First Tough Enough trainer, Dixie Carter talks MEM, a Hall of Fame, and her biggest mistake, WrestleMania speculations, the AWA, Raw guest hosts, Bearer returning?, notes NC Impact taping, guest at FCW, more Jersey Shore-Impact talk, TNA Hall of Fame?, El Generico, Abdullah The Butcher, Armando Estrada, Nunzio, and Edge updates, Nowinski talks concussions, WWE stock update, Impact and Superstars ratings

The first trainer for the new Tough Enough is new WWE signee Booker T.. I think that he could be good in that role.

Dixie Carter answers a fan's question about Booker T. and Kevin Nash not being in a Main Event Mafia reunion in TNA. She says that Booker was not available for the angle, but Nash was under contract with TNA. He was released for reasons that she wouldn't disclose, leading to his going to WWE. She says that the MEM angle was going to be short-term to lead to something else, and not with the entire original group.

PWInsider.com adds that Nash had signed a new contract in November 2010, and that Booker T. was never scheduled for a TNA return. He had come to terms with WWE months ago, but didn't sign right away because something came up that prevented him from doing so. The contract was waiting for him when he was ready, and now he is under contract with them.

Dixie Carter says that her biggest mistake in TNA was the move to Monday nights, because the audience much prefers watching Impact on Thursdays. The ratings bear that out.

Up next, PWInsider.com's questions. I don't have anything to add/say on the first two, but #3 wants some guesses for the WrestleMania card.

I'll say Edge vs. Del Rio for the World Title, The Miz vs. John Cena for the WWE Title, C.M. Punk vs. Randy Orton, The Undertaker vs. Wade Barrett, an 8-Diva Tag Match, Jerry Lawler vs. Michael Cole, Diesel vs. Big Show, and a Money In The Bank match with Sheamus, Morrison, Kingston, McIntyre, Ziggler, Mysterio, R-Truth and Ted DiBiase. Some of those are more of a stretch than others. Buck Woodward did a better one than I did (I didn't read his in advance).

Yes, ESPN Classic still has shows from the old AWA. I watched an episode once, it was definitely a different feel from what you see on TV today! Perhaps the funniest part to me was seeing a young Eric Bischoff do commentary (this was before he got into WCW).

And yes, WWE is done with guest hos... umm stars for Raw. I also kind of assumed it would go on until around WrestleMania of this year and have The Rock do it, but they dropped the hosting idea months back. I haven't heard any complaints on the matter and think the show's better without them. David Arquette was a special deal apart from the guest star concept. 

Paul Bearer has an interview up today where he dispels the rumors that his character is dead. He'll be in character at the WrestleMania Fan Axxess at least. It's unknown what this means for a potential on-screen return.

Apparently Bearer was going to be Abyss' manager in TNA, but couldn't because of his health issues. (He went under the name Percy Pringle there in the NWA:TNA days). People were already comparing the character to Kane (and Mankind), and that would only have made the similarties bigger. Bearer and James Mitchell are both fantastic managers. I think Mitchell is better as the sinister, evil character while Bearer is more ominous and spooky. Speaking of which, I think if WWE is going to push Brodus Clay, pairing him with Mitchell would help out there substantially.

The Impact taping in Fayetteville will be the big 3/3 episode with the Jarretts renewing their wedding vows and the conclusion of the Hogan-Carter court battle. They're taping off 1/2 of the venue as opposed to the initial plan of 1/4 of it, so maybe ticket sales aren't as big as they hoped?

Former DX, nWo, and The Band member Sean Waltman visited at FCW recently. No word on if he'll be doing anything there or anything, but it will almost certainly spark speculation.

Jersey Shore's Angelina continues to have interest in working for TNA. Could TNA get enough buzz for the angle to be worthwhile?

Dixie Carter has said that there could be a TNA Hall of Fame down the line. I think they should wait until at least the 10th Anniversary show before they do that. They could treat Slammiversary like WrestleMania in the sense that that's when they should do inductions. I'll talk about potential inductees when it becomes more than just an idea.

Apparently El Generico has not yet been offered a TNA contract.

There's a good amount of talk about putting Abdullah The Butcher in the WWE Hall of Fame. He lives in Atlanta, so it wouldn't be hard to book. He's definitely an important name in wrestling history.

Former WWE wrestler Armando Alejandro Estrada talked with WWE this week about a potential return. Maybe he could go with some new Samoans in The Usos? But then again, that would remind people of Umaga and the circumstances of his death, so I'd be leery of that. Brodus Clay's a possibility if WWE wants to make him a monster heel. Or, as PWInsider.com mentioned, he could be a GM or similar post.

Edge talked recently about what he wants to do after his wrestling career. Last June, he said that he was targeting about 2 more years in the business. Edge has been with WWE since 1998.

Chris Nowinski has popped up in the news to talk about concussions again. He has spoken with Vince McMahon and Dixie Carter in the past few months and says that they've done a lot to improve on the issue.

WWE is currently sticking to its dividends despite lower earnings and stock price. This could be concern they need to address. WWE's stock has been stable this week after the drop-off the week before.

Impact did a solid 1.31 rating this week for the revelation of the new "They". Superstars drew a .73, then a .23 on its replay. That's also noticeably up from normal.

That's all for today's news. More is upcoming tomorrow.