First of all, sorry for the downtime. Torrie has finally spoken for the first time on her retirement, last week on her MySpace. Read below:

Happy Mother’s Day!

Well, I guess by now you have heard the news that I have severed my ties to the WWE. I would like to say that I have enjoyed 7 awesome years with The WWE and wouldn’t trade any of my experiences for anything in the world. I have seen more places and met more friends and wonderful fans than I ever dreamed of when I pretty much fell into this business. From the very first time I stepped out into a packed arena, I was hooked on that adrenaline rush and knew that I would be around for a while. I really did fall in love with everything about wrestling and I can tell you all that I feel so absolutely honored to have spent the time I did working for Vince McCmahon and his family and having the opportunity to work with so many really talented and genuine superstars.
You probably have heard about my ongoing back problems and it may even seem crazy….I mean, I wasn’t exactly wrestling every single week on television but I was wrestling at least 3 days per week on non-televised shows….as well as practicing more than it appeared! I just believe that sometimes people’s bodies can handle more than others and mine is finally telling me it has had enough! It might seem weird, but my thoughts in the last few months have been that if I can’t deliver beyond my expectations and I can’t continue to grow as a superstar…well, what exactly am I going to do? I may not be remembered for my “wrestling skills”, but I damn sure can tell you that anyone that knows me well knows that I don’t do sitting around too well.
I can’t begin to tell all of you how much your support over the years has meant to me and I really want you to know that I am not going to disappear…I am just on to a different chapter of my life and career at this point.
I love you all and hope that you know that I will always see the positive in every situation. NOTHING can slow me down and I hope that nothing slows any of you down either…we just have to always look at everyday as a blessing and remember that everything happens for a reason!
Thanks for an unbelievable 7 years and I will see you soon!

The Sun.co.uk has posted a tribute to Torrie in their wrestling section:

IT truly is the end of an era.

The lovely Torrie Wilson has left the WWE and will never wrestle again.

The federation posted a short message on their website yesterday saying: “WWE has come to terms on the release of Diva Torrie Wilson as of today.

“We wish her all the best in all her future endeavours.”

It follows Torrie’s confession last month that she can no longer compete.

In a blog on her MySpace site the gorgeous grappler stated: “I have been told by two back surgeons that I should never set foot in a wrestling ring again if I want to be moving around in a few years on my own.

“Pretty depressing if you ask me.

“I don’t even have some awesome memory of what my last match even was or who it was with. Hopefully it was with Victoria and I beat her!

“I guess everything happens for a reason for sure.”

While Torrie will never be remembered for her great matches, she was one of the most genuine and beautiful girls the WWE have ever employed.

Always friendly to fans and open in interviews, Wilson will be greatly missed by everyone who follows and covers the sport.

Especially those of us who fondly recall her on screen snogs with Dawn Marie and Sable.

So in tribute of Torrie’s career and looking forward to more snaps like these in the future – here is a slideshow of some of her best new pics.

Check out the pictures by clicking here.

Jim Ross has commented on Torrie’s release in his latest blog, sharing some kind words on the now former Diva:

It was not really a major surprise that lovely Torrie Wilson was released from the WWE this week, as Torrie’s chronic back issues were becoming problematic. Torrie has had an outstanding run in the business and came along in a timely fashion and had some really nice years financially with WCW and WWE. Torrie was a tomboy at heart and was much more athletic than many fans realized. I remember booking a live event card once in her home town of Boise, Idaho and thanks to Torrie’s efforts doing media, the live event over achieved. She was a great interview and there wasn’t a male DJ in the world that didn’t love having her as an in-studio guest. Torrie had a great physical presence in the ring while her Playboy experiences were some of the hottest that any WWE Diva ever did. Torrie was always a good sport and worked diligently for the WWE during my days in the corporate tower. She even endured the TV storyline of her father, Al Wilson, and all that entailed. Finally, she was the first to remind me that her Boise State football team spanked my Oklahoma Sooners in the famous Fiesta Bowl that has been replayed seemingly a million times on a variety of media outlets. Was I angry at her remarks? Are you kidding me? Who could stay angry at one of the nicest ladies ever in the WWE? Sure as hell not me and especially not over a football game. Whenever Torrie decides to settle down, some lucky man is definitely going to “out kick his coverage”.

To put on an end to Internet debating and hopefully, this will make us fans feel slightly better: iTorrie can confirm that Torrie in fact asked for her release from WWE.

Torrie will be commenting soon on her MySpace and here at iTorrie. There’s lots of theories and rumours on the ‘net but they are not true, let’s not tarnish Torrie’s release anymore and instead be happy for her. I’m guilty of WWE-bashing myself today, but they are not to blame. Again, let’s be happy for Torrie and respect her wishes! Keep supporting our girl!

In major news on the Torrie front, the news on the Internet is that Torrie is renegotiating her contract to become a spokesperson for WWE rather than an in-ring competitor. According to reports, Torrie appeared on a Chinese television show in which she talked about her injury and her future with WWE:

WWE Diva Torrie Wilson did an interview on Chinese television this week. She said her back is hurting, and is doing therapy every day but the doctor tells her not to wrestle again. She said WWE has been supportive like family and have told her not worry about her job, just get better. Wilson said her wrestling career is finished for now. She is negotiating a new contract to become a spokesperson for WWE, she said like Ric Flair. WWE wants to put them together for promotions and oversee trips and autograph signings. She said she loves China and can’t wait to come back. (Lords of Pain)

It seems like Torrie’s in-ring career is seemingly over. And as devestating as the news is to us fans, there is a silver lining: Torrie will still be with WWE for the forseeable future. Please join us in sending our love and support to Torrie!

