**SPOILERS** RESULTS FROM IMPACT WRESTLING TV TAPINGS – MONDAY 25/07/11

IMPACT Wrestling Zone - Orlando, FL.

IMPACT Wrestling kicked off the first set of TV tapings yesterday (Monday) at the Impact Wrestling Zone, Universal Studios in Orlando, Florida. These episodes of IMPACT Wrestling and Xplosion will air in the UK on Tuesday 2nd &  Wednesday 3rd of August on Challenge. WARNING THIS REPORT CONTAINS SPOILERS for upcoming episodes of IMPACT Wrestling and Xplosion – DO NOT READ on if you wish to avoid spoilers. Otherwise, click the “read more of this post” option at the end of this paragraph.

IMPACT WRESTLING REPORT: “MIDSUMMER’S NIGHTMARE” – 19/07/11

IMPACT Wrestling: “Midsummer's Nightmare"

IMPACT Wrestling: “Midsummer’s Nightmare”
Tuesday 19th July 2011 – 10pm on Challenge

THIS WEEK ON IMPACT WRESTLING:
Immortal promised to gamble with peoples careers, Sting promised them he would leave with the title thanks to his “aces in the hole” (a bunch of creepy clowns in the rafters)
Bobby Roode d Samoa Joe & “The Pope” D’Angelo Dinero to gain 7 pts in the BFG Series
The creepy clowns proceeded to pick off members of Immortal one by one!
Jeff Jarrett was back from Mexico to celebrate his birthday. He brought his own presents to the party, for the members of Immortal.
Austin Aries d. Shannon Moore after using a chain, is confronted post match by Alex Shelley
Tara d. Madison Rayne and revealed her “present” for Madison to be none other than Poison!
Kurt Angle cut a promo stating he had a bone to pick with Anderson after last year and he still wants to beat Sting as he never has, he’s ready for Hardcore Justice no matter who it is.
Mexican America d. The British Invasion to become #1 Contenders to the Tag-Team Titles
The clowns take out Gunner backstage and reveal themselves as none other than Fortune!
Bully Ray attempts to interfere in the World Title match but is taken out by yet another clown, who unmasks to reveal himself as Kurt Angle!
Sting d. Mr. Anderson to win the World Heavyweight Title!

Craig is off duty this week due to a family matter, so the following report comes courtesy of my good colleagues at 1Wrestling.com, I urge you to check out the original piece here.

Jeff Jarrett was back from Mexico to celebrate his birthday. He brought his own presents to the party, for the members of Immortal. Plus, Sting got his rematch against Ken Anderson for the World title.

The show opened with a look at Sting’s odd behavior in recent weeks. Bully Ray told Ken Anderson that he was either with Immortal or against them. Immortal got a new member with Ken Anderson

This Week’s Episode: Mid-Summer’s Nightmare

TNA UK TV RATINGS – WEEK ENDING 10TH JULY 2011

IMPACT Wrestling on Challenge

The UK TV Ratings are in for the week ending 10th July 2011 and it’s further good news for IMPACT Wrestling on Challenge!

According to the Broadcasters Audience Research Board – IMPACT Wrestling scored a huge 216,000 viewers, for the Tuesday 5th July “Please Stand Up” episode headlined by a Sting vs. Scott Steiner main event.

Sting: New "Crazed" side to his character has proved a hit with UK viewers.

This was down 20,000 from last weeks all time high viewership record of 236,000 but was nonetheless a very strong showing. This extends IMPACT Wrestling streak as the top rated wrestling program on UK television to 14 consecutive weeks.

It would be appear that IMPACT Wrestling on Challenge is beginning to consistently break the 200,000 mark and rank number 1 each week on Challenge, something I’m sure both IMPACT Wrestling and BSKYB/Challenge will be very pleased with.

The saturday night replay made the top 10 again this week, with its airing on Challenge+1 garnering 30,000 viewers.

TNA Xplosion, featuring a Jeremy Buck vs. Shannon Moore “Xplosion Championship Challenge” match, ranked outside the top 10 highest rated programs on Challenge TV and thus i’m unable to confirm the exact viewing figures for the episode. However the lowest ranked of the top 10, Play Your Cards Right, drew 128,000 viewers, meaning TNA Xplosion falls somewhere below that figure.

