Jeff Jarrett TNA/Spike TV conference call recap
source: gerweck.net
Jeff said there is no truth to the rumor that he held Vince McMahon up for money at No mercy 1999 when he lost to Chyna.
He says TNA does have a drug policy. He said they have had some wrestlers in TNA with drug problems and they did help them with it but it all goes down in private.
They would love to go head to head with Raw on Monday night’s but they need to take small steps leading up to that. He said it’s very hard to recreate history and he thinks Thursday’s night will in primetime will be great for them.
Jeff says never say never on Goldberg or Warrior coming to TNA. He said both guys had a short shelf life but both made a big impact in that short span.
He says it’s 100% true that Russo is a changed man. He was rehired because he was apart of WWE and WCW and has a great mind for wrestling. They want to bring out his strengths and stray away from his weaknesses.
Jeff put over Jim Cornette and talked about all the great things he has accomplished in the wrestling industry.
He put over how fast TNA has come in such a short span of time.
He said in wrestling your only as good as your last PPV or your last TV show.
He expects Joe/Angle to be a fantastic match on Sunday night and called it one of the biggest matches in TNA history.
They use the TV ratings and merchandise sales figures to decide what markets they may travel to for live events. With that said Chicago is a frontrunner to hold a TNA PPV.
He said Nashville would be a great place to hold Slammiversary in June.
Jeff talked about how hard it is to build up a monthly 3 hour PPV when you only have one hour of TV a week.
He agrees that iMPACT! Moves along to fast some week’s but TV time is precious.
He has had some offers to act but he has to much going on in TNA right now to even think about acting.
Jeff says the reason for his current hideous from TV is do to allot of personal problems. This is the first real break he has had from the ring in over 10 years.
He said there is no real answer as to if the Over the Edge 1999 PPV should have been stopped or not.
He commented on the cancelled TNA house show in CT. He said if it looks like a duck and quacks like a duck then there is no need to ask what it is.
There are plans to hold numerous TNA events in Europe.
As far as the new angle with the James Gang goes, he said stay tuned.
He has no beef with Joe Legend and if Joe as a beef with him he’s not the only one.
Jeff says we wouldn’t even believe the amount of calls they get from workers all over the work who are looking for work in TNA.
A 1.2 or 1.3 would be considered a success for them in Primetime but they would like to do much better.
He put over Spike TV and how dedicated to the TNA product they are.
He doesn’t want someone working for them unless they want TNA to be number one but they can be a very successful number 2 promotion.
He thinks wrestling and shoot fighting are two separate audiences in the US and wouldn’t work on the same cards like they do in Japan.
TNA has severed their relationship with Monty Brown and wish him the best of luck.
He hates when wrestling promotions act like they are the only wrestling company there is and they don’t subscribe to that philosophy in TNA.
Some of his favorite matches in his career were with Jerry Lawler.
He put over the 2 hour weekly PPV events they used to do and described them as ground breaking.
Jeff said he would no doubt win a guitar duel with The Honky Tonk Man.
He said staying true to your character and being confident are two main ingredients in being a great heel.
Jeff put over LAX and called them the most cutting edge thing in wrestling in the past several years.
He said the TNA DVD’s launch in the UK on 11/21 with Lockdown and The Best of Samoa Joe.
He put over the upcoming 50 Greatest Moments in TNA history DVD calling it simply awesome.
Jeff would love to see Jericho in TNA. He called him a great performer and a great guy. He thinks TNA would be great for him because of the light schedule.
Getting two hours every week is the next step for them. With a two hour show you have breathing room but with a one hour show you have to rush things sometime.
He said there’s a lot of pressure on Joe for Sunday but he thrives on that and the cream will rise to the top.
Jeff’s grandmother used to call people Slappies so he took that and turned it into Slap Nuts. The first person he ever called that on TV was Mike Tenay.
They are in talks to do an international PPV event the likes of which have never been done in wrestling before.
Jeff put over David Sahadi and said he would match him with anyone in the world not only on a skill level but work ethic as well.
He said wrestling down to the core is about nothing but conflict and you have to have good vs. evil and TNA has never lost sight of that.
He called Joe/Angle a true dream match and said he can’t wait to see it.
There will be an encore of last weeks iMPACT! On tomorrow night at 11pm but it will have some new content inserted into it.
The TNA video game by Midway will be released near the end of 2007.
Jeff said anyone who criticizes him has a right to their own opinion.
He said iMPACT! Would benefit greatly from going live and it is in development with Spike TV.
He called the Dupp Cup the dumbest thing in TNA history.
He said allot of people wanted to talk bad about Antonio Pena after he died but he considered him a close personal friend and has nothing but good to say about him.
Jeff said when WCW and WWE were both at their height there was only a 15% fan cross over.
When asked Jeff refused to talk about his personal life and his personal problems.
He was asked how they can book Joe/Angle so that both guys come out looking strong. Jeff said that question is one of the main reasons why smart fans buy PPV events. He said the pressure is on both guys to deliver a big match and every moment of it is going to be interesting to watch.
He called Angle’s head butt to Joe the head butt hear round the world. He said there was just as big of a reaction backstage to it as there was in the iMPACT! Zone.
As for Lita coming to TNA Jeff said he knows her well and he’s not sure about her health right now.
There have been talks with Daniel Puder but nothing major.
Jeff refused to comment on his father Jerry showing up at WWE headquarters.
He put over Dixie Carter very strong.
He was very impressed with how in shape Sting got himself recently.
They are in negotiations with Sting to sign a new deal.
Jeff says they went with Joe/Angle so soon because you have to put your best foot forward when you jump into primetime.
Starting a wrestling school and a developmental system is a must for them but it’s not likely to happen right now.
He said Hulk Hogan signed a 20 year deal with WWE so he can’t see him coming to TNA
