Jeff Jarrett Looks Back On TNA Faction Aces & Eights

Throughout his decade long association with TNA, Jeff Jarrett was either the leader or member of the promotion’s many notable stables, including the likes of Planet Jarrett, Front Line, and most famously Immortal. So it’s a bit of surprise that Jarrett wasn’t part of TNA’s most infamous stable, Aces & Eights, which dominated TNA programming for over a year under the steed of former TNA World Heavyweight Champion, Bully Ray.

On the latest “My World,” Jarrett discussed Aces & Eights, which he claimed was masterminded by former TNA executive Eric Bischoff, and explained why offscreen concerns regarding TNA’s future at the time led to him not being associated with Aces & Eights in any way.

“In TNA, there was never any…certainly wasn’t an attempt, but there wasn’t a close fit for me in Aces & Eights,” Jarrett said. “I was doing a different thing, and that was a long story in a lot of ways. But Bully…I guess you could say Bully and Eric heavily invested in that story…obviously my on screen talent was one thing, but offscreen, I was really heavily invested in the financial aspect and the wellbeing [of TNA]. 

“And TNA was headed in the wrong direction during that time, from a behind-the-scenes point of view…if I remember correctly, Aces & Eights, it probably had a year run from 2012…and I think it went into 2013. But the financial death spiral that the company was going in, [so] I was much more dialed into that. And that’s when me and Toby [Keith] kind of started the conversations, and…as you know, TNA went on the road, went back off the road. I had a lot different mindset and focus on that, and it was not my onscreen character.”

Why Ash By Elegance, Formerly Dana Brooke In WWE, Calls TNA The ‘Land Of Opportunity’

Former WWE star Dana Brooke has transformed herself into Ash by Elegance in TNA, a woman who enjoys the finer things in life, while also being able to throw virtually any woman around a wrestling ring with relative ease. Ash has been enjoying herself in her new surroundings, even showing up at “NXT” Battleground to make sure Roxanne Perez and Jordynne Grace know she has gold on her mind. Appearing on “Battleground Podcast,” Ash praised her current employers for giving her the confidence to build this fresh character.

“TNA is a land of opportunity,” Ash said. “WWE and “NXT” gave me an amazing platform for 12 years to spread my wings and fly and go elsewhere, and landing in TNA, that was definitely a plus, and every reason why I had went with TNA because when I had the conversation, they’re like ‘we want you to explore what you believe in and what you think is going to work for your character.’ Everything that I’ve loved in life, fashion, nice things, jewelry, accessories, the latest trends, everything I have kind of embraced and put it into this character, and been able to express it in the ring as far as wrestling goes as well.”

Ash explained that tapping into a more heelish character has been challenging at times, as she hadn’t done that in a long time. The TNA star also noted that WWE gave her a lot of great opportunities, but she always felt as if someone else was writing her destiny for her, whereas her destiny in TNA is being written by her. However, Ash did mention that she does get help from people backstage, stating that everyone in TNA is very approachable, friendly, and willing to help anyone, as they all want what’s best for the company.

TNA’s Ash By Elegance, FKA WWE’s Dana Brooke, Details NXT Battleground Appearance

“WWE NXT” Battleground was the first Premium Live Event to take place since the blossoming relationship between WWE and TNA was established, and fans in Las Vegas were met with the surprise appearance of Ash by Elegance, formerly known as Dana Brooke in WWE. Brooke was released by WWE in September 2023, but repackaged herself when she arrived in TNA at the start of 2024.

To say the surprise came out of nowhere would be an understatement, especially given how the appearance came about. Speaking to ComicBook, Ash revealed how her return to WWE came about. “My gosh, it was seriously last minute,”  I was going about my week and I had an appearance on Saturday in Jacksonville. I get a call, I think it was late Thursday, even maybe early Friday morning, and they’re like, ‘Hey, are you available this weekend? We’d love to have you come back and do something with TNA and ‘NXT,'”  “I was like, ‘What?! Oh yeah, count me in!’

WWE booked her on the next flight from Jacksonville to Las Vegas in order to get her to the event on time. When Ash arrived at the UFC Apex for the event, she made sure to keep herself out of the spotlight in order to maintain secrecy. “I kept everything on the DL. I was hiding. I had my hat, I had my hoodie, I had my sunglasses … Nobody knew who I was. I made that sneak appearance, sneak attack, and here I am. I took a red eye back to Miami this morning and am enjoying about a day and a half vacation with my family and then I’m back on the road for some TNA action in Chicago. I’m booked and busy baby.”

