SEScoops

Category: TNA

  • Helms Expected To Join TNA Soon, Update On Shelly Martinez

    — Gregory Helms is expected to join TNA Wrestling once his ninety-day no-compete clause with World Wrestling Entertainment expires later this month. He has already made a verbal deal with the organization through Jeff Hardy and will most likely be performing under his WCW ring name, Shane Helms. On another note, there is talk of starting a faction with Hardy, Helms, Shannon Moore and Jesse Neal. (source: f4wonline.com)

    — As reported earlier, Shelly Martinez, who performed as Salinas in TNA Wrestling, recently inquired about returning to the organization. Online, she has made it no secret that she would like to return to the company as she has been actively campaigning and even going as far to say that it was her “dream” to manage Shannon Moore. After not hearing back from Terry Taylor, TNA’s Director of Talent Relations, she noted yesterday on her Twitter account that she wrote to him to ask him about her status. She received her answer, writing the following this afternoon:

    “So Terry Taylor said there is no opportunity at TNA for me :(”

    — TNA will be holding television tapings at Universal Studios in Orlando on July 12th, 13th, 26th and 27th. (Thanks to Devin Cutting)

  • Von Erich Possibly Leaving TBP, Hogan Unaware Of Knox, More

    Props to f4wonline.com for some of the info used in this report:

    – There has been talk of Lacey Von Erich leaving “The Beautiful People” and turning babyface.

    – Taz recently talked to Hulk Hogan about bringing Mike Knox in, but “The Hulkster” reportedly had no idea who he was. Eric Bischoff, on the other hand, vaguely remembered him. Nonetheless, there is said to be slight interest in using the recently released WWE star.

    – A match pitting Samoa Joe against Matt Morgan could be a late addition to Sunday’s Sacrifice pay-per-view, but a final decision had not been made as of yesterday.


  • Bischoff Talks JR & Heyman In TNA, iMPACT! On Thursdays

    TNA’s Eric Bischoff was the special guest on last night’s live edition (05/10/09) of the award-winning Monday Night Mayhem. You can feel The Mayhem live every Monday night (at 7PM ET/6PM CT), exclusively on MondayNihtMayhem.com.

    Eric joined The Big Mosh & “The Chairman of the Board” Todd Vincent for his return to “Your Home of Wrestling Radio” & for the launch of his exclusive/all-new monthly interactive segment on Monday Night Mayhem, “The Hot Seat With Eric Bischoff” (flavored by Sizzlin Sauces).

    To listen to an MP3 of the appearance, click here. Here are the highlights:

    His thoughts on the move of TNA iMPACT back to Thursday nights, TNA never intending to compete with the WWE, & the experience of gaining more exposure for the TNA brand as a result of going head-to-head with World Wrestling Entertainment:

    “First, I don’t recall fans en mass telling us not to go to Monday nights. On the contrary, I remember quite a bit of enthusiasm & energy, just because it was a chance to create competition & provide an alternative. There were a lot of fans that spoke out and said it was the wrong decision, but there was a lot of fans that felt the other way. What happened after the move (as we did some research, along with Spike TV), it was determined that while there were fans who enjoyed the competition, there was also a lot of fans that weren’t able to check out both. It was a problem for them having to switch back & forth. Unlike the WWE, TNA does not have a lot of other programming, so there’s only one TNA vehicle out there, and putting it head-to-head made it difficult for some fans of TNA. As far as WWE being too big to compete with, they’re a monster. We never intended to compete with WWE, we intended to position ourselves on Monday night, because that’s where the traditional wrestling fan audience is, and we thought that would be a great way to gain exposure for the TNA brand. That’s why we went to Monday nights, not to compete.”

    Rob Van Dam capturing the TNA World Heavyweight Championship, the signing of RVD/what if means to the company now & for its future:

    “RVD, in my opinion, is one of the better things that has happened to us in a while. He’s just got a different vibe, a different energy, and he appeals to a different audience again. Hoping that change (the TNA World Title change) is something that resonates with people who might not have otherwise tuned into TNA previously. One of the reasons RVD is here is to expand our audience, and he is clearly a guy that is worthy of being the TNA World Heavyweight Champion.”

