mid-day interacted with professional wrestler and co-founder of Impact Wrestling Jeff Jarrett as he spoke about his visit to India, his journey in the business as well as future prospects in the country
Jeff Jarrett
Jeff Jarrett
ADVERTISEMENT
Impact Wrestling roster visited Mumbai for the first time in history in order to shoot four episodes of Impact.
Jeff Jarrett, a professional wrestling great, wrestling promoter and also the co-founder of Impact Wrestling, was present at the event. mid-day interacted with the wrestling legend and got to talking about his visit to India, his journey in the business as well as future prospects in the country.
How has been your trip to India so far?
It has been great. It's a unique time for us now as we are creating history. My family has been in the wrestling business for over 70 years and something like this has never happened before. We are actually producing content with a global company, but for the first time on Indian soil. Wrestling has been around in India for a long time. WWE has been here and Impact is also being viewed for 15 years. It is the first time we will be shooting for Impact in Film City, Mumbai. It's historic!
You have had an amazing journey from being a profound wrestler for years and now you co-owning Impact Wrestling along with your father Jerry Jarrett. Could you tell us more about it?
Before I was a wrestler, I was a wrestling fan. My father wrestled and promoted it, my grandmother got a job after World War II selling wrestling tickets. During my younger days, I went to watch the matches in Nashville, Tennessee every Saturday night. From there, I went to riding in the ring truck when I got my license. I sold tickets, popcorn and photos and all that. After my first year of college I got into the wrestling business, then refereed and wrestled. In April this year, I celebrated my 31st year in the wrestling industry. Being in the ring has been my first love in this business, but over the last 16 years, when I left WCW in 2001 there was a huge void in the market place. I knew we had an opportunity and we launched TNA Entertainment… and here we are! 2017, I am a promoter and very excited to be a part of the process. But, like I said earlier, it’s hard to do a first in this business and we truly are doing that. We are producing professional wrestling in Mumbai – the home of Bollywood and it’s huge. We are excited to be a part of this and I feel very blessed.
What is your opinion on upcoming Indian wrestlers who are now finding their way to the global stage? Where do you see Indian wrestling moving forward?
Well, this is kind of an offbeat story... But, it goes back maybe 25 years ago when I was sitting down with my stock broker and he talked about merging markets that would be potential money makers. India was on the rise. And it’s no different from professional wrestling, for example, Impact Wrestling being in the market for 15 years. We have also signed a deal with Sony Six. Since the last 20 years, the United States would be the no. 1 market followed by the United Kingdom. But I see India far surpassing UK in popularity, growth and opportunity. Looking at the current events taking place with WWE, Impact Wrestling, you can see we have great opportunities. Several years ago we came to India and did ‘Ring Ka King’ and I knew then that India is a market that is certainly going to become second to none.
What can the fans expect from Impact Wrestling in the future?
During the month of June, our 4 episodes lead up to Slammiversary. We have very compelling, India-specific content that will be created. Just the fact that we are producing content in Mumbai is unique and exciting and the fans will see that.
What message do you have for Impact Wrestling fans in India?
First off, thank you! I appreciate the opportunity. We know you guys have wanted this for a long time. I cannot wait for you to see what’s next and I also cannot wait to come back. This is just the beginning of the relationship as far as producing live events. This is a launching pad for Impact Wrestling in India
Subscribe today by clicking the link and stay updated with the latest news!" Click here!
