My World with Jeff Jarrett - King of the Mountain [Show Notes] (Patreon)

In honor of Memorial Day weekend we’re going to look back at the first ever King of the Mountain match with a watch along but first we’re going to discuss the show itself before we get into it!

Jeff - this show is live from Nashville, Tennessee - the Fairgrounds in fact - the home of Starrcast by the way…and it took place on June 2nd, 2004.

But how we got here is quite interesting Jeff. From the Observer:

“Jerry Jarrett underwent a four-and-a-half hour quadruple heart bypass surgery on 5/21 after a heart attack scare two days earlier while planning the weekly TNA PPV.

Jarrett, in his early 60s, was found to have major blockage in one artery, significant blockage in another, and some in two others. The scare took place at the Nashville Fairgrounds at about 3 p.m. Jarrett was feeling light headed and fell back into a chair, complaining that he felt his heart racing. He was rushed to the hospital by Jimmy Hart and Bert Prentice, where they found a greatly accelerated heart rate. His heart rate was immediately put under control through medication.

Jarrett, who had joked in an interview just few weeks ago about his lifestyle not being the healthiest for a man of his age, came out of the surgery well, but was told he was going to have to take it easy for a few months. Jarrett noted at the time that he wakes up running and doesn’t stop, and has often eaten one meal per day, and not until 6 p.m. Besides being involved in TNA, Jarrett also runs a successful construction company.

The PPV that night was built around Jeff Jarrett interfering, hitting A.J. Styles with a guitar shot, which led to Styles being pinned by Ron Killings in a four-way, that also involved Raven and Chris Harris, and Killings got the NWA title. A back-up plan was put into effect in case Jeff Jarrett wasn’t going to be able to return to the building, but Jarrett did come back for the main event finish.”

Jeff - can you walk us through how this all happened and what you remember of it?

How stressed out is your Dad and are you feeling the same stress?

That same show seems like it was almost cursed…Sonjay Dutt got into a car accident on the way to the airport…and then during the main event of the show…where AJ Styles defended his NWA title in a four-way against Ron Killings, Chris Harris & Raven…you come out with a guitar and smash AJ and bust him open. Is this just one of those days?

The match though has an interesting gimmick. Attempt to follow along. From the Observer: “The new thing is apparently go come up with new stipulation matches every week. The problem is, if you come up with a new one maybe every other month, it can mean something, but when you do it weekly, it almost guarantees nobody will care about any of them. This week’s was the Killings title win, which wasn’t a regular four-way. It was a deal where Styles started against Harris for five minutes, then Raven joined them at that point, and at the 10:00 mark, Killings joined them. The nature of the match kind of guaranteed that there couldn’t be a finish for 10:00. Match was missing something, in that there were spectacular moves, but it didn’t hold together well at all. It had the ref being out of it spot where Jarrett interfered and hit Styles with a guitar shot. Raven DDT’d Styles, but Harris saved. Harris dropped the elbow off the top on Styles, but Killings pulled ref Rudy Charles out of the ring so he couldn’t count. Killings then used an ax kick off the top rope and pinned Styles in 19:12. Vince Russo came out to tease overruling the decision, while ref Andrew Thomas was pointing out the broken guitar pieces all over the ring, which I guess would count for some sort of evidence. Russo then decreed he was upholding the Killings win.”

Is this the height of Vince Russo pushing gimmicks?

It’s written in the Torch that AJ was hot about the guitar shot…”A.J. Styles was upset with Jeff Jarrett because of the cut he received from Jarrett's guitar shot. Although Styles calmed down quickly, wrestlers point out that Jarrett has a history of being reckless with guitar and chair shots. One incident that wrestlers recalled was when Jarrett split open D-Lo Brown's head on a TNA pay-per-view..”

Do you remember AJ saying anything to you? What do you remember of this and do you think you were working stiff with the guitar?

It’s also written in the Torch: “The decision to give the belt to Ron Killings was puzzling to a number of people. TNA gave him an early run with the belt. He quickly lost steam after he won the belt, and he has only recently regained the popularity he achieved prior to winning the title. It turns out, Vince Russo and Scott D'Amore made a strong and successful push to convince Jeff Jarrett and Dutch Mantel to give Ron Killings the NWA Title win on Wednesday night.

