The word amongst the TNA Wrestling locker room is that AJ Styles suffered an injury to his knee and therefore won’t be competing at tonight’s Genesis pay-per-view.
His previously scheduled opponent, Douglas Williams, will instead be wrestling Abyss.
While not definite, the belief is that Styles will remain sidelined for a few weeks.
source: PWInsider.com
— TNA World Heavyweight Champion Jeff Hardy is currently backstage at the Impact Zone in Orlando, Florida and expected to appear on camera during tonight’s Genesis pay-per-view.
Meanwhile, TNA is keeping news of Rob Van Dam’s mystery opponent at the show a secret as the board backstage listing tonight’s matches denotes a question mark.
— The wrestler who portrayed Amazing Red’s younger brother on a recent episode of iMPACT!, Little Red, is Ohio based wrestler Tommy Mercer. He worked a tryout match against Stevie Richards prior to the November 15, 2010 iMPACT! taping and was offered a contract shortly thereafter.
Creative came up with the idea to feature him as Red’s brother because they possess similar hairstyles.
sources: PWInsider.com, Pro Wrestling Torch
Former WWE star Matt Hardy is backstage at the iMPACT! Zone in Orlando for tonight’s Genesis pay-per-view.
The word backstage is that Matt Hardy will be appearing on camera and will be Jeff Hardy’s mystery opponent for Rob Van Dam in tonight’s main event.
Matt Hardy was released from WWE back on November 15th and revealed in an interview with Fanhouse.com this week that his 90-day no compete clause went into effect two weeks before his WWE release was announced, allowing him to compete tonight in TNA.
(Source: Prowrestling.net)
— Based on statements made by Moore County District Attorney Maureen Kruger, the person administrating Jeff Hardy’s current legal case, the expectation is that the TNA World Heavyweight Champion’s negotiated plea will result in the drug trafficking charge being dropped (which carries a mandatory prison sentence), but that he’ll plead guilty to possession. Should the drug trafficking charge be dropped, it is likely that he will face penalties via fines and probation since he’s a first-time drug offender, thus avoiding jail time.
The negotiated plea takes place Jan. 20.
— Kurt Angle appears on tonight’s episode of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, which airs at 8:00 p.m. on ABC. He gives a tour of an amateur wrestling facility that will be built as part of the home remodeling project.
A preview clip of Angle’s appearance is available here. No mention of TNA is made as he is introduced as a 1996 Olympic gold medalist and multi-time world champion wrestler.
source: Wrestling Observer Newsletter
TNA President Dixie Carter revealed on Twitter this week that the opening match of Sunday’s TNA Genesis pay-per-view will be X Division champion Jay Lethal defending against Kazarian.
Following Thursday’s iMPACT!, here’s a full preview for Sunday’s TNA Genesis pay-per-view:
#1 CONTENDERS MATCH: TNA WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP
“The Blueprint” Matt Morgan vs. Mr. Anderson
CHALLENGE MATCH
Rob Van Dam vs. Immortal’s Mystery Opponent
MMA MATCH:
Kurt Angle vs. Jeff Jarrett
TNA WORLD TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP
The Motor City Machine Guns (c) vs. Beer Money
TNA KNOCKOUTS CHAMPIONSHIP
Madison Rayne (c) vs. Mickie James
FORMER TAG TEAM PARTNERS BATTLE
Brother Ray vs. Brother Devon
TNA X DIVISION CHAMPIONSHIP
Jay Lethal (c) vs. Kazarian
TNA TELLEVISION CHAMPIONSHIP
Douglas Williams (c) vs. AJ Styles
— Last Thursday’s episode of TNA iMPACT! scored a 1.15 cable rating, the program’s highest rating since November 11 (which drew the same number).
In the Male 18-49 demo, iMPACT! scored its highest rating since November 11 and second highest rating since October 14.
The program drew 1,474,000 viewers over the course of two hours.
— Contrary to online reports that Taylor Wilde’s contract with TNA Wrestling expired and officials opted not to renew it, the former Women’s Knockout Champion said last month on Twitter that she quit the organization. Via her online store, she is now selling personalized 8×10’s reading “I QUIT!”
