TNA has made the executive decision to cancel their upcoming tapings in Spartansburg, SC due to the impact of Hurricane Helene. The company has gone full force in promoting the weekend having The Hardy Boyz doing media rounds this week, but the company released a statement notifying fans that the tapings will not happen.
Due to the catastrophic effects of Hurricane Helene, TNA Wrestling is canceling both shows scheduled for Spartanburg, S.C.
The safety and well-being of our TNA wrestlers, staff, crew and fans are top priority.
TNA will provide an update on refunds for the Spartanburg shows, as well as an update on future/additional shows.
We wish the best to everyone impacted by Hurricane Helene.
Fightful Select has further details on TNA’s cancellation and a potential audible for what they may do regarding their future tapings. The plan for the company was to tape Friday through Tuesday, but TNA crew members who were already on site were experiencing power issues at their hotel. There were several lack of vacancies in the Spartanburg area and many crew members had to charge phones from their car.
TNA is trying to build for their Bound For Glory PPV, and some discussions involve possibly taping at Skyway Studios in Nashville, TN, the same place where they taped during the pandemic. As for what may air this week, the gameplan may involve a “Best Of Bound For Glory” episode.
Several wrestlers expressed their disappointment in not being able to participate in their tapings, including Joe Hendry, Tasha Steelz, AJ Francis and South Carolina’s own Jon Skyler.
We definitely tried y’all!!! ?
When I find Helene, ima whoop her a$$?
In the meantime, everyone in the Carolinas stay safe & we will be back Okkuurrrr ???? https://t.co/ITNCNpNcuX
South Carolina has more important issues than Wrestling right now… Lines on highway exits just to get gas stations with power… Trees and power lines down every where… Pray for the Palmettos https://t.co/8Bx59qTKMK
TNA is making some big moves when it comes to free agency but unfortunately it isn’t transferring over into PPV buys via television.
Just this past Saturday, the company had it’s Rebellion PPV and it featured the main event of TNA World Champion Moose defending his title against Nic Nemeth. The card also featured Josh Alexander taking on Hammerstone in their rubber match which was a Last Man Standing fight.
According to Dave Meltzer, Rebellion saw a massive drop in PPV purchases in comparsion to TNA’s return PPV earlier in January, Hard To Kill. Hard To Kill had over 66,000 buys on TV and streaming, which happened to be a record for the promotion. Unfortunately, Rebellion had only 500 TV buys at air-time, that’s an 89% drop in comparison to Hard To Kill which had 22,400. However, the streaming buys have yet to be released so TNA should see at least a little boost with the combination.
Although the buys of down, the perception of TNA is very positive with acquisitions such as Nemeth, Hammerstone, AJ Francis and Mustafa Ali. Rebellion also saw the major returns of Matt Hardy and Mike Santana into the company fold.
Nemeth said in an exclusive interview with SEScoops, noting how much he believes in TNA as a company and the promotion’s long-term booking plans. Nemeth isn’t signed to any contract with TNA, but noted his primary goal is getting the company over and its roster of rising stars.
You can check out the full interview with Nemeth below:
AEW Collision will be in for the fight of its life for ratings this April when the show goes head to head with WWE WrestleMania: Night One.
AEW will hold a live Dynamite on Wednesday, April 3, in Worcester, MA at the DCU Center. That same night they will tape the AEW Collision that will air that week. The show will air at the same time as WrestleMania 40: Night One, on TNT.
So far, no matches have been announced for either Dynamite or Collision. WrestleMania 40 has two matches currently confirmed. They are.
IYO SKY (c) Vs. Bayley (WWE Women’s Championship)
Roman Reigns (c) Vs. Cody Rhodes (Undisputed WWE Universal Championship)
This weekend, WWE will host its Elimination Chamber: Perth Premium Live Event from Perth Australia. Next weekend, AEW will host its Revolution pay-per-view from Greensboro, North Carolina.
TNA Wrestling Meeting
TNA will host a meeting this Saturday with it’s roster, ahead of the day’s tapings in New Orleans, PW Insider reports. There are some in the company who believe Anthem head Len Asper will be at the meeting. Anthem Entertainment recently fired Scott D’Amore and as TNA President and have replaced him with their own President Anthony Cicione. TNA’s roster has issued a letter to Anthem expressing their support for D’Amore. It has since been reported that
New Name for AXS TV
TNA Wrestling currently airs on AXS TV, which could soon be getting a rebrand. The report adds that the current front runner for a new name is ANTHEM.
Scott D’Amore was unexpectedly ousted from TNA Wrestling, with reports indicating that the decision was made prior to the promotion’s rebranding.
