Overlooked Feuds: Jerry Lynn vs Justin Credible
On September 6th, 1997, Paul Heyman booked a match between two wrestlers early in their run at Philadelphia's legendary ECW Arena. The two were in similar phases in their journey—one was only two weeks into his stint with ECW; the other was making his debut—and, beginning with Heyman's presumably random pairing, would stumble upon a chemistry that (along with a vast improvement in booking and storylines) would give us a legendary feud that far too few are aware of. We're talking about the decades-long, promotion-spanning feud between Justin Credible and Jerry Lynn.
After training at the Hart Brothers Training Camp in Alberta, with the majority of his training being led by Lance Storm and Chris Jericho, PJ Polaco (Justin Credible's actual name) landed a deal as a WWF enhancement talent. When Polaco finally signed a contract and was called up to the main roster, he was probably overjoyed…until he debuted under a mask, going by the name Aldo Montoya, "The Portuguese Man O' War." Montoya received a brief push initially but never seemed to be taken seriously by fans and was quickly overshadowed by others on the roster. By the summer of '97, Polaco was being booked only twice a month and subsequently asked for his release from WWF. His release was granted, stipulating that he was prohibited from working for arch-rival promotion, Ted Turner's WCW. It was suggested Polaco go to ECW, with whom WWF had a friendly working relationship and talent exchange.
Jerry Lynn, real name Jeremy Lynn, spent years working for indies and Japanese promotions before being given a shot at WCW. He also initially wrestled under a mask (although in this case, it was his choice), and eventually got lost in the shuffle of a fantastic roster of cruiserweights—names such as Eddie Guerrero, Dean Malenko, Chris Benoit, and Chris Jericho. In the summer of 1997, Lynn, who was recuperating from an injury at the time, was fired by Eric Bischoff and sent back in search of a promotion where he felt at home. Enter the wrestling fever dream that is the mind of Paul Heyman.
At ECW As Good As It Gets (09/20/97), Heyman had a spot low on the card for his two new guys trying to make a name for themselves with the ever-passionate fans. With a handful of ECW matches under his belt using an array of names, Polaco debuted the Justin Credible moniker and wiseass heel gimmick (though it would still be a while before he no longer heard the enduring jeers of "Aldo!"), and Jerry Lynn (unmasked) was poised as his babyface foil. In retrospective interviews, later on, both wrestlers would note that they had instant chemistry, something that Heyman noticed as well, as he pitted the two against each other no less than ten times through the end of 1997 and first half of 1998, before declaring a "Summer Series" to determine the better wrestler of the two, beginning with a Best Two Out of Three Falls match at A Matter of Respect (05/16/98), which saw Credible come out on top.
Three events in different cities followed (all of which saw Credible as the victor!), before an "I Quit" match back at ECW Arena for an episode of ECW Hardcore TV (06/06/98), which saw Lynn finally pull out a victory. Another seven events would transpire (with Credible going 5-2) before the blow-off match, as the opening match for ECW Heatwave '98 (08/02/98). For those who may not be aware, Heatwave '98 is widely regarded as one of ECW's best pay-per-views. Where it ranks is subjective and may vary from fan to fan, but it is always in the discussion. Justin Credible (who by this point was being accompanied by his cronies Jason, Nicole Bass, and Chastity) again came out on top, in a match many consider the best of the feud, including the man himself.
Following Heatwave '98, the pair wrestled on TV only twice more (despite facing each other over a dozen times in 1999) until the dawn of the new millennium. When they did meet again, however, it was with raised stakes. Credible had become ECW World Heavyweight Champion, and the two would battle for the belt twice on TV (with Credible successfully the title both times) before the two met for a third title match at ECW Anarchy Rulz 2000 (10/01/2000). And there, in front of a packed house in St. Paul, Minnesota, twin cities native Jerry Lynn came out on top, winning the company's top prize—a fitting end to the three-year-long feud that saw the pair put on a stellar match after stellar match. As it would turn out, though, this was only the end of the ECW chapter. More was still to come.
Justin Credible and Jerry Lynn met again for a series of matches in TNA during the summer of 2003 and three final matches at the Hardcore Homecoming events in the summer and fall of 2005. After surprisingly few stipulation matches in ECW, this final series of matches would find them employing several: in TNA, the pair would pull out a Lights Out match, a "Russian Chain" match (essentially a dog collar match), and a Last Man Standing match; the final match of Hardcore Homecoming was a Steel Cage match, poetically back at ECW Arena, where it all began. These matches were largely more violent than the majority of matches the two had in ECW. Still, they never failed to deliver a great match with one possible exception that has been purposely left out of this timeline: the two met once, in 2001, on an episode of WWF Jakked. The match was 3:18 long, and honestly, it was okay for what it was, but it was a bit of a slap in the face compared to the clinics and wars in which the two had previously engaged.
Final Thoughts:
I thought the pairing of Justin Credible and Jerry Lynn was very complimentary. On the one hand, Jerry Lynn, despite not being the most skilled at promos and having a persona that could be seen as perhaps a little bland, more than made up for it with incredible talent in the ring. I always thought of him the same way I thought of Benoit, Malenko, or "Lionheart" era Jericho.
On the other hand, Justin Credible was the opposite: not quite as skilled as a technical wrestler but had charisma to spare. Despite the rather curious decision not to give the blowoff match to their Summer Series feud any stipulation, they put on a great show every time they were paired together. Singling out the best match from a gaggle of such high-quality contests is not easy (not to mention subjective), but the blowoff at Heatwave '98 is really a top contender. I'm also partial to the Last Man Standing match in TNA (although I believe technically it's a Texas Death match), in part because it was especially bloody and brutal, and Jerry Lynn was not known for excessive bloodletting. As previously stated, however, you could pick pretty much any of their matches at random and be thoroughly entertained.
Many names come to mind when one thinks of some of the extensive knowledge the previous generation of wrestlers can pass on to the up-and-coming stars of today and tomorrow. In most cases, Dusty Rhodes will be the one to spring to mind immediately. And while almost nobody today could have the same impact as The American Dream on the next crop of superstars, one name that is rarely mentioned but could have a lasting impact is that of Scott Levy, better known to fans worldwide as Raven. Today, we will discuss why Raven could excel in a mentor position at the WWE Performance Center.