Dirty Dango Recalls Being Pitched To The Late Jerry Jarrett Back In 2004 TNA

Longtime Memphis wrestling promoter Jerry Jarrett, who passed away this week at 80, used his wealth of knowledge to found NWA-TNA in the early 2000s along with his son, Jeff. While the Jarrett Era of TNA is long behind us, one member of today's Impact Wrestling roster has a distinct memory of the elder Jarrett's time as the head of the company.

Dirty Dango (fka Fandango in WWE), a recent signing for Impact Wrestling, took part in a recent episode of Cultaholic Wrestling's "Desert Island Graps" podcast, where he discussed his brief tenure in NWA-TNA in 2003 and 2004. "Bill Behrens hooked me up. I was working for NWA Wildside in Cornelia, Georgia. Kenny Dykstra and I would drive from Boston down to Georgia," Dango recalled. "Bill was the liaison into TNA at the time and he said, 'Why don't you come down to the Nashville Fairgrounds and do a dark match?'"

Dango competed for TNA sparingly in 2003 and 2004, often in losing efforts on "TNA Xplosion" against established talent. The former Johnny Curtis elaborated on his brief meeting with Jerry Jarrett. "Bert Prentice, God rest his soul, was there and he brought me to Jerry Jarrett and goes, 'What about this kid for a babyface?'" Dango said. "Jerry looked at me and said, 'No, we have enough babyfaces.'"

Dang would go on to perform as a part in WWE for 15 years, beginning in developmental territory Deep South Wrestling in 2006. He was released from the company in June 2021.

If you use any quotes from this article, please credit "Desert Island Graps" with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.