SEScoops

Author: Staff

  • The Kurt-Karen-Jeff Love Triangle, Steiner’s TNA Departure

    – After Scott Steiner’s superstar profile was recently removed from the talent roster page of TNA’s official website, we were able to confirm that Big Poppa Pump is no longer with the company. It’s said that Scott Steiner wasn’t offered a new contract by TNA because the company felt bringing in Ric Flair was worth more to them and with the bad blood from the past between Flair and Steiner, it just wouldn’t work out.

    – As previously reported, Karen Angle was backstage at this week’s  TNA iMPACT tapings in Orlando. For those keeping score, Kurt Angle’s ex-wife is still dating Jeff Jarrett. While some would think this would be a major issue between Kurt and Jeff, the two TNA stars are actually said to be on pretty good terms right now. Apparently Jarrett has even gone to bat for Kurt regarding custody of Kurt and Karen’s children, trying to help Kurt get more time for visitation with his children. Kurt has told friends he’s considering moving to Nashville to be closer to work and his kids. There was talk a few months ago of doing a Jarrett vs. Angle feud based on the real life love triangle involving Karen, but that storyline never came to pass and there are currently no plans to put Karen Angle back on television.

    (Source: Wrestling Observer Newsletter)

  • The Kurt-Karen-Jeff Love Triangle, Steiner's TNA Departure

    – After Scott Steiner’s superstar profile was recently removed from the talent roster page of TNA’s official website, we were able to confirm that Big Poppa Pump is no longer with the company. It’s said that Scott Steiner wasn’t offered a new contract by TNA because the company felt bringing in Ric Flair was worth more to them and with the bad blood from the past between Flair and Steiner, it just wouldn’t work out.

    – As previously reported, Karen Angle was backstage at this week’s  TNA iMPACT tapings in Orlando. For those keeping score, Kurt Angle’s ex-wife is still dating Jeff Jarrett. While some would think this would be a major issue between Kurt and Jeff, the two TNA stars are actually said to be on pretty good terms right now. Apparently Jarrett has even gone to bat for Kurt regarding custody of Kurt and Karen’s children, trying to help Kurt get more time for visitation with his children. Kurt has told friends he’s considering moving to Nashville to be closer to work and his kids. There was talk a few months ago of doing a Jarrett vs. Angle feud based on the real life love triangle involving Karen, but that storyline never came to pass and there are currently no plans to put Karen Angle back on television.

    (Source: Wrestling Observer Newsletter)

  • Another Jeff Hardy TNA Update, Less Knockouts On TV & More

    – Jeff Hardy was recently contacted by an international wrestling promotion about working for them but he said due to his indictment, he’s not allowed to leave the country until after his trial in March. He told them he would not be wrestling until his trial was over and when the trial ended, he would be going to TNA full-time.

    – TNA is indeed sending one-half of the TNA Tag Team Champions Hernandez to the AAA promotion in Mexico, at least for a few appearances.

    – Even though TNA’s Knockouts division has been a proven ratings draw, the new idea in the company is to have less women’s matches on TV with most of the women being featured in segments, especially with The Beautiful People. The feeling is that when they put The Beautiful People in the ring, it isn’t very good at all.

    (Source: Wrestling Observer)

  • Another Jeff Hardy TNA Update, Less Knockouts On TV & More

    – Jeff Hardy was recently contacted by an international wrestling promotion about working for them but he said due to his indictment, he’s not allowed to leave the country until after his trial in March. He told them he would not be wrestling until his trial was over and when the trial ended, he would be going to TNA full-time.

    – TNA is indeed sending one-half of the TNA Tag Team Champions Hernandez to the AAA promotion in Mexico, at least for a few appearances.

    – Even though TNA’s Knockouts division has been a proven ratings draw, the new idea in the company is to have less women’s matches on TV with most of the women being featured in segments, especially with The Beautiful People. The feeling is that when they put The Beautiful People in the ring, it isn’t very good at all.

