As Jeff Jarrett prepares to enter the world of podcasting when My World debuts on AdFreeShows, the WWE Hall of Famer has opened up about his career – paying tribute to WCW opponent Steve McMichael.
In a recent interview, Inside The Ropes’ Lead Writer Gary Cassidy asked the six-time Intercontinental Champion for his thoughts on McMichael after the crossover star’s ALS diagnosis.
“When I heard the news on Mongo and when I saw the video, it broke my heart. You know, what a man. He’s a man’s man. What an athlete!”
Jarrett went on to say how, like Scott Steiner, McMichael was incredibly fast and agile for his size.
“You know, I had some of his first matches in WCW and I would often tell folks and, you know, doing interviews like this and people would say, ‘Who’s the strongest guy?’ Or just different stories of different talents I’ve been in the ring with and Scott Steiner is a guy who – he’s quick, but he’s deceptively fast. People, I don’t think… Everybody sees his muscles, but his speed was deceptively unreal.”
Double J noted McMichael swapping gridiron for squared circle, calling him one of the strongest guys he’s ever shared a ring with.
“But I have said this about Mongo many, many times. He may be, and I’m sure it’s from his football background and the ability to work inside the shoulders and just his skill set, but he’s certainly one of the strongest guys that I’ve ever been in the ring with. He’d rip your head off.”
Jarrett praised how “coachable” McMichael was, noting his thirst to learn.
“But the thing that truly amazed me about Mongo and getting to know him, especially in those early days, is that here’s a Super Bowl winner, a legendary football player, comes from one of the greatest defensive, if not the greatest defenses of all time in NFL and he stepped into our industry with a passion for it, good old Texas boy and, man, you talk about coachable and teachable, and wanting to learn, and obviously had been in locker rooms his whole life – but incredible respect.”
Jarrett added that McMichael’s video was a touch pill to swallow.
“Same with Kevin Greene. Same with Reggie White. Those football players, they’re obviously all three of those guys were at the very top of their game and then stepped over into our world. But Mongo made a living at it! It was really, really incredible to get to know him and work with him and then I saw him later at TNA. He was the head football coach of the Chicago Arena team. But, you know, seeing the video, it’s just gut-wrenching. But, you know, I said a prayer for him as soon as I saw it, but it’s tough. That’s tough news to swallow but, you know, ALS, when you read about that, it’s just it was a really, really tough pill to swallow candidly.”
Jarrett previewed his show, which debuts this week, by teeing up many of the topics he covers on the show – including bringing ‘Macho Man’ Randy Savage to TNA, Owen Hart, finding out he was fired on live TV, Bash at the Beach 2000 and much, much more.
“You know, with Bruce’s podcast, Something To Wrestle With, and Conrad as the co-host of Bruce’s podcast and now mine, we’re going to get into that because what’s really unique, Bruce was actually in Panama City, but obviously working for Vince and so there’s a really cool backstory to that and as you dig deeper into it, we’re going to cover that in one of the first few episodes of My World. So that’s something that… That’s been talked about. The match with Chyna… I mean, I could go down the list of stories, the Double J vignettes and being part of the Four Horsemen.”
You can read the full interview here.
Thank you to Jeff Jarrett for taking the time. You can catch the premiere episode of My World with Jeff Jarrett this Tuesday, May 4th, and every subsequent Tuesday by subscribing to AdFreeShows.