Subsequently, it was reported that several TNA talents joined forces and endorsed a letter to Anthem, expressing their discontent with D’Amore’s departure from the company. Mike Johnson of PWInsider reports the letter that was released online (by Fightful) was incomplete, large portions were left out.
The report suggests that there are still talents who remain unhappy with the entire D’Amore situation and are awaiting to see, “how they are addressed and treated at the New Orleans tapings next week.”
Scott D’Amore was part of TNA’s foundation and the fallout from his abrupt departure is still unfolding. One wrestler we spoke with said management has been good communicating the changes to creative and the backstage structure, but they’re in a holding pattern until the next show and there’s an overall feeling of uncertainty.
Last week’s debunked report by Dave Meltzer that Tommy Dreamer has taken over as the new head of TNA creative did not help matters. Dreamer addressed the rumor on SiriusXM’s Busted Open Radio and set the record straight. He called the Wrestling Observer scoop “fictitious” and said he, RD Evans and Delirious are continuing their roles as usual as they embark on yet another new era for TNA .
Following the recent arrival of Nic Nemeth (former WWE Star Dolph Ziggler), we’ve seen hype for Mustafa Ali’s TNA debut. who challenges for the X-Division championship later this month on pay-per-view at TNA No Surrender. Overall, there’s a feeling of cautious excitement and we’ll have a much better idea of where things stand by the end of February 2024.
Pro Wrestling legend Tommy Dreamer recently snubbed the reports of replacing Scott D’Amore as TNA Head of Creative. Now, more reports have come to light regarding who is the captain of the ship.
D’Amore was recently released as TNA President and has been replaced by Anthem Entertainment’s President Anthony Cicione. Reports suggest that Anthem, TNA’s parent company, wanted to have a closer connection to the promotion and thus Cicione was appointed.
“Ariel Shnerer will be overseeing all TNA content going forward and will be working in conjunction with new TNA President Anthony Cicione. It will be Shnerer who will have the last word on any talent and creative decisions, although Cicione will be the top of the pyramid.”
Shnerer is the former General Manager of the Fight Network and has been associated with TNA since Anthem acquired the company. He has made appearances on TV from time to time as Dr. Ariel.
However, he has been a key figure backstage and manages the distribution of TNA across Anthem. He was involved in bagging TNA’s deal for DAZN and several TNA streaming deals for Roku and Pluto TV, among other platforms. He also lead the way for the launch of TNA+ streaming service.
In addition to this, the outlet has reported that the existing TNA Creative team of Tommy Dreamer, RD Evans and Hunter “Delirious” Johnston “will remain in place and continue to work as they did prior to Scott D’Amore’s departure.”
Moreover, TNA Hall of Famer Gail Kim will be supporting the group as she was one of the top officials for the company backstage in the past and has been heavily involved whether it’s talent relations or production.
It has also come to light that Jorge Barbosa has joined the creative process. Barbosa served as a Senior Producer for Anthem Sports & Entertainment for a long time and was the person behind all Fight Network Diary documentaries that focused on TNA and MMA personalities.
Impact Wrestling has been very busy at making announcments ahead of their return to TNA and that includes another signing.
The company announced on Tuesday that former Impact Digital Media Champion Brian Myers.
Myers, who had two memorable runs with WWE before making the leap over to Impact Wrestling, has been with the company since the summer of 2020 after being released from his WWE contract.
However, this return of TNA will not signify Myers’ first run with those letters. The Major Player initially worked for the promotion in 2015, actually becoming a TNA World Tag Team Champion with Cameron Grimes (then known as Trevor Lee) before being re-signed by WWE in 2016.
The news of Myers signing coincides with several big happenings in the company including a new deal that he’s all too familiar with. Just this Monday, TNA announced a new action figure deal with Power Town Wrestling, a company owned by Magnum TA and Greg Gagne that excells at making very detailed figure scults of wrestling legends from yesteryear.
The move has to be exciting for Myers, who alongside his longtime friend and tag partner, Matt Cardona are notorious wrestling figure collectors. The two host their own show, The Major Wrestling Figure Podcast and one would have to imagine the company’s new relationship with Power Town will be talked about.
A former WWE backstage producer was recently arrested in Vanderburgh County, Indiana. According to a report from PW Insider, Sarah Stock was arrested early Sunday morning and charged with aggravated battery, public intoxication, disorderly conduct, and resisting law enforcement.
She was booked and released early Sunday morning by the Vandenburgh Sheriff’s Department.
