When WCW closed its doors in 2001, some of its wrestlers were absorbed into the WWF; others began touring the independent scene. Jeff Jarrett, however, struck a new path, co-founding with his father a brand new wrestling promotion, Total Nonstop Action. TNA’s ups and downs have been well-documented, with an all-time nadir seeing Jarrett part ways with the company. With the promotion under new ownership, the Canadian-based Anthem Sports & Entertainment, Jarrett has once again reunited with the company he started with his father, now predominantly known as Impact Wrestling. Jarrett was in the UK last week representing Impact, and RealSport were invited to sit down with the wrestling legend himself in London. Our conversation covered everything from growing up as a third-generation wrestler, to his time in the WWF and WCW, to his new role in Impact.
Back to Impact
We started our conversation not at the beginning, but at the present, asking Jeff what brought him back to Impact:
Jeff’s new position has been reported as “executive producer”, but it’s a label that Jeff shrugged off.
One of the biggest development for British and Irish Impact fans has been the creation of the
, especially once Challenge TV stopped airing Impact in the UK. The app allows fans in the UK and Ireland to stream Impact at the same time it airs in the US, while also including a huge back catalogue:
When asked if Total Access will be available further afield, Jeff responded:
“Oh yeah, without question. [We’re] in discussions with countries all over the world and the right markets, and how they’re going to roll it out.”
Back to the beginning
It was good to hear Jeff speaking about Impact so positively, after his somewhat acrimonious split from the previous owner, Dixie Carter, a few years ago. We asked Jarrett to explain his reasons for co-founding the company fifteen years ago:
We asked him whether he felt Impact had strayed from his initial vision from the promotion. Jarrett responded with a laugh:
Check back for part two of our exclusive interview with Jeff on Friday, where we discussed his career in wrestling, his time in WWF, and how he feels about the former Impact stars now making waves in the WWE! Make sure to watch our interview with Jeff in an
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What do you think about Jeff Jarrett rejoining Impact? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!