(sources: PWInsider.com, Pro Wrestling Torch)

— As seen last night at Victory Road, Madison Rayne lost the Women’s Knockout Championship to Angelina Love via disqualification due to outside interference from a person incognito in a motorcycle helmet. The mystery person was Lisa Marie Varon (a/k/a Tara), who recently agreed to return to TNA Wrestling.

— Last Thursday’s episode of iMPACT! scored a 1.14 cable rating off of hours of 1.11 and 1.18. Viewership grew throughout the program, starting with a 1.07 quarter-hour rating in Q1 and ending with a 1.21 quarter-hour rating in Q8.

— Tomko is recovering from an ankle injury, which prohibited him from making his scheduled appearance at Saturday’s K&S Wrestlefest event in Carteret, New Jersey.

— On Twitter, Bill Goldberg was asked if it bothers him that so many wrestlers have added the “Spear” (also known as shoulder block takedown) to their in-ring repertoire, a wrestling maneuver he popularized in the late nineties while performing for World Championship Wrestling. The former wrestling champion said it does bother him, and deemed those who use the “Spear” as uncreative.

“Gotta say all these yahoos using the Spear irks me……Just shows how over it was and how less-than-creative they are,” Goldberg wrote on Twitter.

— Lisa Marie Varon says in her latest MySpace blog that a set of wheels valued at $3,000 were recently stolen from her car parked outside her Louisville residence. The individual who stole the wheels then brought them to her custom car dealership in Louisville, Kentucky, asking how to implement them on his vehicle considering they weren’t made for it. The staffers immediately recognized the stolen wheels, called police, and he was arrested. Varon was also robbed during her appearance at the Comic Con Wizard World Convention in Philadelphia, the second time in two weeks she was looted.

Varon also noted being added back to WWE.com’s Alumni page, saying it feels good to be recognized alongside some of professional wrestling’s all-time greats. Regarding a possible return to the organization, she says there are other things she’s trying to while she has the opportunity and that it is not likely.

“I think we all feel that Victoria ran her course at WWE,” Varon wrote.

— Lilian Garcia answered a number of fan questions this past week on Twitter, noting who she enjoyed working with most in WWE, her favorite wrestler names to announce, her favorite WWE storyline, and more. You can view her answers at www.LilianGarcia.com.

When asked whether she has any plans to return to WWE, she said, “I never say never but for now I don’t have any plans to.”

– Kurt Angle’s body is still pretty banged up and he’s taking a few more weeks off to let his body heal. If he’s able to return in time for Victory Road on July 11th, he will wrestle against either Samoa Joe or The Pope as part of his mission to beat all of TNA’s “Top 10 Contenders.”

– After parting ways with TNA just a few weeks ago,  there is talk within the company that Lisa Marie Varon (Knockout Tara) will be back soon.

– Several different ideas are being discussed for the ECW originals angle, including the idea of creating a new “hardcore” spinoff brand with its own television show on Spike TV. Spike has given the green light for TNA to feature more violence on its shows, so we’ll see how this plays out.

– TNA officials are very happy with Jay Lethal and he’s in line for a big push this summer.

Credit: Wrestling Observer Newsletter

— Lisa Marie Varon (a/k/a Tara; formerly known as Victoria in WWE) is expected to speak with WWE officials regarding a potential return to the company now that her contract with TNA has expired. However, friends of Varon say it’s possible she’ll return to TNA should WWE not make her a better contract offer as she’s on good terms with management again. (source: www.pwtorch.com)

— According to a recent issue of WWE Magazine, there were tentative plans for WWE to release every single episode of Monday Night Raw from 1993 on DVD. The project has been scrapped in favor of “best of” DVD set highlighting the first two “seasons” of Monday Night Raw — 1993 and 1994. Click here for more information on the upcoming release.

— Former WWE Divas Lisa Marie Varon, Lilian Garcia and Christy Hemme have been added to Wizard World’s Chicago Comic Con taking place August 20-22 at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont, Illinois. Other wrestling talent scheduled to appear include Diamond Dallas Page, Mick Foley, Amy Dumas, The Iron Sheik, Shane Douglas, The Honky Tonk Man, Jackie Haas, Charlie Haas, Bushwacker Luke and Rikishi. Click here for more information.

