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"Under The Ring" Interview With TNA Founder Jeff Jarrett

Posted: Jan 8th 2010 By: CMBurnham

I had the opportunity to interview Total Nonstop Action Wrestling founder Jeff Jarrett on Thursday afternoon, as he was promoting TNA's upcoming live event at Mid-Hudson Civic Center in Poughkeepsie on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. I conducted the interview at at the studios of Cumulus in Poughkeepsie, where Jarrett did a couple of radio appearances on WPDH (101.5 FM) and The Wolf (94.3 FM and 97.3 FM). Special thanks to Paul Lloyd from the Mid-Hudson Civic Center, as well as Anthony Verano and the folks at Cumulus for their hospitality. Thanks also to Jeff, himself, and Chris Thomas from TNA publicity.

Phil Strum: How excited is everyone in TNA with the rating from Monday night and everything that went on?

Jeff Jarrett: Big. It was a big, big night for us. Here we are seven-and-a-half years after the company got started and in one night, we're live against WWE. You got (Hulk) Hogan. You got (Ric) Flair. (Jeff) Hardy. Just an awesome night.

PS: What was it like to actually just be there?

JJ: Electric. There's nothing like live television, without a doubt. We had Spike (TV) executives there. We had the video game industry there. A bunch of licensees from a business perspective. Those guys were as excited as the fans sitting on the front row. Nothing translates like that kind of live electric energy. We had, I don't know, a couple of thousand turned away. It was a big night.

PS: What is your role in TNA?

JJ: I'm involved in all aspects of the organizations. Here I am today, coming in early, promoting the show. Ambassador of the company. From the marketing, yesterday, I had a call with Jakks Licensing. We talked to the French promoters a couple of weeks ago. So, a little bit of everything. Jack of all trades, master of none.

PS: Have you guys been looking to move the Impact, at least a little but out of the Universal area? I know, even just here in Poughkeepsie, this arena has done WWE TV shows and ECW TV shows.

JJ: Right now, our business model is set up to stay in the Impact Zone. People were talking on Monday about David vs. Goliath. That's true in every facet. We are a business. We are in the business of making money. We have to make it cost-effective if we're going to take this show on the road. It's very, very expensive. WWE is a publicly-traded company and a huge organization. At the end of the day, we're still only seven-and-a-half years old and to take the show on the road ? would we like to someday? Certainly. It's not in the works right now because the Impact Zone has some tremendous advantages from a business perspective. As well as, it's got a real intimate atmosphere. We were just talking about what was the feeling like there on Monday night? It translated on television just incredible.

PS: I've been to a couple of TNA events myself. I went to the Webster Hall one last year.

JJ: Did you really?

PS: That was insane. I've always thought that if some of the stuf from your live events was able to translate onto the TV. Even if it was one a month or one every two months or something like that, I just thought that atmosphere, even in Poughkeepsie, would be good enough.

JJ: What does Mid-Hudson hold?

PS: I think 2,500 for WWE because they have seating on the stage and stuff. That was Monday Night Raw that you would have been on from there in the '90s.

JJ: Yeah. Oh yeah.

PS: That was your first TV taping?

JJ: They ran 13 weeks, introducing the Double J character, vignettes that we filmed in Nashville and all around. But as far as my live appearance, it Poughkeepsie. That's why that building brings back a lot of memories. It's been over 10 years.

PS: Having been a promoter over the last several years, what do you see as the positives and the negatives in the business? Obviously, since WCW went out, you guys picked up the ball with TNA. What have you seen changing?

JJ: The technologoy is just incredible. How we gather information and how we distribute information. I'm not just talking the internet. The iTunes. We have a video vault that people can go and literally watch every show we've ever done. You can watch Impact the next day on your phone. That technology changing. We're putting a program together now where the pay-per-views will be able to be seen worldwide over the web. Technology is the biggest thing how it's changed. I think some of the fundamentals have been lost. With Hogan coming in, he's been in the business a long time and he's focused on partnering up and getting, in one aspect, back to the basics. We're not afraid of professional wrestling or the words professional wrestling. Vince (McMahon) can have his sports entertainment and we'll be professional wrestling.

PS: What's your relationship with Hulk? Had you ever worked with him before. Did he work for your dad (former promoter and co-founder of TNA, Jerry Jarrett)?

JJ: He worked for my father. I remember watching that video, over and over and over, at my dad's studio that he had in his house. He came through there, '81 he had a big feud against Jerry Lawler and he actually went from my dad's organization to Verne Gagne's organization (AWA) and then he had Japan, the Thunderlips role (in Rocky III), then he went to Vince, Sr., then back to Japan. Before Hulkamania was born, he worked for my father's promotion. It goes way, way way back.

