Viewpoint Extra: TNA Doubles Its iMPACT!

Forgot to mention, fans in the UK and Ireland can get to watch TNA's No Surrender on Wednesday (12th September 2007) at 9pm in the evening on Bravo 2. If you want to see the big announcement, about TNA Impact!, made in the ring by Mike Tenay, catch it then, along with seeing if Kurt Angle can continue to hold all the gold in TNA. It should be an absolute corker, don't miss a moment!

TNA Doubles it's iMPACT!

Some very interesting news for the pro-wrestling industry was announced at TNA's No Surrender pay-per-view last night in the US. From October 4th, TNA Impact! becomes a two-hour show on Spike TV on US cable.

It is anticpated that UK satellite channel Bravo 2, which is currently airing Impact in the UK and Ireland will also expand their slot at around the same time. Whether EuroSport will do the same with their airings is not yet known.

This will prove to be quite troubling for WWE. Until now, TNA's 1 hour shows were not regarded as serious competition by WWE. But with the expansion of Impact! to 2 hours, WWE cannot afford to take the newcomer lightly. Now, it can truly be said that TNA has arrived. It has monthly pay-per-views, it has it's own World Championship, as it now no longer has use of the NWA world Heavyweight Championship, and now, its main show, Impact!, is expanding to 2 hours weekly.

Let the new wars begin! WWE vs TNA. The battles are just beginning...

WWE suspends 10 superstars, maybe more!

I've said it before, it's rare for a wrestling story to get any traction in the mainstream news. So with MSNBC reporting on 10 WWE superstars being suspended by the company for violations of it's "Wellness Program", well, I get interested.

The story reveals that no names have been released by WWE but that the suspensions were...

"...based on independent information from the Albany County, N.Y., district attorney’s office, which has been investigating sales of steroids and growth hormones through Internet and phone-order firms."

Wrestlezone.com is amongst many other sources with more information, although I cannot completely verify the accuracy of some of their stories. In this case however, they seem to be relying on information released by the mainstream media. Of the various other mainstream media outlets that are reporting the story, three seem to be more up on it than the rest.

The New York Daily News is on the case, thanks to the fact that the investigation is being carried out through Albany County, NY Distict Attorney's Office. They were the first people to list names connected with the investigation.

ESPN also listed names, though a different set. They too seem to be well on-top of this story.

Sports Illustrated seem to be the most clued up though, with a story that reads very authoritatively, and gives a more complete list of names. It has to be said that all the names in NY Daily News and ESPN lists also appear in this list. This is why I have said thatb I feel both of the other sources are well on top of this story. There are more details here though, including drugs listed and dates of supply. All of them are between September 2004 and February 2007.

Amongst some of the other reports I have seen for this, are reports that one of the pharmacies involved in the investigation is a company called Signature Pharmacy in Orlando, FL, and that a Florida doctor is apparently helping with the DA's enquiry.

There are also reports that say that stars from Major League Baseball and the National Football League could also be involved in this scandal, so this may not be a WWE exclusive problem.

WWE are known to be facing congressional hearings soon, so this information could not have come at a worse time for them.

This is one of those stories that will probably take a long time to go away, and will be followed by many media sources with interest. Wrestling fans too will want to follow this story, even if they don't like the result of it. One thing I know for sure is that TNA, WWE's best known rival in the wrestling world, will be looking at this as a major oppourtunity. I doubt they will be completely silent on this for long.