Scott Steiner, who recently parted ways with TNA, went on another Twitter rant against Hulk Hogan on Sunday night – absolutely trashing Hogan, TNA’s current booking regime as well as Hogan’s daughter Brooke and Bischoff’s son Garrett. Steiner wrote:

U R a fool Hogan-U n bischoff arrogantly came into Tna n disrespected n shit on evrybdy bhind closed doors n in the media

N u didnt think u were going to piss ppl off

U unprofessional mothrfuck’rs attackd AJ,Roode,Angle n Borash n the media,but to attack Angle professionally n personally was bullshit

Which i will address later,YOU,bischoff n pritchard book the show,tell me how u lobbying yurself to get me back,U lying piece of shit

No believes yur bullshit,U see money n talent in me really,U also think bitchoffs son is the future of wrestling Fuck U

Yur an idiot,U intro me to yur family n im nice doesnt mean i give a fuck about u N and yur bust-out family

Put yur daughter on the corner n see if she can earn money on her back bcuz she cant sing or dance

U dont know….u dont know who i am and what im capable of..yur creative control wont help u in real life situations

ImpactWrestling.com has released the official preview for Thursday’s episode of Impact Wrestling.

Preview IMPACT On Thursday: The Final Countdown To Lockdown

Preview Thursday’s IMPACT WRESTLING broadcast on SpikeTV at 9/8c. If you can’t watch it Thursday, make sure to set your DVR to record it so you don’t miss any of the action.

– The broadcast will feature the final countdown to the Lockdown Pay-Per-View event

– World Heavyweight Champion Bobby Roode and challenger “Cowboy” James Storm will have one last face-to-face before their main event match at Lockdown

– Eric Young and ODB get married on Thursday’s broadcast in the first-ever Steel Cage Wedding

– Who will Eric Bischoff and Garett Bischoff pick for their Lethal Lockdown teams? Find out Thursday night! We also understand that members from Eric and Garett’s team will battle in a Best of 3 Series with the winning team getting the man advantage going into Lethal Lockdown.

– We’ll hear from the Motorcity Machine Guns, who challenge for the World Tag team Championship at Lockdown

– In Knockouts Tag Team action, champion Gail Kim and Madison Rayne battle Velvet Sky and Mickie James

All this and much more on Thursday’s IMPACT WRESTLING broadcast on SpikeTV

— Hulk Hogan responded to Scott Steiner’s outburst toward him this week on Twitter, writing Friday: “Wow do I feel like a fool! I knew Steiner came to TNA the last tapings then was asked to leave, I heard the news and I was lobbying hard to bring him back the right way because I see money and talent in him, I had no idea he felt that way about me because he is always really nice to me and my family, guess I was really wrong, at least I know who he really is now.”

Though Steiner was asked by TNA Wrestling staff to leave a recent Impact Wrestling, it did not occur this week.

— Eric Bischoff weighed on Brock Lesnar’s decision to return to WWE, writing on Twitter: “Somewhat surprised by Brocks decision to come back to WWE. Some guys do it for $, some for the love of performing. Either way, good for biz!”

— James Storm, Crimson and So Cal Val will appear at the Direct Auto Insurance Tailgate Party 1281 Murfreesboro Rd. Nashville, Tennessee on Saturday from 1:00 to 3:00 p.m. Call 615-361-4507 for more information.

source: PWInsider.com

TNA Wrestling has announced three new title matches for Lockdown on April 15 at the Nashville Municipal Auditorium as the World Tag Team Championship, Women’s Knockout Championship and Television Championship will be on the line. A stipulation has been added to Lethal Lockdown as the losing Bischoff family member “must leave TNA for good.”

