It was reported yesterday that the latest induction into the WWE Hall of Fame this year will be Jeff Jarrett. I am absolutely shocked, to say the least! I'm not shocked because of anything like talent, but more so based on him having his own wrestling companies. I never thought that Jarrett would ever get to the WWE Hall of Fame! It's akin to when the Ultimate Warrior was welcomed back and went into the Hall of Fame, something nobody thought would ever happen. I figured his father Jerry Jarrett would go in before Jeff did! Needless to say, I felt obligated to write about this.
I appreciate Jarrett's accomplishments and feel he's done enough to deserve a spot in the Hall of Fame. However, that's not to say he doesn't have his faults! He was also never a huge star in wrestling. Mike Graham famously said of Jarrett: "he broke six thousand guitars but never drew a dime." While I definitely agree with this statement, with all due respect to the late Graham, this quote is the most I remember from Graham's wrestling career and it was long after he retired. I'll get the negative stuff out of the way first.
Jeff Jarrett is someone I never considered to be a main event talent or at the level of a World Champion. In my opinion, he was a midcarder at best! That's not a bad thing, though! Strong midcarders are important in wrestling organizations. Ted DiBiase, Roddy Piper, and Mr. Perfect never held the WWE Title but it took nothing away from their legacies. By the time Jarrett won the WCW World Heavyweight Title, the company was in shambles and the Title meant nearly nothing. In the year 2000 alone, the Championship changed hands well over 20 times. Jarrett also gave himself the World Title in TNA a handful of times. While I don't agree with the way things ended between him and the WWF in 1999, especially if the rumors about Jim Ross and Steve Austin not liking Jarret or him holding the WWF up for money are true, I still don't think Jarrett was a main event talent. Plus, he could be seen as slightly boring.
I don't want to be too negative, though, because that's not what this blog is about. Jeff Jarrett started under his father Jerry Jarrett's CWA promotion as a referee. He briefly worked the World Class territory as well before those companies merged to become the USWA, co-owned by Jerry Jarrett and Jerry "The King" Lawler. Jeff had some success there but didn't reach the level of fame he's known for until he came to the WWF in 1994. However, one of the things that made the WWF reach out to Jarrett was what put him on the map, winning the Tag Team Titles with Jerry Lawler.
Double J
With Jarrett's WWF debut came a brand new gimmick, that of a Country Music star turned wrestler. It was almost like a County version of the Honky Tonk Man. He came out with a guitar and flashy attire, claiming to be as big a deal as Country legends like Dolly Parton and playing the Grand Ole Opry. Much like the Honky Tonk Man, Jarrett also couldn't play but still carried his guitar with him, often using it as a weapon, which became his most well-known trait, even well after the gimmick was finished. Jarrett was nicknamed "Double J" and would often spell out his name, emphasizing the word double. "J - E - double F J - A - double R - E - double T. That's 'Double J,' Jeff Jarrett," he would exclaim. Jarrett would also ask the most condescending rhetorical question; "Ain't I great?" and strutted like he was Ric Flair.
After his momentum stalled in the Summer of 1994, he brought in the Roadie, who took care of all the equipment, did mic checks, and also caused a lot of distractions for Jarrett. With the Roadie by his side, Jarrett started winning matches and eventually earned an opportunity at the Intercontinental Title, held by Razor Ramon at the time. The two would face off for the Title at the 1995 Royal Rumble. During the match, the Roadie often interfered and the two men would capitalize on a knee injury Razor sustained during the match. Later on, Razor was about to perform his "Razor's Edge" finisher but his knee gave out. Jarrett then pinned Razor to become the new Intercontinental Champion.
Jarrett held that Championship two more times during his first stint with the WWF but the next chapter of his career was probably the most intriguing. Jarrett's continuous claims of being a great Country singer caused him to put his money where his mouth was, as he had not yet played his guitar or sang. Most fans assumed he was lying. Jarrett then promised he would put on a concert and unleash his new single "With My Baby Tonight." To everyone's shock, he actually sounded good and the song was quite catchy. I'm embarrassed to say I still know all the words. However, something wasn't quite right! It was clear to everyone that Jarrett was lip syncing. Jarrett would later deny those claims, however, persisting with the lie. After Jarrett lost the Intercontinental Title to Shawn Michaels with backfired interference from the Roadie, he went back to the USWA, not to be seen again in the WWF for six months. It turned out that the Roadie was the one who actually sang the song, eventually calling himself "The Real Double J," Jesse James.
