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PWINSIDER Q&A: RVD IN WWE, CM PUNK ON THE MIC AND MORE (SPOILER WARNING)

WARNING: There are Smackdown Spoilers in the following!

Answered: 7/18

Why would WWE post spoilers showing that Great Khali won the World Championship? I've never really agreed with WWE posting their own spoilers since their announcers always announce as though they are there live, but in some cases -- like Edge or Angle winning the title -- I can see why they would do it to boost viewership. Do they honestly think this will be the case with Khali as well? If anything, I think this would not only keep people away this week, but also in forthcoming weeks thanks to the stupidity of Khali as champ. At a time when TV ratings are going south, I would think the last thing WWE would want to do is further alienate their loyal audience from a show that was already decimated by the draft.  I guess Vince's man-love for big behemoths and "knowing what we want better than we do" trumps even his desire to make money or please advertisers with better ratings. What are your thoughts?

I've never quite understood the "We act like Smackdown is live ... except for this"  attitude that WWE has taken on occasion with their show.  At the same time, I understand WWE wanting to get the website traffic on WWE.com that other websites get when major events take place at the tapings. In this instance, I tend to agree with you that announcing the Great Khali is the new World Champion could very well drive away viewers, instead of enticing them to tune in. 

I have a question that has been bugging me for some time. After watching tonight's ECW show it became very obvious to me that the WWE won't allow CM Punk any mic time. Which boggles my mind because he is so good at cutting promos whether he is face or heel. Is there a reason as to why they are not letting Punk cut promos? Are they afraid he is going to go against script or something?

Well, I can say that it isn't the reason you have given.  There is no fear of him going "off script".  I really don't know why WWE hasn't given him more mic time, especially since a promo exchange between the "straight edge" Punk and the partying Johnny Nitro/John Morrison could be pretty interesting.  I definitely think WWE is missing the boat by not exploiting Punk's ability on the mic. 

So I am under the impression the RVD's contract with WWE has expired and he is done with them. Yet there has been no announcement from WWE and RVD still appears on the ECW roster. So what is his current situation with WWE and where does RVD go from here?

Rob Van Dam is totally free and clear of WWE.  His contract has expired, and other than royalties and other money (like PPV bonuses) owed to RVD, there is no connection between Van Dam and the company at this point. WWE has not yet removed him from the ECW roster page, most likely because they have been playing up that Randy Orton "put him out of action" in the storylines. My guess is that eventually WWE will quietly remove him from the page. 

Everyone knows the tag titles in WWE are in a dire state, so how about this idea to freshen them up. Instead of the team dropping the titles in a match, what if only the guy who gets pinned loses his title? It could create a lot of interesting storylines with conflicting teams, former enemies becoming partners, guys trying to get pinned to avoid teaming, etc.

Are you part of the TNA booking committee?  That definitely sounds like one of their convoluted ideas that ends up devaluing the titles in the eyes of the fans.  There's no real reason to ever tag in to a match if you go by that idea.  You could stay on the apron, let your partner get pinned every time, and always retain your half of the championship. 

All three announce teams were on hand for the Chris Benoit tribute on Raw. Since the tragedy was announced relative shortly before the broadcast, how did WWE get the Smackdown and ECW announcers to the arena so quickly? Were they already backstage anyway, or did special last-minute travel arrangements need to be made?

All three announce teams were originally going to be taking part in the "Vince McMahon Memorial" show that was planned for the three-hour Raw, so they were already there. 

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