SEScoops

Author: Staff

  • Jim Ross Comments On Appearing At SmackDown Tapings

    As previously reported, WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross made a surprise appearance at this week’s SmackDown tapings from Tulsa, Oklahoma.

    Ross did an in-ring segment with fellow Oklahoma native Jack Swagger during the tapings and refereed the dark match main event that took place afterwords.

    According to Ross, his appearance will not be televised. Ross wrote the following on Twitter @JRsBBQ regarding the experience:

    “Just lv’ing Tulsa where I refereed the non tv main event, Rey/Kofi vs Kane/Del Rio. Made it full circle as I reffed my 1st bout n Tulsa n 74

    “My backstage interview w/ Swagger was 4 live audience only & won’t air on SDown. Had a fun day. Didn’t know I was going until early this am.”

  • Jim Ross Make Surprise Appearance At SmackDown Tapings

    WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross made his return to WWE at Tuesday’s SmackDown tapings in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

    In a segment that may or may not air on TV this Friday night, Ross appeared to a huge ovation from his home state crowd and did an interview but was interrupted by fellow Oklahoma native Jack Swagger.

    According to our correspondent in attendance, Swagger put down Oklahoma and Ross before starting his match.

    WWE sometimes has local stars cut in-ring promos when they are in their home city or state. It’s possible that the segment with Ross won’t air on TV but just was a treat for the fans in attendance.

    After the SmackDown tapings ended, Jim Ross was the special guest referee in the dark main event. The match saw Rey Mysterio and WWE Intercontinental Champion Kofi Kingston defeat Alberto Del Rio and Kane.

    After the match, Ross and Del Rio got into it. Mysterio and Kofi snuck up from behind and Ross pushed Del Rio over them to end the show.

  • *Spoiler* Wade Barrett’s New Stable Gets A Name

    Wade Barrett’s version of The Nexus is now going by The Core on Smackdown.

    The faction features Barrett, Ezekiel Jackson, Heath Slater and Justin Gabriel.

    They will debut the new name on this Friday’s edition of Smackdown.

  • Macho Man Confirmed For New WWE All Stars Game (VIDEO)

    Screenshots of Randy Savage in the new WWE All Stars Game:

    Video game website IGN.com has announced that former WWE and WCW champion “Macho Man” Randy Savage has been confirmed for the upcoming “WWE All Stars” video game.

    Randy Savage has not worked with WWE directly in many years. This past fall, WWE and Savage collaborated for the first time since the early 1990s, when WWE released a DVD set based on Savage’s career. Many hoped the Savage DVD set would result in Savage’s long-awaited return to WWE television, but that never happened and he wasn’t even interviewed for the project.

    For those unfamiliar with the new WWE All Stars game, it will feature superstars from today as well legends previous generations. The game will feature “over the top” and “highly stylized” characters, along with arcade-style play (opposed to the SmackDown vs. RAW series, which is more of a ‘simulation’.)

    “Macho Man” Randy Savage joins an already stacked roster that includes names like Steve Austin, The Rock, Bret Hart, Triple H, John Cena and more.

    Check out this video of  Savage promoting the game (including new gameplay footage of Savage):

  • Kimbo Slice To Make Wrestling Debut, Goldust’s Injury

    – Goldust provided the following injury updated on his Twitter today:

    “The injury is healing….but this kind of injury takes time to heal…my shoulder was destroyed bad.”

    — Earlier today, we reported that Chris Jericho commented on Mason Ryan’s WWE television debut on RAW – jokingly calling him “Batistwo.” A few more wrestlers have commented on the debut:

    FCW star Ken Li: “Big congrats to Mason Ryan!! Good seeing him on Raw!!”

    Tyler Reks: “Big Barry, torture rack, break your back”

    Zack Ryder: “What? Steve Blackman joined the Nexus tonight?”

    — The move that Mason Ryan delivered to John Cena on RAW was his finishing move in FCW, which he calls the House of Pain.

    – MMA fighter Kimbo Slice will make his pro wrestling debut on February 5th for WWE Hall of Famer Antonio Inoki’s IGF promotion in Japan.

    Slice will be taking on Shinichi Suzukawa in an “IGF Championship” match, says their website. That show will also feature fellow MMA fighter Josh Barnett and former WWE star Shane Helms.

    COMMENT BELOW: Based on what you’ve seen of Kimbo Slice in UFC – do you think he’d make a good fit in the pro wrestling world?

