[WWW] NWA TNA 10.17.03 Jeremy Borash column

http://www.nwatna.com/columns/inside/2003/10/17/inside.shtml

10.17.03 | FROM THE INSIDE with Jeremy Borash

Greetings once again and welcome to another edition of From the Inside
with JB. Like Rush Limbaugh is to Oxycontin, I just can't get enough
of Total Nonstop Action. A great mix of strong storytelling and action
made for another fun night at the PPV this last Wednesday.

Lots of stuff to get to this week... so lets get to it.

To say the last two weeks behind the scenes of TNA have been amazing
is an understatement. With the NWA World Title match this Wednesday
night between Styles and Jarrett, and all of the attention the Hulk
Hogan press conference incident is getting, TNA looks be heading into
a big swing of momentum as we head into the fall season.

A very well respected writer once wrote that the only thing keeping
TNA from being the number one wrestling company in the world is
exposure. Thankfully it looks as though millions of new eyeballs are
watching TNA with every passing week. There have been so many new
markets for Xplosion over the past few weeks I can hardly keep up with
them. Check out the newly re-designed nwatna.com for details.

The line up for this week looks absolutely stellar. It will be a night
of champions as all of the titles will be on the line this Wednesday
night. Let's look at the line up…

Obviously the NWA World Title match will headline this event. Styles
defeated Jeff Jarrett four months ago, and since that time, Styles has
faced everyone thrown his way, except Jarrett, who has yet to receive
a rematch. This one will close out what I believe will likely be one
of our best shows to date.

The X-Division title will be on the line in a three way between Sabin,
Christopher Daniels, and the champion Michael Shane. Look for this one
to tear the house down.

The NWA World Tag Team Championships will be on the line with Simon &
Swinger taking on Doring & Roadkill, after they upset the champions in
a non-title bout thanks to a little assistance from AMW.

Speaking of AMW, Glenn Gilberti has promised a mystery team he has
recruited to take them on this Wednesday night.

AJ Styles is the focus point of the latest TNA commercial. We've
gotten a lot of feedback from those who have seen it on Xplosion.

The new TNA DVDs are selling rapidly. If you can't receive TNA PPVs,
this is a must have, and make a great Christmas gift for any wrestling
fan. Check out NWATNA.com for DVD line-ups and ordering info.

TNA "Bound for Glory" will truly be an international event, with
several countries outside of North America on board for the broadcast.

I can confirm that Japanese sensation Tiger Mask will be appearing on
the November 30th PPV broadcast. Details of location are being held
for an announcement soon.

TNA is also planning on our first fan convention to coincide with
"Bound for Glory" on the Saturday before the PPV. It has been stated
elsewhere that there hasn't been a fan friendlier promotion than TNA,
and we intend to go all out to thank our fans for their tremendous
support since our inception.

Congratulations to Don West, who has been hired as the brand new
afternoon talk host on Nashville's Sports Talk 560. West is on
Monday-Friday from 3pm-6pm, and has one of the best sports shows I've
ever heard.

Yes, those darts were real two weeks ago when Slash was making a
pincushion out of the back of fellow New Church member Sinn. For the
past several years, Sinn has been part of a traveling freak show
similar to the Jim Rose Sideshow Circus.

All four of the combatants in the X-Division tag were very impressive.
Hats off to El Fuego, Eric Young, Jarelle Clark, and Sonjay Dutt. Dutt
will be back this Wednesday night, and I would be surprised to see all
of them back sooner or later.

Minnesota native ODB (One Dirty Bi%ch) has relocated to Nashville. She
is one of the most muscular chicks I've ever seen, and can go in the
ring as well.

While I will say being in the wrestling business can be all-consuming
at times, it is the little things that keep it interesting. A quick
story to give you an example…

I don't want to give too many details on this one, but from time to
time, we will hear about a name on the indy scene or someone from an
overseas promotion and have to try and get in touch with them to bring
them in for a look. In wrestling, Kevin Bacon's six degrees of
separation is usually dwindled down to one or two, with everyone in
the business usually just one or two phone calls away. I was asked by
a former employer to book a certain piece of talent that was requested
for a segment. He wasn't an indy worker... or a valet from the pages
of Swank... nope... that would have been easy. I was told to call
Rocky, as far as I could tell, the nation's only performing boxing
kangaroo. Yes, it seems that Rocky has entertained the masses by
boxing his trainer at county fairs and special events all over the
country. I was able to track down Rocky's owner at a county fair in
Pennsylvania. After several messages, someone from the fair called me
back with the number to the trainer.

Of course, your first question has to be why in the world would they
want a boxing kangaroo on the show... well, either they were looking
for a sideshow comedy act, or Rocky the Kangaroo is one hell of a
worker. My first thought upon entering this conversation was how we
were going to work out the price... and in comparison to other
sideshow acts, what is the going rate for a boxing kangaroo? It's not
like he doesn't have a corner on the market. And, what happens if the
kangaroo comes in with an attitude and one of the boys decides to crap
in his bag? How would a kangaroo react to that? All these questions
were in need of answers.

After exchanging pleasantries and explaining what the six show deal
would entail, the trainer invited me to cut right to the chase and
talk turkey. The company was actually going to fly me in to see what
Rocky could do in person, but thankfully we never got that far. Yes, I
was almost sent to scout a boxing kangaroo. I repeat; I was almost
sent to scout a boxing kangaroo. The trainer instead flat out demanded
a price of ten thousand dollars per show for the five show deal. I
repeat; ten thousand dollars per show, totaling a sum total of 50
thousand dollars for a week's work. I'm no P.Diddy, but I have to
believe pulling in fifty grand a week for getting kicked in the chest
by a kangaroo is pretty good ching if you can get it. I was a little
taken aback by his monetary demand, but figured he was just starting
out to see what he could get. I countered with one thousand a show,
which I still believe has to be more than he makes at the county fair.

Like the time I was goosed by Star Jones, playing hardball with a man
and his boxing kangaroo was a traumatic experience I have yet to
recover from. After all was said and done, we could not agree to
terms, and negotiations with the boxing kangaroo came to a complete
halt.

That is all for this week… this Wednesday night will be a huge PPV and
well worth checking out. Have a great weekend!

Jeremy Borash
[EMAIL PROTECTED]