Jarrett returned briefly in early 1996 in a forgettable feud with Ahmed Johnson before parting for WCW. By the end of the year, Jarrett was in a position to try and become a member of the Four Horsemen. Horsemen leader Ric Flair was somewhat intrigued but Arn Anderson, Chris Benoit, and Steve "Mongo" McMichael were not sold on it at all. Mongo's wife Debra was fond of Jarrett, much to the chagrin of her husband. Jarrett was never a true Horseman, though. Most of the time he spent during this time was in somewhat of a love triangle with Mongo and Debra. He also did wrestle as a babyface when WCW was being overtaken by the nWo. Jarrett represented WCW in matches against nWo members from time to time. Eventually, Debra became Jarrett's valet for the remainder of Jarrett's time in WCW.
Jarrett returned to the WWF by the end of 1997 in the "NWA revival" storyline, featuring Jim Cornette at the helm. Cornette brought with him NWA legends like Barry Windham and the Rock n' Roll Express, UFC legend Dan "The Beast" Severn, and Jeff Jarrett to form an NWA stable. Jarrett briefly held the NWA North American Heavyweight Title before going back to his old gimmick, this time with the former Col. Robert Parker, now known as Tennessee Lee. The Godwinns soon became known as Southern Justice and joined him. The stable feuded with Degeneration X members X-Pac, Billy Gunn, and the Road Dogg, formerly Jarrett's Roadie.
Jarrett's feud with X-Pac became personal and the two men faced off at SummerSlam 1998 in a "Hair vs. Hair Match." Jarrett lost and X-Pac cut his hair, leading to a new attitude for Jarrett. Jarrett would exclaim "don't piss me off!" Jarrett left his stable and reunited with Debra, who became his manager. His new, more aggressive attitude made him someone to take a lot more serious. Jarrett then formed a team with the late Owen Hart. They gelled well together and actually had a reign as WWF Tag Team Champions. After Owen died tragically in an accident, Jarrett dedicated his match the next night to his friend, as well as breaking down with Debra in an interview about Owen.
Jarrett was on his own again and targeted the Intercontinental Title and by the end of his third WWF run, he became a record setting six time Intercontinental Champion. He had feuds with Edge and D-Lo Brown, among others. Jarrett's character turned to that of a chauvinist and claimed that women should be barefoot and pregnant, in the kitchen, and all of the other cliches you could think of. Along with Jarrett and Debra, was Miss Kitty. Jarrett attacked the Fabulous Moolah and Mae Young, among every other woman on the WWF roster. However, he met his match with Chyna. Chyna defeated Jarrett in a "Good House Keeping Match" to become the first female Intercontinental Champion and Jarrett was not seen again in the WWF.
WWF writers Vince Russo and Ed Ferrara left the company around the same time. Jeff Jarrett then returned to WCW. Russo and Ferrara also started working in a writing capacity in WCW. Because Russo was a big Jarrett supporter, he did what he could to help his friend. Jarrett was christened the "Chosen One" and it would lead to Jarrett having a few reigns as the WCW World Heavyweight Champion and leading an nWo revival at one point, calling everyone around him "slapnuts" along the way. As I stated earlier, by the time Jarrett won the big one, the Title didn't mean anything. He was simply not on the main event level, when people like Sting, Goldberg, Kevin Nash, and Hulk Hogan were on top. Speaking of Hogan, Jarrett defended the Title against Hogan at Bash At the Beach 2000 in one of the most infamous moments in wrestling history. Vince Russo did a worked shoot, in which he reversed Hogan's Title win and bashed Hogan, with the Hulkster never to be seen in WCW again. Later on, Jarrett lost the Title to Booker T.
When WCW was purchased by Vince McMahon, Jarrett's contract was not picked up. In 2002, Jarrett and his father Jerry started operating a territory of the NWA called TNA, or Total Non-Stop Action. It eventually broke off from the NWA and the company went through several phases of owners and management. Jeff ran the company initially and as you could imagine, he made himself the center of it, giving himself the World Title a number of times in the process. A majority of Jarrett's time with the company was spent being the World Champion in various feuds. He was the Verne Gagne of TNA. However, what Jarrett contributed the most during this time was the amazing stars he helped mold. People like AJ Styles, Christopher Daniels, Bobby Roode, Samoa Joe, James Storm, and Austin Aries became big stars because of their time in TNA. While Jarrett may not have had main event talent, he sure had an eye for it. With Jarrett at the helm, he also put together the X Division, used a six-sided ring, and created matches such as the "King of the Mountain" match and Ultimate X.
