The offical TNA thread - News, Spoilers and the rest...

The cheif stands alone

It's incredible how long Taz has lasted, I don't believe he's going because I'm too cynical to get my hopes up. He sounds exactly like he did 10 years ago in the video games, just confused sound bites, "let the pidgins loose" .... Id love to see CD & KAZ get one whole night on commentary. I know that will never ever happen though.

Furious-Red

It has been reported that TNA’s relationship with OVW as a training center is “in shambles” because of various problems, including former head trainer Rip Rodgers’ problems about money.

Meanwhile, many in the company are questioning TNA’s direction and if they know what they’re doing or want to do. Sources say Al Snow, who is a road agent, has been making promises to wrestlers he can’t keep because he doesn’t have the power he acts like he has.

Riddle101

So much for that relationship with OVW, but I don't think there was anyone interesting there. I'd rather they just hire talents from the indies. The American Wolves are free agents, get them for the tag team division.

GTR63

Anyone who seen Doug Williams on WrestleTalk would of known something was up.

D2D

TAZVerified account
‏@OfficialTAZ
I'm very proud to announce that I've re-signed w/TNA Wrestling!! #Lovemyhome

Machismo Fan

Boooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

GTR63

Dare_2_defy wrote: »

TAZVerified account
‏@OfficialTAZ
I'm very proud to announce that I've re-signed w/TNA Wrestling!! #Lovemyhome

Imagine reading that after getting sacked #justsayin

rovert

How Taz sleeps at night:

Riddle101

Whenever I see wrestler re-signs, I think resign. As in, I thought Taz had quit or something. Was almost happy until I saw that he actually signed a new deal.

gnfnrhead

Furious-Red wrote: »

It has been reported that TNA’s relationship with OVW as a training center is “in shambles” because of various problems, including former head trainer Rip Rodgers’ problems about money.

That explains the releases. Rob Terry would want to watch his back. Most of his apparances these days were for OVW.

rovert

Observer:

Bruce Prichard has been making a play for MVP. MVP hasn’t worked in a major company since he stopped working for New Japan. The impression is he wants to go back to WWE, but TNA is recruiting him a lot harder. He won’t be able to use the MVP name in TNA. He’s also trying to pitch a reality show on prison life, with the idea that being in TNA will open doors to Spike for the project.

Sure why not?

GTR63

Any chance Bruce will accidently let his own contract run out?

gnfnrhead

Since he stopped working for New Japan? He only stopped a few months ago! They make it sound like it has been years.

Jamie OD

The Wrestling Observer site uploads an old issue of the newsletter every week for subscribers. This week's issue is from April 29th, 1996 and contains an amazing line that eventually happens around 17 years later.

Yes, Buh Buh Ray Dudley is a silly gimmick, but it's a low card comedy gimmick as it should be. If Buh Buh was in WCW, he'd be pushed to the top as a monster heel and be put in a program with Hulk Hogan.

Amazing how pro wrestling works out.

rovert

Jamie OD wrote: »

The Wrestling Observer site uploads an old issue of the newsletter every week for subscribers. This week's issue is from April 29th, 1996 and contains an amazing line that eventually happens around 17 years later.

Yes, Buh Buh Ray Dudley is a silly gimmick, but it's a low card comedy gimmick as it should be. If Buh Buh was in WCW, he'd be pushed to the top as a monster heel and be put in a program with Hulk Hogan.

Amazing how pro wrestling works out.

Wonder what Dungeon of Doom gimmick Buh Buh would have had:

gnfnrhead

Didnt see it mentioned here but: http://www.impactwrestling.com/roster/Wrestler-Roster

Knockout tags have gone missing. Guessing that means they retired them? In which case you have to wonder why they bothered with having EY hand them over.

Furious-Red

Joey Ryan recently spoke with ITRLive about his TNA run and more. Check out the highlights:

On getting into TNA: “Through David Lagana. I worked with David Lagana in a few places actually Ring of Honor, NWA Hollywood and then he booked me for Ring Ka King in India. Then he got hired to be a writer in TNA and they were looking for guys. He suggested me to Al Snow and Al Snow saw footage of me and decided to make me a GutCheck contestant. It kind of happened quickly. They called me up and Al Snow asked if I would be interested and I said yes. He said, “Alright, I’ll see you next week”. There wasn’t anything I had to sit on really.”

