The Rise & Fall Of TNA | Wrestling Timelines

28. January 16, 2005 | ‘Triple J’

At TNA Final Resolution 2005, the time is right for Jeff Jarrett to drop the NWA World title. 

He has held it for seven months. The idea - and you would hope that this is the case, and that Jarrett isn’t simply awarding himself the belt to satisfy his ego - is for TNA to book a long heel reign in order to make his loss feel like an achievement, a means of making a new star. Monty Brown could be that star.

The former NFL player is not unlike Goldberg, in that he boasts incredible intensity, albeit with a more flashy brand of charisma, and his awesome, creative smash-mouth pounce manoeuvre elicits the same gobsmacked reaction as Goldberg’s spear. Brown is explosive and, by late 2004, undeniable. Jeff Jarrett denies him, stating years later that TNA, over which he holds not inconsiderable creative influence, has failed to line up enough heel challengers for him. 

It feels like a big night early. A sense of hope fuels a show with a strong undercard and, through vastly improved video packages, a promotional flair. In the main event, though, Jarrett beats Brown in what has become the typically overbooked mess. The drama is overwhelming, to a point, but then, by the umpteenth guitar shot, cheap and unfulfilling. A low blow and three Stroke finishers gets the deed done. 

This decision will have lingering repercussions in the years to come. TNA feels like a Diet WWE in many ways. This is less-than-ideal in and of itself. Ring Of Honor is a far smaller promotion with significantly less financial backing, drawing rave reviews and staying afloat through the DVD market. ROH, not TNA, will shape the mainstream future of pro wrestling. TNA feels like an antagonistic, dumb carny outfit compared to it. This booking decision is evidence of that. ROH is a meritocracy; TNA is a vehicle for a guy who is wildly entertaining in the correct role, but has seemingly taken it upon himself to turn himself into the main event star that did not exist in the WWF nor WCW. 

The last thing TNA needs is to feel like WWE - not merely in tone, but in its hateful relationship with the fans and oppressive backstage politics. If TNA is the Diet WWE, Jeff Jarrett is the Diet Triple H inflicting his own Reign Of Terror upon the fandom. He earns the nickname ‘Triple J’, but even Triple H was smart enough to lose to Batista.