Don West Interview

[TNABaddboi 0]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

     

 

 

DON WEST SAYS "WHO BETTER THAN JEFF JARRETT" TO BE THE CHAMP AS TNA GOES ON SPIKE, WHO HE SEES AS THE NEXT CHAMP, TALKS WWE AND MORE

by Voice of Wrestling @ 10:47:00 AM on 9/25/2005

 

Chris Cash and the Voice of Wrestling went live last week with special guest co-host, Dick Gomez, and featured guest, TNA's Don West. 

 

To Listen to the Don West Interview: Click Here!

 

Chris Cash definitely dove right into the meat of things from the get-go as he asked Don his thoughts about Jarrett surprisingly winning the title back from Raven. West said he was shocked liked everyone else and found out the same way by reading it on the 'net. "They kept it a well-guarded secret," West stated, "I've been asked this question so many times and I guess the best answer I can give you as far as him being the champ, let me tell you something...this guy and his father started this thing and nobody believed in them almost four years ago now and you know the work he's put in...and the blood, sweat, and the tears he's gone through...who better than Jeff Jarrett should be champ when we come up on Spike TV?"

 

After acknowledging that he did read the Internet, Don was asked where he felt Jeff's criticism stemmed from and although he felt Jarrett himself could probably answer the question a little more efficiently, he managed to give it a shot. "One thing I've noticed about the Internet as a whole," he began explaining that he was on it quite often and enjoyed it, "any Internet message boards when you're reading where people are reacting, 8 times out of 10, it's the negative ones that respond. Hey, I get them about myself and if I took it to heart, I'd be sitting there banging my head against the wall. Most positive people don't have a need to vent the positive, they just live that way." Don also feels that it means Jeff is doing is job if he's ticking people off.

 

Don ended the Jeff Jarrett conversation with an interesting story about Jeff when Don first started with TNA. "I had other things going on and he pursued me for months," he said, "and when I did it, you talk about getting criticism on the Internet, goodness gracious, you bring an outsider into this business..you're going to get persecuted. And mine was justifiably so because I was pretty bad or awful might even be a pretty good word and I went to Jeff and I said 'Jeff look, I don't want you to take heat for me man, I've got things going on...if it's better off if I move down the road, you just say the word' and he looked at me, I mean looked me right in the eye and said 'Let me tell you something..in this business, you better have thick skin and you better get it quick and secondly, you're my guy...I know what you're going to be like down the road, I've got a vision, and you're gonna do it..eventually all this will be behind us and we're gonna laugh about it' and I feel like we've kind of come to that point."

 

Gomez asked Don who he thought would be the go-to guy to challenge Jarrett once they return to television and brought up Monty Brown being a great choice. "Monty Brown just seems obvious," he agreed, "this guy can talk like nobody, this guy is unreal. He's just got so much charisma and he's getting better and better in that ring and the people love him. It's almost like you try to turn him heel and you can't do it, they love him". After mentioning that, Chris brought up when they did recently turn him heel to align with Jarrett and West felt like it still worked out for the best. "When it's time and I know his time has got to be coming...I think it will be a great move."

 

Don mentioned that he does follow the current WWE product just to keep up and said that there were a couple things that he would like to see TNA focus on to show the main differences between the two companies. "I think the first thing that stands out about us is the fact that we took a pay per view and main evented the X-Division," he continued, "you would never see that on WWE. You just won't. You're not going to see Paul London main event a pay per view although he'd probably go out there and they would be standing on their feet yelling 'match of the show' when it was over with. We're not afraid to do that." West stresses as the second point that the overall in-ring action is the key they need to focus on when they debut on Spike.

 

"I think we have more athletic guys as a whole," Don suggested as they continued the discussion of comparison between TNA and the WWE. Cash made the point that very rarely do you find any complaints from someone who just watched a TNA pay per view. "Our last four I think have just been unbelievable," West responded, "we've put on some good shows...I'm not kidding you, for the three hours that we've been putting on..it's as good as any wrestling that's been put on pay per view lately. There's no doubt in my mind." West also pointed out that in every pay per view they have, there's at least one spot or match that makes you say, "I've got to see that again," and he puts over Sacrifice as the best pay per view he thinks they've had.

