5 minutes with NEW JACK - professional wrestler - Brief Article

Wrestling Digest, Oct, 2001 by Jason Scales

Injuries, the fall of ECW, and personal demons can't keep the "Original Gangsta" down

NEW JACK--THE "ORIGINAL Gangsta" of wrestling--is a survivor. He's lived through the rise and fall of ECW. He's battered opponents with guitars to their heads, assaulted them with staple guns, and jumped off balconies to slam them through tables. He's also been on the receiving end of guitars, staple guns, and countless hardcore weapons, which he carried to the ring in a garbage can.

Most fans of his type of extreme wrestling love his act. They anticipate the moment his music hits, as it signals his appearance to save the babyfaces from the heels like some sort of demented Superman.

Since ECW called it quits in early 2001, New Jack [real name: Jerome Young] has fought through injuries to wrestle for Los Angeles-based Xtreme Professional Wrestling.

"I'm in this thing for the money," he says. "I'm just doing what I have to do right now to survive."

In the following interview, New Jack talks about overcoming serious injuries, the animosity between ECW and XPW, and how his lunatic persona has been so effective that sometimes opponents refuse to get in the ring with him. He also touches upon his recent baffles with personal demons and how his dream to become a Hollywood actor is still alive.

WRESTLING DIGEST: What is XPW like and how does it differ from ECW?.

NEW JACK: It's just like a newer version of ECW, that's all. Just like ECW started out, XPW is doing the same thing. When I went there for the first time, it reminded me of ECW. The style of wrestlers they have is similar to ECW and the locker room is cool.

WD: Since you've worked for both federations with "extreme" in their name, which is more extreme?

NJ: The things we did in ECW, as far as the extreme stuff, we kind of started it. These guys are a spin-off, like part two of a movie. They picked up where we left off and try to take it to higher levels. There's nothing bad about it. A lot of the stuff they do came from ECW. When you see the extreme stuff anywhere, whether it's in the WWF or WCW, it came from ECW.

THE DEMISE OF ECW

WD: In an interview posted on the Internet, you were quoted as saying that you "quit ECW before ECW quit on you." Elaborate on your fallout from ECW.

NJ: At the end, I was really pissed. I saw it coming to an end. A lot of the boys in the locker room didn't want to believe it, just like a lot of the fans didn't want to believe it. It was time for me to start looking elsewhere, because I knew this fide wasn't going to be continuing much longer. A lot of the boys had false hopes saying, "Paul E. Heyman is going to bail us out." I was considered a vet in that locker room and I knew better. I was ready to leave and I did.

WD: What went through your mind when you saw former ECW workers, such as Spike Dudley, Rhyno, and Justin Credible, appear on the WWF's shows?

NJ: I've never watched a complete show, but when someone told me Spike was going to be on I watched it. I was glad for them. That kind of stuff doesn't bother me. Some guys might be like, "Man, that's messed up that they got them, but they didn't get me." I'm happy for anybody doing anything, because I've survived this business for eight years. There's a reason why I haven't gone [to the WWF or WCW], and very few people would understand why. I've had a lot to do with that myself. But as far as being mad or jealous, you'll never get that out of me. I made a name for myself in this business and my name will go down in history. I started a whole new era in wrestling and I know that. When I see or hear people doing stuff that I've done, that doesn't bother me. It's more like I'm flattered.

WD: You just said there are reasons why you haven't gone to the WWF or WCW. Will you elaborate?

NJ: No.

THE REAL HARDCORE ICON

WD: You popularized the act of carrying trash cans full of weapons to the ring and diving off balconies and other high spots. But the WWF and other federations also conduct hardcore matches. What's the difference?

NJ: Their level of hardcore and mine are two different levels. It's like they're in elementary school and I'm in college. I'm not going to start dropping names, but when you got the guys they've got doing hardcore, that's a joke. One minute you got them coming on TV looking like they ought to be in a mosh pit, and the next thing you know they're pushing a grocery cart to the ring. They couldn't do hardcore if I wrote the manual and gave it to them. I think it's funny. I've seen some of the guys they've had in WCW try to do it. This one guy sticks out in my mind, a bald-headed guy who looks like a Santa Claus elf. He used to wrestle in ECW, then he went to WCW. He couldn't fight hardcore to save his life. He used to beg us not to kill his ass when we had matches in ECW. They put him in WCW and he was the hardcore champ. It's a joke. When you can't get the right people to do it, then you try to build somebody to do it.

WD: How often do your opponents beg you not to hurt them?

NJ: A lot of the guys who are wrestling hardcore would never work with me. I've carried this reputation for a long time that I've been known to go Off on people in the ring. I've had people who were really scared to get in the ring with me.