The relationship between Jeff Jarrett and Owen Hart has been well-documented to this point. In a recent edition of the My World with Jeff Jarrett podcast, Double J went in-depth into his long-standing relationship with the King of Harts from his first match against Owen to his relationship with the family today. Frankly, the podcast is essential listening for any fan of either generational wrestler.
However, after listening to the podcast, I wanted to ask Jarrett about a subject he’d only briefly touched on during his show: his winning of the Intercontinental Championship just days after Owen’s untimely passing. I asked Jarrett about the victory and what it meant to him amongst his myriad of championship wins.
“You can’t really put it into words,” began Jarrett. “At that stage in my career in ’99, I’d been wrestling 13, 14 years and won the regional titles, and [I’d] go to Japan, or Puerto Rico or Texas, and then obviously, the first time I won it against Razor. I went into, as you said, I went into really deep, some really deep discussions about that, obviously, as you’re aware on My World.”
“I didn’t really process at the time, but I know the overwhelming of emotion because [of] what was going on prior to that,” Jarrett continued somberly. “Me and Owen had been teaming, and he was doing the Blue Blazer. I’ll just say that the Intercontinental title wasn’t in the cards, or wasn’t in the plans. So when that opportunity hit, it was overwhelming and it played out right on [for] the whole world to see. So of course, it was special.”
The Intercontinental Championship
Jarrett then went on to describe the prestige of the Intercontinental Championship, describing it as one of the most important titles in the world.
“To me, it’s still, in a lot of ways, the second most prestigious belt in the world. And yes, there’s a RAW belt and a Smackdown belt, and no disrespect any of that. But the Intercontinental title for me, and this is for me, has such a special lineage from I mean, we can go on and on, but Curt Henning and Roddy Piper and Bret [Hart] and Shawn [Michaels] and Razor [Ramon] and just, you know, Stone Cold, and Rock and just how it was through the years. And then in later years, The Miz I think gave it a lot of respect.”
“It’s a special title in the annals of professional wrestling,” concluded the two-time Hall of Famer. “But, for me to win it under those circumstances. I mean, Spencer, you hit the nail on the head, hey, it goes without saying. I can’t really put it into words how special it was.”
Please credit Spencer Love with any of the above transcriptions, and link back where possible. Thank you!
