TNA star Kurt Angle is the latest wrestler to comment on Twitter about CM Punk’s shoot promo on RAW.
Angle tweeted the following on Tuesday afternoon:
“CM Punk had classic promo last night. Good for Him. But if U ever say another word about Me again, Ur toast! If U don’t believe Me, try Me!”
Angle and CM Punk had beef back in April, when Angle went on a rant on Twitter – accusing Randy Orton, Jack Swagger and Jerry Lawler for “stealing” his wrestling moves at WrestleMania. Angle later claimed his Twitter account was hacked, but Punk blasted Angle and said he didn’t buy his story.
— Gunner stated on his Twitter account that he will face AJ Styles this Thursday on Impact Wrestling in a “Bound For Glory Series” match. He also said Samoa Joe will face Devon in the BFG Series.
— Bob Ryder, Director of Talent Bookings and Travel for TNA Wrestling, refuted online reports via Twitter that Homicide and Jack Evans were backstage at yesterday’s Impact Wrestling taping in Orlando, Florida.
— TNA Wrestling performer Brooke Adams (a/k/a Miss Tessmacher) competed in the 15th Annual Hooters International Swimsuit Pageant last Saturday in Miami, Florida. Representing the Hooters restaurant in Kirby, Texas, she was one of 100 contestants. She did not finish in the top ten.
— Kurt Angle will be on hand for an autograph signing this Saturday at the Wrestling Universe 34-29 Francis Lewis Blvd. Flushing, New York. Visit WrestlingUniverseOnline.com for more information.
— Last night’s Slammiversary pay-per-view event concluded with a commercial announcing that next month’s Destination X pay-per-view would feature an X Division Championship Match, Ultimate X, the return of the six-sided ring and stars from the past.
Company officials are looking to utilize former TNA talent such as Senshi for the show, similarly to last year’s Hardcore Justice pay-per-view event featuring ECW names.
— Mr. Anderson beat “The Icon” Sting last night at Slammiversary to become the new World Heavyweight Champion, after questionable interference by Eric Bischoff. Anderson was able to hit a low blow and the Mic Check for the pin and the win to regain the gold. Meanwhile, Kurt Angle became the new No. 1 contender after beating Jeff Jarrett and therefore will receive a title shot against Anderson.
— The June 16 episode of IMPACT WRESTLING is being taped tonight in Orlando, Florida while the June
During his recent interview with the UK Sun’s WrestleCast radio show, TNA star Kurt Angle spoke about his struggles with pain pill addiction during his time in WWE and how it affected his relationship with Vince McMahon.
Despite appearing glassy eyed and slurring his speech at a recent TNA PPV, the Olympic gold medalist maintains that he no longer uses pain killers and advises young wrestlers to avoid them like the plague.
“I had an issue in WWE and I think that’s the reason Vince McMahon and I became so distant. I did get myself in a position where I had a painkiller problem. I had to get myself out of it and I did that without going to rehab. I worked full time and had to go through a lot of withdrawal.
“I’ll never touch it again. I learned a lesson from that. Any wrestlers, or people that want to be wrestlers, that is not the thing you want to do. Stay away from that. It’s the devil. It’s not going to help you in any way or fashion. All it’s going to do is make you an addict.”
To listen to the full interview, visit TheSun.co.uk.
In an interview with TheSun.co.uk, TNA star Kurt Angle reveals that The Undertaker wanted him to end his WrestleMania streak back at WrestleMania 22 back in 2002. Angle told WrestleCast hosts Rob and Joel:
“The person who wanted to do it was Undertaker himself. I was flattered, for him to go to Vince McMahon and pitch it.
“Undertaker at that point never had a five-star Wrestlemania moment match.
“He figured that the only one he could do it was me, at the time. Thank God a couple of years later he had Shawn Michaels, and it worked.
“But Undertaker really wanted to have that match, he asked Vince to push our match back from No Way Out to WrestleMania and, since I was champion they wanted me to keep the title, Undertaker was willing to take the loss.
“To me that meant a lot because Undertaker had a lot of respect for me — and I had more respect for him than he did for me.”
To listen to the full interview, head over to The Sun’s WrestleCast page.
Monday Night Mayhem: Hosted By The Big Mosh & “The Chairman Of The Board” Todd Vincent Heard LIVE Monday Evenings @ 7PM ET/6PM CT
TNA’s Eric Bischoff was one of the featured guests on this week’s live edition of the award-winning Monday Night Mayhem.
