Professional wrestling has seen its share of underrated and underappreciated stars. Very few however, stand out more than "Double J" Jeff Jarrett. Jarrett has established himself has a top heel, or bad-guy, throughout his career, always being the one you couldn't trust and always looked out for only one person: Jeff Jarrett.
Jeff Jarrett debuted in the World Wrestling Federation in 1993 with a country singer gimmick. He frequently used a guitar as a weapon by smashing it over the heads of his opponents. In January of 1995, he won the Intercontinental Title for the first time, defeating Razor Ramon on Monday Night Raw. He left the company in 1996 after a contract dispute and signed a one year contact the arch rival WCW.
Upon arriving in WCW, Jarrett declared himself a "free agent" and the bidding for his services began between the growing nWo and the legendary Four Horsemen. He was inducted into the Horsemen in December of 1996 only to turn on the group months later, culminating in a brief feud with Steve McMichael. Jarrett went back to the World Wrestling Federation in October of 1997.
Jarrett's second stint with the former WWF (now WWE), saw his star finally begin to rise. He droppped the country singer gimmick and began a feud with original Degeneration X memeber X-pac which came to a peak with a "hair vs. hair" match which Jarrett lost. In the following months, Jarrett became Tag Team Champs with the late Owen Hart, one of his best friends, and was also simultaneously the European and Intercontinental Champion (also known as InterEuro Champion). His heel character developed most during this time as he was portaryed as a misogynist and abusive towards his female managers, Debra and Miss Kitty. This is something Jarrett never gets credit for being able to pull off in a convincing manner.
It was his feud with Chyna which sets Jarret apart in the world of underrated wrestlers. Never before had a male superstar been put in a high profile one on one feud with a female wrestler. (Not to mention never before had a female wrestler owned the Intercontinental Title.) Jarrett and Chyna made it look good and it is something which has yet to be duplicated in the wrestling world.
In June of 2002, Jeff and his father Jerry began a promotion called Total Nonstop Action Wrestling as a weekly pay-per-view event. In 2004, they reached a deal with FOX broadcasting and TNA Impact! was born. Jarrett continued his heel ways in TNA, constantly backstabbing and slandering other wrestlers to advance his own career. He was involved in high profile feuds with such greats as Sting, Kevin Nash, and Kurt Angle, a feud which had very personal real-life ramifications as Jarrett married Kurt's ex-wife Karen.
Although he spent time as a babyface, or good duy, in TNA, Jarrett is best as a heel. He has a talent for playing the jerk and the one you can't trust. He does it in a believable and very convincing manner. He was able to peak and reach top-level, main event status in TNA, but he will forever be one of professional wrestling's most underrated performers.
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