It was revealed during Saturday’s set of TNA Impact Wrestling television tapings, which will air on the April 17th edition of the show, that an upcoming special edition of Impact Wrestling will take place called “TKO: Total Knockouts.”
While not confirmed, it’s believed that the TKO special will be taped this weekend and will feature a TNA Knockouts Championship match between Awesome Kong and Taryn Terrell. It will also feature a number one contendership match between Gail Kim, Brooke Tessmacher, Angelina Love and Madison Rayne.
Additionally, new Knockouts are scheduled to make their TNA debut.
TNA Knockout Gail Kim spoke about the state of women’s wrestling and the “#GiveDivasAChance” movement in her latest column, which is featured in the March issue of Total Wrestling magazine. Below are some highlights.
On the current state of women’s wrestling: “NXT has proven that with opportunity and time, the women can put on a show, with great athletes and characters emerging from there. Total Divas, reality show has given the women a platform to be seen but not necessarily as the strong empowered women they really are. With WWE Raw on for three hours, I feel as though they could be given a much more prominent and positive role.”
On the “#GiveDivasAChance” movement: “Why not follow the successful formula that NXT has? It was at such a low point recently that the fans spoke out with #GiveDivasAChance trending and the fans voices were heard loud and clear. I hope this path continues for all of us women. With TNA president Dixie Carter and Stephanie McMahon in prominent positions of the top two wrestling promotions in America at the moment, the future can be very bright for women in pro wrestling. Perhaps equality some day?”
The March issue of Total Wrestling magazine is available right now at Issuu.com.
– After a year-and-a-half absence from TNA, Mickie James made a surprise return to the organization at Thursday’s Impact Wrestling taping Glasgow, Scotland. Her return may not be permanent as according to Dave Meltzer of F4WOnline.com, she was originally brought back for this week’s tour of the United Kingdom to be part of an angle that will be shot today or tomorrow. He noted that a deal between both parties could be extended.
– On tonight’s episode of Impact Wrestling, Taryn Terrell will defend the TNA Knockouts Championship against Gail Kim and Madison Rayne in a 3-Way Match. TNA has released this video previewing the affair.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Evu-mf0lOfw
– Eddie Edwards appears for Lucky Pro Wrestling on Saturday, Feb. 28 at Elks Hall 99 Park St. Hudson, Massachusetts. He will be challenging Anthony Stone for the LPW Heavyweight Championship, and fans can meet him before the show. (Event Details)
– TNA Knockout Gail Kim is said to be working on a per-event deal with TNA as opposed to signing a new, long-term contract with the company. She is expected to work the upcoming Impact Wrestling television tapings in New York City next week, and is also committed for the upcoming U.K. tour.
– There’s some speculation that TNA is done with the pay-per-view business, as their Lockdown show, which along with Bound For Glory is traditionally one of their bigger pay-per-view shows, is airing as a free television special on Destination America.
– TNA posted the following video of Samoa Joe being injured during the TNA Tag-Team tournament on this past Wednesday’s edition of Impact Wrestling:
http://youtu.be/X0K4YgSz_jw
– Below is an excerpt of a new Brooke Tessmacher interview where she talks about her goals and desire to have a shot against Havok:
“I have been gone this past year and can’t wait to prove myself again. It was something that I wanted to be was [a wrestler]. I wanted a chance to prove myself. I think I‘ve done that very well. Every time I wake up I think, ‘Wow, I’m a two-time champion. I did that. I know if I wanted to do it again, I could.’ It’s a dream come true.”
“I hope in January to be on the U.K. tour. I’m looking forward to working with Jessicka Havok. I would love to see what I can do in the ring against her. She is quite scary, obviously. I think I have mental prep from Gail Kim and Lisa [Marie Varon, a.k.a. Tara]. I also would love to have a few matches with Taryn Terrell. She is doing great and a good friend of mine, but I would love to see how we would do in the ring together. I think we could put on something amazing together.”
Check out the complete interview at MiamiHerald.com.
– Speaking of Tessmacher, she and Robbie E. finished fourth place on this week’s edition of “The Amazing Race” on CBS, which allows them to advance to next week.
