— Orlando Jordan, who was released from his TNA Wrestling contract on Monday, has commented on his departure from the organization.

“I want to thank my fans a/k/a HOJ for your constant support,” he wrote on Twitter. “Some of you have been with me from the start and some of you have joined me along the way.

“I want to thank (the) TNA locker room for allowing me to shake things up, and try to shine a light on some preconceived perception I deal with every day personally and professionally. I got my wings back, so let’s fly. Thanks TNA and wish nothing but the best.”

It was reported Monday that Generation Me were granted their release from TNA Wrestling. Their profile, as well as Jordan’s, have been removed from the company website. The high-flying duo is now accepting bookings via Highriskwrestlin@aol.com.

— Alex Shelley faced “The Pope” D’Angelo Dinero in the Quarterfinals of the Xplosion Championship Challenge at last night’s Xplosion taping in Orlando, Florida. The match will begin airing overseas next week.

The official Facebook page of Impact Wrestling has released the promotional poster for No Surrender, which takes place Sunday, September 11, 2011.

The poster features the twelve wrestlers competing in the Bound For Glory Series: Crimson, Gunner, Matt Morgan, James Storm, Bully Ray, AJ Styles, Devon, Rob Van Dam, Scott Steiner, “The Pope” D’Angelo Dinero, Samoa Joe and Bobby Roode.

At No Surrender, the top four points leaders will vie for a shot at the World Heavyweight Championship—to be received at Bound for Glory. It has not been determined whether a tournament or four-way match will be held.

— TNA Wrestling color commentator Taz announced on his Twitter account that he won’t be on hand for Destination X due to a family obligation. He will, however, be at the subsequent television tapings.

Jeremy Borash will fill in for Taz. He wrote on Twitter: “Looking forward to joining the announce table for Destination X this Sunday. This is going to be a fun PPV! Don’t miss it!”

— TNA Wrestling’s “BaseBrawl” event scheduled for Saturday, August 27 at Regions Park in Birmingham, Alabama has been canceled. Refunds can be made at point of purchase.

— Devon and Jack Evans appear on this week’s Impact Wrestling Post Show. (Video Link)

— “The Pope” D’Angelo Dinero and Mickie James are advertised to appear at Direct Auto Insurance 530-J Joseph E Lowery Blvd Atlanta, Georgia on Saturday, August 20 from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.

“The Pope” D’Angelo Dinero posted a lengthy blog on his official website concerning his status with TNA Wrestling.

PSW: The State of Pope In TNA

Pope wanted to share this with The Congregation as what I’m about to say is the very real, and sincere just as the message that I’m about to refer to that I received on TheElijahExpress.com:

While reading my Private Messages via the TheElijahExpress.com/Forum, I came across this message from a young man who voiced his opinion about Impact Wrestling and the current treatment of yours truly. This individual wrote in a manner that caused his words to be felt as if he were speaking in front of me. To sum it up, he stated that he hadn’t watched TNA’s Impact Wrestling since the battle royal a couple of months ago. He said he refused to watch now because of Pope’s current treatment and under-utilization on the show.

As Pope continued to read, I began to feel this great weight fall upon my shoulders, and it then became somewhat of a burden. Why one may ask?? Well, it’s simple: I aspire to be that ONE positive influence on young and old alike, to encourage them to aim higher, to let them know that anything is possible, and as the old adage goes, “Hard work will pay off.” Trust me; I do know that it will! Heck, it already has to be exact. BUT the burden rest with knowing that many (not just the kid who wrote this letter to me) around the world email Pope on a regular basis asking the very same thing: “What’s going on with TNA’s treatment of you. Last year this time you were super hot….. (fill in the blank as you know the rest.)”

