WWE PPV SPONSORS ANNOUNCED,MATCHES ADVERTISED FOR MAY 1ST SMACKDOWN

WWE’s Over The Limit pay-per-view is being sponsored by AXE Hair while this year’s SummerSlam will be sponsored by Slim Jim.

Edge vs. Chris Jericho and CM Punk vs. Rey Mysterio in a Tennessee Street Fight is advertised for the SmackDown live event on May 1st in Knoxville, Tennessee.

UPDATE ON SURVIVOR SERIES CHANGES

While WWE still had the Survivor Series listed on their 2010 pay-per-view calendar, a new Variety article on WWE pay-per-view business confirms that WWE will be “re-tooling” the concept this year because of “eroding sales.”

Regarding the Survivor Series changes, a WWE spokesman said, “If something gets tired or old, it’s something we have to look at. It’s just like any entertainment property. It’s crucial to continue to reinvent yourself. WWE fans will tell you right away if they like it or don’t like it and if it’s something they don’t want, we don’t do it again.”

FINAL TV TAPINGS TONIGHT

WWE will be holding the final set of tapings tonight from the HP Pavilion in San Jose, California with RAW, SmackDown and NXT being taped. If anyone attending the show would like to help out with live spoiler coverage, please e-mail me.

Announced for RAW is Hall of Famer Pete Rose as guest host and a handicap match with Randy Orton & Triple H vs. Legacy & Sheamus. No matches have been announced for NXT yet but Beth Phoenix vs. Vickie Guerrero and a nine-man tag team match with Money in the Bank participants have been announced for SmackDown. SmackDown won’t be a full two hour show as the show that airs on Friday night will contain footage from WrestleMania Axxess in Phoenix.

WWE SUPERSTARS PROMOTING WRESTLEMANIA ON TV

Here are some WWE Superstar TV appearances for this week to promote Sunday’s WrestleMania:

* Chris Jericho will be appearing on Lopez Tonight Tuesday at 11pm EST on TBS.

* John Cena will be on NBC’s Late Night with Jimmy Fallon on Tuesday night at 12:35am EST.

* MVP will be on CBS Evening News with Katie Couric on Wednesday night at 6:30pm EST. MVP’s recent appointment as National Guard Youth ChalleNGe spokesman and his participation in a Congressional Panel on the program will be featured.

* The Miz will appear on G4’s Attack of the Show this Thursday night at 7pm EST.

BRET WON'T BE WEARING PINK AND BLACK TIGHTS

Bret Hart said in a recent Canadian interview that he would not be wearing his pink and black tights at WrestleMania for the match with Vince McMahon. Bret said he won’t be wearing them because he’s not the Bret Hart of old and it would be too much of a stretch for himself to wear them.

UPDATE ON MONEY IN THE BANK(MITB), BRET AS SPECIAL ENFORCER

Bret Hart will be the special guest enforcer for John Cena vs. Triple H at the April 13th RAW live event in Sheffield, England. Randy Orton vs. Sheamus is also scheduled for that night.

The WrestleMania preview show on Sky TV has Josh Matthews and MVP calling the Money in the Bank match a ten-man match but the graphic still showed nine participants. Take it for what it’s worth but it’s still expected that Kofi Kingston will be added to the match on tomorrow night’s RAW.

MYSTERIO'S PROMO EDITED,CHAVO FACE ON HOMETOWN

WWE edited a great deal of Rey Mysterio’s promo that aired on SmackDown Friday. The promo was far longer live, and they also edited out “What” chants the fans were screaming during his promo.

With WWE being in El Paso Friday night, Chavo was a baby face. Chavo teamed with Kofi Kingston as they defeated Cody Rhodes & Ted DiBiase, with Chavo pinning Rhodes for the victory. For those who don’t know, Chavo was born in El Paso, where his grandfather was the local wrestling promoter, despite having lived most of his life in Southern California.

HBK SPEAKS ON HIS RETIREMENT

In a recent interview with SLAM Wrestling, Shawn Michaels spoke on a number of topics leading up to next Sunday’s WrestleMania.

Michaels was very open to the idea of retiring if he were to lose next Sunday. “To believe Shawn Michaels won’t still be part of my life (when I retire) is naive,” he said. “I took four years off and I think almost as many people recognized me during that time. Every day I step through the front door, (leaving wrestling) is not as far away as it once was. When it happens, I look forward to the rest and spending time with my family. Few guys get to go out the way I want to.”

When asked if Undertaker/Shawn Michaels II could top their match last year, “That’s the million-dollar question,” he said. “I’ve got to be honest, I don’t know. With the stipulation, Career vs. Streak, there’s certainly more on the line. There’s some finality, so you have to take everything into context.”