AEW's Jeff Jarrett Defends CMLL Appearance

For the first time in legendary career, Jeff Jarrett stepped inside a CMLL ring as he took on Blue Panther at the promotion's 93rd Aniversario event on September 18, with the live Arena Mexico audience lighting up for his appearance. Many fans online, however, didn't feel the same.

On a recent episode of the "My World" podcast, Jarrett addressed this mixed reaction as part of a larger discussion about his current place in the wrestling business.

"I pick my spots here and there," the WWE Hall of Famer said. "I don't just say pickfest, but the CMLL show, there was a lot of hate online. Well, same thing that they didn't like Tommaso dropping the elbow [on Andrade's pants at AEW WrestleDream]. It's not for everybody, but if you were in the arena at the CMLL anniversary show this year, me against Blue Panther. Some people, there's nothing I could ever do for them to say, 'Oh, you should never wrestle again or you should never be on a show like that again.' Well, I listen and the crowd liked that. Let's agree to disagree. I guess what I'm saying is I pick my spots."

At CMLL 93 Aniversario, Blue Panther, a former CMLL World Middleweight Champion, defeated Jarrett in less than nine minutes. Elsewhere, CMLL World Heavyweight Champion Hechicero successfully defended his title against AEW's Claudio Castagnolo and NJPW's Zack Sabre Jr.

For Jarrett, the event simultaneously marked his first televised match inside Arena Mexico, making him one of a select few who've performed in Arena Mexico, Madison Square Garden, Wembley Stadium, and the Tokyo Dome. It also served as the stage for one of his few in-ring outings in 2026, something he indicated as intentional.

"I'm not a every week Dynamite, Collision guy or whatever, but in different spots here and there, I know without beyond a shadow of a doubt I can contribute and I can do a right short term storyline to help elevate a guy if that's what is called to," Jarrett said. "I can do certain things, whether I'm in a promo against someone or a line with someone. With my verbal skills and kind of wisdom and my connection with the audience, I can help contribute to a storyline. So you got to pick your spots. But as far as contributing to the overall growth of a product, I absolutely think that I know my role ... I'm not some main event guy that needs to be going every week at 59 years of age."

Since joining AEW in 2022, Jarrett has balanced two different on-screen roles: in-ring talent and broadcaster. The latter role typically calls for him to co-host AEW pay-per-view pre-shows, such as the WrestleDream Buy In, alongside RJ City and Renee Paquette. The former has resulted in the 40-year veteran wrestling nearly four dozen matches under the AEW banner so far.

His latest AEW in-ring appearance took place at the Grand Slam Mexico event on August 5, where he, Brillante Jr., Mascara Dorada, Orange Cassidy and Roderick Strong picked up a victory over Nick Wayne, The Dogs (Clark Connors and David Finlay) and The Swirl (Blake Christian and Lee Johnson) in a dark tag team match. Prior to that, Jarrett hadn't wrestled in an AEW ring since January 2025.

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit "My World" with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.