Is the "New F'N Show" the
next F'N champ?
After some of the best matches in the history
of ECW Pay-per-views, and nearly winning the ECW World Television title, you'd think Jerry
Lynn would get a little more respect. What do I mean by that? Check out the latest edition
of the ECW Magazine, which features Justin Credible on the cover. Inside, there is an
article on Jerry Lynn. No problems with the article, it's very nice. However, can anyone
tell me why they didn't get around to Jerry Lynn until the third issue? Was he not worthy?
I mean, he's only (in my opinion, and in the minds of many other fans) the best pure
wrestler in ECW today. He consistently performs above the expectations of anyone, and the
fans go ballistic for him. So why has he been held back for so long?
I remember watching the now-defunct Global
Wrestling Federation, and seeing Lynn play second fiddle to the Lightning Kid, who you may
know be familiar with as X-Pac. World Championship Wrestling, with millions of dollars to
spend on ideas and wrestlers, put Jerry Lynn under a mask and called him, are you ready
for this, MR. JL! I'm serious, that's the name they used. I guess now would be a good time
to point out that Mr. JL wrestled Sabu on a WCW PPV once (it was the only PPV appearance
with WCW for either of them), and had their match overshadowed by the belief that a 400
pound man could fall 30 stories and survive (If you don't know what I'm talking about,
consider yourself lucky). Then Jerry Lynn agreed to wrestle TAKA Michinoku for the World
Wrestling Federation. At the same time, he began wrestling on ECW shows, impressing anyone
who was in attendance. After having a very good match with Michinoku, the WWF slated Jerry
to wrestle in their Light Heavyweight Title tournament. This was the ultimate slap in the
face.
I guess you are probably wondering how being
booked into a televised title tournament is a slap in the face. Well, forget about the
joke that the title became, because that's not it. You see, when the WWF announced their
brackets on television for the tournament, the name Jerry Lynn came as a big surprise ....
to himself. Lynn was never sent a letter or given a phone call that he was going to be
included in the tournament. The WWF figured Lynn would be "honored" to compete
for them. The WWF may have been on a huge national scale, but Lynn still had his pride. He
refused to compete in their tournament. Besides, he had already agreed to wrestle on a
full-time basis elsewhere, namely Extreme Championship Wrestling.
This is where Jerry Lynn finally gets respect
and becomes a star, right? Not quite yet. Lynn wrestled amazing matches, but was kept on
the undercard, while others were given the spotlight. His first Pay-per-view match was not
even scheduled. He became involved in the Tommy Rogers-Chris Candido match at the November
to Remember '97 when Lance Storm interfered, and the match became a tag team bout. His
second PPV match, a tag bout that saw him and Chris Chetti defeat the FBI, was not even
advertised or announced in advance of Living Dangerously '98. Wrestlepalooza rolled around
two months later, and Lynn wasn't even on the show! Then, Lynn was programmed for a series
of matches with one of the men who was constantly pushed ahead of him, Justin Credible.
This would change his fortunes, at least a little.
A classic summer series with Credible
guaranteed that Lynn would be taken seriously from that point on, but just as it was
ending, Lynn found himself in a ridiculously comical feud with Lance Storm, Chris Candido
and Mikey Whipwreck. I'm not insulting the skills of any of these men, but the whole
rivalry was centered on Tammy Sytch and Dawn Marie Bytch, hardly the makings of a classic.
When the smoke cleared from that debacle, Lynn found himself with a shot at the ECW World
Television Title at Living Dangerously '99. He finally was getting some respect, and now
he could have a title, as long as he could defeat Rob Van Dam.
And he almost did.
Jerry Lynn was actually awarded the title
after his match with RVD ended in a time limit draw by referee John Finnegan. Finnegan had
determined that Lynn had showed his superiority and deserved the belt. After all that Lynn
had gone through, most would have expected him to accept his reward for having his hard
work recognized. Jerry Lynn, however, still had his pride, and wanted to win the title
with his skills, not in appreciation of them. He lost that match, but finally, was taken
seriously as a superstar. He reinforced that fact at Hardcore Heaven '99 when, despite
nearly being knocked unconscious, he came within a hair of winning the title yet again.
So despite being overlooked by the magazine
until the third issue (and while I'm at it, where's his action figure?), Jerry Lynn has
positioned himself as one of the top competitors in all of wrestling. He won the main
event of Heatwave '99, pinning Lance Storm and outshining two former rivals in Justin
Credible and Rob Van Dam. Lynn has more than paid his dues, and is poised for the top of
the mountain. Someone should tell Rob Van Dam and, for that matter, Taz, to polish up
those title belts and have someone take a photo of them with it on. Because by the time
the ball drops for the year 2000, Jerry Lynn will be wearing one of them.
His time has (finally) come.