Torrie has flown out to Japan for a promotional tour, on her MySpace page Torrie wrote that she will be hosting a WrestleMania 24 viewing party with some special fans while she’s over there! Hopefully, WWE.com will keep us updated on Torrie’s trip!

Torrie is finally once again featured on WWE.com, we thought they’d forgotten about our favourite Diva! In a new article, the WWE Divas talk about styling their pet pooches! They even have a picture of Torrie and Chloe on the main page linking to the article, it’s good to see Torrie on the site again! Highlights below:

• It’s no secret many of the Divas are fond of man’s best friend. Maria totes around her Chihuahua, Gemini, in his own special bag; Lena Yada is in love with her rescue mutts, Kiba and Kiara; and Torrie Wilson’s Maltese, Chloe, has even seen WWE ring time.
• Candice Michelle said she finds it “super, super cute” when Torrie Wilson dresses Chloe in outfits, complete with dog sneakers. But the Candylicious Diva’s pets, Maltese, Bam-Bam, and Yorkshire Terrier, Betty Boop, wouldn’t be fond of the kicks. However, Candice Michelle admits she’s played hairdresser with Bam-Bam.
• Victoria said she thinks Chloe disliked wearing dog sneakers, and the idea of subjecting her Dachshunds, Pookie and Mojo, to that made her growling mad.“Chloe, that poor thing, she hated it. She would try to walk and flick her shoes off,” the SmackDown Diva said. “I can’t see these German Shepherd police dogs walking in them very comfortably. I don’t know, it’s kind of like cruelty to animals. So no, you will not be seeing my dogs wearing that!”
• While she might buy her dog, Butch, a Dallas Cowboys jersey or a T-shirt or two, Mickie James won’t be the first in line either to buy him dog shoes.“I don’t know if you’ve ever seen shoes on dogs before, but they look quite ridiculous, and they even walk funny in them. For example, Torrie Wilson bought Chloe a pair of cute little shoes and you would have thought she had alien feet. She was all over the place!” Mickie said. On the other hand, Mickie outfits her prized horses with shoes.

Read the rest of the article by clicking here.

Here is a fan report courtesy of Wrestling News World written by Kevin Guzman, on yesterday’s autograph signing with Torrie and Mickie James:

 I attended the Mickie James and Torrie Wilson autograph signing at Best Buy here in Orlando, FL yesterday. According to a friend of mine who works at Best Buy, the line started forming at around 2 P.M, and the autograph session was to start at 6. I got there around 4 and it looks like I beat the rush because not even a half hour later the line was huge. If I had to estimate I would say a good 500-600 people were waiting on line.

Right before going to get my autograph, there were only about 3 people in front of a me when a kid, probably around the age of 17-18, had a seizure after hugging Mickie James and giving her a present. He fell to the floor and started shaking wildly, scaring everyone. Mickie showed great concern while Torrie looked upset, she stayed away. Mickie was down on the ground with the kid along with his brother and father. She held his hand and looked like she was on the verge of tears. After a good 20-25 minutes paramedics came and took the boy away. Mickie went up to the boy, gave him a kiss on the cheek and a hug and said, “I’ll be praying for you, feel better sweetie.”

The mood of the session lowly got better. Mickie was definitely fun, personable and outgoing, making jokes and even high fived me for wearing a Dallas Cowboys jersey. Torrie was a little standoff-ish but still nice and polite. The WWE rep that was with the girls was pretty rude, rushing everyone along. Due to the incident with the boy, they only had an hour left and only the beginning of the line had been autographed.

According to my friend who works with Best Buy, the girls stayed an extra 45 minutes to make up for the lost time due to the incident, they left around 8:45 when they were suppose to leave at 8. Not everyone got an autograph still and some fans left very unhappy. Other then the incident it was a good experience, my first autograph signing. Mickie, my favorite diva, was definitely a genuinely nice person and I was glad to know she was not in the least bit snobby, conceited, or anything of that sort. That’s pretty much it, thanks!

If anyone who attended would like to share their fan experiences and/or fan photos, please do e-mail them into me at webmaster@t-wilson.org.

It looks as though Torrie will be a part of WWE’s biggest show of the year, WrestleMania 24, in some capacity anyway. Torrie is listed for an autograph signing in Orlando, the home of this year’s event with Mickie James:

Friday, March 28 6:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.
Best Buy, Orlando, FL
4601 East Colonial Drive, Orlando, FL.
Torrie Wilson & Mickie James will be meeting fans and signing WWE DVDs!

If you live in the area, be sure to go and meet Torrie! I think we can assume that she will be sticking around for the whole weekend and hopefully may make a cameo at ‘Mania as a lumberjack?

New information posted by Gerweck.net reveals that Torrie’s May 2003 Playboy cover ranks as the second biggest selling Diva issue of all time - only beaten by former Intercontinental Champion, Chyna! Considering the decline of WWE’s popularity and ratings in recent years, it’s amazing to see Torrie was able overcome Sable’s 1999 cover! Congratulations to Torrie! Torrie and Sable’s March 2004 spread ranks as the fourth biggest selling, after Sable’s first solo effort! Check out the piece below:

From Steve Carson: I work in the advertising biz and it just so happens that one of our advertisers is Playboy, so in honor of Maria’s issue being released I thought I’d send you some info on the best and worst selling diva Playboys! Please note this information is on a yearly basis from the month of the issue to one year after.

Chyna’s November 2000 cover is the biggest selling WWE diva issue of all time. The lowest selling goes to Ashley Massaro for her cover last year, though her year has just a few weeks left it is near impossible it will match its closest rival. Here are the rankings:

1-Chyna (November 2000)
2-Torrie Wilson (May 2003)
3-Sable (April 1999)
4-Sable and Torrie Wilson (March 2004)
5-Candice Michelle (April 2006)
6-Christy Hemme (April 2005)
7-Ashley Massaro (April 2007)