On TNA GutCheck: “They literally don’t tell you anything. I was the second ever guy to do GutCheck. The first GutCheck was Alex Silva. There was that whole thing where Ric Flair changed his decision on Alex Silva. You see, I don’t know how much of that is really a shoot or not. I think they brought me in particularly to be a “No” because they just needed somebody from the indys to make this seem more legitimate and told “no”. I think that was a work on their part. I think when I wrestled and I had a good match against Austin Aries, thank God I had to wrestle Austin Aries, then I came in and did my promos and stuff like that, even before I was in front of the judges, they weren’t telling me I was going to get a “No”, but I had a few people telling me things. Like Eric Bischoff and Hulk Hogan came up to me and said, “Hey, we like your look, we think you are good. No matter what happens out there, we want to do something with you hopefully down the line”. They were hinting that I was going to get a “No” vote. I was already going in there portraying a heel character so I knew going into this that I wasn’t just going to go out there, be told “No” and walk away with my tail between my legs. I’m going to be adamant about it. I was going to be myself, a guy who has been told “No” for the last 12 years by major companies. After I did that promo, there was talk of me going around. They were saying to themselves, “How can we use this guy?” Before that, there was nothing planned for me.

On the mood backstage following the GutCheck segment: “Well I don’t know if they do this anymore but there were cameras all over the place. Everyone was still filming me. I had an argument with Al Snow in the back. Was it a worked shoot? I don’t know. He was yelling at me, I thought it was pretty intense. I knew cameras were on too so I wasn’t sure. Once the cameras cut, Eric Bischoff approached me and told me, “That was incredible! That’s what the segment should be! That’s what live TV is all about!” He has a producer’s mind. He was the one who came up to me and was the most vocal about it all.”

On Taz backstage following the GutCheck: “Taz is kind of a hard-ass. I think he knew but I don’t think he liked me right off the bat because of that. He’s a prideful person, he is very proud of his wrestling and I was bad-mouthing his wrestling. I think he got to the point where he realized that I was doing anything I could to get a job.”

On signing with TNA: “I actually got a call from Bruce Prichard the next day saying, “We got a contract for you”. I signed it and faxed it back to them. At that point, I don’t really know if they knew where the storyline was going to go at that point. They just wanted to capitalize on any hype that happened.”

On teaming With Matt Morgan: “Don’t know, it was a little hard to pull off because Matt is this unstoppable monster. I’m just this small guy. Matt would just look stupid if I just keep costing him all of these wins. I don’t think it went the way they planned it. I don’t know if this didn’t go the way they planned or if they just didn’t think about how long they could keep this up. It just gets to the point where you think, how long is Matt going to stick with this guy that isn’t winning. We were tagging against Chavo and Hernandez. I think they used me as a fall guy to keep Matt Morgan protected.”

On the negative rumors about TNA contracts: “I had a great contract. I got a monthly salary and a bonus whenever I did wrestle. So yeah, I had a great contract. They said, “Hey, I want to pay you” and I said, “Great, I like getting paid”.”

On his release from TNA: “I knew there had been some office cuts and to be honest, I knew after the Matt Morgan stuff as they used me so sparingly. I think I did a PPV match that was unannounced. I did the referee stuff with the Knockouts. Then I did the random X-division 3-way match so. When I wasn’t being used, I was at home collecting paychecks, so I kind of knew that this was too good to be true. They are paying me to sit at home for months now. Part of me said, I know Hulk Hogan and Eric Bischoff like me so there’s some pull there so maybe they are waiting to come up with something for me. I got the hint myself when I was just sitting at home getting paid.”

On being notified of his release: “Al Snow called me and said “This isn’t anything against you or your work, this is just budget cuts”. I know they are on the road now and that’s much more expensive. I think they are just trying to make the company as profitable as possible. It was a decision they had to make. They had to cut guys without affecting the current storylines. I’m not bitter about it. I understand why. I don’t have anything bad to say about anyone there. It’s just a business thing.”

gnfnrhead

No wonder a lot of the Gut Check guys are so unorganised looking, they dont get a lot of notice before hand.

Wonder how much the monthly pay is if everybody gets it regardless of wrestling or not.

rovert

TNA ticket competition for Joe.ie:
https://twitter.com/JOEdotie/status/354528533516787712

The cheif stands alone

rovert wrote: »

TNA ticket competition for Joe.ie:
https://twitter.com/JOEdotie/status/354528533516787712

Cheers man :P

Really hoping, TNA don't drop the ball with this Sabin run. As long as he stays injury free he could be main eventing by the time this show comes to Ireland.

I know the story lines are still muck, But if TNA can keep improving at the rate they are since firing Russo. I genuinely think the show could be competitive with a little shake up of the roster.

I really enjoy Gutcheck even if it has been a disastrous flop. But it is in fact a true reality that TNA using Independent Wrestlers they can only give them between 1-10 nights to get over or get off. I only wish they would have brought back more old guys, I found it really compelling with Petey Williams and other oldies came back for a run.

rovert

With all the changes going on and negativity from the haters (da dirtsheets) I think the likelihood of TNA putting the belt on Sabin has shot up hugely.

