Thread: TNA Impact, PPV's discussion

Watching a few minutes of TNA, no a bad crowd in London for TNA, looks like production was ramped up a bit as well.

Sting Provides Injury Update, If He’s At The End Of His Career
Sting appeared on Between The Ropes and spoke about a number of topics, including whether he’s retiring this year, his health and Kurt Angle’s recent statement that 2011 was a “subpar” year for TNAixie Carter’s Recent Comment That He Is Retiring This Year..“She’s listening to what I’m saying to her. I’m saying every year this will probably be the last year and part of it was in the beginning it was kind of like a project. I wanted to see TNA Impact, I wanted to see it succeed like we did with WCW. I hated that being the second rate or second class citizen to the WWF all those years until we launched Nitro and like I said before, everything was history – we became the number one. This has the same feel and I want to be a part of something a little bit like that and I’ve see us … we’ve gone from being at the fairgrounds in Nashville, Tennessee period to being in 120 countries worldwide now and the interest in other countries is enormous.”His Recent Injury & His Overall Health:“Yeah, I tore something. I went to make a move in the ring and I tore something on the bottom of my right foot and I think ‘oh no I hope it’s not the Achilles’ tendon’. If it is, then I’m done. Wrestling is officially over with. And that night, I said a few words to the crowd in London and that was part of it. I said I don’t know if I’ll be back. I don’t know what this injury is. I’m hoping it’s not serious. The move I was moving around on it, limping around, I could tell … I didn’t think it was the Achilles’ tendon. Then I thought there’s the fascia down there and maybe I just tore the fascia. And that’s exactly what I did. I tore the fascia off … The doctors say 4-6 weeks but it’s like I’m just going to stay off of it, take care of it and be back in the ring a week from this Sunday.”Whether He Agrees With Kurt Angle’s Comment That 2011 Was A “Subpar” Year For TNA..“No, I really don’t. I don’t think it was a subpar year. I think a lot of the young guys have been elevated, guys like James Storm, Bobby Roode. These guys are now making a name for themselves. They’re elevating the company. Everything is moving up. We had a very successful trip to the UK. In my book, that was very successful. Again, getting back to the ratings that we have in other countries, Australia, New Zealand, all over Germany, all over the UK, incredible ratings. We’ve got stuff going on in India now. So, I just see growth. I don’t see how it could be considered subpar.”
Brian Fritz spoke with TNA superstar Sting to discuss the recent Impact Wrestling taping in London with the first episode airing tonight on Spike TV (9:00pET/8:00p CT) , how big the company is there compared to the United States, his health including an update on his recent injury, if he is surprised that he is still wrestling at this stage of his career, rumors that this could be his last year in the ring, Hulk Hogan still getting in the ring and if he thinks that will continue, his thoughts on the growth of the company and if 2011 was a subpar year and more, how Jeff Hardy is doing in overcoming his personal issues and more.

Mick Foley Praises Three TNA Stars
– Mick Foley went on Twitter to compliment TNA Wrestling stars James Storm, Bobby Roode and Bully Ray for their performance on Thursday’s episode of Impact Wrestling.“Well done – @Cowboy_J_Storm , @REALBobbyRoode, and Bully Ray all worked their butts off!” he wrote.Storm faced Roode and Ray in separate matches.
The Rock Puts Over TNA Champion Bobby Roode
Today TNA Champion Bobby Roode got a strong endorsement from WWE star The Rock on Twitter today.The Rock tweeted @TheRock:“@REALBobbyRoode I dig your work. Keep movin’ the crowd and kicking that ass. (tell Bubba his calves still aren’t as big as mine)”
Bobby Roode Responds To The Rock Putting Him Over
TNA Champion Bobby Roode has responded to The Rock endorsing him on Twitter over the weekend.
The Rock tweeted on Saturday:“@REALBobbyRoode I dig your work. Keep movin’ the crowd and kicking that ass. (tell Bubba his calves still aren’t as big as mine)”Roode responded with the following:“@TheRock Thanks for the kind words, means a lot. I will make sure that I remind Bubba about the calves!”Do you think Bobby Roode would fit in well as a main eventer in WWE? Should he stay in TNA, jump to WWE, or build himself up more in TNA before jumping to WWE?

Hulk Hogan Says Bobby Roode Was Being Set up for Failure
TNA Impact Wrestling star Hulk Hogan was recently interviewed by Joel Ross and Rob McNichol of The UK Sun, and Hogan spoke on a number of topics including what his role in TNA actually is. The following are some interview highlights:On the topic of what he actually does for TNA:“I don’t know what I do!” Hogan said. “I really don’t know! Everybody always asks me that! They’ve got a bunch of people there. They’ve got Dixie (Carter), of course. They’ve got Vince Russo who is the head writer, they’ve got Bruce Pritchard is the head of creative. Eric Bischoff is the executive producer. To me he’s between the network and the company, a middle man.I contribute, I’ll throw stuff out there creatively and every once in a while if I need to hit the ring I’ll slide on out there and do whatever, but I don’t really have a job description. I just try to be there, listen and contribute. If there is anything I can do to help or guide the direction, I’m there.”
On Bobby Roode winning the TNA Title at Bound For Glory, Hogan had the following to say:“They were setting him up for failure. They had his parents and everybody saying what a great guy he was. You put the belt on him and he’s a good guy but he’s plain white milk toast and who is he going to work with? When I was sitting at home and I watched the interviews of his parents and his kids and his wife saying what a great guy he was I thought ‘You’ve got one of the greatest wrestling angles set up here that I have ever seen and you don’t even know it!’Don’t let him win the belt, have him screw everybody, turn heel, put some heat on him, keep him heel for a long time, get him red hot, and then when you turn him babyface he’s got a chance to be a Rock or a Stone Cold or a Hogan. (I thought before Bound For Glory) the way you guys have him set up now he’s just ‘one of those TNA originals that has five-star matches that don’t mean nothing’. Give the guy a chance!”