Eric Bischoff Discusses The Importance Of How TNA Is Actually Doing As A Company In The Eyes Of Spike TV, The Rumors Of Impact Wrestling Going On The Road This Summer, How Disappointed He Would Be If Mick Foley Left TNA At The End Of His Contract & If He Would Ever Classify Mick Being “Hard To Work With,” Whether Or Not Kurt Angle’s Full-Time Absence From TNA While Training For The 2012 Olympics In London Would Be A Blow To The Company, Chyna’s Decision To Restart Her Career In The Adult Entertainment Industry vs. Her Career In Professional Wrestling & His Reaction To Her Comments Of TNA “Missing The Boat” After Choosing To Not Bring Her Back After The Sacrifice Pay-Per-View, Why He Has Mixed Feelings About Mr. Anderson’s Impersonations Of Sting Over The Past Several Weeks On Impact Wrestling, Plus Much More In The Return Of “The Hot Seat With Eric Bischoff” (Flavored By Sizzlin Sauces)
You can listen to an MP3 of the appearance by clicking here.
Interview highlights courtesy of Paterson, MNM’s associate producer & official correspondent:
The importance of talking about how TNA is actually doing as a company in the eyes of Spike TV: “People keep making statements about how TNA is not doing well, or TNA sucks, or whatever juvenile trite that comes out of their heads. It occurred to to me that no one is talking about how TNA is doing as a company. Coincidentally, I got an e-mail from Spike Television talking about last Thursday night’s ratings. In the e-mail, it said that Impact Wrestling was the #1 rated show in its demo & in its time period, despite that we were up against the NBA Finals. Impact Wrestling is the #1 program on all of Spike Television. We outperform the UFC. To be able to be the the #1 show on that network in prime-time is a very significant achievement. I just wanted to point that out, because not enough people are talking about the good things going out in TNA.”
How disappointed he would be if Mick Foley left TNA at the end of his contract & whether or not Mick was ever hard to work with on or off-camera: “Mick wasn’t hard for me to work with. I thoroughly enjoyed the on-camera work that Mick & I had together. I think some of the best moments that I’ve had on camera on Impact Wrestling I’ve had with Mick Foley. I will miss working on camera with Mick Foley. In terms of being disappointed, as much as I enjoyed working with Mick, there’s a very limited role for someone like Mick Foley, a character like me who doesn’t wrestle, who is really only a talker. If you look at where Impact Wrestling is right now, there’s just not a whole lot of room for more guys like me or Hulk Hogan. We just have to be the central focus of the storyline and probably will be for some time, and there’s only so much real estate. A lot of that real estate has to go to guys who can deliver action in the ring.”
How big of a blow would Kurt Angle’s full-time absence be for TNA while he is training in London, England for the 2012 Olympics: “I don’t think it’ll be a problem at all. I’m a strong believer that when you have large characters like a Kurt Angle, or a Rob Van Dam, or a Ken Anderson, or you name it, you have to cycle those personalities out from time to time in order to keep them fresh. We have seen a lot of Kurt Angle over the last year & a half. He has been central to so many storylines that if Kurt needs some time away to pursue the Olympics, and I think the publicity surrounding that would be great for our company & for Kurt Angle himself, that it will give his character time to refresh and come back more valuable than if he would just stay around and work a full-time schedule like everyone else.”
His thoughts on Chyna’s decision to restart her career in the adult entertainment industry vs. her career in professional wrestling & his reaction to her comments of TNA “missing the boat” after choosing to not bring her back to the company: “I didn’t know she made the comment that TNA ‘missed the boat,’ but I was not excited with the fact that the company decided to bring her in for the (Sacrifice) Pay-Per-View. The initial thought was a turnoff for me, but I kept my mouth shut. When I saw her at the Pay-Per-View and saw that ‘deer in the headlights’ look in her eyes when it actually came time to do something, it kind of confirmed what my instincts told me. Then I read about the fact that she wants to build her career around doing anal sex videos for Vivid. I was really, really, really, really glad that I don’t have to try & explain to anybody why I work in the same company as her.”