    (Source: Wrestling Observer)

  • Hulk Hogan Talks About His First 6 Weeks & Politics In TNA

    Six weeks after joining TNA Wrestling, Hulk Hogan tells Brian Fritz of FanHouse.com that he’s just now getting a handle on how to run a wrestling promotion and admits that for a while, he didn’t know what he was doing. Here are some highlights of what Hogan said about:

    The First 6 Weeks in TNA: “I’ve never really done this before and with me everything is by instinct and feel. I was just saying a second ago to someone else that it’s actually taken me this long not to be overwhelmed because when I first came in here, everybody was going oh, they’re not going to like you, the young guys are not going to accept you. This whole negative veil of tears was thrown at me that wasn’t true. The company was very receptive; they gracefully accepted me with open arms. And then I got overwhelmed. There was so just so much good stuff going on but so many other little tweaks that kind of caught me off-guard ’cause I’m just a wrestler. I’m not someone who should be running a whole wrestling company. I know the feel for it. So it’s taken me this long to actually get all four of my claws on the ground or four feet on the ground and I feel comfortable.”

    Playing Politics in TNA: “Well, you have to realize – barbarically speaking – I used to lace my boots up, go out to the ring, make my money and go home if you can say it that way. Now, the network is asking for certain things and when things get successful you get input from people you never thought you would get input from that give you, kind of, suggestions that help you or almost kind of like demands of what they want that could not be what’s best for wrestling creatively. And so all of a sudden, all these monsters are coming at me and I’m wondering how to politically, gracefully massage them and make them work because sometimes I…I wear my feelings on my sleeve and I’m not real good at being political and graceful with finesse. I’m trying to get all that done because there’s a lot of stuff, a lot of stuff. But I get it now.”

    Hogan also talks about iMPACT! Moving to Monday nights, his relationship with Vince Russo and more in this interview, which you can read in its entirety at FanHouse.com.

  • Hulk Hogan Talks About His First 6 Weeks & Politics In TNA

    Six weeks after joining TNA Wrestling, Hulk Hogan tells Brian Fritz of FanHouse.com that he’s just now getting a handle on how to run a wrestling promotion and admits that for a while, he didn’t know what he was doing. Here are some highlights of what Hogan said about:

    The First 6 Weeks in TNA: “I’ve never really done this before and with me everything is by instinct and feel. I was just saying a second ago to someone else that it’s actually taken me this long not to be overwhelmed because when I first came in here, everybody was going oh, they’re not going to like you, the young guys are not going to accept you. This whole negative veil of tears was thrown at me that wasn’t true. The company was very receptive; they gracefully accepted me with open arms. And then I got overwhelmed. There was so just so much good stuff going on but so many other little tweaks that kind of caught me off-guard ’cause I’m just a wrestler. I’m not someone who should be running a whole wrestling company. I know the feel for it. So it’s taken me this long to actually get all four of my claws on the ground or four feet on the ground and I feel comfortable.”

    Playing Politics in TNA: “Well, you have to realize – barbarically speaking – I used to lace my boots up, go out to the ring, make my money and go home if you can say it that way. Now, the network is asking for certain things and when things get successful you get input from people you never thought you would get input from that give you, kind of, suggestions that help you or almost kind of like demands of what they want that could not be what’s best for wrestling creatively. And so all of a sudden, all these monsters are coming at me and I’m wondering how to politically, gracefully massage them and make them work because sometimes I…I wear my feelings on my sleeve and I’m not real good at being political and graceful with finesse. I’m trying to get all that done because there’s a lot of stuff, a lot of stuff. But I get it now.”

    Hogan also talks about iMPACT! Moving to Monday nights, his relationship with Vince Russo and more in this interview, which you can read in its entirety at FanHouse.com.

  • Dixie Carter Talks iMPACT! Going Live Every Week & Traveling

    TNA President Dixie Carter was interviewed on the Between the Ropes radio show last night, which you can listen to at BetweentheRopes.com. Here’s what Dixie said about:

    Going Live Every Week: “There are talks, but I don’t think that it’s going to affect the show whatsoever. There’s also benefits to taping because you can make sure your show is perfect .. Smart business decisions are more important than anything else right now. We should take a lot of those dollars and instead of just going live right away, use it to help spread the word on TNA.”

    Taking iMPACT! on the road: “We do lose something in our education process of being in the same place all the time. We don’t have that ability to go into all of these different regions outside of house shows, which are really our best indicator right now of how well things are getting over in different regions of the country.”

