ImpactWrestling.com has released the official preview for this Thursday’s episode of Impact Wrestling.
Preview Thursday’s IMPACT WRESTLING broadcast on SpikeTV at 9/8c. If you can’t watch it Thursday, make sure to set your DVR to record it so you don’t miss any of the action.
– The road to April’s annual “Lockdown” Pay-Per-View event continues
– What will be Hulk Hogan’s answer to TNA President Dixie Carter? Will Hogan take over as General Manager of IMPACT WRESTLING? Tune in and find out
– Mr. Anderson battles “The Charismatic Enigma” Jeff Hardy in a featured bout on the broadcast!
– The undefeated Crimson battles Matt Morgan – will his former tag team partner be the one that ends his streak?
– In Knockouts action, it will be Madison Rayne vs. Velvet Sky
– The World Premiere of “Cowboy” James Storm’s music video “Longnecks & Rednecks”
All this and much more on Thursday’s IMPACT WRESTLING on SpikeTV at 9/8c
In part 3 of Arda Ocal of theScore’s in studio sit down with Bret Hart, the “Hitman” talks about why Bret Hart vs Hulk Hogan never happened in WWE back in 1993:
— Josh Lewis, who hosts Repo Games on Spike TV, will appear on this Thursday’s episode of Impact Wrestling. The announcement was made during Victory Road as Lewis was shown sitting ringside.
It is unknown whether Josh will compete in a match, but according to a report published on TMZ.com on Saturday, the life-long wrestling fan plans to “get physical.”
— Sunday at Victory Road, Devon answered Robbie E’s open challenge and defeated him to capture the TNA Television Championship. Brooke Hogan, daughter of Hulk Hogan, became involved with the match as she pulled a chair away from E.
In other title bouts at Victory Road, Gail Kim retained the TNA Women’s Knockout Championship against Madison Rayne, Austin Aries defeated Zema Ion to retain the TNA X Division Championship, and Magnus and Samoa Joe retained the TNA World Tag Team Championship against Crimson and Matt Morgan.
— The seventh episode of WWE’s Are You Serious? web series has Road Dogg and Josh Mathews reviewing a slate of classic video clips including Hulk Hogan confronting the Dungeon of Doom, the debut of Mordecai and a look at The Fabulous Ones. The infamous video of Charlie Haas inadvertently knocking Lilian Garcia to the ground as she stood on the ring apron on a 2006 episode of Raw is named the “Fail of the Week.”
— David Otunga appears as a guest Monday on the syndicated talk show The Wendy Williams Show.
“Looking forward to the @WendyWilliams show on Monday… Because I’m her guest!,” Otunga wrote on Twitter. “Set your DVR’s now. Wendy’s Show will never be the same.”
— Former WWE Superstar Rick Martel turns 56 years old on Sunday.
— WWE Classics On Demand takes a trip back to the ’80s in April with the best moments and matches from the decade. Those highlighted include Hulk Hogan, Ultimate Warrior, “Macho Man” Randy Savage, “Rowdy” Roddy Piper, Dusty Rhodes, Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat, Junkyard Dog, Road Warriors and more.
— WWE.com has published a photo gallery highlighting The Brooklyn Brawler’s career. He currently works for WWE in a behind the scenes capacity.
— Former WWE Women’s and Divas Champion Melina competes for Family Wrestling Entertainment on April 28 at The Hall at St Paul, 59th Street + 9th Ave, New York, New York. Though her opponent has not been announced, former WWE Diva Maria Kanellis currently holds the promotion’s women’s title.
Hulk Hogan spoke to TMZ on Wednesday and made his first public comments regarding the video tape out there that allegedly features the Hulkster getting freaky with a random woman he had an “encounter” with 5 years ago.
Hogan claims that when he got divorced from his ex-wife Linda 5 years ago, he had a 4-5 month period before he met his new wife Jennifer when he was “out of his mind” – getting drunk and crazy with a lot of young ladies.
Hogan has no idea who the woman in the sex tape could be – and strongly questions her motivations for secretly taping their tryst and now coming forward out of the blue after 5 years later.
A TMZ staffer who said he saw the tape says the tape does seem old and appears to be security footage from inside a home.
Hogan’s lawyer said they plan to block the release of the tape. In the state of Florida, it is a felony to release a tape of this nature without consent from both parties (ie. Hogan).
“If anyone goes forward with this thing, we’re gonna find ’em and we’re gonna prosecute.”
