Wrestling Thread Nov 7-13 | 11/13 TNA Turning Point - Roode vs Styles, Jarrett vs Hardy

The only thing that looks disappointing to me about that Austin DVD is that most of those matches are already on other DVDs. The Documentary and moment discs should make it worth picking up though.
 
just now watching last week's impact and i must say that i was wrong about tna being at a point of no return.

since bfg (a ppv that i didn't really like) i have thoroughly enjoyed the weekly product and have been entertained alot more than anything RAW/SD has put on tv in the past 2-3 months.


impact is still a problem-ridden company but they seem to be moving in a good direction (how ever long it may last)


Spoiler [+]
just get bishoff and his son off my damned computer screen
 
NJ.com is reporting that TNA Impact Wrestling star Matt Morgan's cousin, Michael Morgan, was shot and killed on Monday morning after being held up at gunpoint while escorting a dancer to her car.

Morgan, a detective in The Newark Police Department for 6 years, was outside of a Paterson, NJ nightclub at 3am on Monday morning when the hold up took place. The story notes, "while he was off-duty near a Paterson nightclub this morning, the talented and aggressive drug cop did exactly what DeMaio and those who knew him have come to expect — he tried to stop him [the assailant].

That dedication may have gotten him killed.

Seconds before he was shot, police believe, Morgan reached for a weapon to defend himself and a woman from an assailant trying to rob them outside Sunshine Gentleman’s Lounge in Paterson, DeMaio said tonight. The attack, which happened just after 3 a.m., ended with Morgan suffering a fatal gunshot wound to the torso. He died within the hour at St. Joseph’s Regional Medical Center in Paterson, just across the street from where he was shot." The story, which you can read in full if you click the above link, noted that the police are still looking for the shooter, and a $25,000 reward is being offered for information leading to his capture and arrest.

Matt Morgan commented on the incident by posting the following on Twitter:

"Mike Morgan was a highly decorated cop, who was in (the) anti-gang division and Monday was to start SVU. Still can't believe he got killed. Too young with HUGE career in front of him still.

News said he'd gotten out of over 600 'guns drawn situations over his career in anti-gang without having to draw his own. That's insanely impressive."

Sad.
 
Very sad to hear about Morgan's cousin like that, wow
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was watching troy earlier today, completely forgot nathan jones was in the film.


i remember dude was going to receive a monster push.
 
current plans are for beth and natalya to feud over the divas title.


- For what it’s worth, John Morrison is not listed for any WWE bookings after the December 1st show in Yokohama, Japan. This could indicate that as of the recent booking updates, Morrison is set to leave the company. Morrison’s recent win over Dolph Ziggler could be a sign that things have changed and he’s sticking around.


- WWE had John Cena lay out The Miz and R-Truth on the Halloween RAW Supershow because Cena was laid out the week before and was scheduled again to go down on the November 7th RAW. Officials felt that even though it would appear to weaken the Survivor Series build, they didn’t want Cena being beat up three weeks in a row on RAW.
 
News & Notes - Part 2

Spoiler [+]

Breaking News: Christian suffers injury tonight?

At tonight's Smackdown event in Brussels, Belgium, Christian appeared to have injured his knee during a match with Sheamus.

About four or five minutes into their match, Sheamus threw Christian into the ropes. As Christian came off the ropes, he attempted to slide under Sheamus' legs and instantly grabbed his knee. When he tried to get up, he limped. As the referee came to check on him, it was apparent that he was hurt. The referee said something to Sheamus, who proceeded to quickly hit Christian with the Brogue kick to end the match.

After the match, the referee gave the X sign as Christian rolled out of the ring. The referee and a member of security helped him to the back. It appeared to be Christian's right knee or ankle that was injured, and it looked pretty serious.

More shortly.


The original World Title plan going into Bound For Glory and who Bischoff & Hogan want to "carry the company".

