– TNA World Champion Lashley defeated X Division Champion Eddie Edwards to become a dual champion on tonight’s Impact Wrestling show. Lashley won his first X Championship inside Six Sides of Steel.
– It looks like TNA Bound For Glory will now take place on Sunday, 10/2, instead of 9/11, according to PWInsider. TNA had planned to move the pay-per-view from October to September but apparently they moved back to October to accommodate additional tapings at Universal Studios.
– Tyrus’ new “Fixer” gimmick can be seen in this vignette:
TNA is expanding their international reach. It was announced on Thursday that the company reached a deal with internet TV platform YouKu. Impact Wrestling will be shown on Wednesday evenings on i.youku.com/tnawrestling.
TNA will be broadcasting new episodes of IMPACT every Weds at 8 PM on China's Youku platform. Come check us out at https://t.co/nd8qm7p0qd!
Following Dixie Carter’s announcement on Twitter, a video hosted by Josh Matthews was uploaded to YouKu discussing the new deal. TNA will be teaming up with a company called Fit Time based in Beijing for promotional purposes.
TNA held another round of tapings from Universal Orlando on Wednesday night featuring matches for the next few weeks of Impact as well as the upcoming One Night Only:Xtravaganza PPV. Here are the results:
TNA One Night Only: Xtravaganza PPV:
– Chuck Taylor defeated Rockstar Spud
– DJ Z defeated Jonathan Gresham
Impact Wrestling (Airing July 21st and 28th)
– Broken Matt defeated James Storm in a Bound for Glory Playoff match.
– EC3 defeated Eli Drake in a Bound for Glory Playoff match.
– Drew Galloway defeated Bram in a Bound for Glory Playoff match.
– Maria Kanellis delivered a State of the Knockouts Address. Gail Kim demanded a match with Maria but was told she first has to face all of the Knockouts. if she loses, she’ll never get another Knockouts title match. Madison Rayne attacked Gail Kim.
– Mike Bennett defeated Jeff Hardy in a Bound for Glory Playoff match. Afterwards, Broken Matt, and Reby taunted Jeff.
– TNA World Champion Bobby Lashley defeated Eddie Edwards in a steel cage match to capture the X Division Championship. A huge brawl took place after the match involving BFG playoff participants, Moose and more.
– Gail Kim defeated Madison Rayne to earn a match against Maria Kanellis.
– Decay defeated The Bromans in a Monster’s Ball Match.
– EC3 defeated Broken Matt in a Bound for Glory Playoff match to advance to the finals.
– Moose defeated David Starr.
– Mike Bennett defeated Drew Galloway in a Bound for Glory Playoff match to advance to the finals. The finish came when EC3 accidentally hit Galloway with a kendo stick.
TNA World Champion Bobby Lashley captured the X Division Championship from Eddie Edwards at Wednesday night’s Impact Wrestling tapings from Orlando, Florida.
The Champion vs. Champion match took place inside Six Sides of Steel and and will air as the main event of next week’s Impact, the first week that Impact moves “home” to Thursdays.
Check back soon for complete spoilers from the tapings.
TNA announced the participants for their Bound For Glory Playoffs this week. The Playoffs begin on the July 21st episode of Impact Wrestling on Pop TV. The winner will become the #1 contender for the TNA World Heavyweight Championship and will receive a match at Bound For Glory 2016.
Below are the official participants in the Bound For Glory Playoffs.
Matt Hardy
Jeff Hardy
Ethan Carter III
Bram
Mike Bennett
Drew Galloway
James Storm
Eli Drake
Bound For Glory 2016 is scheduled for September 11th at a city and venue to be announced.
Last night’s Destination X episode of TNA Impact Wrestling on Pop TV averaged 358,000 viewers, down from last week’s record setting 410,000 viewers for the episode with The Final Deletion.
The show featured the Final Deletion aftermath and X Division Champion Eddie Edwards vs. World Champion Lashley in the main event. Impact was the 90th most-watched show on cable for the evening in the 18-49 demographic.
Bray Wyatt took to Twitter on Tuesday night and commented on the controversy surrounding his Wyatt Family compound segment from Monday’s RAW and the similarities to TNA’s “Final Deletion” match with The Hardys.