Kurt Angle was recently interviewed by the UK’s Bamber Media to promote next January’s Maximum Impact tour. Here are some highlights of what Angle said about:
Competing In the 2012 Summer Olympics:
“After Atlanta (1996), I wanted to take a break. Then I got caught up in pro-wrestling. I was going to try-out in 2004 but I broke my neck. Before 2008 I went a divorce and was at a really difficult time in my life. I’m a very competitive person. With the UFC I needed three to six months to get ready. They wanted me ready in four and a half weeks. I wanted to do it under my terms. A lot of people were saying ‘Kurt said he was going to fight but he didn’t. He backed out six different times and he’s going to back out of the Olympics’. No I’m not – because this is under my terms.”
His New TNA Contract:
“I’m going to start going part time. I’m at a point in my career where TNA can’t afford me to be travelling around and getting injured at house shows when they need me on TV. If I want to perform the way I do and steal the show every time I wrestle I have to be 100% healthy and we are both in agreement on that.”
Helping TNA’s younger stars:
“When you’re on your way out you want to make the younger guys more popular. You want to put these guys over and that’s where I am with my career. Look at James Storm, Robert Roode, Crimson, Amazing Red, Kazarian, Mr Anderson, The Pope. We’re starting to get the Brits where they need to be. Desmond Wolfe, Magnus or Doug Williams – one of those three are going to end up being World Champion. They’re great technicians, they’re great in the ring, and they’ve got a lot of charisma. Those are the kind of guys I want to help.”
Arda Ocal and Jimmy Korderas of Right After Wrestling Radio on The Score on SIRIUS 158 recently spoke with Diamond Dallas Page. Highlights:
DDP on possibly coming back to the WWE in the future & how he is doing today: “I spoke to Johnny Ace about this…I haven’t heard back from him on it. I told him I would love to do some kind of PR. Some public relations. That sort of thing is what Vince [McMahon] wanted me to do when I left. He wanted me to stay and be the color-commentator but I was burnt out of wrestling for so many years and I needed a break. Long story short, 10 years later I’m still doing pretty well but I would love to be a part of the WWE family.”
What DDP thinks of the whole Kurt Angle/Randy Orton “finishing move” situation: “The thing is you don’t use the guy’s finish in the same company. If you’re in TNA and Kurt Angle is using the Ankle Lock, then you don’t do it in that company because Kurt will really take your ankle and put you in it and break your ankle. But if you’re in the WWE or the independent circuit, it is what it is. I don’t know what’s happening between Randy [Orton] and Kurt [Angle] but I love Randy using the RKO. Being it’s a version of the Diamond Cutter, people will think of me whenever he hits that move. And I think Randy is the greatest wrestler in the World…I think he is the very best. ”
Memories of working with Macho Man Randy Savage in WCW: “[My favorite match with Randy Savage was our first one at Spring Stampede] because that’s where he put me over. We were doing house shows and one night in Florence, South Carolina, Arn Anderson walked into the locker room and he was the agent. He asked Macho what he wanted to do tonight and Randy said, ‘I think I wanna take the Diamond Cutter’, and it almost knocked Arn over. Arn asked me if I knew how much of an honor that was and I was like, ‘ummm yeah’! When I hit the Diamond Cutter the crowd exploded. When the referee slid down, the entire place was counting 1-2-3 and the crowd exploded again – and Randy (while laying there) said to me, “I think we have our finish to Spring Stampede’!”
– As previously reported, TNA star Kurt Angle is training to compete at the Summer 2012 Olympic games from London, England.
Kurt Angle wrote on twitter this week that he is going to be filming a reality television show that will follow him on his path to the Olympics next summer.
Angle noted that TNA is supportive of his decision to return to Olympic competition 16 years after he won the gold medal back at the 1996 summer games from Atlanta.
– Eric Young defeated Gunner on Thursday’s Impact Wrestling show to capture the TNA Television Championship.
– Also on this week’s show, Mick Foley said TNA will be searching for the best X-Division wrestlers in the world and plans to feature them in an Ultimate X match at the upcoming Destination X match next month. That show is expected to feature the return of the 6-sided ring.
Kurt Angle conducted an exclusive hour-long interview with Busted Open, which will aired earlier today on Sirius 92 and XM 207.
