TNA will be holding 5-nights of Impact Wrestling tapings in early January from the Sands Bethlehem Event Center in Bethlahem, Pennsylvania. The January 5th show will be a live broadcast, with additional tapings taking place the night 4 nights.

Here’s the official announcement that was sent out Monday:

TNA IMPACT WRESTLING TAKES OVER THE SANDS BETHLEHEM EVENT CENTER JANUARY 5 – 9 FOR FIVE ACTION-PACKED NIGHTS OF TV

LIVE TELEVISION BROADCAST TO DEBUT ON POP ON TUESDAY, JAN. 5 AT 9 P.M. ET/PT

BETHLEHEM, PA (November 23, 2015) — Following the announcement IMPACT WRESTLING is moving to Pop beginning in 2016, Total Nonstop Action (TNA) Wrestling today announced it will return to the Sands Bethlehem Event Center January 5 – 9 for five action-packed nights of television events, beginning with the LIVE broadcast debut of IMPACT WRESTLING on Pop on Tuesday, Jan. 5 at 9 p.m. ET/PT. Friday, Jan. 8, and Saturday, Jan. 9, will be One Night Only Pay-Per-View and international television tapings.

Tickets, which start at $10 (no additional fees), are on sale starting this Friday, Nov. 27 at 10 a.m. ET, and can be purchased at sandseventcenter.com, the Event Center box office, ticketmaster.com, all Ticketmaster outlets, or by phone at 800-745-3000. Viewers at home can find Pop’s channel number by visiting www.poptv.com.

A limited number of VIP packages, which include a front-row ringside seat and special meet and greet session with photo and autograph opportunities, are available for $75 at shoptna.com.

A special pre-sale will begin this Wednesday, Nov. 25 at 10 a.m. ET, through Thursday, Nov. 26 at 10 p.m. ET. To get the exclusive pre-sale code, follow @TNADixie and @IMPACTWRESTLING on twitter.

IMPACT WRESTLING features some of the world’s greatest athletes, including Olympic Gold Medalist Kurt Angle, Jeff and Matt Hardy, Bobby Lashley, Ethan Carter III, Drew Galloway, Bobby Roode, Gail Kim and the lovely and lethal TNA Knockouts, and the high-flying risk-taking X-Division including Tigre Uno.

For up-to-date information, go to impactwrestling.com/events.

https://youtu.be/A3t-gzMAyUY

Former TNA World Champion Eric Young called into the latest edition of Busted Open Radio to discuss TNA’s upcoming move from Destination America to Pop TV and changes he feels TNA needs to make. Below are some of the highlights from the interview.

On TNA moving to Pop TV and comparing TNA to Nickelback:

“It’s a big, fat, juicy, delicious ray of sunshine. There’s no mystery – all the guys know, all the people in the office know – there’s been a black cloud over the company. Whether it’s deserved or undeserved, that’s all in the eye of the beholder I suppose. But I think somewhere along the line we became kind of too big to be the underdog where people are really rooting for us and not big enough to be taken all the way serious. We’re in this in-between. I liken it – for me, for people that don’t understand wrestling, we’re the Nickelback of pro wrestling right now. I don’t know when that happened. Nickelback doesn’t care that it happened, but they’re aware of it too. It became cool to not like Nickelback. I’m not a musician. I don’t know anything about writing music or whatever, but I like Nickelback’s music. I listen to it. I’ve been a fan. I saw them live in Toronto when no one knew who they were. They were awesome. He has a full-size hockey rink in his basement. He gets drunk and plays with his buddies. They’re great and I think TNA’s great. I’ve always thought that. That will never change. It’s never going to be perfect. Nothing in entertainment is going to make everybody happy, but moving to Pop TV is a big, positive step for us. History’s the history and we’re all moving forward positive.”

On changes TNA needs to make:

“I’m not a businessman. I would never say that I know anything about business. If I didn’t have an iPhone, I would never show up anywhere. I wouldn’t know where I was going. I would never be on time for anything. I’m disorganized and brutal, but if you’re asking me, it has nothing to do with a single person. They have to decide a direction and go there and march. We can’t say, ‘Oh, we’re doing this now’ and throw 20 things against the wall. Then, six weeks down the road, maybe those things aren’t working right away and then re-do it all and start again. We’re spinning our tires. We have to just decide a direction, decide who we’re using, decide what we’re doing, decide who we’re showcasing, what we’re trying to give the wrestling fans, and then give it to them on a consistent basis. That’s the biggest thing for me is consistency. That’s sort of like accountability. When you tune into Impact, you’re getting a great wrestling match. You’re getting a great storyline, you’re getting a good women’s match. It’s the ultimate variety show.”

• Ronda Rousey Makes First Statement Since Losing: How Is She? What’s Her Plans?

Last night, I went over the key items in the report that the Tampa Police Department released released this week about the 2012 theft of DVDs from Bubba the Love Sponge Clem. These DVDs included videos of his former wife Heather Cole having sex with various men, some (like a police officer friend) who knew they were on camera and others (like Hulk Hogan) who didn’t. While there are still some unknowns, like who leaked one of the Hogan videos to Gawker and why nobody has been prosecuted, the report fills in a lot of details that weren’t public previously. I tried to outline those in last night’s article, and now, it’s time to examine them a little deeper.

So, how do you contextualize all of this?

To me, the most interesting part overall was the detailed summary of the December 14, 2012 FBI sting operation in which Hogan and lawyer David Houston pretended to go along with making a deal with sex tape broker Keith Davidson. Not only was it a detailed look at a strange, seedy backroom celebrity business deal, but Davidson made some telling comments. Specifically, the “issues” in the videos that he mentions are Hogan’s now-infamous N-word rant and Hogan saying his son Nick’s then-girlfriend’s twin sister had been coming onto him. The former has been out since July and the latter was known going back to Gawker’s October 2012 article.

