The following is a preview for tonight’s TNA Impact Wrestling On Spike TV, taped last week from Glasgow, Scottland. Hit up Page 2 below for *Spoiler* results.
The following are highlights of a recent SLAM! Wrestling interview with AJ Styles:
On his dream opponent: “Seriously, some (dream matches) for me are with guys that I may never get the opportunity to wrestle. I’d like to wrestle Rey Mysterio, I think he and I could really tear things up. There are definitely some guys in the Fed (WWE) that I think I could have good matches with, that would also be dream matches for the fans as well. But who knows if that ever comes or not.”
On Sting to WWE: “I hope to see Sting wrestle The Undertaker at WrestleMania. I don’t know if that’s going to happen, that may just be wishful thinking. But I can appreciate the (thinking).”
On TNA going out of business: “I’m not saying that they’re going under, but it sure does seem that way. They’re really saving a lot of money in places. If they’re so desperate to save money that they cut loose one of their top guys, the one guy that was known as the TNA guy, they must be hurting pretty bad. Either that or they think that loyalty means absolutely nothing to them, or they think I suck. I don’t know which one of those it is.”
Check out the complete interview online at Slam.Canoe.ca.
TNA star Kurt Angle recently commented on the reports that claim he is in bad shape. Angle mentioned the following in a new tweet posted on his official Twitter account:
For the Rumors going around, I'm Having Simple Orthoscopic Surgery for Cartilage tear in my knee. I'm not in "bad shape"
— Kurt Angle (@RealKurtAngle) February 4, 2014
As noted, Angle has been working through injuries during the recent TNA U.K. tour, and according to some reports, has even been working despite doctors orders not to.
As previously reported, TNA veteran Kurt Angle had a backstage blow-up with “Big” John Gaburick during the company’s U.K. tour. Apparently Angle wasn’t the only star to have a heated exchange with the TNA executive.
According to a new PWInsider.com article, TNA star Eric Young had a verbal exchange with Gaburick during the U.K. tour as well. Gaburick apparently ran down Young backstage after his Monter’s Ball match with Abyss, which was taped for this week’s edition of Impact Wrestling.
The report claims Gaburick told Young that he took too long in selling an attack from Abyss and should have exited the ring quicker due to the fact that they had additional segments to tape.
As a result, Young, who is well liked and considered to be a performer who rarely speaks out, didn’t hold back this time. According to reports, Young vented his frustration over the situation and the matter was quickly resolved. Basically put, it wasn’t a major incident or anything like that.
TNANews.com writer Alex Barie recently reached out to TNA star Kurt Angle regarding the rumors that he had a blow up with John Gaburick backstage during the recent TNA U.K. tour. Regarding the rumors, Angle stated, “Reports couldn’t be any less true. I did not argue with Big (John Gaburick). Everything is fine.”
The article also notes that Angle is scheduled to get knee surgery next week and will be out of action for a month as a result.
TNA star Kurt Angle was photographed in a wheelchair in the United Kingdom this past weekend. There is no word as to whether or not Angle is in a wheelchair to sell a television attack that is part of a storyline, or if Angle is having a hard time getting around.
As noted, Angle has been pushing back a surgery operation that he was scheduled to undergo in late January.
TNA star Kurt Angle was scheduled to undergo surgery in late January, however with Jeff Hardy and Sting not going on the company’s U.K. tour, Angle’s surgery was pushed back so that he could fill-in on the tour.
During the television taping in Glasgow, Scotland this past week, an angle was shot that saw Angle get beat down with steel chairs, which was seemingly the company’s way of writing him out of the storylines. The following day in Manchester, Angle was told by the TNA creative team that he was scheduled to do a run-in segment. Angle reportedly flipped out as a result, as he had already been written out of storylines and because he had been working despite doctor’s orders not to.
John Gaburick was said to be the one that Angle flipped out to, and in the end, Angle did not work the taping that night in Manchester.
