We live in a very cool time, when crowd sourcing has become a way to get products produced, movies financed, and even reach out and help people. Such was the case when earlier this week I came across a Facebook link directing me to a Go Fund Me page asking me to help out an unlikely candidate: Jerry Lynn.
Jerry Lynn was a professional wrestling journeyman who plied his trade in every major company of his generation, generating technical classics and accumulating championship titles wherever he roamed. Among his achievements were the World Wrestling Federation Light Heavyweight Championship, the Total Nonstop Action X Division Championship, the National Wrestling Alliance World Tag Team Championship, the Ring of Honor World Championship, and the Extreme Championship Wrestling World Heavyweight Championship.
While his achievements in the ring were astounding, and his abilities incredible, most fans seem to remember Jerry Lynn for their experiences with him outside of the ring. Jerry was a fan of professional wrestling at heart, which is why he could relate to his fans. It was not uncommon for Jerry to become engaged in lengthy, in-depth conversations with the paying public about the wrestling business. His peers respected and admired him not only for who he was when the bell rang, but for who he is when he leaves ringside. Never have I heard anyone say a cross word or anything derogatory regarding Jerry Lynn.
It broke my heart to hear about Jerry’s misfortune, as described by the creator of the campaign, Brian Fritz:
“Jerry has been experiencing chronic neck pain as well as pain in his right arm and numbness. The first procedure will be neck surgery to remove bones spurs, replace three degenerative discs, and fuse his vertebrae. He will be having this procedure done on Thursday, August 6.
Jerry has also been suffering with severe pain in his back for the last three months due to a bulging disc. He will likely need surgery for this as well, and he hopes to have that done as soon as possible following his neck surgery.
Jerry does have medical insurance, but he needs help in paying the $5,000 deductible. Plus, he will be out of work recovering for 2-3 months, which will put a hardship on his family, including his wife and young daughter.
It is time for us as a wrestling community to pull together and give back to Jerry after everything he has done for us, his fans.
To help cover all of his expenses, we are hoping to raise $15,000. Jerry would like to give anything over that amount to charity to help others in need. The charity he has chosen is the Nashville Rescue Mission which seeks to help the hurting of Middle Tennessee by offering food, clothing, and shelter to the homeless and recovery programs to those enslaved in life degrading problems.”
Too often, we wrestling fans hear about the tragic case of a wrestler who ends up in a sad state because of a situation they create for themselves through greed or selfishness. This was literally the opposite as Jerry found himself in this position because of the sacrifices he made to entertain the fans. The giving of his body so freely and fully for 25 years just caught up with him. If one examines some of his best work it isn’t difficult to see how he ended up here.
The first thing that comes to mind when thinking of Jerry Lynn are his wars with Rob Van Dam. At the time of their rivalry, RVD was the ECW Television Champion, and had the longest championship reign in company history. Lynn was a hot talent making waves with the company, and their similar desire to steal the show every night gave while bearing very different personalities made for an unmatched chemistry in Paul Heyman’s madhouse of hardcore. While fans loved Mr. Pay Per View, they also respected the obvious talents of Lynn, and soon, the fans dubbed Jerry “The New F’N Show”, a take on Van Dam’s nickname, “The Whole F’N Show”. While Lynn never truly bested his most penultimate rival, the matches they had were the stuff of legend in a company filled with memorable matches.
After moving on from both ECW and the WWF, Jerry decided to help start a new revolution alongside AJ Styles, Low-Ki, and Christopher Daniels. Their fast paced, high risk style in TNA helped lay the foundation for the X Division, the aspect of the company that TNA would come to hang their hat on, and use a calling card when establishing its own identity. The pace of those early matches in the infant ears of TNA were lightning fast, as Lynn managed to keep and lead the pace with men literally half his age. While the style offered huge cheers from the TNA faithful, it also left Lynn in pain.
Lynn would continue to impress fans and fellow wrestlers alike until March 23, 2013 when Jerry would wrestle his final match, poetically on the 25th Anniversary of his debut. Unlike most wrestlers, Lynn’s retirement stuck and he managed to stay away from the squared circle in order to spend more time with his family and live the life of a fan once more.
When I first heard of Lynn’s Go Fund Me page, it was in its infancy, having been active less than 24 hours, with only $1,400 raised of its $15,000 goal. I made my donation and passed the link along, doing my part to give back to a man who entertained me for years on live TV and continued to do so through DVD and On Demand services. Less than 24 hours later and the campaign would be sitting at less than $200 from their original goal of $15,000. Fans of the New F’N Show proved that while wrestling fans have been accused of being quick to change their tune on the current product, they are fiercely loyal and have long memories. Especially when those memories were molded by Jerry Lynn.
Update: Chris Jericho just made a $2,000 donation. Do not let that cause you to hesitate helping one of the best this business has produced, not just as a wrestler but as a person.
Photo by Holly Lengyel