I was able to confirm that, contrary to the baseless rumors about racist comments towards Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson being on one video,  there are no other comments deemed to be a threat to Hogan’s public persona. At least when it comes to the videos themselves, there’s not much more damage they could do to Hogan. He was lucky, relatively speaking, that only transcripts got out and not the audio. That the general public hasn’t heard the comments likely plays a factor in why:

1. He’s so optimistic about being rehired by WWE.
2. Some fans mistakenly think he got in trouble for an old radio interview where used the n-word in the context of quoting people.

Obviously, he wants to make sure that doesn’t change, and he also wants to ensure nobody else sees him having sex. But unless there’s something that came up in the FBI investigation that we have no real concept of, there may not be further skeletons this case’s closet that can ruin Hulk Hogan.

Gawker has, at times, claimed that determining if Hogan was aware of the cameras in Bubba the Love Sponge Clem’s house is why they sued the FBI. He’s always insisted that he wasn’t, with skepticism coming from Bubba talking about his security system on his radio show and Cole seemingly positioning Hogan for the camera on the video. While a friend of Bubba’s who had a tryst with Heather after Hogan was aware of the camera, Heather swore to police that Hogan was unaware. From the report (in a section that’s been redacted from the version Bubba posted on his website):

Cole stated that the sex she had with others during her marriage to Bubba was consensual. She stated that Bubba insisted on it being videoed. I asked Cole if Bollea knew he was being recorded and she said no. I told Cole that the in the videos it appears as though she is positioning Bollea for the camera. She said she did that because that is what Bubba wanted. Cole said Bubba could be very controlling. Cole said she remembers Bubba coming to the house after they had separated and requesting the DVDs sometime around the end of 2011.

One would think that issue should be put to bed at this point. Of course, that passage raises another issue, which is that Bubba comes off terribly here. It at least reads as if he heavily pressured his wife into participating in making secret videos of trysts with his friends even if she was fully into their swinger (for lack of a better term) lifestyle. That doesn’t take away from him being a legitimate victim when it comes to the DVD theft and related crimes, and he’s right to be angry at the prosecutors for not charging anyone. After all, if the police have so much evidence and are willing to name Matt Loyd in this report, why do the prosecutors think they won’t get a conviction?

There’s honestly no good answer other than that  conspiracy theories about Hogan using his influence because he’s worried about things that could come out in a trial. As I said earlier: If it’s not on the videos, we don’t know what that is. Unless it’s just not wanting anyone to hear his racist comments on the videos out loud, there’s no indication why this would be.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wk0ZACuiYAY

Speaking of things that Hogan doesn’t want out: One would think that Gawker as well as various interested media outlets (who have filed intervening motions in the past) may try to parlay the release of this report into the unsealing of some of the FBI documents. After all, if the substance of what was said during the sting operation is now public record, why not the word for word transcript? It wouldn’t shock me at all, and it’s something to keep an eye on in both lawsuits.

As for Matt Loyd being named as who stole the DVDs from Bubba, that’s no surprise at this point, as it had been hinted at in various lawsuit filings. But if he didn’t leak one of the DVDs to Gawker, then we don’t really have any good leads as to who it is. That is unless there’s some obfuscation going on here.

We’re still over three months away from the Hogan-Gawker civil trial, and this story is far from over.

https://youtu.be/Uz6aS1l06zA

Viewership was down for both TNA Impact Wrestling and Ring Of Honor on Destination America this week.

TNA Impact Wrestling had a total of 280,000 viewers, down from 374,000 last week. The first airing at 9pm EST drew 202,000 viewers while the 11pm EST replay/West Coast feed after ROH TV did 78,000 viewers, up from 81,000 last week.

After seeing an increase in viewership last week, Ring Of Honor was back down this week. ROH on Destination America this past Wednesday drew 114,000 viewers, up from last week’s final total of 172,000 viewers.

• Ronda Rousey Makes First Statement Since Losing: How Is She? What’s Her Plans?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Od9HQpwesVM

Earlier in the week, we noted that Tampa area media, having procured a new police report, had jumped on the story that Matt “Spiceboy” Loyd was the man behind the theft and leak of the Hulk Hogan sex videos. The local TV stations mostly covered the most basic of details: That Loyd was named as the suspect, prosecutors declined to charge him, and Bubba the Love Sponge (the videos came from his security cameras after he had  given Hogan his blessing to sleep with his then-wife Heather Cole) was angry that the prosecutors were doing nothing.

What I did next was procure the entire 31 page police report from the Tampa Police Department. Since then, Bubba has released a version on his website, but it’s heavily edited and redacted, seemingly to remove the information he doesn’t want out. With that in mind, here are some of the key revelations in the report:

* This specific police investigation started separately from the Hogan videos. as in May of 2014, Loyd (using @Joshisinthecity, a now-deleted dummy/sockpuppet account) tweeted a photo of a stolen non-Hogan DVD to Bubba, who replied to attempt to bait him:

@Joshisinthecity thank u for the heads up. Follow me so we can discuss

— Bubba The Love Sponge®? (@TheBubbaArmy) May 30, 2014

* Loyd no longer had possession of the original Hogan DVDs because they were seized by the The DVD in a 2012 sting operation targeting his “sex tape broker,” oft-disciplined lawyer Keith Davidson. The remaining DVD, labelled with the name a non-celebrity friend of Bubba’s, showed Cole having sex with said friend. The friend did say know he was being recorded, while Cole told the TPD that Hogan did not. When the TPD asked Cole why she appeared to be positioning Hogan for the camera, she replied that it was “because that is what Bubba wanted” and “Bubba could be very controlling.”

