On Sting being in a main event match at his age: “The storyline that was originally on TV, I wrestled him in his first match back in 10 years. I was the first person he wrestled and I almost got emotional. This is a guy I’ve idolized since I was a little kid. He’s one of my top five favorite wrestlers. Ever. And I had the honor of sharing a ring, wrestling the guy when he first came back to TNA. It was five or ten years, he hadn’t wrestled. And I had his first match. I mean, I think this is the most nervous I’ve ever been. But he’s a pro. He’s an absolute pro. And watching him work, it’s—for me, it’s never been about his wrestling. It was about his presence. It was about the way he carried himself. When he came out, people don’t have a choice but to pay attention to him. And I don’t know what it is. I don’t think people know what it is. But you don’t have a choice. You don’t—you can’t just say ‘oh it’s Sting, I’m not going to pay attention to what he’s doing.’ You’re just drawn to him. Jeff Hardy’s got the same thing. The exact same thing. It’s a different kind of vibe, but it’s the vibe of where ‘here he comes and now I can’t not pay attention.’ I’ve prided myself; I think I’ve got that same thing. I don’t think it’s on the level of Jeff. Or Sting. But it usually doesn’t matter if I’m world lead, or if I’m scared Eric Young. Or I’m crazy Eric Young. Or I’m regular Eric Young. Actually he really doesn’t exist. That is a complete fabrication. Yeah there is no regular Eric Young. But I think I’ve got that same thing, where, whatever it is but when I come out, there is always a reaction. And I’ve always had that in pro wrestling.”

On Magnus being the next big thing: “I’ve always thought that. Magnus has got every possible tool available to him. He’s tall, he’s in good shape, he works hard. He is good in the ring; he’s good on the mic. He understands entertainment. And more importantly he gets wrestling. He understands it. I was early on; I was one of the first few to that were ever put in. And they came to me and said do you want to do a thing with him? And I—Absolutely. Yeah absolutely. He was greener than grass. As green as it gets. But I enjoyed it. We worked house shows. We worked all over the place. And I loved it. He’s super good. Super, super talented guy.”

On Hogan tweeting that he is training again: “I wasn’t sitting in a chair but I almost fell over. And I have pretty good balance. But this guy, he had eight back surgeries last year. I’ll tell you right now, Hulk Hogan is one of the toughest human beings I have ever met. And I will say that to anybody that will listen to me. He’s a great guy, man. He’s a great guy. He’s like just one of the boys. Good buddy of mine. And is tough as nails. Tough as nails. I want to see it. It’s Hulk Hogan. I’ve gotta see it. As a pro wrestling fan, you can’t not see it.”

On what TNA has to do to become more mainstream: “To me, they are doing the right steps. I mean, you guys have been around wrestling a long time. You’ve been wrestling fans a long time. So have I. How many times have you heard it? Nope, TNA’s not going to make it. Nope, they’re not going to make it. Thousands of times. It’s been around for ten years. They just signed a big deal with Spike television for another five years. It’s usually the highest rated show on Spike television every week. It’s seen in over a 120 countries around the world. They didn’t grow to this point because they don’t know what they are doing. There is going to be people that watch wrestling that don’t like it. There are going to be people that watch Impact that don’t like it. But then—there’s no pleasing everyone. It just doesn’t exist. I remember being a die-hard wrestling fan during the Monday Night Wars. And I wouldn’t watch WCW because I thought it was terrible. I thought it was terrible. And I would still flip over and check it out. I think it’s a branded thing now, and I think that stems from the Monday Night Wars. Because before that, pro wrestling to an average fan was just pro wrestling. They didn’t know if it was WWF or WWE or WCW or NWA. It was just pro wrestling. And they just watched it. If you were a pro wrestling fan, you just watched it when you saw it on television. And then it became ‘well actually we’re competing against each other, and it’s two separate brands.’ And it became this whole thing. You’re not going to please everyone, but they are making the right decisions with they just went to live—all the television shows are being shot on the road now. The crowds have been great. The numbers have been decent. The numbers in the arena have been very good. You guys were in Boston, it was an amazing crowd. An amazing Pay Per View. I think; I feel that in the next couple of years, pro wrestling is on the upswing.”