 

They went on to discuss Don's start in the business, how he was approached by Jarrett, and what he thinks about being involved in professional wrestling. Plus, Dick Gomez calls out Don on a Beanie Baby scandal you have to hear to believe - it's hilarious. They put over the October 1st debut of Impact! and thank Don for being apart of the show. Check out TNAWrestling.com for more information on TNA and also check out the links above to listen to and discuss the archive of the show. Then, don't forget to tune in to VOW live tomorrow night from 7-9 EST with special guests, Trinity and Nidia.

 

Thoughts?

[Corey_Lazarus 0]

I'll respond paragraph-by-paragraph.

Chris Cash definitely dove right into the meat of things from the get-go as he asked Don his thoughts about Jarrett surprisingly winning the title back from Raven. West said he was shocked liked everyone else and found out the same way by reading it on the 'net. "They kept it a well-guarded secret," West stated, "I've been asked this question so many times and I guess the best answer I can give you as far as him being the champ, let me tell you something...this guy and his father started this thing and nobody believed in them almost four years ago now and you know the work he's put in...and the blood, sweat, and the tears he's gone through...who better than Jeff Jarrett should be champ when we come up on Spike TV?"

I can see his point here, as Jeff and Jerry DID build TNA from the ground up. Unfortunately, that should then tell them both that at the current time, Jarrett is not the BEST choice for champion. The few fans remaining from the Attitude Era (though we're still in the tail-end of it, technically) of the WWF last remember Jarrett as a woman-beater who lost to a shemale. Those from WCW remember him as being a main-eventer, but one that lost the belt almost every other week before gaining it back before finally dropping out of the main event and into the upper-midcard (where, personally, I feel he belongs with some occasional main event runs). And those that know of him from Destiny and beyond recall Jarrett being the one that pissed off the core fanbase so much by putting himself all over the show and beating those that rightfully deserved to win that the few paying fans TNA had stopped showing up, and many fans stopped ordering the shows. Is Jarrett a good heel? Yes. Is he a good face? Yes, because I've said a few times that I loved Jarrett's work from the beginning of TNA up until Destiny. Is he the best choice to be World champion, the standard-bearer of TNA, right now? No.

So...who else could that title be placed on? We'd need somebody who can go in the ring, go on the mic, have a good marketable look, and be able to get over with the 18-34 male demographic. I guess it's time to echo the sentiments of bps and say Ron "The Truth" Killings. His run as World champion, especially leading up to it and the matches he had with Jerry Lynn and LowKi, was entertaining, and if given enough free reign with what he does (and it does seem as though many TNA workers are given free reign to do whatever right now as long as D'Amore and co approve of it, which they'll do if it's good as the last few months have shown), the guy could get over like never before. We (and I say this as a TNA fan, though I'll admit I don't buy the weekly shows and haven't actually watched an episode of Impact since they left FSN due to not having RealPlayer) need a World champion who can do something different from what the competition (in this case, WWE) is doing. Why not give The Truth another chance to be a draw since he was part of the company's initial success?

After acknowledging that he did read the Internet, Don was asked where he felt Jeff's criticism stemmed from and although he felt Jarrett himself could probably answer the question a little more efficiently, he managed to give it a shot. "One thing I've noticed about the Internet as a whole," he began explaining that he was on it quite often and enjoyed it, "any Internet message boards when you're reading where people are reacting, 8 times out of 10, it's the negative ones that respond. Hey, I get them about myself and if I took it to heart, I'd be sitting there banging my head against the wall. Most positive people don't have a need to vent the positive, they just live that way." Don also feels that it means Jeff is doing is job if he's ticking people off.

This is because of human nature. It's always easier to argue the negative than it is to agree on the positive. But that doesn't mean that the IWC doesn't talk about positives. Is the Samoa Joe push loved? Yes, and they're continuing with it, because - once again - the IWC was right in who TNA should push. Is the current feel of the show accepted? Yes, because it's presented as a PROFESSIONAL WRESTLING show as opposed to the SPORTS ENTERTAINMENT program offered by the E. While I agree that we need to be given more of a reason to care for the majority of the roster than "they're good/great workers," that's something that can be taken care of in time, and I don't doubt that D'Amore and co can do it. But I guess Don West must have missed all of the TNA fans from the start that's said he's grown A LOT as a color commentator, and what's one of the best-known moments of TNA's first year? West standing atop the commentators' table during the SAT/XXX 6-man yelling "GO, RED, GO!"