Without question the most-talked about thing amongst fans and people within TNA Impact Wrestling has been the title picture involving Kurt Angle, Bobby Roode and James Storm. The "Internet marks" as Hogan and Bischoff like to call them, aren't the only people "scratching their heads" over what has been going on. I'm told with Bruce Prichard taking over the book, Hogan and Bischoff have put even more focus on making sure they control the main event picture. One observer said they do not really care much beyond that (which has been their mentality all the way back to their days together in WCW).

There was a "very solid" plan going into Bound For Glory last month for Roode to go over Kurt Angle for the TNA Championship with Storm ending up getting jealous and turning on him to setup a title program between the tag team. However, the weekend of the show, Hogan and Bischoff felt the plan was all wrong and that Storm needed to be the babyface. This caused Prichard to re-book a lot of stuff on very short notice.

I'm told Hogan and Bischoff have also made it very clear they still see Jeff Hardy as the babyface that should be "carrying the company" and the title should ultimately end up on him. Some feel like because the Roode push wasn't their idea and they'd rather Hardy as the top babyface, they decided to have Roode turn heel. At this point no one is in a position to argue with Hogan and Bischoff because they have more influence now than any other period during their tenure with the company.

It's believed the increase of power has come from the fact Bob Carter has been ill over the last few months and Janice has had to assume more responsibility than ever before. While this could be coincidental, some people certainly feel there is a connection.


The Mick Foley to WWE story; who slowed his return and who went directly to Vince for Foley.

Mick Foley has finally signed with the WWE. When Foley left TNA/Impact Wrestling several months ago he figured getting back on with WWE would be easy. It didn't end up working out as quickly as he expected.

Sources with knowledge of Foley's latest deal say that one of the things that slowed his return to WWE was the influence of Triple H. Hunter now has much more influence on who is hired under his new executive position. Triple H has reportedly "had it out" for Foley going back to the late 90's. Apparently the issues aren't anything personal, just the fact that Hunter feels Foley doesn't look like a star and definitely shouldn't be a top guy.

On the other hand, I'm told The Rock has always been very pro-Mick Foley and all these years later he actually played a role in Foley's return. Triple H wasn't outright blocking Foley's return but one of my sources feels he was enjoying making Foley sweat. With the way Foley left TNA, Hunter didn't see that he had an option to go elsewhere and didn't see any reason to rush a WWE contract offer. The Rock ended up finding out about it and went directly to Vince McMahon. It's believed The Rock requested Foley be brought back which is why he was in the plans for 11/14 Raw Supershow (the go-home to Survivor Series) that will feature The Rock.

The Rock even went as far as pitching Foley for his team at Survivor Series and had Vince McMahon's approval but apparently there are issues with Mick Foley's schedule on that day.

- Survivor Series was scheduled to feature the Traditional 5-on-5 Match with John Cena & The Rock anchoring the babyfaces with The Miz & R-Truth anchoring the heel team. The plan was changed when it was discovered Mick Foley had a scheduling conflict and would most likely be unavailable for the pay-per-view. I'm told by a source with direct knowledge of the situation that a lot thought was given as to who his replacement would be.

The concern was that without a third major name to add to the team of The Rock and Cena, having five guys on each side might just end up "watering things down." Vince McMahon went directly to The Rock with the idea of simply doing Rock & Cena vs. Miz & Truth to see if he was comfortable with it. The Rock ended up being in agreement that without Foley, the Traditional 5-on-5 Survivor Series Match wouldn't have the same "oomph" as just going with the tag match.

This ended up coming as a relief to the writing team as many of the writers felt there was a lot of pressure to stack talent in that match and with ten guys, they feared the undercard would end up very thin. Especially now that it looks like WWE is delaying Triple H vs. Kevin Nash to their Tables, Ladders & Chairs pay-per-view next month.

