Jerry Jarrett, one of the greatest promoters in wrestling history and the father of current AEW star Jeff Jarrett, has passed away. He was 80 years old.
Jerry got his start in the business in the 1960s and 1970s ... working as a referee and wrestler, holding several regional National Wrestling Alliance belts during his career.
In 1977, Jerry defected from the NWA ... and founded his own promotion, the Continental Wrestling Association (CWA) in Memphis, where he rose to stardom with Jerry Lawler.
Jerry and Lawler were quite the duo ... and enjoyed success working together, eventually forcing the promotion of NWA Mid-America to sell their territory to Jarrett.
Jerry was influential in the careers of Hulk Hogan and "Stone Cold" Steve Austin ... giving both superstars a chance to make a name for themselves under his CWA promotion.
Jeff's father's legendary career as a promoter includes stints with World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and World Wrestling Federation (WWF), where he worked as a consultant.
After WWF purchased WCW ... and Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) went bankrupt, Jerry launched Total Nonstop Action (TNA) with Jeff in 2002.
Jerry was inducted into the NWA Hall of Fame in 2009.
R.I.P.