Jeff Jarrett

Jeffrey Leonard Jarrett (born April 14, 1967) is an American professional wrestler and wrestling promoter. He is currently signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA), an organization he co-founded along with his father and in which he holds some stock but not total control. He is currently heading TNA's off-shoot promotion Ring Ka King in India. He also works for Mexican promotion Asistencia Asesoría y Administración (AAA), where he is the current AAA World Heavyweight Champion. He is well-known from his multiple runs in World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and World Wrestling Federation (WWF) during the 1990s.

A second-generation wrestler, Jarrett has held seventy championships in various promotions throughout his career. Within TNA, he is currently recognized as an 11-time world champion, having been a six-time NWA World Heavyweight Champion, four-time WCW World Heavyweight Champion, and one-time AAA World Heavyweight Champion. He has also accumulated five additional world title reigns, being a three-time USWA Unified World Heavyweight Champion and two-time WWA World Heavyweight Champion. While he never captured the WWF Championship during his time with the WWF, he challenged for the title and achieved notable championship success in the promotion, becoming a six-time Intercontinental Champion (a record from 1999–2004), and is one of three men to hold both the Intercontinental and European Championships simultaneously. He is the first wrestler to be a two-time King of the Mountain, and also won AAA's Rey de Reyes tournament in 2004. Between WWE, WCW, and TNA, Jarrett has held 22 total championships as well as other numerous regional titles.

Professional wrestling career

Born in Hendersonville, Tennessee, Jarrett became involved with basketball when he was in high school, but, he worked for his father Jerry Jarrett's Continental Wrestling Association (CWA) as a referee in March 1986 and trained as a wrestler under his father and Tojo Yamamoto. Jeff Jarrett made his in-ring debut at the age of 18 in April 1986 when jobber Tony Falk attempted to end his lengthy losing streak by challenging Jarrett, then a referee, to a match. Jarrett accepted the challenge, wrestling Falk to a 10-minute draw. Jarrett is a 3rd-generation wrestler; his father wrestled, as did his maternal grandfather, Eddie Marlin, while his paternal grandmother, Christine, was employed by a wrestling promotion.^[3][4][5]

In 1989, Jerry Jarrett purchased the Texas-based World Class Championship Wrestling promotion and merged it with the CWA to create the United States Wrestling Association (USWA). Over the following years, Jarrett won the USWA Southern Heavyweight Championship on 10 occasions and the USWA World Tag Team Championship on 15 occasions. Jarrett also wrestled on the independent circuit for 7 years, appearing in Japan and Puerto Rico. In 1993, he was hired by the World Wrestling Federation.^[6]

World Wrestling Federation (1993–1996)

Jarrett debuted in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) under the gimmick of "Double J" Jeff Jarrett, a country music singer who intended to elevate his singing career through his exposure as a wrestler. Jarrett's character would strut to the ring wearing flashing "Double J" hats and ring attire, and he punctuated his promos with the phrase "ain't I great?". He ended his interviews by distinctly spelling out his name ("That's J-E-Double-F, J-A-Double-R, E-Double-T!").^[7]

Jarrett made his pay-per-view debut in January 1994 at the Royal Rumble. At SummerSlam, he pinned Mabel. At Survivor Series, Jarrett competed in a 10 man elimination tag match. In January 1995, Jarrett had a brief feud with Bret Hart, ultimately losing to Hart on the January 23 edition of Monday Night Raw. At the Royal Rumble in Tampa, Florida, Jarrett defeated Razor Ramon to win the WWF Intercontinental Championship. Jarrett challenged Diesel for the WWF Championship in the main event of the February 20 edition of Raw, but lost the match. Razor Ramon received a rematch at WrestleMania XI which Jarrett lost by disqualification, but retained the WWF Intercontinental Championship. Jarrett was then joined by The Roadie, with the duo losing to Razor Ramon in a handicap match at In Your House 1. On April 26, 1995, the WWF Intercontinental Championship was declared vacant after a controversial ending to a match between Jarrett and Bob Holly. They had a rematch later that evening where Jarrett reclaimed the title. On May 19, Razor Ramon regained the title from Jarrett in Montreal, Quebec, but Jarrett won it back two nights later in Trois-Rivières, Quebec, making him a three-time Intercontinental Champion.

At In Your House 2: The Lumberjacks on July 23, 1995, Jarrett and Sawyer Brown performed the song "With My Baby Tonight". Later that evening, Jarrett lost the WWF Intercontinental Championship to Shawn Michaels. Following the event, Jarrett left the WWF for 7 months and returned to the United States Wrestling Association. Jarrett returned to the WWF in late 1995, feuding with Ahmed Johnson. Jarrett lost to Johnson by disqualification at the 1996 Royal Rumble and left the WWF shortly thereafter due to a contract dispute. Later that year, The Roadie revealed that he had in fact sung "With My Baby Tonight" and that Jarrett had been lip synching.^[7]

World Championship Wrestling (1996–1997)

