TNA star Hulk Hogan appeared on Fox News’ “Fox & Friends” show this morning to promote his return to the ring this Monday night on TNA iMPACT!, the first night of the new Monday Night War. Hogan will team with Abyss against AJ Styles and Ric Flair.
During the segment, Hogan talked a number of topics, including his time in TNA thus far, being offered a 25-year contract by WWE before he signed with TNA, his relationship with Dixie Carter and much more.
Hogan was asked why he went back to the business if it ravaged his body. He talked about being addicted to the business and wanting to work with TNA president Dixie Carter and the talent on the roster to “make history.” He said he still gets goosebumps every time he touches a wrestling ring and wants to make TNA a legit competitor to WWE, which will raise the “water level” of the industry as a whole.
St. Louis’ RiverfrontTimes.com has an interview with Hulk Hogan, who talks about wrestling against Ric Flair in a tag match on March 8th, his financial motivation for getting back in the ring. He also takes a shot at The Rock’s movie career. Hogan admits that his body is broken down, but he’s getting back in the ring because the fans demanded it, brother! Here’s what Hogan said about:
Is He Able To Still Wrestle? “Oh, I can’t, brother. I was in Australia recently and did four dates wrestling Ric Flair. The first day I ran into Ric with a shoulder tackle and knocked him down. He popped up and came right back at me. I didn’t have my footing right. I was turned in when he hit me and my right hip popped out of its socket. The pain shot like a piece of electricity to my head and right behind my ear. I felt like my head exploded. I fell and dumbed it up against the rope until I could pop my hip back in. That was my first day back. I really didn’t want to wrestle, but I got into a situation with TNA when the fans are chanting ‘Hogan! Hogan!’ It’s hard to say no. I painted myself in a corner. Now I’m fighting a tag-team match March 8 with Abyss against Ric Flair and A.J. Styles. I did that to myself, but I really shouldn’t be wrestling anymore.”
His Financial Situation Pushing Him To Wrestle Again: “I was in a situation where I was kind of lost and I happened to walk by a ring in a gym. I reached out and touched it, and I got goosebumps. I knew I had a problem, kind of like being an addict. I said, ‘Oh boy.’ It’s like driving a fast car or being on a date with a beautiful woman. So, that was part of it. The other was necessity. After the last couple years, financially, I needed to do something. I was devastated financially.”
Hogan Takes a Shot at The Rock: “I thought about moving out to L.A. and doing the movie thing cause I have seventeen movies under my belt — mostly low-budget kid movies, kind of like what The Rock is doing now. My agent said they could put me in supporting roles. I’d never be a Gene Hackman or anything, but there is work for me. But I just wasn’t into it. I needed to to work and thought why not get back to what I love, wrestling?”
– As announced on last night’s TNA iMPACT!, Hulk Hogan and Ric Flair will come out of retirement on March 8th in a tag match that will see the two legends on opposite sides of the ring. Hulk Hogan will team with Abyss against Ric Flair and TNA champion AJ Styles.
– Despite the fact that he’s one of the biggest names that TNA has access to, one big name that’s been conspicuously absent in recent weeks is Sting. The company knows that he’s not interested in being too involved in the product these days and his name isn’t mentioned too often by TNA officials.
– With the dust starting to settle from Hulk Hogan and Eric Bischoff’s arrival in TNA, the backstage atmosphere at the most recent iMPACT tapings was said to be very relaxed at the most recent TNA iMAPCT! tapigns in Orlando. Hogan and Bischoff seemed more down to earth and comfortable when working with the TNA talent. Some credit the improvement in backstage morale to Dixie Carter constantly telling people she wants to keep TNA a positive, fun work environment.
– It was reported a few weeks back that Hulk Hogan and Eric Bischoff wanted TNA to stop doing live events until they got everything in TNA on the right track. Their position was based on poor house show performance in November and December. Being that TNA did great live event business in January (following the successful January 4th show), the live events were never scrapped. Jeff Jarrett, Don West and Jeremy Borash are currently in charge of live events.
– The company behind the “Hulkamania: Let the Battle Begin” tour of Australia has gone bankrupt and the expected DVD of the Hulkamania tour of Australia probably won’t be released. Hulk Hogan reportedly wouldn’t allow them to market the DVD until the promoters paid him money he was still owed for the tour. The show was scheduled to air in Australia on TV a few months ago and there was talk of another tour in China, but those plans are off.