Here’s the footage of Hulk Hogan on TMZ Live from Wednesday afternoon talking about the infamous sex tape:
— TMZ.com reported Wednesday that a sex tape featuring legendary grappler Hulk Hogan has surfaced and is currently being shopped to a major adult film company. According to the website, the tape features the TNA Wrestling Superstar in a state of undress with an unidentified brunette female lying on a bed. The woman in question is not his ex-wife Linda Bollea or his current wife Jennifer McDaniel.
Ultimate Warrior went on Twitter to weigh in on his longtime rival’s video. He wrote, “HH sex tape? Don’t need more boring proof Terry is impotent with tiny, shriveled-up balls. And finding out he’s lesbian is 2 much 4 even me, he wrote.”
— Former WWE Intercontinental Champion Ahmed Johnson has been announced to appear at WrestleReunion 7 on March 31 and April 1 at the Miami Beach Deauville Resort 6701 Collins Ave. Miami, Florida.
— WWE.com has published a photo gallery of WrestleMania VII, which marked as the beginning of The Undertaker’s legendary “Streak.”
TMZ.com broke the news on Wednesday morning that there is a sex tape being shopped around featuring Hulk Hogan and a brunette woman who is neither his wife Jennifer or his ex-wife Linda.
Hulk Hogan’s attorney David Houston spoke to TMZ today and says Hulk Hogan was not aware he was being filmed and is appalled by this “outrageous invasion of privacy.”
Houston issued the following statement to TMZ.com:
“Terry Bollea is appalled at the unauthorized release of a secretly filmed video. [Hulk] neither approved of the filming nor the release of the same. It is clearly an outrageous invasion of privacy and breach of trust if it is genuine. We will take all necessary steps to enforce both civil and criminal liability.”
According to TMZ, the clip they saw shows Hogan taking his shirt off and bragging to the girl about how he’s started to work out again.
The “best part” of the footage they saw was Hulk Hogan’s thong-shaped tan line.
Vivid Entertainment President Steve Hirsch, one of the top executives in the porn business and the man responsible for Chyna’s latest WWE Royal Rumble-themed adult movie, says he was approached with the tape very recently by a third party.
No word yet whether offers were made to buy the sex tape, but it’s out there, brother.
Don’t miss Thursday’s TNA IMPACT WRESTLING broadcast on SpikeTV at 9/8c – featuring the aftermath of the “Against All Odds” Pay-Per-View event! If you can’t watch it on Thursday night, make sure to set your DVR to record it so you don’t miss any of the Total Nonstop Action!
– At Sunday’s Pay-Per-View event, Bobby Roode beat the odds and retained the World Heavyweight Championship against Jeff Hardy, James Storm and Bully Ray. Now, the road begins to March’s “Victory Road” for the World Champ. The question is, what does GM “The Icon” Sting have to say about how Roode won on Sunday – and what does he has planned for Roode at Victory Road?
– On Sunday at “Against All Odds”, Gail Kim successfully defended the Knockouts Title against Tara! On Thursday’s IMPACT on SpikeTV, a new #1 Contender will be determined in a 10-Knockout Battle Royal! The winner of the Battle Royal will get the next shot at the Knockouts gold. The participants are: Sarita, Rosita, Brooke Tessmacher, Winter, Tara, ODB, Mickie James, Velvet Sky, Madison Rayne and Angelina Love!
– Plus, what was the fallout from the Bischoff family feud at Against All Odds? Did Garett (with Hulk Hogan in his corner) overcome the assault from Gunner and his own father, Eric Bischoff? Tune in Thursday night!
All this and much more on Thursday’s broadcast as the road to the March “Victory Road” Pay-Per-View event begins!
The eighth annual Against All Odds pay-per-view event will take place tonight at the Impact Wrestling Zone in Orlando, Florida. The following matches have been announced for the event.
World Heavyweight Championship Match
Bobby Roode (c) vs. Jeff Hardy vs. James Storm vs. Bully Ray
Challenge Match
Gunner (with Eric Bischoff) vs. Garett Bischoff (with Hulk Hogan)
Challenge Match
“The Phenomenal” AJ Styles vs. Kazarian (with Christopher Daniels)
World Tag Team Championship Match
Matt Morgan & Crimson (c) vs. Samoa Joe and Magnus
X Division Championship Match
Austin Aries (c) vs. Alex Shelley
Women’s Knockout Championship Match
Gail Kim (c) vs. Tara
#1 Contender’s Match – X Division
Jesse Sorensen vs. Zema Ion
Hulk Hogan made headlines last month when he told TMZ that he was getting ready to shave his mustache and his head prior to auditioning for some movie roles.
