There are no official matches for the Royal Rumble at the moment, but the following matches are being discussed:
The 30-Man Royal Rumble Match
WWE Title Match: Sheamus vs. John Cena
World Title Match: Undertaker vs. Rey Mysterio vs. Batista
* Christian vs. Winner of Battle Royal on 1/12 ECW show (CM Punk is the favorite)
* Possibly the finals of the Divas Title tournament*
WWE officials are unhappy with this week’s Raw rating. Though TNA provided competition, they felt Bret Hart’s return to the company would have garnered at least a 4.0.
The show finished with a 3.6 cable rating, the same number as last week. The show drew hours of 3.51 and 3.73 with the first hour scoring 5,441,000 viewers and hour two pulling in 5,773,000. Raw averaged 5,600,000 for the broadcast.
Despite talk that Bret Hart was only brought in to help World Wrestling Entertainment for the “Monday Night Wars”, there was talk between Hart and WWE long before Hulk Hogan signed with TNA. Whether Hogan had joined TNA or not, the Bret Hart hosting RAW gig and angle leading into this year’s WrestleMania would still have happened.
However, the move to secure Mike Tyson for next week’s RAW, which goes against UFC, is a much more direct move on WWE’s part. The idea that the company wasn’t concerned against competition couldn’t be further from the truth. The situation with Charlie Haas demonstrated WWE’s reaction to any competition. He was of course offered an improved contract amid speculation he may leave for TNA, even though the company had no creative plans for him.
Hulk Hogan was said to be very stressed backstage at iMPACT on Monday, and feels the company has organizational issues. TNA was still filming pre-tapes late in the day, and it was said to be a very chaotic atmosphere for Hulk compared to the treatment he was used to in WCW and WWE.
Hogan held a meeting with the TNA roster prior to the show, which was described as a basic pep talk meeting. Hulk told the wrestlers that he’s looking forward to getting to know them all. He told them his door is always open, and gave the impression that he and Bischoff are running the show, although Vince Russo is still handling his usual backstage duties.
Some backstage sources say Russo came across as withdrawn, and after the show was telling people he had no idea what the storyline direction will be going forward.
(Source: PWTorch Newsletter)
– It appears hat Chris Jericho accidentally posted two messages on his Twitter account which were not meant to be read by the general public as the following tweets were deleted shortly after its initial posting:
“Well u can invite her too! Gotta take care of my Aussie girls :) U ever come to the US?”
“Yes I have changed my wig a few times over the years :)”
Twitter has a feature which allows users to private message one another so it would appear that is what he meant to do.
For those wondering, it is believed that Jericho is still tied to his wife of ten years, Jessica, as he noted on his Twitter account several weeks ago during an an overseas tour that he missed her.
Early last year, Jericho was rumored to have been involved in a relationship with female performer Kelly Kelly. That particular rumor was largely based off of certain photographs which had surfaced online of the two getting cozy with each other at a party. For what it’s worth, I know Kelly herself asked owners of a Kelly fansite and wrestling diva message forum to remove all photos of her with Jericho.
– As part of the ongoing Eight-Diva Tournament for the vacant Divas Championship, Gail Kim will square off against Jillian on tomorrow night’s edition of WWE Superstars on WGN America. Other matches slated to take place during the broadcast include Mike Knox vs. Finlay and Yoshi Tatsu vs. Caylen Croft.
– The artwork for WWE’s upcoming three-disc DVD set highlighting the best of Monday Night Raw in 2009, The Best of RAW 2009, has been released. You can view the cover of the DVD at the following link.
TNA officials and Spike TV executives were thrilled with the iMPACT rating numbers that came in yesterday. As previously reported, iMPACT! drew a 1.5 overall rating (2.2 million viewers) with the show peaking at a 1.9 ratingng (2.5 million viewers) for start of hour 2, featuring the debut of Hulk Hogan.
TNA President Dixie Carter wrote the following on her Twitter yesterday:
“Thank you, thank you for helping TNA set RECORD ratings in every way last night. We ALL won.”
There is now serious discussion within TNA of putting on a weekly Monday night show head-to-head with WWE’s RAW. The most likely scenario we’ve heard would be TNA iMPACT! running from 8-10pm ET, only going head-to-head with RAW for 1 hour.
