Jeff became involved with wrestling at an early age. He worked for his father Jerry Jarrett's Continental Wrestling Association and trained as a wrestler under Jerry and Tojo Yamamato.

 

Jeff made his in-ring debut at the age of 19 in April 1986 when Tony Falk attempted to end his lengthy losing streak by challenging Jeff, then a referee, to a match. Jeff accepted the challenge, wrestling Falk to a ten-minute draw. Jeff is a third-generation wrestler; his father wrestled, as did his maternal grandfather, Eddie Marlin.

 

In 1989, Jerry Jarrett purchased the Texas World Class Championship Wrestling promotion and merged it with the CWA to create the United States Wrestling Assoiciation (USWA). Over the following years, Jarrett won the USWA heavyweight title on 10 occasions and the USWA tag titles on 15 occasions.

 

Jeff wrestled on the indy circuit for seven years, appearing in Japan and Puerto Rico. In 1993, he was hired by the World Wrestling Federation.

 

Jeff debuted in the World Wrestling Federation under the gimmick of "Double J" Jeff Jarrett, a country music singer who intended to elevate his singing career through his exposure as a wrestler. Jeff's character would strut to the ring wearing flashing "Double J" hats and ring attire, and punctuated his interviews with the phrase "Ain't I great?". He ended his interviews by distinctly spelling out his name ("That's J-E-Double-F, J-A Double-R, E Double-T!").

 

Jeff made his pay-per-view debut in January 1994 at the Royal Rumble. Later in the year, he was joined by an assistant, The Roadie. In 1995, Jeff won the WWF Intercontinental title on three occasions, feuding with Bob Holly and Razor Ramon. At In Your House 2: The Lumberjacks on July 23, 1995, Jeff and Sawyer Brown performed the song "With My Baby Tonight". Jeff subsequently left the WWF for several months and returned to the United States Wrestling Association. He returned to the WWF in late 1995, feuding with Ahmed Johnson. Jeff lost to Johnson by disqualification at the 1996 Royal Rumble and left the WWF shortly thereafter due to a contract dispute. Later that year, The Roadie revealed that he had in fact sung "With My Baby Tonight" and that Jeff had been lip-synching.

 

In October 1996, Jeff was hired by World Champiomship Wrestling (WCW), signing a one year contract. Upon debuting in WCW, Jeff became a "free agent" in the rivalry between the Four Horsemen and the New World Order. After defeating Chris Beniot at Starrcade 1996, Jeff was inducted into the Four Horsemen. On June 9, 1997, Jeff defeated Dean Malenko to win the WCW United States Heavyweight title.

In mid-1997, Jeff left the Four Horsemen and began feuding with Four Horsemen member Steve McMichael. Despite aligning himself with McMichael's ex-wife, Debra McMichael, Jeff lost the WCW United States Heavyweight Championship to McMichael on August 21. In October, Jeff's contract expired and he opted to return to the World Wrestling Federation, despite the dominance of WCW in the ongoing Monday Night Wars.

Jeff returned to the World Wrestling Federation on the October 20, 1997 episode of Monday Night Raw, delivering a speech in which he criticised both WCW President Eric Bischoff and WWF Chairman Vince McMahon. After briefly feuding with The Undertaker, Jeff defeated Barry Windham to win the vacant NWA North American Heavyweight Championship. In early 1998, Jeff joined forces with Jim Cornette and his stable of "invading" National Wrestling Alliance wrestlers, and began defending the NWA North American Heavyweight Championship on WWF television. In March, Jeff left Cornette's stable, and Cornette stripped him of the title and awarded it to Windham.

Jeff went on to reprise his country music singer gimmick, introducing Tennessee Lee as his manager and the tag team Southern Justice as his bodyguards. He re-developed his habit of breaking an acoustic guitar over the heads of his opponents. At Unforgiven, Jeff once again sang alongside Sawyer Brown. In August, Jeff abandoned his country singer gimmick and dismissed Lee. He and Southern Justice began feuding with D-Generation X, with Jeff losing to D-X member X-Pac in a hair versus hair match at SummerSlam. Jeff's long hair was subsequently cut short by D-X and ring announcer Howard Finkel, who had himself been shaved bald by Jeff and Southern Justice shortly before SummerSlam. Jeff and Southern Justice were defeated by D-X at Breakdown in September, and the trio separated shortly thereafter.

Jeff briefly feuded with Al Snow before reuniting with Debra McMichael, who had left WCW for the WWF, and forming a tag team with Owen Hart. Jeff and Hart won the WWF Tag Team Championship from Ken Shamrock and Big Boss Man, successfully defending the titles at WrestleMania XV before losing to Kane and X-Pac. Eight days after Hart was killed in a stunt that went wrong at Over the Edge 1999, Jeft defeated The Godfather using Hart's signature hold, the sharpshooter. In mid-1999, Jeff won and lost the WWF Intercontinental Championship on two more occasions.

