Sources: Kevin Nash, Scott Hall, and Sean Waltman to debut with TNA
The Pro Wrestling Torch is reporting that Kevin Nash, Scott Hall, and Sean Waltman will be brought back into the spotlight by TNA for their first three-hour super card Victory Road on November 7.
Nash and Hall, the two men who began one of the most infamous groups in pro wrestling, the New World Order, haven’t been seen on a national level in years, though Nash had a small role in a movie called “The Punisher” and is currently a part of “The Longest Yard.” Both are 45 years of age.
Apparently, Waltman, Nash, and Hall have all confirmed with friends personally that they will be a part of the Outsiders TNA will be bringing in, first referred to by Jeff Jarrett on last Friday’s Impact show.
This has yet to be independently confirmed and like with the Hogan deal, unless contracts have been signed, all agreements are tentative.
The rumored move comes timed with TNA’s change in business strategy, as the company stopped doing live weekly PPVs last week and decided to use their Friday afternoon slot on FSN to promote their first big event, TNA Victory Road, on November 7.
Both Hall and Waltman have worked for the company in the past, on more than one occasion, but were both dropped eventually.
Waltman, 32, was first used by TNA in fall of 2002, as Syxx-Pac. When he missed a flight to a show in November of that year, he called Jeff Jarrett and apologized profusely. When combined with his track record of being unreliable, Jarrett was unsympathetic and in a candid press release, TNA said that the promotion would no longer be using Waltman. He would only be brought back the following summer for a June 18, 2003 match with A.J. Styles against Sting and Jeff Jarrett. He and then-girlfriend, wrestler Joanie Laurer (Chyna) arrived right before he was needed in the match. He went out in his street-clothes and was barely used during the match, looking bad.
Since then, Waltman has retained his friendship with one of the biggest stars in WWE, Triple H, the 35-year-old M. Paul Levesque. He confronted a long-standing drug problem and was sent to rehab by Levesque and his father-in-law WWE owner Vince McMahon, who paid for his stay. He met with both recently when the RAW brand did a TV taping in Aneheim. As with the president set with Eddie Guerrero, the company would like to see Waltman be successful on the indy scene before bringing him back to the high-pressure schedule of WWE.
Hall was used as a top star in the company when he was there, but TNA felt his price was far too high to use him long-term.
Hall and Nash have been doing several high-paying dates within the past months, including for the Dream Stage Entertainment and Zero-One-promoted Hustle in Japan. Both were in WWE fairly recently, but Hall was fired when he couldn’t keep up with the pressures of the road. His problems with alcohol and drugs have been well-documented. Nash had little to contribute while in the company, though he was pushed at a main event level when not injured, and when his three-quarters of a million dollar contract came up for renewal, the company instead politely asked if he wanted to be a part of the creative team as a matter of politeness, but Nash, wanting to spend time with his family, denied. He is also friends with Triple H.
Analysis: The Two Faces of TNA
With the premature information in the wrestling media that TNA is bringing Scott Hall, Kevin Nash, and Sean Waltman, the dissention within the promotion ideologically has become even more apparent.
It seems as though there are two different factions of thought within TNA, the Jarretts and Dutch Mantel, whose opinion is usually reflected in the booking on the nightly broadcasts. They are under the belief that there was nothing wrong with TNA’s old format, and if they were going to Victory Road on their own, they would have built to it on Wednesday night PPVs. TNA, they felt, was a premium product that filled a void, and felt there was a market for a premium wrestling product if it was executed well, felt different than WWE TV, and was entertaining.
Then, you had the futurists. People like wrestler Konnan who publicly said that TNA as a weekly-pay product has no future, and that no one would pay for wrestling when it’s free on a weekly basis, even if the RAW or SmackDown product isn’t something they would actually watch on a consistent basis. Many from that faction felt that the Jerry Jarretts and the Jeff Jarretts and the Dutch Mantells failed to look at facts, that their formula was a business failure that had little potential at all to work in the future. Composed of many people within the company and the critics outside of it, their proposal was that if TNA wanted to have any success long-term and cut losses short-term, they would have to compete with WWE more directly. Use their formula, provide free TV, and build to a PPV.
