Jeff Jarrett says it was an honor to be in the Texas Chainsaw Massacre Death Match, and he loved it.
On the August 16 episode of AEW Dynamite, Jarrett faced Jeff Hardy in the Texas Chainsaw Massacre Death Match. The bout was sponsored by The Texas Chain Saw Massacre video game, and it wound up being a divisive contest. The chaotic match featured fake blood and an appearance from Leatherface, among other highlights. In the end, Jarrett emerged victorious.
Speaking on My World with Jeff Jarrett, the WWE Hall of Famer addressed the criticism of the match.
“I told my buddy at the gym this morning. I’ll just say, he’s not down with lucha libre, says it doesn’t make a lot of sense. He loves Japanese wrestling. He’s not so much a fan of WWE. He just kind of likes the no nonsense strong style. He leans more into that. He came up, and he said, ‘Man, there’s some people bent out of shape online. What do you think about that?’ I said, ‘Well, let me ask you, why do you like it? Because you’re shocking me that you like that.’ He said, ‘Well, when you hear the title ‘Texas Chainsaw Massacre Death Match’ right out of the gate, you kind of know you’re not gonna be getting any hurricanranas and German suplexes and all that.’ He’s like, ‘What do you think?’ I said, ‘The biggest disappointment I would’ve had, by far, is if there would have been no feedback.’ The point that there was people, that this made them so divisive, that somebody cared so much or cared so much about the AEW brand, that they tune into Twitter or Instagram…I really thought that the sponsor, exact words, ‘Incredible. Way overdelivered.’ Okay, so that’s a win," Jarrett said.
Taking a different perspective, Jarrett highlighted how the match was important for AEW's relationship with the network. He also made it clear that the sponsorship funds going to the Maui Food Bank meant a lot to him. Jarrett went on to emphasize that he appreciated the way fans were passionate about it, one way or another, and he loved it.
"It’s my understanding, across the board, the network, because they’re the ones, when you bill a deck and hey, we did for this client and this for this client, all that. Obviously, goes without saying, the top man, TK, super excited. Look, his sole decision. That was up to him. With the funds going to Maui, that says so much to me. But the audience being so passionate about it, I love that, okay, that lit a nerve. Not always good. Some people just didn’t like it, but I loved it. I thought it was an honor to be in that type of integration. It was definitely out of the box. I thought Jeff Hardy and his entire crew executed it to a tee," he said.
Jarrett then stated that he thought the match, and its production, was a grand slam. He also noted that even fans who didn't care for the bout would benefit from it, as the match would give them more of an appreciation for the wrestling that they enjoy.
"I’m not a horror movie guy, but Leatherface, that clip of him walking down the aisle, throwing the chainsaw, and he was supposed to be on our side, but Sonjay got his ass kicked, Karen got ran off, and all the integration. Production across the board, it was a grand slam in so many ways. For those that didn’t like this kind of stuff, I will say this without question, it certainly will make you appreciate more your four-and-five star matches. So yes, it actually served a purpose to you as well. It will make you appreciate, ‘Hey, I don’t like that integration stuff, I like this stuff.’ So I’m super excited. Mission accomplished," Jarrett said.
The legend also highlighted that sponsorship money is good for the business, so the match was beneficial in that regard as well.
Tony Khan announced that all sponsorship money from the match would be donated to Maui Food Bank. More information is available here.
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