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Monday, February 19, 2018

That's H-A-Double L - O-F -F-A-M-E

Selfie with Jeff Jarrett in 2016
@kevinhunsperger & @my123cents on Twitter

Many pro wrestling fans are buzzing today after NBC Sports and WWE announced Jeff Jarrett will be the latest inductee into the Class of 2018 Hall of Fame. Rumblings about the induction started last week online, most of which I discounted. It's not because I didn't think Double J was worthy. I always figured he'd eventually get the nod, I just didn't think it would happen this year.

I've been following Jeff Jarrett his entire career. I remember first reading about him in the Apter magazines when he was wrestling for Contentinal Wrestling Association. When Jeff wrestled for the AWA and USWA I actually got to see him in action. Then, of course, his cross over to WWF made a lasting impression. 

Jarrett and me in 2011
I'm not going to sit here and write about all of Jarrett's wrestling accomplishments, we know his record. I want to talk about my personal experiences with Jarrett. I met him for the first time in 1998 when I was a reporter in Florence, Alabama. Jarrett and the Harris twins were in nearby Tennessee playing in a celebrity basketball game to raise money for the school. That meeting was short and sweet. Then in 2011, I had an even more abbreviated encounter with Jarrett at a TNA Basebrawl event.

Fast forward to 2015 and I had a chance to interview Jarrett on the phone for the My 1-2-3 Cents podcast. The occasion came up again and I was able to have him as a repeat guest. Then Jarrett came to Marion, Illinois to promote Global Force Wrestling coming to Rent One park for a show. We met in one of the suites and spent some time chatting before and after the interview. He had remembered the podcast interviews and we talked about more than wrestling that night. I left with an even greater appreciation for Double J.

This is a well-deserved announcement. Jarrett has been through a lot over the last year or so. I wish him nothing but health and happiness and I hope this leads to a new relationship between he and WWE. 

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