World Wrestling Entertainment is in negotiations Ring of Honor/Wrestling Society X star Matt Sydal recently. No word on when he’ll report to WWE developmental, although he’s expected to fulfill his independent obligations. Sydal had been pretty sought after since the demise of WSX with ROH and TNA both making plays for him and Dragon Gate in Japan wanting him as well.
World Wrestling Entertainment has signed Teddy Hart to a developmental deal. Hart has already reported to Florida Championship Wrestling in Tampa, Florida. The controversial but charismatic and talented Hart was the talk of the internet at various times in recent years for antics in Ring of Honor, TNA, Jersey All Pro Wrestling and MLW, among other promotions. Hart, 27, is the grandson of Stu Hart and the son of wrestler BJ Annis and Georgia Hart. His cousins Nattie Neidhart and Harry Smith are also under WWE deals and in Florida, as is long-time friend and opponent TJ Wilson.
WWE.com has announced that World Wrestling Entertainment has come to terms with former Buffalo Bill and TNA main eventer, Monty Brown. No information was released about the contract, plans for Brown or what brand he may join. There has been speculation for a while now about Brown signing with WWE since he left TNA. Apparently he was unhappy with his push in TNA.
World Wrestling Entertainment hired former Four Horsemen member Tully Blanchard to work as a producer (new term for agent). Blanchard started yesterday at the Raw taping in Chicago yesterday. It’s a 30 day trial run to see how he does in the role, something that others, including Ted DiBiase and Ricky Steamboat have done prior to being signed on as a full-time employee. Also, Psicosis was finally officially released by WWE a few days ago in a move that was considered just a matter of time after his recent legal skirmish in Mexico.
The Teddy Long announcement that was hyped on the WWE website earlier today turned out to be a storyline deal where MVP has officially signed with the Smackdown brand. In other SmackDown news, WWE has announced that Kid Kash, who was working as one half of the Pitbulls tag team, has been released from the company.
At the close of No Surrender, Jim Cornette announced that TNA Impact was moving into primetime at 9 PM on Thursday, November 9. Cornette went on to say that the time change isn’t the big announcement. A Kurt Angle video aired concluding with a closeup of Angle saying “It’s real. It’s damn real!”
So TNA had three big events surrounding No Surrender: Vince Russo rejoins the Creative Committee, Impact moving into a prime time slot and Kurt Angle. Do any of these change the face of TNA or wrestling, no. For all the hype, I expected more. Kurt Angle is mentally and physically beat up and you can’t convince me that a few weeks of rest has him ready to go at 100%. I expected something along of the lines of TNA going to two hours, possibly up against one of WWE’s shows or maybe the signing of Brock Lesner or Bill Goldberg.
And I am a little suprised that Angle jumped ship like this. Angle seemed very loyal to the WWE and I was shocked at his release. And I would wager that Vince released Angle to rehab himself, not sign with a rival promotion. Angle blew more smoke about the situation by leaking his interest in MMA. This whole Angle situation seems a little shady and takes away credibility from both Angle and TNA. I’m not one to agree with the likes of Jim Ross, but he is right on the money criticizing TNA for trying to copy the WWE. I can only question what logic the people running TNA are using for these recent moves. Vince Russo will not take TNA to the next level and neither will Kurt Angle. These kind of decisions are the reason why TNA will always be what it always is and certainly not a legitimate competitor to the WWE. What are your thoughts about TNA’s recent moves?
WWE has signed former WWE, WCW and ECW wrestler, Too Cold Scorpio to a three year contract. Scorpio, a former ECW World Television Champion and ECW Tag Team champion had a recent WWE tryout against new ECW Extremist, Rene Dupree.
Since its inception in 2000, Scorpio had been wrestling for Pro Wrestling NOAH in Japan. Two days before ECW One Night Stand 2005, Scorpio looked great and defeated Kid Kash at Shane Douglas’ and Jeremy Borash’s Hardcore Homecoming at the former ECW Arena. With his new WWE deal, Scorpio is in the process of relocating from Germany back to the United States.
WWE has announced that they are bringing in Rodney Mack, Marty Jannetty and Brad Armstrong for the next “several months” to “help younger talent develop their skills in the ring,” which was something Vince McMahon talked about at his investors meeting yesterday. They will be given a chance at a full time job with WWE based on how things work out after their return. The company also announced that they have signed Henry Godwinn to a deal as well.
After months of speculation on Jeff Hardy’s status in TNA, WWE.com announced today that Hardy has resigned with the WWE, more than three years after his release from the company.
Dave Heath aka Gangrel has been signed to a new WWE deal and is expected to be part of the reformed Extreme Championship Wrestling. Heath was backstage at Smackdown in Bakersfield, CA a few weeks back.
With his release from the MTV Wrestling Society X project, it is believed Justin Credible has signed with WWE and may debut as soon as tonight on the WWE vs. ECW special.