Raw Crew Arrives Home, WWE Releases, & More - April 23, 2010

First, the Raw roster is home. They arrived home last night after traveling from Ireland to Scotland and catching a plane from there to get home. The crew is understandably miserable and even their flight to leave was delayed based on The Miz's Twitter post yesterday. WWE.com has posted a video of the Raw crew arriving home. It put a smile on my face to see them arriving and you can just see the looks of relief on their faces as they walk through the airport. Here is the link to check it out: http://www.wwe.com/content/media/video/vms/raw/2010/april22-28/14222484

Ok, releases. WWE released some talent today and there are some that were surprising, some that weren't, and one that left me furious. The one that left me furious? Mickie James. Yep, she is gone from WWE. Mickie is an interesting story cause her release could be a factor from many things. There has been some heat on her in recent months from the company feeling that she wasn't working as hard as she needed to. The "Piggy James" storyline was seen as some sort of punishment for it by many. Now, Mickie has also been working on a country album and been setting up for a career outside of WWE. This was something very similar to what Maria was doing and both were not WWE projects. Maria was released lately as well. Mickie's country album is set to be released next month. It's no secret that I'm a huge Mickie James fan and it's a shame to see her released. It will be interesting to see what she decides to do from here. Mickie has commented on her release on her Twitter account posting this: "Awe... Thank you James Gang! I just want to say its been a beautiful journey... Wwe has been a childhood dream come true & I have loved every step... There is not a moment I would change for the world... It breaks my heart but the world doesn't stop turning.. I'm grateful for all my friends, family, loved ones, and fans who have supported me along this wonderful ride. To all the guys and gals I've had the pleasure of sharing the ring with... We made some magic! History... Memories to last a lifetime... Thank you... I love you all with all my heart! Every chapter has its close... The next one Is only gonna get better... I promise you that! =) One truly never knows what tomorrow may hold... That's why we embrace every moment... In love & joy! The James Gang Rides! Even stronger than before.... To Victory! Haha.... On ward & upward! Much Love.... Muah! JG4L...... MJ"

Another release that is surprising but not really cause WWE has misused him so much is Shelton Benjamin. Such a good talent and they just never could figure out what to do with him. He would be pushed, then not pushed, and pushed again. I expect TNA to be calling him when they can. Other releases include Kung Fu Naki, Slam Master J (Jesse of Jesse and Festus fame, also the son of Terry Gordy), Jimmy Wang Yang, Katie Lea Burchill, and Mike Knox.

I'm not the only person that liked TNA Impact on Monday night. The show is receiving rave reviews. It will be interesting to see if they can follow it up on Monday night. The Impact rating was up to a 1.0 again after doing a 0.8 the week before. They had fallen to 0.7 at one point a few weeks ago. Raw did a 3.1 this week.

Daffney worked a dark match before the TNA Impact taping on Tuesday night. She worked against another woman named Miss Betsy. She was injured and suffered a stinger but appears to be ok after taking a hard hit. I can't really explain what happened since there is no footage of the match but I'm very happy to hear that she is ok. It sounded really scary and people were worried backstage from everything I've heard. Here is Daffney's account of it that she wrote on her My Space page. "Just wanted to write ya'll a note to give you a little more info about lil 'ol me. I know my injuries were reported as having a severely bruised sternum, and a really bad stinger (common wrestling/football injury) but I also had a minor concussion. Thankfully - the hit to the head was nowhere near as bad last October when I decided jumping in barbed wire looked like fun. I sunset flipped my opponent but she stayed standing - then she sat down which caused the bruised sternum. Honestly, after that, I went into auto-pilot mode. I do not remember the rest of the match - even the finishing move (sitdown spinebuster) and the 1-2-3. You can ask any wrestler if they have finished a match while they were unconscious, and almost everyone of them will tell you they have. Next thing I remember was Andrew Thomas (our awesome ref) saying, "Trainer!" He said I was laying there with my eyes wide open and asked me numerous times if I was okay - but I must have been in my own little world as I recall nothing of that. When the trainers & everyone came to the ring, our TNA on site trainer came up near my head and I told him that my lower sternum hurt. I also told him my neck hurt - yet felt weird and it felt very warm. He then told me to go ahead and straighten my leg. From the hush that fell and tense vibe in the air, I said, " It's not moving, is it?" They all distracted me with other routine questions. A few minutes later he asked me to wiggle my toes. Same tense air that could be cut with a butter knife. Me: "They're not moving, huh?" The whole time I just stared straight to the top of the Impact Zone and prayed. Everyone around me was saying reassuring things so I just stayed still and answered questions. The next time I was asked to wiggle my toes, I could feel them going - and there was a collected sigh of relief. Stingers - (especially bad ones) can make you go numb for a short while - so once the sensation came back I kept praying, "It's just a stinger. And NO - my sternum/ribs aren't broken..." X-rays at the hospital showed just that. :) Are you there God? It's me...Daff. :) SO! Not much one can do for those injuries. A stinger is just VERY scary at first. Then your neck tightens up and is sore - so I have already begun some stretching. The sternum is a deep bruise. So that will just take a little while.... But ya'll know me...I'm a fighter!"

Add Angelina Love to the injured list for TNA. Dixie Carter posted on Twitter that Angelina had suffered a partial biceps tear and complete ulnar collateral ligament tear at the Impact taping as well and will be out for a "few weeks".

I forgot to preview the WWE Extreme Rules PPV for Sunday so here is the lineup. WWE Champion John Cena defends against Batista in a last man standing match. Jack Swagger defends the World title against Randy Orton in an extreme rules match. Edge vs. Chris Jericho in a steel cage. Triple H vs. Sheamus in a street fight. CM Punk vs. Rey Mysterio and Punk has to shave his head if he loses. JTG vs. Shad in a strap match. I think it will be a solid show.

Anyway, that is the latest news. Busy couple of weeks in the wrestling world and we have the draft on Monday so that should be eventful. Remember that it is three hours!! Starts at 7pm on USA.