— Sting is not expected to return to TNA action soon. Word going around is that he won’t return until several months into 2010.

— TNA President Dixie Carter announced via her twitter account that Knockouts champion ODB has signed a “new multiyear deal” with the promotion.

— Jim Cornette updated the Q&A section of his website with a long response to the question “What is your opinion of Hulk Hogan and Eric Bischoff signing with TNA?” Cornette answered, “This whole thing reminds me of why I hate corporate wrestling. I must admit there are bright spots, like imagining Vince McMahon’s face and blood pressure when he heard the news, or hearing Hogan bitchslap Vince Russo by saying they’d be OK if “he stays in his place.” Can TNA make their minds up, LAST month everybody had to be “100% behind Russo’s creative direction” and THIS month they hire a guy who once SUED him for his lousy booking? They have reunited the same team that helped WCW lose more money than any wrestling promotion in history.” To continue reading, visit cornette’s official website.

In an interview with the Chicago Tribune newspaper, Hulk Hogan pulled no punches when talking about his relationship with WWE CEO Vince McMahon. Hogan admits that his return to wrestling is partially motivated by money, but says the desire to help the industry and compete with Vince are also factors.

“Some people say Vince made wrestling and some say it was Hulk Hogan,” Hogan said. “We both did it together. I thought it would be cool to see who has more juice right now.” He added “I still have reasons to go do this, and it’s not just because I need to make money — which I do. I still love it. I still love it, man. I don’t know what else to say.”

Hulk explained that he wears his WWE Hall of Fame ring to cover up a tattoo of his ex-wife’s name, but any value the ring has is purely sentimental. “I think Vince McMahon paid $20 for it. My high school ring was better than this thing.”

Despite the expectations that he’s coming to TNA to wrestle, his true motivation is to get people excited about wrestling again. “It’s all about having fun and making the crowd go crazy and I think I can still do that, man. I might limp a little and might have to pull myself up by the ropes to get up, but I won’t know until I get in there,” he said. “If I really do embarrass myself to the point where fans are laughing at me, I’ll leave.”

Hogan also talked about his unsuccessful attempts to join the rock bands Metallica and the Rolling Stones. To read the entire interview, visit ChicagoTribune.com.

The news of Hulk Hogan’s partnership with TNA Wrestling helped this week’s iMPACT! increase 20% over last week.

The 10/29 edition of iMPACT! drew a 1.3 rating. By comparison, the 10/29 edition of WWE Superstars on WGN did a 0.9 rating.

This week’s iMPACT! featured footage from Hulk Hogan’s press conference from Madison Square Garden in New York City. The footage aired in the show’s final segment and TNA hyped it all night.

In an interview with Time Magazine, Hulk Hogan says that he chose to partner with TNA Wrestling instead of returning to World Wrestling Entertainment mostly because he wants to help the younger generation of wrestlers.

“When I woke up and realized I should be my own man and be responsible for being happy, I realized I still have a lot to contribute to the wrestling business,” Hogan said. “And jumping into TNA and being a part of that company is huge. I have a chance to give back and help these young wrestlers who don’t understand the business and the art form.”

Hogan explains how the business has changed dramatically since the 1980s. “The business moves so much faster now,” he responded. “It used to be if Andre the Giant and I had a feud, it’d probably play out six or seven months later at a big event. Nowadays, if Andre the Giant and Hulk Hogan have a feud at 9 o’clock, it’s usually over by 9:30. It’s a story-telling art form to create emotion and drama and I just think a lot of that is lost.”

Here’s a classic Hogan quote .. The interviewer asked him about steroids, and how commonplace they were in the industry when he was coming up. Hogan said, “I just drank an iced tea here with lunch. If next year they say iced tea is worse than steroids, I’ll probably quit drinking that too. But at the time it was legal, just like drinking an iced tea is legal.”

To read the full interview, visit Time.com.

Following the announcement that Hulk Hogan will now be working with TNA Wrestling, there have been some curious changes to WWE.com that are worth noting.

Both Hulk Hogan and Ric Flair’s profiles have been removed from the Alumni section of WWE.com. Eric Bischoff, who will be joining Hulk Hogan in working with TNA, still has a profile on the Alumni page.