Here are some highlights of what Kurt said about:
Chyna’s debut with TNA: “She looked good. She looked healthy too. You know what even though we only had 1,400 people there. The response that just came from those fans sent a big message to Hulk Hogan and Dixie Carter and myself as well that Chyna will always be a huge name. It was cool because when they introduced her this “Y” came up. It was a heartbeat. It was a “Y.” All of a sudden there was an “H” and an “N” next to it and there was a heartbeat. And then when there was a “C-H-Y-N-A,” people were like “Holy….” No way. Chyna. She’s coming. Oh my God and then she came out and she looked good. It was like she is back. It was one of the feel good moments for Impact Wrestling. It was cool. I mean, Chyna is going to….shes going to cause a ruckus in Impact Wrestling. I hope they have her wrestle the guys she was, but TNA, I should say Impact Wrestling is very pro-women as far as women wresting women. I remember when Awesome Kong came in and I told Jeff Jarrett I want to wrestle her right now. Let me put me over. He’s like no. She’s going with women. I believe Chyna should go with the guys eventually.”
Working With His Ex-Wife Karen: “Thank God everything worked out well because I found the right person in my life and Karen would be the first to admit that I was very questionable about the whole marriage. It was a rough marriage, but we kept trying to make it work and we tried to make it work for our kids, but with Jeff it was a trust factor because Jeff and I are really tight and then this happened. It was like I couldn’t have done that to you? God bless him. His wife had cancer and died. She was a wonderful lady. I don’t think I could have done that. For a while there was a trust factor. I had them both written off the show just until my anger dropped. I had some anger towards the both of them. I wanted to be released and they gave me my wishes of what do you want? I wanted them gone. I can’t work with them here, but once I realized the right thing happened. The only downfall to it is my kids live in Tennessee. Other than that everyone is happy. We actually get along really well. My kids we try to keep them…they’re not allowed to watch the show. We’re down with this angle. They were only in the show or they were in the park or my son or my daughter walk into an arena with me, but they didn’t see any of the drama. We’ve protected our kids and a lot of people would differ with that. We have kept our kids out of it completely. I’m happier now then I have ever been and Karen is happy. I love Jeff’s kids like they’re my own kids, so when I see them I treat them like they’re my own kids. If I’m watching them and my kids are there and Jeff’s kids are there I will treat them all the same, great kids, so with that may fiancé Giovanna and my new daughter Juliana I’m just in a good place in my life. When I found the right person with Giovanna it made it easier for me. I knew Karen was a great talent. You have to admit Karen is very talented at what she does. She’s pretty good as a character on TV. I knew that for a long time and she wasn’t real interested. She wanted to get back on the show. I figured she’s going to bring the kids down. I’m going to see the kids more. Thank god I did get to see my kids more, but I think the angle went a little bit too long. We went a little bit too far and other then that I don’t regret it. I saw my kids and because Karen would bring them down during the shows when they come. In that aspect I wouldn’t have seen my kids for the past three months if it weren’t for Karen bringing them down. It’s been a blessing.”
Did He And Brock Lesnar Wrestle For Real In WWE? “Brock is a very dear friend. He is a beast. To be honest with you me personally right now and there’s a difference between Olympic wrestling and MMA fighting and there are also a lot of similarities, but I do well. Yes I do incredibly well. Have I’ve been offered to do it? Yes I’ve been offered a lot of money to do it, but my focus is more on the Olympics because I have been so good at wrestling my whole life and that’s what I’m best at. I think I have a better shot at making an Olympic team then going and getting beat up doing MMA and having five fights. Those fights, these guys take a beating. You have to train so much and when you fight the fights are the ones that take years off your life because they are brutal. You’re getting banged up and beat up, your joints, your neck, your face, so Brock and I had…the thing is Brock was dodging me for a few months because everyone wanted to see it happened and I kept asking him and asking him and one day he got in a ring with Big Show and he was tossing Big Show around. Big Show was about 520 pounds at the time. Brock was picking him up and slamming him down and I’m going “Wow maybe I shouldn’t get in the ring with him.” I looked at Big Show and Brock back was looking towards me and I said get out and he said “Okay. Okay.” He snuck out of the ring and I go out and I tapped Brock on the back. He turned around and said “Ah s–t.” I said, “Let’s go,” because he said six months before they asked how would he do against me? He said, “Well Kurt is too small. I’m way bigger than him. I’ll kill him, so I took that personally. I wouldn’t let it go until we got in the ring. We got into the ring and I got a good piece of him. I will tell you this: Listen Brock is no joke. I think he is the best heavyweight fighter in the world. I have a lot of respect for him. He’s a good friend of mine. You know him and I did go at it and I did get the best of him, but you know I still have so much respect for him.”
