New Jack
“Jerome Young created New Jack, you know what I‘m saying? I get paid for what I‘m doing. It‘s like any entertainer. You come up with a character or a gimmick that‘s marketable. You know what I mean? So I created New Jack. And that‘s what I get paid to do.”
On November 23, 1996, seventeen year old Erich Kulas, wrestling under the name “Mass Transit,” stepped in the ring to face ECW superstar New Jack. Kulas, replacing an absent Axl Rotten, was informed that the match would be performed under “extreme” rules, which involved mostly brawling and the use of makeshift weaponry ... and blood. Kulas reportedly was hesitant about blading himself, so he asked the four year veteran New Jack to do the honors. At the midway point in the match, New Jack cut into Kulas’ forehead using a boxcutter. Immediately, blood began to gush and spurt from Kulas’ forehead, and it was immediately known to all - fans, other wrestlers, referees and casual onlookers - that Jack had cut too deep. As Kulas struggled to remain conscious, New Jack was allegedly heard screaming, “I hope the pig dies.” Kulas and his father later attempted to press charges against New Jack and ECW, but due to the misrepresentation of his age, the case was dismissed.
“I‘m a very violent person, and I‘ll hurt you and it‘s no secret.”
Wrestling Vic Grimes in a scaffold match for XPW on Feb 23, 2002, New Jack had nefarious intent on his mind. The two had wrestled before in ECW, and on one of their pay-per-view matches, the two were setting up a table dive spot from a scaffold. Grimes, reluctant, attempted to back out of the move. New Jack, however, dragged Grimes’ ass off of the scaffold. Grimes attempted to take the bump solid, but Jack landed awkwardly and was seriously injured, losing vision in one eye and suffering some mild brain damage. So, on Feb 23, Jack had a plan.
The two were wrestling on the scaffold, and a mountain of tables were set up for the fall that Grimes would eventually take. However, Jack overshot his disposal of Grimes, throwing Grimes farther than was planned. Grimes fell forty feet, straddled the rope, rebounded into the ring, and suffered serious injuries. Said Jack in an interview about the incident, “I was going to try to throw him to his death.”
“See my knuckles? You don’t, ‘cause there ain’t none.”
On October 9, 2004, wrestling for the Georgia-based Thunder Wrestling Federation, New Jack entered the ring against William Jason Lane in what was supposed to be a non-hardcore match. The plan originally called for some blood to be spilled. However, witnesses state that New Jack struck Lane with a small blade fourteen times. Police detained Jack due to the appearance that the match progressed far beyond a wrestling match. The promoter denied any foreknowledge that the two wrestlers expected to let the match go hardcore. Said one fan, “It looked like [New Jack] was intentionally trying to hurt [Lane].” New Jack, arrested for the event and placed on a $40,003 bond, was eventually released.
“It was either me or them, so I‘m still here.”
New Jack is insane. There can be no other explanation. He’s deadly because his fucked up personal value system puts him at risk for going into business for himself at any point., and thus he creates liability for any promoter who hires him.
Why, then, is he clearly so much damn fun to watch? His promo skills are unparalleled. He wheels that shopping cart full of weapons and cookware to the ring, accompanied by the strains of “Natural Born Killaz,” and the crowd pops right out the seats. Plus, when the chips have been down and he’s been called on to help business, he can be counted on. Look at the Gangstas feud with the Rock and Roll Express in SMW. ECW put the Gangstas in the ring with the Dudleys and the Eliminators and raked in money. Then, they split the Eliminators and the Gangstas and paired Jack with John Kronus and rejuvenated their tag team division. With that kind of track record, it’s easier to understand how his thug antics have been tolerated over the years. Unfortunately, when ECW folded, the fans learned that if it hadn’t been for ECW, New Jack would probably have been in prison, in the streets, or in hell.
“I ain’t no forty hour motherfucker, man. Never have, never will be.”
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