- With the Royal Rumble less than two weeks away, we’ve gotten a number of emails from readers asking about the status of last year’s Rumble winner, Alberto Del Rio. The most recent reports we’ve heard are that Del Rio will not be back in time to win back-to-back Rumbles.

Del Rio suffered a groin tear in late December. The WWE website reported he underwent surgery that would keep him out of action 4-6 weeks.

- WWE has been conducting focus group studies on males & females ages 12-17. RAW ratings have plummeted for this demographic in the past several months and WWE is trying to figure out why these viewers are tuning out.

- Here are some recent WWE attendance figures, courtesy of the Wrestling Observer Newsltter:

* RAW on January 13th in Yakima, Washington drew 4,800 fans for $115,000
* RAW on January 14th in Sacramento, California drew 6,500 fans for $190,000
* SmackDown on January 14th in Vancouver drew 4,000 fans for $140,000
* RAW on January 15th in Oakland, California drew 5,500 fans for $200,000
* SmackDown on January 15th in Prince George, BC drew 4,000 fans for $125,000

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