Gary Cantrel of The Shoot radio show sent out the following recap of Hulk Hogan’s party at Margaritaville in Orlando.

Visit BlogTalkRadio.com/TheShoot to listen to Gary’s show.

The event did start promptly at five. There was quite a line to go into the Jimmy Buffet Margaritaville resturant. The event was being held on the 2nd floor which filled up real quick. They were letting only a number of people up at a time. I just happened to be at the front of the line at one point when they filled up so I was outside for quite a while. There were two camera crews filming the entire event. The Spike TV/TNA crew and the Bubba the Love Sponge radio show crew who film material for his website and DVDs.

Several people showed up and greeted fans waiting outside. First up was Eric Bischoff, who had his own personal camera man. It wasn’t a large camera so it could be footage for his own personal website
. He was definitely very polite to everyone while in front of the camera. He went through pretty much the whole line and took photos with people.

Next up was Scott Hall, who came over with someone, was probably a manager or friend or something. He too was taking pictures with the fans outside.

Vince Russo also checked out the line. He seemed very polite and talked with some of the fans.

The Spike TV/TNA crew came back to the front this time with Bubba the Love Sponge. He is doing the interviews. They first filmed Hogan coming outside with Bischoff and Scott Hall. Bubba did several interviews with fans.

Later on after we got inside of the building, they had a ton more lights and Jeremy Borash was inside with cameras pumping the crowd up. They did several shots with fans chanting various things such as “TNA” and “Hogan.” They had Bubba interviewing more fans. After they recorded the footage and some additional B-Roll they thanked the fans for coming ou

Monday Night iMPACT!

– TNA Wrestling will be holding a part at Universal Citywalk in Orlando on January 3rd to celebrate Hulk Hogan’s iMPACT! debut the following night. Hogan and many other TNA stars will be there. The event will be filmed by TNA and parts will air on the three-hour iMPACT special the next night. Radio personality and longtime Hogan ally Bubba the Love Sponge is apparently having a big role with the event that they’re billing as a “Pre-Hulkamania Invades TNA” party. It begins at 5PM and admission is free. This event is expected to be similar to the Hulkamania Parade thrown by WCW back in 1994 when Hogan joined that company.

– Hulk Hogan came in at #85 on a “2009’s Most Annoying People” list in the UK. Hogan was listed for the OJ Simpson comments he made about his ex-wife earlier this year.

– TNA will be releasing a Best of 2009 DVD on February 16th, 2010.

– As previously reported , top independent tag team The Young Bucks have signed with TNA Wrestling. There is talk of them debuting on the January 4th live iMPACT.

— Alissa Flash noted on her Twitter account that last week, she accidentally stepped on some shattered Christmas ornaments destroyed by her cat in the middle of the night. This could explain why she did not appear at last Monday’s all-Knockout television taping.

— The TNA website has posted all-new holiday photos of Sarita, Velvet Sky, ODB, Tara, Daffney, Taylor Wilde, Lacey Von Erich and the infrequently seen SoCal Val. You can see the images at the following link.

C.M. Punk ripped into Hulk Hogan during an appearance on the B.J. Shea Morning Experience radio show on KISW-FM in Seattle on Thursday morning. Punk explains that everybody wins if WWE has legit competition – but Hulk Hogan is a selfish old man who doesn’t have what it takes to get TNA out of first gear.

“My take is first of all that we have Tribute to the Troops on Saturday” Punk said. “That’s probably going to be a much better show than whatever that TNA is going to put on. I have a lot of friends that work there and I do watch the show, but I seem to watch it on perpetual fast forward.

“I hope, I really hope that something comes of it. I have zero faith in Hulk Hogan as a man who is what 60 years-old and tries to dress like he’s 18 and lives on the Jersey Shore. For a guy I’ve never met, I’ve formulated enough opinions about him just from being around him and like his business acumen and stuff like that, I really trust that he’s not in this for TNA and he’s not in this for the business. He’s in this for himself.

“Hulk Hogan, I hope you prove me wrong. I hope there’s competition because when there’s competition we step up, everybody makes more money, and I think it makes the business healthier and that’s what I’m looking forward to, but I don’t have much hope.”

– There is said to be some frustration among those on team Hogan over TNA’s lack of marketing.