The futurists got a big ally in Dixie Carter, the TNA president. It is, in fact, her father’s company that provides TNA the millions of dollars per month it requires them to continue producing shows. When she made the executive decision, against the wishes of Jeff and Jerry Jarrett, to end the broadcasts on Wednesdays and shift to a marketing plan more akin to the currently successful WWE formula, for better or worse, it brought TNA into the situation it currently finds itself. When, months ago, TNA finally got free TV, the Jarretts felt that Impact could be used to successfully build to weekly PPVs. The buyrate benefit was nil, except for two or three shows that benefited only minimally. The booking focus on Impact was gradually reduced until the show became the modern reincarnation of wrestling TV in the 80s, with jobbers and no big matches.
In a public statement on how Impact would fit into the plans of the company, Carter took a wait-and-see approach, saying that she would give the show 13 weeks, and then see if a change in marketing plan was necessary. Ratings fluctuated at an average of around 0.26. Decisions were being made far sooner, both for Victory Road and the company getting rid of weekly PPVs. Wrestlers, however, were only told about the decision a few weeks ago, about three weeks after the actual decision had been made and anyone with an active newsletter subscription already knew.
Evaluating the situation, Carter could see that Impact wasn’t really making an impact and started listening to many of the concerns of the talent and wrestling analysts. To this day, a big complaint among talent is that the Jarrett-Mantel booking team refuses to listen to the concerns of talent, and when they are called on it, grow only further confident in their decisions.
Months ago, Carter faced a difficult decision as an observer and fan with little wrestling experience. When it was her decision to side with either Russo or Jarrett in a battle for control of the book, she went with Jarrett. However, as the last months have proven, the two sides are not always in agreement about where the company should go.
For all intents and purposes, it seemed that Jonny Fairplay was out of TNA permanently after several incidents he was a part of, including an embarrassing situation where he convinced TNA that WWE was interested in D-Ray 3000 causing him to be signed, and a bar fight with Florida promoter Ron Niemi. However, if he is to be brought back, which it seems is the case; it will be because of Dixie Carter emphasizing the importance of having a mainstream star in TNA. Carter is also a fan of the TV show Survivor.
Raven’s stock has fallen with Mantel and Jarrett ever since he complained to Carter about the booking in the company.
Konnan is in a similar boat. He appeared on “Wrestling Observer Live” and sounded unconvincing talking about being satisfied in TNA, and saying that one of the main reasons he is still there and not WWE is because they gave him the raise he asked for. He also complained on the show about having as much name recognition as he does but still not being used remotely as well as he could be. TNA’s position is that they are an asset to the company, but can’t hold their own in the ring when called upon to do so for a big program. Both Konnan and B.G. James worked hard to get into shape to circumvent that belief. Konnan complained about a number of real issues in the company to Jarrett, like management not listening to complaints, and people like Goldylocks getting tons of TV time while he sits on the sidelines. He was mad that The Naturals had pyro and they didn’t, which Jarrett in a very frank manner said was to help them get over, while 3Live Kru didn’t need such embellishments. Konnan wondered why Jarrett needed those embellishments. Jarrett said that fans are conditioned to believe that the big stars have pyrotechnics. The argument got heated and an angry Jerry Jarrett interfered.
Jarrett told Konnan that he and 3Live Kru were being used extremely well in the company, when they could just as easily be on the bottom rung, using examples such as Pat Kenney and Glenn Gilbertti. He told them that they would be involved in humor segments on the Victory Road show rather than wrestling, but that they are on all the shows. Konnan argued that they are often used as incompetent babyfaces and that they usually wrestle in dark matches. He made the point that Ron Killings was asked to wear a bone in his hair (true) which he was offended at the idea of, and thought of Konnan coming to the ring with a Tequila bottle. At various points during the conversation, both Jarretts told Konnan that if he was not happy, he was free to leave. Konnan said that he wasn’t interested in leaving the company.
And on the eve of the news from the Pro Wrestling Torch about “the Outsiders,” the split becomes only more apparent.
It is believed that Jarrett opposed bringing the Nash, Hall, and Waltman in, but eventually caved when he felt it was an option the company needed to make for publicity’s sake going into Victory Road.
It was a decision that wasn’t really ever in his hands. The nature of the pressure shows that someone else made the decision to bring the Outsiders in and it was a proposal Jarrett had problems with but eventually made peace with.
The people who pay for TNA to thrive are the ones who will make the decisions about its long-term future—if TNA is to exist, how TNA will exist, and who will run the promotion—and in their struggle to move forward, Jeff Jarrett and the skeletons of the past are in a position less stable than ever before.
ROH in Elizabeth, NJ (9/11) Report
Ring of Honor drew 950 people to their big Mick Foley debut show and return to what can be considered their home base, Elizabeth, NJ, on September 11.
The show was another in a line of well-received shows for the promotion, with many strong matches, but the date and locations would have bad implications during the return of Steve Corino to the promotion, where he challenged Homicide to a match. In Homicide’s promo (this was previously reported as Corino), he said that he wished ROH fans were in the World Trade Center on 9/11. Heels in this company have a reputation for shooting off the cuff, but obviously that was incredibly ignorant and disrespectful. Gabe Sapolsky said that he felt it was the one negative part of his show.
It was announced officially that Jushin Liger will be coming in on the weekend of 11/5, and on one of the shows he will be fighting Bryan Danielson. The announcement was awesomely received. The question is if ROH can get its stubborn live event numbers up and draw a big number for the Liger show.
On the other hand, the show drew a merchandise record for the company, assisted by their new capability to accept credit card orders. Mick Foley’s debut was also a success and they built him as a leader of what should become a hardcore vs. traditional wrestling feud that will be heavily steeped in Ric Flair’s comments in his book about Mick Foley.
1. Jimmy Rave over Dixie
2. Jay Lethal over Matt Stryker. Stryker may no longer work shows on the east coast as a result of losing (not making it up).
3. Trent Acid won a six man mayhem match over Ace Steel, Kahagas, Fast Eddie, Izzy, and Angel Dust. Acid pinned Dust.
4. C.M. Punk over Austin Aries. I was really psyched for this, but it didn’t click as well as expected according to live reports. Generation Next ran out and attacked Punk. Steve Corino ran in and made the save. Corino challenged Homicide but said that he wished ROH fans were in the World Trade Center on 9/11. That was dumb, Steve.
5. Dan Maff and BJ Whitmer over Flash Venom (Flash Flanagan) and Chicano. This match was only brief but Venom and Chicano, who were playing the part of hired mercenaries, were impressive. ROH would like to bring them in again, but their price is high. Both work in Puerto Rico.
Mick Foley came out to a huge pop and put ROH over and just had fun. He credited the wrestlers for the success of the show. In a shot at Ric Flair, he said that if he had any athletic ability, he would steal their moves, saying that after he was invited to the promotion he started watching tapes.
6. Bryan Danielson and Alex Shelley, said to be excellent. Danielson said he wants Liger when he comes in.
7. John Walters over Nigel McGuiness to retain the Pure title.
8. Samoa Joe over Doug Williams to retain the ROH title.
9. The Havana Pitbulls over Whitmer and Maff, The Carnage Crew, and Roderick Stong & Jack Evans in an Ultimate Endurance match for the ROH tag titles. First fall was submission; second was scramble; and third was a regular match. Said to be great.
Generation Next attacked Whitmer and Maff. Foley cleaned house to the ovation of the crowd.
TNA TV Update:
Final PPV results for an average show and Jeff Hardy/Jeff Jarrett (average show): Six-Way X-Division Dominance Battle Royal Match: Mikey Batts and Frankie Kazarian were the finalists. Other participants were: Petey Williams and Johnny Devine, Shark Boy and D-Ray 3000, Frankie Kazarian and Michael Shane, Delirious and Sonjay Dutt, and Chris Sabin and Amazing Red… Finals of the Six-Way X-Division Dominance Match: Mikey Batts and Jarelle Clark defeated Frankie Kazarian and Michael Shane when Batts pinned Shane… Six-Man Tag Team Match: Erik Watts, Sonny Siaki, and Desire defeated Alex Shelley, Abyss, and Goldylocks when Desire pinned Goldylocks… 2 out of 3 Tables Match: AJ Styles defeated Kid Kash in a “2 out of 3 Tables” match… Dusty Rhodes pinned Scott D’Amore… NWA World Tag Team Title Match: Chris Harris and Elix Skipper defeated The Naturals (Chase Stevens and Andy Douglas) when Harris pinned Douglas to win the tag team titles… NWA World Heavyweight Title Match: Jeff Jarrett pinned Jeff Hardy to retain the title (they kept this from looking bad with tons of interference and whatnot, nonetheless, Hardy looked bad).
Impact drew 0.17 on Labor Day weekend (9/3), while the Impact on 8/27 drew a 0.11 The rating for 9/10 was 0.15. These are particularly low ratings for the show.
ROH NEWS SUMMARY: Mick Foley will be making regular appearances with ROH… Homicide appeared at the ROH despite the car accident in which he was involved.
“The Miami Herald” did a story on one of this year’s breakout stars, Alex Shelley. Shelley is from Detroit and his real name is Patrick Martin. He gets his name from the main character in “A Clockwork Orange” and Shelley from the lead singer of The Buzzcocks, Pete Shelley. Shelley, 21, worked his first ROH show summer last year and has been a regular since, including as a member of Generation Next. TNA used him as a jobber for Elix Skipper on the 7/2 Impact show and he made such an impression on them that shortly thereafter he had a program (as Goldylocks) and two bookings a week. Shelley is one of the only talents that TNA allows to work ROH as well. He talked about the differences between TV and Indy shows, saying that Indy shows are about fans coming to see highspots and big moves in person while TV is about storytelling and facial expressions.
TNA NEWS SUMMARY: Jerry Jarrett has written a book called “The Story of the Development of NWATNA” which is the story (his diary) of the company through its first year and rescue by Panda Energy. That story will have more perspective on stories like the one last week about the history of the company. Stores like Highspots are selling the book for $19.95. An excerpt from the introduction can be found on the news blog.
Victory Road: The arena situation has changed, and TNA is now heavily considering running the Orleans arena in Las Vegas. The Orleans is a modern mid-sized arena that seats 7,000. TNA would have to paper heavily to meet that mark, but 60-70% of tickets distributed for the old shows in Nashville and sometimes higher were comps. Jarrett visited the arena and loved it. The main problem will be a hockey game taking place in the arena the day prior, and hockey takes a significant amount of set-up, so it may not actually work out logistically. Don Harris was looking at arenas in Norfolk, VA, where TNA ran once in their first year.
The promotion has reserved the 12/5 date for their next PPV following Victory Road.
Talent: Vito is gone as all expected. Vito, who is friends with Vince Russo, had asked for a raise, saying he had a mother to care for, and TNA failed to acquiesce. Terry Taylor noted that he had used a similar story in WCW. He was on a Bellars watch (the wrestler’s watch-list of people expected to be gone soon) and his in-ring performance was poor… The Torch is reporting healthy optimism within the locker room about the prospects of bringing the Outsiders. A few were half-joking that Nash would affect a coup… There are a lot of important notes on Raven, Jonny Fairplay, and Konnan in the Dixie Carter story above… Savio Vega and Luke Williams came into Orlando to negotiate talent trade with TNA for the US territory of Puerto Rico. Mantel was sending talent to WWC already, and IWA, which books a lot of US Indy talent, was interested, but couldn’t do to the other trade… Sonjay Dutt dislocated his elbow at a 9/18 JAPW event. It was originally feared to be a broken arm. He is not expected to be out long… Goldylocks had a funny incident at a bar. Apparently, when “Nasty” by Janet Jackson was played, Goldylocks got crazy and did splits on the floor among other daring dance moves. A witness on the event: “It was the single most embarrassing thing I’ve ever seen in my life. And she doesn’t drink, so she doesn’t even have an excuse. People were laughing so hard they had tears coming out of their eyes.”
Many wrestlers are ignoring TNA’s policy as far as independent dates being handled by them since TNA is giving them less dates with the end of the Wednesday night PPVs… Dixie Carter is said to be pregnant, but won’t be taking any time off from her duties at TNA… WWE told employees that since David Sahadi, who is already doing great videos for TNA, is working for the competition, they are to cut off all social contact with him. Since many in the company know him on a personal basis that was quite the request… Jessie from Tough Enough was backstage visiting at a recent show. She has had a job in production up until recently when she quit in order to go to school. She was visiting her ex-boyfriend Ryan Wilson, who is being groomed for a push right now.
Alex Wipper is doing an excellent job covering TNA as they head into their first TNA PPV. His newest column takes a look at a variety of issues and topics related to TNA, including an analysis of many of the title contenders within the company. Check it out at http://www.thebalrogslair.com/opinions/tfp/2004/0922.shtml… Also, TBL’s audiovisual prowess and analytical depth combines in Soundoff. TBL Webmaster Eddie T. has been doing an excellent job there and I have had the opportunity to appear several times. Up on the site is a new Soundoff featuring analysis on TNA as well as WWE, so check that out.
Next week, I will have an in-depth look at TNA facts and figures and what they mean for the company. Until then, enjoy your week.
Matchmaker
Trevor Hunnicutt
THunnicutt@aol.com
– Feedback in regards to the above article may be emailed to THunnicutt@aol.com. With the amount of time each author puts into an article, your responses are appreciated.