Heralding a new era for the guys who work hard, like Booker, MIA, the Animals, and Jarretts.


:P

rovert

Good job, Hogan and Bischoff. Even Dixie knew it was a bad idea.

Wrestling Observer:

Tons of issues going on regarding money stemming from the decision to tape Impact on the road at the cost of $600,000 per taping, with no increase in ratings or revenue. A lot of things are breaking at press time and this is what we know. It’s the cost of the tapings that have made the financial situation so bad. Dixie Carter had noted before that had she done it earlier she would be risking the future of the company. Many in the company, notably Hulk Hogan and Eric Bischoff, had pushed for getting out of Universal Studios and taping on the road as the needed game changer. But there has been no increase in revenue to offset the expense, and ratings have actually declined.

They can't even go back to the Impact Zone if they wanted to or even find a new permanent home on short notice

Wrestling Observer:

TNA has made commitments to where it will be very difficult to change from the road tapings until the end of this year. But the big problem is what happens even if they decide they have to go back. Universal has changed the sound stage and it apparently has a tenant, so going back to the old Impact Zone, even if they wanted to do it, appears not to be an option. So they would have to find a new permanent home if that’s the direction they want to go, but being able to get that with the kind of deal they had in Orlando would be difficult. Plus, what was good about Orlando is that as an attraction at the park, where people could get in free with park admission, there were always hundreds of people who could help fill in and make it look presentable for television. In a new permanent location, whether they’d be able to maintain a crowd every week would be difficult. Bellator runs weekly and they mostly sell their shows to casinos and let the casinos try and sell the tickets or fill the place. But that’s a lot easier with an MMA product. TNA has been able to do this for very few shows, although Impact tapings are more attractive in that regard than just house shows. The problem is the belief that wrestling crowds don’t spend money at the casinos as compared to MMA crowds, so the idea is even if they have to paper the tickets for a Bellator, a lot of those people will hang around the casinos to meet the fighters and gamble or spend money at the restaurants and the like.

Apparently, even Hogan wasn't safe from getting paid late either.

Headshot

The aces and eights crap has ruined it for me.

Machismo Fan

It certainly doesn't help that the shows have gotten worse in the last six months (bar the decent last two weeks) negating any impact a more engaged crowd and a better look has.

gnfnrhead

The big positive from going on the road has been far better crowds and nearly always a higher attendance. But, it's not worth it at that price. Until they can get a permanent place again, I think they should try taping a month at a time. Might not be much cheaper but using the same venue two days in a row would surely cost less than two venue's, two weeks apart.

Other than that, they need to smarten up on the contracts side of things. Hogan isnt worth the money he is on so once his deal is up, let him leave or take a massive cut. Angle has said he is retiring in the next year or two so do likewise with him even if he changes his mind. A pay cut or thanks for everything. Looking at the roster, Brooke, Chavo, King Mo and Mr. Anderson would all be high enough earners and none would be missed. Rampage is paid by Spike (mostly, if not fully) so no need to look at him. That leaves Sting and Hardy. Sting will likely retire in the next few years or work an even more reduced schedule which should mean a reduced wage too. Hardy is really the only outside high earner worth the money.

Other high earners I'm guessing are Abyss/Park, Styles, Roode, Bully, Devon, Storm and Joe. Devon is really the only one not that important but he is a package deal with Bully so is worth keeping for that alone.

In short, let both Hogan's, Chavo, Mo and Anderson go as soon as they can. Angle and Sting when their contracts are up unless they are willing to take big cuts. Sting would definitely find work in WWE and Angle probably would too if he didnt demand too much. There is enough talent on the indy scene to replace them numbers wise, and enough talent in the company to replace them card position wise.

rovert

The economy of Pro Wrestling below WWE from a TNA level to a local indy is so ridiculous. WWE can pay WWE money not just a scale thing because they are big bad WWE but they have numerous revenue varied streams. Rarely an act is actually worth what they are paid. I'd reckon of the names the only one is possibly Jeff Hardy.

rovert

The new X title is a teeny tiny belt for teeny tiny Wrestlers:


Hopefully a bad out of scale pic

GTR63

rovert wrote: »

The new X title is a teeny tiny belt for teeny tiny Wrestlers:
Hopefully a bad out of scale pic

I thought that was a close up on somebody with raggedy skin.
Who the hell are they gonna put that on now, Kenny King or ?

gnfnrhead

Why the hell did they change it?

"We dont have a lot of money left, so why not make new title belts that look worse than the one's we have?!"

EdK

No need to change it liked the red in the previous ones too this one kind of reminds me of old tag belts