Here’s my take on some wrestling headlines from the past week:

ROBERT ROODE RE-SIGNS WITH TNA: Roode told The Peterborough Examiner of Ontario that he has inked a new five-year deal with TNA despite having received some interest from WWE. That’s very good news for TNA and it’s probably a wise decision by Roode. I had believed that it was just a matter of time before Roode, one of TNA’s most talented performers, ended up in WWE, but I could see him getting lost in the shuffle there. The track record for TNA stars who jump to WWE isn’t good. Chris Harris (Braden Walker) was released after a month, Monty Brown (Marcus Cor Von) wasn’t given much of a push on ECW and Ron Killings (R-Truth) is stuck in the mid-card despite connecting with the audience. Now that TNA has invested in Roode, hopefully he will receive a well-deserved singles push in the near future, perhaps even a run as TNA world champion. With many of TNA’s biggest stars well over 40, it’s time to start grooming guys such as Roode, James Storm, Matt Morgan and Jay Lethal for top spots.

VERNE GAGNE IMPLICATED IN DEATH OF FELLOW NURSING HOME RESIDENT: The former AWA owner and multi-time world champion is being investigated by police for his role in the death of a 97-year-old man at a Minnesota nursing home. The 82-year-old Gagne, who is suffering from Alzheimer’s disease, had a physical confrontation with Helmet R. Gutmann at the facility last month that resulted in the latter suffering a broken hip. Gutmann, who was suffering from dementia, died about two and a half weeks later. As someone who has experience with immediate family members suffering from dementia and living in long-term care facilities, this one really hits home. It’s just a very sad story for both the Gutmann and Gagne families. I think it would be incredibly misguided if Gagne is charged. I would rather the police investigation focus on whether there was any negligence on the part of the facility, especially in light of the claim by Gutmann's daughter that her father and Gagne had previously clashed.

IT’S HAMMER TIME IN MCW: Former WCW wrestler Van Hammer was involved in an angle at Saturday’s Maryland Championship Wrestling show in Dundalk and will be coming out of retirement for a match against Champ Champagne at MCW’s Xtreme Measures on April 11. After Champagne won his match Saturday, he cut a promo on Hammer, a Hebron native who was in attendance at the show, saying that Hammer was washed up and comparing him to Mickey Rourke’s character in The Wrestler. Hammer came to the ring, but Champagne fled before things got physical. Also at Saturday’s show, Stevie Richards took some away from his therapy sessions with Abyss to wrestle in a tag team match. Richards had missed his scheduled appearance at MCW’s December show due to suffering a collapsed lung.