MEMPHIS, Tenn — Longtime Memphis wrestling promoter, booker, and former professional wrestler Jerry Jarrett has died Tuesday at the age of 80.
The National Wrestling Alliance confirmed Jarrett's death in a tweet Tuesday afternoon, saying, "The NWA family is saddened to hear of the passing of the legendary Jerry Jarrett. A very important part of the professional wrestling business, we send our condolences to his family, friends and fans."
Jarrett was most well-known for promoting and helping book the Continental Wrestling Association, a Memphis-based wrestling promotion he founded in 1977. CWA, which Jarret operated alongside wrestling legend Jerry "The King" Lawler, was known for drawing huge, raucous crowds on a weekly basis at the Mid-South Coliseum.
By 1988, Jarrett was also part-owner of World Class Championship Wrestling, a Dallas, Texas-based wrestling promotion founded by Fritz Von Erich in 1966, which saw the famous Von Erich family draw thousands of fans to Sportatorium every week.
In 1989, Jarrett and Fritz Von Erich co-founded the United States Wrestling Association, a promotion which ran in both the Memphis and Dallas-Fort Worth areas. That promotion also entered into a talent exchange program with the World Wrestling Federation, helping develop talent such as Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson and Brian "Grandmaster Sexay" Christopher.
Though USWA ceased operations in 1997, Jarrett stayed active in the wrestling business through the early 2000s, helping found Total Nonstop Action Wrestling with his son, the professional wrestler Jeff Jarrett, in 2002. He stayed with the promotion until 2005, when he stepped away from the business.
Jarrett was voted into the Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame in 2018.
The cause of Jarrett's death has not yet been released.