Posted on by bdamage1
Brian Damage
Back in the early 90s, Vince McMahon faced charges that could have seen him spend a long time behind bars and Jerry Jarrett was set to run the WWE in his absence. Today on the blog, we look back to that time and the whether or not Jarrett would, indeed, have had full control.
As we all know, Vincent Kennedy McMahon has owned and operated WWE since 1982. A year after buying the company from his father, Vince Jr slowly began his national expansion. In November of 1993, however, things almost came crashing down on McMahon and his wrestling empire. You see, that is when the federal government indicted him on anabolic steroid distribution charges.
If he was convicted of those charges, Vince could’ve faced up to eight years in prison and pay a $500,000 fine. While eight years might not seem like a very long time, it was especially in wrestling years. Eight years away from a company that you helped build into a national juggernaut. Who would run the day to day operations? Who would control things on the creative side? Would there be a single person in charge or would it be run by a committee of people?
Different people have given different answers to these questions. What we do know for sure, is that the federal government wanted this case. They were willing to spend any amount of money to see McMahon locked up. Vince knew this and realized he was in for the fight of his life.
Vince’s wife Linda was put in place to run the World Wrestling Federation’s business dealings day to day. Who was to run things creatively? Enter Jerry Jarrett. Former wrestler turned booker, who owned and operated the Continental Wrestling Association (CWA) based in Memphis, Tennessee. Jerry Jarrett was hired by Vince McMahon under the recommendation of James J. Dillon.
JJ Dillon, the former manager extraordinaire who managed the Four Horsemen was at that time a top executive in the WWF. According to JJ Dillon, McMahon was extremely concerned that his days were numbered and he would go to prison. He took his two top executives who were Dillon and Pat Patterson and wanted input on who could come in and run things. Dillon suggested Jerry Jarrett who was also at one time good friends with Vince’s father Vince McMahon Sr.
Vince Jr and Jerry Jarrett had several telephone meetings where Vince offered him a job with his company. The first few times Jarrett declined, considering his family was still in Tennessee and didn’t want to relocate them to Connecticut. Vince offered to have Jarrett stay with him at his home and pay to fly Jarrett back to Tennessee on weekends. Jarrett finally agreed and was brought in under the title of “consultant.”
Bruce Prichard, who was also employed by the WWF at this time as a producer, claims that many of Jarrett’s ideas were scoffed at because they were so old-fashioned and outdated. Prichard has also gone on record several times and denied that Jarrett was ever brought in to take charge of the WWF. He was simply hired as a consultant and that the WWF would be run by different departments. Bruce Prichard does admit he does have an ax to grind with Jarrett dating back a number of years.
Does that discount Prichard’s claims that Jarrett was never meant to be put in charge? JJ Dillon insists that Jarrett was being groomed by Vince to become the head of the World Wrestling Federation on a temporary basis. Just as long as Vince would be in jail, Jerry Jarrett would be calling the shots. Both Jerry Jarrett and JJ Dillon insist on this. They have also said that Jarrett was never totally happy up north. He was away from his family during the week and missed them immensely.
Jarrett said that he was hoping McMahon would win his case…so he could return full time to his life in Tennessee. He only stuck with it because he gave Vince his word and Vince was taking care of him and his family. In the end, Vince McMahon won his case against the government and returned full time to the WWF. Dillon stated that Jarrett asked to be released from his contract and return home. McMahon not only released Jarrett from his three-year contract but also paid the balance of the remainder of it.
The question remains, was Jerry Jarrett brought in to simply consult or was he groomed to lead the WWF? Depends on who you believe. Bruce Prichard or both Jerry Jarrett and JJ Dillon? Prichard admits he dislikes Jarrett for unknown reasons. What does Dillon have to gain by any of his claims? Like him or hate him, Jarrett did run a very successful promotion for many years. He did have a strong connection with the McMahon family throughout the years and to a degree still does to this day. Would a committee of creative minds work without a single person in charge?
What would the WWF have been like if Jarrett had run the company creatively? We can all speculate on the what ifs, but this was certainly both a tumultuous and fascinating time in the WWF.