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Legitimate Contenders In This Year’s Royal Rumble

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The most exciting sixty-plus minutes of wrestling action is only a few weeks away, where bodies will assuredly be flying over the top rope, Kofi Kingston will likely avoid defeat in dramatic fashion at least once, and one superstar will walk away with a spot in the main event at WrestleMania.

However, although thirty men ostensibly have a chance to headline the biggest event of the year, even the most delusional fan realizes there are only a handful of competitors who are legitimate contenders to walk away victorious. Here are those men.

Odds-On Favorite: Roman Reigns

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After his record-breaking performance last year, the Powerhouse is easily the favorite to win it all in 2015. Even though there are still questions regarding Reigns’ ability to headline a major pay-per-view such as WrestleMania, it appears the company is ready to pull the trigger on what they apparently believe to be their next big thing.

Assuming the company goes this route, they need to be careful, because the crowd could easily turn on Reigns in a situation similar to last year’s Rumble. If fans think the Pittsburgh crowd was harsh toward Batista last year, try putting Reigns over Bryan in the city whose fans at one point pelted Santa Claus with snowballs. Trust me, it won’t be pretty.

*Spoilers* TNA Impact Lockdown Results (Airing 2/6)

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The following are spoiler results for the special “Lockdown” edition of TNA Impact Wrestling on Destination America, airing February 6th. Results are courtesy of Lordsofpain.net:

– JB announces Eric Young vs. Bobby Roode for tonight. Awesome Kong will also be in action.

– Rockstar Spud and Mark Andrews vs. Tyrus is up first. Ethan Carter III is at ringside. EC3 suckers Andrews out of the cage at one point and Andrews actually slipped getting out. It looked painful. EC3 hits Spud with the cage door, allowing Tyrus to hit his finisher for the win. EC3 goes to shave Spud’s head but Jeremy Borash makes the save by cutting the cord. EC3 charges JB but JB runs away.

– Havok vs. Awesome Kong is next. They tart brawling on the ramp and around the ring. They go back in the cage and Earl Hebner accidentally gets knocked down by the door as Kong closes it. Kong no sells a chokeslam and hits Havok with one of her own. Kong wins after a splash from the top.

– The Hardys vs. James Storm and Abyss for the Tag Team Titles is next. The only way to win is pinfall or submission. Manik comes down and climbs over the cage. Matt Hardy pulls him over and Manik gets handcuffed to the cage. Storm climbed on top of Abyss at one point and jumped down with an elbow drop on Matt. Hardy got out of the cage somehow later on and was attacked by The Revolution. Jeff Hardy went for a splash off the top but got hit by mist from Sanada. Storm hit his finisher to retain. Koya slams Matt through a table. They put Jeff on a table in the ring for Manik to put him through but Manik misses. Jeff tries to escape the cage but ends up taking a nasty bump off the door onto the steel stairs. Storm assaults Jeff some more before they leave. Storm runs back out and hits Jeff on the ramp as referees are helping him to the back.

– MVP, Kenny King and Eric Young are out next. MVP says it’s going to be a bad time for anyone getting in the way of The BDC. MVP calls Kurt Angle out and he brings Austin Aries and Gunner with him. MVP rips their team and say they don’t want the match. MVP tells Angle to walk away or never wrestle again. Angle says they came to NYC to kick ass and they rush the ring. There is no match as Gunner gets trapped outside of the cage and attacked by Samoa Joe and Low Ki. They put his arm in the cage door and slam it with a chair. Security comes out as The BDC retreats.

– Robbie E calls Brooke Tessmacher to the ring and blames her for losing The Amazing Race. He challenges her to a race and he accepts. The race involves them spinning around with a baseball bat, running to the cage, climbing into it, back over it and back up the ramp. The judges are Jessie Godderz and DJ Zema Ion, who get involved and try to stop Brooke from leaving the cage. Robbie ends up pushing Brooke off the ramp. He poses before crossing the finish line. Brooke comes back and hits him with a low blow. She then crotches him with the bat. Brooke crosses over the line and wins. She goes back and takes a selfie with Robbie. This was described as pure stupidity.

– Eric Young vs. Bobby Roode is next. EY ended up calling MVP to the cage, he slid a steel chair in. EY missed the chair shot and Roode sends him into the cage, causing EY to bleed. Roode unloads on EY and then hits him with chair shots. Roode wins clean with his finisher.