Stock had been with WWE since 2015 but was furloughed this spring and later released due to the ongoing global pandemic. She wrestled as Sarita in TNA Wrestling from 2009 to 2013. She has also competed for companies such as Shimmer as well as CMLL in Mexico. Stock had previously wrestled under the names Dark Angel and Canadian Dark Angel as well.
While in TNA, Stock won the promotion’s women’s tag-team championships twice. She won the inaugural titles in 2009 with Taylor Wilde. They would hold the belts for 106 days before dropping them to Awesome Kong and Hamada.
Stock would team with Zelina Vega in 2011 and again win the belts. This time her team defeated Angelina Love and Winter to gain the championships. They would hold the titles for 129 days until dropping them to Brooke Tessmacher and Tara. Her 2 reigns and 227 combined days spent with 1/2 of the women’s tag belts ranks her 5th all-time in the promotion.
Pro wrestling personality and former TNA backstage employee Jim Cornette recently discussed Dixie Carter and her influence on the TNA product. Cornette was responding to recent comments from WWE Superstar AJ Styles on his Drive Thru podcast.
AJ Styles stated “Do I believe Dixie ruined IMPACT? Well, it was TNA back then, and 100%. IMPACT, there was a time when it was really gaining ground. The problem was, Dixie wanted to be WWE-lite and that’s not what people wanted. They wanted to see something else. All she had to do was let us do what we do, it was really that simple. Had she left it to the writers, I think TNA would still be around and be bigger than what they are, but not knowing what’s best for business? She hurt TNA”
Jim Cornette on Dixie Carter
“Dixie had talent she liked” Jim Cornette began on the Drive Thru. “And I’m not saying that in an inappropriate way. She thought that Hernandez, and she was correct in this, should be a Latino Mexican superstar at one point. I fully agreed with that.”
Cornette would then elaborate further on this, blaming Vince Russo for ‘destroying’ the potential they had with LAX member Hernandez. “Unfortunately for Hernandez? She’d [Dixie] picked an idiot to write her show [Vince Russo] who didn’t know how to get that guy over. And when I left? That was the end of that [Hernandez’s run], because he [Russo] didn’t understand it.”
Jim Cornette would then blame Dixie Carter for bringing in Vince Russo to oversee the writing of the product, thus somewhat agreeing with AJ Styles. “Dixie was responsible for creative in terms of who she hired to be in charge of it. And Jeff Jarrett to his credit, while he was there was able to balance most of the bullsh*t out with actual sh*t that made sense. OR, wouldn’t harm talent when you presented him with a better way to do it.”
“Dixie may have sat in on a few production meetings, not that many” Jim Cornette would continue. “Sometimes she wasn’t there at television and other times she would get there right before taping started. She’d be flying in from somewhere, she’d get there just in time to get her makeup done to go out in front of the fans and take post pictures holding the TNA title belt. But if you had a creative question, or if I did? I went to Jeff Jarrett.”
Do you agree with Cornette’s assessment? Let us know in the comments
Former WWE and WCW head writer Vince Russo recently discussed the #SpeakingOut movement and in particular the ‘Bra and Panties’ matches that he frequently gets marked with creating. As well as this, Russo would discuss how he would approach female talent backstage for the companies he worked for, particularly TNA.
Vince Russo on TNA Locker Room
“Back in the day when I was happily married and I had three children?” Russo began on The Brand. “I kind of realized…once I understood what the wrestling business was? I always had my back up.”
Russo would elaborate further, saying “I didn’t know in 20 years that they were going to be calling people out. And sh*t I didn’t know that, but I always had my back because I had a freaking family. I had a wife and I had children. I was not going to get in anything that would have got me in any kind of trouble.”
“And I remember so many times when I would have to go in the woman’s locker room. At TNA the women had a trailer, and bro? I’d have to find them during the day to do pre-tapes and all that sh*t bro. I always was so cautious. And just so careful and so respectful of them. I say this all the time bro, when I worked with these beautiful, beautiful women bro? I felt like they were more like daughters than attractive women. That’s how I looked at them. You’ve got to be really, really careful in everything that you do. So that’s why.”
Outspoken pro wrestling personality and former TNA, WWE and WCW on-screen performer Jim Cornette recently discussed a hilarious tale from TNA’s chequered legacy.
Cornette was discussing Championship belts on the Drive Thru podcast earlier this week when he revealed the faux pas from TNA’s production staff. 2005-2010 is considered by many to be the heyday of the Total Nonstop Action brand, with the likes of AJ Styles, Samoa Joe, Abyss and Kurt Angle topping the card. Even still, the company that sometimes gets lumbered with the ‘LOLTNA’ meme in their later years were liable to gaffes even in this time frame.