  • Orton Helps Flood Victims, Jericho Calls Mason Ryan “Batistwo”

    — RAW superstar Randy Orton has been posting messages on Twitter recently telling his followers where they can donate to Australia’s flood relief initiative. For more on how you can donate to help with the recent flooding in Australia, visit Qld.Gov.Au.

    — On Monday’s RAW, we saw Maryse vs. Natalya and a tag title match between Kozlov & Santino and the Uso Twins. The reason we saw these matches this week is because they were actually bumped from last week’s show due to time constraints. (Source: f4wonline.com)

    — Following the debut of Mason Ryan on Monday’s RAW, Chris Jericho wrote the following on Twitter (@IAmJericho):

    “Interesting to see the debut of Batistwo tonight on Raw…”

    — WWE star Goldust recently mentioned on Twitter that he got a huge new tattoo on his left forearm that says “Perseverance.” Check it out:

  • Former WWE Writer Explains What Vince McMahon Really Wants

    In the six years that he was a writer for World Wrestling Entertainment, Ring of Honor producer Dave Lagana worked directly with Vince McMahon and got a good sense of what makes the legendary wrestling promoter tick. Lagana has posted a blog titled, “Hey Pal: What Does Vince McMahon Want From Wrestling?” .. Here are some highlights of what Lagana said about:

    Know Your Brand: “Coke is a brand. Tide is a brand. You are a brand. Vince would always make this one point very clear: “Perception is Reality.” Vince McMahon is a brand. From how he walks, to how he carries himself, to the speech patterns he uses. What he does, works for him. Don’t believe me? Check out his net worth. Vince would sit down with talents to talk with them, to get inside their heads and find out who they are. The best characters always come from inside the person playing them. Vince prided himself with finding a little nugget inside a talent and running with it. All the great characters are a piece of themselves, with the volume turned up.”

    What’s Your Finish: “No matter if it was a storyline being pitched to Vince or details of a match, he’d always ask ‘What’s your finish?’ He wanted to see if you had thought about where you were going, the goal. While this sometimes could be perceived as a power game, it also made you prepare differently for the next time.”

    No Sneezing: “If there is one thing Vince McMahon hates… it’s sickness. “There is no such thing as sick”, was the usual response when someone would try to use it as an excuse. Vince is a workaholic and if anything gets in the way of his work, it makes him angry. Paul Heyman would joke that Vince would get angry with his own sneezes. Perhaps it was because he couldn’t control it. ”

    To read the full blog, visit Lagana’s site at IWantWrestling.com.

  • Mason Ryan Debuts On RAW & Joins Nexus (PICTURES)

    On Monday’s episode of WWE RAW, an unknown man come down to the ring at the end of the John Cena vs. CM Punk main event. The man is WWE developmental talent Mason Ryan.

    Ryan came down to the ring and went face to face with John Cena. He attacked Cena and then went face to face with CM Punk. After Punk put his arms up in a crucifixion pose, Ryan delivered a boot to Punk’s face, before beating down Cena more. Out comes Nexus. Ryan then got in front of CM Punk, got down on one knee and was given a Nexus armband. The new 5-man Nexus stood in the middle of the ring to end RAW.

    Mason Ryan is a former UK Gladiators competitor known as “Goliath” and has been training at WWE’s developmental territory, Florida Championship Wrestling. He is the reigning FCW Florida Heavyweight Champion.

    Check out these pictures of MASON RYAN:

  • More On Punk Getting Assaulted By Fan, Adamle DUI Update

    — To update the news of former WWE RAW General Manager Mike Adamle being arrested last week and charged with DUI, TribLocal.com is reporting that Adamle’s lawyer Dean Dickie says they will be fighting the arrest.

    Although Adamle failed a field sobriety test and showed “erratic behavior” prior to the arrest, Dickie argues that Adamle’s blood alcohol content was only 0.04, which is below the legal limit in the state of Illinois. Adamle has publicly disclosed that he takes medication to treat epilepsy (a brain disorder that results in seizures).

    A doctor quoted in the TribLocal article stated that several common epilepsy medications could impair a person’s motor skills or driving ability, so that defense could be used by Adamle’s lawyers when he’s in court on February 14th in Skokie, Illinois to defend himself against the charges.