– Team Angle vs. The BDC in Lethal Lockdown is next. Team Angle is short a man as Lashley didn’t want to team. The match starts with Gunner vs. Kenny King. Low Ki comes in next and they double team Gunner with weapons. Austin Aries comes in next and unloads on the heels. Samoa Joe is next in. He takes out Aries and Gunner with trash can lids. Joe grabs a hockey stick and uses it on Aries. Kurt Angle is out next. Joe meets him with a hockey stick but Angle gets the upperhand. Low Ki hits a double stomp on Aries. MVP is out next. He beats on Aries and Gunner with a kendo stick. Angle hits a German on MVP. Joe hits Angle with a trash can lid. Lashley ends up coming out any way to make things even. MVP tries to attack him but Lashley wants to shake hands. MVP falls for it and Lashley cleans house. Angle had Joe in the Angle lock while Gunner had King in the rack but Aries won with a pin. Lashley unloads again and sends The BDC retreating. Aries grabs his briefcase and heads back in the ring to face off with Lashley. Angle gets in between and says not now. This ends the show.

Video: Jeff Hardy Knocked Out After Crazy Spot At Last Night’s TNA Impact Tapings

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TNA star Jeff Hardy got legitimately knocked out at Friday night’s TNA Impact “Lockdown” taping from the Manhattan Center in New York City.

The incident took place in a match that saw The Hardy Boyz vs. Abyss and James Storm. Late in the match, as Jeff was trying to escape the cage, he got “crotched” on top of the cage door, where he took a nasty bump to the outside onto the steel ring steps.

According to multiple live correspondents, fans that could overhear Jeremy Borash and crew members at ringside saying that was that Hardy was knocked out backstage after the match.

Here’s video of the fall:

Crazy bump @jeffhardybrand @matthardybrand @IMPACTWRESTLING @jaycommons @IMPACTWRESTLING

A video posted by @billcommons on

Mick Foley Talks About His Daughter Getting Into Wrestling, His Worst Injuries

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The following are highlights of a new The Monitor interview with WWE Hall Of Famer Mick Foley:

F: How hard is it to be an independent wrestler verses being part of an association?

MF: Well, I’ll give you an example as far as how I do my shows. If you’re an independent wrestler, your 100 percent responsible. Eh, that’s not even true because at least you have a promoter for every show. But, you have to endear yourself to a new audience every night, an audience that by and large is not familiar with you. So being an independent wrestler is a tough road to travel. In doing these shows on my own, this is a much different experience than traveling with WWE because with WWE there’d be 30 wrestlers on a card and 30 people who ultimately are partially responsible for the feeling you have at the end of the night. When I do my shows, it’s me. If you have a great time it’s probably because I did a great job. If you didn’t have a great time it’s probably because I didn’t do my job well enough. I like the pressure, I do.

F: Speaking of being beaten down, what are some of the worst injuries you’ve endured while wrestling?

MF: The loss of an ear seems dramatic, but all these years later it hasn’t really altered my life much besides not being able to wear sunglasses or put a pencil behind my ear. But knee and back injuries are what make everyday life difficult.

F: How do you feel about your daughter taking interest in pursuing a wrestling career?

MF: Well, I’m a concerned dad, you know, and I don’t want her to go through some of the things I did because it’ll mark you physically and emotionally. But I want to be supportive — I want to support anything she does and the best way to ensure having a falling out with your family is trying to force your will on other grown adults.

F: Any advice for aspiring wrestlers out there?

MF: Yeah, probably stay in school. To quote Apollo Creed, ‘Be a thinker, not a stinker.’ It’s really difficult so the chances and likelihood of actually making it are remote, so anyone really serious about training they should know the realities and be as safe as they can and try to appreciate everything they can while it’s taking place.

Check out the complete interview at TheMonitor.com.

Jim Ross Hints At Doing More Pro Wrestling Announcing, Teases More Boxing/MMA Work

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During a recent interview on Wrestling Observer Radio, WWE Hall Of Fame announcer Jim Ross hinted at some projects he has on the horizon.

Ross called the New Japan Pro Wrestling and Global Force Wrestling co-promoted “Wrestling Kingdom 9” pay-per-view event this past weekend from the Tokyo Dome in Japan, and noted that similar projects could be available for him in the future.

JR spoke about how the deals he has on the table, for the most part, lean towards some potential professional boxing announcing, an endeavour he took part in during the past when working with “Golden Boy Promotions” for FOX Sports 1.

“Good Ole’ JR” teased that there could be some MMA announcing gigs coming up in the future. Ross is no stranger to the MMA announcing world, as he called the “BattleGrounds MMA” pay-per-view in Oklahoma near the end of 2014.

For more information on JR’s whereabouts, visit his official website at JRsBarBQ.com.

