NWA:TNA 2004 - The Impact Era

[ClaRK! Kent]

NWA:TNA 2004 - The Impact Era

The Road Goes Ever On...

Backstory...

May 2004… Jerry Jarret has not been well for some time. Recovering from a triple heart bypass operation at his home in Nashville, Tennessee, the owner of NWA:TNA has been instructed to keep a low profile and not to over-exert himself. This doesn’t sit well with Jarret, as TNA are all set to launch the first edition of their syndicated television show, Impact, on June 4th, and he was planning to be fit enough to oversee some of the decisions and backstage work being done in preparation for this event. Worried for his father’s safety, Jeff Jarret seeks a second medical opinion from a private heart specialist. This doctor determines that Jarret senior’s condition is too serious for him to be stretched with the demands of running a nationally-acclaimed wrestling company such as NWA:TNA, and also informs the Jarret family the added stress of taking the company into new echelons such as the television show could send Jerry into an early grave. Disappointed, but anxious to hold onto his health for as long as possible, Jarret signs over his ownership of NWA:TNA to Dixie Carter, a member of the Panda Energy group that has been funding TNA for several months and a prominent member of the board of directors.

June 2004… Dixie Carter, a man with substantial business accumen but little in the way of wrestling knowledge, leads TNA into June, which has been dubbed ‘the Impact era’ of TNA by many writers in the Internet Wrestling Community thanks to the new prospects and new possibilities opened up by the TV deal. Carter leaves booking to the writers, but is soon snowed under with telephone calls from Jeff Jarret, unhappy at how the writers are booking his father’s dream. In addition to this, several other wrestlers backstage well known for playing political games contact Carter throughout the month, offering ‘suggestions’ and ‘help’ to the new owner where booking and on-screen direction is concerned. Carter, a man who knows when he is being taken for a ride, eventually refuses to accept calls from the talent roster and begins to make some calls into appointing a new Head Booker for the company, someone with enough skill to make the company a serious contender to the WWE’s crown and also enough character to stand up to the backstage politicians in the Asylum locker room and not take any nonense from the roster. Rumours begin to circulate the Internet regarding possible choices for the new role, rumours only stirred when the TNA front office announces that they have received literally hundreds of offers for the role. Such names as Jeff Jarret, Terry “Hulk Hogan” Bollea, Steve “Sting” Borden, and even Harley Race are tossed around as suitable names for the role, but in the end Carter decides to approach a man who hadn’t even applied for the Head Booker’s role, a man whose reputation amongst educated wrestling fans and those within the business has preceeded him for many years… Mark Jackson.

Jackson has spent the last few years as an Internet writer, best known as a firebrand with an acid tongue and a take-no-prisoners attitude to those he has an issue with. He made his name on the Internet in the late nineties, after a series of columns attacking the overhyped, oversexed, and overexposed nature of the WWF and WCW’s television, and was one of the first on the Internet to predict the demise of WCW. Jackson worked for the WWF himself as a writer and booker between 1995 and 1998, and established himself as a quiet but indispensable member of the writing team thanks to his ingenious creative ideas and inextinguishable passion for the business. Many backstage saw him as the voice of the youth market, of the Generation X that Vince McMahon was trying to draw into the company, as he was only 22 when first signed by the WWF. Although Pat Patterson and Gerald Brisco would take much of the credit for the ideas that Jackson, a relatively junior member of the team, would help bring about, several writers have since claimed that such ideas as the Brood, Mankind, and Kane began with the talented youngster. His reputation within the company was secured in the spring and summer of 1997, when he became the first person to actively and openly side with Bret Hart against the ego and unsportsmanlike behaviour of Shawn Michaels, which would earn him many friends and many enemies in the company. Following the Survivor Series 1997 incident, Jackson was largely ostracised by the writing team, which was quick the throw its allegience behind the ‘loyal’ Shawn Michaels. In early 1998, Jackson gave an interview with a popular wrestling website, in which he discussed the Montreal Screwjob, the WWF locker room, Bret Hart, and Shawn Michaels at length. His no-nonsense interview style and defiance of the WWF’s ban on employees discussing the incident would gain him the support of the IWC and the continuing hatred of Shawn Michaels’ backstage clique. Seeing Jackson as a liability, Vince McMahon fired him for breach of contract only days after the interview. Since then, he has worked primarily as an Internet writer, although he was involved with Hulk Hogan and Jimmy Hart’s failed XWF venture in 2002, as well as having a brief spell writing for AJPW in Japan in 2003…

Carter approached Jackson in late June regarding the Head Booker’s job, speaking to him about his need for a booker of Jackson’s creativity and flair, as well as a man who can command respect backstage and keep the wolves at bay, so to speak, with regard to the backstage politicians. Jackson would accept the job on June 25th after a week or so of negotiation, informing readers at his personal website that Dixie Carter’s honesty and from-the-heart passion for NWA:TNA won him over. Jackson, now aged 31 and arguably a more laid-back man than he was in the late nineties, where his stinging criticisms of the WWF and WCW earned him the nicknames ‘The Shooter’ and ‘Mark the Merciless,’ brings a handful of bright young wrestling writers that he has worked with to Nashville with him, informing Carter that he needs an all-new writing team with no political agenda to properly run the company. Carter agrees, and the new NWA:TNA writing team takes charge on July 1st, 2004.

With a new owner rapidly settling into his role at TNA front office, a bright and youthful writing team ready to bring a new dose of excitement and action into the company, a firebrand Head Booker leading the charge, and the entire company’s sights set on the gold-paved roads of world domination once walked by the WCW and WWFE, NWA:TNA has turned a corner in its history and is now ready to set off on the road to prominence – a road that leads into the unknown and goes ever on…

Roster information and whatnot will be up soon. For those of you - that's most of you - who don't know me, this is my first diary here at EWB but I've been pretty active at EWE/e2-o for quite a while now. My last diary there was hosted by the site, which is basically the highest honour you can get there - I don't know if there's something similar here, but... I sound bigheaded now, argh! Anyhow, feedback is always appreciated in my diaries, no matter what it says. I'll ask for you not to flame my stuff, though, as constructive criticism is much better for all concerned.

RK!

[Guest LilJoeyPez]

MARK HAS ARRIVED!!!!

Yeah, this guy was an awesome writer over at e2o - almost as good as me, if that's possible...

Looking great. Can't wait for this to get off the ground.

[Guest Sean O'Haire]

Awesome, this will rule. Lovin it already. GO RK!

