Jeff Jarrett's Credibility In WCW

[RIPbossman]

A lot of people say that Jeff Jarrett looked out of place in the main event scene in WCW. I feel the same way. He was short, a pretty good but not great worker, and a decent talker.



However, think about this. When someone jumped from WWE to WCW, they usually always maintained the same credibility they had in WWE. Kevin Nash was a main eventer in WWE and Scott Hall was very close to one, and that’s what they were when they returned to WCW in 1996. Ed Leslie, Sean Waltman, Goldust, Jim Duggan, Haku/Meng, and other WWE stars maintained their status from WWE in WCW and did not get elevated. For what ever reason, WCW was just a place where former WWE stars couldn’t look stronger in WCW than they did in WWE, with Steamboat and Rick Rude being exceptions.



Jeff Jarrett was a rare career WWE midcarder that become a main eventer in WCW. And I think because he wasn’t a main eventer in WWE, we couldn’t buy him as one in WCW.



When Jarrett returned to WWE in 1997, it looked like he was being groomed for a main event or strong upper mid card push. His first match back was against the Undertaker, and did shoot interviews where he was asked his opinions on the biggest stars in wrestling, both in WWE and WCW.

However, I read Austin was pissed at Jarrett calling the Austin 3:16 slogan “blasphemous” in his return promo and asked that Jarrett not be pushed too hard. I also think I read that Austin refused to work a program with Jarrett sometime during the Attitude Era, but I don’t know if that’s true.

Even if Jarrett turned out as a bust in WWE’s main event scene, just working one program with a main eventer in WWE would have done great things for him in his second WCW run.

 

[Y 2 Jake]

He was a career mid-carder with a dated gimmick and no headliner aura.

WCW was the shits.

 

[FromGlasgowScotland]

I hadn't heard anyone else say he looked out of place in WCW, Maybe I'm in the minority but I liked Jeff Jarrett and I've followed his career since his USWA days. I would never say he was the best wrestler or best talker but all things combined in my view he was deserving of the main event position in WCW, Would have loved to have seen him against bigger names like Hogan, Savage or Austin which was always hinted at back in the day but nothing seemed to happen for whatever reason. In my opinion he carried TNA at their very beginning for their first couple of years and difficult to imagine TNA's initial success happening without him.
Not just on screen but TNA with him running it was better than the WWE in my view and also succeeded in beating WWE in TV ratings for years over here in the UK which was quite an accomplishment considering WWE's history. I never really hear anyone give him credit for this as a lot of current big names did get their start in TNA under Jarrett.

 

[Bernard de Hattrix]

Jeff Jarrett was, as many have said, a bonafide mid-carder unsuitable for the main event. As a performer, I will always remember him as this annoying guitar-wielding whiner who tried (unsuccessfully, I might add) to channel his inner "Stone Cold." It just didn't work, but Vince Russo was ga-ga over him, so we regrettably got Jarrett as WCW champion. Later, his main event run in TNA was tainted by incredibly bad heat.

An accomplished wrestler in his own right, certainly more accomplished than a lot of the people guys on here like to trumpet ad nausum, but not a guy I would admit into any ranking of the greatest hundred or so wrestlers of all-time...

 

[Goldie]

There were strong rumours that Austin refused to do a program with Jarrett in 1999.... for that reason Jarrett was a midcarder and Austin thought a fued with Jarrett would bring him down a notch.
Austisn buddy Jim Ross also supposedly veto'd a Jarrett fued.
I found the Jarrett of 1995 (his first IC runs and fued with Razor Ramon) entertaining.... I preferred that run to Jarretts 1997-99 tenure.. however upper midcarder was his most comfortable place on the card.

By the time he moved to WCW ... and his multiple WCW title reigns, a lot of the established main event guys were going...or already gone. Bret was injured and soon to retire, Savage left, Hogan left after the infamous bash at the beach incident, Goldberg was out for 6 months after punching a glass window.... WCW pushed a few midcard guys into top spots... as well as Jarrett, Booker and Scott Steiner were also pushed into top spots. Considering how much WCW was blasted for pushing the over 40s club in the Hogan era.... it was probably right that they gave these guys a chance

It probably helped Jarrett that he was good buddies with Vince Russo... but as a draw Jarrett was not a bona fida main event guy... remember how much maligned he was pushed as TNAs top guy?
He was a decent worker, could talk... but there was something missing.
I think Jarrett was most comfortable competing and winning the secondary titles (which he did of course! IC and US belts).