The following are highlights of a new Sports Vibe interview with TNA Knockout Gail Kim:
When you began your first stint with TNA back in 2005, did you imagine there would be such a great Knockouts division seven years later?
I just knew I wanted to wrestle and I wanted the company to have a women’s division. Never did I imagine that we would have such a great and talented amount of girls. I love our division now because everybody has something different to offer.
Who has been the toughest opponent you’ve come up against in TNA?
The toughest physically I would say is Taryn Terrell. I worked with Taryn in WWE and there we never really got to showcase what we could do. We never really developed a women’s division to what we have here. I never knew what to expect from her. She told me she loved physicality but I’ve never met anybody who wanted to go to that level. That was the first time in fourteen years that I was blown away. We’ve had a great chemistry since we started wrestling each other regularly.
TNA is putting heavy emphasis on expanding its international image. What was your view on taking Bound For Glory to Tokyo?
I think it was a great idea. We’ve never done a pay-per-view in Japan before. I know from my experience that the fans are different because they clap more and are less rowdy than in the United States. So it’s always interesting and it translated different on television. I think real true wrestling fans appreciated the idea. Wrestling is huge in Japan so to see a different style matched with the American style was great.
The likes of Ethan Carter III, James Storm and Austin Aries have all publicly opposed the return of the six-sided ring. What are your thoughts on bringing it back?
People don’t like change. I was fortunate enough to wrestle in that ring before so I knew it was going to take time to get used to. We’re still getting used to it. But honestly, we left it to the fans and it was certainly an overwhelming decision. I think it makes us different but at the beginning when we got it back, we could feel it physically on our bodies. Luckily, we have a great ring crew and we addressed the issue by working on it for us. It’s great now and it’s just a matter of getting used to where you are in the ring. I honestly think in a couple months nobody will realise.
Check out the complete interview at SportsVibe.co.uk.
The following are highlights of a new v2 Wrestling Podcast interview with TNA Knockout Gail Kim:
On whether she was comfortable seeing Dixie Carter go through a table: “Oh my God, yes, I felt very comfortable with it. I was so excited. Because, you know, if you wrestle this long, you’ve seen it all – not that you’ve seen it all – but it’s hard to maybe get surprised by something. And that was the first thing in a long time where I was saying, ‘Oh my God, I can’t believe this is happening.’ I think the fans were excited, I think we were all excited. I thought it was a great thing that happened.”
On whether the Knockouts belong in the main event: “I definitely think so. I think it shows that Impact Wrestling has confidence in their women, and I think that they should because we are just as passionate and we can deliver when the pressure is on. I can’t speak for the fans and I’ve only heard positive reactions in terms of us main eventing the show, but I think we have something different to offer that the other promotion doesn’t offer, and that’s a strong women’s division. I think we have all taken the ball and ran with it.”
On the WWE Divas: “I don’t get to watch a lot of wrestling because I’m on the road all the time, but I still have friends there. Alicia Fox has always been a really good friend of mine from the day that we started together there, and we kind of catch up every once in a while and I hear what’s going on in that world. To me, I don’t think they’ll ever give the girls the main event. I mean, they have in the past, but I just feel that it hasn’t happened as consistently for years with the way that women’s wrestling is portrayed there. Hey, I want to be wrong, but all I can do is really concentrate on my job and where our women’s division is going. I just want to make this a success and I want to give the fans an opportunity to see the girls on that platform, and I think it’s a great alternative.”
On possibly being inducted into the TNA Hall of Fame: “I don’t think about those things, I always think about the now. I’m very honored that people even bring up my name. Without Impact Wrestling I wouldn’t have been able to create all those moments, so I just thank them that they gave me the platform to do what I do best. I hope [to be inducted] in the future and we’ll just come to that when the moment happens, if it happens.”
On the audition process for British Bootcamp 2: “We were there in terms of the first process. The first round is ‘show your personality’ – we kind of get to know each contestant and see what they’ve got. If you can entertain us and show us something, whether it’s presence or charisma, then you can move on to the next round and show us what you have in the ring. Sometimes we would ask them to show us a little bit of physicality in the ring. Certain people are known for their wrestling, so we wanted them to show us a little bit of their strengths. I think we picked the right ones; everybody can see on October 19th when the show premieres. I’ve been told that we picked the right ones, so we’ll just let the viewers decide.”
