Vince Russo has reportedly been removed as the head writer of TNA Wrestling.
Former WWE creative team member Dave Lagana will be taking over some Russo’s duties at tonight’s Against All Odds pay-per-view. We are hearing conflicting reports as to whether Lagana will be taking over as the head of TNA creative or if he’s just helping out until a new creative structure is put in place – but Russo’s out.
Lagana tweeted the following messages on Sunday afternoon:
“And we are off and running.”
“The calm before the storm.”
Lagana signed with TNA back in October and most recently has been booking TNA’s Ring Ka King promotion.
— The official website of the BMO Harris Bank Center is advertising CM Punk as a special guest for the WWE SuperSmackDown Live special that will air on Tuesday, February 21, 2012 on Syfy.
Two bouts are advertised for the event as Daniel Bryan will defend the World Heavyweight Championship against Big Show and Randy Orton will face Wade Barrett in a Street Fight Match.
— Metro Calgary has published an article on researchers with National Geographic’s Genographic Project approaching Bret Hart for a DNA sample. Links were found from as long ago as 60,000 years and in places such as India, Iran and several European countries.
“It pretty much goes back to the beginning of time,” Hart said. “It’s not something you can easily wrap your head around. It’s pretty fascinating stuff.”
— Brutus “The Barber” Beefcake and Greg “The Hammer” Valentine have been announced for Legends of the Ring 14, which takes place Saturday, June 2, 2012 at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Monroe, New Jersey.
New York Giants defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul has decided against appearing for TNA Wrestling at Monday’s Impact Wrestling taping in Orlando, Florida, according to FOXSports.com.
Rosenhaus Sports president Robert Bailey, who represents Pierre-Paul, told FOXSports.com reporter Alex Marvez that the Giants star had not signed off on the deal and therefore will not appear for the wrestling group. Both TNA Wrestling and Spike TV believed a deal was finalized when the news was disclosed Saturday to the sports news website.
“He declined because he is exhausted,” Bailey said.
Pierre-Paul was scheduled to have an in-ring confrontation with Kurt Angle at the event.
Jim Ross has published a new blog entry on his official website. Highlights are as follows:
Thoughts on Curt Hennig nine years after his passing: “Thoughts on the late, Curt Hennig?” Obviously, he died too soon. I loved being around him. He was the life of the party and made everyone laugh. Loved his approach to life as in making every day fun and, granted, some days he had too much fun. I’ve never worked with anyone more ‘natural’ than Curt Hennig as he had ‘it’ early on and just got better until a bad back curtailed his magnificent career. I’ve been around very few, as in one hand, that could wrestle as well as Curt, hero or villain, talk/promo as well as he could, manage, AND broadcast at the level he did without little training or preparation. Only Bobby Heenan comes to mind. Taking Mr. Perfect’s total skill set into consideration, I’d confidently say that Curt Hennig was one of the top 5 all around talents ever in the business taking into consideration the aforementioned areas of expertise.
The chances of Kurt Angle or Sting appearing for WWE: ”Do I think that we will ever see Kurt Angle or Sting in a WWE ring?” Interesting question that only the talents themselves and WWE management can answer. Just a guess but I’d say not likely. Could I see both going into the WWE HOF? Without question. Could I see WWE doing a comprehensive DVD on both? Seems like a layup. Is it impossible that they ‘could’ have a final bout in WWE at a future Wrestlemania? Any thing is possible and WrestleMania is the only place to stage such an attraction in my view but that seems like a long shot.”
Shawn Michaels returning to television: “Why does it seem that HBK is coming back to WWE just in time for WrestleMania?” Easy…to sell PPVs. @ShawnMichaels is Mr Wrestlemania so why wouldn’t one have the WWE HOF’er involved at this time of the year? HBK has more than a vested interest in the seemingly pending HHH vs. Undertaker issue. Who better to address both men than Shawn Michaels? Plus, he adds star power to Raw and he’s still one of the biggest stars WWE to which has access. HBK is a natural born Show Stealer….remember that as time goes on. That’s all I’m gonna say on that topic for now but ‘stay tuned’ to Monday Night Raw.”
Ross also weighs in on the toughest wrestler ever, the best match ever, who’s ready to be promoted from Florida Championship Wrestling and more. His post is available here.
— Jeff Jarrett has been added back to the roster page on ImpactWrestling.com despite his dismissal from television in December.