    — It was reported here that CM Punk got into an altercation with a fan at Sunday’s WWE super show event from Shreveport, Louisiana. A few fans who were at the show have sent in recaps of what went down and there are new details to report. Following his match, CM Punk got in the faces of several fans at ringside, including a few young children. Punk told one of the kids, said to be around 10 years old, to slap him. The fan slapped Punk, who told the fan to slap him again. The fan complied, when Punk allegedly grabbed the child by the shirt and told him to do it again. The child began to cry and his parents began yelling at CM Punk. Punk was heard yelling that the child scratched his eye during the provoked attack.

  • Update On This Year’s 40-Man Royal Rumble Match

    As previously reported, it’s been announced that the 2011 Royal Rumble match will feature 40 competitors instead of the usual 30.

    WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross posted the following on Twitter @JRsBBQ regarding the news:

    “If having 40 men in the Royal Rumble match helps sell ppvs, then its a really good idea. 40 sounds good to me. Makes the main event bigger.”

    “Watch what I say, the 40 man royal rumble match will be over analyzed by many. Gives 10 more paydays & adds ‘biggest ever’ mkt’ing hook”.

    After checking with a WWE source, it appears Ross’ idea of selling more pay-per-views is exactly what WWE is going for by adding 10 more men to the match. With 40 men involved in the Rumble, expect the interval between each man entering the match to be reduced from 2 minutes to 60-90 seconds.

  • RAW Preview: John Cena vs. CM Punk, Royal Rumble Hype

    Tonight’s episode of WWE RAW takes place from Little Rock, Arkansas. The show will be headlined by the return of John Cena, who will square off against Nexus leader CM Punk. This will be Cena’s first appearance on RAW in two weeks. He’s been sidelined since the show when Punk joined Nexus and took Cena out with his Go To Sleep Finisher.

    After being injured in late December and keeping a light in-ring schedule while recovering, Cena returned to WWE’s live events tour this weekend. Cena wrestled on Friday and Saturday, but was pulled from Sunday’s live event from Louisiana. No explanation was given to the crowd on Sunday as to why Cena would not be able to compete as advertised, but WWE is still hyping his match against CM Punk for tonight.

    With only two weeks until the Royal Rumble, expect to see more matches and Rumble match participants announced tonight. Thus far, WWE Champion The Miz vs. Randy Orton is the only RAW brand match announced for the show.

    The dark match main event being advertised locally is WWE Champion The Miz and CM Punk vs. John Cena & Randy Orton, with Michael Cole as special guest referee.

  • North Carolina iMPACT! Won’t Be Live, More On Big 2/3 iMPACT!

    – TNA is pushing the February 3rd iMPACT hard because that’s the beginning of the February sweeps on TV. iMPACT that night will feature Jeff Hardy vs. Mr. Anderson for the TNA World Title and the return of Hulk Hogan.

    – The Wrestling Observer reports that the February 24th iMPACT tapings in Fayetteville, North Carolina will not be a live show, as previously reported. TNA will tape the March 3rd and March 10th iMPACT shows that night. The iMPACT that airs on February 17th and 24th will be taped on February 14th and 15th in Orlando.

    The plan as of last week was to do tapings in Orlando and on the road, depending on how things go. TNA may do as many as 8-10 iMPACT tapings on the road for the rest of this year.

    – One of the reasons TNA is taking iMPACT tapings on the road is because Spike TV officials have been impressed with the atmosphere at TNA live events they have attended. There’s a feeling that the iMPACT Zone at Universal Studios is overbooked.

    (Credit to f4wonline.com for some of the info used in this report)

  • Royal Rumble To Feature 40 Participants, Jericho Book Tour

    — Joey Styles just announced on Twitter that this year’s Royal Rumble will be the biggest Rumble in WWE history. Styles wrote on @JoeyStyles:

    “This year, there will be 40 participants in the Royal Rumble Match instead of 30. It will be the biggest Royal Rumble Match in history!”

    — The following dates have been announced for Chris Jericho’s upcoming book tour to promote his new book, “Undisputed”:

    2/15 (7:00 PM) BookEnds in Ridgewood, NJ
    2/16 (Noon) Borders Books in New York, NY.
    2/16 (7:00 PM) Book Revue in Huntington, NY
    2/19 (2:00 PM) Barnes & Noble in McLean, VA
    2/22 (7:00 PM) Borders Books in Torrance, CA
    2/25 (7:00 PM) Barnes & Noble in Tampa FL.
    2/26 (3:00 PM) Borders Books in Winter Park, FL

  • Wade Barrett’s New Nexus Group, Kong’s WWE Debut & More

    — On Friday’s SmackDown, we saw Heath Slater, Justin Gabriel and Ezekiel Jackson align themselves with Wade Barrett in what appears to be a new incarnation of the Nexus group. It’s worth noting that in promoting upcoming SmackDown live events, WWE is advertising Wade Barrett’s new group “Nexus.”

