Last week, we reported on a surprising addition to WWE 2K25’s DLC roadmap; Abyss, a wrestler who made his name in TNA/Impact Wrestling, but never wrestled for WWE.
As we explained at the time, a few things came together for this to become possible. Abyss, real name Christopher Joseph Park, actually works for WWE now. Surreptitiously, WWE made a deal with TNA, that allowed for TNA wrestlers to be added to their video game.
However, there is another wrestler who has a tangential connection to TNA, but managed to make it as DLC as well. While many fans will appreciate that hardcore legend New Jack, real name Jerome Young, is debuting on a WWE video game, how did he even make it there?
Cultaholic shared a surprising rumor on Twitter, that came from Brian Williams of ProWrestling Insider. Williams said:
“New Jack was a shock to all of us on the VC (Visual Concepts) and marketing side. New Jack was someone who I never expected would make it into our franchise. “It’s funny because it was actually Nick Khan who recommended or suggested that we add New Jack as DLC.
When I heard that information from my marketing rep I was like, ‘Really?’ They were like, ‘Oh yeah, he’s a big fan.’ I believe he’s working on the paperwork to make this thing a reality.
That was a huge surprise. Talk about a curveball, that thing came out of not left field, that came out of a different game altogether. So I’m really excited to have New Jack be a part of the game this year and we have some really cool things planned for New Jack.”
Jerome Young got his start in wrestling in the USWA in 1992. As you may have guessed, he got his name from the 1991 film New Jack City. New Jack got his early start at notoriety in Jim Cornette’s Smokey Mountain Wrestling. Cornette paired Jack with Mustafa Saed. As the Ganstas, Jack deliberately provoked the Southern crowd, with some of his incendiary promos getting banned on TV.
New Jack would make his name in ECW, wrestling solo and as part of the Gangstas and Gangstinators, from 1995 to 2001. He would go on to wrestle for another 20 years, including a decade plus tenure in XPW, and some brief blips in TNA. Of course, we would be remiss not to mention Jack’s reputation for genuine recklessness and violence.
New Jack was not a technical standout; befitting the hardcore style, he frequently put his and his opponent’s bodies on the line with dangerous stunts and moves. But unlike most hardcore wrestling legends, there are four very famous incidents where Jack allegedly attempted to legitimately harm his wrestling opponents.
It may seem ironic but the real-life Jerome Young was liked by most of his hardcore wrestling peers. Young dealt with escalating health issues in his retirement, dying of a heart attack in 2021 at just 58. It’s obvious why WWE would never be able to work with New Jack, but it’s also interesting that one of WWE’s top executives, who had no prior experience in the wrestling business, turned out to be a fan after all.
Hopefully, Jack’s inclusion will serve to introduce the new generation of wrestling fans about one of the sports more ‘colorful’ personalities. But we also hope WWE and 2K Games made arrangements for this deal to benefit Jerome Young’s surviving family.
