There are now reportedly three bidders in the running to buy TNA. Dave Meltzer reported on Live Audio Wrestling that he’s heard of two new bidders aside from Aroluxe, and one is “TV-based” and would run TNA in a way that could be compared to Turner and WCW. He didn’t mention the name of the company.

Meltzer noted that if this TV company gets TNA, they may want to pull Impact Wrestling from Pop TV in favor of airing it on their own channels. He says TNA’s international syndication deals in the UK and India would be the valuable assets to this bidder. One company that fits the criteria mentioned by Meltzer is Sinclair Broadcasting, where Aroluxe CEO David Johnson worked for 11 years. Sinclair Broadcasting is the parent company of Ring Of Honor.

In last week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Meltzer reported that Dixie Carter had already gone 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.

https://youtu.be/Mm8rKgGnPQo

Tonight on Pop, TNA presents a special Sacrifice edition of Impact Wrestling. The following matches are scheduled for the show:

– TNA World Champion Drew Galloway vs. Tyrus

– Mike Bennett vs. Ethan Carter III in a No DQ Match

– King of the Mountain Champion Eric Young vs. Bram

– Tag Team Champions Beer Money vs. The Decay

Plus, The BroMans will appear on Eli Drake’s “Fact of Life” segment.

Following up on the news that TNA is in talks with potential investors, F4Wonline.com reports that people in the company are expecting a deal to be struck in the near future.

Negotiations are heating up and TNA’s financial situation is growing more dire by the month. There is said to be one group that is the most serious candidate, with another interested party considered to be a long shot. The primary company is said to have people on board with experience in the wrestling business.

TNA President Dixie Carter continues to push for a prominent role in the company in the event of a sale, even if the ‘investors’ acquire a majority stake. This has been the main sticking point in all of TNA’s negotiations with investors and has led to several major opportunities falling through already.

This week’s episode of Impact Wresting averaged 286,000 viewers on Pop TV. This is up from last week’s 272,000, but down from the previous week’s 312,000 viewers. This week’s episode was headlined by Matt Hardy and Tyrus vs. Jeff Hardy and World Heavyweight Champion Drew Galloway.

There was no late night replay, as Pop TV has moved it to Saturdays at 11:30 AM ET. Last week’s replay averaged 66,000 viewers, and the previous week’s replay averaged 76,000.

This week’s show was ranked #132 in the Top 150 cable shows for the night.

The advertising rates for Impact Wrestling on Pop TV have been released online, and it may shed some light on why certain cable channels are hesitant to do business with TNA. James Caldwell of PWTorch.com reports that Impact Wrestling commands less money for commercials than lower-rated programming on the network, such as Days Of Our Lives reruns, or an airing of the 1998 movie You’ve Got Mail.

Caldwell reported the following ad rates for the March 29th episode of Impact Wrestling, compared to other programs on Pop TV.

TNA Impact 3/29 first-run airing revenue: $18,414
Avg. cost for a 30-second ad: $335

Days of Our Lives 3/29 revenue: $44,135
Avg. cost for 30-second ad: $1,100-1,250

Another example Caldwell reported was a 30-second ad during You’ve Got Mail costing $406. It was reported that TNA’s only revenue from Pop TV is a cut of the ad revenue, so Pop TV might be ending up with less than the numbers mentioned above for Impact Wrestling commercials. Pop TV recently removed the Tuesday night replay of Impact Wrestling.

We reported yesterday that TNA is in the process of moving out of their offices at Cummins Station in Nashville and into the ShopTNA.com warehouse. PWInsider.com originally reported that the move had been planned for a while, but there appears to be more to the story.

Dave Meltzer reported on Wrestling Observer Radio that TNA is actually being evicted from the building, and their only choice is to move all of their business operations into the ShopTNA warehouse. Dixie Carter had offices in that same space for her old public relations company for years before she got involved in TNA, and TNA took over the space from her PR company. TNA has until the end of the month to move out.

The company reportedly needs to raise money if they want to be able to pay for airfare for their next Impact Wrestling TV tapings in Orlando. TNA does have an investor willing to put money into the company for controlling interest, but Dixie Carter reportedly isn’t interested in giving up her control right now.

