Update On Benoit/Tajiri Contract Issues, Bret Hart, Carlito Injured, More

Source: WrestlingObserver.com

As noted yesterday, Chris Benoit's contract with WWE expires in three weeks and he is getting a lowball figure like Christian did with his contract. The contract offer is for half of what he is making now. There is no word yet on whether he'll take it or not.

We can now confirm that Tajiri has nixed his plans of going to Japan as he has re-signed with WWE for two or three more years.

Sent in by reader John Permaul: I just got back from Ringside Fest 2005. There were four superstars there on hand. They were Bret Hart, Jerry Lawler, Carlito, and Kurt Angle. Each superstar had an autograph session, and then Bret and Lawler has question and answer sessions. Bret Hart and Jerry Lawler s autograph sessions were from a little after 9 am to 12 pm. There was a very big turnout for Bret Hart. This was his first NYC appearance in eight years. He looked in good shape and was very friendly to the fans. He signed extra promos for the air mail sales, and the fans who bought certain packages were able to take pictures with him. Bret Hart s questions and answer session covered topics stemming from Montreal to his favorite matches to his dream opponents. Bret stated that if he knew before going through the curtain what was going to happen, the match would have never taken place. He doesn t blame Earl Hebner for what happen, and claims dispite what Shawn Michaels has said in the past, Shawn has never apologized to Bret Hart for what happened. He stated that he has so many favorite matches, ranking the iron man match and the submission match with Austin as his top two favorite WrestleMania matches. His dream opponents included talent such as Kurt, Benoit, and Orton. When asked if he would like to fight Vince McMahon in his final match, he said he would rather face one of the dream opponents if he could only have one more match. Bret also stated that playing the heel was much more fun. He was asked if WWE offers him a spot in the 2006 Hall of Fame would he accept. He said that he would have to think about it and that he would if the hall of fame was held in New York City. A fan stated that Shawn Michaels said Bret Hart will never be in the WWE ring again, a question where Bret s answer was that Shawn was right. Bret said that he doesn t want to come back as a manager or announcer or anything of that type of capacity. Bret s segment lasted for over an hour. He thanked the fans for coming out and for still remembering him. Next Carlito and Kurt Angle came out for their autograph session. Carlito had a swollen left eye with it bandaged. Both of them were very friendly and signed autographs and took pictures for about two hours. This was the second ever Ringside Fest here in New York City, and the turnout was very big. I went with my two brothers and my friend, Samiur. Fans started arriving over two and a half hours before the event started at 9 am, and many rare items were on sale. The Yokozuna exclusive was sold, as well as the Bret Hart magazine WWE will be selling next week. All of the superstars were great in person, and it was my pleasure to finally meet Bret Hart