The following is from TNAWrestling.com:
THE BANK SHOT: TNA NEWS AND NOTES
By Bill Banks
Well, itâs certainly been a while since Iâve written a column. With the signing of Kurt Angle and the whirlwind that followed, as well as the ongoing preparations for the October 22 Bound For Glory and the âiMPACT!â move to primetime on November 16, everyone in TNA has been kicking it up a higher gear and putting in some major time and effort.
Mondayâs âiMPACT!â tapings in Orlando, Florida, was certainly an exciting day with the arrival of Kurt Angle to TNA Wrestling. I was filming when Terry Taylor met Angle at the hotel and drove him to the arena, the footage of which was posted this week on YouTube and was the #4 most viewed video on the popular website. What a moment it was to capture on film AJ Styles meeting Kurt Angle for the first time. Certainly, thatâs a dream match myself, along with millions of other fans, would love to see. Angle vs. Styles, Angle vs. Joe, Angle vs. Sting, Angle vs. Jarrett, Angle vs. Abyss, Angle vs. Rhinoâ¦the list just goes on and on.
In case you were wondering why AJ got out of the car and examined his back bumper in the video, that was because Taylor jokingly knocked Stylesâ rental car when he pulled up behind him.
Back to Angle â” I was one of the lucky few in attendance on Monday afternoon for the closed-door interview with the Olympic gold medalist. I donât want to spoil what Angle has to say on Thursdayâs âiMPACT!â, but in my time in the sport working for WWE, WCW and now TNA, I have never witnessed a more emotional interview. Angle was very candid about his side of the story on leaving the WWE, but he was also very emotional about how fortunate he feels to have a new start with TNA, a new freedom with his family and a new lease on life. I was happy to have had the opportunity to witness the interview first-hand.
Angle bent over backwards to accommodate everything that was asked of him and seemed right at home mingling with many friends heâs worked with throughout his career. We filmed as much of his first day in TNA as we could, the footage of which will be posted on the website in the coming weeks. Plus, if youâve read the internet reports from the tapings, you know Angle kicked off his TNA career in a huge way. To those of you that would rather be surprised, youâll be glad you went out of your way to avoid the spoilers. After the taping, I filmed an interview with Angle for the website where he stated âAfter being out there tonight, my goal is to make every WWE fan a TNA fan from this point on.â
Onto the TNA news and notes from this past week on the website. As an ongoing part of my column, I will re-post many of the news items featured here on the website. Weâve posted so much news in the last two weeks that some of you may have missed out on some items. So, the below is a comprehensive recap of all the stories from the past weeks:
OTHER TNA NEWS ON KURT ANGLE
On Tuesday night on the SpikeTV âScream Awardsâ, Kurt Angle â” along with model/actress Krista Allen â” presented the âBreakout Performanceâ Award. Angle and Allen announced the winner as Jennifer Carpenter, the star of âThe Exorcism Of Emily Roseâ. TNA Wrestling would like to thank all our fans that tuned into the SpikeTV âScream Awardsâ.
Also, in perhaps a wrestling first, nearly every wrestling magazine in the world has contacted TNA in the past week regarding photos of Kurt Angle for the cover story for their upcoming issues!
WHAT MESSAGE IS STING TRYING TO SEND?
In recent weeks on “iMPACT!”, a series of video packages have aired featuring Sting – who is currently in seclusion preparing for his upcoming NWA World Heavyweight Title match against Jeff Jarrett at “Bound For Glory”. In the videos, the wrestling icon appears to be going through some sort of transformation, including a change to his facepaint, something not witnessed from Sting in over a decade! What kind of message is Sting trying to send? Tune in on Thursday’s “iMPACT!” for part three of the video series!
TNAâS âROAD TO GLORYâ ON SPIKE TV
Expect news in the upcoming days on TNAwrestling.com concerning the âTNA: Road To Gloryâ special on SpikeTV prior to the âBound For Gloryâ Pay-Per-View. The broadcast will be hosted by Jeremy Borash and TNA Knockout Christy Hemme.
