PRO WRESTLING TORCH #695 COVER STORY
COVER-DATED: MARCH 9, 2002

-Jarretts plan to launch new national promotion
-Father/son team finalizing plans this week for weekly pay-per-views, already seeking out wrestlers

By Wade Keller, Torch editor

Rumors about Jerry Jarrett getting back into wrestling promoting tend to circulate every few months. The rumors have intensified in recent days, and this time around they are based on fact. All indications are a major announcement is imminent.

Numerous sources tell the Torch that the Jarrett family is in the final stages of announcing plans to launch a national promotion that would generate revenue primarily from running weekly PPVs.

The company's structure includes Jerry's son, Jeff Jarrett, as part of the ownership and management team, while also participating as a wrestler. Jarrett is a former WWF IC Champion and WCW World Champion and is the current WWA Champion, having defended the title against Brian Christopher last month on PPV.

Numerous independent wrestlers have told the Torch this week that they have been approached by Jeff Jarrett in recent weeks regarding working for the new start-up promotion, which has a tentative start date in either May or June.

When contacted by the Torch for an on-record confirmation of the rumors, Jerry confirmed that he is deep into the process of starting a new national promotion, but tersely stated: "It is not a done deal, and until that day comes, there is no new promotion to talk about."

Jerry Jarrett went on record in a "Torch Talk" several months ago detailing his attempts to purchase WCW last year, detailing his frustration with dealing with AOL Time Warner during the process. Throughout the '70s and '80s Jarrett operated a regional wrestling promotion based out of Tennessee. He worked in the WWF front office on the booking team in the mid-'90s. After that he was a paid consultant to WCW during Eric Bischoff's early tenure.

Jerry Jarrett has been operating a construction business the last couple of years, but his words in the "Torch Talk" made it clear that he is still interested in running a large-scale wrestling company. All indications are that he sees an opportunity to take advantage of the void left by the absence of a second national promotion.

Sources say Jerry and Jeff were scheduled to have a meeting in Los Angeles, Calif. this week to finalize paperwork to begin running two-hour PPV events once a week starting in May or June.

Wrestlers who have been approached about working for the Jarretts' still-unnamed promotion say they are being asked to commit to just 26 dates during the first year. That indicates that the PPVs would be set up similar to Raw a few years ago, where one edition airs live and then the next week's edition is taped immediately afterward. Wrestlers are being told that while they would need to commit to 26 dates per year, they would be true independent contractors in that they could work for anyone else on their free dates.

If the group launches as planned, sources say Keith Mitchell has been lined up to be the director (he's formerly WCW's director), while Scene 3 in Nashville will join forces with members of Sawyer Brown to provide production expertise for the PPVs. The Torch has also learned that Montery Artists is working with the Jarretts to set up international tours for the group beyond the base 26 dates.

All indications are there would be no basic cable presence for the new start-up promotion, and that their marketing would be based on unprecedented support from the PPV and cable industries, which stand to gain considerably if Jarrett succeeds.

The promoting philosophy appears to be different from any promotion that has preceded it. Rather than attempt to use television as the primary vehicle to promote house shows and PPVs, as the WWF does, as ECW and WCW did, and as the XWF hopes to, the Jarretts appear to be skipping that step.

If the PPVs are priced at $10 a week, then purchasing all four PPVs in a month wouldn't cost much more than the price for WWF PPVs, which go up to $35 each after WrestleMania. Charging any more than that, though, the price of following the promotion may be prohibitively high for most budgets. Fans who used to purchase WCW and ECW PPVs spent up to $500 a year on 18 PPVs. The Jarretts could offer 52 two-hour PPVs for less than that if they offer "season package" discounts, similar to the NFL, NHL, NBA, and college sport season packages that are now offered on PPV.

By going live only every-other week, the promotion will save on production costs. By not running a television show, they won't be serving two masters, trying to draw maximum TV ratings yet hold back so there is still a compelling reason for viewers to spend money on its PPVs. They will be able to package the hype (interviews and angles) with the payoff matches (TV main events), while also planting cliffhanger seeds to attract purchases the next week.

Other than Jeff Jarrett, it's not known which wrestlers will be part of the promotion. Given Jerry Jarrett's reputation, it's doubtful he'll be spending big money on many big name free agents. Given his past promoting style and his philosophy as stated in past "Torch Talks," he will be focusing on building stars from within and featuring the undermarketed cruiserweight division. There is no shortage of young up-and-coming talent on the indy scene, or displaced former ECW, WCW, and WWF wrestlers. There are certainly enough underemployed free agent wrestlers to form a solid roster that can fill two hours per week with interviews, angles, and matches. There also plenty of unemployed wrestlers who, if hired, could kill the group out of the gate.

The WWA is slated to continue to run PPVs every couple of months, plus work international tours a few times a year. Without a weekly presence, though, it's nothing more than an occasional supplement to the main WWF product. The XWF hopes to land a weekly TV slot on a major cable station and begin running PPVs after that, but so far their promotional style has lacked a new vision that is likely to strike the interest of the masses.

Jarrett's promotion, if it gets off the ground, will have a weekly presence, giving it the chance to build storylines and feuds, which are integral parts of a wrestling product and necessary in order to establish new stars. Yet, it poses no threat to two of the top three revenue generating categories for the WWF since it won't be competing for TV ratings or house show attendance.

WCW was at its peak level of business when it expanded from focusing on just Nitro and added Thunder to the weekly mix. The WWF was at the peak of business when it expanded from focusing on just Raw and added Smackdown to the weekly mix. Both promotions suffered major downturns in business once they expanded. Jarrett's promotion may have the benefit of focusing on one two-hour product once a week. Even without a dozen major known names on the roster, there may be room for a promotion with such a different, focused approach and thus be profitable in the short- and long-runs.

[Torch art credit Grant Gould (c) PWTorch.com]

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