Jarrett out as TNA Booker

[Tim Cooke 0]

Bob Barnett heard through the grapevine from a big mouth backstage that Jarrett/Mantel are out and Dusty is in.

 

Tim

[The Decemberists 0]

*IF* it's true...

 

Dusty for World Champ within three months!

[eirejmcmahon 0]

...

 

They managed to make removing JJ as booker a step backwards.

[Guest Loss]

I'd take Dusty booking over Jarrett booking any day of the week, actually.

[starvenger 0]

Almost any change is good. However, this probably means that AJ jobs to Nash at TP but it gets reversed due to some El Kabongage...

[TheBigSwigg 0]

All I can say is: It can't get any worse.

 

Can it?

[ChrisMWaters 0]

All I can say is: It can't get any worse.

 

Can it?

"Here is your winner, and the NEW NWA Heavyweight Champion of the WORLD...DAVID...ARQUETTE!"

[Guest Coffey]

Does Dusty have a thing against "little people?"

[Guest LooneyTune]

All I can say is:  It can't get any worse.

 

Can it?

"Here is your winner, and the NEW NWA Heavyweight Champion of the WORLD...DAVID...ARQUETTE!"

That was Russo. This is Rhodes...(flashback to 1988)

 

The Winner, and NEW NWA Heavyweight Champion, by defeating Ric Flair in 6 seconds, the Dog-Face Gremlin, Rick Steiner!

[Magus 0]

Hey, I'll watch again if Jeff and Dutch aren't booking anymore. Dusty wouldn't be my choice, but anything's better than Triple J.

 

By the way, can anyone here give a real definition of "Dusty booking" for me? I never saw his run in WCW, so I don't know what kind of booker he is.

[USC Wuz Robbed! 0]

Hey, I'll watch again if Jeff and Dutch aren't booking anymore. Dusty wouldn't be my choice, but anything's better than Triple J.

 

By the way, can anyone here give a real definition of "Dusty booking" for me? I never saw his run in WCW, so I don't know what kind of booker he is.

Dusty's top 5 wrestlers are Dusty, Dusty, Dusty, Dusty and Dustin.

[Guest BDC]

Add onto that horrible non-finishes to matches that only hurt people's credibility.

[geniusMoment 0]

Hey, I'll watch again if Jeff and Dutch aren't booking anymore. Dusty wouldn't be my choice, but anything's better than Triple J.

 

By the way, can anyone here give a real definition of "Dusty booking" for me? I never saw his run in WCW, so I don't know what kind of booker he is.

No clean finishes ever, no matter what. It does not matter if it is an opening match on a house show between two jobbers, or the main event of Starrcade, no clean finishes, and plenty of screw job endings, making the fans upset.

 

But, Dusty was a booker on Nitro during the shows run, sans Russo era. In fact, he was one of the bookers during the shows final months when the product showed some signs of life.

[Guest MikeSC]

Add onto that horrible non-finishes to matches that only hurt people's credibility.

And that stretch in 1988 when he required everybody to mention him in their promos.

 

And, sadly, this is not a joke.

-=Mike

[Jericho2000Mark 0]

Dusty booked the World Champion weaker than the entire Main Event and Upper-Mid Card.

[Guest The Last Free Voice]

IF this is true, which it may not be, this could be good. I'm going with the "wait and see" attitude.

[JoeDirt 0]

I wonder who told Barnett.

 

And how can Jeff Jarrett get ousted as booker IN HIS OWN COMPANY?

[UseTheSledgehammerUh 0]

As probably the biggest late-NWA/WCW mark in the world...

 

I can tell you this. Dusty Rhodes has a penchant for letting the MAIN EVENT talent shine. However, his weakness lies in the fact that the "old dawgs", as talented as they may (or in many cases) may not have been, are always given the elevation.

 

Guys like Zenk, Pillman, Smothers, etc. all got buried when Dusty booked a #2 promotion before.

 

Still, I think his methods have changed, especially realizing his value is little and the company needs to push the young talent.

 

Basically, Mantel and Jarrett SUCK, and Rhodes has proven that he sucks, but to a much lesser degree.

 

So this is good news.

[cynicalprofit 0]

How can a guy that has never been succesful as a booker, keep getting work as a booker? If Dusty was good, finicially, I don't recall it.

[TheBigSwigg 0]

Dusty booked the World Champion weaker than the entire Main Event and Upper-Mid Card.

sounds just like Jarret to me.

[Guest Shoes Head]

Scott Keith has stated that Dusty Rhodes is the greatest booker ever (seriously).

[Guest Hass of Pain]

Eh, I don't think Jarrett or Rhodes are the people TNA needs booking their product. I have always found Dusty to be pretty overrated as a booker.

 

I'll give Dusty War Games, it was the crowning achievement of his creative career and probably the coolest stipulation match ever. But on the flipside, you have the Bunkhouse Stampede, the worst multi-person gimmick match ever, that he not only built the first ever NWA pay-per-view around, but put himself over in. Everyone was wearing cowboy gear, and it was an ugly embarassment to the NWA in my opinion.