To be honest, Pope knows not. What I do know is that I do what is required of me, and Pope does it well. I’m not involved in, nor do I seek to be in any backstage clique. I don’t play politics, and I don’t kiss @ss. I show up to work every day with a smile on my face, respecting my peers, and a “What’s Up Daddeh” welcome to all whom crosses paths with Pope. Much like many of you who continue to remind Pope, I worked my butt off, got close to grabbing the brass ring, got injured, came back, and here we are today. I won’t even mention my feud with Sommore Joe, or that in the midst of confusing many watching, Pope and Joe were still able to be the highest rated quarter hour on the show during the “Pope-Joe-Pig” segment, even if many never understood why we were feuding. (Side note: Being one of prophetic capability, one would think that Pope would’ve saw this coming, Ha!)

Here’s my point, Pope always look on the bright side of things, and throughout whatever hardship Pope encounters I attempt to remain positive through it all, or at least THINK positive knowing that GREATER awaits Pope. So as heavy as Pope’s heart had become after reading that young man’s email, I say to all of you that support me day in and day out, “I’m Sorry.” If you feel that I’ve let you down, or that I am letting you down, “I’m sorry.” However, know that Pope is STILL PIMP’N, that NEVER changed; It appears that plans have changed as that’s the power of the mighty pencil. It’s mightier than Pope’s ability, or your tweets, or emails. That’s just the way it is. However, don’t think for one second that YOUR VOICE doesn’t count, and do know that I will do everything within my power to achieve that ultimate goal, and that is to etch my name in the history books as the 1st African American TNA World Heavyweight Champion. Pope promises to continue working hard, and to persevere as I wish to EARN my keep, much like many before Pope which includes the likes of Styles and Joe. And while I speak of them, let Pope say this; I may not be an AJ Styles (who is truly Phenomenal and gave Pope his Greatest Match EVER), and Pope may not be a Samoa Joe (one intense, agile, and talented big man); But for the record, they’ll NEVER be “The Pope” D’Angelo Dinero!

And in closing, know that Pope’s a team player and supports his company 100% as I feel we have the greatest assemble of talented wrestlers worldwide….AND to those that write in to bury Vinnie “you know who”… Trust Pope when I tell ya, THAT GUY is to Pope as a bird handler is to a caged dove that palms it, releases it, and says, “Go do what you were meant to do…Fly and Be Free!” That’s no B.S, that’s just Pope keeping it REAL! It may take some time, but Pope do believe that I’ll get there, and when I do, it will be because of YOU and I made it happen together. I hope this answers a many of your questions and concerns, and Pope truly THANK YOU, The Congregation for your unwavering support.

Until Next Time “If you can’t Change the people around you, Then CHANGE the people around you! ~PHS

Four matches have been announced for next week’s episode of Impact Wrestling.

* A Four Corners Match will take place featuring AJ Styles vs. Rob Van Dam vs. Christopher Daniels vs. Jerry Lynn.

* Crimson will face Bobby Roode in a Bound For Glory Series Match.

* Matt Morgan and James Storm will face “The Pope” D’Angelo Dinero and Devon in a Bound For Glory Series Match.

* Velvet Sky will face ODB and Jackie. If Velvet Sky wins the Handicap Match, ODB and Jacqueline have agreed to never show up in the Impact Zone again.

IMMORTAL has also issued World Heavyweight Champion Mr. Anderson an ultimatum.

— Saturday night in Mexico City, Jeff Jarrett made history by becoming the new AAA World Heavyweight Champion at TripleManía XIX. Jarrett, who was accompanied by his wife Karen, defeated El Zorro to win the prestigious title after throwing powder in his face and assaulting him with a kendo stick.

The TripleMania event also featured Mr. Anderson, Rob Van Dam, Abyss, Velvet Sky, Mickie James and Angelina Love in action. Jack Evans and Extreme Tiger beat Mr. Anderson and Abyss in a Steel Cage Match to retain the AAA Tag Team Championship. Sexy Star, Angelina Love, Mickie James and Velvet Sky beat Mari, Fabi Apache, Lolita and Cynthia Moreno in an Eight Women Tag Team Match. Dr. Wagner, Jr. beat Rob Van Dam to retain the AAA Latin American Championship.

