SEScoops

Tag: Dixie Carter

  • TNA Loses Destination America TV Deal Effective January

    After months of denials, it’s official, albeit with a twist: TNA Impact Wrestling has been cancelled by Destination America effective the end of the year. While the original report from Dave Meltzer in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter said that Destination America’s opt-out clause allowed them to cancel Impact after the end of this month, TNA President Dixie Carter told Sports Illustrated that they’re done at the end of the year.

    In the Sports Illustrated article, Justin Barrasso wrote that “[Spike TV] cut ties with TNA last December, leaving TNA without a television network in the United States. History repeated itself a year later, as TNA’s current home for TV–Destination America–will no longer air Impact in 2016.”  Dixie Carter added that “The biggest challenge for us is building a brand in the U.S. That’s where we need to grow. We’re contracted to Destination America through the end of the year, and we are in discussions going on for 2016.”

    Per Meltzer, the original memo issued within Discovery (Destination America’s parent company) read as follows:

    Destination America is not renewing TNA Wrestling next year. While the ratings were strong, the audience was not large enough to justify the program investment. We plan to honor the current contract and continue to air original episodes of TNA Wrestling on Friday nights through the end of the third quarter 2015. When the up-front rate card is released, the Friday night anthology title will now be called ‘American Tales,’ which will be a combination of Paranormal and Americana programming. I hope this is good news given all of the advertisers that included TNA on their DNA list.

    The DNA in “DNA list” means “do not advertise.” It refers to shows that a sponsor opts out of buying time on when they buy ads across a whole network. In this case, due to pro wrestling being perceived as downmarket or having low income viewers, advertisers who bought ads to air on most or all Destination America shows didn’t want to put their ads on Impact.

  • Jeff Jarrett Sells His Minority Stake In TNA Wrestling

    TNA co-founder Jeff Jarrett is no longer a minority share holder in TNA Wrestling, according to a report at PWInsider.com.

    Jarrett shocked the wrestling world this past summer when he made a surprise return to Impact Wrestling. TNA’s pitch to Jarrett included a buyout of his remaining TNA ownership, an induction into the TNA Hall of Fame, promotion for Global Force Wrestling and GFW acquiring the rights to book TNA talent for their live events.

    The real-life situation will play out on tonight’s Impact Wrestling, with TNA and GFW stars squaring off in a Lethal Lockdown match. Dixie Carter and Jeff Jarrett will be represented by their respective teams, with the winner receiving full control of TNA.

    TNA issued the following statement regarding tonight’s big match:

    “The real-life drama between Dixie Carter and Jeff Jarrett, that for weeks has played out on IMPACT WRESTLING, will all come to a head tonight in a shares vs shares, Winner Take All match. It is true that if Dixie’s Team TNA defeats Team GFW, Dixie will acquire Jeff’s shares in TNA and he will no longer be a stakeholder.”

  • Update On Bully Ray Leaving TNA, More Departures Expected (Partial Spoiler)

    Despite the fact that he just started as the new babyface authority figure, Bully Ray is already gone from TNA.

    As previously reported, Ray was not brought to television and is no longer with the promotion, as he only signed a per-show agreement which would have allowed him to leave whenever he decided to.

    According to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, more cases like this are expected, as most talent are not under deals where TNA has first priority on their dates, or long-term.

    Jeff Jarrett took over as the new head of authority, appointed by Dixie Carter, but it turned out to be a swerve, as GFW turned heel at the next taping and the promotion already began building up a “Winner Take-All” match with the winning team earning the rights to own TNA.

  • Spoiler: Another Title Change At TNA Tapings, Big GFW/TNA Angle

    As reported on Tuesday evening, Brian Myers (Curt Hawkins) and Trevor Lee, representing Team GFW, defeated The Wolves to become the new TNA Tag-Team Champions at the TNA Impact Wrestling television tapings in Orlando, Florida. However, that wasn’t the only title change that took place last night.

    In addition to the tag-titles, Bobby Roode, representing TNA, defeated PJ Black (Justin Gabriel) to become the new King Of The Mountain Champion.

    Another big GFW vs. TNA spoiler from last night’s tapings saw Dixie Carter and Jeff Jarrett cut “shoot promos” on each other. This led to Carter announcing a “Winner Takes All” Lethal Lockdown match for Wednesday’s Impact Wrestling tapings with the winner taking all of TNA’s shares and controlling the company.