John Cena Congratulates Triple H, Jim Ross On Bruce Buffer’s Podcast

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– WWE Hall Of Famer Jim Ross, along with UFC Hall Of Famer Forrest Griffin are the guests on the latest edition of Bruce Buffer’s weekly podcast. Buffer is the longtime ring announcer for the UFC, and is the adopted brother of famous boxing ring announcer Michael Buffer, who coined the phrase, “Let’s Get Ready To Rumble,” which was later a parody used by Triple H during his “D-Generation X” days.

Below is the official description for the latest “It’s Time with Bruce Buffer” podcast, which you can listen to now at PodcastOne.com.

BB #17 WWE Legend Jim Ross UFC Hall of Famer Forrest Griffin

“Bruce Buffer returned to PodcastOne Tuesday for another edition of “IT’S TIME!!!” Joining him on this broadcast was WWE hall of famer Jim Ross and UFC hall of famer Forrest Griffin. “JR” joined the show to talk about his upcoming New Japan Pro Wrestling gig, CM Punk’s decision to sign with the UFC, and other odds and ends from professional wrestling and mixed martial arts. Griffin joined the show to go over year-end MMA awards with Bruce. Including fighter of the year, fight of the year, knockout of the year, and many others. Forrest also discusses his life as a retired mixed martial artist and fatherhood.”

– As noted earlier this week, it was announced that WWE COO Triple H will be inducted into the 2015 International Sports Hall Of Fame on March 7th. On Friday, John Cena tweeted out a congratulatory message to “The Game” – which is getting a lot of backlash from fans who feel WWE should maintain some level of kayfabe even on social media.

Two Top Ring Of Honor Stars To Leave ROH To Work For TNA Or Lucha Underground?

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Former WWE Diva Maria Kanellis, along with her husband, longtime Ring Of Honor star Mike Bennett, are currently working with ROH without contracts, as their previous deals with the company have expired.

Both Kanellis and Bennett have been negotiating with ROH for the past few months, however they are still committed to work with ROH and the two are scheduled to work tours of Japan later this year.

As things stand now, there’s a feeling that both Kanellis and Bennett are talking with TNA, as well as the Lucha Underground promotion. Whether or not a deal has been reached, or is in the process of being figured out, remains to be seen..

(Credit: F4WOnline.com)

AJ Lee Advertised For Upcoming WWE Supershow, Otunga Wrestling Tonight & More

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– AJ Lee is being advertised for the WWE SuperShow on January 24th, which takes place at the Izod Center in East Rutherford, NJ, close to where she grew up.

– David Otunga is scheduled to appear at tonight’s WWE live event from Chattanooga, Tennessee. He’s been doing media appearances for WWE in recent months but hasn’t competed since the Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal at WrestleMania 30. He’s made it clear in various interviews that he plans to continue his pro wrestling career.

– The following is a preview for Sunday’s Total Divas season premiere on E!:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PqHQIseHQ2c

WWE Heavily Pushing Daniel Bryan’s Return At First SmackDown On Thursday Night

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WWE is heavily pushing the in-ring return of former WWE World Heavyweight Champion on next week’s edition of WWE SmackDown, the first episode of the show to air in the new Thursday time slot.

Below is a message issued on the official WWE website regarding Bryan’s in-ring return at next week’s SmackDown:

“Will Danial Bryan compete when SmackDown makes its move to THURDAYS, this week at 8/7 CT on Syfy? Yes!

WWE.com has learned that the former WWE World Heavyweight Champion will make his in-ring return to action on SmackDown monumental Thursday night premiere. The news comes on the heels of Bryan’s announcement during the Dec. 29 edition of Raw that he would once again lace up his boots after a long-standing injury to battle in the 2015 Royal Rumble Match.

Who will The Beard face? Will he pick up right where he left off? And will The Authority have anything to say about it? Find out this Thursday night at 8/7 CT on SmackDown!”

Too Cool Speaks On Helping The Rock Early On, Rusev, Relationship With Vince McMahon

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The following are highlights of a new Wrestling 101 interview with the former three-man tag-team, “Too Cool,” which consisted of Rikishi, Brian “Grandmaster Sexay” Christopher and Scotty 2 Hotty:

Brian Christopher on The Rock: “He would pick my brain because he was getting a lot more TV time than I was, so he would ask me how I thought his interview went and I would tell him he need to work on this or you need to pause a little bit longer before you say this…we then worked on his moves together and came up with things like ‘The Peoples Elbow.'”

Brian Christopher on defeating the Legion of Doom: “I’ll never forget that because the Road Warriors at the time couldn’t believe that they were about to lay down to a couple of 215lbs guys because their egos were as big as you could get and their muscles were as big as the steroids would get them.”

Scotty 2 Hotty on wrestling whilst still in school: “That was awesome, I was still in high school at the time which is just crazy for me to think about now. I was with the WWF when I was in high school, I was in a locker room at a WWF event with Hulk Hogan, Sid Vicious, The Undertaker, and Bret Hart then two days later I’m sitting back in class. I was getting to wrestle some of the biggest names in the world, it was an amazing experience.”

