Posted on by bdamage1
Brian Damage
Back in the 80’s and 90’s, it was very common to see some no name wrestler go up against a proven star of a promotion. Whether that be from the WWF, NWA/WCW, AWA or elsewhere, these nomads of professional wrestling were there to make the stars look great. They were known as enhancement talent, preliminary wrestlers or as many fans have come to know them…”jobbers.” While fans were clamoring to see big time match ups, these “squash matches” served a very important purpose. While perhaps not appreciated at the time, they were just as important as the stars themselves.
Jerry Lynn began his pro wrestling career on March 23rd, 1988. He was trained by both Eddie Sharkey and Brad Rheingans. In the early portion of his career, Lynn mainly wrestled on the independent circuit in the Midwest in places like Minnesota,, Wisconsin and Michigan. In 1989, Lynn was used by the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) as enhancement talent to make their stars look better in the ring. Lynn would sporadically appear on WWF television in the next few years taking on the likes of Rick Martel, Rad Radford, the Heavenly Bodies and the Twin Towers of the Big Boss Man and Akeem.
Lynn would wrestle for various promotions including the AWA, USWA and Global Wrestling Federation (GWF). It was in the GWF, where Lynn received his first significant push. He feuded with the Lightning Kid (Sean Waltman) over the GWF Light Heavyweight title. Winning the title on one occasion.
After his stint in the GWF, Lynn traveled to Japan and Mexico to gain valuable experience. That eventually landed him a job with WCW in 1995. He wrestled as both himself and under a mask named ‘Mr. JL.’ and mainly competed in the company’s Cruiserweight division. Lynn remained with WCW until 1997 when he was released after being sidelined with an injury.
Jerry Lynn’s next stop was ECW, where he would find perhaps the greatest success of his career. Lynn battled Rob Van Dam over the ECW TV title in a series of outstanding matches. He was dubbed ‘The New F’N Show’ courtesy of his matches against Van Dam. Lynn would eventually win his first world title by defeating Justin Credible. He only held the belt for about a month before losing it to Steve Corino. Lynn turned heel and aligned with Cyrus the Virus aka Don Callis.
Lynn would return to the WWF in 2001, the promotion where he was first used as a “jobber”, by beating Crash Holly for the Light Heavyweight title in his first match back. He would lose the belt about a month later to Jeff Hardy. Lynn suffered a knee injury and was ultimately released by the company.
Lynn would bounce around to several different promotions like World Wrestling All Stars, TNA, Ring of Honor and various indie groups winning titles like the TNA X Division belt and the Ring of Honor world title.
On March 23, 2013 (His 25th Anniversary as a professional wrestler) Lynn wrestled his last match on an independent card where it all began for him…. Minneapolis, Minnesota. Since retiring, Lynn has worked as a road agent/ producer/ trainer in both Ring of Honor and currently with AEW.