In October 1996, Jarrett was hired by World Championship Wrestling (WCW), signing a 1 year contract.^[5] Upon debuting in WCW, Jarrett became a "free agent" in the rivalry between the Four Horsemen and the New World Order. After defeating Chris Benoit at Starrcade, Jarrett was inducted into the Four Horsemen. On June 9, 1997, Jarrett defeated Dean Malenko to win the WCW United States Heavyweight Championship.^[7][8] In mid-1997, Jarrett left the Four Horsemen and began feuding with Horsemen member Steve "Mongo" McMichael. Despite aligning himself with McMichael's ex-wife, Debra McMichael, Jarrett lost the WCW United States Heavyweight Championship to McMichael on August 21. In October, Jarrett's contract expired and he opted to return to the WWF, despite the dominance of WCW in the ongoing Monday Night Wars.^[4][5][7]

Return to WWF (1997–1999)

Jarrett returned to the WWF on the October 20, 1997 episode of Raw, delivering a worked shoot speech in which he criticized both WCW President Eric Bischoff and WWF Chairman Vince McMahon. After briefly feuding with The Undertaker, Jarrett defeated Barry Windham to win the vacant NWA North American Heavyweight Championship. In early 1998, Jarrett joined forces with Jim Cornette and his stable of "invading" National Wrestling Alliance wrestlers, and began defending the NWA North American Heavyweight Championship on WWF television. In March, Jarrett left Cornette's stable, and Cornette stripped him of the title and awarded it to Windham.^[5][7][9]

Jarrett went on to reprise his country music singer gimmick, introducing Tennessee Lee as his manager and the tag team Southern Justice (formerly known as The Godwinns) as his bodyguards. He redeveloped his habit of breaking an acoustic guitar over the heads of his opponents. At Unforgiven: In Your House, Jarrett once again sang alongside Sawyer Brown with their hit single, "Some Girls Do". In August, Jarrett abandoned his country singer gimmick and dismissed Lee. He and Southern Justice began feuding with D-Generation X, with Jarrett losing to D-X member X-Pac in a hair versus hair match at SummerSlam. Jarrett's long hair was subsequently cut short by D-X and Howard Finkel, who had himself been shaved bald by Jarrett and Southern Justice shortly before SummerSlam. Jarrett and Southern Justice were defeated by D-X at Breakdown in September, and the trio separated shortly thereafter.^[7][9]

Jarrett briefly feuded with Al Snow before reuniting with Debra, who had left WCW for the WWF, and forming a tag team with Owen Hart. Hart and Jarrett were close friends and travel partners for years, so the team gelled almost immediately. Jarrett and Hart won the WWF World Tag Team Championship from Ken Shamrock and The Big Boss Man, successfully defending the titles at WrestleMania XV before losing to Kane and X-Pac on an episode of Raw. 8 days after Hart was killed in a stunt that went wrong at Over the Edge, Jarrett defeated The Godfather, who Owen was scheduled to face at the pay-per-view. As he was handed the title he yelled Hart's name in tribute to his friend. In mid-1999, Jarrett won and lost the WWF Intercontinental Championship on 2 more occasions.^[7][9]

In the months that followed, Jarrett became increasingly abusive towards Debra. At SummerSlam, Jarrett challenged D'Lo Brown for both the WWF European and Intercontinental Championships, with Debra accompanying Brown to the ring following an argument with Jarrett. Brown lost the match after both Mark Henry and Debra turned on him, making Jarrett the second ever "Euro-Continental Champion". On the following episode of Raw, Jarrett rewarded Debra and Henry by giving Debra an assistant, Miss Kitty, and Henry the European Championship.^[7][10] In late 1999, Jarrett began feuding with Chyna over the Intercontinental Championship.^[11] In the course of the feud, Jarrett became somewhat misogynistic, attacking numerous females,^[11] including both wrestlers and actress Cindy Margolis, and executing the figure four leglock on them. Jarrett eventually abandoned Debra in favor of Miss Kitty after he and Debra were defeated by Stephanie McMahon and Test in a mixed tag team match. He later also turned on Miss Kitty after she lost a match that Jarrett had inserted her into in his place.^[7][9]

Jarrett left the WWF in October 1999, right after WWF head writer Vince Russo resigned from the WWF in order to join WCW.^[12] Jarrett's contract expired on October 16, 1999, one day before his scheduled match with Chyna at No Mercy.^[13] Jarrett wrestled at No Mercy nonetheless, losing the Intercontinental Championship to Chyna.^[14] Chyna later alleged that Jarrett and Russo had colluded in order to delay Jarrett's title defense until after Jarrett's contract had expired, and that Jarrett had subsequently extorted WWF Chairman Vince McMahon for $300,000 in order to wrestle without a contract.^[13]

In 2006, Jarrett asserted that he had been paid only what he was owed by the WWF.^{[7][15][16][17]} In a 2008 interview for a TNA special, Jarrett stated that not only were his negotiations cordial and in good faith, but that he also got stock options in WWF's IPO, which occurred 2 days after he left.^[18]

Return to WCW (1999–2001)

Jarrett returned to WCW on the October 18, 1999 episode of WCW Monday Nitro, attacking Buff Bagwell and proclaiming himself the "Chosen One" of WCW. Jarrett took part in a tournament for the vacant WCW World Heavyweight Championship, winning his first three matches with the assistance of Creative Control. At Mayhem, he was eliminated from the tournament after losing his semi-final match to Chris Benoit following interference from Dustin Rhodes. At Starrcade, Jarrett defeated Rhodes in a bunkhouse brawl, then unsuccessfully challenged Benoit for the WCW United States Championship in a ladder match. On the following episode of Monday Nitro, Jarrett defeated Benoit in a rematch. In the same evening, Jarrett reformed the New World Order with WCW World Champion Bret Hart and the reigning WCW Tag Team Champions, Kevin Nash and Scott Hall, with the foursome calling themselves "nWo 2000".^[7][9]