    — Speaking of the SmackDown Nexus group, WWE is advertising Ezekiel Jackson as simply “Ezekiel,” so he may be dropping his last name.

    — Fans interested in attending the WWE SmackDown taping at the Nassau Coliseum in Long Island, New York can use code LISD4PACK to purchase four tickets for $60. This promotion ends Friday.

    — Former TNA Knockout Awesome Kong, who recently signed a deal with World Wrestling Entertainment, will be starting with the company soon, according to Mike Mooneyham.

  • ROH On HDNet Preview: Hero vs. Daniels, Briscoe Brothers

    The following is a spoiler-free preview for tonight’s episode of ROH on HDNet:

    – Chris Hero vs. Christopher Daniels.

    – Daizee Haze vs. MsChif.

    – Jim Cornette interviews Charlie Haas and Shelton Benjamin.

    – The Briscoe Brothers will be in action

  • Val Venis Fighting To Help Those Abusing Prescription Pills

    Former WWE and TNA wrestler Sean Morley, best known as “Val Venis” during WWE’s Attitude Era, has launched ScriptDanger.com to raise awareness about the dangers of abusing prescription medication.

    The site’s mission statement reads:

    “The purpose of ScriptDanger.com is to effectively spread the powerful message that prescription drug abuse is a dangerous activity that can and will lead to life destroying addiction and ultimately death. Sean Morley (aka Val Venis) inspires and motivates people to refrain from abusing prescription drugs and provides resources for those who currently need help. Sean speaks to schools, sports teams, church groups, corporations, small and large businesses, and many other organizations around the world.”

    The site includes some startling statistics about prescription drug abuse. Between 1995 and 2005, treatment for dependence on prescription drugs grew by more than 300 percent.

  • Candid Pictures From Michelle McCool’s Twitter Page

    Here are some recent pictures from WWE diva Michelle McCool’s Twitter page:

  • John Cena Pulled From Sunday RAW Brand House Show

    John Cena was advertised to appear at Sunday’s RAW brand live event from Shreveport, Louisiana, but was not at the show.

    Cena, who wrestled Friday night in Tennessee, had been scheduled to CM Punk on the show, but was replaced by Mark Henry. No reason was given for Cena’s absence.

    Here are quick results from the show:

    * John Morrison won a battle Royal to get a title shot later in the night.

    * Daniel Bryan beat Ted DiBiase and retained the US Title.

    * Alberto Del Rio beat R Truth.

    * Santino Marella and Vladimir Kozlov beat Nexus members David Otunga and Husky Harris.

    * CM Punk defeated Mark Henry.

    * The Miz defeated John Morrison to retain the WWE championship.

    * Kofi Kingston defended the Intercontinental championship against Dolph Ziggler.

    * Edge retained the World Heavyweight title against Kane.

  • JR Blog: Wrestlers Tanning, A-Ri, Helms-HBK, Lawler At WM27

    WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross has updated his blog, which you can read in its entirety at JRsBarBQ.com. Here are some highlights of what JR said about:

    Wrestlers Who Spray Tan: “Yes, wrestlers use spray tanning products to maintain their tans. Tanning beds aren’t frequented as much by wrestlers as they once were. What a question.”

    Alex Riley’s Potential: “I do have high expectations for Alex Riley. He seems athletic, articulate and intelligent. Only time will tell how far he goes but Riley has bonafide potential. FCW did a nice job of preparing Alex for WWE. Alex’s future success is largely up to Alex.”

    Shane Helms Trash Talking Shawn Michaels: “I haven’t followed the recent interaction w/ Shane Helms re: HBK. I know its been out there but it really isn’t something that I care to invest my time. Everyone has the right to express an opinion whether I or anyone else agrees with it or not.”

    Brock Lesnar Hosting The Ultimate Fighter: “Brock Lesnar knows how to ‘project’ on camera thanks to his WWE tenure so I feel Brock will do well as a coach for UFC’s TUF. Brock’s sound byte ability will be accentuated and he should sell a bunch of Death Clutch gear and his new book thanks to his weekly exposure on Spike TV.”

    “If the state of New York refuses to liscence UFC, the NY state politicians are goofy as pet coons. End of story.”