– There was a half-hour meeting with TNA talents at the recent iMPACT tapings where everyone was told to go back to working holds and telling stories in the ring with their matches.

– The Wrestling Observer reports that Kevin Nash has been talking to former WCW personality Mark Madden, trying to convince him to come to TNA as an announcer. Apparently Nash doesn’t like Taz as an announcer and was complaining loudly when Taz replaced Don West.

Nash responded on his Twitter with the following: “just found out i wanted Taz out and madden in. let me see dave meltzer. nash’s christmas wish list…..more money for me, more money for me”

Visit PWTweets.com to read more from pro wrestlers and Divas on Twitter!

Hulk Hogan tells the UK Sun that he really pissed off WWE CEO Vince McMahon when he held his TNA press conference at Madison Square Garden in New York City.

“I don’t think he’s too happy. Knowing Vince the way I do and holding the press conference at Madison Square Garden…I know some people in house at the WWE and I know he didn’t respond favourably. There’s been nobody in the Garden for about 100 years really except Vince, his dad, his grandfather and his great grandfather promoting events and I kind of slipped in there and made the press conference for TNA. Then the other night I announced we’re going head to head with WWE on Monday nights.”

Hogan also hyped TNA’s live 3-hour Monday Night iMPACT! special January 4th, which he says could re-ignite the Monday Night Wars and begin a new era in the pro wrestling industry. “I can’t imagine what’s going to happen when the Monday night wars start again but it’s great because it gives the fans a choice and the talent room to negotiate and have somewhere else to go.”

After being publicly linked to a 3.0 ratings projection for the upcoming 1/4 edition of TNA iMPACT!, Hulk Hogan scaled back his claims in an interview with the Toronto Sun.

“Jan. 4, we’re going head to head with WWE,” said Hogan. “We’ve got to pick a fight. I don’t know what’s going to happen that night. If we get bodyslammed by WWE, we’ll get back and go at them again.”

As WWE RAW rarely posts a rating in significant excess of a 3.0, there is no way TNA would be “bodyslammed” if it posted such a figure (in fact, as there is a finite limit to the pro wrestling audience size on Monday, a 3.0 rating for TNA would almost definitely mark a victory for the number two wrestling group).

Hogan thus appears to be lower the expectation for his initial impact, instead hoping analysts focus on the big picture benefit he–and those wrestling standouts who accompany him in TNA–will bring to the table.

Hulk Hogan makes his live TNA television debut during a special three-hour iMPACT! on January 4. The TNA show will go head-to-head with RAW for at least two hours that Monday.

VIDEO: Visit WATCH.TSN.CA – HIGHLY RECCOMENDED!!

Hulk Hogan on TSN’s Off The Record with Michael Landsberg
December 10, 2009
by: Marty Hotts

Monday Night iMPACT!

This was a full 30 minute interview with Hulk Hogan. He talked about his book, citing the same story about having a loaded gun and almost committing suicide until Layla Ali helped snap him out of it.

A question was asked about Macho Man Randy Savage and Elizabeth’s death. He talked about deaths in wrestling saying that many wrestlers fail to distinguish the difference between their wrestling careers (fans, money, fame) with their personal lives, which leads wrestlers to this road.

Prior to the commercial break, they showed a “quirky fact” showing that Hogan and McMahon stayed in a hotel room and wrote the entire “No Holds Barred” movie in 48 hours.

Talk was then moved to Vince McMahon. An old clip from December 2002 showed him talking about Russo being a former writer and then worked close to McMahon. He then said in that old interview that McMahon was a friend regardless of the ups and downs.

In the present interview, he talks about McMahon and saying that previous explanations regarding the love-hate relationship they had in the past, McMahon would answer “it was just business” and Hogan said he understood that. He talked about whether there is morality in business when he was asked about it.

Landsberg then asked January 4, you’re going head-to-head with WWE – Why? He said for years, WWE has been the only wrestling show you could watch, the only one that was available or “shoved down the throats” of the fans. This changes the wrestling landscape.

He again mentions that McMahon called him up 8 weeks ago for him to come and host Raw and shoot a “Babe Ruth” type return to WWE. He said this was similar to last year where he wrestled John Cena and broke his back. He said he knew how it was going to end.