    Those Who Feel “The Blueprint” Matt Morgan is getting lost in the shuffle of TNA’s tag team division & the chances of seeing him return to the singles spotlight:

    “I’m not the head of creative, and I don’t pretend to be. I’m a big supporter of Matt, and his future will be determined in the weeks & months to come. One of things I’m not going to do is talk about storylines & internal creative decisions, because A) there’s enough spoilers out there; I don’t need to do any it, and B) it’s not fair to a lot of other people involved. Matt Morgan is a great talent; I think he’s got a bright future, and those of you who are Matt Morgan fans should just sit back, watch, & enjoy.”

    The confidence he has in TNA going to improve in the months ahead & his reaction to certain fans complaining about particular aspects of TNA, including those who are harsh to criticize the older wrestlers/talents in the company:

    “Is TNA going to improve? Absolutely. Anyone who is objective who’s been watching it for the last couple of months, would be hard-pressed to deny that this product is evolving…and in a good way. In terms of older wrestlers, I heard exactly the opposite. I heard a lot of people say, who are fans of both WWE & TNA, they like seeing brands, names, & faces they recognize and that they have a history with. That’s not to say they want to see them dominate the show, and we don’t need research to tell us that. I’ll be careful to say that ‘all fans want to see one thing,’ because that’s not true.”

    The likelihood of seeing either Jim Ross and/or Paul Heyman in TNA soon:

    “I don’t know. I don’t know what Jim is thinking & his point of view. I like Jim, and he & I have a pretty good relationship, and we stay in touch from time-to-time. I don’t have this kind of conversation with him, and quite frankly, it’s been a few months since I spoke to him. Heyman…no idea. But who knows, time will tell. Never say never right?”

  • Kurt Angle Interview: TNA vs. WWE, Helping Brock Lesnar

    Kurt Angle recently sat down with Matt & JD from Ring The Bell Radio for an interview. You can listen to the full interview at: RingTheBellRadio.com in the archive section. During the interview Kurt discusses his new food line, how TNA differs from WWE, what TNA has to do to be successful against the WWE, his movie career and more. Below are some highlights.

    Kurt on his new food line and how it helped Brock Lesner:

    “I recently started a food company and a new cafe in the Strip District in Pittsburgh, PA. My food line helps promote muscle tone, weight loss and fat loss. We offer all gourmet food and Italian food, but our food offers high protein and high fiber. That is the new secret that not many people know about. People that have eaten our high fiber high protein foods have lost a lot of weight already.”

    “A good friend of mine Brock Lesner (who is a UFC fighter) almost died last year. He contributes his success from getting off of his death bed and being 120% healthy due to two things; High Protein and High Fiber, and that is the new secret today. Brock changed his lifestyle and the things he ate. He used to eat tons of red meat, high cholesterol, high fatty foods and that finally caught up with him. But again the way he got back to 100% health was a high protein, high fiber diet.””

    Wrestling in Pittsburgh for the first time with TNA since leaving the WWE:

    “I thoroughly enjoyed it! Anytime I come back to Pittsburgh we have a great outcome. We had a sold out standing room only show back in March for that TNA house show. TNA does really good in Pittsburgh. The ratings here are double where they are everywhere else. For some reason Pittsburgh really likes TNA and that makes me feel good. Pittsburgh is a great wrestling city, WWE does really well here and TNA does really well too and we are talking about doing a PPV here the next time we come back and hopefully I’ll be wrestling for the world title.”

    How TNA House shows differ from WWE:

    ”We (TNA) have a different mentality than the WWE. You know, Vince McMahon likes to keep his wrestlers away from the fans. He doesn’t want any fans in his little fantasy world. But I don’t blame Vince for that and that’s not a bad mentality to have. But we (TNA) have more of a Southern Hospitality. We invite our fans into our locker room, we invite them to meet all of the wrestlers, we let the fans get into the ring if they choose to do so. I think it’s worked really well too, because our house shows (attendance) have been up 30% in the past year. I attribute that to how TNA runs the house shows, and the fans really enjoy it. They (fans) go home happy, they get all of the wrestlers autographs, they get to take pictures with whoever was in the main event. I think it’s a really great idea and it’s done really well for us.”

