– Thursday’s “Open Fight Night” episode of Impact Wrestling on Spike TV posted a 1.01 cable rating. The figure is up from last week’s show, which garnered a 0.97 rating.
The program averaged 1.340 million viewers over the course of two hours, an increase of 100,000 viewers from the previous two weeks.
– TNA Wrestling has released footage of NBA great Shaquille O’Neal’s appearance on Impact Wrestling Thursday. During a backstage encounter with Hulk Hogan, Shaq says he has back in his battle with Aces and 8s.
http://youtu.be/V-BnWzpZwY9kQ
– Crimson and Hernandez have been announced to appear at The Big Event 3 taking place Saturday, October 6 at the Courtyard Marriott LaGuardia Airport 9010 Ditmars Blvd. East Elmhurst, New York.
– Tara, Mike Tenay and Daniels are featured on the TNA Impact Wrestling post-show from last night:
http://youtu.be/RLKnljpWSMY
– Jeff Hardy vs. Kazarian was taped last night to air on TNA Xplosion.
– The wrestler who competed in the Gut Check match against Douglas Williams on Impact is 18 year old wrestler Evan Markopoulos. TNA are asking fans to vote on his future on their website. He has wrestled in the Northeast as Elia Markopoulos.
– NBA Legend Shaquille O’Neal appeared in a backstage segment with Hulk Hogan to kick off last night’s Impact Wrestling. Shaq, Hogan and Dixie Carter had been teasing on Twitter that he was there to have Hogan’s back against Aces & 8s.
– Following up on our earlier report about NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal being backstage at the site of tonight’s TNA Impact Wrestling, Hulk Hogan tweeted this afternoon:
Want some?you know the rest,got my other son Shaq watching my back tonight on IMPACT! Come get some Aces and8's. HOLLYWOOD4LIFE2SWEET
– Sonjay Dutt is the featured guest on the latest edition of TNA Today with Jeremy Borash. The twelve-year veteran talks about how he worked over the years to obtain a college degree while developing his career in professional wrestling, family, an injury that consistently holds him back, the X Division and more.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o8LHMT9wLW0
– On Raw Monday, WWE used a pink middle rope to raise breast cancer awareness. Regarding this, Jeff Hardy tweeted,
– Retired basketball player Shaquille O’Neal is backstage at the site of tonight’s Impact Wrestling show in Orlando, Florida. TNA Wrestling President Dixie Carter tweeted a photo of Hulk Hogan playfully choking “Shaq,” and noting, “Things are crazy backstage at Impact already! Hangin’ with @HulkHogan & @Shaq.”
– Matt Morgan, who has not appeared at a TNA Wrestling event since June, made a surprise appearance at Saturday’s house show in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. Dressed in street clothes, Morgan entered the ring through the crowd and laid out Robbie E.
Following the appearance, Morgan posted another one of his trademark cryptic messages on Twitter, stating, “All 2nite really meant was I’m tired of “just be patient Matt”, being patronized & most of all being SOLD DREAMS! The real question is……Who am I with? Time will tell. ‘Til then,Tick-Tock….”
Hours before the appearance, Morgan teased appearances in either Chicago, Boston and Pennsylvania, where Ring of Honor, WWE and TNA Wrestling are respectively holding events this weekend: “Lots of great wrestling this weekend. Chicago………Boston…….Pennsylvania……. Who knows where il show up!”
– On Twitter, Hulk Hogan was asked about the status of Devon and the TNA Television Championship. He responded, “I have no idea, I asked Dixie and she said she’s working on it brother.”
Devon is no longer affiliated with TNA Wrestling after his contract expired in late August.
Devon’s departure from TNA Wrestling two weeks ago due to his contract not being renewed came as shock to many employees since he well-liked and considered a model employee. Hulk Hogan is among those people.
Sunday on Twitter, the legendary wrestler was asked about Devon returning to TNA for at least one night to drop the Television Championship and responded “I’m all over it.” He continued,:
@Koobie101 yo Anthony I'm all over it,Devon is to valubable to ever let him slip away,huge screw up on somebodys part. HH
– During an interview with Steven Muehlhausen of The Fight Club Chicago, mixed martial artist and recent TNA Wrestling signee “King Mo” Lawal revealed that he will be making his debut for the promotion this fall.