Ron Killings didn't find out until the day of the show that he was winning the NWA Title. He was said to be frustrated when wrestlers warned him that his title reign would likely be a short one, since everyone expects Jeff Jarrett to win the title either before the show debuts on FSN or shortly thereafter..”

What did Russo & Scott say to you to convince you two to put Ron over?

Was there issues with Killings?

Considering all this…it’s also interesting as the Torch reports this about Russo: “Vince Russo issued a statement on the internet to announce that he is going to ministry school in Colorado. He was telling friends backstage that he plans to continue working for TNA, although no one seems sure whether his school schedule will force him to give up his current on-air role”

When does Russo tell you this is his plan? What did you think of it?

When does the King of the Mountain concept get pitched? Who pitches it? Who’s idea was it? Was it exactly how it was originally planned or were there tweaks of the gimmick before the final presentation?

We are also about to start the next era of TNA - the debut on Fox Sports Net. We talked about this recently in the archives so be sure to check it out but between your Dad and this…wow Jeff there’s a whole lot going on isn’t there?

We touched on this briefly but the rumor and innuendo from the Observer at the time is that the plan was to make sure you were going to be the first champion when the FSN show debuts and that’s why the title went from AJ to Killings so you can win it. What was the thought process behind this?

Who came up with the name?

To follow up on last week … “Vince McMahon did an interview in Toronto for “The Score” TV network, and when asked about TNA, shunned them off saying, “They’re wrestling, we’re entertainment.” There are people internally who want to use that as a marketing slogan, quoting Vince”

Well…you know…

From the Torch: “Jimmy Hart was backstage at the May 19 pay-per-view. He sat in on a meeting as part of TNA management with Bob Ryder and Tim Welch. The meeting was held to formally present the wrestlers with the new independent booking contracts that will enable the company to book the wrestlers on indy shows while collecting a 15 percent booking fee. The reaction to these contracts is mixed, as wrestlers who had steady work on the indy scene are concerned that they will now lose money, while others who couldn't find work are happy that they will conceivably work more often. One concern is that wrestlers who turn down indy bookings arranged by the office will end up having heat with management. There was a case recently where one wrestler turned down a potential booking from the office. The wrestler later told friends that he was unhappy with the payoff he would have received and was not interested in traveling to the site of the indy show. He also said that he felt pressured by the office to accept the booking, although he eventually talked his way out of it…”

Who do you think this wrestler was?

How important was Jimmy Hart to TNA at this time?

Who is Tim Welch?

Also from the Observer: “Jarrett decided against giving Konnan his release, so he’s staying. It was said to be kind of embarrassing for him since the week earlier he told everyone he was getting his release and told everyone goodbye”

What was the Konnan situation like around this time? It sounds like you were going to release him after he requested it and then you backed out of it…do you remember what was going on at the time?

Last but not least thing we’ll cover before we get into the show…with the expansion of the weekly TV show…you need more staff. From the Observer: “Shane Douglas looks to be moving from a talent role to working as an agent and doing backstage interviews. Terry Taylor was back so he’s officially been rehired. Jerry Lynn was also hired to be an agent, although he’ll continue wrestling.”

Why was this important for you and the company?

We’re going to break down the show now thanks to the Torch and Wade Keller before we get to the main event!

6/12 Torch:

TNA PPV #97 Report

June 2, 2004

Live from Nashville, Tenn.

(Live from Nashville, Tenn.)... Clips aired from previous shows, then Mike Tenay and Don West introduced the show. They went to Scott D’Amore cheerleading his Team Canada…

How good was Scott in this role?

(1) Bobby Roode & Petey Williams (w/D’Amore) beat Jerry Lynn & Heavy Metal at 9:03 after “Showtime” Eric Young KO’d Lynn with a hockey stick from behind. Metal really stunk up the place with bad selling, especially with his quick recoveries and lack of appropriate facial reactions. Otherwise an entertaining tag match with a good forwarding of the Lynn-D’Amore feud. (*)

What do you remember of Heavy Metal here not keeping up with everybody it sounds like? What did you think of team Canada as a whole?

(2) “Alpha Male” Monty Brown pinned Sonny Siaki at 7:05. Nothing much was done to establish who was the face or heel. A decent match overall, though, with the usual good intensity from Brown and more urgency than usual from Siaki. (*1/2)

Sonny Siaki is someone we don’t talk much about…but he was a major part of the beginning of TNA. What about Sonny stopped him from being more?