Steel Cage Match for the World Heavyweight Championship
Bobby Roode (c) vs. “Cowboy” James Storm

Lethal Lockdown
Team Eric Bischoff vs. Team Garett Bischoff

Steel Cage Match
“The Charismatic Enigma” Jeff Hardy vs. Kurt Angle

Steel Cage Match for the World Tag Team Championship
Magnus and Samoa Joe (c) vs. Alex Shelley and Chris Sabin

Steel Cage Match for the Women’s Knockout Championship
Gail Kim (c) vs. Velvet Sky

Steel Cage Match for the Television Championship
Devon (c) vs. Robbie E

Steel Cage Match
Crimson vs. “The Blueprint” Matt Morgan

– There is a lot of talk in both WWE and TNA that Ric Flair will be back with WWE some time next year. Flair’s current TNA contract expires at the end of the year and WWE reportedly wants to use Ric Flair’s star power to help push the WWE Network when it launches. Flair is still very popular with wrestling fans of all ages and WWE owns the footage to most of Flair’s career, so it’s a natural fit.

Flair did an interview for a Charlotte radio station earlier this week where he claimed his last wrestling match was the retirement match against Shawn Michaels. He also spoke highly of Vince McMahon and The Rock and had a great time hanging out with the WWE crew during WrestleMania weekend.

– Following Randy Orton’s removal from the upcoming WWE Studios film, The Marine 3, WWE is currently considering CM Punk, John Cena, Cody Rhodes, JTG and Kofi Kingston for the role.

Because the movie is co-promoted with 20th Century Fox, WWE wants a big named star in the movie and the number of performers with Orton’s star power is limited. T

The Marine 3 begins filming in June so we should hear something soon.

(Source: Wrestling Observer Newsletter)

Scott Steiner, who parted ways with TNA Wrestling last week, posted numerous messages on Twitter Thursday slamming his formerly employer’s brain trust, particularly Hulk Hogan. He also alleges that TNA controls Sting’s account on the microblogging site.

* When these assholes got control they tried to takeover everybodys twitter page

* u didnt have twitter they made one up for U…so u people who think yur tweeting sting its not him

* He told me he doesnt watch the show.so hes not tweeting about a show he doesnt watch

* Evrybody refused to sign over twitter so every wk u get an email begging u to twitter what they want

* Got one today,Please tweet this;Hogan take over as GM wonder what he will do…WTF really

* Even if u r not on show Please tweet..so the booking team of pritchard bischoff n hogan wont book U want u to tweet about hogan

* Tweet about yurself hogan nobody else wants to tweet about u u fucking mark

* Im tweeting what they wish they could

* Wondeting what hogans going to do…hmmmm…hes a fn mark so hes going to make a couple of matches that ppl want to see

* Nothing more unprofessional than a heel wanting to be cheered

* So ppl cheer him which pissd everybody off especially sting bcuz he had to wrestle him

* Have the future of wrestling garrett do something bcuz eric told him to in booking meeting….what a fucking joke

* Now hes good but hes going to everything like he did when he was bad bcuz he was first good

* And that produced the worst ratings ever so he went bad which was just as bad as when he was good

* Then his bad wasnt any good bcuz his ratings still sucked so he turnd back to good from bad

* Wtf y’all get his bullshit ….dont forget to say BROTHER ..bcuz its fresh

* Stupid mofo

* Remember deny u had anything to do with the release of the sex tape to try n get more sales

* How kardashian of u….Homomania running wild..his shit writes itself

* His w

* His ex-wife said he was gay right!!!..hhmmm who brought in Orlando Jordan

The Lethal Lockdown match at TNA Wrestling’s annual Lockdown pay-per-view event on April 15 at Tennessee Nashville Municipal Auditorium in Nashville, Tennessee will pit teams led by Garrett Bischoff and Eric Bischoff, according to pwinsider.com.

The Garett Bischoff led team will consist of Garrett Bischoff, AJ Styles, Austin Aries, Mr. Anderson and Rob Van Dam. Bully Ray, Christopher Daniels, Gunner and Kazarian have been confirmed for Eric Bischoff’s team. The fifth competitor may be Eric Bischoff himself.

