Looking At Jeff Jarrett’s AEW Debut

By
Jim LaMotta
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(Image Credit: AEW)

Yesterday afternoon, The Wrestling Observer’s Bryan Alvarez made headlines when he revealed rumors of a “big surprise” for AEW Dynamite last night. Alvarez explained that while he didn’t know the particulars of the reveal, it was told to him the fans would be talking about this debut on social media after the show. Matty wondered if this would be yet another free agent acquisition by Tony Khan, who seems rather fond of adding just about anybody on the free agent market to his roster. While there are certainly positives and negatives to that philosophy, considering that you can either call it a roster with depth or a bloated roster with underutilized talent, but that’s a different discussion for another day.


I don’t think that anyone could’ve guessed that the surprise would be the All Elite debut of long-time veteran, WWE Hall of Famer, and TNA founder Jeff Jarrett. Jarrett, a true pro of the sports entertainment business, has a career that spans decades. His legendary father, Jerry, who promoted cards in Memphis on a shoestring budget for several years, taught his son the ropes, both literally and figuratively, as Double J had an accomplished full-time career inside the ring ropes, working for virtually every major promotion of his era. When you take into account that Double J took TNA from the dingy Asylum in Nashville to a national entity before its eventual collapse, there’s no doubt that Jarrett has found a way to continue to survive in the sports entertainment industry.

Dixie might’ve finished in the red in TNA, but Jarrett definitely didn’t.

After Jarrett left TNA under less than ideal circumstances several years ago, he struggled with substance problems before he sought help from the WWE Wellness program in 2018. Thankfully, Jarret was able to successfully complete the program and overcome those past problems. Still, it was surprising when Jarrett signed on as a WWE producer in 2018 because he was infamously fired on television in 2001 after the WCW buyout. The controversial story of Jarrett demanding money from Vince McMahon after his contract expired while he was still WWF IC champion in 1999 had different versions through time, Jarrett maintains he only asked for an advance on the pay-per-view money he earned for the show that night because he would know longer be under contract after the event since the office didn’t realize his deal expired. Regardless of what version of the story you believe, it was again surprising to see Jarrett back under the WWE umbrella, which also included the previously mentioned HOF induction. He was one of those released during the pandemic when his role in the live events department was put on hiatus when the world shut down and the WWE road schedule was canceled. With the shows in the Thunder Dome for over a year, Jarrett was quietly released until he re-signed with the organization earlier this year. He continue to work in the producer and live event roles before he was released again just three months into the tenure. However, that had more to do with the “retirement” of Vince McMahon than anything else. Triple H, who took over the company in July, brought in his own crew to implement his vision for the product, which isn’t anything new in the history of the sport. A new booker always brought their own talent to put a fresh coat of paint on a company or territory. After such an accomplished career, many assumed that Jarrett would continue his ventures outside of the wrestling business, as well as his successful podcast with Conrad Thompson. Despite being 55 years old, Double J is still in good shape, which we saw when he worked the tag match with Jay Lethal for the Ric Flair’s last match in July.

Jarrett made his impact on AEW when he smashed his signature guitar over Darby Allin. He cut an anti-AEW promo against the audience, seemingly to put a spotlight on some of the common criticism of the fan base to generate heat. This is somewhat similar to the role that Dan Lambert had with American Top Team, but it’s certainly a different presentation with a veteran of the sport like Jeff Jarrett. Undoubtedly a resource, he could bring a lot to the table for AEW, but it remains to be seen where this on-screen role will take him.

Truthfully, and this isn’t meant as a knock against Jarrett as a performer or what he’s accomplished, I think that his role should be kept behind the scenes. As noted, the 55-year-old semi-retired grappler is still in good shape, but outside of a potential one-off match against Sting,the vast majority of the AEW roster work a style that would be too much of a clash for him. Even with his ability to still generate legitimate heat on the mic, the fact that he was paired with the Lethal stable, it’s a secondary act and therefore the importance of an angle involving Jarrett on the show would also be almost automatically secondary in the grand scheme of things. Tony Khan tweeted after the Dynamite went off the air that Jarrett would work in the live event side of the organization. Considering this is what Jarrett had been doing prior to his WWE departure and his experience in live event promotion with TNA, His ability to contribute to All Elite might be the office work instead of what he can do in front of the camera. There’s nothing wrong with that either because the chance to have brilliant minds to work with the younger talent is a very valuable asset.

At the same time, the criticism that the younger grapplers in AEW do not fully utilize the coaches that are available to them was given a level of credibility when Billy Gunn, who is having a career resurgence alongside The Acclaimed, mentioned that the roster does not consult with names like Dean Malenko, Jerry Lynn, or others on a recent podcast. If that’s the case, Jarrett ability to tutor the next generation on the true tricks of the trade and more specifically, how to gain longevity in their careers might be a missed opportunity. Make no mistake about it, the money generated in the pro wrestling business is ultimately the measure of success. Star ratings might be nice as a gesture of appreciation, but profitability is and always will be the most important metric from a business perspective. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying that Darby Allin or the Lucha Brothers should work a headlock for eight minutes on television, but if a talent shortens their career with unnecessary risks, it also shortens the time frame that they can draw money for a promotion, as well as make the most money possible in their prime to provide a level of financial security for themselves. Outside of the office work, the concept of career longevity and a balanced approach of when to take risks might also be extremely valuable assets that Jarret can bring to AEW.

Of course, there will be critics that view this as Jarret trying to latch on to a billionaire that is funding a wrestling project. That might be true because as accomplished as Jarrett‘s career is, the carny aspects of his career are another reason that he has survived in the industry for years. So, it remains to be seen if Jarrett is just there to collect a check from Tony Khan or if he could potentially have a backstage impact that would have a ripple effect toward a positive contribution for the company. Only time will tell how wise this latest hire was for Tony Khan, but more than anything you have to give Jeff Jarrett credit for his ability to land yet another contract in a major promotion in the United States.

What do you think? Share your thoughts, opinions, feedback, and anything else that was raised on Twitter @PWMania and Facebook.com/PWMania.

Until next week
-Jim LaMotta

E mail [email protected] | You can follow me on Twitter @jimlamotta

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