Hogan said when he signed the TNA deal, he was going to be the McMahon of the company and wanted to be on Mondays to let the fans decide. He noted that the execs may have hesitated about the number that they may get or if it would be a disaster.

Landsberg quickly said but that was 1995, WCW was owned by a major company, had more resources and Hogan was younger, Flair was younger. Hogan backed it up by saying that this would be true to the fans and letting the fans decide whether they want to watch WWE or Hulk Hogan.

Landsberg threw a quick question asking “If I said TNA has signed a 2 year Monday Deal, what would you say”, Hogan replied with “that’s the first I heard about it”. Landsberg chuckled and said that Hogan did not confirm and kind of stated that he didn’t know about it, hinting that this may actually be the case.

After the final commercial break, Landsberg asked a lot of questions in his “Next Question” segment. Some key ones were:

Q: Would you let Brutus “The Barber” Beefcake cut your hair?
A: Never

Q: What was the most uncomfortable angle you ever took part in?
A: Having Kidman beat him repeatedly week after week

Q: Talk about the Pat Patterson story when you joined the business:
A: Hogan said that on his first night, he was in a car and Patterson and other wrestlers said he had to give one of them oral sex or he would get “gang raped” (bleeped out on the show) after his match when he enters the showers. At that moment, he said that’s not his deal. After his match, he was ready to fight, but was instead greeted with cheers, beer, and celebration. He thought that was pretty interesting joke.

The show should be posted on https://www.tsn.ca/otr soon.

Monday Night iMPACT!

With reports coming out that Spike TV is a bit nervous about how TNA iMPACT! will perform on Monday, January 4th head-to-head with WWE RAW for the first time, Hulk Hogan sounds pretty confident he’ll make an immediate impact and is is setting the bar pretty high.

Hogan told hosts, “Everybody (at Spike) was scared of their own shadow. ‘What if we don’t do a number?’ The thing is, I said, ‘Don’t even worry about it. You have to give the audience a choice,'”

During an interview on the “Right After Wrestling” SIRIUS satellite radio show, Hulk Hogan predicted that Nielsen ratings would triple to a 3.0 on his debut appearance on TNA Impact on Monday January 4.

Hogan said he sees “something there” with guys like AJ Styles and Matt Morgan and wants to “bring to life” the TNA superstars who he feels have that “it” factor.

The full interview will air on “Right After Wrestling” on Monday night December 14 at 11pm EST on SIRIUS Channel 98, Hardcore Sports Radio.

[poll id=”12″]

Monday Night iMPACT!

Thanks to SEScoops reader Andrew for sending in the following live report of Hulk Hogan’s Monday appearance on Bubba the Love Sponge’s radio show:

– Interestingly, he made mention of Rob Van Dam and how over he was in WWE. He said “politics” was the reason RVD was never as successful as he should have been.

– When Bubba mentioned Jeff Hardy, Hulk said he would “love to have Jeff Hardy” in TNA.

– Hulk said he has not spoken to Randy Savage or Scott Hall.

– Hogan said he has not spoken to Vince Russo. He once again said that if Vince Russo is able to come up with a great idea he would listen.

– He once again squashed rumors that he was only coming to TNA as a talent. He said that he would be the booker in TNA.

– Hogan said the writers will be in a “secondary position” in TNA and that if the workers have to have the writers to get over then they can “head up north [to WWE] where everything is scripted.”

– Hulk put over Umaga and Mr. Kennedy [Hulk called him Mr. Kennedy, not Mr. Anderson] saying they “tore it down” in Australia.

– Hulk told a story about when he was wrestling in San Francisco and met a then 3-year-old Eddie “Umaga” Fatu.

-Hogan said that the night before Umaga died, he spoke with him and told Umaga he would love to involve him in his plans for TNA, and that was the last time he ever spoke to him.

– Bubba mentioned that today is Ravishing Rick Rude’s birthday. Hogan put Rick over and said that he was really good friends with him. They spoke about some other topics including Hogan’s divorce and the Tiger Woods situation but that was the extent of the TNA and wrestling related topics that were covered.

– The ongoing speculation that TNA will wind up on Monday nights competing head-to-head with WWE Raw continues. While nobody from TNA or Spike TV have commented directly about the rumor, people who are being contacted by Hulk Hogan and Eric Bischoff about joining them in TNA are “under the impression” that a Monday night show is inevitable. There has been talk of TNA holding a live television special on Monday night, January 4th to test he waters and see how they would do up against Raw.

