Kurt Angle Reveals His Future In The Wrestling Business - Confirms He's Staying With TNA, More

Kurt Angle recently appeared on Vince Russo’s podcast, The Swerve, yesterday (Dec. 2). The pre- and post-interviews were archived on YouTube, and you can listen to them and check out some highlights below. The 90-minute bonus interview is available in the VIP section at Pyroandballyhoo.com.

In addition, Russo said that Kurt Angle direct messaged him on Twitter to allow him to announce that Angle plans on returning to TNA.

Also read: ?Kurt Angle Discusses His Retirement Plans, His Phone Call With Vince McMahon, TNA's Future

Angle’s response to a Russo story about Hogan not showing up until much later to reject Sting and Angle’s plans for a match they had been working all week: “I don’t have much to say about that day. I love Terry. I love Hulk. I think he was trying to help. Sting and I know where we want to go. If Sting and I are going to put out a five star match that everyone expected us to, I don’t think Hogan needed to say anything. I know the company put him in charge. The company put him in charge. I can’t blame Hogan for that. I think Hogan should have said ‘What do you want to do’. He didn’t, but I love Hogan. I don’t have anything bad to say about him.”

Angle on what he is looking for in a wrestling company at the moment: “Most importantly: the right interests. At this point in my career, I can’t really do a full-time schedule. I need to look at how they want to take care of me, what they want to do with me, what’s important to them should be important to me and everything I do has meaning. Most important is the invested interest. Secondly, making sure I keep my life straight and that I spend time with my family. Thirdly is basically financial situation. It’s not that I’m in dire need of money. Thank god I made a lot in this business. At the same time, the amount of money speaks volumes with what they want to do with you and how they want to utilize you. is the money important for a financial standpoint? No. Is it important on how important you are to the company? Yes. I want to make sure it’s a best suit for me.”

Angle’s thoughts on Dixie Carter: “I think Dixie makes decisions, but I think it takes her a while to be an expert in the business. She’s been in entertainment for a long time but not necessary wrestling. She may not know the business as well as the people she brings in. She has a big heart; perhaps too big. The way she has treated me has been nothing short of incredible. She has made some mistakes with some things she has done, with people she hired and the direction they wanted to go. It’s definitely been a learning experience for her. I don’t know, Vince. You made a lot of good points.”

Angle’s thoughts on CM Punk, McMahon, and Carter: “Dixie has the motherly love. With Vince [McMahobn], he treated me like I was kind of a son. Whether he cared about me or not, he took care of me. I was the first one he called every New Year’s Eve. He was always there for me. I never had a problem with him. I listened to the CM Punk interview. I don’t know who’s telling the truth or not. I don’t know if CM Punk went over the top or not. I haven’t had that type of relationship with Vince that Punk did. Dixie is not Vince. Vince knows the business like anyone else. I don’t think anyone can be like Vince. Of course Vince will treat you better if you’re making him money. I always had a great experience with both of them. Dixie has always treated me good. I think she has sometimes put people in charge that hasn’t treated me well. I don’t think it was her fault. She’s the boss. With McMahon, you have to be a work horse to work in the WWE. Vince didn’t put me in that situation. I put myself in the situation. I put the responsibility on me for not speaking up for three years…”

Angle on the rumors of Triple H preventing him from making a WWE comeback: “I thought about it. I’ve never had a problem with Triple H. When I was there, he treated me well. We did business the right way. I’ve seen and heard rumors about that. When I talked to WWE, Vince and I buried the hatchet from years ago and we don’t have a problem with each other. I haven’t heard anything about Triple H saying and doing anything that blocked me. So, even though I don’t know for sure, from my experiences talking to WWE, I don’t think it’s a problem. I think a lot of it...

Dixie Carter Confirms The Future Of TNA Wrestling Will Be Revealed Later Today

Birthdate: 10/06/1964 (age 50) Height: 5'5" Weight: 129 Ib Dixie Carter-Salinas, known professionally as D...