“I’m going to pro wrestling school starting next month. I will be making my TNA debut this October,” he said.
Lawal offered more thoughts on TNA in the interview, as well as thoughts on Brock Lesnar. It is available here.
– TNA Wrestling President Dixie Carter announced on Twitter that Hulk Hogan will appear on Fox News Channel program Fox & Friends Thursday morning during the 8:00 a.m. hour.
– Kurt Angle announced on Twitter that he has concluded filming scenes for Lighthouse, which will be released early 2013. Danny Glover appears in the film, who the TNA Wrestling star dubbed “amazing.”
– ABC News has an interview up with TNA star Hulk Hogan, who talks about his home town of Tampa, Florida. The interview is mostly Hulk Hogan talking about why he loves Tampa and the best local spots for tourists to visit. Hogan was asked if he’s voting for Barack Obama or Mitt Romney and said, “I’m going to keep that a secret.”
– The TNA website has posted a batch of pictures of Sting and Mickie James from this weekend’s Jimmy V Golf Classic in Raleigh, North Carolina
– TNA President Dixie Carter continues to tease a big announcement for the upcoming TNA UK Fan Party in London, UK, tweeting the following image on Tuesday (click to enlarge):
As noted earlier, Dixie Carter teased a big announcement at their TNA fan party on September 1st in London. She posted this graphic for “TNA Gutcheck UK” as a “little hint” about the announcement.
– Hulk Hogan returned on Thursday’s Impact Wrestling as “Hollywood Hulk Hogan.” Hogan appeared in a backstage segment (due to his recent back surgery and his lack of mobility) to give support to Sting in his ongoing feud with the Aces & Eights stable.
– TNA also wrapped up the Claire Lynch storyline on Immpact – and she wasn’t even there in person for the angle’s conclusion. Claire Lynch’s attorney revealed that she was never pregnant and that she agreed to blackmail AJ Styles after being approached by Daniels and Kazarian.
Lynch admitted that she drugged AJ Styles and took pictures of him in an effort to blackmail him and make him think he was the father of her child.
– Keiji Muto (a/k/a The Great Muta) pitched a tag team match with Ric Flair as his partner on All Japan Pro Wrestling’s Sept. 23 show, but both sides couldn’t come to financial terms, The most All Japan was willing to offer Flair for the match was $15,000.
– TMZ chatted with wrestler Booker T regarding the “GREATEST VIDEO IN THE HISTORY OF THE INTERNET!” This is in reference to T getting carried away during a televised interview on the June 24, 1996 episode of WCW Monday Nitro, calling out Lex Luger as well as Hulk Hogan, claiming “Hulk Hogan, we comin’ for you, n***a!”
http://youtu.be/Z1oMWfrHKWI
– WWE has submitted a proposal to be included on the SXSW Interactive 2013 panel taking place March 8-12. Their proposed topic will be on how they are “crushing” Social TV. Stephanie McMahon would appear as a speaker, along with various WWE Superstars to be announced. People can vote on whether they like the proposal, which accounts for about 30% of the decision-making process whether they are selected or not. Click here for additional details.
– Hulk Hogan will return to Impact Wrestling next Thursday night. Hogan will appear in the opening segment of the show, as TNA’s top babyfaces will call out the rouge Aces & Eights group for a potential fight.
– Miss Tessmacher regained the TNA Knockouts championship on Impact, defeating Madison Rayne four days after dropping the title to her at Hardcore Justice.
– Former WWE diva Tiffany (Taryn Terrell) made her TNA debut as the special guest referee for the TNA Knockouts title match. After Earl Hebner used some questionable officiating to help Rayne win the title on Sunday night, Taryn Terrell officiated the title change on Thurday night. Here is video from her TNA debut:
Road Dogg and Josh Mathews return with more “garbage juice” on this week’s episode of Are You Serious?, including a WCW clip of a World Heavyweight Championship match where Hollywood Hogan poked Kevin Nash in the chest with his index finger, prompting Nash to fall to the mat and allow Hogan to pin him. Road Dogg notes that to Hogan’s credit, his mighty finger “has been used to sign many contracts with creative control clauses.” The match outcome marked the reunion of both New World Order factions into one villainous group, to which Mathews ponders “how did this company go out of business?”
