Month: June 2013

TNA Announces New Executive Vice President Television Production

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (June 27, 2013) – John Gaburick has been named Executive Vice President of Television Production for TNA Entertainment effective immediately. Gaburick is an accomplished production executive who joins TNA from World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) where he served as Vice President of Television Production. The announcement was made today by President Dixie Carter, to whom he will report. In his new role, Gaburick will oversee management and production of TNA Entertainment television including LIVE IMPACT Wrestling, marketing and advertising production, special projects and digital assets.

“As TNA evolves, John’s award-winning creative vision and production expertise coupled with his sports and entertainment industry business savvy make him the perfect person to push us in new directions,” said Carter. “He is a gifted and innovative storyteller, and we are thrilled to have him on board.”

“I’ve always admired Dixie Carter and TNA as a uniquely dynamic and growing organization,” said Gaburick. “This opportunity marks an exciting new challenge for me, and I am honored to join the team.”

Prior to joining TNA Entertainment, Gaburick spent the past 13 years in production at WWE. While there, he was awarded the PROMAX/BDA Brandbuilder of the Year Award and guided all image and brand-building media campaigns, as well as network documentary programming. Additionally, he spent 10 years as Operations Manager for National Business Archives in Jessup, Maryland. He earned a Bachelor of Arts from Towson University in Towson, Maryland and is a proud member of The Towson University Athletic Hall of Fame. He will be relocating to Nashville with his wife and two young children.

From WWE.com: Lawler Talks About Jackie Fargo

Jerry Lawler comments on the death of wrestling legend Jackie Fargo

BY WWE.COM STAFF
 

For those fortunate enough to watch “The Fabulous One” Jackie Fargo thrill wrestling audiences with his fiery fisticuffs and unimpressionable strut, this is a week of remembrance of a true ring innovator.

Fargo’s death Monday at the age of 82 was felt throughout the wrestling community and beyond, but few are better qualified to talk about the man’s legacy and influence on the mat game than WWE Hall of Famer Jerry “The King” Lawler.

“Probably every Superstar that has ever been in WWE has, at one point in time in their career, had someone who inspired them; without that person, they wouldn’t have even dreamed of being a WWE Superstar,” Lawler said Monday. “And I can say that for me, that person was ‘The Fabulous’ Jackie Fargo.”

To those who grew up in Southern wrestling hotbeds such as Memphis and Chattanooga, Tenn., and Louisville, Ky., in the 1950s and 1960s, Fargo was far and away the sport’s most popular figure, akin to John Cena today, said Lawler, a Memphis native. With his bleached blond hair, aggressive ring style and an entertaining, if funky, way of walking that’d eventually be known as the “Fargo Strut,” Fargo was a revolutionary force.

“He was such an innovator at a time when a lot of wrestling, to me, at least, seemed bland,” The King said. “Suddenly, Jackie Fargo stuck out, and I idolized the guy.”

Whereas Fargo was a larger-than-life hero to most who saw him, to Lawler, he eventually became nothing short of a father figure. The King credits Fargo with helping him break into the sport, and once Lawler was well on his way to becoming a Memphis ring legend, he spent countless matches in the 1970s and 1980s fighting both with and against Fargo.

On June 24, 1974 — 39 years to the day before Fargo’s passing — Lawler and Fargo battled over the NWA Southern Junior Heavyweight Title in Memphis’ Mid-South Coliseum. Lawler ultimately lost the match, which was billed as a no time limit, no-disqualification duel, but interest in the match was so great that it drew 11,783 fans, setting a new indoor sports record in the city. The King’s run of matches against Fargo around that time helped cement Lawler, then in his early 20s, as a credible main event wrestler in Memphis and earned him the title “King of Wrestling.”

“For me to finally actually get to meet Jackie and become friends with him — have him help bring me into this business and become literally a father figure to me over the years — is just something so special,” Lawler said. “He’s just been the greatest inspiration. I’ve tried to emulate him throughout my entire career, and it’s such a sad day for me for Jackie to be gone. I’ll miss him forever.”

 

R-Truth’s Sister Passes Away After Battle With Cancer

DTRT Wrestling News would like to extend it’s thoughts and prayers to the family of Ron “R-Truth” Killings. We have learned that his sister  Francetta Killings has lost her battle with cancer. We extend our sympothy to the entire family. The WWE has released the following statement. 