[color= rgb(255, 0, 0)]Yet another reason why I don't mess w/ HHH. This insecure egotistical $%! _ still can't let petty +#+@ go from back in the day. [/color]
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[color= rgb(255, 0, 0)] Big reason why Taker didn't @**! with him all those years.[/color]


Mick Foley talks about his return and who he wants to wrestle.

Mick Foley appeared on Wrestling Voice Radio this week and spoke about returning to WWE last week at a live event from Dublin, Ireland.

When asked about why Foley chose an overseas house show for his big return, Foley said:

"The basic answer is because I just happened to be flying into Dublin the day they were there and my hotel was literally across the street. I called and asked if I could come hang out and it was a lot of fun."

Foley was originally advertised November 14th RAW Supershow from Boston featuring The Rock's return, but says he wasn't surprised when WWE scrapped the idea and decided to keep the attention on The Rock that night.

Foley also said he probably has one big match left in him and named The Miz as the person he'd want to wrestle.


Backstage news on Vince Russo's demotion and how it leaked on the Internet.

Bruce Prichard leaked word to a pro wrestling website that he would be replacing Vince Russo as head of creative. Prichard wouldn't have leaked the news had it not been a done deal. Everything once again leads back to Hulk Hogan's negotiations for a new contract.

One of my sources tells me that during Hogan's negotiations with TNA he was trying once again to see if he could get Russo pushed out. Prichard would be a logical replacement [as head of creative] as he's done a great job politically because he's gained a lot of power quickly. Russo is still writing television but not booking the overall direction so that may have been a compromise to keep him employed. I was re-assured Dixie Carter would not fire him so maybe the fact Russo was no longer booking the overall direction was enough to please Hogan.

As for Hogan's mindset, he's suddenly very pro-TNA as of late. Russo losing some power may have made him more optimistic about the company's chances of surviving. While a lot of people aren't talking about it, both Hogan and Bischoff privately set a goal to get the booking of the company out of Russo's hands by the end of their initial two years. Now it looks like that has happened as time was running out.

The fact Russo has been pushed out as head of creative is seen as a big deal because people have tried for years but nobody has been able to do it.


The complete details surrounding the WWE Network and the major changes being discussed that could affect the company long-term.

Much like creative plans have changed day-to-day (if not hour-to-hour) in WWE lately, the same could be said about many of the ideas and concepts for the forthcoming WWE Network.

One plan WWE had was to shift some of their minor pay-per-views to the network and instead have them as television specials (exclusive to the network). One potential problem though was that the cable and satellite operators get a large cut of the pay-per-view money and weren't going to be eager to support the launch of a new channel that would be cannibalizing a lot of that pay-per-view revenue. Regardless, Vince McMahon had recently toyed with the idea of even more of the pay-per-view events being moved to the WWE Network, possibly all of them except for the "big four" shows (Royal Rumble, Wrestlemania, SummerSlam and Survivor Series).

It was around this time he also began to consider launching the network as a premium subscription service (such as HBO, Showtime, etc.) as opposed to it being a cable channel most likely carried on the digital tier of most providers. With pay-per-view struggling as much as it has for the less prestigious events, the idea was that perhaps the company would be better off if they had a few hundred thousand subscribers paying $10-$12 a month than the lower pay-per-view buyrates they've been doing in the United States. Some in the company thought it was a bad idea to go the subscription route because WWE "Classics On Demand" is considered to be a failure internally. However, Vince usually blames the failure of WWE "Classics On Demand" on the fact that so much of the programming is old and of other promotions. In his mind, the current WWE product is still in demand and while classic footage would still be a part of the network, WWE "Classics On Demand" failed in his eyes because classic footage was the focus and not enough people are interested in the old companies.

Another hope was that a subscription model would garner some support from cable and satellite systems concerned about loss of revenue from there being less pay-per-view events as now the network would be generating subscription fees that the cable systems would be getting a cut of. A few providers were approached about some of the more current ideas for the network and they were receptive. But the idea of moving 9 of the 13 PPV's off of pay-per-view still wasn't something they were fond of and that's where the idea came from to move back to the original idea of only shifting a few of the PPVs to WWE Network, except now it would be four of the most important shows instead of four of the least important.

