Astro101

I'm calling Simon/Young for champs of this thing.

TNA will hold their first ever "Chris Candido Memorial Tag Team Tournament" at this Tuesday's Impact taping at Universal Studios in Orlando, Florida, with the concept of a veteran teaming with an younger star. The tournament will span several tapings, with hope being to make it an annual event. In regard to this week's meeting between TNA and Spike TV officials, Bill Banks wrote the following on the TNA website,"As most of you read on the internet, TNA and SpikeTV officials met this past week to plan out our debut on the network. Both sides were said to be ecstatic at the new working relationship, and both offices are already working in conjunction on an upcoming media blitz to hype our start on the network. SpikeTV.com and TNAwrestling.com will also be teaming up in the upcoming months to feature several new interactive features for fans on our respective websites." Speaking of Impact, the first planned taping for the Spike TV show will be 9/27, taping two hours, with a new taping every other week. The expected Spike TV debut is currently Saturday 10/1. Spike TV will be handling advertising for the show, while TNA is providing content in a tradeoff situation. It does not appear that the promotion is paying for the timeslot, which is a tremendous weight off the shoulders of the company. Interesting to note that when TNA debuts, it will be the first time since 1993 that the NWA title has had national television coverage. Jeff Hardy is booked to appear at this Sunday's Sacrifice PPV. Hardy has been said to be really motivated about coming back, and we'll all know soon enough. Expect the return of Jonny Fairplay shortly, as Dixie Carter wants him back in the mix. Well, he is appearing on "Kill Reality" right now. TNA will be holding a fan festival event on Saturday 10/22 as part of their Bound For Glory PPV the next day. Bound For Glory is going to be treated as the company's Wrestlemania and will be the biggest PPV to date for the company, given the range of their potential audience on Spike TV. Bill Banks also confirmed the addition of Kevin M. Sullivan to the TNA production team, which we reported here on PWInsider.com several days ago. The promotion will debut a Christopher Daniels T-shirt this weekend. --------------------------------------------------------- The Candido Tourney sounds really nice, as it may give some young guys some rub. If they can get decent verteran guys, then it'll be interesting. If it's true that TNA isn't paying to be on tv, that's just great news.

That sucks. I think they need to get Traci and Shelly together and form some stable.

I'm fine with the announcers. I guess it's just they've grown on me since the fourth or fifth weekly ppv show they did when I started watching. But if they can get a good heel wrestling announcer, that'd be great. Daniels added just incredible commentary in that match with the Super X Cup.

Very good show. Some sweet matches on the card that would've been soooo much better with a few more minutes. I hope that stipulation stands, that JJ doesn't get a shot for a year. I really hate to say I'm wrong, but Sean Waltman is back, guys. And I like him now with this storyline with Lynn. Again, very good show.

I wanna see the unbeatable Joe vs the so far undefeated champ of Daniels. Aries would throw a wrench into seeing that...but honestly, if Aries wins but he sticks around and they make something out of it with him beating Joe, then it's fine.

If they must bring in Fairplay, let him be the cocky manager. I mean, he actually has some wrestling experience and is a fan of it, so he's not just a reality star that knows nothing about wrestling.

I think I can see Jarrett stroke himself in return for 4 X-division matches. 5 if you count that six man tag with Simon Diamond.

Allright, a revenue stream! About time they charged.

Bringing in the Dudleys would no doubt be a good thing. Their name recognition alone can do a lot for TNA. Yea, younger wrestlers should be pushed, but the tag division needs a little spicing up as well. No reason not to be able to do both.

I don't think this PPV is thrown together. You've got the finals of the X Cup, built up from a month of tourney matches. 3LK vs Brown/Kip has been going on too long, as we know. Main event builds up from last ppv. The 8 man tag has been set up nicely over the past few weeks. I think this could be their best ppv effort yet. I'm very excited for this one come Sunday.

Yea, I'd love to see an exchange where Riley just goes up to Raven and begs for him to be his partner. Simon Diamond/David Young were born for this tournament here. That's what their whole gimmick is all about. Veteran helping younger guy.