    The match will be Team GFW vs. Team TNA’s Bobby Lashley, Drew Galloway and The Wolves.

  • TNA Impact Wrestling Preview For Tonight, Sting/TNA Video, Jeff Hardy

    – The following matches are scheduled for tonight’s edition of TNA Impact Wrestling:

    * Matt Hardy vs. Bobby Roode (Tables Match)
    * Magnus vs. Bram (Street Fight)
    * Eric Young vs. Rockstar Spud (Chain Match)
    * Dixie Carter announcing the next TNA Hall Of Fame inductee

    – Likely due to the buzz surrounding Sting’s rumored WWE return, TNA has posted the following video looking at the TNA Hall Of Famer.

    https://youtu.be/4bJntVI0LfA

    – TNA also posted this video, which looks at Jeff Hardy’s paintings from the new “Humanomoly” DVD.

    https://youtu.be/fDytjK-w87w

  • Tigre Uno Addresses Donald Trump’s Controversial Comments About Mexicans

    TNA X-Division Champion Tigre Uno took to social media on Thursday to address the controversial comments Donald Trump made about Mexicans this week. The official TNA website noted that Uno will address the comments further on next week’s edition of Impact Wrestling.

    Below are comments made by Uno and TNA President Dixie Carter:

    English Translation: “I’ve been silent long enough! @fightbobby tell your good friend @realDonaldTrump that I am proud of my country. My people. My culture.”

    English Translation: “I’ll fix this myself. @realDonaldTrump if you are man enough to face me I am @IMPACTWRESTLING #TigreVsTrump”

  • New TNA Authority Figure Next Week, Preview For Next Week’s Impact

    – TNA President Dixie Carter returned to this week’s Impact Wrestling and is now a babyface. Dixie tweeted the following to her nephew about big changes coming to TNA.

    The official @ImpactWrestling account is teasing the new authority will be revealed next week:

    – Next week’s Impact will also feature Tigre Uno defending the X Division Title against DJ Zema Ion and Grado, plus Brooke Tessmacher vs. Taryn Terrell for the Knockouts Title.

    https://youtu.be/SeXQ4LY0Xtk

  • TNA Confirms Dixie Carter’s Return To TV Tonight, EC3 Comments

    As she alluded to on Twitter last week, TNA President Dixie Carter is in fact returning to television on tonight’s episode of Impact Wrestling on Destination America.

    Dixie will be there to help kick off the “Era of Carter” following her nephew’s TNA World Heavyweight Championship win last week.

    EC3 tweeted:

    Dixie tweeted:

  • TNA Executive Vice President Parts Ways With The Company

    TNA announced via social media that the company’s longtime Executive Vice President Andy Barton has parted ways with the promotion.

    Barton worked alongside TNA President Dixie Carter at her management/marketing company Trifecta Entertainment from 1996 to 2002 and then moved on to work for her in TNA.

    TNA issued the following statement regarding the departure:

    “We wish TNA executive Andy Barton all the best as he pursues a new opportunity. Glad to have CSO Eric Sherman on board as we look to build on our powerful global brand, continue our rapid international growth and expand onto emerging platforms.”

  • The Latest On Global Force Wrestling Invading TNA

    Tonight’s Impact Wrestling will feature Global Force co-founder Jeff Jarrett speaking to Mike Tenay about his return to TNA and the two companies working together.

    Here’s the latest buzz regarding what’s about to unfold, courtesy of Wrestling Observer Radio:

    – There is in fact an invasion angle about to unfold. The plan is for Jeff Jarrett to gain the trust of TNA President Dixie Carter and then turn heel on her. Jarrett will bring in some GFW and ex-TNA guys to take over Impact.

    – Global Force was basically TNA’s last option for an invasion angle after Ring of Honor turned them down. There is no longer a working relationship with Wrestle-1 and AAA is already affiliated with Lucha Underground.

    – The most recent round of TNA TV tapings (which were filmed before Slammiversary and will begin airing tonight) did not feature any invasion angles, but it will probably start with backstage segments that can be spliced into the shows.

    – Despite Global Force announcing that they’ve signed Magnus, he’s not actually signed, but will be working GFW live events.