After the match, Glenn Gilberti and Johnny Swinger attacked Siaki with a coconut and then put a straw skirt on him. “Irish” Pat Kenney made the save, then Trinity kicked him from behind. Desire then ran out to even the odds and whipped Trinity with a leather strap.

Different time huh Jeff?

Hudson interviewed A.J. Styles who said he considered himself the favorite in the King of the Mountain match because of his experience with ladders. Raven interrupted and asked Hudson why he was wasting his time interviewing a redneck. He attacked Styles…

We also don’t talk about Scott Hudson much. How was he as an interview guy in your opinion?

(3) Frankie Kazarian pinned Amazing Red to retain the X Title at 9:52. Above-average match, but Red and Kazarian don’t bring out the best in each other. Red hit his Red Star Press and 718, but Kazarian blocked a springboard attempt and hit the Wave of the Future for the win. (**1/2)

Bit of styles clash here but crazy that both are still going…how good was Red?

Hudson interviewed D-Ray 3000, who stuck a comb in his Afro. He stammered and said he’s happy to be in TNA, but doesn’t know whom he’s wrestling…

(4) Abyss pinned D-Ray 3000 at 3:15. Abyss was fascinated with the comb in D-Ray’s hair. Goldy Locks came to the ring with a briefcase late in the match. Abyss hit his Black Hole Slam to easily win. Goldy opened the briefcase and revealed a lot of cash. We don’t know why, exactly. (*)

D-RAY 3000? JEFF! TELL ME ABOUT D-RAY!

As Abyss kept beating on D-Ray, Erik Watts made the save. Tenay said Russo had told Watts to stay away from the Asylum until further notice. He knocked Abyss out of the ring. Goldy grabbed the briefcase. Watts yanked it away from her and said it was his money. Security entered the ring and escorted him to the back. Vince Russo made sure he left the arena…Russo insisted Watts give him the money back and to “trust him.” He told him to go home and be with his wife. Watts seemed shocked Russo would bring up his wife. Goldy ran into the picture and screamed that Watts should go home to his wife…

Just…where…what…Jeff what is this?

Hudson interviewed Dusty Rhodes and James Storm. Dusty said the tag title belt would look good on the hood of his car as he drove away after the show...

How great is Dusty at this time?

It’s noted in the Observer: “The crowd was hottest for the Kid Kash & Dallas title defense over Dusty Rhodes (by far the biggest reaction of anyone) & James Storm. It was 5:00 before they locked up, and crowd went nuts live with every Rhodes gyration, even though it was it was a lot different watching on TV as nothing happened forever”

Also noted in the Observer: “The difference was the crowd, which, for whatever reason, was the hottest TNA crowd in a long time. They’ve had crowds hot for certain matches, but this crowd was into everything on the show.”

What do you remember of this crowd being this loud and hot? How rare was it?

(5) Kid Kash & Dallas beat Dusty Rhodes & James Storm at 11:03 to retain the NWA World Tag Team Titles. Tenay and West said it had been 20 years since Dusty had held half of the NWA tag titles when he and Manny Fernandez beat Nikita & Ivan Koloff. West compared Dusty to George Foreman. In the end, Dallas KO’d Storm with a lead pipe. An entertaining match personality-wise, and some solid exchanges between Kash and Storm, but mostly stalling from Dusty. (*)

Hudson interviewed Jarrett about his title shot later. Styles attacked Jarrett. They had a brief pull apart brawl... Hudson interviewed NWA Champ Ron Killings along with Konnan and B.G. James, who all complained about the odds being stacked against them…

Here we go JEff we’re going to fire this up now and watch this whole match!

3-2-1!

Watch along with us on Impact Plus - NWA TNA Weekly PPV #97 starting at 1:21:18 - or check out our Social Media as we will have the direct YouTube link to it as well!

(6) Jeff Jarrett won the King of the Hill reverse- ladder match over incumbent Ron Killings and Chris Harris and Raven and A.J. Styles to capture the NWA World Hvt. Title at 20:23. Very good gimmick concept match.

In another innovative gimmick match introduced by TNA, Jeff Jarrett regained the NWA World Hvt. Title for the third time in a King of the Mountain match. He won by climbing a ladder and hanging the NWA title belt on a hook above the ring before incumbent champ Ron Killings and top contenders James Storm, A.J. Styles, and Raven. He hit Killings with a guitar just before making the winning climb. The other key stipulation was that anytime someone was pinned, they had to spend two minutes in a “penalty box” (a small cage) at ringside. At times more than one wrestler was in the penalty box. Sometimes they had a mini–cage brawl, other times they called a truce to rest. Jarrett previously held the title from Nov. 20, 2002 through June 11, 2003. He also held the title from Oct. 22, 2003 through April 21, 2003.

