LionDen
03-06-2007, 12:13 AM
Last week, Mike Johnson sat down and interviewed TNA announcer Don West in an exclusive interview to discuss the upcoming Destination X pay per view, Vince Russo, the evolution of TNA, how Don got into wrestling, Don’s work at Shop At Home, the merchandise end of TNA, how Don got into TNA, and many more subjects. Here is a summary of that fifty-three minute interview.
The interview started off with discussion about the “This is TNA” special as well as the first time that Impact and Raw went head-to-head. Don mentioned that more people watched TNA that week than ever before and it was a positive for the company. It was a good way to see where the company is compared to the WWE when they aired against WWE programming. It was also better to find that out now rather than later. It showed that there are people who will watch wrestling on any given night.
Don was asked about the way that some fans online look at the situation with TNA and are negative about the product. Don says that it is so easy to be negative when nobody sees your face. That is something that Don also sees in the sports world and saw during the time that he worked with Shop at Home. He points out that people who would have positive comments do not voice them as often as the negative comments.
Mike brought up Vince Russo and the fans who might not like the way the show is currently formatted. Don says that some will not like the product regardless of who is writing it. Don mentions that fans attribute so many things to Russo that Russo had no input. Don reminds people that WCW had problems before Russo came in at the end that could not be blamed on Russo. It is too easy to blame Vince for problems. Don says that he likes the direction that TNA is taking and there is not enough time to give fans everything so things appear rushed on television with one hour.
The transition from its start as a weekly pay per view to their current situation was discussed. Don says that what TNA has done in a short time is remarkable. He talks about how everybody deserves credit from Dixie Carter to Jeff Jarrett to the other wrestlers who have stuck with the company and not letting the negative publicity get to them. He talks about how TNA still has things to do in the future. He feels that they are looking for the right situation to expand their television. They will need to be one hour until they get the extra time. He tells the fans to be patient because the sky is the limit for TNA in the future.
The discussion moved to the Destination X pay per view on March 11th and Mike asked Don to describe the Elevation X structure and Don said that he has never been scared before a match. He talks about a discussion that he had with A.J. Styles and A.J. talked about how it was so much higher than the Ultimate X matches. He talks about how the structure sways and how there is only 20 inches of room for the wrestlers to maneuver, instead of the two feet that they thought the wrestlers had. He says that you cannot describe what it is like to see the wrestlers on the top of the structure. Don discussed the segments with A.J. on top of the Elevation X structure that appeared on a recent episode of Impact. Don says that it will be something that people will remember because the structure is so intimidating.
Don talked about what else he was looking forward to at the pay per view, and he talks about the Scott Steiner/Kurt Angle match because of the tension between the two men. He looks forward to calling it, but he also looks forward to seeing it as a wrestling fan. Don talks about how there is still the possibility of things getting out of control because of the guys in the ring and it could resemble an MMA fight at the end.
Don is also looking forward to the Samoa Joe/Christian Cage match. He talks about how the people who are not familiar with the Ring of Honor product have been able to accept Joe as a viable challenger for the title and that this match might start his legacy. He is also looking forward to the Jerry Lynn/Chris Sabin match. Don says that Destination X will be one of the pay per views that will be talked about for a while.
They talked about the company branching outside of Orlando . Don says that Orlando is fun, the fans are great, and it is a good home for television and some pay per views. He hopes that TNA will slowly grow to four or six pay per views outside of Orlando and then eventually have all of the pay per views on the road. It is important to bring the action to fans across the country. Bound for Glory was so different to Don because he never experienced anything like that. He was used to crowds around 1,000 and never had the chance to call a show with a crowd of 5,000 or more. He thinks that Orlando should still have pay per views because the fans should be rewarded for sticking with the product. The product does need to get to people who cannot make it to Orlando .
They talked about the X Division and its current direction. Mike asked Don if he thinks it is working at this time. He says that he misses the X Division as it first was because it was what the fans were talking about. The division did get stagnant and a change was needed. The wrestlers need to be characters so the fans can become involved. With more time, there would probably be more X Division action and the division would be talked about the way it used to. Don feels that the X Division will be special again.
Don was asked about his early influences in wrestling. Don grew up in Chicago and followed the AWA, but he started to follow wrestling during the MTV era when things became mainstream with Hulk Hogan, Roddy Piper, and Lou Albano. He got hooked in the early 1990s. He was a big fan of Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels. When he worked at Shop at Home, they would watch Raw and Nitro on Monday nights. Don feels that the period from 1992 to 1999 was when it was as good as it got because it became a more adult product.
