TNA Impact Wrestling taping
Manchester, England
Report by Benjamin Ridgeway

I was in attendance third row from the front which was nice cage was already up on the ring. They did the usual “if your the loudest you can go backstage” (I’ve never seen anyone go backstage). This was my fourth TNA live event.

1. Kurt Angle beat Mr. Anderson in a steel cage. Angle won with the ankle lock very good back and forth with some nice spots. After the match, and Aces & 8’s member climbed the cage. Angle waved Wes Briscoe in and he locked the cage. The masked Aces & 8’s member revealed himself to be Garett Bischoff, and Brisco helped him beat up angle.

2. Magnus beat Devon.

3. Joseph Park beat Robbie E. With a splash from top rope.

4. Austin Aries beat Chavo Guerrero. Aries and Roode get a tag title shot on next week show.

5. Velvet Sky and James Storm beat Tara and Jessie. Straight forward mixed tag match with Velvet pinning Tara.

6. X Division Champion Rob Van Dam beat Kenny King and Zema Ion. Some nice spots. I felt sorry for them as there were not a lot of mats outside as usual for their ringside dives. There was actually only one mat each on each side. At one point, RVD actually missed the mat and landed on concrete. It sounded awful but he seemed okay.

Overall, this was the best TNA show I have been to. The crowd was noisy and I cannot wait to see what it’s like on TV. I even got a piece of the table to go home with.

(Credit to prowrestling.net for this report)

– TNA will be taping two weeks of Impact Wrestling tonight from the Manchester Arena. They will tape two more weeks of television tomorrow from London’s Wembley Arena.

– TNA has announced a new TV deal with the Nippon Television Network Corporation (NTV) in Japan. Impact Wrestling will air Saturday nights at 7:30 pm on NTV channel G+, and PPV’s will air monthly on the same channel.

– TNA Knockout Tara is opening a new restaurant in Chicago called the “Squared Circle.” She recently spoke to Chicago’s WCIU TV about the restaurant and more:

Next week’s episode of Impact Wrestling is Open Fight Night, and is being taped tonight at Manchester Arena in Manchester, England. The event will be headlined by Kurt Angle vs. Mr. Anderson in a Steel Cage Match. The official preview is as follows:

Jan. 31 IMPACT Preview – IMPACT WRESTLING From England with OPEN FIGHT NIGHT!

Preview Thursday’s IMPACT WRESTLING this Thursday at 8/7c, as the broadcast takes place from Manchester, England and features the return of OPEN FIGHT NIGHT!

– The main event of the huge international event will feature Kurt Angle vs. Mr. Anderson of the Aces & Eights in a Steel Cage Match! British fans will get a firsthand preview of this year’s “Lockdown” when Angle goes to war with his longtime nemesis Mr. Anderson inside the confines of the steel structure!

– Hulk Hogan will make his return on the broadcast! Will he listen to Sting and Bully Ray and reinstate Bully Ray from his suspension so he can get revenge on The Aces and Eights for their attack during the big wedding? Or, will Hulk take matters into his own hands while in England? Tune in and find out!

– Joseph Park will make his official IMPACT in-ring debut! Who will Park call out to battle as part of OPEN FIGHT NIGHT? Tune in and find out!

– Plus, we understand that Velvet Sky and Miss Tessmacher will unite to make their own callout during OPEN FIGHT NIGHT! Who do Velvet and Tessmacher want to fight in the ring? Don’t miss the lovely but lethal Knockouts in action!

All this and much more on Thursday’s special IMPACT WRESTLING broadcast from SpikeTV, taking place from Manchester, England

– Kurt Angle revealed in an interview with F4WOnline.com Thursday that he plans to hang up the boots for good in three years.

“I’ve got two more years left at Impact Wrestling and then I’m going to have a retirement year and that’s going to be it. I think I’ll be done and once I retire, you’re not going to see me back in a ring again, that’s for sure,” said the 44-year-old grappler. “I’m not going to be a guy that retires and keeps coming back. When I’m gone, I’m gone. Same thing as amateur wrestling; when I won the world championships in Olympics, I left and I never went back. Same for pro.”