At Final Resolution, Jarrett was defeated by Jeff Hardy in a Steel Cage Match. As per stipulation of the match, either Jeff or Karen Jarrett would be fired at Sting’s discretion on the following episode of Impact Wrestling. Sting decided to fire both Jarretts. Jeff was written off television to oversee Ring Ka King, a promotion based in India that is a subsidiary of TNA. Karen was written off television due to foot surgery.
— The official Twitter feed of Impact Wrestling has announced that tonight’s Against All Odds pay-per-view event will kick off with Jesse Sorensen taking on Zema Ion in an X Division #1 Contender’s Match.
— ODB appears for Remix Pro Wrestling on April 7 at Marietta Middle School Gym 242 Seventh St. Marietta, Ohio.
The eighth annual Against All Odds pay-per-view event will take place tonight at the Impact Wrestling Zone in Orlando, Florida. The following matches have been announced for the event.
World Heavyweight Championship Match
Bobby Roode (c) vs. Jeff Hardy vs. James Storm vs. Bully Ray
Challenge Match
Gunner (with Eric Bischoff) vs. Garett Bischoff (with Hulk Hogan)
Challenge Match
“The Phenomenal” AJ Styles vs. Kazarian (with Christopher Daniels)
World Tag Team Championship Match
Matt Morgan & Crimson (c) vs. Samoa Joe and Magnus
X Division Championship Match
Austin Aries (c) vs. Alex Shelley
Women’s Knockout Championship Match
Gail Kim (c) vs. Tara
#1 Contender’s Match – X Division
Jesse Sorensen vs. Zema Ion
WWE’s Executive Vice President of Creative Stephanie McMahon recently appeared on the “Heavy Muscle Radio” at RXMuscle.com. Stephanie spoke to Dave Palumbo about her marriage to WWE superstar Triple H.
— An official announcement concerning the venue for next year’s WrestleMania is expected to be made next Wednesday.
— In the second episode of Foreign Exchange with Santino Marella, the WWE Superstar goes in search for a Valentine’s Day date. See what lucky Diva will be chosen by the Milan Miracle. Justin Gabriel, Kaitlyn, Maxine, Natalya and Rosa Mendes appear.
– Episode 52 of Zack Ryder’s Z! True Long Island Story is now online. This week, Ryder (who is still selling Kane’s attack from RAW) defends himself and explains why he’s not a sellout. Plus, Ryder reveals why he was at Lucas Films studios a few weeks ago:
– The WWE YouTube channel’s latest “Backstage Fallout” video is also online, featuring post-SmackDown interviews with WWE Divas Champion Beth Phoenix, Ted DiBiase and Hunico:
– TheDailyBeast.com has published an article on Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum’s strong connection to WWE. The article, titled “Rick Santorum, Family Values Candidate and Pro Wrestling Advocate?” examines Santorum’s role as a WWE lawyer back in the late 1980’s and his role helping WWE transition from “maybe it’s a sport?” to “sports entertainment.”
WWE’s formal acknowledgement that their product is “sports entertainment” has saved the company millions of dollars in taxes and state athletic commission fees. It also deregulated the pro wrestling industry and eliminated government oversight – which many have argued led to the proliferation of drug abuse among performers and premature deaths.
– The Rock was at Madison Square Garden in New York City on Friday night for the Knicks vs. Lakers NBA basketball game. On the opening day of his new movie Journey 2, The Rock was shown on television sitting courtside with his girlfriend. You can see a picture of The Rock and his girlfriend at Friday night’s Knicks-Lakers game here.
– Here’s a first look at Mattel’s new “Apptivity” gaming technology, which allows for gamers to use Mattel toys to interact with Apple’s iPad in a whole new way. The WWE iPad game will be released in July:
– Monday’s RAW will feature a rare appearance from WWE Hall of Famer Shawn Michaels. In a sign that WWE really is going all-out to jumpstart the road to WrestleMania, HBK is now being advertised for the already-loaded March 12th RAW from Cleveland, Ohio.
The official website of Cleveland’s Quicken Loans Arena is advertising John Cena, The Rock, Shawn Michaels, The Undertaker and Triple H for 3/12.
