10 People Most Responsible For TNA's Failure
5. Jeff Jarrett
Jeff Jarrett founded Total Nonstop Action with his father, Jerry, in 2002. One year removed from WWE’s purchase of WCW, the market was a monopoly, but the Jarretts came with the noble intention of providing an alternative away from Vince McMahon’s giant.
Their tenure wasn’t disastrous. Jeff & Jerry brought countless young talents into the company, but nepotism and ego quickly kicked-in. Jeff has always been a talented guy, but he comes with a colossal ego. If rumours are to be believed, the younger Jarrett genuinely thinks he’s on the same level as a Steve Austin or The Rock, and that became a real problem through his TNA tenureship.
In 2003, Jeff Jarrett was at the heart of every TNA show. Instead of letting younger, more exciting wrestlers climb up and take the top spot, Jarrett hogged it for himself, and this usually involved him hoolding the top championship. Jarrett’s title reigns were long, tedious, and loathsome, and every main event program revolved around him for close to four years.
The Jarretts sold their stake to the Carters early on, but the problems continued for several years before Jeff’s stranglehold on the main event slowly weakened. TNA really started to catch fire and gain momentum almost as soon as Jeff walked away for the first time, which makes you wonder where they’d be today if not for his politicking.