Jerry Lynn Profile

Trademark Moves– Cradle Piledriver, Cradle Tombstone Piledriver, Tornado DDT.

Titles Held–
WWF Light Heavyweight Title (1)
ECW World Heavyweight Title (1)
NWA-TNA X Division Title (2)
NWA World Tag Team Titles (2) (with A.J. Styles + Amazing Red)
GWF Light Heavyweight Title (1)
PWA Heavyweight Title (1)
PWA Light Heavyweight Title (3)
PWA Tag Team Titles (1) (with Lightning Kid)

For over a decade now, Jerry Lynn has been one of the most underused talents in the US wrestling scene. Born June 12, 1963, Lynn made his pro wrestling debut at the age of 25. Just two years later, in 1990, he became the PWA Light Heavyweight champion. Later that year, he captured the PWA Heavyweight title. Quickly becoming one of the hottest commodities on the indy scene, Lynn started his memorable feud with Sean “X Pac” Waltman in 1991. The pair battled each other on shows all over the country, as Waltman set out to humiliate Lynn. On one occasion, Waltman tried to sell locks of Lynn’s hair!

Soon after that, both men decided to team up. The high flying combination of Waltman and Lynn was a massive success, as the team won gold in many promotions, both in the US and Japan. Despite his success in the Far East, Lynn craved recognition in his home country, and attempted to break into the WWF. After failing to find employment with the McMahons, Lynn agreed to work with WCW. He was repackaged as “Mr JL”, a masked cruiserweight. Unfortunately, Lynn’s career failed to take off down south, only managing one PPV appearance against Sabu at Halloween Havoc 95. Eric Bischoff, failing to see the natural talent behind the foolish gimmick, released Lynn. Jerry was not to be put off his dream of stardom though, as he went back to his indy roots, putting on memorable matches for numerous promotions. In 1997, Jerry Lynn had another WWF try out, and again, he was unsuccessful. However, luck would be on his side later in the year, as Lynn was offered a spot in Extreme Championship Wrestling, perhaps the biggest promotion in the US, outside of the Big Two.

During his time in ECW, Jerry Lynn started a red-hot rivalry with the popular Rob Van Dam. RVD claimed he was the “Whole F’n Show”, but after witnesses classic bouts with Little Guido, Yoshihiro Tajiri, Steve Corino and Lance Storm, the ECW faithful dubbed Jerry Lynn the “New F’n Show”. Despite the new moniker, Lynn had never defeated RVD in singles competition. Finally, at ECW Hardcore Heaven 2000, Jerry Lynn pinned Rob Van Dam, with the help of the turncoat Scotty Anton. With his jinx finally beaten, Lynn started his quest for the ECW heavyweight title. At Anarchy Rulz 2000, Lynn managed to overcome nemesis Justin Credible, and win the “big one”. Many claimed that Lynn was not ready for the title, and that owner Paul Heyman had rushed Lynn and Steve Corino to the top of the card, when they should have been pushed gradually.

As the structure of ECW fell down around him, not long after dropping his world title, Lynn managed to get a contract with WWF. He made a fantastic start to his career in the big time, beating Crash Holly in his debut to win the Light Heavyweight title. However, trouble came in early summer 2001, when Lynn suffered a torn patella. This caused him to miss quite a bit of action. On his return, he was excluded from the ECW invasion angle, due to bad blood with new WWF writer, and former boss of Lynn, Paul Heyman. Déjà vu struck, as in a similar way to his departure from WCW, Lynn was released in late 2001 because creative had nothing for him to do.

After appearing on a WWA PPV, Lynn was once again the most exciting wrestler accepting indy bookings. Now in NWA TNA, Jerry Lynn is one of the top talents. This time around, management have realised his skills, and have rewarded the “New F’n Show” with gold, in the shape of the World Tag Team Titles, and the X Division title (twice). After putting on several classic matches with AJ Styles last year, NWA TNA fans can look forward to seeing more of Jerry Lynn in 2003.

Recommended Jerry Lynn Matches–