My World w/ Jeff Jarrett - TNA's First Anniversary [Show Notes] (Patreon)

Let’s get into our topic - talking about the 1 year anniversary of TNA in June of 2003!

Jeff - at any point in time did you think - we may not make Year 1…before Panda and during Panda?

We left off with you & Glen Gilberti about to face off for the NWA Title and that’s the first pay-per-view of June’s main event. What did you think of working with Glen?

CM Punk would team with Frankie Kazarian and Matt Stryker - not the future WWE commentator - in a winning 6 man. How did Punk evolve into someone you wanted to use in storylines instead of just 6-man filler?

From the Torch

“Goldy interviewed Raven backstage expressing discontent with Jarrett “staging a no .1 contender’s match for his title” without including him. He said Jarrett is the David Hasselhoff of pro wrestling because both have beat the odds despite having no talent or charisma and both deluded themselves into thinking they were responsible for the success of the shows they’ve been on.”

Jeff - was this the only time you’d ever been compared to David Hasselhoff?

Vampire Warrior - the former Gangrel - would lose to Sonny Siaki in a Hard 10 match. There were a lot of guys - some established - some not - coming in and out of the company at the time. Were they just filling spots to help get some of the talent over?

From the Torch

In a sitdown interview, Raven said it’s an embarrassment that someone such as Jarrett, who has “absolutely no charisma,” is headlining a promotion. Raven admitted he’s not the easiest person to get along with in the back, admitting he is a bit paranoid and eccentric. He then leaned toward the camera and told Jarrett directly that he can’t stop him any more than he stop the dawn rising.

Is this too much inside baseball?

Also from the Torch

Don Harris was scheduled to team with Ron Killings next, but he said backstage that he wouldn’t team with someone of “his kind.” Fellow SEX member Elix Skipper (who is black) asked what he meant. Harris said he meant that Killings is always playing the race card whenever anything goes wrong. Elix seemed content with the answer.

(3) David Young & Tracy beat Ron Killings & Don Harris. Harris never showed up. Killings lost when Desire directed him and Veronica low-blowed him, giving Young a chance to hit his neckbreaker for the win. Tracy, Desire and Veronica got into a brawl afterward. (1/2*)

Was this too much racial stuff at this point in time?

“(4) James Storm & Chris Harris beat Konnan & B.G. James at 5:30. (*)

Goldy interviewed Kid Kash and Trinity in mid–ring. Kash didn’t like Goldy’s line of questioning, so he slapped her. Watts made the save.”

Kash hitting Goldilocks - even back then was kind of whoa…not the best look was it?

“(6) Jeff Jarrett pinned Glenn Gilberti at 13:45 to retain the NWA World Hvt. Title. Above-average match, but rudimentary in nature. Vince Russo hit Gilberti with a baseball bat at the finish. (**3/4)”

From the Observer

“The big angle on the show, which had been clear ever since Russo said where it was headed, was with Jarrett and Gilberti both down, Russo hit Gilberti with a baseball bat and put Jarrett on top to retain the title in 13:42. It was a well laid out match, with the slow build and a lot of working on Jarrett’s leg. The problem was that nobody bought Gilberti in this position and while the announcers were screaming, as was Jarrett in selling, as Gilberti used moves like an ankle lock and spinning toe hold, the crowd didn’t buy it at all. They did the spots where each used the other’s finish. Gilbert’s stroke looked bad, and his ankle lock looked like a kid on a playground imitating Ken Shamrock. They did some good things, such as most of the wrestlers standing all over the building watching the match and the boxing style ring intros to give the title bout credibility. They’ve fallen into the predictable run-in booking pattern as the last four matches on the show were all outside interference deals.”

Was it too predictable?

What did you think of Meltzer’s assessment of Gilberti’s work - and also the match itself?

The next week in Nashville gives you the opportunity to build to the anniversary show - was the anniversary show something you had in mind as you would call it Slammiversary later?

