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Bad news for TNA's Spike TV debut

Critic of the DawnPosted on 09/16/05 at 06:14:21

Jeff Jarrett has defeated Raven to once again become the NWA Heavyweight Champion at an event promoted by Border City Wrestling in Windsor, Ontario, Canada. America's Most Wanted helped Jarrett defeat Raven, officially completing their teased heel turn.

TNAWrestling.com has posted a picture of Jeff Jarrett with the NWA Title, standing in between America's Most Wanted. They have posted the following press release:

MAJOR NEWS: JEFF JARRETT REGAINS NWA WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE FROM RAVEN IN CANADA ON THURSDAY NIGHT!
America's Most Wanted shocks the fans by helping Jarrett win the gold

(Oldcastle, Ontario, Canada) - The self-proclaimed "King of the Mountain" Jeff Jarrett regained the NWA World Heavyweight Title on Thursday night in Oldcastle, Ontario, Canada, defeating Raven with the help of America's Most Wanted.

In a shocking turn of events, "Wildcat" Chris Harris and "Cowboy" James Storm turned their backs on the fans and aligned themselves with Jarrett, ultimately costing Raven the bout and the World Title.

The NWA World Heavyweight Title match took place under the banner of Border City Wrestling out of Windsor, Ontario, Canada. Following the bout, NWA Championship Committee member Larry Zbyszko was in contact with the promoters of the show, and Zbyszko has informed TNAwrestling.com the title change is indeed official.

Thanks to America's Most Wanted, Jeff Jarrett has fulfilled his proclamation of being NWA World Heavyweight Champion with the debut of "iMPACT!" on SpikeTV on October 1.

"I told Raven...I told EVERYONE that for the good of TNA Wrestling, I needed to be NWA World Heavyweight Champion when we hit SpikeTV!" Jarrett told TNAwrestling.com via phone after the bout. "I knew TNA management was trying to keep me down, so I had to get that title back on MY terms in Canada where they couldn't stop me! Chris Harris and James Storm were the only ones out of that entire locker room who had the brains to listen to me. They made the right choice! Now roll out the red carpet, because YOUR champion - The King Of The Mountain - and America's Most Wanted - the cornerstones of TNA - are coming to SpikeTV, and there's nothing TNA management can do to stop us!"

"Jarrett was right all along - it was time for America's Most Wanted to finally look after OUR best interests for a change," Chris Harris told TNAwrestling.com. "We built this company from the ground up and we'll be damned if anyone was going to take our spot - the spot we RIGHTFULLY own. Who was looking out for us? The fans? TNA management? Raven? No - Jeff Jarrett was looking out for us. And guess what? Now we've got his back, and now WE call all the shots."

James Storm added: "By the way...hey Naturals, shine up the tag team titles - it's only a matter of time now before they're coming home, one way or another. Sorry 'bout your damn luck..."

Raven left the arena immediately following the bout and refused to comment on the situation.

TNAwrestling.com will have a further update on Friday afternoon following the events that unfolded on Thursday night in Ontario with the crowning of new NWA World Heavyweight Champion Jeff Jarrett!
Oh goody.  TNA has given their top title back to their own piss poor version of Triple H, Jeff Jarrett!  Because apparently a competitive and interesting Heavyweight division with everyone chasing Raven as Jarrett feuded with Rhino would be too interesting.  So, naturally, TNA has once again chosen to go with their proven heat vaccuum and midcard refugee.  I'm sure that people who have followed TNA are going to DEFINATELY tune in in record numbers to see paranoid Jarrett's dull title reign AGAIN, complete with the latest iteration of the Jeff Jarrett's Cronies stable which will inevitably fade away in a few months, only to be replaced with a few OTHER wrestlers the next time he takes the title.

Way to go, TNA!  You're really going to stick it to WWE by presenting them with the same exact tripe you've been criticized for over the past couple years, which is in itself only a watered-down, recycled version of RAW's "Tripsy in Charge" formula that WWE has been rehashing itself since 2000!

So much for TNA becoming competition for WWE any time soon.

Eric "Critic of the Dawn"
AnubisPosted on 09/16/05 at 07:05:30

Wow, you beat me to it. I came here to bitch about it myself. I may despise Vince more than most, but I definitely will call stupidity wherever I may see it.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying Jarrett as Champion is a problem in and of itself, but the way this played out was sheer booking stupidity.

So lemme get this straight. Raven loses the belt AT A HOUSE SHOW, after their last broadcast before the big debut on Spike. If they had actually done this ON their debut on Spike, I could see how it could make for decent booking and a somewhat interesting storyline, although it's more because the heel turn should have been televised. YOU DON'T DO BIG ANGLES AT HOUSE SHOWS. House shows are for testing ideas and physical training, they're not where you produce your good stuff.  Not officially, anyway. Nothing can smash an angle to bits faster.