The stipulation for the match will be that if Eric Bischoff’s team loses, he will forced to leave TNA.

– Former Major League Baseball player Jose Canseco wrote to TNA Wrestling President Dixie Carter Wednesday night on Twitter asking if he could appearing on upcoming shows. She stated on Facebook that he will be appearing on tonight’s episode of Impact Wrestling:

“Jose Canseco tweeted me this today “@TNADixie Big fan of TNA. would love to work with hogan. Any room for special guests in upcoming programs?” Interesting as he makes tonight’s Impact Wrestling already!! Tune in Spike TV 9 pm ET.”

• Related: Jose Canseco Agrees To MMA Fight With SHAQ

– Through Dial a Star, Lisa Marie Varon (a/k/a Tara) is charging $18.00 per minute to accept phone calls from people. Details are available here. A one-hour chat with the TNA Knockout would cost $1,080.00.

– The feature match on this week’s episode of TNA Xplosion is Devon vs. Kid Kash.

– ShopTNA.com has released a new Bully Ray T-Shirt.

TNA and SpikeTV issued the following press release today, announcing a contract renewal that will keep TNA’s flagship Impact Wrestling show on Spike for years to come. According to a TNA source, the contract extension is for 2 years.

SPIKE TV AND TNA ENTERTAINMENT ANNOUNCE MULTI-YEAR EXTENSION TO ITS STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP

The Highly-Rated “Impact Wrestling” Maintains Its Home On Spike TV On Thursday Nights

New York, NY – April 5, 2012 – Spike TV and TNA Entertainment have agreed upon a multi-year extension on their strategic partnership, maintaining Spike TV as the exclusive U.S. television home of the emerging sports-entertainment property.

The deal was announced today jointly by Kevin Kay, Spike TV President and Dixie Carter, TNA Entertainment President. TNA wrestling debuted on Spike TV in July, 2005. Over the last seven years, the ratings for TNA’s “IMPACT Wrestling” have grown from an average of 700,000 viewers at launch to nearly two million today.

“Dixie Carter and her team at TNA have done a phenomenal job in developing stars for an exciting, high-action brand that resonates with Spike’s audience,” said Kay. “We are excited to further our partnership and will continue to build and invigorate the franchise together.”

“We are thrilled that Spike TV will be IMPACT Wrestling’s home for years to come,” said Carter. “The dedication that Kevin Kay and the network have shown us in building our brand is what makes this announcement even more meaningful for me. And look for some exciting things to happen on IMPACT in the near future.”

TNA’s flagship series, “IMPACT Wrestling,” airs weekly on Spike TV and is one of the network’s top-rated series. The show has evolved into must-see-tv on Thursdays with young men and currently ranks among the top shows on cable in its timeslot with Men 18-34.

The roster features many of the biggest names in wrestling including Hulk Hogan, Ric Flair, Jeff Hardy, Kurt Angle, Booby Roode, Sting, James Storm, Rob Van Dam the lovely and lethal Knockouts.

In a move that could mark the end of Scott Steiner’s two decade plus reign as a mainstream wrestler, the multi-time champion was released from his contract with TNA Wrestling last week. “Big Poppa Pump” slammed the organization’s creative direction Monday afternoon on his Twitter account in response to the termination.

“Can somebody send tna’s booking team of pritchard hogan (and) bischoff video’s from ring ka king..booking hogan in a sex tape wont help ratings..what an embarassment to TNA (and) spike tv. Brother…” he wrote via text.

The former World Heavyweight Champion continued his verbal onslaught of his former employer and its creative figure heads late into the night with the following messages:

* Read my tweats people, I am not blasting TNA if I do I will let you know.

