Jeff Jarrett was dialed in.
Jeff Jarrett competed in the Owen Hart Foundation Men's Tournament, and given his close friendship with Owen Hart, it was clear that the opportunity meant a lot to him. Jarrett discussed his bond with Hart in an emotional video that aired ahead of the match. On the July 3 episode of AEW Dynamite, Jarrett's opponent was revealed to be the returning Hangman Page. The Chicago crowd rallied around Jarrett, but Page scored the win.
Speaking on My World with Jeff Jarrett, the WWE Hall of Famer discussed his loss against Hangman Page.
“I gave it my all. Sometimes, life doesn’t always turn out the way…I said that in some comments this weekend, doesn’t always turn out the way we expect it to. But what are we to do except look at life as no obstacles, just opportunities? I can tell you this much, you don’t get paid on effort alone, but the effort that I put in last Wednesday, I will say this, Karen came over to me, and she said, ‘I’m not gonna come back around you again until it’s time to go out. I love you.’ She knew I was dialed in, and I was definitely dialed in. Didn’t work, didn’t turn out, but the effort was there, the emotion was there, the Wintrust Arena…I’ll remember that. I will remember the match, I’ll remember that night. Didn’t turn out the way I wanted, but I will definitely remember that night," Jarrett said.
Jarrett was then asked about fans saying the match was one of their favorites of Jarrett's, and he emphasized that the match was special to him. He highlighted how both he and the fans were emotionally invested. Jarrett made it clear that it was a surreal night for him, and he was grateful.
“It was special to me, not so much for the mechanics…. In 2024, I don’t think you can expect a banger out of ‘The Last Outlaw,’ but also I think in 1986, you might not have expected a banger match, as the kids call it. But as far as the emotional investment in it, that was, because we often talk about all that. Creative’s subjective, but to me, one of the things that’s not subjective is the way to resonate is the emotional investment, and I was emotionally invested in that. I think the feedback and the voicemails and the texts and the comments, I think at the very core of it, it’s one of the reasons why we all love professional wrestling. You can get caught up in certain matches, stories, and storylines. But if there is a real set of circumstances that are reality-based, and for me, it was a lot of reality-based, it is easily just, I don’t say you want to believe, you believe. You just get caught up in the moment. For me, that’s what it was all about. The Chicago folks in the house, it was cool. To me, they were emotionally invested. When I locked the Sharpshooter on, man, they came up. In my brain, so did I. It was a fun moment. Who in the bell would have thought we’d be talking about this in 2024? I got a Sharpshooter in the ring on a former AEW World Champion in his return match. It was a very surreal night for me in so many ways. I’m very grateful for it," Jarrett said.
Click here to see what Jarrett had to say about filming his emotional video about Owen Hart.
Jarrett will be the special guest enforcer for the match between Bryan Danielson and Hangman Page on the July 10 episode of AEW Dynamite.
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