The Latest On Why Jeff Jarrett Returned To TNA, How Long He’ll Be There, And More

Jeff Jarrett’s return to TNA Impact Wrestling on Wednesday night was a shock to many in the wrestling world. Not so much because of the way he exited the company in the first place, but Jarrett’s return was shocking due to the way Jarrett’s name has been rubbed in the dirt by Dixie Carter and TNA seemingly non-stop since Jarrett’s departure.

Jarrett’s name has been run through the mud by many of the staff at TNA Wrestling for months. According to Dave Meltzer on Wrestling Observer Radio, Bob Ryder was noted to have particularly changed his views on Jeff after having nothing good to say about him for many months. According to Meltzer, many within TNA found Ryder’s change of heart once Jarrett returned to be “hilarious.”

Good to see my old fishing partner again. You can't have a KOTM match without THE KOTM @RealJeffJarrett, and we won't. #Slammiversary

— Bob Ryder (@brydertna) June 25, 2015

Another factor making Jarrett’s return surprising is that TNA openly mocked Jarrett on television in the past. They aired more than one video featuring Rockstar Spudd poking fun at Jarrett’s GFW in a roundabout way.

So the question is: Why would Jeff Jarrett return to a company that has treated him so poorly and is on the verge of losing it’s television deal?

Jarrett’s return is shocking to be sure, but it also doesn’t appear that Jeff’s involvement with TNA will be a short-term deal. According to Meltzer, Jarrett will be around for a while and is booked past Slammiversary. The thought is that his involvement at this Sunday’s Slammiversary event will lead to an eventual TNA Hall of Fame induction for Jarrett. TNA had previously tried to induct AJ Styles, but Styles turned the company down.

The fact that Jarrett was allowed to wear a shirt on television promoting his wrestling company (Global Force Wrestling), while also having the TNA announcers reference GFW, certainly points to some type of invasion angle in the future between the two companies.

There were rumors of a TNA buy-out by Jarrett being in the cards as well, but there is nothing on that front to report at this time. As of right now, Jarrett does not hold any type of management position or majority ownership deal within TNA.

The deal for Jarrett to return to TNA was reportedly being worked on for several days, but the final agreement wasn’t made until just hours before Jarrett’s return in Orlando. It’s also apparent that Jarrett’s return was a secret kept from almost everybody, including people who really needed to know about it. Meltzer noted that the production staff’s formatting sheet for Wednesday night’s Impact Wrestling didn’t mention anything about Jarrett appearing on the show, nor did it even set aside any time for the segment, so the staff had to re-work the entire show when Jarrett showed up backstage.

Meltzer reports that the morale of wrestlers at the Impact Wrestling tapings was low due to the feeling that the company had lied to them yet again by not being honest about Jeff Jarrett’s return, specifically after telling many of the wrestlers that they couldn’t work Jarrett’s GFW tour. However, that line of thinking now appears to be out the window as Magnus is scheduled to work the July 24 GFW television tapings in Las Vegas, and there is definitely a possibility that more TNA talent will be brought in for use by GFW.

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