Jim Cornette on ‘Losing’ The Belt
“Another time in TNA? It was years ago., like 2007-2008ish they did the pay per view in St. Louis” Jim Cornette would begin on the podcast. “They actually had to have a stooge in Florida that could get into the soundstage at Universal Studios to go in. Because they forgot the belt [TNA World Championship].”
Cornette would discuss how times had changed in the wrestling industry, as Champions nowadays rarely hold on to their prized possession. In the case of TNA it was kept ‘safe’ by the production team…so things like this didn’t happen.
“The champion wasn’t carrying the belt” Jim Cornette continued. “So the f*cking, you know, production people were supposed to bring it. They forgot the belt they had it at the soundstage. So they had the stooge go to the soundstage in Orlando, get the belt rush it over to the airport and buy it a f*cking plane ticket.”
Jim Cornette would finish by revealing that the belt not only had a seat on the plane, but apparently went under the name belt/championship (we can’t verify if this is true). “They put it on the goddamn plane and they had somebody in St. Louis go to the airport. They still didn’t get there on time, the pay per view had already started. They picked up the belt at the airport in St. Louis from Delta. The ticket was under the name of belt slash championship.”
Can you think of a more LOLTNA moment than this? Let us know in the comments
Jeff Jarrett is currently hosting a TNA themed panel at Starrcast alongside Don West and Karen Jarrett. You can check out the full Starrcast event via FITE TV.
Jarrett was joined by Gail Kim and Velvet Sky during the panel. The discussion eventually turned to the success of the Knockouts division. The height of the division saw Awesome Kong and Gail Kim feud for the TNA Knockouts title. This secured the highest quarterly ratings for the IMPACT programme at the time. One of the more intriguing aspects of the discussion focused around a huge mainstream media campaign for the Knockouts division in MAXIM magazine.
Jarrett claimed that “Spike TV wanted to do a campaign in 2007-08 and the executive wanted to do a cover for MAXIM magazine.” Karen Jarrett then took the microphone and stated that “A certain owner canned it because she wasn’t on the cover.” After not specifically saying who this was (Dixie Carter) Karen went to say that “she chose not to renew AJ Styles’ contract, which was a really dumb move.”
Gail Kim and Velvet Sky seemed to mirror Jarrett’s sentiments before the discussion quickly moved on to the Ultimate X match, MMA Jarrett and Fox Sports.
Scott Steiner recently took part in the Starrcast Total Non-Stop Jarrett panel alongside Jeff Jarrett and Don West.
Steiner discussed his time in TNA alongside the likes of AJ Styles, Samoa Joe and Robert Roode. Steiner talked about his role “putting over” the homegrown stars. He also dissuced how the Main Event Mafia was “the greatest stable of former World Champions ever.”
One of the more interesting aspects of Steiner’s time on the panel came when he talked Hulk Hogan’s time in charge of the company. Steiner brought up AJ Styles being told to dye his hair blonde and flat out refusing, this reportedly angered Hogan who apparently asked “who the f*ck is AJ?What has he done in the industry to not do this?” Steiner also recalled a time when Robert Roode was going to challenge Kurt Angle for the TNA Heavyweight title, Hogan reportedly stated that “Roode wasn’t ready” to be challenging for the World Title.
The recent news of the all-women PPV Evolution has had fans clamoring on which former WWE women superstar will return to the event.
One former Women’s Champion, Gail Kim, has been the talk of a former star who should return but has no desire in making a comeback to the WWE.
Whoever you are, please don’t tell me what I should be feeling or thinking. Only I’ve lived my life and walked in my shoes. So please get lost. You don’t know jack. https://t.co/XkOlAXMWxy
Back in August 2011 Gail Kim deliberately eliminated herself from the women’s battle royal that was taking place around the Divas Division Era. During this era, the Divas had little to no time on television for their matches, which many fans referred to the matches as “piss breaks”. That elimination would be Kim’s last WWE appearance as she would request her release and join back with TNA.
Currently, Kim is a producer for TNA’s Knockout Division and has no desire to return back to the WWE.
Former WWE and TNA official Bruce Prichard recently took to his WWE Network special, Something Else To Wrestle, and discussed current WWE Champion AJ Styles’ run in TNA several years ago. Co-host Conrad Thompson asked Prichard what TNA officials thought of Styles as a top guy in the company.