Don ended the Jeff Jarrett conversation with an interesting story about Jeff when Don first started with TNA. "I had other things going on and he pursued me for months," he said, "and when I did it, you talk about getting criticism on the Internet, goodness gracious, you bring an outsider into this business..you're going to get persecuted. And mine was justifiably so because I was pretty bad or awful might even be a pretty good word and I went to Jeff and I said 'Jeff look, I don't want you to take heat for me man, I've got things going on...if it's better off if I move down the road, you just say the word' and he looked at me, I mean looked me right in the eye and said 'Let me tell you something..in this business, you better have thick skin and you better get it quick and secondly, you're my guy...I know what you're going to be like down the road, I've got a vision, and you're gonna do it..eventually all this will be behind us and we're gonna laugh about it' and I feel like we've kind of come to that point."

Not fully, but Don's definitely on his way. I'd like to see him start favoring the heels, personally, if only because commentating teams need at least one face commentator, who is usually the play-by-play guy, and one heel commentator, who is usually the color guy. If West wants to continue being his loveably goofy self, then I think TNA should get a heel commentator in there to just flat-out root for the villains. Perhaps giving Don Callis another ring wouldn't be too bad of an idea?

Gomez asked Don who he thought would be the go-to guy to challenge Jarrett once they return to television and brought up Monty Brown being a great choice. "Monty Brown just seems obvious," he agreed, "this guy can talk like nobody, this guy is unreal. He's just got so much charisma and he's getting better and better in that ring and the people love him. It's almost like you try to turn him heel and you can't do it, they love him". After mentioning that, Chris brought up when they did recently turn him heel to align with Jarrett and West felt like it still worked out for the best. "When it's time and I know his time has got to be coming...I think it will be a great move."

No real argument here, but I still remember Brown as being the uber-green "monster" who was just talking about THE POUNCE...PERIOD! And I still liked his original "hey, I just like to wrestle, but don't piss me off" gimmick and, IMO, his best match so far is STILL the streetfight with Elix Skipper from Week 8 or 9.

Don mentioned that he does follow the current WWE product just to keep up and said that there were a couple things that he would like to see TNA focus on to show the main differences between the two companies. "I think the first thing that stands out about us is the fact that we took a pay per view and main evented the X-Division," he continued, "you would never see that on WWE. You just won't. You're not going to see Paul London main event a pay per view although he'd probably go out there and they would be standing on their feet yelling 'match of the show' when it was over with. We're not afraid to do that." West stresses as the second point that the overall in-ring action is the key they need to focus on when they debut on Spike.

I think West has a better mind for the business than most give him credit for. He's echo'ing nearly everything the fans are saying that are positive about TNA, and agrees with what the fans want to see to make TNA different than the E.

"I think we have more athletic guys as a whole," Don suggested as they continued the discussion of comparison between TNA and the WWE. Cash made the point that very rarely do you find any complaints from someone who just watched a TNA pay per view. "Our last four I think have just been unbelievable," West responded, "we've put on some good shows...I'm not kidding you, for the three hours that we've been putting on..it's as good as any wrestling that's been put on pay per view lately. There's no doubt in my mind." West also pointed out that in every pay per view they have, there's at least one spot or match that makes you say, "I've got to see that again," and he puts over Sacrifice as the best pay per view he thinks they've had.

That's definitely a GREAT decision: having one huge spot or very good/great match that makes people want to see the show again. It makes them stick out rather than piling the show with huge spot after huge spot like the weekly's did (though, to be fair, they needed to do that to ensure people would continue ordering).

They went on to discuss Don's start in the business, how he was approached by Jarrett, and what he thinks about being involved in professional wrestling. Plus, Dick Gomez calls out Don on a Beanie Baby scandal you have to hear to believe - it's hilarious. They put over the October 1st debut of Impact! and thank Don for being apart of the show. Check out TNAWrestling.com for more information on TNA and also check out the links above to listen to and discuss the archive of the show. Then, don't forget to tune in to VOW live tomorrow night from 7-9 EST with special guests, Trinity and Nidia.

Can't comment because it's just a shill, so yeah.

 

Overall, I agree with Don West on most points, but still disagree that Jarrett is the best choice to be World champion going into the SpikeTV shows. The only way this will really work is if Jarrett either loses on the first edition of Impact on Spike or loses at Bound For Glory and drops the belt to somebody.

[Guest IttoOgami]

I don't really have a problem with Jarrett as Champ. Raven's reign, while entertaining, was directionless. Someone chasing Jarrett as champ could be just the shot of whiskey TNA's heavyweight division needs.