On the show - it’s announced that Paul London, the #1 contender for the X Division title was in Japan so Chris Sabin, the current X division champion would have to take on someone else. How often did these types of things happen in the early days of TNA where it would hurt or affect the booking?

He would take on Shark Boy, fresh off Twister with New Jack in the backstage area and win by the way.

From the Torch

Mike Tenay interviewed Gilberti in mid–ring. Gilberti tried to explain why Russo hit him with the bat last week, bringing up stories of pretending to like Russo’s bad booking ideas in WCW. The crowd eventually began boring chant, which seemed to throw off Gilberti’s concentration. Russo charged to the ring, hit Gilberti again with a bat, and yelled “F--- you, Glen,” just to prove how hardcore TNA really is.

This is just Russo going into business for himself wasn’t it? You wouldn’t script the F word right?

On the show we would also see Sandman defeat Devon Storm, the former Crowbar of WCW fame, in a Hard 10 match. Devon got some talk this past week after he tweeted about the Kenny Omega, Will Ospreay Tiger Driver spot at Forbidden Door that things are supposed to look dangerous and be safe…where do you stand on that and that spot?

From the Torch

“A vignette was taped where B.G. James would be confronted by the Harris Twins for being a Southern redneck who is friends with Killings & Konnan, which would have led to his run-in, helping them beat the Twins. For some reason, the vignette didn’t run, which made James’ interference not make as much sense (although he did team with Konnan in the tag tournament)”

Who makes this call for this not to air? This would be the beginning of the formation of the 3 Live Kru - what did you think of this gimmick and who’s idea was it?

The main event that the show is building to is you defending the NWA Title against AJ Styles & Raven in a three-way. The match ends with Shane Douglas debuting in TNA, taking out Raven, and AJ pinning you to win the title after Russo hit you with a guitar.

Here’s what Dave Meltzer would say

“The booking is killing the company, but that’s been the case on-and- off since the inception. The whole show was geared around getting Vince Russo over as the top heel, to the point that Glen Gilbertti tried to turn face, but people shit all over him talking about insider stuff like Judy Bagwell and David Arquette’s title reigns in WCW. Russo hit Jarrett with a guitar, so Styles won the NWA title in 13:59 of a three-way involving Raven.

Raven was taken out of the match when Shane Douglas debuted and attacked him and threw him out of the building. Raven was never acknowledged again even though the match went several more minutes. Russo’s idea was for Sabu to be in that role, but Jarrett nixed it, saying that Sabu has burned the company three times already and they didn’t want to start a program having to rely on him. Raven and Russo are still trying to get Sabu in. So much for Russo’s complaints about all the tragedies in wrestling and putting his money where his mouth is. Jarrett was cut a little from the guitar shot. Crowd popped huge as they badly wanted Jarrett to lose, even though the idea was for Jarrett to be the face. To get that over, Styles had to back down from a challenge for a rematch, and Jarrett picked Sting to be his partner for the Anniversary show. Instead of putting over Styles at the finish, it was clear the announcers were instructed to put over Russo, and Russo was the one celebrating with the belt. Of course last week in the title match, Russo did the same swerve, interfering to help Jarrett beat Gilbertti.”

Jeff - so much to unpack here as always. Why was Russo pushed as the biggest heel in the company? Did you think he worked in that role?

How hard was Russo pushing for Sabu in this spot - and did you shoot it down?

Was it hard to keep pushing upstream to keep yourself babyface - and was the reaction of the title change a surprise?

Now obviously announcing Sting’s return to American TV - even though he was being shown on the WWA pay-per-views at the time, which had just aired within the last 2 weeks - and his first appearance for TNA…that’s a pretty big deal is it not?