Rikishi on the Rusev/Rock segment: “Oh my god, we were all happy, anytime you work with The Rock that’s a treat because Rusev’s not the champ. It was a good deal, Rock knew Rusev came from our school and he didn’t have to do that but he did, family looking out for family. That segment with The Rock just took Rusev to another level, and I was very excited.”

Rikishi on Vince McMahon: “He is the type of person that likes it when you go over and talk to him and ask him questions they may have about their character. Nine times out of ten when they’ve finished talking to him he hasn’t really answered their question but at the same time they’re not.”

Check out the complete interview at Wrestling101.com.

Jim Ross Q&A: WWE Announce Team Changes, Young Bucks To WWE?, Montreal Screwjob

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The following are highlights of a new Q&A update from the official website of WWE Hall Of Famer Jim Ross:

On the Montreal Screwjob and if Sgt. Slaughter knew about it in advance: “I was shocked that it occurred and Lawler nor I knew about it in advance. It happened and we called what we saw….HBK winning the WWE Title. After all these years I do not recall if Sarge knew or not.”

On the new WWE announce team changes: “I’ve got no horse in the race nor do I keep up with it that much but am hopeful that everyone comes together with the necessary chemistry to make the shows better as best that they can. I like Alex’s potential but I do know that he wants to wrestle. A shake up occasionally is generally necessary but time will tell how well the new trios work together. I hope that they all find their groove. I’m sure that they all knew what was coming unlike when I went from RAW to Smackdown back in 2008.”

On The Young Bucks in WWE: “I have no idea if the Young Bucks will ever appear in WWE but they are a very good, young team. Shane’s fall was spectacular but the Foley match had more drama because he was working with Taker, IMO.”

On working with Matt Striker at Wrestle Kingdom 9 and if Savio Vegas will be on the Ross Report: “WK9 was a blast to be a part of and I had fun working with Matt Striker. Savio being on the podcast is a good idea an I will look into it when I find his contact info.”

Check out more highlights from JR’s Q&A section on his official website JRsBarBQ.com. You can also order JR’s Bar-B-Q products online at WWEShop.com.

Update On When Dolph Ziggler, Ryback & Erick Rowan Will Make Their Return

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The storyline “firing” of Dolph Ziggler, Ryback and Erick Rowan, which took place on this past Monday’s edition of WWE RAW, is expected to be resolved before or during the upcoming WWE Royal Rumble pay-per-view on January 25th.

As things stand right now, Ziggler, Ryback and Rowan are all expected to be participants in the 30-man over-the-top Royal Rumble match during the pay-per-view.

Part Two Of Chris Jericho’s Interview With Hulk Hogan, JR’s Next “Ross Report” Guest

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– The guest on next week’s edition of Jim Ross’ “Ross Report” podcast will be none other than masked pro wrestling legend Len “The Grappler” Denton. Denton will be on the program to promote his new book, “Grappler: The Diary of a Masked Madman.” The show will be available next Tuesday night at 9pm on PodcastOne.com.

– Part two of Hulk Hogan’s appearance on Chris Jericho’s “Talk is Jericho” podcast is now online. The official description for the show reads as follows:

TIJ – EP107 – Hulk Hogan Pt2 & Speewee returns

“Hulkamania continues on TIJ! Wrestlemania 1 & 3 in-depth, Andre the Giant stories, Macho Man Randy Savage, Hulk’s last conversation with Ultimate Warrior just before Warrior passed, the NWO, Hulk’s thoughts on the death of WCW, “Buzzkill,” Mr. T, Hulk’s surprise appearance at WM30, and the true story of his audition for Metallica! Plus, Speewee returns & you’ll never believe whose tongue was in his mouth!”

You can download the show right now at PodcastOne.com.

CM Punk, Jim Ross To Appear On “Inside MMA” Tonight On AXS TV

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WWE Hall Of Famer Jim Ross and new UFC fighter CM Punk are scheduled to appear together on tonight’s edition of “Inside MMA,” which is basically a “SportsCenter” version of an MMA talk show. The program airs at 10:30pm EST. on AXS TV.

Ross will be appearing to promote his one-man shows that will be held on Friday, January 23rd in Sayreville, New Jersey at the Starland Ballroom, as well as a matinee show on January 25th at the Trocadero Theater in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Punk, of course, will be on the program to discuss his upcoming debut in the UFC.

Viewership For TNA Impact Wrestling’s Premiere On Destination America

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Viewership data is in for Impact Wrestling’s premiere on Destination America and it looks like TNA is going to have an uphill battle head.