— Former WWE performer Dwayne Johnson claims he doesn’t care if his movies flop because he likes to try his hand at many different genres of film. He says he doesn’t mind if people criticize his movie choices because he only ever does what he wants to do.

He told movies.ie: “I don’t want to be just that guy, who only does those kinds of movies. I want to strike out and try everything. And it’s okay if it doesn’t work every time – I’d be incredibly lucky if they did, especially given the range I’ve been trying – but I’m always so glad that I got the chance to push myself in a different direction, in a different genre.

“I don’t expect the person who loved ‘The Scorpion King’ to run and see ‘Tooth Fairy’, and I don’t expect the little girl who loved ‘The Game Plan’ to go and buy all my WWF videos. The important thing is, I love them all equally.”

— Mickie James has two autograph signings scheduled next month in New York. On Saturday, Jun. 26, the former WWE Women’s Champion will be signing at Sedutto’s (located at 314 New Dorp Lane / Staten Island, NY). The next day, she will be signing at the Middletown Flea Market (located at 128 Dolson Ave / Middletown, NY). Times have yet to be announced.

— In today’s wrestling birthdays, Steve Corino turns 37 years old, Pete Gas turns 40, and Headshrinker Samu turns 47.

(sources: Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Pro Wrestling Torch)

Beth Phoenix’s injury two weeks ago during a Superstars taping was significantly worse than originally let on. During a bout with Rosa Mendes, she jumped off the turnbuckle, resulting in her left knee giving out. She was diagnosed with a bone bruise, a torn and displaced meniscus — a sprained MCL and a torn ACL — which required surgery. She underwent the surgery yesterday in Birmingham, Alabama under Dr. James Andrews and is expected to be out of action for approximately six months.

Initial reaction to the seriousness of her injury is that a lot of people within WWE now regret cutting Mickie James loose last month, since the company is left with marginal depth on the SmackDown babyface side. It’s said that James’ behavior on the European tour was the deciding factor in letting her go. However, her release had been brewing as there was talk of cutting her prior WrestleMania due to her behavior. Notably, James had a few run-ins with Batista with things becoming so heated that he threatened to quit if she wasn’t fired. Undertaker had to step in to calm him down.

There was talk this week of moving Gail Kim over to SmackDown, or signing someone outside the company who can work. With Lisa Marie Varon’s contract with TNA expiring this week, there is a chance the company may re-sign her. However, her age is a huge question not to mention that she said some things disparaging the company after she left that could possibly hurt her if people remember them. Most notably, she took part in a pseudo-shoot segment last December railing her previous employer, emotionally saying she broke her two-year contract with WWE to come to TNA. She also said she left WWE because she didn’t want to be remembered as a ‘joke’.

— Former WWE Diva Maria Kanellis has had discussions with TNA regarding joining the organization, but money is said to be the main hold up.

— TNA president Dixie Carter had a meeting with Lisa Marie Varon (a/k/a Tara) last Monday concerning her recent blog post criticizing the organization. Varon was upset because she felt some people in TNA were bad mouthing her on the way out. Carter said she never said one bad word about her. Things were then settled as Varon apologized for her online remarks.

Also note, there are still no plans for Varon to remain with the organization. Her contract expires on Friday, May 21.

— TNA has held a World X Cup Tournament every other year since 2004, with the last one taking place in 2008. This year would have been the next one but there are no plans for a tournament at this time.

source: www.f4wonline.com

— Apparently in response to an online report indicating she has had backstage issues with The Beautiful People, Lisa Marie Varon (a/k/a Tara) wrote the following on her Twitter page: “To clear up rumors.I enjoy wrestling Velvet and Madison. Some people love to stir up things. Have you ever played the game telephone?”

— TNA announcer Taz is pushing creative to bring Mike Knox in, who was recently released by World Wrestling Entertainment. (source: Wrestling Observer Newsletter)

— In this week’s TNA webmatch, Kazarian squares off against Generation Me member Max. You can view the bout here.

As reported earlier, it has been indicated that Lisa Marie Varon (a/k/a Tara) has buried her peers behind their backs to management. Among the stories cited are reports of Varon complaining about various female wrestlers on house show tours, refusing to work with certain individuals altogether, and squashing numerous storylines — all of which she denies. For those curious as to who she is having these issues with, they are all three members of The Beautiful People — Madison Rayne, Velvet Sky and Lacey Von Erich. The root of the matter is that The Beautiful People have refused to take some of her moves not to mention that she doesn’t respect their in-ring ability.