Recap of Kurt Angle’s appearance on the Busted Open satellite radio show on Sirius 92 and XM 207.
This interview was pretaped before the announcement of TNA Impact becoming Impact Wrestling, and before the news that Brock Lesnar had to pull out of his upcoming UFC fight because of his condition.
Angle on his Olympic comeback: “I started training two weeks ago. I’m not allowed to really talk about but I’m gonna make a formal press conference in August. I will be training with my nephew who’s never tried out and it’s gonna give him that opportunity to realize his dream….to not say ‘What if? Why didn’t I try?’ So him and I had a long two hour conversation one night and we were very serious about it. I mentioned it on WTAE in Pittsburgh and it just went out like wildfire. I’m very serious about it. I am going to do it and I believe I have a very good shot.”
Angle on whether he still have the passion for wrestling: “I love wrestling. I will always love wrestling, but now for me, it’s a job. My responsibility is to have the best match on the card every time I go out there and I usually do. That’s my job, and I get paid very well to do it, and I don’t want to quit wrestling because that’s getting me to where I can get my Angle Foods where I need it to go. It’s also getting me so I can train for the Olympics. TNA is going to give me time off to train. If I make the Olympic Team, obviously I’ll have to leave for 3 months to train in Europe. So TNA has been a blessing for me to be able to do this. I don’t think I could have done it in the other company.”
Angle on whether he’s still the best in the business and whether he still loves pro wrestling: “I could retire. I made enough money to sit back the rest of my life and retire, but I do love it. I know that if I left now, I would miss it significantly. I am signing a new deal with TNA right as we speak. It’s another three and a half year deal. It will be part time, I’ll be doing very few house shows, I’ll be doing a number of TVs and I promised I’ll do all the pay-per-views. My wrestling will calm down. I’ve been more of a TV/PPV schedule and a lot less of the house shows. I’d rather wrestle six days a month than doing what I’m doing right now which is 18. With WWE, I was probably doing 18-24 so I’m almost as busy as I was then and I went to TNA to back off so we came to an agreement that I should definitely be taking off house shows and be able to rest and recuperate.”
Angle on the Jeff Hardy incident at the end of the Victory Road PPV: “That was an unfortunate situation where I think Jeff realizes it now. Whatever he did…this is something that’s been talked about many times. Jeff made a mistake. If he was going to take any form of, let’s say, sleep medication… he probably should’ve waited an hour before he did that. Jeff made a bad decision and he’s learned from it.
“Jeff has been clean for the last month and he wants to come back and he’s ready to come back and I believe that he won’t make that mistake it again. But it did happen. I felt really bad. I felt bad for TNA, I felt bad for Jeff, I felt bad for the company. Jeff Hardy is an amazing wrestler. I have nothing bad to say about him, actually I love the kid. I wrestled Jeff at his best and I wrestled Jeff at his worst, and it’s night and day.”
Recap of Kurt Angle’s appearance on the Busted Open satellite radio show on Sirius 92 and XM 207.
On the name change to Impact Wrestling. Is TNA gone?: “Gone, yeah. Impact Wrestling is the new name of the company. I personally believe in it because when it comes down to it, you can’t take the word wrestling out of pro wrestling. Any storyline, or any feud…when you do that, it’s entertainment and you’re doing the storylines, but where does it ultimately end up? In the wrestling ring. At the PPV, the payoff. So how can you take wrestling out of pro wrestling….you can’t. That’s what they (the fans) buy tickets for. They buy tickets to watch guys wrestle. Not to be actors and entertain us. They pay to watch great wrestling.”
When followed up with the point that Vince McMahon might disagree with Angle’s opinion: “Hey, you know what, it’s a boost for us. If he wants to go that way, we’ll go the other way.”
On Hulk Hogan and the perception that TNA has become ‘WWE-lite’: “Yes, I believe when we brought in Hulk Hogan, and I will say this from the bottom of my heart, I love Hulk Hogan. He is a great addition to our company. But he too realizes that it can’t be ‘total nonstop talk’. We have a lot of characters on the show that don’t wrestle. Some that wrestle every once in awhile, but really ultimately you’re talking about Dixie Carter being on the show sometimes. You got Hulk Hogan and Eric Bischoff, Ric Flair, Mick Foley. I mean I’m just naming a few that don’t wrestle and they’re on the show all the time. You start seeing a little too much talking and not enough wrestling. We are now in the process of going to more wrestling.