— Matt Morgan beat “The Pope” D’Angelo Dinero via pinfall in a “Bound for Glory Series” match at Saturday’s Impact Wrestling live event in Buffalo, New York.

It was announced at the show that the match would air this Thursday on Impact Wrestling.

source: Pro Wrestling Torch

— On tonight’s episode of Impact Wrestling on Spike, the first-ever “Bound For Glory Series” will be officially announced. There will be twelve Superstars participating in the competition, all leading to the Bound For Glory pay-per-view event in October.

“The Pope” D’Angelo Dinero, Bobby Roode and Samoa Joe are the final three wrestlers to be announced for the competition. The other nine wrestlers scheduled for the tournament are Rob Van Dam, AJ Styles, Gunner, Bully Ray, Crimson, James Storm, Matt Morgan, Brother Devon and Scott Steiner.

— TNA wrestler Crimson is upset with the hosts of an internet wrestling podcast criticizing his ability to throw a worked punch (after watching his match with Samoa Joe last Sunday at Slammiversary). He challenges them over the internet to take one of his punches to prove that his wrestling ones aren’t bad.

Crimson wrote on Twitter, “I dare one of those two Internet geeks to take one of my punches…”

He then thanked his followers for their support, writing, “Thanks for the tweets and support you guys are the best…to the haters hiding behind the computers thank you too the world needs douchebags.”

— TNA Wrestling kicked off a tournament at last night’s Xplosion taping for the Xplosion Championship. The premise of the title is that it’s holder would be able to challenge any champion on iMPACT! Wrestling.

“The Pope” D’Angelo Dinero squared off against Suicide in the opening match of the tournament.

— Asistencia Asesoría y Administración (AAA) announced last Thursday that Mickie James, Angelina Love, Velvet Sky and Sexy Star will face Faby Apache, Mari Apache, Lolita and Cinthia Moreno at the organization’s biggest show of the year, TripleManía XIX, which takes place on Saturday, June 18 at Palacio de los Deportes in Mexico City.

— The new TNA Wrestling Mobile Video Game from NAMCO BANDAI will be released this Thursday. It will be available on the iPhone, iPad and Android.

source: PWInsider.com

— “The Pope” ‘Angelo Dinero appeared on 540 ESPN Radio’s Pro Wrestling Report last night and said he’s not leaving TNA. It was speculated that he would leave the organization due to cryptic comments he made last week on Twitter about “moving on.”

— Desmond Wolfe returned to TNA Wrestling at last night’s television taping in Orlando, Florida as the commissioner of Xplosion.

He still not has been cleared to wrestle.

— Okada worked New Japan Wrestling’s tour over the weekend.

— The May 26 episode of iMPACT! Wrestling is being taped tonight in Orlando, Florida.

source: PWInsider.com

— “The Pope” D’Angelo Dinero posted the following statement on his Twitter account today.

“My time has come, It’s time to move on. I’ve served well. Hope none has been disappointed; hope my hard work has been Applauded & Appreciated.”

He also announced last week that he recently graduated from college and received his degree with honors in Criminal Justice.

— On Twitter, AJ Styles was asked to comment on Jay Lethal’s recent departure from TNA Wrestling. He replied, “Just dumb :(.”

— TNA is holding a live event tonight in in Monroe, Louisiana at the Civic Center, then tomorrow night in Jackson, Mississippi. Advertised matches include Kurt Angle vs. Jeff Jarrett, Matt Hardy vs. Matt Morgan and Beer Money, Inc. vs. Ink Inc.

— Former TNA Knockout Traci Brooks is scheduled to appear at tonight’s Fight Fusion event at the Georgia Mountain Center in Gainesville, Georgia. More information is available at www.FightFusion.com.

— The X Division Ultimate Xscape Match will kick off tonight’s TNA Lockdown pay-per-view. The match will feature Amazing Red, Brian Kendrick, Chris Sabin, Jay Lethal, Jeremy Buck, Max Buck, Robbie E and Suicide.

