Category: Impact

Backstage Update On The Hardy’s

The Hardy’s TNA contracts expire this week, so they will be free agents by this Wednesday.

Dave Meltzer noted on the latest episode of Wrestling Observer Radio that as far as WWE signing the Hardy’s, WWE is “certainly in the ballgame, if not likely.” The Hardys are currently not taking any independent dates after May as they have told promoters that they might not be able to fulfill those dates, although they noted that it could change.

It was noted that the backstage changes in TNA, including Jeff Jarrett’s new role with TNA, have made it more likely that The Hardy’s could leave, although it’s not a done deal and they are still in talks with company.

The next set of Impact Wrestling tapings starts this Thursday, March 2nd, and runs through Sunday, March 5th. The television has been built around the Hardy’s, so it will be interesting to see how it will be handled if the Hardy’s decide to pursue other options.

Source: WrestlingINC

Drew Galloway Leaving TNA Impact Wrestling

Drew Galloway confirmed that he is parting ways with TNA Impact Wrestling on Sunday night.

According to PWInsider, Galloway informed TNA of his decision to leave the company on Sunday evening. It was noted that while Galloway and TNA had talks about signing a new deal, the company had not attempted to get it finalized until the past two weeks, which led to Galloway opting to pursue other opportunities.

As part of the new deal, Galloway was promised that he would have been one of the top stars in the promotion. During a recent appearance on The Pancakes and Powerslams Show in January, Galloway said that he hoped that he would be able to come to terms on a new deal with TNA.

“I really hope things work out the way I want them to work out… we just have to figure things out,” Galloway said last month. “There’s obviously people reaching out, but I’m just hoping things work out the way that I hope they work out because I’m having such a good ride right now.”

Galloway debuted in TNA in January of 2015. In addition to having held the TNA World Heavyweight Championship during his two-year run, Galloway is currently recognized as the Impact Grand Champion.

Source: WrestlingINC

Jeff Jarrett & Anthem Officials In The UK

Jeff Jarrett and officials from Anthem Entertainment are in the UK this week for business meetings related to the Impact Wrestling product. Jarrett indicated on Twitter that he was also going for Global Force Wrestling (GFW) business.

Source: WrestlingINC

TNA Impact Wrestling News: Stars Heading to NOAH, Company Returning to Old Soundstage

Pro Wrestling NOAH officially announced James Storm and Eddie Edwards will be joining Moose on March 12th in Yokohama, Japan. Their opponents have not been announced at this time.

For their March TV tapings, TNA will back in the original Impact Zone, soundstage 21. This is the larger sound studio that the company had a full-time lease with years ago.

Source: Pwinsider.com via 411Mania

TNA Impact Wrestling Announces Partnership With Japan’s Pro Wrestling NOAH

TNA Impact Wrestling issued the following today:

As announced earlier today in Tokyo, Japan, IMPACT Wrestling and Pro Wrestling NOAH have come to terms on a working relationship. This is an exciting time for both companies with a more formal announcement coming soon.

In a Press Conference held earlier today, NOAH President Masayuki Uchida made the official announcement.

We look forward to making a formal announcement soon in Tokyo and seeing IMPACT Stars compete at NOAH’s Yokohama event on March 12. We are thrilled to build this relationship even further with more details to come.

Stay close to impactWrestling.Com and all of our social media channels for more on this exciting partnership.

TNA Impact Wrestling Phasing Out ‘TNA’

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As you may have noticed recently, Anthem Sports & Entertainment have been phasing out the initials “TNA” and just going with Impact Wrestling. “TNA” hasn’t been used on Impact Wrestling for the last several weeks, and mentions of those initials have been removed from their social media accounts and from their website, with the exception of links to ShopTNA.com and Total Access TNA Wrestling (which don’t work in many browsers). While the TNA logo still appears on their title belts, they are simply referred to as the “World Heavyweight Championship”, “X Division Championship” and “World Tag Team Championship” on their website.

