And then there was one. WWE management released ECW diva Lena Yada Monday with the usual lack of fanfare and formulaic best wishes, leaving Tiffany as the sole female superstar on the ECW brand.

Lena Yada was primarily an interviewer for the ECW brand, but just last week she finally had a chance to showcase her wrestling talents during her in-ring debut on Raw where she wrestled with the winning team in a 16 diva tag team match. No word yet from Lena on what the future holds, but we’ll keep an eye on her MySpace blog for updates.

The latest round of WWE firings also pushed ECW superstar Elijah Burke out the door. Burke, who joined WWE in 2006, appeared briefly on the Smackdown brand before heading to ECW. His release is no huge shock since his last televised match aired in May of this year. Burke wrote on his official site, “MY COMEBACK SHALL BE GREATER THAN MY SETBACK!~ The Pope Has Spoken!”

Also sent off to the land of “future endeavors” Monday was SmackDown Superstar Kenny Dykstra. Super Crazy, who debuted on the ECW brand in August following this year’s WWE Supplemental Draft, was released last week. Rumor has it he asked for the release because he was unhappy with his place in the company, but I’m sure management was happy to comply considering they’re trying to save $20 million next year.

In a bitter twist of fate, Boogeyman remains on the ECW roster.

Then again, I’m probably going to hell for posting this photo.  Isn’t there some rule about suspending blasphemy to celebrate Halloween?  Shouldn’t there be?

Happy Halloween from the ECW on Sci-Fi Blog.

Rob Van Dam will be hosting a program on Blog Talk Radio. Here are the details from his blog:

So, guess what? Starting next Wednesday, Oct. 8th at 7pm pacific/10 pm east coasters…RVD RADIO!!! I’ll have celebrity guests, take your live phone calls, and talk about the shit that I want to talk about! I will warn you that if you haven’t seen RVD TV, you will get to know a different RVD than you’ve seen on WWE television. This is the real person that my friends, family and RVD TV watchers know. What am I warning you about? You’re reading my blog, right? This is me.

rom my perspective, I can inspire people outside the ring in a much more meaningful way than from inside the ring. I can share energy with people in a more direct, insightful way than pretending I hate the guy I’m wrestling. I know you miss that shit, too. That’s why you’re going to call in and let me know how you feel. Feel free to tune in and/or call in from anywhere around the world! The premier episode will feature Chris Mordetsky-the Masterpiece, and Dr. Shawn Staziak. Topics include individualism, censorship, RVD TV, and wrestling. Also be ready to ask Dr. Shawn health and wellness questions for your body and spirit on his talk radio show immediately following RVD RADIO. By the way, my show is going to kick ass! I have no doubt I could host a 4 hour show with no guests except the callers, and I’ve always loved doing radio shows. It’s just fun, and of course now I have my own message to deliver- and it has nothing to do with my enthusiasm to defend a television prop in your town

You will be able to access Rob’s show on the RVD Radio channel on Blog Talk Radio.

In other RVD new, his wife Sonia (SVD) continues to do well and remain positive as she battles cancer. Rob will be appearing on Hulk Hogan’s Celebrity Championship Wrestling which premieres Oct. 18 at 8pm EST on CMT.

Update: Shelly has provided corrected auction links - the links in this post have been updated.

Shelly Martinez is currently running her most interesting eBay auction yet: a date with the diva herself. She wrote on MySpace:

I was chatting with my booking manager a few weeks back about different things that could be fun and excited for myself as well as my fans. He suggested to me that I do an eBay auction and auction a date with me and I thought why the hell not!!

From the auction listing:

You’ve known her as Ariel in the WWE (ECW) and most recently as Salinas is TNA (with LAX), but here’s your chance to get to know the REAL lady behind the characters. You’ll come to find out she’s a lot more than the wrestling star you’ve seen on TV. But you can’t find out any of this until you’ve placed your bid!

This auction includes lunch/dinner with Shelly at the world famous Mr Chow restaurant in Beverly Hills, California. Art, celebrity and superb cuisine all blend together in this internationally renowned restaurant under the direction of Michael Chow. The MR CHOW in Beverly Hills very quickly became a hangout spot, and exhibition space for some of the biggest stars in Hollywood’s Cafe Society. (more information about this historical restaurant can be found at http://www.mrchow.com/therestaurants/beverlyhills/)

Winning bidder will be contacted via email to set up the date and time that works best for both parties.

The winning bidder will get a lunch/dinner with Shelly Martinez and a photo taken with Shelly which she will autographed.

The auction ends Monday, September 29, 2008, so get your bid in while you still can.

and Tiffany is rocking some major cleavage (as usual) in an 8 photo set called “All Dressed”:

I’m sure most of you would prefer it if the set were called “Not at All Dressed.”

Check out the rest of the photos at WWE.com.

As you know, Shelly Martinez recently severed ties with TNA, leaving behind her Salinas persona to pursue her acting career.

Wondering what life will be like for Shelly now that she’s parted ways with TNA? The former WWE diva and TNA Knockout shared this on MySpace today:

Film Shoot

Hey everyone!! I just got home from day 2 of filming Darkness of Knight. 2am is better than 4am that’s for sure!! We called it a wrap last night at 4am!! Anywho, everything is going really well and I can’t wait for this project to be finished and see the end product. My costar is a hoot!! We got to do our love scene today and I am not gonna lie it was pretty hot!! So pretty much I got paid today to make out with a cool hot dude from Australia (ladies he does have an accent yum!!). I did get to display my dramatic acting today. I went back to some dark places to prepare for the scene and it made me wonder what if part of the reason I went through those dark moments was apply them when I act. Maybe I was meant all along to be an actress. Revisiting those moments really helped me pull some of the best performances I have done to date. So yay!! Well, I am off to watch Three’s Company and go to sleep and see what awaits me tomorrow…Nite!!

