USA To Air Live Episode Of SmackDown, Paul Bearer Comments On His Character's Demise

-- The USA Network will reportedly air three broadcasts on prime time in the days leading up to the Christmas holiday.

In addition to a live two-hour episode of Raw on Dec. 20, SmackDown will air live the following evening from 9:00 to 11:00 p.m. A two-hour version of Tribute to the Troops is tapped to air the following night from 8:00 to 10:00 p.m.

-- The Dec. 8 episode of WWE Superstars on WGN America scored a 0.5 cabel rating, with 537,000 viewers. The midnight airing did a 0.16 rating, with 176,000 viewers.

-- Paul Bearer was apparently written off tv on Friday's episode of SmackDown as the show concluded with Kane pushing a set of ladders over a railing, sending the wheelchair and its occupant to the concrete floor below. The World Heavyweight Champion then realized that he had accidentally taken out his father.

"What an abrupt end to a fun unexpected ride. Will I ever return? Never say never," Bearer wrote on Twitter.