TNA Wrestling News (Page 13)

• TNA is interested in signing Amy Dumas (formerly Lita of WWE), but it remains unclear if the interest is mutual.

• Jim Cornette and Vince Russo are now working together in a creative capacity. The two attend production meetings and have had friendly discussions, despite not always getting along. Sources do say, however, that Russo is bottling up anger over Cornette's vocal reactions to proposed TNA Wrestling segments that he doesn't like.

• While backstage at the Spike TV Video Game Awards, Kurt Angle continued talking about plans to fight Randy Couture, Chuck Liddell or Tito Ortiz later this year.

• As noted for the last few weeks since the initial TV tapings, last night's episode of TNA iMPACT! featured Samoa Joe suffering a severe sprain of his MCL ligament in his knee. Joe did not wrestle at the last set of TV tapings that took place this past Monday, but is expected to be ready for the Final Resolution PPV on January 14. Joe is scheduled to being physical therapy on his knee shortly.

• For those wondering, TNA is claiming that they legitimately set aside one million dollars for the Voodoo Kin Mafia's challenge against Vince McMahon and DX.

• If you speak Spanish and are looking for extra work, TNA Wrestling added the following on their website:

"TNA Wrestling is seeking a candidate to provide English-To-Spanish translation of various marketing materials and news items for our website on a regular basis. The job is part-time and can be done from home. Candidates should provide any past translation experience and references as well. You must be 21 or older. Please send your resume information to info@tnawrestling.com."

The following report is courtesy of wrestlemag.com ...

Last night, TNA Wrestling taped three hours worth of matches and events. They'll air on iMPACT over the next three weeks. Here are the results:

Hour 1 - Airdate December 28

- James Storm & Chris Sabin beat Christopher Daniels & Petey Williams & Christoper Daniels by DQ after Storm hit Williams with a chair. Jerry Lynn came out after the match and argued with Sabin on the floor.

- Samoa Joe arrived at the building with a female who I guess was meant to be his girl. Joe was on crutches.

- Team 3D cut a promo saying they’d beaten every team in TNA Wrestling apart from LAX. Brother Runt interrupts them, dressed as Santa. He asks Ray and Devon why they didn’t help him last week. They ask if he’s been drinking and they got into a fight. LAX hit the ring and attack all three former Dudleys until Team 3D make a comeback, with Ray setting Homicide up on a table then powerbombing Brother Runt on top of him and through the table. Really cool segment.

- Robert Roode beat Lance Hoyt.

- Sting beat Abyss and Christian Cage in a three way “Nightstick on a Pole” match. Tomko got involved and used the nightstick but Sting took it from him and knocked out Cage for the win. Afterwards, Jim Cornette announced Abyss vs Sting vs Christian Cage in a three way Elimination Match at Final Resolution.

- Samoa Joe was voted TNA MVP of 2006 by the fans. As Joe accepted his award, Kurt Angle interrupted, holding the female that Joe entered the building with. He said if he didn’t get a rematch, he’d snap her ankle. Joe agrees to give Kurt another match, but he snaps her ankle anyway, and runs off as Joe chases after him to end the show.

Hour 2 - Airdate January 4

- Rhino beat Robert Roode. AJ Styles attacked Rhino afterwards.

- Voodoo Kin Mafia cut another promo asking WWE to accept their $1m challenge.

- Homicide beat Brother Runt in a Street Fight
- Christian Cage vs Kurt Angle went to a no contest after Samoa Joe hit the ring and brawled with Angle. Jim Cornette came out and announced that Joe vs Angle at Final Resolution will be a 30 Minute Iron Man match. This got a huge pop to close the second hour.

Hour 3 - Airdate January 11

- AJ Styles, Chris Sabin & James Storm beat Rhino, Petey Williams & Christopher Daniels after Sabin pinned Daniels. Fun match.

- Kurt Angle beat Matt Bentley. Pretty much a squash. After the match, Raven came to the ring and caned Bentley.

- Konnan came to the ring to cut a promo but was cut short by Team 3D, who attacked him. This led to a brawl with LAX.

- Jim Cornette announced that Tomko is barred from ringside for Christian vs Sting vs Abyss at Final Resolution.

- Abyss beat Tomko by DQ after interference from Christian Cage, who was locked in a cage at ringside but managed to escape. Kurt Angle was doing commentary during the match and was attacked by Samoa Joe. Sting came out and saved Abyss from a beat down. Abyss then turned on Sting to close the show.

Several new TNA Wrestling Home Video DVD releases are set to go on sale in the coming months. They are:

Bound For Glory 2006: Includes the full three-hour October Pay-Per-View epic event, plus bonus footage from the “InterAction” fanfest and much more. Coming in January.

No Surrender 2006: Includes the full three-hour September Pay-Per-View event, featuring the Ultimate X match with The Latin American Exchange vs. AJ Styles & Christopher Daniels. Coming in February.

Genesis 2006: Includes the full three-hour November Pay-Per-View event, featuring the first-ever bout between Kurt Angle and Samoa Joe. Coming in February.

Best Of The Tag Teams, Volume 1: Featuring the top tandems in TNA, including The Latin American Exchange, America’s Most Wanted, Team 3D, The Naturals, Voodoo Kin Mafia and AJ Styles & Christopher Daniels. Coming in March.