– Hulk Hogan is not a fan of TNA’s 6-sided ring and has been telling people that it’s one of the first things he’s like to change when he comes into power next month.

– Hogan and Bischoff are said to be confident that Rob Van Dam and Ric Flair will wind up in TNA.

Related News: Ric Flair Comments On Whether He’d Work For TNA

– Despite being featured on the TNA Genesis PPV poster, Hulk Hogan will not be wrestling on the show. It’s likely that he will eventually step in the ring, but not until the right match has been set up with months of storyline build leading up to it.

Related News: TNA Genesis PPV Poster With Hulk Hogan

– It’s interesting to note that the DVD cover for “End Game” which starred Kurt Angle and former TNA Knockout Jenna Morasca promotes Angle as a WWE star with no mention of TNA. There is also no mention of Jenna’s run in wrestling.

(Credit to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter for some of the information used in this report)

– We’ve got some new details regarding a storyline that’s already underway involving Hulk Hogan’s involvement with TNA Wrestling. The original plan was for Hulk Hogan to lead the younger, homegrown stars of TNA against the “old guard” of established WWE & WCW castoffs, led by TNA president Dixie Carter. Hulk Hogan’s recent comments that he’ll be “in charge” of TNA are all part of the storyline (Hogan will have a great deal of power in TNA, but his comments are the start of this angle). Dixie Carter was going to be a big player in the “Hulk Hogan joins TNA” angle, but there was a recent decision to cut back on Dixie’s role and have Mick Foley is now expected to be the leader of TNA’s “old guard” movement. Dixie Carter will still be involved, but will not have the same role as originally planned.

– Kurt Angle is said to have a high opinion of TNA newcomer Desmond Wolfe following their pay-per-view match last month. Angle actually laid the entire match out but claimed that after his back went out in the first minute they had to change plans and work on the fly until the finish.

– TNA held surprise drug testings at the last set of TV tapings. The last set of tapings like this had a 25% failure rate but nobody was punished.

– The four-hour TNA special on New Year’s Eve on Spike TV will air from 7-11PM. The first two hours will be a countdown with the ten best matches of 2009, as voted on by the fans on TNA’s website. The last two hours will be a regular edition of iMPACT.

(Credit to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter for some of the information used in this report)

TNA Genesis: 1/17/2010

The official Pay-Per-View poster ha been released for January’s TNA Genesis event and it contains what appears to be spoilers for future TNA storylines and Hulk Hogan’s TNA debut.

TNA champion AJ Styles and Kurt Angle are featured prominantly on the poster with the tagline, “A Night of Firsts.”

Below Styles and Angle is a picture of Hulk Hogan with the text, “Hulk Hogan Returns to Pay-Per-View.”

Pay-Per-View provider iNDEMAND has the following synopsis for the event: “A night of firsts, a night of new beginnings and the night Hulk Hogan returns to Pay-Per- View. TNA Wrestling presents
TNA Genesis Live on Pay-Per-View Sunday January 17. *Card subject to change.”

TNA Genesis takes place on Sunday night, January 17, 2010.

– TMZ cameras caught up with Hulk Hogan and girlfriend Jennifer McDaniel at Los Angeles’ LAX airport on Monday. Hogan pointed out the huge diamond ring on McDaniel’s hand and said she very well “could be the new Mrs. Hogan.” Check it out:

– Search engines Google and Yahoo! have released their list of the top searches of 2009. The “Top 5” searches were the same on both sites, with “WWE” claiming the number 3 spots. Here are the Top 5:

1. Michael Jackson
2. Twilight
3. WWE
4. Megan Fox
5. Britney Spears

– Talk show host Chelsea Handler completely wrecked Brutus “The Barber” Beefcake on her “Chelsea Lately” E! Network show on Monday night. After showing a picture of herself with Hulk Hogan from the first class lounge at an Australian airport, Handler ranted about how “f***ing disgusting” Brutus Beefcake was, calling him the grossest person she’s ever seen. She said Beefcake was running around yelling about how drunk he was. One of the other guests on the Handler show mentioned how “gay” the name “Brutus Beefcake” sounds. Overall, a scathing segment.