– The new bi-sexual storyline with Orlando Jordan got off to a bad start with TNA and Spike TV officials as neither of them were happy with the way Jordan’s male companion was rubbing him in the bit that didn’t air on iMPACT. The guy with Jordan is the same guy that was with him when he got fired from WWE a few years back.
TNA President Dixie Carter spoke to Brian Fritz of FanHouse.com this week about iMPACT!’s upcoming move to Monday nights on March 8th. Dixie spoke about what it’s going to be like competing with WWE head on every single week. She knows TNA is playing a high stakes game, but sounds ready to lead her company into battle. Here are some highlights of what she said about:
How Everything Came Together: Dixie Carter: Well, we’ve talked about a move to Monday nights for a while, since, for over a year and it just seemed like the time was right. When I knew Hulk Hogan was coming on board, I just kind of put a halt to that and just thought how great would it be for the first time he debuts on our show, to let that be the first time we go to Monday night and the timing turned out perfect.
The Pressure of Competing Against WWE: You know, I don’t think of it that way. The days that were so hard, that was pressure. There used to be a lot of pressure. I don’t feel that pressure anymore. I’ve always handled it really well because there have been some very hard times in this company. And we still that little engine that could. This is a David vs. Goliath story if I’ve ever heard it and we are just so excited and so filled with energy but don’t have such expectations that they will be failures if we don’t meet them. We need to stay steady and continue to grow this.
Hulk Hogan’s Role in TNA & Making New Stars: “It has been the best decision I ever made. I don’t think I’ve ever had one conversation with Hulk Hogan about Hulk Hogan. Every conversation I have with him is about the other TNA talent we have and how can we make them better and how can we make them household names. People are just starting to see the very tip of this man’s genius in some of these things that we are going to make stars who have worked so hard to get to a certain level and truly take that next big step.”
TMZ.com reports that Hulk Hogan and his son Nick have settled the lawsuit filed against them by the family of John Graziano, who was seriously injured while a passenger in Nick Hogan’s Toyota Supra when he wrecked it in the summer of 2007. The terms of the settlement are confidential.
It’s believed that Hulk Hogan settled the lawsuit to avoid the “media circus” that a trial would have brought and to resolve the matter in a way that’s as painless as possible” for both the Hogan and Graziano families.
Hogan’s attorney, David R. Houston, tells TMZ they are “pleased as this was in the best interest of John.”
Linda Hogan, who was also sued by the Grazianos over the car wreck, reached a settlement with the family last month.
Six weeks after joining TNA Wrestling, Hulk Hogan tells Brian Fritz of FanHouse.com that he’s just now getting a handle on how to run a wrestling promotion and admits that for a while, he didn’t know what he was doing. Here are some highlights of what Hogan said about:
The First 6 Weeks in TNA: “I’ve never really done this before and with me everything is by instinct and feel. I was just saying a second ago to someone else that it’s actually taken me this long not to be overwhelmed because when I first came in here, everybody was going oh, they’re not going to like you, the young guys are not going to accept you. This whole negative veil of tears was thrown at me that wasn’t true. The company was very receptive; they gracefully accepted me with open arms. And then I got overwhelmed. There was so just so much good stuff going on but so many other little tweaks that kind of caught me off-guard ’cause I’m just a wrestler. I’m not someone who should be running a whole wrestling company. I know the feel for it. So it’s taken me this long to actually get all four of my claws on the ground or four feet on the ground and I feel comfortable.”
Playing Politics in TNA: “Well, you have to realize – barbarically speaking – I used to lace my boots up, go out to the ring, make my money and go home if you can say it that way. Now, the network is asking for certain things and when things get successful you get input from people you never thought you would get input from that give you, kind of, suggestions that help you or almost kind of like demands of what they want that could not be what’s best for wrestling creatively. And so all of a sudden, all these monsters are coming at me and I’m wondering how to politically, gracefully massage them and make them work because sometimes I…I wear my feelings on my sleeve and I’m not real good at being political and graceful with finesse. I’m trying to get all that done because there’s a lot of stuff, a lot of stuff. But I get it now.”
Hogan also talks about iMPACT! Moving to Monday nights, his relationship with Vince Russo and more in this interview, which you can read in its entirety at FanHouse.com.
In an interview with WWE Magazine’s special 2010 WrestleMania 26 Almanac, WWE Hall of Famer “Stone Cold” Steve Austin says he still has no interest in fighting Hulk Hogan, despite WWE’s repeated attempts to make the match happen at the past few WrestleManias.