Phenomenal: The Best Of AJ Styles, Volume 2: A release dedicated to the most decorated star in TNA Wrestling history! Includes top TNA matches as well as a behind-the-scenes look at “The Phenomenal One”. Featuring exclusive interviews, never-before-seen photos, a look inside his private life and one of his first matches as a pro from 2000. Coming in April.

• This week’s edition of TNA iMPACT pulled an all-time high, coming in at a 1.2 cable rating with a 1.8 share. Partial credit for the high rating comes from the fallout of Sunday’s TNA Wrestling Turning Point pay-per-view.

Click here if you wanna read the actual press release issues by BG James over the weekend.

But to sum it it: The Voodoo Kin Mafia announced a million dollar challenge to Triple H (sorry, Paul Levesque) and Shawn Michales (sorry, Michael Hickenbottom).

Claiming the current version of DX is destroying a legacy they helped to build, the James brothers of TNA Wrestling are "putting up a million dollars. If we win, McMahon, Hickenbottom and Levesque must stop the actions we believe are damaging the group we helped build. If they win, not only do they get the million dollars, but we will end our mission. Gentlemen, the ball is in your court.”

No, BG James, the ball is actually in the court of reasonable thinking. Considering that wrestling is SCRIPTED, the winning team in this non-sensical match would simply be the one chosen to win. It would prove nothing.

• Homicide was apparently very upset with Kurt Angle for popping his ear during their match on iMPACT last week. He was so angry at the time that he wanted to fight Angle right there for real, but kept himself under control.

• Since joining the company, Vince Russo has been writing twice as much material for TNA Wrestling as the previous booking team.

• Due to legal reasons, TNA is using the names Paul Levesque and Michael Hickenbottom instead of Triple H and Shawn Michaels. They can, however, use Vince McMahon’s name because it’s a real name, not a trademark.

BG James was interviewed for TNA Wrestling's monthly media conference call yesterday. While promoting the upcoming Turning Point PPV, he also discussed the Voodoo Kin Mafia v.s DX/WWE angle. Wrestlemag.com had the summary:

On the VKM “Invasion": James admitted there’s a nostalgic aspect to it. He said he thought the VKM segments on iMPACT made for entertaining TV, but also said that he doesn’t get the same feeling he did when he was in the WWE and DX did the WCW invasion.The subject of VKM at a recent WWE house show was brought up, with James saying if they bought a ticket they could sit “anywhere we choose to go,” and that WWE were powerless to stop them.

On how VKM can keep the angle going, James said he had no idea what was next. He said the idea had been pitched of VKM appearing on RAW to work with DX (like that’s going to happen), but also said he doesn’t want to fight either Triple H or Shawn Michaels and that what they were doing is just to create interest in wrestling and that it’s entertainment.

On legal problems with WWE: James said that WWE’s legal department have contacted TNA Wrestling on a few occasions about the gimmick. James said that was the point - to get a response and to get at them - and the fact Jim Ross publically commented on TNA and VKM showed that it had worked. James also said that he’d love to work a match with WWE talent, and if egos were out of the way, they could headline a PPV that the fans would get into.

Challenging The Hardy Boyz at December to Dismember: James knew they wouldn’t get a response from WWE, and again commented on how if ego and business was put aside that them working with WWE talent would be “awesome … for the wrestling fans.”

On how the VKM name was born: He said the idea pitched by TNA was “Very Kool Men,” but BG sat down with his son and thought of cool words beginning with the letter V. They decided on Voodoo, and the “Kin” came about as BG and Kip James are supposed to be brothers.

On former DX members joining VKM: There was talk of Sean Waltman joining at one point, but no talks with Joanie Laurer had been considered. BG also joked that there was talk of Kevin Nash coming in as they needed a younger guy.

Paul Heyman in TNA: James said that TNA has a good business sense, but it’s a “Southern, redneck style of doing things.” He went on to say he didn’t know whether Paul Heyman would be well received by the locker room.

On Triple H: James admitted his feelings towards Hunter had changed since he and Kip did a shoot interview hitting out at him. James said he owes an apology but wasn’t sure if he’d ever give it to him.

On TNA’s tag team division: He put over the teams in TNA, and said that WWE doesn’t have a tag team division at all. He joked that whoever is in charge in WWE should be fired.

WWE has attracted random professional athletes in the past. Curtis Granderson of the Tigers, for example, attended an event a few weeks ago.

Now, it looks like TNA Wrestling has trumped WWE in this one area, considering the fact it's bringing in a baseball player whose team knocked Granderson's off in this year's World Series.

David Eckstein, the MVP of that Series, will be the special guest this Sunday at Turning Point. His exact role is unknown at this time.

We see this as a smart move by TNA. Mainstream attention, especially with such a well-respected athlete, can only help. After all, you've seen what kind of publicity Kevin Federline has brought to the WWE.

And he's not respected at all.

At last night's during RAW house show in Knoxville, TN, Voodoo Kin Mafia, Kip & BG James showed up to continuing filming footage for their current "WWE invasion" storyline. They were accompanied by a camera crew, Vince Russo, announcer Jeremy Borash, and a group of “fans” that had TNA posters and VKM signs.

According to reports, the TNA Wrestling stars entered the Knoxville Civic Center as Triple H was making his entrance to take on Randy Orton. Fans began to chant for them as they saw the stars in the upper level seats.

Triple H made no mention on the mic of the TNA stars being in attendance.