While its somewhat understandable why Hogan’s profile would be taken down now that he’s working for WWE’s top competitor, there hasn’t really been anything newsworthy with Ric Flair in recent days. While he is wrestling next month despite WWE’s grand sendoff last year at WrestleMania, this has been known for quite some time.

Hulk Hogan appeared on NBC’s Late Night with Jimmy Fallon last night. Fallon plugged his book and his “long-awaited return to pro wrestling” during Hulk’s intro. Jimmy talks about how he had all of the Hulk Hogan merchandise like the bandanas and dolls.

First, they talk about his book. Hulk says that he bottomed out, and everything disappeared at once which is what lead to the book. He recalls when he was about to open up American Gladiators and received the phone call that his wife was filing for divorce right before he was about to head onto the stage. He talks about having two of the worst days of his life when he got into his “old wrestler mentality” with drinking and taking pills. He says his main message is that things are cool and things get better. He says Eric Bischoff and Jimmy Hart told him he needs to speak up about his situation after he was getting slammed in the tabloids for so many months.

He speaks on Lou Albano passing away and says he was a great friend of his.

Jimmy says that The Hulkster just announced that he’s back wrestling again. Hulk says he’s going to get his legs back in Australia, and is going to be working with TNA. He says there has only been one wrestling company for the fans to watch, and he wants to start things back up again. He says he thinks he knows a little something about the wrestling business and wants to talk to all of the young wrestlers. There was no mention of tonight’s TNA iMPACT on Spike TV.

BREAKING: Ric Flair To TNA; Full Details On Plans for Flair & Hulk [FULL REPORT >>]

Bubba The Love Sponge

Hulk Hogan’job role in TNA could be more than just appearing on television and the occasional match. Radio personality Bubba The Love Sponge has posted some comments on Twitter.com that stating that Hulk Hogan will have more power than virtually anybody in TNA.

Mr. Sponge wrote, “[Hogan] is the boss. Period. Him and Eric biscoff will run the show. Things are going to get interesting. Vince is going to have a shit fit.”

He later added, “The boss boss. No work. He wouldn’t go back to only be the work boss. He is the boss boss. Promise”

When asked by one of his Twitter follows what he meant by Hogan being the “boss”, he clarified by saying, “He is the Booker. Period. Saw it in his contract. Terry and Eric won’t make the same mistakes that they made at wcw.”

• Check out: Bubba The Love Sponge’s Website

WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross has updated his blog at JRsBarBQ.com with his thoughts on Hulk Hogan signing with TNA Wrestling and Hogan’s ability to keep hiimself in the spotlight:

“Hogan makes big news this week launching his new book, talking Australian tour, and briefly mentioning TNA on what I saw of his Larry King appearance Tuesday night of which ‘Ol Lar’ phoned it in.”

“Hulk Hogan is ALL over the news this week which re-establishes the premise that Hulk is one of the greatest, self promoters of all time…BROTHER! Now, that isn’t necessarily a bad thing as any independent contractor who is entrepreneurial in spirit such as a pro wrestler has to have the ability to promote one’s self in order to survive over time. Hogan is an old school guy, in many ways, so ‘keeping one’s self over’ is nothing new and many guys have raised that skill to an art form but none better than Hulk.

WWE Hall of Famer Hulk Hoganwas a guest on the Howard Stern SiriusXM satellite radio show on Wednesday morning. There was

– Hogan confirmed what we reported earlier this year, that he had talks with WWE about facing John Cena at WrestleMania 25. The match never happened because Hogan pulled his back out while training.

– Hogan claims WWE CEO Vince McMahon contacted him recently about hosting an upcoming edition of WWE Raw. Ironically enough, Vince wanted Hogan to host WWE Raw on November 16th from Madison Square Garden – the location where Hogan held a press conference this week to announce he’s signed with TNA Wrestling.

– Hogan also claimed Vince McMahon wanted to begin the Hulk Hogan retirement tour, similar to what they did for Ric Flair last year. Hogan said he still feels he has plenty of gas left in the tank and doesn’t want to retire.

