Various: Brian Gewirtz on Jamie Kellner was Contacted for Who Killed WCW? Series & Hulk Hogan Will Not Appear, Jordynne Grace on Past Talks with WWE & Staying in TNA, Indies

Jun 7, 2024

Brian Gewirtz Comments on Former Turner CEO Jamie Kellner Being Contacted for “Who Killed WCW?” Series & Hulk Hogan Will Not Appear as Interviewee

A recent episode of the Cheap Heat with Peter Rosenberg podcast featured Seven Bucks Productions Senior Vice President Brian Gewirtz as the guest. One of the topics discussed included Gewirtz revealing that former Turner CEO Jamie Kellner was contacted for interviews for VICE TV’s Who Killed WCW? docuseries.

“Well, that’s kind of the — that was the weaving in and out and tricky situation we found ourselves in because we’d love to interview everybody (for ‘Who Killed WCW?’) if possible. I think Evan (Husney) and Jason (Eisener) started shooting in December. It was like a really quick turnaround for a four-part, four-hour docuseries and there’s a limited budget, etcetera, etcetera… There wasn’t anyone that asked to be on that we turned down but we mainly reached out to people. We wanted to interview Jamie Kellner, the Turner executive who ultimately canceled WCW on Turner and I think his P.O.V. is pretty much the same as it was in the early 2000s, late 90s, which is why does anyone want to talk about this? He was not a wrestling fan.”

Gewirtz also stated that Hulk Hogan will not be part of the series as an interviewee due to them not being able to secure a deal with him but his point of view is well represented in the series.

“Hulk Hogan, we did reach out to Hulk and first of all, he is not appearing in the documentary to talk. He couldn’t do it. We tried. We both tried, on both sides, it didn’t work out. A lot of people have a lot of opinions on him and talk about him and some positive, some negative and his P.O.V. is definitely represented on the show and obviously, him and Eric (Bischoff) were very close and Eric can to speak to a lot of Hogan’s P.O.V. at the time, both in terms of signing him, in terms of the heel turn, in terms of, kind of, the botched finish with Sting in their big match, the match with Goldberg, the finger poke of doom, Bash at the Beach. All of that stuff is pretty well-covered and yeah, he’s not physically talking on the show but he’s definitely represented.
Honestly, I don’t know (why Hogan could not do the documentary). Myself, Rock, we’ve always had a great relationship with Hogan. I’d say we still do. This is just my pure speculation and I have no idea if this is the case or not, but I know VICE had done a ‘Nine Lives of Hulk Hogan’ docuseries similar to their Nine Lives of Vince McMahon, and I’ve not talked to Eric about this, I’ve not talked to Hogan about this but you know, if I’m Hogan and I see that and I didn’t authorize that and it doesn’t put me in the most flattering light, no rush to do VICE any solids but that’s just my speculation. I don’t know. Could be the case or not.”

Transcript h/t: PostWrestling.com

Jordynne Grace Comments on Past Occasions When TNA/Impact Contract Expired & Had Talks with WWE But Reasons for Why She Opted to Stay

A preview clip was recently released for an upcoming episode of the Threads with McKenzie Mitchell show featuring Jordynne Grace as the guest. One of the topics discussed included Grace’s thoughts about past occassions where her TNA/Impact contract had expired and had talks with WWE for a potential deal only to decide to stay in TNA/Impact instead.

“I really truly think it’s been about timing. There’s been a few times when my contract has been coming up and I’ve talked to WWE and I kept staying at TNA because it’s where I was comfortable and I didn’t know how WWE was gonna treat me. So, it’s just kind of crazy to me that it wasn’t the time then but it’s the time now and now I get the best of both worlds. Everything works out exactly the way it’s supposed to.”

Transcript h/t: PostWrestling.com

Misc. Wrestling News & Notes

Thursday’s ROH TV show for Ring of Honor featured a ROH World Television Championship 2-out-of-3 Falls match between Lee Johnson and Kyle Fletcher announced for next week’s show on June 13th.

VICE TV recently released a trailer for upcoming second episode of their Who Killed WCW? docuseries on June 11th on their network.

As noted before, WWE Hall of Famer Jerry “The King” Lawler filed a wrongful death lawsuit in July of 2019 against Hardeman County, Tennessee and its sheriff over allegations of “numerous failures” by the county and its employees led to the wrongful death of his Brian Christopher in a county jail in July of 2018. PWInsider’s Mike Johnson reported that Lawler’s lawsuit is currently scheduled for a jury trial on May 31, 2025 based on recent court records. Johnson reported that this trial date was set following a court conference hearing on Thursday before The U.S. District Court, Western District of Tennessee (Jackson).

Beyond Wrestling recently announced Krule, also known as Mads Krugger in MLW, will be making an appearance for the company at their Americanrana ’24: Where Eagles Dare event on July 4th in Worcester, Massachusetts.

As noted before, WWE Hall of Famer Afa The Wild Samoan, real name Afa Anoa’i, suffered a fractured back injury following a fall incident this past March. PWInsider’s Mike Johnson reported that his sources stated that Anoa’i had underwent successful surgery this past Monday to repair his back.

Josh Barnett recently announced that Homicide will be making an appearance for Game Changer Wrestling at their GCW Josh Barnett’s Bloodsport XI event on July 28th in Brooklyn, New York.

Prestige Wrestling recently announced that they have pulled Ethan Page from their upcoming Combat Club PDX event on July 12th in Portland, Oregon due to issues related to Page’s recent signing with WWE. It was announced that Mike Santana will be replacing Page for his scheduled match against Shelton Benjamin at the event.

In a recent interview with Sports Illustrated, WWE Hall of Famer and Sukeban Commissioner Bull Nakano gave her thoughts about her current role in Sukeban and being proud of Sukeban’s wrestlers who she feels has “unlimited potential” for the company. Nakano stated “I am so proud of all of the athletes who are active now, and I try to support them. My favorite wrestlers, the ones I care about most, are all the Sukeban wrestlers. I consider them like my children. I see unlimited potential in the Sukeban wrestlers. There are so many young, talented wrestlers on the roster. I want to continue to watch and support Sukeban as Commissioner to see how far it will go in the future.“

Thursday’s TNA Impact! show featured AJ Francis defeating Laredo Kid to become the new TNA Digital Media Champion. This was Francis’ first championship victory in his TNA career.

TNA announced that they will be holding a new set of Impact! television tapings on June 28-29 at the 2300 Arena in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was also announced that tickets for this upcoming set of events are currently on sale.

TNA announced four new matches for the card of next week’s TNA Impact! show on June 13th:

Ryan & Nic Nemeth vs. ABC (Ace Austin & Chris Bey)
Dani Luna vs. Tasha Steelz
Masha Slamovich vs. Marti Belle
Mike Santana vs. Zachary Wentz

Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre recently announced three new matches for the card of their Sábado De Coliseo event on June 22nd at the Arena Mexico in Mexico City, Mexico:

Hechicero vs. Zack Sabre Jr.
Angel de Oro vs. Rocky Romero
Mistico & Taiji Ishimori vs. Hiromu Takahashi & Volador Jr.