“After I retired, for two or three years, they asked me, ‘Do you want to wrestle Hogan this year? Do you want to wrestle Hogan? And the answer is: No, I don’t. “I don’t care to wrestle Hulk Hogan. I don’t think it would live up to fans’s expectations.”
Austin says his match with Dwayne “The Rock” Dwayne Johnson at WrestleMania 19 in 2003 was his “retirement match.” Austin isn’t looking for one last rematch, because he doesn’t think it could be as good as their past classics.
“That was my last match, and I’m not looking for a re-match. I don’t it would be as good as what we’ve done before because we’ve both been out of the ring for some time. Could it be done? Of course. But there’s no use talking about it. … I definitely do not have any interest in delivering anything that would be second-best to what I’ve done before.”
When asked about his favorite WrestleMania match, Austin his WrestleMania 17 main event match against The Rock, but admits that turning heel and aligning himself with Mr. McMahon that night was a bad idea looking back.
“Looking back, it wasn’t the best thing we ever did,” Austin said. “Now, if I could go back, as soon as that match ended, when Vince walked up to me, I would have shaken his hand and said, ‘Watch the Stunner,’ and dropped him right there in the middle of the ring. That’s hindsight being 20/20!”
THE WORLD’S MOST FAMOUS FU-MANCHU MEETS THE WORLD’S LARGEST FU-MANCHU
St. Louis, Missouri (February 12, 2010) –Total Nonstop Action (TNA) Wrestling’s Hulk Hogan brings his blonde locks and fabled fu to St. Louis, home of the Gateway Arch, for the inaugural “Hogan Fu-Festâ€, set for Friday, February 26. The “Hogan Fu-Fest†will be a gathering of Fu’s from around the world as TNA Wrestling and Hogan attempt to set a world record for most Fu Manchu’s in one location at one time.
“Hogan Fu-Fest†will take place at Mike Shannon’s Steak and Seafood (620 Market Street) and is sponsored by Doc’s Harley Davidson of St. Louis. “Hogan Fu-Fest†will unite fu fans from around the world for one fu-nky afternoon. The spectacle starts at 2 p.m. CT.
The best or most creative fu’s will win ringside tickets to “TNA Lockdown 2010”, the pay-per-view extravaganza from Total Nonstop Action (TNA) Wrestling, set for Sunday night, April 18 at the Family Arena in suburban St. Charles, Mo.
“The Mustached American community of St. Louis is honored to welcome the world-renowned mustache of the man himself, Hulk Hogan,” said Dr. Aaron Perlut, chairman of the St. Louis-based American Mustache Institute (AMI).
“Biblical texts suggest that it is indeed a dangerous proposition – on par with hurricanes, tsunamis, or earthquakes – to bring together the two largest mustaches in the world, worn by Hulk Hogan and the Gateway Arch.”
The AMI will be honoring the Hulkster at the “Hogan Fu-Fest†for his long-standing upper-lip hair(s).
“The Power of The Fu is unstoppable,” Hogan said. “The Gateway Arch was fu-turistic when it was built. Today it embodies the spirit of Hulkamaniacs worldwide.”
Hogan is personally inviting anyone with a real-life Fu to attend – and also anyone who is creative. “Hogan Fu-Fest†attendees are welcome to draw, build or buy a Fu for the event. TNA Wrestling also will supply fake fu’s for those who need one for the event, as TNA is hoping to set a world record at Hogan Fu-Fest.
“Even I will sport a Fu to support Hogan,” said TNA Wrestling President Dixie Carter.
TNA Wrestling’s Lockdown 2010 pay-per-view extravaganza is scheduled for Sunday night, April 18, at the Family Arena in suburban St. Charles. Lockdown is TNA’s first 2010 PPV away from the company’s friendly confines of The iMPACT! Zone at Universal Studios in Orlando, Fla.,
AJ Styles, the reigning TNA World Heavyweight Championship, leads the St. Louis invasion of TNA stars, along with U.S. Olympic Gold Medal
winner Kurt Angle, Ric Flair, Jeff Jarrett, Kevin Nash, Mick Foley, Samoa Joe and more.
Tickets for “TNA Lockdown” go on sale Friday, February 26, at www.MetroTix.com, the Family Arena box office or charge by phone at 314-534-1111.
WHO: TNA Wrestling’s Hulk Hogan
WHAT: “Hogan Fu-Fest†– Judging of Fu Manchu’s to win front row tickets to “TNA
Lockdown 2010â€; Many prize giveaways, attempting to set a world record for largest gathering of Fu Manchu wearers.
