12 Things We Learned From Dark Side Of The Ring: TNA (Parts 1 & 2)

9. The Ring Broke Minutes Before TNA’s Debut Show

Disaster! Calamity! Hell! Send for help!

Literally minutes before they were due to start shooting matches for the debut PPV, TNA staff were in a right panic. News spread that the ring had broken, and there didn't appear to be an easy fix before the first match was set to take place inside it. On that, Mitchell recalls a “manic” atmosphere, and people thinking the whole thing was screwed.

Jarrett had seen it all before though, so he managed to stay calm and they got through it. The ring was still literally broken as TNA went on the air though, so his faith that everything would be alright was certainly tested. Anyone who has spent any kind of time around a wrestling company has a story similar to this, but most of those events take place in small halls for the house - they're rarely beamed live on pay-per-view.

One gets the impression that low expectations for TNA were born from WCW's own failings. After all, Jeff made no secret of his bid to make this new outfit WCW-esque, but there was a sour taste in the mouths of many about what had happened to Ted Turner's organisation. Was trying to become just like it really the extent of Jarrett's ambitions?!

He wasn't looking at things that way, especially not at first. All Jeff wanted to do was put on some fun wrestling shows and keep himself busy in an industry he adored. No doubt he could've done without all the flapping and the ring headache, right enough.