The world of professional wrestling is one that has seen companies come into existence, make a name for themselves, and end up fading off into obscurity before disappearing from the face of the Earth. Others are still getting their feet wet and hoping that one day they can compete for the top spot and right now the one company that has the best chance of doing so is TNA and it was founded by none other than a wrestler. A wrestler that once sang before his matches and called himself the next great country star. A wrestler that once wore glasses with lights so he could be seen in the dark. A wrestler that coined the term “slapnuts.” A wrestler that has been down a road full of bumps and steep hills but always climbed over the top and kept on going except when it was time to find his rightful place on top of the mountain. That wrestler is “Double J” Jeff Jarrett.
King of the Mountain is a great combination of archived footage mixed in with full length matches from the career of Jeff Jarrett. Jarrett is pretty much interviewed throughout the entire four-disc set and discusses everything that comes along with his career, starting up TNA, and trying to have a life that he can have his family time mixed in with running a company. Let’s not forget that he is also an active wrestler in his company and one of the prominent figures and faces of TNA since its inception back in 2002. He goes over the hardships that have come along with TNA including monetary issues and just trying to get started in the wrestling business which had seemed like almost a monopoly due to Vince McMahon and the WWE. Jarrett actually mentions McMahon and how his work has revolutionized the wrestling industry while never coming across as overly critical of his former boss. I applaud him for being such a big person there and not making this about running down the competition while still trying to promote his own company.
There is an incredible amount of emotion during a few particular chapters that focus on the loss of two very important people in Jarrett’s life, Owen Hart and his wife Jill. As most wrestling fans know, Owen died after a fall at a wrestling event in 1999 and it was very hard on Jarrett as not only were they tag team partners but very close friends. Eight years to the day in May of 2007, Jill Jarrett lost her battle with cancer and was also taken out of Jeff’s life. Jarrett shares his thoughts and emotions of not only losing them but how it was to have them in his life and the sheer joy that both of them brought to him. His telling of Jill’s life and her intense battle with the horrible disease is incredibly sweet and heart-moving because he pours his heart out about all that she was to him and thousands of other people. It’s really great seeing all of this in the middle of a wrestling DVD set because it shows the true human side of Jeff Jarrett and the hardships he has gone through to still be where he is today.
TNA has come a long way since it started up. It has seen wrestlers come and go while others arrive and realize it is exactly where they want to be so they hang around. Jeff Jarrett is one that had a dream and has seen it realized, but now he wants it to keep growing and growing. Whether it is with superstars shunned by other federations or just those looking to get a leg up into the national spotlight by showing the talent they possess inside. Jarrett is a great promoter, wrestler, husband, father, and friend. It shows in all he does and all that is said about him by his co-workers that Jeff Jarrett is someone who has had a long hard road and come an extremely long way to be where he is today. King of the Mountain is a great look at one of the pioneers of wrestling over the last twenty years and I have a feeling he’ll be around for many more years to come.
2002: Jeff Jarrett And The First Ever TNA Pay-Per-View
2002: Jeff Jarrett Vs. Scott Hall
2002: Jeff Jarrett Vs. Ron Killings
2003: Jeff Jarrett, Dusty Rhodes, & The Road Warriors Vs. Vince Russo, Low Ki, Chris Daniels, & Elix Skipper
2003: Jeff Jarrett Vs. AJ Styles
2003: Jeff Jarrett Vs. Raven
2003: Jeff Jarrett & Sting Vs. Sean Waltman & AJ Styles
2003: Jeff Jarrett Vs. AJ Styles
2003: Jeff Jarrett Vs. Jim Duggan
2004: Jeff Jarrett Vs. Chris Harris
2004: Jeff Jarrett Vs. AJ Styles Vs. Raven Vs. Ron Killings Vs. Chris Harris
2004: Jeff Jarrett In A Gauntlet For Gold Match
2004: Jeff Jarrett Vs. Jeff Hardy
2004: Jeff Jarrett Vs. Monty Brown
2005: Jeff Jarrett Vs. Kevin Nash
2005: Jeff Jarrett Vs. Rhino
2006: Jeff Jarrett, Abyss, Chris Harris, & James Storm Vs. Rhino, Ron Killings, Brother Ray, & Brother Devon
2006: Jeff Jarrett, Scott Steiner, Chris Harris, & James Storm Vs. Sting, AJ Styles, Ron Killings, & Rhino
2006: Jeff Jarrett & Scott Steiner Vs. Sting & Samoa Joe
2006: Jeff Jarrett Vs. Christian Cage Vs. Abyss Vs. Ron Killings Vs. Sting
2006: Jeff Jarrett Vs. Samoa Joe
2006: Jeff Jarrett Vs. Sting
2007: Jeff Jarrett, Kurt Angle, Samoa Joe, Rhino, & Sting Vs. Christian Cage, AJ Styles, Scott Steiner, Abyss, & Tomko
2008: Jeff Jarrett Vs. Kurt Angle
1986: Jeff Jarrett’s First Ever TV Appearance
1986: Jeff Jarrett Vs. Tony Falk
1987: Jeff Jarrett Vs. Hector Guerrero
1988: Jeff Jarrett Vs. Jerry Lawler
1988: Jeff Jarrett & Bill Dundee Vs. Gary Young & Cactus Jack
The event is shown in 1.33:1 Full Screen format and everything looks pretty good. Some of the older footage is not the best in the world, but that is to kind of be expected. The productions value of the interviews and video segments though is really good.
The event is heard in Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound and it also comes through nicely although the surrounding speakers hardly seem used at all.
None – All of the matches are included in the main feature which isn’t the best idea in the world. I kind of wish they had done the feature portion and then separated the matches.
Considering Jeff Jarrett is the mastermind behind TNA, I can’t really see the WWE ever putting together a DVD set detailing his career so this one is kind of a necessary evil. It’s really good too and I give credit to TNA for coming up with a nice run down of Jarrett’s wrestling life along with a huge selection of matches. While not all the matches are top notch or necessarily the ones I would have chosen; there are more then enough good matches to make up for the lousy choices. My big problem with the set is that the main feature does a great job of going through Jarrett’s life, wrestling career, and venture into TNA…but so much is left out. It barely talks about his time in WCW or WWE at all which is to be understood, but it’s not like it would hurt anything. Jarrett mentions McMahon and his past, but doesn’t delve into much more of his past which I really would have enjoyed. The set though is still a very good collection of matches along with a decent telling of the king of the mountain, Jeff Jarrett. KABONG!
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Navarre Corporation presents Jeff Jarrett King Of The Mountain. Featuring: Jeff Jarrett, Samoa Joe, Sting, Rhino, Jeff Hardy, AJ Styles, Raven, Scott Hall, Ron Killings, and many more. Running time: 650 minutes on 4 discs. Rating: Not Rated. Released on DVD: April 14, 2009. Available at Amazon.com