Nic Nemeth, Fka Dolph Ziggler, Details Conversations With AEW After Leaving WWE

Since his shocking departure from WWE last year after more then a decade, Nic Nemeth (formerly known as Dolph Ziggler) has made a name for himself touring with TNA, NJPW, AAA, GCW, and plenty other indie outfits. One place many might have expected the high profile former WWE star to land would be AEW, the second-largest promotion next to WWE in the U.S., but that has yet to transpire. Still, Nemeth expressed his adulation towards the promotion during a recent episode of “Eyes Up Here,” explaining why he ultimately chose to remain independent despite talks with AEW President Tony Khan. 

“I talked to Tony a long time ago and he was like, ‘Just so you know, you can do anything you want while you work here,'” he recalled. “He wants everyone to have a good time and doing the best possible thing. That’s awesome, and a lot of people did think I was going to AEW, and I love a bunch of people in AEW, I love AEW, Tony’s freaking great. I was just weighing my options and figuring out, I didn’t have a plan.”

Nic Nemeth said he was also contacted by Scott D’Amore — then TNA President — after his WWE departure became clear, but Nemeth made it clear that he didn’t want to be signed to a promotion.

“I’ve got this thing in my head. I wanna go and make a name for myself on the independents,” he said. “Just to see if I can go outside of this New York bubble … I wanna see if I can hang, or be better, or the best everywhere around the world … I just got out of a long term relationship, I’m not looking to get engaged, or engaged to be engaged.”

Nemeth has continued to appear with TNA on sporadic appearances, even challenging Moose for the TNA World Championship in April.

Ex-Employee On AEW: “It’s Inmates Running The Asylum”

Former AEW star Frankie Kazarian has revealed he thinks the company lacks “real direction”. He also reminisced about early meetings with Tony Khan, Cody Rhodes, The Young Bucks and his old SCU teammates “at two in the morning” – those meetings hatched ideas on what’d eventually become a full-blown pro wrestling alternative.

Kazarian told Busted Open Radio that one of the biggest problems with All Elite is that it’s “inmates running the asylum in a way”. Frankie also noticed that a lot of stories were pitched without any real plan after the initial kick off moment. “After that…what are you going to do? That was always a problem”.

There’s been a lot of scathing criticism about AEW creative recently. Many fans and critics alike view Tony Khan’s promotion as more of a “dream match” factory than a place with killer stories or feuds. In fact, most rivalries are on the shorter end of the scale, and they’re often forgotten about as quickly as they happen.

Kazarian’s “inmates running the asylum” line will surely get a lot of people talking. It might even ruffle some feathers internally at AEW.

TNA Slammiversary 2024 Sets 10-Year High For Ticket Sales

With TNA Wrestling heading to Montreal, Quebec, Canada for Slammiversary 2024 and a set of TV tapings this July, the Anthem promotion is extremely happy with the early ticket sales for this return to Canada.

In a press release, TNA noted how, in just the first 48 hours of tickets being on sale, Slammiversary is the highest-selling event the company has put on in 10 years. So well has Slammiversary sold, TNA officials are currently looking at ways to expand the Verdun Auditorium set-up in order to make additional “prime tickets” available.

Taking a quick look at Slammiversary on Eventbrite, all ringside seats and top-end tickets appear to be sold out, with only select seats in the bleachers available. The exact number of tickets already sold hasn’t been revealed as of this writing.

The weekend of 20 and 21 July marks TNA’s first return to Montreal after an October 2011 house show that featured AJ Styles vs. Christopher Daniels, Beer Money vs. Scott Steiner & Gunner, Bully Ray vs. Mr. Anderson, ODB vs. Brooke Tessmacher, Eric Young vs. Robbie E, and X Division Champion Austin Aries vs. Brian Kendrick. Of those names, only EY remains with the company, although Bully Ray competed for TNA as recently as October.

As mentioned, 20 July will be Slammiversary, which will be followed by a set of TV tapings on 21 July from the same venue. While the Slammiversary card has obviously yet to take shape – Against All Odds on 14 June being the company’s next PPV – TNA is currently promoting hometown heroes ‘Speedball’ Mike Bailey and PCO, fellow Canadians Josh Alexander, Eric Young, and Santino Marella, and World Champion Moose, Knockouts Champion Jordynne Grace, X Division Champion Mustafa Ali, Nic Nemeth, Matt Hardy, Joe Hendry, Steph De Lander, Ash By Elegance, and Brian Myers for these Montreal events.

Major Free Agent Signs With TNA Wrestling

Having appeared at TNA Rebellion last weekend, Mike Santana has now officially signed with TNA Wrestling.

TNA broke the news of Santana rejoining the Anthem promotion, with a company statement making it clear that the former LAX man is gunning for singles gold.

Santana became a free agent after parting ways with AEW towards the end of February, with the talent having been unhappy with how his time with the Tony Khan-led promotion played out. The 33-year-old and his long-term tag team partner Ortiz had butted heads as far back as 2022, with reports claiming Santana felt Pride-N-Powerful were being underutilised, while Ortiz was said to be fine with the spot the pair was in.