“After a seven-year battle with cancer, Francetta Killings, sister of WWE Superstar Ron ‘R-Truth’ Killings, has passed away. WWE extends its deepest condolences to Ron and his family.”

New Candid Photo Of AJ And Dolph The Real Couple

Dolph Ziggler posted a photo of himself and AJ Lee to his twitter account. Despite fans wanting to insist that this relationship still remains strictly on script, we can confirm through our trusted affiliates at Miss-April.org that “ZiggLee” is for real.

“@HEELZiggler: mini vaca with my mini muffin @WWEAJLee
#LoveMuscleBeach You gotta love #Zigglee!

 

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Punk Obtains Restraining Order Against His Mother

Our friends at WrestlingInc.com have this story up, “TMZ Reports That CM Punk Has Obtained A Restraining Order Against His Mother”.

Apparently  Punk’s mother, who suffers from bipolar disorder, constantly hits up the WWE Superstar for money and then threatens to kill herself when he turns her down.

Punk claims to have helped his mother with over $100,000 and is asking the court to help end the harassment from his mother. Punk says in the legal papers, “I wish for the harassment to stop and am requesting the assistance of the court in this regards.”

You can read more at the Wrestling Inc link above.

Did Matt Striker Have Heat With Jerry Lawler?

In an upcoming interview scheduled to be released on Tuesday by “Inside The Ropes”, The recently released WWE announcer responded to rumors of having issues with Jerry Lawler.

“Basically I talk too much, I’m long winded and when I get going the fawcet starts dripping and the dreck just comes out, Jerry Lawler is a legend and has been part of the broadcasting team with WWE for over 20 years. When it seemed Jerry was getting annoyed me, he was like ‘you’ve got a lot of passions and things to say kid, but come on, shorten it up a little bit.’ I had to remember our fan base isn’t the internet, it isn’t the ‘smart mark’ Our fan base is that 9 year old kid at home, he does not care about the fact that…insert stupid Matt Striker fact here… all he cares about is John Cena needs to defeat Ryback right now, and Jerry to his credit would constantly try to help me with that.

“A lot of that stuff was my fault because I was like a 9 year old kid with an open microphone. All Jerry wanted to do was help me, there wasn’t any animosity in the back, it was like a father sitting down his teenage son who doesn’t wanna hear anything, saying this is how it’s got to be.”

AJ Lee Helps With Weather Forecast On “Good Day Columbia” Dolph And AJ Play “The Cheese Quiz”

During Dolph Ziggler and AJ Lee’s promotional blitz for the Smackdown taping in Columbia South Carolina Tuesday night AJ Lee assisted with the local weather forecast during “Good Day Columbia” with Tyler Ryan on the local FOX affiliate WACH.

During the interview segment Tyler Ryan admitted his crush for AJ Lee. Dolph and the host also reminisce about classic wrestling stars and talks to AJ Lee about the evolution of female wrestling in a male-dominated sport.

Viewership For RAW Down After Two Week Rise

Our friends at WrestlingInc.com posted the following report.

Viewership for WWE Monday Night RAW fell this week after being on the rise for two consecutive weeks. Last night’s episode averaged 3.98 million viewers, according to TV By The Numbers. Viewers were down 4% from last week’s episode, which scored a 3.03 rating with 4.15 million viewers.

The show drew 3.743 million viewers in the first hour and rose to 4.287 million viewers in the second. Viewers fell to 3.910 million viewers in the third and final hour.

Matt Striker: “WWE Is Not A Wrestling Company”

During an interview with SirusXM Radio’s “Busted Open” wrestling talk show hosted by Doug Mortman and Mike Riker, recently released WWE announcer Matt Striker discussed his feelings on his release. In a series of highlights posted by Raj Giri at WrestlingInc.com Striker explains what the WWE is really about and what he says wrestling fans need to understand.

“Guys you got to understand something. WWE is an entertainment company that uses wrestling as a vehicle, it’s not a wrestling company. And that’s something I had to learn. No one give’s a crap about Billy Robinson. No one cares about Mr. Saito and Mr. Fuji. All they care about is that John Cena has to take on Mark Henry and why. And I think that’s something that we all need to kind of understand.”

You can read more highlights which were sent exclusively to WrestlingInc.com by clicking here