Source: WrestlingINC

ROH Officially Announces Matt And Jeff Hardy For Upcoming Show

ROH officially announced today that Matt and Jeff Hardy will be facing ROH World Tag Team Champions the Young Bucks at Supercard of Honor XI on Saturday, April 1st at The Lakeland Center in Lakeland, FL. The event will not be televised, so the only way to see it is in-person.

Below is the announcement from ROH:

IT’S OFFICIAL! THE YOUNG BUCKS WILL FACE MATT AND JEFF HARDY AT SUPERCARD OF HONORThe eyes of the wrestling world will be on the Lakeland Center on Saturday April 1 stars from around the globe converge in Central Florida for SUPERCARD OF HONOR XI. Stars from Ring of Honor, New Japan Pro-Wrestling, and CMLL will do battle throughout one of the biggest nights of hard-hitting, fast-paced, in-your-face action in Ring of Honor history!

The ROH Executive Committee has promised championships to be contended, first-time appearances from New Japan and CMLL, and is excited to announce the first round of ROH stars that have been signed to participate in the biggest Supercard of Honor, ever! Check back throughout each day next week as ROHWrestling.com celebrates Supercard of Honor Announcement Week with international participants revealed, championship matches signed, and information on how to meet all of your favorite ROH, NJPW, and CMLL stars!

Tag team wrestling has never been hotter in Ring of Honor, boasting one of the deepest rosters of teams in company history. At the top of the mountain sit the Young Bucks. The two-time ROH World Tag Team Champions have blazed a trail never before seen in wrestling, breaking rules and records along the way. Matt and Nick Jackson have used their athleticism and their vast array of influences to capture the attention of the wrestling world.

Perhaps, to their surprise, their reach crossed previously unbreached borders. Indeed, the Bucks of Youth had made their impression and their message spread far across the Hardy Compound, straight to the ears of #Broken Matt Hardy and Brother Nero!

One of the most decorated teams of all-time, Jeff and Matt Hardy have held world tag team championships in every organization in which they have been a part. The brothers used death-defying high flying and athleticism to become stars around the globe. Some even say their successes have laid the ground work for the Bucks to be able to have the success they have.

Appearing via satellite at Final Battle, Matt Hardy declared that the Hardys have been “mandated to prove they are the greatest tag team in all of time and all of space”, issuing an official challenge to “the Bucks of Youth”. In their mission to render the Bucks obsolete, the Hardys have promised to DELETE the Young Bucks!

After a recent appearance by Vanguard-1 on Ring of Honor television, the ROH World Tag Team Champions the Young Bucks have officially signed to face the Hardys at the BIGGEST Supercard of Honor ever! This dream tag team match will happen LIVE in Lakeland and will not be broadcast. The only way to see this one is to be there LIVE!

The new ROH Executive Board has been working around the clock to sign a match that few thought could happen. As ROH continues to break barriers and sign matches only dreamed of in 2017, there is only one question heading into the BIGGEST night in ROH history: Too Sweet or Delete?

Source: WrestlingINC

Jeff Jarrett Returning To TNA As Executive Consultant, Dutch Mantel Returns As Creative Consultant

Image result for Jeff Jarrett and Dutch Mantel TNA Impact Wrestling

Pro Wrestling Sheet has confirmed that Jeff Jarrett will be returning to the company at tonight’s television taping … and we’re told his new role is Executive Consultant.

Jarret’s return was first reported by PWInsider and we’re told he’s already at the Impact Zone working on the show. Same for Dutch Mantel, aka former WWE manager Zeb Colter, who is also returning to TNA as a creative consultant.

Jeff was an original TNA founder, but left the company in 2013. He returned a year later to get inducted in their Hall of Fame and behind the scenes Dixie Carter bought his shares in the company.

Jarrett launched Global Force Wrestling during his time away, and we’re told GFW wasn’t included in his deal to return due to previous contractual obligations for the wrestling fed.

Pro Wrestling Sheet reached out to Jeff for comment and he told them, “This is a great opportunity for myself and GFW. And, I feel it’s great for the wrestling business.”

