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PWINSIDER Q&A: TNA NEEDING TO LEAVE SPIKETV?, TEAM 3D GETTING THE DUDLEY NAME BACK, ZEUS AND MORE

By Mike Johnson on 2008-08-17 10:00:00

When someone like Jimmy Wang Yang is booked against The Great Khali at Saturday Night's Main Event, is this match seen by Yang as an opportunity and in a "hey, I'm on TV-way" or is this the case of a wrestler who likes to be backstage and not buried on national TV?

No wrestler ever wants to turn down the chance to be on national television, so I am sure Yang was more than happy to have the opportunity.

If TNA chooses not to re-sign Team 3D and they happen to go back to WWE do you think that Team 3D will sign a deal and be given the exclusive rights to the Dudley name?

If World Wrestling Entertainment signs Team 3D, guaranteed they will be back to being Bubba and Devon Dudley.  As to whether they would own the names, well, that would be another story.  They deserve to be the rightful owners of the name, but I don't see WWE feeling the team would have the leverage to demand the names being signed over to their ownership.

Was there ever a manager named Rock Hunter?  I think he was in NWA.  If yes, who did he manage?

There was a wrestler under the name Rock Hunter who wrestled in the NWA's Central States territory in the early and mid 1970s, so that may be who you are thinking of.  I don't recall him ever managing, but if someone else does, I am sure they will let me know soon enough!

I know this is going back sometime but, I remember I guy named Zeus in WWF. He seemed to have been a strong man. I know he did a few matches with Hogan and the whole movie thing. I was wondering why they did not keep him around ? Was there issues with him or did he just want to do a small role with WWF ?

Zeus was actor Tiny Lister Jr., who most recently had a small role in The Dark Knight.  He was brought into WWF as Zeus, the character he portrayed in Hulk Hogan vehicle "No Holds Barred".  The idea never really got over, so once the movie was released on home video and pay-per-view (following it's theatrical release in 1989), WWF dropped the idea and Lister went back to Hollywood.  I don't think he ever had any serious interest in becoming a professional wrestler, but he did do a few appearances in Puerto Rico for the World Wrestling Council and did a one-shot appearance in WCW under the silly ring name :"Ze Gangsta".

With TNA being in Spike TV, the future won´t be too good. 0.9 to 1.2 as much, every week the 1.0 rating...And at the moment, the star show of Spike is UFC, and Spike TV is not involved in the TNA show because they believe more in UFC than TNA. Well, everybody says: TNA needs to do better storylines, TNA needs to have another superstars, TNA needs to have more entertaiment...But, perhaps...Can TNA grow up in other TV channels? Perhaps Spike TV is the problem...For ratings, for help, Spike TV right now, is not a good channel for TNA.

Spike TV and TNA are both happy with the current ratings of TNA.  While UFC is the monster horse that draws the SpikeTV cart, at the same time, they are considered harder to deal with in comparison to TNA and they are also considered a product that has slipped in the ratings.  TNA has come in with a late night timeslot and did decent ratings, was bounced to an earlier timeslot and did decent ratings, moved to a two hour show and held onto those ratings and most recently did their best numbers since last February.  While I don't think anyone reading this would wish the creative side of TNA was stronger, the numbers show that TNA and Spike are both doing well under their current agreement, so I disagree with your assessment.

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