>From TV Guide:
Wrestling Heading to TNN?
Friday, April 16, 1999
Is The Nashville Network ready to add a wrestling show to its schedule,
or is the speculation just a bunch of pro-wrestling hokum?
Rumors have been flying among wrestling fans that the country-oriented
cable channel is preparing to launch its own wrestling show this fall to
cash in on the kind of success currently enjoyed by competing networks
USA and TNT. The National Wrestling Alliance and Extreme Championship
Wrestling, two upstart wrestling organizations that currently buy airtime
on local TV stations around the country, are said to be vying for a TNN
network deal.
"The reality is that it appears wrestling will show up there in one form
or another, and my hope is that it shows up with a name-brand
identification and with our potential involvement," says NWA's Bill
Behrens. "There is a contract, there is a commitment, but it isn't going
to start until it does. Obviously, there are certain financial timetables
that need to be met."
So, does this mean that Shania Twain might soon be sharing airtime with
muscled strongmen on TNN? It wouldn't come as too much of a surprise,
considering the network recently added a Roller Jam roller-derby show to
its schedule. Then again, it didn't sound very promising when we asked a
TNN spokesman about the wrestling rumors: "We have no clue where the
rumor started. There is no truth to the rumor."— Rich Brown