TNA announced that Gail Kim suffered a separated shoulder during her match with Havok at Wednesday’s edition of Impact Wrestling. The injury is expected to keep her out of action “indefinitely,” according to an article on their official website.
Kim spoke to the official TNA website, saying the following regarding her injury:
“In all my years of being in this business, I have never experienced the pure evil of someone like HAVOK. To be the target for the title, that I’m used to but to have someone try to put me out indefinitely and end my career…
I have one message for HAVOK. I have overcome a lot in all these years. This will not be the end. Anyone who knows Gail Kim knows that I don’t back down from anyone. ANYONE. Now you have the target on your back. You know what they say, the bigger they are, the harder they fall and I will be the one to bring you down”
Wrestle-1 executive Jimmy Suzuki garnered heat from fans after comments he made recently about not having a TNA Knockouts match at the TNA Bound For Glory pay-per-view in Japan. Suzuki later defended his comments on Twitter with the following tweets:
Sorry if anyone took wrong…I was event producer for NKPWA in Korea and always had girls in the show. Took some for Japan
– TNA President Dixie Carter recently congratulated Magnus and Mickie James on the birth of their son. She wrote the following on Twitter about the subject:
Congrats to @MagnusOfficial & @MickieJames on the birth of your son & future World Champ! Thrilled for you both!
Austin Aries won the “Gold Rush” tournament on Wednesday’s edition of TNA Impact Wrestling, earning himself a future title shot of his choice. Aries is scheduled to pick his title shot on next week’s show.
Also announced for Impact Wrestling next week is Havok vs. Gail Kim for the Knockouts Championship, The Wolves picking the stipulation for their final match against Team 3D and The Hardy Boys and Bobby Roode speaking out on his future in TNA.
Samoa Joe vacated the TNA X-Division Championship at the Impact Wrestling television taping tonight in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania because he was reportedly not medically cleared to compete. As a result, a fatal four way was held later on in the taping to crown a new X-Division Champion, which Low Ki won.
Also at tonight’s TNA tapings, Taryn Terrell defeated Havok and Gail Kim in a triple-threat match to become the new Knockouts Champion.
Finally, James Storm and Abyss defeated The Wolves to become the new TNA Tag-Team Champions.
We will have a full spoiler report from the taping up tomorrow morning.
– There has been backstage talk within TNA that there were some additional cuts made to office employees last week.
– TNA will be airing the Best Of Ultimate X “Unfinished Business” pay-per-view special this month.
– Debuting this Friday on pay-per-view will be a “TNA One Night Only: World Cup of Wrestling” event with teams captained by Ethan Carter III, Eric Young, Kurt Angle and Bobby Roode competing to win the TNA World Cup. The show, which was taped in April at the old Impact Zone, will feature the following lineup:
*Eddie Edwards vs. James Storm
*Jessie Godderz and Robbie E vs. Mr. Anderson and Sanada
*Gail Kim vs. Madison Rayne
*Eric Young vs. Bobby Roode
*Kurt Angle vs. Magnus
*Angelina Love vs. ODB
*Ethan Carter III vs. Davey Richards
*Bully Ray and Gunner vs. Samuel Shaw and Kenny King
*Finals for World Cup
– TJ “Manik” Perkins has signed a contract extension with TNA.
– Taryn Terrell vs. Gail Kim for the Knockouts Championship and Bobby Roode vs. Eric Young in a number one contender’s match has been announced for next Wednesday’s edition of TNA Impact Wrestling.
– Below is a video of Team 3D reacting to their victory over The Hardy Boys and The Wolves from this week’s edition of Impact Wrestling.
– In addition to the Samoa Joe vs. Low Ki and Hardys vs. Team 3D vs. The Wolves, TNA has announced a match for the Knockouts Championship with Velvet Sky vs. Angelina Love vs. Taryn Terrell vs. Gail Kim at their Impact Wrestling tapings in New York City next week.
