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For those who have asked whether Dixie Carter has addressed the TNA-Destination America issue with the staff in Nashville, I am told that as of this morning she had not as she was in Texas over the weekend. There is a meeting scheduled for this afternoon, so we will see if it is addressed internally. There's been a number of people who work for the company obviously unhappy that nothing has been said beyond the email/statement TNA issued last week.
Several sources have stated that Christy Hemme has given notice and will be departing shortly for what I am told is an awesome job opportunity outside the wrestling business. Hemme has been with the company since 2006 in different roles from wrestling to ring announcing to hosting, most recently working on the Creative team. There was one person in the company who believed she might still be available to work TVs in her role as a ring announcer, but I haven't confirmed that. Most I've spoken to believe she's making a complete departure. Hemme was the original Diva Search winner for WWE. She and her husband celebrated the birth of their first child several months ago. She's always been a great asset to TNA.
Another name to pay attention to is former TNA champion Austin Aries. Multiple sources have noted his current TNA deal is set to expire by the end of June. He's in the midst of a series of bouts teaming with Bobby Roode vs. The Wolves for the vacant TNA Tag Team championship, which would conclude at the 6/27 Slammiversary PPV show in Orlando. So, as of this writing, Aries' long-term future is up in the air, unless the two sides come to terms on a new deal.
In regard to the TNA-Dixie email rumors I noted last week, several people I spoke to over the weekend have claimed they've heard the story, which alleges Carter inadvertently CC'd in a major Destination America exec in an email complaining about the Network, as far back as late February. That version of the story claims that Carter's email came after the network issued a press release touting that Impact Wrestling had delivered the network 4.2 million unique viewers. As I wrote last week, it was a story I'd been following for several weeks and no one I spoke to within TNA, even off the record, would deny the issue, but no one would confirm it either. I suspect that even if this has indeed happened, no one is going to publicly comment on it.
An update on Samoa Joe debuting for NXT. When he debuted, I wrote there were people within TNA worried about Joe's debut. One very high-placed person in the TNA offices reached out to deny that, claiming that wasn't the case and that they wished Joe nothing but success. While I stand by what I wrote, I wanted to make note of their side.
A quick update on canceled vs. not renewed terminology I mentioned last week. Several readers sent word that Dave Meltzer, who broke the story that TNA would not continue on Destination America past this September, has noted online that his sourcing on the story was an internal memo from Destination America and that memo used the terminology that the network "would not be renewing" the series, which certainly would be the proper definition within the TV industry. Meltzer also claimed, I am told, that he reached out to Dixie Carter for a week before he filed his story, which really means that the question is why didn't TNA get in front of this story to begin with before it broke? I also want to state that, unlike has been passed around online, at no point did I shoot down Meltzer's report and any claims that I did, are 100% untrue.
Several readers sent word that Nashville radio station Lightning 100 were discussing the issues with Destination America while discussing trending topics of the past weekend.
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