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What’s the story?
As first reported by NBC Sports today, six-time WWE Intercontinental Champion and Impact Wrestling co-founder Jeff Jarrett will be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame as part of the Class of 2018.
Well, Impact Wrestling didn't take too long to respond to the announcement, taking to social media to tag WWE in a post about their founder's induction.
In case you didn’t know…
Jeff Jarrett joins Goldberg, Ivory and The Dudley Boyz as WWE's Class of 2018 to be inducted into the Hall of Fame during WrestleMania weekend.
Double J, however, is a controversial choice. While his WWE career was incredibly impressive, Jarrett was responsible for creating TNA (now Impact Wrestling) alongside his father. While several current WWE talents have spent some time in TNA and Impact Wrestling, WWE never seems to directly acknowledge Impact Wrestling by name.
WWE shocked the world last year when Dixie Carter appeared on a WWE Network special, and again today with the announcement of Jarrett into WWE's Hall of Fame. Another reason the induction seemed unlikely was due to Jarrett's alleged recently alcohol problem, where the former Intercontinental Champion turned up to independent shows seemingly drunk, however, Double J spent two months in rehab which it was later revealed was supported by WWE.
The heart of the matter
Well, while this is a surprisingly happy ending to some tough times for Jarrett, it may have been made even sweeter when Impact Wrestling tweeted out their reaction to the Hall of Fame announcement.
Impact Wrestling took to Twitter to congratulate Jeff Jarrett on his induction and even tagged WWE in the post. While this is a nice gesture for Jarrett as the last post from Impact tagging him was in October 2017 when they announced the termination of their business relationship, see below, it may also serve as an olive branch to WWE.
What's next?
Will WWE acknowledge the tweet from Impact Wrestling? You'd think not, but stranger things have happened! All eyes on Twitter and on WWE Raw tonight when WWE runs their usual video of reactions to the announcement. This one will be very interesting!
Author’s take
Well, I think it's pretty cool that Jarrett has been chosen for WWE's Hall of Fame, his service to the wrestling industry is undeniable, but even I was slightly taken aback - both by the induction and by seeing Impact tweeting out their reaction and tagging WWE.
Let's just say, this story has me hooked. We'll keep you updated on this one as it develops.
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