    Comment below and tell us what you think about the idea of Global Force Wrestling taking over TNA.

  • Dixie Carter Thanks Fans For TNA Ratings Increase, Storm/Gunner, Bell 2 Bell

    – Former TNA wrestlers James Storm and Gunner are now accepting independent wrestling bookings through Bill Behrens at ShowBis@Aol.com. Gunner flies out of Greensboro, North Carolina, while Storm travels out of Nashville, Tennessee.

    – TNA President Dixie Carter posted the following on Twitter last night, thanking fans for TNA’s ratings increasing.

    – Below is a video preview for this Wednesday’s TNA “Bell 2 Bell” special.

    https://youtu.be/bN66RYNrJzk

  • Dixie Carter Says She’s Returning To TV Soon, Responds To ‘Haters’ On Twitter

    TNA President Dixie Carter revealed on Sunday night that she will be returning to TV soon.

    She also responded to several fans who were very critical of the TNA product and her job running the promotion.

  • Video: Karen Jarrett On She & Jeff Jarrett Returning To TNA, Dixie Carter & More

    Global Force Wrestling has posted a new video that features Karen Jarrett discussing Jeff Jarrett’s TNA return at Impact Wrestling earlier this week. She also talks about TNA President Dixie Carter, the upstart GFW promotion and more.

    “All the tweets, everything on social media, all the different wrestling websites, people continue to talk about this being a storyline… this is not a storyline,” said Karen. “This isn’t something that somebody pitched to the company. This is our real life. How did it feel stepping back into the impact Zone? Amazing. Backstage, seeing everyone and all the love the have for Jeff and myself. You know you miss people but you don’t realize how much you miss them until you see them in person.”

    Karen continued, “How did it feel to see Dixie Carter? A lot of mixed emotions. I just want everything to be right out of this entire process. I want peace in our lives. Dixie and I saw each other, we hugged each other. Jeff and Dixie saw each other, they hugged each other. They say time heals all things and I’m hoping the time we’ve all had has healed everything that has happened between the three of us.”

    Check out the complete video interview above.

    NEW PHOTO GALLERY: CONTROVERSIAL Pics Of RONDA ROUSEY In SKIMPY Outfits

  • Dixie Carter Confirms Next TNA Hall Of Fame Inductee

    TNA President Dixie Carter confirmed via social media on Friday night that TNA founder Jeff Jarrett will be inducted into the TNA Hall Of Fame during the Impact Wrestling television taping tonight in Orlando, Florida.

    Carter wrote the following about Jarrett, who returned at Impact Wrestling earlier this week and will be competing in the King Of The Mountain match at TNA Slammiversary this Sunday.

    NEW PHOTO GALLERY: CONTROVERSIAL Pics Of RONDA ROUSEY In SKIMPY Outfits

  • Dixie Carter On Jeff Jarrett’s TNA Return, Matt Hardy Says Jarrett Cut His TV Time

    As seen on Wednesday night’s TNA Slammiversary “go-home” edition of TNA Impact Wrestling, TNA founder and current Global Force Wrestling promoter Jeff Jarrett, along with his wife — Karen Jarrett – made surprise returns.

    Ultimately, Jarrett was announced for the returning “King of the Mountain” gimmick match from years back, a match concept that will return this Sunday and will include himself, Matt Hardy, Eric Young, Bobby Roode and Drew Galloway.

    Since the Jarrett’s made their shocking returns to TNA, both TNA President Dixie Carter and TNA performer Matt Hardy took to social media to comment on their returns.

    Below are the comments Carter and Hardy made regarding the unexpected TNA returns of the Jarrett’s.

    NOTE: For a detailed photo gallery documenting Jeff Jarrett’s TNA return last night, including his private reuniting with TNA President Dixie Carter backstage at the show, click here.

    BRAND NEW PHOTO GALLERY: Ronda Rousey In Skimpy Bikinis & Tight Outfits

  • Photo Gallery: Documenting Jarrett’s TNA Return, Reuniting With Dixie Carter Backstage

    On Wednesday, June 24, 2015, TNA Wrestling founder and current Global Force Wrestling promoter Jeff Jarrett made a surprising return to Impact Wrestling, and cameras were rolling from the moment he left to head to the arena, to the moment he left the building.

