10 Greatest Hits Of WWE Hall Of Famer Jeff Jarrett
Guitar hero.
The news that Jeff Jarrett was to be inducted into the WWE Hall Of Fame came with an echo of a bygone era. Ironic really, considering how dated the man himself often felt during the numerous stints with almost every major organisation over the last three decades.
It was shocking not because the Hall is still used as a metric of a performer's ability, nor for any reasoned analysis of 'Double J's said skillset. With so few feuds between Vince McMahon and old foes still in tact, the healing of historic wounds between the Chairman and the TNA founder was one of the divides presumed wide enough to be permanent.
Jarrett's disassociation with the Orlando outfit in recent years didn't seem to come armed with any new healing powers. The company's own collapse into cultural irrelevance only led McMahon into caring even less about the organisation once laughably considered a 'rival', but Jeff's use of the company-funded rehabilitation service in 2017 may have been both outreach and olive branch when both were sorely needed.
Jeff's career is as worthy (and in some cases more so) as some already on WWE's all-timers list, with countless frivolous, fun and frightening moments now set to potentially become part of the Network's offering years after they already should have been. The second generation star has proven a better worker than most for reaching this point - it's about time the moments between the ropes were just as celebrated as his survivalist stature.
10. With My Baby Tonight
Not since the Lex Express had Vince McMahon invested so much time, effort and finance into a smoke-and-mirrors preservation of a performer, but at least Jeff Jarrett's was supposed to make him hated.
After years of working a gimmick framed around a fraudulent singing career, his 'With My Baby Tonight' video gave the doubters pause for thought. The catchy country ditty had admirable vocals, with Jarrett promising a live performance at July 1995's In Your House 2 ahead of his Intercontinental Title defence against Shawn Michaels.
Fans and observers begrudgingly gave credit on the night - 'Double J' was better than passable behind the microphone. Unfortunately, both he and partner The Roadie stormed out of the company entirely before a payoff revealed that Jeff was miming whilst his supposed sidekick hit the high notes in hiding.
It was creative McMahon was determined to get mileage out of too - a grossly misguided 'Real Double J' gimmick was handed to the Brian James in late-1996 to cynically present Jeff as a real imposter rather than just a storyline hack singer. Jarrett's re-emergence in WCW that summer had Vince desperate to claim the bragging rights over something on Nitro, and 'Double J' was again his punching bag.