Angle did his Hall Of Fame induction the next day in London, and set up a probable Lockdown match against Ethan Carter III. As a result, it appears that TNA is expecting Angle to work the pay-per-view without having the surgery he needs.
(Credit: PWInsider.com)
The following are highlights of a recent interview with TNA star Gunner:
On TNA pushing younger talent: “I think it’s going to be a good change. You named guys like EC3 and the newer guys that may be coming in, but you still have the Kurt Angles and the Jeff Hardys and veterans that are in the position to help younger guys, like myself, out and not only learn more, but see if I can obviously handle the pressure of being in that main event spot.”
On how it effects Impact: “I think it’s a good change for Impact because TNA has always been that company since day one with the younger guys, like A.J. Styles and Chris Daniels and all these guys. TNA has always been about different, new, and young talent. For a while there, it kind of got away from that I feel. Dixie tweeted about it as you mentioned and I think that it’s a good spot to be in.”
On fans wanting to see something new: “The fans want to see different stuff. They don’t want to see the same guys year in and year out doing the same stuff all the time. WWE always has new, fresh guys coming in and changing the product and I think that Dixie and the company in general are going to give us younger guys an opportunity to really stand out and see what we can do.”
Check out the complete interview above.
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On if TNA is on the upward swing in 2014 after a disappointing 2013: “I think I can speak on behalf of most of the guys in the company, the roster, the creative team, production–I mean, I’m sure they all– it’s nice hearing someone say that probably. Look, you guys know TNA has been the whipping boy in the industry online for a couple of years now. I mean god, I’ve been here now five years and I’ve heard from where I came in, ‘you’re going out of business, the place is going out of business, yadda yadda.’ Ok yeah. Enough with that. They’re not going out of business. As long as you have a TV contract, you’re not going out of business. As long as you have a niche audience that you have with over a million people 52 weeks a year with original programming on world wide TV; you’re not going out of business.
“That’s for all you smart marks because you think you know everything and you really don’t. So that’s number one. Number two; I agree there was some–it was a rougher year maybe? You’re right, I kind of agree with you. Look, you have down times, you have up times. I mean that’s–same with WWE. Same, I’m sure with ROH.I remember when I was with ECW, it was the same with us. Everybody thinks that everything we did in ECW was the cat’s meow. And everything Paul (Heyman) touched was gold. No it wasn’t. Paul would be the first one to tell you not everything worked. For all of us. The wrestlers back then and the current wrestlers now.
“Listen, fans need to realize that our industry is the most unique because there is no down time. There is no off season. So you hear wrestlers or promoters or whomever in interviews say that a lot what I just said. There’s no off season like the NFL or the NBA or Major League Baseball, NHL. True, right? But put it in perspective and really think about that. There’s no off season. Therefore, these creative teams in TNA or WWE or wherever that get bashed and ripped by hardcore wrestling fans. Which are the fans that–believe me when I tell you behind the scenes we all truly love cause we know no matter what, through thick and thin, they’ll always be there. The thing is man it’s not an easy task to write 52 weeks of TV and stay fresh. With the most–an audience that is so fickle and that expects so much more and to top yourself every week. That’s an extremely, extremely ambitious thing to do.
“I’m telling you, I’ve been in creative meetings with the WWE. I’ve been in meetings with TNA and I’m not on the creative team but I’ve been part of giving input at times.–Guys, there’s so much more involved with it then you’ll ever, ever, ever, ever know. And how difficult it truly is. So to understand, I don’t want to speak for WWE but I think the industry as a whole that’s doing TV every week could understand that it’s a deal where–you gotta try to keep it fresh, keep it hot, keep doing stuff that keeps people talking. Keep your talent over. Get the guys and gals over that you’re trying to get over and hopefully they click and connect with the audience.
“You gotta do that every week! So you know there are times where TNA–yeah. We might have some shows that are horrible but then there might be some shows that are great. I can tell you those shows that were horrible; the intentions were for those shows to be great. Okay, so it’s like a baseball player. He gets to the box. He gets up to the plate. His intention is to make contact and get on base. His intention isn’t to hit a foul ball or foul out or strike out or hit a pop up. He wants to get on base. Okay. Same with us. We want every show to be a homerun. Every show. That’s the goal. That don’t always work. Look, I just wanted people to understand that that’s kind of the ebb and flow, the ups and downs of the industry.
His thoughts CM Punk situation: Ahh, great question. Great conversation. Love to talk about it. So. I’m old school, okay? I’m gonna kind of talk out of both sides of my mouth for a second and then I’ll sum it up. I’m old school in a sense that I feel that you’ve gotta complete your obligations. Okay? But I do understand the grind. And I know Punk personally. I haven’t talked to him in a couple of years but I consider him a friend.-We fell out of touch with each other. I respect his work. We’ve always had a good friendship in our time in WWE together. I was already retired from the ring but Punk was always a legit, cool dude. I’m a big fan of his in-ring style and a huge fan of his personality and his whole gimmick. Love it. Okay so I don’t have no problem with CM Punk; I’m a fan. But I understand that you have an obligation.
“You have to go through with your obligation and suck it up. And do your job. But this is about emotion. And Punk knows that more than most guys because he’s been extremely successful. And his promos are off his emotion. And when you start to lose some of that emotion, for whatever reason, it’s tough to perform. We are performers. We’re a hybrid. We’re an athlete, we’re a stuntman, we’re an actor. We’re a little bit of everything. So there’s a lot of things that go on. And when your emotions start to leave for whatever that reason is and it’s usually cause of business being done bad by you; it’s tough to suck it up and grind out. I would tell ya, obviously I’m not in the WWE.
“I was not in the locker room. I do not know what happened. I don’t know the details of why he left. But I could tell you, knowing CM Punk like I know him, like I used to know him. And knowing our industry and knowing Punk as a guy who respects our industry and respects the code of the wrestler. I’m sure this wasn’t a spur of the moment, impromptu thing where he just popped and left. This had to be a build up for him internally, in his body and in his mind and his soul, that he had enough of whatever is going on there and he had to bolt. So I can’t sit here and knock the man.
“Because there has been times for me in certain companies in this industry, that I love so much, that I’ve felt like I can’t take it no more and I‘ve had people kind of talk me off the ledge. I’m just saying that as an analogy. But I think that a guy like Punk kind of hit his boiling point for whatever was going on there and–look, my point is I don’t think he just said that’s it, I don’t like where you’re going creatively, I’m done, I quit. I don’t think that’s what happened. I think just knowing the business and being behind the scenes for a lot of years; it’s usually a build up. And quite frankly, what did he have left? Five and a half months? I can relate to that. In our business when you have five and a half months, that’s not really–I gotta be honest. That’s not a ton of time. So he had to be–again I don’t want to get into the guy’s psyche–but he had to be at a point where he was just not happy, that he couldn’t suck it up for another five and a half months. None of us know the details of his contract. We don’t know these ins and outs of his deal. It’s nobody’s business. So who knows? Who knows? Who knows what it was? Maybe it could have been something on their end; that they didn’t do on their end towards him.
“You don’t know. No one knows the details. It’s no ones business. Every contract too; let’s just talk about that real quick. 95 percent of the wrestlers, no matter what company it is, everyone’s kind of got different deals. Especially when you earn some respect and you’ve got some legitimacy and you’re credible. And you’ve been a world champ. Everybody has different little nooks and crannies in their contract. That’s what a lot of people don’t realize. This is not some standard hojo contract. So everyone’s got different type deals. So that’s something too. You don’t know what was in his deal. But look, he’s an emotional guy; that’s why he’s a successful guy. And I guess it just got to a point where maybe emotionally he was tapped out or mentally tapped out. You just can’t perform when you’re like that. And again I don’t want to speak for the man; I’m just trying to give you my perspective.”