Last night’s Destination X Impact Wrestling saw former ROH wrestler and NFL player Moose make his TNA debut. PWInsider reports that he has signed a 2 year deal and will work 110 dates for the company. His debut came as a surprise as officials kept him away from Universal Studios until it was time to film.
During Eddie Edwards vs. Bobby Lashley with the X Division and World Titles on the line, “Miracle” Mike Bennett hit the ring and broke up a pin by Edwards. Davey Richards, who returned earlier in the night from being out of action with an injury, made the save but was soon taken out by the debuting Moose. Moose took out both of The Wolves and had a staredown with Lashley, allowing Bennett to hit a low blow on Lashley. Moose then hit a lariat on Lashley.
TNA President Dixie Carter then booked a rematch with Edwards vs. Lashley in Six Sides of Steel for next week, due to the interference from Bennett and Moose.
Here is a video of his entrance and a tweet with comments on the arrival:
– DJ Zema Ion won a Ladder Match on last night’s Destination X themed edition of Impact Wrestling to become the new #1 contender to the X Division Title, currently held by Eddie Edwards.
– As noted, a new #1 contender to the TNA World Heavyweight Champion for the main event of Bound For Glory will be determined by an eight-man BFG Playoff match. Participants for that match will be determined via qualifying matches, set to begin on next Thursday’s Impact episode. Matches confirmed so far include James Storm vs. Matt Hardy, Eli Drake vs. Ethan Carter III and Bram vs. Drew Galloway.
– Speaking of #1 contenders, DJ Zema Ion won a ladder match last night to earn a shot at the TNA X Division Title. That belt is currently held by Eddie Edwards and as noted, he will defend against World Champion Bobby Lashley in a title vs. title rematch inside Six Sides of Steel next week. That match will be taped tonight in Orlando and we will have full spoilers later.
– Matt Hardy had a “Final Deletion” viewing party segment on last night’s Impact and it was filmed at his North Carolina home this week. Appearing in the segment were former WWE/TNA star Shannon Moore, Reby Sky’s close friend as Rita the servant and indie booker Brad Stutts as Matt’s butler.
Part of the 7/21 TNA Impact episode was taped on Tuesday night in Orlando. The rest will be taped tonight and these will air in TNA’s new timeslot of 8pm on Thursday night next week:
– Matt Hardy beat James Storm in a BFG Playoff match
– Maria Kanellis hosts the State of the Knockouts in the ring with Madison Rayne, Jade, Marti Bell, Gail Kim, Sienna and Allie. She offers a reward to anyone who takes out Gail. Madison lays Gail out and says it’s not personal
– Ethan Carter, Drew Galloway and Eli Drake cut promos on the BFG Playoffs
– EC3 defeated Eli Drake in a BFG Playoff match
– Drew Galloway defeated Bram in a BFG Playoff match
During a promotional tour of India this past week, Alberto Del Rio revealed why he didn’t join TNA after being released by WWE in 2014.
“At the end of the day you can love what you do, but you have to be rewarded. If somebody wants to have me in their organization, they have to pay me, and there is no other place like WWE, which is a major league of progress and growth. TNA does not have the wherewithal as WWE does,” he said in an interview with The Indian Express, which is titled “I didn’t sign up with TNA because they can’t pay.”
Del Rio was also asked about Indian native and former WWE Superstar The Great Khali.
“I know who Khali is. We worked together in WWE. It is just we were never friends, and hence I have no interest in meeting or seeing him or even talk to him,” he said.
Del Rio also discussed working for other wrestling organizations, how he remains fit, if he would star in a Bollywood film, and more. You can check out the interview here.
Tonight’s Impact, which airs on a slight tape delay from Orlando, will feature EC3 vs. Drew Galloway, TNA World Champion Lashley vs. X Division Champion Eddie Edwards with both titles on the line, Gail Kim vs. Jade vs. Marti Bell vs. Knockouts Champion Sienna and an X Division Ladder match to determine a new #1 contender.
Plus, Matt Hardy will address The Final Deletion win over Jeff Hardy. Matt revealed on Twitter that more footage from his home will air and he’s calling it The Public Deletion. He tweeted:
No 1 will EVAH put more FUN in dysFUNctionality than me & my #BROKEN brilliance.#ThePublicDeletion starts from my property tomorrow at 9.