Wednesday’s 2-hour Impact Wrestling broadcast averaged 263,000 viewers. This translates to a 0.2 national cable rating.

By comparison, the final first-run episode of Impact Wrestling on Spike TV back in November drew 980,000 viewers.

(Update: There’s a report from f4wonline.com that states Impact Wrestling drew 368,000. This number includes the replay show, which did 105,000 viewers. The original airing did 263,000).

Despite the fact that Impact lost the majority of its audience in the Destination American premiere, Impact was still the most watched show on the network this week. Changing nights next week (when Impact moves to Friday) also won’t help matters, but it will take several weeks before we learn what the new ‘normal’ is for TNA’s flagship show.

TNA Impact Wrestling *Spoilers* For The Next 2 Weeks

Why Jerry Lawler Was Moved To SmackDown, WWE Polls Fans On Fired Superstars, Stephanie McMahon

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– With SmackDown moving to Thursday nights on Syfy, WWE announced changes to the announce teams for both SmackDown and Raw yesterday. Beginning this Monday, Michael Cole, Booker T and John “Bradshaw” Layfield will handle play-by-play and color commentary on Raw. Then, when SmackDown debuts next Thursday on Syfy, Cole, Jerry “The King” Lawler and Byron Saxton will call the action—Tom Phillips is off the announce team. The broadcast team for WWE pay-per-view events will continue to feature Cole, Lawler and Layfield.

While this change appears sudden, in the case of Lawler, WWE officials have wanted to remove him from the broadcast booth at Raw “for a long time.”

“They wanted to get rid of Lawler on Raw for a long time, but after the heart attack, they figured they couldn’t,” stated Wrestling Observer editor Dave Meltzer on the F4WOnline.com message board Thursday night in a thread about the announce team changes. “This relaunch of Smackdown gave them the chance.”

– The official WWE website has issued a poll asking fans which fired WWE Superstar they would bring back if allowed. With over 15,000 votes cast, Dolph Ziggler is leading the poll at 68%. Ryback follows at 26% with Erick Rowan following him at 7%.

– Stephanie McMahon and WWE Chief Financial Officer George A. Barrios will participate in a presentation at the 17th Annual Needham Growth Conference for investors in New York City on Tuesday. Their remarks are expected to being around 5:30 pm ET. You can listen to a live audio webcast on the presentation online at ir.corporate.wwe.com under Events & Presentations.

WWE considering another major change for Raw and SmackDown – details ->

Tonight’s TNA Impact Tapings Sold Out, More News From This Week’s Shows

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– Reps from Destination America were at Wednesday and Thursday night’s tapings and were said to be satisfied with what they saw.

– Tonight’s “Lockdown 2015” Impact Wrestling taping from New York City has been sold out for weeks, although some tickets might be made available later today. Every match on the Lockdown show will take place inside a steel cage.

– Attendance at last night’s show was said to be in the 350-400 range, lower than Wednesday night.

– The dim lighting we saw on Wednesday’s Impact premiere on Destination America is being called a “work in progres.” The lighting was brighter last night and it’s something TNA is still experimenting with.

– As noted earlier this week, Dave Sahadi did not attend Wednesday’s Impact tapings from NYC. He was in Nashville overseeing the installation of new post-production equipment the company will be using for Impact on Destination America.

(Information from PWInsider.com was used in this report.)

WWE Pulling Content From Netflix & iTunes, Steve Austin Wraps Movie & More

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– In an effort to boost sales for the WWE Network, virtually all WWE content has been removed from Netflix and iTunes.

– WWE Hall of Famer “Stone Cold” Steve Austin recently wrapped production on a new movie titled “The Echo Effect,” which was filmed in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. Here’s a photo of Austin and fighter/actor Michael Jai White on set:

– Lana has been tweeting that she and Rusev are currently in Russia for the Christmas holiday, which is celebrated there on January 7th.

Sami Zayn Returns To NXT (Video), Preview For Next Week’s Show

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NXT Champion Sami Zayn returned on this week’s episode for the first time since capturing the gold at TakeOver R: Evolution and the subsequent beatdown he suffered at the hands of Kevin Owens.