From the Torch

“Sting is scheduled to work the anniversary show this week, which will be the first time he has appeared on a pay–per–view held in the United States since WCW was sold. Sources report that the deal between Sting and TNA was actually struck during last week’s pay–per–view— as it was on the air. TNA’s head of talent relations Bob Ryder was said to be on the phone working out the details with Sting during the show, which is why the announcement didn’t come until late in the broadcast. It was a case where the announcer really was informed of major news in his headset during the show rather than just pretending it was breaking news. A member of the TNA production team reports that Mike Tenay was told just a short time before he made the announcement, and had to ask the production truck whether to make the announcement right away or wait for the graphic to appear on the screen. Sting is scheduled to team with Jeff Jarrett in a match against A.J. Styles and a mystery partner in the main event of the show. Sting’s deal with TNA is believed to be a one–night only agreement, although the door is certainly open on TNA’s end to future dates.”

Did this really happen during the show Jeff? Why was Ryder doing the negotiation with him?

How important was Sting to the build up of this show?

Do you wish you had more time to promote it than one week?

Were you excited to work with him again?

How much did Sting have to add for it to make sense to the bottom line?

This would be the first time AJ won the NWA Title. How big a deal is it for AJ to become champion?

AJ had this to say:

“If the belt was taken away from me tomorrow at least I know my name is going to be in there with the rest of the names that made that belt what it is today,” Styles told TotalNonStopaction.com. “Ric Flair, Dusty Rhodes, and the list goes on and on and on and to me it is just a huge honor to now be on that same list of names… It just keeps getting better. When TNA got started I became the first X-Division Champ. Then I became one half of the World Tag Team Champs. And that has all lead up to now being the NWA World Champion, and to me that makes me the first Triple Crown Champion here in TNA since I have won every championship that TNA has to offer. To me it is just huge and it boosts up the name of A.J. Styles.”

Sources say Styles was told that he was going to win the belt just one day before the pay–per–view. Was it a last minute decision do you remember?

Going into the one-year anniversary show you’re doing a lot of press and you had this to say:

“People doubted that we would last one month, let alone one year,” Jarrett said. “Not only have we survived, we have succeeded, and we’re continuing to go on strong.” The press release also officially announced that the anniversary show will be the first event broadcast in Spanish. “The Hispanic market is very important to us,” Jarrett said. “Professional wrestling is one of the top television shows for the male, Hispanic demographic. As the Hispanic population grows our show reflects that growth with the number of Hispanic wrestlers we have and the creation of the Spanish broadcast team.”

Was there a TV deal in place that needed you to start to begin with the spanish announce team?

From the Torch

“The weekly production meetings are being attended by producers Keith Mitchell and Mike Miller, plus Bob Ryder, Jeremy Borash, Goldylocks, Bill Behrens, Gilberti, Russo, Jeff Jarrett, Scott D’Amore, and longtime Memphis wrestler Tony Falk. Behrens gives the wrestlers cues on the TNA side, while Falk has been hired to work in the same capacity in the SEX locker room…”

How much had the company changed and evolved in one year that this is the production room for the meetings at this point?

It feels like Mike Tenay & Don West would’ve been in the room as well…do you think Wade just left them out?

Going into the first anniversary show and Meltzer would report this:

“The realization is that the company needs television, and have gone so far as to hire Brian Hughes, the former head of TNN, to open doors to such a deal. If anything, after one year, Panda is more enthusiastic about the company than before. Sting’s appearance, which can’t come cheap (although they are said to be paying far less than the $20,000 per show Sting earned on his WWA tour), is said to be for multiple appearances. Shane Douglas, who had signed a ridiculous WCW deal, is financially well off, and he commands a significant price to leave home, which is why he’s not all over the indie scene.”

Jeff, chat me up about Brian Hughes coming into the company. Who makes that decision and was it for a TV deal?

Did the Sting deal evolve into a multi date deal?

“There was a recent hiring to work with publicity within the cable industry, and they’ve funded a new set for the shows, which is expected to debut this week.

