Dixie says the TNA took a step back to take a step forward, and Steve assumes she’s talking about the jump to Destination America. But Dixie is referring to the roster: “When you have a Ric Flair on your roster, or a Hulk Hogan on your roster, or a Sting on your roster—to not have them on your roster, is taking a step back…”But [by having them] you’re not investing in your company for the future.” Steve asks Dixie about her country music company and asks if she is still involved. She says that she was—it was her company—and she maintained a presence for years into her TNA tenure. But as time went on, more and more artists only wanted to talk to her, which made it difficult to split her time.
Steve heads into a commercial and when the show returns, he asks Dixie about how she initially became involved with Total Nonstop Action Wrestling. She said that she had a meeting with Jeff Jarrett who was looking for a marketing/PR firm. She said that she didn’t even want to go because it was outside of her country music wheelhouse, but it was sports related so she decided to take the meeting. Dixie was involved with TNA since before it launched in 2002 from a public relations perspective, and became a majority investor when another party withdrew his support the morning after an event he would later refused to pay for. Dixie recalls when Jeff Jarrett came to her and said that he was in a financial bind and was going to try and raise some money. Dixie asked him how much he needed. Jeff asked if she knew someone, and she said, “Well, maybe. Potentially.” She said that by this point she was so impressed with the product and the work ethic of the individuals involved. She says that work ethic is very important to her, so she took the proposal to her parents company, and had TNA funded within days.
Dixie said that she was only supposed to provide a certain amount of money, but became very involved during the first few years. She said that it got “a little out of control,” leading Steve to ask what she means. She says that they were spending it, rather than investing it wisely until more money would come in. Dixie said that she was eventually put in as TNA president to help balance the budget, and became even more involved from that point on. Steve asks how transitioning into the wrestling industry has been. She said that she entered the business having respect for it, and spent quite a bit of time during the first few years, learning the ins and outs of the industry. She said that she was responsible for the deal with Universal Studios theme park, as well as a number of other early partnerships that still exist to this day. She also says that she was responsible for the Spike TV deal, through her contacts in the music industry.
Steve asks who had the book when she came into TNA. She said that Jerry and Jeff Jarrett were doing the booking, and Steve asks about Jim Cornette. She said that Jim came in later on, but never booked. Steve continued listing former bookers includingVince Russo, Dusty Rhodes, and Bruce Prichard. She says that the wrestlers of the roster didn’t know what to make of her when they first met her because she is a genuinely nice person that loves people, who’s also proficient at doing good business. Dixie said that within a few years she had the wherewithal to tell her bookers how she wanted her product to be presented. She said that she spent years listening to people say things like: “if we could just re-create the Monday Night Wars,” or “If we can just go live.” Dixie says that the television industry has changed so much in the last two decades, from the number of television channels to the amount of people watching live rather than on DVR.
Nick was born and raised in Detroit, Michigan, and lived there until the age of 18, when he decided to pack his flack jacket and move to New York City.