    Below, and across the next several pages, is a photo documentary chronicling the long-awaited TNA return of the man who built the promotion back in 2002.

    In the following photos, we see everything from Jeff and Karen Jarrett leaving their hotel room, driving to the arena, reuniting with TNA President Dixie Carter before the show and mingling with the TNA wrestlers and executives before the show. We also see photos of his actual in-ring segment on the show, shots of the TNA wrestlers watching his segment on a monitor backstage, and their reaction to Jarrett when he walked through the curtain backstage after the segment.

    NOTE: For those unfamiliar with the story, read the following SEScoops.com article:
    Backstage Update On Jeff Jarrett’s TNA Return, TNA-GFW To Merge?

    And The Jarrett’s journey begins …

    (Photo Credit: GlobalForceWrestling.com

    Click below to advance to the next page to view the next photo …

  • Rockstar Spud On Working Alongside Dixie Carter, EC3, Winning British Boot Camp

    TNA wrestler Rockstar Spud recently spoke with Marc Madison of The News Hub about his feud with Ethan Carter III, working alongside TNA President Dixie Carter and the evolution of the Rockstar Spud character. Below are some of the highlights from the interview.

    On winning British Boot Camp: You can see that when they announced that I was the winner and I collapsed to the ground on my knees crying my eyes out that you know what it meant to me. You know, you know what it meant to me. It meant everything to me. It meant all my years of telling my friends that I’m not going out on a Saturday because I have to roll around in a wrestling ring. In their eyes, so you’re missing out family and for rolling around in a ring with a dude? Or oil and micro? Dude, you fight and perform man and nothing is going to happen. That’s all, I used to hear every day. I have friends go, hey man, why don’t you get a jacket on and come traveling with us? And do this and do that? I’m like guys, I don’t know why I know I just know there is a purpose for me I just got to stay. I’m going to stay the course. I really believe in this. I believe in myself. Even when my mom and dad say, you know you should really pack it in. I believed in myself. I didn’t feel like I was stupid anymore. It meant so much to me. So much.”

    On training in Ohio Valley Wrestling: “Danny and Rip, if I did something wrong, I’d be going to Danny’s office and the only time I did something wrong the next day I had to choke down a lot of red wine. I got my punishment, I got my licks and off we go. Rip, was an interesting cat himself but was a pro wrestling genius an absolute genius and you can see it in his tweets he cares still to this day so much about pro wrestling. Anyone that want’s to learn what this business is about go and train there because it’s worth every penny. It was worth all the 10 months of waiting and hearing people’s frustration all the 10 months of just learning was so worth it. It was an amazing time.”

    Check out the complete interview at The-NewsHub.com.

  • TNA Making Strong Push To Sign Rey Mysterio

    In the past year, TNA has reportedly made a legitimate attempt to sign multiple top-tier former WWE Superstars, such as Edge, Alberto El Patron and CM Punk. Apparently the promotion is currently focused on trying to sign one major talent that recently officially parted ways with the company.

    According to the latest issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, TNA is in the process of making a big play for former WWE Champion Rey Mysterio.

    TNA reportedly tried to sign Mysterio just this past week, as both Dixie Carter and John Gaburick spoke with him about the possibility of signing with the company.

    According to one source, both TNA executives tried to push the idea that they could get Mysterio’s merchandise into stores and assist him in getting television and film work.

    Additionally, Carter and Gaburick gave Mysterio the impression that they would build TNA around him as the company’s long sought after Hispanic star. They reportedly told him that the deal would be a non-exclusive deal, as he would still be allowed to work for other promotions on days that do not conflict with TNA’s schedule.

    For what it’s worth, the belief is that Mysterio will still be signing a contract to officially join Lucha Underground in the near future.

  • King Of The Mountain Gimmick Match Returning At TNA Slammiversary PPV

    On Tuesday, TNA President Dixie Carter announced that at the upcoming TNA Slammiversary pay-per-view, the old “King Of The Mountain” gimmick match will return.

    Below is the release with all of the details.

    King of the Mountain Returns To Slammiversary

    For the first time in six years, the King of the Mountain Match returns to Slammiversary on June 28 live on Pay Per View at 8pm ET.