* Right now im trying to save tna bcuz its the titanic and its sinking fast bcuz hogan n bischoff r doing the same bullshit they did to de …

* It took them 1 1/2 months to drive tna to its lowest ratings ever…the best way to save it is to jump off and be the voice for the guys …

* Bitter????I have nothing to be bitter about! I have a contract extension signed by tna officials that under the circumstances i would no …

* Official that under the circumstances i would not sign

* Same bullshit they did to destoy wcw

* That cant say anything

source: PWInsider.com

— After parting ways with TNA Wrestling last week, “Big Poppa Pump” Scott Steiner slammed the organization’s creative heads Monday afternoon on Twitter.

“Can somebody send tna’s booking team of pritchard hogan (and) bischoff video’s from ring ka king..booking hogan in a sex tape wont help ratings..what an embarassment to TNA (and) spike tv. Brother…” he wrote via text.

Steiner continues

— After being excluded from the last set of Impact Wrestling tapings, Angelina Love stated today on Twitter that she will appear on this week’s shows. She has not appeared for TNA since February 27.

To correct an earlier report, Sarita will be on hand for this week’s show (according to her official Facebook page). She is being erroneously advertised for a CMLL event tonight in Puebla, Mexico.

— Christy Hemme will perform with her band at House of Blues Orlando on Saturday. Details are available here.

– During Sunday’s WrestleMania XXVIII pay-per-view broadcast, Jerry “The King” Lawler referenced TNA Wrestling Senior Vice President of Programming and Talent Relations Bruce Prichard’s former WWE character Brother Love while expressing his disdain for John Laurinaitis’ white suit. Lawler said:

“That suit is so ugly, it would give Brother Love a heart attack.”

Prichard recently suffered a pair of ‘small’ heart attacks, causing him to miss the last set of Impact Wrestling tapings.

– Former WWE Superstar Kevin Nash ranked the top three matches at WrestleMania XXVIII via Twitter.

1. The Undertaker vs. Triple H – “End of an Era” Hell in a Cell Match

2. CM Punk vs. Chris Jericho – WWE Championship Match

3. John Cena vs. The Rock

Nash also refuted Michael Cole’s claim that Sheamus’ defeat of Daniel Bryan was the quickest world title change in WWE history at 18 seconds. “Hey Cole Diesel-Backland 8 seconds,” he said in reference to defeating Bob Backlund for the WWF Championship in 8 seconds in November 1994.

— It would appear that Scott Steiner has parted ways with TNA Wrestling as his profile has been deleted from ImpactWrestling.com. This is a general indication that a talent is no longer affiliated with the organization. “Big Poppa Pump” has not appeared for TNA since December.

— TNA Wrestling conducted a fan poll regarding format changes to the international program TNA Xplosion and Jeremy Borash revealed on Twitter that viewers want longer Spin Cycles, more matches and house show footage. Jeremy Borash said he was going to collaborate with Kevin Sullivan, the program’s executive producer, to “make that happen.”

— ShopTNA.com has released new T-Shirts featuring Jeff Hardy, Velvet Sky and one that reads “Wrestling No Season.”

— Sarita, who competes as Dark Angel in Mexico, will compete at a CMLL event tonight in Tlaxcala, Mexico as she teams up with Marcela to take on Amapola and Princesa Sugheit.

— TNA Wrestling President Dixie Carter congratulated Ric Flair on his record setting second induction into the WWE Hall of Fame, which will take place tonight in Miami, Florida as he is enshrined alongside select members of The Four Horsemen (Arn Anderson, Barry Windham, JJ Dillon and Tully Blanchard).

She tweeted Saturday afternoon, “Proud of Ric Flair and his 2nd WWE HOF induction. Have a great weekend buddy!!! WOOOOOO.”

— Sting said the Twitter feedback of Hulk Hogan being named the General Manager of Impact Wrestling on Thursday has been very positive. He added, “Hulkamania! Greatest of all time! Glad to have you back Brother!”

He was also asked Saturday who his favorite WWE wrestler is and simply stated Randy Orton.

— Sarita is not scheduled for Monday and Tuesday’s Impact Wrestling tapings in Orlando, Florida as she will be competing at a CMLL event Monday night in Puebla, Mexico.

