TNA News

[Head Booker]

Twitter suspended TNA Wrestling President Dixie Carter's account today.

Her account was suspended due to a violation of the website's terms of service. Approximately a month ago, a background image featuring a photoshopped "Verified Account" logo was uploaded to the page. However, only Twitter may indicate that an account is verified.

Their terms of service reads: "Misuse of Twitter Badges: You may not use a Verified Account badge or Promoted Products badge unless it is provided by Twitter. Accounts using these badges as part of profile pictures, background images, or in a way that falsely implies affiliation with Twitter will be suspended."

According to reader Kemco, numerous users reported the violating account to Twitter, which led to its suspension.

Carter launched the account in late 2009, coinciding with the arrival of Hulk Hogan, and was frequently plugged on TNA iMPACT! up until a few months ago. Some people have speculated that her "I am" tweet last week was in response to users calling her out for misrepresenting the account as verified.

[Head Booker]

Former TNA Wrestling production manager Randy Ricci says that according to reliable sources within the Nashville based organization, current creative plans call for Jeff Hardy's real-life issues to take center stage on television.

Ricci reports on his blog (nawf.com/blog) that Hardy plans on undergoing treatment for his issues with substance abuse and will enter a rehabilitation facility. Upon his completion of rehab, he will be brought back to television as a babyface recovering from drug addiction.

Hardy was officially written off television on last night's (March 31) episode of TNA iMPACT! as Immortal announced they had severed their ties with him.

On March 13 at Victory Road, Hardy received a rematch against Sting for the TNA World Heavyweight Championship under No Disqualification rules, but was defeated in ninety seconds. Behind the scenes, company officials had made the decision to cut the bout short after deeming that Hardy was in no condition to wrestle. The following day it was reported that TNA Wrestling had sent Hardy home from the week's iMPACT! tapings. He has not appeared for the organization since.

~~

- The son of TNA Wrestling creative writer Vince Russo was recently hired to work for the organization in Nashville, Tennessee in a beginner's production capacity.

- Matt Hardy posted a video on YouTube on Tuesday entitled "The NWO Shane Helms." It was removed within fifteen minutes. According to multiple witness accounts, Hardy appears in the video while a friend of his utters numerous homophobic slurs. TNA Wrestling officials are reportedly aware of its content.

[Sean Locke]

So what jeffs gonna be straight edge when he comes back

[Head Booker]

TNA Champion and ring legend Sting says Jeff Hardy is on the road to recovery.

Last month saw one of the worst finishes to a PPV in living memory, when TNA's Victory Road descended into farce in a championship match between Sting and Jeff Hardy.

Hardy was circling the airport at best, forcing Sting to pin him in seconds, turning the main event into non-event.

TNA offered US fans free access to their in-demand subscription channel in lieu of a refund. Fortunately for us in the UK we get it free on Challenge, as JJ never tires of reminding us!

In another sizzling FT exclusive Sting tells all, saying: "I love Jeff Hardy. I don't want to do anything to harm him. He has personal issues, everyone knows that. "But some things are true and some are not. What is true is that it all came to a head that week and hit really big that night.

"I hated what happened because I wanted to give fans a great match. But I realise it had to happen the way it did.

"And after all was said and done I came to the back and made sure he was OK. "He is OK and he's been talking to people close to him a lot. Jeff is getting stronger. He's riding 10 miles a day on his mountain bike to get in condition, I hear! Good luck to him."

The match very nearly never happened for another reason. Sting had some serious contract issues with TNA, amid the WWE rumours we covered last week. It was by no means certain he would be wrestling for anyone.

He tells me: "The whole thing was shocking to me. "To make a long story short it was all down to miscommunication. If you turn the clock back when WWE and Vince bought WCW and wrestling ended the way it ended for me, it was horrible.

"There was potential for that to happen again this time. "The last things I did were the TVs in October and I had every intention of coming back in January this year. But we were not coming to any kind of agreement contractually.

"We had to work through those things and right up to my return itself, I thought it wasn't going to happen."

TNA head into Lockdown next weekend with a serious opportunity. WWE were off the boil with their big show, while Ring of Honour in particular were very good last weekend.

There is a viable alternative to a frankly stale product, which apparently now Vince is trying to distance from the word "wrestling".

FT can't see the FA calling football "entertainment kickball" and pulling it off, can you? Sting says after a weird 2010, this coming year is a fantastic opportunity, telling me he might be in the UK in October.

He says: "I believe that fans will look back on 2011 as special for TNA. "Some critics on the internet despise TNA.

"And as a wrestler, I am never going to be able to please the guys who want to get rid of the dinosaur but I don't read those things too much.

"If I did I'd probably shoot myself! HA!" "What matters is the crowd in the arena. I think we have to take Impact and PPVs on the road.

"There have been times which were almost surreal when I've thought, wow it's like time stood still.

"But as long as we don't lose sight of reality our audience will continue to grow."

Sting can be seen every Tuesday night on TNA iMPACT! at 10pm on Challenge TV.

Source: www2.dailystar.co.uk/inthering/view/185231/Sting-is-at-sharp-end/

~~

- While Kurt Angle had teased the idea of a "TNA Films" division, there has been no discussion internally about any such projects, and at this time, there are no plans for such a venture.

- There has been no discussion internally about Jeff Hardy, as it has been said that he has "dropped off the internal radar." According to sources, the last time someone dropped off like this was Jeff Jarrett, back when he was on hiatus from the company, due to the heat between he and Kurt Angle.