[ClaRK! Kent]

NWA:TNA Business Information as of July 1st, 2004…

Owner: Dixie Carter

Head Booker: Mark Jackson

Size: National

Public Image: 50%

Based In: Nashville, Tennessee

Money: $7500000

Risk Assessment: 70%

Production Values: 85%

Advertising: 70%

Merchandising: 60%

Sponsors: New Jersey Jets, Castrol GTX, Dodge, 1-800 Collect

NWA:TNA Roster…

Main Event

AJ Styles (F)

Jeff Jarret

Raven (F)

Ron Killings (F)

Sting (F)

Upper Midcard

Chris Harris (F)

Christopher Daniels

D’Lo Brown (F)

Dustin Rhodes (F)

Dusty Rhodes (F)

Jerry Lynn (F)

Kid Kash

Lex Luger

Shane Douglas

Sonny Siaki

Terry Funk (F)

Vampiro

Midcard

Abyss

BG James (F)

Chris Sabin

CM Punk (F)

Don Harris (F)

Erik Watts (F)

Frankie Kazarian (F)

James Storm (F)

Johnny Swinger

Julio Dinero (F)

Konnan (F)

Legend

Low-Ki (F)

Michael Shane

Pat Kenney (F)

The Sandman (F)

Lower Midcard

Abismo Negro (F)

Andy Douglas

Chase Stevens

Chris Vaughn

Dallas

David Young

Elix Skipper

Heavy Metal (F)

Hector Garza (F)

Kevin Northcutt

Matt Sydel (F)

Monte Brown (F)

Mr Aguila (F)

Sinn

Slash

Sonjay Dutt (F)

Managers

Antonio Pena (F)

Athena

Desire

Don Callis

Glen Gilberti

Goldylocks (F)

James Mitchell

Jonny Fairplay

Scott D’Amore

Traci Brooks

Trinity

Vanessa Harding (F)

Vince Russo

Tag Teams

America’s Most Wanted (Chris Harris/James Storm)

Gilberti and Young (David Young/Glen Gilberti)

Julio and Raven (Julio Dinero/Raven)

New Church (Sinn/Slash)

The Naturals (Andy Douglas/Chase Stevens)

The Rhodes (Dustin Rhodes/Dusty Rhodes)

Stables (First member indicates leader)

3 Live Kru (Ron Killings/BG James/Konnan)

Black Shirt Security (Erik Watts/Chris Vaughn/Don Harris)

New Church (James Mitchell/Sinn/Slash/Vampiro)

Red Shirt Security (Don Callis/Kevin Northcutt/Legend)

Team AAA (Hector Garza/Abismo Negro/Antonio Pena/Heavy Metal/Mr Aguila)

The Franchise (Shane Douglas/Michael Shane/Traci Brooks)

The Gathering (Raven/CM Punk/Julio Dinero)

NWA:TNA Champions…

NWA Heavyweight – Jeff Jarret

(Won from Ron Killngs 2/6/04 in a King of the Mountain match)

NWA X Division – Frankie Kazarian

(Won from Vacant – beat Amazing Red – 31/3/04*)

*Title declared vacant after champion Chris Sabin injured his knee

NWA Tag Team – Ron Killings & BG James

(Won from America’s Most Wanted 23/6/04)

Preview for my first show and the first of my daily (in game terms) Head Booker's Diary entries will be up within 24 hours without fail, and most probably sooner. Enjoy!

RK!

[therockbox]

Very good so far, the backstory was enjoyable. I'll be reading.

[ClaRK! Kent]

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NWA:TNA Impact Preview for 2/7/04…

This week's action-packed edition of Impact is sure to be completely off the hook! Only the fifth ever edition of the show, the rumoured and confirmed matches for this week's show look set to be some of the best that Impact has ever offered!

It’s a Night of Champions for this week's show, as every NWA:TNA title will be on the line thanks to NWA Director of Authority Erik Watts and TNA Management Consultant Don Callis! It's sure to be a great spectacle for the fans, but you have to wonder just how happy Jeff Jarret, Frankie Kazarian, and the 3 Live Kru are going to be at this decision.

Jeff Jarret will be putting the NWA World’s title on the line this week on Impact against perhaps his greatest and most resilient foe ever – 'The Phenomenal' AJ Styles. Styles, who achieved both of his Heavyweight title reigns by defeating Jarret, will be hoping for a repeat of history on Impact tonight as he tries to become a 3-time champion.

X-Division champion Frankie Kazarian will be continuing his recent string of title defences, this week against none other than former S.E.X. member Elix Skipper. Skipper, a man who has held the NWA Tag Team titles with Triple X, will be looking to add the X title to his list of accomplishments with a win over Kazarian this week.

The Tag Team titles will also be on the line, as 3 Live Kru defend their titles little over a week after beating America's Most Wanted to gain them. Their first opponents for the titles will be the team of Kevin Northcutt and Legend, the Red Shirt Security.

Also in action on Impact this week will be Chris Harris and Kid Kash. Since announcing his intention to become a Triple-Crown NWA champion in the mould of AJ Styles a few weeks ago, Kash has been setting his sights on bigger and brighter opponents, namely those in the running for the NWA World's title. Harris, a man who was in the first King of the Mountain match a month ago, is just such a figure, and Kash will be hoping to overcome him in order to climb the rankings.

For all of this action and much more, join us for NWA:TNA Impact this Friday on Fox Sports Net! Check your local listings for airtimes.

The show should be up in the next couple of days, but there'll be other stuff up before that point. Enjoy!

RK!

:blink:

[TheArsenal]

MR JACKSON IS HERE!!!!

This diary is gonna pwn!! Especially since I helped with the backstory. Come on Raven's Kid, let's see what you've got......again.

[ClaRK! Kent]

Head Booker’s Diary for 1/7/04, NWATNA.com…

Welcome to the first of my Head Booker’s Diary entries, here at NWATNA.com. I’ve always been a man of the people, I suppose, so it makes perfect sense to me that I should open up the way I do things backstage, and the way I run this company, to you. After all, it’s you people, the fans, who make this company what it is and who have helped it to its current position, and I feel you deserve to understand what goes on backstage at this company. Everything you read here is my opinion, I want to make that clear, not that of TNA or the NWA, and as you may know – I’m an opinionated guy so the faint of heart may wish to look away. So, let’s get cracking!

Today, so far, has been pretty hectic for me, as my first day in charge. I’d only been in the door a couple of minutes this morning when Dixie Carter was on the phone, calling me about the show that’s supposed to be televised on Friday and asking me what I intended to do with it. That was a pretty extensive phone call, and I think I managed to give him a pretty good idea of where I’m going with it, but I won’t go into the details now because that would ruin the suspense for Friday! Only about five minutes after hanging up on Dixie, I got another phone call from Jeff Jarret, who wanted to offer me some pointers regarding the show on Friday. This is exactly what Dixie was talking to me about when he mentioned the politicians and the would-be bookers backstage, and I don’t mind telling you that I set Jarret pretty straight regarding that. Look, Jeff – your father doesn’t own the company anymore, and you don’t have the book. I’ll book what I wish, because that’s my job. If you, and everyone else in the back, remember that then we’ll get on fine.

I spoke to the sponsors earlier today, all of whom voiced their concerns about the new direction of the product, wondering if this could possibly bring their names into disrepute by being involved with us. Well, I guess they’ve got somewhat of a point, but we’re not exactly going to be having barbed wire or Texas Death matches, and I very much doubt that people are going to stop buying Castrol GTX or making 1-800 calls if I book a chairshot into a main event every now and then.

