BANK SHOT by Bill Banks

With the holiday weekend many of us in TNA are enjoying a brief few days to relax before preparations for the upcoming Impact tapings in Orlando on April 5, the last taping prior to the Lockdown Pay-Per-View on Sunday, April 24.

April is certainly going to be a big month for wrestling, with WrestleMania next week and Lockdown later in the month. Despite the competition between both companies, the next 30 days will be extremely important for everyone involved in our business. This is the time of the year when more new viewers are tuned into the sport, and it’s our job to make them fans. Hopefully, between the two Pay-Per-View events by TNA and WWE, everyone will benefit.

Congratulations go out to Jimmy Hart, who will be inducted into the Hall of Fame. Without a doubt, Jimmy is one of the genuine great people in wrestling. He’s always been about doing what’s right for the business, and in my opinion is the hardest working man in wrestling, bar none.

TNA’s Lockdown will feature two Six Sides of Steel cage matches in one night, another Pay-Per-View first for our promotion. Lockdown and the two cage match attraction will become an annual TNA event, the first of several planned “crown jewel” Pay-Per-Views with a unique importance. Others include “Slammiversary” in June and “Bound For Glory” later in the year.

The first Six Sides of Steel cage was announced on Impact, with Director of Authority Dusty Rhodes granting Nash, DDP and Waltman vs. Jarrett, The Alpha Male and The Outlaw. The second cage match will be announced on Friday’s Impact, and it will without a doubt be as equally impressive as the first.

Also on Friday’s Impact, a four superstar X Division shootout will take place to determine who faces The Fallen Angel Christopher Daniels at Lockdown for the X Championship. The bout was taped at the previous Impact tapings in Orlando, and was in my opinion one of the best X Division matches ever featured on Impact. All four superstars involved - Primetime, Chris Sabin, Petey Williams and Michael Shane - should be proud of the bout, as it truly showcased what Total Nonstop Action is all about.

As some of you may have read on other sites, Sean Waltman suffered a concussion during a tag team bout at the last Impact tapings. All indications are that Waltman should be fine for the next Impact tapings in Orlando on April 5.

We’re putting the finishing touches on the “Nevermore: Best of Raven” DVD, with the final DVD going to the printer for duplication and packaging sometime this week. The DVD should be on sale on the website by mid-April. This DVD definitely isn’t for those with a weak stomach, as there’s plenty of blood and gore. Raven and Terry Taylor also provide bonus commentary tracks for two matches on the DVD, a cool “extra” for Raven fans.

I gave ring announcer Jeremy Borash and referee Andrew Thomas an exclusive first look at the finished Raven DVD on Friday afternoon, and it brought back a lot of bloody memories. Particularly, the Hair vs. Hair match with Raven vs. Shane Douglas where A: Shane Douglas vomited in the ring B: Andrew Thomas fell in it and C: Jim Mitchell scalped Raven in one of the most stomach-churning moments in TNA history.

TNA’s upcoming Pay-Per-Views will be “Hard Justice” on Sunday, May 15 and “Slammiversary” on Sunday, June 19. Everyone in TNA is looking forward to our three-year anniversary, and there’s certainly going to be a lot of big announcements to come regarding the big event. Credit goes to TNA superstar Shark Boy for coming up with the “Slammiversary” name. Sharkie has a tremendous mind for wrestling and it’s always great to catch up with him on the road. Outside of TNA, he runs and promotes events in Ohio and operates his own wrestling school called “The Shark Tank”.

I had a chance to talk to Stu Saks from Pro Wrestling Illustrated last week, the first opportunity I’ve had to do so. Growing up a fan of wrestling and being a writer/journalist, I always looked forward to the new PWI Magazine each month. We’re trying to arrange an interview with TNA owner Dixie Carter for a future issue, so be on the lookout for that. Also be on the lookout for the upcoming annual “PWI Almanac”, a great read for any wrestling fan.

Speaking of interviews, look for a talk with TNA newcomer Shocker next week on the website, including his time in Mexico, his fame with the McDonald’s commercials and his recent success in TNA.

Myself and Jeremy Borash are in the early planning stages of an audio show for the TNAwreslting.com website, tentatively called “TNA Live” until we come up with a better name. The show will start as a weekly broadcast, with live specials prior to the Pay-Per-Views. Bob Ryder, Borash and I all had a blast with the old “WCW Live”shows, and it will be nice to get the band back together. We’ll have more information on the audio show in the upcoming weeks.

In other website news, TNAwrestling.com will be getting another redesign in May, with several new features on the site. Website graphic and design guru / Zen master Lee South has already started initial designs, and I’m very impressed with the new look. Quite frankly, being a net surfer I get tired of looking at the same design for more than a year and it’s important to keep a website fresh and exciting. Lee is also one of those freaks that doesn’t sleep, so it gives him something to do. I’m also happy to announce that Dan from StylesClash.com has joined the TNAwrestling.com design staff and will be assisting Lee with the new website rollout.
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Slammiversary is one of the worst names I've ever heard. They should rip off my old e-fed and just use "Slamfest."

Making Lockdown a "cornerstone" event is a good idea.

I REALLY want the Raven DVD

and finally... I'm sooooooo glad that they're redesigning the website

Someone should punt Shark Boy for coming up with that name. Horrible.

I love Shark Boy and all, but doesn't it show the state of your company when he's creating ANYTHING.