The Hulkster’s announcement sent shockwaves throughout the galaxy and prompted Dr. Aaron Perlut (Chairman of the American Mustache Institute — seriously) to plead with Hogan to keep his “lower nose foliage.”
Hogan complied – but now says he’d shave off the ‘stache, for a price. During an interview with BANG Showbiz: ”
“When I talked about it (shaving off the mustache) everyone went crazy. Loads of people began jumping on it and the next thing I knew people were like, ‘Oh my god he’s shaving his mustache off!’
“The next thing I know is I had one of my sports agents calling me saying, ‘Don’t shave it off!’ I’ve heard from Gillette, Right Guard. They said we may have a deal, so I said I’d wait for a while.”
When asked if he really would lose the mustache – which Hulk has rarely been seen without over the last 40 years – he added:
“If you pay me a couple million bucks, hell yeah I’d shave it off! It grows back.”
– TNA knockout Mickie James took offense to Hulk Hogan deeming Garett Bischoff the future of the wrestling industry on Thursday’s Impact Wrestling. She tweeted on Thursday night:
“Ummm…. Did my ears just deceive me… Or did the Immortal Hulk Hogan just call Baby Bischoff the future of this business? WTH?! FML!”
Sounds like a really awesome way to wind up in the TNA doghouse..
– Tara turns 41 years old Friday. She thanked her fans for their support.
She tweeted, “Thank you to all my loyal, Respectful, awesome and loving WPF’s!!!! I love all of you and appreciate your support. Yay it’s my Bday!!”
Tara is the oldest active female wrestler in TNA or WWE.
– WrestlingFigs.com reports Rosita will be appearing at Legends of the Ring 14, which takes place June 2, 2012 at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Monroe, New Jersey.
Wrestling legend Hulk Hogan appeared on Wendy Williams’ daytime television show on Thursday. Hogan was asked about his ex-wife Linda’s allegations that he and longtime friend Brutus Beefcake had a homosexual relationship. Hogan handled the question well, stating that he is not gay, but would be proud of it if he was. Hogan said Linda’s accusation hurt others, including Brutus Beefcake and his daughter.
He was also denied Linda’s claims that he was physically abusive towards her and spoke about his kids, his financial situation and more.
Hulk Hogan spoke to The Sun on a number of topics including creative control, Ultimate Warrior, not losing to Shawn Michaels in 2005, the Montreal Screwjob and more.
Regarding Hogan’s use of creative control dating back to his time with World Championship Wrestling, he said, “People say ‘Hogan, you have this creative control clause?’ and I say ‘yeah, but the only time I’ve ever exercised it in 30 years is when Vince Russo screwed me’. And it didn’t even help then! I got screwed and couldn’t do anything about it!
“Nowadays, we have a working relationship. I would have bet my bottom dollar that we wouldn’t work together again. There was a point in time where if I was to go to TNA it was him or me. The truth is Eric Bischoff sold me on it. Eric had met with Vince and explained to me how things were different and we should sit down to talk.”
In June, Ultimate Warrior released a hate-filled attack against Hogan, claiming the wrestling icon is a cocaine-abusing “dope head” who once tried to get Warrior to have sex with his wife. Hogan says of his rival, “What is the Warrior doing? What has this guy been saying? I’ve never approached him for sex. I can’t speak for my ex-wife!
“We had a guest house, he stayed in it. We worked in my gym, he hung out in the pool all day with my kids, he was super nice to family. There was nothing but respect.
“All the insane, crazy stuff he is saying is nuts. Now even the most hardcore Warrior fans know he’s a goof. His cover’s gone now, he’s so far out of line everybody just knows he is an idiot. He has no credibility. It’s sad.”
The 45-minute audio interview with additional quotes concerning Michaels and the Montreal Screwjob is available here.
— TNA World Heavyweight Champion Bobby Roode is now on Twitter at twitter.com/REALBobbyRoode. He posted his first comments in character.
“Sure Sting is on Twitter, but it only mattered because the leader of the Selfish Generation wasn’t here…until now. Your WORLD CHAMP has arrived,” Roode wrote. “By the way, the World Champion has arrived in Europe – the REAL star of this tour. NOT Sting, Hulk Hogan or Kurt Angle. Remember that.”
— Time.com has published a list of eight celebrity-endorsed financial products they wouldn’t buy and Hulk Hogan’s partnership with Rent-A-Center in which he pitches rent-to-own furniture and electronics is listed. Hogan, who is described as a former WWE star, is criticized for endorsing a television that “works out to more than twice what a comparable product would cost if you purchased it.”
