T.N.A. Miscellaneous News Thread

[Y 2 Jake]

When tickets go on sale for the TNA Lockdown PPV in St. Louis, Missouri at the Family Arena on Friday, February 16, NWA World Champion Christian Cage, Eric Young and TNA Knockout Christy Hemme will be on-hand for a meet and greet with fans. Tickets will start going on sale at 10:00am both online and at the box office.

 

[Y 2 Jake]

Chris Jericho's band Fozzy will have one of there song's featured on the upcoming 2 hour edition of Impact.

 

[Y 2 Jake]

Shock jock Howard Stern recently stated that his girlfriend was offered a role on the doomed "Armed and Famous" reality show. Stern claimed they offered $50,000 to $60,000 per episode. And she turned it down?

Press Release: "The Million Dollar Man" Ted DiBiase will be conducting a camp Saturday, February 3rd at the Impact Zone Wrestling training center in Phoenix, AZ. The camp will last 4 to 5 hours and spots are limited so please contact - info@impactzonewrestling for details.

Dave Meltzer reports that TNA is getting close on securing a regular two hour time slot on Spike TV.

Konnan was told by doctors that his kidney damage was caused by a combination of heavy usage of anti-flammatory drugs, pain killers, and eating a high protein diet.

 

[3nigma]

From tnawrestling.com



New York, NY, January 31, 2007 – Spike TV and Total Non-Stop Action Wrestling today jointly announce that they will telecast a special primetime two-hour wrestling event on Monday, February 12 (9:00 – 11:00 PM, ET/PT) entitled “This is TNA!” The two-hour special encores on Thursday, February 15 (7:00 – 9:00 PM, ET/PT), and will be followed by an all new “TNA: iMPACT!” (9:00 – 10:00 PM, ET/PT).

"Spike's not going to stand by and let wrestling go to the dogs on Monday February 12th. Wrestling fans deserve better!" says Kevin Kay, EVP and General Manager, Spike TV. “This special event is an opportunity for viewers not familiar with TNA’s distinct brand of high-impact wrestling to tune-in and see what TNA is all about.”

“This is TNA!” will offer die-hard fans and the casual viewer a fast-paced, action-packed look at TNA Wrestling. The two-hour spectacular will showcase five of the greatest bouts in TNA history never before seen on television except pay-per-view, featuring some of the biggest names in wrestling today including Kurt Angle, Sting, Christian Cage, Jeff Jarrett, Abyss and Team 3-D, as well as TNA’s amazing young talent – AJ Styles, Christopher Daniels, Samoa Joe and Chris Sabin. The special will spotlight TNA’s innovative concept matches including “King of the Mountain” and “Six Sides of Steel.” Throughout the night, there will be a countdown of some of the most extraordinary moments in TNA history – recalling the timeless wrestling memories that will stay emblazoned on the minds of wrestling fans forever.

An added bonus for viewers, TNA will reveal its newest concept match which will debut at their March 11 “Destination X” PPV event

Who do you think will have the highest ratings, TNA or Raw?

 

[Y 2 Jake]

According to sources, some current employees/contributors for TNA have reportedly grown frustrated with the company recently over not being paid. TNAWrestlingNews.com has been made aware of at least one situation in particular involving a former contributor to TNA's official website who has left the company over not being paid for their work in the last few years.

This same source is also stating that there is another frustrated member of TNA's staff at the moment who has told the company that he will no longer do anymore work for them until he is paid for the work he has done thus far.

 

[Y 2 Jake]

According to sources, TNA and Spike TV are said to be very close to completing negotiations for a new two-hour timeslot for iMPACT! on the network.

An announcement about a new two-hour timeslot could be coming as soon as this week or sometime next week following the company's two-hour Monday night special on February 12.

We will continue to follow this story as it develops.

 

[Y 2 Jake]

TNA is getting close on securing a regular two hour time slot on Spike TV.