TNA President Dixie Carter posted the following on Twitter, announcing that the future of TNA will be revealed today. One would hope that this is the long awaited announcement of their new TV deal…

What is the future of @IMPACTWRESTLING? TODAY it is revealed. Find out here first - http://t.co/vuPzmlYvOK

— Dixie Carter (@TNADixie) November 19, 2014

Tonight's Confirmed WWE NXT Matches + More On Rey Mysterio's WWE Contract Issues & Future

Partial Source: The Wrestling Observer Newsletter

-- Here are tonight's confirmed WWE NXT matches:

Also read: Rey Mysterio To Sign A New WWE Deal?, Details

* Sasha Banks and Becky Lynch vs. Bayley and Charlotte
* Tyson Kidd vs. Dash WIlder
* #1 Contender’s Match: Tyler Breeze vs. Sami Zayn

-- As noted earlier here on the website, some new details on Rey Mysterio’s current relationship with WWE have been released. As we posted on Monday, Mysterio was brought to Buffalo, New York for Monday’s episode of RAW. This is after the company contacted him just before the Mexican tour, asking him to come back for it as advance ticket sales were initially low. Mysterio made it clear at that time that he did not want to come back.

According to sources, Mysterio still does not want to come back but the creative team is still trying to come up with ideas for him. Part of why Mysterio wants to work outside of the company is due to the fact that he saw the former Sin Cara able to call his own shots and command a high price ($5,000 per match) for working in Mexico. Mysterio is also confident that he could make very good money as one of Lucha Underground’s flagship stars.

Back when Mysterio’s deal expired about six months ago, he actually shook hands with Triple H and the two thanked each other for their time together like it was over. However, Vince McMahon made the call to have Mysterio’s contract extended for another year due to the time he didn’t work due to his injuries. It's basically a case of WWE is going to use him while they have him under contract despite the fact that he doesn't want to be there. He has no plans to re-up with WWE when his current con tract expires. It'll be interesting to see how they use him and whether they "job" him out and have him "put over" younger talents.

Seth Rollins Discusses His Ring Name, Future, & Lots More

In an interview with The Fayetteville Observer, Seth Rollins revealed how he came up with his ring name for WWE. His real name is Colby Lopez and he used "Tyler Black" in the independent scene. Here are highlights:

On something he wishes viewers could see: "The one thing I think that's very under the radar and is kind of under appreciated about what we do is that wrestling is really an art form. It's a super-unique interactive medium of storytelling. It's part script, part improvisation. There's so much that goes into the presentation of what we do. The crew that works behind the scenes that doesn't get any of the credit is amazing. They work nonstop. There's no rest. There's no off season."

On what he does an hour before taking the stage: "If it's a match, I'm pretty focused. I'm going over moves in my head and thinking about how I want to accomplish them. When it's a promo show, I'm thinking about the words I want to say or the ideas I want to get across. I imagine the wave of emotion that I want to take the crowd on."

Also read: ?Goldberg Speaks Out - One More Match?, CM Punk/WWE, More

On how he came up with his WWE name: "Seth Rollins is a little bit of an ode to an idol of mine, Henry Rollins. He's the leader of one of my favorite bands, Black Flag. Seth is just a name that I liked."

On his future: "During the next couple of years, I plan on being even better than this year, which is saying a lot, because 2014 has been the best year of my career. I just want to be the man."

What WWE may need to change for a respectable future.

To a lot of fans of particularly "The Attitude" Era and the "Ruthless Aggression" Era, the WWE has fallen in creativity and audience engagement. Although WWE still remains the king pin of the wrestling industry at least from a business standpoint, the shrinking roster, uneven balance of superstars and lack of development in the characters portrayed could potentially see a change to that king pin status.

I am not saying that I know all the facts behind the scenes or the business side of professional wrestling but as a fan for over 15 years I do feel as if I know what has worked for the WWE and what has failed. But lets start with the positives that if handled correctly could send the WWE higher than it has ever been before.