• Russo Talks About Time In TNA: “Dixie Carter Lies, It’s Part Of Her Persona”

https://youtu.be/9mIiNCOWHkc

The following is a spoiler-free preview for tonight’s episode of TNA Impact Wrestling on Pop TV. This is the first week that Pop will no longer be airing a Tuesday night replay, so fans on the West Coast will have to watch the first airing:

– EC3 vs. Mike Bennett

– Knockouts Champion Jade vs. Madison Rayne

– X-Division Champion Trevor Lee vs. DJZ (Non-Title Match)

– Beer Money Defends The Tag Team Titles

Pop TV will no longer replay TNA Impact Wrestling on Tuesday nights. Impact will air once at 9/8c and then a replay will air Saturday mornings at 11:30 (Eastern).

Since Pop TV does not have a dedicated West Coast feed, the change means that fans on the west coast will no longer be able to watch Impact in prime time. Fans in the Pacific time zone will see Impact air at 6pm – a move that will almost certainly erode TNA’s weekly viewership even further.

It’s hard to spin this in a positive way. The news came the same day that TNA is moving their corporate headquarters into their merchandise warehouse, which you can see below:

@bryanalvarez TNA's new global headquarters – legit! pic.twitter.com/r240xMKlzP

— The Stranger’s Disease (@BornToulouse) April 11, 2016

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dM49bB2yQgI

TNA is taking the stance that the cease and desist letter from Justin “Krimson” Carnes last week wouldn’t hold up in court. PWInsider.com reports that the company’s response including citing wrestling wearing facepaint dating back to the 1980’s with the Road Warriors, and various wrestling with clown-esque paint. The company also made a point to mention that wrestlers with painted faces are often placed together in stables.

PWInsider says that more than one independent wrestling promoter told them they feel it’s silly for Carnes to claim a copyright on his character, since he’s allegedly written them looking for bookings describing his character as being based off “The Joker” from DC Comics.

The cease & desist alleged that Crazzy Steve and TNA ripped off his likeness, including mannerisms, costumes, face paint and the red mist. TNA reportedly has no plans to pull Crazzy Steve, who currently holds the tag team titles with Abyss, from TV.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9iV2tfyXDVs

TNA Wrestling will be dramatically downscaling their corporate headquarters later this month, according to PWInsider.

The company is in the process of packing up and moving out of their longtime offices at Cummins Station in Nashville, TN. All business operations are being moved to a warehouse the company currently uses for the ShopTNA.com store. This latest cost-cutting move has reportedly been planned for some time.

TNA has been at the Cummins Station location since Dixie Carter and Panda Energy got involved in the company. Prior to running TNA, Dixie Carter’s public relations company had been based out of the Cummins Station office.

TNA was recently sent a Cease & Desist letter last month by Ohio indie wrestler Justin Carnes regarding the Crazzy Steve character and the Decay stable, according to PWInsider.

Carnes, who wrestled under the name Krimson (an evil clown) and has worked for TNA as an enhancement talent, claims that Crazzy Steve and TNA ripped off his likeness, including mannerisms, costumes, face paint and the red mist.

He also claims to have created a stable called “Dead Wrestler’s Society” back in 2010, which he feels was the ‘inspiration’ for the Decay.

TNA’s legal department has reportedly received the letter – no word yet on how they plan to respond.

Crazzy Steve has been with TNA since 2014. He and Abyss currently hold the company’s tag team titles.

During a recent appearance on Bolin Alley podcast, Former WWE, TNA and WCW writer Vince Russo spoke openly about his time working for TNA and controversial company president, Dixie Carter.

Over the years “Fire Russo” became a chant synonymous with TNA’s crappy booking, but Russo told host Kenny Bolin that during his near-decade stint with TNA, he only served as head booker for 2 months.

“I was at TNA for the good part of 10 years and there was about 2 months where as Mr Bolin would say I had the book. Other than that I will not claim 100% responsibility, simply because I did not have 100% responsibility,” Russo said. “If I had it, I would claim it and have no issue with it. When I first started, Jeff [Jarrett] was in charge of creative and my job was to bring Jeff as many ideas and as many storylines as I could, that was my job but at the end of the day Jeff decided what was on TV and what wasn’t on TV. Jeff was the boss, it was me, Jeff and Dutch Mantell. Then Jeff was sent home because of the Kurt Angle incident and there was about a 2 month there where I was literally in charge of writing the TV.

While talking about Hulk Hogan and Eric Bischoff’s stint with TNA, Russo bluntly stated that lying is simply part of Dixie Carter’s persona.

“Matt Conway was helping me but shortly after [Jarrett’s departure], Dixie brought in Eric Bischoff and Hulk Hogan and of course, she lied to me from the offset because Dixie lies very much, that’s part of her persona,” Russo said. “She told me the only creative input that Eric Bischoff and Hulk Hogan were going to have was as it pertained to Hulk’s character and literally within a week, there was Eric Bischoff sitting in on creative meetings acting like he was the boss, Hulk Hogan acting like he was the boss by the time we got to TV, so that was a period where I was definitely not in control of either.”

