How WWE Brought Old TNA Gimmick Back Last Week (Sort Of...)
Jeff Jarrett was the subject of many a joke at this week's WWE SmackDown show.
This week's episode of WWE SmackDown opened with a big in-ring segment featuring several wrestlers due to compete in the following night's men's Money In The Bank ladder match, plus others, leading to what was billed as a "good old-fashioned battle royal."
Authority figure Adam Pearce put the bout together after saying he could feel the aggression between the competitors in the ring. The battle royal then played out with the announcers repeatedly hammering the "good old-fashioned" part home, with Happy Corbin taking the victory after dumping Sheamus and Drew McIntyre out while the duo were focused on eliminating each other.
Announcer Pat McAfee fell under Corbin's gaze following the win. The announcer had challenged Happy to a match at SummerSlam 2022 (30 July), which Corbin accepted after attacking McAfee after Money In The Bank this Saturday (2 July).
SmackDown's "good old-fashioned battle royal" was given interesting billing prior to the show. Per Fightful Select, WWE had called it the "King of the Mountain" battle royal before changing the terminology before SD hit the airwaves.
Understandably, this led to a bunch of Jeff Jarrett jokes flying around backstage. "King of the Mountain" primarily refers to the old TNA gimmick match that Jarrett made his own during his run with the company. An elaborate gimmick featuring five wrestlers who can only win by retrieving a suspended by prize after becoming eligible to do so by pinning or submitting another, Jarrett won two of the first three King of the Mountain matches in 2004 and 2006, then again in 2015.
Jarrett, who returned to WWE as Senior Vice President of Live Events in May 2022, has also used 'The King of the Mountain' as a nickname.