Industry insiders believe the WWE Network's best chance for success would be for WWE to buy an existing network with it's own clearance already in place. WWE's efforts to do that have not panned out so far.

One of the reasons WWE began airing advertisements is because the network is struggling to gain clearance on the aforementioned systems. I am told the company hopes the ads will result in fans contacting their providers and demanding they pick up the channel when it launches. They are hoping the pressure applied by their fans will give them a "leg up" in negotiations for clearance.

I'm told if the network does not gain clearance by its proposed launch date, there is a plan to carry it online at a small fee per month. One observer commented about how much they have struggled to get WWE 24/7 on systems and they do not see why the WWE Network will not be a struggle as well.

As for ideas regarding content, there are definitely plans to air programming other than wrestling. There have been multiple ideas about possible sitcoms including a Hornswoggle cartoon where he is constantly pestering a cartoon Michael Cole and a show similar to "Baywatch" with the Divas as lifeguards. I'm told the original non-wrestling programming is "going to be embarrassing."

A lot of this is still up in the air and there is a lot of scrambling going on because of Vince's determination to get it launched next year even though it can be a very slow process dealing with the cable operators. A lot of surveys, market research and studies are going on right now to try to figure out what the WWE audience would be most receptive to while at the same time working within the parameters of what will please the cable companies and ultimately gain the network carriage. Another aspect of this is that even though the company would be giving up a tremendous amount of revenue if Wrestlemania wasn't on pay-per-view in the United States (and possibly other territories), Vince does feel like Wrestlemania is so important it would pretty much guarantee the majority of cable and satellite operators would have to carry the network due to the amount of complaints they would receive if they did not. A lot of "cat and mouse" games are played when it comes to networks dealing with the cable companies and very few networks are big enough to have any leverage. Vince may be willing to give up millions now if using Wrestlemania as a bargaining chip is what it's going to take to successfully launch.

WWE is currently looking to hire a producer for their network, with pay starting at $300,000 with benefits. While that may sound sweet, because of the uncertaintly on how WWE's network will do, and if it's flops, the producer's name could be tarnished within the industry.

As always, there will be many twists and turns in this story and as one observer put it, it's going to be "fascinating" to watch unfold. As they told me, Vince is getting up there in age and sees the success or lack thereof of this network as being a major part of his enduring legacy. I'm told he's going to do anything he can to make it work.


More on the shift of focus from WWE Studios to the WWE Network.

There is a clear shift of focus within WWE from producing films under the WWE Studios banner to allocating resources for the WWE Network. Vince McMahon and other top company officials have kept a lot of the stuff regarding the WWE Network close to the company vest because the truth is, a lot of uncertainty remains. WWE is trying to curb spending and allocate funds where they need to be in order to get the best clearance deal possible (such as plans for an interactive website capable of hosting programming). No upgrades to the company media center are expected at this time but WWE is focused on producing cheap in-house programming. Another very useful resource in the launch of the WWE Network is the company's 30,000 hours of digitized programming.


Recap of WWE's latest investor conference call.

WWE held a conference call with investors this morning to discuss their third quarter earnings of 2011.Y ou can read a full recap below:

Michael Weitz opened the call and announced Vince McMahon and Chief Financial Officer George Barrios would be on today's call.

McMahon took over and discussed profits being up after comparability factored in.

Vince said they have finally turned the corner with the WWE Network and are in a good position. He made it clear they have several ongoing discussions about partners for the network and are about to make a major announcement regarding the project. McMahon talked about the allocation of millions to the WWE Network for staffing and construction.

George Barrios ran down the results, including mentioning that ratings for WWE Raw were "flat." He said the company's decision not to place WWE NXT and WWE Superstars is "strategic" in nature.

Barrios said in the next three months they are going to release their three most recent films by WWE Studios.