- The first several TNA weekly PPVs from the Asylum era are now available at www.TNAOnDemand.com.

- On June 24th, TNA returns to the Expo Center at the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum in Fort Wayne, Indiana.

- On July 23rd, TNA runs at the Delaware State Fair. Mick Foley, Jeff Jarrett, Mr. Anderson and Matt Hardy are scheduled to appear.

Credit: Pwinsider.com

[Head Booker]

PWTorch learned last week there are internal discussions at a high level in TNA about considering re-branding the company or taking a different approach to the product.

Even a change to the company's name is "at least being considered" during this round of discussions aimed at giving TNA's product a recognizable identity.

As ratings have trended downward long-term and short-term, notably the males 18-34 demographic for last Thursday's show hitting a one-year low, there have been talks about taking a new approach to the product to make it "clearly different" from WWE.

Any proposed changes are currently at the discussion stage, but some major changes could be coming sooner rather than later if the talks turn into action.

Another element of this story is the Spike TV aspect. Initial ratings for the new season of UFC's Ultimate Fighter have been below average despite Brock Lesnar starring as one of the coaches. TNA's decline in key demo ratings, along with UFC's disappointing ratings, could prompt Spike TV to make changes or push TNA to make changes. The downward trends are not going unnoticed.

[Head Booker]

Matt Hardy posted his most recent video blog and stated that his brother Jeff is considering retiring from wrestling. Hardy added that Jeff may need serious back surgery. He also mentions his Lockdown match, as well as being on friendly terms with Edge again.

Jeff's wife Beth refuted the retirement claim on her Twitter account, writing, "Jeff hasn't said anything to anyone about retiring."

The tweet was then deleted a few minutes ago.

[Head Booker]

Partial Source: The Wrestling Observer

-- The TNA Wrestling website is teasing that the person driving "The Network" will be revealed on this Thursday's episode of TNA iMPACT!. Many fans are speculating that person to be Dixie Carter. We noted earlier that the individual in question will ultimately not be her.

[Head Booker]

Former TNA X-Division and Tag Team champion Jay Lethal is gone from TNA, PWInsider.com has confirmed. As of this writing, we haven't heard details. Lethal has already been removed from the roster page of the TNA website. Lethal, who hadn't been used much in recent months but worked the Lockdown PPV over the weekend, had been with the company since 2005 and had several big runs, including his Randy Savage homage "Black Machismo", and wins over Ric Flair and Kurt Angle.

[Head Booker]

Randy Ricci, a former production manager for TNA Wrestling, claimed in a blog post on Friday that the reason Desmond Wolfe has not been wrestling in recent months is because he has Hepatitis C—a viral disease that leads to inflammation of the liver.

Ricci adds that the former ROH World Champion will be offered an office job.

Wolfe last wrestled for the organization in August. He and Magnus were scheduled to receive a shot at the TNA World Tag Team Championship against The Motor City Machine Guns at No Surrender, but were pulled from the event at the last minute, with TNA citing a "personal issue" as the reason. It was later reported that Wolfe was pulled from the event due to an undisclosed medical situation that would sideline him indefinitely.

Hulk Hogan is the only TNA Wrestling employee to publicly address Wolfe's status with the organization. When asked recently on Twitter about Wolfe returning to television, Hogan responded, "Desmond's situation is beyond TNA's control, the ball is completely in his court."

-lordsofpain.net

[Head Booker]

iN DEMAND just released the promotional poster for TNA's June Pay-Per-View.



The synopsis says:

"Nearly a decade ago, it started as a dream that has became a reality. Join legends Hulk Hogan, Ric Flair and The Icon Sting as the power struggle between Immortal and Fortune escalates to a new level of intensity. The World Championship is on the line and the very future of TNA is at stake. TNA presents Slammiversary LIVE! on Pay per View."

~~

Monday Night Mayhem with Scott Steiner
Hosts: The Big Mosh and "The Chairman of the Board" Todd Vincent
Airs every Monday at 6:00 P.M. (CT)
Show available at www.MondayNightMayhem.com.

His feelings on returning to TNA after an eleven-month absence: "Part of the reason was I don't know why I left. That was not my decision, and obviously they brought me back to bring the ratings back. Now I'm here, and we can go out there and prove that I'm still the best."

Why he believes Matt Morgan's collegiate and basketball backgrounds will not help him when "Big Poppa Pump" and "The Blueprint" square off soon: "I tired to look up his (Matt's) profile on the computer and saw Monmouth College somewhere in the cesspools of New Jersey. I never heard of that. And supposedly Chaminade, where they somehow made it to the NCAA Tournament, where he played a couple of minutes. Fans are going to be deeply disappointed when it comes down to athletic ability, because he says he's trying to follow in my footsteps. You can't follow in my footsteps. So he plays with little balls and puts them in the holes. That's not going to help his ass when he gets in the ring."

What fans can expect at CWI's "Brawl at the Bush II" event in Brantford, Ontario, Canada (headlined by his CWI Title defense vs. Kevin Nash and a special appearance by Hulk Hogan): "It's going to be a great event. There's going to be a lot of stars there. Of course I have to go against Kevin Nash, which will be a hard-fought match. Hulk Hogan's going to be there, so anybody who's a wrestling fan should enjoy the show.