Here’s what Prichard had to say on the matter:
“I had never worked with AJ beyond his tryout matches for WWE so immediately I’m hearing the negative,” Prichard said when co-host Conrad Thompson asked what TNA officials thought about AJ as a top guy. “I hear that, ‘AJ, he just wants to wrestle his matches and do all these high spots, he doesn’t listen, doesn’t want to change, doesn’t want to grow. He’s a pain in the ass.
“We’re trying to build him into a bigger star and he’s bucking us at every single opportunity.’ The feeling was that AJ just wasn’t willing to do what it took to become a star. For example… they wanted AJ to bleach his hair blonde like Ric Flair. AJ didn’t want to do that. They wanted AJ to wear robes like Ric Flair but it looked like something that his daughter put together. It just wasn’t a good look and AJ wasn’t comfortable being Ric Flair.
“He didn’t want to talk about being up all night with the women. AJ’s happily married and a very religious guy. He didn’t want that perception. Every time you suggest something new to AJ, he doesn’t want to do it. Unless it’s just wrestling a match with one of his buddies, he doesn’t want to do it. I learned early on in my career that you try to judge people on how they treat you.
“And I tried talking to AJ and found that he was pretty receptive to things. He had good reasons why he didn’t want to do some of the things suggested to him. So, now all of a sudden I’m trying to find a way to get into AJ, in a way to pitch him ideas and try to do some different things with him which he was open to, at least with me.”
Last night’s episode of Monday Night RAW featured a segment between General Manager Kurt Angle, and recently fired SmackDown Live stars Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn.
Owens and Zayn came to Angle in hopes of landing jobs, and Angle put the pair in a match against each other in which the winner would receive a RAW contract. The Olympic Hero was hesitant to give Owens and Zayn a chance at first, dropping the line “My tag team division is full, but I hear TNA is hiring.”
The line received a huge pop from the crowd and the professional wrestling internet community. Former WWE Women’s Champion and current IMPACT Wrestling Producer Gail Kim took to Twitter shortly after the segment aired.
Kim shared an interesting story of Vince McMahon watching a special episode of TNA backstage at a WWE event:
If I'm not mistaken, that would be the first mention of TNA on RAW.
It’s about time isn’t it? Matt Hardy took a loss to Bray Wyatt this past Monday on RAW and he rather unequivocally used his ‘delete’ gesture, heavily hinting that ‘Broken’ Matt would FINALLY be making his way to WWE…
Sadly the WWE does not have an unblemished record when it comes to using ‘gimmicks’ and intellectual property brought in from elsewhere in the pro wrestling world. With such a lengthy absence of the ludicrous and creative character the WWE has the opportunity to truly redesign ‘Broken’ Matt Hardy and bring his broken brilliance to a bigger audience but…there are certain elements of the character that MUST be retained if it is going to work, here are 3 of them:
The Hardy Family
One of the most intriguing parts of Matt’s TNA portrayal of the ‘Broken’ character was the inclusion of his wife Reby, his son Maxel and his father in law Señor Benjamin. These personalities truly took on a life of their own and only added to the lunacy of Matt’s character arc, each adding to the cult like status that Matt and his brother Jeff were cultivating. Maxel recently appeared at the Starrcade event and many believe that WWE will be allowing Matt to work alongside his son as the upcoming storyline progresses…whether Reby and Señor Benjamin will be making appearances remains to be seen, and that’s not even mentioning Vanguard 1…
The Backstage Vignettes
Final Deletion was undoubtably one of the most absurd, creatively dynamic and groundbreaking moments in the history of not just TNA but pro wrestling as a whole. The production style, the overblown scripting and hyperbolic performances of Matt gave viewers a completely different perspective on what professional wrestling actually was and could be. It can’t be disputed that TNA’s Jeremy Borash had a major hand in the presentation of Final Deletion and the subsequent ‘special attractions’ centred around the Hardys but ultimately it was the direction of Matt that gave life to the characters, with a WWE production crew and a budget that likely engulfs anything previously he could easily reinterpret this style in a new, vibrant and exciting way.
The Right Opponent
Bray Wyatt (via Instagram @WWE)
When Matt first made the turn into his ‘Broken’ persona he had a fitting opponent in his brother Jeff Hardy. Interestingly feuds between the two siblings had never quite hit the right note and this was the first time that a Hardy Boys feud had garnered real traction and built intrigue in a genuine way. That being said Matt Hardy will need the ideal opponent to unleash his new persona on the WWE Universe. I believe that Bray Wyatt should be that opponent.