WHEN: February 26, 2-4PM
WHERE: Mike Shannon’s Steak and Seafood (620 Market Street)
As reported earlier, TNA sent out a press release on Friday stating that Dixie Carter and Hulk Hogan would be making a “major announcement” on Monday afternoon. It is almost certain that TNA will be announcing that iMPACT! is moving to Monday nights in March.
Following the ratings success of January 4th’s Monday night iMPACT! special, TNA and Spike have been working out a deal that would bring iMPACT! to Monday nights permanently. While there were a serious of hangups during the negotiations, most of the major hurdles of been cleared.
iMPACT! is expected to run from 9-11pm (eastern), head-to-head with WWE RAW for two hours straight. The show will not be live each week at the beginning, but it’s certainly an option down the road if the show is a success and the show generates more money.
As for what qualifies as successful, it’s believed that a 1.2-1.5 is what both sides are expecting. There is always the possibility that Spike moves the show back to Thursday nights in the event that the rating falls off significantly, but the network is said to be behind TNA and will give them some time to establish themselves on Monday nights.
(Credit to PWTorch.com for some of the information used in this report)
Hulk Hogan was a recent guest on the Monday Night Mayhem radio show. Hosts Big Mosh, Blade, Todd Vincent, Chaz spoke to the Nature Boy about a number of topics and you can listen to an audio clip (MP3) of the entire interview at MondayNightMayhem.com. Here are the highlights of what Hogan said about:
How He & Bischoff’s Experience in WCW Will Help Them In TNA: “It’s not a cookie-cutter thing…you just lock down like you did when you ran against Vince with Ted Turner. I thought that would work just to work it in and make a crack, but things are different than they two-three months ago because of the economy. When you figure in the networks & the head of Viacom, and they’re watching the minute by minute numbers for 18-34, it’s not like you could just plug in the old NWO and do it like we did when we punked Vince out. It’s ever-changing moving parts, so we did learn from our mistakes; like when you get successful sometimes, you can get too full of yourself. Believe me, we are so grateful to be working with Dixie, we are so grateful to be with TNA, such a young company that’s got ‘more moves than a bowl of Jello.’ It’s not a public company where you gotta’ sit down with people to talk about votes & what we aren’t going to do. We don’t have a bunch of people that don’t know the wrestling business running the company. We have learned from our mistakes, and we are learning, almost like on the job training, because some of the stuff that worked two weeks ago, didn’t work last week, so we’re digging in and have our ears & eyes to the ground.”
When TNA iMAPCT! Will Move To Monday Nights: “All week we have been getting good news, and we are pushing hard in that direction. There’s stuff that’s already been scheduled, there’s budgeting issues, there’s shows for the new season, so it’s not like ‘Ok, let’s go live on Monday nights.’ Nothing is that easy. A lot of the fans, a lot of the ‘smart marks’ are saying we should go live Monday nights. They have no idea what it entails, I’m just now having people set me down after 30 years of wrestling and go ‘Guy, you know what it’s all about.’ Now you’re dealing with the network and the way the audience flips & changes…it’s almost like that metal that comes out of ‘The Terminator.’ Right when you think you have it figured out, it starts to mold, and manipulate, and shape. Pushing hard for Mondays, trying to get there, a lot of variables, but it looks much better than it did yesterday.”
If He’ll Wrestle In TNA: “I learned one thing in Australia, and that was I shouldn’t be in the ring anymore. The way my body is beat up, I was definitely on a wing & a prayer in Australia. I just needed to air my shorts out after the crazy divorce & legal stuff. If you could imagine jumping out of a plane without a parachute and know hopefully that you are going to land safely & being naked…that’s how it was in Australia. I needed to get out of the house, get back in the ring, and feel that love & that crazy vibe even if I was dragging a leg or limping around. I found out in Australia that me wrestling in a ring in not the place to be, so if I was to wrestle in TNA, the hardest part of my night is walking down that ramp and staying straight-faced, because my back, and my hips, and legs hurt so much. If you watch closely, I’m doing a bit of a shuffle out there, so if I was crazy enough to wrestle in that ring, they might be using a broom & a dustpan to sweep out the ring at the end of the match, so not anticipating going in the ring.”
John Cena Saying He’s Wasting His Time in TNA: “John’s doing what he’s gonna’ do take care of his family, true to his paycheck. We see John Cena all the time at the (Tampa Bay) Rays games with me & Brian Knobbs when we’re up in the box. He’s just doing what he has to do to cover his ass brother. You never know, one day John Cena may be working for me. Vince McMahon could be working for me…who knows?”
