Jeff Jarrett

World Wrestling Federation (1992, 1993–1996)

Early appearances (1992)

Jarrett made his first appearance with the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) on August 9, 1992, during a live event at the Memphis Pyramid. As part of a cross-promotional storyline with the United States Wrestling Association (USWA), Jarrett sat ringside alongside Jerry Lawler and issued an open challenge to any WWF wrestler. That evening, he faced Kamala in an impromptu match, winning by disqualification. Bret Hart accepted Jarrett's challenge for a future match in Memphis, but the bout was later canceled due to inclement weather.

Beginning in October 1992, Jarrett wrestled several untelevised matches for the WWF, primarily on house shows. Notable victories during this period included wins over Mondo Kleen and Barry Horowitz. On October 28, at a Wrestling Challenge taping in Louisville, Kentucky, Jarrett defeated Rick Martel. After the canceled match with Hart, Jarrett returned to competing full-time in the USWA.

Double J persona and early feuds (1993–1994)

Nearly a year later, Jarrett returned to the World Wrestling Federation. He made his televised return on October 23, 1993, on WWF Superstars of Wrestling as a heel under the gimmick of "Double J" Jeff Jarrett, a country music singer who intended to elevate his singing career through his exposure as a wrestler. Jarrett's character would strut to the ring wearing flashing "Double J" hats and ring attire, while he punctuated his promos with the phrase "Ain't I great?". He ended his interviews by distinctly spelling out his name ("That's J-E-Double-F, J-A-Double-R, E-Double-T!"). He would often win matches by smashing opponents with an acoustic guitar, which was nicknamed "El Kabong" after the cartoon character Quick Draw McGraw. The "Double J" character was a country music version of The Honky Tonk Man.

Jarrett had his first televised match with the WWF on the December 20, 1993, episode of Raw, defeating P.J. Walker. Jarrett made his pay-per-view debut in January 1994 at the Royal Rumble, entering the Royal Rumble match as the 12th participant and was eliminated less than 90 seconds later by Randy Savage. Also at the Royal Rumble, Jarrett participated in attacking The Undertaker and forcing him into the casket, an incident that would be a focal point in Undertaker's rematch later that year. Jarrett was scheduled to wrestle in a five vs. five tag match at WrestleMania X, but the match did not take place due to time constraints. However, the match did take place on the April 4 episode of Raw, with Jarrett's team winning. During this time, Jarrett started having what would be a very long string of matches with Doink (Ray Apollo) during house shows in which he usually won the match. Despite getting past Lex Luger by countout in the first round, Jarrett lost in the second round of the 1994 King of the Ring tournament, being pinned by the 1-2-3 Kid. Only weeks before SummerSlam, the WWF promoted a match as part of a "rap versus country" rivalry that pitted Jarrett against Mabel who portrayed a rapper. There was little buildup for the match until Mabel tried to provoke Jarrett into a fight, but Jarrett simply exited. At SummerSlam, Jarrett won the match by pinfall.

Around this time, Jarrett began a feud with the 1-2-3 Kid's friend, WWF Intercontinental Champion Razor Ramon. Jarrett would face both men at Survivor Series 1994, Jarrett's team competed in another five vs. five tag team match, this time with elimination rules. Jarrett's team lost when all the members of the team including himself were counted out. Later during the event, Jarrett once again tried to illegally attack The Undertaker, but this time was stopped by Chuck Norris. In January 1995, Jarrett would once again feud with Bret Hart, ultimately losing to Hart on the January 23 episode of Raw.

WWF Intercontinental Champion (1995–1996)

At the 1995 Royal Rumble in Tampa, Florida, Jarrett defeated Razor Ramon to win the WWF Intercontinental Championship thanks to interference by his assistant, The Roadie. In an effort to become a dual champion, Jarrett challenged Diesel for the WWF World Heavyweight Championship in the main event of the February 20 episode of Raw, but lost the match. Razor Ramon received a rematch at WrestleMania XI which Jarrett lost by disqualification, but retained the Intercontinental Championship. Jarrett and The Roadie lost as a duo to Razor Ramon in a handicap match at In Your House 1. On April 26, 1995, the Intercontinental Championship was declared vacant after a controversial ending to a match between Jarrett and Bob Holly. They had a rematch later that evening where Jarrett reclaimed the title. On May 19, Razor Ramon regained the title from Jarrett in Montreal, Quebec, but Jarrett won it back two nights later in Trois-Rivières, Quebec, making him a three-time Intercontinental Champion.

