– Bound For Glory is tentatively scheduled for the 22nd October in Detroit. The November PPV is expected to again be held in Orlando.
– Spike TV executives reportedly consider ECW direct competition for TNA. Although it is effectively just another WWE brand, they feel TNA is behind by a vast margin in the ratings war for the No. 2 spot.
– Jim Cornette is not expected back until the 31st July TV tapings. He will miss Victory Road due to a prior ROH commitment, and Hard Justice in August due to a wrestling convention in Washington, DC.
– At a media conference on the 21st June to promote a WFA show, Bill Goldberg was asked about joining TNA and gave the impression it was not something he was keen to do anytime soon. He said he would have to make a deal with Spike TV first, indicating that he would not settle for anything less than ‘Sting money’. While his main motivation would be to compete with Vince McMahon, he would expect TNA to make necessary upgrades in talent, production and timeslot before he would sign. When asked how he thought he would fare against Samoa Joe, he said he would break his neck. When asked about whether he watched Impact, he said “I’ve stomached it”. Later, on Between The Ropes, Goldberg said TNA would be stupid not to sign him and Brock Lesnar. He said that when Sting signed he called him, because if TNA was good enough for Sting it was good enough for him to consider. He put over Chris Jericho, calling him “a good dude” and saying their past arguments were water under the bridge. On Triple H, Goldberg said “He was cool. We were represented by the same agent at the time. HHH is a smart man. He’s not going to ruffle my feathers. I mean, I would probably have killed him. He was respectful. He was a good dude. Contrary to my belief prior to signing with WWE, one thing I can say is he always, to my face, treated me with nothing but respect. That was one of the pleasant surprises. There were a couple of guys up there that I thought were going to be totally different than they ended up being”.
Credit: Wrestling Observer newsletter (click here for subscription information)
*****
– Last week’s TNA iMPACT! got a 1.1 cable rating with a 1.3 among Males 18-49, a 1.4 among Males 18-34 and an average audience of 1.4 million viewers.
– Mike Johnson “believes” that Roderick Strong has several more contractual appearances left in his TNA deal, and TNA will have to pay him if he’s not used. Jeremy Botter of Inside Pulse reported in his column last week that Strong will not be used.
– Jerry Lynn has been taken off of TNAWrestling.com’s roster page, as he’s being used primarily as an agent now.
Credit: PWInsider
