In Defense of…
By JP Prag
Issue #62
Jeff Jarrett (Part 2 of 3)
Intro
Hello people in need of a vacation after their vacation, and welcome back to In Defense Of…! You know, over my vacation (and even on July 4th no less!) I wrote Part 1 of this case, and what a case it is thus far!
What, you don’t know what you’re doing here? Well, for those new to the concept, this article has a pretty simple premise:
Certain people, events, organizations, and storylines in wrestling history have gotten a bum wrap. Some writers have presented overtly critical comments and outright lies as fact, and others have followed suit. Well no more! “In Defense of…” has one reason: to bring the truth to the wrestling fan!
And that’s what I intend to do.
Me? I’m the One and Only JP, and my head injury seems to be clearing up quite nicely. Except that large bump on the side with skin hanging off of it. That’s not so comfortable.
Stenography
Well, while I wonder if I have any perpetual injuries, Stenographer, why don’t you tell us what we already know:
Jeff Jarrett: the man, the legend, the unbridled hatred. The spawn of ten thousand message board threads about what is wrong in professional wrestling today. But to understand the hatred of today, we needed to understand the motivation of Jarrett’s past. That is why our story went way back in time to April 1967 when Jarrett was born to promoter Jerry Jarrett. The elder Jarrett started his career as a referee, moved on to being an in-ring competitor, began to book and promote his own cards, and eventually owned his own organization. As you might imaging, the younger Jarrett got quite an early education in the sport of wrestling. But unlike the Guerrero family, Jarrett learned also a good deal of what it meant to be a wrestler as a business. He was not just about the passion of the match, but was also about earning money, controlling the crowd, and making things grow.
Much like his father, Jarrett too began as a referee before moving on to the actual ring. Making his pro debut in 1986 at the age of 19, Jarrett learned wrestling in the Southern territorial style. His time began to get split between the CWA, NWA, USWA, WCWA, winning and losing title on a regular basis (as was the style at the time). Legends like Jerry Lawler saw the potential and future in Jarrett and wanted to work with him. The future seemed bright for the territorial star.
Unfortunately, co-currently the territory system was dying. The WWF had become a juggernaut in the industry and was crushing or buying out competition left and right. With some of the territories folding into each other, Jarrett had some opportunity to strut his stuff, but the organizations were not going well. Only Vince and the WWF were making money, despite the drawing power of the southern greats in their home territories. As the 80’s moves into the 90’s, though, Hulkamania began to wane and the WWF was without a direction. In a rare moment of cooperation, Jerry Lawler and Jeff Jarrett (representing the USWA) actually had an invasion-type storyline in the WWF. Although the story went nowhere and the WWF decided to end the relationship, they were incredibly impressed with Jarrett. Because of that, they traded four superstars in order to get Jarrett on the roster.
It was 1993, the steroid scandal was still fresh in everyone’s minds, and the WWF wanted to change its image back to the fan/kid friendly show it used to be. Everything became a cartoon. So despite his success as a Southern wrestler, Vince McMahon either ignored Jarrett’s true personality and history, or he never saw it at all (see: ECW). Because of that, Jarrett was strapped with the gimmick of a “country singer”, though he had never picked up a guitar in his life. As 1994 moved on, Jarrett was finally plugged into programs with upper mid-carders and scored some impressive victories. With the spotlight finally on him, Jarrett was sure to want to take the opportunity.
And then Jarrett was truly given the ball to run with as we moved on to 1995.
