Jeff Jarrett Compares AEW To The Early Days Of TNA

All Elite Wrestling is by no means the first new U.S. promotion outside the WWE to rise up since the fall of WCW, and longtime promoter Jeff Jarrett can see the similarities it has to TNA. On the latest episode of the "AEW Unrestricted" podcast, the TNA/IMPACT Wrestling founder said he's noticed the similarities between Tony Khan's upstart promotion and his former company.

"There is a vibe [that's similar to the early days of TNA]," Jarrett said, who also founded Global Force Wrestling in the 2010s after leaving Impact (fka TNA). "Look, there's so many production folks that are familiar, talent, infrastructure and all that, but the entrepreneurial spirit that exists among us – I'll say us – is very prevalent."

AEW was famously founded after independent pro wrestling stars Cody Rhodes and Matt and Nick Jackson took a challenge from veteran pro wrestling journalist Dave Meltzer to heart, which said that they couldn't sell out a 10,000-seat arena on their own. The 2018 "All In" did just that and caught the attention of the pro wrestling world, as well as billionaire wrestling fan Tony Khan, who co-founded AEW in 2019. Jarrett joined up with the company in late 2022 and has since wrestled onscreen while working backstage as the Director of Business Development. 

Last December, Jarrett said he was "pumped" to join AEW and appears to still be ecstatic about the atmosphere backstage. Speaking with "AEW Unrestricted," he said, "At the end of the day, there is an innate, competitive spirit that is authentic."