  • Dixie Carter Talks iMPACT! Going Live Every Week & Traveling

    TNA President Dixie Carter was interviewed on the Between the Ropes radio show last night, which you can listen to at BetweentheRopes.com. Here’s what Dixie said about:

    Going Live Every Week: “There are talks, but I don’t think that it’s going to affect the show whatsoever. There’s also benefits to taping because you can make sure your show is perfect .. Smart business decisions are more important than anything else right now. We should take a lot of those dollars and instead of just going live right away, use it to help spread the word on TNA.”

    Taking iMPACT! on the road: “We do lose something in our education process of being in the same place all the time. We don’t have that ability to go into all of these different regions outside of house shows, which are really our best indicator right now of how well things are getting over in different regions of the country.”

  • Steve Austin Interview: Wrestling Hogan, His Favorite WM Match

    In an interview with WWE Magazine’s special 2010 WrestleMania 26 Almanac, WWE Hall of Famer “Stone Cold” Steve Austin says he still has no interest in fighting Hulk Hogan, despite WWE’s repeated attempts to make the match happen at the past few WrestleManias.

    “After I retired, for two or three years, they asked me, ‘Do you want to wrestle Hogan this year? Do you want to wrestle Hogan? And the answer is: No, I don’t. “I don’t care to wrestle Hulk Hogan. I don’t think it would live up to fans’s expectations.”

    Austin says his match with Dwayne “The Rock” Dwayne Johnson at WrestleMania 19 in 2003 was his “retirement match.” Austin isn’t looking for one last rematch, because he doesn’t think it could be as good as their past classics.

    “That was my last match, and I’m not looking for a re-match. I don’t it would be as good as what we’ve done before because we’ve both been out of the ring for some time. Could it be done? Of course. But there’s no use talking about it. … I definitely do not have any interest in delivering anything that would be second-best to what I’ve done before.”

    When asked about his favorite WrestleMania match, Austin his WrestleMania 17 main event match against The Rock, but admits that turning heel and aligning himself with Mr. McMahon that night was a bad idea looking back.

    “Looking back, it wasn’t the best thing we ever did,” Austin said. “Now, if I could go back, as soon as that match ended, when Vince walked up to me, I would have shaken his hand and said, ‘Watch the Stunner,’ and dropped him right there in the middle of the ring. That’s hindsight being 20/20!”

  • Jeff Hardy TNA Update, Karen Angle Backstage & More

    – The latest word on Jeff Hardy is that he has a contract waiting for him once he clears up his legal issues, indicating that he had not signed when it was reported last month. Hardy is scheduled to go to trial in North Carolina on March 17th.

    – Bubba the Love Sponge is still with TNA and was backstage working at last night’s iMPACT tapings.

    – Dave Taylor has received high marks in his first week as an agent with TNA.

    – Karen Angle was backstage at the TNA iMPACT tapings this week. Currently there are no plans for her to return with an on-air role.

    Partial source: PWInsider.com

  • Jeff Hardy TNA Update, Karen Angle Backstage & More

    – The latest word on Jeff Hardy is that he has a contract waiting for him once he clears up his legal issues, indicating that he had not signed when it was reported last month. Hardy is scheduled to go to trial in North Carolina on March 17th.

    – Bubba the Love Sponge is still with TNA and was backstage working at last night’s iMPACT tapings.

    – Dave Taylor has received high marks in his first week as an agent with TNA.

    – Karen Angle was backstage at the TNA iMPACT tapings this week. Currently there are no plans for her to return with an on-air role.

    Partial source: PWInsider.com

  • *Spoiler* Ric Flair & Hulk Hogan To Wrestle In TNA

    TNA Monday iMPACT!
    TNA Monday iMPACT!

    It was announced at Tuesday night’s TNA iMPACT tapings that Hulk Hogan and Ric Flair would make their in-ring debuts for TNA on the live Monday night March 8th iMPACT!.

    Hogan will be teaming with Abyss to take on the team of Flair and TNA World Heavyweight Champion AJ Styles.

    So Ric Flair will be returning to action on national television almost 2 years after his big sendoff at WrestleMania 24, which coincidentally also took place from Orlando, Florida.

    What do you guys think – are Hogan & Flair in action a good move for TNA on the first night of the new Monday Night War? Comment below.