– In an update from last night’s TNA iMPACT spoilers, Hulk Hogan did in fact appear in a backstage segment. Jeff Hardy was not at last night’s iMPACT tapings.
TNA officials and Spike TV executives were thrilled with the iMPACT rating numbers that came in yesterday. As previously reported, iMPACT! drew a 1.5 overall rating (2.2 million viewers) with the show peaking at a 1.9 ratingng (2.5 million viewers) for start of hour 2, featuring the debut of Hulk Hogan.
TNA President Dixie Carter wrote the following on her Twitter yesterday:
“Thank you, thank you for helping TNA set RECORD ratings in every way last night. We ALL won.”
There is now serious discussion within TNA of putting on a weekly Monday night show head-to-head with WWE’s RAW. The most likely scenario we’ve heard would be TNA iMPACT! running from 8-10pm ET, only going head-to-head with RAW for 1 hour.
– In an update from last night’s TNA iMPACT spoilers, Hulk Hogan did in fact appear in a backstage segment. Jeff Hardy was not at last night’s iMPACT tapings.
Following this past weekend’s UFC event, President Dana White was asked about UFC’s Fight Night special going head-to-head with WWE RAW next Monday night.White claims that Vince McMahon is overreacting by bringing in Mike Tyson as the Guest Host of Raw and is a “fucking animal” when it comes to playing fair with his “competition.” White said:
“I mean we’re not trying to go against him. That night is the night Spike wanted the fight. Spike wanted the fight that night, so that’s the night they called for it and Vince goes into (expletive) war mode. He’s calling up (Mike) Tyson. He’s bringing this guy back and the Rock might come back. I love it. He’s a (expletive) animal. You’ve never heard me say we’re going to kick the (expletive) out of Monday Night Raw. You’ve never heard me say that. I think we’re two totally different, pro wrestling is totally different than the UFC and mixed martial arts. And I respect this guy. I like Vince McMahon. I’ve had breakfast with him. He’s a good guy, but he is a (expletive) animal. I’m not trying to beat him on Monday night. I don’t think we would beat them. Those guys pull killer ratings. It’s been like the highest rated show on television forever. We’re just putting a fight on Monday night because Spike wants us to.”
Following this past weekend’s UFC event, President Dana White was asked about UFC’s Fight Night special going head-to-head with WWE RAW next Monday night.White claims that Vince McMahon is overreacting by bringing in Mike Tyson as the Guest Host of Raw and is a “fucking animal” when it comes to playing fair with his “competition.” White said:
“I mean we’re not trying to go against him. That night is the night Spike wanted the fight. Spike wanted the fight that night, so that’s the night they called for it and Vince goes into (expletive) war mode. He’s calling up (Mike) Tyson. He’s bringing this guy back and the Rock might come back. I love it. He’s a (expletive) animal. You’ve never heard me say we’re going to kick the (expletive) out of Monday Night Raw. You’ve never heard me say that. I think we’re two totally different, pro wrestling is totally different than the UFC and mixed martial arts. And I respect this guy. I like Vince McMahon. I’ve had breakfast with him. He’s a good guy, but he is a (expletive) animal. I’m not trying to beat him on Monday night. I don’t think we would beat them. Those guys pull killer ratings. It’s been like the highest rated show on television forever. We’re just putting a fight on Monday night because Spike wants us to.”
Reader JP Nichols was at the Impact Zone for tonight’s Impact taping, airing on January 14:
Generation Me (The Young Bucks) defeated The Motor City Machine Guns with ‘More Bang for Your Buck’.
Kurt Angle comes out to the ring and he says that A.J. has proven that his title victory was not a fluke after their match last week. Angle says that A.J. has earned everything on his own and that A.J. was the better man that night. Angle says that at Genesis, he will be the better man and he will win his title back. A.J. Styles comes out and says that he appreciates what Angle said about him and that Genesis will be the last time that Angle gets a shot at his title in 2010. Angle says that is fine because he will only need one more match against A.J.
A.J. leaves the ring and walks up the ramp but he is attacked by the masked man again. The masked man lays out Styles and then he unmasks to reveal that it was Tomko. Tomko laughs at what he has done.
Angelina Love is sitting in the front row in the crowd.