    Jerry Lawler Wrestling At WM27: “Have no idea if WWE will utilize Jerry Lawler as a wrestler at WM27 but if its ever going to happen this ‘might’ be the year. WWE is still developing many young stars and King is an established HOF’er who can still have excellent matches. For Jerry’s sake I hope he gets his Wrestlemania moment someday. If Jerry had his way he would wrestle full time and not broadcast but obviously that’s not in the cards at this time. WWE needs King at the announce desk arguably more than they need him in the ring.”

  • Updated Card For The 2011 Royal Rumble (1/30)

    Royal Rumble 2011
    Royal Rumble: January 30th

    Following Friday’s WWE SmackDown, here’s the updated card for WWE’s Royal Rumble 2011 pay-per-view:

    40-Man Royal Rumble Match
    Winner gets a title shot at WrestleMania 27

    WWE Championship Match
    The Miz defends Randy Orton

    World Heavyweight Championship Match
    Edge defends against Dolph Ziggler

    Be here on Sunday, January 30th for our ROYAL RUMBLE LIVE COVERAGE! Throughout the entire show, we’ll be posting up-to-the-minute live results and analysis of what’s going on .. We’ll see you here on the 30th.

    PREDICTIONS: We want to know what YOU think is going to happen at the Royal Rumble. Who will win the Rumble? Who SHOULD win the Rumble? Will we see any title changes? COMMENT below and make your predictions.

  • New SmackDown Stable, CM Punk vs. Daniel Bryan, Ziggler

    – SmackDown star Dolph Ziggler was recently interviewed by TimesRecordNews.com. The former Intercontinental champion spoke about a number of topics, including how he got into the wrestling business, how he deals with WWE’s hectic travel schedule and his favorite wrestlers growing up. It’s a pretty good read – you can check it out here.

    – Ricardo Rodriguez, Alberto Del Rio’s personal ring announcer, put over WWE developmental and second generation talent Bo Rotundo on his Twitter this week. He wrote:

    “Bo Rotundo is someone to keep an eye on. Amazing talent.”

    – In case you missed SmackDown or haven’t heard yet, Justin Gabriel, Heath Slater and Ezekiel Jackson joined forces with Wade Barrett to form a new Nexus faction on SmackDown. From what we’ve heard, Gabriel and Slater will be joining Wade Barrett as official members of the SmackDown roster. Expect the formation of this new faction to lead to a feud with CM Punk’s Nexus group.

    – Speaking of CM Punk, it’s been announced that he will be wrestling WWE United States champion at several RAW-brand live events in February. These two had some epic battles in Ring of Honor several years ago, let’s hope these matches are a trial run for an upcoming feud. Check out this clip of Daniel Bryan making Punk tap out in ROH:

  • Fozzy Plays Los Angeles: Live Recap Of Jericho’s Band Performing

    Fozzy featuring Chris Jericho plays the Whisky-A-Go-Go in Hollywood, CA
    Thursday January 13, 2011 – Report by Carol Clark

    Fozzy has been doing these VIP things before their shows for a while now, so when I found out last December they were playing here in Los Angeles I jumped at the chance! The passes weren’t inexpensive ($75 ahead of time, and $75 at the door) but being the Jerichoholic that I am I had shelled out money for a “Fozzy Survival Pack” last year and it included a Fozzy backstage pass. Turns out, with that pass my additional $75 at the door was waived!

    We arrived at 3pm, met our contact Marty (none other than former WWE ref Marty Elias) and waited for the Madness to begin. The VIP experience was supposed to include sitting inside while the band sound-checked, but they were using borrowed gear from their NAMM sponsors, and it all arrived late so instead we stood outside on the street and chatted with Marty. Finally, they let us inside and we all got autographed pictures of the band, autographed VIP t-shirts, and VIP passes. Then we posed for pictures with the band (mine is blurry) and mingled. I talked to Rich Ward (Fozzy guitarist and an all around awesome guy) and got autographs from the rest of the band. Finally it was time to meet Chris. Lo and behold he remembered my friend and I from when we used to go watch his Groundlings shows…so he hugged us! He also took the time to have a rather lengthy conversation with me, which was very cool.

    After that we all walked up the street to the Rainbow Room where we had pizza and got to mingle more with the band. We met Chris’s wife, and she was so sweet!

    Back down the street to the Whisky where we stood through 2 other bands…ZO2 (the guys from Z-Rock, Chris had a guest appearance on their show once) and Jeff Scott Soto (who killed it!). Both bands were great!

