— TNA president Dixie Carter noted this afternoon on her Facebook page that a major announcement will be made during tonight’s episode of iMPACT!: “TNA will make a major announcement during tonight’s TNA iMPACT! on Spike TV at 8ET/7CT. We strive to deliver what our fans want, and the next step in the evolution of the TNA brand will do just that.”

— On Twitter, Awesome Kong responded to the news of Bubba the Love Sponge’s release from TNA with the following: “Kongfucious says: Karma is a bitch… named Kong!!!!”

Kong appeared on The Cowhead Show last week only to be “ambushed” by Bubba the Love Sponge during a call-in. The shock job fired a number of racially-charged remarks towards Kong, which led to his subsequent termination from the company.

— TNA returns to the Coliseum Annex in Winston-Salem, North Carolina on July 30th, 2010 at 7:30 p.m. Tickets go on sale June 18th, 2010 at 10 a.m. (Thanks to Devin Cutting)

– Former TNA Knockout Awesome Kong is booked for several independent dates in Australia this summer under the name “Amazing Kong.” With those bookings in place, it seems unlikely that Kong would be able to join WWE until after the summer.

– ODB told fans at a POWW Wrestling event held over the weekend that the reason she hasn’t been seen in TNA the past few weeks is due to a ruptured breast implant. According to reports, she had been working through the injury in order to hold off surgery following the Genesis pay-per-view back in January. She has since recovered as she worked the independent event, so her prolonged absence appears to now be a case of creative having nothing for her at this time.

– Angelina Love will be hosting a “Gold Party” this Friday night in Washington D.C. at the Town Danceboutique alongside Tanisha of the Bad Girls Club and DJ Seth.

– Sarita is currently in the midst of a wrestling tour of Japan as she worked Fuka’s retirement show at Korakuen Hall on Sunday and will be working a show this Saturday at Shin-Kiba 1st Ring.

— Madison Rayne is auctioning off a garter wrestling outfit worn on iMPACT! last year at the following link. Bidding ends today.

— Bouts pitting Awesome Kong against former WWE Women’s Champion Mickie James at Northeast Wrestling events this weekend will take place as originally advertised. The former TNA Women’s Knockout Champion previously contacted the promotion to inform them that she would be unable to compete due to a back injury. The promotion, however, announced today that she has since been medically cleared.

— Former WWE Diva Dawn Marie noted on her Twitter account yesterday that she will be releasing a press release soon discrediting all allegations levied towards her non-profit organization, Wrestlers Rescue.

“Worked on the press release that will prove all of the allegations against Wrestlers Rescue to be false. God luck liars! Try not to squirm.”

— Former WWE Diva Terri Runnels recently confirmed on her Facebook account that she is dating former ECW star New Jack. Here is a recent picture of the couple:

— There was said to be a collective groan among a large group of wrestlers and TNA personnel watching iMPACT! on the backstage monitor when Eric Young interrupted Rob Van Dam and Jeff Hardy’s post-match celebration on Monday. The “unanimous opinion” was that Young killed the moment due to the fact that he’s nowhere near the level of Van Dam and Hardy. While everyone describes “EY” as a nice guy, the feeling is he’s been given so much television time over the years due to his friendship with the company’s power players. (source: Pro Wrestling Torch)

— Recently released TNA Knockout Awesome Kong will be returning to the ring on May 8th for Ring of Honor. Facing Sara Del Ray, she will be using her former name of Amazing Kong.

— In a brief video interview with lethalwow.com, Angelina Love discusses being back with TNA Wrestling. She says her release from the company last year was “heartbreaking,” but that “everything happens for a reason.” Apparently in regards to her contractual status, she said she’s “back for another three years, at least.”

— As reported earlier, Awesome Kong officially parted ways with TNA Wrestling last week. Company president Dixie Carter commented on the multi-time champion’s departure from the organization on her Twitter account, writing: “Due to personal reasons, Kong asked for/was granted an early release from contract. We support her during this time & hope she is back soon.”

