Jeff Jarrett has long been criticized for booking himself as TNA World Champion, and he continues to firmly reject the idea that ego drove those decisions.
Speaking on Insight with Chris Van Vliet, Jarrett explained that when the subject came up internally, he would remind everyone in the room of exactly what was at stake for him personally. “Do you really think that Jeff Jarrett that has the most money at risk, is going to make a decision based on ego rather than dollars and cents?” Jarrett said. “My money’s at stake. I’m the single largest shareholder of the promotion. I have a fiduciary responsibility to my investors.”
To Jarrett, the notion that he handed himself championships for personal glory never held up. “It was such nonsense, and the thought process that he’s making himself champion for glory is laughable, especially me being a third generation guy, and being around the business since a little kid,” he said.
Asked whether he has any regrets about how he booked himself, Jarrett didn’t hesitate. “None,” he said, pointing to the company’s growth as validation. He rattled off TNA’s steady climb from a weekly pay-per-view to two hours of prime-time television under his leadership, all achieved on shoestring budgets. Jarrett added that his booking philosophy was rooted in practicality: he was the one person guaranteed not to leave for WWE, and he wanted a heel champion atop a promotion where developing babyfaces like AJ Styles could chase the gold.