Angle also discussed TNA’s UK tour thus far, British Boot Camp, King Mo, memories of his career and more. The audio interview is available here.

– Kid Kash is no longer affiliated with TNA Wrestling, company sources confirmed to PWInsider.com. His profile was removed from the roster page of ImpactWrestling.com on Wednesday, with the veteran wrestler subsequently claiming on Twitter that he’s still affiliated with the company.

The following is TNA’s official preview for tonight’s live episode of Impact Wrestling on Spike TV:

– Will Taz and the Aces and Eights have hell to pay after their attack during the wedding of Bully Ray and Brooke Hogan? During the wedding, Taz interrupted the ceremony – and to the shock of Bully Ray – revealed himself as a member of the gang! No doubt, Hulk Hogan will be coming to IMPACT on mission – after what they did to his daughter, it will be all-out war against the Aces starting this Thursday! Have Taz, Devon and the rest of the Aces and Eights finally sealed their own fate after what they did? Don’t miss the fallout on IMPACT!

– Plus, tune in to find out what happened after the attack! Cameras were rolling after IMPACT went off the air – don’t miss the exclusive footage!

– In the main event of Thursday’s broadcast, World Heavyweight Champion “The Charismatic Enigma” Jeff Hardy defends the gold against Christopher Daniels!

– In women’s action, Tara will defend the Knockouts Championship against new #1 contender, Velvet Sky

– Also scheduled for Thursday’s IMPACT will be X Division tag team action as X Champion Rob Van Dam and Christian York battle Kenny King and Zema Ion

All this and more on Thursday’s broadcast, plus news on the upcoming “Lockdown” epic event from San Antonio, Texas

* Meet ROCKSTAR SPUD: TNA British Bootcamp Winner & New TNA Star

– Jeff Hardy continues to prove that he is a drawing card for TNA Wrestling as preliminary estimates for the Genesis pay-per-view event he headlined on January 13 have the show drawing between 12,000 and 13,000 buys.

By comparison, many of last year’s shows drew between 7,000 and 10,000 buys, with the upswing kicking off after Hardy become TNA World Heavyweight Champion in October.

At Genesis, Hardy beat Austin Aries and Bobby Roode in a Triple Threat Elimination match to retain the TNA World Heavyweight Championship.

– There are several people behind-the-scenes in WWE who have been greatly entertained by the comedic exploits of the recently united tandem of Bobby Roode and Austin Aries on Impact Wrestling.

– On Tuesday’s episode of TNA Xplosion on the UK’s Challenge TV, Garett Bischoff beat Jessie Godderz with The Numbskull.

(source: F4WOnline.com)

– Christy Hemme and Miss Tessmacher were unable to appear Wednesday’s TNA Wrestling live event in Glasgow, Scotland due to sickness. They will also miss Thursday’s show in Nottingham, England.

Hemme wrote on Twitter, “”I’m so sorry to Glasgow & Nottingham, Dr wont clear @BrookeTess and I cuz we got the flu buggy, we are staying behind while bus drives on :(.”

Tessmacher added, “Glasgow Scottland… I am so so bummed to be sitting n the back w/@hemmepowered… very sick with a bad stomach bug. Fingers crossed we r better.”

– Joseph Park appears on this week’s episode of The List with Robbie E and Robbie T. The synopsis reads, “There are some people who are not only “not on the list”, but stand no chance of getting on the list in the first place. Joseph Park fits into this category….. besides… no self respecting bro wears a fannie pack…seriously bro.”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9VJpkqIJHdg

– Rockstar Spud, who won TNA Wrestling: British Boot Camp on the UK’s Challenge TV to earn a contract, has been added to the TNA roster page.

– The profile of Christian York was temporarily removed from the TNA Wrestling website roster page today, leading to speculation that he may have parted ways with the organization. Meanwhile, the profile of Kid Kash remains offline.

– On this edition of the Spin Cycle, Christopher Daniels, Kazarian, Joseph Park and SoCal Val make their predictions for the winner of British Bootcamp—as revealed Tuesday night, it was Rockstar Spud.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=APACW-rBkHg

– TNA Wrestling’s 2012 Bound For Glory, No Surrender and Hardcore Justice pay-per-view events are now available on DVD on ShopTNA.com. It is the company’s first DVD releases in months due to a lack of a video distributor.