Top of the top… nah, I’ve had enough
Finally the WWF was seeing Jarrett as Jarrett: a cocky southern wrestler with an attitude. Despite the long hair and funny singing, the fans were booing Jarrett and McMahons saw that they could actually use him. From Accelerator3359:
Jarrett continued his battles with Ramon, signing a match to face him for his Intercontinental Title at the '95 Royal Rumble. Ramon was injured, though, and during the match was tossed from the ring, where he was counted out. Jarrett got the win, but not the belt, and immediately began challenging Ramon's courage. Ramon opted to come back to the ring despite the pain, and the match started again. In the end, Ramon fell while trying to execute his Razor's Edge finisher, allowing Jarrett to get the pin and become the Intercontinental Champion. Ramon continued to challenge Jarrett in the next few months, but Jarrett enlisted the help of the Roadie (BG James) to help him stay the champion. At Wrestlemania XI, Jarrett & Ramon faced in a rematch, which ended in a Disqualification loss for Jarrett due to the Roadie. However, this made sure that Jarrett retained the Intercontinental Title.
In April '95, in a match against Bob "Sparkplug" Holly, Jarrett was surprisingly pinned, apparently losing the IC strap. However, video later showed that Jarrett's foot was on the ropes in time, which put the belt in the air. Later on that night, Jarrett & Holly fought again, this time with Jarrett getting the victory, regaining the Intercontinental Championship. Jarrett continued to feud with Ramon, and in May '95, Ramon finally won the belt back over him. A few shows later, Jarrett won out again, getting the IC belt for the third time. Ramon finally challenged both Jarrett & the Roadie to a handicap match at In Your House I, where Ramon won out in the end despite the odds.
At first, things were going great for Jarrett. He was doing well, had an iron grip on the title (like many great IC champs before him), someone to follow him around, and wins over someone considered the top echelon of the business. He got to fight with a future legend in Shawn Michaels, and it seemed everyone was ready for him to continue working.
Yet despite doing everything he was told, despite carrying a title strong, and despite getting the fans to hate him, someone in the WWF lost faith in him, and it all came crumbling down quickly. As if that handicap match loss wasn’t bad enough a burial, he was quickly knocked out of the King of the Ring in decisive fashion and had the Roadie turn on him and reveal Jarrett’s singing ability was his. Jarrett realized that there may be nothing for him in the WWF, and returned to the USWA for a period and defeated Ahmed Johnson for the USWA Unified Title in December 1995.
The WWF officials were impressed with the feud and copied it for WWF television with the two wrestlers. But after Royal Rumble 1996, Jarrett and the WWF got into a contract dispute (Jarrett obviously thinking he deserved more and should be pushed as a champion, the WWF thinking that they were losing so much money to WCW they didn’t know what to do), Jarrett returned to the USWA. He thought that perhaps he and Vince could work out a deal, but in the meanwhile he feuded with Lawler for the title and then drove Jesse James (BG James/ Roadie/ Road Dog) out of the USWA. That was a good enough run for Jarrett, and negotiations with Vince failed. So with that, there was only one really good place to go.
Where the Big Boys Play
Jarrett then signed a one-year deal with Eric Bischoff and WCW. This had to be a very surprising move, as everyone was signing multi-year deals for a lot of money. But Jarrett knew his greatest commodity was himself, and he wanted to make sure he was worth it. The WWF had robbed him of a lot of his shine towards the end of his run, and he knew that anything else like that could only diminish his value. His instincts from his territorial days took over, and he wanted to protect his image, trusting very few. But that distrust was unwarranted, as he was involved in a long storyline and very interesting program for the rest of 1996. From Accelerator3359:
Jarrett appeared in WCW in October '96, demanding to be a part of the IV Horsemen, who were currently battling against the nWo. To prove his seriousness, Jarrett challenged one of the most dominating wrestlers, the Giant (the Big Show). At Halloween Havoc '96, the Giant dominated Jarrett, who still fought as hard as he could. In the end, though, the match was decided by Ric Flair, who attacked the Giant, causing the disqualification. Jarrett continued to challenge the Giant, while also insulting Sting, who he thought was cowardly for not fighting the nWo. At World War III '96, Jarrett took on the Giant again, and Sting appeared, attacking Jarrett for his comments. This helped the Giant get the easy victory. Later that night, Jarrett was tossed out in the World War III Battle Royal. He also competed in the WCW United States Title Tournament in November, but fell in the first round to Diamond Dallas Page.
