Jeff Jarrett - Professional Wrestling Career

Professional Wrestling Career

Born in Hendersonville, Tennessee, Jarrett became involved with basketball when he was in high school, but, he worked for his father Jerry Jarrett's Continental Wrestling Association (CWA) as a referee in March 1986 and trained as a wrestler under his father and Tojo Yamamoto. Jeff Jarrett made his in-ring debut at the age of 18 in April 1986 when jobber Tony Falk attempted to end his lengthy losing streak by challenging Jarrett, then a referee, to a match. Jarrett accepted the challenge, wrestling Falk to a 10-minute draw. Jarrett is a 3rd-generation wrestler; his father wrestled, as did his maternal grandfather, Eddie Marlin, while his paternal grandmother, Christine, was employed by a wrestling promotion. He also wrestled with the AWA promotion in the late 1980s.

In 1989, Jerry Jarrett purchased the Texas-based World Class Championship Wrestling promotion and merged it with the CWA to create the United States Wrestling Association (USWA). Over the following years, Jarrett won the USWA Southern Heavyweight Championship on 10 occasions and the USWA World Tag Team Championship on 15 occasions. Jarrett also wrestled on the independent circuit for 7 years, appearing in Japan and Puerto Rico. In 1993, he was hired by the World Wrestling Federation.