At In Your House 2: The Lumberjacks on July 23, 1995, Jarrett performed the song "With My Baby Tonight". Later that evening, Jarrett lost the Intercontinental Championship to Shawn Michaels. Following the event, Jarrett left the WWF for five months and returned to the USWA. Jarrett returned to the WWF at In Your House 5 on December 17, 1995, feuding with Ahmed Johnson. Jarrett lost to Johnson by disqualification at the 1996 Royal Rumble and left the WWF shortly thereafter due to a contract dispute. Later that year, The Roadie revealed that he had in fact sung "With My Baby Tonight" and that Jarrett had been lip synching.

United States Wrestling Association (1996)

After leaving the WWF in February 1996, Jarrett returned to the United States Wrestling Association in Memphis. He won the USWA Unified World Heavyweight Championship for the third time defeating Jerry Lawler on April 20. He dropped the title back to Lawler in August and left the USWA before the promotion folded in November 1997.

World Championship Wrestling (1996–1997)

In October 1996, Jarrett was hired by World Championship Wrestling (WCW), signing a one-year contract. Upon debuting in WCW, Jarrett became a "free agent" in the rivalry between The Four Horsemen and the New World Order (nWo). After defeating Chris Benoit at Starrcade, and Steve McMichael at SuperBrawl VII, both by cheating when the referee was distracted, Jarrett was reluctantly inducted into the Four Horsemen. On June 9, 1997, Jarrett defeated Dean Malenko to win the WCW United States Heavyweight Championship.

In mid-1997, Jarrett was kicked out of the Four Horsemen and began feuding with Horsemen member Steve McMichael. Despite aligning himself with McMichael's then-wife, Debra McMichael, Jarrett lost the United States Heavyweight Championship to McMichael on August 21. In October, Jarrett's contract expired and he opted to return to the WWF, despite the dominance of WCW in the ongoing "Monday Night War".

Return to WWF (1997–1999)

National Wrestling Alliance invasion (1997–1998)

Jarrett returned to the WWF on the October 20, 1997, episode of Raw is War, delivering a worked shoot speech in which he criticized both WCW President Eric Bischoff and WWF Chairman Vince McMahon. After briefly feuding with The Undertaker, Jarrett defeated Barry Windham to win the vacant NWA North American Heavyweight Championship. In early 1998, Jarrett joined forces with Jim Cornette and his stable of "invading" National Wrestling Alliance wrestlers, and began defending the North American Heavyweight Championship on WWF television. In March, Jarrett left Cornette's stable, and Cornette stripped him of the title and awarded it to Windham.

Teaming with Owen Hart (1998–1999)

On the March 2, 1998, episode of Monday Night Raw, Jarrett reprised his country music singer gimmick, introducing Tennessee Lee as his new manager. At Unforgiven: In Your House on April 26, 1998, Jarrett once again sang alongside Sawyer Brown with their hit single, "Some Girls Do". On the June 1, 1998, edition of Raw, Tennessee Lee introduced Southern Justice as Jarrett's new bodyguards. Jarrett grew a goatee at that time. On the August 9, 1998, edition of Sunday Night Heat, Jarrett fired Tennessee Lee after he had inadvertently cost Jarrett multiple matches in the preceding weeks. Jarrett and Southern Justice then began feuding with D-Generation X (DX), with Jarrett losing to DX member X-Pac in a hair vs. hair match at SummerSlam. Jarrett's long hair was subsequently cut short by DX and Howard Finkel, who had himself been shaved bald by Jarrett and Southern Justice shortly before SummerSlam. Jarrett and Southern Justice were defeated by DX at Breakdown: In Your House in September, and the trio separated shortly thereafter.

Jarrett briefly feuded with Al Snow before reuniting with Debra, who had left WCW for the WWF, and forming a tag team with Owen Hart. Hart and Jarrett were close friends and travel partners for years, so the team jelled almost immediately. Jarrett and Hart won the WWF Tag Team Championship from Ken Shamrock and Big Boss Man, successfully defending the titles at WrestleMania XV before losing to Kane and X-Pac on an episode of Raw. Eight days after Hart died in a stunt that went wrong at Over the Edge, Jarrett defeated The Godfather, who Owen was scheduled to face at the pay-per-view, for the Intercontinental Championship. As he was handed the title belt, he yelled Hart's name in tribute to his friend. In mid-1999, Jarrett exchanged the Intercontinental Championship with Edge and D'Lo Brown on two more occasions. His fifth reign broke Razor Ramon's record from 1995. He held the record until Chris Jericho's seventh reign in 2004.