TNAWrestling.com A bit of an abbreviated Bank Shot this week as we count down the hours until this Sunday’s “Sacrifice” live and exclusively on Pay-Per-View. For the remainder of the week, everyone at the TNA offices will be busy putting the final touches on this Sunday’s epic event. The majority of the TNA staff will arrive in Orlando on Saturday afternoon, with the wrestlers flying in Saturday night and Sunday morning. In my opinion, I truly believe this Pay-Per-View has a chance to be our best yet. The lineup is packed and on paper every match looks to deliver in a big way. We’ve certainly tried our best to put together a show packed with intrigue, X Division action and a surprise or two – now it’s up to our roster to deliver in the ring. Based on the fact our roster has taken it to the next level on each of our PPV events, I’m confident this Sunday will be no different. TNA Pay-Per-Views have earned the reputation of being special, and our stars deserve all the credit. For fans that may have ordered the Great American Bash from our competitor and were disappointed with their purchase, we ask you to take this opportunity to check out our product and judge for yourself. The current lineup for this Sunday’s show is as follows: MAIN EVENT NWA World Heavyweight Champion Raven and Sabu vs. Jeff Jarrett and Rhino SUPER X CUP FINALS “The Phenomenal” AJ Styles vs. “The Samoan Submission Machine” Samoa Joe OVER A DECADE IN THE MAKING The TNA in-ring return of Jerry Lynn vs. Sean Waltman NON-TITLE INTERNET DREAM MATCH X Champion The Fallen Angel Christopher Daniels vs. Winner of Voting (Thus far, Austin Aries is commanding the lead – voting ends Friday) CHALLENGE MATCH Lance Hoyt vs. Abyss w/Jim Mitchell DECISION TIME FOR BG JAMES Konnan and The Truth vs. Kip James and The Alpha Male Monty Brown Special Referee: BG James EIGHT MAN TAG TEAM WARFARE NWA World Tag Team Champions The Naturals and America’s Most Wanted vs. Team Canada (Williams, Roode, Young and A1) TIED 1-1: FINAL MATCH Shocker vs. Alex Shelley In addition, one more match will be announced on Friday featuring Chris Sabin, Sonjay Dutt and Shark Boy. TNAwrestling.com will also release the Countdown Preshow match this Friday as well. In my opinion, each and every match offers something different on the show. It will be tremendous to see Raven and Sabu team up again in the main event, while everyone is waiting to see if AJ Styles has the answer to beat the “Samoan Submission Machine” Samoa Joe in the finals of the Super X Cup, the winner of which advances to face The Fallen Angel at Unbreakable for the X Championship. Speaking of Daniels, the “Internet Dream Match” poll we put up on Monday has been a huge hit across the internet. At this point, it’s going to be tough for Jay Lethal, Roderick Strong or Matt Sydal to catch up to Austin Aries, so you may well be seeing Daniels vs. Aries this Sunday when the voting ends Friday. Longtime wrestling fans can look forward to the match between Sean Waltman and the returning Jerry Lynn, a match over a decade in the making. Lynn is back in tremendous shape and has been training like a madman in recent months. In addition, we’ll see if Lance Hoyt can step up to the plate on Sunday and cement himself as a player in the heavyweight ranks when he faces the monster Abyss. This is Hoyt’s first big test as a singles competitor in TNA – one that I think he’s more than ready for. In the eight man tag team match, you’ll see America’s Most Wanted and The Naturals team up for the first time ever to take on Team Canada, which after their long and bloody history should be interesting to watch. Meanwhile, BG James will certainly have to make a decision one way or another this Sunday when he’s the special referee for 3LK vs. Kip James and The Alpha Male, while the third and deciding rubber match between Alex Shelley and Shocker rounds out the matches announced thus far, with one more involving Sabin, Dutt and Sharkie to be announced Friday. Plus – we’ve learned from TNA management that “The Charismatic Enigma” Jeff Hardy has been informed his suspension has been lifted and he is expected to appear this Sunday at the Pay-Per-View. The free Countdown Preshow starts a half hour prior to “Sacrifice” on Sunday on your Pay-Per-View preview channel. As always, the preshow will feature last-minute news and interviews before the event, with a free bonus match as well. Full results, photos, news items and fan reaction to the event will be posted on TNAwrestling.com within a few hours following the Pay-Per-View. We’ll also have footage from the event online that night via the replay commercial for fans that may have missed the event and want to check it out the following day. TNA Wrestling returns to Universal Studios on Tuesday for our monthly television tapings, which will lead into the “Unbreakable” Pay-Per-View on September 11. As always, fans who attend the taping will be treated to photos and autographs with the TNA stars at ringside immediately following the taping. This Tuesday in Orlando will also feature the start of a tag team tournament, one we hope to make a yearly summer event along with the Super X Cup – “The 2005 Chris Candido Memorial Tag Team Tournament”, which will feature established veterans on the roster teaming with the young lions in our locker room. Candido was always about teaching and guiding the younger stars of the business, and the tournament will be a fitting tribute to that legacy. More details will be announced next week on the website. Speaking of our television tapings, TNA Wrestling is in the process of putting together an official press release on our upcoming SpikeTV “iMPACT!” television taping schedule, which will begin in September. A release on our debut date and time on Spike is in the works as well. As most of you read on the internet, TNA and SpikeTV officials met this past week to plan out our debut on the network. Both sides were said to be ecstatic at the new working relationship, and both offices are already working in conjunction on an upcoming media blitz to hype our start on the network. SpikeTV.com and TNAwrestling.com will also be teaming up in the upcoming months to feature several new interactive features for fans on our respective websites. While the October 23 “Bound For Glory” Pay-Per-View is still two months away, there’s already some major plans being put together for the event. We’re hoping “Bound For Glory” will become one of our yearly, crown-jewel events, much like Lockdown will become. In addition to the Pay-Per-View that Sunday, the TNA “InterAction” fanfest will also return to Orlando the day before on Saturday. Details of the fanfest are being put together as I type this, and we’ll have the full information on the website next Friday afternoon. Along with preparations for SpikeTV and Bound For Glory, TNA is also finalizing our first line of DVDs that will hit retail stores in early October. The Best of Raven, AJ Styles, Jeff Hardy and a new X Division DVD will be the first releases in many retailers, while Wal-Mart will feature the “TNA Anthology” box set of Victory Road, Turning Point and Lockdown. With our new national DVD distribution deal with Navarre, we’re planning on releasing up to 20 TNA DVD titles each year. TNA added another television production wizard to our staff this past week, as former WWE producer Kevin Sullivan (not the wrestler) has signed on with the company. Sullivan will be working closely with David Sahadi in the upcoming months, and based on the fact I worked with him at WWE I know what he brings to the table. Funny side note – Sullivan’s first TV project at WWE was a commercial shoot in 1998 for RAW Magazine starring none other than yours truly. Maybe someday I’ll get a copy of it and Ebay it. On another side note, why is it everywhere I go in this business I end up working with a “Kevin Sullivan”? Hopefully, TNA’s Sullivan won’t be drinking “From the gahhhhblet of dahhhhkness”…..(that’s a vague reference for you “Dungeon of Doom” fans out there) Speaking of our friend David Sahadi, we’ll be unveiling a new area on the website dedicated to the amazing opening Pay-Per-View videos Sahadi has done. Fans will be able to watch all of the opening videos Sahadi has produced right here on the website, and we’ll add the current videos immediately following the Pay-Per-Views. Last but not least, be on the lookout for a new t-shirt featuring The Fallen Angel Christopher Daniels hitting ShopTNA.com this weekend. That’s it for this week! Tune in to “Sacrifice” this Sunday on Pay-Per-View and enjoy the show! Bill Banks