– It has been revealed that the person TNA is teasing joining the company soon is female wrestler Jessika Havok. Below is the teaser video that the company is running on television.
– Ring Of Honor star Kevin Steen, who recently signed with WWE, announced his final three opponents in ROH. Tonight, Steen will square off against Tommaso Ciampa, while next week he is scheduled to work both Steve Corino and Silas Young.
– The following is a video of TNA Knockout Gail Kim skydiving:
WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross has updated his blog, which you can read in its entirety at JRsBarBQ.com. Here are some highlights of what he said about:
Sting’s 7-4-14 Tweet: “Lots of @Sting speculation as to what 7-14-14 means but to spill the beans, if I knew, would be to spoil a cool surprise. Needless to say, I’d suggest, without leading anyone astray, that watching RAW Monday night would be judicious.”
Daniel Bryan’s Status: “Not sure what to believe or not to believe regarding the physical status of Daniel Bryan but most of what I’m reading isn’t positive. Often times a surgery will reveal other issues and it seems that may have been the case here. The bottom line to this entire matter is to get Bryan healthy and, above all else, not to rush him back into the ring. I feel confident that WWE would never allow this to occur but certainly in the territory days of years gone by promoters would want the talents to get back in the ring ASAP. Plus, the talents themselves would push the envelope because most of them did not have guaranteed contracts and if they did not work they did not get paid notwithstanding they paid their own medical bills. Times have changed much for the better in those areas.”
How Bryan’s Absence Affects Roman Reigns: “With Bryan out TFN, it’s also imperative that WWE be cautious in how they market, promote and build Roman Reigns. Overexposure can result in a backlash neither of which the WWE or Reigns needs at this point in his development. Does Roman Reigns or any other WWE talent need to be on virtually every TV show that is produced such as RAW and Smackdown? Absolutely, not.”
Gail Kim vs. Angelina Love: “Wanted to mention last week that I really enjoyed the @GailKimITSME vs. Angela Love match last Thursday on @ImpactWrestlilng on @SpikeTV. The ladies worked hard, I knew who the villain and the heroine were, and they had the time to tell a viable story. This stuff isn’t rocket science folks. However, we seem to be living in an age where pro wrestling is more ‘over thought’ these days than ever before and we can all see the results of that mindset.”
TNA taped part of next week’s edition of Impact Wrestling on Thursday evening. The rest of next week’s show, as well as the show that will air on July 3rd, will be taped tonight at the Sands Resort in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. Below is what has been taped thus far for the June 26th episode.
– Gail Kim & Taryn Terrell def. The Beautiful People in Knockouts tag-team action.
– Sanada retained the X-Division Championship in a four-way match that also featured Crazzy Steve, Manik and Zema Ion.
– An in-ring segment took place featuring MVP, Bobby Lashley and Kenny King, as well as Eric Young and Bobby Roode. Ultimately, MVP tried to fire Young and Roode, however the TNA Board of Directors came out and rescinded the firings, telling MVP that he is no longer the Director of Wrestling Operations for TNA.
– James Storm def. Mr. Anderson in a one-on-one bout.
– An in-ring segment took place with Dixie Carter bragging about MVP no longer being the Director of Wrestling Operations, assuming that she is again in control until the same member of the Board of Directors from earlier in the evening came out and informed her that she wasn’t in charge either. Dixie threw a fit and demanded to know who was in charge, but the man refused to tell her. Eventually, Bully Ray came out and threatened again to put Dixie through a table until Ethan Carter III and Rockstar Spud came out to make the save. Tommy Dreamer and Ethan Carter III ended up getting into a big brawl as well.
– Magnus & Bram def. Willow & Abyss in a Monster’s Ball match.
– The announcement is made as to who the new TNA Director of Wrestling Operations is, which turned out to be Kurt Angle. This led to MVP, Lashley and King coming out to threaten Angle until Young and Roode came down to the make the save.
