Former TNA Knockout Velvet Sky recently provided her recollection of a televised TNA talent meeting from 2009 that featured former TNA President Dixie Carter. The comments came in response to a social media post noting the 16th anniversary of the segment’s air date.
In a post on X, Sky, who was present for the 2009 meeting, described the atmosphere among talent and staff.
“I remember this day. The consensus of the locker room and staff during this ‘meeting’ was not one single person gave a shit what she was saying and we actually had to take time out of production day for this nonsense from her and it had to be filmed so she could have her ‘my way or the highway’ ego stroked even more,” Sky stated.
Sky also commented on Carter’s general interactions with personnel within the company.
“She was not well received by most because of the way she treated people who could do nothing for her and the way she would talk down to people. Vile,” Sky wrote.
The meeting Sky referred to was a segment that aired on the November 5, 2009, episode of TNA Impact!. It was presented as a mandatory, all-hands meeting where Carter addressed the entire TNA roster and staff, who were seated on bleachers. The event was Carter’s first official address to the talent roster regarding the recent signing of Hulk Hogan and Eric Bischoff to the company. The meeting was filmed by Impact! cameras and aired as part of the television broadcast.
During the speech, Carter addressed the talent and staff directly. Below is the full transcript of her speech from that 2009 segment:
“Since I was named president six years ago I had a lot of people telling me how to run a wrestling company. And while I appreciate their contributions it’s time for a change,” Carter said. “We’ve had a lot of great things going on in this company. We’ve made a lot of changes in the last few months, that I’ve seen, and we’ve made a bigger change even last week. I can assure, that we have more changes coming in the coming weeks and in the coming months as well.”
“Nobody likes drastic change. Nobody likes big moves. I understand that. And it affects different people in different ways. And while I respect, that those of you out there might have different opinions of the decisions, that I’m making, I expect you to support me a hundred percent. When you question things in this company, you’re questioning me. And I cannot allow that to happen.”
Carter continued by outlining her expectations for the roster. “Business is about choices. I’ve made the choice to put my finances, my reputation, my passion, my love behind each and every one of you and this company. And it’s time for you to do the same thing. You have a choice to make: You can choose to support me, you can choose to support the direction TNA is going or you can choose not to, but you’ll need to find another place to work.”
She concluded the speech by telling the roster that it was a “test.” “It’s time for us to swing for the fences. It really is. No great success comes without risk and I’m great with that. I hope you are, too. Now is our time. I look at all the faces, that have made these company and you make me very proud, but this is a test. So I’m asking all of you to step it up in every way possible and let’s do this thing together. Because now is our time and you gotta believe it. If you don’t believe it, you’re hurting the person sitting next to you. You’re hurting me. You’re hurting our fans. But if you believe it, let’s do this thing together and let’s show everybody, what we are all about.”
Velvet Sky was recently interviewed by SoCal Val about her run in TNA and she had a lot to say about her time there. Click below to watch the interview.
