TNA's Don West comments on rumors of friction with Taz, turning heel while a color commentator, and why his run as the manager of Amazing Red was short


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TNA News


TNA's Don West comments on rumors of friction with Taz, turning heel while a color commentator, and why his run as the manager of Amazing Red was short
Nov 11, 2010 - 09:20 AM


Monday Night Mayhem with Don West
Hosts: The Big Mosh and "The Chairman of the Board" Todd Vincent
Report by Paterson from N.J.
Airs every Monday at 6:00 P.M. (CT)
Show available at MondayNightMayhem.com.


His response to any alleged rumors about heat with Taz (after the company brought him in as their new color-commentator), turning heel against Mike Tenay at the announce table, and his transition from being TNA's color-commentator to working full-time heading up TNA's marketing/sales department: "I hear things like that, and it makes you want to laugh. If anyone knows my background with Shop at Home, I was a pitchman before Billy Mays was a pitchman. I sold 150 million a year of sports memorabilia on Shop at Home for eight straight years, over a billion dollars worth of merchandise. That's what I do, and the funny part is me and Jeff Jarrett would always talk about why aren't they using me, and finally they came to and said, 'We want you to make a move, and come into our merchandise department, and do your thing.'

"Then they wanted to get a big name in, and Taz is ten times more known than I ever was, and it made perfect sense. They gave me a promotion. I appreciate the comments about missing me out there, and I really did like the heel character because it was starting to grow on me, but I'm doing what I'm supposed to be doing, and I'm more important to TNA doing what I'm doing now than I ever was as a commentator. I want people to know there was never a conspiracy, any harshness between Taz and I, none of that ever. It was a move I should have made years earlier, and I'm glad that they believed in me to make. It has paid off big time for them and for me."

Why his role as the manager of The Amazing Red only had a brief run and whether or not a return to television is out of the question for him: "You never say never in the wrestling world. How many people have we seen leave one place and go to another? Never is a word that doesn't exist. I enjoyed the Red thing so much. It was a timing issue, because right when that happened, is when I started taking on a full-time road schedule to help increase the sales on the road.

"I just couldn't do it being a married man, and with my age, I couldn't spend 250 days on the road. It was fun with Red, he's one of my all-time favorites. Anyone who watched "The Asylum Years" knows that, and remembers me standing on the table and yelling 'Go Red Go' in a Handicap Match. The entire run with him was fun, because I'm such a fan, but in this business, you could never say never."

His feelings on the promotion returning to The Nashville Fairgrounds (The TNA Asylum) this Friday night (one final time before the building is set to be demolished), reflecting back on the early days of TNA, and the credit he gives Jeff Jarrett for being the driving force in the company from Day One: "The excitement her in our town is really off the charts, and it reminds you of how it was those first couple of years. It's gonna feel how the ECW guys feel when they go back to Philly. It's going back to a building that we ran every week for almost two years, and that was at the $9.99 Pay-Per-View experiment days.

"Some of the best wrestling, some of the worst color-commentating of all-time (my first couple of years there absolutely), but some of the best wrestling that I can ever remember. The memories are incredible, and it really was some of the best wrestling, and a company that refused to give up. There was a lot of people that didn't think it would make it, and the only one I think that believed it never would quit was Jeff Jarrett, and he drove us all forward. You see the progression through the years. I'm as excited about this as any house show that I've ever been to and as excited about this as any of the things that I've been involved with TNA in a while. That's how good it feels to be able to do this show."

More is contained in this exclusive interview with the man synonymous with "the hard sell," including Don's candid thoughts and comments on how TNA can improve their awareness as a company into 2011, plus his memories from the highly anticipated showdown between Jeff Jarett and Raven at The TNA Asylum in 2003(which at the time, was the biggest match during TNA's early years). Log on to www.WildWestDeals.com right now to see Don returning back to his original element, and be sure to follow DW right now on Twitter (at www.Twitter.com/WildWestDeals).

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