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For many fans, reading about rumors -- and trawling the sites that traffic in them -- has become as popular as watching the matches themselves. In this daily column, we take a look at the biggest rumors and weirdest stories being churned out by those pro wrestling "news" sites.
Important reminders: Rumors are "rumors" and not "news" for a reason, folks. That which has not been confirmed as legitimate news or fact will be made clear. Also, don't let these things ruin your day. It gets better.
TNA is in terrible, terrible trouble:
Things are getting worse by the day in TNA according to the dirt screens, with serious "heat" backstage on Dixie Carter for passing the buck on the problems in the company, from their lack of a presence at WrestleMania weekend to why morale is low. While it may seem like Carter would have a say in decisions like "whether or not they have shows near the site of WrestleMania on the weekend of the show, like every other promotion", it's entirely possible that Carter isn't as in charge of these decisions as someone like Vince McMahon is.
- What exact influence former WWE employee and current Executive Vice President "Big" John Gaburick has over these decisions is unclear, but he was brought in initially to "oversee management and production of TNA Entertainment television including LIVE IMPACT Wrestling, marketing and advertising production, special projects and digital assets." He's now also doing a considerable amount of the work in creative, which is said to be a bit of a disaster with nearly everyone thinking he's in over his head.
- This feeling hasn't been helped by what's perceived as a highly secretive creative process. From the decision to put the title on Eric Young on down, there seems to be feeling that the energy put into keeping secrets would be better spent coming up with original ideas.
- Secrets that include surprise visits from members of TNA's parent company, Panda Energy. The phrase "parent company" is both necessary and intentional, as it was Dixie's own mother, Janice Carter, who appeared with a company lawyer at the corporate offices in Nashville.
- All of these problems are further exacerbated by serious concerns surrounding whether or not they can get a new deal with Spike TV. Without a TV deal, the TNA brand would become even more worthless than WCW was when Vince bought it for just a little bit more than a million dollars in 2001. The last time there was a deal to be renewed, the contract had already been signed by this point in the year.
It's entirely possible that these are just the usual problems associated with being a perpetual number two, and that the TV deal will come to fruition once Viacom is completely sure it won't be getting the rights to WWE's programming. But until that happens, it's going to feel like a like the sky is falling on TNA, and it just might be.
Random Rumors and NEWZ
If you have heard of any interesting rumors that you'd like to add, feel free to post them in the comments section below. Please remember, these are merely rumors. Try not to take them too seriously, just have fun with them.