Tag: TNA

Anthem Sports Acquires Control Of IMPACT Wrestling, Dixie Carter No Longer Chairman

anthem sports tna new owners dixie carter

Last year was kind of rough for TNA and the future of the company was largely left unresolved … but now Anthem Sports has announced that they’ve acquired control of Impact Wrestling.

Anthem shared the news in a press release which stated they have, “entered into a definitive agreement to acquire a majority interest in TNA IMPACT Wrestling.”

Anthem Executive Vice President Ed Nordholm commented on the acquisition saying, “We are thrilled to have acquired TNA IMPACT Wrestling . . . IMPACT has been a dominant wrestling brand around the world for more than a decade and we are confident that Anthem can leverage its assets and strategic partnerships to take IMPACT Wrestling to even greater heights.”

Nordholm will serve as President of Anthem’s newly formed Anthem Exhibition Wrestling, LLCwhich will presumably preside over IMPACT, though its exact role was not made clear.

As for Dixie Carter, she will resign from her role as Chairman of Impact Ventures and join the Advisory Board of Fight Media Group — which holds Anthem’s combat sports-related assets.

She’ll also remain a minority equity stakeholder.

We can only hope that this new development will provide the stability that IMPACT needs and that the talents can rest a bit easier knowing TNA is under new management.

Source: Pro Wrestling Sheet

Backstage News On This Week’s TNA TV Tapings, Jeff Jarrett Note, TNA Couple Returning?

TNA will return to Universal Studios in Orlando for more Impact Wrestling and pay-per-view tapings later this week. Word is that we won’t see any major roster or direction changes this week, according to PWInsider. With Anthem Sports & Entertainment taking over, there’s a feeling that they just need to get through these tapings and make it to March.

It will be interesting to see if Jeff Jarrett attends this week’s tapings. We know he’s had recent talks with Anthem and he was in Florida earlier this week on a family vacation.

There’s also speculation on Angelina Love and Davey Richards returning this week. Angelina gave birth to their first child together back in March but Richards has been out of action since the spring with an ACL injury. Davey did recently announce via Twitter that 2017 would be his last year in the ring. Could Davey be the mystery opponent TNA is teasing for World Heavyweight Champion Eddie Edwards this Thursday?

Source: WrestlingINC

Matt Hardy And Reby Sky Reveal Baby Gender (Video), Jeff Hardy – Brother Nero Update

Image result for Matt Hardy reveals gender of new child impact wrestling

Source: WrestlingINC

As seen at the end of last night’s Hardy New Year special edition of TNA Impact Wrestling, it was revealed that Matt Hardy and Reby Sky are expecting their second baby boy in the summer. Below is video from their gender reveal.

It appears the Brother Nero character for Jeff Hardy is no more. On last night’s show there was a segment where Matt took Jeff back to the Dome of Deletion and announced that he had repaid his debt by helping Matt reclaim the TNA Tag Team Titles. Matt then “restored” everything he had taken from Jeff. Matt also tweeted on Jeff’s gimmick:

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

TNA Announces New Paid App For Fans In The UK And Ireland To Watch Impact Wrestling

TNA has announced a new mobile app for fans to watch Impact Wrestling in the UK and Ireland. The app runs for £4.99 per month. Impact Wrestling no longer airs on Challenge TV.

Anthem Launches TNA Impact Wrestling App Across U.K. and Ireland

Total Access TNA Wrestling to feature new weekly episodes of IMPACT Wrestling

Toronto, Canada (December 22, 2016) – Anthem Sports & Entertainment Corp. announced today the launch of a new TNA Impact Wrestling app in the U.K. and Ireland – Total Access TNA Wrestling – available online and on mobile platforms for £4.99 per month.

Starting on January 5, 2017, new weekly episodes of IMPACT Wrestling will be available to watch immediately on the app at the same time as they premiere on Fight Network and Pop across North America.

Fans in the U.K. can download the app at Apple’s App Store or Google Play or visit http://www.impactwrestling.com/ to sign up to watch online. Total Access TNA Wrestling will soon be available on more platforms, including streaming devices and gaming consoles such as Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire and Xbox.

