— Rey Mysterio and WWE are said to be in a contract dispute, reports ProWrestling.NET. Mysterio feels he is underpaid compared to other top stars in the company, and is seeking significantly more money than the company is willing to pay. It’s probably a long shot, but Mysterio has told friends that he’s open to the idea of returning to the AAA promotion in Mexico if WWE doesn’t give him want he wants. There’s still plenty of time left in his contract (about a year), but he’s quite frustrated at the moment. He feels insulted by not making as much of some of the other top stars in WWE. From WWE’s standpoint, they view Mysterio as injury prone. Though he’s a big merchandise seller, they want him to prove he can stay healthy. As reported yesterday, Mysterio has still not made a full recovery from biceps surgery. However, they wanted to debut him on Raw right away, hence his small angle with Santino Marella in which he wasn’t required to do much. Mysterio should be cleared to return to the ring full-time in a few weeks.
— Raw Diva Kelly Kelly is on the cover of next month’s edition of Natural Body Building and Fitness magazine. New York Islanders star goaltender Rick DiPietro was in attendance at last night’s Great American Bash pay-per-view and he posed for photos with Kelly herself as well as the magazine. New York Mets General Manager Omar Minaya and former ECW World Heavyweight Champion Mikey Whipwreck were also at the pay-per-view. Whipwreck watched his former wrestling trainees and Long Island residents Curt Hawkins and Zack Ryder capture the WWE Tag Team Championships at the show. Whipwreck said they stand out from everyone else because “they have a lot of charisma.” “I kind of lost my lunch so to speak. I’m going crazy right now. I’m very proud of them. I’m like a proud dad. They’ve done so well. I’m speechless and I don’t get speechless very often,” Whipwreck said. “They were two young kids who put in the time. They stand out because they have a lot of charisma. I see nothing but green skies in their future.” {Article Link}
— WWE was on hand for Florida Championship Wrestling’s inaugural television taping this past Thursday night. WWE Hall of Famers Ric Flair, Rocky Johnson & Afa, as well as John Cena, Chris Jericho, Kofi Kingston, Shad Gaspard, Kelly Kelly and Natalya were on hand for the festivities. “We were sold out in about 15 minutes, and we’re almost sold out for next week’s event already,” said FCW president Steve Keirn. “Having a grand opening, a live event and a bunch of WWE Superstars in attendance made it a tremendous night for wrestling fans in the city of Tampa.” Kelly Kelly hopes to see two of the FCW Divas called up to the main roster soon. “I’m so thrilled that people are finally seeing all of the great talent down there,” Kelly said. “All of the Divas are great. The Bella Twins are amazing. I’m really excited for them. I hope they get called up soon.” You can see photos of the new FCW Arena and the first television taping at this link. In a caption for one of the photos, they refer to Sheamus’ opponent as Afa. WWE.com is mistaken as it is actually ECW wrestler Ricky Ortiz.
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