[Guest MikeSC]

You mean the same shot of whiskey that has been done for pretty much all of TNA's history?

 

Thanks. I'll pass on the backwash.

[Guest netslob]

niiice metaphor.

[Guest IttoOgami]

You mean the same shot of whiskey that has been done for pretty much all of TNA's history?

 

Thanks. I'll pass on the backwash.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

No, it's the same one that got them two national cable deals and monthly PPVs.

[Guest MikeSC]

And no revenue.

And no paid attendance to any shows yet.

 

It's odd that when JJ is pretty well gone from the picture --- THAT is when they got the good national TV deal.

 

When he was on a lot, they had to settle for being an FSN infomercial.

 

Just sayin'.

[2GOLD 0]

And no revenue.

And no paid attendance to any shows yet.

 

It's odd that when JJ is pretty well gone from the picture --- THAT is when they got the good national TV deal.

 

When he was on a lot, they had to settle for being an FSN infomercial.

 

Just sayin'.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Man wins a doll.

JJ should not be the champion, course Raven shouldn't have been a face. Raven should be a heel, it's what he is good at and it gives you another top shelf heel.

 

Right now, TNA has Jarrett...and....what? Abyss? Rhino? Neither of them can talk!

Raven, he can talk and he can get people to hate him when he tries.

[Guest MikeSC]

TNA needs to push smaller gyus as champ since they only have 2 bigger guys who can do shit in the ring (Abyss and Joe). Hoyt MIGHT be able to do enough to look legit, but they have an insanely weak "ME heavyweight" roster.

[Precious Roy 0]

It's odd that when JJ is pretty well gone from the picture --- THAT is when they got the good national TV deal.

 

When he was on a lot, they had to settle for being an FSN infomercial.

 

Just sayin'.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Except Jarrett is the one who actually negotiated face to face with Spike, so obviously they are aware that he's an integral part of the company and *gasp* gave them a deal despite that. It's not like TNA was sold ONLY on the dark period, and if reports are to be believed Spike had input on Jarrett and Nash being on top at the start.

 

Just sayin'

 

And Don West is the shit, god bless him, fuck the haters

[Guest MikeSC]

As long as JJ is in a position of power, TNA will be a second-rate promotion. He is deadweight baggage on a company with a very bright future --- provided he's not a part of it.

[Precious Roy 0]

You don't have to tell me that, I can't stand the guy, and I hope his programs are a) kept under the X-Division while champ, and b) phased into a no upward movement midcard role no later than 4 months into the Spike deal. I'm just saying, with all the doom and gloom conspiracy theorists.....Jarrett has more to do with TNA being in this position than people want to give him credit for. Spike looked at this promotion where Jarrett is basically the ambassador of the lockerroom as an involved business partner and STILL gave them a TV deal......that's a good thing....

[Guest MikeSC]

No, it's actually a horrifying thing. With that, JJ suddenly has more power than HHH has ever dreamed of having.

 

And their first show on Monday (not the "debut" on Saturday) will pop a good number. Probably in the 2 range.

 

This means JJ keeps power even more. The "JJ show" than people got sick of last year will become MORE of the case than ever before.

[Precious Roy 0]

 

Like I said man, doom and gloom theorists....can't you just wait and see what they actually do on Spike before writing the obituary?

[Guest MikeSC]

I already told you what I expected. First show will do in the range of 2.0, maybe a shade higher.

 

And JJ will get the credit. And when one considers that HHH has put over more guys in the last 3 years than JJ, you have a potential real problem.

 

The same problem, mind you, they've had since they started.

[TNABaddboi 0]

And their first show on Monday (not the "debut" on Saturday) will pop a good number. Probably in the 2 range.

 

To take the convo in a different convo, do you think the Monday airing will draw a higher number than the Saturday showing Mike? I'm not saying I disagree, I was just wondering what made you feel that way. I certainly think it'll be interesting to watch. Originally, I thought that they hyping Oct. 1 would make the first weekend's Saturday show draw better, but over time, the Monday show would pull higher numbers. Anyone think there's a chance that if the Monday show consistently draws more, they'll make that the premier showing?

[Guest MikeSC]

I'm convinced the Monday show will have a significantly higher rating, for a few reasons:

1) Saturday is ratings death.