John Gaburick recently appeared on The Taz Show to talk about Impact Wrestling switching from Tuesday to Thursday nights on Pop TV. Gaburick serves as TNA’s Executive VP of Talent Relations & Creative, and shed some light on TNA’s position on the move.
Gaburick said the move was an opportunity for Impact to go “back home” to Thursdays, where he says their viewership was always the highest. He theorized that people have built-in habits to watch wrestling on Thursday evenings. Gaburick says TNA management is “super-excited” about the move, and said it’s a good opportunity for the company.
Gaburick hadn’t made any mention of SmackDown moving to Tuesday nights against the current Impact timeslot, so Taz asked him and Gaburick admitted that the competition from WWE “was a part of the decision.”
Impact Wrestling moves to Thursday on Pop TV starting July 21st.
TNA is reportedly close to reaching an agreement on the sale of the company. Dave Meltzer reported on Monday’s edition of Wrestling Observer Radio that the TNA situation “is coming to a head.”
Billy Corgan and Aroluxe Marketing have both put money into TNA in recent months and became minority shareholders. TNA has been signing talent to exclusive deals as leverage for sale negotiations. Finances in TNA have reportedly been so tight that production staff went months without being paid, and the company’s June 14th Slammiversary pay-per-view almost didn’t happen if it weren’t for some last-minute funding.
As of press time, there’s no word on who TNA’s buyer is. Three previously-reported potential buyers include an unnamed cable TV company, a company that specializes in troubled assets, and Aroluxe marketing, who are already handling TNA’s production and doing business as “TNA” on paper.
Earlier this year, Dixie Carter went to TNA’s international partners Sony Six in India and Challenge TV in the UK to offer them 10 percent of the company for funding, but they were not interested.
TNA has announced several more matches for next week’s Destination X edition of Impact Wrestling on Pop TV. With TNA looking to capitalize on the momentum of last week’s Final Deletion show, here’s what we can expect:
Title vs. Title Match: X Division Champion Eddie Edwards vs. World Champion Lashley
Knockouts Title Match: Sienna vs. Gail Kim vs. Marti Bell vs. Jade
X Division Contenders Ladder Match: Trevor Lee vs. Braxton Sutter vs. Andrew Everett vs. Rockstar Spud vs. Mandrews vs. DJZ
Drew Galloway vs. EC3
Plus, Broken Matt will speak about his Final Deletion victory and the termination of Brother Nero.
Impact Wrestling’s “Final Deletion” angle between Jeff Hardy and Broken Matt Hardy drew 410,000 viewers, and according to PWInsider.com, TNA officials were ecstatic about that number. Up from last week’s 322,000 viewers, this week’s show was their most-viewed since joining Pop TV.
According to PWInsider, TNA creative came up with the concept for the segment because Dixie Carter wanted there to be spoiler-free content on Impact. The segment was filmed at Jeff and Matt’s actual properties in North Carolina. Jeremy Borash drove in from Nashville to direct and edit the segments. There was more material that was filmed but not used.
All of the props for the segment were already at Matt’s house, including the birthday party setup for his son. Referee Kevin Keenan was used at Matt’s request because he liked him from their time together in WWE. Senor Benjamin will likely be on TV again as a part of Matt’s storylines.
TNA and Pop TV have announced that Impact Wrestling is moving to Thursday nights starting July 21st. Impact will also be moving to an earlier start time, 8pm (Eastern).
The show moving back to Thursdays is a response to WWE SmackDown moving to Tuesday nights the same week, starting July 19th.
TNA President Dixie Carter confirmed on Twitter that fans in the UK can still catch Impact on Sunday nights at 9pm.
It sounds like there may be another change on the horizon for TNA’s weekly Impact Wrestling broadcast. Dave Meltzer reported on today’s Wrestling Observer Radio that there’s serious talk between TNA and Pop TV about moving Impact Wrestling to Thursday nights. Nothing is official as of press time, but Meltzer feels that the move to Thursdays is probable.
Impact Wrestling currently airs on Tuesdays, and starting July 19th, so will WWE Smackdown. Impact would have one hour of unopposed programming after SmackDown ends if they were to stay on Tuesday nights.
