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How Jeff Jarrett Went From Hated Ex-Employee To WWE Executive

Posted: Jul 30th 2022 By: Joey Haverford - TheSportster.com

After being on the company's bad side for many years, Jeff Jarrett has found a home again in WWE.

Jeff Jarrett has one of the most fascinating careers in wrestling history for all the twists and turns. There was a time when Jarrett seemed like he would be blacklisted from WWE forever after a controversial departure. Jarrett starting TNA to compete with WWE added another reason why many fans believed he would never work with WWE again.

The recent years of Jarrett having a strong relationship with WWE and receiving an important role these days show how much things can change. Jarrett has shown that wrestling can be truly unpredictable no matter what has happened in the past. The fascinating story deserves a look at what led to the improbable situation unfolding. Jarrett going from one of the most hated names in WWE to being a beloved employee should be examined by all controversial wrestling figures.

Why Jeff Jarrett Was Hated By WWE

Vince McMahon and Jeff Jarrett had an ugly falling out at the end of his WWE run in 1999. Jarrett was planning to leave when his contract expired due to Vince Russo leaving for WCW and promising him a huge push. WWE didn’t realize this when Jarrett’s contract expired during his Intercontinental Championship reign right before his advertised PPV match with Chyna.

It was a pivotal story for Chyna to defeat Jarrett to become the first and still the only woman to win that title. Jarrett “held up” Vince for six figures in a controversial moment that became discussed for decades. The story from Jarrett’s side is that WWE owed him that money, and he wanted it before dropping the belt since he was no longer contractually obligated to.

Vince paid Jarrett the money and he put over Chyna that night, but it made him a hated man in WWE. Multiple people who worked closely to McMahon stated that Jarrett was among the few names that WWE didn’t want to do any business with. Jarrett did get his main event push in WCW, winning the WCW Championship, but the company closed less than two years later.

Jeff Jarrett Creates TNA After WCW Is Bought By WWE

The biggest public moment of Vince McMahon referencing Jeff Jarrett came during the night he purchased WCW. Both shows of Raw and Nitro having McMahon involved saw him going out of his way to bury Jarrett on screen. Vince was looking at a monitor of the WCW side of things and declared Jarrett would be fired in a comical fashion, spelling it out like Jeff’s country music gimmick.

Everyone that thought Jarrett was screwed since McMahon now owned WCW and ECW to end the other options at finding a full-time wrestling home. This was part of the reason Jarrett founded TNA with the intent to create a second major promotion outside the WWE bubble. More assumptions were made that Jarrett’s chances at returning were even further gone by trying to compete against Vince.

WWE made no references to Jarrett and barely ever mentioned TNA during their time trying to compete. Jarrett had many ups and downs during his TNA run that unfortunately ended poorly more than once. The wrestling career of Jarrett holding any relevance felt gone after burning one too many bridges, until the impossible happened.

WWE Shockingly Brings Jeff Jarrett Back

The wrestling world was stunned when WWE announced the news of Jeff Jarrett being inducted into the Hall of Fame. Jarrett has admitted he cried getting the news and even tears up when telling the story. Alcoholism had negatively harmed Jarrett’s life until he made the effort to get help. This news coming shortly afterwards felt like a huge sign that things were going to trend positively after he made the attempt to fix his life.

Jarrett had a memorable Hall of Fame speech, performing his country music song from the old WWE gimmick. Vince McMahon and Triple H each had positive interactions with Jarrett, leading to him becoming part of the WWE family again. Jarrett made a few on-screen appearances like other legends who have good relationships with WWE.

The biggest sign of WWE warming up to Jarrett even more came when he received a contract offer for a backstage role. Jarrett did some producing before the pandemic changes led to a lot of touch and go things for WWE. Recent months have seen Jarrett back in the WWE fold in more ways than one. Jarrett now has a great executive position helping run live events thanks in part to his TNA experience. WWE even has Jarrett appearing at SummerSlam 2022 as a guest referee in his home of Nashville to show a story truly coming full circle.