– The following is a new “#IMPACT365” video where TNA president Dixie Carter discusses the contract situation regarding The American Wolves:

http://youtu.be/elxzczAoE9E

– MVP continues to deny the rumors that he is going to TNA. MVP posted the following tweet after the latest internet rumors came out:

I suppose the internet speculation & rumors can be fun if you dig that, but I haven't lied to you guys yet. I'm not signed anywhere.

— MVP (@The305MVP) January 23, 2014

– WWE Superstar Santino Marella has been out of action recently because he is rehabbing what is being described as a chronic neck injury. As of right now there is no timetable for his return.

– The following are some recent WWE attendance figures:

January 17th in St. Louis drew 6,000 fans
January 18th in Cincinnati drew 6,000 fans
January 18th in Hammond, IN drew 3,900 fans
January 19th in Columbus, OH drew 6,500 fans
January 19th in Kalamazoo, MI drew 2,000 fans
January 20th in Dayton, OH for RAW drew 7,500 fans

It appears pretty likely at this point that not only will Hulk Hogan not be competing in an actual match at WrestleMania XXX, he may not be involved physically in any form or fashion.

The latest word coming out of WWE is that Hogan was examined by their doctors and as a result, the decision was made not to use him in a physical capacity whenever he returns to the company officially.

Additionally, there is talk in WWE that the company may debut Hulk Hogan, along with several other big names, at the WWE RAW show on February 24th. The 2/22 RAW is the night after Elimination Chamber and the night that the WWE Network officially launches.

The original plan for Davey Richards and Eddie Edwards debut in TNA was for the two to win the TNA Tag-Team Titles from The Bro Mans right out of the gate.

According to one source, TNA changed the plan because creative writer Dave Lagana feels the company has finally gotten The Bro Mans over as a tag-team.

As things stand now, Richards and Edwards are set to work a program with Christopher Daniels and Kazarian.

– It’s believed that the reason Sting worked two rare non-televised live events for TNA last weekend is because he owed the company two dates on his existing contract, which is expiring.

As previously reported, the impression within WWE lately is that Sting will finally be coming into the company in the near future.

– The talks between former WWE Superstar MVP and TNA have reportedly gotten serious. The company is expecting him to sign a contract in the near future if he hasn’t already, and he may debut at one of the upcoming Impact Wrestling television tapings in the United Kingdom.

– The latest in a long line of “McMahon’isms” was made official prior to the January 20th edition of WWE RAW, as the commentary team was told to specify mentions during the broadcast as either “the Royal Rumble match” or “the Royal Rumble” pay-per-view to avoid confusion.

– Jody Kristofferson, the son of Hollywood actor Kris Kristofferson, who was released from a WWE developmental deal with the company last year, is reportedly back at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida training for a return.

According to one source, WWE went back-and-forth on whether or not to make the match at last Friday’s WWE SmackDown show between the New Age Outlaws and Goldust and Cody Rhodes a WWE Tag-Team Championship match or a non-title match.

When all was said and done, WWE went with the idea of making the SmackDown bout a non-title match, with the plan being to bump the actual title match between the two teams for the Royal Rumble show.

As previously reported, Goldust and Cody Rhodes will officially defend their titles against the New Age Outlaws on the Royal Rumble “Kickoff Show” this Sunday night.

WWE has once again double-booked John Cena for an upcoming event on February 1st. As of right now, Cena is booked to appear both in Wichita and Orlando on that date.

Both CM Punk and Daniel Bryan are booked for the Wichita show, so Cena will likely end up working the Orlando show. It would make sense, as Cena is booked that same weekend for the rest of the events emanating from Florida as well.

According to the latest reports, WWE officials seem to be under the impression that Sting will be coming into the company for WrestleMania XXX.

The company has been forced to wait to begin official negotiations with Sting until his TNA contract expired, but as of late, the talk in WWE is that it’s going to happen this year.

Only Sting himself really knows what his actual plans are at this point, but the impression WWE officials have is that they will end up reaching a deal.

The original Sin Cara is being advertised for a Baja Stars Wrestling show on March 1st in Tijuana, which would be after his contract with WWE expires. His brother, however, claims that the booking is not official.

Sin Cara himself did confirm that he will be wrestling at the one-year anniversary celebration of his Sin Cara Gym in Mexico City on February 1st.

Once Sin Cara is done with WWE, he is expected to return to AAA in Mexico, since CMLL has its’ own Mistico character and the two separated on bad terms.

As far as the timeline for Ultimate Warrior’s return to WWE, Triple H reportedly met with him the same day 2K Sports held a press event to announce Warrior for the WWE 2K14 video game.

As far as Vince McMahon is concerned, he met with Warrior for the first time during SummerSlam weekend in August. The two were scheduled to have a 30-minute meeting, but ended up spending several hours behind closed doors. The two worked out their issues and began working on a deal to bring Warrior in for the Hall Of Fame and WrestleMania XXX weekend. The deal was reportedly finalized in December, somewhere around Christmas.

– Of the 55,000 tickets sold thus far for WrestleMania XXX, just under 10,000 were listed on the Stubhub website for the resale market. The tickets on Stubhub range from $49 to $11,000 for front row.

– WWE is reportedly planning on running a considerable amount of live feeds on the WWE Network during the week leading to WrestleMania XXX. The company is likely going to be testing the streaming ability and offering live content as a way of generation additional interest in the Network.

The following press release was issued on Wednesday:

Los Angeles, CA, January 22nd, 2013 – (afterbuzztv.com) – Wrestler Chavo Guerrero made an appearance on Extra host Maria Menounos “after-show” network, AfterBuzz TV, on Monday night, where he joined the hosts of the WWE Monday Night RAW aftershow. Guerrero shared many of his opinions not only on the specifics of Monday’s RAW but also on other WWE moments and wrestlers.

Monday’s edition of RAW marked the return of Dave Batista aka “The Animal”. When asked his thoughts on Batista, Guerrero says, “If you guys know Dave, he’s got some massive legs. Maybe the [jeans he wore on RAW] weren’t skinny skinny jeans. Maybe they were normal jeans, but they look skinny on him…[Batista] looks like he’s shrink wrapped. I mean he’s so thin. The guy is in crazy shape… He’s like a genetic freak. He really is. You could work out as much as you want and never look like him. I mean, I don’t [look like him] and I work out a lot.”

Another wrestler who made a reletively recent return is Cody Rhodes’ brother, Goldust, the two of whom are now the WWE Tag Team Champions. Guerrero says of Goldust, “He’s an awesome guy and a really good wrestler from a great lineage…Very entertaining guy in and out of the ring.”

And just days away from John Cena’s rematch with Randy Orton at the Royal Rumble, there’s much speculation from fans as to who will win. But rather than speculate on the match, Guerrero divulged on a moment that he believes was the start of Cena’s superstardom. “One time, and this is a true story, we were in South Africa and [Cena] started battle rapping. He started rapping with someone and it was awesome. He went five minutes just talking about things around the room. And we were like, ‘Oh my gosh. Where did that come from?’ Tommy Dreamer heard it and Tommy took it to Shane McMahon and Shane McMahon heard it and took it to Vince McMahon and next thing you know he’s a rapper on TV…and he had already been with us six months or so. Slowly but surely he just became John Cena the superstar.”

Guerrero also openned up about his uncle, Eddie Guerrero, who passed away back in 2005. “[Eddie] was told he was a great performer, was always really really good. But he was told, ‘You’re a cruiserweight. You’ll always be a cruiserweight.’ And then when he left and got clean and sober and then came back, the fans just related with him so much and it was undeniable. They had to use him. They had to push him and he became who he was…When he passed, I would be walking in the airport and people would stop and look at me and hug me. They would give me a hug. I remember a TSA agent one time looked at my ID, looked up and looked at me. He didn’t say anything he just grabbed me and hugged me.”