His time with TNA wasn’t all negative. Russo said his first year with TNA was probably his most enjoyable time in the wrestling business because he felt that he would have the opportunity to evolve the concepts he helped create during the Attitude Era. However, by the time TNA reached a deal with Fox Sports, it became clear he wouldn’t have the creative freedom he wanted and things went downhill from there.

You can listen to the full podcast here.

• Vince Russo Reaches Out To Vince McMahon Again Hoping To Save The Wrestling Business

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E5yH8QH7EZ8

This week’s TNA IMPACT Wrestling episode, featuring Eric Young vs. Jeff Hardy in Six Sides of Steel, drew 272,000 viewers.

This is down 13% from last week’s 312,000 viewers and the previous week’s 331,000 viewers. The week before that did 307,000 viewers.

Last week’s show ranked #113 on the Cable Top 150 and this week’s show ranked #145.

TNA Impact Wrestling can be seen Tuesday Nights at 9/8 c on POP TV

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-9ZZKYBTEV8

This week’s episode of TNA’s Impact Wrestling on Pop TV averaged 312,000 viewers for what was billed as a historic World Heavyweight Title match between Jeff Hardy and Drew Galloway. This is down from last week’s 331,000 viewers, but up from the 307,000 viewers their semi-live show drew two weeks ago.

The episode was ranked #113 in the Cable Top 150 chart, rising from last week’s #127 ranking.

https://youtu.be/fXDHtaBVnuw

Toronto – Fight Network, the world’s premier 24/7 multi-platform channel dedicated to complete coverage of combat sports, and TNA Entertainment announced today they have entered into a comprehensive content partnership to seize a global digital audience for fight-based content.

Fight Network’s over-the-top (OTT) app available on digital platforms will become the global home for TNA Wrestling content starting in the second quarter of this year. Fight Network and TNA Wrestling will collaborate to produce digital content and will also partner on cross-promotion and joint sales efforts in global markets, as well as in the U.S. and Canada.

Fight Network’s OTT app is available on Apple TV, Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Verizon Go90, Layer 3 and KlowdTV.

Fight Network is currently the home of TNA Wrestling programming in Canada, including its two hour flagship weekly program IMPACT WRESTLING, TNA Wrestling’s Greatest Matches and TNA Xplosion. Fight Network will now also air select TNA Wrestling archive programming on its linear channels in select U.S. markets and in over 30 countries across Europe, Africa and the Middle East where Fight Network currently broadcasts.

“As a TNA Wrestling broadcast partner, we see the quality of the content, the viewer reaction and the potential to bring great programming to the world,” said Leonard Asper, CEO of Anthem Sports & Entertainment Corp. “Our global OTT service now available on several platforms will be immeasurably strengthened by this partnership and we see this as just the first step in building global fight themed destination channel together.”

“Our enhanced partnership with Fight Network to deliver new and archived content through linear and over-the-top platforms, as well as to bring TNA programming to new and emerging markets around the world, is a significant step in the execution of TNA’s strategic plan,” said TNA president Dixie Carter. “Fans are hungry for easily accessible content they can view on demand, and come this summer, the action of TNA IMPACT WRESTLING will be more available than ever.”

For more information about the Fight Network OTT, visit www.fightnetwork.com.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s9EU5IG_ti0

The following matches are scheduled for tonight’s episode of Impact Wrestling on Pop TV:

• TNA Champion Drew Galloway vs. Jeff Hardy
• Eric Young & Bram vs. The Bromans
• Velvet Sky vs. Madison Rayne.
• EC3 vs. Tyrus, Matt Hardy & Rockstar Spud
• Tag Team champions Beer Money in action

Plus, The Pope calls out Bobby Lashley and appearances by X-Division champion Trevor Lee, Reby Sky and more.

As noted, Bobby Roode and Eric Young were granted their release from their TNA contracts. The two men are now free agents and now are free to wrestler anywhere in the world.

According to Dave Meltzer, WWE has had contact with both men through an intermediary. WWE is said to be more interested in Young as they feel he can play any character that they need him to play.

Young and Roode will remain on TNA television for a couple more week from previously taped episodes.