Multiple/Smaller Rivalries + New Fascinating Characters:

The idea of the most dramatic and sometimes only story lines being the main event has always dragged down the entertainment value of a lot of recent PPV's and even episodes of Raw and Smackdown. But as WWE continues to try to push forward their new wave of superstars, they luckily have not fallen into the same trap made with John Cena as he changed from being a very vulgar and a lot of times rather cunning character, to the poster-boy of the PG era with childish jokes and continuously sucking up to the fans to get a positive cheer in order to continue playing the hero against a new villain each and every month. Which to a lot of fans is not enough which you can tell be the Cena sucks chants, and lets be honest we all liked John Cena at one point and the people who dislike him nowadays only do because a wrestler needs to rely on their character connecting with people not continuously saying how much you care about the fans, the fans are not stupid.... they know every superstar heel or face cares about the fans. This is more notable now than ever when you see the fans following new superstars like Roman Reigns and his lone wolf personality since being betrayed alongside my personal favourite Bray Wyatt, showing that even a heel with the right characteristics can connect with the fans.

Also read: Fantasy Feud: Austin vs Punk (The Anti-Heroes)

But lets get back to the topic at hand, the WWE had many ways to go with Seth Rollins, Dean Ambrose and Roman Reigns as solo characters after the separation of The Shield. But instead of draining the rivalry between Ambrose and Rollins the WWE have cleverly changed the formula to have other superstars take on the top heel (Rollins, given that he has the biggest negative reaction) in order to push more superstars into the spotlight and plant potential rivalries to explore in the future. The biggest example of the is the rivalry slowing beginning between Dolph Ziggler and Seth Rollins.

But the fact that I am only able to say those are the only positives for WWE at the moment shows that there are issues that needs to be addressed. When I exactly what I think needs to be done I do understand that its easier said than done and there is a lot of money involved, but I hope that everyone understands that this is only spoken by a fan and not a business executive or anything like that.

Small Roster + Uneven Balance Of Superstars:

There was one thing that I really enjoyed in the "Ruthless Aggression" Era over any other era and that was the fact that Raw and Smackdown although were both WWE brands, they had a different wrestling show to one another. Nowadays I see the same matches every week on Raw and Smackdown, personally I feel as though this is because of not only the small roster but the fact that the WWE is too scared to have two separate shows exploring different superstars and stories, mostly because they have decided to shove John Cena down everyone's throat, which is fine for the fans of Cena, but not to the fans of professional wrestling. So what do I think needs to change about this? Well that's obvious isn't it? More superstars on the roster and a separation between Smackdown and Raw, how could they achieve this? They should go take a look at the WWE network which they are so fond of telling us about and look at the shows from around 2003 to around 2006, Smackdown had their own tag team division, the Cruiserweight division, the United States Championship which allowed the not so big superstars to begin gaining audience acceptance or hatred eventually leading them into becoming the main face or heel characters of the brand (Eddie Guerrero being one of the most prominent examples) and of course the WWE championship for the main stars of the show.

While on the other...

More On AJ Lee's Rumored Pregnancy + Her Future?

As noted late Saturday night here on the website, WWE Diva AJ Lee is reportedly pregnant and may not be back on WWE TV this year. Multiple sources have claimed the story is true. Assuming she ever does come back, it would be March or April of 2015 at the earliest. This depends on when she became pregnant, of course.

AJ and CM Punk were married last Friday with friends saying they "loved the idea of having their wedding on Friday the 13th."

Also read: ?Report: WWE Diva AJ Lee Is Pregnant

If it's true that AJ is pregnant, which we are trying to verify, then it's very likely that we won't be seeing her anymore this year, if ever again as noted above. We'll keep you posted as we hear more.