TNA Wrestling issued the following press release regarding the Lockdown pay-per-view taking place on April 15, 2012 in Nashville, Tennessee at Nashville Municipal Auditorium. Advertised talent includes Hulk Hogan, Sting, Ric Flair, Rob Van Dam, Bobby Roode, Jeff Hardy, James Storm and AJ Styles. Tickets for the event go on sale on Friday via Ticketmaster.
“Lockdown” in April is coming to Nashville: Tickets On Sale Friday
Total Nonstop Action (TNA) Wrestling has announced Nashville will be home for “Lockdown 2012” presented by Direct Auto Insurance. The annual live, all steel cage pay-per-view extravaganza is scheduled for Sunday night, April 15, at the Nashville Municipal Auditorium. This will be TNA Wrestling’s first televised event from Nashville since 2007. Tickets for “Lockdown 2012” start at $15 and go on sale Friday, January 27 at all Ticketmaster outlets or ticketmaster.com.
“Lockdown 2012” is promised to be the most brutal pay-per-view event of the year featuring every match contested inside a 15-foot reinforced steel cage, making it the only all-steel cage pay-per-view event in professional wrestling. The TNA World Heavyweight Championship will be on the line and two teams will compete in a “Lethal Lockdown” match for an unforgettable night of action. TNA Wrestling began in Nashville in the summer of 2002 and this June marks the tenth year anniversary. Fans can celebrate 10 years of body-slams with TNA’s weekly flagship show, IMPACT WRESTLING airing every Thursday night on Spike.
The reigning TNA World Heavyweight Champion, Bobby Roode, leads the invasion of IMPACT WRESTLING stars including Hulk Hogan and Ric Flair along with Tennessee native “Cowboy” James Storm, Olympic Gold Medalist Kurt Angle, “The Charismatic Enigma” Jeff Hardy, “The Phenomenal” AJ Styles, Rob Van Dam, the lovely and lethal Knockouts and more.
“TNA Entertainment couldn’t be more pleased to announce one of our most exciting events of the year “Lockdown” will be live from Nashville on April 15th. To be able to offer the fans of our hometown such a powerful night of explosive action is thrilling,” said TNA President Dixie Carter. “We are going to celebrate 10 years in Nashville with one of our biggest pay-per-view events to date.”
“As the presenting sponsor for ‘Lockdown 2012,’ we’re thrilled about the return of TNA to the Nashville market,” stated Direct Auto Insurance Senior Vice President of Marketing Peter Tahinos. “Our corporate headquarters is located here in Nashville as are many long standing Direct Auto customers who are also loyal wrestling fans.”
Tickets for “TNA Lockdown 2012” go on sale Friday, January 27 at 10am, at all TicketMaster locations, www.TicketMaster.com, the Nashville Municipal Auditorium box office or charge by phone at 1-800-745-3000
“TNA Lockdown Fan InterAction” will be taking place on Saturday, April 14th with details to be announced soon. “Fan InterAction” is a popular fan friendly event giving fans a chance to meet many of the stars of TNA IMPACT WRESTING.
TNA will also be offering a limited number of travel packages that will include lodging and tickets to Lockdown. Full details of the travel package offers are available at www.shoptna.com.
– The January 19th episode of TNA Impact Wrestling scored a 1.20 cable rating with 1.68 million viewers. Hour 1 did a 1.20 rating while hour 2 did a 1.19 rating.
– Hulk Hogan appeared at Thursday night’s Micro Championship Wrestling event from El Paso Texas. Hogan was joined by the Nasty Boys and Brutus “The Barber” Beefcake.
– As we reported earlier, TNA star Ken Anderson returned to action at TNA’s live event on Friday night from Worcester, MA. Several other TNA stars also returned to action, including Garrett Bischoff (losing to Robbie E.) and Shannon Moore (he won a 3-way match with Kid Kash and Jesse Sorensen).
TNA star Hulk Hogan posted a video to Twitter on Thursday night, calling out Sting for a confrontation at TNA’s upcoming tour of the UK. Hogan, who was out with longtime associates Hacksaw Jim Duggan, Brutus Beefcake and The Nasty Boys, had this to say to Sting:
Hogan later responded to a fan who questioned his sobriety in the video, saying that he was the only one that was not drinking alcohol.
– Ric Flair says he’ll be on stage to accept his second WWE Hall of Fame induction, but some people in the industry are speculating TNA has the legal right to sue WWE since they are using a contracted TNA performer to draw ticket sales and DVD sales for the Hall of Fame ceremony. There is still no word yet as to whether TNA will pursue any legal action, but it’s possible TNA could try to get a cash settlement out of WWE in order to use & promote Flair.