The 8×10 she is signing is her final TNA Wrestling promo photo. She plans to sign 50 of them, “and then that’s all she wrote!”
To view the product, click here.
source: Pro Wrestling Torch
Reigning TNA Knockouts Women’s Champion Madison Rayne spoke to Brian Fritz of Fanhouse.com about how she she got interested in pro wrestling, playing a bad girl on television, the state of the Knockouts division, Awesome Kong joining World Wrestling Entertainment, and more.
Rayne was asked to give her thoughts on the state of the Knockouts division, with the interviewer noting that it was extremely successful ‘and then it seemed to go through a bit of a lull.’
She replied, “Yeah, there’s been some ups and downs with the changing faces in the division but I never saw what other people did when they said it was lacking and that there was a shortage of talent or whatever it was they were using to describe the time there when we had a couple of people leaving and a couple new people coming in.
“I’ve always thought that the Knockouts division had a lot of potential and a lot of incredible talent more so now than ever I think. There’s a lot of new faces and a lot of people that the fans are familiar with but haven’t necessarily seen interact with other girls. So, wrestling fans are getting faces and new storylines to follow and new people to see in the ring together. It’s exciting for all of us and I think it’s equally exciting for everyone watching.”
She also commented on the ratings the division draws, as Knockouts bouts frequently garner the highest-rated segments on iMPACT!.
“It feels good because I know how hard we all work and that we bust our butts and we all put 100 percent into every week, every match, every segment, everything we do,” she said. “So, it’s good to know that all our hard work pays off every week.”
Rayne also talked about former TNA Women’s Knockout Champion Awesome Kong reportedly signing with WWE.
“I think she deserves any and every good opportunity that comes her way. So, whether it be here or with another company or doing something that’s not even affiliated with wrestling at all. I think whatever makes Kong happy, I’m happy for because she is a good person, got a big heart and she deserves any opportunity that she gets.
The interview can be read here.
Angelina Pivarnick of MTV’s Jersey Shore has been in discussions with TNA Wrestling officials the past week, reports TMZ.com.
However, unlike Jwoww’s few second brawl with TNA Knockout Cookie on the October 14, 2010 episode of TNA iMPACT!, Pivarnick wants to compete in a legitimate wrestling match.
TNA officials are contemplating pitting Pivarnick against Cookie in a pay-per-view bout.
— The Sun has posted an article claiming that WWE is plotting to swoop the multi-time World Champion from TNA Wrestling. They say with WrestleMania taking place in WCW’s former home of Atlanta this year, Vince McMahon wants Sting to be a part of the show and inducted into the Hall of Fame.
Though still listed on the TNA Wrestling website, Sting is presently a free agent after his contract with the organization expired late last year.
— The news of Awesome Kong’s recent arrest in Hillsborough County, Florida for driving without a valid license led one company source to quip, “Since Kong got arrested in Tampa I’d say that’s proof she got a WWE gig, because you have to get arrested in Tampa to work for WWE.”
— Last night’s episode of WWE Superstars on WGN America, which featured Daniel Bryan and Mark Henry vs. Ted DiBiase and Tyson Kidd in the main event, garnered a 0.58 cable rating with 588,000 viewers. Last week’s show drew a 0.67.
The midnight replay did a 0.16 with 166,000 viewers.
sources: F4WOnline.com, PWInsider.com
— Matt Hardy stated in a recent interview with Fanhouse.com that World Wrestling Entertainment released him from his contract two weeks before it was officially announced on WWE.com on Oct. 15. Providing he’s telling the truth, his ninety-day no-compete clause would have began during the first week of October and thus would be technically free to appear at Sunday’s TNA Genesis pay-per-view. However, one TNA source said there has been no indication that Hardy will be Immortal’s handpicked opponent against Rob Van Dam at the event. (source: Pro Wrestling Torch)
— Former WWE talent Angela Fong (a/k/a Savannah) was asked yesterday on Twitter if she has had any contact with TNA Wrestling, to which she replied she had. The former WWE Diva revealed being offered a tryout by the organization in October.
