Former WWE veteran explains why his 20-year friendship with Jeff Jarrett ended
Vince Russo believes a misunderstanding involving Dixie Carter ultimately caused his friendship with Jeff Jarrett to break down.
Russo worked with Jarrett during his time as a writer in IMPACT Wrestling/TNA, WCW, and WWE. Their 20-year friendship suddenly ended in the mid-2010s shortly after former TNA owner Dixie Carter secretly rehired Russo as a consultant without informing Jarrett.
Speaking on the “Two Man Power Trip of Wrestling” podcast, Russo explained that he initially thought Jarrett disliked the nature of his return. However, he later found out that the WWE Hall of Famer stopped talking to him due to a comment that Carter allegedly made.
“Karen [Jarrett’s wife] comes and finds me [at a convention] and she says, ‘Vince, I want you to know something,’” Russo said. “She goes, ‘Jeff isn’t hot at you and mad at you because of the consulting gig. Jeff’s not talking to you because Dixie told Jeff that you were talking s**t about him.’” [2:42-3:06]
Russo added that Carter and Jarrett did not get along behind the scenes in TNA, which put him in a “horrible” position. He clarified that Carter did not want anyone to know about his secret TNA return, which is why he never told Jarrett.
Vince Russo thinks the Jeff Jarrett situation sums up wrestlers’ selfish attitudes
Vince Russo dressed as Jeff Jarrett has scarred me like no weapon ever could. #tna03 https://t.co/lxUkaKUY7X
Over the last three decades, Vince Russo has worked with some of the biggest names in the wrestling business. He is credited with playing a huge role in WWE’s ratings success over WCW in the late 1990s.
Looking back at his career, Russo lost contact with many wrestlers once they realized he could not help them.
“In the wrestling business, there are a lot of people where when you can no longer do anything for them, you never hear from them again,” Russo continued. “That’s a lot of people in the wrestling business. When you’re not in a position to help them out, further their career, all of a sudden there’s radio silence. It’s happened to me with a million guys.” [7:10-7:39]
Russo also discussed his fallout with Jeff Jarrett during an appearance on Sportskeeda Wrestling’s Off the SKript in 2021. He joked that the wrestling legend’s favorite football team, the Tennessee Titans, will not win anything until they repair their friendship.
Please credit the “Two Man Power Trip of Wrestling” and give a H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling if you use quotes from this article.