Before Matt reappeared in WWE I truly felt that Wyatt vs Hardy would be a dream bout, the two characters have a unique spin on the traditional pro wrestling fare and with their creative juices flowing surely they could break boundaries and present something completely different for the WWE fans? Wyatt has already taken part in some unique match types this year, his House of Horrors match against Randy Orton did not appeal in the way WWE would have hoped but with Matt’s direction and a new lease of life for the Wyatt character could they breathe life into both superstars and lift both up out of the quagmire of the mid card?
Are you excited for the return of ‘Broken’ Matt? Let us know in the comments
Having had “unacceptable specimens and documents” rejected by the USPTO in May, PWInsider.com has reported that Matt Hardy increased his efforts to fight for the legal rights to the “Broken” gimmick which he used to reinvent himself before returning to WWE at Wrestlemania with his brother Jeff.
Jeff Hardy is currently recovering from a shoulder injury which required surgery to support a torn rotator cuff; so Matt Hardy has stepped into matches that haven’t involved a strong, continuous story-line or direction, and it appears as though he needs something new to reinvigorate himself. Putting the long-drawn legal battle with TNA to bed would surely give Matt, and the WWE creative team, some freedom to explore all avenues available to them.
That’s not to say that Matt Hardy has been floating and useless; matches with Braun Strowman and The Miz show a desire to stretch his abilities and continue to be the best he can. It is just unfortunate that the legal proceedings are having an impact on his current career and development in WWE.
Last week’s RAW saw Matt take on The Miz for the Intercontinental Championship, a potential idea that was suggested here.
To boost his legal efforts, a lawyer specialising in intellectual property has been added to the team representing Matt Hardy based in Nashville. Since the rejected documents in May, new evidence has been presented to the USPTO which they hope to clarify Hardy’s ownership of the “Broken” gimmick. The new evidence is a promotional poster from an event with CWF Mid-Atlantic Wrestling which has not been revealed to the public.
Opinion:
Whether Matt Hardy uses the Broken gimmick or not, it will be a relief for him when it is over, enabling him to concentrate on his future and not having to spend time arguing about his past.
Posted November 5th, 2017 in WWE, News. Tagged: TNA.
Here are the results from PROGRESS Wrestling ‘Chapter 42: Life, The Universe & Wrestling‘ which took place at the O2 Academy in Birmingham, this was PROGRESS’ first ever show in the Midlands city.
Ringkampf (Axel Dieter Jr. & WALTER) b. The London Riots (James Davis & Rob Lynch) by Pinfall – wXw regulars Axel and Walter defeated the former PROGRESS tag team champs via pinfall
Jack Sexsmith b. Sebastian – Sexsmith defeated his longtime rival via pinfall
Jimmy Havoc b. Aleister Black (Tommy End) – Just hours before his official WWE debut Tommy End appeared in front of the PROGRESS crowd, he lost via pinfall to Havoc’s Acid Rainmaker
Natural Progression Series IV First Round Match – Alex Windsor b. Livvii Grace – Windsor won the match via pinfall to advance in the Natural Progression series to crown the first ever PROGRESS Women’s Champion.
The South Pacific Power Trip (TK Cooper & Travis Banks) b. The Origin (Dave Mastiff & El Ligero) – The ‘Banter Edition’ of the Origin lost to the SPPT via pinfall.
Spud b. Paul Robinson – TNA Star Rockstar Spud defeated Paul Robinson via pinfall, after the bout Robinson attacked Spud with a chair before being chased off by current rival Jimmy Havoc
PROGRESS Atlas Championship Match – Matt Riddle b. Rampage Brown – Riddle answered Rampage’s open challenge and won the bout to become only the second ATLAS champion in company history.
At today’s Impact tapings, Cody Rhodes made his return and beatdown Moose. Cody was pissed off that Brandi had Moose’s number in her phone. Rhodes also held up a hand gesture similar to the Bullet Club’s in NJPW. TNA has done a bunch of tapings recently so it is unclear when the episode of Impact featuring Cody’s return will air. It will most likely be at the end of January or early February.
Scoop #32: Cody beats down Moose, then makes a Bullet Club hand gesture to Moose while he's on the ground before grabbing Brandi and leaving pic.twitter.com/mSxXs7PblF
Last night on 205 Live, Alicia Fox assisted Noam Dar in his match against her boyfriend, Cedric Alexander. This led to Alexander breaking up with Fox backstage. Alicia then threw a tantrum for the ages. This video gets quite loud so beware if you are wearing headphones.
WWE this week announced the bracket for the first ever UK Championship Tournament set to take place this weekend at the Empress Ballroom in Blackpool, England.
The tournament features some of the best performers on the British scene and here are (in my opinion) the top four men who are likely to go all the way and become the first ever WWE UK Champion.
