Former WWE World champion Jeff Hardy returned to TNA tonight during the live Impact special.
After the Steel Cage Assylum match finished in a no-contest, Hardy’s theme music hit and he emerged from the crowd.
As Jeff Hardy made his way to the ring, Homicide attacked him. They brawled briefly before Hardy drilled him in the head with a nasty chairshot. Hardy then climbed to the top of the Asylum and sat perched atop of it as TNA went to commercial.
– Hulk Hogan held a big meeting with the TNA entire roster backstage in Orlando today and the outcome was said to be very positive. The meeting was described as ‘rallying of the troops’ for tonight’s special with Hogan telling talent that this is their opportunity to shine.
– Bubba the Love Sponge, who is the new backstage interviewer for TNA, said on his radio show today that there was a TNA creative meeting last night and that Hulk Hogan is definitely in charge as he vetoed some of the ideas that were brought up at the meeting with a “we’re not doing it like that†mentality. Bubba says that the direction TNA is going will appeal to the 18-34 year old male demographic and will be the opposite of what WWE is putting out. Bubba used the term “man stuff†when describing the TNA storyline direction.
– Hulk Hogan held a big meeting with the TNA entire roster backstage in Orlando today and the outcome was said to be very positive. The meeting was described as ‘rallying of the troops’ for tonight’s special with Hogan telling talent that this is their opportunity to shine.
– Bubba the Love Sponge, who is the new backstage interviewer for TNA, said on his radio show today that there was a TNA creative meeting last night and that Hulk Hogan is definitely in charge as he vetoed some of the ideas that were brought up at the meeting with a “we’re not doing it like that†mentality. Bubba says that the direction TNA is going will appeal to the 18-34 year old male demographic and will be the opposite of what WWE is putting out. Bubba used the term “man stuff†when describing the TNA storyline direction.
TNA’s Jeremy Borash is teasing another major name for iMPACT! Borash wrote on Twitter this morning:
“Have to bite my tweet lip. Can’t believe who just walked into the hotel lobby. Guessing he isn’t in Orlando to visit Epcot.”
Additionally, we can confirm the following stars are backstage at tonight’s iMPACT for the three-hour show:
Eric Bischoff, Hulk Hogan and Jason Hervey are also already at the building for tonight’s show.
No word yet if Venis, Jordan and The Nasty Boys will be appearing on TV tonight but Waltman and Hall will.
Hulk Hogan may be showing up on iMPACT! tonight as his former “Hollywood Hogan” nWo character.
New TNA backstage announcer and radio personality Bubba the Love Sponge posted a picture of Hulk Hogan working out on Sunday and Hogan is sporting a black beard with his blonde mustache – the look he had back in WCW at its peak.
To see the picture of Hollywood Hogan, click here.
With Scott Hall and Sean Waltman rumored to appear at iMPACT! and Kevin Nash already appearing, will we see an nWo reunion tonight?
Hulk Hogan may be showing up on iMPACT! tonight as his former “Hollywood Hogan” nWo character.
New TNA backstage announcer and radio personality Bubba the Love Sponge posted a picture of Hulk Hogan working out on Sunday and Hogan is sporting a black beard with his blonde mustache – the look he had back in WCW at its peak.
To see the picture of Hollywood Hogan, click here.
With Scott Hall and Sean Waltman rumored to appear at iMPACT! and Kevin Nash already appearing, will we see an nWo reunion tonight?
Former WWE superstar Jeff Hardy wrote on Twitter that he, his girlfriend and Shannon Moore will be driving to Orlando, Florida on Monday to attend the live 3-hour TNA iMPACT!
Jeff Hardy wrote:
“Gonna roll with my boy @TheShannonBrand to FLA to put in a good word & check out tha show.”
TNA President Dixie Carter commented on the news of Jeff Hardy attending iMPACT. She wrote,
“Heard Jeff Hardy is going to crash the party tomorrow. Everyone is welcome!!! Gonna be fun.”
There is no word yet on whether Jeff Hardy will appear on television, but he is a free agent and might be open to a few appearances if the money is right. Jeff Hardy is arguably one of the most popular stars in the industry and him appearing on iMPACT! head-to-head with RAW would make a lot of noise and bring viewers to TNA.