The Beautiful People come to the ring for their match and they see Angelina in the crowd and they have a group hug.
TNA Knockout Tag Team Champions Hamada and Awesome Kong defeat Madison Rayne and Velvet Sky (with Lacey von Erich) when Kong pinned Madison after an Awesome Bomb.
After the match, Angelina goes over the rail and enters the ring and attacks Velvet, Madison, and Lacey.
They show a video of A.J. Styles confronting Eric Bischoff about Tomko’s attacks on him. Styles tells Bischoff that he wants a match against Tomko tonight. Bischoff wants to know if A.J. is willing to put the title on the line. A.J. agrees to put his title on the line against Tomko.
Jeremy Borash is shown on the video screen with Eric Bischoff. They are talking about Mick Foley and Borash defending him. Jeremy says that he needs to talk to Foley and he leaves.
Beer Money enter to talk to Bischoff and they say that they want to face Hall and Nash at Genesis. Bischoff takes Storm’s beer and he says that he will think about it.
’Your Feature Presentation’ Sean Morley comes to the ring and he says that him and TNA were made for each other. He mentions that he used to work with a different type of ‘T&A’, but those days are over. Morley says that TNA was poised to explode and he says that he will make TNA films that are works of art. Daniels comes to the ring and he shakes Morley’s hand. Daniels welcomes Morley to TNA and then he wants to pitch a screenplay to Morley. Daniels attacks Morley and then hits the Best Moonsault Ever. Daniels says that he wants to show how they eliminate scum in TNA. They brawl and Morley gets the upper hand and he throws Daniels out of the ring.
Hernandez and Matt Morgan defeat Beer Money by disqualification when Rob Terry attacks Hernandez. Terry and Morgan fight up the ramp. Hall, Waltman, and Nash come out and they attack Beer Money. Bischoff comes out and he watches things from the ramp. Bischoff says something to Beer Money that cannot be heard in the Impact Zone.
Bischoff comes out and he says that the fans bring a smile to his face. He brings out Hall, Nash, and Waltman and Bischoff tells them that he doesn’t know what to do with them. He then announces that Beer Money will face Hall and Nash at Genesis.
D’Angelo Dinero joins Taz and Tenay at the announce table for the next match.
Desmond Wolfe defeats Samoa Joe with the Tower of London after countering Joe’s choke on the turnbuckles. After the match, Desmond and Dinero had some words.
Lethal Consequences are attacked by Bobby Lashley before their match.
Team 3D defeated Lethal Consequences after Team 3D hit the 3D on Creed. After the match, Ray addressed the Nasty Boys while holding an axe. He says that they heard about what the Nasty Boys did to their locker room while they were in Japan. Ray says that they are coming after The Nasty Boys.
They show a video of Jeff Jarrett confronting Bischoff and Hogan. Jarrett talks about who built TNA and then Bischoff tells Jarrett that the company was saved by Dixie Carter. He tells Jarrett that the company will turn around because of Hogan and him. Hogan tells Jarrett to get out.
Ric Flair joins Mike and Taz on commentary.
A.J. Styles defeats Tomko with a pele kick. After the match, Tomko attacks Styles and then Kurt Angle comes out to make the save for Styles. Angle offers his hand to Styles but Styles refuses to shake it and the refusal pleases Flair. Angle and Flair stare at each other.
DOWNLOAD THE PODCAST HERE:
Solomonster Sounds Off (Episode 96)
*right-click, “Save As”, or stream it!
Est. Runtime: 47 minutes
| The ratings are in and TNA should be feeling really happy right about now
| Thoughts on Bret Hart’s return, Jeff Hardy’s shocking defection, Ric Flair and MORE!
Want your question on the air? Send feedback to [email protected].
Wanna subscribe to the Sound Off via iTunes? CLICK HERE!
Visit The Solomonster on Twitter @ twitter.com/solomonster
DOWNLOAD THE PODCAST HERE:
Solomonster Sounds Off (Episode 96)
*right-click, “Save As”, or stream it!
Est. Runtime: 47 minutes
| The ratings are in and TNA should be feeling really happy right about now
| Thoughts on Bret Hart’s return, Jeff Hardy’s shocking defection, Ric Flair and MORE!
