Thomas Golianopoulos of Grantland.com has published an in-depth article on TNA, delving into such topics as TNA’s current state and rumors of its future. Quotes are also included from current and former TNA stars, including Bobby Roode, AJ Styles and TNA President Dixie Carter.
The following are quote highlights:
Dixie Carter on TMZ reporting SpikeTV has canceled Impact:
“TMZ asked me, ‘Hey, is this story real, should we run with it?’ I was watching a movie and didn’t see it until some little wrestling site ran it. Then I gave TMZ a quote, which said we’re still negotiating. That never made it to print.”
Bobby Roode on the TNA negativity throughout the years:
“I’ve [worked] 95 percent of the shows this company has run, and from day one the Internet, the public, has tried to bash TNA. We’ve been here for 12 years and after all the negativity and all the bulls–t — ‘They’re going down, they’re going under, they’re done’ — we’re still here.”
Dixie on Vince Russo:
“He’s a lightning rod. People hate him, but sometimes people love what he does but they don’t realize he does it. He’s a really talented guy.”
Dixie on Jeff Jarrett:
“I will always give props to Jeff. Out of the thousands of wrestlers out there he’s the only one who decided to create something with his own money. I have mad respect for that, always have and always will. I love Jeff as a person. I wish him and his precious family nothing but success.”
AJ Styles on Hulk Hogan and Eric Bischoff:
“I don’t think Eric and Hogan knew the roster at all. In fact, I don’t even know if they watched the show before they came in, and if they did it had to be very little. No one knew who I was. No one knew who [Samoa] Joe was. We added Rob Van Dam because everyone knows him.”
Dixie on her offer to AJ Styles to re-sign:
“I hate that we lost AJ. Are you listening?. I hate it. I felt like we gave him a great offer. I really did. I felt like we gave him a great offer and I think he made a mistake.”
AJ on the offer TNA made him, which he says would have been about a 40% pay cut:
“It was insulting. For a guy who’d been a staple of that company for 11 years, who busted his tail, never got in trouble, never did anything to embarrass your company, and what [Carter] offered me was enough for me to go, ‘I’m not working here.’ I loved that company. I did. I put everything I had into it.”
Vince Russo on Dixie’s obsession with the IWC:
“She puts heavy stock into the Internet wrestling community and all of the dirt sheets from day one. She’s obsessed with reading them, reading what they say about the show and what they say about her. She didn’t want the backlash of hiring Vince Russo, who the Internet hates.”
Nick was born and raised in Detroit, Michigan, and lived there until the age of 18, when he decided to pack his flack jacket and move to New York City.