Impact Wrestling aired on Friday nights on Destination America starting in January of last year, then switched to Wednesday nights in June. The show has been airing on Tuesday nights since the company’s January 5th, 2016 premiere on Pop TV.
Viewership was up significantly for this week’s TNA Impact Wrestling on Pop, which featured the Final Deletion angle with Matt and Jeff Hardy. The July 5th episode of Impact Wrestling averaged 410,000 viewers, way up from last week’s 322,000. This was the most-watched episode of Impact since moving to Pop back in December.
All around, this is great news for TNA and a sign that the buzz on social media translated to a spike in viewership. TNA’s strategic decision to provide select members of the wrestling media an advance preview of the segment paid off. The positive reviews that followed certainly had an effect on the increased interest.
Next week, TNA looks to keep the momentum going with Destination X, featuring TNA World Champion Bobby Lashley vs. new TNA X Division Champion Eddie Edwards and EC3’s grudge match against Drew Galloway.
Following TNA’s “final deletion” angle between Matt and Jeff Hardy on Tuesday night’s Impact, Lucha Underground executive producer Eric Van Wagenen took to Twitter to voice his opinion on the angle. Van Wagenen wasn’t a fan, and had this to say shortly after Impact Wrestling went off the air:
MLW Radio reported earlier today that former ROH star and one-time WWE prospect Moose had signed with TNA. They later posted an update, seen below, noting that TNA has made an offer but Moose hasn’t made a decision yet.
It’s no secret that Moose has been on WWE’s radar and was expected to be at the WWE Performance Center this fall. The Wrestling Observer reports that WWE backed away from signing Moose due to a 2009 domestic incident with his now ex-wife, that led to a one-game suspension as he was playing in the NFL then. WWE reportedly told Moose that it was a timing issue, due to the recent incidents with Adam Rose and Jerry Lawler, not a closed door.
TNA, Matt and Jeff Hardy certainly got the wrestling world talking about Tuesday night’s Final Deletion storyline, which ran throughout this week’s Impact broadcast and culminated with a match at the end of the show. The buzz on social media and our own discussion thread was overwhelmingly positive.
Drones, holograms, fireworks used as weapons, Broken Matt, a huge bump by Jeff Hardy, the Final Deletion had it all. As over the top and campy as it was, they produced a very memorable show that got people talking about TNA like we haven’t seen in quite some time. Here are some reactions from the wrestling world:
I lost.There4. . . . . . . . . . ?
— #BrotherNero DELETED (@JEFFHARDYBRAND) July 6, 2016
Meanwhile, it wasn’t all positive. Lucha Underground executive producer Eric Van Wagenen took a shot at TNA over the segment, while Jeremy Borash was quick to throw some shade at LU and the limited availability of the El Rey Network.
Eddie Edwards won back the TNA X Division Championship on tonight’s Impact by winning Ultimate X over champion Mike Bennett, Mandrews, Trevor Lee, Andrew Everett, DJZ, Rockstar Spud and Braxton Sutter.
Edwards’ first X reign came at Slammiversary but he lost the title to Bennett that same week at the TNA tapings. That match aired on 6/21.
Eddie is cashing in his Option C and will face TNA World Champion Bobby Lashley next week in a Title vs. Title match.
Tonight’s episode of TNA Impact Wrestling is getting a ton of buzz for the “Final Deletion” match between Matt and Jeff Hardy. This is being billed as the blowoff to their heated rivalry and has gotten rave reviews from people who have seen it. It’s being billed as a must-see segment and we want to know what you think about it.
Tonight’s Impact will also feature:
TNA Knockouts Streetfight: Marti Belle vs. Jade
KOTM Champion Eli Drake vs. James Storm
The Bromans & Raquel vs. Decay
Tune in to Impact Wrestling on Pop TV tonight at 9pm EST and join us here for the live discussion!
– Matt Hardy spoke to TMZ Sports to promote tonight’s Impact Wrestling “Final Deletion” match against brother Jeff Hardy and gave his prediction for CM Punk’s MMA debut at UFC 203 in September. Hardy believes Punk will be “deleted” just like Jeff will be tonight.
– Joey Ryan says he sold more merchandise during Pro Wrestling Tees’ 4th of July sale than the entire TNA brand. He tweeted the following comments today: