By James Caldwell, PWTorch assistant editor

MMA fighter and soon-to-be-TNA wrestler "King Mo" Lawal grew up a fan of pro wrestling, which drew him to TNA because they could offer a locker room including Hulk Hogan, Sting, and Ric Flair.

TNA president Dixie Carter and Spike TV president Kevin Kay said during a Thursday conference call that the current plan is to wait for King Mo to complete knee rehabilitation before going to Ohio Valley Wrestling to begin wrestling training. King Mo noted he previously went to OVW in the mid-2000s, but turned down a WWE contract, then entered MMA. Now, he's circled back to OVW through TNA.

King Mo is expected to be introduced to the TNA audience this summer once TNA gets a better idea of his rehab progress. TNA president Dixie Carter noted they "don't want to rush anything physically" and they won't want to introduce him too early. Carter said they will consider initially introducing King Mo in vignettes or video packages before he debuts "several weeks" later.

In the immediate future, TNA will begin filming footage on King Mo's journey to pro wrestling, which will they incorporate into his debut this summer.

As for King Mo wants to work with, he pointed to Ric Flair and also noted Sting, Kurt Angle, and Hulk Hogan.

Asked about UFC fighter Rampage Jackson potentially crossing over to Bellator and/or TNA, King Mo said he's not sure what Rampage's future is, but he thinks they could do a match in TNA.

On his dual role also fighting for the Bellator MMA promotion, King Mo said he plans to "knock people out in the cage and hit people with chairs in the ring."

Caldwell's Analysis: There was a point during the conference call that pointed to TNA's inability to create new, top stars for this generation of wrestling fans. The benefit of having Hogan, Sting, and Flair on the roster is they can attract talent like a King Mo to TNA. The drawback is it creates a perception that TNA is unable to create their own top stars by continuing to headline with big-names from the 1980s and 1990s. During the call, executives noted King Mo was excited to join TNA partly because he could recite storylines and matches from 15 years ago from promotions that "do not even exist anymore," loosely referring to WCW, which isn't exactly the best imagery to associate with a company struggling to stay above a 1.0 rating this year.

[Torch art credit Grant Gould (c) PWTorch.com]

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