In the months that followed, Jeff became increasingly abusive towards Debra. At SummerSlam, Jeff challenged D'Lo Brown for both the WWF European and Intercontinental Championships, with Debra accompanying Brown to the ring following an argument with Jeff. Brown lost the bout after both Mark Henry and Debra turned on him, making Jeff the second ever "Euro-Continental Champion". On the following episode of RAW, Jeff rewarded Debra and Henry by giving Debra an assistant, Miss Kitty, and Henry the European Championship.

In late 1999, Jeff began feuding with Chyna over the Intercontinental Championship. In the course of the feud, Jeff became somewhat misogynistic, attacking numerous females, including both wrestlers and actress Cindy Margolis, and executing the figure four leglock on them. Jeff eventually abandoned Debra in favor of Miss Kitty after he and Debra were defeated by Stephanie McMahon and Test in a mixed tag team match. He later also turned on Miss Kitty after she lost a match that Jeff had inserted her into in his place.

Jeff left the WWF in October 1999, one week after WWF head writer Vince Russo resigned from the WWF in order to join WCW. Due to an oversight by then-WWF Executive Vice President of Talent Relations Jim Ross, Jeff's contract expired on October 16, 1999, one day before his scheduled bout with Chyna at No Mercy. Jeff wrestled at No Mercy nonetheless, losing the Intercontinental Championship to Chyna. Chyna later alleged that Jeff and Russo had colluded in order to delay Jeff's title defense until after Jeff's contract had expired, and that Jeff had subsequently blackmailed WWF Chairman Vince McMahon for slightly under $250,000 in order to wrestle without a contract. In 2006, Jeff asserted that he had been paid only what he was owed by the WWF.

Jeff returned to WCW on the October 18 episode of WCW Monday Nitro, attacking Buff Bagwell and proclaiming himself the "Chosen One" of WCW. Jeff took part in a tournament for the vacant WCW World Heavyweight Championship, winning his first three matches with the assistance of Creative Control. At Mayhem, he was eliminated from the tournament after losing his semi-final match to Chris Benoit following interference from Dustin Rhodes. At Starrcade, Jeff defeated Rhodes in a bunkhouse brawl, then unsuccessfully challenged Benoit for the WCW United States Heavyweight Championship in a ladder match. On the following episode of Monday Nitro, Jeff defeated Benoit in a rematch. In the same evening, Jeff reformed the New World Order with Bret Hart, Kevin Nash, and Scott Hall, with the foursome calling themselves the "nWo 2000".

In early 2000, Jeff feuded with WCW Commissioner Terry Funk, who forced him to wrestle three veterans - George Steele, Tito Santana, and Jimmy Snuka - in a single night. Jeff was stripped of the United States Heavyweight Championship after suffering a concussion during his bout with Snuka, but the title was returned to him by Kevin Nash after Nash became WCW Commissioner. In order to help him retain the title, Jeff drafted the Harris Brothers into the nWo 2000. In the following months, Jeff repeatedly challenged Sid Vicious for the WCW World Heavyweight Championship, in the process clashing with Nash and winning the position of WCW Commissioner for himself. Following the retirement of Hart, the New World Order quietly disbanded.

In April, WCW was "rebooted" by Eric Bischoff and Vince Russo, with all titles vacated as a result. Bischoff and Russo also created the New Blood, a stable of younger wrestlers who feuded with the Milliionaires Club, made up of the older members of the WCW roster. Jeff joined the New Blood, and at Spring Stampede on April 16, he defeated Millionaires Club member Diamond Dallas Page to win the vacant WCW World Heavyweight Championship. Page regained the title on April 24, and on April 25, the title was contested in a tag team bout pitting Jarrett and Bischoff against Page and actor David Arquette. Arquette won the WCW World Heavyweight Championship after pinning Bischoff (despite neither of the two being the legal men in the ring- Jeff hit Page with the championship belt while special referee Kimberly Page's back was to the action; WCW official Mickie Jay counted Bischoff out while Jeff had Page pinned^.

At Slamboree on May 7, Jeff defeated Page and Arquette in a three way triple cage match to win his second WCW World Heavyweight Championship.

In May, Jeff won and lost the World Championship on two further occasions, regaining the title from Ric Flair both times. Jeff feuded with Nash and Hulk Hogan throughout June 2000, and on July 9 at Bash at the Beach, he faced Hogan with the World Championship on the line. The match ended swiftly after Jeff immediately laid down, allowing Hogan to rest a boot on his chest and win the title, with Hogan commenting, "That's why this company is in the damn shape it's in - because of bullshit like this." Vince Russo subsequently came to the ring delivered an interview in which he accused Hogan of politicking and claimed that Hogan had used his creative control to refuse to lose to Jeff. Russo then stated that, while Hogan was free to keep the title belt he had just won (the "Hulk Hogan Memorial Belt"), Jeff would wrestle Booker T for the official WCW World Heavyweight Championship later that night. Booker T won the resultant match, and Hogan did not appear with WCW again. It is disputed whether the situation was a shoot, a work, or some combination of the two.

