Jeff Jarrett has commented on TNA going back to its roots.
Many were surprised at the end of Impact Wrestling’s Bound For Glory pay-per-view with the news that the company would be changing its name back to TNA in the early part of 2024. Jarrett, who founded the promotion alongside his father Jerry, and was instrumental in building the promotion from the ground up.
Speaking on the My World podcast, Jarrett stated that the name change should never have happened in the first place and it has been an uphill battle ever since:
You know, Conrad, I mean, on this topic alone, you know, I could go down so many rabbit holes and so many avenues. I had heard rumblings and you know, boy Conrad. Do you really want to open up this can of worms? But yes, I’m surprised in a few different ways in that the conversations that I had with Anthem I’ll just leave it at that. I was pretty clear with them that Hey guys, in my opinion, Impact Wrestling, naming that the company was almost dead on arrival in 2011 and 12 the tagline wrestling matters and all that kind of stuff. But I said I just think Impact Wrestling is dead. The television show.
Jarrett continued by recalling the multiple conversations he had with the new owners about possibly going back to TNA at an earlier stage as it was still what fans around the world referred to it as:
So Conrad not to you know go on and on and on about it but I had those conversations in depth and gave them the history but they are well aware of it. They bought the show Impact from day one, Anthem did, they knew that it was TNA wrestling presents Impact. And so going down that road and knowing Okay, not a big fan of it. And that’s where in my mind hey, let’s if you don’t like Global Force Wrestling. I even said that, hey, we can figure some kind of way and use the storyline and go back to TNA, there’s a lot of equity, your library’s name that the international partners have always.
And Conrad, you said, you’re like the international partners. There are many, many places, India, specifically Australia and a lot of ways they never, ever quit calling it TNA wrestling. the double entendre isn’t nearly as prevalent outside of the US in so many markets. So I guess you could say all the information in my head. That’s why I was like, Okay, so now five years, six years after you acquired it, you’re rebranding? So that would be a little bit of a surprise to me. But then at the end of the day, it’s all execution.
“Change Is Good.”: Jeff Jarrett
Jarrett concluded by referencing current TNA booker Scott D’Amore, stating that the promotion will be in good hands for their next era of television:
It’s all about what is Scott’s vision. That is what I’m most optimistic about. Okay, Scott, what’s your vision of TNA? You know, I know what mine was, well aware. And you know, you know, and we can talk about all the different things, the four different divisions, how’s that gonna be positioned or promoted? The six-sided ring, to me, there’s a lot of nuances. But at the end of the day, it’s the story. And I was blessed with fantastic talent, AJ Styles, Samoa Joe, we go through on that list, but I’m excited because it’s good for the industry. Change is good.
I will forever be somewhat emotionally attached to it. But I wish God and the team nothing but the best and I hope they take it to heights that it’s never been before.
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