Jerry Jarrett Biography
Name: Jerry Jarrett.
Location: Hendersonville, TN.
Marital Status: Deborah Jarrett.
Children: Jason, Jennifer & Jeff Jarrett.
Managed Federations: USWA wrestling *AKA*
Jarrett Promotions/Jarrett Wrestling Company.
Currently: Jerry owns a construction company,
Jarrett Construction, in Hendersonville, TN.
More Information: Jerry Jarrett is one of the most successful wrestling promoters of our time. From the late l960's until December l996 Jerry was the key figure in the success of Memphis Wrestling. His story is a true example of the fact that a person can start with nothing and by working hard can end up very successful.
Jerry Jarrett was raised by his Mother and Grand-parents in Nashville, TN. His father left when Jerry was a young child. His Mother, Christine Jarrett, worked hard to support him. As a high school student Jerry was pretty wild. No serious trouble but he had his fun and even was a member of a motorcycle gang. As a student, Jerry was extremely intelligent. He went to college and received a degree in business. His goal was to be a businessman and work for a company in Nashville. He got his first job but it did not take him long to realize that is not what was going to make him happy.
Christine Jarrett had taken a job with Nick Gulas and Roy Welch, who at the time were the owners of the territory that is now the United States Wrestling Association. Mrs. Jarrett was the secretary/book-keeper and played a big role in Gulas and Welch's success. Jerry started helping out in the office and also promoted small towns called spot shows. He had great success and decided that he could be successful in the wrestling business. Roy Welch took Jerry under his wing and he took a big interest in helping him. Jerry drove Roy to a lot of the cities to the matches.
The more Jerry learned, the more determined he was that he had what it took to be a wrestling promoter and also he realized there was a potential to make a lot of money. He became a referee. Back then, the USWA was split into two different areas, the Nashville end, and the Memphis end. Memphis was doing horrible. The talent was stale and the booking was stale. Roy Welch made the decision to make Jerry Jarrett the booker for the Memphis end. I believe the year was l969. Ken Lucas and Johnny Walker were two of the stars, along with the Mighty Yankees. They did not think a young, skinny referee should tell them what to do, so on Jerry Jarrett's first night booking, they walked out. They were going to show Nick and Roy that making Jerry Jarrett the booker was a terrible mistake. And boy, did he prove them wrong. Jerry decided he wanted to be a wrestler. Everybody thought he was to small. But, he was young, good looking and did the type of interviews that fans could relate to. Tojo Yamamoto was the top heel and Jerry switched him babyface and Jerry was Tojo's portege. Memphis went from drawing hundreds of people to drawing sellouts of thousands of people and even turning fans away. And, this went on week after week. Jerry Jarrett has given Memphis wrestling a rebirth.
Jerry was not satisfied with that. Dick the Bruiser had ran Louisville Ky. And Evansville IN for years but had incidents with the television stations in both markets and had pulled out of both cities. Jerry went to both towns, made deals with the arenas and also with the television stations. He opened up these towns and they started doing great business. Jerry did the booking for years and years. So many people were featured on Jerry's cards that it would be impossible to name them all. But, here are a few: Tojo, Jackie Fargo, Don and Al Greene, Eddie Marlin, Tommy Gilbert, The Interns with Dr. Ken Ramey, Robert Fuller, Bill Dundee, Sam Bass, Jim White and Jerry Lawler.
Jerry Lawler was a cocky young man from Memphis. But, boy could he talk. Booking wise, I think the most successful thing Jerry Jarrett ever did was making Jerry Lawler a star. He brought in Lawler and formed a tag team with Lawler and Jim White. Sam Bass was their manager. Lawler could talk and they had great drawing feuds with Fargo, Jarrett, Tojo, Eddie Marlin and Tommy Gilbert. Then, the team was broken up and Jerry decided to go with Lawler as a single and the King was born. Jarrett brought in superstars from all over the country to put Lawler over and Lawler set attendance records that still have not been broken.
