Don’t miss Thursday’s huge IMPACT WRESTLING broadcast on SpikeTV at 9/8c, as the road continues to the November 13 “Turning Point” Pay-Per-View event!
Here is a preview of Thursday’s broadcast:
– NEW World Heavyweight Champion James Storm will appear on the huge broadcast! Just one week after the TNA Original captured one of the biggest prizes in pro wrestling, Storm will address the fans on his future as champion!
– In addition, the new GM “General Menace” of Impact Wrestling “The Icon” Sting will be in attendance this Thursday. Sting has promised to have a new #1 Contender for Storm’s World Title by the end of the broadcast. Who will get the next shot at the gold?
– Also on Thursday night, “The Charismatic Enigma” Jeff Hardy makes his in-ring wrestling return against Bully Ray! Can Hardy capitalize on his second chance – or will Bully Ray ruin Hardy’s return? Tune in and find out!
– Gail Kim also makes her return to action on IMPACT WRESTLING, facing Tara in a Knockouts match! The question is, will Knockouts Champion Velvet Sky be waiting to get revenge on Gail for attacking her last week? Or, will Knockouts VP Karen Jarrett continue to make Velvet’s life a living hell?
– Plus, the Television Championship will be on the line as Eric Young defends against Robbie E….in addition, Christopher Daniels battles Rob Van Dam….and more!
Also appearing on Thursday night – Jeff and Karen Jarrett, “The Nature Boy” Ric Flair, “The Phenomenal” AJ Styles, Eric Bischoff and many more!
Jim Ross answered a series of fan questions Saturday on Twitter including whether he’d ever consider joining TNA Wrestling, why Chris Benoit and Owen Hart have not been enshrined in the WWE Hall of Fame, why SmackDown isn’t live, and more.
Matt Hardy returning to WWE: “Matt Hardy should get clean and sober & not worry about wrestling until his life isn’t an embarrassment & being put at risk.”
Why SmackDown isn’t live on a weekly basis: “Smackdown isn’t live because of exorbitant, increased tv production costs of keeping production crew on road all week.”
If reports of him penning an autobiography are true: “Not true..more Internet dirt. I’m not in process of writing a book. ‘maybe’ some day.”
If he’d ever join TNA Wrestling: “I’m a WWE guy plus TNA has excellent announcers & they don’t need my services.”
Why Owen Hart is not in the WWE Hall of Fame: “Owen Hart has not been inducted because of potential legal issues w/ his estate, etc.”
Why Chris Benoit is not in the WWE Hall of Fame: “Why #ChrisBenoit not yet inducted to #HOF?…. You can’t be serious.”
The fan replied, “Benoit was a GREAT wrestler, you’ve got to give him credit for that.”
Ross responded, “No one ever said Benoit wasn’t a great wrestler did they? The last few days of his life precludes his HOF status.”
— Gail Kim, who returned to TNA Wrestling on Thursday’s episode of Impact Wrestling as a heel aligned with Knockouts VP Karen Jarrett and Madison Rayne, commented on the event.
She wrote on Twitter, “Thanks every1 4 getting me trending worldwide!@karenjarrett I think this is the start of a beautiful friendship :)))
“@MRayneTNA can’t forget the other piece of the puzzle some1 said the “A”team sounds about right.”
— The following matches were taped Tuesday and Wednesday in Orlando, Florida for upcoming episodes of TNA Xplosion: Jesse Sorensen vs. Robbie E, Brooke Tessmacher vs. Madison Rayne, Eric Young vs. Rob Terry, Gunner vs. Kazarian.
— Both James Storm and Gail Kim trended Thursday night on Twitter.
On Thursday’s episode of Impact Wrestling, James Storm defeated Kurt Angle in under two minutes to capture the TNA World championship. TNA has posted the following video to YouTube of James Storms’ title win ..Hey Kurt Angle – Sorry ’bout your damn luck!
COMMENT BELOW: We want to know – what do you think about James Storm winning the TNA World title? After Bobby Roode came up short on Sunday’s Bound for Glory pay-per-view – does TNA’s booking make sense now?