Pete Dunne
Pete Dunne (known affectionally to PROGRESS fans as ‘PETER’) had the biggest year of his career in 2016. His stellar year included a spot in PWG’s BOLA tournament, facing Yuji Nagata in Rev Pro, winning the PROGRESS Tag Team Titles with Trent Seven and to cap it off he secured the PROGRESS Championship by pinning Jimmy Havoc at Chapter 39.
Dunne has been in the industry around a decade and has established himself as one of the top acts in the UK scene, nicknamed the ‘Brusierweight’ he has a hard hitting style and works predominately as a heel for multiple companies across Britain, he possesses a natural ability to rile up a crowd that harks back to William Regal in his prime. I would absolutely consider Dunne to be the favourite going into the tournament in Blackpool.
Trent is one of the most experienced performers in the tournament. He too has had a breakout year in 2016, highlighted by his PROGRESS Tag Team title run with British Strong Style partners Pete Dunne and Tyler Bate (more info on Tyler below). Having worked the majority of the year as a firm crowd favourite both as a singles star in Fight Club Pro and as a tag team specialist in Moustache Mountain, his heel turn in PROGRESS set the stage for a huge tag team title win at Chapter 36. After the win a new cocky, arrogant side of his character shone through and brought out a different more focused Trent. I expect that he will work as a crowd favourite in the tournament and turn more than a few heads in the WWE fan base.
Tyler is one of the youngest performers in the UK tournament however he too had a hugely successful 2016. As one half of Moustache Mountain he performed around the country as a firm fan favourite, in the latter part of the year he finally joined forces with ‘British Strong Style’ and became one of the top heels in PROGRESS. His style and work in the ring are similar to WWE Crusierweight star Jack Gallagher and I fully expect Tyler to work as a charismatic good guy who will be extremely well liked by the fans inside the Empress Ballroom. I’m expecting Tyler to lose in the semi-final against longtime friend and tag team partner Trent Seven.
Known as ‘Mandrews’ during his stint in TNA, Mark Andrews is easily the most world renowned of all of the performers in the competition. He has been a mainstay in PROGRESS since its inception and has worked for companies such as PCW, ATTACK! Pro, wXw and Chikara.
Andrews is an extremely talented in ring worker and he easily has a shot at taking the title this weekend. He was a late addition to the tournament having recently cut ties with TNA and for that reason I am expecting that he will eventually lose to Pete Dunne in the semi-final.
John Cena posted a photo of Kenny Omega on his Instagram account. This is nothing new for Cena, as he has posted pictures of AJ Styles and CM Punk in the past. Following his loss to Okada at Wrestle Kingdom 11, Omega has stated that he is leaving Japan. This could be Cena just getting the fans riled up or Omega may be making his way to the WWE. Cena posted a picture of AJ Styles on his Instagram just four days before he made his WWE debut at last year’s Royal Rumble. This has led many to speculate that Omega might make an appearance at this year’s Royal Rumble.
In a Impact Digital Exclusive, The Wolves (Eddie Edwards and Davey Richards) challenged Matt and Jeff Hardy. The teams will meet on this week’s episode of Impact with the Tag Team Championships on the line. You can check out the video below.
WWE have announced that one of the top stars on the British independent scene will be competing in the UK Championship tournament, the highly touted Mark Andrews.
Andrews is a veteran on the British independent circuit having competed for the likes of PROGRESS, Fight Nation! ICW and PCW. More recently Andrews has seen international success after winning TNA’s Boot Camp competition and also competing for PWG and Chikara.
Although a late addition to the tournament, Andrews should be considered a favourite.
Broken Matt Hardy invited “The Family of Wyatts” to participate in the Tag Team Apocalypto fight this Thursday at the Total Nonstop Deletion. Whether Matt expected it or not, he got a response from Bray Wyatt.
Thursday’s Impact will be a two hour extravaganza that will all be taking place at the Hardy compound. There most certainly will be people shooting fireworks at each other and hopefully a dilapidated boat.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HSjnOCtjJLc
It wasn’t too long ago that Final Deletion was the most popular thing in wrestling. The WWE tried to capitalize on the buzz of Final Deletion by producing a similar match. It wasn’t nearly as popular and a lot of fans accused the WWE of trying to copy TNA.
Five months later, Matt Hardy is still bringing up the Wyatt Family on social media. Broken Matt Hardy recently joined The Ross Report and revealed that his contract with TNA is expiring at the end of February. Hardy went on to state that he wanted to play a more prominent role in TNA once negotiations begin in a couple of months. Both Matt and Jeff Hardy have seen their careers revitalized in TNA. It would make sense for them to resign there and continue to try to build up the TNA brand.
