By: David Stephens of WrestleView.com
Ousta! Welcome back to the only WrestleView column covering topics both nowhere yet everywhere at once. If you are new to the column you are probably going to hate us for the first couple weeks, but then you are going to hit a point where you say ?oh wait a minute, I think he gets it?. Don?t worry, that’s exactly how it is designed to be. This column is all about gut reactions and traveling thoughts. As the great Andy Kaufman once said: ?I just want real reactions. I want people to laugh from the gut, be sad from the gut, or get angry from the gut?.
Well this week was astonishingly full of news. So much so that I already had an absurd amount of material written, but I didn?t want to weigh you down with pages upon pages to read. I leave that to my friend Mr. V (From the Desk of Mr. V). Let’s jump straight in with the HUGE announcement of the week and then tackle the rest of the news.
What’s in the News?
All news is gathered from WrestleView.com unless otherwise noted
Hogan Report #1
Here is what is known at least as of today.
* When asked about Vince Russo (the current head of TNA creative), Hogan said as long as Russo knew his place in the company then everything would be fine.
* The feeling is that Hogan will be a major on-screen character for TNA, but wasn’t expected to be wrestling on regular basis for the company.
* One part of this deal is that Spike TV will get the first look at the proposed Hogan/Ric Flair reality series.
* Speaking of Flair, he did sign a three year deal with Eric Bischoff’s company to become part of the upcoming “Hulkamania” tour of Australia in November (which is still taking place). While nothing is official, the general feeling is that Flair signing with Bischoff means he will stay involved with Hogan which could mean a possible involvement with TNA.
* Were told this was the first of many big announcements to come from TNA and Spike TV. What would be bigger than Hogan and Bischoff signing with the company is anyone’s guess. Early speculation is a possible timeslot change for Impact moving to Monday night’s to go head-to-head with Raw or additional programming that was announced when TNA signed a new TV deal with Spike this year.
* To reiterate, Dave Meltzer is reporting that they only wanted to announce the signing of Hogan and Bischoff today and that something bigger is expected soon.
Hogan Report #2
Hulk Hogan made an appearance on the Howard Stern show earlier this morning. Here are some highlights courtesy of Prowrestling.net.
* Hogan said Vince McMahon asked him to be the special guest host of the upcoming Monday Night Raw in New York City at Madison Square Garden on November 16.
* He added that Vince wanted to do a merchandising deal where WWE would get the rights to the “Hulk Hogan” and “Hulkamania” names.
* Hogan said he didn’t go back with Vince because he “wasn’t ready to be put out to pasture just yet.” He added that he has a lot to offer still and that is why he signed with TNA.
* He confirmed rumors that WWE talked to him about facing John Cena at WrestleMania 25, but he threw his back out.
* When Howard mentioned his signing with TNA and asked if Vince would be cool with it, Hogan said he imagines Vince wasn’t too pleased.
Hogan Report #3
According to a report by The Wrestling Observer Newsletter, were told people and wrestlers within WWE were down playing the news of Hulk Hogan signing with TNA at last night’s Smackdown taping in Rochester, NY. While there was definitely discussion among talent about his signing, it was more about how Hogan could help TNA, who he could work with and how he has a history of not putting over many people.
-I really don?t want to comment too much on the story. I truly believe that this whole shindig is going to be crazy. One way or another, 6 months from now we are going to look back at TNA and say this is the moment that they either began to legitimize their standing, or this is the moment when they spiraled out of control. You might be surprised to hear this because almost NO one is looking at the matter positively, but I?m feeling rather optimistic. Give it time, maybe we?ll be wonderfully surprised! (That’s my sunshine and rainbows speech for the day, let’s head back to reality now)
The Rest of the News?
According to The Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Ken Anderson (former WWE star Mr. Kennedy) is reportedly being advised by his mentors not to sign with TNA or anywhere right now as the belief is that he might be offered a deal to return to WWE by working for Hulk Hogan and Eric Bischoff’s “Hulkamania” tour since it will no doubt catch Vince McMahon’s attention. Were told WWE has spoken to many on that tour about coming back, but nothing has been finalized. The general opinion is that Anderson landing a job back with WWE could be an uphill battle considering his negative reviews from top guys like Triple H, Shawn Michaels, John Cena and Randy Orton during his time with the company. While the line is to never say never in wrestling, the odds seem stacked against Anderson actually returning to WWE anytime soon.