One would think after a year we’d have many answers. But as many questions remain as there were at the start. The idea that you can get 20,000 weekly buys for a pro wrestling show without television hype is not unreasonable, but it is likely that figure, aside from the first episode of the show, has only been reached once, on 4/30 for the Jarrett vs. Raven NWA title match.

Break-even is likely lower than that, as they’ve made some international television deals that bring in money. Australia, which runs one show per month, drew 4,000 buys on its debut, but the number fell significantly the next month.”

Is that where the company was at?

Who was the recent hire to work with publicity in the cable industry - do you know what Meltzer was talking about?

This is Meltzer’s assessment of the company at the time:

“TNA has become a unique mix of indie guys that WWE felt were too small (Christopher Daniels, Elix Skipper, Amazing Red, The SATs, Paul London, Kid Kash, Frankie Kazarian, Matt Stryker, Low Ki), former big names at one point that WWE either got rid of or never wanted (B.G. James, Sean Waltman, Jerry Lynn, Brian Lawler, Konnan, Raven, Justin Credible and D-Lo Brown), Russo’s clique (Mike Sanders, Erik Watts, Perry Saturn and Glenn Gilberti), ECW legends whose careers were on the ropes when ECW folded (Sandman, New Jack) and some area stars who were used at first because they lived close, but have started to make reputations through hard work (Chris Harris, James Storm and to a lesser extent Slash). Wrestling legends have come and gone as TV characters, from Ricky Steamboat to Bob Armstrong to Harley Race, J.J. Dillon, Larry Zbyszko and Dusty Rhodes, usually with angles started and left hanging. It has given many people exposure to where they have made a name, most notably Styles and to a lesser extent Harris and Sonny Siaki).”

Is that an honest assessment of the company’s roster at the time?

“Through it all, there have been a few shining lights. Raven, who WWE did nothing with, proved himself a genuine draw in the company’s best-ever build. Mike Tenay, who WWE showed no interest in, was voted announcer of the year last year by readers of this publication.

A.J. Styles has proven to be one of the best new talents in the game. And Christopher Daniels, after nearly one year, was finally allowed to talk, and people realized he was more than just a guy who was a good in-ring technician. Jim Mitchell is a major league talent, but like his entire career, has been underutilized here as well.

The X division was the company’s early calling card, and with WWE toning down its in-ring style, it gave the company an opening to provide something WWE wasn’t giving. But the company never really programmed the division well, and as great as people like Low Ki got over on other indie shows, it didn’t happen here. The division floundered when Sonny Siaki was made champion, and while there have been occasional sparks, he’s never regained the momentum. Also, because of the lack of personalities, there is no evidence that the X stuff was drawing viewers.

Overall, the company has produced some great matches, starting with the very first taping’s X division title four-way showdown, and an incredible ladder match for the X title months later. But they’ve also produced many of the worst matches ever seen on PPV.”

The growth of the company and some of the talent, what do you think was your biggest surprise coming into the 1 year mark?

“At times, usually when Jerry Jarrett had power, the booking seemed to start to make sense as you could see long-term patterned builds. Nevertheless, those at Panda, from the start, even though it didn’t happen right away, were always sold on Russo. While those who have followed wrestling could probably talk with both and understand Jarrett’s vision of booking, to novices making decisions, Russo’s track record in WWF and New York Times press clippings are going to look more impressive, and he was a good enough salesperson to get himself a $530,000 a year job with WCW. But both Jarrett, because he was too old, and wrestling had changed, and Russo, because he has such a lack of knowledge of in-ring, understood or cared about things like styles that don’t mix and providing a good in-ring product. Even Russo’s closest political allies concede his weakness of not understanding why certain matches will suck.”

Do you think your dad’s booking made more sense than Russo’s long term vision?

Where was your Dad at in terms of what he thought of TNA at the 1 year mark?