    What goes through his mind right before we walks through the curtain:

    “I really go blank. To be honest with you all day long I’m really sore and tired, you’re at the arena all day, your doing your pre-tapes and going over what you have to say during the show. I’m not a big fan of going over too much of the match. Once the music hits, your body goes numb, and you’re focused on putting on the best performance you possibly can. It’s almost like what I went through wrestling for the gold medal in the Olympics. You have to have that focused mentality because wrestling is so dangerous and you go out there and want to perform for the fans, but once you go out there your adrenaline kicks in, and then you start doing things you wouldn’t necessarily do.”

  • Jeff Hardy Talks Favorite Matches, Dream Match & More

    Jeff  Hardy was interviewed on the TNA website by teen actor Booboo Stewart. To read the full interview, visit TNA’s official website (LINK). Here are some highlights of what Hardy said about:

    Favorite Career Match: “Overall, it would have to be at WrestleMania X-Seven in Houston,” Hardy said. “It was the second TLC Match and it’s the one where Edge speared me when I was hanging from the belt hook above the ring.

    Favorite TNA Match: “In TNA, it was definitely Monster’s Ball from the first ever Bound for Glory in 2005. It was me, Abyss, Rhino, and Sabu. Both of those matches were matches with stipulations. If you want to know about my favorite regular match of all time, it was at Great American Bash 2008 against Umaga.”

    His Dream MAtch: “It would be ‘The Charismatic Enigma’ Jeff Hardy against ‘The Icon’ Sting in a paint vs. paint match. I’m talking about the crow version (current) Sting. It has never happened before, but never say never.”

    His Band Peroxwhy?gen:  “I haven’t come up with a name for the specific type of music yet. Sometimes I refer to my poetry as “emoetry”…written emotion, but to best describe it, it’s a combination of alternative rock and grunge metal.

  • Jeff Hardy’s In Court Today For Drug Charges (Updated)

    Jeff Hardy's Mugshot from his September 11 arrest

    UPDATED (5/10): TNA star Jeff Hardy appeared in a Moore County, N.C. court on Monday morning. The case has been continued to Tuesday, June 3rd, according to prowrestling.net. After contacting the Moore County Criminal Courthouse, we were told no additional information will be released regarding the trial until Friday at the earliest.

    ===

    After several rounds of hearings and delays, Jeff Hardy’s trial stemming from his drug arrest last year is set to begin next Monday (5/10) in Moore County, North Carolina. Hardy’s drug charges went to a grand jury back in January and they found that there was enough evidence to indict Hardy and send the case to Superior Court.

    Hardy was arrested on September 11th, 2009 after police raided his home in Cameron, North Carolina. A joint investigation conducted by officers with the Moore County Sheriff’s Office narcotics and select enforcement units and the Fayetteville Police Department led to the search.

    According to the police report, a search of his residence yielded 262 Vicodin prescription pills, 180 Soma prescription pills, 555 milliliters of anabolic steroids, a residual amount of powder cocaine and items of drug paraphernalia.

    He was charged with felony trafficking in opium, two counts of felony possession with intent to sell or deliver a Schedule III controlled substance, felony maintaining a dwelling to keep controlled substance, felony possession of cocaine and misdemeanor possession of drug paraphernalia.

    If convicted of all charges, Hardy faces upto 14 years in prison.

  • TNA Interested In Women’s Wrestler Following Fans’ Requests

    Dixie Carter recently had her Twitter account flooded with a number of requests from fans to sign independent women’s wrestler Lizzy Valentine, who performed in the short-lived MTV series Wrestling Society X as a valet for Evan Bourne. The overwhelming number of requests caught the eye of the TNA president as she’s expected to receive another tryout match soon. It cannot be said that Carter does not listen to the fans as Shannon Moore returned to the organization after she was besieged with requests to sign the tattooed grappler.

    Valentine took part in tryout dark match last December, defeating Amber O’Neal. She can be seen on Wrestlicious, performing under the name “Kandi Kisses.” This August will mark her ten-year anniversary in the wrestling industry, which has included lengthy stops in Mexico and Europe.

    source: www.f4wonline.com

  • Update On Maria’s TNA Negotiations, Carter Upset With Tara

    — Former WWE Diva Maria Kanellis has had discussions with TNA regarding joining the organization, but money is said to be the main hold up.

