AEW's Jeff Jarrett Calls Ex-WWE Star's Title Win Turning Point In Wrestling

There are some title changes that truly change the course of wrestling history. The likes of Bruno Sammartino, Hulk Hogan, and even modern day stars like Roman Reigns and Cody Rhodes have seen the wrestling business evolve and change thanks to the success of their title reigns. With that said, WWE Hall of Famer Jeff Jarrett believes that one title win truly changed the business forever, and on his "My World" podcast, he recalled his father, the late Jerry Jarrett, telling him why Bret Hart winning the WWE Championship was a paradigm shift for the industry.

"My dad really looked at this as a pivotal moment in that the Hogan era, as far as the big guy, it was over," Jarrett said. "So he shared that with me and he is the one who put the bug in me...he's like 'Son, Bret's the champion, and a wrestling champion at that, and he doesn't do over-the-top promos." Jarrett openly talked about how he felt like he wouldn't stand a chance in WWE given his size, and while he isn't the shortest man in the world, he wasn't as muscular as someone like Hulk Hogan or The Ultimate Warrior. Bret Hart was leaner and more athletic than his peers at the time, making his WWE Championship win over Ric Flair in 1992 a "flag in the ground" moment.

However, Jarrett is also aware that the Steroid Trial that almost saw Vince McMahon go to prison for distributing steroids to his wrestlers changed the way WWE operated. The company had to go in a wildly different direction to take the heat off of themselves, and moving to stars like Hart and Shawn Michaels in the main event slot, combined with having a former in-ring talent like Pat Patterson in a position of power at the time, Jarrett knew the business had to change.

Please credit "My World" when using quotes from this article, and give a H/T to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.