— Four TNA stars were announced today for New Japan Pro Wrestling’s annual January 4 Tokyo Dome Show.
Matches involving TNA performers are Jeff Hardy defending the TNA World Heavyweight Championship against Tetsuya Naito of No Limit; Rob Van Dam vs. Toru Yano; and Robert Roode and James Storm will be in a three-way match for the IWGP Tag Team Championship against champions Giant Bernard and Karl Anderson, and Manabu Nakanishi and Strongman Jon Anderson.
— TNA Knockout Cookie suffered an ankle injury at last week’s set of iMPACT! tapings. She took part in an autograph signing Saturday at the Poitin Still Irish Restaurant in Hackensack, New Jersey and was carried into the building.
— TNA Wrestling has signed British wrestler “Vigilante” Johnny Moss to a contract.
— Jeff Hardy nearly lost his custom made Immortal Championship, which according to the Pro Wrestling Torch, cost $18,000 to make. The TNA World Heavyweight Champion noted last night on Twitter that he had just received it back from Southwest Airlines.
“JustGotThaWorldTitleBackFromSouthwestAirlines…,” he wrote.
— TNAWrestling.com has announced the following matches for Thursday’s episode of iMPACT!:
* Robbie E vs. Jay Lethal in an X Division Championship Match
* Rob Van Dam vs. Rob Terry
* The Beautiful People vs. Mickie James and a partner to be a selected by Eric Bischoff in a TNA Women’s Tag Team Championship Tournament Match
— Hamada, who was released last week by TNA Wrestling, returned to Japan in October when the organization stopped using her. It is said that her former tag team partner, Taylor Wilde, has also parted ways with the organization. (source: Wrestling Observer Newsletter)
To follow-up on last week’s story of Jeff Hardy almost being pulled from TNA Wrestling’s Final Resolution pay-per-view and stripped of the TNA World Heavyweight Championship due to his condition backstage at the event, Bill Behrens, who coordinates independent bookings for several TNA stars including Shannon Moore, noted on his weekly podcast that company officials have allowed Hardy in the past to wrestle while impaired.
Behrens also discussed Hardy’s vicious chair shot to the back of Ken Anderson’s head in October, which resulted in the former Mr. Kennedy suffering a severe concussion and sizable wound. He said that Anderson is in a great position to sue the organization since he could claim Hardy was unfit to compete when he issued the negligent chairshot.
Behrens says it’s considered an “open secret” within the company that Hardy is still using drugs and thus they wouldn’t have a chance in court.
Examiner.comhas provided an update on TNA Champion Jeff Hardy’s pending drug charges.
Hardy was in a North Carolina courtroom on Wednesday to defend himself against various drug charges stemming from his September 2009 arrest.
According to the Moore County Sheriff’s Office police report, found 262 Vicodin prescription pills, 180 Soma prescription pills, 555 milliliters of anabolic steroids, a residual amount of powder cocaine and items of drug paraphernalia when doing a search of Hardy’s home.
Hardy was hit with a long list of charges – including:
Conspiracy to traffic in Opium
Trafficking in Opium by possession
2 counts of possession with intent to distribute
Felony possession of cocaine
Felony maintaining a controlled substance in a vehicle/dwelling/place
Misdemeanor possession of drug paraphernalia
As we’ve seen a number of times before, the Moore County Superior Court delayed the case yet again – with Hardy due back in court on January 20th.
— TNA World Heavyweight Champion Jeff Hardy is not backstage at tonight’s iMPACT! taping in Orlando, Florida, but will be appearing at tomorrow’s event. He missed last night’s show due to a court hearing in North Carolina.
— Today is 13-time World Champion Kurt Angle’s birthday, who turns 42 years old.
— TNA Knockout Tara took part in an interview with Little Rock, Arkansas based radio station 103.7 The Buzz and discussed her Final Resolution pay-per-view match against Mickie James and working a Steel Cage Match against the country musician that will air on tonight’s iMPACT!. To listen to the interview, click here.
— TNA World Heavyweight Champion Jeff Hardy returns to Superior Court of Moore County in North Carolina today to face multiple drug trafficking charges.
The charges against him are as follows: conspiracy to traffic in Opium, trafficking in Opium by possession, two counts of possession with Intent to Distribute, felony possession of cocaine, felony maintaining a controlled substance in a vehicle/dwelling/place and misdemeanor possession of drug paraphernalia.
— Beginning tomorrow night on iMPACT!, Jeff Jarrett will hold an open challenge where he’ll pay money to anyone who can “make him tap.” Though plants were used, some fans in attendance believed the challenge to be legit and thus security had their hands full trying to keep them from hopping the rail.
