WWE Hall of Famer Jeff Jarrett recently appeared on The Zaslow Show to discuss a wide range of topics, most notably his current run in AEW and how he serves as the promotion’s Director of Business Development.
During his interview, Jarrett spoke about the large roster that AEW has accumulated over the years, and how it is sometimes difficult to keep that many people happy. Double-J adds how balancing that all out is just the nature of the wrestling business.
That’s the nature of the beast. In any sport or any entertainment, if you’re in a Hollywood movie, everybody wants to play the lead. If you’re on a basketball team; Steph Curry changed the game completely. Everybody wants to be Steph. Everybody can’t be Steph. Everybody wants to be Jimmy Butler coming off the Heat win. That’s not a reality. What it does do is, people can channel their energy, and that’s where the competitiveness is. Guys not getting enough TV time, guys fighting, scratching, and clawing. You can do two things; you can bitch about it and whine about it and get on social media and complain all you want. That’s not going to progress your career. I’ve always been the type of individual where you have to put your nose to the grindstone and be better than your opponent. Be better than the match that happened before you. Be better than you can be from last week. That’s the competitive nature. Like any sport, if you’re going to be in that complaining group, you’re not going to be around long in the business. Time will pass you by overnight. That’s what I try to tell other guys; bitching won’t get you anywhere. Excuses and complaining is not a business strategy. Getting in there and busting your butt is.
The conversation then shifted to talents who complain on social media. Jarrett explained that wrestlers complaining is a tale as old as time, but that those who put it out to the public are creating a narrative for their character.
Here’s what I’ve learned through the years, it’s an old philosophical quote, ‘Each and every day, the older I get, the more I understand that I absolutely know nothing.’ It’s the different platforms. I have five kids, all different ranges, my younger ones don’t know a life without social media. It’s the evolution. Years ago, talent that didn’t have social media and liked to complain, where did they complain? They complained at the nightclubs, at the gym, in the dressing room. It’s all the same. Now, the double-edged sword is, these guys complain, they don’t understand, they’re creating a narrative of who their character is. Guys in the years gone by that complained, when they stepped through the curtain, that’s what the public consumes this as. Now, when you peel the onion back and this guy is complaining or bitching, that kind of defines their character. You are literally giving the audience the opportunity to vote yes or no on, ‘Am I going to spend my money and my time and get emotionally engaged in this character?’ That’s the reality. Some folks, as we speak, they learned their lessons the hard way, unfortunately.
Jarrett will be in action against FTR’s Dax Harwood on this evening’s edition of AEW Dynamite. Full lineup for the show can be found here.
(H/T and transcribed by Fightful)