Punk on-stage with band, HHH talks "Inside Out", Questions on Punk-ratings, straight-edge, the WWE Hall, an Eve heel turn, Cole, HHH in charge, TNA-Hardy, and the best comedy character, Lawler interview, WWE switches locations of PPV and Raw, Angle signs 3-year TNA deal, Punk up for Australian Kids' Choice Award, Z! True Long Island Story #30, Hardy court case finally settled, Hogan goes through a match, JBL talks Del Rio and Vampiro, Bischoff talks Hardys, champs and challengers look at the name Air Boom, 3-hour Impact Wrestling next month, Gunner interview, Miz at boxing press conference, and TNA pushes Hardy DVD, Miz at ?

C.M. Punk was on-stage with the band H2O recently.

Triple H was interviewed about "Inside Out". His remarks about working with talented talkers made me think of how comfortable he's seemed working with Punk recently.

There's a double dose of PWInsider.com questions to look at today:
#1's a repeat, but as for 2. There would seem to be a correlation in the increase in PPV buys and merch sales for Punk and him being a draw, so the ratings decrease could be indicative of them mishandling his character from there. Him losing the title to Del Rio was fine (if done too early), but going from Cena to Nash and HHH (who he doesn't match up with as well) hasn't worked out too well.

3. Everything I've heard about him suggests that his straight-edge lifestyle's legitimate. I'm not sure about how things like aspirin figure into that. I've seen more than one take on whether things like that are "allowed" in the practice, and I don't know which sect Punk falls into.

4. It's true, but plans are still TBD/TBA.

5. I suppose it could happen at some point, but I don't see a reason to do it yet. She seems pretty natural as a face.

After the break, I go into the other set of questions, and all of the rest of the day's news, starting with why Cole's on TV so much.

1. Not to mention that it worked well for the feud with Lawler. He's a natural in the role, though it is at times overbearing and not constructive for what's going on with the rest of the show.

2. We certainly could be. As for the GPS comment, they aren't necessarily fool-proof. And he could have needed to be in the next town soon, so the hotel might not have been an option. Drinking and driving's still bad, though.

3. The guy who signed Mistico, Jon Moxley, and Awesome Kong doesn't have new ideas for the future? PG is the same as the late '90s? I'm not buying their answer. This is also the guy who allegedly wants to rebuild the tag team division as well. I wouldn't expect a complete 180 for the company under his watch, but I do think we'll see a difference. I'd say I'm "cautiously optimistic" about what things will be like with him in charge.

4. Because it sold tickets and drew interest in the Huntsville, AL tapings. That pretty much trumps everything for TNA.

5. I'll have to agree with them since Santino's more of a pure comedy character than Ryder and Young's character is really wearing thin with me.

Jerry Lawler talked about the Andy Kaufman feud and more in a recent interview.

WWE has switched its TLC PPV to Baltimore, and the 12/19 Raw the day afterward to Philadelphia to avoid conflict with Sunday's Eagles game. Smart move. I hope the fans will be ok with it.

In another interview promoting "Warrior", Kurt Angle mentioned that he's signed a 3-year deal with TNA. He'll be 45 by the time that's up. I knew they planned on keeping him for a while, but that exceeded expectations a bit. He'll likely have a more reduced schedule in the years to come.

C.M. Punk has been appropriately nominated for "Baddest Baddie" at Australia's Kids Choice Awards.

Since it's been put over on Raw now, here's the latest episode of Zack Ryder's YouTube show. Very entertaining as always. The hype package on Raw was amazing, as well.

Jeff Hardy was sentenced to 10 days in jail, 30 months in probation, and a $100,000 fine as part of a plea deal stemming from his arrest 2 years ago. He's also in a drug abuse treatment program. I really hope for his sake and the sake of his fans that this is the silver bullet needed to slay his problems. He's got his next chance, but it came with a steep price. I'm a little surprised that there aren't any charges against the fan involved, though I'm no law expert so what he did could very well have been legal.

Update: The AP picked up the story.

Hulk Hogan showed some of what going through a match is like in an apparently just-released old Access Hollywood interview.

JBL has another insightful look into his early career. Pretty out-there story, and he's right about gimmicks.

Eric Bischoff discussed issues related to the Hardy Boys and their TNA tenures recently. Jeff's DEFINITELY got his work cut out for him as far as this run goes, but I'm glad he started out on the right foot. As for Matt, I'm certainly glad he's been cut and hope his life comes back together as well.

WWE.com has an article adding fire to the tag team title feud. "Air Boom" doesn't make much sense as a phrase but it's a good combination of the personas.

SpikeTV is currently listing a 3-hour edition of Impact Wrestling on 10/6, from 9-12 EST. Sounds dreadful, honestly.

TNA's Gunner was interviewed going into No Surrender. The name's not phenomenal, but it's much better than "Chad Lail". Good interview. He's got potential and dedication.

The Miz was part of a major boxing press conference. That looks good for WWE.

In the "that didn't take long" department, TNA is already taking pre-orders for its upcoming Jeff Hardy DVD.

That's all for Thursday's news. More to come tomorrow. Thanks for reading!