“I was offered a tryout in Oct, but I had to respectfully decline,” she wrote. “I was so busy at the time that I wouldn’t be able to commit fully…but never say never! You never know for the future.”
— Former TNA Knockout Jacqueline celebrates her 47th birthday today.
— The official TNA Wrestling website is advertising the following for tonight’s episode of iMPACT!:
* Eric Bischoff plans to open the broadcast with a special message to TNA World Heavyweight Champion Jeff Hardy.
* A special sitdown between Mr. Anderson and Matt Morgan.
* Jeff Jarrett continues his Open MMA Challenge.
* Mickie James in action.
* Rob Van Dam wants to know who his Mystery Opponent at Genesis.
— Some TNA wrestlers have been giving referee Jackson James (real name Garrett Bischoff) the cold shoulder in recent weeks. He has heat amongst some wrestlers for not revealing that he is the son of Eric Bischoff. At last word, the situation had not been addressed by anyone in a position of power, with one wrestler believing that management would prefer they be left in the dark despite the fact the news regarding James’ identity surfaced online.
source: Pro Wrestling Torch
TNA’s Eric Bischoff was the featured guest on this week’s live edition (01/03/11) of the award-winning Monday Night Mayhem.
Eric Bischoff Discusses The Build-Up To Matt Morgan & Mr. Anderson’s #1 Contender’s Match At Genesis, If There Is Concern In TNA About The Current World Title Picture With Jeff Hardy’s Legal Situation, Why He Is Not Satisfied With The Immortal Storyline To This Point Thus Far/How Hulk Hogan’s Return From His Back Surgery Could Possibly Change That, Sting’s & Kurt Angle’s TNA Futures In 2011, Whether Or Not It’s Difficult For TNA To Run On The Same Network As The UFC, The Chances Of Seeing Him On TNA House Shows Stateside & Internationally This Year, What He Misses The Most About WCW, & If The Wrestling Pay-Per-View Industry As We Know It Needs To Change.
You can listen to an MP3 of the interview at by clicking here (MP3).
His most realistic goal that he would like to achieve personally with TNA in the new year:
“On a personal level, I would love to be part of TNA’s strategic growth. I think that’s one of the biggest challenges right now that TNA has. I would love to see more programming out of TNA across different channels, as well as potentially on Spike TV. Different types of programming. I think all of those things, just like we’re seeing in WWE (the fact they’re bringing back Tough Enough), that is an perfect example, I think, of what TNA needs to do to grow their brand. You can’t keep preaching to the same choir over and over and over again and expect to grow the congregation, so to speak.”
His thoughts about the main event #1 Contender’s Match at Genesis Pay-Per-View between “The Blueprint” Matt Morgan and Mr. Anderson & TNA giving a “strong build” through the past several weeks on iMPACT & ReAction to their main event this Sunday night:
“I think we had a great build to the # 1 contenders match in the three-way at Bound for Glory. In this particular case, I think we have a good slow & strong build. I think what makes the story resonate with people probably is there’s enough reality in the story that it’s plausible, and it’s believable. The more reality in a story, the more I think I people gravitates towards it.”
Why he is not satisfied with the Immortal storyline to this point thus far, the impact that Hulk Hogan’s back injury had in the changing of TNA’s initial plans for it, & why he is excited to see where things go in the very near future on TNA programming (with a “much more effervescent Hulk Hogan”):
“No I’m not. Clearly there was a pretty big setback with Hulk Hogan, which forced us to kind of shift on the fly, in terms of that storyline. At this point, the story is not where we wanted it to, be but as frustrated or disappointed I may be about that, it’s part of life. But I’m equally as excited about where it’s going to go in the very near future. I talk to Hulk almost every other day, if not every day, and he’s getting better. I think the prognosis for him & his ability to become active and a part of the story in a much better way: You’re going to see a much more effervescent Hulk Hogan than we’ve probably seen in a couple years, and I think the story’s going to evolve very nicely.”
