It was the late great John Denver once wrote, "Hey, its good to be back home again," and after a week of Total Nonstop Travel, I now see what he meant. Then again, he also thought it was a good idea to fly experimental airplanes over the ocean, and look where that got him.
Interesting to see the surprise return of Vince Russo, just seven days before Glenn Gilberti faces Jeff Jarrett in the biggest match of Gilberti's life. What impact will Russo have on this world title match? Tune in this Wednesday as Jarrett defends the NWA World Title.
Here is a bit of hot news…
This past Wednesday night saw the mutual split of the incredible tag team of D'Lo Brown and AJ Styles, citing that while they were fantastic together, both men's hearts were in the hunt for the NWA World Title. The NWA has listened to them, and has made a decision. This week, AJ Styles will face D'Lo Brown, with the winner to become the new number one contender for the NWA World Title. Where does this leave Raven? Tune in this Wednesday night to find out!
A very weird week in the life of Jeremy Borash, and my apologies for not putting up a column last week. I had one written on the plane, but then realized that I was being served free drinks and had and was in the midst of an 18 hour flight. It probably wasn't going to be my best piece of literature, so this week, I'll make it up to you with two, two, two columns for the price of one. Yes, welcome to Jeremy Borash's From the Inside, with 110% more content than ever before.
I mentioned it was a weird week… get this…
Two of the three of the Borash brotherhood wanted to be in the entertainment business at a very young age, and we have both been able to fulfill our aspirations, both coincidentally in Nashville, TN. My brother has played with some of the top names in the music business and is considered one of Nashville's better studio players. He's on the road constantly. I lead a pretty paralleled life in a different business with an astonishing amount of similarities. My middle brother went the complete opposite way, getting married, having kids, and raising them in the mountains of West Yellowstone, Montana. He is afraid of the big city life and he'd much rather be hanging out shooting buffalo with Ted Nugent. So, how did the granola eater of the bunch end up as a guest getting interviewed by Matt Lauer and Katie Couric Wednesday on the Today Show…?
My mountain man brother is also an adrenaline junky, and spends time extreme snowmobiling and on emergency rescues in the mountains. Last weekend, he was in British Columbia with some friends, and was one of the men trapped in an avalanche that stretched a mile wide. He saw the avalanche begin at the top of the mountain, and had no where to go, so he ran towards the biggest tree he could find, a move that would end up saving his life. He wrapped his arms around the tree as the giant avalanche struck, and was carried hundreds and hundreds of yards down the mountain. He was buried, and was sure he was going to die. The Today Show aired pictures of what was left of his snowmobile, and it was bent in two. Amazingly no one died in the incident, as he was thankfully wearing a beeper and was able to be dug out after several hours buried and nearly frozen. He was hospitalized, but is now up and walking around fine.
Since then, he has turned into a bit of a media star, appearing on media all over the world. CNN, NBC, MSNBC, and countless amounts of radio and newspaper interviews. He told me on the phone that he finally had his fifteen minutes of fame, but it nearly took death to get it.
Unfortunately, it often takes something like that to appreciate life. I really don't know whether I should be sad he went through this experience, or happy he lived to tell about it. Either way, Craig, congratulations, you beat your brothers to the Today Show.
Trying to not move my Raven effected head very much, the NWA World Champion Jeff Jarrett and I boarded a plane early Thursday after last week's TNA show, bound for New Zealand. I've done the trip now six times in the last two years, so I'm pretty used to the endurance that is Qantas Flight 145 from LA.
After doing media upon arrival in New Zealand, we were able to do our only bit of sightseeing on the tour. Auckland is beautiful, and was a lot of fun. We met a giant Samoan bouncer that said he was related to Meng, making him officially the third Polynesian person I've met out in public that has told me that.
Sunday, it was off to the arena, and time to get ready for the PPV. If you buy TNA PPVs, you will love this one from the WWA, easily the best effort from the group. The Four Way match between Chris Sabin, Jerry Lynn, Johnny Swinger, and Frankie Kazarian gets my vote for the WWA's first four to five star match, as it was as flawless as anything I've ever seen. There wasn't a weak match on the show.
Congratulations to Jeff Jarrett, who defeated Sting on the show, and unified the WWA and NWA World Titles.
I was a bit sore after taking Raven's Evenflow DDT. Actually, I was very sore. I know I may look tough and carry myself like a real ass kicker that takes no sh*t, but that one caught me a bit off guard. I had some back pain and the top of my head was sore. I'll be the first to admit I don't know what the hell I am doing in there, but at the risk of personal injury, it is much more important to me that it looked good. I have no idea how wrestlers do it, and have come to the conclusion that my decision to make a living in the wrestling business off my mind and not my body was a smart move. As much as I have been around the wrestling business for the last several years, I still readily admit to having no idea what it is actually like to have to do that for a living, and understand the veterans who complain about non-workers in the business who have never taken a bump and "don't know what it is like to be in our shoes." The pain endured alone is insane.
A reporter that will go unnamed took me to task, accusing me of fabricating a story about skydiving with Scott Baio. Imagine that, being taken to task by a dirtsheet writer for a false story, now that's funny. And besides, who on God's green earth would make up a story about hanging out with Scott Baio? If I was going to name drop, you'd think I would have come up with something better than that, like water skiing with Fabio. Don't get me wrong, we all loved him as Chachi, and his performance on Charles in Charge was groundbreaking, but please, give me more credit than that.
Konnan attended former Tic-Tac-Dough host Wink Martindale's 65th birthday party in San Diego last weekend. Martindale and Konnan are neighbors and have been friends for a while. Strangely enough, Konnan's dad's real name is also Wink.
