Apparently there’s no love lost between WWE superstar Randy Orton and not one, not two, but three former ECW wrestlers. Orton “singled out Bubba Ray Dudley, Test and Hardcore Holly as being selfish and stiff in the ring,” according to The Sun.

Speaking of Bubba Ray Dudley, Orton told The Sun:

I never liked him. I never liked what he did because he only thought of himself. In the match my foot was broken, it was his fault… Bubba Dudley is the most out of shape, fat, non-work-ethic-having person I ever knew. And you had just a bad taste in your mouth when you met him. (via LOP)

Ouch. Them’s fightin’ words, Brother Ray!

Just sayin’.

This is 100% unconfirmed rumor, but too juicy to skip over. Mick Foley is heading to TNA when his WWE contract expires on September 1, 2008, a close friend of Foley’s told The Sun. Foley confirmed a few days ago that he is unlikely to renew his WWE contract, and that the commentator gig isn’t really working out for him, according to the Long Island Press.

Jumping to TNA will be a win-win move for Mick Foley and WWE’s struggling competitor. Just lending his name to the TNA brand will be reason enough for longtime Foley fans to tune in, and will help legitimize TNA with wrestling viewers who still perceive it as a second-tier promotion.

What does Mick Foley stand to gain? TNA offers a significantly reduced travel schedule, one I’m sure Foley can negotiate down to just a few appearances a month. And of course, it’s likely that TNA will dig deep into their pockets to snag a legend like Foley.

Less travel, a lighter schedule, and decent money, plus more opportunities to do independent appearances without the clearance of WWE management? Sounds like a no-brainer for a 43-year-old guy with a wife and kids. Let’s hope the rumor mill churned out a bit of truth this time.

OK, so here’s the state of ECW after the 2008 WWE draft held on Monday night’s Raw and the supplemental draft held on the Interwebitubes on Wednesday:

ECW to Raw:
Kofi Kingston
Layla
Matt Striker
CM Punk
Kane

ECW to Smackdown:
Shelton Benjamin
Big Daddy V

Smackdown and Raw to ECW:
Finlay
Super Crazy
Hornswoggle
Mark Henry
Matt Hardy

I really, really want to care about these moves, but somehow I just can’t quite muster up any excitement or disgust or indignance, so instead, here are a few observations.

The drafting of Super Crazy brings another ECW original into the fold, but if WWE management actually wanted to capture the spirit of the original ECW, they’d have to pair Super Crazy up with Tajiri again.

Moving Mark Henry out of Smackdown was no surprise. Writer Michael Hayes, notorious for racist remarks made to Mark Henry and others, is back on the job after a 60 day unpaid suspension, so limiting interactions between Hayes and Henry was probably a legally advisable move on the part of WWE. Of course, permanently firing Michael Hayes would have nipped that whole liability issue in the bud, but no one asked me.

As for Finlay moving to ECW, quite frankly I’ve never been a fan and I’m not sure what anyone sees in him. His feuds make me yawn and he just isn’t that fun to watch in the ring. I don’t care what brand he’s on.

As for the moves out of ECW, I’m pretty sure Kofi Kingston was drafted to Raw so we wouldn’t have to hear Adamle say, “Jamaican me crazy,” every freakin’ week. Shelton Benjamin and Big Daddy V have been more or less absent in recent months, so the moves don’t really impact the show much.

The loss of Layla to Raw can’t possibly be because they think she deserves a push. In fact, backstage rumors suggest that Kelly Kelly is the one management wants to push. Maybe this was a way to give Kelly Kelly more of the ECW spotlight? Then again, since Raw and ECW will be traveling together, does it really matter which brand the divas belong to?

Summing it up, ECW lost more superstars than they gained, but that’s likely to be a good move since the hour-long program has always had more “talent” than they can use.

You guys have any other thoughts on the recent draft, or is everyone as apathetic as I am?

We don’t mention Boogeyman much here on the ECW on Sci-Fi Blog. Just the thought of his toothless, worm guzzling schtick is enough to make us give up watching ECW altogether.

Luckily Boogeyman and his repellent gimmick have been sidelined by a torn calf for several months. It’s not clear when Boogeyman will make his return to the ring, but WWE merchandising have released a 17 inch Boogeyman plush bear for you to snuggle up with at night.

The bear is kinda cute if you can manage to block out the memory of Boogeyman drooling worms into Striker’s mouth. I’m feeling a little nauseous just thinking about it … I think we need a little Kelly Kelly chaser to cleanse our mental palates.

Mexican wrestler Dionicio Castellanos Torres, better known as Psicosis or Psychosis, has done stints in just about every major wrestling promotion, from ECW to WCW to TNA to WWE’s Smackdown brand, with plenty of indy appearances in between. He’s had defeats, and he’s had victories, but recently he suffered a new kind of smackdown: deportation.

Lords of Pain reported that some time in April, Psicosis attempted to enter the United States for work purposes using tourist papers. According to reports, officials “took away his tourist papers and he was deported back to Mexico. He’s going to try and get working papers so that he can appear at U.S. indy shows, but it’s not going to be easy.”

Could it be that his 2006 arrest is making it harder for Psicosis to get an American work visa? Maybe they should decide his fate with a Mexican Death Match, like this awesome 1995 ECW match between Psicosis and Rey Mysterio, Jr.:

Kinda makes you wistful for old school ECW, doesn’t it?