— In an update on Hulk Hogan’s announcement at the final set of iMPACT! Wrestling tapings this week (the show will air on 9/29), it was being portrayed as the end of the road for Hulk Hogan in TNA. This would obviously change all plans involving a Sting vs. Hogan match at Bound for Glory that they have spent months building up. Hogan being able to physically do a match has been questionable for some time following his recent set of back surgeries. Hogan was told he “absolutely can’t take any falls.” This comes the same week of news that Hogan and Eric Bischoff’s deals with TNA will be expiring in a few weeks in October.
— Alex Marvez is featuring an interview with ROH Chief Operating Office Joe Koff in his latest syndicated wrestling column. Koff talks about the ROH product and the debut on Sinclair syndicated television on 9/24. “The Ring of Honor brand is really the most underexposed great product out there. Ring of Honor has been an innovator in the viral movement as far as its following and (Internet) pay-per-view shows. The Sinclair stations will give ROH the platform to bring that to a much broader audience. I think a lot of people have heard about Ring of Honor, but never really seen it. If they stop and watch us, they’ll be impressed. And if we do our job on the business side, we’ll grow our fan base and the incremental revenues that come from that. There’s no way we can ever be WWE. I don’t want to try and be compared to them. But there’s still room in this business for a good regional/national-type promotion that is available over the air through (free) television. I really hope we put on a TV product that people enjoy and tell their friends to watch,” said Koff, 60. “We’re looking to take baby steps, not giant steps.”
— On a side note, I will be taking the train down to New York City tomorrow (Saturday) to cover the ROH i-PPV. If you’re interested in meeting up for drinks on us before the event around 5:00EST when my train arrives, please email me ASAP at Webmaster@ProWrestlingScoops.com and we’ll set up the details. I would order this i-PPV (http://www.gfl.tv/) as the matches look amazing on paper.