VIDEO: Cryme Tyme Discusses WWE Release, Future

As previously reported, JTG took to Twitter to announce that Cryme Tyme (now known as "Crime Time") was getting back together following his WWE release. TMZ has video of JTG and Shad Gaspard talking about their reunion, JTG's release and more:

Triple H Conference Call Recap - The Future Of NXT, Plans, More

Credit: Dave Scherer and Pwinsider.com:

Triple H did a conference call with selected members of the wrestling media today to talk about tomorrow's NXT Takeover special, which airs on the WWE Network.

WWE's Adam Hopkins opened the call by welcoming the media and turned the call over to Triple H.

Also read: ?Hogan & Stephanie Speak Out - Brie, Cena, WM/UK?, Warrior

He noted that he once again he saved us from the background music that plays before calls (it is brutal). He is excited where they are with NXT and presenting Takeover tomorrow on The WWE Network. He said he is excited for the young guys to show the world what they can do and hopefully show the media that the future of WWE is in good shape.

HHH then turned it over to the reporters for questions. I am recapping so Mike will ask the questions, and he got on first.

Mike asked with the success of Arrival, will be see more of the live specials. Will they be a regular thing on the Network. H said that he doesn't know if they will be monthly, but never say never with WWE. He said he is happy where they are and Arrival was a great success. He noted that Vince McMahon even noted that they have launched a brand in NXT. With that said, he doesn't want to lose track of what NXT is, and that is getting talent ready. He said that quarterly is probably how it will work out. H talked about how they aren't just training wrestlers there, but also people who put the shows on, cameramen, announcers, etc. People learn what live TV is like by doing these specials. You live or die on your own. It is a new challenge for them and when they get to Raw, it will help prepare them for doing live TV. He does believe that there is room for an opportunity for a whole new brand in NXT. He could see people looking at the NXT talent and have people wonder what will happen when they make the big roster.

Also read: ?A Must-Read Mason Ryan Interview - WWE Release, TNA Debut?, More

Mike asked H a question I had, if HHH happy with the transition of the NXT talents that have come up to the main roster? Is it hard to transition them from NXT to the WWE? H said that yes, it's a difficult transition. Just because something works in Orlando, doesn't mean it will translate before a big WWE crowd. He said you can't forget that there is a transition from NXT to WWE as well. He mentioned Cesaro and how a year or so, he was working at NXT while he was on the main roster. H said when he saw Cesaro work in NXT, he would tell him to do the same thing when he is on Raw and Smackdown and Cesaro knew he was working differently on the big roster. There are many factors that go into a talent transitioning. Overall, he is very happy with NXT and how they are taking over, and that is why he used the name Takeover. He said they won't all be home runs, but it's ridiculous to think that. He is very happy with NXT and the workers.

Brian Fritz asked if they have thought about doing their NXT tapings more often. H said that they have tossed it around. The more you shoot, the more the costs go up, same with going live. He said he would love to do it live every week, but there are other factors. It's all on the table. He also mentioned what a great partner Full Sail is and they have to be conscious of their schedules as well. They are always thinking about what they can do.

Fritz asked about the next step, after Full Sail and the Performance Center. H said that the next step is finding the right talents to bring in to train and become wrestlers. He is really focused on working with the Creative department to go world wide to find new talents. They have had camps in Europe, Brazil and the Middle East recently. They want to recruit and be on a global level.

The next caller asked if guys who had worked outside of the US have had adjustment problems. H said the difference isn't that much about the big crowds as much as the mental outlook of now working for WWE. When you come there, you step into a whole different world, where the company does thing do things their way. It's the big time and it's intimidating. He said even back in the Monday Night War, there was that adjustment when a guy would come over from WCW. It's a curve. He said he looks at Bray Wyatt and he is just becoming comfortable, even though he has been knocking it out of the park since he came to WWE. It takes...

Ric Flair's Future With WWE, Total Divas Preview Clips, More

-- Additional sources have recently confirmed our previous reports regarding plans for Ric Flair's role on WWE television upon his upcoming return.