    — TNA president Dixie Carter had a meeting with Lisa Marie Varon (a/k/a Tara) last Monday concerning her recent blog post criticizing the organization. Varon was upset because she felt some people in TNA were bad mouthing her on the way out. Carter said she never said one bad word about her. Things were then settled as Varon apologized for her online remarks.

    Also note, there are still no plans for Varon to remain with the organization. Her contract expires on Friday, May 21.

    — TNA has held a World X Cup Tournament every other year since 2004, with the last one taking place in 2008. This year would have been the next one but there are no plans for a tournament at this time.

    source: www.f4wonline.com

  • Tara Responds To Rumors, Taz Pushing TNA To Sign Mike Knox

    — Apparently in response to an online report indicating she has had backstage issues with The Beautiful People, Lisa Marie Varon (a/k/a Tara) wrote the following on her Twitter page: “To clear up rumors.I enjoy wrestling Velvet and Madison. Some people love to stir up things. Have you ever played the game telephone?”

    — TNA announcer Taz is pushing creative to bring Mike Knox in, who was recently released by World Wrestling Entertainment. (source: Wrestling Observer Newsletter)

    — In this week’s TNA webmatch, Kazarian squares off against Generation Me member Max. You can view the bout here.

  • Madison Rayne Posts Blog Addressing Online Rumors

    Randy Ricci, a former production manager for TNA Wrestling, is claiming on his website — courtesy of an inside company source — that Madison Rayne missed a recent house show loop because she could not afford the transportation to attend the events.

    “Madison Rayne missed some recent house shows because she couldn’t afford to make the events,” Ricci wrote. “This girl is talented, marketable, and “cute as all hell!” And she probably get’s paid $250 per night (if she works) with NO expenses. Is this what TNA sympathizers (fans) think that she’s worth? Does this make Dixie Carter “The Boss” as charming and classy as Kevin Eck from The Baltimore Sun likes to “paint” Mrs. Carter Salinas?”

    It should be noted Ricci has been discussing the low pay of the company’s female performers long before it garnered widespread attention as a result of Awesome Kong and Tara’s recent contract disputes with the organization.

    In response to the report, as well as rumors of there being heat in the women’s locker room, Rayne posted a blog on her MySpace account.

    She wrote: “First of all, the reports about me “missing appearances” lately due to financial trouble are false. When Daffney and Angelina were both injured a few weeks ago, other girls needed to be put on the house shows that weekend. The reason I was not sent had nothing to do w/ money. I had been nursing a nagging injury of my own and everyone felt it would be in my best interst to take the 10 days I had off and let my body heal. Plain and simple :) Nothing more to it. So please don’t fret… Mama Rayne is going to have a fantastic Mother’s Day and I’m still getting a pedicure and new pair of shoes tomorrow morning LoL!

    “Aaand denn, those silly rumors about there being heat in the locker room… all i’m going to say to that is, i’ve been a cheerleader, i’ve done beauty pageants and fitness modeling… and if y’all want drama, check out one of those backstage areas LoL.”

    You can read her blog in its entirety here.

    May 9, 2010

  • Information On TNA’s Upcoming Slammiversary Pay-Per-View

    TNA WRESTLING PRESENTS “SLAMMIVERSARY” LIVE ON PAY-PER-VIEW SUNDAY, JUNE 13

    On Sunday, June 13, TNA Wrestling celebrates 8 years of Total Nonstop Action with “Slammiversary” live on Pay-Per-View!

    The three-hour epic event will feature all of your favorite TNA Superstars, including Hulk Hogan, Rob Van Dam, AJ Styles, Jeff Hardy, Desmond Wolfe, The Pope, Ric Flair, Sting, Jeff Jarrett and many more!

    TNA’s Pay-Per-View events air on Time Warner Cable, Comcast, Charter Cable, Cablevision, AT&T U-Verse, Verizon FIOS, DIRECTV, Dish Network, Viewer’s Choice and more.

    Tune into TNA “iMPACT!” every Thursday at 9/8c for news on the “Slammiversary” event!

    “Slammiversary” website: http://www.slammiversary.com.

