WWE News: Jeff Jarrett Praises ‘SmackDown’ Star For His ‘Huge Upside’ As A Performer
Before Jeff Jarrett was one of the surprise entries in the titular main event of last year’s Royal Rumble pay-per-view, few fans had expected to see the former Intercontinental Champion back in a WWE ring, given his acrimonious fallout with owner Vince McMahon in the late 1990s. That brief return also saw Jarrett enter a brief feud with Elias, and with more than a year passed since “Double J” helped put the guitar-playing superstar over, he had nothing but good things to say about the younger man in a recent interview with a United Kingdom publication.
Speaking to Metro UK in an interview published on Monday, Jarrett focused on his praise for Elias, telling the outlet that 32-year-old Friday Night SmackDown star has a “huge upside.” He also pointed out that before Elias dealt with injuries for a significant part of 2019, he was “on a roll” and on his way to bigger things as one of WWE’s more promising wrestlers.
‘He’s got something that you can’t teach, that you can’t coach, that you can’t manufacture. He’s got a unique set of skills. He’s got an aura about him, a charisma about him that’s very unique.”
Elaborating on the above comments, Jarrett added that Elias is a “very entertaining” character, considering how he’s able to maximize his skills as a singer, guitarist, and songwriter through his on-air gimmick while also standing out as a talented in-ring worker.
Next year's Super Bowl Half-Time performer should be @IAmEliasWWE. #SB54 pic.twitter.com/tYdcCkNqtc
— WWE on FOX (@WWEonFOX) February 3, 2020
Although Elias has mostly been used in a mid-card role on SmackDown and has yet to win a title in WWE apart from his multiple reigns as 24/7 Champion, WrestlingNews.co wrote that the man once referred to on NXT as “The Drifter” is being considered for a major match at WrestleMania 36 against John Cena, one that would serve as a follow-up to their in-ring segment at last year’s WrestleMania. The above rumor, which was reported by Dave Meltzer on Monday’s edition of Wrestling Observer Radio, comes shortly after reports suggested that Cena might be in line to face Goldberg or Bray Wyatt at this year’s edition of the “Show of Shows.”
As for Jarrett, who currently works as a backstage producer for WWE, he has been active in recent days, speaking with different publications and discussing various topics. As previously documented by The Inquisitr, the 2018 WWE Hall of Fame inductee spoke last week about the financial dispute with McMahon that immediately preceded his exit from the company. In this interview, he explained to TalkSport that the $300,000 he allegedly demanded in order to wrestle one final match before leaving for World Championship Wrestling (WCW) was actually payment for the money that he was owed in previous months.
