Pacman to make first TNA appearance Thursday

[yankeesman77]

Source: ESPN.com news services

Adam "Pacman" Jones is entering the world of men in tights wielding metal folding chairs.

The troubled Tennessee Titans cornerback, suspended from the NFL for the entire season after numerous run-ins with the law, has signed a contract with Total Nonstop Action Wrestling.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed, the company said Monday.

Jones' first in-ring appearance will be for its "iMPACT!" show on Spike TV, TNA said. He also will appear in a pay-per-view show Sunday at Universal Studios in Orlando, Fla.

Last week, Jones' agent said the cornerback would not actually be wrestling, but that he might participate with TNA Wrestling in other ways.

Monday, Jones was quoted is USA Today as saying that wrestling is "something to do, to keep me out of the streets while I have my little off-time from my real job, and, I'm a big fan of wrestling, so I wanted to give it a try."

"I think wrestling is a great sport,'' he said, according to the report. "You don't really give [wrestling] much [credit] until you get in [the ring] and try it."

"It will help get my mind off a lot of stuff that I'm going through. It's sort of a way to relieve some stress," he was quoted as saying in USA Today.

In earlier reports on Jones' potential interest in wrestling, agent Michael Huyghue said he is mindful that Jones' NFL contract prohibits non-football activities that could cause injury. He said he had talked with the Titans about Jones' plans with TNA.

Jones was suspended for the 2007 season in April for conduct detrimental to the NFL, and he can have his case reviewed after the Titans' 10th game, which is Nov. 19 at Denver.

He has been arrested six times since being drafted by the Titans in April 2005, including June 22 when he turned himself in on two felony counts of coercion in a Las Vegas strip club fight that left a man paralyzed in a triple shooting.

Last month, the league denied Jones' bid to attend training camp.

When he was suspended, Jones was given several requirements to meet, including devising a community service program that must be approved by the NFL. The league declined to comment Tuesday on whether Jones has come up with such a plan or if it had been approved.

His agent is checking with the registrar at West Virginia University to see if Jones can take courses toward his degree online because he plans to stay in the Jacksonville, Fla., area and work out during his suspension.

Jones won't start losing his $1.3 million salary until the first game checks are issued in September.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this story

[Punisher]

wow this is a bit on the pointless side here what is him going to TNA gonna do for him or the company

[yankeesman77]

This move was obviously made because this shows just how desperate TNA really is for a spike in the ratings. They willing to sign washed up hacks and it still hasn't shown in the ratings. When will TNA learn you with over the fans with WRESTLING and not old hackless acts.

[Punisher]

^^agreed when will they learn that dumb story lines and has-beens will NEVER make them catch up. They need to push Styles, Daniels, and all the guys that have been in the company for a while to atleast help catch the fading WWE

[XXKSXX]

They may get some press coverage but I think this is still a shit idea. But I have been wrong in the past but I don't think this thing is going to work out.

[rko 4 life]

woah i agree but pacman is a washed up hasbeen hes been in the league 2 years

we aren't talking about mr. and mrs. pacman it adam jones yes i know he cant wrestle but i think this weeks ratings will be an all time high like 1.4 not good but better because they are talking about this on espn

[Ill Will]

1. TNA is not "desperate" for ratings. Every show on television strives to always get higher ratings. Particularly, WWE has brought in celebrities and athletes many times who otherwise have nothing to do with wrestling, with the simple goal to raise ratings.

2. Even if you don't like the individual, Pacman = ratings, and ratings = money

3. Adam 'Pacman' Jones is obviously not an "old hackless act". He's 23, and he's never been in pro wrestling at any capacity. He also one of the most talked about athletes of the last few months. Granted that all the talk has been bad, in the eyes of the American news media, that doesn't matter and it still makes anything he does a newsworthy subject.

[Butoden]

The guy said he's a wrestling fan so he probably knows about wrestling and will have respect for the wrestlers instead of looking at them like some fake bunch of non-athletes. Pacman is better than Donald Trump or Mr. Wycheck thats for sure...