Here is the Top 10 ranked programs on Challenge for the week:

Challenge
w/e 10 July 2011

1	TNA PRESENTS IMPACT WRESTLING (TUE 2200)	216
2	CATCHPHRASE (SUN 1832)	151
3	BULLSEYE (FRI 2301)	142
4	CLASSIC WHO WANTS TBA MILLIONARE (THU 2100)	142
5	CLASSIC WHO WANTS TBA MILLIONARE (TUE 2100)	142
6	IN IT TO WIN IT (TUE 1959)	141
7	CLASSIC WHO WANTS TBA MILLIONARE (FRI 2059)	135
8	BULLSEYE (FRI 2330)	130
9	CLASSIC WHO WANTS TBA MILLIONARE (WED 2100)	128
10	CATCHPHRASE (SAT 1831)	128

WWE’s RAW, posted 118,000 viewers, down 34,000 viewers from last week. WWE’s other flagship show “Smackdown” drew 112,000 viewers, this was up 16,000 viewers from last weeks airing.

Weekly Ratings Summary:

1	TNA PRESENTS IMPACT WRESTLING (TUE, Challenge , 2200)	216,000
2	WWE LATE NIGHT RAW – LIVE (MON, Sky Sport 3, 2600)	118,000
3	WWE LATE NIGHT SMACKDOWN (FRI, Sky Sports 2, 2230)	112,000
4	TNA PRESENTS IMPACT WRESTLING (SAT, Challenge+1 , 2201)	30,000
5	TNA XPLOSION (TUE, Challenge, 2400)	Under 128,000

Weekly Ratings Wins so far (2011)*:
IMPACT Wrestling – 18
WWE RAW – 2
WWE Smackdown – 2

*Based on first showing viewing figures, not inclusive of +1 or replay figures.

CHAVO GUERRERO INTERESTED IN WORKING FOR IMPACT WRESTLING?

Chavo Guerrero was on Right After Wrestling Radio this week and mentioned who he would like to wrestle:

“I would love to work with AJ Styles. We always used to call him ‘AJ Steals’ because we thought he was always stealing our moves. But I knew him since he was just a kid breaking into the business. But I would also like to work with Kurt Angle again and to see him again. But in the WWE, I guess a heel Randy Orton would be good to work against.”

UPDATE ON IMPACT WRESTLING GOING ON THE ROAD

TNA's last TV Taping on the road was in Fayetteville, NC and was deemed a success.

TNA and Spike TV are announcing upcoming IMPACT Wrestling TV tapings on the road in Huntsville, AL on 8/25, Knoxville, TN on 9/21 and Macon, GA on 10/26 is a three month experiment to see if it makes a difference in the television ratings. Spike will be the ones making the call on this decision since they are providing a majority of the funding. The general agreement among many in TNA is that taking the show on the road is the best thing to do, but they also aren’t in a position financially to do it on a regular basis without Spike’s help.

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.

MORE X-DIVISION STARS ON THEIR WAY TO IMPACT WRESTLING

X-Division: More talents on the way!

The following was posted on the Impact Wrestling site, regarding Austin Aries’ contract and other potential X Division signings:

IMPACT WRESTLING officially announced the signing of X-Division star Austin Aries, in what company officials are signaling as the first of several upcoming signees to a reinvigorated X-Division following the success of Sunday night’s “Destination X” live pay-per-view event. If you missed it, watch the replay of the “Destination X” event on your cable or satellite provider!

Aries, who will officially be joining the X-Division roster Thursday night on IMPACT WRESTLING (9pm ET/PT on Spike) earned a contract by winning a four-way match against hopefuls Low Ki, Zema Ion and Jack Evans in an unbelievable bout; IMPACT ZONE fans began a chant of “Sign them all!” after Aries took the win that went worldwide with a #SignThemAll trending topic across Twitter.

“Austin’s unique style and intensity will be a great addition to the X Division,” TNA Vice President of Talent Relations Bruce Prichard said. “Aries brings an arrogance and a confidence backed by tremendous physical ability.”