Big Changes & New Talent In TNA: “I’ve got all kinds of people from the WWE calling me, wanting to hang out, wanting to talk, wanting to fell me out. This thing is really going down. I mean whether you like it or not, I’m not looking for the players like back in the day. When I was running, we had these crazy big contracts, these big money contracts, but times have changed. At the end of the day, I’m looking for these guys who want to help me build a company. I’m looking for these guys that invest their hearts & their souls like Samoa Joe said…’whatever it takes.’ Like AJ Styles said, ‘whatever it takes, with no limitations.’ Those are the type of guys I’m looking for to build this company and step in. Jeff Hardy, Rob Van Dam, if (John) Cena wants to play that game down the road, he can get real. I’m looking for guys who can get real with me & not a bunch of posers.”
Vince Russo: “My mother told me if you can’t say something good, don’t say nothing at all. Sometimes you have to look at the big picture, and sometimes if things get real nasty, you don’t want to step in shiznit, you want to step over it. Because I’m getting along with TNA right now, I’m not saying I get along with Vince Russo. I’m not saying I get along with everybody, but the big picture is for me to make a left-handed, back handed comment about this situation right now, I haven’t read his book, and I didn’t hear the radio interview. But all I know is if you’re gonna’ tell the truth, you gotta’ tell all the truth, not just part of it, and that’s all I’m gonna say.”
— Hulk Hogan claimed this past week on The Bubba the Love Sponge Show that he would be turning heel soon. He also said he doesn’t want daughter Brooke to become a wrestling character.
— Eric Bischoff recently came up with the idea of a ranking system for top title contenders in order to justify title shots. Fans can check out the ratings system on TNA’s Against All Odds countdown show on DirecTV.
— Starting with Sunday’s Against All Odds pay-per-view, TNA will be putting all pay-per-view events live on the company’s web site at a cost of $14.95.
(credit to the Wrestling Observer for the information used in this report)
– There was some eye rolling in the TNA locker room when Hulk Hogan and The Nasty Boys had a laugh at the expense of X Division star Jay Lethal. Jerry Sags openly questioned how long TNA will keep him employed and laughed at the audacity of his “Black Machismo” character. Apparently in a tongue in cheek tone, Hogan later cracked during an appearance on The Bubba The Love Sponge Show that TNA should bring in Randy Savage to manage Lethal.
– TNA officials have spoken to the Mexican-based AAA promotion about sending Hernandez for an extended stay. While this idea has come up in the past, there are some who feel he could become a legitimate star in Mexico. On the other hand, others fear Mexican wrestling fans could turn on him once they discover that he doesn’t speak Spanish particularly well. For those curious, Hernandez is of Mexican and Puerto Rican descent.
On his Facebook account, Bret Hart made some interesting comments regarding TNA. He wrote the following:
“It was nice seeing Jeremy Borash, a longtime friend of mine, from TNA while I was in Nashville. He hung out with me and we never once talked wrestling. Some feeble minded idiot who saw us in plain view tried to start the rumour that I might be heading to TNA next; although why anyone would ever think I’d let Hogan and Bischoff anywhere near my Hitman persona again is truly beyond me.”
Bischoff referred to Borash as a “mark” last week on his Twitter account for posting a photo of himself and Hart after their dinner, which also included several other TNA staffers.
You can see the picture of Borash with Bret Hart (and follow 80+ wrestlers & divas on Twitter) at PWTweets.com.
— Hulk Hogan was asked to give his Super Bowl predictions as part of Scripps Howard’s annual celebrity list.
In Hogan’s trademark wording, he said the following: “New Orleans, 35-6. New Orleans has an amazing new energy this year, both as a team and a city. They survived Hurricane Katrina, and if they could survive that, they can survive anything.”
Likewise, Bret Hart made the following prediction on his Facebook account: “Anyhow, as for the Super Bowl on Sunday between the Indianapolis Colts and New Orleans Saints, I’ve decided after great deliberation to pull for the Saints but I think Manning will pull it out of the fire. Most importantly, I hope it’s close anyway.”
— Via online voting, former WWE Diva Jackie Gayda-Haas (a/k/a Miss Jackie) is in the running to determine the new Status Fitness magazine cover model. You can vote for Haas at the following link.
Hulk Hogan and Eric Bischoff appeared on The Bubba the Love Sponge Show last Friday for a combination work/shoot interview segment that included one new piece of news, which was Bischoff knocking Sting for missing the last set of television tapings.
