Jeff Jarrett recently spoke with Wrestlezone’s Kevin Kellam while promoting the upcoming Starrcast convention in Chicago. You can read a few transcribed highlights and listen to the full interview below:
Starrcast will be in Chicago from Thursday, August 30th through Sunday, September 1st at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Schaumburg, Illinois. The four day event will also be available to watch live through the FITE app.
(Transcription credit to Bill Pritchard for Wrestlezone)
Jarrett talks about his involvement in Starrcast, how Conrad Thompson has put the event together:
It’s so cool, hats off to Conrad and his entire Starrcast team—I put out on my social media—it truly is groundbreaking and history making. You have stars that you can literally go back the last five decades under one roof, right there in the Chicagoland area, and it’s the podcast world—the internet and the streaming and the podcasting is so prevalent in today’s professional wrestling, Conrad decided to stick his neck out and made a convention based around that. When I sat back, me and the guys—Global Force [Wrestling] and FITE, we’ve had a relationship for many years, but formally over the last 4-5 months—here we are, we’re going to put Starrcast live on FITE TV and it is going to be just incredible. Technology as we all know, it never ceases to amaze me. You’re going to be able to buy it and it’ll be in your FITE library forever. If you’re there live you can buy it and go home and watch it. There’s two programs happening at the same time several time over the four day event; if that happens you can switch back and forth with the channels. If you’re watching it on FITE there’s a live chat feature that you can be engaged, and every panel and podcast is going to be taking questions from the FITE broadcast. It’s a really cool opportunity, and right now Conrad, right now they’re selling a piece of the wrestling mat to an event that takes place on Labor Day weekend; he’s packaged it up and he’s selling the pay-per-view with a piece of the ring mat. To me, there’s not a lot of firsts, but to my recollection, this is the first time that they’ve ever pre-sold this kind of stuff, and from what I’m hearing about the sales, this sale won’t be around much longer.
Jeff talks how streaming technology has changed pro wrestling:
Technology has brought the entire world—it’s not just wrestling—much closer. It’s instant communication, and the instant messaging—and I don’t mean that in the AOL [sense]—but you can literally have an instantaneous exchange of information. To put it into context, I used to go on the road, and you literally wouldn’t see your family for a week, two weeks, or three weeks, whatever. Now you see them every minute on Facetime. That type of technology that society is so engaged with, why not stream it? And that’s what’s so cool. You’re going to be able to, with the FITE app, sit in the comfort of your cubicle, or your living room, click the button, put it on the big screen and you’re going to be there as if you’re live, but it’s also a lot better because you have your refrigerator and your own bathroom.
It used to be ‘oh that’s an internet thing. That’s an internet wrestling fan’ and I’ve never really subscribed to that mentality. Back before the internet there were always the hardcore fans that waited after the matches and would meet you at a gas station, that found some way to connect with you. Now it’s just the instant information and the exchange of information which makes this so cool. If you have an event like Starrcast that legitimately sells out; that’s unheard of, and to put it on a streaming service like FITE and for me to be a part of it, I’m humbled just to be a part of this engagement. Labor Day weekend it’s going to be history made, and I’m headed over to the UK—I’ve got a big press day on Friday—they’ve asked me “you’re coming here for your ‘Ain’t He Great’ tour, are you going to be able to talk about Starrcast?” And I’m like “am I going to be able to talk about Starrcast? I’m absolutely going to be talking about Starrcast!”
It’s pretty cool how the whole world is connected. It’s the United Kingdom and a boy from Nashville is going to do a spoken word tour, but they’re asking about Starrcast, and it’s going to take place in Chicago on Labor Day weekend. We’re all connected Kevin; one way or another, whether you like it or not, pal! [Laughs]
Conrad Thompson Talks Starrcast On FITE, Hulk Hogan’s WWE Relationship, Daniel Bryan’s WWE Future
Jarrett talks about his “Ain’t He Great” tour, which airs next week on FITE:
The spoken word tour has really emanated out of [my WWE Hall Of Fame induction]. Since that time in April when I was inducted, the promoters over there where I’ve had a long standing relationship, the merchandisers, it all sort of came together. They thought about it and they gave me a proposal, and long story short, I won’t get long-winded, but it starts Monday in London, I’m in Edinburgh, Scotland on Tuesday. As you mentioned, Sheffield [England], that show is going to be seen on FITE live around the world—$9.99 is the price, but everybody’s heard that before—when I heard the price, everything sort of came together. There’s a six hour time exchange, so for the folks from the US, you can watch it from the comfort of your cubicle on a Wednesday afternoon, or from your home. Depending on what time zone you’re in, it just depends on when you watch it, but with the FITE technology, you can purchase it and it’s there forever. If you can’t catch it live you can watch it at your convenience.
Jarrett comments on what his WWE Hall Of Fame induction and that weekend meant to him:
I have done quite a bit of media in the past two weeks with the Starrcast announcement, but also the tour in the United Kingdom. I’ve been asked that question a lot, and it’s never very easy to put it into words, to do it justice, but it was obviously such an incredible honor. I’m to this day still very humbled, I’m very, very grateful for the opportunity for the induction. I go back to some simple words that I was the lucky one. My grandmother got into the business in the 1940’s selling wrestling tickets. It greatly altered the path of our lives. My father got into the business, and he promoted and wrestled, and I followed in his footsteps. Three generations, with a lot of events under our belts, there were a lot of ups and downs and in-betweens. Just everything that went into it, and I’m just the one that got to be on stage and get inducted into the WWE Hall Of Fame 32 years to the day of my very first in-ring match. It’s very special and I can’t really put it into words how much it means, but it was obviously a very, very special night for me and my family.