After the endless amounts of conversation with pretty much everybody involved with the company who knows how to work a telephone – do I really need to speak to the guy who works the pyro in the Asylum? Can’t he speak to Dutch or Dale? – I was finally introduced to my new PA, Sophie. She’s worked with RoH and WCW, so I’ll be listening to her advice but also remaining wary in case she starts to slip such phrases as “Hire Hogan” or “Push your youngest workers” into her reports. She’s pretty enthusiastic about the cause, which is always good, and she’s already offered some good suggestions with regard to the roster and whatnot.

I spoke to Kris Mitchum, who is one of the writers I brought down to Nashville with me and probably the best ‘gimmick specialist’ in the business, a couple of hours ago. We discussed a few of the workers, especially those guys working as the Red Shirts and Black Shirts, and Kris is currently talking to those guys about some minor tweaks to their gimmicks which we hope will help them get over. Kris and I also tried to work out a rough top 5 in terms of babyfaces and heels, to work out who the fans really want to see. The list, as far as we could work out, goes something like this…

#1 babyface – Sting

#2 babyface – Raven

#3 babyface – AJ Styles

#4 babyface – Ron Killings

#5 babyface – Dusty Rhodes

#1 heel – Jeff Jarret

#2 heel – Vince Russo

#3 heel – Lex Luger

#4 heel – Shane Douglas

#5 heel – Christopher Daniels

This leads to a few minor issues, especially seeing as how Luger and Sting aren’t exactly full-time workers, and it’s a bit much to expect Dusty to climb into the ring every week at 52 years of age. But, still, I guess it gives us something to work with as far as the main event and semi-main event scene is concerned.

The scouts have all, apparently, given up on the telephone and moved into the e-mail age, as I discovered when opening my e-mail inbox today to discover some 30 messages from the people we employ to look around the US wrestling scene and report on anybody with talent or potential. After sifting through some ridiculous (Alex Wright), overambitious (Brock Lesnar, Sid Vicious), and downright inexplicable (Marc Mero? Vic Grimes? Brian Adams?) suggestions, I’ve managed to come up with a list of guys I’ll be monitoring, and maybe looking into bringing on board at a later date.

That’s all for today, but keep checking back to the website for more of these diary entries.

Mark Jackson, NWA:TNA Head Booker

[Guest LilJoeyPez]

LOL. Good stuff, Jarrett's gonna hate you.

[ClaRK! Kent]

Head Booker’s Diary for 2/7/04, NWATNA.com…

Only time for a short entry today, I’m afraid, due to the stress and work involved with getting the show out on time – it’s just my luck that we start getting everyone involved in the editing process, based on Dixie’s wish to make the show more dynamic and draw in more fans, two days after I start work for the company.

Happy to report that the locker room is buzzing for our first live TV show, which is always great news indeed, and everybody seems pretty happy with the booking I’ve given them for Impact. And here was me thinking I was going to have people bitching and whining, wanting me to change the whole structure of the show so that they look strong for their match. I hope this isn’t just a honeymoon period as far as my tenure as Head Booker goes, but we’ll see as time goes on I suppose.

Whilst I really love the Internet, and the IWC, some parts of it really do seem to confuse the Hell out of me – the rumour mill is one of them. According to various rumours online, we’ve been in contract negotiations with everyone from Brock Lesnar and Bill Goldberg to Jimmy Hart and Bobby Heenan, looking to bring in some big-name talent for our new assault on the world of wrestling. I guess those rumours sort of make sense, but I can assure you all that we’ve had no contact with any of those workers whatsoever.

You may also have read a rumour that we have been in negotiations with Jay Lethal, who enjoyed a stint in RoH as Hyrdo, over the past couple of days. I can now, happily, announce that the rumour was true, which is pretty rare as far as the IWC goes, and that Lethal has agreed to work for us on a written contract lasting 12 months. We see great things in store for this talented worker, and hope that he gets on in NWA:TNA.

Signing out now, but make sure you join us for Impact!

Mark Jackson, Head Booker

The first edition of Impact should be up within a day or so, I'm guessing. Feedback is always appreciated from anybody who is reading, no matter how big or small.

RK!

B)

Edited June 6, 2004 by Raven's Kid

[TheArsenal]

Looking good RK. I like the diary entries, really adds something to the diary.

[KCC]

Very cool looking. Nice backstory, nice diary entries. I saw your diary at E2-o, the WWE one, and I must say it was good, but this one is looking better.

[ClaRK! Kent]

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NWA:TNA Impact, 2/7/04...

((Recorded at the Asylum in Nashville, TN on 1/7/04))

((Mike Tenay and Don West at ringside))

The first edition of Impact in July opens with the usual highlights package of the past few TNA shows, featuring the hottest storyline of the moment – Jeff Jarret’s paranoia over his reign as NWA World’s Heavyweight champion. Jarret is shown capturing the title in the King of the Mountain match, and then his state of mind is seen slowly deteriorating as the contenders to his title lined up throughout June. Eventually, we see him snap on the final show in June last Wednesday, interfering in the Ron Killings vs AJ Styles main event to lay both men out with his guitar. After the video package fades out with a close-up of a maddened Jarret, we go over to the TNA Asylum for Impact! After scanning the hot crowd for a few moments and picking up such colourful and witty sign slogans as “Jarret – call 1-800 valium!” and “The Heel Section says Kash for the triple crown!” amongst others, the cameras go over to the broadcast position where “The Professor” Mike Tenay and Don West are ready to welcome us to the show.

---

Mike Tenay: Welcome to TNA Impact, coming to you out of the TNA Asylum in Nashville, Tennessee! We’ve got a huge show lined up tonight, because it’s a Night of Champions!

Don West: That’s right, Tenay! Every title is on the line – 3 Live Kru meet the Redshirts, Kazarian defends against Elix Skipper, and we’ve got that huge main event to look forward to – Jarret versus Styles for the NWA World title! And with Jarret in his current state of mind, you can bet he’s not going to be one bit happy with that!

Mike Tenay: Right you are, Don! Remember, folks, for the past month we’ve seen Jeff Jarret’s concerns grow larger and larger as he struggles to retain the NWA World’s title as the list of contenders grows and grows. He’s got TNA Management Consultant Don Callis on his side, and the towering Red Shirt Security as well, but will they be enough to save Jarret’s hide tonight against “The Phenomenal” AJ Styles?

Don West: I guess the only way to find out is to wait and see, Tenay! And, talking of the Red Shirt Security, their Tag Team title shot is up first!

---

As West speaks, the screeching sirens that herald the Redshirts are heard across the Asylum, and Northcutt and Legend head out to some decent heel heat, which is only helped by the presence of a swaggering, confident Don Callis only a few feet behind them. Callis fires up the troops in the ring for this one, until the 3 Live Kru’s music plays and the hip-hop trio of NWA:TNA make their way down to the ring! Konnan takes up his place on the apron, keeping an eye on Don Callis for any sign of interference, as BG James and Ron Killings enter the ring.