Don was asked if there was anything from that era that he would like to see done in TNA and he says that he would like to see the return of ‘The War’ with fans taking sides because it is good for business. He says that the other guys probably do not want to see that. He does not think the shows need to be on the same night at this time for there to be a ‘war’ between the companies. He equates it to some of the big sports rivalries. The strong rivalry makes each side need to get better and both sides need to bring up their game.
Don was asked about the merchandise side of TNA and the Don West Deals that are advertised on Impact and the TNA website. It was started as a way to do something fresh for the merchandise side. He told Jeff Jarrett one time that he did not want to do the high energy sales pitch any more and Jarrett told him not to get married to that idea. Don says that he became ready to do it again and they talked about a fresh perspective. He talks about how there are some incredible things down the road for the TNA fans. He talks about how shirts and DVDs will sell, but there are so many things they can do with memorabilia like autographs. Don talks about how there is a deal upcoming with a limited amount of autographed A.J. Styles DVDs. He mentions that by making it limited, it will enhance the collectibles market because it is providing a unique product.
Don was asked what took so long to do things with the merchandise end of the product and he says that it was a learning process. They are now at a point where they can do things like this on a regular basis because of the size of the audience watching the product. They now have the resources to do it.
Don was asked about his time at the Shop at Home network and how he got involved in that aspect. He mentions that he was a baseball card and memorabilia collector before working at Shop at Home. He talks about his love of baseball and his brother was involved with the Shop at Home channel. Don was brought in by his brother because of a problem with a vendor for baseball memorabilia. Don says that they would not hire him because of his gravely voice despite his knowledge of the product. He helped a knife salesman on the channel with Don’s help; the sales for that product grew. As a result he took over the baseball cards sales and they went from three million a year to more than one-hundred fifty million a year. He says that when he left Shop at Home, he was burned out and there was a change in management. Don was told by the new management that he did not want his channel to be identified as the channel with ‘screaming baseball card guy.’
Don and Mike discuss how Vince Russo helped Don get involved with TNA. He was contacted by Vince Russo and Jeremy Borash to be a part of WCW, but that fell through. Don says that he was happy that deal did fall through. Jeff Jarrett talked to Vince Russo and Jeremy Borash and after Jeff saw some footage of the shows, was convinced that Don would work on the broadcasts. After talking to Jeff, they finally met and he was sold on the product. He talks about how Mike Tenay and Ed Ferrara were very helpful and if not for those two guys, he probably would have left after the early reviews of his work. He says that he went to Jeff and volunteered to leave, but Jeff told Don to have thick skin and there will be some who will never like him. Jeff said that he knew that Don would be a good announcer.
Don was asked about Jeff Jarrett and why so many people have a negative opinion of him. Don says that Jeff is one of the hardest working men in the business. He talks about what Jeff does every day and how much he cares about the product. Jeff has been good to Don and his family and he says that he cannot imagine Jeff not being a part of TNA. The negative reaction to Jeff shows that he is a good heel and fans transfer it to Jeff outside of the ring. He compares Jeff to the way that fans perceive Triple H in the WWE. Despite the fact that they want those guys to be gone, they still watch the product.
Don was asked what a typical week is for him. He says that everyone is doing four or five jobs. He works for a few hours before doing his radio show. He goes through the inventory to see what can be done for deals. He schedules the new items, contacts the wrestlers to get things signed. His focus is on the merchandise area while others focus on so many different areas.
Don was asked about working with Mike Tenay and he says that they are great friends so it makes it easier to work with someone who is a friend. They both share similar interests and their families get along. He says that Mike is a perfectionist. Once he walks into the building, he is writing things down and mapping things out. They will talk about things to discuss and mention on the show to sell the product. He talks about how the pay per views are easier to call because they do not have to sell the show. The television show needs to get people to buy the pay per view. He says that Mike is a great storyteller who brings out the best from everyone.
Don was asked about his favorite matches to call. He says that Bound for Glory was his favorite show because of the Six Sides of Steel match. He also talks about the three way match at Unbreakable with A.J. Styles, Samoa Joe, and Christopher Daniels. He says that he is blown away every time he watches that match. He talks about many of the cage matches, Raven/Jarrett I and the buildup.
Over the next year, Don would like to see TNA get a two hour show because of the talent that cannot be utilized with only one hour; more pay per views on the road; more shows on the road to build the product. He would also like to make the merchandise something that people will talk about. He would like to see the X Division become so strong that it could have its own pay per view.