Chavez says he’s very protective on Raquel Diaz, Eddie and Vickie Guerrero’s daughter, who is currently an NXT talent. “It’s really cool to see her follow the footsteps of the family…I have given advice and I’m always here for her. I don’t want to coddle her because she needs to do it. But she could call me any day and time and place and I’d be there for her. I just want to see her succeed. She’s got that Guerrero blood in her and people tell me that she’s really, really good.”

Links to Chavo Guerrero’s appearance can be found on AfterBuzz TV’s website or on iTunes or YouTube.

– The 2014 WWE “Extreme Rules” pay-per-view will take place at the Key Arena on May 4th in Seattle, Washington.

– The official WWE website has a new “Where Are They Now?” feature on former WWE Superstar Gene Snitsky. You can check that out at WWE.com.

– The latest “Steve Austin Show” has been added online, which features Austin’s interview with Diamond Dallas Page. You can check that out at PodcastOne.com.

– The local ABC affiliate in Maryland has a featured piece up on their website about former WWE Diva Mickie James returning to the area for Maryland Championship Wrestling (MCW), which was one of the first promotions she regularly worked for on the independent scene early in her career. You can check that article out at ABC2News.com.

– The National Public Radio website has added their coverage of the passing of WWE Hall Of Famer Mae Young. You can check that out at NPR.org.

– Former WWE Diva Stacy Keibler is featured in a commercial for VH-1’s Super Bowl Blitz which has been in heavy rotation on that network.

WWE will be releasing a unique DVD and Blu-ray set on April 22nd called “Best Of RAW After the Show.” The official synopsis for the project reads as follows:

“”For 52 weeks a year, the WWE Universe is glued to their seats for 3 hours of pulse pounding action on Monday Night Raw. But what happens after the cameras stop rolling? Now, in this new DVD/Blu-ray set, The Best of Raw: After the Show, fans get a unique perspective of WWE’s flagship show, with never-before seen footage of Raw’s aftermath. Traditionally, Raw has continued on into the night purely for the enjoyment of the live audience. Now, no one is left in the dark as all the top Superstars in Raw history are presented in rare form. Get a heavy dose of WWE’s most colorful Superstars- The Rock, Stone Cold Steve Austin, DX, John Cena and more, showing off their larger than life personalities, often times shedding their on-camera personas for the sake of pure fun. From Austin beer bashes, birthday celebrations, humorous improv, crowd interaction, and dark matches sure to please the hardcore fan, these are the moments that can only happen in WWE.”

– As previously reported, the cast of the WWE Network original series “Legends House” were in Orlando, Florida filming additional footage for the show last week. While in the area, the “Legends House” crew also paid a visit to the WWE Performance Center.

– Speaking of “Legends House,” due to the extra filming the crew shot last week, WWE Hall Of Famer “Rowdy” Roddy Piper had to drop out of a feature film called “Baxter’s Dozen” that was set for filming at the same time. Piper reportedly suggested Tommy Dreamer to replace him.

– Speaking of “Baxter’s Dozen.” former WWE Superstars Diamond Dallas Page and Jake “The Snake” Roberts have roles in the film and have spent the last few days in Ventura, California working on the project.

WWE Superstars Dolph Ziggler and The Miz were interviewed by CBS reporter Chris Van Vliet prior to their appearance at NBA’s “WWE Night” on Wednesday. The following are some highlights from the interview:

Dolph Ziggler on his Royal Rumble status: “I wish I had some answer for you. I’ve gone through a couple different tests. They’ve all been coming back very positively, which is I’m healing very well. Sunday, I will be there to get checked out.”

Ziggler on preparing for his return: “I’m actually feeling pretty good. I’ve had a couple weeks to rest and not fall down. I’m back in the gym, feeling good, really looking forward to getting back in the ring real soon.”

Ziggler on Ultimate Warrior’s return: “All he has to do is run down. I go, ‘I’ll get clotheslined. He’ll [The Miz] get clotheslined.’ Ten seconds. The place would blow the roof off.”

The Miz on Warrior’s return: “I’ll do it! Sign me up!”