– Hulk said the main reason he signed with TNA Wrestling instead of going back to work for WWE is because Vince wanted to own the rights to the Hulk Hogan and Hulkamania names – which he wouldn’t do. He told Howard that Vince is probably not pleased with his decision to sign with TNA.

Hulk Hogan appeared on Larry King Live tonight on CNN to plug his new book, My Life Outside The Ring. The interview started off with Hulk explaining why he came out with the book now, saying that he wants to give people hope and show them that life is worth fighting for.

He says that he “crashed and burned” and his life as he knew it had changed when he walked into his house and it was completely empty. He says he prayed to be happy, and things changed instantly. He recounts the story where he came close to suicide but a friendly phone call from Layla Ali gave him hope. He talks about how he hardly knew her but she called to check on him because she saw how lost he was on the set of American Gladiators when he was served with the divorce papers. Larry got a quote from Ali who says she had no idea the shape he was in when she called her, but that the phone call was divine intervention.

He says they weren’t hiding anything on Hogan Knows Best, but rather were hoping that the show would bring them together. He says he has learned that life is beautiful, and he doesn’t retract anything in the book because it’s all the truth. Hulk briefly mentions that Linda is still with Charlie Hill, who went to school with his children.

Larry calls Hulk’s story “incredible” and says the book is sure to be a best-seller.

They show a clip of Nick Hogan on Brooke Knows Best talking about losing his mind in solitary confinement in jail. Hulk says Nick is a great kid and walks in the spirit of Christ. He says both Nick and Brooke are great kids, and what happened with Nick was an accident. Hulk’s lawyer says that Hulk has always wanted to take care of John Graziano, but they feel some people among John’s guardians have ulterior motives. He says Hulk is being sued because he co-owned the vehicle and allowed his son to drive it. He says Brooke is working on her career and doing great things.

Hulk says he’s handled all of the recent events in his life by going back to a place that was real, and that was back of inside himself to find the spirit of Christ. He says that he already possesses everything he needs to be happy inside him, and now he attracts positive things because he‘s realized that.

They show footage from Hulk Hogan’s press conference at Madison Square Garden today. They show a bunch of fans wearing their Hulkamania gear and that one guy with a huge Hulk Hogan tattoo on his back. Larry mentions that Hulk has signed with TNA, and asks if Hulk will get back in the ring. Hulk says he is going to contribute as much as he can in TNA and take the business to a whole new level. He says he’s going to test out his legs in the ring in Australia before he decides if he’ll get in the TNA ring or not.

On the subject of steroids, he says when he got in the business everyone was using them and it was the norm. He says around 1988-1990 people got educated on it and realized it wasn’t necessary.

Hulk says Nick Hogan is heading out to Rikishi’s wrestling school in north Hollywood in his spare time and is learning the ropes. He thinks Nick is curious about what attracted his dad to the wrestling business all those years and wants to get in shape.

To close off the segment, Hulk says he wants to do a reality show where they find the next Hulk Hogan, like American Idol for wrestling.

BREAKING: Ric Flair To TNA; Full Details On Plans for Flair & Hulk [FULL REPORT >>]

Credit: PWInsider.com

For those who have asked whether Hulk Hogan and Eric Bischoff coming into the company means they are going to take the reigns of TNA, I am told, “absolutely not.” The signing is not a precursor to removing the current TNA creative team. Given Vince Russo’s past issues with Hogan, that is going to be extremely interesting to follow.

There are SpikeTV and TNA banners up at the Hogan press conference outside Madison Square Garden right now. Jimmy Hart is with Hogan as well. The signing was kept a secret to even the inner-most members of the TNA circle until today.

The press conference today featured Eric Bischoff introducing Hogan. Hogan talked about TNA and stated he was becoming a “partner” in the company and that he was feeling great and looking forward to being a part of the company. The conference left the impression Hogan may be involved as a personality, but not wrestling for the group.

TNA President Dixie Carter gave a short speech saying she was looking forward to working with Hogan and that while they have great ratings for a Thursday night, Hogan would be the “boost that TNA needed.” SpikeTV’s Kevin Kay was also in attendance and gave a brief statement about the network working with Hogan.