— Mexican America — Hernandez, Anarquia, Sarita and Rosita — promote tonight’s TNA Lockdown pay-per-view in the following video.

— SoCal Val conducted an interview with “The Pope” D’Angelo Dinero regarding his match with Samoa Joe tonight at TNA Lockdown.

— The April 7 TNA Wrestling live event in Erie, Pennsylvania drew 2,000 patrons while the April 10 show in Moundsville, West Virginia garnered 700.

source: Wrestling Observer Newsletter

— It was speculated that Miss Tessmacher has parted ways with TNA Wrestling considering her pictures were removed from their website on Monday. However, they were added back today, as well as a profile to the roster page.

Daffney and Kiyoshi, however, were not added back to the site.

— Jacksonville.com has an article on “The Pope” D’Angelo Dinero, who returns to the city where he used to work as a corrections officer at this Friday’s TNA Wrestling live event in Jacksonville, Florida.

“Talk about coming home. One of my childhood houses … is literally under the Veterans Memorial Arena parking. You could stand in the back of the coliseum where you pull in the back and that is my house or it was,” Dinero reminisces. “We are standing on sacred ground when you stand there. So much happened there.”

— Douglas Williams beat James Tarr in a dark match prior to last night’s iMPACT! taping.

source: PWInsider.com

— “The Pope” D’Angelo Dinero has heat with wrestlers in the locker room because they feel he’s not making an effort be an effective heel. They think he tries to portray himself as a babyface or “cool heel” in his promos.

— TNA Knockout Tara put over Trish Stratus’ return to WWE on Sunday, writing on Twitter: “I wish I could have watch my girl @trishstratuscom tonight. I’m sure she stole the show.”

Stratus wrote in response, “Well… It was no Chicago street fight- now that was stealing the show!”

— TNA Knockouts Traci Brooks and SoCal Val, as well as former Knockout Chelsea, are advertised for Mega Con, which takes place March 25-27 in Orlando, Florida. Visit megaconvention.com for more details.

source: Pro Wrestling Torch

— TNA Wrestling officials are hopeful that the disclosure of “They” at Bound for Glory will hook a number of fans to purchase the pay-per-view event. The widespread assumption amongst the TNA locker room is that “They” will be revealed as a combination of Hulk Hogan, Eric Bischoff and possibly Jeff Jarrett.

Though D’Angelo Dinero cut what was described as a ‘heelish promo’ on Thursday’s iMPACT!, many believe he, Sting and Kevin Nash will turn babyface once “They” is revealed. (source: Pro Wrestling Torch)

— Jeff Hardy’s fiancée, Beth Britt, who is pregnant with the TNA Superstar’s first child, released a message on Twitter yesterday asking that people respect their privacy.

“Been hearing some rumblings about this so I’ll only address it this once. Do not assume that anyone on the Internet that is talking about or answering questions regarding me & my pregnancy has any “inside information”. I can GUARANTEE that the few people who do know any actual facts ARE NOT talking about it to people they don’t know, namely on the Internet & in some silly Q&A forum. There’s a reason that I haven’t answered any questions about the pregnancy. The reason is that this is probably the one thing that we’ll be able to hold sacred & keep somewhat a secret from the public, just so that we can enjoy something so special, even if only for a short time. “Privacy” is something that doesn’t really exist in Jeff’s profession, much less his personal life. I’m just trying to hold on to what I can in MY personal life, & this is it. Respect OUR privacy on this. The people that know anything about us & this pregnancy are doing just that. People that are claiming to know, or are speculating, have NO idea.”

— TNA Wrestling president Dixie Carter has discussed bringing Scott Hall back to the organization once he completes rehabilitation, reports Dave Meltzer on Wrestling Observer Radio.

Hall’s last stint with the organization came to an end shortly after his May 14, 2010 arrest on charges of disorderly conduct and resisting a police officer.