Hulkamania: Let The Battle Begin Results:

• Hulkamania Tour Results From Perth, Australia (11/24)
• Hulkamania Tour Results From Melbourne, Australia (11/21)

Hulkamania: Let The Battle Begin Pictures:

— Hulk Hogan continues to make media appearances in Australia promoting the ongoing Hulkamania: Let The Battle Begin tour and was very outspoken about writers in pro wrestling during an interview with SportFM in Perth, Australia. “In TNA, I’m going to listen to those fans and give them what they want,” Hogan said. “I’m not going to keep shoving a bunch of terrible, horrible, stale programming down their throats. (In TNA), I’m going to take the writers and tell them, ‘Go get another job. Sit in the back. If I need you to write a jingle for a commercial, maybe we’ll use you for that.'”

Hogan repeated the claim that he’s coming in to “run” TNA and answered a question about whether he’ll wrestle for them. “I’m going back to the United States to run that company – TNA,” Hogan said. “I’m going to be on-camera, I’m going to be behind-the-scenes taking care of business in the back, and if the fans scream and shout loud enough, I might even lace up the boots up, brothers, but I’m not planning on doing that. I’m planning on taking that company and turning it into the #1 promotion in the business. When I leave here, that’s the mission I’m on.”

Hogan claims to have a financial stake in TNA, which will motivate him to do what’s best for the company.  “I signed a deal with Dixie Carter to come in as her partner,” Hogan said. “I know there are several people on the show – storyline-wise – who say they are part of TNA (management) such as Mick Foley and Jeff Jarrett, but this thing is for real.”

To listen to the full interview, SportFM.com.au.

– Last week we posted messages from Psycho Sid’s website saying that he was headed to TNA. After checking with a source in TNA, many within the company don’t know anything about Sid coming in. Unless it’s something being kept a secret or very few people know, it may not be true.

Read More: Sid Vicious Says He’s Headed To TNA Wrestling

– After being released recently by TNA, former Knockout Sojourner Bolt is back working at former WWE developmental territory Ohio Valley Wrestling as a trainer.

– Darren Aronofsky’s “The Wrestler” starring Mickey Rourke will debut on HBO this Saturday night. Visit HBO.com for details.

Hulkamania: Let The Battle Begin Results
Melbourne, Australia at Rod Laver Arena
Report by reader TheMrDAprano

1. Nick Dinsmore (a/k/a Eugene) with Pimp Fatha (a/k/a Godfather) defeated Rock of Love. Dinsmore and Fatha win after the hot tag. Fatha hit the pimp driver. Great chant for one of the heels to ‘put his shirt on.’

2. Spartan3000 Matt Cross defeated “Outcast” Shannon Moore. Cross won with a shooting star press. Cross was heel but hit the finish and got a pop. Moore wasn’t over.

3. The Nasty Boys defeated Black Pearl and Vampire Warrior in an Australian Street Fight. The latter duo was Team Puffy Black Shirt. Basic hardcore match. The Nasty Boys were over.

4. Brutus Beefcake defeated Heidenreich. Brutus got the win witih a sleeper. Boring match. Hedenreich was okay and spent time jawing with the referee. Brutus Beefcake cut the referee’s hair after the match.

Intermission

5. Lacey Von Erich won a bikini contest. There were two Playboy models and another girl. Pimp Fatha came out. After Lacy won the contest, a fat dude got on the ring and danced.

Ric Flair cut a sweet promo and then press conference footage was shown.

6. Mr. Anderson defeated Sean Morley (a/k/a Val Venis). The former Mr. Kennedy won with the Mic Check after Morley missed with the Money SHot.

Orlando Jordan came out to custom music, which was rare. He cut a promo about being the greatest and then introduced Uso Fatu (Umaga) as his partner.

7. Brian Lawler and Rikishi defeated Orlando Jordan and Uso Fatu. Good action and comedy. The crowd was into it and chanted “Jerry’s Kid” at Lawler. They also chanted “Booker T” at Jordan because of the dreads. Lawler and Rikishi danced afterward despite some reluctance from the latter. The referee did the worm, but Lawler kicked him out for doing so.

