Super Bowl. Steve said that it was obvious that Lesnar was in awesome shape, had prepared diligently, but he simply made a simple mistake that any “rookie” would and could make in MMA competition. All my friends that attended the UFC 81 event said without question that Lesnar was the “star attraction” of the night and that most fans were there to see him, especially many of the celebs in attendance.

Labels: bobby lashely, brock lesner, jim ross, paul london

Posted by Matt Loede at 9:29 AM | Permalink | Comments