Whether Sting will be returning to TNA in 2011 or if we will see him sign with the WWE, especially with the speculation of a WCW-themed Hall of Fame class as part of WrestleMania XXVII weekend in Atlanta:
“If I had to guess, and if he is going to sign another agreement, which I’m not sure he is going to do at this stage of his career, my bet would be that he is going to sign with TNA. I’m not sure what Sting’s motivations are at this point. I know physically he’s told me on more than one occasion that it’s getting harder & harder to deliver the type of performances that he wants to deliver in the ring for his fans. That’s got to be a big part of his consideration. I think realistically, if he would go to the WWE, there would be some additional pressure, much more than in TNA, to perform in the ring, and that would be a hard thing for him to do at this point in his career.”
The Poughkeepsie Journal has published a new interview with former WWE superstar Matt Hardy, which you can read here in its entirety. Here are some highlights of what Matt said about:
WWE’s Main Goal, His Favorite Performer & The Sad State Of Tag Team Wrestling:
“It saddens me and it bothers me. Looking at WWE, their main goal right now is to search for the next big thing that can draw. John Cena is the guy that is the centerpiece.
“Randy Orton is probably my favorite performer right now. But they still can’t find that one person like a Stone Cold Steve Austin or The Rock that can spark the business to burn through the economy. That’s what they’re looking for and Vince, or WWE, isn’t going to focus on tag team wrestling or a cruiserweight division.”
What’s Changed The Most Since He First Joined WWE:
“What’s changed the most, by far, is true creative freedom. When we started with WWE, there was one writer, Vince Russo, and there was Ed Ferrara and those guys really dealt with the top five to eight guys in the company … Now, they try to take so much control over what everybody does. You have to be able to walk a tight line without a net. Sometimes, you’ll fail miserably and sometimes, you’ll look great. Everything is so choreographed now, especially with promos.”
His Brother Jeff’s Legal Issues:
“There’s definitely a lot more to everything than meets the eye. I hate it for Jeff. So many people jump to conclusions and that’s where information and the Internet can be somewhat of a negative. With the Internet having such a strength, a snowball effect becomes a full-fledged storm.”
– World Wrestling Entertainment officials reportedly did not reach out to Samoa Joe during a few day period last month he was a free agent. There were people in the organization pushing Joe to be signed, but results were not had before he reached a new agreement with TNA Wrestling. (source: PWInsider.com)
– WWE United States Champion Daniel Bryan is advertised to face Tommaso Ciampa in a Submissions Match at this Saturday’s Millennium Wrestling Federation event at Memorial Hall on 590 Main St. – Melrose, MA.
For more information on Tommaso Ciampa, click here. A video promo of Ciampa commenting on his upcoming match with Bryan is available here.
Other matches scheduled to take place include “Slyck” Wagner Brown vs. former TNA star Homicide in a MWF Heavyweight Championship Steel Cage Match, TNA star Abyss vs. “Executioner” Brian Milonas in a Steel Cage Grudge Match, and Awesome Kong vs. MWF Tag Team Champion J-Busta in a Steel Cage Inter-gender Match. Paul Bearer, “Black Machismo” Jay Lethal, “Doink the Clown” Matt Borne, “Die Hard” Eddie Edwards and John Cena, Sr., among others, are also advertised to appear.
New Japan WrestleKings V show
Tokyo, Japan at the Tokyo Dome
Report by reader Nick
I don’t know the exact attendance figure, but the whole first tier was filled along with the ground level seating. My friend and I speculated there were about 10,000-12,000 people there. We paid 3,000 yen (approximately 35 US dollars) for a seat in the first tier, with a nice view of the action.
As is expected in Japan, the Japanese wrestlers received the biggest pops and heat. Notable mention must go to Kenny Omega and Prince Devitt though – they seem to have created a pretty nice following in Japan.
From TNA, Jeremy Borash was doing the ring introductions, and Beer Money, RVD and Jeff Hardy were in action. Quite a few people seemed to be familiar with Beer Money as they have been to Japan
before, but unfortunately Jeff Hardy and RVD received little to no reaction. It was quite funny with RVD, as the Japanese wrestler he faced received a way bigger pop when he mockingly did the RVD gesture with his name than RVD did himself.