We’ve got a big update to the news that Jeff Hardy was almost pulled from Sunday’s TNA Final Resolution pay-per-view and stripped of the TNA World title due to his condition backstage at the show. There have been some online reports that Hardy showed up “hammered” to the event – we can confirm this is entirely false.
When Hardy showed up to the iMPACT! Zone in Orlando, his condition did alarm a lot of people. He was said to be very run down and tired, leading many to speculate that his personal demons got the best of him once again. TNA management did in fact discuss removing Hardy from the main event and stripping him of the TNA Championship. The replacement match would have been Matt Morgan vs. Jeff Jarrett vs. Ken Anderson for the vacated title, with Matt Morgan being the most likely candidate to walk away with the gold.
Hardy met with TNA management at the show and assured them that he was completely sober and was simply exhausted from his recent travel schedule. Hardy had been flying across the world (literally) since the day after Thanksgiving. In the past week alone, Hardy arrived back in the United States (Atlanta) after returning from TNA’s live tour of the Middle East (U.A.E.), flew home to North Carolina for a day, then flew to Michigan for a live appearance late last week and then finally arrived in Orlando just hours before Sunday’s pay-per-view.
Hardy was telling people backstage that he was extremely tired from the traveling, but his appearance upon arriving led many to jump to conclusions.
Jeff Hardy retained the TNA title on Sunday is not expected to miss this week’s television tapings, where TNA will film the final episodes of iMPACT! for this year.
TNA World Heavyweight Champion Jeff Hardy heads back to the Superior Court of Moore County in North Carolina next Wednesday to face multiple drug trafficking charges.
The charges against him are as follows: conspiracy to traffic in Opium, trafficking in Opium by possession, two counts of possession with Intent to Distribute, felony possession of cocaine, felony maintaining a controlled substance in a vehicle/dwelling/place and misdemeanor possession of drug paraphernalia.
He is represented by a pair of lawyers, including a top defense attorney who has also represented Tupac Shakur and other celebrities.
Hardy and his longtime companion Beth Britt recently become parents to a baby girl. The couple tends to be coy regarding their marital status, but those close to them say they are not married.
— Rhino is believed to be working on a nightly deal with TNA Wrestling. He was telling people at Turning Point that he had yet to receive a contract offer from the company.
One TNA source noted that the company had originally intended to part ways with Rhino when his contract expired, but he’s staying put for the time being due to his current program with Rob Van Dam. However, the belief amongst many in the organization is that he will be gone once the storyline concludes.
— Bruce Prichard, who recently joined TNA Wrestling, has not been involved in creative or agents meetings. Rather, he produces pre-taped segments. He has kept a low profile since joining the organization a few weeks ago, but a number of wrestlers and personnel are said to leery of him due to his reputation for playing political games in WWE.
— Jeff Hardy and his fiancée Beth brought their infant daughter backstage to the Nov. 15 iMPACT! taping.
A video has been posted on YouTube featuring TNA champion Jeff Hardy giving some strong criticism of WWE star CM Punk.
It’s worth noting that the video was not posted by Jeff Hardy and there’s no date given as to when it was recorded. The video is choppy and contains some NSFW language, so you’ve been warned.
— The newly created TNA Immortal Championship was a belt specifically made for Jeff Hardy and thus will not replace the actual TNA World Heavyweight Championship over the long run. The assumption of many within the company is that the longtime belt will return once Hardy loses the Immortal Championship.
Though the purple belt has been panned online, a number of people within the organization are high on its appearance. One TNA source deemed it “beautiful” and raved about the designer’s attention to detail.
The word amongst the locker room was that the belt cost the company $18,000.
— TNA Wrestling color commentator Taz noted today on Twitter that he is dealing with a financial situation, which has left him highly upset.
Taz wrote, “To my supporters, Sorry I haven’t been on here for a few days. Something PISSED me off last week- so I have nothing nice to say, still mad.”
He then added, “My anger has to do with $$. Thats all I can say right now.”
On Thursday’s episode of TNA iMPACT!, Hulk Hogan presented Jeff Hardy with a new design of the TNA World Heavyweight Championship, dubbed the TNA Immortal Championship.
The belt was custom made by Top Rope Belts and based on a painting by Hardy himself, which showcases his personal, professional and artistic styles.
Check out these very detailed shots of the TNA Immortal Championship:
Raven was written out of TNA Wrestling storylines as a result of a loss to Jeff Hardy that will air on next week’s episode of iMPACT!. It was stipulated that if Raven lost to the World Heavyweight Champion, he would be fired.
Hulk Hogan publicly fired him following the loss, saying, “Raven, you are fired, quote the Hulkster, Nevermore.”
Raven is legitimately parting ways with the organization.
– Jeff Hardy is due back in a North Carolina Superior Court on December 8th for another hearing on his drug charges from September 2009. TNA will tape the last four iMPACT episodes of 2010 from December 6th through the 9th, so Hardy might miss those tapings.