Watch the complete interview below:

Following his return to WWE on Monday’s RAW, Batista tweeted a thank you message to his supporters and also gave a shout out to the ‘smarks’ who the fans who were critical of his appearance:

Just wanted to thank everyone who supported my return. I missed you guys!! All you other negative Smarks can suck my balls! Haha!!! #onelife

— Dave Bautista (@DaveBautista) January 23, 2014

The following matches will take place on tonight’s ‘Genesis Week 2’ episode of Impact Wrestling on Spike TV:

* Kurt Angle vs. Bobby Roode (Steel Cage Match)

* X-Division Champion Chris Sabin vs. Austin Aries

* Samoa Joe vs. Rockstar Spud

* Gunner vs. James Storm (for Gunner’s Briefcase)

* TNA World Champion Magnus vs. Sting (Sting’s TNA contract on the line)

SPOILERS For Tonight’s TNA IMPACT – STING’s Future With TNA Revealed

The following is an excerpt from a new Grantland interview with WWE Hall Of Famer Jim Ross:

What’s your current status with WWE? Do you have a Legends contract or are you totally done with them?

I have a Legends agreement. If you put a gun to my head, I honestly couldn’t tell you how much longer it’s in effect. If they need somebody to go in for a DVD or video-game work, things like that, I can help out as a freelancer.

You were last seen as a WWE employee at SummerSlam, hosting a rather controversial panel discussion for WWE 2K14, where Ric Flair seemed to be, shall we say, overly animated. The rumors are that gig got you fired.

I don’t think you have to be a Mensa member to figure out that it had an influence on decisions that were made. I was working with the developmental kids [in NXT] and enjoying that, and got called in for that job.

It was a very unique night, to say the least. Ric was coming off maybe the most traumatic time of his life. [Flair’s son had recently died of a drug overdose.] In hindsight, it might not have been the most timely booking, to get him in that environment. And then you can look at the other side and say maybe it’s a good thing to get him out around friends. As it worked out, you’d probably lean more to the former than the latter. But here’s the deal: I was conductor of a runaway train. I was supposed to keep it on the tracks and that didn’t happen. So I don’t have any issues taking responsibility. Did I envision that it would help facilitate my exit? No. But I could see the thinking behind it.

But honestly, people might not believe this, and I don’t want to give one of those eye-rollers, but it really came at a good time. My health is good, I just celebrated my 62nd birthday, I got a lot of projects going. I’m going to start a podcast soon with the same company that does Austin and Jericho. I’m excited about that. I got Live Nation working with me on one-man shows and, of course, we start out the way we want to start out, in New York City, Saturday, March 1, at the Gramercy Theater.

Check out the complete interview online at Grantland.com.

WWE Superstar Daniel Bryan recently sat down with Shaffee of WGRD in Michigan for a lengthy interview. During the interview, Bryan discusses his brief run with The Wyatt Family, whether or not the Michigan State crowd chanting “Yes!” played a role in his quick babyface turn and his belief that WWE still don’t see money in him.

Here are some highlights of what Bryan said about:

Getting Over Despite WWE Booking Him Poorly: 

“I don’t feel like they…they never aspired for me to be where I’m at. There’s certain guys…they see somebody and say, ‘I see money in that guy.’ I don’t think they ever looked at me and said ‘I see money in that guy’ and to this day, even with the loud fan reactions that I get, I don’t feel like the company still doesn’t see money in me. That’s just interesting, because you go out there and you do your best and sometimes it can be very, very frustrating. That’s probably one of the biggest frustrations of this job because this is not an objective business. It’s not like football where if you’re a running back and you go out there and get five yards of carry every time you are out there, they are going to keep putting you in because.”