-I don?t know why, but I keep thinking of Samuel L. Jackson’s character in the movie ?unbreakable?. Can?t point my finger on why though?
In an update regarding TNA Knockout Daffney, Prowrestling.net is reporting that she also suffered a concussion during her bump through the barbed wire board at TNA’s Bound For Glory PPV. She was described as being out of it when she returned backstage and was later taken to a hospital. Earlier reports stating she broke her arm don’t appear to be accurate at this point as she wasn’t spotted wearing a cast.
-lots of injuries being reported in the past week, fortunately most minor
PWInsider is reporting that WWE has rehired Lance Cade. Cade was released from WWE last year following an incident on a flight where he needed to be rushed to a hospital after having a seizure.
-who says the WWE won?t give guys a second chance?
The Daily Star in the UK is featuring an interview with former ROH star Nigel McGuinness – now known as Desmond Wolfe in TNA. Here are some of the highlights.
On reports he failed a WWE prescreening test:
“I had a clean bill of health from my orthopaedic guy and my local doctor, so it’s not about that. I don?t hold against anything against them, it was a business decision, and they were only doing what they think is best for them. As for me, I am very eager to prove my worth. It means so much to me that Dixie, Terry and Kurt have faith in me, in my vocation and my work. I will repay that faith.”
On his new name Desmond Wolfe:
“Everyone is asking me where I got the name from – someone said Withnail and I – but Vince (Russo) said he did an internet search of the most popular British names and came up with Desmond Wolfe!”
Taz has posted the following comments in regards to a question of Paul Heyman ever possibly joining TNA Wrestling in the future over on his official Facebook page.
“How do u know if Paul would want to even be back in the wrestling biz? How do u know if Paul was happy doing with he’s doing? How do you know if Vince Russo and Paul aren’t friends and talk ‘shop’ at times? How do you know if TNA wants Paul?? How do you know if Paul wants TNA? How do you know if Paul wasn’t offered to work for TNA already? You don’t, sir.”
Thisisnottingham.co.uk has an interview up with WWE star Ted DiBiase. Here are some of the highlights.
On the pressure of being the son of Ted DiBiase Sr.:
“I have been under some more pressure because of how great my father was. Everyone has high expectations of me because of him and I’m going to do my best to live up to my family name. Becoming a wrestler is something I always wanted to do and I made that dream come true. But my father did make sure that I graduated college before I pursued my wrestling career. So I do have that degree to fall back on.”
The upcoming WWE Studios film featuring John Cena that was originally titled “Oxley’s Road” has been renamed to “Brother’s Keeper” reports PWInsider. Cena will be playing the lead character named Cal Oxley. The film has a $10 million budget and is going straight to DVD. Filming starts December 8 and Cena is expected to work a reduced schedule with WWE.
-damn I haven?t even seen 10 Rounds yet. I need to get on that
The change to Team Smackdown at the Smackdown tapings this past Tuesday in Columbia, SC was decided at a production meeting on that same day as Vince McMahon saw the original teams together on Raw the night before and felt the Smackdown team looked too weak reports The Wrestling Observer Newsletter. There was said to be some joking among talent about the company changing their mind at the very last minute just days before the actual match on PPV after they spent a good amount of time the night before on Raw hyping it up. The updated Team Smackdown now features WWE Unified Tag Team Champion Chris Jericho, Kane, Matt Hardy, R-Truth, Finlay and The Hart Dynasty. Dropped from the previous team was Eric Esobar, Drew McIntyre, Dolph Ziggler and Cryme Tyme.
-They went from too weak to victors, kudos to Team Smackdown
Roddy Piper is said to be in talks about guest hosting an upcoming edition of WWE Monday Night Raw in the next few weeks reports The Wrestling Observer Newsletter. In reference to an internet rumor that he had passed away Piper added joking, “I have to let people know I?m still alive. That was one stiff rib.” Were told his daughter and son were told stories all day that Piper had been struck with terminal cancer and couldn’t get a hold of him.
-Yeah, that was a crazy report at the time, fortunately quite false.