– TNA announced this weekend that James Storm and Jeff Hardy will be “invading” the 47th annual Academy of Country Music Awards in Las Vegas this weekend. Storm and Hardy will be participating in other ACM events this weekend. For more info, visit TNAWrestling.com.

– Thursday’s 3/30episode of TNA’s Impact Wrestling drew a 1.04 cable rating with 1,363,000 viewers.

– TNA president Dixie Carter announced this week on Twitter that Sting has signed a new deal with the company. According to a reliable TNA source, it’s actually part of a storyline, playing into the angle that Sting is no longer the General Manager of Impact – and has now signed a “talent” contract. The reality is, Sting is signed with TNA through the end of 2012.

— TNA Wrestling President Dixie Carter announced Thursday afternoon that Sting has reached a new contract agreement with the organization.

She tweeted, “THRILLED to have just signed the new @Sting talent contract. So proud to have him part of the TNA family! Here’s to some great times ahead!”

— ImpactWrestling.com has announced that Eric Young and ODB will hold their wedding on the April 12 episode of Impact Wrestling. The website issued an invitation to fans asking them to RSVP via Facebook.

The invitation states, “Join us for a Match made in Wrestling Heaven in the IMPACT Zone, WHERE NOTHING CAN GO WRONG! BAM!!!”

— Angelina Love is auctioning off a “Beautiful People” outfit she wore at several Impact and live events in 2009. To view the auction, click here.

TMZ has picked up the story we posted earlier today regarding Kurt Angle’s 80-year old mother getting scammed. According to Angle, his mother recently received a call from someone based out of the Dominican Republic who claimed her grandson was in a local jail and needed $4,000 right away, or that he would suffer severe consequences.

Angle’s mother wired the money to the people, and then received a call the next day, demanding another $4,000. When she couldn’t afford the second payment, she called her son Kurt. Kurt felt that something was wrong, and contacted the family member in question, who was not only fine, but had not been to the Dominican Republic in over a year.

Realizing his mother was the victim of a wire fraud scam and had been robbed of $4,000, Angle got the local authorities involved. According to the FBI, Angle’s mother is one of many victims being targeted by international scammers who prey on the elderly.

Angle believes the thieves have an accomplice near his mother’s home in Pittsburgh, because they knew about his family and somehow got access to his mother’s unlisted number.

TNA star Kurt Angle says his 80 year old mother was robbed this week by a few criminal lowlifes from the Dominican Republic. Here’s what Angle posted on Twitter regarding the situation:

My Mother Who is 80 Yrs Old was robbed from Criminals from Dom Republic. They Said My Nephew Was in jail and Needed $5,000 to Bail Him Out

These Criminals Need to be Arrested @ their ass kicked!Taking Advantage of an 80 year old Woman With Little $.Watch out for these Criminals

This Scam Happens A lot. If I Ever Come Across these Criminals, and I Will find U, I Will Make You Pay, with Pain! Trust Me

One Name is Otto Ramirez. I Will fly to Dominican Republic and Find You. I Also Know U Have a Contact in My Hometown for this Scam

I Will Find You All! You Are Scum!

my Mother Doesn’t Have A lot of Money and I try 2 Help Her,but Lowlifes Robbing an 80 year old Woman need their Ass Kicked

Former WWE Superstar Chris Masters appeared on This Very Ring with Stan Grubb and Mike Prunka (audio available at www.pw247radio.com). Highlights are as follows:

His involvement with Ring Ka King: Dave Lagana reached out to contact me. He told me they’re starting a new promotion in India. It would be affiliated with TNA and funded, I believe, by TNA. They would air on the #1 network in India and it was just a great opportunity. The main objective was to bring out some American wrestling stars to work with some of the Indian guys, many of whom are pretty green. A lot of them are only two or three months into their training. They kind of hand-picked everybody to come and work with these guys and have, at least, passable, if not good matches. It turned out pretty well; we have a great set, a great group of guys, and we’ve produced some great TV.