Jeff Hardy Suspension Lifted, "Internet Dream Match" Announced News August 5th, 2005 18:38 TNAwrestling.com learned on Friday afternoon that TNA management has lifted their suspension on “The Charismatic Enigma” Jeff Hardy, which resulted from Hardy’s failure to appear at May’s “Hard Justice” event. According to TNA management, Hardy has been informed of the decision and that he is expected to appear at the Sunday, August 14 “Sacrifice” Pay-Per-View. Once more information is available, we will post it here on TNAwrestling.com first. In addition, we’ve learned that starting this Monday on the website there will be a special vote by fans for an “Internet Dream Match” to determine The Fallen Angel Christopher Daniels’ opponent at “Sacrifice”. Fans will have the opportunity to select one of several independent wrestling stars, with the winner facing Daniels next Sunday, August 14 on Pay-Per-View in an X Division non-title match. TNAwrestling.com will release the names along with the official vote this Monday afternoon on the website. -- PWI says voting will be legit.

I really liked "Be Yourself", but I'd rather kill that song to death by listening it non-stop on my iPod instead of having the Diva Search getting me tired of it.

Damn, I wish I have seen all of these guys' work. But so far Austin Aries seems to be leading the pack.

The third ppv was Final Resolution, and wasn't that followed by Destination X?

Hopefully they'll have clips of each wrestler on the poll so the casual fans can have something to base a vote on.

I remember that Nitro with the voting. It was cool, indeed. And there will be some ROH guys in the poll, so I can't wait to see the names.

Cole: Smackdown! The only place where you'll find miniature heavyweight action!

WORK OR SHOOT MOGZ

Yea, TNA shouldn't mention WWE. I guess in the advertising business it's "okay" for the second place product to mention the first but not the other way around, but TNA shouldn't mention them straight out. If it's the Dudleys coming out or something and they can get people to rally for the TNA product, so be it.

I think casual fans will tune in to the X-division or stay on the channel if they see some guys flying around. I was watching TNA's special on Best Damn Sports Show with Ultimate X and he was impressed by it. Probably because he had never seen anything like that before. I always thought that the X-division should be a separate but equal title to the heavyweight...well, maybe not as equal, but of very high importance nonetheless.

Or...if you have high speed, just go to TNA's website and watch the streaming iMPACT! show from this past week.

I have a bit more hope for TNA though, because of the bookends. UFC is heavily promoted. And Stern goes with the whole Spiketv type attitude for men. Time will tell.