TNA’s behind-the-scenes shakeup continues, as Dutch Mantell has been named head of creative for Impact Wrestling. He’ll be leading the team of Jeff Jarrett, Scott D’Amore and producer Kevin Sullivan.
– Former head writer John Gaburick is no longer writing storylines. He’ll be staying on board as a consultant, providing feedback to the new writing team and helping out backstage.
– Longtime TNA employee Bill Banks has departed the company. It’s believed that he’ll be moving back to the Northeast. He previously worked on the creative teams in WWE and WCW.
Looking back over the past year, Banks joins Dixie Carter, Billy Corgan, John Gaburick, Dave Lagana, Matt Conway and even Matt Hardy as people who have ‘moved on’ from contributing to TNA’s creative direction.
– Jeff Jarrett is not expected to appear on television in the coming weeks, but there’s a good chance his wife Karen will resurface.
TNA’s next round of television tapings take place this weekend from Universal Orlando. Here’s a look at TNA’s upcoming tapings schedule through the summer:
- Thursday, March 2 – Sunday, March 5.
- Thursday, April 20 – Sunday, April 23.
- Sunday, July 2 – Thursday, July 6.
- Thursday, Aug. 17 – Sunday, Aug. 20.
The April 20th and August 17th episodes will air “live.”
H/T: PWInsider.com
