7 Deadly Wrestling Sins (And Who Committed Them)
3. Envy: Jeff Jarrett
The great shame about Jeff Jarrett, in that his envy has defined his entire career in shorthand, is that he was a tremendous midcard act who thought himself more to the cost of his legacy.
Most don't recognise Double J as the prodigy who contrived to star in the dying territories and their doomed reboots, the country singer who knew his way 'round a slapstick flat-back, the braying misogynist who at least knew how to sell that he was the a**hole.
They know him as the man who wanted to be Stone Cold Steve Austin, but only ended up Triple H-ing Monty Brown.
There's no shame in being a great midcard act, but Jeff was always insistent that he had the stuff. He didn't have it even when he had the stroke to get it; after killing his chances of working a top programme with Steve Austin after calling him a blasphemer, Jeff returned to WCW with Vince Russo, who was also adamant that Jeff was something that he wasn't. What he wasn't was the biggest-drawing money act of the late 20th century, but then again who was?
Jarrett's envy mutated into cosplay, in the early days of TNA, where he essentially played the role of Stone Cold, only misusing the word "ass" so liberally that he, in the end, made one of himself.