TNA EVENTS IN PHILADELPHIA, EAST HARTFORD AND MEXICO
Also expect news in the coming days on the website for TNAâs first event in Mexico, taking place in Monterrey on November 25! All of your favorite TNA stars will be appearing at the show, and tickets are currently available for sale in the âLive Events Areaâ on the main page! Also recently announced were TNA/UWF live events scheduled in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and East Hartford, Connecticut! Visit www.uwfusa.com for more information.
TNA MERCHANDISE UPDATES
TNAâs 2006 Sacrifice and Destination X Pay-Per-View events will be available on DVD in time for the holiday season. In addition, new designs for AJ Styles, Christopher Daniels and Samoa Joe shirts are in the works. âThe Best Of The X Division 2, Volume 2â DVD will be available for sale at the InterAction fanfest prior to âBound For Gloryâ. Finally, also coming soon to ShopTNA.com will be a 2007 calendar featuring the lovely TNA Knockouts!
PIERZYNSKI CHALLENGES CENA ON COLD PIZZA
On Tuesday morningâs episode of âCold Pizzaâ on ESPN2, WWE champion John Cena was one of the special guests. During the broadcast, Cena was surprised when Chicago White Sox star and TNAâs biggest MLB fan AJ Pierzynski walked on set wearing the X Division Championship, presented to him last year by TNA! According to reports, Pierzynski challenged Cena to face him in a âTitle vs. Titleâ match whenever he wanted the bout. With Cena watching on, footage was then show of the âBasebrawlâ match at TNAâs 2005 âTurning Pointâ Pay-Per-View featuring Pierzynski, Chris Sabin and Sonjay Dutt vs. The Diamonds in The Rough with a special appearance by the Yankeesâ Johnny Damon. As Cenaâs interview came to an end, Pierzynski put the X Championship side-by-side with the WWE Title.
BACKSTAGE NEWS FROM THE TV TAPINGS
The Samoan Submission Machineâ Samoa Joe had the NWA World Heavyweight Title in his possession everywhere he went at the âiMPACT!â tapings. Thereâs no word on how TNA management plans to get the gold away from Joe and back to its rightful owner, NWA World Heavyweight Champion Jeff Jarrett.
AJ Styles had his wife and year-and-a-half old son at the tapings, and it looks like junior will be just as much the gymnast and acrobat as his father. Standing on only one of AJâs hands, the youngster was able to balance himself for over a minute! The amazing toddler certainly got everyoneâs attention backstage. “The Phenomenal One” was an accomplished gymnast back in high school prior to entering wrestling.
The Latin American Exchangeâs Hernandez suffered some nasty cuts on his forehead during a LAX brawl with AJ Styles and Christopher Daniels that will air on Thursdayâs âiMPACT!â on SpikeTV. Hernandez sustained the wounds during an out-of-control fight that covered nearly the entire arena. It took several stitches by medical staff to close the scars. TNA cameras were on hand to film the bloody aftermath, the footage of which will air on TNAwrestling.com in the coming days.
NEW TNA KNOCKOUT PHOTOS
TNA photographer Lee South has added all-new hot photos of TNA Knockouts Gail Kim and SoCal Val to the Knockouts photo area! In the upcoming weeks, there will be plenty of new photos of the Knockouts added!
EMAIL US YOUR QUESTIONS FOR THE TNA FANFEST
On Saturday, October 21 â” the day before âBound For Gloryâ â” TNA Wrestling will hold the âInterAction Fanfestâ at the Shenandoah Country Club in West Bloomfield, MI. Tickets are still available for the fanfest and can be purchased by clicking on the link at the bottom of the page.For fans unable to join us in Michigan for the fanfest, you can still email a question for your favorite TNA star listed above to answer during the âQuestion And Answerâ portion of the fanfest.Five questions will be drawn at random the day of the fanfest, with those selected receiving a free TNA t-shirt! To submit a question for your favorite TNA star at the âBound For Gloryâ fanfest, please send your email (including your full name, address and t-shirt size) to: [email protected]
NEW TNA LIVE EVENT DATES ADDED
New Pay-Per-View and Television Taping dates through April 2007 have been added to the Live Events area!