On if there was any point when he was with ECW that he almost walked out: “Yeah. Absolutely. Many times. Many times. Like I said earlier man; it wasn’t all rainbows and butterflies. It was great, don’t get me wrong. I wish I could redo that time, it was the greatest time of my life. It was awesome. I’m forever grateful to Paul Heyman and ECW. And guys like Sabu and Raven and The Sandman and Tommy Dreamer and Shane Douglas and RVD and guys that we all just drove that machine. And we all got each other over, no matter if we were friends or not. We all made each other stars. I’m forever grateful for that. But yeah, there were ups and downs. There were times where me and Paul were banging heads. And I didn’t agree where he was going maybe with me creatively. But quite frankly, the times that I was most angry with Paul were things that he was doing with the company or creatively with someone else that I was most angry about.
“I just differed with him on. And it wasn’t a thing where, ‘well Paul I think you’re pushing this guy to hard and you shouldn’t be.’ No sir. That was not my deal. I’d never get in the way of anyone’s push. But it was more of a deal where I was like, ‘Man I think you should go in this direction. Maybe market the company this way. Or you know what? Let’s give this guy the push.’ And we would just differ on it. I’m not saying I was right. But that was many years ago. So yeah there were times where I was disappointed in what he was doing with me creatively and what he was doing with the company. But dude, that’s any job. Any job. I don’t care where you work. People need to realize this is a job. We have jobs. We have a job to do. You know I say it all the time.
“You work at Burger King. Your manager tells you, ‘Alright. Make a whopper.’ No, you know what? Mr. Manager, I feel like making fish filets. ‘No, no, no. You’re making whoppers.’ No, no I’m gonna make fish filets. ‘Alright, you know what? You’re fired.’ (Laughter) That’s the deal. I’ve been saying that for years. That’s the best analogy that people can relate to. That’s what this is. It’s a fricking job. You gotta do what you’re told. You have some input. The more credibility you have at times and user put in and championships you’ve held. Yeah, you got some input; you got some leverage. You can talk up and give some input. You’re not a machine. I don’t want to exaggerate here. But at the end of the day, you gotta job to do. Same for me in TNA. There’s things I don’t agree with. I’ll give my opinion. We’ll discuss it. Majority rules. Alright, we don’t agree with you. Ok cool. Go that way. I supported that. I’m going to support that. That’s what you do on a team. A quarterback–if the receiver don’t agree with the play the quarterback and the head coach and the offensive coordinator call; the receiver is still going to bust his ass doing that play correctly, right or wrong?”
On what direction would he go if he had complete control of TNA: “I would bring MVP in to be the investor. (Laughs) If I was in complete control of TNA, I would do anything–if WWE right now was going left; I would go right. And if they started going right; I would go left. So that’s what I would do. I would try to be the complete opposite of WWE. That’s just my opinion. I don’t have millions invested. I don’t make tons and tons of money as an upper management guy. I don’t go in focus groups. I’m not part of that whole research team. I–this is just some blue-collared guy from Brooklyn that wrestled for a living that talks about wrestlers now giving you my opinion. Doesn’t mean I’m right. I’m probably wrong.
“But that’s just what I would do as a wrestling fan and a former wrestler; is try to be–look I think our show last night, it looked awesome. I mean hi-def, beautiful bright lights, awesome lighting grid, the whole nine yards. Thousands upon thousands of people. You know all of this stuff, it looks great on TV. The way its shot. Awesome camera work. All these camera shots. Tons of money going into the production. Me? I’m old school. Give us a couple of cameras, a spotlight over the ring, dark out the arena, let’s get after it. That’s my idea, you know? But that doesn’t draw millions. Or NWA would still be in business. And ECW. So what do I know? But that’s what I would do.”