Konnan was told by doctors that his kidney damage was caused by a combination of heavy usage of anti-flammatory drugs, pain killers, and eating a high protein diet.

There's a lot of excitement internally about next Monday's TNA special on SpikeTV

As of this week, here is the updated card for TNA Against All Odds this Sunday, February 11, live and only on pay per view from Orlando, Florida:

NWA World Heavyweight Championship Match
Unofficial Enforcer: Samoa Joe
- Christian Cage (c) vs. Kurt Angle.

Prison Yard Match
- Sting vs. Abyss.

X Division Championship Match
- Chris Sabin (c) vs. Jerry Lynn.

Basebrawl
- Team Eckstein vs. Team Pierzynski.

- James Storm & Miss Tennessee vs. Petey Williams & Gail Kim.

- Christy Hemme's in-ring debut.

 

[Abyss]

2 hours will enable TNA to showcase their talent more effectively. They deserve it, and they will put everything they have into it, i'm sure of it.

 

[Y 2 Jake]

As expected, there is some heat on Kip James over some comments he made on a radio show appearance earlier in the week. He dismissed the X Division ("When you've seen one X Division match you have seen them all.") and said that he would leave TNA for WWE in a heartbeat if the money was right.

After a recent television taping, Backlund was seen walking back to the hotel instead of getting a ride. Someone saw him on the side of the road and offered him a ride, but he turned it down.

TNA talent Scott D'Amore was at Friday's WWE Canada press conference in Windsor, Ontario. He was seen talking to WWE President Carl DeMarco and others.

 

[Y 2 Jake]

According to reports, there is talk that Samoa Joe is in for a major push in the next few weeks. So, it looks like things could get rolling for Joe starting with the Against All Odds PPV this Sunday and the TV tapings that follow it. Given the recent information about his departure from Ring of Honor, this news shouldn't come as a big surprise and looks to be the reason why TNA never fully took Joe to the top during his stay with the company.

TNA Wrestling will have a busy week starting with this Sunday with the company's Against All Odds PPV being headlined by Christian Cage and Kurt Angle for the NWA World Title. Following the PPV on Sunday, a two-hour Monday night special will air on Spike TV on February 12 with WWE Monday Night Raw being preempted due to the Westminster Dog Show. While the two-hour special airs on Spike TV, TNA will be holding two weeks worth of TV tapings for iMPACT! that same night in Orlando. In addition, tickets for the company's Lockdown PPV in St. Louis will also go on sale Friday, February 16. It is safe to say that things are really starting to pick up for TNA considering where they were just a year ago.

Spike TV will be airing a preview show for the Against All Odds PPV on Saturday, February 10 at Midnight. As they have been since the specials started airing, TNA will run the entire special on their website if you miss it on TV.

 

[Y 2 Jake]

For those keeping up with the current storyline in TNA and have avoided reading spoilers, Christian Cage will reveal the identity of his "consultant/advisor" on iMPACT! this Thursday night.

The Dearborn Press and Guide has an interview up with Rhino where he discusses his career and where he is at now with TNA. It is interesting to note that Rhino admits he didn't burn the real ECW World Championship last year in an angle with TNA against the new ECW and that the real belt is in Dearborn, MI. He also added that WWE contacted him about getting the belt back when they relaunched the new ECW.

Mike Johnson is reporting that Bob Backlund has become one of the most talked about figures backstage at TNA for his unique mannerisms and reactions. During the last TNA taping in Orlando, Backlund was spotted by several people walking back to his hotel dragging his luggage behind him. The hotel is about 10 minutes away by car from where the company tapes. When wrestlers and fans pulled over to offer Backlund a ride, he refused saying that walking was healthier.

 

[Y 2 Jake]

Mike Tenay is not rejoining the booking team but he will be working with them as a consultant about 1 day out of the week.

Ron Killings new gimmick is that he is an aspiring movie star but all his movies keep flopping.

The segments on recent episodes of iMPACT! featuring Tomko were all taped a few weeks ago. He is currently on tour with New Japan.

