July 18, 2002

I had the opportunity to conduct a very interesting interview with NWA-TNA’s Jeremy Borash. Jeremy talks about his current role with TNA, his past involvement with WCW, and future plans for TNA. Here is the interview in its entirety.

Steve:  What role do you play with NWA-TNA as a whole?

  JB:  Well I, like the rest of our staff, wear many hats. We have a small yet very efficient streamline staff. There isn’t one person that works in the office that does not handle 5 or 6 different jobs. One of the things I do is ring announce the show and I also serve as board director of the shows. Basically, anything that is going on or needs to be done out at the ring whether it is queues or moving a table or a latter. So during the show, that is what I do. During the day, I’ll go out and arrange interviews and help out with local media. I also help with ideas from time to time. I could probably be traced to 10 or 12 tasks with the company.

  Steve: How did you become involved with the wrestling industry?

  JB:  I was hired to do an Internet audio show with Bob Ryder in WCW. That started March 9^th of ’99. I did that until WCW closed down. I saw the writing on the wall early with WCW and started making contingency plans with my career. Vince Russo and I had written some pilots and shopped around for some things and we were contacted by an Australian wrestling promoter to go do the WWA. Vince ended up stepping out of that and I did the WWA tours.

  I had met Jeff Jarrett in WCW and kept close contacts with him. Jeff and I became close while working with him on the Australian tours. He saw my potential and gave me the ball and allowed me to run with it. I was one of the very first employees of this organization.

  Steve: Can you describe what your experience was like with WCW?

  JB:  I would not have traded it for the world. Even though people complained about WCW, through them I was able to see the world and live out something I thought I would never be able to do and that was be involved that high up in the wrestling business. I was doing radio one day and next thing I know I am working for WCW. I started to see after a while how messed up the company really was.

  There were some really good people working for the company, yet there were some people who did not know what they were doing. No matter what anyone says, no one person can ruin a company or sink a ship. If you are involved with a company that does not have a boss, good things will not happen. When Eric Bischoff left the company, he was never replaced. Overall, I loved the people; I keep in contact with a lot of the people, and would have to say that I loved my experience there. 

Steve:  How would you describe the differences between NWA-TNA and WCW?

  JB:  With NWA-TNA, we have been a constant evolution since we started. We will continue to evolve and changed with anything that is thrown at us. But, at the same time, throwing money at something isn’t the way to resolve a problem. That’s one thing I love about working for the Jarrett’s. You can’t solve issues by throwing money at them. You have to work them out and be efficient. I don’t want to see them spending more money than they have to because I know we need to keep this company afloat. By working things out efficiently displays good business sense. Something WCW never had was good business sense. We have a leader and everyone in the office get along great, but we also share that friendship on a professional level.

  Steve: A question a lot of people want to know is if NWA-TNA will get a TV deal with a national network. Do you see that happening anytime soon?

  JB:  Our business structure the way it is has the potential to be very profitable. As a wrestling fan, you are used to seeing it done one way and the business has changed. It used to be that fans would drive to a local house show to view wrestling matches. Television and PPV then came along and all the angles were driven to sale a PPV. We are just going towards the next evolution. It is a tough pill to swallow for some fans but I look at it like this; I would rather spend the same amount of money to see 4 of our shows a month and get roughly 8 hours of our program then to take the risk and spend the same amount of money to see a traditional 2 hour and 45 minute PPV and not know what you are going to see as well as risking whether you get a good show or a bad show. I think WWE’s television shows have been overly saturated and it makes it hard for their PPV’s to mean something. They have 4 hours of television a week to make just as exciting as a PPV to keep their ratings high. With NWA-TNA, it is a new format and a new way to bring wrestling to the fans. Until the ad market improves and the business comes out of the low it is in, I think we are going to stick with our business plan. It seems to be working well so far.

  Steve: Are there any well-known wrestlers out there that NWA-TNA is trying to acquire?

  JB:  We are talking with any and all available talent that is out there. I can’t say much more than that.

  Steve:  Will NWA-TNA consider touring more throughout the U.S. and overseas?

  JB:  That will come with time. First and foremost, we do not want to run before we can walk.  The house show business, right now, is down everywhere and that is not just with wrestling, that is will all forms of entertainment ever since September 11^th.   I’ve got a lot of concert promoter friends and I know people who run other live events and they indicate their business is down as well. So, right now, the money is not to be made at live events. We have picked to run our show out of one location and we will continue to stick with that and be a television PPV company. The audience in Nashville loves the shows and they are great. We are there to basically shoot a television show. That could change with time, but right now, this is our business plan. If the WWE is struggling with house show events at the level they are at, we are not going to attempt to do the same thing with our more limited television exposure.

  Steve: What would you consider you most memorable wrestling moment?

  JB:  The development of TNA. We have put so much work into it. We worked 6 months non-stop and 12 hour days. I’ve never worked harder in my life but at the same time, I’ve never had more fun doing it. After all the hard work, it was an honor to be the first voice that fans heard when they watched our very first show. That to me was the culmination of so much hard work. I can’t think of anything else that could top that. The next progressive level in our success is the only other thing that could top it.

  Steve:  Is there a worst moment that stands out?

  JB:  The last night of WCW. It was sad and frustrating. I knew I would be fine. I left a very successful radio career to do wrestling. So, I knew if something ever happened, I could go back to doing that. There were a lot of people there with WCW that found out one week later that they were unemployed. Those are people with wives and kids.

  Steve: Are there any plans for Vince Russo to take full control over the storylines?

  JB:  No. It’s the Jarrett’s company so whatever goes on air will have their stamp of approval on it. Full control lies with the person putting up the money.

  Steve: Something that has eluded Scott Hall in his WWF and WCW careers was the World Title. Will NWA-TNA consider giving Scott Hall the title?

  JB: We started with a storyline similar to that in the beginning. I think we may go back to it. There are other guys who have not been considered world title contenders as well such as Brian Lawler, K-Krush, and Jerry Lynn. But, Scott specifically, yes, absolutely.

  Steve:  Does NWA-TNA hope to make a strong run at WWE or is the company willing to settle for a solid number two?

  JB:  Whether we want to compete or not, the fans are going to be the ones to decide that. The business was never more successful than when the two companies of WWF and WCW were competing against each other. A lot of money was made when the Monday night wars were taking place. Competition is healthy for the business. If I had my way, we would be up against WWE every single Monday night. Hopefully there will be a day when that happens.

  Steve: Jeremy, thank you for your time today and I wish you and NWA-TNA the best of luck.

  JB: Thank you!