* This explains why, to a point, the FBI had stonewalled Gawker in their attempts to get a copy of the FBI’s Hogan investigation. Gawker’s first Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request was filed on November 8, 2013 and rejected on privacy grounds. When they got the necessary waivers from Hogan and Cole via the lawsuit, the refiled on November 7, 2014. By the time the FBI responded on February 4, 2015, not only had the TPD investigation been ongoing for months, but they were also using the FBI file as evidence. That’s why law enforcement privilege was cited to block the release of the file but Gawker had statements stating they were not the target of an investigation: The crime being investigated had nothing to do with the leak to Gawker because Loyd didn’t make contact about the Hogan videos.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WTLztVGd414

* The DVDs were taken from Bubba’s office, where he moved them during his divorce from Cole in October 2011. Why?  “Clem transferred the DVD’s from his home to his workplace where he believed they would be more secure.” The DVDs were eventually moved when he moved to a new studio in December 2011 to January 2012. He didn’t know they were missing until March 2012, when a screenshot showed up online from one of the Hogan videos. “Clem immediately responded to the office/storage area and became aware that each of his DVD’s were now missing.”

* @Joshisinthcity’s tweet was eventually traced to Loyd’s workplace. He claimed that the DVD was a fake and, having known of the DVDs for years, forged Bubba’s handwriting on a new blank DVD to spook him. The handwriting in the photo was consistent with other burnt DVDs Bubba had written on that he provided to the TPD. At this point, Bubba told the TPD “that the FBI had conducted an investigation involving the Bollea DVDs and he thought that case was over.”

* The FBI eventually got approval for the TPD to see the Hogan case file. On January 20th of this year, the Tampa investigators watched the Hogan videos with the FBI agents assigned to the case and summarized them as follows:

Disc marked HOGAN 7/13/07 contained Heather Clem and Terry Bollea engaging in sex. Bollea does not look at the camera. The camera appears to be on a high ledge in the master bedroom behind a plant. There is no discussion about them being recorded.

The disc marked HOOTIE 7/3/07 showed the camera to be in the same location as the previously mentioned disc. Bollea and Heather are standinganext to the bed, Heather is topless and facing Bollea as Bubba walks into view and comments about a scratch she has on her back. Bubba then leaves the room. Bollea and Heather engage in sex.

The disc marked HOOTIE with no date shows that Bubba walks in after sex between Bollea and Heather. Bollea, Heather and Bubba have conversation. Bollea leaves. Bubba makes comment about tape being used for retirement. Bubba says he is going to get the tape and walks out. Tape ends.

* The FBI also provided the TPD with audio recordings taken during the investigation into “sex tape broker” Keith Davidson when he tried to sell the original DVDs to Hogan for Loyd via intermediaries. When Davidson negotiated with Hogan attorney David Houston over the phone as part of a sting operation, they started at $1 and $1 million respectively before settling on $300,000. $150,000 would be paid upfront with two other installments of $75,000 each at the nine and 16 month marks.

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

* Perhaps the most interesting portion of the 31 page report is the detailed summary of the final meeting with Davidson on December 14, 2012 that closed the sting operation. When Houston asked which video “has the issues,” Davidson is paraphrased as saying that “tape 2 talks about his son’s twin girlfriend” while “tape 3 talks about n word, Brooke dating black guy, etc.” Obviously, the tape 3 note refers to Hogan’s racist comments that got him fired by WWE. The other note marks the video Gawker got from Loyd as tape 2, because A.J. Daulerio wrote this in the article that was originally published alongside their “highlight reel” of the video:

But Hulk has to go meet his son Nick at midnight. Then Hulk tells a story about how Nick’s new girlfriend has a twin sister who called Hulk on the phone. Hulk reveals that the young woman inquired about his divorce and, if that’s true, she would like to be the first to go out with him.

It appears that, with that story having been out for over three years now and then n-word rant leaking in July, there is no other incriminating information on the other video, described here as “tape 1.” The audio of the racist comments getting out would be harmful since nobody has heard them, and obviously he doesn’t want anyone to see him having sex, but in terms of damaging information, it’s all out there.

* Davidson, for whatever reason, would only give Houston certain details out of earshot of Hogan.  For example: “I don’t know if they were stolen and quite frankly I don’t want to know if they were stolen.” He also gave his word he would assist in having the clips removed from Gawker’s site, as they were still up at the time. While Davidson told Hogan and Houston his client knew the videos existed because he was shown them and Loyd said it was well-known that the videos existed, Bubba denies showing them to anyone at work.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LmPis1-wJlo

*As outlined in the Tampa media coverage, Lori Burbridge, a friend of Loyd and his wife, Tasha Carrega, handled financial transactions to shield Loyd. Loyd went to TMZ when leaking stills To TheDirty failed to generate enough buzz. She told police that TMZ put Loyd in touch with Davidson, who bragged about handling similar cases when she questioned if what they were doing was legal. TMZ paid $8,500 for the videos, which they never published for legal reasons. TMZ’s Mike Walters had spoken to Hogan on the air on their syndicated TV show about having seen the videos.

* It appears that, while Loyd did contact Gawker under an assumed name, he was not the person who leaked one of the videos to Gawker. Davidson coached Loyd, Carrega, and Burbridge to say they were the Gawker leak to ensure the deal with Hogan went through.

It’s not clear at all why local prosecutors are not charging Loyd if the Tampa Police Department has so much evidence and is willing to name him as a suspect. Tomorrow, we’ll go over some additional details and try to analyze exactly what all of this means.

TNA sent out the following press release on Thursday hyping Impact’s move to Pop TV starting January 5th:

FANDOM LIKE NO OTHER… POP AND IMPACT WRESTLING PARTNER TO BRING FANS RINGSIDE FOR WEEKLY EVENT BROADCAST PREMIERING ON TUESDAY, JAN. 5, 2016

LOS ANGELES, CALIF. – Nov. 19, 2015 – Get ready for #ImpactOnPop. Pop, a network that celebrates the excitement of being a fan, will soon become the exclusive U.S. television home of IMPACT WRESTLING, the hard-hitting, high-flying global sports sensation enjoyed by millions of fans around the world.