 

[Y 2 Jake]

TNA finished voiceover and production work yesterday for the company's big two-hour primetime special "This is TNA!" on Monday, February 12 on Spike TV. There remains no word on which PPV matches will make the show, but current previews list "Six Sides of Steel" and "King of the Mountain" as examples to be shown.

TNA is expected to announce more information about the company's Fan Interaction event in St. Louis during the weekend of the Lockdown PPV in April.

The company have also had what has been described as light discussions about returning to Nashville and Detroit for PPV events.

 

[Y 2 Jake]

TNA's Sacrifice PPV is scheduled for May 13.

David Sahadi has an interview up with Chris Jericho on TNA's website where he talks about TNA using another Fozzy song for the big two-hour primetime special this Monday, February 12, if Jericho will return to wrestling (and if it will be in a six-sided ring) and more at TNAWrestling.com.

TNA's website has a pretty cool new limited edition Sting and Abyss autograph special. A video is up with Jeremy Borash and Don West detailing the Sting and Abyss autographs and the numeorus other items they thrown in along with it for a very good price at TNAWrestling.com.

 

[Y 2 Jake]

The current plan is to put Christian Cage, AJ Styles, Tomko and Scott Steiner together as a heel group.

TNA requested that Samoa Joe leave ROH for a number of reasons. They want to give him the NWA Title soon but they have fears that he could be injured while working for ROH. They also want him to focus more on dates that they have booked for him. This could include international dates for New Japan as well as AAA in Mexico. Joe may be back in ROH sooner or later for one shots here and there but it won't be anytime soon. They are however still allowing Homicide, Austin Starr and Christopher Daniels to all work for ROH since they aren't currently used as top stars in TNA.

 

[Y 2 Jake]

Kip James is in hot water over a recent interview he did. James said he would go back to the WWE in a heart beat if they wanted him. Said if you have seen one X Division match you have seen them all. Said he doesn't want to see Angle vs Christian and will most likely leave the next PPV before the match even starts. Forgot when the next PPV even was and called the TNA Knockouts "ugly asses" and said putting them in the ring would be a disaster.

Yuji Nagata is telling the Japanese media that he will be working the 2/26 TNA tapings.

 

[Y 2 Jake]

Source: The Pro Wrestling Torch

TNA sent a memo to its wrestlers this week telling them that they can no longer do interviews with any type of media entity without prior approval from management.

They were also told not to say negative comments about the company in their interviews as well. Any violation of these terms according to the memo will result in a wrestler losing the equivalent of their next PPV payoff.

As you can probably guess, this memo by TNA was prompted after Kip James made some negative comments about TNA in a radio interview two weeks ago. James' comments actually led to what was described as an intense discussion between James and TNA's talent relations director Terry Taylor.

 

[Y 2 Jake]

Here is the scheduled lineup for the "This is TNA!" special on Monday night starting at 9:00pm ET/8:00pm CT on Spike TV:

- NWA World Champion Christian Cage vs. Jeff Jarrett vs. Sting vs. Abyss vs. Ron "The Truth" Killings (King of the Mountain Match - Slammiversary 2006).

- NWA World Tag Team Champions AJ Styles & Christopher Daniels vs. LAX (Six Sides of Steel - Bound For Glory 2006).

- NWA World Champion Jeff Jarrett vs. Sting with Kurt Angle as the official enforcer (Bound For Glory 2006).

- Plus, two additional TNA PPV matches, a countdown of TNA's "Greatest Moments" and more.

 

[Y 2 Jake]

Kurt Angle appeared on WOCM in Ocean City, MD this morning for five minutes. During the interview, Angle said he has been clean from pain pills for about two years now and said he made more money for WWE than any wrestler over the past six years.

