Jeff Jarrett Reflects On The Night WWE Killed The WCW Brand
WWE Hall of Famer Jeff Jarrett recently delved into the ill-fated WCW revival attempt during a candid episode of his My World podcast. Reflecting on the infamous episode of Raw from the Tacoma Dome in July 2001, where WCW briefly took over part of the show, Jarrett offered insights into why the experiment was destined to fail.
The main event of the show featured WCW Champion Booker T defending his title against Buff Bagwell, marking the anticipated start of WCW’s resurgence under the ownership of WWE, which had acquired WCW a few months prior. Despite high expectations, the live crowd’s vehement disapproval indicated that the experiment was a monumental failure.
How they could ever think that any WCW talent was going to be remotely received in a babyface role under any circumstances?
Additionally, Jarrett highlighted the absence of top WCW stars in the transition to WWE, emphasising that the lack of significant talent from WCW’s heyday was a critical hindrance to the revival’s success.
I know Booker was champion, but he was on the rise, nothing like he is today or that he became through this run. But Booker, I believe, was the top guy. And obviously it worked out great for him. But no Hall, no Nash, no Goldberg, no Hogan, no Savage. All the, kind of the top talent that turned the tide, if you will, in the promotional war were part of it. So the WWE Universe as I’ll call them, of course they were going to reject all of it.
Jarrett’s first-hand experience as a competitor who defected from WWE to join WCW, only to be dismissed by Vince McMahon during the Raw/Nitro simulcast as part of the final WCW Nitro show, provided a unique perspective on the challenges and underlying reasons behind the failed WCW revival attempt.
Jeff Jarrett Reflects On WWE’s Radical Transformation
During a previous episode of his My World podcast, Jeff Jarrett discussed the transformative journey of professional wrestling and its current state, highlighting WWE’s recent strategic collaborations such as with the company he co-founded, TNA.