On The Great Muta coming to Lockdown; how much has changed in a year: “I think that’s awesome. I mean, geez. Who doesn’t have mad respect for The Great Muta? Great Muta is just the bomb. I mean just a legend. Iconic figure in our industry worldwide. I mean no doubt about it. So I think that’s awesome. Very excited. I have not seen Muta in years. Looking forward to seeing him again. Last time I saw him it was in Tokyo, many years ago when I was wrestling there. But I’m looking forward to seeing him. And yeah a lot has changed from Aces and Eights being gone. I thought the Aces and Eights deal was a very cool concept. Some people loved it; some people hated it. I liked it a lot. Even if I wasn’t a part of the gimmick, which I was, I still would’ve liked it. I really liked it a lot.
“That was during a time where we had different heads of states in there running stuff. I thought it went a little long for my liking. A little long but I thought it was really cool. I thought it helped create some bars. I thought it was a cool gimmick. It think it really helped Bully Ray immensely. And now Bully Ray is at a point where he helps things. He don’t need things helping him anymore. And that’s kind of what our business is about; is you want to put a title on a guy to help make the guy. And once that guy’s made, let’s get it on someone to help him. And now once that guy is made, he can help someone else. It’s kind of like hot tag. You just tag in and out. And that’s kind of what happened with Aces and Eights with Bully Ray I felt.
“You know that really helped him, pole-vault him, really give him a platform to show the world who he is as a character. And he kicked ass on it. He did an awesome job on it. I think that you gotta tip your cap to guys like Eric Bischoff who were heavily behind the Aces and Eights concept. I thought he did a great job with it. And the rest of the creative team with Matt Conway and Dave Lagana. I thought they did a great job with that. There were a lot of guys in that thing at one point. It got a little crazy. But then it simmered down and all that stuff. And that was for a reason. Now Aces and Eights are a thing of the past. And that’s cool. We just move on. We keep evolving. So the whole investor angle, I’m not sure where it’s going. It’s really cool.
“You saw with Dixie Carter last night, she was kind of– her character was freaking out a little bit backstage. Nervous, oh my god the investor’s here now. Boom. Now we’re going to see the fallout, right? We’re gonna watch Impact this week to see what MVP’s gonna say. What he’s gonna do? How do The Wolves play a part of this? Who else is involved with this if anyone? What’s Dixie Carter’s reaction? Sorry, I’m giving you the whole announcers deal right here. Breaking it down for you. But those are the questions I think true fans would ask.”
TNA taped the “One Night Only: Joker’s Wild” pay-per-view today from Birmingham, England. Here are the spoiler results:
* Gail Kim defeated Shauna
* They did a lottery was held to determine the matches
* Douglas Williams and Magnus defeated Chris Sabin and Gunner
* Samoa Joe and Bad Bones defeated Christopher Daniels and Robbie E
* Rockstar and Bully Ray defeated Mr. Anderson and Austin Aries
* Kazarian and Ethan Carter III defeated Eric Young and Curry Man
* The Wolves defeated James Storm and Bobby Roode
* Abyss and Samuel Shaw defeated Zema Ion and Jesse Godderz
* Ethan Carter III won the The Joker’s Wild Gauntlet match.
– MVP’s new TNA theme song is a song he recorded himself called “Return of the Ronin.” You can check it out on iTunes at iTunes.Apple.com.
– There are a number of reports going around noting that Kurt Angle is dealing with a number of injuries, and appears to be pretty banged up during the current TNA U.K. tour. Angle is reportedly dealing with a potential broken ankle, along with a number of other nagging injuries.
The following are spoiler results for the March 6th episode of TNA Impact Wrestling from Manchester, England:
– Bobby Roode came out with Zema Ion and the BroMans. Austin Aries came out as the replacement for James Storm, who will be facing Gunner at Lockdown instead of being on Team Dixie. Aries says he wants half of the 10% offer Dixie made to Roode for leading her team.
MVP with The Wolves came out and groups had a stare down. Dixie Carter came out and got between both groups. MVP says Jeff Hardy will be making his return at Lockdown and will be part of Team MVP. Both teams brawled, setting up a big 6-man elimination match.
