On a recent episode of his “My World” podcast, Jeff Jarrett – a WWE Hall of Fame member – recounted his experience of relinquishing the Intercontinental Championship to Shawn Michaels at WWE In Your House 2: The Lumberjacks. Also, he touched upon his departure from the organization for nearly half a year.
Some notable parts of the podcast are listed below:
Commenting on whether Michaels was aware of his impending departure from WWE post-match, Jarrett stated, “Nothing was known. I also discovered it on that day… I recollect giving the interview. It felt like an unfiltered version of ‘Jeff’s struggles’. The regular schedules were ten on, three off, four on, three off… As the IC champion since the beginning of the year, I was expected to make appearances and manage on-sales. Yet, all this non-stop work, including on sales and video gaming, felt like continuous grinding. I didn’t recognize that I was driving myself to the brink of burnout. So, neither Shawn nor Brian (James) knew. Even Brian didn’t really digest it until we were in the ring. So when I didn’t get up and proceed with the storyline, he stood with me, quoting, ‘We’re out.’”
While reflecting on the match, Jarrett mentioned. “Shawn and I have discussed this. As we’ve both been long-time players in this game, we saw it coming. But this encounter wasn’t anywhere close to a classic storyline closer match. It was, in reality, our first face-off. The match wasn’t an outcome of any storyline where The Roadie and Jeff beat Shawn Michaels. The title shift was just a temporary one, and the match was more like a makeshift arrangement. The plan was for Jeff and Roadie to proceed with their storyline, while Shawn was set to create sparkles at SummerSlam against Razor Ramon. The second-ever ‘In Your House’ event was rather transitional. Looking back, I think our match was quite impressive. However, what if we really built up a deep storyline arc with each of us winning once followed by a decisive clash? It wasn’t any storyline anchor match, and that underscores a difference in performance. Suppose it’s a showdown for everything on the line, although the IC title was at stake. Once again, it was a transitionary title switch. Pondering upon this, I am ascertained that we could have done wonders with a truly epic fight.”
Below is the podcast’s recording.