— Thursday’s episode of Impact Wrestling saw Dixie Carter return as President of the company and place Sting in charge of the program. In his first duty, he attempted give Bobby Roode a rematch against World Heavyweight Champion Kurt Angle but a clause in the contract only allowed one match between the two–the match already held at Bound For Glory. James Storm asked and received a shot at the World Heavyweight Championship later in the show. He defeated Angle in a minute-and-a-half to win the belt for the first time.
— Gail Kim returned to TNA Wrestling as a heel aligned with Vice President of the Knockouts Division, Karen Jarrett.
Velvet Sky came to the ring to thank the fans after capturing the Women’s Knockout Championship at Bound for Glory. The Knockouts VP interrupted Velvet and vowed to strip of her newly won title. After being distracted by Madison Rayne, the new champion was attacked from behind by a returning Gail Kim.
— No matches were announced for Turning Point, which takes place Nov. 13.
TNA has issued the following press release announcing “Ronnie” from the MTV show Jersey Shore will be appearing on an upcoming episode of Impact Wrestling:
RONNIE ORTIZ-MAGRO GETS IN THE RING WITH TNA’S “IMPACT WRESTLING” ON SPIKE TV
Star of MTV’s “Jersey Shore” Makes His Wrestling Debut Thursday, November 3
New York, NY – October 20, 2011 – Ronnie Ortiz-Magro, star of MTV’s megahit series, “Jersey Shore,” will bring his pumping fists and bravado into the wrestling ring on TNA’s “Impact Wrestling” airing exclusively on Spike TV Thursday, November 3 at 9:00pm ET/PT. The episode will tape October 26 from The Macon Coliseum in Macon, Ga.
Ronnie will appear on two episodes of Spike TV’s hit weekly series with the biggest names in professional wrestling such as Hulk Hogan, Sting, Rob Van Dam, AJ Styles, and Kurt Angle.
Preview IMPACT WRESTLING On SpikeTV: Shocks & Surprises!
Don’t miss Thursday’s huge IMPACT WRESTLING broadcast on SpikeTV at 9/8c, featuring the aftermath from our biggest event of the year, Bound For Glory! It’s a night of shocks and surprises on the packed show! Can’t watch IMPACT WRESTLING on Thursday night? Make sure to set your DVR to record it so you don’t miss any of the action.
Here is a preview of Thursday’s broadcast:
– Kurt Angle is STILL the World Heavyweight Champion, having defeated Bobby Roode in controversial fashion at Bound For Glory! The champ will appear on Thursday’s broadcast of IMPACT WRESTLING! What’s next for Angle? How will Roode react? Who will step up to challenge him next? Don’t miss it!
– Also, after defeating “The Immortal” Hulk Hogan at Bound For Glory, Sting returned control of TNA to President Dixie Carter! Both “The Icon” Sting and Dixie Carter will appear on Thursday’s huge broadcast on SpikeTV! The question is, what’s next for Hulk Hogan after what happened at BFG? Is it a new era for Hulkamania? How will Eric Bischoff react? Tune in and find out!
– Also at Bound For Glory, a new Knockouts Champion was crowned as Velvet Sky realized her dream of capturing the gold! Velvet will be on the broadcast this Thursday, but Knockouts VP Karen Jarrett isn’t happy that Velvet came out victorious. What will happen between Velvet Sky and Karen Jarrett this Thursday? Is Jarrett about to make Sky’s championship reign a living hell?
– After he was forcefully kicked out of the Immortal alliance last week, “The Monster” Abyss will battle Immortal’s “Big Poppa Pump” Scott Steiner
– Plus, the Knockouts Tag Team Championship will be on the line as titleholders Tara and Brooke Tessmacher defend against Winter and Angelina Love
Also appearing on Thursday night – “The Phenomenal” AJ Styles, “The Charismatic Enigma” Jeff Hardy, “The King Of The Mountain” Jeff Jarrett, X Division Champion Austin Aries and many more!