Want your question on the air? Send feedback to [email protected].
Wanna subscribe to the Sound Off via iTunes? CLICK HERE!
Visit The Solomonster on Twitter @ twitter.com/solomonster
Monday’s WWE RAW featuring the return of Bret Hart drew a 3.4 rating with an average of about 5.6 million viewers.
With TNA iMPACT!’s drawing a healthy 1.5, it looks like TNA took a chunk out of WWE’s audience and offset the return of Bret Hart.
More soon.
Monday’s 3-hour live edition of TNA iMPACT! featuring the debut of Hulk Hogan drew impressive 2.2 million viewers (a 1.5 rating), making it the most watched episode of iMPACT! in history.
The show opened with a 1.7 rating for the first unopposed hour, TNA’s venture into live Monday night programming. The second hour drew a 1.4 and the final hour did a 1.2.
The highest rated quarter hour of iMPACT! was the start of hour 2, featuring the debut of Hulk Hogan. The segment drew 2.5 million viewers (a 1.9 rating)and went head-to-head against Bret Hart’s return to WWE television, which did a 3.7 rating for that 15-minute period.
Monday’s 3-hour live edition of TNA iMPACT! featuring the debut of Hulk Hogan drew impressive 2.2 million viewers (a 1.5 rating), making it the most watched episode of iMPACT! in history.
The show opened with a 1.7 rating for the first unopposed hour, TNA’s venture into live Monday night programming. The second hour drew a 1.4 and the final hour did a 1.2.
The highest rated quarter hour of iMPACT! was the start of hour 2, featuring the debut of Hulk Hogan. The segment drew 2.5 million viewers (a 1.9 rating)and went head-to-head against Bret Hart’s return to WWE television, which did a 3.7 rating for that 15-minute period.
After making his shocking return to TNA Wrestling at Monday night’s live 3-hour iMPACT! special, Jeff Hardy has been dealt yet another legal setback.
Jeff Hardy’s drug charges went to the grand jury yesterday in Moore County, North Carolina. A grand jury found that there is enough evidence to indict Hardy and the case has been sent to Superior Court, according to a spokesperson with the Moore County Court. The case will be officially set on their docket within the next week, according to PWInsider.com.
Hardy was arrested on September 11th, 2009 after police raided his home in Cameron, North Carolina. A joint investigation conducted by officers with the Moore County Sheriff’s Office narcotics and select enforcement units and the Fayetteville Police Department led to the search. According to the police report, a search of his residence yielded 262 Vicodin prescription pills, 180 Soma prescription pills, 555 milliliters of anabolic steroids, a residual amount of powder cocaine and items of drug paraphernalia.He was charged with felony trafficking in opium, two counts of felony possession with intent to sell or deliver a Schedule III controlled substance, felony maintaining a dwelling to keep controlled substance, felony possession of cocaine and misdemeanor possession of drug paraphernalia.
Jeff was set for a probable cause hearing later this month to determine wehther there was enough evidence to send the case to Superior Court, but it appears prosecutors opted to forgo that hearing and go right to the grand jury in order to move the case along.
On Monday’s RAW, we saw the long-awaited return of Bret Hart to WWE television. The Hitman made peace with Shawn Michaels and got screwed over by Vince McMahon once again. Here’s some news on Bret’s return:
– Bret Hart was at RAW last night with his girlfriend. He spent a lot of time introducing himself to the locker room, since Triple H, Shawn Michaels and Mark Henry were the only superstars on the roster since his last stint in the company.
– Hart stayed at the same hotel as the rest of the WWE crew and spent over an hour signing and taking photos for fans in the lobby.
– Although The Hart Dynasty were brought in for the show, there were never plans to use them, and they were there as trusted and known faces to Hart.
– WWE has already released a new t-shirt for Bret Hart. It comes packaged with a DVD on their shop website.
– WWE Superstar JTG of Cryme Tyme apparently wasn’t invited to last night’s RAW in Dayton. He said on Twitter that he was a “lil pisst” about not being there to meet his hero, Bret Hart.