Road Dogg and Mathews also ridicule a vignette of four muscular WCW wrestlers—two of whom are Alex Wright and The Renegade—marching down a beach and ripping off their Monday Nitro T-shirts. Road Dogg calls the group “Fruity Reservoir Dogs.”
Also featured are clips of Jim “The Anvil” Neidhart appearing on “The Mating Game” on Tuesday Night Titans and a cameraman tripping on stage during an episode of SmackDown earlier this year. The SmackDown episode emanated from the Target Center in downtown Minneapolis, Minnesota, which Road Dogg remarked would soon be renamed “The Shane Douglas Center.”
Wrestling legend Bruno Sammartino recently appeared on the “Inside the Ropes” podcast and had some very negative things to say about fellow legends Steve Austin, Ric Flair and Hulk Hogan.
Audio of Sammartino’s comments can be heard below:
Don’t miss TNA IMPACT WRESTLING every Thursday night LIVE at 8/7c on SpikeTV! If you can’t watch Thursday, don’t forget to set your DVR to record it! It’s two hours of Total Nonstop Action featuring your favorite wrestling superstars – including “The Immortal” Hulk Hogan, “The Icon” Sting, Olympic Gold Medalist Kurt Angle, “The Charismatic Enigma” Jeff Hardy, Bobby Roode, “The Phenomenal” AJ Styles, Mr. Anderson, Rob Van Dam, “Cowboy” James Storm, the lovely and lethal Knockouts, the high-flying X Division athletes and many more! TNA IMPACT WRESTLING takes place from the Impact Zone at Universal Studios in Orlando, Florida! IMPACT WRESTLING is the world’s most innovative experience in professional wrestling, airing in over 120 countries worldwide!
Preview Thursday’s huge LIVE broadcast as the road to the August 12 “Hardcore Justice” Pay-Per-View event continues:
-Last week accusations flew that James Storm may be involved with Aces and 8s. Could there possibly be any truth to these rumors?
– IMPACT will feature a HUGE Bound For Glory Series main event match as Olympic Gold Medalist Kurt Angle battles “Cowboy” James Storm! The competition for a shot at the World Title at “Bound For Glory” continues with two former World Champions battling on Thursday night on SpikeTV!
– In tag team action, World Heavyweight Champion Austin Aries teams with newcomer Kenny King against Bobby Roode and X Division Champion Zema Ion
– TNA Knockouts executive Brooke Hogan makes her return to IMPACT for the first time since the brutal attack by The Aces & 8s gang on her legendary father, “The Immortal” Hulk Hogan
– In Knockouts action, it will be Mickie James vs. Gail Kim vs. Madison Rayne vs. Tara in a four-way #1 Contenders match for a shot at the Knockouts Championship
All this and much more on Thursday’s IMPACT WRESTLING broadcast LIVE at 8/7c on SpikeTV
– Lending confusion to Velvet Sky’s contractual status with TNA Wrestling amidst rumors that her tenure is drawing near, the popular female wrestler’s profile was removed from their roster index Wednesday before being placed back after news spread online. Though she remains listed as a member of the active roster, another online sign would confirm that she is no longer affiliated with the organization.
Sky is advertised to appear on iPPV for Pro Wrestling Syndicate on September 14—event taking place at the Rahway Recreation Center in Rahway, New Jersey. Though contracted TNA Wrestling talent are permitted to appear for independent wrestling promotions, they are prohibited from appearing on shows which are broadcast.
– TNA Wrestling President Dixie Carter announced Wednesday that an Interim General Manager for Impact Wrestling will be appointed in the opening segment of Thursday’s live show.
“While Hulk Hogan is recovering, I’ve asked another man to step in and take control,” she tweeted. “He appears right at 8/7 Central on (Spike TV) tomorrow.
– Tickets for TNA Wrestling’s Bound For Glory pay-per-view event on October 14 in Phoenix, Arizona go on sale this Friday (10:00 a.m. MST/1:00 p.m. EDT) at the Grand Canyon University Arena box office, GCUArena.com or charge by phone at 602-639-8999.