In the months that followed, Jarrett became increasingly abusive towards Debra. At SummerSlam, Jarrett challenged D'Lo Brown for both the WWF European Championship and WWF Intercontinental Championships, with Debra accompanying Brown to the ring following an argument with Jarrett. Brown lost the match after both Mark Henry and Debra turned on him, making Jarrett the second ever "Euro-Continental Champion". On the following episode of Raw, Jarrett rewarded Debra and Henry by giving Debra an assistant, Miss Kitty, and Henry the European Championship. In late 1999, Jarrett began feuding with Chyna over the Intercontinental Championship. Over the course of the feud, Jarrett would develop a misogynistic character, attacking numerous women such as Jacqueline, Stephanie McMahon and Cindy Margolis, while insinuating women like Chyna "had no business being in a wrestling ring, and should be cooking, cleaning and making babies". He would attack Chyna with frying pans and even dump her in a laundry basket. Jarrett eventually abandoned Debra in favor of Miss Kitty after he and Debra were defeated by Stephanie McMahon and Test in a mixed tag team match. He later also turned on Miss Kitty after she lost a match that Jarrett had inserted her into in his place.

Jarrett left the WWF in October 1999, right after WWF head writer Vince Russo resigned from the WWF in order to join WCW. Jarrett's contract expired on October 16, 1999, one day before his scheduled match with Chyna at No Mercy. Jarrett wrestled at No Mercy nonetheless, losing the Intercontinental Championship to Chyna. Chyna later alleged that Jarrett and Russo had colluded in order to delay Jarrett's title defense until after Jarrett's contract had expired, and that Jarrett had subsequently made a deal with WWF Chairman Vince McMahon for $200,000 (equivalent to $387,000 in 2025) in order to wrestle at No Mercy without a contract. In 2006, Jarrett asserted that he had been paid only what he was owed by the WWF. In a 2008 interview for a TNA special, Jarrett stated that not only were his negotiations cordial and in good faith, but that he also got stock options in WWF's initial public offering, which occurred two days after he left.

Return to WCW (1999–2001)

nWo 2000 (1999–2000)

Jarrett returned to WCW on the October 18, 1999, episode of WCW Monday Nitro, attacking Buff Bagwell and proclaiming himself the "Chosen One" of WCW. Jarrett took part in a tournament for the vacant WCW World Heavyweight Championship, winning his first three matches with the assistance of Creative Control. At Mayhem on November 21, he was eliminated from the tournament after losing his semi-final match to Chris Benoit following interference from Dustin Rhodes. At Starrcade on December 19, Jarrett defeated Rhodes in a Bunkhouse Brawl, then unsuccessfully challenged Benoit for the United States Heavyweight Championship in a ladder match. On the following episode of Nitro, Jarrett defeated Benoit in a rematch, winning the belt. In the same evening, Jarrett reformed the nWo with WCW World Heavyweight Champion Bret Hart and the reigning WCW World Tag Team Champions, Kevin Nash and Scott Hall, with the foursome calling themselves "nWo 2000".

In early 2000, Jarrett feuded with WCW Commissioner Terry Funk, who forced him to wrestle three veterans – George Steele, Tito Santana, and Jimmy Snuka – in one night. Jarrett was stripped of the United States Heavyweight Championship after suffering a concussion during his bout with Snuka, but the title was returned to him by Nash after he became WCW Commissioner. In order to help him retain the title, Jarrett drafted the Harris Brothers (formerly Creative Control) into nWo 2000. In the following months, Jarrett repeatedly challenged Sid Vicious for the WCW World Heavyweight Championship, in the process clashing with Nash and winning the position of WCW Commissioner for himself. Following Bret Hart's retirement, the nWo disbanded.

WCW World Heavyweight Champion (2000–2001)

In April, WCW was rebooted by Eric Bischoff and Vince Russo, with all titles vacated as a result. Bischoff and Russo also created The New Blood, a stable of younger wrestlers who feuded with The Millionaire's Club, made up of the older members of the WCW roster. Jarrett joined The New Blood, and at Spring Stampede on April 16, he defeated Millionaires Club member Diamond Dallas Page to win the vacant WCW World Heavyweight Championship. Page regained the title on April 24, and on April 25, the title was contested in a tag team match pitting Jarrett and Bischoff against Page and actor David Arquette. Arquette won the WCW World Heavyweight Championship after pinning Bischoff. Jarrett hit Page with the championship belt while special referee Kimberly Page's back was turned; WCW official Mickie Jay counted Bischoff out while Jarrett had Page pinned, who kicked out. At Slamboree on May 7, Jarrett defeated Page and Arquette in a three-way triple cage match to win his second WCW World Heavyweight Championship after Arquette turned on Page.