  • *Spoiler* Ric Flair & Hulk Hogan To Wrestle In TNA

    TNA Monday iMPACT!
    TNA Monday iMPACT!

    It was announced at Tuesday night’s TNA iMPACT tapings that Hulk Hogan and Ric Flair would make their in-ring debuts for TNA on the live Monday night March 8th iMPACT!.

    Hogan will be teaming with Abyss to take on the team of Flair and TNA World Heavyweight Champion AJ Styles.

    So Ric Flair will be returning to action on national television almost 2 years after his big sendoff at WrestleMania 24, which coincidentally also took place from Orlando, Florida.

    What do you guys think – are Hogan & Flair in action a good move for TNA on the first night of the new Monday Night War? Comment below.

  • Official WWE NXT Roster: 8 Wrestlers & Superstar Coaches

    WWE's NXT Generation
    WWE NXT

    On the final episode of ECW, WWE announced the cast member information for the new NXT television show, which begins next Tuesday night on Syfy.

    The eight developmental wrestlers competing on the reality show are below, along with the WWE Superstar coach/mentor they will be paired with:

    -Wade Barrett with Chris Jericho.

    -Justin Gabriel with Matt Hardy.

    -Skip Sheffield with MVP.

    -Michael Tarver with Carlito.

    -Daniel Bryan with The Miz.

    -Heath Slater with Christian.

    -Darren Young with C.M. Punk.

    -David Otunga with R-Truth.

    Two names we previously heard would be on the show that are not appearing are Kaval ( formerly Low Ki) and Joe Hennig, son of the late “Mr. Perfect” Curt Hennig.

  • Official WWE NXT Roster: 8 Wrestlers & Superstar Coaches

    WWE's NXT Generation
    WWE NXT

    On the final episode of ECW, WWE announced the cast member information for the new NXT television show, which begins next Tuesday night on Syfy.

    The eight developmental wrestlers competing on the reality show are below, along with the WWE Superstar coach/mentor they will be paired with:

    -Wade Barrett with Chris Jericho.

    -Justin Gabriel with Matt Hardy.

    -Skip Sheffield with MVP.

    -Michael Tarver with Carlito.

    -Daniel Bryan with The Miz.

    -Heath Slater with Christian.

    -Darren Young with C.M. Punk.

    -David Otunga with R-Truth.

    Two names we previously heard would be on the show that are not appearing are Kaval ( formerly Low Ki) and Joe Hennig, son of the late “Mr. Perfect” Curt Hennig.

  • Warrant Issued For Chris Jericho (Updated)

    According to Cincinnati, Ohio’s WCPO television station, a bench warrant has been issued for WWE star Chris Jericho after he and his attorneys failed to appear at a court hearing this morning in Kenton County, Kentucky. A “failure to show” citation for $253 was also issued.

    Today’s hearing was to follow up to his arrest last month for public intoxication involving fellow WWE star Gregory Helms. The article notes that Helms’ fine was paid, but Jericho’s was not.

    The story has been picked up by TMZ.com and a few other sites.

    UPDATE: Chris Jericho wrote the following on his Twitter page today:

    “Paid my fine on time and never had a court date. I’m free to walk the streets…. Sorry TMZ wrong again.”

    TMZ.com posted an update of its own update, stating:

    “Jericho finally called the court and paid his $159 fine — so the arrest warrant is no longer in effect.”

    Related News: Chris Jericho & Gregory Helms Arrested – Mugshot Pictures

  • Listen: Mickie James “Are You With Me” (First Country Single)

    WWE Diva Mickie James has been working on her debut country music album titled “Strangers & Angles,” which is set to be released on March 23rd.

    The first single from the album, “Are You With Me?,” hit the airwaves today and was played on radio stations across the country for the first time.

    Mickie James has been posting messages on Twitter all day about her song’s radio debut, asking fans to call into radio stations and request for the song to be played.

    You can listen to “Are You With Me?” – then COMMENT & tell us what you think.

  • Listen: Mickie James "Are You With Me" (First Country Single)

    WWE Diva Mickie James has been working on her debut country music album titled “Strangers & Angles,” which is set to be released on March 23rd.

    The first single from the album, “Are You With Me?,” hit the airwaves today and was played on radio stations across the country for the first time.