Angle then went onto say that he likes TNA more than WWE because it's more of a wrestling show than a circus act. In what was the most interesting comment during the interview, Angle stated that he is going to start soon with the EliteXC (Elite Xtreme Combat) MMA group and that he will be doing both wrestling and MMA. Seeing as Angle has been known to say some pretty outlandish comments in the media in the last few months, we have no confirmation that he is actually going to work for EliteXC at this time.

 

[Y 2 Jake]

Here is the updated and final card for TNA Against All Odds this Sunday night, February 11, live and only on pay per view from Orlando, Florida:

NWA World Heavyweight Championship Match
Unofficial Special Enforcer: Samoa Joe
- Christian Cage (c) vs. Kurt Angle

Prison Yard Match
- Sting vs. Abyss

X Division Championship Match
- Chris Sabin (c) vs. Jerry Lynn

Little Italy Street Fight - Non-Title Match
- NWA World Tag Team Champions LAX vs. Team 3D

Motor City Chain Match
- Rhino vs. AJ Styles

Basebrawl Match
- Team Eckstein vs. Team Pierzynski

- James Storm & Miss Tennessee vs. Petey Williams & Gail Kim

- Christy Hemme vs. TBD (To Be Determined)

 

[Y 2 Jake]

According to PWInsider, the new "concept match" that TNA will reveal during its two-hour primetime special this Monday night (February 12) is believed to involve something of a scaffold style match.

This new match will debut at the company's Destination X PPV on March 11.

 

[Y 2 Jake]

Hulk Hogan was on Bubba the Love Sponge today. Here are the highlights:

- Hogan stated that his people have been in talks with TNA president Dixie Carter.

- Hogan talked about the possibility of working with Vince Russo, as Hulk is about business.

- He said he is under going knee surgery next week.

- Hogan said he was not going to be at Wrestlemania.

- Hogan said VH-1 wants him to do another season of "Hogan Knows Best" and wants a wrestling show.

 

[Y 2 Jake]

River City Wrestling will be holding a special autograph session with Ring of Honor Champion/NWA Tag Team Champion Homicide and his partner and NWA Tag Team Champion Hotstuff Hernandez.

You can meet these two members of TNA's Latin American Xchange from 6:00 - 7:00 p.m. on Saturday, February 10, at Hope of Glory Church, 339 W. Hutchins, in San Antonio, just minutes from Bellaire Baptist Church where both men will be in action later that night.

The cost of the session is $5. The cost includes the meet and greet with LAX, autographs, and a Polaroid with the team.

 

[Y 2 Jake]

IGN.com has an interview up with NWA World Heavyweight Champion Christian Cage where he talks about his jump from WWE to TNA, his goals in TNA, what he is afraid of, his thoughts on Kurt Angle jumping to TNA and more.

As reported yesterday, the 2/8 edition of TNA iMPACT! drew a final 1.1 cable rating with 1.6 million viewers overall. This was a new series-record for TNA on Spike TV. In the 145 weeks that iMPACT! has been on the air, the show had never reached 1.6 million viewers overall before. The show also rated the highest among males 18-49 since moving to Thursday night with a 1.32 rating.

 

[Y 2 Jake]

The Pro Wrestling Torch is reporting that while this story hasn't been outright confirmed, several sources close to the situation state that Samoa Joe announcing his departure from Ring of Honor early last week was forced on him by TNA.

According to recent reports, TNA management is said to be getting much more possessive of the wrestlers it has under six-figure contracts for a variety of reasons. This includes limiting a full-time company such as ROH from utilizing Samoa Joe's name value from his Spike TV exposure to sell DVDs nationally of his top matches - DVDs that compete with TNA DVD sales.

While Samoa Joe has been a character in TNA that has rotated in and out of PPV main events rather than being a key centerpiece for the company for any long stretch of time, the feeling is that with him no longer working for ROH it will allow TNA to push him further into the main event scene knowing that he will largely only be appearing for TNA full-time, with the exception of a few independent dates here and there. It should be reminded that there were definite plans following Against All Odds to give Joe a bigger push in the company, so with the fallout of this news it will be interesting to see if that takes place or not.