Thank You, Jerry

And the man could rock a bowtie, Chippendale's style too!
Photo Credit: Texas Anarchy

Jerry Lynn retired this weekend after working one final show in his home state of Minnesota. It was in a four way match that also featured his long time independent circuit rival Sean Waltman (who unfortunately ripped his anus wide open while doing a Bronco Buster in that match... best wishes for recovery, I can't even make a joke about that). It's appropriate since the two spent so much time in the indies, back before ECW made the idea of a financially viable sub-corporate wrestling company with national exposure a possibility, facing off against each other. Waltman would make it to the WWF, and Lynn, despite dalliances with WCW in their cruiserweight division, would have to wait for his turn in the spotlight until ECW gave him a go-around.

Lynn was rocketed into the wrestling mainstream when he was put on the opposite end of the ring with Rob van Dam to feud over the ECW Television Championship. I'm not sure how many matches Lynn won in the series, my rough guess would be a number that ranges between zero and one. However, this feud was one of those at the time that really wasn't noted for who came out on top; rather, it was strictly for its match quality that the round of matches was praised. It's been awhile since I've seen them, and honestly, given my opinion of RVD over time, I'm not terribly excited to go back and watch them. However, I think if there was anyone who could have wrangled something beginning to resemble a wrestling match and not "standing around waiting for RVD to get his goddamn fake tai chi routine done so he could land a fucking kick that may or may not knock teeth out of my mouth," I think it could have been Lynn.

Sometimes, I think that series stunted Lynn's growth a little bit. RVD had "star power," and Lynn was a wrestler, compared favorably to Lance Storm or other "workrate" guys, or that he was only a cruiserweight. WWE seemed to pigeonhole him as they're wont to do, but there's a chance that the company wasn't a fit for the man formerly known as Mr. JL. I'm not going to say either way if that was the case, because I can't read minds. However, Lynn going free back into the indies may have been best for all parties involved.

It was back outside of Corporate Wrestling America where it felt like he was at home, appreciated. We all know about the ROH World Championship reign, which was widely panned at the time. Looking back, I think at least I was wrong to criticize the run. You could have done far worse for a transitional Championship run between Nigel McGuinness and Austin Aries' second run. But it was especially in Austin where Lynn did his best and most influential work. The man wasn't nicknamed the Godfather of Anarchy for nothing, and so many wrestlers down there, whether Rachel Summerlyn, Scot Summers, Davey Vega, or any of the other wrestlers ACW has brought to the forefront vocally have owed him a debt of gratitude.

I guess that's why his retirement this weekend is such a big deal. Without sounding too sappy, Lynn gave a whole shitload of himself to the art of wrestling in many ways that at least I may not even know about. People like him should be celebrated, not ignored or brushed off. And that's why I say thank you to one Mr. Jerry Lynn. Without him, the indies might be a duller place right now.