“After a year, the most common description of the company and product is frustration. Some people get over and look great, then are never used again (Super Crazy is the most obvious example). Other ideas flop week after week, from the women's matches to the Hard 10, and return week after week anyway.

Ron Killings turned a half a dozen times in a two month period. Jerry Lynn was the company’s MVP of its first six months because he was constantly in good matches, and made Styles into the company’s rising star. He could have made others, but the focus of putting Lynn in where he could shine and make stars was forgotten. At the beginning of the promotion, Jeff Jarrett was the company’s most complete headliner, although he was never a national draw. It appeared Russo’s job there was to get Jarrett over as the drawing star, which admittedly would be difficult. He pulled everything out of the Stone Cold play book, but in time, it turned out to be embarrassing because they went too far. Because Jarrett doubles as the owner, when it comes time to move other people to the top spot, and that doesn’t mean A.J. Styles as champion, but it does mean Jarrett to the middle and other people feuding on top, the question is how Jarrett will handle it. Or will it simply not happen, and create a new glass ceiling.”

Do you think you created a glass ceiling?

“There is a realization that while the masses won’t look at anything without a WWE insignia, a good product can survive on a low level. And sometimes the product is very good, which makes it even more frustrating when shows are put together with no direction and understanding. When the Jarrett-Raven formula worked, which was a four or five week hard build for one date and one match, it signaled something. Their business is no different from old-time wrestling. It was one match, but with weeks of hype, the one match, just a wrestling match, meant more than the girls losing their tops, endless insider interviews and debates that the live audience shit on combined meant. Since that time, after finding a working formula, there have been weeks where not one match is announced the week before. No match has been given more than a week’s direct build-up. And even the appearance of Sting, which should have been promoted for a month at least, only had a one week build and the jury is out on how much it will mean.

At this point it is believed there are about 30,000 people who are the universe in the U.S. that on occasion order the shows. It is believed the bottoming out number is about 7,500 buys on the bad weeks. There was a surge early in the year to where, based on DirecTV numbers nearing 3,000, that the national number should have consistently hit 13,000. While no reliable numbers have been released, the belief is the numbers have fallen back down since 4/30 after a series of bad shows.”

Did you see the business indicators slip after your match with Raven? Do you think the success of that match couldn’t be duplicated?

Also - “The promotion also announced this past week the hiring of Frank Romano, formerly of In Demand, as new Chief Operating officer. Romano had been Vice President of Event Programming and Operations with In Demand, but was known more as a numbers researcher. Romano will head up the company’s new offices in Manhattan, which opened on 6/23.”

Where does Frank come into play at this point in the company?

The Torch would even write this: “One TNA outsider laughed at the news that the company had hired Frank Romano away from InDemand. “He’s the guy who was supposed to give them their buyrates and they still don’t have the numbers. So he f–––ed them over and now they give him a job?”…”

Is that an accurate statement?

Let’s get to the show Jeff and Meltzer would lead with this: “The NWA TNA Anniversary show kind of epitomized the first year of the promotion. At times it was very good. And at other times, it was very bad.”

Was that just the story of TNA in the first year?

“The Anniversary show was hyped for more than a month in Nashville, and it was the first show where they didn’t comp most of the building. The paid was close to 1,000, which would be the most paid ever, but it’s got to be an embarrassment that the company couldn’t even sellout the tiny Fairgrounds. It’s a reality that while they draw enthusiastic crowds, their product doesn’t appeal to enough people at this point.”

Was that a disappointment internally that Sting’s return to the United States did not sell out the Fairgrounds?

“1. Frankie Kazarian & Sandman & D-Lo Brown beat Sonny Siaki & David Young & Don Harris in 3:53 when Brown pinned Young after a frog splash. Kazarian looked very good. Sandman never even wrestled, which actually was for the better. Post-match saw Siaki DDT Sandman, and then Ron Harris and Mike Sanders ran in. This was to set up Jarrett & Sting running in for the big pop, and to establish Jarrett as a face to the crowd. *

Talk about an odd tag team match - is this one of these shows where it’s important to get everyone on the card - like a WrestleMania type mentality?