NXT General Manager William Regal announced that former NXT champion Adrian Neville will get a rematch on next week’s show, when NXT moves to Wednesday nights at 8pm EST on the WWE Network. Also advertised for next week:

  • Baron Corbin vs. Bull Dempsey
  • Finn Balor vs. Tyson Kidd

*Spoilers* For Next Week’s Episode of NXT

WWE SmackDown Preview & Spoilers For Tonight (1/9)

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WWE taped this week’s episode of SmackDown on Tuesday night from the Laredo Energy Arena in Laredo, Texas. Here’s a spoiler-free preview, followed by spoiler results on Page 2:

– Big E vs. Adam Rose

– The Ascension in action

– Alicia Fox vs. Naomi

– Tag Team Champions The Usos  vs. Gold & Stardust vs. The Miz & Damien Mizdow

– IC Champion Bad News Barrett vs. Sin Cara (Non Title Match)

– Seth Rollins and Big Show vs. Roman Reigns & A Mystery Partner

Hit up Page 2 below for complete spoiler results:

*Spoilers* TNA Impact Wrestling Results (Airing 1/23)

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The following are spoiler results for the Friday, January 23rd episode of TNA Impact Wrestling from the Manhattan Center in New York City, courtesy of WrestlingINC.com:

– Havok vs. Gail Kim starts when they brawl on the ramp. The match ends in DQ when Havok shoves the referee. Havok drags Kim back to the ring for more punishment but the lights go out and Awesome Kong is here. Havok attacks but Kong no-sells it. Kong clotheslines Havok over the top rope and her music hits.

– Koya, the former Mahabali Shera from India, defeated Tigre Uno in a squash match. James Storm and The Revolution cut a promo on The Hardys. Apparently it will be Storm vs. Matt Hardy tonight.

– Feast or Fired match is next. British Bootcamp 2 winner Mark Andrews came out and took a seat in the crowd before the match began. The briefcases are on poles and wrestlers in the match are Rockstar Spud, Robbie E, Jessie Godderz, DJ Zema Ion, Crazzy Steve, Sam Shaw, Gunner, Eddie Edwards, Davey Richards, Bram, Magnus and Austin Aries. Spud climbs on top of Shaw to grab the first case. Aries acted like he was going to do a dive but ran to the top rope and grabbed the second case instead. Aries then dives out and retreats to the back. Apparently The Beautiful People got one of the cases, possibly for BroMans?, at the start of the match but nobody noticed. Magnus gets the last case.

– Ethan Carter III comes out with Tyrus. He calls Jeremy Borash to the ring for a match. JB is wearing jeans and a hoodie, and has Spud with him. EC3 talks trash and when JB takes the mic, he attacks EC3. JB had the upperhand until EC3 got pissed. He spit on Spud. Spud attacked but Tyrus took him out. UK star Mark Andrews from British Bootcamp 2 came over the barrier from his seat in the crowd. He hit the ring and helped Spud take out Tyrus and EC3.

– Matt Hardy vs. James Storm is next. Hardy gets the win with a small package. After the match, Storm offers to shake hands but Abyss attacks Hardy from behind. Storm ties Hardy up and Abyss grabs Janice but Jeff Hardy makes the save. He challenges Abyss to a Monster’s Ball match for next week and gets the crowd to chant “Monster’s Ball.”

-Low Ki and Eric Young defeated Kurt Angle and Bobby Roode. MVP and Kenny King distracted the referee, allowing Young to hit Roode with a steel chair. Ki got the pin on Roode.

*Spoilers* TNA Impact Wrestling Results (Airing 1/16)

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The following are spoiler results for the Friday, January 16th episode of TNA Impact Wrestling from the Manhattan Center in New York City, courtesy of WrestlingINC.com:

– MVP and his new growing faction start the show. They reveal their name is the Beatdown Clan or BDC for short. Eric Young comes out and gets booed. He says what fans think doesn’t matter to him. EY talks about hating Bobby Roode. MVP calls out new World Heavyweight Champion Bobby Lashley but Kurt Angle comes out instead. Angle goes face to face with Samoa Joe and punches him.

– Samoa Joe defeated Kurt Angle by submission when the referee went down and Joe hit Angle with a low blow. The BDC beat Angle down after the match until Roode made the save.

– Eric Young vs. Bobby Roode begins in the aisle and they start brawling around the ring.

– Roode sits down in the middle of the ring for a promo. He’s pissed off and says this crap in TNA has gone too far. Roode says he’s going to make EY pay for his sins tonight.

– The Hardys vs. The Wolves II is next. The Revolution watches the match from the balcony. Jeff Hardy had a great spot at one point where he went to the top, walked from one turnbuckle to the other and then dove out onto The Wolves. The Hardys get the win and the two teams shake hands. This was said to be as good as you’d expect.

– Eric Young vs. Bobby Roode begins in the aisle and they start brawling around the ring. They brawled through the crowd and there were “we can’t see you” chants. Young wins with a piledriver on a chair.

– MVP and Kenny King comes out. MVP says tonight is a night for celebrating and Lashley will be competing. This could have been for the live crowd.

– JB announces a Feast or Famine match for another episode.