– Following reports of the official website of TNA Wrestling removing Kid Kash from its roster page, thus indicating that he’s no longer affiliated with the company, the veteran wrestler went on Twitter to dispute rumors of his departure.

“Don’t believe everything you hear,” Kash wrote. “Rumours that I have left TNA are completely false. I’m still with the company.”

– TNA Wrestling has released a video previewing tomorrow night’s episode of Impact Wrestling featuring the aftermath of last week’s wedding, plus Jeff Hardy vs. Christopher Daniels for the World Heavyweight Championship.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tDDFSXJFxI0

– Christy Hemme appears for Maryland Championship Wrestling at the New Green Room in Dundalk, Maryland on Friday, February 22. Visit MarylandWrestling.com for more information.

TNA announced the following today:

TNA IMPACT WRESTLING TO RETURN TO THE UK IN 2014

United Kingdom (January 22, 2013): TNA IMPACT WRESTLING will be returning to the UK in January and February 2014 for the MAXIMUM IMPACT VI Tour.

Currently in Britain for a string of very successful shows, TNA will return one year from now for live events in Glasgow, Manchester, London and Birmingham.

Fans can buy tickets in an exclusive one week pre-sale, starting on Monday January 28 at 9am and ending on Monday February 4 at 9pm. Prices start from £22.50, plus booking fee.

Further details about the shows will be released when tickets go on full sale later this year.

TNA Wrestling President Dixie Carter said: “Everyone knows that the UK Tour is one of the highlights of the year for everyone in TNA IMPACT WRESTLING, so I’m excited to announce that we’re coming back in 2014.

“We’re putting tickets on pre-sale for one week only so our most hardcore fans can beat the rush and get their seats early.

“I’m already counting down the days until we’re back in Glasgow, Manchester and London – and am delighted that we’re adding Birmingham to the schedule for 2014.”

John Cornwell, of Tour promoter SJM Concerts, added: “SJM is delighted with TNA IMPACT WRESTLING’s continued growth and success in the UK over the last five years.

“We very much look forward to working with TNA to build on the recent fantastic events when IMPACT WRESTLING returns for its sixth consecutive UK arena tour in 2014.”

Tickets available for a limited seven day period only, from Monday January 28 at 9am, via the TNA UK Facebook page at www.facebook.com/tnawrestlinguk, www.gigsandtours.com/go/TNA2014, www.ticketmaster.co.uk or direct from the tour venues. Full details of the UK events are:

Thursday, January 30, 2014 – Glasgow Hydro Friday
January 31, 2014 – Manchester Arena
Saturday, February, 1 2014 – London’s Wembley Arena
Sunday, February 2, 2014 – Birmingham NIA

TNA IMPACT WRESTLING is broadcast every Sunday night at 9pm on Challenge TV in the UK and Ireland, as well as more than 120 other countries.

* Meet ROCKSTAR SPUD: TNA British Bootcamp Winner & New TNA Star

Rockstar Spud

– Rockstar Spud defeated Marty Scurll and The Blossom Twins to win TNA’s British Boot Camp reality show and earn a TNA contract. Here are some congratulatory tweets for Spud:

TNA: Congrats to @RockstarSpud – winner of #TNABritishBootcamp. You’ll see him very soon on @IMPACTWRESTLING

Matt Morgan: Told y’all! @RockstarSpud deservedly so, is now an official wrestler of @IMPACTWRESTLING! Congrats my friend, cream ALWAYS rises to the top

Doug Williams: Looking forward to scurfing @RockstarSpud hard when he comes back to USA. Make him understand what representing the UK means ;-)

Al Snow: Big congratulations to Rockstar Spud on winning #tnabritishbootcamp and dont give up Marty Scrull & @TheBlossomTwins U R stars too

– As noted earlier, last week’s episode of Impact Wrestling featuring the wedding of Bully Ray and Brooke Hogan drew a 1.16 (1.2) and averaged 1.6 million viewers. The show peaked in the final segment (the wedding) with a 1.34 quarter hour.

