HULK HOGAN HOLDS TALENT MEETING AT TV TAPINGS

Hulk Hogan: Held talent meeting at tv tapings

According to the Wrestling Observer, Hulk Hogan held a backstage meeting with the entire TNA roster at the iMPACT! tapings on Tuesday. During the meeting, he stressed that everyone needed to “step up their games” as it pertains to telling stories in the ring. This has been a common theme in Hogan’s previous meetings with the roster. The source notes that several talents who attended the meeting weren’t very receptive to it as they’ve heard it all before. After Hogan was done speaking, Dixie Carter asked if anyone had any questions and nobody raised their hands.

It should be noted that Vince Russo and fellow writer Matt Conway were the only people who did not attend the meeting. No word on why as of this writing.

Ray’s Thoughts: I’d take these “backstage reports” from the Observer with a pinch of salt. I’ve been reading these same “low morale/anti-russo sentiment” reports from the Observer for the past three years and don’t buy it for a moment. If the talents were supposedly unhappy with the direction being given by Hogan, Russo and Conway would they still be with the company? I think not. Attention seeking article from the Observer in my opinion, nothing more to it.

SPIKE TV PURCHASING A MAJORITY STAKE IN TNA / IMPACT WRESTLING?

Spike TV: Upping their stake in IMPACT Wrestling?

The following is strictly a rumour at this stage. Its been bandied about on the internet but as yet I’ve found no credible source who can confirm this, so at this stage I’d take it with a grain of salt. Still a very interesting topic for discussion – would Spike TV/Viacom owning IMPACT Wrestling be more beneficial to the company or a further hinderence?

- According to a source I spoke to exclusively within the past few days close to TNA Impact Wrestling — and news that Spike TV’s flagship franchise UFC is looking like it will be leaving the network by the end of this year — TNA’s broadcast home in the United States is looking at the possibility of purchasing a majority stake in TNA.

Paul Heyman reveals what he would have done had he taken over at TNA Wrestling.

Here’s a recent interview that Paul Heyman did in which he revealed how he would have turned TNA around, as well as the negotiations he had with the company.

IMPACT Wrestling News & Notes

TNA Creative Director Vince Russo: Mr. Unpopular right now?

- The decision not to re-sign Tommy Dreamer to a new contract surprised a lot of people within TNA. At one point, Dreamer apparently had a decent amount of office power and had been talked about as someone who could work as an agent or help with creative.

- Right now there are a lot of creative issues within TNA. The Hulk Hogan & Eric Bischoff contingent is openly complaining about the writing of Vince Russo. It’s said that Jeff Jarrett is also frustrated with Russo, after years of defending his work. The feeling is that Russo is pretty much locked in place because Dixie Carter feels a loyalty to him.

- TNA is going with the idea right now to elevate Gunner, Crimson and Robert Roode to top spots in the company.

- The 2011 TNA Hard Justice PPV will be held on August 7th, 2011 at Universal Studios in Orlando.

[Credit: The Wrestling Observer]

New Immortal DVD in the Works

TNA Immortal Forever? DVD

TNA Wrestling have confirmed the upcoming release of TNA: Immortal Forever? on July 19th in the United States. No UK release date has been confirmed as yet but HMV do have the title listed with a release date of 22nd August.

This two disc release details the rise to power of the Immortal faction in TNA Wrestling. With exclusive interviews from the people involved, this DVD covers the entire story: from the debut of the immortal Hulk Hogan in TNA, to the backroom deals, tricks, internal struggles, and the legal battle that culminated in the banishment of President Dixie Carter from her own company and Hulk Hogan taking over TNA Wrestling. Learn the truth about Immortal and so much more.

Cast: Hulk Hogan, Ric Flair, Eric Bischoff, Dixie Carter, Jeff Jarrett, Abyss, Jeff Hardy, Matt Hardy, AJ Styles.

Eric Bischoff discusses IWC, Chyna, Mick Foley’s Firing, TNA Video Game, the UK and more!

Eric Bischoff - Thinks there was a very limited role for Mick Foley in IMPACT Wrestling

IMPACT Wrestling’s Executive Producer Eric Bischoff was interviewed on the Monday Night Mayhem show, you can listen to the audio here or readon for transcript:

-Eric talked about his recent comments on Facebook. Eric said he wishes he could explain this in crayon and stick figures for the 10% of the IWC that seems to find the need to bitch, complain and whine about everything. They sit with a stopwatch like it matters to anyone but them. The rest of the audience wants to be entertain (whether its promos, wrestling etc) and don’t care how its done. The IWC who lives in their parents basement thinks they know more about the wrestling business than anyone else.

Top 10 of…Sting

TNA World Champion Sting will be headlining The Maximum Impact IV 2012 Tour

This week on ImpactWrestling,  Jeremy Borash announced the Maximum Impact tour IV for 2012, 3 dates so far announced in Nottingham, Manchester and London, but the biggest surprise to all…. STING!!! Yes THE one and only STING will be headlining the tour marking his first UK appearance in nearly a decade. Overnight this has caused huge excitement from fans across the UK (even I had to re arrange my day off so I can get tickets when they go on sale), This would be the 4th TNA show ive gone to in the UK, last year they may have headlined Ric Flair for the tour and set themselves high to top it this year, but Sting trumps everything! To get everyone ready for Sting’s first TNA appearance in the UK, here’s a look back at 10 memorable TNA moments.

Eric Bischoff Interview: Talks Macho Man, IMPACT Wrestling, ROH, X-Division and More!

Eric Bischoff: Says focus will be on the X-Division in the coming months.

Eric Bischoff was on Monday Night Mayhem Radio show on monday night and discussed a range of wrestling related subjects. Here are the main highlights:

-Eric said the death of Macho Man hit him pretty hard and is still hitting him now. He hasn’t talked to Randy in a long time and they weren’t friends but they got along. Its hard to imagine that Randy isn’t here because he was so full of life.

-Bischoff said most of the changes to Impact were cosmetic. Anyone who thought it was going to be a completely different show had misaligned expectations. During the Summer is a great time to experiment with different formats and concepts and you could see that from TNA. Hopefully in the Fall they will have something different than the TNA from before and from the competition.

News on Sting vs. Hogan, Abyss, Ric Flair and more!

Hulk Hogan vs. Sting: Legend vs. Legend at Bound For Glory?

- While it’s not etched in stone, the current plan is to have Sting vs. Hulk Hogan main event TNA’s Bound For Glory pay-per-view. This would all depend on Hogan’s health and if he can wrestle or not.

- Abyss worked this past weekend’s TNA live events with his teeth still missing, so he hasn’t gotten them replaced yet from when Rob Van Dam kicked them out at the iMPACT tapings a few weeks ago.

- Ric Flair appeared on the Mark Madden radio show in Pittsburgh, PA today and announced that “if he has his druthers” he’ll be wrestling Sting for the World title in August. He didn’t say if this was going to happen at a PPV or at house shows. Maybe TNA thinks it will be something to draw in some fans at those baseball stadium shows they’re having this summer.

- Regarding recent rumors online, Dixie Carter has not been replaced in TNA or demoted. She is still the President of TNA and is still involved in all major business decisions. Dixie’s mother Janice, who has a financial role with the company, has been to maybe two shows in the past few months but is not running things.

[Credit: Wrestling Observer]

**SPOILERS** Report Regarding the “Network” Angle

The following report contains pontential spoilers for Lockdown and the subsequent iMPACT! episodes following, please DO NOT READ ON if you wish to avoid spoilers, otherwise click on the “Read more of this post” option at the end of this paragraph for full article.