Would Jeff Jarrett still jump to WCW if there was no Russo?

[The Rick Jericho]

We all know Russo loved Jeff. And when he jumped to WCW, Jarrett soon followed. He got those world title runs within a year of jumping to WCW.

But if Russo never left the WWF, would Jeff have stayed too?

We missed out on some key WWF feuds we could've gotten if Jeff stayed.

Jeff Jarrett vs. Taz
Jeff Jarrett vs. Kurt Angle
Jeff Jarrett vs. Chris Jericho
Jeff Jarrett vs. Test
Jeff Jarrett vs. Big Show
Jeff Jarrett vs. The Rock
Jeff Jarrett vs. Stone Cold
Jeff Jarrett vs. Mankind
Jeff Jarrett vs. Triple H

[Feyrhausen]

Probably. He jumped back and forth constantly in the 90s. Even with Russo staying in WWF Austin had made no secret of his dislike for Jarrett so he had reached his ceiling with Austin on top. WCW had more potential for him as a main eventer.

Now if he had stuck around a little longer then Austin would have been out making staying more attractive to Jarrett. But with Angle coming in and Trips moving up to the main event Jarrett would still never get more than a transitional reign IMO.

[James Fabiano]

So it's Vince Russo Day at (W)rest...

But what if he booked 2016 Alexa Bliss?

[Deleted]

Yeah i never felt Jeff fit in the WWF...Even with the buzz cut and guitar he was better off as a WCW main

[Mozenrath]

I feel it would have happened eventually, yes. Russo facilitated it, but I feel he still could have ended up as a world champion in WCW even without that. Now, would he have been as much of a focus? Probably not, but the 1999-2000 main event scene was in flux, and Sid, Benoit, Booker T, DDP, and Scott Steiner were guys who were going to bubble up after Goldberg derailed, Sting burned out, Luger cooled off, and Hogan fizzled. Without Russo, Hogan may not have walked, but he was still going to need people to work, face or heel, and Jarrett would have been an attractive option, potentially, given we've seen one of his strengths is that he can work easy. If given the option, Hogan would pick Jarrett over Benoit any day of the week, probably, to work a title program with him, for example.

[Cyno]

Jeff Jarrett could only really main event in a smaller pool than WWF/WWE. Even without Austin, WWE had an absolutely stacked main event scene at the time.

WCW was a lot more wide open since he was the first big-ish name coming from The Company Up North since like, Bret Hart. That let him settle into a main event role alongside Booker, Goldberg, and Scott Steiner.

[The Dark Order Inferno]

Yes, Austin did not like him, Jim Ross did not like him so there was no prospect of ascending above the IC level in the WWF for him at that point in time. He'd been stuck doing stupid stuff on and off so needed a change of scene to freshen up and let people forget that.

[Mozenrath]

Oct 2, 2022 15:17:43 GMT -5 Cyno said:

Jeff Jarrett could only really main event in a smaller pool than WWF/WWE. Even without Austin, WWE had an absolutely stacked main event scene at the time.

WCW was a lot more wide open since he was the first big-ish name coming from The Company Up North since like, Bret Hart. That let him settle into a main event role alongside Booker, Goldberg, and Scott Steiner.

Yeah, like even if Jarrett and Austin were cool, he wouldn't have had a chance of getting into the fold. There was too much shared chemistry between Austin, Rock, Triple H, and Foley. Undertaker needed time off, sure, but Kane and Big Show were also in the fold, with Jericho and Kurt Angle also on the horizon, even if Jericho was having initial problems adjusting to WWF's environment.

[tafkaga]

This is the first time I've ever heard anyone lamenting Jeff Jarrett feuds that never happened.

[hassanchop]

Crazier idea; no Russo means WCW keeps Bischoff and instead releases some of the traditional WCW folks including Mike Graham in 99. They go to WWF and Jarrett’s push is derailed as they tell Vince he’ll “never draw a dime”. Sadder part that means The Radicalz don’t get a push as well, or probably don’t jump to WWF at all.

[Nosnorb]

Oct 2, 2022 21:21:58 GMT -5 tafkaga said:

This is the first time I've ever heard anyone lamenting Jeff Jarrett feuds that never happened.

Or that we didn't get three Angle vs Jarrett feuds.

[Feyrhausen]

Dont forget that while Jarrett began working around the death of the territories he grew up in the old system. Moving from company to company was natural to him. Freshen up and hopefully get a better deal. He may have figured jump to WCW for a few years and get a main event shot (even without Russo), come back around 02 when 99s main eventers are cycling down and get a shot at WWF main event. And Vince would forgive him for the exit as he would need some new blood on top.

He could have never predicted that the Turner money and protection would go away in a year and a half and that would screw him for a long time.

[Magic knows Black Lives Matter]

He talks during the Broken Skull Session with Austin (kinda funny, lol) that pay was a big factor too, specifically him asking for a raise and the company not feeling like he was worth it due to the pretty obvious ceiling on his push since the top star in the company was dead set on not working an actual program with him. 

[TOK Hehe'd Around & Found Out]

Jarrett has said that he was already on his way to WCW before he knew Russo was going. And why wouldn't he? There was a more open main event scene, he was gonna get paid more, and the top star and head of talent relations didn't have open distain for him.

[Mozenrath]

Oct 4, 2022 7:30:21 GMT -5 Feyrhausen said:

Dont forget that while Jarrett began working around the death of the territories he grew up in the old system. Moving from company to company was natural to him. Freshen up and hopefully get a better deal. He may have figured jump to WCW for a few years and get a main event shot (even without Russo), come back around 02 when 99s main eventers are cycling down and get a shot at WWF main event. And Vince would forgive him for the exit as he would need some new blood on top.

He could have never predicted that the Turner money and protection would go away in a year and a half and that would screw him for a long time.

Sure, though I do honestly think the door would have been open to him sooner than it ultimately was. I think when he made TNA that, had the PPV deal not ended up being a complete fiasco, thus meaning he had to sell to the Carters, he probably would have ended up comfortably selling to WWE eventually or otherwise having a more graceful exit. I mean, look no further than Sable or Eric Bischoff. Vince could hold a grudge, or end up not actually ultimately giving a shit about these things, especially if it meant he made money, got to be the guy signing peoples' paychecks after he conquered them (extra messed up to think about now), or both.

[GodzillaIsMyMonster]

Oct 5, 2022 3:10:05 GMT -5 Mozenrath said:

Oct 4, 2022 7:30:21 GMT -5 Feyrhausen said:

Dont forget that while Jarrett began working around the death of the territories he grew up in the old system. Moving from company to company was natural to him. Freshen up and hopefully get a better deal. He may have figured jump to WCW for a few years and get a main event shot (even without Russo), come back around 02 when 99s main eventers are cycling down and get a shot at WWF main event. And Vince would forgive him for the exit as he would need some new blood on top.

He could have never predicted that the Turner money and protection would go away in a year and a half and that would screw him for a long time.

Sure, though I do honestly think the door would have been open to him sooner than it ultimately was. I think when he made TNA that, had the PPV deal not ended up being a complete fiasco, thus meaning he had to sell to the Carters, he probably would have ended up comfortably selling to WWE eventually or otherwise having a more graceful exit. I mean, look no further than Sable or Eric Bischoff. Vince could hold a grudge, or end up not actually ultimately giving a shit about these things, especially if it meant he made money, got to be the guy signing peoples' paychecks after he conquered them (extra messed up to think about now), or both.

Unless you're Randy Savage.