Jeff Jarrett News

The following recap of this Jeff Jarrett conference call is courtesy of wrestleview.com ...

- On his departure from WWE after the No Mercy PPV in 1999 about rumors he was holding Vince McMahon up for more money: "This call is about TNA Wrestling and moving to primetime. To answer the question, there was no hold-up and they paid me the money that was owed to me."

- On how far TNA has come since it began: "We have come an awful long way in fou years." Jarrett mentioned that here they were in primetime this Thursday night and that TNA is the first one to do it in four years besides WWE.

- On TNA's drug policy: "We deal with each individual. We have had some within the company we have dealt with on a very individual case. We went and worked with them and got the problems out on the table. We have a policy that we watch everyone. If there is a problem at work, we take care of it."

- On going head to head with WWE: "We aren't going to out-do the competition. We have tried to be smart and strategic. If going head-to-head on Monday night is what we need to do, then we will certainly do that when the time is right." Jarrett talked about the history of the Monday Night Wars, Hogan/Hall/Nash jumping to WCW and the Attitude Era. He said that was a special time and that Thursday night is a great TV night. "Who knows what the future will hold, but going head-to-head may happen."

- If Bill Goldberg or The Ultimate Warrior will come to TNA? "Never say never." Jarrett said both have drawn a lot of money in their day. "They both didn't have a long shelf life during their career." Said they found themselves hitting a peak early on.

- Why did TNA re-hire Vince Russo? Jarrett mentions he is a changed man and his experience with WWE and WCW. Said he was there with Russo in both and saw his strengths and weaknesses. Jarrett said they have learned from the past and want to make the TNA product as good as it can be.

- Is Kurt Angle vs. Samoa Joe the most important match in TNA's history? "Every PPV event in our growth is important for the company. The WWE has been around for 40+ years, WCW had origins from the territory days with 30-40 years behind it. We started TNA from scratch 4 years ago and to be on primetime TV 4 years later is a big deal. We are only as good as our last PPV and last television show. You have to keep churning out hits. WWE already has hits to go on. We have to continue to prove ourselves. I dont think anyone is expecting anything but a spectacular match this Sunday."

- On if he feels TNA Impact feels too fast after 60 minutes and if they are looking to slow down in the move to primetime? "Well, truly we intend to live up to our name - Total Nonstop Action. We are literally charting ground that has never been done. We have 1 hour of television to do a 3 hour pay per view. A PPV has 7-9 matches. So to have intrigue, drama and storylines, right there you have 4-5 storylines and on a week to week basis with 42 mins of TV time, we have to be at a break-neck speed in order to tell stories. We are doing programming that has never been done. We also know that TV time is very precious and it is a tough balance."

- On TNA stars starring in films? "We have more than enough on our plate. TNA, along with Spike TV, have had discussions about outside projects. Kevin Nash got his acting career going. Christian and Kurt Angle have gotten offers. Gail Kim as well. All of us are really focusing, and rightfully so, on being the very best wrestling organization we can and that is our focus."

- On his hiatus from TNA TV: "What you saw on TV, I spoke from the heart. I have been going wide-open for 4 1/2 years. The place for me to be right now is not in the wrestling ring. I'm taking it day-by-day. To say I have a big plan, I don't, I would be lying. That is really the status of Jeff Jarrett the wrestler. I wrestled 7 years during the territory days, went to the WWF, went to WCW, back to WWF and back to WCW. My career has had very few breaks and this is a much needed one."

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