In early 2000, Jarrett feuded with WCW Commissioner Terry Funk, who forced him to wrestle three veterans - George Steele, Tito Santana, and Jimmy Snuka - in 1 night. Jarrett was stripped of the United States Championship after suffering a concussion during his bout with Snuka, but the title was returned to him by Nash after he became WCW Commissioner. In order to help him retain the title, Jarrett drafted the Harris Brothers (formerly Creative Control) into nWo 2000. In the following months, Jarrett repeatedly challenged Sid Vicious for the WCW World Heavyweight Championship, in the process clashing with Nash and winning the position of WCW Commissioner for himself. Following the retirement of Hart, the New World Order disbanded.^[9]

In April, WCW was "rebooted" by Eric Bischoff and Vince Russo, with all titles vacated as a result. Bischoff and Russo also created the New Blood, a stable of younger wrestlers who feuded with the Millionaire's Club, made up of the older members of the WCW roster. Jarrett joined the New Blood, and at Spring Stampede on April 16, he defeated Millionaires Club member Diamond Dallas Page to win the vacant WCW World Heavyweight Championship. Page regained the title on April 24, and on April 25, the title was contested in a tag team match pitting Jarrett and Bischoff against Page and actor David Arquette. Arquette won the WCW World Heavyweight Championship after pinning Bischoff. Jarrett hit Page with the championship belt while special referee Kimberly Page's back was turned; WCW official Mickie Jay counted Bischoff out while Jarrett had Page pinned. At Slamboree on May 7, Jarrett defeated Page and Arquette in a three way triple cage match to win his 2nd WCW World Heavyweight Championship after Arquette turned on Page.^[7][9]

In May, Jarrett won and lost the World Championship on 2 further occasions, regaining the title from Ric Flair both times. Jarrett feuded with Nash and Hulk Hogan throughout June 2000, and on July 9 at Bash at the Beach, he faced Hogan with the World Championship on the line. The match ended swiftly after Jarrett immediately laid down, allowing Hogan to rest a boot on his chest and win the title, with Hogan commenting, "That's why this company is in the damn shape it's in—because of bullshit like this." Vince Russo subsequently came to the ring and delivered a profanity-laced interview in which he accused Hogan of politicking and claimed that Hogan had used his creative control to refuse to lose to Jarrett. Russo then stated that, while Hogan was free to keep the title belt he had just won (the "Hulk Hogan Memorial Belt"), Jarrett would wrestle Booker T for the official WCW World Heavyweight Championship later that night. Booker T won the resultant match, and Hogan didn't appear in WCW again. It is disputed whether the situation was a shoot, a work, or some combination of the two.^[7][9][19]

In the following months, Jarrett briefly feuded with Booker T, Mike Awesome, Sting, Buff Bagwell, and Flair. In late 2000, he joined forces with the Harris Brothers once more, with the trio defeating the Filthy Animals at Starrcade on December 17. In the same evening, Jarrett aligned himself with WCW World Champion Scott Steiner by helping Steiner defeat Sid Vicious. In 2001, Jarrett and Steiner became members of the Magnificent Seven, a large stable headed by Flair. Flair and Jarrett feuded with Dusty and Dustin Rhodes until March, when WCW was purchased by the WWF. His contract was not picked up by the WWF. On the last Nitro, Jeff was seen on RAW while Vince McMahon watched the show. Vince saw Jeff on the screen and told the viewer that Jarrett would not have a future in the WWF by saying Jeff's name would now be known as "Capital G Double-O Double-N Double-E" following McMahon's acquisition of WCW, effectively firing him on-air.^[7][9]

World Wrestling All-Stars (2001–2003)

In late 2001, Jarrett wrestled in World Wrestling All-Stars in Australia and Europe. Jarrett won the 1st WWA World Heavyweight Championship, but was later stripped of the title. Jarrett returned to the WWA during his 1st NWA World Heavyweight Championship reign; he defeated Sting for the WWA World Heavyweight Championship at the last WWA event on May 25, 2003, unifying the two titles.

Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (2002–2011)

In June 2002, Jarrett and his father created a limited-liability company, J Sports and Entertainment and opened a new pro wrestling promotion, Total Nonstop Action Wrestling. TNA aired in a weekly pay-per-view format until May 2004, when the promotion negotiated a TV deal with Fox Sports Net and began broadcasting TNA Impact!. In November 2004, TNA began airing monthly pay-per-views instead of weekly pay-per-views, and in October 2005 Impact! moved to Spike TV. Panda Energy acquired a controlling interest in TNA in 2002, although Jarrett remained a minority owner.^[20][21][22]

NWA World Heavyweight Champion (2002–2006)