During an interview with The Sports Business Journal, WWE’s Chief Financial Officer George Barrios seemed to indicate that the success or failure of WWE business is more due to creative ideas instead of a weak business climate. Barrios added, “We traditionally view the cycle of the company being driven less by the exogenous business environment and more so by our creative.” He also added that big stars play a key role in WWE’s successful business model.
-*sigh* I hated my economics class in college
Carlito is off WWE TV at the moment as creative has nothing for him reports The Figure Four Weekly Newsletter. While this tends to be the last straw with some talent before they are released, Carlito has a history of being used, not used and then brought back suddenly again. One WWE source seemed to indicate that Carlito didn’t really seem to care all that much and that creative was more interested in spending time with people who are actually contributing ideas.
-well, alrighty then
To follow up on the Village Voice award given to Ring of Honor, which was covered here on WrestleView, Ring of Honor has not allowed any mention of the “award” on their site. All messages posted in their forum regarding the manner were either locked or deleted. While reaction was understandably mixed regarding the topic, wrestling has always been a sport dominated by the mantra of “any publicity is good publicity.”
-yeah, kinda surprised by this one. Cary Silken is trying his best to ignore the ?award?
According to PWInsider, D’Lo Brown has been the agents for recent TNA house show events. Brown recently made his return to TNA along with Pat Kenney as agents for the company following the releases of Jim Cornette and BG James.
-man, I gotta give credit to D?Lo Brown for managing to hold onto a job in the professional wrestling business this long
According to a report by Prowrestling.net, head of TNA creative Vince Russo and current TNA World Heavyweight Champion AJ Styles had a rather heated argument at last week’s TNA Impact TV tapings in Orlando, FL. Styles was said to be upset with the way he was being booked by Russo in that it was portraying him as a weak champion and was also not a fan of the way Samoa Joe and Frankie Kazarian (Suicide) were being booked as well. Russo stood his ground and made mention that he was the person who made the call to put the title on Styles in the first place. Were told the argument was so heated that some people backstage had to step in. Things calmed down eventually when both Russo and Styles were spotted talking together shortly after the argument.
-this may all be moot very soon. I think a lot of people would be surprised to see Russo stick around (or be allowed to stick around) once Hogan and Bischoff really start throwing their weight into the creative ring
According to PWInsider, John Cena getting busted open at last night’s WWE Bragging Rights PPV was not planned as Cena was opened up the hardway. Were told Vince McMahon began giving orders that Cena needed to be cleaned up immediately. This caused several WWE trainers and John Laurinaitis to run down and attempt to clean Cena off. However, Cena wasn’t made aware of the plans right away and ended up rushing at Orton in the ring. They were later able to clean Cena up and glue the cut shut. WWE was said to have wanted the blood cleaned up since Cena and Orton were scheduled to brawl in the crowd and didn’t want a health issue with a “bloody wrestler” among fans in the audience, which is said to be a major issue with the Pennsylvania State Athletic Commission. Were also told they didn’t want to give detractors of Linda McMahon’s U.S. Senate campaign anymore ammo as well to use against her.
-I figured this was the case at the time, but I just thought it was cause they didn?t want to see the blood. The fact that they took the audience into consideration, (even if it was for ulterior motives) actually makes sense to me
Jim Ross posted the following update on his official website.
“Today’s MRI results were not what we had expected and we have more work to do. More tests resume tomorrow morning as the bumps in the road continue. I still remain confident that all these health issues will work out in due time. The road just got a little bumpier, or so it seems, for now, but that’s when people roll up their sleeves and fight just a little harder.
It seems that my neurologist and the radiologist who read my MRI of my brain have differing opinions. So we start over to some degree Tuesday and in more intense detail to determine the answers we need to have to move forward.”
WWE Diva Mickie James has signed with Nashville based management agents James and Sherry Massaro of Skyline Management Group and a company called Absolute Publicity who will work with her for public relations. James’ agents specialize in dealing with country music artists and the article states she is set to announce her intentions in the coming weeks.
-well, ok? why not?
TNA has officially removed Booker T from TNA Roster page.
-The King has left the building
With Jim Ross out, Matt Striker has been moved to Smackdown and joined Todd Grisham on commentary last night at the tapings in Rochester, NY. Joining Josh Mathews on ECW is Byron Saxton who was doing commentary in WWE’s Florida Championship Wrestling territory.
