10 WWE Stars Who Left And Returned More Badass

5. Jeff Jarrett

Two Drews
WWE.com

It took true balls to criticise Steve Austin as a blasphemer, which is precisely what Jeff Jarrett did upon his 1997 return to Titan Towers. Previously, Jeff Jarrett was a decidedly un-badass country singer, which is ironic, given the genre's tales of murder and hard drinking.

The Jarrett who returned was more or less the Jarrett that left, ludicrous gear and all, but much like his old Roadie, he changed course as the Attitude Era stunned the airwaves. Jarrett's new character, ahead of SummerSlam '98, was of a guy you "p*ssed off" at your peril. So ran his profoundly underrated catchphrase, launched on the August 24, 1998 RAW. After X-Pac p*ssed in his shoes, Jarrett stormed the ring for retribution. As a hapless cameraman relentlessly zoomed into Jarrett's socked feet, he maintained that he was "p*ssed off". "Don't p*ss me off!" he warned him, but it was too late. He had p*ssed Jarrett off too many times. Jarrett wailed on the poor b*stard with the help of his Southern Justice henchmen.

In a quietly awesome subsequent midcard run, Jarrett, with a more badass short-haired look, took to acting the bile-spewing awful misogynist, as opposed to the other misogynists, and was reckoned with by Chyna for it.

Unfortunately, Jarrett later took the comedic badass bit too far, and fancied himself a real one to the cost of virtually the entire TNA roster a few years later.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!