— In addition to Karen Angle, WWE Hall of Famer Dory Funk Jr. and former WWE Tag Team Champion Heidenreich were backstage at last night’s Destination X pay-per-view. It’s worth noting that Heidenreich worked Hulk Hogan’s tour of Australia late last year. (source: PWInsider.com)

— The Motor City Machineguns will be taking part in a live chat with AOL Fanhouse (www.fanhouse.com) today at 4:00 p.m. EST.

— On her Twitter account, Awesome Kong confirmed her departure from TNA Wrestling.

She wrote: “I have asked for and received an early release from my contract. I would like to thank TNA for their support in this matter.”

Kong’s profile was removed from TNA’s website earlier this week, which is their unofficial way of confirming a wrestler’s departure from the organization.

— TNA president Dixie Carter noted on her Twitter account that Rob Van Dam will be appearing at two house shows next month in Georgia. She wrote: “We have confirmed RVD for his first TNA house shows on April 22 & 23 in Macon, GA and Albany, GA.”

— Click here to view the latest episode of TNA Wrestling Today, with special guest Taz.

– TNA star Jeff Hardy appeared in court on Wednesday for the latest hearing regarding his September 11, 2009 drug arrest. The judge presiding over the case in Cameron, N.C. agreed to the defense’s request for a continuance, according to prowrestling.net. The next hearing is scheduled for May 10, 2010. Hardy is expected to continue working for TNA in the meantime.

– Multiple sources are reporting that Awesome Kong and TNA Wrestling have agreed to part ways. Her profile has been removed from TNA’s website, which is their unofficial way of confirming a wrestler’s departure from the company. They do not publicly comment on roster changes.

It was reported last week that Kong was telling friends within the industry that the company had agreed to release her from her contract. This coincides with a recent Twitter post where she thanked Dixie Carter and TNA Wrestling for wishing her the best in her future endeavors. She had reportedly been asking for a fifteen percent pay increase or a contractual release, with company officials opting for the latter.

One of the holdups in her release becoming official is that TNA wanted to include a lengthy non-compete agreement, while she was asking for the traditional ninety-day non-compete. Sources are unaware of the length of the non-compete agreement that will be enforced. She is the fourth female performer to part ways with the company this year, following Alissa Flash, Roxxi and Traci Brooks.

— Though Awesome Kong has been telling friends she is leaving TNA, she has yet to be officially released. She is still listed on the company’s roster page and fellow Knockout Tara noted over the weekend on her Twitter account that Kong has not been released. TNA officials have refused to publicly comment on the matter.

Kong has been telling friends she is open to reconciling with TNA and staying on board. However, she has expressed her displeasure over not being able to discuss her problems with TNA president Dixie Carter.

Kong was not backstage at last week’s iMPACT tapings.

— One company source noted that the recently released Traci Brooks did herself no favors with a recent sloppy in-performance against Hamada — which aired on Xplosion. However, Brooks stressed online that her dismissal was simply a case of creative not having anything for her.

— Tonight’s episode of Wrestlicious Takedown will see three TNA Knockouts participating in a single match as Amber Lively (a/k/a Madison Rayne) and Lacey Von Erich squaring off against Draculetta (a/k/a Daffney) and White Magic in tag action. You can catch the show at 11:00 p.m. on MavTV.

source: www.pwtorch.com

— Regarding Awesome Kong’s apparent departure from TNA Wrestling, one person inside the company commented, “That is one crazy woman. Say what you want about Bubba, but attacking the guy would be assault anywhere else in America, then she threatens to sue him? Only in America. Sad to lose her as a talent but I don’t think anyone will miss her personally.” (source: Wrestling Observer Newsletter)

— On her Twitter account, Tara expressed her displeasure with being left off WWE’s “Top 25 Most Impactful Women” list. She wrote, “(It) doesn’t surprise me. That’s an example of my experience at WWE. Unappreciated.” She then posted a link to a fan’s graphic spoofing the list, ranking her at No. 26.

— As reported earlier, Sarita will soon be heading to Tokyo, Japan for a brief wrestling tour. She will be wrestling on Fuka’s retirement show at Korakuen Hall on Mar. 28 and then again on Apr. 3 at Shin-Kiba 1st Ring. You can view an event poster for one of the shows the TNA Knockout will be on at the following link.