— “The Pope” D’Angelo Dinero issued the following statement on his Twitter account in response to a report over the weekend that he has heat with numerous individuals in TNA Wrestling and that he referred to himself in third person during his WWE tenure:

“The Pope” wasn’t born until TNA, kinda hard to say “The Black Pope” in 3rd person, 15min promo Toledo,OH? LMBO. Thanks 4 da publicity~ PHS”

Contrary to his statement, the “Pope” persona was cultivated before he joined TNA.

Shortly after his May 2008 disappearance from WWE airwaves, Dinero was repackaged with a gothic persona by the name of “Black Pope.” He came out completely dressed in black and performed praying gestures during matches. However, the gimmick never made it to television as he was released by the organization in November 2008.

— There is heat on D’Angelo Dinero among some individuals in TNA Wrestling, reports the Pro Wrestling Torch.

According to sources within WWE, one of the reasons he was let go from the company two years ago was because many felt he let his push on the ECW brand get to his head. He was known to refer to himself in third person as “The Black Pope” once he achieved notoriety and it rubbed some people the wrong way. He has been exhibiting similar behavior in TNA as of late, which has some of his colleagues complaining. He didn’t do himself any favors by veering off script and cutting a 15 minute promo at a recent live event. Producer D-Lo Brown scolded him afterwards, with a number of wrestlers rolling their eyes at Dinero.

“The Pope” has also developed a reputation for making himself look good at the expense of his opponents.

— In an apparent attempt to further separate herself from “The Beautiful People,” Madison Rayne recently dyed her hair dark brunette. She debuted her altered appearance at Thursday night’S TNA Wrestling live event in York, Pennsylvania.

— TNA Wrestling’s Best of the Asylum Years, Vol. 1 double-disc DVD set comes out this Tuesday at major retailers and ShopTNA.com. It contains over 20 rare matches from TNA’s events at the Asylum in Nashville, Tennessee, from 2002-2004.

— “The Pope” D’Angelo Dinero posted a pseudo shoot video on his Twitter account parodying the video Hulk Hogan posted online last week from his hospital bed.

“The doctors have been pumping me all full of crap, much like I have been TNA,” Dinero said while impersonating “The Hulkster.”

To view the video, click here.

— The live edition of TNA iMPACT! on October 7, 2010 will be held at Universal Studios in Orlando, Florida. According to the Universal Studios website, doors open at 7 p.m. and the event begins at 8 p.m., so the fans in attendance are getting an additional hour of action before Impact goes live at 9 p.m. (Thanks to Devin Cutting)

— TNA Women’s Knockout Champion Angelina Love celebrates her 29th birthday today.

— TNA Wrestling President Dixie Carter announced this afternoon on Twitter the signing of a performer to a new talent contract. Shortly thereafter, “The Pope” D’Angelo Dinero commented the following on the social networking site: “Just heard the news. Now THAT….That’s Cool!”

Many of his followers believed he was alluding to Carlito, as that was the Puerto Rican star’s catchphrase during his time in WWE. D’Angelo noted in a follow-up message that his earlier tweet was purely coincidental and that he has no idea as to who was signed.

“Whoa! Just got the “News” of Pope’s earlier news. That was purely coincidental. For The Record, Pope has NO CLUE as to who was signed,” he added.

— The reunion of “The Beautiful People” on Thursday’s iMPACT! scored the program’s highest rated segment with a 1.15. The next highest quarter-hour was the main event featuring Kurt Angle, Mr. Anderson, D’Angelo Dinero and Jeff Hardy against members of Fortune. It drew a 1.11.

Overall, the show earned a 1.07 rating, up from the previous week’s 0.97.

– D’Angelo Dinero recently suffered a labral tear in his shoulder. Though he appeared at last week’s television tapings to take part in a segment promoting the Top 10 Contender’s Rankings, he told friends he’s a month or two away from being healthy enough to return to the ring.

– A number of people within TNA are negative on the company’s decision to sign independent women’s wrestler Betsy Ruth (Mary-Kate Duignan), whose Rosie Lottalove persona is reportedly based on Rosie O’Donnell and mid-90s WWE character Bertha Faye. Some within the organization see her as a potential replacement for Awesome Kong. However, she’s considered very green and many feel there are several other talented females available who could make an immediate impact in the company.