– WWE has released an updated schedule for the relaunched YouTube channel:
Tuesdays – RAW “Backstage Fallout” & Dolph Ziggler’s “WWE Download”
Wednesdays – “WWE Inbox”
Thursdays – “Outside the Ring”
Fridays – Zack Ryder’s YouTube show & Smackdown “Backstage Fallout”
Saturdays – “Santino’s Foreign Exchange”
Sundays – “Are You Serious?” with Josh Mathews & Road Dogg
The “Superstar Toyz” show does not yet have a regular air date.
WWE superstar Alberto Del Rio appeared on San Francisco’s 95.7 radio station to promote his return to the ring this weekend against Sheamus. Here are some highlights of what Del Rio said about:
His Groin Injury: Del Rio said he “completely tore” his groin. He called it the worst injury a man can suffer and said they had to reattach a muscle from his leg to his hip. “Now I’m running, jumping, and ready to roll into the ring.”
Not Liking Other WWE Wrestlers: Del Rio said he doesn’t hang out with many wrestlers outside of the ring. “To be honest, I don’t like most of the guys,” Del Rio said with a laugh.
Legitimately Not Liking The Miz In Particular: Del Rio was asked which wrestlers don’t get along or that he doesn’t like. “The Miz,” Del Rio said. “I hate The Miz. This is not part of the show. I really dislike like that guy. I’ve tried to punch him in the face several times, not in the ring, I mean outside the ring. He’s like a little girl. He’s always running away from me … There’s a big difference between The Miz and I,” Del Rio said. “I’m a real athlete. He’s just a loud, stupid little kid. He’s one of those guys who was probably bullied when he was in school and that’s the reason now that he’s so loud and he wants to get attention from everybody.”
Del Rio also had some interesting comments about wrestling groupies. “They’re interesting,” he said. “That’s all I’m going to say .. There are some ladies who really enjoy wrestling and they enjoy wrestlers.”
— Following strong sales for the The Very Best of WCW Monday Nitro DVD last year, WWE has plans to release another video set highlighting the best of World Championship Wrestling later this year.
Amazon.com is currently taking pre-orders for a WCW Clash of the Champions DVD from WWE on May 22, 2012. Run time is listed at 540 minutes.
Clash of the Champions were a series of professional wrestling television specials aired by WCW from 1988 to 1997. The specials were supercards intended to feature pay-per-view caliber matches, similar to the World Wrestling Federation’s Saturday Night’s Main Event.
— Friday marks the nine year anniversary of the passing of WWE Hall of Famer “Mr. Perfect” Curt Hennig. Shawn Michaels went on Twitter to remember the legendary wrestler he worked at length with.
“I’d like to honor the memory of Curt Hennig, unbelievably gifted, great teacher and one of the funniest, most joyful guys to be around. Mr.P!!” Michaels wrote.
At the suggestion of Hennig, Michaels adopted “The Heartbreak Kid” nickname upon turning heel in 1992.
Jeremiah Riggs, who appeared as a contestant on Tough Enough last year, believes he’s been blackballed from the professional wrestling industry after receiving no interest from WWE nor TNA Wrestling last year.
“I’ve been approached by a few wrestling promoters about coming in and doing some stuff. My manager even met with TNA several times but in the end politics won out. Am I blackballed in wrestling because of FCW? Probably, but it’s all good. I enjoyed wrestling but I’m not a wrestler. I’m a professional athlete,” he told www.hereisyourwinner.com in an interview.
In regards to FCW, a “notorious incident” with Dusty Rhodes and training staff led to WWE rejecting the Mississippi native.
“There were a lot of guys with the same look doing the same stuff trying to kiss ass and get ahead. That’s not me,” he says. “Some of the guys told me they thought it was great because I was myself and I didn’t sell out or kiss ass. I have nothing but respect for Dusty or Bill (DeMott), but I’m not a yes man. I will do whatever is asked of me and give it one hundred percent but I don’t do politics. What you see is what you get.”
Riggs now has his sights set on mixed martial arts. He will make his return to the cage on March 16, 2012 at Bellator 61 against the undefeated Trey Houston. To read his comments on the fight, click here.
— Syfy issued a press release Friday announcing that a WWE SuperSmackDown Live special will air on Tuesday, February 21 at 8:00 p.m.
“SuperSmackDown Live will feature WWE’s biggest Superstars and Divas, including World Heavyweight Champion Daniel Bryan, Randy Orton, Big Show, Sheamus, Mark Henry, Wade Barrett, Cody Rhodes and Alicia Fox,” the press release reads. “The special will encore in SmackDown’s regular time slot on Friday, February 24 at 8PM (ET/PT).”
