source: www.f4wonline.com
— Matt Morgan was given the weekend off as a result of a car accident he was involved in the previous weekend in Philadelphia. He managed to work his Lockdown pay-per-view match with Abyss despite being banged up.
— TNA’s YouTube account has uploaded the opening video package for this week’s episode of Impact. Click here to see it.
— The TNA website has added Daniels to the roster section.
TNA letting four wrestlers go – find out who (>>)
— In light of Bobby Lashley’s recent arrival in TNA Wrestling, it’s interesting to note that a fellow wrestler in the organization once accused him of being on performance-enhancing drugs.
Coming off the heels and ramifications from the Chris Benoit double murder and suicide, Wade Keller of the Pro Wrestling Torch conducted an interview with Kevin Nash in June of 2007 (Pro Wrestling Torch newsletter #997/998, cover dated November 10-17, 2007) to discuss drugs in professional wrestling.
During the interview, Nash is asked if he believes John Cena and Bobby Lashley are on any performance-enhancing drugs. Nash feels Cena is completely clean, but he can’t honestly say the same about Lashley.
“I don’t think Cena’s on anything. I really don’t, because I’ve seen Cena when he came in and he was the Prototype, and he was a big jacked up dude. I think Cena is an absolutely physically gifted guy.
“I don’t know anything about Lashley. Lashley just looks very synthetic to me. That’s just my opinion and I could be completely wrong, and if I am, I apologize to him and his family. No, I don’t apologize to him and his family. God bless him! (laughs). If he’s clean, Jesus man, you’re absolutely phenomenal, a physical specimen. But you look at him. Lashley, it would be hard to believe a guy with that muscle structure is clean.”
— The Fayetteville Observer recently conducted an interview with TNA Superstar Daniels. Daniels discussed his career, an upcoming show, performing for his hometown, and more. (TNA’s Daniels a hometown boy)
— TNA Knockout Daffney has launched a new website at www.DaffneysHouse.com.
*SPOILER* TNA bringing in more former WWE stars (>>)
PREVIEW FOR TONIGHT’S “iMPACT!” ON SPIKE TV: SAMOA JOE VS. KEVIN NASH IN KING OF THE MOUNTAIN QUALIFYING AND MORE!
Tonight, TNA Wrestling returns to SpikeTV at 9pm ET for two hours of Total Nonstop Action as the road to the June 21 “Slammiversary” Pay-Per-View event continues!
The below is a preview of what is scheduled for the huge broadcast – card is subject to change!
– In a King Of The Mountain Qualifying Match, “The Samoan Submission Machine” Samoa Joe will take on Main Event Mafia’s Kevin Nash inside the Six Sides of Steel with Lethal Lockdown rules! The winner advances to the King Of The Mountain main event for the TNA World Heavyweight Championship at Slammiversary!
– X Division Champion Suicide and Daniels will team up once again to take on the tandem of Sheik Abdul Bashir and Kiyoshi
– Mike Tenay is scheduled to conduct a sitdown interview with The Main Event Mafia concerning Sting’s new leadership as The Godfather
– Shane Douglas, Raven and newcomer Tara (formerly Victoria) will all appear on the huge program!
– In tag team action, Beer Money, Inc will face Consequences Creed of Lethal Consequences and Chris Sabin of The Motor City Macineguns
– Plus, the TNA in-ring debut of Jesse Neal
All this and much more on Thursday’s “iMPACT!’, plus more news on the Slammiversary Pay-Per-View event!
Mr. Kennedy-TNA Update (>>)
F1 motorsport director Ross Brawn says that anyone who believes that Lewis Hamilton owes his dominance in F1 to his equipment should watch his “masterpiece” performance in last years’ Turkish GP.
Hamilton secured his seventh world crown by winning at Istanbul Park, but the race was anything but an easy Sunday driver for the Mercedes superstar.
After inclement weather and low grip had left him sixth in qualifying, Hamilton made little headway in the opening laps with a drizzle continuing to hinder his efforts.
But once the track started to dry up, the Briton came into his own, overhauling his rivals and taking the lead 20 laps from the checkered flag.
“Lewis drove a brilliant race,” he told RaceFans. “If anyone questions that ‘he’s got the best car, he ought to win’, they ought to watch that race because that was a masterpiece.
“We had some very negative comments about the grip levels and the conditions. And we had one of the greatest races of the year.
“I think everybody took something away from that. It was interesting to me to see the more experienced drivers come to the fore there.”
With grip at a premium around the newly resurfaced Turkish track, laps times were considerably slower than expected. But the lower performance did not weigh on the racing as Brawn noted.
“That’s another thing that we’ve sort of taken into consideration, that it doesn’t necessarily follow that producing the fastest lap time is going to produce the best race,” Brawn added.
Gallery: The beautiful wives and girlfriends of F1 drivers
Keep up to date with all the F1 news via Facebook and Twitter
Georginio Wijnaldum will make his decision on whether to leave Liverpool or not in February, according to transfer expert Fabrizio Romano.