Warning: This article contains a MAJOR *SPOILER* for Thursday’s Impact Wrestling:
As you may have already read here on the site, James Storm captured the TNA World Title at Tuesday’s Impact taping, defeating Kurt Angle in the main event of the show.
TNA star Hulk Hogan has commented on the news of Storm’s win – and the fallout from Bobby Roode getting the rug pulled out from under him at Bound For Glory. After reports surfaced on Monday that Hulk Hogan convinced TNA management not to put the title on Roode because he’s “not ready yet” – Hogan maintains that everything is falling into place:
“Goodmorning HULKAMANIACS,can’t wait for all the Rood fans that turned to haters to see the big picture,thank God we still have real marks HH”
TNA executive Eric Bischoff also commented on the decision to put the TNA World title on James Storm instead of Bobby Roode. Bischoff tweeted:
“Having a blast watching Internet marks react. Candy from a baby!”
Hit up the COMMENTS below and tell us what you think about the events that have transpired over the past few days – and whether you think TNA had a “master plan” all along ..
After months of buildup to Bobby Roode’s TNA World title match at Bound For Glory, plans were changed the day of the event and the decision was made for Kurt Angle to retain.
According to TNA sources, Bobby Roode understandably disappointed that his planned TNA World title win was scrapped at the last minute. That said, Roode was very professional about the entire situation and did not challenge the decision when it was presented to him.
James Storm was at Bound For Glory on Sunday and was scheduled to cut a promo prior to the main event hyping the significance of Roode’s title shot. That promo had to be left off the show due to TNA running short of time during the PPV.
Tara, who is not used to being left off TNA Wrestling’s major events, expressed her disappointment with being left off Bound for Glory.
“It’s the biggest event of the year, and I’ll be honest, I’m not used to not being a participant or at least at Fan Fest. But it is going to be a good show and I wish I was on the card,” Tara told SLAM! Wrestling last Thursday. “I know I’m disappointing a lot of fans who are not getting their Tara fix.”
Tara is glad to be paired with Brooke Tessmacher, who she won the TNA Knockouts Tag Team Championship with in July.
“She is green,” Tara said of her tag team partner. “I get along with her and we became really good friends. I think they saw that and said, ‘We want to use her more on TV. What better way than to team her with somebody who can teach her a little bit.’ I think it backfired on them, because we’re both a little crazy. When there are people talking to us, it’s hard for us to not goof off and be loud. I think we both have good chemistry with each other. We’re good friends, so it’s nice to work with somebody you like.”
TNA recently appointed Bruce Prichard as Senior Vice President Programming and Talent Relations. She hopes this leads to more television time for herself since she’s been used “twice” on television in the last few months.
“I know him very well. I get along with both Vince Russo and Bruce. I’ll be honest, it doesn’t really matter. I just hope Bruce uses me more. I’ve worked in the last couple of months twice on TV,” said Tara.
“I hope Brooke Tessmacher and myself, we’re tag champs, we won these to defend them, not to be jewelry, not like our earrings, you know what I mean? Not to look good, we want to defend them and wrestle. We thought it would get us more wrestling opportunities. I’m hoping that Bruce considers that.”
Warning: This article contains a MAJOR *SPOILER* for Thursday’s Impact Wrestling:
James Storm captured the TNA World Title at Tuesday’s Impact taping, defeating Kurt Angle in the main event of the show.
Storm tweeted the following comments following his title victory:
“One hell of a belt buckle I won tonight. Thanks to all the fans,family and friends. This is for my dad in heaven I used to watch wrestling with 20 years ago. Love you all. @IMPACTWRESTLING champion of the world. I’ve busted my ass for the last 15 years entertaining you fans. My time has come. Thank you god.”
Credit to TNAInsider.com for the following Impact Wrestling spoilers, airing this Thursday on Spike:
– Sting is the new TNA authority figure.
– Kurt Angle faces off against Sting, Dixie Carter. Sting books Kurt Angle vs James Storm for the TNA title.
