-- Tonight's WWE Smackdown is more important than usual as all eyes will be on whether Vince McMahon's influence on TV will continue. Fightfulselect.com reports that higher ups within WWE were hopeful and believed that Smackdown would resemble more of the version of the show since Triple H took over running things. However, most people were completely in the dark on whether Vince will even be at the show.
-- For what it's worth, creative notes for Smackdown were sent out a full 24 hours before the show.
-- Fightfulselect.com also reports that there are currently no creative plans for Randy Orton which would align with a separate report from f4wonline.com which noted that while Orton has been spotted backstage, he is not close to a return from his back injury and isn't expected to be wrestling anytime soon.
-- Merchandise sales during WrestleMania weekend were strong as expected. Generic themed merchandise (WWE, WrestleMania) was the top seller while Cody Rhodes' merch led the list for individual superstar sales.