Remember, the territory was divided into two areas. The Memphis area was doing great business, however, Nashville was in trouble. Jerry decided, because he was having big problems with Nick Gulas, that he would open up his own company. The year was l976. He resigned from Gulas/Welch Enterprises and formed Jarrett Wrestling Company. Jerry Lawler and most of the wrestlers that had worked the Memphis end, went with Jerry. Jarrett gave Jerry Lawler a small percentage in the company. A new era was born. Later, Nick went out of business and Jarrett Wrestling Company, later to be called Jarrett Promotions, started having matches in Nashville, Jerry Jarrett's home town.
Jerry Jarrett is intelligent, creative and most of all a hard worker and great businessman. He has created so much talent that it is unreal. He started the music wrestling video. And, he was doing extreme wrestling back in the l970's.
I guess everybody gets burned out. Jerry got out of the day to day operations of Jarrett Promotions in l993. Shortly after that I came back as booker to take over from Jerry Lawler and later became General Manager. Jerry Lawler had become 50% owner of the company. Lawler and Jarrett are complete opposites and one day that relationship had to come to a end. Finally, it did. In December of l996, Jerry Lawler brought in Larry Burton to find a investor to buy Jerry Jarrett's share of the company. And, that was the end of the Jerry Jarrett era of Memphis Wrestling.
But, do not feel sorry for Jerry. He opened up a construction and building business and he is motivated to his new venture like he was when he built his wrestling company. And, Jerry has never been as successful. Jerry lives in Hendersonville, TN. with his wife Deborah and children Jennifer and Jason. His oldest son, Jeff, lives near by. Jerry, thanks for all the memories.
Thankx to Randy Hales for the above article
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Location: Hendersonville, TN.
Marital Status: Deborah Jarrett.
Children: Jason, Jennifer & Jeff Jarrett.
Managed Federations: USWA wrestling *AKA*
Jarrett Promotions/Jarrett Wrestling Company.
Currently: Jerry owns a construction company,
Jarrett Construction, in Hendersonville, TN.
More Information: Jerry Jarrett is one of the most successful wrestling promoters of our time. From the late l960's until December l996 Jerry was the key figure in the success of Memphis Wrestling. His story is a true example of the fact that a person can start with nothing and by working hard can end up very successful.
Jerry Jarrett was raised by his Mother and Grand-parents in Nashville, TN. His father left when Jerry was a young child. His Mother, Christine Jarrett, worked hard to support him. As a high school student Jerry was pretty wild. No serious trouble but he had his fun and even was a member of a motorcycle gang. As a student, Jerry was extremely intelligent. He went to college and received a degree in business. His goal was to be a businessman and work for a company in Nashville. He got his first job but it did not take him long to realize that is not what was going to make him happy.
Christine Jarrett had taken a job with Nick Gulas and Roy Welch, who at the time were the owners of the territory that is now the United States Wrestling Association. Mrs. Jarrett was the secretary/book-keeper and played a big role in Gulas and Welch's success. Jerry started helping out in the office and also promoted small towns called spot shows. He had great success and decided that he could be successful in the wrestling business. Roy Welch took Jerry under his wing and he took a big interest in helping him. Jerry drove Roy to a lot of the cities to the matches.
The more Jerry learned, the more determined he was that he had what it took to be a wrestling promoter and also he realized there was a potential to make a lot of money. He became a referee. Back then, the USWA was split into two different areas, the Nashville end, and the Memphis end. Memphis was doing horrible. The talent was stale and the booking was stale. Roy Welch made the decision to make Jerry Jarrett the booker for the Memphis end. I believe the year was l969. Ken Lucas and Johnny Walker were two of the stars, along with the Mighty Yankees. They did not think a young, skinny referee should tell them what to do, so on Jerry Jarrett's first night booking, they walked out. They were going to show Nick and Roy that making Jerry Jarrett the booker was a terrible mistake. And boy, did he prove them wrong. Jerry decided he wanted to be a wrestler. Everybody thought he was to small. But, he was young, good looking and did the type of interviews that fans could relate to. Tojo Yamamoto was the top heel and Jerry switched him babyface and Jerry was Tojo's portege. Memphis went from drawing hundreds of people to drawing sellouts of thousands of people and even turning fans away. And, this went on week after week. Jerry Jarrett has given Memphis wrestling a rebirth.