OPENER: 3 Live Kru © vs Red Shirt Security – NWA Tag Team title match

The Red Shirt Security are dominant at the beginning of this tag team bout, using their sheer power to wear down 3 Live Kru and eventually isolate BG James in their corner, working on him with some powerful double teams and their massive size and weight advantage. Eventually, James manages to break away with an enziguri, and tags in Killings, who cleans house and evens up the match. After a long period of the advantage shifting, with both teams making numerous tags and surviving interference from the third man on the apron, Legend dodges a Killings superkick and hits one of his own! Both men go down, reaching for the tag, and tag in their partners at the same time! BG James cleans house until Legend tries to interfere, but he is cut off by Konnan pulling him to the outside! As he does so, however, Don Callis jumps into the ring, lays a steel chair on the floor, and provides distraction, allowing Kevin Northcutt to hit the Underhook Piledriver onto it! James is out, and the official makes the 3-count for new champions at 7:19! *3/4.

Northcutt and Legend quickly grab their titles after the match, and celebrate in the ring with Don Callis, until Ron Killings and Konnan jump into the ring! The Redshirts quickly escape, but not before Callis has been struck with the chair, and hotfoot it up the ramp as Konnan and Killings check on their fallen partner.

(Match Quality 63%, Crowd Reaction 63%, Overall Rating 62%)

---

Mike Tenay: Oh man! That doesn’t even bear thinking about! Did you see what Callis orchestrated there? That damn steel chair in the middle of the ring – he wasn’t just trying to win the match for his bodyguards, Don, he was trying to put BG James on the sidelines!

Don West: You’re right, Mike, there’s just no other way to describe that! BG James is almost certainly going to be injured from that one, and he should count himself damned lucky if he isn’t on the sidelines for months! And look at it this way – we’ve got new champions, but already they’ve had to rely on Don Callis and a steel chair!

---

Decision Time…

Moments after West finishes speaking, the Asylum begins to rain down with boos as the music of the NWA World’s Heavyweight champion, Jeff Jarret, is heard over the speakers. Callis, Northcutt, and Legend, all of whom are still on the entrance ramp, stop and grin as Jarret heads out, holding a microphone. He makes his way down to the ring, showing no concern for 3 Live Kru as they help BG James out of the ring and backstage, and holds the title belt on his shoulder like a sensitive child as he paces around the ring, waiting for the boos to subside so he can speak…

Jeff Jarret: I don’t know what the Hell Erik Watts is thinking, making me defend my title tonight against AJ Styles. How many times do I have to prove it to Watts, to Styles, and to each and every one of you people? AJ Styles isn’t a rank contender. I’ve beaten him so many times I can’t count them all, and since his loss in the King of the Mountain match a month ago, he’s done absolutely nothing to bring himself up from the bottom of the barrel! But Hell, right now AJ Styles has got to be the least of my problems. Have you people been watching these last few weeks? Contender after contender, challenger after challenger, has been presented for this title. We’ve had the obvious, guys like Raven and Styles, the wild cards, guys like Kid Kash and Chris Harris, and we’ve had people like Dusty Rhodes who don’t know just when to retire and give it a damn rest! How the Hell can I be expected to function like this? There are so many contenders floating around right now, I don’t know who I have to prepare for on any given night! It’s not right!

Jarret breaks off, the emotion and paranoia getting to him now, and the boos of the fans start anew…

Jeff Jarret: Oh, you people just put a damn sock in it, won’t you? I’ve had it up to here with you, backing every horse but me! Backing Styles tonight, backing Killings two weeks ago – you need to realise that the only horse to back is the NWA World’s champion, and that’s me! So, you know what? Right here, right now, I’m laying down an ultimatum. To you people, to the guys backstage, to the announcers, even to Scotty Hudson and JB in the back, to everybody involved with NWA:TNA – you’ve got a decision to make, and it’s decision time right now! You either back the other guys, the challengers, the guys who have been trying for a month to depose me as champion, or you can back the winning horse, the thoroughbred, the NWA World’s champion, Jeff Jarret. So go on, get your damn thinking caps on, people, because I want a decision from each and every one of you!

Jarret tosses the microphone to the mat, and makes his way to the back as his music hits.

---

Mike Tenay: Jarret seems to have finally lost it, Don!

Don West: You heard the man, Tenay, you’re either with him or you’re against him, and like him or not you have to admit that Jarret is a very powerful man here in NWA:TNA!

Mike Tenay: Oh, no doubt about it, Don! He holds the World’s title, perhaps the most prestigious wrestling title ever, and that gives him a lot of leverage. Not only that, but his relationship with TNA Management Consultant Don Callis and the Redshirts gives him that extra edge, and he’s probably the most powerful man in TNA right now! But, he’s slipping, he’s paranoid, he’s scared to death of losing the title, and I think that’s going to be his undoing!

---

Tenay and West continue to debate Jarret as we take a commercial break.

(Segment quality 89%)

---Break---

---

Mike Tenay: Welcome back, folks, and remember what we saw just a few minutes ago in our opener? That sick interference by Don Callis, costing 3 Live Kru the Tag Team titles and possibly putting BG James, a veteran of this sport, on the shelf?

Don West: Oh man, Tenay, don’t even talk about that! We’ve seen the replay a couple of times on our monitors, and that impact of BG’s head against the chair could have seriously injured him! It’s just not on!

Mike Tenay: Well, right now we can go to the back, where Scott Hudson is with the new Tag Team champions, the Red Shirt Security, and the man who gave them the assist, Don Callis.

---

New Champions…

Sure enough, we go backstage now to the interview area, where Scott Hudson is standing by, dressed in an ill-fitting suit as usual. Northcutt and Legend stand on one side of him, showing off their belts to the cameras and generally looking smug, while Don Callis stands on Hudson’s other side…

Scott Hudson: Red Shirt Security, Don Callis – after what we’ve just witnessed, you now hold the NWA Tag Team titles. Already we’ve heard people back here and at the broadcast table claiming that the assist from you, Don Callis, was the main factor in the victory. Any comments?

Don Callis: You know something? It’s just like Tenay and West, and everybody in the back, to really overlook the point. D’you think the history books, Hudson, give a damn if there was a steel chair between BG James’ head and the mat when Northcutt gave him that piledriver? D’you think it’ll go down in history? No, it won’t. All that will go down in history, in the annals of the NWA World’s Tag Team titles, is that Northcutt and Legend pinned 3 Live Kru to win the titles. That’s all that matters, Hudson – it’s not how you play the game, it’s all about scoring the win.

Scott Hudson: Now that you are the Tag Team champions, what do you make of the tag team division here in NWA:TNA?