2) There is going to be a sizable contingent of people who tune to Spike on Mondays for wrestling and, no matter what time it is on (I believe it was 11), Spike will advertise early and often that wrestling is on later.

3) Mondays have a larger audience than Saturdays regardless.

 

I imagine that Spike will eventually lower the number of airings to one per week. Whether they get Monday or Saturday will be based, likely exclusively, on their ratings on Monday nights.

[Corey_Lazarus 0]

I don't really wanna wish harm on the guy, but if Jarrett's such a pivotal figure backstage, and he still doesn't put people over that the team wants/demands him to, then he's gonna need a career-ending injury to make him step out of the ring for good and stick to the backstage stuff. He seems like a really nice guy to know personally, from all the stories people tell about him, but him being all over the show will mean TNA will ultimately fail, since at least HHH is a better go-to guy than JJ is, seeing as how HHH had that run in 2000 of, you know, terrific matches and his main-event's actually DREW good buyrates and ratings, whereas Jarrett was main-eventing WCW and...well, we all know how WCW went.

 

Jarrett should go back to being a face. It'd be VERY interesting...face Jarrett vs. heel Truth in a brawl with no interference leading to the finish (not saying no interference at all, but it wouldn't directly lead to the finish) would be a good match, since they had back-to-back HIGHLY entertaining matches in November '02.

[Precious Roy 0]

I'm just not convinced he'll be all over the show like people think. Mike thinks he'd take all the credit for a great opening rating, but I just don't see him being used in any sort of position that could justify that. The X-Division is the bread and butter, Spike knows it, Dixie knows it, and the bookers know it. The new booking team kept Jarrett's use short and to the point on the dark Impacts, to critical success, and I don't see why that would change now, with the success of Impact on Spike riding on it. The days of 10 minute + promos are over, hopefully. I really believe that everyone involved understands that Jarrett can be in a role of relative importance, without being all over the show.

[Guest MikeSC]

If what they say is true and JJ was the reason Spike picked them up (if true, Spike really doesn't know what the hell they're doing), Spike will want JJ all over every show.

 

And TNA, especially early on, would be wise to humor Spike.

[Precious Roy 0]

I haven't heard ANYONE say JJ was the reason Spike picked up the show...

[Guest MikeSC]

Except Jarrett is the one who actually negotiated face to face with Spike, so obviously they are aware that he's an integral part of the company and *gasp* gave them a deal despite that. It's not like TNA was sold ONLY on the dark period, and if reports are to be believed Spike had input on Jarrett and Nash being on top at the start.

[Precious Roy 0]

what's your point? I never ONCE said Spike picked up TNA because they wanted the JJJ show. It's simply reality that he's heavily involved in the product, on the business side as well, that doesn't mean he's what Spike wants on TV. The commercials are COMPLETELY Jarrett free, that doesn't tell you anything?

 

Like I said, they'll keep him in a role of relative importanct, but minimize his tv time

[Guest MikeSC]

I haven't heard ANYONE say JJ was the reason Spike picked up the show...

[Precious Roy 0]

edited my post to fully explain, and apparently you misunderstood the quoted post completely

[Guest MikeSC]

Or completely changed it to try and make a point you didn't make originally.

 

So be it.

 

Not the way I'd personally handle things, but to each their own.

 

Still doesn't explain how this:

and if reports are to be believed Spike had input on Jarrett and Nash being on top at the start

has been refuted by you as evidence that they want JJ in a position of considerable influence and with considerable airtime.

[Precious Roy 0]

NO! They want him (and Nash) in a percieved position of importance at the start so that guys get a rub. And this entire time, the X Division will be the focus.

 

I made the same point originally, you just missed it, or I didn't verbalize it enough, whatever.

 

are we clear on where I stand now?

[Guest MikeSC]

and if reports are to be believed Spike had input on Jarrett and Nash being on top at the start.

Doesn't sound like X Division is going to be the focus to me.

 

But, we're going nowhere and I don't care enough to argue further.

[Precious Roy 0]

and if reports are to be believed Spike had input on Jarrett and Nash being on top at the start.

Doesn't sound like X Division is going to be the focus to me.

 

But, we're going nowhere and I don't care enough to argue further.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

"on top" was a bad choice of words, you got me there. I just assumed people would know what I meant, since I think it's quite obvious that the X-Division will be the focus.

 

But I agree, nothing more to argue about. Lets just watch the shows and see how it shakes out