If that turns out to not be the case and the Hardy Boyz wind up back in the WWE, this would be an amazing feud. Obviously, there is no chance in hell that Randy Orton, Luke Harper and Bray Wyatt would ever show up on an episode of Impact. The much more likely scenario is that Matt and Jeff Hardy return to the WWE to finish their careers. I’ve always rooted for TNA to be a success and for them to provide a viable alternative to the WWE. Unfortunately, they have never really been able to gain traction and have essentially been running in place while surrounded by constant financial problems. TNA will certainly try their best to resign Matt and Jeff Hardy in February but it remains to be seen if they will accomplish that goal.
Discussion: Would you be interested in seeing Matt and Jeff Hardy get one last run in the WWE? Share your thoughts in the comment section below.
Remember how when American Express sued TNA for not paying their bill to the tune of $269,049.50, the summons was served to a receptionist at TNA’s old office that they were evicted from months earlier? Well, that’s about to become an issue for TNA: This coming Wednesday, American Express will be in court arguing that they are entitled to a default judgment because TNA has not acknowledged the complaint. A default judgment is exactly what it sounds like, TNA losing by default. TNA has not filed anything in the case since it was fire filed back in July, and thus are currently listed on the court docket as having no legal representation recorded by the court.
As we have previously reported, it does not appear that TNA ever filed a change of address with the United States Postal Service after being evicted from their longtime offices at Cummins Station in Nashville, Tennessee (which is still listed as the company’s mail order address on ShopTNA.com). They do have an “authorized agent” (a third party proxy) in Chattanooga that can be served instead, but that option is not mentioned in American Express’s latest court filings, and neither is the TNA merchandise warehouse, where it’s been reported the company is now headquartered. In fairness, American Express has now repeatedly served the lawsuit and related documents to the address on file, which TNA never changed while becoming delinquent on their account.
For what it’s worth, as of a change on October 27th, the Tennessee Secretary of State’s website now lists Impact Ventures, LLC, TNA’s parent company, as being headquartered at 1404 51st Ave North in Nashville. According to Google Maps, that’s this red and white building building in what looks like an office park (zoom in up the driveway to get a better look):
The gist of American Express’s request for a default judgment is that the deadline to respond has expired, that TNA did not move for an extension, and that TNA had not yet responded by November 2nd, when the motion was written. So as a result, they think they should get their $269,049.50 and whatever else “the Court deems just and proper.”
In addition, one of the exhibits filed by American Express is TNA’s billing statement from May, the month that the account was cancelled. The new charges consisted entirely of late fees:
$577.88 for being late in paying off a $19,327.08 balance on one of TNA CFO Dean Broadhead’s two corporate cards.
$7,233.15 for being late in paying off a $241,911.39 balance on the corporate card of Shane Emerson, who serves as TNA’s Director of International Content Distribution and Live Events.
On top of that:
Because of the cancellation, a pro-rated portion of the annual membership fee was credited back on every card.
TNA had 11 cards distributed to nine employees, with Broadhead, Emerson, and Dixie Carter each having two. Of the nine who had cards, two are now gone from the company: Eric Barnes, who handled media relations, and Tyson Ciesiensky, TNA’s Director of Information Technology. Ciesiensky is now Chief Information Officer of Skyway Studios, where TNA does post-production. The others with corporate cards were Serg Salinas (Dixie’s husband), John Gaburick (creative/talent relations), and Bob Ryder (travel).
I have reached out to TNA for comment on if they will have legal representation present at the hearing. In the event that they respond, we will update this space and let you know what they say.
Billy Corgan’s very public argument Thursday with Anthem Sports and Entertainment, the parent company of The Fight Network, keeps going late Friday afternoon in the form of Corgan replying to The Fight Network’s tweets about the situation:
To break this down, it looks like the tweet about Anthem “lying through counsel” relates to their promise to pay back the money he loaned to TNA by the November 1st deadline set in Corgan and TNA’s agreement. An attorney for Anthem appeared in court during the Corgan/TNA hearing in Nashville last week for that reason.
Analysis: Whatever you think of Corgan, he comes off much better than Anthem here. He’s right that Anthem really has no business saying that there’s “public discourse” about the situation “is inappropriate” when they issued multiple press releases about the situation, one of which dropped the bomb that he was out of TNA without any explanation. And he’s also right to clarify that he hasn’t been paid back if that’s the situation, since the press release was incredibly vague about that matter.