    Fozzy hit the stage at 11, and played roughly 16 songs, including one with a guest appearance from Phil Campbell of Motorhead. The show was amazing…so much energy! They played a lot of songs from Chasing the Grail as well as some from their other 3 releases. A really fun part was the build up to “God Pounds his Nails” where Jericho coached us on saying “eh eh eh” when he raised his right hand and “1, 2, 3” when he raised his left, but we were supposed to wait for him to raise his hands. They were all amazed that we actually (everyone in the crowd) waited for him to raise his hand instead of yelling out “1, 2, 3″…LOL!

    The Whisky is a landmark to the LA club scene, they’re celebrating their 47th birthday this Sunday. Motley Crue and Jim Morrison have played there. When they first hit the stage Jericho said that when he was 12, in his first band in his mom’s basement, he dreamed of playing the Whisky…and now here he was! I’ve been going to the Whisky for shows since 1980, and have never seen a bad show there. During dinner I talked with Fozzy’s drummer about the venue, telling him that I went on my first date with my husband there (he’d never heard of The Selecter, the band we saw that night).

    The Miz showed up just in time for the show, and Jericho acknowledged him from the stage before they played “Enemy”…he asked us if we wanted to hear it, then he said “Does the Champ want to hear it?”

    All in all, it was a fantastic time, and I am SO GLAD to have had the opportunity to go!

  • Video: Matt Hardy Says Val Venis’ Attacks Are A Work

    TNA star Matt Hardy has posted issued a response to Sean “Val Venis” Morley’s recent video where he talked serious trash about Matt and Jeff.

    Matt posted the following on Youtube:

    “After weeks of bashing me and my crew, the truth comes out. Sean Morley is trying to get an internet war started by LYING to his fans and all wrestling fans in an attempt to ride my coattails along with the rest of the CORE Group. Sorry Val, not gonna give you the satisfaction.”

  • Elimination Chamber PPV Poster, Cena Update, HBK News

    – This year’s Elimination Chamber pay-per-view takes place on February 20th from the Oracle Arena in Oakland, California. A new promotional poster for the event has been released and it features World Heavyweight champion Edge.

    – Add Paul Heyman and Bill Goldberg to the long list of people who congratulated Shawn Michaels on Twitter this week for his upcoming induction into the WWE Hall of Fame.

    – A few SEScoops readers who were in attendance at last night’s RAW live event in Tennessee sent in word that that John Cena looked good in his match against CM Punk and The Miz, showing no signs of injury. As we reported on Friday, Cena is back on the road as of this weekend.

  • Jeff Jarrett Talks TNA In 2011, Hogan-Bischoff, Kurt-Karen

    TNA founder Jeff Jarrett was interviewed this week by the Baltimore Sun .. Here are some highlights of what Jarrett said about:

    Whether TNA Wrestling Is Profitable: “Absolutely. We turned that corner four or five years ago. Like WWE or any other business, would we like to be making more money? Sure, but the reality is that the U.S. economy is still in a recession, and internationally we have different economies to deal with, but all in all, we’re pleased.”

    His Personal Goals For TNA In 2011: “We want to grow the brand globally. We’ve got a tour of Europe coming next week. We’re looking at taking it potentially to a couple other sites overseas. We want to see the live events continue to grow, [merchandise] to grow. We just want to continue to grow on everything, and that’s sort of a broad answer, but it’s the truth.”

    Hulk Hogan & Eric Bischoff’s Impact On TNA So Far: “We have people in positions now more than ever to succeed. And I’m talking about behind the scenes and as far as our roster goes from top to bottom – Kurt Angle, X Division, the Hardys, RVD, Mr. Anderson. We’ve got an incredible roster. Short answer: Yes, I’m very pleased with where we’re headed.”

    Going Head-To-Head With WWE On Monday Nights: “We learned, just like the wrestling fans learned, that the world has changed. Back in the “Monday Night Wars,” that was before our good little friend called the DVR was around, and you had to flip back and forth. Nowadays, the viewing habits are just entirely different and we found that out. The landscape has changed, so we’ve planted our feet in our ground and we’re making it grow, and that’s our strategy right now. Had we not tried it, though, we would have never found out.”

    Working With Kurt Angle & Karen On Camera: “Well, story line is a word that doesn’t quite actually apply if you know what I mean. Me and Kurt – on a personal note, we’re good; on a professional note, I don’t think we’ll ever be on the same page. But it’s very unique, real, raw emotions. He’ll say his piece, and I’ll say my piece, and probably more importantly, Karen’s going to say her piece. It’s going to be very, very interesting.”