** Visit PWTweets.com to follow 75+ Wrestlers & Divas on Twitter!
Former WWE superstar Jeff Hardy wrote on Twitter that he, his girlfriend and Shannon Moore will be driving to Orlando, Florida on Monday to attend the live 3-hour TNA iMPACT!
Jeff Hardy wrote:
“Gonna roll with my boy @TheShannonBrand to FLA to put in a good word & check out tha show.”
TNA President Dixie Carter commented on the news of Jeff Hardy attending iMPACT. She wrote,
“Heard Jeff Hardy is going to crash the party tomorrow. Everyone is welcome!!! Gonna be fun.”
There is no word yet on whether Jeff Hardy will appear on television, but he is a free agent and might be open to a few appearances if the money is right. Jeff Hardy is arguably one of the most popular stars in the industry and him appearing on iMPACT! head-to-head with RAW would make a lot of noise and bring viewers to TNA.
** Visit PWTweets.com to follow 75+ Wrestlers & Divas on Twitter!
– Hulk Hogan’s children Brooke and Nick will be at tonight’s 3-hour live TNA iMPACT! show.
– Eric Bischoff and Jason Hervey are already backstage at the Impact Zone and will be heavily involved in the production of tonight’s show.
– TNA has debuted a new logo on their website at TNAwrestling.com. It’s very similar to the older logo, except it has a simpler, cleaner look. Expect to see the new logo appear tonight on iMPACT!
– Recently signed TNA tag team The Young Bucks are booked for this week’s iMPACT! tapings. There was talk of having them face the Motor City Machineguns this week.
(Credit to PWInsider.com for some of the information used in this report)
– Hulk Hogan’s children Brooke and Nick will be at tonight’s 3-hour live TNA iMPACT! show.
– Eric Bischoff and Jason Hervey are already backstage at the Impact Zone and will be heavily involved in the production of tonight’s show.
– TNA has debuted a new logo on their website at TNAwrestling.com. It’s very similar to the older logo, except it has a simpler, cleaner look. Expect to see the new logo appear tonight on iMPACT!
– Recently signed TNA tag team The Young Bucks are booked for this week’s iMPACT! tapings. There was talk of having them face the Motor City Machineguns this week.
(Credit to PWInsider.com for some of the information used in this report)
— The WWE website posted a feature this past week counting down the top 10 Superstars who are most destined to win a championship this year. Ted DiBiase is listed at No. 5 with the following blurb, apparently spoiling his rumored babyface turn:
“Another Superstar who is now on a quest for singles success is Raw’s Ted DiBiase. Without Randy Orton and Cody Rhodes at his side, this third-generation Superstar will be looking to prove what he is capable of. Can this former tag team champion finally win one for himself?”
— You can follow recently departed WWE star Tommy Dreamer on Twitter as he has launched an account at the following link. A few WWE stars have confirmed the account is Dreamer via their own accounts.
In related news, the WWE website removed his bio from the ECW section this morning and placed it in the Alumni section.
Former WWE superstar and free agent Rob Van Dam posted on Twitter that he had “big wrestling plans” for January 4, with a link to his website, RobVanDam.com.
In a new blog posted on Sunday, Van Dam addressed the rumors that he will appear at TNA iMPACT! He wrote:
The wrestling business is exciting for the first time in quite awhile. This Monday kicks off the new ratings war between WWE and TNA-like I have to tell you! I admit, I am interested in the hype. In fact, I feel like I’m involved with this new era just because of the ginormous rumors involving me and a return. I’m going to say this-even though I know it won’t do much good-don’t be mad at me that you tuned in to see your favorite wrestler and I wasn’t there. I’m going to be watching with you.
What do you think – is RVD really staying home or could this be a swerve to keep it unexpected? Comment below.
Former WWE superstar and free agent Rob Van Dam posted on Twitter that he had “big wrestling plans” for January 4, with a link to his website, RobVanDam.com.