The TNA stars scheduled for next year’s European tour, which was a solid success for the company earlier this year, are Bully Ray, Magnus, Samoa Joe, James Storm, Bobby Roode, Ken Anderson, Eric Young, Gail Kim, Gunner, Abyss, Ethan Carter III, Tigre Uno and Rockstar Spud. That would lead you to believe that all of those talents are under contract through the rest of 2014 and into 2015.
In the case of Jeff Hardy, whether he’s under contract or not, he can’t be part of the European tour because of his past drug conviction.
The European tour dates are January 29th in Glasgow, Scotland, January 30th in Manchester, England and January 31st in London, England.
The only show announced as a TV taping is the 1/31 date in London, where two episodes of Impact Wrestling are scheduled to be taped. They’ve also announced an Ultimate-X match for the London show.
The following are highlights of a new Jim Ross blog:
On his “Ross Report” podcast: “Our Ross Report Podcast is growing like crazy as with just one show per week we are staying in the top ten of ALL sports podcasts on the iTunes charts. Thanks goes to all of you for supporting it. You can download our podcasts free at podcastone.com and via iTunes.”
“Right now we feature a fantastic interview with the amazing Gail Kim including a cameo from her husband Chef Robert Irvine of the Food Network.”
“Next week is the blockbuster part one of my interview with Shawn Michaels who discusses how close he came to returning to the ring to face his former student Daniel Bryan, his reaction while sitting at the infamous Gorilla Position during WM30 specifically when The Streak ended, his HOF experience this year and so much more including analyzing many of his most memorable moments. Shawn offers a perspective on CM Punk’s WWE departure that might surprise you and our conversation in San Antonio that was the catalyst for HBK returning to WWE after a four year hiatus.”
“In a couple of weeks I talk to Bill Goldberg which is already taped about him returning to WWE, how he would like to see it done and why he is motivated at age 47 to return to the ring. Bill also discusses the NFL. UFC, training at the WCW Power Plant and who helped him the most in the early part of his career along with the political world of pro wrestling as seen through the eyes of a ‘rookie’ non wrestling fan at the time. It’s a fascinating conversation with the enigma known as Goldberg.”
On recent pro wrestling live audiences: “Some thoughts on pro wrestling’s live audiences…..St. Louis wasn’t great for WWE Monday night and the lack of noise adversely affected the broadcast IMO. Here’s how I look at that matter: No one buys a not so cheap ticket, packs up the car,drives to the venue and parks to come in and have their mind made up to NOT make noise. The commitment to get to one’s seats is too great to come and act as if one is watching golf or tennis. The product that one sees before them is what is going to motivate a crowd to emotionally invest and to be loud and proud. The St Louis crowd, normally a very good wrestling crowd, apparently did not see enough to make the show sound special. There were moments but not enough of them over the three hour show.”
On TNA Sacrifice: “TNA had a PPV a week ago where the smaller crowd in a sound stage was embarrassingly quiet and provided little to no motivation for the talents some of which had excellent bouts. TNA is in an especially precarious position as they are in the closing months of their TV rights deal with Spike and have zero momentum or leverage with which to negotiate. Trying to save money by having the TV’s in the same venue more often than not in Orlando is the kiss of death. If the crowds that attend IMPACT events there don’t react to what they saw on the loaded, PPV card then they are unlikely to ‘pop’ for much of any thing. That makes the TV show sound uninspired and not ‘must see’ TV. It’s a good thing that Impact is going to do some of their tapings outside the Orlando sound stage going forward as that scenario is one designed for failure.”
“I am all for Impact and all wrestling companies for that matter to succeed because he more places that talents, crew, etc have to work the better it is for the overall business.”
Check out the complete blog at JRsBarBQ.com. You can also order JR’s Bar-B-Q products online at WWEShop.com.
– Jim Ross’ latest Ross Report podcast is now online at PodcastOne.com with his guests, TNA Knockout Gail Kim and her husband, celebrity chef Robert Irvine.
– WWE’s new “Batista: The Animal Unleashed” DVD and Blu-ray will be released on June 10th. According to WrestlingDVDNews.com, the main documentary feature will run less than an hour, with the rest of the content being matches and promos. It will span Batista’s career from Ohio Valley Wrestling through his current run in WWE.