Of course, Mike Santana spent over a year on the shelf due to a torn ACL, returning to AEW action at All In last August. That was followed by a feud against Ortiz that was unfortunately dumped on the barely-watched AEW Rampage, and the blow-off to their feud in October was Santana’s final match for the promotion.

Since leaving AEW, Santana has remained active on the independent scene, currently reigning as the House of Glory World Champion. Following his appearance at TNA Rebellion – where he won an impromptu match against Steve Maclin – Santana was in action at TNA’s post-PPV round of TV tapings, with him facing Myron Reed in a bout that will air on tonight’s iMPACT.

Prior to signing with TNA – where he and Ortiz previously had a run from 2017 to 2019 – Mike Santana was said to have had interest from WWE. Regardless of where he landed post-AEW, the sky is the limit for Santana as a singles star, with his ring work, charisma, presence, and promo work rounding him out as a fantastic ‘get’ for TNA.

TNA Has Held Internal Discussions Regarding Bringing Back Controversial Star Tessa Blanchard

TNA may be looking at bringing Tessa Blanchard back to the promotion. Blanchard made history when she became the first woman to hold the company’s world title in 2020, but her reign met an unnatural ending when she was released in June of that year following accusations of bullying. 

Ahead of last night’s Rebellion event, PWInsider Elite reported that there have been at least preliminary talks within the company about bringing her back, leading some to believe she may have been the “lights out” surprise teased. That would transpire to be “Broken” Matt Hardy, emerging to take out TNA World Champion Moose at the close of the show. The report notes that there is nothing to say that TNA has reached out to Blanchard directly as of yet. 

As well as winning the title in January 2020, Tessa Blanchard was accused of bullying by several female wrestlers – including current WWE star Chelsea Green – and had also been accused of spitting in the face of La Rosa Negra as well as calling her a racial slur while in Japan in 2017. Blanchard herself denied using a racial slur but both her and Rosa Negra took to social media in April last year to confirm they had made amends. Even still, Blanchard has not been seen within a major US promotion since her TNA departure despite having been tipped for great things. She has continued to be active on the independent circuit, specifically in Mexico with CMLL and AAA, the former of which she has worked with throughout this year. 

Matt Cardona Suffers Major Injury

In some unfortunate news, Matt Cardona is set for a spell on the sidelines after suffering a torn pec.

Fightful’s Sean Ross Sapp was the first to report the news, noting on X how Cardona had reached out to promoters to inform them of this injury and that he requires surgery.

Of course, a torn pec was famously the injury Cody Rhodes suffered prior to his Hell in a Cell 2022 war with Seth Rollins. It’s also an injury that AEW’s Ortiz is currently recovering from, with the former Pride-N-Powerful man having undergone surgery earlier this month.

As for Matt Cardona, he’s been absolutely killing it on the independent scene since being released by WWE in April 2020. Known as the Indy God and the Deathmatch King, the one-time Zack Ryder has had major success, including runs as the NWA Worlds Heavyweight Champion and the GCW World Champion, in addition to a couple of fun runs in TNA Wrestling and also a handful of appearances in AEW – most recently facing Adam Copeland on AEW Collision at the end of last month.

In terms of a recovery period, a torn pec usually tends to keep someone out of action for between six and nine months, although that obviously depends on how the body reacts and how the road to recovery goes.

WWE Hall Of Famer Rob Van Dam Looks Back On Winning TNA Title

Between 2010 and 2013, the main promotion fans could see Rob Van Dam perform for was TNA Wrestling. The WWE Hall of Famer joined after spending three years on the independent circuit and quickly found a home in the main event scene, winning the TNA World Heavyweight Championship less than two months into his run with the company.

RVD hasn’t spoken much about his time in TNA, but during a recent edition of his “1 Of A Kind” podcast, he admitted that he felt great being made the champion of the second biggest promotion in the United States at the time. 

“It was awesome,” RVD said. “At that time, TNA was being talked at as another option, an alternative place to work that could possibly take care of you so that you’re making a comparable amount of money.”

Van Dam defeated both Jeff Hardy and AJ Styles in two separate matches to win TNA’s top prize. But before his match with Styles, he recalls being told something by Eric Bischoff that he didn’t seem that happy with. 

“Eric Bischoff didn’t seem too impressed with AJ,” RVD said. “Before going out there, I just remember Eric saying just make it really short and quick, five-star frog splash middle of the ring, it sounded like he wanted me to squash the dude, which of course I didn’t want to do. AJ’s very talented, and we had a lot of matches together that were really good.”

Van Dam said that he suffered from a back injury throughout his TNA run which he felt prevented his matches with Styles from reaching that next level, claiming that the bouts, as good as they were, might not have lived up to expectations in Styles’ mind.