After various encounters with the IV Horsemen, Jarrett was finally given his chance. If he could defeat Chris Benoit at Starrcade '96, he would be allowed into the Horsemen. During the match-up, Kevin Sullivan, Benoit's major adversary, appeared, interfering in the match. Jarrett took advantage, getting the victory and finally getting what he wanted, a spot in the IV Horsemen. Jarrett then teamed up with Steve "Mongo" McMichael for a time, while he joined in the feud against the nWo, battling against Mr. Wallstreet.
Aside from the interesting storyline and wrestlers he was involved in, I want you to notice something else. Jarrett was a heel, trying to get into a face organization, to fight other heels. You see, Jarrett was in a true tweener storyline, where few had gone before. It wasn’t about the face/heel lines, it was about being true to his character. Wrestlers were given a lot more leeway in WCW, and Jarrett used this time to flesh out who he wanted to be. Ric Flair was equally impressed and allowed him to become a member of the Horsemen, seeing in Jarrett what other legends saw as well: championship material.
As 1996 moved into 1997, Jarrett would live on fast forward feuding with the nWo, Public Enemy, Dean Malenko, and former partners Steve McMichael and Chris Benoit. From Obsessed with Wrestling:
Quite an eventful few months. Also note that it was in WCW that Jarrett and Debra teamed up, not in the WWF. Another idea that was originated elsewhere that was not the WWF or Vince’s doing. And also note that Jarrett left WCW the right way, losing a match and putting someone else over. This will become a recurring story for Jarrett.
After not re-signing with WCW, Jarrett quickly returned to the WWF, using the momentum of his WCW run to propel him to greater heights. You see, sometimes in life you can only get promoted or move up the ladder by jumping around. Jarrett understood this and understood he was only as valuable as where he last was, and intended to make himself worth more.
The WWF, too, was going through a major change, and upheaval was happening over and over again.
WWF… errr… NWA… no, I was right the first time
Jarrett began his new WWF career by continuing to show “attitude” before such a word existed. You see, the WCW/nWo feud had decimated the WWF and they were desperate to try anything. McMahon, though, was not yet ready to let the creative juices flow, but little cracks were forming. Jarrett actually had a sit-down shoot-style interview with JR where he bashed Eric Bischoff. And as was the (Vince Russo) style at the time, anything semi-shoot was made into a work. Jarrett also began to refuse his WWF matches as part of his gimmick.
After a battle with the Undertaker, though, Vince quickly gave up on this idea and Jarrett, too. Instead, Vince tried to copy WCW again and have an invasion by the NWA with Jarrett leading the fray. This, though, would never get much steam behind it because Vince refused to allow any other organization to look good in his, and he just could not get behind Jarrett. From the kayfabe friendly Evolution Schematic of Jeff Jarrett (Part 3) from 411mania’s own Mathew Sforcina:
Suffice to say, Cornette was trying to do an NWA invasion, or at least trying to bring the WWF back into the NWA fold. He first turned to Barry Windham, who had a great deal of affinity for NWA, as the guy to lead the charge. Cornette also brought in Tag Team Legends The Rock N Roll Express. But then when Jeff Jarrett pinned Windham to win the NWA North American Title on Dec 30th, 1997, Cornette dumped Windham and took on Jarrett as his main star and client.
Jarrett and Cornette made a decent team (they had to when the Rock N Roll Express were quickly fired from the company). They removed Owen Hart from the 98 Royal Rumble before he got to the ring, right?
Oh yeah, when Jarrett came in Owen ran back out and threw him out almost immediately.
But he could put a good showing on at the special event of ‘Raw Saturday Night’ right? That would get respect for the NWA and thus Jarrett, right?
Of course, few people would consider losing via pinfall to D’Lo Brown in under 2 minutes any sort of success.