TNA DVD RANKING NEWS
TNA DVDs are making some huge leaps on the Billboard ranking charts! Last week, under the Billboard Sports DVD rankings, “Slammiversary” debuted at #7, TNA Knockouts was ranked #14 while Lockdown was #21. “Sting: Return Of An Icon” is now available at Wal-Mart, Best Buy, FYE and other fine retailers as well as TNAwrestling.com! TNA fans – help make the Sting release the #1 ranked DVD on the Billboard charts! With your help, we can make it happen and achieve a milestone for TNA DVDs. In addition, “The Best Of The X Division, Vol. 2” is released on October 31, followed by “TNA’s 50 Greatest Moments” on November 10!
MAGNUM TA APPEARS AT CAPITAL PUNISHMENT
Last Friday night in Richmond, Virginia, Hermie Sadlerâs UWF â” in conjunction with TNA Wrestling â” held the âCapital Punishmentâ event at VCUâs Siegel Center. Over 1,000 were in attendance to see TNA stars Jeff Jarrett, Samoa Joe, AJ Styles, The Fallen Angel, Americaâs Most Wanted, The James Gang, Chris Sabin, Christy Hemme, Abyss, Rhino, Alex Shelley, Sonjay Dutt, Petey Williams, Eric Young and Shark Boy! Also at the event, NWA wrestling legend Magnum TA made a special rare appearance, joining UWF President Hermie Sadler in presenting a check for $10,000 to the Commonwealth Autism Services of Virginia! In the weeks leading up to the Capital Punishment, a special Ebay auction was held, with fans bidding on the right to manage TNA stars at the show. During Fridayâs event, Hermie Sadler and Magnum TA awarded the proceeds from the auction during a special in-ring presentation! TNA Wrestling would like to thank everyone who took part in raising funds for the charity!
TNA DVDs ARE COMING TO WAL-MART LOCATIONS!
TNA Wresting DVDs invade Wal-Mart! Two new TNA DVDs will be hitting Wal-Mart shelves in the month of October! First up is the âSting: Return of the Iconâ DVD, now on sale. Expected to be one of the biggest DVDs in TNA history, this DVD features exclusive, never before seen interviews with Sting as well as an in-depth look at his TNA career. Then, on October 31st, Wal-Mart will feature an EXCLUSIVE âBest of the X Division Twin Pack.â Fans will have the chance to get the newly-released âBest of the X Division Volume 2â packaged with âBest of the X Division Volume 1â exclusively at Wal-Mart locations. The âBest of the X Division Volume 2â DVD will be available everywhere on October 31st.
AN UPDATE FROM JACKIE ON HER PREGNANCY
Hey there, remember me?!? It’s hard for me to even recognize myself now a daysâ¦with my growing tummy that is! All in a totally positive way of course. So, my excuse this time for the lack of updates we can blame on the good ol’ pregnancy brain – it IS true what they say….such a magical time of one’s life but how your mind does begin to get a bit foggy here and there. I couldn’t be happier and healthier though and already way past the half way mark, boy – or girl 🙂 – how time flies! Before Charlie and I know it, we are going to be packing the car, sending ’em off to college. So, to stay short and sweet…thanks for checking in and continuing to be checking up with me…and the lil’ one! DON’T FORGET TO GET YOUR COPY OF THE BRAND SPANKIN’ NEW TNA KNOCKOUT’S TNA DVD – as Paris would say…”it’s h o t”. What’s even better than hot, it’s real. The DVD does such a great job of encompassing the true personalities of Gail, Traci, Christy, Val and I (oh…and my bulldog Rogue) – so it really makes this an unpassible grab!! While I am on the subject of checking things out – there is also a new issue of Sole Collector Magazine featuring a TNA Knockout’s section which is also worth spending a sec or two on – ok more than that! Until next time…..Jackie
Thatâs it for this week â” enjoy Thursdayâs âiMPACT!â on SpikeTV with the debut of Kurt Angle! Plus, donât forget âiMPACT!â goes primetime on SpikeTV on November 16 with its new start time of 9pm ET!
Bill Banks
