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Jarrett On Lockdown

Posted: Apr 24th 2009 By: CMBurnham

IF you want to know what?s going in any wrestling federation then there?s only place to go ? straight to the top.

So moments after TNA Lockdown finished we caught up with co-owner and former champion Jeff Jarrett.

Jeff revealed all about where WWE?s rival group are headed ? answering questions on Bobby Lashley?s contract, Mick Foley?s schedule and the future stars of the business.

He also settled scores with Vince McMahon and Steve Austin.
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Hi Jeff, I really enjoyed Lockdown and the episodes of Impact leading into it were great too. What do you think has come together for everything to hit its stride at this time?

Do you know what the definition luck is? When preparation meets opportunity.
In the last six months ? since the Main Event Mafia came together, Mick Foley joined us and I came back on the scene ? we?ve really prepared ourselves. We?ve always had a great roster from top to bottom and now, all of a sudden, the pieces are in the right place.

Have there been any changes behind the scenes?

I wouldn?t say major changes. We?re just keeping on doing what we?ve been doing and staying the course. Everyone is talking about our television ratings, on Spike TV in America, and saying they?re up. But when you look at it, we?ve had a steady growth ? we?ve gone from 0.7 when we first started on a Saturday night to 1.3. I don?t know of many TV programmes, not just wrestling, that can say they?ve almost doubled their ratings. We?re consistently building our base one fan at a time.

The big surprise tonight was Bobby Lashley joining TNA. Is it important for you to keep adding to the roster?

Some come in and some go out ? but that?s what makes a good line-up. As you can tell from the response with Bobby, people have been very receptive. Nobody guessed!

What?s the deal with Lashley? Is he exclusive to TNA or will he continue with his MMA career?

He?ll do both. We?re different from other organisations. We want Bobby to be happy in both fields and we feel there is a good marketing aspect to it. MMA will help him ? and it will help us.

Are you not slightly worried that if he has a big MMA fight coming up he won?t give his all in a TNA ring?

No. We?ve addressed that and it?s not a problem.

The other shock on Lockdown was Mick Foley winning the TNA heavyweight championship of the world. Does that mean he is now going on a full time schedule?

Yeah ? Mick?s lost his mind! In all seriousness ? no he won?t be going full time. The easiest analogy is he?ll have the same schedule that Sting has been doing.

To balance guys like Mick and Bobby coming in you?ve fired TNA mainstays like Petey Williams and Sanjay Dutt. Was that difficult?

Yes ? they were very hard decisions for us. It?s the part of the job that nobody likes.
But it?s business. Nothing lasts forever in this business, especially in front of the red light.

We last met at Bound For Glory when you were preparing for a comeback match against Kurt Angle. How does it feel being a full time wrestler again?

Great. I?m back in the swing of things. Like I said, everything is falling into place. I have my spot on the ?good guy? side of the roster. My place is there and I?m not the only one who thinks that in the office. I never dreamed I?d be back on the road doing as many live events as I?m doing. So things are going quite smoothly.

Could it be Jarrett v Foley for the title next?

That could be interesting?

Currently in TNA it?s all the legends on top ? you, Foley, Angle, Sting, Booker. Will the young guys eventually beat those legends to become the new main event stars?

Did you see what happened in the Lethal Lockdown match tonight? And that?s just a microcosm. It?s always happened that way. You can go back 20 years when Sting was that generation?s version of A. J. Styles. He was a young phenomenal athlete with name recognition and was very good in the ring. As time went on he became a household name. It just takes time. Nothing replaces time in this business. If you become a one hit wonder then you fade away fast, like Goldberg. Sting is a legend and an icon ? and he?s earned every stripe, but he?s been around the game and put in his time. Same for Mick Foley. Same for me. It?s just going to take time for the A. J. Styles and Samoa Joes of this world. But they?re very gifted and we?re continuing to feature, promote and push them as hard as we can.

We talk about Joe and A. J. as the youngsters but they?ve both turned 30 and have been with TNA for years. Who are the NEW guys you see coming through?

Black Machismo is very good and a smart guy. Brutus Magnus is also going to surprise a lot of people. He?s a thinking man and carries himself like a true professional. To me it?s the way he carries himself that sets him apart from all the young guys. My grandmother, who goes back to the 1940s, would tell me: ?That kid knows how to act like a star? before he?s a star.? So Brutus and Machismo are the two guys come to mind.

What did you think of Vince McMahon?s comments calling some aspects of TNA?s television ?reprehensible??

In one word ? laughable. Honestly he calls us reprehensible? PLEASE! It?s Vince being classic Vince. He knows more than anybody what reprehensible is.

I spent this morning watching your DVD. The production on it is superb and the interviews are very revealing. One thing I learned is that you?re not exactly a fan of Steve Austin - what's the story?

Actually I am a fan of Steve Austin ? he?s not a fan of me! He?s a paranoid guy and has been since the day he broke into the business. My dad and Chris Adams picked Steve out of a line-up of 30 or 40 students, from Adams? school, and gave him his break. His two years in the business was for my family ? working in Dallas, Texas and Tennessee. Steve didn?t make a lot of money and to this day he resents that. But he?s certainly not going to miss any meals the rest of his life. Some guys lose sight of where they got their start, but that?s fine.

Is your dad still involved with TNA or wrestling?

No ? he?s at home retired. He?s completely out of the wrestling business.

How about your kids? Will they one day follow in the family tradition?

No, that won't happen. I?ve got three girls.

Well you look at Stephanie McMahon over in WWE?

Yes, you do, don?t you!

Tags: TNA, Jeff Jarrett, Mick Foley, Sting, A. J. Styles, Chris Adams