-I wish JR a speedy recover. Byron was actually pretty impressive last night on ECW, and it is nice to see Grisham and Striker reunited
Former WWE star Jeff Hardy’s Twitter page is now back online, the page was pulled off Twitter around the time of Hardy’s arrest and drug charges in September. No new updates appear on the account since September 14.
-I don?t do the whole Twitter thing, but I thought one of you guys reading this might find this interesting
According to a report by Prowrestling.net, Kevin Nash has been suspended for the next set of TNA Impact TV tapings in Orlando, FL (taking place on November 2 and 3). Were told he won’t be appearing at the tapings due to his outburst over the way Chris Sabin’s concussion injury was handled at the last set of tapings. TNA officials declined to comment when asked about the report this week.
-interesting
Bubba the Love Sponge, a good friend of Hulk Hogan’s, wrote on his Twitter page and referred to Hogan as “the boss” when discussing his signing with TNA. When asked what role Hogan would be playing with TNA Bubba wrote, “He is the Booker. Period. Saw it in his contract.” Bubba also added, “Terry and Eric won’t make the same mistakes that they made at WCW.”
-Dixie Carter has banned TNA talent from appearing on the show following Love’s latest interview with Kurt Angle. Hogan appears rather frequently so I wonder if that ban will also extend to him. Probably not
For those wondering why Marty Jannetty appeared to be moving slower than usual on last week’s Raw during his match with The Miz, The Wrestling Observer Newsletter is reporting that he suffered an injury recently going into the show.
-Marty Jannetty is back? I seriously need to figure out how to stay focused so that I can watch an entire RAW episode without flipping around. Ah who am I kiddingm I mean an hour of RAW? match of RAW?… segment?… uh oh.
Ratings
RAW 10/19 ? 3.3
ECW 10/20 ? 1.0
Superstars 10/22 ? 0.9
iMpact 10/22 ? 1.1
Smackdown 10/9 ? 1.9
WWE Stock Update
Week Ending October 23rd 2009
Open ? 13.84
High ? 14.40
Low ? 13.77
Close ? 14.04
Volume ? 795,572
Quick Results
RAW October 26th
-Kofi Kingston def. Unified Tag Team Champion Chris Jericho
-Divas Champion Melina & Santino Marella def. Jillian & Chavo Guerrero
-MVP & Mark Henry def. Cody Rhodes & Ted DiBiase
-Evan Bourne def. United States Champion The Miz in a Non-Title Match
-Sheamus def. Jamie Noble
-Triple H def. Unified Tag Team Champion Big Show
ECW October 27th
-Sheamus def. Shelton Benjamin
-ECW Champion Christian def. Yoshi Tatsu (ECW Championship Match)
Superstars October 22nd
-Kelly Kelly def. Gail Kim
-Tommy Dreamer & Goldust def. Vladimir Kozlov & Ezekiel Jackson
-Drew McIntyre & Eric Escobar def. Matt Hardy & R-Truth
TNA Impact October 22nd
-?Notorious 1-8-7? Homicide def. Amazing Red
-?The Blueprint? Matt Morgan def. ?Big Poppa Pump? Scott Steiner
-Samoa Joe & Kevin Nash def. The Phenomenal Angels (AJ Styles & Daniels)
-Awesome Kong def. Raisha Saeed
-?Super Mex? Hernandez def. ?War Machine? Rhino
-TNA Tag Team Titles #1 Contendership Ultimate X Match: Motor City Machine Guns def. Lethal Consequences
-TNA World Tag Team Championships Six Sides of Steel Match: Beer Money Inc. def. British Invasion (c)
Smackdown October 23rd
-Finlay, R-Truth, Matt Hardy & The Hart Dynasty def. Dolph Ziggler, Drew McIntyre, Eric Escobar & JTG (Nine-Man Tag Team Match)
-Intercontinental Champion John Morrison def. Mike Knox (Non-title)
-Rey Mysterio & Batista def. Chris Jericho & Kane
-Mickie James def. Layla
-World Heavyweight Champion Undertaker def. CM Punk (World Heavyweight Championship Submission Match)
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