Former WWE star thought Vince McMahon firing him was a storyline
Jeff Jarrett has revealed he thought Vince McMahon firing him on WWE RAW in 2001 was going to lead to a storyline.
The March 26, 2001 episode of RAW began with McMahon announcing his purchase of WCW. In the opening segment, the WWE Chairman also told viewers that former WCW star Jarrett would be “gone” from the company.
Speaking on his My World podcast, Jarrett said he genuinely believed McMahon would acquire his WCW contract after the famous segment.
“If you were to hear that back as a thirty-something-year-old in my, okay, we’ll call it ego, it takes ego to go around this,” Jarrett said. “I thought and maybe carried that with me, ‘Vince is gonna shoot an angle with me.’ It’s all about money. When I heard that he went through all this [buying WCW], who’d he pick out? I mean, who did he pick?”
Vince McMahon hired dozens of WCW wrestlers and employees after completing his purchase of the company. Jeff Jarrett, who spent six years in WWE in the 1990s, did not return until he received his Hall of Fame induction in 2018.
Jeff Jarrett left WWE on good terms with Vince McMahon in 1999
On last week’s episode of his podcast, Jeff Jarrett dismissed reports that he held Vince McMahon up for $300,000 before he left WWE in 1999. Although he did request that amount of money before his final match against Chyna at No Mercy 1999, the matter was dealt with amicably.
From a business and storyline perspective, the six-time Intercontinental Champion explained that he thought Vince McMahon had an interest in rehiring him.
“Who [in WCW] has he got a working relationship [with] that drew money?” Jarrett added. “And when I left in ‘99, I was the hottest heel on the card. That’s arguable, but a red-hot heel. He’s a business guy. Who can he take from this roster that he knows will do the job in spite of any circumstances, whether good, bad or indifferent? My last night in ‘95, I did the job to Shawn [Michaels]. I could’ve walked out beforehand. I did the job to Shawn and left. Chyna, did the job to Chyna and left. Who’s willing to do business? He picked me to fire me. [I thought] we’re doing an angle!”
Over 19 years after his last WWE match, Jeff Jarrett surprisingly appeared in the 2019 Royal Rumble. Since then, the 53-year-old has worked as a backstage producer and creative team member in WWE.
Please credit My World with Jeff Jarrett and give a H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription if you use quotes from this article.