Wrestling Rumblings #25
July 24, 2009
By: Jose Marrero of WrestleView.com
You know something I always hate it when something happens and it seems like a zillion people have to write about it and give there two sense. I make it a point to keep things different here and for the most part I think I have succeeded. However there are just some stories that because they are so big you have to give some sort of insight and you have to find a way to somehow standout from the many, many articles that are going to be just like it. Such is the case this week with the news that Jeff Jarrett may be in an intimate relationship and living with Karen Angle. So here goes nothing?you?re reading ?Wrestling Rumblings?.
The first thing I want to say is I knew?well sort of. You see being in the 1% of people who do this and actually know people in the wrestling industry you find things out at times and you are almost always in the loop on the rumors of wrestler’s sex lives. Believe it or not there are more rumors on wrestler’s sex lives than anything else that gets circulated in wrestling. I couldn?t tell you why but for some reason anyone and everyone associated with the wrestling business just has some weird fascination with who is doing who. Anyway around the holidays this past year I had a friend hit me up who is not quite in the business but has dealings with those in the business and from time to time he stumbles on things and lets me in on them and he point blank asked me ?Have you heard about Karen and Jeff?? Of course since Karen Angle was sort of out of the business for awhile I drew a blank to the whole statement and simply asked ?Karen and Jeff?? at which point in time I was told they were involved. At the time hearing it I honestly dismissed it I mean why would the co founder and part owner of a lucrative company become involved with his top acts ex wife before the ink even grew dry on the divorce? I told my friend=2 0I thought someone was messing with him and left it alone?even if I believed him it would have never come out of my mouth after all it’s a personal situation and since everything in TNA land seemed as good as it could be as far as employee to employee relations were concerned and in my opinion if it has nothing to do with wrestling any talents personal life deserves to be respected. Of course the past couple of weeks has shown that not only was I wrong about believing this but I was also incorrect as this has become maybe the biggest story of 2009 so far.
Whether you are a fan of Jeff Jarrett, Kurt Angle or for that matter even TNA wrestling itself this is an issue that may very well send shockwaves throughout the business. Assuming that Jeff Jarrett did not voluntarily step aside and was told to by Dixie Carter there is a very good chance that he can literally be pushed out of the company he helped to create to avoid being blackballed from mainstream wrestling. If that were to occur well let me ask you this? What does Dixie Carter really know about running a wrestling company? Kurt Angle may very well be pound for pound, move for move the best wrestler in the world today but what would qualify him to book a major wrestling company? This can be the death knell of the company. Say what you will about Jeff Jarrett but whether you agree or disagree with the moves he has made since TNA’s inception he has taken this company from a regular indy to the number 2 company in the world. No matter what anyone feels about TNA’s product that fact cannot be disputed. Has Kurt Angle become so influential that he can now essentially fire the man who is responsible for him being in TNA in the first place? I fear the answer to that question.
There are some that argue that Jarrett deserves what he gets. I mean there is some sort of bond amongst wrestlers and there should definitely be boundaries between employers and employees. Jarrett has definitely violated both. Wrestlers are more family than family members. They are up and down the road with each other from one company to the next. I can only speak for myself but I would never dream of fornicating with any of my brothers ex girlfriends it just would be too weird for me and for them and well they would probably attempt to punch my lights out and who can blame them? For all of Vince McMahons exploits in the 80’s and all the wild sex stories that came out involving him none of them ever involved a talent or a talents wife and you know why? Because even as eccentric as Vince is he is a businessman and a damned good one and wouldn?t jeopardize losing the locker room just to put another notch on his belt.
I don?t want to make excuses for Jeff but maybe it is the culture of coming up in the Memphis territory. Anyone who knows anything about the Memphis territory will know that was one of the wildest territories around post match with issues like this happening all the time especially with the people in charge. The big difference is the Memphis territory never became a national company with national attention and the big similarity is that like the Memphis territory TNA is run by a wrestler who just so happens to be one of those who were in power in the Memphis territory doing things with wrestlers and for that matter wrestlers wives that he shouldn?t have been doing at the time. I would have thought Jeff has matured apparently he hasn?t.
So what happens now? Logic would dictate that if this is indeed going to be a big problem in the locker20room one of these men would have to go. Which one is the big mystery should TNA allow their biggest piece of talent in Kurt Angle to retreat and go back to WWE or the man whose brain created this company in the first place? It’s a very difficult decision and in the end both decisions could very well be the wrong one.
Think about it if Jeff Jarrett leaves you are potentially putting Kurt Angle in charge of creative. Despite what is said Kurt Angle has an ego like any other wrestler who puts on the boots and like any other wrestler who puts on the boots he is going to want to put himself over. Remember when TNA became the Kurt Angle show a few years back? Imagine that indefinitely and don?t let the fact that Jeff is the boss fool you he does have his supporters?how are wrestlers like Scott Steiner, AJ Styles, Eric Young, and Sting going to feel that Jeff Jarrett the man who is responsible for them being in the company in the first place is now being exiled? You could have a mass exodus from the company. What if Vince McMahon decides to let bygones be bygones with Jeff in the interest of making money and signs him and puts him on WWE TV and uses this situation to not only hurt TNA but=2 0improve WWE’s ratings?
Of course there is the flip side?if you leave Jarrett in charge what happens if Kurt Angle does in fact not resign with TNA? Say what you will about Kurt Angle but he is in fact the straw that stirs TNA’s drink right now. What would it say to the rest of the roster that can sympathize with Kurt to know that the boss may lust after your wife and you can do nothing about it? What will it say about Dixie Carter as the president and owner of the company that she allowed this to happen on her watch? People give her enough flack for not being able to handle the atmosphere that is the wrestling business this act would only support it. This could be Dixie’s finest hour but also could potentially be her worst. People always like to talk about TNA as if it was WCW incarnate this could make that talk more of a reality than anyone would like to see.
Jeff what were you thinking? You have the fates of so many people on your plate and you couldn?t just let this one go? Your biggest star’s wife? The Mother of his kids? You should have just said no, you should have just walked away. Helen of Troy was so beautiful that she was able to launch a thousand ships and her presence helped to ignite the biggest war of that era, Yoko Ono was so influential she drove a wedge into the Beatles and helped in part ruin that feel good era of music, Karen Angle just may very well be the stake in the coffin of TNA.
On that note it’s time to wrap this week up. Of course all your mail can be sent to wrestlingrumblings@hotmail.com. I am very curious to see how you would handle this situation. Who should stay or go Kurt Angle or Jeff Jarrett? Who knows your emails could find their way into the column. Next week I will try to do better and until then I am out.
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