TNA website hacked, Questions on Muppets, Cena/Rock, Laurinaitis, and HHH/Nash, Jericho interview, Mania gross, Khali in film, big TNA sale, Punk taunts fan, Roode interview, Windham update, new Survivor Series match, Brisco update, Smackdown rating, TNA to work with OVW, what happened after Raw, Raw dark match, and updates on JR and Waltman,

TNA's website, ImpactWrestling.com was hacked on 11/6. It redirected to ShopTNA.com for a time while they were working on it, and it is now back to normal.

Up next, it's "bash WWE" time at PWInsider.com. Normally this is where they have questions but instead today's headline is sensationalist drivel. They might as well just call this section "complaints and our agreement with them" now.

Anyway, I'll address the queries regardless:
1. The Muppets deal was something Disney pushed for after they saw the cross-promotion that Real Steel got when Hugh Jackman appeared on Raw. It got WWE and the Muppets movie a good deal of press. That's why we got it. In that sense, it was good for business. A lot of people there enjoyed working with the Muppets as well. That show also had The Rock answering John Cena's challenge to join him at Survivor Series, and C.M. Punk getting his title match with Alberto Del Rio, but that doesn't fit in with the anti-Vince agenda so it wasn't mentioned.

After the break, I go into the rest of the day's questions and news, starting with why people would pay to see Cena/Rock vs. Miz/Truth.


2. In order: The hook is to see how Cena and Rock, heated rivals, will interact. Will they get along? Will they beat each other up? That kind of thing. Was it good booking for Miz and R-Truth? Absolutely not. You're right in that it looks like he doesn't need Rock to beat them. They'll pay for it because The Rock's returning to the ring after a long absence. I agree that they've killed (well, slowed) momentum in places after summer, but Miz and R-Truth have had some big heat in their favor as well. And not just in the summer (unless October's HIAC was summer). What the enjoyable pushes of Punk, Del Rio, and Ryder have to do with Vince McMahon is beyond me, but I'm not in on the conspiracy theory. As for having easy standards, I would counter that that could easily apply to those who just want to see a bunch of highspots, stiff hits, blood and/or weapon spots in their matches. That's definitely not me.

3. Punk name-dropped him in his big shoot promo, and they went from there I'm guessing. Using someone with actual power behind the scenes is part of the Reality Era I suppose. I don't care for him either.

4. There are definitely times I've been more embarrassed to be a wrestling fan. Mae Young gave birth to a hand. Triple H dressed as Kane and simulated sex with a corpse. Randy Orton said that Eddie Guerrero was in hell. So, a silly Santino segment was nothing. Putting on an entertaining show and getting a lot of press isn't a bad idea.

5. Well, HHH was injured in kayfabe and they had other things to push, so I don't think it was a conscious decision by them to stay off that show. Nash and Muppets wouldn't really work together.

Chris Jericho brought up a number of wrestling topics in a recent interview. The non-music section starts after the halfway point. I agree about staying away from the inside talk. Their audience shouldn't be the people who know what such things mean. I agree that his 2007-2010 work was phenomenal, especially when he became heel. Very intelligent man. He's earned the hiatus.

WWE put out a press release on their big WrestleMania sale.

The Great Khali has been offered a role in an Indian film. No word on when/if we'll see him again.

TNA is doing a big "Black November" sale. Prices so low, they're INSANE!

C.M. Punk messed with a fan at ringside at a house show, taking a swipe (?) at TNA in the process. Much better than what he did that one time in Australia...

TNA World Champion (for now) Bobby Roode discussed a lot of career topics in a recent interview. Well spoken, likeable guy. Beer Money was one of those things that surprised everyone by clicking so well since they weren't with their original established partners. Very good listen all around. I look forward to what's to come from him as a heel.

The Charleston Post and Courier has a story on the health update of Barry Windham. I continue to wish him the best in his recovery and am glad things seem to be on the mend.

Added to the Survivor Series card, which is shaping up well on paper, was a 5 vs. 5 elimination match:
Team Orton- Randy Orton, Sheamus, Sin Cara, Kofi Kingston, and Mason Ryan vs. Team Barrett- Wade Barrett, Christian, Cody Rhodes, Jack Swagger, and Hunico. Quite an eclectic mix of people and feuds.  Maybe it means good things for some of those up-and-comers though.

Jim Ross has an update on the health of Jerry Brisco.

In another interview covering both music and wrestling, Chris Jericho imparted some more wisdom. He knows his stuff.

Smackdown did a 2.22 on Friday night. Nice rebound from the past week.

TNA has signed an exclusive agreement to use former WWE developmental territory OVW as their own training grounds. That's absolutely fantastic. Some people there could use the extra work, and it gives them a place for stars-to-be to learn the craft well. I think this is a game-changer to a degree because they can put people there who aren't on TV so they're actually doing something beneficial with them that can improve them for when they're back in the mix. This could potentially be great for them.

After Raw, Dolph Ziggler assisted Awesome Truth in beating down Cena and Ryder before C.M. Punk evened things up. Awesome Truth bailed, and Ziggler ate a number of finishers. Routine "send the crowd home happy" segment.

The dark match before Raw saw The Usos defeat Trent Barreta and Derrick Bateman. That's certainly an interesting pairing. I'm hoping that means Barreta would turn heel in that scenario. He'd finally get used and Bateman would get someone else to work with (possibly on the main roster). Or, it could just be a dark match.

Jim Ross will be a part of next week's Raw, answering the Michael Cole Challenge. I get the feeling Cole will make up the rules as he goes along in order to try to beat JR. I'm not really looking forward to that one.

Sean Waltman updated his status with WWE. Though he'd be a very natural fit with the current storyline, I can see why they'd hold back given his stints in rehab and the like. Unfortunate timing.

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