On the inaugural TNA pay-per-view on June 19, 2002, Jarrett took part in a Gauntlet for the Gold with the NWA World Heavyweight Championship on the line, but was eliminated by country singer Toby Keith. In the following months, Jarrett feuded with Scott Hall, Brian Lawler, and Brian Gerard James. On November 20, 2002, Jarrett defeated Ron Killings to win the NWA World Championship with the assistance of Vince Russo. After Jarrett refused to join Russo's Sports Entertainment Xtreme stable, Russo turned the members of SEX, including the debuting Raven, against Jarrett. The rivalry continued until February 2003, when Russo lost interest in SEX. In the following months, Jarrett feuded with the remaining members of SEX, then began feuding with Raven and Raven's Nest, the group of wrestlers that Raven controlled. On June 11, 2003, Jarrett faced Raven and A.J. Styles in a 3-way match for the NWA World Championship. Styles pinned Jarrett to win the title after the returning Russo struck Jarrett with a guitar. Jarrett regained the title from Styles on October 22, 2003, turning heel. Jarrett was unable to escape Styles, losing the title back to him on April 21, 2004 in a steel cage after Russo - who had returned as the new TNA Director of Authority - chose Styles to replace the injured Chris Harris. Jarrett would get revenge on May 19, however, by hitting Styles with a guitar during a title match, which enabled Ron Killings to win the title. Jarrett then defeated Killings, Styles, Raven and Harris in a King of the Mountain match on June 2 to win his 3rd NWA World Championship.^[9][23]

In early 2005, Jarrett formed a dominant stable known as Planet Jarrett with Monty Brown, Kip James, and, later, Rhino. Jarrett also uses the phrase "Planet Jarrett" to refer to TNA as a whole, reflecting his real-life stake in the company and his prominent role within the promotion. Despite his efforts to hold on to the title, however, he lost it back to long-time rival Styles on May 15, 2005.^[23]

Jarrett won his 4th NWA World Heavyweight Championship on September 15, 2005, defeating Raven at a Border City Wrestling event. He lost the title to Rhino at Bound for Glory on October 23, but regained it on the November 3 episode of Impact!. Jarrett's reign lasted until Against All Odds on February 12, 2006, when he was defeated by Christian Cage.

In the following months, Jarrett feuded with Sting, who had declared that Jarrett was a "cancer" in TNA. In the course of the feud, Scott Steiner debuted in TNA as an ally of Jarrett.^[24]

At Slammiversary on June 18, 2006 Jarrett won his 6th NWA World Championship in a King of the Mountain match when referee Earl Hebner tipped over a ladder that Christian Cage and Sting were simultaneously climbing. He retained the title in a bout with Sting at Hard Justice 2006 after Cage turned on Sting, hitting him with one of Jarrett's guitars. After a polygraph proved that Jarrett had cheated to win the NWA World Championship, Director of Authority Jim Cornette forced Jarrett to wrestle Samoa Joe in a "fan's revenge" lumberjack match at TNA No Surrender, with Joe winning the match. At the Bound for Glory pay-per-view on October 22, Sting defeated Jarrett for the NWA World Championship after Jarrett was forced to submit to Sting's signature finisher, the Scorpion Death Lock.

Hiatus, return, and face turn (2007–2009)

On the following episode of Impact!, Jarrett announced in an interview that he was leaving TNA indefinitely. For the following 6 months, Jarrett did not appear on TNA television, instead focusing on his role as Vice President of TNA Entertainment. Jarrett, however, temporarily returned to TNA television on the April 12, 2007 episode of Impact!, and aligned himself with Samoa Joe, by helping him defeat A.J. Styles, turning face. On April 15, 2007 at Lockdown, Jarrett, making his in-ring return, and the rest of Team Angle defeated Team Cage in a Lethal Lockdown match. The following episode of Impact!, he delivered his first promo in months, stating it's not all about Jeff Jarrett and he returned to give back to the wrestlers and fans, officially completing his face turn. He then entered into a feud with Robert Roode, losing a match to him at Sacrifice. Jarrett was then scheduled to take on Styles with the winner to earn a spot in the King of the Mountain match but could not compete due to "personal issues". In 2008, Jarrett was featured in the promotion of TNA's "Maximum Impact!" tour of the UK.^[25]

At Hard Justice 2008, Samoa Joe defeated Booker T using the Acoustic Equalizer, the trademark move of Jarrett, setting up for his return to in-ring action, as quoted by the website, "Obviously, we all know who used a guitar in the past!" referring indirectly to Jarrett. After numerous weeks of Jarrett's theme song playing and his guitar appearing on TNA programming, Jarrett returned to Impact! on September 11, 2008. At No Surrender, he would help Joe defeat Kurt Angle and Cage and assist Joe in retaining the TNA World Championship by hitting Angle with a guitar keeping him a face. The following Thursday, on Impact!, Jarrett cut his first promo since Slammiversary, claiming that the current respect angle that Sting was involved in was actually a matter of the veterans refusing to pass the torch to the young guys. Angle came out and challenged Jarrett to a match at Bound for Glory IV, but Jarrett refused, saying he had nothing left to prove, and instead pointed to the screen to reveal the debuting Mick Foley. On the next edition of IMPACT, Jarrett relented to verbal cheap shots taken by Angle regarding Jarrett's children and accepted the match at Bound for Glory. The feud got more personal due to Angle mentioning Jarrett's wife, which lead to Foley being named the Special Enforcer for their match. At Bound For Glory Jarrett returned to the ring after a 1 year and 5 month absence, and defeated Angle using his Acoustic Equalizer.

