Column
By Zack Heydorn · July 17, 2026
If you believe in God and that we are all God’s children, then you have to imagine that Jeff Jarrett is one of the kids with his own room.
Somehow, through the litany of tragedies he’s experienced, from having to work through the loss of his friend, to keeping his family afloat after the loss of his wife, to his struggles with substance abuse, he’s still around, still kicking, and doing it all with a smile and confidence uncommon after that much pain. While the three-part, new Dark Side of the Ring documentary on TNA is titled “Jeff Jarrett and the Battle for TNA,” it’s noted in the third part that the story of TNA and the story of Jarrett are a parallel race, with his business venture coinciding with his will to survive.
Of all the wrestlers, managers, staff, crew and executives I’ve met, he’s absolutely the most charming and engaging of them all. Without knowing him on a personal level, he’s disarming. He’s interested in what you have to say and after ten minutes with him, you understand why he’s been able to keep this thing going as long as he has. Being so damn likable carries Jarrett. So many things in the documentary are framed as “Jeff never got a fair shot” or “Jeff had to fight from under.” I’m not saying those things aren’t true, but combined with who he is, how he talks, and his calm demeanor, it’s tough not to root for the guy.
The journey the episode takes the viewer on starts with Jarrett making it in spite of his promoter father, moves to Jarrett not being seen as “a guy” in WWE and doing the job of all jobs on his way out, to Jarrett building “The Little Promotion that Could” in order to spite WWE, and all the way to Jarrett once again being eaten by the machine.
His story’s a Nashville novella in the sweetest way. So sweet that his very specific misses (things like the “King of the Mountain” match and Monty Brown never coming to fruition) are glossed over or never mentioned at all.
But as a story about the man? His rise, fall, and ability to rise again? You want him to win. I don’t know if I’ve ever seen someone so open about their struggles with alcohol — from dates and events to rehab to reflection. That’s his charm. There’s a transparency to his words that could be sincere. It could also be total hogwash, but they make you feel something either way. Jarrett’s strength and resolve in the face of some of the harshest hands dealt to one man shouldn’t be questioned. Jeff Jarrett’s guardian angel would win the “Ultimate X” match laying in a hammock. The man is favored and simply one of one.
Recently, I did a rewatch of “Playmakers” — the short-lived ESPN series that covered the highs and dug a trench into the soil of pro football. Like most fictional movies or shows about sports, there was very little football played.
Watching the TNA documentary, I expected to see more WRESTLING and WRESTLERS. Specifically because TNA prided itself on what fans saw in the ring. In the show, there’s almost a complete erasure of AJ Styles, Ron Killings, Beer Money, and so many others that put the TNA thing on their backs and made it something you needed to see.
So few of the talking heads on the show were people who were there off rip. When you’re trying to establish and present TNA as a WCW successor or WWE alternative, the people who benefited from that should be at the forefront. Appropriately, Kurt Angle was touted as TNA’s biggest acquisition and a true game changer for what they could do inside and outside of the ring. Angle is great, but he wasn’t in the ring wrestling himself.
To the show’s credit, two of the very best, but very new entries into the talking head space, Kia “Awesome Kong” Stevens and D’Lo Brown were incredible. Stevens, one half of the feud that solidified the Knockouts Division in wrestling history, was insightful, emotional, and raw. You cannot tell the story of TNA Wrestling without talking about the disparity in pay between the men and women on the roster. Stevens never goes as far as saying “fuck you,” but she absolutely makes it clear that they were playing in their faces.
The best moment of the show was D’Lo Brown, then an agent for TNA, taking responsibility for his part in allowing Jeff Hardy to compete against Sting in one of the company’s lowest on screen moments. And, without spending too much time on it, they absolutely needed to tell the Jeff / Karen/ Kurt love saga to clarify Jarrett being pushed out. I don’t think it’s really our business, but what it did to their business is the crux of the story. Karen Jarrett was incredibly confident in explaining the good and bad of her relationships, but I don’t know how many minds were changed because of her perspective.
If you thought people didn’t like Hulk Hogan in life, they sure don’t like him in death. Ordinarily, there’s some grace given after you pass that extends itself past your work life and into who you were as a person, a citizen, and a man. Yeah, Hulk Hogan ain’t getting any of that.
This TNA documentary features Vince Russo, who hates his guts, Jeff Jarrett, who at least at one point hated his guts, and a litany of former wrestlers whose money he tried to fuck up.
That grace is the grease and they used it to cook his ass up for the latter third of the feature.
Hulk Hogan’s superpower was always being Hulk Hogan, but when that no longer involved big boots, scoop slams, and leg drops, what’s super about it? Seemingly everyone except Dixie Carter saw the play by Hogan. Pay me a bunch of money, I’ll bring in the guys who I used to get money with who aren’t dumb enough or rich enough to speak against me, and I’ll make all the people who built the foundation of TNA fade away.
I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention THAT COME TO JESUS MEETING as one the craziest non-violent moments I’ve ever seen in wrestling. It was so crazy that the PWTorch’s and WON’s of the world had to clarify that it was legit. Hulk Hogan put the big C battery in Carter’s back and took away her power at the same time. I fully expected him to get the kid gloves, or some semblance of understanding, but no no, they made it very clear that even in death, they aren’t afraid to speak on how he lessened their lives — very much on purpose.
Were you a TNA fan? What did you think of the three-part Dark Side of the Ring series? Let us know in the comments!
Subscribe to the Brass Ring Media Newsletter HERE.
Follow Cameron Hawkins on X HERE.