As noted, Varon took her issues directly to management rather than discussing the matter with the trio. When the group received word of this, they confronted Varon and told her they should have come to them rather than breaking locker room protocol by going to management. The friction was bad enough that when Varon was called in to work a recent house show loop, she specifically asked to work with ODB on the tour — who wasn’t originally scheduled for the set of live events. Company officials complied with Varon’s request due to Madison Rayne being unable to appear (note – there is a unique reason for Rayne’s absence and it will be disclosed in a separate report).

Varon never had a reputation for being difficult to work with during her time in WWE and it should be noted that various sources have stated that she’s been easy going for the most part during her time thus far in TNA. Furthermore, some feel the matter may be more of personality clash as opposed to one side being right and one side being wrong.

On a final note, Varon has been telling people that she hopes to return to WWE once her deal with TNA expires.

source: www.pwtorch.com

As reported earlier, Lisa Marie Varon (a/k/a Tara) has just over two weeks remaining on her TNA contract as her current deal expires on May 21. In a blog post last week, she indicated leaving the promotion as company officials declined her request for a “modest pay increase.” She also expressed her displeasure with unnamed sources claiming she’s difficult to work with and that she has not given her best effort for the promotion.

“My only response is that TNA made an aggressive effort to re-sign me, among other things saying that they want to build the women’s division around me,” Varon wrote in response to an online report. “And I think wrestling fans see, both on TV and at live events, that I always give 100%. I take pride in that. Smearing me on the way out the door is an act of second rate character.”

For what it’s worth, a second party has indicated Varon being difficult to work with as the Wrestling Globe Newsletter reports receiving a number of stories on the multi-time champion burying her peers behind their backs to management. Among the stories cited are reports of Varon complaining about various female wrestlers on house show tours, refusing to work with certain individuals altogether, and squashing numerous storylines — all of which she denies.

Some time ago, management addressed her issues and told talent to handle their personal problems amongst themselves. It’s been said that company president Dixie Carter wants no part of any backstage turmoil and doesn’t want the office to get caught up in political games. She has made it clear that if the problems continued, the solution would be something talent will not like.

— It is possible that Orlando Jordan’s boyfriend, Cameron, won’t be used again as a character in TNA. While he has not yet been fired at last word, there was talk of doing away with him. He has not been used on iMPACT! the past two weeks.

Cameron’s possible departure from the company is based on an incident that took place at the hotel bar following television tapings three weeks ago where he was doing something described as very lewd in front of the wife of a major executive who was offended. A very upset Ric Flair got him to stop and lambasted him over it.

— Tara’s recent hand injury occurred while she was taking part in kickboxing training, not during a match. Her hand was not broken, but rather badly swollen.

— Kurt Angle was said to be banged up following his ladder match with Mr. Anderson on last week’s iMPACT!. As noted earlier, he will be taking some time off following Lockdown.

source: Wrestling Observer Newsletter

— Regarding Awesome Kong’s apparent departure from TNA Wrestling, one person inside the company commented, “That is one crazy woman. Say what you want about Bubba, but attacking the guy would be assault anywhere else in America, then she threatens to sue him? Only in America. Sad to lose her as a talent but I don’t think anyone will miss her personally.” (source: Wrestling Observer Newsletter)

— On her Twitter account, Tara expressed her displeasure with being left off WWE’s “Top 25 Most Impactful Women” list. She wrote, “(It) doesn’t surprise me. That’s an example of my experience at WWE. Unappreciated.” She then posted a link to a fan’s graphic spoofing the list, ranking her at No. 26.

— As reported earlier, Sarita will soon be heading to Tokyo, Japan for a brief wrestling tour. She will be wrestling on Fuka’s retirement show at Korakuen Hall on Mar. 28 and then again on Apr. 3 at Shin-Kiba 1st Ring. You can view an event poster for one of the shows the TNA Knockout will be on at the following link.

— While nothing has been official been said by either party, the belief is that Awesome Kong has been talked into staying with TNA.

Kong requested her release from the organization following a backstage altercation with Bubba the Love Sponge a few weeks ago. Though it should be noted that she was reportedly upset with her pay as well. (source: Wrestling Observer Newsletter)

— Velvet Sky and Madison Rayne of “The Beautiful People” recently took part in a photo shoot for FHM in the U.K., which is their equivalent of Maxim. This should be high profile exposure for TNA since it’s the No. 2 selling men’s magazine in the country.