— Awesome Kong’s profile was briefly deleted from TNA’s website this morning but placed back a short while later.

It was reported earlier this week that Kong was telling friends within the industry that the company had agreed to release her from her contract. This coincides with her Twitter post last week where she thanked Dixie Carter and TNA Wrestling for wishing her the best in her future endeavors.

— Lacey Von Erich stated on her Facebook page today that effective Saturday, she begins formal wrestling training three times per week.

She wrote: “YAY! My girls did so good monday, winning the gold for the BP’s. I’m happy to be apart of the glory (not that I did much) lol I start training this sat. 3 times a week! Can’t wait to get in the ring more! ;)Love y’all!”

TNA recently established a working relationship with the Orange County based Mach One Wrestling school/promotion to give company performers an official training location and as feeder of sorts for prospective talent.

— TNA’s latest webmatch has Rhino squaring off against “Black Machismo” Jay Lethal.

Awesome Kong is telling friends within the wrestling industry that TNA has agreed to release her from her contract, which coincides with her recent post on Twitter where she thanked Dixie Carter and the company for wishing her the best in her future endeavors.

Kong reportedly asked for a modest pay increase in the neighborhood of fifteen percent, which the company refused. Despite her high placement in the Knockouts division, it’s been estimated that she makes between $400 and $700 per appearance.

One of the potential holdups for release was said to be that company officials considered sitting her out until her contract expired over a year from now, but they have apparently opted to grant the release.

Kong remains listed on the company website as a wrestler and one-half of the TNA Knockouts Tag Team Champions. In a possible spoiler, the buzz backstage is that TNA intends to do something with the Knockouts Tag Titles on tonight’s show.

source: www.prowrestling.net

TNA Knockout Awesome Kong has apparently parted ways with the company, according to a message she posted on Twitter.com/awesomekong.

Kong thanked TNA president Dixie Carter and all of the TNA employees for wishing her the best in her future endeavors.

The former Knockouts champion announced last week that she is suing radio host Bubba The Love Sponge for allegedly making racist threats against her. Bubba issued a statement refuting the allegations.

— TNA Knockout is alleging that radio personality Bubba The Love Sponge called her at 5 a.m. on February 10th from a blocked phone number and threatened her. Kong, who got into a backstage altercation with Bubba after he said “F— Haiti” on Twitter, claims that Bubba identified himself, told her the call would be played on the radio and threatened her with some very racist and offensive comments.

She asked AT&T to give her the identity of the blocked caller so that she could take further action, but they declined to release that information. As a result, she has filed a lawsuit against both AT&T and Bubba. For more on this, visit CourthouseNews.com.

Read More: Bubba The Love Sponge Responds To Kong’s Allegations

— Spike TV has granted TNA Wrestling an 8-minute overrun for the March 8th edition of iMPACT!, the first night of the new Monday night war. No word yet on whether this is a one night deal or if they’ll run over every week like WWE RAW does. (Source: PWInsider.com)

— It has been confirmed that TNA recently suspended Awesome Kong. A decision was made to suspend the TNA Knockout after she refused to appear on the company’s recent UK tour. As noted earlier, Kong and TNA are in the midst of a contractual dispute as she has asked repeatedly for a raise.

Specifics of her suspension remain unclear as it’s possible the suspension will conclude before Sunday’s pay-per-view and the next round of television tapings next week. It is believed that she was suspended for a few weeks.

— Though the official Universal Studios schedule lists Mar. 8-9 as dates for iMPACT! tapings, talent schedules still list Mar. 1-2. Meanwhile, it’s possible that TNA hasn’t updated the talent schedule to reflect a change back to the Mar. 8-9 tapings that are advertised on the Universal Studios website. Whatever the case may be, talent are scheduled to be in Orlando on Mar. 1 unless they hear otherwise.

(Credit to prowrestling.net for some of the information used in this report)

Credit to the Pro Wrestling Torch for some of the information used in this report:

Though they may be big stars on television and draw relatively high ratings, that doesn’t necessarily translate into big checks for the stars of TNA’s Knockouts division.

In light of Awesome Kong’s contractual dispute with TNA Wrestling, multiple sources have noted that the average pay for a female performer in the organization is between $200 to $400 per appearance. However, it’s widely assumed that Christy Hemme and Lisa Marie Varon (a/k/a Tara) make more money due to their past ties with World Wrestling Entertainment with sources believing that Kong makes slightly more than $400 per shot, which is considered a “high end salary” in the No. 2 wrestling organization in the world.

It’s interesting to note that a female performer who made the “high end salary” of $400, exclusively appeared on television, and appeared on every single television event held over the course of a calender year would only garner $26,000 at most. Although, that number comes in before one figures in road expenses, wardrobe expenses and taxes. Regarding travel, TNA solely covers airfare, leaving talent to cover the rest including lodging. Also note, there is no downside guarantee, thus meaning talent only get paid when they are used.

With that being said, TNA holds live events most weeks and permits talent to seek independent bookings, thus allowing them to garner more money. Furthermore, television exposure greatly increases a wrestler’s booking fee, most especially for talent previously not seen on national television.

Regarding Kong, she has asked for a raise on several occasions but company officials have apparently not honored her request despite her lofty standing on television. Kong reportedly blew up last spring when she found out that then newcomer Brutus Magnus was being paid more than her.

It was reported recently that Kong has regularly vented backstage about the company spending frivolously on newcomers. Since then, multiple sources have confirmed that she was very upset with Ric Flair’s wife being treated to limousine service on the company’s dime at a recent show. TNA never grants limo service to its female performers.

It is believed that Kong has several years remaining on her contract with TNA. She refused to appear on the company’s recent UK tour and at time it was widely assumed that she was upset with Bubba the Love Sponge’s controversial remarks concerning the country of Haiti. However, multiple sources say the issue has since been resolved and that her ongoing problems with the organization are related to pay.

The primary reason Gail Kim left TNA for World Wrestling Entertainment was due to the significant discrepancy between the amount of money being offered by both companies. According to multiple sources, Kim did not want to leave TNA, but felt she had no choice but to bolt for WWE due to the massive difference in pay.

— While nothing has been official been said by either party, the belief is that Awesome Kong has been talked into staying with TNA.

Kong requested her release from the organization following a backstage altercation with Bubba the Love Sponge a few weeks ago. Though it should be noted that she was reportedly upset with her pay as well. (source: Wrestling Observer Newsletter)

— Velvet Sky and Madison Rayne of “The Beautiful People” recently took part in a photo shoot for FHM in the U.K., which is their equivalent of Maxim. This should be high profile exposure for TNA since it’s the No. 2 selling men’s magazine in the country.

— Today is reigning TNA Women’s Knockout Champion Tara’s birthday. The five-time champion turns 39 years old.

(credit to the Wrestling Observer for some of the information used in this report)

— As noted earlier, Awesome Kong requested her release from TNA following her one-sided physical encounter with shock jock Bubba the Love Sponge backstage at a recent television taping. She has been telling friends that officials refused to grant her release from the organization. She countered by telling management that she would not be appearing on the UK tour despite being advertised. However, she did give into working a match the night following her altercation with Bubba. Furthermore, the issue between Kong and Bubba has apparently been resolved following a meeting between her, Hulk Hogan, and Eric Bischoff, though some internally feel it wouldn’t be too surprising to see it turned into a storyline if and when she returns.

It should be noted that much of the lingering heat between Kong and TNA is said to be over a financial dispute. She is especially touchy when she notices the company spending frivolously on newcomers while also claiming that they can’t afford to give raises to her and her fellow Knockouts. The assumption within the company is that Tara and perhaps Christy Hemme are paid well due to their past history with World Wrestling Entertainment, but there is much frustration over the pay that the other females receive.

— TNA will be running live events in Georgia and Alabama during WrestleMania weekend instead of holding shows in Phoenix, which was speculated after dates for that weekend in Canada were recently canceled. They will be in Ozark, Alabama on Mar. 25 and Columbus, Georgia on Mar. 26.

— The TNA website is running a poll asking which newcomer will have the most success in 2010. Generation Me are winning the poll with 34% of the vote. They are trailed by Brian Kendrick (22%), Hamada (12%), Orlando Jordan (12%), Rob Terry (11%) and Lacey Von Erich (10%).

(Credit to prowrestling.net for the information used in this report)

sources: www.f4wonline.com, www.pwtorch.com

— Last night’s episode of TNA iMPACT! drew a 1.26 cable rating, the same number as last week. The show drew 1.9 million viewers overall. The opening quarter hour with Hulk Hogan, Kurt Angle, AJ Styles & Ric Flair and final two quarter hours tied for the highest rated segment of the night with a 1.32.

— Besides Awesome Kong, both Alex Shelley and Bobby Lashley are not going on TNA’s tour of the UK. Shelley will not be going on the tour due to ongoing disc injuries. Likewise, Lashley isn’t going because he’s fighting for the mixed martials arts promotion Strikeforce next weekend.

— Kevin Nash is said to be unhappy with “The Band” nickname TNA bestowed upon him, Scott Hall and Sean Waltman. They used the old Blue Brothers movie joke about putting “the band back together” several years ago in World Championship Wrestling, but Nash now feels it’s ridiculously dated.

— In a video posted today on Qik.com, Awesome Kong said she has not yet spoken to TNA management regarding her future in the company, but will do so later today. She then says it’s sad that people don’t know the true story about things and that they can only assume what they hear.

Meanwhile, she mentions Abraham Lincoln several times during her video while standing in front of a statue of the 16th President of the United States, notably saying, “I thought slavery was over, but slavery is not over.”

— Last night’s iMPACT! broadcast featured “controversial” audio from Jeff Jarrett’s appearance on The Bubba the Love Sponge Show on Sirius/XM radio. In case you missed this “worked-shoot” angle, you can catch it at the following link.

— TNA has released “Pope” sunglasses at the following link.

Hulk Hogan appeared on Bubba the Love Sponge’s radio show yesterday morning. Here are some of the more notable things discussed:

* Hogan wants to kill all house shows until things come together on television. He feels that in no time, TNA will become a force which people will pay attention to.

* He said he has no plans to solely bring in his friends to TNA. He said when he met Ken Anderson on the Australian tour, he knew that “he had what it took.”

* Bubba the Love Sponge discussed his backstage altercation with Awesome Kong earlier this week, saying he was mad at what she did to him. He then called her “a bitch.”

* Apparently, Hogan too poked fun at Kong, feeling her anger was “menstrual-related.”

* Bubba said he was pushing for a bigger role in TNA but now hates the wrestling business. Hogan responded by saying, “Wow!”

* Hogan said less is more and discussed a segment with Scott Hall and Sean Waltman that was taped this week.

* Hogan put over Ric Flair for being on his game once became aligned with AJ Styles.

The talk lasted roughly fifteen minutes and Hogan basically emphasized that he was going to show everyone how the wrestling business works.

(source: PWInsider.com)

— As reported earlier, Awesome Kong has given notice to TNA with the multi-time champion herself confirming said reports during a live video stream this afternoon. It should be noted that her decision to hand in her notice may not necessarily be as a result of her heated encounter with Bubba the Love Sponge earlier this week, but rather, the company’s upcoming tour of Europe.

“People are sending me messages about my request for my release,” she said. “I don’t know. Originally, I was supposed to go to the UK, but I’m not going there now. I told TNA I would think about it. All they had to do was wait ten minutes.”

In case you missed her live video stream, you can check out her videos at qik.com/awesomekong.

— Ed Leslie (a/k/a Brutus Beefcake) was backstage visiting friends at Wednesday’s Impact taping. (source: prowrestling.NET)

— TNA has announced three new live events in Pennsylvania and West Virginia taking place from Mar. 12 to Mar. 14. The events will be taking place in Erie, PA, Pittsburgh and Wheeling, West Virginia. Click here for more information.

Awesome Kong is not the only TNA Knockout parting ways with the company this week. A reliable source in TNA has informed us that fellow TNA Knockout Alissa Flash is also leaving.

Alissa (real name Melissa Anderson) reportedly requested her release from the company, she was not fired.

There are rumors of others besides Kong and Anderson requesting their releases but nothing is confirmed.

TNA Knockout Awesome Kong, who got into a physical altercation with TNA backstage announcer Bubba the Love Sponge at Monday’s iMPACT! tapings, has given notice that she’s leaving the company.

The news was originally reported by f4wonline and was confirmed by Kong herself on Thursday afternoon via a live video stream on Qik.com.

Kong’s departure from the company appears to be effective immediately, and she said during the video cast that she informed TNA she won’t be attending the upcoming UK tour.

It should be noted that many TNA wrestlers and knockouts who have told management they are leaving have been persuaded into staying, but at this point Awesome Kong’s relationship with TNA appears to be off.

Hulk Hogan appeared on The Bubba The Love Sponge radio show Tuesday morning and discussed the shock jock’s altercation with Awesome Kong the previous day. Courtesy of www.angrymarks.com, here is a transcript of the discussion:

BUBBA: She was wearing wrestling gear, and she came in on me and sucker punched me right on my left cheek, and I was like, what’s going on… then she came out me again, hit me again in the mouth, and she goes, “This if for Haiti! This is for Haiti!” and I’m like “What is going on?” Then she hits me again… Finally I put my left hand out and push her away from me, and she comes at me again and I just cover up, because I cannot fight back on a woman. Not only will I be fired from TNA, which I probably am, but my radio career is gone if I take a woman out!

HOGAN: I tell you what, though, after what happened, if you had clocked her you’d have got away with it.

BUBBA: Maybe on the streets I’d have gotten away with it, but, how would the media have spun that had I clocked her?

HOGAN: What nobody knows, and this is the real truth, that there were certain people there, y’know, and of course they have to run it by me and Dixie… she should get off the property, she should be fired immediately, that’s it. It was so violent. You could have actually lost an eye, you could have had your teeth knocked out. But, to give you your creedo, you are the one who said no, don’t fire her.

BUBBA: No, I don’t want you to fire her.

MANSON: Now, I’m confused. Does Hogan think that this is a funny incident?

BUBBA: No, no he’s not. He knows how serious it is. He was being a dick earlier… but I don’t think he agrees with it. And, you know what, they said we were going to fire her and I said no, don’t fire her. Now, if she’s done other stuff, I can’t help what happens to her on other situations, but don’t fire her for sucker punching me, I don’t want to cost anybody their job.

HOGAN: I think this is really just the beginning of a match made in heaven.

BUBBA: No, that’s fine… that’s fine. But I tell you one thing, Hogan. If you… you better not call it pro wrestling, you might as well put the cage up and make it MMA because I will not work, I promise you that. You’re not going to embarrass me like that, and be that much of a loose cannon in this industry…

MANSON: Oh now you’re gonna kick her ass? I don’t think you want a piece of her in the cage.

BUBBA: Let me ask you, you’re the only person who has a cool head. Had I defended myself, and not covered up, and just blocked what the remaining of what she put in. Had I actually fought her, and done well, what would I be facing right now?

HOGAN: Well, first off, you’d have killed her. She’s real good at throwing a sucker punch, but the way she was swinging at you, and everything, you could have shot right between her arms and knocked her out. It wouldn’t have been cool, y’know, there would be all kind of heat… You did the right thing, y’know, because you did not hit her back, and she was swinging wild and she’s out of her mind… you did the right thing, but at the end of the day it comes back to you and me hanging out together. You know you’re going to get heat, I told you this a long time ago. BUT, don’t put this one on me, because you stirred that up.

BUBBA: How did I? I’m not putting this on you, but you lead by example… I’m gonna be honest, man, nobody there likes me. And they think, hold on, Hogan, they think I’m in there… I’m not a wrestler, I’m not going to take anybody’s job, I’m not gonna take anybody’s backstage announcing gig. I’m there to help you and try to get the TNA product going and working. I’m not a boss, I’m not a agent, I’m not nothing there and everybody… a lot of the old dudes, but AJ Styles gives me dirty looks…

HOGAN: Well the word I got on the street last night was that Russo stirred this up, and Russo put her up to it.

BUBBA: I don’t agree with that.

HOGAN: It’s true! I heard it!

