10 Backstage Stories About Jeff Jarrett That We Can't Believe
Jeff Jarrett is one of the most controversial figures in wrestling history. The lengthy career of Jarrett saw him becoming a standout talent in the Memphis territories. WWE and WCW each signed Jarrett multiple times in the ‘90s with him going back-and-forth for the bigger offer and bigger opportunity. The end of his WCW run saw Jarrett taking the next step in his legacy.
RELATED: Jeff Jarrett: 5 Best Matches In WCW (& 5 In WWE)
TNA was created by Jarrett with the hopes of becoming a new version of WCW as WWE’s new competition. Various roles backstage and on television changed in TNA throughout the years. Jarrett tried another project with Global Force Wrestling before it failed. WWE brought him back for a backstage producer role to catch us up to the current day. Find out the most shocking stories about Jarrett from his long career that went down behind the scenes.
10 Walked Out Of Nitro After Vince's Promo
Vince McMahon had an issue with how Jeff Jarrett left WWE in 1999 and that would give him the ultimate revenge in 2001. The purchase of WCW gave Vince control over the future of the wrestlers who were still under contract without the AOL/Time Warner restrictions.
RELATED: The 10 Most Embarrassing Things To Ever Happen On WCW Nitro
Jarrett was basically fired live on Raw when Vince looked at him on the monitor of WCW Nitro in ruthless fashion. Bruce Prichard revealed that Jarrett said he assumed that meant he could leave with a smile on his face and left WCW for the final time.
9 Signing Vince Russo In TNA Caused Falling Out With His Father
The beginning of TNA saw Jeff Jarrett having to make big decisions about who joined the management structure. Jeff’s father Jerry was running the company with him at the start until a falling out involving Vince Russo.
Jerry was livid at Jeff bringing in his old friend Russo to become the lead writer for TNA. The father and son had a falling out that lasted for over a decade. Russo’s disrespect for the old school minds saw Jerry refusing to work with him despite his son’s request.
8 Tried To Get CM Punk To Commentate A NJPW Show
Jeff Jarrett’s bizarre time with the Global Force Wrestling project saw the biggest success coming as a distributor. New Japan’s Wrestle Kingdom 9 was distributed on PPV via North American cable suppliers thanks to the relationship with GFW.
Jim Ross received a big payday from Jarrett to call the English broadcast. Jarrett later revealed he made an offer to CM Punk to call the show with JR about a year after his WWE departure, but Punk turned it down. Matt Striker received the opportunity as the color commentator.
7 Kurt Angle Broke Character With Him In Promo
The bitter rivalry between Kurt Angle and Jeff Jarrett became extremely personal long before fans realized the real-life tension. Angle broke character a few times, making rude comments about Jeff’s wife passing away from cancer.
It was later revealed that Kurt’s ex-wife Karen left him for Jeff to cause the huge issues backstage. Angle showed it in his promos with Jarrett shortly before Jeff and Karen were sent home by Dixie Carter for creating a problem.
6 Vince Russo's Support Got Him Heat Backstage
Vince Russo was always polarizing in the wrestling business from his start as a writer in WWE to the current run as a controversial podcaster. Any wrestler to have a tight bond with Russo received a lot of heat from the locker room.
Jeff Jarrett specifically felt it when influenced to leave WWE for WCW when Russo took over. Many rising WCW stars were passed over for Jarrett getting a main event spot and multiple world title reigns. Jarrett’s heat in wrestling continued when WCW ended, and he repaid Russo by hiring him in TNA.
5 Triple H Talked Vince Into Bringing Him Back For HOF
The announcement of Jeff Jarrett getting inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame shocked the wrestling world. Everyone assumed Vince McMahon would blacklist Jarrett for the rest of his career after the ugly WWE departure.
RELATED: A History Of TNA Wrestling's Ownership, Explained
Triple H was reportedly the one who wanted Jarrett back in the company starting with a HOF induction. The great results of Jeremy Borash producing for NXT inspired Triple H to hire some of the smarter TNA minds. Jarrett, Sonjay Dutt and Abyss all have roles as producers for WWE today.
4 Showed Up Drunk To WM Weekend Show
Highspots often runs major independent wrestling events during WrestleMania weekend events. Jeff and Karen Jarrett caused huge issues for them back in 2016. The couple started cursing at fans after their promo.
Cameras caught Karen spitting on someone for heckling Jeff. The allegations of the Jarrett couple showing up drunk would follow them from this show to a few other events. It was rock bottom for Jeff forcing him to eventually go to rehab.
3 Talked Debra Into Jumping Ship To WWE
Debra McMichael joined the wrestling business in WCW as the wife and manager of Steve “Mongo” McMichael. A storyline between Jeff Jarrett and Mongo in the Four Horsemen culminated in Debra leaving him to become Jarrett’s new manager.
WWE talked Jarrett into leaving WCW to rejoin the company with a bigger contract. Jarrett struggled trying to bring back the same act and eventually talked Debra into leaving WCW to manage him again. The character change and the addition of Debra helped Jarrett get over as a hated heel in the Attitude Era.
2 Ruined TNA's Relationship With The Hardyz During Short Run
Jeff Jarrett gained power back in TNA right when Matt and Jeff Hardy were making headlines with the Broken characters. The vision of TNA’s future by Jarrett was to merge it with GFW and get rid of any big names with contracts.
Jarrett didn’t provide a respectable offer to The Hardy Boyz and they left TNA for a short run in Ring of Honor before signing with WWE. The worst part was that Jarrett tried to stop them from using the Broken characters, claiming TNA owned it. WWE eventually was allowed to use the Broken character for Matt, but it was long after the momentum was gone.
1 Shane McMahon Wanted To Fight Him For Holding Vince Up For Money
The infamous night Jeff Jarrett held Vince McMahon up for money saw his reputation change forever. Jarrett reportedly demanded six figures to drop the Intercontinental Championship to Chyna in their scheduled PPV match at No Mercy 1999 or he would take it to WCW.
The claim of Jarrett was that Vince owed him that money for prior matches. Hardcore Holly’s account of the story in his book revealed that Shane McMahon was heard cursing out Jeff on behalf of his father and wanted to fight him. Vince stopped it and paid Jarrett the money to lose the match before leaving WWE for a long time.
NEXT: 5 Ideas Shane McMahon Pitched To Vince (& 5 From Stephanie)
