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This Monday, the WWE will air the final episode of this season’s edition of TOUGH ENOUGH, and right now, it’s a bit too close to call. And it shouldn’t be.

The two finalists are big man Andy Leavine and the charismatic Luke Robinson. In all honesty, I felt Andy should have been the one to go this week, but Jeremiah did hit a wall in terms of his readiness to work a wrestling match as opposed to an MMA match. So Andy stays in and survives to the final two.

Apparently, Andy and Luke will face off in a five-minute exhibition match at WWE’s developmental territory, FCW. It’s nice that they’re not going to try and fit this match into something done in front of a RAW crowd. For a show like this to have credibility, they need to have these kids pay their dues, as well as determine how to find my ring size. Okay, maybe not that last bit.

Still, the point is, whichever one wins the WWE contract still has plenty of learning to do. The trainers and Steve Austin seem to favor Andy because of his big frame, but that’s the kind of thinking that produced such flops as (sorry to say it, but it’s the truth) Kevin Nash, Sid Vicious and probably even The Big Show. Andy substitutes alligator tears for actual passion, and has wept his way through three potential eliminations, only to be saved by other trainees who were even worse.

But for my money, that stuff needs to end with the finale; while he is, as Stone Cold pointed out last week, “twitchy,” the truth is that Luke Robinson has all the makings of developing into the next Randy Orton. He has a sleek but powerful build, a photogenic cockiness, and a natural heel persona that closely resembles Orton at his best.

If Andy somehow is chosen over Luke, then it would signal that WWE is returning to the days when they valued size over showmanship. If one examines the total package, however, Luke has to be considered among the elite; and he’s only been in the bottom three once or twice prior to their being only three finalists. Andy’s been there a lot.

So yes, here he is, my choice for 2011 Tough Enough winner… Luke Robinson:

The man in the urban clothes and wild hair is no longer with us; Macho Man Randy Savage, one of the most electrifying wrestlers of the WWE/Hulk Hogan era of the 1980s, whose Wrestlemania III match with Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat nearly stole the show from Hogan-Andre, passed away this week.

Savage was driving in his car in Florida when he suffered a massive heart episode at the age of 58. His car left the road as a result and he did not survive. The death comes eight years after his wife, Elizabeth Ann Hulette, known to wrestling fans as Miss Elizabeth, died. Elizabeth had divorced Savage in 1992 and was living with long-time, post-divorce beau Lex Lugar at the time of her death.

Savage leaves behind his second wife, Lynn Payne, who he married only a year and ten days before his death. It appears he left behind no children, according to all online reports. Aside from a brief run in TNA in 2004-05, Savage had left wrestling behind for the past six years.

One of the matches that holds some intrigue for me in the Miz vs. Morrison vs. John Cena match, mostly because I think WWE will surprise us all and let Miz remain champion; he’s selling tickets right now as Raw’s top heel, and the draft offered some interesting new feuds for Miz; most especially, Rey Mysterio.

John Cena’s quest to enter his Wrestlemania match against the Rock as WWE champion doesn’t need to be settled for a while, and meanwhile WWE doesn’t need a title around Cena’s waist to sell a summer-long feud with Alberto Del Rio. The best post workout supplement Cena has is a hardcore heel like Del Rio to feud with, not a cool heel like Miz.

Cena’s title quest can be put on hold until Summer Slam, and perhaps even until Survivor Series or the Royal Rumble.

With the annual WWE Draft set for next Monday’s RAW, speculation is circulating that none other than John Cena will be moving to the SmackDown roster in the wake of Edge’s retirement. As Cena is one of WWE’s top franchises, that would be a huge move, but also one that might hurt RAW a bit too much.

First of all, WWE will want Cena on Raw with the big WrestleMania 28 hype begins following Survivor Series next November. And while they could always move Cena back to Raw by then, it could cost WWE some heat by shuffling Cena off to SmackDown in the intervening period.

The question also remains, who would be ready to fill Cena’s spot as the top star on RAW should me move to Smackdown. While current champ The Miz is doing quite well, he works best as a heel and while Cena draws plenty of negative heat despite his positioning as a face, Cena’s the most credible threat to Miz’s reign.

Certainly, Randy Orton’s a credible threat, but he works best as a heel and won’t be able to break out of that working against Miz. The same goes for CM Punk, who’s too involved as a heel now to pull off a quick face-turn. Triple H is too old, and John Morrison’s on the verge, but isn’t over enough yet; plus he’s been overused against Miz already.

Personally, I think WWE would be better off shipping Orton to SmackDown via the Draft. He’s positioned well to play a ‘tweener/heel as Edge did for so many years on SmackDown, and he’s the only other person who’s over enough on the Raw roster to move over to Smackdown and bring some excitement with him. (Other than Cena.)

It’s been rumored for years, but WWE officially announced a rebranding of the company late last week. According to online reports and official press releases, the company formerly known as World Wrestling Entertainment will now officially be known as simply “WWE.”

Yet the changes go more that name-deep. Under the new business model, while WWE is committed to its core business inside the squared circle, the company will now begin a new focus of re-committing themselves to expanding their entertainment offerings outside the ring, including scripted, unscripted and animated content.