TNA star Hulk Hogan has announced that he will not be appearing at an upcoming live event for Northeast Wrestling. The promotion has been advertising Hogan for their upcoming arena show on September 22nd in New York.
The NEW promotion tweeted the following on Wednesday:
Hulk Hogan’s surgery went well and he will be ready for Sept. 22nd in Fishkill, N.Y.
Hogan followed up with the following tweet on Thursday:
Northeastwrestling on oww forums is very deceptive,I never signed to wrestle for any of these independents,won't be there on Sept 22. HH
It should be noted that Northeast Wrestling never stated that Hogan would be wrestling on the show. He had been advertised for an autograph signing. Other talent scheduled to appear are Roddy Piper, Jerry Lawler, Hacksaw Jim Duggan, Matt Hardy and several other legends.
NEW had been very accommodating of Hulk Hogan’s schedule, even moving the date of the event due to his recent back surgery.
– On last week’s episode of Impact Wrestling, a mysterious group of masked men known as “The Aces and Eights” attacked both Hulk Hogan and Sting at the show’s conclusion. Two of the attackers were former WWE performers—Wes Brisco, a former developmental wrestler, and the wrestler formerly known as Luke Gallows. Gallows has participated in all of the group’s attacks while Brisco debuted last week. For the time being, the wrestlers taking part in the angle are being used as extras rather than full-fledged characters.
It was also noted that former WWE Superstar Chris Masters, who has been campaigning via Twitter to join the organization after working a dark match last month, has not taken part in the angle.
– Jesse Sorensen appeared at Destination X on July 8 to address his neck injury and hope that Zema Ion captures the vacant TNA X Division Championship so he can take the title away from him. He then vowed to reign as X Division Champion at next year’s Destination X pay-per-view event and cash in the title to become the TNA World Heavyweight Champion. Despite the angle being put in gear, Sorensen’s return to the squared circle remains indefinite as it could take place anywhere from three to ten months from now.
– After last month’s Slammiversary pay-per-view event drew approximately 15,000 buys, the purchase number for the Destination X show on July 8 fell to 9,000 buys, according to early estimates. This is approximately the same level their pay-per-view events garner with the exception of Slammiversary, Lockdown and Bound for Glory.
Destination X was headlined by Austin Aries vs. Bobby Roode for the TNA World Heavyweight Championship and an X Division Tournament to determine a new TNA X Division Champion.
– Christopher Daniels’ performance in the ongoing Claire Lynch angle has drawn high marks from TNA Wrestling honchos Eric Bischoff and Hulk Hogan. The 41-year-old had acting experience before entering professional wrestling as he performed in theater.
– Velvet Sky has been announced to appear for Impact Championship Wrestling on September 29 at The Armenian Cultural & Educational Center 47 Nichols Avenue, Watertown, Massachusetts 02472. She will be in action and will also accompany Danny Demanto for his match against Sami Callihan.
– Hulk Hogan posted a post-surgery video update from the hospital. He had another round of surgery due to lingering health issues. Hogan, is shown in his hospital bed along with long-time friend and business partner Jimmy Hart. He makes lighthearted comments about having another World Title run when he gets out of the hospital. TNA temporarily wrote Hogan him off TV with an attack by the Aces and Eights group on last week’s Impact, while he went to get the surgery.
Thank you for all of your thoughts and prayers,like brand new brother ,nurse Jimmy taking good care of me. HH http://t.co/Gyn5BnoV
– TNA Women’s Knockout Champion Miss Tessmacher, who appeared for WWE in 2007, stated on Facebook that she has no interest in returning to her former employer due to their utilization of its female talent.
“Why would I want to go back to wwe where they have 3 min matches that typically have no meaning,” she wrote regarding going back to WWE one day. “The women aren’t utilized to the potential they bring. They aren’t cared about or a priority.”
– Velvet Sky is contemplating a “Beautiful People” reunion tour with former partner Angelina Love. She tweeted, “How many ?#PigeonArmy? fans and BP fans wanna see a Beautiful People Reunion tour?? ?#HOLLERHOLLERING?.”