  • Tara Reportedly Having Problems With The Beautiful People

    As reported earlier, it has been indicated that Lisa Marie Varon (a/k/a Tara) has buried her peers behind their backs to management. Among the stories cited are reports of Varon complaining about various female wrestlers on house show tours, refusing to work with certain individuals altogether, and squashing numerous storylines — all of which she denies. For those curious as to who she is having these issues with, they are all three members of The Beautiful People — Madison Rayne, Velvet Sky and Lacey Von Erich. The root of the matter is that The Beautiful People have refused to take some of her moves not to mention that she doesn’t respect their in-ring ability.

    As noted, Varon took her issues directly to management rather than discussing the matter with the trio. When the group received word of this, they confronted Varon and told her they should have come to them rather than breaking locker room protocol by going to management. The friction was bad enough that when Varon was called in to work a recent house show loop, she specifically asked to work with ODB on the tour — who wasn’t originally scheduled for the set of live events. Company officials complied with Varon’s request due to Madison Rayne being unable to appear (note – there is a unique reason for Rayne’s absence and it will be disclosed in a separate report).

    Varon never had a reputation for being difficult to work with during her time in WWE and it should be noted that various sources have stated that she’s been easy going for the most part during her time thus far in TNA. Furthermore, some feel the matter may be more of personality clash as opposed to one side being right and one side being wrong.

    On a final note, Varon has been telling people that she hopes to return to WWE once her deal with TNA expires.

    source: www.pwtorch.com

  • TNA’s Lowest Paid Performers, News On Upcoming DVD, More

    — Though the stars of TNA Wrestling are famous and appear on a national television show viewed by millions per week, it does not necessarily translate into huge pay checks for a good portion of the roster. This fact especially rings true with the company’s Knockouts as multiple sources have indicated that majority of its female performers earn between $200 and $400 per appearance. It’s been said that Daffney, SoCal Val and reigning Women’s Knockout Champion Madison Rayne garner slightly more than $200 per appearance. However, they are not the lowest paid members on the roster as that dubious distinction reportedly belongs to Generation Me — Max and Jeremy — both of whom earn $200 per appearance. (source: www.f4wonline.com)

    — The official TNA website held a poll a few weeks ago asking fans to vote on which DVD they’d like to see made with Beer Money, Inc. slightly edging out The Motor City Machine Guns. Rather than solely dedicating a DVD set to The Motor City Machine Guns, it was decided that Beer Money, Inc. would be featured as well. The two disc DVD set will feature a disc of each tag team and contain twelve matches as well as an interview. It is due for release on May 25. You can view the duel cover for the release
    here and here.

    — TNA will be holding a house show at the Cabarrus Arena in Concord, North Carolina on August 1st, 2010.

  • Mick Foley Calls Out Triple H For Making Fun of Lilian Garcia

    TNA star Mick Foley is calling out WWE superstar Triple H for his “shallow” and “mean” joke about Lilian Garcia’s appearance on RAW two weeks ago.

    Garcia returned to WWE for one night to guest ring announce when the RAW crew was stranded in Europe. During the opening segment of the show, Triple H had a microphone and went over to her and said, “Even Lillian Garcia. If Lillian wants to come back here for night to the WWE just to horse around, she can do it.” After Triple H’s remarks, Jerry Lawler make a horse sound on commentary. Triple H’s “horsing around” comment reportedly a reference to a backstage joke about Lilian that her face resembles that of a horse.

    Foley wrote on his MySpace.com blog that Triple H’s joke was the latest incident in a pattern of cruel on-air behavior from Vince McMahon’s son in law:

    “Why does someone like Triple H, one of the most talented, well paid guys in the business, do something so shallow and mean? Why would a multi-millionaire, with millions of fans around the world, feel the need (several times over the years) to say something that is only meant to hurt? I don’t get it. I don’t get why it’s done, I don’t get why it’s condoned, I don’t get what possible satisfaction anyone involved gets from demeaning someone like Lillian Garcia. I just don’t get it.”

  • Christy Hemme Getting Married, TNA’s Next Road Pay-Per-View

    — It was announced yesterday on TNA Today that backstage announcer Christy Hemme is getting married this weekend in Hawaii. Hemme and her beau, Charley Patterson, got engaged last December.

