Why WWE Decided to Induct Jeff Jarrett into Hall of Fame

Given Jeff Jarrett‘s tumultuous history with WWE, many thought that he’d have to wait for a posthumous Hall of Fame indication. However, Jarrett had a few guardian angels within WWE’s walls that lobbied for his selection.

Justin Barrasso of Sports Illustrated writes that Triple H was a strong advocate for Double J to get his Hall of Fame moment. The story asserts that while Jarrett has plenty of enemies within the industry, some his biggest proponents are Kevin Nash and Scott Hall. Given their longtime friendship with Triple H, it’s not hard to imagine how the conversation started.

However, this may go deeper than Triple H wanted to do a favor for an old friend. In the shadows of the XFL reboot, stories have surfaced the Vince McMahon is already making preparations to hand WWE’s keys to his son in law. In response, Triple H is reportedly piecing a transition team together to assume the Round Table once Vince relinquishes some power.

The best data point to the circle is WWE’s hiring of Impact Wrestling stronghold, Jeremy Borash. In a move that shocked most of the wrestling world, Borash coming to WWE signals that Triple H is looking for exceptional wrestling minds just as much as he is in-ring performers.

Perhaps Jarrett will be next to join Triple H’s co-op. Afterall, it was the 14-time WWE Champion who may have been to first to craft a congratulatory Tweet after Jarret’s HOF announcement.

Jarrett spoke to NBC Sports in light of the news and revealed that this is an honor not just to him personally, but to his entire family who has been involved in the wrestling business for several generations.

“It’s a humbling honor and I will be accepting it on behalf of just not myself, but my wife Karen, who has had to go through ups and downs. My dad, my stepmom, my uncle, who just passed away. My grandfather, my grandmother on the other side of my family,” Jarrett said.

There isn’t a place Jarrett hasn’t’ wrestled in his long career, but despite his success, Jarrett is still surprised that WWE chose to indicate him.

“Quite frankly I’ve thought about that. Who am I? Why am I going in now? They asked and I had to do a head-scratcher because it was literally a shock,” he said. “There are less than 200 wrestlers in the Hall of Fame and you think about the thousands of guys that have laced up the boots and I’m going to be one of those 200. It just doesn’t seem right in my brain.”

For Jarrett, the ceremony at WrestleMania weekend marks a profound instance of synchronicity.

“When I first heard about it I looked at my calendar and saw that the date of the ceremony is April 6, 2018, and April 6 of 1986 was the day that I had my very first match. So 32 years to the day is sort of surreal,” he said.

Congrats, Jeff!