– Austin Aries, Bobby Roode & Robbie E defeated MVP & The Wolves. The match came down to Roode vs. MVP, a rematch from their singles main event on the previous week’s show. Roode got on MVP to win the match. Due to a fight that broke out in the crowd, they wound up re-taping the last 5 minutes of the match at the end of the taping.
– Ethan Carter III came out to talk about Kurt Angle, and calls himself the new “American Icon”. Angle’s music hits and and the two brawled in the ring. Carter put Angle in a submission hold to end the segment.
– Sam Shaw vs. Eric Young was a no contest after Ken Anderson broke up the match.
– Velvet Sky, ODB & Madison Rayne defeated Alpha Female, Lei’D Tapa & Gail Kim.
– James Storm and Gunner brawled in the ring.
– Samoa Joe and Magnus had an in-ring confrontation to close the show and hype their match at Lockdown. Bully Ray came out and confronted Samoa Joe. Joe put Bully Ray through a table to end the show as the final “go home” segment before Lockdown.
The following are spoiler results for the February 27th episode of TNA Impact Wrestling from Manchester, England:
-MVP kicks off the show with a promo about the Team Dixie vs. Team MVP match at Lockdown.
– The BroMans defeated The Wolves & Bad Influence in a Triple Threat Tag Match.
– Ethan Carter III defeated Douglas Williams, who got a great reaction from the UK crowd for his return.
– James Storm came out and cut a promo on Gunner about screwing him over “last week.” Gunner came out and the two had a face-to-face confrontation.
– There was an in-ring segment with Sam Shaw and Christy Hemme, with Shaw intimidating her. Mr. Anderson came out to defend Hemme, who slaped Shaw in the face.
– TNA World Champion Magnus came out and announced a match between Samoa Joe and German wrestler Bad Bones.
– Samoa Joe defeated Bad Bones
– Lei’D Tapa & Alpha Female defeated Madison Rayne & Velvet Sky. After the match, the heels beat down on the babyfaces until ODB came out to make the save.
– Kurt Angle came out to be inducted into the TNA Hall of Fame. Jeremy Borash presented him with a watch and Angle gave his acceptance speech. EC3 interrupted the celebration and challenged Angle to a match at Lockdown. Angle accepted.
– Bobby Roode defeated MVP. Austin Aries was the special guest referee and turned on Roode at the end of the match.
At Friday’s TNA Impact Wrestling tapings from Manchester, England, the following main events were announced for the March 9th TNA Lockdown pay-per-view from Miami, Florida:
TNA World Championship Match:
Magnus (c) vs. Samoa Joe
Team Dixie vs. Team MVP
Bobby Roode, Ethan Carter II, Rockstar Spudd & James Storm vs. MVP, Gunner & The Wolves
Former WWE Superstar MVP was revealed as TNA’s new mystery investor on Thursday’s Impact Wrestling from Glasgow, Scotland.
As for his contractual status with TNA, MVP says he is working on a “handshake” agreement and has not signed with the company:
Well the cat is out of the bag. I still haven't "signed" though. LOL Some of you are happy. And as expected some are not. I LOVE wrestling!
— MVP (@The305MVP) January 30, 2014
Still no contract signed. But a handshake will do for now! RT @AzzaG_A1: @The305MVP you've signed a contract ??
— MVP (@The305MVP) January 30, 2014
The following are Impact Wrestling tapings for next week (airing 2/6) from Glasgow, Scotland:
*Austin Aries defeated Zema Ion to retain X-Division championship. Ion attacked Aries with his Feast or Fired briefcase before the match began and cashed it in to get the title shot.
* Curry Man appeared. Bully Ray attacked him and wound up throwing him in a casket.
* Abyss defeated Eric Young with the Black Hole Slam In a Monster’s Ball match. After the match, Abyss unmasked himself and revealed that he is none other than … Joseph Park.
* TNA Investor MVP came out and cut a promo, saying now that things are going to change now that he’s got power in tNA. He announced Magnus vs. Kurt Angle in a non-title match for later in the show.