From the Observer: “Jeff Jarrett regained the NWA title on 6/2, the day before the first TV taping, in a King of the Mountain match over two-week champ Ron Killings, A.J. Styles, Raven and Chris Harris. The King of the Mountain gimmick was that a wrestler couldn’t win the match until he had scored a pinfall. Whenever someone lost a fall, they would be put in the penalty cage for two minutes. To win you had to get the belt from Vince Russo and go through all the wrestlers and climb to the top of a ladder and hang the belt up. While the rules were confusing, the match came across well. Everyone had scored one pin by the 16:00 mark, and they did ladder match spots from there. Styles took a crazy knock off the ladder bump where he crashed onto the cage at ringside. Harris and Raven were both climbing up when Harris knocked Raven high off the ladder and he went through a table. Killings then climbed up and knocked Harris off the ladder and he also went through a table. At this point, Jarrett was in the penalty box. Killings was then about to win when Jarrett got out of the box, climbed to the top and hit Killings with a guitar shot. One of the pieces of the hook kept falling off so the actual finish was kind of embarrassing as Jarrett had to re-hook it, then put the belt up there to win in 20:10. They had to approach the FSN deal, whether this is a valid premise or not, that they are mainly introducing a product to a new audience. While a lot of people, and rightfully so, consider this the Jeff Jarrett vanity promotion, he was the best guy to go into the new television as champion. They also need to pick one babyface, whether it be Harris or Styles, who it is clear is the guy getting the push and build a fairly decently length program chasing and getting it, because long-term, Jarrett can’t be the guy. It also should be noted that those in the booking process have noted that Jarrett was insistent upon being champ when the TV started and an inordinate time in booking meetings is spent on his angles”

And then it gets really goofy Jeff…

“Show ended with Stephanie Bellars (Randy Savage’s ex-Gorgeous George) walking out at the end, and Mike Tenay saying, “I haven’t seen her in years” while not identifying her. It was so weird, because this supposed cliffhanger ending was never acknowledged on television two days later. Bellars has been working as both a touring stripper on weekends using the name George Frankenstein, as well as a bartender and hostess at the Crystal Springs Country Club in Hamburg, NJ, using the name “George” and telling people she prefers that name to Stephanie. She’s now married to a member of “The Misfits” rock group that worked in WCW. It is said she was very tolerant of the fact that many people try and do Savage voice imitations when they order from her. That’s probably a Hart connection since she was in the XWF. Hart has taken on a lot of Jerry Jarrett’s duties”

Where was this going Jeff? Why end with her? Was this the Jimmy Hart connection?

From the Observer: “The plan to make Styles the focal point of the X division was noted here months ago, and always planned for when the TV started. Styles himself is happy with it, because he feels he can do the kind of matches he wants better with those opponents. It shows a totally different mentality than WWE or even WCW during the cruiserweight division’s peak. In those companies, the mentality was the cruiserweight division limited you to lower mid-card status, and smaller guys of that size, such as Eddy Guerrero, Chris Jericho and Chris Benoit, and even later Rey Mysterio, felt they needed to get out of the cruiserweight stigma if they wanted to be top stars. Certainly in WWE today, the cruiserweights are a joke. If Bruce Prichard or others don’t get the division killed by creative, the booking has already set it up for the same end result. Fans have been conditioned not to think it’s of any importance. This does give TNA a style and concept of its own, which is good. In Japan, there have been several companies, like Michinoku Pro, Osaka Pro and Toryumon, built around smaller guys. They are not gigantic successes, but they’ve survived by giving fans a style that the big companies don’t concentrate on. But they are not at the level where the wrestlers make big money working for them.”

Was AJ excited about going down the card to get back to X Division matches?

Did anyone have any issues with the concept of the match? The rules? Did anyone object to it? How hard is it to put something like this together from all the angles - wrestling, production, referees, etc?

Was it a success in your mind?

Jeff you get the win and your 3rd time with the NWA Title. Where does this rank in terms of title victories?

How was this look back Jeff?

Better than you remember, worse, equal?