In fact, CEO Vince McMahon hinted that WWE Tough Enough, a revival of the company’s reality-show franchise that lets aspiring wrestlers and divas take their shot at earning a WWE contract, is the first offering in this new emphasis, with many more on the way.

It’s all a build-up for the launch of a WWE TV network as a cable-satellite offering, scheduled for launch sometime in 2012. NBC Universal, which owns USA Network and SyFy, have long been rumored partners with WWE in the launch of this channel.

Finally, Paul Levesque, known in-ring as Triple H, was announced as the head of a new Talent Development department. Levesque is married to Stephanie McMahon, Vince’s daughter. The first signing WWE made under Levesque’s leadership was Sin Cara, the talented Mexican wrestler who debuted on Raw last week. The new division will apparently put a greater emphasis on talent acquisition from around the globe, rather than primarily from North America.

About the only new business arm WWE won’t be expanding into – yet – is offering the cheapest car insurance.

Continuing our look at another WWE Tough Enough relaunch contestant, what do you think of this guy? Is he the next Randy Orton, or the next Brooklyn Brawler? Is he… TOUGH ENOUGH?

Hey all!

If you can’t stand Jersey Shore the way I can’t stand Jersey Shore, tonight’s the night you want to tune in to WWE Raw. Jersey Shore star Snooki will be on the show. We can only hope the program includes her being Rock Bottomed, Stone Cold Stunned, or STFU’d.

Either way, sounds like a fun time for WWE fans.

One of the most electrifying men on the Mexican wrestling scene, Mistico, has signed a WWE contract and will begin training for his WWE debut under the new moniker, Sin Cara. An eventual match against Rey Mysterio would seem to be a natural and inevitable endgame of the signing.

The Sin Cara name is interesting. “Sin” means “without” and “cara” usually means “beauty,” so the translation of his new ring name is, basically, Without Beauty. Some fun could be had with that. As Sin Cara is a masked wrestler in the vein of Mysterio, there will be no need to stock up on hair loss products for him, but hopefully there will be a fresh supply of colorful masks so no one confuses him with Rey.

With three straight wins over John Cena since taking over the new Nexus, CM Punk has established himself as a credible threat to John Cena. Punk has attached a curt trailer hitch to the Nexus gimmick and taken it in a fresh direction.

Whereas Nexus under the leadership of Wade Barrett employed the traditional dictatorial head of a faction approach, which had run its course, Punk has re-established Nexus as a threat by using his leadership position to build up the credibility of the other members of the faction.

It’s a refreshing shift that makes the Nexus storyline intriguing again.

Tonight’s WWE title match all but assures champion The Miz that he’ll be headlining WrestleMania this year. His opponent for tonight’s Elimination Chamber PPV is Jerry “The King” Lawler. Unless they do something cheesy to kill off any and all heat Miz has generated the last few months and have King win to vacate the title and crown a new champ before WrestleMania, the most likely bet is that Miz’s title defense will be brief, brutal and over before you know it.

The Miz goes to WrestleMania? That’s a good thing. I’ve enjoyed his championship run so far, and it’s made me tune in each week. He’s evolved his character effectively into a heel champ from the karaoke-singing buffoon he initially was when he appeared on ECW on SciFi.

Hopefully, tonight’s match will set the table for who Miz will face for the title at WrestleMania. The participants in the number-one contenders match in the Elimination Chamber include John Cena, Randy Orton, R-Truth, CM Punk, John Morrison and Sheamus. Most folks are looking for a Cena win, but I think the most electrifying opponent for Miz would be CM Punk. However, a heel-vs.-heel match might not be the way WWE will go. So of the faces in the Chamber, Cena would be the top pick, since Morrison and R-Truth simply are not ready to headline WrestleMania against Miz.

Of course, never count out Randy Orton, who can subtlely shift his character to become an effective foil for Miz at the drop of a hat, and you know what? Orton-Miz hasn’t been overdone on free TV to the point that it would lack drawing power.

Still, Cena seems the most likely to emerge against Miz.

With two members of TNA’s Main Event Mafia making their WWE debuts at the Royal Rumble, the Internet is all a-buzz at the possibility that fellow MEM-member Sting could soon debut as well. Sting is one of the few WCW/TNA veterans who has never appeared on WWE. The main reason in the past has been WWE’s demanding schedule and less-than-family-friendly fare.

However, Vince and crew have been toning down the content in recent years. Is it enough to lure Sting to WWE? Time will tell, but a Sting debut in WWE would be a terrific sweets gifts for Valentine’s Day to WWE fans.

Among the biggest surprises at the Royal Rumble last Sunday were the WWE returns of two long-gone wrestling legends: Kevin Nash and Booker T. The tv stands were rocking when both men entered the Rumble last Sunday, and while Booker T is generally less surprising, the WWE mending fences with Nash was an earth-shaker.

Booker T, it has been revealed, will become the new color commentator on Smackdown on SyFy. Nash’s role is, as yet, undetermined. Still, high marks to WWE for pulling out the stops to send shockwaves through the industry and make Royal Rumble seem like an special event once again!