Jerry was not satisfied with that. Dick the Bruiser had ran Louisville Ky. And Evansville IN for years but had incidents with the television stations in both markets and had pulled out of both cities. Jerry went to both towns, made deals with the arenas and also with the television stations. He opened up these towns and they started doing great business. Jerry did the booking for years and years. So many people were featured on Jerry's cards that it would be impossible to name them all. But, here are a few: Tojo, Jackie Fargo, Don and Al Greene, Eddie Marlin, Tommy Gilbert, The Interns with Dr. Ken Ramey, Robert Fuller, Bill Dundee, Sam Bass, Jim White and Jerry Lawler.
Jerry Lawler was a cocky young man from Memphis. But, boy could he talk. Booking wise, I think the most successful thing Jerry Jarrett ever did was making Jerry Lawler a star. He brought in Lawler and formed a tag team with Lawler and Jim White. Sam Bass was their manager. Lawler could talk and they had great drawing feuds with Fargo, Jarrett, Tojo, Eddie Marlin and Tommy Gilbert. Then, the team was broken up and Jerry decided to go with Lawler as a single and the King was born. Jarrett brought in superstars from all over the country to put Lawler over and Lawler set attendance records that still have not been broken.
Remember, the territory was divided into two areas. The Memphis area was doing great business, however, Nashville was in trouble. Jerry decided, because he was having big problems with Nick Gulas, that he would open up his own company. The year was l976. He resigned from Gulas/Welch Enterprises and formed Jarrett Wrestling Company. Jerry Lawler and most of the wrestlers that had worked the Memphis end, went with Jerry. Jarrett gave Jerry Lawler a small percentage in the company. A new era was born. Later, Nick went out of business and Jarrett Wrestling Company, later to be called Jarrett Promotions, started having matches in Nashville, Jerry Jarrett's home town.
Jerry Jarrett is intelligent, creative and most of all a hard worker and great businessman. He has created so much talent that it is unreal. He started the music wrestling video. And, he was doing extreme wrestling back in the l970's.
I guess everybody gets burned out. Jerry got out of the day to day operations of Jarrett Promotions in l993. Shortly after that I came back as booker to take over from Jerry Lawler and later became General Manager. Jerry Lawler had become 50% owner of the company. Lawler and Jarrett are complete opposites and one day that relationship had to come to a end. Finally, it did. In December of l996, Jerry Lawler brought in Larry Burton to find a investor to buy Jerry Jarrett's share of the company. And, that was the end of the Jerry Jarrett era of Memphis Wrestling.
But, do not feel sorry for Jerry. He opened up a construction and building business and he is motivated to his new venture like he was when he built his wrestling company. And, Jerry has never been as successful. Jerry lives in Hendersonville, TN. with his wife Deborah and children Jennifer and Jason. His oldest son, Jeff, lives near by. Jerry, thanks for all the memories.
Thankx to Randy Hales for the above article
Misc. ~ Columns ~ Webring ~ Fast Facts ~ Chat Room ~ Multimedia
Forum ~ Quotes ~ Banners ~ BBOTW ~ Fan Club ~ Why We're Fans
Site Index ~ Biography ~ Polls ~ PPV Coverage ~ News ~ Fan Stories
Time Line ~ Fan Fiction ~ Photos ~ Links ~ Double J Club ~ Wallpaper
Fun & Games ~ Win My Award ~ Awards I've Won ~ Slambook ~ Home