And in his first title defense on WWF PPV (the first time in WWF history that an NWA title was defended on WWF PPV) he got DQed for using Cornette’s ever present tennis racket on Bradshaw, who at that point was just another Texas brawler and not a Wrestling God.
This disillusioned Jarrett so much that he dumped the NWA title, ditched Cornette and reverted back to the last mindset that was successful.
As you can see, Jarrett made a mistake. Unlike his short term contract in WCW to protect his reputation, Jeff Jarrett signed on for a two-year tour of duty with the WWF. Not long by the standard contracts at the time (Mark Henry got ten years), but still long enough to do damage. Despite the end of the NWA angle, Jarrett was then given his old country music singer gimmick and was managed by Tennessee Lee. This, too, lead him to tagging with “Southern Justice”. It seemed like Jarrett was doomed to play one Southern stereotype after another if he stayed in the WWF. Yet, it seemed hope was around the corner. From Accelerator3359:
Jarrett next feuded with X-Pac and his allies in DeGeneration-X, leading up to a signed "Hair vs. Hair" match at Summerslam '98. Before the PPV, at Sunday Night Heat, Jarrett & Southern Justice attacked ring announcer Howard "The Fink" Finkle, shaving him bald, and promising to do the same to X-Pac. Due to this attack, however, Southern Justice was banned from ringside for the match-up. Both wrestlers fought hard for their long locks, but in the end, X-Pac was able to knock out Jarrett with his own guitar, scoring the victory. Afterwards, with Jarrett only semi-conscious, each member of Degeneration-X (including a one-night DX member, Finkle) took turns shaving off most of Jarrett's long blond locks. Jarrett would later reform the hair style into a crew-cut, a style which he kept, rather than growing it long again. Jarrett & Southern Justice later faced X-Pac & the New Age Outlaws at Breakdown '98, with the DeGeneration-X members again winning out.
In October '98, Jarrett begin a feud with Al Snow, which led to Snow costing Jarrett to lose in the first round of the WWF Intercontinental Title Tournament to X-Pac. Jarrett and Snow continued to feud for the next few weeks, leading up to the '98 Survivor Series, where they faced each other in the first round of the WWF World Title Tournament. Unfortunately for Jarrett, Al Snow's 'teammate' was also around: Head. Snow knocked out Jarrett with Head to get the pinfall victory, moving on in the tournament while Jarrett was forced to watch from the back, another title opportunity missed.
Again, Jarrett did everything for the company, and they even promoted him as the “new attitude” Jarrett. Yet, the WWF machine failed to take up the point that Jarrett needed real feuds and wins. It seemed like they were off to good start with the Undertaker, but forgot all that and continually pushed his way down the card.
Many people would just let this happen and find no way to bounce back. Val Venis comes to mind. Jarrett, though, just tried to push his way back up. And he looked to find it in a couple of new partners. From John Milner’s compilation of Jeff Jarrett for Slam! Sports:
Jarrett was reunited with Debra and, as 1999 began, to team with Owen Hart. On January 25th, 1999, Jarrett and Hart defeated the Big Boss Man and Ken Shamrock to win the WWF Tagteam titles. Jarrett and Owen made a successful title [defense] at Wrestlemania XV, defeating D-Lo Brown and Test but lost the titles to Kane and X-Pac on March 30th.
Still, things were looking up for Jarrett and people were noticing him, especially with Debra back at his side. But one must wonder if Jarrett was burnt out by this point, if he thought he should give up? Absolutely not. From John Powell’s interview with Jeff Jarrett in early 1999:
Q: When you first returned to the WWF, you were trying to form yourself into a "man of his word", a "man of honor" and that kind of thing through the promos. What happened to that as direction goes. Was there a change of heart or something like that?
- John Powell (SLAM! Wrestling).