– Miss Tessmacher and Tara defeat Angelina Love & Winter to retain their knockouts tag titles
– Jeff Hardy and Jeff Jarrett brawl, agents come out from the back to break up the fight. Funny part is Jeff Hardy threw his shirt to the crowd and a fan threw it back at Hardy.
– Abyss defeated Gunner via count-out.
– Gail Kim returns to TNA as a heel enforcer for Karen Angle.
– Eric Bischoff is double crossed by his son, referee Garrett Bischoff.
– James Storm defeated Kurt Angle in a short match. Fortune celebrated with storm and celebrated with fans.
— Tonight and tomorrow night’s Impact Wrestling tapings in Orlando, Florida will focus heavily on Dixie Carter regaining control of TNA Wrestling and Hulk Hogan’s babyface turn. Therefore, a number of wrestlers who are considered regulars will be left off both events.
Meanwhile, Hogan donned his trademark “Hulkamania” red and yellow colors in an in-ring segment with Sting that will air on Thursday’s show.
— Gail Kim returned to TNA Wrestling as a heel aligned with Karen Jarrett. The segment will air on Thursday’s show.
TNA star Hulk Hogan was interviewed last Friday by Peter Rosenberg of NYC hip hop radio station, Hot 97. Rosenberg is known for getting pro wrestling’s top stars to open up like nobody else – and this interview was no exception. Among the topics discussed include:
How the industry has changed from the 1980’s compared to today, in terms of how storylines unfold way too quickly
His relationship with Vince McMahon
His relationship with Steve Austin and never getting to work with him.
Heat with Bret Hart over not putting Bret over on the way out of the WWF when he left in 1993 and a backstage confrontation they had at the WWE Hall of Fame ceremony (and how Steve Austin was involved).
Hulk Hogan claims Bret Hart stole the line, “The best there is, the best there was and the best there ever will be”
TNA wanted to bring in Bret Hart last year, but Hogan reveals why he squashed that.
His relationship with Owen Hart
Who he most regrets putting over and who he wishes he had put over.
TNA Champion Kurt Angle appeared on PW 24/7‘s “Sports Axxess” radio and spoke about a number of topics over Bound for Glory weekend. Here are some highlights of what Angle said about;
Training for the Olympics: “I’ve been training for the last six months. The training has gone phenomenally well. I didn’t realize I was going catch on this quickly, but you know it’s like getting on a bicycle and riding again. That’s not to say it didn’t go without any injuries here and there. I’ve hurt my Achilles tendon and my hamstring but I’ve been hanging on tightly and training very hard. I’m on schedule so thank God, I have a very good chance of making the team. A lot of it has to do with me beating a guy named Jake Barter, who is a world silver and bronze medalist. He hasn’t had quite the success I have had when I was there but when I was there I was very young. I was in my mid-twenties and I didn’t have a game plan. Now I’m a lot older and wiser; I look at my training, I look at my game plan, I look at the way I’m going to wrestle. I know I’ll make a lot less mistakes and I know I’ll train more properly. The thing was that I had over-trained in the past. I was training nine or ten hours a day, and at some point it became counterproductive. I think I could have been a much better wrestler if I had done things the right way.”
His Line Of Food Products: “You know, a lot of people have been counting calories, carbohydrates, fats, proteins, but never count fiber. I’m going to say this now: fiber is the best kept secret in the world. It can really make or break your body. Fiber can help you lose fat, body weight, lower cholesterol, blood pressure and sugar. Basically it is the healthiest product on the market. There are a lot of fiber products that are one or two layer fibers. UltraFiber DX from Angle Foods is and eight layer fiber developed by a doctor in Germany. It was intended to help obese and diabetic patients to get off medication and help improve quality and longevity of life. You can purchase it at anglefoods.com. This is what you should be feeding your kids. The powder works as a cooking agent. You can make it into pancakes, pizza and bread dough, and so many other things.”