Eric Bischoff appeared on Monday Night Mayhem last night and confirmed that TNA ReACTION was renewed for an additional 10 episodes by Spike.
While discussing Jeff Hardy, he said that the reigning TNA World Heavyweight Champion was not originally tapped for “They”. Though he wouldn’t say whose place Hardy took, he said that Hardy got the spot because it made for a better story.
When asked about Matt Hardy joining TNA Wrestling, he gave a non-committal answer, saying they are taking a wait-and-see approach.
Regarding Hulk Hogan’s pseudo shoot promo on Twitter in which he said things are going to get “full blown evil” in TNA, he said anyone trying to decipher it is wasting a lot of mental energy.
– TNA Champion Jeff Hardy announced on Twitter this week that he and his girlfriend Beth are the proud parents of a healthy baby girl. This is most likely the reason why he missed the most recent iMPACT! tapings. Congratulations to the new parents!
– The Family Feud television game show sent out the following announcement this week announcing a special TNA edition of the show next week:
“TNA Wrestling Superstars go head to head in a very special edition of “Family Feud” next week. For “TNA Wrestling Week” it’s a battle of beauty vs. brawn as the TNA Knockouts go head to head with the TNA Superstars over some serious bragging rights. Host Steve Harvey will have his hands full with these two teams for the week-long grudge match, airing all next week beginning Monday, November 11. Check your local listings for times and channels where “The Feud” airs near you.”
-Velvet Sky and Chris Sabin’s romantic relationship was mentioned on this week’s TNA iMPACT! Following a brawl that took place among the TNA Knockouts, Sky said she was going to “call Chris” before she got too upset.
Check out this picture of Chris Sabin and Velvet Sky:
— TNA Wrestling has announced that Jeff Hardy will defend the TNA World Heavyweight Championship against Mr. Anderson at next month’s Turning Point pay-per-view event.
— Former WWE star Katie Lea Burchill, who debuted on last night’s episode of iMPACT! as Winter, commented on her TNA Wrestling debut on Twitter: “Thanks for all the positive feedback. That means the world to me. I’m soooo excited!!!!”
— Rob Van Dam has been added to this weekend’s TNA Wrestling house show tour of Michigan.
— The pre-sale code for the Friday, Jan. 7 TNA Wrestling live event in Westbury, Long Island at the NYCB Theatre is 412800. The pre-sale kicked off this morning via Ticketmaster.com.
— TNA World Heavyweight Champion Jeff Hardy is scheduled to appear on The Talk on CBS this Tuesday at 2:00 p.m ET, according to TNAWrestling.com.
The Talk is a new daytime talk show (similar to The View) hosted by ulie Chen, Sara Gilbert, Sharon Osborne, Holly Robinson Peete and Leah Remini.
— Officials from TNA Wrestling have spoken with legendary tag team wrestler Ricky Morton, 54, in regards to joining the promotion. He would likely come in as an agent, according to the Wrestling Observer.
— A free TNA On Demand video app has been released to the Apple App store, which allows patrons to view free TNA Wrestling content on their iPhone and iPod. Search “TNA” at the App Store.
— During an interview with the Daily Star, TNA World Heavyweight Champion Jeff Hardy railed World Wrestling Entertainment for their treatment of his brother Matt.
“I’m not going to give WWE their props for the way they’ve dealt with Matt. He is such a giving talent, ready to do anything for them, and he’s been given the run-around. They’ve treated him like sh*t.
“I think if he came here, you would see the happiest, most dangerous and exciting Matt Hardy you’ve ever seen. I hope that they let him leave and he shows up here any day now.”
— The official WWE website has removed both Mick Foley and Mickie James from its Alumni site. Foley was recently added back to the section while James debuted last week for TNA Wrestling. It is company protocol to remove former WWE performers who appear for the rival promotion.
— TNA Wrestling’s decision to turn Jeff Hardy heel was made approximately seven weeks ago. The creative department felt that it was adamant that the group Abyss had been referring to as “they” for the past several months include the TNA World Heavyweight Champion and it was determined that Hardy and Rob Van Dam were the prime options.
— Mr. Anderson has been pulled from wrestling at this weekend’s TNA Wrestling house show loop across the Midwest due to an injury suffered at last night’s iMPACT! television taping. He will still be appearing as advertised.
While the specific injury is not confirmed, the former Mr. Kennedy reportedly suffered a gash during his match.
— Today is former TNA talent Karen Angle’s birthday as she turns 38 years old. Regarding this, she wrote on Twitter: “Thank you for the birthday wishes everyone! 38th years old today…I am the happiest I’ve ever been thank you to my amazing husband and kids for making everyday special!!!!”