The Q&A session was said to mostly be fluff fan type questions, although one fan did ask Hogan whether working with Vince Russo would be an issue. Hogan responded that as long as Russo stayed in his place and didn’t cross him, there would be no issues. Hogan then said that if he did, Hogan would have to take care of it.

When the topic of Eric Bischoff came up, Hogan did not say Bischoff was working with him in TNA but noted they have other side projects they are working on.

The details are still coming in, but I’ve received word that Hulk Hogan has signed a contract with TNA Wrestling and will announce the deal this afternoon at a press conference from Madison Square Garden in New York City.

A source who is at Madison Square Garden has informed us that TNA Wrestling president Dixie Carter as well as several top TNA executives are at MSG for the announcement. There are Spike TV & TNA Wrestling banners at the press conference – this is about to go down in a BIG way.

UPDATE: PWInsider.com is now reporting that Eric Bischoff will be joining Hulk Hogan in TNA as well.

More on this story as it develops … Keep checking back throughout the day.

— WWE Hall of Famer Hulk Hogan will be hosting a press conference on Tuesday (10/27) in New York City to promote his new book, “My Life Outside the Ring” that is being released the same day. According to a press release, Hogan will “field questions from wrestling fans about his book, his recent personal struggles, his storied career, and the next chapter of his life.”  The press conference is scheduled for 2:00 p.m. next Tuesday in the Mall Area outside of Madison Square Garden at 32nd St & 7th Ave.

You can buy Hulk Hogan’s new book “My Life Outside the Ring” at Amazon.com
.

— Linda McMahon has posted a new video to her campaign website discussing WWE – that the McMahons were the first to admit pro wrestling was scripted entertainment and once again trying to hype up that WWE programming is now TV-PG. The video was posted in response to political opponents trying to draw attention to the more “adult-themed” (translation: classless) storylines in WWE history, including Triple H humping Katie Vick’s corpse and Triple H marrying a drugged Stephanie McMahon. This video, which is the first time during the campaign that Linda has linked herself to WWE, can be viewed at Linda2010.com.

The November 2009 issue of Men’s Fitness magazine has exclusive excerpts from former WWE and WCW World Champion Hulk Hogan’s new book, My Life Outside the Ring. Here are a few highlights:

Filming Rocky III with Sylvester Stallone: “So Stallone starts doing his Rocky thing and starts reaching out to try to punch me… I laughed out loud. He was maybe 170 pounds and I was pushing 320 at that point.”

Contemplating suicide: “Just three pounds of pressure is all it would take – nothing for these big hands – and if I moved that finger an inch in the right direction, like flicking a a switch, I could have blown my brains out.”

Being injured by The Undertaker: “Heck, the tips of my fingers are still numb from that Tombstone incident (an ill-executed move with the Undertaker, which caused Hogan to temporarily lose feeling in numerous body parts) way back in the 90s.”

WWE Hall of Famer Hulk Hogan says he had his finger on the trigger of a gun and was about to kill himself when he received a phone call from a concerned celebrity friend.

The New York Daily News has published quotes from Hulk’s new book “My Life Outside the Ring,” where he describes hit rock bottom after the nasty breakup with his wife of 23 years and coping with Nick’s car accident that put Nick in jail and left family friend John Graziano brain-damaged.

Hulk says he did everything he could to keep his family together. “I practically begged her, ‘Please, don’t file. Our son’s just had this accident — if we do this now, it’ll make us look like the Britney Spears family. Please, don’t file for divorce.'” Hogan calls Linda an abusive alcoholic who once threatened to beat Nick with a wine bottle. Hulk says the extend of Linda’s crazy side was never really seen on their “Hogan Knows Best” VH1 reality show because “There were plenty of times when Linda would lose it, but no one wanted to see that kind of ugliness on TV.”

Hogan then describes a darker chapter in his life, where he almost committed suicide. Hulk said one day while filming NBC’s “American Gladiators,” he downed a heavy cocktail of rum and the anti-anxiety medication Xanax. Later in the day, he received a phone call from co-host Laila Ali, daughter of boxing great Muhammad Ali, who was concerned for him after noticing he seemed distracted at work. Hogan said in the book that he had reached for a gun and put his finger on the trigger when Ali called.