His second WWE run: I was in a bad place in my life after I was released from WWE the first time. I kind of knew in the back of my mind that I would reconcile with the WWE and return, which I did. It quickly became apparent that they didn’t have any intent of using me. So I just worked because, well I wanted that spot but, if nothing else, I wanted to prove the critics wrong. I didn’t want to be perceived as the body guy. I wanted to be known as a great wrestler. In 2010 and 2011 I had no distractions in my career and everything was coming together. The company was reaching out to me and Hunter had pulled me aside and told me he liked what I was doing, which is why my last release came as a surprise.

His “Masters to Impact” campaign: I wasn’t really given a fair shake in WWE. For those of you that watch Superstars, you know that I can contribute to the game. I’m 29 years old and at the peak of my career. Going to Impact won’t turn things around right away, the ratings won’t overtake Raw or anything. But I do think I have a lot to contribute. So I figured it’s time to campaign. It’s 2012! MTI! Get the word out. Grassroots effort. I know a lot of things need to happen and that campaigns aren’t won overnight. TNA has a lot going on and a lot of guys that already aren’t being used but I really think there’s a lot I can contribute. I just need a place to go out and do it.”

Legacy Talent, which represents Ric Flair, issued the following press release:

TNA IMPACT WRESTLING Star Ric Flair® to Attend WWE Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony Flair Confirms He Will be Present in Miami When the Four Horsemen Receive Their Hall of Fame Honor

CHARLOTTE, NC – (March 27, 2012) International celebrity the Nature Boy® Ric Flair is set to become the only wrestler in history to be inducted into the World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) Hall of Fame twice. Flair’s dominant 1980s wrestling group, the Four Horsemen, known to be the greatest in ring performers of all time, will be granted their seat in the Hall of Fame at a ceremony in Miami, FL on March 31st, the day before Wrestlemania XXVIII. Flair will be inducted along-side fellow members of the Four Horsemen: Arn Anderson, Tully Blanchard, Barry Windham, and J.J. Dillon.

The news of Flair’s second induction was followed by a firestorm of controversy. Questions flew about whether Flair would attend the WWE Hall of Fame ceremony as he is currently under contract with Total Nonstop Action (TNA) Wrestling. Understanding what a huge honor this is for Flair, TNA is graciously supporting him in the decision to attend the Hall of Fame ceremony alongside his fellow inductees.

“Being inducted once was one of the greatest accomplishments of my career, so I’m humbled and honored to be recognized again. I wouldn’t miss the ceremony for the world,” says Flair.

TNA President Dixie Carter says, “We are proud of Ric’s many accomplishments and contributions he has made to the world of professional wrestling and beyond. We wish to congratulate him on yet another honor he truly deserves.”

Flair, a 16-time World Heavyweight Champion, was inducted individually into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2008. On becoming a two-time inductee his agent Melinda Morris Zanoni of Legacy Talent and Entertainment says, “We are all so proud to be watching Ric continue to make history. There will never be an athlete more deserving of wearing two Hall of Fame rings than Ric Flair.”

For more information on Ric Flair go to www.ricflair.com, follow him on Facebook: Ric Flair, The Nature Boy, or on Twitter: @RicFlairNatrBoy. Flair is currently with Total Nonstop Action Wrestling. TNA airs Thursday nights (9/8c) on Spike TV with monthly 3-hour Per-Per-View events.

WWE.com announced Tuesday afternoon that Ric Flair will be present at the 2012 WWE Hall of Fame induction ceremony at Miami’s American Airlines Arena on Saturday.

“The Nature Boy,” who was originally inducted as a singles wrestler in 2008, will enter the Hall a record second time alongside fellow Four Horsemen Arn Anderson, Tully Blanchard, Barry Windham and JJ Dillon. The story does not mention whether he will appear onstage, nor that he is affiliated to TNA Wrestling.

F4WOnline.com reported last week that TNA Wrestling was open to Flair appearing at the event and that they weren’t asking for for much in compensation.