The following matches are confirmed:
* Batista and Ric Flair vs. Rob Van Dam and Booker T, WWE Tag Team Title Match – 3/22/2004 RAW
* Batista vs. JBL, Bullrope Match for the World Heavyweight Title – 9/9/2005 SmackDown
* Batista vs. Alberto Del Rio, 2014 Elimination Chamber
TNA added the above video to their official YouTube channel previewing tonight’s TNA Sacrifice “go-home” edition of Impact Wrestling, which airs on Spike TV at 9pm EST.
Below is a list of confirmed matches for the show.
– Bobby Lashley vs. Kenny King
– Kurt Angle vs. Rockstar Spud
– Gail Kim & Madison Rayne vs. Angelina Love & Velvet Sky
– MVP vs. Austin Aries
– Bully Ray & Gunner vs. Bobby Roode & James Storm
– Abyss vs. Magnus
The following are highlights of the latest Jim Ross blog:
On the current and upcoming Ross Report podcasts: “This week’s Ross Report podcast is going great guns with guest @TheJimCornette as we essentially solve all the ills of today’s pro wrestling genre. Seriously, it’s one of the best discussions that I have ever participated in regarding the business that many of us still embrace. I hope you will check it out at podcastone.com or via iTunes.”
“Next Tuesday pm our conversation with the amazingly talented and beautiful Gail Kim drops and we explore Gail’s career, the major differences in working in WWE vs. Impact Wrestling, Gail’s overall take on women in wrestling, her future, the delicate balancing of her career and her marriage to celeb chef Robert Irvine of the Food Network and much more. Gail is dead on honest about every topic and her candor was extremely refreshing.”
“This past Tuesday night I talked for almost two hours with Shawn Michaels and it was the most compelling interview that I’ve done to date as HBK shares what it was like to to sitting at the Gorilla Position at WM30 specifically when the Undertaker’s Streak abruptly and shockingly ended. It’s a perspective that can’t be replicated and that Ross Report Podcast is excited to premier on Tuesday May 6. Shawn’s openness and straight talk makes this one of the most riveting and informative podcasts ever.”
“This week I also confirmed Lance Storm and MVP for future Ross Report Podcasts as we keep cranking them out and hope that we can continue to build our audience by producing and recording some stout shows.”
On Daniel Bryan losing fans: “Amazing that some ‘fans’ are jumping off the Daniel Bryan bandwagon now that the highly skilled star has won the WWE World Title and the reason is that they feel that the ‘chase’ is over and therefore DB has no more challenges ahead of him. Has anyone noticed that Bryan is STILL smaller than virtually everyone he wrestles and is STILL an underdog even as the champion? Keeping a fan favorite in varying levels of jeopardy or peril works….it always has and always will. It has worked in films and in main stream sports since their beginning, which is why they keep score, keep track of the standings, and play for something at the end of the year. If Bryan can continue to amazingly overcome the odds and retain the WWE World Title in non fluke wins, when the time comes for him to lose the championship, to Brock Lesnar would be my suggestion, say at Summerslam or even in November at Survivor Series, DB won’t fade away. The best pure wrestler in the world isn’t going to disappear unless he is removed from TV or he suddenly forgets how to perform his craft.”
“The Daniel Bryan situation as it relates to going forward this year is seemingly being ‘over thought’ by many fans who have WAY too much free time on their hands.”
On narrarating an upcoming FOX Sports 1 boxing documentary: “My narration of a @FoxSports1 feature on the young, boxing son of the late Tommy Morrison airs Monday night on FoxSports1. I will tweet more info when I receive it. Morrison was a distant relative of John Wayne, defeated George Foreman for the WBO Heavyweight Title and died much too young at age 44. The native Oklahoman was also a star high school football player at Jay, Oklahoma and I officiated some of his games when he played there back in the day. It’s a really cool feature on Trey Lippe Morrison who’s looking to impact the heavyweight division in the world of boxing.”
Check out the complete blog online at JRsBarBQ.com. You can also order JR’s Bar-B-Q products online at WWEShop.com.