Pop will premiere IMPACT WRESTLING with a live two-hour, action-packed broadcast on Tuesday, Jan. 5, 2016, and the show will continue to air every Tuesday night at 9:00 PM, ET/PT. The show features some of the biggest stars in professional wrestling, including Jeff and Matt Hardy, EC3, Kurt Angle, Bobby Lashley, The Wolves, Eric Young, Tigre Uno and Gail Kim.

“Wrestling has been a fan-fueled staple since the ‘50s, and continues to be some of the most-watched appointment television today. The die-hard fandom and extraordinary passion surrounding IMPACT WRESTLING captures the spirit of Pop as a network that celebrates fan-driven entertainment and excitement,” said Brad Schwartz, President of Pop. “We’re committed to this new partnership and psyched to bring the show’s loyal fans a dedicated night to watch their favorite show on Pop every week.”

IMPACT WRESTLING is a strong global brand seen on networks in more than 120 countries around the world and broadcast in 17 languages. Its fans are some of the most devoted and socially active in sports, with more than 15 million aggregated social media followers and nearly 700 million video views on YouTube, making it the seventh-most-viewed sports channel, ahead of MLB®, NHL®, MLS® and FIFATV®.

“Pop’s enthusiasm for our partnership and the network’s fan focus is a perfect fit for our company,” said TNA President Dixie Carter. “Wresting has always been at the forefront of pop culture with the most passionate, loyal fan base. We’re thrilled to be in business with Pop and to bring IMPACT WRESTLING to more than 80 million homes.”

To find IMPACT WRESTLING on Pop, go to http://poptv.com.

Pop on the Web: poptv.com
Pop Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PopTelevision
Pop Twitter: https://twitter.com/PopTV
Pop Instagram: @poptv

TNA Impact Wrestling will premiere on POP TV (the former TV Guide Channel) on Tuesday, January 5th at 9pm EST. The 1/5 premiere will air live and then from there, taped episodes will air on Pop every Tuesday night.

The news comes after months of uncertainty regarding TNA’s future and their relationship with Destination America. TNA President Dixie Carter was in Los Angeles earlier this week, presumably finalizing the deal. On Wednesday night, TNA’s official website featured a countdown clock which culminated in today’s major announcement.

Pop TV is available in approximately 75 million homes across the United States, far more than Destination America, which was only available in 57 million. Where to watch:

• Verizon FiOS: Channel 694 (HD) | Channel 194 (SD)
• DirecTV: Channel 273 (SD)
• Dish Network: Channel 117 (SD)

For more information on how you can watch watch Impact Wrestling come January, visit PopTV.com and use their “Channel Finder” feature.

TNA’s official website now directs you to a countdown clock on a blank page with the Impact Wrestling logo. The clock expires at 10:00 AM ET on Thursday, November 19th.

TNA will likely make some sort of announcement when the timer expires. Dixie Carter flew to Los Angeles yesterday to speak with cable channels.

Related: Report: “Highly, Highly Unlikely” That TNA Will Return To Spike TV

https://youtu.be/UrtMPFmF4nk

Lance Archer recently appeared as a guest on The Two Man Power Trip Of Wrestling podcast to talk his run in WWE, his peers from his days in FCW being on top now and more. Below are some of the highlights from the interview.

On being a part of TNA for some of the early milestones the company experienced:

“It’s one of those situations where I was a part of a company that was growing and I was getting to be a part of all the firsts really for the company and the company was very young when I joined in 2004. They were still only doing weekly pay per views out of Nashville at the old “Asylum” but I was there for when we first got “The Impact Zone” and I was on the very first Impact that was on the Fox Sports Network. I was there when we were in between Fox and Spike TV and for our first three hour monthly pay per view. I was there for the first Lockdown, the first Bound For Glory I was a part of all these firsts which was a lot of fun because it was a company that was growing and there were good times and bad times but the company was looking for young talent and the “Hoytamania” days were really fun and I hoped that would have gone further but it did not. For me it was a great learning experience getting to work with some of the best in the business.”

Ont the mania behind of Hoytamania:

“It was awesome and it was a lot of fun for me. Just the simple fact that when I came out there the reception was amazing. According to some people I was taking people out to eat and that’s why I had these fans and listen, I worked for TNA and they were a young company they are not paying me well enough to take 40 or 50 people out to eat. I wasn’t making t-shirts. There were a group of people that made their own t-shirts. The internet wasn’t as well received of me as the “Impact Zone” itself was but at the same time as somebody who was an UN-named talent that had only been working for TNA and to see the fans reception that was going on there was beyond amazing. I always wished that it would have gone further but unfortunately it did not and that seemed to be a lot of my TNA career. A lot of good starts with a lot of good things that just unfortunately in my opinion weren’t given the full opportunity that they should have had.”

On his overall feelings of joining WWE and how “Vance Archer” became his name:

“Nothing but excited. Especially at that time and even now today it is the biggest company in the world and anybody that is in this wrestling business wants to be a top success in the biggest company in this world and that is what WWE is. Now there are a lot of “new” avenues that are amazing like New Japan, Ring of Honor, TNA is still there and I hope people give it a bit more of a chance and it could still be something special in the business. To be a part of WWE was a dream come true. For me, it was very exciting. The whole Vance Archer thing kind came around because they want to own the rights to that name and Vance is a play on my own name and Archer was my Dad’s name and that’s how I got the “Archer” thing even though the internet tried to explain that I was going to be doing a Robin Hood gimmick which I thought was extremely comical. It was a new challenge and a new opportunity.”

