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What’s the story?
On a recent edition of Booker T’s podcast Heated Conversations, Jeff Jarrett opened up on a myriad of topics.
Most prominently, Jarrett insinuated that back in TNA’s glory days, the promotion’s main-event scene was on par with that of the WWE.
Besides, Jarrett also weighed in on several TNA alums achieving considerable success in WWE today.
In case you didn’t know…
Jarrett was one of the founders of TNA (now-Impact Wrestling) and served not only as an executive but also an on-screen talent for the promotion over the years.
Professional wrestling experts often emphasise TNA’s heyday to be from the mid-2000s until Hulk Hogan and Eric Bischoff convinced TNA owner Dixie Carter to take tapings on the road and put forth live Impact! broadcasts, slotting episodes right opposite Monday Night RAW in 2010.
The move backfired on TNA, as the organisation couldn’t compete head-on with RAW, owing to which the Impact! episodes were moved back to Thursday nights.
Around late-2013 to early-2014, several names such including Hogan & Bischoff parted ways with the promotion; leaving TNA in a financial mess.
The heart of the matter
Jarrett asserted that TNA gradually made its way towards consolidating its position as the No. 2 professional wrestling promotion in the world after the WWE.
Jarrett added that TNA started broadcasting episodes on Spike TV on Saturdays (one hour late night) to Thursdays (one hour late night) to one hour prime time and then two hours prime time.
Jarrett elucidated that the progress TNA made in the mid-2000s was phenomenal, and when the Main Event Mafia were in the midst of their reign in TNA, the faction’s members such as Sting, Kurt Angle, Booker T, Scott Steiner and Kevin Nash boasted incredible star-power, ensured great storytelling and drew excellent ratings. Jarrett stated—
"So there was a time…around 2006, 2007, around that time, the two hours on Thursday nights, the ratings, the momentum, along with a young AJ Styles. You had the Main Event Mafia on one side, on the other side you had myself, Mick Foley, arguing with each other, and you had AJ Styles on the other side of the fence, it was a natural, give and take, push and pull, and over that period of time, it did nothing but elevate AJ Styles. You think about that. It was good TV, and it goes down in history as being the heyday of TNA Wrestling."
Furthermore, Jarrett explained that he’s happy for the TNA alumni such as WWE Champion AJ Styles, Samoa Joe and Bobby Roode, who’re currently enjoying considerable success in the WWE.
Jarrett pointed out that Styles was always phenomenal, and knew beforehand that he was indeed WWE Championship material.
What’s next?
The WWE recently confirmed Jarrett to be one of the inductees into the WWE’s 2018 Hall of Fame Class.
Meanwhile, Joe is presently recovering from a foot injury, whereas Roode holds the WWE United States title, and Styles is the reigning WWE Champion.
Author’s take
Jarrett is spot-on in his assessment of TNA being excellent back in the 2006-07 period.
The company was an excellent No. 2 promotion, however, after a few erroneous decisions on part of management, TNA is now a shell of what it was in its heyday.
As a longtime Impact Wrestling TNA fan, here’s hoping the promotion returns to its former glory.
