Jeff Jarrett On iMPACT Rating, TNA Role, Moving, More Report by TNAWrestlingNews.com Staff on 01/08/2010 at 12:35 PM
Phil Strum of the Poughkeepsie Journal had a chance to interview the founder of TNA Jeff Jarrett to talk about TNA's live show on Monday night, his role in the company, his WWE competition and more.
On TNA's rating Monday: It was a big, big night for us. Here we are seven-and-a-half years after the company got started and in one night, we're live against WWE. You got (Hulk) Hogan. You got (Ric) Flair. (Jeff) Hardy. Just an awesome night.
On the live atomosphere: There's nothing like live television, without a doubt. We had Spike (TV) executives there. We had the video game industry there. A bunch of licensees from a business perspective. Those guys were as excited as the fans sitting on the front row. Nothing translates like that kind of live electric energy. We had, I don't know, a couple of thousand turned away. It was a big night.
On his TNA role: I'm involved in all aspects of the organizations. Here I am today, coming in early, promoting the show. Ambassador of the company. From the marketing, yesterday, I had a call with Jakks Licensing. We talked to the French promoters a couple of weeks ago. So, a little bit of everything. Jack of all trades, master of none.
Moving TNA out of the iMPACT Zone: Right now, our business model is set up to stay in the Impact Zone. People were talking on Monday about David vs. Goliath. That's true in every facet. We are a business. We are in the business of making money. We have to make it cost-effective if we're going to take this show on the road. It's very, very expensive. WWE is a publicly-traded company and a huge organization. At the end of the day, we're still only seven-and-a-half years old and to take the show on the road — would we like to someday? Certainly. It's not in the works right now because the Impact Zone has some tremendous advantages from a business perspective. As well as, it's got a real intimate atmosphere. We were just talking about what was the feeling like there on Monday night? It translated on television just incredible.
On what makes TNA unique from WWE: I think we've been competitive for quite some time. I think we've sort of been the world's best-kept secret. As far as wrestling goes, our in-ring product is unbelievable. I think that makes us unique. Like I said earlier, we're not afraid of the words professional wrestling. WWE, they can be sports entertainment. We'll be professional wrestling and proud of it. WWE, Vince is a genius at marketing and WrestleMania is a household name. We are the little guy, David vs. Goliath. We really are earning our way, one fan at a time. That's a big difference. We're very conscious of the fan. We're very conscious of the economy. We know that entertainment dollars are few and far between in this economy. We respect that fact. We take that into account. Every vendor we deal with, every partner we deal with. Do we do it right all the time? Certainly, we don't do it right ALL the time. We try hard. I don't care if it's a building manager or a marketing rep, a licensing guy, this pay-per-view deal we're putting together worldwide. We really work hard to make sure everybody wins out of a deal. We don't try to take advantage of any situation because it will come back to bite you.
