Jeff Jarrett responds to Eric Bischoff’s claim, He and Hogan had no influence on TNA decisions

[00:00:00]Uh, I am curious. Did you have a chance to uh see any of the discourse last week? I uh did a podcast with uh Eric last week just before Real American Freestyle in Milwaukee. And of course, everybody wanted to hear his opinion. He has yet to see Dark Side of the Ring. He was in the country of Georgia and then had a big event the the 5 days later in in Milwaukee. He's still not home. He's been gone for 2 weeks traveling. So, he's yet to see it. Uh but everybody had a strong opinion.

[00:00:28]Uh I I wanted to see if you had a chance to see it or if you read anything online or or how you reconcile any of the Bischoff conversation or is it water under the bridge or where are you today now?

[00:00:39]>> Well, what specific? Cuz I saw some and I'm going to be respectful and be very candid. He's your business partner, so I don't think there's any upside uh for for me um to kind of I I'll I'll let the court of public opinion um if you want to address any specific thing he said. One thing you just said is that he has not seen the episodes but yet commented on them.

[00:01:07]>> Well, I'm asking him about them because the you know, just because Eric's in Georgia doesn't mean the rest of the world didn't watch in Vice TV.

[00:01:13]>> Yeah, but but he hasn't seen them.

[00:01:15]>> He has not seen So, no, he's not seen anything on Vice. He's not seen a minute of footage. Now, he sees some of the discourse, but it's hard for him to participate if he hasn't seen it himself to really what am I responding to sort of thing.

[00:01:29]But here's the headline, you know, from my chat with Eric last week. Uh let me make one thing really clear.

[00:01:35]I had zero operational control of TNA.

[00:01:38]I couldn't hire anybody. I couldn't fire anybody. I didn't give anybody a raise, nor did I freaking want to. I wanted nothing to do with the operation of TNA.

[00:01:46]So much that I made it clear in my agreement that I'm not going to be involved in anything other than creative I had agreed to do and oversee. And Dixie was fine with that because she didn't want me involved either, trust me. Neither did Dean Broadhead. They wanted to run TNA the way they wanted to run TNA, and I was more than happy to let them have that. So, when we talk about the decisions Eric made, or in this case, uh which is really chicken by the way, to all of the sudden be putting the heat on Hulk Hogan when he's not here to defend himself. Come on, guys.

[00:02:13]To suggest that either Hulk or I had the ability to kill that company is hilarious. I'd like to know the basis for that.

[00:02:20]And he also says, Dean Broadhead was the CFO, I believe. So, if anybody should have thrown a flag at any of the expenditures that somehow took TNA from profitable to unprofitable, those decisions had nothing to do with Hulk Hogan. They didn't have anything to do with me. Not only could we not influence those decisions decisions, we weren't even aware aware of them. But, they are trying to rewrite this whole narrative because TNA got the opportunity to do so, to rewrite their story and resurrect their reputations at the expense of other people. One of whom is dead. It's total and it should be so obvious. I made the analogy, and it maybe wasn't the best one. And I know you didn't live it, so I'll just recap sort of what I positioned him.

[00:03:00]Dusty was always viewed in in the wrestling industry, and specifically in JCP, and more specifically by Jim Crockett Jr. himself, as being a visionary. He had the big idea. He's out here geniusin'. And one of his ideas was a Great American Bash Stadium Tour. So, they would book like the Red Skins Stadium, and we're going to put a ring in the stadium, and we're also going to do a country music act.

[00:03:24]But, by the time you got everybody there and had a different level of production for an outdoor stadium, and paid for that production, and the stadium, and all the talent, and you booked the country act, hey, it maybe looks great on paper, but in the end, it was hemorrhaging cash. And all of the sudden, the CFO popped out and said, "Hey, we are millions of dollars in the red." And nobody threw the flag along the way. Dusty would, years later, say, "Hell with no me. I had an idea, they approved it. It wasn't my responsibility to run the P&L."

[00:03:58]And that to me made sense. Like, hey, it's his idea to come up with ideas, but in the end, somebody else is going to be the person who is, and I don't mean this dismissively, they're the bean counters of hey, I that sounds like a great idea, can't afford that.

[00:04:12]I don't know what did or didn't happen.

[00:04:13]I didn't live it, but it feels like Eric is sort of playing a similar role to Dusty here. Hey, we had ideas, but we weren't privy to P&Ls. We had no operational control, that sort of thing.

