TNA releases Angelina Love due to work visa issue

TNA Wrestling has released ex-Women's champion Angelina Love (aka Angel Williams) from the company, reports PWInsider.com, in what amounts to a stunning blow to TNA's Knockouts division.

The TNA Knockout and one half of the The Beautiful People tag team had a work visa that was either about to expire or had already expired. Without a valid work visa, TNA can not legally employ the Canadian national anywhere in the United States, making her an effective non-entity.

Love's release comes at an inopportune time for TNA. The entire concept of a women's tag team title was built around the notoriety achieved by The Beautiful People faction of Love and partner Velvet Sky. Without Love and her heel skill set, the act no longer exists. Since Love can't even get a final write-off, TNA won't get a fair resolution of her storyline.

If/when Angelina Love can get her visa issue resolved, TNA could still bring her back into its fold. Of course with Love now a free agent, WWE would also have the same opportunity. Ultimately though, Angelina Love has to take care of her own legal concerns before she can resume her path to pro wrestling stardom.

ODB wins TNA Women's title in intergender tag farce

ODB and her partner/storyline boyfriend Cody Deaner defeated Angelina Love & Velvet Sky in a TNA Hard Justice PPV intergender tag for ODB to become the new TNA Women's champion.

If my wording seems vague, it's because the scenario was too. The originally announced singles match for the Knockouts title was changed to a bizarre intergender tag, which Deaner won for his team by pinning Sky. After ODB was announced as the champion, Deaner to physical possession of the title belt and ran off.

The match itself made a joke out of sexual harassment, a bizarre line of booking considering the Kurt Angle situation. Even apart from that though, having the title decided in such a manner made a joke out of a once credible women's division.

Blame can be laid on one Vince Russo whose 'unfiltered' booking shined throughout the PPV, leading to disputed finishes in most of the major title matches. As close as I can figure out though, Samoa Joe won the X title over Homicide and Kevin Nash beat Mick Foley to regain the Legends title.

Scott D'Amore to return to TNA, Knockouts division

Former TNA agent Scott D'Amore will return to the company and resume his role with the TNA Knockouts women's division, reports PWInsider.com. D'Amore will help fill the gap left by the firings of booker/agent Dutch Mantel and agent Savio Vega.

D'Amore had spearheaded the knockouts division upon its late 2007 inception. Using Gail Kim and Awesome Kong as the focal point, he quickly established the Knockouts segments as the highest rated, most watched segments of TNA Impact. D'Amore left the company in 2008, leading to a critical downturn of the women's division if not a ratings downturn.

While Gail Kim left in the interim for WWE, D'Amore now has a deeper, stronger stable of women's wrestling talent at his disposal, including new faces Tara (fka Victoria), Alissa Flash (aka Cheerleader Melissa) & Sarita (fka Sarah Stock).

Mickie James defeats Maryse to become Divas champion

Four-time Women's champion Mickie James defeated Maryse at the WWE Night of Champions PPV to become the new Divas champion. James pinned Maryse with a tornado DDT to win the eight-minute encounter, the second all-female match on the night.

Unfortunately, the match quality itself wasn't worthy of memory as Maryse clearly appeared stretched beyond her limited wrestling abilities to fill the time. While Maryse has a strong heel persona, she couldn't convey the skill set at the pay-per-view to back it up in the ring. While not horrific on the level of Sharmell v. Jenna Morasca, the consensus of viewers had it as the worst match of the PPV.

Nonetheless, Mickie James is only the third woman to hold the Divas title and the second woman to become both a Divas and Women's champion, behind Michelle McCool who defeated Melina for the Women's title on the previous pay-per-view.

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TNA reaches deal with Playboy to feature knockouts

TNA Wrestling has reached a deal with Playboy magazine to feature members of the TNA Knockouts women's division. SoCal Val revealed the new deal during an appearance at the Comic-Con convention. Val had been a major supporter of establishing ties with Playboy after WWE dropped ties due to its new TV-PG stance.

TNA's Jeremy Borash confirmed via his Twitter feed that a Knockout had already posted for the magazine. revealed by The Sun officially as Traci Brooks. Of course, Traci Brooks just came back to TNA to a major push as a battle royal winner and newest inductee into the dominant Main Event Mafia faction. It's the reasoning for her latest push that causes me concern with this deal.

When WWE was affiliated with Playboy, the fed often promoted women willing to pose for the magazine instead of those with greater wrestling talent or a greater ability to connect with the wrestling audience. TNA is now clearly leaning towards a similar approach, one that could gradually erode the credibility of its women's division.