The 5th quarter hour (Taz backstage with Bully Ray, Brother Runt and Tommy Dreamer, Sting and Hogan’s in-ring promo, Gail Kim and Taryn Terrell backstage, Bully Ray’s bachelor party footage) drew a 1.24 while the 6th quarter hour (Gail Kim vs. Velvet Sky, Brooke Hogan segment with Dixie Carter) did a 1.23.

* Picture of BROOKE HOGAN’s WARDROBE MALFUNCTION From Her Wedding On IMPACT

– Bob Ryder, Director of Talent Bookings and Travel for TNA Wrestling, revealed the full list of talent scheduled for this week’s tour of the United Kingdom via Twitter.

Talent appearing at today’s live event in Dublin, Ireland, Wednesday’s show in Glasgow, Scotland, and Thursday’s show in Nottingham, England, are Sting, Brooke Adams, Christy Hemme, Christopher Daniels, Kazarian, Austin Aries, Devon, Aces & 8s, Gail Kim, James Storm, Velvet Sky, Kurt Angle, Tara, Bully Ray, Zema Ion, Magnus, Chavo Guerrero Jr, Hernandez, Bobby Roode, and Rob Van Dam.

Talent appearing at Friday’s and Saturday’s television tapings in Manchester and London, England, are Hulk Hogan, Brooke Hogan, Wes Brisco, Garett Bischoff, Joseph Park, Jessie Godderz, Mr. Anderson, Taryn Terrell, Samoa Joe, Robbie E, Robbie T, and Kenny King.

– TNA Wrestling has released a behind-the-scenes video of the 2013 Valentine’s Day video, featuring Knockouts Christy Hemme, Gail Kim, Taryn,SoCal Val, Velvet Sky, ODB, Tara and Madison Rayne. The official video will be posted soon on ImpactWrestling.com.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q048TNI-1rY

Speaking to Wrestling101.com, TNA World Heavyweight Champion Jeff Hardy discussed his expectations for 2013, working with Vince McMahon and Dixie Carter, his on-screen feud with CM Punk and more. Highlights from the interview are as follows:

Which wrestlers inspired his early wrestling persona: “More than anybody I would have to say Sting and Ultimate Warrior combined with Sting’s charisma and the Ultimate Warrior’s insanity, those two combined just pretty much inspired me back in the day to paint my face and act strange, so I would have to put down a lot of what you see in Jeff Hardy today down to those two.”

Working with Edge, Christian and the Dudley Boyz in Tables, Ladders, and Chairs matches: “They are legendary matches, I had a ladder match against Austin Aries at one of our recent PPV’s Turning Point which was huge. But before going into that match I actually watched some of those TLC matches and the ladder matches that I’ve had with The Undertaker, Edge and CM Punk.

“Whilst watching them back I was just thinking, “oh my god these are so memorable,” we have done so much it is kind of hard to stay creative, fresh and new.

“But anytime I go back and watch those TLC matches I always think how magical they were to be a part of and they always will be, fans will talk about those matches for decades to come.”

Expectations for himself in 2013: “Hopefully to remain the world champion for as long as I can, even before the start of 2012 I set a goal for myself just to have a tremendous year and it went well beyond my expectations. I’m setting another goal for myself for 2013 and that is at Bound for Glory I want to perform a song from my bands album live on the PPV and hopefully I can achieve that.”

Similarities and differences between Vince McMahon and Dixie Carter: “I love Vince McMahon, I don’t have anything bad to say about him, we get along, we have had our ups and downs but he was a great boss. With Dixie it is more about family, like my daughter actually knows her kids and it is much more family like here in TNA and that is kind of what I like.

“Naturally the schedule is a lot more laid back so whenever I can have more time with my family that is crazy important. I think Dixie is a lot more personal whereas Vince is more professional.”

Working with CM Punk: “It was great working with CM Punk, we have different beliefs in terms of our outlook on life but he is so talented it’s crazy, we had many great matches together and it was a pleasure to work with him.”

The full interview is available here.

Mr. Anderson joined 4th & Pain, with Redskins defensive end Adam Carriker and former wrestling announcer Chuck Carroll, to talk about the state of company in 2013 and the NFL playoffs.