On the developmental class that was in FCW now being on top of the company:

“Fun fact. I was Seth Rollins’s first WWE match in any capacity. So I guess it’s ok now that he’s heavyweight champion. Bray (Wyatt), talk about an amazing kid. I watched him and he was doing the different names and carried his father’s name. I watched him when they put him on the NXT product with the next name and he always did amazing things. He always worked extremely hard and always busted his butt. Both him and his brother Bo cut some amazing promos down there in FCW. We had our weekly promo day and everybody got up there and cut promos and everybody is trying to come up and say something intriguing and after an hour and a half or two hours people just didn’t care anymore and those two kids whether they were working on a promo together or doing it individually when they came up for a promo everyone in class stopped what they were doing because they just wanted to hear what they were going to say. To see the success he is having now, I am very proud of him. I was there when Sheamus just started to get out there and was just doing live events. You can name nearly everybody on the roster. I worked with Reigns when he was just starting out and just started hitting the ring and to see those guys progression and to know them and all of those guys were cool and I didn’t have a problem with anybody so I am proud of them and because of the good people they were when I knew them.”

On signing with New Japan Pro Wrestling in 2011 and getting the opportunity to reinvent himself:

“Getting to work with New Japan I didn’t know the scale of what it was or what it could become. I worked in Japan back in 2007,08,09. I worked a tour with All Japan before I signed with WWE. It was good and it was big but it wasn’t anywhere what New Japan is and is becoming. When I first got set to come back to Japan I was going to go back to All Japan but there was a discrepancy on what they were going to pay and what they wanted to pay so that all fell through and I got in contact with New Japan and some people from the WWE office helped get me in contact with some people in putting a good word in for me and helping me. For me it was kind of surreal because I didn’t know what to expect. I was excited and ready to go and bust my butt and try to recreate myself. They wanted a Stan Hansen-esque type character and wanted me to wear a cowboy hat. But I am not a cowboy, never have been and growing up my whole life in Texas I thought I could maybe be the cowboy I wanted to be, like a rock star cowboy.”

• VIDEO: Ronda Rousey Tries Hiding Condition Of Her Face In Airport After UFC 193

https://youtu.be/eHppGGMccIo

– In the video featured above, Josh Mathews and The Pope update fans on the ongoing TNA World Title Series, which continues on tonight’s edition of Impact Wrestling on Destination America.

– Speaking of tonight’s Impact Wrestling, the following matches were taped for the show:

* Abyss vs. Bobby Roode
* Awesome Kong vs. Brooke Tessmacher
* Tigre Uno vs. DJ Zema Ion
* Crimson vs. Eli Drake
* Eric Young vs. James Storm
* Mahabali Shera vs. Aiden O’Shea
* Matt Hardy vs. Ethan Carter III

– Jeremy Borash posted the following on Twitter regarding his role as the opening speaker at Kurt Angle’s one-man show tonight in London, England.

https://twitter.com/JeremyBorash/status/666970936814473220

• VIDEO: Ronda Rousey Tries Hiding Condition Of Her Face In Airport After UFC 193

Bill Goldberg says he was recently contacted by TNA to return to the ring. During an interview with Scott Fishman for Channel Guide Magazine to promote his new movie Checkpoint, Goldberg said:

“I just got contacted by TNA a couple of days ago. I don’t know. They want to promote the movie since one of my adversaries in the film is Bram, who works for them.

I’m greatly appreciative they want to help the movie out. Now at the end of day promoting the movie is one thing, but getting a guy like Goldberg in your wrestling organization is a completely different story. We’ll see.”

Despite his public comments that he’d like to get back in the ring so his son can see him wrestle, Goldberg says WWE has not shown any interest in working with him again.

“When something supersedes your business sense, it has to be ego or something ridiculous. I surely am not going to miss a bit of sleep if I don’t get a phone call from them,” Goldberg said.

For more on Goldberg’s new movie, visit Checkpointthemovie.com.

ROH just sent out a press release indicating that they’ll be airing Wednesday nights at midnight ET/11 p.m. CT on COMET, a new digital subchannel from MGM and ROH parent company Sinclair Broadcasting.  COMET launched on Halloween and is primarily an outlet for sci-fi and fantasy reruns like Stargate SG-1. Digital subchannels are the additional stations that were introduced via the American transition to digital television, opening up bandwidth for additional programming. Networks like Antenna TV, MeTV, Retro TV, ThisTV, and Buzzr are some of the more well-known subchannels.

#WatchROH every Wednesday at MIDNIGHT EST/11pm CST on @WatchCOMET Starting Dec 2nd https://t.co/25jdU2tk6k pic.twitter.com/0cP43fVMUg

— ROH – Ring of Honor Wrestling (@ringofhonor) November 16, 2015

Availability depends on the market, the signal strength, and the cable provider (they may not carry it). For example, in New York, COMET is technically available via WZME in Bridgeport, Connecticut, which may not be on all area cable providers and would be difficult to receive via antenna in much of the area.

As for Destination America, the press release also confirms that they’re done with that network after November 25th. That’s the end of the original contract, and there was (largely baseless) speculation online that they’d stick around until TNA finishes up in January or February as companion programming.

Here’s ROH’s press release:

Ring of Honor to air nationally on COMET starting December 2nd

#WatchROH every Wednesday at MIDNIGHT EST/11pm CST on COMET

(BALTIMORE, MD) – Ring of Honor (“ROH”) is proud to announce that beginning December 2nd, ROH will air its weekly television program nationally on the COMET television channel. Fans will be able to #WatchROH every Wednesday night at midnight for the latest Ring of Honor action.

