TNA Impact Update: Talent Returning To On-Screen Role, Notable Star Only Working One Day Of Tapings, Contract Details, Who’s Still Signed?, More
* Jeff Jarrett's wife Karen is returning to a major on-screen role, starting with tomorrow's tapings.
* Cody Rhodes is only scheduled to work one day of the tapings this weekend, tomorrow, March 2nd..
* TNA Impact Wrestling may not be done jettisoning talent. There are reports that several more performers could be following The Hardys and Co. out the door.
Already they've lost Broken Matt and Jeff, Drew Galloway, Mike Bennett, Maria Kanellis and Jade, and PWInsider is reporting that there are several other talents who have been asked about locking themselves into new deals. This is a change from the more flexible contracts that some performers might be used to. The new management at Impact Wrestling is looking to work with wrestlers that are going to commit to them, and they don't mind getting rid of any talents that won't put it in writing.
* Matt Hardy's wife Reby told Busted Open Radio yesterday that the Hardys didn't receive their new contracts until last week, and upon closer examination, there were things that "were slipped in there as if we wouldn't notice at the last minute."
The same PWInsider report states that there have been changes to TNA contracts:
Talents will now be paid per date as opposed to per episode. For example, with the set of tapings starting tomorrow, and going through the weekend, if a talent taped 3 episodes per day, they would now be paid for 4 days instead of for 12 episodes, as was the case under the old managment.
Some wrestlers are signing agreements that state that all outside bookings must be approved by the company, which would then receive 10% of whatever the talent earned from that outside engagement.
* There are rumors of an announcement forthcoming about a TNA UK television deal or house show tour, possibly later this week.
* Here is a partial list of talents that are already locked into deals with Impact:
- World Champion Bobby Lashley
- Moose
- EC3
- Eddie Edwards
- Davey Richards
- Eli Drake.