    Mickie James has been posting messages on Twitter all day about her song’s radio debut, asking fans to call into radio stations and request for the song to be played.

    You can listen “Are You With Me?” below .. What do you guys think?

  • RVD Updates His Status & Says He’s Leaning Towards TNA

    Rob Van Dam appeared on the Right After Wrestling Sirius XM satellite radio show on Monday night and gave an update on his wrestling future.

    Now that TNA iMPACT! is moving to Monday nights starting March 8th, could we see “Mr. Monday Night” back where he belongs? Van Dam said, “I feel fairly optimistic because I know TNA is trying really hard to make a good deal for me and that’s basically where we’re at.”

    He added that there’s a “good possibility” he will consider an offer from TNA and WWE’s hectic travel schedule is something he’s not looking to relive. “Everything is worth putting on the table to consider, but when it comes time to consider going back to that full-time travel schedule with WWE, that’s not something that I’m wanting to do right now,” RVD said. “The schedule with TNA and also probably their appreciation for RVD might also be a benefit over WWE.”

    RVD says that WWE wants him back too, but TNA has been more pro-active about trying to sign him. “WWE would love to have me come back on a full-time basis, but as you know by pointing out that Hogan called into my radio show and stayed on for about an hour, they have been very pro-active and trying to acquire RVD,” RVD said. “That leads me to believe I would have a good spot if things do work out there. We’ll see.”

    WWE wants him, but RVD has not forgotten that he was unhappy towards the end of his last run there.  “WWE had me so burnt out because my contract said I would get a weekend off every month and I never did and they wouldn’t give it to me,” RVD said. “When I would tell them I’m so burnt out I don’t want to be here and I’m resenting traveling and coming to work every day, they would double-book me. So, that’s how it went down.”

  • RVD Updates His Status & Says He's Leaning Towards TNA

    Rob Van Dam appeared on the Right After Wrestling Sirius XM satellite radio show on Monday night and gave an update on his wrestling future.

    Now that TNA iMPACT! is moving to Monday nights starting March 8th, could we see “Mr. Monday Night” back where he belongs? Van Dam said, “I feel fairly optimistic because I know TNA is trying really hard to make a good deal for me and that’s basically where we’re at.”

    He added that there’s a “good possibility” he will consider an offer from TNA and WWE’s hectic travel schedule is something he’s not looking to relive. “Everything is worth putting on the table to consider, but when it comes time to consider going back to that full-time travel schedule with WWE, that’s not something that I’m wanting to do right now,” RVD said. “The schedule with TNA and also probably their appreciation for RVD might also be a benefit over WWE.”

    RVD says that WWE wants him back too, but TNA has been more pro-active about trying to sign him. “WWE would love to have me come back on a full-time basis, but as you know by pointing out that Hogan called into my radio show and stayed on for about an hour, they have been very pro-active and trying to acquire RVD,” RVD said. “That leads me to believe I would have a good spot if things do work out there. We’ll see.”

    WWE wants him, but RVD has not forgotten that he was unhappy towards the end of his last run there.  “WWE had me so burnt out because my contract said I would get a weekend off every month and I never did and they wouldn’t give it to me,” RVD said. “When I would tell them I’m so burnt out I don’t want to be here and I’m resenting traveling and coming to work every day, they would double-book me. So, that’s how it went down.”

  • WWE’s Conflict With Existing “NXT” Promotion Resolved

    WWE's NXT Generation
    WWE NXT

    Shortly after WWE announced the name of their new show is “NXT,” it came out that there is already a promotion called NXT Wrestling, which was a developmental system for the UK’s Scottsh Wrestling Alliance.

    SWA owner PJ Murphy has issued a statement regarding a potential conflict with WWE over the “NXT” trademark and the matter has been resolved. The statement reads as follows:

    SWA: SOURCE

    “WWE was proactive in working with us to come to mutually agreeable terms on the release of the NXT trademark once it learned of the potential conflict. The timing was right for us as we were planning on renaming the NXT brand to SWA:Source to be closer aligned with the SWA parent brand.”

    -PJ Murphy, owner of the Scottish Wrestling Alliance”

    WWE likely made Mr. Murphy an offer he couldn’t refuse and the final hurdle has been jumped en route to next Tuesday’s NXT debut.

