During the recently recorded edition of My World with Jeff Jarrett, Double J spoke at-length about the finish of his infamous match with Hulk Hogan, at Bash at the Beach 2000. The WWE Hall of Famer also recalled the controversy surrounding the finish, and more. Check out his comments below.
On laying down for Hogan during Bash At The Beach 2000:
“Work, not work, all that. It was bad TV, it was bad for the fans, it was a bad story. In so many ways – and it’s not 2021, we’re talking 2000 – this was distasteful and just bad TV. I was right in the middle of it and I knew I didn’t have a lot of options. But the one that looked like it was the best for [me] and my family, I didn’t like. Laying down in any scenario is not good, but a World title match is even worse. If you say you’re a wrestling fan growing up in the 80s, Hulk Hogan was bigger than professional wrestling. But it was just something I didn’t want to talk about [since then] because there was no upside legally, professionally, career-wise. It’s just garbage.”
On not knowing the finish until the day of the match:
“I remember when we did the last TV for Thunder and I got into Daytona on Saturday, and it was a mess. Nobody knew what was gonna happen. It was up in the air and a lot of negotiation. I kept being told from Vince, probably Terry Taylor, and maybe Bill Banks that, ‘We’ll see what happens on Sunday.’ One of those deals, knowing that Hogan hadn’t made up his mind or maybe he had made up his mind. My thought is….what’s really going on here? Where are we going with this whole deal?”
On the meeting with Hogan and John Laurinaitis before the match:
“Russo is in and out of his conferences, and he comes to me and the usual on a TV or pay-per-view day, he’s stressed. ‘I don’t know what we’re gonna do.’ He didn’t know. But at some point, we are corralled, and John Laurinaitis, me, and Hulk are gonna get together. We sat down, Hogan puts his back against the wall, ‘Alright, where are we at?’ We start collaborating and this goes into at least a 30-minute conversation laying out a match with a DQ finish. At least 30 minutes. This is what I’m led to believe is happening…..at that point, do I think Hogan knew exactly what was gonna go on? Now that I sit here today, probably. But why did we go through the motions of laying out a match and Laurinaitis with his pencil taking notes and what did he know or not know. I’m invested, and we go into great detail of what this match is with a DQ finish…..I thought this was 100 percent we’re working on a match.”
On the controversy surrounding the finish:
“There’s no way to describe the trepidation I had. When I walked through the curtain, I had my game face on and I’m going to work. But backstage, knowing what I’m about to do and my music playing – I was really second-guessing the whole deal. The people hated slapnuts and loved Hulk, especially in Daytona. They didn’t know any of this. Like any World title match with some build to it – they wanted to see the match. Me, knowing this is what we’re about to do and the reaction that was gonna take place and I’m a part of it and they’ve gotta see my ass back out here in 30 minutes – what are you possibly thinking? I’m the last person they’re gonna want to see. Period. That’s how I felt. Me have to go out and do this BS thing with Hogan and, ‘Jeff, go back out 30 minutes later and get a hell of a reaction. You and Booker are gonna tear the house down, and Booker is gonna be the champion.’ Disaster. Terrible writing. Terrible booking. Terrible thinking things through.”
(Via 411Mania)