In May, Jarrett won and lost the WCW World Heavyweight Championship on two further occasions, regaining the title from Ric Flair both times. Jarrett feuded with Nash and Hollywood Hogan throughout June 2000, and on July 9 at Bash at the Beach, he faced Hogan with the WCW World Heavyweight Championship on the line; the match ended swiftly after Jarrett immediately lay down, allowing Hogan to rest a boot on his chest and win the title, with Hogan commenting, "That's why this company is in the damn shape it's in—because of bullshit like this!". Vince Russo subsequently came to the ring and delivered a profanity-laced statement, in which he accused Hogan of politicking and claimed that Hogan had used his creative control to refuse to lose to Jarrett. Russo then stated that, while Hogan was free to keep the title belt he had just won (the "Hulk Hogan Memorial Belt"), Jarrett would wrestle Booker T for the official WCW World Heavyweight Championship later that night. Booker T won the match and Hogan did not appear in WCW again. It is disputed whether the situation was a shoot, a work, or some combination of the two.

In the following months, Jarrett briefly feuded with Booker T, Mike Awesome, Sting, Buff Bagwell, and Flair. In late 2000, he joined forces with the Harris Brothers once more, with the trio defeating The Filthy Animals at Starrcade on December 17. In the same evening, Jarrett aligned himself with WCW World Heavyweight Champion Scott Steiner by helping Steiner defeat Sid Vicious.

In 2001, Jarrett and Steiner became members of The Magnificent Seven, a large stable headed by Flair. Flair and Jarrett feuded with Dusty and Dustin Rhodes until March, when WCW was purchased by the WWF.

Uninterested in Jarrett, the WWF neglected to acquire his contract, leaving him without a job. On the March 26 episode of the WWF's Raw program (which coincided with the final episode of Nitro), WWF owner Vince McMahon was seen watching Jarrett within the WCW venue on a television set. Mocking Jarrett's trademark of distinctly spelling out his name, McMahon stated that Jarrett would be "Capital G, Double-O, Double-N, Double-E – GOONNEE!"

World Wrestling All-Stars (2001–2003)

With both WCW and the WWF now ruled out as employment options, Jarrett resurfaced in World Wrestling All-Stars (WWA) in late 2001, wrestling throughout Australia and Europe. Jarrett won the WWA World Heavyweight Championship, but was later stripped of the title. Jarrett returned to the WWA during his first NWA World Heavyweight Championship reign; he defeated Sting for the WWA World Heavyweight Championship at the last WWA event on May 25, 2003, unifying the two titles.

NWA Total Nonstop Action / Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (2002–2014)

NWA World Heavyweight Champion (2002–2006)

In June 2002, Jeff Jarrett and his father, Jerry, established the professional wrestling promotion Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) under the legal entity J Sports and Entertainment. TNA initially aired weekly pay-per-view events, beginning on June 19, 2002.

At TNA's debut pay-per-view, Jarrett competed in a Gauntlet for the Gold match to determine the new NWA World Heavyweight Champion, but was eliminated by guest entrant Toby Keith. In the months that followed, Jarrett engaged in feuds with Scott Hall, Brian Lawler, and B.G. James. On November 20, 2002, he won the NWA World Heavyweight Championship by defeating Ron Killings, with interference from Vince Russo. Jarrett later refused to join Russo's Sports Entertainment Xtreme (S.E.X.) faction, leading to a storyline conflict involving members of the group, including the debuting Raven. The rivalry continued until Russo's departure from the stable in early 2003.

Jarrett lost the title on June 11, 2003, in a three-way match against Raven and A.J. Styles, who pinned Jarrett following interference from Russo. He regained the championship on October 22, 2003, turning heel in the process. His second reign ended on April 21, 2004, when Styles defeated him in a steel cage match after being named the replacement for an injured Chris Harris. Jarrett retaliated by interfering in a subsequent title match, helping Ron Killings defeat Styles. On June 2, 2004, Jarrett won his third NWA World Heavyweight Championship by defeating Killings, Styles, Raven, and Harris in TNA's inaugural King of the Mountain match.

Various feuds (2006–2010)

On the following episode of Impact!, Jarrett announced in an interview that he was leaving TNA indefinitely. For the following six months, Jarrett did not appear on TNA television, instead focusing on his role as Vice President of TNA Entertainment.

Other ventures

In a December 2021 news release from the Prospect League, Jarrett was among several members of an ownership group to purchase the Springfield Sliders, a collegiate summer league baseball team based in Springfield, Illinois, temporarily naming it Capital City Baseball until a name was determined.

In February 2022, the ownership group announced the name of the Springfield Lucky Horseshoes after receiving input. Since the announcement, Jarrett has been active in the Springfield area promoting the team, which marked its 14th season in 2022 and the first season since its rebrand.

On March 4, 2025, Jarrett is among the investors of the revived Acclaim Entertainment, a video game publisher that originally existed from 1987 to 2004.

Jarrett was named managing partner of the Nashville Kats arena football team in March 2026.