The Current Direction of Impact Wrestling and “Passing the Torch”: “God willing, we have more wrestling and less talk. I’ve been pushing for that. Sometimes we have people there on the show that don’t wrestle. They take up a lot of the show with only promos. The young guys need to step up and be the guys cutting the promos. It’s kind of a catch 22. We need to realize who we are and we need to fix the problem. The young talent needs the opportunity to shine. I’m one of the top guys in the company and I don’t want to remain there. I don’t know who it will be but I am more than willing to find somebody in the company to hand to torch over to and say ‘hey, you take the lead and I’ll follow you.’ I’m near the end of my career. I’ve got three more years left with TNA Wrestling and then I’m done. I signed that deal with TNA so I can help the company. I want them to compete with WWE. It will take some time, but it will happen.”
Angle also discusses his thoughts on Bobby Roode and why he considers Randy Orton to be one of the top guys in all of professional wrestling. This interview, along with many others, can be heard in its entirety exclusively on PW 24/7 Radio.
TNA issued a press release on Tuesday formally announcing that Bruce Prichard is the company’s new Senior Vice President of Programming and Talent Relations.
TNA President Dixie Carter said the following about Prichard’s new role in the company:
“TNA is gaining such a wealth of knowledge and insight as we continue to grow our business with the addition of Bruce to our senior management staff.”
“This appointment is another indication to the community that TNA’s Impact Wrestling is gaining ground across all platforms; we are thrilled that Bruce is bringing his knowledge in television production, writing and talent relations to TNA.”
As previously reported, Bruce Prichard took the role of Vince Russo, who now works under Prichard as part of the creative team.
Prichard, best known as “Brother Love” in the WWF and a former high-ranking WWE official and confidant of Vince McMahon, is also quoted in the press release:
“I am looking forward to working with the exemplary talent both in front of the camera and behind the scenes at TNA. ?There are some exciting new ventures in progress as we speak involving the tremendous roster of current TNA superstars, as well as, development for the TNA superstars of the future.”
“We are expanding our roster and looking for new and adventurous additions to our television product. I welcome the challenge and am invigorated by the endless opportunities this company provides. Our fan base for our brand continues to grow and I am proud to be a part of it.”
To read the full statement from TNA, head on over to IconVision.com.
Gail Kim, who recently parted ways with WWE, is scheduled to return to TNA Wrestling at tonight’s Impact Wrestling taping in Orlando.
Kim claimed last week during an interview with SunSport that she expects to return to TNA, but is in no rush.
“Right now I’m on a little hiatus. I told myself I’d take a little break. They didn’t let me quit so I was forced to take a break!
“I’m not retiring from wrestling, I can say that. I always said – I said it in my last interview with TNA on a Knockout’s DVD – that I always felt like I would return there one day. I’d love to finish up my career there.”
Gail Kim has been very outspoken against WWE since deciding to leave the company back August. Gail Kim created a lot of buzz when she eliminated herself during the the divas battle royal on the 8/1 edition of WWE RAW. She later said she tried quitting WWE, but was not immediately granted a release from her contract. Since then, she’s made it clear that she’s done with WWE forever and was open to working for TNA again.
Fans who were expecting Bobby Roode to have his career-defining moment and win the TNA championship at Bound For Glory were not the only ones dumbfounded and upset after he came up short against Kurt Angle.
As we’ve been reporting this week, original plans called for Roode to win at Bound For Glory. Multiple TNA sources have confirmed to us that Roode was scheduled to win the title as late as Sunday afternoon, when Hulk Hogan reportedly convinced Dixie Carter that Bobby Roode was not ready yet.
As you can imagine, there is said to be a great deal of resentment in the TNA locker room regarding Hulk Hogan squashing Roode’s title win. There is a feeling among several of TNA’s originals that there’s no hope for them to reach their potential in TNA, and they’re wasting their prime years with a company that will never elevate them to the level of the former WWE & WCW stars in the company.
With Sunday’s Bound For Glory pay-per-view in the books, we’ve got some fallout comments from TNA champion Kurt Angle and Hulk Hogan.