On wrestling not being taken seriously in the media: “The mainstream thing, that’s the next step for TNA. Like you said it’s a very hardcore set of fans, a very ‘set’ set of fans. Where the numbers, every week are kind of the same. And house shows the numbers are kind of the same. So now you bring in Rampage. And you do stuff like that. I want to believe having me on the show will help. Animal Planet is not a massive channel but it’s another audience. You gotta get these guys in front of other audiences. And I don’t know why pro wrestling doesn’t get the respect. I just came from The Today Show; I just did The Today Show. The Today Show should want to talk to Jeff Hardy. They should want to take to Austin Aries. They should want to talk to James Storm. These are interesting people. And those guys are not just pro wrestlers. They have all this other stuff going on. Like Mickie James, just released a CD, is one of, if not the greatest female pro wrestler ever in the history of our sport. I mean the list goes on and on. You know mainstream people should want to talk to these people. I don’t know why that’s not. You guys know. You guys can sit here and talk to all those people I just mentioned for hours. Us three could just sit here and talk for hours and hours and hours. We’re interesting people. We come from an interesting world. We just gotta change the conception of mainstream media. And having television—having someone like The Rock is a massive success. Austin’s massive success in the real world of real media is good for everybody.”

On if Sting and Hulk Hogan ruin opportunities for the younger stars: “To me, there is no way Sting and Hulk Hogan hurt your product. Everyone knows who Hulk Hogan is. We could walk down this hall and say ‘Hey do you know who Hulk Hogan is?’ and they’re gonna say yes. And if they don’t then, chances are they probably don’t live in North America. He’s an icon. I had a Hulk Hogan lunch pail. He’s been in movies, he’s been on television shows. He’s—the image of Hulk Hogan is known by everyone. So having someone like that on your show, no way in any way, shape or form, in my opinion, can hurt it. You have to have a starting point. Because the route is, is The Today Show doesn’t want to talk to Austin Aries. You ask me, should they? Absolutely. Cause he is an interesting guy. And he’s got a lot to say. Jeff Hardy is an artist and a musician and a guy who jumps off stuff. And is crazy and now has a beautiful little girl, and turned his life around. This is an interesting person. An interesting person that everyone should know. And for whatever reason, mainstream media they don’t take it serious. And I think that conception will change.”

On jumping off the cage at Lockdown: “No, that’s child’s play. That was actually, that’s a huge moment for me in my wrestling career. I saw Jimmy Snuka do it when I was a kid, I saw Mick Foley do it when I was an adolescent, teenager. And then I did it. And I mean lots of people have done it in between now and then but it was a dream come true. And that’s weird to say out loud. Jumping off the top of a cage and landing on another human being is a dream come true. It’s a real dream.”

On why he has been gone from Impact: “My two schedules were pretty conflicting. TNA’s been great about me going off and filming the show (Off the Hook: Extreme Catches). It’s twice as much work as I thought it was gonna be. It’s worth it. It’s an amazing experience. It’s a great show, something I’m super proud of. But it’s really time consuming. So it doesn’t allow me to be there (Impact). Most of the time I was gone, or not even in the country, or in the same state. So I took a small hiatus from wrestling, and I’m back now.”

On Dixie Carter being flexible with wrestlers having careers outside of the ring: “For me, Dixie, first and foremost, is a smart business woman. She’s a nice lady. We’ve always got along great. And like you said, she allows us to do this stuff. I mean, it is a good thing. You can’t name another active pro wrestler that’s got his own television show. You’re looking at the one and only. It’s a good thing for both TNA, Spike TV, Animal Planet. It’s a good marriage. I believe it’s the same audience watching both products. You just said Kurt Angle and Hulk Hogan and Eric Young. We’re in a group together. Think about how crazy that is?”

On ODB being his TV wife: “Easily the most interesting piece of the puzzle. Yeah, that’s for sure. No, I mean she’s awesome, man. An absolute pro. The most popular woman wrestler, I’ve ever seen. Everywhere we go, I can’t wrestle without them(fans) chanting her name. And she’s not even there. She’s not even wrestling. So she’s one of my really good friends in the business. Awesome to work with. And an absolute pro. She is the greatest.”

Rob Van Dam’s new WWE contract is a short-term deal. He will not be on the road fulltime, and instead will work a limited schedule while back with the company.

As noted last night here on the website, Rob Van Dam has been officially removed from the TNA website following the announcement that he will be returning to WWE.

As noted earlier here on TNAWrestlingNews.com, when asked about RVD signing with WWE, Hulk Hogan responded with the following…

“I have no idea what’s going on with RVD, that’s a Dixie and Bruce Prichard deal brother HH”

Paul Heyman: “The entire WWE Universe is buzzing about the return of a true one-of-a-kind, Rob Van Dam. And no one, I assure you, no one is more exhilarated about the return of RVD than Paul Heyman himself. Because after all, Rob Van Dam is a “Paul Heyman Guy.”"

The Miz: “One of the greatest highfliers, a Legend in my mind. I remember from ECW to WWE, this guy is action-packed, he is a showstopper, he is must-see. He’s not going to take The Miz’s spot. I welcome all comers. I’ve always welcomed anyone that’s come back, because the fact is, if people are going to watch them, they’re going to stay to watch me. Who knows how much he has left in the tank? I’m curious to see how he does. I’m a huge fan and I look forward to getting in the ring with him.”