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Angelina Love scores disputed pin to regain TNA Women's title

Angelina Love pinned Tara in the opener of the TNA Victory Road PPV to regain the promotion's Knockout Women's title, though not without more than a little controversy. Tara (fka Victoria) had her foot draped on the bottom rope during Love's pinfall attempt but referee Slick Johnson counted her down anyway.

The referee claimed to have simply not seen Tara's foot on the rope which would have broken the count. However, a later segment on the pay-per-view implied that the good referee had instead received a sexual favor from Love's Beautiful People stablemate Madison Rayne in exchange for the bogus decision.

At any rate, the title switch back to Angelina Love comes as a surprise, airing only ten days after Tara's pretaped victory for the title had been shown on Impact. In real time, Tara's title reign lasted 24 days.

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Serena Deeb officially signs with WWE

SHIMMER/OVW women's wrestler Serena Deeb has officially signed with World Wrestling Entertainment. The SHIMMER promotion confirmed Deeb's signing in an extended press release. Deeb will work the Florida Championship Wrestling developmental territory before any call-up to the main WWE roster.

Deeb had been rumored to be signing or at least in negotiations with WWE last May after she briefly appeared on-screen during a ECW telecast. Deeb denied the reports at the time though she had expressed long-time interest in joining the WWE promotion.

Serena Deeb quickly established a reputation for quality wrestling after over a few years through appearances with SHIMMER and multiple-time Ohio Valley Wrestling title reigns. Since WWE is now placing a slightly higher emphasis on that 'wrestling' quality among its divas in the TV-PG era, she should be able to make it out of the FCW developmental territory intact.

As a point of personal civic pride, Deeb's signing is noteworthy since her roots are from my own Washington, D.C. area as a graduate of Fairfax County, Virginia's Oakton High School. If/when she makes the main WWE roster, she would be one of two D.C. area natives there, the other one being former champion Batista.

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Shimmer PR: Serena Deeb signs with WWE

The following is courtesy of SHIMMER - WOMEN ATHLETES:

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Everyone at SHIMMER - WOMEN ATHLETES would like to congratulate Serena Deeb on officially signing a contract with World Wrestling Entertainment.

From the first day she stepped into a wrestling ring, it has always been Serena's goal to earn a job with WWE. Serena moved from Virginia to Kentucky on her own dime for the sole purpose of enrolling in the Ohio Valley Wrestling training program several years ago, and she has been a mainstay in the OVW women's division ever since.

Serena debuted for SHIMMER on May 21, 2006 as a last minute substitution when an opening on the lineup created an opportunity. During the three years that followed, Serena displayed tremendous drive, determination, and eagerness to constantly learn. She has always tried to improve her game, be it in SHIMMER competition, at OVW, or in her handful of appearances for Ring of Honor.

Despite OVW losing its status a WWE developmental territory last year, Serena remained focused on achieving her goal of impressing WWE officials enough to be given a chance. All of Serena's hard work has now paid off, as she will soon be relocating to Florida to start with WWE developmental territory Florida Championship Wrestling.

Personally speaking, I feel that Serena Deeb is one of the top three female babyface talents in North America today. She's got unbelievable fire, and can project emotion better than most wrestlers of a similar age and experience level. These are essential attributes to go along with the sound athletic wrestling fundamentals which she also possesses. She's a complete package, and is perfect for television.

Serena's training at OVW not only prepared her quite well for professional wrestling in general, but also specifically for the style of wrestling which WWE is looking for. Serena's continued instruction at FCW will only sharpen her existing skills, in preparation for the next stage of her career.

The three match series between Serena and Sara Del Rey were truly breakout performances for her as a wrestler. I feel those matches excellently displayed Serena's unbelievable potential to become a star in this industry. In her outings several weeks ago at the SHIMMER Vols. 23-26 tapings in Chicago, Serena continued to show that she absolutely deserved the spot at the top of the card that she had worked her way into.

I'd like to thank Serena Deeb for all of her contributions to SHIMMER during the past three years. From all of the memorable matches, to sacrificing her car on the drive up for the SHIMMER Title Tournament weekend, Serena gave so much to our product. Though we'll greatly miss her at future tapings, Serena has now been given the chance of a lifetime-- to work her way to the top of her chosen profession.

Good luck, Serena... and congrats!