Props go to Jeff Hardy for making the trip to Japan with all the personal issues he has going on right now, but he was far from top form today, and put on arguably the worst match of the night. He faced Tetsuya Naitoh (part of No Limit who were in TNA briefly), but the match never got going, had a couple of botched spots, and there was a “was that it?” feeling in the crowd after it ended.
The match may have finished early for some reason as Naitoh didn’t even take his t-shirt off (he usually takes it off during one his signature moves), and Jeff did look noticeably exhausted a couple of minutes into the match. Like I say though, props to Jeff for coming to Japan and putting on the show with everything he has going on at the moment.
All TNA wrestlers used their TNA music and entrance videos.
There was also an announcement during the show that New Japan will be putting on 3 shows under the “Strong Style” slogan in the U.S. in May this year. I think it was May 13 in New Jersey, May 14 in New York, and May 15 in Philadelphia. You may want to confirm those dates, but it was definitely in those cities.
Dark Match
1. Wataru Inoue, Tiger Mask, Tama Tonga and Tomoaki Honma defeated Yujiro Takahashi, Tomohiro Ishi, Gedo and Jado in an 8-man tag match. Short 8-man tag match, was disappointing to see Tiger Mask relegated to dark match status.
Main Card
1. Kouji Kanemoto and Ryusuke Taguchi defeated Kenny Omega and Taichi.
Kenny Omega looked great, and the fans seem to be really behind him.
2. Giant Bernard (A-Train/Prince Albert) and Machine Gun Anderson defeated Beer Money and the team of Nakanishi Manabu and Strongman in a three way tag match. I liked Machine Gun Anderson – he and Bernard got a nice reaction. Beer Money did the Beer Money suplex, DWI, and James Storm did the beer spitting spot which backfired. Fun match which ended with Bernard telling TNA that “NJPW is No. 1!”
3. La Sombra and Mascara Dorada (from CMLL) defeated Jushin Thunder Liger and Hector Garza. Lucha libre style tag match with lots of high risk athletic spots. La Sombra performed an inwards somersault dive to the outside and Mascara Dorada did a tightrope walk moonsault to the outside. Really impressive stuff from all 4 guys.
4. Hiroyoshi Tenzan defeated Takashi Iizuka in a “Deep Sleep” (first person unconscious) match. Finally a singles match! Very physical grudge match – Iizuka is an awesome heel. Tenzan finished with an move similar to the Anaconda Vice to put Iizuka away. The crowd loved Tenzan – he was out for a long time with an injured neck and seems to be somewhat of a crowd favourite.
5. Rob Van Dam defeated Toru Yano in a hardcore match. Poor RVD. He put on a good effort here, but received little to no love from the crowd. Japanese crowds are tough to win over. Standard hardcore rules match with chairs, trash cans, ladders, etc involved. RVD did the Van Daminator a couple of times (to no reaction) and hit the Five Star Frog Splash to Yano holding a chair (to no reaction) for the win.
6. Yuji Nagata defeated Minoru Suzuki. Grudge match – apparently there is legit heat between these two guys going back over 20 years. Nagata hit some mega stiff kicks, very much a Japanese strong style match.
7. Prince Devitt defeated Kouta Ibushi to retain the IWGP Jr Heavyweight Title. Easily the best match of the night. Both these guys are so impressive in the ring, and shook hands at the end after a very high paced match. I urge you all to check this out on YouTube if it gets uploaded.
8. Sugiura and Yoshihiro Takayama defeated Hirooki Goto and Kazuchika Okada. Takayama was as stiff as ever, everyone was “oooh”-ing every time he hit a knee. They did a Go To Sleep style move where Sugiura threw Goto off his shoulders and onto Takayama’s oncoming knee. Looked nasty. Takayama got the win for his team with a bridging german suplex.
9. Jeff Hardy defeated Tetsuya Naitoh to retain the TNA Title. As I mentioned, a disappointing match. Never got going. Jeff hit the Whisper in the Wind, Twist of Hate, and finished with the Swanton Bomb. Naitoh did all the heavy lifting before that, and did his best to create some movement, but Jeff didn’t have a great day at the office.
