On a recent edition of his “My World” podcast, WWE Hall of Famer Jeff Jarrett discussed Vince Russo missing WCW events due to a concussion, wrestling Sting at WCW Halloween Havoc 2000, and more.
You can check out some highlights from the podcast below:
On Vince Russo missing WCW shows due to a concussion: “These episodes Conrad, just because there was so much going on — and for years, this has been dissected and talked about and rehashed. Even our network here, the different viewpoints, it’s been talked about, so sometimes my timelines get messed up. But Russo got the concussion from Goldberg running him through the fence and Long Island, correct? Yeah, but that’s why. But anyway, him getting a concussion — as a performer, on the one hand, you go, ‘Why should anybody be surprised?’ Vince is not a wrestler. I’m not saying that,Vince doesn’t mind taking an ass whooping but you’re kind of putting yourself out on the buffet. I’m not saying to get hurt, but accidents can happen. And it is a very physical type of deal. And I don’t wanna say play Murphy’s Law, but it shouldn’t have come as too big of a surprise that he got hurt. And then you have to kind of extrapolate out saying, ‘Okay, let’s think about this. If you’re the lead writer or head of creative and then you’re putting yourself in harm’s way, who’s really at fault here?’”
On his match with Sting at the show: “Overbooked. If this is an angle and a build that you spread out over four to six weeks. That the first Stings were like week one, and the second Stings were week two, it’s kind of — you could maybe do an episodic storyline. But you so eloquently do, like you always do, is when you actually got to go, ‘Ding ding, here’s the match, pinfall, submission, countout, whatever it is.’ Then that’s where — and you know, me and Vince and Dutch, we would always kind of get into these healthy debates that, ‘Look, it’s not necessarily the idea’s completely convoluted. But it doesn’t work within the context of a match.’ And he would say, ‘Bro, I’m not a wrestler.’ And I’d say, ‘You’re right. So, let’s not put that in a match context. Let’s put that in storylines, and spice ups, and builds, and angles and all that. But when you get to a match, it all has to pay off ultimately in a one, two, three. And then you get into, ‘Well, that’s not entertaining.’ ‘Well, yes, it is if you build intrigue and make the win and the losses–‘ ‘Oh, wins and losses don’t mean anything.’
“It’s that subjective debate that has gone on since the beginning of time in wrestling. But that’s — to me, you kind of nailed it. And when you sit back and look at this as a contest — look, scripted, whatever you want to say. But in the context of sports entertainment/professional wrestling, when you’re trying to put on a match you have to have some wrestling logic. And Dutch would lean into wrestling logic. ‘Okay, how are we going to get to that one, two, three and make it mean something?’ You have to follow it up and make it mean something. Anybody can get to a one, two, three or a count out or DQ or whatever it may be. How do you make it mean something where your audience emotionally connects? This was just too much. But to add insult to injury, when you have five matches behind it that were overbooked as well? It’s just, that the audience is just like, ‘Okay, I don’t like this. I’m voting on this. I don’t like this.’ I mean, comparatively speaking, two years before that probably sold out that arena. So still, better than what we’d been doing but business was down. And nothing was changing to right the ship. This is just — God, and that’s the other thing, Conrad. When you say this is the worst pay-per-view of the year, it’s like saying for the WWE, ‘Hey, WrestleMania was their worst pay-per-view of the year out of the 12.’ That says a lot when Halloween Havoc, which was hypothetically the biggest show of the year for WCW. When that was, in one man’s opinion but I’m sure Keller and other folks might not have called it the worst of the year. But it was universally not praised. That’s just such a bad sign.”
You can keep up with all your wrestling news right here on eWrestlingNews.com. Or, you can follow us over on our Twitter and Facebook pages.
In a recent episode of his “My World” podcast, WWE Hall of Famer Jeff Jarrett opened up about various topics related to his time in WCW. He discussed Vince Russo missing WCW events due to a concussion and his match with Sting at WCW Halloween Havoc 2000.
Jarrett began by addressing Russo’s absence from WCW shows due to a concussion. He acknowledged that as a performer, injuries can happen, especially in a physical industry like professional wrestling. Jarrett mentioned that while Russo doesn’t mind taking an ass-whooping, it shouldn’t have come as a surprise that he got hurt. He also raised the question of who is at fault when the head of creative puts themselves in harm’s way.
Moving on to his match with Sting at WCW Halloween Havoc 2000, Jarrett described it as overbooked. He explained that if the angle and build-up were spread out over several weeks, it could have worked as an episodic storyline. However, when it came to the actual match, Jarrett believed that it didn’t work within the context of a wrestling match. He emphasized the importance of wrestling logic and making the one, two, three count mean something to emotionally connect with the audience.
Jarrett expressed his frustration with the excessive booking and how it affected the overall show. He mentioned that the audience didn’t respond well to the overbooked matches, and it was evident in the declining business for WCW. He compared the negative reception of WCW Halloween Havoc 2000 to calling WrestleMania the worst pay-per-view of the year for WWE.
The podcast episode provided insights into the behind-the-scenes workings of WCW during that time period. It shed light on the challenges faced by creative teams and the impact of overbooking on the overall product. Jarrett’s perspective as a performer and his experience working with Russo and Dutch Mantell (aka Zeb Colter) added depth to the discussion.
For wrestling enthusiasts and fans of WCW, this podcast episode offers a glimpse into the thought process and decision-making that went into creating one of the most memorable pay-per-view events in WCW history. It serves as a reminder of the importance of storytelling and wrestling logic in delivering a satisfying in-ring product.