— During the conference call regarding Muhammed Lawal’s signing with TNA, Dixie Carter was asked about whether Batista could join TNA as part of the new agreement with Bellator to feature wrestlers and MMA fighters under the Spike TV.
Carter said Batista was a “great talent and great wrestling talent,” but said she was only willing to discuss Lawal joining TNA and Bellator at the moment.
— The Miami Herald has an interview with Mr. Anderson. Here are some highlights from the interview.
Wrestling Jeff Hardy: “I’m dealing with a guy who, in my opinion, is a living legend and probably one of the youngest living legends ever in our business. He is somebody I completely looked up to, when I was coming up through the ranks of the independent scene, and I still do. Ultimately, we’re all still fans of the wrestling business. We’re the biggest fans out there, and I’m a fan of Jeff Hardy. We’re very competitive. We like each other, so that’s always a challenge to wrestle each other, when you’re getting along with each other, but I always enjoy getting in the ring with Jeff.”
His recent four month absence from TNA: “I took some time off, dealing with some family stuff. I was in the gym everyday, sometimes twice a day, just trying to get in the best shape that I possibly could. A lot of people don’t realize just how grueling this job can be. They see us on TV one night a week, maybe sometimes twice a week, and they think that’s pretty much the extent of it. But we have a lot of travel, and we’re on the road sometimes five to seven days a week, which kind of takes its toll on you mentally and physically. So it was just good to step back from everything for a while and really focus on getting as healthy as I possibly could.”
Differences between TNA and WWE: “When I got to TNA, I had a little bit more freedom creatively on the microphone. They would give me a promo with some bullet points, and if I didn’t necessarily feel what was on the paper, I was pretty free to change it up. I went out there one night, and I hit that line. Interestingly enough [former TNA creative] Vince Russo then wrote for me the next week the line about Jeff Hardy has his fans who he calls the Creatures of the Night. Well, I’ve got my own fans, and I call them Anderson’s @$$holes, and right at that moment the entire crowd started chanting, ‘We are @$$holes.’
“It was a vision, an idea that I had in my head for seven years, and it hit, and it stuck, and it worked. So I was very happy.”