Jarrett: Well, it was the WWF's change. If you look back at my first night back in the WWF and you look at my persona now; it's exactly the same. I was pissed off at a lot of things and that's how I am today. What's happened between then and now is a lot of things the WWF regrets and I do too. But, it's not a strong regret. It's just we try things and you know, I don't think that myself and Tennessee Lee were given the proper opportunities. We didn't have title shots and I could go on and on about that but that's where we are at right now. I'm enjoying the direction that I am going now.
You see, Jarrett was still all business. He never took what happened to him personally, though I have presented it so here. He kept an optimism and a passive understanding that you do not find in many wrestlers, especially one we will get back to later. But in the meantime, let’s look earlier in the interview to see what I mean:
Q: Does he [Jerry Jarrett, Jeff’s father] harbor any feelings towards Vince McMahon over what happened in the past?
- SLAM! Wrestling (John Powell).
Jarrett: Oh, absolutely not. Because when you get right down to it - and promoters know this better than anybody...even wrestlers - it's strictly business. It's not really on a personal basis. It is business and that's how he looks at the past. There was some decisions at the time that I am sure he didn't agree with or maybe still today he doesn't agree with, but that still goes under the classification of business.
You see, as trained by his father, Jarrett understood business first. And we know there is no ill will as Jerry turned his back on TNA to sell someone to Vince, so their relationship remains the same as ever.
The point is, Jarrett always acted as a professional, and this is a point to keep later on. Others acted less professional to Jarrett then he to them.
With much momentum behind himself, Debra, and Owen, the trio seemed destined for always something more. Unfortunately, tragedy truck at Over the Edge, 1999.
Goodbye again, Owen
This sums it up best. From Accelerator3359:
When Val Venis began trying to flirt with Debra, Jarrett took offense, inspiring another feud, which featured Jarrett, Venis, Debra, and Venis' friend, Nicole Bass. They finally scheduled a mixed tag-team match at Over The Edge '99, for the two teams to settle their differences. This was the tragic night when Owen Hart fell to his death after trying to enter via a wire rig. After Hart was taken out of the arena, being rushed to the hospital with little hope of survival, Jarrett was forced to come out for the next match. He and Debra wrestled against Venis & Bass, in a match that could be loosely described as "disjointed". Eventually, Venis & Bass got the win, and Jarrett headed to the back to learn of his friend's fate. The next Raw, a special memorial show dedicated to Hart aired, with Jarrett faring prominently in telling stories of his former partner. Jarrett broke down, crying, during his segment, in one of the most moving moments in WWE history. Jarrett was then given the honor of taking on the Godfather [on the next week’s RAW], who was supposed to be Hart's opponent at the pay-per-view. Jarrett defeated him, winning the Intercontinental Title that was supposed to be Owen's.
These were Jarrett’s own words in that segment (via Wikiquote):
In this business, I guess you got a lot of acquaintances but very few friends. And Owen, he was one of those friends. He did a lot of funny stories, his personality, the things he used to do....and I told my wife a bunch of times about the last couple months I've been with Owen on the road....I see Owen more than I see her and my little girl. And he said the same thing. And now that he's not here, it's....you look at it almost selfishly. Owen, my buddy, my friend, not with me anymore. I know Owen's in a better place, life isn't cutting up. But when you really think about Owen's life, I think about integrity. Because in this business...it's cold, it's callous, it's selfish, it's self-serving, it's unrealistic, it's a fantasy world. But Owen was real. He was a man's man. His wife and kids.....are 3 of the luckiest people in the world, because he loved them more than anything in the world. And that's why he did what he did -- to provide for them. And he did it with integrity, and integrity in this business is few and far between. That's not a good thing to know, but it's the truth. And outside all of the laughs....because on the road, without the laughs, you know.....the fans get to see Owen 10-15 minutes a week, but when you see him 24 hours a day for 10 or 12 days at a time, he's one of the guys that made it fun. Made coming to work entertaining off the camera, and that's just as important as on the camera. Owen........I'll make the promise to you. 'Cause you've got 2 little kids and I've got a little one of my own, as they grow older, the only thing that they might have to find out what their dad was like is wrestling films. But I'll make the promise to myself...as the years go by, I'll do my best to let Oje and Athena really know what a great man you were, Owen. That's it...I can't....I don't know....
