GUEST BOOKER with JERRY JARRETT
Reviewed by Brad Dykens
Jerry Jarrett was the quiet mastermind behind the highly successful wrestling scene in and around Memphis, a territory known as one of the most colorful circuits of the old regional system. The Memphis territory was a launching pad for many of wrestling’s top performers. Jerry Jarrett is also the true founding father of TNA wrestling, before getting pushed out around 2005.
Guest Booker is a www.KayfabeCommentaries.com original concept, and has taken the old school wrestling community by storm. The current wrestling product(s) on TV is (are) not catering to the fans of what has come to be known as the “kayfabe” era of professional wrestling. So fans who crave that old school flavor of wrestling that they grew to love have to choice but to turn to people like Sean Oliver, who is doing his best to keep kayfabe alive by developing this unique brand of DVD’s for the viewing public.
Sean Oliver sat down with the always passionate Jerry Jarrett, and asked him to save WCW in 2000 by playing a healthy game of fantasy booker. Oliver also picked Jarrett’s brain about various topics, relating to his experience as a wrestler and a famous booker. I was surprised to learn that Jarrett was on the payroll for both WCW and the WWF at the same time as a consultant. Jarrett talked about the deteriorating wrestling product in 2000, and revealed some ideas about how he would save it from its own destruction. Jarrett is perhaps the least charismatic guest booker to sit in the KayfabeCommentaries.com hot seat, but you quickly learn that there is a method to his process. As is the case with all previous Guest Booker DVD’s, I found myself listening to the words of wisdom coming out of the subject’s mouth, soaking it all in, getting my education from one of the greatest minds of pro-wrestling. Jarrett first picks a roster, narrowing the field to thirty wrestlers, carved from the original sixty that were actually on the WCW payroll at the time. He also picked which championships he would keep (and which he would get rid of), and then crowned his champions. I was shocked to learn how much of a Hogan-mark this guy is. Then he set out to script several months of matches and storylines involving all the wrestlers that he wanted to push. The booker once again proved that good wrestling doesn’t always have to be so complicated. Keep it simple, stupid!
Get a healthy dose of “kayfabe” by visiting www.KayfabeCommentaries.com and check out their collection of DVD’s featuring various wrestling personalities such as Kevin Sullivan, JJ Dillon, Gabe Sapolsky, the Honky Tonk Man, the Iron Sheik, Missy Hyatt, Jamie Dundee, Gary Hart, Greg Gagne, Sandman, Raven, Tito Santana, Greg Valentine, Nikita Koloff, Magnum TA, and much much more.
Reviewed by Brad Dykens on October 30, 2008.
Courtesy of Alan Wojcik at www.alanwojcik.com
Jerry Jarrett is one of the smartest people ever to work in wrestling. His family was part of the Memphis promotions for decades, he was in line to take over the WWF in the event Vince McMahon went to jail during the 1990’s steroid trial, he worked for WCW in its dying days and with his son Jeff, he co-founded TNA Wrestling. So he is the obvious choice for the newest KayfabeCommentaries.com Guest Booker DVD.
So what topic did Sean Oliver and his crew come up with for Mr. Jarrett, how about re-booking WCW in the year 2000? The KC crew have talked World Championship Wrestling in the past, most notably an excellent sit down DVD with former WCW star and booker Kevin Sullivan. In 2000 Sullivan, Eric Bischoff, Vince Russo & Ed Ferrera were all bookers plus a commitee was somewhere in the mix. The payroll was out of control, the ratings were lower than those of anything wrestling had seen. Mr. Jarrett is asked by the KC.com to book WCW from April 2000 to December 2000, giving him total control of the roster, payroll and championships which at that time were more props than having actual meaning (paging Arquette, David Arquette.) Before talking about WCW, Oliver probes Mr. Jarrett on what made him successful as a promoter and what was his place in wrestling scene of 2000. Once he gets rolling on the WCW project, Mr. Jarrett is articulate as ever in his message for turning WCW around and some of his choices on who to keep on the roster are surprising as were his booking choices to chase the championships. In between he offers some insight on wrestling legend Hulk Hogan and his current relationship with his son Jeff who recently came back to the ring.
I proudly recommend this DVD for your collection. You can by it on www.kayfabecommentaries.com for $20.00. Also on the site you can pre-order the Great Debate: Race/Sammartino and the much publicized Iron Sheik Roast.