10. Shinsuke Nakamura defeated Go Shiozaki. Great match, Nakamura has some nasty looking chops. He was even chopping Shiozaki’s knee at one point.
11. Tougi Makabe defeated Masato Tanaka.
12. Hiroshi Tanahashi defeated Satoshi Kojima to become the 56th IWGP Heavyweight Champion. Tanahashi, who was in TNA for a while, had the crowd behind him in an entertaining title match, and sent everyone home happy with a title win.
— Women’s wrestling website Divas-365.com features an article on TNA talent Brooke Adams (a/k/a Miss Tessmacher) clearing up a rumor about being released from her contract with WWE in 2007 due to an argument backstage with Melina about wearing furry boots for a match.
“The reason I left WWE never had anything to do with her, that was just a rumor. When I left I was actually the only person that liked her. She was such a rude, fake, b***h to everyone. She then tried to turn my girls Layla and Kelly Kelly against me by telling them a lie that I said which in reality was a rumor that SHE started. It was never anything I said. I can’t stand her and neither can most of the rest.”
— Former WWE star Shad Gaspard appears tonight on The Score on SIRIUS Channel 98 at 11:05 p.m. EST for Right After Wrestling. The show is also available at www.thescore.com/radio.
— Former ECW star New Jack celebrates his 48th birthday today.
Several top TNA stars including Rob Van Dam and Jeff Hardy are in Tokyo, Japan for the annual Tokyo Dome show for New Japan Pro Wrestling. Below is the official press release regarding the event:
TNA WRESTLING VS. NEW JAPAN PRO WRESTLING TO ONCE AGAIN HIGHLIGHT NEW JAPAN’S ANNUAL “WRESTLEKINGDOM” EVENT AT THE TOKYO DOME ON JANUARY 4
On January 4, New Japan Pro Wrestling will present the annual “Wrestle Kingdom” event, their biggest show of the year held at the world famous Tokyo Dome.
TNA Wrestling and New Japan are happy to announce that superstars from both organizations will once again face off in battle at the event. The TNA vs. New Japan international bouts have been a part of Wrestle Kingdom since 2008.
The footage from past events has been released at ShopTNA.com as part of the “Global iMPACT!” DVD series, and is also available for viewing at TNAONDEMAND.COM
This year for the first time ever at Wrestle Kingdom, the TNA World Heavyweight Championship will be on the line as Jeff Hardy will defend the title! The bouts featuring Hardy as well as Rob Van Dam and Beer Money are listed below! Beer Money also has a chance to become IWGP Tag Team Champions!
TNAwrestling.com will have updates on the event as it draws closer. For more information, visit New Japan’s website at www.njpw.co.jp
Featured TNA Wrestling vs. New Japan Pro Wrestling matches at the January 4 “Wrestle Kingdom” Tokyo Dome event:
TNA World Heavyweight Championship Match
Jeff Hardy defends vs. Tetsuya Naito of No Limit
Rob Van Dam vs. Toru Yano
IWGP World Tag Team Championship Match
Giant Bernard and Karl Anderson vs. Beer Money vs. Manabu Nakanishi & Strong Man
The complete match lineup is below:
Bad Intentions (Giant Bernard and Karl Anderson) (c) vs. Beer Money, Inc. (James Storm and Robert Roode) vs. Muscle Orchestra (Manabu Nakanishi and Strong Man)
Three way tag team match for the IWGP Tag Team Championship
Jushin Liger and Hector Garza vs. Máscara Dorada and La Sombra
Tag team match
Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Takashi Iizuka
Sleeper hold match
Rob Van Dam vs. Toru Yano
Hardcore match
Yuji Nagata vs. Minoru Suzuki
Singles match
Prince Devitt (c) vs. Kota Ibushi
Singles match for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship
Hirooki Goto and Kazuchika Okada vs. Takashi Sugiura and Yoshihiro Takayama
Tag team match
Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Go Shiozaki
Singles match
Togi Makabe vs. Masato Tanaka
Singles match
Jeff Hardy (c) vs. Tetsuya Naita
Singles match for the TNA World Heavyweight Championship
Satoshi Kojima (c) vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi
Singles match for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship
Former WWE Diva and Playboy covergirl Maria Kanellis was recently interviewed by the Miami Herald newspaper. Here are some highlights of what Maria said about:
Leaving WWE:
“It’s weird because you forget how busy you are when you are on the road. You’re on the road four or five days a week and sometimes going internationally for two weeks at a time, three weeks at a time. When you’re doing it, you don’t realize how crazy and hectic it is. Your body has to adjust to it.'”