In a new blog posted on Sunday, Van Dam addressed the rumors that he will appear at TNA iMPACT! He wrote:
The wrestling business is exciting for the first time in quite awhile. This Monday kicks off the new ratings war between WWE and TNA-like I have to tell you! I admit, I am interested in the hype. In fact, I feel like I’m involved with this new era just because of the ginormous rumors involving me and a return. I’m going to say this-even though I know it won’t do much good-don’t be mad at me that you tuned in to see your favorite wrestler and I wasn’t there. I’m going to be watching with you.
What do you think – is RVD really staying home or could this be a swerve to keep it unexpected? Comment below.
– Word is that WWE offered Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson the guest host spot for the January 11th RAW but the offer was turned down. WWE then offered the gig to Mike Tyson, who has been confirmed to host that night.
– WWE contacted the USA Network over the weekend and requested 20 minutes of extra TV time past the normal 11:00PM for tonight’s RAW. No word yet if USA will grant the request
– The advertised dark match for tonight’s RAW in Dayton, Ohio is DX and Kofi Kingston vs. Legacy.
– WrestleMania 26 in March will once again feature a Money in the Bank ladder match with a #1 contender’s contract on the line. Raw superstar Kofi Kingston was slated to win the Money in the Bank match at WrestleMania this year but sources say now that those plans may have changed.
– Word is that WWE offered Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson the guest host spot for the January 11th RAW but the offer was turned down. WWE then offered the gig to Mike Tyson, who has been confirmed to host that night.
– WWE contacted the USA Network over the weekend and requested 20 minutes of extra TV time past the normal 11:00PM for tonight’s RAW. No word yet if USA will grant the request
– The advertised dark match for tonight’s RAW in Dayton, Ohio is DX and Kofi Kingston vs. Legacy.
– WrestleMania 26 in March will once again feature a Money in the Bank ladder match with a #1 contender’s contract on the line. Raw superstar Kofi Kingston was slated to win the Money in the Bank match at WrestleMania this year but sources say now that those plans may have changed.
Regarding new faces coming into TNA, it’s said that the company has 6-7 confirmed names that will be coming in soon, if not tonight on iMPACT then in the next few weeks.
* Rumored names like Ric Flair, Rob Van Dam, Paul Heyman and Sid are not expected to be there tonight. Heyman may not happen at all and Van Dam’s reported signing has not been confirmed. Sid is expected to come in soon but was recently injured overseas.
* It is confirmed that Angelina Love has re-signed with TNA and with the company requesting the entire roster tonight, she is expected to be there also.
* Scott Hall and Sean “X-Pac” Waltman are said to be pretty much a lock for tonight’s live show. Hall was telling people at the Hulk Hogan debut party yesterday that Waltman would be with him on iMPACT. Hall also was overheard saying they were trying to get Kevin Nash to dye his hair dark again.
* Ken Anderson, formerly Mr. Kennedy in WWE, is said to be the most likely name to appear tonight.
TNA has reportedly asked the entire roster to be in attendance tonight, including Sting.
Hulk Hogan has responded to negative comments made about him by WWE superstar CM Punk about him this morning on the BJ Shea Morning Experience show in Seattle. You can listen to an MP3 of the interview at this link.
Hogan listened to the comments and said, “Well, you know, it’s kind of like the law of attraction. He’s probably going to attract more of that negative stuff to his career because, you know, if you’re functioning on that level, that’s probably what you are going to attract, but at the end of the day, you know, I was selling out Madison Square Garden when that kid was pooping in his diapers, so you know, you’re going to see what I’m all about. I’m not there to wrestle. I don’t have a contract to wrestle. I’m there to run this company. Make it better, like I said, give the talent a choice. All the talents that are locked in there…I’m sure Vince McMahon is giving CM Punk the big push but paying him crumbs, because I know how that goes, because I’m giving the fans a choice, and the talent a choice and I’m going to prove to this negative guy that he’s wrong.â€
When asked about Punk making a personal attack on him, Hogan said, “That’s cool. I understand he’s surrounded by negative stuff up there and I can see why he’s jaded in his opinion. One of the things that I learned a long time ago is that you can’t judge anyone. You can’t judge a book by it’s cover. Some of the craziest looking, weirdest people seem to be the nicest people and the most honest people in the world. I would never judge anyone before I meet them. Some day down the road, CM Punk and I are probably going to work together and I would never judge him under any preconceived notions. I would judge him on the type of person he was when I met him. It’s all good, brother. I am vibing so high brother. I am going to reward those who are with me and those who aren’t my friends, I am going to win them over and make them my friends.â€
** JEFF HARDY Says He’ll Be At TNA iMPACT! Tonight – Full Details
Regarding Shawn Michaels’ outlook on real-life rival Bret Hart returning to World Wrestling Entertainment, he is said to be happy that the “Hitman” is coming back and is more than willing to bury whatever hatchet there is between them.
On the flip side, Triple H has been telling people he doesn’t want Hart back in WWE and that he hopes his return to the company fails. Considering that his wife, Stephanie McMahon-Levesque, is head of creative in the company, it would appear that Vince McMahon may have to overrule his daughter and son-in-law if his storyline with Hart is to be a success. Providing things go well, a Hart vs. McMahon blow-off will be taking place at WrestleMania.
Hart’s animosity towards Michaels and Hunter can summed up in a few sentences in his 2007 autobiography release as he concluded Hitman: My Real Life in the Cartoon World of Wrestling by saying he’ll never forgive either two for “killing the business” that so many people gave their lives for.
“When I got into the business, wrestling was all about trust and respect, and doing the honours meant something. I’ll never forgive Shawn, or Hunter, for killing the business that so many of us gave our lives for,” Hart wrote. “Although pro wrestling will never truly die, but always morph into something else, the business that I knew and loved and gave all I had to is dead and gone forever.”
Hart criticized Michaels further in his book’s afterword, notably calling him “a phony, liar and a hairless yellow dog.”
“Shawn Michaels found religion and settled down with an ex-Nitro girl. Over time he seemed to have convinced himself that it was me who screwed him over at Survivor Series. To me, Shawn will always be a phony, liar and a hairless yellow dog.” Hart continued, “The difference between Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels is that I’d have never done to him, or to any of the boys, what he did to me.”
(Partial source: f4wonline.com)
DOWNLOAD THE PODCAST HERE:
Solomonster Sounds Off (Episode 95)
*right-click, “Save As”, or stream it!
Est. Runtime: 1 hour, 14 minutes
Some of the topics discussed in this edition of the Sound Off include:
| Thoughts on the WWE vs. TNA “Monday Night Skirmish” with a final prediction on the rating for each
| TNA is apparently throwing a little surprise party on Monday night, and why this is a bad move
| Rumored lineup for WrestleMania 26 looks strong, but is it realistic? Who does WWE want to face John Cena?
| “Dr. Death” Steve Williams passes away at age 49, and a rant on cancer
| Sick of hearing about the Montreal Screwjob? Too bad because I’ll talk about that too…
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 95)
*right-click, “Save As”, or stream it!
Est. Runtime: 1 hour, 14 minutes
Some of the topics discussed in this edition of the Sound Off include:
| Thoughts on the WWE vs. TNA “Monday Night Skirmish” with a final prediction on the rating for each
| TNA is apparently throwing a little surprise party on Monday night, and why this is a bad move
| Rumored lineup for WrestleMania 26 looks strong, but is it realistic? Who does WWE want to face John Cena?
| “Dr. Death” Steve Williams passes away at age 49, and a rant on cancer
| Sick of hearing about the Montreal Screwjob? Too bad because I’ll talk about that too…
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
TNA president Dixie Carter spoke to the U.K. Sun to promote Monday night’s big RAW vs. iMPACT! battle. The following are highlights:
Expectations For Monday’s TV Rating: “How I define success is just being there. Just the fact that we are there on Monday night is a huge success for us. It makes the exact statement that we want to make. This is a marathon not a sprint. The ratings, quite honestly, are irrelevant. Our success is being there and the quality of the show we put on. That’s how I’ll assess it as far as that specific night goes.”
Hulk Hogan’s Role in TNA: “I think Terry (Hogan) has an amazing eye for talent and, with all those people your readers are mentioning, his goal is to make them household names. I can’t imagine a better person or brain to have behind the amazing talent that those young guys possess. So that’s actually one of the main reasons I brought him in. Again he’s not coming in worried about Hulk Hogan and making sure Hulk Hogan is getting over, that’s not his job. His job is to get TNA over.”
Changes Coming to TNA: “He (Hogan) is involved with everything from looking at new talent to how we are shooting the show. The two of us, over the past several months, have literally ripped apart every single aspect of the company. I wanted a fresh set of eyes on it, and what better eyes than the greatest wrestler in the history of this business. We’re looking at what we can do better, what we can do differently and what we can try.”
Competing against WWE: “They may say that they don’t consider us competition or don’t pay attention to us, but we deal with them playing those tricks with us all the time. Nothing is going to change in our game plan. We’re going to continue to do what we do best and that’s grow TNA one fan at a time. We’re not taking on Vince McMahon. We’re trying to give the wrestling fans what they want — and that is to make wrestling better as a whole.”
Bringing in New Talent: “There’s nobody we won’t go after. But they have to be right to come to the company. They have to be in it for the right reasons. They’ve got to fit in with what we’re doing. If that’s The Rock then fantastic. If it’s RVD then fantastic. It doesn’t matter. If somebody makes sense and has that work ethic and wants to embrace being a wrestler on a wrestling show and trying to do something different then we would love to have them. And, I promise you, we have many more exciting surprises to come.
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
Former WWE star JBL offered his thoughts on the WWE-TNA Monday Night War in his latest Facebook blog:
Layfield, who left WWE back in April 2009, sounds excited about the idea of TNA giving WWE a run for their money.
“I am loving the Monday Night Wars being back, or at least a one night skirmish on January 4th between WWE and TNA,†said Layfield.
“Greatest trade in history was Vince Russo to WCW, it drove WCW into bankruptcy and WWE to buying their competitor and establishing world dominance. We, at the time, were starting to think that Vince McMahon was sending Russo to destroy the competition it was so bad…
“TNA has the underdog and new guy going its way, it also has Eric Bischoff, who I greatly respect. I think Eric on his round two with Vince will be prepared. Along with Hulk (Hogan) who wants to badly compete with Vince as well.
“Main thing here is international TV rights, which both covet and make money off of. With Hulk and Eric in the mix, TNA will get clearance in many good markets to add to their international profile. Also, with Dixie Carter, who is a good friend and someone I respect-you won’t have the WCW oversized corporation.â€
— Angel Williams (a.k.a. Angelina Love) has re-signed with TNA Wrestling. She is expected to return during Monday’s 3-hour iMPACT!
— On her Facebook account, former WWE Diva Terri Runnels posted a recent photo of herself sitting alongside Chris Parks (a.k.a. Abyss) without his mask on. You can see the image at the following link. She said he reminded her of Paul Wight (a.k.a. Big Show) and Ray Traylor (a.k.a. Big Boss Man). The caption reads: “Chris reminded me of two of my friends…Paul Wight and Ray Traylor. Cool! I met a new friend but it felt like we were old buddies!”
— Doug Williams of The British Invasion sits down with Hermie Sadler in the latest edition of Hermie’s Hotseat. You can view the video interview here.
— As reported earlier, WWE Divas Champion Melina suffered a torn ACL at Tuesday night’s Raw live event and was on crutches the next day. She is scheduled to appear on Raw tomorrow night and whatever direction the company decides to take with the title will likely take place on the show.
— The WWE creative team is reportedly not worried about tomorrow’s night iMPACT! broadcast, but interested nonetheless in seeing what TNA cooks up. Within WWE, some are baffled that the only two matches where the participants have been advertised ahead of time are the two women’s bouts. In fact, some even joked that they should put Maryse on television each time a women’s match airs to show that one WWE Diva can beat all of TNA’s Knockouts combined in the ratings.
— Some within WWE joked about how Kofi Kingston praised the job Ted DiBiase did in The Marine 2 on his Twitter account when the two are feuding on television.
He wrote: “Okay guys, @TDiBiaseMarine2 and I have had our differences, but the Marine 2 looks tight! It comes out today so gon’ cop you a copy!” Then later added: “Just watched the Marine 2 on Blu Ray. Pretty damn good! Well worth the $25. Only time you’ll hear me say it: props to @TDiBiasiMarine2.”
(source: f4wonline.com)