Jarrett proved a lot to Vince and company over those two days and following weeks. Despite his personal pain and devastation, he still went out there and did his job to the best of his ability. The WWF was impressed with Jarrett and finally understood him. No, he was not given a push because Owen died. He was finally seen for who he really was, the point he was trying to get across to the WWF since the beginning. He was a professional. He was champion, and he wanted to things the best way he could.
One last time
But the WWF quickly forgot this fact as well. From Slam! Sports:
A week later [after Owen’s death], Jarrett defeated the Godfather for the Intercontinental Championship, a title he would hold until July 24th, when he lost the belt to Edge at a Toronto house show. Jarrett regained the championship the next night, but lost it to European Champion D-Lo Brown on July 27th.
Jarrett and D-Lo Brown would meet again at SummerSlam 99 with both the Intercontinental and European Championship on the line. Mark Henry, Brown's partner, turned on D-Lo, costing him the titles. In gratitude, Jarrett gave Henry the European title.
You would think that would be sign of things to come, that Jarrett had a future to move up the card. But the WWF had another fancy. From Accelerator3359:
He also brought out Miss Kitty to be Debra's official valet. Later that night, Jarrett issued an open challenge to any wrestler in the back. However, when Chyna came out to accept, Jarrett, enraged at the thought of a woman fighting him for the belt, knocked her out with his guitar. Over the next few weeks, Jarrett & Chyna feuded. Jarrett also attacked other ladies, striving to prove that wrestling was a man's game. He tried to injure older female wrestlers the Fabulous Moolah & Mae Young, as well as turning on Debra when they lost a mixed tag-team match to Stephanie McMahon & Test. At Unforgiven '99, Jarrett was signed to face Chyna for the Intercontinental Title. During the match, both Moolah & Young tried to interfere, but Jarrett eventually fought his way back into it. Debra then came down to the ring, showing her knowledge of Jarrett's moves by knocking him out with his own guitar. Chyna then got the pin and apparently won the match, but Tom Pritchard came to ringside and informed the referee of the interference. The ref reversed the decision, giving Jarrett the win via DQ, and allowing him to retain the IC gold.
Jarrett & Chyna continued to feud, with Jarrett's views on where a woman should actually be forming the basis for their next match, a "Good Housekeeping" bout at No Mercy '99. It was ruled that household items could be used as weapons in the fight. After much debating, Jarrett was able to convince the people in charge that his guitar actually was a household item, giving him a slight edge in the weapons department. During the match, Jarrett used his Intercontinental Title to knock Chyna out, apparently getting the win. But the ref then ruled that the IC belt wasn't a 'household item', and the match was restarted. Chyna then used Jarrett's own guitar on him, knocking him out and getting the pinfall victory. Jarrett lost the Intercontinental Title, and left the WWF after that night.
Surprisingly, it was not the woman-beater gimmick that made Jarrett not want to re-sign with the WWF: it was Stone Cold Steve Austin.
In interviews around the country, Jarrett had stated many times he would like to work with Austin, but the feeling was not shared. You see, Austin was still upset from back in the USWA days when Jarrett defeated him in a rematch for the Southern Heavyweight Title, feeling Jarrett was holding him down and that Jerry Jarrett (who had influence in the USWA) would only favor his son. But that wasn’t the only reason he didn’t like the Jarretts. From Wikipedia:
According to industry insiders, Austin never forgot an incident that happened when he broke into the business and worked shows for Jeff's father, Jerry Jarrett. The story goes that Austin was sitting in the locker room after a show looking at his paycheck, which he felt was very small, and Jeff made a sarcastic comment along the lines of "it's not going to get any bigger by staring at it".