– TNA has entered “serious” talks with a potential investor, according to Dave Meltzer on Wrestling Observer Radio. Once again, the main sticking point is that Dixie Carter wants to remain heavily involved in TNA’s operations and the investor is looking for a majority interest in the company. This is very similar to when Toby Keith was looking to buy into the company, but walked away because he wasn’t interested in sinking millions of dollars into a company that Dixie still had control of.

– PWInsider reports that formerVelvet Sky’s contract expires next month and there’s a lot of uncertainty regarding her future. The news comes just days after news broke that Angelina Love, Bobby Roode and Eric Young are all done with the company. Sky has been one of the top Knockouts in TNA since joining the company back in 2007.

Angelina Love appears to be gone from TNA.

The 34-year-old, who gave birth to a baby boy on Mar. 17, revealed Saturday that her contract with the promotion expired while she was pregnant and is now a free agent. She does, however, plan on returning to the ring in June.

9 days post delivery…this free agent will start posting videos soon of my workouts & return to the ring in June! pic.twitter.com/VGZerwH7ua

— Lauren/Angelina Love (@ActualALove) March 27, 2016

No, it expired during my pregnancy. https://t.co/5UDOxdpsOH

— Lauren/Angelina Love (@ActualALove) March 27, 2016

Love last wrestled in June, with her last appearance on Impact Wrestling taking place on Sept. 9. She was attacked backstage by members of The Dollhouse, who broken her arm in the storyline.

Love previously left the organization in 2012 and 2009. She has held the Knockouts Championship a record six times.

• Was Christy Hemme Fired From WWE For Having A Relationship With Triple H?

As noted earlier, Ethan Carter III has cancelled two UK appearances scheduled for next weekend. The former TNA Champion has since issued a statement clarifying the situation and explaining why he was forced to pull out.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=unvsKIzgtbQ

Next weekend, while most of the notable talent on the American pro wrestling scene (and a lot of names from elsewhere, as well) will be in Dallas for WrestleMania weekend, TNA’s Ethan Carter III was set to go to England for bookings with both Southside Wrestling and Preston City Wrestling. The promoters of the two groups are friends and generally split the transportation costs of international talent, so they tend to share each other’s outside names. Today, via nearly identical statements from both Southside and PCW that were posted on their respective websites, it was announced that TNA has pulled EC3 from both dates, telling PCW that ”Unfortunately nothing can be done. This is a network commitment and something he had no control over.”

As of this writing, it’s unclear exactly what kind of “network commitment for Pop TV (or perhaps an international partner like Sony Six in India) came up. The same goes for why it necessitated EC3 being pulled from his WrestleMania weekend bookings on eight days’ notice. The Southside statement said that they were told EC3 was needed to do “media work.”

Being that the show is WrestleMania weekend and just about every suitable replacement you can think of is already booked in Dallas on at least one of the many area independent shows, this is a much more difficult to solve problem than even a normal short notice pull-out for an international guest star. In his statement, PCW wonder Steven Fludder noted this issue, but promised the fans that “I have worked hard to secure somebody and subject to him finding his passport we may have another guest from the USA.” The other international fly-ins who are booked on the show (Ken Anderson , Cedric Alexander , Angelico , Eddie Kingston, and Jade) are still appearing.

This is the second time in the last several months that TNA has pulled EC3 from UK bookings on short notice, the previous occasion being so he could go do promotional work for TNA’s tour of China. You may remember that TNA’s tour of China ended up never happening. At PWInsider.com, Mike Johnson explained that according to his TNA sources, the latest cancellation was complicated by EC3 being booked directly instead of through the TNA office. Apparently, TNA took the stance that there was nothing they could really do, whereas they tried to make the situation right when James Storm (who must be booked through TNA per the terms of his new contract) had to be pulled for similar reasons this week.

Of course, just because TNA felt no obligation to help PCW and Southside doesn’t mean they couldn’t have tried to find out who was available this week that would be a suitable replacement for EC3. That said, as Dave Meltzer noted at F4WOnline.com, the most suitable replacements under TNA contract are already booked. The Hardys and Drew Galloway will be in Dallas. Bobby Lashley will be in Mexico, but that’s on Wednesday so he might be able to be freed up.

Ken Anderson appeared on the This is Awesome Wrestling Show podcast, hosted by Glenn Moore Steve Guy. Topics discussed include his recent “F**k TNA” remark, Bobby Roode and Eric Young leaving TNA, the differences between the WWE and TNA locker rooms, Hulk Hogan dropping the legdrop on Gawker, Triple H as WWE Champion and much more.