    A TNA original, and one of the most innovative matches in all professional wrestling, the King of the Mountain was a staple of the annual Slammiversary event through 2009. Some of the greatest wrestlers in TNA history have entered the King of the Mountain match in hopes to stake a claim to TNA Gold.

    Impactwrestling.com is going to take you through the rules that make up the King of the Mountain match, and in the coming days join us right here to relive some of the best moments of the King of the Mountain matches from past Slammiversary.

    King of the Mountain Rules:

    – The match consists of 5 competitors who begin ineligible to win. In order to become eligible one must score a submission or pinfall where falls count anywhere.
    – Once eligible the competitor must retrieve the belt from the official while the person who was pinned or submitted must spend 2 minutes in the “penalty box” cage.
    – Multiple competitors can be locked in the penalty box resulting in alliances or the fight continuing.
    – Once the belt is in play any other wrestler who is eligible may steal the belt, if at any point the belt is dropped it goes back to the official.
    – An eligible competitor hangs the belt on a hook suspended 15 feet above the ring via a ladder to win the match.

    Tell us what you think about the return of King of the Mountain to #Slammiversary by using #KOTM.

  • Dixie Carter Reveals New TNA X-Division Title (Photo), Slammiversary Update

    – The reason TNA decided to do the Kurt Angle vs. Ethan Carter III title match at the upcoming Impact Wrestling television taping on July 1st instead of the Slammiversary pay-per-view was because there was no way for the company to tape episodes of Impact Wrestling that would air after the pay-per-view without spoiling the plans. TNA is currently working on a new main event for Slammiversary that won’t involve the TNA World Heavyweight Championship.

    – TNA President Dixie Carter tweeted the following photo of the new X-Division Championship, which will officially be unveiled soon.

  • Bobby Lashley Interview: What Happens If TNA Goes Under, Vince vs. Dixie & More

    Former TNA Champion Bobby Lashley was a guest on the latest episode of Submission Radio. Here are some highlights of what Lashley said about:

    TNA’s Future On Destination America: “I don’t think they’re going anywhere right now, whether it’s Destination America, Spike, or whatever it is. I’m sure they’re going to be able to reach an agreement, reach a deal where they’re going to have a home, and they’re going to be there for a long time.

    If they leave Destination America I think it would be a shame because of the amount of talent that we have on that show. I mean for the people that watch TNA, they know the kind of talent. I mean there’s some really big names there. I mean you got the Hardy Boyz, you got Kurt Angle, myself, MVP. There’s a lot of really high – Bobby Roode, Eric Young. There’s a lot of really, really good – Kennedy – over there.

    I mean there’s so many guys over there that it would be…..if they do die, there would be another promotion somewhere that’s just ready to scoop up all these guys and already have a main level roster right off the bat. So I don’t know. I don’t see it happening. It’d be ridiculous for them to part ways. If anybody leaves it’s going to be TNA leaving to go somewhere else.”

    NXT: “I think it’s great. I think what they’re doing down there is great. They’re building some guys up so those guys learning how to be superstars and do some big things, and when they do come up to the main roster, they’re ready because they do get a little bit of superstar status when they’re there because they have a TV channel and everything like that.

    The only thing that I wish that they would do is that there’s a lot of guys out right now that they could really use to kind of mix into their program that I think would give those guys even bigger boosts. You have guys like Shelton Benjamin, you have Chris Masters, Carlito, you have John Morrison, you have a lot of really, really good guys out there, but they’re like “No. We’re not going to touch those guys because we really want to develop these younger guys”. I understand that, but I think [Hurricane] Helms said it best, it’s like you can’t go to a professional game and not have some of the professionals out there. And I think what they have going on right now they have some really good names, I think they should just kind of mix it up a little bit more.

    And then another thing is I think they should use some of the guys that are out there right now, instead of these guys traveling around the world, independent promotions all over the place. You’ve already built these guys up, might as well use them to boost your guys and then give them an honorable retirement after the deal?”

    Working For Vince McMahon & Dixie Carter:  “I think Vince is more of a business man and Dixie is more of a like a family person. Dixie kind of stays away from the business aspect and lets the people run the company, but at the same time Dixie is so big on the family, and I have no problem brining my kids there, bringing them backstage, meeting the guys and everything like that. She wants it to be more of a family environment. Whereas Vince, it’s business. It’s really business in the WWE. I mean both of them have their great qualities, but I think that’s the big difference between the two.”