Before discussions turned to squared circle, Anderson made his Super Bowl predictions and believes the San Francisco 49ers will be hoisting the Lombardi Trophy after defeating the Baltimore Ravens.

He told Carriker and Chuck a funny story about taping a segment for Impact a couple weeks ago in which he encouraged his wife to tell her grandmother not to watch the show. He was concerned about them seeing girls sitting in his lap and playing with a beer bottle.

After the segment aired, his wife watched it on the DVR and promptly invited her mother to watch as well. They were none too thrilled!

As for what people can expect out of TNA in 2013, Anderson says a lack of long-term planning has been killing the wrestling business. Now, the company is taking the time to look into the future and develop well thought out storylines and not rush and hustle to create content which will be beneficial for fans.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=niVlyAUBAro[/youtube]

TNA has issued a statement announcing that TNA World Champion Jeff Hardy won’t be appearing on the company’s upcoming UK tour, even though he’s been advertised for close to a year. TNA is claiming Hardy is injured, but his absence is actually related to his past felony arrests.

TNA IMPACT WRESTLING regrets to inform our fans in the UK and Ireland that Jeff Hardy will not be on the Road To Lockdown Tour, due to an injury sustained on the TNA IMPACT WRESTLING show on January 18.

However we are delighted to announce that ‘The Icon’ Sting will be replacing Jeff at the TNA live events in Dublin, Glasgow, Nottingham, Manchester and London.

Also appearing on all five shows will be global wrestling superstars including Kurt Angle, Bully Ray, Austin Aries, Bobby Roode, James Storm, Magnus, RVD, Tara and Velvet Sky.

The Immortal Hulk Hogan and Brooke Hogan were recently added to the roster for TNA’s TV tapings in Manchester and London.

The stars of TNA Wrestling: British Boot Camp – Marty Scurll, Rockstar Spud and The Blossom Twins – will also be appearing in Glasgow, Nottingham, Manchester and London.

TNA star Christopher Daniels was recently interviewed by aayFabe Kickout. Here’s a recap of what Daniels said about

Staying In Shape: “What I do I try different things ahead of time, I don’t get stuck in one rut and I don’t do the same workout for more than a month at at time. I’m very interested in keeping my endurance up, my stamina up, I keep my rest periods short and I try to do as much compound movement as i can. Not isolation, but a lot of compound exercises, stuff designed to work the whole the body, to get the full body workout. I do a lot of yoga, it keeps you flexible and you recover from injury quickly and I try to keep my heart rate up the entire time. I don’t spend hours upon hours in the gym, I go in for about an hour at at time and that’s how you get the best results.”

His Long Term Goals: “Well I’m just gonna have fun until I stop having fun, if it ever became more work than it was fun I said to myself I was gonna get out. If I can’t wrestle at the same level, or at the top level that I want to wrestle I’m gonna get out. I feel like I’m wrestling the best matches of my career, I’m in the best shape of my life. I can wrestle 25 or 30 minute matches if I have to, so at this point in my career I’m nowhere close to hanging up the boots.”

His Classic Match with AJ Styles & Samoa Joe at TNA Unbreakable 2005: “It’s the one match that I’m complimented on the most and it’s the best match that we’ve done in the Impact Zone. I’ve had some great matches, I’ve been fortunate to work with a lot of great wrestlers. That was such a special crowd that night, they were so psyched to see three guys that were TNA originals wrestle in the main event, in a style that they can appreciate in the X-Division and all the stars were aligned that night for that particular match.”

TNA taped next week’s episode of Impact Wrestling Friday night from Universal Studios in Orlando, Florida. Credit to Scott Brooks and Wrestling News World for the results:

Impact Wrestling (Airing Thursday, January 24, 2013 on Spike TV):

* In a Knockout’s Title Match, Tara w/Jesse defeated Velvet Sly via Tara pinning Velvet and Jesse holding Velvet’s feet down so she couldn’t kick out. Velvet at one point hit her finisher and had the match won if not for a distraction from Jesse.

* Joseph Park came out for a promo. He said how hd has learned that his place is not behind a desk but as an active member of the Impact roster. He said he is looking for that win, or “W” as the boys call it and mentioned that next week in the UK was Open Fight Night and mentioned how he is excited to have his televised debut as a trained wrestler. He mentions how next week he promises to get that W. He doesn’t know who he will call out yet but he is going to study tapes/take notes and keep “Kay fab” about it before saying that next week the UK, the US, and the whole world will see what he can do.