– TNA has confirmed that Hulk Hogan, Sting and Kurt Angle will be appearing at all of the company’s shows in England later this month, including the first-ever Impact from the UK.
– After the UK Impact tapings later this month, TNA has no plans to tape on the road at least through the end of May.
– The preliminary PPV buyrate for TNA Genesis is around 10-12,000 buys, which is on the high end of what TNA events usually do.
– Eric Bischoff and Jason Hervey’s production company recently had a new sitcom picked up by Nick At Night. “Daddy’s Home” will star actor Scott Baio of “Charles In Charge” fame.
— Sting is now on Twitter at twitter.com/sting. The account has been confirmed by TNA Wrestling president Dixie Carter. “The Icon” says she encouraged him to get on the website.
Sting writes, “Hello Fans – I’m finally on Twitter! Plenty of news coming soon about IMPACT, my website and more. I’ll try to post as my schedule permits! I appreciate the quick and positive feed back from all! Finally coming out of the dark ages! I think it is only fitting to give a public “Thank You” to Dixie Carter. She has been a huge help getting me up and running / tweeting.
— The official Facebook page of TNA Wrestling UK has confirmed that Hulk Hogan will appear at their shows in Manchester and London on January 27 and 28.
“The Immortal” Hulk Hogan will make his return to the UK after 18 years to appear on the TNA IMPACT WRESTLING television taping at London’s Wembley Arena on Saturday January 28,” the statement reads.
“Hulk will also be a part of the huge MAXIMUM IMPACT Tour live event in Manchester, which takes place on Friday January 27.”
— Angelina Love is scheduled to appear with Jake “The Snake” Roberts and Missy Hyatt at Frank & Son Collectible Show 19649 San Jose Ave. City of Industry, California on February 11.
Earlier today – we reported that TNA President Dixie Carter told the UK’s Daily Star magazine that she was unsure whether Hulk Hogan would be attending TNA’s first-ever Impact Wrestling tapings from the UK later this month. Carter said:
“The truth is I haven’t heard from Hulk in a while. He knows what’s going on – he’s a businessman, and he knows that it’s an important date for us. He will be eyeing that very carefully. He’s been gone from the scene. My goal would be to have him there. You’ll be the first to know if he is.”
Hogan tweeted the following on Friday afternoon, confirming that he will be in attendance for the historic taping:
“There is gonna be some IMPACT in the UK,HULKAMANIA is coming and you know what happens we it’s running wild Brother!!! HH”
Dixie Carter responded with the following tweet:
“@HulkHogan coming to be a part of Impact in the UK? Good or bad — it’s going to interesting.”
— Hulk Hogan, who has not appeared for TNA Wrestling since the episode of Impact Wrestling following Bound For Glory, suggested on Twitter that he will be on hand for the January 28, 2012 double taping at Wembley Arena in London, England.
“There is gonna be some IMPACT in the UK,HULKAMANIA is coming and you know what happens we it’s running wild Brother!!!” Hogan tweeted Friday.
— Eric Young underwent surgery on his throat Thursday, his fifteenth operation since 2004. He noted on Twitter that he plans on working out at the gym today.
— Robbie E appears at Pro Wrestling World in the Merchants Square Mall 1901 S.12th St. Allentown Pennsylvania on Saturday from noon until 2:00 p.m. For more information contact prowrestling1@aol.com.
During an interview with the UK’s Daily Star magazine to promote TNA’s upcoming Impact Taping from the Wembley Arena later this month, TNA President Dixie Carter revealed some interesting details on her relationship with Hulk Hogan and Sting’s plans for retirement this year. Here are some highlights of what Dixie said about:
Sting Retiring This Year & His Final UK Appearance:
“In his mind, I think this is his last year as far as the wrestling is concerned. When we booked this, that’s the way he was talking about it – ‘I haven’t played there in a decade, and before I retire I need to come back there and wrestle.’ Based on where he’s at and what he’s saying, barring something extraordinary this is the last time.”
“And for me it’s great to be able to bring him back there. He’s spent such a big part of his career helping to build our company, I’m very proud we can bring him over. It feels very final. It’s going to be an emotional night.”
Her Relationship With Hulk Hogan:
“The truth is I haven’t heard from Hulk in a while. He knows what’s going on – he’s a businessman, and he knows that it’s an important date for us. He will be eyeing that very carefully. He’s been gone from the scene. My goal would be to have him there. You’ll be the first to know if he is.”
