"That was a disaster" - Jeff Jarrett discusses his experience of re-branding TNA to IMPACT
As IMPACT Wrestling celebrated its 20th anniversary this weekend, one of its founding fathers, Jeff Jarrett, had a lot to say about the promotion's history.
Jeff formed Total Non-Stop Action (TNA) with his father Jerry in early 2002, and they held their first show on June 19. The company was a precursor to IMPACT Wrestling, who celebrated that day over the weekend with its Slammiversary event. The promotion still traces history and title lineage back to the TNA days.
Speaking on his "My World" podcast, Jarrett discussed the re-branding of the company to IMPACT Wrestling in the mid-2010's. He noted that the process was very arduous:
"TNA never went, and look, I was the biggest supporter, but it never went away. It was still there. Yes, they changed it to IMPACT Wrestling, but then TNA was still there because the international folks told Dixie [Carter], 'You're shooting yourselves in the foot. TNA is what is selling around the world. It doesn't have the same double entendre outside of the US.'" (03:17)
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The King of the Mountain continued on, saying that the TNA brand name still had established value at the time, something they had worked over a long period of time to establish:
"You've branded this for seven years and eight years and nine years. TNA equity's there. The live event department told Dixie, 'No, IMPACT is the name of the TV show.' (...) Hindsight's always 20/20, but that was a disaster, the rebranding of TNA in every sense, because it was never, it was half-a** done on every level. Even on TV, because there was still a TNA Championship, but IMPACT Wrestling was the name of the [show]." (03:40)
You can check out the extended section from this episode below:
The Jarretts experienced a similiar situation years ago when they acquired World Class Wrestling from the Von Erichs
As the Von Erich's Dallas-based territory began facing financial problems and more, the family approached Jerry Jarrett about buying the promotion. At the time, the name 'World Class' still carried a lot of stature in the Lone Star State, despite how far they had fallen.
Undaunted, Jerry began evolving the organization under its new call sign, the USWA, or the United States Wrestling Association. Speaking on "My World", Jeff said the process was equally difficult to the TNA re-branding he experienced years later:
"This [USWA] branding, lot of lessons that I got to observe, as really, a very young man," Double J recalled. "In that I was the guy who looked through the wrestling magazines, like a lot of us, and knew how strong the WCCW brand was, with all the Von Erichs." (04:19)
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Eventually, the mania surrounding the Von Erichs subsided. In just a few years, both Tennessee and Texas became home territories under the control of Jerry Jarrett and the United States Wrestling Association banner.
A six-time Intercontinental Champion, Jeff Jarrett returned to WWE in 2018 to be inducted into the Hall of Fame after years of being on the outs with the promotion. In 2022, he was named as WWE's Senior Vice President of Live Events.