 

Dusty also ruined almost every act that got popular by leaching onto it like a parasite. Dusty Rhodes wasn't a Road Warrior and it was ridiculous and pathetic to see him trying to attach himself to anything that was cool at the time. He did the same thing with Sting.

 

People credit Dusty with Starrcade, but it wasn't entirely his idea, and honestly a "Superbowl" of wrestling type show wasn't such a revolutionary idea that someone wouldn't have done it soon anyway. There had been big cards before, much bigger in fact, in Texas, St. Louis and New York just to name a few.

 

Dusty Rhodes also publicly gives himself credit for making Sting a national star. That would be like saying Vince McMahon made Kurt Angle a national star. Dusty gave Sting exposure, but Sting got himself over and if anyone made him a national star it was Flair who went 45 minutes with a rookie and made his career in the same night. Sting had the look, the charisma and the wrestling ability to get over without any help from Dusty Rhodes. In fact, Flair and Rhodes were so heated in 1988 that it almost drove Flair out of the company, a move by Rhodes that would have erased the greatest year of wrestling for a promotion (1989 NWA) that I have ever seen. Why? Because Rhodes didn't want to see Sting or even Luger put over Flair for the title, he wanted to see RICK STEINER squash Flair and take the World Title at Starrcade. If Rhodes would have driven Flair out and put the title on Steiner, the NWA as we knew it might have died long before the Monday Night Wars even happened.

 

I agree that Dusty has some positives, but I think the further away from the old school that TNA can get the better at this point. Jerry Jarret at least seems like he understands the evolution of the business, but territorial style booking concepts just aren't going to make the promotion a competitive threat to WWE. The only old school guy in my opinion who could pull it off would be Jim Cornette who has my vote for the greatest booker in wrestling at this point.

 

Dusty had it a lot easier back in the mid 80's. Wrestling's landscape has completely changed. He didn't have to worry about selling pay-per-views, quarter hour ratings or finding and grooming talent, he just had to keep the big names coming through (The Road Warriors, Flair, Piper and Rhodes himself where amongst the biggest draws in the country at that point) and give fans good enough shows to keep them turning out in wrestlings strong markets, but he even blew that with the Dusty finishes.

 

If I had to grade Dusty as a booker back then, I think I would give him a C- and aside from Lenni and Lodi, he hasn't come up with a good idea I can remember in over FIFTEEN YEARS.

 

This is just my two cents but I don't think TNA needs Dusty Rhodes, or Dutch Mantell or Jeff Jarrett, they need someone with a new vision like Paul Heymen had or like Gabe Sapolsky or anyone with a new take on old ideas, because it's 2004 and I just don't think Georgia Championship Wrestling II is going to sell a public who doesn't want any more wrestling on a new product.

[The Czech Republic 0]

Add onto that horrible non-finishes to matches that only hurt people's credibility.

And that stretch in 1988 when he required everybody to mention him in their promos.

 

And, sadly, this is not a joke.

-=Mike

He also demanded access to a time machine. (New Breed)

[EdwardKnoxII 0]

Add onto that horrible non-finishes to matches that only hurt people's credibility.

And that stretch in 1988 when he required everybody to mention him in their promos.

 

And, sadly, this is not a joke.

-=Mike

He also demanded access to a time machine. (New Breed)

And didn't New Breed say that Dusty was the President of the US somewhere around the year 2000.

[razazteca 0]

Will Goldust be put in a feud with Chris Daniels and never lose?

[justcoz 0]

But you have to admit that Crockett Promotions, with Dusty in control, was quite a nice alternative to the WWF at the time. Yes, the heavy emphasis on pushing Dusty and the screw job finishes were horrible and dragged the company down but very rarely did I want to miss an episode of World Wide or the Saturday night show. Dusty was also a master of getting emotion from an audience. The way the Horsemen were booked for example. The Russians. The Midnight Express. No matter who they were put up against, from Sting or Magnum to even Wahoo McDaniel or Johnny Weaver, the crowd went apeshit and the heat in the arena was off the hook.

 

It's a totally different landscape these days though. The audience is also totally different. I'm interested in seeing what he can pull off at least.

[Hunter's Torn Quad 0]

Dusty Rhodes was a great booker, until he hit his creative wall. If Dusty is aware of his limitations, and actually works around them, he could do some good things for TNA.

[Scroby 0]

I rather have Rhodes as a booker then Jarrett. Jarrett it would be him and his crew just running things, at least with Rhodes other guys have chances to improve.

[Guest Loss]

How can a guy that has never been succesful as a booker, keep getting work as a booker? If Dusty was good, finicially, I don't recall it.

Florida 1974

NWA 1985-1986

 

The biggest problem is that bookers typically have a short life span and Dusty was kept in his job too long. He has no family in the company, so this will be his first booking stint where he's not pushing himself and has no family to push, so it will be interesting.

 

He's hardly the perfect booker, but his best is better than TNA's best has been up until now.

[Guest MikeSC]

Scott Keith has stated that Dusty Rhodes is the greatest booker ever (seriously).

Gee, I wonder who thinks he has a shot of writing for TNA.

-=Mike