There is heat between TNA girls Lollypop and Tyson, after Tyson allegedly had a lollypop in her mouth minutes before show time several weeks ago. While is may be considered gimmick infringement by many, Tyson claimed to simply have had bad breath and was looking to alleviate the problem. All will most likely be worked out between the two. I love legit heat between chicks. I really do.
TNA Xplosion will debut next week in Philly. Check out www.nwatna.com for more information.
It was nice to be back behind the microphone last weekend doing play-by-play with #1 contender Glenn Gilberti for the WWA show. It was also nice to catch up with David Penzer, and always had fun with him on the road.
Aside from everything else… the NZ trip was especially fun for the simple fact that it united Borash's "elite six" of post show hangout friends. Such notables as Sabu, Konnan, Puppet the Psycho Dwarf, Meatball, Teo, and Glenn Gilberti. Anytime you can hit the town with Gilberti and Konnan, a legitimately psychotic individual like Sabu, and three midgets who can drink everyone under the table, you have the makings of a good weekend. All hail Meatball… which reminds me of the story of my 27th birthday…
At the time, I was co-habitating with a certain female in Nashville who wasn't exactly a huge wrestling fan, but tolerated it nonetheless. It was a Wednesday night and a bunch of us decided to celebrate another passing of a year for ol' JB. Yes, it was my 27th birthday, and it was one of those nights where you knew something was going to get out of hand. Some of my closest friends… including such luminaries as Don West, Slash, AJ Styles, Chris Daniels, and yes, and possibly most importantly… the midget trifecta (Puppet, Teo, and Meatball) gathered at our favorite post show pub, Marathon's in Nashville. I knew the party had reached a boiling point when Puppet the Psycho Dwarf was running around the bar giving piggyback rides to Slash from the New Church, something that had to be seen to be believed. Sure enough, all good incidents of Sha-na-na-nanigans have to come to an end, so AJ Styles and Chris Daniels, the lone legit role models of the group, drove us all back to my house. The highspot of the evening was when my co-habitor came home, only to find three passed out drunk midgets lying on the floor, much to her absolute shock and disgust. At that point, for the first time in my career, I knew the wrestling business was my calling in life.
An item I forgot to mention from last week… congratulations go out to Konnan and Mike Sanders, who both made wrestling history for uttering the words "rusty trombone" on two separate occasions on our PPV two weeks ago. These references to bizarre acts once again spawned discussion on whether or not we need to bring in a luchadore by the name of Dirty Sanchez, a latino wrestler with a fetish for unspeakable acts. More on this story as it develops.
The TNA anniversary show is shaping up to be a special night, with the gold circle $45 dollar ringside seats now completely sold out. Get on board if you plan on making the trip, as this one will sell out soon. Go to www.NWATNA.com for more details. The main event should be announced soon.
Speaking of sold out, more AJ Styles shirts are being made to satisfy the incredible demand. Right now, the top selling shirt is the Total Nonstop America shirt, featuring the TNA logo in red, white, and blue colors. The new S.E.X. shirt and the new Raven shirt are both selling very well as well. All TNA shirts are available for ordering on www.nwatna.com
In the wake of the tremendous Jarrett/Raven show a few weeks back, I find it interesting how nearly every I talked to, especially my friends up north in WWE land, went out of their way to see that show. To me, it was a good show, but barely made my top five list. Taking nothing away from that show in particular, TNA's goal is not to build to one big show, but to make sure every week is special, and I think they are. We are actively working to make sure that is the case, realizing some shows build to a bigger matchup than others, no one show we do has any less effort than any other, and we are working to make sure it comes across that way to the fans. We are not in the business of building to one "big show" versus another. As Jeff Jarrett often says, we are the pre-season, the regular season, the playoffs, and the World Series all rolled into one. To us, every week is special, and every week we strive to give you your money's worth.
Low Ki will likely be out for two months with a dislocated collar bone. Very painful indeed. Thankfully, this injury did not effect his James Earl Jones-ish voice.
Paul London was taken to the hospital following two weeks ago after the show in need of some stitches. Keep your eye on Paul London, X-Division Champion Chris Sabin, and keep a very close eye on Triple X, all of whom could be in line for a major singles push very soon.
Had a chance to spend some time with my good friend Bret Hart over the weekend in New Zealand. I hadn't seen him since his stroke, and he has had an amazing recovery. Bret's speech during the WWA show was a very emotional moment, and was very difficult for him on a number of levels. If you are a Hitman fan, you don't want to miss it. A great evening for me, and there have been many over the course of all the WWA tours, is hanging out with the Hitman after a show and just listen to him tell stories. I could do it for hours. He still brings out the fan in me. I consider myself lucky to know him and even luckier to call him a good friend.
Just like the performers in the ring, announcers follow each other very closely, and listen to commentary with a very different, attentive ear. When it comes to wrestling play-by-play, Tenay is this generation's Gordon Solie, and I think if he were alive today, I think the Dean would consider that a tremendous compliment.
TNA staffer and all around handsome lad Mortimer Plumtree is leaving the TNA family to tend to his own family back in my birthplace of Minneapolis. Morty and I have known each other since the legendary Wrestling Radio days (yes, they were legendary, and I will put that show up against anything I have ever heard in the wrestling business, including WCW Live!) and I consider him to be one of my best friends in this business. We will miss him, his incredible work ethic, and his amazing sense of humor. Good luck, pal… you are doing the right thing in your decision, and will always be welcomed back.
We'll miss ya Morty!
Jeremy Borash
www.nwatna.com