8. Hulk Hogan defeated Ric Flair. Unreal experience. Glad to see it in person. After great backstage promos, they came to the ring. Once they were in the arena the noise was deafening. All of their trademark spots were in there. Both men eventually bladed. Hogan used Flair’s brass knuckles to win. No leg drop.

– Another round of drug testing took place prior to Monday’s TNA iMPACT! tapings in Orlando. From what we’re hearing, several top stars were included in the testing.

– Tomko, who will be revealed as AJ Styles’ mystery attacker, is expected to wrestle Styles at the January or February pay-per-views, so that storyline has not been dropped.

– Christopher Daniels appeared on the “Busted Open” radio show on Sirius XM satlite radio this week and commented on Hulk Hogan partnering with TNA. “Honestly, right now it’s just sort of a wait and see situation for me personally,” he said. “I know that the name Hulk Hogan has been synonymous with wrestling for forever. So many of us have grown up watching him and knowing what he brought to the wrestling business. Now for him to be here at TNA, you have to wait and see what’s going to happen.” He added, “I’m not really sure what his status is going to be and what his position is going to be here, but you can just look at all the talk that has happened since he signed. It’s become almost a monster in the sense that that’s all everyone is talking about. ‘What’s Hogan going to do with TNA? What’s going to happen to TNA now that Hogan is there?’ So it’s bringing attention to our product. It’s bringing attention to TNA.”

During a Tuesday night press conference in Australia to promote the upcoming Hulkamania: Let The Battle Begin tour, a wild brawl broke out that left Hulk Hogan beaten and bloodied by his opponent on the tour, Ric Flair. While most probably understand that what occurred is probably “worked” and part of the show, the Australia media is reporting the story as if it were a legit attack. The story is getting a ton of media attention on Australian television news shows and is a a headline story on many Australian news websites.

The Herald Sun writes,”Media were stunned as the Hulk’s head began bleeding profusely and confusion broke out when the veteran wrestling star was unable to get to his feet.” TMZ.com has picked up on the Australian media’s coverage of the attack, asking readers whether the blood coming from Hulk Hogan’s head was real. So far, over 70% say the blood was fake

Here’s some footage of the attack from an Australian evening newscast. While the reporter acknowledges pro wrestling’s track record, yet stated that “this looked very real.”

The Hulkamania: Let the Battle Begin tour begin this Saturday with a show in Melbourne at the Rod Laver Arena. There are four shows in all, with stops in Perth on Tuesday Brisbane on Thursday, and Sydney one week from Saturday.

The New York Daily News has published comments that Hulk Hogan made to a fan at a recent book signing regarding his vision for TNA Wrestling. Hogan said that he hopes to bring in Steve Austin, Randy Savage, Rob Van Dam, and the Nasty Boys tag team to TNA. He also wants to start a new Monday Night War against WWE.

“I wish to talk to Rob Van Dam, who is considering returning to the ring, and convince him to join TNA,” Hogan said. “Plus I’m also wishing to contact ex-Nasty Boy Brian Knobbs, Stone Cold Steve Austin and Macho Man Randy Savage.”

The newspaper reports that Hogan is pushing for TNA programming on Monday nights, which was one rumored around the time it was announced Hogan and Eric Bischoff are partnering with TNA.

Hogan says he “considered for months” guest-hosting Monday’s Raw from Madison Square Garden before he “sealed the deal” with TNA.

WWE unified tag champion the Big Show was interviewed by the UK’s Daily Star this week and commented on Hulk Hogan and Ric Flair returning to the ring later this month in Australia.

Show, a longtime friend of Hulk Hogan, “I just think it was a situation where two guys who love the industry wanted to go again,” he told the Star. “That’s the thing, no matter how long you do this for, or how old you are, you still have a love and a passion for the business. I wish them all the best.”

When asked whether his own career is winding down, he said, “I get sore and a little lame and I have a bad attitude generally – but I still love coming to work. I’m the kind of guy who can’t sit still for longer than two or three days in a row anyway! If there comes a time where I can’t go out and entertain the fans then I’ll call it a day but that’s not here yet. I’m enjoying the moment.”

Check out DailyStar.co.uk for more.