In addition to premiere episodes of TNA’s flagship weekly show IMPACT Wrestling and Fight Network’s original weekly recap series Inside IMPACT, subscribers will have access to extensive TNA library content, including episodes of classic IMPACT Wrestling, TNA Xplosion, TNA Wrestling’s Greatest Matches, TNA British Boot Camp, TNA Epics, TNA Unfinished Business and TNA Legends, plus the latest live pay-per-view events, classic pay-per-view events, One Night Only specials and more.

“The IMPACT Wrestling brand has always maintained a strong presence across the U.K. and Ireland and the Total Access TNA Wrestling app will ensure our loyal fans there have the opportunity to watch premiere IMPACT Wrestling episodes and TNA pay-per-views in real time for the first time,” said Anthem Executive Vice President Ed Nordholm. “There are many exciting plans in the works for Impact Wrestling

in 2017 and the U.K. remains an important focus for us. As we continue our digital expansion, subscribers will have access to more content than ever before, including exclusive shows, series available on-demand, and more content to be rolled out on the app in the coming months.”

For more information, please visit http://www.impactwrestling.com/.

For More Information, Contact:

Anthem Sports & Entertainment Corp. Ariel Shnerer Director, Programming & Communications ashnerer@anthemse.com

About Anthem Sports & Entertainment Corp.

Anthem Sports & Entertainment Corp. is a global sports media company and a leader in operating targeted specialty video channels on linear, digital and mobile platforms with offices and studios in New York, Toronto, and Los Angeles. Anthem’s portfolio includes Fight Network, the world’s premier combat sports channel now broadcasting in the U.S., Canada and over 30 other countries, Fantasy Sports Network (FNTSY), the world’s first and only channel dedicated to fantasy sports, GameTV, a Canadian specialty channel available in over 9 million homes, RotoExperts.com, a leader in fantasy sports news and analysis, DailyRoto.com, the most comprehensive and far-reaching daily fantasy sports website and Edge Sport, an extreme and action sports network recently launched in Canada in partnership with IMG. Anthem also has a significant ownership interest in Pursuit Channel, one of the top outdoor channels in the U.S. available in over 40 million homes, and it owns SportsGrid.com, a leader in general sports entertainment commentary.

About IMPACT VENTURES

IMPACT VENTURES, LLC, is a privately held sports entertainment company that is the parent company to TNA IMPACT Wrestling. Represented by United Talent Agency and based in Nashville, Tenn., IMPACT VENTURES specializes in television properties, events, products, merchandise and music, as well as the management and promotion of professional wrestlers. The roster features such greats as Jeff Hardy, Matt Hardy, EC3, Bobby Lashley, Drew Galloway, James Storm, the high-flying X-Division, Gail Kim and the lethal Knockouts. Its highly successful flagship show, IMPACT WRESTLING, broadcasts in more than 120 countries around the world, including in the United States on Thursdays at 8 p.m. ET/PT on Pop, a joint venture of CBS Corporation and Lionsgate, and on Fight Network in Canada.

Broken Matt Hardy Sings New ‘Twelve Days Of Deletion’ Christmas Jingle (VIDEO)

twelve days deletion christmas broken matt hardy compound tna special wrestling wrestler

The song “Twelve Days of Christmas” has just become obsolete … and it’s all because Broken Matt Hardy released a NEW rendition of the classic holiday jingle.

TNA released a clip Wednesday from their upcoming special called A Hardy New Year that shows the Christmas festivities taking place at the compound this year, including Matt’s updated song.

As you’ll see in the video … the “Twelve Days of Deletion” includes delightful green beans, xylophones xyling, 10 spot monkeys jumping and 5 dilapidated boats.

The show airs in full on December 29th.