Source: Pro Wrestling Sheet

Anthem – TNA Still Talking With Jeff Jarrett, TNA Ownership Update,

Regarding the TNA ownership announcement that’s expected from Anthem Sports & Entertainment, PWInsider reports that Anthem will likely officially become the new TNA owners on January 1st and an announcement will be issued then. An official meeting is also expected for backstage at next week’s tapings in Orlando. It will be interesting to see if TNA announces any new contracts in the next few weeks as Anthem officials are working on locking in talents who have deals expiring in early 2017, including Drew Galloway and The Hardys.

– Anthem officials also are still having discussions with Jeff Jarrett, according to PWInsider. There is no sign of a deal being reached for Jarrett to return to the company in any kind of role but anything is possible. Jarrett continues to work on potential Global Force Wrestling TV deals in Los Angeles.

Source: WrestlingINC

WWE Reportedly Interested In TNA Wrestler

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WWE officials are interested in bringing current TNA star Eli Drake (Shaun Ricker) back into the company, according to The Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Ricker worked WWE dark matches in 2006 and 2008 but was later signed to the WWE Performance Center in May 2013. He made it to WWE NXT as Slate Randall but was released in August 2014.

The obvious issue here would be Ricker’s contract status with TNA. Dixie Carter announced back in May of this year that they had signed Drake to a new deal but the length of that contract was not revealed. Drake first started working with TNA in February 2015 and has held the King of the Mountain Title.

There were high hopes for Ricker coming into WWE back in 2013 after he appeared on TNT’s reality TV show “The Hero,” which was hosted by The Rock. His release came with a handful of other developmental talents, reportedly due to budget cuts, but it was said that his departure was different as it had little to do with the budget. Ricker had the charisma WWE wanted and he was progressing better but there were some issues with his Twitter use and an e-mail he sent while with the company. Exact, confirmed details on that e-mail were never revealed but it was said to have buried him with officials, who also weren’t happy about some of his tweets.

Drake spoke with Pancakes & Powerslams in June 2015 and talked about WWE blacklisting him. He said:

“I was on the black list there for a while. One of the guys who used to work in Talent Relations – I’ll leave him nameless – he got fired around early 2012, apparently not very liked in the back anyway; I guess he was kind of a jerk to a lot of people, for whatever reason, would bury me in the office. So I was kind of just, nobody could touch me; nobody would touch me. So for a lot of years it was frustration and wondering what I’m working toward and why isn’t these guys taking my calls. And I finally started getting some of the details of why this guy was burying me. There was talk of them picking me up in 2011, I was there for SummerSlam, and then and the follow-up Raw and SmackDown, and everything went incredibly well. But all of a sudden it was like radio silence on their end and I hadn’t quite understood why until I spoke to this person, and he was like, “Well, we’re gonna go in a different direction.” I’m like, “OK?” and he’s like, “You can check out Ring of Honor or TNA or whatever.””So I think maybe five months after I had spoken to him on the phone, he’d gotten fired, which was a great day for me. I don’t wanna see anyone lose their job, but if you’ve keeping me out of a job, here’s to ya. So, I was more than happy to see him go. And so this new guy comes in, and the beauty of it is that with the footage I had from (Championship Wrestling from Hollywood), I would take some of this great-looking television footage that was on every week and put it together with a short little paragraph just introducing myself and a resume and some photos. Emailed it to this guy and he immediately responded to me and was interested but then found out that I was on this blacklist or whatever. So for the next few months I had to just wait and keep trying to establish this rapport. Eventually, these tryouts kept getting pushed off. First he offered me a tryout until he found out that I was on the blacklist. Then, a few months later I got offered a tryout but simultaneously, I also was offered a TNA tryout. So, my TNA tryout was on a Thursday and my WWE tryout was actually that following Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. I was ecstatic because I have the two biggest companies vying for me and it’s perfect. Thursday I go into Impact and that goes well, then Sunday I get an email and I’m told that I can’t come to the (WWE) tryout. They couldn’t say why, but I’m pretty certain it was because there was a lawsuit going on between TNA and WWE at the time.”

Source: Wrestling Observer Newsletter via WrestlingINC