(Credit to PWInsider.com for some of the information used in this report)
On Monday’s RAW, we saw the long-awaited return of Bret Hart to WWE television. The Hitman made peace with Shawn Michaels and got screwed over by Vince McMahon once again. Here’s some news on Bret’s return:
– Bret Hart was at RAW last night with his girlfriend. He spent a lot of time introducing himself to the locker room, since Triple H, Shawn Michaels and Mark Henry were the only superstars on the roster since his last stint in the company.
– Hart stayed at the same hotel as the rest of the WWE crew and spent over an hour signing and taking photos for fans in the lobby.
– Although The Hart Dynasty were brought in for the show, there were never plans to use them, and they were there as trusted and known faces to Hart.
– WWE has already released a new t-shirt for Bret Hart. It comes packaged with a DVD on their shop website.
– WWE Superstar JTG of Cryme Tyme apparently wasn’t invited to last night’s RAW in Dayton. He said on Twitter that he was a “lil pisst” about not being there to meet his hero, Bret Hart.
(Credit to PWInsider.com for some of the information used in this report)
SEScoops.com reader Andrew sent in the following report:
On his radio show today Bubba the Love Sponge talked about the fiasco at last night’s TNA Impact involving him and the passes TNA gave him to give to his fans. He is not happy at all.
– To clear it up (because even I didn’t fully understand it) TNA gave Bubba about 1000 tickets to give away to his audience.
-Bubba said that the people from Universal Studios where TNA is filmed told the fans the passes Bubba gave them were not real, even though they were given to him by TNA. As a result, a ton of fans were turned away and sent to watch the event at the Hard Rock Cafe.
– He said that during the “viewing party” at the Hard Rock, where the fans he gave passes to were sent after they were turned away, someone purportedly from either TNA or Universal got on stage and completely buried him.
– Also, after the show, AJ Styles appeared at the Hard Rock and also buried Bubba.
– When Bubba appeared personally at the Hard Rock to address the fans that were turned away, he said he was booed and spat on and had things thrown at him by angry fans.
– Bubba said that after the show last night he refused to return text messages or take calls from Hulk Hogan or Dixie Carter.
– Bubba said he is supposed to go to the taping tonight but he probably won’t go and he said he is “probably done” with TNA, and that they will do fine without him.
– Bubba said he thought the product TNA put on last night was good, and that they are well on their way to turning things around but he just wasn’t happy with how he or his fans were treated.
-I nterestingly, Bubba said that TNA bussed in a lot of high school kids (apparently they were the ones wearing the yellow shirts), and that the crowd was not hot because they were too young to know guys like Scott Hall, or Ric Flair. Personally, I thought the crowd came off as pretty hot on television.
– A caller called in and said she received e-mails from TNA prior to last night’s show confirming that the passes she received from Bubba were in fact real.
– Another caller said that they allowed people in with passes from Universal Studios that were not originally there to see TNA before they allowed people in with actual TNA passes. It seems like TNA, Hulk Hogan, and Dixie Carter really dropped the ball on this whole thing and Bubba was just trying to help out TNA and Hogan, and ended up looking bad and getting buried for it. Whatever the case may be, it’s pretty clear TNA needs to fix some of their organizational issues if they are really going to compete with WWE.
After a shocking appearance by Jeff Hardy at Monday’s TNA iMPACT! tapings, SEScoops.com can confirm that the former WWE Champion has signed a contract with TNA Wrestling. Here are some of the key details to this story:
– Jeff Hardy is now a full-time member of the TNA roster and will be working a regular television and PPV schedule.
– The main reason Jeff Hardy jumped to TNA is the work schedule and is at the point where he doesn’t want to deal with the grueling WWE travel schedule. In TNA, he can still remain a top star in the industry and make great money while working and traveling far less.
– On iMPACT!, we saw Jeff Hardy attack X-Division star Homicide. A feud between the two appears to be in the works. “Anything could change and I could do something else or Jeff could do something else at the TV tapings on Tuesday, and I think it would be a great match-up of Jeff Hardy vs. Homicide. I’m really hoping it will happen,” Homicide said on the “Right After Wrestling” radio program on SIRIUS channel 98.
– Jeff Hardy was in meetings with Hulk Hogan and Dixie Carter throughout the day on Monday ironing out the terms of his agreement. Its believed that nothing was locked up until Jeff’s visit to Orlando on Monday.