“Beer Money matches with Motor City Machine Guns. You couldn’t beat that. My matches with A.J. Styles… you can’t beat that. Those are the kinds of things I’ve talked to Dixie Carter personally about. I said I would rather give the fans great matches on TV, incredible five stars matches, right now, even if our pay-per-views suffer. I rather do that now and get our ratings up, and then work on our pay-per-views, then try to get pay-per-views now and have our ratings stay down. It’s better to have wrestling on the shows because it’s different. It’s not like the other company.”
On Chyna’s debut: “She looked good. She looked healthy too. You know what, even though we only had 1,400 people there, the response that just came from those fans sent a big message to Hulk Hogan and Dixie Carter, and myself as well, that Chyna will always be a huge name. It was cool because when they introduced her…people were like ‘holy, no way. Chyna. She’s coming. Oh my God,’ and then she came out and she looked good. It was like, she is back. It was one of the feel-good moments for Impact Wrestling.
“I mean, Chyna is going to cause a ruckus in Impact Wrestling. I hope they have her wrestle the guys. Impact Wrestling is very pro-women as far as women wresting women. I remember when Awesome Kong (Kharma) came in and I told Jeff Jarrett I want to wrestle her right now. Let me put me over. He’s like ‘no, she’s going with women’. I believe Chyna should go with the guys eventually.”
Later in the day, Angle revealed that he and TNA have reached an agreement on a new contract that will see him remain with the company until the end of 2014.
“I am signing a 3 1/2 Guarantee Contract with Tna.
Angle is of course a former Olympic gold medalist, capturing amateur wrestling’s top prize in the 1996 games from Atlanta. Here’s what Angle wrote on Sunday @AngleFoods1:
“much negativity goin round @ Olympic comeback.I truly am getting ready.Don’t compare it to my Ufc- mma attempts,We couldn’t agree on “terms”
“Terms that were about $ and starting dates.Olympics will be on My “terms”. Nobody elses’.It’s not for Publicity or I would tweet it everyday”
“To the naysayers, believe what U want. But “I” am in control of this. Nobody else. My nephew and I started training for it.”
“As long as I stay injury free,I am going for it.Tna’s backing Me.It won’t be easy. Probably harder than Mma. But at least its under my terms”
UPDATE:Kurt Angle later followed up with more details regarding his goal to compete at the 2012 Olympics, saying that TNA is supporting his training:
“Also thanks to Tna for allowing Me to go for Olympics. Impact Wrestling is the the Best. Believe it or not!!!!”
“I have a long road. I’m Humble but Confident. This is all about Proving at 43, I can still show I am a world Class competitor.”
She’s baaaaaack … At Tuesday’s TNA iMPACT! tapings (set to air next week on 5/12), it was revealed that Kurt Angle’s “mistress” is none other than former WWE Diva Joanie “Chyna” Laurer.
Chyna is said to be much thinner than we’ve seen her in the past and her entrance video said the name “Chyna” – so she’ll be going by that name in TNA.
At the end of the iMPACT! broadcast, Chyna interfered in a battle royal and tossed out Jeff Jarrett. She went after Karen, but Jeff saved her and the two ran away.
Chyna will be making her in-ring debut at TNA Sacrifice when she teams with Kurt Angle against Jeff Jarrett and Karen Jarrett in a mixed tag match.
Check out this footage of Chyna’s TNA debut – listen to that monster pop:
— Mick Foley is scheduled to return to TNA Wrestling programming at next Monday’s iMPACT! taping in Orlando, Florida.
He was originally scheduled to appear at the April 20 iMPACT! taping, but it was canceled due to miscommunication. Company officials thought he would unavailable to make the show due to his appearance at the Cauliflower Alley Club Annual Reunion in Las Vegas, Nevada. He flew to Orlando, Florida for the iMPACT! taping, but the script had already been finalized.
Foley indicated last week on Twitter that he would like to appear at Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s birthday celebration, which takes place this Monday night on Raw. It is said that TNA officials were okay with him appearing at the event, but WWE declined.
— Kurt Angle has a role in Dylan Dog Dead of Night, which hits theaters tomorrow.
— The Jeff Hardy video package that aired during the UK telecast of TNA Impact on Tuesday was likely used a filler because the program features less commericials and therefore needs additional content to pad out the two hour time slot.