In addition to Aries signing, Prichard added, “based off of various X Division performances throughout qualifying events on IMPACT WRESTLING and Sunday night’s outstanding “Destination X” pay-per-view, TNA will be signing several new additions to the X-Division roster in coming weeks.

“Our goal now is to reinvent and redefine the X-Division as something unique to all of pro wrestling,” Prichard said.

As for potential new X-Division Superstars, Prichard said that both former and new X-Division names are currently being considered, and that the evaluation will be ongoing.

**SPOILERS** RESULTS FROM IMPACT WRESTLING & XPLOSION TV TAPINGS

IMPACT Wrestling Zone - Orlando, FL.

TNA taped the next two weeks of IMPACT Wrestling and Xplosion on Monday and Tuesday at the Impact Wrestling Zone, Universal Studios in Orlando, Florida. These will air in the UK on Tuesday 19th & 26th of July on Challenge. WARNING THIS REPORT CONTAINS SPOILERS for upcoming episodes of IMPACT Wrestling and Xplosion – DO NOT READ on if you wish to avoid spoilers. Otherwise, click the “read more of this post” option at the end of this paragraph.

IMPACT WRESTLING REPORT: “THE ANDERSON ULTIMATUM” – 12/07/11

IMPACT Wrestling: “The Anderson Ultimatum"

IMPACT Wrestling: “The Anderson Ultimatum”
Tuesday 12th July 2011 – 10pm on Challenge

THIS WEEK ON IMPACT WRESTLING:
Immortal call out Mr. Anderson, letting him know he has until the end of the show to make up his mind as to whether he’s with Immortal or against them.
Crimson d. Bobby Roode  to gain 7 pts in the BFG Series
Kendrick gives Abyss his mask back, but pays the price!
Jack Evans d. Jesse Sorensen and Tony Nese to earn a spot at Destination X and a chance at an IMPACT Wrestling contract.
Douglas Williams gets the word out that he is issuing an open challenge at Destination X!
Velvet Sky d. ODB & Jackie in a handicap match meaning ODB & Jackie are gone from TNA.
Rob Van Dam d. Christopher Daniels, AJ Styles & Jerry Lynn in a Four Way Match.
Devon & D’Angelo Dinero d. Matt Morgan & James Storm in a BFG Series Match.
Hulk Hogan attacks Sting backstage, taking him out of the main event match.
Immortal (Bully Ray, Abyss, Scott Steiner & Gunner) d. Kurt Angle & Sting, after Mr. Anderson faked helping Angle and instead attacked him and joined Immortal!

Welcome to this weeks report for iMPACT Wrestling. Now I should tell you I have actually watched Destination X before I have sat down to do this report, so I will try to write this report without giving anything away.

We start this week show with a recap of last week where we see how Sting attacked Hulk Hogan.

IMPACT WRESTLING HITS & MISSES – 12/07/11

Jack Evans hits the 630 and makes his way to Destination X

After another great Impact Wrestling and a great build up to Destination X tomorrow night, again I have given my thoughts to what went down in this weeks edition of Impact Wrestling…

This Weeks Hits

Jack Evans vs Tony Nese vs Jesse Sorensen
Just like last weeks 3 way X Division, lots of high spots and fast pace action, Jack Evans is over with the crowd big time! How has he not already been snapped up by TNA already is beyond me and ill be honest this was the first time i ever watched him perform the 630! One word to describe that AMAZING!!. The 4 way X division showcase at Destination X has everything on paper to steal the show and hopefully TNA will hand out more than 1 contract in that match.

Destination X build up
Amazing! Just amazing, in the last two weeks the build up to the PPV has been brilliant i literally cannot wait to see it! Having all of the X Division wrestlers talking about what it all means, you can hear the passion they have for it and are right by saying it’s what TNA was founded on. One thing im not too keen on was Douglas Williams open challenge, a few days isn’t enough to generate any buzz on who it can or can’t be plus whether it will be someone on the roster, someone who used to be on the roster or a fresh face to Impact Wrestling? Who Knows. Having Eric Bischoff talk about how the X Division wrestlers aint the “normal” size of wrestlers (something I bet Vinny Mac wanted to go on record saying) is good, gives him the heat and I personally hope Bischoff/X Division feud doesn’t end any time soon.