Former ROH star made his TNA debut last night on the Destination X episode of Impact Wrestling on Pop TV.
“The Miracle” Mike Bennett along with his wife Maria was promising to ruin Destination X. Bennett said he wasn’t going to do it alone. During the main event match. Title vs Title: TNA World Champion Lashley vs X-Division Champion Eddie Edwards, Bennett interfered but wasn’t alone. Moose made his way to the ring and took out both Lashley and Edwards.
The following is scheduled for tonight’s 7/12 “Destination X” edition of TNA IMPACT Wrestling on POP TV:
* Title vs. Title: TNA Champion Lashley vs. TNA X-Division Champion Eddie Edwards
* #1 Contenders Ladder Match: Trevor Lee vs. Andrew Everett vs. DJ Z vs. Braxton Sutter vs. Rockstar Spud vs. Mandrews
* Drew Galloway vs. EC3
* Fatal 4-Way, TNA Knockouts Title: Sienna (c) vs. Gail Kim vs. Jade vs. Marti Belle
Source: WrestlingINC
Dave Meltzer noted on Wrestling Observer Radio that the situation regarding the future of TNA “is coming to a head.”
As noted, TNA has been trying to sell a stake in the company for a while, and have been looking for a deal that would allow Dixie Carter to remain on as President. Aroluxe Marketing, which former wrestlers The Harris Twins are involved with, have been working with the company on the production side and are minority owners.
Meltzer said that TNA is in a situation where some sort of sale could be close. He added that while it’s not known who the buyer is, “people in the know have been saying that it’s closer than it’s been in awhile.”
Source: WrestlingINC
Regarding Billy Corgan being TNA’s new minority owner, Wrestling Observer Newsletter reports that the Smashing Pumpkins frontman gave TNA money for their last set of TV tapings in exchange for a percentage of ownership, instead of a loan.
TNA has TV tapings at Universal Studios next week and then will return in mid-August. Those will be the final tapings before the September 11th Bound For Glory pay-per-view, which will also mark 15 years since the 9/11 terror attacks. As noted, a #1 contender for the World Heavyweight Champion at Bound For Glory will be determined via a “BFG Playoff” match featuring 8 former World Champions. That match will take place on the Thursday, July 21st Impact episode.
TNA and President Dixie Carter tweeted this graphic to thank fans for making “The Final Deletion” with Matt Hardy vs. Jeff Hardy a success. As noted, this week’s Impact Wrestling episode drew 410,000 viewers, a new record for TNA on POP TV.
TNA announced that they are moving back to Thursday nights starting July 21st, two nights after WWE SmackDown moves to Tuesday nights. Impact Wrestling will now start one hour earlier at 8/7 CT.
TNA issued the following:
IMPACT WRESTLING on Pop MOVES TO ITS NEW REGULAR TIME SLOT on Thursday nights at 8/7c starting July 21 with a supersize extended episode. The adrenaline-pumping action-packed IMPACT WRESTLING serves as the kick-off to the Bound For Glory Playoff, where 8 IMPACT Stars, including former World Champions Drew Galloway, Matt Hardy, EC3 and other top stars compete to become the #1 Contender for the World Title.
Source: WrestlingINC
This was expected by many when WWE announced that SmackDown goes live on Tuesday nights but Dave Meltzer of F4WOnline noted on Wrestling Observer Radio that there is lots of talk about TNA moving Impact Wrestling back to Thursday nights.
TNA begin airing on Spike TV back in 2005 on Saturday nights and later moved to Thursdays in April 2006. They briefly moved to Mondays in 2010 and Wednesdays in 2014 before moving to Friday nights on Destination America, beginning in 2015. Impact moved to Wednesdays in June of that year before returning to Tuesday nights on POP TV this year.
The move back to Thursday nights has not been confirmed but there are definitely talks going on as Impact will likely take a hit in the ratings due to SmackDown, beginning July 19th with the WWE Draft show.
John Bass – WrestlingNewsBlog
In my opinion, TNA & Pop TV must move Impact Wrestling off of Tuesday Night, or they will get killed in the ratings going against WWE SmackDown Live. TNA cannot afford to take a big hit in their already low ratings.
Source: WrestlingINC
To keep up with the gimmick of Jeff Hardy being “deleted” after their “Final Deletion” battle this week, Matt Hardy has taken over Jeff’s social media accounts. He tweeted the following from Jeff’s account:
Here is the Hardy vs Hardy Final Deletion – full video as seen on Impact Wrestling:
Tonight’s TNA Impact Wrestling episode will feature the following:
The Final Deletion: Jeff Hardy vs Matt Hardy – taped at Matt’s property in North Carolina
Ultimate X for the X-Division Title
King of the Mountain championship: (C) Eli Drake vs James Storm
The BroMans & Raquel vs The Decay
Source: WrestlingINC
Tonight’s TNA Impact Wrestling episode will feature Matt Hardy vs. Jeff Hardy in their “Final Deletion” match, taped from Matt’s “compound” in North Carolina. It was noted on Wrestling Observer Radio that most of the WWE talents on the recent tour of Japan saw a tape of the Hardy vs. Hardy match, causing speculation that someone in WWE may have used the TNA match for inspiration when booking the angle on RAW where The Wyatt Family invited WWE Tag Team Champions The New Day to their compound in the swamp.
X-Division Champion “The Miracle” Mike Bennett will kickoff Impact.
Triple Threat World Championship: (C) Lashley vs Drew Galloway vs EC3
Knockouts Championship: (C) Sienna vs Gail Kim
Fact of Life w/Eli Drake
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