WWE Hall of Famer Jeff Jarrett spoke on his My World podcast about a wide range of topics.
During it, he talked about his history with Steve Austin and the issues that followed them into WWE in 1997-1998.
It all dates back to the dying days of the Memphis territory and Austin’s first check, which was small. Jarrett walked up to Austin and said, “Keep on staring at it boy. It ain’t going to make it bigger.”
Jarrett stated, “I remember it vividly. Let’s go down the story behind the story. Let’s go back in time. Should I have said it? Hell no because I had no idea and didn’t know until years later until these kinds of stories came out. I don’t even remember the first time hearing it, from Bruce (Prichard) and others, and I’m like, ‘Oh dear Lord.’ I was shocked. I was shocked in so many ways because Steve wasn’t the first person that I said that to.
Matter of fact, you have to laugh about it because if you don’t, you’re going to cry over it. My paychecks were exactly what others were. We got $40 and this happened in Evansville, IN. We got paid on crappy houses, $40 bucks, in Louisville, Evansville, and Nashville. My father always tried to pay a little bit better in Memphis because the gross was bigger. There were a lot of $40 payoffs, and 7 times 40 is $280. So most guys got about $350 a week on the really crappy weeks.”
H/T to WrestlingNews.co for the transcription