— Natalya has posted her first blog on her newly launched website, NattieNeidhart.com. She recalls the Kids Wrestling Association, the first wrestling promotion she ever worked for.
“What kids grow up with a wresting ring their yard? Harts! Whenever there wasn’t snow, my grandfather Stu had a ring set up outside, facing his kitchen. It was the perfect place for the Hart grandkids to…wrestle!”
— NWA Championship Wrestling from Hollywood owner David Marquez announced Friday on Twitter that Shelly Martinez will act as the promotion’s event hostess.
He wrote, “Happy day! @NWAHollywood has come to terms with @funtimeshelly to act as Official Hostess of our events. Join us 2/12 & see what FUN is!”
Sunday’s show in Glendale, California will feature a “Come-As-You-Are No DQ Street Fight” pitting “Scrap Iron” Adam Pearce and Colt Cabana against Tough Enough contestant “Big Nasty” Eric Watts and Cedric the Hitman. Event details are available at www.nwahollywood.com.
— The February 9 episode of Impact Wrestling scored a 1.05 cable rating, which marks as the program’s lowest number of the year. Last week’s show drew a 1.16.
Impact Wrestling averaged 1,500,000 viewers over the course of two hours, down from last week’s average of 1,610,000.
The main event featuring James Storm and Sting against Bobby Roode and Bully Ray garnered the show’s peak rating with a 1.12. It is the first time this year in which the main event drew the program’s highest rating.
— Mickie James will face Cheerleader Melissa and Malia Hosaka in a Triple Threat Match at a Traditional Championship Wrestling event taking place on Saturday, April 7 in Fort Smith, Arkansas. Event details are available here.
— TNA has released the video that will kick off Sunday’s Against All Odds pay-per-view event. In the main event, Bobby Roode will defend the World Heavyweight Championship against Jeff Hardy, James Storm and Bully Ray.
Hulk Hogan made headlines last month when he told TMZ that he was getting ready to shave his mustache and his head prior to auditioning for some movie roles.
The Hulkster’s announcement sent shockwaves throughout the galaxy and prompted Dr. Aaron Perlut (Chairman of the American Mustache Institute — seriously) to plead with Hogan to keep his “lower nose foliage.”
Hogan complied – but now says he’d shave off the ‘stache, for a price. During an interview with BANG Showbiz: ”
“When I talked about it (shaving off the mustache) everyone went crazy. Loads of people began jumping on it and the next thing I knew people were like, ‘Oh my god he’s shaving his mustache off!’
“The next thing I know is I had one of my sports agents calling me saying, ‘Don’t shave it off!’ I’ve heard from Gillette, Right Guard. They said we may have a deal, so I said I’d wait for a while.”
When asked if he really would lose the mustache – which Hulk has rarely been seen without over the last 40 years – he added:
“If you pay me a couple million bucks, hell yeah I’d shave it off! It grows back.”
— Tonight’s episode of WWE SmackDown, which has already aired overseas, premieres a tweaked intro. The Undertaker is noticeably absent from the intro, which closes with Randy Orton performing the RKO as opposed to a shot of the iconic wrestler. His profile remains on the SmackDown Superstars page on WWE.com.
— WWE will hold a Raw SuperShow at the CONSOL Energy Center in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on May 14, 2012.
— While promoting last night’s airing of The Marine 2 on Spike TV, WWE star Ted DiBiase alluded to rival company TNA’s Impact Wrestling show. He tweeted, “Marine 2″ will be on Spike TV tonight!! Check it out!!! Comes on after some wrestling show ;) And don’t forget to watch Smackdown tomorrow!”
— Former WWE Diva Shelly Martinez celebrated her birthday Thursday. Photos of her night out are available on her Facebook page.
— While promoting Journey 2: The Mysterious Island and his upcoming match against John Cena at WrestleMania, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson swore during a live SportsCenter telecast on Thursday. While telling a joke, he said, “That’s bullshit.” He then said, “And this is live, by the way.” John Buccigross, who was conducting the interview, added, “Yeah, it’s real live.”
— Friday’s Dick Tracy comic strip features Jerry Lawler appearing as himself under the alias “Jerry King.” The comic strip is available here.