Source: PWTorch.com

— There’s no definitive word on when Hogan will show up in-person on TNA television. There is talk that TNA will film something in a private studio to keep the details of his first appearance on iMPACT from leaking to the internet. For what it’s worth, there’s speculation that he may not make his first real appearance for the company until January.

— The decision to hold the Hogan press conference at Madison Square Garden was meant by the Hogan camp as a shot at Vince McMahon, due to the McMahon family’s long history with the building. A source claims Hogan did not inform MSG management that he would announce anything related to TNA, and simple told them there would be a press conference with television cameras.

There are mixed reports of Vince’s reaction to Hogan’s signing. Some witnesses say Vince was in a lousy mood at the Smackdown tapings following the news, while others say Vince was still the same old Vince with his “poker face on.” One source says that there was initially some curiosity within WWE regarding the signing, but that went away when TNA iMPACT drew a 1.3 rating with Hogan’s segment being the lowest-rated.

BREAKING: WWE Announces The Rock’s Return [THE ABSOLUTE LATEST DETAILS >>]

Hulk Hogan called in to Bubba The Love Sponge’s satellite radio show this morning and as always, the Hogan hype machine was in full force.  During the Hogan said that some big names in the pro wrestling world could be headed to TNA Wrestling. Hogan said we could see Steve Austin, Randy Savage and the Nasty Boys in the future.

Steve Austin is a working actor and it’s highly unlikely he’d ever appear for any company outside of WWE. Hogan said he’s buried the hatchet after a long personal feud with Randy Savage, who is 56 years old and did not look very good during his last TNA run several years ago. The Nasty Boys are close with Hogan and actually could wind up in TNA at some point.

Hogan also joked with Bubba and asked if he wanted a spot on TNA’s creative team with him.

Hulk Hogan spoke to Minnesota’s City Pages newspaper this week and made some interesting things to say about his relationship with Vince McMahon in the 1980s, how much power he’ll have in TNA and what it meant to announce his partnership with TNA at Madison Square Garden. To read the whole interview, visit Citypages.com.

Hogan claims that Vince “didn’t really understand the business” after buying the company from from his father, Vince McMahon, Sr. “I moved in next door to him in Connecticut and taught him all about lifting weights and riding motorcycles and partying like a mad man; and then I taught him about the wrestling business and making money,” Hogan said. “And now I’m doing that again with TNA Wrestling.”

Hogan also talked himself up as the savior for TNA. He said the company agreed that he could have a “Vince McMahon role” calling the shots for TNA. Hogan says he will be “unofficially” running the promotion and will have the same if not more influence than he had during his run in WCW.

“All I told these guys was that they should give me a chance. If they didn’t like what I was doing they can tell me to take a hike, but let me have the chance to come in and take a shot at it,” Hogan said. “Let the fans and the other wrestlers take a look and decide for themselves what they’re in to and I’m confident that I will get this thing rockin’.”

Hogan is already crediting himself with generating the most buzz for TNA in its history and explains the significance of announcing his partnership with TNA Wrestling at Madison Square Garden in New York City.

“The proof is already out there. In the course of a few days we’ve got more buzz going for TNA Wrestling then it’s had in seven years. For example, no other wrestling organization had ever been able to get into Madison Square Garden in New York for like, 100 years, because Vince owns it and his family owned it before him. So I came in and was like, ‘Watch this.; And we did a press conference at Madison Square Garden.

The on-again off-again feud between Hulk Hogan and ex-wife Linda appears to be on again due to Hulk described Linda as an “abusive alcoholic” in his new book, “My Life Outside the Ring.”

“As far as what he has said about Linda, it’s not accurate about her being involved with heavy alcohol and being abusive, and trying to hit Nick with a wine bottle? Absolutely false,” attorney Ray Rafool stated.

“It’s disappointing and it is irritating. We disagree and wish he would have stuck to the facts instead of sensationalism to sell his book. It does reheat a lot of stuff, but it makes her feel all the more happy that she’s divorced and away from him. He’s Jennifer’s problem now.”

“You can now understand the fear that Linda had when she was going through the divorce because she knows his personality, heard these rumors, knew what he was doing, and that’s the reason why she was so concerned. We’re thankful that at this point, he has straightened his life out,” Rafool said.

A rep for Hulk says that he “stands by what is written in the book.”

For more on this never ending saga, visit FoxNews.com.