The induction ceremony will air on USA on Monday, April 2 at 8 p.m.

4 new chapters from former Barbaric Wrestling Radio host Brett Buchanan’s The Genesis of TNA free e-book have been released on BarbaricWrestling.com and TNAbook.net. The new chapters are about Christian Cage’s TNA run, Samoa Joe, Scott D’Amore booking committee (which includes a story about a TNA employee leaking news), and TNA’s scramble to find a TV deal in the summer of 2005. You can read all 18 chapters that have been released thus far simply by entering ‘The Genesis of TNA’ section on BarbaricWrestling.com. New chapters are released every Monday. Also check out some free shoot interviews with many wrestlers and MMA fighters including Rob Van Dam, Samoa Joe, Rampage Jackson, Jay Lethal, and many more to come on Barbaric Wrestling Radio’s YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/user/BWRofficial. Below is an excerpt from The Genesis of TNA ‘Chapter 18: Christian Cage’ about Christian’s TNA run and the reason he left.

LARRY ZBYSZKO: I liked Christian, but again here’s the deal with guys like Christian. Christian I think is a great talent in terms of working and watching him on TV but he’s not a big money draw. What TNA was doing is they would get guys that every wrestling fan knows is a mid card guy and they try to put him off like a superstar. So all they’re basically doing is saying hey we’re TNA and we’ve got all of Vince’s left over guys that you don’t care about anymore. They really should have made their own stars and forget bringing in Christian, bringing in other guys maybe outside of a couple. Or if you do it do it right bring Christian in and have the TNA guys beat him and then get Christian out of there, so it looks like the TNA guys are great.

In November 2008 Christian decided to leave TNA and return to WWE when his contract expired. Many rumors spread that he was frustrated with Jeff Jarrett’s creative vision of TNA and that he was upset with the way he was being used, stories spread regarding this as far back as 2007. Despite this, the main reason Christian left TNA was because WWE were simply offering him more money.

RUDY CHARLES: I was really disappointed when he left, I think I’m not sure what the whole situation was, probably came down to money is my opinion. He probably wanted X amount, and there was a bidding war between TNA and WWE and WWE won. He was a professional, even when he knew he was going out the last thing you saw of Christian Cage on TNA was getting beat down by the Main Event Mafia but he was a pro to the end. He went out and did his job and helped get those guys over, I think he’s a true professional.

PETEY WILLIAMS: I remember when he left [in 2008], at that point it was a whole different locker room morale than when we first got down to Orlando, what was that 2004 or something. It was just totally different, I don’t know if you could just see the change because I’m one of the few guys who had been there from 2004 to that point. It was like a whole different company, it didn’t seem like everybody was on the same page. It almost felt like everybody was out for themselves. I think they were, I think Christian did the right thing he was looking out for himself. He’s probably like this isn’t for me I’m going to go back. Honestly I know he took a big pay cut to come to TNA, he was making way more in WWE. I think he just wanted to have a change really, see if he could elevate this company. He had a lot of great matches and stuff like that did a lot of great things for TNA, that’s what I’m thinking now that he decided that he did as much as he could with TNA and I’m going back. I’m going where the money is.

SONJAY DUTT: I heard it was over pay, but if you put yourself in this guys shoes if he’s got an opportunity to go back to Vince [McMahon] and make the money that he was making compared to what he’s doing in TNA. Also man a lot of the time for guys it’s not just about the money but it’s about being presented in a bigger light, and he wanted to do other stuff I think he wants to do acting and stuff and maybe WWE is the ticket to jumpstart himself into other ventures and stuff. Guys that have been there and done that and then come to TNA they sometimes at a point, I think you kind of realize the ventures I want to do, maybe this isn’t the catapult that I need to get into those other things and he went back. I think it’s pretty much cut and dry.