Source: Pro Wrestling Sheet

TNA Announces First 2017 TV Tapings

TNA Wrestling just announced the following:

IMPACT WRESTLING RETURNS TO UNIVERSAL STUDIOS JANUARY 5-8 & 10-12 for LIVE TV and PAY-PER-VIEW EVENTSWHAT:
Be part of the adrenaline-pumping action January 5-8 & 10-12 as the Stars and Knockouts of IMPACT WRESTLING return to Soundstage 20 on the backlot at Universal Studios, Florida for seven days of televised events, including the LIVE broadcast of IMPACT WRESTLING on Thursday, January 5, airing at 8/7c on Pop AND the LIVE broadcast of January One Night Only Pay-Per-View!

WHEN:
January 5 – 8
January 10-12

Thursday, January 5
Event starts at 7 p.m. ET
Doors open at 6:30 p.m. ET

Friday, January 6
Event starts at 7 p.m. ET
Doors open at 6:30 p.m. ET

Saturday, January 7
Matinee
Event starts at 1 p.m. ET
Doors open at 12:30 p.m. ET

Evening show
Event starts at 7 p.m. ET
Doors open at 6:30 p.m. ET

Sunday, January 8
Matinee
Event starts at 1 p.m. ET
Doors open at 12:30 p.m. ET

Evening show
Event starts at 7 p.m. ET
Doors open at 6:30 p.m. ET

Tuesday, January 1o
Event starts at 6 p.m. ET
Doors open at 5:30 p.m. ET

Wednesday, January 11
Event starts at 6 p.m. ET
Doors open at 5:30 p.m. ET

Thursday, January 12
Event starts at 6 p.m. ET
Doors open at 5:30 p.m. ET

*Times are subject to change. Updates on any changes can be found at impactwrestling.com and on all of IMPACT’s social media channels @IMPACTWRESTLING

WHERE:
Soundstage 20, located on the backlot at Universal Studios Florida in Orlando.

TICKETS:
Admission to the event is complimentary.

VIP EXPERIENCE:
A limited number of VIP Experiences are available for $129 at ShopTNA.com

The ultimate VIP Experience includes:

-Priority seating to the LIVE IMPACT WRESTLING broadcast and all other TNA events inside Soundstage 20 at Universal Studios, Florida.
-A special VIP credential
-A commemorative event poster
-A nightly meet-and-greet photo and autograph session with a select IMPACT WRESTLING Star or Knockout

Questions about our VIP experience?
Contact: Amy Zack (azack@tnawrestling.com)

WHO:
IMPACT WRESTLING features a diverse roster of professional athletes and entertainers including Jeff and Matt Hardy, Ethan Carter III (EC3), Bobby Lashley, Drew Galloway, James Storm, The Miracle Mike Bennett, Moose, the best female wrestlers in the world – the TNA Knocknouts – featuring Gail Kim, Maria Kanellis Bennett, and Brandi Rhodes! You’ll also see the likes of TNA’s no limits high-flying X-Division Stars like DJZ.

TNA Total Non-Stop Deletion 12/15/16

Image result for tna total nonstop deletion

Broken Matt Hardy Brings Entire Episode of IMPACT to Hardy Compound

The Tag Team #APOCALYPTO match featuring several tag teams for the TNA Tag Team Titles

The Rock ‘N Roll Express are set to appear

The in-ring debut of 1-year old King Maxel Hardy

Jeff Hardy’s alter ego, ITCHWEEED, to appear

TNA World Title Match from The Dome Of Deletion: (C) Eddie Edwards vs Lashley

Sienna will make her way to the Hardy Compound

WWE Reportedly Interested In TNA Wrestler

Image result for eli drake

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

Matt Hardy Invites Current And Former WWE Superstars To ‘Apocalypto’ Match This Thursday

TNA Tag Team Champion Matt Hardy tweeted the following invitations to RAW Tag Team Champions The New Day, SmackDown Tag Team Champions Randy Orton and Bray Wyatt, DX, Evolution, The Rock ‘n’ Sock Connection, Edge & Christian and legendary tag team The Rock ‘n’ Roll Express for Thursday’s “Apocalypto” match during the Total Nonstop Deletion edition of Impact Wrestling.

As noted, several tag teams are expected for the match but obviously no WWE talents will be appearing.

Source: WrestlingINC