Many assume management leans on talent from Team 3D’s wrestling academy because they work cheap and reside within driving distance of the Impact! Zone in Orlando. One wrestler believes management is paying Duignan $250 per appearance, and noted that TNA would have likely retained Kong had they bumped her salary up $250.

TNA star “The Pope” D’Angelo Dinero was interviewed this week by The Dothan Eagle and had some interesting things to say about the differences between WWE & TNA, working with the legends he grew up watching on television and more. Here are some highlights of what Dinero said about:

The Differences Between TNA and WWE: “TNA is a family environment. The same environment that I spoke of earlier that we like to give to fans at a live event, that’s how we are, period. Yes, we all want to be champions and make money, but we all support one another’s efforts in doing so. You’re not gonna find that in the giant known as WWE. It’s too much of a warzone, if you will, among the guys there. If you walk in the TNA locker room and the WWE locker room, in TNA everyone is smiling and happy. It’s a great day to come to work. We have guys that have been wrestling 20, 30 years, guys who have been on top of the business, but everyone is on same page and treats everyone with respect. You don’t get talked down to.”

Working Wrestlemania: “I did two WrestleManias, and of course I had the honor and privilege to do so. But as far as having a lot of memories from it, coming up, I wasn’t a WWF fan, I was an NWA (National Wrestling Alliance) fan and a World Class Championship Wrestling fan. I’m from Florida. My fondest memories are of Flair and “The American Dream” Dusty Rhodes, the days of the Horsemen and Sting.”

Working with Legends like Ric Flair and Sting: “You have no idea. It’s the biggest honor. I can only hope some of my fellow brethren in TNA have the same respect and admiration and ability to know we have history, these great legends who we can learn from and grow from in the process. I’ve had a chance to work with Flair, which has just been thrilling. I mean, really thrilling. I’ve told many people before I got to TNA, they’d ask if I could have dinner with three people, who would it be? I always said Michael Jackson, Bill Clinton and Sting. I haven’t met the Big Pope upstairs, but I’ve had some encounters, and I don’t want to see him again until I can’t see no more [laughing]. My immediate goal is to get Sting in the ring before he exits for good. This is the last year. Pope’s been known to give some prophetic advice, and I can tell you this year is the last year for Sting. Pope wants to get him in the ring before he retires for good. I know in this business, when retirements happen, it’s not set in stone, but when Sting retires, I truly believe it’ll be for good.”

– After last night’s TNA Against All Odds pay-per-view went off the air, 8 Card Stud Tournament winner D’Angelo Dinero came back out to the ring and celebrated with the fans and got a loud “you deserve it” chant. The Pope won a title shot against TNA World Champion AJ Styles that will take place at TNA Lockdown on April 18th.

– Hulk Hogan’s daughter Brooke and former WWE & WCW stars 2 Cold Scorpio and Dave Taylor are among the familiar names who were backstage at last night’s TNA pay-per-view.

– TNA has hired a new agent to replace Scott D’Amore, but no word yet on who the agent is.

(Partial credit to PWInsider.com for some of the info used in this report)

– The Pope D’Angelo Dinero is the new #1 contender to TNA’s World Heavyweight Title after winning the 8 Card Stud tournament at last night’s TNA Against All Odds pay-per-view. The Pope will face AJ Styles for the belt at TNA’s Lockdown pay-per-view.

– It is confirmed that the Ultimate X match will take place at next month’s TNA Destination X pay-per-view. As noted before, this will be an all-X Division TNA pay-per-view.

– Eric Bischoff posted a message on his Twitter page (Twitter.com/ebischoff) in response to the news that TNA iMPACT! is moving to Monday nights on March 8th. Bischoff wrote:

“Head to head. I love it. For a guy that would rather fight than…., I want to thank TNA and all the people behind the company. Lets fight!”