— Today is reigning TNA Women’s Knockout Champion Tara’s birthday. The five-time champion turns 39 years old.

(credit to the Wrestling Observer for some of the information used in this report)

— Reigning TNA Women’s Knockout Champion Tara confirmed on her Twitter account that she did indeed have a wardrobe malfunction during Thursday’s iMPACT! broadcast.

She wrote: “Just got back from tour. I just woke up and missed game. Blurred top from Thursday show was from wardrobe malfunction. Whoops! TNA was nice enough to keep it classy and blur out my malfunction. My parents would have been upset. Torrie Wilson was the first to call me.”

She also noted suffering a chipped tooth working against ODB over the weekend.

— Mick Foley has posted a new blog on the official TNA website discussing, among other topics, his work helping to raise money for the Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame at their annual dinner on Feb. 20 in New Jersey.

— Peculiarly, the left side of Tara’s top was blurred throughout the conclusion of her match with Angelina Love on this past Thursday’s iMPACT! broadcast. It seems strange because the blurring commenced once the match came back from a commercial break and carried on towards its conclusion. Furthermore, it would not appear to be a case of an insignia issue as the top she wore simply read “Poison” with no logo beared. Also note, she’s worn the ring outfit before on television.

It’s been speculated that Tara suffered a wardrobe malfunction at some point during the match and that TNA’s production staff decided to digitize her top through the conclusion of the match as a precautionary measure.

Tara’s apparent wardrobe malfunction comes on the heels of last month’s live iMPACT! special where ODB pulled her trunks a bit too far south while attempting a roll-up. The TNA Women’s Knockout Champion’s buttocks was blurred during the episode’s subsequent Thursday replay.

Likewise, Tara’s Thursday opponent, Angelina Love, suffered a wardrobe malfunction of her own roughly two years ago as her breast momentarily came exposed during a taped television broadcast while backing towards the ramp at the conclusion of a match which she had just interfered in. In that case, TNA’s production crew missed digitizing her.

— As reported earlier, Thursday’s episode of iMPACT! drew a final 1.2 cable rating with 1.6 million viewers — a drop from the previous week’s record high 1.4 rating. The Wrestling Observer is reporting that there was a lot of unhappiness within the company when Thursday’s rating was released.

— TNA will be holding live events in Virginia this coming Thursday and Friday (Charlottesville and Norfolk) before heading off to Orlando for Sunday’s Against All Odds pay-per-view. Fans that purchase a $35 seat ticket will receive a free TNA DVD.

— Former WWE Women’s Champion Candice Michelle spoke to www.Candi-Shop.org on a slew of topics including her favorite wrestling matches, whether she will ever return to the industry, what made her decide to enter the Diva Search contest in 2004, her greatest accomplishment, and much more.

The former WWE Diva also made note of her multiple injuries, saying her biggest regret was returning to the ring too quickly from them. However, she wants people to know that she’s not injury prone.

“The biggest frustration of my career has been my lack of responsibility to myself thus resulting in my injuries,” Michelle said.

“Some things are unpredictable in the ring but after one broken collarbone and not a release note from the doctor to get back in the ring, but I did anyways because I was so excited to get back resulting in shattering it and surgery. Then I tried overdoing it on my return and not listening to my body resulting in the two torn ligaments. So to everyone who thinks I’m injury prone, that’s such phony baloney! It would be easy to say that but I’m a big girl and learned to take responsibility for my mistakes. “There’s no mistakes as long as you learn from them!” Needless to say I learned the hard way!”

You can read the interview in its entirety at the following link. She also reveals whether she was upset with being released by WWE.

— Former WWE Divas Candice Michelle, Lisa Marie Varon, Lilian Garcia and Amy “Lita” Dumas are available for personal appearances and autograph sessions via The I.P.A. Network, which represents a number of celebrities and wrestling stars. Those interested in booking them can contact Steve Woolf at celebritysignings@sbcglobal.net or visit www.ipanetwork.com.

— Lilian Garcia is auctioning off a sexy red outfit featured in the 2005 book “WWE DIVAS UNCOVERED.” You can view the auction at the following link.

— In today’s wrestling birthday, Bob “Hardcore” Holly turns 47 years old.