On the November 20, 2008 edition of Impact!, Kurt Angle threatened Mick Foley and wanted another match against Jarrett at Final Resolution after Foley announced that it was Angle vs. Rhino at the event. Angle continued to demand a match with Jarrett and he said if he couldn't get him at Final Resolution, he would wrestle Foley. Angle then slapped Foley causing Jarrett to come out and talk about what Angle wanted and then what Jarrett wanted (Angle to be fired). Because of Angle's contract clause, Jarrett could not fire him, so he made this stipulation: if Angle lost to Rhino, he would be fired from TNA; if Angle beat Rhino, he would get Jarrett at Genesis. Angle won, allowing him to face Jarrett at Genesis. The feud got even more personal when it started involving Jarrett's 3 daughters during the December 11, 2008 episode of IMPACT!. Angle said that they would become orphans after Genesis and that "Uncle Kurt" may find it in his heart to adopt them and make them his. Jarrett came out to confront him but was held back by his longtime friend, BG James, TNA Personnel Terry Taylor, referee Earl Hebner, and Scott D'Amore. On January 11 at Genesis, Jarrett lost to Angle. Jeff suffered some injuries, but able to compete on the TNA Maxium Impact Tour, by facing against Kurt Angle in 2 singles and a few tag team matches with AJ Styles against Kurt Angle and Scott Steiner. Then on February 12, 2009, Jeff Jarrett returned to Impact! to stop Angle from forcing Sting to lay down and gain an easy championship victory. The next week, Jarrett allowed Angle to have another match against Sting, and on February 26, 2009 Jarrett announced Angle vs. Sting at Destination X for the TNA World Championship. Jarrett would then enter a feud with Mick Foley who attacked him while shooting his DVD at the TNA Asylum. The 2 would meet in a 4 way match at TNA Sacrifice involving Kurt Angle and Sting with Jarret putting his voting shares in TNA on the line and Angle putting his leadership of The Main Event Mafia and Sting putting his career and Foley putting the TNA World title; Sting would go on to pin Angle for the victory and leadership of the mafia. Jarrett later pinned Eric Young in order to qualify for the King of the Mountain match, however Young attacked Jarrett after the match in storyline. The following week Jarrett called out Young and offered to turn the other cheek but instead Young provoked him by saying that he pays more attention to wrestling than his own daughters just like his father Jerry Jarrett which resulted in Jeff slapping Young and assaulting him. Jarrett also would accidentally punch referee Earl Hebner while Hebner was trying to separate the 2. On the June 11 edition of Impact!, Mick Foley kayfabe fined and suspended Jarrett and threw him out of the arena as a punishment. The following week Foley threw a party for Jarrett and welcomed him back to TNA in order to have him on his side at Slammiversary. At Slammiversary, Jarrett refused to give Foley the belt in the King of the Mountain match, which was won by Kurt Angle after assistance from Samoa Joe. Shortly after Slammiversary, Jarrett once again disappeared from TNA programming. During his hiatus, it was reported that Jarrett had lost all of his backstage power in TNA and would return only as a wrestler.^[26]

Feuding with Eric Bischoff and Sting (2009–2010)

On the December 3 edition of Impact!, Jarrett made his first appearance in months via telephone, refusing to help Mick Foley regain control over TNA after Dixie Carter had announced that Hulk Hogan was coming to TNA.^[27] On the December 10 edition of Impact!, Foley met with Jarrett, who agreed to return and help him deal with Carter and Hogan.^[28] On January 4, 2010, Hogan made his debut, confronted Jarrett and claimed that he had to earn his spot in the company.^[29] The following week Jarrett started showing signs of a heel turn as he threatened Hogan with legal action,^[30] however, on the January 28 edition of Impact! he changed his mind and agreed to fight for his spot. In the main event of the show he came out to no entrance music or pyrotechnics and was defeated by Mr. Anderson after a low blow.^[31] This started an angle of Hogan's business partner Eric Bischoff, acting on his own without Hogan, having Jarrett work humiliating jobs backstage at the Impact! Zone, such as flipping burgers and cleaning restrooms, while also booking him in unfavorable matches, such as surprise Falls Count Anywhere and handicap matches.^[32][33][34] On the March 22 edition of Impact!, after Jarrett broke a guitar over Bischoff's head, Bischoff placed him and Mick Foley, another wrestler he had had problems with, against each other in a No Disqualification match, where the loser would get fired from the company. Jarrett managed to win the match, refereed by Beer Money, Inc., and with Foley fired from the company, Hogan ordered Bischoff to lay off of Jarrett.^[35] The following week Hogan, prior to leaving on a business trip, apologized to Jarrett for Bischoff's behavior and gave him a chance to earn the number one contendership to the TNA World Heavyweight Championship in a match against the champion A.J. Styles. With Hogan out of the building, Bischoff and Styles' manager Ric Flair interfered in the match and cost Jarrett the number one contendership. Later in the evening Jarrett was announced as the second member of Abyss' Team Hogan in the annual Lethal Lockdown match, where they would meet Team Flair, led by Sting.^[36] At Lockdown Team Hogan (Abyss, Jarrett, Rob Van Dam and Jeff Hardy) defeated Team Flair (Sting, Desmond Wolfe, Robert Roode and James Storm), when Bischoff turned face and helped Team Hogan pick up the victory, effectively ending his feud with Jarrett.^[37] Just before Lockdown, Jarrett said that he was going to find out the answers to Sting's behavior, which led into a brawl on Impact! with Sting leaving a beaten Jarrett in the ring, which in turn led to their match at Sacrifice. At the pay-per-view Sting assaulted Jarrett prior to their match and then dragged him in to the ring, where he managed to score a pinfall in seconds over his bloodied opponent.^[38] Jarrett was sidelined for a month before making his return at Slammiversary VIII, where he cost Sting his World Heavyweight Championship match against Rob Van Dam.^[39] On the June 24 edition of Impact! Sting assaulted Jarrett to the point that TNA president Dixie Carter suspended him for 30 days without pay the following week.^[40][41] During Sting's suspension Jarrett found a new enemy in Kevin Nash, who claimed that Jarrett himself, and not Sting, was what was wrong with TNA.^[42] Sting returned from his suspension on the August 5 edition of Impact!, wearing a new red face paint, and, together with Nash, beat down Jarrett, Bischoff and Hogan.^[43] On the August 26 edition of Impact! Jarrett attempted to eat a bag of turds before recruiting Samoa Joe to help him against Nash and Sting, but was turned down. Thus Jarrett was left alone for a match, where he was defeated by Nash, after an interference from Sting.^[44] The following week Sting defeated Jarrett in a singles match, after an interference from Kevin Nash. After the match Samoa Joe joined Jarrett and drove Sting and Nash away.^[45] At No Surrender Jarrett and Joe defeated Sting and Nash in a tag team match, after Jarrett hit Sting with his own baseball bat.^[46]