  • WWE's Conflict With Existing "NXT" Promotion Resolved

    WWE's NXT Generation
    WWE NXT

    Shortly after WWE announced the name of their new show is “NXT,” it came out that there is already a promotion called NXT Wrestling, which was a developmental system for the UK’s Scottsh Wrestling Alliance.

    SWA owner PJ Murphy has issued a statement regarding a potential conflict with WWE over the “NXT” trademark and the matter has been resolved. The statement reads as follows:

    SWA: SOURCE

    “WWE was proactive in working with us to come to mutually agreeable terms on the release of the NXT trademark once it learned of the potential conflict. The timing was right for us as we were planning on renaming the NXT brand to SWA:Source to be closer aligned with the SWA parent brand.”

    -PJ Murphy, owner of the Scottish Wrestling Alliance”

    WWE likely made Mr. Murphy an offer he couldn’t refuse and the final hurdle has been jumped en route to next Tuesday’s NXT debut.

  • WWE NXT Roster Revealed: 9 FCW Stars (Pictures)

    As reported earlier, the new WWE NXT show will feature wrestlers from Florida Championship Wrestling, who will be paired off with WWE Superstars in their quest to make it to the main roster.

    Here’s a look at the nine wrestlers expected to be part of WWE NXT: Season 1, according to PWInsider.com:


    (Images from FCWwrestling.com’s talent page)

    It’s worth noting that WWE’s press release said there would be only 8 participants, so either they’ve changed the format of the show to accommodate an extra wrestler or one of them will not be used.

  • New Details On WWE NXT: The Full Concept Revealed

    WWE's NXT Generation
    WWE NXT

    After all the speculation about what WWE’s new NXT show would be like, we finally have some new concrete information – it’s got nothing to do with science fiction or conspiracies.

    Entertainment industry publication Variety reveals that WWE NXT will be a reality-based show, similar to Tough Enough and UFC’s “The Ultimate Fighter,” that will feature eight rookie wrestlers from WWE’s developmental system (Florida Championship Wrestling) as they work their way towards a spot on the main WWE roster. Each rookie will be paired up with a veteran WWE superstar as their mentor, “with egos often getting in the way, as they learn the ropes of competing in the ring in front of live audiences, creating characters and speaking on camera.”

    UPDATE: WWE NXT Roster Revealed: Meet the 9 FCW Stars Involved

    WWE is teasing the series as a window into how the company truly operates.

    “These kids crash and burn a lot,” said Vince McMahon. “By putting them into this environment we’ll find out if they can make it. There’s no better way to develop skills than being in front of an audience. And that makes for good television. ”

    McMahon added, “ECW’ feels old, it feels tired. Sometimes our brands need freshening up. You have to continue to reinvent yourself.”

    The weekly show will be broken into seasons, with two or three seasons airing per year. It will feature a totally new “look and feel” for WWE programming.

    “Syfy is excited to continue our partnership with WWE, Vince and his team with this innovative live event-reality show,” said Syfy president Dave Howe. “The ‘NXT’ rookies take the challenge of our new tagline ‘Imagine Greater’ to heart as they embark on their ultimate dream quest to be the next generation of revered heroes and champions in the fantastic arena of the WWE.”

  • Preview For Tonight’s Final ECW, Future Of The ECW Roster

    – Tonight marks the end of an era, as World Wrestling Entertainment presents the final episode of ECW on SyFy. The show will be taped from the Sprint Center in Kansas City, MO. Confirmed for the final show are

    – Christian vs. Ezekiel Jackson in an Extreme Rules Match for the ECW Title

    – Big Show & The Miz vs. Goldust & Yoshi Tatsu for the WWE Unified Tag Team Titles.

    – Sources in WWE indicate that after ECW ends tonight, Christian will end up on SmackDown, William Regal & Ezekiel Jackson will go to RAW as will Zack Ryder & Rosa Mendez while the team of Caylen Croft & Trent Baretta will also end up on SmackDown. It’s still anyone’s guess what the future will hold for people like Shelton Benjamin, Goldust, Yoshi Tatsu, Vance Archer, Tiffany and Savananah, but they are all expected to stay on TV. (Source: f4wonline.com)