I just finished reading "The Story of the Development of the NWATNA" by Jerry Jarrett (a book I highly recommend anyone interested in the business side of the "business" pick up thanks to a few e-mails full of advice that he shares along with a long interview about his past). It occurred to me that there was some information in the book that might enhance a re-viewing (or perhaps even a first viewing) of the earlier TNA Pay-Per-View events. I don't believe I'm giving away any crucial information that would prevent someone from purchasing the book, if anything I'm hoping this will inspire increased interest in it, but I do hope this encourages some new debate about the early days of TNA.
I have taken the limited commentary he gave on each of the first 26 PPV shows and separated them into a list that will give you an idea of his feelings about each one. I have also included a very brief mention of major events that occurred, including times when Russo's involvement was heaviest or nonexistent so that the quality of his input into the earlier shows can be assessed. I hope this gives a little more insight into the early days of TNA and the ups/downs as perceived by the man writing the shows: Jerry Jarrett.
Show #1 - It was good considering everything that fell through and all that needed to happen to make it work
Show #2 - Thought that it was great except for Cheex and the female battle royal
Show #3 - The main event was excellent but the rest of the show was a mixed bag
Show #4 - Thought the show was good and the Titans segment would increase buys
-> learned Jay Haussman had been actively trying to ruin the company, not setting up deals, not advertising, and forging documents that could have killed TNA
-> Jeff Jarrett wanted to bring Russo in, hired due to lack of available help
Show #5 - Thought it was bad with too many missed spots, too much sexual content, and too much profanity, hated Brian Christopher segment, heavy Russo influence
Show #6 - Production was bad and Sabu/Shamrock was a terrible mixture of styles, felt the show had a bad feel
Show #7 - Impressed by huge improvement over the previous week, thought the matches were great and was happy with the show
Show #8 - Dupps segment was terrible, some excellent matches but an overall weak show
Show #9 - Again felt the Dupps weren't working, thought the main event under-delivered, and realized they needed to do a better job of distinguishing faces and heels
Show #10 - Russo destroyed the show by re-writing it forcing a lot of fixes which muddied what he initially thought was a good show
Show #11 - An injury to Truth caused last second card changes, no specific opinion given, too focused on trying to save the company from certain doom on the business end
-> Dixie Carter began talks with her father about saving TNA from catastrophy due to their original backers, HealthSouth, pulling out of the deal
Show #12 - Thought the show was good despite the action portion of the Dustin Diamond section not working
Show #13 - Also felt it was good with the boost of extra star power on the show
Show #14 - First show since show #4 that Jarrett wrote alone, this after completely rejecting a filth filled show from Russo, it was their first "full house" and he felt it was great compared to the past few shows
Show #15 - Thought the matches were good, that the show was perhaps "too traditional", feels the X-Division needs to start growing away from being spotfests, was overall happy with the show
Show #16 - Other than a few production issues he felt it was the best show to date
-> Deal with Panda Energy was finalized
Show #17 - A big change in format that he had mixed feelings about, perhaps a bit too heavy on recaps and interviews
Show #18 - The best show they produced despite a disappointing Truth/Hennig match
Show #19 - Numerous last second problems led to a lot of rewrites, Russo pushed him too far on the writing end and was removed from those duties, thought the first hour was slow but the second hour was excellent
Show #20 - Felt the quality was similar to show #19
Show #21 - A last minute re-write due to a Sean Waltman no-show caused some stress but the show still ended up being good
Show #22 - Felt it was a great main event, which received a backstage ovation, and the show was good
Show #23 - The two main matches of the show were great and the Russo segment was up for interpretation in terms of how people might respond
Show #24 - Heavy influence from Jeff and Vince Russo making the show far different from any previous shows, felt there was organized chaos but the involvement of Piper and Pringle was great
Show #25 - A typical show that came off well
Show #26 - Angry that 3 out of 6 surprises he had planned ended up on the website but it was still a great show, the last show of the year
-> Book ends
I have taken the limited commentary he gave on each of the first 26 PPV shows and separated them into a list that will give you an idea of his feelings about each one. I have also included a very brief mention of major events that occurred, including times when Russo's involvement was heaviest or nonexistent so that the quality of his input into the earlier shows can be assessed. I hope this gives a little more insight into the early days of TNA and the ups/downs as perceived by the man writing the shows: Jerry Jarrett.
Show #1 - It was good considering everything that fell through and all that needed to happen to make it work
Show #2 - Thought that it was great except for Cheex and the female battle royal
Show #3 - The main event was excellent but the rest of the show was a mixed bag
Show #4 - Thought the show was good and the Titans segment would increase buys
-> learned Jay Haussman had been actively trying to ruin the company, not setting up deals, not advertising, and forging documents that could have killed TNA
-> Jeff Jarrett wanted to bring Russo in, hired due to lack of available help
Show #5 - Thought it was bad with too many missed spots, too much sexual content, and too much profanity, hated Brian Christopher segment, heavy Russo influence
Show #6 - Production was bad and Sabu/Shamrock was a terrible mixture of styles, felt the show had a bad feel
Show #7 - Impressed by huge improvement over the previous week, thought the matches were great and was happy with the show
Show #8 - Dupps segment was terrible, some excellent matches but an overall weak show
Show #9 - Again felt the Dupps weren't working, thought the main event under-delivered, and realized they needed to do a better job of distinguishing faces and heels
Show #10 - Russo destroyed the show by re-writing it forcing a lot of fixes which muddied what he initially thought was a good show
Show #11 - An injury to Truth caused last second card changes, no specific opinion given, too focused on trying to save the company from certain doom on the business end
-> Dixie Carter began talks with her father about saving TNA from catastrophy due to their original backers, HealthSouth, pulling out of the deal
Show #12 - Thought the show was good despite the action portion of the Dustin Diamond section not working
Show #13 - Also felt it was good with the boost of extra star power on the show
Show #14 - First show since show #4 that Jarrett wrote alone, this after completely rejecting a filth filled show from Russo, it was their first "full house" and he felt it was great compared to the past few shows
Show #15 - Thought the matches were good, that the show was perhaps "too traditional", feels the X-Division needs to start growing away from being spotfests, was overall happy with the show
Show #16 - Other than a few production issues he felt it was the best show to date
-> Deal with Panda Energy was finalized
Show #17 - A big change in format that he had mixed feelings about, perhaps a bit too heavy on recaps and interviews
Show #18 - The best show they produced despite a disappointing Truth/Hennig match
Show #19 - Numerous last second problems led to a lot of rewrites, Russo pushed him too far on the writing end and was removed from those duties, thought the first hour was slow but the second hour was excellent
Show #20 - Felt the quality was similar to show #19
Show #21 - A last minute re-write due to a Sean Waltman no-show caused some stress but the show still ended up being good
Show #22 - Felt it was a great main event, which received a backstage ovation, and the show was good
Show #23 - The two main matches of the show were great and the Russo segment was up for interpretation in terms of how people might respond
Show #24 - Heavy influence from Jeff and Vince Russo making the show far different from any previous shows, felt there was organized chaos but the involvement of Piper and Pringle was great
Show #25 - A typical show that came off well
Show #26 - Angry that 3 out of 6 surprises he had planned ended up on the website but it was still a great show, the last show of the year
-> Book ends