    — TNA’s next road pay-per-view is expected to take place in October for Bound for Glory. Company officials view Bound for Glory as its biggest show of the year, and thus it will be an exception to the rule as far as holding televised shows outside Orlando. In fact, it is the only televised event the company currently has scheduled outside the Impact Zone. (source: www.pwtorch.com)

    — TNA’s latest edition of Before the Bell previews the main event for Sacrifice “that has the world buzzing” — “The Phenomenal” AJ Styles vs “Mr. TNA” Rob Van Dam, for the TNA World Heavyweight Championship. You can view the episode here.

  • Tara Reportedly Refuses To Work With Certain TNA Knockouts

    As reported earlier, Lisa Marie Varon (a/k/a Tara) has just over two weeks remaining on her TNA contract as her current deal expires on May 21. In a blog post last week, she indicated leaving the promotion as company officials declined her request for a “modest pay increase.” She also expressed her displeasure with unnamed sources claiming she’s difficult to work with and that she has not given her best effort for the promotion.

    “My only response is that TNA made an aggressive effort to re-sign me, among other things saying that they want to build the women’s division around me,” Varon wrote in response to an online report. “And I think wrestling fans see, both on TV and at live events, that I always give 100%. I take pride in that. Smearing me on the way out the door is an act of second rate character.”

    For what it’s worth, a second party has indicated Varon being difficult to work with as the Wrestling Globe Newsletter reports receiving a number of stories on the multi-time champion burying her peers behind their backs to management. Among the stories cited are reports of Varon complaining about various female wrestlers on house show tours, refusing to work with certain individuals altogether, and squashing numerous storylines — all of which she denies.

    Some time ago, management addressed her issues and told talent to handle their personal problems amongst themselves. It’s been said that company president Dixie Carter wants no part of any backstage turmoil and doesn’t want the office to get caught up in political games. She has made it clear that if the problems continued, the solution would be something talent will not like.

  • New Tag Team Gets Tryout At TNA iMPACT! Tapings

    Prior to Tuesday’s TNA iMPACT! tapings (set to air next Thursday, 5/13), a tag team called Los Ben Dejos worked a pre-show tryout match against Generation Me.  The pair were managed by TNA agent Simon Diamond, who was introduced as “El Grando Wizard.”

    Related News: *Spoilers* TNA iMPACT! Tapings Results For May 13th

    Los Ben Dejos are local graduates of the Team 3D Academy and wrestle local indies.

    Below is a video promo of them hyping their arrival in TNA:

  • *Spoilers* TNA iMPACT! Tapings Results For May 13th

    Credit to ProWrestling.net for this live report

    Eric Bischoff, Rob Van Dam, A.J. Styles, and Jeff Hardy were involved in a segment about who should get the next TNA Title shot. Instead of a title shot, they announced a Triple Threat match.

    1. Tara defeated Taylor Wilde. Post-match, Tara attacked Taylor with her knee brace.

    2. Brian Kendrick defeated Doug Williams. Kendrick won with a roll up after a distraction by Kazarian.

    3. Generation Me vs. Matt Morgan ended in no contest. After Morgan destroyed them, he said he wanted Hulk Hogan to tell him who his partner would be for the tag title match at the pay-per-view. Samoa Joe came out and gives Morgan a Muscle Buster.

    4. Scott Hall and Kevin Nash beat Matt Morgan to capture the TNA Tag Titles. The Band came out and cashed in Nashs No. 1 contenders briefcase from Feast or Fired. Hall and Nash won the tag team titles when Nash pinned Morgan.

    5. Ink Inc. won Fatal Four-Way over the Motor City Machine Guns, Team 3D, and Beer Money.

    Rob Terry vs Abyss never happened. Orlando Jordan attacked Rob Terry from behind with a lead pipe.

    6. Orlando Jordan defeated Tomko.

    7. Tara defeated Sarita. Post-match, Tara delivered the same knee brace attack she gave to Wilde earlier in the show.

    8. AJ Styles defeated Rob Van Dam and Jeff Hardy in a non-title Triple Threat Match. Mr. Anderson got involved with Hardy. AJ pinned RVD.

    Post-match, Hogan came out and stopped Anderson from leaving. Hardy and Anderson brawled around the arena. The show closed with Hardy hitting a Swanton Bomb on Anderson through the table off the announce table set up.