Following his successful TNA title defense against Bobby Roode, Angle tweeted:
“Great Ppv last night.Bobby Roode is one of the Best Wrestlers today! I am Still Going for Olympics. Only taking 1 Week Off 2 heal hamstring!”
Hulk Hogan, who reportedly used his backstage influence to convince Dixie Carter and TNA creative that Bobby Roode wasn’t ready yet to win the TNA world title, got a lot of negative feedback on Twitter regarding the situation. Hogan responded to those comments with –
“cool out it’s just the beginning of something really big brother. HH”
“keep watching you’ll finally figure it out,big plans for the Canadian HH”
“don’t be a mark keep watching you’ll figure it out. HH”
Regarding his own match against Sting, Hulk Hogan wrote:
“For all the ignorant haters that hate that I proved them wrong.bumpin after 8 back surgeries,suck it haters. http://lockerz.com/s/147871221” (That’s a rather graphic picture, so view at your own risk).
Sunday at Bound for Glory, Bobby Roode failed in his attempt to win the TNA World Heavyweight Championship when he was pinned by Kurt Angle, after the referee failed to notice his arm under the ropes or Angle using the ropes for leverage.
TNA had originally planned for Roode to defeat Angle for the belt. Hulk Hogan, however, lobbied to have the finish changed since he felt that the former Team Canada member wasn’t ready for a run with the title.
Between that and his war of words with AJ Styles in the last few days, there was a lot of resentment towards Hogan among the long time employees. Especially since Hogan was criticizing Styles on Twitter when it was known that he had missed Saturday’s Fan Interaction event due to a death in his family.
– In the days leading up to Sunday’s Bound For Glory pay-per-view, Bobby Roode was scheduled to win the TNA World heavyweight title. Despite Kurt Angle being injured and all the hype that went into this being Bobby Roode’s time – Roode got screwed.
Some people are expecting Bobby Roode to win the TNA title in the coming weeks (at the next PPV or on an episode of Impact) – while others think that the company is eager to Jeff Hardy.
– Sting defeated Hulk Hogan by submission at Bound For Glory – and the rivals joined forces after the match to fend off a beatdown from Bully Ray, Ric Flair, Eric Bischoff and others. With Hogan and Sting working together at Bound For Glory, there has been talk of them teaming up together at a future pay-per-view in a match against Ric Flair and a partner.
– TNA had about 2,500 paid fans at Bound For Glory, which is considered a major disappointment. The was heavily “papered” – with many fans receiving free tickets to the event at the last minute to fill up the crowd.
TNA held its biggest show of the year on Sunday night from Philadelphia, Bound For Glory. For the fans who saw the show on pay-per-view, it appeared TNA did a pretty good job filling up the Liacouras Center on the grounds of Temple University, which seats around 10,000 fans at full capacity. Chalk it up to TNA positioning the fans who bought tickets on the “hard camera” side of the arena – because we received word from several in attendance that the arena was mostly empty. This image has surfaced online, which gives you a better idea about how TNA did selling out Bound for Glory 2011:
During Sunday’s Bound for Glory pre-show, the female (Christina Von Eerie) who aided Ink Inc. in their skirmish against Mexican America on Thursday’s episode of IMPACT Wrestling was referred by the announcers as Toxine.
She accompanied Jesse Neal and Shannon Moore, where they unsuccessfully challenged Mexican America for the TNA World Tag Team Championship.
Near the bout’s conclusion, the alternative Knockout came to grips with Sarita after she attempted to interfere on Mexican America’s behalf and ripped her protective mask off. The Canadian native appeared the same as before her recent health scare.
Sarita resumed competing without the protective mask over a month ago in Mexico after announcing on July 8 that she had been stricken with facial paralysis. TNA’s storyline explanation for the Mexican America star suddenly donning a protective mask on the July 14 episode of IMPACT Wrestling was that she had broken her orbital bone and jaw during a parking lot brawl with Miss Tessmacher and Tara.
Posted October 17th, 2011 in News, TNA. Tagged: Sarita.