By now it’s well known that Big Show has left ECW at the end of his contract, confirming rumors that Show was unhappy with the direction of the promotion and was just biding his time until his contract was up. Some reporters also speculate that Show’s hectic schedule kept him from treating his many injuries properly, and that his relationship with recently released Paul Heyman made leaving ECW all the more attractive.

Rumor has it that a lot of WWE talent is envious of the less demanding work schedule at upstart TNA. MTV is also planning to run it’s own wrestling program head to head with ECW on Tuesday nights. The days of WWE being the only option for wrestlers to get out of the independents and actually make a living are over, and more options for talent being shuttled off to the RAW extension brands means more defections for the WWE in the future.

Or talent may try to get themselves fired, as is the case with Sabu. Many sites have been reporting on Sabu’s bad attitude and poor performance. Certainly the last match he had with RVD was some of the worst work ever filmed. The speculation is that he wants out of his contract, so his petulant child act is aimed at getting a release so he can move on.

My man on the inside, Rove, says not quite. WWE isn’t all that impressed with Sabu’s performance, and those close by think his poor performance and petulance is due to Sabu’s “extra curricular” activities. If Sabu asks, he can get his release, at least according to Rove.

Vince isn’t real happy with the ratings either, last week they drew a 1.8, respectable but not good enough in Vince’s eyes.

Vince thinks he can raise ratings by dumping old ECW standbys and making the show Smackdown extreme. The old talent’s going to be let go slowly, so ECW can keep its few remaining fans from abandoning the show altogether.

Rove said Barbie Blank didn’t seem to happy after her match with Ariel, neither did Ariel for that matter, and one of the two may be floating her resume around to get more modeling work in preperation for getting a release.