Sting missed last month’s Genesis pay-per-view and subsequent television tapings due to a family emergency, though it remains unclear what is was exactly. What is known is that nobody is questioning its legitimacy considering that he has been in the wrestling industry for years and has never had a reputation for coming up with excuses to miss dates.
Bischoff said that everyone in TNA has to be completely committed to the organization or things won’t work out, with Hogan adding he doesn’t see how they can use anyone missing shows. Internally, it was noted as a message being sent to Sting, though it’s unlikely he’ll get it considering that he pays no attention to the wrestling business except on days when he’s working as he doesn’t follow it online. Nonetheless, the belief was Sting had a very legitimate reason for missing the last set of shows.
Bischoff said, “Sting’s a great talent. Love him to death. My problem is now that we’re trying to do this big picture. I understand how big picture it is for the wrestling business. Sting had life-and-death personal issues, but from a business side, it totally screws us up. If at any time that happens, I got a personal issue, now we have to switch gears on who we use, you can’t build the world around them.
“Everybody has got to make a commitment. It’s easy to say we want TNA to be No. 1, but if you’re not willing to put TNA as a priority above almost every situation, then it’s probably not going to work out.”
(Credit to the Wrestling Observer Nesletter for the information used in this report)
Hulk Hogan appeared on Rob Van Dam’s RVD Radio this week and talked to the former WWE and ECW Champion about coming into TNA. Hogan called up to speak with Van Dam personally but ended up appearing as a live caller on the radio show.
Hogan told Van Dam that TNA has some serious momentum right now and if they had RVD “ruling the roost”, it would make things a lot easier. Van Dam asked Hogan about TNA on Monday nights and Hogan said the move is definitely going to happen sooner than later .Hogan kept saying how much fun everyone is having in TNA.
Hogan said TNA needs RVD’s help and Van Dam said he is very interested in hearing what Hogan has to say about him coming in. Van Dam told Hogan that now is a better time than ever as his wife is healthy, he is healthy and he’s not burnt out. RVD said he was curious about coming into TNA and said that he and Hogan will discuss it.
Hogan said he spoke to Jeff Hardy earlier in the day and both men agreed RVD would be a good fit in TNA. Hogan said he and Hardy have tossed around some “crazy ideas” that he guarantees will work.
RVD asked Hogan if it was his decision to go back to the four-sided ring and Hogan confirmed it was. Hogan put down the six-sided ring and Van Dam agreed with the decision.
Overall it was a real interesting segment and it was cool listening to Hogan and Van Dam going back and forth.
LISTEN BELOW: Hogan appears at about the 23 minute mark ..
* As a WARNING to our readers, RVD and his guests use some colorful language throughout the show.
– Despite the positive spin he’s putting on TNA in media interviews, Hulk Hogan has been complaining to friends that he’s frustrated with several things in TNA. Hogan feels pressure to push people he does not believe in – namely, some of the TNA originals. Word is that Dixie Carter doesn’t want the TNA originals to be buried by Hogan’s buddies, but there are some TNA originals that Hogan sees nothing in and wants to get rid of. Hogan is said to be a big fan of Abyss as well as Tomko, saying at least both men look like wrestlers.
– TNA star Kurt Angle’s name came up in a federal trial of nine men associated with Applied Pharmacy in Mobile, Alabama that is going on this week. Assistant US Attorney Donna Dobbins brought up Angle and Jose Canseco as clients of the pharmacy in her closing arguments on Tuesday. She said, “Each one of them (the defendants) participated in this conspiracy. They operated a steroid mill, and they would dispense anabolic steroids to anyone whose credit card was good.â€
– Ed “Brutus Beefcake” Leslie was backstage at the TNA iMPACT tapings on January 20th. Leslie is a longtime friend of Hulk Hogan, brother.
– As for the news that Scott Hall and Sean Waltman are gone from TNA, this is not the case. The duo has been removed from the TNA iMAPCT! opening video as well as the TNA Roster page on the company website, but them being removed is part of the storyline.
WWE superstar John Cena took part in a live chat session Monday night on WWE.com. Visit WWE.com to read the full transcript. Some highlights:
– Cena was asked whether he’s interested in fighting Hulk Hogan, He responded with a jab at Hogan and TNA, saying, “Yes. I just don’t think that’s going to happen right now. He’s too busy wasting his time.”
– He has no current plans to release another rap album, but will be working again with rapper Bumpy Knuckles for a song on the soundtrack of his upcoming WWE Studios film, “Legendary” (previously titled “Brother’s Keeper”).