– Velvet Sky and Angelina Love defeated Brooke Tessmacher and Taryn Terrell. BroMans were at ringside with The Beautiful People. Awesome Kong appears after the lights go out. She chokeslams Zema Ion. Havok’s music hits and out she comes. Her and Kong face off in the middle of the ring but security breaks it up before anything happens.

– Low Ki vs. Austin Aries for the X Division Title is next. Ki gets the win to become the new champion, just one night after losing it. Ki got the win after Kenny King attacked Austin Aries on the top rope.

– MVP calls out Bobby Lashley and he shows this time. MVP says he got Lashley everything he has. MVP says The BDC (Beat Down Clan) owns the World Heavyweight Title. Lashley says the title is his. Lashley wants nothing to do with this and MVP is offended. They hug but Low Ki attacks and Lashley gets beat down by the group. Ki hits a double stomp to the back and MVP hits him with the belt. As they leave, MVP says the title doesn’t belong to Lashley, it belongs to The BDC.

*Spoilers* TNA Impact Wrestling Results (Airing 1/23)

Doc Gallows Talks Success In NJPW & WK9, CM Punk’s Move To UFC, Finn Balor

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The following are highlights of a new Chad Dukes Wrestling Show interview with Doc Gallows:

On being a star in Japan: “In Japan, traditionally, whether you’re a baseball player, a musician, a baseball player, a pro wrestler, which thank god it’s very popular right now, you get kinda special treatment. These sponsors, these businessmen, I guess it’s kind of a status thing for them to take us out. So we get to eat in five-star restaurants all night long, we get to eat as much as we want, drink as much as we want, which is good sometimes, bad others. It’s a change in lifestyle, it really is… Over there they wanna buy the stuff off our backs. So I literally wear different gear to the ring every single night and then these collectors are waiting at the hotel to buy my stinky tights.”

On the Aces & Eights group: “As evidenced by my career, I’m a bit of a faction man. That was just a really neat, I really dug the vibe of it. I thought got to be myself a little bit for the first time, which translated into what I think became the Bullet Club success for me and stuff. I don’t know if a lot of people know this, but Mike Knox is probably my very best friend in wrestling, best friend since we laid eyes on each other. He’s my dude and getting to do that and be on TV with him, actually at one point there was talk of making us more of a TV tag team and running us for the tag belts and stuff, which never came to fruition… It was a great group of guys. Devon, I’m completely fond of him, we became friends. D-Lo Brown, he’s my boy as well. Just the whole thing, Garrett, Wes, no matter what you think of those guys in-ring or otherwise, it was a great group of guys, we had each other’s backs, we were friends outside the ring, and anytime you do that- it’s kinda like at WWE, Mercury, CM Punk, and I as the Straight Edge Society- anytime that you have that with guys, like we have in the Bullet Club now, it translates, people get it. It has a real feeling because it is real.”

On the end of the Straight Edge Society: “I felt like in 2010 when the Straight Edge Society ended that it was a shame because we had some real momentum. We came into Summer Slam 2010 and whatever mistakes Serena Deeb made, I don’t know, I can’t care to comment on, she got fired and [Joey Mercury] tore his pec in that match we had with Big Show. So it was kinda like the Straight Edge Society imploded in one night, so we never got to finish the storyline which I always thought was a shame.”

On CM Punk’s UFC move: “The UFC move shocked me. I knew some of the other entertainment stuff he was doing, I knew he was training his ass off, I knew he was a huge fan of it, so I kinda had an inkling. And then he announced it or they announced it, whatever, and I texted him and said, ‘Holy Crap dude, congratulations, I had no idea.’ I just talked to him in Japan, I know he’s training his butt off in Milwaukee and he’s really digging that. I hope for all the best for him.”

On Joey Mercury: “If there was ever a guy who knew this business from the inside out and could teach it to other people and knew how to convey it, it was Joey. I was in my mid-20s when Straight Edge thing was going, 25, 26 years old. Who better to stand on the ring apron and tag with, who better to second out to a match CM Punk. Joey and I tagged on six or seven overseas tours, we tagged on all the house shows, and I just think the world of both [Joey Mercury & CM Punk] as in-ring performers, as entertainers, and as people. Getting to be with those guys it was kinda like going to medical school after college or something.”

On Finn Balor: “He’s a guy who can go, he has a charisma, not so much a charisma but he has mystique. And I think that when mystique’s gone, like now in a lot of cases, that it hurts. But if you look at like a Bray Wyatt, and there’s mystique there, I love him, huge fan of him, he’s a friend of mine, and I love what he’s doing and what they’ve done with him. And I think that Devitt, if they can capture him just right, he’s gonna be able to captivate an audience and be a major league, big fight feel superstar in that company.”