Heel turn and feud with Kurt Angle (2010–2011)

At Bound for Glory Jarrett and Joe faced Sting, Nash and their newest ally D'Angelo Dinero in a handicap match, after Hulk Hogan, who was scheduled to team with Joe and Jarrett, was forced to pull out due to a back surgery. At the end of the match Jarrett turned heel and abandoned Joe and left him to be pinned by Nash. At the end of the event Jarrett aligned himself with Hulk Hogan, who ended up making a surprise appearance, Eric Bischoff, Abyss and the new TNA World Heavyweight Champion Jeff Hardy, all of whom made heel turns with the exception of the already heel Abyss, in the process revealing themselves as the "they" Abyss had referred to.^[47] On the following edition of Impact! Jarrett explained that he had joined the stable, now known as Immortal, in order to get back at Dixie Carter for taking away his backstage power in TNA, while also wanting to end the career of Kurt Angle, who had proclaimed that he would retire from professional wrestling if he failed to win the TNA World Heavyweight Championship at Bound for Glory. Jarrett then attacked Angle, when he was being restrained by TNA's security officers.^[48] The following week Samoa Joe attempted to avenge what had happened at Bound for Glory, but was restrained by the security officers, before being beat down by Jarrett.^[49] At Turning Point Jarrett defeated Joe, after choking him out with a baton, following interference from Gunner and Murphy, his security officers.^[50] On the following edition of Impact! Jarrett assaulted Joe, after he had defeated Gunner and Murphy in a handicap match, but was then chased away by the returning Kurt Angle.^[51] At Final Resolution Jarrett faced Joe in a submission match. After a pre–match assault and later an interference by Gunner and Murphy, Jarrett managed to force Joe to submit with an ankle lock.^[52] On the January 6, 2011, edition of Impact! Kurt Angle interrupted Jarrett's $100,000 mixed martial arts challenge and signed a contract to face him at Genesis in an MMA exhibition match, since he had promised not to wrestle again.^[53] The match was thrown out in the third round after Jarrett blinded Angle. After the match Jarrett bloodied Angle, before announcing that he was ending his mixed martial arts career and promised that his current wife and Kurt's former wife, Karen Jarrett, would be joining the retirement party.^[54] On the January 13 edition of Impact! Karen made her return and stopped Angle just as he was about to attack Jeff, telling him that she would not allow him to ruin their personal lives and promised to tell all about their divorce the following week.^[55] The following week Karen slapped Kurt, providing a distraction which allowed Jeff to beat him down.^[56] On February 13 at Against All Odds Jarrett defeated Angle in a singles match and as a result Angle was forced to walk Karen down the aisle, when she and Jarrett renewed their wedding vows on the March 3 edition of Impact!.^[57] On March 3 Angle proceeded to destroy the wedding set with an axe and forced wedding guest, New York Jet Bart Scott to tap out with the ankle lock.^[58] On April 17 at Lockdown, Jarrett defeated Angle in an "Ultra Male Rules" Two out of Three Falls steel cage match, with help from Karen.^[59] It was later reported that Jarrett had severely bruised his ribs in the match.^[60] On the May 12 edition of Impact!, Angle revealed a name from Jarrett's past, Chyna, as his backup in taking care of him and Karen.^[61] At Sacrifice, Angle and Chyna defeated the Jarretts in a mixed tag team match.^[62] With Karen out of the picture, Angle defeated Jarrett on June 12 at Slammiversary IX in what was billed as the "final battle" between the two.^[63] However, on the following edition of Impact Wrestling, Jarrett challenged Angle to a Parking Lot Brawl and agreed to sign a contract that would force him to move to Mexico without Angle's children, which he lost the match. Angle ended up winning the fight after choking Jarrett with a shirt, forcing him to say "adiós", thus ending the long feud in the process.^[64] The following week on Impact Wrestling, Bischoff forced Jarrett to obey the match stipulations and exiled him to Mexico.^[65]

