New Jack facts for kids
Quick facts for kids New Jack |
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New Jack appearing for Extreme Championship Wrestling in 1998
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| Birth name | Jerome Young |
| Born | January 3, 1963 Greensboro, North Carolina, U.S. |
| Died | May 14, 2021 (aged 58) Greensboro, North Carolina, U.S. |
| Cause of death | Heart attack |
| Spouse(s) |
Jennifer Young
(m. 2017) |
| Children | 5 |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | New Jack |
| Billed height | 6 ft 0 in (183 cm) |
| Billed weight | 240 lb (109 kg) |
| Billed from | South Central, Los Angeles |
| Trained by | Ray Candy |
| Debut | 1992 |
Jerome Young (January 3, 1963 – May 14, 2021) was an American professional wrestler better known by his ring name New Jack. He was best known for his time with Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW), where he became notorious for his willingness to take dangerous bumps and his stiff hardcore wrestling style, often taking high risks and known for shooting on opponents, including the 1996 Mass Transit incident and an altercation with Gypsy Joe in 2003. He is also known for being the only wrestler to have had his entrance music ("Natural Born Killaz" by Ice Cube and Dr. Dre) play throughout his matches in ECW. After the promotion closed in 2001, Young spent the rest of his career on the independent circuit until his death in May 2021.
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Early life
Jerome Young was born on January 3, 1963, in Greensboro, North Carolina. In 1968, his father died of a heart attack. He and his mother moved frequently across Georgia, usually trying to stay a step or two ahead of landlords seeking to evict them.
He attended various schools, before finally graduating from Atlanta's D.M. Therrell High School in 1981. There, Young had a measure of success in football, which lead to him attending Clark Atlanta University. Around the age of fifteen, Young commited a robbery and spent two years in prison. After his release, he worked briefly as a truck driver before spending the next decade as a bounty hunter.
Young trained under Ray Candy and debuted in 1992 in the Memphis, Tennessee-based United States Wrestling Association (USWA), where he adopted the ring name New Jack, inspired by the 1991 film New Jack City. In June 1993, he won his first championship, the USWA World Tag Team Championship with his partner Homeboy, defeating Simply Devine and holding the title for two weeks before losing it to C. W. Bergstrom and Melvin Penrod, Jr.
In media
New Jack was featured in the 1999 wrestling documentary Beyond the Mat. In addition, he appeared in the television series Early Edition on May 6, 2000, as a biker in the episode "Mel Schwartz, Bounty Hunter". He was also featured in the video game Backyard Wrestling 2: There Goes the Neighborhood. New Jack is also the subject of an episode of the documentary series "Dark Side of the Ring". The hour-long episode debuted on Vice on March 31, 2020.
New Jack is referenced in the 1996 Weezer single "El Scorcho", with the line "watchin' Grunge legdrop New Jack through a press table". He is also referenced by Harlem rapper Smoke DZA on his album Rugby Thompson.
Along with indie wrestler Jay Lover, New Jack made a guest appearance on the May 9, 2013 episode of The Daily Show, in a segment entitled "Stay Out Of School."
Personal life, health issues and death
From 2009 to 2011 Young was in a relationship with Terri Runnels.
Young was married to Jennifer Young.
After retiring, Young regularly used prescribed painkillers to help with the pain from various injuries he sustained during his career. In 2016, he collapsed while walking home from an event. He was diagnosed with blood clots in his legs and back, in addition to heart problems. Tommy Dreamer revealed that when he tried to book Young for his House of Hardcore promotion, Young said he was in poor health and often bedridden due to his heart problems and failing vision.
On May 14, 2021, Young died of a heart attack in the afternoon at his Greensboro, North Carolina home at the age of 58.
Championships and accomplishments
- American Championship Pro Wrestling
- ACPW Hardcore Championship (1 time)
- Extreme Championship Wrestling
- ECW World Tag Team Championship (3 times) – with Mustafa Saed (2) and John Kronus (1)
- North Georgia Wrestling Association
- NGWA Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
- NGWA Tag Team Championship (2 times) – with Festus and Mustafa Saed
- Smoky Mountain Wrestling
- SMW Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Mustafa Saed
- Universal Championship Wrestling
- UCW Hardcore Championship (1 time)
- United States Wrestling Association
- USWA World Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Home Boy
- Pro Wrestling Illustrated
- Ranked No. 101 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 1997
- Ranked No. 386 of the top 500 singles wrestlers of the PWI Years in 2003
See also
In Spanish: New Jack para niños
- List of premature professional wrestling deaths