The midfielder joined the Reds from Newcastle United ahead of the 2016/17 season for an initial fee of around £23m.
His game has moved to the next level under Jurgen Klopp and he has played an integral role for them ever since he signed, winning the Premier League and Champions League at Anfield.
MEDIAWATCH: ‘VAR saved Liverpool’ and more Tottenham v Reds nonsense
However, strong interest from Barcelona, coupled with his failure to agree fresh terms with Liverpool has thrown his future at the Premier League club into doubt.
Romano describes Wijnaldum’s situation at Liverpool as “complicated” with the Netherlands international out of contract at the end of the season.
“I’m told that in the last few weeks the situation has gotten really, really complicated with Gini Wijnaldum,” Romano told Anfield Watch.
“The last offer from Liverpool was in December and the player wasn’t happy with it, so he’s seriously considering his future at the moment.
“He’s really respectful of the club and of the fanbase and the people around the club. He loves Liverpool which is why he’s not going to sign for a new club until he’s told Liverpool what he’s going to do.
“He’s not made his final decision yet, but it’s really, really complicated, so I think that’s why Liverpool are planning to be ready in the summer in case he doesn’t sign a new deal.
“He’s not convinced about the economical part but also about what the project is going to be in the future and what his personal life and family want. It is really difficult at the moment, but I think in February we will have a decision.”
Romano added: “I love Wijnaldum, he’s a fantastic player who has everything. He’s a good runner, he’s a fighter, he has good quality, he scores goals and he’s a winner.
“They need to try and convince him to stay but I’m also respectful of Liverpool’s situation. Because we have to understand in this moment clubs are losing a lot of money which is an issue in terms of salaries and what they can offer.
“I’m sure if we weren’t in this situation with the pandemic we wouldn’t have this situation with Wijnaldum and he would have signed by now, because they would have made a different offer.
“In this moment it’s difficult to make a contract bid and a player might be tempted to move from one club to another as a free agent. When you move as a free agent you are receiving commission for your agent and for yourself and a new salary.
“But I’d love to see him stay with Liverpool because he’s perfect for Klopp and his football too. And when you move to Barcelona with a new president, a new team, you just don’t know how you’re going to do.”
Cesar Azpilicueta claims he’s never had “any issues” with Chelsea team-mate Antonio Rudiger after rumours of a bust-up.
A report in Daily Telegraph said that Rudiger and Azpilicueta clashed ‘on more than one occasion’ as tensions reached boiling point before Lampard left Stamford Bridge.
It was understood that Rudidger was one of three players who ’caused issues’ for Lampard and that Azpilicueta ‘attempted to ease tensions’.
BIG WEEKEND: Arsenal v Man Utd, Tuchel, West Brom, Soucek
Tammy Abraham came out on social media to deny Rudiger has been a disruptive influence in the Chelsea dressing room, he said: “Hearing some mad stuff about @ToniRuediger on social media today. Compete nonsense. Toni is a big bro to all of us.”
And now Azpilicueta has echoed those sentiments and says he has never fallen out with his Stamford Bridge team-mate.
Chelsea captain Azpilicueta said: “Everything is fine and I can say that didn’t happen. We didn’t have any issues and we don’t have. We always work together.
“As other players, we have sometimes our discussions, normal in football. When results are not going well, everybody has more tension around but nothing further than this.
“Normal footballers like normal workers in their offices or with other jobs with pressure who have to deliver and nothing further than this. There is not an issue, we are so committed.”
On the blame being put on the players, Azpilicueta added: “We saw that [in the past] and sometimes when a manager leaves, people can blame some players but we are players, we are humans and we always want to do the best for the club, for the manager.
“That’s our job, that’s our passion and obviously we are not happy when results are not going well and sometimes, yes, we have seen the reaction from the fans but there is no issue. We are all together working.
“Of course, of course, 100 per cent [do not abuse Rudiger]. You see now social media, lots of abuse, you know we doing campaigns about racism, all of this, and you know it’s sad when you see people abusing.
“The fans I ask for unity, together, difficult times. We want the best for the team and, hopefully, this negativity we can leave it behind and we go together.
“We miss the fans, so we would like to be together fighting in these tough moments like we have always done. We always overcome the difficulties.”
Jurgen Klopp suggested that he “saw a lot of things he wanted to see” as Liverpool returned to winning ways via an impressive 3-1 victory over Tottenham.
Liverpool should have been in front after just two minutes. Sadio Mane was played in behind by Mo Salah but he fired his shot wide.
They were nearly punished for this moments later by Tottenham. The hosts went straight up the other end and Heung-Min Son was handed a big chance by Harry Kane. Son finished the move off as he found the bottom corner but the goal was chalked off for offside.
READ MORE: Henry, Rooney, Kompany and other Lampards In Waiting
Klopp’s side responded well to this reprieve as they were the better side for the rest of the half. They had all of the possession but they struggled to find a breakthrough.