She was also in attendance at Sunday’s Bound for Glory pay-per-view.
sources: Wrestling Observer Newsletter, PWInsider.com
— TNA Wrestling officials are hopeful that the disclosure of “They” at Bound for Glory will hook a number of fans to purchase the pay-per-view event. The widespread assumption amongst the TNA locker room is that “They” will be revealed as a combination of Hulk Hogan, Eric Bischoff and possibly Jeff Jarrett.
Though D’Angelo Dinero cut what was described as a ‘heelish promo’ on Thursday’s iMPACT!, many believe he, Sting and Kevin Nash will turn babyface once “They” is revealed. (source: Pro Wrestling Torch)
— Jeff Hardy’s fiancée, Beth Britt, who is pregnant with the TNA Superstar’s first child, released a message on Twitter yesterday asking that people respect their privacy.
“Been hearing some rumblings about this so I’ll only address it this once. Do not assume that anyone on the Internet that is talking about or answering questions regarding me & my pregnancy has any “inside information”. I can GUARANTEE that the few people who do know any actual facts ARE NOT talking about it to people they don’t know, namely on the Internet & in some silly Q&A forum. There’s a reason that I haven’t answered any questions about the pregnancy. The reason is that this is probably the one thing that we’ll be able to hold sacred & keep somewhat a secret from the public, just so that we can enjoy something so special, even if only for a short time. “Privacy” is something that doesn’t really exist in Jeff’s profession, much less his personal life. I’m just trying to hold on to what I can in MY personal life, & this is it. Respect OUR privacy on this. The people that know anything about us & this pregnancy are doing just that. People that are claiming to know, or are speculating, have NO idea.”
— Michael Cole plugged Mick Foley’s “Countdown to Lockdown: A Hardcore Journal” book during tonight’s taped edition of WWE Raw when The Great Khali entered. Cole called Foley a “good friend” and said the book includes several good stories from Foley’s time as a commentator in WWE. Jerry Lawler acknowledged him as well.
— Matt Hardy posted the following videos on YouTube. In the first video he discusses taking part in the WWE storyline at Royal Rumble where he “burned” Jeff Hardy’s house down. He then questions how WWE treated him for the rest of the year. You can watch it embedded below:
In the second video, Hardy is giving away $500 after it reaches 100,000 views and 5,000 comments. You can watch it embedded below:
– TNA fans who attend the upcoming live event at the Oklahoma State Fair this Thursday will be treated to a special main event – with Kurt Angle facing Ric Flair. Other matches advertised include Samoa Joe vs. AJ Styles, Beer Money vs. Motor City Machineguns and Velvet Sky vs. Madison Rayne.
– Last Thursday’s episode of TNA iMPACT on Spike TV scored a 1.12 cable rating with 1,472,000 viewers. Reaction at 11pm scored an 0.71 rating with 939,000 viewers.
– TNA will be returning to The Asylum in Nashville, Tennessee on Friday, November 12th for a big “homecoming” live event.
– In a video he posted on YouTube over the weekend, TNA star Jeff Hardy commented on his brother Matt’s current situation and announced that he’s getting new entrance music, which will debut at TNA Bound For Glory. Check it out:
– TNA star Jeff Hardy will return to court this Thursday, September 9th. He will report to The Superior Court of Moore County in Carthage, NC, and faces the following charges from almost a year ago…
* Felony possession of cocaine.
* Felony drug trafficking of opium
* Felony possession with intent to redistribute a Schedule III drug (two counts).
* Maintaining a dwelling for drug use and/or distribution.
* Possession of drug paraphernalia. (misdemeanor)
– TNA star Kurt Angle was injured at last night’s No Surrender pay-per-view. Jeremy Borash posted the following on his Twitter after the show went off the air:
“With Kurt Angle right now backstage. He suffered a dislocated rib on the @JEFFHARDYBRAND swanton to the floor. The amazing Dr. Tim Adair, who works for TNA backstage, has put Kurt’s rib back in place. Angle says he is good to go. What a machine.”
Borash also posted a photo of Kurt backstage with an ice pack on his ribs, which you can see here:
— Jeff Hardy announced Saturday via YouTube that he and his longtime girlfriend Beth are expecting their first child. He did not provide the due date or the sex of the baby.
— Eric Bischoff said Saturday on Twitter that Hulk Hogan is considering joining the social networking website.
“Just spoke to Hulk,” Bischoff said. “He’s thinking about launching a Twiiter site! (Never thought that would come off my keyboard). What do you think?”
— The Daytona Beach News-Journal columnist Jeff Wilen conducted the following interview with Kevin Nash. The TNA Superstar discusses HardCORE Justice, rumors of Paul Heyman joining the organization, iMPACT! changing timeslots, and more.
