10 Wrestlers Who Destroyed Their Careers On Live TV

3. Jeff Jarrett - Monday Night Raw, October 20th 1997

Ken Kennedy Vince McMahon
WWE

It took Jeff Jarrett to convince Vince Russo of his worth in an entirely different company to put top singles titles on him and the formation of his own company to make an actual main event run stick, but 'Double J' might have seen the promised land sooner had he not harpooned his third WWE run on his first night back.

Attempting to read the room in style if not execution, a returning Jarrett strolled in to 1997 WWE with a p*ssed off attitude and an almighty chip on his shoulder over how things had gone the last time. Plenty of folk were blurring the work/shoot lines at the time, but the guitar-swinging sh*thouse picked the exact wrong targets at the exact wrong time when it came to letting his fury fly.

Referring to Stone Cold Steve Austin's Austin 3:16 mantra as "blasphemous" right as it was about to carry the company into untold wealth, Jarrett immediately killed 'The Rattlesnake's enthusiasm to ever work with him. From there, he had a pop at political heavyweights D-Generation X, and railed on a product an an effort to make his persona feel needed by it.

Welcome in the midcard, he was permanently kept away from the top slot for the entirety of his two year run.

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Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation over 7 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back almost 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 60,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett