New TNA videogame, Questions on TNA cliques, Hornswoggle's beard, heel Stone Cold, and Bret Hart in TNA, Kelly Kelly, HHH, Tough Enough, HBK and Ric Flair updates, Main events made for Against All Odds, WWE departure and lawsuit, Stone Cold Kevin Nash, and Eric Bischoff interviews, Packers invited to Smackdown, TNA Films?, Smackdown rating

There will be an update of the TNA Impact! videogame with a bigger roster released for the iPad and iPhone. The original game wasn't reviewed very well. Then again, there was no way it was going to be at Smackdown vs, Raw levels in its first year.

PWInsider.com has more questions today, and I have more of my own answers. One asks what the oddsmakers in Vegas say for the number of cliques we'll see in TNA by year's end. I chuckled. We'll see some breakups there for sure, so some new alliances could follow.

Next, someone talks about Hornswoggle. Read on for my thoughts on what he/she calls an "unfunny comedy character".

I don't think we'll see any changes in the character. It's a good point that he's not pushed as a leprechaun as much anymore. He's mainly WWE's go-to children-friendly mascot; they just throw him in whatever role they want, leprechaun-like or not. The beard is pretty much linked to him at this point, so I think he'll keep it.

Part of why Stone Cold Steve Austin didn't work as a heel I think had to do with being a part of the much-maligned Invasion angle. But it wasn't exactly doing well regardless. He really had seemingly reached the level where everyone respected and wanted to cheer him, like The Undertaker and possibly Triple H today.

I'd be a little surprised if we saw Bret Hart in TNA, even without Hogan and Bischoff there. If anything, it seems he'd appear for WWE again. But if he did go, I think WWE would downplay him some as they've done with others who've gone there.

Kelly Kelly has been moved to the Alumni section of WWE.com following her storyline firing, which is actually pretty clever. BUT they didn't say that they released her (and wish her the best in her future endeavor) like they do when someone actually is fired. I guess maybe that's off-limits in kayfabe?

Triple H is on the cover of the latest WWE magazine, now in stores, with a headline referring to him being back. So, yeah, it's a pretty sure thing that he'll be back really soon.

Update: Triple H is working House Shows on 3/20 and 3/21.

A press release for WWE Tough Enough mentions celebrity involvement with the show. I'm a little concerned. Hopefully they pick people who are somewhat knowledgeable about the product (David Arquette and Freddie Prinze, Jr. come to mind). That being said, celebrity could be good at coaching on that all-important "it" factor.

Shawn Michaels will be making some special appearances in conjunction with British wrestling promotion 1PW. He won't be wrestling of course, but it's interesting to see him partnering with someone other than WWE.

TNA has added 2 top matches for this Sunday's PPV. Kurt Angle will face Jeff Jarrett and Jeff Hardy will be in a ladder match for the TNA World Championship. His opponent will be decided on Impact, as Mr. Anderson faces Matt Morgan. They really through that last part together. Is it that hard to book a go-home show? Just do Anderson and a partner against The Hardy Boys. Save that Title match for later when it means something.

A longtime WWE employee by the name of Bret Hart (no relation to the Hall of Famer) resigned from the company today, to the surprise of many. He worked mainly in the live events department. Times are certainly changing in WWE.

WWE has filed a lawsuit against an Italian company over money owed from licensing the product for TV and websites. WWE alleges that they are owed over $600,000.00.

Ric Flair could soon need rotator cuff surgery after an injury sustained during TNA's European tour. He landed on his shoulder on the outside of the ring in a match with Doug Williams. This could at least partially explain his absence from TNA's Impact tapings.

Stone Cold Steve Austin was interviewed by WWE.com about the upcoming Tough Enough relaunch. He talks about wanting to have input in the next generation of WWE stars and using what he knows of the business to determine who's truly worthy of the WWE contract. Interesting read.

The Super Bowl Champion Green Bay Packers have been invited to Smackdown in their home town. The taping is on this Tuesday. Wise move by WWE.

Kurt Angle's production company is speaking with TNA's Chief Financial Officer in regards to making a TNA Films division. That's certainly out-of-the-blue. I might could understand if TNA was turning a higher profit, but it seems like they should be more focused on their primary business before branching out like that. That being said, if they can make money doing films and put that money back into growing TNA's core product, it's something worth looking into. Money indeed makes the world go around, and wrestling is no different in that regard.

Kevin Nash has confirmed that he was under contract for TNA for a few weeks before deciding to appear in the Royal Rumble. He decided against one last run in TNA because of the booking of the "They" angle, specifically pointing out that Abyss would be paralyzed from the shot with Janice, and that Angle was able to fend for himself, so why should Nash be there? He also mentioned that the audience for Impact would be less than 1000, vs. the packed house he was in front of at the Rumble. The last thing that stood out enough for me to comment on was him specifically saying that Triple H is on the corporate side of the company now (not that precludes him from doing anything on-screen).

The latest edition of Smackdown did a 1.97 rating. Still in a pretty good range.

Eric Bischoff said that Kevin Nash left TNA on friendly terms. He also stated that they were planning on eventually having Fortune vs. Immortal, but moved it sooner due to the sudden shift with Nash. He's unaware of Sting's TNA status, but says that he'd be surprised if Sting made any appearance for WWE outside of licensing or merchandise. He also isn't sure about the future of Desmond Wolfe, other than that he hasn't seen him listed for the next set of Impact tapings. Ric Flair on the other hand is, and he doesn't see Flair leaving TNA.

Bischoff talks about WWE's youth movement, saying that he finds it ironic that when business is down, they're going back to the older stars like Nash (who's only made one surprise appearance and will likely only be there short term), Booker T. (who made one surprise appearance as a wrestler and will likely stay as a commentator going forward), Sting (who might not even be in WWE, but will also likely be short term), and Lawler (another short term fix, although admittedly one who's pushed more than the other 3 mentioned). Note that at the same time, they're pushing Miz, Morrison, C.M. Punk, The Corre, Sheamus, Dolph Ziggler, Alberto Del Rio, and R-Truth as more long-term projects.

He finally mentions that he's unsure how much of a player Scott Steiner will be going forward, and that he thinks that TNA is slowly but surely going on the right path, as evidenced by some of the ratings pops that have been seen in the past year.

That's all for tonight. More news tomorrow after NXT!