• Video: Mr. Anderson Says “F**k TNA” At ICW Live Event From Scotland

Here’s what he said about the “F**k TNA” comment and why it was taken out of context:

“It was taken completely out of context, for one. I was working a show in Scotland; it was an adult show. The crowd sorta reminds me of an ECW crowd. For a wrestling promotion called ICW. It’s huge in Scotland. And the crowd starting chanting, ‘F**k TNA’, at the top of their lungs. Five, six hundred people in the audience. And I was playing the role of a heel that night. A lot of times when I go out to the ring, I’ll get a good reaction from the crowd because they know my gimmick and they wanna sing along with it and they wanna do it. And so, I got that reaction when I went out there. And then they started chanting ‘F**k TNA’. So I just said, ‘Well, I don’t work for them anymore, so yeah, f**k TNA.’ At which point, they popped.”

After he made the remark, he then told the crowd, “But your opinion means squat to me, so f**k every each one of you too.” The video that we linked above didn’t include that last part, which he believes changes the overall message of what he was saying.

He also commented on the atmosphere in the WWE locker room, which he hasn’t been a part of since 2009.

“At WWE, I’ve seen guys walk around on eggshells, everybody is worried their going to lose their job tomorrow. You never know. Everybody is on edge. All the time. There’s sorta this jealous type of environment, that I think to some degree is encouraged. Because they want you to be competitive with each other. And at TNA, we are competitive, but it’s like you’re competitive against your own teammates, kind of. Everybody works together and helps each other.”

As for Bobby Roode and Eric Young, he likes both guys and can see them in WWE or New Japan Pro Wrestling.

TNA Wrestling issued a press release today announcing the signing of Pepper Parks, Cherry Bomb, Mr. M80 and former NXT stars Sylvester LeFort and Marcus Louis. Here’s the official announcement:

“IMPACT WRESTLING is proud to announce the signing of five fresh and new members to our active roster effective immediately. Jesse Guilmette, Laura Dennis, Marshe Rockett, Thomas LaRuffa and Mikael Vierge all signed their contracts with IMPACT WRESTLING earlier this month.

Jesse Guilmette and Laura Dennis are best known on the independent wrestling scene as Pepper Parks and Cherry Bomb. This real-life married duo caught the eye of IMPACT WRESTLING officials, and on a very emotional day for both Jesse and Laura, they signed their contracts together and look forward to entertaining the IMPACT WRESTLING fans very soon.

Marshe Rockett was born in Normal, Illinois and has earned the nickname “Mr. M80″ for his explosive offensive ability. Marshe impressed IMPACT WRESTLING officials at a recent tryout and was signed immediately. Marshe is someone who can make a quick impression on the IMPACT WRESTLING roster.

Thomas LaRuffa and Mikael Vierge, both born in France, have been competing all over the world for the past several years. Tom and Mikael want to be considered the benchmark for tag teams in IMPACT WRESTLING and their desire to be the best has set them apart from their peers. Following the career path of both Eli Drake and Bram, Tom and Mikael have extensive training inside the wrestling ring and look to bring their knowledge to IMPACT WRESTLING.

We welcome all five of these amazing athletes as the newest members of the TNA IMPACT WRESTLING roster and look forward to seeing them in action on IMPACT WRESTLING in the near future.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sNeHqe2tC0I

This week’s episode of TNA Impact Wrestling drew 331,000 viewers according to Showbuzz Daily. The episode featured Jeff Hardy winning a Gauntlet Match in the main event, and was the second week in a row that Impact viewership increased. The episode was up 8% in viewers from the previous week’s episode, which averaged 307,000 viewers.

However, the replay fell 52 percent, giving Impact a combined audience of 390,000 viewers, down nine percent from last week’s audience of 430,000 viewers.

This week’s show was ranked #127 on the Cable Top 150, up from last week’s #129 ranking.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6uVAVZ1FjCw

The following matches have been taped for tonight’s episode of Impact Wrestling on Pop TV:

• TNA World Heavyweight Champion Drew Galloway celebrates his title win
• Matt Hardy, Tyrus and Rockstar Spud vs. Ethan Carter III in a Gauntlet Match
• TNA Tag Team Champions Beer Money issue an open challenge
• Eddie Edwards vs. Crazzy Steve in a Street Fight
• Knockouts Champion Gail Kim vs. Maria Kanellis

– Dave Meltzer noted on the latest Wrestling Observer Radio that morale was really bad at last week’s Impact tapings from Orlando. There’s a feeling among some that the company is going nowhere. Of course, the departures of TNA original Bobby Roode and Eric Young certainly did not help the climate backstage.