Don Callis: Honestly? It sickens me. Aside from the new champions, there is nobody of any real calibre teaming up around here, nobody. Let’s look at the top dogs, as they stand – 3 Live Kru? Well, these guys just put them away and now that BG James is on the shelf, you can forget about them for the time being. America’s Most Wanted? Please, Hudson, don’t make me laugh. Harris and Storm don’t deserve the acclaim they’ve received, and if they want to try and prove otherwise then they can step up to the plate, anytime. Dustin and Dusty Rhodes? Not a chance in Hell – Dusty’s been past it for the large part of twenty years, and his kid is turning into a real chip off the old block, if you catch my drift. And as for the Gathering, perhaps the most pathetic attempt to muster any sort of force against the NWA World’s champion I’ve ever seen? Hell, if Raven wants World title gold then you can bet his little buddies want Tag Team gold – they’re pretty much crafting themselves in his own image, after all. We’re not even going to waste our time on them, or any of the teams on the roster right now. Until the NWA can muster some sort of credible team, these belts are staying with the Redshirts, no questions asked.

Callis walks off, with Northcutt and Legend following moments later, after pausing to show off their title belts to the cameras once more.

Scott Hudson: Well, there you have it. Callis says there’s no competition for Northcutt and Legend, is he right? We’ll find out, I’m sure, in the coming weeks. Back to you guys.

(Segment quality 79%)

---

Mike Tenay: Thanks Scott. Well, now folks we’ve got the second of our three title matches tonight on this Night of Champions edition of TNA Impact. For the entire history of NWA:TNA, the X Division and the X title have been our centerpiece, and right now we could see a new chapter written in the title’s illustrious history as Frankie Kazarian defends against Elix Skipper.

---

Kazarian makes his way out to the ring as Tenay speaks, saluting the fans and posing with the X Division title as he makes his way down the ramp. As “The Future” warms up in the ring and hands his title over to the official, Elix Skipper’s music hits and he makes his way down to the ring, getting some heel heat from the live crowd. The two men square off as the bell rings to start the contest.

MATCH 2: Frankie Kazarian © vs Elix Skipper – NWA X Division title match

Both men start off by feeling each other out, trying to work out weak spots or places to attack. Just as Skipper is preparing to launch an all-out assault on Kazarian’s legs, the champion ducks free and springboards off of the ropes with a dropkick to take control. For much of the contest, Kazarian uses his high-flying style to good effect whilst Skipper goes after the legs in order to wear his opponent down and limit the top-rope arsenal. This pays off as Kazarian slips on an attempted springboard and falls to the outside, allowing Skipper to hit a plancha! The two men duke it out on the outside of the ring for a time now, with both men flying from the ring apron onto the other, and using the guardrail well. Eventually, they head back into the ring, where Kazarian telegraphs a heel kick and gets dumped onto his head with a backdrop! He tries to come back with another heel kick, but it is caught and he is sent hard into the turnbuckle and superplexed down to the mat. Skipper taunts now, and picks Kazarian up, attempting the Overdrive, but the X champion manages to roll through and land on his feet, before spinning Skipper round and hitting the Flux Capacitor for the pinfall at 11:45! ***1/2.

Kazarian celebrates his victory after the match as Skipper rolls out of the ring, holding his head, and makes his way up the ramp. As he does so, however, he is blindsided by Christopher Daniels! The Fallen Angel slams Skipper into the guardrail and deposits him on the ramp, before racing into the ring! Kazarian is caught unawares, and hit with the Last Rites! Daniels grabs the fallen X Division title, and poses with it as the fans boo, a wild look in his eyes.

(Match Quality 91%, Crowd Reaction 65%, Overall Rating 78%)

---

Mike Tenay: What the Hell is all this about? Kazarian just pulled out a victory over Elix Skipper, but the Fallen Angel has crashed the party, and now look at him! He’s posing with the damn belt!

Don West: Just look at his eyes, Tenay! He’s crazed, he looks like a maniac in there! The X Division champion Frankie Kazarian had better watch out if Daniels is on the hunt for the title again in this frame of mind!

Mike Tenay: Remember, Don, the X title has always eluded the Fallen Angel, he’s always been shooting for it but he’s never managed to hold the title. Could this be the start of a renewed charge, a renewed hunt as you said Don, for the title?

---

Change In Focus…

We go backstage now, to the locker room of America’s Most Wanted. Chris Harris is preparing for his match, which is next, when James Storm enters the room, and excited look on his face…

James Storm: Chris, Chris! You just saw the interview that Callis gave, right? That son-of-a-bitch was practically begging us to come take the Tag Team titles away from the Redshirts! If they want us to prove them wrong, I say we do it, man!

Chris Harris: Storm, slow down, okay? Slow down. I can’t be worrying about this now, okay? I’ll talk to you about this one later, but right now I’ve got Kid Kash to worry about and I need to concentrate on him for tonight. He wants to be a title contender, Storm, which means that if I lose this match, I’m pretty much out of the running for the Heavyweight title!

Storm nods, a little upset, and Harris pats him on the back. America’s Most Wanted shake hands, and Harris exits the locker room to make final preparations for his match. Storm watches him leave…

James Storm: Seems like all you ever think about these days is the Heavyweight title, bro.

We get a close-up of Storm as he watches his partner walk down the hallway as we go to a commercial break.

(Segment quality 77%)

---Break---

---

Mike Tenay: Welcome back, folks, and before the break we witnessed what looked like the first signs of trouble in paradise, Don. James Storm was ready to challenge the Redshirts for the Tag Team titles after the insults from Don Callis, but Chris Harris brushed him off!

Don West: Oh yeah, make no mistake about it, Mike, there’s nothing worse than your partner saying “hey, hold up, I’ve got bigger fish to fry!” and that’s exactly what Harris did to Storm!

Mike Tenay: Well, right now we’re going to see if Harris’ preparation and concentration pay off, because he’s facing Kid Kash!

---

America’s Most Wanted’s music hits over the PA System now, and Chris Harris heads out to a great reaction from the Asylum crowd, especially the teenage girls in the audience, as has become normal for both members of AMW. Harris showboats a little to the girls, but is otherwise all business on his way down to the ring, knowing how much this match means to his title chances. As Harris warms up, Kid Kash’s music hits, and the Asylum’s cheers turn to boos as Kid Kash heads out, wearing his “Heel Section” vest top, and struts out to the ring, looking cocky and confident as always. The two men circle each other in the ring until the bell rings, and then charge headlong at each other.

MATCH 3: Chris Harris vs Kid Kash

This match is action from the opening bell to the ending bell, with both men eager to prove their worthiness for the NWA World’s title. Harris wins the initial charge, and keeps control of Kash for the opening moments of the match, trying to use his size to wear the smaller man down and keep him out of the contest. Kash fights back into the match with underhand tactics, as usual, and begins to use the upside of his smaller size – his agility and quickness – against Harris. After several speedy moves and quick kicks, Kash dumps Harris onto the turnbuckle and attempts a superplex, but the Wildcat takes control again with a tornado DDT. Neither man can build a strong advantage for the next few minutes, but this is all change when Kash dodges a spear attempt and sends Harris into the post, following up with some high-speed moves and a springboard moonsault. After the 2-count, Kash becomes frustrated, and goes outside to fetch a chair. As he lines up for the Smashmouth, however, James Storm runs down to the ring! Kash ducks the attempted superkick, which instead hits Chris Harris in the face! Kash bundles Storm to the outside, and gets the pinfall on Harris at 9:45. **.

Kid Kash celebrates his victory after the match, showboating and taunting to the fans, and laughing it up at James Storm as he re-enters the ring to check on his fallen partner. Kash makes his way backstage as Storm helps his partner to his feet. Harris, having been nearly knocked out cold by the superkick, takes a few seconds to get his bearings, and then fixes his partner with a thundery look before leaving the ring and heading backstage on his own.

(Match Quality 74%, Crowd Reaction 76%, Overall Rating 75%)

---

Mike Tenay: Oh, it just gets worse for James Storm! He came out to protect his partner Chris Harris, to save him from that throwing chairshot that Kid Kash calls the Smashmouth, but he ended up superkicking Harris and costing him the match!

Don West: You said it yourself, Mike, this is the beginning of trouble in paradise for AMW! Harris said that if he lost this one, he’d be as good as gone from the list of top contenders for Jarret’s title, and thanks to that loss it looks like he’s off the list! Man, you’ve gotta feel sorry for both of those guys right now!

Mike Tenay: Indeed, Don, both Harris and Storm must be feeling pretty miserable right now. But, talking of the top contenders to Jeff Jarret’s title belt, we’ve got one of them backstage right now, waiting to speak before his title shot next – it’s AJ Styles, and he’s in the back!

---

Phenomenal…

Sure enough, we head backstage now, where AJ Styles is standing in the locker room, wearing his hooded vest ready for the main event, and leaning against some lockers. ‘The Phenonmenal’ cuts a quietly confident figure as he eyeballs the camera and begins to speak…

AJ Styles: For months now, I’ve been trying to get back what is mine, what was taken from me. I’ve suffered setback after setback, wrestler after wrestler has been put in my path, and I’ve had one lame excuse after another from everybody who doesn’t wanna see the title around my waist. But tonight? That all goes out of the window, because I’ve finally got my shot, my opportunity, one-on-one for the NWA World title. And Hell, I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again – I only need one shot. You can make me wait a week, you can make me wait a month, or you can make me wait a year, but you can’t keep me waiting forever and I only need one opportunity to strike. Tonight, I’ve got that opportunity, and the House of Styles will once again be home to my title… World title.

Styles gives a slight smile to the camera, and then walks off to prepare for his match as we go to commercials.

(Segment quality 80%)

---Break---

---

Mike Tenay: We’re back, and you all heard him before the break – AJ Styles has been waiting weeks for this shot, and in his mind he only needs one opportunity to beat Jeff Jarret in order to regain the NWA World’s Heavyweight title! Last year, for over a year it was either Jarret or Styles with the title, and this match could begin a period of that dominance again.

Don West: Like them or hate them, Mike, these two are probably two of the best contenders in the world right now, and either one of them could come away with the title! They’ve both got the skills, but honestly? Tonight it’s all going to be down to heart, determination, and guts, and I think AJ has the Jeff Jarret we’ve seen recently beaten in that respect.

Mike Tenay: Remember, Jarret told the locker room that they have to choose – his side, or the other side. The outcome of this match could very well make that decision for many people backstage, and it could drastically shift the balance of power here in NWA:TNA!

---

The announcers finish their introductions, the opening chords of “I Am” are heard, and AJ Styles’ video package comes up on screen, featuring shots of ‘The Phenomenal’ pulling off daring and death-defying moves. The package speeds up and eventually fades out as AJ’s music rips out of the speakers and the Asylum goes absolutely wild! The number one contender heads out onto the ramp, getting the great reception we have come to expect for him, and makes his way down the ramp and into the ring, skipping from foot to foot and warming up for this one. Moments later, the NWA World champion’s video package is displayed, featuring many images of Jarret defending the title around the globe, before it fades out and Jarret’s music plays. The NWA World Heavyweight champion heads out onto the ramp, with boos raining down on him from every corner of the Asylum, with his guitar in hand. Jarret heads down to the ring, lays the guitar on the outside, and hands his title over to the official as Jeremy Borash enters the ring to introduce the match.

Jeremy Borash: Ladies and gentlemen, the following main event contest is scheduled for one fall and it is for the NWA Heavyweight championship of the world! Introducing first, the challenger, standing five feet eleven and weighing two hundred twenty pounds, he is the only Triple Crown champion in TNA history… he is ‘The Phenomenal’ A – J – STYLES!

The fans give AJ a rousing ovation, and he nods in recognition of this, a simple gesture to thank his fans, as Borash continues…

Jeremy Borash: And in this corner, he stands at six feet two inches and weighs in at an even two hundred fourty five pounds, he is the reigning NWA Heavyweight champion of the world… JEFF JARRET!

The boos from the crowd almost drown out Borash’s introduction for the champion, but Jarret pays no mind and simply continues to stretch his arms and legs. Borash exits the ring, and referee Rudy Charles signals for the bell.

MAIN EVENT: Jeff Jarret © vs AJ Styles – NWA World title match

Both men circle each other and eye each other for almost a full minute at the start of this match, building the tension to breaking point, before finally charging headlong towards each other and meeting in the middle of the ring in a flurry of fists! Both men brawl across the ring, the upper hand changing quickly, before Styles is able to knock Jarret to the outside. Double J regroups, and heads back into the ring, quickly taking control of AJ and working on his head and neck with some clever psychology to keep him off balance and slow him down. Styles quickly gets back into the match by escaping a sleeper hold, and opens up his unrivalled arsenal of top-rope moves and innovative offense to take the upper hand and wear Jarret down, going after his back in this one. Both men exchange the upper hand now, each trying to wear down the specific areas of the opponent they have targeted, and each man scores several near falls. Eventually, after failing to put Styles away with a top-rope DDT, Jarret ducks to the outside and grabs his guitar! The fans are booing like mad as Jarret re-enters the ring, behind the official’s back, and lines up – only for AJ to duck! Styles dropkicks the guitar, shattering it, and goes face-to-face with Jarret! Double J tries to bail, but Styles catches him and nails a huge reverse DDT. AJ, signalling for the end now, goes over to the top rope, but suddenly hits the mat as a chairshot echoes through the arena – it’s Kid Kash! Kash watches on as Jarret grabs Styles and hits the Stroke for the pinfall to retain the title at 18:58! ***3/4.

The Asylum is on its feet, hurling abuse at Kash, Jarret, and referee Rudy Charles for the outcome of the match. Kash enters the ring, holding the dented steel chair in hand, and hands the title over to Jarret. Double J is wary at first, but then Kash gestures that he has made his decision and he is with Jarret. The two men embrace, but suddenly “Scream” plays over the speakers and the fans blow the roof off of the Asylum as Raven tears down to ringside! Kash bails out, but Jarret isn’t quick enough and takes an Evenflow DDT! Raven poses until the Redshirts rush out to ringside, but the Gathering of CM Punk and Julio Dinero are only steps behind them!

(Match Quality 85%, Crowd Reaction 86%, Overall Rating 85%)

---

Mike Tenay: Oh my GOD! This is just insane! That damn Kid Kash, the slimiest, more opportunistic man in this title race, just handed the victory to Jeff Jarret from the jaws of defeat, but they’ve paid the price! Raven is out here, the Red Shirt Security is out here, the Gathering are out here, we’ve lost control!

Don West: I think these guys have all made their choice on Jarret’s ultimatum, Mike, just like Kash has!

Mike Tenay: Oh, you’re right about that one and I didn’t expect it any other way! We’ll see the fallout from this on the TNA Pay-Per-View next Wednesday night, but right now we’re out of time!

---

Just before the end of the show now, we see the Redshirts and the Gathering battling it out tooth and nail in the ring, Raven helping a groggy AJ Styles to his feet and explaining the outcome of the match to him, and referee Rudy Charles frantically ringing the bell to try and restore order. Impact fades out with a shot of Kid Kash and NWA World champion Jeff Jarret on the ramp, raising each other’s hands in victory.

Card Rating – 78%

Hope y'all liked that one. It was somewhat of a non-sequitur, because I had to get my storylines rolling from scratch essentially, but I think I did a fair job with it. Any feedback, good or bad, about the show/booking itself, or about writing style and presentation style (which I'm not fully settled on myself so I'm open to suggestions) is appreciated, and the Post-Show Notes and whatnot will be up soon. Enjoy!

RK!

[Guest LilJoeyPez]

Great stuff. I like the Redshirts as champs - 3 Live Kru suck donkey dick apart from the Truth. You put Jarrett's paranoia over well on the show and I can't wait to see what's up with Kash and Styles, and the dissention in AMW. Great start to the diary.

[ClaRK! Kent]

Head Booker’s Post-Show Notes for NWA:TNA Impact, 2/7/04…

Now THAT is what I call a show! I don’t care what anybody says to you in this business – the hardest and most important show is never the flagship Pay-Per-View or huge blow-off show, but the first show you book for a company, and I’m ecstatic that everything went as planned for that one. I think we put on a great performance for everybody who watched, and we can definitely be proud of that.

Impact came in with an overnight rating of 0.84 on Nielsen, with an hourly breakdown of 0.77 and 0.91 over the two hours. I guess we can be pretty happy with that rating, especially seeing as the show aired at 3pm in most places, and we were pretty much airing to the unemployable and students who were free last period. We had 439 in the Asylum with us, which gave us $4390 in ticket sales. Below is a list of our rival shows so you can see how well we did…

BCW TV – 0.56

WEW TV – 0.43

IWC Ignition TV – 0.62

IWA Total Impact – 0.91

MXPW Maximum Impact – 0.41

As you can see, we beat all but Total Impact, but I’m inclined to think that the fact that it’s shown a lot later in the evening than our show is responsible for the slight gap in the ratings there. I’m happy at the rating we got based on the timeslot, but I’ll still be speaking to Fox about the timeslot soon.

Based on watching the show live and seeing it again last night, I’ve compiled a list of the top face pops and the biggest heel heat for the show so that we can gague just how well the fans got into what we put out.

Top 5 Face Pops…

1. Raven’s post-main event save

2. AJ Styles

3. Chris Harris

4. 3 Live Kru

5. Frankie Kazarian

Top 5 Heel Pops…

1. The outcome of the main event

2. Jeff Jarret

3. Kid Kash

4. Christopher Daniels

5. Don Callis

That’s all pretty much as expected, I suppose, which is good in the sense that we’re putting on things that the fans want to see and matches that keep the crowd hot, and it’s good to see guys like Kazarian and the 3 Live Kru getting the heat they deserve.

I watched the show a couple of times last night, and I’ve come up with some personal opinions on how it went…

Tag Team title match

I was a little disappointed with this one, the pace wasn’t really quick enough and the fans weren’t too into it, but they really bought the ending and Brian Armstrong did a great job of selling the piledriver right up until he got backstage. I’m hoping that Callis as the mouthpiece will help the new champions get over more quickly, as then all they have to do is destroy challengers in the ring.

Jarret’s announcement

I don’t think this could have gone much better if we’d rehearsed it for a month, undoubtedly the segment of the night. Everybody was hot for it thanks to the ending of the previous match, and Jeff really pulled out a great interview which got over the paranoia in his character of late and just how egocentric he is. He really got everyone into this one, to the extent that a few guys backstage came up to me after the show and asked me what their response to Jarret’s ultimatum was going to be for the coming shows, and that’s good to see.

Redshirt interview

Don Callis has always been a great talker, right from his days as the Jackal in the WWF. People thought he hit his peak in ECW, but I’d say his current role suits him much more and this interview showed it. Entertaining, to-the-point, and classic old-school heel manager stuff all the way. Excellent to see, and I’m really banking on Don’s mic work helping the Redshirts to get more over with the crowd.

X Division title match

What can you say about the X Divison that hasn’t already been said? Both Kazarian and Skipper put on a great match, and really earned their reputations with a great showing here. The crowd weren’t quite as into it towards the beginning, but I think the sheer quality of the workrate won them over at the end. The Christopher Daniels run-in after the match was well-received by the fans, so we’ll definitely see where this one leads.

AMW angle

Harris and Storm aren’t naturally-charismatic guys, they’re not really known for their talking and they’re not as lucky as guys like Scott Levy or Jeff Jarret who are blessed with a natural ability to talk. Taking that into consideration, I think they did very well here, and they got over the shift in focus as far as Harris is concerned, as well as Storm’s reaction to it. This one provided a good backstory to the Harris/Kash match.

Chris Harris vs Kid Kash

Not the best match I’ve ever seen, mostly because the pace didn’t pick up enough and neither man really held an advantage for too long, but they both did a lot to show how much the victory meant to them, and that climbing up in the rankings was important enough to put it all on the line for. Kash always plays a great heel, hence his current push, and Harris is a great babyface worker. Storm’s interference played out well, as did the slight tease of ‘trouble in paradise’ afterwards.

AJ Styles interview

AJ’s mic work has come on leaps and bounds in the past 12 months, and I think this interview showed that. He did a lot to get over how long he’s been waiting for the shot, and how his skills and past performances have given him the confidence to go into the match. I don’t think we could have asked for a better interview to keep everyone hot going into the main event.

World Heavyweight title match

When JB introduces a match the ‘old-school’ way, you know it’s high-atmosphere, and this one was just that. The crowd was hot, popping for AJ and booing Jarret almost constantly, and the action was even hotter. Both guys did excellently, really worked hard for quite a long time in that ring, and told a great story with it. Kash’s interference worked, as I knew it would, and I think the fans are really going to hate him for that one. The Raven run-in at the end was the loudest pop of the night, which really says it all, and the brawl at the end came off very well on TV. All in all, a great main event to a great show.