Of course, Jarrett was not the only person Austin refused to work with Billy Gunn was another man that Austin did not want to work with at all. Although Austin may have had a point in saying that his match with Brock Lesner should not be given away on free TV, he had no point to not wanting to feud with Jeff Jarrett except a personal vendetta.
Jeff Jarrett was all business and never took anything personal, as he stated above. Yet Austin took everything personally and actually refused to help elevate Jarrett.
Yes, Jarrett only reached an IC level in the WWF, but that was for a reason. The WWF was finally, finally willing to get behind him, but the top of the card person refused to work with him. Jarrett knew that there was no hope for him in the WWF if Austin was not willing to work with him, and he could not deal with that. He decided that he was not going to re-sign with the WWF and would instead go to the WCW. After all, his good friend Vince Russo had just taken creative control of the company, and he felt it was the best opportunity to prove himself once and for all. There was only one problem:
Jeff Jarrett was still Intercontinental Champion when his contract expired.
In one of the greatest blunders in WWF/Vince McMahon history, Jarrett was no longer a WWF contracted wrester yet held one of the biggest belts in the promotion.
So Vince and Jarrett worked out a deal for him to appear at the No Mercy PPV and drop the title to Chyna. And what is more professional than showing up to a show and losing to a woman, despite planning to be a champion at another promotion starting the next night? Jarrett could have seriously hurt his reputation with that loss, but he decided to do it anyway.
“But JP,” you’ll say, “didn’t Jarrett hold Vince up for a whole bunch of money?”
The answer is yes… and no. Vince would have you believe Jarrett made Vince pay him a bunch of unearned money or he would show up in WCW with the IC title and throw it in the trash. That is not what happened at all. Jarrett wanted all of the money that was owed to him for past PPVs (PPV bonuses are paid out months later), merchandise, and the current show. He asked for the few hundred thousand dollars of money he was owed and that was it.
Listen, when you leave a job, you get all the money you are owed. You cannot have a company owe you anything in the long term because there are too many legal ramifications. Worse yet, Jarrett was going to work for Vince’s competitor, and because of that Jarrett could never, ever guarantee that Vince would pay him. Jarrett may have been a professional, but he no longer saw Vince as one. Since Vince let Austin tell him how to run his company, Jarrett had lost faith in Vince’s power as head of the company. With that, he wanted to make sure he was given everything that was owed him and leave no loose ends.
That is just business, people. It doesn’t matter what company you work for, you do not walk out the last day with money owed to you. That’s not the way business is done, and that is not what Jarrett was about to do. It was quite a chunk of change, and Jarrett was not prepared to have worked for free.
It was simply a smart and safe move. Yes, Vince made a big mistake by letting Jarrett hold on to the IC title past the end of his contract, but Jarrett would have made the same request anyway.
With the loss behind him and the money in his pocket, Jarrett was set for his last run in the big leagues (for now).
RECESS!
I was hoping to get a little farther, but this man is incredibly complicated and long-historied! I can see why Evolution Schematic went four parts with him. Don’t worry, we’re still sticking to three.
When we return it’s the Chosen One’s time in WCW, the end of WCW and the WWA, and finally the tyranny of TNA.
So tune in next week for king of the mountain conclusion of In Defense of… Jeff Jarrett (Part 3 of 3)!!
Be sure to check out Hidden Highlights in the meantime! Don’t forget to send JT and I your Hidden Highlights for RAW, ECW on SciFi, iMPACT, SmackDown!, Heat, or any other show you saw this week (that includes house shows and indy events, you know)!
Until then, the defense rests!
Know a particular person, event, organization, storyline, etc… in wrestling history that needs a defense? E-mail the One and Only JP at lookforme@mikefine.com, and I’ll be glad to hear your case.