Jerry Lynn

HOMETOWN: Minneapolis, Minnesota
HEIGHT: 5'9"
WEIGHT: 212 punds
TURNED PRO: 1988
SIGNATURE MOVE: Tornado DDT

Jerry Lynn was one of wrestling's best kept secrets for several years. Making a name for himself on the independent circuit, Lynn criss-crossed America, making stops in several of the top wrestling territories.

Lynn's first major exposure came while wrestling in Jerry Jarrett's CWA promotion based out of Memphis.

Lynn left Memphis for the MidWest where he primarily competed on indy shows in Minnesota and Michigan. It was while competing in the Minneapolis-based Pro Wrestling America promotion that Lynn first gained critical recognition for his high-flying matches with Sabu and the Lightning Kid (aka Sean Waltman).

From there, Lynn moved onto World Championship Wrestling, donning a mask and going by the name Mr JL. He faced Sabu at Halloween Havoc '95, one of the few PPV appearances he made while in WCW.

After being mindlessly misused, Lynn left WCW and came to ECW. Competing primarily in tag-team matches his first few months, Lynn gained glowing praise from hardcore fans for his fantastic feud with Rob Van Dam.

A well-travelled veteran, Lynn has toured Japan several times, incorporating aspects of Japanese Puroresu with an accomplished mat game and an aerial assault.

Lynn, however, would earn his fame in ECW and in October 2000, he defeated Justin Credible to win the ECW Heavyweight Championship. Fittingly, he would face RVD at ECW’s last pay per view, at the January 2001 Guilty as Charged event.

At about the end of April the same year, Lynn arrived in WWE and beat Crash Holley for the Light Heavyweight belt. He’d lose the belt to Jeff Hardy in early June and by August, was forced to undergo knee surgery. According to Lynn, he needed six months to recover, but after three months, while still unable to return, WWE released him.

Upon recovery, Lynn wrestled the indy circuit and by around mid-June 2002, joined the then NWA-TNA promotion. He quickly won the NWA Tag Team Titles with AJ Styles, but soon turned on his partner and they feuded in the X-Division. Lynn would win the X-title in late August.

He remained a mainstay in the high-flying division while also wrestling independent dates for the next several years, until a shoulder injury forced him to the sidelines in August 2004. He became a TNA road agent but returned to the ring in June 2005.

Fed up with backroom politics, Lynn asked for his release from TNA in August 2007 and disappeared from the mainstream wrestling stage. Since his departure, he’s worked various indies, often working weekend matches.

-- By John Molinaro and Richard Kamchen

JERRY LYNN STORIES