“Russo did a long interview, as this segment lasted 20 minutes, far longer than scheduled, and forced cancellation of a cat fight segment (Tracy and Nurse Veronica were supposed to attack Lollipop the Dancer, which most felt would have been horrible; but it did make the story of the show seem stupid as they had an interview with Veronica and Tracy where they promised to do something, and nothing ever transpired) and shortening of several matches later in the show. Mike Tenay yelled at Styles. Brown yelled at Styles and confronted Russo, where Russo talked about how Vince McMahon never cared about Brown. Raven ran in as a face, but Shane Douglas laid out Raven with a belly-to-belly.

From the Torch

There is a lot of heat on Russo for his promo with D-Lo Brown at the anniversary show. The general consensus in the office is that Russo “went into business for himself” during his promo, and no one was particularly happy with his on–air performance

I mean this is 20 minutes long Jeff and it just goes on and on. This couldn’t have been the plan - are you pissed at Vince for this?

“2. Chris Sabin retained the X title over Paul London in 7:53 with a fisherman buster after C.M. Punk DDT’d London. Punk is doing a total Raven copy gimmick. London has some amazing athletic moves and Sabin is right there with him. Crowd loved the match as well. London still needs work on his transitions between moves, as he looks super on the indie scene, but when you see him on a WWE show, the weaknesses are more apparent. ***¼”

Look - Chris Sabin is X division champion 20 years later, but the evolution of CM Punk starts right here does it not? Was it Raven’s idea to put Punk with him?

“3. New Jack beat Sanders in a hard 10 match by hitting him with a giant Hulk hand, which sent Sanders through a table in 5:33. Largely a waste. 1/2*”

This began the Hulk hand gimmick with New Jack & Shark Boy - ever have an idea this would catch on like it did?

“4. Justin Credible pinned Jerry Lynn in 2:43 by using the ropes. What they did was very good until the lame finish. On a big show, this was an insult and the crowd took it that way, with a loud “bullshit” chant after the finish. These two should have had a great match and people were expecting it remembering their ECW bouts. Even the post- match pull-apart couldn’t save it.

DUD”

Was this one of those matches that got cut short by Russo’s promo? What this could’ve been - and really a disservice to Jerry Lynn after all he had done in the first year of TNA…

“5. Kenzo Suzuki no contest Perry Saturn in 4:35. Horrible. Here’s a funny story. The booked finish of this was for Saturn to win clean, since he works here regularly and Suzuki will never be back. Anyway, knowing this, I did a preview of the show that morning and said that Masao Hattori (WJ official who was touring with Suzuki) was going to come in and demand the finish would be changed. Anyone who understands the first thing about Japanese politics knows Suzuki is being groomed to be a top star in WJ. Saturn works for New Japan, and they are rival groups. No way a guy groomed for the top in WJ can job for a foreigner in New Japan who isn’t even pushed.

Anyway, nobody in TNA (well, I’m sure Mike Tenay figured it out) had a clue and they were shocked when, hours later, Hattori showed up and explained Suzuki couldn’t do the job. So they ran in Lynn and Credible. Match was sloppy.

-*”

Jeff - tell me this is all real?

“6. Christopher Daniels & Elix Skipper retained the NWA tag titles against Chris Harris & James Storm in 7:03 when Skipper pinned Harris after a belt shot. This match was rushed, but it was still the best thing on the show. They did a swerve, which was the old penny wise and pound foolish mentality. Daniels got on the house mic and said he was going to Japan in two weeks. This was scripted because they wanted people to think it would be a title change, so they could swerve everyone. However, after the match, a challenge was issued for a rematch in a cage for the belts, and since it’s already established it’s Daniels’ last match, their swerve ultimately works against them. Low Ki, with his arm in a sling, was at ringside and did some interfering. Apparently, they asked him to do far more physically than he was ready for. They were doing their winning moves and near falls before the 3:00 mark they were so rushed. Some of the near falls were great. ***½”

This match could’ve been more with more time - but it’s to build to a cage match on the next show - was this too much of trying to fool the audience?