Meanwhile, Sky and Love have been announced to appear for Northeast Wrestling on Saturday, September 22 at Dutchess Stadium in Fishkill, New York. Other talent scheduled to appear include Hulk Hogan, “Rowdy” Roddy Piper, Lita, Matt Hardy, Mickie James, Jerry “The King” Lawler, Jimmy Hart, “Hacksaw” Jim Duggan and Vader. (Event Information)
– Hulk Hogan will be opening a retail store in Clearwater Beach, Florida later this month. The store, which will sell Hulk Hogan merchandise and memorabilia, will feature regular appearances and autograph seessions from Hulk Hogan and friends. Hulk’s wife Jennifer and daughter Brooke will both be involved in the business.
– Thursday’s iMPACT! Wrestling drew around a 0.8 cable rating, with 1.11 million viewers. The show did not rank in the Top 50 shows on cable for the night, so the official rating won’t be available until next week. The DirecTV blackout is a factor in this week’s rating being lower than usual, with 20 million DirecTV subscribers not having access to Spike TV on Thursday night.
– TNA Knockout Sarita, who has not appeared for TNA Wrestling since April, competed Tuesday in Mexico as Dark Angel. She teamed with Dalis la Caribeña and Lluvia defeat Lady Apache, Mima Shimoda and Zeuxis in a 6-woman tag team match.
TNA ran an angle at the conclusion of Thursday’s Impact Wrestling where the masked group of attackers known as “Aces & Eights” took out Hulk Hogan.
According to PWInsider.com, the reason behind the attack is that Hulk Hogan will be undergoing another back surgery in the coming weeks. Hogan has had upwards of 10 back surgeries in recent years to remove bone spurs and alleviate chronic pain.
Just this week, there was talk of Hogan wrestling at Bound For Glory in October, teaming up with Sting in a “special attraction” match against Aces and Eights. After his latest back surgery, it remains to be seen if Hogan will be physically able to ever “wrestle” again.
Here’s a video clip of the Hogan attack angle from Impact:
– TNA recently announced that Bound for Glory on October 14th will take place from Phoenix, Arizona at the Grand Canyon University Arena. The basketball arena typically holds 5,000 fans. Capacity will be closer to 3,500 when the stage is set up.
There is talk of Sting and Hulk Hogan teaming up against the new Aces & Eights mystery group that attacked Sting and have been taunting Hogan on Twitter. Even though Hogan is extremely limited in what he can do in the ring, Sting could work most of the match and Hogan could get in a few of his signature spots in what would be a “special attraction” match.
– TNA President Dixie Carter could be crossing over into the world of reality television. The production company behind “Real Housewives” of Beverly Hills and Orange County are working on a new “Real Housewives of Nashville” and Dixie Carter is one of the women under consideration for the show. Due to her high profile, she’s in the top tier of candidates and there’s a good chance she’ll be cast.
As previously reported the group that attacked Sting on Impact Wrestling several weeks ago have set up a Twitter account and are calling themselves “Aces and Eights.”
The group has been taunting Hulk Hogan on Twitter in recent days, including a countdown that culminates on Thursday:
This week on Are You Serious?, a clip is featured of (Ultimate) Warrior tormenting Hollywood Hogan backstage through a mirror on WCW Monday Nitro. While the clip airs, Road Dogg and Josh Mathews ponder what Warrior may be foretelling Hogan, such as alimony payments, the box office returns for Santa with Muscles and the end result of PastaMania.
“It’s official, WCW jumps the shark,” Josh Mathews says after baring witness to the clip. Road Dogg adds, “WCW ruined Hulk Hogan. They ruined the Ultimate Warrior. It didn’t help Eric Bischoff any, that’s for sure.” Mathews responds, “Bret Hart’s career really didn’t skyrocket when he went to WCW.”
Road Dogg concludes, “Remember kids, WCW ruins everything, including Billy Kidman’s career.”
Also featured are clips of Juventud Guerrera taking a tumble during his ring entrance at the 1996 WCW Fall Brawl pay-per-view event, Al Snow’s various incarnations and the Playboy Buddy Rose “Blow Away” diet.
