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WHEN AJ STYLES WILL RETURN TO TNA, DEFENDING JOE KOFF, WWE LOGO AND MORE

By Mike Johnson on 2014-03-20 10:00:00

Any word when AJ Styles will be back in TNA?

Not anytime soon, if ever. As we reported when we broke the news he was negotiating with TNA for a new deal, the two sides were very far off on what they wanted for the other. I think fans became caught up in the Dixie Carter character and storyline and believed Styles' exit was just part of that, but all along, we reported it was a real situation and it was. He's done and at this point, isn't coming back. There was never, at any point, a plan for him to return. Ever. Styles has a full schedule of ROH and independent dates and is going to be doing a lot of international work in the next year. His TNA era is over.

I'm excited about the ROH and New Japan shows but two names I haven't seen yet are Prince Devitt and Satoshi Kojima. When will they be announced?

I hate to bring you down as the talent lineups are great but neither of them are scheduled for the May events I am told.

Why is Hulk Hogan suddenly showing more enthusiasm & energy now in WWE than he ever did during his run in TNA?

I think the answer to that is very clear. He's being booked to be Hulk Hogan and he's very, very happy to be back on a major stage. TNA never really booked him to be the Hogan character when you think about it, and that's what fans want him to be.  I also think Hogan was really humbled by how he was unable to make a dent in WWE during his TNA run and is thrilled WWE brought him back. Financially, it was the best thing that could have happened to him and now he gets to close his career out being the Living Legend.

I recently heard a Davey Richards interview where he blasted ROH management. In short, Richards said Hunter Johnson is a garbage booker and Joe Koff is a terrible owner who could care less about wrestling. Richards also hated how ROH became a TV product and put wrestling on the back burner. My question is: Do you think Davey's opinions are right? Or is this a case of his impulsive personality burning bridges?

I haven't seen or heard the interview, but if this is true, my guess is that it's Davey saying how he feels because he was upset they dropped him without giving him a farewell match. Richards is a hell of a talent but also a hothead who sometimes speaks without caring or thinking about the ramifications, which can come back to bite someone in the rear in the end.  Just last year he ripped apart Kevin Steen and then came back and retrated and apologized for the comments.  Richards is really passionate and sometimes it comes out in a way that looks bad in hindsight.  I am guessing this is one of those times.

I understand why people get upset with ROH at times, because everyone wants it to be what it was under the Cary Silkin regime, but the hard reality is that the regime financially was nowhere near as successful as it was creatively.  I also think anyone who thinks Hunter is a poor booker is just saying things to say them as the booking under him has been solid to very good, just as it was when he booked the company for Cary Silkin.  To claim he isn't that booker now is pretty silly.

I also think that saying Joe Koff doesn't care about wrestling is asinine. He bought ROH. If he hadn't, it might not still exist, so I'd say he cares about wrestling.  He put his name and Sinclair's money on the line in order for ROH to exist and he deserves credit for that.  I know for a fact he loves pro wrestling as he goes back many, many years as a fan of the business.  I also know that he loves that ROH provides a regular TV series for Sinclair Broadcasting. I think what Richards may have been saying is that Koff may care more about the TV aspect than letting the wrestling be what it used to be. Well, that's life. When you are owned by a TV company, the focus is going to be on - *surprise!*, the TV.

The important thing to remember is that ROH isn't a company trying to sell out 500 seats once a month anymore in a few cities. They had to grow and change. Some of the changes, honestly, were a step backward and some of them have been good. But to basically smite the entire company sounds to me like Richards was pissed they dropped him as he was on the way out and he's taking whatever shots he can.

Now, Davey may feel he is justified in doing so (and I am sure he does) but to say Koff doesn't care about wrestling and Johnson isn't a good booker when the shows have been consistently good over the last year and ROH just signed a deal with New Japan is pretty ludicrous, especially since wrestling has been the least important part of The Wolves' run in TNA so far.  That's like someone claiming Richards doesn't care about wrestling anymore.  No matter how he's booked, that wouldn't be true either.

You guys explained you believe that once the new logo is successfully integrated that a new belt will be issued to signify the united titles. What then was the purpose of replacing the spinner belt? I agree it was time for a replacement but Was it just poor vision going forward? Was the unification a spur of the moment thing or was it planned for a while?

The unification wasn't planned more than a month or so ahead. The original plan was to just use the WWE title going forward but they changed that.

It should be noted that the NXT Championships have all been re-furbished and they all have the new logo on them. It's been that way since NXT ArRIVAL. My guess (and it was only my guess) is that as they get closer to using the new logo across the board (it's the WWE logo for Wrestlemania 31 and on the company jet, so it will happen), we'll see a new belt instituted.

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