We’ll discuss that cage match in a few weeks because man it’s such a great match and it really builds on what would become AMW and XXX and the legacy of great tag team matches in TNA history.

“Jerry Jarrett appeared on the show for the first time and talked about it being a tough first year. He seemed to be building himself up to being attacked by Russo to get Jeff over, since he talked about how Russo couldn’t handle failing in WCW well and had unhealthy obsessions.”

Why did you have your Dad on the show? Was there something that was going to come of this with Russo?

“Erik Watts came out and complained about company politics and said Eric was coming. He called out Kid Kash, who came up to Watts’s navel. Watts was about to kill him when his supposed lover Goldylocks was caught in a cage with Eric Justice (Abyss in Puerto Rico doing a Mankind gimmick, who at this point is only known as “scary dude.”). She got some hair extensions cut and was screaming. Watts dropped murdering Kash, who was bragging about how he beats up women, to save Goldy. But she was locked in and he couldn’t save her. Kash jumped Watts and they cut away from the segment while it was still going on. It was never referred to again, thus killing its impact.”

Eric is Eric Justice - being teased for a few weeks - and this will lead to eventually being named Abyss. But what a major moment for a major TNA stalwart to debut - where did the idea of Abyss come from - the mask - walk me through it Jeff.

Finally it’s time for the main event and there’s so much to unpack.

From the Observer

“It was more impressive than it looked that Sting’s first match back turned out so well. The lesson of never say never came up once again. The original plan was for the main event to be A.J. Styles & Raven vs. Sting & Jarrett. Raven talked his way out of it, with the idea that it would confuse the issue since Raven is actually the biggest face in the company. Plus, Raven got screwed by Russo, so it would make no sense to team with a Russo guy.”

Was that the original plan Jeff? Did Raven talk himself out of it?

Meltzer would continue

“So Sean Waltman was going to be brought in.

A few days before the show, that idea was dropped and Jeff Hardy was going to be the mystery partner, which also made little sense because Hardy is a total babyface. But that fell through and they went back to Waltman. Even though Waltman left rather publicly because of his dislike for Russo, and it was talked about on TV, money is money and he asked to come back. Instead of following up on the thing, which wouldn’t even be an insider angle since they had pushed it on TV as Russo couldn’t shut up about it, they brought Waltman back to team with Russo, because if it doesn’t make sense, we will book it.”

How close were you to having a deal with Jeff? What broke up the negotiations do you remember? Would you had rather promoted it instead of a mystery?

Meltzer

“Waltman was quite the trip. He came to Nashville with fiancé Joanie Laurer the night before the show, because after his no-show a few weeks back, the company wanted an assurance he’d be there.

So he was there, but then, the night of the show, he never arrived. He ended up getting to the building about 15 minutes before the match was to start, with he and Laurer described as looking, as in their dress and their demeanor, like two people who just got out of a rave at 5 a.m. He also didn’t either have his gear with him, or didn’t have time to change into it. So he worked the match in his rave clothes, and has enough instinctive talent that while not physically looking good, his ring work carried the match.”

Jeff - are you freaking out? What’s going on? How does this all come together? Were there backup plans?

Do you think Sting is sitting there going…it’s like WCW all over again?