They talked about the merchandise area and how it is underutilized by wrestling. They talk about how baseball has the nostalgia factor, but Don brings up the nostalgia factor with wrestling. The collectibles scene is all about nostalgia. This gives the fans an emotional tie to the product.
Source: PWinsider.com
The interview started off with discussion about the “This is TNA” special as well as the first time that Impact and Raw went head-to-head. Don mentioned that more people watched TNA that week than ever before and it was a positive for the company. It was a good way to see where the company is compared to the WWE when they aired against WWE programming. It was also better to find that out now rather than later. It showed that there are people who will watch wrestling on any given night.
Don was asked about the way that some fans online look at the situation with TNA and are negative about the product. Don says that it is so easy to be negative when nobody sees your face. That is something that Don also sees in the sports world and saw during the time that he worked with Shop at Home. He points out that people who would have positive comments do not voice them as often as the negative comments.
Mike brought up Vince Russo and the fans who might not like the way the show is currently formatted. Don says that some will not like the product regardless of who is writing it. Don mentions that fans attribute so many things to Russo that Russo had no input. Don reminds people that WCW had problems before Russo came in at the end that could not be blamed on Russo. It is too easy to blame Vince for problems. Don says that he likes the direction that TNA is taking and there is not enough time to give fans everything so things appear rushed on television with one hour.
The transition from its start as a weekly pay per view to their current situation was discussed. Don says that what TNA has done in a short time is remarkable. He talks about how everybody deserves credit from Dixie Carter to Jeff Jarrett to the other wrestlers who have stuck with the company and not letting the negative publicity get to them. He talks about how TNA still has things to do in the future. He feels that they are looking for the right situation to expand their television. They will need to be one hour until they get the extra time. He tells the fans to be patient because the sky is the limit for TNA in the future.
The discussion moved to the Destination X pay per view on March 11th and Mike asked Don to describe the Elevation X structure and Don said that he has never been scared before a match. He talks about a discussion that he had with A.J. Styles and A.J. talked about how it was so much higher than the Ultimate X matches. He talks about how the structure sways and how there is only 20 inches of room for the wrestlers to maneuver, instead of the two feet that they thought the wrestlers had. He says that you cannot describe what it is like to see the wrestlers on the top of the structure. Don discussed the segments with A.J. on top of the Elevation X structure that appeared on a recent episode of Impact. Don says that it will be something that people will remember because the structure is so intimidating.
Don talked about what else he was looking forward to at the pay per view, and he talks about the Scott Steiner/Kurt Angle match because of the tension between the two men. He looks forward to calling it, but he also looks forward to seeing it as a wrestling fan. Don talks about how there is still the possibility of things getting out of control because of the guys in the ring and it could resemble an MMA fight at the end.
Don is also looking forward to the Samoa Joe/Christian Cage match. He talks about how the people who are not familiar with the Ring of Honor product have been able to accept Joe as a viable challenger for the title and that this match might start his legacy. He is also looking forward to the Jerry Lynn/Chris Sabin match. Don says that Destination X will be one of the pay per views that will be talked about for a while.
They talked about the company branching outside of Orlando . Don says that Orlando is fun, the fans are great, and it is a good home for television and some pay per views. He hopes that TNA will slowly grow to four or six pay per views outside of Orlando and then eventually have all of the pay per views on the road. It is important to bring the action to fans across the country. Bound for Glory was so different to Don because he never experienced anything like that. He was used to crowds around 1,000 and never had the chance to call a show with a crowd of 5,000 or more. He thinks that Orlando should still have pay per views because the fans should be rewarded for sticking with the product. The product does need to get to people who cannot make it to Orlando .
They talked about the X Division and its current direction. Mike asked Don if he thinks it is working at this time. He says that he misses the X Division as it first was because it was what the fans were talking about. The division did get stagnant and a change was needed. The wrestlers need to be characters so the fans can become involved. With more time, there would probably be more X Division action and the division would be talked about the way it used to. Don feels that the X Division will be special again.
Don was asked about his early influences in wrestling. Don grew up in Chicago and followed the AWA, but he started to follow wrestling during the MTV era when things became mainstream with Hulk Hogan, Roddy Piper, and Lou Albano. He got hooked in the early 1990s. He was a big fan of Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels. When he worked at Shop at Home, they would watch Raw and Nitro on Monday nights. Don feels that the period from 1992 to 1999 was when it was as good as it got because it became a more adult product.