As noted, Flair requested to work with Dolph Ziggler. In a bit of an update, while it was noted previously that it would be unlikely, it can now be confirmed that the idea of Flair working with Ziggler was shot down by WWE.

We noted that there was a strong possibility that Flair would return and work with The Miz again, and it appears that those two will indeed be paired up again.

Also read: ?Report: Ric Flair Won't Work With Dolph Ziggler

Flair is scheduled to undergo WWE medial testing in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and will soon-after be brought back to WWE television to return as a regular weekly character.

-- Ric Flair, Matt Hardy, Jeff Hardy, "The Million Dollar Man" Ted DiBiase Sr. and others will be on hand at the Big Time Wrestling event on May 31st in North Charleston, South Carolina.

-- The following are some preview clips for this week's edition of WWE Total Divas, which airs on E! on Sunday night:

Nikki Bella is nervous about revealing her secret to John Cena: Total Divas Preview, May 25, 2014

'WeeLC' Match Praised Backstage + Yoshi Tatsu's WWE Future?

-- Yoshi Tatsu worked as a ring announcer at the NXT live event in Orlando, Florida on Friday night. Tatsu will work as a ring announcer on the upcoming WWE tour of Japan. It's possible his work yesterday was for practice.

-- The "WeeLC" match at Extreme Rules was met with praise backstage. Many of the wrestlers were said to be "glued to the monitors" watching the match between El Torito and Hornswoggle as it happened.

Mason Ryan's Post-WWE Future Plans + Ric Flair/WWE Update

-- Former WWE developmental talent Mason Ryan is returning to the indy scene following his release from WWE this past week. Ryan is booked to appear at the Pro Wrestling Syndicate Supercard event on Saturday, June 7th. The event takes place in Rahway, New Jersey.

-- As noted yesterday here on the website, there has been some speculation that WWE Hall Of Famer "Nature Boy" Ric Flair may be appearing at Sunday's Extreme Rules pay-per-view, likely to continue the angle from Monday's RAW between The Shield and Evolution.

Flair is scheduled to appear at a Frank & Son Collectibles show in California on Saturday, and according to his itinerary, will then be flying straight back to his home in Atlanta, with no scheduled stop in New Jersey for Extreme Rules on Sunday.

WWE could always schedule Flair at the last minute but as of last word, he is not officially scheduled to appear at the event.

The Very Latest On Sting's WWE Future & Debut

Source: The Wrestling Observer Newsletter

Here is your latest update on Sting and WWE. According to reports, it has not been confirmed if he has actually signed his WWE contract, but at this point it is considered a formality that he is signing with the company. Basically, he's coming and it's very possible the contract has already been signed. There are only a few select few people "in the know" regarding the talks between the two sides.

Sting was recently used on the WWE Network specials on Warrior, and the company is planning to release a Sting DVD in the fall of this year.

Gunner Speaks Out - Re-Signing With TNA, TNA's Future, More

The following are highlights of a recent Busted Open Radio interview with TNA star Gunner:

It has to be an exciting time for not just you, but for TNA as a whole because there has been a shift in how the talent is being used. Do you like how the talent is now being used in a different way? "Absolutely and you know that in pro wrestling, it's built around the younger guys. Initially, we're the ones that are gonna help take the company into the future. Kurt Angle and those guys won't be around forever so for me to finally get the opportunity to show what I can do, them believing in me and believing in other guys as well. I mean, we are the future of company and the future of the business, so you either get to carry the ball or you drop the ball and if you drop the ball you're obviously not going to be in that position so I'm very confident in my ability to carry that ball for TNA."

You mentioned that you wouldn't have re-signed if you weren't confident in the direction things are going. Is it safe to say that TNA is not going to drop the ball going forward? "I do agree, man. We can sit here and talk about all the computer, lawyers all day. But the fact is it's been around for 11 or 12 years now TNA. I've been with them since 2009 and I think since day 1 they've been the company that everybody talked bad about and talked about financial problems. But we're fine. We're continuing our ratings the way they have been and I'm confident in the company. Like I said, if I wasn't then I wouldn't have re-signed. I'm happy where I am. I'm happy with the company and where it stands."