“It’s very funny because I still have friends within WWE, and now seeing some of the other girls released, I’m so surprised.”There was a whole group of us that came in together. It was me, Melina, Mickie [James], Jillian [Hall]. We all came in about the same time, and a lot of us are no longer there anymore. It’s kind of funny how we all went in around the same time and left around the same time. I’m just happy about the future.”
The Possibility of Working For TNA Wrestling
“I never actually talked to [TNA] too much about it. I’m not saying I will never do it, but what I am saying is I’m completely focused on my acting career right now, and with pilot season coming up, I’m just super excited to be out here doing that. I’m in acting classes and working my tail off. I’ve been on tons of auditions.”
The Upcoming DivaMania Tour With Jillian Hall and Taryn “Tiffany” Terrell:
“I guess you get to party like a diva with a diva,” she said. “We are going to be there to have a good time and visit with people who are fans. Just really let loose after all the craziness with WWE. It’s our after party. I’m sure we will be sending lots of photos and videos.”
Aside from working on her singing career, Maria has also been acting. She will be appearing in the upcoming horror film “Manos: The Search For Valley Lodge,” scheduled for a 2013 release, along with former WWE star Gene Snitsky.
To read the full interview, visit MiamiHerald.com.
— Reigning TNA Women’s Knockout Champion Madison Rayne and Angelina Love recently shot footage for the custom wrestling match website SlamminLadies.com. Below is a photo of the two TNA Knockouts battling it out inside an empty room.
For prices starting as low as $250, the website allows fans to draw an outline of a pro-style match between any two women wrestlers featured on the site. Photo sets are also offered.
A number of past and present TNA Knockouts are featured on the website including Awesome Kong, Velvet Sky, Taylor Wilde, Cookie, Daffney, Sojournor Bolt, Roxxi Laveaux, Rhaka Khan, Ms. Payton Banks (a/k/a Rain) and Rosie Lottalove. Former WWE Diva Savannah (a/k/a Angela Fong) is also featured on the site.
— TNA Wrestling has made iMPACT! available to UK viewers while their television situation in the country gets resolved. The following instructions were posted on the company website: “Log on to TNAondemand.com, click the launch button, then click on the Impact UK button on the bottom left of the page. This free service is only available for the UK.”
— A number of TNA stars will be on hand for New Japan Pro Wrestling’s annual Tokyo Dome show, which takes place Monday. Matches involving TNA talent are TNA World Heavyweight Champion Jeff Hardy vs. Tatsuya Naito; Rob Van Dam vs. Toru Yano; Beer Money Inc., vs. IWGP Tag Team Champions Giant Bernard & Karl Anderson vs. Manabu Nakanishi & Strong Man in a Three Way Match. TNA ring announcer Jeremy Borash is filming footage of the trip and handling ring announcing duties.
— TNA Wrestling issued the following statement from Sky regarding the future of iMPACT! in the UK: “TNA (iMPACT) will be broadcast on a different Sky channel when Bravo closes, we are trying to find out which channel this will be and will let you all know as soon as we find out.”
On September 15, 2010, Sky announced that it would close Bravo as well as sister channels Bravo 2 and Channel One on New Year’s Day.
— TNA Wrestling has released a Mickie James hat at ShopTNA.com.
source: PWInsider.com
— Former WWE talent Chuck Palumbo took to Twitter to note that the average TNA mid-card wrestler makes less than $500 per match not to mention that they have to cover their own hotel expenses and health insurance.