  • Ratings Are In For WWE RAW & TNA iMPACT! (5/3)

    The rating are in for Monday night May 3rd, the “final battle” in the second Monday Night War.

    The final Monday night episode of TNA iMPACTscored an 0.78 rating – up from last week’s 0.5 but the lowest rating for a live Monday night.

    WWE’s Monday Night RAW with Wayne Brady as guest host and The Cutting Edge as the main event scored a 3.05 cable rating with hours of 2.9 and 3.2.

    Stay tuned for more ratings data from last night’s shows.

  • Vote Here For TNA’s New Top 10 Contenders Rankings

    After Desmond Wolfe ran away with the first round of voting in the Top 10 Contenders rankings (and came up short against TNA Champion Rob Van Dam on iMPACT!), TNA has posted a new poll asking fans who they think should get a shot at the gold.

    Several new names have been added to the list .. Desmond Wolfe is on top once again, with Matt Morgan and Jeff Hardy trailing him in the early voting.

    It’s interesting to note that TNA’s official website is hyping that Rob Van Dam will defend the TNA title on the May 13th episode of iMPACT! and asks – “Which of the leading vote-getters in the new Heavyweight Ranking System will get their shot?” TNA is taping next week’s iMPACT! tonight, just a day into the new Top Contender voting – so it will be interesting to see how RVD’s opponent at tonight’s tapings compares to how the voting turns out by the time the show airs.

    Vote below:

  • Awesome Kong Talks About Leaving TNA & Maybe Going To WWE

    Former TNA Knockout Awesome Kong was a guest on the Monday Night Mayhem Radio show this week, which you can listen to by clicking here (MP3). Here are the highlights from the interview, courtesy of The Mayhem’s official correspondent, Paterson From New Jersey:

    Leaving TNA: “The transition has been great. I’ve been taking better care of my body and easing up on the wrestling & my schedule a bit, and I have the opportunity to pick & choose when & where I work, so that has been fabulous. I’m also going back to basics, and going back to Japan this week, and just reinventing & bringing back a more aggressive Kong.”

    How TNA Changed During Her Time There: “Well, there were some differences towards the end. They have offered to leave the door open should I want to come back, and that is something I’m also open to. Just right now, I came to this before all the changes happened. People think that because I left right when the changes happened, that I left because of the changes, and that’s not really so. This was gradually coming on, and I my body needed a break, and I just needed to regroup and figure out exactly how I wanted my character to go & the direction I wanted it to go. It’s (TNA) definitely a different product in the little that I have watched. The X-Division isn’t has prominent as it used to be, and that was one of the reasons I came to TNA. When I was Japan, the X-Division DVD’s were like crack on streets. That has changed a bit. So I’d like to see that come back full force. They’re trying new things, and I wish them well, and hopefully the things they are trying works out for them.”

    How the Knockouts Division Changed During her Time in TNA: “When I first came to TNA, there was an ambiance that everyone was a team. Backstage, everyone supported one another, we were all together as one, and we worked together as one to grow as a company. Everyone was putting in back-breaking work & putting in their all, because we were depending on one another to make something big happen. I think when things started to get bigger, I guess people got comfortable. I won’t say cocky, but maybe a little comfortable, and the fire wasn’t there anymore. People just got comfortable where they were or discouraged & stagnant.”

    Her Role in the TNA Locker Room: “I’ve heard idle reports about the locker room musings. When I was there, things like that didn’t go on. Not to say people didn’t have disagreements, but when I was there/if something came up, I would usually step in & be a mediator for whatever was going on, because we would like to keep a harmonious vibe in the locker room. It’s very important to come to a happy workplace, so when I was there, I did my best to make sure everyone was emotionally safe & physically safe in the ring … These reports that I’m hearing, they may be true, and I’ve heard things have changed since I left. The air there has changed; it’s a different air from when I first arrived that.”

    Going to WWE: “Their product is a bit different, and I don’t fit the ‘diva model’ persay. I do believe that if I was there, I would back them a lot of money. They have some of the most creative minds in professional wrestling, and I believe if they choose to pick me up, that everyone would make money all around.”