[00:04:25]That was on Dean Broadhead's and Dixie Carter's shoulders.

[00:04:29]You lived it.

[00:04:30]Where's the rubber meet the road, Jeff?

[00:04:32]>> I mean, it it goes I just chuckle at all of that.

[00:04:36]Um it's 100% and I said this and oh, I don't know how many times I said it in the interviews. Ultimately, under Dixie's leadership, it was all on her shoulders. But, if you think that she had the Nasty Boys and or Orlando Jordan and um just go down the entire list of talent they brought in, uh Hulk and Eric, that was their idea. Um you know, so if if he wants to walk that line, I just chuckle. He's your partner.

[00:05:15]Uh I again, I don't think there's any upside. You're going to get my comment regardless. Uh I I think it's best we move on because it I mean, and then and then he said trying to uh revision this history, rewrite. I'm like, God bless you, Eric. I mean, >> Well, I don't know that that seemed to you. I think that seemed to Russo.

[00:05:35]>> It and okay, it is what it is, but but I mean, revision this history, the fact is Dixie Carter pulled the power play, brought Hulk Hogan and Eric Bischoff in.

[00:05:47]They influenced She made the final decision.

[00:05:50]They took it on the road. They They said the hell with the Orlando sound stage.

[00:05:57]They brought in the Nasty Boys. They brought in this talent. They brought in that talent. They wanted to switch creatively AJ Styles. They got rid of the six-sided ring. Dixie is not a booker. She's not creative. All that.

[00:06:09]It's a thousand percent true. It all rests on Dixie's shoulders. Eric and Hulk were the two biggest influencers. I think I think that came across very clear. Uh but but it just it chuckles and and I think it at the end of the day and you know in in the um in the doc, the my line about giving >> [clears throat] >> uh the the greatest gift of all of desperation.

[00:06:41]They moved that up in the episodes as if I was a part of me starting TNA. I wasn't given the gift of desperation until October 17th, 2017.

[00:06:52]When you're faced with if I don't change my life, I'm going to die.

[00:06:58]Karen talked on it. You know, my last bender, if you will.

[00:07:03]Uh Hendersonville's finest visited this address uh three different occasions.

[00:07:09]And there's really no reason for me to be alive. And so that's why I say I was given the gift of desperation. And that gift desperation is being able to wake up and look yourself in the mirror and be not just honest with the world, be rigorous honest with yourself and you say Hey Jeff, what is my role in this today? What is my role in the success [clears throat] and the downfall in life? You can say at TNA.

[00:07:45]Global Force, WCW, WWF, your relationship with your dad, your relationship with your kids, your relationship across the board. What can What is my role? What absolutely is my role?

[00:07:57]And that is the gift of desperation has given me, and it's called rigorous honesty.

[00:08:02]I don't think Eric has the ability to look himself in the eye, cuz he commented on a show that he did hasn't even watched.

[00:08:11]And he's he's saying that he's dancing on no operational control as if he did nothing wrong.

[00:08:19]That that that that absolute I mean, he was a part of the power play, whether he wants to say it or not. He knows exactly what I was in Spike's offices the following year in 2014 when it all went down. He became the executive producer, BH idiot. It I mean, to to just go on and on is just You talk about, come on, guys. Get honest with yourself. I mean, Russo made the comment, which Conrad, you this is you point taken, dude. You just had to go there.

[00:08:53]Russo saying, "Oh, nothing really changed. I always wrote the show." Oh, really, Vince?

[00:09:01]Is that it?

[00:09:02]No.

[00:09:03]I mean, you were a part and and yes, Vince did what Dixie said. Everybody wanted their job. I've said it over and over.

[00:09:12]Wanted their job, and and I get it, but Rudy, Charles, Danny Engler's fired, Dutch is fired, Cornett's fired, Savio Vega's fired, the whole list goes on.

[00:09:23]Vince was standing tall and writing the show, and they broke up the Main Event Mafia, and and on and on and on. It all is what it is. It's It's It's It's again an emotional bandwidth, but again, my gift of respiration is maybe the greatest gift ever because I can look at myself in the mirror and go, I screwed up so many times and I'm here to stay and I'm very grateful for every every experience that I've had and you know what?

[00:09:52]There is no such thing as a perfect Booker. There is no such third perfect thing as a perfect human being. I screwed up the good, the bad and the ugly and I'm grateful for every bit of it.

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[00:10:25]>> Hey!