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http://www.charleston.net/stories/083103/moo_31wrestle.shtml

Sunday, August 31, 2003 
 
A penny for our bouts? Good PPV offer from NWA-TNA 

BY MIKE MOONEYHAM 
Of The Post and Courier Staff 

Tired of watching the weekly WWE soap opera? Then it might be time to
give NWA-TNA a chance.

The Nashville-based outfit will offer a one-cent pay-per-view on Sept.
10 that will feature some of the greatest matches from the company's
recent history and other highlights from its weekly programming.

You read it right.

For a penny, you can get a virtually free sample of what this company
has been doing as it attempts to position itself as a viable
alternative to Vince McMahon's juggernaut.

"This special pre-recorded event is designed to give viewers a chance
to sample TNA's fresh brand of professional wrestling for practically
no cost," according to a company release.

"The 'One Cent Special' is anticipated to receive the highest level of
television exposure that TNA has experienced since its debut in June
2002. TNA Entertainment, LLC -- the parent company of TNA Wrestling --
has visibly committed to working with the cable operators and
pay-per-view networks to regenerate the wrestling category.

Employing a strategy of 'Winning Back the Disillusioned Pay-Per-View
Wrestling Fan,' TNA has joined with the cable industry to acknowledge
the downward trend that pay-per-view wrestling events have experienced
since competition was eliminated from the wrestling world two years
ago, as well as the vast pool of revenue that is currently available
to be targeted."

The NWA-TNA succeeds more often that not in providing entertaining
programming. The weekly Wednesday night pay-per-views, normally priced
at a relatively affordable $9.95, feature the likes of Raven, AJ
Styles (managed by Vince Russo), Dusty Rhodes, America's Most Wanted
(Chris Harris and James Storm), Shane Douglas, D'Lo Brown and an
exciting X division that includes Low-Ki, Christopher Daniels, Chris
Sabin, Elix Skipper and a host of other high flyers.

Now's the time to give this hard-working group a try.

-- Triple H, still far from 100 percent as he recovers from a painful
groin pull, was scheduled to work tag-team matches over the weekend,
including a Memphis show with Ric Flair against hometown favorite
Jerry "The King" Lawler and Shawn Michaels.

-- Evan Ginzburg has released his always enjoyable Wrestling Then &
Now annual. The 2002-03 version is his biggest ever (84 pages) and
includes tributes to Lou Thesz and Superstar Billy Graham.

Cost is $15. The address is P.O. Box 640471, Oakland Gardens Station,
Flushing, N.Y. 11364.

-- A recent article on ESPN's Web site listed the XFL as the No. 1
"sports bust" of all time, ahead of such other failures as Mike
Veeck's Disco Demolition Night (No. 3) and Michael Jordan as a
baseball player (No. 9).

The lone comment on Vince McMahon's money-losing football venture: "If
only the cheerleaders had been totally naked ..."

-- The always controversial Brian James (former Road Dogg) said in a
recent radio interview that The Rock had a major ego and had allowed
his push to stardom to go straight to his head. He commented that
Vince McMahon's creativity makes him morally and personally bankrupt,
but added that's the way he has to be in order to be successful as a
businessman. He also said he hasn't talked to former New Age Outlaws
partner Billy Gunn since he was released from WWE, and added that he
never understood the Bret Hart "phenomenon."

-- One has to wonder just how long it's going to take before WWE hires
"Father" James Mitchell. The man behind the characters Daryl Van Horn,
James Vandenberg and The Sinister Minister, Mitchell is one of the
best talkers in the business today and knows how to advance a
storyline. Currently plying his wares as manager of The New Church,
Mitchell has been a proven commodity in Smoky Mountain Wrestling, WCW,
ECW and now NWA-TNA. He could be a very valuable asset in WWE.

-- Eddie Guerrero could easily be the most over performer on
Smackdown. And that's saying a lot, since the list includes a
considerable array of talent including Kurt Angle, Brock Lesnar, The
Undertaker, Chris Benoit and others.

-- Joe Laurinaitis, also known as Road Warrior Animal, will join
former New York Jets running back Marion Barber in coaching the
Minneapolis Lumberjacks in the minor league Mid-American Football
League, according to a recent article in the St. Paul Pioneer Press.

-- Alexis Lareee is the latest diva to sign a developmental deal with
WWE. Laree, who will report to Ohio Valley Wrestling, has been working
as a heel member of Raven's Gathering in NWA-TNA and as a babyface for
Ring of Honor.

-- Shannon Ward, who appeared in WCW several years ago as the
screaming Daffney character, has signed a developmental deal with WWE.

The Georgia State grad is married to rocker Rich Ward of Stuck Mojo
and Fozzy Osbourne.

-- Former wrestling star and well-known character actor Don "Hard
Boiled" Haggerty was seriously injured in an automobile accident June
20 in Los Angeles. He suffered a broken neck and other injuries, but
is now currently out of intensive care and is recovering at the UCLA
Rehabilitation Center in Westwood, Calif.


--- Internet Rex 2.29