Mexican Heavyweight Champion (2011–present)

Jarrett returned to TNA on the July 14 edition of Impact Wrestling, showing off the "Mexican Heavyweight Championship" belt, playing off the AAA World Heavyweight Championship, he had won during his stay in Mexico.^[66] On the August 18 edition of Impact Wrestling, Jarrett aligned himself with the Mexican America stable by helping its members Anarquia and Hernandez defeat Beer Money, Inc. for the TNA World Tag Team Championship.^[67] In October Jarrett began feuding with the returning Jeff Hardy.^[68] On November 13 at Turning Point, Jarrett lost to Hardy three times in a row, first in six seconds, then in six minutes and finally in ten seconds.^[69] On December 11 at Final Resolution, Jarrett was defeated by Hardy in a steel cage match.^[70] As per stipulation of the match, Jarrett was, in storyline, fired from TNA on the following edition of Impact Wrestling.^[71] In reality, he was written off television to oversee Ring Ka King, a new promotion based in India that is a subsidiary of TNA.^[72]

Asistencia Asesoría y Administración (2004–2006, 2011–present)

Jarrett made his debut for Mexican promotion Asistencia Asesoría y Administración (AAA) on March 21, 2004, defeating Latin Lover to win the 2004 Rey de Reyes tournament.^[73] Over the next two years, Jarrett would make several sporadic appearances for AAA as a member of the heel stable La Legión Extranjera, before the working relationship between AAA and TNA was ended.

In February 2010, TNA restarted their working relationship with AAA and in early May 2011, Jarrett made his return to AAA television, announcing his and TNA's alignment with Dorian Roldán and his heel stable La Sociedad and their participation in TripleManía XIX.^[74] Konnan, the co-leader of La Sociedad and former TNA worker, however, was against the idea of his former employer coming to AAA and believed that Roldán had made a mistake by inviting him to the promotion.^[75] Jarrett and Abyss arrived to AAA on May 18 for a confrontation with Konnan and La Sociedad. In the end, Jarrett and Konnan revealed that they were in fact on the same page with each other and turned on AAA World Heavyweight Champion El Zorro with Konnan announcing that Jarrett would be challenging for his title at TripleManía XIX.^[76][77]

On June 18 at TripleManía XIX, Jarrett defeated El Zorro to become the new AAA World Heavyweight Champion.^[78] On July 31 at Verano de Escándalo, Jarrett successfully defended the title in a three-way elimination match against Dr. Wagner, Jr. and L.A. Park, when someone wearing El Zorro's old mask interfered and hit Park with a guitar.^[79] This person was later revealed as La Sociedad member Chessman, whom Konnan had sent to interfere in the match in order to have Park go after El Zorro instead of continuing to chase his stablemate's title.^[80] The storyline continued on October 9 at Héroes Inmortales, where both Jarrett and Park took part in the Copa Antonio Peña gauntlet match. After working together for the entire match, Park eventually turned on Jarrett and eliminated him. After a distraction from the Jarretts, Park was attacked by another masked El Zorro, costing him the match.^[81]

Media

TNA announced that on April 14, 2009 the first-ever Jeff Jarrett DVD release would be a four-disc set, including his best TNA matches and moments, a lengthy and candid interview on his life, career and TNA Wrestling, rare photos, and guest commentary, among others.

Personal life

Jarrett was married to his "high school sweetheart" Jill on November 14, 1992, with whom he had three daughters, Joslyn, Jaclyn, and Jerlyn. His parents names are father, Jerry W. and mother Deborah. He also has two brothers, Jerry Jr. and Jason, and he has one sister, Jennifer.^[82][83][84] Jill was diagnosed with breast cancer in the late 1990s, and died on May 23, 2007 at the age of 38 from cancer, exactly eight years after the death of his friend Owen Hart.^{[5][85][86][87]}

In 2009, It was reported that Jeff Jarrett was romantically linked to Karen Angle.^[88] This resulted in TNA president Dixie Carter placing Jeff Jarrett on leave of absence.^{[89][90][91][92]} The situation was revealed in July 2009 when a caller known only as "James" claiming to be a TNA employee called in on Bubba the Love Sponge's radio show.^[93][94] Dixie Carter commented on the situation on Impact, stating "a personal situation that affected the company and it put all of us in a very difficult position." She said Jeff was placed "on leave as both a talent and in his capacity with the company and I'd like to leave it at that." In December 2009, Jeff returned to TNA, using the real life situation briefly as a storyline, with Carter reprimanding Jarrett on camera for his actions and ordering him to apologize to Kurt Angle. Jarrett confronted Angle backstage and offered an awkward apology, which a visibly upset Angle brushed off. On April 6, 2010, Jarrett and Karen Angle announced their engagement.^[95] Jarrett and Angle were married on August 21, 2010.^[96]

In wrestling

• Finishing moves
  • Acoustic Equalizer / El Kabong (Guitar shot)^[1][2]
  • Figure-four leglock^[8]
  • The Stroke^[1][2] (Forward Russian legsweep,^[97][98] sometimes from the second rope)
• Signature moves
  • Diving crossbody^{[99][100][101]}
  • Double leg slam
  • Double underhook facebuster
  • Dropkick,^[2] sometimes from the top rope^[102]
  • Enzuigiri
  • Kneeling belly to belly piledriver
  • Lariat^[103]
  • Leapfrog body guillotine
  • Powerslam^[97]
  • Sleeper hold^{[99][103][104][105]}
  • Snap suplex
  • Swinging neckbreaker^[106]