UPDATES:
– On Tuesday, Jeff Hardy was indicted on the drug charges against him and his case will be moving on to Superior Court. READ MORE
– Jeff Hardy’s girlfriend Beth posted a message on Twitter responding to rumors that Jeff he signed with TNA after having a verbal agreement to return to WWE:
“I have no idea where these reports are coming from saying Jeff “had a verbal agreement to return to WWE by a certain date.â€That’s 100% falseâ€
Last night on TNA Impact, Jeff Jarrett returned to the Impact Zone to address the crowd. He gave a gracious, if not somewhat self-congratulatory, celebration interview for the progress of TNA and his role in it.
Hulk Hogan fired back that Jarrett was talking too much about himself and he didn’t want to him reference “I, I, I” again. Hogan came across as having an attitude and perhaps raining on Jarrett’s hard-earned parade. It wasn’t supposed to come across that way.
Jarrett was supposed to come across as self-absorbed and borderline delusional, but some of the ideas to get him there were edited out by various factions behind the scenes in recent days. Some insider references were removed and Jarrett himself may not have wanted some things that would have stung too much to be talked about, such as pushing himself at the expense of others.
Because Jarrett came up short on some of the items he was supposed to say, he essentially didn’t set the pin up properly for Hogan to knock down. So Hogan came across more heelish than intended.
There was recognition behind the scenes that the Hogan-Jarrett did not come across as the creative team originally envisioned and intended, with the heat being put on Jeff Jarrett.
After Monday’s Raw went off the air, Bret Hart’s music played as the entire Raw roster (except for Triple H, Shawn Michaels and Hornswoggle) came to the ring to cheer for Bret. The Hart Dynasty was a part of the celebration.
Hart was put on their shoulders and paraded around the ring. The roster returned to the stage, leaving Hart in the ring alone Hart took his time going around to ringside fans before waving goodbye and exiting up the ramp.
UPDATE:Â VIDEO of the Celebration at WWE.com
– The backstage atmosphere last night at iMPACT was described as “unique”. Among the talents, there were a lot of people scared for their long-term position with the company. Some feel that the new established stars will cause them to be overlooked and that they may be let go.
– TNA has pics from iMPACT up on their website at this link.
– The winter frost in Florida has made the TNA locker rooms very cold, as the facilities at Universal do not have heat — just air conditioning.
– Hundreds of fans were turned way last night at the iMPACT Zone. There were a vocal group of Bubba the Love Sponge fans, who were turned away and upset since they had passes from Bubba’s website to get in. Bubba responded to complaints on his Twitter, and noted that he knew that Dixie Carter would be upset, but said he would not speak badly of her again.
– The girls in the crowd that were shown on camera all night were local cheerleaders. TNA staff made sure they were seated where the camera would catch them.
– The person that got out of one limo and then to the other was supposed to be Eric Bischoff.
– The format that Eric Bischoff tore up and threw was the actual real format for the show. During the commercial break, security took pages away from fans who managed to catch them.
– The security guys that tried to keep out Mick Foley and The Nasty Boys were the old Phi-Delta Slam tag team, otherwise known as The Main Event Mafia’s security guards Rocco and Sal.
(Credit to PWInsider.com for some of the information used in this report)
– The backstage atmosphere last night at iMPACT was described as “unique”. Among the talents, there were a lot of people scared for their long-term position with the company. Some feel that the new established stars will cause them to be overlooked and that they may be let go.
– TNA has pics from iMPACT up on their website at this link.
– The winter frost in Florida has made the TNA locker rooms very cold, as the facilities at Universal do not have heat — just air conditioning.
– Hundreds of fans were turned way last night at the iMPACT Zone. There were a vocal group of Bubba the Love Sponge fans, who were turned away and upset since they had passes from Bubba’s website to get in. Bubba responded to complaints on his Twitter, and noted that he knew that Dixie Carter would be upset, but said he would not speak badly of her again.
– The girls in the crowd that were shown on camera all night were local cheerleaders. TNA staff made sure they were seated where the camera would catch them.
– The person that got out of one limo and then to the other was supposed to be Eric Bischoff.
– The format that Eric Bischoff tore up and threw was the actual real format for the show. During the commercial break, security took pages away from fans who managed to catch them.