— TNAWrestling.com has posted a video previewing tomorrow night’s episode of TNA iMPACT!. It is labeled: “Who Is Kurt Angle’s Mistress? And What Will She Do To Karen Jarrett?!”
A preview for tomorrow night’s show was also posted: “Plus, Will Mr. Anderson finally get his title shot one-on-one in the ring with TNA World Champion Sting? Who at the network is the match maker? And the road continues to the May “Sacrifice” Pay-Per-View event!”
— Jay Lethal’s release from TNA Wrestling last week surprised a lot of people within the organization because he performed well when given prominence, not to mention that Eric Bischoff considered him a future star.
Wrestling Observer Newsletter editor Dave Meltzer speculates that TNA released Lethal in response to some X Division wrestlers complaining heavily at Lockdown about nothing being done with them when it was heavily discussed a few months ago that they would be spotlighted.
— TNA Women’s Knockout Champion Mickie James is scheduled for a radio interview tomorrow on 92.9 FM in Berkeley Springs, West Virginia between 9 and 10 a.m. The station can also be accessed at www.wdhc.com.
— Kurt Angle, who was found apparently intoxicated behind the wheel of his vehicle in a ditch in Grand Forks, North Dakota on March 25, has been sentenced for reckless driving.
The TNA Wrestling Superstar was sentenced Friday to a year’s probation, fines, and a 10 day jail sentence, which was suspended.
— Sunday’s TNA Lockdown pay-per-view at the U.S. Bank Arena in Cincinnati, Ohio drew 3,500 to 4,000 fans. It was speculated that the event drew 6,000 fans, but F4WOnline.com confirmed the number as incorrect.
— Brother Devon and Tommy Dreamer vs. The British Invasion was taped Tuesday in Orlando, Florida for next week’s episode of TNA Xplosion.
— TNA Wrestling is taping this Thursday’s episode of iMPACT! tonight in Orlando, Florida and there are two big white horses and a carriage backstage.
— Kurt Angle remarked the following on Twitter today: “Separated my shoulder at Lockdown. Much pain. May have lost but I broke Jarrett’s ribs. All of a sudden My pain is gone. Lol. Heading to TV.”
— TNA Knockout Christy Hemme has launched a fan page on Facebook.
— Magnus and Jeremy Borash will be in Nottingham, England this Saturday for an exclusive free meet and greet session with fans. The duo will be signing autographs and promoting the company’s latest range of Jakks action figures at The Entertainer toy store in Nottingham’s Victoria Centre beginning at 2:00 p.m. They will also be holding a Q&A session and taping footage for TNA Xplosion.
— Matt Hardy claimed last night on Twitter following TNA Lockdown that he may have fractured his arm during the Lethal Lockdown Match. He posted an update this morning, writing,
“Wow.. Talk about being sore when you wake up.. My back & arm are killing me-I’m sure flying this morning will help, HaHa..”
Based on what we’ve heard from TNA sources, Hardy is trying to work an angle (that is so unlike him) and is not really injured.
— Kurt Angle used the RKO on Jeff Jarrett during their two-out-of-three falls match at TNA Lockdown, and then went on Twitter to comment on using the maneuver, writing:
“Orton, I used Your Finish as a sign of Respect. Not to get back at U. Respect!”
Angle has continued to call out Orton. He added the following this afternoon:
“To Randy Orton, as You said- Imitation is a form of flattery. Know that I did that out of Respect. GOD Bless.”
— Hulk Hogan wrote the following on Twitter regarding TNA Lockdown:
“TNA LOCKDOWN SET THE NEW STANDARD FOR WHAT A PPV SHOULD BE!!!!!!!!!!”
— Velvet Sky stated during a chat session last night on TNAOnDemand.com that Alex Shelley will return to television this Thursday on TNA iMPACT!.
Shelley has been sidelined since January due to a broken collarbone suffered at a live event in Hagerstown, Maryland. He was advertised to participate in the X Division Ultimate Xscape Match at TNA Lockdown, but was removed from the match on April 7, thus postponing his return.
– After Sunday’s TNA Lockdown pay-per-view went off the air, Fortune continued to celebrate in the ring.
Also after the show, Brooke Hogan, who was sitting ringside during the event and was shown on camera a few times, took pictures and signed autographs for fans.
