Jeff Jarrett Recalls Convincing Sting To Turn Heel In TNA, Concern Around Kurt Angle In ’08

On the latest episode of My World With Jeff Jarrett, the WWE Hall of Famer recalled having talks with Sting to turn him heel in TNA Wrestling at Victory Road 2008, the wear and tear on Kurt Angle around this time and more. You can check out some highlights below:

On negotiating Sting’s heel turn: “When you said, ‘Was it a negotiation?’ And the first knee-jerk reaction would be, ‘Oh my gosh, everything’s a negotiation.’ What I’ve learned through the years, and this is now over 20 years is that I’ve not just shared dressing rooms with him, but I’m talking about from a business relationship. Well, WCW, we worked together a lot and you know, the story, I met him and all that. But I’m talking about the TNA days when I did start into true business negotiations, not a match finish. Is that what I’ve found through the years is, yes everything is a negotiation with Sting. But the reality is that he doesn’t have a knee-jerk reaction to anything. He processes things kind of a lot like you. Which is think things through, not in a hurry. And I tipped my hat to it because he always was, he always is, very protective. And I don’t say of his character, but just of the decision-making process and trying to think as long term as he possibly can. Which, I really do, ’cause he is not thinking about this match or this TV show or this month. It’s a long game.

“And so, you know, at this stage of his career, you’re right. He was really the icon. He was the face of WCW at this point. He had not gone to WWE. He had joined our company, and licensing deals and everything we’ve talked about with Stinger that he helped bring to the table and was a part of, and really at this point, he had been with the brand for many years, several years. And switching him heel — I don’t wanna say it wasn’t an option, but he wasn’t going to stray too far out of the character that he had developed through the years. He could have a different mindset, and a different platform, and a couple of tweaks in his character that could head him down that road. But even in the peak of the Main Event Mafia, he wasn’t a Scott Steiner, Kevin Nash, Kurt Angle heel. He was still Stinger. So yeah, a lot of thought process went into how this was gonna develop. And I’ll say this, back to our early comment: these types of conversations absolutely led us into the Main Event Mafia.”

On concern about Kurt Angle around this time: “Well, stressful and not just ’cause of Kurt. Just running the business day to day during ’08, and this is the timeframe we’re talking about, Conrad. It was, I don’t wanna say insanity, but so many moving parts. And yes, one hour to two, business-wise we were getting more and more successful. The drama between I’ll just say, between me and Dixie [Carter], or Dixie and Dallas. And there is a drama that went on between Dixie and Dallas and Dean, the CFO trying to play referee, and Andy. And I just kind of call it the office politics, the regular day-to-day talent politics, my home life. You know, it was tough. Losing my wife in May of ’07, and so we’re a little over a year removed. That was personally some dark times. But so many different moving parts. But when it came down to Kurt, was I worried? You know, you can imagine this. The guy that probably should know first? I knew last, I wasn’t concerned. And I also remember having different conversations with different folks. And Conrad, you know me — well, the listeners know my delusional optimism. I can remember having conversations with folks and saying, “Now quit judging Kurt.”

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit My World With Jeff Jarrett with an h/t to 411mania.com for the transcription.