 

[d_henderson1810]

A lot of people say that Jeff Jarrett looked out of place in the main event scene in WCW. I feel the same way. He was short, a pretty good but not great worker, and a decent talker.



However, think about this. When someone jumped from WWE to WCW, they usually always maintained the same credibility they had in WWE. Kevin Nash was a main eventer in WWE and Scott Hall was very close to one, and that’s what they were when they returned to WCW in 1996. Ed Leslie, Sean Waltman, Goldust, Jim Duggan, Haku/Meng, and other WWE stars maintained their status from WWE in WCW and did not get elevated. For what ever reason, WCW was just a place where former WWE stars couldn’t look stronger in WCW than they did in WWE, with Steamboat and Rick Rude being exceptions.



Jeff Jarrett was a rare career WWE midcarder that become a main eventer in WCW. And I think because he wasn’t a main eventer in WWE, we couldn’t buy him as one in WCW.



When Jarrett returned to WWE in 1997, it looked like he was being groomed for a main event or strong upper mid card push. His first match back was against the Undertaker, and did shoot interviews where he was asked his opinions on the biggest stars in wrestling, both in WWE and WCW.

However, I read Austin was pissed at Jarrett calling the Austin 3:16 slogan “blasphemous” in his return promo and asked that Jarrett not be pushed too hard. I also think I read that Austin refused to work a program with Jarrett sometime during the Attitude Era, but I don’t know if that’s true.

Even if Jarrett turned out as a bust in WWE’s main event scene, just working one program with a main eventer in WWE would have done great things for him in his second WCW run.

Like Jarrett's buddy, Vince Russo, I think Jarrett gets a lot of unfair heat.

His chances were hurt in WWE, because "Stone Cold" Steve Austin held him down. I heard that this was because years before, when Austin was starting out, he wrestled for Jerry Jarrett (Jeff's father) and Jeff made it be known that he was the star and everyone else was secondary to him.

Obviously Austin carried that grudge, and years later, what goes around came around. It proves the old saying "The people you piss on on the way up are the ones who will piss on you on the way down".

As Austin's buddy, Jim Ross, who was also head of talent relations, made sure that Jarrett didn't get elevated.

Jarrett gets an unfair bad rap for holding up Vince for money on the way out of WWE. But that was Vince's fault. He should check a wrestler's contract stauts before pushing them for a PPV that occurs the day AFTER the contract ends. Jarrett just capitalized on Vince's paranoia of him doing a "Alundra Blayze".

Jarrett gets a bad rap for being pushed in WCW by having Russo as his buddy. But at least new guys were getting pushed as champion- Jarrett, Booker T, Steiner. Of course he didn't look like a maineventer, when Hogan and co had buried everyone and left the WCW with no up-and-coming stars with cred. Once Russo cleared out the veterans, the new guys, who had never been pushed up to then, were up against it convincing fans that they deserved their spot, even though it brought fresh air to the main event scene in WCW (something Vince Russo is never given credit for).

Also, of course Jarrett got a push to the moon in TNA, he owned the company. It is no different to how Triple H, and the McMahons get pushed sometimes, and why Shane has fought at the last four Wrestlemanias. When you run the show, you can push yourself as a star. Many other wrestlers would do the same thing if they started their own wrestling company (wasn't Jerry Lawler champion of his own company at one stage as well).

LIke Russo, Jarrett made enemies with the wrong people, who can control the narrative to present Jarrett as not worthy of his standing.

As for him being too small to be champion, I hope no-one pushing for Finn Balor, Shinsuke Nakamura or who wanted Daniel Bryan to win at WMXXX are saying that.

 

[TDFG]

He had 4 short title reigns, considering how the belt changed something ridiculous like 8 times in a month and we also saw Arquette & Russo win the title then it doesn't help his credibility as he was probably the top heel at that stage.

I can't remember who was injured and who was not being used etc. WCW really was on it's death bed, but between Jarrett, Steiner & Booker T, creative could have kept the belt between those 3 while the veterans were returning.

I would have liked to have seen more of Jarrett feuding with Storm, Mysterio & Awesome for the US Title as well.