Dave Prazak

Michelle McCool defeats Melina for WWE Women's title

Michelle McCool defeated Melina in just under seven minutes at The Bash PPV to become the new WWE Women's champion. In doing so, McCool performed essentially a Diva Double, becoming the first woman to win both the Women's and Divas titles.

The match proved largely one-sided with Michelle McCool systematically taking apart Melina for most of the match, allowing only a few very brief flurries of offense for Melina before winning with the faith breaker (aka the Styles clash). Melina got so little offense in that I was actually left to wonder about her status with the company.

McCool's status with the company is obviously a strong one though as she got to make Divas history with the double title accomplishment, beating out Raw counterpart Mickie James for the honor.

Melina's Women's title defense was the first one on pay-per-view since last January's Royal Rumble. We won't have to wait long for the next one as the Night of Champions PPV concept in three weeks demands that all titles (including the Women's and Divas belts) be defended.

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TNA officially renames former Victoria as Tara

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TNA Wrestling's roster page officially confirms that Lisa Marie Varon will be referred to as "Tara." She will work as Tara starting on this week's Impact broadcast.

The former Victoria obviously couldn't use that particular WWE name but one had hoped that she would have been allowed a variant of her real name. Instead, TNA assigned her this new Tara designation, one that it can presumably trademark for its own purposes.

To many fans though, the Tara name either comes off as too lurid or just weak. The name flashes back in my own mind to Willow's meek girlfriend back on the "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" television series. Neither the lurid nor meek image particularly fits where TNA should want to go with its newest Knockout.

Lisa Marie Varon had enough of a burden during her final months in WWE trying to hold up the credibility of a fledgling Smackdown Divas roster while being played for laughs. The last thing Varon should have to do now is work to overcome an ill-fitting ring moniker.
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Disputed reports on Lisa Marie Varon's new TNA ring name

(Note: This report does not mention specific match details of upcoming Impact telecasts.) Lisa Marie Varon (fka Victoria) is set to debut on this Thursday's telecast of TNA Impact but the real online speculation over the last day is over the ring name that she will use in subsequent weeks.

Reports from future Impact tapings are in dispute with some claiming that Lisa Marie Varon will simply use her real name, others claiming she will use the name Tara and yet another report that she will be known as Tara Rising.

Of the possibilities, the 'Tara' name by itself comes off as weak and ridiculous, a reminder of either a low-rent stripper or Willow's meek girlfriend from "Buffy the Vampire Slayer." Neither image fits the established Lisa Marie Baron persona. While stronger, 'Tara Rising' is more an inside joke... a play on Triple H's former Terra Ryzing ring name back in WCW.

All else being equal, it would be preferable for the real-life Lisa Marie Varon to wrestle as Lisa Marie Varon. It's a more credible stronger name that better befits the push that the former Victoria should receive with TNA.

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Lisa Marie Varon debuts for TNA @ Impact taping

Lisa Marie Varon (fka Victoria) debuted for TNA at its Impact taping Monday. I won't give away spoilers here on WrestlingBloob but suffice it to say, she didn't come in as a patient of Dr. Stevie. That's a good thing.

The early signs are that Varon will have a significant and strong presence in the TNA women's / knockouts division. Plainly, she has the credibility and recognition (at least facial recognition) to uplift the women's product.

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Mickie James NOT on Twitter, Facebook, MySpace

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WWEMickieJames is a FAKE!

It is now officially confirmed that WWE wrestler Mickie James is NOT a member of either Twitter, Facebook or MySpace. Twitter member churchie1970 learned from the real Mickie James backstage at Staples Center that she has no online presence on any of the major social networking sites.

The 'WWEMickieJames' Twitter and its associated sister sites are all fakes and frauds, concocted to leech off the work of the real Mickie James. Of course, WWEMickieJames already exposed him/herself as a fake weeks ago on Twitter by claiming to have gone on WWE's most recent European tour. WWE didn't send the real Mickie James to Europe by WWE due to budget considerations.

Despite obvious evidence to the contrary, the fake Mickie James has continued to thrive on Twitter though with over 2000 followers. Fans want to believe they're communicating with their hero even when it stops making any sense.

Since World Wrestling Entertainment either won't or can't stop this fraud, I have decided to do the only thing I can do for the real Mickie James and her fans... expose the fraud to scrutiny in hopes that action will finally be taken against it.

The real Mickie James has worked too hard for too long in the pro wrestling business to have her efforts disgraced by a pathetic poser. Mickie and all of her fans deserve better than the likes of 'WWEMickieJames.'
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Lisa Marie Varon (fka Victoria) signed to TNA

Former champion wrestler Lisa Marie Varon has come out of wrestling retirement to sign with TNA. Her involvement was confirmed in a TNA mobile text message sent during the Sacrifice PPV. Varon is better known under the WWE name Victoria, a moniker that she obviously can't use in her new promotion.

Varon had been a multiple time Women's champion in WWE but spent her last months in the company largely reduced to a comic jobber role on the Smackdown brand. My guess is that she'd like to go out in a little more credible manner. TNA will also allow Varon to continue pursuing her interest in a mixed martial arts career.

If used correctly (always a big "if" with TNA), Varon could emerge as a credible addition to the Knockouts division. If not, she'll be stuck in treatment with Dr. Stevie. Either way, she'll debut on this week's Impact.

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Shimmer DVD taping lineup (5/2/09)

Shimmer: Women Athletes DVD taping lineup - subject to change
(May 2, 2009 from Berwyn, Illinois.)

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- Shimmer champion MsChif vs. Serena Deeb -
- Shimmer tag team champions Ashley Lane & Nevaeh vs. Rain & Jetta (2 of 3 falls) -
- Portia Perez vs. Allison Danger (no dq street fight)
- Cheerleader Melissa vs. Wesna Busic -
- Mercedes Martinez vs. Amazing Kong -
- Madison Eagles vs. Sara Del Ray -
- Daizee Haze vs. Nicole Matthews -
- Nikki Roxx vs. Cat Power -

additional matches to be announced for May 2,
matches to be determined for May 3 taping.

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Roxxi signals parting of ways with TNA

TNA wrestler Roxxi (a.k.a. Nikki Roxx) signaled an apparent parting of ways with the company, tweeting via her official Twitter feed @RoxxiNikki that she "would like to wish TNA the best in their future endeavors!"

Of course, the "future endeavors" line is the standard parting remark on WWE's release announcements so its use here implies that TNA and Roxxi have parted ways. It isn't immediately known whether TNA released/nonrenewed Roxxi or whether she wanted out. Earlier reports had claimed both Roxxi & Rhaka Khan were suspended 60 days due to a backstage fight.

The longtime Northeastern-based wrestler Roxxi was generally regarded as one of the more credible TNA female wrestlers. It was tough for that credibility to shine through initially though as she came in working under a bizarre voodoo gimmick. Thankfully, the voodoo was discarded after she was turned babyface and she turned to a more natural hardcore persona. Her presence will be missed in TNA.

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Torrie Wilson announced in NBC "I'm a Celebrity..." cast

Ex-WWE wrestler/diva Torrie Wilson was announced Friday as a cast member on new NBC reality series "I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here!" The interactive survival competition program will be taped from Costa Rica this June for live and same-week airings.

Torrie Wilson had been a longtime mainstay of WWE since the fed's buyout of WCW assets, being released just last year after recurrent back issues caused an effective end to her wrestling career. She returned to WWE just for a one-time appearance in this month's WrestleMania XXV women's battle royal.

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Wilson is just the latest in a long string of ex-WWE divas to appear as full-time reality show cast members with Trish Stratus & Chyna having done the same after leaving WWE while Stacy Keibler and Ashley Massaro worked as such while still with the company.

One suspects that the Stacy Keibler success in "Dancing With The Stars" is what NBC had in mind with the casting of Wilson to its own project. "I'm a Celebrity..." is the revived offshoot of a British concept which ran one year on ABC before its cancellation. The originial U.K. version has enjoyed much more success.
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Hornswoggle pins Natalya on ECW TV

No, the five people watching WWE's televised version of ECW didn't have a joint delusion... Hornswoggle really did pin Natalya for a three-count. Admittedly, there were distractions in play but the end result was to job out of the best women's wrestlers in the company in favor of a sideshow act.

Ironically, said Hornswoggle won't even be around on the ECW brand for Natalya to gain any singles revenge, having already been supplemental drafted out to Raw. After a week of champions MVP, Rey Mysterio and Maryse all being jobbed out on the way off their brands, for Hornswoggle to be protected makes no sense.

To be sure, there will be voices out there to shill the WWE lines that it's all an entertainment, Hornswoggle "puts smiles on people's faces," Natalya didn't have a problem with it... and about a thousand other excuses that don't mean anything. What this does mean is that as long as WWE doesn't have the will to improve the booking of its women's product, all the talent in the world won't make that product work.

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