Afterwards, I checked the TNA fan forums to see what some of the fans thought about the show. Some of my personal favourite comments are below…

"Matt– Only ***3/4 for the main event? Easily ****1/4! I’m not buying Redshirts as Tag champs, but we’ll have to wait and see. Thumbs up."

"Pez – Can’t believe AJ lost – the way they’ve been building him, I thought he might do it. I guess they’re trying to build Kash as a legit threat, then. Loved the Jarret angle, and the Kash/Harris match – I’d have given that ***, it was pretty methodical and they did a good job."

"Makavelli - *** for Kash/Harris? WTF? No way! I wouldn’t have even given the Tag match *3/4, that was a DUD if I ever saw one. The main event was good, but not ***3/4 good – Styles is way overrated. Hope the Raven/Jarret thing builds to a match."

"Slaron – Jarret’s looking great as champion right now, kudos to TNA for keeping the strap on him rather than having a fan-wank and putting it on Styles. I don’t give *s, but I’d say B+ to every match except the Tag titles, which I’d give C+. I like Northcutt/Legend, but don’t think they’re ready for the belts. Hope I’m proved wrong!"

Well, that’s all for today, I hope you enjoyed Impact as much as everyone here at NWA:TNA did, and that you’ll join us for the TNA PPV this coming Wednesday night!

Mark Jackson, Head Booker

Feedback still appreciated, on the Post-Show Notes format as well as the show itself. Enjoy!

RK!

[TheArsenal]

Whoooooooooooooo!!!!!!

I'm in this journal!! Hurrah for me!!!

Like Pez said, you can't complain at that show, for a "pilot" it was an all-round great piece of television. I liked your notes too, again, the personal touch is adding so much t the diary, and I really like your own breakdown of the show.

[Guest LilJoeyPez]

That Pez guy in the forums? Great guy.

Nice job in putting Maka over as the guy who underrates everything, very true to life.

[Guest It's 999]

Very nice show, I'm a big mark for The Redshirts, especially Northcutt. Don't have Jarrett lose the belt yetit'll be too predictable. Altogether a very slid effort, well done and good luck.

[ClaRK! Kent]

Double update-o-rama!

Wrestling News, 411mania.com:

The WWE has released a host of developmental workers from its OVW territory over the weekend, in a costcutting measure that sees only what the WWE considers the ‘cream’ of the crop left in Ohio Valley. The full list of workers released from OVW is as follows…

Alexis Laree,

Inspector Max Impact,

Jaime Koeppe,

Kevin Fertig,

Kenzo Suzuki,

Travis Tomko,

BJ Payne,

Johnny Jeter,

Carlos Colon Jr,

Matt Cappotelli,

Jim Cornette,

Mike Bucci.

In addition to this, several road agents – including Gerry Brisco, Fit Finlay, Michael Hayes, and Steve Lombardi – have also been released as a part of this costcutting measure. It is expected that most of the former OVW workers will find work on the US indy scene in the coming weeks, as many of them were among the most talented of the OVW roster.

And...

Head Booker’s Diary for 5/7/04, NWATNA.com…

We’ve had somewhat of a slow weekend after Impact, with everybody looking forward to the TNA Pay-Per-View on Wednesday night and trying to keep in shape and whatnot. A few of the roster have been fulfilling their various independent commitments over the course of the weekend, such as James Storm who came pretty close to beating New Jack over in CZW in what was a surprisingly good wrestling match, and Chris Sabin who mauled Zach Gowan in a match for IWA:MS. He brought me the tape of the match this morning, and I must say that watching that little whiny punk get beaten up pretty much made my day.

My talent scouts have been frantically e-mailing again over the weekend, discussing the host of developmental talents released by the WWE recently. I honestly can’t understand just why half of them were released – especially Kevin Fertig and Travis Tomko, both of whom I’ve seen wrestle in OVW and look ready for TV right now. I’ll be speaking to a few people who know a few people over the next day or so regarding those two, and maybe one more.

I chatted to Kris Mitchum, the head of my writing team, again on Sunday night, discussing our main event scene. We both agreed that having only five main eventers isn’t exactly viable when four of them are babyfaces and one of them is Sting, who is hardly an active wrestler by any stretch of the imagination. We toyed with the idea of turning someone heel, but decided that we would need to elevate somebody into the main event scene first, and that building new stars is probably our best bet even if we keep the alignments the same. So, look closely at the upper-midcard ranks over the next few shows, because we sure will be.

Whilst Jay Lethal, our newest talent, is working for us on a written contract, we let him wrestle for a local indy promotion on Saturday night, against Matt Sydel, another one of our youngsters. Both guys did very well in front of the crowd, and put on a good match. I’m really impressed with Lethal, he’s got real talent and a real gift for the microphone, both of which are becoming more and more rare amongst younger workers.

I chatted to Fox Sports on the phone earlier today, and discussed the possibility of maybe moving our timeslot around. The guy I spoke to sounded pretty sympathetic, but he said that the programming schedules don’t come up for review until August. By that time, of course, most of the sporting season is finished, and we might be able to get a later timeslot. The guy did seem a little reserved about the nature of our programming for a later timeslot though, which is weird because we had a piledriver onto a steel chair at about 3pm last week and nobody batted an eyelid.

A few people have asked about Brian Armstrong in relation to the piledriver he took onto the steel chair this past Friday night. Brian will be off TV for the next couple of weeks for personal reasons I’m not at liberty to discuss here, and he was receptive to the idea of putting the Redshirts over in a big way, so we booked that spot.

Internet rumour mill time! According to the supposedly reputable TheMayhem.com, we’ve been in contract negotiations with Kevin Nash for the past couple of days, and we may be close to agreeing a deal. Let me tell you something about Kevin Nash – I don’t like him, and he doesn’t like me. He doesn’t like me because I’ve made a career out of pillorying talentless workers and he’s a personal favourite where that’s concerned, and I don’t like him because he and Shawn Michaels spent a large part of 1995 rubbishing my ideas to anybody who would listen back when I worked for the WWF. That was his funeral, though, because they ended up giving the angle I suggested for him to Steve Austin. You’ll see Kevin Nash in NWA:TNA when the Devil owns my soul, and not before.

Thanks for reading, hope to catch up with you later in the week.

Mark Jackson, Head Booker

2 updates for the price of one! And they call us post-whores. Preview/card for the PPV this week will be up pretty soonish, along with more diary entries probably. Feedback is, as always, cherished and appreciated.

RK!

[TheArsenal]

You were responsible for "Stone Cold" Steve Austin?

I also think it's good your planning to pick up on the stars coming out of WWE. That's kinda what I'd expect TNA to be doing. It means the guys have a sall reputation as "WWE guys" to precede them.

Edited June 8, 2004 by TheArsenal