• Managers
  • The Roadie^[107]
  • Debra^[107]
  • Jim Cornette^[107][108]
  • Tennessee Lee^[107]
  • Southern Justice (Mark Canterbury and Dennis Knight)
  • Miss Kitty^[107]
  • nWo Girls
  • New Blood
  • Harris Brothers (Don and Ron Harris)
  • Don Callis
  • Baby Doll
  • Gail Kim^[107][109]
  • Jackie Gayda
  • Karen Jarrett

• Nicknames
  • "The Chosen One"^[2]
  • "Double J"^[2]
  • "The TNA Founder"^[1]
  • "The Great One"^[2]
  • "Simply Irresistible"^[2]
  • "The King of the Mountain"^[2]
  • "The Ultra Male"^[110]
  • "Big Daddy"

• Entrance themes
  • "Good Ol' Boys" WCW (1996-1997)
  • "Tennessee Jam" by Jim Johnston (WWF; 1998–1999)
  • "Rockhouse" by Jimmy Hart and H.Helm WCW; as part of nWo 2000; 1999-early 2000)
  • "My World" by Dale Oliver (TNA / AAA; 2002–present)^[111]
  • "Immortal Theme" by Dale Oliver^[112]

Championships and accomplishments

• American Wrestling Association
  • Rookie of the Year (1984)

• Asistencia Asesoría y Administración
  • AAA World Heavyweight Championship (1 time, current)^[78]
  • AAA Rey de Reyes (2004)^[73]1

• Continental Wrestling Association
  • AWA Southern Tag Team Championship (4 times) – with Billy Travis (3) and Pat Tanaka (1)^[113]
  • CWA Heavyweight Championship (1 time)^[114]
  • CWA International Tag Team Championship (2 time) – with Pat Tanaka (1) and Paul Diamond (1)^[115]
  • NWA Mid-America Heavyweight Championship (5 times)^[116]

• NWA Cyberspace
  • NWA Cyberspace Heavyweight Championship (1 time)^[117]

• Pennsylvania Championship Wrestling
  • PCW United States Championship (1 time)^[118]

• Pro Wrestling Illustrated
  • PWI Feud of the Year (1992)^[119]with Jerry Lawler vs. the Moondogs
  • PWI Most Inspirational Wrestler of the Year^[120] (2007)
  • PWI ranked him #5 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 2000^[121]
  • PWI ranked him #141 in the PWI Years in 2003^[122]
  • PWI ranked him #78 of the Top 100 Tag Teams of the PWI Years in 2003 with Jerry Lawler^[123]

• Total Nonstop Action Wrestling
  • NWA World Heavyweight Championship (6 times)^[124]
  • King of the Mountain (2004, 2006)

• United States Wrestling Association
  • USWA Heavyweight Championship (1 time)^[125]
  • USWA Southern Heavyweight Championship (9 times)^[126]
  • USWA Unified World Heavyweight Championship (3 times)^[127]
  • USWA World Tag Team Championship (14 times) – with Jeff Gaylord (2), Cody Michaels (1), Jerry Lawler (4), Robert Fuller (4), and Brian Christopher (2)^[128]

• World Championship Wrestling
  • WCW United States Heavyweight Championship (3 times)^{[129][130][131]}
  • WCW World Heavyweight Championship (4 times)^{[132][133][134][135]}

• World Class Wrestling Association
  • USWA World Tag Team Championship (2 times) – with Matt Borne^[128]
  • WCWA World Light Heavyweight Championship (2 times)^[136]
  • WCWA World Tag Team Championship (3 times) – with Kerry Von Erich (1), Mil Máscaras (1), and Matt Borne (1)^[137]

• World Wrestling Federation
  • NWA North American Heavyweight Championship (1 time)^2[138]
  • WWF European Championship (1 time)^[139]
  • WWF Intercontinental Championship (6 times)^{[140][141][142][143][144][145]}
  • WWF Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Owen Hart^[146]

• World Series Wrestling
  • WSW Heavyweight Championship^[147]

• World Wrestling All-Stars
  • WWA World Heavyweight Championship (2 times)³

• Wrestling Observer Newsletter awards
  • Feud of the Year (1992) with Jerry Lawler vs. The Moondogs
  • Most Overrated Wrestler (2005)

¹After Asistencia Asesoría y Administración retracted their working relationship with Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, Jarrett's win was stricken from AAA's records. However, when the relationship was resumed in 2010, AAA once again began recognizing Jarrett as a former Rey de Reyes.^[148]

²Wins the title while working for the World Wrestling Federation as part of an angle with the National Wrestling Alliance.

³Upon winning the title for the second time, Jarrett instantly unified it with the NWA World Heavyweight Championship.

Lucha de Apuesta record

Notes

References

• Laurer, Joanie (2001). If They Only Knew. ReaganBooks. ISBN 0061098957. 

External links

• TNA profile
• AAA profile
• Online World of Wrestling profile
• Jeff Jarrett's channel on YouTube
• Jeff Jarrett at the Internet Movie Database