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Vince Russo Thinks Heat Existed Between Steve Austin And WWE, Talks Austin’s Attitude

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With the recent announcement that Stone Cold Steve Austin’s podcast would be returning to the WWE Network next month, talk of heat between Austin and the WWE has calmed. However, shortly before the announcement WrestleTalkTV spoke to Vince Russo, who thought there was actual heat between the two sides.

Russo pointed at Austin’s brutally honest demeanor and unwillingness to succumb to pressure by the WWE as potential things that could have caused friction between Austin and WWE CEO Vince McMahon.

“I do (think it’s true). I don’t have any insight. Austin does not need Vince McMahon by any stretch of the imagination. Austin’s not the kind of guy who is going to fall in line to Vince McMahon, wait for the phone to ring. If there’s some type of disagreement when it comes to money, Steve Austin isn’t the kind of person who’s going to fall in line. When I worked with him he wasn’t that type of guy.”

It was speculated that WWE also wasn’t happy with guests Austin had on his show. Russo didn’t see that as a possibility, as it’s not WWE’s problem to handle. Notably, Steve Austin had TNA President Dixie Carter on last week.

“I don’t think so. Steve had me on his show and I’m sure Vince wouldn’t like that, but it’s Steve Austin’s podcast. At the end of the day, Steve Austin’s going to have who he wants on his podcast. There’s a lot of those things Vince doesn’t like, but he’s not going to control a guy like Steve Austin. He’s a straight shooter, and I can easily see heat between he and Vince McMahon because he won’t fall in line,” Russo said.

Top TNA Official Responds To Destination America Cancellation Reports

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As noted, Dave Meltzer reported in the latest issue of The Wrestling Observer that Destination America has canceled TNA effective the end of September. You can read Meltzer’s full, detailed report in The Wrestling Observer (subscription required) by clicking here.

Meltzer noted that the main issue has been the cost of programming and advertising rates, as many regular sponsors on the station did not want to advertise on TNA programming. Meltzer also noted that the cancellation was announced to key employees before Destination America made the decision to move Impact Wrestling to Wednesdays and that the story “is very much ongoing.” Because the cancellation was announced before the move to Wednesdays, the cancellation isn’t definite, although he noted that it wasn’t a good sign that people at the station haven’t been told anything new since being informed of the cancellation.

TNA’s Bob Ryder responded to the reports on Twitter, writing:

For almost 13 years some people have predicted we were about to go out of business. It’s no more true today than it was then. #StandUp
— Bob Ryder (@brydertna) May 21, 2015

It should be noted that Ryder didn’t mention anything about the promotion being cancelled, but rather tweeted about it folding.

Sunny Addresses Adult Movie Reports, HHH Holds Backstage Meeting, Big Show’s Return, More

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– Triple H held a backstage meeting after Takeover last night and praised the roster for keeping Samoa Joe’s debut a secret and not letting it leak out, according to PWInsider.

– WWE Hall of Famer Sunny tweeted the following in response to TMZ’s report that she’s close to signing with Vivid to do adult movies:

to clear the air, I am NOT doing a porn… I have been approached by Vivid Entertainment, but nothing has been negotiated or put on paper
— Tamara Sytch (@WWEHOFerSunny) May 21, 2015

Source: Wrestling Observer Newsletter

– We noted before that Big Show was scheduled to return this week but it obviously didn’t happen. Show is still due back imminently but if it doesn’t happen on the May 31st Elimination Chamber pay-per-view, the return may be delayed.

– Besides Matt Riddle and Biff Busick, indie stars Drew Gulak and Chuck Taylor will also be at the WWE tryouts at the Performance Center next month.

– Below are some recent WWE attendance figures:

* May 14th in Philadelphia for NXT drew around 2,000 fans
* May 15th in Philadelphia for NXT drew around 1,500
* May 16th in Albany for NXT drew 2,200 fans
* May 18th in Richmond for RAW drew 6,300 fans

Samoa Joe Debuts At NXT Takeover: Unstoppable

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Samoa Joe made his WWE NXT debut Wednesday night, coming to the aid of Sami Zayn and getting in the face of NXT Champion Kevin Owens. Rumors of Samoa Joe signing with WWE have run rampant for several months since Joe left TNA Wrestling.

Joe worked several dates for Ring of Honor after leaving TNA, and then abruptly stopped taking dates. Last week it was announced that Joe had accepted independent dates in August, which threw many people off.

On yesterday’s NXT media conference call, Triple H was asked about the possibility of Joe signing with WWE. Triple H put over Joe as a phenomenal performer, but said he didn’t know if they’d do business or not. We’ll have more on this story as it develops.

Austin And WWE Work Out Their Issues, Next 3 Guests Revealed

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Steve Austin and WWE are officially back in business together, with his “Stone Cold Podcast” returning to the WWE Network on June 1st with special guest Paul Heyman.

The show will air on the night after the free month of May ends, as historically, the two most-watched shows in WWE Network history, aside from live pay-per-view events, were Austin’s two podcasts with Vince McMahon and Triple H.

Apparently Austin and WWE working together again came as a result of whatever issue Vince McMahon had being mended somehow.