* Zema Ion & Kenny King defeated Christian York & Rob Van Dam. I can’t remember who took the fall but King worked him over and Ion made a blind tag and stole the fall. The two got into words about it after.

* Bully Ray and Brooke Hogan came out and looked for Taz who was not at the announce table with Mike Tenay and Todd Keneley. They then went to the ring and Ray said he expected a move like this from Devon but not Taz. He mentioned how the thing that made Ray the most angry was how this hurt everyone around him from Sting to Hulk to Brooke. He threatened to take out each member of Aces & Eights one by one but said he cannot do that while he is suspended. He said he knows Hulk Hogan is not in the building but he knows he is watching at home and implored Hogan to lift the suspension. Sting’s music hit and he defended Ray and told Hulk to “let his new son-in-law” get back into things and said how we will get the answer next week in the UK.

* Bobby Roode beat Hernandez via bulldog. As the match progressed and Hernandez was going for his trademark dive to the outside, Austin Aries came out and moved Roode out of the way. Chavo Guerrero and Aries got into a brawl and the ref was distracted allowing Roode to hit a bulldog and win. After, Aries was trying to tell Ray “we did it” but Roode was saying it was all him. Aries celebrated anyway.

* Kurt Angle came out and said that Aces & Eights are in it for the long haul and he wants payback. He mentions Open Fight Night is next week and calls out Mr. Anderson for it as well as calling him to the ring to say something to him personally. Anderson came out (notably to his own music despite wearing in A&8?s cut). Anderson mocked Angle for a bit before saying he wanted to do things right now. He attacked Angle but Angle made a comeback and nearly out him in an Ankle Lock but Anderson bailed. Angle then said that next week the two will face in a Steel Cage Match.

* For the TNA World Title, Jeff Hardy retained over Christopher Daniels w/Kazarian. Very good match. Kazarian attempted to get involved before Hardy shoved Daniels into him, hit the Twist of Fate and a Swanton for the defense.

* After, Taz came down from the announce table and chastised Hardy a bit. Couldn’t quite hear him due to people around me but I am pretty certain he was mentioning how Hardy may have a target on his back and an Aces & Eights member came in the ring and hit Hardy in the back of a leg with a hammer, requiring Hardy to need help to the back from referees.

NOTE: I never saw when Taz show up at the booth, but he wasn’t there when they did the Ray promo at least or prior to that.

Xplosion

* Mickie James defeated Brooke Tessmacher with a roll-up.

* James Storm defeated Kazarian via Last Call after Kazarian attempted to dodge a charge from Storm in the corner.

* Samoa Joe defeated Zema Ion via Muscle Buster.

Thursday’s episode of TNA Impact Wrestling saw a sharp increase in viewership over the previous week, a sign that there was strong fan interest in the Bully Ray – Brooke Hogan wedding.

Impact scored a 1.15 rating with 1.6 million viewers, up from last week’s 1.02 rating with 1.3 million viewers.

Impact ranked #26 on cable for the night. Viewership among men 18-34 was down from last week.

* Picture of BROOKE HOGAN’s WARDROBE MALFUNCTION From Her Wedding On IMPACT

TNA will hold a rare Friday night Impact Wrestling taping tonight from the Impact Zone in Orlando. The company is headed overseas next week for the annual UK tour, so the next month or so of Impact will be taped.

TNA is advertising the following for next week’s show:

* Daniels vs. Jeff Hardy for the World Title

* Velvet Sky vs. Tara for the Knockouts Title

* Zema Ion and Kenny King vs. Rob Van Dam and Christian York

* The fallout from Taz joining Aces & 8s

* Hulk Hogan leads a war on Aces & 8s

* VIDEO of BULLY RAY & BROOKE HOGAN’s Wedding From IMPACT

On Thursday’s episode of Impact Wrestling, the wedding of Brooke Hogan and Bully Ray took place – and surprisingly, things did not go off without a hitch. There was a hitch. A few hitches. In typical “pro wrestling wedding” fashion, the nuptials were interrupted and the bride wound up crying, screaming and not married.