Vickie Guerrero: “My responsibility is making the best opportunities for Monday Night Raw. To have RVD return back to WWE, I am honored to be part of the board that looked at his profile and welcomed him with open arms. RVD and I go back many years to when he was with Eddie. I cannot wait to see him here.”

Brad Maddox: “Of course I’m not surprised, because I signed him. Or I should say, re-signed the legendary RVD. I specifically told him to wait for Money in the Bank, because I wanted to maximize profitability.”

Titus O’Neil: “Anything that gets the WWE Universe excited in any way, shape or form, I’m excited about. Because that means more fans in the WWE Universe that will be spending more money to buy Prime Time Players T-shirts. So yeah, I’m excited about RVD coming back.”

Damien Sandow: “I am not threatened by any man whose name is three letters.”

He wrote: “Sat down with my financial guy on Friday said I’m good till 2049.I’m quite sure no one will be forced in to seeing me and my 5 moves.”

“I have no idea what’s going on with RVD, that’s a Dixie and Bruce Prichard deal brother HH”

The hope is that the show will be posted by Wednesday at 8PM ET.

AAA had a disastrous night with their iPPV of Triplemania XXI on UStream as the show never aired at all, the screen was black the whole time and the promotion tweeted on their account that UStream was to blame for this inconvenience. There is no word on if the show will air as a replay or whether any refunds will be given but this was a complete debacle.

AAA inducted Abismo Negro in their Hall of Fame tonight with his family and Mini Abismo Negro being there to accept on his behalf. A well deserved honor for someone who was a key performer in the promotion for close to 15 years.

AAA 6/16 Results- Arena Ciudad de Mexico City (Triplemania XXI)

1. Elegido/Fabi Apache/Dinastia/Pimpinela Escarlata beat Silver Kain/Taya Valkyrie/Mini Abismo Negro/Black Mamba

2. #1 Contender Match por el AAA Mega Heavyweight Title: Heavy Metal defeated Chessman

3. 5 Way Dance por el AAA Tag Titles: Crazy Boy & Joe Lider beat Drago & Fenix to win the titles. Order of Elimination: Angelico & Jack Evans/Los Mamitos (Mr. E & Sexy B)/Halloween & Psicosis Original/Drago & Fenix – After the match Vampiro made his return and presented the titles that he vacated with Joe Lider to Joe & Crazy Boy. Konnan then came out and got into a verbal debate with Vamp teasing a future match.

4. Jeff Jarrett/Monster Pain/Matt Morgan defeated The Psycho Circus (Monster Clown/Murder Clown/Psycho Clown) with La Bruja Karen verbally fighting with Marisela Pena being the story here.

5. AAA Mega Heavyweight Title: Hijo del Texano beat Heavy Metal to retain his title. Ray Mendoza Jr. came out after the match and formally challenged Texano to a shot at the title but said that he would need time to get in condition since he is “retired.”

6. Decision Match por el AAA Latin America Heavyweight Title: Blue Demon Jr. defeated El Mesias to win the title in a tecnico style match that the crowd didn’t really care for. L.A. Par-K made his return and presented Demon the title that he vacated and said that even though he left AAA he could come back if he wanted to. Everyone hugged afterwards.

7. Dr. Wagner Jr./Electroshock/Octagon/La Parka Jr. beat Canek/Mascara Ano Dos Mil/Universo Dos Mil/Villano IV in a match full of interference from Dorian Roldan who was helping the anti-AAA guys even though they really didn’t want his help. Erick “El Goyito” Perez did accompany Octagon but did nothing.

8. Caballera contra Caballera: Perro Aguayo Jr. defeated Cibernetico in a wild bloody brawl filled with weapons, ref bumps, Perros & Bizarros running out and getting stretchered out before Perrito pinned Ciber after a Lanza. Perrito dedicated the match to Hector Garza who was honored before the match in a video package and all the fathers on Dia del Padre. Ciber was indeed shaved bald as well in the first hair loss of his career.

WWE Money in the Bank takes place on Sunday, July 14th in Philadelphia, PA.

Wow. Thoughts?

The live event report indicated that after Hardy won his match against Aces & Eights member Ken Anderson, he immediately exited the ring and was given ice by a trainer at ringside. The ice was applied to his lower back. Hardy also never attempted the Swanton Bomb finisher during the match and won with the Twist of Fate.

For what it’s worth, Hardy has been doing this for months now. After every match he’s in at TNA live events, Hardy is immediately given an ice bag and puts it on his lower back area.