— Former WWE star Chuck Palumbo, who now performs for the band 3 Spoke Wheel, tweeted the following regarding an upcoming appearance: “Rhode Island wrestling fans Chuck Palumbo and 3 Spoke Wheel will be at The Rock Junction March 3rd 9pm.”
— Friday would have marked as Louie Spicolli’s 41st birthday. The veteran of ECW, WWE and WCW died on February 15, 1998 at the age of 27 after overdosing on somas and wine.
— California based independent wrestler Joey Ryan is competing in a contest put on by Major League Baseball in which the winner moves to New York City for the upcoming season. The contest, which is determined by votes, has been narrowed down to 50 finalists and concludes on February 22. To view his video entry, which was filmed at the Ring Ka King tapings in India, click here.
– TNA knockout Mickie James took offense to Hulk Hogan deeming Garett Bischoff the future of the wrestling industry on Thursday’s Impact Wrestling. She tweeted on Thursday night:
“Ummm…. Did my ears just deceive me… Or did the Immortal Hulk Hogan just call Baby Bischoff the future of this business? WTH?! FML!”
Sounds like a really awesome way to wind up in the TNA doghouse..
– Tara turns 41 years old Friday. She thanked her fans for their support.
She tweeted, “Thank you to all my loyal, Respectful, awesome and loving WPF’s!!!! I love all of you and appreciate your support. Yay it’s my Bday!!”
Tara is the oldest active female wrestler in TNA or WWE.
– WrestlingFigs.com reports Rosita will be appearing at Legends of the Ring 14, which takes place June 2, 2012 at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Monroe, New Jersey.
TNA star Samoa Joe participated in a conference call this week to promote Sunday’s Against All Odds pay-per-view. Here are some highlights, courtesy of Wrestling Voice Radio:
The Importance of Restoring Prestige to the Tag Team Championships: “I think it’s absolutely key. Some of the greatest matches that have been ever been wrestled have been Tag Team matches, some of the greatest wrestlers have been Tag Team wrestlers, I think Tag Team wrestling, I don’t know where it fell out of favor, if I’m part of the resurgence and part of making it relevant again then I’m all for that.”
If his Partnership with Magnus Go Further than their Tag Team Title Shot This Sunday: “I think that remains to be seen, I’d like that to continue, I think there’s a nice symbiosis between myself and Magnus, I think the Championship Committee put us together because they thought we’d self destruct and kill two birds with one stone because I’m a problem. I’ve always been a problem and I think TNA are trying to figure out how to contain this problem and their best bet was put oil with vinegar and watch it not mix, and watch it not work out and watch them work themselves into oblivion but obviously we’ve totally ruined that planned and we plan to continue on and rampage on.”
TNA Needing To Move Out of the IMPACT Zone: “I feel it is of dire importance if you want to see the product as well as the fan base continue to grow, people want to see wrestling in their hometown, they wanna go to live events and they want to be part of the experience and forgive me for using the same adjective again but its a very symbiotic experience where the crowd very much powers the performance in the ring and its almost subconscious, when you are out there in front of thousands of screaming fans it amps up your game a little bit, whether you like it or not, it puts you on point, it puts you on focus and makes you want to go out there and put something on fantastically. I think what you saw last week (TV taping from England) was very much evident of that.”
His Proudest Moment in the Company thus far: “Winning the Heavyweight Champions, for a bevy of reasons, first and foremost because it was from an athlete like Kurt Angle, is world renowned and world class and one of the top players in the game and I look forward to replicating that experience here in the near future.”
Hardcore wrestling legend Mick Foley recently spoke with the UK’s Daily Star to promote his upcoming comedy tour. Here are some highlights of what Foley said about:
Competing At The Royal Rumble: “I had to sit back afterwards and think about all the things that had transpired in the five or six minutes I was out there. I realised just how much fun it was at that point. I had some great reactions from the other wrestlers and my children.”
His Status with WWE: “I’m on a need to know basis going forward, I’d like to get involved in some way. I can’t wrestle very often any more. Apart from the run-in, the Rumble was the perfect way to play to my remaining strengths and not expose my many weaknesses!”
The Attitude Era vs. Today: “Are you saying thumbtacks aren’t fun?! Look, as a dad the thing I enjoy the most about the current product is not having to tell my kids to change the channel when sexual chocolate comes on.”
“The Attitude era was fun for different reasons, it was risque, but a lot was not appropriate for kids. The new style forces wrestlers to be creative and not rely on chair shots to get a pop.”
