Jeff Jarrett On How Much He Knew About Controversial WCW Bash At The Beach 2000 Main Event
WCW's Bash at the Beach 2000 was one of the more controversial events in the company's history. The topic came up when Booker T hosted Jeff Jarrett on his Heated Conversations podcast.
In a match between Hulk Hogan and Jarrett, who was the WCW World Heavyweight Champion, Vince Russo had Jarrett lay down in the center of the ring so Hogan can win the title. Hogan got on the mic and admonished Russo for the segment before pinning Jarrett and Russo later fired him, declaring Jarrett was still the champion. It was Hogan's last appearance in WCW. Later that night, Russo announced an impromptu match between Jarrett and Booker in which Booker won his first WCW world championship.
The incident came up when Jarrett was discussing the differences between how wrestlers worked back then and how current wrestlers work. Jarrett said current superstars sometimes attempt to do too much in the ring and need to slow down.
"One of the things that come to my mind as I have shared the last couple of years is that you [Booker T] and I both lived through that myth known as Bash at the Beach, and at the end of the night, when you [Booker T] and me were put in an awkward position because of all the B.S., but what I had said was that match was one of my all-time favorites because of the set of circumstances," Jarrett said. "Where I was going with this is that we both like old and new school, but Booker T, what you did you did very good, you didn't have to do 15,000 moves, you did your set of moves that flat out got over and stayed over. That is what I have seen it a lot more now, from 2005-2014, there have been guys that tried 50 different moves in one match, and you tell them to take a breather and cut out 80% of it, but that 20% you do, do it really well. Guys that are developing, that are just standing out, they are doing just enough and doing it really well, and I believe that is the secret to something that is missed."
Jarrett said he was unaware of how things were going to unfold at Bash at the Beach, but he did have an inkling that something was off. Still, he was proud that he and Booker were able to work through the difficult circumstances.
"I have gone on record. I wish I can give you a big, juicy story that can make headlines, but I knew something was up a little bit going into the weekend because I couldn't get a clear answer on anything. Then, that day, I'm not pointing the finger at anybody, it was the system, so I didn't know a whole lot. It was one thing to another, to another, then got shifted. Johnny Ace was there; it was a big bucket of stew that didn't taste very well from anybody," Jarrett said. "I did say, as I said in multiple interviews when I get asked about that; everyone wants to know about the Hulk Hogan situation and the politics behind that; sort of the hidden gem is that we closed the show, you [Booker T] were crowned champion in very difficult circumstances, but we went out and did business and I am pretty proud of that."
If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit Heated Conversations with a H/T to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.
Source: Heated Conversations
Peter Bahi contributed to this article.