    * JEFF HARDY Facing 14 Years In Prison: Details On His Trial Beginning Next Week

  • Several Matches Added To TNA Sacrifice (Updated Card)

    Below is the updated card for TNA’s Sacrifice pay-per-view on May 16th:

    TNA World Title Match
    Rob Van Dam (c) vs. AJ Styles

    TNA X Division Title Match
    Kaz (c) vs. Douglas Williams

    TNA Tag Team Title Match
    Matt Morgan and a partner to be picked by Hulk Hogan vs. Ink Inc. (Shannon Moore & Jesse O’Neal)

    Chelsea vs. Hall of Fame Ring Match
    Desmond Wolfe vs. Abyss

    Jeff Hardy vs. Mr. Anderson

    Sting vs. Jeff Jarrett

  • New TNA Tag Team, Who Was Backstage At iMPACT & More

    – Shannon Moore and Jesse Neal are now teaming together in TNA under the name “Ink Inc.” – a reference to their tattoos. The team will be getting a TNA Tag Team Title shot at the Sacrifice pay-per-view against Matt Morgan and his partner, who will be chosen by Hulk Hogan.

    – Former WCW, WWE and ECW star 2 Cold Scorpio, who lives in the Orlando area, was backstage visiting at last night’s TNA iMPACT.

    – Ric Flair’s son Reid was backstage at Monday’s TNA iMPACT.

    – As reported yesterday, Lex Luger was indeed in Orlando tonight – but as most of you know by now, did not appear on iMPACT.

  • TNA iMPACT! Moving Back To Thursdays On May 13th

    TNA Monday Night iMPACT! is no more. After less than 2 months going head-to-head with WWE RAW, it was announced on iMPACT! last night that iMPACT! is moving back to Thursdays on May 13th. Here’s the official statement from TNA:

    THURSDAYS TO BE BRANDED “TNA WRESTLING NIGHT” ON SPIKE TV

    TNA Returns To Thursdays May 13 at 9:00pm

    “ReAction” Joins “TNA Wrestling Night” On Thursday, June 24 At 8:00pm

    New York, NY  – Spike TV will launch the re-branded “TNA Thursdays,” featuring the “TNA iMPACT!” on Thursday, May 13 (9:00-11:00pm ET/PT).

    “The fans have spoken and with their input we have determined the best timeslot to maximize the TNA audience is on Thursday nights where we are confident it will be among the most-watched shows with young men,” said Brian J. Diamond, senior vice president, sports and specials.

    Regarding the move to the Thursday time slot, TNA President Dixie Carter added: “Our fans made it clear that they preferred the Thursday night time period. By moving to Thursdays,” this is a win/win opportunity for both TNA and the fans. We are looking forward to delivering what the fans are asking for!”

    On Thursday, June 24, Spike TV will expand “TNA Thursdays” to three hours with the addition of “ReACTION.”

    “ReACTION” is a one-hour docu-series that will focus on the stories and characters of TNA Wrestling and preview the upcoming action-packed episode of “TNA iMPACT!”  in a new format.   The new show will kick off “TNA Thursdays” at 8:00 pm ET/PT (beginning June 24), and serve as the lead-in to “iMPACT!”.

    TNA officials told the talents today that iMPACT is moving back to Thursday nights. The crew was told that TNA made the decision to move back to Thursdays, not Spike TV officials. While TNA officials handled most of the meeting, there was a Spike TV official there to confirm the information.

    TNA as well as Eric Bischoff & Jason Hervey’s production team conducted most of the recent market research and were told that fans overwhelmingly wanted Thursday to be established as TNA’s night.

    With the weekly addition of TNA Reaction at 8pm EST, Spike TV will be branding Thursday nights as “TNA Thursdays.”

  • Former WWE Star Backstage At Impact, Nashville Flooding

    — Former WWE performer Too Cold Scorpio is backstage at the Impact! Zone visiting friends. He lives in the Orlando area.

    — Many backstage are talking about the flooding damage in Nashville, which prompted evacuations in parts of the city. TNA’s headquarters are located in Nashville, not to mention that several wrestlers and employees have homes in the area.

    — The TNA crew will be getting a rare weekend off as there are no live events scheduled this weekend.

    source: PWInsider.com