– The security guys that tried to keep out Mick Foley and The Nasty Boys were the old Phi-Delta Slam tag team, otherwise known as The Main Event Mafia’s security guards Rocco and Sal.
(Credit to PWInsider.com for some of the information used in this report)
Jim Ross is back with another blog at JRsBarBQ.com with thoughts on last night’s RAW and iMPACT. Here are some highlights:
Bret Hart & HBK: “The dialog between HBK and the Hitman sounded so natural that I thought I was eavesdropping on two old rivals’ conversation. They were simply being themselves. Their handshake made the night complete for me but remember that I lived through the debacle of ’97 and was just a little immersed in it and spent many, many hours “talking wrestlers off the ledge” so to speak for hours after the controversial incident.”
Bret Hart & Vince McMahon: “The McMahon-Bret confrontation was well done especially planting the seed early and keeping me hooked until the end of the show for the payoff plus adding some spice to the dish in between. The Mr. McMahon persona is so easy to dislike and the Chairman got the last word and the final act of physicality in the exchange with his longstanding adversary and left me wanting to see more and wondering how Bret will respond next Monday night? Or will he? This issue has new, fresh legs.”
Jeff Hardy in TNA: “It surprised me to see Jeff Hardy on Spike TV Monday night which I am sure will get some fans talking and critics/pundits asking a great deal of questions. I’m a Jeff Hardy fan and I wish him well. Jeff had a great tenure in WWE and considering that I signed him and his brother Matt to their first WWE contracts I will always consider the Hardy brothers as being special. As Hall of Fame Coach Barry Switzer once told me, “Once you recruit a player you recruit them for life.”
Ric Flair in TNA: “Knowing how much Ric Flair still enjoys wrestling I was not shocked to see Ric on another channel Monday night. The WWE gave Ric the greatest send-off/retirement presentation that I have ever witnessed but nonetheless “Naitch” has wrestling running through his veins and he’s going lace ’em up until he simply can’t do it any longer. Ric Flair has been my friend for about 30 years and I wish him well in what ever he does in his career.”
AJ Styles vs. Kurt Angle: “Former WWE Champion Kurt Angle, another one of the guys that I signed to their first WWE contract, and A.J. Styles had a truly excellent wrestling match that I got glimpses of Monday night.”
Jim Ross is back with another blog at JRsBarBQ.com with thoughts on last night’s RAW and iMPACT. Here are some highlights:
Bret Hart & HBK: “The dialog between HBK and the Hitman sounded so natural that I thought I was eavesdropping on two old rivals’ conversation. They were simply being themselves. Their handshake made the night complete for me but remember that I lived through the debacle of ’97 and was just a little immersed in it and spent many, many hours “talking wrestlers off the ledge” so to speak for hours after the controversial incident.”
Bret Hart & Vince McMahon: “The McMahon-Bret confrontation was well done especially planting the seed early and keeping me hooked until the end of the show for the payoff plus adding some spice to the dish in between. The Mr. McMahon persona is so easy to dislike and the Chairman got the last word and the final act of physicality in the exchange with his longstanding adversary and left me wanting to see more and wondering how Bret will respond next Monday night? Or will he? This issue has new, fresh legs.”
Jeff Hardy in TNA: “It surprised me to see Jeff Hardy on Spike TV Monday night which I am sure will get some fans talking and critics/pundits asking a great deal of questions. I’m a Jeff Hardy fan and I wish him well. Jeff had a great tenure in WWE and considering that I signed him and his brother Matt to their first WWE contracts I will always consider the Hardy brothers as being special. As Hall of Fame Coach Barry Switzer once told me, “Once you recruit a player you recruit them for life.”
Ric Flair in TNA: “Knowing how much Ric Flair still enjoys wrestling I was not shocked to see Ric on another channel Monday night. The WWE gave Ric the greatest send-off/retirement presentation that I have ever witnessed but nonetheless “Naitch” has wrestling running through his veins and he’s going lace ’em up until he simply can’t do it any longer. Ric Flair has been my friend for about 30 years and I wish him well in what ever he does in his career.”
AJ Styles vs. Kurt Angle: “Former WWE Champion Kurt Angle, another one of the guys that I signed to their first WWE contract, and A.J. Styles had a truly excellent wrestling match that I got glimpses of Monday night.”
