Jeff Jarrett

[Grimmas]

Discuss here.

[Shining Wiz]

Of all the names on the list, this stands out to me as the least deserving. By no means was he a bad wrestler in his prime, but even at his best he was as bland as wonder bread.

[soup23]

Have you seen the early 90's babyface run Wiz? I don't think Jarrett was bland at all and had a tough sell as the owners son that he played up nicely. I don't know if Jarrett will make my list but he isn't a laughable candidate you might think on first glance.

[Shining Wiz]

I've seen a fair amount late 80s Jarrett, which while not bad still never blew me away. I'll check out some early 90's, but I am very top 100 doubtful.

[Phil Schneider]

I am not even sure Jarrett has as good a case as Brian Christopher and Jamie Dundee for you 90's generation Memphis guys

[soup23]

So Jarrett to me is lumped in with some other TNA guys. I really don't want to watch that footage but feel like I should at least give it a glance to see if anything surprises me.

[Matt D]

I am not even sure Jarrett has as good a case as Brian Christopher and Jamie Dundee for you 90's generation Memphis guys

 

The biggest standout feud is Jarrett/Lawler vs the Moondogs right? I think Moondog Spot is pretty much unquestionably a better candidate than Jarrett.

[WingedEagle]

 

I am not even sure Jarrett has as good a case as Brian Christopher and Jamie Dundee for you 90's generation Memphis guys

 

The biggest standout feud is Jarrett/Lawler vs the Moondogs right? I think Moondog Spot is pretty much unquestionably a better candidate than Jarrett.

 

 

Concur. Enjoyed many non-Jarrett Moondog matches more than non-Moondog Jarrett matches.

[Timbo Slice]

No chance. Him being a top guy for as long as he has been is one of the greatest cons ever.

[W2BTD]

I doubt he'd make a top 100 for me, but i'll say this about Jarrett. I've been watching a bunch of Attitude Era shows on the Network that I never saw before, and after watching those shows that were filled with so much trash, Jarrett matches always save the day, and he almost always stands out as one of the best workers on the show. This sort of surprised me.

 

Another thing. There aren't many things I dislike in wrestling more than crowd/arena brawls. That was the Jarrett formula in TNA. But if you turn down the sound on Jarrett's TNA brawls, and do the same with your standard Austin/Triple H/Rock Attitude Era brawl (which levels the playing field due to the red hot AE crowds that made all of those mundane main events seem much better than they really were), Jarrett's stuff, which he was always criticized for, stacks up just fine.

 

I think Jarrett is underrated because people were sick of him on top all of the time (and rightfully so).

[goodhelmet]

He isn't underrated for that time on top. The matches sucked, relied too much on garbage and screwjobs. When he was boss in TNA, we had his vision of what good wrestling is and it was crap. Great little Memphis run.

[FedEx227]

Jarrett would be a hard case for my top 100 or really anyone's. He never seemed to excel at any point during his career and while you got reliably good out of Jarrett, you rarely if EVER got "great" or anything. As W2B mentioned, he stands out in Attitude Era PPVs but that's not something I would exactly consider as a feather in the cap.

[cubbymark]

If this were "Most Annoying Wrestler" Jarrett would rank very highly on that list, in part because his TNA run concurrent to HHH's run made me call him JJJ for quite a while on message boards I frequented at the time. But for GOAT, I don't see it.

[ButchReedMark]

His matches with Kurt Angle were quality, and that was all JJ. I've always had a soft spot for Double J. Dunno if it'll be enough though.

[Memphis Mark]

No way . Jeff is the typical promoter son . An 18 year kid pushed to the moon by his father . Jerry Jarrett , like a lot of dad's , was blinded by love for his son . As some who live in Memphis I can tell you Jeff Jarrett never drew a dime. It was all Lawler , Dundee , Mantell , Buddy Landall , Tommy Rich and Austin Idol during the late 80's.