Check out the complete interview at ChadDukesWrestlingShow.com.

Jim Ross Blog: Thoughts On Wrestle Kingdom 9, Calling The PPV With Matt Striker

Matt Boone
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The following are highlights of the returning Jim Ross blog:

On calling Wrestle Kingdom 9 with Matt Striker: “Matt Striker and I wanted to truly broadcast and not narrow cast this event inasmuch as we focused on the new fans to this brand. Some established NJPW fans have taken me to task on Twitter regarding this philosophy but I would not change a thing. In order for the PPV to make money it had to draw new viewers of NJPW so that was our game plan going in. Having to adjust to new equipment and to each other we had a rougher start than I’d have wanted but as the show progressed I felt like we came together well. Funny story….I think that the TV Asahi folks forget that we were there as we were never counted in to the start the show or to the video packages and not even off the air. We went by our instincts and it seemed to work out pretty well. Yes, we worked the entire four hour PPV plus sat there for the 30 minutes or so pre show festivities and never heard ONE WORD from the TV truck.”

On the final three matches on the WK9 event in Japan: “The final three bouts of the show were as good as I can recall broadcasting in years. Great in ring psychology, a logical pace, uniqueness from match to match, physicality to an almost uncomfortable degree to watch degree and crisp execution. They reminded me somewhat of the WM25 bout between HBK and Undertaker, Bret Hart vs. Stone Cold at WM13 and a handful of Flair-Steamboat bouts. Emotion, execution, and energy all in place with that magnificent, New Japan physicality. It was a fan’s dream.”

Check out the complete blog at JRsBarBQ.com. You can also order JR’s Bar-B-Q products online at WWEShop.com.

Dixie Carter On Why TNA Chose Destination America, Talks Changes Coming To TNA, More

Matt Boone
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The following are quotes and notes from TNA President Dixie Carter’s interview on this week’s edition of Jim Ross’ “Ross Report” podcast, which is available for download right now at PodcastOne.com. Notes from the interview come from F4WOnline.com.

On TNA’s move to Destination America

– She tried to really sell the move to Destination America, as you’d expect. She said they said “they’re the largest paid TV programmer in the world.” Said in all meeting with networks they didn’t just want to be an average show on the network in the eyes of the network, she wanted to go somewhere where they would be a top priority, get maximum support from the network, lots of promotion, more hours etc. Said both she and the network feels it’s a big opportunity for growth for both of them. Said she kept the wrestlers as up-to-date as she could, but it was tough with confidentiality agreements etc. Tried to spin-it as it may look like a step back, but it’s a step forwards in-terms of potential growth, claims she got a lot of support from the talent and they to are optimistic, and that they too felt they should be somewhere where they’re a priority. Said it may be a challenge for people to find the channel, but once they do and they begin to grow and their “global affect and what that plan is begins to take hold” it’s going to be like “something they’ve never had.”

On demographics

– When discussing wrestling demographics she said when they first went to Spike they had to fight to get their ratings and demographics information from them. Said they wanted to start attempting to appeal to a broader audience males, females, young, old etc. Pushed the “unlocked” shows they’re going to be a kind of a “director’s cut.” Says wrestling fans are becoming more and more interested in what goes on behind the scenes and they intend to provide some of that with this show. Also said she’s currently in negotiations trying to secure a TV deal in Canada.

– Said TNA is still their corporate name, the confusion is down to them having one show in the US, of course called Impact Wrestling, where as in other parts of the world that isn’t the case.

On announcers for TNA shows

– Talked about the changes to the announce team, she said there is nothing more you can do to change the basic framework of the show than have a new voice, she said Tenay is going to be doing things on Impact that will be very insightful and that’s what he’s absolute best at, said he will play a big part in one of their new shows, also said how they’re going to be using the announcers going forward is going to different, which is intriguing (I feel).

Other notes from the interviews

– Put over John Gabruick as a great motivator for the locker room.

– Said they are planning to do more house shows and more One Night Only shows, but right now Impact is their priority. JR pushed her on the subject and she said they’re going to give the touring a “breather” when the television takes off they plan on doing it again but doing it right.

– Was asked about deals with Rampage Jackson, Tito Ortiz, King Mo etc. says she wants work with Mo and they have an existing deal, Tito is interested in doing something with them, but they’re not working with Rampage right now. When discussing him by the tone in her voice their seems to be a bit of tension or disappointment there.

– Asked if Vince Russo is going back said there are no plans and there have been no discussions. But said when focused he can be a tremendous talent.

– Said in meetings with every network they said “why in the world did they (Spike) let you go.”

You can listen to Dixie Carter’s interview with Jim Ross as part of the latest “Ross Report” podcast by visiting PodcastOne.com.

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