Don was asked if there was anything from that era that he would like to see done in TNA and he says that he would like to see the return of ‘The War’ with fans taking sides because it is good for business. He says that the other guys probably do not want to see that. He does not think the shows need to be on the same night at this time for there to be a ‘war’ between the companies. He equates it to some of the big sports rivalries. The strong rivalry makes each side need to get better and both sides need to bring up their game.
Don was asked about the merchandise side of TNA and the Don West Deals that are advertised on Impact and the TNA website. It was started as a way to do something fresh for the merchandise side. He told Jeff Jarrett one time that he did not want to do the high energy sales pitch any more and Jarrett told him not to get married to that idea. Don says that he became ready to do it again and they talked about a fresh perspective. He talks about how there are some incredible things down the road for the TNA fans. He talks about how shirts and DVDs will sell, but there are so many things they can do with memorabilia like autographs. Don talks about how there is a deal upcoming with a limited amount of autographed A.J. Styles DVDs. He mentions that by making it limited, it will enhance the collectibles market because it is providing a unique product.
Don was asked what took so long to do things with the merchandise end of the product and he says that it was a learning process. They are now at a point where they can do things like this on a regular basis because of the size of the audience watching the product. They now have the resources to do it.
Don was asked about his time at the Shop at Home network and how he got involved in that aspect. He mentions that he was a baseball card and memorabilia collector before working at Shop at Home. He talks about his love of baseball and his brother was involved with the Shop at Home channel. Don was brought in by his brother because of a problem with a vendor for baseball memorabilia. Don says that they would not hire him because of his gravely voice despite his knowledge of the product. He helped a knife salesman on the channel with Don’s help; the sales for that product grew. As a result he took over the baseball cards sales and they went from three million a year to more than one-hundred fifty million a year. He says that when he left Shop at Home, he was burned out and there was a change in management. Don was told by the new management that he did not want his channel to be identified as the channel with ‘screaming baseball card guy.’
Don and Mike discuss how Vince Russo helped Don get involved with TNA. He was contacted by Vince Russo and Jeremy Borash to be a part of WCW, but that fell through. Don says that he was happy that deal did fall through. Jeff Jarrett talked to Vince Russo and Jeremy Borash and after Jeff saw some footage of the shows, was convinced that Don would work on the broadcasts. After talking to Jeff, they finally met and he was sold on the product. He talks about how Mike Tenay and Ed Ferrara were very helpful and if not for those two guys, he probably would have left after the early reviews of his work. He says that he went to Jeff and volunteered to leave, but Jeff told Don to have thick skin and there will be some who will never like him. Jeff said that he knew that Don would be a good announcer.
Don was asked about Jeff Jarrett and why so many people have a negative opinion of him. Don says that Jeff is one of the hardest working men in the business. He talks about what Jeff does every day and how much he cares about the product. Jeff has been good to Don and his family and he says that he cannot imagine Jeff not being a part of TNA. The negative reaction to Jeff shows that he is a good heel and fans transfer it to Jeff outside of the ring. He compares Jeff to the way that fans perceive Triple H in the WWE. Despite the fact that they want those guys to be gone, they still watch the product.
Don was asked what a typical week is for him. He says that everyone is doing four or five jobs. He works for a few hours before doing his radio show. He goes through the inventory to see what can be done for deals. He schedules the new items, contacts the wrestlers to get things signed. His focus is on the merchandise area while others focus on so many different areas.
Don was asked about working with Mike Tenay and he says that they are great friends so it makes it easier to work with someone who is a friend. They both share similar interests and their families get along. He says that Mike is a perfectionist. Once he walks into the building, he is writing things down and mapping things out. They will talk about things to discuss and mention on the show to sell the product. He talks about how the pay per views are easier to call because they do not have to sell the show. The television show needs to get people to buy the pay per view. He says that Mike is a great storyteller who brings out the best from everyone.
Don was asked about his favorite matches to call. He says that Bound for Glory was his favorite show because of the Six Sides of Steel match. He also talks about the three way match at Unbreakable with A.J. Styles, Samoa Joe, and Christopher Daniels. He says that he is blown away every time he watches that match. He talks about many of the cage matches, Raven/Jarrett I and the buildup.
Over the next year, Don would like to see TNA get a two hour show because of the talent that cannot be utilized with only one hour; more pay per views on the road; more shows on the road to build the product. He would also like to make the merchandise something that people will talk about. He would like to see the X Division become so strong that it could have its own pay per view.
They talked about the merchandise area and how it is underutilized by wrestling. They talk about how baseball has the nostalgia factor, but Don brings up the nostalgia factor with wrestling. The collectibles scene is all about nostalgia. This gives the fans an emotional tie to the product.
Source: PWinsider.com