No word yet on who her Australian costar might be or when the film might see release. There is currently no Darkness of Knight page in the Internet Movie Database.

Less than a year after Shelly Martinez made her TNA debut at Bound for Glory, her character Salinas is being laid to rest.

During the No Surrender pay-per-view on Sunday, it was announced by Mike Tenay that Salinas had been taken to the hospital after being attacked by Jacqueline in the women’s bathroom. That was reportedly the end of the Salinas character, and unsurprisingly, her profile has already been deleted from TNAwrestling.com.

So, what’s the deal? On Sunday Shelly wrote on her MySpace blog that she was set to begin filming an”Italian inspired thriller” today. Rumor has it that she was willing to turn down the film role if TNA agreed to increase her compensation. TNA declined to raise the junior Knockout’s pay, and the rest is history. Here’s what Shelly had to say on her blog:

Anywho, this blog is about choices. Sometimes in life you find yourself saying “I have no choice” and you follow your heart even if it seems at the time your heart may be breaking when you do follow your heart and commit to it. I made a big decision recently and when it is time to talk about it I promise I will have a follow up blog explaining. I care about all my fans and appreciate your support. On a good note, when you find it’s time to close a door another door (weather you looking or not) opens right up and I’ve peaked inside and decided to open it and walk right in LOL

Starting tomorrow I will be begin to film an Italian inspired thriller. I had rehearsal yesterday and my costar and I have great chemistry together so it will be grand!! YAY!! I am working on having my camera guy shoot some behind the scene for my new site!! Yes, I am disappointed to lose something important to me for this role but at the same time change, scary change, always seems to lead to bigger and better things. I will keep you all posted, until then remember no matter what 5150 LAX por vida!!!!

Shelly followed up with another message today:

LAX por vida!!

I have posted a video clip that means a lot to me right now on my page under the “general” section. Mi familia means the most to me, without them I would be who I am today. Through thick and thin and the end of the day it comes down to familia. Sometimes your homies become your familia and you would do anything for them and always have their back and they in return will always have yours. In conclusion LAX is part of my familia for life. LAX is the new Vatos Locos!! Vatos Locos forever!! As Ice T put it, “My game aint knowledge my games fear, I have no remorse so squares BEWARE!!”

We’ll keep an eye on this developing story, and will let you know the details of Shelly’s new film when they emerge.

I admit it, I have a couple weeks worth of Tivoed ECW on Sci-Fi shows I haven’t watched so if there were any nip slips, bloody barbed wire matches or anything else of note, I can’t tell you about it. Let me know if I missed anything particularly worth watching.

In the mean time, there’s plenty to tell you about the world of ECW alumni:

After 13 years, Mick Foley said “Have a nice day” to WWE. His WWE contract expired Setpember 1, 2008, and he now has a short term agreement with TNA. He made a rather lackluster debut at a TNA house show in Long Island. The teaser graphic for this Sunday’s No Surrender pay-per-view is a barbed wire encircled smiley face with the words “Have a nice Sunday” so it seems likely Foley will make an appearance.

Layla El was The Sun’s Weekly Diva earlier this month. Yes, they have a slideshow.

By way of “the sexiest man alive” Jason Knight, we learn that Justin Credible is looking for friends … on MySpace. Justin is also taking bookings for wrestling shows and autograph signings through his agent Nathan Ward (wardwrestling@yahoo.com.) He has several Northeast appearances coming up in October - check his MySpace calendar for dates.

Amy Dumas is touring the United Kingdom with her band, The Luchagors. Check the official Luchagors MySpace for dates and venues.

Kevin Eck published a recent telephone interview with Tammy Sytch. Among her revelations: Star Wars nerds are creepier than wrestling fans, rumblings about her joining TNA were just Internet rumors, and despite reports to the contrary, she has never used recreational drugs. Tammy also mentioned that she’s working on writing a wrestling memoir.

ECW alum Francine Fournier shared the sad news that both her father and sister succumbed to cancer during the last week. On Monday, Francine wrote:

I am grateful that he didn’t suffer for a long period of time. Now I am haunted by the image of the way he died, but i’m hoping that will fade away and I can just remember the way he was. We were extremely close, and you have no idea how heartbroken I am right now. I am just so thankful that God let him come to my wedding and walk me down the aisle. I will never ever forget how wonderful my Dad was to me and now I have another guardian angel to pray to.

I love you Daddy. I will always be your little girl.

And today we learned that Francine’s older sister Chrissy passed away on Wednesday while she and her mother attended her dad’s wake:

My Mom let out a scream. It was bone-chilling. I came back in and went right to my Mother. How much more could this poor woman take? Here is her husband lying there and she gets word that her daughter passed. Thank God for my family. We get strength from one another. We stayed at the funeral home until a little after 9pm and went right to Chrissy’s house.

When we got there, we saw Chris. My nephew said that when she passed, her mouth was wide open. When the nurse went back in the room about a hour later, Chrissy’s mouth was closed and she had a smile on her face. No one had touched her mouth. No one had closed it. Talk about having chills run up and down your spine. It is amazing how God works. That smile was there when we saw her. She is at peace now after being in pain for almost a year. I believe the smile came when she met our Dad in heaven.

As sad as I am, I truely believe that they are both in heaven together. No more suffering, no more pain. I will miss both of them so very much, but they are in my heart and another guardian angel has been sent to me.

Our deepest heartfelt sympathies go out to Francine and her family.