 

The fans knew that Jeff did not earn his spot , it was given to him by his daddy . It was amazing to watch Jerry Jarrett fall into the same trap as Nick Gulas .

 

That said Jeff did vastly improve and found his niche as a tag wrestler / secondary single title holder in the WWF . Jeff being the headliner in WCW and TNA was just a little beyond his abilities . Works hard but solid midcarder at best

[TonyPulis'Cap]

Jarrett has always been a bit of a guilty of pleasure of mine, and while I like him more than many, there just isn't the case for him being a top 100 level performer. 

On 2/16/2015 at 1:34 AM, Memphis Mark said:

That said Jeff did vastly improve and found his niche as a tag wrestler / secondary single title holder in the WWF . Jeff being the headliner in WCW and TNA was just a little beyond his abilities . Works hard but solid midcarder at best

This sums things up nicely - his case actually suffers from being pushed as a main eventer in WCW and TNA. If he had just been kept at that IC Title level, he's probably regarded as a decent worker worker that didn't get the recognition, but alas for him, he was given, or indeed gave himself the push (I'm sure his bank balance appreciated it though). His run in WCW is a great illustration, when he comes into the company he puts on some decent matches, like the ladder match against Benoit at Starrcade 99, but when required to be the No. 1 heel in the company, he just doesn't have the ability to lead a match - his offence is so weak, and full of shortcuts and cheap heat. Yes some of that's down to the timeframe and Russo's ADHD booking, but it particularly shows on the PPVs when he gets more time and just cant make the matches compelling. But then, come the end of 2000 and into 2001, as he goes down to that secondary level again, he starts to put on decent/enjoyable matches. It's the same in WWF. In 1998/99, when match quality is pretty low in the Attitude era, he's one of the more consistent performers, but that's as a midcard/tag wrestler. It's pure speculation, but I wonder how much of his TNA run on top, full of all the smoke and mirrors is because he knew, or the bookers knew, that the shortcuts were needed otherwise there was no way he would be able to make his matches 'main event worthy' on his own.

Another way in which his presentation actively works against him, was through mainly being pushed as a heel on top, when he was actually a much better in ring babyface. If you want a clear illustration of that, watch his match with Kurt Angle at Genesis 2009. That to me is a legit **** + match and it's where Jarrett plays plucky underdog babyface, utilising his selling, and the timing and instincts for wrestling, which he clearly has, without having to really have much offense. If we'd have got more of that Jarrett, or if he hadn't been pushed above his station, I think he could well have had a sniff at a list like this, but in the real life we've got, not much of a chance.    

[strobogo]

I think Jeff was fine as a headliner in TNA, but definitely not in WCW.  Even Russo realized that because his actual main event run in WCW really only lasted about 4 months from April to August and he was phased down the card. By the end of 2000 he was teaming with the Harris Bros to feud with Konnan. I also agree he was actually much better as a face, and the Southern Veteran Babyface run in TNA towards the end of his full time career was real good.

 

Jarrett's push in 1999-2000 would have been like if Syxx was a 5 time WCW champion in 1997 or something.

[NotJayTabb]

Hi, 2016 Jeff Jarrett high voter here.

I'm not sure where I'll be placing Jarrett this time, though he's absolutely a lock for my list. Last time I had him at 44, which feels really high in hindsight, and there's a bunch of new discoveries who I'll probably place above him, but then I think about my old list, and there's also a bunch of guys I placed above him who I'm not sure I'd still do that with now. I'm not convinced I'd have Davey Boy Smith, Christian or Curt Henning, for example, higher than him. JJ is a guy who's always good value to watch. He's comfortably the best squash match worker in 1994 WWF, and his TV matches are always good. Really giving as an obnoxious heel, not afraid to stooge to make his opponent look better, and as a babyface he's got tremendous fire and times his comebacks excellently. I also maintain that he gave both Shawn Michaels and Kurt Angle their career best matches.