“Ring of Honor has been enjoying tremendous growth and expansion across the broadcast space, including new local TV deals in strategic markets, and even internationally with L’Equipe 21 in France,” said Ring of Honor COO, Joe Koff. “As we continue to push for greater domestic and international distribution, Ring of Honor truly showcases itself as world-class wrestling. Having Ring of Honor on COMET, in addition to the availability in Sinclair markets and independent agreements, means fans across the United States can continue to enjoy ROH television weekly.”

Ring of Honor’s weekly episodes recently enjoyed great success on Destination America, peaking at 227,000 viewers on a single television airing. ROH’s 26-week deal signed in May 2015 with Destination America is set to expire, which will see ROH’s final episode air on the channel on November 25th, 2015.

Sinclair Television Group, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Sinclair Broadcast Group, Inc. (Nasdaq: SBGI) (“Sinclair”), and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (“MGM”), recently announced that COMET, the first-ever 24 hour/7 day per week science fiction multi-channel network, which will feature more than 1,500 hours of premium MGM content, would premiere in over 60% of the country and over 65 million homes on October 31st of this year. The network will debut in all top markets including New York, NY; Los Angeles, CA; Chicago, IL; Philadelphia, PA; Seattle, WA; Denver, CO; St. Louis, MO; San Francisco-Oakland-San Jose, CA; Washington D.C.; Boston, MA; Pittsburgh, PA and Houston, TX. In addition to the Sinclair owned television stations, COMET will also launch on a number of Tribune and Titan stations.

As we get closer to the end of 2015, the futures of TNA and Ring of Honor on Destination America are becoming more clear. Unfortunately, there are no pleasant surprises here and it’s mostly confirmations of bad news we’ve all seen coming.

According to PWInsider, Ring of Honor is definitely finishing up with Destination America over the next few weeks and their ‘trial period’ deal will not be renewed. There had been some viewership benchmarks set that ROH needed to hit in order to get renewed, which were not met. The buzz in ROH is that they have a new TV outlet lined up, but that’s not confirmed. ROH management has indicated that some announcements are coming soon.

No shocker here, but TNA will also be finishing up with Destination America as well. There is concern in TNA regarding the ROH situation and the fact that ROH might have TV lined up already.

Then there’s Jeff Jarrett waiting in the wings with 16 episodes of Global Force Wrestling TV being shopped around to cable networks.

https://youtu.be/-xU79lU5GTY

– TNA announcer The Pope has TNA promoting the Love-Alive Charity he started earlier this year. Pope noted that he started the charity to improve the quality of life for the homeless, displaced families and disadvantaged communities through humanitarian efforts. TNA posted the video featured above to promote the charity.

– Former TNA Knockouts Champion Brooke Tessmacher indicated via social media on Sunday that she is officially done with TNA. You can check out her tweet below. Tessmacher can be reached for independent bookings via BrookeAdamsInquiries@gmail.com.

I'm really going to miss these girls. Lots of laughs, cries, jokes, miles, fights, and love. #NextChapter #TheEnd pic.twitter.com/lLxOOnlVTl

— Brooke Adams (@RealBrookeAdams) November 15, 2015

• Video: Miesha Tate: “F*ck Ronda Rousey! You Just Got Beat, B*tch!”

https://youtu.be/U7RHHt6RIf4

TNA color-commentator “The Pope” D’Angelo Dinero (Elijah Burke) recently spoke to The Richest podcast about his early career as a boxer and his early days in Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW). Below are some of the highlights from the interview.

On transitioning from being a boxer to a pro wrestler:

“The transition from an amateur boxing background to wrestling was not that difficult, as far as showmanship and the entertainment aspect of it. It wasn’t hard at all because that my main reasoning for boxing was just to entertain. Of course, I trained and did as much as I could to be a good boxer so I could hold my own in the ring. I was more of a tough guy, more of a brawler, a slugger. I grew up fighting, so the boxing part wasn’t hard but my main concern was the fulfillment of that burning desire in me to entertain the masses. However, the only part that was indeed a challenge was restricting myself from throwing actual punches. When I would throw my punches or what not, I would have a hard time pulling it back a bit. So that was the main thing that I actually had to work on, which I did countless times by punching a dummy. I actually learned to throw my first actual wrestling punch from Jim Cornette. One of the ways that I learned to throw fake punches in the wrestling ring, without having legit force that would injure my opponent in the ring, was I would use a light bulb that would hang in the distance and I would do my best to hit that light bulb without damaging it, breaking it or moving it. So if I could throw a good enough punch to a light bulb without causing it to shatter, I think that’s pretty good. I think that as time went on, I felt more comfortable with it and I was able to incorporate my actual boxing strikes in the ring and be safe with it.”

On training and developing in OVW and Dusty Rhodes helping him early in his career:

“Jim Cornette and Danny Davis. Danny Davis is the grandfather, the wizard, of OVW. Those two were very instrumental in helping me develop my character. Jim Cornette said just be you, just do what you do, the people love you. That was basically what it was. On the microphone? On the mic? The gift to gab if you will, that came along with the whole package with Elijah. That’s something that I’ve always done. That’s something that I hadn’t needed to really develop. If there is someone that I would attribute my ability to gab to, I would say my Pastor, Willie May Goodness, from down home southern Jacksonville, Florida. Where I grew up, in church, is where all that came from, The gift of gab and being able to talk on the mic and be comfortable with it.

“If there was anyone that showed me how to convey emotion and allow it to manifest into something more for the viewing audience, then of course that goes to ‘The American Dream’ Dusty Rhodes, who I had the privilege and the honor to work with. He was my childhood idol during my time in OVW, prior to my time in ECW. Definitely, it was Dusty who was supportive. Dusty saw me and I went and introduced myself and he stopped me. He said, ‘I already know about you, daddy. You and I we going to have some fun’. I would do my promos and it would be awesome. They would have scripts but he believed in me so much that he would take the script or anything they wanted me to say and he would turn it down. He would say, ‘just do what you going to do, daddy. You let me deal with Stephanie and Vince. You just say what you’re going to say’. That was just so awesome because he believed in me so much. He knew that I could take what they wanted me to do and put it in my own words and hit a home run with it. That’s what we would do all the time.”