TNA Star Christopher Daniels talks the past year of his career and retirement
Feb 8, 2012 - 12:40 PM


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Between The Ropes interview with WWE star Sting
Host: Brian Fritz
Interview available at BetweenTheRopes.com
Subscribe to Between The Ropes on Itunes: itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/between-the-ropes/id426723548.
On if he is getting more questions lately on how much longer he plans on wrestling for: Yeah, I think once you get past 10, 15 years those questions are…people want to know how long you can keep going. And I've been getting those questions for the last five years. The answer is easy. I've always said as long as I can stay healthy and I'm still having fun I'm going to keep doing it. Right now, I feel like I'm probably in the best shape of my life. I don't see an end. The day I retire is one of those days I know is going to come but I don't see it right now, especially right now enjoying the success that I'm enjoying in TNA and Impact Wrestling.I feel like I've opened the eyes of a lot of people in upper management as far as how I've sort of changed over the last year. When you start to have that success, it sort of lights that fire in your belly. That's what has been going on for me in the last couple of months. I feel like I've turned a corner and I've opened some eyes and some people appreciate what I bring to the table now.On what he has done differently over the past year: I don't know…sort of let go. I think one of the main negatives or at least complaints that I've heard people say is that I take myself too seriously. One of the things I feel like at this point is I've sort of let myself go in the sense that I'm open to anything. I've always been real structured. Coming up, I always had an idea on how I should be portrayed or the way I want to portray myself and I feel in the last few months, even in the last two years, I feel like I've sort of let that go and put my trust in the people that are steering the ship.

Samoa Joe Says Impact Wrestling Needs To Go On The Road
Samoa Joe Says Impact Wrestling Needs To Go On The Road

TNA star Samoa Joe participated in a conference call this week to promote Sunday’s Against All Odds pay-per-view. Here are some highlights, courtesy of Wrestling Voice Radio: The Importance of Restoring Prestige to the Tag Team Championships: “I think it’s absolutely key. Some of the greatest matches that have been ever been wrestled have been Tag Team matches, some of the greatest wrestlers have been Tag Team wrestlers, I think Tag Team wrestling, I don’t know where it fell out of favor, if I’m part of the resurgence and part of making it relevant again then I’m all for that.”

If his Partnership with Magnus Go Further than their Tag Team Title Shot This Sunday: “I think that remains to be seen, I’d like that to continue, I think there’s a nice symbiosis between myself and Magnus, I think the Championship Committee put us together because they thought we’d self destruct and kill two birds with one stone because I’m a problem. I’ve always been a problem and I think TNA are trying to figure out how to contain this problem and their best bet was put oil with vinegar and watch it not mix, and watch it not work out and watch them work themselves into oblivion but obviously we’ve totally ruined that planned and we plan to continue on and rampage on.”

TNA Needing To Move Out of the IMPACT Zone: “I feel it is of dire importance if you want to see the product as well as the fan base continue to grow, people want to see wrestling in their hometown, they wanna go to live events and they want to be part of the experience and forgive me for using the same adjective again but its a very symbiotic experience where the crowd very much powers the performance in the ring and its almost subconscious, when you are out there in front of thousands of screaming fans it amps up your game a little bit, whether you like it or not, it puts you on point, it puts you on focus and makes you want to go out there and put something on fantastically. I think what you saw last week (TV taping from England) was very much evident of that.”
His Proudest Moment in the Company thus far: “Winning the Heavyweight Champions, for a bevy of reasons, first and foremost because it was from an athlete like Kurt Angle, is world renowned and world class and one of the top players in the game and I look forward to replicating that experience here in the near future.”

James Questions Hogan Calling Garrett Bischoff The Future
- TNA knockout Mickie James took offense to Hulk Hogan deeming Garett Bischoff the future of the wrestling industry on Thursday’s Impact Wrestling. She tweeted on Thursday night:

“Ummm…. Did my ears just deceive me… Or did the Immortal Hulk Hogan just call Baby Bischoff the future of this business? WTH?! FML!”

Sounds like a really awesome way to wind up in the TNA doghouse..

- Tara turns 41 years old Friday. She thanked her fans for their support.

She tweeted, “Thank you to all my loyal, Respectful, awesome and loving WPF’s!!!! I love all of you and appreciate your support. Yay it’s my Bday!!”

Tara is the oldest active female wrestler in TNA or WWE.

VIDEO: HULK HOGAN ADDRESSES HIS EX-WIFE'S BEEFCAKE CLAIMS

VIDEO: FOLLOWING STING ON TNA'S EUROPEAN TOUR Before the recent tour of England and the huge IMPACT Tapings in London, we gave "The Icon" Sting a camera to chronicle his journey. This is some of the footage that Sting shot during his time in England. (We apologize for the low audio, but we still wanted to share this cool, inside look at his experience). Note: Mike Weber (in the video) is a TNA office employee who Sting has known for many years.