The launch of the WWE Network in 2012 will impact the quarter four earnings of 2011 because of start-up expenses. These expenses include an interactive website capable of hosting programming. Barrios reiterated the WWE Network will not change their current television deals domestically.

We went to the question and answer session.

WWE Network - Are you where you expected to be in terms of how close you are to actually launching the network?

Vince McMahon said "very much so" and almost at an "accelerated" rate.

Does similar failed networks give WWE pause in launching the WWE Network? Vince McMahon called the Oprah Network a miserable failure and said it doesn't take a genius to figure out the Oprah Network didn't capitalize on what Oprah does best. They tried to brand the Oprah name without having Oprah featured. They're going to do the opposite because McMahon said they understand what fans want. He believes this will make the WWE Network extraordinary successful.

After discussing decline in toy revenue, the caller wanted to know about the strategy of WWE Studios with the decline in straight-to-DVD projects. McMahon said the decline doesn't mean they "are not" backing away from future releases. While this is my opinion, it sounds like WWE plans on releasing their remaining WWE Studios projects then moving their focus more towards the WWE Network.

WWE is not scrapping their Media Center and will work in terms of what they have with the launch of the WWE Network.

Barrios said international live event attendance is "holding on" despite comparability being difficult because the company doesn't run in the same venues and cities in the same quarters each year.

A caller wanted to know with The Rock returning what that meant for the attendance of Survivor Series. McMahon replied by saying Survivor Series sold out in 90 minutes.

Vince McMahon said there is no partnership with the WWE Network.

The change in creative direction going into Money in the Bank was brought up and how things calmed back down after that. Officials were asked if the reality-based booking would continue or if something else contributed to the big buzz being stalled. Vince responded that he didn’t understand the question and feels that WWE still has a buzz around their brand, a buzz that continues to build. Vince is as optimistic today about the future as he ever has been.

Vince said there is more demand for their content than ever before.

A caller wants some sense of timing when WWE would provide a timetable for a potential partner for the WWE Network. The caller says they know WWE is spending money but there is not a specific timetable of a return. Barrios said they would be guessing if they set a date. Barrios said he'd say less than 6 months.

A caller wants to know how many hours and titles in the WWE tape library? What rights are tied to the library? George Barrios said they have 100,000 hours with 30,000 digitized. They're investing into turning the digitized material into programming. Barrios said it's the most underutilized and undervalued asset the company has.

A caller wants to know how many stars are currently in the WWE talent pool? Vince McMahon said it depends on what you call the "talent pool." Barrios said they have roughly 150 people under contract with 2/3's being developmental that people don't know about.

Out of the names that people don't know, what do you see in terms of the next Rock? McMahon sarcastically answered the question and said they were "very optimistic."

In context of the shows currently running, will the existing shows remain in place for the duration of their current contracts? Vince McMahon said they need to be there to help build the network.

Finally, a caller asks about the distribution agreement for Monday Night Raw. The distribution agreement is a 5-year agreement through October 2014.


What caused Evan Bourne, Heath Slater & Darren Young to receive Wellness Strikes; more on suspensions and WWE policy.

I can confirm Evan Bourne, Heath Slater and Darren Young all received 30-day suspensions and their first strike of the WWE Wellness Policy for the same reason - testing positive for synthetic marijuana.

It's somewhat hypocritical the use of synthetic marijuana carries a suspension when the use of marijuana simply carries a fine. I did some research and noticed the company has stipulated a special section in their Wellness Policy regarding synthetic cannabinoids. The two substances WWE officials are focusing on are "Spice" and "K2." With these substances becoming popular amongst several in the locker room, WWE has banned them regardless of whether there is a prescription (which is something they also did with SOMAs).

I'm told there are also efforts being made in Congress to pass laws against these substances to take them off the market in the United States.