MANSON: Now, did she give you a finishing move, because she’s known for a body avalanche, a gorilla press slam…

BUBBA: No, no…

HOGAN: She shoulda pushed Bubba over her head, splashed Bubba, and then just bounced off the wall and done two or three belly splashes…

MANSON: Awesome Kong, she’s so awesome…

BUBBA: Wait until my lawyers call Dixie up today.

HOGAN: I just think you should get there early today, and just like she sucker punched you, I think because Russo set this up, you should just knock his assout.

BUBBA: Well, I dunno… I don’t think Russo did this…

HOGAN: He did it, I’m telling you as your friend! I wouldn’t lie to you!

BUBBA: Hogan, I love you to death, but you’re the biggest worker… hold on. You’re taking something that really did happen and trying to make it an angle And the bottom line is, y’know what? All the wrestling sheets, you should know this is real because I didn’t talk about it, and I was upset so bad last night. Hogan, I mean, God, Dixie cannot want to deal with all this Bubba drama…

HOGAN: No, this is just your chance to even the score, straighten this out. You just go right up to Russo when he’s not looking and you just sucker punch him like she sucker punched you.

BUBBA: It will be more of a fight between Russo and I, he’s a pretty big dude, than me and Kong, but that isn’t going to be fair.

HOGAN: You can beat Russo up! Especially if you sucker punch him!

BUBBA: Manson, let me tell you about this Awesome Kong chick. She put three of them on my right cheek that you wouldn’t believe. If you look at my forearms they’re all scratched up. And she’s all, like it’s Braveheart, “HAAAITIII! HAAAIIITI!” And I’m like what… and there’s a woman named Mandy who saw it all… and then she took a glass container and threw it down.

MANSON: That’s why a camera should be on you at all times. That’s priceless footage.

HOGAN: I thought it was great!

BUBBA: But, hey, Hogan, what you don’t realize that they have “eyes in the sky” there, did you know that? They have … that whole entire building has surveillance on it. I’m gonna go get that tape.

HOGAN: Well I can’t wait to see it because I can’t believe how quick she dropped your ass!

BUBBA: She happened to meet me right there, where you guys… just outside the door, you know where it happened, right? I was going to go talk to Val Venis about something, I was heading to Catering, and she met me just down that hallway a little bit before you go down to Eric’s office. She was by herself and she was coming to find me. Just minutes before that, I was in that little office area where you and Eric did that shoot, talking to Hall and Nash and Sixx-Pac. So she was coming to find me, regardless where I was. And what if she had done it right there? She’d have got an ass-whipping by the boys!

HOGAN: By the boys? There’d have been nobody around. The only reason you covered up is because everybody was watching, and you knew you had to behave. I think if you had been by herself you would have counter clocked her ass.

BUBBA: Yeah, but she happened to catch me kinda in a dead area. What if we were shooting and she came in and did that, I mean, she was going to find me regardless of where I was.

HOGAN: Oh, yeah, she was on the hunt! I’ve been around this business for a long time, and I’ve seen Dirty Dan Spivey just destroy Adrian Adonis to the point where we had to stop that. I’ve seen Paul Orndorff, naked, with a pair of shower shoes, kick Vader’s head in. But, without a doubt, when she hit you in your mouth, I thought she broke your jaw, I thought that was one of the hardest sucker punches I’ve ever seen thrown in this business, where it connected.

BUBBA: But it didn’t drop me!

HOGAN: All joking aside, I’m really proud of you for not knocking her out, bro, because that wouldn’t be cool.

BUBBA: I’m gonna be honest with you, Hogan. After her third punch to me, in my mind I’m like, do I take her down with a double-leg, and then just pummel her. Or do I try to bring my right around… and in my head in the quarter-second I had to think about I was like, “You’re done, you’re over! You’ll be off the radio!” Women’s right will get you, look what happened when I barbecued a hog…

HOGAN: If you had hit her, you might have killed her. I’m serious, because the way you were stiff-arming her, she was flailing, she was so out of her mind, if you had sucker punched her between the eyes you might have killed her. I’m proud of you for not doing it, BUT… but what happened, she deserved it.

BUBBA: Dixie has a nice work environment… don’t I, have a talent there, have a right to walk around and not get beat up?