– When asked who he’d like to wrestle at WrestleMania, he stated, “The Rock.” As Cena answered another question about his movie career, host Joey Styles chimed in by saying Cena’s next movie will be better than The Rock’s recent “Tooth Fiary” movie.
Credit to Scott Remington and Pwinsider.com for this recap of Hulk Hogan and Eric Bischof’s appearance on Bubba The Love Sponge today and their “State of TNA” address:
Q: Confirm or deny Honky Tonk is joining TNA
A: EB “I would rather drive an icepick through my thigh than work with the Honky Tonk Man”
Q: How do you feel about Dixie wanting to go family friendly?
A: Hulk: Not going to happen, we are going to keep pushing the envelope.
Q: Are you going live on March 1?
A: EB: Haven’t heard anything, I have just been reading it on the internet.
Hulk: Nothing has been confirmed, it’s not a lock. I would like to have it but it’s not set yet.
Q: Ongoing talks with Savage?
A: Hulk: “I would love to have him come in and manage his illegitimate son.”
Q: Can you tell me the peaking order of how the writing goes:
A: Hulk: Bottom line is that Eric has the final say.
Topic comes up with Vince Russo about the “fake wrestling” twitter post.
Not really answered just some disparaging words thrown at Russo.
Q: What do they think of Lacey Von Erich?
A: Hogan says she can’t work.
EB: “We will teach her how to work”, and likes her look.
Q: Are you guys big on Desmond Wolfe?
A: EB: Very high on him, good look.
Hulk says he killed it last night, he’s “real close.”
Q: What is the Montreal angle really, is it a shot at Vince?
A: EB: It’s a shot “kind of”, but it’s entertaining and as long as they (fans) love it or hate it’s about whether they are talking about it. Hang with it and watch where it goes.
Q: WWE has a farm system, are you guys going to be doing something?
A: EB: There is no developmental as such. Brian Knobbs and Saggs have a school they are looking at. “Hopefully we will be able to develop our own but we aren’t ready for a farm system”.
Name Associations.
Black Pope: Both EB and Hulk love him and he is going to be getting a push.
Abyss: Hulk: My favorite wrestler of all “he’s my next John Cena”. EB likes him a lot and committed to his character.
Q: Are you interested in taking a look at FCW guys?
Hulk: He says they definitely would be interested.
EB: Says “if they are free we could”.
Q: Any WWE talent interested in TNA?
Hulk: Yup.
Q: Sting no showing them.
A: Hulk: Sting’s a great talent, wishes he would have come up north for the WWE. He understands why personally he wasn’t there but professionally it hurts the company.
EB: “Everyone has to make a commitment. I understand where Hulk’s coming from. But if you’re not 110% committed then it’s probably not going to work out.”
Q: Any chance we will see Hogan vs. Flair on TNA PPV.
A: Hulk: Doesn’t really answer the question.
Q: Will we see the Australian tour on PPV?
A: EB: Not likely for financial reasons.
Caller: Hulk is the worst wrestler since 1989 and how can you evaluate talent? Stone Cold hates you and won’t work a program with you?
– Lots of banter back and forth lots of swearing. Bottom line is they don’t answer the question.
Q: Has working with Vince McMahon changed your thought process?
EB: There’s no denying he’s a great businessman, he’s arrogant but he likes him and “I wouldn’t hang out with him” but he thinks he’s great. On a business level he is very smart. On a creative run he thinks he takes credit for too much and he doesn’t think he’s that good.
Q: Was there a time when you were going against the Rock and you just thought WCW was going to fail?
A: EB: “When AOL/Time Warner took over and put more hands on our product by making it more family friendly, that’s when things starting taking a turn for a worst. Now history is repeating itself and we have a chance to go after that older audience.”
Q: Are you going to be signing any more books Hulk?
A: Hulk: Not in the near future.
Q: Richard Ortiz, are you interested in him.
A: EB: I don’t know him.
Q: Is there one talent from WWE you both want?
A: Hulk: Orton and Cena. But he would also love the Big Show.
EB: “I have a problem with Show, never been committed, he’s lazy. I would like Cena and Orton.”
– EB says he never crapped on Jericho, likes him, but doesn’t think he can headline.
– Hulk would love to have Chris in TNA.
Q: Why do you feel it’s necessary to acknowledge Vince on TNA?
A: EB: You can’t win a fight with throwing a punch, “we are going the fight”.
Q: If you could wrestle one person in TNA.
A: Hulk: AJ Styles, “if he doesn’t get too full of himself”.