• Video: Miesha Tate: “F*ck Ronda Rousey! You Just Got Beat, B*tch!”

Former WWE Superstar and TNA announcer Taz recently spoke with Sports Illustrated’s “Extra Mustard” blog to promote his weekly podcast, The Taz Show: Bodyslams and Beyond. Below are some of the highlights from the interview.

On winning a Gold Communicators Award this year and expanding his weekly podcast:

“The amount of my downloads were high. CBS asked if I could see myself doing more than one show per week. Then I did two shows per week. CBS said, ‘Your numbers are insane, your content is awesome, and we want to give you the opportunity to do this every day.’

“The timing was great. I was having some financial issues with TNA, my contract was coming up in two months, and I had no intention of resigning with them. I was ready to segue into a new career. So CBS set up a meeting, and I signed a full-time deal and have a full-time daily show, and that’s the origin of ‘The Taz Show.’”

On going to TNA in 2009 and his recent departure:

“I left WWE when I needed a break. At the time, TNA was a good alternative for me. It was refreshing at the time, and things were being run pretty good. It felt right. Then, after a couple years–and I’m not going to sit here and bash people–decisions were made that weren’t good decisions and the company started to go in another direction. There was a leadership issue, and I felt like it was the perfect time to segue into my radio career. I wanted to get out of there, and I did.”

On if he would ever return to WWE:

“I would go back to WWE, but I could not and would not leave my career with CBS Radio and my show. I have a very good relationship with WWE, I’ve never burnt a bridge with them, and we’ve always had a mutual respect. Time will tell, but my show is my number one priority.”

• UFC Announces CM Punk’s Official Debut For 6 Months From Now …

Longtime TNA announcer Jeremy Borash is currently in Paris, France, the site of at least six coordinated terrorist attacks that took the lives of over 150 people on Friday.

Borash took to Twitter throughout the evening on Friday to post comments, photos and videos from his hotel room, which he said was only four miles away from the attacks. Below are some of the posts Borash made.

https://twitter.com/JeremyBorash/status/665293294566424578

https://twitter.com/JeremyBorash/status/665299836309143554

https://twitter.com/JeremyBorash/status/665302070350774273

https://twitter.com/JeremyBorash/status/665327306827689985

https://twitter.com/JeremyBorash/status/665348925604368384

https://twitter.com/JeremyBorash/status/665592666076356608

• Video: Rousey-Holm Fist-Fight At Weigh-Ins + LIVE UFC 193 Results TONIGHT!

https://youtu.be/VPESLXDZ4Uk

Viewership was up for both TNA Impact Wrestling and Ring Of Honor on Destination America this week.

TNA Impact Wrestling had a total of 374,000 viewers, up from 343,000 last week. The first airing at 9pm EST drew 277,000 viewers while the 11pm EST replay/West Coast feed after ROH TV did 97,000 viewers, up from 81,000 last week.

Ring Of Honor bounced back this Wednesday after dropping in viewership last week. ROH on Destination America this week drew 172,000 viewers, up from last week’s final total of 141,000 viewers.

• Ronda Rousey Getting Heat For Controversial Sex Comments, Rousey Responds

TNA President Dixie Carter announced via social media that the semi-finals of the ongoing TNA World Title Series will take place in Mumbai during TNA’s tour of India in December.

Following week six of the World Title Series, below are the updated standings. With Gail Kim winning this week, she advances to the next round of 16 competitors. The next Knockout in her group to break the tie will also advance. Mathematically, Eddie Edwards is ruled out and Matt Hardy is advancing undefeated. Ethan Carter III will also advance after his win this week.

Tag Team Specialists Group: Eddie Edwards (1 point), Davey Richards (1 point), Robbie E (3 points), Matt Hardy (9 points)

Future 4 Group: Crimson (0 points), Jessie Godderz (3 points), Micah (1 point), Eli Drake (4 points)

X Division Group: Tigre Uno (3 points), Manik (6 points), DJ Zema Ion (6 points), Mark Andrews (0 points)

Originals Group: Abyss (3 points), Bobby Roode (3 points), James Storm (3 points), Eric Young (3 points)

UK Group: Rockstar Spud (3 points), Drew Galloway (6 points), Grado (0 points), Bram (3 points)

Champions Group: Ethan Carter III (7 points), Bobby Lashley (3 points), Mr. Anderson (0 points), Austin Aries (4 points)

Wildcard Group: Kenny King (3 points), Mahabali Shera (6 points), Crazzy Steve (0 points), Aiden O’Shea (3 points)

Knockouts Group: Gail Kim (6 points), Madison Rayne (3 points), Awesome Kong (3 points), Brooke Tessmacher (3 points)

• Ronda Rousey Getting Heat For Controversial Sex Comments, Rousey Responds

Last week on Twitter, Dixie Carter replied to a fan who said TNA should be back on Spike TV. She teased that something may be the in the works, writing “I hear you, stay tuned.”

TNA is reportedly in talks with a couple different networks with greater viewership than Destination America, but it doesn’t sound like Spike is one of them. According to PWInsider.com, no one at Spike TV has heard anything about TNA returning. One well-placed contact at Spike even went as far as to say it was “highly, highly unlikely” that TNA would return to the channel.

PWInsider did report that Spike has discussed doing some live wrestling specials in the future, but not with TNA.

@EmJayHix I hear you!!!! Stay tuned!

— Dixie Carter (@TNADixie) November 7, 2015

https://youtu.be/G6hHT6V7aKU

– TNA posted the above video which features Josh Mathews previewing tonight’s edition of Impact Wrestling on Destination America.

