-- It looks we've seen the last of Dustin Rhodes, 39, as a full-time performer on national television. TNA removed the profile of his alter ego, Black Reign, from the roster section on the company website earlier in the week, which should confirm his departure from the organization. When you visit his former profile page, for some reason it re-directs to the profile page of TNA Knockout Angelina Love.
Black Reign had been off television for three months and counting, his last appearance taking place on the 4/24 Impact during a tag team title tournament. Rhodes debuted at last year's Victory Road pay-per-view to start a program with "Wildcat" Chris Harris. He debuted his "Black Reign" persona at last August's Hard Justice pay-per-view, losing to Harris via disqualification. Later he was involved with the likes of Abyss and Rellik, participating in a "Monster's Ball" match, a "Shop of Horrors" match, as well as a "Match of 10,000 Tacks" match in subsequent pay-per-views. Reign then entered a program with Frankie "Kaz" Kazarian as well as Eric Young. Reign and Rellik lost to Kaz and Young at the Destination X pay-per-view. He worked a few more shows through April before disappearing.
Around the time of his disappearance, TNA started devoting more television time to the Knockouts, giving them at least two segments per show instead of one because they often scored the highest-rated segments for Impact. Due to the additional Knockouts segment(s), that basically squeezed out fringe characters such as Black Reign and Rellik from getting any television time.
Rhodes was believed to be on a pay-per-appearance deal.
-- In the roster section of the official TNA website, the name on the picture of former WWE star Daivari has been changed from his former ring name to "Abdul Bashir" to reflect his new persona in the company. The alt tag of the image actually reads "Sheik Abdul Bashir," but they couldn't fit the text of the entire name into the small image. There is no profile page linked from the image at the moment. Daivari recently signed a contract with TNA, so he's going to be a regular in the company.
-- TNA wrestler Matt Morgan made his debut on American Gladiators on last week's show. He quickly defeated his opponents in the jousting event. "To say I'm excited is a huge understatement," Morgan said. "Wrestling is in my blood and TNA will always be my home - and the chance to appear on both TNA and American Gladiators is a major personal accomplishment." Also, he apparently has a TNA nickname in "The Blueprint." TNA has an article, photos and video regarding Morgan on American Gladiators (which you can see at this link), and he's referenced by that nickname. Morgan used "The Blueprint" nickname during his time Ohio Valley Wrestling, but WWE opted not to use it.
