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CHRIS JERICHO COMMENTS ABOUT HIS ASSOCIATION WITH TNA AND WHETHER HE WILL COME BACK TO WRESTLING

As we mentioned last week, Joe McDonnell out in Los Angeles did interviews on Friday with John Cena and Chris Jericho. They are both online now. 

In his interview, Jericho talks about how his Fozzy music will air on TNA this week.  He said he was contacted by David Sahadi to promote the song so he did it.  He kind of laughed about everyone saying he is going to TNA but that isn't the case right now.  He is currently in LA most of the time working on projects and doing stand up comedy.  When he was asked if he was coming back to wrestling he said that when he left WWE he never said he was retiring but he had a full plate doing other projects since he left the business.  He said he is so busy with other things that he hasn't thought about returning to the business.  He said he may decide to go back one day, but it would have to be the right situation and he would have to be in the 100% right state of mind.  He also said if he had nothing else on his life, he would be back in wrestling right away.  But, he's very busy with other projects right now so wrestling is on the back burner.

You can listen to the Jericho interview by clicking here.  

You can also listen to the Cena interview by clicking here.  

RIC FLAIR BACK IN COURT, BISCHOFF GIVES HIS OPINION ON TNA, ROSS ON AUSTIN, RATINGS NEWS AND MORE

To follow up a point I made on my hotline yesterday about how ESPN's Monday Night Football ratings have hurt Raw, here's another point to consider.  Broadcast TV hits about 111 million households.  Cable TV reaches about 91 million.  So, the knee jerk reaction would be, "It's better to be on broadcast TV".  But, the flip side of that argument is that people who pay for cable TV are obviously more into watching it than those who are satisfied with whatever they can see via an antenna.  I think football in HD is also a big draw for viewers because it makes the game even better.

This week's AM Raw did a 0.6 cable rating, with a 2.7 share.

Christopher Wells Graham sent this item. ... Variety has a story up about the video deal with the Weinsten Co. Pretty interesting.  To read it click here.

Today's Charlotte Observer has a story about how Ric Flair's ex-wife Beth took him to court in attempt to get his Carolina Panthers season tickets.  The joke was on her though because he let his tickets lapse so there were no tix to get.

Jim Ross did his latest blog, talking about catching up with Steve Austin at Sunday's Supershow taping.  It's a pretty good look at the man and what drove him.  To read it, click here.

Nelson Ortiz sent this one. ... Eric Bischoff has posted another blog entry on his official website, www.EricBischoff.com. The most notable subject he talks about in his latest blog entry regards his personal thoughts on TNA. He wishes TNA well, but he doesn't seem to think too highly of them judging by his vague words. Here is what he said about TNA: 

Many of the questions I have been getting are of a similar nature-so I will give you my thoughts on TNA here. First off, if you’ve read my book you know that I believe competition is very good for any business and especially for sports entertainment. For this reason alone, I wish TNA well. TNA’s success in the long run would be good for everyone. That said, my personal opinion is that I have not seen anything yet that suggests to me that there is a vision for TNA that gives the organization a USP, or “unique selling proposition”. Other than the shape of the ring (which doesn’t really translate to a unique in ring product in and of itself) TNA currently comes off as “less than” WWE. That is not meant to be a criticism. They are a young company with limited resources. They can’t possibly compete with a monster media brand like WWE.

Unless they find a way to be “different than”. But that’s easier said than done.

There. Now you know my thoughts on TNA. Please understand if I don't respond to similar questions.

Speaking of Bischoff, he will be the guest tonight on In Your Head Wrestling Radio starting at 6:00 PM Eastern.  You can listen at www.inyourheadonline.com to the live show.

WrestleMag.com sent this item. ... Just to let you guys know that Eric Bischoff's book is up for a November 20 launch in the UK.

WWE HIRES NEW ANNOUNCER, FLAIR VS. KANYON, USA POSITIONS THEMSELVES AS TOP ENTERTAINMENT NETWORK & MORE
by Mike Johnson

The Monroe, PA Times Express reported today that 24 year old local broadcaster Jack Korpela, a lifelong wrestling fan, has been hired by World Wrestling Entertainment as an on air talent, most likely an announcer. "Even people that don't watch pro wrestling have to respect what (WWE owner) Vince McMahon and his family have done. He rescued a company that was almost out of business," Korpela told the newspaper. Korpela auditioned last May and is expected to debut on air in a few months. You can read the article at this link.

For more on Korpela, you can visit his official website at www.jackkorpela.com.

The USA Network touted their ratings from last week, billing themselves as the "#1 Entertainment Network", which is a smart way to look past Monday Night Football's success helping ESPN with monster ratings.

Michael K sent the following..I listened to the whole Flair/Kanyon deal on Stern this morning. Flair never said he was paid to go on Stern. He said that he always wanted to be on the show, even asking Howard how come he had Hogan, but not Flair on etc. Gary stated that he called the WWE asking for someone to come on to the show, but Vince and HHH were in Japan, "so how about Flair?" Flair called in. As for the Kanyon gimmick, Flair basically said that Kanyon didn’t have “IT” anymore and he shouldn’t use "coming out of the closet" as an excuse for his professional problems. Kanyon asked Ric if Ric asked him to Train David Flair, and Flair said no. Kanyon said that was a lie. Mind you, this was all done calmly with respect between both men and no real animosity. Flair just really always said that Kanyon didn’t have “IT” anymore - take that for what it’s worth.

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