BILL BEHRENS: Christian honestly was pretty happy. One of the primary reasons Christian didn’t renew with TNA had very little to do with him being unhappy with how well he was being used and all that kind of stuff, it had a lot to do with the financial crisis and the fact that Christian has a really nice expensive house and even though he had been wise and invested his money, he invested his money. All of the sudden the nest egg didn’t become as big a nest, and another run with WWE where you can make real money became a better idea. TNA wasn’t going to belly up to the bar and give Christian the same kind of money that he has as an upside in a WWE deal. The reality of the WWE deal is not your downside, but what you can make on the upside. I was talking, for example, to a recently released talent who just got his commission check from a video game and the commission check was for $20,000. There is no one at TNA right now on an entire commission check from all merchandise that makes that much, on a quarterly basis it just doesn’t happen. That’s the dramatic difference between the two. Jeff Hardy had as little as $150,000 downside at WWE, when he left had made well over 1 million dollars in the previous year, which is one of the reasons Jeff Hardy can sign with TNA and make considerably less money, dramatically less.

— Wrestling Observer Newsletter editor Dave Meltzer revealed that TNA Wrestling is having financial difficulties as talent and vendors are frequently paid for their services on a delayed basis.

“Vendors and wrestlers are paid late all the time,” he wrote on the F4WOnline.com message board. “Janice Carter controls the purse strings. Only a certain amount of money over what they bring in can be spent and it’s prioritized where it goes.”

Janice Carter, who is the mother of TNA Wrestling President Dixie Carter, gained complete control of the company’s purse strings in 2010 reportedly as to put a stop to her daughter’s lavish spending sprees after the company’s financial losses were more than parent company Panda Energy International was willing to tolerate. Meltzer reported in January that Carter has set a doctrine of only allowing TNA what is “deemed necessary” in terms of funding as to keep financial losses to a minimum.

— A photo of Mickie James kicking Gail Kim at TNA Genesis is featured on the cover of the newsstand magazine Inside Wrestling. The magazine levies criticism towards TNA having the Knockouts Division revolve around Mickie James and Gail Kim as the headline reads: “Has The Knockouts Division Become The Mickie-Gail Show? It’s Time To Open Things Up – BFG Style!”

— WWE Superstar David Otunga poked fun at the consistently flat ratings for TNA Wrestling’s Impact Wrestling program, writing on Twitter last week, “If imitation is the highest form of flattery, I’m flatter than Impact’s ratings right now. #OtungaLaw.” X Division Champion Austin Aries responded to Otunga’s message with a shot of his own.

“Shocked @DavidOtunga took time to comment on @ImpactWrestling. I’d think he’d want to become at least a good hand first… #MrJenniferHudson,” he wrote Saturday night.

— Thursday’s Impact Wrestling saw James Storm call out World Heavyweight Champion Bobby Roode to confront him. Roode’s legal advisor, William Kelly, instead appeared. He is Shane Haste, a wrestler from Ohio Valley Wrestling. He received the Last Call from Storm to conclude the segment.

Haste and Mikey Nicholls lost a dark match against Gunner and Kid Kash at Tuesday’s Impact Wrestling taping in Orlando, Florida.

source: ProWrestling.net

— WWE Superstar David Otunga poked fun at the consistently flat ratings for TNA’s Impact Wrestling.

He wrote on Twitter, “If imitation is the highest form of flattery, I’m flatter than Impact’s ratings right now. #OtungaLaw.”

This is apparently in response to a lawyer character for Bobby Roode appearing on Thursday’s Impact Wrestling.

— Both Epico and Jack Swagger turn 30 years old on Saturday. Former WWE Superstar Barry Horowitz also turns 52.

— Maria Kanellis and Demolition will appear at Royal Collectibles 96-01 Metropolitan Ave. Forest Hills, New York on Saturday, May 5 from noon to 2:00 p.m. Call 718-793-0542 for more information.

— WWE’s Once in a Lifetime: The Rock vs. John Cena airs in the United Kingdom on Sunday at Noon on Sky Sports.