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Submitted by Adam Martin on Friday, June 21, 2002 at 4:40 PM EST
- According to sources, Vince Russo's involvement in the WWE creative process has been changed from major to minor in the past 24 hours. Russo reportedly met with the creative team yesterday and Vince McMahon had second thoughts about the move and has instead designated Russo as an official on-payroll advisor to the WWE. He is still with the company at this time but his status has gone down and the creative team will remain the same with Brian Gerwitz heading RAW and Paul Heyman heading SmackDown. Thanks to Tiffinny Siciliano for the following: Jerry Jarrett, co-owner of the NWA TNA, was the guest this week on Chairshots radio for an exclusive interview to give his thoughts on the debut show of his promotion. The show can be heard at http://www.chairshots.com 24/7 and the host is Rod Siciliano. Here are a few highlights from this very candid interview: -On whether he was pleased with the show or things he didn't like about it: "All of the above. I was very pleased with a good part of it. I thought for our first shot out, I was pleased with the production, I was pleased with the set, the pyro and the lighting. I was very, very pleased with the attitude and the enthusiasm of all the talent. I was pleased with some of my end of it and I was disappointed with some of my end of it. -On what disappointed him about his end of it: "I think we have an enormous amount of work to do on the tag division. In my style (of booking) the tag team division is an intricate part of it. I think I missed more than I hit on some of my ideas. -On whether he was pleased with the announce team's effort: "Yes generally, overall I was pleased. We had some timing problems to work on. An announce team is like dance partners. They have to get used to each other. There's some tweaking and things that I want to work on. Hopefully it's a work in progress and we can improve every week." -On whether they had a problem with the fans sticking around for the second show which was taped that night: "Oh sure we did. It was magnified over what I had anticipated, some drop away. I was tickled to death with our production people that covered the situation as well as we do. I felt sorry for the talent, because great wrestlers feed off of the enthusiasm of the crowd and quite honestly after three and a half hours every one was spent. The crowd was tired and thank goodness we won't be doing that again." -On the factors that led into the NWA TNA going live every week from Nashville: "Rod, it's a combination of reasons. We are not ready to go on national tours. Our talent's not known, our storylines are not known, our styles are not known, and we found that out real quick going right down the road from us in Huntsville, AL. So that was a real reason. Our original concept (to tape two shows a night) was based on strictly economics. We'll have the set there and the crew and we'll be able to do two shows in one. We know from our past experience that the fans get a little tired and the wrestlers get tired and the second show is a little draggy, but for economic situations that's why we came out of the box with it. Then we realized that we'd have such an enormous job filling up arenas around the country with an unknown product. Then another thing that was just my stupidity is that it dawned on me that I was saying out of one side of my mouth this is the greatest deal for the entertainment dollar history, $9.95 for a two hour spectacular wrestling pay-per-view. And then out of the other side of my mouth I was saying to the people of Huntsville: 'Come on down and see the event. It's only going to cost you $120 for a family of four. 'You know, it was crazy. So what we try to do in all of our business is to be the first one to admit our incompetence, miscalculations and mistakes. And correct them as fast as possible." -On whether there is a committee booking the NWA TNA shows: "I don't believe in committees. I'm the booker, I'm the writer, I have a wonderful staff. And they will speak up...and I don't have, I don't think I have, and from their actions I don't have, one yes man. Let alone a crew of them. They are free to and I encourage it, and they seem to relish, critiquing my ideas. They come up with some ideas that I incorporate into my writing. But see a committee, there's no central thought process in the writing. It's a compilation of ideas. And that's, I think history has proven, won't work. To have a booker/writer, depending on what generation you're calling it, that has a competent staff, will work." -On how many times we'll see Rick Steiner, Buff Bagwell, and Scott Hall on NWA TNA shows: "A lot. I like all three men and I met with all three of them individually. I don't judge anybody by hearsay and rumor and until I know the circumstance. And then I don't judge them because if I'm walking in their shoes then I know. I don't feel that Buff Bagwell has ever been produced right. I don't think that Rick Steiner has ever been produced at all and Scott has been produced and was not happy in his environment and I think he's happy now and Scott and I go back to the first day he got into the wrestling business." -On who he thinks the Johnson tag team is: "I don't pay a lot of attention to rumors. There's been all kinds of rumors about their identity. I've know Wade Keller for a long time but I've never met him in person, I've never met Dave Meltzer, among the rumor mill is that they are the two pricks of the business and that they are the Johnson's. I discount rumors." A fascinating interview. Jerry touches on so many things including Vince Russo, Vince McMahon, Bob Ryder's involvement with the company and tons more. Check it out. It's well worth it. [Back to LOP] [News Archives] [Results] [Columns] [Forums]
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