Jeff Jarrett is arguably one of WWE’s most iconic superstars of the time. Although his legacy or his run as a champion in the promotion was great, his exit from the company isn’t remembered so fondly. His infamous departure from the company saw him lose the Intercontinental Championship to the female wrestling legend Chyna and was fired on live Television.
At the time, Monday Night Wars between WWF and WCW was at its peak. It should also be mentioned that Jarrett was the Intercontinental Champion of the promotion. One could argue that Jarrett could’ve taken the company to new heights with the prestigious championship if his contract was renewed by WWE. Although some people may describe Jarrett’s legacy in the company as overrated or spoiled, the way he dealt with WWE during his firing was simply genius. He went into detail about the whole situation in a recent podcast.
Why was Jeff Jarrett’s 1999 WWE exit controversial? Explained
The whole controversy surrounding Jeff Jarrett’s infamous exit from WWE in 199 was highlighted in former WWE superstar Hardcore Holly’s book, The Hardcore Truth. According to the story that was laid out in the book, at the time WWE failed to recognize the fact that Jarrett’s contract was about to expire soon. It should also be mentioned that Jarrett was the Intercontinental Champion of the company. Apparently, Jarrett turned the whole situation in his favor by negotiating with WWE to drop the title and quit the company in exchange for a quick payday. The total sum of money was undisclosed at the time.
After negotiating with WWE, Jarrett agreed to drop the IC title to Chyna, who became the first and remained to be the only woman to win the championship. Later, both Hardcore Holly and Chyna mentioned in their respective biographies that Jeff Jarrett received a total amount of $300,000 to drop the title. However, Jarrett only revealed that he had received stock options as a result of the negotiations.
Whatever the case, be it $300,000 or stock options, it can be said that Jarrett played his cards right and got a good deal out of his exit. It was later revealed that Vince Russo was possibly a part of the whole ordeal of WWE’s failure to recognize the expiry of Jarrett’s contract.
Chyna is the first and only female Intercontinental champion
While Jeff Jarrett was on his way out of WWE in 1999, he was involved in a rivalry with Chyna. At the time when he won the Intercontinental Championship, Jarrett decided that he hated women and proceeded to brutally smash a guitar over the heads of several women. This eventually led Chyna into the storyline, the only woman at the time who was strong enough to fight back.
23 years ago today, Chyna defeated Jeff Jarrett to become the first woman ever to win the Intercontinental Championship 🙌🏻 pic.twitter.com/LPxkQxqwwh
— 90s WWE (@90sWWE) October 17, 2022
Chyna won a title shot at the IC Championship by defeating Billy Gunn. This led to a heated rivalry between her and Jeff Jarrett, who once defeated her via DQ. However, when Chyna won the championship from him, it made for a pretty memorable moment, in addition to the fact that Jarrett made her look good in the match despite him working without a contract. He got the amount of money he wanted and dropped the title to Chyna, while she created history by being the one and only female Intercontinental Champion.
Jeff Jarrett talked about the whole ordeal on the most recent episode of TalkSport. Although the former WWE superstar is doing well right now, the whole ordeal regarding his exit from the company made for a huge controversy at the time. Stay tuned for further updates on the world of professional wrestling.
