— In the wake of Kurt Angle’s arrest, the big question in the wrestling industry is whether Angle will appear, as scheduled, in the main-event at TNA’s Hard Justice Sunday night.
As of press time, TNA had not issued any clarification on the matter, and Jeremy Borash, who is notorious for addressing newsworthy TNA Wrestling issues, has not even offered a subtly-related comment on his Twitter. With Kurt Angle having been released from jail, and no TNA statement to the contrary, the belief is presently that he will appear on the pay-per-view.
Of course, with a court date Tuesday, it is unclear if Angle, assuming he does indeed attend the pay-per-view, will be able to appear at all of this coming week’s iMPACT tapings.
— Angle’s arrest has also raised the Jeff Jarrett issue. The Olympic Gold Medalist had essentially “won” the backstage power struggle with Jarrett, with most wrestlers taking his side and the Wrestling Observer reporting that TNA was considering bringing Jarrett back with virtually no management-level power. But, as the top TNA Wrestling champion, Angle’s arrest definitely brings negative buzz to the promotion–the fact that his arrest is, at its core, related to a possible abuse issue involving his girlfriend Rhaka Khan could also take some of the heat off Karen Angle and Jeff Jarrett for their relationship.
Given that sending Jeff Jarrett back into the lockerroom as nothing but a wrestler would pose difficult problems regarding his relationship with other wrestlers, the heat on Angle might cause TNA management to think twice about voting against Jarrett in the tough decision regarding the future of the backstage power dynamic.
Of course, belief in Angle’s innocence would make the situation moot. By keeping the belt on Angle, it is clear that TNA has not sided against its Champion; if TNA does not see Angle as being in the wrong, Jarrett’s political situation coming out of the arrest story might not grow more favorable.
— WWE Superstar John Cena missed this weekend’s house shows due to a scheduled charity engagement in his home of West Newbury, Massachusetts. John and his brother Dan Cena held a muscle car-related event for fallen community firefighter Kenny Fowler.