Bad move. They lost what little leverage they could have had against WWE from the starting gun. It's gonna take extra work now to get things on track unless Jarrett loses the belt on the debut.
ZedjaPosted on 09/16/05 at 14:51:30

So this is what Jarrett was going on about. Black September or whatever it was. Yes. For TNA.
Critic of the DawnPosted on 09/16/05 at 21:03:43

Worse.  It wasn't even a house show.  BCW is, to the best of my knowledge, a moderately sized Canadian Indy, and the only connection between it and TNA is that Scott D'Amore runs BCW in his free time.  BCW doesn't even seem to belong to the NWA (not that belonging to the NWA means much these days).

Interestingly, the one group that this may be good for is Ring of Honor, as this may ease the pressure on them by making it harder for TNA to throw their weight around.  Additionally, ROH distributes BCW's shows on DVD - I'm not sure if that's an exclusive arrangement or not, but it has a good chance of leading directly to fairly good sales for a non-ROH DVD, and thus, to more money for Ring of Honor than TNA will ever see from this debacle.

Also.  I am feeling shock and dismay that Anubis and I are agreeing about something! ;D

Quick, say that Vince McMahon eats babies for lunch or something, before it's too late! ;D

Eric "Critic of the Dawn"
americamamushiPosted on 09/16/05 at 22:50:04

Quick, say that Vince McMahon eats babies for lunch or something, before it's too late!
AH!  Vince stole Snitsky's gimmick! :)
Critic of the DawnPosted on 09/16/05 at 23:02:06

Where do you think Snitsky got the gimmick?  It's Vince's way of giving the authorities the finger. ;D

Eric "Critic of the Dawn"
FormulaFirebird91Posted on 09/17/05 at 03:24:07

I agree with Anubis too. It's scary. ;) You are all right though. This is stupid. I was actually looking forward to TNA coming back to t.v. without Jarrett as champion because I've never seen an TNA show that he wasn't champ... but oh well. So much for that. It's not a real suprise. They are going to do everything like they did on fox sports minus Dusty Rhodes and a bunch of steel cages. I love AMW too so that really puts a bad taste in my mouth.
AnubisPosted on 09/17/05 at 11:15:29

Maybe AMW will be able to carry him, lol.
Captain TagonPosted on 09/17/05 at 16:07:54

As long as the X-Division keeps headlining PPVs and the booking there stays smart, I'm happy.
AllPowerfulGARTHPosted on 09/17/05 at 16:34:13

I don't see how it's so unthinkable for people to agree with Anubis about this.  I'll grant that generally, I (and some others) tend to disagree with him, but...this is Jeff Jarrett regaining the NWA Title.  Seriously, is there ANYONE who wanted to see this?  In the world?  Besides Jarrett himself?
Rick GarrardPosted on 09/17/05 at 17:00:22

At this point, I'd rather see someone hold the NWA title that never has and probably never would again.  Perhaps give a Tommy Rich like push to someone even if they only hold the title for a month.
Critic of the DawnPosted on 09/17/05 at 21:17:40

Well, TNA DOES want a strong champion to start Impact's Spike TV stint.  And I agree with that much, at least.  I just have my doubts that Jarrett is the right man to hold the gold.  Raven, Samoa Joe, AJ Styles, Rhino or Abyss all would have been better choices to hold the belt with a strong initial title run, in my estimation.  Oh well.

Maybe in 6 months or so someone unexpected can have a short reign.  The time is not right at the moment, however.

Eric "Critic of the Dawn"
americamamushiPosted on 09/17/05 at 21:48:20

I get that TNA wants to showcase with their home grown talent and not lead off with WWE rejects, but it seems like a road that wouldn't have been bad to go down is giving the title to someone besides Jarrett that fans might recognize outside of TNA.  I think Raven would have been a better lead off choice.  I would say Rhino would have been equally as good, but we already know that TNA is willing to put the NWA title on Raven.  I think they should've left it on him personally.

Of course on the other hand maybe it doesn't matter, from the sounds of things they're going to focus on the X-Division, which is smart, because it's giving the fans something the WWE doesn't really have: Cruiserweight action.  Sure the X-Division has a lot of flying without the psychology, but there are a lot of guys in there who do know what they're doing.  The casuals probably don't care about ring psychology much anyway.

Vince McMahon's public opinion of TNA is (and I'm paraphrasing): "Let them do what they want, they aren't a threat."  (I might be thinking of comments on UFC and sorry if I am) He's right for now.  WWE needs the competition to help get real good on a consistent basis.  UFC isn't compeitition.  I like UFC, but their aren't mainstream enough and there seem to be a lot of MMA fans who hate wrestling and vice versa.  (Personally I'll be watching RAW and taping UFC, like you didn't know where my loyalties are anyway ;) )  Apparently SpikeTV plans on having a UFC Fight Night and a TNA special once a month on Monday nights with UFC & TNA alternating months to sort of test the waters against the wrestling juggernaut.  Perhaps the Monday Night Wars REDUX aren't that far off.