One of the other reasons Austin is coming back is because of the busy schedule of Chris Jericho. Between hosting Tough Enough, doing house shows and touring with Fozzy, Jericho won’t be available to do podcasts on the WWE Network as often as might be necessary.

After Heyman, Austin’s next three guests on the WWE Network podcast will be Sting, The Undertaker and Hulk Hogan.

Destination America Reportedly Cancels All TNA Wrestling Programming

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Source: Wrestling Observer Newsletter

TNA Wrestling programming is being canceled in the United States for the second straight year as Destination America officials have made the decision to cancel Impact Wrestling and all other shows from the Nashville, Tennessee-based company. This is according to Dave Meltzer in this week’s issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter (published Wednesday).

It was noted to Meltzer that all TNA programming will cease to air on Destination America at the end of the third quarter of the year. This is roughly the last week of September, when the current television season ends. Key people at parent company Discovery Communications were informed of the decision.

Two major reasons were given for the cancellation. While Destination America officials considered the ratings for Impact Wrestling to be good, the numbers were not good enough to justify the cost of the programming. The other problem was that a number of the cable network’s advertisers specifically did not want to advertise during Impact Wrestling.

The decision from Destination America was meant to be kept secret, quite like how officials from Spike kept secret publicly last year its decision to axe Impact Wrestling for months after the decision was made and reported. The public acknowledgment was expected to be made when the station reveals its 2015-16 television season prime time lineup with the launch of up front advertising.

Following the March 13, 2015 episode of Impact Wrestling, which saw viewership drop to a new low, Destination America officials made the decision to cancel Saturday morning programming under the belief that eliminating the replay would help the Friday numbers—the only numbers they care about. Although there was a slight increase, all first-run programming with the exception of Impact Wrestling airing multiple times on Friday nights was axed due to the cable network’s difficulty in selling advertisement time. For the May 8, 2015 episode of Impact Wrestling, Destination America purchased an advertisement in USA Today to promote the show, believing that added advertising and it being almost live would result in an increased rating. Instead, Impact Wrestling did its second lowest number on Destination America, and the replay, which is primarily watched by viewers in West Coast, did the all-time record low. Days later, Destination America made the decision to cancel all TNA Wrestling programming.

Dixie Carter, President of TNA Wrestling, was aware of the decision early last week although it doesn’t appear that most of the talent knew anything since word of this had not gotten around. Her knowledge of the cancellation may have played a part in Impact Wrestling moving to Wednesday, but that is uncertain. Carter didn’t respond to any questions on the subject from Meltzer.

Eric Bischoff Suing TNA, Alleging Missed And Late Payments, TNA Responds, More Details

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According to ProWrestling.net Eric Bischoff, his son Garett and business partner Jason Hervey have filed a lawsuit against TNA for breach of contract. PW.net reports that the suit was filed on May 15th in Davidson County, Tennessee and claims that the company owes them $114,500.02.

The report says that Eric Bischoff and Hervey are listed under their production company, and are alleging that they were hired on a “pay or play” deal. They, and Garett say that TNA paid them on time until the end of September, and that Bischoff-Hervey Entertainment informed TNA of a breach in the contract on November 4th due to a failure to pay in October. A second notice was issued on November 24th. TNA eventually paid $101,500 before 2015, but the company is still looking for the same amount for the last three months of their contract, which expired on March 31st.

Garett Bischoff was a part of the company’s first deal with the company before signing his own contract with TNA on October 24th. His contract included $2,166.67 monthly on what was called a “pay or play” deal, in addition to $500 for paid performances. His deal also expired on March 21st and claims that TNA still owes him over $13,000.

TNA supposedly issued a response on January 12th, claiming that they had paid Bischoff-Hervey in full, which Bischoff-Hervey disagreed with. Bischoff-Hervey’s attorney Bryan Lewis told TNA’s attorney, “When the money was sent, you did not make it clear whether it was in connection with the settlement offer that was on the table or a reinstatement by TNA,” reads the letter from Lewis. “TNA did not make a request that Bischoff-Hervey perform services when the money was sent. Bischoff-Hervery Entertainment stands ready, willing, and able to perform under the agreement in the event TNA is reinstating that agreement.”

WWE Injury Report: Daniel Bryan Situation Looks Bad, Itami, Zayn/Surgery

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Regarding the injury situation in WWE right now, the company is remaining very quiet in terms of disclosing information on the status of Daniel Bryan’s condition.

While specifics aren’t quite clear just yet, the word going around is that things are looking negative regarding Bryan’s future as an active pro wrestler. It’s been said that he is expected to be out a long time and it’s possible he may never be able to return, however as of May 18th there has been no definitive medical update on him.

Triple H acknowledged that Hideo Itami was injured during his conference call to promote the NXT Takeover: Unstoppable live WWE Network special, noting that he would be on the show in some capacity, but not actually wrestling.

It’s said that Itami’s injury was a fluke situation and not a case of wear-and-tear, which is said to be an issue troubling WWE these days among many of the wrestlers.

In the case of Sami Zayn, while HHH said he was medically cleared to return, and he did face Kevin Owens on the NXT special this Wednesday, the word going around the WWE locker room was that he will be having shoulder surgery early next month, although that is not confirmed.

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