On the latest episode of My World, Jeff Jarrett recalled the shock of landing Kurt Angle for TNA, calling it the biggest signing in the company’s history and comparing its impact to the game-changing stars of past eras. You can check out his comments below:
“Buddy, if that wasn’t the shock of the world, because it was Kurt’s wife in WWF, and then it was Kurt’s wife in TNA — we don’t need to go deep into it. But I looked at Kurt not just as an executive producer play, that we’ve got the guy who personifies Total Nonstop Action. From a personal point of view, I knew I get to step out of the ring — it was the total exhale of, okay, we’re signing this guy. I think his first deal was five years, and we had an option for six and seven. Bob Carter committed by far the biggest contract TNA had ever committed, by far. So when I looked at it, however you want to say it, this is my Jerry Lawler, this is my Hulk Hogan, this is buddy all in. His manager, Dave Hawk, was in Orlando, and he looked at me and said, yeah, I think Kurt’s going to come available. I’m like, Dave, yeah right — no, he’s really going to be available. I said stay in touch, and when we got him, I looked at Karen as the ultimate support system. In a lot of ways, the success of Kurt was going to be the success of TNA, and the one person who could make sure we were growing through that whole relationship was the spouse. That’s how I viewed her.”