Jeff Jarrett has been in the wrestling business his whole life. Even if you feel his career has been mediocre, you have to admit he's done enough to earn a spot in the WWE Hall of Fame. I respect what he has accomplished, both in the ring and as a promoter. I'm just curious as to how or if they will cover his 16 years of TNA and Global Force Wrestling. Jarrett has been a staple in the wrestling business. While I never thought of him as a main eventer or worthy to be a World Champion, that doesn't make his career any less Hall of Fame worthy. I'm shocked, but stranger things have happened. The Ultimate Warrior, Bret Hart, and Goldberg, among others, have all been welcomed back and both sides made amends at some point. With that, I'll say congratulations to Jeff Jarrett. During the speech of the person inducting him, I think it would be funny to see the Road Dogg come out and check the mic and make sure everything is all set. Either that, or perform "With My Baby Tonight" as Jarrett comes out!
If you have any further thoughts on this topic, let me know in comments. Heck, let us all know on The WAR Report podcast, every Tuesday at 7PM EST on YouTube, brought to you by tagmeadate.com, the first and only dating site for wrestling fans. Go to askthewarreport@gmail.com or #askthewarreport. For TagMeADate members, our Android and Apple apps are vastly approaching so stay tuned!
https://tagmeadate.com/
I appreciate Jarrett's accomplishments and feel he's done enough to deserve a spot in the Hall of Fame. However, that's not to say he doesn't have his faults! He was also never a huge star in wrestling. Mike Graham famously said of Jarrett: "he broke six thousand guitars but never drew a dime." While I definitely agree with this statement, with all due respect to the late Graham, this quote is the most I remember from Graham's wrestling career and it was long after he retired. I'll get the negative stuff out of the way first.
After his momentum stalled in the Summer of 1994, he brought in the Roadie, who took care of all the equipment, did mic checks, and also caused a lot of distractions for Jarrett. With the Roadie by his side, Jarrett started winning matches and eventually earned an opportunity at the Intercontinental Title, held by Razor Ramon at the time. The two would face off for the Title at the 1995 Royal Rumble. During the match, the Roadie often interfered and the two men would capitalize on a knee injury Razor sustained during the match. Later on, Razor was about to perform his "Razor's Edge" finisher but his knee gave out. Jarrett then pinned Razor to become the new Intercontinental Champion.
Jarrett held that Championship two more times during his first stint with the WWF but the next chapter of his career was probably the most intriguing. Jarrett's continuous claims of being a great Country singer caused him to put his money where his mouth was, as he had not yet played his guitar or sang. Most fans assumed he was lying. Jarrett then promised he would put on a concert and unleash his new single "With My Baby Tonight." To everyone's shock, he actually sounded good and the song was quite catchy. I'm embarrassed to say I still know all the words. However, something wasn't quite right! It was clear to everyone that Jarrett was lip syncing. Jarrett would later deny those claims, however, persisting with the lie. After Jarrett lost the Intercontinental Title to Shawn Michaels with backfired interference from the Roadie, he went back to the USWA, not to be seen again in the WWF for six months. It turned out that the Roadie was the one who actually sang the song, eventually calling himself "The Real Double J," Jesse James.
Jeff Jarrett has been in the wrestling business his whole life. Even if you feel his career has been mediocre, you have to admit he's done enough to earn a spot in the WWE Hall of Fame. I respect what he has accomplished, both in the ring and as a promoter. I'm just curious as to how or if they will cover his 16 years of TNA and Global Force Wrestling. Jarrett has been a staple in the wrestling business. While I never thought of him as a main eventer or worthy to be a World Champion, that doesn't make his career any less Hall of Fame worthy. I'm shocked, but stranger things have happened. The Ultimate Warrior, Bret Hart, and Goldberg, among others, have all been welcomed back and both sides made amends at some point. With that, I'll say congratulations to Jeff Jarrett. During the speech of the person inducting him, I think it would be funny to see the Road Dogg come out and check the mic and make sure everything is all set. Either that, or perform "With My Baby Tonight" as Jarrett comes out!
No comments:
Post a Comment