New Jack: Natural Born Killa

Jerome Young, who adopted the name New Jack after seeing the hit crime thriller “New Jack City,” is undoubtedly one of the most terrifying wrestlers ever.

His sadistic mind has led to stabbing opponents in their forehead with whatever weapon he could find. His own carved up forehead fueled panic in buildings around the United States. “I ain’t a rapper and I don’t go in the studio and talk all that violent shit,” Jack once. “I go in the ring and live it.”

Reminiscent of Abdullah the Butcher, New Jack embraced the hardcore style. Brawling, weapons and bloodshed were his trade. He was also a master of the mic – you believed everything he said. With a background as a bounty hunter and four justifiable homicides to his name, his street cred was firmly established. A threat from New Jack was a gory guarantee.

New Jack entered pro wrestling as part of a stable in Smoky Mountain Wrestling known as The Gangstas. He, Mustafa Saed and D’Lo Brown (and later Killer Kyle) played up racial tensions, vocally supporting O.J. Simpson and insisting on a two count to twin matches due to affirmative action. The storyline would never fly today, but in the south in the mid-1990s, it was certainly effective. Controversial heat magnets, it was only a matter of time before The Gangstas caught the eye of Paul Heyman.

Debuting at Barbed Wire, Hoodies & Chokeslams in June 1995, New Jack and Mustafa immediately raised mayhem, targeting Public Enemy. The two teams feuded for six months until Johnny Grunge and Rocco Rock fled to WCW. Over the next year, The Gangstas wreaked havoc in the tag team division, eventually winning the titles in August at The Doctor Is In.

Unfortunately, championships isn’t what New Jack was known for in 1996.

Next week’s episode: “The Life & Crimes of New Jack”
Tuesday, 10p on @VICETV and @CraveCanada @newjackuncut187 pic.twitter.com/e57it6OKd8
— Dark Side of the Ring (@DarkSideOfRing) March 25, 2020

At a Massachusetts house show in November, The Gangstas were scheduled to face D-Von Dudley and Axl Rotten. However, Rotten didn’t make the show, so he was replaced by “Mass Transit” Erich Kulas. The untrained 17 year old convinced Heyman that he was actually 23 and a former student of Killer Kowalski. That proved to be the biggest mistake of his life.

Well, maybe the second biggest. The first was asking New Jack to blade him during the match. Using a surgical scalpel, Jack cut too deep and severed arteries. Blood spewed out of his forehead like Niagara Falls and Kulas passed out. The Gangstas didn’t care, continuing their assault until Kulas’ father screamed “Ring the fucking bell! He’s 17!”

Medics rushed the ring and took Kulas to the hospital. Naturally, New Jack grabbed a mic and shouted “I don’t care if the motherfucker dies! He’s white. I don’t like white people. I don’t like people from Boston. I’m the wrong nigga to fuck with.”

The incident gained publicity on Inside Edition and led to the cancellation of ECW’s first pay-per-view. Three years later, Kulas filed a lawsuit against New Jack and pressed charges. However, after learning that Kulas requested to be cut, the jury acquitted Jack of all charges and he was later declared not liable in the civil trial. Sadly, Kulas passed away in 2002 due to complications from gastric bypass surgery.

Just another example of the Dark Side of the Ring.