– Speaking of tonight’s Impact Wrestling, the following matches are scheduled for the show:

* Mark Andrews vs. DJ Zema Ion
* Matt Hardy vs. Eddie Edwards
* Mr. Anderson vs. Ethan Carter III
* Eli Drake vs. Jessie Godderz
* Gail Kim vs. Madison Rayne

– TNA President Dixie Carter posted the following Veteran’s Day tribute on her official Instagram page:

https://instagram.com/p/98sVcLJtsc/

• Ronda Rousey Getting Heat For Controversial Sexual Comments, Rousey Responds

TNA Knockout Taryn Terrell recently spoke with FOX411 about her TNA career and becoming a born-again Christian. Below are some of the highlights.

On her decision to share her journey in finding God publicly:

“You know I found that when I was looking for God I didn’t have the resources, and it was hard for me to connect with more mature Christians, so I thought that if somebody could watch my testimony and see me as an infant Christian, you know, I’m just a baby and I’m still learning, maybe they could connect and they could realize exactly how to find God for themselves.”

On if there has been any reaction from her fellow colleagues:

You know, it’s been really cool because a couple wrestlers have texted me or reached out by phone and said, you know, they’re Christians as well and they would love to share their journey with me, and talk. And it’s just a really great way not only that I can connect with other wrestlers who have been in the entertainment field which is a very tempting world but you know that helps me mature as a Christian, and get better connections with my peers which gives me a better connection with God.”

On walking the fine line of being a performer in the wrestling business and remaining a faithful Christian:

That is something I’m actually struggling with now. You know it certainly wasn’t the fault of WWE or the fault of any other entertainment company that I’ve worked for. It wasn’t the fault of Playboy These were all my decisions and these were, you know, my life choices that I made that were, you know, certainly not of a Christian lifestyle. Like you said, the sexiness and, you know, me essentially being a temptation to men and, you know, that’s sort of the thing I learned that I really want to be a role model. I truly do. I want to be able to help other people get saved just as people helped me to be saved so, you know, that is something I’m struggling with now and realizing that, you know, even in the way that I dress it is important to be Christian. It is important to be more modest and I want to use the ability that I have as performing to connect people. You know, I love to perform. I love to entertain. God gave me those skills to do so and I’ve learned that He put me on this Earth to be able to use that and to reach people, and to bring people near God.”

On if not wanting to dress provocative anymore is conflicting with her TNA career and if at some point she might walk away from the business:

Absolutely. I think that I have played, and recently, I have played an even more sexy character than I was used to playing, and it’s something that I prayed on and I know that’s not who I want to portray anymore. I know that’s not who I am and it’s not who I want to portray, and how can I connect with people, and sort of live that double standard. And yes, if I cannot find a way to use God and be godly in the things that I do then yes, it is time to walk away.”

• Ronda Rousey Getting Heat For Controversial Sexual Comments, Rousey Responds

Kurt Angle recently sat down with the Nottingham Post to promote his “Golden Truth” public speaking tour, where he’ll tackle any questions from his fans. Here are some highlights from the interview:

Kurt Angle on why Vince pushed him as a heel early:

“Vince wanted me to look like somebody that was just too good to be true. I didn’t think they would boo me but Vince knew they would. He saw what happened with the Rock when they tried to push him.

He wanted to do the same thing with me because this time he knew they would boo me. I had no training on the mic or anything like that. I was trained to be a pro wrestler. Vince threw me in the river and watched to see if I would sink or swim. I had a few months in Memphis and I was basically on TV. The top guys – Rock, Triple H, Stone Cold Steve Austin and the Undertaker – they carried me for a year.”

Why kayfabe returning could be a good thing:

“Wrestling is always changing. There is no shortage of talent out there,” he said. “It’s an industry that goes in cycles. It’s a little stagnant now. Something needs to change.

I was talking to my wife about it. I think it would be good to go back to kayfabe. When you lifted the curtain and showed people backstage it was new and intriguing, but if you go back to how it was, it could be the change wrestling needs.”

Angle on the Golden Truth tour coming to the UK:

“It’s something I’m really looking forward to. I’ve got a lot to tell and people can ask me whatever they want. UK fans are great. They’re a lot more intrigued by the backstage element of the business.

They respect the business a lot and hold guys in high regard. I’ve been going to the UK for about 15 years. They really appreciate your effort and that makes you work hard to put on a good match for them.”

Related: Kurt Angle Says There’s A Possibility He’ll Fight Ken Shamrock In 2016

Viewership was down for both TNA Impact Wrestling and Ring of Honor on Destination America this week.

TNA Impact Wrestling had total viewership of 343,000 viewers, down from 364,000 last week. The first airing at 9pm EST drew 262,000 viewers (slightly down) while the 11pm EST replay/West Coast feed after ROH TV did 81,000 viewers, down from 98,000 last week.

Ring of Honor settled back down to reality after doing its best audience yet last week. ROH averaged 141,000 viewers this week, down from last week’s 227,000 viewership spike.

TNA Tag Team Champions Davey Richards and Eddie Edwards recently appeared on Ring Rust Radio to discuss their brief stint in NXT and the differences between ROH and TNA matches. Here are the highlights.

Their brief run in NXT:

It was great. They treated us really well there. It was long days, but very enjoyable days. Everything they said they were going to do they did do and they were very respectful. The facility there is absolutely amazing, and we got to work with Dusty Rhodes at the time. We would definitely entertain the thought of going back there, but we are very happy with TNA so I don’t see any reason to leave at this time.

On the differences between ROH and TNA matches:

With ROH, you are going to have those longer matches that you won’t see week to week on TNA. Styles wise, TNA is quicker and flashier, where ROH is more hard hitting. You can’t go wrong with either one, so for wrestling fans in general just watch them both.