There are a lot of people that are happy that Eric Young is now the champion because of how long he had been underutilized. Is Eric the right guy to be the TNA champion? "Sure. Yeah, and Eric Young is definitely a deserving individual. Personally, I love Eric to death. He's a great guy; he's worked his tail off since he's been in TNA. Not only that, but he does his own TV show now, so people know who he is and maybe they're tuning in because of that reason. A guy that people have always stood behind; I think is a great thing. It's good for storyline; it's good for the fans. The fans want to see something different. Usually, TNA has always been a company to give them something different from the six sided ring, to the X division and all these other X division matches. Storyline wise it just continues to be a great company with a great opportunity with Eric Young as the champion."

You had the feast or fired briefcase for a bit but didn't successfully cash it in. With Eric Young becoming champion, do you feel like you should be getting your shot at the belt soon? Do you agree that you should be a future champion? "I do agree. I'm not just saying that because you asked me the question. But I do agree because I've been around with TNA since 09. I feel like I've paid my dues when it comes to this company. They gave me the opportunity in Manchester and obviously James Storm screwed me out of that opportunity. But in the future, with the Bound for Glory series kicking off after Slammiversary in June, it's something I'm pretty sure I am going to be a part of. But in the future, I don't know about this year but eventually, being a world champion is my goal. It's always been my goal since I started wanting to become a wrestler when I was 5 or even started training in 2000. Whoever it is, Eric Young, or Magnus or anybody, I look forward to getting that opportunity once again."

Since James Storm has turned heel, most of the fans that were behind him have started to gravitate towards you; so kudos to you because you have really won the hearts of the TNA fans. "Yeah, I think so, and we can feel it. Even though I've been there for a while, it was real touchy when we did live events, especially when we did live events in Tennessee, but yeah they really have. And as much as I hate James for bashing my dad in the head with a beer bottle and doing what he has done to me, I respect him as a performer and as an entertainer; as a man, not so much. He knows what he is doing in the ring and he definitely has the people hating him right now with me being...

Ezekiel Jackson's Post-WWE Future, Hulk Hogan/WWE, More

-- WWE announced via press release today that Hulk Hogan will appear at WWE Live in Tokyo on Friday, July 11 and in Osaka on Saturday, July 12. Hogan had the following about the appearances…

"Words cannot express how excited I am to be back in the WWE family. I only have one question for the WWE Universe in Japan: Whatcha gonna do when Hulkamania runs wild in Tokoyo and Osaka, brother?"

-- Here is the synopsis for Sunday's episode of WWE Total Divas…

"Ariane ends up losing Nattie's cat while house sitting. T.J. and Nattie are unable to agree about money. Brie teaches Nikki a lesson."

-- Ezekiel Jackson's first post-WWE appearance will be signing at the June Legends of the Ring convention in Monroe, NJ. More details available here.

DISH Network Statement On The Future Of WWE PPVs

Danielle Johnson of DISH Network issued the following statement in regards to WWE carrying the Extreme Rules PPV…

"Dish continues to evaluate all WWE pay-per-view on an event-by-event basis. We will announce whether WWE's Extreme Rules will be available closer to its air date."

Kofi Kingstons WWE Future?, Eva Marie/Total Di...

-- When asked about Kofi Kingston's WWE future, WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross said the following:"I think that Kofi is due a persona change. He's got an upside that hasn't been tapped and unless his TV persona is changed he's going to be perceived just as he has over the past few years. Kofi is a talent WWE can make a main eventer out of."-- WWE Diva Eva Marie and her fiancée (Jonathan Coyle) were spotted doing some photoshoots on Friday for the upcoming season of Total Divas.-- Here i...