Paid Members IANdrewDiceClay Posted January 30, 2014 Paid Members Share Posted January 30, 2014 Thought this deserved its own thread, by now for when this gets up and running. Newsday in New York did a piece on it today, so instead of dumping it in the TNA thread here's a thread for Jeff's new project. Toby Keith, Jeff Jarrett camps tight-lipped on possible pro wrestling partnershipPublished: January 30, 2014 6:49 AMBy JOSH STEWART [email protected]<script data-cfhash='f9e31' type="text/javascript">/* */</script>Rumors of a partnership between country music superstar Toby Keith and TNA Wrestling founder Jeff Jarrett to start a new pro wrestling promotion have swirled online since shortly after a report last month by The Wrestling Observer newsletter that said Keith had unsuccessfully tried to purchase TNA.While others have quickly denied interest in buying TNA or joining an effort to launch a new company, Jarrett and a publicist for Keith have neither confirmed nor denied the reports when contacted multiple times this month.On Jan. 14, Jarrett said via email that he wasn�t doing any interviews right now. On Wednesday, he again declined an interview request via email, but added, �I can tell you I'm making good progress, so, stay tuned!�Jarrett announced last month that he would leave TNA. Texas-based Panda Energy is the majority owner.Keith�s publicist, Elaine Schock, said earlier this month that she had no knowledge of a partnership between Keith and Jarrett. When asked again on Jan. 13, Schock responded to Newsday via email, �I still have not heard anything that I can confirm.� On Tuesday, Schock said that she had nothing to add.Previously, a publicist for Smashing Pumpkins lead singer Billy Corgan said in an email to Newsday last November that reports of him purchasing TNA were �rumors� and that he was focused on his Chicago-based independent promotion. And earlier this month, former WWE announcer/executive Jim Ross used his blog to deny reports that he would work with Keith and Jarrett on a pro wrestling project.But Jarrett confirmed via his verified Twitter account that he arrived in Los Angeles on Jan. 13 for three days of meetings, after tweeting in the previous few weeks about all the hours he was putting into a new project with wife Karen. He used the hashtag #passionforwrestling in one tweet, and in another said, "An old friend from Old Trough, Texas once told me as it relates to the wrestling business... 'If you don't know where you've been, you'll never know where you're going' ... So true..."After returning from L.A., Jarrett tweeted, "Back in Hendersonville [Tenn.] ... Great 3 days in Hollywood... Time to analyze, digest all the info, and make some decisions..."On January 23, Jarrett tweeted, �Spent the morning doing one of the things I really love about this business...Watching good independent talent...There is a LOT out there��And on Monday, Karen Jarrett on her verified Twitter account tweeted about looking for office space in the Nashville area.In the 2009 documentary �Jeff Jarrett: King of the Mountain,� Jarrett noted that longtime friend Keith turned down the opportunity to play for President George W. Bush because he had already agreed to appear on TNA�s 2002 debut episode, which appeared on pay-per-view. Jarrett interrupted Keith�s rendition of �Angry American,� leading to Keith becoming an impromptu entry in the battle royale for the NWA title. Keith ended up suplexing Jarrett before teaming with Scott Hall to eliminate Jarrett by throwing him over the top rope.Keith�s business acumen was chronicled in a June 2013 feature in Forbes. The magazine estimated that the singer made $65 million in the 12 months leading up to the article, and has amassed $500 million in career earnings. Keith has scored with such diverse holdings as a record label, a mezcal liquor brand and a restaurant chain.A potential Keith/Jarrett project comes on the heels of WWE�s announcement on Jan. 9 that it would offer a 24-hour network streaming online beginning Feb. 24.After the announcement Jeff Jarrett tweeted, �Congrats to @WWE @WWENetwork @VinceMcMahon on tonight's announcement! GREAT for the business we all love... #passion #perseverance #persistent�.-PWInsider.com can confirm that Jarrett has been extensively researching talent, domestically and internationally, for the project. Now everyone comment! Speculate! Bullshit! about it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators PowerButchi Posted January 30, 2014 Moderators Share Posted January 30, 2014 They're in a good position TV wise too. If they don't get Spike then CMT is bound to take them. I'm hoping for a really Southern style company. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members tiger_rick Posted January 30, 2014 Paid Members Share Posted January 30, 2014 Really interested in this. Going to be a big challenge. In 2002 there were hundreds of guys available with big league experience and tons of guys in the indies with reasonable profile or experience in WWE's dev territory. I know nothing about US indy wrestling these days but I don't hear about guys all the time like we used to back then. That said there are some ex-WWE/TNA guys you could build a promotion around while you develop talent. I'd be interested in watching John Morrison, Carlito, AJ Styles, Chris Masters, Gallows, Knox, Devon, etc. And Jeff himself of course. The other thing is Jarrett made a shitload of mistakes in TNA from the start. Be interesting to see what lessons he's learned. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators PowerButchi Posted January 30, 2014 Moderators Share Posted January 30, 2014 To be fair a lot of Jarrett's early mistake was because of that Jay Hassman dickhead he hired. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Statto Posted January 30, 2014 Paid Members Share Posted January 30, 2014 If I was Jeff, I'd be looking to base my business model on something akin to NXT. Primarily, we'd be more TV show than wrestling promotion, to start with at least. I'd be looking at starting with maybe 15, 20 at a push, guys actually on my roster. Primarily, I'd be looking to draw these from doing some kind of deal with NJPW where I could have the likes of Anderson, Gallows, Devitt, Shelley, Smith Jr. & Archer when they're not using them. Bolster this with a few ex-WWE/TNA names from the general indies (Masters is a must, I like Trent Beretta a lot, might as well go with John Morrison as people seemed to like him. I'm Double J so I'll be signing Scott Steiner & AJ Styles regardless.) and a couple of ROH types who haven't yet made the national stage (Elgin, Bennett) Throw in a couple of women for the necessary variety (Maria with Bennett, Scarlett Bordeaux etc.) Rotating cast of jobbers to get thrown about. Tapings once every 3 weeks or so, in the Deep South. Debut on TV (CMT is right!) with a 2hr special to introduce a whole bunch of my guys, then I want 1hr a week. Simple storylines, good wrestling, 1 singles champion. Have guys show up to wrestle once every few weeks, so people think "Ooh, Masters is on next week, not seen him for a few weeks! Looking forward to that!" Every now and then, a country star turns up. Once Trace Adkins gets out of rehab, I want to see him throwing fists at my top heel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members tiger_rick Posted January 30, 2014 Paid Members Share Posted January 30, 2014 To be fair a lot of Jarrett's early mistake was because of that Jay Hassman dickhead he hired. To clarify I was talking about booking rather than business which I accept there were mitigating circumstances. Stuff like his choice of booker, the direction they took with the overload of T & A, some truly terrible wrestlers hired and gimmicks they created. Plus some really shit angles. It took a while for them to find a decent identity for the company. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loki Posted January 30, 2014 Share Posted January 30, 2014 Yeah, Statto echoes what I was suggesting a few weeks ago in the TNA thread. Create a company based around providing ongoing tv product. Use the available indy talent around a core of top stars. I'd imagine that Jarrett will bring in Styles Steiner Shelley Eric Young and poach from TNA Abyss (poss just as a creative unless they can think of a decent gimmick for him) Roode Daniels Storm Aries or at least I would. I'd have a tv championship defended every week, and a tag team and singles world title. I'll be honest, I'm on board with whatever Jarrett does - he's usually been part of the best bits of TNA over the years, and as he was slowly squeezed out of power, so the product and business has suffered. Any chance of him patching things up with Jerry? He could do with his father's connections maybe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hitman89762000 Posted January 30, 2014 Share Posted January 30, 2014 Reckon there'd be a place for don west on the commercial side of things? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Tommy! Posted January 30, 2014 Paid Members Share Posted January 30, 2014 If anything materialises it's going to be different to when TNA started surely. Back then the business was different, what fans were used to was different. The place was awash with big names after a light work load without the WWE hassle or young talents after a pay check to keep them from working the tills at Target. Jeff must have learnt form his experiences. I bet we still get a run from the Harris boys though It's always going to have the potential to be a lot of fun, win loose or draw. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators PowerButchi Posted January 30, 2014 Moderators Share Posted January 30, 2014 West would definitely be there. Good. He became an alright announcer, his enthusiasm is infectious, and him and merch is worth shitloads together. EDIT: Fuck. Forgot the Harris Boys are guaranteed a paycheque. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members garynysmon Posted January 30, 2014 Paid Members Share Posted January 30, 2014 They're in a bit of an unfortunate position I suppose as those WWE Legends contracts have tied up a lot of the 80's stars so they can't be used to give a start-up promotion a bit of a leg up. Someone like Roddy Piper on some of the early shows would have been good I suppose, but alas not. I suppose I should be the first to mention CM Punk's name then, someone's bound to! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members GlennCullen Posted January 30, 2014 Paid Members Share Posted January 30, 2014 I'll be honest, a well backed promotion with that talent would certainly have me interested. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Carbomb Posted January 31, 2014 Paid Members Share Posted January 31, 2014 Wrestlers, to be honest, are ten-a-penny if you look at who's available out there. What JJ and Keith need to focus on is getting the right back-room staff, because it's clear that's one of the things that's let TNA down in the past. Jim Ross - They need to pull out all the stops to sign him, I think. He's probably the only guy whose commentary is guaranteed to sound big-time, and, more importantly, his experience in Talent Relations makes him incredibly valuable. Add to that that he must have forgotten more about show production and organisation than anyone else other than Vince will ever know, and you have a potential resource you can't let slip. Don West - Team him up with JR on commentary, and I think they'd be pretty great. But, more importantly (and as Butch and Ian have said before), his ability to sell things is unparalleled. One of TNA's biggest mistakes was not optimising their revenue streams - half of that was because they didn't have enough product to shift, but the other half was that they got rid of West at a time when they needed to make as much cash as possible. Jeremy Borash - Yes, he's unpopular, but the guy is a fucking hard worker. He's a publicity machine, going all over the place to do pressers, special screenings, presentations, interviews, and do the face-time with the fans, not to mention all the online stuff. Without him, TNA would've come unstuck ages ago in terms of communication and organisation. Kevin Nash - Road agent. Nash must be awesome at this, as he's a past master at getting the most out of the least. I'm not sure who should be the booker - Heyman and Mantel are contracted to WWE, and Cornette's style, I'm told, is just too old-fashioned for a modern product. Though, if they're going for a Southern feel, maybe he might be the right guy? As to wrestlers, I'd pick up: John Morrison Chris Masters AJ Styles Luke Gallows Mike Knox Big Daddy V Adam Pearce Jamin Olivencia Chris Hero under his Kassius Ohno persona (though not name, of course) Nigel McGuinness under the Desmond Wolfe persona (if they can coax him out of sulking) Stevie Richards (yes, I know - but he's still a solid hand) Rhino (good midcard threat) Jimmy Yang Joey Ryan (he's shite, but I love his character) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members IANdrewDiceClay Posted January 31, 2014 Author Paid Members Share Posted January 31, 2014 Borash is unpopular? He's one of the most likable people in wrestling for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Carbomb Posted January 31, 2014 Paid Members Share Posted January 31, 2014 Borash is unpopular? He's one of the most likable people in wrestling for me. For you, yes, and for me, certainly - but aren't there always reports about how the locker-room didn't like him? I know there was something about Bischoff not liking him much either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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