*Kurt Angle defeated TNA champion Magnus via DQ when Ethan Carter III interfered. Carter attacked Angle’s legs with a steel chair after the match.
*Samoa Joe defeated Bobby Roode with the Muscle Buster.
* The show closed with a segment featuring Dixie Carter and MVP doing a promo together. It ended up with MVP laying out Rockstar Spud.
Former WWE Superstar MVP is set to debut on tonight’s episode of Impact Wrestling from Glasgow, Scotland.
The Ballin’ Superstar is currently backstage at the tapings and is expected to be part of the TNA Investor storyline.
MVP tweeted on Thursday afternoon:
A decision has been made. It's final. All systems go!
— MVP (@The305MVP) January 30, 2014
http://youtu.be/iyq-kFVp0QE
http://youtu.be/_lYKFOCjPlM
– Amidst online reports that CM Punk has opted to quit WWE, which TMZ.com has cited as due to his displeasure with WrestleMania XXX creative plans, a TNA Wrestling star is inviting the Chicago native to cross the line.
If the rumors are true, let me be the 1st to invite @CMPunk to @IMPACTWRESTLING and get in the ring w/ me. Fans would LOVE it. Yes or no?
— Bully Ray (@REALBully5150) January 29, 2014
– From Dublin, Ireland, TNA World Heavyweight Champion Magnus previews his upcoming night in the city, and his plans for Glasgow tomorrow night on Impact Wrestling.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YCPa4cWTW48
– ShopTNA.com has released new T-Shirts on Jeff Hardy, Magnus, James Storm, Bobby Roode, ODB, Manik, Gunner, The Bro Mans and Austin Aries.
The following are highlights from a recent interview with former TNA star AJ Styles:
On pushing back his speaking tour due to lawsuit threats from TNA: “We had something in the works, but then I got threatened by a TNA lawyer about some stuff that was going on – it was meaningless. We were going to do that in March, but now we’re looking at maybe coming over in June. The book should be done by then. So, it actually works out pretty good.”
On TNA’s attempts to take Impact Wrestling on the road: “It wasn’t a bad idea getting on the road doing shows. The problem is they weren’t advertising that we were on the road. We did these buildings and they weren’t even half-way sold out because people didn’t know we were there. I remember staying at a hotel right across the street from the venue and they didn’t even know that wrestling was in there that night. It goes to show that if you don’t have someone getting out there, getting the word out there that you’re in town, you’re not going to do well.”
On TNA signing big name stars to try and pop the Impact Wrestling rating: “With the homegrown guys, we were slowly building the ratings. My opinion is if it’s not broke, don’t fix it, but I think they wanted to see the ratings climb a little faster.”
Check out the complete interview online at TheWrestlingMania.com.
Gail Kim sits down with Peter Rosenberg for almost an hour and talks about Mae Young, AJ Styles, Triple H, her WWE departure and more.
TNA issued the following press release regarding Kurt Angle’s Hall Of Fame induction:
LONDON (January 26, 2014) – Kurt Angle is to be inducted into the TNA Hall of Fame during the company’s trip to the UK and Ireland for its MAXIMUM IMPACT VI Tour.
Olympic Gold Medalist and IMPACT WRESTLING Superstar Kurt announced the news earlier today during an appearance on the popular Sunday Brunch TV show, shown on Channel 4. Hosted by Tim Lovejoy and Simon Rimmer, it is watched by more than one million people.
Angle will be inducted to the prestigious TNA Hall of Fame this Saturday, February 1, during the London leg of the Tour at Wembley Arena. A limited number of seats remain available for what will be a historic event. Tickets can be purchased from www.ticketmaster.co.uk, www.gigsandtours.com/tour/tna-wrestling or direct from the Wembley Arena box office.