• Buy Hulk Hogan’s “My Life Outside The Ring” Now at Amazon.com

Credit: Wrestling Observer Newsletter

— Stone Cold Steve Austin was in London over the weekend and was brought out onto the field during the West Ham vs. Fulham soccer game yesterday. Austin got on the microphone and said: “If you want to see West Ham open a can of whoop-ass, give me a hell yeah.”

— Bobby Heenan was not at his scheduled autograph appearance in Philadelphia yesterday. Promoters said he was injured in a fall on Friday. This would have been his first appearance at an event of this type since all of his surgeries.

— From the ‘Where are they now’ file: Kevin Fertig, who wrestled for WWE as Kevin Thorn, wrestled for Insanity Pro Wrestling on Saturday night in Indianapolis. He used the name Seven Thorn.

— There are talks for the Hulkamania tour of Australia being released on DVD in North America, but nothing is confirmed. Contrary to rumors, the shows likely won’t be available on PPV.

— Reminder: Matt Hardy appears on SyFy’s Scare Tactics tonight.

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BREAKING: RAW Host Training For CAGE MATCH In Two Weeks [FULL DETAILS]

Back when Hulk Hogan’s son Nick was in jail, audio tapes of their jailhouse conversations leaked online that depicted the Hulkster in a very bad light.  Hogan showed little sympathy for crash victim John Graziano (who remains in a vegetative state to this day), saying that God laid some “heavy shit on him” because of things that he was “into.” Nick agreed, saying John was a “negative person.” You’d think the Hulkster would learn his lesson and realize that recorded statements can be made public and be used against you.

This week, an audio clip has leaked online of a voicemail message Hogan left for musician Chase Holfelder, the lead singer of the pop-punk band The Mile After. While Hogan never formally identifies himself during the recording, the caller talks about “****-a-mania” (the first half of the phrase is bleeped out), tells Holfelder that he’s messed with the wrong girl (presumably his daughter Brooke), calls him “brother” and threatens to have the Hells Angels biker gang break his legs. Nice!

Hulk Hogan appeared onthe “Grill Team” radio show (based out of Sydney, Australia) on Friday morning to promote the upcoming Hulkamania: Let The Battle Begin tour.  Hogan was in the studio promoting the tour when the hosts announced there was a “surprise” caller on the line: fellow WWE Hall of Famer Ric Flair.

After some back and forth between the two legends, Hogan issued the challenge to Flair to end his retirement and face him on the tour. Hogan said, “You put your name on the dotted line and we’ll have the epic battle. Ric Flair, I’m throwing out the challenge to you, brother. Do you accept?” Without hesitation, the Nature Boy responded, “Ric Flair accepts on the grandest level of all. Australia in search of a real legend, Ric Flair is on his way!”

Hogan later joked with the hosts, “I’ll need your attorneys to put the deal together because I’m flat broke till I get the advance from the promoters!”

Last week, it was announced that Hulk Hogan and Eric Bischoff are planning a tour of Australia in November. “Hulkamania: Let the Battle Begin” will feature many of the top free agents in pro wrestling today performing on four shows.

Some of the names set to appear include former WWE superstars Ken Anderson, Umaga, Rikishi, Orlando Jordan, Gangrel, Val Venis and the Godfather. Former WWE developmental diva Lacy Von Eric is also booked to appear. Several of Hulk Hogan and Eric Bischoff’s friends are also rumored for the tour, including Diamond Dallas Page, Brutus Beefcake the Nasty Boys.

The biggest selling point, however, will be the opportunity to see two of the biggest legends in wrestling history returning to the ring to renew an old rivalry. It was rumored last week that Ric Flair was in negotiations to wrestle Hulk Hogan on at least one of the shows of the tour. According to PWInsider.com, a source close to Ric Flair has confirmed that the Nature Boy will indeed be coming out of retirement to wrestle Hulk Hogan on the tour.

It is unknown at this point how many times Hogan and Flair will wrestle on the four-show tour, however a chance to see Ric Flair “walk that aisle” once again and square off against Hulk Hogan is sure to draw fan interest down under.