– Kurt Angle wrote the following on Twitter last night, talking about he and Jeff Jarrett’s match at Lockdown:
“We kicked Butt. You need to see my match. Match Of The Year. Me @ Jarrett. What a great match. Jeff broke ribs. I dislocated my shoulder.”
– Eric Bischoff and Jason Hervey’s production company has another show picked up by TruTV called “Bear Swamp Recovery.” Here’s the official synopsis for the show:
“Owned by a large Sicilian family, the crew at Bear Swamp Recovery in New Jersey repossesses what others simply can’t. And business booms in the summer, when the shore is overrun with careless vacationers and crazy locals who think the rules don’t apply to them.”
– This past Thursday’s episode of TNA iMPACT on Spike had 35 minutes and 48 seconds of in-ring action, up from last week’s 18 minutes and 21 seconds. (Credit: Stan)
— Jeff Jarrett beat Kurt Angle in a two-out-of-three falls at TNA Lockdown. Angle used the RKO during the match, and then went on Twitter to comment on his use of the maneuver. Angle wrote:
“Orton, I used Your Finish as a sign of Respect. Not to get back at U. Respect!”
Angle complained two weeks ago via the social networking website about WWE performers using his trademark maneuvers at WrestleMania. Orton responded without mentioning Angle by name, and stated that people should be flattered when people use their moves.
— Mickie James captured the TNA Women’s Knockouts Championship from Madison Rayne at TNA Lockdown in a match that lasted approximately 35 seconds. It was the lone title change of the event.
As a result of her victory, James became the first woman to have held the WWE Women’s Championship, WWE Divas Championship, and the TNA Women’s Knockouts Championship.
Trish Stratus congratulated James on her victory, writing on Twitter, “Congrats to my girl new TNA Knockout Champ @mickiejames!”
— Sin Cara tried to impress his peers backstage at a recent WWE event by claiming that many of his notable victories in Mexico were shoots. There was plenty of eye-rolling over his conduct, with some feeling he embarrassed himself.
Similarly, Tyson Tomko had a reputation in TNA Wrestling by showing clips of his matches in Japan to people in the locker room from his smart phone and touting them as shoot contests.
— Chavo Guerrero said today that his Twitter account was hacked. However, he believes he has gotten a hold of it. Guerrero also made light of Kurt Angle claiming last week that his account on the micro-blogging site was hacked.
He wrote, “Ok guys, my twitter was hacked. I think I fixed it. If u got a Dm from me and I was mean, it was a fraud. Probably. :). Big ups 2 my boy @MATTHARDYBRAND for giving me the “heads up”on my twitter being hacked.I promise I didnt pull a Kurt Angle.Lol Luv u Kurt:)”
— Chris Jericho announced during his appearance last week on VH1 Classic’s That Metal Show that Fozzy will open for Metallica, Slayer, Megadeth and Anthrax on an upcoming tour of the UK.
— TNA Wrestling announced an “Ultra Male Rules” two-out-of-three falls stipulation for the Lockdown Cage Match between Jeff Jarrett and Kurt Angle at Sunday’s TNA Lockdown pay-per-view event.
The bout will have the following stipulations:
– Fall 1: Pinfall
– Fall 2: Submission
– Fall 3: Escape the cage (if necessary)
— Generation Me member Max revealed on his Twitter account yesterday that his wife is pregnant with their first child.
— TNA Wrestling posted an image on their shop website yesterday of a Rob Van Dam T-shirt with “RDV” written at the bottom of the shirt as opposed to “RVD”. The image was quickly deleted and replaced by the intended one. This also occurred on the organization’s Facebook page as an image of the misspelled shirt was posted on the page and quickly deleted. Several users made light of the miscue in the comment box, though many of the remarks were deleted.
TNA star Kurt Angle announced on his Twitter page that he is signing a new deal with TNA Wrestling.
“To all my Fans and Friends, I’m signing a new deal with TNA. We are working out the Kinks but I’m staying. So please tune in every Thurs night. I gave it much thought, TNA is the underdog. I feel I can help them go to the next level. WWE is the top company. But being the Face of TNA is great. TNA has so much potential. I believe in TNA. I Love Dixie Carter and I am staying. TNA wants to help me into Movies and Anglefoods. TNA is IT”
There had been speculation as to whether Kurt Angle would return to WWE once his TNA contract expired this summer, but Angle’s announcement puts that talk to rest.