This wedding that had it all – ECW groomsmen, a surprise heel turn, the groom and the father of the bride getting destroyed by a gang of masked thugs and Hulk Hogan’s bandana getting knocked off.

– Several months ago we reported that Hulk Hogan was approached by Mexico’s Multimedios group to wrestle a match for a huge payday. While Hogan originally turned them down, word out of TNA is that Eric Bischoff recently approached the group to restart negotiations.

The condition of Hulk Hogan’s back remains the big issue as to whether he can wrestle a full match. Hogan has stated in recent interviews that his latest back surgery fixed his back and he does plan on wrestling again, but it’s more likely that he’ll simply appear at the show and get physical, opposed to working a full match.

– TNA’s developmental territory, Ohio Valley Wrestling, taped their 700th episode of television this week. Several TNA stars taped congratulatory messages that will air on the show, including Hulk Hogan, Sting, Kurt Angle, Jeff Hardy, Mr. Anderson and Tara.

– TNA World Champion Jeff Hardy will not be traveling to the UK for TNA’s annual overseas tour due to his felony conviction that prevents him from entering the country. As a result, Hardy will miss 4 weeks of Impact tapings, so it will be interesting to see how TNA handles the situation.

* The Latest On JEFF HARDY’s TNA Future: Will He Jump To WWE When His Contract Expires?

(Partial Source: Wrestling Observer Newsletter)

Here is TNA’s official preview for tonight’s episode of Impact Wrestling on Spike TV:

– Wedding bells will ring on Thursday’s IMPACT broadcast as Bully Ray and Brooke Hogan will be married LIVE in the middle of the ring! The big question is, how will Brooke’s father – the legendary Hulk Hogan – react to the wedding? Will he let his daughter marry Bully Ray? Or, will he use his power to try and stop the ceremony from taking place? The entire wrestling world will be watching on Thursday night to find out what happens!

–  Thursday’s IMPACT will also feature the aftermath from the “Genesis” event! Jeff Hardy is still the World Heavyweight Champion after defending the gold against Austin Aries and Bobby Roode! What’s next for “The Charismatic Enigma” as the road to March’s “Lockdown” begins? Tune in and find out!

– Also at Genesis: Chavo Guerrero and Hernandez retained the Tag Team Title, Rob Van Dam beat Christian York to keep the X Division Title, Velvet Sky is the new #1 Contender to the Knockouts Title, Christopher Daniels beat James Storm to earn a shot the World Heavyweight Championship on the January 24 IMPACT, and “The Icon” Sting returned to action and beat D.O.C. from the Aces and Eights!

– Also on Thursday’s IMPACT on SpikeTV, the contestants from TNA GUT CHECK will face the judges! Will they earn contracts and become members of the roster – or will they fall short in their quest to make it big in pro wrestling?

Bully Ray joined Dave Lagreca and Doug Mortman on Busted Open radio live in studio to promote his wedding with Brooke Hogan on this Thursday night’s episode of Impact Wrestling. Here are some highlights.

Bully Ray on CM Punk: “I’m going to put somebody over right now. I normally don’t put anyone over, but I want to give CM Punk credit. I’m a Punk fan. You know why I’m a Punk fan? Because that bastard says what’s on his mind. There is one thing that he doesn’t have that I respect and that’s fear. He has no fear. He so reminds me of someone who would fit into the ECW locker room. He’s got balls as big as mine. Back in the day when I was starting riots, that if I did that s–t today, I’d be sued for life and probably wind up dead behind bars. And they don’t have a choice in what he says because he is going to say whatever the hell he wants, and I love it. He is the punk rock version of pro wrestling, and that’s what we were back in the day. To see that be so real and honest and he is so friggin angry, I love it. I love his anger. Punk will stay out there for fifteen minutes and talk on that mic and never trip over a line. You know why? There are not lines. It’s real emotion. It’s how he really feels. That’s what makes it beautiful.”