HOGAN: You didn’t get beat up, you just got beat on!

BUBBA: And it was a triple Lindy, three of them connected boom-boom-boom. And then I was like, man… and then, on the third one, I got my left hand out, and I’m keeping her off, my hand’s on like her collarbone area, and at that point she was wailing around, and I was like, do I drop her, do I shoot a double or single leg, or do I get down on a knee and cover up…

HOGAN: Oh, she’d have kicked your brains in if you had got down on your knee.

BUBBA: I know… but, do I just … hopefully somebody gets her off me, so if I don’t defend myself I can’t get in trouble. I was worried about lawsuits, women’s activists and getting in trouble if I had fought back and dropped her, or tried, or even attempted to..

HOGAN: When you Hulked up… and you could see that your eyeballs were rolling back like a shark, and you were going to knock her out. .. but all the sudden you had presence of mind just to cover up and to do the rope-a-dope which was the way to go…

BUBBA: Which makes me look like a pussy…

HOGAN: No, it didn’t make you look like a pussy. If you had hurt that woman, it wouldn’t have been cool. Even though you could have gotten away with it, it still wouldn’t have been cool.

BUBBA: Brent, what’s your spin on it? By the way, I will tell you this, on the way home I called Brent, he’s my confidant, I’m like, Brent, I’m really tore up with this. Brent, you wern’t happy about it, were you?

BRENT: No, I’m still not happy about it. If I were you, and I’m shooting now, I’m being 100% serious, I’d never work another day in my life, and the only correspondence that they would get from me would be through Carlson and Wisner.

HOGAN: Oh, please!

BUBBA: Well, I’m just sayin’… to each their own.

BRENT: Hostile work environment. It’s all day…slam dunk!

BUBBA: Well, it is, it is all day, but… I dunno.

HOGAN: You did the right thing, it’s all good, man. It ain’t no big deal.

BUBBA: It’s no big deal to you, you’re not the one whose getting punked out when you go to work today.

HOGAN: I thought it was awesome. AWESOME KONG RULES!

BUBBA: Go ahead and put her over, Hogan. It’s called lack of leadership, my friend, she obviously has the mindset that you ain’t shit and you don’t care. She went after your number one guy, and what are you going to do about it, old timer? You’re all bark and no bite there, buddy!

HOGAN: I’m going to book you and Russo together, because he’s the one who set it up.

BUBBA: Or the fact that he set it up and you’re not doing anything.

HOGAN: I’m setting it up!

BUBBA: You’re not even sticking up for me on this.

HOGAN: Oh, Jesus Christ, it was a girl, a 350-pound girl, calm down!… I was just worried about your shoulder, I knew you had hurt your shoulder trying to hold that monster off.

BUBBA: Oh, my shoulder is amped…

Bubba The Love Sponge

After news that there was major heat on Bubba The Love Sponge backstage in TNA for saying “F— Haiti” on Twitter, it turns out there’s a lot more to the story.

Hulk Hogan appeared on Bubba’s radio show on Tuesday morning and said TNA Knockout Awesome Kong attacked Bubba backstage and puched him in the face at Monday’siMPACT! taping in Orlando.

Kong has been taking part in fundraising efforts to raise money for the victims of the earthquake Haiti which has claimed upwards of 200,000 lives.

Bubba described the incident:

“She was wearing wrestling gear, and she came in on me and sucker punched me right on my left cheek, and I was like, what’s going on… then she came out me again, hit me again in the mouth, and she goes, ‘This if for Haiti! This is for Haiti!’ and I’m like ‘What is going on?’ Finally I put my left hand out and push her away from me, and she comes at me again and I just cover up, because I cannot fight back on a woman. Not only will I be fired from TNA, which I probably am, but my radio career is gone if I take a woman out!”

Bubba and Kong were both sent home.

A source in TNA says that Bubba has major heat in the locker room and might not be around for too long despite being a Hogan ally.

UPDATE: SEScoops.com can confirm that Awesome Kong backstage in Orlando and is expected to be used for tonight’s iMPACT! taping. The TNA locker room is said to be almost 100% behind Kong in the situation and there’s no heat on her for attacking Bubba.