That was until stoppage time as they took a well-deserved lead going into the break. Mane was at the forefront again but he was the provider this time as he put it on a plate for Roberto Firmino. The forward finished calmly from close range to put the Reds in front.
Liverpool doubled their lead just after the restart. Mane’s low shot was palmed away by Hugo Lloris, but it went straight to Trent Alexander Arnold who fired it into the bottom from inside the box.
Tottenham hit back almost instantly, though. The ball was pulled back to the edge for Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg. The midfielder hit it sweetly as the ball drifted away from Alisson and into the goal.
Klopp’s men looked to have doubled their lead once again in the 56th minute, however. Salah’s deflected shot went in past Lloris but it was ruled out as Firmino was judged to have handballed it earlier in the move.
This did not matter though as Mane did make it 3-1 in the 65th minute. A mistake from Joe Rodon let him in and the forward finished emphatically into the roof of the net.
It finished 3-1 as Klopp and Liverpool return to the top four. They are now four points behind Man City at the top, but Pep Guardiola’s side have a game in hand.
Speaking with BT Sport post-match, as cited by BBC Sport, Klopp said that his side scored their goals at the “right moments” against Tottenham:
“I am delighted – it was a great game. Super intensity as we predicted. We scored the goals in the right moments, the right people scored the goals, so all good apart from their goal.
“What I saw today it’s not about shape or form it’s about who we are. That was us. Second half especially it was us, it was a massive fight. I don’t remember that Spurs had a lot of the ball but we defended it very well. A good performance and I saw a lot of things I wanted to see.
“You cannot really be sure that you will score goals like this in the second half because they made two changes but offensively we coped well with their formation. We played in between the lines and were so often around the box, the counter press was really good, we were high enough defensively but not crazy high.”
source: www.f4wonline.com
Wayne Coleman will still be able to use his trademark moniker, “Superstar” Billy Graham, at wrestling related events without interference from World Wrestling Entertainment as the issue has since been resolved.
A few weeks ago, they sent Coleman a form letter informing him of his release from the company, which also noted that they would be retaining the rights to his ring name and gimmick.
The form letter WWE issued Graham covers most cases where they had created the name and image of the wrestler, but it was never specified in his release paper that his case was different. It should be noted that Coleman used the name prior to joining the company and WWE beared no rights to keep him from using it.
WWE officials contacted Coleman yesterday morning and told him that he owns all rights to his three wrestling names; Wayne Coleman, Billy Graham and “Superstar” Billy Graham.
Read Graham’s *SHOCKING* e-mail on Vince McMahon after being fired (>>)
— GoErie.com has an article on Mickie James discussing how the women’s wrestlers earn respect from the guys, how she got her start in professional wrestling, branching out into television and films, winning the WWE Women’s Championship for the first time, and more.
James also said John Cena is one of her best friends on the road.
“I hang out with John. He’s a sweetheart, and he’s very personable,” James told GoErie.com. “He hangs out with everybody as well. Usually, he’s more laid back. He doesn’t really go to the clubs. It’s kind of hard for him to go out when you know you will get mobbed.
“I can only imagine being on that level. When I go out, I get mini-mobbed, in comparison. I’ve seen him get attacked, and I’m like ‘Oh, my God, how does he deal with that?’ He can’t do anything, go to the beach and chill. But he’s cool. He’s awesome, a real good friend of mine. I love John to death.”
Click here to read the article.
— WWE’s recent tour of Europe was sponsored by a cereal mascot by the name of the Honey Monster. The official website of the Honey Monster has uploaded several photos from the tour, including a shot of the mascot with “The Hard Knox Connection” — Charlie Haas and Mike Knox.
Based on this week’s SmackDown spoilers, company officials have apparently called off plans to put the two together as a tag team on SmackDown. Haas and Knox were paired up together during the European tour.
— Lilian Garcia will be a celebrity judge for the NFL’s New York Jets “Flight Crew” cheerleading finals tomorrow afternoon. The ring announcer of Raw issued the following notice on her MySpace account (myspace.com/liliangarcia):
“Lilian is very honored and excited to have been asked to be a celebrity judge this Saturday, May 9th for the Finals of the NY Jets Flight Crew Cheerleading tryouts! The list of celebrity judges include Jets safety Kerry Rhodes, entertainer Donnie Klang, WWE Diva/Singer Lilian Garcia, CBS Sports reporter Sam Ryan and SNY’s Steve Overmyer. “I am very much looking forward to this event and wish the girls lots of luck!!”
Forever Rockin’
Lilian 🙂
WWE Diva getting de-pushed – find out who (>>)
We’re seeking live correspondents from tonight’s Raw/WWE Superstars taping at Freedom Hall in Louisville, Kentucky. If you are attending the taping and would be interested in sending us live text-message updates of WWE Superstars as well as off air notes for Raw, please email your name and mobile number to wnwryan [at] yahoo.com. Thanks for your support!