Jeff Jarrett Recalls Going Back To WWE In 1997

Jeff Jarrett was opened up about his first run in WWE.

Jeff Jarrett bounced back worth between WWE and WCW throughout the 1990s. He appeared in WWE in 1992 as part of a crosspromotional angle between WWE and the United States Wrestling Association (USWA) but didn’t last long.

Jeff Jarrett then reappeared in late 1993 as “Double J” and spent about two years under that gimmick. He would wrestle in WWE until early 1996 when he left the company over a pay dispute.

Jeff Jarrett then spent a year wrestling for World Championship Wrestling (WCW). He was involved in a feud between the Four Horseman and the New World Order and later won the WCW United States Championship.

Then to the surprise of many, Jeff Jarrett left WCW abruptly in 1997 to return to WWE, despite WCW’s dominance at the time. Speaking on his My World podcast, Jarrett shed light on why he left WCW when they were, for all intents and purposes, still winning the Monday Night Wars:

“It was more creative, but my creative or lack thereof didn’t incentivize Eric to say ‘hey, we got to hold onto this guy.’ We had a great working relationship, very professional. I think he respected my work, but he knew the NWO and everything attached to it that was what was moving the needle and probably more importantly to the situation, I knew that.

So I knew that, again, corporate versus one-man running the show it’s just night and day you know. The older I get and the more miles I put on and the more wrestling I’m around it just comes down it’s truly that simple. Look at the NFL, coaching can change the culture and if you just don’t have that tip-top leader there’s issues. It’s just that simple there’s issues.”

Jeff Jarrett also discussed how his father Jerry Jarrett also got involved in the contract talks going on that the time.

“I can’t say I regret it because at the time I was doing what I thought was the very best. In hindsight, because I kind of touched on it, we knew he wasn’t my agent because agents defer to talent to their client. I’m not going to tell my dad what to do. That just that relationship, you know, that almost demeans him. Did I want him to advise me? Maybe guide me?

Well the nature of the beast of his entrepreneur spirit is if you ask him for guidance what he hears is ‘I’m going to run the show’. So, there was kind of a balance there. I’m not saying he took off and run the show, but it wasn’t agent client role it was a advisor, but that advisor had twenty plus more years than I had in the business.

So, that was kind of the situation, but to kind of run this whole thing parallel. Vince is the boss, JR’s running talent relations. Vince Russo is leading creative or lead writer, I don’t know what they call the department back then so I had a conversation with Russo or conversations.

My dad had conversations with Vince. I had a conversation with Vince in his office and we setup a meeting to go up to Stamford to meet at Vince’s house. To say my dad was an agent probably doesn’t do him or the story justice.”

h/t 411Mania for the transcription