PS: First time you've seen him in a while on Monday. A lot of change going on in TNA.

JJ: The Hogan relationship's been brewing off and on for years. What I said Monday night was true. I went to Japan and cracked him with a guitar six years ago, five years ago. There's been an on-again, off-again, relationship between Jeff Jarrett and the Hulkster for quite some time. The Bash at the Beach incident. Our paths have crossed many, many times.

PS: Do you see yourself getting more in the ring this year?

JJ: I'm ready. I really am. I'm ready to get in there and kick (butt) and take names.

PS: Who are some of the younger guys in the company now, who you think in 5 or 10 years we're going to be looking at?

JJ: Black Machismo has gone an incredible gift of entertaining. He's got an entertainment bloodline. Always been really high on that guy. AJ. Great athlete. Motor City Machine Guns. I'm not sure you'd call Beer Money kids, but those guys are really polished.

(At this point, Jeff had to leave to do a radio interview, but we picked it back up a few minutes later)

PS: What do you think about the TNA product makes it competitive with WWE. You guys took a very big step on Monday. What makes it unique?

JJ: I think we've been competitive for quite some time. I think we've sort of been the world's best-kept secret. As far as wrestling goes, our in-ring product is unbelievable. I think that makes us unique. Like I said earlier, we're not afraid of the words professional wrestling. WWE, they can be sports entertainment. We'll be professional wrestling and proud of it. WWE, Vince is a genius at marketing and WrestleMania is a household name. We are the little guy, David vs. Goliath. We really are earning our way, one fan at a time. That's a big difference. We're very conscious of the fan. We're very conscious of the economy. We know that entertainment dollars are few and far between in this economy. We respect that fact. We take that into account. Every vendor we deal with, every partner we deal with. Do we do it right all the time? Certainly, we don't do it right ALL the time. We try hard. I don't care if it's a building manager or a marketing rep, a licensing guy, this pay-per-view deal we're putting together worldwide. We really work hard to make sure everybody wins out of a deal. We don't try to take advantage of any situation because it will come back to bite you.

PS: How much of the other companies in the business do you watch? Do you have to keep tabs on everything to stay fresh?

JJ: You have to. We have people in the office that really keep tabs on it. It's the industry. You've got to be constantly scouring for talent, recruiting talent. You've also got to be watching your competition from every aspect that they do. Vince just launched his Mattel toy line and we're Jakks. Production elements. They have such a big organization that we could never outspend them. Nor do we want to. We've got to be smart about our dollars. But, yeah, we immerse ourselves in the industry.

PS: Did you watch Bret on Monday? Did you get to see it?

JJ: Obviously, not live, but I watched it. I've got a special relationship, through Owen. I just talked to Bret a couple of weeks ago.

PS: What did you think of that? I thought it was pretty surreal.

JJ: It was. It was good. It was a long-time coming and that's what the business is about. The business has always been about larger-than-life personalities, but blurring the lines is the magic of the business and that was a lot of real emotion coming out of those guys.

PS: It's got to be a very exciting time to be a part of all this right now since more people were watching wrestling on Monday night than have been in a really, really long time.

JJ: In 10 years.

PS: How cognizant are you guys of that and how do you build from here?

JJ: We had a staff meeting today. I was sitting in Detroit, listening in to the staff meeting. Went through a battery and went though a battery (his cell-phone batteries). That was something that was discussed. It had to have been since March of 2001, the last Nitro. The excitement. I don't even know what the ratings were. A lot of people watching it.

PS: If somebody hasn't checked out TNA's live event, why should they come on Saturday?

JJ: Even if you checked it out last year in Poughkeepsie, we're stepping our game up across the board. Don West and the merchandise is going to be a treat for people. You're going to have to be there to soak it all in. He's infectious and really knows what he's doing. When the doors open (at 6:30 p.m.), there's going to be a lot going on. Saturday night, I am going to be at the table. I think Tazz and Mick Foley are going to be at the table in Westbury, since they're from Long Island. I'm going to be at the table. I think the Beautiful People are. We're going to have a lot of interaction. We pride ourselves on that. When the show stars, we want it to be like a roller-coaster. Going into that intermission, everybody get a bathroom break, get a drink, go by the concession stand or the merchandise table, but then kick it right back off. We really are interactive and it's going to be a big night.

Tags: Jeff Jarrett, TNA, Ric Flair, WWE, ECW, WCW, Jerry Lawler, Verne Gagne, AWA, A. J. Styles, Mick Foley