” The stats don’t lie. It’s not that. It’s, “He’s getting a great crowd reaction, but is he selling tickets?” The bottom line is you need people who are going to sell tickets, but I can get the crowd to react very loudly, but does that’s transition into people buying PPVs or does that transition into this or that? “Oh, I don’t think he’s very marketable….he might have a niche appeal” or this or that or whatever. I just go out there and do my best. Sometimes, it’s very difficult dealing with the political type stuff because I’m not a politician. I never have been. I’ve never been someone to say, ‘Oh you have to do this with me or you have to do that with me.’ My whole career…I’ve been pretty easy going. As far as being pretty successful in WWE, that’s probably my biggest downfall actually and that’s…it’s one of those things…the booker in Ring of Honor. Ring of Honor was an independent company I worked for for years…his name was Gabe Sapolsky. He ran the company from the time it started until 2007. He said when he met me, he never thought I’d be the guy in Ring of Honor. When he met CM Punk, he thought he’d be the guy. When he met Samoa Joe, he thought he’d be the guy in ROH. Both of them were the guys for Ring of Honor. I ended up being the guy for Ring of Honor but he never thought of that because of my personality. I’d be, “Okaaay’ Bryan you are doing this tonight. OK.”

Not Being ‘Protected’ By WWE Like Steve Austin & Hulk Hogan Were:

“The interesting thing to me, because I’m a fan of pro wrestling history. I am a fan and I love the whole thing. What’s interesting is I’ve become very popular without needing what those guys needed to become very popular, which is Hogan didn’t get beated for years, a four year run as champion. Steve Austin, after the big promo that started the Austin 3:16 thing, he was very carefully managed and you didn’t see him a lot, you know? He lost a couple of times but you didn’t see him lose a lot on TV. This year, the day after Wrestlemania, 70,000 people throwing their arms up and doing my “Yes”. I lost to Big E. Langston in three minutes. I’m not somebody who’s been protected or… “

Losing To Sheamus at WrestleMania 28 In 18 Seconds:

“In 18 seconds. Two months before I main evented Summerslam, I lost to Damien Sandow in four minutes. It’s one of those things where it’s never been, I’ve never been the guy…let’s put a rocket ship to him, let’s try to turn him into the guy. That’s why, if that doesn’t happen, because you need that to happen for you to have any enduring success beyond crowd reaction. A great example for me is a UFC Fighter and he’s Clay Guida. He was everybody’s favorite. There was a point where everybody was rooting for this guy because he fought like an animal but then he kept getting to that number one contendership spot and losing or getting a title fight and getting dominated. People still like him but nobody’s getting PPVs to see Clay Guida fight. They like him, he’s awesome, he’s an animal but you have to overcome that hurdle. They have to see you as a success for people to buy into you as an attraction like Austin was, like Hogan is. Like John Cena is. For John Cena to become the success that he is, they didn’t just put him in his first title match and he was the draw that John Cena is now. The same thing with Steve Austin. It had to be a lot of time of him on top and him winning and he had a supporting cast and was wrestling guys like Shawn Michaels and Triple H and all the big names of the past.”

• Surprise Royal Rumble Entrants Revealed + New Rumored WMXXX Matches

WWE has added the latest sit-down interview with Triple H, this time conducted by Renee Young, to their official YouTube channel.

The video, which you can view above, is accompanied by the following description: “WWE COO Triple H addresses whether Randy Orton “made things right” on Raw, CM Punk as the first entrant into the Royal Rumble Match and the possibility of Batista being “The Face of WWE.””

– The 2014 WWE Payback pay-per-view will take place on June 1st at the Allstate Arena in Chicago, Illinois. The Payback pay-per-view in 2013 was held in the same location and was headlined by John Cena vs. Ryback in a “Three Stages of Hell” match for the WWE Championship.

– The new Jim Ross podcast will begin airing in mid-February and will be released on Wednesday’s at PodcastOne.com.

The ratings and viewership data is in for Monday’s episode of RAW and it was a home run for WWE.

The show did a 3.46 rating and averaged 4,868,000 viewers – way up from last week (3.12 rating, 4,404,000 viewers). This was the most-watched RAW since March 4, 2013.

Here’s the hourly breakdown for Monday:

Hour 1: 5,249,000
Hour 2: 4,995,000
Hour 3: 4,363,000

The show featured Batista’s first WWE appearance in 4 years and the follow up to Daniel Bryan breaking free of the Wyatt Family last week.