PWInsider reported that, earlier today, Jerome Young AKA New Jack passed away. Multiple additional sources, including the official New Jack Facebook page and his wife, Jennifer, confirmed the news. It was learned that he suffered a heart attack, in North Carolina, at the age of 58.
New Jack’s wrestling career began in 1992, having trained under Ray Candy. When he began wrestling, New Jack adopted his ring name from the 1991 action crime film, ‘New Jack City.’ He wrestled in Tennesse and Atlanta early on in his career before he was signed by Smoky Mountain Wrestling, headed by Jim Cornette. It was here where New Jack’s trademark vulgar, brazen persona was showcased to a wider audience. He would form The Gangstas alongside Mustafa Saed, becoming one of the most hated pairs in the promotion. New Jack’s controversial promo style was not only successful at raising the ire of Tennessee fans but catching the attention of Extreme Championship Wrestling founder, Paul Heyman.
RIP New Jack
We are grateful to have had the opportunity to tell your story. Our deepest condolences to his friends & family 🙏 pic.twitter.com/iirOdvLZNa
— Dark Side of the Ring (@DarkSideOfRing) May 15, 2021
In 1995, The Gangstas debuted for ECW as a heel team, feuding with the likes of Public Enemy and The Eliminators. During his time in the company, New Jack became a three-time ECW World Tag Team Champion, winning the titles twice with Saed and once with John Kronus. Arguably New Jack’s most memorable, not to mention infamous, moment in ECW came in the form of the “Mass Transit Incident.” This resulted in New Jack blading an inexperienced wrestler by the name of Eric Kulas, also known as Mass Transit, resulting in the novice excessively bleeding. This moment would land ECW in legal trouble, though New Jack was acquitted.
New Jack remained with ECW until the promotion’s closure in 2001. From there, he began to appear for a number of promotions, including Combat Zone Wrestling and Total Nonstop Action Wrestling. During his time on the independent scene, New Jack was involved in other controversial matches featuring Gypsy Joe and Hunter Red, both of which were detailed in the New Jack episode of Dark Side of the Ring. In April of 2013, New Jack wrestled his retirement match against Necro Butcher at Pro Wrestling Syndicate‘s Super Card 2013 event. However, New Jack would come out of retirement a few years later, wrestling sporadically from there. New Jack’s final, official match took place this past April. At ICW No Holds Barred‘s Volume 11 event, New Jack teamed with The Carnage Crew in a winning effort against The Rejects and Neil Diamond Cutter.
We are deeply saddened to learn of the passing of Jerome "New Jack" Young. We offer our sincerest condolences to his friends and family. pic.twitter.com/5Qc0kO1hVx
— TNA Wrestling (@ThisIsTNA) May 14, 2021
LWOPW sends its condolences to the family, friends, peers, and fans of New Jack around the world.
Stay tuned to the Last Word on Pro Wrestling for more on this and other stories from around the world of wrestling, as they develop. You can always count on LWOPW to be on top of the major news in the wrestling world, as well as to provide you with analysis, previews, videos, interviews, and editorials on the wrestling world.
Looking to talk wrestling, pro football, or any number of sports? Head on over to the LWOS Boards to engage in conversation with fellow fans!