He wrote: “Two fans asked me how much a wrestler makes over at TNA today, when I told them the “average mid carder” is makin less than 500 a match…no hotels …..they couldn’t believe it.. That’s before taxes and expenses and paying your own health insurance…. They were like holy****, we better stay in school.. I said “good idea.”
“That’s not a knock on the boys….I respect their passion….the wrestling companies take advantage of their passion! Any company outside of wrestling would love to have workers with the desire work ethic and passion of a wrestler.. The ones that do ….care about their employees and give them benefits etc..bonuses too.”
— TNA Wrestling officials are once again negotiating with Asistencia Asesoría y Administración (AAA) regarding utilizing Zorro.
source: Wrestling Observer Newsletter
ESPN.com Page 2 writer Josh Stewart posted comments on his blog from an interview he recently conducted with Mickie James that weren’t featured in the piece.
The TNA Knockout said her former employer, World Wrestling Entertainment, had a chance to coordinate her music career, but didn’t. She feels it’s difficult for talent to have outside projects under their auspices.
“They had every opportunity to jump onboard if they wanted to, and I would have welcomed it,” she said. “If they wanted to wrap a tour around some of the live event shows, or maybe market the album itself.
“I think because it’s an industry they really don’t know anything about… I think they had a really killer idea on their hand that they probably dropped the ball on.”
She also commented on her national singing debut earlier this month on TNA iMPACT!, which was interrupted when Tara attacked her (producing a near wardrobe malfunction as she fought back while holding up her dress).
“I was really singing during that performance, because I thought in my mind as a performer, you know, you can do it one of two ways. Because it is a show, and TV, and you can do things a number of ways. Honestly, I found we were going to be doing that pretty much the day before we taped it. So, we were given the option, ‘Do you want to sing to your backup track?’… And I said absolutely not. I want people to see that I’m serious about this. And if I got up there and for whatever reason something goes wrong, then I only have myself to blame.”
— Bob Ryder, TNA Wrestling’s Director of Talent Bookings and Travel, has confirmed that James Storm has joined Twitter.
— Comcast subscribers can watch AJ Styles vs. Kurt Angle from last year’s TNA Genesis pay-per-view in the On Demand Events Free Preview section.
— The promotional poster for TNA Wrestling’s Against All Odds pay-per-view event has been released:
North Carolina newspaper The Pilot reports that TNA World Heavyweight Champion Jeff Hardy will enter a negotiated plea Jan. 20, according to his attorney, James Van Camp.
“We anticipate a resolution of this matter in January,” Van Camp said earlier this month at an administrative session of Moore County Superior Court.
Moore County District Attorney Maureen Krueger said that Hardy will plead guilty to one or more of the charges he faces.
Krueger did not disclose details of the state’s plea offer but said it will include a sentencing arrangement.
The Pilot reports that the plea would have to be approved by the court. A judge may refuse to accept a plea arrangement involving a negotiated sentence.
County deputies raided Hardy’s home on September 11, 2009 after Fayetteville police received a tip about drug use there. He was arrested on charges of trafficking in controlled prescription pills and possession of anabolic steroids, after a search of his residence yielded 262 Vicodin prescription pills, 180 soma prescription pills, 555 milliliters of anabolic steroids, a residual amount of powder cocaine, and drug paraphernalia.
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It was announced on iMPACT! that Rob Van Dam would be competing at Genesis against a mystery opponent selected by Immortal.
Below is the updated card for the Jan. 6 pay-per-view event:
TNA World Heavyweight Championship #1 Contender’s Match
Matt Morgan vs. Mr. Anderson
Rob Van Dam vs. Immortal’s Mystery Opponent
TNA Television Championship Match
Douglas Williams (c) vs. AJ Styles
TNA Tag Team Championship Match
Motor City Machineguns (c) vs. Beer Money, Inc.
TNA X Division Championship Match
Jay Lethal (c) vs. Kazarian
TNA Women’s Knockout Championship Match
Madison Rayne (c) vs. Mickie James
Brother Ray vs. Brother Devon