TNA’s new PPV schedule: “I think it’s good for business as far as people being emotionally invested and really interested in what’s going on. From a dollars and cents point of view, I can only hope it makes sense for TNA. I like to compare everything to sex. Even sex gets too much at times. A pay per view every single month, you kind of get burned out on it. What really is special and what is not special? Sometimes you may watch a pay per view and say actually Thursday night’s Impact was better than the pay per view. So what did I spend my money on? I remember as a kid growing up, the Wrestlemanias, the Royal Rumbles, the Survivor Series, the Summerslams, the Starrcades. The special shows that you really, really built to. You built real emotional investment. Where you said to yourself, ‘I absolutely, positively have to see this show.’ With pay per views nowadays, whether it’s WWE, TNA, Ring of Honor. Is there anything that’s must see anymore? Ok I know I must see Bound For Glory, and I know I must see Wrestlemania. What else?”

Why TNA is not tackling the big markets: “There aren’t a lot of topics that I won’t answer you guys on. This one I’m going to step away from, for the very simple fact that my opinions might not mesh with their business opinions. All I know is this, in New York City, a small underground company with no better than a midnight spot on cable television fifteen years ago sold this city out every single time. TNA should be doing the same thing. I would love to see TNA get on board a little bit with the more traditional style of wrestling promotion, and getting word out to the fans a little more than just the TV show and the internet. I do believe that a company who is still growing like TNA, you really do need to do the gorilla marketing, the grassroots marketing. I do believe that TNA should be appearing more and more in New York, in Philadelphia, in Boston, in Chicago and Detroit. Hardcore wrestling fanatics, cities where people will really sink their teeth into your product, people will really jump on board. I’m not quite sure why they stay away from the Northeats as much as they do.”

A potential match with Jeff Hardy: “Me and Jeff had a ton of history. Everybody knows about the TLC matches. The Hardys vs the Dudleys. All of the history that we made together. Got to give Jeff a ton of credit for bouncing back from his personal issues. I never held a grudge against Jeff for his personal issues, when actually, I’m the guy that should probably hold the biggest grudge. Because when Jeff was going through his personal issues, who did the company turn too to make everyone forget that Jeff Hardy was on the shelf? Me! And in a week’s time, you forgot he was gone. I was the guy who stepped up and hit grand slam after grand slam every single week. No grudges, no jealousy, no nothing. TNA is better with Jeff Hardy as the champion. TNA is a better company. Professional wrestling is better with Jeff Hardy. Nothing but respect, but I do want another opportunity.”

If Hulk Hogan will attend the wedding: “He is either going to accept me or he is not going to accept me. All I know is that tomorrow night on Spike TV, I am going to marry his daughter. If that doesn’t make him accept me, than I don’t know what will. At the end of the day no matter what kind of animosity and heat me and Hulk have, I really do hope that he is there on Thursday. I want him to walk his daughter down the aisle. I want him to give his daughter away. I want him to be happy. I want him to be happy for his daughter and I want him to be happy because of my respect level for the industry that he paved the road for me. That’s the bottom line.”

– TMZ.com has an article about Hulk Hogan filing a $50 million lawsuit against the Laser Spine Institute in Florida. LSI performed several procedures on his back starting in 2009 to treat multiple lumbar spinal abnormalities including scoliosis and multiple bulging discs, but Hogan claims that the procedures actually made his back worse and says he was never informed that the laser treatment only provided temporary pain relief.

Hogan eventually underwent major back surgery with a different team of doctors and says he missed out on tens of millions of dollars in employment opportunities. If that’s not bad enough, Hogan says LSI used his name and image to promote their business without his permission.

– Samoa Joe will be hosting a seminar for the Ludus Wrestling School this Saturday (1/20) in Brooklyn, NY.

– Backstage at Sundays TNA Genesis pay-per-view from Orlando, morale among the locker room was high. Everybody felt like it was a solid show with a great main event and the roster feels like the company is moving in the right direction.

– Daniels defeated James Storm at Sunday’s TNA Genesis pay-per-view to earn a shot at Jeff Hardy’s World Heavyweight championship on the January 24th episode of Impact.

– Also at Genesis, Velvet Sky won the Knockouts Gauntlet Match to become the #1 contender to the Knockouts title.

– Thursday’s Impact Wrestling will feature the wedding of Bully Ray and Brooke Hogan and the latest Gut Check segment.