Welcome to The Rumor Mill, I’m The Informant and I’ll be your host! Think you know what’s really going on in the wrestling world? Find the latest rumors doing the rounds here. Truth or fiction? You decide!

Welcome back to The Rumor Mill, this will be the first Rumor Mill of 2010, as well as the first one since October 8, 2009. Let’s get started, shall we?

The big talk around the WWE is about the future of the current ECW roster following the announcement that ECW will be put to rest in a couple of weeks so that the new WWE NXT show can take its place. It’s been revealed that, when ECW ends, the current roster will become “free agents” and will be allowed to join either RAW or SmackDown with the decision being theirs. It is being reported that some of the ECW roster will be allowed to “sign” with the new NXT brand; the talent that fall under the umbrella of NXT where new up-and-coming Superstars are featured.

The future of the ECW Championship, currently held by Christian, is still up in the air with some within the WWE wanting to keep the ECW Title around under a different name while others think that retiring the title is the easiest and most logical thing to do. At the end of the day, the decision lies with Vince McMahon and it is being rumored that, with just a couple of weeks to decide, Vince is till undecided on what to do with the championship, but that retiring the championship seems to be the direction Vince is heading.

Rumors are flying as to where the members of the ECW roster will end up once they become “free agents”. While it was teased on RAW that Christian might be joining RAW following the end of ECW, it is actually expected that Christian will be heading to SmackDown for a potential feud with Edge later in the year. Ezekiel Jackson is reportedly heading to RAW, as is Zack Ryder & Rosa Mendes while Yoshi Tatsu & Goldust are slated to join SmackDown. William Regal is slated to rejoin the RAW roster and Vladimir Kozlov is heading to SmackDown. It is expected that Abraham Washington & Tony Atlas will be heading to SmackDown and will continue The Abraham Washington Show there. Vance Archer & Shelton Benjamin are rumored to be joining RAW, while Trent Barreta & Caylen Croft will either join the new NXT show or will be placed on SmackDown. Gregory Helms/The Hurricane is slated to be joining the RAW brand.  The status of Tyler Reks is still up in the air and it is being rumored that he may be one of the upcoming releases WWE plans on making.

WWE is also pondering the possibility of keeping the “free agents” as such until the annual WWE Draft after WrestleMania, where the roster decisions will be made.

Despite any indications pointing in other directions, the plan for WrestleMania is to have the rematch between The Undertaker & Shawn Michaels, but that The Undertaker is slated to lose the World Heavyweight Championship in the Elimination Chamber Match at WWE Elimination Chamber. Unless plans change, it is expected that Chris Jericho will win the World Heavyweight Title and defend the title against Edge at WrestleMania. As far as the WWE Championship goes, the current plan is to have Triple H win the WWE Title in the Elimination Chamber Match and then defend the title against Sheamus at WrestleMania.

Also planned for WrestleMania, as teased on RAW, is Bret Hart Vs. Vince McMahon and Batista Vs. John Cena. As it stands, the annual Money-in-the-Bank Ladder Match is rumored to feature CM Punk, Rey Mysterio, Kofi Kingston, John Morrison, Drew McIntyre, Evan Bourne, Matt Hardy, & The Miz. WWE also intends on having a RAW Vs. SmackDown Divas contest at WrestleMania; possibly a tag match featuring both the Women’s & Divas Champions.

The Truth Is Just A Confirmed Rumor
-The Informant-