25th April

This past week on Raw we had another example of just how powerful the Internet can be with regards to the professional wrestling industry. Or rather, just how powerful the New York Internet wrestling community is.

We all remember the reception they gave Brock Lesnar at Wrestlemania 20, just days after the news broke that he was quitting the WWE to pursue a career in the NFL. The WWE had no plans to announce Lesnar's departure on air, but were forced to quickly backtrack when the Madison Square Garden crowd turned on Lesnar.

It was the same last Monday. The situation between Matt Hardy, Amy "Lita" Dumas and Adam "Edge" Copeland has been played out very publicly across the Internet, so at times it feels like anyone with access to a computer has become a part of the situation. So was it really any surprise that the MSG faithful turned on Lita last Monday?

While Edge seemed to relish his new found heel heat, it was widely reported that Lita was extremely upset at the crowd's reaction to her. But what else could she expect?

What hasn't helped her case is that fact that Matt Hardy was released from his contract not long after the story of the love triangle broke. While it's obvious that he would never have risen to main event level, he was certainly one of the most talented and most over performers in the WWE.

I can't help but feel a great amount of sympathy for Matt Hardy here. He was about to return from injury, and was set to have been in the Money In The Bank match at Wrestlemania 21. Now, having been betrayed by the woman he loved and one of his best friends, Hardy finds himself fit again but unable to work because of the no-compete clause in his contract. Once that clause has expired, look for the sensei of Mattitude to start making regular appearances in TNA, Ring of Honor and Japan.

At least the WWE hasn't capitalized on this situation by turning it into an angle - yet. But I'm left to wonder how long before Edge and Kane start feuding with each other, and Lita turns on her on-screen husband. This is one angle I really don't want to see.

In other developments, ITV began their Celebrity Wrestling series this weekend. I managed to sit through five minutes of a repeat showing, and that was enough for me. When this show was first announced I had visions of Z-list celebs being put through their paces in a scenario similar to the Tough Enough series. No chance of this though. What I sore bore more resemblance to Gladiators than to anything remotely connected to the professional wrestling business. Those in the know and in favour of this show keep telling me how much it will benefit the wrestling scene in here in Britain. I'm left wondering how this can be the case.

A lot of fans are forecasting the death of the Frontier Wrestling Alliance after they drew around 300 fans to their recent Crunch show at the Broxbourne Civic Centre. This one has certainly raised a smile from yours truly with regards to the defeatist attitude of some so-called fans. There's some up-and-coming wrestling promotions around the world who would consider a gate of 300 a tremendous success. So let me tell you this - the FWA is alive and well, and isn't going tits up anytime soon, so get your head out of your backsides and stop being so bloody pessimistic all the time.

I get the feeling that it's the same type of fan who are already saying that Batista's World title reign on Raw is already a failure. The guy has only been champion about three bloody weeks! This is just another example of how fickle and impatient wrestling fans are today. Batista needs time to grow into the role, and we shouldn't be writing him off after just three weeks.

That's your lot for now.