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LOTS OF TNA NEWS AND NOTES

For those who are wondering, there are no plans to bring the six-sided ring back at all in the future, not even on specialty PPVs such as Lockdown.  The idea of bringing the six sides back from time to time was discussed and shot down.  The Impact Zone did look great last night and I don't think the change will mean much in the long run, but the reaction from some fans to the change was a sight to see when Eric Bischoff and Hulk Hogan were in the ring.

After some ringside fans turned their back on Sean Morley's win last night, a Universal Studios employee named Bernadette approached fans and warned them not to be negative towards the show and to watch their language (since fans were calling him a "porn star", of all things) under threat of being removed from the show. That left a bad taste in a lot of the longtime regulars' mouths and I was told there was something of a small protest at tonight's taping with fans who would usually be standing ringside in the pit instead sitting in the bleachers to "show TNA the difference."  Universal had several employees, including the aforementioned Bernadette, address the crowd before the tapings, asking them to behave and stay in line with the taping.  While I'm not a fan of anyone telling fans what they can do at shows and who they are supposed to back, the reality is everyone in that building gets in for free, so it's not like they can claim they are paying to express their opinions.  Still, I can see such a thing being rejected by fans and the last thing any company needs is to create a backlash among their most loyal fans.

There is a feeling of disgruntlement among some TNA talents as well. With the influx of new names and a new direction, some of the wrestlers are concerned that their efforts and their history with the company will end up overlooked, especially many names weren't booked to come to the PPV last night when usually, everyone is booked. I think we'll have a better idea of whether those fears are unfounded or not after the Impact tapings are completed this week. TNA sources indicate no one is being let go and the company is just in the process of setting up their new direction, but try telling that to a wrestler scared about his spot. No one ever likes when their job undergoes a management change and pro wrestlers are no different, but I think in a few weeks when everything settles down, everyone will feel a little more solid in their footing. That said, I am hoping the company finds a nice balance between the seven year history they've had and the future they are forging because it would be a real shame to treat the past like it wasn't "good enough." TNA had a lot of positives and a lot of hard working wrestlers going for it before Hulk Hogan signed on, which wasn't how Hogan's comments last night about the six-sided ring came off, although I am sure he said them expecting to get a pop.

I'll have a long column about the Genesis PPV late tonight or tomorrow.

ODB has been working with a popped implant of late, which explains why she pulled a falsie out during the end of her bout with Tara.  The injury occurred a few weeks back.  She's been toughing it out with the idea she can get it fixed after this week's TV tapings.

Scott Hall didn't work last night as he was claiming some sort of injury. prowrestling.net reported it was a groin injury, but I haven't heard that. There are a lot of people in the company who expect Sean Waltman and Scott Hall will just be in for a short run.  There are no plans to merchandise the "Band" or promote any major events using their likenesses.

Jeremy Borash joked at www.twitter.com/jeremyborash that he was going to find somewhere that respects talent, "like NBC" to go work.  Borash then wrote, "Seriously though, gonna take a break from Twitter & FB to regroup. Thank you all for you kind words. "  I haven't heard whether this was a storyline or a permanent move.

I wouldn't be surprised to see the Ric Flair-AJ Styles alliance be step one in building to Flair vs. Sting later this year.

Jesse Neal will be appearing at the United States Championship Wrestling event in Folkston, Georgia on January 30th, 2010. Go to http://myspace.com/uscw for info about USCW and http://prowrestlingevents.tk or http://prowrestlingevents.webs.com for info about upcoming wrestling shows worldwide.  Thanks to Devin Cutting.

JJ sent the following...TNA PPV's are usually broadcast here in the UK the following Wednesday on Bravo 2 at 9PM. As of Genesis this no longer seems to be the case as it is not on the channel's website listings. Furthermore The Daily Star website reported on January 9th that the PPV's will now be broadcast to the fans via the internet on http://www.tnappv.com yet this website is not currently active. The listings on the TNA website (http://www.tnawrestling.com/tv/item/1652) still show that PPV's will be broadcast on Bravo 2 (though not listed now) and through BT Vision which is akin to a cable subscription service.

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