Angle said: “There are some things I wanted to accomplish before accepting induction into the TNA Hall of Fame, and now I’m ready. I’m thankful I have been able to do this in my own time. The phenomenal wrestling fans in London will be part of this memorable and emotional night this Saturday.”
The star recently listed London as one of the top 10 wrestling cities in the world and added: “Wembley is such a storied venue, and with thousands of fans it will be a perfect setting for the induction ceremony. A majority of my life has been dedicated to achieving success as a wrestler. Being inducted into the TNA Hall of Fame is an accomplishment and an honor I will forever cherish.”
Angle becomes the second inductee into the TNA Hall of Fame, following the inaugural induction in 2012 of “The Icon” Sting.
Angle, who was a collegiate champion and won a Gold Medal in the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta, seamlessly transitioned from his domination as an amateur wrestler to being a professional wrestling phenomenon.
The only Olympic Gold Medalist in the history of professional wrestling, Angle created incredible buzz when in 2006 he joined TNA. Kurt is one of the most decorated champions in TNA history having won every major championship including the TNA World Heavyweight Championship five times.
Known as the “Cyborg”, Angle is venerated for his physicality, revered for his tenacity and esteemed for his leadership inside and outside of the ring. Among Angle’s numerous awards and accolades, perhaps most profound is the recognition he often receives among his colleagues as the best professional wrestler of all time; a man of solid character and great leadership who dedicates himself to the sport and its fans.
“I am privileged to be a witness to the Kurt Angle story. His influence on wrestling is unrivaled in this sport, or any other,” said TNA Executive Vice President John Gaburick. “TNA is grateful for Kurt’s continued devotion and contributions to our organisation, this business and to the fans.”
In addition to witnessing Angle’s induction into the TNA Hall of Fame, fans attending the Wembley Arena event will be part of a live taping of the weekly IMPACT WRESTLING broadcast, viewed by millions in more than 120 countries around the world.
TNA president Dixie Carter recently revealed that “several surprises” are planned for their upcoming tour of the United Kingdom. Dixie tweeted:
Cannot wait for the UK Tour. Lots of first's on this tour. 1st live show in Glasgow. 1st PPV in Birmingham. Several surprises.
— Dixie Carter (@TNADixie) January 25, 2014
Speaking of Carter, she recently posted the following two tweets about her family:
So proud of my nephew TC2 (Travis Carter). He is one of 2 freshman on the varsity wrestling team at the State Meet today. You rock baby!
— Dixie Carter (@TNADixie) January 25, 2014
It's hard for me to imagine that my baby girl is turning nine years old today. It's amazing how fast time flies.
— Dixie Carter (@TNADixie) January 26, 2014
There continue to be conflicting reports as to whether or not Vince Russo is in fact back as part of the TNA creative team.
PWInsider.com initially reported that Russo was likely back as a creative consultant, and was at least copied on some recent emails that circulated among the creative team.
F4WOnline.com, however, reports that a few top talents who have input into creative have not heard anything about Russo in several months.
The following are highlights of a recent LAW Radio interview with AJ Styles:
On the year-long angle in TNA and where it was headed: “I don’t think they really knew what gimmick I was going towards when they did the “lone wolf” thing. They asked me about it, and I said I had no problem being at home, but I really don’t think they knew where they wanted it to go. We talked about the Sting lone wolf thing that he did, and something similar to that. I didn’t have a problem with it. You always want to do something different. I wanted to come out with a bit of a different look. It worked for me, I had no problem doing it. As far as I know, until things got changed up a little bit, they wanted me to be the one to take out Aces & Eights, or have a group to help take them out, or something like that. I’m not positive on that, but I think that’s kind of where they were going.”
On whether or not he had talks with WWE: “I know that’s some wishful thinking, but no, there was nothing. Not a phone call. Nothing. I wish I knew who these guys were that were presenting these rumors and whatnot, just so I could say, “Exactly tell me when they did call me, I’d like to know.” It’s just so bizarre, all the stuff that you hear.”
Check out the complete interview online at FightNetwork.com.