Finally the match…

7. Sting & Jarrett beat Waltman & Styles in 11:49 with an impromptu finish. Sting did his trademark spots, the scorpion, scorpion death drop and stinger splashes. He looked much younger than 44, but I guess face paint probably helps. Crowd was on their feet seeing him as probably the biggest star of the 90s that has been in for the promotion. Ref Rudy Charles was bumped, and not there when Jarrett used the stroke on Styles. Russo then hit Jarrett with a shot with a baseball bat. Raven then came after Russo, but Douglas cut him off again. Jarrett hit the stroke on Styles. Charles was supposed to count to three for the pin here, but he got up too slow. By the time he got to count, it had been so long they felt a three count would look stupid, so Styles was told to kick out. Jarrett then used the stroke off the middle ropes, which was the pin. Russo hit Jarrett with another bat shot, but Sting hit Russo with a bat shot which he rolled out of the ring and didn’t sell). Show ended with Raven and Jarrett doing a stare-down, but Sting got in the middle, and ended up raising both sets of hands with the idea that they are the two top faces in the group. **¾”

It’s crazy to think that at the end of the first anniversary show - it’s you, Raven & Sting in the middle of the ring to close it…

What did you think of Sting in this match? What about Waltman?

How did you change the finish in the ring?

Meltzer would have this to say about the show and the promotion

“The show really wasn’t built around much of anything, as the company has become so scared that doing long builds might kill the in between shows that the result is every week feels the same. Based on response, this show did better than any show since 4/30, but was probably not on the level of 4/30, which had a match that really had been built up for months and focused on for several weeks. The big draw was the first U.S. match of Sting since March 26, 2001, when WCW folded. The fans took to him as a superstar, but the show wasn’t focused so much on Sting, but on Jeff Jarrett using Sting to get over. Therein lies a huge problem. Sting and Jarrett just wrestled a couple of weeks earlier on the WWA PPV show. Now granted, few saw that show. But one would think that, based on the fact they use the same talent, the crossover from that show and the TNA show was very high, so it’s only your most loyal weekly PPV audience that sees this thing that isn’t acknowledged. “

Did you think Sting being on the WWA shows hurt the draw here?

“One of the things that has killed the emotion in wrestling is that the people in wrestling don’t treat their own storylines with any seriousness, and don’t even for a second think what fans thinking would make out of the situation. That, and with Sting, usage of numerous baseball bat shots where people get up like they weren’t hurt.

A movie is to entertain you for the two hours, but wrestling is designed to both do that and make you pay again next week to see resolution of things started, so it needs to have created scenarios that yield a stronger emotional response. In other words, for wrestling to be effective, it doesn’t have to be as realistic as football or UFC, but it has to be more realistic than a movie. If there was a fight scene in a movie and Sting cracked Vince Russo with a baseball bat, Russo wouldn’t roll out of the ring and never sell for a second he was just hit.

But it’s that kind of sloppiness in selling and in acting, combined with bookers who don’t watch the product and don’t realize people just saw Sting and Jarrett fighting last week, and now they are teaming with no acknowledgment of their previous match and angle. Once the viewer is forced while watching into seeing that nothing matters, the lure to watch it greatly decreases and the impact of almost all angles becomes non-existent.”

What say you to that Jeff?

The Torch would say this:

“TNA held a meet and greet party for the live crowd following the anniversary show. The party was advertised as being exclusive for fans who purchased the $45 Golden Circle tickets, but TNA officials let the entire live crowd stick around for the party. The meet and greet event was actually a subject of a lot of debate in the locker room, as a number of wrestlers felt that blowing off kayfabe altogether in front of the live crowd regulars was a bad idea. This led to Raven, Shane Douglas, and Vince Russo making either brief appearances or not appearing at all. Although it has been reported that Sting did not appear at the post–show meet and greet, he was introduced and did make a quick appearance. Sting delivered a short speech in which he thanked Jerry Jarrett for giving him one of his first breaks in the wrestling business.”

How was it to put your Dad & Sting back together one more time?

Wade would finish the report with this…

TNA officials are more optimistic than ever about their chances of securing a television deal. Although the company is still hopeful of securing a national cable deal, they have also approached a national syndication company…

Things were looking up for TNA after this weren’t they?

Is this a success at the end of the day?