In the following months, Jeff briefly feuded with Booker T, Mike Awesome, Sting, Buff Bagwell, and Ric Flair. In late 2000, he joined forces with the Harris Brothers once more, with the trio defeating the Filthy Animals at Starrcade on December 17, In the same evening, Jeff aligned himself with World Champion Scott Steiner by helping Steiner defeat Sid. In 2001, Jeff and Steiner became members of the Magnificent Seven, a large stable headed by Flair. Flair and Jeff feuded with Dusty Rhodes and Dustin Rhodes until March, when WCW was purchased by the WWF. His contract was not picked up the WWF.

In late 2001, Jeff wrestled in World Wrestling All-Stars in Australia and Europe. Jeff won the first WWA World Heavyweight Championship, but was later stripped of the title. Jeff returned to the WWA during his first NWA World Heavyweight Championship reign; he defeated Sting for the WWA World Heavyweight Championship at the final WWA event on May 25, 2003, unifying the two titles.

In June 2002, Jeff and his father created a limited liability company, J Sports and Entertainment, and opened a new professional wrestling promotion, Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA). TNA aired in a weekly pay-per-view format until May 2004, when the promotion negotiated a television deal with Fox Sports Net and began broadcasting TNA Impact!. In November 2004, TNA began airing monthly pay-per-views instead of weekly pay-per-views, and in October 2005 Impact! moved to Spike TV. Panda Energy acquired a controlling interest in TNA in 2002, although Jeff remained a minority owner.

On the inaugural TNA pay-per-view on June 19, 2002, Jeff took part in a Guantlet for the Gold with the NWA World Heavyweight Championship on the line, but was eliminated by country music singer Toby Keith. In the following months, Jeff feuded with Scott Hall, Brian Lawler and BG James. On November 20, 2002, Jeff defeated Ron Killings to win the NWA World Heavyweight Championship with the assistance of Vince Russo. After Jeff refused to join Russo's Sports Entertainment Xtreme (SEX) stable, Russo directed the members of SEX, including the debuting Raven, against Jeff. The rivalry continued until February 2003, when Russo lost interest in SEX. In the following months, Jeff feuded with the remaining members of SEX, then began feuding with Raven and The Gathering. On June 11, 2003, Jeff faced Raven and AJ Styles in a three-way match for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship. After Raven was eliminated from the match after being attacked by the debuting Shane Douglas, Styles pinned Jeff to win the title after the returning Vince Russo struck Jeff with a guitar.

In early 2005, Jeff formed a dominant stable known as Planet Jarrett with Monty Brown, The Outlaw, and later, Rhino. Jeff also uses the phrase "Planet Jarrett" to refer to TNA as a whole, reflecting his real-life stake in the company and his prominent role within the promotion.

Jeff won his fourth NWA World Heavyweight Championship on September 15, 2005, defeating Raven at a Border City Wrestling event. He lost the title to Rhino at Bound For Glory on October 23, but regained it on the November 3 episode of Impact!. Jeff's reign lasted until Against All Odds on February 12, 2006, when he was defeated by Christian Cage. In the following months, Jeff feuded with Sting. In the course of the feud, Scott Steiner debuted in TNA as an ally of Jeff.

At Slammiversary 2006 on June 18, Jeff won his sixth NWA World Heavyweight Championship in a King of the Mountain match when referee Earl Hebner tipped over a ladder that Christian Cage and Sting were simultaneously climbing. He retained the title in a bout with Sting at Hard Justice 2006 after Christian Cage turned on Sting, hitting him with one of Jeff's guitars. After a polygraph proved that Jeff had cheated to win the NWA World Heavyweight Championship, Director of Authority Jim Cornette forced Jeff to wrestle Samoa Joe in a "fan's revenge" lumberjack match at No Surrender 2006, with Joe winning the match. At Bound For Glory 2006 on October 22, Sting defeated Jeff for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship after Jeff was forced to submit to Sting's signature finisher, the Scorpion Death Lock. On the following episode of iMPACT!, Jeff announced in a pre-taped interview that he was leaving TNA indefinitely. For the following six months, Jeff did not appear on TNA television, instead focusing on his role as Vice President of TNA Entertainment.

Jeff temporarily returned to TNA television on the April 12, 2007 episode of iMPACT!, aligning himself with several of his former enemies by helping Samoa Joe defeat A.J. Styles. On April 15, 2007 at Lockdown, Jarrett and the rest of Team Angle defeated Team Cage in a Lethal Lockdown match. He then entered into a feud with Robert Roode, losing a match to him at Sacrifice.

Jeff was married to Jill Jarrett, née Jill Gregory, with whom he had three daughters, Jocelyn, Jaclyn, and Jaryn. Jill was diagnosed with breast cancer in the late 1990s, and died on May 23, 2007 at the age of 37. Jeff has yet to make his long-awaited return to the TNA ring.

 

Thanks to Wikipedia for this info!