    Lashley was also asked if he’d consider returning to WWE before he retires to the ring. Lashley said “sure.”

     

  • Dixie Carter Confirms New Match For TNA Slammiversary 2015

    TNA President Dixie Carter confirmed an official match for the TNA Slammiversary pay-per-view event from Orlando, Florida.

    On Thursday, Carter tweeted the news to her followers, announcing Magnus vs. James Storm for the show, which is scheduled for Saturday, June 28th.

    Also confirmed for the show is a World Heavyweight Championship match between Kurt Angle and Ethan Carter III.

    Below is Carter’s tweet about the Magnus-Storm match.

  • Vince Russo Responds To Coverage Of Dixie Carter’s Talent Call

    Former TNA writer Vince Russo is speaking out about the news coverage of Dixie Carter’s talent conference call from earlier this week, where she addressed various issues including their relationship with Destination America and Ring of Honor joining the network.

    Russo called out a particular ‘dirt sheet’ for claiming that the wrestlers weren’t happy with the way Dixie Carter handled the situation, claiming she was evasive and does not communicate well with the TNA roster.

    He says that the report was based on one source, who may have been biased and that it’s irresponsible to trust the view of one person who might have their own agenda.

    Here’s what Russo wrote on Facebook on Saturday:

    Today, the same dirt sheet who broke the story about the imminent cancelation of TNA on Destination America filed the following report concerning a conference call that Dixie Carter held with the talent:

    “The wrestlers at the meeting were not happy because they felt overall Carter was being evasive, and also it was hard to buy the idea that she was presenting that adding ROH to Destination America was to their benefit. The keys to the talent question and answer period is that talent complained that they wanted better lines of communications”.

    Here lies the issue, folks—unless you were actually on that call yourself, this is second hand reporting coming from “a source”—a mole—who was presumingly on the call and then in turn reported the result to the said dirt sheet—speaking for ALL the wrestlers at the meeting. The information did not come directly from the call to reporter—there was a middle man. A middle man. A middle man who was perhaps dissatisfied with the call himself, was maybe even a bit disgruntled, thus putting HIS/HER spin on the phone conversation the way THEY saw it—in speaking for ALL the wrestlers on the call.

    The overall feelings of the wrestlers are being stated as “fact”, when the only “fact” is that the person/persons who gave that information—gave it from THEIR perspective which is simply that—THEIR PERSPECTIVE.

    Again, when looking at stories such as this, you just really have to be careful in determining “truth” from “perspective/opinion”. No two people view anything the same, everybody always has, and presents their own “take”, or “spin”.

    My point–take what you read with a grain of salt. Don’t fall into the trap of allowing “reporters” to make you believe what they want you to believe.

    Vince

  • Leaked 2006 Email From Vince Russo To Dixie Carter

    David Bixenspan tweeted a leaked 2006 email from Vince Russo to Dixie Carter, pushing for TNA to feature an “attractive, sexy, female executive” character to make the show “hip” and add a new dimension to the product.

    Russo, who has had a long standing feud with Jim Cornette, also pushes for Cornette’s removal from television, since he is a 1980’s throwback rasslin’ cartoon character and conflicted with the edgier elements of the show like Kurt Angle and Samoa Joe.

    https://twitter.com/davidbix/status/604158747972386817

    https://twitter.com/davidbix/status/604159770929577984

  • Update On Dixie Carter Filming Reality Show, Future Of TNA Without U.S. Cable Deal

    TNA President Dixie Carter was filming the pilot episode for a potential reality television show at the last set of Impact Wrestling television tapings. At the same taping, Dixie gave a speech to the roster and spoke about how talent shouldn’t believe everything they read on the internet about Impact Wrestling ratings.

    Dixie’s speech was filmed as part of the reality TV pilot and at the same backstage meeting, she introduced Billy Corgan to the roster, which was also filmed for the show.

    There is said to be a feeling within TNA that even if the company is faced with a worst case scenario and they don’t get a new cable television deal in the United States, there is still good reason to keep the company alive between their international clearance and the Dixie reality show.

    The idea behind Dixie’s reality show is that it will be sold on the concept that a woman is running a pro wrestling company in a male-dominated industry.

    (Credit: Wrestling Observer Newsletter)