During a recent interview with UGO.com, Hulk Hogan commented on the possibility of Ultimate Warrior and Randy “Macho Man” Savage joining TNA Wrestling.
“The Warrior is not “alive” anymore,” Hogan told UGO.com. “I did a deposition about six months ago where Vince McMahon put out a tape called The Self-Destruction of the Ultimate Warrior. And I did a deposition. I sat in a room across from him. No other wrestler would testify. He thought I was actually going to help him, but when I told the truth…I seriously doubt he and I would ever work together again. I did tell the truth at the deposition. He’s the worst. He’s horrible. There’s nobody worse than him in the ring. So hopefully I’ll never have to see him again in the ring.”
As far as Savage is concerned, despite their past differences, Hogan would love to have him on board with TNA. He feels if Savage dyed his gray beard and got back into shape, he would be good enough to return to the ring.
“I’d LOVE to see the Macho Man,” Hogan exclaimed. “Dye that old gray Santa Claus beard he’s got. Get back in shape. And teach these young guys how to do it because I could sure use his help. He’s got a great mind for the business.”
Hogan also comments on the removal of the six-sided ring (calling it “a playpen”), when exactly he should have quit wrestling, back shaving tips, and more. You can read the interview in its entirety at the following link.
– Word is that Hulk Hogan and Eric Bischoff only want to hold the TNA Slammiversary and Bound For Glory pay-per-views outside of the iMPACT Zone in Orlando, according to f4wonline.com. The idea is that holding all other pay-per-views in Orlando will not only save money but will make the company look less minor league when they fail to sellout other arenas – which has happened a few times before.
– MTV reality star Trishelle Canntella, who was featured on Hulk Hogan’s Celebrity Championship Wrestling, said on her Twitter page that she loves TNA and would work for them if presented the opportunity.
– Another reality star, Joey Kovar (MTV ‘sReal World & VH1’s Celebrity Rehab) is currently training to be a pro wrestler. Kovar told TMZ.com that he hopes to get a deal with TNA because Hulk Hogan was his hero growing up. Kovar made it known on the Real World that he was a big wrestling fan and he’s appeared at indepentent wrestling shows in the Chicago area.
Here are Trishelle Canntella and Joey Kovar, if you’re not familiar:
Hulk Hogan appeared on Bubba the Love Sponge’s radio show yesterday morning. Here are some of the more notable things discussed:
* Hogan wants to kill all house shows until things come together on television. He feels that in no time, TNA will become a force which people will pay attention to.
* He said he has no plans to solely bring in his friends to TNA. He said when he met Ken Anderson on the Australian tour, he knew that “he had what it took.”
* Bubba the Love Sponge discussed his backstage altercation with Awesome Kong earlier this week, saying he was mad at what she did to him. He then called her “a bitch.”
* Apparently, Hogan too poked fun at Kong, feeling her anger was “menstrual-related.”
* Bubba said he was pushing for a bigger role in TNA but now hates the wrestling business. Hogan responded by saying, “Wow!”
* Hogan said less is more and discussed a segment with Scott Hall and Sean Waltman that was taped this week.
* Hogan put over Ric Flair for being on his game once became aligned with AJ Styles.
The talk lasted roughly fifteen minutes and Hogan basically emphasized that he was going to show everyone how the wrestling business works.
To the surprise of many, both Hulk Hogan and Eric Bischoff were on hand for all four of TNA’s television tapings this week in Orlando.
While Hogan does have his own dressing room, he made an effort to mingle with the rest of the talent backstage. Meanwhile, Bischoff was more involved in the production of each show.
There had been some skepticism as to whether Hogan and Bischoff would be interested enough to attend four consecutive shows, but to their credit, they did.
Jason Hervey, former child star (“The Wonder Years”) and Bischoff business partner, has also been regularly backstage since Bischoff became involved with the company.Bischoff and Hervey have been working behind the scenes to secure new relationships for TNA within the entertainment industry.
Linda Bollea, the ex-wife of Hulk Hogan, has reached a confidential settlement with the family of John Graziano, who was seriously injured in a car wreck involving Nick Hogan back in 2007.
Graziano family attorney George Tragos told Florida’s St. Petersburg Times:
“Linda, she was obviously in a different position than everyone else. She was in California at the time of the accident and she did not sign for Nick Bollea’s drivers license as Terry did, so she’s in a different legal position.”
A confidential settlement was also reached with Daniel Jacobs, who was allegedly racing Nick Hogan at the time of the crash and was sued along with Hulk, Linda and Nick.
Hulk Hogan and his son Nick are still defendants in the suit.
