On the November 5, 2009 edition of TNA Impact, TNA owner and bigshot Dixie Carter decided to open the show with a video of a speech she gave in front of much of the TNA roster of wrestlers. It was a strange presentation, as the clearly nervous Carter basically ordered them all to support her 100% and not dare question her leadership (even though her track record as head of TNA invites questioning).
Well that was weird. Who wants everybody in TV Land to see your boss threatening to fire you unless you fall in line behind her questionable business moves, like signing TNA into some kind of ‘partnership’ with Hulk Hogan?
So I had some thoughts about this strange segment and emailed them to Bryan Alvarez, host of Wrestling Observer Radio, and he decided to read my email on the air and address my comments. I’m glad to report that we are overwhelmingly on the same page. Enjoy this brief segment from his show.
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Subject: Dixie Carter to TNA Roster: Demands 100% Loyalty
Date: November 8, 2009, 3:18 PM PST
Bryan,
Well, at least most of the roster. I didn’t see Nash, Steiner, Sting, Foley, Angle, Tenay or Taz.
Did you guys get a weird vibe from that segment where she demands unwavering and unquestioning loyalty from the TNA wrestlers?
I laughed when she said if you are not prepared to give 100%, then you will be working somewhere else. I had heard that some wrestlers on her roster specifically WANT to leave TNA but can’t get releases from their contracts.
I’m thinking Dixie enjoys being on tv, which isn’t good. I also figure this is laying the groundwork for Dixie to play the heel owner/authority figure to confound Hulk Hogan when he finally shows up on tv more regularly. Unless it was real, in which case it just didn’t belong on tv.
LordsofPain.com just reported that WWE Hall of Famer Captain Lou Albano (Louis Vincent Albano) has passed away. He was 76 years old.
Captain Lou enjoyed a 40+ year career in the pro wrestling business as a wrestler and manager. He was a one-on-a-kind personality and a longtime favorite of wrestling fans.
The “manager of champions” guided 15 different tag teams and 4 singles competitors to championship gold. Fans may remember that his association with Cyndi Lauper helped usher in The Rock & Wrestling Connection, which helped mainstream pro wrestling and helped lead to the first Wrestlemania.
I’d like to extend my deepest sympathy to the family and friends of Captain Lou Albano. He shall be missed.
The August 10, 2009 issue of Dave Metlzer’s The Wrestling Observer reports that none other than Rev Al Sharpton is scheduled to host a future episode of WWE RAW. That’s crackerjack booking from the House of McMahon for you.
TNA pro wrestler and former Olympian Kurt Angle starts in this upcoming low budget thriller. File this one in the ‘it’s so bad, it’s good’ category! Enjoy the trailer for End Game.
Wrestler Jerry Lawler running for Memphis mayor
By Zack McMillin
The ‘King’ is getting back into the political ring.
Jerry ‘The King’ Lawler of local and national wrestling fame said this morning in a scheduled appearance on WGKS-FM KIX 106 that he is going to run in the City of Memphis’ special mayoral election.
Long the dominant personality in the Memphis wrestling scene, Lawler’s fame has expanded nationally because of his presence on WWE broadcasts. That role also means he spends ample time away from Memphis, something that did not help him when he ran for mayor in 1999 and gained less than 12 percent of the vote.
In interviews this week, Lawler has contended that Memphis politicians have made the city “a laughingstock” outside of town, and stresses his experience as a marketer and businessman as proof that he would bring a valuable skillset.
He also believes his celebrity in this community guarantees a base of voters. Whether he can convince more voters that electing a celebrity wrestler will help solve Memphis’s image problems will be one of his main challenges.
Lawler said he will not actively raise funds for the race, stressed his “common sense” and pointed to his popularity across racial lines.
It’s amazing that this incoherent, rambling interview ever made it on to WWF television, but it did. Enjoy Mr Christy’s first, and last, WWF interview, on May 21, 1986.