Here are the details straight from the WWE Wellness Policy:
B. FOR POSITIVE MARIJUANA DRUG TESTS

In the event of any positive test for marijuana, the WWE Talent shall be fined Two Thousand Five Hundred US Dollars ($2,500.00) per positive test, which shall be deducted from the WWE Talent's downside guarantee.

C. FOR POSITIVE ALCOHOL SUBSTANCE TESTS

In the event of a positive test for alcohol, the WWE Talent shall be fined Two Thousand Five Hundred US Dollars ($2,500.00) per positive test, which shall be deducted from the WWE Talent's downside guarantee.
I can now also confirm that Tough Enough winner Andy Leavine did serve a 30-day suspension from WWE for his first violation of the Wellness Policy although his suspension was never announced by WWE. The suspensions of Leavine, senior referee Mike Chioda and Sin Cara were not because of synthetic marijuana.
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Spike TV President and Eric Bischoff want Impact Wrestling on the road more frequently.

Kevin Kay, president of Spike TV, recently spoke on Impact Wrestling going on the road, and the possibility of doing it more often:

“It was a mutual (Spike & TNA) decision. Dixie and Eric came in and pushed for it. I always wanted to do it. It’s great to have a home, but you don’t get the level of excitement as you do on the road. It adds a another level. We’re continuing discussions.
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*Enters ring*
Spoiler [+]
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I'm going to keep this short and sweet. I have a stage to rock the #@%# out of with Fozzy.

Attention Jeriholics of NTWE and around the NT Universe!

Club. Can I call you that? Well, I'm going to. I applaud you for choosing me for the final spot on  Team NTDown for NTSeries. I also thank you. It just goes to show the people love Jeribkmac. I mean, I haven't even had a match yet! But I've cut promos that leave you all 'woahing', wear suits that keep me 'glowing'... you get the point.

Come NTSeries, you are all going to get the best out of me. I've been ready for a match, and now I have two that night? I guarantee I come into the Team match as the newly crowned I.C. champ from earlier in the night.

*camera zooms into my mind*

images


*zooms back to the ring*

So listen up Team NTRawful, you asshats. Team NTDown is coming for you; coming to NTSeries only to win. I'm making it my person mission to come for each and everyone of you. My night starts with winning the I.C. title, and it will end with holding the hands up of my fellow NTDown team members as we end the night in victory.

Peace ladies, we'll all be in touch.
 
I rather they actually make Beth & Nattie not look like jokes and have them just run rampant over
the division, while building up other divas (AJ & Kaitlyn?) to look strong so the matches won't be
forgone conclusions.

I saw that logo earlier
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It's like they're constantly just raping the WWF scratch logo
 
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@ both HHH's ego and Vince's blindness when it comes to what's in demand/popular/obvious, etc. I swear
if seems like Vince has been out of touch for nearly a decade.

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A Hornswoggle/Michael Cole cartoon?
Divas as lifeguards....only if they were on HBO or FX....this original programming will indeed be embarrassing.

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@ Evan Bourne's tweets. Ditto
 
Just copped the Bret and Shawn dvd can't check it out until Friday though.

I don't own the other Stone Cold dvds so that might be a must copp.
 
Originally Posted by hombrelobo

Originally Posted by theDEEK

Club, you still have to announce your last member for NTSeries.
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Don't worry, man. I'm sure he'll get to it soon.
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Peep Game wrote:
I rather they actually make Beth & Nattie not look like jokes and have them just run rampant over
the division, while building up other divas (AJ & Kaitlyn?) to look strong so the matches won't be
forgone conclusions.
exquisitely magnificent idea, young chap.



laugh.gif
that steiner burial was more brutal than any nash/hhh burial combined.

Spoiler [+]
really the second week of november already? supershow right around the corner. time to start dropping some gems on the mic.
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after raw next week.
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I swear the WWE is doomed once Vince steps down and Paul takes over. Yeah Vince is washed up and crazy now, but for a long time the man was a genius. What the hell does Paul know about business, running a wrestling company, etc etc.
 
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