Jeff Jarrett and Chyna shared one of WWE’s most memorable rivalries during the Attitude Era. Back in 1999, Jarrett dropped the Intercontinental Championship to Chyna in his final WWF match before leaving for WCW.
The historic title change made Chyna the first and only woman to win the Intercontinental Championship. Years later, Jarrett explained why the storyline connected so well with fans and still gets remembered today.
Jeff Jarrett explains why his WWE feud with Chyna worked
Speaking on Insights with Chris Van Vliet, Jeff Jarrett praised Chyna and reflected on their groundbreaking rivalry. “Oh man, God rest her soul… Chyna had a unique wit too. She was a funny girl, great personality,” he said.
Jarrett continued, “But it goes without saying, Attitude Era, maybe the height of it. When you look at DX Road Dogg with his intro and his braids and his look, and when you look at the group, Chyna with their build and their look, and again the things that we were doing during the Attitude Era to push the envelope, it didn’t get much more than a push to have a female fight a male for the belt that Randy Savage had, the belt that Ultimate Warrior had.”
He also explained that the feud felt natural because both characters already had strong momentum. Jarrett stated, “The IC title is the working title; it’s the number two that’s going to take you to number one. The belt was well positioned, the way my character evolved in a lot of ways organically, because had Chyna not had all of her momentum with DX, and we want to do something there.”
“Then here’s this guy over here, and he’d come out of the Double J character, and all of a sudden he’s got Miss Deborah, and then he’s got Kitty, and all that. Then all of a sudden he knocks the hell out of Moolah. Just storyline and kind of step after step after step, so everything was built right before me and Chyna really ever ‘touched,'” he explained.
Jeff Jarrett says Chyna ‘delivered like a champ’ despite WWE backstage drama
Jarrett recalled that there was plenty of pressure backstage before their match. However, he praised Chyna for stepping up when it mattered most. “There was some magic that night, and all the drama going on backstage, and she was anxious, and how are we going to get through this, but she delivered like a champ,” he said.
He continued, “But it was cool, and that moment, being a first on that platform. Chyna obviously kept her career going, but to kind of knight her into that IC title run, we’re still talking about it today.” Their wrestling careers later came full circle in TNA Wrestling. Chyna’s final professional wrestling match came alongside Kurt Angle against Jeff and Karen Jarrett.
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