Not-so-scary superstars, ex-WWE star spotted, Mick Foley Mystery, Interviews with Roberts/Bull Pain/Bryan/Cena, Stephanie update, more on TNA's direction going forward, Mickie-TNA update, more on Styles' status, big WWE book out next year, Henry costume, Hardy-TNA venture, Panda Energy-TNA update, Angle injury storyline update, Impact audience and Questions on TNA contracts, Summerslam's buyrate, Mike Sharpe and the WWEPC

WWE.com continued the Halloween theme by looking at not-so-scary superstars. Colorful characters can make wrestling enjoyable, but there can be overkill as well. There were some clever in-jokes in there. As for Seven, the story is that Turner execs didn't want to do the gimmick, so it got axed and we ended up with Rhodes doing a "shoot" on WCW.

Paul London was on the set of NBC's Revolution doing both acting and stunt work. Good for him. As far as high-octane "flippy" guys go, I enjoyed him.

Mick Foley was part of a College Humor video. That was actually pretty funny. Glad they referred to more than one gimmick.

Here's a Jake "The Snake" Roberts interview. Pretty intense, though really funny in places, too. Jake looks like Father James Mitchell in that one picture. As for Jake being about wrestling and not sports entertainment, throwing a snake on someone and coming to the ring with Alice Cooper sounds like the latter to me. Jake running TNA would be an interesting concept, though I don't see Panda Energy trusting the company to someone with his history.

Everything else from yesterday is after the break.

Here's a LONG interview with Bull Pain. I'm not going to lie; he's not someone I'm all that familiar with. Given that he hasn't wrestled on national TV since 1999, I doubt I'm the only one in that category.


Stephanie McMahon signed a new 3-year deal with WWE. The deal referred to her as a wrestler, which has prompted speculation that she'll step back in the ring. I wouldn't mind that if it was for the "right reason" (say, Brie Bella gets revenge on her for what she and HHH have done to Bryan).

The 11/21 Impact in Orlando will be Turning Point. I guess that will be the next "big show" for the company.

Bully Ray will not be a part of the TNA World Championship tournament in order to distance the current product from the previous regime. Aces and Eights was an Eric Bischoff idea. I liked the gimmick, but it went on a really long time. I think in hindsight they should have given Sabin a longer run with the gold, doing Sabin vs. Styles at BFG. Not because I'm a Sabin fan or X-Division fan or what have you, but because Aces and Eights got REALLY stale. Anyway, Bully Ray's going to be feuding with Mr. Anderson to build Anderson as a babyface. I'm not a big fan of Anderson, but TNA needs to be firing on all cylinders with the stars it has at its disposal.

AJ Styles isn't set to return to TV for several months, presumably to challenge the new TNA Champion. That could be pretty cool. I haven't heard any update on his contract status since he signed the extension through December.

Update: Styles will defend the TNA Championship against Seiya Sanada in Great Muta's Wrestle-1 promotion(assuming he successfully retains in AAA). This was a Jeff Jarrett idea. This angle really has some legs. Note how much Jarrett has done to expand TNA internationally. Did Hogan and Bischoff come up with any of this? What about Ring Ka King? Yeah, I'm OK with them not coming back.

TNA's creative team is now Matt Conway and Dave Lagana. Jeff Jarrett and John "Big" Gaburick are consultants. Jarrett has gained power backstage, which shouldn't be a massive surprise. The company's showing some signs of rejuvenation with Hogan and Prichard gone (and Bischoff at home).

There is currently no talk of Mickie James returning to TNA. I think it's best for all parties involved if she takes some time off before coming back to the ring refreshed. I enjoyed her work near the end of her run at any rate.

Daniel Bryan talked at Ringside Fest. I think I'd be ok with HBK coming out of retirement to put Bryan over for the new generation. It'd be a much better use of him than another round with HHH, and I'm a big fan of the HBK/HHH feuds.

WWE will release a book on the company's history on 3/31, just in time for WrestleMania 30. I look forward to it.

Here's the poster for WWE TLC. WWE wtf r u doin.

John Cena talked to promote a Smackdown taping. I hope him being on the show means more people will watch it. Interesting remarks about Vince at any rate.

Mark Henry dressed like Rick Ross for Halloween. That's hilarious. I saw a lot of people comparing the two once Henry shaved his head.

TNA will be doing a lot of live event in 2014, running some markets fairly regularly. I hope that's what they need to do to become more profitable. I hope another step they make is replacing some older, underperforming personnel with some fresh blood. It doesn't matter to me who's a TNA Original or who did what where. If they're not doing enough for the bottom line of the company, TNA should be evaluating their value.

John Cena talked about wanting to defend the World Championship at WrestleMania 30. Cena won his first WWE Title at WM21. He was previously U.S. Champion. For the record, there's some dispute over how many times Flair was World Champion. Some place the amount in the 20s! Anyway, Cena got me with the line about a sixth move. He's actually got a pretty good repertoire.

Jeff Hardy's releasing a CD through TNA's website. Him wanting control of his music ventures was a big part of him staying with TNA.

Janice Carter (Dixie's mother) shot down rumors of wanting to sell Panda Energy's stake in TNA in an internal memo. I wonder if Janice and her husband Bob will ever appear on TNA TV. Janice vs. Dixie for control of TNA = ratings.

Dixie Carter has teased removing Kurt Angle from the TNA World Title tournament if he can't be cleared following his injury. Maybe they could replace him with Mr. Anderson after Anderson beats Bully Ray? Just thinking "out loud" here.

Impact got 1.1 million viewers this week, down from the previous week. I think it's safe to lay part of the blame on Halloween.

For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1. I'm not even sure TNA HAS 90-day no-compete clauses in their contracts.

2. WE GAVE YOU DANIEL BRYAN IN THE MAIN EVENT, DAMMIT. THAT GOAT-FACED TROLL WON THE WWE TITLE. IWC: YYYYYYYYYEEEEEEEEEEEERRRRRRRRRRRRR FFFFFAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHRRRRRRRRRRRRRREEEEEEEEDDDDDD

3. Regardless of why they didn't buy, I have a feeling WWE will interpret it as fans not being interested in spending money to see Daniel Bryan headline a major PPV. #ThanksIWC

4. I'm sure Jesse Ventura has a conspiracy theory about the reason. I have no idea, either.

5. I bet Bill DeMott's glad they don't have tours... The Performance Center is there for people to work without spectators observing them. I can't blame them for not giving tours.

More wrestling tomorrow.